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For Better or Worse till the NSC do us part
Part III: One of The Many Sides of Vaughn
Sydney arrived at the CIA office and yawned, dusting off her black creased pants as she cleared through security and entered the JTF to be greeted by Weiss.
"Hey Syd! Glad you made it back. I wasn't sure that would be a direct turn around after losing Allison and all," Weiss murmured, giving her a hug that would have been with Vaughn two years ago. Sydney had to force herself not to think about that.
"Well, sitting there wasn't going to do a thing and Dixon wouldn't want us wasting our time and focus on new projects which brings me to a new question. Do you know what this is about?"
"Nah, sorry. I was just told to come in."
"Oh, it's okay. At least you're not biting my head off like Vaughn was earlier. Did you see him?"
"Uh yeah. He did come in and he looked troubled but he wouldn't say anything to me. He literally popped a gasket though when I told him Dixon wasn't ready for us," Weiss revealed looking uncomfortable.
"D~do you know where he went?"
"I think you would know the answer to that question," Weiss told her, wearing a small glint. "Storage, where else?"
Sydney chuckled and gave him a thanks before she headed to the place where she and Michael had spent most of their time together.
As she got there, she noticed her steps had slowed subconciously as though her feet knew she was about to disturb a sacred place, a burial place that had been left untouched as King Tut's tomb had been.
She was actually surprised she still knew how to get there after two years, but then again the only thing she'd forgotten was the two years, which made life easier and harder at the same time.
She was at the door and noticed that Michael had looked up and seen her.
She bit her lip, feeling very uncomfortable.
The last time they'd been in here, she'd been in love with him and he'd loved her in return. His eyes had lie up when he saw her and he always blamed it on an involuntary impulse whenever he pulled her to him without so much as a greeting which would come later in tongue-tied fashion.
But today, something was different.
She saw Michael was pained and it really looked as though she'd jolted him out of nightmare.
She debated whether she should go in.
Vaughn must have sensed it because in the next moment, he gave her a small smile.
Sydney pushed herself through the door and joined Michael before her nerve failed her.
"Hi~~~"
"Hey."
"Um I~ is this okay? Because if you want to be alone, I ~~~I can go."
"N~no, go ahead. Sit down," he urged her with a hint of a mile. He even pulled over a seat for her to sit in.
"T~thanks."
"Don't mention it," he told her. "I guess Dixon still doesn't have his shit together."
As soon as that word escaped his mouth, he realized Sydney's eyes had popped way open and were focused on him.
"Uh~~~sorry."
"I don't think it's me, you need to be apologizing to," Sydney chuckled and Vaughn couldn't help but notice her playful expression. The way her dimples deepened, and the way her glosses slips curved into a beautiful smile that almost mimicked his, "what's up Michael? Is something bothering you, you know I'm here, and I'll listen to you rent."
"You'll probably listen to me cuss too huh?"
"Maybe, but if you direct it toward me, be prepared for me to kick your ass," she quipped then took a more serious tone as she said, " no really, if you want to talk about anything at all, I'm here."
"Thank you, I know you are. You've always been a good friend, but I'm fine I just~~~I'm sorry I barked at you on the phone line like I did, I would have preferred to have one day off."
"You sure? Because if you have a problem with me, you should say so. I know that my coming back has put strain on your marriage."
"No~~~actually it hasn't. Lauren knows your story, so I expected her to be understanding, but she has absolutely blown my mind about being so good about this."
"Yeah~~~she is very nice," Sydney managed to let out quite painfully, suddenly feeling a draft and begin rubbing her arms.
"Yeah, she is. After all, she's my wife."
Obviously Vaughn had not picked up on her feeling uncomfortable.
Sydney's expression closed and she was very glad when Weiss decided to interrupt the conversation.
Well correction, Vaughn was glad.
It was obvious tot he both of them that staying too long in a room where vibrations of their former encounters were heavy could lead to either hurtful words or words that could rekindle something that was there before.
And it was clear Michael loved Lauren and even if some former feelings lingered, she was not interested in a relationship with Michael, one she couldn't stand to be in love with him, the time he was with her and know he would go home to his wife. Two, Lauren hadn't done anything and in her opinion she was as close to the image of anger than she could have hoped.
He was married, yes, but she did approve of Lauren.
"Hey, I thought I would find you guys in here," Weiss chirruped, looking at them as though he'd just caught them in the act. He didn't get a reaction and shuddered. "Okay, the storage room is cold enough without you infecting it with your angsty mess."
"Weiss, what is it that you came to tell us?" Michael demanded, cutting into his best friend's rant which made Sydney exchange a worried glance with Weiss who seemed to be fighting down the urge to comment on it.
"Dixon, he's ready for us."
"Good, thank you. We'll join you in five," Vaughn told him and then excused himself.
"Hey, you think in that five you can change your attitude because it sucks and I'm not sitting through thirty minutes of that," Weiss put in, then took hold of Sydney's arms. "Come on, let's get you outta here while you're still cheery."
Sydney nodded, gave Michael one more concerned glance then followed him out of the room.
Michael sat there, punched a hole into the box hear him then finally composed himself and walked out of the room, slamming the fence door behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Good afternoon, Ms. Reed," Dixon greeted Lauren who was standing by herself in the briefing room.
"Oh, good afternoon. I guess I'm a mite early," she gasped, looking very panicky.
"It's all right. You're always early Ms. Reed," Dixon assured her. "But I have to say I'm surprised you come in alone. Where is your husband?"
"I don't know. I came from the NSC office. Is Michael supposed to be joining us?"
"Yes, he is," Dixon confirmed, then rose an eyebrow at her. "Um, Ms. Reed, is there something troubling you?"
"Troubling? Me?" she scoffed as though it was ridiculous for Dixon to address the question.
"Yes, Ms. Reed."
"Of course not, everything is fine. I just told you I came from NSC. I haven't been able to go see him," Lauren repeated but it was evident that something wasn't right.
"Well, okay, but if you have having a fight, just be thankful he's even around. I would have fought with my wife if that meant that I could have had one more day with her."
Lauren suddenly looked very uncomfortable and forlorn.
"I suppose I can go and see if I can find him?" she suggested, her accent growing thicker from the added emotion.
"You do that, I certainly can't conduct a briefing concerning your husband if your husband isn't present," he shrugged, giving her his glance of approval.
"Th~Thank you Director Dixon," she murmured before she exited the room, giving him a polite nod.
Dixon folded his arms behind his back and began pacing the room. `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Syd," Weiss blurted out of nowhere.
Sydney turned her head after a one second time lapse to register that Eric had even addressed her.
"Uh yeah, Weiss."
"So, did you get the goods on Vaughn?"
"N~no," she apologized and then stared down at the ground. "He closed on me."
"Kind of like what you're doing now?" he teased her. "Is something bothering him?"
"That is evident and that is the on and only thing he could confirm something has got him freaked out and I strongly feel it's something to do with the Vaughn household."
"A wife and husband fight? Please, they've been fighting like cats and dogs since before they were married. Their ability to give it straight to each other is part of their charm," Weiss protested.
"Well then, I don't want to know what it is because then it can only be~~~"
"Yeah, I know and that's the problem. If they get divorced over this, I am in debt to Lauren and Michael for life," Sydney protested. " Maybe I should just turn myself in."
Eric stared at her, wondering if she was serious and then realized she was.
"Syd, that is the last option we're taking. If on the off-chance Michael sides with the NSC, you've got us and we'll make you disappear or something. We'll protect you, Syd. You can count on me."
She was moved by his words and concern and managed to smile at him and then pulled him into a hug. "Thanks Weiss. Thank you."
"No problem, Syd," he replied, just glad that he'd brought a smile back to her face.
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
` Hey! I'm going to leave you right here! In the next one you'll be reading about the briefing! So please keep reading! And please review too! Lataz, leo's l'il sista
For Better or Worse till the NSC do us part
Part III: One of The Many Sides of Vaughn
Sydney arrived at the CIA office and yawned, dusting off her black creased pants as she cleared through security and entered the JTF to be greeted by Weiss.
"Hey Syd! Glad you made it back. I wasn't sure that would be a direct turn around after losing Allison and all," Weiss murmured, giving her a hug that would have been with Vaughn two years ago. Sydney had to force herself not to think about that.
"Well, sitting there wasn't going to do a thing and Dixon wouldn't want us wasting our time and focus on new projects which brings me to a new question. Do you know what this is about?"
"Nah, sorry. I was just told to come in."
"Oh, it's okay. At least you're not biting my head off like Vaughn was earlier. Did you see him?"
"Uh yeah. He did come in and he looked troubled but he wouldn't say anything to me. He literally popped a gasket though when I told him Dixon wasn't ready for us," Weiss revealed looking uncomfortable.
"D~do you know where he went?"
"I think you would know the answer to that question," Weiss told her, wearing a small glint. "Storage, where else?"
Sydney chuckled and gave him a thanks before she headed to the place where she and Michael had spent most of their time together.
As she got there, she noticed her steps had slowed subconciously as though her feet knew she was about to disturb a sacred place, a burial place that had been left untouched as King Tut's tomb had been.
She was actually surprised she still knew how to get there after two years, but then again the only thing she'd forgotten was the two years, which made life easier and harder at the same time.
She was at the door and noticed that Michael had looked up and seen her.
She bit her lip, feeling very uncomfortable.
The last time they'd been in here, she'd been in love with him and he'd loved her in return. His eyes had lie up when he saw her and he always blamed it on an involuntary impulse whenever he pulled her to him without so much as a greeting which would come later in tongue-tied fashion.
But today, something was different.
She saw Michael was pained and it really looked as though she'd jolted him out of nightmare.
She debated whether she should go in.
Vaughn must have sensed it because in the next moment, he gave her a small smile.
Sydney pushed herself through the door and joined Michael before her nerve failed her.
"Hi~~~"
"Hey."
"Um I~ is this okay? Because if you want to be alone, I ~~~I can go."
"N~no, go ahead. Sit down," he urged her with a hint of a mile. He even pulled over a seat for her to sit in.
"T~thanks."
"Don't mention it," he told her. "I guess Dixon still doesn't have his shit together."
As soon as that word escaped his mouth, he realized Sydney's eyes had popped way open and were focused on him.
"Uh~~~sorry."
"I don't think it's me, you need to be apologizing to," Sydney chuckled and Vaughn couldn't help but notice her playful expression. The way her dimples deepened, and the way her glosses slips curved into a beautiful smile that almost mimicked his, "what's up Michael? Is something bothering you, you know I'm here, and I'll listen to you rent."
"You'll probably listen to me cuss too huh?"
"Maybe, but if you direct it toward me, be prepared for me to kick your ass," she quipped then took a more serious tone as she said, " no really, if you want to talk about anything at all, I'm here."
"Thank you, I know you are. You've always been a good friend, but I'm fine I just~~~I'm sorry I barked at you on the phone line like I did, I would have preferred to have one day off."
"You sure? Because if you have a problem with me, you should say so. I know that my coming back has put strain on your marriage."
"No~~~actually it hasn't. Lauren knows your story, so I expected her to be understanding, but she has absolutely blown my mind about being so good about this."
"Yeah~~~she is very nice," Sydney managed to let out quite painfully, suddenly feeling a draft and begin rubbing her arms.
"Yeah, she is. After all, she's my wife."
Obviously Vaughn had not picked up on her feeling uncomfortable.
Sydney's expression closed and she was very glad when Weiss decided to interrupt the conversation.
Well correction, Vaughn was glad.
It was obvious tot he both of them that staying too long in a room where vibrations of their former encounters were heavy could lead to either hurtful words or words that could rekindle something that was there before.
And it was clear Michael loved Lauren and even if some former feelings lingered, she was not interested in a relationship with Michael, one she couldn't stand to be in love with him, the time he was with her and know he would go home to his wife. Two, Lauren hadn't done anything and in her opinion she was as close to the image of anger than she could have hoped.
He was married, yes, but she did approve of Lauren.
"Hey, I thought I would find you guys in here," Weiss chirruped, looking at them as though he'd just caught them in the act. He didn't get a reaction and shuddered. "Okay, the storage room is cold enough without you infecting it with your angsty mess."
"Weiss, what is it that you came to tell us?" Michael demanded, cutting into his best friend's rant which made Sydney exchange a worried glance with Weiss who seemed to be fighting down the urge to comment on it.
"Dixon, he's ready for us."
"Good, thank you. We'll join you in five," Vaughn told him and then excused himself.
"Hey, you think in that five you can change your attitude because it sucks and I'm not sitting through thirty minutes of that," Weiss put in, then took hold of Sydney's arms. "Come on, let's get you outta here while you're still cheery."
Sydney nodded, gave Michael one more concerned glance then followed him out of the room.
Michael sat there, punched a hole into the box hear him then finally composed himself and walked out of the room, slamming the fence door behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Good afternoon, Ms. Reed," Dixon greeted Lauren who was standing by herself in the briefing room.
"Oh, good afternoon. I guess I'm a mite early," she gasped, looking very panicky.
"It's all right. You're always early Ms. Reed," Dixon assured her. "But I have to say I'm surprised you come in alone. Where is your husband?"
"I don't know. I came from the NSC office. Is Michael supposed to be joining us?"
"Yes, he is," Dixon confirmed, then rose an eyebrow at her. "Um, Ms. Reed, is there something troubling you?"
"Troubling? Me?" she scoffed as though it was ridiculous for Dixon to address the question.
"Yes, Ms. Reed."
"Of course not, everything is fine. I just told you I came from NSC. I haven't been able to go see him," Lauren repeated but it was evident that something wasn't right.
"Well, okay, but if you have having a fight, just be thankful he's even around. I would have fought with my wife if that meant that I could have had one more day with her."
Lauren suddenly looked very uncomfortable and forlorn.
"I suppose I can go and see if I can find him?" she suggested, her accent growing thicker from the added emotion.
"You do that, I certainly can't conduct a briefing concerning your husband if your husband isn't present," he shrugged, giving her his glance of approval.
"Th~Thank you Director Dixon," she murmured before she exited the room, giving him a polite nod.
Dixon folded his arms behind his back and began pacing the room. `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Syd," Weiss blurted out of nowhere.
Sydney turned her head after a one second time lapse to register that Eric had even addressed her.
"Uh yeah, Weiss."
"So, did you get the goods on Vaughn?"
"N~no," she apologized and then stared down at the ground. "He closed on me."
"Kind of like what you're doing now?" he teased her. "Is something bothering him?"
"That is evident and that is the on and only thing he could confirm something has got him freaked out and I strongly feel it's something to do with the Vaughn household."
"A wife and husband fight? Please, they've been fighting like cats and dogs since before they were married. Their ability to give it straight to each other is part of their charm," Weiss protested.
"Well then, I don't want to know what it is because then it can only be~~~"
"Yeah, I know and that's the problem. If they get divorced over this, I am in debt to Lauren and Michael for life," Sydney protested. " Maybe I should just turn myself in."
Eric stared at her, wondering if she was serious and then realized she was.
"Syd, that is the last option we're taking. If on the off-chance Michael sides with the NSC, you've got us and we'll make you disappear or something. We'll protect you, Syd. You can count on me."
She was moved by his words and concern and managed to smile at him and then pulled him into a hug. "Thanks Weiss. Thank you."
"No problem, Syd," he replied, just glad that he'd brought a smile back to her face.
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
` Hey! I'm going to leave you right here! In the next one you'll be reading about the briefing! So please keep reading! And please review too! Lataz, leo's l'il sista