Sydney was sitting on her couch working away on a SD-6 assignment on her laptop when she heard a soft knock on her back door. "That's weird," she muttered. "No one ever comes to the back door." She pushed her laptop aside and went to answer the knocking that had started up again.

"Vaughn! What are you doing here?" she asked with a laugh. "You know that you're not allowed to be seen here with me."

"I checked. I wasn't followed, and your house is swept for bugs and plants weekly." He let out a big breath of air and smiled. "So there is where you live."

"This is where I live. What are you doing here?"

"You were so upset at lunch the other day that I wanted to come and make sure you were all right."

"You could have done that at any point when we were at work."

He sent her a devilish grin. "But then I wouldn't get to see your house. If you want me to go, I will."

"No way," she said as she grabbed his collar and pulled him in for a rather forceful kiss. "I'm glad you're here."

"Good." He brought his arm out from behind his back, and she saw that he was holding a bouquet of daisies. "I hope these cheer you up."

She gasped and grabbed them out of his hand. "They're so great."

"Beautiful just like you."

"That was such a line," she said with a laugh. "But it worked. Thank you."

Sydney went to the kitchen to put her new flowers in water. He watched her every move drinking in the sight of her. "I can never get enough of you," he said.

"You're just on fire with these compliments tonight. It's good to be appreciated."

He walked up behind her and slid his arms around her stomach. "Dance with me."

"There's no music."

"There doesn't need to be."

He spun her around to face him and grasped her hands in his. Their bodies moved to a gentle rhythm that came from inside of them. Sydney smiled up at him. "You know, when I was little, my mother and my father always used to dance around the kitchen as they made dinner. It's one of the memories I have that helps me to understand why my mother stuck around for six years. I think for a while there, she was really happy in this life."

"And are you happy?"

"I'm happy right now. And that's all that matters. We'll save the confusion and doubts for another time, another conversation."

"Agreed." Vaughn dipped her and brought her slowly back up to his body.

"You realize that it might be best if you didn't try to leave any time soon, right? I mean, you just chanced going outside about ten minutes ago. In my opinion, that means you have to stay at least until morning. Just to be on the safe side. If someone followed you, they'd give up watching by morning."

"Sydney Bristow, are you inviting me to stay the night?"

"Do you want to stay the night?" Sydney couldn't believe it. Did she just giggle at him?

"Yeah, I think I do."

"Good." She said as she wiggled out of his grip and over to the CD player. "Because I want to see if you can tango, Agent Vaughn."

"Oh no," he said shaking his head.

"Come on! It's the one dance I'm really great at."

"First off, I find it hard to believe that the tango is the only dance you're good at. Second, a warning. If you and I tangoed, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to keep my hands to themselves."

The music began to pulse in the background. She sauntered over to Vaughn and smiled seductively. Before he knew what was happening, he had his one hand on her lower hip and the other was placed in her right hand. She leaned over and whispered into his ear. "I don't know if I want you to keep your hands off of me, Vaughn.'

With one last smile, they began to dance.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The first thing Sydney did when she woke up the next morning was reach across the bed. She was satisfied to feel him still lying next to her. Her life had become a crazy series of dreams lately, so she wouldn't have been surprised if the previous night had been a dream, too.

But it wasn't. She inched over and positioned herself right alongside of Vaughn. Unconsciously feeling her presence beside him, he put his arm around her, and she snuggled in.

For the first time in a long while, she felt secure, really secure. And safe.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Sydney turned in circles staring at the massive forest she found herself in. She stopped as she felt herself get extremely dizzy. Her eyes focused just in time to see a blue and black striped door disappear.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked the empty forest.

"Bethany, where are you?" called a voice from behind her.

Smiling, she turned around and screamed, "Open up your eyes and look in front of you, Shawn. I'm right here."

She had gotten used to the whole procedure of these dreams that she wasn't surprised to see a young boy who looked exactly like Vaughn come out from behind one of the trees. He ran over to where she was standing and softly picked her up off of her feet.

"Brendan would kill us if he saw what we were doing," she said as he gently kissed her on the tip of her nose.

"Us? No way! You're his little sister. He'd never try to harm you. Me on the other hand, I happen to be in love with his little sister, and I'm his best friend. A best friend who, might I add, promised him that while he was away in the West Indies I would watch out and make sure that no one took advantage of his little sister."

"But I want you to take advantage of me," Sydney said as she nipped lightly at his bottom lip.

"I don't think I could refuse you even if I had a choice."

"Brendan's going to kill you," she teased.

Looking at her intently, he said, "It's worth it." He set her back down on her feet. "I came out here to tell you that your mother is looking for you. Seems like someone was supposed to go to the market today."

Sydney covered her face with her hands. "Oh my god! I forgot!" She began to run down the path back towards the village. She made it about ten yards away and then ran back to give Shawn, her brother's best friend, the biggest kiss she could imagine. "Will I see you later?"

"Of course," he said with a smile watching her run into the horizon.

Sydney tried to push the thought of Vaughn out of her head. She knew that she would have to get to the market and back within five minutes if her mother was going to believe the lie that she hadn't forgotten. Not watching where she was going and in such a rush, she ran straight into someone standing on the path.

"Pardon me," said an Irish voice. "I wasn't watching where you were going."

This time Sydney was surprised. The man looked exactly like Sark. In her dreams, Vaughn and Sark had never both appeared in the same one. This was definitely something new. She could feel her stomach balling up in what she could only guess was excitement and a little bit of fear.

"That was a joke, lass," Sark said. "I'm Patrick Quinn."

"I know who you are," she said. She was still lying on the ground staring up at this man. "My family would kill me if they knew I was talking to you."

"I'm just the Irish ruffian who lives in the forest, huh? No matter where I go, it always turns out that way." He reached out his hand which she just stared at in horror. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help you up."

Sydney shook her head and helped herself up without his aid. "It's no wonder that the whole town thinks you're bad. You go around with this mysterious air, knocking people over."

He laughed lightly. "I said I was sorry. So was that your beau that you were with?"

"No, that was my brother's best friend."

"You seem awfully close with your brother's best friend." She blushed noticeably. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No, it's all right. Shawn and I are in love, but he's not my beau."

Sydney began to walk, and Sark ran to catch up with her. "He's crazy, you know."

"What do you mean? He's of a perfectly sound mind."

"No, I mean he's crazy if he knows that you love him and he hasn't swept you up. You're the most beautiful woman I've seen, and if he can't see that, he's blind." Sydney blushed again. "I'd apologize for making you uncomfortable again, but I think I'm starting to like it."

"You're being awful forward, Mr. Quinn."

"Call me Patrick. And you are?"

"Bethany Taylor."

"Well, Bethie, it was nice to meet you, but I have to leave your company. I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again real soon, my dear."

Sydney just stared in shock as this strange, mysterious man walked in the opposite direction they had been heading. The only thing ringing through her head was no one had ever called her by a nickname before.

In the next few weeks, Sydney fluctuated from spending her mornings with Shawn/Vaughn to spending her afternoons with Patrick/Sark. She was almost shocked at the fact that she was keeping two secret relationships.

These two men were so shockingly different. Patrick was so mysterious. He wouldn't tell her one thing about his life back in Ireland and how he had found himself in England. But the conversations they had were so fun and full of laughter. That was the exact opposite of Shawn. Conversations with him were always serious, but his words held so much meaning. He said so many beautiful things to her.

"Hello, Bethie."

Sydney jumped when she heard Patrick greet her. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't a man go for a walk when he feels the desire?"

"I'm… I'm meeting Shawn here in a couple of minutes."

"Well, I want to meet this Shawn. I want to actually talk with him. See if he really appreciates how great a gal he's found. Has he told you that you're beautiful yet?"

Sydney rolled her eyes. Patrick had started all their conversations with this question. He seemed to think that Shawn wasn't in love with her if he hadn't told her that she was beautiful. She found this theory completely ridiculous, but she had to admit that she was a little put off by the fact that he hadn't told her.

"No, he hasn't. But like I say every time you ask that question, it doesn't matter. He loves me."

"How can you tell?"

"Do we really have to discuss this?"

"Yes," he said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She laughed. "Because when he kisses me, my heart speeds up. My mother always told me that that was how you could tell when a man was in love with you. He kissed you so well that you felt like your chest was going to burst." She noticed the way he was looking at her. "What? What did I say?"

Patrick didn't respond. He just leaned in and kissed her lightly on her lips. Pulling back, he placed his hand on her chest and asked, "Is that your heart I feel speeding up?"

"Take your hands off me," she insisted. It didn't sound very convincing to either one of them.

"Is this how fast your heart races when he kisses you?"

She couldn't lie. "Just as fast, yes."

"Hmmm." Patrick leaned in again and kissed her. This time, he wasn't gentle and the kiss was anything but light. Sydney felt her hands reach up to unconsciously play with the little curls at the base of the back of his neck. When he pulled away, she couldn't help but feel sad.

He reached down and grasped her hands. She felt him place one on her chest and one on his. "This is how fast your heart is supposed to beat, Bethie."

She could feel her head pounding harder than she had ever felt it before. His heart was pounding just as fast, almost in perfect beat with hers.

"Like I've told you every day since the one I met you, you are the most beautiful, most amazing woman I have ever met. And I can't hide the fact that I love you anymore."

"Excuse me," said a cold voice from behind them. "But I don't like how close you are to the woman I love."

Patrick stood up and looked Shawn in the eyes. "You must be Shawn. The man who Bethany thinks she loves and is in love with her."

"We are in love," Shawn said through skeptical eyes. "We both know that."

"Then, why would she want to kiss me?"

"You were taking advantage of her. I should kill you for that alone."

"Don't forget that I'm standing right here!" Sydney screamed. "I can speak for myself."

"Then speak," Patrick said. "Tell this man that you don't love him, Bethie. That you'd rather spend your time with me."

"That's a laugh," Shawn replied. "She wouldn't lie like that if you had a knife to her side. Tell him, Bethany."

Sydney looked back and forth between the two men. She knew in her heart that she loved them both in completely different ways. Shawn was safe and familiar. She knew that she could count on him to be by her side for years and years. Patrick was the exact opposite. He was new, exciting, almost dangerous. She had never experience life to the fullest until she had met him.

"You love them both," echoed the voice inside her head.

"I can only pick one, though," she answered back.

Turning to the two men, she made her decision. "I love you--"

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Sydney almost screamed as she registered the sound of her alarm clock. If she had just stayed asleep for a few more minutes, she would have known which one she chose. And maybe that would have made her dreams and her life that much clearer.

"Are you all right?" Vaughn asked from beside her.

"You stayed the night." She smiled at him.

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away. I don't think I've ever told you this, Syd. But you are positively the most beautiful woman I have ever met."

If it was even possible, she grinned even wider.