Fish Out of Water

By: Emily Katherine

Summary: Vaughn is in need of a little reassurance from Sydney... (S/V of course)

Disclaimer: I don't own either of these characters—they belong to Mr. J.J. and I wouldn't dream of taking them! wink wink

Note: I'm not really sure when this takes place—sometime at the end of season 3 but before the big finale cause poor Vaughn's dealing with some issues....bigtime issues. Enjoy!

At the risk of sounding cliché, the eighth wonder of the world should be Sydney's eyes.

I stare into them now—losing myself in the swirling chocolate depths. Before I met Sydney, I had no idea that eyes could smile even if the lips were not. Before I met Sydney, I didn't know that peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches could relieve more anxiety than a king-size stress ball. Before I met Sydney, I had never tasted a snowflake.

Before I met Sydney, I had never lived.

She shifts uncomfortably under my gaze. "Vaughn?"

I hear her, but I am to preoccupied with her deep sepia pools—swimming laps within them. Butterfly. Backstroke. Doggy-paddle.

"Vaughn, why are we here? We haven't needed this place for a year...three years," she corrected herself and her pools emptied, spilling me onto the rim, flopping like a fish out of water.

I see the brief pain etched on her face, then it disappears and she is regarding my silence with confusion. How can I tell her that when she remembers what went on without her during that heavy two-year absence, I can't breathe? How can I tell her that even after everything that has happened, when she looks at me, I can't breathe?

In the dim light of the warehouse and the pounding of raindrops on the roof, she glows—a beacon guiding me out of the darkness. As my world is falling down around me, crumbling and shattering into unrecognizable pieces, I realize that that's impossible because my world is standing right in front of me, puzzled eyes searching my face for answers. My world has been standing in front of me for the past year, and now it is at risk of fleeing—abandoning me. I can't let her go.

"Vaughn."

She's frustrated now, arms crossed over her chest. She stands there alone; I stand here alone. We should be together.

"Sydney." Her name rushes from my throat hoarse and scratchy. Unbidden tears well up behind my eyes. Her angry gaze merges into concern and she drops her arms.

"Vaughn, what's wrong?" She takes a cautious step toward me. Everything we ever do is cautious—always cautious.

"Syd..." I try to hold back the tears and answer her question at the same time, but I am losing the battle. One tear escapes, but I quickly wipe it away. Another one comes. She reaches...

I walk swiftly for the exit—down a short, winding corridor and toward the sheet of rain cascading over the doorway.

"Vaughn, wait!"

I do not stop until I break through the falling water and stand outside with my face tilted toward the night sky. The dark rain mixes with my tears, making them indistinguishable except for the fact that rain doesn't taste like salt. Someone once said that the rain washes all your guilt and sadness away. Obviously that someone had never been out in the rain before.

The rain tastes saltier and saltier, and my breathing becomes more and more ragged and heaving. Sydney's captivating eyes and enchanting smile taunt my mind. I feel like my heart is ripping through my chest—trying to get free. Just when I'm thinking that torture might be better than this, I feel Sydney's arms around me, and she buries her nose in my chest.

It's like time is stopped. It's just the two of us standing in the motionless rain—together. Crying together, feeling together, loving together. Loving together. I wrap my arms around her and rest my cheek on her hair.

"I'm here, Vaughn," she says softly, lifting her face to lock eyes with mine. The rain soaks her hair and body. "You don't have to go through this alone."

I think I'm smiling as I close my eyes and hold her tightly to me, the rain tasting not quite so salty anymore.

Someone once said that the rain washes away all your guilt and sadness. The trick is that it only works when you have someone there to wash it all away for you. A beacon in the darkness.

the end