"No way! Your dad really said that?" Will Tippin was incredulous.
"I know…I think I'm still in shock myself." The sheer excitement that Sydney radiated was a wonderful sight for Will to see. He couldn't honestly remember her ever looking this happy at any point in the last two years.
"But you want to know what the weirdest part about it was? It felt almost…natural. Like admitting to my dad the way that I feel about Vaughn wasn't that big a deal…so much so that I didn't even give the fact that I was revealing my biggest personal secret to him a second thought." Will couldn't help becoming completely mesmerized by her as she became lost in her reliving of the moment.
"Well that's a good thing right? I mean you've tried so hard these last couple of years to bridge the gap between you and your dad. Didn't it feel good to be able to confide in him that way?"
Suddenly her demeanor softens and she becomes thoughtful as she stops packing her bag to sit next to him at the foot of her bed. "Yeah it did. But it also scared me a little too."
"Why?" Will realized that these moments he shared with Sydney were precious to him; their friendship was precious to him. Sitting beside her as she confided in him like only a best friend could, he felt blessed to have her in his life.
"It scared me because I'm in love with Vaughn. After what happened to Danny, I swore to myself that I would never let Arvin Sloane hurt another person that I loved. I refuse to let him take anyone else away from me Will." The strength with which she'd survived the last couple of years was incredible to him, but what amazed Will the most, was Sydney's unwavering determination to have again what she'd lost when Danny was murdered.
"Vaughn and I have resisted one another for as long as we have because we appreciate that our work must come first. Sloane and the Alliance must be brought to justice, and it's because of that that we've kept our distance. But what scares me most is the idea that Sloane would discover our relationship and take another man that I love away from me." Putting an arm around her shoulders Will pulled her close to him in a comforting embrace.
"Sydney…" his whisper was meant in part to console her and in part to remind her that he was there to help push the demons away.
"I couldn't survive that again…," she quietly tears against his shoulder.
"Shhh…" he murmurs against her hair. "Vaughn is the luckiest man in the world you know that?"
She snorts through her tears at the oddness of his timing, "Will, I'm being serious."
"So am I Syd," he protests. "Listen…Vaughn knows the risks involved in being in a relationship with you. And he still cares for you because he knows, and I'm sure you do too, that what you two have is worth the risk." Teary-eyed Sydney lifts her head from his shoulder and wipes at her cheek as he continues softly, "You work so hard…and risk your lives everyday saving people who don't know enough to be grateful…don't deny yourself the happiness you deserve."
A tender, grateful smile comes over her lips, "You know something…you're right. Thank you, Will."
"Of course I am…and you're welcome." Then the blunt intrusion of the ringing telephone makes her grimace as she stands to move and answer it.
"Hello?"
"Joey's Pizza?" the familiar voice she knew so well brought a bright smile back to her lips as she quickly reminded herself of the appropriate response.
"Wrong number," Placing the receiver back into its cradle she turns toward Will, the anticipation of her impending meeting clearly visible in her face.
Yes, she decided
…they'd resisted each other long enough.
