: Grabs a broom and sweeps away cobwebs and dust: I'm so sorry that it took me forever to update. You know how it is, school always getting in the way of valuable Alias time. Without further ado, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 7: Breathe

She was awakened by the sound of waves crashing against the shore and birds chirping in the distance. She slowly opened her eyes to see the midday sun shining brightly above her. A gentle breeze caressed her face carrying along with it the smell of the ocean and smoke. She squinted her eyes in pain. She felt dizzy. It was as if her head had gone through a washing machine on the spin cycle. Shaking it, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on what happened.

Flashback

He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling as oxygen traveled from his nose to his lungs. All the adrenaline rushing to his veins made him feel invincible. His heart was beating rapidly as beads of sweat lined his forehead.

He didn't have a chance to catch his breath when he felt metal piercing into his skin - the pain passing from the nerves to his brain and back in a manner of seconds. His cerulean eyes changing into black as his pupils dilated in pain and surprise.

Crimson dripped from his hands as he looked up to see Sydney pointing her beretta straight at him. The sound of the trigger cocking echoed in his ears. He could practically see the bullet traveling from the chamber into the barrel and then leaving the shaft. It was as if time stood still.

He dropped to his knees as Sydney walked closer and closer to him. As she drew closer, the sound of her baretta firing intensified. Suddenly, she was above him breathing heavily. He closed his eyes after he watched Sydney raise her baretta at him.

His body dropped onto the control panel in the cockpit with a loud thud after Sydney fired again.

Slowly, Sark opened his eyes to see Sydney fire five bullets straight into Taylor who had just stuck a knife into his back. Luckily, Sydney shot Taylor before he could cause severe damage. That, however, didn't delude the fact that it hurt like a bitch.

"Shit," she thought realizing that some of the bullets ricocheted and hit the control panel. Within seconds, buttons began blinking while alarms blared and wires were burning. She watched in horror as the barometer began decreasing while the plane twisted and titled.

Her thoughts were broken when she heard Sark shout, "You are so good, do you know that? But, I don't suppose you can fly a plane?"

She looked at Taylor's limp body, his eyes wide open and blood dripping from his mouth onto the floor. She narrowed her eyes in frustration. "No wonder you where always in the cockpit. You were the fucking pilot," she thought.

She turned around to see Sark biting his lip staring at her with vacant eyes. She returns the stare with pure coldness, "No. I don't suppose you can?"

After swallowing the blood in his mouth, he moves his left hand to his back. With a groan, he quickly pulls the knife out. With the knife in his hands, "I'm afraid I don't."

After placing the knife on his belt, he slowly gets up by placing one hand on the ground then kneeling on one leg. He grabs hold of the arm of a seat and gets up as gracefully as he could.

Pretending that Sydney didn't notice his "moment of weakness," he stands straight ignoring the pain in his shoulder.

"I suggest we look for parachutes unless of course you prefer crashing to your death," he replied showing her that his sarcasm was still in tact.

"I save his life and he's still an ass," she thought. She follows him into the cabin and begins searching through the bins. After opening nearly ten bins, she only found the typical terrorists' amenities that included bottles of Crystal and an artillery of guns. She had just grabbed her suitcase when she heard Sark.

"I'm afraid there's only one," Sark said holding the parachute in the air for her to see.

She held her hand out, "Well then give it to me!"

He withdrew the parachute giving her a devilish grin, "I found it."

"I saved your life," her eyes narrowing in annoyance as she began raising her baretta, "And I can take it back."

He nodded towards his back, "You call that saving."

"We don't have time to argue," holding the baretta straight at him. She couldn't believe he had the nerve to be ungrateful.

"Alright…" raising his hand telling her to wait, "What if I wear it?"

He heard the trigger click, "Let me finish."

She watched as he placed the straps of the parachute on his shoulders and looked at her, "And you hold onto me."

She lowered her gun and looked at him questionably, "What?"

"Well, you can't carry me. Can you?"

Before she could protest, the plane suddenly dipped and she bumped into him. Immediately, Sark wrapped his arms around her waist - his touch sending shivers down her spine. She could feel his smirk grow on his face as he clipped the belt around them.

The plane dipped again and they bumped into the door. Sark grabbed hold of the latch and opened it. Immediately the cabin became like a vacuum as the air was sucked out causing debris to fly around them. Taking a good look at the passing clouds, Sydney reluctantly wrapped her arms around his back causing them to face each other. He cringed when she accidentally touched his shoulder where the knife had pierced him.

"Oh yeah. I feel safe," she replied, feeling the moisture from his blood on her fingers.

He cleared his throat saying, "I assure you that I won't let you fall…" Then, held her tighter and continued, "It's just a little scratch." Surprisingly enough, his words didn't comfort her.

He whispered into her ear, "On the count of three."

She nodded and closed her eyes, "Three."

Endless blue sky and swirls of white clouds surrounded them as they plummeted at rapid speed. None of them could talk, their hearts moving to their throats from the force of the gravity. The only thing that comforted her were his strong arms holding onto her.

All of a sudden, she felt Sark grab the parachute cord. They both jolted as the parachute opened and they floated above the ocean. It felt like they had been floating for hours until they plunged into the ocean.

Sark immediately let go of the belt releasing them. Holding her breath, she followed Sark and swam for the surface.

He gave her a weak smile, "You alright?"

She was still gasping for air and just nodded, "Yes."

He looked to her and pointed to huge plumes of black smoke arising from where the plane had just crashed.

"Land," he told her.

She started swimming and he followed.

End Flashback

As she began to recall everything, her memories faded into vague images as she fell back into unconsciousness. The only thing she could remember was that swimming until her arms felt like jelly.

2nd Flashback

They had been swimming for thirty minutes - the closer they got, the more difficult it was to move. "I hope I don't attract any sharks," he thought as he swam behind Sydney who was five feet ahead of him.

It was difficult to keep up with Sydney because his shoulder was throbbing in pain. The salt of the ocean caused his wound to sting like acid causing him to nearly faint.

In the distance, he could see smoke from the plane crash and palm trees lining the shore. They were swaying in the wind taunting him. He snapped out of his trance when he noticed Sydney had slowed down and he was catching up to her.

He called out to her, "Tired already Agent Bristow?"

All of a sudden, he watched in horror as Sydney began to sink. He yelled, "Agent Bristow?" as he swam with all of his might towards her.

He took a deep breath and dove into the ocean. His heart beat faster and faster as he watched her descend deeper into the ocean depths. Sydney's red hair resembled a jellyfish disappearing into the darkness.

Her eyes were closed as he grabbed her with all his strength. His lungs felt like they were going to explode as he clung onto the little bit of air he had left as he saw towards the sun gleaming above.

He gasped for air and held onto Sydney's lifeless body. He carefully wiped hair away from her angelic face. Then, drew his face towards her but he couldn't feel air coming from her lips or nose - she wasn't breathing.

He thought, "Indestructible indeed," wrapping his arms around her and began swimming towards the shore.

It was so much easier to just to let her go. Instead, he grinned his teeth and held onto her. He wasn't even sure if he was swimming to the shore or if the lost of blood was making him see things.

As he got closer to shore, huge waves crashed completely over them. Within minutes, he could feel the sand on the ocean floor beneath him. He nearly dropped her as he cradled her in his arms from exhaustion. Nevertheless, he garnered whatever strength he had left and walked a little further. When he reached dry land, he dropped to his knees and placed her gently on the ground.

Beads of water dripped from his head as he leaned over her still body. He watched to see if her chest was rising – it wasn't. After tilting her head, he took a deep breath. Then, gently placed his lips over hers. When nothing happened, he looked to her still closed eyes. Then, placed his hands over her chest and pushed three times.

Immediately, Sydney gasped for air after the water escaped her lips.

End Flashback

Thanx to Karone for always reviewing! Ur the best! This is just a "rough" draft of chapter 7. I might vamp it up a bit and make it more descriptive.