"Mrs. Birkland? Hi, this is Paige Waters, Roxy's teacher. Yes, she is a sweet girl. Yes, but-. Mrs. Birkland? Can I finish please? Thank you. I was calling to inform you that Roxy received detention today. Why? Because she interrupted my class again and that is unacceptable. You want to talk to her? Okay, hold on," Sydney lowered the phone from her ear and held it out for the junior in front of her, "She wants to speak with you." Roxy grimaced and took the phone.

"Psst, Paige." Sydney looked to the doorway to see another teacher, Rachel Redman waving her over.

"I'll be right back. Behave yourselves." Sydney said to the classroom full of detentionees and walked over to Rachel. "Hey, what's up?"

"Are you still chaperoning the dance tonight?"

"Was planning on it, way? Is it cancelled?" Please let it be canceled and let me go home and take a long, hot, overdue bath. I beg you. Be cancelled.

"No, no," Rachel shook her head. "I was just checking."

Crap, crap, crap. Why couldn't it be cancelled? What does the head honcho have against me? I know, being an ex-spy. That's what He's got against me. Stupid spy-dom, why did I have to be a spy? Why did I accept that bald man's offer and get sucked into the SD-6 fiasco? Why didn't I just say 'no thanks' and toss the card in the trash? Because you were an idiot. Yep, that's why. Sydney managed to smile, "Okay. I'll be here tonight at 7."

"Great," Rachel smiled, then glanced over Sydney's shoulder. "Ah, detention duty, again."

Sydney made a face, "Yeah, again. Remind me why I became a teacher."

"Because you wanted to help other people's kids succeed in life."

Sydney laughed, "Yeah, that's it and the lousy pay." Not that standard government pay is any better. For all those trashy outfits I had to wear, they could at least have given me a raise. But no, I remained with my meager paycheck to get buy every month. I still do. Sometimes I miss having a roommate. Half the rent, half the worries. Except my last roommate was Francie. No one can replace Francie and it's not like I'm about to fly her out here, so I can have someone, besides Angelique, to live with again. "So I'll see you on Monday, unless you're coming to the dance." (A/N: okay, we're pretending again and saying that Francie wasn't doubled. Okay, so no evil Francie. Got that?)

Rachel laughed, "No way. I get enough of these rascals during school."

Tell me about it. Sometimes I just want to rip up all the papers I have to grade and go to the spa. Ah, the spa. They have massages at the spa. You can take long, luxurious baths at the spa. I can get a manicure and pedicure at the spa. I could live at the spa and never get tired of it. Yeah, but then my bank account would go right down the drain and they'd kick me out on the street. "Yeah, okay. See ya."

"See ya." Rachel repeated, then left Sydney to her detention duty.

Sydney turned back to her class of detentionees and smiled knowingly. Roxy had finished talking to her mom and was seated again. "Okay, who's next?"

()

"Dude, stop pacing. It really won't make the plane go any faster. Trust me." Vaughn nodded and sat down impatiently on one of the leather seats in the private CIA plane. He tapped his finger on his leg, willing time to move faster. "And don't tap your finger cause that's annoying."

"What do you suggest I do then, Weiss?" Vaughn snapped.

"Snappy much?" Weiss joked. Vaughn glared at Weiss, telling him that he wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Okay, then, no jokes. So what are you thinking about?"

"What am I thinking about?" Vaughn repeated, standing up and resuming pacing. "What do you think I'm thinking about? I haven't seen her in three years. What if she's dating someone? What if she's married? What if she has kids? What if she doesn't remember me? What if she hates me and tell me to go to hell?" Which I headed to anyway.

"Whoa," Weiss said, holding up a hand and stopping Vaughn's ranting, "That's a lot of what ifs and you have no proof of any of them actually being true. You don't even know what her name is."

"Her name is Sydney Bristow."

"That's not what I mean. Don't tell me that you honestly believe that she kept the name Sydney Bristow. If she had done that, you would have found her within a month."

"I know, I know." Vaughn answered, nodding along and still not ceasing to pace.

"So how do you plan on finding out her name? Are you going to search all of Denver by knocking on every single door?"

"No. First we're gonna go to the post office that the photo was taken at and ask them if they know her."

Weiss resisted the urge to tell him to stop pacing and nodded, "That's a big if."

"It's all we've got and we are so close to finding her." So close. Three years of searching and I can't wait two more hours until this damn plane lands. Well, I never was known for my over powering ability to be patient. I think the only person I've ever been truly patient with is Sydney. Duh, I'd wait until the end of time to have her.

"Are you even sure this is her?" Weiss asked, studying the kinda blurry photo again. The woman in it looked exactly like Sydney only with red hair.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't tell me that you honestly believe that that she kept her original hair color." Vaughn answered, taking the photo from Weiss to look at for the thousandth time in less than eight hours since he first saw it.

Weiss made a face a Vaughn mocking him, "Okay, so, what did Jack say when you told him that you found her?" Vaughn stopped pacing and turned to face Weiss, looking confused and guilty. "You did tell him didn't you?"

Vaughn shook his head, "No, not really. Why you think I should have?"

"I would've."

"You would?"

"Definitely. That is one man I don't want hating me."

Well, lucky for me, he already hates me. I wonder if that's because I'm in love with Sydney or if it's because I insisted on being the one to head the search to find her and not him. Nah, knowing a man like Jack it has nothing to do with Sydney and everything to do with my haircut. Yeah, that's it. He doesn't like the spiky hair thing. Too bad Jack, Sydney adores it. That's probably why I've gotten the same hair cut for the past five years of my life ever since she walked into my life and then back out again. Man, am I pathetic or what?

"Mike, ya listening?"

Vaughn snapped out of his train of thoughts and nodded, "Yeah, I'm listening. You really think I should have told him?"

Weiss nodded, gravely, "Oh yeah, you really should have told him."

Great, just great. Oh well, I deal with it after I find Sydney. "So how long til we land?"

Weiss checked his watch, "One hour, fifty four minutes, and forty-seven seconds." Vaughn wanted to scream. This was without a doubt, the longest plane trip ever.

()

"What do you think of this one?" Sydney held up a blue-black dress. She held the hanger to her shoulders and twirled a little with it. "That bad, huh?" Sydney thrust out the dress to get a look at it, her head tilting to the side a little. "Yeah, it's crap." She tossed the dress, hanger, and all on the growing pile of clothes on her bed. "Okay, how about this one?" She asked, holding up a shirt/skirt combo. It was nice burgundy color that complimented her hair color, which she had freshly redyed a couple weeks before.

Angelique nodded her approvement, as much as a dog could nod, and Sydney smiled. "Yeah, I like it too." He liked it, also. No he loved it. He always said I looked the most beautiful in it. She set it on her chair, gently and headed towards her bathroom. Angelique jumped off the bed and followed. "No, no Angelique, you can't come in here darling. I need you to guard my dress." Sydney said, picking up the puppy and setting her down outside the bathroom. Normally she would let Angelique wander into the bathroom if she wanted but tonight she was running late, again, and didn't have the time to worry about a puppy underfoot.

A half hour later, she emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in her robe. Her hair and makeup were finished and all she had left to do was get dressed. Instead of going to the chair, Sydney plopped down on her bed and sighed. It's like getting ready for a date yet knowing that there is no possibility of anyone following me home. Why do I have to look nice for these damned dances? I always hated that part of high school. I went to my sophomore homecoming dance in jeans just to prove my point that it was stupid to dress up. And yet here I am, a thirty-year-old woman and I'm dressing up for a high school dance. With another sigh, she heaved herself off the bed and crossed the short distance to the chair

She shed the robe and redressed in the shirt/skirt combo in less than five minutes. Staring at herself in the mirror, she fidgeted with the shirt for a couple seconds before standing still and just staring. She could almost feel his cool hand on her stomach and his warm breath on her neck, whispering about how much he loved her in between soft kisses. Unconsciously, she smiled dreamily and leaned back expecting to fall back on his broad chest. But no, he wasn't there. She caught herself before she toppled backwards and with one last glance at the mirror, she fled the apartment.

Don't think about it. Don't think about him. Don't cry. You can't cry. People are going to ask questions. Remember why you left him. It's for his own good. Don't cry. Don't cry. Sydney impatiently tapped her foot on the carpet, waiting for the elevator to reach her floor.

"Paige, darling." Mrs. Ashley said, cheerily, coming up behind Sydney. She noticed Sydney's troubled expression and asked, "Is everything okay, dear?"

Sydney wiped at her eyes hastily, brushing away evidence of impending tears, and smiled at Mrs. Ashley, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering."

Mrs. Ashley nodded. She believed the story that Sydney had been married and her husband had died and Sydney was still grieving over it. Sydney never bothered to correct her. "Is it the anniversary of his death?"

Sydney sniffled and nodded, "I guess you could say that." Why is this damned elevator taking so long? As if on cue, the elevator door dinged and she stepped in promptly, "I'll see you later, Mrs. Ashley."

"All right, dear." Mrs. Ashley replied before the doors closed.

Sydney punched the emergency stop button and sank to floor of the elevator. She had forgotten what day it was. Three years ago today, was the first time she and Vaughn had made love. How could I forget that? Why do I always forget that? Every freaking year I forget. I think I make myself forget only to have something remind me cruelly. Slowly, Sydney regained her composure and stood up, lightly pressing the bottom floor button. The elevator lurched and continued it downward decent as Sydney continued to wipe away her tears. Don't think about it. Don't cry. You did it to protect him and crying your eyes out about doing so, isn't going to help. Don't cry.

A/N: Alrighty, children, apparently I'm messing with Vaughn's age in this as well. I don't think that they ever say how much older than Syd he is, so I'm going to say that he is five years older. So, in this story, he's 35 and Syd is 30, okay? I don't really care if that's how old they are in the Alias timeline. This is an AU, ya know.

Rach5- That's okay, really. I get that question a lot and that's usually the answer I give. Sorry if I sounded grumpy or sleepy or any of the other seven dwarves.

Charmed-angel4- After season two, and I thought he was 35 in the last episode of the third season. Ah well, anyway, the age thing is described above. So read that if you haven't.

Fair Cate- Yes, well, dropping everything for Sydney is like the Vaughn we all know and love. I thought the phone call with his sister was a funny thing, too.

Dora- Really? But like I said, do any of us really know what Vaughn thinks? Apparently in my little world, he thinks about hell and getting old. hehe, two things that tend to go hand in hand.

TheUptownGirl- Yeah, I was thinking that too. I understand where you're coming from and that could be a neat story idea. Ya know, have Vaughn have a kid and then Sydney finds out about it. hmmm, interesting.

Heidi- And you shall get your meeting soon, like the next chapter.

Julia- Thanks. Newcomers are always welcome cause I am desperate for human contact and for me that means reviews.

Ren201- That would be interesting if someone else found her wouldn't it? Maybe someone will maybe they won't. I'm going to have to think about.

dreamcatchr88- Yes, I do do I think you left me a response for one of my other stories there, It's about life. My name on is Vaughn'n'Syd4eva if that helps. Anyway, do you think I should put this story on sd-1? And I don't understand the whole well rounded critique thing either.

daisyduke947- Yeah, I figured she would be pissed and probably kick his you know what. But that would be an interesting story idea, don't you think?