He waited.
The seconds ticked by.
The seconds ticked by as slowly as grass grows,
and he waited.
Staring at the clock, waiting for three.
At 3'o’clock he could call Weiss.
To anyone else this would seem like an odd time to call and catch up with a friend you haven't seen or heard from in two years, but to Michael it was perfect.
The butterflies in his stomach started doing the tango when the clocks numbers changed to 2:59.
One more minute! One more minute and then he could call Weiss.
Tick Tock Tick Tock.
He couldn't help but inwardly laugh at himself.
He missed his friends. He missed anything from his old life. His job, his house, his dog, his family, his friends, ... but most of all, he missed Sydney.
"Yes." he sighed as the numbers changed, picking up the phone and dialing the number he had memorized by now.
He waited. It rang. It rang three times and then, it stopped. Someone picked up.
An unfamiliar voice said, "Hello?"
"Yes, um hi. I was wondering if you sold yo-yo-yo-yos." he said, rolling his eyes at Weiss's stupid code phrases.
"One moment please." the woman said, putting him on hold.
"Yo-yos." Vaughn muttered, chuckling under his breath.
"Weiss." came the familiar voice of his best friend over the phone.
"Hey." Michael said, sitting down on the edge of his bed.
"Michael, oh my god! Hi." he said in his friendly, warm voice.
"Hey. What's going on?"
"Oh my god!" he said, sounding somewhere between happy and totally stressed.
"Weiss?" Michael said, the worry in him surfacing.
"Mike, you sitting down?"
"Yeah... It's bad isn't it?"
"Depends on your idea of bad. Personally, I think you'll find it mind blowing."
"Weiss, what's going on?"
"I think you should come back to L.A."
"What. You know I can't do that."
"No seriously."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're out."
"Out!? You mean I'm safe!" Michael said, trying not to get too excited.
"Yeah. You're safe."
"They approved my exiting?"
"Yes."
Michael's eyes bulged out in disbelief.
"How?" he stuttered, still in shock.
"Michael, I don't know how to say this without it sounding completely insane."
"Then just say it." he said, impatiently.
"Okay." he took a deep breath to ready himself.
"It's Sydney..."
"What! OH MY GOD!! Did you find her? Is she alive? Is she....dead?" he asked, the last part killing him to say.
"She's alive."
He was quiet. He couldn't say anything. She's alive! She's alive! She's alive! He kept repeating that line over and over in his head, debating whether or not this was real.
"Hello?" Weiss said after a minute, pulling him back to Earth.
"Oh my God! You're serious!"
"She contacted the CIA a couple hours ago. Kendall wants you to get to the safe house in China. She's there."
"You're kidding me."
"No. I'm not. How soon can you leave?"
"You're shitting me, right." he said, pulling his jacket on over his head. "I'm on my way out the door right now."
Remembering Roberta, he turned around and scanned the room frantically for paper.
Spotting an old receipt, he quickly scribbled her a note telling her not to worry and that he would contact her soon. Everything was fine.
"Weiss?"
"There will be a jet standing by in twenty minutes."
"K." Michael said before hanging up the phone and running for the car.
As he drove down the deserted streets of London, he remembered the last two years of his life. Finding out Sydney was missing, possibly dead, being forced to enter the Witness Protection Program for his own safety, having to "marry" Roberta to keep his cover, starting a new life in a new country. Everything was a blur.
Suddenly, everything that was going on blew up in his face. Like a pound of C4 his situation flashed through his mind, the reality of it all sinking in. "Sydney. She's alive." he whispered to himself.
Choking on his own words, he tried to stop thinking.
Finally, he pulled into the airport. Driving around to the back, he saw his jet waiting for him. He parked his car, and ran, as it was now pouring, to it as fast as he could.
He nodded at the captain, and they immediately took off. As he sat there, he tried to prepare himself for everything that was going to happened. It was going to be so mind blowing, seeing her again!
He leaned is head back, and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep before they got to China.
***********************************
"Sir." he heard, feeling a hand shaking him.
His eyes fluttered open.
"Yeah." he grunted, still half asleep and confused at his surroundings.
"Yeah, sir. We're here."
"China?"
"Yes sir."
"Oh my god." he said rubbing his forehead.
The man quickly explained how to get to the safe house.
Michael nodded, thanked the man, and jumped out of the jet. Running down the crowded streets of the city, dodging everyone and everything in his way, he could only think of one thing; Sydney.
He finally made it to the safe house. A little Chineese restaurant.
A small woman nodded whe he walked in.
"Mr. Vaughn?" It sounded so good. No one had called him that in two years!
"Yes." he nodded.
"Please, come with me."
He followed the woman through the kitchen. She opened a door that led to a long narrow hallway. It seemed like it was some kind of small inn.
She pointed to a door. "It's the third door on the right. Room 47."
He nodded a silent thanks.
He took a deep breath and walked to the door. He stood there for a moment, taking one last second to prepare himself.
And then, he slowly opened it.
********* Hey! I hope you liked it! Fluff in the next chapter! I'm sorry! I know I keep saying that! Okay... I'm sorry! LOL! OMG! You guys are all really sweet! I love that people are actually reviewing! It's so neat! So let me know how you like it! Thanks. Love ya. XOXO. Tootles. ~C