Author's Note:

Au·ro·ra - Noun

1. A luminous atmospheric phenomenon appearing as streamers or bands of light sometimes visible in the night sky in northern or southern regions of the earth. It is thought to be caused by charged particles from the sun entering the earth's magnetic field and stimulating molecules in the atmosphere.
2. The dawn.


Chapter Twelve - Aurora

Take me now, we can spin the sun around
And the stars will all come out
Then we'll turn and come back down
Turn and come back down

"Aurora," Foo Fighters


[Vaughn's POV]

"Wait, Michael, explain this to me again. Why are you dueling Warren Cheswick?" Syd asks confused as we quickly get out of the car and make our way towards the Stuckeybowl.

To defend your honor. Duh.

Yeah, can't say that...

"I don't know...I didn't want to but Ed told me to just humor the kid. What will it hurt? It'll be funny. It's not like we're actually going to fight to the death..." I say shrugging my shoulders.

"Michael, you do realize that you are sixteen years older than this boy? You are a full grown adult and he is a child. I just thought you might have forgotten since your mind's clouded by all that testosterone floating around in there."

"Hey, don't knock the testosterone. You know you love the testosterone."

I laugh as she rolls her eyes and sighs. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close right in front of the door.

"Hey," I say softly. There's no way I'm going to battle for her honor without her full-fledged support. "You're not really angry at me, are you?"

She looks away, but I'm pretty sure that's a smile growing on her face...I knew it! What woman wouldn't want two guys vying for her affections? Especially if I am one of them...

I reach out and turn her face towards me and smile.

"How am I supposed to be mad at this face?" She asks, holding my face in her hands. I knew the undeniably good looks of my parents would come to my advantage eventually. Vaughn family genes -- get's 'em everytime.

"You're not." I reply, raising my eyebrows as I lean in for kiss. I can't even put into words how unbelievable it is that I'm standing here with Sydney, kissing her like she's been my girlfriend here in Stuckeyville forever. It's just amazing.

"My, my, someone's gotten a little cocky haven't they?" She asks with a grin as we pull away.

"It's the testosterone, I'm tellin' ya." I say, wiggling my eyebrows as I watch Syd's face change into a bright shade of red. I grin to myself for actually making her blush as I turn to the door and open it. As we walk through the doors, I feel a hand smack my ass and I turn around startled.

"Go get 'em, tiger," she says seductively.

Good Lord. Where did that come from?! A shocker indeed, but there's no denying how much I enjoyed it. Ow-ow...Hit me baby one more time.

Yeah, definitely one step too far.

Seriously. The line is here, and I'm about 300 miles north of it. That's how far over the line I am.

Good thing I have this amazing ability to remain somewhat calm while these crazy-ass things go through my head...

I smile and nod towards her before I turn around and head over to the shoe rentals where Ed, Mike and Warren are. I turn again to catch one last glance of Syd sitting down with the girls before I go to talk to the guys. And Warren.

You know you've got it bad when you're dueling with a seventeen year old boy for another woman's affections.

Woman? No, Syd's not a woman -- She's a Goddess.

Yeah, I've got it really really bad.

"Hey, man, Looking rights are reserved only for the victor." Warren says, shoving a finger into my face.

"Okay, Warren, I'm here and I'm willing to go along with you're little game, but let's just get this straight: She's not a prize. She's a person. And I can look at her as much as I want to." Why am I so possessive? And why do I suddenly feel like a father reprimanding his son? This is so not right.

"Yes, sir." Warren says, backing down immediately. Oh God, now he's wimpering like a scared dog. Normally the guilt would be coming now, but there's a part of me that really wants to kick this guy's ass.

"Hey, hey, hey," Ed intervenes, "save it for the ring."

"Ring?! What ring?!" I ask in shock. There's no way I'm going to box this kid. No way. I would put him into a coma for weeks and there's no chance I'm going to deal with his parents and the hospital bills.

"Michael, Michael, Michael," Warren says, shaking his head disdainfully as he sits up onto the counter, "did you not get the memo?"

I shoot him a glare and that defeated look overtakes his face once again.

"Mr. Saunders...I meant, Mr. Saunders..." I hear him reply faintly as Mike leads the way toward the Stuckeybowl's makeshift "ring."

"You, my friend, will be participating in a duel of astromonic proportions." Mike replies, walking towards Ed's office and coming out with two giant Sumo wrestler suits in his hands. "The duel of the century, per se."

"No." I say immediately. Me plus Sumo wrestler suits equals madness. Seriously. "No, no, no, no. I'm not going to make a fool out of myself like that. Not a chance in Hell."

"In case you've forgotten, old pal, you've done far more embarassing things in your time." Ed will never let me live out of anything will he? "And, I seem to recall a fairly young Michael enjoying the fat suit very much."

"Okay, fine." I say quickly. Atleast I know there'll be no contest and no way I can hurt the kid. "But one match, that's it. If you lose, no rematch."

"Yippee!" Warren exclaims, hopping like a bunny on crack towards the suit. "You, my not so worthy opponent, are the one who has to worry about not winning. You are in for the ass kicking of the millenium."

Ha! I've brought guys down twice his size.

And no, I'm not talking about in real life, even though I have. The suit renders people helpless, I mean it. You need true prowess over the faux-fat to excell. And I have that.

"He doesn't know what he's in for, does he?" I ask Ed under my breath.

"He has absolutely no clue." Ed says with a huge grin glued to his face.

I shake my head sadly before heading towards the suit. The poor boy has no idea what he's gotten himself into. It's quite sad when you really think about it. I pick up the suit, take my shoes off before starting to get into it. I turn my head around to look across the room, where I hear catcalls and whistling coming from Syd, Nancy, Molly, and Carol.

"Ha, ha." I say sarcastically.

"I'm sorry ladies, but my heart is reserved for one woman, and one woman alone." Warren says turning around to face them also. Is he blowing a kiss to Sydney? I don't think so. Oh man, I'm jealous of a seventeen year old. This is pathetic. But I don't care because I'm clearly going to kick his ass like no other.

I start to stretch my arms and familiarize myself with the suit once again. This must be quite a sight. All I have to say is thank God Weiss isn't here.

Ed comes over and places the headgear on me, and smacks my head.

"I know you were behind this, Ed, and you're so going to pay. When you least expect it." I say threateningly. Atleast it sounds threateningly in my head, but comes out more pathetic-sounding. Dammit.

"Sure, Mike, sure." He says with a grin before walking towards Warren.

Syd is never going to let me forget this. Never. I just know it. What would Devlin think of me? What if he just happened to walk through the door right now and see me dressed up as a giant Sumo wrestler about to "duel" Warren. I wouldn't just be thrown out of the CIA but I'd be stripped of all traces of self respect I've ever had, too.

Before I know it, a bell rings and all I see is Warren charging at me. I shake my head sadly and move at the last minute, sending Warren swinging into thin air. This boy is way too eager.

No contest.

I dance around him a little more, he has no clue how to go about this, does he? After a couple minutes of wearing him down, I make my move. I hunch down for a moment, honing in on the exact part of his "stomache" that I'm going to ram my shoulder into without hurting him too seriously. Then I charge at him and hit his suit with a thump and pin him to the ground. I hear him gasp for breath so I get up and lean down.

"You okay?" I ask, genuinely concerned. There's no way he could be seriously hurt because I'm not that stupid. But he's also not a full-grown man, gotta remember that.

"Yeah, yeah," he says, starting to get up.

"Good," I reply, bodyslaming him to the ground once again.

I hear the faint roar of the crowd in the background and can't help but smile at the hilarity of the situation I'm currenly im. Definitely the most fun I've had in a long time.

"You still cool?" I ask as I stand back up.

"Uh-huh," Warren responds, shaking his head on the ground.

Thank God. It couldn't have been that bad anyway...We have inches of padding in between us...

I think I've put the boy through enough of this. I could unleash a world of hurt on him, but what's the use? He still is my student, and I still want him to like me, despite all this. So, I bend down and pick him up, slinging him over my shoulder. Geez, he's literally skin and bones.

I take him off my shoulder and place him down, on his feet, outside the circle.

"You sure you're okay?" I ask again.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it." He says, taking his head gear off.

"Alright," I say before turning back around to Ed, raising my hands in victory.

"And we have a winner!" Ed exclaims inbetween laughs. He walks over to Sydney and puts his arm out so she can take it. This is insanity.

I take my headgear off and begin to take the suit off as Sydney approaches.

"Leave it on, I think it's hot." She says with a grin.

"Oh, really? I never knew you had a thing for Sumo wrestlers." I retort.

"Well, I must admit that it was indeed very fun to watch." She says, still grinning as she walks around me to help me with the zipper on the back of my suit. "And it was kinda cool to see you 'do your thing,' as Ed says."

"Oh God, did he tell you?" I ask, dreading her response.

"Everything." She says, now laughing. "Sumo wrestling champion? You could take guys down with your eyes closed and drunk? That's pretty sad...How did you get to be Phi Beta Kappa again?"

I just laugh and sling an arm around her shoulder.

"Some people are just born gifted, I suppose."

"So I hope you got some sort of ego boost out of taking a kid down and crushing his hopes and dreams," she jokes as I put my shoes back on.

"Of course, I did. You don't understand the incredible rush of crushing a boy's hopes and dreams. You should really try it sometime."

She shoves me and at times like this, you really have to marvel at the utter abnormality of this normalcy. Too cool.

I turn around as Warren approches me. Suprisingly, he doesn't look too sad or defeated. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

"Good match, Mr. Saunders. You can really pack some power in your punch can't ya?" Warren laughs, reaching a hand out to me. I shake it, and nod my head humbly.

"I have to admit, I had a little bit of experience," I say.

"Well, I just wanted to say that it was a match well fought, and I'm glad you gave me the opportunity to win your girlfriend's heart. Even if it didn't work." Ah, there's the sadness that I expected to see sooner.

"Aww, Warren, you'll always have a special spot in my heart," Syd says sweetly, walking over to Warren and placing a kiss on his cheek. I could have sworn the boy's heart stopped beating. He's not moving...I'm starting to think he's just gone into cardiac arrest...

Someone get a doctor for Godssake!

"What about me?" I whisper to Syd.

"You'll always have a special spot in my bed." She says with a grin, prompting me to laugh.

"Is that all I am to you?" She turns around and looks deep in my eyes. Despite the playful expression on both of our faces, we both know the real answer.

I shake my head and look towards Warren who is still apparently in shock. I motion towards Warren, and Syd looks back towards him.

"Warren?" Sydney asks, moving her hand in front of his face. He suddenly shakes his head and there's a smile unlike anything I have ever seen in my life on his face. He's damn happy. And that's an understatement.

He turns around and begins to bolt towards the door, but stops suddenly and returns to us.

"This won't, like, affect my grade at all, will it?" He asks out of breath.

"No," I reply with a smile.

"Okay, awesome. And thanks Mr. Saunders...and Ms. Hanton." He says, staring dreamily at Syd before bolting back out towards the door.

"Warren! Don't forget to pick up these suits!" Ed calls out after him, but he's gone before he is even able to get the sentence out.

"Excellent fight." I turn around and am face to face with Phil.

"Thank you," I say, uneasy.

"Would you like to star in my upcoming reality TV show?" Phil asks suspiciously.

"Um, no, I don't think so..." I reply.

"Well then, fine. Be that way. When you see it sweeping the nation like the next Joe Millionare, you'll regret it." He says walking away.

Yeah, that Phil is really strange.

"Bosco, do you think I can keep those suits?" He asks, walking towards Ed.

"Why do you want to keep the suits, Phil?" Ed asks exasperatedly.

"I'm sorry but that's classified information." Phil says, picking up the one suit from the counter.

"Phil..." Ed says warningly.

"Let's just say, don't be too suprised if I'm out of Stuckeyville within the next few months and my face is all over NBC as the latest senation to take the nation by storm."

"Let's go." Shirley says. I don't know how she got behind Phil, because she definitely wasn't there a second ago, and I didn't see her coming...Yeah, she really scares me. And I also don't know how she got my Sumo suit on so fast...

"Thanks, Bosco," He says picking up the second Sumo suit and walking towards the other end of Stuckeybowl. Just as they leave, I see Ely roll by on his wheelchair with a videocamera on his shoulder.

"Yo, wait up, guys."

I turn to Syd, who can't hide her laughter. God, she's beautiful.

The duel was so worth it.

But she doesn't know what she got herself into by giving Warren that kiss...

"So, wha--" I start as Sydney turns her face towards me with a smile. All of sudden, my cell phone goes off. We both look towards my jacket on the counter and our eyes meet, both pairs full of concern.

"Get it." She says immediately in a serious tone.

I race towards my jacket and search the pockets for my phone. As I pull it out I turn around and watch Sydney walk towards the gang and talk to them looking quite distressed, to say the least.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey, Vaughn." It's Will. How the Hell did he get this number? This can't be safe...

"Will, how did you get this number?" I ask loudly so Syd can hear.

"Will?" She asks, suddenly even more concerned as she walks towards me. "What happened? Is everything alright?"

I nod my head reassuringly despite the fact that I have absolutely no clue.

"Don't worry, it's completely safe. I'm actually on a plane on my way to that town you guys are at in Ohio...Stuckey-something..."

"Stuckeyville? Why? What happened?" I ask. F--k. As much as I like Will and think he's a cool guy, there's no denying the degree of awkwardness him being with me and Sydney here would be. Not to mention having to deal with his cover...I was kind of just hoping it could just be me and Sydney. Why couldn't they have sent Will to some other unknown town in America?!

Now I'm just being irrational.

"I don't know, man. Jack came to my place yesterday and told me that he could secure Francie's safety, because he really had to seeing that she doesn't know anything about this...But with me it was different. Since I got mixed up with Sloane and SD-6 earlier, it makes me a bigger target. And he said I should just get out now before anything could really happen."

"They haven't come after you, have they?" I ask, concerned. Now this is a serious matter. There's no time for petty, childish behavior.

"Michael," Sydney pleads, her hand over her mouth.

I shake my head and hold my hand out towards her. I try to mouth to her that it's alright, but I don't think she understands.

"No, thank God. He said he just wanted to play it safe because something was happening...I'm sorry, I don't remember the details because it all happened really fast, but he said that I was going to assume a cover in Stuckeyville with you guys so that I'd be safe, just in case, and I wouldn't be alone."

"Do you remember anything about what happened?"

"No, I'm sorry. All I know is that Jack said that I should tell you guys that it's nothing to really be worried about and that he knew after everything Sydney has been through, it would probably ease her mind to have either me or Francie safe with her too. And that she wanted that before she left. But, like I said, it was too difficult to deal with Francie, so he brought me and I told Francie that I was going to spend some time with family on the east coast because my Grandmother is sick."

"Okay," I say, breathing a sigh of relief, "so you're on your way here?"

"Yeah, they're saying it'll be about fifteen more minutes."

"So, you're going to need a ride, won't you?" I ask, looking at my watch.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to be such a pain."

"Don't be sorry. You gotta do what you gotta do. Syd'll be really happy." I say, smiling at Syd.

"Let me talk!" She exclaims, reaching for my phone. I swat her hand as I try to listen to what Will is telling me.

"Tell her that I'd talk to her, but I have to get stuff done before I get there. So I'll see her in a little while and everything's fine and there's nothing she has to worry about. Thanks and see ya."

"Bye, Will." I reply, pressing the 'End' button on my phone.

"Why didn't you give the phone to me?!" She asks, pushing me violently. I actually lose my balance...Well that's not too uncommon when it comes to Syd.

"He said he couldn't talk to you!" I exclaim in response.

"Well, what's going on then?!"

"He's on his way here. Your Dad met with him and said that you told him that you wanted Francie or him to come to Stuckeyville with you before you left, and he could make sure Francie was kept safe in LA without having to tell her, so he made arrangements for Will to come here." I explain.

"Will's coming?" She asks excitedly. Does she not see me standing in front of her.

"Yup." I say nonchalantly, putting my phone back in my pocket. "I have to go pick him up now actually."

"Can I come?" She asks like a kid. Seriously, what's so great about Will anyway? He's just a tall, blonde haired, blue eyed reporter. What's so attractive about that?

"Who's Will?" Carol asked, stepping forward. We both turned toward her, and I definitely see a giddy grin spreading across her face again.

"I'll actually stay," she says, grinning.

The smile must have faded from my face and an expression of complete and utter burning jealousy and anger has replaced it.

"Aww, don't be jealous." She says, running a hand over my cheek. "You know you're the man that I love, right?" She leans in and kisses me and that goofy grin spreads across my face. Dammit, I hate the goofy grin!

"I better be." I say stubbornly as I pull the keys out of my pocket and walk towards the door. "I'll be back in a little while, guys. Syd'll fill you guys in."

Maybe this will turn out better than I'm anticipating. Will's a cool guy. He really is.

I just have to keep repeating that to myself and I'll be fine.

~~~

[Syd's POV]

"So wait, who's this Will guy?" Carol asks me again as I walk back towards the gang and we all sit down.

"He's a friend of mine from LA," I start. I don't know why I was so excited about having Will here...I guess a part of me just wanted him to live this life for awhile, too. Where everything seems so incredibly perfect and you don't have to worry about anything. It's the least I could do for him after practically ruining his life.

"How has he been?" Ed asks suddenly. "After what happened."

"Wha--" How the Hell does he know what happened?

"Mike told me about it. About Taipei..." Ed cuts me off.

"Oh!" All the girls seem to make the connection at once. "That Will." I smile.

"Yeah, that Will."

"What Will?" Mike asks, confused.

"I'll explain it all to you later, honey," Nancy says, patting her husband's shoulder.

"He's been good," I say, responding to Ed's earlier question. "It's been a little bit tough, but he's getting along. Michael actually got him a job back in LA and he was finally starting to move on."

"Well, atleast he's been able to move on," Ed replies, smiling.

"So how did you and Will meet?" Molly asks, taking a sip of her soda.

"We actually met during graduate school..."

~~~

[Vaughn's POV]

As I pull up to the hanger, I see Will walk out. You would think that someone as "smart" as Will would think to bring a jacket when he comes to Ohio in the middle of February. I mean, seriously, who just wears a T-shirt? Yeah, it may be seventy degrees in Southern California, but Ohio in February is bitterly cold. Bitterly.

I have absolutely no clue why I have all this animousity towards Will. I like him, I really do. But a part of me will always be jealous of all the time he was able to spend with Sydney just doing things that normal friends do. Living a normal life and just hanging out with her.

But that's stupid. I'm a fulll grown adult and there's no need for me to feel like this. As hard as it is to believe, me and Will have actually become kind of close in the past few weeks. Maybe we'll actually have a thing or two in common and become friends; who knows.

I step out of the car, and walk towards him.

"Hey, Vaughn. Thanks for picking me up." Will says, readjusting the bag over his shoulder.

"No problem, you do have a jacket right?" I ask with a laugh.

"Haha, yeah, I do. But I guess in all the excitement I forgot to put it on. It's in my bag actually."

"Oh, let me take that for you," I say, reaching over and grabbing his duffel bag from him as I move towards the car.

"Thanks, man." He says sighing. "Geez, this place is gorgeous."

"I know, isn't it?" I ask as I put his bag in the back of the car. "A friend of mine from college actually lives here."

"Oh really?" Will asks suprised as he opens the front door and sits down.

"Yeah -- Ed Stevens. He used to be CIA for a little while, but decided to pursue a life of small town law instead." Even though he's laughing, I can tell he's a little tense. Do I intimidate him or something? Interesting.

"That's so strange," he says, shaking his head. He takes the laptop case he has around his shoulder off and places it on the ground.

"Hey, Jack checked that out before you came right?" I asked, suddenly concerned about bugs or other such things.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. He checked...Everything. Which, I must admit, wasn't too fun for me. Despite all the things that man has done for me, he still scares the Hell out of me."

Wow, so we do have something in common.

"Trust me, I know how you feel." I say laughing.

"So where's Syd?" He asks as I turn onto the main highway.

"She's actually back at the Stuckeybowl with Ed and his friends." I reply.

"Stuckeybowl? Is that like the town's thirtysomething hangout or something?" Will asks mockingly.

"Actually, Ed owns the place."

"He's a bowling alley lawyer?!" Will exclaims excitedly. "How cool is that?!"

God, Ed will love Will, I just know it.

"Yeah, you should be sure to tell Ed that. He'd get such a kick out of it."

"I have a feeling I'll like it here." Will says, looking out the window over the town.

"So did Jack already work out a cover for you, or will we have to figure something out?" I ask curiously.

"Oh, don't worry about it, like I said, Jack dealt with everything. He said I'll be working at the Stuckeyville Sun newspaper. Right up my alley, I know. And pardon the pun."

See, Will isn't so bad...He's actually pretty funny. And nice. And if Sydney likes him so much, I like him too.

Yes.

"That's just pathetic," I joke.

"I know, I know," he says laughing.

~~~

Fifteen Minutes Later

So, by the end of the car ride, I know a lot more about Will than I did before. And yeah, a lot of the stuff was on his profile that I've seen time and time again, but you really learn a lot more about a guy when he actually tells you about his life experiences. And I've decided it, I can learn to be chummy chummy with this guy. He has a pretty impressive resume.

Went to college at Georgetown. Majored in English Lit. Did crew. That in itself is pretty impressive. There isn't anything much more gruelling than crew. Well, there are, but still. It's impressive. I always wanted to do crew, but there was no chance in Hell I'd get up that early every morning to row, row, row my boat gently down the stream.

Wow, I'm such a loser. Thank God I think before I speak, that's all I have to say.

So then he went to graduate school at USC. He wanted to be somewhere warm, he said. And understandably so. And that's where he met Syd.

As we pull up into the Stuckeybowl, I see Will shake his head from the corner of my eyes.

"What?" I ask, smiling. "It's just crazy, isn't it? Like it's out of a TV show or something."

"Exactly. That's exactly what I was thinking. This place is surreal. No, this whole town is surreal."

"You'll really like it here, I guarantee it." I say as I take the keys out of the ignition and open my door.

"I have a feeling I will most definitely enjoy it." Will says as he steps out.

"You must be freezing." I reply as we walk towards the steps.

"You know, even after all my years in the Southern California sun, my body is still able to adjust to the cold. I guess it's the east coaster in me."

"That's crazy," I say as I hold the door open for him.

Just as we step through the door, and Will stares around in wonder, I see Sydney run towards us.

"Will!" She exclaims excitedly, running into his arms.

"Hey, Syd! Long time no see, huh?" He replies smiling wildly. "How crazy is this place?" He asks as she pulls away.

"I know! It's great isn't it?" She asks excitedly. Okay, I don't know if I'll be able to take this. Call me selfish, but hey, I'd like some attention and fussing over too. Maybe a good clearing of the throat will do.

Okay, this is the longest clearing of the throat ever.

"Come on, Will! Let me introduce you to everyone!" She says, pulling Will's arm.

I shake my head and lag behind. I know Sydney, this high will wear off eventually. Will looks back towards me and I think he's a little frightened. He hasn't seen Sydney this happy for a long time, I know. I shake my head and lower my voice.

"Just to warn you, she's like a completely different person here." I say to him, then turn to look at Syd with a warm smile on my face. He starts to say something, but suddenly stops as he watches me. I think he just put two and two together...

"Will, this is Carol, Nancy, Molly, Ed, and Mike. Guys, this is Will!" She says happily. I walk around the two and sit up on the countertop. A great position to watch all the women swoon over Will. Swoon doesn't even encompass what they're doing right now. They are litterally panting, drooling and growling after him, I swear. It's the sickest display of female hormones I've ever witnessed in my life.

"Hi Will," Carol says, stepping forward. "We've heard so much about you," she says flirtatiously as she reaches her hand out to Will.

"Only good things, I hope." He replies shyly. He better not hit on Carol because I swear, if he destroys my plan to set Ed and Carol up, I will personally send him to some random city with no money, food or clothing. And I'm not kidding.

"Of course," Carol says smiling as she shakes her head. Oh God, I have a feeling Will's not the one I'm going to have to worry about...

END CHAPTER TWELVE