Part 3

Sydney was home on the couch with her leg propped up on a pillow two days later, the book atop her lap ignored as she stared into space lost in memory. The apartment door opened and Francie stepped in tossing a soft hello. When she didn't get a response she moved into Sydney's line of sight making the brunette jump, then laugh.

"I'm sorry, Fran – I was a million miles away."

"You've been doing that a lot since you got back from your trip. Anything you want to share? I mean…I know we aren't as close as we used to be, but I'm still here if you need to get something off your chest."

"Nah – nothing new; just thinking about stuff." Sydney felt a twinge of guilt, but still shook her head while screaming, 'I have to tell you everything' inside her mind, another smile flashing her dimples. She wasn't prepared for Francie's scrutiny as the dark woman dropped next to the couch and stared at her friend's neck.

"What's that?!" A wide toothy split Francie's face as she laughed. "If nothing is new…how did you get that?" Pressing a manicured finger into the purple spot just above Sydney's collarbone, the spy internally cursed that she absent-mindedly wore something that didn't hide the love bite.

'Well – come up with something.'

"You…you know that guy I said I had a crush on?"

'That's not coming up with anything…that's literally telling her everything.' There was the Bristow side of her brain, chiming in. Some days it sounded just like her father.

'What's the problem with that? She won't know the whole truth. I can get this weight off of my chest and swear her to secrecy as soon as the words leave my mouth.' She still hadn't figured out what side the counter was yet, but it had been winning more often than not the last few days. She wanted to think it was her fighting back, but lately it had been taking the accented tone of her mother, which was throwing her for a loop.

"The guy from work? With the girlfriend?" Francie made her way into the kitchen to grab some wine and two glasses, excited for the first time that Sydney was finally moving on from Danny and more thrilled that she was sharing the news.

"Well – he…they broke up."

"Wait…you and your crush went on a business trip together this weekend," Fran paused pouring the glasses, Sydney feeling slightly guilty for spilling her secret, but it was too hard to hold on to at the moment. "Please tell me that this story ends with you two in bed."

"It was so good, Fran," Sydney blurted through an exhale, a blush tinting her cheeks as she busied herself with a swig of wine finally taking the opportunity to speak openly, with a few little lies, to her best friend.

'As long as no one from work finds out, right?' That unknown part of her mind said giddily, the voice sounding suspiciously like herself some ten years ago when things were less complicated. The Bristow side scowled wanting to respond, but she pushed it back.

Francie discarded her jacket and kicked off her shoes with a squeal, flopping onto the couch and regarding Sydney with dancing eyes. "How good is so good?"

"Best I've ever had good."

"Damn. Details, woman!"

The words 'don't tell anyone, especially not Will' were dancing on her lips, but her breath stopped in her throat when the front door opened and said man in her unspoken warning stepped in with a smile and a wave.

The Bristow brain voice sent out a worried, 'oh good! Nothing bad could come of this.'

'Maybe she won't say anything. This was clearly girl talk.'

Francie didn't get the mental memo. "Will! Sydney is seeing that guy from work."

"What?" His eyes flew to their shared friend, panic rising in his chest. He pushed it down and tried to play along with a curious half-grin, though a million questions popped into his head at Francie's words.

"Yeah! You know…the guy from the bank she's been going on and on about? We should totally celebrate! Invite him over for dinner, I'll cook."

'I don't go on and on about Vaughn,' Sydney thought defensively.

Francie seemed oblivious to Will's fake smile overshadowed by his panic-ridden face as well as Sydney's 'caught with her hand in the cookie jar' wide brown eyes.

"I can't, Francie. Remember – we're not supposed to date because of bank policy. I mean, depending on the project, he's my boss. It was totally a...a one-time thing." Sydney tried not to meet Will's accusing eyes as she stared down at her twisting hands in her lap.

"Only once, huh?" Fran tossed her a grin and saw both blush.

"No, that's," blush, "that's not the point. The point is, we agreed that it wouldn't go anywhere. I mean...we could both lose our jobs."

Francie scoffed with an eye roll as she hopped up and moved into the kitchen. "So just break the rules and be happy! Say one of you gets fired. Boom! You need a new job anyway, Syd. What kind of boss sends you on a trip and after you get hit by a car makes you work the weekend anyway? I'm gonna get changed, but this conversation isn't over, just so you know."

Will glared daggers into the side of Sydney's head as she watched Francie walk down the hallway and close the door to her bedroom.

The moment she was out of earshot Will jumped in the air and tossed his hands out with an exasperated grunt. "What the hell, Sydney?!" His harsh whisper was low to keep from echoing.

"I know-", she started but he didn't give her a chance to explain – not that there was an explanation she'd be ready to give.

"Did…did you really – you and Vaughn," he stuttered, unable to finish the sentence.

The rapid opening and closing of her mouth and darting eyes were her answer.

"You could die Sydney. Death. Like…shot, stabbed, blown up kind of death!"

"I didn't plan it!" She growled looking down the hall to Francie's closed bedroom door.

Will sighed and ran his hand over his face. "And you're just…telling Francie?!"

Sydney rolled her eyes and tossed the abandoned book to the end of the couch. "You're not even supposed to be here tonight. I could have just given her my secret and sworn her to silence and you never would have known anything."

"You guys aren't still…you know-"

The beeping of her cell phone on the coffee table made them freeze, Francie groaning as she emerged from the hallway. Will put on another fake smile and moved into the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge, deciding he desperately needed a drink.

"C'mon! Lemme guess – you gotta go in?"

"Joey's Pizza," echoed in her ear as she didn't respond merely hanging up.

"Yeah…I'm sorry, Francie. When I get home tonight we'll talk, okay? Promise."

Francie glared at her from over the counter, "all the details?"

Sydney cast a glance over at Will seeing him wide-eyed and shaking his head, flopping down at the table. "As many as I can give you."

"Do you at least get a few days off after this? You got hit by a car in Hong Kong, Sydney. Your devil boss couldn't give you like, a week?" Francie grumbled and followed her into the bedroom, flopping onto the end of Sydney's bed with a disgruntled look on her face.

Sydney grinned as she set the crutch against the edge of the dresser and pulled off her camisole standing in her bra and pajama pants as she rummaged for something professional and yet simple. Butterflies danced in her stomach at the thought of seeing Vaughn again, though she wasn't even sure if he was the one with a message for her. Still, she didn't realize how much she missed him, and the last two days had been a new type of torture.

"Wow, Syd. You've got it bad, sweetie." Francie laughed, and Sydney realized she was standing in front of the mirror pressing a light finger to the love bite between her shoulder and neck. Snapping out of her internal dialogue and tossing a glare to the ebony woman on the bed, she yanked a dressy shirt over her head. She made sure the two to three visible love bites were sufficiently hidden in the process.

"Will your crush be at the meeting?"

"One-time thing, Francie," Sydney reminded her with a sideways glance before she slid on the slim work blazer.

"You didn't say that. In fact, you heavily insinuated that it was not a one-time thing. Come on; we used to tell each other everything."

"I said I'd give you details, Fran, but right now I have to get to the office. Nudged by a car doesn't stop me from sitting at a computer on a conference call with some rich guy worried about his loan status." She sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "What can I tell you right now that will hold you over?"

"How many times did you…you know? I mean, best you've ever had, had better be more than once or twice."

Sydney's mind drifted back to Vaughn's gravelly voice in her ear taunting about how many times she would come that night, and it sent a spark of heat straight to her center. "Like…five?"

Francie didn't say anything, merely formed an 'O' with her lips.

The blush rose before she could stop it as she slid as best as she could into the dress pants, her leg twinging as she lifted and extended it through the hole of the soft fabric. Francie just watched with a smarmy grin across her lips as Sydney tucked the crutch under her arm and made her way to the living room.

"Well…I feel bad for you." Francie announced lifting her discarded glass of wine, moving into the kitchen as Will sat at the table looking over the day's paper with pretend interest, a beer in his hand.

Sydney frowned, hooking her purse over her shoulder and grabbing her keys from the hook by the door. "What? Why?"

"To only get the 'best sex ever' once in your life? Bummer," she grumbled as she flipped on the stove and turned to rummage through the fridge.

Will tossed a glare before rubbing a hand over his face as Sydney grabbed her phone making a quick exit.

The two agents bounced around in the ring, helmets on and gloves high, sweat soaking into their shirts from the exertion. Weiss tossed out a left hook catching Vaughn in the chin as the follow-up right jab connected with his cheekbone, Michael hitting the mat with a thud.

"Okay…seriously. You – are you just giving me the win?" Eric panted through tight lips as he extended his hand to his partner and helped him up.

Vaughn laughed and shook the stars out of his head as he held his hands up in defeat. "No, that was legit."

"No, it wasn't. You're not even here right now, are you?"

The two men leaned against the top rope as Vaughn took his helmet off and regarded Weiss wryly. "Where else would I be?"

"Who the hell knows, man? It's been like this ever since you got back from Russia."

Vaughn couldn't stop his mind from wandering back to the cabin, a wistful and faraway look taking over his green eyes. A solid punch to the shoulder brought him back as he met the narrowed eyes of Eric Weiss.

"You've been distant and day-dreamy every since you got back from Russia. In which you were trapped in a cabin for just over 24 hours with Sydney. Alone." Michael looked away across the room as he squeezed his eyes closed trying to banish the images of her lying in front of him on the bed, the breathy moans against his neck, and not to mention the three little words he'd been carrying like a hidden badge of honor since she'd said them.

'He's going to hound you relentlessly now. Weiss smells blood.'

'I can't tell him. I can't tell anyone.'

'Who would he tell? He's on your side, always has been. He told you to go out with her in Nice.'

Vaughn fought the back and forth in his mind until he realized Eric was just staring at him.

"Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

'Hell with it. If I can't trust Eric Weiss, who can I trust?'

"We maybe...might have-" he mumbled, Eric's eyes narrowing as he looked around the gym making sure that they were alone. Thankfully, there wasn't another agent in sight, so Weiss turned and tossed his gloved hand into the back of Vaughn's head once, and then again.

"Ow! Stop!"

"You fucking idiot!" Michael tried to block the hits in vain, and though they weren't particularly strong strikes, they were coming quickly and only to his head.

"What-" punch.

"The fuck-" punch.

Michael lost his footing and fell backward onto the mat, Weiss climbing up and straddling his waist as he pushed his friend's hands away and proceeded to knock him around.

"Were-" punch.

"You thinking!" punch.

Michael redirected one hit. "Stop hitting me!"

"No." punch.

"I love her…okay?"

"No shit-" punch.

"What do you want me to say?"

Silence. Pause. Punch.

Vaughn grumbled, "you can't make me regret it, Weiss."

"Even if it gets her killed?" Punch. With the last blow, Eric stood with a huff, out of breath once again. "If I've figured this out, much smarter men already know. And when Jack shoots you and stuffs you in the trunk of his car, I'll have to be her handler. And I'm way not ready for that, she is a huge pain in the ass. Look – I'm happy you guys are all, you know, in love and stuff, but seriously think about never doing it again."

Michael started to sit up, "if you're happy, then why were you hitting me?"

Punch: one last hit to the side of his head before Weiss pulled the gloves off and tossed them to the mat. He flopped down across from his dejected partner and looked him in the face, Vaughn concentrating on the beams of the ceiling above.

"Hypothetical: if it was the last time you ever got to have sex, was it worth it?" Weiss finally asked his question after a few minutes of silence. Vaughn nodded instantly.

"Definitely."

"Details?"

"Like what?" Michael grinned as he met Eric's curious brown eyes with a mischievous green glint. His finger hooked the collar of his shirt and pulled it down revealing the purple love bite against his shoulder that he'd been trying to keep hidden since his return.

Eric whistled and laughed. "So: good?"

"Pretty much the most amazing thing ever." Vaughn shook his head as his brain tripped down memory lane yet again for the millionth time since he'd gotten back.

"Stop. The faraway look; the stupid grin; I get it. You'd better control yourself, dude. Do not let Jack Bristow find out. Or Kendall. Or Arvin Sloan – especially Arvin Sloan."

A cell phone rang from inside the gym bag at the edge of the ring, Vaughn jumping up to catch it and relay to Eric that they were needed upstairs. Hitting the showers and changing back into their suits they made their way back to the rotunda.

"Good work in Russia, Miss. Bristow." Kendall stood with her father as she made her way toward them, the crutch hindering her progress slightly.

"Vaughn got the intel, not me. Did we get anything from the hard drive or photos?" She couldn't keep her gaze from darting around the office looking for familiar green eyes and disheveled hair. Francie's prodding had fanned the flames of memory and even just seeing him from across the room would soothe her mind so she could sleep tonight.

Alas, he was nowhere to be seen. Mostly disappointed she also felt a little relieved. She'd done a stare-down with herself in the rear-view mirror of the car, and no matter what she could think, she couldn't get the purple hue out of the center of her eyes. She didn't want to believe him when he'd pointed it out, but he was right.

'But if he's not here he won't see it.'

"Agent Bristow, are you listening?"

'Shit – was Kendall talking that whole time?'

"I'm sorry – I'm still not sleeping very well. The leg tends to throb at night." Her father gave her a sideways glance, concern shining in his blue eyes. "One more time."

"There was a mention of the EMP weapon on the flash drive and the photos were of locations. We're putting a team on acquiring the device and should have the prototype by the end of the week."

"Will the retrieval still be with this office? Or are they passing it to someone else?"

"It would if we had a team to retrieve it. Jack, explain."

"Sloan got intel of the weapon through another source. While he had asked me to research and plan an operation in Russia, the one you and Vaughn completed, I told him that no information could be gleaned from the drive you'd recovered. Unfortunately, Sark had another contact that passed the same information to Sloane that you acquired in Russia. The mission appeared to be for nothing."

'Maybe for you,' she countered internally as she sighed and set the crutch against a chair while leaning on the adjacent desk.

"So what's the plan?"

Kendall shook his head pointing to her leg. "There is no plan for this one. Even if we find out where the device is, you aren't going in for retrieval. And you weren't included in any meetings Sloan had yesterday or today. He's sending your partner: Dixon."

"He gave me five days off – there wasn't anything I could do about it." Sydney got defensive. "I didn't choose to get stabbed in the leg. Could we get there first?"

"It's possible - but we'll have to be spot on with the locations and hope it works out. That's not how I like to operate," Kendall grumbled, turning to Jack. "Why were you left in the dark on this?"

Sydney sighed coming to her father's defense, "all high priority weapons, tech, or anything Rambaldi-related is being sent for analysis to some unknown third-party. Since the Cole incident, Sloan and the other Alliance heads decided they would be safer off-site in a non-disclosed location. It's need to know for Alliance directors, no one lower."

"That's the intel I need to get from Sloane." Jack's resolved voice broke the tension.

"He'll never give it up, dad."

"We'll see. Either way, enjoy the next few days off. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

She thanked them both and slid the crutch back under her arm, turning and making her way back out to the main hall. The evenings were very quiet, the hallways empty, and it gave Sydney time to think as she made her way toward the underground exit.

"Sydney, a moment?" Her father's voice behind her made her turn with a curious frown.

"Did I forget something?"

"No. I just…well – I just wanted to see how you were doing." Unable to keep her gaze Jack looked to the front of his coat and dusted at imaginary flecks from the fabric.

A soft smile played her lips as she answered, "I'm okay, dad. The doc says I should be good to go in a week or so."

"I'm glad everything…turned out alright. I checked in with SD-6 to make sure they hadn't sent a team without notifying me when you didn't answer that call."

It was Sydney's turn to look away as she glanced down pretending to realign the crutch with her stance. "I'm sorry Sloane got the same intel with a lot less hassle," she commented wryly.

'Work. If I change the subject back to work he'll follow.'

He didn't have a chance to answer as Weiss and Vaughn entered the rotunda. "Kendall's waiting; you're late," Jack barked, Weiss holding his hand up in an apology as Vaughn took the moment to study Sydney's downturned face. A soft smile played at her lips but she hadn't lifted her gaze. Eric pulled Jack away back toward Kendall as they discussed their upcoming meeting giving Vaughn a 'you owe me' glare.

"How's the leg?" His benign question to any outsider would have looked professional, but the tone in his voice was gravelly and low.

"Why would you use that voice," she growled as a smile popped out as she studied her shoes, her breath catching mid-sentence.

"Can you not even look at me?" His whisper was meant only for her as he stuck his hands in his pockets and he rocked back on his heels. Again, to anyone outside the conversation it would look like they were merely chatting. The truth of the matter was that his palms itched to touch her and his pockets were the only safe place at the moment.

"You don't want me to, Vaughn." She adjusted the crutch again, eyes creeping up and landing on the lowest button she could see. His jacket was slung over his shoulder with the light blue oxford tucked neatly into the band of his dress pants. There was that same, pearlescent button from Russia staring her down.

Alone for a moment in the hallway, though surrounded by windows and security cameras, she felt his eyes on her like two green lasers. Pushing a breathy exhale past her lips she looked up and darkened green met purple-hued brown.

"Damnit," Vaughn cursed as he quickly turned, the purple lining her iris making his heart jump into his throat and desire pool low in his stomach. "That's dirty, Bristow," he growled and walked away to follow Weiss and her father.

"I said you didn't want me to," she tossed with a chuckle in his direction.

"See you later, Syd." His voice had a sadness to it that only she would have picked up on, and she responded with a worried chew to her bottom lip watching him walk away.

'This is going to be so much harder than I thought.'

Heaving a sigh she closed her eyes and shook off their encounter before heading back to the apartment. The living room was quiet, though Francie was seated on the couch and gave her a big smile as she walked in. "Was he there?"

"Yeah," she admitted, hanging her keys up and dropping her purse on the side table with a sigh.

"How did that go?"

"He said one thing and I…melted on the inside."

Francie giggled and scooted over on the couch to give Sydney room to flop down, her leg immediately propping up on the coffee table. Sliding a full glass of wine into her hand Sydney laughed knowing she'd have to make good on her promise for details.

"I can' believe I'm telling you thisss," Sydney slurred as she tipped the last of the glass into her mouth, Francie ready with more to pour. The first bottle was long gone, and the second was on its last legs.

They'd ended up on the floor, Sydney's leg propped at an angle on the coffee table, and with no work for the next few days they'd both decided that a girl's night of talking about sex and drinking wine was on the menu.

"Why? I've told you plenty about all the guys I've ever dated." Francie giggled. "So…from behind. That's hot."

'You have no idea.'

Sydney nodded, Francie continuing. "So what about the second time?"

At the mere mention, Sydney's face blushed and she looked down into the newly refilled glass with a whimsical smile to her lips. "It was kinda perfect."

"Wait – earlier you said 'like five times'. You've told me about two. You're saying the second time was like…three times?"

Sydney nodded. "This is gonna sound corny…but – have you ever made love to someone?"

Francie raised her eyebrows, "yeah, I've had sex before."

"No – not sex. I mean…not just sex – you know?"

Francie shook her head and took another swig of wine. "Like…not sex but sex?"

Sydney struggled for the words through her cloudy, tipsy brain. "Like…slow."

"Ppft, hell no. Slow? Please. With Will getting that analyst job and me at the restaurant, we barely have twenty minutes of downtime twice a week. Ain't nothin' slow about sex right now. But it's still good, you know?"

Sydney nodded with a giggle. "It's entirely too late for this. I've spilled my soul to you about my one-night stand and I consider my promise fulfilled." Struggling to her feet, the crutch a lifeline as she swayed, Francie laughed and staggered up as well, sticking the cork back into the nearly empty bottle.

"I've missed this, Syd."

"Me too."