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Chapter Seven:

A Storm Brews Inside

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The cloud of memory that hung over Vaughn cleared, his eyes focusing on the room around him. The images that hung before him, Sydney's eyes at that moment, the complete and utter surrender, faded from his view. The room came back into focus, he was seated on the bed, Sydney had moved away from him as he spoke. She stood now beside the small window across from him, gazing out into the sunshine. She had composed herself after the whirlwind of emotion and he could tell that she was struggling now to listen to his words with detachment. But he could see the way it was affecting her. Her face was turned away from him but by the set of her shoulders, the tense way she held herself, he knew the waves of truth that crashed over her would not wash away the pain.

He dropped his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the roots as if the pain could make him more real. Standing, he crossed the room quietly and came up behind her. She did not move to face him and he slipped his arms around her waist, hugging her to his body from behind. She sighed and leaned his head back against his chest, hands coming to clutch at the arms that circled her tightly.

"You brought me back," she whispered. He could see the tears gleaming on her face but her eyes were dry for now. There was a light in them that he had seen before, memories stirred but not remembered. He nodded against her hair where it rested beneath his chin.

"You brought yourself back, I only helped you do it." Vaughn kissed her hair softly and she turned in his arms, bringing her gaze to his eyes. His breath caught in his throat, those eyes, soft with sorrow were infused with a love so intense that he could scarcely hear for the blood pounding in his ears. But her next words were ones he would never forget.

"Vaughn," Sydney cupped his cheek with her hand and smiled gently, tears springing once more to her eyes but refusing to spill over. "I love you so much."

He smiled, the problems at hand falling away from them and pressed her close to him. Leaning his forehead against her temple, he planted soft kisses on her face. Murmuring softly, "I love you, Sydney." He brought his lips to her's and captured them in a gentle kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, the familiar touch of her hands burning his skin.

They kissed softly at first, hesitant as if waiting for something to stop them, for the world to screeching to a halt, but it didn't. Vaughn's hands tangled in her hair and deepened the kiss, the bond between them. For her, it had been two years since she had been allowed to do this. For him, it had been six agonizing months of pretending to love someone else, of kissing lips that were cold and bitter to taste. Sydney's were sweet and warmed his soul in a way no one else ever could.

The kiss was reminiscent of their first one, when they had stood amidst the wreckage of the lie that had brought them together. Filled with the same intensity and longing, the same passion and hunger. So wrapped up in one another that the rest of the world fell away from them. It was the first time all over again, as they stood amidst the broken memories and lies of the past two years that chained them.

They fell into one another, all of the issues they had to deal with flying from their thoughts. There was nothing here and now except for Sydney and Vaughn and the truth, that their love could never die. They transcended the shadows of death, fought off the encroaching darkness and come through the other side. Each had risen from the ashes of their former selves and become someone unrecognizable to anyone but one another.

At length they broke apart, gasping for air, bodies still pressed together, hearts pounding as one. Sydney leaned her head against Vaughn's, eyes closed. He studied her intently, the sun coming in through the window illuminated her shadowed face, her hair gleaming with traces of gold. Tracing the contours of her face with his fingers, she smiled softly and brought her hand up to clasp his. Opening her eyes, she gazed at him for a long moment. He kissed her once more, softly and pulled away slightly, still gripping her hand.

"I was half hoping it would be that easy again," she murmured lightly. Vaughn chuckled and then winced at a sudden memory. He became serious once more and shook his head.

"No, it's not going to be that easy this time."

Together they moved over to the bed, seating themselves on the soft comforter. They sat indian style, facing one another, knees touching in the close proximity. His presence calmed her troubled mind, and she cleared her thoughts, dried her eyes and looked at him once more.

"Vaughn," her hold on him tightened as she spoke. "What the hell happened? How did I go from remembering who I was and everything that had happened to me, to waking up in Hong Kong with no memory of any of it." Her brows furrowed in confusion and she shook her head. "I don't understand."

"I know," Vaughn bit his lip and touched her cheek with his free hand. "And I can't fill in all of the gaps, but I can tell you what is important."

Sydney nodded and looked at him, waiting for him to begin again.

"After you began to remember who you were, you were horrified by what you'd done. You wanted me to get you out of there, but I couldn't. We were both already so deeply involved..."

"Vaughn," Sydney had stared at him, scarcely able to comprehend what he'd just told her. "You're working for the Covenant?"

"To bring your killers to justice," Vaughn had moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. It was such a relief to feel her heart beating against him, her skin pressed against his own. "Then I found out that you were alive and it became a matter of bringing you back to me."

Sydney shook her head, "I can't do this anymore, Vaughn. Now that I know the truth, I can't go back to them."

Vaughn nodded, moving to his feet and pacing the room quietly. Fist pressed to his mouth, he strode rapidly back and forth in front of where Sydney sat. She watched him carefully, his eyes lost deep in thought. She wondered at what he had done to come this far, to find her. What he had sacrificed for her.

"You're right," he said at last as he slowed to a stop in front of her. "You cannot go back to them, but I have to."

Sydney's eyes narrowed in alarm and she jumped to her feet, "No, Vaughn. I can't let you do that!"

"I have to, Sydney!" He grasped her by the shoulders and she winced at the force of his grip. He had grown so much stronger, so much harder, but so had she.

"When they find out that you've defected, I will be the first person they will suspect. Jack is already in prison-" His words were cut short by Sydney's gasp.

"My dad is in prison?" Her words were filled with rage. "Who is responsible for this?" She hissed.

Vaughn shook his head, "The NSC discovered that he has been in contact with your mother. Irina is number six on the CIA's most wanted list right now and Robert Lindsey has hated your father for a long time. Jack has been compromised, he has left the rest of this mission to me. I must carry it out as he would or all of this will have been in vain."

Sydney frowned and shook her head, eyes dark with anger and fear. "Where will I go?"

Vaughn bit his lip and looked away from his penetrating gaze. "Irina."

Sydney stared at him in surprise, "You know where my mother is?" The shock was evident on her face. Vaughn nodded slowly, eyes flickering around the room before coming to rest on Sydney's face.

"She has been working with Jack and I, investigating your death. She has betrayed us all in the past, I know that better than anyone except for you Sydney. But you have to know that in the time I've spent with her, I've learned that when it comes to you, there is nothing more important. She will do everything in her power to protect you and we both know that her power is much greater than mine."

Sydney's eyes filled suddenly with tears and she shook her head, "I don't want to leave you again."

Vaughn's face fell and he felt his heart constrict, breath catch in his throat. His chest tightened painfully as he looked at her and he shook his head, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I know, Syd," gathering her into his arms he felt tears burn his eyes. "I know." He stroked her back soothingly. A sob broke free from her, muffled against his flesh and she pulled back to look at him. He had gone through so much to get here and she could sacrifice him in a second with a rash decision. He would go down for her though, trusting the entire time that he was doing the right thing as long as she was safe.

Shaking her head, she swallowed her tears, her pride and scrubbed a weary hand over her face. "The Covenant will never let me walk free," the realization was hitting her even as she spoke the words. They had gone through too much effort to bring her over to their side, they would never let her live with the knowledge she had of them.

Clutching her hands to her lips, she concentrated intently on a point beyond him that he could not see. She was gazing inward now, wondering how she could free herself. At length, her mind cleared and she gazed up at Vaughn. "During my captivity and the time since, I have learned that the Covenant, much like SD-6, is extremely focused on Rambaldi. They believe that I am the chosen one spoken of in the prophecies, they are trying to use me but I don't know for what." She sighed and shook her head, "It could be anything, the things that I have done for them." She shuddered convulsively and wrapped her arms around herself.

Vaughn's gaze softened and he knelt in front of her, hands on her knees. He met her gaze steadily and nodded, "I understand what you've had to do, Syd."

She stared at him, understanding in his eyes and saw in him a reflection of herself. She understood now, that they were at least on equal ground, they had both endured pain and loss and been forced to do things they had never thought themselves capable of.

"For the past few months," she began slowly. "I have been working with a man named Adrian Lazarey. He is a member of the Mythic Order of Rambaldi, dedicated his life to protecting his works."

"Wait," Vaughn held one hand up to her lips, forehead furrowed in confusion. "I thought you killed Lazarey?"

Sydney shook her head, "No, we staged his death but the Covenant wanted something from him." She lowered her eyes and winced, recalling the threats she had made against Lazarey. "He's a good man."

"So why is he working with the Covenant?"

Sydney's eyes darkened and she dropped her head, the golden hair falling around her face. "Because we have something, or someone that he wants back very badly." Biting her lip, guilt clearly written across her face, Sydney shook her head. "Lazarey had a son, a long time ago. But his mother took him away, changed his name, hid him from Lazarey. I'm not clear on why she did this but the boy was raised without ever knowing who his father was. Lazarey never saw him again, but one thing I have learned about this man is his loyalty to his family. His son is no exception, I have heard him speak of Julian with love in his tone, though he hasn't seen his son since he was a small child. Apparently the Covenant has Lazarey's son in custody, they are threatening to kill him if Lazarey does not comply with their demands."

"Do you know if the Covenant really has his son, what was his name? Julian?" Vaughn asked, he felt as if there was a missing piece here that he could not place. Sydney shrugged and tucked an errant strand of gleaming hair behind one ear.

"I'm not sure but Lazarey believes them, he mentioned to me that they had sent him proof that he could not deny but never elaborated on it. It seemed to pain him a great deal."

"Wait a minute," Sydney shook her head, eyes wide. "You're telling me that Lazarey is alive? And that the Covenant was claiming to have Sark in custody when the CIA had him all along?"

Vaughn nodded slowly, aware of how much intrigue and double-crossing had been at play. It became confusing after awhile, one began to lose track of which lie had been told and to whom. Sydney could see this in his eyes, she had felt the same despair when she had been a double agent, forced to lie to everyone. Vaughn had been the only one who had told her the truth, been honest with her. She could see how much of a relief this was to him, relaying the truth, as much as it pained him, it hurt him more to hide it from her.

"So, if Lazarey is alive..." Sydney frowned, "You knew..." Staring at him with wide eyes, she pulled away slightly. "You knew the whole time and never told me."

"Yes," Vaughn conceded. "I did know but remember that Lauren is also Covenant. She knew too."

Sydney shook her head, "Why not turn me in at the beginning?"

"Simple, she needed proof. When Sark came to her and gave her those photos, she knew that there would be cameras in the garage. It would have looked too suspicious if she had been caught on tape with a known terrorist and not informed anyone what they had discussed." Vaughn grimaced, the thought of his alleged wife disgusting him deeply as it always did. "Plus, she finally had her chance. She knew what Lindsey, the NSC, would do to you if they discovered the truth. Once she had hard evidence, granted it was of an event that never really took place, but she had evidence that you had committed a crime during your missing time. She had the leverage to have you arrested and the surgical procedure performed."

"Why is Lauren so eager to have me lobotomized?" Sydney scowled and tugged on a lock of her hair in frustration. "Last week, I would have said its because she thinks I'm a threat to your relationship but now that I know that the relationship is virtually nonexistent, all I can imagine is that they are orders from the Covenant."

"You're right," Vaughn assured her with a grimace. "Even if you were brain damaged, they could still extract the information from you as long as you remembered. And you might even prove more willing to do whatever it is you need to do to fulfill the prophecy."

Sydney could see his point, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Her hatred for the Covenant, for what they had done to her and were still trying to do burned inside of her. It was like a raging fire, stirred from the embers that had almost become cold ash.

With a sigh, Syd glanced around the small room. "If Lazarey isn't even dead, then why are we on the run? Why didn't we tell Dixon the truth?"

"And risk exposing me?" Vaughn's voice was soft, barely a whisper that met her ears and she winced. He was right.

"I couldn't tell Dixon, Lindsey, anyone the truth without proof. At the moment, all we have is proof that you killed him. We don't yet have proof that he is alive."

"Yet?" Sydney cocked one eyebrow at him and Vaughn nodded slightly, turning to dig through the bag beside their bed. Retrieving the messages they had recovered from her apartment, he looked through them with a frown.

"One of these codes contains coordinates, a location where you buried something that proves that Lazarey is still alive."

Sydney took the codes from him and studied them absently, still not able to recognize her own flowing script. "What is it?"

Vaughn shrugged, "That, I don't know. You never told me."

Sydney chewed nervously on one fingernail, a motion that she had never done before she had returned from the dead. Wondering absently if it was a habit she had picked up over the missing two years, she felt Vaughn's hand smooth the fingers away from her lips. He smiled gently as she glanced up at him and she couldn't help but feel the anxiety that whirled inside of her calm somewhat. "Vaughn, what do I know that the Covenant wants?"

He swallowed hard and turned his gaze away from her, looking out to the bright daylight outside. In here, they were filled with shadows that clung to the feeble light. The soft beams of sunlight danced in through the window, shimmering on the glass, gleaming in her eyes. He could not stand to see those eyes dark with despair again. But there was nothing that he could do.

Vaughn grasped her hands tightly and turned back to her, though still unable to meet her eyes. His gaze fixed intently on her slender fingers that stroked his hand gently. Their fingers laced together, palms locking like a perfect fit. As if they were meant to be this way.

"Sydney," his voice was husky but he disregarded it, struggling to clear his throat but unable to move past the lump in his throat. "As painful and as confusing as this story has been so far..." He met her eyes, green orbs alight with an intensity that unnerved her. "It is nothing compared to what happened next."

Sydney swallowed hard and shook her head, "I am ready." She whispered.

Vaughn sighed, and began, once more, to speak.

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