A/N: I've been really stressed lately and this fic's taken a back seat in my crazy joy ride, so I'm sorry if I haven't been updating as quickly. I didn't get a lot of reviews for the last chapter and that's a downer of course and this chapter totally came out of my butt. Don't even ask me where Mallory came from or the whole first section either.. For the record, the fic's almost over and couldn't be more than a few more chapters so have fun guys. (The few that are reading anyway.)
Archive: Fanfiction.net, COVERme and Allies. Anywhere else, please e-mail me at bubbicup@hotmail. ;)
Dedication: The usual great reviewers. I heart you guys. :D I think you guys are pretty and I like your hair. LoL J/k
Disclaimer: Nope but you can get anything on eBay these days.
+Chapter 7 - Gossip+
I'm used to having every eye falling on me as soon as I walk into the room. The whispers and hushed voices are nothing out of the ordinary for me; or to be exact, me and Sydney. Most of the time, the people doing the talking were old maids who had nothing better to do but it wasn't a surprise for people even like Kendall to have jumped into the gossip.
The first time I noticed was after Sydney removed me as her handler. That creep was reassigned in my place and even though I never really showed it, everyone knew how peeved I was. Afterwards though, Sydney refused to work with anyone except me and got me a nice promotion in the meantime.
Then it was whispers about our alleged relationship.
The next time, I think I understand why we were the water cooler talk for about month. Earlier, I had told Sydney about my father's death. After the whole fiasco I would pay to not relieve, the truth came out to everyone and their cousin; Sydney's mom, Irina killed my dad, William. She opened up to me about it but it didn't stop the talk.
Then it was whispers about the strain in our alleged relationship.
If the big guy upstairs was giving out the opportunity, I'd surely pay to experience the next moment again. The day we hadn't believed would come for years, did come. The systematic take down of each of the twelve SD cells opened up so much for us. There was some truth to their talk- it was inevitable that we would be together.
Finally, it was whispers about our relationship- the real one.
As I walk into the ops. center after what happened in the storage facility, everyone scurries to look busy and hide the gossip they were engaging in just moments before. The occasional "Did you hear?" or "Well I heard that.." reaches my ears. For once in my career here at the CIA, I care about what they say. Not because I'm afraid of what they think but because I'm just as confused myself.
When I make the trip over to my desk, I notice a young woman sitting in the chair. Before I begin to yell at the interns who made themselves feel important this way, the girl, (definitely an intern) spins around. She's confused but exhilarated to see me. Stumbling out of my seat, she introduces herself with a tone that's unheard of in the joint task force.
"Mr. Vaughn! I wasn't expecting you so soon! I'm Mallory!" She thrusts a hand at me and I take it hesitantly. Judging by her looks, she's barely out of college and the accent tells me she just moved from New York.
"Uh.. Who are you?"
She takes her hand back suddenly and covers her mouth in shock. "I'm your new assistant!"
"I don't think-"
"Nonsense! Mr. Dixon and Mr. Bristow suggested it and I took the chance as quick as I could. I've heard so much about your work here."
At first I don't know whether to be flattered or afraid of the dreamy smile she's giving me. I play it safe and nod as I take my chair. Unfortunately, she grabs Weiss' empty chair from his desk and pulls it to the edge of my desk. I ignore her and try to start my work when I realize that everything seems to be moved or misplaced.
"What happened to-"
"I organized it of course." She pulls out the drawers revealing neat piles and clusters of supplies.
I nod again, not knowing what to do. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her waiting patiently. She's not going to win any secretarial awards anytime soon but at lease they picked a hard working one so I decide to save chewing out Dixon and Jack for later. I know they meant well by giving me a secretary but I haven't had one since my work with Sydney began. I lost her afterwards but it didn't seem to make sense since Sydney only added to my workload. Twiddling my pen, I refuse to let myself go back to thinking about the past week.
"Do you watch the Kings, Mr. Vaughn?" I look at my pen and realize what she's talking about. Could she possibly be worth my time?
"Yeah. Do you have a team?"
She ready to gush now. "God, yes! I love baseball! The Mets could still kick your guys' butts though any day."
I plaster a fake smile on my face and nod. With I sigh, I turn back to the pile at the corner of my desk not being able to concentrate because of the one thing I'm trying not to concentrate on. Mallory's becoming restless and I don't see the point of an assistant if she doesn't assist me. She lets out another loud sigh.
"Is something the matter, Mallory?" I say abruptly.
She looks up from her nails. "Hmm? Oh it's nothing. Really."
I look back to the first paper in the pile and turn on my computer when I hear another sigh.
"Are you sure?" I say looking at her, now slightly peeved.
She looks up again. "Do you believe in fate?"
I snort. This isn't exactly the kind of question that I should be asked.
"No."
"Why not!?"
Another loaded question. But remain silent.
"Oh Mr. Vaughn.. haven't you even been in love?" She has that dreamy smile on her face again.
Before I catch myself, I answer her quickly. "Love is a joke."
"Aren't you married? In the file I got-"
"No." I answer I again quickly.
She gets a big smile on her face and I start to feel uneasy. "Girlfriend?"
Before I answer her though, over her shoulder, I see Dixon coming out clearly unhappy that I'm here. "Mallory, why don't you go get me a coffee?" I say gently. Apparently it pleases her because she leaves me alone with Dixon as he comes up to my desk.
"Vaughn you have a whole-"
I cut him off curtly. "I didn't need that extra time."
He motions me away from the crowd staring at us and into his office. He goes around the desk and sits down after offering the chair to me. I sit down already knowing what is ahead of me.
He starts off out of the blue. "How's Sydney doing?"
"She woke up yesterday." I say softly.
The shock consumes his face. "She-" He stops for a moment to think. "Vaughn. what are you doing here?"
"I work here." A sarcastic tone clouds my voice and I hardly recognize it. "Even though I didn't do that great of a job in the intelligence department, I still need to be here to get fired."
There's a vein at the side of his head that is waiting to burst and only then do I realize that I've pushed it a little too far. When he speaks again though, his voice is calm. "You'll have your debrief when you're scheduled to come back next week."
"Great. I have a lot to say about that bitch." I say looking at my lap.
"Vaughn," He asks for a third time, "what are you doing here? Don't you want to be with her? With Sydney?"
A harsh laugh comes from me unexpectedly. "Gossip is fickle." I murmur.
"Do this for her, Michael." He says suddenly
I look up at the sound of my first name. My eyes meet the kindness in Dixon's eyes- the one's that I recognized from before Sydney disappeared. With a wry smile, he continues. "Don't worry what Jack says. Do it for Sydney."
-=-=-=-=-
For the trillionth time this week, I pull into the hospital parking lot. I'm convinced that I should have more insight as to what I'm about to do but after acting on advice for quite a while, I'm ready to make this one decision myself. I turn the door handle and step out of the car and into the hospital. To my surprise, a nurse stops me and directs me to another room telling me Sydney has been taken out of intensive care. Though I don't understand how she would know me at all, I thank her and head up the stairs to her new room.
While I'm still down the hall, I hear Sydney's voice and my breath catches in my throat. Before I begin to question who she's talking to, I hear the dulcet tones of Jack Bristow. The fear and ambiguity over me, I move to enter the room when I catch a part of their conversation.
"I wasn't your place, Dad." Sydney says her voice straining.
There's a slight pause. "No, it wasn't."
Could they be talking about..? I move just outside the door, careful not to get too close to the doorway. I hear Jack continuing.
"I was scared, honey. You mean everything to me." Another pause. "But you mean everything to him too."
There's an eerie silence and I'm almost afraid to even think before I hear Sydney murmuring in agreement. "I was afraid of losing you and I didn't realize that I already lost you to him so long ago."
"Dad, you didn't-"
"The better man won don't you think?" I hear Sydney sighing. "He has my respect. After I attacked him like that, he has it." A pause. "No one is ever going to be good enough for you, Sydney. At least not in my eyes. But now that I think about it, I think that-" Another long pause. I'm eager to hear what he has to say next and I'm not even certain that he's talking about me.
"Perhaps he can tell you. Mr. Vaughn, would you like to join us?"
The first thought that goes through my head is, "What??" My brain somehow gets my body to function again. Timidly I step to the side so now both Jack and Sydney can see me in the newly decorated room. Sydney has a look of bewilderment on her face while Jack, not surprisingly is completely cool.
He stands up and clears his throat again. "Perhaps I should be leaving. I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart." He says leaning over to kiss her forehead.
Sydney nods as Jack walks towards me. I'm dumbfounded when I realize I'm standing in the doorway and in his way. I move aside quickly and let him pass. As he walks pass me though, I hear a faint, "Good luck."
I turn to Sydney and face the moment I've been dreading and looking forward to since I found out about Lauren. I take a hesitant step forward and in a wavering voice, I begin the talk that suppose to change everything.
"Um.. Hi..."
TBC
A/N: Hee. I had to end it on a slightly happy/funny note. So did ya like it? The lurve is coming to computer near you soon.. Chapter will come much faster if I get more reviews. They're the spinach to my Popeye! You wouldn't want to be a Brutus would you?
