Day 5
The morning light began to illuminate the room. Sydney moved, restless. Besides her, knelt on the ground, Michael has finally succumbed to the sleepless night and he was sleeping, holding Sydney's hand, as if he could keep her with him that way.
Sydney's eyelids trembled. Slowly, almost painfully, she opened her eyes. She turned her head and saw Vaughn holding her hand, sleeping. She touched tenderly his hair.
Michael felt the touch. Startled, he woke up to see Sydney awake too.
"Hi!", she said weakly.
"God! I thought I'd never hear your voice again", Michael's voiced showed
an immense relief, "How do you feel?"
"Not very well. Everything aches. What has happened? Where are we?",
Sydney tried to stand up, but pain made her go back again.
"You must rest, Syd. You've lost much blood and you've passed through so
many things these days"
"What happened? I can hardly remember you appeared in the camp, that you
rescued me."
"You got shot. Actually, you got a bullet which was for me. It was
stupid, I've been about to lose you", Michael caressed her forehead
"If I hadn't done it, both would have died, Vaughn. Where are we now? Who
else has come with you?", she asked
"Syd. we're alone. We're at the bunker where you were captured. I could
not afford the risk of going with you to Brazilia. And, we ran out of
fuel.", he explained
"Have you come on your own?"
"Kendall didn't authorise your extraction, he said we had not enough data
to do it. But I couldn't stay quiet just waiting, I didn't want to lose
you", he confessed.
Tears came to Sydney's eyes.
"It's been totally crazy, Vaughn. You'll got fired when Kendall
notices it"
"I don't mind. To see you alive, Sydney, is worth a thousand
firings... Listen to me, I know this is not the best moment, but I
have to say something. During this day you've been between life and
death, I've had much time to think, to think how stupid I've been, to
think how I've let protocol to stand in my way...", Michael held
Sydney's hand and looked her to the eyes, "I'm not doing it anymore.
I've thought I was going to lose you, it was making me insane. What
happens is..."
Michael stopped talking; he didn't know how to continue.
"What?", Sydney asked
"You know it. You must have notice it"
It was a difficult moment. For the first time, they were talking about something they should've talked long time ago.
"I want you to tell me, Vaughn. There always are a lot of things
we know, lots of things we feel for sure, but they are not said..."
Sydney had an inner discussion. She needed to know, but at the same time she was confused about what to do. Painful memories of the last days passed through her mind and she didn't know if she was prepared to cope with it. She thought of stopping him, but she couldn't. She needed him much more than she had ever needed someone. It was then or maybe never, they didn't know what was going to happen from then on, she was afraid to lose that chance...
"What do you want me to say?, Michael said, "That when you're on a
mission I can't sleep? That when we work together I have to
concentrate myself in what we have to do, in what we have to plan, in
what we have to review? And say to myself that we're working, that I'm
your handler, when all I wanna do is kiss you? For God's sake, I
became mad when you were captured. I didn't know whether you were
alive or not, I knew nothing... except that I loved you as I've never
loved anybody else, and that I had to do something, and that I was
never going to lose an opportunity to say I love you more than my own
life... I... I don't know what's going to happen to us, I'm aware this
is not the moment, but I had to tell you.
Sydney was crying. All that had to happened to test the strength which keep them together. In silence, Michael bent to kiss her. A pure, calm, tender kiss, which became longer with the anxiety they were dying in from long ago. Time stopped around them. In that very moment, nothing else mattered, last days didn't matter, problems didn't matter. They loved each other and they were safe in each other's arms. They kept embraced long time, not daring to break the moment.
"Why do you say that you don't know what is going to happen? Someone
will have to come for us, what more does Kendall need?", Sydney asked
time after.
"Well, I talked to Kendall. I told him to rescue us, that I'd found
you, that you'd been shot... When I was about to inform him we're
coming here, to the bunker, the GPS battery died. It's possible he
didn't hear that last part"
"What? It can't be..."
"Hope Weiss has the inspiration that we're here. Otherwise, we're done
for. We've got supplies for three or four days, but that's not our
bigger problem... the SD-6...", he was interrupted by Sydney
"I know. SD-6 is looking for us. They know all, I got the news before
you rescued me. If they finish their tasks in Mexico, we'll come for
us; it's a matter of time. Vaughn, do you know about my father?", she
was worried, "Have they caught him?"
"I think he's safe. He ran away, and he's hidden. But he contacted
Weiss to inform, so you don't need to worry about him. But the SD-6
had a mole inside the group, that worries me. It could be the man who
shot you."
"Yes, Vaughn. He was the mole. He told me everything, sure that I
wouldn't manage to escape", Sydney confirmed the point.
"I... I should have killed him but there were no time", Michael
stopped when he saw Sydney's face, "Syd, what happens?"
"Nothing, nothing...", Sydney lied. She was not ready to tell him, she
was not ready to tell anybody about what Flavio did to her, not yet.
She needed time. "It's only that memories come to me. It's been hard,
Vaughn"
Michael embraced her tenderly again.
"You need rest, baby. We don't know yet what we'll have to cope with,
so I need you to recover. You're still so weak, and we depend totally
on the CIA to go out from here. There are so many miles to walk to the
nearest town. Why don't you try to sleep a little?", Michael touched
her forehead, "No fever, good. But I don't want to take risks. I'll
prepare something to eat, OK?"
Sydney nodded. Michael kissed her cheek and left the room.
It was true she was deadly tired, but she had her mind in other things. She was not shocked anymore, she had remembered everything she had lived during the kidnapping. There was a lot to recover from. What was happening to her? She was still frightened. And it was not because the SD-6 may get to them; it was because she don't know how to face up to her feelings. Sydney tried to sleep, but she couldn't. Michael was there, Michael loved her. He will take care of her. Her dad was safe. They would be rescued and she would get over all. She tried to convince herself about that, but she felt empty. Physical wounds will heal, but what Flavio did was a injury difficult to forget. She felt dirty, ashamed, and afraid of facing him again. She would have liked to tell Michael, but she was afraid of his reaction. Sydney cried in silence.
Michael walked to another room, lost in his thoughts. He could notice it, he'd seen it before in other agents captured and brutally tortured. He didn't know what had exactly happened those days, but Syd wasn't the same Sydney Bristow he used to know. Perharps, he shouldn't tell her what he said. Perhaps he should wait but he had to do it. She was still very weak and she hadn't take consciousness of reality yet. Vaughn was happy of having her, but he was afraid of the future. They will have to face hard moments.
SAO PAULO (Brazil)
Flavio parked the car. He tried to keep himself calm for his meeting with Sloane, but he was nervous. He had a look around to make sure nobody was following him, and he went to a garage door. There was a numeric pannel there, and he entered the code.
The door unlocked and Flavio walked into, alert. It seemed that nobody has arrived yet. Suddenly, he heard Arvin Sloane's unmistakable voice.
"Where on hell is Bristow, Flavio?"
Flavio trembled.
"Listen to me", he answered, "I c..can explain everything. But listen
to me, please."
Two SD-6 men, hidden in the shadows, grabbed Flavio and took him to Sloane.
"Something went wrong", he tried to explain, "You said nobody could
track her. But a man, a tall American guy, managed to reach her short
before we could get out of the camp"
"What are you saying, Flavio?", Sloane's face was darkened with anger.
"I swear I tried to avoid it, but he overpowered me and took Bristow
with him"
"Was he on his own?"
"Yes, sir"
"Vaughn!", Sloane cursed, "CIA was supposed not to authorize the
rescue, as we expected. We filtered messages showing partially that we
hadn't discovered her double agency just to prevent them from going to
the rescue. But that foolish lover had to break our plans. But I think
the CIA had not supported his risky mission, after that he went alone.
But you're a fool, Flavio. You've disappointed me terribly"
"They can't have gone far, sir"
"Why do you supposed so?", Sloane inquired.
"First of all, their jeep hadn't much gasoline and..."
"And?"
"I shot Bristow, sir. In fact, I shot the guy but she got in the
middle to save him"
Sloane slapped Flavio's face.
"You'll come with us. If she's dead and we cannot count on her
information, I assure you'll want to be dead too. Did you put the
tracker we gave you in her food?"
"Yes, I did so...", Flavio had become completely pale.
"Blackmore!", Sloane talked to one of his men, who was operating a
computer, "Connect to the tracking satellite, we can locate her. But
we'll have to do it in less than two minutes. We cannot afford that
CIA suspect anything"
Blackmore entered the codes in the keyboard. After a neverending minute, system showed operative. Seconds went passing, and the location of the fugitives didn't appear. Twenty seconds before the time expired, a map appeared in the screen.
"We've got her, sir", Blackmore announced.
Sloane looked at the screen. The shine of Sydney's tracker was weak, but it didn't leave place to doubt.
"They are in the bunker you abandoned. The signal seemed to be a bit
weak, maybe she's dying. But she's alive. We set off right now, guys.
It will take us almost two days to reach them and we'll do it using
alternate ways, not to find any Group agent, but it doesn't matter.
They're still there, what means the CIA isn't acting. Otherwise,
they'd already been extracted. Come on, let's go for the jeeps,
everyone. Flavio, you come with me", Sloane ordered.
MAÇOIS BAY - ABANDONED BUNKER
Sydney had tried to sleep unsuccessfully. Images came to her head once and again. Her mind was clear now, and she remembered every single detail: Sark, Kreschnik, the tub, the needles, Flavio. She wanted to block their feelings, but she could not do it. She needed to express her feelings but she didn't feel strong enough to do it. She was still crying.
In that very moment, Michael came back to the room. Alarmed, he put the meal on the table and caught Sydney in his arms.
"What happens, little one? Come on. come on, please, you're safe now",
Michael felt something was really wrong. She was trembling and he
didn't expect something like that; he was confused, "I'm here. I'm not
going to allow nothing to hurt you more, do you hear me?"
But she didn't speak. He had to break that silence.
"Come on, Syd, tell me what's happening. You'll feel better"
"I'm afraid, Vaughn. I can't bear the sole idea of being caught by
Sloane. I wouldn't be able to resist it again", she said.
Sydney told him everything that had happened since she was captured. Everything, except the last night in the camp, when he came to the rescue. Vaughn was shocked, worried for her.
"It's over, honey. And I can't understand how have you bear it. It was
normal you finally surrendered", Michael was shaken by the telling.
The sequels could be terrible, "I'm here and I'll always be here for
you. We'll get over all this."
But he didn't know how would they do it. Michael wasn't calm, he had the impression that she hadn't told him everything, but he couldn't ask. He would wait. Maybe he was acting paranoic, fearing for her.
Sydney tried to smile, but it was a sad smile.
"We'll do it. Do you promise?", she asked.
"I'll promise, Syd. Let's eat something, you need it"
Michael helped her to stand up and to sit at the table. She could hardly walk, she was weak and Michael knew it was painful, but she had to do it. She had to move.
The meal was simple. A pair of sandwiches, some packed fruit and water. But, as soon as she started to eat, Sydney realized how hungry she was. How long had she been without food?
Michael was still pensive and worried. His intuition told him that something happened that night, but what? What could be worse than all she had told him?
They finished lunch, and Michael forced her to rest again. He examined and heal the wound. She might be having a really bad time. But she tried to be strong so she didn't moan nor an only time. The Sydney Michael knew seemed to revive. He gave her another dose of medicine and told her to rest. She seemed to be more calm.
Sydney was sleeping the rest of the day. Michael, except the long times he passed beside her bed, looking at her, used the time to explore deeply the bunker. Perhaps, he could find something useful. Gasoline, a power supply, something... But there was nothing which could help them.
When the night came, Michael decided to go bed. He was discouraged. He could feel that staying there was a great risk, but they can't do anything except being patient. If the CIA hasn't given any signal, that means that they probably wouldn't do it, if that were not the case that they contacted to confirm their location. It was too risky for Kendall's protocols to play with the lives of an armed team to save two agents whose cover had been destroyed. Michael knew it was logical, that was the protocol, that was the unstable and insecure life for an uncover agent.
While he was going to the room, he heard Sydney screaming. He burst into the room, but there was nobody there, except Sydney, fighting in dreams, likely a nightmare. He was about to wake her up, but what he heard, paralized him.
"No, please", Sydney was dreaming, crying, "Take your hands off me..."
A suspicion of what had happened during her last night in the camp crossed Michael's mind. It fit. He wished he was wrong, but if not, Flavio would do better not crossing his way again. Michael woke Sydney up. She tried to push him away, hysterical.
"Don't touch me! Leave me alone!", she shouted
"Syd! Syd! Calm down... It's me... Michael", Michael held her by the
shoulders until she calm. He touched her hair, "Come on, over, it's
over... it was a nightmare, only a nightmare"
And he would truly like to believe it. Sydney cried in his chest. Michael didn't want to press her, but he needed to know. He finally decided to wait until she felt comfortable to tell him. Maybe he was paranoid about that; he loved her so much that he couldn't accept the idea that she'd had to suffer such a thing...
Sydney was about to tell him the truth, but she feared Michael moved away from her when he knew it. She said nothing. She took refuge in his arms and tried to sleep...
The morning light began to illuminate the room. Sydney moved, restless. Besides her, knelt on the ground, Michael has finally succumbed to the sleepless night and he was sleeping, holding Sydney's hand, as if he could keep her with him that way.
Sydney's eyelids trembled. Slowly, almost painfully, she opened her eyes. She turned her head and saw Vaughn holding her hand, sleeping. She touched tenderly his hair.
Michael felt the touch. Startled, he woke up to see Sydney awake too.
"Hi!", she said weakly.
"God! I thought I'd never hear your voice again", Michael's voiced showed
an immense relief, "How do you feel?"
"Not very well. Everything aches. What has happened? Where are we?",
Sydney tried to stand up, but pain made her go back again.
"You must rest, Syd. You've lost much blood and you've passed through so
many things these days"
"What happened? I can hardly remember you appeared in the camp, that you
rescued me."
"You got shot. Actually, you got a bullet which was for me. It was
stupid, I've been about to lose you", Michael caressed her forehead
"If I hadn't done it, both would have died, Vaughn. Where are we now? Who
else has come with you?", she asked
"Syd. we're alone. We're at the bunker where you were captured. I could
not afford the risk of going with you to Brazilia. And, we ran out of
fuel.", he explained
"Have you come on your own?"
"Kendall didn't authorise your extraction, he said we had not enough data
to do it. But I couldn't stay quiet just waiting, I didn't want to lose
you", he confessed.
Tears came to Sydney's eyes.
"It's been totally crazy, Vaughn. You'll got fired when Kendall
notices it"
"I don't mind. To see you alive, Sydney, is worth a thousand
firings... Listen to me, I know this is not the best moment, but I
have to say something. During this day you've been between life and
death, I've had much time to think, to think how stupid I've been, to
think how I've let protocol to stand in my way...", Michael held
Sydney's hand and looked her to the eyes, "I'm not doing it anymore.
I've thought I was going to lose you, it was making me insane. What
happens is..."
Michael stopped talking; he didn't know how to continue.
"What?", Sydney asked
"You know it. You must have notice it"
It was a difficult moment. For the first time, they were talking about something they should've talked long time ago.
"I want you to tell me, Vaughn. There always are a lot of things
we know, lots of things we feel for sure, but they are not said..."
Sydney had an inner discussion. She needed to know, but at the same time she was confused about what to do. Painful memories of the last days passed through her mind and she didn't know if she was prepared to cope with it. She thought of stopping him, but she couldn't. She needed him much more than she had ever needed someone. It was then or maybe never, they didn't know what was going to happen from then on, she was afraid to lose that chance...
"What do you want me to say?, Michael said, "That when you're on a
mission I can't sleep? That when we work together I have to
concentrate myself in what we have to do, in what we have to plan, in
what we have to review? And say to myself that we're working, that I'm
your handler, when all I wanna do is kiss you? For God's sake, I
became mad when you were captured. I didn't know whether you were
alive or not, I knew nothing... except that I loved you as I've never
loved anybody else, and that I had to do something, and that I was
never going to lose an opportunity to say I love you more than my own
life... I... I don't know what's going to happen to us, I'm aware this
is not the moment, but I had to tell you.
Sydney was crying. All that had to happened to test the strength which keep them together. In silence, Michael bent to kiss her. A pure, calm, tender kiss, which became longer with the anxiety they were dying in from long ago. Time stopped around them. In that very moment, nothing else mattered, last days didn't matter, problems didn't matter. They loved each other and they were safe in each other's arms. They kept embraced long time, not daring to break the moment.
"Why do you say that you don't know what is going to happen? Someone
will have to come for us, what more does Kendall need?", Sydney asked
time after.
"Well, I talked to Kendall. I told him to rescue us, that I'd found
you, that you'd been shot... When I was about to inform him we're
coming here, to the bunker, the GPS battery died. It's possible he
didn't hear that last part"
"What? It can't be..."
"Hope Weiss has the inspiration that we're here. Otherwise, we're done
for. We've got supplies for three or four days, but that's not our
bigger problem... the SD-6...", he was interrupted by Sydney
"I know. SD-6 is looking for us. They know all, I got the news before
you rescued me. If they finish their tasks in Mexico, we'll come for
us; it's a matter of time. Vaughn, do you know about my father?", she
was worried, "Have they caught him?"
"I think he's safe. He ran away, and he's hidden. But he contacted
Weiss to inform, so you don't need to worry about him. But the SD-6
had a mole inside the group, that worries me. It could be the man who
shot you."
"Yes, Vaughn. He was the mole. He told me everything, sure that I
wouldn't manage to escape", Sydney confirmed the point.
"I... I should have killed him but there were no time", Michael
stopped when he saw Sydney's face, "Syd, what happens?"
"Nothing, nothing...", Sydney lied. She was not ready to tell him, she
was not ready to tell anybody about what Flavio did to her, not yet.
She needed time. "It's only that memories come to me. It's been hard,
Vaughn"
Michael embraced her tenderly again.
"You need rest, baby. We don't know yet what we'll have to cope with,
so I need you to recover. You're still so weak, and we depend totally
on the CIA to go out from here. There are so many miles to walk to the
nearest town. Why don't you try to sleep a little?", Michael touched
her forehead, "No fever, good. But I don't want to take risks. I'll
prepare something to eat, OK?"
Sydney nodded. Michael kissed her cheek and left the room.
It was true she was deadly tired, but she had her mind in other things. She was not shocked anymore, she had remembered everything she had lived during the kidnapping. There was a lot to recover from. What was happening to her? She was still frightened. And it was not because the SD-6 may get to them; it was because she don't know how to face up to her feelings. Sydney tried to sleep, but she couldn't. Michael was there, Michael loved her. He will take care of her. Her dad was safe. They would be rescued and she would get over all. She tried to convince herself about that, but she felt empty. Physical wounds will heal, but what Flavio did was a injury difficult to forget. She felt dirty, ashamed, and afraid of facing him again. She would have liked to tell Michael, but she was afraid of his reaction. Sydney cried in silence.
Michael walked to another room, lost in his thoughts. He could notice it, he'd seen it before in other agents captured and brutally tortured. He didn't know what had exactly happened those days, but Syd wasn't the same Sydney Bristow he used to know. Perharps, he shouldn't tell her what he said. Perhaps he should wait but he had to do it. She was still very weak and she hadn't take consciousness of reality yet. Vaughn was happy of having her, but he was afraid of the future. They will have to face hard moments.
SAO PAULO (Brazil)
Flavio parked the car. He tried to keep himself calm for his meeting with Sloane, but he was nervous. He had a look around to make sure nobody was following him, and he went to a garage door. There was a numeric pannel there, and he entered the code.
The door unlocked and Flavio walked into, alert. It seemed that nobody has arrived yet. Suddenly, he heard Arvin Sloane's unmistakable voice.
"Where on hell is Bristow, Flavio?"
Flavio trembled.
"Listen to me", he answered, "I c..can explain everything. But listen
to me, please."
Two SD-6 men, hidden in the shadows, grabbed Flavio and took him to Sloane.
"Something went wrong", he tried to explain, "You said nobody could
track her. But a man, a tall American guy, managed to reach her short
before we could get out of the camp"
"What are you saying, Flavio?", Sloane's face was darkened with anger.
"I swear I tried to avoid it, but he overpowered me and took Bristow
with him"
"Was he on his own?"
"Yes, sir"
"Vaughn!", Sloane cursed, "CIA was supposed not to authorize the
rescue, as we expected. We filtered messages showing partially that we
hadn't discovered her double agency just to prevent them from going to
the rescue. But that foolish lover had to break our plans. But I think
the CIA had not supported his risky mission, after that he went alone.
But you're a fool, Flavio. You've disappointed me terribly"
"They can't have gone far, sir"
"Why do you supposed so?", Sloane inquired.
"First of all, their jeep hadn't much gasoline and..."
"And?"
"I shot Bristow, sir. In fact, I shot the guy but she got in the
middle to save him"
Sloane slapped Flavio's face.
"You'll come with us. If she's dead and we cannot count on her
information, I assure you'll want to be dead too. Did you put the
tracker we gave you in her food?"
"Yes, I did so...", Flavio had become completely pale.
"Blackmore!", Sloane talked to one of his men, who was operating a
computer, "Connect to the tracking satellite, we can locate her. But
we'll have to do it in less than two minutes. We cannot afford that
CIA suspect anything"
Blackmore entered the codes in the keyboard. After a neverending minute, system showed operative. Seconds went passing, and the location of the fugitives didn't appear. Twenty seconds before the time expired, a map appeared in the screen.
"We've got her, sir", Blackmore announced.
Sloane looked at the screen. The shine of Sydney's tracker was weak, but it didn't leave place to doubt.
"They are in the bunker you abandoned. The signal seemed to be a bit
weak, maybe she's dying. But she's alive. We set off right now, guys.
It will take us almost two days to reach them and we'll do it using
alternate ways, not to find any Group agent, but it doesn't matter.
They're still there, what means the CIA isn't acting. Otherwise,
they'd already been extracted. Come on, let's go for the jeeps,
everyone. Flavio, you come with me", Sloane ordered.
MAÇOIS BAY - ABANDONED BUNKER
Sydney had tried to sleep unsuccessfully. Images came to her head once and again. Her mind was clear now, and she remembered every single detail: Sark, Kreschnik, the tub, the needles, Flavio. She wanted to block their feelings, but she could not do it. She needed to express her feelings but she didn't feel strong enough to do it. She was still crying.
In that very moment, Michael came back to the room. Alarmed, he put the meal on the table and caught Sydney in his arms.
"What happens, little one? Come on. come on, please, you're safe now",
Michael felt something was really wrong. She was trembling and he
didn't expect something like that; he was confused, "I'm here. I'm not
going to allow nothing to hurt you more, do you hear me?"
But she didn't speak. He had to break that silence.
"Come on, Syd, tell me what's happening. You'll feel better"
"I'm afraid, Vaughn. I can't bear the sole idea of being caught by
Sloane. I wouldn't be able to resist it again", she said.
Sydney told him everything that had happened since she was captured. Everything, except the last night in the camp, when he came to the rescue. Vaughn was shocked, worried for her.
"It's over, honey. And I can't understand how have you bear it. It was
normal you finally surrendered", Michael was shaken by the telling.
The sequels could be terrible, "I'm here and I'll always be here for
you. We'll get over all this."
But he didn't know how would they do it. Michael wasn't calm, he had the impression that she hadn't told him everything, but he couldn't ask. He would wait. Maybe he was acting paranoic, fearing for her.
Sydney tried to smile, but it was a sad smile.
"We'll do it. Do you promise?", she asked.
"I'll promise, Syd. Let's eat something, you need it"
Michael helped her to stand up and to sit at the table. She could hardly walk, she was weak and Michael knew it was painful, but she had to do it. She had to move.
The meal was simple. A pair of sandwiches, some packed fruit and water. But, as soon as she started to eat, Sydney realized how hungry she was. How long had she been without food?
Michael was still pensive and worried. His intuition told him that something happened that night, but what? What could be worse than all she had told him?
They finished lunch, and Michael forced her to rest again. He examined and heal the wound. She might be having a really bad time. But she tried to be strong so she didn't moan nor an only time. The Sydney Michael knew seemed to revive. He gave her another dose of medicine and told her to rest. She seemed to be more calm.
Sydney was sleeping the rest of the day. Michael, except the long times he passed beside her bed, looking at her, used the time to explore deeply the bunker. Perhaps, he could find something useful. Gasoline, a power supply, something... But there was nothing which could help them.
When the night came, Michael decided to go bed. He was discouraged. He could feel that staying there was a great risk, but they can't do anything except being patient. If the CIA hasn't given any signal, that means that they probably wouldn't do it, if that were not the case that they contacted to confirm their location. It was too risky for Kendall's protocols to play with the lives of an armed team to save two agents whose cover had been destroyed. Michael knew it was logical, that was the protocol, that was the unstable and insecure life for an uncover agent.
While he was going to the room, he heard Sydney screaming. He burst into the room, but there was nobody there, except Sydney, fighting in dreams, likely a nightmare. He was about to wake her up, but what he heard, paralized him.
"No, please", Sydney was dreaming, crying, "Take your hands off me..."
A suspicion of what had happened during her last night in the camp crossed Michael's mind. It fit. He wished he was wrong, but if not, Flavio would do better not crossing his way again. Michael woke Sydney up. She tried to push him away, hysterical.
"Don't touch me! Leave me alone!", she shouted
"Syd! Syd! Calm down... It's me... Michael", Michael held her by the
shoulders until she calm. He touched her hair, "Come on, over, it's
over... it was a nightmare, only a nightmare"
And he would truly like to believe it. Sydney cried in his chest. Michael didn't want to press her, but he needed to know. He finally decided to wait until she felt comfortable to tell him. Maybe he was paranoid about that; he loved her so much that he couldn't accept the idea that she'd had to suffer such a thing...
Sydney was about to tell him the truth, but she feared Michael moved away from her when he knew it. She said nothing. She took refuge in his arms and tried to sleep...