Title: This Tear
Author: SydGillyKC
Author's Note: Okay, well hopefully this will make up for the incredibly long wait for the last chapter. And hopefully I'll get as much writing done as I possibly can before I go back to the land of papers and exams and college life lol. I hope you enjoy!
IMPORTANT NOTE: It's important for this chapter to remember that this story is set after "The Getaway." After that, Sloane returned to SD-6 and the story went AU.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Okay, I'll be out in a sec," Vaughn replied. Weiss nodded and ducked out, closing the door behind him. Vaughn turned back to Sydney and immediately closed the distance between them and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was firm and gentle all at the same time and neither ever wanted to leave the temporary bliss. Vaughn eventually backed away though, moving up to kiss her forehead gently before sitting straight again.
Sydney smiled, the picture of serenity next to his mask of concern.
"Knock 'em dead."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 37: Day One
Vaughn sighed once he reached the door. He dug into his pocket, finally pulling out the keys and unlocking the door. He stepped inside the quiet condo to see Aly sitting at the table with an open book. Vaughn greeted her as he closed the door behind him and took off his coat. He then walked over and joined her at the table as she marked and set down her book.
"How's Syd?" Vaughn asked immediately.
"She's okay. Her fever's gone down, which is a good sign. She was having a slight difficulty breathing, though, so I put her on a nasal canula. Don't worry, it's typical of her condition, it's really not too big a deal," Aly assured him.
"Has she been able to rest at all?" Vaughn asked.
"Yeah, she's been asleep most of the day. She must not have slept much last night," Aly commented.
"She didn't," Vaughn confirmed. Aly nodded and allowed a brief silence, though Vaughn knew she couldn't resist much longer.
"So how was it?" She asked finally.
Vaughn sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I think it went okay. I really don't know. It was just opening arguments, no testimony. We met the other lawyer. I know he was just assigned to the case and he probably had no say in the matter, but I couldn't even look him in the eye. It just made me sick to know that I was in the same room as someone who was fighting for the CIA to let Sydney die," Vaughn paused, visibly struggling with what he was saying. "I think they said he was out of Langley. I've never heard of him, but he has a nice looking resume. And unfortunately, his argument was pretty solid. Andrew did well, though. His opening was very strong."
Vaughn remembered part of the opening that had cemented Vaughn's opinion that Andrew had been the right choice for Sydney's representation.
"Sydney Bristow is an exemplary agent of the Central Intelligence Agency. After seven years of unknowingly servicing SD-6, she has spent every moment since then working to take them down. Working to correct a mistake that no one in this world would fault her for. Her work has led to the acquisition of many invaluable Rambaldi artifacts. Without her years of work inside SD- 6, Agent Dixon never would have had the opportunity to acquire this particular artifact that has brought us here today. And had she not been sick, it's more than likely she would have been the one to acquire the artifact herself. As of this time, there are no other candidates produced by the CIA that are worthy of this opportunity, of this chance at life. The thought of preserving all three of these solutions so that they may be tested and never used is absurd when the woman who put her life on the line for two years to get the CIA artifacts like this one is lying on her deathbed..."
"I guess we'll know more as the hearing goes on," Aly commented, snapping Vaughn from his thoughts.
"Yeah, I guess so," Vaughn agreed.
"So where is everyone?" Aly asked.
"Jack and Andrew are off somewhere working on what order to call us all in. Weiss was called to ops right after the hearing ended," Vaughn replied. Aly nodded. A brief silence fell over them. "I think I'm going to go sit with her for a while," Vaughn said, breaking the silence.
Aly smiled. "Of course." She picked up her book again as Vaughn got up from the table.
He entered the bedroom to find it darkened, the lights off and the shades drawn. He assumed Sydney was still sleeping. Closing the door behind him before rounding the bed, he soon discovered his assumption had been correct. Sydney lay on her side, eyes closed. Vaughn took residence in his usual chair beside her. Unable to stop himself, he reached out and brushed imaginary hairs away from her face. She sighed contentedly before her eyes fluttered open and focused on him. His guilt at waking her vanished when the smile spread across her face.
"You're back," she said softly, her voice sounding slightly different with the canula now feeding her oxygen through her nose.
He chuckled. "I am."
"How did it go?" She asked.
He reached out again, his fingers brushing against her cheek. "It went well. Andrew was great," he replied.
"And the other lawyer?" She asked knowingly.
"It's hard to tell, really. It was only opening arguments," Vaughn reminded her.
"Vaughn," she warned as she shifted a bit. He barely caught her wince, but he did hear the way her breath hitched.
"Hey, we'll talk later, okay? You're exhausted and I know you want to be rested for when your father and Andrew come by later," he reasoned, knowing it was the one thing she wouldn't argue with.
"Why is it that you always know exactly what to say to get yourself off the hook?" Sydney asked, teasingly. Vaughn smiled at her.
"It's a skill one must acquire when they spend most of their time with someone as stubborn as you." She shook her head in amusement and he leaned down and captured her lips.
"Will you stay for a bit?" She asked tentatively once he drew away from her face.
"Of course." She gave him a small smile before closing her eyes. He took the opportunity to reach over to the morphine pump and up her dose slightly.
"I heard that," she mumbled, eyes still closed.
"You needed it," he insisted. She didn't argue for once, just reached out her hand. He took it without hesitation and brought it to his lips before allowing their joined hands to fall back onto the bed.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
An hour later, not a thing in the small bedroom had changed. Sydney still slept. Vaughn still sat beside her bed. Their hands were still joined. Vaughn savored the stillness, afraid that if he moved, the moment would be broken. He knew that once he went back to the real world, everything would keep moving and he would be thrown back into the chaos of it all. But here, in this room, everything stood still. Here, he was with Sydney. Here, that was the only thing that mattered.
Vaughn was startled when the door suddenly opened. He looked up to see that it was Weiss who was standing in the doorway. Instead of entering like Vaughn expected him to, though, he suddenly stepped aside as if he were allowing someone else to enter. And then someone did. As Weiss closed the door behind the visitor, Vaughn found himself staring directly at a dead person.
"You're Emily Sloane."
Emily nodded, looking into his eyes before her gaze shifted to look at Sydney. Vaughn clearly saw the tears in her eyes. She looked back up at him sadly. "I know what you must think, but I'm here to help." She paused. "I needed to see her."
Vaughn looked down at Sydney, her face still peaceful in sleep. "Just don't upset her," he said softly before looking back up at her. A hint of a smile crossed her face.
"I love her too." Vaughn sighed, nodded, and leaned toward Sydney. Reaching out with his free hand, he gently rubbed up and down her arm.
"Syd," he said softly, coaxing her from her sleep. Finally, her eyes fluttered open. He smiled down at her.
"Hi," she whispered.
"Hey," he replied, the smile fading from his face.
"What is it?" She asked. Vaughn looked up, past her, at Emily. Sydney saw this and turned her head to follow his eye-line. When she saw Emily, her face visibly paled and her eyes grew impossibly wide. "Emily." The word was as soft as a breath. She turned her head back to look at Vaughn suddenly, as if to confirm she wasn't hallucinating. He nodded at her before leaning down and pressing his lips to her forehead. He then rose from his seat and headed for the door, giving another nod to Emily as he passed. Emily took that as a sign of permission and she made her way over to Sydney, lowering herself into the chair that Vaughn had just vacated. Meanwhile, Sydney managed to push herself up slightly to sit against some of the pillows.
"Sydney," Emily said softly, tears in her eyes.
Sydney shook her head. "I don't understand." She paused. "I spoke at your funeral."
"I know," Emily said, her eye-line dropping. "Sydney, when the Alliance found out that I knew about them, they ordered Arvin to kill me. We had no choice. He sent me into hiding and came up with a plan to make the Alliance believe I was dead. After the CIA destroyed the Alliance, he must've told some of your agents where I was. They came and brought me back to speak to Arvin. He filled me in everything he knew. Agent Weiss filled in the blanks... He told me about you."
"You knew that SD-6 wasn't part of the CIA," Sydney stated, amazed.
"Arvin told me. Right after I went into remission, right before I went into hiding. He explained everything to me," Emily replied.
"And you forgave him?" Sydney asked.
"I don't expect you to understand. I've loved him for more than half of my life. When I was sick, he was all I had. He was the only thing that got me through sometimes. I had to believe that he had his reasons," Emily explained tearfully. "I know the pain he's caused you, Sydney. And for that, I am so sorry."
Tears rose to Sydney's eyes. She reached out and laid her hand on top of Emily's. "I don't blame you."
"When they told me you were sick- God, Sydney, I'm sorry I wasn't here. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you like you were for me," she said softly, the tears steadily streaming down her face now.
"It's not your fault," Sydney said, shaking her head. "We were both in hiding, nothing could've been done."
Emily looked down, silent for a long moment. "You should know that the CIA wants to make me a candidate for the solution as well. That they want to propose to save it should I have another relapse. Arvin told them that if they did so, he would cooperate with them."
Sydney took a shaky breath. "Emily, it's okay. I never really expected this to be my miracle cure. Besides, you deserve it just as much as I do," she said sincerely.
"I told them no. I said there was no way I would willingly participate in this. I told them I wanted the solution to be tested on you."
"But, Emily, the information the CIA could gain from Sloane would be invaluable. And it could be your chance to live a healthy life," she argued.
"I have my chance, Sydney. I've been in remission for more than a year. I'm perfectly healthy and plan on staying that way. You need this much more than I do," Emily protested.
"I can't let you do this."
"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice."
"Say they decide to test the solution on me and say it actually works. How am I supposed to live with myself if, God forbid, your illness should come back?" Sydney asked.
"Sydney," Emily said gently, taking Sydney's hand in her own. "Arvin told me about what you said at my funeral. That you thought of me as a mother to you. A mother's job is to give life to their child. I may not have been the one that gave you life to begin with, but I have the opportunity to do so now. Let me do this for you. Please."
Sydney took a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing several tears to escape and roll down her face. Emily took the opportunity to lean over and gather Sydney into her arms. They held each other tightly. "I know what you're going through, Sydney. I know how hard it is. I'll be here if you ever want to talk," Emily whispered into Sydney's ear.
"Thank you."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I think we're going to plan on two witnesses a day," Andrew said as he, Jack, Vaughn, Weiss, and Aly sat around the dining room table later that evening. "I doubt we'll make it to any more than that before the committee recesses for the day."
After Emily and Sydney had talked, Sydney had fallen pretty quickly back to sleep. Vaughn knew she wanted to be awake for when Andrew and her father came to discuss strategy for the next day of the hearing, but Vaughn figured that after not sleeping much the night before and after what he assumed was something of an emotionally draining reunion with Emily, she really needed the rest. So, at the risk of facing Sydney's wrath later, he let her sleep.
"Agent Vaughn, Agent Bristow, I think that you two will be her strongest witnesses, so I'm going to put you on the stand last. That way, the committee will have the freshest memory of you while they make their final decision. Tomorrow, I want to have Dr. Bentz and Kendall testify. I've notified Kendall already. Is tomorrow alright with you, Dr. Bentz?" He asked.
"Of course," she replied immediately.
"Good. I'll go over with you tonight what I'll ask and what you may be asked by Agent Clark, the other lawyer. I'll alert Agent Dixon to be ready to head over in case we do get past two witnesses, though I don't think that'll be a problem. So I'll plan on having Agent Dixon and Agent Flinkman testify the next day, and then Agent Weiss and Agent Vaughn. Last will be Agent Bristow and we'll see what happens with Sydney being able to testify," Andrew explained.
"She won't make it to that courtroom. She's too sick," Aly argued.
"She may not have to. As it is, they've already denied my request to call Ms. Derevko to the stand. They say it's too dangerous to bring her out of the ops center. Instead, they've allowed her to prepare a written statement to present to the committee. I'm hoping they'll allow something of that nature for Sydney, possibly even testimony via video-feed. We'll just have to wait and see, really."
"Are you okay to stay with her tomorrow, Agent Weiss?" Aly asked.
"Of course," he replied.
"Okay. I'm going to hook her up to a heart-monitor starting tonight so that we'll know if anything is wrong. If her heart is beating too fast or too slow, an alarm will sound. She has the morphine pump, so you won't need to give her any injections. Everything should be fine, but I'll leave my cell phone on in case you need to reach me," Aly instructed.
"So everything's set then?" Andrew asked. Everyone looked at each other and one by one, they nodded.
"Great. Then we're ready for our second day."
To be continued.
A/N: Okay, so it's a bit shorter than a lot of the chapters have been lately, but I wanted to get one posted before I go back to LA on Monday and start classes on Wednesday. Oh, and I just have to add a little note to say that anyone whose ever read the amazing, amazing book "A Time For Dancing" by Davida Wills Hurwin, you really need to go and read the new sequel that just came out called "The Farther You Run." I've never been so truly touched by a book in my life. And if you've never read either, you really should! Okay, that's my little blurb. I'm done now. Please review and I'll keep it coming as fast as I can! Thanks!
Author: SydGillyKC
Author's Note: Okay, well hopefully this will make up for the incredibly long wait for the last chapter. And hopefully I'll get as much writing done as I possibly can before I go back to the land of papers and exams and college life lol. I hope you enjoy!
IMPORTANT NOTE: It's important for this chapter to remember that this story is set after "The Getaway." After that, Sloane returned to SD-6 and the story went AU.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Okay, I'll be out in a sec," Vaughn replied. Weiss nodded and ducked out, closing the door behind him. Vaughn turned back to Sydney and immediately closed the distance between them and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was firm and gentle all at the same time and neither ever wanted to leave the temporary bliss. Vaughn eventually backed away though, moving up to kiss her forehead gently before sitting straight again.
Sydney smiled, the picture of serenity next to his mask of concern.
"Knock 'em dead."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 37: Day One
Vaughn sighed once he reached the door. He dug into his pocket, finally pulling out the keys and unlocking the door. He stepped inside the quiet condo to see Aly sitting at the table with an open book. Vaughn greeted her as he closed the door behind him and took off his coat. He then walked over and joined her at the table as she marked and set down her book.
"How's Syd?" Vaughn asked immediately.
"She's okay. Her fever's gone down, which is a good sign. She was having a slight difficulty breathing, though, so I put her on a nasal canula. Don't worry, it's typical of her condition, it's really not too big a deal," Aly assured him.
"Has she been able to rest at all?" Vaughn asked.
"Yeah, she's been asleep most of the day. She must not have slept much last night," Aly commented.
"She didn't," Vaughn confirmed. Aly nodded and allowed a brief silence, though Vaughn knew she couldn't resist much longer.
"So how was it?" She asked finally.
Vaughn sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I think it went okay. I really don't know. It was just opening arguments, no testimony. We met the other lawyer. I know he was just assigned to the case and he probably had no say in the matter, but I couldn't even look him in the eye. It just made me sick to know that I was in the same room as someone who was fighting for the CIA to let Sydney die," Vaughn paused, visibly struggling with what he was saying. "I think they said he was out of Langley. I've never heard of him, but he has a nice looking resume. And unfortunately, his argument was pretty solid. Andrew did well, though. His opening was very strong."
Vaughn remembered part of the opening that had cemented Vaughn's opinion that Andrew had been the right choice for Sydney's representation.
"Sydney Bristow is an exemplary agent of the Central Intelligence Agency. After seven years of unknowingly servicing SD-6, she has spent every moment since then working to take them down. Working to correct a mistake that no one in this world would fault her for. Her work has led to the acquisition of many invaluable Rambaldi artifacts. Without her years of work inside SD- 6, Agent Dixon never would have had the opportunity to acquire this particular artifact that has brought us here today. And had she not been sick, it's more than likely she would have been the one to acquire the artifact herself. As of this time, there are no other candidates produced by the CIA that are worthy of this opportunity, of this chance at life. The thought of preserving all three of these solutions so that they may be tested and never used is absurd when the woman who put her life on the line for two years to get the CIA artifacts like this one is lying on her deathbed..."
"I guess we'll know more as the hearing goes on," Aly commented, snapping Vaughn from his thoughts.
"Yeah, I guess so," Vaughn agreed.
"So where is everyone?" Aly asked.
"Jack and Andrew are off somewhere working on what order to call us all in. Weiss was called to ops right after the hearing ended," Vaughn replied. Aly nodded. A brief silence fell over them. "I think I'm going to go sit with her for a while," Vaughn said, breaking the silence.
Aly smiled. "Of course." She picked up her book again as Vaughn got up from the table.
He entered the bedroom to find it darkened, the lights off and the shades drawn. He assumed Sydney was still sleeping. Closing the door behind him before rounding the bed, he soon discovered his assumption had been correct. Sydney lay on her side, eyes closed. Vaughn took residence in his usual chair beside her. Unable to stop himself, he reached out and brushed imaginary hairs away from her face. She sighed contentedly before her eyes fluttered open and focused on him. His guilt at waking her vanished when the smile spread across her face.
"You're back," she said softly, her voice sounding slightly different with the canula now feeding her oxygen through her nose.
He chuckled. "I am."
"How did it go?" She asked.
He reached out again, his fingers brushing against her cheek. "It went well. Andrew was great," he replied.
"And the other lawyer?" She asked knowingly.
"It's hard to tell, really. It was only opening arguments," Vaughn reminded her.
"Vaughn," she warned as she shifted a bit. He barely caught her wince, but he did hear the way her breath hitched.
"Hey, we'll talk later, okay? You're exhausted and I know you want to be rested for when your father and Andrew come by later," he reasoned, knowing it was the one thing she wouldn't argue with.
"Why is it that you always know exactly what to say to get yourself off the hook?" Sydney asked, teasingly. Vaughn smiled at her.
"It's a skill one must acquire when they spend most of their time with someone as stubborn as you." She shook her head in amusement and he leaned down and captured her lips.
"Will you stay for a bit?" She asked tentatively once he drew away from her face.
"Of course." She gave him a small smile before closing her eyes. He took the opportunity to reach over to the morphine pump and up her dose slightly.
"I heard that," she mumbled, eyes still closed.
"You needed it," he insisted. She didn't argue for once, just reached out her hand. He took it without hesitation and brought it to his lips before allowing their joined hands to fall back onto the bed.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
An hour later, not a thing in the small bedroom had changed. Sydney still slept. Vaughn still sat beside her bed. Their hands were still joined. Vaughn savored the stillness, afraid that if he moved, the moment would be broken. He knew that once he went back to the real world, everything would keep moving and he would be thrown back into the chaos of it all. But here, in this room, everything stood still. Here, he was with Sydney. Here, that was the only thing that mattered.
Vaughn was startled when the door suddenly opened. He looked up to see that it was Weiss who was standing in the doorway. Instead of entering like Vaughn expected him to, though, he suddenly stepped aside as if he were allowing someone else to enter. And then someone did. As Weiss closed the door behind the visitor, Vaughn found himself staring directly at a dead person.
"You're Emily Sloane."
Emily nodded, looking into his eyes before her gaze shifted to look at Sydney. Vaughn clearly saw the tears in her eyes. She looked back up at him sadly. "I know what you must think, but I'm here to help." She paused. "I needed to see her."
Vaughn looked down at Sydney, her face still peaceful in sleep. "Just don't upset her," he said softly before looking back up at her. A hint of a smile crossed her face.
"I love her too." Vaughn sighed, nodded, and leaned toward Sydney. Reaching out with his free hand, he gently rubbed up and down her arm.
"Syd," he said softly, coaxing her from her sleep. Finally, her eyes fluttered open. He smiled down at her.
"Hi," she whispered.
"Hey," he replied, the smile fading from his face.
"What is it?" She asked. Vaughn looked up, past her, at Emily. Sydney saw this and turned her head to follow his eye-line. When she saw Emily, her face visibly paled and her eyes grew impossibly wide. "Emily." The word was as soft as a breath. She turned her head back to look at Vaughn suddenly, as if to confirm she wasn't hallucinating. He nodded at her before leaning down and pressing his lips to her forehead. He then rose from his seat and headed for the door, giving another nod to Emily as he passed. Emily took that as a sign of permission and she made her way over to Sydney, lowering herself into the chair that Vaughn had just vacated. Meanwhile, Sydney managed to push herself up slightly to sit against some of the pillows.
"Sydney," Emily said softly, tears in her eyes.
Sydney shook her head. "I don't understand." She paused. "I spoke at your funeral."
"I know," Emily said, her eye-line dropping. "Sydney, when the Alliance found out that I knew about them, they ordered Arvin to kill me. We had no choice. He sent me into hiding and came up with a plan to make the Alliance believe I was dead. After the CIA destroyed the Alliance, he must've told some of your agents where I was. They came and brought me back to speak to Arvin. He filled me in everything he knew. Agent Weiss filled in the blanks... He told me about you."
"You knew that SD-6 wasn't part of the CIA," Sydney stated, amazed.
"Arvin told me. Right after I went into remission, right before I went into hiding. He explained everything to me," Emily replied.
"And you forgave him?" Sydney asked.
"I don't expect you to understand. I've loved him for more than half of my life. When I was sick, he was all I had. He was the only thing that got me through sometimes. I had to believe that he had his reasons," Emily explained tearfully. "I know the pain he's caused you, Sydney. And for that, I am so sorry."
Tears rose to Sydney's eyes. She reached out and laid her hand on top of Emily's. "I don't blame you."
"When they told me you were sick- God, Sydney, I'm sorry I wasn't here. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you like you were for me," she said softly, the tears steadily streaming down her face now.
"It's not your fault," Sydney said, shaking her head. "We were both in hiding, nothing could've been done."
Emily looked down, silent for a long moment. "You should know that the CIA wants to make me a candidate for the solution as well. That they want to propose to save it should I have another relapse. Arvin told them that if they did so, he would cooperate with them."
Sydney took a shaky breath. "Emily, it's okay. I never really expected this to be my miracle cure. Besides, you deserve it just as much as I do," she said sincerely.
"I told them no. I said there was no way I would willingly participate in this. I told them I wanted the solution to be tested on you."
"But, Emily, the information the CIA could gain from Sloane would be invaluable. And it could be your chance to live a healthy life," she argued.
"I have my chance, Sydney. I've been in remission for more than a year. I'm perfectly healthy and plan on staying that way. You need this much more than I do," Emily protested.
"I can't let you do this."
"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice."
"Say they decide to test the solution on me and say it actually works. How am I supposed to live with myself if, God forbid, your illness should come back?" Sydney asked.
"Sydney," Emily said gently, taking Sydney's hand in her own. "Arvin told me about what you said at my funeral. That you thought of me as a mother to you. A mother's job is to give life to their child. I may not have been the one that gave you life to begin with, but I have the opportunity to do so now. Let me do this for you. Please."
Sydney took a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing several tears to escape and roll down her face. Emily took the opportunity to lean over and gather Sydney into her arms. They held each other tightly. "I know what you're going through, Sydney. I know how hard it is. I'll be here if you ever want to talk," Emily whispered into Sydney's ear.
"Thank you."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I think we're going to plan on two witnesses a day," Andrew said as he, Jack, Vaughn, Weiss, and Aly sat around the dining room table later that evening. "I doubt we'll make it to any more than that before the committee recesses for the day."
After Emily and Sydney had talked, Sydney had fallen pretty quickly back to sleep. Vaughn knew she wanted to be awake for when Andrew and her father came to discuss strategy for the next day of the hearing, but Vaughn figured that after not sleeping much the night before and after what he assumed was something of an emotionally draining reunion with Emily, she really needed the rest. So, at the risk of facing Sydney's wrath later, he let her sleep.
"Agent Vaughn, Agent Bristow, I think that you two will be her strongest witnesses, so I'm going to put you on the stand last. That way, the committee will have the freshest memory of you while they make their final decision. Tomorrow, I want to have Dr. Bentz and Kendall testify. I've notified Kendall already. Is tomorrow alright with you, Dr. Bentz?" He asked.
"Of course," she replied immediately.
"Good. I'll go over with you tonight what I'll ask and what you may be asked by Agent Clark, the other lawyer. I'll alert Agent Dixon to be ready to head over in case we do get past two witnesses, though I don't think that'll be a problem. So I'll plan on having Agent Dixon and Agent Flinkman testify the next day, and then Agent Weiss and Agent Vaughn. Last will be Agent Bristow and we'll see what happens with Sydney being able to testify," Andrew explained.
"She won't make it to that courtroom. She's too sick," Aly argued.
"She may not have to. As it is, they've already denied my request to call Ms. Derevko to the stand. They say it's too dangerous to bring her out of the ops center. Instead, they've allowed her to prepare a written statement to present to the committee. I'm hoping they'll allow something of that nature for Sydney, possibly even testimony via video-feed. We'll just have to wait and see, really."
"Are you okay to stay with her tomorrow, Agent Weiss?" Aly asked.
"Of course," he replied.
"Okay. I'm going to hook her up to a heart-monitor starting tonight so that we'll know if anything is wrong. If her heart is beating too fast or too slow, an alarm will sound. She has the morphine pump, so you won't need to give her any injections. Everything should be fine, but I'll leave my cell phone on in case you need to reach me," Aly instructed.
"So everything's set then?" Andrew asked. Everyone looked at each other and one by one, they nodded.
"Great. Then we're ready for our second day."
To be continued.
A/N: Okay, so it's a bit shorter than a lot of the chapters have been lately, but I wanted to get one posted before I go back to LA on Monday and start classes on Wednesday. Oh, and I just have to add a little note to say that anyone whose ever read the amazing, amazing book "A Time For Dancing" by Davida Wills Hurwin, you really need to go and read the new sequel that just came out called "The Farther You Run." I've never been so truly touched by a book in my life. And if you've never read either, you really should! Okay, that's my little blurb. I'm done now. Please review and I'll keep it coming as fast as I can! Thanks!