Caught Up In Reality
Epilogue
Two Years Later:
"Can you believe it? You're getting married!" Francie exclaimed, hugging her friend tightly, but careful not to muss Sydney's dress.
"I know. I never thought this day would come. It's something you dream about as a child, but you never really understand it until it happens to you." Sydney looked into the mirror at her reflection, still in awe over the white satin dress she had picked out with Francie shortly after getting engaged to Vaughn. Her father had offered to go with her to pick one out after he learned of their engagement, but Sydney had declined, knowing how much Francie loved to shop and how much her father hated it.
Her only regret about the wedding was that her mother wouldn't be present. Irina had been transferred to a comfortable apartment-like prison, pending her extensive contributions to the CIA over the past two years. Sydney went to visit Irina often, sometimes accompanied by her father or Vaughn, both of whom had come to tems with Irina in a way.
Her parent's reactions to the news of the wedding had been very different from each others. Sydney wasn't surprised by this, it was exactly as she expected it would be, but it still amazed her how two such radically different people could have lived with each other for as long as they had.
Telling Irina had been weird for Sydney, as a child and a teenager she had never shared these big events with her mother, and it was odd to have such a normal moment with Irina.
"Something's different about you, Sydney." Her mother had said when Sydney and Vaughn came to tell her the news. Irina's eyes swept over the two of them, and catching a glint of light reflecting off of Sydney's hand, she broke into a smile. Over the next few months, Sydney had spent a lot of time in the cell with her mother, going over details of the wedding. Irina proved to be a knowledgeable source on the subject, and helped Sydney a lot with the planning. Her real talent was with seating arrangements, because as Sydney told her the particulars of each guest, Irina could pick out the optimum placement for them, and she was never wrong.
Telling her father had been a bit more... Interesting.
"You WHAT????" He had shouted to the restaurant, earning some odd stares from the people around them, and a cold glare from the employees.
"We're getting married." Sydney said. The look on Jack's face would have been halarious at any other time.
"And... The CIA?" He said, lowering his voice, but still red in the face and wide eyed.
"I'm going to quit when we have children." Sydney stated calmly. She had talked this out with Vaughn, and it was the obvious thing to do. "I might teach, or work at a library... Vaughn could stay with the CIA, or he might use his law degree to work at a firm."
"Children?" Jack said in wonder. He was still focused on her first sentence.
"Yes. Children. You and mom will be grandparents." It would be normal for her future daughters or sons, except for the part where Grandma Derevko killed Grandpa Vaughn. But they'd figure out how to deal with that later.
"Grandparents." He repeated. And suddenly everything looked different. This wasn't the CIA Senior Officer thinking about the forbidden relationship between a handler and his asset, it was a father thinking about his daughter and a young man who was willing to do everything in his power to keep her safe, a father thinking about a future where he could try to make up for being a bad father by being a grandfather. And everything looked different from that view.
Syd had asked Francie to be her bridesmaid, and Weiss would be the best man. Vaughn had considored asking Will; they were good friends now, but he had known Weiss longer, and he thought it would seem insensitive to ask Will to do it. Sydney had explained about their odd relationship, and though Will was now dating a reporter from the Napa Valley, Vaughn got the feeling he still cared for Sydney. At first, Will had remained aloof from Vaughn, but when he saw how happy Syd was with him, he had tried hard to become friends.
Sydney was stirred from her thoughts by a knock at the door, and looked up to see Weiss's head poked through into the room.
"It's time!" He crowed, then laughed as he got a good look at Sydney. "Wow, I wouldn't be surprised if Vaughn started kissing you in the middle of the ceremony, we all know he doesn't have that much self control."
"Yeah Weiss, Vaughn's a real loose cannon." Sydney said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him. "We'll be out in a minute." Weiss's head disappeared, the door closing behind him. Sydney turned back to Francie, surprised to see tears in her friend's eyes.
"Oh, Fran, are you okay?"
"Don't mind me," Francie replied. "I always cry at weddings." She laughed, drying her tears with a tissue. "I'm just so happy for you and Michael." Francie said finally, giving Syd one last hug before leading her out the door. Splitting up, Francie went to take Weiss's arm, while Sydney stood at the back of the line, smiling up at her father. The wedding music started from inside the church, and the flower girls, (Weiss's neices) began the long procession into the chapel. As Sydney stepped onto the petal-covered carpet, she looked at Vaughn, standing in his gray suit at the end of the aisle, smiling at her reassuringly, and she realized she had never been more sure of anything in her life. Her father gave her away to Vaughn, and the ceremony began.
When it came time for the rings, the ringbearers, (Donovan and Alan, Weiss's dog) brought the rings to the stage, led by Will's nephew. Vaughn took the golden band from one of the dogs, and took Sydney's left hand in his own.
"Sydney, I've been dreaming about this day since the first time I saw you, that breezy day in October at the office. And now that I have you here, I'm never going to let you go. All I want right now and forever is to spend the rest of my life with you. I promise you that I'll always be here for you, no matter what crazy twists our lives take." He stared down into her soft brown eyes, slipping the band around her ring finger to rest beside the sapphire and diamond engagement ring he had given to her a year ago while they watched the sun set on the beach in Santa Barbara.
"Sydney." He whispered, his warm breath tickling her ear, eliciting a low laugh from her.
"Vaughn." She replied, tilting her head back to give him better access to her throat.
"How come you never call me Michael?" He murmured into her neck.
"Doesn't sound right. Doesn't feel right." She replied, knowing this answer wouldn't satisfy him, but not knowing the answer herself.
"You like my last name?" He asked, teasingly. She nodded vigorously against his chest.
"How would you feel about sharing it with me?"
Sydney craned her neck around to look at him, and he took her hands and turned her to face him, kneeling in the sand.
"Sydney," He said, pulling a ring out of his pocket. "I love you so much. Ever since we started dating I've been thinking about this day. Whenever I dream about my future, in every dream you're there, standing beside me, holding my hand. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Sydney Bristow, will you marry me?" Vaughn looked hopefully into her brown eyes, which were now filling with tears as she broke into a huge smile. The next thing he knew, her lips were on his, kissing on the beach as the sun disappeared beneath the blue horizon. And now here they stood at the altar, Sydney holding Vaughn's wedding band in her hand. She slipped the ring over his finger, and continued to hold his hand.
"When I first met you, I was closed off. I was afraid to be open towards you, because being open had caused so many awful things to happen to me in the past. But as we got to know each other, I knew that it didn't have to be that way with you, because nothing I said would make any difference in your loyalty to me. You were a true friend, and later on, you were willing to sacrifice so much for our relationship. Your job, your friends..." Sydney lowered her voice so that only Vaughn could hear the next part. "Sometimes even your life."
"I can't imagine anyone else who could make me feel so loved, so safe in this world." She continued, giving his hand a final squeeze before dropping it to rest at his side once more.
"You may kiss the bride." The minister said, and Vaughn lifted the veil from Sydney's face and kissed her. The audience cheered, but neither the bride nor the groom noticed at all, and continued to kiss. Finally Weiss broke them up with a smile.
"There'll be time for that later."
About a year and a half after the wedding, Aimee Irene Vaughn was born into the family. She was brought into the world by two parents who, while new to parenting, were experienced in protecting people. The parenting came naturally after a while. Not to mention a grandfather who saw his granddaughter at least every day, and spent hours talking to the baby and playing with her. With the birth of Aimee, Vaughn got shifted back to desk duty, and was looking for a job within a law practice. Sydney took a few years off, then taught high-school literature. They purchased a house in a small town near Los Angeles, so they could visit often with Francie, Will, Jack, Weiss, and even Irina. A second child arrived two years after Aimee, a little boy with his fathers eyes and his mothers stubbornness. They named William Christopher Vaughn, after his late grandfather.
And as much as their parents tried to steer them away, Aimee and William seemed drawn to the world of espionage.
Well guys, it's been fun. I hope this was the right way to end this little story, I had a hundred ideas in my head, and I chose this one. There's still a possibility for a sequel, but I haven't decided what to next, actually. I've got the start of an Irina fic, so I'll probably post that pretty soon, it might be a one-part story, I don't know.
Anyway, I'd love to hear from ya, believe me every review really makes a difference.