Chap. 33- Rhythm of the Rain
It had been a slow and unusual month.
Sydney, of course, had been shocked to hear that Lauren had left Vaughn and that he hadn't heard from her since. She and Vaughn rarely talked about anything other than work anymore. The fact that he was now 'available' seemed to penetrate every thought that formed in her mind, quickly subsided by a quick self-admonishment and the sparkle of her engagement ring from her husband.
Scott.
Her head hurt to think about their relationship, let alone analyze it. Every night when she slipped between the sheets and began to fall asleep, the dreams would come.
Sometimes they would be forgiving. Sydney would dream about what her child would have looked like, what it would have felt like to hold it and care for it. Some nights it would be a boy. Some nights it would be a girl.
But in reality, the child would always remain an 'it' and she hated herself for that.
Scott understood. She knew that he blamed himself for even agreeing to go on the mission at all. He knew that her job was a dangerous one. He could have lost her too. Sydney could have bled to death.
But she didn't. He had Vaughn to thank for that.
Vaughn.
--
Vaughn stood by the window, looking out into the dark night sky. In his hand, he held a glass of water, the ice tinkling on the sides.
He looked around him at the empty house and the dimly lit room. The corners of his lips tugged into a slight smile. He had forgotten what it felt like to be a bachelor. His smile disappeared when Vaughn remembered what day it was.
He half-ran into the study to double-check, but it was the day, the second date that he would never forget.
Vaughn walked slowly into the kitchen and sat heavily onto a chair. He leaned his head against the chalky white wall and thought back five years into the past.
--
It poured the whole day. It didn't just rain. It poured.
Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I've been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
Vaughn shook his head in disbelief when he backed out the car from the apartment complex garage. The tiny garden in which Lauren had planted her flowers overflowed with water and the mud streamed down over the sides of the plant box.
He was almost immediately called into a debriefing the moment he step foot in the Ops center and was preoccupied with paperwork the rest of the day.
When it came time to go home, Vaughn frowned. He felt as if something was missing. Something big was missing.
Sydney.
He rubbed his face in disbelief. How could he have forgotten her? Was it the same for her? The past six months had been hell for the both of them, yes, but could she have been so intent on avoiding him that she had forgotten him?
Vaughn jumped out of his seat and walked to her desk, finding it immaculate and empty of her. He frowned again. She wasn't at the debriefing...she wasn't anywhere.
Panic rushed through his body. In a frantic and in his moment of frenzy, he ran into Jack Bristow.
Muttering an apology and practically hearing his own bones cracking, he looked Jack in the eye. Vaughn knew that was what Jack wanted to do. He wanted to torture him to the extent that Vaughn would feel the same hurt that Sydney was feeling.
Vaughn almost cried. Jack wouldn't need to do much.
"Seeing your state of such distress and anxiety, running around this office, I presume that you're looking for something." Jack started, his eyes boring into Vaughn's brain and reading his thoughts, pulling it apart. Picking and analyzing. "Am I right to conclude that you're looking for my daughter?"
"Yes, sir," Vaughn said nodding. "Would you-"
"Know where she is?" Jack finished. Not waiting for Vaughn to answer he continued without the slightest trace of emotion or pity. He looked casually at his watch. "Sydney is aboard a plane that will bring her to a safe place. A good place...far away from things or people-"
"Flight?" Vaughn asked in shock, his mouth dry, cutting Jack off abruptly.
The only girl I care about has gone away
Looking for a brand new start
But little does she know that when she left that day
Along with her she took my heart
"Yes, Mr. Vaughn. A flight. Good-night." Jack said curtly, turning to leave and walking away briskly.
"No, wait! Wait!" Vaughn shouted, catching up to Jack in the parking lot. "Where is she going? You have to tell me! You-"
"I have to tell you?" Jack asked with menace. He stopped and turned around to face Vaughn, towering over him with apparent rage. "Mr. Vaughn, my impatience with you is running low. I only tolerated you before because my daughter seemed to care for you. If I may remind you, you have no connection with my daughter any longer and I therefore do not have to tolerate you. To be blunt, you don't deserve my daughter and in turn, you do not deserve to know where she is headed or where she is going. Knowing your persistence, Mr. Vaughn, you may eventually find out sooner or later, but it will never be from me. It's getting late. Now, why don't you run along home to your wife?"
Jack turned and got into his car, speeding off into the thunderstorm. Vaughn slumped in defeat, sitting on the painted yellow curb.
Rain please tell me now does that seem fair
For her to steal my heart away when she don't care
I can't love another when my heart's somewhere far away
The only girl I care about has gone away
Looking for a brand new start
But little does she know that when she left that day
Along with her she took my heart
Twenty minutes later, Vaughn slowly stood up and walked into the office and to his desk. The majority of the staff had already gone home and the custodians were beginning to file in. He walked to his office corner and froze.
There she sat, illuminated by his desk lamp in the gloom of the night office. Her hair was dripping from the heavy rain and she was completely soaked through.
"Vaughn!" She exclaimed in shock.
"Syd? What are you doing here? Your dad said you were on a flight, somewhere. He wouldn't tell me, I..."
"I was on a flight. I...I couldn't leave without saying goodbye. I guess I wanted to leave on good terms. I wanted you to know that I forgive you." Sydney smiled. "That's all. I have to go, Vaughn. A late-night flight to catch. I'll see you soon."
With that Sydney ran off into the long dark hallway without another word.
Rain won't you tell her that I love her so
Please ask the sun to set her heart aglow
Rain in her heart and let the love we knew start to grow
Vaughn didn't know what to do but stand idly by his desk. He sat down into the seat that Sydney had just occupied and jumped up, staring at the seat.
His pants were dry. The seat was dry.
It had all been a figment of his imagination. She had left him to go god-knows where. She hadn't even hesitated. She hadn't even called or written him a good-bye letter.
But then again, Jack was right. He didn't deserve any of those things. He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve anything.
He got into his car and his subconscious drove him to the airport. He sat in a waiting chair for an hour, half expecting her to fly out and greet him again; half-expecting himself to get up a buy a ticket.
But to where?
He realized how badly he missed her, how badly he wanted her, how badly he needed her.
'It's getting late. Now, why don't you run along home to your wife?'
Vaughn sighed and he got up from the hard plastic chair, sliding behind the steering wheel and drove home in silence.
Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I've been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
And let me be alone again
Oh listen to the falling rain
When he parked his car in the parking lot, he sat there for a good ten minutes. In those ten minutes, he didn't almost cry.
He did cry.
--
It was the day that he would learn to regret. It was the day that he wished he could redo. It was the day that he cried from a broken heart.
It was the day he had let Sydney Bristow go.
--
A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry, I've been so MIA lately. I just really wasn't in a writing mood. Very bad writer's block. Blegh.
But it's over now. I hope.
This chapter's a little "different". I think it's the writing technique. I'm not really all that sure. I guess that from the time of the last chapter until tonight, there's just been a lot of stuff that had opened my eyes a little wider and so this chapter's kind of my "revelation".
Tell me what you think.
Samanta: Hey! I got your email, thank you for it. I couldn't respond to it because you said that your email is jacked. I couldn't really review to any of your stories because I don't know where you post or what any of your stories are. So, I hope you get this! Thanks again.
Also, thank you so much to everyone that reviewed: windrider50000, Ms.MV, RJS, landi104 (ahh! I'm so sorry! Whenever you talk to me on AIM, I'm always 'away' and when I get back YOU'RE gone!! Next time! I promise!), Maddy, supergirl14, Laura, Kaley Bugs, Jayme (a.k.a. Naughty-Spy ; yes, I would like to thank ALL of your multi-personalities for their reviews too. LOL. Just kidding!), Ty-Ty, Reesie06, star16, Welly, M, Lor, annie, serendipity112233, Emililim
I hope that's everybody!
And I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. Tell me if you have any suggestions, inquiries, or complaints! Review, email, AIM, whatever!
Thanks!
Jen
P.S. The song, "Rhythm of the Rain", belongs to the Cascades, not me!