You guys... I'm being totally and completely serious when I say that I have absolutely no idea when this story will end. Are you guys sure that you won't mind a super-long one?
Dedications:
sk8erboichick17
donatellaMarks
All the
anonymous readers who don't sign their reviews ;)
KaZ
Untannasg
Okay… so
you guys almost made it to 40… more like 33 but who's counting? Anyway, I got
restless because the chapter was ready so here it is… it's short (especially
compared to the other one) but here is it. Review anyway (especially the people
that promised that they would ;) … I'm not a bitch I promise, I'm at least half-kidding.)
25.
Arvin
Sloane picked up the phone. "Yes, I'm requesting immediate retrieval. I
want him here by noon. Alive."
~:~
Vaughn
opened his eyes first. Getting up carefully so he wouldn't wake Sydney, he
gently replaced the blankets over her and lightly kissed her forehead before
walking into the next room.
"Hello?
Carlos? Yes. I need you on standby to pull the hotel security tape. All right
thanks."
Putting
his phone back on the table, he sat down on the couch and put his head in his
hands, thinking.
What had
Danny done to their perfect lives? Turned them completely upside down in the
span of a day.
And what
could happen still as a consequence? If SD-6 took Danny back and Sydney had to
keep on pretending to love him... To what extent would she be willing to do
that? And would there ever be a point where the line was blurred and Sydney
found the Danny she had fallen in love with again?
He
sighed and got up. There was no use worrying over it. Sydney loved him. And if
she still had feelings left for Danny... Well, that was understandable.
But
frankly, as engagements went, this one wasn't going as planned. He sighed,
remembering last night; how Sydney had burst into tears again and again in and
out of sleep. Even when they... he couldn't imagine how this was affecting her.
And he couldn't even do anything to help her. All he had been able to do was
kiss her tears away as they fell.
He put
on the coffee and walked back into the room. Sydney was sitting up, looking
like some sort of exotic goddess wrapped up in the sheets.
"I'm
sorry."
Vaughn
sat down on the bed. "Have you ever read or seen Love Story,
Sydney?"
She
tilted her head. "I've heard that theme song."
He
laughed. "Who hasn't heard that theme song? I can't believe you've never
seen it."
"Why
should I have seen it?"
"Never
mind." He picked up his phone. "Are you feeling okay? Can you go to
work today?"
Sydney
looked up at him. "I don't think so."
Vaughn
could still see the puffiness of her eyes and knew that she still had a lot of
things to work out. He nodded at her.
"I
think I'm just going to take the whole day off. Emotional distress." She
paused. "I think you should take the day off too."
Vaughn
looked at her, puzzled. "I can't do that. It would be too suspicious-looking.
I mean, that would be the second time I missed work in-"
"Yes.
I know. The second time you miss work in 3 months. It would completely tarnish
your record and ruin the lives of everyone."
She
grinned at him. "You're staying here with me. I'm going to rent Love
Story and we're going to watch it together."
Vaughn
hesitated. "I have Carlos on standby to pull the hotel tapes."
"So
keep him on standby."
"Sydney..."
"Vaughn.
Please. Tell them anything. Tell them the truth if you want. But don't leave me
alone. Not today."
He
gulped. It was so incredibly difficult to say no to her. But he had to. Didn't
he?
Though
the way that she put it, his attendance record wasn't as tarnished as he
thought it would be in his mind.
And so
far, his only case had been the infiltration and destruction of SD-6 and
without Sydney, he couldn't do anything anyway.
Kendall,
he knew, would have a load of paperwork waiting for him.
"I
guess that it would be okay... But why would I miss work?"
"Umm...
isn't the fact that you need a day off reason enough?"
"I'm
not sure. Everyone works hard Syd."
"I
know."
She
closed her eyes, accepting it.
He
sighed. He just couldn't deny her anything could he?
Schmuck.
Ahh… but
a schmuck in love. And that made all the difference in the world.
Picking
up the phone, he dialed. "Carlos? I'm going to need you to stay standby
for the tapes a while longer... business is taking longer than usual.
Thanks."
Hanging
up, he looked at Sydney and smiled.
~:~
She was
crying again but because it was because of the movie, it felt okay that she
was. And she knew that Vaughn would know how she would feel. How it would be
easier for her to let all her emotions out if there were some apparent reason
for her to.
And then
he had given it to her.
She
kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
He
rubbed her back as she closed her eyes; wanting to wake up from a bad dream and
find herself back in bed the night after she was proposed to. It was strange to
think that that had only been yesterday.
She
wiped away the last of the tears. "Okay, I'm done crying and feeling sorry
for myself. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to me. I'm fine. Danny may
be alive but he's a different person to me. So he might as well not exist
right?" She looked up at him but wasn't sure how to interpret his
expression. "I just... I just don't know what to do. I feel so helpless
and I don't like feeling that I'm burdening you. I'm sorry I'm such a baby
right now."
"Sydney
don't you remember what I told you three months ago? I said that everyone has a
point in their life when things don't go their way. And it is during those
moments that they need someone the most. I promised you that I would be that
person for you. And I'm not going to back out of it when you need me the most.
And more importantly, I don't want to.
"And
stop apologizing."
He
grinned at her slowly.
"Love
means never having to say you're sorry."
Smiling
slightly, she placed her hand in his and repeated the words back.
TBC...
Short
chapter I know...
But
finals are next week and this may be the last update until the end of the
month.
I know
that a lot of you guys will probably be in the same situation so I don't feel
as bad... You probably won't be that deprived.
Umm...
How was it? I'm not sure if I like it.
Is the
pace too slow? I know that it has slowed a bit but it that a good or bad thing?
Let me know.
I know…
it's soooo long. I'm sorry. I know basically how it's going to end and what
major steps I'm going to take but getting to the steps is taking so long and my
pace keeps getting slower and slower and for that I apologize. But hey, if
you've read this much, it must mean that you love this story right? And love
means never having to say you're sorry. ;)
Review
and good luck!
-Jenn
