Dressed and feeling like a school girl, Sydney Bristow sat there on the bed waiting none too patiently. She checked her clock for the millionth time and saw it was only 8:45. And then a soft knock came at the door, a knock she'd come to know well the past two weeks. Smiling, she padded softly to the door and pulled it open, her smile widening when his eyes met hers. She started to tease him for being early when he started talking.
"I just couldn't wait." He leaned in a placed his hand on her hip, pulling her closer to him and kissed her lips gently. She smiled, almost bashfully. "Well, that and Tovah insisted on checking you before breakfast so I came to tell you to meet me out on the patio once he's done for breakfast." He kissed her cheek and without waiting for a response, was gone.
Her examination was thorough as the others but less uncomfortable in some respects. "Your wounds are healing nicely Miss. Sydney." She nodded down at him and put on a slight smile. "I'm happy that you and the Master are getting on much better now."
"I'm going to be honest, this doesn't feel like real life sometimes…" She trailed off and sighed. Her heart started to race.
"Oh Sydney…" His face was pained. Taking a deep breath, he tried again. "That's because it's not."
There was a deep pain through her heart and abdomen then a blast of heat through her head and somewhere in the distance Sark's voice screaming her name.
A voice somewhere in the back of her head was telling her to focus only on Sark's voice calling out to her and it would stop the pain but there was just so much pain! As the voice got louder so did Sark's. She squinted against the confusion, tried to focus on Tovah's face that was as complacent as if they were having tea.
Tea.
Just like that she was on the patio, the pain had stopped and she was in Sark's arms as he kissed her hair lovingly.
"Julain?" Her voice was weak and strained. He tilted his head to the side, regarding her.
"I love that." She furrowed her brows in further confusion as he continued. "When you call me by my name. You're the only one who ever could." Smiling up to him, she melted into his arms with a sigh.
When she finally emerged, there was Tovah with that complacent look on his face, but his eyes- those haunting eyes. Suddenly she doubled over and vomited the contents of her stomach.
When she rose, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand she was inside the compound in bed, Sark caressing her hand.
"Tovah said it had worsened. I just came to check on you my love. I know that whatever you're doing to you must be painful, but you can't hide here with me forever." She began to breathe heavily.
"Julian, the CIA isn't hurting me, they don't..." He shook his head curtly in frustration.
"Damnit, Sydney! Don't be so bloody stupid!" He hissed to her. She drew back into the pillows, willing angry Sark to explain or leave. When she opened her eyes she was back on the patio.
The quick changes made her want to cry and vomit again. Speaking of which, she doubled over once again, hitting her knees this time as the pain began to spread and intensify.
She looked up from her kneeling position and there was that angelic face she felt tug at her heart strings.
"It's alright Sydney. You can't hide here forever. I love you." And with that, he faded from her sight.
She'd read A Wrinkle In Time in school, the way that it described them being pulled through the teseract was what she felt like. She was sore from head to toe and she couldn't hardly form a coherent thought.
She took a look around and she was strapped to a small metal cot if you could even call it that and the stench was unbelievable. She tried to keep calm and then that's when she felt it. That undeniable presence. Forcing herself to look, but dreading what she might see, she turned her head just a fraction to the right. The tears that stung her eyes were more than just the pain from moving the aching muscles. There was Sark, in what appeared to be REM stages of sleep and moving his head away every so slightly ever few moments.
"Julian." She whispered his name, his head snapping towards her, smiling slightly, eyes opening just a fraction to let the blue peek through.
"It's alright love, I love you." And then he let out a blood curling scream.
She tried to fight, tried to pull herself back out of whatever this was. And then there he was, reaching out to her. "If you come back Sydney, we can be happy. I promise." She wanted so badly just to reach out and grab on to him but in the back of her head she could still hear the pain he was in wherever they actually were.
"I think you already know my answer." The pain was there, but not as distinct as when she was actively trying to pull herself out.
"You don't want to be with me anymore?" His head cocked to the side in true Sark fashion.
"How long have I been here Julian?" If this was in fact Sark in her dream or hallucination or whatever maybe he could help her. He had been pulling out of it too, hadn't he?
"Forever my love." He smiled kindly at her but something was off about his face, it was like it was changing. Sydney squinted and tried to hold her hand up. It was like she was looking up into the sun and her eyes were beginning to hurt. "You don't believe now do you?" His voice was small and seemed far away even though he was moving closer to her.
"I believe you're here with me. I believe I wanted to be here with you." She hopes that simple truths will help bring him back to her and make some of the pain stop.
"I am here Sydney. I've always been here." She nods. It's true. Ever since she'd gotten involved at SD6 there had been whispers about him and she'd been dealing with him ever since. simple truths. He opens his mouth to speak again, stops and takes a deep breath. "Truth takes time." She inhales sharply and then steps towards him. That doesn't hurt so much.
"You and I, we are the truth." There's that crooked smile again.
"The only one that matters." Another nod from Sydney.
"I haven't asked which town we were near. When I ran." He winced.
"I can't pronounce it." There was a tight laugh from him, as if he truly couldn't pronounce the name.
"Maybe we could go there."
You're fishing, a voice whispers in the background, telling her to back down.
He answers her with a half shrug, as if voices come out of the sky all the time. He reaches for her again and this time she takes his hand and lets him pull her closer. "I mean it, you know." She raised an eyebrow at him in question. "I do love you." He kisses her sweetly and then shoves her away roughly.
"We want out of here you pshyco! We want out! Look us in our faces and tell us what the hell you want! I'm sick of this!" He's screaming, his decorum slipping, the pain overtaking his handsome features. He looks to her for help.
"Yeah, get us out of here! You want something face us like a man!" She screams. The pain is nearly incopacitating.
And then like that, the pain is gone and the pretty scenery is taken with it. Sydney is awake and back in the dingy room with the real Sark and the stinch.
"Actually, I'm afraid part of what you want won't be possible." A very feminie, familiar voice comes out of the darkness. "You see, I've already gotten what I want. I just wanted the two of you to be in the least amount of pain until this was all over."
Beside her, he snorts. How uncharictastically odd.
"Kindness was never your strength Ms. Reed."
A/N: So, there you are. I hope this answers a couple of questions but keeps you on the ropes long enough for the next chapter! Love you guys! Thank you for sticking with it!