bChapter Six - Baby Please Come Home/b

IIf there was a way,

I'd hold back each tear,

But its Christmas day,

Baby please come home.

"Baby Please Come Home" [U2 version]/I

"Are you sure it's safe to spend the day with Vaughn?" Will asked concerned.

"Will, to tell you the truth, I really don't know." Syd said as she put her totebag in the back seat. "He told me what to do and it seemed pretty safe. But, you know what? At this point, I don't care. I'm sick of having everyone but myself control my life. I know I can't have this mentality on the job, but I'm on vacation for goodness sake."

Will sat in silence, taking in what Sydney said.

"But Syd..."

"Will, you really don't need to worry. I know how to avoid these people and get myself out of trouble...which I won't be in, by the way."

Will shook his head and sighed as he started the car.

"So, what's your plan?"

Syd smiled, happy that Will wasn't going to put up a fight. "Okay, here's what you're gonna do: drop me off at the park, right across from Freedmont. I'm gonna call Jules's cell and let her know I'm on my way and she's gonna 'accidently' bump into me. And seeing that we're 'old childhood friends' she'll invite me to spend Christmas Day with her."

Will chucked and shook his head.

"What?" Syd asked grinning, fully aware of what that chuckle was about.

"Nothing," Will said quickly. Sydney eyed him, knowing he was trying to hide something from her.

"Uh-huh -- Sure," she said with a smile as she dialed Jules's number. Syd folded the sheet up as the phone started ringing.

"Hey, Jules, it's me," Syd said brightly as she discreetly slipped the phone number under Will's hand on the steering wheel, much to his suprise.

"Whaa--?!" He responded shocked, taking his eyes off the road and fixing them on the paper in his hand.

"Nah, don't get him up," Syd said nonchalantly pushing Will's face back toward the road.

IHe was up late last night...He needs his sleep./I

"Yeah, sounds great. I'll see you then. Bye." She said, hanging up her phone and putting it in her pocket.

"Syd, there's absolutely no way I'm gonna call her Iout of the blue/I and ask her out. How long have I known her? One 45 minute dinner...That's it. I don't think so. Plus, she's going back east in two weeks...There's no way Ishe/I would want to go out with Ime/I anyway. Especially after she finds out what Ihappened/I..."

"First of all, of course she'd go out with you. She's a sweet girl and clearly she's into you. Second of all, she knows. Apparently Vaughn told her that he's in the CIA. And if she doesn't know about you in particular, who cares? If she doesn't want you, clearly you're too good for her. Which isn't the case, because she [i]does[/i] want you. And last but not least, that was for you to keep if you needed to reach me since I'm going to be leaving my cell off for the next day or two."

Will immediately turned beet red. He leaned back and sighed heavily.

"Oh God..."

Sydney just smiled at her best friend who had clearly given in to his former pre-pubescent jitters.

"Don't worry about it," Syd said leaning back, "I'll put a good word in for you."

"Syd, you better not breathe a word of this to--"

"I won't." Syd responded quickly, knowing very well that there was no chance in hell that she'd pass up this opportunity to sey Will up.

"I know that face," Will said pointing at Syd, shaking his finger in her face. Suddenly he put his arm down with a defeated sigh. "But theres no use in fighting it, because we all know I never win."

"There's no use in fighting because you know you want it." Syd retorted.

Will just looked straight ahead at the road as his smile grew.

~~~

IVaughn's Apartment/I

Jules walked out of her brother's room with her wet hair held by a clip. She looked around and after realizing her brother was still asleep, she quietly made her way to the kitchen. She started to open the fridge, but stopped when she noticed a note on it with her name in big letters. She opened it quickly, curious about what her brother had to tell her.

IJules--

Syd is going to call your cell in the morning. When she does, you'll have to go take Donovan out for his morning walk in the park. You'll "accidentally" run into each other. Act like you guys are old friends (Finally, a chance for you to show off those "mad acting skills" as you like to say). After "catching up" invite her to spend Christmas at you're place. I'm sure you know why this all has to be done so just make sure you DON'T throw this away. Slide it in my briefcase and I'll deal with it once I get up.

Love,

Mike/I

Just as Jules read the last line, her cell started ringing. Jules looked up at it quickly, somewhat frightened.

IDamn, that girl's got good timing/I She thought as she ran towards Michael's room.

"Hello?" Jules said, answering the phone. It was of course Sydney.

"Oh, hey..." Jules responded, not sure if she could say her name. IYou never know who's listening...but then again, what double agent wouldn't have phone with a clean line?/I Jules decided to play it safe, just in case. Even though, if someone was listening in, they would definately recognize Syd's voice...IBah, I'm just confusing myself.../I

"I'll be down with Donnie in a few. Should I wake Mike up? He's still asleep..."

Syd didn't want to wake him, and Jules agreed. He worked too hard, and it was rare when he overslept. It would be good for him to get some extra sleep for once, instead of losing it. "Yeah, I didn't want to either. So, I'll be down at the park in ten minutes. See ya!"

Jules turned off her phone and placed it on the counter before she reached for her jacket. She walked out into the hall, grabbing Donovan's leash and hooking it to his collar. Quickly, she scribbled a note to her brother, leaving it on the counter.

"Come on, Donnie, we've got some work to do..."

~~~

Syd sat on the park bench, uDante's Inferno/u in hand. It was a gorgeous day, but a little chilly, at 65 degrees. Syd was enjoying the serene park, empty due to the holiday, when suddenly she heard a familiar voice calling after a barking dog.

"Whoa, Donnie! Wait up!" Syd looked up from her book to see who she presumed was Donovan, panting in front of her. She put her book aside and leaned down to pet the dog, when he suddenly started to lick her face furiously. Syd couldn't help but break out into a fit of laughter. It had been so long since she'd been around a dog that wasn't a guard dog, hunting her down.

"Donnie! Stop that right this instant!" Jules demanded, out of breath from chasing him down the street. She pulled his collar away and started apologizing, a mile a minute. "I'm so sorry about this, Donnie is usually such a good dog when it comes to strangers and I--" Jules stopped midsentencee, a nd it all suddenly came flying out like she was born to do this. "Sydney? Sydney Bristow?!"

"Juliana?!?"

~~~

Michael turned on his side, yawning lethargically. He reached over to his watch to see what time it was. The watch read 10:30.

"Sh-t." Michael breathed as he got up quickly.

"Jules!" He called, walking toward the open door to his room.

"Jules!" He called once more before he discovered a note on the counter.

IMike--

Went to walk Donnie at 10:15. Didn't want to wake you, I'll be back soon.

Love,

Jules

PS: I left what you were asking for in your bag./I

"Crap." Michael said to himself.

IMy whole life is going to change today. Sydney Bristow is spending Christmas with me. SYDNEY BRISTOW. And she decides to let me sleep. What a wonderful sister I have./I Michael thought sarcastically. IJules is probably just "running into" Syd which gives me hardly any time to get changed and atleast resemble a human being./I

Michael didn't bother to check his bag because he knew Jules had put his earlier note in there. She was good with that kind of stuff. Sometimes he thought she would make an amazing agent. But he quickly shook those kind of ideas away, knowing full well that he didn't want to expose his sister to the dangerous life of espionage.

Michael made his way to his room and pulled out a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt then made his way to the bathroom.

~~~

"So, what are you doing back in LA, Jules?"

"Well, actually, I came to visit my brother, Mike...We were going to spend the holidays together since our Mom's out of the country..."

"Oh, that'll be really fun!"

"Yeah, it will," Jules said, wrapping Donovans leash around her hand. "Hey, you know what??" She exclaimed as if she was suddenly inspired. "Since no one's around for yuou to really spend Christmas with, why don't you come back with me. We could catch up on old times! Whaddya say?"

"Oh Jules, I couldn't possibly ask that of you. I don't want to intrude on you and your brother's holiday. I definately wouldn't want to be a burden..."

"It's really no burden! Come on! It'll be SO much fun!"

"Well..."

"That's a 'yes'! Come on!" Jules said, pulling Sydney's arm as they walked back towards the apartment.

~~~

Michael pulled his red t-shirt over his head before rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He opened the bathroom door slightly, to let the steam from his shower out, and make the air a bit less stuffy.

ISyd and Jules should be here any minute now.../I He thought to himself as he studied his reflection in the mirror. He rubbed his chin, bothered by his growing stubble.

IIf I don't do it myself, Jules will force me to, and that won't be pretty. Especially with Syd here./I

Michael pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it to the side.

IBetter make this quick.../I He quickly lathered up and began shaving.

~~~

"I'm so sorry about Donnie!" Jules apologized as she opened the door to the apartment and invited Syd in.

Syd laughed. "It's really no big deal. I love dogs!" Syd walked in and the realization suddenly hit her. She was standing in Michael Vaughn's apartment. His [i]apartment[/i]. This wasn't happening.

She looked over at the couch that had clearly been slept in the night before. She chucked as she remembered her conversation with Michael the night before. His place was nice. Not as big as her and Francie's apartment, but it didn't need to be. It was perfect. It was definately him. From the couches, to the bookshelves, to the curtains, to the stereo system and rack of CDs...not to mention all the hockey stick and baseball bat in the corner. This was definately all Vaughn -- ehrmm -- Michael.

"Now Mike's a sweetie, but a horrible slob when he's in a rush. He's probably in his room getting ready," Jules said looking up at the closed door across the room. Syd followed her gaze, bewildered.

IMichael's room. Michael's. Room.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe./I

This Idefinitely/I wasn't happening.

"But yeah, the bathroom's right there," Jules said motioning to a door opened slightly, "You can go wash all that doggie slobber off."

"Yeah, I really should do that, shouldn't I?" Sydney responded laughing. She had to stay normal. She couldn't let the utter abnormality of the situation ruin her day. Of course, at this point, Inothing/I could ruin her day.

Jules smiled sweetly as she watched Syd approach the bathroom, then turned back to tidy up the living room.

~~~

Michael was running his razor under the water when suddenly he heard a door close. He cut off the water immediately, fearful for a moment. He relaxed when he heard his sister's voice. Suddenly, Sydney's laughter seemed to fill the room. He stopped for a moment, paralyzed in fear.

This wasn't happening.

This Iwasn't/I happening.

Realizing that he better get out there, Michael started to furiously finish shaving. He wasn't paying attention with the conversation Syd and his sister were having across the wall because he was too preoccupied with the fact that Sydney Bristow was Iin his apartment/I and he was stuck in the bathroom shaving.

IGeez, Mike, calm yourself down! You've seen her a million times before. What makes this time any different? Now slow down before you're face looks like it's been mauled by angry bears./I

Michael took a deep breathe. When it came down to it, he was completely right. This time shouldn't be any different from any other time he's been with her. He just had to relax. No matter what…relax.

He was lost in thought as the door opened and a shocked gasp escaped from a girl, sounding very similar to Sydney's lips. Michael turned, slightly dazed and confused, and made eye contact with Syd, who's eyes were practically bulging out of her face. She was clearly in shock. Michael smiled.

"Hey, Syd..." he started, somewhat embarassed at their 'predicament'.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry..." She said quickly shielding her eyes and turning to walk away. Suddenly Jules appeared behind Sydney, giving her a slight nudge into the bathroom. Vaughn had already turned back toward the mirror with a smile on his face. This wasn't how he expected his day with Sydney to start off, but he didn't mind. There are definately times when a guy needs to be reminded that he's still got it.

IAnd, man,/I Vaughn thought, looking back to Sydney's bright red face before shaving the last bit of cream off his face, II've still got it./I

It took all the power she had to hold back the hysterics. She knew exactly what her egotistical brother was thinking. It really was shocking how such a sweet, caring and compassionate guy could have such an incredibly huge ego.

IBut then again, he IS a guy.../I She thought with a smile.

"Mikey, sorry to barge in on you like this, but Donnie got all of his nasty doggie drool all over Syd's face. Could she wash up real quick and then you can finish?"

"Oh yeah, of course," he said immediately, rinsing his face real quick, "I'm actually done..." He hastily dried his face and put some aftershave on, then turned to pick up his shirt.

Syd couldn't help but peak up. He looked good. IReally/I good.

iSince when do I of all people, get overrun by raging hormones? Play it cool, Syd, play it cool!/i

"Go ahead, Syd, its all yours," Michael said, as he pulled his shirt over his head and walked out of the bathroom with a sneaky smile on his face. Syd walked in as Jules shut the door behind her. Jules then proceeded to smack Michael in the head.

"What?!" He asked incredulously.

Jules couldn't help but laugh. Michael just shook his head, the smile on his face growing all the while.

"Hey, I didn't plan that..." He started.

"All I have to say is if there was any doubt in your mind whether she wants you or not, that should all be cleared up," Jules said as she walked coffee table, picked up Mike's stuff and handed it to him. "All I ask is that you make sure I'm not present when you do anything...Uhhhhh" Jules said, shuddering. Vaughn rolled his eyes, and smacked her back.

bEND CHAPTER SIX/b