A/N: Thanks again to Kat for the beta!! You still rock, even though I tell you that like everyday! And Amanda, how would I ever get this written without you to ask me if I have the next chapter is up yet! This one is for you! And for the Zack Attack Pack and Bianca, the best group of stalkers a girl could have!

Just One Night

Chapter 5

Sydney woke up to the sound of the birds singing and saw the sun shining through her window. She could feel Vaughn's arms around her as the memories of the night before came flooding back to her. 'Oh my God,' she thought. 'What have I done?' Quietly she got up out of bed and tiptoed into the kitchen to make some coffee. A few minutes later, Vaughn made his way into the room, stumbling a little as he walked in. He stepped toward Sydney to give her a kiss, but she quickly pulled away, grabbed her coffee cup, and sat down at the kitchen table. Vaughn poured himself a cup and joined her.

"What is wrong with you this morning?" he asked, noticing that Sydney appeared worried.

"Nothing," she replied while avoiding eye contact.

"Come on, Syd, you can tell me, you know. You can tell me anything."

"It's just, well, do you think that we made a mistake last night?"

"What do you mean, a mistake?" Vaughn looked at her, puzzled and obviously hurt, as she continued.

"I mean, do you think it was too soon for us?" Sydney asked him, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Why would it be too soon, Syd?" Vaughn replied, trying to calm her down. "I don't know about you, but I have been in love with you since you walked into the CIA with your Bozo hair and in desperate need of a dentist." The tears in Sydney's eyes spilled over as she heard Vaughn's declaration of love.

"I know you love me and I love you, too, but-" Sydney sobbed, trying to force the words out of her mouth. "I just think this all happened too soon. We're still in danger and SD-6 is not gone yet by any means. I'm just scared of what might happen to us if we're found out."

Vaughn felt a sense of protectiveness wash over him as he watched the woman he loved cry over the dangers involved in their relationship. "Syd, please don't cry, I don't want to force you into anything you're not ready to do. If you aren't ready to be with me, then I'll wait as long as I have to until you're ready to have a relationship."

Sydney wiped her tears away and turned to look at Vaughn. 'How did I ever end up with a guy who cares this much?' she thought as she reached for a tissue nearby. "Thank you, Michael," she whispered softly, leaning against him. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much better that makes me feel." She stood up. "Well, I better go shower now, I guess I have some explaining to do at SD-6, if they even say anything about it. Knowing Sloane, though, he probably will." She leaned down and quickly kissed Vaughn on the cheek.

"Yeah, I should probably go now, I need to check in with Devlin and Kendall the super-agent before Weiss goes and tells them what happened last night!" He got up and headed toward the door, stopping to say, "I'll call you later."

Sydney smiled. "OK, just remember, if anyone asks, you slept on my couch."

Vaughn laughed. "And what a comfy couch it was!" he insinuated.

Sydney punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Shut up! Now go, get out of here before Francie gets home and starts interrogating both of us!"

"OK, OK, I'm gone!" Vaughn opened the door and walked toward his car as Sydney shut the door behind him. A few minutes later, she heard another car pull into the driveway. 'Oh great, Francie's home!' she thought. 'That means it's time for the third degree, I can't wait!' She quickly retreated into the kitchen to pour herself another cup of coffee as well as one for her roommate. As she poured, she heard keys jingle and the door open as Francie walked inside.

"Syd? Where are you?" she called.

"I'm in here, Fran," Sydney responded. "Do you want some coffee?"

"Sure," Francie replied as she walked into the kitchen. She picked up the cup that Sydney had poured and sat down at the kitchen table, motioning for Sydney to join her. "So . . ." she prodded. "What happened with you and Michael last night?"

"Not much. We came back here and just talked for a while."

"And? What else? Do you like him?"

"Yeah," Sydney smiled. "Yeah, I really do like him."

"So what happened then? Did he stay over?"

"He . . . might have," Sydney admitted.

"Syd! Oh my God! This is huge! You have to tell me everything!"

"I will later, I promise. Right now I have to get ready for work, but I will talk to you later, I swear." Sydney got up and walked toward the bathroom to shower, her head filled with thoughts of Vaughn and the previous night.

*****

Sydney walked through the doors at SD-6 and went to her desk, pausing to greet Dixon as she passed. As soon as she sat down, Sloane stepped out of his office and beckoned to her. "Sydney, could I see you in my office for a second?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied. She stood up and made her way into Sloane's office, where he motioned her to sit down.

"Sydney," Sloane began, looking down on her as he circled her chair and sat at his own desk. "I thought that your job was important to you, your work here at SD-6."

"It is," Sydney replied, not sure where this conversation was leading. "Why do you ask?"

"I paged you last night, and you never answered me. So imagine my surprise this morning when Security Section informed me that you brought a man home last night, who did not leave until early this morning."

"I didn't get a page last night. I was told by you that I had the night off, so I turned off my beeper and went out with my friends. What right does Security Section have to spy on my personal life?" Sydney retorted angrily.

"None, whatsoever, you're absolutely right," Sloane answered gently, getting up from his chair and moving to stand behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder gently. "Sydney, you know that you can always tell me anything, don't you? You are like a daughter to me."

Sydney shuddered as she heard the words uttered to her earlier by Vaughn repeated by Sloane. "Yes, I know. May I go now?"

"Of course. Don't forget, we have a briefing in 20 minutes." Sydney stood up and walked out of Sloane's office, smiling to herself. A new mission meant a meeting in the warehouse with Vaughn.

TBC . . .

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