Vaughn felt that at some point during the day he must have sustained some
type of massive head trauma. His brain just could not seem to function at a
high rate of speed. The order of thoughts in his head right now went
something like, "I'm staring at Sydney.............................. Sydney's supposed to be
dead............................. Sydney's not dead!"
Those three statements were on some kind of continuous loop in his mind and he pretty much had yet to register anything else going on around him. He felt like doing some type of celebratory dance thanks to that last one. He heard himself frantically yell at Weiss to tell anyone left from the service what they had found and to call an ambulance. As he heard Weiss run off in the direction of his coworkers, he could only stare at the scene played out in front of him.
Before he knew what was happening the world shifted and he realized he had just practically thrown himself into the van to get a closer look at his other half. After hurriedly clutching his way to where Sydney was located on the gurney he realized he was now only centimeters from her face, but that wasn't close enough, it would never be close enough. Vaughn wanted to make sure that Sydney wasn't going anywhere this time around. This kind of situation had been a frequent one in his dreams since her supposed "death", but his Sydney always seemed to fade with the break of dawn and the brutal onslaught of reality.
That wasn't going to happen now. She was here, right in front of him and she was staying put. Vaughn had failed her once and he would never make that mistake again. Today he had been given a gift, his life was given back to him and he wouldn't screw it up this time. It was his second chance and he was going to make sure Syd knew how much she meant to him. How much love he ha for such a beautiful and amazing woman.
He cautiously clutched her cheeks in his hands, careful to avoid the numerous cuts that littered her beautiful face. Dried blood was flecked all across her porcelain skin and she was crying. Vaughn was immediately alarmed that Sydney was more injured than she appeared, but somehow her eyes conveyed everything that she couldn't say at the moment with her mouth. "Mouth.......oh shit duct tape. God am I stupid."
Vaughn stroked her face gently before he brought his hands to her mouth, being as gentle as possible when he removed the tape hindering her breathing. He replaced the painful sting that he had just caused with his lips, expressing all of the pent up love and passion he had kept bottled inside since that horrible night. But something was wrong, Sydney wasn't responding in the slightest, her lips made no movement under his own and he drew back to take in her reflection. She was no longer crying, but she had yet to even blink. Her eyes were the only thing that gave off any sign of life, that, and her labored breathing. (Sydney's POV)
Sydney wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around this man and kiss him for all that she was worth, but that stupid injection prevented her from even smiling up at him to let him know that she was all right.
When Vaughn drew back from their one-sided kiss, the forehead wrinkles had come out in full force. Sydney quickly captured his gaze to calm him down a bit. When she had his attention, she shifted her eyes over to Oleg, specifically his coat pocket where she had seen him put an extra syringe of the serum he had injected her with. Understanding, Vaughn moved over to the dead man and checked everything on him. Finally finding the syringe, he showed it to Sydney.
By this time, the drug was starting to wear off and Syd was able to accomplish the task of blinking while waiting for Vaughn. She blinked once for "yes" hoping Vaughn would get the fact that that was what was injected into her. He quickly grabbed the papers littering the floor and scanned them for any useful information. Immediately he identified one of the substances written as a neurotoxin and relief washed over him. The time written underneath that was dated today, more than an hour ago and Vaughn knew that the effects would subside soon.
He turned to Sydney and smiled, emphasizing that he knew what had happened to her and that everything would be okay. He carefully unfastened her restraints and took her hand in his, squeezing it. He looked into her eyes and found everything he had been searching for his whole life, he knew then that this was the woman he was going to marry. Having become lost in his love, Vaughn was brought back to the present by the delicate squeezing of his hand. He looked down, then up at Sydney and she was smiling.
Vaughn gave her a few more minutes to recover and then once again brought his lips to hers in a kiss that sealed their fates. However this time, Sydney responded in full.
The kiss was tender and soft, but it spoke of everything that Sydney and Vaughn felt in their hearts. Vaughn moved his hands through Syd's hair then wiped away any trace of tears left on her stunning face. Sydney slowly brought her hand to his heart and knew she was home. They spoke without words; that after everything they had gone through, they had survived it together and this moment cemented that fact. It marked the beginning of what they both knew would be the rest of a lifetime together.
The two were interrupted by the quick panting of Weiss.
"Sydney, I explained the details of what just happened to everyone else, the ambulance is on its way, everything's fine, and your father is going to kill me in about 2.8 seconds if I don't move out of the way and let him see his daughter."
Vaughn reluctantly moved his lips from Syd's, but held her hand tightly as her father practically ran to the car, an odd sight to say the least. The man with the usually expressionless face had shock and joy written all over him.
"My God, Sydney? Are you all right? Where have you been?" Jack moved forward and touched his daughter's forehead in his most fatherly gesture to date and was about to say something else when the shrill cry of a siren split the calm air of the waterfront.
It came to an abrupt halt in front of the van and two medics tore out of the back while a woman in the driver's seat picked up a radio to communicate with their headquarters that they had arrived at the location. The two gentlemen cleared a path to the side doors and urgently asked Vaughn to vacate the vehicle. Which he proceeded to do only after having a deathly glaring match with Jack Bristow and a forceful urge by Kendall.
Five minutes later had Sydney reluctantly laying down on a new stretcher outside of the van and about to be loaded into the ambulance. Vaughn was once again by her side and about to step into the ambulance with her and Jack closely followed suit before he was interrupted by Kendall.
"Jack, I know you want to be with your daughter, but Agent Vaughn is quite capable of escorting her to the hospital. I need you to stay here until the coroner arrives incase any of this man's employers show up," he said as he motioned to Oleg, still unmoving inside the van.
Jack gave Sydney one last comforting smile and an, "I'll see you soon Sweetie," before he grudgingly walked back over to Kendall. He watched as the ambulance drove his only joy in life off towards the hospital and sent a silent prayer to God to keep her safe.
The ambulance had been driving for about five minutes. Vaughn still held Sydney's hand and stroked her cheek as she gazed warmly into his eyes. This entire situation was so unreal, but as long as she was alive and safe, nothing else mattered. All that they had to do now was get to a hospital to make sure nothing serious was wrong. He briefly glanced out the back window to determine how much longer it would be until they reached the hospital, when he realized that the root they were taking was entirely wrong.
Feeling slightly alarmed as to what was going on, he was about to have the paramedics ask the driver where they were going when the car jerked to a sudden stop. Before Vaughn could even get any words out of his mouth, the window separating them from the front of the car was thrown open and two shots went of, killing both of the EMTs. What had just happened did not even have time to register in neither Vaughn nor Sydney's brain because before they knew it, the back doors had flown open and they were both staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Agent Vaughn, Agent Bristow, good day..... my name is Lauren Reed."
Those three statements were on some kind of continuous loop in his mind and he pretty much had yet to register anything else going on around him. He felt like doing some type of celebratory dance thanks to that last one. He heard himself frantically yell at Weiss to tell anyone left from the service what they had found and to call an ambulance. As he heard Weiss run off in the direction of his coworkers, he could only stare at the scene played out in front of him.
Before he knew what was happening the world shifted and he realized he had just practically thrown himself into the van to get a closer look at his other half. After hurriedly clutching his way to where Sydney was located on the gurney he realized he was now only centimeters from her face, but that wasn't close enough, it would never be close enough. Vaughn wanted to make sure that Sydney wasn't going anywhere this time around. This kind of situation had been a frequent one in his dreams since her supposed "death", but his Sydney always seemed to fade with the break of dawn and the brutal onslaught of reality.
That wasn't going to happen now. She was here, right in front of him and she was staying put. Vaughn had failed her once and he would never make that mistake again. Today he had been given a gift, his life was given back to him and he wouldn't screw it up this time. It was his second chance and he was going to make sure Syd knew how much she meant to him. How much love he ha for such a beautiful and amazing woman.
He cautiously clutched her cheeks in his hands, careful to avoid the numerous cuts that littered her beautiful face. Dried blood was flecked all across her porcelain skin and she was crying. Vaughn was immediately alarmed that Sydney was more injured than she appeared, but somehow her eyes conveyed everything that she couldn't say at the moment with her mouth. "Mouth.......oh shit duct tape. God am I stupid."
Vaughn stroked her face gently before he brought his hands to her mouth, being as gentle as possible when he removed the tape hindering her breathing. He replaced the painful sting that he had just caused with his lips, expressing all of the pent up love and passion he had kept bottled inside since that horrible night. But something was wrong, Sydney wasn't responding in the slightest, her lips made no movement under his own and he drew back to take in her reflection. She was no longer crying, but she had yet to even blink. Her eyes were the only thing that gave off any sign of life, that, and her labored breathing. (Sydney's POV)
Sydney wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around this man and kiss him for all that she was worth, but that stupid injection prevented her from even smiling up at him to let him know that she was all right.
When Vaughn drew back from their one-sided kiss, the forehead wrinkles had come out in full force. Sydney quickly captured his gaze to calm him down a bit. When she had his attention, she shifted her eyes over to Oleg, specifically his coat pocket where she had seen him put an extra syringe of the serum he had injected her with. Understanding, Vaughn moved over to the dead man and checked everything on him. Finally finding the syringe, he showed it to Sydney.
By this time, the drug was starting to wear off and Syd was able to accomplish the task of blinking while waiting for Vaughn. She blinked once for "yes" hoping Vaughn would get the fact that that was what was injected into her. He quickly grabbed the papers littering the floor and scanned them for any useful information. Immediately he identified one of the substances written as a neurotoxin and relief washed over him. The time written underneath that was dated today, more than an hour ago and Vaughn knew that the effects would subside soon.
He turned to Sydney and smiled, emphasizing that he knew what had happened to her and that everything would be okay. He carefully unfastened her restraints and took her hand in his, squeezing it. He looked into her eyes and found everything he had been searching for his whole life, he knew then that this was the woman he was going to marry. Having become lost in his love, Vaughn was brought back to the present by the delicate squeezing of his hand. He looked down, then up at Sydney and she was smiling.
Vaughn gave her a few more minutes to recover and then once again brought his lips to hers in a kiss that sealed their fates. However this time, Sydney responded in full.
The kiss was tender and soft, but it spoke of everything that Sydney and Vaughn felt in their hearts. Vaughn moved his hands through Syd's hair then wiped away any trace of tears left on her stunning face. Sydney slowly brought her hand to his heart and knew she was home. They spoke without words; that after everything they had gone through, they had survived it together and this moment cemented that fact. It marked the beginning of what they both knew would be the rest of a lifetime together.
The two were interrupted by the quick panting of Weiss.
"Sydney, I explained the details of what just happened to everyone else, the ambulance is on its way, everything's fine, and your father is going to kill me in about 2.8 seconds if I don't move out of the way and let him see his daughter."
Vaughn reluctantly moved his lips from Syd's, but held her hand tightly as her father practically ran to the car, an odd sight to say the least. The man with the usually expressionless face had shock and joy written all over him.
"My God, Sydney? Are you all right? Where have you been?" Jack moved forward and touched his daughter's forehead in his most fatherly gesture to date and was about to say something else when the shrill cry of a siren split the calm air of the waterfront.
It came to an abrupt halt in front of the van and two medics tore out of the back while a woman in the driver's seat picked up a radio to communicate with their headquarters that they had arrived at the location. The two gentlemen cleared a path to the side doors and urgently asked Vaughn to vacate the vehicle. Which he proceeded to do only after having a deathly glaring match with Jack Bristow and a forceful urge by Kendall.
Five minutes later had Sydney reluctantly laying down on a new stretcher outside of the van and about to be loaded into the ambulance. Vaughn was once again by her side and about to step into the ambulance with her and Jack closely followed suit before he was interrupted by Kendall.
"Jack, I know you want to be with your daughter, but Agent Vaughn is quite capable of escorting her to the hospital. I need you to stay here until the coroner arrives incase any of this man's employers show up," he said as he motioned to Oleg, still unmoving inside the van.
Jack gave Sydney one last comforting smile and an, "I'll see you soon Sweetie," before he grudgingly walked back over to Kendall. He watched as the ambulance drove his only joy in life off towards the hospital and sent a silent prayer to God to keep her safe.
The ambulance had been driving for about five minutes. Vaughn still held Sydney's hand and stroked her cheek as she gazed warmly into his eyes. This entire situation was so unreal, but as long as she was alive and safe, nothing else mattered. All that they had to do now was get to a hospital to make sure nothing serious was wrong. He briefly glanced out the back window to determine how much longer it would be until they reached the hospital, when he realized that the root they were taking was entirely wrong.
Feeling slightly alarmed as to what was going on, he was about to have the paramedics ask the driver where they were going when the car jerked to a sudden stop. Before Vaughn could even get any words out of his mouth, the window separating them from the front of the car was thrown open and two shots went of, killing both of the EMTs. What had just happened did not even have time to register in neither Vaughn nor Sydney's brain because before they knew it, the back doors had flown open and they were both staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Agent Vaughn, Agent Bristow, good day..... my name is Lauren Reed."