Ok, so for the disclaimer, please see part one. The only addition to the whole I don't own 'em bit is that Hodges is mine, but I'm not particularly attached to him. LOL.
As for spoilers, still takes place during Phase One. Minor reference to ATY and The Getaway.
This takes place after Syd has been sucked out of the plane. Weiss' POV.
Thanks to Jen for betaing this. See, I kept up my end of the deal. And thanks to Jude for being willing to look at this paragraph by paragraph as I finished it today. (And I'm still not sure if I should be happy or upset that you put this idea in my head in the first place...) And Steph, thank you for the yo yo idea.
and now on with the show...
Becky
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"She's all yours." Now I think I finally understand why Vaughn always looks like shit the morning after Sydney has been in the field. All this time I thought he was kidding about not being able to sleep when she was on missions. Guess I was wrong.
Hell, after what I've just seen, I feel the need to find a very large bottle of scotch, and I'm not even the one who's in love with her. Actually, as good as the scotch might sound right now, I'd settle for just being able to breathe normally. As I take another shaky breath, I suddenly realize it's way too quiet in here.
"Don't you think we should alert a team to pick her up?" I ask, turning back to face Vaughn. When that doesn't get any sort of response, I take my hand and wave it in front of his face. "Mike?" Still nothing.
"Shit..." I grab the headset, putting it back on my head. I'm trying to get in touch with Base Ops, hoping that Mike will snap out of the fog he's in and help.
Contact is finally made and I've relayed the situation. They reassure me that they are tracking her and that they will have a team there to pick her up once she's landed.
This done, I turn back to Vaughn. I don't think he's moved a muscle since we saw the parachute open, and this has me more than a little concerned. I mean, this is Michael Vaughn we are talking about. The man who's on top of all things Sydney. Well, except Sydney. That much is way too obvious.
I almost start to laugh at the thought, but one quick glance to my left and it dies in my throat. Vaughn is seriously worrying me. I place my hands on his shoulders, grabbing hold of his jacket and shaking him gently.
As the fabric bunches beneath my fingers, some part of me regrets that this isn't one of his precious suits I'm wrinkling. I mean does he actually think that a perfectly pressed suit is going to make people ignore the perpetual case of bed-head? Don't think so, but for some unknown reason, he seems to be able to pull it off. And it seriously pisses me off. With that thought, I really start shaking him.
"Weiss?" he asks as he starts pushing back.
Finally... "No, it's the tooth fairy." Who the hell does he think it is? Jesus! I release my hold on him, patting his back reassuringly.
"Oh God, Sydney..." he mutters as he quickly turns back to the computer, grabbing the headset and putting it back on.
Now he's started acting more like the Michael Vaughn we all know and... God, I really need help. "Easy."
"But Syd... I need to..." he stammers.
"Hey, it's taken care of already. As soon as they have her, they'll contact us." Vaughn turns to face me, placing the headset back on the table and I swear there are ten new wrinkles creasing his forehead. "What?"
"The way she shot out of the plane, do you think..." He stops, unable to finish the sentence.
"Hey," I begin, my hand gripping his shoulder tightly, "this is Sydney we are talking about. She'll not only be fine, she'll probably try to make good on her threat to kick my ass."
A small smile creeps across Vaughn's face as he nods. "Yeah, she probably will."
"But because I'm such a good friend, you won't let her do that now, will you?"
Vaughn actually has the nerve to laugh. "Well, I'm not so sure. You do deserve it."
I remove my hand and try my best to look shocked and hurt by his comment. When he starts to laugh even harder, I start to get a bit pissed. "Hey! Just because I happen to think she looked better in the red one..."
"You know you should have kept that particular opinion to yourself, right?"
I drop back on the crate I was using as a chair. "Well, if I didn't before, I do now," I pout, wondering if I should point out that she's still wearing the red bra and panty set.
I suppress the smile that is threatening to take over my face as I look back at Vaughn who's now glancing back and forth between his watch and the snowy screen. I know that he's not seeing the black and white spots dance across the monitor. From the look on his face, I know his mind is now tormenting him with all the things that could have possibly happened had she not cleared the wing and engine.
I reach across him, turning the monitor off for the time being. Now, I'm not stupid. I know that turning it off is not going to stop his mind from conjuring up all sorts of gruesome images of what could have happened. Between what he just saw and what happened in Nice, I'm sure he's developing quite a complex where Sydney and a possible relationship with her is concerned.
I'm about to launch into a reminder of why he needs to get his ass in gear and just tell her how he feels about her when a voice starts buzzing in my ear. "Copy that," I respond, watching as Vaughn hesitantly reaches for his headset.
I shake my head at Vaughn, grabbing the headset away from him as Hodges gives me a report on Sydney's condition. A couple more exchanges and the line disconnects, leaving me with the job of telling Vaughn what is happening now.
"What is it?" he asks nervously.
"They're putting her on a plane. It should arrive about forty-five minutes after we land. After that, we'll all be heading back to L.A.," I answer as I pull the headset off and reach into my pocket, wrapping my fingers around what I find there.
"Weiss, what aren't you telling me?"
I pull the yo-yo from my pocket, wrapping the string around my finger before I let it go. It's on its way back to my hand when Vaughn grabs it.
"Eric, tell me."
I sigh, turning to face him. "She was unconscious when they found her." I watch as his mouth opens and it looks like he's trying to form words, but no sound comes out. I continue quickly. "Hodges said her chute got tangled in a tree. He thinks she must have been knocked out by the impact."
He finally finds his voice. "Is she still unconscious?"
"From what I heard in the background, I'm thinking no."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard her talking to the medic they had with them. She didn't sound happy, so I'm assuming she's fine."
"Jesus! Is everything a joke to you?" Vaughn snaps as he throws the yo-yo back at me.
I know he's worried about Sydney, but his comment just really pisses me off. "No, it isn't. But I'll tell you what is."
Vaughn sits back and appears to brace himself for what I'm about to say next. "What?"
"You."
"Excuse me?"
"Listen man, for the past year and a half, I've watched you carry a torch for her, but you haven't done a damn thing about it. Well, except almost getting yourself killed. Twice."
"You son of a bitch!" he whispers, his voice cold.
Provoking him like this might not be the best way to handle the situation, but I'm tired of watching him do this to himself. "I know you've been worried about all the what ifs and protocol and everything." I take a breath before I continue. "This morning when I caught you two in the hall before the meeting, you both looked guilty as hell and I'll bet there wasn't one single reason why you should have."
I reach over, grabbing his shoulder again, forcing him to look at me. "Look, I know you're trying to protect her, trying to keep her safe, but tell me this, if things tonight had turned out differently, what would it have all been for?"
I let go of Vaughn's shoulder and wind the string back around the yo-yo as I stand up. I didn't really expect him to respond, but I do want him to think about what I've said. He's been given one more chance. Hopefully this time, he'll do something about it.
