"You called me?"
At his voice, Weiss stood up awkwardly to face him. Dixon's eyes narrowed. The man's suit was rumpled and his features haggard, and he kept one hand on his phone. "Is everything all right, Agent Weiss?"
Eric shook his head.
"What's the problem?" Dixon prodded.
Weiss sighed. "I know you're on forced personal leave. And I do respect that. But I need your help."
"For?"
He jerked awake, unable to hide a grimace from the pain his movements caused, and then turned his head towards her. For a moment, she saw genuine terror in his eyes - who does he think I am? - but that faded as realization asserted itself, and the fear he had awoken with changed into an act.
Voice rough and painful to hear, Vaughn struggled to focus on her. "Sydney?"
She fought to hide a wince. His head lolled and his eyes fluttered, the constant IV drip and current weakened state enough to keep him docile while Sloane weighed how much trust to invest in him. It was truly an eerie moment of déjà vu. The last time she had seen him like this, he had flatlined on her…
Focus, Sydney.
"How could you?" she all but yelled, manifesting the rage she felt for Sloane at Vaughn. "How could you? I trusted you and you…. you…" she allowed herself to deflate, sinking into a chair by his cot. "Francie was innocent! She had nothing to do with this! How could you?"
"I…" he shook his head, trying to clear it. She hesitated, had she been too strong? Did he not realize, drugged as he was, that she was merely putting on a show?
If she had hurt him just now, she would never forgive herself.
Light laughter from behind her stole their attention. Sydney turned rapidly, cursing herself for letting her guard down.
"I'll leave you two alone," Sloane said merrily. Any suspicions had vanished the second Sydney brutally struck the man that had once been her greatest weakness. "This room is soundproofed, dear Sydney. Remember that even traitors like him have their uses, but do enjoy yourself. I'll give you plenty of time."
She had never felt so sick.
And then he was gone, the two doors closing and sealing behind him. Immediately, she shot to Vaughn's side.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed, resting her head over Vaughn's heart. "I'm so sorry!"
In response, he winced. She closed her eyes, the inferno burning in her indescribable as she felt yet another bandage through the hospital gown, right underneath her head.
"What happened there?" she asked, forcing herself to sound soothing.
"Nothing," he replied, voice faint. "Don't worry about it."
She glared at him. "Nothing?"
"Nothing," he repeated. "Syd - "
He trailed off, throat too dry to finish. She scanned the room, hope swelling when she saw a clear water bottle sitting by the left side of his cot. Reaching it in two strides, she picked it up to sniff.
"Syd?" Vaughn's confusion came through loud and clear. Raising a hand at him to wait, she tipped her head back and tried a sip.
Water. Clean, glorious, perfect-temperature water. She didn't know who had put it here, but God bless him.
"Here," she murmured, returning to his side and holding it in place for him. Trusting her without thought, he drank greedily.
"Better," he said when she pulled the water bottle away. His voice was still uneven from lack of use, but less painful-sounding.
"Good," she replied. And then she kissed him, taking full advantage of the fact that his oxygen tubes meant they could stay that way for longer than usual.
"Much better," he amended when they broke apart, a lazy smile on his face.
She nodded, standing and absently checking the IV dosage. Considering Sloane's words before he left she doubted he would be poisoning Vaughn, but best to check anyway.
"Syd?"
She released the restraints on his arms, noting the cloth as something to puzzle out later, and then sank down beside him on the cot. She laid her head on his shoulder, taking special pains to not put any pressure on his back or interfere with anything hooked up to him. "Hmmm?"
"Why were you apologizing?"
"Because I hurt you," she whispered. "I'm sorry."
He shook his head again, the movements tickling the top of hers. "Never," he said simply.
Sydney smiled. For a moment, everything faded away until it was just her and the man she loved, safe and happy and all by themselves. When he finally lost his fight against the drugs and fell back asleep she relaxed even farther, listening to him breathe, her head burrowed underneath his chin.
And then the door unsealed. Careful not to wake him up, she pulled herself upright. By the time the door opened she was sitting on the chair next to him, allowing the rage she felt at his condition to burn in her eyes. Whoever saw it would misinterpret it as anger at Vaughn, not for him.
But instead of Sloane, a petite blonde woman strolled in, bandages in hand. She raised an eyebrow at her.
"He's sleeping," she said unnecessarily, inclining her head towards Vaughn. Sydney nodded warily. The plan be damned if the woman hurt or even woke him. She would kill the guard with her bare hands first.
"Odd for you to allow him to do," the woman continued. "Since you came here seeking vengeance."
And it was. Sydney's body tensed. She'd have to drop the guard quickly before she alerted Sloane and then…
What?
Carry Vaughn somewhere? He clearly was in no condition to walk on his own, not with his injuries and the oxygen tubes.
The guard laughed softly, shaking her head. "I don't understand him," she murmured. "Nor you. Are all CIA agents this transparent?" She paused, seeing the way Sydney was readying herself to take action. "Peace, Ms. Bristow. I won't hurt him. He would have died long ago if I didn't risk compromising my cover to help him."
"Your cover?" Sydney frowned. The woman's accent, her disdain for the CIA…
She sighed, offering a hand. "I'm on your side," she said. "Lauren Reed. NSC."
"So what are you going to do now?"
Arvin sighed, passing a weary hand over his eyes. He sat on his couch, head bowed in exhaustion and shame whilst his beautiful wife paced in front of him.
"Tell me, Arvin. I'm curious! What do people like you do to captured spies? When the sun comes up, will you shoot him in our front yard?"
"Emily, you're not being rational."
"I'm not being rational? I'm not being rational? Does that mean you are? Because then I think I'd prefer my irrationality."
He kept his voice even. "This is the man I am, Emily. This is my life. This is our life. You wanted to know everything."
"Don't treat me like a fool!" she exploded. "Stop telling me that the deception is over!"
"I'm telling you the truth, Emily! I don't know what else you want me to say!"
She looked at him, lip curling in disdain.
"Truth," she mocked. "Good, well, that explains it all. I guess you and I are looking for the same thing!"
"Emily - "
"I love you, Arvin," she whispered, turning to leave. "God knows why, but I do. But I don't like you."
"Emily!"
She paused, but didn't turn to face him. "I'm going to send someone to find Sydney so we can talk. And then I am going to go make sure Michael is comfortable."
He nodded, not daring to argue with her. "And then?"
But she was already gone.
Sydney's jaw dropped. This woman outranked even her father. And Kendall. "What's a member of the NSC doing out in the field?" she asked warily. "I thought you were an advisory committee?"
"We are," Lauren answered. "I'm on loan from the SIS."
Sydney paused. The last British SIS member she had met had been when Cole invaded SD-6…
"You're thinking about Toni," Lauren said.
Sydney nodded.
Lauren shook her head, raw grief in her eyes. "Toni was my partner. We were both ordered to learn about The Man however possible. She was sent to infiltrate Cole. I tried to reach The Man by a different method, entering SD-12 as a new recruit. It was assumed The Man would affiliate himself with at least one SD cell, and I was hardly the only agent to enter one. But when The Alliance died - "
Sydney repressed a smile.
" - I received new orders to infiltrate Sark's organization. Shortly afterwards, I received word that Derevko had surrendered."
"And yet you're still here?"
Lauren shrugged. "No one is more highly placed in a terrorist organization than I am right now. The NSC approached my superiors with the suggestion that I partner with them to bring down Sloane, an American Sark has been known to deal with. I agreed. It wasn't too horrible, at first. But then…"
She hesitated and glanced behind her, at Vaughn. Her features softened and Sydney nodded in wordless understanding. The blonde had confidence bordering on arrogance, so the brief glimpse of the woman behind the act was mesmerizing.
She saved Vaughn's life, Sydney. That means she saved yours.
"Thank you," she said aloud, gesturing towards her still-sleeping boyfriend. Belatedly, she took Lauren's proffered hand.
Surprise lit up her green eyes. "You're welcome," she replied, a genuine smile on her face. Sydney returned it.
And then Vaughn stirred behind them. Both women immediately headed for his side, but he only had eyes for Sydney.
"Did we wake you up?" she asked him tenderly, leaning to kiss him on the forehead.
He rewarded her with a glimpse of his dimples, too exhausted to answer. Her wayward strand of her hair tickled his face and he automatically tried to raise a hand to bat it away. Lips pursed, Sydney foiled his efforts and caught him by the wrist, holding him still, lest he pull apart wounds on his back by moving. Vaughn's forehead wrinkled in indignation, but he hadn't the strength to fight her.
Not that he ever did. Or ever would.
"Sorry!" she giggled. He looked like a little boy. An adorable one. A hot-cute one. Unable to resist she carefully wrapped her arms around him in a light hug, lightly kissing him up his neck in a decidedly adult fashion. Both laughed when he shivered involuntarily, this time from something far different than cold.
It was both frightening and exhilarating, how much she loved this man.
And then Lauren stepped toward them, dropping the medical supplies on the chair. "Emily Sloane would like to see you," she said to Sydney. "That's why I came. I'm going to check some things, and then I'll join you."
"Okay," she answered. Genuinely not caring that she had an audience, she kissed him again. To her credit, Lauren backed away and strode to the door to unlock it, keeping her back turned to grant them privacy. "I'll be back," she promised him. "Rest, Vaughn. I mean it. If you try to do anything else, I'll kick your ass."
He nodded. "Be careful," he managed to warn her, hoarsely.
She graced him with a full-dimpled grin. "Hey," she teased. "It's me."
"Exactly," he muttered.
And then Lauren opened the doors for her. She turned and gave Vaughn a wave before stepping through.
"Michael was having delusions of grandeur," Weiss told Dixon shortly. "And he paid for it. Big time. He's not going to come back."
Dixon waited, compassion in his eyes. "What do you need?"
The younger agent looked right back at him.
"I don't give a damn about what he's trying to accomplish. I want to go there and bring him home. Will you help me do that?"
"So you're NSC."
Lauren paused, stethoscope hanging from her neck as she raised an eyebrow at him. "And you were not awake for that conversation."
"I wasn't," Vaughn agreed. "Syd - Agent Bristow told me."
She frowned at that. "When?"
He flushed.
"Oh," she smiled. "Very nice distraction, Agent Vaughn."
He didn't answer. Concerned, she looked up and sought out eye contact. "Is something the matter, Agent Vaughn? Are you in pain?"
"You've saved my life more times than I know about," he said, voice going raspy again. "I think you can call me Michael."
In response, she glanced closely at the IV distribution and then back at him. He was pale, and far more than he should be. Men!
Carefully she increased the feed more, scowling at him when he visibly relaxed. "You have to tell me when you need that, Agent Vaughn."
"Michael," he corrected sleepily, eyes fluttering. The sedative/painkiller worked fast.
She chuckled, trying to distract him as she replaced the cloth and restraints. He watched her through half-lidded eyes, but made no move to resist. Both understood it was necessary. "Agent Bristow doesn't call you that. It's not proper for me to do so. Don't you agree?"
Silence. His breathing slowed quite dramatically. She sighed and stepped toward him, rubbing the edge of the stethoscope to warm it up and then resting it in place. "I need you for just a few more moments, all right?"
"Mmmmm…."
Thankfully, it took less than five minutes to insure that his breathing was right where it should be for right then. By the time she finished, he had fully drifted off. As silently as possible, she tiptoed for the door.
"Thank you," he said, just as she left. His voice was so faint that she at first thought she'd imagined it. But when she turned back, green eyes met green.
"You're welcome," she told him. "Now stop fighting the sedatives and sleep, or your girlfriend will go blimey on your arse."
STATEMENT ON LAUREN REED
Yes, you read right. The "infamous character that makes a cameo" is indeed a certain MsTake from the show.
But wait! Come back! There is no triangle, and this is solely a Sydney/Vaughn 'ship story. Period.
I don't like Lauren, in case you were wondering. I run the anti thread, in fact. (1 week old and almost 80 members strong!)
But it's not that I don't like her. 7 seconds of screentime is hardly enough to judge that. In fact, if she wasn't a contrivance, I might even be interested in her!
So the Lauren in Presages is, pretty much, the Lauren I wish JJ would have used. There will be no Syd/Vaughn/Lauren triangle, and certainly no rings! I swear! Don't leave me!
That is all.