Chapter 3: Consequence of a Lack of Sleep

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias or any of its characters.

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Sydney didn't get anything packed Thursday night. She didn't sleep much, either. She and Vaughn both found morning to come entirely too early. The only thing that kept them from both calling in sick was the fact that Kendall was already upset that they were going to be off call all weekend. They knew they couldn't risk it.

Coffee and adrenaline were what got the through the day at all. Because of a mixture of exhaustion and excitement, they both barely dented the work they should have gotten done that day. Not that they cared; they would simply disappear and worry about it Monday.

Sydney left work at exactly five o'clock. She still hadn't packed, and she didn't want to risk encountering Kendall when she'd managed to avoid him all day. Unfortunately, she'd also missed Vaughn all day. That only increased her anticipation of the evening, when they'd officially begin their weekend together.

Time crawled b. She took her time packing. She tried to read, but every few sentences she found her eyes darting to the clock. She tried to watch television, but she watched the clock more than she watched the evening talk show. She picked up a magazine, but quickly threw it back down in frustration. She wished Francie hadn't gone out with Will. She changed clothes again. She redid her hair twice. She cleaned the already spotless kitchen. Finally, when she ran out of things to do, she stretched out on the couch and stared at the steadily, but slowly, changing digits on the clock.

Forty-five minutes later, Vaughn slipped silently into her apartment after ringing the bell three times. When she hadn't answered, he'd become worried. He grinned when he found her, fast asleep, on the couch. She was so beautiful when she slept, he thought.

"Syd," he said, shaking her gently. "We're already late. Come on, Syd."

"Hmm?" she mumbled, sitting up. Her eyes widened when she saw him. "What time is it? How could I fall asleep?" she cried.

"It's only 7:15," he said soothingly. "But if you don't hurry we'll miss our plane," he added playfully.

"Sorry," she said, smiling apologetically.

Sydney jumped up to grab her suitcase out of her bedroom.

"Ready?" Vaughn asked, laughing softly when she reappeared.

"Yeah," she said, grinning back.

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So much for a *romantic* flight, Sydney laughed to herself as Vaughn dozed beside her. He'd been out almost as long as the plane had been in the air. Before long, lack of sleep the night before and the soft whirring of the engines of the jet lulled Sydney into a light sleep as well.

"...Fasten your seat belts, we'll be landing in a short while," a voice said over the PA system, waking Sydney and Vaughn.

Vaughn shifted and glanced at his watch. "Wow. Did I really sleep that long?"

"I wouldn't know," Sydney yawned. "I was asleep too."

"This is starting off well. Not at all how I planned, anyway," Vaughn muttered.

"What had you planned?" Sydney asked, smiling mischievously.

"Uh...I didn't mean *planned* exactly. More like expected," he replied carefully.

"And what did you *expect*?"

"Not to fall asleep," he laughed evasively, grinning in a successfully disarming way.

Sydney shook her head.

"So, do we have any plans tonight?" Sydney asked, deciding she had sufficiently embarrassed him for the time.

"No, I thought we'd just do whatever we felt like when we got there," he said, grinning and slipping his arm around her shoulders.

She grinned back and shifted to lean against him.

"You know," she said after a moment. "This is the first time I've ever been on a plane as a civilian."

"No, really?" Vaughn asked. "You've never gone anywhere just because?"

"Nowhere I couldn't drive to in an hour or so. That must seem weird considering all the places I've been."

"Welcome to the government. I doubt government people ever go anywhere they aren't assigned to go."

"But you seemed surprised," Sydney said, looking up at him.

"I used to fly to visit y mother a lot, but it's been ears since I've been able to go see her. And I don't want her near LA, for obvious reasons."

"You're close?" Sydney asked enviously.

"Ever since my dad..." He trailed off. "But that's work. We promised," he said, forcing a smile.

Sydney shook her head. "Stop it. That doesn't matter. What were you going to say?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"Nothing. Just since my dad died," Vaughn said, shrugging off her concern.

"Vaughn, we have to talk about this sometime..." Sydney complained gently.

"Not this weekend. Let's just have fun this weekend, okay?" Vaughn pleaded, cutting her off.

"Okay," Sydney sighed. "But we can't keep avoiding it, Vaughn. We can't ignore it, and we both know that."

"Syd, we can't ignore it, but we can't let it be a problem, either. Just like you won't let your father be a problem," Vaughn said sharply.

"I'm not trying to make it a problem," Sydney snapped back, glaring at him angrily.

Vaughn mentally chided himself for snapping at her.

"I know you're not," he sighed. Then he laughed.

"What?" she snapped defensively.

"This wasn't in the plan, either." He grinned.

Sydney shook her head and smiled back.

"Vaughn, sometimes your impossible," she said affectionately. Then she added, "I thought there wasn't a plan."

"Just high expectations," he laughed, relaxing like he could only with Sydney.

The airport was busy as they exited the plane, but not too bad since it was late. They were both thankful that they'd brought bags that qualified as carry-on, since that meant they could go straight to their rental car.

"Have you eaten yet?" Sydney asked as she drove away from the brightly lit airport.

"No. I thought we'd grab something before we checked in. Have you eaten?" he returned.

"Not since lunch, which didn't consist of much. I'm starved," she claimed.

"There's a little Mexican place near the hotel that's supposed to be good," Vaughn said, looking at a travel pamphlet he'd picked up at the airport.

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Not my usual cliff hanger stuff, but I wanted this fic to have at least five chapters and that meant splitting this one and the next chapter up. Just keep reading, especially S/V shippies like me! You'll love next chapter! (And, in case ya'll haven't figured it out yet, this fic is strictly fluff!)

As usual, review to get the next chapter sooner! I love ya'll's reviews!