Title: If Only Once More
Arthur: Secret Agent Girl (SAG)
Rating: Hard PG-13 (mainly because I don't feel it's R but a touch more than PG-13)
'Ship: S/V
Spoilers: Everything is up to Countdown is fair game.
A/N: This one's for Jude. Who's been making me feel guilty for the last counts nine months so I would sit down and write. Like I said, eventually. There will probably be one more chapter after this. Italics indicate a thought (if only a line or two) or a flashback (if a long section).
Ch. 13
Closing the door behind him, Vaughn turned to face her. She had yet to move. Her body was covered in bandages and stitches, every inch of her seemed to be swallowed by white gauze.
Grabbing her hand, he sat down on the bed next to her, facing her direction. His thumb ran over the smooth skin on the back of her hand, the one place that seemed unmarred.
Swallowing deeply, he looked up at her. Her eyes were still focused on the now darkened streets of LA. Had she even blinked?
"Do you- Do you remember, it was just after the mission to India, I gave you tickets to a mini-golf course? I wanted nothing more than to take you myself. To go and get ice cream at the Santa Monica pier, play mini-golf in the afternoon, catch a movie in the evening and then take you home with me. But I couldn't. I could locate you on the other side of the world as I sat at my desk in LA but I couldn't take you to the movies. And it drove me insane.
"I watched you that afternoon. I was out with Donovan and saw you. At least, that's what I sat to try and convince myself. Truth is, I knew where you were and wanted to see you. Even if I had to stand on the other side of the fence, I wanted to see you having fun. I have never seen you more beautiful than you were that day.
"The smile on your face lit up the entire park and I just…I fell for you all over again. It hurt to be standing on the other side of that fence. I thought that was the worst feeling in the world; being on the outside looking in on what I couldn't have.
"Nothing will ever been more painful than the three days I spent thinking I was never going to see you again."
Tears pooled in his eyes as he fought back the lump rising in his throat.
"I don't exactly know what I would have done if Sark had…If we hadn't fou-…" tears began to slowly cascade down Vaughn's cheeks as he struggled to remain composed. Taking several deep breaths, he tried to wipe the tears out of his eyes to no avail. "You are the one thing in my life that makes sense."
He broke down then. His entire body lurched forwards as image after image of them together assaulted his mind. Loosing all self restraint completely, he sank into her lap, gripping her hand tightly between his as tears fell onto the crisp clean sheets.
He slammed the door behind him as he entered, jerking off his jacket and tossing it to the floor on top of his briefcase. He muttered under his breath as he made his way further into the apartment, the scowl never leaving his face.
"So I'm guessing today was a really great day, huh?"
"Funny." He shot back as he sat down on the stool behind the counter, meeting the smirking face on the other side. "Son of a bitch was on my case all day long! Nothing was good enough for him. Everything I did was lacking something. And then, oh and then! He brings Kendall into it! I mean, Hell! I could not get a moment of peace in that damn building all day. Everyone had something for me to do and somehow I managed to do all of it wrong! I swear, we ever decide to get married and he'll not only find something wrong with everything I do, but find a way to transfer me to some place so far away it's beyond being funny."
Smiling, she sat down next to him, having made her way to the other side of the counter as he had vented his anger. "Well, it's a little bit funny."
She was met with a cold stare as she bit back a laugh, turning his chair towards her. "Oh he'll get over it."
"He'll get over it?! Syd, I don't think you understand what my day was like today!"
"Vaughn, trust me, he'll get over it. Not only will he get over it, but he'll even learn to like you and respect you as more than just my handler."
"No, Sydney, I don't think you understa-"
Leaning in, she cut him off, capturing his lips in hers. Cupping his cheek gently, she moved slightly closer, securing his silence. Breaking away slowly, she smiled softly at him, running her fingertip over his lower lip.
"He'll get over it."
"He'll get over it." Vaughn reiterated as he smiled, Sydney nodding slowly. Grinning he pulled her back to him, tangling his fingers in her hair as he met her lips again.
The tears in his eyes had yet to dry as his body began to shake with sobs.
"Sydney…I don't know what I'd do if I never got the chance to tell you that I love you again."
And as suddenly as they had started, his tears stopped. His body lay rigid as he felt the feather light touch run across his scalp.
Slowly raising his head, he met her eyes. The tiniest of smiled played across her face.
"Sydney?"
Her fingers dropped to his cheek, playing across the contours of his face as her lips moved slowly. No sound came out of them, as she struggled to form words.
"Me too."