Friends
_______________________
Everyone had agreed she should stay at his place. There really wasn't a logical alternative.
The two of them sat at his kitchen table. The clock on the oven said 10:30. He was tired, but not the kind of tired that eight hours of rest can cure. He was tired in the way that you become after dealing with everything he had dealt with over the last two years. In a perfect world he would pack his bags and head to Mexico or somewhere - anywhere - that he could sit on the beach, drink a beer, and not think about the CIA, Rambaldi, or even whether or not he remembered to pay the phone bill.
This, however, was not a perfect world. It would be quite a while before he sat on a beach. As he thought about that, he looked at Sydney. She looked even more emotionally tired that he felt, and she had only been dealing with this for two days. He doubted if a trip to the beach would help her right now. Only time could help Sydney.
Sydney was sipping white wine. They didn't talk, they just sat there. Sydney sipped, Will watched. They hadn't spoken much since they left the roof. Sydney had looked at the picture of her baby with her hand covering her mouth. Will couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying at the picture of the infant.
"Can... can I.... " she managed to stammer out, pointing to the printer. Jack nodded.
"Sure," he said. She pressed the print button, sat completely frozen for a few seconds, and then hurried off to the restroom.
Later, as Will navigated his way home though L.A. traffic, she had made her seat recline as far as it would go. She leaned back, her eyes shut.
And she still wasn't speaking. But Will understood. Where could she begin?
The wine glass was empty and its base touched the table, but she still had her hands wrapped around it, as if she had forgotten that it was resting on the surface and wouldn't shatter if she let go.
"Syd, you want some more," he said as he pushed his chair back and started to stand up.
"No... no, Will, it's ok." She stared at the wine glass for a few more seconds. "I think I'm going to take a bath," she said, half-smiling, pretending to be alright. She stood up and walked to the bathroom, carrying the small suitcase containing her clothes.
*************
Will and Vaughn were at Sydney and Francie's apartment. It was a couple of months after her disappearance. Much of Sydney's and Francie's things had been taken.
Evidence.
Evidence of what, Will wasn't exactly sure. Everyone knew what had happened. Nonetheless, most of "Francie's" belonging had been removed, and sections of the house where fights had occurred were still covered up by sheets of plastic so that it looked like the girls had left the house in a hurry but had remembered to cover their messes in giant garbage bags in case there were any visitors while they were gone.
Their orders were to get in, collect Agent Bristow's belongings, and get out.
But it was much more personal than that for Will and Vaughn.
It's still a crime scene, they were reminded. They shouldn't touch anything or step anywhere they didn't have to. They were only to remove what she would need if she were to be found. At this point that was still a possibility.
They moved slowly through the house considering each object. They collected things she might not need just because they still smelled like her, or because they could still imagine her using them. The blanket off the couch. Her pillow. A wooden spoon from the kitchen. They made it to her bedroom. They emptied the closet and her bathroom drawers. They collected the picture frames from around her room, including the one of Danny, which was still next to her bed. They found a picture of Sydney and Will and a picture of Sydney and Vaughn. They took those for themselves.
Vaughn emptied the top drawer of the chest-of-drawers and put everything in a bag. He opened the middle drawer and froze.
"What is it?" asked Will.
"Nothing," Vaughn said, obviously trying not to break down, as he shut the drawer. He hadn't removed anything. He moved on to the bottom drawer.
They packed up the back of Will's car.
"So, we'll just split this stuff up. keep it at our apartments," said Vaughn.
"Yeah. We can give some to Jack, too."
"We can put some of her clothes in a bag. For when she comes back..... " Vaughn said.
"Yeah."
They finished packing and got in the car. They sat there for a moment, thinking.
Surely they were thinking the same thing.
They would never be back here again.
************
Will stood up to clean the kitchen as he heard the bathroom door shut behind Sydney. He kept waiting to hear the bathwater falling against the tub, but he heard silence. For a few seconds there was nothing, and then she turned the shower on.
He remembered now. In her mind, a few days ago she had found Will "dead" in the bathtub. A few years ago she found Danny dead in the bathtub.
She probably wouldn't be such a fan of baths anymore.
Will grabbed the open bag of Doritos from the cabinet and started eating them as he wiped down the counters. He hadn't cleaned the kitchen in a couple days. He also hadn't eaten at all today, and maybe not at all the day before. He couldn't remember, but suddenly he was starving.
His phone rang.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Will, it's me," said Vaughn.
"Hey, isn't it a little late for you to be -"
"Can I come in, is she sitting with you or.... "
"What?" asked Will, confused.
"Can I come in?"
Will walked to the front door. He began to unlock it, "What are you talking about? Are you -"
He didn't have to finish his sentence. He opened the door to Vaughn, standing there, holding his cell phone to his ear. He hung up.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"Yeah," Will replied, as he moved aside.
Vaughn walked straight to the kitchen, and sat down at the table. Will grabbed a beer out of the fridge and offered it to his friend.
"No thanks...... I'm fine," Vaughn said. Will sat down across from him. "Syd's in the shower?"
Will nodded. Vaughn sat there, completely silent.
"Uhh, Vaughn..... " Will said.
"She hates me," Vaughn said. Will wasn't sure what he had been expecting Vaughn to say, but it wasn't that.
"She doesn't hate you," Will said. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if he meant it or if it was just his gut-reaction answer. The kind of answer you give when someone asks if their new pair of glasses looks good. You always say, "of course." You don't even think about it.
"She hates me. She should hate me.... I hate me."
"Vaughn, you're being too hard on yourself."
He pulled his wedding ring off his finger and held it up to show Will. "I thought about taking it off today, before I went to the office."
"You didn't though." Will remembered Vaughn wearing the ring, he remembered Sydney glaring at it before she asked him to leave the room.
"I was too afraid. I thought if I took it off I might look at Sydney and just forget I was married. And you know what, it didn't even matter. Every time I saw her today all I could think about was that I was married. That there was no point in looking."
Will nodded his head. He had no clue what to say. What do you say to someone who had been so happy he was finally able to move on and now wants nothing more than to fall backwards? Back to what he had before.
"And I can't even feel bad for myself because I deserve it."
"No one deserves this," said Will.
"I do. I...... I should've waited. You know when Kendall called me, all I could say was, 'why me? Why are you asking me to go and pick her up?' He told me it was because I was closest to her before she left. And now look at me.. " he paused. "Will, you're doing a great job, but it should be me with her right now." He stopped talking and slid his ring back on his finger.
It was then that Will noticed Sydney standing in the doorway. They hadn't even heard the water stop running. She was wearing her old pajama pants and a spaghetti-strap, her hair was sopping wet. She was staring at Vaughn's back with a look of complete shock on her face. She shut her yes, composed herself, and walked right past him to the fridge.
Will wondered if she was just going to ignore him. Sydney was a master of deception, but could she really make it seem like she didn't even care he was there?
She couldn't. He could tell from her body language that she was nervous. Vaughn's eyes followed her as she poured a glass of milk, put the gallon back in the fridge, walked back to the counter. She took a sip and put the glass down. She put her hands on the counter; her back faced both of them. She stood there. Silent. Still.
"I, uh...... I better go," said Vaughn, standing up.
"Yeah," said Will, also getting up.
Vaughn stopped though, before he left the kitchen.
"Sydney....... " he began. Will glanced at him, completely surprised. "Sydney, I know this day has been..... I know how hard..... " he wiped his hand over his face and took a deep breath. "It's too early for you to understand, Syd. I won't blame you if you never do..... " He turned around and took a few more steps. He stopped again, and turned back around. "I still love you. Believe me...... I, uh, I never stopped." Vaughn dropped his head. Before he could start to leave again, though, Sydney turned around.
Slowly, she walked to him. He looked up, clearly not knowing if he should expect to be hit in the face or yelled at or kissed.
Tentatively, she took his left hand in hers, and touched the golden band. She dropped his hand and looked at him. She wrapped her arms around him. From where he stood, Will couldn't see Sydney's face. He could see Vaughn, though. When Sydney hugged him, at first he looked shocked. After a few seconds he put his arms around her. And Will could tell what he was thinking, because it was the same thing that Will thought every time Sydney hugged him. Vaughn never wanted to let go of Sydney.
She rested her head on his shoulder, and spoke to him very softly. "Vaughn," she began. "I think that we owe it to each other to be friends....." She remained there for a moment, then kissed him on the cheek and slipped right past him and into her room.
Vaughn shut his eyes, and when he opened them, Will was sure there were about to overflow with tears. Without saying another word, Vaughn left.
Will picked up the glass of milk. He knocked on Sydney's door and she came to open it. She looked at the glass of milk, and then at Will. She smiled.
"Thank you," she whispered, talking the cool glass from his hands. "And Will..... "
"Yeah," he said.
"You don't have to sit with me tonight...."
He let out a laugh. "Good night, Syd," he said, as she closed the door.
Will got himself ready for bed, and then remembered he hadn't locked the door again after Vaughn left. As he locked it, he heard a car pull out of his driveway. Vaughn had been sitting there.
He walked to his bedroom and fell into his bed. For the first time in two years, he fell asleep so quickly that he didn't have time to worry about anything.
_________________________
Once again I am up way too late trying to finish this chapter before I go on vacation Sunday, so sorry if there are typos. At the very least it will be a week an a half before I get the next chapter up, but it could be three or four weeks. I am sorry, but PLEASE don't forget about me. You guys have been so great in reviewing this and it is making me SO happy, so just be on the look out for another chapter.
By the way, I appreciate all my reviews, but I want to mention one person in particular. Special thanks to Edele Lane, who has read and reviewed every chapter. And she has written long reviews, which are especially awesome.
Anyway, thank you to EVERYONE to reading. Reviews seriously make my day. Have a nice few weeks!
_______________________
Everyone had agreed she should stay at his place. There really wasn't a logical alternative.
The two of them sat at his kitchen table. The clock on the oven said 10:30. He was tired, but not the kind of tired that eight hours of rest can cure. He was tired in the way that you become after dealing with everything he had dealt with over the last two years. In a perfect world he would pack his bags and head to Mexico or somewhere - anywhere - that he could sit on the beach, drink a beer, and not think about the CIA, Rambaldi, or even whether or not he remembered to pay the phone bill.
This, however, was not a perfect world. It would be quite a while before he sat on a beach. As he thought about that, he looked at Sydney. She looked even more emotionally tired that he felt, and she had only been dealing with this for two days. He doubted if a trip to the beach would help her right now. Only time could help Sydney.
Sydney was sipping white wine. They didn't talk, they just sat there. Sydney sipped, Will watched. They hadn't spoken much since they left the roof. Sydney had looked at the picture of her baby with her hand covering her mouth. Will couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying at the picture of the infant.
"Can... can I.... " she managed to stammer out, pointing to the printer. Jack nodded.
"Sure," he said. She pressed the print button, sat completely frozen for a few seconds, and then hurried off to the restroom.
Later, as Will navigated his way home though L.A. traffic, she had made her seat recline as far as it would go. She leaned back, her eyes shut.
And she still wasn't speaking. But Will understood. Where could she begin?
The wine glass was empty and its base touched the table, but she still had her hands wrapped around it, as if she had forgotten that it was resting on the surface and wouldn't shatter if she let go.
"Syd, you want some more," he said as he pushed his chair back and started to stand up.
"No... no, Will, it's ok." She stared at the wine glass for a few more seconds. "I think I'm going to take a bath," she said, half-smiling, pretending to be alright. She stood up and walked to the bathroom, carrying the small suitcase containing her clothes.
*************
Will and Vaughn were at Sydney and Francie's apartment. It was a couple of months after her disappearance. Much of Sydney's and Francie's things had been taken.
Evidence.
Evidence of what, Will wasn't exactly sure. Everyone knew what had happened. Nonetheless, most of "Francie's" belonging had been removed, and sections of the house where fights had occurred were still covered up by sheets of plastic so that it looked like the girls had left the house in a hurry but had remembered to cover their messes in giant garbage bags in case there were any visitors while they were gone.
Their orders were to get in, collect Agent Bristow's belongings, and get out.
But it was much more personal than that for Will and Vaughn.
It's still a crime scene, they were reminded. They shouldn't touch anything or step anywhere they didn't have to. They were only to remove what she would need if she were to be found. At this point that was still a possibility.
They moved slowly through the house considering each object. They collected things she might not need just because they still smelled like her, or because they could still imagine her using them. The blanket off the couch. Her pillow. A wooden spoon from the kitchen. They made it to her bedroom. They emptied the closet and her bathroom drawers. They collected the picture frames from around her room, including the one of Danny, which was still next to her bed. They found a picture of Sydney and Will and a picture of Sydney and Vaughn. They took those for themselves.
Vaughn emptied the top drawer of the chest-of-drawers and put everything in a bag. He opened the middle drawer and froze.
"What is it?" asked Will.
"Nothing," Vaughn said, obviously trying not to break down, as he shut the drawer. He hadn't removed anything. He moved on to the bottom drawer.
They packed up the back of Will's car.
"So, we'll just split this stuff up. keep it at our apartments," said Vaughn.
"Yeah. We can give some to Jack, too."
"We can put some of her clothes in a bag. For when she comes back..... " Vaughn said.
"Yeah."
They finished packing and got in the car. They sat there for a moment, thinking.
Surely they were thinking the same thing.
They would never be back here again.
************
Will stood up to clean the kitchen as he heard the bathroom door shut behind Sydney. He kept waiting to hear the bathwater falling against the tub, but he heard silence. For a few seconds there was nothing, and then she turned the shower on.
He remembered now. In her mind, a few days ago she had found Will "dead" in the bathtub. A few years ago she found Danny dead in the bathtub.
She probably wouldn't be such a fan of baths anymore.
Will grabbed the open bag of Doritos from the cabinet and started eating them as he wiped down the counters. He hadn't cleaned the kitchen in a couple days. He also hadn't eaten at all today, and maybe not at all the day before. He couldn't remember, but suddenly he was starving.
His phone rang.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Will, it's me," said Vaughn.
"Hey, isn't it a little late for you to be -"
"Can I come in, is she sitting with you or.... "
"What?" asked Will, confused.
"Can I come in?"
Will walked to the front door. He began to unlock it, "What are you talking about? Are you -"
He didn't have to finish his sentence. He opened the door to Vaughn, standing there, holding his cell phone to his ear. He hung up.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"Yeah," Will replied, as he moved aside.
Vaughn walked straight to the kitchen, and sat down at the table. Will grabbed a beer out of the fridge and offered it to his friend.
"No thanks...... I'm fine," Vaughn said. Will sat down across from him. "Syd's in the shower?"
Will nodded. Vaughn sat there, completely silent.
"Uhh, Vaughn..... " Will said.
"She hates me," Vaughn said. Will wasn't sure what he had been expecting Vaughn to say, but it wasn't that.
"She doesn't hate you," Will said. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if he meant it or if it was just his gut-reaction answer. The kind of answer you give when someone asks if their new pair of glasses looks good. You always say, "of course." You don't even think about it.
"She hates me. She should hate me.... I hate me."
"Vaughn, you're being too hard on yourself."
He pulled his wedding ring off his finger and held it up to show Will. "I thought about taking it off today, before I went to the office."
"You didn't though." Will remembered Vaughn wearing the ring, he remembered Sydney glaring at it before she asked him to leave the room.
"I was too afraid. I thought if I took it off I might look at Sydney and just forget I was married. And you know what, it didn't even matter. Every time I saw her today all I could think about was that I was married. That there was no point in looking."
Will nodded his head. He had no clue what to say. What do you say to someone who had been so happy he was finally able to move on and now wants nothing more than to fall backwards? Back to what he had before.
"And I can't even feel bad for myself because I deserve it."
"No one deserves this," said Will.
"I do. I...... I should've waited. You know when Kendall called me, all I could say was, 'why me? Why are you asking me to go and pick her up?' He told me it was because I was closest to her before she left. And now look at me.. " he paused. "Will, you're doing a great job, but it should be me with her right now." He stopped talking and slid his ring back on his finger.
It was then that Will noticed Sydney standing in the doorway. They hadn't even heard the water stop running. She was wearing her old pajama pants and a spaghetti-strap, her hair was sopping wet. She was staring at Vaughn's back with a look of complete shock on her face. She shut her yes, composed herself, and walked right past him to the fridge.
Will wondered if she was just going to ignore him. Sydney was a master of deception, but could she really make it seem like she didn't even care he was there?
She couldn't. He could tell from her body language that she was nervous. Vaughn's eyes followed her as she poured a glass of milk, put the gallon back in the fridge, walked back to the counter. She took a sip and put the glass down. She put her hands on the counter; her back faced both of them. She stood there. Silent. Still.
"I, uh...... I better go," said Vaughn, standing up.
"Yeah," said Will, also getting up.
Vaughn stopped though, before he left the kitchen.
"Sydney....... " he began. Will glanced at him, completely surprised. "Sydney, I know this day has been..... I know how hard..... " he wiped his hand over his face and took a deep breath. "It's too early for you to understand, Syd. I won't blame you if you never do..... " He turned around and took a few more steps. He stopped again, and turned back around. "I still love you. Believe me...... I, uh, I never stopped." Vaughn dropped his head. Before he could start to leave again, though, Sydney turned around.
Slowly, she walked to him. He looked up, clearly not knowing if he should expect to be hit in the face or yelled at or kissed.
Tentatively, she took his left hand in hers, and touched the golden band. She dropped his hand and looked at him. She wrapped her arms around him. From where he stood, Will couldn't see Sydney's face. He could see Vaughn, though. When Sydney hugged him, at first he looked shocked. After a few seconds he put his arms around her. And Will could tell what he was thinking, because it was the same thing that Will thought every time Sydney hugged him. Vaughn never wanted to let go of Sydney.
She rested her head on his shoulder, and spoke to him very softly. "Vaughn," she began. "I think that we owe it to each other to be friends....." She remained there for a moment, then kissed him on the cheek and slipped right past him and into her room.
Vaughn shut his eyes, and when he opened them, Will was sure there were about to overflow with tears. Without saying another word, Vaughn left.
Will picked up the glass of milk. He knocked on Sydney's door and she came to open it. She looked at the glass of milk, and then at Will. She smiled.
"Thank you," she whispered, talking the cool glass from his hands. "And Will..... "
"Yeah," he said.
"You don't have to sit with me tonight...."
He let out a laugh. "Good night, Syd," he said, as she closed the door.
Will got himself ready for bed, and then remembered he hadn't locked the door again after Vaughn left. As he locked it, he heard a car pull out of his driveway. Vaughn had been sitting there.
He walked to his bedroom and fell into his bed. For the first time in two years, he fell asleep so quickly that he didn't have time to worry about anything.
_________________________
Once again I am up way too late trying to finish this chapter before I go on vacation Sunday, so sorry if there are typos. At the very least it will be a week an a half before I get the next chapter up, but it could be three or four weeks. I am sorry, but PLEASE don't forget about me. You guys have been so great in reviewing this and it is making me SO happy, so just be on the look out for another chapter.
By the way, I appreciate all my reviews, but I want to mention one person in particular. Special thanks to Edele Lane, who has read and reviewed every chapter. And she has written long reviews, which are especially awesome.
Anyway, thank you to EVERYONE to reading. Reviews seriously make my day. Have a nice few weeks!