Sorry this chapter took so long. I'm starting college soon and I just got a new job, so I've had less time for my creative endeavors. I'm sorry if my updates are less frequent from now on, but I'll try to make them worth waiting for.

Again, thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. It means a lot to know that people are reading and enjoying my story. Also, thanks for the constructive criticisms. I like to know ways to make my story better, and feel free to send me your ideas. Who knows, they might be better than mine. Anyway, enjoy this next chapter. I made it longer for you.

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply.

Chapter 7- The Conversation

Sydney and Weiss didn't move for a moment after the Doctor told them that Vaughn was awake.

She didn't know about Weiss, but Sydney started feeling conflicting emotions. The predominant of coarse being happiness and relief.

Yet those feelings were mixed with feelings of dread. Did Vaughn remember what happened the night before? Does he know what is happening to him?

If he didn't remember, what the hell would she tell him?

All Weiss did was let out a sigh of relief. If he was awake, it seemed Vaughn would be okay.

Sydney crossed her arms in front of her. "Can we see him?" she asked.

"Yes, of coarse. The virus isn't airborne, so this new, uh, form shouldn't be either," the doctor answered. He left the room and the two CIA agents followed him out.

The three of them walked through the halls of the hospital. They seemed to go on forever. The three of them came to the end of a hallway and entered a door that said "hospital staff only".

This must be the section for people other than the ordinary citizens, Sydney thought. She saw two CIA agents placed inside the door.

They passed yet more doors before they finally reached one labeled "Quarantine". The sign left an uneasy feeling in Sydney's stomach.

The doctor turned around before opening the door to Vaughn's room. "I'll need you to stay here for a few minutes," he said, "I'll need to inform agent Vaughn about his condition."

Sydney was not happy that she had to do yet more waiting in a hospital. She was quickly getting tired of them, but she reluctantly agreed, and so did Weiss.

Luckily it was a short wait, and Dr. Nicholas came out and said they could go in.

Sydney took a deep breath and entered the small room, followed by Weiss.

Sydney expected to see Vaughn lying on his back, nearly motionless, perhaps hooked up to half a dozen machines, but when she walked in, she saw the exact opposite. Vaughn was sitting up in his bed, with his hands folded in his lap. He looked fine. He was staring at the wall and seemed to be in deep thought, yet she could see the slight bit of worry in his eyes.

She knocked on the door frame. "Hey", she said. She didn't know what else to say at the moment. Her greeting was followed by a similar salutation from Weiss.

The hospital room was small, the bed was in the left hand corned. There was an adjoining bathroom, with a couch sitting snug against the left wall. A window was on the right side of the room, and the morning light was coming through, as if trying to chase the gloom of the situation away.

Vaughn looked up at the two people closest to him, and his face split into a big grin. He was wearing a hospital gown, and Sydney could see that Vaughn was connected to a heart monitor. The steady beep, beep of the machine was the first sound to greet sydney and Weiss as they entered the room. Sydney entered the hospital room and took a seat in a chair next to Vaughn's bed. Weiss took a place standing at the foot of it.

Weiss and Sydney glanced at each other, as if to say, 'How do we start this'?

"How are you?" Sydney asked. She figured she couldn't go wrong with that one.

The genuine smile on Vaughn's face was almost immediately replaced by a more superficial one. He tried not to show it, but Sydney could see that he was worried.

"Actually, I feel fine, better than fine," he answered truthfully. His smile faded just a little bit more. "But blood tests don't lie do they?"

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling okay," she said, "and the doctor says that the you're not in any danger."

Vaughn nodded, not convinced. Sydney realized she would be worried two if she had some unknown pathogen inside of her doing who knows what. She knew what was bothering him, because it was bothering her, too.

What is a pathogen doing if it's not attacking the body?

Weiss was shifting his weight from foot to foot at the end of the bed.

"So, uh, buddy, is there anything I can do? Want me to sneak in a beer, or maybe something from McDonalds?" Weiss asked, but any idiot could hear in his voice that something wasn't right.

"Actually, Vaughn replied, " could you close the blinds please, the light is bothering my eyes."

"Sure, right away," Weiss said a little too quickly. He walked over and shut the blinds, dimming the room. Sydney might have been imagining it, but she thought she saw Vaughn relax a little bit once the morning light had stopped entering the room.

But Vaughn had noticed that the two of them were acting a little strangely. Sydney was too quite and Weiss was too talkative, and he could see that both were nervous about something. Was it because he was sick? No, the virus wasn't airborne.

"Why are you two acting so strangely?" he asked.

"No reason," Sydney answered. She knew immediately that it was the most conspicuous answer she could give. She marveled at the fact that her job was to act and lie, and she couldn't do it now. At least the question of whether Vaughn remembered what happened the night before seemed to be answered.

He didn't seem to remember what he'd done, which made Sydney all the more nervous.

Weiss tried to change the subject.

"Hey, well, the mission was a success. SD-6 now has the fake gyroscope and we have the real one, thanks to Sydney's quick thinking. She had taken both to the airport."

"That's great," Vaughn answered. He gave Sydney an approving smile.

" 'Always be prepared', right? Sydney commented, returning the smile. The two of them stared into each others eyes as Weiss continued.

"And, Ariana Kane's been taken care of. We were lucky that no one else looked into the disappearance of the two goons that came after you.

Vaughn's eyes broke contact with Sydney's, and immediately became troubled, and he once again stared off into space, as if trying hard to recall something.

"Weiss, could you give us a minute?" Vaughn asked.

Weiss stole a glance at Sydney questioningly. She nodded slightly, indicated she would be fine. Weiss left the room and closed the door softly behind him.

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As soon as Weiss had left, Vaughn's expression changed to one of shame. He turned to face Sydney.

"God, Sydney, I was so stupid," he exclaimed. It was clear to her that he was angry with himself. "I was such an idiot, and we almost got killed for it."

"Vaughn, it was my decision, too." Sydney was no longer looking at the man that had seemed to butcher two Alliance agents, but at the man that she knew she loved. "We both knew the risks, " she added.

There was a small silence between them before Vaughn broke the silence.

"Sydney what happened last night?"

Vaughn saw a look of dread pass over Sydney's face, as if she had been dreading that question.

Sydney tried drawing it out by asking a question of her own.

"What do you remember about last night?"

Vaughn wasn't stupid. he knew she was hiding something. He could tell because she didn't look surprised by the fact that he didn't seem to remember much.

"Sydney, you're hiding something from me," Vaughn accused. The swift accusation took Sydney by surprise. She said nothing.

The silence had been answer enough.

Vaughn sighed in frustration, but he decided he would answer her first. He figured the only way she was going to answer him was if he answered her first.

"I remember Weiss calling us, saying that we'd been caught. I remember running down the back alley, trying to get us away from the Alliance agents."

Vaughn's brow furrowed as he struggled to remember the events that occurred afterward.

"I remember...pain, in my leg and in my chest." He subconsciously rubbed at the area around his heart, remembering a pain that, for the moment, wasn't there.

His eyes then narrowed in anger. "Then I remember seeing you get beaten and dragged away." Sydney also saw Vaughn's fists clench in anger, and the steady beep, beep of the heart monitor sped up slightly. "Then I think everything went black. God, seeing them to that to you, it made me want to rip their throats out."

Vaughn visibly saw Sydney turn three shades whiter. What did he say?

"Dr. Nicholas said that you had gone to see him, complaining of strange symptoms. What were they?" she asked.

"What does that have to do with anything? It was obviously early symptoms of, well, this." Vaughn stated, indicating himself and his surroundings. What was this all about?

"Please, Vaughn, it may be important."

Vaughn gave in. He was too tired to fight anyone, especially Sydney.

"I complained of sense distortions and chest pains, and sudden headaches. The doctors think it was the virus in my system."

"What kind of sense distortions?" Sydney pried. She needed to know if these symptoms had any connection to what had happened the previous night.

"Just tell me what happened last night, Sydney," Vaughn said, a little more sternly. "How did we make it out of there alive? Did Weiss come?"

"Vaughn..." she said, as if trying to tell something disturbing to a small child. This was making Vaughn angry.

"God damn it Sydney! What aren't you telling me!" he finally cried out. He was tired of her beating around the bush.

"Vaughn, you killed those Alliance agents. You saved us."

Vaughn didn't have a response, he stared at her in bewilderment. It wasn't the grand revelation he had expected to hear.

"Sydney, I was unconscious, I don't remember anything after that. What do you mean I saved us," he asked, now very confused. "I couldn't have."

"I think that the virus is doing more than just sitting in your system. I think there's a connection between it and some...impossible things you did last night, and for whatever reason, you don't remember."

Vaughn looked at Sydney with a skeptical, sidelong glance. "What exactly are you claiming I did?" Vaughn asked slowly.

Then Sydney told him everything.

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Sydney watched Vaughn's expression change many times as she described the incredible and frankly, terrifying events of the previous night. Confusion, shock, skepticism, they all crossed Vaughn's expression as she spoke.

When she finally finished, Sydney couldn't read Vaughn's expression. She wasn't sure what to say or do next, and she still couldn't tell what Vaughn's reaction to her description of events was. Then she saw Vaughn's strange expression change to one of anger.

"Sydney, is this some kind of a joke?"

Sydney was taken aback. It was not the response she had expected. She had expected disbelief, shock, confusion, but being accused of making it all up had definitely not been at the top of her list.

"W-what?" Sydney asked, having been taken off guard.

"Did Weiss put you up to this?"

Sydney scowled at him. Now it was her turn to be angry.

"How could you possibly think I would do something like that to you? After all you've done for me, after all you're going through, do you really think I could do something so, so cruel?" Sydney's voice had climbed to a yell. Also, on top of the anger, Sydney felt extremely hurt.

Vaughn's look of anger turned to one of shame. He seemed taken aback by her response. His shoulders slumped in apology.

"I'm sorry, Syd. I know you wouldn't do anything like that. But what am I supposed to think? What you described to me, it's not possible. It just can't happen. You must have been knocked out or dreamt it or something. You can't be sure of what happened last night."

"She's sure," they both heard from the doorway. Weiss had poked his head in, apparently having been listening to the conversation from the hallway.

"Sorry," Weiss said sheepishly, "I'm a spy, I eavesdrop, it's what I do."

"It's alright," Vaughn answered. Then he went back on track.

"Anyway, you know about this?" he asked.

Weiss nodded.

"And how did Sydney convince you that this really happened?" Vaughn wanted to know.

Weiss didn't mean to, but Vaughn saw him make a quick glance at the television sitting in the corner of the room. Through this small gesture, Vaughn got his answer.

"There was an alley security camera, wasn't there?" he stated. "And knowing that, you obviously pulled the tape."

Weiss looked at the floor guiltily and Sydney looked at Vaughn and nodded.

"I want to see it."

Syd looked up sharply, and Weiss made a short protest.

"Uh, buddy, I'm not so sure that's-,"

"If what you're saying is true, then let me see it."

Sydney and Weiss gave in. Sydney once again retrieved the tape from her bag and put it in the nearby VCR. She picked up the remote that was sitting next to the television, and walked over and handed it to Vaughn. Their hands touched for a brief moment, and Vaughn quietly thanked her. Then she and Weiss left the room.

Sydney leaned against the wall next to the doorway, crossed her arms, and waited.

About five minutes passed and Sydney decided it had been long enough. She turned to Weiss.

"Do you mind if I handle this one solo?" she asked.

Weiss seemed to think about it for a second, then nodded.

She turned the doorknob and opened the door gingerly, peeking her head through. Vaughn was exactly where she left him. It was clear that he was done watching the tape, for his eyes had a glazed look on them.

"Vaughn?" she asked quietly, not wanting to startle him.

Vaughn took in a deep breath and let it out.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, Syd," he said first.

"Vaughn, please don't worry about that."

"Syd, I don't know what's happening to me, and that scares me," he explained. "From what I could see, I practically butchered a man, and who knows what I did to the other one, and I can't even remember. I mean, if what you believe is true, and the virus is causing this, how can that even be possible? The virus killed everything else it came into contact with. Why me?" Vaughn was practically rambling on at this point.

"I the antidote had something to do with it," Sydney countered. "It's the only factor that separated you from the other victims."

"But it cured me."

"And maybe it also had another purpose."

Silence followed as they both thought about that piece of information.

Then it hit her.

The person that had told Vaughn about the antidote, the person who had told Sydney where to get it, was her mother.

Her mother was behind this.

Anger filled Sydney, and to think that she had been beginning to trust her.

"My mother," she seethed.

"What?" Vaughn said.

"My mother was the one that gave us the information about the antidote," she told him.

Realization dawned on Vaughn's face, then followed by a hint of anger as well.

Sydney turned on her heel and stormed out the hospital room door, only to run directly into Wiess.

"Whoa, hey, where do you think you're going? Did he take it that badly?" he asked.

"I need to see my mother," she spat.

Weiss blinked. "Now most people I wouldn't be surprised when they need their mother's comfort, but your's, well, that scares me," he said.

Sydney sighed in frustration. "No, Weiss. My mother was the one that told us where to find the antidote. It was her people who synthsized it, she's the one who's responsible for this. A hidden agenda, what a surprise. Anyway, I need to see her. Now."

"No," Weiss said

Now it was Sydney's turn to blink.

"What do you mean 'No'?"

"I mean 'no' you're not going now. You've gotten no sleep at all in the past fourty-eight hours, and you look like you're ready to fall over. Now there's a couch in that room, and you're not leaving until you've gotten some sleep. Now it's four in the afternoon, and Irina Derevko will still be in her high security cell early tomorrow morning."

Sydney hadn't expected Weiss to put up such a firm argument, but that didn't keep her from fighting back.

"Weiss, I'm fine, I don't need-,"

But Weiss just cleared his throat and crossed his arms, giving Sydney the message that he was not, in any way, going to let her past until she had some shut eye on that couch.

Sydney succumbed to Weiss's reasoning. In fact, she was exhausted, and she also wouldn't mind spending a little time in the same room as Vaughn.

"Fine," she said finally, "but only for a few hours."

"Good. You're father's gonna keep covering for you at SD-6, and the doctor just told me that they'll be working on what exactly the pathogen is doing."

Sydney nodded and re-entered Vaughn's room. He had already fallen asleep, and she could see his chest rising and falling slowly and steadily.

She walked over to the small couch in the corner of the room, and was asleep before she even finished lying down.

Hmm, where will this go? Anyway, I hope you liked it, and please review. It motivates me beyond measure.