AUTHORS NOTE: I apologize ten fold for the delay…life has been crazy…I promise the next three chapters will come relatively quickly…enjoy!

Alice Williams was furious and decidedly so. She really didn't know what to do with herself. Her hands remained clenched in her lap and her brilliant blue eyes narrowed down upon her beloved boyfriend. Actually the term "beloved boyfriend" wasn't fitting anymore. The "song of a bitch boyfriend who is love with someone else" seemed to do a little more justice. She couldn't remember the last time she was this angry. She had her hands on the bedroom doorknob but was quickly pulled away. "Let's talk in the sunroom." It was bewildering, to be honest. The bedroom seemed like the most logical place to have this sort of argument. She was outraged by his hand on the small of her back and the urgent whisper in her ear. She wanted to scream. His touch made her blood boil. Her jaw was dropped and set there. Her breath came quickly over her drying lips. Sweat started to drip down her brow and intermix into her blonde hair. Her hands were left useless at her sides.

Vaughn had ushered her into their sunroom, her favorite room in the house. They breezed past Will and Weiss as though they were celebrities avoiding the paparazzi. He turned and shut the door, locking in firmly. She didn't know what to make of any of these actions. Each puzzled her more than the next and each made her wanted to kill him. Very much like a child, she was physically sat down on her aqua colored fainting lounge that faced the window, the sun streaming in. She had nearly forgotten what a beautiful day it was out. It didn't matter anymore. She just wanted to curl up and make all of this go away. It all needed to just go away. She swallowed down hard and shook her hair out of her face with a defiant shake of her head. Honestly, she didn't know whether to hug him and cry into his shoulder or strangle him. Well, strangling him sounded like a much better notion now.

Vaughn was nearly beside himself. He shut the door firmly behind him and didn't know if he could face Alice. Part of him felt free and that part of him felt equally as guilty. To be honest, he didn't even know that he loved Sydney. It had never really been something he had debated with himself. It had just felt so natural to say at that moment. And now, he felt free. He realized that he really did love her and wanted to be with her. Unfortunately, it was not possible. It could cost them both of their lives. Love is love but he was not willing to risk her life over it. Besides, he sighed to himself, he had no idea if she felt the same way. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. This was just a horrible, horrible situation. Now that he had ushered Alice away from Will and Weiss, he had to figure out what he was going to say to her, "Alice…" He started, turning on his heels to face her. Yes, saying her name was a good start in what would be a bad conversation. He could see the anger and resentment on her face. G-d only knew what she was thinking. He barely knew what to think and it had gotten her into the situation. He needed a way to get out of this, quickly.

"You have a lot explaining to do, Michael." She managed to snap.

Vaughn gazed out the window for a moment before he started. Truthfully, he was buying time to get his thoughts together. He knew he was going to have to lie but he just didn't know how deep he was in. Slowly, he made his way towards the fainting lounge and took her hands in his. "Alice…I uh…I know you want an explanation."

"No shit, Michael."

Vaughn took in a slow inhale. His brain was working in overtime and he had to think of something…something that tied Will to him and Sydney to him…and why Sydney was in bed with an IV…and why he said that he loved her…there needed to be links between all of it. "When I was at Georgetown," Vaughn started slowly, "I was with this girl named Sydney." Never mind Nora, the love of his life he dated all of senior year. Right now, he needed convenience. "Now, we were together for a little over a year…we broke up and stopped speaking to each other and moved on… Weiss and I were talking the other day and it turns out that his friend, Will, is Sydney's older brother. I don't know how we got talking about Syd, but…I met with Weiss and Will for a drink the other day. And um…" he swallowed down hard, feeling the emotions from the day surge up into his throat and burn like battery acid, "I found out that Syd's not doing well." His brain started to rack. The lie was getting intense. He needed a common but potentially debilitating disease. "She's in the end stages of cancer and has been undergoing treatment here in LA." Why is she here? "She just had one of her treatments today and needed a place to stay. Will's roommate, Francie, needed the apartment for something." What; it didn't matter. "So, I told Will that Sydney could stay here until she was strong enough to be moved back to the apartment. You walked in during an argument that Will and I were having…he disagreed with me that we should move her so soon…he accused me of not looking out for her best interest…and I was reminding Will that I still love her…even though I'm not in love with her." He lied and spoke slowly, choosing his words so carefully. This was a carefully orchestrated lie that had to be set so perfectly or else it would fall to pieces in his hands. He looked her in the eyes, praying that she believed him. "I'm in love with you, Alice."

Alice sat there in shock. Clearly, this was not the answer she had been expecting, "You never mentioned her before." Her tone was still sharp and she knew the anger could not disappear that quickly. However, tears started to form behind her eyes. She knew her hazel spheres gave her away.

He leaned forward and touched her cheek. "I know. I know and I'm sorry, baby. Really, I am."

Alice looked out the window again, not pulling away from his touch, "And where is she now?"

He flattened out the palm of his hand against her cheek and caressed it gently. Part of him began to wonder if he was acting. Maybe this was a giant act so he wouldn't have to deal with the "could be" of Sydney. If he was with Alice, there could be no alternative. There could be no Sydney-girlfriend factor. "In the bedroom. She's getting an IV treatment. She's sedated."

Alice sat for a moment, internalizing it. He had always looked out for other people's interest over his own. "Your ex-girlfriend is sleeping in our bed?" She wrinkled her brow slightly and tried so hard to stay angry. She didn't want to cave so quickly. This was an act, she knew it. She had to stay angry for a little while longer. She needed to make him suffer just a little longer.

"Don't think of her like that." He grabbed her hands and held them close to his chest. "She's a good person, Alice and she's in trouble. Ex-girlfriend, friend, stranger or otherwise, I would want to help her."

You're not in love with her anymore?" She turned her eyes back to him.

"I'm so in love with you. I don't want to be with anyone else. You complete me, Alice. I can't even imagine being with anyone else. I'm crazy about you, you know that." He smiled and partially lied. He could imagine being with someone else. He just never wanted to admit it. Ignorance is bliss. It was entirely possible for him to love Sydney but be in love with Alice. He wanted to be Alice but wondered what it would be like to be with Sydney. He considered her his 'what if' or 'could be.' It was almost better that way. There always needed to be a possibility outside what was there. And as he watched his girlfriend smile and he kissed her passionately, he realized that maybe his world was set right.

She parted from his kiss, pressing her forehead against his, "I want to meet her."

Oh sweet Mother of G-d. Vaughn cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Sure, baby. Whatever you want."

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Sydney was slowly coming out of her drug induced haze. She had heard the door open and someone walk over to her bedside… She really couldn't be certain. It didn't really matter. Things were still swirling around and noise was nothing more than a dissent drumming that kept humming around her brain. She blinked a few times before hearing a nearer noise. It was almost nice to be numb for a little bit. Everything seemed so far away and unimportant. She almost smiled. Her body was curled up tightly in his sheets. She could almost still feel the warmth of his body against her body…It was only a wish…a heartfelt wish in a drug induced coma.

She rolled over, feeling slightly freer. Her eyes starred up at the ceiling, examining how incredibly white it was. She closed her eyes for a moment, starting to come to terms with her torture. It was an entirely possible that she was being a drama queen. Maybe she had blown this entire situation out of proportion. It probably wasn't that bad. It happened to a lot of women…it was always on the news. It was her job. It wasn't her. It was just the situation. Well, that and she was just tired. Yes, she was just tired. She tried to turn over but decided quickly against it. It was an amazing feeling…she was hyper-aware of everything and nothing all at the same time. She could hear voices outside of the bedroom door. They had been going on for a little while now. But she had just come to understand and truly hear them. She was able to comprehend one increasingly important thing. There was definitely a female voice entered in the mix. Vaughn's girlfriend must be home.

She sighed heavily, feeling her chest deflate and sink low into the mattress. She started to wish there was a world in which there was no SD-6, CIA, no forbidden love, no Vaughn's girlfriend. In a perfect world, she would have met Vaughn at a coffee shop. They would have bumped into each other as she was leaving with her non-fat caramel latte. It would have spilt all over his tailored navy blue suit. She would have exclaimed apologizes and insist on helping him clean the steamed milk off of his pressed lapels. He would have calmed her, laughing that it was fine and it would give him an excuse to be late for a meeting and even bigger excuse for him to leave for a longer lunch. That's when they would exchange names, smiling ear to ear. She would be blushing, still embarrassed that her latte ended up all over this handsome green eyed stranger. A nervous giggle would escape her lips as he would offer to buy her another latte…

She groaned presently and felt a nervous feeling in her muscles. It was that creepy crawly feeling that could only go away with intense movement. She wanted to get out of bed and run…a nice long run with her feet pounding against the pavement. She wanted to feel her ponytail flapping against her neck. She wanted to run to the corner of the park near her house and people watch before making a hardcore sprint back home. It's all she wanted. The thought of not being able to do what she wanted made her tear up and wanted to curl up and…well, die. Still feeling numb, she felt tears start to streak down her face. It only made things worse when she cried.

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Will managed to regain his composure after what felt like hours. He was no longer livid at Vaughn for the situation that he was in. Currently, he found himself standing in the doorway of Vaughn's bedroom, watching her. Her breathing was deep and even. She was barely moving beneath the heavy comforter. The only movement he saw were the tears gently cascading down her cheeks. Even with the tears, he couldn't recall a time where he had ever seen something or someone so beautiful. His heart felt like it was swelling in his chest and deep inside, he knew he was falling in love with the one woman he could never even dream of having.

Slowly, he walked towards her bed, sitting down beside her. He didn't want to disturb her semi-conscious state but at the same time, he just wanted to hear her voice for a moment. It was purely a selfish motive. He just needed to hear from her mouth that she was okay. The and only then would he be satisfied with Vaughn's response that she was doing alright. He wanted to truth the man, Sydney trusted him with her life nearly everyday. Will needed some sort of reassurance. Anything…any sort of sigh…movement…anything. He watched her, memorizing every curve of her face. Time seemed to stop as his blue eyes drifted over her.

Her brown eyes flittered up towards the baby blue ones gazing down at her. The colored faded and she felt like her head was in a fishbowl. "V-Vaughn…"

Will honestly felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. His best friend didn't recognize him at the moment. He didn't want it to but it stung. "Sydney, it's Will." He stroked her hair softly. He saw the tears streaking down her face.

"Vaughn…" She replied, not listening or not hearing him. "I want you to promise me something…" Her voice was slow and raspy. She was still under heavy influence of the drugs.

Will sighed and looked at the door, unsure of what to do. He just needed to make her happy… "Whatever you want, Syd. Name it." It nearly broke his heart in two playing into her obvious delusion. He didn't even have the chance to ask her about the tears falling down on her face. He couldn't ask her why she was crying and to wipe away the tears with the touch of his fingertips.

She cleared her throat softly and rolled her head closer towards Will, "Vaughn, I want you to promise me…if anything happens to me…"

"Oh shh shh…don't talk like that. You're going to be fine. That I can promise you. You're going to be okay." Will jumped on her, feeling his heart pound up into his chest. He couldn't remember the last time his heart was pounding this hard. He couldn't imagine his life without her. He had thought about this so much these past couple of hours but it was true. He honestly thought he was going to lose himself if he ever lost her.

"Vaughn…" she sighed irritably. She closed her eyes for a moment and opened them, her eyes equally as hazy as before. "Vaughn, if anything happens to me…I want you…I want you…to take care of Will. I don't want Will to end up in this life like we have. Please…promise me." Her eyes fluttered open and close as her breathing continued to even out.

Will stroked her hair softly, "I promise." His heart felt heavy. He knew he had just lied to the one person closest to him. A part of him wanted to run, stand up and scream at the top of his lungs. He want to scoop her up into his arms and take her away to the most beautiful beach house in the world. He wanted to clean every cut and make it disappear…he wanted to vanish every scar. But there was really nothing he could think of that he could tangibly do. He couldn't just take her away from all of this. He could only hold her hand and make sure she didn't let go.

Sydney almost smiled, "Thank you. So much."

"Why don't you try and get some sleep? Yeah, why don't you finish sleeping of that painkiller…hmm…I'll be right outside if you need me. Okay? Yeah…that's my girl…that's my girl…" He whispered as she sank deep into the coma that had engulfed her before. He nearly started to cry as she drifted away from the conscious world. He continued to stroke her hair until he felt his mind drift.