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Epilogue "The Other Side of the Story" Leo's l'il sista

Michael was in heaven. He had his life back, his girl, and their night of making love had taken him to heights he didn't know existed. And for the moment, he made himself forget he would have to do something he never wanted to do. After all, without Jessica's companionship, he might have not made it this far.

But he loved Syd.

The alarm for that morning went off.

Michael didn't dare move, he didn't want to morning to end. He instead reached over to the body lying next him and murmured, "Syd, honey, why don't you turn that off and just stay in bed with me today?"

He waited for a sarcastic comment enveloped in a voice soft as silk, but it didn't come.

Michael's eyes flashed open and he was shaken to see Sydney wasn't laying next to him.

Oh God! Could that incredible night have all been a dream?

The answer was no. He was in her hotel room, and her pillow smelled of her sweet shampoo. The soreness encasing his body was also proof that he had slept with Sydney, and for a long time.

So where was she?

He sat up and pulled on his pants before he padded over to the bathroom which turned out empty. There was no steam to prove she'd taken a shower and then he'd realized no female hygiene products cluttered the marble sink. He tried not to panic and re-entered the main room and it was then that he saw Sydney's suitcase was gone.

What was going on here? What was the point on being married when you couldn't even enjoy one morning after glance of the woman you loved, nestling next to you, and just that would give him the strength to face the new day?

He did a 360, putting a hand to his sweating forehead when he caught sight of a folded piece of paper sitting on top of the blaring alarm clock.

Michael rubbed his face then sat down on the edge of the bed, turned off the annoying sound before he reached for the note.

At least the ring wasn't there, so this couldn't be a "Dear John," letter or was it? Could it be possible that Sydney had enjoyed the night and still left him for wherever she'd initially planned to go?

But wait, Sydney had pledged their faith. He didn't know anything yet. He slowly and carefully unfolded the letter and read.

Dear Michael, my best friend, my soulmate, my(giggle) husband"

Michael grinned and gave his ring a glance before reading on.

"You must be wondering what is going on? If I had taken you seriously or left you like a one night stand. Truth is, I did take you seriously, but I still do have an obligation to the CIA and I am on my mission, and I have been as of 7 a.m. I would have woken you but then I would have never been able to or wanted to leave, not to mention yesterday was my best night of sleep and you looked equally peaceful that I didn't want to wake you.

But I have taken the courtesy of setting the alarm for 8:00. Forgive me for not fulfilling my "wifely" duties. I promise you there will be many morning-afters in the future. Just make sure you get to work, I've asked Weiss to call you and he agreed he'd like nothing better than to scream at you first thing in the morning."

He was mixed with relief and fear, but managed to roll his eyes at the Weiss comment.

"Vaughn, "Boy Scout," there are no words that I can think of that will adequately describe how perfect your impromptu wedding ceremony was or to express the joy of becoming your wife.

For the first time since I came back, last night, I truly felt that I had returned to where I belonged and we'd been able to start off exactly where we had left off.

But that night is over now and it's time for each of us to return to reality. I've been gone and you've moved on."

Michael gulped, barely able to push himself to read the rest of the letter, but he did, keeping faith.

"Do not think for a moment that I regret what happened last night. I never had a childhood dream yet you've made everyone of the come true. But I'm not going to lie to myself, you have the companionship of another woman and not only can't I forgive you but believe something sparked for you and so I've thought about this from the moment you rolled off of me and fell to sleep against my chest, the happiest girl in the world."

I am going on my mission and I've decided that this should be a period of recollection for me and so this is not a letter of goodbye, and I have no interest in breaking up with you or start pretending what happened didn't happen. But I will not go aroudn telling everybody that I'm married but keep it in my heart, that it is a promise of things to come. I hope you can understand my wishes and do the same."

Michael felt like he was married and it was disheartening for her to bring him down but nodded. "Of course I can."

"As for the issue of my transfer, I haven't told Will this part so take this information as a confirmation of my undying feelings for you.

Kendall has not finalized anything. He was, to my surprise, very understanding and decided instead to give me, by hand, the transfer order and the process would only happen if I do ever put it in. And like I said before, ifI was to go forward with my decision, I will have my alias slashed from the network and hopefully be able to live in peace and not have to go through the two years I've been through.

So this is what I propose we do, to take this time to reflect and think about what it is we want. Our ring is a promise to each other and if we were to go our separate ways, nobody would have to know.

As hard as the last three months have been to me, trying to pretend I was okay, that I had no hard feelings about your moving on, I understand you thought you'd lost me forever and had to do something to keep on living and that, even I could understand.

Jessica did tell you the truth about that night, so in a way, you left her for no reason and as much as I hate to say this, I think it's time you return to her and face your problems and decide what it is you want to do because obviously you cannot have me and your present wife.

So in closing Michael C. Vaughn~~~I love you, more than any being has ever loved on this earth, and I will return. I will return to you soon."

"Oh finally!" Michael grinned. "Something good."

"And if when I return, you are no longer married and have continued to keep our faith, I will marry you Vaughn, with open arms and an open heart. You are already a part of my soul.

And I promise to call you Michael once in a while.

But if in the even between now and then you feel Jessica is the one, please be honest with me and we can make this promise as it had never happened, and I will be able to move on this time, knowing it was our mutual decision, and not because somebody made my decisions for me. I will forget about you with no regrets."

"Syd!" he gasped, overwhelmed by her understanding.

"Because no matter what happens, the reason I know how to love is because I was loved in return by you, the most perfect man in the world and that will always remain true.

So don't cry with worry, I'm okay and I look forward to when we'll be able to meet again.

You are my Guardian Angel,

Sydney A. Vaughn"

"No, you're mine," Michael corrected her upon reading those words. So Sydney would return and she would make their union real. What a happy day! Though he had to admit he'd feel even better if he knew what to do with Jessica. Sydney was everything he'd ever wanted but there were doors he'd had to close to propose to another woman.

Could he open these doors and close the one he'd created with Jess?

He was pondering on how to get Jessica to see what was going on and to cause her the least pain when his cellphone went off.

Michael hastily folded the letter, kissed the ring on his finger for guidance, then dug into the pocket of last night's pants and retrieved the phone.

"Vaughn."

"Mike! Yo, it's Weiss and I just wanted to say congrats man! Looks like you finally got through to Syd!"

"H~how would you know that?" Michael asked dryly, remembering the bit about Sydney mentioning she wasn't going to go around telling people about their promise.

"what kind of question is that? Sydney called me to ask me if I would give you a call and made it to work on time! And how would she know that if she hadn't been with you?!" Eric chided him.

"You're right, so you know."

"Yeah!"

"Well I don't think everybody is supposed to know okay, like Syd's father who just slapped me with a touch Syd and you'll never work in the CIA again and Kendall might think I had done something influencing and Syd doesn't need that," Michael listed then took a long breath. "And Jess, we're still married and I want to be the one to tell her if it turns other wise, not by hearing it from someone else."

"You got it, Mike," Eric promised then added. "Do you know what you're going to do about her?"

"I will," Michael stated firmly.

Eric sounded for a moment like he was going to argue but instead chuckled. "Well you're not off today lover boy, you'd better get to work. Then maybe you can do something other than worry about "Mountaineer," for a few hours."

"R~right," Michael grinned, feeling a strange calm. "I'm out. E.T.A 15 minutes."

"Got it. Bye Mike."

Vaughn ended the call and threw his cell on the bed. Worrying about "Mountaineer?" That sounded more comforting than angsty. Yes, he would spend a night of endless tossing and turning, wondering where she was and exactly what she was doing. HE began sweating, any moment now, the love of his life was going to board a plan that would take her thousands of miles away from where he was but he embraced the tingle that went down his spine.

It was nice to have something in his life that not only felt normal, but felt right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sydney purchased a cappucino at the coffee stand in the airport then carried the hot beverage over to where a handsome brit was sitting.

"Here, Irish Roast, double cream?"

"Correct," Leighton Cowell replied. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Then Sydney pulled out a bridal magazine from her carry along and began sifting through it. Of course Michael was going to be married to Jess for sometime but Sydney believed it would be only a little bit longer, Michael had proposed to her and then he'd consumated his marriage to her.

So what harm was there in planning a little early? After all, she wasn't going to be able to see Vaughn for who knew how long, planning what she would wear, which thank you cards and the best embroidery couldn't' really hurt. Hey, may she wont' turn into a bridezilla!

"Um Sydney?"

Sydney was shocked that Leighton had spoken to her that she ended up jumping and Cowell ended up spilling the coffee onto his pants.

"Oh God! I am so sorry, here, let me help you with that," Sydney stammered, grabbed a pack of tissues and dabbed it at the caffeinatted mess. Fortunately it wasn't a big deal, but after that was over, it was easy to assume that they may be strangers.

Sydney went back to sitting down and gazed at her ring. The ring Michael had given her. She really desperately wanted to go AWOL.

"Uh~~~sure."

"It's just that I noticed you are glowing today. Not an ounce of angst seems to be lingering within your body."

"Really?" Sydney giggled, her cheeks flushing, her dimples deeper. "Does it show?"

"Yes, Sydney, now would you tell me why you're going through a bridal magazine and who has gifted you with that sparkling gem on your ring finger?"

Sydney tried to figure out if Leighton was snooping or was genuinely interested. Finaly she showed him the ring.

"I'm married."

Cowell's eyebrows went up. "Well, that would explain it, amazing move you have made and an even more amazing recovery. If I remember correctly, you were stuck on an ex-boyfriend of yours that got married thinking you were dead."

"Ruin the moment, why don't you?" she chided him, smacking him on the shoulder, but Cowell didn't retaliate, knowing she wasn't being serious.

Cowell then paused before asking, "Is it Agent Vaughn?"

Sydney didn't look over at him and concentrated instead on her book.

"Because if it is, I'm going to have to ask you what you did with his wife," Cowell persisted, folding his arms. "Sydney?"

"Nothing! I did nothing with his wife and besides it's none of your business who I date, marry, or kill," she stammered angrily. "Trust Cowell to ruin the moment."

Cowell's gaze still wavered on his asset's face, trying to find a way to reason with her but he was blown away by her simplistic beauty and her ability to hold her own was enticingly confusing.

"Besides, aren't you supposed to be glad that I'm happy? Being a psychiatrist and all?" she quipped.

"I am. I am merely looking out for you," Leighton protested. "Rapid recovery is good but does have its' consequences."

"I thank you for wasting your time trying to keep me on a leash, making sure every move I make is moral but I can take care of myself," Sydney quipped. "I think you've figured that out by now."

"I do know," Leighton confirmed and then got up from the chair, knowing he was losing the battle and nothing he said now would get through to her. "But Sydney~~~"

She raised her head and gave him an innocent glance.

"I do hope we will do more than quarrel with each other. WE are going to be in each other's company for quite some time."

Sydney glanced at Leighton, wondering if he was serious.

"I'll think about it."

Cowell didn't look nearly satisfied but had decided that would have to do. "I'm going to use the restroom, okay?"

"You don't' need my permission to do that."

"Right, I just wanted to let you know so you would know where I am."

"I don't think an agent's last words will ever be, "I'm going to the restroom," Sydney retorted with a sarcastic grin.

Leighton was growing visibly tired of Sydney's attitude and disregarded the comment. "Our flight is in exactly sixty-seven minutes. Don't go vanishing off."

"I think two years of that was more than enough."

With that, Sydney returned to her book and Leighton cautiously walked over to a vacant hallway and pulled out his cell, grimacing when he saw the caller I.D.

"Cowell."

"Leighton, how are you? We haven't talked for a while and I was beginning to think may you're actually starting to believe you're one of them," she purred seductively.

"No ma'am, and I am fine. I hope all is going well with you."

"It's better. Things seemed to be plummeting but I will be more confident knowing that Ms. Bristow won't be around to screw things up."

"Well ma'am, I have some very interesting news to report regarding Agent Bristow."

"What?"

"It seems that she claims to be married."

"WHAT? TO WHO?"

'She wouldn't say. We are clearly not on good terms and I think my probing her made a date for reconciliation highly indefinite."

"You're hiding something, Cowell. You must have an idea who it is?"

"True ma'am, I don't' know how she did it but I believe she is married to her former handler, Agent Vaughn, the one she used to date before that Sloane guy stole two years of her life, which you then stole her from."

"Agent Vaughn?"

"Yes ma'am."

"But he's married, Leighton. Agent Vaughn is married! How do you know she isn't lying?"

"Ma'am, it's the first day since her return that she is literally glowing and she's got the ring to prove it, a canary diamond," Cowell informed her "So be aware that you're not only going after Bristow now, you've got to deal with her husband. And if he is as serious as I think he is about her, he's not going to let you get in the way of their happiness."

"Leighton, you just worry about going with our plan. She's entering territory that we wouldn't have liked her to. You know she can find out everything about the last two years in that hospital."

"True ma'am, but the patient she is going to see is David Lansing. He hasn't spoken a word to anyone for ten years."

"Don't' underestimate Bristow, Cowell. She's an excellent spy. Sloane has a part of this, we just have to make sure he gets all of the blame, which as long as they don't' find him they wouldn't be able to piece together anything for sure."

"I will do my best," Cowell told her.

"No, you will make sure she doesn't find out, not until the time is right, and by that time it'll be too late," she sniveled. "I'll deal with Vaughn, I assume you'll call me when you get to England?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good, just make sure you stick to the plan. You are in with me and therefore you are part of the reason she's having a blank in her life. If you tell her, you're going down with or without me."

"I~I won't."

"You shouldn't because then I will do to you exactly what will eventually happen to Sydney Bristow."

"Yes ma'am."

"Next we talk Cowell, I want the phonecall to be more satisfactory. Push your personal feelings aside and finish the job."

His boss didn't even give a good bye and hung up on him. Cowell sighed heavily. He knew that she was right, his mission was to finish the job and then his boss might not inflict bodily harm on him as frequently as she did. But seeing how torn the victim was and having to go through it with her was an aspect of his job he was coming to dislike.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is Cowell's problem anyway?" Sydney huffed as she violently flipped the pages. Didn't he want her to be happy? Wasn't that his job? Or could he be possibly be one of the psychiatrists in malpractice who's only intention was to find out about the person and use it as a tool to ruin their lives and ultimately drive them insane?

She was studying a page on bridal makeup when she felt her CIA phone vibrate. She frowned at the lack of I.D but her heart jumped anyway, thinking, "Michael, Michael, Michael," and almost forgot she was on duty.

"Agent Bristow."

"Hey "Mountaineer," Vaughn's warm voice greeted her and Sydney flushed, the amount of relief he'd gained from hearing her voice was truly touching and familiar. "This is "Boy Scout."

"Like I couldn't tell," she thought to herself, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, how are things back at the Joint Task Force?"

"Lonely," he admitted and Sydney could just picture Vaughn as a lovesick puppy.

"Vaughn, aren't you in the building?"

"No, but I have to get back in a sec. I just called to make sure you're all right and that I~~~I received your letter this morning."

There was a pause and she wondered if Michael had meant something by that comment.

"Uh Michael? You're not made are you?"

Michael chuckled in reply. "Nah~~~surprised, very. But not angry~~~unless you're really not coming back even if we've reconciled."

"Vaughn, if I could be there this morning, I would have. I will never forget the joy of opening my eyes and see you lying next to me," she revealed then added. "You're sure your conversation isn't being tapped??

"No, but I'll be off in a moment and it wont matter anyway," he told her. "I wrote you a text message. I figured you and Cowell are doing the silence thing so you'd have time to read it."

"Well actually I was~~~"

"What?" he inquired curiously, almost alarmed.

"You promise you won't laugh?"

"Of course."

"Okay~~~I was looking at "Contemporary Bride."

The sound of Vaughn's sigh on the other end told her that he was more than flattered.

"So I guess you're not ridiculing me," Sydney pronounced.

"No, No," he murmured. "You've in fact, just made my day. You just proved to me you're serious about me, Syd."

"I always have been, Vaughn."

"I know," Michael sighed, feeling uncomfortable. "I'm going to let you go now before Kendall threatens to take away my clearance and threatens to tap my cell."

"Okay~~~I love you, Michael."

"Not as much as I love you," he replied. "Be safe and remember to think of me every night as you fall asleep because I'll be doing the same."

"What are you going to do about Jess?"

"Read my letter, Syd," Vaughn cut in, even more uncomfortably. "I've got to go."

"Okay Vaughn."

"And for GOD'S SAKE, return to me, okay? Don't' tell me that you've decided we wont' work out two days, even two years from now, because I've learned my lesson and our love goes beyond the grave."

"I will Vaughn. Only you have the power to change that."

There was another pause and then Vaughn clicked off.

She sighed.

How could Michael expect her to leave now?

But a second later her phone rang, telling her she had mail.

She didn't hesitate and opened the flying airplane. She then clicked on the icon that announced she had mail from Michael.

A screen of lettering popped up followed by an arrow to scroll down.

(Michael's Letter)

Sydney,

Everybody is destined to find their "meant-to-be," and I've found mind. I was just too stupid and messed up to realize I was one of the lucky ones to have found her and wife of mine~~~you're her.

I should have known that God would bring you back to me, but your death was so real, I guess I had my faith proved for me and I will never lost it again.

When I got a letter instead of a good morning kiss, I panicked. I was so sure you've left me but like I said, I believe in you and that is the only fact that will keep me sane.

The ideal thing for me to do is to have waited till you fell asleep then sweep you up into my arms and then take you away to Santa Barbara and stay happy for the rest of our lives. But I know I have to face reality first. The things is, I was never trained on how to hurt innocent people and how to deal with the aftermath so I am going to return home and talk to Jess, explore my feelings so I can make damn sure nothing is left unsaid and that the only feelings I have exist because of you.

I will miss you and I look forward to the worry-induced insomnia and the planning of our future. Just make sure you give your father a call and tell him to please lift the restraining order or Kendall will fire me when I give you the "welcome-back," embrace."

Then more words of endearment followed, followed by his name, "Michael."

How was she going to leave now when she had these feelings telling her to go to the place where Vaughn would be waiting by a private jet, ready to take her to paradise?

Los Angeles to London 10:00 a.m. flight, now boarding at gate 58

Sydney groaned, but shut off her cell, stuffed her magazine into the carry along and raised her head, just to be met by all-professional Cowell.

"That's our flight, Sydney. Are you ready to go?"

Sydney fought her overwhelming feeling to say "no," and nodded.

"All right then," Cowell boomed, picking up his briefcase. "After you."

She got to her feet and strode over to her gate before a line formed. Standing in a line would be excruciating.

"I'll be back," she told herself as she had her ticket returned and went through the gate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I wonder if she'll show up," Vaughn though to himself as he stood before the house, leaning against his car.

He was dressed in his conservative CIA suit so he looked like he'd come from a hard day at "Bristow Electronics," only today, he'd come home earlier, early enough to raid Jessica's pantry, only to find it empty. Then he'd run to the store, stocked up on the food and then had used half of it to cook up the French cuisine that was sitting on the table.

And now he was just hoping she still lived here.

Maybe she wasn't his soulmate as Sydney was, but he didn't hate her and he certainly couldn't break up with her without a goodbye and a decent closure.

Michael stared at the ring on his finger, the diamond studded one that matched the one on Sydney's finger. Just knowing that made his heart ache , able to feel the connection but not able to touch her.

He looked up and grinned that apologetic "guilt-tripped," grin when he saw a car approach the house.

A second late he realized that it wasn't a car he recognized.

He waited a moment and was surprised when he saw Jessica unboard the car then walked over to the driver's side and got a kiss.

Hmm~~~it didn't seem he had been the only one busy during the weeks they'd been separated. Maybe this split would be a mutual one. He could only hope.

He came out of the shadows and met her as she approached the sidewalk. She was clad in a business skirt and white blouse underneath a skirt-matching coat.

"Hello Jessica."

Jessica paused in her footsteps and raised her head at a tortise's pace. 'Her mouth dropped when she saw Michael standing there.

"M~Michael?"

"Y~Yeah."

"W~what are you doing here?"

"I guess I was returning home," Michael shrugged. "But looks like you've gained new interests yourself while I've been away."

"N~no!" Jessica gasped. "That was an old friend of mind. He's been checking up on me, making sure I'm okay."

"You don't' have to get defensive. I was just asking. I'm glad someone was looking out for you~~~" he was saying when Jessica grabbed him and held him tightly. "Jess, aren't you angry with me?"

"No."

"No?" he inquired, not sure if he'd heard correctly. "But after what I did~~~"

"I don't care, Michael. I don't care about anything else," Jessica insisted. "You came back to me Michael and that all that matters. Oh Michael, I know I've been stupid and I've become nothing but a jealous freak since your old girlfriend returned and I'm so worry. I should have bee more understanding and I should have had more faith in you."

"Thanks for saying that Jess. I know it couldn't have been easy," Michael stammered.

"No, thank you for coming back to me~~~I love you so much Michael, more than I ever knew I was capable of doing. I was never a one man girl and you've changed me, Michael."

Michael had to stop her before he started feeling sorry for her. He could no longer say those words to her but he had agreed to give her another chance.

"Jess, I think we've had time to think about us and I'm going to be blunt," Michael said firmly. "Sydney and I have feelings for each other and I'm not going to deny that you've drove a wedge between us with your jealousy~~~but~~~"

"But?" Jessica repeated, obviously torn but still hopeful that there was a reason Michael was standing before her, flowers in hand.

"But I'm willing to start over and give us a real chance without the Sydney interference, just to see if this really can work out, you never know unless you try, right?"

Normally Jessica would be infuriated and angry with Vaughn but today she was just touched and melted by his heart-melting grin.

"R~right."

"And I thought we'd start out with a special reconciliation dinner provided by yours truly," he informed her, gesturing to the house.

"You didn't."

"I did."

He then tentatively reached a hand out to Jessica who took it even more nervously. She had a tendency of putting her foot in her mouth before she can give anybody a real chance and this was a chance she hadn't expected to get.

And Vaughn couldn't' hide how surprised he was with Jessica's mature behavior.

So Mr. And present Mrs. Vaughn went into the house, Michael feeding her false hope and Jessica didn't notice the ring on his finger wasn't meant for her, but for Sydney.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To be continued~~~~~~~~~~

Guess what? The "?" in conclusion meant something! Obviously because Jess is still scheming and Syd has left, not to mention that eerie message Cowell got on the phone. So this is the end of "Season 1" and in a bit "Season 2," will start and the emotional roller-coaster is about to start again!!!!!!

Thanks for your support!!! Talk to ya in a bit

PS. I have a new post-telling fic up called "when she was bad," so please review okay? Lataz, Kris