He held her as she cried for a time he couldn't discern. He stroked her wet hair, and dried her tears as they flooded down. Finally she slept, and short moment later a soft knock came at the door. Vaughn went to answer it and found a bell hop bearing a cart of food. He wheeled the cart into the room, and left it near the door. Returning to the bed, he sat for a while just looking at her. He stared, once again, at the ragged scar on her shoulder. It represented so much now. She sighed peacefully in her sleep, and Vaughn allowed a tear to slip from his eye. He wanted so much, to be strong for her. She had allowed him into her world, and he wanted to understand, to help her heal.

Images of men beating her, torturing her, flashed though his head. It wasn't long before he was hunched over the toilet, unable to handle what he was seeing in his head. Or maybe he couldn't handle knowing that what he was seeing, what his mind was allowing him to picture, was no where near the heinous nature of what she'd really gone through.

He wretched again, his empty stomach in protest, unable to manifest how sick he actually felt. It was unbearable. He cried, washed his face, but in the end returned to the floor near the toilet. He couldn't shake the images from his head. He felt so guilty that she was so incredibly strong, and he was so weak. She'd lived this. He would have broken and he knew it. He knew it would take them both a long time to heal. He also knew that she wasn't telling him everything. She was still protecting him. He both hated that fact, and praised it at the same time.

"I have some information that might prove useful to you." Sark said though the cell phone.

"Is your line secure." Jack's calculating voice came through loud and clear.

"Indeed. This concerns Michael Vaughn. I believe he and Sydney are," He paused for emphasis, "associates."

"By all means." Jack said impatiently.

"The Covenant has an operative placed within his personal life. She is suspicious of his disappearance. Luckily I contacted her before she could relay her suspicions to The Covenant." Sark said smugly.

"We're you able to assuage her worries?" Jack questioned quickly.

"Yes, I assured her that I would travel to France to investigate his activities there. This seemed to satisfy her."

"Good. But unfortunately the source of this problem still remains."

"Indeed it does. I would suggest removing her, but I am afraid The Covenant would be forced to take action."

"Agreed. It is paramount, above all things Mr. Sark that The Covenant know nothing of the developments regarding my daughter." Jack said firmly. "He will return in three days with a cover intact. From there I'll plan our next move."

"What is Sydney's plan?" Sark asked innocently.

"Let me make one thing clear. You have offered your services to me. I am in charge. You will know what information is necessary to your mission; that is all. Forgive me for not trusting you, but my daughter's life is on the line."

"Jack I am not naïve enough to think that you trust anyone but yourself. I would also hope that you know that my loyalties are with you and Sydney. I have no reason to betray you."

"Mr. Sark, I am not naïve enough to believe that your loyalties lie with anyone but yourself. Your only objective in all of this, is to see The Covenant destroyed. For now your loyalty to my family is convenient for you. I do not trust convenience, it is to easily swayed. And I will never trust you."

As soon as Jack finished the line went dead.

"I checked all of the files. He has not found her yet."

"Are you positive?" Irina questioned, irritated.

"Irina, are you questioning my abilities?"

"Never. Forgive me." She said sincerely.

"I have been with you from the beginning Irina. I want this as badly as you." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Sydney, how is she?" The woman's voice was equally sincere.

"She's strong." Irina sighed, thinking of what she was implying.

"She's your daughter. She's a Derevko woman. Weakness isn't in our blood." She laughed.

"What she has endured would have tested any one of us." Irina breathed, the enormity of truth echoing in her voice.

"Irina, again, she is your daughter. She will recover."

"Elena, there are some things from which one never recovers. And it is the curse of Derevko blood to know that well."

"Vaughn?" She whispered from the doorway. She had been woken by the sounds of his bathroom activities.

"Syd." He said softly watching her as she approached. She was wrapped tightly in a towel, still damp from her bath.

"Are you alright?" She asked quietly, watching as he didn't move. He sat with his back to the wall, legs sprawled out in front of him. He used the toilet to help him stand, just as Sydney walked up to him.

"I'm fine." He forced a smile, but the ghostly shade of his face, and the dried tears around his eyes gave him away. He noticed her watching his face, and quickly grabbed her hand.

"You were tired, you could have slept." He said squeezing her hand tightly.

"I was hungry." She squeezed back as she turned to walk back out of the bathroom.

"The food might still be hot." Vaughn said walking a step with her before stopping. "Go eat, I'll be right there." He smiled, squeezing her hand one last time before letting go.

Sydney just smiled and walked out of the bathroom. Vaughn turned to the mirror and frowned at his complexion. He quickly splashed water on his face and dried it. He brushed his teeth and looked at himself again. He was slightly more presentable, but he still looked sick. He was. So he turned and made his was out of the bathroom to find Sydney on the bed, surrounded in plates of food. Vaughn crawled up next to her and smiled as she put a strawberry to her mouth.

"These are delicious." She smiled.

"Good," Vaughn faked a delighted look, before surveying the food in front of him. He wasn't hungry in the slightest.