A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait for a new chapter. Blame the NFL Playoffs and real life for getting in the way. Also, I needed a few days to recover after watching "The Getaway." JJ needs to slap a warning on his show if he's gonna let Vaughn be that sexy. Whew! Anyway, thanks for reading.
Chapter 9: "A Mile High"
Sydney breezed into the warehouse, where she found Vaughn already waiting for her. He turned around at the sound of her footsteps and she instantly broke into a smile when she saw his face. It never failed to amaze her that the mere sight of him could brighten her mood so quickly.
"Hey." Vaughn's eyes were warm but she could tell by his professional demeanor that they were on the clock right now.
"Hi. Can you believe Sloane is turning me into an errand girl?" she asked with a frown. She had been "asked" to fly to Paris, pick up a package from the head of SD-7, and deliver it back to Sloane.
Vaughn laughed at her insulted expression. "Do you have any idea of what this mysterious package is?"
"Nope. Whatever it is, Sloane's not telling, but it must be fairly important if he's sending me to get it, rather than a junior agent or a courier."
"Okay, then I guess we'll have to wait until the return flight to see what it is."
"*We*?" Sydney asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," Vaughn nodded. "I'm going to be on your flight to Paris."
"Why?" She wasn't at all unhappy that Vaughn was going to accompany her on her trip, but she didn't understand why it was necessary when all she was doing was picking up a package. "Does Kendall know that you're making up countermissions just so you can be alone with me?" she grinned.
"You wish," he smirked. "Actually, our tech guys picked up something on the bug that you planted in Sloane's house last year."
"Really? What was it?"
"Apparently Sloane had a visitor the other night, Nicole Marchand, the daughter of Didier Marchand."
"The head of SD-7," Sydney said, recognizing the name.
"The very one. From what we gathered, Nicole was here in L.A. visiting some friends, but the other night, she dropped in on her Uncle Arvin and he gave her a 'gift' to give to her father."
"Hmm. I'm guessing this gift really isn't a *gift* at all."
"Depends on what your idea of a gift is," Vaughn shrugged. "Sloane told Nicole that it's a laptop that's not available on the market yet, and he wanted her father to have one. But your father believes there are files on the hard drive containing the specs for a new series of automatic weapons that the Alliance is developing. We think they're planning to mass produce the weapons and sell them to rogue nations and terrorist organizations, so obviously, we want the information on that laptop. When we checked to see what flight Nicole was on, we realized it was the same flight that you specified in your deaddrop. I'll be on the same flight with both of you so I can create a distraction while you grab the laptop and download the specs."
"Sounds like fun," Sydney said with a wry smile. She longed for the day when she could be on a plane with Vaughn, sitting next to him, headed for a destination unrelated to any mission or countermission.
He gave her a sympathetic smile in return. "Well, it's bound to be more entertaining than the in-flight movie." He took a quick glance at his watch, then leaned forward and kissed her on the neck, just below her ear. "I need to go home and pack, so I'll see you at the airport, okay?"
"Okay. See you then." She waited five minutes after he left, then turned out the lights and made her own exit.
*****
Later that afternoon, Sydney was flipping through a magazine in an airport store when she felt the presence of someone standing next to her. She tried to fight a smile, but couldn't.
"Fancy meeting you here," she said without looking up from her magazine.
"Yeah, what a coincidence," Vaughn said in a low voice, barely suppressing his own smile. "What are you reading?" he asked as he picked up a sports magazine.
She turned slightly and held the magazine up to him. She looked at him quizzically when he laughed. "What?"
"Fifty ways to please your man?" Vaughn asked, glancing at the cover. "You don't need to read an article for that. You've got that covered, trust me."
She shot him a dimpled grin and leaned over to nudge him slightly. "I wasn't reading *that* article."
"Good. You should be *writing* an article like that."
She pretended to consider his suggestion. "I might, but only if you promise to provide me with source material."
"Definitely." He put his magazine back, moved to the opposite side of her, and picked up a new magazine. "Before I forget, what seat are you in?"
"4C. What about you?"
"3A. Nicole is in 3B."
Sydney's head shot up from her magazine. "You're sitting right next to her?"
"Yeah. The airline was more than happy to change the seating arrangements when the CIA came calling. Anyway, just keep an eye on us so you'll know when to go for the laptop."
"Okay." She watched as Vaughn walked away to pay for his magazine. If he was going to be sitting next to another woman for the duration of the flight, she was sure she wouldn't be able to tear her eyes away from them.
A few minutes later, Sydney boarded the flight. When she stepped into the first class cabin, she couldn't resist taking a quick glance at seat 3B. She was stunned to see a gorgeous redhead occupying the seat. That *cannot* be Nicole, she thought. The redheaded woman was wearing tastefully expensive clothes, and appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with bright blue eyes and a sophisticated chin-length bob. She looked like supermodel, and Sydney suddenly felt a pang of anxiety at the thought that Vaughn was about to spend the next eleven hours sitting next to her. She shook her head and tried to focus, reminding herself that she had a job to do later in the flight. She glanced in the overhead compartment above Nicole's seat and saw only a silver case inside. She made a mental note of it, guessing that the case contained the laptop.
She was just getting settled in her seat when she looked up and saw Vaughn enter the cabin. His eyes briefly locked on hers, and she felt her pulse quicken. His facial expression was neutral, but she instantly saw the almost imperceptible smile in his eyes. She momentarily felt better until Vaughn found his seat. When Nicole stood up to let him into his seat, Sydney noticed the way that her eyes traveled the length of his body. When she sat back down, she wore an almost predatory look on her beautiful face. Sydney scowled and wished for the first time that Vaughn wasn't as gorgeous as he was. Now that he had obviously drawn Nicole's attention, Sydney had a sinking feeling that this was going to be the longest flight of her life.
*****
Two hours after takeoff, Sydney was absolutely miserable as she sat next to a young mother and her two small children, one of whom kept squirming in her seat and splattering Sydney with droplets from her juice box. Ordinarily, Sydney adored children – she couldn't wait to have her own one day – but at the moment, she was in no mood to be bothered with the ones sitting next to her, not even the adorable baby who sat in his mother's lap. Between the children's restlessness and the constant sound of laughter coming from seat 3B, Sydney's nerves were completely on edge. She flinched as another drop of juice hit her square in the eye.
"Elizabeth!" the little girl's mother snapped as she grabbed the juice box away from her. "I thought I told you to stop banging that on the table." She glanced over at Sydney with an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry, you must want to strangle her by now."
"Not at all," Sydney lied with a forced smile.
"You're sweet to say that, but *I* want to strangle her right now, so I can only imagine how you must feel. I bet this is making you want to never have children," she laughed.
Sydney craned her neck slightly and glanced over at Vaughn. "No, actually it's not," she said with a genuine smile. One day, she definitely wanted to have *his* children. She would just make sure that they were better behaved than little Elizabeth.
"It's funny what meeting the right guy can do to you," the children's mother nodded. "I never thought I wanted kids until I met Jeremy," she said, leaning forward and gesturing to the man across the aisle from Sydney.
Sydney's eyes widened. "This is your husband? I wish I would have known. I could have let you all sit together."
"Oh, it's not a big deal," the mother said, waving her hand. "Trust me, Elizabeth and JJ would be no better behaved if he was sitting in your seat. He spoils them rotten, especially his little girl," she said with an amused eyeroll. Sydney smiled, imagining a day when a little girl might have Vaughn wrapped around her finger.
"Seriously, I insist. I hate it when families don't get to sit together on planes. It's really not a problem, honest," she said as she gathered her purse and belongings.
"Are you sure?" the mother asked skeptically before Sydney nodded. She leaned forward to catch her husband's attention. "Jeremy, sweetie, this nice woman offered to switch seats with you."
A few minutes later, Sydney sat back in Jeremy's former seat. She smiled with satisfaction as she opened a magazine – not only had she gotten away from the devilish Elizabeth, but she was now seated directly behind Nicole and when she looked through the space between the seats in front of her, she had a bird's eye view of Vaughn's handsome face. Her smile quickly turned into a frown, however, when she once again heard the tinkling sound of Nicole's laughter. She and Vaughn had found plenty to talk about during the last two hours, and they were still engaged in animated conversation with each other. The cabin lights dimmed and Sydney looked at the video monitor attached to her seat. She told herself that she should watch one of the mindless sitcoms being shown, so she wouldn't have to listen to the nauseating sound of Nicole's laughter. But she was curious to know what Nicole and Vaughn could possibly have to talk about, and she couldn't stop herself from eavesdropping.
"So how often do you get to Paris on business?" Nicole asked, taking a sip of white wine. Sydney was surprised not to hear any trace of a French accent.
"Every other week or so. I'm helping my firm get its Paris office up and running, so I've been taking a lot of meetings with our European clients."
"No offense, Paul, but you're much too attractive to be a tax attorney," Nicole said flirtatiously.
"None taken," Vaughn laughed. "You know, everyone thinks that tax attorneys are all boring, balding fat guys, but that's not true. We like to have as much fun as the next guy."
"And what kind of things do you do to have fun?" she asked with a seductive purr.
"All kinds of things. I like movies and museums and playing sports -- "
"I knew it! I could tell you were athletic. You definitely have an athlete's body," she said appreciatively as she grabbed Vaughn's arm and pushed back the sleeve of his sweater. "See how well developed your forearms are?" she asked as she lightly ran her fingers from his wrist to just below his elbow. "That's a classic sign."
Vaughn took a long look at Nicole. She certainly wasn't afraid to be forward. For the past two and a half hours she had been relentlessly flirting with him, which had unknowingly made his job easier. He had actually been planning to distract her by flirting with her, but she had taken the initiative and run with it. He would have been flattered by the attention if it weren't for the fact that his heart already belonged to someone else, someone who was now sitting just one row behind them.
When Sydney first switched seats with the man sitting behind Nicole, excitement had raced through Vaughn's body – being in close proximity to her always caused that reaction. But his excitement soon turned to vague unease as Nicole continued to flirt with him. When she touched his arm, he could almost feel the heat of Sydney's glare behind him. He couldn't imagine how she must be reacting to what was going on in front of her, and he cringed at the thought that things were probably only going to get worse.
"You sound like you've spent a lot of time studying athletes' bodies, Nicole," he said smoothly.
She swept her hair behind her ear and gave him a confident smile. "I spend a lot of time studying men's bodies in general. There's nothing I love more than looking at beautiful men, and you certainly fall into that category."
Sydney swallowed hard and rolled her eyes. Was this woman for real? She couldn't believe how thickly Nicole was laying it on. She loudly cleared her throat, which caused Vaughn to peek at her through the seats and shoot her an apologetic smile for what he was about to say next.
"What a coincidence. *I* love looking at beautiful women, and it's been a long time since I've enjoyed doing that as much as I am right now."
Sydney opened her mouth in disbelief and felt heat rising on the back of her neck and her ears. She felt as if she was in the middle of a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.
Nicole laughed once again. "Paul, are you trying to flatter me?"
"That depends," Vaughn said in a low voice. "Is it working?"
"Better than you know."
Sydney rubbed her temples and closed her eyes, feeling as if she was going to be sick. It suddenly occurred to her that she had never thought to ask Vaughn exactly how he planned to distract Nicole, but now she had her answer – he was going to flirt with her for who knows how long until Sydney had an opportunity to access the laptop. Even though she knew it was all an act, she couldn't stand to hear Vaughn laughing and pretending to enjoy another woman's company, especially when he was so good at it. She knew from personal experience that when Michael Vaughn turned on the charm, he was irresistible and impossible to say no to. Unfortunately, Nicole seemingly had no intention of resisting him, and even less intention of letting him resist *her*.
Sydney pressed the button to summon a flight attendant and ordered a vodka tonic. Normally, she would never drink while she was on a mission, but she definitely needed a few drinks if she was going to make it through the rest of this flight.
Two drinks later, Sydney felt slightly more relaxed and listened as Nicole told Vaughn about her years at boarding school in New Hampshire and college at NYU.
"Mystery solved," Vaughn smiled. "I was wondering why your English was so flawless. And I can't believe you went to boarding school in New Hampshire. I went to college at Dartmouth."
"You didn't!" Nicole exclaimed.
He did, Sydney thought with a scowl. She couldn't believe Vaughn had told Nicole something about himself that was actually true. She liked it better when he had been lying to her and pretending to be interested in her. Now that he was telling her things about himself that were true, she felt her irritation growing again. She didn't want Nicole knowing anything about *her* Vaughn, and she certainly didn't want him offering up more details about his life. She knew that she was being slightly irrational, but she didn't care. She turned her head to look at the man seated next to her, directly behind Vaughn. When she noticed that he was sleeping, she reached forward and shoved Vaughn's seat, firm enough for him to feel it, but not so hard as to attract Nicole's attention. When he turned and glanced at her with a bewildered expression, she shot him a look of death. He shrugged and even though she knew he wasn't enjoying this any more than she was, she felt the strange urge to punch him.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She knew it was wrong to wish physical harm on him when he was merely doing his job. How many times had she herself flirted with men in order to carry out a mission? None of those men had ever meant anything to her, so why was she freaking out simply because Vaughn was using his flirting skills to complete this mission? She reached down into her carry-on and removed her CD player, hoping that music would help her focus her thoughts elsewhere.
An hour later, she was in a much better mood, the music having calmed her and soothed her restless mind. The cabin was now completely dark and everyone was sleeping – everyone except the couple in front of her, who were now talking in low, hushed tones. As she turned off her CD player, she wished that there was some way she could turn Nicole's mouth off as well. Sydney was growing impatient waiting for her to fall asleep so she could get the laptop and copy the files the CIA wanted.
Vaughn was also impatiently waiting for Nicole to fall asleep. Even though he hadn't done anything wrong, he felt guilty as hell that Sydney had to experience the discomfort of watching them together. Suddenly Nicole stood up, and he was grateful that he would soon have a chance to talk to Sydney. He was stunned, however, when Nicole bent down and whispered in his ear.
"I'm going to the lavatory. Meet me in the one upstairs on the right in two minutes." Vaughn watched as she turned and headed for the stairs to the upper deck of the plane. He swallowed hard and rubbed his forehead. Had he been flirting so much that she thought he wanted to have sex with her? He hadn't been anticipating this development, but he realized that it would make Sydney's job easier. It would be much easier for her to copy the files from the laptop if Nicole was gone for a while than it would be if she was merely sleeping in her seat. He suddenly knew what he had to do and nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he stood up and turned to face Sydney.
"Hey, I'm sorry that you had to listen to all that," he whispered.
"So am I," she said with a raised eyebrow. She tried to look angry at him, but the expression on his face was so sweetly apologetic that she instantly forgave him for making the last five hours of her life a living hell.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise," he smiled.
"You'd better believe it," she shot back.
Vaughn opened the overhead compartment, removed the silver case, and placed it on Sydney's tray table. "How much time do you think you'll need?"
"A few minutes, five at the most."
"Okay, I'll try to keep her occupied for that long."
Sydney nodded, but her head shot up when his words sank in. "Wait, what do you mean, you'll keep her *occupied*?"
Vaughn gulped as a guilty look flashed across his face. "Uh, she's waiting for me upstairs."
"What?!" Sydney asked with a loud whisper. "She's *waiting* for you? Waiting for you to do what?"
Vaughn tilted his head and met her eyes, wordlessly answering her question. "I shouldn't keep her waiting, and we're wasting valuable time right now."
"Vaughn!" The man next to Sydney stirred slightly, and she lowered her voice. "Are you out of your mind?"
"Sydney, come on. She's given us a golden opportunity, and we can't afford to waste it. So hurry up and copy the files, and I'll be back in a few minutes."
Before she could protest further, Vaughn had already disappeared up the stairs. Her mind raced furiously as she used a descrambler to open the locked case. As she waited for the computer to boot up, she tried to focus on her task, but her mind kept wondering what was going on upstairs. She knew that Vaughn would stop things if they got out of hand, but she still hated the thought of Nicole's hands being anywhere near him. Finally, she located the files she was looking for and began to copy them onto her disk. She prayed that the copying process would go quickly so she could free Vaughn from Nicole's clutches.
*****
Vaughn took a deep breath and knocked on the lavatory door. Nicole opened it with a seductive smile and he forced a smile of his own as he stepped inside. As soon as he closed the door behind him, she pushed him against it and kissed him. He was caught completely off guard, and gently pushed her away.
"Whoa, we should slow this down a bit."
"Sorry," Nicole smiled. "I don't usually do this," she murmured as she kissed his neck, "but you are unbelievably sexy, and I've wanted you since the moment you sat down next to me."
No kidding, he thought, as he reached into his pocket and removed a small round object. Nicole was one of the most aggressive women he'd ever met, and she was all over him. He knew that there would be no easy way out of this situation, and Sydney still needed a few more minutes to copy the files. So he forced himself to take one for the team, and bent down to kiss her. Even though the kiss was devoid of emotion or desire, he still felt as if he was cheating on Sydney, and he vowed to pull out all the stops to make it up to her. As he silently calculated how much money he would soon be spending on flowers, he felt Nicole's hand moving along the inside of his thigh and then brushing over his crotch. He flinched slightly and broke the kiss.
She leaned back and looked at him with flashing blue eyes. "Why are you stopping?"
He raised his arm behind her and took a quick glance at his watch. He had been gone for six minutes. He prayed that it had been enough time for Sydney, because he was about to end the charade right now. "Nicole, we shouldn't – *I*shouldn't be doing this."
"Yes. Yes, you should," she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him again. "*We* should do this right now. Don't tell me you don't want me, Paul."
Vaughn grabbed her wrists and pushed her away, firmly but gently. "Nicole, you are an incredibly beautiful woman, and any man would be a fool not to want you, but I can't do this. I just wouldn't feel right if I went through with it. Neither would my wife," he said as he raised his left hand and flashed a gold wedding band.
"Wife? You didn't mention anything about being married," she hissed. She tossed her hair and regained her composure. "Anyway, I don't care if you are. Your wife's not on this plane, is she?"
"No, but this is wrong. I never should have led you on or let myself flirt with you."
"No, you shouldn't have," she said just before the open palm of her hand made contact with his left cheek. "I feel sorry for your wife. She's married to a real jackass." With that, she pushed Vaughn aside and stormed out of the lavatory. He leaned back against the door and closed his eyes, then moved to the sink and splashed cold water over his face, trying to alleviate the stinging sensation in his cheek. He didn't blame Nicole for slapping him; he almost wanted to slap himself for getting into the situation in the first place. Next time, he'd use a knockout capsule and be done with it.
He dried his face and hands with a paper towel and squared his shoulders. He wanted to delay going back to his seat for as long as possible. He knew that he'd have not one, but two, angry women to deal with when he got back. After a few more moments, he finally opened the door to leave the lavatory and was shocked when he came face to face with Sydney, who pushed him back inside and hurriedly locked the door.
"Sydney, what are you – "
She placed a hand over his mouth and looked him dead in the eye. "Don't talk right now," she ordered.
When she removed her hand, she replaced it with her lips, kissing him so hard that he stumbled backwards against the sink. She was being every bit as aggressive as Nicole had been a few minutes earlier, but unlike then, Vaughn felt his whole body responding to her, and it wasn't long before his hands were roaming over her back and hips. He moaned into her mouth as she continued to kiss him and pressed her body against his. He realized at that moment that no woman would ever be able to affect him the way Sydney did. She had ruined him for anyone else, and he wasn't at all unhappy about it.
Sydney finally broke away from him and took a few steps backwards. "I copied the files."
"Good," he nodded. He tried to clear his mind which had grown fuzzy with desire during Sydney's kiss. "You know that nothing happened in here, right?"
She laughed softly. "I had a feeling when I saw Nicole storming down the stairs. She practically knocked me down."
"Yeah, she was definitely unhappy when she left." He raised his hand for her to see. "I told her I was married."
Sydney grinned. "Where did you get a wedding band from?"
"I've had it for years. I used it once on an undercover assignment, and never got rid of it. You never know when you might need to pretend to be married," he laughed.
Sydney took his hand in hers and stared at the ring. It looked good on him – too good. It made her long for the day when he might wear a wedding band for real. She smiled ruefully and shook her head. A few hours ago, she had been practically naming their children, and now she was imagining slipping a wedding ring on Vaughn's finger. She knew it was stupid to dream about such things right now, but she was so much in love with him that she couldn't help herself.
"Syd, what are you smiling about?" he asked, snapping her out of her daydream.
"Nothing," she lied. She wasn't sure how he would react if she told him that she was smiling at the thought of marrying him one day.
"Maybe you're just buzzing from the vodka," he chuckled. Her head shot up in surprise.
"You heard me order those?" she asked, wide-eyed. He nodded. "Well, I had to do something to take the edge off of listening to you flirt with another woman."
He reached out a hand and brushed it along the side of her face. "Hey, I really am sorry that you had to sit through all that. If it's any consolation, I didn't enjoy it at all. I spent the whole time wishing I was with you. You know that, right?" he asked as he placed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth.
"I know. I just hated it."
"Well, I guess that explains the throat clearing and hitting my chair, huh? If I didn't know any better, Ms. Bristow, I'd think that you were jealous," he teased.
"Jealous? Of Nicole?" she scoffed. "No, I was definitely *not* jealous."
"C'mon, Syd. You were being a little bit jealous."
"I wasn't being jealous; I was being possessive," she said, as if the distinction was obvious.
"What's the difference?"
"Vaughn," Sydney rolled her eyes, "I didn't need to be jealous of Nicole because she wasn't a threat. But I didn't like seeing you flirt with her, because you're mine – or didn't you know that?" she asked, cocking her head to the side and running a hand down his chest.
Vaughn stared back at her, admiring how beautiful she was even with a slightly pouty expression on her face. "I've been yours since the day we met, Syd. We both know that." His voice was low and husky and it sent a thrill racing down her spine as he stepped closer to her. "But what I want to know," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "is if you're mine?"
Sydney's back was pressed against the door and Vaughn was just inches away from her, making her whole body feel as if it was on fire. His eyes burned with desire for her, and she reached out and closed the gap between them. "You know I am," she whispered.
They simply stared at each other for a few minutes, both becoming acutely aware of the electricity crackling between them. Finally Vaughn broke the silence.
"Have you ever made love on a plane?" he asked, his eyes locked on hers.
"No," she smiled.
"Have you ever wanted to?" he murmured as he began to drop soft kisses along her neck. She soon felt his hand stroking her thigh and gently tugging at the hem of her skirt, and realized that every nerve ending in her body was twitching with need for him. Her fingers instinctively found his belt and began to unbuckle it.
"Not until right this moment."
*****
A couple of days after returning from Paris, Sydney was in the joint ops center, waiting for Vaughn. She absently tapped a pencil against his desk until she felt someone leaning down behind her.
"You look incredibly beautiful today," a low voice whispered in her ear. She smiled and swiveled around in his chair.
"I bet you say that to *all* the women who work here," she said, looking up at him.
"Nope," he smiled, "just you." They kept smiling at each other until Sydney rose from his chair and cleared her throat, bringing them both back to reality. Vaughn smoothed his tie and sat down in his chair and Sydney leaned back against the edge of his desk.
"So," he asked in an exaggerated professional voice, "have you found out what was in the package that Marchand sent back with you?"
"No," Sydney frowned. "Sloane hasn't mentioned it, which is weird. Normally, he'd tell me, but he's been unusually tight-lipped about it. He just moved on to the next mission as if I had never gone to Paris. Do you think my dad would have any idea what's going on?"
"Maybe. I'll ask him the next time I see him. Anyway, I got your deaddrop for your new mission. Sloane wants you to break into Phong's lab in Kuala Lampur again?"
"Yeah. Apparently, he realized that the serum I took a few weeks ago is useless without the information in Phong's research logs, so he wants Dixon and I to go back and get them."
"Well, we had a feeling Sloane would go back for the logs, so after we finished translating them last week, we made a fake copy just in case." Vaughn reached into a drawer at his desk and pulled out a manila envelope. "Here's the copy. Most of the information in it is accurate, but we altered the most crucial parts, so Sloane shouldn't be able to reverse engineer the serum any time soon."
"So this is what I'll give him?"
"Yeah, just make sure that Dixon doesn't beat you to grabbing the log," he smiled. "Do you think you're up for more excitement?"
She gave him a confused smile. 'What do you mean?"
"We recently found out that Phong's been developing an antidote for ricin poisoning. The CDC has been trying to develop its own antidote for a while now, but it hasn't been successful so far. We'd like to get our hands on Phong's antidote and compare it to what the CDC's been working on. Devlin suggested that maybe you could get a sample since you were already going to be at Phong's lab, but it's located in a different section of the lab than the research log. I'm not sure you'd have time to complete both parts of the mission. Personally, I think we should send in a separate team, but I told Devlin I'd run it by you anyway."
"I'll do it," Sydney said without hesitation.
"Syd – "
"Vaughn, It's fine. If I have the CIA's fake version of the log with me, I won't need to go get the real one. So while Dixon thinks I'm going after it, I'll be off getting the samples of the antidote."
"Are you sure? I just don't want you to bite off more than you can chew."
"I'll be fine," she said with a slight shake of her head. "Don't worry about me."
He gave her a knowing look as he stood up. "You know that's never going to happen. I worry about you all the time." He handed her a folder from his desk. "The floor plans to the lab are in here. I know you've seen them before, they they'll show you the part of the lab where the antidote is. And here's your comm link so I can talk to you when you're inside the lab. I don't have to tell you to be careful, do I?"
"No dad, you don't," she teased. "I'll see you when I get back." She touched his arm as she walked away, and he turned to watch her go. For some reason, he had been apprehensive about asking her to get the ricin antidote, and argued that they should send a separate team. Devlin felt that it was unnecessary, but Vaughn thought they were unnecessarily complicating Sydney's mission. He took a deep breath, and tried to push his concerns from his mind. He was sure that his worry was attributable solely to his feelings for Sydney, rather than the threat of any real danger. Nevertheless, he found himself walking briskly through the halls of the joint ops center until he got out to the parking garage. He broke into a light jog and caught up with Sydney just as she was unlocking her car.
"Hey."
"Vaughn," Sydney said as she whirled around to face him. "What's wrong? Did you forget to tell me something?"
"Yeah, I did. I forgot to tell you . . ." He looked at her, almost as if he was trying to memorize her face. "I forgot to tell you that I love you," he said in a low voice.
She smiled at him and leaned back against the door of her car. "You ran all the way out here to tell me that?"
"Yeah. It seemed important."
The intense look on his face took Sydney by surprise. She knew there was more to his sudden appearance in the parking lot than he was letting on, but she decided not to press him about it. "I love you, too. I'll remind you how much when I get back," she grinned, trying to put a smile on his face.
He nodded and stepped closer to her. "Just get back safely," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. He was inches away from her, and she wanted to hold him and kiss him and reassure him that she would be fine, but she knew that the parking garage was under 24 hour video surveillance.
"I will. Nothing will keep me from coming back to you, I promise."
"Okay," Vaughn said with a sigh as he opened the door for her and closed it once she was inside. She blew him a small kiss right before she drove away.
He stood in the garage until he could no longer see her car, and tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach. He prayed to anyone listening that Sydney would be able to keep her promise to him.
TBC . . .
Chapter 9: "A Mile High"
Sydney breezed into the warehouse, where she found Vaughn already waiting for her. He turned around at the sound of her footsteps and she instantly broke into a smile when she saw his face. It never failed to amaze her that the mere sight of him could brighten her mood so quickly.
"Hey." Vaughn's eyes were warm but she could tell by his professional demeanor that they were on the clock right now.
"Hi. Can you believe Sloane is turning me into an errand girl?" she asked with a frown. She had been "asked" to fly to Paris, pick up a package from the head of SD-7, and deliver it back to Sloane.
Vaughn laughed at her insulted expression. "Do you have any idea of what this mysterious package is?"
"Nope. Whatever it is, Sloane's not telling, but it must be fairly important if he's sending me to get it, rather than a junior agent or a courier."
"Okay, then I guess we'll have to wait until the return flight to see what it is."
"*We*?" Sydney asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," Vaughn nodded. "I'm going to be on your flight to Paris."
"Why?" She wasn't at all unhappy that Vaughn was going to accompany her on her trip, but she didn't understand why it was necessary when all she was doing was picking up a package. "Does Kendall know that you're making up countermissions just so you can be alone with me?" she grinned.
"You wish," he smirked. "Actually, our tech guys picked up something on the bug that you planted in Sloane's house last year."
"Really? What was it?"
"Apparently Sloane had a visitor the other night, Nicole Marchand, the daughter of Didier Marchand."
"The head of SD-7," Sydney said, recognizing the name.
"The very one. From what we gathered, Nicole was here in L.A. visiting some friends, but the other night, she dropped in on her Uncle Arvin and he gave her a 'gift' to give to her father."
"Hmm. I'm guessing this gift really isn't a *gift* at all."
"Depends on what your idea of a gift is," Vaughn shrugged. "Sloane told Nicole that it's a laptop that's not available on the market yet, and he wanted her father to have one. But your father believes there are files on the hard drive containing the specs for a new series of automatic weapons that the Alliance is developing. We think they're planning to mass produce the weapons and sell them to rogue nations and terrorist organizations, so obviously, we want the information on that laptop. When we checked to see what flight Nicole was on, we realized it was the same flight that you specified in your deaddrop. I'll be on the same flight with both of you so I can create a distraction while you grab the laptop and download the specs."
"Sounds like fun," Sydney said with a wry smile. She longed for the day when she could be on a plane with Vaughn, sitting next to him, headed for a destination unrelated to any mission or countermission.
He gave her a sympathetic smile in return. "Well, it's bound to be more entertaining than the in-flight movie." He took a quick glance at his watch, then leaned forward and kissed her on the neck, just below her ear. "I need to go home and pack, so I'll see you at the airport, okay?"
"Okay. See you then." She waited five minutes after he left, then turned out the lights and made her own exit.
*****
Later that afternoon, Sydney was flipping through a magazine in an airport store when she felt the presence of someone standing next to her. She tried to fight a smile, but couldn't.
"Fancy meeting you here," she said without looking up from her magazine.
"Yeah, what a coincidence," Vaughn said in a low voice, barely suppressing his own smile. "What are you reading?" he asked as he picked up a sports magazine.
She turned slightly and held the magazine up to him. She looked at him quizzically when he laughed. "What?"
"Fifty ways to please your man?" Vaughn asked, glancing at the cover. "You don't need to read an article for that. You've got that covered, trust me."
She shot him a dimpled grin and leaned over to nudge him slightly. "I wasn't reading *that* article."
"Good. You should be *writing* an article like that."
She pretended to consider his suggestion. "I might, but only if you promise to provide me with source material."
"Definitely." He put his magazine back, moved to the opposite side of her, and picked up a new magazine. "Before I forget, what seat are you in?"
"4C. What about you?"
"3A. Nicole is in 3B."
Sydney's head shot up from her magazine. "You're sitting right next to her?"
"Yeah. The airline was more than happy to change the seating arrangements when the CIA came calling. Anyway, just keep an eye on us so you'll know when to go for the laptop."
"Okay." She watched as Vaughn walked away to pay for his magazine. If he was going to be sitting next to another woman for the duration of the flight, she was sure she wouldn't be able to tear her eyes away from them.
A few minutes later, Sydney boarded the flight. When she stepped into the first class cabin, she couldn't resist taking a quick glance at seat 3B. She was stunned to see a gorgeous redhead occupying the seat. That *cannot* be Nicole, she thought. The redheaded woman was wearing tastefully expensive clothes, and appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with bright blue eyes and a sophisticated chin-length bob. She looked like supermodel, and Sydney suddenly felt a pang of anxiety at the thought that Vaughn was about to spend the next eleven hours sitting next to her. She shook her head and tried to focus, reminding herself that she had a job to do later in the flight. She glanced in the overhead compartment above Nicole's seat and saw only a silver case inside. She made a mental note of it, guessing that the case contained the laptop.
She was just getting settled in her seat when she looked up and saw Vaughn enter the cabin. His eyes briefly locked on hers, and she felt her pulse quicken. His facial expression was neutral, but she instantly saw the almost imperceptible smile in his eyes. She momentarily felt better until Vaughn found his seat. When Nicole stood up to let him into his seat, Sydney noticed the way that her eyes traveled the length of his body. When she sat back down, she wore an almost predatory look on her beautiful face. Sydney scowled and wished for the first time that Vaughn wasn't as gorgeous as he was. Now that he had obviously drawn Nicole's attention, Sydney had a sinking feeling that this was going to be the longest flight of her life.
*****
Two hours after takeoff, Sydney was absolutely miserable as she sat next to a young mother and her two small children, one of whom kept squirming in her seat and splattering Sydney with droplets from her juice box. Ordinarily, Sydney adored children – she couldn't wait to have her own one day – but at the moment, she was in no mood to be bothered with the ones sitting next to her, not even the adorable baby who sat in his mother's lap. Between the children's restlessness and the constant sound of laughter coming from seat 3B, Sydney's nerves were completely on edge. She flinched as another drop of juice hit her square in the eye.
"Elizabeth!" the little girl's mother snapped as she grabbed the juice box away from her. "I thought I told you to stop banging that on the table." She glanced over at Sydney with an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry, you must want to strangle her by now."
"Not at all," Sydney lied with a forced smile.
"You're sweet to say that, but *I* want to strangle her right now, so I can only imagine how you must feel. I bet this is making you want to never have children," she laughed.
Sydney craned her neck slightly and glanced over at Vaughn. "No, actually it's not," she said with a genuine smile. One day, she definitely wanted to have *his* children. She would just make sure that they were better behaved than little Elizabeth.
"It's funny what meeting the right guy can do to you," the children's mother nodded. "I never thought I wanted kids until I met Jeremy," she said, leaning forward and gesturing to the man across the aisle from Sydney.
Sydney's eyes widened. "This is your husband? I wish I would have known. I could have let you all sit together."
"Oh, it's not a big deal," the mother said, waving her hand. "Trust me, Elizabeth and JJ would be no better behaved if he was sitting in your seat. He spoils them rotten, especially his little girl," she said with an amused eyeroll. Sydney smiled, imagining a day when a little girl might have Vaughn wrapped around her finger.
"Seriously, I insist. I hate it when families don't get to sit together on planes. It's really not a problem, honest," she said as she gathered her purse and belongings.
"Are you sure?" the mother asked skeptically before Sydney nodded. She leaned forward to catch her husband's attention. "Jeremy, sweetie, this nice woman offered to switch seats with you."
A few minutes later, Sydney sat back in Jeremy's former seat. She smiled with satisfaction as she opened a magazine – not only had she gotten away from the devilish Elizabeth, but she was now seated directly behind Nicole and when she looked through the space between the seats in front of her, she had a bird's eye view of Vaughn's handsome face. Her smile quickly turned into a frown, however, when she once again heard the tinkling sound of Nicole's laughter. She and Vaughn had found plenty to talk about during the last two hours, and they were still engaged in animated conversation with each other. The cabin lights dimmed and Sydney looked at the video monitor attached to her seat. She told herself that she should watch one of the mindless sitcoms being shown, so she wouldn't have to listen to the nauseating sound of Nicole's laughter. But she was curious to know what Nicole and Vaughn could possibly have to talk about, and she couldn't stop herself from eavesdropping.
"So how often do you get to Paris on business?" Nicole asked, taking a sip of white wine. Sydney was surprised not to hear any trace of a French accent.
"Every other week or so. I'm helping my firm get its Paris office up and running, so I've been taking a lot of meetings with our European clients."
"No offense, Paul, but you're much too attractive to be a tax attorney," Nicole said flirtatiously.
"None taken," Vaughn laughed. "You know, everyone thinks that tax attorneys are all boring, balding fat guys, but that's not true. We like to have as much fun as the next guy."
"And what kind of things do you do to have fun?" she asked with a seductive purr.
"All kinds of things. I like movies and museums and playing sports -- "
"I knew it! I could tell you were athletic. You definitely have an athlete's body," she said appreciatively as she grabbed Vaughn's arm and pushed back the sleeve of his sweater. "See how well developed your forearms are?" she asked as she lightly ran her fingers from his wrist to just below his elbow. "That's a classic sign."
Vaughn took a long look at Nicole. She certainly wasn't afraid to be forward. For the past two and a half hours she had been relentlessly flirting with him, which had unknowingly made his job easier. He had actually been planning to distract her by flirting with her, but she had taken the initiative and run with it. He would have been flattered by the attention if it weren't for the fact that his heart already belonged to someone else, someone who was now sitting just one row behind them.
When Sydney first switched seats with the man sitting behind Nicole, excitement had raced through Vaughn's body – being in close proximity to her always caused that reaction. But his excitement soon turned to vague unease as Nicole continued to flirt with him. When she touched his arm, he could almost feel the heat of Sydney's glare behind him. He couldn't imagine how she must be reacting to what was going on in front of her, and he cringed at the thought that things were probably only going to get worse.
"You sound like you've spent a lot of time studying athletes' bodies, Nicole," he said smoothly.
She swept her hair behind her ear and gave him a confident smile. "I spend a lot of time studying men's bodies in general. There's nothing I love more than looking at beautiful men, and you certainly fall into that category."
Sydney swallowed hard and rolled her eyes. Was this woman for real? She couldn't believe how thickly Nicole was laying it on. She loudly cleared her throat, which caused Vaughn to peek at her through the seats and shoot her an apologetic smile for what he was about to say next.
"What a coincidence. *I* love looking at beautiful women, and it's been a long time since I've enjoyed doing that as much as I am right now."
Sydney opened her mouth in disbelief and felt heat rising on the back of her neck and her ears. She felt as if she was in the middle of a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.
Nicole laughed once again. "Paul, are you trying to flatter me?"
"That depends," Vaughn said in a low voice. "Is it working?"
"Better than you know."
Sydney rubbed her temples and closed her eyes, feeling as if she was going to be sick. It suddenly occurred to her that she had never thought to ask Vaughn exactly how he planned to distract Nicole, but now she had her answer – he was going to flirt with her for who knows how long until Sydney had an opportunity to access the laptop. Even though she knew it was all an act, she couldn't stand to hear Vaughn laughing and pretending to enjoy another woman's company, especially when he was so good at it. She knew from personal experience that when Michael Vaughn turned on the charm, he was irresistible and impossible to say no to. Unfortunately, Nicole seemingly had no intention of resisting him, and even less intention of letting him resist *her*.
Sydney pressed the button to summon a flight attendant and ordered a vodka tonic. Normally, she would never drink while she was on a mission, but she definitely needed a few drinks if she was going to make it through the rest of this flight.
Two drinks later, Sydney felt slightly more relaxed and listened as Nicole told Vaughn about her years at boarding school in New Hampshire and college at NYU.
"Mystery solved," Vaughn smiled. "I was wondering why your English was so flawless. And I can't believe you went to boarding school in New Hampshire. I went to college at Dartmouth."
"You didn't!" Nicole exclaimed.
He did, Sydney thought with a scowl. She couldn't believe Vaughn had told Nicole something about himself that was actually true. She liked it better when he had been lying to her and pretending to be interested in her. Now that he was telling her things about himself that were true, she felt her irritation growing again. She didn't want Nicole knowing anything about *her* Vaughn, and she certainly didn't want him offering up more details about his life. She knew that she was being slightly irrational, but she didn't care. She turned her head to look at the man seated next to her, directly behind Vaughn. When she noticed that he was sleeping, she reached forward and shoved Vaughn's seat, firm enough for him to feel it, but not so hard as to attract Nicole's attention. When he turned and glanced at her with a bewildered expression, she shot him a look of death. He shrugged and even though she knew he wasn't enjoying this any more than she was, she felt the strange urge to punch him.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She knew it was wrong to wish physical harm on him when he was merely doing his job. How many times had she herself flirted with men in order to carry out a mission? None of those men had ever meant anything to her, so why was she freaking out simply because Vaughn was using his flirting skills to complete this mission? She reached down into her carry-on and removed her CD player, hoping that music would help her focus her thoughts elsewhere.
An hour later, she was in a much better mood, the music having calmed her and soothed her restless mind. The cabin was now completely dark and everyone was sleeping – everyone except the couple in front of her, who were now talking in low, hushed tones. As she turned off her CD player, she wished that there was some way she could turn Nicole's mouth off as well. Sydney was growing impatient waiting for her to fall asleep so she could get the laptop and copy the files the CIA wanted.
Vaughn was also impatiently waiting for Nicole to fall asleep. Even though he hadn't done anything wrong, he felt guilty as hell that Sydney had to experience the discomfort of watching them together. Suddenly Nicole stood up, and he was grateful that he would soon have a chance to talk to Sydney. He was stunned, however, when Nicole bent down and whispered in his ear.
"I'm going to the lavatory. Meet me in the one upstairs on the right in two minutes." Vaughn watched as she turned and headed for the stairs to the upper deck of the plane. He swallowed hard and rubbed his forehead. Had he been flirting so much that she thought he wanted to have sex with her? He hadn't been anticipating this development, but he realized that it would make Sydney's job easier. It would be much easier for her to copy the files from the laptop if Nicole was gone for a while than it would be if she was merely sleeping in her seat. He suddenly knew what he had to do and nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he stood up and turned to face Sydney.
"Hey, I'm sorry that you had to listen to all that," he whispered.
"So am I," she said with a raised eyebrow. She tried to look angry at him, but the expression on his face was so sweetly apologetic that she instantly forgave him for making the last five hours of her life a living hell.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise," he smiled.
"You'd better believe it," she shot back.
Vaughn opened the overhead compartment, removed the silver case, and placed it on Sydney's tray table. "How much time do you think you'll need?"
"A few minutes, five at the most."
"Okay, I'll try to keep her occupied for that long."
Sydney nodded, but her head shot up when his words sank in. "Wait, what do you mean, you'll keep her *occupied*?"
Vaughn gulped as a guilty look flashed across his face. "Uh, she's waiting for me upstairs."
"What?!" Sydney asked with a loud whisper. "She's *waiting* for you? Waiting for you to do what?"
Vaughn tilted his head and met her eyes, wordlessly answering her question. "I shouldn't keep her waiting, and we're wasting valuable time right now."
"Vaughn!" The man next to Sydney stirred slightly, and she lowered her voice. "Are you out of your mind?"
"Sydney, come on. She's given us a golden opportunity, and we can't afford to waste it. So hurry up and copy the files, and I'll be back in a few minutes."
Before she could protest further, Vaughn had already disappeared up the stairs. Her mind raced furiously as she used a descrambler to open the locked case. As she waited for the computer to boot up, she tried to focus on her task, but her mind kept wondering what was going on upstairs. She knew that Vaughn would stop things if they got out of hand, but she still hated the thought of Nicole's hands being anywhere near him. Finally, she located the files she was looking for and began to copy them onto her disk. She prayed that the copying process would go quickly so she could free Vaughn from Nicole's clutches.
*****
Vaughn took a deep breath and knocked on the lavatory door. Nicole opened it with a seductive smile and he forced a smile of his own as he stepped inside. As soon as he closed the door behind him, she pushed him against it and kissed him. He was caught completely off guard, and gently pushed her away.
"Whoa, we should slow this down a bit."
"Sorry," Nicole smiled. "I don't usually do this," she murmured as she kissed his neck, "but you are unbelievably sexy, and I've wanted you since the moment you sat down next to me."
No kidding, he thought, as he reached into his pocket and removed a small round object. Nicole was one of the most aggressive women he'd ever met, and she was all over him. He knew that there would be no easy way out of this situation, and Sydney still needed a few more minutes to copy the files. So he forced himself to take one for the team, and bent down to kiss her. Even though the kiss was devoid of emotion or desire, he still felt as if he was cheating on Sydney, and he vowed to pull out all the stops to make it up to her. As he silently calculated how much money he would soon be spending on flowers, he felt Nicole's hand moving along the inside of his thigh and then brushing over his crotch. He flinched slightly and broke the kiss.
She leaned back and looked at him with flashing blue eyes. "Why are you stopping?"
He raised his arm behind her and took a quick glance at his watch. He had been gone for six minutes. He prayed that it had been enough time for Sydney, because he was about to end the charade right now. "Nicole, we shouldn't – *I*shouldn't be doing this."
"Yes. Yes, you should," she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him again. "*We* should do this right now. Don't tell me you don't want me, Paul."
Vaughn grabbed her wrists and pushed her away, firmly but gently. "Nicole, you are an incredibly beautiful woman, and any man would be a fool not to want you, but I can't do this. I just wouldn't feel right if I went through with it. Neither would my wife," he said as he raised his left hand and flashed a gold wedding band.
"Wife? You didn't mention anything about being married," she hissed. She tossed her hair and regained her composure. "Anyway, I don't care if you are. Your wife's not on this plane, is she?"
"No, but this is wrong. I never should have led you on or let myself flirt with you."
"No, you shouldn't have," she said just before the open palm of her hand made contact with his left cheek. "I feel sorry for your wife. She's married to a real jackass." With that, she pushed Vaughn aside and stormed out of the lavatory. He leaned back against the door and closed his eyes, then moved to the sink and splashed cold water over his face, trying to alleviate the stinging sensation in his cheek. He didn't blame Nicole for slapping him; he almost wanted to slap himself for getting into the situation in the first place. Next time, he'd use a knockout capsule and be done with it.
He dried his face and hands with a paper towel and squared his shoulders. He wanted to delay going back to his seat for as long as possible. He knew that he'd have not one, but two, angry women to deal with when he got back. After a few more moments, he finally opened the door to leave the lavatory and was shocked when he came face to face with Sydney, who pushed him back inside and hurriedly locked the door.
"Sydney, what are you – "
She placed a hand over his mouth and looked him dead in the eye. "Don't talk right now," she ordered.
When she removed her hand, she replaced it with her lips, kissing him so hard that he stumbled backwards against the sink. She was being every bit as aggressive as Nicole had been a few minutes earlier, but unlike then, Vaughn felt his whole body responding to her, and it wasn't long before his hands were roaming over her back and hips. He moaned into her mouth as she continued to kiss him and pressed her body against his. He realized at that moment that no woman would ever be able to affect him the way Sydney did. She had ruined him for anyone else, and he wasn't at all unhappy about it.
Sydney finally broke away from him and took a few steps backwards. "I copied the files."
"Good," he nodded. He tried to clear his mind which had grown fuzzy with desire during Sydney's kiss. "You know that nothing happened in here, right?"
She laughed softly. "I had a feeling when I saw Nicole storming down the stairs. She practically knocked me down."
"Yeah, she was definitely unhappy when she left." He raised his hand for her to see. "I told her I was married."
Sydney grinned. "Where did you get a wedding band from?"
"I've had it for years. I used it once on an undercover assignment, and never got rid of it. You never know when you might need to pretend to be married," he laughed.
Sydney took his hand in hers and stared at the ring. It looked good on him – too good. It made her long for the day when he might wear a wedding band for real. She smiled ruefully and shook her head. A few hours ago, she had been practically naming their children, and now she was imagining slipping a wedding ring on Vaughn's finger. She knew it was stupid to dream about such things right now, but she was so much in love with him that she couldn't help herself.
"Syd, what are you smiling about?" he asked, snapping her out of her daydream.
"Nothing," she lied. She wasn't sure how he would react if she told him that she was smiling at the thought of marrying him one day.
"Maybe you're just buzzing from the vodka," he chuckled. Her head shot up in surprise.
"You heard me order those?" she asked, wide-eyed. He nodded. "Well, I had to do something to take the edge off of listening to you flirt with another woman."
He reached out a hand and brushed it along the side of her face. "Hey, I really am sorry that you had to sit through all that. If it's any consolation, I didn't enjoy it at all. I spent the whole time wishing I was with you. You know that, right?" he asked as he placed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth.
"I know. I just hated it."
"Well, I guess that explains the throat clearing and hitting my chair, huh? If I didn't know any better, Ms. Bristow, I'd think that you were jealous," he teased.
"Jealous? Of Nicole?" she scoffed. "No, I was definitely *not* jealous."
"C'mon, Syd. You were being a little bit jealous."
"I wasn't being jealous; I was being possessive," she said, as if the distinction was obvious.
"What's the difference?"
"Vaughn," Sydney rolled her eyes, "I didn't need to be jealous of Nicole because she wasn't a threat. But I didn't like seeing you flirt with her, because you're mine – or didn't you know that?" she asked, cocking her head to the side and running a hand down his chest.
Vaughn stared back at her, admiring how beautiful she was even with a slightly pouty expression on her face. "I've been yours since the day we met, Syd. We both know that." His voice was low and husky and it sent a thrill racing down her spine as he stepped closer to her. "But what I want to know," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "is if you're mine?"
Sydney's back was pressed against the door and Vaughn was just inches away from her, making her whole body feel as if it was on fire. His eyes burned with desire for her, and she reached out and closed the gap between them. "You know I am," she whispered.
They simply stared at each other for a few minutes, both becoming acutely aware of the electricity crackling between them. Finally Vaughn broke the silence.
"Have you ever made love on a plane?" he asked, his eyes locked on hers.
"No," she smiled.
"Have you ever wanted to?" he murmured as he began to drop soft kisses along her neck. She soon felt his hand stroking her thigh and gently tugging at the hem of her skirt, and realized that every nerve ending in her body was twitching with need for him. Her fingers instinctively found his belt and began to unbuckle it.
"Not until right this moment."
*****
A couple of days after returning from Paris, Sydney was in the joint ops center, waiting for Vaughn. She absently tapped a pencil against his desk until she felt someone leaning down behind her.
"You look incredibly beautiful today," a low voice whispered in her ear. She smiled and swiveled around in his chair.
"I bet you say that to *all* the women who work here," she said, looking up at him.
"Nope," he smiled, "just you." They kept smiling at each other until Sydney rose from his chair and cleared her throat, bringing them both back to reality. Vaughn smoothed his tie and sat down in his chair and Sydney leaned back against the edge of his desk.
"So," he asked in an exaggerated professional voice, "have you found out what was in the package that Marchand sent back with you?"
"No," Sydney frowned. "Sloane hasn't mentioned it, which is weird. Normally, he'd tell me, but he's been unusually tight-lipped about it. He just moved on to the next mission as if I had never gone to Paris. Do you think my dad would have any idea what's going on?"
"Maybe. I'll ask him the next time I see him. Anyway, I got your deaddrop for your new mission. Sloane wants you to break into Phong's lab in Kuala Lampur again?"
"Yeah. Apparently, he realized that the serum I took a few weeks ago is useless without the information in Phong's research logs, so he wants Dixon and I to go back and get them."
"Well, we had a feeling Sloane would go back for the logs, so after we finished translating them last week, we made a fake copy just in case." Vaughn reached into a drawer at his desk and pulled out a manila envelope. "Here's the copy. Most of the information in it is accurate, but we altered the most crucial parts, so Sloane shouldn't be able to reverse engineer the serum any time soon."
"So this is what I'll give him?"
"Yeah, just make sure that Dixon doesn't beat you to grabbing the log," he smiled. "Do you think you're up for more excitement?"
She gave him a confused smile. 'What do you mean?"
"We recently found out that Phong's been developing an antidote for ricin poisoning. The CDC has been trying to develop its own antidote for a while now, but it hasn't been successful so far. We'd like to get our hands on Phong's antidote and compare it to what the CDC's been working on. Devlin suggested that maybe you could get a sample since you were already going to be at Phong's lab, but it's located in a different section of the lab than the research log. I'm not sure you'd have time to complete both parts of the mission. Personally, I think we should send in a separate team, but I told Devlin I'd run it by you anyway."
"I'll do it," Sydney said without hesitation.
"Syd – "
"Vaughn, It's fine. If I have the CIA's fake version of the log with me, I won't need to go get the real one. So while Dixon thinks I'm going after it, I'll be off getting the samples of the antidote."
"Are you sure? I just don't want you to bite off more than you can chew."
"I'll be fine," she said with a slight shake of her head. "Don't worry about me."
He gave her a knowing look as he stood up. "You know that's never going to happen. I worry about you all the time." He handed her a folder from his desk. "The floor plans to the lab are in here. I know you've seen them before, they they'll show you the part of the lab where the antidote is. And here's your comm link so I can talk to you when you're inside the lab. I don't have to tell you to be careful, do I?"
"No dad, you don't," she teased. "I'll see you when I get back." She touched his arm as she walked away, and he turned to watch her go. For some reason, he had been apprehensive about asking her to get the ricin antidote, and argued that they should send a separate team. Devlin felt that it was unnecessary, but Vaughn thought they were unnecessarily complicating Sydney's mission. He took a deep breath, and tried to push his concerns from his mind. He was sure that his worry was attributable solely to his feelings for Sydney, rather than the threat of any real danger. Nevertheless, he found himself walking briskly through the halls of the joint ops center until he got out to the parking garage. He broke into a light jog and caught up with Sydney just as she was unlocking her car.
"Hey."
"Vaughn," Sydney said as she whirled around to face him. "What's wrong? Did you forget to tell me something?"
"Yeah, I did. I forgot to tell you . . ." He looked at her, almost as if he was trying to memorize her face. "I forgot to tell you that I love you," he said in a low voice.
She smiled at him and leaned back against the door of her car. "You ran all the way out here to tell me that?"
"Yeah. It seemed important."
The intense look on his face took Sydney by surprise. She knew there was more to his sudden appearance in the parking lot than he was letting on, but she decided not to press him about it. "I love you, too. I'll remind you how much when I get back," she grinned, trying to put a smile on his face.
He nodded and stepped closer to her. "Just get back safely," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. He was inches away from her, and she wanted to hold him and kiss him and reassure him that she would be fine, but she knew that the parking garage was under 24 hour video surveillance.
"I will. Nothing will keep me from coming back to you, I promise."
"Okay," Vaughn said with a sigh as he opened the door for her and closed it once she was inside. She blew him a small kiss right before she drove away.
He stood in the garage until he could no longer see her car, and tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach. He prayed to anyone listening that Sydney would be able to keep her promise to him.
TBC . . .