A/N: Thanks again for the reviews. This is the final chapter of this story. When you finish it, you're probably not going to be happy about that. But don't worry. I'm writing a sequel. I already wrote the first chapter of it, and I will probably post it tomorrow. Maybe even tonight. I'm pretty psyched about it : )

End of Chapter 8:

Sydney slammed the gun across Sloane's face. Blood erupted from his nose and mouth.

"Tell me what the code is right now you sonofabitch, or I swear on my mother's grave I'll blow your head off."

Sloane smiled at the irony. "It's your choice," he said, swallowing a mouthful of blood. The footsteps were getting closer.

" Sydney, just do what he says," said Jack suddenly. "You know it's strategically the best plan.'

Sydney remained motionless for a few more minutes, her eyes burning with hatred and rage. Then she lowered the gun. Sloane started to get up, but she pushed him down again.

"I'll be leading us through the tunnel," she said firmly. She sprung herself back through the trapdoor. Jack and Sloane followed suit. Jack sealed the trapdoor shut just as the door to the bedroom swung open and the air they had just been breathing was permeated with bullets.

Chapter 9

"Sydney, your shoulder," said Jack once they were deeply inside the tunnel. "You need new bandages and medicine."

"I'm fine."

"We should at least stop for a minute so you can rest," said Vaughn concernedly. "You're not well, Syd…your shirt sleeve is soaked in blood."

"If your leg is bothering you and you need a break, you should just say it, Vaughn," Sydney said snippily. "I feel great."

"My leg is fine, thank you," Vaughn muttered.

"Good," Sloane interrupted. "Then maybe we could move on. It's only a matter of time before our pursuers discover the trapdoor and come after us. I understand that some of you recently suffered injuries, but you're going to suffer a lot more than that if the CIA and FBI catch up with us."

But I'm sure that that "suffering" will be a cake-walk compared to what your Alliance buddies will do to me when you turn me over to them, was the thought in Sydney's head. She opened her mouth to express this opinion, which would obviously reveal to Sloane that she knew the truth about SD-6.

Jack, as if reading her thoughts, glared into her eyes and shook his head almost imperceptibly. She almost went on and said it anyway, just to piss him off. But she couldn't make herself do it; ever since she was a little girl, her father's words had been law. There was a lot of water under the bridge now, but the six year old Sydney Bristow, who had both feared and worshipped her father, still existed – even if only as a shadow – somewhere inside the adult woman. She bit her tongue and continued walking.

The four of them, walking in a single-file line (the tunnel was too narrow to allow any other formation) made quite an interesting group. Sydney was the first in line. She held her head high and walked with a quick gait. If not for the fact that her shoulder was drenched in blood and that she was gripping it tightly with her other hand, no one would have known she was in substantial pain at the moment. Jack walked behind Sydney with the same deliberate, intensely focused motion he always displayed, whether he was playing putt-putt golf with his young daughter or on a mission to assassinate someone. Vaughn followed Jack. He was by far the most miserable looking of the four; his neck was covered in dry, sticky blood, and his limping grew more and more awkward and unstable as the minutes ticked by. Heading up the rear was Sloane. It was a good thing Sydney couldn't see his face, because the smug look on it would probably have provoked her to murder him on the spot.

"How long is this God-forsaken tunnel anyway?" Sydney asked breathlessly some time later. They were now crawling on their hands and knees, as the tunnel ceiling was extremely low at this point.

"We're almost there," said Sloane calmly, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. He could tell from the exhaustion in Sydney's voice, and from the weakly subdued groans of pain coming from Vaughn, that his plan would not fail. Jack, too, with a slightly nervous look at his daughter, who had slowed down significantly and was literally shaking with fatigue, knew that at least this part of the plan would work.

If Sydney had been more alert, she would have noticed Sloane pause for a moment to flick a small switch on the floor of the tunnel. She would have heard the sound of rushing water echoing through the narrow passageway. She would have had time to react as her father and Sloane suddenly opened a hidden door on the side of the tunnel and ducked through it, closing it before she or Vaughn had a chance to pursue them.

Vaughn might have been able to warn her, or at least to help push her through the door before her father and Sloane escaped, even if it meant sacrificing himself. But he had lost a lot of blood, both from his neck and the wound on his knee, which, inevitably, had opened up again, first during his fight with the butler, and then during their trek through the tunnel. He was as bad off as Sydney.

So the two wounded spies were completely helpless when they saw the flood of water racing towards them. Sydney sucked in her breath, reached out her hand and clutched Vaughn's, and surrendered to the water.

"Do you think it will work?" Jack asked. He and Sloane were sitting in a small room with two chairs, a table, and a single fluorescent light.

"I'm sure it will," Sloane replied. "When the water dumps them into the cavern, a team will be waiting to revive Sydney and take her to a laboratory. There we will determine whether she really is the Chosen One. If she is…well, I don't need to tell you what that news means for the Alliance."

"And what about Vaughn?"

Sloane peered into Jack's eyes, his own face completely void of expression.

"What about him?"

The next sound Sydney heard was her own violent coughing, as what seemed like gallons of water poured out of her mouth and nose.

Vaughn.

That was the first thought to run through her head. She opened her eyes and he was bending over her, pressing down on her chest, performing CPR.

When he realized she was conscious, he collapsed on top of her and wrapped his arms almost fiercely around her, as his voice expressed incoherent sounds of relief.

Sydney sat up slowly and confusedly and gently pushed Vaughn off of her.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"I've been doing CPR on you for about three minutes. Syd…I thought you were dead…"

"I must have lost consciousness in the flood. God, where are we?" she asked, looking around. They were in some kind of cavern. The only light was coming from the green glow of Vaughn's watch. They were sitting in about three inches of grimy water.

"Hell if I know," Vaughn replied. "This is where the river dumped us."

"Oh my God," Sydney cried, as her thoughts became more clear. "My father…Sloane. They ducked out just before this happened. They're probably coming for us…Vaughn, we've got to find a way out of here!"

But they didn't have time to think of anything, for at that moment, there was a loud creaking noise from the ceiling, and suddenly a trap door opened revealing a rope ladder. A man began to descend. Vaughn made a move to attack him, but Sydney held her hand up, as if to stop him.

"Dad."

He stood before them, panting, and clutching his stomach. The light from the trapdoor revealed a growing bloodstain on his shirt.

"Listen to me," Jack said breathlessly. "We don't have much time. Sloane sent a team after you, but I managed to fight them off. They were going to take you, Sydney, they were going to take you to a lab, they were going to…" his voice trailed off and he slumped to the ground.

Sydney rushed over to him and grabbed his hand. She forgot about his betrayal, she forgot everything except that he was her father and he was bleeding to death before her eyes.

"Shh," she said soothingly. "Don't talk. We're going to take care of you."

Jack shook his head. Sweat was running down his face. "You have to listen to me. The people Sloane works for…" he broke off again.

"The Alliance?"

"It's not just the Alliance. There's another group, the Covenant…they're the ones you need to worry about, they're the ones…Sydney, they're everywhere, we have to make you disappear, I have an extraction plan drawn up…"

Sydney was shaking her head. "I won't go into hiding. I won't spend my life looking over my shoulder."

Jack held up his hand feebly to quiet her. "What they're planning to do to you…" he gasped. "You can't imagine it."

Sydney was still shaking her head. Tears were streaming down her face.

Jack turned to Vaughn. "You go with her." Vaughn nodded. Jack handed him a piece of paper. It had detailed instructions for their extraction and for their concealment.

"No!" Sydney cried. "You can't do this to me. I have a life here. I have friends…Will and Francie. And I'm studying to be a teacher. You can't take all that away from me!"

"Sydney," said Jack. His voice was calm now, but she could sense the struggle it took him to sound that way. "The Covenant will take something much more precious to you if you don't leave right now. Sydney, they're going to cut you open and take your eggs. And then they're going to brainwash you."

Sydney stared back at him, her eyes swelling in horror.

"Take her," Jack said to Vaughn. "And take care of her."

"What about you?" Vaughn asked concernedly.

"I'll be fine. Sloane will come looking for me before long. I'll tell him I tried fighting you alongside the team he sent after you, but that you overpowered me and shot me, and then escaped."

Vaughn looked skeptical.

"He'll believe me," Jack said confidently. "He always does. You need to go. Now."

Vaughn nodded. He pulled Sydney to her feet and had to literally drag her back up through the trapdoor. He followed Jack's instructions to the extraction point, where a helicopter was waiting to take them to their new home, far, far away.

Once they were inside the helicopter, Sydney lay down next to Vaughn. She put her head in his lap.

"Vaughn," she whispered after they had been flying for an hour or so.

"What?"

"I forgive you. I've thought about it, and I forgive you. You're the only person I have now, you know."

Vaughn ran his fingers through her hair. "I'll never betray you again."

"I know," she replied.

He wiped the tears from under her eyes and cradled her until she fell asleep.

Six months later…

Access to secure network granted.

AliceInWonderland47: Hey guys!

RestaurantChica095: OMG, this is still so creepy…

AliceInWonderland47: No, what's creepy is that my two best friends were secretly falling in love with each other under my very nose and never said a word about it to me.

CowTippin4Eva: Hahaha. You're the spy. You should have figured it out on your own.

AliceInWonderland47::Rolls eyes:

RestaurantChica095: I wish you could come to the wedding :(

AliceInWonderland47: Me too, more than anything. You'll have to show me the pictures someday. I know it will be beautiful.

CowTippin4Eva: It better be. She won't let me help plan it at all. I suggested going to Joe's Rib Shack for the reception…

RestaurantChica095: And he wonders why I won't let him help.

CowTippin4Eva: What's the big deal! Everyone loves ribs!

AliceInWonderland47: You guys are already acting like an old married couple. I've gotta run though. I miss you so much.

RestaurantChica095: Miss you too honey.

CowTippin4Eva: Talk to you soon?

AliceInWonderland47: Definitely!

AliceInWonderland signed off, 16:43.

Sydney chuckled to herself and then sighed. Her face brightened into a smile though when she felt Vaughn's warm arms wrapping around her. She turned and melted into his arms as he kissed her forehead.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, her face breaking into a dimply smile. "Yeah, I am. I just wish I could go to the wedding. They're gonna be so happy…"

"You'll see them again, Syd. Your father's working hard to bring us back. We've already been cleared of all charges by the CIA and FBI, now that you climbed that silly mountain in Italy…"

"I know, I know," she said. "Vaughn, I have a confession to make."

"What?"

"I'm a horrible person."

"No you're not!" he said emphatically, kissing her. "You're the best person I've ever met. And I love you…"

She smiled. "You haven't heard my confession."

"Let's hear it then."

But before she had a chance to say anything, he began kissing her forehead, then her nose, her cheeks, her ears and lips. Sydney was unable to speak…she could never concentrate on anything when Vaughn was touching her. He moved down to her neck, covering it in soft kisses, then her chest. Soon her shirt was off and they were lying on the bed, breathlessly undressing each other, until they were tangled in each others arms and legs. It was the purest kind of happiness Sydney had ever known.

After thirty minutes or so, they lay quietly under the covers, Sydney propped on top of Vaughn.

"Now, what were you going to tell me?" he asked, brushing his lips across her forehead.

Sydney bit her lip and took a deep breath. "Part of me doesn't even want to go back to America. To my old life. Part of me wants to stay here with you forever. These last few months have been like a dream."

Vaughn wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "I know, Syd, I know. I feel the same way. But you know we can't run away forever…"

Sydney nodded her head and planted a kiss on Vaughn's bare shoulder. Suddenly Vaughn sat up, bringing her up with him. He looked straight into her eyes.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There is a way we could be together forever," he said, his voice trembling slightly.

Sydney looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

He reached over to the nightstand by the bed, opened the top drawer, and pulled something out of it.

"Vaughn," Sydney said nervously. "What are you doing?"

He turned around, hiding whatever it was he had retrieved from the drawer in his hand.

"I was going to wait until our trip to the beach next week to do this. I had it all planned out…I got us reservations at this amazing restaurant with a private chef…I was going to ask you then…"

"Ask me what?" she asked eagerly, her heart pounding.

"Sydney Anne Bristow," he said, pausing to kiss one of her dimples as she smiled back at him, "Will you marry me?"

He opened the small black box he had been hiding in his hand. In it was a beautiful diamond ring. Sydney threw her arms around him, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"Yes, yes, yes!" she cried. "A thousand times, yes."

She held out her hand and allowed him to place the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

Hours later, they lay in bed, still tangled in each others warm embrace. Vaughn sat up.

"I need some fresh air," he said. "Want to take a walk with me?"

Sydney smiled as she examined, for the hundredth time in the last few hours, the ring on her finger. "I'd love to, but I need to finish grading these papers." She grimaced as she looked at the mound of essays sitting on the desk across the room.

Vaughn bent over and kissed her. He stood up and threw on some pants and a t-shirt.

"Ok, I'll be back in a half hour or so. I love you."

"I love you too."

She heard the door shut behind him as he went outside. She yawned and got slowly out of bed, throwing one of Vaughn's t-shirts over herself. She went over to her desk and picked up the essay on top of the pile. She had only read the first page of it when she heard the door to the house open again.

"You just can't stay away from me, can you?" she asked jokingly.

She jumped up to go meet him at the door. She didn't make it halfway. As she stepped out of the bedroom, a dart struck her in the shoulder. She fell to the ground, fighting helplessly against the overwhelming drowsiness. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the portrait of her mother hanging over the doorway.

When Vaughn returned from his walk, all that remained of the little house he had shared for those few precious months with Sydney were a few wooden planks and a pile of ashes.

The police later reported that a gas leak had caused a massive explosion. No one inside the house would have been able to survive. The only thing they recovered from the ashes was a diamond ring.

The End

A/N: There's a sequel coming, I promise! The sooner you review, the sooner I'll post it! Please be very honest in your reviews. If something in the story doesn't make sense to you or seems awkward/unnatural, let me know!