This chapter is in three different pieces, so I'm just going to post them
together, this is a super-long one, so I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it
makes up for the longer wait than normal.
[18.1]
Jack's plane landed around 7pm that night, and he exited the place, grabbing his single bag on the way out. He hadn't asked Sydney to come pick him up, so he was planning on taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel he was staying at down the road.
There, he would check-in to his room, drop off his bag, change out of his work clothes, grab something to eat (he refused to eat airplane or airport food), and then head to his daughter's apartment, to see his daughter for the first time in months.
Obviously he wouldn't stay there long, he wouldn't be staying at the apartment with Sydney and Michael, he trusted Michael with taking care of Sydney, knew that he would watch after her, so Jack was just going to check up with her, he was feeling a little jet-lagged after all.
The taxi pulled up in front of the nearest Sheraton as Jack has asked, and he paid the driver for the short ride from the airport, deciding he would catch another taxi to head to Sydney's so as not to make this driver wait for him if it wasn't necessary, after all, LA had many taxi's.
Walking into the lobby, he patiently waited in the small line at the desk before it was finally his turn.
"May I help you sir?" the man at the desk asked.
"Jack Bristow," Jack replied automatically, "I'm here to check-in, I called earlier today to make sure there was an available room."
"Ah yes, Senator, instead of the normal room you had booked for yourseld, we transferred you to the President's Suite, it seems to be more what you might be used to."
He wanted to roll his eyes, I mean it was just him, did they honestly think he needed an entire suite? It was just him that would be staying there, not to mention that he would only be sleeping there.
The man rang an eager bellboy over to carry Jack's long bag upstairs, even though Jack coul realistically carry it upstairs by himself, but if that was what they fancied, well so be it, he wasn't going to object.
And once the door to his room opened, Jack handed the grateful boy a twenty dollar tip, and he left the room, leaving Jack to himself to get ready to go over to Sydney's house.
****
It had been so long since he had worn casual clothes, so long since he had seen them in general, and a long time since he had had a pair of jeans and a UCLA sweatshirt on his lean body.
He practically slept in his suits, wearing them twenty hours out of the total twenty four hours in a day. Most nights he would fall asleep in his office, and would stay there for the night, that's why he had his own personal bathroom in a sub-room off of his office that contained a shower, and had transformed his coat closet into both a coat closet and a clothes closet (it contained a few of his suits for those nights he did spend in his office, it also contained linen, spare pairs of shoes, and clothes he might also need on a daily basis.) Most of his live-in maids and other personnel in his home saw the said home more than he did, and most of them got paid for doing nothing, so they basically sat around the house, cleaning once a week.
On the way to Sydney's, he asked the taxi driver to drop him off at a car rental place, already getting sick of catching a taxi to and from everywhere. He paid the taxi driver, exited the taxi and entered the building.
"May I help you sir?" the young woman behind the desk asked meekly.
"I'd like to rent a car," he confessed obviously, he was at a car rental.
"How long will you need it?" she questioned.
"Just until Sunday night."
She turned the computer monitor towards him so he could see the cars they had as an option for him, only two were left, a black four-door sedan or a red corvette convertible.
"I'll take the sedan," he told the woman, a corvette was so not his style, the woman nodded and drew up the paperwork for Jack to sign.
In minutes, he was pulling out of the parking lot in his new, rented, black four-door sedan, and soon enough he pulled into the parking lot of Sydney's apartment.
He took the stairs two at a time, and was standing in front of Sydney's apartment in no time, hand poised on the door, ready to knock.
And finally, he did.
Sydney practically ran to the door, eager to see her father for the first time in months, and she pulled the door open, a wide smile on her face.
"Why didn't you see who it was through the peephole?" Jack asked, "It could have been the person who's been following you."
Michael stood in the background and watched as Sydney's face fell and her shoulders slumped, she should have known that was going to happen, he always did that. She cast her eyes at the floor before she replied, "I'm sorry Dad."
Jack just shook his head, "From now on, check who it is before you just open the door, it could get you killed."
Sydney nodded, and took a step to the side to let her father into the apartment, he stepped in, immediately walked over to Michael and shaking his hand, and Sydney's head hung, he always did that, she should have expected nothing less, but for a minute, she thought that maybe it might be different, maybe he would be different this time.
She shut the door, and walked into the living room, plopping down on the couch in a depressed manner. Michael led Jack in there also, after proper introductions were made, Jack and Michael had never met, only talked on the phone, so Jack was eager to see exactly who Michael Vaughn was.
Michael sat down next to Sydney, not realizing how close he sat next to her, Jack certainly did though, and he filed that away for further analyzation later on.
The conversation shifted into how Washington was now, what Jack had been doing, what types of things he did as senator (all questions asked by Michael), and Sydney sat, staring at her hands clasped in her lap.
An hour later though, an awkward silence had encompassed them, and Jack awkwardly stood, "I'm going to head to my hotel now," he told them, "I'm exhausted, so I'll see both of you tomorrow morning, why don't we meet at the cafe down the road for breakfast, does 9:30 sound good to you?"
Both nodded, following Jack to the door, Michael shaking his hand as he shut the door behind him and turned to look at Sydney, her shoulders slumped and her eyes downcast.
He took her into his arms, pulling her into a hug much to her surprise, "Syd, what's wrong?"
She looked into his eyes and shook her head, "It's nothing." Her eyes were downcast again.
Michael placed two fingers under her chin and lifted it, "Come on Syd, what the hell is going on?"
"It's just, my dad..." she started, "I expected everything to be different because he hasn't seen me in so long, but he didn't even seem happy to see me, it's just upsetting."
"Listen here Bristow," he playfully started, "Your father loves you, and sooner or later you'll realize that when he decides to show it to you, but believe me, he really does love you, and he is happy to see you."
"Vaughn," she tested with a smile, if he was going to call her by her last name, she was too, "I kinda like the sound of that."
He smiled, "It doesn't sound half bad to me, I've never had anyone call my by my last name before."
"Mind if I do?" she asked meekly.
Michael smiled, and pulled her into his embrace and onto the couch, kissing the tip of her nose, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
****
Jack Bristow walked into his immaculate hotel room, pondering the night he'd just had. Something was obviously going on between his daughter and Mr. Vaughn, but the question was what exactly?
He knew that as long as Michael was around Sydney, Sydney wouldn't tell him anything, so he'd have to get her by herself, maybe they could have dinner together tomorrow night.
He only hoped he was right about the two of them, the only thing he had to go on was how close Michael had sat next to Sydney and the way she had looked at him when he did so.
Was that enough?
****
Exhausted from their day out, Sydney and Vaughn had fallen alseep in each other's arms on the small couch...
[18.2]
...and when Sydney awoke the next morning, she found a pair of muscular arms holding her tightly, and she looked around her surroundings, realizing they had both fallen asleep on the couch.
Looking to her side, she noticed that Vaughn was awake, and watching her, and she smiled lightly, yawning, "Good morning."
"Good morning sleepyhead," he smiled back.
"How long have you been awake?" she asked, turning around in his embrace so she could look into his eyes.
"About a half an hour," he grinned, causing an equal grin to break out on her face.
"What time is it?" she questioned.
He looked at his watch, "8:30, so we should probably start getting ready, we have to meet your father in an hour."
She nodded, standing up so he could also, and stretching her knotted back out before heading towards her bedroom to get a change of clothes.
As soon as she walked into her room, she knew something was wrong when she saw the curtains flapping in the breeze.
"Dammit!" she screamed, pounding her fist against the wall, "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! How could I forget to lock the sliding glass door?"
She all but banged her head against the wall, "Vaughn! Get in here!" She hadn't even realized she called him Vaughn, it had just rolled off her tongue like she had been calling him that for years and not hours.
And within seconds, he was standing in the doorway, his forehead wrinkles out in full force, "Syd, what's wrong?"
Sydney pointed to the sliding glass door as she slid down the wall, "I opened it yesterday because it was hot in here, and forgot to lock it again."
"The person was here again?" he questioned.
She nodded, banging her head against the wall again. He went to her and collected her in his arms, murmuring in her ear, "Syd, it wasn't your fault, the person would have found their way in anyway, no matter whether you left the door unlocked or not."
The tears were slipping down Sydney's cheeks as she nodded slightly against his shoulder, but his eyes grew wider, when on the bed, he saw a piece of white paper sitting.
He carefully kepy an arm around her waist as he walked her over to the bed and she sat down on the edge, she hadn't yet seen the paper, and he wasn't sure he wanted her to.
Her attention was still elsewhere when he grabbed the paper and quietly opened it, so as not to alert her that something was up: 'Watch over your shoulder, I'm still out there.'
His fist clenched, and his blood boiled, and right at that moment, he felt like he could commit murder, he could kill this person for Sydney, he would kill this person for Sydney.
****
Vaughn called Jack on his cell phone, told him what was going on, that they wouldn't be at breakfast, and that Jack might want to get there soon because Sydney was breaking down.
She was losing it, it was all too much for her, she could have been in serious trouble if she had been sleeping in her room, that was why he was glad they had fallen asleep out in the living room, she could have been hurt had they not.
Jack had said he would be over right away, but Vaughn was afraid Jack would start in on Sydney like he had the night before, about looking through the peephole before she opened the door, and the last thing she needed right now was to have her father criticize her for accidentally leaving the door unlocked.
He hadn't showed her the note yet, he wanted to show it to Jack first, because she really didn't need a threatening note to be found now, it would only make things more complicated.
The doorbell rang, and Vaughn looked at Sydney, "Syd, that's your father, I'm going to go let him in, and then I'll be right back, okay?"
She nodded slightly, and he took that as his signal to go let Jack in the house, leaving Sydney alone for the first time that morning.
Vaughn pulled the door open and was immediately shoved out of the way by Jack, who barged into the apartment and started heading towards Sydney's room, but Vaughn grabbed his arm, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to talk to my daughter," he spat, pulling his arm out of Vaughn's grasp, "How could she be so stupid as to leave the door unlocked for anyone to come in if they wanted. I think when I leave I'll be taking her back to Washington with me."
He shook his head back and forth, "Sydney really doesn't need you to berate her for leaving the door open right now, she's already beating herself up about it, so if you want to see her, don't make things worse, she's already taking this bad enough without you helping to make
it worse."
"What happened?" Jack demanded, "I want every single last detail right NOW!"
"From what Sydney told me, she went into her room sometime yesterday, and it was really hot in there, so she opened the door to get some air in there. For some reason she was in a rush, so she just shut the door and forgot to lock it, and didn't realize she had forgotten
that. When she went in there this morning, the wind was blowing in the door, the person had obviously just left, and she called me, but I found something she didn't notice."
He pulled the paper out and handed it to Jack. As Jack read it, his face contorted to one of fear for the slightest milli-second, long enough for Vaughn to notice it, and know that Jack really did care for his daughter and whether or not she got hurt.
As Jack was reading it, Vaughn realized why Sydney had been in such a rush the day before, and left the door unlocked, 'She was rushing to go out for the day with me, it's all my fault.'
"Did she get hurt?" Jack asked quickly.
Michael shook his head, "No, she didn't get hurt, she wasn't sleeping in there when the person came into the apartment."
After he had said that, he paused, realizing exactly what he had just said to Jack.
Jack looked at him weirdly, "What do you mean? Where was she sleeping?"
Vaughn blinks a few times, 'How am I going to get myself out of this one? Think, and think fast Mike, you just dug yourself a hole.'
"Mr. Vaughn, I asked you a question," Jack narrowed his eyes, not a good sign in Vaughn's book, "Where did my daughter sleep last night?"
"Umm...sir..." he stalled, attempting to come up with something good, and pretty quickly too, "She...umm...she told me she was going to stay up to watch some more TV last night after I went to bed, and I found her asleep on the couch this morning."
'Did it work? Did it work? Did it work?'
Jack narrowed his eyes once again, debating whether or not he wanted to believe the story, and finally he nodded, "What is Sydney doing now?"
"She's in her room," Vaughn told him, "Hold on for a second, and I'll go get her."
He made his way down the hallway and into the room to find Sydney sitting in the same position he had left her in fifteen minutes before. "Syd," he called to her, wanting to let her know he was here so he didn't startle her, "Your father is here."
She nodded, and stood up to walk out into the living room, Vaughn staying close to her for fear that Jack might last out at her when they got out there.
Surprisingly enough, Jack simply smiled slightly at his daughter, who caught both Sydney and Vaughn off guard, "How about we get out of here for a while? Go and have lunch at the café down the road?"
The question was directed towards Sydney, who went off towards the bathroom to change out of her clothes from the night before.
Jack looked at Vaughn, "Now you Mr. Vaughn, I want you to stay here, and find out everything you can on the neighbors."
Vaughn nodded, "I think it's about time we paid the neighbors a visit."
As soon as Vaughn left Sydney in Jack's protection to go out to lunch, he too left the apartment, not bothering to lock the door, as he would only be out in the hallway.
It was about time he paid the neighbors a visit, because as of right now, he suspected either one of the neighbors of being the person who was threatening Sydney, and that pissed him off.
Walking out into the hallway, he turned left, knocking on apartment number 45. Waiting patiently, with his hands in his pockets, the door was opened, and on the threshold stood a blonde-haired man with piercing blue eyes.
"Can I help you?" he asked through a strong British accent.
"Hi, my name is Michael Vaughn, I just moved into apartment 47 with my girlfriend," Vaughn recited the cover story he had come up with as Jack and Sydney were headed out the door, "I just wanted to come and introduce myself as I had never met you before."
The man smiled slightly and put his hand out to Vaughn, "Sam O'Connelly, I don't think I've ever met your girlfriend before, but I think I've seen her in the hall before. Brunette, about this tall?"
Vaughn nodded with a true smile, "That's her. Well I have to go, I'm making a surprise lunch for her while she's gone, but don't be a stranger, stop over sometime."
Sam smiled, "I'll have to stop by sometime, meet your girlfriend and have a beer. It was nice to meet you though."
"You too," he turned to walk away, 'One neighbor down, one to go.'
Sam O'Connelly seemed like a nice guy, very friendly and upfront, but Vaughn knew very likely that that could have been an act to fool him and make Sam seem less suspicious.
Now it was time to visit the last neighbor before heading back to the apartment to be ready to tell Jack everything he had learned.
Once again, he stood outside apartment number 49 after knocking, his hands in his pockets.
"I'll get it baby," he heard from behind the door, and got ready for the person who said this to open it.
And when he did, Michael was glad that his hands were in his pockets, because had they not been, he might have been forced to kick the ass of the man standing in front of him.
Danny Hecht.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Danny demanded.
"Who is it?" a female voice asked from behind Danny, and she lightly pushed him out of the way so Vaughn could see her, a mousey looking girl around 21 stood before him, her hand on Danny's arm, "What can I do for you?"
He smiled at her, "My name is Michael Vaughn, I just moved in with my girlfriend next door, and I was just stopping to say hi, and to see who lived here."
The cover story worked perfectly, and he got to stick his and Sydney's relationship in Danny's face, which was an added bonus.
She stuck her hand out to him, "Delia McDaniels, and this is my boyfriend Danny Hecht, he doesn't live here, but he's over here a lot, spends the night sometimes."
Vaughn nodded, a cold look shooting daggers at Danny, "Yeah, I know who he is, we've met before."
Delia's brow furrowed, "Really? How?"
Inside, Vaughn was rubbing his hands together, so Danny-boy didn't tell Delia that she was living right next door to his ex.
"You see, Danny is Sydney's, who is my girlfriend, he's her ex-fiancé."
Delia turned towards Danny, absentmindedly shutting the door in Vaughn's face, but behind the door, he head her accusingly ask, "My next door neighbor is your ex-fiancé?"
He walked back to the apartment with a smile on his face, but when he remembered why he head to meet the neighbors, he sobered up.
Was it Danny Hecht or Sam O'Connelly or someone else? The web of mysteries was beginning to get thicker, more complex, and harder to figure out who their allies and enemies were.
****
Jack and Sydney were seated at a table, and placed their order before Jack looked over at his daughter and asked the question he'd been burning to ask since the night before, "Sydney, what's going on between you and Mr. Vaughn?"
Sydney had just drunk a sip of water, and it all but came back out of her nose at the question, "Dad!"
"Sydney I asked you a question, and I expect the courtesy of an answer."
"What do you want me to say dad?" she questioned, "Honestly, what would you like to hear?"
"The truth Sydney," he sighed, "All I want to hear is the truth, that is all I've ever asked of you, all I've ever given you, and I thought you would always tell me the truth."
She looked down at the table, refusing to meet his gaze, "You can't handle the truth."
"Try me! I've dealt with much worse things than my daughter's love life."
If he wanted the truth, he'd get the truth, "Vau – Michael and I – we're dating."
"Sydney!" Jack scolded, "He was sent here to protect you, not date you! If he gets too emotionally attached to you, he wont' be able to do his job correctly."
"I don't care what you say dad, I'm not going to change my love life just because you don't agree," Sydney exclaimed, standing abruptly and slamming her chair in, waiting for Jack in the car.
****
The rest of the day, Jack spent at the apartment with Vaughn and Sydney, Vaughn telling Jack what he found when he visited with the neighbors when Sydney wasn't in the room.
Jack glared at Vaughn until he heard about Danny's girlfriend next door, then he realized that realistically it could be Danny.
[18.3]
The three of them met the next morning for breakfast, an uncomfortable silence overtaking them. Now that Jack knew about them, Sydney convinced Vaughn that it was okay to hold her hand in front of him.
So, when they walked towards the table where Jack was sitting, Vaughn had an arm around Sydney's shoulders, her draping one around his waist.
And they weren't ashamed about their relationship, they weren't scared about what Jack would say, they didn't care.
This was the last opportunity Jack would get to talk to both his daughter and Mr. Vaughn, as soon as they were done enjoying their breakfast, he would be getting on a plane to head back to Washington and prepare for his meeting with 'Steve'.
So, when Sydney excused herself from the table after they had placed their orders, to go to the bathroom, Jack Bristow did not wait a second, "I find this relationship you have started up with my daughter to be a serious lack in your judgment."
Vaughn wanted to roll his eyes, but he held it back, sensing there was more, but wanting to speak his mind also, "Mr. Bristow, no matter what you say, nothing is going to change the relationship between Sydney and I."
He couldn't believe he had just said that to him, as his mind lapsed back to the warning Sydney had given him the night before.
~&~&~Flashback~&~&~
"What's going on Syd? Why are you acting so different?"
"My father...he knows."
Lines of confusion played across Vaughn's forehead, "He knows? What do you mean?"
She looked him directly in the eyes, "He knows about us; about you and me."
"How did he find out?" His face was stark white, and he feared he might lose his dinner, surely Jack Bristow would not be happy about their relationship, Vaughn had been sent there to protect his daughter, not date her.
Sydney's eyes flashed to the floor and she mumbled something, almost too low for him to hear her, "I told him. He asked me what was going on between us, and I told him."
"You told him?" he blurted, "Why would you do that?"
She shrugged, "But Vaughn, be careful, my dad, he can get really overprotective when he wants to."
~&~&~End Flashback~&~&~
Jack saw Sydney retreating from the bathroom, and knew he had only one more second, "So help me Mr. Vaughn, if you hurt my daughter in any way, I will not hesitate to end your life."
Just as he finished his little spiel, Sydney arrived at the table once again, smiling slightly, "Is everything okay?"
Jack looked over at Vaughn first, who nodded, "Everything's fine Syd."
Before she called him on his lie, the waitress arrived with their food, and the three of them sat in silence for the rest of the meal, an unknown tension between Vaughn and Jack.
****
Jack Bristow sat on the plane, he had enjoyed himself for the most part that weekend, it had been good to see Sydney once again.
No matter how much he refused to admit it, especially to her, he really did miss her when he was in Washington and didn't see her for months on end.
His cell phone rang, and he pulled it out of his breast pocket, "Hello?"
"Jack, I trust you're on a flight back right now?" Devlin asked.
Jack nodded even though Director Devlin couldn't see him, "Yes Devlin, I'm about halfway back to Washington."
Devlin also nodded to himself, "Well as soon as you get back, come down to the agency, there will be a visitor's pass waiting for you at the front desk and they'll show you where to go."
They were going to formulate the plan of what exactly was going to go down tomorrow when he met with 'Steve'.
****
He sat there, watching them via the cameras he had planted in various places throughout the apartment, four in the living room, three in the kitchen, three in each bedroom, and one lone one in the bathroom.
The man, Michael Vaughn, thought it had been safe to keep the door unlocked when he had gone to visit with the neighbors.
What a fool.
Didn't he know that it only took one little distraction, something as simple as talking to one of the neighbors to be able to slip into the apartment, plant a few cameras and microphones, and only one more little distraction to slip out once again?
He truly was a fool, a smitten, love-sick puppy, she was the same, they were both careless, but soon, they would learn that there is no room for carelessness in this field, they would learn it good.
His attention went back to the television in front of him, where he could keep an eye on all the cameras, and he started laughing, they had found it.
****
Sydney brought her legs up underneath her, settling on the couch, Vaughn sitting next to her, and Sydney snuggling into his embrace as they got ready to watch a movie.
But something caught her attention, and she pulled the little white piece of paper out from between the magazines.
"What's this?" she asked as she unfolded it, catching Vaughn's attention too.
'Stop snooping around, you'll only make it worse for yourselves.'
TBC...
~&~&~
[18.1]
Jack's plane landed around 7pm that night, and he exited the place, grabbing his single bag on the way out. He hadn't asked Sydney to come pick him up, so he was planning on taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel he was staying at down the road.
There, he would check-in to his room, drop off his bag, change out of his work clothes, grab something to eat (he refused to eat airplane or airport food), and then head to his daughter's apartment, to see his daughter for the first time in months.
Obviously he wouldn't stay there long, he wouldn't be staying at the apartment with Sydney and Michael, he trusted Michael with taking care of Sydney, knew that he would watch after her, so Jack was just going to check up with her, he was feeling a little jet-lagged after all.
The taxi pulled up in front of the nearest Sheraton as Jack has asked, and he paid the driver for the short ride from the airport, deciding he would catch another taxi to head to Sydney's so as not to make this driver wait for him if it wasn't necessary, after all, LA had many taxi's.
Walking into the lobby, he patiently waited in the small line at the desk before it was finally his turn.
"May I help you sir?" the man at the desk asked.
"Jack Bristow," Jack replied automatically, "I'm here to check-in, I called earlier today to make sure there was an available room."
"Ah yes, Senator, instead of the normal room you had booked for yourseld, we transferred you to the President's Suite, it seems to be more what you might be used to."
He wanted to roll his eyes, I mean it was just him, did they honestly think he needed an entire suite? It was just him that would be staying there, not to mention that he would only be sleeping there.
The man rang an eager bellboy over to carry Jack's long bag upstairs, even though Jack coul realistically carry it upstairs by himself, but if that was what they fancied, well so be it, he wasn't going to object.
And once the door to his room opened, Jack handed the grateful boy a twenty dollar tip, and he left the room, leaving Jack to himself to get ready to go over to Sydney's house.
****
It had been so long since he had worn casual clothes, so long since he had seen them in general, and a long time since he had had a pair of jeans and a UCLA sweatshirt on his lean body.
He practically slept in his suits, wearing them twenty hours out of the total twenty four hours in a day. Most nights he would fall asleep in his office, and would stay there for the night, that's why he had his own personal bathroom in a sub-room off of his office that contained a shower, and had transformed his coat closet into both a coat closet and a clothes closet (it contained a few of his suits for those nights he did spend in his office, it also contained linen, spare pairs of shoes, and clothes he might also need on a daily basis.) Most of his live-in maids and other personnel in his home saw the said home more than he did, and most of them got paid for doing nothing, so they basically sat around the house, cleaning once a week.
On the way to Sydney's, he asked the taxi driver to drop him off at a car rental place, already getting sick of catching a taxi to and from everywhere. He paid the taxi driver, exited the taxi and entered the building.
"May I help you sir?" the young woman behind the desk asked meekly.
"I'd like to rent a car," he confessed obviously, he was at a car rental.
"How long will you need it?" she questioned.
"Just until Sunday night."
She turned the computer monitor towards him so he could see the cars they had as an option for him, only two were left, a black four-door sedan or a red corvette convertible.
"I'll take the sedan," he told the woman, a corvette was so not his style, the woman nodded and drew up the paperwork for Jack to sign.
In minutes, he was pulling out of the parking lot in his new, rented, black four-door sedan, and soon enough he pulled into the parking lot of Sydney's apartment.
He took the stairs two at a time, and was standing in front of Sydney's apartment in no time, hand poised on the door, ready to knock.
And finally, he did.
Sydney practically ran to the door, eager to see her father for the first time in months, and she pulled the door open, a wide smile on her face.
"Why didn't you see who it was through the peephole?" Jack asked, "It could have been the person who's been following you."
Michael stood in the background and watched as Sydney's face fell and her shoulders slumped, she should have known that was going to happen, he always did that. She cast her eyes at the floor before she replied, "I'm sorry Dad."
Jack just shook his head, "From now on, check who it is before you just open the door, it could get you killed."
Sydney nodded, and took a step to the side to let her father into the apartment, he stepped in, immediately walked over to Michael and shaking his hand, and Sydney's head hung, he always did that, she should have expected nothing less, but for a minute, she thought that maybe it might be different, maybe he would be different this time.
She shut the door, and walked into the living room, plopping down on the couch in a depressed manner. Michael led Jack in there also, after proper introductions were made, Jack and Michael had never met, only talked on the phone, so Jack was eager to see exactly who Michael Vaughn was.
Michael sat down next to Sydney, not realizing how close he sat next to her, Jack certainly did though, and he filed that away for further analyzation later on.
The conversation shifted into how Washington was now, what Jack had been doing, what types of things he did as senator (all questions asked by Michael), and Sydney sat, staring at her hands clasped in her lap.
An hour later though, an awkward silence had encompassed them, and Jack awkwardly stood, "I'm going to head to my hotel now," he told them, "I'm exhausted, so I'll see both of you tomorrow morning, why don't we meet at the cafe down the road for breakfast, does 9:30 sound good to you?"
Both nodded, following Jack to the door, Michael shaking his hand as he shut the door behind him and turned to look at Sydney, her shoulders slumped and her eyes downcast.
He took her into his arms, pulling her into a hug much to her surprise, "Syd, what's wrong?"
She looked into his eyes and shook her head, "It's nothing." Her eyes were downcast again.
Michael placed two fingers under her chin and lifted it, "Come on Syd, what the hell is going on?"
"It's just, my dad..." she started, "I expected everything to be different because he hasn't seen me in so long, but he didn't even seem happy to see me, it's just upsetting."
"Listen here Bristow," he playfully started, "Your father loves you, and sooner or later you'll realize that when he decides to show it to you, but believe me, he really does love you, and he is happy to see you."
"Vaughn," she tested with a smile, if he was going to call her by her last name, she was too, "I kinda like the sound of that."
He smiled, "It doesn't sound half bad to me, I've never had anyone call my by my last name before."
"Mind if I do?" she asked meekly.
Michael smiled, and pulled her into his embrace and onto the couch, kissing the tip of her nose, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
****
Jack Bristow walked into his immaculate hotel room, pondering the night he'd just had. Something was obviously going on between his daughter and Mr. Vaughn, but the question was what exactly?
He knew that as long as Michael was around Sydney, Sydney wouldn't tell him anything, so he'd have to get her by herself, maybe they could have dinner together tomorrow night.
He only hoped he was right about the two of them, the only thing he had to go on was how close Michael had sat next to Sydney and the way she had looked at him when he did so.
Was that enough?
****
Exhausted from their day out, Sydney and Vaughn had fallen alseep in each other's arms on the small couch...
[18.2]
...and when Sydney awoke the next morning, she found a pair of muscular arms holding her tightly, and she looked around her surroundings, realizing they had both fallen asleep on the couch.
Looking to her side, she noticed that Vaughn was awake, and watching her, and she smiled lightly, yawning, "Good morning."
"Good morning sleepyhead," he smiled back.
"How long have you been awake?" she asked, turning around in his embrace so she could look into his eyes.
"About a half an hour," he grinned, causing an equal grin to break out on her face.
"What time is it?" she questioned.
He looked at his watch, "8:30, so we should probably start getting ready, we have to meet your father in an hour."
She nodded, standing up so he could also, and stretching her knotted back out before heading towards her bedroom to get a change of clothes.
As soon as she walked into her room, she knew something was wrong when she saw the curtains flapping in the breeze.
"Dammit!" she screamed, pounding her fist against the wall, "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! How could I forget to lock the sliding glass door?"
She all but banged her head against the wall, "Vaughn! Get in here!" She hadn't even realized she called him Vaughn, it had just rolled off her tongue like she had been calling him that for years and not hours.
And within seconds, he was standing in the doorway, his forehead wrinkles out in full force, "Syd, what's wrong?"
Sydney pointed to the sliding glass door as she slid down the wall, "I opened it yesterday because it was hot in here, and forgot to lock it again."
"The person was here again?" he questioned.
She nodded, banging her head against the wall again. He went to her and collected her in his arms, murmuring in her ear, "Syd, it wasn't your fault, the person would have found their way in anyway, no matter whether you left the door unlocked or not."
The tears were slipping down Sydney's cheeks as she nodded slightly against his shoulder, but his eyes grew wider, when on the bed, he saw a piece of white paper sitting.
He carefully kepy an arm around her waist as he walked her over to the bed and she sat down on the edge, she hadn't yet seen the paper, and he wasn't sure he wanted her to.
Her attention was still elsewhere when he grabbed the paper and quietly opened it, so as not to alert her that something was up: 'Watch over your shoulder, I'm still out there.'
His fist clenched, and his blood boiled, and right at that moment, he felt like he could commit murder, he could kill this person for Sydney, he would kill this person for Sydney.
****
Vaughn called Jack on his cell phone, told him what was going on, that they wouldn't be at breakfast, and that Jack might want to get there soon because Sydney was breaking down.
She was losing it, it was all too much for her, she could have been in serious trouble if she had been sleeping in her room, that was why he was glad they had fallen asleep out in the living room, she could have been hurt had they not.
Jack had said he would be over right away, but Vaughn was afraid Jack would start in on Sydney like he had the night before, about looking through the peephole before she opened the door, and the last thing she needed right now was to have her father criticize her for accidentally leaving the door unlocked.
He hadn't showed her the note yet, he wanted to show it to Jack first, because she really didn't need a threatening note to be found now, it would only make things more complicated.
The doorbell rang, and Vaughn looked at Sydney, "Syd, that's your father, I'm going to go let him in, and then I'll be right back, okay?"
She nodded slightly, and he took that as his signal to go let Jack in the house, leaving Sydney alone for the first time that morning.
Vaughn pulled the door open and was immediately shoved out of the way by Jack, who barged into the apartment and started heading towards Sydney's room, but Vaughn grabbed his arm, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to talk to my daughter," he spat, pulling his arm out of Vaughn's grasp, "How could she be so stupid as to leave the door unlocked for anyone to come in if they wanted. I think when I leave I'll be taking her back to Washington with me."
He shook his head back and forth, "Sydney really doesn't need you to berate her for leaving the door open right now, she's already beating herself up about it, so if you want to see her, don't make things worse, she's already taking this bad enough without you helping to make
it worse."
"What happened?" Jack demanded, "I want every single last detail right NOW!"
"From what Sydney told me, she went into her room sometime yesterday, and it was really hot in there, so she opened the door to get some air in there. For some reason she was in a rush, so she just shut the door and forgot to lock it, and didn't realize she had forgotten
that. When she went in there this morning, the wind was blowing in the door, the person had obviously just left, and she called me, but I found something she didn't notice."
He pulled the paper out and handed it to Jack. As Jack read it, his face contorted to one of fear for the slightest milli-second, long enough for Vaughn to notice it, and know that Jack really did care for his daughter and whether or not she got hurt.
As Jack was reading it, Vaughn realized why Sydney had been in such a rush the day before, and left the door unlocked, 'She was rushing to go out for the day with me, it's all my fault.'
"Did she get hurt?" Jack asked quickly.
Michael shook his head, "No, she didn't get hurt, she wasn't sleeping in there when the person came into the apartment."
After he had said that, he paused, realizing exactly what he had just said to Jack.
Jack looked at him weirdly, "What do you mean? Where was she sleeping?"
Vaughn blinks a few times, 'How am I going to get myself out of this one? Think, and think fast Mike, you just dug yourself a hole.'
"Mr. Vaughn, I asked you a question," Jack narrowed his eyes, not a good sign in Vaughn's book, "Where did my daughter sleep last night?"
"Umm...sir..." he stalled, attempting to come up with something good, and pretty quickly too, "She...umm...she told me she was going to stay up to watch some more TV last night after I went to bed, and I found her asleep on the couch this morning."
'Did it work? Did it work? Did it work?'
Jack narrowed his eyes once again, debating whether or not he wanted to believe the story, and finally he nodded, "What is Sydney doing now?"
"She's in her room," Vaughn told him, "Hold on for a second, and I'll go get her."
He made his way down the hallway and into the room to find Sydney sitting in the same position he had left her in fifteen minutes before. "Syd," he called to her, wanting to let her know he was here so he didn't startle her, "Your father is here."
She nodded, and stood up to walk out into the living room, Vaughn staying close to her for fear that Jack might last out at her when they got out there.
Surprisingly enough, Jack simply smiled slightly at his daughter, who caught both Sydney and Vaughn off guard, "How about we get out of here for a while? Go and have lunch at the café down the road?"
The question was directed towards Sydney, who went off towards the bathroom to change out of her clothes from the night before.
Jack looked at Vaughn, "Now you Mr. Vaughn, I want you to stay here, and find out everything you can on the neighbors."
Vaughn nodded, "I think it's about time we paid the neighbors a visit."
As soon as Vaughn left Sydney in Jack's protection to go out to lunch, he too left the apartment, not bothering to lock the door, as he would only be out in the hallway.
It was about time he paid the neighbors a visit, because as of right now, he suspected either one of the neighbors of being the person who was threatening Sydney, and that pissed him off.
Walking out into the hallway, he turned left, knocking on apartment number 45. Waiting patiently, with his hands in his pockets, the door was opened, and on the threshold stood a blonde-haired man with piercing blue eyes.
"Can I help you?" he asked through a strong British accent.
"Hi, my name is Michael Vaughn, I just moved into apartment 47 with my girlfriend," Vaughn recited the cover story he had come up with as Jack and Sydney were headed out the door, "I just wanted to come and introduce myself as I had never met you before."
The man smiled slightly and put his hand out to Vaughn, "Sam O'Connelly, I don't think I've ever met your girlfriend before, but I think I've seen her in the hall before. Brunette, about this tall?"
Vaughn nodded with a true smile, "That's her. Well I have to go, I'm making a surprise lunch for her while she's gone, but don't be a stranger, stop over sometime."
Sam smiled, "I'll have to stop by sometime, meet your girlfriend and have a beer. It was nice to meet you though."
"You too," he turned to walk away, 'One neighbor down, one to go.'
Sam O'Connelly seemed like a nice guy, very friendly and upfront, but Vaughn knew very likely that that could have been an act to fool him and make Sam seem less suspicious.
Now it was time to visit the last neighbor before heading back to the apartment to be ready to tell Jack everything he had learned.
Once again, he stood outside apartment number 49 after knocking, his hands in his pockets.
"I'll get it baby," he heard from behind the door, and got ready for the person who said this to open it.
And when he did, Michael was glad that his hands were in his pockets, because had they not been, he might have been forced to kick the ass of the man standing in front of him.
Danny Hecht.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Danny demanded.
"Who is it?" a female voice asked from behind Danny, and she lightly pushed him out of the way so Vaughn could see her, a mousey looking girl around 21 stood before him, her hand on Danny's arm, "What can I do for you?"
He smiled at her, "My name is Michael Vaughn, I just moved in with my girlfriend next door, and I was just stopping to say hi, and to see who lived here."
The cover story worked perfectly, and he got to stick his and Sydney's relationship in Danny's face, which was an added bonus.
She stuck her hand out to him, "Delia McDaniels, and this is my boyfriend Danny Hecht, he doesn't live here, but he's over here a lot, spends the night sometimes."
Vaughn nodded, a cold look shooting daggers at Danny, "Yeah, I know who he is, we've met before."
Delia's brow furrowed, "Really? How?"
Inside, Vaughn was rubbing his hands together, so Danny-boy didn't tell Delia that she was living right next door to his ex.
"You see, Danny is Sydney's, who is my girlfriend, he's her ex-fiancé."
Delia turned towards Danny, absentmindedly shutting the door in Vaughn's face, but behind the door, he head her accusingly ask, "My next door neighbor is your ex-fiancé?"
He walked back to the apartment with a smile on his face, but when he remembered why he head to meet the neighbors, he sobered up.
Was it Danny Hecht or Sam O'Connelly or someone else? The web of mysteries was beginning to get thicker, more complex, and harder to figure out who their allies and enemies were.
****
Jack and Sydney were seated at a table, and placed their order before Jack looked over at his daughter and asked the question he'd been burning to ask since the night before, "Sydney, what's going on between you and Mr. Vaughn?"
Sydney had just drunk a sip of water, and it all but came back out of her nose at the question, "Dad!"
"Sydney I asked you a question, and I expect the courtesy of an answer."
"What do you want me to say dad?" she questioned, "Honestly, what would you like to hear?"
"The truth Sydney," he sighed, "All I want to hear is the truth, that is all I've ever asked of you, all I've ever given you, and I thought you would always tell me the truth."
She looked down at the table, refusing to meet his gaze, "You can't handle the truth."
"Try me! I've dealt with much worse things than my daughter's love life."
If he wanted the truth, he'd get the truth, "Vau – Michael and I – we're dating."
"Sydney!" Jack scolded, "He was sent here to protect you, not date you! If he gets too emotionally attached to you, he wont' be able to do his job correctly."
"I don't care what you say dad, I'm not going to change my love life just because you don't agree," Sydney exclaimed, standing abruptly and slamming her chair in, waiting for Jack in the car.
****
The rest of the day, Jack spent at the apartment with Vaughn and Sydney, Vaughn telling Jack what he found when he visited with the neighbors when Sydney wasn't in the room.
Jack glared at Vaughn until he heard about Danny's girlfriend next door, then he realized that realistically it could be Danny.
[18.3]
The three of them met the next morning for breakfast, an uncomfortable silence overtaking them. Now that Jack knew about them, Sydney convinced Vaughn that it was okay to hold her hand in front of him.
So, when they walked towards the table where Jack was sitting, Vaughn had an arm around Sydney's shoulders, her draping one around his waist.
And they weren't ashamed about their relationship, they weren't scared about what Jack would say, they didn't care.
This was the last opportunity Jack would get to talk to both his daughter and Mr. Vaughn, as soon as they were done enjoying their breakfast, he would be getting on a plane to head back to Washington and prepare for his meeting with 'Steve'.
So, when Sydney excused herself from the table after they had placed their orders, to go to the bathroom, Jack Bristow did not wait a second, "I find this relationship you have started up with my daughter to be a serious lack in your judgment."
Vaughn wanted to roll his eyes, but he held it back, sensing there was more, but wanting to speak his mind also, "Mr. Bristow, no matter what you say, nothing is going to change the relationship between Sydney and I."
He couldn't believe he had just said that to him, as his mind lapsed back to the warning Sydney had given him the night before.
~&~&~Flashback~&~&~
"What's going on Syd? Why are you acting so different?"
"My father...he knows."
Lines of confusion played across Vaughn's forehead, "He knows? What do you mean?"
She looked him directly in the eyes, "He knows about us; about you and me."
"How did he find out?" His face was stark white, and he feared he might lose his dinner, surely Jack Bristow would not be happy about their relationship, Vaughn had been sent there to protect his daughter, not date her.
Sydney's eyes flashed to the floor and she mumbled something, almost too low for him to hear her, "I told him. He asked me what was going on between us, and I told him."
"You told him?" he blurted, "Why would you do that?"
She shrugged, "But Vaughn, be careful, my dad, he can get really overprotective when he wants to."
~&~&~End Flashback~&~&~
Jack saw Sydney retreating from the bathroom, and knew he had only one more second, "So help me Mr. Vaughn, if you hurt my daughter in any way, I will not hesitate to end your life."
Just as he finished his little spiel, Sydney arrived at the table once again, smiling slightly, "Is everything okay?"
Jack looked over at Vaughn first, who nodded, "Everything's fine Syd."
Before she called him on his lie, the waitress arrived with their food, and the three of them sat in silence for the rest of the meal, an unknown tension between Vaughn and Jack.
****
Jack Bristow sat on the plane, he had enjoyed himself for the most part that weekend, it had been good to see Sydney once again.
No matter how much he refused to admit it, especially to her, he really did miss her when he was in Washington and didn't see her for months on end.
His cell phone rang, and he pulled it out of his breast pocket, "Hello?"
"Jack, I trust you're on a flight back right now?" Devlin asked.
Jack nodded even though Director Devlin couldn't see him, "Yes Devlin, I'm about halfway back to Washington."
Devlin also nodded to himself, "Well as soon as you get back, come down to the agency, there will be a visitor's pass waiting for you at the front desk and they'll show you where to go."
They were going to formulate the plan of what exactly was going to go down tomorrow when he met with 'Steve'.
****
He sat there, watching them via the cameras he had planted in various places throughout the apartment, four in the living room, three in the kitchen, three in each bedroom, and one lone one in the bathroom.
The man, Michael Vaughn, thought it had been safe to keep the door unlocked when he had gone to visit with the neighbors.
What a fool.
Didn't he know that it only took one little distraction, something as simple as talking to one of the neighbors to be able to slip into the apartment, plant a few cameras and microphones, and only one more little distraction to slip out once again?
He truly was a fool, a smitten, love-sick puppy, she was the same, they were both careless, but soon, they would learn that there is no room for carelessness in this field, they would learn it good.
His attention went back to the television in front of him, where he could keep an eye on all the cameras, and he started laughing, they had found it.
****
Sydney brought her legs up underneath her, settling on the couch, Vaughn sitting next to her, and Sydney snuggling into his embrace as they got ready to watch a movie.
But something caught her attention, and she pulled the little white piece of paper out from between the magazines.
"What's this?" she asked as she unfolded it, catching Vaughn's attention too.
'Stop snooping around, you'll only make it worse for yourselves.'
TBC...
~&~&~