Chatnoir: thank you so much for your review! Originally this was suppose
to be an angsty one parter with a little bit of humor thrown in there.that
line about snapping Lauren like a twig was thrown in there for good
measure. In all honesty, I didn't think about my two Isabel's.Weiss's
date. There is some back story there but we'll get to it in a little
while. I got Vaughn and Syd's background from the ALIAS prequel books, so
that wasn't my doing there but it works, doesn't it? Keep a close eye on
Lauren with Jonathan now and just remember: I'm infamous for coming up with
bizarre little twists and turns.
Alias4ever: I know! I was so happy that Lauren did that though because now I have even more of a reason to absolutely hate her! How horrible is that for me to say? And the next episode, omg! Sydney and Vaughn def look like they kiss!! (Look for lots of S/V Romance in this fic too!!)
kay10197: I'm glad you liked it! I hope to here from you again!
total vaughn lover: I'm happy you like my piece! What stories have you written? I'll gladly review!!
Now, onto Chapter 2: Don't Cry For Me
It had been three weeks. Three weeks since the wedding that changed everything. Besides Rose and Brian being incredibly happy now that they were Mr. and Mrs. Graham, there was a list of others things that have changed; well at least Vaughn noticed them. There was something off with Lauren. She was more withdrawn lately and was constantly checking her e- mail. That was never like her. She always claimed that "e-mail is only good for working purposes" and only had access to her work account at work, which made sense. But she also started to work later and later. Some nights, she didn't come home until late and would barely say a word when she did. She was colder, more distant towards him. Something was wrong.
He had suspected she had been unfaithful to him but quickly banished those thoughts from his mind. He was being stupid and petty. They had made it through Sydney being back and they would make it through Jonathan being back in the picture. Jonathan had been her first love and they were going to be married, they were engaged as a matter of fact. But due to circumstances beyond their control, the engagement was broken and they lost touch. It was just the way that life went. But now Jonathan was working in the LA office and they were working close together. Too close for Vaughn's liking. They had developed little inside jokes and he called her "Renny" which made Vaughn's blood run cold.
Vaughn spent much of his time glaring at the 'other' man and would avoid conversations with him at all cost. "I hate him." He confided in Weiss after only three days of Jonathan being at the office. He took a slow sip of his gin and tonic, his new drink of choice.
"Just like Lauren hates Sydney. It all works in the end." Weiss finished. "This is just the way things work for you-crazy and dysfunctional."
"You know, just because you're dating that new girl from medical services and there have been no complications-yet-"
"Be happy for me. She's hot as hell."
"I repeat: that's only because she doesn't know what a slob you are..hasn't met your dog yet.hasn't seen you apartment yet. There are so many 'yets' to this, I don't even know where to start."
Weiss simply smirked and replied, "You really are stressed about this whole Jonathan thing."
"He calls her Renny. Where the hell did he pick that up from? Renny." He shuddered with disgust.
"Sydney calls you 'Vaughn'." Weiss quickly countered, resting his forearm against the dark wood bar.
"That makes sense. My last name is Vaughn."
"Oh I get it! You're allowed to have a nickname with an ex-lover but Lauren isn't" his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Hey, whose side are you on?" Vaughn shouted and threw his hands up, almost upsetting his drink.
"Hey, I'm all for you being married and whatever but keep in mind, you put yourself in this position." His brown eyes watched Vaughn roll his, "If you're this concerned about Lauren and Jonathan, why don't you just ask her?"
"Remind me never to ask you for advice." Vaughn replied, reaching into his pocket and finding a couple of bills and throwing it on the counter. "I need to get home."
"Let me know how things work out, okay man?" Weiss said, waving Vaughn off.
Vaughn simply nodded a reply and staggered out of the bar. His head was a jumble of thoughts as he reached his black SUV. His hands reached for his keys and he slinked inside. Was he over reacting? Sure, it was like the same thing with him and Sydney. And he didn't have feelings anymore for Sydney. "But you're not sure about that." He countered himself aloud. So, it was entirely possible that Jonathan and Lauren had the same relationship that he and Sydney had.
But he had been having dreams at night. The dreams that haunted him all day and whenever he saw either woman, it shook him to his very core. They were wonderful and horrible at the same time. He saw Sydney and was with Sydney in the same way that she was before she disappeared. And it was nice and sweet and comfortable. But in the end, she would stab him in the heart. Maybe it was a figurative meaning for him stabbing her in the heart-by moving on and marrying Lauren. But he didn't regret moving on with his life-until now. He was missing waking up next to someone more and more as Lauren was working later and rising earlier. They barely saw each other anymore and when he did, she would barely acknowledge his presence. Maybe he did make a mistake moving on. He should have held out longer in hopes for finding Sydney alive.
He had been a coward and hidden behind the devil's drink. Fleeing to France for six months, he buried himself in getting drunk over and over again. If he were a real man, he would have fought to find her harder. Jack was imprisoned for trying to discover the truth about what happened. He was a coward.
But now, he was just a stupid man. His head hit the steering wheel as he debated in his head the course he had traveled. Not knowing what was going on with Lauren was slowly killing him. 21 days. 21 days of not knowing and it was killing him all over again. But this time he could do something about it.
His thoughts were consumed with the idea of Lauren cheating on him. He had never been a jealous man but he couldn't help thinking about it. She had accused him on cheating on her but now..would she use that anger to be unfaithful towards him? "What are you smiling about?" He asked one fateful morning, as he finished dressing and came over to her by the computer. He planted a kiss behind her ear and waited for a reply as he tried to read the message on the screen. The only words he picked up here, "I still do love you, my darling and I know you feel the same way." He felt his mouth go dry and his heart beat quicken, "What's this?"
Her eyes grew wide and she quickly minimized the screen before turning around to face her husband, "Nothing. Work stuff." She smiled and nodded her head, trying to convince him that she was telling the truth. She cleared her throat and licked her chapping lips. "Darling, it's really no big deal. Calm down."
He narrowed his eyes at her and leaned over her to make the e-mail screen appear again. His green eyes drifted towards the e-mail address and found it one he didn't recognize. "Who's this from?" He asked, trying to keep his tone as even as humanly possible.
Her face went pale and she shut her eyes as she answered, "I told you, work" her tone was a little firmer as she tried to regain her mouse. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked as though she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She was obviously guilty of something.
"But this is to our home account." He replied as he stood up and glared at his wife. "What's going on?"
He didn't receive a response immediately from her and started to lose his phoenix temper. His palms started to sweat and his heartbeat quickened at a deadly pace. His chest started to heave with the angry breathe coming from his lungs. "Lauren, what the hell is going on? Answer me."
She got to her feet and brushed past him, "There's nothing to know, Michael. It's nothing. You're being paranoid." She started to gather the rest of her stuff before leaving for work, as if nothing was wrong.
"Why are you so secretive all of a sudden?" He counted just as accusingly. "You've been sneaking around this house like you're a teenager going out for the first time and now you're getting love notes on OUR e- mail account? What's going on, Lauren? I have a right to know." Suddenly he put two and two together.
She whipped around and saw Vaughn sitting down at the computer desk. "What are you doing?" She shrieked and launched herself towards him but it was too late. He had already seen the last line of the e-mail.
"Jonathan. You're getting e-mails from Jonathan.. your ex-boyfriend and former partner." He turned around in the chair and looked at her, "You better have a good explanation for this."
"I don't need to explain everything to you." She answered briefly before turning around and trying to finish her routine.
Vaughn jumped to his feet, blood pounding in his ears, "Are you cheating on me? With Jonathan? Lauren, G-d damn it! Answer me!" But she continued to walk away, grabbing her coat and her briefcase and headed out the door. "Don't you dare walk away from me!"
"How dare you accuse me of having an affair?! I've only been faithful to you, Michael. I would never do such a thing." Tears started to rush towards her eyes, "Why is it you're allowed to have feelings for someone else but I'm not!" She stopped herself as she started to lose her breath.
"You know that I don't have feelings for Sydney anymore!"
"You do! I saw you at the wedding!" The tears now flowed freely over her face.
"You were with Jonathan! You just admitted you have feelings for him!" He shouted, losing what little control he had left of his emotions. "Do you still love him?"
"Don't be ridiculous! He's not my husband, you are."
"That didn't answer my question. Do you still love him?"
She picked up her briefcase that was resting near the doorway, feeling the cool brown leather in her hand. With her free hand, she wiped her eyes as she sniffled softly, "I need to get to work. I'm going to be late." Slowly, she turned on her heels and walked out of the door.
"We're not done with this!" He shouted after her.
She turned around before shutting the door, "I'll see you at the office."
He watched the door slam and found himself without words. He couldn't believe that this had just happened and all of his fears had been confirmed. But as he slinked against the wall with his head in his hands, he wasn't a hundred percent sure that he was completely upset about it. He didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore.
Well? What do you think? Next chapter we'll find out about a mission with Syd and Vaughn that could completely change everything.
Alias4ever: I know! I was so happy that Lauren did that though because now I have even more of a reason to absolutely hate her! How horrible is that for me to say? And the next episode, omg! Sydney and Vaughn def look like they kiss!! (Look for lots of S/V Romance in this fic too!!)
kay10197: I'm glad you liked it! I hope to here from you again!
total vaughn lover: I'm happy you like my piece! What stories have you written? I'll gladly review!!
Now, onto Chapter 2: Don't Cry For Me
It had been three weeks. Three weeks since the wedding that changed everything. Besides Rose and Brian being incredibly happy now that they were Mr. and Mrs. Graham, there was a list of others things that have changed; well at least Vaughn noticed them. There was something off with Lauren. She was more withdrawn lately and was constantly checking her e- mail. That was never like her. She always claimed that "e-mail is only good for working purposes" and only had access to her work account at work, which made sense. But she also started to work later and later. Some nights, she didn't come home until late and would barely say a word when she did. She was colder, more distant towards him. Something was wrong.
He had suspected she had been unfaithful to him but quickly banished those thoughts from his mind. He was being stupid and petty. They had made it through Sydney being back and they would make it through Jonathan being back in the picture. Jonathan had been her first love and they were going to be married, they were engaged as a matter of fact. But due to circumstances beyond their control, the engagement was broken and they lost touch. It was just the way that life went. But now Jonathan was working in the LA office and they were working close together. Too close for Vaughn's liking. They had developed little inside jokes and he called her "Renny" which made Vaughn's blood run cold.
Vaughn spent much of his time glaring at the 'other' man and would avoid conversations with him at all cost. "I hate him." He confided in Weiss after only three days of Jonathan being at the office. He took a slow sip of his gin and tonic, his new drink of choice.
"Just like Lauren hates Sydney. It all works in the end." Weiss finished. "This is just the way things work for you-crazy and dysfunctional."
"You know, just because you're dating that new girl from medical services and there have been no complications-yet-"
"Be happy for me. She's hot as hell."
"I repeat: that's only because she doesn't know what a slob you are..hasn't met your dog yet.hasn't seen you apartment yet. There are so many 'yets' to this, I don't even know where to start."
Weiss simply smirked and replied, "You really are stressed about this whole Jonathan thing."
"He calls her Renny. Where the hell did he pick that up from? Renny." He shuddered with disgust.
"Sydney calls you 'Vaughn'." Weiss quickly countered, resting his forearm against the dark wood bar.
"That makes sense. My last name is Vaughn."
"Oh I get it! You're allowed to have a nickname with an ex-lover but Lauren isn't" his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Hey, whose side are you on?" Vaughn shouted and threw his hands up, almost upsetting his drink.
"Hey, I'm all for you being married and whatever but keep in mind, you put yourself in this position." His brown eyes watched Vaughn roll his, "If you're this concerned about Lauren and Jonathan, why don't you just ask her?"
"Remind me never to ask you for advice." Vaughn replied, reaching into his pocket and finding a couple of bills and throwing it on the counter. "I need to get home."
"Let me know how things work out, okay man?" Weiss said, waving Vaughn off.
Vaughn simply nodded a reply and staggered out of the bar. His head was a jumble of thoughts as he reached his black SUV. His hands reached for his keys and he slinked inside. Was he over reacting? Sure, it was like the same thing with him and Sydney. And he didn't have feelings anymore for Sydney. "But you're not sure about that." He countered himself aloud. So, it was entirely possible that Jonathan and Lauren had the same relationship that he and Sydney had.
But he had been having dreams at night. The dreams that haunted him all day and whenever he saw either woman, it shook him to his very core. They were wonderful and horrible at the same time. He saw Sydney and was with Sydney in the same way that she was before she disappeared. And it was nice and sweet and comfortable. But in the end, she would stab him in the heart. Maybe it was a figurative meaning for him stabbing her in the heart-by moving on and marrying Lauren. But he didn't regret moving on with his life-until now. He was missing waking up next to someone more and more as Lauren was working later and rising earlier. They barely saw each other anymore and when he did, she would barely acknowledge his presence. Maybe he did make a mistake moving on. He should have held out longer in hopes for finding Sydney alive.
He had been a coward and hidden behind the devil's drink. Fleeing to France for six months, he buried himself in getting drunk over and over again. If he were a real man, he would have fought to find her harder. Jack was imprisoned for trying to discover the truth about what happened. He was a coward.
But now, he was just a stupid man. His head hit the steering wheel as he debated in his head the course he had traveled. Not knowing what was going on with Lauren was slowly killing him. 21 days. 21 days of not knowing and it was killing him all over again. But this time he could do something about it.
His thoughts were consumed with the idea of Lauren cheating on him. He had never been a jealous man but he couldn't help thinking about it. She had accused him on cheating on her but now..would she use that anger to be unfaithful towards him? "What are you smiling about?" He asked one fateful morning, as he finished dressing and came over to her by the computer. He planted a kiss behind her ear and waited for a reply as he tried to read the message on the screen. The only words he picked up here, "I still do love you, my darling and I know you feel the same way." He felt his mouth go dry and his heart beat quicken, "What's this?"
Her eyes grew wide and she quickly minimized the screen before turning around to face her husband, "Nothing. Work stuff." She smiled and nodded her head, trying to convince him that she was telling the truth. She cleared her throat and licked her chapping lips. "Darling, it's really no big deal. Calm down."
He narrowed his eyes at her and leaned over her to make the e-mail screen appear again. His green eyes drifted towards the e-mail address and found it one he didn't recognize. "Who's this from?" He asked, trying to keep his tone as even as humanly possible.
Her face went pale and she shut her eyes as she answered, "I told you, work" her tone was a little firmer as she tried to regain her mouse. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked as though she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She was obviously guilty of something.
"But this is to our home account." He replied as he stood up and glared at his wife. "What's going on?"
He didn't receive a response immediately from her and started to lose his phoenix temper. His palms started to sweat and his heartbeat quickened at a deadly pace. His chest started to heave with the angry breathe coming from his lungs. "Lauren, what the hell is going on? Answer me."
She got to her feet and brushed past him, "There's nothing to know, Michael. It's nothing. You're being paranoid." She started to gather the rest of her stuff before leaving for work, as if nothing was wrong.
"Why are you so secretive all of a sudden?" He counted just as accusingly. "You've been sneaking around this house like you're a teenager going out for the first time and now you're getting love notes on OUR e- mail account? What's going on, Lauren? I have a right to know." Suddenly he put two and two together.
She whipped around and saw Vaughn sitting down at the computer desk. "What are you doing?" She shrieked and launched herself towards him but it was too late. He had already seen the last line of the e-mail.
"Jonathan. You're getting e-mails from Jonathan.. your ex-boyfriend and former partner." He turned around in the chair and looked at her, "You better have a good explanation for this."
"I don't need to explain everything to you." She answered briefly before turning around and trying to finish her routine.
Vaughn jumped to his feet, blood pounding in his ears, "Are you cheating on me? With Jonathan? Lauren, G-d damn it! Answer me!" But she continued to walk away, grabbing her coat and her briefcase and headed out the door. "Don't you dare walk away from me!"
"How dare you accuse me of having an affair?! I've only been faithful to you, Michael. I would never do such a thing." Tears started to rush towards her eyes, "Why is it you're allowed to have feelings for someone else but I'm not!" She stopped herself as she started to lose her breath.
"You know that I don't have feelings for Sydney anymore!"
"You do! I saw you at the wedding!" The tears now flowed freely over her face.
"You were with Jonathan! You just admitted you have feelings for him!" He shouted, losing what little control he had left of his emotions. "Do you still love him?"
"Don't be ridiculous! He's not my husband, you are."
"That didn't answer my question. Do you still love him?"
She picked up her briefcase that was resting near the doorway, feeling the cool brown leather in her hand. With her free hand, she wiped her eyes as she sniffled softly, "I need to get to work. I'm going to be late." Slowly, she turned on her heels and walked out of the door.
"We're not done with this!" He shouted after her.
She turned around before shutting the door, "I'll see you at the office."
He watched the door slam and found himself without words. He couldn't believe that this had just happened and all of his fears had been confirmed. But as he slinked against the wall with his head in his hands, he wasn't a hundred percent sure that he was completely upset about it. He didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore.
Well? What do you think? Next chapter we'll find out about a mission with Syd and Vaughn that could completely change everything.