Part Five: There's a Reason Why

Although I'm not making plans
I hope that you understand
There's a reason why
(Close your, close your, close your eyes)

All throughout that surreal night that stood outside their lives, Sydney and Vaughn made love to each other in almost every manner they had when they were together. And even a few ways that they never got the chance to try. They touched every inch of each other's bodies, derived pleasure every way they dared. Too soon, the outside world would come to the hotel room door, and demand that they return to their respective agonies.

The first faint knocking could be heard as the dawn began its foray into the horizon. The sated pair finally lay still in the bed, wide awake and holding each other. They knew that soon, they would have to rise and become themselves again, take on their pains and burdens again.

The encroaching sunlight brightened the room's window slightly more when Syd made the decision to end the reverie.

"I need to take a shower." Vaughn pulled her closer to him, unwilling to let go. He quickly devised his own compromise for the situation.

"Let's take one together." It was after all, the one way they hadn't been together during the enchanted night. "In fact, I'll go start the shower." In an instant, he let her go, and rolled out of the bed. Syd felt a sudden chill from the absence of his comforting warmth.

She waited until she heard the water running before she left the bed. She took a few moments to remove the several bobby pins that still held her wig in place. She had learned long ago how to secure a wig so that it would withstand fleeing, fighting, and yes, even vigorous lovemaking.

She also stopped to remove the contacts from her eyes and place them in the special case Marshall designed for them. At least one piece of his technology would be saved, even if they never used it again. It amazed her that she managed to wear the lenses this long. Usually they started to drive her insane after just an hour. She guessed it was testament to how engaged she had been over the course of the night. She smiled at that thought and walked to the bathroom.

Steam filled the cream-tiled room, and she could barely see Vaughn through the fogged glass of the shower. She spotted a case similar to one she just handled next to the sink, and realized that she hadn't noticed he kept his contacts in all night as well.

Syd slid the shower door to the side, and stepped into the steam and water. The soles of her feet tingled with slight pain as they adjusted to the hot water, in contrast to the cold tile. As she slid the door closed, she looked over at Vaughn, who stood under the showerhead.

His eyes were closed, and his arms relaxed at his sides. The water running down his face and body took his red hair color with it. It created the eerie effect of diluted blood streaming down his skin.

After just a few seconds, the color disappeared, and Vaughn opened his eyes. He seemed slightly surprised to see Sydney in the shower with him, even though moments ago he invited her there.

They now looked at each other as Nature intended them to: Syd's chestnut hair hanging down her back and into her face, her brown eyes looking into Vaughn's green ones. All the pretenses they maintained during the night were now stripped away. In this moment, nothing but truth lay between them.

Unfortunately, the truth was an ugly thing.

Vaughn reached out, took Syd's hands, and pulled her to him. They simply embraced silently, letting the water cover them. The closeness of bare skin didn't arouse them this time. Their bodies had nothing more to say to each other, at least nothing that would make the coming moments any easier.

"Thank you." Vaughn whispered into Sydney's quickly dampening hair. She heard the volumes spoken in that one phrase, the gratitude for the momentary emotional relief, for the abatement of physical tension, for a reason to continue with his vile assignment.

"I'm not expecting anything." Her reply was so soft that he could barely hear her over the sound of the shower. He didn't know what to make of that, so he pulled back to look into her eyes. He knew he could read there the meaning of her statement.

What he found in that umber gaze shocked him to his core. A peculiar hopelessness resided there, a belief that everything wasn't going to be alright, not even remotely. She had given up on them, and last night was her goodbye. What surprised him only a little more was the implication that before this, she had believed, somewhere inside of her, that there was hope for them.

Vaughn stared deeper into Syd's eyes, and read the entire story. Since the moment she'd discovered he was married, she'd harbored the hope that their love for one another would bring them back together. She also knew all too well the irrationality of the heart, and its tendencies to dream and desire things it may never have. She knew equally well the hazards of their occupation, which changed the situation drastically.

She gave him the last line to her sorrowful tale.

"This is not about cutting off an arm of the monster. This is about killing the monster." As the words swirled around the shower, haunting them both, he realized she was as right as he was when he spoke those words to her years ago.

Vaughn never thought beyond "find the Passenger, take Lauren into custody." Melancholy descended as he became conscious of the fact it might not end with the Passenger. He might be required to deceive Lauren to gain another objective. He might have to continue with his sham of a marriage until the Covenant was destroyed as the Alliance had been.

How long might that take? One year? Two? Five? He and Sydney couldn't commence an affair during that time, for instead of endangering his marriage and their morals, it would probably endanger their lives. He couldn't expect Sydney to wait for him that long, either. He suspected she could, if she so desired, but did she after how he had hurt her? Plus, that didn't change the fact that they lived perilous lives, and one or both of them might not survive to see the end of his assignment.

Vaughn gathered Syd back to him, and hugged her tightly. She had foreseen all of these possibilities, and did the only thing she could: given him one final act of pure, true love so he may descend to the abyss of lies, and still remember what truth feels like.

He whispered into her ear, "One more time, please. Just like this." She nodded, and they shared a soulful kiss under the cleansing water.