To all Reviewers: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and here's the update you have all asked for. Feel free to give me feedback and ideas, I can always use them. I want to make this story the best I can make it. You guys are my #1 motivation.

I also went back and I think I caught all of the mistakes that you guys pointed out. Fell free to go back and check, and please tell me if I missed something.

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 6- The Aftermath

The ambulance arrived at the hospital in France in about twenty minutes. Thankfully, the traffic was light. It was a hospital run by the CIA. There was one in every allied country, so Sydney and Vaughn were safe there. Vaughn would stay at the hospital until it was determined why he had collapsed.

Sydney knew she had to get back to SD-6, or else Sloane would get suspicious. But she couldn't leave Vaughn, not now.

So she did the thing she usually did when something came up concerning the CIA. She called her father. Besides, she needed to know if he had been cleared with Kaine or not.

"Hi, Dad," she said into her sell phone. The only means of communication she was sure was secure.

"Sydney, what the hell happened last night?" he asked.

Nothing like a hearty "hello" from your father, she thought.

"We were attacked by two of Kaine's men. We barely escaped with our lives. Vaughn is still unconscious," she answered.

"Anything life threatening?" her father asked. More of a factual question than a sentimental one.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Have things turned out with Kaine yet?" she said, quickly changing the subject.

"Kaine is no longer a threat," he said simply, "so you can now turn over the fake gyroscope to Sloane without risking exposure."

Sydney hadn't even thought of that. Kaine's missing agents would have drawn attention to her, but with Kaine out of the picture, she was safe.

"Okay, I'll have the CIA give it to you to give to Sloane so that I can stay," she said, "also, could you cover for me for a day or two, just until we know that Vaughn alright?"

"Of coarse," he replied, "Be safe."

"I will," and she hung up.

Sydney thung up her cell phone and turned around to see Weiss approaching her.

"How is he?" she asked without hesitation.

Weiss stopped in front of her and put his hands in his pockets.

"The doctors don't know. He's unconscious, but they have no idea why," Weiss answered, "You said he didn't receive any serious physical injury, and there's no sign of one.

Weiss then switched to asking questions. "What exactly happened in that alley?" he asked.

Sydney contemplated on how to answer, but decided to keep her previous story. "I told you," Sydney answered, "he took care of Kaine's men, then collapsed." It came out a little more defensive than she would have liked.

Weiss didn't look quite convinced, but he still continued with his report. "Well, the doctors are doing blood tests, to see if there is any sign of infection." Weiss stated.

Sydney was confused.

"What would make them think there is?" she wanted to know.

She got the answer from the look on Weiss's face.

"They think it's the Rhambaldi virus," Sydney said, more of a statement than a question, "They think he wasn't completely cured."

Sydney though about it. Rhambaldi was the only thing that had presented unexplainable things in her life, and what had happened last night was certainly in the realm of unexplainable.

"Look Sydney, nothing's for certain, maybe too much adrenaline just got to his head, they don't know." Weiss tried to say reassuringly, "but he's been unconscious for twelve hours. Right now, they can't think of anything else. He's been put into quarantine, just in case." During this conversation, Weiss couldn't hide his own worry for his friend.

"He's not sick again," Sydney stated. She didn't say it in a voice of denial, but a voice of truth, and it was then that Sydney made a decision.

Wiess studied Sydney's face.

"Syd, there's something your not telling me," Weiss accused.

Sydney gave a small smile to herself. Weiss was smarter than he looked.

"Syd, tell me. I'm his best friend, I deserve to know."

Syd studied Weiss. He was looking at her expectingly.

He could help, she thought. Plus, he does deserve to know, even if I myself don't understand what happened.

"Weiss, you can't tell anyone about this. It could put Vaughn in danger."

There was a moment of silence, during which Weiss looked very confused.

"Fine," was all he said after a few seconds had passed.

She decided she could trust him.

"I think it's better if I show you."

Sydney took Weiss into a room where they wouldn't be overheard. She used one of Marshall's gadgets to make sure there wasn't any surveillance equipment that would overhear them.

They were safe.

"Sydney, what is this all about?" Weiss asked as Sydney crossed the room.

Sydney didn't answer. She just took the surveillance tape out of her bag, and put in the VCR that was in the room.

"Something happened last night, and I've decided that I can't figure out what happened on my own. I think that Vaughn is in serious trouble." Syndey explained. She tried her best to sound professional. Her and Vaughn's relationship was still supposed to be only professional, but she suspected that Weiss knew that there were more complicated feelings between Vaughn and her.

"What kind of trouble?" Weiss asked. Clearly this wasn't the explanation he was expecting to hear.

Sydney again said nothing, and pressed play on the VCR.

"What is this?" asked Weiss.

"The reason Vaughn needs our help," Sydney replied simply.

Weiss watched the tape as Sydney and Vaughn came into view.

"This is the surveillance tape of the alley," he commented.

"Yes," replied Sydney.

Sydney and Weiss watched as Vaughn and she came into view on the tape. They witnessed Vaughn and Sydney skid to a stop as the bullets came at them, and as Vaughn fell to the ground, obviously in pain.

"What the.., did he just get shot?" Weiss asked with surprise in his voice, not sure if he had seen that right. He pointed at Vaughn on the small screen, leaning closer to try and see better.

"He did," Sydney answered. Her face had a look of grief on it. She was reliving this again by watching it, but if Weiss was going to help protect Vaughn, he had to see for himself what had happened.

"But, he didn't have a bullet wound when he was brought in," he argued. Sydney could see that he was searching for a plausible explanation.

"Just keep watching," Sydney said simply.

Weiss stood back again and did what she said.

The next thing they saw was Sydney and Vaughn's beating as the thugs interrogated them. Sydney could see that it was hard for Weiss to watch, but he kept his eyes on the screen, bot wanting to miss what Sydney was trying to show him.

Then began the part that Sydney needed Weiss to see if he was going to aid her. On the tape, Vaughn began to convulse, then stop moving. Confusion and concern crossed Weiss's face as he watched the scene before him.

Then it began, Sydney now got to see it from a whole different perspective. She saw Vaughn grab the gun that was pointed at him, throwing it away. That's when Vaughn grabbed the man and threw him against the wall, then stood up.

Weiss's jaw dropped in disbelief, and his face seemed to turn a shade whiter.

"Holy Mother of God," Weiss whispered. "That's not possible."

"But it happened," Sydney stated, still having trouble believing it. "Keep watching."

The next thing they watched was Vaughn jump at the other man, the one dragging Sydney to the car. Both Vaughn and the thug were pushed off-screen.

"What's happening back there?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know," she replied, "I was facing the other way."

The knife was then at Sydney's throat. Vaughn was again on the screen. They watched as Sydney broke free of her assailant, and as Vaughn lunged at him, faster than a person should be able to move. They watched as Vaughn and the thug grappled, but when it came to the..kill, the angle was bad, and it was hard to see what Vaughn did.

"Wait, what just happened there," Weiss asked, putting his shock aside for curiosity. He again leaned forward to try and get a better look.

Sydney thought of a dozen different ways to answer, but stuck with the truth.

"He impaled him," she said in a soft voice, as if saying it any louder would make it worse somehom.

Weiss turned the video back and watched the segment again.

"Impaled him with what?" he asked. He turned the video back one more time. As it played back the third time, Weiss finally got it. As the revelation crossed over him, it looked like he was having trouble breathing.

Sydney had been more than strong up to this point. She wanted to be strong in order to help Vaughn, but she couldn't hold it in anymore. She could feel the tears begin to stream down her face.

"Weiss, I don't know what to do," she said, feeling her voice crack. "Something has happened to Vaughn, and I don't know how to help him. How do I help with something that is supposed to be impossible?"

Weiss came over and gave her a comforting hug. Sydney let herself cry for a minute, but only a minute. By then it was evident to both of them that her feelings for Vaughn were more than professional. She then stood back and dried her eyes, ready to try and find out what what going on.

Weiss took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He tried a bit of the denial approach next. He began pacing back and forth, his hands back in his pockets.

"There has to be some logical explanation for what happened. No human being could do what Vaughn did in that alley," he argued.

"You think I don't know that?" Sydney practically yelled, "I've run what happened through my head over a hundred times, trying to think of some plausible, logical explanation for what happened las night, but what happened was real, what Vaughn did, it was real."

There was a silence in the room while the two of them processed that information.

"Also," Sydney added, "there was something that you couldn't see on the tape." Sydney felt pained thinking of what she saw that night, but the one thing that lingered in her mind. His eyes.

"His eyes, Weiss," she whispered, "you couldn't see his eyes. They...changed."

"Changed how?" Weiss asked.

The images of that feral black flashed through Sydney's head. She decided that she would leave it at that.

"We just, we just have to help him," she stammered.

Weiss also looked like he was trying to get his bearings. "Okay, does he know what he did?" he asked, ready to do what he could to help his friend.

Sydney played what happened after through her head. "Afterward, he seemed to snap out of...something, he looked around, like he didn't know where he was, then he collapsed."

"Well," Weiss said, "at least we know that it isn't the virus."

Sydney didn't answer for a second. "I'm not so sure," she finally said, "What if the virus is what is causing this?"

"Syd, it killed everyone else it came into contact with, plus, you gave him the antidote. He was cured."

That's when it occured to Sydney. What if it wasn't the virus that was doing this to Vaughn, but the antidote? Or could it be both of them together?

Sydney explained her suspicions to Weiss.

Before Weiss could make any comment, Dr. Nicholas entered the room. He had been flown up from the L.A. division. Both Sydney and Weiss immediately became quiet, and Sydney shut off the video monitor and quickly popped the tape, putting it back in her bag.

"First, I think I should tell you that Agent Vaughn came to see me a while ago complaining of strange symptoms," the doctor started with.

"He complained of sense distortions, violent headaches, and chest pains."

No one in the room knew what to make out of that.

Sydney broke the silence. "Could you just tell us how he is?"

"Well," the doctor said, "I have good news and bad news," said the doctor.

"Bad news first," Sydney said immediately. She wanted to get it over with.

"The bad news is that Agent Vaughn's blood tested positive for infection, although we don't see how it could be possible."

Sydney's heart suddenly felt heavy. Her worst fears were coming true. Weiss put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

But Dr. Nicholas had said there was good news.

"The good news is that the virus is not attacking his system. He's in no immediate danger."

That's strange, Sydney thought, how can the virus be in his system and not be killing him. Unless this time, that wasn't its intention.

It was doing something else.

"What is it doing?" Sydney asked.

"We ran a few tests, and from what we can see, the virus was lying dormant since the antidote was given. It's my guess that the serum you acquired did something else besides save Agent Vaughn's life," explained the doctor.

Sydney closed her eyes. Her suspicions were beginning to be confirmed.

"You still didn't tell me what the virus is doing," Sydney pointed out. She wanted to hear the doctor's explanation.

"We don't know. From what we can tell, the, well, former virus is now bonding with his blood cells, although it's not doing anything damaging. It's quite remarkable actually. From the tests we ran, the antidote you provided actually transformed the virus into something else entirely, but until we know what, he'll have to stay in quarantine."

"Why is he still unconscious?" Sydney asked.

"Again, we don't know. The more extensive tests are being done to see exactly what this new substance is doing, but he doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger. In fact, he seems to be in prime health besides," he explained.

Sydney and Weiss looked at each other. The same thought was being played through their heads.

The virus was behind what had happened the night before, and the antidote that had saved Vaughn's life seemed to have a hidden agenda, which seemed to have been exposed the night before.

Just then an orderly entered the room. She whispered something in the Doctor's ear. he nodded and she left.

Dr. Nicholas turned towards them.

"Agent Vaughn is awake."

So, things are starting to come together. I hope to hear feedback from you, and feel free to give ideas about how the story should proceed, I can always use them.