Disclaimer: Sadly none of the Alias characters are mine

Chapter 2- Cotton Candy and Espionage

The sun was shinning as they climbed out of the truck. The three of them soon had large amounts of cotton candy in their hands as they walked around the pier, expertly maneuvering their way through the crowds. Although it was her day off, Sydney's expert spy instincts couldn't be turned off. She scanned the area for anything suspicious and was very happy to find that she couldn't find any. By 3 o'clock they had ridden every ride and decided to go down to the beach. Sprawled on towels, they discussed everything from which sun tan lotion was best to Francie's restaurant. Sydney wore a simple black bikini, Francie a Hawaii pink printed bikini and Will wore simple army green shorts. To Sydney's delight they talked about everything but the "bank".

"Syd, I have made a major decision on your behalf." Francie turned to Sydney and attempted to keep a straight face.

"Really? And what is that?" Matching Francie's serious face with a mock serious one of her own.

"You need a man!" Sydney nearly choked on her diet coke. "What?!" Francie defended herself, "I'm serious! We are going to find you a new man today, right here, right now!" Will was rolling on the sand, laughing until he got a slap from Francie. "Seriously, Syd, you haven't had a boyfriend since…" Francie was unsure about whether she should mention Danny, Sydney's fiancé who had been murdered. "Well, in a while." Francie finished. Will rolled his eyes and slipped on his aviator sunglasses.

"Francie, that's really sweet, but I… don't really have…time for a man right now." Sydney was trying to avoid mentioning her work to Francie.

"I know you're work, but just look around I mean there are millions of cute guys here!" Sydney decided to let Francie make her plans. The two of them scanned the beach.

"Will, what do you think?" Francie asked, putting Will on the spot. Sydney had to laugh at his face.

"Oh no, I am not getting involved, I am going to read my book, nudge me if she chooses her prince charming."

"Ooo, how about that guy over there, in the speedo!" Francie joked and Sydney had to laugh.

"Oh, Fran, how well you know me! You know I can't resist an old guy in a speedo!"Francie went back to scanning the beach while Sydney lay back on her towel, letting the heat from the sun wash over her.

"What about him?!" Sydney sat up and followed the line of Francie's purple nail. She saw a man throwing a ball for his dog.

He was gorgeous, Sydney thought, "but…wait is that?!" She put her hand over her eyes shielding the sun and she squinted to get a better view. "Oh my God!" Sydney said out loud.

"Do you know him?" Francie asked clearly excited!

"I can't tell, he's too far away."

"Well, whether you know him or not, you should definitely go over there, he is by FAR the hottest guy here today!" The man was wearing navy blue shorts and no shirt. His well toned body was noticeable from far away and his tanned skin implied that he spent a lot of time at the beach. At his shoulder a tattoo was clearly visible.

"Oh my God, I think he is waving at you!!!" Francie was so excited she was nearly shouting!

"Shhhh! You're screaming!" Sydney was still unsure who it was. The man threw the football straight at Sydney and it was only inches away when she realized she was supposed to catch it! Her spy instincts kicked in and when she caught it, she was slightly shocked and was woken from her thoughts by Francie.

"Get up!" She urged Sydney into her ear! Sydney stood, still holding the football and as the man got closer she began to recognize his mussed sandy blond hair, his piercing green eyes, it was her knight in shinning armor, Michael Vaughn.

"Hey Syd!" He was clearly excited to see her. Although it took her a minute and an unperceivable nudge from Francie, she quickly responded,

"Hey, Vaughn, ugh, Michael!" He smiled at her and she felt herself go weak at the knees. "Ugh, these are my friends, Francie and Will, guys this is Michael, from work."

"And I'm Eric." Weiss had appeared suddenly behind Vaughn.

"Oh Eric, hey, I didn't see you there."

"Yeah Michael has a way of making me disappear around women." Sydney blushed and Vaughn gave Weiss a distinctly angry look. Francie laughed at Weiss' comment and decided to make an equally embarrassing one of her own,

"Oh! Syd, is this the Michael you told me about?!" Sydney blushed again and only responded with an evil glare in Francie's direction, when she turned back to face Vaughn, she saw a smirk creep across his face.

"Francie, you are deffanitly going to hear about that one later," Will broke the silence.

"So, Eric, Michael, you guys work at the bank?" Francie asked, This is where it got difficult.

"Yeah" Weiss responded quickly, clearly picking up on the lie Sydney had going on. Lying was second nature to all of them, even Will, who had been adopted into the CIA as an analyst only recently. Weiss sat down on Sydney's blanket next to Francie, leaving Sydney standing awkwardly near Vaughn wishing she had her shirt to slip on.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Vaughn asked Sydney quietly.

"Yeah great!" Sydney responded. "Guys, we'll be right back, we're going to get some more cotton candy."

"Yeah right, whatever." Weiss responded without looking up.

"Let me just grab…" Sydney reached for her sarong but Vaughn intercepted her arm.

"You don't need it." Sydney blushed at Vaughn's implications.

"Real subtle man!" Weiss added, Francie laughed and Vaughn kicked him. Sydney and Vaughn began to walk away.

"Sorry about my friends, Francie is sorta a—" She was cut off by a sudden kiss from Vaughn. She felt herself push into the kiss, never wanting it to end. When they finally pulled away, Sydney's shock was apparent, but Vaughn answered her silent question quickly,

"I love that I can do that!" They both smiled and joined hands as they walked down the beach. They had been walked for a long time without speaking, just enjoying each other's company. Sydney began to wonder what Vaughn's dog's name was and was just about to ask, when he said, "Donovan."

"What?"

"My dog's name is Donovan."

"I hate that you can read my mind like that."

"Why?!" Vaughn asked defensively.

"Well, let say, if I am gonna throw you a surprise birthday party, you will already know."

"Syd, you're a spy, I am sure that you could pull of a surprise party."

"Yeah, I should be able to! Still, I can't keep things from you, don't even become a bad guy because you would always see me coming."

"Ha! Okay, I promise. It's good we aren't on different sides or else I would have to kick your ass!"

"Excuse me?!?"

"What?! You don't think I could kick your ass?!"

"No I don't, what are you gonna do about it!?" Sydney mocked.

"You wanna go?" Vaughn got into a fake fighting position, similar to the one Francie had donned only a few hours ago, the difference was that Vaughn knew he was doing it wrong. Sydney exploded laughing, loosing the straight face she had fought to hold throughout their exchange.

"Eric, is gone!!" Francie had suddenly appeared at their side and Sydney regained her composure instantly at her words.

"What?!"

"Some people came!"

"Francie what happened!?!"

"People came with guns and told him to get into their van."

"WHAT?!"

"What people?!"

"What did they look like?!"

"They had black masks, I couldn't see!" Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other and read each other's minds

"Francie, we have to go!"

"What, where are you going?!"

"Um…" Sydney had used so many lies on her friend before but she couldn't think of one now.

"We're gonna go get the police." Vaughn filled in.

"Let me come with you.

"No, Francie, you and Will go home, I will call you once I have talked to the police, can you take Vaughn's dog with you?"

"We only brought one car!"

"Sydney can ride with me, you guys take her car!" Once they had convinced Francie to go home, they took of at a run across the beach towards the pier.

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