Remembrance

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

3.

They stood on the pier, not speaking or moving in any excessive manner. They just stood there, completely at peace with themselves and it worked. In some crazy way, this moment in time was perfect without words, without laughter, without physical contact at all. Perhaps it was because they were mere inches away from each other, looking at the sunset over the horizon.

Or perhaps it was the fact that earlier that day, SD-6 had finally been taken down.

Looking on as the sky turned into shoots of orange and red, he couldn't help but smile as he remembered the final moments of its demise… the preclude to the rest of his life.

Leaning there on the wooden railing, he shifted his weight slightly and slipped his hand around hers, watching as a slow smile began to spread across her face in silent and complete happiness.

They walked into the café in the hospital and sat down at the table once they had gotten their food. It was amazing to him that he could look at her for as long as he wanted and still, somehow, never get tired of looking at her, of seeing this beautiful face in front of him.

"All right… so you are basically refusing to tell me anything about how we met, what we do… and yet I'm supposed to remember this all on my own?"

Sydney nodded. "You will. It will be much easier for you to believe me if you have memories of what I am saying already."

"What is SD-6?"

There was a sudden silence and he felt her gaze fall upon him. "SD-6? What do you remember about SD-6?"

"Nothing. I remember that somehow we or somebody else took it down even though I don't know what that means either… it's something bad. And when it was gone, we could be together."

She nodded. "That's right."

He leaned forward, ignoring his mashed potatoes, unknowingly shocking her, as he always did, with his gaze. She was lost, swimming in the spectacular green in his eyes and silently gulped. "What was keeping us apart?"

"Rules."

He pulled back, a puzzled expression falling over his face. "Rules? Do we belong to someone or something?" His crooked grin told her that he joking.

Her serious expression told him that he wasn't far from the truth.

"What would you say if I told you that we worked for the government?"

He wasn't sure how to respond to her question; a part of him wanted to laugh it off as an absurdity but another part of him, a part deep inside of him, responded to her statement so violently that he felt he was going to burst. "I would say that as long as we weren't postal workers… it sounds all right."

She nodded, looking back down at her food and picking up a fork.

"I ha-"

"You hate mashed potatoes. Here, let me take yours."

She smiled at him before nodding. "You always made fun of me for that."

He shook his head slightly. "Yeah… but I think it's pretty stupid for you to hate potatoes…"

"You hate meatloaf."

He thought about it. "Yeah. Yeah I do but seriously… it's meat but in bread-form… how is that more appetizing than steak?"

She grinned, shaking her head.

"Meat loaf?? You're ordering meat loaf?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, what's wrong with meat loaf?"

"It's like… bread… but made out of meat!"

"And your point is…"

"Well… we're at Ramon's STEAK house and it's our first date out and you're reading from the kid's menu and ordering meatloaf. Does this really not faze you at all?"

She had to laugh at the situation he spelled out for her. "All right… what should I order?"

"A giant T-bone."

She raised her eyebrows. "Mr. Vaughn, you may have amazing metabolism but I can't keep my figure eating T-Bone steaks."

He leaned close to her, whispering his next comment into her ear, spreading shivers down her back. "You are gorgeous. Indulge yourself."

"It's not." She finally concluded ruefully.

"I'm glad that you see my point. No one should ever choose meatloaf when they have the option for steak."

"They should indulge themselves."

He looked up to her, meeting her eyes with a grin. "I was just thinking that."

"What are you thinking about right now?"

She moved closer to him, wanting to take some of the heat that exuded from him to stop her shivering. "Just can't believe how perfect this night has been."

He smiled down at her, her head resting on his shoulder. "It has."

She nodded. "I still don't understand how you got us in that place. You have to get reservations months in advance."

"I did."

Sydney laughed and she sat up. "Don't be silly. We haven't even been together for months."

"I was hoping that we would be together by the time that seats were available."

He smiled at the flush that overcame her cheeks. He rubbed a thumb across the soft skin. "Syd… you can't blame me for thinking of it… I haven't been able to not think about you."

"So what are you allowed to say to me?"

"Well… not much. I guess I'm waiting for you to figure it out on your own so that I can find you again."

For some reason that comment upset him; he wanted so much to be the person that she was waiting for and felt that somehow, he was disappointing her. That he as he was at this moment wasn't enough. She was waiting for someone better.

"Maybe I would remember faster if you jogged my memory."

She shrugged. "Maybe. But you always seem to accept it better when you remember on your own."

He took her hands in his, bringing her gaze level to his own. "I want so much to be the person you want me to be Sydney. But I can't if I don't know what I should be becoming."

Her mouth opened slightly. "Don't think that I'm waiting for someone else Michael… you're not disappointing me in anyway because you are still yourself. I'm sorry; it's just that… I miss you so much."

It hurt, hearing these words. He wanted more than anything to be able to remember this woman already. He was already falling in love with her.

He felt the anger ball up in the pit of his stomach as he watched the video surveillance. "I'm going to kill that bastard."

He watched as Sydney, his Sydney, lay on the bed in what seemed to be an inviting position judging from the lascivious look that overcame the man's face. And grinned in satisfaction as he saw the cord pulled tightly against his throat as his face slowly reddened.

Server 47 was behind the picture frame.

He watched as Eric set up the computer, picking up the data that was being streamed to them as she pulled on some clothes.

…

She hurled herself down towards the counter and, with little hesitation and despite his screams of protestation, aimed and shot at the window of the plane.

Utter speechlessness came over him as he watched helplessly as objects and people were sucked out of the plane; unable to move as he saw the small explosion and the engine catching on fire.

And then she came shooting out of the doorway and he breathed a still-shocked-sigh as he saw the parachute bloom from the backpack.

"She's all yours."

He shook his head, slow, disbelieving realization coming over his face. His next words were spoken hesitantly, as if afraid of how childish they would sound though he did not know of any other explanation. "Sydney… are we spies?"

TBC…

Review for feedback/more/etc.

-Jenn