It was a beautiful day. One of those days where you are just happy to be
outside and throw your head back, eyes closed, to feel the breeze on your
face.
Sydney was driving out to the warehouse for the first time after returning from Taipei. Vaughn had called 15 minutes earlier and Sydney had heard the eagerness in his voice. It was certainly in her own reply, causing Francie to raise a questioning eyebrow at her politeness to the millionth wrong- number phone call. Sydney had shrugged and said she felt like going for a run on the beach - an activity Francie would despise on first-mention.
Taipei felt like a distant memory. Almost like it hadn't happen and if it weren't for Will, Sydney would have gladly forgotten that it happened. Well, most of it - the time with Vaughn, tied together, wasn't so horrible in spite of the situation.
In the two weeks since landing at a private, CIA-run, airstrip outside of L.A., Will had decided to join the Agency to avoid the witness protection program. Either option held and uncertain future, but at least one of the options allowed him contact with his friends and family.
Vaughn, after receiving a severe reprimand from Devlin in the form of a grueling 2-hour conversation, was assigned as Will's handler. Typical agents didn't have handlers but Will's situation made him a special case. He was expected to go on with life as normal while working for the CIA without anyone knowing it. Vaughn also got to remain in his position as Sydney's handler, thanks to Jack Bristow's insistence. But strict protocol was once again demanded and Vaughn was not allowed to contact Sydney unless absolutely necessary. Since personal interest and desires didn't rank very high on the CIA's list of necessities, Vaughn hadn't seen Sydney in 14 days and it was killing him.
*******
The gunfire in the hallway turned out to have been initiated by Jack Bristow, which was not a big surprise to Vaughn who had no doubt Jack was not about to leave Taipei without his daughter. Vaughn could just be glad he was tied in the same room, as he was certain Jack's loyalties were not as strong with him.
Jack had burst into their room and made quick work of untying Sydney from her chair with the help of a 4-inch steel blade. Sydney, in turn, cut Vaughn free and tucked one arm around him to pull him up and out of the chair. Much to his chagrin, Vaughn wasn't able to walk without her help and had to put a lot of his weight onto the woman next to him. If Sydney noticed, she certainly didn't let on or let it slow her down.
Jack was at the door yelling for them to hurry and tossing a gun into Sydney's free hand. Vaughn grimaced in pain as Sydney tugged him out the door but managed to get his legs to move in the proper direction, matching her speed pretty well.
A series of hallways led them to back alleyway and a waiting van. Jack jumped into the driver's seat as Sydney pulled Vaughn into the side door. Vaughn managed to reach up and slam the door as Jack pulled away and out into the street.
"Thanks, Dad."
"Don't mention it, kiddo," Jack called from the front seat.
"Where's Will?"
"Waiting in the airport hanger with the plane and a guard," Jack explained, "When you didn't come and meet us, I figured something might have happened and he wasn't in the best shape for a rescue."
"Is he all right?"
"He'll be fine. It's nothing worse than what you've gone through before, but since he doesn't have any past experience with this it might take him a little longer to get over."
Vaughn listened to the father/daughter exchange, marveling in how, just a year ago, Sydney would not have been talking to her father about her friend and Jack would not have expressed an interest in Will's well-being. Granted, he would not have been recovering from a near drowning and broken ribs either. The thought made Vaughn smile, funny what a girl could do to you.
"What are you smiling for," Sydney had turned her attention back to the man currently resting against her legs. Neither of them had moved since piling into the van and neither seemed bothered by the closeness.
"Nothing," Vaughn smiled wider, "Guess I am just happy to be alive."
"We'll see how you feel after I tape up those ribs, Dixon always tells me it was a good thing I didn't go into medicine," Sydney smiled, "Of course I always tell him that at least I have a good bed-side manner."
Vaughn laughed as Sydney's face reddened. As inappropriate has it was, Vaughn couldn't help but reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. Something about his near-death experience had opened the floodgates of his emotions and his openness to letting them be known.
"Sydney," Jack's voice was stern from the front-seat, "We're at the hanger, you'll need to jump out and open the door."
Sydney dropped Vaughn's hand and carefully extracted herself from behind him. Swinging her legs around and sliding the door open in the same motion, she jumped from the van and ran to the sliding, steel door in front of van. A slight tug got it moving and out of the way, making enough room for the van to drive in. By the time Vaughn was getting himself into a sitting position, Sydney had slammed the door closed and was standing in front of him.
"Need a hand?"
"I think I can manage, as long as there is no running involved this time."
"Nope, just bandaging and rest," Sydney smiled, Vaughn's easiness in the van had rubbed off on her, "I'm going to go check on Will and then I will come back and fix you up."
Vaughn watched her walk past her father, giving his arm a squeeze as she passed, and over to a cot in the corner of the building where Will was wrapped in a blanket. Jack had made sure Will was well-drugged when he left so he would not remember or feel much of his current pain. Sydney sat on the cot and brushed her hand over Will's hair. Vaughn felt a small pang of jealousy but quickly pushed it aside, it was silly to be jealous of Sydney's concern for one of her closest friends.
Jack watched Vaughn's reacted to Sydney's checking on Will and noticed flash of jealousy but was impressed when it was quickly replaced with a look of respect and admiration. Jack knew that Agent Vaughn must have feelings for his daughter and wasn't as concerned over them as others in the Agency would have been. Jack knew that emotions muddied the water when it came to operations, but they also helped when it came to making the right decisions and taking chances for a loved one. Didn't Jack know that love and not protocol had brought him along to help his daughter. Doing what was wise would have kept him in L.A. waiting for further contact from "The Man" and probably further risking Will's life in the process.
Jack liked Vaughn but he wasn't ready to let him know it - not yet.
"Agent Vaughn, how are you feeling?"
Vaughn shifted his gaze from Sydney to Jack, "Like I almost drowned and someone kicked me and broke a couple ribs."
Jack smiled and nodded, "Sounds about right to me."
While Sydney cleaned Will up a little more, Vaughn filled Jack in on what had happened from when they had all been together last until Jack had burst into their "prison." He wasn't too certain on what Sark had said to Sydney, but he thought he had caught most of the conversation. Jack listened and nodded from time to time, but didn't say a word. After a few minutes, Jack excused himself to go talk to the guard who would also be their pilot back to the States.
"Looks like Will is going to be all right, though I see he had a visit to the dentist," Sydney frowned and tapped her own cheek, "I wouldn't want to go through that again. I think that pain alone will make him hate me."
Vaughn offered a small smile, "He won't hate you. If it weren't for you he would have more problems than a sore mouth, you know that."
"I know, I just hate that I got him dragged into this," Sydney sighed as she opened the passenger-side door of the van to set down the first aide kit she had brought for Vaughn, "That I got both of you dragged into this."
Vaughn locked eyes with Sydney and shook his head, "I volunteered for this - you didn't make me come! Do you remember that? Don't blame yourself for this. Besides, if I had run faster I would have gotten locked on the wrong side the door and we wouldn't be having this conversation so if anyone is to blame it is my gym teacher, Mr. Tampico, who let us walk around the track in 8th grade gym."
"Well, thanks," Sydney said, giving Vaughn the smile he had been hoping for, "I still feel bad though, and you might change your mind after I bandage you up. Shirt."
Vaughn rolled his eyes and reached to pull his shirt over his head - at least he didn't have to deal with the long, leather jacket, he had long ago discarded in the air duct - but the shirt was hard enough and a sharp pain in his left side caused him to stop halfway.
"I think I might need your help again."
Sydney was trying to keep her mind clear but even a small glimpse of the body she normally saw cover by suits dress shirts, caused her to lose her focus just a little. She may have been a top agent but she was human, a woman to be exact and Vaughn was definitely a man. 'Good lord,' she thought, 'I feel like a teenager, what the hell am I thinking?'
Sydney reached out and helped slide the soft cotton up Vaughn's chest, bunching it under his armpit. "Can you hold it there?"
"Sure."
Sydney turned her full attention to the matter at hand and scowled at what she saw. A dark purple bruise was starting to spread across Vaughn's entire left side and his ribcage didn't look entirely smooth.
"Shit, that looks like it hurts."
"I'll live," Vaughn shrugged.
"I hope so."
Sydney grabbed some gauze and tape from the kit and used them to cover most of the bruised area. Vaughn's pulse quickened each time her hand smoothed over the tape, half over the bandage and half on his bare skin. Trying to remember that they were in Taipei on a mission that was likely to get him fired, Vaughn pushed thoughts of Sydney that were definitely not mission- related, out of his mind.
Next came the cloth bandage, which had to be wrapped tightly around his entire abdomen for support and protection. To start the bandage, Sydney held the loose end against Vaughn's chest and reached behind him to pull the roll around and over itself to hold, a position that caused her to step forward, closer to Vaughn.
Vaughn looked up from the bandage to Sydney's face and smiled at finding her intent on getting the bandage positioned just right, not once looking up, which was probably a good thing since it would have brought her lips within inches of his own - not that they were too far away as it were. Each loop around his back brought her a bit closer to him and by the time she fastened the bandage, she was standing intimately between his legs.
Through the whole process, Vaughn hadn't taken his eyes off of her, waiting for her to stop and look at him. When she finally did, there were tears in her eyes.
"Syd, what's wrong, don't cry."
Sydney didn't say anything and just stood there, looking into Vaughn's eyes, her hands against his chest. Vaughn reach up and tucked the hair from her blue wig behind her ear and cupped her cheek with his hand. His eyes were full of worry but he didn't want to push her. They just looked into each others' eyes, caught in the moment.
"I'm okay," Sydney finally broke the silence, "Sorry. I'm fine."
Vaughn decided not to pursue the matter but left it for another time since it looked like they would actually have time for more conversations in the future. Conversations where they weren't dressed in leather, or in Taipei, or running from a face-less enemy. Vaughn smiled and brushed his thumb back and forth across her cheek and saw a cut on her other cheek. Reaching up with his other hand, he lightly touched the mark, aware of Sydney's wince of pain.
"What's this?"
"Sark," Sydney said dully, "What an ass."
"Can I return the doctoring favor?"
"It's nothing," Sydney said dismissively, wanting to regain her composure, thankful Vaughn had let her off the hook from a potential emotional meltdown - they had time for that later.
"From where I am standing it's not nothing Sydney, it should be cleaned up," Vaughn said seriously, "Who knows what kind of bacteria Sark is carrying."
Sydney smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes and sighed, "Fine, but don't expect that you can bill be for this."
Vaughn just laughed and reached into the first aide kit to get an alcohol swab. Sydney turned her head to give him better access to the cut and closed her eyes to prepare for the inevitable sting.
Vaughn leaned forward and place a gentle hand on her cheek before dabbed along the edges of the cut and wiping over the cut itself. Once he deemed the cut bacteria-free, he selected a small plastic suture from the kit and stuck it to his "patient's" cheek.
"There you go, all better," Vaughn said and without really thinking, leaned further in and kissed her cheek.
Vaughn pulled back, just slightly and waited for her reaction. Sydney turned back towards Vaughn, and let her lips brush over his. Vaughn threw the used alcohol wipe back behind Sydney and placed his hands on her hips to pull her back between his legs. Despite the inappropriateness of their actions given the situation they were in, neither made a move to stop what was happening.
Sydney lifted her hands and intertwined them behind Vaughn's neck and brought her mouth roughly to his. Vaughn met her kiss with equal hunger and pulled her closer yet, not wanting to leave anything between them. Sydney's tongue darted out to run across Vaughn's lower lip, which she then sucked on, pulling it between her own.
"Sydney," a voice called out, not from Vaughn, but from the cot across the room.
Sydney and Vaughn froze, thankfully hidden from view by the open passenger door. Sydney pulled her hands down from Vaughn's neck and pushed against his chest to separate them, causing Vaughn to let out a small yelp of pain. 'Sorry,' she mouthed, grinning sheepishly.
Vaughn leaned in for a quick kiss before letting Sydney go to check on Will. Sighing, he stood up from the van's cargo doorway and noticed Jack standing in the doorway of the main hanger - looking like he had gotten quite a show. Vaughn cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly.
"So, what's the verdict, are we getting out of here?"
"Not soon enough, it looks like," Jack narrowed his eyes, he may like Vaughn but he wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily, they were still on a mission after all, "Why don't you come out here and get on the plane, I'll help Sydney with Will."
Vaughn nodded, not bothering to respond, hoping that gesture appeared cooler than anything he could have said. Glancing over at Sydney and Will, Vaughn smiled and made his way through the doorway Jack had been standing in.
The flight back was uneventful. Will moaned most of the time, but didn't complain once, due to the heavy doses of painkillers Jack kept pumping into him.
After landing, they were met by a small CIA delegation made up of Devlin, Weiss and a few other familiar faces. Jack had called ahead and explained the entire situation to Devlin who was upset but a little more understanding than he had been 12 hours earlier when he found out that Sydney, Vaughn and Jack had left the country.
Vaughn was to be taken to a CIA hospital to have his ribs cheeked out and to go through some tests to make sure he hadn't been swimming in something other than water. Sydney was going with Will to a different CIA hospital with higher security where both of them would be safe.
Before the vehicles taking each of them left, Vaughn caught Sydney's eye and looked purposefully to the back of one of the vans. Sydney understood his meaning and walked back to meet him. Knowing there wasn't much time and not knowing when he would see her again, Vaughn said the only thing he could think of to ease her mind.
"Have faith, everything's going to be all right."
Sydney smiled, "I love you."
She had one-uped him.
******
That was the last time they had talked to each other. Devlin had made it impossible for Vaughn to call Sydney until he gave his go-ahead. He thought the separation would be good for them, put things into perspective, which it did, but not in the way he intended.
While they hadn't gotten to see or speak to each other again, Vaughn had managed to get a message to Sydney.
Sydney had gotten home from class one afternoon to find Francie waiting to pounce on her.
"Why didn't you tell me about Mr. British Literature, Joe?"
"Who?"
"What do you mean, who," Francie laughed at her friend, "Joe Miranda from your British Literature class, the one who you asked to drop his notes off here from the class you missed last week. He said to tell you that he would be your guardian angel anytime. Don't tell me you don't know this guy - what a hottie."
"A hottie? How old are we?" Sydney smiled, realizing who "Joe" really was.
"Please, girl, you have class with him, don't you have eyes? He was beautiful - a hottie!"
Sydney conceded, "Okay, you're right, he's a hottie. So where are the notes, I should probably copy them down."
Francie grabbed a folder off the kitchen counter. "Here you go. Better go give your guardian angel a thank you call."
Sydney just rolled her eyes and took the folder Francie was holding out to her. Her heart was racing as she walked the short hallway to her room. Once inside she closed the door behind her and threw the folder open, curious what Vaughn had wanted to tell her.
Inside the folder were four sheets of paper, filled with actual notes on British poets. Sydney read the notes, trying to see what Vaughn's message was. And then she noticed that a few of the letters on each page were lightly underlined. Collecting them in her mind she put together the simple, yet powerful message: 'I love you, too.'
******
Yes, after two weeks she was certainly ready to lay her eyes on Vaughn. As she pulled into the warehouses' parking lot, she took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind.
A few moments later she was inside the building and walking back towards the normal meeting place.
"Hey."
Sydney was driving out to the warehouse for the first time after returning from Taipei. Vaughn had called 15 minutes earlier and Sydney had heard the eagerness in his voice. It was certainly in her own reply, causing Francie to raise a questioning eyebrow at her politeness to the millionth wrong- number phone call. Sydney had shrugged and said she felt like going for a run on the beach - an activity Francie would despise on first-mention.
Taipei felt like a distant memory. Almost like it hadn't happen and if it weren't for Will, Sydney would have gladly forgotten that it happened. Well, most of it - the time with Vaughn, tied together, wasn't so horrible in spite of the situation.
In the two weeks since landing at a private, CIA-run, airstrip outside of L.A., Will had decided to join the Agency to avoid the witness protection program. Either option held and uncertain future, but at least one of the options allowed him contact with his friends and family.
Vaughn, after receiving a severe reprimand from Devlin in the form of a grueling 2-hour conversation, was assigned as Will's handler. Typical agents didn't have handlers but Will's situation made him a special case. He was expected to go on with life as normal while working for the CIA without anyone knowing it. Vaughn also got to remain in his position as Sydney's handler, thanks to Jack Bristow's insistence. But strict protocol was once again demanded and Vaughn was not allowed to contact Sydney unless absolutely necessary. Since personal interest and desires didn't rank very high on the CIA's list of necessities, Vaughn hadn't seen Sydney in 14 days and it was killing him.
*******
The gunfire in the hallway turned out to have been initiated by Jack Bristow, which was not a big surprise to Vaughn who had no doubt Jack was not about to leave Taipei without his daughter. Vaughn could just be glad he was tied in the same room, as he was certain Jack's loyalties were not as strong with him.
Jack had burst into their room and made quick work of untying Sydney from her chair with the help of a 4-inch steel blade. Sydney, in turn, cut Vaughn free and tucked one arm around him to pull him up and out of the chair. Much to his chagrin, Vaughn wasn't able to walk without her help and had to put a lot of his weight onto the woman next to him. If Sydney noticed, she certainly didn't let on or let it slow her down.
Jack was at the door yelling for them to hurry and tossing a gun into Sydney's free hand. Vaughn grimaced in pain as Sydney tugged him out the door but managed to get his legs to move in the proper direction, matching her speed pretty well.
A series of hallways led them to back alleyway and a waiting van. Jack jumped into the driver's seat as Sydney pulled Vaughn into the side door. Vaughn managed to reach up and slam the door as Jack pulled away and out into the street.
"Thanks, Dad."
"Don't mention it, kiddo," Jack called from the front seat.
"Where's Will?"
"Waiting in the airport hanger with the plane and a guard," Jack explained, "When you didn't come and meet us, I figured something might have happened and he wasn't in the best shape for a rescue."
"Is he all right?"
"He'll be fine. It's nothing worse than what you've gone through before, but since he doesn't have any past experience with this it might take him a little longer to get over."
Vaughn listened to the father/daughter exchange, marveling in how, just a year ago, Sydney would not have been talking to her father about her friend and Jack would not have expressed an interest in Will's well-being. Granted, he would not have been recovering from a near drowning and broken ribs either. The thought made Vaughn smile, funny what a girl could do to you.
"What are you smiling for," Sydney had turned her attention back to the man currently resting against her legs. Neither of them had moved since piling into the van and neither seemed bothered by the closeness.
"Nothing," Vaughn smiled wider, "Guess I am just happy to be alive."
"We'll see how you feel after I tape up those ribs, Dixon always tells me it was a good thing I didn't go into medicine," Sydney smiled, "Of course I always tell him that at least I have a good bed-side manner."
Vaughn laughed as Sydney's face reddened. As inappropriate has it was, Vaughn couldn't help but reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. Something about his near-death experience had opened the floodgates of his emotions and his openness to letting them be known.
"Sydney," Jack's voice was stern from the front-seat, "We're at the hanger, you'll need to jump out and open the door."
Sydney dropped Vaughn's hand and carefully extracted herself from behind him. Swinging her legs around and sliding the door open in the same motion, she jumped from the van and ran to the sliding, steel door in front of van. A slight tug got it moving and out of the way, making enough room for the van to drive in. By the time Vaughn was getting himself into a sitting position, Sydney had slammed the door closed and was standing in front of him.
"Need a hand?"
"I think I can manage, as long as there is no running involved this time."
"Nope, just bandaging and rest," Sydney smiled, Vaughn's easiness in the van had rubbed off on her, "I'm going to go check on Will and then I will come back and fix you up."
Vaughn watched her walk past her father, giving his arm a squeeze as she passed, and over to a cot in the corner of the building where Will was wrapped in a blanket. Jack had made sure Will was well-drugged when he left so he would not remember or feel much of his current pain. Sydney sat on the cot and brushed her hand over Will's hair. Vaughn felt a small pang of jealousy but quickly pushed it aside, it was silly to be jealous of Sydney's concern for one of her closest friends.
Jack watched Vaughn's reacted to Sydney's checking on Will and noticed flash of jealousy but was impressed when it was quickly replaced with a look of respect and admiration. Jack knew that Agent Vaughn must have feelings for his daughter and wasn't as concerned over them as others in the Agency would have been. Jack knew that emotions muddied the water when it came to operations, but they also helped when it came to making the right decisions and taking chances for a loved one. Didn't Jack know that love and not protocol had brought him along to help his daughter. Doing what was wise would have kept him in L.A. waiting for further contact from "The Man" and probably further risking Will's life in the process.
Jack liked Vaughn but he wasn't ready to let him know it - not yet.
"Agent Vaughn, how are you feeling?"
Vaughn shifted his gaze from Sydney to Jack, "Like I almost drowned and someone kicked me and broke a couple ribs."
Jack smiled and nodded, "Sounds about right to me."
While Sydney cleaned Will up a little more, Vaughn filled Jack in on what had happened from when they had all been together last until Jack had burst into their "prison." He wasn't too certain on what Sark had said to Sydney, but he thought he had caught most of the conversation. Jack listened and nodded from time to time, but didn't say a word. After a few minutes, Jack excused himself to go talk to the guard who would also be their pilot back to the States.
"Looks like Will is going to be all right, though I see he had a visit to the dentist," Sydney frowned and tapped her own cheek, "I wouldn't want to go through that again. I think that pain alone will make him hate me."
Vaughn offered a small smile, "He won't hate you. If it weren't for you he would have more problems than a sore mouth, you know that."
"I know, I just hate that I got him dragged into this," Sydney sighed as she opened the passenger-side door of the van to set down the first aide kit she had brought for Vaughn, "That I got both of you dragged into this."
Vaughn locked eyes with Sydney and shook his head, "I volunteered for this - you didn't make me come! Do you remember that? Don't blame yourself for this. Besides, if I had run faster I would have gotten locked on the wrong side the door and we wouldn't be having this conversation so if anyone is to blame it is my gym teacher, Mr. Tampico, who let us walk around the track in 8th grade gym."
"Well, thanks," Sydney said, giving Vaughn the smile he had been hoping for, "I still feel bad though, and you might change your mind after I bandage you up. Shirt."
Vaughn rolled his eyes and reached to pull his shirt over his head - at least he didn't have to deal with the long, leather jacket, he had long ago discarded in the air duct - but the shirt was hard enough and a sharp pain in his left side caused him to stop halfway.
"I think I might need your help again."
Sydney was trying to keep her mind clear but even a small glimpse of the body she normally saw cover by suits dress shirts, caused her to lose her focus just a little. She may have been a top agent but she was human, a woman to be exact and Vaughn was definitely a man. 'Good lord,' she thought, 'I feel like a teenager, what the hell am I thinking?'
Sydney reached out and helped slide the soft cotton up Vaughn's chest, bunching it under his armpit. "Can you hold it there?"
"Sure."
Sydney turned her full attention to the matter at hand and scowled at what she saw. A dark purple bruise was starting to spread across Vaughn's entire left side and his ribcage didn't look entirely smooth.
"Shit, that looks like it hurts."
"I'll live," Vaughn shrugged.
"I hope so."
Sydney grabbed some gauze and tape from the kit and used them to cover most of the bruised area. Vaughn's pulse quickened each time her hand smoothed over the tape, half over the bandage and half on his bare skin. Trying to remember that they were in Taipei on a mission that was likely to get him fired, Vaughn pushed thoughts of Sydney that were definitely not mission- related, out of his mind.
Next came the cloth bandage, which had to be wrapped tightly around his entire abdomen for support and protection. To start the bandage, Sydney held the loose end against Vaughn's chest and reached behind him to pull the roll around and over itself to hold, a position that caused her to step forward, closer to Vaughn.
Vaughn looked up from the bandage to Sydney's face and smiled at finding her intent on getting the bandage positioned just right, not once looking up, which was probably a good thing since it would have brought her lips within inches of his own - not that they were too far away as it were. Each loop around his back brought her a bit closer to him and by the time she fastened the bandage, she was standing intimately between his legs.
Through the whole process, Vaughn hadn't taken his eyes off of her, waiting for her to stop and look at him. When she finally did, there were tears in her eyes.
"Syd, what's wrong, don't cry."
Sydney didn't say anything and just stood there, looking into Vaughn's eyes, her hands against his chest. Vaughn reach up and tucked the hair from her blue wig behind her ear and cupped her cheek with his hand. His eyes were full of worry but he didn't want to push her. They just looked into each others' eyes, caught in the moment.
"I'm okay," Sydney finally broke the silence, "Sorry. I'm fine."
Vaughn decided not to pursue the matter but left it for another time since it looked like they would actually have time for more conversations in the future. Conversations where they weren't dressed in leather, or in Taipei, or running from a face-less enemy. Vaughn smiled and brushed his thumb back and forth across her cheek and saw a cut on her other cheek. Reaching up with his other hand, he lightly touched the mark, aware of Sydney's wince of pain.
"What's this?"
"Sark," Sydney said dully, "What an ass."
"Can I return the doctoring favor?"
"It's nothing," Sydney said dismissively, wanting to regain her composure, thankful Vaughn had let her off the hook from a potential emotional meltdown - they had time for that later.
"From where I am standing it's not nothing Sydney, it should be cleaned up," Vaughn said seriously, "Who knows what kind of bacteria Sark is carrying."
Sydney smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes and sighed, "Fine, but don't expect that you can bill be for this."
Vaughn just laughed and reached into the first aide kit to get an alcohol swab. Sydney turned her head to give him better access to the cut and closed her eyes to prepare for the inevitable sting.
Vaughn leaned forward and place a gentle hand on her cheek before dabbed along the edges of the cut and wiping over the cut itself. Once he deemed the cut bacteria-free, he selected a small plastic suture from the kit and stuck it to his "patient's" cheek.
"There you go, all better," Vaughn said and without really thinking, leaned further in and kissed her cheek.
Vaughn pulled back, just slightly and waited for her reaction. Sydney turned back towards Vaughn, and let her lips brush over his. Vaughn threw the used alcohol wipe back behind Sydney and placed his hands on her hips to pull her back between his legs. Despite the inappropriateness of their actions given the situation they were in, neither made a move to stop what was happening.
Sydney lifted her hands and intertwined them behind Vaughn's neck and brought her mouth roughly to his. Vaughn met her kiss with equal hunger and pulled her closer yet, not wanting to leave anything between them. Sydney's tongue darted out to run across Vaughn's lower lip, which she then sucked on, pulling it between her own.
"Sydney," a voice called out, not from Vaughn, but from the cot across the room.
Sydney and Vaughn froze, thankfully hidden from view by the open passenger door. Sydney pulled her hands down from Vaughn's neck and pushed against his chest to separate them, causing Vaughn to let out a small yelp of pain. 'Sorry,' she mouthed, grinning sheepishly.
Vaughn leaned in for a quick kiss before letting Sydney go to check on Will. Sighing, he stood up from the van's cargo doorway and noticed Jack standing in the doorway of the main hanger - looking like he had gotten quite a show. Vaughn cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly.
"So, what's the verdict, are we getting out of here?"
"Not soon enough, it looks like," Jack narrowed his eyes, he may like Vaughn but he wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily, they were still on a mission after all, "Why don't you come out here and get on the plane, I'll help Sydney with Will."
Vaughn nodded, not bothering to respond, hoping that gesture appeared cooler than anything he could have said. Glancing over at Sydney and Will, Vaughn smiled and made his way through the doorway Jack had been standing in.
The flight back was uneventful. Will moaned most of the time, but didn't complain once, due to the heavy doses of painkillers Jack kept pumping into him.
After landing, they were met by a small CIA delegation made up of Devlin, Weiss and a few other familiar faces. Jack had called ahead and explained the entire situation to Devlin who was upset but a little more understanding than he had been 12 hours earlier when he found out that Sydney, Vaughn and Jack had left the country.
Vaughn was to be taken to a CIA hospital to have his ribs cheeked out and to go through some tests to make sure he hadn't been swimming in something other than water. Sydney was going with Will to a different CIA hospital with higher security where both of them would be safe.
Before the vehicles taking each of them left, Vaughn caught Sydney's eye and looked purposefully to the back of one of the vans. Sydney understood his meaning and walked back to meet him. Knowing there wasn't much time and not knowing when he would see her again, Vaughn said the only thing he could think of to ease her mind.
"Have faith, everything's going to be all right."
Sydney smiled, "I love you."
She had one-uped him.
******
That was the last time they had talked to each other. Devlin had made it impossible for Vaughn to call Sydney until he gave his go-ahead. He thought the separation would be good for them, put things into perspective, which it did, but not in the way he intended.
While they hadn't gotten to see or speak to each other again, Vaughn had managed to get a message to Sydney.
Sydney had gotten home from class one afternoon to find Francie waiting to pounce on her.
"Why didn't you tell me about Mr. British Literature, Joe?"
"Who?"
"What do you mean, who," Francie laughed at her friend, "Joe Miranda from your British Literature class, the one who you asked to drop his notes off here from the class you missed last week. He said to tell you that he would be your guardian angel anytime. Don't tell me you don't know this guy - what a hottie."
"A hottie? How old are we?" Sydney smiled, realizing who "Joe" really was.
"Please, girl, you have class with him, don't you have eyes? He was beautiful - a hottie!"
Sydney conceded, "Okay, you're right, he's a hottie. So where are the notes, I should probably copy them down."
Francie grabbed a folder off the kitchen counter. "Here you go. Better go give your guardian angel a thank you call."
Sydney just rolled her eyes and took the folder Francie was holding out to her. Her heart was racing as she walked the short hallway to her room. Once inside she closed the door behind her and threw the folder open, curious what Vaughn had wanted to tell her.
Inside the folder were four sheets of paper, filled with actual notes on British poets. Sydney read the notes, trying to see what Vaughn's message was. And then she noticed that a few of the letters on each page were lightly underlined. Collecting them in her mind she put together the simple, yet powerful message: 'I love you, too.'
******
Yes, after two weeks she was certainly ready to lay her eyes on Vaughn. As she pulled into the warehouses' parking lot, she took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind.
A few moments later she was inside the building and walking back towards the normal meeting place.
"Hey."
