Title: This Tear
Author: SydGillyKC
Author's Notes: I'm glad you guys all liked the kiss lol. All your reviews really made my day! And since this is the first Sunday since the middle of February where I don't have to do homework all day, I'm able to get a start on this chapter extra early like I promised. So here it is!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I would've stayed no matter what. Syd, I told you already. I won't let you go through this alone," he said softly. She looked back at him, clearly affected by what he'd said. Without thinking, he reached out and laid a hand on her cheek. She leaned into his touch, not taking her eyes off his. His eyes held so many emotions, as she was sure hers did. Suddenly, his eyes changed. They no longer looked sad. She now saw something else in them. She felt her heartbeat accelerate when he leaned forward, slowly coming closer and closer to her face. When he was only inches away, he looked back into her eyes, as if asking for permission. She looked back at him. Apparently, it was enough. He closed the last distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 12: Complications
The kiss started out soft, her lips barely moving under his. Gradually, it grew in intensity until they both pulled back to catch their breath. Vaughn stayed close to her face and leaned his forehead against hers.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he told her.
"Actually, I think I do," she said with a smile. "I guess we technically don't have to worry about protocol now, do we?"
Vaughn laughed. "I guess not."
Sydney pulled back a little. "What about Weiss?" She asked.
"He doesn't need to know. At least not yet," Vaughn replied. Sydney nodded her agreement. Suddenly, she pulled back a little more and looked away from him.
"Syd, what is it?" Vaughn asked, concerned.
"It's just. Vaughn, how on earth can this work? I mean, look at us. We're in hiding for God knows how long, I'm still sick. I mean-"
"Syd," he said suddenly, cutting her off. "It was always going to be complicated, no matter when this happened. But this way, we're already together until this whole thing blows over. Until SD-6 is gone. And by then, you'll be better," he said, running his thumb back and forth over her cheek.
"There's that optimism again," she said, causing Vaughn to chuckle. Suddenly, their faces both grew serious once again as he recaptured her lips with his.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sydney woke up early on Saturday morning, unable to go back to sleep. She suspected it was because she'd slept so much during the week. The treatments always managed to knock her out for hours at a time. Sighing, she threw off the covers and headed into the living room. Weiss found her there an hour later, reading a book with the TV softly playing in the background.
"Now that's multi-tasking for you. Watching the TV *and* reading a book," Weiss joked, walking over to the living room. Sydney smiled at him, as he sat in the chair next to the couch that she was stretched out on.
"I couldn't sleep," she told him. "I didn't expect anyone else to be up so early."
"Old habits die hard," he said. "I still feel like I have to get up at six to go to work."
"I know what you mean. It still feels odd to wake up here every morning, doesn't it?" She asked.
"I'm slowly getting used to it," he replied. She looked at him for a moment.
"How did you manage to get stuck here with us?" She asked him, suddenly curious.
"Well, I heard that they were assigning an agent to stay with you both for protection, and I volunteered to go. I don't really have any family to leave behind and I hated the idea of you guys being stuck here with some stranger. It wasn't exactly a hard decision," he told her.
"You *volunteered*? Are you crazy?" She asked him, surprised.
"Hey, it's not so bad. The house isn't bad, it's free, I don't have to work, I don't have to worry about bills," he joked.
"True, but still. I don't know if I could ever volunteer for something like this. I always dreaded the idea of going into hiding. Admittedly, it's not as bad as I sometimes imagined it to be, but I don't know if I could ever willingly put myself in this position. That said, though, I'm glad you volunteered. You're right. I wouldn't want to be stuck here with some stranger. But I won't blame you if you ever want to switch off with another agent," she assured him.
"Sorry, Bristow, you're stuck with me for a while," he said, smiling. She laughed. "So how are things between you and Mike?" He asked suddenly. She looked up at him, surprised.
"What do you mean?" She asked, trying to sound confused. She hoped the blush she felt in her cheeks didn't betray her act.
"Oh, okay, you're gonna be like that," he said, nodding.
"Seriously, Weiss, I have no clue what you're talking about."
"Whatever, Syd," he said, smiling. He got up and headed into the kitchen. She picked her book back up and pretending to read, knowing her attempt to actually concentrate would be futile.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Vaughn walked out into the main room around an hour later, having slept in a little more than normal. He immediately saw Sydney stretched across the couch, reading. She didn't see him yet, and he decided to take advantage of that fact. He looked around to see if Weiss was there, but didn't see him. Vaughn started walking towards the couch. When he was a few feet away, Sydney looked up and smiled at him.
"Good morning," she said, lowering her book a little. He walked to the back of the couch and leaned over it, giving her a soft kiss on the lips.
"Good morning," he replied when he pulled away.
"How did you know Weiss wasn't in the kitchen or something?" she asked him, still smiling.
"I looked. Give me a little credit. I do work for the CIA, you know," he said, defending himself. She laughed. He walked around the couch and brought her legs in towards her body so that he could sit next to her.
"Sleep well?" she asked.
"I don't think I've slept in this late in a few years, so yeah," he replied. "You?"
"I'll never take the feeling of waking up without nausea for granted again."
"Does that mean you're feeling okay?" He asked.
"For the most part," she replied, focusing her attention back on her reading. Vaughn took that as a sign not to press for more.
"What are you reading?" He asked. She titled the book upwards so he could see the title.
"The Speed of Light," he read off the book. "Is it any good?"
"I'm starting to get into it," she replied. She looked at him again. "It's been a while since I've gotten a chance to read for fun. Whoever packed my bag was nice enough to put in a whole bunch of my unread books."
"Will packed your stuff," he told her.
"Really?" She asked, surprised.
"Yeah. While we were extracting you, your dad called him and told him to pack a few bags for you with everything you'd need to go into hiding for a while," he explained.
"Wow. I just figured they'd sent some agent to my house when no one was home," she told him.
"Nope. Will was a lot of help." She smiled at that, remembering how sweet Will always was towards her. Her smile suddenly faded when she felt her chest suddenly tighten and she brought her hand to her mouth and braced herself for the coughing she knew was coming. Sure enough, coughs racked her entire body only a second later. She got up off the couch quickly.
"Syd? Are you okay?" Vaughn asked, his voice sounding frightened. She managed to nod as she quickly made her way to her bathroom, still coughing. Vaughn got up off the couch, but didn't move further than that. He stood there for a moment, debating on whether or not to go after her. He knew she normally wouldn't let him, but things had changed between him since then.
Meanwhile, Syd leaned over the sink, still coughing. She started to notice that it was getting more difficult to catch her breath between coughs. Her vision started to swim suddenly and she couldn't seem to get enough air. She gasped for breath, wanting to call out to Vaughn, but unable to do so. She hunched over the sink, desperately trying to get more air.
Back in the living room, Vaughn finally decided he had nothing to lose in going after her. The worst that could happen would be her telling him that she could take care of herself. At least this way he would know if she needed any help. He quickly walked down the hall and into her room. He was surprised to find her bathroom door open. He walked towards it. Once he was in the doorway, he saw her bent over the sink, gasping for breath. He immediately rushed to her side, putting his hand on the small of her back.
"Syd! Oh my god, are you okay?" He asked frantically. She couldn't answer him or bring her head up to look at him. All she could manage to do was grab his arm with one of her hands and grip it tightly. He immediately got the message. He bolted out of the bathroom, out of the bedroom, and down the hall to Weiss's room. He burst through the door without knocking and saw Weiss sitting at the desk in his room, working on the laptop. He instantly turned around when he heard Vaughn come in.
"Call Dr. Anderson! Something's wrong with Syd!"
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked, his eyes going wide.
"I don't think she can breathe."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
By the time Dr. Anderson arrived, Sydney was breathing a little easier, but was still having trouble. The doctor instantly went to Sydney's room, where she was sitting in her bed with Vaughn at her side. Dr. Anderson started checking her over and Vaughn moved out of his way, standing now in the doorway. The doctor had brought along a large bag of equipment, almost the size of a suitcase. He listened to her heart and breathing with a stethoscope before pulling out an oxygen tank and mask. He slipped the mask over her mouth and nose. Vaughn noted the relief that instantly registered on her face. The doctor continued to check her over for about ten minutes, and then told her to lie back. She did so as Dr. Anderson made his way over to talk to Vaughn.
"Is she okay?" Vaughn asked instantly.
"Yes, she'll be fine. As far as I can tell, this is simply the tumor giving her problems. It doesn't seem to be shrinking the way we'd hoped. It's not a huge deal, though. We just wanted to shrink it so that the operation could be as simple as possible to allow her a quicker recovery time. I'll simply move the surgery up to this week. I'll leave the oxygen mask here. She can use it whenever she has trouble breathing. She shouldn't have any further complications," Dr. Anderson explained.
"So this is normal?" Vaughn asked.
"For her condition, yes. It's really nothing to worry about. Once we remove the tumor in her lung, she won't have any of these respiratory problems anymore," Dr. Anderson assured him.
"Okay. Thanks for coming," Vaughn said, shaking the doctor's hand.
"No problem. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know when the surgery can be scheduled. Don't hesitate to call if anything else happens, though I don't expect her to have any more problems."
"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow then," Vaughn said. The doctor nodded and turned to leave. Vaughn walked down the hall into the main room and found Weiss sitting at the table.
"Is she okay?" Weiss asked, getting up from the table and walking over to Vaughn. Vaughn explained what the doctor had told him.
"Well, thank god it's nothing too serious," Weiss said afterwards. "You should go tell her."
"You're right," Vaughn agreed, turning and walking back to Sydney's room. The door was open and he walked in and over to her bed. She was awake, on her bed in a half-sitting position with pillows stacked up behind her. She still had the oxygen mask on, but looked at him questioningly when he came in. He smiled at her and walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, facing her.
"Feeling better?" He asked her, reaching out and taking her hand. She nodded at him. "Good. Well, Dr. Anderson says this is nothing to worry about. He says it's a normal symptom from the tumor in your chest. He wants to move up the surgery to this week so that you don't have to deal with this for too long," Vaughn explained to her. She closed her eyes and sighed audibly through the mask. "Hey," he said, causing her to open her eyes again. He reached out and brushed a piece of hair from her face. "At least you're okay." She nodded again. Vaughn leaned down and gently kissed her forehead, silently praying that her seemingly constant downturn would soon end.
To be continued.
A/N: Wow, I got this chapter up pretty quick, didn't I? See, if you guys keep reviewing, I really do get them up quicker. Here's your proof lol. Well I hope you liked it. I know I'm torturing Sydney an insane amount, but I wanted to make it realistic. I've done a lot of research about cancer (specifically brain tumors, I once wanted to be an oncologist) and it's been in my family before, so I know that it's often one downturn after another after another. And I know this is one of the few chapters that isn't a cliffhanger, but please review anyway and keep reading because some interesting plot twists are coming up. And a new character will soon make an appearance! Oh, and those of you who are X-Files fans also may have caught my "Speed of Light" reference. Yes, that is the book Gillian's making into a movie and directing just to clear that up lol. Ok, now please go review! I got this out quickly for you, so please review for me lol. Thanks!
Author: SydGillyKC
Author's Notes: I'm glad you guys all liked the kiss lol. All your reviews really made my day! And since this is the first Sunday since the middle of February where I don't have to do homework all day, I'm able to get a start on this chapter extra early like I promised. So here it is!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I would've stayed no matter what. Syd, I told you already. I won't let you go through this alone," he said softly. She looked back at him, clearly affected by what he'd said. Without thinking, he reached out and laid a hand on her cheek. She leaned into his touch, not taking her eyes off his. His eyes held so many emotions, as she was sure hers did. Suddenly, his eyes changed. They no longer looked sad. She now saw something else in them. She felt her heartbeat accelerate when he leaned forward, slowly coming closer and closer to her face. When he was only inches away, he looked back into her eyes, as if asking for permission. She looked back at him. Apparently, it was enough. He closed the last distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 12: Complications
The kiss started out soft, her lips barely moving under his. Gradually, it grew in intensity until they both pulled back to catch their breath. Vaughn stayed close to her face and leaned his forehead against hers.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he told her.
"Actually, I think I do," she said with a smile. "I guess we technically don't have to worry about protocol now, do we?"
Vaughn laughed. "I guess not."
Sydney pulled back a little. "What about Weiss?" She asked.
"He doesn't need to know. At least not yet," Vaughn replied. Sydney nodded her agreement. Suddenly, she pulled back a little more and looked away from him.
"Syd, what is it?" Vaughn asked, concerned.
"It's just. Vaughn, how on earth can this work? I mean, look at us. We're in hiding for God knows how long, I'm still sick. I mean-"
"Syd," he said suddenly, cutting her off. "It was always going to be complicated, no matter when this happened. But this way, we're already together until this whole thing blows over. Until SD-6 is gone. And by then, you'll be better," he said, running his thumb back and forth over her cheek.
"There's that optimism again," she said, causing Vaughn to chuckle. Suddenly, their faces both grew serious once again as he recaptured her lips with his.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sydney woke up early on Saturday morning, unable to go back to sleep. She suspected it was because she'd slept so much during the week. The treatments always managed to knock her out for hours at a time. Sighing, she threw off the covers and headed into the living room. Weiss found her there an hour later, reading a book with the TV softly playing in the background.
"Now that's multi-tasking for you. Watching the TV *and* reading a book," Weiss joked, walking over to the living room. Sydney smiled at him, as he sat in the chair next to the couch that she was stretched out on.
"I couldn't sleep," she told him. "I didn't expect anyone else to be up so early."
"Old habits die hard," he said. "I still feel like I have to get up at six to go to work."
"I know what you mean. It still feels odd to wake up here every morning, doesn't it?" She asked.
"I'm slowly getting used to it," he replied. She looked at him for a moment.
"How did you manage to get stuck here with us?" She asked him, suddenly curious.
"Well, I heard that they were assigning an agent to stay with you both for protection, and I volunteered to go. I don't really have any family to leave behind and I hated the idea of you guys being stuck here with some stranger. It wasn't exactly a hard decision," he told her.
"You *volunteered*? Are you crazy?" She asked him, surprised.
"Hey, it's not so bad. The house isn't bad, it's free, I don't have to work, I don't have to worry about bills," he joked.
"True, but still. I don't know if I could ever volunteer for something like this. I always dreaded the idea of going into hiding. Admittedly, it's not as bad as I sometimes imagined it to be, but I don't know if I could ever willingly put myself in this position. That said, though, I'm glad you volunteered. You're right. I wouldn't want to be stuck here with some stranger. But I won't blame you if you ever want to switch off with another agent," she assured him.
"Sorry, Bristow, you're stuck with me for a while," he said, smiling. She laughed. "So how are things between you and Mike?" He asked suddenly. She looked up at him, surprised.
"What do you mean?" She asked, trying to sound confused. She hoped the blush she felt in her cheeks didn't betray her act.
"Oh, okay, you're gonna be like that," he said, nodding.
"Seriously, Weiss, I have no clue what you're talking about."
"Whatever, Syd," he said, smiling. He got up and headed into the kitchen. She picked her book back up and pretending to read, knowing her attempt to actually concentrate would be futile.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Vaughn walked out into the main room around an hour later, having slept in a little more than normal. He immediately saw Sydney stretched across the couch, reading. She didn't see him yet, and he decided to take advantage of that fact. He looked around to see if Weiss was there, but didn't see him. Vaughn started walking towards the couch. When he was a few feet away, Sydney looked up and smiled at him.
"Good morning," she said, lowering her book a little. He walked to the back of the couch and leaned over it, giving her a soft kiss on the lips.
"Good morning," he replied when he pulled away.
"How did you know Weiss wasn't in the kitchen or something?" she asked him, still smiling.
"I looked. Give me a little credit. I do work for the CIA, you know," he said, defending himself. She laughed. He walked around the couch and brought her legs in towards her body so that he could sit next to her.
"Sleep well?" she asked.
"I don't think I've slept in this late in a few years, so yeah," he replied. "You?"
"I'll never take the feeling of waking up without nausea for granted again."
"Does that mean you're feeling okay?" He asked.
"For the most part," she replied, focusing her attention back on her reading. Vaughn took that as a sign not to press for more.
"What are you reading?" He asked. She titled the book upwards so he could see the title.
"The Speed of Light," he read off the book. "Is it any good?"
"I'm starting to get into it," she replied. She looked at him again. "It's been a while since I've gotten a chance to read for fun. Whoever packed my bag was nice enough to put in a whole bunch of my unread books."
"Will packed your stuff," he told her.
"Really?" She asked, surprised.
"Yeah. While we were extracting you, your dad called him and told him to pack a few bags for you with everything you'd need to go into hiding for a while," he explained.
"Wow. I just figured they'd sent some agent to my house when no one was home," she told him.
"Nope. Will was a lot of help." She smiled at that, remembering how sweet Will always was towards her. Her smile suddenly faded when she felt her chest suddenly tighten and she brought her hand to her mouth and braced herself for the coughing she knew was coming. Sure enough, coughs racked her entire body only a second later. She got up off the couch quickly.
"Syd? Are you okay?" Vaughn asked, his voice sounding frightened. She managed to nod as she quickly made her way to her bathroom, still coughing. Vaughn got up off the couch, but didn't move further than that. He stood there for a moment, debating on whether or not to go after her. He knew she normally wouldn't let him, but things had changed between him since then.
Meanwhile, Syd leaned over the sink, still coughing. She started to notice that it was getting more difficult to catch her breath between coughs. Her vision started to swim suddenly and she couldn't seem to get enough air. She gasped for breath, wanting to call out to Vaughn, but unable to do so. She hunched over the sink, desperately trying to get more air.
Back in the living room, Vaughn finally decided he had nothing to lose in going after her. The worst that could happen would be her telling him that she could take care of herself. At least this way he would know if she needed any help. He quickly walked down the hall and into her room. He was surprised to find her bathroom door open. He walked towards it. Once he was in the doorway, he saw her bent over the sink, gasping for breath. He immediately rushed to her side, putting his hand on the small of her back.
"Syd! Oh my god, are you okay?" He asked frantically. She couldn't answer him or bring her head up to look at him. All she could manage to do was grab his arm with one of her hands and grip it tightly. He immediately got the message. He bolted out of the bathroom, out of the bedroom, and down the hall to Weiss's room. He burst through the door without knocking and saw Weiss sitting at the desk in his room, working on the laptop. He instantly turned around when he heard Vaughn come in.
"Call Dr. Anderson! Something's wrong with Syd!"
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked, his eyes going wide.
"I don't think she can breathe."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
By the time Dr. Anderson arrived, Sydney was breathing a little easier, but was still having trouble. The doctor instantly went to Sydney's room, where she was sitting in her bed with Vaughn at her side. Dr. Anderson started checking her over and Vaughn moved out of his way, standing now in the doorway. The doctor had brought along a large bag of equipment, almost the size of a suitcase. He listened to her heart and breathing with a stethoscope before pulling out an oxygen tank and mask. He slipped the mask over her mouth and nose. Vaughn noted the relief that instantly registered on her face. The doctor continued to check her over for about ten minutes, and then told her to lie back. She did so as Dr. Anderson made his way over to talk to Vaughn.
"Is she okay?" Vaughn asked instantly.
"Yes, she'll be fine. As far as I can tell, this is simply the tumor giving her problems. It doesn't seem to be shrinking the way we'd hoped. It's not a huge deal, though. We just wanted to shrink it so that the operation could be as simple as possible to allow her a quicker recovery time. I'll simply move the surgery up to this week. I'll leave the oxygen mask here. She can use it whenever she has trouble breathing. She shouldn't have any further complications," Dr. Anderson explained.
"So this is normal?" Vaughn asked.
"For her condition, yes. It's really nothing to worry about. Once we remove the tumor in her lung, she won't have any of these respiratory problems anymore," Dr. Anderson assured him.
"Okay. Thanks for coming," Vaughn said, shaking the doctor's hand.
"No problem. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know when the surgery can be scheduled. Don't hesitate to call if anything else happens, though I don't expect her to have any more problems."
"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow then," Vaughn said. The doctor nodded and turned to leave. Vaughn walked down the hall into the main room and found Weiss sitting at the table.
"Is she okay?" Weiss asked, getting up from the table and walking over to Vaughn. Vaughn explained what the doctor had told him.
"Well, thank god it's nothing too serious," Weiss said afterwards. "You should go tell her."
"You're right," Vaughn agreed, turning and walking back to Sydney's room. The door was open and he walked in and over to her bed. She was awake, on her bed in a half-sitting position with pillows stacked up behind her. She still had the oxygen mask on, but looked at him questioningly when he came in. He smiled at her and walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, facing her.
"Feeling better?" He asked her, reaching out and taking her hand. She nodded at him. "Good. Well, Dr. Anderson says this is nothing to worry about. He says it's a normal symptom from the tumor in your chest. He wants to move up the surgery to this week so that you don't have to deal with this for too long," Vaughn explained to her. She closed her eyes and sighed audibly through the mask. "Hey," he said, causing her to open her eyes again. He reached out and brushed a piece of hair from her face. "At least you're okay." She nodded again. Vaughn leaned down and gently kissed her forehead, silently praying that her seemingly constant downturn would soon end.
To be continued.
A/N: Wow, I got this chapter up pretty quick, didn't I? See, if you guys keep reviewing, I really do get them up quicker. Here's your proof lol. Well I hope you liked it. I know I'm torturing Sydney an insane amount, but I wanted to make it realistic. I've done a lot of research about cancer (specifically brain tumors, I once wanted to be an oncologist) and it's been in my family before, so I know that it's often one downturn after another after another. And I know this is one of the few chapters that isn't a cliffhanger, but please review anyway and keep reading because some interesting plot twists are coming up. And a new character will soon make an appearance! Oh, and those of you who are X-Files fans also may have caught my "Speed of Light" reference. Yes, that is the book Gillian's making into a movie and directing just to clear that up lol. Ok, now please go review! I got this out quickly for you, so please review for me lol. Thanks!