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Vaughn flinched when his mother started her screaming fest at him. Maybe he shouldn't have told her what he'd told Sydney. Actually no, if he had lied, she would have gone WWIII on his ass. Right now it was an advanced Cuban Missile Crisis.

"You left Sydney and Cory for that Derevko woman?" Claire thundered.

He flinched again. By the look on her face, he assumed that Sydney told his mother about her mother. Well, that didn't help him any. "Well, not exactly."

"It sounds like it to me Michael," She answered.

"You don't know the whole truth, Maman." He replied shortly.

The look on her face told him that it was a huge mistake to use that tone with her. "Then enlighten me."

"I can't."

"Why not?" She demanded. First he tells her some backwards excuse as to why he's been missing for the past six years and now he won't tell her everything? That boy needed a good whipping.

"Because I'm not going to tell you before I tell Sydney." Vaughn responded.

"She doesn't know?" Well, that had been unexpected. She thought that he wasn't telling her because he was being a secretive little crap.

"Not yet," He admitted. As she opened her mouth to yell at him again, he hurried on. "I'll tell her when we get a moment alone."

Claire was not the kind of woman that liked being kept in the dark. If she knew that someone was keeping a secret from her, she wanted to know what it was exactly. She didn't like to wait to be told second or third or fourth. She wanted to be first. Nevermind that Sydney was married to the man and by that little fact, deserved to know every little thing first.

"Talking about me?" Sydney asked, interrupting anything else Claire had to say.

"Of course not," Claire answered.

"Then why'd I hear my name?" Sydney asked. Apparently Claire didn't want to be caught trying to force information out of Vaughn.

"I'll tell you later," Vaughn said, throwing a look towards his mother.

Sydney raised an eyebrow, not believing that this was nothing. First she heard something breaking and then yelling and now her name? "Vaughn, can I talk to you in the hall?"

He nodded, glad to have a reason to escape his mother's glaring and yelling.

"What's going on?" She asked in low tone in case Claire was listening. It might have been awhile since she was a spy but she hadn't forgotten everything.

"I'll tell you later," Vaughn repeated.

Sydney raised an eyebrow at him. He wasn't technically lying to her. While he did promise to tell her everything, she wasn't sure that's what he doing. And he did promise to tell her later. Maybe he didn't want anyone to overhear.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, we're almost done packing. Where's your stuff?"

"In my car in town," He responded.

"We can get it on the way to the airport." She nodded, already calculating a plan in her head.

"I can arrange a private flight to Stockholm," He added, the wheels in his head turning as well.

"Why Stockholm?" She asked. Europe was a big place, why did he feel the need to go to Sweden?

"My sister lives there." He answered after a pause.

"Your sister?" She repeated. Other than when he had explained his disappearance to her, he hadn't mentioned his sister. Did Claire know about his sister? God, she hadn't even stopped to ask herself if his mother knew that his father had another child.

"Yeah, she can-"

He was cut off mid sentence bya shrill scream coming from the bedroom Sydney had left Cory in.

"Cory!" Both Vaughn and Sydney whispered at the same time as their eyes locked for a split second before they took off running back up the stairs.

-

"Just kill it already Michael!" Sydney shrieked inching away from the shower.

Vaughn laughed and moved forward to where she was backing away from. "It's just a spider, Syd."

A shudder overcame her. "Easy for you to say." She snapped. "You actually like spiders."

Another laughed escaped his lips as he bent down and carefully picked up the spider out of the bathtub. "It's harmless."

"You come over here and I'll show you harmless," She muttered angrily. What didn't he understand about 'just kill it already'? It was simple. She hated spiders and if she had her way, the spider in his hand would be on its way down the drain. But no, he had to stop her before she could turn on the water.

"Who knew that a hardened spy could be afraid of a little spider?" He mused, lifting his hand and extending it towards her.

She spotted him moving the spider towards her and backed up again her eyes filling with terror. "Michael! Stop it! It's not funny anymore!"

"Oh alright." He resigned by stepping away from her and over to the window. After glancing at her and seeing her glaring at him, he opened the window and set the spider on windowsill before closing it again and turning back to her. "See? It's gone."

A small 'hmtp' came from her. "It would have been gone sooner if you had let me send it down the drain."

"Spiders are good luck." He told her.

"Oh they are not." She retorted.

"Why do you hate spiders so much?" He brushed aside her comment. "They're good luck."

" I just do," She answered after a pause. Okay, so she didn't have a good reason for hating spiders. That was just how the world turned and if he had a problem with it, he could just go to hell. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No," He replied shaking his head slightly as he stepped away from the window and back towards her. "I was just curious."

"Why don't I believe you?" She asked, following him with her eyes as he stopped right in front of her.

"Because you have some serious trust issues," He responded, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Try as she did, she couldn't help but lean into his hand. Damn him, he tricked her again. "Well, you have issues with listening." She shot at him.

"Only when you're complaining about stupid things," He said, grasping her left hand with his right and entwining their fingers. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her wedding ring glinting in the late afternoon sun and a smile crept into her eyes.

"I don't complain about stupid things," She countered, trying to ignore that he was seducing her and doing a damn good job of it. Why was it that the only person who could have power over her was him?

"Yeah, you do." He informed her, nudging her backwards so she rest against the sink.

"Like what?" She questioned, closing her eyes in an attempt to clear her head. That wasn't working so well. He knew exactly what he was doing and liked it.

"Like spiders in the shower," He replied, smirking a little at her. "And being normal and your dad and work and how I dislike coffee ice cream, just to name a few."

She opened her eyes so she could glare at him. "And your point would be?"

"Being normal's far too overrated," He whispered. Now he was close enough to her face that his breath fell across her face, warm and oh so inviting.

"Says you," She whispered back, trying to hold onto that last bit of restraint she had. To put it simply, it was a losing battle.

Vaughn chuckled, releasing another wave of warm air across her face. That's when Sydney caved and made the first move, closing the distance and kissing him before he could completely make her fall under his spell.

-

"Cory?" Sydney called again as she burst through the bedroom door with Vaughn right on her heels. "What's wrong?"

"There's a spider!" Cory wailed, pointing a finger at her suitcase. "A big huge spider!"

Sydney tried her hardest not to smile. As well as her looks, her daughter had inherited her arachnophobia. "Where is it?" She asked after inspecting the suitcase and finding no trace of a spider.

"It must have run away," Cory reasoned. She had seen the spider, she knew she had.

"I'm sure it did," Sydney answered, patiently.

"You know, I like spiders," Vaughn said suddenly.

Both girls' gazes turned to him, one in shock, the other in a small glare.

"You do?" Cory asked, meekly. Liking the elephants was okay in her mind but spiders? Gross.

Vaughn smiled and nodded. "Yeah, my dad used to like them," He answered, sitting on the edge of the bed next to the suitcase. Cory, after glancing towards the suitcase she was still convinced held a spider, came up to him and rest her hand on his knee, watching him with curious eyes. Sydney watched, with a raised eyebrow. This was his test with Cory.

"Why's that?" Cory asked, scratching at her arm right below the elbow idly.

He seemed to sense that Sydney was testing him because he didn't look at her. "He said they were good luck."

Sydney had to hold back a snort. He'd told her the exact same thing in the first year of their marriage.

"But they're icky," Cory reasoned stubbornly.

"I wouldn't say that," He answered diplomatically. "You apparently got your arachnophobia from your mother."

"Arachne…what?" Cory asked.

"Arachnophobia," He repeated for her. "It's an unexplained fear of spiders."

"But they're icky. That's why I don't like them." She replied.

"Do you know why you hate them besides them being icky?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No…"

"Then it's arachnophobia." He concluded.

Cory thought about it for a moment before turning her curious eyes to Sydney. "Is it Mommy?"

Sydney glanced over Cory's shoulder to Vaughn, wondering how the hell he had handled that so well before answering. Cory really did like him. "Yes, it is."

Cory nodded and turned back to Vaughn. "They aren't really good luck, are they?" She asked, still a little hesitant about that. No way were those icky stupid bugs good luck.

"They are," Vaughn insisted. "They keep bad things from happening."

"Like what?" Cory challenged, scratching her arm again.

Sydney had to hold her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. If she knew Vaughn, or the old Vaughn which she hoped still lurked somewhere in this new Vaughn, then she knew what he was going to do.

"Tickling," Vaughn answered. Cory didn't have the time to react before he was tickling her mercilessly. She shrieked with laughter and a nostalgic smile crossed Sydney's face. Vaughn had loved to tickle her til she begged for mercy. When she thought about it, it was one of the things that had made her fall in love with him.

"She's only six, Michael, go easy on her." Claire said from the doorway behind Sydney. She was trying to hide a smile and her eyes were dancing with laughter, Sydney noticed. Apparently, she had forgotten about her fight with Vaughn less than ten minutes ago.

Vaughn abruptly stopped his tickling attack on Cory and she stopped laughing with a happy sigh. "Grande-mere!" She cried, running from Vaughn to her grandmother. "Are you mad at Daddy?"

Claire looked down at Cory and shook her head. "No…a little annoyed but it's nothing."

Sydney and Vaughn exchanged a look. Annoyed in Claire terms meant mad.

"Out of curiosity," Vaughn started, after swallowing hard. "Where's Trish?"

"In her room," Claire answered. That meant Trish was moping about being yelled at by her nephew that had been missing for six years.

"Cory, what is wrong with your arm?" Sydney asked, changing the subject abruptly. That was the third time she'd seen her daughter scratching at the spot below her elbow in the past five minutes.

Cory shrugged. "I dunno. It itches."

Sydney's eyes narrowed as she beckoned Cory over to her. Cory went, still scratching at her arm. When she was in reaching distance, Sydney grabbed her daughter's arm and pulled up the sleeve. A slight gasp escaped her lips.

On the spot below Cory's elbow was an abrasion.

It looked like…well, it looked like she had been bitten.

"Where did you get this?" She asked.

Cory shrugged again. "I dunno. It just started itching."

"When?"

"Awhile ago." Cory answered.

Vaughn got off the bed and came over to the pair, taking Cory's arm out of Sydney's grasp and lifting it to be inspected. "Did one of grande-mere's cats bite you?" He asked after a moment. Claire had a few cats around the house. And one of them in particular that she'd had for years was a nasty one that would bite if he wasn't left alone.

"Louis wouldn't do that," Claire protested. Despite both Vaughn and Sydney's insistence that the cat was mean, she refused to believe it.

Vaughn shushed her and waited for Cory's answer.

Cory was thinking about it as hard as she could. "Not that I know of," She answered finally.

"It looks like Louis bit her," Sydney agreed.

"He could have done it when she was sleeping," Vaughn added.

Sydney nodded, "There's a bottle of antiseptic in my suitcase. Can you go get it?"

Vaughn nodded and let go of Cory's arm gently before going to Sydney's suitcase. If there was one that he hated about his mother's house besides that damn cat was that she didn't stock any first aide supplies. She thought that she was immune to everything and therefore so was everyone else.

"Claire…I told you to keep that cat away from Cory," Sydney said turning on Claire, her eyes snapping.

"I did," Claire answered. "He's been in my room since you arrived yesterday."

"Then how'd he bite her?" Sydney asked.

"He didn't," Claire replied. "He couldn't have."

"This bite says differently," Sydney retorted gesturing towards Cory's arm. Vaughn came back over and handed Sydney the bottle of antiseptic and a couple cotton balls he'd grabbed from her suitcase as well. She gave him a smile as her thanks and dabbed one of the cotton balls with the antiseptic. "This is probably going to hurt." She warned.

Cory nodded, bracing herself for the pain.

"Wanna hold my hand?" Vaughn offered.

Cory was a little surprised the offer and nodded again, taking her father's hand.

A smile passed through Sydney's eyes as she realized how good with Cory Vaughn was. She wasn't looking forward to having to put the antiseptic on Cory's arm and winced along with Cory when the cotton ball touched her arm. Normally, Cory made more protests than she did at the moment but Vaughn squeezed her hand reassuring and that quieted the majority of Cory's whimpers.

A couple minutes later, much to the appreciation of Cory, Sydney took the cotton ball and capped the antiseptic. "There, we'll have to bandage it later."

Cory nodded, happy to have the stinging liquid away from her arm. "Okay."

"Syd?" Vaughn said quietly.

Sydney turned her attention to Vaughn. "Yeah?"

"We should probably get going," He said low enough for only her and Cory to hear.

Sydney glanced down at Cory, noted her hopeful expression, and then looked back to Vaughn. "You're right."

-

"Vaughn! You didn't turn that phone off?" Sydney asked exasperated. First it had taken them forever to get out of their apartment because he'd wanted to "sleep in" and now his cell phone was ringing on a crowded plane with a couple whining babies.

Vaughn threw her a sheepish look. "Sorry." He tried, grabbing the phone and pulling it out of his pocket.

"Who is it?" She asked with a heavy sigh.

He frowned slightly at the caller ID. "No one," He answered, turning off the phone like she asked.

"You think that'll get you out of having to tell me?" She teased.

"I was hoping," He answered.

She laughed. "Well, I can let it slid if that phone stays off for the rest of the vacation."

"Sounds like a deal to me." He answered. Anything to keep her from asking questions about who was calling. If he could help it, she'd never know. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized what a stupid wish that was.

"You're such a push over," She mocked.

"Only when it comes to you," He defended. Well, that much was true. She was the only one who really had power over him.

"Well, don't I feel special." She replied sarcastically.

"You should," He told her. "Very special." While was talking, he reached over the armrest that separated their chairs and grabbed her hand.

This action elicited a smile from her and she squeezed his hand in return. "I was being sarcastic before." She told him quietly.

"Could have fooled me," He answered.

She snorted. "Yeah, right."

"It's the truth," He protested. "You lie like a dead dog."

She laughed. "Well, for one, thanks for that." What a nice thing to be told by your fiancé thatyou're a lying dog. What could be more romantic? She could think of a couple things. "And for another, the expression's 'lie like a dirty dog'."

He shook his head. "Nope, dead dog."

"Where did you get that from?" She questioned. Seriously, where did he come up with this stuff?

"A dead dog lies more than a dirty dog," He explained. "It makes perfect sense."

It took her a moment for her to grasp the cheesiness of his joke. "Oh God, Vaughn." She rolled her eyes. "You are such a dork."

"Coming from the woman who was a genius at nineteen," He replied.

She gave him a playful slap on the shoulder. "Shut up."

"Make me," He challenged.

"Oh I will," She answered.

"How?" He asked skeptically.

"Like this." Before he could protest –not that he would- she leaned over and kissed him.

-

"Is she okay?" Vaughn asked when Sydney walked back into the cabin.

After they had collected his things –meaning a suitcase he lived out of for most of the year- from the car he'd borrowed from a contact to use while in France, he'd called one of his mysterious contacts to arrange a private plane for them. Sydney noticed that he seemed to have more contacts than she remembering him to. She also noticed that whether by conscious decision or not, he was more secretive with how he worked than he'd ever been.

A few minutes after they took off, Cory started complaining of not feeling good. Sydney had given her the option of lying down on the bed in the small bedroom on the plane. Unlike CIA planes, whoever owned this plane spared no expense. There was a bathroom, bedroom with a bed and dresser, mini bar, a couple booths, even a couch. It reminded Sydney of the plane that had housed Server 47 back in her SD-6 days.

Cory'd accepted the offer instantly. For the past ten minutes, Sydney had been tucking their daughter in.

She looked up when Vaughn asked his question. "She's just tired."

"How's the bite look?" He asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Pretty good," She answered, quelling his fears. "It should be gone within a week."

"That's good."

She nodded her agreement. "Yeah it is," She murmured, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "What were you talking about with Claire earlier? What aren't you telling me?" When she noticed his hesitation, she added, "You promised to tell me everything."

"I know," He said, running his hand through his hair. "Okay…alright…you're not going to like this." He warned.

"I'll take my chances."

"Right," He said, opening his mouth to tell her what he'd been hiding.

Next chapter: The Explanation Part II