Thank you to carbygurl05, AliasDoll, Natalie, Jesse, and pigeonofdoom, Ms. Q, largemarge416, alias4ever, and s for your reviews! I made this chapter a little bit shorter and hopefully this one will be more than 'good.' Let me know what I can do to raise the bar a little bit!

Her eyes fluttered open for the second or third time that morning. The room was brighter than she remembered it to be and confused for a moment. It didn't matter. Her body curled up tighter and she nestled deeper into the heavy down comforter that surrounded her body. Clearing the sleep from her eyes, she was able to clearly make out something that wasn't there before. "Hey." Her voice whispered, full of the grogginess that normally accompanied it early in the morning. She blinked a few times as she rolled over and watched the man sitting in a chair nearby the bed. He was untying his shoelaces; obviously making himself more comfortable. His suede jacket had already found a rest place on the back of the bed and soon enough, he was barefoot against the aging carpet beneath his feet.

He looked up from his shoes and smiled at her. "Hey there." He left his shoes on the ground and joined her on the bed, sitting so he could face her. His soft hands threaded through her hair, tasseled and matted from sleep, "How'd you sleep?" He watched her face conform to his hand as his palm stretched across her cheek, resting there for warmth and comfort for both of them.

A faint smile drifted over her lips, "Slept better and slept worse." She lifted a hand from the confines of the white comforter and rested it on his jean-clad knee. "Is everything okay? You had me worried about you."

Vaughn smiled and dipped his face to capture her lips with his. It almost forgot how sweet it was to taste her lips early in the morning. Parting from her, his heart was beating double time in his chest, "Something came up with work."

"Is everything okay?" Alice repeated again, flipping over onto her back and looking up to him with innocent eyes. She sat up a little bit and found her hand resting on the side of his face. He kissed her palm gingerly, causing her to smile.

Vaughn sighed and laid down next to her, clasping her hand to his chest, letting her feel his heartbeat with her gentle fingertips, "No and I don't think it'll be."

"Can you tell me what happened? I know 'state department secrets' and all of that, but sweetheart, let me help if I can. Even if it's just a shoulder to vent on. I'm here." She turned over on her side, propping her head up with an elbow. Her blonde hair was longer now. It had been a mistake to cut it a few months ago…lots of things had changed since then…Michael had been in the hospital just three weeks after they had gotten together…it was four weeks before that she had cut nearly six and a half inches off of her hair when they had decided to try it again. She had seen Michael at a party hosted by a dear friend of hers. They had been on a 'break' for nearly four months and not a moment went by that she didn't think of him. She missed him terribly and wanted him back. She was still in love with him, no matter what and she was sure that he felt the same way. Sure enough, after a long evening of secluded talking on the porch of the house, they decided to give it another shot. 'I never stopped loving you.' He had said and she knew that it was true. And she was truly, madly deeply in love with him.

But she worried about him. This wasn't the first time he had run off in the middle of the night, just kissing her good-bye and telling her that he would be back shortly. If she wasn't trusting, she would suspect something but Michael was a good boyfriend and he loved her.

Her question was only met by silence and him crinkling up his forehead, like he did when he got upset or worried, "Babe, c'mon. It's me. You know you can tell me anything." She traced little invisible circles on his shoulder and kissed his cheek lightly.

"Baby…" He turned to face her and saw how innocent her eyes were. They were the most beautiful blue he had ever seen up close. They were unspoiled by the evils of the world and the dangers of intelligence. She had never seen how broken a human could be if placed under the most straining circumstances. She didn't know of people who would kill just to watch the process of death. She had never seen how dangerous life could be. Where the difference between life and death could be a millimeter or deciding against wearing a bullet proof vest or casually slipping a piece of vital information out to an enemy. Alice Williams knew none of this and he wasn't about to tell her. "A friend of mine…a woman I started working with recently….she was…in a really bad car accident." He spoke slowly and chose his words carefully.

Alice's face went pale, "Oh my g-d, Michael. Is she alright?"

Vaughn looked away and shook his head, "She's in really bad shape right now. I don't know what's going to happen to her. She's new on the job. Only been with us for," G-d was in February already? "four months."

Alice gasped again and shook her head, "Why'd they call you?"

"I'm technically her supervisor. She's the new girl and they have this program where they assign someone new to someone who has been there for a few years. So, I guess you could say that she's my assignment." And that much was true. Okay, he didn't feel so bad about lying because he had yet to tell an actual lie. Sydney's ordeal could be considered an accident. And there was a car involved at some point.

"Why aren't you still there?"

"A close friend of hers came….I wanted to give him his privacy with her." He lied again, feeling the weight of the truth down on his soul.

"Oh." And she was quite for a moment. "What's her name?" Alice inquired, feeling increasingly sick to her stomach. The thought of someone being so injured that her boyfriend had to run out to the hospital at some G-d awful hour made her shaky.

Vaughn swallowed for a second, well aware that he couldn't give out Sydney's personal information. Well, he needed a name. He pretended for a moment to be choked up and took the opportunity to look around the room for anything that could jog his memory and think of a name. Sure enough, Alice took the bait and caressed his shoulder loving. Part of him felt sick having to bait her so he could come up with a lie.

"Shhh babe. I know it's hard for you to talk about. I'm just curious to hear about her. She seems really lovely and she must be if you've invested time in her." She hated to see him so upset.

There was a big vase sitting on top of the white washed bureau, "Iris. Her name is Iris."

"Pretty name." Alice mused, nestling her arms around Vaughn and kissing his temple. His body relaxed into hers and he rested his head on her collarbone. Inhaling deeply, he could still smell traces of her perfume residing on her pulse point behind her ear. She always smelled like white Gallia lilies and fabric softener. He felt her hands running through his short-cropped hair and rubbing gentle circles into his back. "Tell me more about her."

Vaughn inhaled and exhaled again, feeling increasingly awkward, "She's a great asset to the company. Brilliant; undergrad and masters in English at UCLA. Quick on her feet and witty. Pretty too." Beautiful is more like it.

Pretty too? "Does she understand your humor?" Alice smiled, rearranging her feet beneath the blanket. She stared up at the white ceiling and realized how perfect their life was together. Sure, they both had their faults and a lot of ups and downs that went with that but for the most part, she could honestly say that she could see herself ending up with him in the end. Here they were, wrapped up in a big, white down comforter in her bedroom, painted the softest baby blue she could fine, surrounded by white washed furniture and three vases of bright blue and purple irises. The blue sheers were closed and emitted a soft glow from the rising sun in the east. But what made the morning special was not the fact that she was in her favorite purple tank top with the orange lace edging or the fact that her boyfriend had returned to nestle in her arms for a little bit. It was the fact that she was so comfortable with their relationship that it was okay for them to talk about friends and coworkers of the opposite sex without either of them getting jealous. Of course, she would never want to talk about someone in such as way that they were doing at that moment-this poor girl was in a car accident and in critical condition. But it was reassuring nonetheless.

"We don't have time to joke a lot." Vaughn answered, wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and pulling their bodies closer together. Maybe he could forget about the world for just a few minutes. Maybe he could just be a man in love with a woman without the complications that had arisen.

"That's too bad. You're got quite a sense of humor."

"Mmhmm." Vaughn muffled into her collar bone. "Would you mind if I just closed my eyes for a minute? I'm beat from everything."

"Put your cell phone on the table and I'll wake you if it starts to vibrate again, okay?" She watched him with careful eyes as he set the technologically advance piece down on the table and regained his position in her arms. "What time do you have to go in today?"

"I already called in sick. I can't go with Iris in such bad shape." He responded, not really wanting to talk anymore.

"Should we go visit her at the hospital?"

"She's going to be in surgery all day today and her friend is there… They're going to call me when I can go in." He lied again and felt increasingly guilty about it. There was nothing more he hated than to lie straight to her face.

"Okay." Alice resided, feeling suprsingly okay with the situation. She knew Michael and knew that if he were worried, things were bad. He seemed calm but numb about. She trusted him. And with that thought, pulled her arms a little tighter feeling the warmth of his body seep into hers. "Close your eyes, sweetheart."

He did as he was told but not before letting a few uncharacteristic tears escape his eyes, sliding unnoticed down his face. The only thing he could do before he fell into a fitful sleep was pray to anyone who would listen that Sydney would be alright. She was stronger than anyone that tried to take her down. He knew her better than that. And for now, all he could do was sleep in the arms of the woman he loved. His eyes fluttered closed and he felt sleep take him over. Maybe things would be better when he woke.

cOnTiNuE?