OK…..I'm starting this chapter, but at this point in time, I can say Ch. 4 isn't done, but this little twist won't go away. As I promised in one review on Allies, this is where Syd makes her debut. Oh yeah, and the fact that I used the same phrase to start two POVs isn't a coincidence.

(Sydney POV)

October 1, 2005 11:09 PM

I hurt all over. The past few days...weeks...months...I had lost track of time when they put me in isolation. All kinds of torture...electroshock...hydro masks...physical torture (nothing a doctor can't cure), and painful brainwashing sessions. They wanted to change me into some deadly blonde named Julia. When they first told me who 'I really was' I spit in the guy's eye and told him to eff himself. He just laughed.

I am Sydney Bristow, the tough but loving CIA agent. And even I have to admit, I can break down with the best of them. I lie awake at night (or day, I'm never really sure), thinking about Him. His emerald eyes, his wrinkled forehead, just...Him. He is the one thing that keeps me from cracking. I know he wouldn't give up on me. Our...bond is too strong.

There's another issue. Lov...L...llo...the L word. I just...I just can't say it. Not until I've heard the words from his mouth. I know he does, but I'm a woman. We tend to be insecure. Sometimes, in the darkness of my sell, that creeping feeling seeps into my brain.

'He never loved you...'

'He used you...'

'You're not good enough for a guardian angel...'

They never end. However, when this starts, I just think of him as much as I can: the first time we kissed, the first blush well, let's just say we never reheated. The last kiss we shared before I went inside to pack for Santa Barbara. That makes me feel almost normal. I will never truly be myself without him.

"Julia..." a voice called from outside the door. It's him, my captor. But this time, I was ready. I knew they wanted me to escape, otherwise they wouldn't have told me the blueprints of the hallways, or given me a plastic knife with my dinner. Normally, they wouldn't even give me a spoon, so I had to eat with my hands. I hoped he wouldn't know, because I wanted him to die...oh how I wanted him to die...he opened the door, and the light hit me where I was 'asleep'.

Good lord, he stroked my face. I want to bite him. Hard. I know that they wanted me to escape now. He always has two bodyguards, but there is nobody now. I stretch out and smile at him, looking at awake as ever.

"Good morning, sleepy head. Any plans for today?" My captor asked me, like he did every morning with that fake voice. I smiled at him and stood up.

"Just one," I replied smugly. My captor smiled. H expected me to say what I did every day: Kicking your a.

"And what is that, Julia?" He asked. A pulled out the knife and plunged it into his stomach.

"Kicking your a," I said darkly as he slid to the ground, the plastic knife sticking out of his chest. I stepped over him and walked down the hallway. When I realized the magnitude of what I had down, I started to walk faster. I knew the halls were empty; they would stay that way until I left the building.

Until I left the building...it hit then. I was free. I could find Vaughn, tell him how I feel. I. Was. Free. I smiled and started running down the halls, until I opened a door to fresh air and moonlight. Now, I had to find some clothes and get back home...

(Vaughn POV)

October 1, 2005 11:09 PM

I hurt all over. I woke up to bright lights and the biggest headache I could've imagined, only worse. Eric was next to me in a seat, reading the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated.

"Mmmhhmmm..." he was muttering. I made a face of disgust and reached out to grab the magazine away, but just thinking about moving my arm hurt.

"Oww..." I mumbled. Eric's head snapped up and he gave me a fake bright smile.

"Good evening, Sunshine. Did you have a good dream?" he asked, his smile fading into the hard stare I guess I deserved. I glared at him.

"Where am I?" I demanded. Eric sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Hospital. Do you really think I'd leave you at home with all that alcohol? But, being the good friend I am, I dumped all the alcohol I found down the sink, and took all the bottles to a recycling center," I glared at him, but he continued to blither on. Then my face turned into one of sadness, not anger, as I realized what I had done.

I was in the hospital. I had been drinking until I couldn't even see straight. All this because I was hung up on some girl. But Syd wasn't any girl, she was The Girl.

'And she wouldn't want you to be drinking as much as you do,' my common sense told me. 'She'd want you to be happy, to move on' I pondered that thought. I could be happy, but I'd never truly move on. I had given Syd my heart, and no woman could take her place. That wouldn't fair for anyone. As I thought about what I could do to make my life better, I noticed that Eric had stopped talking. He was just staring at me now.

"So what are we going to do about this?" He asked me. I looked at him and smiled for the first real time in months.

"Well, when I get out of here, I'm going to move into a house with a white picket fence in the suburbs. I will quit the CIA, and become a teacher at a high school or something," Eric looked a little surprised at the quitting thing, but he smiled at me.

"Ok then. Well, I best be off. There was this really cute Argentine in the ambulance," I smirked at my friend. When he left, I fell back asleep, thinking about all the things I could do to fix my life.

(Sydney POV)

November 11, 2005 3:29 PM

I've been back for a month. I haven't told anyone. Not meaning to brag, but using my awesome super spy skills, I found out that Vaughn had moved. I had never been to his apartment anyways, but I had known where it was. According to my search, he was living in the suburbs now, and was the French teacher at Sterling High. I had tried approaching him, whether at his house, or at the school, but I knew I wasn't ready. What if he had moved on? I hadn't seen anyone at his house except Eric, but you never know.

He went to the pier every Friday night. He'd sit on a bench and just look at the waves. He always throws something in. Some dirt, grass, once the cell phone that he never left home without. That time, He stood up, and hurled it in. It bounced off a nearby tugboat and made a small splash. Sometimes he just sits there and grades papers, other times he just stares at the sunset. I had finally decided to approach him two Fridays ago. But, I knew I still wasn't ready for him to see the real me.

So I didn't let him. I went to a hair salon and had a really expensive haircut that turned my read into the most natural red hair, and cropped it short. I bought blue contacts, and went to a makeup artist, who gave me a mask that looked kind of like me, but the bone structure was different. I know it's a little drastic, but he was a CIA agent. He'd see right through just eyes and hair.

The first time we talked, he had been staring at the sunset. He was holding a white rose, one of her favorite flowers. I took a deep breath and sat next to him. I didn't say anything, and he didn't look at me. I didn't know what to say, but then a thought came to me.

"Who was she?" I asked timidly. I heard him take a deep breath before answering,

"My partner, the one who saved my life more times than I can count," I nodded. I couldn't help but think that he had saved my life more times than I had saved his, but it didn't matter anymore. We were still alive, and now I had to save him. I stood up and put a hand on his shoulder, before whispering,

"See you next week," he nodded before getting up. I hurried away, but when I looked back, I saw him throw the rose into the sea.

The next week, he had a piece of paper. I saw that it had a speech written on it. I sat down next to him. I could feel the tension he had been building.

"Who was she?" I asked for a second time.

"My friend, the shoulder I could cry on, made my problems go away," I felt like crying. I knew I meant a lot to him, but to hear him say these things...it was indescribable. I stood up and walked away, only looking back to watch him ball up the speech and throw it.

I'm parking my car a few blocks away. I know he's already there.

(Vaughn POV)

November 11, 2005 3:40 PM

I was at the pier, contemplating whether I should drown in alcohol, or just plain drown, when she sat down next to me again. I liked her company. She seemed to suck out my pain with her simple question.

"Who was she?" she asked once more, as if already knowing my answer.

"The love of my life, the one that got away." She nodded, I think. I didn't see her, but it was like I could feel her nodding. Mustering up the courage, I finally decided to look at my mysterious companion.

My jaw dropped. She had a bit of resemblance to my Syd, only her hair was a natural red, her eyes were blue, and her face was rounder. Her cheekbones were different from Syd's too, a little lower. And her lips were thinner, in a knowing smile. But the resemblance was striking.

"What's your name?" I asked when I finally regained brain function.

"Rita..." I heard no more, because I promptly passed out.

Hmm...I think I'll end it there. I did add a little more to the spoiled part, but not much. I just wanted it to have a little more emotion. I think I added the right words. I've gotta go unpack, because our shipment arrived, and I need to put all my stuff together. I'll be on later, and another chapter should be out soon. Maybe one more before school starts, but no promises.

Love, Sage