Since That Night

Author: mabelle
Feedback:  Sure.  Constructive criticism is always welcome.  I have a thick skin.  Like it or not, ca m'est egal.
Distribution: Here, SD-1 and CM.  Anywhere else you want as long as you ask.
Disclaimer: I understand that Alias is the property of JJ Abrams and ABC.  I have no aspirations as a writer and will never profit from it.  I do it purely as a form of self-entertainment and speculation therapy. Blame JJ and his schizophrenic writing staff (at least since Phase One).  If they didn't keep blowing up the show's premise every couple of months, I wouldn't have to do this.
Summary:  You can only compartmentalize so much…
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17
Spoilers: The Telling, of course

Classification: Angst, with a bit of Action and Romance thrown in for good measure.

A/N:  A note on the timing of this tale.  I don't know if you've noticed, but the passage of time in Alias-land has been pretty damn vague this past season (intentional?).  No holidays have been noted.  The only solid timeline given was in Salvation, wherein they noted that it had only been six weeks (and, coincidentally, six episodes) since ATY and the Big Red Ball of Doom.  So, for the purposes of this fic, I have decided to peg everything to ATY with one week per episode through season 2.  Then, there's everybody's favorite two-year leap.  You'd be amazed at how well it works out.  (I spend way too much time thinking about this stuff….) 



Part 1  - Two Years

"Since that night, you were missing", he paused trying to keep his emotions in check, but failing.  "You've been missing for almost two years."

Sydney felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.  When she was finally able to catch her breath, she whispered, "No, that's not possible…"  She saw Vaughn looking at her, his tortured expression, a mixture of anguish, concern, and, could that be, suspicion?

"Vaughn, the last thing I remember was shooting Francie's double! Then, I woke up here in an alley yesterday.  What's the date?!"

"October 3, 2004", he murmured, still unable to tear his gaze from her.  She looked and felt like Sydney, but this was just not possible - not after everything that had happened.  And what was with the amnesia?  Two years!  It was too convenient.

She stared at him incredulously and then lifted her shirt and stared at the scar on her stomach once again.  She remembered a bullet grazing her there during her struggle with the double, but it had completely healed and the scar was no longer even pink, but a white streak.  How was this possible?

"What is that?"

"I think I got it when I was fighting with the double, but I thought that that was yesterday!" she cried, starting to break down.  "What's going on?"

Vaughn's suspicions started to melt away when he saw that scar.  Although they had found half of her jacket and one of her shoes, nowhere had they reported the additional tear in the blood-soaked garment that would have lined up perfectly with that scar.  He had spent weeks poring over the pictures of her apartment from that night and all of the evidence they had found from the struggle there and the traces of her that were at the Pallisades.  Still, he couldn't take any chances.

"Sydney, I need to ask you some questions.  They won't let me bring you in until I get some answers."

"But Vaughn, I just told you I don't remember anything!  As for questions, I've got a few of my own…", she yelled at him while rising and gesturing to his left hand.  She started pacing the room like an animal at the zoo.

Vaughn remained seated and held his head in his hands.  "Syd", he pleaded, "a lot of things have changed since you've been gone.  I want to give you answers to everything, but a lot of it is Omega-17.  I'll be able to tell you a little more once you've answered a few personal questions about your life before that night."

Sydney suddenly stopped pacing.  It finally struck her what he was getting at.  "Oh my God, you think I'm a double…, but we destroyed Markovich's device!"

Vaughn met her gaze.  "You've been gone for almost two years", he said slowly and deliberately, "the CIA knows that Sloane has been trying to rebuild the device.  Even if he hasn't succeeded yet, it's been more than enough time for a surgical double.  I'm not saying that I believe that's the case, but the CIA has to be careful."  He paused before continuing, " Will you answer the questions?"

"Fine", Sydney tossed out curtly, "Fire away!"  Vaughn nodded and pulled out his cell phone.  Sydney regarded him curiously.  After he dialed the phone and gave his number and password, she could tell that he had been connected with Kendall.  The conversation started calmly, but quickly became strained.

"I've arrived and confirm delivery of the package.  I need a set of the questions."

"Yes, I KNOW that, but that would be WHY I need a set of the questions…."

"Listen you son-of-a-bitch, I don't work for you anymore!  I let you pull me back into this nightmare on the off-chance that this might be for real and, now that I'm letting you know it might be, you're hesitating to give me information that would prove it one way or the other!  Now, give me the God-damned questions or I'm out of here and I'll tell her to leave too!!"

Sydney gaped at the one-sided exchange she was witnessing.  Vaughn had obviously left the CIA, or at least the Joint Task Force.  Now, she understood what he had meant when he said that they had called him back.  She couldn't even imagine what could have occurred between the two men to cause this level of animosity.  She knew Kendall was a jerk, but she had never seen Vaughn act this way.  Vaughn saw her horrified expression after his last remark and quickly softened his demeanor and shook his head slightly to assure her that he was not about to abandon her. 

Apparently, Kendall was giving him whatever these questions were because Vaughn calmed down even further and started nodding his head.

"Okay, now what are the answers…"

"You're kidding.  You can't possibly be serious.  You have us on video surveillance!  Fine!"

Sydney whipped her head around, searching for where the camera might be.  She couldn't believe that they had been watching her since yesterday!  Vaughn noticed what she was doing and nodded at the cheap tapestry that was hanging on the wall behind her.  She immediately turned scowling and gave it the finger. 

Despite his agitated state, Vaughn couldn't help but laugh.  He quickly composed himself and motioned for Sydney to sit down.  He held the cell phone between them.   In a cynical tone, he stated, "Sydney, apparently Director Kendall is afraid that I might somehow give you the answers.  So, he would like to hear them for himself ."  They could both hear Kendall let go a string of invectives, indicating his displeasure at Vaughn's comment not to mention Sydney's previous gesture.  Vaughn simply rolled his eyes, shook his head, and waited for him to shut up.  Now, despite the situation, even Sydney was smiling slightly.  Vaughn finally interrupted Kendall's tirade, "Can we get started now?"

"Why not?  You've already clearly made up your mind on the subject..", they heard Kendall bite through the phone.

Vaughn took a deep breath, stared at Sydney, and started, "Sydney, when you were young, a few weeks after your mother left, you and your father found something that she had left behind for you.  Could you explain what that was?"

Sydney thought for a moment, smiled sadly, and began, "As you know, my mother 'died' right before the Holidays.  I had been begging her for a pet, a cat to be exact.  My Mom said we couldn't have one because she was allergic, but I didn't want a dog because my parents said that I would have to walk it or clean up the yard after it.  After she was gone, my Dad and I found some wrapped Christmas presents hidden in the garage.  Among them was a big stuffed cat.  I slept with that cat for years", she said softly as tears glazed her eyes.

Vaughn brought the phone to his ear and asked, "Can I continue with the next question?"  However, his expression immediately soured and he turned to Sydney apologetically, "Kendall would like to know if it had a name?"

Sydney shook her head in disbelief.   She grabbed the phone from Vaughn's hand and hissed into it, "His name was Mr. Whiskers.  Would you also like to know what color he was and if he had any special markings?"

"No, that won't be necessary…"

She handed the phone back to a smirking Vaughn who again inquired if he should continue.  He then asked Sydney the next question.  "When you were on one of your last missions with Dixon for SD-6 in Rabat, he told you that you had a "thing" that you always did.  What was it?"

Sydney smiled slightly and tucked her hair behind her left ear.  Vaughn gazed at her, remembering how she always did do that, and smiled in return.  Then, they simply stared at each other for a few moments until Kendall interrupted the silence, "Are you having a problem with the question Ms. Bristow?"  "Sorry, Director Kendall, as you have video on us, I was simply showing you", she responded, "But since you obviously weren't paying attention, I'll tell you.  I have a tendency to keep tucking my hair behind my ears."

"May I ask the last question, Kendall?", Vaughn queried.

"You mean the last question for now…", Kendall corrected.

"Whatever, may I?", retorted the beleaguered former agent.

"Go ahead…"

"Syd, when you and Will Tippin were at the movies once, you were asked to leave the theater.  What was the movie and why were you asked to leave?"

Sydney appeared confused for a moment and then she had a flash of recollection and had to suppress a laugh.  Vaughn gave her a quizzical look and she nodded that she was ready to answer.  "When we went to see the 'Lord of the Rings'", she began, "we got to the theater a little bit late.  There weren't many seats left that weren't right up front.  However, we found some in the middle of the theater and had to work our way in to them.  Once we were seated, we realized that we were near a very loud man and his wife.   He kept commenting and making snide remarks during the movie.  He was driving us crazy, but there was really nowhere we could move without disturbing a bunch of other people.  We asked him politely to keep it down, but he brushed us off."  She paused for a moment before continuing, " Later on, he fell asleep and started snoring with his mouth wide open.  His wife got up to use the restroom a little after that."  Sydney started laughing, " As soon as she left, Will took a piece of popcorn and tried to shoot it in his mouth.  Then, he asked me to give it a try….  The people around us were cheering us on."  Now, there were tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried to continue without cracking up, " By the time his wife got back, his mouth was full of popcorn.  She caught us in the act, reported us to the manager, and we were escorted out.  However, we were given a round of applause by the fellow movie goers around us as we left."  

She looked up at Vaughn when she finished, wearing a broad grin.  He returned it with a sad smile and added, "God Bless Will Tippin…".  After that, he pulled the cell up to his ear and asked Kendall, "Has she answered everything to you satisfaction?" 

Sydney stared at him, confused, and interrupted, "Don't you get a question?"  He asked Kendall to hold on for a second and asked her to repeat what she had said.  "Why don't you get a question?" she repeated.  "It seems that all the important men in my life got a question, except for you.  Why is that?" 

Vaughn wore an uncomfortable expression and momentarily shifted his gaze downward, but before he could say anything, they both heard Kendall yell through the phone, "Do not answer that Mr. Vaughn!  She is cleared to the next level, but only that.  No Omega-17 information until she's back stateside and has passed physical exams!  Bring her back home!"  After that, they could hear Kendall hang up.

An awkward silence ensued between the two of them.  Vaughn broke it when he looked up and asked her softly, "What's the best dinner you ever made me that I never ate?"  Sydney was still confused by Kendall's response to her question, but answered quietly, "Chicken Cacciatore". 

They never did eat that first meal that she had made him.  Will and Francie, no – Francie's double, had come back from the movies around 11:30, found the food on the stove, and assumed that they were leftovers which were up for grabs.  "You know, given all the surveillance in the apartment and the fact that she ate half of it, they probably know what I made that night."  Vaughn shrugged, "Given all the things Sloane knows about the two of us, I doubt he bothered to keep that one on the list."

Sydney was just about to ask what he had meant by his last comment when Vaughn's cell started ringing.  Vaughn answered to find that it was Kendall again, yelling.  Vaughn's look of complete exasperation was followed by one of incredulity.  "You have audio on us too!!  Listen, you jackass, you pulled me back in!  Let me bring her in my way.  Despite what you may think, I have no intention of divulging anything Omega-17.  You're the one raising all the red flags, not me.  I'll talk to you when we get to the safe house stateside.  Until then, I'm going to handle things my way."  With that, he hung up the phone and handed it to Sydney.  While staring at the tapestry, he bit out, "If he calls again, you get to talk to him".

As Sydney put the cell on the side table, she breathed, "Vaughn, what the hell is going on?"

"I'll tell you what I can, but not here.  We have to get going.  You may not remember the last two years, but I doubt that's the case for whomever's responsible".