The Warehouse

The click of heels echoed off the cement walls of the warehouse as Vaughn waited in anticipation.

He'd never been so scared and excited in all his life.

Then as the clicking grew louder and the object of his affection grew closer, his heart raced beneath his chest. When finally he caught sight of her, any nervousness or fear was instantly quelled at the sight of her angelic smile. She had an amazing calming effect on him he realized, though he didn't know how.

Hands in his pockets he stood still in his position until she was just a few feet away.

"Hey," he heard her speak quietly.

"Hey", he responded just as quietly. Then a small comfortable silence claimed the moment as they simply exchanged glances. When they do finally decide to break their silence, they do so simultaneously.

"How have you…" "What have you…?"

They share a laugh meant to break the tension.

"You first," he tells her with an encouraging smile.

"How have you been?"

"Good actually, although it's been kind of a long, strange day." Considering how her day had started, she couldn't disagree with him.

Curious though she asks, "How so?"

At his grin she turns even more curious, "I'll tell you all about it in a minute. But first…Kendall has authorized your suggested tactical plan with regard to MacBride. Your counter mission will be to extract the device as planned by SD-6, but when you get to the airport for your return flight, there'll be an agent standing by to intercept the real device and replace it with a counterfeit. Since you'll be operating alone on this Op, making the switch should be fairly simple."

Nodding as Vaughn continues to fully explain the details of her counter mission Sydney's mind is quickly distracted. She can't help but admit to herself how much she secretly loved how faithfully he executed his role as handler. His first priority was always her safety, and it warmed her heart that he protected her so well.

Before long all precautions regarding the mission were discussed and the air filled again with tension. There was so much left to be said between them. The problem was that neither one knew where to start, nor did they know what was appropriate.

"Sydney, I met with your father today." He starts openly.

"I know."

Shocked he questions, "He told you?"

Shaking her head she explains, "Not exactly." At his strange look she thinks that maybe he's upset, "He didn't tell me what you guys talked about or anything. I just know that you met during lunch."

Relaxing now he tries to think of what to say next.

"Sydney…I've wanted to tell you so much for so long that I..." Looking up at her he continues upon her nodding of encouragement. "You're father and I met this afternoon to discuss, among other things, the fact that I can't continue to pretend that our relationship is entirely professional."

Swallowing nervously she asks, "What exactly do you mean?"

"Sydney, you must know by now that my feelings for you run far deeper than is acceptable for a CIA handler and his asset." He's skirting the real issue now but he can't help the nervous knot twisting in his stomach.

Her eyes dart back and forth to his and she tries to catch her breath. "I've suspected that there was more…." Her confirmation causes him to nod thoughtfully. "You know too that I care for you very deeply."

Now that he's confident enough to move this conversation to the next level. "I do. What I don't know is how deeply?"

"Vaughn…" she starts but he interrupts fearing she's backpedaling.

"Sydney, I honestly don't know which is more exhausting…chasing all over the world for a lead on Sloane or constantly pretending that being around you doesn't affect me."

She lifts her head at that admission and tears threaten to well in her eyes at the sincerity and tenderness in his voice as he speaks this next admission, "I think you know that I love you."

Unable to form words to respond she manages to nod instead, all the while fighting the tears she knows are coming.

"Me too," she manages and suddenly something visibly changes in him…he's void of any fear or nervousness.

"What are we so afraid of?" She realized then what he was really asking was why they were denying each other what they knew they both wanted. But Sydney knew only why she was so afraid. And she knew that now was the time to share those fears with him.

Quietly she confesses, "I couldn't survive losing another man that I love."

And suddenly with those words he understood something he'd never considered before. All this time denying their real feelings, he'd selfishly thought that he'd been the one keeping her safe. What he'd never taken into consideration was the possibility that she'd been the one protecting him. Stepping closer he reaches forward and gently lifts her face upward with a finger under her chin.

She was crying, and the pain he felt at the sight of tears cascading from her brown orbs punched through to his soul.

"I'm not going anywhere Sydney. I've always known the dangers involved with taking this assignment…what I never counted on was falling so deeply in love with you." His hands cradling her face; he wipes at the tears covering her cheeks. "I know the dangers…but I also know that after everything we've been through together…there's nothing I would let separate us. I'm not giving you up without the fight of my life."

Smiling meekly through her tears, she gestures her appreciation of the intimacy between them as they share their greatest fears with one another.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

Quiet claims them both as he pulls in a deep breath to steady his emotions. He's unsure how to respond; but then she gives him a slight reprieve by asking an equally difficult, but more pointed question.

"What are you afraid of?" She asks him, fully aware of the fact that he may simply choose not to share his fears with her. Still holding her close and tending to her unruly lochs, he wisps a strand out of her face.

"I have nightmares when you're away on missions. Sometimes they seem so real, that I wake up in the middle of the night fighting the urge to break protocol and contact you…just to make sure you're alright." He's avoiding her penetrating gaze, aware that he lacks the emotional control to look her in the eyes and admit these things.

"Most of the time…it's just easier trying to fight falling asleep than it is dealing with the nightmares when they come."

"Vaughn", she whispers with emotion, "why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry. Besides, it's not something I can control. Your knowing about it would have only distracted you from doing what you needed to," he reasons logically. Of course, she realized, he was slipping back into his comfortable role as her handler. And while it often angered her that he made decisions about what she should and should not know, she knew he felt that he was protecting her.

Nodding her understanding of his reasoning, she continued to listen to his explanation. It seemed as though they'd been here so many times before, silently hurting one another by withholding their emotions. Now though, she couldn't help but think that that was all about to change.

"I'm only telling you now, because these last few weeks…I've begun to wonder if we'll miss our chance because we were too busy blindly following orders."

Looking up at him, her eyes misty with unshed tears she instantly recognizes his fear. "We're our own worst enemies aren't we?"

Their constant strict adherence to the rules kept them from exploring their unspoken affections for one another.

It was silent torture.

"Yeah, I think so."

Lifting his hand to her side, he gently caresses her upper arm. "I can't escape the fear that every time you leave this warehouse, it might be the last time I see you." Her eyes dart away from his piercing gaze and the warmth of his caress through her jacket seemingly radiates to every part of her body. "We struggle everyday to preserve peace for total strangers, why can't we put just as much effort into making each other happy?"

Aware that the sensations he's eliciting from her are distracting them from other considerations, she takes a step back and away from him. Turning in the opposite direction she faces the chain link fence behind her. As wonderful as he was making her feel with his words, she couldn't allow herself to be led solely by her emotions this time. There was too much at stake and too many agencies involved for them to jeopardize all they'd worked for.

Finally gathering her composure enough to speak, she responds to his heartfelt admissions, "So where does this leave us?" Spinning on her heel she turns to face him again and is struck by the look of disappointment in his features. She knew he appreciated the enormity of their situation, but his expressive eyes made her wonder if he hadn't held hope that she would just forget about their responsibilities and throw herself into his arms.

God, she wanted to do just that. How would she make him understand?

"Vaughn, it's not as if we can just…you know? There are things, other people to consider." Her quiet tone made him realize what 'other people' she was referring to.

"Sydney…Alice hasn't been an issue between us for a lot longer than you realize. It's true that after her father died I was there for her…to help her cope with the loss. But she always understood I was only there as a friend." Her relief was not lost on him as she seemed to visibly relax upon hearing those words.

"But Alice isn't the only issue to consider here Vaughn. There are so many things…your father, my mother, the alliance, the CIA…god, sometimes the list never seems to end."

"Sydney, what's happened in the past isn't something we can let control us now. You're not responsible for what your mother did Sydney. You lost a parent too when Laura Bristow disappeared. What happened to my father is difficult to reconcile I admit. But I can deal with it; I've had a lifetime to adjust." He notices as the guilt begins to disappear from her beautiful brown eyes that he loved so much.

"And as for the Alliance and the CIA," he continues, "…Syd what we're doing is so important and dangerous. And it has to be done. But, I just don't want to reach a point where things between us are left unsaid or undone…and have to realize that our chance has been taken away from us." She understood that statement deeply. The reality that one or both of them could be killed was one that they lived with everyday.

"I know," she feared that too.

"We feel the way we do about each other despite our situation. Maybe we were always meant to find each other."

"I've thought about that too," she admits slowly. "There are so many different things that tie us together…too many instances that connect our lives for it to all be just coincidence."

"And if it's true that everything in our lives have led us here, then what do we do about that Sydney?" His voice quiet and urgent, his green orbs searching hers, pleading.

Inching closer to him, she whispers under her breath, "I don't want to let our chance slip away either."

Reaching her hands up and around his shoulders she draws her body closer to his. With a guiding hand wrapped around her waist he brings her flush against him, and both feel the pounding of their heartbeats in their chest. As her fingers settle at the nape of his neck he finally closes the remaining space between them and covers her lips with his. Their kiss begins as soft and probing, the sensations caused by the touch of skin on skin making them both lightheaded in their need to create more contact. Grasping at his shoulders, his shirt, anywhere she can, Sydney makes her best effort to remain upright and not dissolve into a liquid puddle. And while logically she knew their lips touched for only a few long seconds, she felt as though she'd been lost in him for an eternity.

Breathing raggedly, they mutually part for air as Vaughn's voice rasps with desire, "God, I've wanted to do that for so long."

Releasing an excited breath she can't control her wandering hands as they start at his face and move to cup his chin. Whispering with a mixture of passion and excitement she tells him quietly, "Probably not as long as I have." Her reply is met with a beautiful smile from him.

Enveloping her in a tender embrace, he wraps her warm responsive body in his ever comforting embrace. Resting her head against his shoulder, her own arms low around his waist, she sighs as he nuzzles her neck and whispers in a passionate tone she'd never heard from him before this moment, "I love you."

I could definitely get used to this, she decided with a smile.

Lifting her head from its resting place on his shoulder, she looks deep into his eyes and says the words aloud to him for the first time. "I love you too."

Upon hearing her voice the words he'd longed to hear for so long, a smile so bright and beautiful lights his features that Sydney determines to make him do it as often as humanly possible. Leaning into his body, she eagerly begins kissing him for the second time.

This second kiss was slightly more familiar, and lasted longer than the first…but was equally gentle and passionate.

Naturally however, as the progression of their kiss created more urgency and passion, the shrill interruption of her blaring pager harshly forces them both back into reality. Groaning at the loss of her warmth as she pulls away to turn it off, Vaughn reluctantly realizes that she should be leaving to catch her plane.

Looking up at him apologetically, sadness claims her as she realizes what he's about to say. He doesn't disappoint her, "As much as I hate to say it, especially at this particular moment…you should probably go. Your flight leaves in just over an hour."

"I know…duty calls," her dejected tone pulls at his heart. With one of his hands at her waist and the other at her neck he gently pulls her into him and drops a kiss atop her forehead, although whether it was meant to calm her or himself he wasn't sure.

Sighing, she tilts her head up and meets his lips in another short kiss. Reluctantly they disentangle from one another and force a little distance between them, knowing that this would be the hardest goodbye they'd ever said to each other.

"Promise me we'll find a way to make this work?" she quietly pleads.

Without hesitation he tells her with conviction, "We will. I know we will."

Her eyes still pleading, "How do you know?"

His voice a little shaky with emotion bottled up until now, "Because…nothing is going to take you away from me…I won't let it."

"Vaughn…" she was near tears for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

"Promise me you'll be careful in Dublin." His voice held an almost desperate quality now; it wasn't questioning…it was urgent. "Don't take any unnecessary risks."

"I promise."

Even though he nods his relief at her assurance, he also recognizes the futility of making such pledges. He knew, as she did, that the greatest danger of these missions was always their unpredictability. But despite that, he also knew that she was strongest when she was forced to be resourceful.

"You'd better get going," the vulnerability in his eyes betrayed the strength in his voice.

She knew he was right and once again she cursed their circumstances. Smiling softly, "You'll be on coms?"

"Of course." Interlacing their fingers he pleads one last time, "Be careful."

Taking a step back and away from him she keeps her eyes on his for as long as their fingers are connected. Silently their eyes communicated everything important between them, endearment and trust, fear and faith…until both are left standing at arms length, their hands barely touching.

When finally she's stepped out of his reach, Vaughn's arm falls back at his side. Strangely it dawns on him how empty his arms feel without her in them. They'd only enjoyed their closeness for a few fleeting seconds today, but already he ached to hold her against him again. It was amazing to him that he could already feel a connection of that intensity to her. Until of course he realized that their connection had always been that strong…they'd just denied it for so long.

Standing behind her as she slowly walks away from him and out of the warehouse, he watches her as the distance between them grows and she's eventually gone from his sight.

He could only pray that she would be safe on this mission, as he did for every mission.

But he had more than just his hope and faith alone now that she would return to him safely. In her eyes he'd seen her determination as well. Determination to share more of the moments they'd just had together. And with a smile as he remembered the warmth of her lips on his…he knew that she'd fight tooth and nail to be in his arms again.


Okay everybody...this marks the end of this story...I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! And if you would please...take a moment to review :o)