Caught Up In Reality
The Switch
Vaughn's eyes searched Sydney's, finding mixed emotions swirling in the brown orbs.
"Vaughn. I- I don't know what to say." She said, still in shock, thinking she was having some wonderful dream. Vaughn's heart sank.
"I'm sorry, Sydney. I shouldn't have supposed-" Vaughn's hurried apology was silenced by Sydney's lips on his.
It was more amazing than he had ever imagined. It was remarkable; he knew from that one kiss that she was 'the one'.
When she pulled away, she grinned and blushed.
"Vaughn, you don't need to apologize. I feel the same way. I know I'm in love with you." How Vaughn's heart soared at those words. "I just can't believe that, one, you feel it too, and two, it took us this long to tell each other." Vaughn smiled sheepishly. Then he leaned in to kiss her again.
A few minutes later, Sydney was forced to push him away, as much as she wanted to keep kissing him.
"Vaughn."
"Yeah?" He murmured, nuzzling her neck, his arms around her waist.
"Vaughn, we have to get back to the ship." She laughed as he found a ticklish spot on her neck.
"Do we?"
"We do."
Reluctantly they pulled away, Vaughn getting the jet set up while Sydney retrieved the disk, placing it back in the waterproof bag she still carried. They waded out into the water, each grabbing hold of a handle on the propeller.
"Ready?" Vaughn asked.
"Ready."
And they sped off towards the ship.
Irina and Jack stood at the edge of the ship, leaning on the deck rail. When they spotted Vaughn and Sydney, Jack went to create a distraction on the other side of the ship while Irina used the lifesaver she had taken to pull them aboard.
"Is she okay?" She asked Vaughn while he helped Sydney over the railing.
"She's fine. Thirsty and a bump on the head, but fine." Sydney and Vaughn smiled at each other. This exchange did not go unnoticed by Irina, who made a mental note to ask Sydney what had happened on the island. Jack reappeared from the side of the ship and ushered the other three back to their rooms.
"Are you okay?" Jack said, looking over Sydney for any wounds.
"I'm fine." Sydney assured him. Jack turned to Vaughn.
"Agent Vaughn." Jack's voice was cold and hard. Vaughn gulped. "Thank you for saving my daughter's life. If you had asked me, I would not have let you go. You showed good judgment, even though it involved going behind my back."
Vaughn was shocked. Jack Bristow had just thanked him. Jack Bristow, who was always either shutting him down or showing him up. He didn't trust himself to respond, so he just nodded. Jack turned back to Sydney.
"Did you get the disk?" He asked.
"Yes." She replied, digging it out of her bag and handing it to him. He went over to his laptop and inserted the floppy. Everyone, including Irina, hovered behind him, eager to see what information the disk held. As the screen loaded, Sydney held her breath. Vaughn comforted her with a hand on her back, hoping that Jack and Irina wouldn't notice.
The screen suddenly went black, showing a page of numbers in white font on the black background. Jack pulled up a decrypting program and ran it; soon the numbers were changing into letters and four pairs of eyes were scanning down the page. Irina finished first, followed closely by Sydney and Vaughn, just behind them was Jack.
"Dad..."
"This is it. This is more than we could ever hope for. I'll contact Kendall. We'll need to leave the ship tomorrow morning." Jack left the room to call Kendall.
Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other, each face showing the joy that filled their hearts. The disk had every piece of information that they would need to take down the Alliance. Floor plans, maps, computer passwords, secret entrances. It was all there. Vaughn looked at Irina, who was sitting on the couch, watching television. He decided he didn't care if she watched. He gathered Sydney in his arms and kissed her. It started out tender, soft, but as she stepped in closer to his body he deepened it, then suddenly became aware of Irina's eyes on them and pulled away.
"Have a nice mission?" Irina asked innocently, her eyebrow arched. Sydney blushed furiously, while Vaughn just stood there, not meeting Irina's eyes. Irina smiled and went back to watching the news.
Vaughn and Sydney quickly retreated into the safety of their own room, tired from the day's events. Rushing through their nocturnal routines, they clambered into the king sized bed and snuggled up next to each other. Sydney loved being able to sleep close to Vaughn without feeling guilty, though she knew her days of worrying about the Alliance would soon be over. The next morning they would leave the ship, and most likely raid the Alliance.
With SD-6 out of the way, there would be no reason why she couldn't be with Vaughn. Besides protocol, that is. But since when did Sydney Bristow listen to the rules? If there was one thing she had learned through working for the CIA and SD-6, it was that sometimes, following the rules could get you killed.
She rested her head on Vaughn's broad shoulder, her hand reaching up to touch his jaw line. She felt his lips press a tender kiss into her hair, moving closer to her. They fell asleep within moments, sleeping better than they had in months.
Jack, on the other hand, was having trouble getting to sleep. Irina was already down for the night, finishing her novel before turning out the lights. He listened to her breathing as it got slower and steadier. She was asleep within moments. Jack turned towards her and studied her silhouette. She was so like Laura, and yet... He found himself drawn to something in her, something he didn't know or understand. He couldn't describe it to himself; he was having enough difficulty admitting it existed.
Sydney woke the next morning at four to the sound of the waves crashing on the sides of the boat. Vaughn was already awake, getting two bowls of cereal from the small pantry in the room. Bringing them over to the bed, he handed one to Sydney. They ate in silence, thinking about the task ahead. The op was fairly simple; when the boat docked in Miami that morning to pick up supplies and refuel for the rest of the voyage, Sydney, her parents, and Vaughn would get off the ship with the rest of the passengers, but instead of returning with them, four spare agents would get back on the ship, dressed to look like Charisse, Michel, Nicolas and Allana. The other agents would finish out the cruise, just acting like regular passengers, so as not to arise suspicion, while Sydney and the rest took the soonest flight to LA.
On the other side of the wall, Irina and Jack were also awake. Jack had gotten little sleep that night, but despite his constant shifting Irina had managed to get a full night's sleep. Therefore she was the one making the coffee that morning. He wasn't the only one who noticed the freer rein he was giving her, she knew that a week ago he would have accused her of poisoning the drink and made his own. And it hadn't escaped her that he hadn't slept well that night. She didn't want to say anything, for fear of scaring him off.
After gathering the few things that they thought they might need, Sydney, Vaughn, Irina, and Jack met on the deck with their small bags. They watched as the shoreline approached, yielding a view of the outskirts of Miami, in the distance the buildings loomed in the early morning haze. An hour later, while the cruise workers brought the ship in to port, the foursome left the ship with the other passengers who wished to walk around for a bit.
"We need to be at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Twenty-Second Street." Jack said after they were away from the crowd. They hopped on a bus, using some spare change to pay their way. Getting off the congested bus, onto an even more congested street, they began to search for their replacements.
It was Sydney who spotted them first. It was shocking, seeing someone who looked almost exactly like you, wearing exactly the same clothes as you, accompanied by the same three people who stood next to you. She made eye contact with the woman who would be posing as her, and made her way over to the group, the rest of her family and Vaughn following on her heels.
"Hi. I'm Sydney, it's nice to meet you." She said, shaking her "double's" hand.
"Annie. Nice to meet you, too. I've read your operational file, its amazing to meet you." Sydney smiled at Annie, then met the other three strangers. A man named Donald would be playing her father, while a blue- eyed Pierce would be Vaughn.
"Don't worry, I'll put these in before I get near the boat." Pierce said, waving a contacts case in the air before replacing it in his bag. He then introduced her to her mothers replacement, Isabel. Each pair of look- alikes went over some important information before the Pierce checked the time, soon afterward departing with the others.
"Have fun on the cruise!" Sydney said, shaking Annie's hand before turning to catch up with Vaughn, slipping her hand around him as they walked behind her parents. Thirty minutes later, they were at the Miami airport, boarding a plane to LA, using different aliases. Irina and Jack had seats near the front of the plane, while Vaughn and Sydney were seated a good ten seats behind them, far enough away to get away with frequent kisses. The flight was long and uneventful, but Sydney couldn't remember having such good company in all her life.
Hey y'all! How'd you like that chapter? I don't know if you all noticed,
but the chapters are getting longer, little by little!!! Hurry up and review, review, review!!! I am LOVING the reviews you guys are sending, by
the way.
Chapter Eight should be up Monday morning at latest!
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