Title: Until The Clouds Clear

Author: Emily O'Donnell

E-Mail: Undothought@yahoo.com

Rating: R

Category: Alias

Timeline: Revisionist History Fic: What if Vaughn had gone with Sydney to Rome in Prelude? Canon for Season Three pertains.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.J. Abrams and ABC, not me. Though I bet all of you wish they did belong to me right? :)

Summary: Her world was unfamiliar and nothing was as she remembered. She found that she became someone else and so had he. Their roles have been reversed, black becoming white and they are lost in the shades of grey. They find that they are only themselves again when they are together.

"If you let this thing go, it's gonna burn, you're gonna take the whole world with you when you go." - lyrics by Lamb

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Chapter One:

Escape

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Sydney stood outside the airport terminal, the cold air biting into her flesh as she waited for Vaughn. Night was closing in around her, the cloak of darkness shrouded her already shadowed thoughts. The urgency in Vaughn's voice had scared her, shaken her to the core. Her life was in danger yet again, the NSC knew that she had killed Lazarey. There was no turning back now, it seemed that she was always running from the same men she worked for. Vaughn was always helping her run.

Vaughn. It seemed that her thoughts always returned to him, she missed him desperately. It had become a physical ache inside of her, a hole in her heart that he once filled. Seeing him with his wife every day was more painful than any torture she had endured. Sydney was strong, she knew that she was stronger than this, she struggled for so long to put him out of her mind, out of her heart but found it impossible. She had never loved anyone the way she loved him, not Danny, not Noah, no one. He was the other half that completed her and she had lost him to the tide of time and the waves of grief. A bitter taste rose in her throat and she blinked back tears that stung her eyes suddenly, what she wouldn't give to go back in time. As much as she hungered to find out the truth about her missing time, to destroy the Covenant, she hungered more for the simple touch of his hands. That touch could always soothe her pain, calm her troubled mind.

He had been the only one he could trust for so long, at least that hadn't changed. His voice filtering through her phone had been the last thing she expected when she had gotten off the plane, but it had filled her with bittersweet joy. Until her mind had registered the fear in his voice and then she had known that once more, he was saving her life. She could not know it, but this moment that she lingered in would be one that would change her life forever.

As the thought of him filled her mind, a sleek black car slid up beside her and she turned quickly. The passenger side door was flung open and Vaughn leaned over from the driver's seat to look up at her. Wrinkled were etched into his forehead, fear written on every feature.

"Get in," he ordered and Sydney complied without a second thought. The sound of the door slamming reverberated through the empty terminal, followed closely by the sound of tires spinning as they sped away.

"How the hell did they find out?" Sydney demanded, she turned to look at Vaughn. His fists were clenched on the steering wheel, a cold tension coiled within him. She could see the fear in his eyes, the anger. He glanced at her and guilt flickered in his eyes.

"Sark told Lauren," he spoke through clenched teeth. She saw for the first time that his anger was not directed at her, but at his wife. Lauren had gone too far this time and they both knew it.

"Sark?" Sydney spit the name out like a curse and turned her eyes away from him, one hand coming up rub her eyes wearily. Vaughn shook his head, there was no time for questions and they both knew it.

"I have a plane waiting at Dover airfield. It will take you anywhere but you have to tell me where you want to go, someplace you know well so we can disappear."

"If the NSC wants to find me they will," bitter anger filled Sydney's voice and she looked at Vaughn.

"Sydney," Vaughn began but she cut him off. His last words finally registered in her mind.

"Wait," She glanced up at him and frowned. "What do you mean 'we'?"

He glanced over at her, his eyes were dark and troubled. "I'm coming with you," he spoke the words as if they were the most natural thing in the world. As if he would not be losing anything but running away with her, but he would. He would be losing everything and she knew that.

"Vaughn, I can't let you..."

"You're not letting me doing anything, I'm coming with you. Lauren knows that I came to help you and she already ratted you out, it wouldn't surprise me if she were to do the same to me. Besides, if you disappear, Your father and I will be the most likely suspects in the eyes of the NSC. This way, I can at least allow Jack to remain free. He is the only one who can clear your name." Vaughn spoke without meeting her eyes, determination in his voice. She recalled his words of so long ago, 'I believe in you.'

"What about Lauren?" Sydney asked, she could see the way his jaw clenched at the mention of his wife's name, his fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white with tension.

"Lauren isn't what is important anymore," he said softly. He seemed to be speaking almost to himself, his gaze turned inward now. He could not look at her, could not bear to meet her eyes.

Sydney was stunned by his words, looking away from him she saw the world around her fading into a blur. This could be the last time she saw this airport, the last time she stood on the ground of the country she had defended countless times against enemies. Now the country had turned on her, she was not safe here and might never be safe again.

"What am I supposed to do now?" She demanded, she was still filled with anger but it had been soothed somewhat by his words. "Spend the rest of my life in hiding? I can't keep running forever."

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you won't have to," he looked at her for the first time, his eyes flickering briefly to her and back. There were secrets hidden in the murky depths of his gaze, she frowned and shook her head.

"There is something you're not telling me," she said. She could feel it as surely as she could feel the panic that gripped her heart. Vaughn sighed and swallowed hard.

"There is so much I can't tell you, Sydney," there was despair in his voice, threaded deep beneath the pain. "But I swear to you that I will try."

She stared at him for a long moment, waiting for him to continue but he didn't. She sighed heavily and shook her head, thinking quickly. Her fingers drifted across something cold and smooth in her pocket and gently, she fingered the edges of the key that Sloane had given her only hours earlier. She hated the idea of trusting Sloane but she had no choice, this could be her only chance to get some answers. Glancing back up at him she spoke with determination. "Rome, I have to go to Rome." He didn't respond, couldn't bring himself to look at her, only pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and began to speak.

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The blanket of night had fallen over them as they stood together on the landing strip. There was a plane in the distance but for the moment, they could not move. They stood together, eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. Nothing held them apart, not the chains of time nor the shadow of death. Mistakes they had made lingered over their heads like a dark cloud, threatening to spill its contents on this moment and drown them in sorrow.

"Vaughn, why are you doing this?" Sydney's eyes shimmered with tears and Vaughn could feel his heart breaking at the sight. He longed to reach out and gather her in his arms but he couldn't, not yet. There was too much yet to do, too much that had to be explained.

"My life is already a disaster," her voice cracked on the words. "If you come with me, yours will be too."

Vaughn shook his head and swallowed the lump that rose in his throat. "What happened between us, everything, the way it is isn't anyone's fault, Sydney." His eyes filled with tears and he blinked them away lest they spill over and reveal his true emotions.

"And even though everything has changed, some things don't," he murmured the words softly and she felt the tears burning her eyes, setting her soul aflame. Lifting her eyes to meet his, she gasped softly at what she saw hidden in the tortured green depths. He was filled with pain, sorrow, anger, bitterness but above all else she saw the love he had struggled to hide from her all this time. It blazed now in full force, warming the depths of her heart that had long since been chilled. She had seen it every now and then, since she had returned, the way his emotions slipped out to speak to her from his gaze. She always convinced herself that she could not feel their heat, that she had never seen that same look in his eyes when he made love to her late at night. She told herself that he reserved that look for his wife now, but deep in her heart she had seen the coldness in his eyes when he looked at Lauren. He never looked at any other woman the way he looked at her, she knew that in this moment with a clarity that was so pure and beautiful that it almost swept everything else away.

His next words washed away any doubt left in her mind, they were like a gentle breeze that drifted across her thoughts. Spoken so quietly but with such determination as he spoke to her with his eyes. He told her everything in his heart with those eyes, he always had.

"I'm not going to lose you twice," the words were almost a whisper and she swallowed hard. The way his voice cracked and broke open like his heart in the palm of her hand brought tears to her eyes. He loved her, that had never changed.

Sydney let her composure drop, the tears spilling out from her haunted eyes. Sliding her arms around his neck, she embraced him tightly. Their bodies locked together, a perfect fit, as they always had. Her head nestled perfectly into the crook of his neck, his hands stroking her back in a gentle motion. For a moment, time stood still and nothing had changed. They were free to be themselves for the first time in so long, they were free to be who they truly were only when they were together.

At length, Sydney drew back and found her face inches from his. His breath hovered over her lips and she glanced from his mouth to his eyes. Swallowing hard, she forced a smile and slipped her hand into his. He clenched her hand tightly and smiled weakly in return.

"I suppose we better get going," she whispered. Vaughn nodded, relieved that she was going to allow him to come with her. He thought she would have put up more of a fight but he would not return to the CIA, he would not go back to the cold house where his emotionless wife waited. He would not live a lie any longer, he knew that now.

Hand in hand, they picked up their bags and ran for the plane.

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