Chapter 2:
Weiss immediately stepped talking. He observed from the standing point that other individuals in the rotunda had begun to realize something was going on, since Vaughn's temper had become known. He then knew this was not the place to break the news to his friend. Vaughn saw Weiss glance around the room.
"Where?" he asked in a monotone of voice.
"Huh, oh, over there." He signaled with his head. Not realizing until it was too late, that the place he had suggested had a lot of meaning. The 'flirting corner.' He mentally slapped himself for even thinking of that. And here, now he had to break to his friend something he had been asked not to.
That corner was where Vaughn had unleashed his feelings to the love of his life. Sure after a year and a half of holding in those emotions in they finally were surrendered to. Weiss remember saying that he had to tell her how he felt and in that place he had revealed them and Weiss had dubbed it as the 'flirting corner.' Oh how he didn't want to be in this room, rather this world right now.
Weiss looked at Vaughn, he had a mixture of emotion spread across his face, he knew he must have been thinking of the same moment. Weiss then began to hesitate, "Maybe, we should…"
"No!" Vaughn yelled. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "I want to know where Syd is." "Now quit stalling."
"Okay, okay." "Jeez…"
They proceed to the closed-out corner. There Weiss looked around again.
"Alright, the coast is clear."
"About a week ago I went to her place for Chinese night."
"What?" Vaughn said in complete shock.
Weiss picked his eyeballs up from the square he had been concentrating on while speaking.
"Listen, you told me to look after her. Make sure she wasn't going to do anything irrational. You wanted by weekly reports and…
"Enough already. Just get on with it."
Here he was jealous again, even of his best friend. Not that he got to see whenever he wanted to, but he got to do things they normally did as a couple. Chinese night was something they only did on Fridays after a long mission. He would usually order the food, while she soaked in the tub with a glass of red wine. At least she still could do those things, even if they were with someone else. Lauren hated Chinese and he was glad for it. Something more special to just be a memory between Sydney and him, except Weiss shared that memory as well now.
"After I entered the front door because she usually kept it open for me. I yelled out to her, but there was no response. Instead I found a note on her computer that was encrypted. So after some help from Marshall's gadget, the decoder, it told me to go to the pier. Underneath a bench, I found this letter." Weiss reached into his front pocket of his suit jacket and revealed a small sea-blue envelope; it was torn at the seal and slightly crumpled.
"Here, this is what you need to read to find out what happened to her, but you can't tell Jack I gave this to you. I don't need to be another collectible item on his living room wall."
"Wait, Jack knows about this?"
"Man, believe me he knows everything, however he made it clear to me that he didn't want you knowing. So I'm begging you, keep this under wraps and low key."
Vaughn nodded his head in understanding.
Weiss then hands Vaughn the package of information.
"Alright, I'll see you later and keep that out of Jack's sight."
Weiss pats him on the back and leaves the corner.
Vaughn stares at the light blue, slightly-sealed package. In his hands contained precious information of the whereabouts of Sydney Anne Bristow. God all he wanted to do was tear it open and find out, yet something kept him from doing so. His mind began to think of why he had not been told in the first place. He was the cause of her doing this. She could be anywhere in the world or dead perhaps. Wait a minute, she couldn't be dead could she? There would have been news or had Jack covered that up, just like he always does. The star still remained on the front wall of the rotunda of the agents who had served their country to the best of their ability.
All of a sudden, he heard a beeping noise that broke his reverie. It was his cell phone going off as usual. He had two sounds the phone made, one for work/ friends and one specially set aside for Lauren. And guess which one it was.
He reached into his front pocket of his suit pants and pulled it out. He watched it as it vibrated and rang at the same time. What does she want now? He thinks to himself. Isn't it bad enough I chose to stay with you. He looked at the paper in his left hand and then the phone in his right. I'll wait until I have some privacy to do this. He presses talk.
"Hello" he answered.
"Love? You there?"
"Yes Lauren I'm here." Although I wish I was somewhere else entirely.
"Oh I couldn't hear you for a moment."
"Sorry, my throat is a little dry, I think I'm catching a cold that's going around."
"Well then I'll make you my famous chicken soup when I get home" she chirps. Oh great, something you get from a can in the store, unlike Sydney who actually makes real chicken soup.
"I can't wait," he responds a little sarcastically.
"When are you coming home by the way?" he asked.
"I'll be home tonight, because mum and I are done with father's estate so far. But that's not why I called. Long pause
"Lauren?" he questioned.
"Michael…I don't know how to tell you this and didn't know if I should wait or not. Maybe I should just tell you. Michael……I'm pregnant."
His eyes grew wide at that statement.
"What?" he immediately says stunned and infuriated at the same time.
"Are you sure? Your certain right?" he asks alarmed.
"MICHAEL!" she yells.
"Yes of course, I went to the doctor and everything. They confirmed it. I'm pregnant. And I thought that you might be at least happy that you're finally going to be a father" she says annoyed with his reaction.
"Lauren I have to go." click He hangs up on her before you can get another word in edge-wise. The phone drops to the ground.
The words are still ringing in his ears. Pregnant, is the only thing that is circulating up there and yet it still hasn't sunk in all the way.
He feels as if the world is going on without him. Lightning has struck him and blown all the air out of his lungs. He feels suffocated. He needs air.
Weiss sees him as he begins to walk out of the corner. "Man, Mike, hello." Weiss jogs after him. He grabs his shoulder and turns him around to face him. "Did you read the letter?" he questions. "Hello anyone alive. The letter wa…whoa you don't look so good."
Vaughn is in a state of shock. "Man we'll…"
Vaughn cuts Weiss off. "Lauren's pregnant." He just blurts it out.
Weiss just stands there and completely still. Same reaction as Vaughn's earlier.
"She said she was positive." "I don't know what to do."
"This can't be happening, not now," he exclaims. He rakes his left hand through his tousled hair. "What am I going to do?" he panics. He begins to walk around in a circle.
"What am…I…going to do?" he tears out from his throat a second time. His body starts to shake, he reaches for the wall to hold himself steady, but collapses to the floor instead.
Weiss immediately yells out for someone to get paramedics as he tries to wake his friend up.
Could the life for Michael Vaughn get any worse than this and he hasn't even opened the letter.