Chapter 2
It All Begins
It was three in the morning, and he was still sitting, wide awake, in the chair next to her bed. He was watching her sleep.
Earlier that night she had been shaking, almost shivering.. He had opened all the drawers and closets of the safe house bedroom and had finally discovered an extra blanket. He placed it over her body gently, not wanting to wake her, and sat down again.
But she still tossed and turned. He had never seen anyone sleep so restlessly in his life. With only the dim light in the room he could still see the sweat glistening on her forehead and her red cheeks. Yet no matter how much she thrashed violently in her sleep, she still clutched the blankets.
As much as Will wanted her to wake up so he could put and end to her nightmare, he knew the reality she faced was likely worse than anything she could be dreaming. He had to let her try and escape it, even if it was only for another few minutes.
Jack still sat next to him. He too sat motionless, looking on helplessly at Sydney's convulsions.
It really was amazing, Will thought, how patiently you can sit for hours upon end when someone you love needs you to be there. All he could think about was how awful the following day was going to be for Sydney - how waking up would only make it begin sooner.
Before he knew it, he noticed the sun beginning to brighten the room and he turned to Jack. "Coffee?" he whispered. Jack nodded and Will crept outside to the kitchen. While the water heated up, he took his cell phone out of his pocket and turned it on.
Seven missed calls. He scrolled through the numbers.
Vaughn. Dixon. Marshall. Vaughn. Weiss. Vaughn. Vaughn.
He dialed the seven digits.
******************
When Sydney disappeared, Vaughn and Will were friends. They weren't best friends by any means, but they were the kind of friends that they needed to be so that it wasn't awkward when they ended up eating breakfast in the kitchen together.
Will had always wanted to hate Vaughn. He had always wanted to hate whoever it was that Sydney ended up falling in love with. It would have been much easier. But when he got to know Vaughn, he couldn't do it, especially after Vaughn got Will a job at the CIA.
So it ended up that Will became pretty good friends with the person he had wanted to hate. However, they never really saw each other or talked when they weren't with the girls.
That is, until 2:00 am, about three days after Will returned to work and a little bit less than a month after she had vanished.
Will was lying in bed, wide awake. He hadn't slept much since she had returned to work. He, like the rest of them, had relied on coffee and the occasional donut or vending-machine sandwich to keep him functioning. The doctors had told him he was working too much, to take it easy, but he couldn't help it. In fact, none of them had left the office for more than an hour here and there. That is, until Kendall called them into a meeting for one reason.
"You will all go home tonight. I don't want to see you until 8:00 tomorrow morning. I would advise that you sleep, but if you're not going to..." he paused and looked from Jack to Vaughn. "We're not getting anything accomplished with the five of our most crucial employees completely sleep-deprived."
So Will had gone home. Granted, he hadn't left until 11, but he was home. He had eaten and showered and now he was lying in bed at 2:00 in the morning. Wide awake.
And then the phone rang. There was still that fleeting instant where thought - just as he had every time he heard the phone ring for days - that it would be Sydney. He picked up the receiver and prepared himself for anything. "Hello," he said.
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't know who to call..."
"Vaughn?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, Will, it's just I..."
"It's not like I was asleep," Will replied.
So at 2:30 in the morning Will and Vaughn met for drinks at a bar. They hardly said anything to each other the whole time, but it was understood. They were each going through the same thing, so they might as well be friends as they were going through it.
************
After he dialed, Will didn't even hear the phone ring on the other line before Vaughn picked it up. "Will?"
"Sydney's fine," Will responded.
"How is she?" Vaughn asked.
"She's fine." There was a pause.
"Will." His tone changed. "How is she?" Another pause.
"She'll be fine. She's...she's pretty shaken up."
He sighed. "Yeah, I know. On the plane flight home..."
"Yeah, wow. How was that?" Will asked as he looked through the mostly empty cabinets for mugs.
"You know what I was told when they called me back and told me she was alive?"
"What?"
"They said that I shouldn't take anything she says at face value. That it's possible she's been working against the CIA for two years. That she's reappearing when it's convenient for her..."
"Yeah..."
"I totally prepared myself for that. That she wasn't dead, but she was probably...probably a traitor. And I kept telling myself, the whole way there, that she didn't care about me. That if she had she would have called. That when I walked in there it wouldn't be the Sydney I loved. It wouldn't matter that I was...that I had Michelle, because she clearly didn't love me. I told myself," he sighed and took a breath. "I told myself that I had to be professional and not tell her anything more than she needed to know."
"And then you saw her?" Will asked, pouring the steaming coffee into three chipped mugs.
"I opened the door and I couldn't believe how stupid I'd been. She..." he trailed off.
"She's exactly the same," finished Will.
"Yeah. Exactly. It's Sydney. To answer your question, the plane flight home was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And every time I started to feel badly for myself...I'd just look at Sydney and..."
Will didn't know what to say.
"Hey, are you coming back to work?" Will asked, changing the subject rather abruptly.
"I already talked to Kendall, before I left. I have to be there...there's just no other option."
"Is he ok with it?" asked Will.
"When I left last year...we agreed. It was a sabbatical, until I was ready to go back."
"Does Michelle know?"
There was a pause. Will already knew the answer. "I have to go, Will. I have a couple of things to deal with, but I should be in the office later today."
"Bye."
Will pressed the red "end" button on his cell phone and stood in the kitchen for a moment before grabbing all three mugs and walking back into the bedroom.
When he entered, Sydney was awake. She was holding her father's hand. Will tried to read her expression, but he couldn't. It just looked blank.
He put a mug in Jack's hand, and offered the third one to Sydney. She took it. A few seconds of silence passed, until Sydney broke it.
"Will, this coffee...it's terrible," she said, almost smiling.
Will allowed himself to laugh, slightly, trying to come up with a witty response. He couldn't come up with anything, though. He was too happy. He had just seen the Sydney he has missed so much peeking out from underneath the misery. "Yeah, I know," he replied.
"So when does it all begin?" she asked. "I mean, I'm assuming they're suspicious."
Jack nodded. "They just have to look into some things. It doesn't necessarily mean they're suspicious..." The look on Sydney's face showed that she obviously didn't believe him. "They think that you either left willingly, and in that case intensive medical testing might reveal what you have been doing for all this time, or you were kidnapped, and in that case it would reveal why you don't remember anything and what you may have been subjected to while you were gone." He paused. "It would be helpful if you would consent to a full work up."
"Yeah, whatever they need," she said softly, as she stood up out of bed and slipped into her shoes. Will and her father stood up, too. They were walking towards the door when she stopped them.
Her momentary strength was crumbling.
"Do you think they would let me bring Will with me? Today, for the tests" the tears were beginning to gather in the lids of her eyes again.
Jack walked to his daughter and put his hand on her back. "I think we can arrange that," he said. They left the safe house and took their time driving to the office.
_________________________________
The end for now. This is the first time I have ever written something that isn't one chapter, so I hope I am doing alright. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, you have no idea how much I appreciate it (unless you write fan-fictions, too, and then you probably know). Please review this one, too! I hate to be cliché, but I really do need motivation to continue. Thanks!
It All Begins
It was three in the morning, and he was still sitting, wide awake, in the chair next to her bed. He was watching her sleep.
Earlier that night she had been shaking, almost shivering.. He had opened all the drawers and closets of the safe house bedroom and had finally discovered an extra blanket. He placed it over her body gently, not wanting to wake her, and sat down again.
But she still tossed and turned. He had never seen anyone sleep so restlessly in his life. With only the dim light in the room he could still see the sweat glistening on her forehead and her red cheeks. Yet no matter how much she thrashed violently in her sleep, she still clutched the blankets.
As much as Will wanted her to wake up so he could put and end to her nightmare, he knew the reality she faced was likely worse than anything she could be dreaming. He had to let her try and escape it, even if it was only for another few minutes.
Jack still sat next to him. He too sat motionless, looking on helplessly at Sydney's convulsions.
It really was amazing, Will thought, how patiently you can sit for hours upon end when someone you love needs you to be there. All he could think about was how awful the following day was going to be for Sydney - how waking up would only make it begin sooner.
Before he knew it, he noticed the sun beginning to brighten the room and he turned to Jack. "Coffee?" he whispered. Jack nodded and Will crept outside to the kitchen. While the water heated up, he took his cell phone out of his pocket and turned it on.
Seven missed calls. He scrolled through the numbers.
Vaughn. Dixon. Marshall. Vaughn. Weiss. Vaughn. Vaughn.
He dialed the seven digits.
******************
When Sydney disappeared, Vaughn and Will were friends. They weren't best friends by any means, but they were the kind of friends that they needed to be so that it wasn't awkward when they ended up eating breakfast in the kitchen together.
Will had always wanted to hate Vaughn. He had always wanted to hate whoever it was that Sydney ended up falling in love with. It would have been much easier. But when he got to know Vaughn, he couldn't do it, especially after Vaughn got Will a job at the CIA.
So it ended up that Will became pretty good friends with the person he had wanted to hate. However, they never really saw each other or talked when they weren't with the girls.
That is, until 2:00 am, about three days after Will returned to work and a little bit less than a month after she had vanished.
Will was lying in bed, wide awake. He hadn't slept much since she had returned to work. He, like the rest of them, had relied on coffee and the occasional donut or vending-machine sandwich to keep him functioning. The doctors had told him he was working too much, to take it easy, but he couldn't help it. In fact, none of them had left the office for more than an hour here and there. That is, until Kendall called them into a meeting for one reason.
"You will all go home tonight. I don't want to see you until 8:00 tomorrow morning. I would advise that you sleep, but if you're not going to..." he paused and looked from Jack to Vaughn. "We're not getting anything accomplished with the five of our most crucial employees completely sleep-deprived."
So Will had gone home. Granted, he hadn't left until 11, but he was home. He had eaten and showered and now he was lying in bed at 2:00 in the morning. Wide awake.
And then the phone rang. There was still that fleeting instant where thought - just as he had every time he heard the phone ring for days - that it would be Sydney. He picked up the receiver and prepared himself for anything. "Hello," he said.
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't know who to call..."
"Vaughn?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, Will, it's just I..."
"It's not like I was asleep," Will replied.
So at 2:30 in the morning Will and Vaughn met for drinks at a bar. They hardly said anything to each other the whole time, but it was understood. They were each going through the same thing, so they might as well be friends as they were going through it.
************
After he dialed, Will didn't even hear the phone ring on the other line before Vaughn picked it up. "Will?"
"Sydney's fine," Will responded.
"How is she?" Vaughn asked.
"She's fine." There was a pause.
"Will." His tone changed. "How is she?" Another pause.
"She'll be fine. She's...she's pretty shaken up."
He sighed. "Yeah, I know. On the plane flight home..."
"Yeah, wow. How was that?" Will asked as he looked through the mostly empty cabinets for mugs.
"You know what I was told when they called me back and told me she was alive?"
"What?"
"They said that I shouldn't take anything she says at face value. That it's possible she's been working against the CIA for two years. That she's reappearing when it's convenient for her..."
"Yeah..."
"I totally prepared myself for that. That she wasn't dead, but she was probably...probably a traitor. And I kept telling myself, the whole way there, that she didn't care about me. That if she had she would have called. That when I walked in there it wouldn't be the Sydney I loved. It wouldn't matter that I was...that I had Michelle, because she clearly didn't love me. I told myself," he sighed and took a breath. "I told myself that I had to be professional and not tell her anything more than she needed to know."
"And then you saw her?" Will asked, pouring the steaming coffee into three chipped mugs.
"I opened the door and I couldn't believe how stupid I'd been. She..." he trailed off.
"She's exactly the same," finished Will.
"Yeah. Exactly. It's Sydney. To answer your question, the plane flight home was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And every time I started to feel badly for myself...I'd just look at Sydney and..."
Will didn't know what to say.
"Hey, are you coming back to work?" Will asked, changing the subject rather abruptly.
"I already talked to Kendall, before I left. I have to be there...there's just no other option."
"Is he ok with it?" asked Will.
"When I left last year...we agreed. It was a sabbatical, until I was ready to go back."
"Does Michelle know?"
There was a pause. Will already knew the answer. "I have to go, Will. I have a couple of things to deal with, but I should be in the office later today."
"Bye."
Will pressed the red "end" button on his cell phone and stood in the kitchen for a moment before grabbing all three mugs and walking back into the bedroom.
When he entered, Sydney was awake. She was holding her father's hand. Will tried to read her expression, but he couldn't. It just looked blank.
He put a mug in Jack's hand, and offered the third one to Sydney. She took it. A few seconds of silence passed, until Sydney broke it.
"Will, this coffee...it's terrible," she said, almost smiling.
Will allowed himself to laugh, slightly, trying to come up with a witty response. He couldn't come up with anything, though. He was too happy. He had just seen the Sydney he has missed so much peeking out from underneath the misery. "Yeah, I know," he replied.
"So when does it all begin?" she asked. "I mean, I'm assuming they're suspicious."
Jack nodded. "They just have to look into some things. It doesn't necessarily mean they're suspicious..." The look on Sydney's face showed that she obviously didn't believe him. "They think that you either left willingly, and in that case intensive medical testing might reveal what you have been doing for all this time, or you were kidnapped, and in that case it would reveal why you don't remember anything and what you may have been subjected to while you were gone." He paused. "It would be helpful if you would consent to a full work up."
"Yeah, whatever they need," she said softly, as she stood up out of bed and slipped into her shoes. Will and her father stood up, too. They were walking towards the door when she stopped them.
Her momentary strength was crumbling.
"Do you think they would let me bring Will with me? Today, for the tests" the tears were beginning to gather in the lids of her eyes again.
Jack walked to his daughter and put his hand on her back. "I think we can arrange that," he said. They left the safe house and took their time driving to the office.
_________________________________
The end for now. This is the first time I have ever written something that isn't one chapter, so I hope I am doing alright. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, you have no idea how much I appreciate it (unless you write fan-fictions, too, and then you probably know). Please review this one, too! I hate to be cliché, but I really do need motivation to continue. Thanks!