Chap 6
AN: Hey again! May I say that all of you rock! Seriously, you are so nice in your reviews. I couldn't ask for a better audience for my story. Now, this chapter will be a little different. Okay, a lot different. This will start in Lauren's POV. Let me restate that so you don't get confused. This chapter will start in LAUREN'S POV! Of course, after a minute you'll probably be able to tell. Here goes! Oh yeah, if this seems out of place, tell me and I won't put anything in like it again.
As soon as Sark had taken them away, I removed my mask. Ah, fresh air. It had almost been suffocating to be in the room with my knocked out husband, the man I actually liked, and the woman hell-bent on ruining my mission. Sydney Bristow was a wretch and was going to be my downfall. Maybe. She might get a bit tamer now that we had a poison that could kill her in moments. Just the thought gave me chills.
I walked to the next room and looked at the monitor that showed what was going on in the cell. Sark was entering just as I began to watch. He dumped Vaughn on the floor and left. He would be back up here in a minute or so. I watched as little fawn-eyed Sydney looked around the room. Soon, Michael began to stir and Sydney rushed to his side. What a baby! I didn't know whether to be upset or laugh my head off. As I tried to decide my actions, the door opened behind me.
"So, how's the show?" Sark asked.
"Pathetic. He stirs once and she runs to his side. You'd think she loved him or something."
"Ah, yes, it is a mystery. But, not a problem. We'll work out those two later." He slipped an arm around my waist and softly kissed my neck. "Let's leave them alone."
"What if they get close again in their little cell there? This could totally ruin my cover!"
"If they do indeed get close, I have a plan to break them up very quickly."
"And what would that be?" He smirked.
"I'll explain it. Later. Now, it's late. Time to get some sleep."
"I do love it when you're diabolical. But for some reason I don't believe you have sleep on the brain."
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you darling?"
"Yes, I will. Go ahead and go upstairs, I'll be there in a moment."
"Don't be too long."
"I wouldn't dream of it." He kissed me one last time before leaving again. I turned back to the monitor and saw Sydney at the spigot on the wall washing her face. Interesting. But then my heart began to pound. Vaughn had stood up and was right behind her. I reached over and clicked on the microphones to see what they were saying. "Vaughn, no."
"I meant what I said."
"I know. But we...you can't."
"Syd, things are going wrong between me and Lauren. It was only a matter of time." Oh, I bet. How could he be saying something like that? I had played my part of the loving wife very well in my opinion.
"Things weren't going wrong until I came back. If I were still with the Covenant, you'd still be happy." At least I would.
"I was tormented when you were gone. Knowing that I had been the last person with you before you died. That if I had stayed with you that night, things would have been different."
"You can't change the past."
"But I can change my future." Oh, how sweet. He's a downright poet.
"Vaug..." He didn't even let her finish. His arm wrapped around her waist and he kissed her. She didn't protest. Her arms went up and around his neck in an instant. I had had enough. I turned off the monitor and walked out. Sark better have a pretty brilliant idea or else we were in trouble. Big trouble.
***Syd's POV***
It had been minutes now and Vaughn and I had not separated. Now and then I remembered I was kissing a married man, but my other thoughts quickly chased those away. Finally, we broke apart.
"Syd." I felt my heart almost break to hear him say my name. His tone held such love and longing, it gave me chills. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tighter than I had ever hugged anyone before.
"I don't wanna let go. I don't want to wake up and find this is all a dream."
"It's no dream, I'm here."
"But Vaughn, what about Lauren? I mean... this doesn't feel right."
"I've already talked with a lawyer. You have to be separated for 6 months before you get a divorce in California."
"When did you talk with a lawyer?"
"A week ago, after North Korea."
"Lauren knows."
"What are you talking about?"
"The day I requested the transfer, two days ago, she came to me and told me to stay away from you." He sighed and leaned back against the wall. He then slid down and sat. I followed suit.
"I don't know how she could have known, but if she does then I guess telling her won't be so hard."
"It still..."
"It doesn't feel right because I'm married. And that is only because I was at such a low when you were gone that I never felt I could get back up. Then Lauren came along and she liked me. Weiss and a couple of other guys urged me to go out with her because they didn't want to be picking me up from bars totally wasted like they often did. She took me in, but never allowed me to speak of you. She told me it was because she didn't want me to remember a painful past, but now I believe otherwise. It was her idea to get married, I didn't really think of it. It seemed like the right thing to do. We got married and I was happy, I guess. But it didn't feel right. I figured it would go away. But it never did." I didn't know what to say. How do you respond to that? "Sydney, I just, I didn't want to not get to say what I wanted to say."
"It's all right, Vaughn."
"No, because there's still more to say. I wanted to tell you I'm sorry, and that you were right about a lot that I would not admit to."
"Like..."
"When you said that I gave up on you. It's true. When you died, I didn't want to love you. I wanted you to be gone because in my head, I heard your voice and it killed me. I left after your funeral for six months and went to a ton of places. Mostly places where we had gone on missions together. I decided I would retrace our steps together and maybe get some closure. The last place I went before coming home was to Rome. To Trattoria de Nardi. After Santa Barbara I was going to take you there. Then I came home. I went to Credit Dauphine, the different places we had met to talk, and I spent a whole lot of time in the warehouse. Once I had been everywhere, done everything, I took everything I had of yours and everything that reminded me of you and put it in a box. Late one night, I drove up to the observatory, which I remembered you said was your favorite place. On the north side, where the two fences meet, I buried the box. And then, I decided I wasn't going to remember you. I wasn't going to look into your death because it would hurt me too much. I did give up."
"Vaughn, it's okay."
"I didn't want to go another minute without you knowing."
"Thank you. You have no idea how much knowing that means to me." After I said that, I kissed him, which was getting more and more familiar to me. The smile on his face when I opened my eyes was so... I didn't even know the word for it. It was perfect. As I smiled, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I leaned on him. "I'm exhausted."
"I may have been asleep for 30 minutes, but I'm drained too." I snuggled up against his shoulder and closed my eyes. Please let this not be a dream.
***Lauren's POV***
"Remember that brilliant plan of yours?" I asked as I entered the bedroom.
"We talked about it just a moment ago. How could I forget?" Sark was lying back on the pillows of his bed skimming through a magazine.
"I'm only asking because we are going to need it. Hubby dearest and Miss CIA just made up in the cell." He sat up.
"Made up?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant made out. My mistake." The remark made him laugh.
"Ah, yes, there we go." I made my way over and sat by his side.
"So, what's the plan?"
"There are two plans. Plan A, for if they both stay. Plan B is if Sydney does the inevitable and tries to get Vaughn out of here."
"Assume A."
"You will go back to Los Angeles and feign worry for your darling husband. If they continue to get lovey dovey, we will stage a kidnapping and put you in the cell with them. Vaughn will do what he always does and go back to you and Sydney will back off. It is their nature."
"Okay, assume B."
"If she succeeds in getting Vaughn out of here, you will be back in LA to welcome him back with open arms. Since Sydney has asked for a transfer, Vaughn is no longer her partner. Talk to Dixon and tell him that since he is off her case, you would like to take a little vacation with hubby dearest."
"You must be joking!"
"You both have never taken a sick day, so use those up and go somewhere exotic and keep his mind off Sydney."
"Meaning..."
"Yes, I know, I hate it too, but it will help with the mission. And, I'm sorry to say, you will have to take him away for a while. We're talking a few weeks. Enough for Sydney to believe he was lying about truly loving her. Then, when he learns that she is mad at him, he will get mad at her and we shall have a wonderful cycle going on." I couldn't help but be upset.
"I've been getting used to this so much. Him being away, then me leaving, then him again. He's such a pain." He lightly kissed my forehead and pulled me down so I was lying next to him.
"I know. But, the sooner we do what we have to do, the sooner we leave the damned Covenant behind us." I sighed.
"Yes, all too soon." I looked into his eyes. "They chose me, of all people they chose me for the marriage mission."
"If all goes as planned, Mr. Vaughn will be out of our hair soon and you'll be a free woman again."
"But sweetheart, who's to say I'm not free now?"
AN: Okay, so in this chapter I really tried to explore the things we don't get to see on the show: Vaughn's real side, his weakness, and a real relationship between Lauren and Sark (yes, I am a "Lark" fan). The show makes their relationship look like just sex and that's it, and I really think there could be more of an in-depth story to them, hence this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get up, my life is insane right now, but a good insane. Please review!
AN: Hey again! May I say that all of you rock! Seriously, you are so nice in your reviews. I couldn't ask for a better audience for my story. Now, this chapter will be a little different. Okay, a lot different. This will start in Lauren's POV. Let me restate that so you don't get confused. This chapter will start in LAUREN'S POV! Of course, after a minute you'll probably be able to tell. Here goes! Oh yeah, if this seems out of place, tell me and I won't put anything in like it again.
As soon as Sark had taken them away, I removed my mask. Ah, fresh air. It had almost been suffocating to be in the room with my knocked out husband, the man I actually liked, and the woman hell-bent on ruining my mission. Sydney Bristow was a wretch and was going to be my downfall. Maybe. She might get a bit tamer now that we had a poison that could kill her in moments. Just the thought gave me chills.
I walked to the next room and looked at the monitor that showed what was going on in the cell. Sark was entering just as I began to watch. He dumped Vaughn on the floor and left. He would be back up here in a minute or so. I watched as little fawn-eyed Sydney looked around the room. Soon, Michael began to stir and Sydney rushed to his side. What a baby! I didn't know whether to be upset or laugh my head off. As I tried to decide my actions, the door opened behind me.
"So, how's the show?" Sark asked.
"Pathetic. He stirs once and she runs to his side. You'd think she loved him or something."
"Ah, yes, it is a mystery. But, not a problem. We'll work out those two later." He slipped an arm around my waist and softly kissed my neck. "Let's leave them alone."
"What if they get close again in their little cell there? This could totally ruin my cover!"
"If they do indeed get close, I have a plan to break them up very quickly."
"And what would that be?" He smirked.
"I'll explain it. Later. Now, it's late. Time to get some sleep."
"I do love it when you're diabolical. But for some reason I don't believe you have sleep on the brain."
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you darling?"
"Yes, I will. Go ahead and go upstairs, I'll be there in a moment."
"Don't be too long."
"I wouldn't dream of it." He kissed me one last time before leaving again. I turned back to the monitor and saw Sydney at the spigot on the wall washing her face. Interesting. But then my heart began to pound. Vaughn had stood up and was right behind her. I reached over and clicked on the microphones to see what they were saying. "Vaughn, no."
"I meant what I said."
"I know. But we...you can't."
"Syd, things are going wrong between me and Lauren. It was only a matter of time." Oh, I bet. How could he be saying something like that? I had played my part of the loving wife very well in my opinion.
"Things weren't going wrong until I came back. If I were still with the Covenant, you'd still be happy." At least I would.
"I was tormented when you were gone. Knowing that I had been the last person with you before you died. That if I had stayed with you that night, things would have been different."
"You can't change the past."
"But I can change my future." Oh, how sweet. He's a downright poet.
"Vaug..." He didn't even let her finish. His arm wrapped around her waist and he kissed her. She didn't protest. Her arms went up and around his neck in an instant. I had had enough. I turned off the monitor and walked out. Sark better have a pretty brilliant idea or else we were in trouble. Big trouble.
***Syd's POV***
It had been minutes now and Vaughn and I had not separated. Now and then I remembered I was kissing a married man, but my other thoughts quickly chased those away. Finally, we broke apart.
"Syd." I felt my heart almost break to hear him say my name. His tone held such love and longing, it gave me chills. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tighter than I had ever hugged anyone before.
"I don't wanna let go. I don't want to wake up and find this is all a dream."
"It's no dream, I'm here."
"But Vaughn, what about Lauren? I mean... this doesn't feel right."
"I've already talked with a lawyer. You have to be separated for 6 months before you get a divorce in California."
"When did you talk with a lawyer?"
"A week ago, after North Korea."
"Lauren knows."
"What are you talking about?"
"The day I requested the transfer, two days ago, she came to me and told me to stay away from you." He sighed and leaned back against the wall. He then slid down and sat. I followed suit.
"I don't know how she could have known, but if she does then I guess telling her won't be so hard."
"It still..."
"It doesn't feel right because I'm married. And that is only because I was at such a low when you were gone that I never felt I could get back up. Then Lauren came along and she liked me. Weiss and a couple of other guys urged me to go out with her because they didn't want to be picking me up from bars totally wasted like they often did. She took me in, but never allowed me to speak of you. She told me it was because she didn't want me to remember a painful past, but now I believe otherwise. It was her idea to get married, I didn't really think of it. It seemed like the right thing to do. We got married and I was happy, I guess. But it didn't feel right. I figured it would go away. But it never did." I didn't know what to say. How do you respond to that? "Sydney, I just, I didn't want to not get to say what I wanted to say."
"It's all right, Vaughn."
"No, because there's still more to say. I wanted to tell you I'm sorry, and that you were right about a lot that I would not admit to."
"Like..."
"When you said that I gave up on you. It's true. When you died, I didn't want to love you. I wanted you to be gone because in my head, I heard your voice and it killed me. I left after your funeral for six months and went to a ton of places. Mostly places where we had gone on missions together. I decided I would retrace our steps together and maybe get some closure. The last place I went before coming home was to Rome. To Trattoria de Nardi. After Santa Barbara I was going to take you there. Then I came home. I went to Credit Dauphine, the different places we had met to talk, and I spent a whole lot of time in the warehouse. Once I had been everywhere, done everything, I took everything I had of yours and everything that reminded me of you and put it in a box. Late one night, I drove up to the observatory, which I remembered you said was your favorite place. On the north side, where the two fences meet, I buried the box. And then, I decided I wasn't going to remember you. I wasn't going to look into your death because it would hurt me too much. I did give up."
"Vaughn, it's okay."
"I didn't want to go another minute without you knowing."
"Thank you. You have no idea how much knowing that means to me." After I said that, I kissed him, which was getting more and more familiar to me. The smile on his face when I opened my eyes was so... I didn't even know the word for it. It was perfect. As I smiled, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I leaned on him. "I'm exhausted."
"I may have been asleep for 30 minutes, but I'm drained too." I snuggled up against his shoulder and closed my eyes. Please let this not be a dream.
***Lauren's POV***
"Remember that brilliant plan of yours?" I asked as I entered the bedroom.
"We talked about it just a moment ago. How could I forget?" Sark was lying back on the pillows of his bed skimming through a magazine.
"I'm only asking because we are going to need it. Hubby dearest and Miss CIA just made up in the cell." He sat up.
"Made up?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant made out. My mistake." The remark made him laugh.
"Ah, yes, there we go." I made my way over and sat by his side.
"So, what's the plan?"
"There are two plans. Plan A, for if they both stay. Plan B is if Sydney does the inevitable and tries to get Vaughn out of here."
"Assume A."
"You will go back to Los Angeles and feign worry for your darling husband. If they continue to get lovey dovey, we will stage a kidnapping and put you in the cell with them. Vaughn will do what he always does and go back to you and Sydney will back off. It is their nature."
"Okay, assume B."
"If she succeeds in getting Vaughn out of here, you will be back in LA to welcome him back with open arms. Since Sydney has asked for a transfer, Vaughn is no longer her partner. Talk to Dixon and tell him that since he is off her case, you would like to take a little vacation with hubby dearest."
"You must be joking!"
"You both have never taken a sick day, so use those up and go somewhere exotic and keep his mind off Sydney."
"Meaning..."
"Yes, I know, I hate it too, but it will help with the mission. And, I'm sorry to say, you will have to take him away for a while. We're talking a few weeks. Enough for Sydney to believe he was lying about truly loving her. Then, when he learns that she is mad at him, he will get mad at her and we shall have a wonderful cycle going on." I couldn't help but be upset.
"I've been getting used to this so much. Him being away, then me leaving, then him again. He's such a pain." He lightly kissed my forehead and pulled me down so I was lying next to him.
"I know. But, the sooner we do what we have to do, the sooner we leave the damned Covenant behind us." I sighed.
"Yes, all too soon." I looked into his eyes. "They chose me, of all people they chose me for the marriage mission."
"If all goes as planned, Mr. Vaughn will be out of our hair soon and you'll be a free woman again."
"But sweetheart, who's to say I'm not free now?"
AN: Okay, so in this chapter I really tried to explore the things we don't get to see on the show: Vaughn's real side, his weakness, and a real relationship between Lauren and Sark (yes, I am a "Lark" fan). The show makes their relationship look like just sex and that's it, and I really think there could be more of an in-depth story to them, hence this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get up, my life is insane right now, but a good insane. Please review!