[b][u]If Tomorrow Never Comes[b] - Part 11[/u]
[b]Safehouse[/b]
Sydney and Vaughn ran the seemingly long distance to the CIA safehouse that was neatly hidden away on near a hill (I don't know if there is any hills in Mongolia, but pretend there are ;) ). They had run purely on adrenaline and hadn't stopped once.
Vaughn reached the small cabin first and panted heavily as he punched in the code to open the door. Sydney, meanwhile, gazed across to the other end of the hill where she could still see the warehouse in the distance. She knew Amy was still alive and that her cover was blown.
A hand wrapped around her arm and gently urged her inside to the warmth of the safehouse.
"Sydney?" Vaughn said quietly, yet urgently. "Come on. It's not safe out here," He said looking around for tails. Sydney remains where she was.
"They've got her, Vaughn," she said barely above a whisper and choked with tears.
"I know, Syd…I know. Why don't you come inside? You can get cleaned up and catch some sleep," Sydney took hold of Vaughn's hand and clenched it tightly, letting her lead him in.
Sydney marvelled at the quality of the safehouse. It looked like nothing from the outside, but in the inside it was almost like home. Vaughn keyed in the code to lock the door before giving a tour to Sydney.
"There's a kitchen in there. The bathroom through there and over there is um…that's our…[b]your[/b] bedroom," Vaughn fumbled. Sydney managed a small smile at his slip of tongue and nodded.
"We're safe," he told her changing the subject, "I'll make you some food while you're in the shower," Vaughn offered moving behind the couch and pulling up a big duffel bag.
"Your dad brought a change of clothes for you. He didn't know what you wanted so he bought a selection of clothes, your real passport and this…" Vaughn pulled out a medium sized bear with fluffy golden hair covering it. Sydney grinned.
"WAFFLES!" she exclaimed as she snatched the bear from Vaughn. He grinned as he saw her face light up. He cocked an eyebrow up at her.
"I'm not going to ask," he said as he passed the duffel bag to her. Sydney just kept grinning even though she was going a shade of red.
"Thank you," she said.
"It's only a bear," Vaughn replied as he took off his bulletproof vest.
"No, for everything. Thank you for coming for me. If it wasn't for you…I'd be dead," she said quietly.
"Go have a shower. We'll talk later," he promised as she gratefully nodded and went into her bedroom.
[b] The Shower [/b]
The shower is always the best place to gather your thoughts. Think about what's happened, what will happen and what you want to happen. That's why Sydney loved taking showers straight after and before trips. The shower was also the place she told Danny she was a spy.
Sydney let the hot water run down her body. Not many bruises this time but she still had the one from the trip before Will had died. She frowned as she inspected the bluey-purple blob with yellow spots, which she had affectionately named Barry - since that was the name of the guard.
Amy was now one of them. Sydney's cover had most definitely been blown and she was stuck in a safehouse with her handler whom she had shared a kiss with hours before. She had plenty of things to thing about, but she didn't feel like thinking about them.
All she wanted to do was crawl into her bed at home, go shopping with Francie, write a paper for school - even take a test. Anything than have this life. Sydney wondered what SD-6 would have told Francie if Sydney had been killed. Francie had already lost one friend this week; she didn't need to experience another loss.
Sydney felt the water start to run cold and snapped out of her thoughts. She turned off the valve and prayed that there would be enough hot water for Vaughn after all he had saved her life.
She dried off and changed into a pair of sweats and a jumper, thanking her father for having [I]some[/I] fashion sense.
She came out of her bedroom, drying her damp hair with a. She saw Vaughn's back was turned and took the opportunity to watch the image in front of her. Vaughn was cooking some sort of delicacy (Sydney couldn't see what) while dancing to a song that played low on the CD player. Sydney smiled and rested her head against the doorframe, holding in a giggle. Vaughn didn't notice her presence until he turned around and glanced up. He almost jumped back in shock and blushed.
"Syd…I didn't…I um…how long have you been there?" he asked cringing with embarrassment. [I]Nice one Mike, make an idiot of yourself(!)[/I] he cursed himself.
"Long enough to see why you said you hated dancing," Sydney replied as she came over to see what was cooking.
"I didn't say I hated it, I'm just not very good at it," Vaughn said as he lifted up a spoon of sauce for Sydney to try.
"You were ok…mmm, that's nice," she said licking her lips. "You never told me you could cook,"
"You never asked," Vaughn replied. Sydney gave him that. She realized how much she didn't know about the man she spent the last year working with. "I happen to be a culinary god when it comes to cooking," Vaughn smirked. It was true, instead of his mother sending him food; it was the other way around.
"Glad to see you're modest about it!" Sydney grinned, "Francie does the cooking at home. I just eat it," she said taking another taste of the sauce. Vaughn playfully hit her hand and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"What are you, four?" he asked. Sydney grinned.
"Well, I need some way to wind down. I can't be 'Serious Sydney' all the time," Sydney glanced around and went for the spaghetti.
"Hey!" Vaughn complained, "Can't you wait until dinner?" he asked. Sydney shook her head.
"Me hungry. Plane food no good," she said as she took a handful.
"Make sure your hands are clean and talk properly. You are not from the stone age," Vaughn said firmly, yet good-naturedly.
"What are you? My mother?" she asked
"I hope not," Vaughn teased. "Dinner will be ready in five minutes," he told her,
"Go watch TV," he suggested.
"There's a TV?" she asked searching frantically in sight of one. Vaughn nodded.
"The CIA keep it hidden so if it gets raided, nothing is lost," He explained as he opened a thin cabinet and revealed a plasma TV screen. Sydney was at a loss for words. Just how much money did the CIA have?
"Wow! I would kill for one of those at home," she said looking for the remote.
"Well, this is one of the new safehouses that the CIA have built. Sometimes people stay here for months," Vaughn said going back into the kitchen area. Sydney nodded and took pleasure in watching a bit of Friends before Vaughn announced dinner was on.
Their first dinner together mainly passed in silence. They had had lunch in the warehouse before, but they had felt a little more comfortable there. Without the dank walls and chain gates surrounding them, they felt a little bit more uncomfortable even after the friendly natter they had a few minutes before.
"So," Vaughn exhaled. "What do you think?" he asked. Sydney looked up from her plate and nodded a few times.
"It's great," She said, "I'm just really hungry and this is fabulous," she said. Vaughn nodded appreciatively and continued eating.
~*~*~*~*
[b]TBC…[/b]
[b]Safehouse[/b]
Sydney and Vaughn ran the seemingly long distance to the CIA safehouse that was neatly hidden away on near a hill (I don't know if there is any hills in Mongolia, but pretend there are ;) ). They had run purely on adrenaline and hadn't stopped once.
Vaughn reached the small cabin first and panted heavily as he punched in the code to open the door. Sydney, meanwhile, gazed across to the other end of the hill where she could still see the warehouse in the distance. She knew Amy was still alive and that her cover was blown.
A hand wrapped around her arm and gently urged her inside to the warmth of the safehouse.
"Sydney?" Vaughn said quietly, yet urgently. "Come on. It's not safe out here," He said looking around for tails. Sydney remains where she was.
"They've got her, Vaughn," she said barely above a whisper and choked with tears.
"I know, Syd…I know. Why don't you come inside? You can get cleaned up and catch some sleep," Sydney took hold of Vaughn's hand and clenched it tightly, letting her lead him in.
Sydney marvelled at the quality of the safehouse. It looked like nothing from the outside, but in the inside it was almost like home. Vaughn keyed in the code to lock the door before giving a tour to Sydney.
"There's a kitchen in there. The bathroom through there and over there is um…that's our…[b]your[/b] bedroom," Vaughn fumbled. Sydney managed a small smile at his slip of tongue and nodded.
"We're safe," he told her changing the subject, "I'll make you some food while you're in the shower," Vaughn offered moving behind the couch and pulling up a big duffel bag.
"Your dad brought a change of clothes for you. He didn't know what you wanted so he bought a selection of clothes, your real passport and this…" Vaughn pulled out a medium sized bear with fluffy golden hair covering it. Sydney grinned.
"WAFFLES!" she exclaimed as she snatched the bear from Vaughn. He grinned as he saw her face light up. He cocked an eyebrow up at her.
"I'm not going to ask," he said as he passed the duffel bag to her. Sydney just kept grinning even though she was going a shade of red.
"Thank you," she said.
"It's only a bear," Vaughn replied as he took off his bulletproof vest.
"No, for everything. Thank you for coming for me. If it wasn't for you…I'd be dead," she said quietly.
"Go have a shower. We'll talk later," he promised as she gratefully nodded and went into her bedroom.
[b] The Shower [/b]
The shower is always the best place to gather your thoughts. Think about what's happened, what will happen and what you want to happen. That's why Sydney loved taking showers straight after and before trips. The shower was also the place she told Danny she was a spy.
Sydney let the hot water run down her body. Not many bruises this time but she still had the one from the trip before Will had died. She frowned as she inspected the bluey-purple blob with yellow spots, which she had affectionately named Barry - since that was the name of the guard.
Amy was now one of them. Sydney's cover had most definitely been blown and she was stuck in a safehouse with her handler whom she had shared a kiss with hours before. She had plenty of things to thing about, but she didn't feel like thinking about them.
All she wanted to do was crawl into her bed at home, go shopping with Francie, write a paper for school - even take a test. Anything than have this life. Sydney wondered what SD-6 would have told Francie if Sydney had been killed. Francie had already lost one friend this week; she didn't need to experience another loss.
Sydney felt the water start to run cold and snapped out of her thoughts. She turned off the valve and prayed that there would be enough hot water for Vaughn after all he had saved her life.
She dried off and changed into a pair of sweats and a jumper, thanking her father for having [I]some[/I] fashion sense.
She came out of her bedroom, drying her damp hair with a. She saw Vaughn's back was turned and took the opportunity to watch the image in front of her. Vaughn was cooking some sort of delicacy (Sydney couldn't see what) while dancing to a song that played low on the CD player. Sydney smiled and rested her head against the doorframe, holding in a giggle. Vaughn didn't notice her presence until he turned around and glanced up. He almost jumped back in shock and blushed.
"Syd…I didn't…I um…how long have you been there?" he asked cringing with embarrassment. [I]Nice one Mike, make an idiot of yourself(!)[/I] he cursed himself.
"Long enough to see why you said you hated dancing," Sydney replied as she came over to see what was cooking.
"I didn't say I hated it, I'm just not very good at it," Vaughn said as he lifted up a spoon of sauce for Sydney to try.
"You were ok…mmm, that's nice," she said licking her lips. "You never told me you could cook,"
"You never asked," Vaughn replied. Sydney gave him that. She realized how much she didn't know about the man she spent the last year working with. "I happen to be a culinary god when it comes to cooking," Vaughn smirked. It was true, instead of his mother sending him food; it was the other way around.
"Glad to see you're modest about it!" Sydney grinned, "Francie does the cooking at home. I just eat it," she said taking another taste of the sauce. Vaughn playfully hit her hand and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"What are you, four?" he asked. Sydney grinned.
"Well, I need some way to wind down. I can't be 'Serious Sydney' all the time," Sydney glanced around and went for the spaghetti.
"Hey!" Vaughn complained, "Can't you wait until dinner?" he asked. Sydney shook her head.
"Me hungry. Plane food no good," she said as she took a handful.
"Make sure your hands are clean and talk properly. You are not from the stone age," Vaughn said firmly, yet good-naturedly.
"What are you? My mother?" she asked
"I hope not," Vaughn teased. "Dinner will be ready in five minutes," he told her,
"Go watch TV," he suggested.
"There's a TV?" she asked searching frantically in sight of one. Vaughn nodded.
"The CIA keep it hidden so if it gets raided, nothing is lost," He explained as he opened a thin cabinet and revealed a plasma TV screen. Sydney was at a loss for words. Just how much money did the CIA have?
"Wow! I would kill for one of those at home," she said looking for the remote.
"Well, this is one of the new safehouses that the CIA have built. Sometimes people stay here for months," Vaughn said going back into the kitchen area. Sydney nodded and took pleasure in watching a bit of Friends before Vaughn announced dinner was on.
Their first dinner together mainly passed in silence. They had had lunch in the warehouse before, but they had felt a little more comfortable there. Without the dank walls and chain gates surrounding them, they felt a little bit more uncomfortable even after the friendly natter they had a few minutes before.
"So," Vaughn exhaled. "What do you think?" he asked. Sydney looked up from her plate and nodded a few times.
"It's great," She said, "I'm just really hungry and this is fabulous," she said. Vaughn nodded appreciatively and continued eating.
~*~*~*~*
[b]TBC…[/b]