AN- Short little chapter… more will be up soon. And to answer the question, yes this will be a Sarkney fic. Only it won't be too mushy!

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam

Let Me Scream

"Sydney, time to wake up," Vaughn said distantly.

"Just five more minutes," she responded. She pulled the blanket farther over her head and snuggled in, until Vaughn pulled it off.

"We're about to land, and I think you'll want to be presentable. There will be a lot of people here who haven't seen you in two years."

Sydney, now thoroughly awake, glared at him. "Why do they care what I look like? I've been gone for two years; I don't think they'll notice."

"No, they wouldn't notice at the airport. They'd all be in shock, there. But I've been ordered to take you the Joint Task Force building. You'll probably be there for a good while. There's a washcloth and some soap in the bathroom, if you want to use it."

Sydney glared at him, but knew he was right. With Kendall in charge, she could be sitting in a cell for the next month. She definitely wanted to get the grit and grime off of her, as she knew prisoners, even if they had been missing for two years, didn't get amenities like shower time.

Making her way back to the bathroom, she tried to keep her head up as much as possible. She didn't want Vaughn to think he had any effect on her, other than sheer annoyance. She had to tell herself that, for her own sake. She couldn't crumble with him around. Even if her heart wanted to cry out, she wouldn't give in.

When the filth came off of her, staining the white cloth a dirty shade of grayish brown, it was like a release. Suddenly she could breathe, she could see everything, and she couldn't lie. Her body slid down the door and she fell into a sobbing heap.

She didn't want to be weak, but yet her heart couldn't hold it in anymore. It wasn't just Vaughn, it was the fact that her whole life had been taken away from her for two whole years, and she couldn't do anything to get those years back. She could deal with Vaughn being married. Of course, if she hadn't have been kidnapped for two years, she wouldn't have to deal with any of it. If she hadn't been kidnapped, his heart would still belong to her.

Standing up, and flicking the tears off her face, she made a resolution. She would no longer care. It didn't matter to her that Vaughn was married, because all she wanted was for him to be happy. It didn't matter that she was kidnapped, because at least she was alive. It didn't matter that she couldn't remember the last two years, because she had twenty eight years before that, and numerous years to come to remember.

It didn't matter.

She rubbed the washcloth just a little too hard on her cheeks to cover up the tear tracks and took a deep breath. She repeated "It doesn't matter" in her head like a manta as she opened the door to the bathroom, and flashed Vaughn a bright smile.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little breakdown, but I'm okay now," she responded, making sure to keep her tone even.

"We're going to land in about ten minutes, are there any last questions you have?"

"What's the world like now?"

Vaughn laughed, "I'm supposed to answer that in ten minutes?"

Sydney nodded at him.

"Well, it's different. Obviously, you've been gone for two years. George Bush is the president still, we're still building Iraq, and the Kings are still the best hockey team around. So I suppose nothing important has changed since you disappeared," he joked.

The door to the cockpit opened, and a tall friendly man stuck his head out. "Agent Bristow, Agent Vaughn, we're going to start our landing now, if you'll please fasten your seatbelts, we should land at Edwards Air Force Base in a matter of minutes."

Sydney inwardly groaned. She loved flying, which was good because with her job it felt as if she spent more time in the air than on ground, but she hated landing. It was so jerky, so unmerciful. Taking off and flying were graceful activities, but landing was so different. Her hatred probably stemmed, psychologically at least, from the fact that when she landed, it often meant going back to the real world and telling more lies.

Today, however, it didn't seem that bad. The landing was smooth, and she didn't feel upset about having to tell lies to anyone.

Her life no longer revolved around lies.

Unfortunately, instead of a feeling of dread, she felt the distinct feeling of nervousness in the pit of her stomach. She wished she wasn't anxious over something so insignificant, but the fact that she knew that the people waiting for her hadn't seen her in two years mad her uneasy.

Suddenly the latch on the door opened, and a set of stairs was attached to the side of the plane.

It was now or never.

And it didn't matter.