Thank you all so much for your reviews. The feedback for the last chapter was great- I absolutely love to read what you all think of the fic. Thank you for giving me the chance to do so.

Disclaimer: The title of this chapter comes from the song 'Walk On' by U2
I do not own the song 'Fade into You' by Mazzy Star.

The Only Baggage You Can Bring Is All That You Can't Leave Behind

Danny stood rooted on the spot. Sydney. With another man. In public. He couldn't believe that she was with somebody else, so soon.

'Nearly eight months,' an annoying voice in his head spoke up. 'I wouldn't call that soon.'

But still he could not fight the feelings of jealousy bubbling up inside. He calmed down as the months had passed, and it had recently occurred to him that walking out on Sydney was quite possibly one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever made. He knew that he loved Sydney. She had been such a huge part of his life. And, technically, she was still his wife.

He wasn't ready to let her go. And it was time to make sure that he didn't have to.

You'll come apart and you'll go black
Some kind of night into your darkness
Colors your eyes with what's not there.
Fade into you
Strange you never knew
Fade into you
I think its strange you never knew

Sydney hummed along with the stereo as she padded barefoot around her kitchen. It was early evening and Francie was due at her place any time soon. The two of them had planned for a night in- movies, junk food, gossip- your basic binge session.

When she heard the doorbell, Sydney grinned. "You had better have brought ice cream," she called as she went to open the door. "And coffee flavour because—"

She froze. It wasn't Francie who was standing on the other side of the door. It was Danny.

"Hello Sydney."

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, her tone low and steady.

"I, uh, wanted to see you," Danny replied. "I wanted to speak with you."

"Why?" Sydney looked at him suspiciously. "It's been what? Eight months since I saw you last. Why are you here now?"

"Because I miss you."

Sydney couldn't help but snort in laughter. "You miss me?"

"I am serious Sydney."

"Danny, you left, telling me that you could never trust me again, that we were over for good. Forgive me if I am having a little trouble comprehending this."

Danny nodded. "I'm sorry for just showing up like this." He looked past her. "Would I be able to come in? So we can talk?"

"I'm expecting someone," Sydney replied and for a second she thought she saw Danny's expression darken. "So you can talk fast right here."

"Syd, come on—"

"No Danny," Sydney cut him off. "Say it here or go." The truth was the last thing Sydney wanted to do was talk to Danny. She had zero interest in re-hashing the past.

"Fine," Danny ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not exactly sure how to word this. But these past few months—"

"Eight months," Sydney corrected. She wasn't about to let him downplay what had been going on.

"Ok, eight months. I've had time to think, to calm down. I realized that you only lied to me for my protection, because you love me."

'Loved,' Sydney found herself thinking.

"And the truth is, Syd, I love you. Leaving you was the biggest mistake I could have ever made. I want us to try and work things out."

"Ohh…so you want us to work things out?" Sydney said, crossing her arms. She should have told him to go the second she opened the door. It would have saved him a lot of air.

"Yes," Danny replied earnestly, not catching the sardonic tone to Sydney's voice. "I never stopped loving you and I realized that the second I saw you with that guy in the park—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sydney held up her hands. "What did you just say?"

Danny blinked. "I said that I realized that I had never stopped loving you when…" he trailed off, noting Sydney's thunderous expression. "What?"

"This isn't about you wanting to sort things out," Sydney snapped. "This is about your fragile male ego."

"Huh?"

"You don't want me back—"

"Yes, I do." Danny protested.

"You just don't want anybody else to have me!" Sydney exclaimed, her voice rising.

"Sydney—"

"No." She cut him off, furious. To think that, months ago, she probably would have jumped at the chance to reconcile with Danny. Thank god she was no longer that vulnerable. "I don't want to listen to this. I'm over this Danny. I've moved on."

Danny snorted. "And how long did it take you to move on?"

Sydney's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"How long was it before you moved on to someone else? Tell me, is it him that you're expecting now?"

"You pig," Sydney hissed. "How dare you insinuate that, that…"

"Well," Danny shrugged. "You did look pretty cosy."

It took all of Sydney's will power not to dropkick him on the spot. "You want to know who he is? He is a friend. Somebody who was there for me when I found out that I had been lied to and tricked. He was there for me when my husband walked out without a backward glance. He listens to me, talks to me…which is more than I can say for you."

"So, are you telling me that you are willing to give up on our marriage for him?"

"Danny, our marriage is already dead," Sydney tried hard to contain her anger. "You left me, remember? Left me with no choice but to move on. I'm not giving up on our marriage for him, I am giving up on it because I don't want you in my life anymore."

"Sydney—"

"No," her voice lowered. "Go now."

Danny stared at her for a few seconds before turning and walking away. As he was doing this, Francie pulled up in her car. She jumped out, an intense look of curiosity on her face.

"Sydney," she ran up to the door. "Was that Danny?"

Sydney nodded, her mind racing. She did not feel the slightest bit upset over the conversation she has just had. In fact, all she felt was an immense relief.

"Oh my god," Francie was saying. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." They stepped inside and Sydney closed the door behind them.

"What did he want?" Francie asked, but Sydney wasn't really listening.

"Francie."

"Hmm?"

Sydney looked her best friend in the eyes. "You were right."

Francie's expression drew a blank. "What about?"

"Vaughn," Sydney replied quietly. "About how I feel. You were right."

Vaughn took his shot, sending the pick flying straight past Weiss into the net.

"Ok, that was your warm up shot," Weiss said. "I won't be going easy on you anymore."

Vaughn just laughed as he set up his next shot. He and Weiss had been shooting around for nearly an hour. Warm up time was long gone.

"Good to know, Weiss," he called out, sending the next puck straight between his friend's legs.

"I have no idea why I continue to subject myself to this humiliation," Weiss grumbled.

"Yeah, you are just a glutton for punishment."

"And you aren't?" Weiss shot back.

"What do you mean by that?" Vaughn demanded, as he skated towards the net.

Weiss grinned. "Falling for Jack Bristow's daughter is what I mean by that."

"Weiss, I haven't—"

"Don't even try to deny it, dude. I've known you how long? I've seen you fall hook, line and sinker before- and even that's got nothing on how you are behaving right now."

Vaughn brought a hand up and rubbed his chin. The day old stubble was rough under his fingers. "You've got idea what you are talking about."

Weiss laughed. "Fine, look me in the face and tell me that you don't have feelings for Sydney."

"I do not have feelings for Sydney."

"Ok. Now swear it on your dad."

Vaughn clamped his mouth shut. "That's not fair."

"Vaughn, I am simply trying to do the best for my friend. The sooner you get it out in the open, the sooner that you will be free." Weiss said calmly. "Keeping these emotions pent up will only cause prolonged psychological damage. And in the work that we—"

"Fine," Vaughn held up a hand. He would have done anything to stop Weiss's ramblings. "If I told you that maybe, just maybe. I felt something for Sydney, would you shut up?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes."

"Well then, yeah. There might be something there."

"I knew it!" Weiss exclaimed victoriously. "So when are you going to do something about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Make your move, show her your charm."

Vaughn shook his head. "I am not going to do anything."

"Why not?" Weiss sounded dumbfounded.

"Weiss, I think about what she's been through. SD-6, her mother, separating from her husband. She sees me as a friend. I don't want to complicate things any further by trying to take things further."

"Well," Weiss started slowly. "How do you know that it will complicate things? Who's to say that Sydney doesn't want the same thing?"

Vaughn's mind flashed back to that hug in park. He had convinced himself that it was nothing more than a friendly embrace, that he was being a fool for thinking that there was something more. But what if he were wrong?

"Maybe you should just talk to her?" Weiss suggested wisely.

Vaughn looked at him. "You think?"

Weiss nodded. "I also think that it's your turn to play goalie. It's time you got a taste of your own medicine."

Francie's eyes were sparkling. "Finally!" she cried out, jubilant. "What brought on this sudden declaration?"

Sydney shrugged. "I've been feeling something for a while, but I just couldn't voice it." She paused. "But seeing Danny just now, it confirmed my feelings for wanting nothing to do with him. I realized that if there were one person that I wanted to share my life with, at this point in time, it would be Vaughn."

"This is great!" Francie clapped her hands together. "Finally you have gotten rid of that Danny baggage and can move on with Michael."

"Hang on," Sydney said. "I never said that I would be doing anything about this."

"And why not?" Francie demanded.

"It's…complicated," Sydney replied. "There's, uh, work…" she trailed off. 'And the tiny fact that my mother murdered his father.'

"Don't you dare use work as an excuse for avoiding this," Francie said. "Remember what I said about second chances? Well, this is yours. Seize it while you can."

"Carpe diem," Sydney said wryly.

"Syd, I am serious." Francie said. "I want to see you happy, and I don't see you taking the steps to ensure that, then I will."

Sydney felt a jolt of alarm. "What do you mean?"

"If you don't tell Michael, I will."

"Don't you dare!"

"Oh, you know I would." Francie grinned. "There's only one thing for you to do to make sure that doesn't happen."

Sydney grumbled as she stood up from the couch. "You are damn lucky that you brought coffee ice cream," she said good-naturedly. "Otherwise I would be kicking your ass out to the curb."

Sydney had been psyching herself up to speak to Vaughn, but when she arrived at Operations she found her resolve faltering. She knew that she felt something for Vaughn, but what exactly was it? Were the feelings sincere, or were they a result of the hurt and betrayal she'd been subjected to?

Whatever it was, she didn't get a chance to figure it out. As soon as she saw the look on Vaughn's face, she knew.

They had another lead.

A/N: Only four more chapters to go...