Thank you all so much for your feedback. I was so happy that you all seemed to approve of my version of the pier scene. It was a little daunting re-working one of the best scenes of the entire series, and it was great to see how you responded.

Rachelle- Your Almighty Vampire: You question about Syd and the CIA will be answered soon enough...

Disclaimer: The title of this chapter comes from the song 'I Shall Believe' by Sheryl Crow

Not Everything Is Gonna Be The Way You Think It Ought To Be

Months passed and Sydney felt it getting easier to get out of bed and face the day each morning. The anger at being lied to by SD-6 was still there, but it was not as sharp. The same could be said about the anger she felt towards her father. Sydney had barely seen him since discovering the truth, and at this point it suited her fine. When she was ready to speak to him, she would.

The reality of her mother, Sydney had discovered, was not exactly something she could deal with. How is a person supposed to react when they find out that they were a product of a lie? Can the hurt from that ever be diminished? Sydney didn't think so.

The one thing she was moving on from, however, was the collapse of her marriage. After a couple miserable months of denial, Sydney realized that it was time to wake up and smell the coffee. By taking steps to move past that, Sydney felt, for the first time of her life, that she had control. And that was a good thing, one of the few that would come out of the past months.

Another was, surprisingly, the friendship that she had built up with Vaughn. It had started with him dropping into the coffee shop occasionally and soon it was every day. Sydney found that she could talk to him about anything. Her mother, Danny, whether she should buy a new couch. As she had still not told Will and Francie the true reason behind the split, Vaughn was the only friend she had who knew everything about her. Again, that was a comforting thing to have.

For once, she didn't have to hide who she was.

"Hey Bridget, would you be able to cover my shift Friday night?" Sydney asked as the two of them stood out the back of the shop.

"Sure." Bridget replied. "But only if you tell me why you're bailing."

"Nothing exciting. My friend Will has got tickets to the Kings vs. Islanders game." Sydney explained.

Bridget went to reply but before she could, Alicia popped her head through the door.

"Hey Sydney," she said in a singsong voice. "Your boyfriend is here."

"My what?" Sydney asked blankly.

"Your boyfriend." Alicia repeated with a sly grin.

"Who?"

"That green-eyed god who shows up here everyday for a coffee and a chat." Alicia sighed.

Sydney finally clicked and let out a snort of laughter. "Vaughn? Hate to break it to you, Leesh, but he's just a friend."

"Yeah right." Bridget scoffed.

Sydney threw up her hands. "What is this?" she asked. "You seem to forget that I am a newly separated woman."

"Sydney," Alicia said, "if I had a guy like that showing up daily, I'd be separated too."

"But you don't have anybody to separate from." Bridget pointed up.

"Hypothetically." Alicia shot back. "And thanks for reminding me."

Sydney just laughed as she headed out to the front to greet Vaughn.

"Thanks for this," Sydney said to Will Friday evening. The two of them were heading into the hockey rink for that night's game. "I can really do with a night out."

"I figured it was time to get you out of the house," Will replied.

"I do so get out of the house."

"Yeah, to work."

"And other things," Sydney laughed and Will simply raised his eyebrows. "Will! I go shopping, I run…um…"

"And you only do those things alone. That doesn't count as socializing."

Sydney could only smile, which Will returned.

"It's good to see you smiling again, Syd," he said

"It feels good." Sydney replied softly and then clapped her hands together. "Ok, enough sentimentality for now. Let's have some fun."

"Hear—" Will stopped when the two of them heard somebody call out Sydney's name. She turned, her smile widening when she saw Vaughn approaching with an unfamiliar dark haired man beside him.

"Hey," she greeted him. "How are you?"

"Not bad," he replied. "You?"

"I'm good." Sydney glanced at Will who was looking slightly suspicious at Vaughn. "Oh, Will this is Michael Vaughn. Vaughn, this is Will."

"Hi," Vaughn offered his hand, which Will accepted.

"Yeah, hi." Will cleared his throat. "So how do you two know each other?"

"Um, we used to work together at the bank," Vaughn replied and Sydney shot him a grateful look.

"Oh right," Will nodded. "So, are you still there?"

"No," Vaughn replied. "Weiss here got me a job at the, uh—"

"State Department Bureau of Arms Control." The other guy, obviously Weiss, interjected. Sydney almost laughed when she saw the bewildered look that Vaughn shot in his friend's direction. Luckily, Will did not catch it.

"Well," Vaughn was saying, "we'd better go get our seats."

"Yeah, us too." Sydney said. "I'll see you soon."

Vaughn smiled. "Yeah, see you."

Sydney waved as Vaughn and Weiss walked off, and then turned to Will, just knowing she was about to get an interrogation from her friend.

"Right, it's time we had a chat, Sydney Bristow." Francie announced as Sydney let her into the apartment.

Sydney had to laugh. "What about?"

"Who is Michael?" Francie demanded.

"Oh my god. Will certainly doesn't waste any time, does he?"

"Stop skirting around the subject. Who is he?"

"He is a friend."

"Well, how come Will and I have never heard about this friend until now."

Sydney shrugged. "I don't know. We've only really gotten friendly these past months."

"How friendly?" Francie asked slyly.

"Francie, don't." Sydney's reply was quiet, yet firm.

"Oh, come on, Sydney. It's been nearly six months. It's time to start living again."

"Francie, it was not a six week relationship that ended, it was marriage. I have no interest in starting anything new at the moment."

"I know that Syd, but I just want to see you happy again."

"I am happy."

"No, you're not." Francie replied bluntly. "You try and make it seem like you are, but I know better. There is some dark stuff going on underneath the surface of Sydney Bristow."

Sydney didn't reply. Francie didn't know just how dark.

"So, this Michael. Is he cute?" Francie asked, realizing that the conversation had gotten a little too serious for Sydney's comfort.

"Francie!"

"What? Just because he is only a friend doesn't mean you can't think he is cute." Francie shot back and Sydney could only laugh. "So, is he?"

"He might be." Sydney replied vaguely.

"You are so holding out on me! He's hot, isn't he?"

"This conversation is over," Sydney said.

"Ok then, fine. I'll just have to make the judgement for myself," Francie said. "Which means I'll need an introduction."

"One day, Fran." Sydney laughed. "One day."

On Monday Vaughn dropped by the coffee shop just before the end of Sydney's shift. When she was done, the two of them headed out together, strolling slowly down the street.

"You certainly have caused a stir since Friday night," Sydney commented. "Tell me, have your ears been burning at all?"

Vaughn's brow furrowed. "Huh?"

"Will wasted no time in informing Francie about you. I kind of got the third degree."

Vaughn laughed. "And you thought that the fall of SD-6 would be the end of your clandestine life."

"Hey, what about you? Bureau of Arms Control?"

"Hey, that was Weiss."

"Just where did he pull that from?"

"I've got no idea. I have no idea where he gets most of the things he says."

"So I'm guessing that since he lied for you, he works with you at the Agency."

Vaughn nodded. "Yup. Though I've known him since college."

"He seems like a good guy."

"He is. A complete joker…you should see it when he gets together with Marshall."

Sydney's face brightened. "Marshall? How is he doing? Dixon too."

"They're doing fine. Working hard."

"Are they happy?"

"I think so," Vaughn replied. "You should contact them, Syd. I'm sure that they would love to see you."

"I'm just not sure whether I can. I don't know how I'm going to react when I see them. It will be so strange."

"Well then, how about I just tell them that you said hi?"

Sydney nodded, falling silent. Something had been troubling her these past months and she wasn't quite sue how to raise it with Vaughn. She wasn't even sure if it was something real, or something that she had created in her mind.

"Syd?" Vaughn's voice broke her out of her reverie.

She looked at him. "Can I ask you something?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"How do you know my dad?"

Vaughn blinked. "Well, we both work—"

"No," Sydney shook her head. "I picked up on something more than just being colleague's. It was like as if you had been partner's in the field, but if that were the case, you would have said something." She paused. "How long have you known him?"

Vaughn did not respond immediately, instead rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh, met your dad about a year and a half ago."

"How?"

"I was looking into the investigation of Irina Derevko."

Sydney's stomach gave a jolt at the sound of her mother's name. "You were looking into what?" she whispered.

"Looking into Irina Derevko. Her life with the KGB, her time in the States, and her death. Your dad found out and at first tried to stop me."

"Tried?"

"He soon realized that I had a legitimate reason for researching the investigation."

"What reason?" Sydney asked.

Vaughn stopped in his tracks and avoided Sydney's gaze. "My dad, he was a CIA agent. He, uh, died when I was eight." Vaughn looked up, finally meeting Sydney's eyes. "He was killed by Derevko."

Sydney closed her eyes feeling as if the ground under her feet was moving. She could not comprehend what Vaughn had just told her. How could he be standing here, talking to her…the one person Sydney had been able to confide in these past six months, this man she had forged a friendship with. Her mother had murdered his father. How could he even bear to look at her?"

Sydney looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you doing here with me? How can you…talk to me when…"

"Sydney, you are not her. I have no problem with you."

"Did you know?" she asked. "When I was brought in from SD-6, did you know who I was?"

Vaughn shook his head. "Not until you told me your name."

"So, these past months, when I've been going on about the truth of my mother…you just listened?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Vaughn, this is completely insane."

"I know."

"I just don't understand why you would…Vaughn, how can you be friends with the daughter of the woman who killed your father?"

Vaughn shrugged. "I didn't expect it to happen. But it did. I've accepted my father's death, and to stop myself being consumed by hate, I saw your mother's deatha s her punishment for what she had done."

"And then you met me." Sydney interjected. "I imagine that kinda stirred things up a little bit."

"It brought some old wounds to the surface, especially when discussing with your dad whether he should tell you the truth. But, I'll say it again, you are not your mother, and that is why I am able to stand here talking to you. That is how I am able to call you my friend."

Sydney sighed as they started to walk again. "Is anything ever going to be straightforward anymore?"

"Probably not," Vaughn smiled.

"Oh, thanks," Sydney laughed.

"Just trying to be honest, Syd."

"Hey, Francie can you get the door?" Sydney called out a few days later.

"Got it," Francie yelled back, throwing open the apartment door. On the other side was a tall, dark-blonde haired man. "Hello," Francie smiled

"Uh, hi." The guy cleared his throat. "I was looking for Sydney Bristow. Do I have the right place?"

"Yup." Francie turned around. "Syd!"

A few seconds later, Sydney appeared from her bedroom dressed in a t-shirt and trackies, her hair wet form the shower. "Who is it…" she stopped short when she saw Vaughn. This was the first time he'd ever been at her home. "Hi."

"Hi."

Francie looked between the two of them and then thrust her hand out to Vaughn. "I'm Francie," she said bluntly.

Vaughn blinked before accepting her hand. "Michael."

Francie's eyes widened with recognition and Sydney jumped in before she could say anything. "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you about something," Vaughn replied.

"Okaaay, Francie gets the hint," Francie laughed as she picked up her bag. "I'll speak to you tonight," she said, wrapping Sydney in a hug and then whispering in her ear. "Judgement made- he is hot."

Sydney grinned as she waved Francie off and then turned to Vaughn. "What is it?"

"The CIA received some new intel on their search for Sloane last night."

"Wait," Sydney held up her hand. "Should you even be telling me this?"

"Not officially, but your father wanted me to."

My dad? Why?" Sydney asked, warily.

"It's to do with your mother, Sydney," Vaughn replied. "She's alive."