A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry about the looooong wait for the new chapter. I blame it all on life and work. :-) Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this and sent messages wondering when the update would be posted. Without further ado, here it is.
Chapter 39 - "Meet and Greet"
Sydney sighed in exhaustion as she sank into the chair at her desk in the ops center. The past two days had been such a blur that she felt as if she had barely had a single moment to catch her breath.
It all started when Vaughn said the two words she'd been waiting forever to hear.
*It's over.*
She hardly believed him at first, and insisted on calling her father to confirm the news. Jack told her the details of the raid -- several times, actually, as she made him repeat the parts of the story she found the most interesting. Before hanging up with her, Jack told her he was proud of her and that he couldn't wait to see her when she returned to L.A.
After hanging up with her father, Sydney and Vaughn shared their news with Elise, who, although thrilled, declined their invitation to join them for a celebratory dinner, opining that they should find the most romantic restaurant in town and celebrate their triumph alone with each other. Ever the dutiful and obedient son, Vaughn took his mother's advice and pulled some strings to secure a reservation at Alain Chapel. After a sumptuous dinner and two bottles of champagne, they decided to spend the night at the romantic chateaux housing the restaurant.
They'd stayed up most of that night, reminiscing about the past two years, confiding in each other every time they'd wanted to give up, recalling the details of some of Sydney's more harrowing missions, and confessing all the times they'd wanted to express their feelings to each other but been too afraid and too bound by protocol to do so.
When they made love that night, they both felt that something was noticeably different. Every other time they had made love, they did so with the unspoken knowledge that it could be their last time together, the constant undercurrent of danger always pervading their coupling. But that nights, it was as if the veil of fear and secrecy had been lifted, and finally, the were able to give themselves to one another openly, freely. It was an amazing feeling, and they took advantage of it to the fullest until they feel asleep in sated exhaustion.
When they returned to Vaughn's apartment the next morning, they were surprised to find Elise's packed bags just inside the door. She smilingly informed them that she had decided to visit some friends in Paris before returning to Virginia, but reminded them that she'd see them again in L.A. in a couple of weeks.
After she left, Vaughn renewed his offer to take Sydney on a tour of Lyon, but she expressed her desire to go home instead. As much as she wanted to forget the rest of the world existed for a while longer and stay in France, she was eager to see her father and assure herself that he was okay. And as much as she was dreading it, she knew she also needed to speak with Dixon and Marshall, to apologize to them for not telling them the truth about SD-6. Additionally, she and Vaughn both knew there would be a ton of paperwork to complete when they returned to work and they would be needed at the many debriefs that would take place over the next few days. So they booked the first flight back to L.A., and agreed to return to Lyon during their French honeymoon.
On the flight home, Sydney marveled in the fact that she could actually sit next to Vaughn and hold his hand, laugh with him as they imagined how Weiss would make himself out to be the hero of the SD-6 raid, and kiss him as she did for hours once the cabin lights dimmed and everyone around them slept. They both knew they needed to sleep and try to fend off as much jet lag as possible, but finally having the freedom to behave like a normal couple, neither of them wanted to sacrifice that time together for the sake of sleep. So they stayed awake for the entire flight and were predictably exhausted when they arrived back in Los Angeles. They reluctantly forced themselves to part at the airport and, each went home to sleep for a few hours before going into work.
Once she arrived at work, Sydney was immediately pulled into a four-hour long debrief needed to corroborate the statements of her colleagues who'd been detained since the raid. After that, she returned to face the mountain of paperwork waiting for her at her desk, but she found herself constantly interrupted by agents and other CIA employees stopping by to congratulate her on the success of the SD-6 operation. She was flattered by all the praise, but was disappointed that she could share it with the two people who also deserved the credit -- her father, who, as it turned out, was at Langley briefing the CIA's director, and Vaughn, who had been tied up with his own work for most of the day.
Even though she hadn't gotten to spend any time with him, by far, the brightest spots of her day had been the brief moments when she spotted Vaughn across the rotunda from her and they shared small, intimate smiles with each other. It had been at least three hours since she last saw him, though, and she was growing impatient for the moment when they could finally ditch work and go home to spend a quiet evening alone together.
She closed her tired eyes for a moment before tackling the next stack of papers in front of her, but opened them the moment she felt strong fingers softly brushing across her shoulder. She knew it was Vaughn even before she looked up, merely by the way her whole body tingled from his touch.
"Hey, beautiful," he said in a low voice as he pulled over a chair and sat down next to her. Her pulse rate quickened the moment she saw him, and she fought the urge to kiss him right then and there in front of everyone.
"Hi," she smiled. "I've missed you today."
"Me too. It's been a long day, hasn't it?"
"The longest, and it's not even over yet. Do I look as exhausted as I feel?"
"A little," he acknowledged, his voice full of quiet concern as he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, making her smile at the intimate gesture. "You should go home and rest, Syd. There's nothing in this pile of paperwork that can't wait until tomorrow."
"Can you leave now?" she asked hopefully. "We could go get dinner or order in."
"I can't. We have a videoconference with Langley in twenty minutes. It shouldn't last too long, but I'm still going to be here for a while." He smiled apologetically when he saw her exaggerated frown. "Why don't you go home, and I'll call you when I'm done."
"Actually, instead of calling, why don't you come over to my place when you're done? That way, you could finally meet Francie, and I know she's dying to meet you. What?" she asked when he started to shake his head.
"Nothing. It's just -- I can't believe I can actually go to your house and meet Francie without having to look over my shoulder."
"Me either," she smiled as she gathered her belongings and stood, "but now you can. Just call me before you leave, and I'll order Chinese and we can all have dinner together. So, I'll see you later?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "Let me walk you out to your car."
"Oh, you don't have to -- " she began, but her voice trailed off when she saw the look of pure need in his eyes. "Actually, I'd be delighted if you walked me out to my car," she grinned.
When they reached her car a few minutes later, Vaughn pulled her into his arms and kissed her hungrily, leaving her breathless when he pulled away from her.
"I've been dying to do that all day long."
"So why didn't you? I'm sure everyone back inside would have enjoyed the show," she teased.
"That's exactly why," he laughed. His smile made her heart sing, and she pulled him back to her for another long, slow kiss, musing that whoever was monitoring the parking garage video feed was getting quite a show of his own right now.
"Vaughn?" she murmured as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Hmmm?"
"Do you really have to stay here?" she coaxed.
"You're evil, do you know that?" he smiled when he pulled away from her. "Yes, I can't miss this this meeting, although you have no idea how much I want to."
"Well, then I hope you won't spend too much time in your boring old meeting thinking about me at home relaxing in a nice, hot bath, wishing you were there with me," she tried to tempt him while running her index finger along his arm and forearm. "i'll be thinking about you, though."
"Great. Thanks for that visual. I'm sure that'll make my meeting go much faster," he groaned.
"Sorry, I'll make it up to you later," she promised. "Just don't keep me waiting too long."
"I won't. Believe me." With that and one last kiss, he rushed back into the building, intent on making his meeting go as quickly as possible.
*****
". . . so I told Frankie there was no way I was paying for red tomatoes when I specifically ordered yellow ones, and he said he'd get me yellow ones that afternoon if I went out on a date with him. Is this what my life has come to? I have to whore myself out for yellow tomatoes?" Francie laughingly shook her head.
"That was a joke," she smiled when Sydney didn't answer. After a moment of blank silence from her best friend, she waved her hands in front of Sydney's face. "Hellllooo, earth to Sydney. Are you hearing a word I'm saying right now?"
"Huh?" Sydney asked as she snapped out of her momentary trance and saw Francie scrutinizing her from across the kitchen counter. "Sorry, I was distracted. You were saying something about the broccoli Frankie delivered?"
"The broccoli was about three vegetables and two fruits ago. I'd already moved onto tomatoes."
"Oh, sorry," Sydney smiled sheepishly. "I guess I zoned out for a little while there."
"Is every thing okay?" Francie cautiously asked. "By now, I know better than to ask about the details of your trip, but you look exhausted, sweetie."
"I am tired, but everything's okay," Sydney assured her. "Better than okay, actually. I did something a few days ago -- I kind of quit my job."
"You quit your job?! Are you serious? I've been telling you for years now that you needed to stop letting that bank run you ragged. What made you finally decide to do it?"
"It was long overdue," Sydney sighed, amazed at what an understatement that was. "And actually, I didn't really quit, per se."
She saw the instant frown on Francie's face and tried to figure out how to tell her about the end of SD-6 without actually telling her about it. On the flight home from Lyon, she and Vaughn agreed that it would be best not to ever tell Francie about SD-6, and that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell her about the CIA either, at least not until Sydney decided if she was going to stay with the CIA and in what capacity. So now she had to find a way to let Francie know things had changed without telling her the true story why.
"So you quit, but you didn't really quit?" Francie asked, the confusion evident in her voice.
"Well, I didn't quit the bank altogether, I just moved to a different division, one that hopefully won't take over my life the way the last one did."
"Does that mean no more trips?"
"I wish," Sydney laughed. "No, there will still be trips, just probably not as many, at least for the time being."
"So really nothing's changing at all," Francie laughed.
"Well, no, that's not true," Sydney lightly protested.
"Whatever, Syd," Francie sang before turning serious again. "So does this change things for you and Michael?"
"Yeah," Sydney said, trying and failing to hide the big smile that overtook her face. "It means we don't have to hide our relationship anymore."
"Really? That's great news, Sydney. So when do I get to meet him?"
"Eager, are we?" Sydney laughed. "Actually, I invited him to drop by tonight when he's done with work, which should be soon. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, of course it is. You guys aren't wasting any time, are you?" Francie grinned.
"We've already spent so much time being together but not being able to *be* together, you know? So now that we *can* be together -- "
"You're going to spend every minute with him you can," Francie nodded knowingly. "Hey, I don't blame you. I'd do the same thing if I had some hottie I'd been dating in secret for months. I cannot *wait* to meet this guy," she slyly laughed.
"Fran, you're not going to give him hard time, are you? I'm begging you not to give him the fifth degree. My dad already put him through that, and it's a wonder he still wants to be with me after that."
"Of course I won't," Francie innocently answered. "I'll save that for Will, 'cause I have a feeling he's definitely going to want to give Michael a hard time to make sure he's good enough for you."
"I don't think he'll do that," Sydney quickly replied, wondering if she should tell Francie that Will and Vaughn already knew each other. She decided against it and prayed Will would be able to convincingly act like he'd never met Vaughn before for Francie's benefit.
"Right. When he finds out that not only have you being seeing someone for months without either of us knowing it, but you're also *engaged* to this guy, I'm sure he'll accept Michael with open arms."
"I don't think you're giving Will enough credit," Sydney protested. "He'll be fine with it. In fact, I think he'll -- "
Sydney's voice was cut off by the sound of the doorbell, and she hopped down from her stool and rushed over to the door, breaking into a wide grin the moment she looked through the peephole. She opened the door just wide enough to slip through it, but not enough for Vaughn to see inside, and she closed it behind her as she stood on the front step with him.
"Hey."
"Hi," he smiled apprehensively. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to remind you that you work for a bank, right?"
"Syd," he smiled. "I'm a spy too. I think I can remember my cover story."
"I know. I just wanted to make sure, because I haven't told Francie much of anything yet. Oh, and also, she doesn't know that you know Will, so if she brings him up, just play along, okay?"
"I will," he nodded. "Anything else?"
She shook her head no and began to turn the knob behind her until she stopped again and smiled up at him with twinkling eyes. "Actually, I forgot there's a nominal entrance fee to get inside my apartment."
"Oh yeah?" he asked as he stepped closer to her and gently tugged on the hem of her shirt.
"Yeah," she whispered before tilting her head to kiss him. She couldn't believe she was standing in front of her apartment kissing him when there had probably been surveillance cars parked on her block not more than 48 hours earlier.
When she could feel both herself and Vaughn starting to get aroused and carried away, she pulled away from him with a small laugh. "We'd better go inside before Francie comes out here looking for us."
"Right," Vaughn nodded in agreement before his face took on a sly expression. "So if that's the entrance fee to your apartment, what's the fee for entrance to your bedroom?"
"You can't afford it," she tossed over her shoulder as she opened the door and ushered him inside, "but I'm willing to negotiate."
"The negotiations could be half the fun," Vaughn laughed as Sydney took his hand and led him to the living room.
"Hey Francie," she called, "there's someone I want you to meet."
"Yeah? Who could it possibly be?" Francie teasingly asked as she walked from the kitchen into the living room and extended her hand to Vaughn. "You must be Michael," she smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"You too. I've heard so much about you."
"Really? I haven't heard nearly enough about you, thanks to little Ms. Secretive, over here. I swear, she should work for the government instead of the bank, 'cause no one's getting any state secrets out of her," she chuckled.
Vaughn glanced furtively at Sydney who just shook her head and smiled.
"Please, sit down," Francie offered, as she sank into one of the chairs.
Vaughn took a seat on the couch and Sydney curled up next to him, hooking her arm around his and resting her free hand on his knee.
"So what is it that you do at the bank exactly?"
"I'm in charge of special projects," Vaughn smoothly replied.
"Special projects? What is that, exactly?"
"Some of our institutional and wealthier individual clients have special needs and demands they ask us to meet from time to time. I'm in charge of making sure they get what they need."
"Wow, that sounds important."
"It's really not," Vaughn smiled. "It just sounds that way. Mostly, I just send our customer service representatives and executives all around the globe while I sit at my cushy desk here in L.A."
"Oh, so *you're* the one responsible for sending Sydney on all those crazy trips? When did the two of you even find time to see each other with her out of the country so much?"
"Um, you'd be surprised. And I actually hated sending her on all those trips, but she's the best at what she does, so I had no choice," he shrugged, before smiling at Sydney.
"So, I hear you own a restaurant?"
"Yeah, I do. You and Sydney will have to come in for dinner one night, my treat."
"I'd love that."
"Great, just let me know when you want to come, and I'll personally see to it that you guys are well taken care of."
"Thanks, Francie. That's very sweet of you," Vaughn smiled.
"It is," Sydney agreed. "You'll love the restaurant," she assured Vaughn. "Everything on the menu is so good."
Francie shrugged modestly and smiled. "She's just saying that because she's my best friend. I mean, my restaurant is no Joey's Pizza or anything, but it'll do in a pinch." She smirked when both Sydney and Vaughn's eyes opened in shock and they began to blush.
"So you're on to us," Vaughn smiled.
"When Sydney told me about your engagement, she 'fessed up about all the mysterious pizza calls. I was just having a little bit of fun at your expense. Sorry."
"No, it's okay," Vaughn said with a good-natured grin. "If anyone should apologize, it's me. I can't imagine how annoying those phone calls must have been."
"I told you the number of times she wanted to get our number changed," Sydney grinned. "And she's making nice right now, but she's called you every name in the book."
"But, in my defense, I didn't know who you were at the time," Francie protested. "If I had, I never would have insulted you and your mother that way," she sheepishly admitted, making all three of them laugh.
"No harm, no foul," Vaughn smiled. "And now that Joey's is officially out of business, I promise, no more annoying phone calls."
"And no more colorful adjectives and names," Francie nodded. "So where did you grow up, Michael?"
"Northern Virginia. Great Falls, to be exact, but my mom is from France, so I spent a lot of summers there, as well. What about you?"
"San Diego. My parents still live there, actually, and I -- "
"Hey, I'm gonna go get wine," Sydney said, as she stood to make her way to the kitchen. Now that Vaughn's "job" and the Joey's pizza calls were out of the way, she deemed it safe to leave the two of them alone, and they looked like they were already getting along famously.
"Need help?" Vaughn glanced up at her.
"No, you and Francie get to know each other better," she said as she bent down and kissed him on his forehead. "I'll be right back."
She smiled as she left the room, happy that the two previously separate parts of her life were finally coming together. As she headed towards the kitchen, she ran smack into Will, who had just entered the apartment.
"Will! Hi," she exclaimed as she gave him a big hug.
"Hey. Whose car is that in the driveway?"
"Vaughn's," she smiled. Seeing his look of confusion, she took his arm and he followed her into the kitchen.
"Is it safe for him to be here?" Will asked in a loud whisper once they were in the kitchen.
"It is now. SD-6 is gone, Will." She watched his face carefully as he processed the news.
"Are you serious? Since when?"
"Two days ago. The CIA and some of our counterparts in other countries raided each of the Alliance's offices. It's going to be a while before all the dust has settled, but SD-6 and the Alliance are finished."
"And Sloane?"
"In CIA custody here in Los Angeles. My dad was the one who got to arrest him."
"Wow. I'll bet he's been waiting a lifetime for that."
"The last 8 years, anyway," she smiled.
"I'm so happy for you, Syd," Will smiled, as he wrapped her in a tight hug. "I can't imagine what the last two years have been like for you, but I'm glad you finally get to move on with your life."
"Me too," she murmured.
"And it sounds like you didn't waste any time," he chuckled, when the sound of Vaughn and Francie's laughter wafted into the kitchen.
"Francie's been dying to meet him, and Vaughn's heard so much about her, that it seemed like the obvious thing to do, introducing them as soon as I got the chance. They're getting along really well."
"I'm not surprised. They're both great and they both love you a lot. That automatically gives them something in common. So, how did Francie react when you told her the truth about SD-6?"
"I didn't tell her, and I'm not sure if I will," she admitted. "I need to decide what I'm doing, first, whether I'm going to stay with the agency, because if I do, it may not be safe to tell her the truth. Which means," she took a deep breath, "that you're still going to have to keep my secret, and I hate putting you in that position. I know how much you hate to lie to her."
"It's okay," Will reassured her. "I understand, and I won't say anything."
"Thanks," Sydney murmured with a grateful smile. "That also means you're going to have to pretend you don't know Vaughn. And for the record, he works at the bank with me, and you don't know we're engaged."
"Right, gotcha," Will nodded, before the realization of her words hit him. "Wait, you're engaged? To Vaughn?" he asked, a dumbstruck expression on his face.
"Oh my god," Sydney covered her mouth in shock, when she realized how she broke the news to him. "I forgot that I hadn't told you yet. We were keeping it a secret until all this SD-6 business was done, but I *had* to tell Francie, and I forgot that I hadn't told you yet.
"I'm sorry, Will. I didn't mean to break it to you like that," she shook her head. "But yes, Vaughn asked me to marry him and I said yes."
"Wow." Will didn't know what else to say as the words sank in.
"Yeah, I'm -- this is the second time I've dropped this kind of bomb on you, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Will chuckled. "The difference is that I was just pretending to be happy for you the first time. This time, I actually *am* happy for you. Congratulations, Syd," he hugged her again.
"Thanks, Will. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but we really were trying to keep it a secret. Other than Francie, everyone else who knows found out by accident."
"It's okay, really. So have you set a date?"
"No," Sydney scoffed. "I haven't even let myself think about it, really, because there's been so much going on. But when we do set a date, I promise I will actually tell you about it," she sheepishly smiled.
"I'm holding you to that," he laughed.
"Okay. Wow, I'd better get back out there before they start to wonder what happened to me." She picked up the wine glasses and Will grabbed the bottle and followed her back into the living room.
"Hey guys, look who I found on the way to the kitchen."
"Will," Francie smiled.
"Hey Fran." He looked questioningly at Vaughn until Sydney piped up.
"Will Tippin, this is Michael Vaughn. Michael, this is Will, my other best friend."
"Nice to meet you, Will," Vaughn smiled as he shook Will's hand.
"You too. Syd's told me a little bit about you. It's nice to finally put a face with a name."
"You too."
Noticing the slight look of worry on Francie's face, Sydney decided to change the subject.
"So, did Francie tell you every embarrassing story about me since freshman year of college?" she asked Vaughn as she handed him a glass of wine.
"Please, we're not even past the first week of college yet," Francie laughed as she relaxed again and took her own glass of wine from Sydney. "Believe me, I have enough embarrassing stories to keep Michael occupied for a very long time."
"Great," Sydney rolled her eyes.
She remained mostly quiet for the next half hour as Francie and Will peppered Vaughn with more questions and stories and he got to know them better as well. She was perfectly content to sit back and listen as they chatted, and Vaughn intertwined his fingers with hers and lightly stroked his thumb across her palm. His attention was focused on her friends and she didn't think he was even conscious of what he was doing, but she was definitely conscious of it as her spine tingled and her heart began to beat faster. As happy as she was that everyone was getting along so well, she realized how much she desperately wanted to be alone with him.
Will was finishing the story of how he first met Francie and Sydney when she discretely leaned closer to Vaughn.
"The window for those negotiations is officially open," she whispered into his ear. She smiled and nodded in response to his questioning look, and as soon as Will finished his story, she sprang to her feet.
"Well, I hate to break up the party, but there's something I need Vaughn to help me with in my room, so . . ."
"Hmph, I'll bet," Will smirked.
"Will!" Francie scolded as she swatted him on the arm. "Why do you always have to make something perfectly innocent sound so dirty?"
"What? I was just saying that -- "
"Yeah, but that was so totally inappropriate that I can't even believe you'd -- "
"If we sneak out now, they'll never even notice we're gone," Sydney laughed as she pulled Vaughn down the hall and into her bedroom.
"So this is your bedroom," Vaughn grinned as he appraisingly looked around the room, taking in every detail. "Now I know what it feels like to go to Mecca."
Sydney laughingly rolled her eyes. "Please. It's just a bedroom, Vaughn."
"Yeah, the bedroom where you sleep in god-knows-what every night, while I'm miles away thinking about you," he replied as he sat on the edge of her bed.
"Not anymore, not necessarily. You're welcome here any time you want, but if it's alright with you, I was hoping we could spend the night at your place tonight."
"Of course."
"I had a feeling you wouldn't put up much of a fight," she teased.
"I'm powerless to deny you anything," he grinned. "So, what can I do to help you and get you back to my place faster?"
"Impatient, are we?" she asked with an arched eyebrow as she opened her closet.
"You have no idea, Syd. No idea," he answered as he came and stood behind her. "I don't know what's worse -- seeing you all day long and not being able to touch you, or not seeing you at all and not being able to touch you."
As she moved her hands over the row of suits in her closet, he stopped her when she came to one in particular.
"Bring that one. I love how you look in that one. I love how you look in everything, but especially that suit."
"Really? You never told me that."
"That's because you haven't worn it in a while."
"Then how do you remember it?"
"Because it's the suit you wore the day after we got back from Lake Tahoe, when we were alone together in the warehouse," he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her. "Remember that?"
"Yeah, it is," she realized as she fingered the sleeve. "I can't believe *you* remember that."
"I remember everything since the moment you stepped onto that elevator. I was never happier to see anyone in my entire life."
"Me either," she smiled as she remembered running into him by pure luck. "Would you have ever thought back then that eight months later, the Alliance would be gone and we'd be figuring out whose place to spend the night at first?"
"Nope, but I can't say I'm at all disappointed about the way things turned out."
"Me either. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we were there, but in other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago. In a weird way, I don't think the Alliance would have fallen nearly as soon as it did if we hadn't run into each other that weekend. That kind of changed everything."
"Yeah, it did," he agreed, thinking about what she said. It occurred to that something else -- *someone* else -- was also responsible for getting them to this point sooner than anticipated, and tomorrow, he would have to swallow his pride and give credit where credit was due.
TBC . . .
Chapter 39 - "Meet and Greet"
Sydney sighed in exhaustion as she sank into the chair at her desk in the ops center. The past two days had been such a blur that she felt as if she had barely had a single moment to catch her breath.
It all started when Vaughn said the two words she'd been waiting forever to hear.
*It's over.*
She hardly believed him at first, and insisted on calling her father to confirm the news. Jack told her the details of the raid -- several times, actually, as she made him repeat the parts of the story she found the most interesting. Before hanging up with her, Jack told her he was proud of her and that he couldn't wait to see her when she returned to L.A.
After hanging up with her father, Sydney and Vaughn shared their news with Elise, who, although thrilled, declined their invitation to join them for a celebratory dinner, opining that they should find the most romantic restaurant in town and celebrate their triumph alone with each other. Ever the dutiful and obedient son, Vaughn took his mother's advice and pulled some strings to secure a reservation at Alain Chapel. After a sumptuous dinner and two bottles of champagne, they decided to spend the night at the romantic chateaux housing the restaurant.
They'd stayed up most of that night, reminiscing about the past two years, confiding in each other every time they'd wanted to give up, recalling the details of some of Sydney's more harrowing missions, and confessing all the times they'd wanted to express their feelings to each other but been too afraid and too bound by protocol to do so.
When they made love that night, they both felt that something was noticeably different. Every other time they had made love, they did so with the unspoken knowledge that it could be their last time together, the constant undercurrent of danger always pervading their coupling. But that nights, it was as if the veil of fear and secrecy had been lifted, and finally, the were able to give themselves to one another openly, freely. It was an amazing feeling, and they took advantage of it to the fullest until they feel asleep in sated exhaustion.
When they returned to Vaughn's apartment the next morning, they were surprised to find Elise's packed bags just inside the door. She smilingly informed them that she had decided to visit some friends in Paris before returning to Virginia, but reminded them that she'd see them again in L.A. in a couple of weeks.
After she left, Vaughn renewed his offer to take Sydney on a tour of Lyon, but she expressed her desire to go home instead. As much as she wanted to forget the rest of the world existed for a while longer and stay in France, she was eager to see her father and assure herself that he was okay. And as much as she was dreading it, she knew she also needed to speak with Dixon and Marshall, to apologize to them for not telling them the truth about SD-6. Additionally, she and Vaughn both knew there would be a ton of paperwork to complete when they returned to work and they would be needed at the many debriefs that would take place over the next few days. So they booked the first flight back to L.A., and agreed to return to Lyon during their French honeymoon.
On the flight home, Sydney marveled in the fact that she could actually sit next to Vaughn and hold his hand, laugh with him as they imagined how Weiss would make himself out to be the hero of the SD-6 raid, and kiss him as she did for hours once the cabin lights dimmed and everyone around them slept. They both knew they needed to sleep and try to fend off as much jet lag as possible, but finally having the freedom to behave like a normal couple, neither of them wanted to sacrifice that time together for the sake of sleep. So they stayed awake for the entire flight and were predictably exhausted when they arrived back in Los Angeles. They reluctantly forced themselves to part at the airport and, each went home to sleep for a few hours before going into work.
Once she arrived at work, Sydney was immediately pulled into a four-hour long debrief needed to corroborate the statements of her colleagues who'd been detained since the raid. After that, she returned to face the mountain of paperwork waiting for her at her desk, but she found herself constantly interrupted by agents and other CIA employees stopping by to congratulate her on the success of the SD-6 operation. She was flattered by all the praise, but was disappointed that she could share it with the two people who also deserved the credit -- her father, who, as it turned out, was at Langley briefing the CIA's director, and Vaughn, who had been tied up with his own work for most of the day.
Even though she hadn't gotten to spend any time with him, by far, the brightest spots of her day had been the brief moments when she spotted Vaughn across the rotunda from her and they shared small, intimate smiles with each other. It had been at least three hours since she last saw him, though, and she was growing impatient for the moment when they could finally ditch work and go home to spend a quiet evening alone together.
She closed her tired eyes for a moment before tackling the next stack of papers in front of her, but opened them the moment she felt strong fingers softly brushing across her shoulder. She knew it was Vaughn even before she looked up, merely by the way her whole body tingled from his touch.
"Hey, beautiful," he said in a low voice as he pulled over a chair and sat down next to her. Her pulse rate quickened the moment she saw him, and she fought the urge to kiss him right then and there in front of everyone.
"Hi," she smiled. "I've missed you today."
"Me too. It's been a long day, hasn't it?"
"The longest, and it's not even over yet. Do I look as exhausted as I feel?"
"A little," he acknowledged, his voice full of quiet concern as he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, making her smile at the intimate gesture. "You should go home and rest, Syd. There's nothing in this pile of paperwork that can't wait until tomorrow."
"Can you leave now?" she asked hopefully. "We could go get dinner or order in."
"I can't. We have a videoconference with Langley in twenty minutes. It shouldn't last too long, but I'm still going to be here for a while." He smiled apologetically when he saw her exaggerated frown. "Why don't you go home, and I'll call you when I'm done."
"Actually, instead of calling, why don't you come over to my place when you're done? That way, you could finally meet Francie, and I know she's dying to meet you. What?" she asked when he started to shake his head.
"Nothing. It's just -- I can't believe I can actually go to your house and meet Francie without having to look over my shoulder."
"Me either," she smiled as she gathered her belongings and stood, "but now you can. Just call me before you leave, and I'll order Chinese and we can all have dinner together. So, I'll see you later?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "Let me walk you out to your car."
"Oh, you don't have to -- " she began, but her voice trailed off when she saw the look of pure need in his eyes. "Actually, I'd be delighted if you walked me out to my car," she grinned.
When they reached her car a few minutes later, Vaughn pulled her into his arms and kissed her hungrily, leaving her breathless when he pulled away from her.
"I've been dying to do that all day long."
"So why didn't you? I'm sure everyone back inside would have enjoyed the show," she teased.
"That's exactly why," he laughed. His smile made her heart sing, and she pulled him back to her for another long, slow kiss, musing that whoever was monitoring the parking garage video feed was getting quite a show of his own right now.
"Vaughn?" she murmured as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Hmmm?"
"Do you really have to stay here?" she coaxed.
"You're evil, do you know that?" he smiled when he pulled away from her. "Yes, I can't miss this this meeting, although you have no idea how much I want to."
"Well, then I hope you won't spend too much time in your boring old meeting thinking about me at home relaxing in a nice, hot bath, wishing you were there with me," she tried to tempt him while running her index finger along his arm and forearm. "i'll be thinking about you, though."
"Great. Thanks for that visual. I'm sure that'll make my meeting go much faster," he groaned.
"Sorry, I'll make it up to you later," she promised. "Just don't keep me waiting too long."
"I won't. Believe me." With that and one last kiss, he rushed back into the building, intent on making his meeting go as quickly as possible.
*****
". . . so I told Frankie there was no way I was paying for red tomatoes when I specifically ordered yellow ones, and he said he'd get me yellow ones that afternoon if I went out on a date with him. Is this what my life has come to? I have to whore myself out for yellow tomatoes?" Francie laughingly shook her head.
"That was a joke," she smiled when Sydney didn't answer. After a moment of blank silence from her best friend, she waved her hands in front of Sydney's face. "Hellllooo, earth to Sydney. Are you hearing a word I'm saying right now?"
"Huh?" Sydney asked as she snapped out of her momentary trance and saw Francie scrutinizing her from across the kitchen counter. "Sorry, I was distracted. You were saying something about the broccoli Frankie delivered?"
"The broccoli was about three vegetables and two fruits ago. I'd already moved onto tomatoes."
"Oh, sorry," Sydney smiled sheepishly. "I guess I zoned out for a little while there."
"Is every thing okay?" Francie cautiously asked. "By now, I know better than to ask about the details of your trip, but you look exhausted, sweetie."
"I am tired, but everything's okay," Sydney assured her. "Better than okay, actually. I did something a few days ago -- I kind of quit my job."
"You quit your job?! Are you serious? I've been telling you for years now that you needed to stop letting that bank run you ragged. What made you finally decide to do it?"
"It was long overdue," Sydney sighed, amazed at what an understatement that was. "And actually, I didn't really quit, per se."
She saw the instant frown on Francie's face and tried to figure out how to tell her about the end of SD-6 without actually telling her about it. On the flight home from Lyon, she and Vaughn agreed that it would be best not to ever tell Francie about SD-6, and that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell her about the CIA either, at least not until Sydney decided if she was going to stay with the CIA and in what capacity. So now she had to find a way to let Francie know things had changed without telling her the true story why.
"So you quit, but you didn't really quit?" Francie asked, the confusion evident in her voice.
"Well, I didn't quit the bank altogether, I just moved to a different division, one that hopefully won't take over my life the way the last one did."
"Does that mean no more trips?"
"I wish," Sydney laughed. "No, there will still be trips, just probably not as many, at least for the time being."
"So really nothing's changing at all," Francie laughed.
"Well, no, that's not true," Sydney lightly protested.
"Whatever, Syd," Francie sang before turning serious again. "So does this change things for you and Michael?"
"Yeah," Sydney said, trying and failing to hide the big smile that overtook her face. "It means we don't have to hide our relationship anymore."
"Really? That's great news, Sydney. So when do I get to meet him?"
"Eager, are we?" Sydney laughed. "Actually, I invited him to drop by tonight when he's done with work, which should be soon. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, of course it is. You guys aren't wasting any time, are you?" Francie grinned.
"We've already spent so much time being together but not being able to *be* together, you know? So now that we *can* be together -- "
"You're going to spend every minute with him you can," Francie nodded knowingly. "Hey, I don't blame you. I'd do the same thing if I had some hottie I'd been dating in secret for months. I cannot *wait* to meet this guy," she slyly laughed.
"Fran, you're not going to give him hard time, are you? I'm begging you not to give him the fifth degree. My dad already put him through that, and it's a wonder he still wants to be with me after that."
"Of course I won't," Francie innocently answered. "I'll save that for Will, 'cause I have a feeling he's definitely going to want to give Michael a hard time to make sure he's good enough for you."
"I don't think he'll do that," Sydney quickly replied, wondering if she should tell Francie that Will and Vaughn already knew each other. She decided against it and prayed Will would be able to convincingly act like he'd never met Vaughn before for Francie's benefit.
"Right. When he finds out that not only have you being seeing someone for months without either of us knowing it, but you're also *engaged* to this guy, I'm sure he'll accept Michael with open arms."
"I don't think you're giving Will enough credit," Sydney protested. "He'll be fine with it. In fact, I think he'll -- "
Sydney's voice was cut off by the sound of the doorbell, and she hopped down from her stool and rushed over to the door, breaking into a wide grin the moment she looked through the peephole. She opened the door just wide enough to slip through it, but not enough for Vaughn to see inside, and she closed it behind her as she stood on the front step with him.
"Hey."
"Hi," he smiled apprehensively. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to remind you that you work for a bank, right?"
"Syd," he smiled. "I'm a spy too. I think I can remember my cover story."
"I know. I just wanted to make sure, because I haven't told Francie much of anything yet. Oh, and also, she doesn't know that you know Will, so if she brings him up, just play along, okay?"
"I will," he nodded. "Anything else?"
She shook her head no and began to turn the knob behind her until she stopped again and smiled up at him with twinkling eyes. "Actually, I forgot there's a nominal entrance fee to get inside my apartment."
"Oh yeah?" he asked as he stepped closer to her and gently tugged on the hem of her shirt.
"Yeah," she whispered before tilting her head to kiss him. She couldn't believe she was standing in front of her apartment kissing him when there had probably been surveillance cars parked on her block not more than 48 hours earlier.
When she could feel both herself and Vaughn starting to get aroused and carried away, she pulled away from him with a small laugh. "We'd better go inside before Francie comes out here looking for us."
"Right," Vaughn nodded in agreement before his face took on a sly expression. "So if that's the entrance fee to your apartment, what's the fee for entrance to your bedroom?"
"You can't afford it," she tossed over her shoulder as she opened the door and ushered him inside, "but I'm willing to negotiate."
"The negotiations could be half the fun," Vaughn laughed as Sydney took his hand and led him to the living room.
"Hey Francie," she called, "there's someone I want you to meet."
"Yeah? Who could it possibly be?" Francie teasingly asked as she walked from the kitchen into the living room and extended her hand to Vaughn. "You must be Michael," she smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"You too. I've heard so much about you."
"Really? I haven't heard nearly enough about you, thanks to little Ms. Secretive, over here. I swear, she should work for the government instead of the bank, 'cause no one's getting any state secrets out of her," she chuckled.
Vaughn glanced furtively at Sydney who just shook her head and smiled.
"Please, sit down," Francie offered, as she sank into one of the chairs.
Vaughn took a seat on the couch and Sydney curled up next to him, hooking her arm around his and resting her free hand on his knee.
"So what is it that you do at the bank exactly?"
"I'm in charge of special projects," Vaughn smoothly replied.
"Special projects? What is that, exactly?"
"Some of our institutional and wealthier individual clients have special needs and demands they ask us to meet from time to time. I'm in charge of making sure they get what they need."
"Wow, that sounds important."
"It's really not," Vaughn smiled. "It just sounds that way. Mostly, I just send our customer service representatives and executives all around the globe while I sit at my cushy desk here in L.A."
"Oh, so *you're* the one responsible for sending Sydney on all those crazy trips? When did the two of you even find time to see each other with her out of the country so much?"
"Um, you'd be surprised. And I actually hated sending her on all those trips, but she's the best at what she does, so I had no choice," he shrugged, before smiling at Sydney.
"So, I hear you own a restaurant?"
"Yeah, I do. You and Sydney will have to come in for dinner one night, my treat."
"I'd love that."
"Great, just let me know when you want to come, and I'll personally see to it that you guys are well taken care of."
"Thanks, Francie. That's very sweet of you," Vaughn smiled.
"It is," Sydney agreed. "You'll love the restaurant," she assured Vaughn. "Everything on the menu is so good."
Francie shrugged modestly and smiled. "She's just saying that because she's my best friend. I mean, my restaurant is no Joey's Pizza or anything, but it'll do in a pinch." She smirked when both Sydney and Vaughn's eyes opened in shock and they began to blush.
"So you're on to us," Vaughn smiled.
"When Sydney told me about your engagement, she 'fessed up about all the mysterious pizza calls. I was just having a little bit of fun at your expense. Sorry."
"No, it's okay," Vaughn said with a good-natured grin. "If anyone should apologize, it's me. I can't imagine how annoying those phone calls must have been."
"I told you the number of times she wanted to get our number changed," Sydney grinned. "And she's making nice right now, but she's called you every name in the book."
"But, in my defense, I didn't know who you were at the time," Francie protested. "If I had, I never would have insulted you and your mother that way," she sheepishly admitted, making all three of them laugh.
"No harm, no foul," Vaughn smiled. "And now that Joey's is officially out of business, I promise, no more annoying phone calls."
"And no more colorful adjectives and names," Francie nodded. "So where did you grow up, Michael?"
"Northern Virginia. Great Falls, to be exact, but my mom is from France, so I spent a lot of summers there, as well. What about you?"
"San Diego. My parents still live there, actually, and I -- "
"Hey, I'm gonna go get wine," Sydney said, as she stood to make her way to the kitchen. Now that Vaughn's "job" and the Joey's pizza calls were out of the way, she deemed it safe to leave the two of them alone, and they looked like they were already getting along famously.
"Need help?" Vaughn glanced up at her.
"No, you and Francie get to know each other better," she said as she bent down and kissed him on his forehead. "I'll be right back."
She smiled as she left the room, happy that the two previously separate parts of her life were finally coming together. As she headed towards the kitchen, she ran smack into Will, who had just entered the apartment.
"Will! Hi," she exclaimed as she gave him a big hug.
"Hey. Whose car is that in the driveway?"
"Vaughn's," she smiled. Seeing his look of confusion, she took his arm and he followed her into the kitchen.
"Is it safe for him to be here?" Will asked in a loud whisper once they were in the kitchen.
"It is now. SD-6 is gone, Will." She watched his face carefully as he processed the news.
"Are you serious? Since when?"
"Two days ago. The CIA and some of our counterparts in other countries raided each of the Alliance's offices. It's going to be a while before all the dust has settled, but SD-6 and the Alliance are finished."
"And Sloane?"
"In CIA custody here in Los Angeles. My dad was the one who got to arrest him."
"Wow. I'll bet he's been waiting a lifetime for that."
"The last 8 years, anyway," she smiled.
"I'm so happy for you, Syd," Will smiled, as he wrapped her in a tight hug. "I can't imagine what the last two years have been like for you, but I'm glad you finally get to move on with your life."
"Me too," she murmured.
"And it sounds like you didn't waste any time," he chuckled, when the sound of Vaughn and Francie's laughter wafted into the kitchen.
"Francie's been dying to meet him, and Vaughn's heard so much about her, that it seemed like the obvious thing to do, introducing them as soon as I got the chance. They're getting along really well."
"I'm not surprised. They're both great and they both love you a lot. That automatically gives them something in common. So, how did Francie react when you told her the truth about SD-6?"
"I didn't tell her, and I'm not sure if I will," she admitted. "I need to decide what I'm doing, first, whether I'm going to stay with the agency, because if I do, it may not be safe to tell her the truth. Which means," she took a deep breath, "that you're still going to have to keep my secret, and I hate putting you in that position. I know how much you hate to lie to her."
"It's okay," Will reassured her. "I understand, and I won't say anything."
"Thanks," Sydney murmured with a grateful smile. "That also means you're going to have to pretend you don't know Vaughn. And for the record, he works at the bank with me, and you don't know we're engaged."
"Right, gotcha," Will nodded, before the realization of her words hit him. "Wait, you're engaged? To Vaughn?" he asked, a dumbstruck expression on his face.
"Oh my god," Sydney covered her mouth in shock, when she realized how she broke the news to him. "I forgot that I hadn't told you yet. We were keeping it a secret until all this SD-6 business was done, but I *had* to tell Francie, and I forgot that I hadn't told you yet.
"I'm sorry, Will. I didn't mean to break it to you like that," she shook her head. "But yes, Vaughn asked me to marry him and I said yes."
"Wow." Will didn't know what else to say as the words sank in.
"Yeah, I'm -- this is the second time I've dropped this kind of bomb on you, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Will chuckled. "The difference is that I was just pretending to be happy for you the first time. This time, I actually *am* happy for you. Congratulations, Syd," he hugged her again.
"Thanks, Will. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but we really were trying to keep it a secret. Other than Francie, everyone else who knows found out by accident."
"It's okay, really. So have you set a date?"
"No," Sydney scoffed. "I haven't even let myself think about it, really, because there's been so much going on. But when we do set a date, I promise I will actually tell you about it," she sheepishly smiled.
"I'm holding you to that," he laughed.
"Okay. Wow, I'd better get back out there before they start to wonder what happened to me." She picked up the wine glasses and Will grabbed the bottle and followed her back into the living room.
"Hey guys, look who I found on the way to the kitchen."
"Will," Francie smiled.
"Hey Fran." He looked questioningly at Vaughn until Sydney piped up.
"Will Tippin, this is Michael Vaughn. Michael, this is Will, my other best friend."
"Nice to meet you, Will," Vaughn smiled as he shook Will's hand.
"You too. Syd's told me a little bit about you. It's nice to finally put a face with a name."
"You too."
Noticing the slight look of worry on Francie's face, Sydney decided to change the subject.
"So, did Francie tell you every embarrassing story about me since freshman year of college?" she asked Vaughn as she handed him a glass of wine.
"Please, we're not even past the first week of college yet," Francie laughed as she relaxed again and took her own glass of wine from Sydney. "Believe me, I have enough embarrassing stories to keep Michael occupied for a very long time."
"Great," Sydney rolled her eyes.
She remained mostly quiet for the next half hour as Francie and Will peppered Vaughn with more questions and stories and he got to know them better as well. She was perfectly content to sit back and listen as they chatted, and Vaughn intertwined his fingers with hers and lightly stroked his thumb across her palm. His attention was focused on her friends and she didn't think he was even conscious of what he was doing, but she was definitely conscious of it as her spine tingled and her heart began to beat faster. As happy as she was that everyone was getting along so well, she realized how much she desperately wanted to be alone with him.
Will was finishing the story of how he first met Francie and Sydney when she discretely leaned closer to Vaughn.
"The window for those negotiations is officially open," she whispered into his ear. She smiled and nodded in response to his questioning look, and as soon as Will finished his story, she sprang to her feet.
"Well, I hate to break up the party, but there's something I need Vaughn to help me with in my room, so . . ."
"Hmph, I'll bet," Will smirked.
"Will!" Francie scolded as she swatted him on the arm. "Why do you always have to make something perfectly innocent sound so dirty?"
"What? I was just saying that -- "
"Yeah, but that was so totally inappropriate that I can't even believe you'd -- "
"If we sneak out now, they'll never even notice we're gone," Sydney laughed as she pulled Vaughn down the hall and into her bedroom.
"So this is your bedroom," Vaughn grinned as he appraisingly looked around the room, taking in every detail. "Now I know what it feels like to go to Mecca."
Sydney laughingly rolled her eyes. "Please. It's just a bedroom, Vaughn."
"Yeah, the bedroom where you sleep in god-knows-what every night, while I'm miles away thinking about you," he replied as he sat on the edge of her bed.
"Not anymore, not necessarily. You're welcome here any time you want, but if it's alright with you, I was hoping we could spend the night at your place tonight."
"Of course."
"I had a feeling you wouldn't put up much of a fight," she teased.
"I'm powerless to deny you anything," he grinned. "So, what can I do to help you and get you back to my place faster?"
"Impatient, are we?" she asked with an arched eyebrow as she opened her closet.
"You have no idea, Syd. No idea," he answered as he came and stood behind her. "I don't know what's worse -- seeing you all day long and not being able to touch you, or not seeing you at all and not being able to touch you."
As she moved her hands over the row of suits in her closet, he stopped her when she came to one in particular.
"Bring that one. I love how you look in that one. I love how you look in everything, but especially that suit."
"Really? You never told me that."
"That's because you haven't worn it in a while."
"Then how do you remember it?"
"Because it's the suit you wore the day after we got back from Lake Tahoe, when we were alone together in the warehouse," he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her. "Remember that?"
"Yeah, it is," she realized as she fingered the sleeve. "I can't believe *you* remember that."
"I remember everything since the moment you stepped onto that elevator. I was never happier to see anyone in my entire life."
"Me either," she smiled as she remembered running into him by pure luck. "Would you have ever thought back then that eight months later, the Alliance would be gone and we'd be figuring out whose place to spend the night at first?"
"Nope, but I can't say I'm at all disappointed about the way things turned out."
"Me either. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we were there, but in other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago. In a weird way, I don't think the Alliance would have fallen nearly as soon as it did if we hadn't run into each other that weekend. That kind of changed everything."
"Yeah, it did," he agreed, thinking about what she said. It occurred to that something else -- *someone* else -- was also responsible for getting them to this point sooner than anticipated, and tomorrow, he would have to swallow his pride and give credit where credit was due.
TBC . . .