***Thanks to all of you who are reading this story! Another special thanks to bridie, star, Nickell, Mandi, Max, WishingStar and Lainie for reviewing! This will be the last chapter of this story so I hope y'all like it!

He looked up at Sydney and his jaw dropped. He held his breath for a minute and just stared at her. He quickly did some math in his head. She had been pregnant?!

Sydney looked up at Vaughn only to see him staring at her in shock. It took her a second to realize that he was looking at the baby, and what must be whirring through his head.

"What…how…why didn't…?" He began to stammer, with a surprised look etched on his face.

Sydney saw his struggling and quickly cut him off. "It's not mine." An even more confused look played upon his features. "I'm babysitting for my friend Erin." She added, slightly amused at his reaction.

"Oh." He simply said, feeling relieved but Vaughn also couldn't ignore the tiny twinge of disappointment as he thought of what could have been, and the life they could have lived together.  He caught himself staring at her again. She looked beautiful, holding the child, it seemed so natural. He sighed and realized they hadn't spoken for a good minute.

"Um…yeah. Totally forgot what we were talking about." He said, feeling nervous as he awkwardly stuck his hands in his coat pockets. Sydney smiled at his shyness as she adjusted the baby on her hip, now quiet and content with a pacifier in its mouth. The slamming of a car door in the driveway jolted the both of them back into reality. Sydney looked up and saw a petite strawberry blonde woman walking towards them.

"Hey Syd!" She called from the sidewalk.

"Hey Erin." She said as Erin saw Vaughn, shooting Sydney a look that seemed to say 'Who is this gorgeous man standing in your door way that you have not told me about?' Sydney smiled a little as she remembered her manners. "Oh Erin this is Vaughn, I mean Michael." She struggled a little. "Vaughn, this is Erin Matthews."

"Hi, nice to meet you." Erin said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise." Vaughn replied as an awkward silence ensued as Erin shot Sydney more meaningful looks. Erin spoke up again, "I see you've already met Kit." She said as she reached out to grab the baby girl from Sydney's arms, relieving her of her babysitting duties. "So, um Michael, what brings you into town?" She asked pleasantly.

Vaughn looked at Sydney as he struggled for an answer a bit. Sydney just looked at him, offering no help, herself wanting to know why he had come. "Oh, well I was just in the area." He offered. Sydney shot him an accusing look but said nothing.

Erin sensed the slight discord and conveniently spoke up again. "Well, I should probably be going." She said, "Give me a call if y'all want to do something. Where are you staying at?"

Vaughn looked flustered yet again, as he started to speak, "Well actually I was just passing though so…"

"He's staying with me." Sydney interrupted. Both Erin and Vaughn turned to her in surprise as they heard her remark. Erin knew Sydney; she wasn't the type to invite random men to come stay with her. In fact, Erin couldn't even remember the last time Sydney had had a guy in. She shot Sydney yet another strange look as she spoke up.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Michael. I should get going with this little one." She said adjusting the baby on her hip as she made her way down the sidewalk. "Call me later!" She called out to Sydney.

Sydney watched Erin's retreating figure as she turned back to Vaughn, both uncertain on where they stood. Sydney shut the door and moved out of the entryway and into the living room. "We need to talk." She said, sitting down on the couch.

 Vaughn sat beside her as they both stared straight ahead, neither saying anything. Vaughn twiddled his thumbs a little and started wringing his hands. After a moment, he spoke up. "How did we let ourselves end up this way?" He asked, not really expecting an answer.  Sydney bit her lip and looked away, her eyes rested on a stuffed animal lying on the floor. She got up and made her way to it. It was a turtle, one of Kit's. He watched her figure rise from the couch. She looked tired, maybe even lonely.

 "Look Syd, I'm really sorry." He began. She looked up and stared into his green eyes. They were filled with regret, with remorse, with love? He looked back into her deep brown eyes, tearing ever so slightly at the edges.  She bent down and grabbed the turtle. He spoke again as he got up from the couch, "I know that this won't make everything better, make all the pain and loneliness disappear, but I am so sorry for, for not understanding, for my harsh words, for, for not coming after you." He said softly.

She took a deep breath, soaking in his words as she mindlessly fidgeted with the stuffed turtle. By now real tears were forming, her voice was wobbly as she spoke "I'm sorry for pushing you away Vaughn. I'm sorry for shutting you out. I'm so sorry." She choked out, not able to look at him.

He hated to see her cry. Before she knew what was happening she found herself in his strong embrace. She felt her shoulders shake a little as she desperately tried not to cry. He breathed in her scent as held her close and whispered into her hair. "Its okay, its okay Syd." Just like old times.  He pulled her away from his body to look into her glistening eyes. "Just don't do it again." He spoke quietly right before he felt her lips crashing into his. He held her tight, as they searched each other, full of passion, months of loneliness and pain. They finally pulled apart. She melted into his arms as she breathlessly spoke his name.

A single tear streamed down her cheek as he held her close. Vaughn's arms wrapped around her protectively, he took a deep breath, breathing in her essence. He fought back tears as he smelled her familiar shampoo, causing memories to cascade through his mind and through his heart. A myriad of emotions overwhelmed him as he pulled her back once again to gaze into her eyes.

She gave him a weak smile and started to laugh lightly. He looked at her with questioning eyes, the corners of his own mouth turning up, reacting to her smile. "Look at us." She managed to say, her voice light. He gave a short laugh as he tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. 

Sydney looked down at her feet as she bit her bottom lip. "So where do we go from here?"

Vaughn looked down at her form, she was so unsure of herself- but so was he. The only thing he was sure of was that he desperately wanted to kiss her again-better yet forever. Instead he took her hand in his as a million thoughts crowded his mind. His brain searched for words but none came. With his free hand he reached down for her lowered face, lifting her chin so she looked into his glowing green eyes.  He unsuccessfully tried to smile to reassure her. Finally he spoke the only words that came to mind, "God Syd, I missed you so much."

She simply nodded in response; there was still too much pain in her heart. No matter how much she wanted to be with him, Sydney knew that if he would ever leave she wouldn't be able to bear it.

"Vaughn," She started, she opened her mouth to speak again but then paused. He watched her chest rise with each breath as she struggled to speak. "I can't do this again, if it's not going to," She paused again. "If it's not going to last."

"Syd, I'm not trying to rush you…" He began.

"That's not it." She quickly interrupted, her voice still small. Vaughn looked at her with pleading eyes but she refused to meet his gaze. After a moment of silent she spoke up again.

"Vaughn, what do you want from me?" She questioned, looking into his eyes, years of pain easily displayed upon her face.

He glanced at the floor, littered with baby toys from Kit's previous stay. He glanced around the room, noting how natural the whole thing seemed- him, Sydney, and a playpen set up in the corner next to a bookshelf filled with classics. Sydney's pile of papers on the coffee table, her red pen lying next to it, along with her grade book.

"I want this." He motioned towards the room, pausing. "I want you." He said, stroking her cheek gently, as he stepped closer to her, their bodies close. So close they could feel each others heat, each others breath. He brought his lips to hers once again, this time filled with gentleness and love. A thrill ran through Sydney's entire body as she felt his hands grasp her waist firmly after they had wandered down the length of her back. She let herself absorb him as she ran her hands up his face and through his hair while delving deeper into the kiss.

Time seemed to halt as the two stood so close in the living room, each savoring the others presence. Finally she took his hand and led him up the winding stairs. 

~~~***~~~

A week had passed. He had stayed with her. He watched her everyday life, something he had missed so much before. He watched her go to work every morning, and they even began to jog together every morning. He'd taken time to explore the small town, and after many discussions, it was settled. He was moving to Helena, Montana. Vaughn had yet to broach the subject with the CIA, and his week of vacation had quickly dissipated. It was Saturday, and now Vaughn was returning to L.A to wrap up lose ends and move out of his apartment.

Sydney returned to her apartment, her arms yet again filled with groceries. She opened her front door and was disappointed to find her house empty. She instantly remembered that Vaughn had left earlier that day, flying back to L.A. He had wanted her to go with her, but she refused. L.A held too many bad memories.

She set the groceries on the kitchen counter as she realized that she missed Vaughn already. She scolded herself for being so emotional; after all, she had lived for over a year without even seeing him. Suddenly her previous quiet solitary lifestyle seemed vastly empty.

She took a breath and shook her head slightly as if to clear her mind. She abandoned the rest of the awaiting groceries and decided to go change into some more comfortable clothes.

She made her way up the spiraling stairs to her bedroom. She flicked on the light, illuminating the neat room. Immediately something glimmering on the bed caught her eye. She crossed the room over to the bed, finding a small package wrapped in sparkling silver paper. She examined it and after finding no card she decided to open it. Carefully tearing away the delicate paper, Sydney unveiled the mysterious package. Her breath caught in her chest as she saw it. A smile spread across her face as all to familiar tears began to seep to the corners of her eyes. It was the picture frame. His picture frame, that so long ago she had hurled into the Pacific Ocean.  But now there stood a photo of them together, smiling as if they had no cares in the world.

FIN

Well I really hope y'all enjoyed reading this fic, I had fun writing it. I'm pretty sure that this is it but if y'all really really want, I might consider writing a sequel. Thanks again for reading!

Oh and if you liked this story you might also like Recrudescence (also very angsty) and the story I'm currently working on, One Fish, Two Fish (which I hope to be angsty- cuz ya gotta love angst!). Thanks again for reading!