Part 4

After a week, things had healed with her leg enough to allow walking without a crutch. The stitches had been removed and a new pink scar joined the myriad of others on her body, almost all kept hidden since it would be nearly impossible to explain them away as 'bank-related injuries'.

Friday night rolled around, Sydney limping a little through the door with a sigh. Hanging her purse in the usual spot she tossed her keys with a clang into the metal bowl in the small foyer. She was currently bored out of her mind. While she appreciated being left to heal and had been craving a break from the missions, she hadn't realized how addicted she was to fieldwork until she was stuck doing five days of analysis straight in a row. It's possible she'd never complain again, though she knew that not to be the case.

"Oh my god, it's you. A Friday night with no business trip?"

"Yeah, the boss has been keeping me in the office and giving me what he thinks is rest and relaxation."

"And you seeing your crush every day makes it not restful or relaxing?"

Sydney chuckled. 'God I wish I'd seen him even once the last ten days. Analysis equals no counter missions.' "No, he hasn't been around this week. He's my boss depending on the project, and I'm not doing anything under him right now."

"But I'll bet you wish you were under him, huh?" Francie saw the blush and eye roll the brunette sent her way. "I'm glad you're here because the Summer Block Party is tonight. You promised you'd help bartend but we figured you'd be out of town. No getting out of it, now. Get red-dress sexy, and be ready to have sore feet, little miss banker."

She was actually excited, though she pretended to be put-out just to see Francie's hand hit her hip and a glare narrow her eyes. Begging forgiveness with a dimpled smile she moved into the bedroom to stare into her closet. It had been forever since she'd just gone out with her friends, helping Francie at work notwithstanding, so she decided to go all out. Red tops were the uniform, so she decided to break out the little red dress she'd bought months ago and not yet worn. It was light and stretchy tight around her chest and torso before loosening up and flaring out to hit mid-thigh in length. Paired with heels it would make what she thought her best feature stand out: her legs.

Keeping her hair long and loose but putting a tie on her wrist in the event she'd need to pull it back, she set out to freshen up and deepen her makeup. Going for smoky eyes she made the lines on the lids a bit thicker, finishing it up with a deep red lipstick.

They were waiting for her in the living room, Francie looking a bit more professional but sexy all the same despite that fact. A shrill noise filled the air, and they all froze with disappointed eyes at the sound of her cell going off.

Sydney's frown was genuine as she'd been given no mission by SD-6 and therefore couldn't fathom why the CIA would call. She answered with an exasperated, "hello?"

"I need to see you at the warehouse, and before you get too excited, your dad will be there." Vaughn's voice was like a breath of fresh air that fanned the longing in her soul, though she was choosing to focus on the first instead of his second sentence.

"I...I have plans, will it take very long?" Michael frowned, though he could hear the softness in her voice after the abrasive hello and knew it was because she wasn't alone while speaking, more than just Will present else her conversation would have been more open.

"I wish, but no. Just a debrief on new intel. But...know that you may not get a weekend. I'll make sure they leave you alone tonight, though."

She nodded. "Okay, I'll be right there." Hanging up she calmed the hurt look on Francie's face, "I have the laptop Dixon needs for a meeting. So, you two head out. I'm going to drop it off and then I'm on my way. No real work, I promise."

"You swear?" Francie pointed with a styled fingernail in her direction with narrowed eyes.

"I swear. A half-hour tops. Then I'll mix drinks and put up with catcalls until your event is over."

"You'd better," she ebony woman growled, grabbing things off the counter and heading out to the car. Sydney stopped when she felt Will's hand on her arm, looking up with a curious frown.

"You're terrible at hiding when he calls by the way, but...you may want to entertain a jacket. I dunno if the poor guy needs to see this Sydney before a weekend alone," his low voice hid a laugh, Sydney blushing and looking down at her outfit.

It was definitely not workplace professional, warehouse or not. But it was a million degrees outside and a jacket would probably kill her. "Well, then he shouldn't have called on a Friday night," she said quickly, Will shaking his head.

"You're a monster."

"He'll live."

'Besides. He's gonna be in a suit and tie and it'll probably have the same effect on me that this dress will have on him. Well...maybe.'

Vaughn tried to hide his excitement and act casual as he made small talk with Sydney's father surrounded by fencing and wooden shipping containers. His mind wandered a moment thinking about what was hiding in these old containers.

'I wonder what her plans are for tonight?'

Vaughn was fairly sure that Jack knew something had happened between them. Though they'd only had one interaction passing in the hallway at the JTF for five whole minutes, Jack had been a pain in his ass all week seemingly out of the blue. Kendall had tasked Michael to meet with Sydney an hour ago about the intelligence that had hit his desk earlier today, but when he was about to leave the bald-headed ruiner of all things flung "Jack will be joining you," over his shoulder on his way past. Doubting it came from nowhere, Vaughn had to pretend that his excitement hadn't been taken out and shot behind the shed.

It had been ten days since he'd seen her and while they'd been apart just as long or longer in the past, they were right when worrying that after the cabin, things would be different. Going back to the way things were didn't seem to be an option any longer.

"Vaughn?" Jack's questioning voice pulled him from his thoughts, the steel-blue eyes boring into his soul as if Bristow Senior knew what, or rather whom, he'd been thinking about.

"Sorry, Jack. Have...have you ever wondered what's in these crates and containers?"

"You need to have a conversation with my daughter."

"What?"

"I'm not as blind or ignorant as the two of you would have me be, and you need to reestablish appropriate protocols or you'll be removed as her handler faster than you can ask me why."

"We haven't even seen each other since-"

"Don't. You think I don't know my daughter, but I do and I will not let you get her killed."

Vaughn stayed quiet, though he didn't bother to hide the anger in his jade eyes as he folded his arms over his chest, the holster biting into his armpits. "No, keep going, Jack. Seems like you've been holding this in for a while."

The challenge honestly surprised the father, knocking him out of his comfort zone as the foreboding intimidator. "I've spent my whole life protecting Sydney, and I will not have everything we've worked toward ruined by an underqualified handler with a crush."

"Where were you when Sloane raised her for a year? How about when he recruited her? Where were you when she was having her teeth pulled in Taipei? Or when she learned the truth about Project Christmas and her mother? She didn't look to you for help with this stuff, and you didn't save her any pain when life threatened to swallow her, Jack." Vaughn took an unnaturally confident step forward seeing that he'd put the unflappable Jack Bristow off-kilter. What he wasn't prepared for was the hurt that dulled the man's steely countenance and the sudden slump of his weary shoulders. Deciding to back off he unfolded his arms and held his hands out palms up in surrender, deciding to try pure honesty.

"Jack, I've been there for her when you weren't, and you helped her when I couldn't. Can't we both admit we love her and stop fighting each other so damn hard?" Michael let his arms fall to his sides slipping hands back into his pockets taking back up his casual stance.

The heavy metal door at the far end creaked and groaned against the rusted hinges, the following clack of heels on the cement announcing her arrival. "I will never risk her life, no matter my feelings, and she won't risk everything she's fought for or forget the people she's lost to validate hers. Trust me when I say this isn't something you need to keep worrying about. Focus on getting her out of the game, and then we can have this conversation."

Sydney's arrival or not, Vaughn honestly expected a punch to the jaw, but the father instead straightened his shoulders and tie and stepped toward the sliding door of the cage to greet the subject of their argument. Compartmentalization was a spy's best friend.

Michael's hands were suddenly clammy in his pockets. He knew the moment she came into view he was going to have to fight the desire to pull her into his arms, with or without her father present, however he wasn't entirely prepared for the vision she made in that tiny red dress. His mouth was instantly dry, and a lame smile and an awkward wave were all he could muster as Jack pulled the gate open. Fortunately, the bear he'd just poked put his focus on Sydney and launched into the description of the intelligence.

It was actually exciting news: some new Rambaldi something or other, a chance to get ahead of Sloane somehow, and a big opportunity to break into the security system of the blah blah blah. None of it mattered. The only thing that mattered was that red dress and the length of her toned legs.

'My god, pull yourself together. You're thirty-one years old, not fifteen. It's not like you haven't seen her in a dozen disguises much skimpier than that dress.'

'But those were disguises. This...this is Sydney. Wait. Did she have a date tonight?' His heart plummeted into his stomach and it suddenly became the one thing he wanted to ask her.

He caught back up with the brief, Jack's voice echoing in the tall space, "Sloane isn't aware of us having this intelligence, so we can mount an operation in the coming week that will put us a step ahead."

"Wow, that's huge," she exclaimed with wide eyes. "Do you think this could be a big hit?"

Vaughn nodded deciding to get into the conversation and not seem like a gawking teenager, "we think so. We're still vetting the intel, but it looks legit. If we can get to the off-site facility we'll have access to a lot more than just the Alliance's Rambaldi cache. Weapons, tech, cell locations, the whole nine."

She was desperately trying to concentrate and look as if she was hanging on every word he said, but he was standing in his oxford and tie, suit jacket left in the car or office, with the brown leather holster straps cinching the button-up shirt to his shoulders, and it was an awful distraction.

"I'm sorry if this interrupted a night out," her father said awkwardly, Michael nearly holding his breath as she waved it off.

"It's okay. How fast can we move on the intel?"

'Well that was a nonanswer,' Vaughn's mind grumbled.

Jack nodded, "Quickly, I hope. If this is as big as I think we'll finally have all Alliance facilities and staffing lists within a few days."

The father saw the hope in her eyes, the excitement at the prospect of bringing down the bad guys and getting out of the double agent life, but also saw her sideways glances at the agent whom had surprisingly put him in his place just moments earlier. Yes, he planned on getting Michael Vaughn back for his candor, but a small part of his ego respected the fact that the man was finally standing up for himself in a vague attempt to justify wanting a relationship with his daughter. And the fact that she was clearly more excited to see her handler than the news about the impending doom they were preparing to serve the Alliance, he knew that every fight to keep them apart would fail.

So he did what he never thought he would do in this situation: Jack Bristow gave up.

"I have a meeting with Kendall, so I'll head out. Have a good evening, sweetheart," he said with a slight strain in his voice. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before nodding to Vaughn and leaving. Sydney moved to follow as Michael stepped in line behind the pair, his eyes drawn to her swaying hips.

He stifled a groan, disappointment bubbling up from his stomach as he closed the gate behind them. He'd spent all morning memorizing blind spots in the warehouse camera feed and was overjoyed at the fact that their cameras didn't have built-in microphones. If they could just scoot to the right before the exit, a private bay was inaccessible to any view.

"Oh, I forgot my purse." He barely caught the exclamation, halting only a few inches from her warm body as she dead stopped ahead of him. Jack left through the door without looking back, Vaughn rooted to the spot as she breezed past to retrieve the conveniently forgotten possession. She smelled wonderful, the perfume lingering and putting a goofy smile to his lips as he remembered the scent against her throat just over a week ago.

Waiting until she returned he set his hand to the small of her back as they headed for the exit. A tiny gesture, though the brush of his fingers through the light fabric of the dress made every inch of her skin tingle. Michael grinned at the confused look on her face as she assumed he was escorting her out.

Clearly, he hadn't understood what 'oops I left my purse behind' actually meant. Tugging her to the right before the exit she followed him into another caged-off area, though there wasn't a door for this particular bay. Seeing him shove his hands into his pockets and take a step back made her stare him down with curious, purple-centered brown eyes.

"You...did you have a date tonight?" He couldn't stop the words from tumbling from his lips.

Sydney kept her distance only because she knew there were cameras. 'He had to have brought you over here for a reason, right?'

"That's all you wanna say right now?" He could hear the small excited tremble in her voice.

"Well, it was going to be 'you look amazing', but...my brain pricked me with insecurity and now I...I can't handle the thought of you spending the evening with some guy while wearing the most amazing dress I've ever seen you pour yourself into," he said quickly, his palms twitching as he waited for her to answer.

She didn't reply right away, looking left and right seeing metal cabinets lining the gate in a secluded u-shape. "Are...aren't you worried about the cameras?"

"This is a blind spot and the place isn't wired for sound."

"Why didn't you say that earlier," she growled, reaching up and grabbing the straps of his holster to yank his mouth over hers.

He groaned as his hands circled her waist hauling her body flush against his as he set to relearn her taste. Their tongues dueled and she moaned into his mouth before they broke apart taking gasping breaths, her hands still clutching the warm leather. Gone was the sudden need to claim as they remembered how perfectly they fit against one another. Their lips met again, gentle and soft, as his hands splayed across her back.

"God I missed you," she whispered, feeling him nod as she studied him with half-lidded eyes, his still closed as he breathed her in. "Of course I didn't have a date tonight," she added, "I'm kind of seeing this guy and it's...pretty serious."

Flashing his crooked grin he met her gaze, "well that's good because...I'm kinda seeing this girl and it's also pretty serious."

"What a coincidence."

"Mmhmm. In fact, I'm supposed to be telling her right now that we need to try really hard to keep in mind agent/handler protocol, or else her dad's gonna have me transferred."

Vaughn's fingers played along the edges of the straps crisscrossing behind her back, the silk ribbons smooth and cool contrasting her soft, warm skin.

"I see you're taking to heart everything he said," she chuckled as she slid one hand flat over his heart as the other moved up to play with the hair at the back of his neck.

"Why the dress? Did you wear it just for me?"

She laughed and leaned in to press her nose to the column of his throat. She kissed the side of his neck and inhaled his scent before pulling away with a look of regret on her face. "That's...the reason I have to go. Francie is having a big event at her restaurant and I promised her that if I was in town I'd work the bar."

"Ah," he let her slip out of his arms, though the seconds that followed felt empty. "You should go."

They knew it was the right thing to do. An extra five minutes at the warehouse was nothing, but spending any more than that was a risk they shouldn't take no matter how much they wanted to entertain the notion. However, convincing their eyes to part was nearly impossible.

"It's going to be hard to leave every time now, isn't it?" Her soft question hit him in the heart, and all he could do was nod in reply.

Reaching out he brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear cupping her cheek and leaning to capture her lips. "Be safe," he whispered.

If she didn't leave now she never would. "Nite, Michael," she said softly hearing his groan as she turned and walked away.

"I love it when you call me Michael," his words followed her as she hit the exit.