The Indicator



Sydney and Sark arrived at Sydney's house a short while later. Sydney turned the key in the lock and was oblivious to the fact that Sark seemed a bit hesitant as he stepped inside.

Sydney looked around and was surprised to find the house completely devoid of any light. She fumbled around for a switch and added some life to the living room. She let out a content sigh as she shrugged off her coat and hung it on a hook of the coat rack.

She threw Sark a smile over her shoulder as she went to the kitchen. She spotted a note on the refrigerator and plucked it off to read it. Her eyes narrowed a little and she chewed on a fingernail.

"Hm," she wondered aloud.

Sark felt his blood turn to ice. He knew he had to tell Sydney about what had happened to her roommate and also inform her about the woman that Sloane had recruited to take her place, but he couldn't bring himself to do it yet. He walked slowly into the kitchen and peered over Sydney's shoulder to see what she was reading.

"Francie has some sort of chefs' conference in New York. She doesn't know when she'll be back." Sydney chewed on her lip and looked at Sark. "This is sudden. I mean, she didn't even give me a heads-up or anything."

Sark dropped his gaze from hers and looked over the note again. He avoided saying anything, not wanting to dig himself in deeper. He would tell her, when he had complete control over the situation, not when he was at the mercy of her in her house.

"Let's go to bed," he suggested.

Sydney smirked. "Straight to the point, I see."

"Yes, I'm pretty famous for that," Sark told her, laying a gentle kiss on her lips.

Sydney smiled and laid the note on the counter. "Oh, I wonder if Will's asleep already."

"Well, if he is, I think it would be best not to wake him," Sark whispered, snaking an arm around Sydney and sliding his hand up her side so that the thumb of his right hand was just barely making contact with the side of Sydney's right breast.

"All right."

Sark smiled at Sydney's submission and wrapped both arms around her waist when she began to lead him to her bedroom. Sydney stole a glance towards Will's room and saw that the door was closed, indicating that he was probably indeed asleep.

She led Sark into her bedroom and closed the door softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed, slow and gentle. Their clothes were removed slowly as well, one article at a time between periods of osculation.

Once all clothes had been discarded, Sark led Sydney to the bed, his mouth still staking his claim on hers and softly laid her down upon it. He let her get comfortable before laying down on top of her and letting his lips connect with her soft skin. He worked his way down her body, a kiss here, a lick there, until Sydney had her hands in his hair, letting him know that she was more than ready to have him inside of her.

He entered her slowly, feeling her tense muscles relax, and then started to move in a steady rhythm. Before long, Sydney was moving with him, reminiscent of their first time together.

Sark sped up the pace and was finally able to reach his release just as Sydney reached hers. This time, though, neither one cried out, they both settled for gasps as neither wanted to disturb Will. Sark laid on top of Sydney, still joined with her body and planted kisses on the sensitive skin of her collarbone and neck.

"I love you, Sydney," he said breathlessly, laying his head in the crook of her neck.

"I love you too," Sydney whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and sighing contentedly.

Finally, Sark slipped out of her and took her in his arms as she pulled a sheet over the two of them. They slept soundly until morning.


"Syd?" Will was knocking on the closed door of Sydney's bedroom. "Sydney!"

Sydney roused herself from sleep, looking around and finding that Sark had left a note on one of the pillows saying that he had gone into work early. She smiled at the note and was vaguely aware of Will's voice from outside the door of her room.

"Sydney," Will said again, this time opening the door and stepping into the room.

"Will, Jesus," Sydney muttered, grasping the sheets to shield her naked form. She discreetly tucked the note underneath the pillow.

"God, Syd, I'm sorry," Will said, blushing and turning his back to her. "I just read a note from Francie that was on the counter."

"Wait," Sydney began, "you weren't here when Francie left?"

"No," Will said, his back still towards her. "I came home from a quick trip to the store, and she wasn't here. I didn't even notice the note, though." He sighed heavily. "She's been acting weird lately, have you noticed that?"

"Yeah, I have," Sydney said quietly, suddenly aware that her grip on the sheets was slipping because her hands had begun to shake.

Why was Francie acting so strange?

"Do you think it's—"

Sydney interrupted him. "Will, let's talk after I get ready for work, okay?"

"Okay," Will agreed. He tossed Sydney a quick glance over his shoulder. "Did Vaughn go into work already?"

Sydney stiffened and briefly considered telling Will that yes, Vaughn had gone into work already, just so she wouldn't have to explain to another person about her break-up with him and her new relationship with Sark. But she had to tell Will the truth. She owed him that if he and Vaughn talked or if she brought Sark into the house again.

"I said we would talk after I got ready," she said, her voice tinged with annoyance.

"Syd—"

"Damn it, Will," Sydney said through clenched teeth.

Will frowned and left Sydney alone. Sydney gripped the sheets tightly, determined to take her frustration out on the helpless pieces of cotton. She growled at the empty space filling the room then threw off the covers and made her way to the bathroom to shower.


A short while later, Sydney emerged from her bedroom, fully dressed after her shower, and sauntered into the living room. She was hardly prepared to talk, but she knew she didn't have much of a choice.

She begrudgingly took a seat in a nearby chair, glancing at Will who was eyeing her from his place on the couch. She raised her eyebrows at him and pursed her lips as if to beckon Will to speak.

Will took the bait. "Are you cheating on Vaughn?" he asked, his tone accusatory.

"No, I'm not," Sydney replied, her lips thinning.

Will cautiously stood from the couch and sat on one of the arms of Sydney's chair. He looked down at her as she leaned back, folding her hands over her stomach and sighing.

"I broke up with Vaughn," she said finally. "Long story short—because I'm sick of explaining it—is that I don't love him."

Will narrowed his azure eyes at Sydney. "But a couple days ago you said things were going well."

"I know, but I realized that things weren't working out and that I wanted something else."

Someone else.

"Someone else," she added, averting her gaze when she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"Who?" Will asked pointedly.

Sydney gulped, afraid to explain what was going on between her and Sark. "It relates to the mission I went on yesterday, which I forgot to tell you about," she said quietly. "Anyway, the mission went well and we learned that my mother and Sark orchestrated an 'escape' for my mother in order to try and trap Sloane. It hasn't completely been successful, but we are in possession of all the Rambaldi artifacts that Sloane had."

"Okay," Will said, nodding, "I'm trying to absorb all of this." He rubbed his temples and Sydney hid a grin. "I still don't understand how the 'someone else' relates to that mission, though."

Sydney was silent for a moment and looked away as she became fully aware that Will's sapphire eyes were trained on her. "I-I uh—" She cleared her throat. "I realized that I had feelings f-for Sark." She looked up at Will for a moment, seeing the anger in them and cast her eyes downward.

Will stood up and paced. "Sydney, Jesus, how could you want to get involved with someone like this? I mean, the fact that he had me tortured aside, he has tried to kill you on numerous occasions."

"I know, Will, but—"

"No 'buts,' Sydney, what makes you think that he isn't planning to kill you one day? That he's toying with your emotions to try and get close to you and then just turn the tables on you and leave you shattered?"

Sydney felt tears start to creep into her eyes and she tried her damnedest not to let them fall. "Will, I understand your concerns, and don't think I haven't thought he might betray me, but damn it, no one—"

"Sydney, you're not thinking this through!" Will exploded. "He's a trained assassin, what makes you think that he could possibly stray from that and become a harmless citizen?"

Sydney stood up, her jaw clenched. "Listen to me, Goddamn it, I don't care what he has done in the past, I believe him when he says that he's working with my mother to bring down Sloane, I believe him when he says that we'll take Sloane down one day, I believe him when he tells me that he—" She stopped abruptly, almost afraid to finish that sentence for fear of the anger it would no doubt rouse in Will.

"What?" Will asked, his tone harsh. "What were you going to say?"

Sydney swallowed back the sobs that rose in her throat but she couldn't prevent the single tear that fell onto her cheek. "I believe him when he tells me that he loves me."

"Sydney, that's—" He paused, looked at her, into her eyes, seeing a dark amber shade that practically revealed her whole soul. "You're in love?"

Sydney nodded and Will ran a hand through his hair, sighing a little. "He completes me," Sydney said quietly. "I have never felt this way about anyone before, not Vaughn, not even Danny. I feel like he's the other half of me that was missing. I can't describe it, Will, but it's just so wonderful." A few more tears escaped and rained down on her cheeks and she didn't bother to fight them. Will should be able to see the depth of her feelings for Sark.

"Syd, you know I only want the best for you, but, Jesus, it's Sark for Christ's sake. You two have been enemies for God knows how long, and for him to come out of the blue and say he's on your side—" Will shook his head. "Doesn't that just sound a little odd to you?"

"Will, I know this all sounds crazy, but after what happened yesterday and the day before, I don't have a choice but to believe him. I mean—" She paused, feeling sobs rise in the back of her throat. "I shot my own mother."

Will's head snapped up and his eyes were immediately filled with a thousand questions.

"I didn't give her a chance to explain or anything," Sydney said quietly. "I went into work the day before yesterday and my father told me that my mother had seemingly betrayed the CIA. I can't tell you how much rage that instilled in me."

Will stepped towards her, ready to take her into his arms and comfort her if the need arose.

"I vowed to kill her, can you believe that? I was going to kill—murder—my own mother." She swallowed hard, able to compose herself a bit. "I shot her in the shoulder. I actually planned to make her suffer, let her die slowly, make her think about her betrayal to my father and I, but then after I shot her she told Sark to tell me something. That was when Sark explained everything to me."

Will nodded slowly and rubbed his chin.

"It's bad enough that my life is so fucked up and I can hardly trust anyone, but if I can't even trust someone whom I love and who says he loves me, then where does that leave me?" Sydney wiped at her eyes and locked her gaze onto Will's, her lower lip quivering.

"I'll give him the benefit of the doubt," Will said, "but if he hurts you..." Will shook his head, trailing off and leaving the rest to Sydney.

"I know," Sydney said softly.

Will nodded. "I love you so much, Syd, I don't want to see you hurt, okay?" He stepped forward then and wrapped his arms around her.

Sydney leaned into him, sighing happily, and for a brief fleeting moment shuddered at the thought that Will might possibly be the only person she could trust.

Francie too...right?

Sydney thought for a moment. Why had Francie been acting so odd lately? Surely she couldn't be keeping any secrets from Sydney or Will. Sydney pulled back and looked up at Will.

"What do you think is up with Francie?" she asked. "Why do you think she didn't tell us about the conference?"

Will twisted his mouth into a thoughtful frown. "I don't know. Unless it was so sudden that she couldn't tell us ahead of time, I really don't know why she would keep that from us."

"Plus," Sydney put in, "she didn't even say when she would be back. I don't get that at all."

"I don't either," Will said, shaking his head.

Sydney exhaled. "We should ask her when she comes back."

If she ever does...

Sydney bit her tongue. The idea that Francie might be keeping secrets from her just sounded incredibly crazy. But, she realized, after the takedown of SD-6, she had begun to act strangely. When she had introduced Vaughn to her, she seemed cold, even when she had acted incredibly interested in learning about him when Sydney had mentioned she had something of a crush on him just a couple of weeks before.

The bug.

Sydney swallowed hard. Around the same time that Francie's odd behavior had begun to occur, a bug had been found in her house. She found herself wondering if somehow Francie had gotten involved in the spy game, but almost laughed at how silly it sounded. But she was snapped back into her harsh reality when she realized that the life she was living made it common practice for her to doubt everyone with whom she came into contact.

She pushed the thought out of her mind. There was no way that Francie could be a part of something like this. Sydney hated to look down upon her friends for their faults, but Francie was probably the most naïve person she had ever met. She would never make it.

"I have to go to work," Sydney told Will once she had finished her rumination. "Do you think you could give me a ride? My car's still at the CIA. Sark and I walked here last night."

"Sure," Will told her, going to the kitchen and plucking his keys off the counter.

Sydney grabbed her coat as Will grabbed his and they both walked out the door.