mightylittleone
Cadet
This is great! Could I get a PM please? Thanks!
Little Lies
- Thread starter Avenue47
- Start date
shannyn1016
Cadet
Wow. Very powerful and beautiful. I can't tell you how much I'm loving this. I love how you went from complete despair and hopelessness in the last chapter to a newfound sense of hope in this chapter. So very fitting for Syd and Vaughn.
I do have one complaint....I didn't get a PM!
Good thing I'm stalking this fic!
I'm off to go read your one-parter. Thanks for posting this. Please PM me with the next update!
berry_kyoote_spy88
Cadet
ahh!! I just found this and i love it!! post more soon!! and please ADD ME to your PM LIST!! !!
!!catfishally
Cadet
That was good!
AgentDesertRose
Tragic Romantic
Wow. I *heart* this fic. Ah...good ol' S/V shipperness. It is definitely well-written and just beautiful. PM me when you post again.
Well, shame on me for not updating in such a long time. While I can't promise a whole lot in regularity for future updates, I can promise I won't take over a month next time.
Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's fun.
Part Seven: Tell Me Lies
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
(Tell me lies)
(Tell me tell me lies)
Oh no no
You can't disguise
(You can't disguise)
(No you can't disguise)
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
Tiny bottles lay strewn across the floor of the jet, and some more rested on the seats. Every so often, another would careen away from the table and the two intoxicated agents sitting there.
"God, I haven't been drunk since," Syd rolled her eyes and looked up, swaying a little in her seat.
"That long, huh?" Vaughn slurred after a few minutes.
"Last week!" She finished triumphantly.
"Last week." He repeated after her.
"Ye-ah. Weiss invited me over to watch some movie he rented, but the DVD was scratched, so we ended up playing the Trivial Pursuit drinking game." Syd waved her hands in the air, though it seemed to have little relevance to what she said. Vaughn nodded almost as pointlessly.
"Trivial Pursuit drinking game. How do you play that?"
"Weeelllll, you play it just like regular Trivial Pursuit, except when you get a question wrong, you take a shot. And if you get it right, everyone else, ya know, everyone else being Weiss, has to take a shot." Syd finished her explanation by finishing her most recent tequila bottle. She rifled through the assortment on the table, tossed a few empties over her shoulder, and picked out another little bottle with the golden fluid.
"Let me guess how it ends - either someone wins the game, or you're too drunk to read the cards." Vaughn finished his own bottle, whiskey this time, and merely let it fall to floor.
"How did you know?!?" Syd gasped, and then lowered her voice. "You've played it too." Vaughn laughed and shook his head.
"Naw, that's just how all his drinking games end - until you win, or you're too drunk to play. But isn't that most drinking games?" Syd nodded a little, and then squeezed her eyes closed to fight off sudden dizziness.
"Um, yeah. But yeah, I'd say so - but that's all the Weiss drinking games I've played." She opened her eyes back up, and stared at a far section of the plane to refocus.
"So you spend a lot of time over there?" Vaughn asked nonchalantly while popping open a mini-vodka. Syd focused on him, and grinned.
"Oooh yeah. Weiss has been so nice since I've been back. He's just the cure for loneliness." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and tried to smirk, but only ended up looking goofy. At the same time, Vaughn went very silent, and very serious. He set his vodka down, and stared at Sydney. It took her a few moments, but Vaughn's change began to penetrate her alcohol-fogged mind. She matched his solemn look with one of her own.
"Vaughn, I…"
"Weiss, he…."
"No, Vaughn, I meant…" Only a split second later she caught the gleam in his eye.
"That sl*t!!!!" Syd's mouth dropped open, and nothing emerged.
"He's been coming over and seeing me, and never once told me about you!" Vaughn affected fake rejection, complete with phony sniffle. "He told me I was the only one."
Again it took a little time to process, but the result was inevitable: Syd collapsed in helpless giggles, wrapping her arms around herself and holding her sides. Vaughn soon joined her.
After a few minutes, Syd managed to regain control of herself, and wiped a few lighthearted tears from her eyes. She sighed contentedly, and leaned back in her seat.
"That's almost as funny as the time Sloane ordered Sark to wear one of my mission dresses around SD-6." This time, Vaughn's jaw dropped.
"What?!?" Syd leaned forward suddenly, and pointed at him.
"Got you!!!" And the laughter began again.
For a second time, Syd dried her eyes, and leaned back.
"I haven't had this much fun since," she paused, slight melancholy shadowing her eyes. "Since the last time I spent a night with Will and Francie. Real Francie." She breathed in deeply, inhaling the memories.
"How's Will?" Vaughn asked, all traces of humor gone. Syd exhaled quickly, and stared at Vaughn for a moment. He hadn't been too happy to hear she'd slept with Will, which at the time Sydney found absurd; both for the fact that he was married to someone else, and they were supposed to be running for their lives, not having petty spats.
"He's good. He's a construction worker, of all things. He was going to ask out a painter when I last saw him." Vaughn nodded, not at all disturbed by talking about the man who'd touched Sydney after he'd had her.
Since North Korea, Vaughn regretted snarking at Syd about Will. She was a grown woman with her own life, and he no longer had any right to her. He thought that Will probably deserved her far more than he did.
"You know, Will was upset when he found out about us." He told Syd quietly.
"Yeah, I know," she replied just as quietly, hanging her head. She remembered seeing the disappointment on Will's face, and feeling the pain at hurting him warring with the joy she had found.
"Yeah, I think he was hoping I'd ask him out." Syd raised her head to see that gleam again. She shoved her hand into Vaughn's shoulder.
"Vaughn!!!"
A fraction of a second later, the jet shook. The pilot's voice came over the intercom.
"Just a bump in the road, folks." Vaughn looked out the window in a futile attempt to see something, then glanced over at Sydney.
"Syd, are you okay?" She was clutching the armrests of her seat, and squeezing her eyes shut again.
"I've never done drunk and flying before."
"Never?" Vaughn asked, incredulous. He'd done drunk and flying plenty of times. Especially after Sydney's disappearance.
"Never." Vaughn left his seat and came around the table to grasp Syd's arm.
"C'mon." Without question, Syd got up and followed Vaughn to the back of the jet, gripping his hand the whole way. He opened up the small bathroom, and pushed her inside. "Stay right there, I'm gonna get you something."
"Why couldn't you have brought it to the seat?"
"Just in case." With that, he left her there.
She sat down on the toilet, held her head in her hands, and listened to him rummaging in the galley. She heard the sound of liquid pouring, and something fizzing. He returned with a clear plastic cup of something effervescent.
"What is that?" He handed her the cup.
"My own personal drunk-on-an-airplane remedy: tonic and Alka-Seltzer." She looked into the cup doubtfully.
"Isn't that redundant? I mean, fizz. And more fizz."
"It works, trust me on that. Used it many times. Oh, and take these too." He handed her some pills. She recognized them as Dramamine and Tylenol. Without any more questions, she tossed the pills into her mouth, and chased them with Vaughn's remedy.
He watched her for a minute while she waited for the concoction to work. Going back to the galley, he grabbed a handtowel, and wet it with cold water. He brought it back to the bathroom, squatted down, and began blotting Sydney's forehead with it. She leaned back, and snaked an arm around him, bringing him closer to her. He continued his ministrations while reaching for her free hand with his.
They stayed there for not quite a quarter hour, in the same position. Vaughn kept rubbing Syd's forehead until the towel lost its soothing coolness.
"How are you feeling now?" He searched her face for any sign of distress. She gazed at him, and graced him with a small smile.
"Better. I guess your cockamamie remedy worked." Vaughn stood up and tossed the towel into the small sink.
"Hey, but it did work, didn't it?" He held a hand out to Syd, which she gratefully used to pull herself up.
"Yeah, but…" Her next words became lost as the plane rocked again. Syd stumbled into Vaughn, which propelled both of them out of the bathroom and up against some adjacent storage lockers.
"Sorry about that. I'll try not to do it again." The pilot's voice held a hint of humor, and Syd wondered if he enjoyed flying through turbulence.
Vaughn had caught Syd in his arms, and the turbulence caused her to grasp his shoulders tightly. As she sent evil glares towards the cockpit door, he looked her over with concern, and no small amount of affection.
"You okay?" She seemed surprised that he was holding her, and caught his eyes with hers. She began to feel the familiar heat rise in her body as she stared into his verdant gaze.
"Yeah." Without thought, she grabbed the sides of his head, and brought his lips to hers.
Surprise held Vaughn now, but only for a few seconds. He squeezed Sydney tighter to his body, and kissed her back with all the passion he could muster. It was only momentary, however, as passion demanded more from both of them.
He maneuvered them into the galley, still kissing Syd. He positioned her in front of a vacant counter, then picked her up and placed her atop it. Immediately, two pairs of hands grabbed for clothing fasteners, while two pairs of lips continued to kiss. In very short time, Vaughn's jacket, shirt, tie, and undershirt all lay on the floor. Sydney's jacket and blouse were pulled open, revealing a skin-tone-colored bra.
They simply stared at each other for a long moment, both of them assured, in their drunken brazenness, of the moments to come. Then they kissed again, and greedy hands went to seek out flesh.
Vaughn tore his lips from Syd's to kiss down her jaw, down her neck, down to her exposed chest, and moved his hands to expose more. Meanwhile, Syd kissed any available inch of skin she could, until he had ducked down too far for her to kiss anything. Then she just clutched his shoulders, and leaned back to enjoy his attentions.
Which were getting more involved, as he removed his hands from her chest, and began to run them up her nylon-covered legs. He felt so thankful that she wore a skirt today. Her office clothes rarely included skirts, which for some reason, caused him to think those dark, conservative pieces of clothing more seductive than her skimpy mission dresses.
He pushed this particular dark, conservative, knee-length skirt up to nearly her hips. As he explored farther with his hands, it delighted, but not surprised him to find that she wore not pantyhose, but stockings. His memory reminded him that she found pantyhose too restrictive.
He continued to rain kisses upon her bare upper body, as his hands sought out, and found her panties. He tugged them down over the garters, and was forced to move back to free the piece of beige cotton from her legs. The panties then dropped to the floor, along with her shoes.
He rose up to gaze at her, and see the lust burning bright in her eyes. Her hand shot out to grab his belt, pulling him back towards her before her other hand joined the first in undoing the buckle. The deft handling of the button of his pants, and quickness with which she divested him of them and his boxers, belied the fact that she was rip-roaring drunk.
His hands seemed unaffected by alcohol as well, when he sent one to slide between her thighs and find her pleasure there. Her breath hissed out between her teeth as he did indeed discover her pleasure, and she retaliated by reaching down and finding his, firm and ready for her.
They tormented each other in such a manner for several minutes, until neither of their intoxicated minds could withstand the continuing tease. Vaughn moved his hand from Sydney to himself, as she took her hand to his shoulder, scooted forward, and opened herself to him.
This is why I like being drunk with Sydney, was Vaughn's last coherent thought before he lost himself in her once again.
Intoxicated sex is a completely different animal than sober sex, no matter the breed. It is a frenzied beast, full of hunger and little else. However, such a beast can be tamed somewhat by love.
And so it was for the two agents joined together thousands of feet above the earth. Though intoxicated, they were still cognizant that they conducted their coupling with love; the fount of all that is good in their lives.
Their erotic dance was undeniably frenzied, with quick thrusts, and quicker breaths. But their eyes were locked onto each other, conveying every emotion past the alcoholic haze. They continued to look into each other as release shook both of them at the same time, and they moaned their sentiments to one another.
After the last wave of ecstasy rippled across his body, Vaughn wrapped his arms around Sydney, and lay his head on her shoulder. She sighed heavily, and mirrored his action. After a beautiful moment of afterglow, she spoke.
"Let's dump Weiss. I like you better anyway." Vaughn chuckled into her shoulder.
"Ditto. He doesn't deserve us anyway, the hussy."
A few more minutes of embracing and giggles later, the pair was finally ready to separate. Vaughn helped Syd down from the counter, and brought her panties up from the floor the same time he brought his pants. She accepted them gracefully, and gave him several coy little glances as they dressed for the second time that day.
She, of course, finished before he did. She leaned back against the counter and watched him tuck in his shirt, then start to redo his tie. She felt a yawn coming on, but unsuccessfully attempted to suppress it.
"I'm really tired." Vaughn tightened his tie and reached for his jacket.
"Oh yeah? Well, I know a few of the seats fold into beds, or something resembling them." Syd gave him an arch look.
"Really? Why didn't we use one of those then?" Vaughn grinned at her, and leaned over her, placing his hands on each side of her. He bent his head to her ear.
"Because we've never done it in the galley before." She giggled, and he turned to capture her lips in a short kiss. "Let's go get some rest." He stood up straight, took her hand, and led her to the main cabin.
There, they unfolded the seats that would make cots suitable for sleeping, and found pillows and blankets in an overhead compartment. They each settled down into one of the seat-beds, and the last thing either of them heard before drifting off was "We are now approaching New York. This is just to refuel, you may not disembark to browse the gift shop."
~*~
I will now browse my other fics to see which one-parters I haven't posted for you yet. Happy reading!
ETA: I have posted my cheese-fic, The Angst Writers' Union. Read at your own risk.
Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's fun.
Part Seven: Tell Me Lies
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
(Tell me lies)
(Tell me tell me lies)
Oh no no
You can't disguise
(You can't disguise)
(No you can't disguise)
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
Tiny bottles lay strewn across the floor of the jet, and some more rested on the seats. Every so often, another would careen away from the table and the two intoxicated agents sitting there.
"God, I haven't been drunk since," Syd rolled her eyes and looked up, swaying a little in her seat.
"That long, huh?" Vaughn slurred after a few minutes.
"Last week!" She finished triumphantly.
"Last week." He repeated after her.
"Ye-ah. Weiss invited me over to watch some movie he rented, but the DVD was scratched, so we ended up playing the Trivial Pursuit drinking game." Syd waved her hands in the air, though it seemed to have little relevance to what she said. Vaughn nodded almost as pointlessly.
"Trivial Pursuit drinking game. How do you play that?"
"Weeelllll, you play it just like regular Trivial Pursuit, except when you get a question wrong, you take a shot. And if you get it right, everyone else, ya know, everyone else being Weiss, has to take a shot." Syd finished her explanation by finishing her most recent tequila bottle. She rifled through the assortment on the table, tossed a few empties over her shoulder, and picked out another little bottle with the golden fluid.
"Let me guess how it ends - either someone wins the game, or you're too drunk to read the cards." Vaughn finished his own bottle, whiskey this time, and merely let it fall to floor.
"How did you know?!?" Syd gasped, and then lowered her voice. "You've played it too." Vaughn laughed and shook his head.
"Naw, that's just how all his drinking games end - until you win, or you're too drunk to play. But isn't that most drinking games?" Syd nodded a little, and then squeezed her eyes closed to fight off sudden dizziness.
"Um, yeah. But yeah, I'd say so - but that's all the Weiss drinking games I've played." She opened her eyes back up, and stared at a far section of the plane to refocus.
"So you spend a lot of time over there?" Vaughn asked nonchalantly while popping open a mini-vodka. Syd focused on him, and grinned.
"Oooh yeah. Weiss has been so nice since I've been back. He's just the cure for loneliness." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and tried to smirk, but only ended up looking goofy. At the same time, Vaughn went very silent, and very serious. He set his vodka down, and stared at Sydney. It took her a few moments, but Vaughn's change began to penetrate her alcohol-fogged mind. She matched his solemn look with one of her own.
"Vaughn, I…"
"Weiss, he…."
"No, Vaughn, I meant…" Only a split second later she caught the gleam in his eye.
"That sl*t!!!!" Syd's mouth dropped open, and nothing emerged.
"He's been coming over and seeing me, and never once told me about you!" Vaughn affected fake rejection, complete with phony sniffle. "He told me I was the only one."
Again it took a little time to process, but the result was inevitable: Syd collapsed in helpless giggles, wrapping her arms around herself and holding her sides. Vaughn soon joined her.
After a few minutes, Syd managed to regain control of herself, and wiped a few lighthearted tears from her eyes. She sighed contentedly, and leaned back in her seat.
"That's almost as funny as the time Sloane ordered Sark to wear one of my mission dresses around SD-6." This time, Vaughn's jaw dropped.
"What?!?" Syd leaned forward suddenly, and pointed at him.
"Got you!!!" And the laughter began again.
For a second time, Syd dried her eyes, and leaned back.
"I haven't had this much fun since," she paused, slight melancholy shadowing her eyes. "Since the last time I spent a night with Will and Francie. Real Francie." She breathed in deeply, inhaling the memories.
"How's Will?" Vaughn asked, all traces of humor gone. Syd exhaled quickly, and stared at Vaughn for a moment. He hadn't been too happy to hear she'd slept with Will, which at the time Sydney found absurd; both for the fact that he was married to someone else, and they were supposed to be running for their lives, not having petty spats.
"He's good. He's a construction worker, of all things. He was going to ask out a painter when I last saw him." Vaughn nodded, not at all disturbed by talking about the man who'd touched Sydney after he'd had her.
Since North Korea, Vaughn regretted snarking at Syd about Will. She was a grown woman with her own life, and he no longer had any right to her. He thought that Will probably deserved her far more than he did.
"You know, Will was upset when he found out about us." He told Syd quietly.
"Yeah, I know," she replied just as quietly, hanging her head. She remembered seeing the disappointment on Will's face, and feeling the pain at hurting him warring with the joy she had found.
"Yeah, I think he was hoping I'd ask him out." Syd raised her head to see that gleam again. She shoved her hand into Vaughn's shoulder.
"Vaughn!!!"
A fraction of a second later, the jet shook. The pilot's voice came over the intercom.
"Just a bump in the road, folks." Vaughn looked out the window in a futile attempt to see something, then glanced over at Sydney.
"Syd, are you okay?" She was clutching the armrests of her seat, and squeezing her eyes shut again.
"I've never done drunk and flying before."
"Never?" Vaughn asked, incredulous. He'd done drunk and flying plenty of times. Especially after Sydney's disappearance.
"Never." Vaughn left his seat and came around the table to grasp Syd's arm.
"C'mon." Without question, Syd got up and followed Vaughn to the back of the jet, gripping his hand the whole way. He opened up the small bathroom, and pushed her inside. "Stay right there, I'm gonna get you something."
"Why couldn't you have brought it to the seat?"
"Just in case." With that, he left her there.
She sat down on the toilet, held her head in her hands, and listened to him rummaging in the galley. She heard the sound of liquid pouring, and something fizzing. He returned with a clear plastic cup of something effervescent.
"What is that?" He handed her the cup.
"My own personal drunk-on-an-airplane remedy: tonic and Alka-Seltzer." She looked into the cup doubtfully.
"Isn't that redundant? I mean, fizz. And more fizz."
"It works, trust me on that. Used it many times. Oh, and take these too." He handed her some pills. She recognized them as Dramamine and Tylenol. Without any more questions, she tossed the pills into her mouth, and chased them with Vaughn's remedy.
He watched her for a minute while she waited for the concoction to work. Going back to the galley, he grabbed a handtowel, and wet it with cold water. He brought it back to the bathroom, squatted down, and began blotting Sydney's forehead with it. She leaned back, and snaked an arm around him, bringing him closer to her. He continued his ministrations while reaching for her free hand with his.
They stayed there for not quite a quarter hour, in the same position. Vaughn kept rubbing Syd's forehead until the towel lost its soothing coolness.
"How are you feeling now?" He searched her face for any sign of distress. She gazed at him, and graced him with a small smile.
"Better. I guess your cockamamie remedy worked." Vaughn stood up and tossed the towel into the small sink.
"Hey, but it did work, didn't it?" He held a hand out to Syd, which she gratefully used to pull herself up.
"Yeah, but…" Her next words became lost as the plane rocked again. Syd stumbled into Vaughn, which propelled both of them out of the bathroom and up against some adjacent storage lockers.
"Sorry about that. I'll try not to do it again." The pilot's voice held a hint of humor, and Syd wondered if he enjoyed flying through turbulence.
Vaughn had caught Syd in his arms, and the turbulence caused her to grasp his shoulders tightly. As she sent evil glares towards the cockpit door, he looked her over with concern, and no small amount of affection.
"You okay?" She seemed surprised that he was holding her, and caught his eyes with hers. She began to feel the familiar heat rise in her body as she stared into his verdant gaze.
"Yeah." Without thought, she grabbed the sides of his head, and brought his lips to hers.
Surprise held Vaughn now, but only for a few seconds. He squeezed Sydney tighter to his body, and kissed her back with all the passion he could muster. It was only momentary, however, as passion demanded more from both of them.
He maneuvered them into the galley, still kissing Syd. He positioned her in front of a vacant counter, then picked her up and placed her atop it. Immediately, two pairs of hands grabbed for clothing fasteners, while two pairs of lips continued to kiss. In very short time, Vaughn's jacket, shirt, tie, and undershirt all lay on the floor. Sydney's jacket and blouse were pulled open, revealing a skin-tone-colored bra.
They simply stared at each other for a long moment, both of them assured, in their drunken brazenness, of the moments to come. Then they kissed again, and greedy hands went to seek out flesh.
Vaughn tore his lips from Syd's to kiss down her jaw, down her neck, down to her exposed chest, and moved his hands to expose more. Meanwhile, Syd kissed any available inch of skin she could, until he had ducked down too far for her to kiss anything. Then she just clutched his shoulders, and leaned back to enjoy his attentions.
Which were getting more involved, as he removed his hands from her chest, and began to run them up her nylon-covered legs. He felt so thankful that she wore a skirt today. Her office clothes rarely included skirts, which for some reason, caused him to think those dark, conservative pieces of clothing more seductive than her skimpy mission dresses.
He pushed this particular dark, conservative, knee-length skirt up to nearly her hips. As he explored farther with his hands, it delighted, but not surprised him to find that she wore not pantyhose, but stockings. His memory reminded him that she found pantyhose too restrictive.
He continued to rain kisses upon her bare upper body, as his hands sought out, and found her panties. He tugged them down over the garters, and was forced to move back to free the piece of beige cotton from her legs. The panties then dropped to the floor, along with her shoes.
He rose up to gaze at her, and see the lust burning bright in her eyes. Her hand shot out to grab his belt, pulling him back towards her before her other hand joined the first in undoing the buckle. The deft handling of the button of his pants, and quickness with which she divested him of them and his boxers, belied the fact that she was rip-roaring drunk.
His hands seemed unaffected by alcohol as well, when he sent one to slide between her thighs and find her pleasure there. Her breath hissed out between her teeth as he did indeed discover her pleasure, and she retaliated by reaching down and finding his, firm and ready for her.
They tormented each other in such a manner for several minutes, until neither of their intoxicated minds could withstand the continuing tease. Vaughn moved his hand from Sydney to himself, as she took her hand to his shoulder, scooted forward, and opened herself to him.
This is why I like being drunk with Sydney, was Vaughn's last coherent thought before he lost himself in her once again.
Intoxicated sex is a completely different animal than sober sex, no matter the breed. It is a frenzied beast, full of hunger and little else. However, such a beast can be tamed somewhat by love.
And so it was for the two agents joined together thousands of feet above the earth. Though intoxicated, they were still cognizant that they conducted their coupling with love; the fount of all that is good in their lives.
Their erotic dance was undeniably frenzied, with quick thrusts, and quicker breaths. But their eyes were locked onto each other, conveying every emotion past the alcoholic haze. They continued to look into each other as release shook both of them at the same time, and they moaned their sentiments to one another.
After the last wave of ecstasy rippled across his body, Vaughn wrapped his arms around Sydney, and lay his head on her shoulder. She sighed heavily, and mirrored his action. After a beautiful moment of afterglow, she spoke.
"Let's dump Weiss. I like you better anyway." Vaughn chuckled into her shoulder.
"Ditto. He doesn't deserve us anyway, the hussy."
A few more minutes of embracing and giggles later, the pair was finally ready to separate. Vaughn helped Syd down from the counter, and brought her panties up from the floor the same time he brought his pants. She accepted them gracefully, and gave him several coy little glances as they dressed for the second time that day.
She, of course, finished before he did. She leaned back against the counter and watched him tuck in his shirt, then start to redo his tie. She felt a yawn coming on, but unsuccessfully attempted to suppress it.
"I'm really tired." Vaughn tightened his tie and reached for his jacket.
"Oh yeah? Well, I know a few of the seats fold into beds, or something resembling them." Syd gave him an arch look.
"Really? Why didn't we use one of those then?" Vaughn grinned at her, and leaned over her, placing his hands on each side of her. He bent his head to her ear.
"Because we've never done it in the galley before." She giggled, and he turned to capture her lips in a short kiss. "Let's go get some rest." He stood up straight, took her hand, and led her to the main cabin.
There, they unfolded the seats that would make cots suitable for sleeping, and found pillows and blankets in an overhead compartment. They each settled down into one of the seat-beds, and the last thing either of them heard before drifting off was "We are now approaching New York. This is just to refuel, you may not disembark to browse the gift shop."
~*~
I will now browse my other fics to see which one-parters I haven't posted for you yet. Happy reading!
ETA: I have posted my cheese-fic, The Angst Writers' Union. Read at your own risk.
mightylittleone
Cadet
This chapter was totally hot and totally awesome!
Thanks for the PM.
Thanks for the PM.
berry_kyoote_spy88
Cadet
that was GREAT!! i loved it!! AHH!! so great!! S/V RULE!! ! post more soon!! !!
! post more soon!! !!acting_chica
Cadet
really good. thanks for the pm
m-c
m-c
AgentDesertRose
Tragic Romantic
This fic rocks. I love how Syd and Vaughn are fighting over Weiss. :lol: And then the sex...mmm. Hot. Thanks for the PM!!
Thanks for the PM!!shotput25ash
Me
ok, i apoligize that it took me so long to get here *cowards*
but that was great.....not so sure theyre gonna be to thrilled baout being drunk, but i dunno, nothte writter....
thanks for hte PM, and keep up the terrific work!
-Ash
but that was great.....not so sure theyre gonna be to thrilled baout being drunk, but i dunno, nothte writter....
thanks for hte PM, and keep up the terrific work!
-Ash
Sydney L Bristow
Capt. Poohead
WOW!!! 
I can see that as a posible episode. That was really good. Will you Pm me when you get more?
I can see that as a posible episode. That was really good. Will you Pm me when you get more?Sorry I haven't updated in a LONG time. I've been working, going to school...and AA doesn't work at all for me at work, and only sporadically at home.
Anyway, enough with the excuses, and on with the fic.
Part Eight: If I Could Turn the Page in Time
If I could turn the page
In time then I'd rearrange
Just a day or two
(Close my, close my, close my eyes)
A gentle bump and screech woke Sydney. She sat up, and glanced out the jet windows. Stretches of concrete swiftly passed by outside. She turned and noticed that Vaughn had awakened as well, bright green eyes alert and watching her.
"Are we in L.A.?" she asked him. He nodded. She groaned, threw herself back onto the cot, and covered her face with her hands. "I don't want to go home yet." Hearing no response, she moved her hands and looked at him. He was sitting up, staring down at her sadly.
"Neither do I." Syd rose again, and joined Vaughn on his own makeshift bed. They wrapped their arms around each other and embraced until the pilot's voice came over the intercom.
"We have arrived in sunny Los Angeles. This concludes your flight with CIA airlines. Thank you for flying the confidential skies. Please remember to return your seats and trays to an upright position and that to speak of this flight with anyone outside the agency is a violation of federal law. Have a good day."
Syd and Vaughn quickly got up and began tidying up the cabin. Fighting the motion of the taxiing jet and their burgeoning hangovers, they returned the pillows and blankets to the overhead compartments, restored the cots to their usual position as seats, and got most of the empty mini-bottles into a convenient wastebasket.
The plane came to a stop, and the two agents looked at each other. Vaughn tugged at his suit jacket, and Syd smoothed her hair, both of them attempting to look presentable. Syd grabbed Vaughn's hand.
"Are you ready to do this?" He nodded.
"Are you?" She nodded back at him, and squeezed his hand.
"Vaughn, I know this isn't going to be easy, and I'm not going to pretend that what we did was supposed to make it any easier. But remember, no matter what happens from now to the moment this ends, I love you." He smiled sadly at her.
"I love you too." They shared a brief kiss, then Syd let go of Vaughn's hand.
"Well, I guess we better get out of here."
They walked towards the front of the jet. The cockpit door was still closed, the pilot probably recording the flight in his log. Syd wanted to have a word with the him, but wanted much more not to stick around. She and Vaughn were expected back to give their debrief.
Vaughn twisted the mechanism on the jet's main door, and opened it out. The door was one of those that doubled as the steps, and he lowered it down to a waiting crewman. He thanked the worker, one of only a dozen that staffed this small airstrip the CIA used. He then stood up and motioned for Syd to precede him outside.
Sydney stepped out the hatch, squinting her eyes against the bright L.A. sunlight. Somewhere inside of her, she'd expected nighttime when they landed, as it surely was in Vienna. However, they had chased the daylight west, and no clouds concealed the sun here.
As she carefully descended the steps, she noticed a car about fifty yards away. She had little time to wonder who'd come to pick them up, as a cheerful voice greeted her.
"Hey Syd!" She grimaced as Weiss' voice boomed next to her. Normally, she would be tempted to giggle a little, reminded of the jokes she and Vaughn shared about their friend. But a headache started to blossom behind her eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to get in the car, out of the sun. Knowing that Weiss would understand her condition, she offered him no more than a curt "Hi Weiss" before hurrying to the car.
Vaughn, however, possessed no such luck. As his foot touched the tarmac, Weiss grabbed his arm, and held him there, letting Syd advance several feet in front of them. Vaughn also squinted in the blazing sunlight, and wished to be under cover as much as Syd.
"Hey Weiss, what the hell are you doing?" Weiss kept hold of his friend's arm, and began walking them slowly toward the car.
"Being very glad that it wasn't Lauren or Jack here to pick you up." His face showed seriousness and concern, but Vaughn was too busy shielding his eyes to notice.
"Lauren's back already? Damn, what'd you tell her about the mission? Why is it good you're here?" Weiss shook his head at Vaughn's apparent denseness, and wondered if there was a drop of alcohol left on the jet.
"Lauren got back this morning, and we told her that we had to send you two on a quick recon mission, but who you were sent to watch turned out to not be Covenant." He then stopped them, and forced Vaughn to look at him.
"Dude, you look and smell like you've had way too much of the types of fun married men aren't supposed to have with women who aren't their wives. That would've gotten you in big trouble with Lauren, buddy." At this, Vaughn's head cleared a little, and he noticed Weiss' expression.
"And Jack?"
"He probably would've just shot you. Several times for good measure. It doesn't look like you guys were being too smart." Vaughn hung his head, and gave his face a quick rub with his hand.
"You're right, but," before he could finish, Syd's voice rang out from the car.
"Come on you guys!" Weiss let Vaughn go, and they started walking again.
"It's cool, man. I understand, and I won't say anything. But before we go back to the office, I'm taking you guys home to clean up. You left some clothes at my place before you had to go back, and Syd can clean up at hers."
"Thanks, man."
"Yeah, thank me for all the sh*t I take for you. The both of you."
"Shut up."
The men reached the car, and Weiss opened a door for Vaughn. He resisted the temptation to shove the hungover idiot in so they could leave quicker. As it was, he would have to come up with a good reason why their arrival to the Rotunda was delayed. He didn't think that "Agents Vaughn and Bristow needed a shower and fresh clothes" would work, especially since they were supposed to take care of that in Vienna.
Evidently, they took care of more than that, thought Weiss, as he sat in the driver's seat of the black sedan and started it up. He had plenty of sympathy for Syd and Vaughn, but they chose the wrong time to manifest one of their few acts of irresponsibility. Good God, it's like Nice all over again, where good ol' Weiss has to save their besotted asses.
And the enemies wouldn't be the only ones gunning for his dumbass friend. Vaughn had told Weiss about Jack's warning to him. If the elder Bristow wasn't going to put up with indiscretions involving his daughter, he sure as hell wasn't going to be happy when said indiscretions endangered an important objective and Sydney’s life. Weiss wasn't sure whom Vaughn should be more afraid of if the actions of the lovelorn agents got out; the Covenant or Jack. Weiss wouldn't put money on the Covenant.
So to prevent all that, Weiss would drive these morons back to his house where they could "dispose of the evidence," so to speak. He listened to the two of them whisper small comforts to each other.
"Are you sure you can do this?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be okay."
"You know I'll be here for you."
"I know, but I can't openly rely on you."
"I know, we can work something out where we can talk if you need it."
"Just talk." Weiss' voice cut across their soft conversation. The two agents' heads snapped up to stare at their driver. Weiss glanced in the rear view mirror to see Syd looking at him in surprise, Vaughn with slight annoyance. "I mean it you guys. There's too much at stake to have you two playing around." Syd glared at him.
"We know." Weiss quirked an eyebrow at her.
"Oh yeah? Well, you didn't seem to know all that long ago." When neither of the offending duo replied, Weiss smirked and turned his full attention back to the road.
Minutes later, he pulled into his driveway. Without a word, everyone exited the car. Weiss immediately went to his front door. After unlocking it, he turned to see Sydney and Vaughn still standing by the car.
"I'll see you in a bit."
"Okay." The two looked as if they wanted to kiss, hug, or something, but wisely, they didn't. Weiss kept his approval to himself and opened the door. Vaughn followed him inside, but stopped in the living room, whereas Weiss continued into the kitchen.
"You know where everything's at." Vaughn didn't move.
"What are you doing?" Weiss pulled a nail out of a drawer, and headed back towards the front door. He pulled his cell phone out and waved it Vaughn.
"We have a flat tire. Or rather, we're going to have one." Vaughn gave him an indecipherable look, then turned and headed toward the bathroom. Weiss shrugged and went back outside.
He hadn't actually seen Sydney leave, and didn't seen any sign of her outside. For some reason, he'd actually expected to see her fretting about his yard. He smacked himself mentally; though she'd slipped, and probably with good cause, Syd wasn't like that. Of course she was where she was supposed to be - in her house, cleaning up.
He popped the lid on the trunk, and shuffled some items around to uncover the spare tire. He felt fortunate that the spare was a real tire, not a "donut," or he'd have to do a real tire change. He surveyed the tire, looking for the best way to damage it realistically. At the same time he pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Yes?" The secretary answering the phone was supposed to say something that didn't give any clue to where the call connected to, in case someone dialed a wrong number. However, the secretary put such pomposity into the word that Weiss felt sure that if somebody with a brain dialed wrong, they'd figure something was up. He thinks he's so uppity because he works with the Joint Task Force. I should tell Dixon he mishandled some paperwork so he gets shipped back to the main office to work with all the rest of the "run of the mill" secretaries. Instead of voicing his opinion of the conceited secretary, Weiss merely made his report.
"This is Agent Weiss. Can you please inform Director Dixon that I will be late in bringing Agents Vaughn and Bristow in to their debriefing? We have a flat tire on the car." The man on the other side of the conversation sighed as if Weiss' problem personally inconvenienced him.
"Would you like me to send another agent to pick you up?" Weiss grabbed the jack from the corner of the trunk and began clanging it loudly.
"Oh no, that's okay. I've got it under control. Look, I'll be there in a half hour. Please tell Dixon."
"Yes, sir." The secretary said sir as if it was a curse word. Weiss hung up before the annoying man could say anything else. He felt aggravated enough about this situation, he didn't need some stuck-up secretary giving him trouble.
He looked at the nail he'd brought out. It looked like an oversized tack. Hmm, I could place it in between the treads. Naw, that wouldn't look realistic enough. I could place it in a tread, but would it reach far enough to flatten the tire? Would it deflate all the way? Maybe I should use a tire on the car, the tread might be thinner. Weiss' thoughts continued to churn as he tried to figure out how to make the tire convincingly flat. This might get dirty……
***
Vaughn exited the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and feeling somewhat refreshed. Though the shower washed away the damning smells of drunkenness and fulfilled desire, it couldn’t wash away the feelings caused by those states.
His head felt heavy, as did his heart. He didn’t really want a drunken tryst in an airplane galley to be his goodbye to Sydney, and he highly doubted she did as well.
Why are you thinking of it as a goodbye? This thought followed him to Weiss’ bedroom, where a bulging backpack lay in the corner opposite the doorway. Silently thanking Weiss for never cleaning, he picked up the backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out underwear, socks, t-shirt, and a carefully folded suit. As he began to dress, his mind continued to process his burden.
Sydney never said that it was goodbye. In fact, she’d promised the complete opposite, to stay with him whenever she could. Yes, they would be separated physically, but only a short distance. The closeness of lovers would be denied them, but not the comfortable proximity of friends, or good coworkers. And they would always be wound tightly around each other in their hearts, entwined together in their souls.
However, Vaughn’s mood darkened as he recalled that he would have to maintain intimacy with Lauren. Where once the thought of his wife comforted and warmed him, he now felt nauseated and chilled. How could he look into those lying blue eyes and suppress the urge to blacken them? Would he be able to listen to her speak without wanting to gag her? Could he sleep next to her at night and not smother her with his pillow?
Memories of Sydney came to his mind. He remembered those long years ago, when she had been forced to smile at Sloane, day in and day out. In the halls of SD-6, in the briefing room, in his office, she had no choice but to speak civilly to him, pleasantly even, when she desired nothing more than to slit his throat and watch him bleed his life away on the floor.
I can do this, Vaughn told himself. However, another thought caught him before he could become too confident: Sydney didn’t have to sleep with her enemy.
Finishing his tie, and giving it a final yank, Vaughn banished his doubts and headed back to the living room. Just as he got there, Weiss entered the front door, his suit looking as if he’d been laying face down in the driveway. Vaughn frowned at him.
“What on earth happened to you?” Weiss shrugged and grinned.
“I changed a flat tire. Doesn’t it look like it?” Before Vaughn could respond, the front door opened again and Sydney came in, clean and revitalized.
“Hey you guys. Weiss, how’d you get so dirty? I thought the whole point was to clean up?” Vaughn answered for his friend.
“He changed a tire. How come you look so alive? I feel like sh*t.” Syd grinned at him.
“Maybe because you forgot to take some of your miracle cure yourself.” Vaughn groaned.
“Maybe you’re right.” Weiss cleared his throat, stopping the banter before it could take off.
“Maybe we should go now. Come on you guys.” Dutifully, Syd and Vaughn followed Weiss back out to the car.
The car ride to the Rotunda was wonderfully silent, in Weiss’ opinion. He still felt too annoyed to make idle conversation with his friends, and they didn’t talk out of consideration for his ire. However, as they pulled into the parking structure, the whispering started again. Weiss didn’t interrupt, allowing them their last minute comforts before being forced back into the harsh reality of separation and lies.
Entering the parking structure, Weiss deliberately found a space far from the elevator. He figured that Syd and Vaughn could use the extra walking to help compose themselves. As he threw the car’s gear shift into “Park,” Weiss looked up into the rear view mirror, this time to catch his passengers staring at each other, clasping their hands together. They leaned their heads together, foreheads touching.
"I love you."
"I love you." Weiss rolled his eyes.
"Come on, you two." The three agents disembarked from the car. Weiss shut his car door, and trigged the car's alarm with the remote. He looked over to Syd, and Vaughn standing together, and then looked around the parking garage. It just so happened that the pair were standing in a spot not swept by the security cameras.
Weiss hurried over to them before they could move and change that. "Hold on!"
They stared at him impatiently as he moved behind them. He grabbed Sydney by the shoulders, and moved her until she stood on his left side. Then he grabbed Vaughn, and moved his friend to his right.
"Okay, that's better, let's go."
The three of them strode through the parking structure, wearing lies, preparing to combat lies. Every so often, a sigh could be heard, or a pained intake of breath, but otherwise the walk was silent. All the way to the elevator, up to the main floor, through the security checkpoints, and into the Rotunda proper.
They stood there for brief seconds, viewing the everyday bustle of an intelligence office. Agents and analysts walked hurriedly around, many carrying documents or folders. All of them oblivious to being watched from the entrance, many of them accustomed to being observed for most of their working hours.
Then one figure did notice the silent watchers, and detached herself from the whirling throng. She was the last person any of them wished to greet first, and each of them readied their internal defenses as she gifted one of their group with a smile that was surely insincere.
"Michael!" The comely blonde with the big, blue, deceitful eyes threw herself into her husband's arms, while he quickly plastered on a fake smile. She embraced him, tightly, enthusiastically, and then looked over to Syd and Weiss, who quickly donned subdued smiles of their own. "How was the mission?" Vaughn frowned a little, and his eyes slid over to Sydney, whose face betrayed nothing, except for the slightest amount of alarm in her eyes.
"It was boring. Nothing happened." Lauren let go of Vaughn, only to grab his hand.
"You don't have to go into your debriefing for a few minutes. Come talk to me."
She quickly pulled him away from Syd and Weiss, leading him to the other side of the Rotunda.
Vaughn mentally groaned as his wife forced him to follow her. The disturbing feel of her hand grasping his scattered his memories of the last 24 hours, making them no more real than a pleasant dream. It seemed highly unlikely that he'd made love to Sydney, he was married to this woman in front of him. No matter how much he loved Sydney, or how much of a traitor his wife was, he was still committed to Lauren. For better or worse, though this was definitely worse. Much, much worse than he ever imagined.
When did his grief and love for Sydney dim enough to allow him to fall in love? Or did they? Surely, he was manipulated somehow into falling for Lauren. He remembered their early days together, when she seemed to know exactly what to say to him in any situation: whether he was balking at starting a relationship, caught by a memory, or consumed by his grief. Why did he listen to her? Why did he let this duplicitous b*tch lead him into her gilded trap?
He wished, for a moment, that he could go back in time and warn his younger self. That he could tell that tortured man that his true love had not died, that he could search for her, or wait for her to come back, and have his life restored to him. The life he was supposed to lead, living with Sydney, loving her, supporting her, protecting her.
But time travel was impossible, unless the Rambaldi artifact they stumbled on next happened to be a time machine. He'd worry about that if it ever happened. For now, he was stuck trading lies with the succubus that called herself his wife.
Vaughn's thoughts ended as Lauren parked him at his desk, and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek.
"Don't forget, we have the appointment with Dr. Barnett tomorrow morning. I cut my stay in Washington short so we could attend."
Vaughn found it very amusing that Lauren reminded him of the appointment, which he had set up with Barnett and Dixon in the hopes of manipulating Lauren through the sessions. This would be their second appointment, the first being just a day after he revealed the evidence of Lauren's true allegiance to Syd and Jack.
The first session had been an "obligatory" background session, with Vaughn and Lauren each having a turn to tell "their" story. If only Barnett had known how hard it'd been for me not to say "and then I found the b*tch's wig and gun in her suitcase" at the end. Vaughn turned that derisive thought into one wondering how he could use tomorrow's session to his advantage.
"I won't forget. Do you have any more trips coming up?" Lauren's eyes slid down and to the side, signaling Vaughn that she may be preparing to tell a lie.
"Mum wants me to come to Richmond and spend a day with her. She's packing up some of Dad's things, and she doesn't want to do it alone." Vaughn nodded at her, but before he could reply, Weiss approached.
"Hey man, Dixon wants you in debrief, now." Vaughn glanced quickly to Weiss, hoping that his friend could read the expression of relief in his eyes. Then he looked back at Lauren, who gazed at him expectantly. Realizing what he had to do, Vaughn took his self-control in hand, then leaned over and kissed his wife as she kissed him earlier.
"I'll see you in a little while." He couldn't read her expression as he backed away from her. Not caring, he turned and followed Weiss.
~*~
A/N: My God, I've forgotten how long it's been since I've written this. Certainly out of date with the new season, eh? But I hope you still enjoy.
My one-parter partner to this update is Alone in a Crowd.
Next up: Debrief, winding down to the end. Two parts left.
Anyway, enough with the excuses, and on with the fic.
Part Eight: If I Could Turn the Page in Time
If I could turn the page
In time then I'd rearrange
Just a day or two
(Close my, close my, close my eyes)
A gentle bump and screech woke Sydney. She sat up, and glanced out the jet windows. Stretches of concrete swiftly passed by outside. She turned and noticed that Vaughn had awakened as well, bright green eyes alert and watching her.
"Are we in L.A.?" she asked him. He nodded. She groaned, threw herself back onto the cot, and covered her face with her hands. "I don't want to go home yet." Hearing no response, she moved her hands and looked at him. He was sitting up, staring down at her sadly.
"Neither do I." Syd rose again, and joined Vaughn on his own makeshift bed. They wrapped their arms around each other and embraced until the pilot's voice came over the intercom.
"We have arrived in sunny Los Angeles. This concludes your flight with CIA airlines. Thank you for flying the confidential skies. Please remember to return your seats and trays to an upright position and that to speak of this flight with anyone outside the agency is a violation of federal law. Have a good day."
Syd and Vaughn quickly got up and began tidying up the cabin. Fighting the motion of the taxiing jet and their burgeoning hangovers, they returned the pillows and blankets to the overhead compartments, restored the cots to their usual position as seats, and got most of the empty mini-bottles into a convenient wastebasket.
The plane came to a stop, and the two agents looked at each other. Vaughn tugged at his suit jacket, and Syd smoothed her hair, both of them attempting to look presentable. Syd grabbed Vaughn's hand.
"Are you ready to do this?" He nodded.
"Are you?" She nodded back at him, and squeezed his hand.
"Vaughn, I know this isn't going to be easy, and I'm not going to pretend that what we did was supposed to make it any easier. But remember, no matter what happens from now to the moment this ends, I love you." He smiled sadly at her.
"I love you too." They shared a brief kiss, then Syd let go of Vaughn's hand.
"Well, I guess we better get out of here."
They walked towards the front of the jet. The cockpit door was still closed, the pilot probably recording the flight in his log. Syd wanted to have a word with the him, but wanted much more not to stick around. She and Vaughn were expected back to give their debrief.
Vaughn twisted the mechanism on the jet's main door, and opened it out. The door was one of those that doubled as the steps, and he lowered it down to a waiting crewman. He thanked the worker, one of only a dozen that staffed this small airstrip the CIA used. He then stood up and motioned for Syd to precede him outside.
Sydney stepped out the hatch, squinting her eyes against the bright L.A. sunlight. Somewhere inside of her, she'd expected nighttime when they landed, as it surely was in Vienna. However, they had chased the daylight west, and no clouds concealed the sun here.
As she carefully descended the steps, she noticed a car about fifty yards away. She had little time to wonder who'd come to pick them up, as a cheerful voice greeted her.
"Hey Syd!" She grimaced as Weiss' voice boomed next to her. Normally, she would be tempted to giggle a little, reminded of the jokes she and Vaughn shared about their friend. But a headache started to blossom behind her eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to get in the car, out of the sun. Knowing that Weiss would understand her condition, she offered him no more than a curt "Hi Weiss" before hurrying to the car.
Vaughn, however, possessed no such luck. As his foot touched the tarmac, Weiss grabbed his arm, and held him there, letting Syd advance several feet in front of them. Vaughn also squinted in the blazing sunlight, and wished to be under cover as much as Syd.
"Hey Weiss, what the hell are you doing?" Weiss kept hold of his friend's arm, and began walking them slowly toward the car.
"Being very glad that it wasn't Lauren or Jack here to pick you up." His face showed seriousness and concern, but Vaughn was too busy shielding his eyes to notice.
"Lauren's back already? Damn, what'd you tell her about the mission? Why is it good you're here?" Weiss shook his head at Vaughn's apparent denseness, and wondered if there was a drop of alcohol left on the jet.
"Lauren got back this morning, and we told her that we had to send you two on a quick recon mission, but who you were sent to watch turned out to not be Covenant." He then stopped them, and forced Vaughn to look at him.
"Dude, you look and smell like you've had way too much of the types of fun married men aren't supposed to have with women who aren't their wives. That would've gotten you in big trouble with Lauren, buddy." At this, Vaughn's head cleared a little, and he noticed Weiss' expression.
"And Jack?"
"He probably would've just shot you. Several times for good measure. It doesn't look like you guys were being too smart." Vaughn hung his head, and gave his face a quick rub with his hand.
"You're right, but," before he could finish, Syd's voice rang out from the car.
"Come on you guys!" Weiss let Vaughn go, and they started walking again.
"It's cool, man. I understand, and I won't say anything. But before we go back to the office, I'm taking you guys home to clean up. You left some clothes at my place before you had to go back, and Syd can clean up at hers."
"Thanks, man."
"Yeah, thank me for all the sh*t I take for you. The both of you."
"Shut up."
The men reached the car, and Weiss opened a door for Vaughn. He resisted the temptation to shove the hungover idiot in so they could leave quicker. As it was, he would have to come up with a good reason why their arrival to the Rotunda was delayed. He didn't think that "Agents Vaughn and Bristow needed a shower and fresh clothes" would work, especially since they were supposed to take care of that in Vienna.
Evidently, they took care of more than that, thought Weiss, as he sat in the driver's seat of the black sedan and started it up. He had plenty of sympathy for Syd and Vaughn, but they chose the wrong time to manifest one of their few acts of irresponsibility. Good God, it's like Nice all over again, where good ol' Weiss has to save their besotted asses.
And the enemies wouldn't be the only ones gunning for his dumbass friend. Vaughn had told Weiss about Jack's warning to him. If the elder Bristow wasn't going to put up with indiscretions involving his daughter, he sure as hell wasn't going to be happy when said indiscretions endangered an important objective and Sydney’s life. Weiss wasn't sure whom Vaughn should be more afraid of if the actions of the lovelorn agents got out; the Covenant or Jack. Weiss wouldn't put money on the Covenant.
So to prevent all that, Weiss would drive these morons back to his house where they could "dispose of the evidence," so to speak. He listened to the two of them whisper small comforts to each other.
"Are you sure you can do this?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be okay."
"You know I'll be here for you."
"I know, but I can't openly rely on you."
"I know, we can work something out where we can talk if you need it."
"Just talk." Weiss' voice cut across their soft conversation. The two agents' heads snapped up to stare at their driver. Weiss glanced in the rear view mirror to see Syd looking at him in surprise, Vaughn with slight annoyance. "I mean it you guys. There's too much at stake to have you two playing around." Syd glared at him.
"We know." Weiss quirked an eyebrow at her.
"Oh yeah? Well, you didn't seem to know all that long ago." When neither of the offending duo replied, Weiss smirked and turned his full attention back to the road.
Minutes later, he pulled into his driveway. Without a word, everyone exited the car. Weiss immediately went to his front door. After unlocking it, he turned to see Sydney and Vaughn still standing by the car.
"I'll see you in a bit."
"Okay." The two looked as if they wanted to kiss, hug, or something, but wisely, they didn't. Weiss kept his approval to himself and opened the door. Vaughn followed him inside, but stopped in the living room, whereas Weiss continued into the kitchen.
"You know where everything's at." Vaughn didn't move.
"What are you doing?" Weiss pulled a nail out of a drawer, and headed back towards the front door. He pulled his cell phone out and waved it Vaughn.
"We have a flat tire. Or rather, we're going to have one." Vaughn gave him an indecipherable look, then turned and headed toward the bathroom. Weiss shrugged and went back outside.
He hadn't actually seen Sydney leave, and didn't seen any sign of her outside. For some reason, he'd actually expected to see her fretting about his yard. He smacked himself mentally; though she'd slipped, and probably with good cause, Syd wasn't like that. Of course she was where she was supposed to be - in her house, cleaning up.
He popped the lid on the trunk, and shuffled some items around to uncover the spare tire. He felt fortunate that the spare was a real tire, not a "donut," or he'd have to do a real tire change. He surveyed the tire, looking for the best way to damage it realistically. At the same time he pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Yes?" The secretary answering the phone was supposed to say something that didn't give any clue to where the call connected to, in case someone dialed a wrong number. However, the secretary put such pomposity into the word that Weiss felt sure that if somebody with a brain dialed wrong, they'd figure something was up. He thinks he's so uppity because he works with the Joint Task Force. I should tell Dixon he mishandled some paperwork so he gets shipped back to the main office to work with all the rest of the "run of the mill" secretaries. Instead of voicing his opinion of the conceited secretary, Weiss merely made his report.
"This is Agent Weiss. Can you please inform Director Dixon that I will be late in bringing Agents Vaughn and Bristow in to their debriefing? We have a flat tire on the car." The man on the other side of the conversation sighed as if Weiss' problem personally inconvenienced him.
"Would you like me to send another agent to pick you up?" Weiss grabbed the jack from the corner of the trunk and began clanging it loudly.
"Oh no, that's okay. I've got it under control. Look, I'll be there in a half hour. Please tell Dixon."
"Yes, sir." The secretary said sir as if it was a curse word. Weiss hung up before the annoying man could say anything else. He felt aggravated enough about this situation, he didn't need some stuck-up secretary giving him trouble.
He looked at the nail he'd brought out. It looked like an oversized tack. Hmm, I could place it in between the treads. Naw, that wouldn't look realistic enough. I could place it in a tread, but would it reach far enough to flatten the tire? Would it deflate all the way? Maybe I should use a tire on the car, the tread might be thinner. Weiss' thoughts continued to churn as he tried to figure out how to make the tire convincingly flat. This might get dirty……
***
Vaughn exited the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and feeling somewhat refreshed. Though the shower washed away the damning smells of drunkenness and fulfilled desire, it couldn’t wash away the feelings caused by those states.
His head felt heavy, as did his heart. He didn’t really want a drunken tryst in an airplane galley to be his goodbye to Sydney, and he highly doubted she did as well.
Why are you thinking of it as a goodbye? This thought followed him to Weiss’ bedroom, where a bulging backpack lay in the corner opposite the doorway. Silently thanking Weiss for never cleaning, he picked up the backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out underwear, socks, t-shirt, and a carefully folded suit. As he began to dress, his mind continued to process his burden.
Sydney never said that it was goodbye. In fact, she’d promised the complete opposite, to stay with him whenever she could. Yes, they would be separated physically, but only a short distance. The closeness of lovers would be denied them, but not the comfortable proximity of friends, or good coworkers. And they would always be wound tightly around each other in their hearts, entwined together in their souls.
However, Vaughn’s mood darkened as he recalled that he would have to maintain intimacy with Lauren. Where once the thought of his wife comforted and warmed him, he now felt nauseated and chilled. How could he look into those lying blue eyes and suppress the urge to blacken them? Would he be able to listen to her speak without wanting to gag her? Could he sleep next to her at night and not smother her with his pillow?
Memories of Sydney came to his mind. He remembered those long years ago, when she had been forced to smile at Sloane, day in and day out. In the halls of SD-6, in the briefing room, in his office, she had no choice but to speak civilly to him, pleasantly even, when she desired nothing more than to slit his throat and watch him bleed his life away on the floor.
I can do this, Vaughn told himself. However, another thought caught him before he could become too confident: Sydney didn’t have to sleep with her enemy.
Finishing his tie, and giving it a final yank, Vaughn banished his doubts and headed back to the living room. Just as he got there, Weiss entered the front door, his suit looking as if he’d been laying face down in the driveway. Vaughn frowned at him.
“What on earth happened to you?” Weiss shrugged and grinned.
“I changed a flat tire. Doesn’t it look like it?” Before Vaughn could respond, the front door opened again and Sydney came in, clean and revitalized.
“Hey you guys. Weiss, how’d you get so dirty? I thought the whole point was to clean up?” Vaughn answered for his friend.
“He changed a tire. How come you look so alive? I feel like sh*t.” Syd grinned at him.
“Maybe because you forgot to take some of your miracle cure yourself.” Vaughn groaned.
“Maybe you’re right.” Weiss cleared his throat, stopping the banter before it could take off.
“Maybe we should go now. Come on you guys.” Dutifully, Syd and Vaughn followed Weiss back out to the car.
The car ride to the Rotunda was wonderfully silent, in Weiss’ opinion. He still felt too annoyed to make idle conversation with his friends, and they didn’t talk out of consideration for his ire. However, as they pulled into the parking structure, the whispering started again. Weiss didn’t interrupt, allowing them their last minute comforts before being forced back into the harsh reality of separation and lies.
Entering the parking structure, Weiss deliberately found a space far from the elevator. He figured that Syd and Vaughn could use the extra walking to help compose themselves. As he threw the car’s gear shift into “Park,” Weiss looked up into the rear view mirror, this time to catch his passengers staring at each other, clasping their hands together. They leaned their heads together, foreheads touching.
"I love you."
"I love you." Weiss rolled his eyes.
"Come on, you two." The three agents disembarked from the car. Weiss shut his car door, and trigged the car's alarm with the remote. He looked over to Syd, and Vaughn standing together, and then looked around the parking garage. It just so happened that the pair were standing in a spot not swept by the security cameras.
Weiss hurried over to them before they could move and change that. "Hold on!"
They stared at him impatiently as he moved behind them. He grabbed Sydney by the shoulders, and moved her until she stood on his left side. Then he grabbed Vaughn, and moved his friend to his right.
"Okay, that's better, let's go."
The three of them strode through the parking structure, wearing lies, preparing to combat lies. Every so often, a sigh could be heard, or a pained intake of breath, but otherwise the walk was silent. All the way to the elevator, up to the main floor, through the security checkpoints, and into the Rotunda proper.
They stood there for brief seconds, viewing the everyday bustle of an intelligence office. Agents and analysts walked hurriedly around, many carrying documents or folders. All of them oblivious to being watched from the entrance, many of them accustomed to being observed for most of their working hours.
Then one figure did notice the silent watchers, and detached herself from the whirling throng. She was the last person any of them wished to greet first, and each of them readied their internal defenses as she gifted one of their group with a smile that was surely insincere.
"Michael!" The comely blonde with the big, blue, deceitful eyes threw herself into her husband's arms, while he quickly plastered on a fake smile. She embraced him, tightly, enthusiastically, and then looked over to Syd and Weiss, who quickly donned subdued smiles of their own. "How was the mission?" Vaughn frowned a little, and his eyes slid over to Sydney, whose face betrayed nothing, except for the slightest amount of alarm in her eyes.
"It was boring. Nothing happened." Lauren let go of Vaughn, only to grab his hand.
"You don't have to go into your debriefing for a few minutes. Come talk to me."
She quickly pulled him away from Syd and Weiss, leading him to the other side of the Rotunda.
Vaughn mentally groaned as his wife forced him to follow her. The disturbing feel of her hand grasping his scattered his memories of the last 24 hours, making them no more real than a pleasant dream. It seemed highly unlikely that he'd made love to Sydney, he was married to this woman in front of him. No matter how much he loved Sydney, or how much of a traitor his wife was, he was still committed to Lauren. For better or worse, though this was definitely worse. Much, much worse than he ever imagined.
When did his grief and love for Sydney dim enough to allow him to fall in love? Or did they? Surely, he was manipulated somehow into falling for Lauren. He remembered their early days together, when she seemed to know exactly what to say to him in any situation: whether he was balking at starting a relationship, caught by a memory, or consumed by his grief. Why did he listen to her? Why did he let this duplicitous b*tch lead him into her gilded trap?
He wished, for a moment, that he could go back in time and warn his younger self. That he could tell that tortured man that his true love had not died, that he could search for her, or wait for her to come back, and have his life restored to him. The life he was supposed to lead, living with Sydney, loving her, supporting her, protecting her.
But time travel was impossible, unless the Rambaldi artifact they stumbled on next happened to be a time machine. He'd worry about that if it ever happened. For now, he was stuck trading lies with the succubus that called herself his wife.
Vaughn's thoughts ended as Lauren parked him at his desk, and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek.
"Don't forget, we have the appointment with Dr. Barnett tomorrow morning. I cut my stay in Washington short so we could attend."
Vaughn found it very amusing that Lauren reminded him of the appointment, which he had set up with Barnett and Dixon in the hopes of manipulating Lauren through the sessions. This would be their second appointment, the first being just a day after he revealed the evidence of Lauren's true allegiance to Syd and Jack.
The first session had been an "obligatory" background session, with Vaughn and Lauren each having a turn to tell "their" story. If only Barnett had known how hard it'd been for me not to say "and then I found the b*tch's wig and gun in her suitcase" at the end. Vaughn turned that derisive thought into one wondering how he could use tomorrow's session to his advantage.
"I won't forget. Do you have any more trips coming up?" Lauren's eyes slid down and to the side, signaling Vaughn that she may be preparing to tell a lie.
"Mum wants me to come to Richmond and spend a day with her. She's packing up some of Dad's things, and she doesn't want to do it alone." Vaughn nodded at her, but before he could reply, Weiss approached.
"Hey man, Dixon wants you in debrief, now." Vaughn glanced quickly to Weiss, hoping that his friend could read the expression of relief in his eyes. Then he looked back at Lauren, who gazed at him expectantly. Realizing what he had to do, Vaughn took his self-control in hand, then leaned over and kissed his wife as she kissed him earlier.
"I'll see you in a little while." He couldn't read her expression as he backed away from her. Not caring, he turned and followed Weiss.
~*~
A/N: My God, I've forgotten how long it's been since I've written this. Certainly out of date with the new season, eh? But I hope you still enjoy.
My one-parter partner to this update is Alone in a Crowd.
Next up: Debrief, winding down to the end. Two parts left.
mightylittleone
Cadet
Thanks so much for the great update! There are only two chapters left?...
sydneymicheal
Cadet
This story is good. Can I get a pm when you update please?
vaughnroxmysox
Cadet
this is really good can i get a pm when u update? thanx