Disclaimer: It's not mine. Leave me alone!
"How do we excuse your father's absence to Weiss?" Vaughn asked as he and Sydney walked up to their hotel.
"He wanted to stake out the manor," Sydney said. "He only wants to keep an eye on them, so he doesn't need or want backup. Weiss knows him, he'll believe it."
Weiss never questioned the stakeout story when they knocked on his door to tell him they were back.
"I still don't think there's anything there," Vaughn said. "But you know Jack Bristow. It seems too easy."
"Vaughn," Sydney said a few minutes later when they stood outside her suit's door. "May be you shouldn't be alone tonight. I mean, the spell…"
"Worried about me?" Vaughn asked in a tone of gentle teasing. "If you want to stay with me, just in case…I'm sure we can work something out." He gave her a lopsided grin.
Sydney grinned back.
"Just in case, she murmured as Vaughn shut the door behind them with one foot.
Sydney rolled over in her sleep, only to find the bed beside her empty.
"Mmm…Vaughn?" she mumbled. When there was no answer, her senses went on full alert. "Vaughn?" she called again, louder.
Sydney flipped on the lamp by the bed and saw Vaughn's clothes were missing from the chair they'd been on earlier. She hurried to pull on jeans under her short nightshirt and prayed she didn't meet anybody.
She reached the parking lot just in time to see Vaughn get into the car they'd driven down in. Relieved, she hurried to climb into the passenger side.
"Vaughn, you scared me," she said. "Where are you going?"
No response. Vaughn didn't even seem to know she was there.
"Vaughn? Vaughn!" Sydney experienced a moment of panic when Vaughn started the car and backed out, all while seemingly comatose.
Scared to death that Vaughn was going to plow into something, Sydney sat in the car while he drove along the deserted city streets. She chattered nervously the entire time, hoping her voice would somehow snap him out of the trance he was in. an excruciating fifteen minutes later, he pulled up in front of a sizable house and got out.
"Vaughn," Sydney called, scrambling after him when she realized he was getting out. "Where are you going? It's after midnight. You can't go in there!"
Vaughn headed straight for the front door. On the railing on the porch, Sydney noticed a small, discreet sign that read, "Westside Group Home," and gave the address.
"Vaughn!" Sydney yelled in a final attempt. "I'm sorry," she murmured right before she landed a solid kick square in his chest that sent him toppling back off the porch before he could endeavor to open the front door.
He landed with a thud and a muffled "Oof!" that Sydney rejoiced to hear. It was the first noise he'd made since he'd left the hotel.
"What the hell?!?" he exclaimed a moment later.
"Vaughn!" Sydney cried, kneeling next to him. "Oh, God, you're back."
"Back?"
"The spell! It's like you were in a trance," Sydney murmured, holding his close as they huddled on the damp grass on the front lawn of people they'd never even seen.
"Come on," she said finally, helping him to his feet. "Let's go back. You really scared me."
"How'd we get here?" Vaughn asked, looking around and committing every detail to memory.
"You drove."
"Shit."
"Yeah."
"You think she's here?"
"She must be. You were going inside before I kicked you."
"You kicked me?"
"It was that or let you walk into a group home with who knows how many kids inside."
"Thanks."
"What?!?"
"You heard me," Sydney said. "We could have both been killed, you know."
"Syd, come on, nothing happened. Give them a break," Vaughn said.
"But you found her?" Phoebe asked.
"We think so." Sydney nodded.
"Can you get back there?" Paige asked.
"I don't know. I have the address."
"She's be in school," Paige commented. "If we find the school in that area, I might be able to convince someone to let me talk to her."
So, forty-five minutes later, Paige was standing in the office of a local middle school.
"I need to speak with a student here, Pamela Wright," she told the secretary.
"Oh, you're the social worker," the woman said thankfully. "Pamela has been sitting in the principal's office for nearly an hour. She's very upset over something, and she won't say a word. Her teacher says she knocked over a desk, caused quite a mess."
"Oh." Paige paused. "Can I speak with her privately for a few minutes?"
"Oh, sure, sure. She's right through there." The woman waved up a little hall at the door on the end.
Paige walked into the room after knocking softly, hoping briefly that the real social worker remained tied up for a while.
"Pamela?" Paige said. She paused in surprise when she saw her. Pamela had Pru's straight, dark hair, paired with Michael Vaughn's striking green eyes.
Pamela only glanced up briefly, and Paige could see she'd been crying.
"Hi." Paige pulled the second chair over closer to the one Pamela sat in. "My name is Paige. You're Pamela, right?"
"Yes." The girl's voice cracked, but held a distinctly defiant note.
"Pamela, I want to help you," Paige said gently. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"No." Pamela drew her knees up to her chin and huddled in her chair, clearly afraid. After a moment, she added, "It wasn't my fault."
"What wasn't your fault, sweetie?" Paige reached out a hand to comfort, but Pamela shrank away.
"No!" Her voice shook. "Don't touch me!"
"I don't want to hurt you, Pamela…"
"I can't stop it! Don't touch me! I don't mean to do it, but I can't stop it!"
"Do what, sweetie?"
"No!" Pamela whined pitifully. "No!" She began to shake. "No!"
A framed picture of a man and a woman fell off the desk and the glass broke.
"No!" Pamela sobbed. "No, please! You have to leave!" she shouted at Paige.
A clay bowl flew across the room and shattered on the wall above Paige's head.
Hehehe…well, now Paige knows Pamela has powers…