This chapter is a little short, like the ones at the beginning, but the next chapter is the biggest, fattest of them all, not to mention the juiciest... So a little patience. Pay off is around the corner... :-D Happy reading! :-)

Part 7: En-Route

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It had been five weeks since she'd been back from North Korea. At long last, it was beginning to feel like life was moving forward again.

"Before" had been hard, endless and desperate.

"After"… "After" was still being constructed one day at a time. Despite the difficult moments, the doubts and the daunting certainty that she was leaving her soulmate behind, Sydney felt like she had finally reconnected with the human race. She could taste her food, laugh at jokes and actually enjoy all of it. She could also relate to those around her. All in all, much better than spending her time and energy feeling sorry for herself.

The subtle changes in her new life had started a couple of weeks after she and Vaughn had returned. In hindsight, the first step should have been obvious. Yet, it was only after her Dad's suggestion that she actually took it. One evening when he surprised her with Chinese take-out, he'd argued with his clear, concise logic that she had the possibility to change partners if she wanted to. Sydney never liked asking for favors, but the next day, she went straight to Dixon and explained as diplomatically as possible that she'd prefer to go with Weiss instead of Vaughn on the upcoming mission to Athens.

For all their past friendship, Dixon was singularly blind to what was happening between her and her ex-lover. Of course, nothing was the same as when she and Dixon were two halves of the same whole at SD-6. Too much had happened then, and since, another two years had compounded the break-up of their bond. There was no animosity, just less of a community of thought. The almost psychic link between them was rusty at best. And now he was her boss, which didn't help matters.

In any case, he hadn't spared her and Vaughn, and kept pairing them on ops as if nothing was the matter. Clearly though, after her original request, Dixon got the message. Things started to change. Vaughn was no longer her default partner for all missions. Weiss often accompanied her now, and she was happier for it.

That was how she presently found herself with him on a plane back from Vienna, Austria. She was putting some order in her report while Weiss concentrated on a preliminary analysis of the new data they had retrieved about Covenant operatives. There were lists and lists of names, locations, merchandise, buyers, sellers… They'd really hit the jackpot. Marshall and other analysts were already sifting through the intel, but it didn't hurt to scan it from their end as well.

A good hour into their 7-hour flight, Weiss turned off the computer he'd been staring at the entire time. With a low grunt, he rubbed his itchy eyes and the tense muscles in his neck.

At the movement, Sydney looked up and smiled at him. "Tired?"

"If I see another name or pair of meaningless initials, my eyes will auto-destruct." He announced with a yawn.

"Uh-huh…" She answered as if his explanation hadn't convinced her.

He glanced up and tried really hard to look mad at her. "Yeah, alright, I only slept 4 hours in the last two days. But hey, it's your fault... You set me up and one day, I'll exact a petty revenge on you for that…"

Sydney smiled at him, unimpressed by his growling. "Me?" She teased, sounding every bit the innocent.

"Yeah, you." He yawned again. "I was stuck after you left. Nothing I could do. Had to go with the flow."

"Yeah," she continued teasing. "But at least, it was blonde and willing…"

"She was a princess… or something. It's not like I could refuse her invitation." He protested without much conviction. "I mean, I'm a spy. I'm supposed to be stealthy, not start an international crisis. Well, unless it's on purpose."

"The sacrifices you make for your country…" She quipped with a half-smile.

"Yeah… I'm gonna have to bill Uncle Sam for a new pair of shoes after all the dancing she had me do. Not that you'd know anything about that… Abandoning me like a puppy at the curb. Shame on you, Vampirella." He pouted, intent on having her measure the full effect of her treason. Ok, maybe not "treason," but it sure felt very much like it.

"I thought you were having fun!" She protested. It was true… Partially.

He forced his tired eyes to focus, and gave her a look. "Do me a favor, Bristow. Stay out of meddling with my love life." Damn, he could do better than this, he knew it. If only he hadn't been on the verge of physical collapse, he would have berated her the way she deserved for pulling a prank like that on him. "Seriously, Syd, that was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life."

"Sorry." She apologized. She did feel a little guilty, after all. "I thought you might enjoy some time on your own. Without me and my moods… I'm out of practice."

"Yeah. So am I." Seeing her somewhat somber, he softened his words. "It's ok, Syd. At least now, I know I never want to be part of the jet-set lifestyle. And Alicia was kinda cute… in a drunken, capricious, disorderly sort of way." He teased.

Sydney paused at his last words. She was used to Eric's self-deprecating stories about his long-lost girlfriends. But she'd never met any of these past conquests he so readily joked about. Her curiosity peeked, she asked in a carefully neutral tone: "Not your style?"

Weiss chuckled. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought Sydney was checking him out. "Nah… I prefer girls that can see the man beyond the tuxedo." He said, his right hand moving down in front of him, as if to attract attention to what he was wearing. "And I don't mean by throwing up on it to get me out of the damn clothes."

Seeing Sydney's eyes grow rounder, he added quickly: "…which didn't happen, alright? When we took off the second time, she wasn't looking so good. Then she kinda stopped moving. And she got that blank look on her face," he mimicked a bought of nausea coming over him, "I jumped sideways out of the trajectory... The sofa wasn't quick enough, though."

Sydney gave into her laugh as she pictured a not-so-attractive, mostly green-looking Princess Alicia trying to keep it together until she couldn't anymore.

Satisfied that he'd cleared up any misunderstanding, Weiss pushed the backs of his seat and the next as far as they would go. He had some six hours to make up for his lack of sleep. Better get started right now. He bunched up his mission clothes in the fashion of a pillow and half-laid down. Another yawn escaped him. "Now, I'm going to get my beauty rest, if you don't mind."

"The sleep of the Just." She mocked gently as she watched him get as comfortable as his large frame would allow while cramped across a couple of half-reclining seats. "Wake you before we land?"

"If you can find it in your heart… I'll never live it down if I'm carried off the plane while I'm comatose…"

"Sleep tight, Weiss." She laughed softly.

He grunted something inarticulate as sleep overcame him.

Still smiling, she got back to writing her report. But it only took a few lines for her mind to wander back to the night before...

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tbc

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Next time, in Part 8: Awakenings

He walked over and handed her the offending object, all the while still trying to put it on. When she didn't take it right away, he looked up and caught her staring at him like she'd never seen him before.

Sydney's brain was slowly catching up: Wow… Who knew that regular, Dockers and t-shirt Eric had it in him to make a tuxedo look that attractive? He looked really amazing with his hair gelled and peeking up, fresh-shaven…

Feedback candy, pretty please :-)