Look, I'm back! This update is a bit different from the norm around here, but I hope it still works ok with the fic… thank you soooo much to everyone who keeps reading, you are all amazing! And happy birthday to rinny!
"Ok, wait. Stop." Michael gives me a confused look as I abruptly cut him off.
"What's wrong?" Will asks, taking my hand. I give him a short, grateful look before turning back to face Michael.
"Look, I can see this is a horrible place to interrupt, with you just finding out what was in that file Sark decoded… but I have to." Michael frowns and leans back in his chair.
"Ok… why?"
"I just need a few minutes… I need to think, to sort stuff out. It's not that I don't believe you- please, don't think that. I do, I believe everything you've told me. I just… it's all a whole lot to take in at once. I need to…" I falter, searching for the word.
"Compartmentalize," Vaughn offers.
"Yeah… yeah, that sounds about right." He nods.
"Well, I've had six years to get used to everything… I have quite the head start on you. Go ahead, take some time… but not too much, please. I'd like to get this taken care of as soon as we can," he says quietly. With that, he stands up and walks out, leaving Will and myself facing one another.
"Still mad?" He asks quietly. I recall how I had treated him when he called half an hour ago, and I look down at my hands.
"No…" I begin softly. "I just… overreacted. I know you couldn't tell me the truth about Syd… and logically, I know there's no reason to be mad. But it just hurts that for all these years, you knew the truth about what she did, and why she was missing, and I just continued naively thinking she was just a banker who pulled an Amelia Earhart and disappeared on a flight one day or something." He nods slowly.
"Believe me, I understand that. And I hope you realize that I wanted nothing more than to tell you everything… if I could have, you know I would've. But it wasn't safe. Even with Syd gone, SD-6 was still a threat, and there was a very real chance that they continued monitoring the house, keeping an eye on my every action after what had happened. Telling you would have endangered us both, as well as Jack, Vaughn, numerous other agents…" I wave my hand, bringing him to a halt.
"Will, I realize all that… believe me, I do. But hon, there is a vast difference between knowing something logically, and understanding it emotionally. The fact that for all these years, I've been the idiot kept in the dark… I can't just make that stop hurting."
"Fran, you're not the idiot… I am. I was the one who just wouldn't leave well enough alone."
"How much did you really know, Will?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you knew about… CIA and SD-6 and all that, and that she disappeared on a mission… you know about her parents and Vaughn and Sark… but of what he's told me, us- how much of that did you know?" He stops for a moment, thinking back.
"Obviously, the points of the story I've been involved with, I knew… but the last time I talked to him was shortly before they left for the Maldives, so anything after that, I didn't know about until now."
"Were you ever…actively involved in the search for Syd?"
"Letting Vaughn stay at my apartment was as close to being involved as I got," he replies wryly. I can't help but laugh. "I'm gonna go grab a drink… want something?" he questions.
"Um… sure."
"Think you could maybe narrow it down?"
"I should hope you'd know me well enough by now to know what drinks I like." He grins.
"True… I'll be back in a few." I lean back in my chair as he exits, truly alone for the first time that day. After a moment of silent contemplation, I stand up and walk over to a small bookshelf. At the top of it is a frame, holding a picture of Syd, Will, and me. It was taken only two weeks before she disappeared, and it was the last time we were all together for more than half an hour.
We'd spent that day at the beach, and I remember Syd mercilessly picking on Will for his very obvious tan lines. It had culminated with the two of us burying him deep in the sand and leaving him there for twenty minutes while we went to get slushees. He swore he'd never forgive us, but by the time we got home, he was laughing about it just as much as we were.
I can't fight the tears that slowly rise at the memory, nor the ones that cascade out as I remember the day I received the news that Sydney Bristow had disappeared and was presumed dead.
It was just another normal day at the restaurant when I heard the private line in my office ringing. I quickly ran through the kitchen, dodging chefs and waiters, and grabbed it just in time.
"Hello?" I gasped breathlessly.
"Miss Calfo?" I frowned, recognizing the voice.
"Mr. Bristow? Syd's not here, and I-"
"I'm awre of that, Miss Calfo. That's actually… why I'm calling."
"I don't get it…" I replied hesitantly. He was quiet for a moment, and that only fueled my fear. "Jack, what's going on?" I demanded, growing hysterical.
"Miss Calfo, calm yourself," he said sharply.
"Why? So you can tell me something that'll send me right back over the edge?" I shot back. I instantly regretted it as I imagined the look that would be on his face. "Why'd you call?" I finally demanded, as he hadn't said another word.
"Uh…" My guard was instantly up again; Jack Bristow was not a stuttering man.
"What the hell is going on? Tell me, damn it!"
"Sydney's missing."
"What?" I didn't think I'd heard him correctly; this was Syd we were talking about. Sydney Bristow… nothing could touch her.
"She was on a trip to Canada… we haven't heard from her since she reached the airport."
"This isn't possible…" I protested weakly.
"I'm… afraid it is, Miss Calfo. She's been missing for 22 hours now. It's… she's been presumed dead." I dropped the phone and collapsed into my chair as I felt the pieces of my world shattering around me.
The memory tears at my heart, and I once again collapse into my chair, my head falling into my hands as the tears flow in torrents. After a few moments, I felt a warm, comforting hand on my back as someone slowly sat down next to me. I wiped away my tears, looking up into Michael's sad eyes. He says nothing, merely nods, and I lower my head onto his shoulder and allow the tears to continue.
Jen: Favorite fic? Wow, that's a pretty tall order to live up to…
Jax: Yes, cheesecake and updates… fun combo, isn't it? :-D
Delordra: Thank you very much, and here's more for you! J
Raina: LOL… nope, not cheesecake.
Coffee Crazy: All of it at once?? Wow… I'm amazed. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Jade: Well, I wasn't exactly dead… hehe. Again, you and your need for shippiness… ;-)
Kaley: No resolution just yet, though I'm hoping to wrap this up by December 5th- the one year anniversary of starting the fic- but I'm not so sure it'll happen…
If any confusion was caused by this update, just know that it'll all be explained in time. Thanks for sticking with me through all of this insanity!