Title: If Only Once More
Arthur: Secret Agent Girl (SAG)
Rating: Hard PG-13 (mainly because I don't feel its R
but a touch more than PG-13
'Ship: S/V
Spoilers: Everything is up to Countdown is fair game.
A/N: Prom last night rocked my world. It was so much fun (plus afterwards while people were being driven home, I was at my friend's house waiting for her to return and I watched the Friends Ep with Michael Vartan in it! He is so young!!) I hope you all enjoy this. (Look for Ch. 7 of What Was Once Perfection in the next few days!) But you are warned… the ending… way evil.
Ch. 6
Vaughn sat in the soft plane seat, staring blankly ahead of him as he tried to keep his mind on anything but what condition they would find her in. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, tying to force the sounds of her screams out of his head. The fear in her voice made is stomach churn and he forced his mind to think of other things; her smile, her laughter, the way she tasted, the perfect way her body contorted to his when he held her as they slept.
"Vaughn." He clocked out all sounds around him, every voice becoming her pleading cries. "Vaughn." His fists clenched as he remembered the cold voice of Sark over the phone. "Michael!" He gave a start when he felt Jack's hand on his shoulder. Looking up at him, he was met with Jack's usually cold eyes, laced with warmth. For the first time Vaughn realized just how much this was affecting Jack, almost as much as it was affecting himself.
"Sorry Jack. I guess I was just off in another world."
"I know." Jack relented as he took a seat across from Vaughn. "However, I need you to focus now." Vaughn nodded as he readjusted his posture, sitting more erect. "When we land, we'll be meeting with my contact. From there…"
Vaughn listened intently as Jack detailed each step of their mission. His planning was flawless, every thing that could possibly go wrong had been taken into consideration and for that Vaughn was thankful. After hearing her, the tone of her voice, the pain that cascaded into her words, he could barely think straight let alone plan out an entire Op.
As Jack finished, he gave the younger agent a small smile and then returned to his seat further back in the plane, leaving Vaughn alone with his thoughts. Everything came flooding back as the silence over took him, and Vaughn wanted to cry out in aguish at the memories invading his peace. Their first time together, their last. They all blended together in his mind.
Closing his eyes tightly, Vaughn forced his mind away from her. Though, no matter how hard he tried, every trick in the book [baseball, hockey, his parents, Donovan, Weiss] nothing seemed to allow his mind to drift from her.
Fine. If you want to be this way. Want to torture yourself, at least think of something moderately happy. Vaughn chided himself as he leaned back into the seat cushions. Sighed deeply, he was relieved to find his mind completely blank, and soon drifted off into a light sleep.
"Promise me something."
"No."
"No?" She laughed as she saw his face. "Please Vaughn?"
"Ok, if you insist." He chuckled as he leaned back further into the couch, turning down the sound on the TV. "But make it quick, the intermission report is almost over." He smiled boyishly.
She responded in kind by throwing a pillow at him. "I'm serious Michael." The smiled faded from his face.
"What's wrong?" She never called him 'Michael', never."
"I just, promise me that you will always be there for me, you'll always look for me."
"What brought this on?" Vaughn asked worriedly as he sat up straighter, turning off the TV as the first Over Time began on his game. "Syd?" She looked away from him. "Sydney, look at me. What's going on?"
"I just… I had a stupid dream and it frightened me."
"What happened?"
"I was compromised on an op. and you just stopped looking after a while. You just gave up on me." Tears pooled in her eyes.
"Oh, baby." Vaughn whispered as he pulled her to him.
"I died Vaughn." She sniffled into his chest. "I always thought you couldn't die in your dreams. But when I found out that you just stopped looking, that you gave up on me." She lifted her head to meet his gaze. "I just lost my will to live. I died."
He leaned over and kissed her slowly. It held none of the urgency and desire that their kisses had held the night before, rather it was filled with a love unlike that she had ever known.
"I will never stop looking for you. Do you hear me?" She nodded. "Never."
"Vaughn," she sighed. "Michael, I love…"
"Vaughn." Jack's voice brought him out of his dream as he felt the plane descending onto the tarmac. "We're here."
He shook his head and forced his mind to try and focus on Jack as he prepared to leave the place. So much for happy thoughts.
The motions were done simply. His mind barely registered as he took each step, walking closer and closer to her. She was there, in that building in front of him somewhere and he refused to leave until he found her. Jack strode with authority by his side and together they made their way into the building, each member of their team, unaware of the stakes in which they were both holding this mission on. It was all or nothing.
Halfway through it, they came to an intersection, a hallway divided in half. Jack looked over at him and they both nodded, knowing that if the other man was to find her, they were to get her out of there as soon as possible, radioing the other and hoping they made it out ok. Vaughn nodded as Jack turned to the right and he made his way down the left.
His pace quickened as he blew through the hallway. Stalling only twice to take care of the guards that stood in his way. An odd wave of strength and adrenaline surged through his body as he fought them with precision, using moves he had seen only she use in the field.
Before his mind had a chance to catch up with him, Vaughn was at the end of the hallway, only a door standing before him. Opening it, his heart stopped and breath caught in his throat at the sight before him.