Sydney couldn't put her finger on what she was feeling when she stepped out of the passenger side of Sark's Miati.
Anger?
Confusion?
Fear?
Yeah, that was certainly it. Fear.
She certainly did not want to get close to her mother again, only to lose her, or be tricked by her once again. Sark recognized her fear when he noticed her reluctance to move from the car.
"Sydney," he said, and her eyes snapped to meet his.
"I can't do this Julian," she said, and he smiled at the use of his name. They had decided, on the way to her mother's home, that if they were working together, they should have some sort of familiarity.
"Sydney," he said again, grabbing her hand, "I'm right here. I'm not going to leave you."
"That's a lie," she spat, "you have to go back soon, or they'll suspect you." He only nodded, pulling her hand up to his mouth, placing a light kiss on her palm. He could've sworn she jumped at his touch, but decided to overlook it.
"Soon. Not now," he said, and he smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her waist, and led her to the door. Before he could lift his hand to knock, the door opened suddenly.
Sydney, along with Sark, was startled when her mother barreled out of door, wrapping Sydney in a tight embrace.
"Sydney, I've missed you..." Irina's voice trembled, and before another word was spoken, she led them both in the house, door shutting behind them slowly.
*****
"She's working with Sark?" Lauren Reed asked in amazement. She sighed loudly, throwing her hands up in the air, "And I thought I'd seen everything."
"Tell me about it. She's not thinking clearly," Michael Vaughn said, as he pulled his tie off after a long day at work. Lauren threw her keys on the table and moved to sit on their couch, removing her shoes and sitting back slowly. She groaned as she struggled to get comfortable, laying on the couch. Vaughn smiled at the sight, and stepped over, lifted her legs up, and sat beneath at the opposite end of the couch. As soon as he was seated, she draped her legs over his lap and he stroked them slowly, obviously in deep thought. Lauren watched him as they sat in silence, marveling at the wrinkles appearing on his forehead. Whenever he was worried, they became visible.
She sighed softly as she realized that Sydney was the object of his worries. She couldn't blame him though. He had been in love with the woman, who could fault him for that? She certainly couldn't.
"Michael?" she said softly, and he turned to her, his green eyes sparkling.
"Yeah honey?" he asked, leaning his head against the back of the couch. She maintained eyes contact, and sat up suddenly, cupping his face with her hands.
"She's going to be alright," she said simply. Tears welled in his eyes, as he remembered just why he had allowed himself to fall in love with Lauren Reed. He nodded slowly, smiling through his tears.
"Thank you," he said, and she moved to sit next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
*****
"Why do you have to go?" she whined, as he held both her hands in front of him.
"I must say Miss Bristow, I enjoy this sort of begging. Usually you'd be begging for your life..now you're begging me to stay. I obviously haven't lost my touch," he said, smirking. She snorted, then laughed out loud.
"Ah," he said, pointing at her, "Mission accomplished." They stood in silence for a moment, and he watched helplessly as a tear ran down her cheek.
"Hey, no tears now Bristow. Your mother is going to take care of you," he said, wiping the tear off her face. She smirked.
"That's what I'm afraid of," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Sydney," he said, his voice growing serious, "you're mother is guilty of a lot of things, but she loves you. She won't let anything happen to you."
"I know," she said, smiling. He cupped the side of her face in his hand and smiled genuinely at her, and she was surprised that her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"I'll be back soon," he said, and turned around to leave, not able to say goodbye to her. He made his way down the corridor, but stopped when she called out his name.
"Julian!" she yelled, and he turned around slowly, thinking that she had never more beautiful than she did in this moment. They stood in silence, staring at one another for a few moments. Suddenly, she closed the space between them, pulling him into an embrace. His shock disappeared as he stroked her hair tenderly, wondering at how much had changed in the last week. A week ago, she had been throwing punches at him; now, he was her only ally.
"Please be careful," she said quietly, pulling away to look at him intently. He was mesmerized by her brown eyes, but somehow found the strength to flash a reassuring smile.
"I'll be fine," he said, smirking, "Soon, I'll be back annoying you as per usual, and you'll wish I was gone." She smiled sweetly, her eyes dancing, and he couldn't seem to allow himself to avert his eyes from her gaze.
"This is so strange. Not long ago I wanted to kill you," she said, laughing, "Now...I'm going to miss you." He laughed softly.
"I was just thinking that myself," he said, kissing her hand softly. Tears welled up in her eyes again, and she looked at him seriously.
"Come back to me Julian," she said, and, upon realization of the insinuation of the phrase, she added, "so we can find the truth." His eyes widened, and he nodded slowly.
"I'll be back soon," he said, and pulled her into another swift embrace. She pulled away slowly, and then did something that surprised them both. She kissed him squarely on the mouth, pulling away just as quickly as she had initiated it. His blue eyes displayed confusion, but danced nonetheless. He smiled, not wanting to ruin the unexpected moment by speaking. He only nodded again, kissed her on the corner of her mouth, and exited the house.
