"Syd," Michael Vaughn's voice rang out from the answering machine. "I know I shouldn't be calling you. This is about as difficult for me to say as for you to hea --"
Sydney hit the stop button. She really didn't want to hear what Vaughn had to say. The two of them hadn't spoken since she ran into him in Belize two years prior. The wounds between them had never fully healed, and the words of anger that were exchanged hadn't been erased from her mind. And she didn't want to dredge them up, not now. Especially not on a night her boyfriend had been dreaming up in her honor for weeks.
It was their two year anniversary, and she couldn't wait to see what he would do to top the previous year.
One year ago, he had taken her to the heart of Paris, a place she had always wished she had time to really see. She had been there countless times on missions, but missions didn't really allow for what she wanted. One of her dreams had always been to experience the beauty of France with the man she loved. In the back of her mind, she had always pictured Vaughn as being that man. Slowly over the years, the image of Vaughn in her mind had been replaced by Sark. And now she knew there was no turning back.
Without her saying a word, he knew all of this. He had a funny knack of being able to pick up on the things she never said. She hardly ever had to vocalize what she was feeling anymore.
This was the type of relationship Sydney had always dreamed of being in, ever since she was a little girl, playing wedding with her dolls. There was a man in her life whose main concern was her. Everything he did seem to revolve around some aspect of her.
Sydney smiled, knowing even though this fact was true, Sark had his own life. He had his own projects and dealing going still. He promised her repeatedly that nothing he was doing would get him arrested. Now that he had secured a life that he never really knew he wanted, he wasn't willing to go back to the way things had once been.
She chuckled to herself, remembering how hard it had been for them to set up this life. It had taken all the favors people owed both her and Sark to get the outstanding warrants for him in almost every country imaginable canceled. Granted it helped that she was a hero of the state here in the United States, but her good deeds could only take them so far. It had been a long fight with many different governments and organizations, but it was a fight that neither one were willing to lose.
They had both spent the majority of their lives fighting for the rights of other people. Now the only people they really needed to fight for, the only happiness they wanted to strive for, was their own. Which is why neither one gave up in their struggle to stay together.
"Good thing, too," she thought to herself as she slipped off her clothes. "That man is slowly becoming my main reason for getting out of bed in the morning." After a second, she corrected herself. "Or rather for staying in bed in the morning."
She got into the shower and lost herself in thoughts of what the coming night with Sark might hold for her.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Sark let himself into the penthouse quietly. He knew that he had promised Sydney he wouldn't be home for another hour, but he had gotten a little restless at work. His current business deal wasn't working out as smoothly as he planned. He was slightly agitated and frustrated, and the best cure for that was a little time with Sydney.
"Syd! I'm home," he yelled as he threw his briefcase on the front table. He laughed lightly to himself as he saw the Manolo Blahnik and Armani bags lying there. She definitely had a major shopping problem that he was only too happy to encourage.
Listening for an answer, he heard the shower running and realized where she was. It took all of his will power not to strip down right there and join her. But he knew what the night held for them, and distractions weren't in the plans.
He took off his jacket and loosened his tie as he made his way into the bathroom. "Sydney," he said over the rush of the water.
"Is that you, Julian?" she called from under the downpour of water.
"Yeah. Before you yell at me, I know I'm an hour early. I promise to sit in the front room and not peek while you get ready."
"Why are you home early?" she called.
"Today wasn't the most productive day at work, and, to be honest, all I really did was think of you all day long. So, I finally gave in and came home."
"I can't believe you're actually securing in saying that. Where's the cold-hearted man I fell in love with?"
"Oh, he's still in there," Sark said with a smirk at the closed shower door. "You're just going to have to do your magic and bring out the worst in me.
Sydney opened up the shower door and reached out for him. "Is that a challenge, Sark? Because I'm quite glad you're home an hour early," she said seductively.
Sark gave in to her for just a split second before he remembered his wits. "Stop that, Sydney. We have a date tonight, and unlike normal, your charms are not going to make us late."
She sighed and shut the shower door. "Party pooper. And if I remember correctly, it was you and your hormones that made us late for our last date."
"I told you that would happen if you wore that little red dress I love so much. You knew what would happen when you chose to wear it anyway." He smirked to himself as he shut the bathroom door to allow her a little privacy to get ready. His next move was to pick out the suit from Gucci she had bought him a few months back. It was her favorite.
He took his time getting ready, knowing that it would be at least a good half hour before she made her way out of the bathroom. And after that, he would have another hour before she was even close to being ready to go.
Sighing, he sat down on the couch and picked a book up off the coffee table. He loved the fact that his girlfriend seemed to thrive on reading books about spies and noting all the mistakes they made in the margin. It made some quite amusing reading for him.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
"I'm ready," Sydney called from the bedroom an hour later.
Sark stood up to tell her he was proud of how quickly she had gotten ready when he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, seeing a strange look flash across his face.
"No… it's just… you… I can't believe…" Sydney couldn't believe that the most collected man in the world was struggling for words. Finally, he managed to say what he truly meant. "You are so beautiful."
The tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't help it. His statement had been so genuine and real. "I love you," she said.
"And I love you," he said, returning to his usual smirk. "Now, if I can get over my sappy lovesickness, we can get on with the most fabulous date you've ever been on."
"How do you know it's going
to be the most fabulous date I've ever been on?" she asked while slipping her
arm into his.
"I just know, Sydney." He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "And what did I tell you about black dresses?"
"That if I thought wearing a red dress made you go crazy, black would drive you insane," she said with a wide grin. "I remembered. That's why I wore it."
Arm in arm, they walked into the elevator and rode down to the lobby. When they got to the lobby, Sark explained that they weren't going to be driving anywhere just yet.
"I thought this night was supposed to be special, even momentous," she said, fake pouting. "Momentous nights don't usually involve me walking in heels."
"With you, Syd, most momentous nights involve you running in heels," he pointed out, alluding to her days as a spy. "Anyway, I thought we'd start the night by going to your favorite Italian restaurant down the street. But if you're not up to it…"
Sydney grabbed his hand and dragged him out the door. "Oh, I'm up for it," she called back to him with a smile. "There's a plate of ravioli calling my name already."
Sark laughed as she led him outside and they started walking down the street hand in hand. It was the perfect night, not too hot and not too cold. And she could actually see a few stars poking through the foggy air above. She couldn't have asked for better weather if she had known ahead of time her boyfriend was going to ask her to walk to their date.
Dinner went by quickly. That was one thing Sydney never had to worry about when spending time with Sark. She had bumbled through most of her dates in the years before she met Danny, struggling to come up with words and topics to talk about with complete strangers. In fact, her first date with Danny, she had struggled to keep him enthused. Her first date with Vaughn had also been a little awkward, what with them being undercover in Nice and breaking about a million CIA rules.
But with Sark, even when they were enemies, she never felt the familiar struggle in the back of her head to form conversation. It was effortless, and she never really could figure out why that was. It just seemed like they were meant to amuse each other as much as they were meant to piss each other off.
Smiling at her boyfriend, she sighed. She knew that this was probably the only "normal" thing that Sark had planned. He usually liked to ease into these momentous nights he planned for her, starting them off with something fairly normal. It almost made her giddy with anticipation of what his next move might be.
After paying the bill, Sark led her out to the front walk where a car was waiting for them.
"The BMW?" she said, curious at his choice. "It must be a big night for you to use this car. The last time I saw this thing was when you were trying to close the deal on the beach house you purchased on the Jersey shore."
He just winked at her and held the passenger door open. When she was seated, he jogged around to the driver's side and got in. Turning to her, he said, "I know this is clichéd, but I want you to put this on."
She looked down at the object in his hand. "A blindfold?"
"Trust me on this one. It will make the impact of tonight twice as great."
"Fine," she said in resignation as she placed the sash over her eyes. "Just don't drive like your normal self. I don't fancy not being able to see my death coming."
"Very funny, Bristow." She smiled to herself. He still called her by her last name whenever she got sassy with him. It was one of the things she loved most about their relationship. No matter how lovey dovey they got, that quick, snarky banter would always be there. She loved that the most.
After about ten minutes of driving, she asked him if they were there yet. "Anticipation never hurt anyone, Sydney," he said. She felt the car slow down. "But to answer your question, we're there."
She heard the car shut off and his door open. Before she knew it, she felt his hands slid around hers and lift her out of the car. It still amazed her that she could put so much trust in one person. Sure, she had trusted her mother and father throughout the years, but there were always obstacles that kept that trust from being complete. With Sark, she had just slid right into total trust and never looked back.
Grinning at the idea of her full trust in him, she let him lead her blindfolded to wherever they were going. They walked for a few minutes before she felt him stop.
"Ready?" he whispered in her
ear from behind.
She nodded and felt the sash being slipped from her eyes. The sight in front of her was too beautiful
for words to describe. "Central Park?"
At least it appeared to have once been Central Park. Now it was decorated with over a hundred thousand candles, each one lit. Their reflection glowed off of the lake. In the distance, she could see her favorite bridge in the whole park, also lit up with candles. It looked like a scene ripped straight from the movies. She had no idea how he found the time to set this up.
"Come on, Syd," he said, grasping her hand when he realized that she could probably stand for hours just staring at the scene he had set up.
"How did you arrange this?" she asked, letting herself be led up onto the bridge.
"I saved up for a while and called in a favor with the Mayor. Turns out if you're important enough you can rent out Central Park for a night."
"Unbelievable," she said as he pulled out her chair for her. "Completely unbelievable."
"You know what's unbelievable?" he said with a smile. "The fact that you and I are here together. I never for a million years thought you would actually be able to put up with me for two whole years without trying to kill me."
"I didn't!" she said with a huge smile. "Not even once. That's something to be proud of."
"Indeed, it is. We must be making progress."
They lapsed into silence, just staring at each other, letting the whole mood and situation soak in. Both were telling the truth when they said they weren't sure they would make it this far. They both had fears that the other person would come to their senses and leave. What they had together was one of those things that always seemed too good to be true.
"Swans," Sydney said, pointing to the pair of swans that were floating across the pond.
"Do you know that swans mate for life?" Sark said, calling her attention away from the small daydream she had lapsed into and back into the real world.
"No, I had never heard that," she said before noticing the strange look he was giving her. "What?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking about something."
"What were you thinking about?" she asked taking the bait.
"You know, I never used to be able to fathom a swan wanting its partner so badly that it won't think of any other swan in the world. Even after their mate dies, they still remain faithful."
Sydney looked up at him in confusion as a horrible thought sprang up from the back of her head. "Why is it so hard to believe? I find it absolutely charming."
Sark stood up and offered his hand to Sydney. She took it and allowed him to lead him towards the water. Neither one said a word for their own reasons. Sydney wasn't sure where to begin telling Sark how his little comment completely crushed her dreams. She knew it was crazy to expect a man like Julian Lazeray to settle down for life. Marriage just wasn't in his life plan. But she couldn't help but daydream what it would be like to walk down the aisle in a beautiful white dress to see him at the other end smiling back at her.
It would be perfection if only he were willing to make a leap.
In her heart, Sydney knew she couldn't ask him to do that. There was no way she could demand that much of him when she knew how much he would be willing to give. It would be as manipulative as she once thought he was.
After a moment of staring out at the swans, Sark simply turned to Sydney and pointed to a spot on the ground. She squinted her eyes and saw there was a box sitting on the river bank. "What is this?" she asked as she bent down to pick it up.
Sark walked over and stood beside her, still staring out at the pair of swans crossing the pond. "I said that I never used to be able to fathom how a swan mates for life." He looked away from the swans and over at her. "That was before I met you."
She smiled at him, silently scolding herself for jumping to conclusions about a comment he had so obviously made offhanded. "What are you getting at here?"
"Open the box, Sydney."
Sydney humored him, figuring he would be the sentimental type of guy to buy her a nice necklace with an emerald swan on it or something to that effect. She wasn't expecting to find what she did inside the box.
It was the most perfect ring she had ever seen.
Sark took the box out of her hand and removed the ring with its small solitary diamond resting on a platinum band. When he had picked it out a few weeks earlier, he knew it was the perfect summary of their relationship. It was so beautiful and simple that it was almost understated. But anyone who looked close enough would realize what exactly the ring stood for.
Smiling at her, he bent down on one knee. "Sydney Bristow, I wouldn't admit how much I loved you when we first met and worked together. I never told you this, but I really think I could sense how much you would one day mean to me since that very first day when we started working together at SD-6. Waiting so long to let you know, that was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Because of it, I wasted so much time that I could have had with you."
Sydney tried to say something, but no words could be formed. Sark continued, "I know I've always said that I'm the type of guy to avoid commitment. And that was the truth. I had always avoided commitment before you came into my life and demanded that I wise up and change my ways. Because of that change, I don't think I could stand not being with you every day for the rest of my life, not being assured that you weren't going to wake up one morning and decide that I'm really not the man you thought I was. I love you, Syd. I love you more than any man has ever loved a woman in the history of this world. Which is why I'm standing here now asking you to do me the honor of being my wife. Marry me."
Sydney could feel the tears trickle down her cheeks. She had never expected him to do something so crazily beautiful as this. Smiling down at him, she held out her left hand. "Of course I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"Is that a yes?" he said with a smile.
"Yes, I will marry you."
Standing up, he slid the ring onto her finger. Then, he scooped her up into his arms and began to twirl her around. He couldn't believe she had actually said yes. This whole time, he had to work up the courage to ask her knowing that she would probably say she wasn't ready. And she hadn't given her answer a second thought.
"I love you, Sydney," he said as he gently kissed her.
"I love you, too, Julian," she said with a smile. "And I always will."
Standing there in the candlelight reflection off of Central Park, Sydney pulled him into her arms and gave him the most passionate kiss she could muster. She wanted him to realize that now he was hers forever and she wasn't willing to give that up. Not ever.
And strangely enough, the same thoughts were running through his head. He wanted her to know that he didn't intend on leaving her side for the rest of their lives. Nothing could tear him away. Nothing.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A few hours later, the two of them finally made their way back to their penthouse apartment. It had taken them quite a bit of time because every few feet Sydney stopped to make sure that this was all really happening. The whole experience was surreal to her.
"I can't believe this is really happening," she said one last time as she sat down on the couch. With a wink, she added, "I mean, who would have thought a cocky bastard like you would have actually wanted to settle down?"
"Hey!" he said, feigning offense. "I have to admit that only I would choose one of the world's largest heartbreakers as the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I'm hopeless at picking out women." She gave him a small pout. "But I have to say that I think I did great on this one."
"I don't think I did so bad myself," Sydney said with a smile. Her eyes fell on the novel that was sitting on the table. "Hey! Have you been reading my books?"
She looked up just as Sark went to press the button on the answering machine. "Don't press that!" she called out. But it was too late. Once again, Vaughn's voice rang through the penthouse, and she had a feeling this time Sark wasn't about to let her turn it off.
"Syd. I know I shouldn't be calling you. This is about as difficult for me to say as for you to hear. But I really need your help. I know you've tried your best to separate yourself from the CIA government and spies in general, and I respect that. I really do. And I hate to do this, but I really need your help, Syd. My son has been kidnapped. But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. Our division at the CIA has been trying for over two years now to iron out the problems caused by Weiss's defection. We never did get him to admit to what exactly was the cause. Two days ago, Weiss escaped federal prison and kidnapped Tyler, my son. Now, I know what you're thinking. This shouldn't be that hard a problem for me to handle, what with all the CIA's assets, but it's a little more complicated than that. Agent Stephanie Conway was the woman who helped Weiss escape. You remember her as your replacement and my field partner. She was pretty good, Sydney, but not near as good as you. I begged your father to give me a number to contact you at. I think he finally realized how hopeless my situation was when he handed me your number. I would never ask you this if it wasn't necessary. Please, Syd. I need your help."
Sydney looked over at Sark hesitantly as he stood with his back to her. "I didn't want you to know about that message until tonight was over," she admitted.
"You knew about it?" he asked, turning to look at her.
Sydney relaxed when she saw that his eyes weren't full of hurt or anger, just confusion. She always forgot how understanding he could be when it came to her. "I heard the first few lines when I came in from my shopping earlier. But honestly, I didn't want to have to deal with why he would contact me today. It was our special day."
Sark nodded and sat down on the seat next to her. "It's all right, Sydney. We have a lot of special days together to look forward to." He reached out and grasped her left hand, gently fingering the ring that was on her finger. "You want to help him, don't you?"
"I don't know."
He sighed and looked over at her. "I think you should, Sydney. The man sounded desperate. I think he's going to need you if he ever wants to get his son back. I've seen Agent Conway in action. He was right. She is extremely good. Which is why you need to help him. Vaughn needs someone better than Conway. And that, my darling, is you."
She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Will you come with me?" she asked.
"I wouldn't dream of leaving you alone."
"Good," she said. She absentmindedly ran her fingers along the back of his neck.
"Though there is one thing I have to put my foot down about."
"What?" she asked straightening up.
He grabbed her wrists and pulled her into her lap. "Michael Vaughn is going to have to wait for your answer until the morning. This is our engagement night, and we're going to enjoy it if it's the last thing I do."
Sydney smiled up at him and pulled his lips down to hers. "Yeah," she thought to herself. "This is the perfect man for me in every way." Smiling, she stood up and led him into the bedroom.