AN: Sorry for the long wait. I'm such a procrastinator. I can't believe I put it off for a whole month though! Usually, I'm better than that. lol. Anyways, enjoy and let me know what you think!

Thanks to Michelle for her wonderful betaing!

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Chapter 7

Vaughn's POV

I walked moodily through the hospital corridors. It had been over a week and a half since I had that fateful dream. Sydney had not woken up yet. Every day I would sit holding her hand and reminiscing about our many memories together. Sometimes it would seem that she would about to smile, but I realized that I must have just imagined it. The doctors were getting more and more worried about the day. I had faith in her though. She had been through many obstacles before and I knew this would just be another hurdle for her to jump over. It was either that or the alternative, something I refused to even think about.

I had not heard from Eric since he went to London, but Jack was keeping me up to date every now and then. Ever since Sydney first went into the hospital, Jack had buried himself into his work. He, himself, would be on the London mission if it had not been for Devlin's direct order that he not leave LA. Devlin didn't think it was safe for Jack to be on the mission with his emotions running high lately. Jack, of course, argued with him, but in the end, he stayed behind. Instead he's been keeping track of the mission from LA. Apparently, they had been close to capturing Sark once, but he had managed to get away once more. The CIA's informants have reported that Sark was still in London though so the team was waiting for the right opportunity to catch him.

Sitting next to Sydney's bed, I stroked her hair lightly and stared at her pale face. As I put my palm on her cheek, I felt coldness on the tips of my fingers. It reminded me of our hockey trips which made me give the smallest of smiles. Suddenly, I heard footsteps entering the room. Looking up, I was surprised to find Eric standing in front of me.

"What are you doing here?"

"We've caught him. He's been brought to headquarters." Eric looked apprehensively at me, but I ignored his look.

"Sark?" He nodded grimly. I stood up from my seat and pulled on my coat. After giving Syd a kiss on the forehead and pushing a stray strand of hair away from her face, I started to leave. Grabbing a hold of my arm, Eric stopped me.

"Remember what I said." I gave him a curt nod and walked out the door with a quick glance at Sydney.

*******

Walking through the gates that lead to Sark's cell, I remembered the times that Irina Derevko had been held here. Feelings of anger and resentment filled me. I hated her then and I hated her even more now. What did she want with Sydney? Hadn't her daughter suffered enough by her hands? As soon as I saw Sark, almost all of my self control was gone. Once I was let into the cell, I slammed him against the wall.

"Care to calm down a bit, Mr. Vaughn? That's no way to interrogate people."

"I'm just doing my job." I gave him a cynical smile, slamming his head against the wall once more. He tried to push me away, but I had too tight of a hold on him. Blood was trickling down his nose.

"I don't think doing your job involves beating me up."

"Don't tell me how to do my job. You almost killed my wife. Do you understand that? Do you understand that you almost took away the thing that mattered the most to me? The only thing that keeps me sane in this world? You should be glad I don't kill you on the spot."

He laughed. "You wouldn't kill me. You're too weak to do something like that. That's the problem with you, Mr. Vaughn. You are too blinded by your morals. Besides, do you really want your wife to feel guilty about you murdering me because of her? No, I don't think so. You would do anything to keep her happy. You wear your emotions on your sleeve and it will only get you in trouble in the future."

"At least I have morals. You obviously don't have any and don't bring my wife into this." He smiled lightly.

"A little touchy about Sydney, aren't you?" I punched him twice in the face.

"You don't deserve to even breathe the same air as her let alone call her by her first name. Do you understand me?"

"Right, my mistake. Won't happen again, I promise you." I gave a bitter laugh.

"What good are your promises?" With that, I kicked him in the stomach and watched as he slid to the floor.

"I think that's enough damage for today, Agent Vaughn." I turned around and saw Kendall standing at the doorway. He had a little smirk on his face.

"We want him to still be able to answer our questions, don't we? Besides you're wanted at the hospital. You can question him further tomorrow."

"Why? What's happened? Is Sydney okay?" I forgot all about Sark and started worrying about Sydney.

"They didn't give me any details. I'm sorry." Frustrated that I didn't know what had happened, I ran out to the parking lot.

*********

I walked quickly through the hospital doors; my heart pounding inside me. Different scenarios flashed through my head. Looking at a window I was passing, I saw many wrinkles on my forehead. I prayed that nothing had gone wrong and that Sydney was fine. I regretted leaving her alone. Seeing Eric sitting outside the door to Sydney's room, I ran to him.

"What happened, Eric? Please tell me Sydney is okay."

"Come on, let's get you inside." They walked inside the room and I gasped.

"Sydney!"