INT. - OPS CENTER - DAY

It's a typical day at work as Michael Vaughn sits at his desk. He looks a little tired but otherwise he's fine. From behind him Eric Weiss walks up.

WEISS
Hey, have you seen Syd?

VAUGHN
She's not in today. She took the day off.

WEISS
Really? I could have sworn that I parked next to her car this morning. Then again all those CIA sedans look the same so I could be wrong.

VAUGHN
No, it was probably her. She left it here last night when I took her home.

WEISS
When you did what?

VAUGHN
Look nothing happened. She was too tired to drive so I drove her home myself.

WEISS
It's about damn time.

VAUGHN
What are you talking about?

WEISS
You've been avoiding her ever since she got back.

VAUGHN
No I haven't. We see each other all the time. We've worked cases together. I've spoken to her practically every day since I started back.

WEISS
About what? Work? That's not what the two of you need to talk about.

VAUGHN
We've talked about other things.

WEISS
The time she yelled at you in the hallway doesn't count.

VAUGHN
She came to see me at school. Before I came back.

WEISS
She did? What did she say?

VAUGHN
That I shouldn't worry about her when I made my decision about whether to come back or not. She said she was fine with it.

Weiss remembers Drunken!Syd quite well and so he rolls his eyes.

WEISS
What did you say?

VAUGHN
I just told her how much I loved her and what losing her did to me.

There's some hesitation on Vaughn's part that makes Weiss suspicious.

WEISS
And?

VAUGHN
And that I didn't regret moving on with my life.

Weiss grimaces and shakes his head.

WEISS
What the hell were you thinking?

VAUGHN
I wasn't thinking anything.

WEISS
Obviously.

VAUGHN
All I did was tell her the truth.

WEISS
The truth? First off all the truth is the last thing she needs right now. The truth is that it's two years later her friends are all gone, her boyfriend is married, and she doesn't have a clue about what the hell just happened to her. So I'm sure she was more than happy to hear "the truth" about how you packed up the U-Haul on your relationship.

VAUGHN
That's not what I meant.

WEISS
It doesn't matter what you meant. It's what she heard. Which wouldn't be so bad except it's not even the truth.

VAUGHN
You saw what I was like. If I hadn't moved on...

WEISS
I know. But I also know that you asked me to watch out for her. Admit it, you still have feelings for her.

VAUGHN
I never denied that.

WEISS
Not even to yourself?

VAUGHN
What does it matter? It's not like I can do anything about it.

WEISS
Can't you? Then what the hell were you doing taking her home last night? Look, just because you can't be her boyfriend doesn't mean that you have to cut her out of her life. I mean, how long did you two know each other before you started going out? You never treated her like this back then.

VAUGHN
Yeah, but Lauren...

WEISS
This isn't about you and Lauren. This is about you and your best friend, Sydney Bristow. Remember her? She needs you. I try to do what I can but I'm second string. She doesn't want me. She wants Francie or Will or you. And Francie and Will can't be there for her. You can.

VAUGHN
I know. You should have seen her last night. She looked so sad and tired. I couldn't take it. I had to do something.

WEISS
And you should have. You didn't do anything wrong. You weren't cheating on Lauren. She's your wife but Sydney is your friend. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

VAUGHN
Tell that to Lauren.

WEISS
You know what, forget Lauren. I'm sorry, I know she's your wife but you have an obligation to Sydney. The two of you have too much history together for you to just abandon her like this. If Lauren can't understand that then that's her problem.

VAUGHN
I wish it were that easy.

WEISS
Hey, I never said that this would be easy. But you owe it to Syd and to yourself to do more than just ignore her. This isn't going to go away. Now you need to sit down with Sydney like two adults and figure out how you're going to handle this.

VAUGHN
But that's the problem. Last night she told me that she didn't know how to be just friends. And I didn't have an answer to that. Cause I don't know how to do this either. (beat) Eric, I don't trust myself with her. It's too easy for me to fall back into our old patterns. I can't tell you how many times I've had to stop myself from touching her back or rubbing her shoulder or a thousand other little things that were as natural as breathing for me when I was with her.

WEISS
Mike, I don't have any answers for you. All I know is that being a friend comes down to one thing: friends look out for each other. Maybe that's where you should start.

VAUGHN
Maybe. It's funny but that's exactly where we started 4 years ago. I met her at the pier and she was a mess. I didn't know what to do so I just listened and told her that I'd be there for her.

WEISS
See? So why can't you do that now?

VAUGHN
I already did.

WEISS
What?

VAUGHN
Last night, when I dropped her off, I told that if she ever needed anything I'm here for her.

WEISS
So you told her that you loved her but you moved on and then later you told her that you were still there for her? Gee, that's not confusing at all.

VAUGHN
Hey, I told you...

WEISS
I know. I know. I was just trying to show you how crazy this has got to be for her too. She hasn't had two years to adjust to not being with you. As far as she's concerned she went to sleep with a boyfriend and woke up to find him married to another woman. Not that it's any better for you. You finally put your life back together only to have her come back and call all of it into question.

VAUGHN
Yeah, but it's not like I'm not happy to have her back. Seeing her again, realizing that it was really her, it was like this weight had been lifted off my chest and I could finally breathe again. But now...

WEISS
Hey, I'm not the one that needs to hear all of this. She does.

VAUGHN
But what do I say to her? What can I say? Especially since part of me wonders what might have happened if only I would have waited a few more months. Held out a little longer...

WEISS
Don't. As far as you knew, she was dead. You didn't do anything wrong.

VAUGHN
Then why do I feel like I did?

WEISS
I don't know. Maybe that's something the two of you should talk about.

VAUGHN
But how do you even start a conversation like that?

WEISS
Just tell her how you feel. And then let her tell you how she feels. After that... who knows? But you can't keep going like this. You can't keep shutting her out and pushing her away. It's not working. Believe me, I've seen both sides of this and neither of you are happy.

VAUGHN
You're right.

WEISS
Of course I am. Just call me Dr. Eric.

Finally Vaughn smiles, just a little.

VAUGHN
You really should consider charging by the hour.

WEISS
I've thought about it. But non-profits get all the breaks. Just look at Sloane.

Vaughn shakes his head.

VAUGHN
Thank you. I really have been screwing this all up, haven't I?

WEISS
It hasn't been one of your finer moments. But hey, it's not like there's books on the subject or anything. Which is why you have me. Cause friends don't let friends be idiots. At least without calling them on it. Friends also don't let friends go hungry. And since Syd is obviously not available for lunch I may as well ask you.

VAUGHN
Well, with an invitation like that...

WEISS
Hey, you should just be glad that I'm willing to put up with you. I've got front row seats to all this and let me tell you it isn't fun to watch. So let's go.

And the two of them walk off to lunch.

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