In The Air Tonight, Part 12
- - -
Michael Vaughn swore to himself that this must be the longest elevator ride in history. It was only 7 floors, but it felt as if it was taking forever. "Do you think there's something wrong with the elevator?" Michael asked Weiss anxiously.
Eric looked at Vaughn as if he were crazy. "Mike, we've been in here a total of what?" He glanced at his watch. "…Eight seconds? No, I don't think we've fallen into a crack in the space-time continuum…at least not yet." Eric smiled at his own wit…until he noticed the worried look on Vaughn's face. "Hey, buddy…you okay?"
Vaughn sighed, running his left hand through his hair and wincing, having forgotten about the injury. "Yes…no…I mean…"
"You mean you're worried about Sydney, right?" Eric finished.
"Well, yes. But it's more than that. I really love her, Eric," Vaughn tried to explain.
"Tell me something I don't know…" Eric muttered, but he trailed off when Vaughn gave him a very nasty look. "Sorry."
"Fine. You know it and I know it, but…"
Eric cut in, smirking, "Yeah, and practically everyone in the Ops Center knows it. After the infamous 'Spy Sex' tape…I'd say that's a given…"
Vaughn's eyes goggled, his train of thought completely lost. "What!? How do you know about…?"
Eric put his hands up to calm Vaughn down. "Whoa, Mike…chill. I didn't see the tape… I just heard about it."
Vaughn's face darkened like a storm cloud. "From who?" he enunciated slowly, a slow rage beginning to boil.
At that fortuitous moment, the bell for their floor dinged and the doors slid open with a soft hiss. Weiss took the opportunity to put a little space between himself and his enraged friend. "Geez, Vaughn…don't shoot the messenger, huh?" Eric paused, and then, "Craig might have mentioned it to me."
"And where the hell did he hear about it?" Vaughn asked softly but menacingly, stalking out of the elevator. He was pissed. He didn't necessarily care about their relationship in general being fodder for the water cooler crowd, but that tape was a voyeuristic view into a very special and private moment between he and Sydney, and that was not something he wanted joked about.
"He overheard Marshall telling Jack and Kendall there was something they needed to see… that he'd found video from the camera found hidden in Sydney's bedroom and that the two of you were, well, ah, compromised. Kendall and Jack rushed off to the briefing room with Marshall, and didn't come back for a while. I mean, like a long while, man," Eric explained.
Vaughn stopped short. Oh, God…, he thought, I don't like where this is going… He didn't speak, but Eric could tell Vaughn expected him to continue.
"When the three of them finally came out…" Eric shook his head. "Kendall looked as if he couldn't decide to be angry or amused. Marshall was so red and sweaty; you'd think he'd just run a marathon. And Jack was fuming—I mean, liv-id."
If they had spent as much time reviewing the intel as Weiss had inferred… which they would have had to, if only to discover if any classified intel had been revealed… then all of them knew at he and Sydney were more than colleagues…much more…
"It's not too hard to put the pieces together, Mike: video intel that compromises both of you… shot from a hidden camera in Sydney's bedroom…and the reactions from the three of them after the meeting. And they way they all left you two alone to view the tape…Come on; it was pretty obvious."
Vaughn's face blanched. Not only had the double watched us making love to each other for the first time… so had the head of the Ops Center, Sydney's father, even the damned tech op! And worse, most likely Arvin Sloane, Irina Derevko, Sark, and God only knew who else had, too. As evidence, it would forever be on archive at the NSA. This was a nightmare—no, worse than a nightmare! Things like this just don't happen to people… they just don't, he thought angrily.
Vaughn uttered a long string of expletives and threw a punch at the wall next to the elevator and connected with great impact, leaving knuckle prints in the white-painted plaster.
Just as he was about to take another swing, Eric grabbed his arm and pulled it back down. "Whoa, whoa…Mike…calm down! I know the whole thing sucks, but that's no reason to break all the bones in your hand…Do you really wanna spend more time down in the Emergency Room?"
Vaughn shrugged off Eric's arm, but did not try to hit the wall again. "Damn it," he swore. "It's just that Sydney and I never get a break, you know? We try like hell to just be two normal people…"
"Well, that's your problem," Eric interrupted, "because, I hate to break it to you… you two are not normal people, and if that's what you're shooting for, you'll be in for a long wait. You're international spies! That tends to complicate things a bit."
Vaughn sighed, running a hand down his face and leaning dejectedly against the wall. "I know…but how will we ever be happy, always having to look over our shoulders all the time?"
"Hey, I don't know…I'm not Buddha. I haven't got all the answers. All I do know is that you gotta do what's right for you, and sometimes that means not playing by the rulebook. Your relationship with Sydney doesn't follow rules. So what? Doesn't mean you can't find your own definition of happiness within all this craziness."
Vaughn stood for a long moment and considered Eric's advice. Then, with a small grin, he teased, "Are you sure you're not Buddha? Because that was pretty profound. Can I rub your stomach for luck just in case?" Vaughn reached out toward Eric's torso, smirking.
Eric took a step backward and smiled back. "Not on your life, buddy. I don't do rubbing…at least, not from guys…"
Vaughn let out a short bark of laughter and pushed away from the wall, heading down the hallway toward the ICU. "Anyway, you asked me earlier why I was in such a hurry… Eric, I realized tonight that I may have made the stupidest mistake of my life, and I'm in a hurry to correct it."
"And that is…" Weiss prompted.
"I have never told Sydney that I love her. I mean, I've never actually said the words. And after what happened tonight, I'm afraid. What if I never get to tell her? What if she never knows?"
Apparently this wasn't what Eric was expecting to hear, because his jaw dropped. "Dude, she gave you a drawer and you can't even cough up the 'Big Three'? That is so not cool."
"Well, I wanted the first time I said it to be special," Vaughn defended. "Sydney's has had so much crap in her life; I wanted this moment to be something to remember. I had planned on telling her this weekend while we were away…"
"You were going away?" Eric asked, confused. "To where?"
"We were going to Santa Barbara for the weekend. We weren't going to tell anyone; we were just going to go…actually have a weekend off instead of getting paged to come in about fifteen times. We were going to walk the beach, I was going to take her to La Super-Rica…"
"Tell her you loved her and spend the rest of the weekend in your room, right?" Weiss finished for him with a knowing smile.
Vaughn gave him a dirty look. "Not quite the scenario I had in mind…" He trailed off for a moment before continuing, "But after tonight, I realize how stupid I was being. It's more important that Sydney know how I feel. I shouldn't have waited; I should have told her weeks ago…but I was afraid it was too soon. Eric, what if I waited too long? What if I never get the chance?"
Eric Weiss sobered. "Mike…you'll get the chance. You'll see; Sydney's a real fighter. She's strong. She'll pull through." Off Michael's dubious look he insisted, "Don't you think she'd want to come back to you? Of course she does. I mean, 'cause even if you haven't said the words…she probably already knows. Women are like that."
"That doesn't excuse the fact I haven't done it. I'm going to fix that right now. I'm going to sit by her bedside and tell her the moment she wakes up," Vaughn vowed.
Eric slapped Vaughn on the back. "Good for you. That's the spirit."
They entered through the swinging doors into the ICU and were promptly greeted by the head nurse. "Sorry," she said, "visits from immediate family only."
Vaughn looked like he was about to blow a gasket, but Eric reached into his pocket and pulled out his ID. "I'm Special Agent Weiss, and this is Special Agent Vaughn. We're here to report to Senior Agent Bristow."
The nurse's visage immediately changed. "Oh, yes. Right this way." She walked them to the far end of the unit and then turned a corner. There was a small hallway and three more rooms. Two plain-clothes policemen guarded the entrance to this section. After showing his ID again, Weiss and Vaughn were admitted to the ward.
As they walked the last few paces to Sydney's room, both of them heard Jack Bristow's voice as it coldly resonated in the small enclosure. "…This conversation is finished," and then a short beep, indicating he had indeed hung up on whomever he'd be talking to. Through the window, Weiss and Vaughn could see Jack's jaw was clenched so hard, the vein in his temple throbbed. "See what I mean?" Weiss whispered to Vaughn.
Vaughn nodded wordlessly, and then cleared his throat loudly to make their presence known.
Jack took a split second to carefully arrange his features before turning to face the two younger agents. He saw Weiss first. "Status?" he asked matter-of-factly.
"Still in surgery, sir, but the doctors are optimistic about recovery," Weiss replied.
Jack nodded, almost distractedly. "Fine. Thank you." Then he noticed Michael. "Vaughn," he greeted.
"Jack," Vaughn responded in kind. Then Vaughn looked past Jack to the bed where Sydney lay. Suddenly she seemed so small, fragile, and helpless. Tears sprung to his eyes, seeing her this way: IVs, heart monitor, breathing tube, bandages. He closed his eyes against the sight and placed a bandaged hand over his nose and mouth in shock.
Eric sensed the enormous amount of pressure and emotion suddenly filling the air and decided it was time for him to leave. "I'll…be down the hall if anyone needs me." His response was unheard by both men.
"Any change?" Vaughn asked Jack at last.
"None."
Vaughn moved farther into the room, crossing to the only chair, which was next to Sydney's bed and placing his bag of personal items on the floor next to it.
"What are you doing!?" Jack demanded, as Vaughn was about to sit down.
Vaughn's expression was just as determined. "I'm going to sit. I plan on being here when she wakes up."
"You can't," was Jack's clipped response.
Vaughn's eyes narrowed and he closed the gap between them. "I'm staying."
"No, Mr. Vaughn…you aren't."
Fire glowed in the depths of Vaughn's green eyes as he set his jaw and felt his hands clench into fists. There was not a chance that he was going to let Jack deny him this. "And who is going to stop me?" he growled, getting right up in Jack's face.
Jack did not flinch. He didn't even twitch a muscle. "Duty, I'm afraid," answered calmly.
This answer surprised Vaughn. "What?"
"I've just received intel that suggests Sydney's life may be in additional danger…from the Rambaldi device: Il Dire. While the information derived from a questionable source, we cannot afford to take chances. We need to locate Sloane and the device before he can use it. I will need you to spearhead the team to locate Il Dire."
"But…"
Jack cut Vaughn off. "I've learned from experience, Mr. Vaughn, that doing something proactive is much better than being reactive. Sitting by Sydney's bedside will do nothing to change her current status. However, apprehending Sloane and the device will."
For a long moment, the two men silently stared one another down. As before, some silent understanding passed between them, and once again, Vaughn nodded his reluctant acquiescence.
"You need to get home and try to get some rest. I'll need you rested and sharp for the morning," Jack explained. He reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a clear plastic Ziploc bag. It contained Vaughn's cell phone and car keys. "I found these after you left. I had your car brought to the hospital. It's waiting out in the emergency room parking area."
Vaughn accepted the bag from Jack. "Thanks. I'd like a few moments with Sydney alone."
Jack nodded solemnly. He understood all that the younger agent was going through; all that he was giving up and accepting in order to protect his daughter. Giving him the moments alone he requested was the least he could do in return. "I'll wait outside. Let me know when you're finished."