Chapter Seven
"Sydney, I'm so glad you're alright"
"Vaughn, what are you doing here?" Sydney asked, between clenched teeth.
"I overheard your father's phone call and followed him here. I know it was stupid of me, but I had to make sure that you were ok"
"I'm fine. Can you go please?"
"No! I'm not leaving yet. Not until I've talked to you," his eyes dart to Sark, noticing him for the first time since he entered the small room, "why is he here?"
"If you mean Julian," she said, stating his name in a forceful tone, "then he's here because he saved my life"
"He's not capable of that Sydney, it must have something to do with his endgame"
"I trust him, and believe that it doesn't"
Vaughn sighed and put the roses down on a table in the room. Sark stood and finally spoke up, "Sydney, I'll leave the two of you to talk alone. I'll be right outside, just call if you need anything alright?"
"OK"
"And don't stress yourself out"
"I won't"
"What do you care if she stresses herself out Sark!" Vaughn said, his tone biting.
"I care a lot more than you would know Mr Vaughn!" fists clenched at his sides, his eyes blazing in anger, "I have watched over her for a week, seeing her weak. I would do anything to protect her. Do not doubt me"
"You don't deserve to be near her"
"Vaughn, Julian, please, stop" Sydney pleaded.
Sark took a deep breath and continued outside. "I'll be right outside" he said before closing the door.
"Sydney, please tell me what is going on?"
"Nothing that concerns you anymore Vaughn. My life doesn't concern you anymore. It hasn't since you married Lauren."
"That was a mistake Sydney, I was miserable without you, I had to move on!"
"It doesn't matter Vaughn. I'm going to move on, and you should to"
"Are you moving on with him?" he says softly, sighing and looking down.
"I don't know. Maybe. He cares about me, and I'm starting to care about him too."
"How can you care about him! He's a terrorist, Sydney!"
"So was I, at one point. We've all been on the wanted list at some point Vaughn."
"I just don't want to see you get hurt. Because I know that's what will happen. He's going to hurt you."
"Vaughn, I should be able to make my own decisions. You aren't a part of my life anymore. Please just try to accept that!"
"I can't Sydney! I can't accept it."
"Vaughn, I can't see you anymore. I left L.A. because of that fact. I packed up my life and moved to New York, across the country, to get away from everything, from you. Couldn't you see how miserable I was? I'm happier now than I have been since I came back."
Sark is standing outside of the hospital room, and he can hear most of the conversation.
"Are you moving on with him?" he hears, and this intrigues him. What will Sydney say to that? he wonders.
"I don't know. Maybe. He cares about me, and I'm starting to care about him too." he wants to try too. He wants to be what she wants and deserves.
"I left L.A. because of that fact. I packed up my life and moved across the country to get away from everything. Couldn't you see how miserable I was?" She moved to New York? And then his mind moved back to the conversation they had in the car;
"Why would we want to change them anyways? I mean, things are pretty good in my life right now. I've got a new apartment in a new city-"
"New city? You live in Los Angeles."
"Right… um… we can't change things Sark."
She left because she was miserable with Vaughn. Suddenly, Sark felt sorry. He felt sorry for everything that he had ever done that had hurt Sydney in any way.
Sydney Bristow deserved much better than Michael Vaughn, and he realized that he was willing to try and be just that.
The hospital room became quiet at that point. Vaughn didn't know that she had left because of him. She had told him that she left because of a promotion that she had been offered.
"You left because… of me?" he asked.
"Yes. I left because of you," she said softly, "I left because I was miserable. I was so unhappy with my life there. When I got to New York, I was so much happier."
"What did I do though? That's what I don't understand. What did I do to cause you to move?"
"Nothing. You did nothing. And that's not what I needed. When Lauren was killed, you and I got back together and you acted like nothing had changed. You acted like those three years had never happened. But they had! And you just forgot about them. You acted like she had never existed."
"I'm sorry Sydney. I really am. I still love you. I hope you realize that. And if you ever decide to come back, then you should know that I'll be waiting for you"
"Vaughn, I'm not going to come back. If I visit L.A. anytime soon, it'll be to see my dad, Dixon, Marshall and Weiss. I'll try my best not to see you, because you don't seem to respect the fact that I asked you to leave me alone. Why can't you just understand that? I want to move on, but I can't do that if I have to see you!"
"Syd, I'm sorry."
"Michael, please just leave."
"Sydney please don't make me leave. I just want to talk to you. I love you"
"Michael I know that, but we can't be together anymore. I've realized that now. So could you please leave? And ask Julian to come back in when you do. Thanks."
Vaughn's face slowly showed a sign of resignation and he turned and walked out of the room. "Goodbye Sydney" he whispered on his way out.
After the door closed, the silence of the room enveloped her, making her feel frightened and alone. Tears began to stream down her face. She knew that had probably the last time she would see Vaughn in her life. It scared her because she didn't know what would happen in the future.
A few moments later Sark re-entered the room to see Sydney sitting on the bed, tears running down her cheeks. She looked so alone and scared that it broke his heart. He went to her side and took her hand in his, lifting it to his lips, he laid a soft kiss on her palm.
"What's wrong Sydney?"
"I'm never going to see him again" she croaked out. It terrified him to see her like this. He didn't know what to do. He had never had to comfort someone like this before. So he sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled her carefully to him, and she cried into his chest.
When her tears subsided, she looked into his eyes and saw them full of concern and tenderness. She moved her hand to his face, tracing the contours of his jaw. She softly pulled his head towards hers, and their lips met. It was a kiss full of caring and passion. But it was so light that they were almost convinced that it hadn't happened.
Throughout this, they had not noticed another person entering the room.
"I had always known that you two would get together," the man said. He lifted a gun and pointed it at Sydney's chest, "miss me pigtails?"
"Cole, what are you doing here?" Sark asked.
"It seems you two have evaded my covenant minions. Of course, if you want something to get done, and done properly, you gotta do it yourself. Or so that's what they say in the movies. I've never been one to believe that. That is, until now."
"Why us though? What are you trying to accomplish?"
"Well, you have both betrayed the covenant, so we would like a little revenge. It seems that the people above me would like to see you two dead."
"And what good would that do Cole?" Sydney asked, "don't you think that taking two years of my life would have been sufficient enough?"
"I thought it would be, but they seem to disagree there"
"If you kill me, I want you to know that my parents won't be too happy, and if Julian here lives, he won't be too happy either."
"Well I plan on killing Julian as well as you. As for your parents, they won't be able to find us. Trust me. There's no way they could"
"I think you underestimate a father's love Cole."
It seems that no one had noticed Jack Bristow enter the room, carrying his gun in his hand, he raised it to the back of Cole's head. Cole froze in his place. The colour drained from his face when he felt the cold steel at the base of his skull. He lowered his gun and dropped it on the floor.
"What are you going to do with him dad?"
"I'm not sure. If I call the CIA, they'll know about you being in here, and they'll also know about Sark being here as well. We can't have that."
"Thank you Mr Bristow" Said Sark.
"I can see that you haven't done anything to hurt my daughter, and that you must care about her enough to stay at her side for this time."
"This is touching" sneered Cole.
"You'd better think about what you say Cole. Otherwise I might have to take you to one of my safe houses around here. I have plenty of torture objects. I might have a little fun with you. Maybe get some information about the Covenant from you? Who knows" threatened Jack.
"Dad, can you please figure out where to take him soon? Because I'm feeling really overwhelmed from the events of the past little while. Seeing Vaughn again like that just wore me right out."
Her father looked shocked when he heard this, "Vaughn? Vaughn was here? How did he find out where you were Sydney? You didn't call him did you? You aren't thinking of going back to him are you? Because it's not a good idea, he's not good enough for you."
"Of course not! He said he overheard you talking to Julian and he followed you here. And I'm not thinking about getting back together with him. I told him to leave. And dad please, can I get some rest now? I really don't feel like talking right now."
"Of course sweetheart. Cole, you're going to come with me. I'm sure that we can fine something to do that involves you being in a lot of pain."
"See you later pigtails" Cole said as he left the room, with Jack's gun still at his back.
"I'll see you tomorrow dad right?"
"Of course Sydney" and with that, Sark and Sydney were left alone once again.
"Sydney, you should get some rest. You want to go home soon don't you?"
"I want to get out of here, but I'm not going home. I don't know where home is anymore."
"I can help you find one."
"Thank you" she said as sleep overcame her.
Once he could see that she was in a deep sleep, he stood up and left the room. He went to his house and took a shower. He changed his clothes, set up the spare room, and put the clothes he had bought her into the drawers in that room. Finally thinking that everything was fine, he headed back to the hospital to sit by her side once again.
The next morning Sark is again, by her side. She feels a weight in her hand and realizes that he has gently placed her hand between his once again. She likes the feeling that it gives her. It's comfortable and familiar. As he begins to wake up, she sees his hair and giggles.
"What's so funny Bristow?"
"You look really cute in the morning did you know that? Your hair is extraordinary this morning" she said as she musses up his hair even more.
He groans and stands, walking to a mirror that is hanging in a small bathroom in the room. "You're right. It's awful," he says as he tries to fix the standing pieces of hair.
"Can you get the doctor for me?"
He looks at her concerned, "Why is something wrong? Are you in pain?"
"No, that's not it. I just want to find out when I can leave. I don't really like hospitals. I've seen them too many times."
"I'll go get him" he turns to the door just to see it open and the doctor walks into the room.
"Speak of the devil" whispers Sydney. Sark hears this and smirks.
"Miss Bristow," he says looking down at her charts, "I see you're recovering quickly. That's good."
"Do you have any idea as to when I can leave here?"
"You should be able to leave soon. Probably within the next two days, if your progress stays this good."
"That's good news."
"Yes it is. I hope you aren't stressing yourself out while you're here. Your body needs its rest, so you need to take it easy."
"She has been doing a lot of sleeping lately." Sark says.
"That's a good thing. Now Sydney, there are some things that we do need to talk about for when you leave. We'll want you to stay off your feet until you regain your strength, so we'll get you a wheelchair. You'll only need that for a week or two though, so don't worry. Will you have someone that can help you with things around your home?"
"I'm not sure. I live alone."
Sark walked over to Sydney and took her hand in his, "you can stay with me Sydney."
"And where do you like Mr…"
"Lazarey. I live close to here."
"That's good, because we wouldn't recommend travelling at this time. We would like you to wait for about a week after you're out of the wheelchair. Just for safety reasons."
"That's fine" said Sydney.
"Well I think that's it. Do you have any questions?"
"No, none. Thank you doctor."
"I'll see you again soon" the doctor turned and left the room as quickly as he had entered.
"That's good news, isn't it?" said Sydney.
"Yes it is. And, I already have your room set up at my home. It's just waiting for you. Oh, I also put away your new clothing. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," she smiled, "so, what does this house look like?"
"I can tell you right now that you'll hate it" he said jokingly.
"Oh really" she sarcastically replied, "That's good to know. I think you're beginning to lack in taste Mr Sark."
"Well I'm with you right now, so I can't see how that would be possible."
The next two days were filled with light conversation. Jack had returned to the States, and had actually approved of her decision to stay with Sark for the time. He could tell that she was happier with him than she would be if she was alone in New York, so he did what he thought was best for her, he let her go.
Sark and Sydney signed the appropriate forms for her release, and they were off to his home, sporting Sydney in a new wheelchair (which Sark bought especially for her, even though she protested endlessly) and a bag of supplies and information from Jack. The information was the important stuff to know that Cole had given up.
As they reached the house, Sark tried to explain what the house looked and felt like, but it didn't go well. Sydney was now expecting to see either a large villa covered in vines, or a small and quaint villa with cracked walls outside and dead trees and vines surrounding the property. Let's just say that he wasn't too descriptive when it came to talking about his home.
When they pulled up to the front of the house, it was not what she had been expecting at all. It was a middle sized home, very comfortable looking, with vines crawling up around the front door. The property was littered with various trees, vines and flowers. Her breath caught in her throat when she laid eyes on it.
"Sark this is beautiful" she was gawking at the property.
Seeing her reaction, he decided to enjoy it to the fullest, "I'm glad you like it" he said. He smiled and pushed her chair into the house where her reaction made him even happier. She gasped loudly as they entered the front foyer. A large chandelier hang from the ceiling, lighting up the entire room with reflections of light on the prisms.
It was perfection for both of them.