Ring...ring...ring...
" Um...we should answer..."
" Yeah, we should..."
" It could be important..." I see regret in his eyes as he lets go my hand and walks toward his phone.
" Vaughn." He looks at me and walks away, as if he doesn't want me to hear ...I sigh and start looking for what we could cook. He comes back some minutes later with an angry look, but doesn't say a word.
" So, what are we gonna cook?" he asks me while he checks the locks on the front door and the windows.
" Why are you checking to see if everything's locked?"
" Just...it's nothing..."
" Tell me Vaughn." He sighs and he knows he can't hide it from me forever, that I won't let him
" It's...it was the Agency...they..." he walks towards me and takes my hands in his again.
" The fire at my apartment...it was Lauren...they have proof that here, let's sit."
I follow him to the living room and we both sit on the couch, our hands still holding each other's.
" You won't like what I'm gonna say..." I look at him half-afraid, half-urging him to spill.
" About three weeks ago we discovered that Lauren wasn't who she was pretending..."
" What?" What is he talking about?
" Please let me finish..."
" We're still tracking Sark and...we saw him one day...he was meeting some informer, someone we thought was well placed and betraying the CIA..." He looks pained, and it's hard for him to explain...but what does he have to tell me?
" Remember when I was out of the country?" I nod.
" Yes, of course."
" That's when I saw them...Sark, and her..."
" Lauren?"
" Yes...and they were... more than friends let's say."
" Vaughn, I...I'm sorry..."
" No don't...I'm not sorry, so don't be." I know he won't show me how he feels, but I know how you feel when you've been betrayed, and when someone you love betrays you, it's worse...a thousand times worse...
" That's when we knew she was the mole we were looking for..." He pauses before going on.
" I was told not to show her that I knew, I had to play the loving husband..." I saw the tears forming in his eyes. I know him too well, I know he won't let them fall in front of me.
" But I couldn't. Knowing that because of her I've lost you..."
" You ALMOST lost me, Vaughn. I'm here now." I smile slightly and squeeze his hands.
" But she took away two years of your life Syd! She took us what we had..." Tears are forming in my eyes too, but I'm not sure I'll be able to hide them like him. I'm not that strong anymore.
" Vaughn..."
" The Agency...was calling to warn us. She's back in town. She tried to kill her father and to make it look like a suicide...but it wasn't."
" He's..dead?" He nods. She killed her own father! How could she...
" They have proof that she set fire to our...my apartment. They're trying to catch her, but she's still out there for now."
" Are we safe here?" I know I'm safe if I stay with Vaughn. After all he's my guardian angel, and nothing can happen as much as we stay together.
" Yeah, they posted some people in front of the house, and Weiss' house is protected, so we're safe tonight."
" Good." He nods and looks up at me, instead of at our hands.
" So, you still haven't told me what we're gonna cook!" I know he's avoiding the subject, and he knows I know. We make a silent agreement that tonight we're gonna have fun, and we'll talk about serious stuff tomorrow. I follow him toward the kitchen and we start looking into the cupboards...
We finally found some pasta and we made a sauce. It is so domestic. Vaughn and I cooking, talking about nothing in particular, just like it used to be...I know I shouldn't think about it anymore. I'm happy now, well, at least things are getting better between us. I know it'll never be like it used to be, but it can be better. Now we both know what we have lost, and that life is too short. We'll live everyday like if it was our last day, just enjoying life. To live together. We're not apart anymore. And I already like it.
" Syd? Where are you?" Vaughn moves his hand in front of me.
" Um...nowhere. I was just thinking..." We are still sitting, empty plates on the table, a bottle of wine almost finished. He pours the last drops of the wine in our glasses.
" Vaughn. You want to get me drunk?" I tease him.
" Well...it's not a bad idea..." I look into his eyes. I know he's joking, but I can't think of anything but our first date. We drunk a little too much that night, and we almost...I feel the butterflies in my stomach like I felt that night, when we agreed to 'visit' the inn...
" It's getting warm here, isn't it?" Vaughn must have been thinking about our 'date' too because I can see he's as red as I must be right now.
" We should go sit on the couch." I nod. We put the dishes into the sink and sit in the living room our glasses in our hands.
" I'm so full!"
" Yeah, me too!" We relax in the couch, just enjoying each other's presence and sipping our wine.
"So, what do you wanna watch?" Vaughn breaks eventually the comforting silence we were sitting in.
" Um...I dunno...What do you prefer?"
" Syd, I said you choose first!" I smile with him.
" OK...um...MI2? I still haven't seen it." He shakes his head. Everytime when it comes to pick a movie, I always choose an action movie. And he always told me:
" Come on, you don't wanna evade from your spy life?" I smile to him.
" You always say that."
" I know..." We stare at each other's eyes for a moment, remembering all those little moments we had.
" OK...so MI2 it is." I smile in victory. He always let me chose, even when he wanted to watch a hockey game.
"Yeah!" I kiss him on the cheek. He blushes a little and looks down. And it makes my smile grow bigger.
We put the DVD in the player and watch silently. About 20 minutes later I feel a little tired so I put my head on Vaughn's shoulder, unsure of how he's gonna react. He simply puts his arms over my shoulder, and we cuddle on the couch, watching the movie. It's so weird at first, acting like that with him. I feel like a teenager going to the movies with her future boyfriend, afraid by every wrong move I could make, but at the same time I feel safe, knowing that I'm not with some guy, but with Vaughn. I always feel safe when I'm with him, and this is what I need the most right now. Without knowing it he comforts me by his simple presence, he reassures me by a simple touch, he makes me feel loved by a simple look.
I'm pull of my thoughts by a big noise at the door. I look at Vaughn who simply looks back at me smiling. The front door is pushed open. I turn my head towards it and see Lauren, putting a gun at me. I stand up and look for something, anything, which I could use as a weapon. Vaughn doesn't move, why doesn't he do something? Lauren slowly walks towards Vaughn, who eventually stands up, and kisses her hungrily on the mouth.
" What...what are you doing, Vaughn?" I ask with the tears in my eyes. I feel betrayed, I have been betrayed again. But by the man I love, and it's worse than I have ever felt before.
" Vaughn...why...what..." I try to speak but my sobs are too strong and I can't talk anymore. I've a big lump in the throat, my vision is blurry by my tears, I can't move. All I can do is cry, and watching the man I love betraying me, again.
"What were you thinking, Sydney? That I would just divorce and come back to you?" Vaughn laughs with Lauren and kisses her deeply. I can't look at him, at them. It's killing me.
"Vaughn..." my voice cracks.
" You're so naive, Sydney. Michael's mine, forever mine!"
"No...All the things you said to me...it was all..." I cry more and more, I can barely breathe between my sobbing.
"I was just waiting for Lauren to come back. I was just playing with you. You're so blind, you really thought I could act like that with you? You destroyed my life, Sydney, you almost screwed up my marriage, and you tried to kill the love of my life."
" It's been a pleasure to meet you dear." With that Lauren points the gun at me and fires, three times. I look down at my torso and see my white T-shirt becoming red. It's weird because I feel nothing, just warmth. I fall on the ground, and hear another fire shot. I look up and see Lauren kissing Vaughn on the lips before letting him fall on the ground.
" You two are just so blind." She laughs, an evil laugh that send me shivers through all the body, and goes away in the night. I look at Vaughn.
"Syd...Syd..." he's crying, but his look tells me its because of the pain. Not because of what just happened. He doesn't love me. He loves her. Her.
I'm so tired, I feel exhausted. I close my eyes and drift in a deep sleep. At least I'm at peace now...