* * * * *
"This weekend is going to be so much fun!" Kelsey told Mary, as she threw her bags into the back of the car. Kelsey had picked Mary up from her house, the minute she got back from work.
"I am actually excited for this."
"As you should be. A weekend of shopping fun, a spa, and just relaxing."
"Sounds heavenly."
"And you took my advice?"
"What advice?"
"You didn't assign anything due today, so that you have nothing to grade this weekend."
Mary picked up her back pack sheepishly. "Kinda, but I don't have to. I just need to do something in the car."
"Don't you get car sick?"
"I did too much traveling in my past, I don't get car sick."
Kelsey had never known Mary to be a traveler. But then again, each day she would find out about Mary's mysterious past. Never once had she mentioned her family, or where she lived, or even past boyfriends. "Where did you go?"
Mary froze. Mary never traveled. Mary had lived only two places her entire life. Greenwich, and Chicago. Sydney had flown all over the world. But not Mary. As quickly as the truth came out, Mary was able to think of a lie to cover up the truth. "As a kid, we would travel the states in a little car."
Kelsey was taken aback. Mary had talked about her family! For the first time in four years, she had mentioned her family. But something in Mary's eyes told her not to ask anymore questions. The drive was short. They had driven to the city before, but never had they done a full weekend before. Kelsey pulled up to the hotel in the middle of the city. They both looked up at the building that towered before them. "This is going to be awesome." Mary said.
As busy people rushed passed them, Kelsey looked at them. "If we can find a break in the people, why don't you say that you and I go check in?"
"Yeah." After checking in, the two dropped their bags in their room. "I call the bed closer to the window." Kelsey said, throwing her bag from the door to the bed next to the window.
Mary laughed. Her best friend could be immature sometimes, but it was ok. She dealt with immature kids all the time. And compared to some of her seniors, Kelsey was normal. "Then I'll take this one." Mary carefully laid her suitcase on her own bed.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Just a second, I want to unpack the first. I'm sort of anal about that."
"My friend, she lives here in the city told me about this awesome bookshop. I know how much you like reading and stuff, so I figured that it would be cool to go there. She said it was a shop mostly of first editions of old books, and it was amazing. She also gushed about the shop keeper. And it is like only a couple of blocks from here, so we can walk. But then, we're two women in a big city. But I don't think anyone would hurt us in the middle of the day. And especially with all those people out there, who could see what was happening." Mary knew where that fear was coming from.
As a child, Kelsey had grown up in a very small town in the middle of Kansas, where the biggest problem was that the birds would make nests in the street lamps, or one of the local kids would be out too late doing nothing but sitting on the curb. Kelesy's mother had not had a good experience when she once went into a city. Just one mugging and they were both afraid of the people of the cities. New York wasn't the problem, it was the people. When she and Mary had gone to New York, Kelsey had always clung tightly to her friend. Mary wasn't afraid. She had grown up in Chicago. Although she had never been to Chicago in her entire life, Mary had both big city instincts, and wasn't afraid of someone mugging her. She could still remember every single experience that Sydney Bristow remembered. She remembered Sydney growing up in California, living in LA. She could remember the countless places where Sydney had to go, she didn't even know how many people Sydney had fought, and defeated. All those memories were as clear as if they were Mary's. But they were Sydney's. Mary grew up in a Chicago suburb, went to school there. She never left Chicago until after college. And even then, she went straight for Greenwich.
Mary put her clothing into the dresser as she listened to her friend talk. "Sounds like fun. What else did you have in mind for today?"
"Considering there isn't much we can do. I don't feel like battling traffic. This friend I was telling you about told me that at this hour, rush hour is at its worst. I was thinking just hanging around here, and shopping at that mall across the street. Tomorrow we are going to the spa."
"I'm ready to go."
Kelsey grabbed her purse, and the two went down the elevator, and down the street to the book shop. Kelsey stopped in front of what to Mary looked like a closed shop. "Looks closed Kelse." Mary said.
"It's just dark in there. My friend told me the guy used only a few lights."
"Cryptology Bookshop. Cute name. Reminds me of some foreign shop." Mary said, reminiscing of Sydney days as she had coined them.
Kelsey didn't know where Mary had gotten that from. For all she knew, Mary had never been out of the country. "Sure." Kelsey opened the door, and the two walked in.
"There is no one here." Mary whispered to her friend.
"Yeah." Mary wandered over to the walls, and began to look at the books along the wall. She smiled as she looked at the selection closest to the front. It was most of her favorite books. She picked up her absolute favorite book, and thumbed through it. It had been a while since she had found a copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that she truly loved.
Travis came from the back room, carrying an armful of books to shelve. He nearly dropped it as he noticed who was standing in his shop. He couldn't see her face, but in one instant he could tell it was her. He had pinned over her for so long. She had short blonde, curly hair now, instead of her long luxurious brown hair. Travis noticed that only a few yards away was her friend. "Can I help you find something?" He offered.
Kelsey looked up from the book she was flipping through. "No, we're just looking." She said.
Travis just smiled, and put two books onto the shelf. He looked at the spines of the remaining books, and smiled as he looked at the titles. Casually, he walked over to the wall where Mary was standing. "Do you like Shakespeare?" He asked.
Mary looked up from her book, and looked into Travis's eyes. They were no longer green, but she knew it was him. There was something about him that made him unforgettable. Even with a different look. She smiled as for the first time in five years, she looked her dreams in the eye. She quickly peeked around Travis, to look to see if Kelsey could see them. "Is it you?" She harshly whispered.
"Shh…yeah. As long as it is you."
"Right here." Kelsey came around, so that she was now on the same wall as Mary and Travis. "I love Shakespeare."
"I have some more in the back, if you'd like to take a look." Travis said. He gave her a look, that told her that there was something other than a book to talk to her about in the back. Mary smiled, and followed Travis to the back room. "I missed you so much." He said, his voice still low. Mary went over and hugged Travis. His embrace was as comforting as it was the day she left.
"I missed you too." She said. After five years of loving each other without contact, Mary knew that she had to show that she still cared. She kissed him. He still had the soft, and compassionate kiss. A single tear ran down her cheek as she realized how much she had missed him.
"God Sydney, even with a new look, you are still as beautiful as the day we parted."
"Vaughn, I'm Mary Hannah Waters now."
"And I'm Travis Hunter Armstrong now."
Mary's voice cracked. "When?"
"Four years ago. They found me too."
Mary and Travis just looked each other in their eyes. The colors were different from what they remembered, but the sparkle, the enchantment that first grabbed Mary to Travis, when they were still Sydney and Michael was still there. People say that a picture can say a thousand words. One Kodak moment later, and the image would still be there. The image of two people so deeply in love. No one would even know that they had never met. Mary and Travis had never met. Sydney and Vaughn were still in love. And their love went from Sydney to Mary, and Vaughn to Travis. All they could do was smile.
"Hey Mary? You about ready?" Kelsey's voice rang. It took both of them a second to process what had just happened. Travis picked up a book off a pile and handed it to Mary.
"Here take this. Last time I checked, you liked this book." He said, winking.
Mary looked down at the book that Travis had placed in hands. Her lips turned upward as she looked at the carvings. "Little Women?"
"On the house."
"Thank you Travis."
"But on one condition."
"What is that?"
Slowly, the two made their way to the front of the store. "If you have dinner with me tonight."
Mary smiled brightly. "I'd love to, but I'm only in town for a few days. We leave Monday night."
"Please?" Travis looked at Mary with those puppy dog eyes that no one can resist.
"Fine." Mary said, finally agreeing.
"I'll pick you up at..." Travis stopped his sentence right there, to allow Mary to fill in the right time.
"6:30."
"You can get ready in an hour and a half?"
"Please, Travis, I can get ready in ten minutes on a bumpy dirt road if need be." Mary said, stirring old memories.
***Flashback***
In the back of the old truck, sat three people running. The driver had long since broken speed limits, and had turned onto a dirt road to outrun the shooters. The three bounced along to the rhythem of the truck as it sped along. Jack tossed a small black bag to Sydney, and another one to Vaughn. "In here are your aliases. We will be passing a safe house soon. You two will need to jump out, and make a run for it. I'll have him slow down the truck a little, but not too much. If we slow down too much we're more likely to get caught. We will come retrieve you after at least a week, at most two weeks. It has to be at least until the KGB is off both of your backs." He said explaining to them. He knew they would be ok. Vaughn would never let anything happen to his daughter. And he knew that the devotion went both ways.
"The CIA has safe houses in the country?" Sydney said. She had her back facing both her father and her lover, as she changed into the required clothing.
"An entire farm." Vaughn said. After changing, he turned back around to see Sydney's bare back staring at him. He had seen all of her scars, but he still blushed at her silky bare skin. Sensing Vaughn's eyes, Sydney herself blushed, smiled, and quickly threw the old shirt over her head. She turned around, fully dressed, and went about fixing the wig on her head.
"You guys have a minute until we're there." Jack informed them. With their wigs secured, Vaughn and Sydney took out the remaining items in the bags. Cash, and names.
"Peggy Wilder?" Sydney said, sneering at the name. "I'm not a huge fan of Peggy. But it will have to do."
"I like Peggy rather than Harry Wilder."
"What is this Dad?" Sydney asked, immediately noticing the same last names.
"On a farm, two people, especially a man and a woman, are expected to be married. Don't worry, there are separate bedrooms."
"Time!" Shouted the driver. The trio felt the car decelerate. Jack opened the back of the truck, and gave an encouraging smile before he made sure that Sydney and Vaughn were safely off the truck.
"I think we don't need that second bedroom." Sydney seductively said, as she and Vaughn went hand in hand to the safe house.
"I agree Mrs. Wilder." Vaughn replied.
***End Flashback***
"I bet you can." Travis replied.
"I'll see you at 6:30 then."
"Where are you staying?"
Mary smiled as she forgot that detail. Smiling she pulled out one of her business cards, and quickly scratched the hotel and the room number onto the back. "Here you go. My name and number is on there too, just incase you forget, TRAVIS." She said, emphasizing his name.
"I don't think that is possible MARY." Travis took a look at the card that was now in his hand. "A teacher?"
"A high school teacher. I teach English."
"Noble profession."
Mary put the three books onto the counter. Travis simply put the books into the bag, without ringing them up. "I insist on paying for the other two." Mary said.
"I insist that you don't."
Mary just smiled. "If you would still like to go to dinner with me tonight, I suggest that you let me pay for these two books."
"Is that a threat Mary?"
"It is."
Travis shook his head, and took the books out and rang them up. After paying for the books, Mary smiled, leaving a lasting impression on Travis. Once outside the store Kelsey started to laugh.
"Could you have been anymore obvious?" She joked.
"What?"
"It was totally obvious that you were all over him."
"So?"
"I have never, never, in the five years that I have known you, seen you flirt with a guy that much, and that obviously." Mary could only blush. The two crossed the street. "So that guy had a guide book to New York in there, so I took a quick look, and got some ideas for some cheep but good restaurants for dinner. We can go to-"
Mary cut her friend off there. "Oh, I'm not going to dinner with you."
"Did he ask you to dinner?"
"Yeah."
"So you're going to ditch me for him?"
"Sorry."
"It's ok, I would have done the same thing. He was mighty fine." Kelsey said. They got to the hotel room, and Mary dropped her bags.
She gasped. "I just realized I don't have anything close to date wear!" She said, as she ran to where all of her clothing was put.
"How much time do you have?"
"An hour."
"An hour?!?!"
"I'm not the kind that likes to eat dinner at eight, because he picked me up at seven!"
"Try this." Kelsey tossed Mary a summer dress (even though it was spring) and one of her sweaters.
"This stuff yours?" Mary called from the bathroom, a she got into the shower.
"Yeah?"
"Were you expecting a date?"
"Not expecting, but hoping." Mary hastily got ready. With precious time to spare, she finished. At six thirty on the dot, there was a knock at their door. Mary rushed to answer it. Travis stood there with a bouquet of flowers.
"Hi." She breathily whispered.
"Hey." Mary ushered him in. "I hope I'm not to early. I actually got here about twenty minutes ago, and I sat by the door until six thirty."
"No, not to early." Mary said. She grabbed her jacket, and purse. Arm in arm, the two walked to the elevators.
"You are so beautiful tonight." He said.
"Now, where have I heard that before?" Mary asked, easily slipping into her Sydney habits.
"I think a man I once knew told me girls like to hear that. You may know him. About my height, brown hair, green eyes, the world's most beautiful girlfriend. Michael Vaughn is his name."
Mary smiled. "Yeah, I think I know him. So, do I come in as the second most beautiful girl?"
"God no Syd. You are always the most beautiful girl. Even as a blonde."
"I missed you so much Michael." Mary said, kissing Travis.
"Oh, I got a Michael out of you." Travis teased.
"Just until we're out of the elevator."
"Right. Then I'm Vaughn?"
"No. Travis." Mary changed her composure, as a woman on a first date, as the doors opened to reveal the lobby. Her hand dangled on her side, as Travis took it. He held it, entwining every one of his fingers, around hers, like he did with Sydney. But Mary had no problem, him loving another woman. For she loved another man. But he loved Mary, for she was Sydney. And she loved Travis, for he was Vaughn. And for the few short seconds, as they walked through the lobby, they felt like Sydney and Vaughn.