Chapter 18: Ours
A/n: Okay. There is only going to be one more chapter after this! The next one will be the last chapter. I'm kind of sad. I loved writing this fic. And I'm really sorry that I've taken so long to update this... I started writing my new one, Lost Angels, and I got really obsessed with it. It's a different take on The Telling.
Disclaimer: Belongs to JJ Abrams except for – Well, you'll see...
And without further delay...
* * * * * * *
It was none other than Tracy Macklem. She raised one eyebrow as if she found Sydney amusing, and crossed her arms. Yes. It's me, she sneered, leaning against the farthest door on the left. What are you going to do about it?
Sydney could think of a lot of things she'd like to do – all of which involved inflicting extreme pain on Tracy. However, she settled on holding her gun out, pointed directly at her head. I'll shoot you. And you deserve every bit of it.
Do I?
Sydney wanted to wring her neck. Do you have any idea how much you hurt Will? He was crazy about you, but you broke his heart. For that, for hurting one of my best friends, you will pay.
Tracy tossed her stringy blonde hair behind her shoulders and laughed; a cruel cackle of her disturbing delight. Will? So it's about Will... I once thought about killing him, and it's a shame I didn't. He would have cleaned up a lot of mess.
It's not just about Will! Sydney replied, her gun still surely pointed. You cost the CIA money, you made us all worry, but you are working with Sark! And I can kill you simply for that reason.
Tracy reached down and fingered her coat pocket, slowly drawing out a gun. She pointed it back at Sydney. I wouldn't do that if I were you.
And why shouldn't I?
Because I know about the master plan.
Sydney knew it all revolved around the master plan. If Tracy cooperated, which Sydney was sure she wouldn't, then she could provide the CIA with valuable information. She wouldn't tell them anything, though, Sydney knew it. It suddenly occurred to Sydney that Tracy was still leaning against the door. What's behind the door, Tracy?
Nothing that concerns you, she said while readjusting her feet, only making Sydney more curious about what lied behind the last door. She paused and thought for a moment. How could she get Tracy away from the door? Perhaps she should shoot at her...
On the other hand what if the door was a trap? But no. Tracy's body language told Sydney that no one was to get through that door.
Suddenly Tracy bolted out of the door behind her and into the stairwell. Sydney barely had enough time to decide what to do, but she quickly settled on going after Tracy. She could go back to the door; she couldn't lose her chance to capture Tracy.
She ran to the door and pushed it open with her foot, still holding her gun out in front of her in case Tracy or Sark suddenly appeared. She paused momentarily, just long enough to hear footsteps going down the stairs, where Sydney quickly began to run. Soon she could see the tips of Tracy's blonde hair rounding the corners a flight below her. She shot at her from her position, just missing by a few inches; pieces of white, brick wall spurted out with a misty powder. Before she knew it, Tracy had taken a shot back up at her, which Sydney easily dodged. She tried to quicken her pace as she took another shot, but missed. One last shot rang out, this time from Tracy's gun, but hit the railing, causing it to bounce back to the wall, and down the stairs.
Sydney was in very close range to her target when Tracy, at last, made it to the end of the stairs and went through the door, closing it and locking it just before Sydney could get to it. Sydney slammed her fists on the door. As a first reflex, she grabbed her walkie talkie to contact someone from the Alpha team.
Alpha, this is Mountaineer , Tracy Macklem is heading towards the north entrance. I might be following behind her.
Copy that, Mountaineer.
She shoved the walkie talkie back into her pocket and she began to shoot at the hinges of the door. Then, with all her strength, she pulled the door back, moving aside in the nick of time as it came crashing down to the ground.
She ran through the new opening, her eyes searching the hall in front of her for any sign of Tracy. She moved swiftly down the hall, still scanning for evidence of her newfound enemy. Something captured he attention out of the corner of her eye, and she noticed a panel of ceiling missing above her. An open door just below revealed a chair which was thrown aside. Sydney grabbed the chair and set it under the missing panel, and lifted her head just so she could peak inside. It was a vent.
Once again she took out the walkie talkie. Alpha, she's in the vents. I'm going up after her.
Copy that.
A hasty shove back in the pocket was all that was needed before she boosted her body up into the vent. She sat silently at first, listening for any movement.
Silence.
Silence.
Bam.
Her ears perked up immediately and she began to crawl through the ventilation system at a steady pace. The thought that it was a CIA agent assigned to check the vents barely crossed her mind. She could have been prepared to shoot Vaughn, for all she knew. However, she only found another opening in the vent instead of a person. Again, she paused and listened for any sign of life, yet she heard nothing.
She jumped down onto the floor, landing in a squat position, her ears still sensitively listening. Suddenly a gunshot rang out, and in what seemed like the very instant Sydney's arm was stinging. She instinctively threw herself against the wall and rolled into a nearby doorway just as another gunshot sounded. She rounded the corner just enough so she could take a few shots at Tracy, and caught a glimpse of her nemesis as she disappeared behind another door.
Her gun still held out in front of her, despite the growing pain in her arm, she moved cautiously towards the door, aware that Tracy could be drawing her into a trap.
A deep voice broke the silence. Vaughn, behind you!
Then a gunshot.
Then a scream. Tracy's scream.
Sydney hurried into the door where Tracy had gone, only to find a bleeding Tracy (who was lying on the floor) being handcuffed by Dixon, while Vaughn held her at gunpoint. How in the...
Oh my God, Syd, you're hurt! Vaughn exclaimed. I knew you shouldn't have come...
It's okay, really, it's just my arm. The bullet only skimmed my shoulder.
No, no, this is a big deal!
Guys, if you don't mind, I've got a bleeding criminal sitting here... Dixon interrupted as Tracy scowled.
Come on, let's all go to the north entrance. We're closer, Sydney said. How did you end up with Tracy on the floor? she asked as they walked. And when did you meet up with Dixon?
It's kind of a funny story, said Dixon. He fell on me. And I fell on Tracy.
What? I don't understand.
This building is a lot older than it looks, Vaughn explained. And, well, let's just say there are a few more holes in the ceiling than there were before we got here.
Vents are most definitely not supposed to be used for transporting two grown men, Dixon added with a smile. There, I see the Alpha Team.
Tracy chose this time to try to escape the strong hold of Dixon's arms and failed, ending up a tangled mess in Dixon's arms. Kendall saw them coming and hurried over to them. Any sign of Sark? All three agents shook their heads. He sighed. We better get your wounds cleaned up before we explode this place.
Sydney asked.
There's too much criminal activity and information for them. We have to destroy it before they get to it. I have a team setting up the explosives right now.
Sydney nodded and headed off with Vaughn while Dixon went with Tracy. She quickly spun around when she as she replayed her time in the building. Wait! There's a door I have to check before anything happens!
Vaughn said, grabbing her arm. It's going to blow, you can't go back in there.
I have to. There's something in that door and I have to know what it is. I have to go back.
Kendall interrupted, much to Vaughn's dismay. The building's empty now, or so we think. We'll see what Macklem has to say.
Sydney nodded, pulled her arm away from Vaughn's and ran back into the building. She kept running through the halls, trying to find her way to the hallway that the door was in. As she ran, she saw the holes in the ceiling that Vaughn was talking about. She made a mental note for him to tell her all the details. After five minutes of searching, she once again was in the hallway. She allowed her eyes to wander to the other doors that Sydney had already been in, and some bullets skid marks on the wall. She finally settled at the last and final unopened door. There was something of great importance behind it, Sydney could feel it in her bones.
She sighed with anticipation as her fingers slipped around the doorknob. She turned it and pushed in, yet remained standing in the doorway. It was a meeting room of some sort, she thought. It had a large table in the center, with chairs surrounding it. The room was also outlined with empty bookshelves. There were no other rooms attached to it, nothing adjacent, nothing suspicious or important looking at all. What was the deal!? She was disappointed that her instinct had failed her, and she left the room. Yet then again...
There was still a strange feeling in Sydney; a voice in her head telling her to keep looking. But what could there possibly be? She sighed and leaned against the wall. She wanted to give up, but her willingness wouldn't let her. Suddenly there was a rustling noise coming from under the table; a noise she wouldn't have heard if that voice didn't keep talking. She turned around and went back into the room to inspect where it could have possibly some from.
A box.
A simple, brown, cardboard box. The top wasn't even taped down, but carelessly flopped over its contents. How she didn't see the box before, she didn't know, but it stuck out like a sore thumb now. It rustled again.
Rustled?
Boxes don't rustle... Sydney thought to herself. There was something in that box. There had to be. If there wasn't, then Sydney was crazy. If there wasn't, then Marshall was not a genius. If there wasn't, then Vaughn was the ugliest man in the world. Obviously, there had to be something in that box. Sydney's curiosity took over as she slowly lifted the top leaves out of the box.
Her mouth hung open.
She grabbed for her walkie talkie, her fingers fumbling over themselves. Alpha, this is Mountaineer...
This is Kendall. What is it?
There's... it's...
She heard the static take over for a minute before Vaughn's voice broke out from the mechanism in her hand. Sydney, hurry and get out of there. The place is going to explode soon! I –
That was all she heard before the static had returned fully. She tried moving around the room to lose it, but nothing happened as she did so. She looked back in the box to make sure her eyes didn't deceive her. They hadn't. Then all at once her brian went crazy. What should she do? There was only one thing she could think of: she grabbed hold of the box and ran; ran with all her might until she was in front of the Alpha Team once again, reaching Vaughn just as the building exploded in a burst of licking flames.
Vaughn hugged Sydney tightly to his chest as the heat washed across the premises. You're okay, you're okay. She hadn't realized that she barely escaped the building in time. It didn't matter to her.
Vaughn... Look, she whispered, holding the box out to him. He gave his wife a suspicious glance before peering into the box. His reaction was similar to Sydney's.
It's... Oh my God.
A baby, I know. But Vaughn, look, his eyes... They're green. Vaughn didn't understand exactly why this mattered so much to Sydney, but then again, she was rather unclear herself. All she knew was that the empty place inside of her was miraculously filled. She wanted to hold him, but she knew she couldn't. There was something in the look Vaughn was giving her that scared her; there was a feeling of scared confusion that she wasn't familiar with.
We need Kendall. I'm going to go find him... You all right?
Sydney nodded faintly. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the small baby that lay in the box in front of her. As Vaughn hesitantly walked away, she set the box on the ground and kneeled down next to it. Finally her curiosity had got the better of her, and she reached in and lifted the child into her arms. He only whimpered once, but did not cry. His body fit perfectly in Sydney's arms, she thought. He was surrounded in a soft, blue blanket, allowing her to assume he was a boy. There were no papers or birth certificates.
She rubbed her hand over his forehead and nearly bald head, all while staring deeply into his green eyes. She felt a warm hand embrace her unwounded shoulder, and the baby smiled up at her. A tear welled at her eye.
Vaughn asked. Honey? They need to take the baby. Make sure he's all right, you know. Okay?
He helped her to stand up, yet her eyes wouldn't leave his. Finally she nodded and handed the baby over to an agent, it didn't matter who it was: they were taking him away from her. When the agent the baby were out of sight, she turned to Vaughn. There's something about that baby, Michael. I feel so... so drawn to him. Do you understand?
She didn't think he did, but he nodded. Yes, Syd, I felt it too. In reality, he did feel it. He wasn't sure what he felt, but he was also drawn to the baby like Sydney was. Come on, Syd. Let's go get your arm taken care of. She sighed, and followed him reluctantly, though she knew she ought to be with the baby.
* * * * * * *
Vaughn shut the door to their room on the boat. He turned and looked over at his wife, who lay helplessly on the bed, staring idly out the window with her arms loosely folded across her stomach. She had to be feeling... lonely? He wasn't sure, but it had to be something with the baby. I, uh, convinced Marshall and Dixon to take Weiss for the night. I think he'll end up sleeping in the hall though. Sydney didn't move.
She snapped her head to look at him. Hmm? Oh, sorry... Her gaze faded back to the endless undulating water out the window. Vaughn sighed, moving over to sit on the foot of the bed. Come on, talk to me. I feel it too; that connection to that baby somehow. I don't know where it's coming from, or what it means, but you aren't alone. She looked away from the window, finally, and met Vaughn's eyes. A good sign; he had gotten through to her.
I know that I've been acting strange since the... miscarriage... But I can't help it. I don't know how else to act. I don't know what do! God, it just...
It what, baby?
It's more terrible than anything, all right! More than you can know...
Please, tell me. I can't help you if you don't talk to me. Talk to me... Because this affects me too.
I know, I know, it's just still hard to talk about. And I know that I've pretended that I was okay, but you saw through that. She sighed. I felt like... like it was my fault that we lost the baby. And don't interrupt me to say that it wasn't my fault, because I know it wasn't. Vaughn closed his partially opened mouth; she had been right. It feels that way though. She shook her head. I was really excited to have this baby, Michael, I mean after I knew you were too. We started to think of some names, looked at houses... I wanted so badly to be a mom – and you! You were going to make the best father. You still will in the future. But there was something special about this baby... I'm not sure if I can explain it right, but I wanted to give it the chance I never had. I wanted to do everything with this baby that my mom never did with me.
And so you won't get that chance. He saw where she was coming from. Didn't she understand that they could have other children? It wasn't just this one baby. Vaughn lay down next to her and kissed her forehead softly. I know what you mean. I started to think about all of the things that I missed with my dad. But we can still do that stuff; we can try again. And we can have a hundred babies and still do everything with them. Because I know that you will make the greatest mother.
I knew that we can still try – I know we can – but after thinking of all the things we were planning on doing, then having those plans taken away depressed me. Like I could never ever do those things. Everyday, though, it got a little better. You've been great; there's no way I could have done it without you. The depression slowly subsided, but there was something missing that I couldn't name. I still can't name it, but it went away for a brief moment. It was when I held that baby boy.
... And now you feel it again. She nodded, burrowing her face into his chest; inhaling his scent, closing her eyes and letting his body comfortingly enrapture her.
I want that baby, Michael. There's something about him that made me think of everything I wanted to do. I wish I knew what it was, but I know that child belongs with us. Vaughn nodded, stroking her hair. Suddenly her head perked up. Where is he now? What are they doing to him?
Sh, calm down, he's just being tested –
Tested? Why? What for?
It's okay. They are only making sure there's no explosives or he's not a robot or something. Don't worry, I'm sure he's a normal baby. Sydney skeptically settled her head back into Vaughn's chest before he spoke again. I'm not sure if you'll want to hear this now, but do you remember that one house we looked at near your dad's neighborhood? The one we really liked?
Well, the realtor called. It's ours if we accept it within the week. Hopefully, this news wouldn't sway her back into depression; he couldn't bear to make her dream of the house and raising her lost child in it return.
Let's accept it. We'll need one eventually, right? She shifted her weight so she could look at her husband. Doesn't it sound nice? Having a great big house all to ourselves, with the hope of one day filling it up?
He grinned at the thought. It sounds incredible. She looked deeply into his eyes, hesitating to speak again. Vaughn noticed her struggling to decide. What's on your mind?
I want that baby boy to be ours.
The look in her eyes was so strong; so determined, and her voice was so persevering, that he would be a fool not to believe her. Her eyes held true and not faltering. I know, he said, softly. I do too.
He allowed a relaxing silence to slip between them, finding comfort in only the sound of his wife's breathing. A steady rustle of air coinciding with the rise and fall of her chest gently against his side. He smoothly adjusted his hand to rub her back with reassurance, and finally settle in one spot.
Michael, let's watch the sunset.
He didn't have the heart to tell her that all he wanted to do was to keep watching her. So he whispered a yes and willingly lifted Sydney from his side to the couch, which he had previously moved to face the window. He conveniently chose a bedroom on the western side of the boat for this particular reason.
He set her down carefully on one side of the couch, while he curled his feet up on the other. However, Sydney wanted the proximity with her husband, and inched closer until he was acclimated along the back of the couch and she was laying sweetly atop him; her right hand entwined in his hair, and the other arm dangling towards the floor. Vaughn gripped his wife's back with a protective passion, as if he could defend her from her inner demons.
They remained coalesced in their magic while Sydney ventured off into a long awaited slumber. When Vaughn heard the heavy, elongated breaths, he delicately carried her to their bed and wrapped them in the warm blanket, preparing for a much needed sleep himself.
* * * * * * *
Everyone was hurried of the boat in a tired silence once the wee hours of the morning had arrived. Vaughn thoughtfully got hold of coffee for him and his wife, which had begun to kick in by the time they reached the plane. He wasn't sure what to say to his wife. Should he ask her how she's feeling, since their talk yesterday? Should he find the baby for her? Should he simply continue to hold her? Should he wait for her to make the next move?
He found the answer to these problems easy. Almost as soon as the plane had reached a level state, Sydney removed her seat belt and headed straight for Kendall. I want to talk with you about the baby we located yesterday at the island house, she began confidently, as if she had planned a speech for Kendall in her mind. In fact, Vaughn believed she probably had.
Yes, Agent Bristow?
I imagine the tests you ordered to have run on him are complete...
he replied, raising one eyebrow slightly. I'm not sure what you're getting at, so just speak directly.
Um, what tests did you run? Or the results would be better.
We ran some DNA tests, neither match with Sark or Tracy. But he seems to be perhaps a child that was kidnapped from the northern village.
Any papers? she interrupted.
No. No I.D., no papers, not even a report of a missing baby from any of the islands in the area. And I'm really curious where this conversation is going, Agent Bristow.
Well, I assume that he'll be needing a place to stay for a while. Someone will have to take care of him. Her plan was weak, but she hoped Kendall would give in. This had to work, though. Her Plan B was too drastic; threatening to leave the CIA if she wouldn't be the caregiver for this baby.
And I see that you are volunteering? She nodded, a desperate look enveloping her eyes. After a brief moment of hesitation, Kendall said, All right. But I'm warning you, we still have further investigation on this, so do not get too attached. He stared at her for a moment before heading back into the plane to retrieve the child.
Sydney smiled to herself. The baby was theirs. It didn't matter that Kendall warned her not to get too attached – she knew that once she brought that baby home she would adopt it, and make him legally belong to her and Vaughn. The baby was theirs.
Kendall quickly returned, softly bouncing a mound of blue blanket in his arms. She couldn't help but notice the twinkle of delight in his eyes as he handed the baby in his fuzzy blanket over to Sydney. Graciously, she held his head to her body, only glancing up once to mumble a thank you to the director.
Somehow she managed her way back to her seat next to Vaughn, who was not shocked to see her with the baby. Syd... You're amazing. He was in awe. Sometimes he swore she had Kendall and the other CIA operatives wrapped around her finger. She basically did...
The baby lifted his tiny fist into the air, which Vaughn grabbed in his finger. He brought his other hand to stroke the feather tuft of sandy hair on his head, while he stared deeply into another set of green eyes.
He's ours, Sydney sighed; one of relief and gratitude.
They looked at each other, and finally Vaughn let his lips met hers tenderly for a short second. He's ours.
A/n: Again, I'm SO INCREDIBLY SORRY that I took forever to update. I promise you that the next and final chapter won't take as long. And yes, there will definitely be a sequel to this story. I'm not sure what I'm titling it yet, but maybe I'll know by the next update. Please tell me what you think of this chapter, and REVIEW! You know you want to ; )
~Whitelighter Enchantress