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Sydney and Vaughn sat in the windowsill, resting. Sydney's head rested on Vaughn's shoulder, and he put his head on top of hers. Vaughn was sound asleep, but Sydney couldn't sleep. Everyone was saying that she and Samantha were alike. Her mother, Vaughn, even Weiss nodded his head when they said that. She couldn't help but feel scared for Samantha every time someone would say that. Samantha was programmed with the skills to succeed in the CIA. And now that Kendall knew about the JIP, she would surely be approached for recruiting. Sydney knew that the CIA needed people like her and Samantha. But she also hated for Samantha to get wrapped up in the patriotism like she did at a young age, only to find evils unparalleled in anyone's imagination. It was such a dangerous job. Sydney wouldn't be able to stand it if Samantha's life ended before she had a chance to live, both literally and figuratively. There were so many times that Sydney felt she had put her life on hold. She couldn't help but agree with Vaughn. Babysitting Samantha for a week was a vacation. There would be no calls in the middle of the night telling them to get to the JTF, there wouldn't be any missions with an hour notice. No debriefings. Just babysitting a seventeen-year-old girl and to protect her. Sark would surely be back.
Sydney nearly jumped out of her skin when Samantha suddenly bolted up, breathing hard. Her spy instincts told her not to scream, but she couldn't help but be frightened. Samantha seemed to be just as freaked out as Sydney. She was breathing hard, and looking around the strange room. Sydney propped Vaughn against the windowsill, and moved to sit next to Samantha. Sydney grabbed Samantha's hand and Samantha looked at Sydney. "It's ok Samantha."
Just knowing that Sydney was there, was enough comfort for Samantha. Her breathing slowed down to normal, and then she laid back down. "This is the first time I've slept since the shooting." Her eyes were wide open, staring at the bleak ceiling. "I tried to sleep that first night, but it's only in my dreams where I see it happen. I blacked out that day. I didn't know what was happening. But every time I go to sleep, I can see Mr. Steven getting shot; I can feel Cher's blood on my back; I can see Carly fall to the ground."
"They gave you some drugs so that you could go to sleep."
"Make sure that they don't ever give them to me again. I can't go to sleep." Samantha was now so terrified of her own dream that she was crying.
"Samantha,"
"Everyone calls me Sam. You can too. You're name is Sydney right?" The girl tried to wipe away her tears, and remain calm.
"Yes. Sam, maybe we can help you learn to compartamen…"
Samantha quickly cut Sydney off. "Your Aunt Irina's daughter right?"
Sydney smiled. "Yes."
"That makes us cousins."
Sydney bit her lip. "If you look at it that way."
Samantha looked at Sydney confused for a second before it dawned on her. "Oh yeah. My parents aren't really my parents." She looked like she was going to go back to crying. "I never did find out about how you guys arrested them."
"I don't know either. Vaughn and Weiss did it. Currently Vaughn's sleeping up there in the window, and Weiss is moving some of your stuff to the safe house."
"I have to move?" Samantha's already weak voice grew weaker.
"Sark, the man who started the shooting, worked closely with my mother. It is very likely that he was hired by a man named Sloane to kidnap you and try to extract the information from your head early. But because he worked closely with my mother, he likely has access to that kind of information. We just want to make it look like it was just your parents living there. We also want to keep you in a safe house, where we can monitor the perimeter easier. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
A nurse came into the room. "Well, we weren't expecting you to be up quite yet."
"How did you know I was awake?"
"We're a hospital. We know all." Samantha just gave a polite smile. "The doctor ordered that you sleep at least through the night, so we're going to up the dosage of your medications, just a little, so you will sleep soundly."
Samantha turned towards Sydney with fear in her eyes. Sydney squeezed Samantha's hand for support. "Excuse me, nurse? Do you think it's possible for Sam to not get a higher dosage? I mean she's already on so much."
"The doctor gave me exact orders."
"All they will do is make her fall asleep?"
"Yes?"
"Then I'm going to override the doctor's orders. I need to talk to Samantha while the hospital is quiet, and prying ears can't listen." Sydney picked up the chart, and was about to use her CIA agent status to override the orders (which she could do) before the nurse grabbed the chart from Sydney's hands.
"I never found you awake." She said, winking, and then walked out.
"Thanks so much Sydney."
"As soon as we can, I'm going to get someone in here to teach you how to compartmentalize. That way you can sleep without having to relive that day."
"You can do that?"
"Yeah. And Samantha, with this JIP, you're probably going to see things way worse than at school."
"Even worse than seeing your best friend get shot? Feeling her blood on you back, is there anything worse than that?"
"How about finding your fiancée dead in the bathtub, only to find out that the man who killed him was your employer. Or seeing the aftermath of people burned from the inside out from a 15th century invention."
"Close second."
"I'm going to teach you how to compartmentalize if they won't have anyone else teach you."
"Alright. That would be awesome."
"I want you to try to sleep on your own again."
Samantha shook her head and started crying. "No, no. Don't make me."
"I can always call the nurse back in here."
"I don't want to. I can't. Those people I saw die were my friends. I bet you can't even imagine?"
Sydney nodded. "Yes I can. Sam, if the nightmare returns, I'll be right here. Nothing will happen to you."
"What about your sleep?"
"I know autocircadian meditation. It has all the benefits of sleeping in a fraction of the time. So don't worry about me. It's not healthy to not sleep for a week. I want you to try again." Sydney smiled at Samantha. She didn't know autocircadian meditation. Her mother had mentioned it once, and she knew that Samantha would feel better if she knew that Sydney would be awake, and still rested.
Samantha still had tears rolling down her cheeks when she nodded, and closed her eyes. Sydney took a quick glance over at the sleeping Vaughn. She would have been more comfortable in the windowsill with him. Everything was more comfortable when he was near her. Samantha still had a firm grip on Sydney's hand. As much as she wanted to be with Vaughn, she knew that Samantha needed her more. Samantha opened her eyes again, and looked into Sydney's for comfort and trust. She quietly whispered one last thing before closing her eyes for the night. "Thank you Sydney."
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