Hey guys, it's the chapter I think you guys have all been waiting for. It's not life changing or anything but there is a twist (yes there is another one) so I hope you enjoy it and review as always.

But I have to thank some people who have been supporting me from the beginning and giving me the encouragement I needed to write this story and to keep it going.

I don't know them personally but their many reviews made my day and proved that there are fanatics out there just like me who go on fanfiction.net every day and have chosen to add me to the list of stories they read and review.

So, this chapter is dedicated to: Jade and Leslie - who started late and yet still reviewed EVERY SINGLE chapter Kyra - who left that long and kickass review Secret Agent Girl- who read from the beginning and never ever gave a bad review which gave me a huge boost to my self esteem~ Aeria- who somehow was nuts enough to read my fic out loud to her friends at her party and then review it too~ Cass- I just see your reviews every where I go and that makes me happy ( Ash - your name is just too cool and the fact that you give positive reviews doesn't hurt either. Dream Writer 4 Life- From your first review. I dunno, let's just say that you make me smile and that's always a good thing And to everyone else because I can't limit this list. I can't stop this list. I can't decide. I can't decide at all. This is just to everyone because I give up trying to narrow it down.

Wow. this is a long list because I just want to include you all so I do.

This is to all of you (obviously) and I hope you continue to read and support.

I've taken enough of your time; here is Chapter 21.

-Jenn

21.

Sydney found herself being seated in the cold metal chair across the table from Kendall, Jack, and Michael. Her vision was blurry and she could barely make out their faces.

Michael. She could see Michael. Sitting across from her. She saw the look in his eyes; the look that told her that more than anything, he wanted to be on her side of the table comforting her.

But he couldn't.

"Agent Bristow, I realize that you are in shock and that this day has been tremendously taxing for you but please try to focus." Kendall's voice cut through the air and permeated Sydney's senses and she looked up at him.

And reached deep down inside of herself to pull out the strength she knew was there somewhere.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to look into Kendall's eyes. "I saw Danny today."

Kendall looked at her strangely. "That is what I heard. Agent Vaughn informed us of that after you fainted."

"I fainted?"

She felt Vaughn brush her leg against hers and then keep it in contact with hers, giving her the only support he could. She reached into her pocket and slipped the ring on her finger under the table and twisted it around and around, trying to draw from it the stability and the love and the strength it had symbolized last night.

"Yes. Now Agent Bristow, please tell me everything you can about this incident."

"Yes sir. It was about 1:30 this afternoon and I had ordered Chinese food. The doorbell rang and when I opened the door, Danny was outside. He was just standing in the doorway and then came in and-" She paused, retaining her composure. "-he blamed me and accused me of giving up on him and for loving someone else."

She stopped suddenly, looking up briefly to meet Vaughn's eyes with hers. She wasn't sure why she had said that.

"Why would he say that?"

She gulped. "I would suppose that it was because he had been tortured for the past two years and kept in confinement and the fact that I was traumatized at seeing him and didn't return his ardor seemed to reaffirm his beliefs."

She saw Vaughn relax and then tense at her answer. She had always been a rather good liar. She had to be; how else would she be able to survive? But why was Vaughn tensing?

He spoke next, measuring his words carefully. "Return his . . . ardor?" Though it was nearly imperceptible, Sydney felt the heaviness of his words and tone and she nearly burst into tears at the thought of causing Vaughn any hurt.

But her father was next and, at Vaughn's words, he placed a hand on hers and leaned towards her until he was looking at her eyes. "Sydney, what did he do to you? What exactly do you mean by ardor? Did he r-"

"NO." Sydney answered quickly. "He didn't rape me. He kissed me. And then he pulled me towards him and. . . I don't know what he would have done if I hadn't gone away but he didn't rape me."

She was filled with confusion. Though it was true that Danny hadn't raped her, she was surprised by her own ardent desire to defend him. She felt Vaughn's leg move from beside hers as if uncertain of her feelings but, though it was a silly gesture, she moved her own so that the two legs were in contact again. It seemed to relax him and for that, she was grateful.

Kendall turned to Jack. "What did you know about this?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Do not presume that I had anything to do with this. I had believed Mr. Hecht to be dead. If he is truly alive, then it is merely because Sloane chose to keep me in the dark. For obvious reasons. If Sydney was supposed to be punished, keeping Danny alive would not be sufficient."

"IF he is truly alive?" Sydney jumped up. "Why are you questioning me? He was there. He told me that his death had been faked. That the Danny I had found was someone who looked like him but wasn't him. He nearly pounded that fact into my head." She was crying now but didn't care anymore. He had been her fiancé dammit and that allowed her to get emotional. "He asked me if I had checked to see if the scar on his throat was there. If I had checked the exact color of his skin or the length of his hair!"

She wiped her face and then slid once more to the floor, leaning against the wall. "And you know what? I didn't. I didn't do it. He was right. I just saw someone who looked like him and then all the blood.

"It's all my fault." She laid her head on her head and shook from her silent sobs.

Vaughn lurched up, ready to go and comfort her but Jack reached out his hand and stopped him.

So the three men stayed sitting down in the white room, sitting on their metal chairs at the white desk, watching the sobbing woman on the other side of the room.

In total silence.

~:~

He expertly shuffled through the papers and checked to make sure all of his intel was correct.

The meeting was in an hour and he had just gotten the latest invention from Marshall to share with his crew. He could almost taste the victory already; he would reach a standing in the Alliance that could only be dreamed of.

Putting his glasses on, he looked around the room quickly to make sure it was empty and locked before he allowed himself to open a drawer and take out a picture. Emily. His Emily.

Killing her had been the hardest thing he had ever had to do. He had actually loved her. And, even more amazing, she had somehow managed to love him back even after finding out the truth.

The knock at the door made him jump as he quickly replaced the picture. Unlocking the door by pushing a button from his desk, another invention of Marshall's, he cleared his throat. "Come in."

Randy Dermott walked in. "Mr. Sloane, we have finally located a Mr. Daniel Hecht."

Sloane sat up in his chair. "Sit down and tell me what you know."

He did so. "One of our agents spotted him from the photograph image and tailed him as he was walking in the city, presumably towards the residence of Agent Bristow. However, he passed a florist's shop and then quickly turned and got into a rented vehicle, a '96 Toyota, and followed a blue van with the license plate of 3HJ92E5 to 243 N. Mead Lane.

He was getting impatient. "And? Where is he now?"

Randy cleared his throat. "There is something else you should know."

"And what would that be?"

"When he rang the doorbell, a woman answered the door."

Against all hope, Sloane hoped. He felt his throat slightly constrict; though he knew for certain that Emily was dead, a part of him still slightly expected the man sitting in front of him to tell him that Emily was once again alive; that she had defied death once more.

"Who-" Sloane paused and mentally told himself that the woman would not be Emily; could not be Emily. "Who was the woman?"

"Agent Bristow."

Arvin Sloane was confused. Though he had understood everything that he had been told, he was yet to figure it out and match all the pieces together. "Agent. . . Sydney. . . Bristow?" He asked stupidly as if there were 40 female Agent Bristows.

"Yes sir."

"And do you know why she was there? Is that where a friend lives? Is that a separate residence that she did not inform us about?" Sloane was starting to feel uneasy as he felt doubt crawling up his back. No. No, he told himself. He had tested Agent Bristow many times and she had always passed his tests with flying colors. She, like her father, had earned his trust a long time ago.

"Right before Mr. Hecht rang the bell, the florist stopped at the residence and presented Agent Bristow with roses."

"Roses?"

"Yes."

"And who were the roses from?"

"I put Agent Randall on that and there was only a first name. Michael. However, we also checked out the name of the owner of the house and matched that to a Michael C. Vaughn."

Sloane waved his hand impatiently. "So Agent Bristow has a boyfriend. I expect her to. She is a very attractive young woman. And I also understand why she would feel inclined to keep that piece of information about us private considering what happened, or what she believed happened, to Mr. Hecht himself."

Randy leaned forward. "Sir, there is one last piece of information that is extremely important."

Sloane raised an eyebrow. "All right, go on."

"I think that you would very much like to know the occupation of Mr. Vaughn."

Sloane had been planning on checking out this new romantic interest of Sydney's after Randy left but he supposed that he might as well know now. "I do? All right, what is it?"

"Michael C. Vaughn works for the United States government. He is a member of the CIA."

To be continued. So??? Fantastic/good/bad/god-awful???? REVIEW!!!!! (You guys do know that I get my inspiration from reviews right? When I don't, my self-esteem as well as my blood level goes down which actually effects the kinetic energy of my blood and I just can't do anything. I'm just like a giant, human veggie. . . Just kidding. But it is nice to get them so do it!

After all, can you really afford to make me unhappy? ;)

-Jenn