Downtime

Sydney, Vaughn and Weiss stood in the hallway wearing matching scowls. The conference room in the JTF building had just emptied out after finishing a two hour early morning debrief in which they concluded that they had no leads and that there was nothing they could do.

"How the hell did he know where we were?" Vaughn erupted as he began to pace. "How did he get to us?"

"I don't know," Weiss answered, "but we're going to have to find out." With a mischievous twinkle in his eye he drawled, "You know, this actually reminds me of a joke."

Vaughn cut him off bitterly, "Please, Eric, spare us."

"No, seriously, this one's a good one," Weiss grinned, attempting to coax his friend out of his lousy mood.

Vaughn looked at him skeptically and continued to pace. "That's what you always say."

Weiss' eyes narrowed, "And I'm always right."

"Keep telling yourself that," Vaughn retorted, only slightly under his breath.

Unfazed, Weiss plowed forward, "So, anyway, what is a zombie's favorite kind of street?"

"Kind of street? What the hell does that mean?"

Weiss tried again with the exaggerated patience that a mother would use to explain to her five year old why he couldn't flush a rubber duck down the toilet. "You know, like the type."

Vaughn halted abruptly. He folded his arms and glared at Weiss. "Yes, type and kind are synonyms. Thank you."

"No, like which particular street do zombies prefer?" Weiss stood firm, squaring his shoulders and regarding Vaughn with a neutral gaze.

"You want the name of the street?"

Weiss shot him an incredulous look. "No, for heaven's sake. I want the kind of street!"

"Like asphalt?"

"No, not asphalt!"

Vaughn dropped his arms in defeat. "I don't get it. Is this supposed to be funny?"

"It was going to be funny," Weiss sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "but I think it lost all humor when we started talking synonyms."

"So what was the punch line?"

"Forget it," Weiss said flatly.

Exasperated, Vaughn looked over at Sydney, who had been quietly watching the exchange. She was grinning.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked sharply.

Sydney assumed an innocent demeanor, although her eyes were dancing. "Dead ends."

Vaughn groaned and shook his head before stalking off in the direction of his desk.

Weiss put a companionable arm around Sydney and escorted her to hers. "So, how's my little sugar dumpling?"

She looked at him and sighed, "Frustrated. I can't believe I let Sark get away with that device."

"Come on, Syd, it wasn't your fault," Weiss consoled her with a soothing pat on the shoulder. "We all know that. We'll just have to get it back."

"With no leads?" She gave him a sideways look. "We're at a zombie's favorite kind of street, for heaven's sake!" Sydney nudged him and they both smiled.

"That's my girl. A keen sense of humor."

She shoved him towards his desk and shouted playfully after him, "Go to work!"

""

Three hours later, Vaughn closed another folder and sat back with a sigh. He had made no progress toward either uncovering the location of the artifact or the more concerning development that Sark had somehow been one step ahead of them. Grimly, he refocused on the papers strewn haphazardly across his desk. What had he been thinking taking his anger out on Sydney and Eric like that? He leaned forward, rubbing his tired eyes. He was an ass; there was no question about it. Well, that would change now. Resolutely, he reached for the phone and dialed.

"Hello?" came the voice on the other end.

At the sound of her voice, he smiled. "So how was it?"

"The sex? It was great."

Vaughn rolled his eyes and interrupted, "Don't tell me that! I didn't mean that and you know it. You disgust me, by the way."

Ella laughed. "Yeah, I figured that wasn't what you meant, but I thought I'd inform you anyway. Think of it as a public service announcement."

Vaughn sighed heavily but couldn't fight the smile that tugged at his lips. Her humor was infectious. "So, are you going to tell me all about it?"

"I certainly plan to. How about dinner?"

"That would be perfect." He leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk, wedging the phone to his ear with his shoulder. "Can I bring someone?"

"Uh… yeah, dork. I figured Lauren would come."

Vaughn hesitated, toying absently with the phone cord. "Actually, there was someone else I would like you to meet." His next words tumbled out in a rush, "I was going to bring Sydney."

There was a brief moment of silence. When Ella finally responded her voice held a hint of uncertainty, "Of course. Yeah, bring whomever you want." She paused warily. "Are you and Lauren…"

"Oh, no, we're fine," he hastened to explain. "I just thought you'd like to start meeting my friends. What with you living in LA now and all." He sounded defensive, even to his own ears. He silently hoped that she would let his feeble justification slide.

"Right. Okay. Yeah." Ella backed off in surrender. This would most certainly be a topic of discussion later. "Well, I'd invite you to the new place but we haven't had a chance to do much unpacking."

Jumping at the shift in topic, he offered quickly, "How about Jonathan's? Six-thirty. I'll make reservations."

"Works for me."

Vaughn released the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "Alright. We'll meet you two there. I just hope Syd's free."

"You haven't asked her yet?" Ella groaned. Vaughn had visions of her beating the phone against her head and wishing it were a brick wall.

"No," he said a little uncomfortably, "Why?"

"You're such a dork."

"I am not a dork," he glared at her through the phone, knowing she couldn't see him. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, "you jerk."

"Really mature, butthead," she teased.

"Oh, and you're the shining example of maturity," he countered good-naturedly.

"I'm hanging up now." And with a soft click she was gone.

Leaning back at his desk, Vaughn caught sight of Sydney across the room, her head in some papers, concentrating intently on whatever it was that had her attention. He ached to leap from his chair, close the distance between them and take her in his arms. Well, that probably wouldn't be appropriate at the office. Gathering his courage, he stood and made his way towards her. No time like the present.

When he reached her he stopped just outside of her line of vision, waiting for her to notice him.

She looked up without really seeing, "Vaughn. Did you find something?" she asked distractedly.

"No. Not yet, anyway." He paused. This was it. Now, today, this minute, he would ask her to have dinner with him. To meet his family. To bring together the two most important women in his life. Jesus, Mike. Do you think you're being a tad melodramatic?

"Vaughn?" Sydney asked, interrupting his internal monologue. Pull yourself together. She's going to think you're crazy if you just stand here gaping like a fish. He searched her eyes for annoyance, but found only compassion mixed with curiosity. If it was possible, his heart swelled even more.

"Sorry," he tried for an air of nonchalance while watching her anxiously, "I was just wondering if you had plans for dinner." He wondered absently if she could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

That stymied her for a moment. Sydney looked up at him perplexed. If he weren't so nervous, he would have laughed. He loved it when he threw her off balance like this. "I…"

"You know," he interrupted, forestalling her obvious intent to decline, "because you said you wanted to meet Ella, and we're having dinner tonight. So I thought you should come." He spoke softly, his voice filled with both hope and hesitation.

"Oh." Relief flooded her eyes at finding an explanation for the offer. "I would love to, but I think I should probably stay here and keep working."

"You are going to have to have dinner sometime," he cajoled, deciding not to care about the pleading tone in his voice.

"I can just grab something quickly though and…"

His imploring eyes stopped her more effectively than could the most eloquent argument. Considering, she narrowed her eyes, chewing lightly on her bottom lip. She nodded slightly, "Sure. I'll come."

"Great," he smiled broadly, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "I'll pick you up at six."

""

Vaughn entered his house and was immediately welcomed by an enthusiastic Donovan. He bent over to greet his faithful companion as he scanned the room for his wife. Lauren appeared a moment later wearing an apron and wiping her hands on a dishtowel.

"Hey, Lauren. Where were you? I've been trying to get a hold of you."

"I was out at the store. I must have forgotten my cell phone at home." She approached him to plant a chaste peck on the cheek before turning to walk back into the kitchen. She spoke over her shoulder, "I was just about to start dinner. I hope you're hungry."

Vaughn winced. This was not going to be fun. He cleared his throat and spoke loud enough that she could hear from the other room, "Actually, I've got plans for dinner this evening. That's why I was trying to call. I wanted to tell you not to make dinner."

Lauren stuck her head through the kitchen door. "Oh. What plans?" she asked brightly.

"Well, Ella's back from her honeymoon, so I thought it'd be nice to catch up with her. We're meeting at Jonathan's at six-thirty."

"Six-thirty?" Lauren looked at the clock on the wall. "That doesn't give me much time. I'll have to shower quickly." She began to unfasten her apron as she took a step toward the bedroom. "You don't mind if I use the bathroom before you, do you?"

Oh, man. This was definitely not going to be fun. "Well, I… I didn't make plans for you to go, actually. I… she… well, Sydney's coming. She wanted to meet Ella, so…"

Lauren stopped his halting explanation with an incredulous glare. "Sydney?! Sydney is coming? You're going out to dinner with your sister and your dead ex-girlfriend? You're leaving me at home and having dinner with SYDNEY?" Making no effort to cover her anger, she crossed her arms and scowled ferociously.

"It's not like that, Lauren," Vaughn shook his head, becoming defensive. "Sydney and I are friends. Things haven't been going that well between us and we need to work things out," he struggled to explain, "I just thought that it would be a good way to…"

"To be able to leave me at home and go to dinner with Sydney?" she demanded.

"No, I'm not thinking of it that way, it's just… I'm just going to dinner with a friend. You never want to go with me when I go with Weiss. I don't know why Sydney would be any different."

"Sydney and Eric are completely different."

She did have a point, he mentally conceded. If he looked at the situation rationally, there was really no valid reason that he should be taking his ex-girlfriend, the once love of his life, to enjoy an evening out with family rather than his wife. But the problem was that there was nothing rational about the way he felt around Sydney. And there was nothing rational about the tension that immediately set in his shoulders when he was with Lauren. Unwilling to delve any deeper into that psychological quagmire, he persisted with the main thread of his argument, "Not really. They're both my best friends."

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

Now he was frustrated. "Yeah, actually, I do," he ground out stubbornly. "Sydney and I were friends before anything else and that friendship shouldn't have to be lost just because… well, because."

Lauren narrowed her eyes. "Because of me?"

Silence descended on the room and Vaughn gazed awkwardly at the floor. "Well, indirectly…"

"That's it!" she exploded, flinging her arms in the air. "We're not discussing this anymore. I'm going to go now. Somewhere. With someone! And I'm going to get dinner!" She pointed an accusing finger at Vaughn. "We will discuss this when you get back." With a quick pivot, she stormed out the front door, her apron still around her neck.

""

Sydney glanced at the clock for what had to be the twelfth time in the last half hour. She only had a handful of minutes until Vaughn would be there. She placed a hand on her stomach to calm her fluttering nerves. Why was she so nervous? She had been out to dinner with Vaughn countless times before… only something felt different about this. Something in their relationship had shifted in the last few weeks. She forcibly banished those types of thoughts. This is not a date. The man is married. He only invited her because his sister is new in town and needs to meet some people. And because he wanted to make sure she ate dinner and took a break. Because he cares about whether… no. Focus!

She applied one more swipe of mascara to each eye and then took a step back to look in the mirror and assess her handiwork. She was wearing charcoal slacks with black pinstripes and a lightweight long-sleeved fitted sweater. Nice but not 'date-ish.' She looked good, but she did not look like she was trying. Because I'm not.

Her thoughts were cut short by a knock at her door.

She swung it wide and found herself face to face with a smiling Vaughn. He was absolutely stunning. The only thing that kept her jaw from crashing to the floor was sheer determination.

It was going to be a long night.

""

When they arrived at the restaurant, Ella and Andrew were already seated. They stood up in greeting, offering hands, hugging, and making introductions before resuming their seats.

Ella quirked an appraising brow as Vaughn guided Sydney to her chair with a hand at the small of her back. If Vaughn noticed, he pointedly ignored her.

"So?" Vaughn asked Ella, heading off a potentially awkward line of questioning.

"So what?"

"Don't give me that." He shook his head in mock exasperation. "How was it?"

She relented, "It was beautiful. White sand, blue-green ocean, a rainbow of tropical flowers…"

"Sounds amazing," Sydney interjected.

Andrew laughed, "Yeah, it would have been even more amazing if it wasn't pouring every single day. The postcards looked nice, though."

"Yeah," Ella agreed, "we did spend a large portion of the trip in our suite and the hotel bar."

"Well," Sydney smiled, "I would assume most couples do that on their honeymoons anyway."

She grinned. "That is true," Ella said with a hint of devilment, "But I had this great plan that we would go to one of those secluded waterfalls, like in those shampoo commercials? You know, with the pool of water underneath it? And there would be no one there so we'd…"

"Alright," Vaughn interrupted, indignantly stuffing his fingers in his ears in a surprisingly accurate imitation of a pouting child, "that's about enough of that."

Ella shot Sydney a grin. "Seriously, the man is so squeamish. You'd think he was a fifteen year old boy who thought girls have cooties."

"You are my sister. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you are condemned to a life of cooties as far as I'm concerned."

The waiter arrived and took their orders for dinner. Vaughn also ordered a bottle of wine, thinking that Sydney might enjoy it. Every time he saw the stuff he would think of her… surrounded by flickering candlelight… in the bathtub…

"So, Ella," Sydney spoke up from across the table, "Vaughn tells me you're quite the athlete."

"Well, anyone is 'quite the athlete' as compared to my big bro." Ella giggled and nudged Vaughn, "He's a regular old candy-ass."

"Seriously, Ellie. How old are you? Seven? We're at a nice restaurant, drinking fine wine, and you've resorted to name-calling? How long were you cooped up in that room anyway?"

Ella laughed, "See? He doesn't even defend himself! He just changes the subject. Typical candy-ass behavior."

"That's it," Vaughn said with an incongruous amount of determination, "You're on."

"I'm on?" Ella was still laughing, "On what? The pill? Back to sex, are we?"

He ignored the last part of her statement and continued on his rant, "The gauntlet has been thrown. I accept your challenge."

Ella smiled as she turned and whispered conspiratorially to her husband, "I think the next thing he is going to say is 'My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.'"

The glower Vaughn shot her only made her laugh harder. "No, I'm serious. We're going to decide who is the better athlete. Tonight."

"Yeah?" Ella asked dubiously. She grabbed her bag and made a show of riffling through it, tears forming in her eyes from laughing so hard. Then she dramatically looked up at Vaughn, "Gee, Mike, I think I left my table football in my other bag!"

Sydney reached across the table, grabbed a sugar packet and tossed it to Ella. "Here, use this!"

Andrew attempted to impose upon the table at least some semblance of composure and propriety. "Alright, children, lets settle down. We're on the verge of creating a scene."

They had managed to calm themselves by the time their food arrived, settling into a more 'adult' conversation for the rest of the evening. Vaughn smiled to himself as he leaned back from the table in utter contentment. He was right. Ella and Sydney had fallen into comfortable conversation as though they were long lost relations. Something about that just seemed so right.

After dinner, they stood together in the restaurant parking lot, huddled against the chill. Ella stepped toward Vaughn to give him a hug goodbye and was startled when he dismissed her attempt with a wave of his hand.

"What're you doing?" He asked, disapprovingly. "This isn't goodbye. We'll see you in thirty minutes at the rink."

Ella groaned, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh no," Vaughn continued, "I told you we'd decide this tonight. Be there or be forever labeled 'candy-ass.'"

"You really think you and Sydney can take us?"

"My dear little sister," he announced swaggeringly as he wrapped an arm around Sydney, "you greatly underestimate the power of this woman." He hoped the small catch to his voice didn't give him away.

But his sister was more perceptive than he would have hoped. "Oh yeah?" She chose to let him off the hook, "Well, Andrew is more muscled than he lets on. Aren't you, baby?" she cooed, batting her eyelashes.

Sydney, swamped by Vaughn's questioning eyes which hung somewhere between challenge and promise, accepted both.

"Well then, I guess we're on."

Two hours later Vaughn pulled up to Sydney's house and quietly shut off the engine.

"We should definitely have a rematch."

Sydney laughed. "I don't know, Vaughn, I'd say we beat you boys fair and square."

"You think we were going all out? Not a chance," he scoffed, defiant. "We were taking it easy on the ladies. Next time we won't be so generous."

She smiled, something warm and happy settling over her as they slipped into their playful banter, "Can't you just be happy that you and I beat them in the first game?"

"Yeah, I guess we do make a pretty great team, don't we?" As they sat together in the comfortable silence of the car, their laughter wore into a muted glow of intimacy.

Still smiling, she lightly patted his hand. "Goodnight, Vaughn," she said softly.

As she reached for the door handle he touched her arm. "Syd."

She turned around and looked at him, a mixture of curiosity and expectation in her eyes.

"I just wanted you to know that I had a wonderful time," he said, just above a whisper. "Thank you for coming tonight, it meant a lot to me to have you meet Ella and… I had the best evening I've had in a long time."

"My pleasure." Her answering smile, soft and shy, made his heart skip a beat.

""

A/N: So, I've got the rest of this pretty much worked out, but I'd like your input. What has been working? What hasn't? What do you want to see more of? Less of? Who do you want to see more of or less of? More action? More drama? More humor? The possibilities are endless…