Cast No Shadow S/V

[Vaughn_Lovah]

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>THIS FIC WAS CREATED AND WRITTEN BY VARTAN88</span>
I have her permission to post her fic here because it is the greatest fic I have ever read and I think you guys should get in on the fun too.

Vartan88:
My friends and I have this philosophy - a guy is even hotter when he's injured. :stretcher: Like take for example Brad Pitt in Seven...yum...he's hot in the beginning, but after he gets the felgercarb kicked out of him, he looks like totally hotter. We've decided that it's because they need some TLC when they are injured...they can't do everything for themselves and we find that extremely attractive...I know, we're , but what can I say? If I'm crazy, you can let me know...

So, as fair warning, Vaughn gets hurt in this story, and I mean HURT! Of course, Sydney is there to rescue him with that TLC I talked about, so never fear, there is smut ahead. I have like seriously 30 chapters of this puppy finished already...so if you like this, let me know, otherwise I'll just keep on trucking for myself...Ok? Ok.

So, without further ado, here is the first chapter (after all the other felgercarb)

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>"CAST NO SHADOW"</span>
All Alias characters are copyrights of ABC television and JJ Abrams. I don’t own a thing; so don’t sue me…no copyright infringement is intended. The doctors at Good Samaritan are real, and I just picked some names, so don’t sue me over that either. The only characters that are mine are Dr. Ramsay & Dr. Tom and the Evil Nurse & her Equally Evil Orderlies (it’ll all make sense later…). In addition, the title of the story and subsequent song comes from Oasis, and no infringement is intended there either. I love Oasis, and I’m proud of it! It’s my one guilty pleasure besides fan fiction. Long live the Ho’s!! Kahlil Gibran was awesome, so I use a lot of quotes from his book, but credit is given where credit is due. That should sufficiently cover my ass, now on with the story…

But not before the <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>*Spoilers*</span>: After “Truth Takes Time” but before the really crappy last two minutes of the season finale. No matter what JJ says, until my delusion is ruined in September, MY Alias world consists of Vaughn & Sydney together and happy damnit! JJ better have our favorite duo back together in like episode three or I’m picketing in front of his house…So, forget everything else that happened after TTT (except the fun sex parts and the drawer…and Kerry…yeah, that should do it). Oh, and I don’t like scary, freaky Francie, so she’s not a weird double. Michael Vartan is a God!

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Here’s a thought for every man who tries to understand what is in his head.
He walks along the open road of love and life, surviving if he can.
Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say,
Chained to all the places that he never wished to stay,
Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say,
As he faced the sun he cast no shadow.
As they took his soul, they stole his pride.
As they took his soul, they stole his pride.
As they took his soul, they stole his pride.
As he faced the sun he cast no shadow.” - Oasis, “Cast No Shadow”

Chapter 1: Missing

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." – T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)

Sydney entered the CIA office like any other morning. The only difference was that this was one of the few mornings that she and Vaughn had not arrived together. They had left separately because Vaughn had to go in early. She nodded and chatted with a few other agents on her way to Vaughn’s desk. When she reached it, she was surprised to see that there seemed to be no sign of him. She found Weiss around the coffee machine, greedily eating a doughnut.
“Weiss, have you seen Vaughn this morning?” Sydney inquired.
“Um…no, I haven’t seen him yet…what you mean you too little bunnies didn’t come in together?” said Weiss in between bites.
“No, he had to get here early for a meeting. I wonder where he is…his computer isn’t even turned on and his jacket isn’t by his desk either. He should have been here hours ago.”
“Are you worried he found someone else? Oh! Maybe he stopped for coffee, met some really hot chick and ran off with her?!” joked Weiss.
“Eric, this isn’t funny. Where is he?” Sydney replied seriously.
“Sorry, Syd. I didn’t realize you were so worried. Let’s ask around. We’ll meet back at my desk in a few minutes, ok?” asked Weiss sympathetically.
“Yeah, ok,” replied Sydney.
They both set off in opposite directions, asking various agents if they had seen Vaughn. After a few minutes, Sydney and Weiss met up again.
“Did you find anything out?” Sydney asked impatiently.
“No, nobody’s seen him yet, at least not on this floor.” Weiss proceeded gently. “What meeting did he have?”
Sydney was quiet a moment, and then said “I think he said he had a briefing with Kendall and my father about what happened in Tuscany. My father didn’t think I needed to be there until later, when they started talking about where we go from here.”
“Ok, well, let’s find Jack. Maybe he’s seen Mike.” Weiss can tell that this really isn’t settling Sydney at all. They find Jack a few minutes later.
Sydney anxiously interrupts the conversation Jack is having with Kendall. “Dad, have you seen Vaughn this morning? Oh, sorry to interrupt…”
Jack looks to Sydney “No, we haven’t. In fact, we were about to ask you the same question.”
Kendall then broke in “Yes, he missed the meeting we had scheduled.”
“And you didn’t think that was strange?” asked Sydney accusingly.
“Excuse me young lady, but Agent Vaughn’s personal whereabouts are not my concern. His timeliness is only of concern to me if it affects his work performance. In this case, his failure to show up for our meeting is of concern to me, not why he was late.”
“Sydney, did you see him earlier?” Jack asked, trying to get the situation back to the matter at hand.
“He left before me,” she looked at Kendall, “to make it to his scheduled meeting this morning.”
Kendall had a look of extreme dissatisfaction.
“Ok, so let’s look at what we know,” reasoned Jack, “we know he left and has yet to arrive. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything terrible, he could have just had car trouble. Perhaps we should give him a few more hours, see if he calls.”
“Why is everyone taking this so lightly?” Sydney yelled. “With all that’s happened – my mother escaping and Emily being shot, there isn’t a cause NOT to take this seriously. If he would have had car trouble, he would have called by now. The only reason he wouldn’t have called would be because he can’t call!”
“Look Agent Bristow, first, you need to calm down an–“
Sydney cut Kendall off, “Don’t tell me to calm down! The longer we wait to see if Vaughn is going to call could be costing him his life. I’m not going to stand around and wait for that to happen.” Sydney stormed off out of the Ops Center. Weiss had been watching the scene from afar and went after Sydney.
Jack called after her, “Sydney! Wait!”
He was just about to take off after her as well when Kendall replied, “Jack, you better wrangle your daughter. Her personal feelings are starting to conflict with her job. You may have the authority now, but that doesn’t mean that you can favor your daughter as though she weren’t an agent like everyone else. Her behavior is not beyond reproach.”
“When my daughter needs wrangling, it’ll be to pry her off of you. You’re the one who played off of her emotions with Derevko. If Vaughn is in trouble, which she seems to be making an avid case for, then her emotions aren’t unfounded. Her behavior in this situation is quite adept. I’m not going to discipline her like a schoolchild misbehaving. Now, if there is nothing else, I’m going to go help my daughter.” With that, Jack turned and walked out of the Ops Center leaving an open-mouthed Kendall to ponder the conversation that had just taken place.

Three hours later, Sydney, Jack and Weiss had covered every inch of highway between Sydney’s house and the CIA building. They found no trace of Vaughn anywhere. They moved onto Vaughn’s apartment thinking maybe he stopped off there, but again reached a dead end. After discussing other alternate routes that Vaughn could have taken, Sydney suddenly realized that Vaughn could have stopped off for coffee as they sometimes did in the morning. Upon arrival at the coffee shop, Sydney was relieved to find Vaughn’s car parked in the alleyway adjacent to the shop. She ran into the shop and frantically searched for Vaughn. However, there were few customers in the shop at this late hour of the morning. She made Weiss go check the Men’s bathroom but Vaughn wasn’t in there either. She immediately ran back out to the car, hoping to find some trace or clue of Vaughn’s whereabouts. The keys were in the car but there was no sign of Vaughn and thankfully, Weiss’ idea that Vaughn might have been stashed in the trunk was also unfounded.
“Damnit! We’re back to square one!” screamed Sydney as the tears began to flow.
Jack went over to his daughter and placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Sydney, Kendall was right about one detail – you need to calm down if we are going to find Vaughn. You won’t be any help to him if you don’t use some reason here.”
Sydney shook out of her father’s embrace. “How can you say that? How can you be so calm? If this isn’t evidence of Sloane’s payback, I don’t know what is!”
Weiss piped up, “We don’t know that it’s Sloane, Sydney.” What was meant to be a comforting statement, only furthered to enrage her more.
“DON’T KNOW THAT IT’S SLOANE? Who the f*** else could it be? Most normal people don’t just randomly pick off CIA Agents for fun!”
People on the street were stopping to look in their direction at Sydney’s continued outbursts.
“Sydney, please, this isn’t helping…Let’s assume for the moment that it is Sloane that is behind Vaughn’s disappearance,” Jack placated. “That means that he will eventually want us to know that they have him. And no doubt he’ll want something for Vaughn’s safe return.”
“Or he could just want revenge for his wife’s murder and is taking it out on Vaughn or trying to hurt me through him.”
“That is a possible scenario.” Jack reluctantly agreed. The three stood in silence for a few moments, until Sydney could take no more.
“Ok, so, where do we go from here? What do we do now?”
Jack looked to Weiss whose head had dropped to look at the cement and then back to Sydney. “I’m sorry, Sydney, but really, all we can do is wait. Wait for Sloane to contact us with demands.”
“And what if all he wants is Vaughn dead?” Sydney asked.
Jack had no answer for that question and he dared not think of what an affirmative answer to it would mean.
TBC... (I've always wanted to say that!)

Hahahahahaha! The power is mine!! <clears throat>
Ok, I'm good now, over my little power trip, but it is kind of exciting for me...

So, or
:nervous: Let me know :ermm:

vartan88

 

[mystery_chick]

definitly and VL you better post more soon cause I know you can. but i really dont' feel like going through 10 threads over at sd-1 so POST! or i'm gonna send my s after you anyways tell Vartan88 that i think it's great
--mandy

 

[Vaughn_Lovah]

Chapter 2: The Call

"On the human chessboard, all moves are possible." – Miriam Schiff

Ops Center, four hours later
Sydney sat at Vaughn’s desk looking longingly at the computer. If someone had walked past, they might have guessed that she was trying to will Vaughn to materialize out of the monitor. She swore if she tried hard enough, she could smell his aftershave all around his desk. This only served to remind her that the man she loved was missing, and no one could do anything about it. Weiss came over to her and sat a cup of coffee on the desk.
“Hey…how’re you doing?” He stared at her for a moment but she did not respond.
He looked away for a moment and was about to leave when she said quietly, “I can’t lose him Eric, not now, not ever. I can only imagine what they might do to him. And it would be my fault. I got him into this. He’s there because of me.” The tears started to fall again.
Weiss squatted down so he was closer to her. “Listen Syd, Mike doesn’t think that way. He doesn’t blame you. He made the choice; he’s made a lot of choices to stay right where he is. You didn’t put him anywhere, Sloane did this.”
“What if they hurt him?” Sydney looked at him with tears falling continuously.
“He wouldn’t ever blame you Syd. Ever. You hear me? I mean come on; you gave him a drawer right? How could he ever blame the person that gave him a drawer?”
Sydney smiled slightly. “He told you about that?”
Weiss smiled back. “Yeah, and let me tell you, no one has ever given me a drawer! He’s damn lucky to have met you. And I know he feels that way, and do you know why?”
“No, why?”
“Because he told me…”
Sydney smiled and tried to wipe away some of the tears. “Thanks for the coffee Eric, and everything. You’re a great friend.”
“Yeah, that’s what they pay me for. If you need anything else, let me know, ok?”
Sydney watched as he went back to his desk. She knew he was just as worried about Vaughn as she was. She drank some of the coffee and tried to focus on something other than the computer screen. She was lost in her thoughts when the shrill echo of her cell phone brought her out of her reverie. She took it out of her jacket pocket. “Hello?”
“Hello Sydney.”
Sydney almost dropped the phone. “SLOANE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH VAUGHN!?!?!?!?!” Everyone in the Ops Center turned to look at Sydney. Weiss, Jack and half of the Ops Center made a semi-circle in front of her. Jack watched, trying to read Sydney’s reactions.
“Now, now, Sydney. Is that anyway to greet me? I mean, what makes you think that I have Mr. Vaughn?”
“You have him you bastard. Why? Why Vaughn? Why not just come after me?”
“Well, that’s not nearly as much fun, Sydney.”
Sydney had conflicting emotions. Part of her wanted to hurl at the sound of this man’s voice and throw the phone across the room, but the other part of her knew she had to listen because Vaughn’s life depended on it.
“Look, I’m sorry about Emily. I loved her too, but it was an accident and it wasn’t my fault and it wasn’t Vaughn’s fault either!”
“Sydney, that’s so nice of you to say. I’m sure Emily would be pleased, but you see, I have nothing else to lose now. Emily is gone. I would have given it all up for her…but now, it just doesn’t matter anymore…I know what loss feels like Sydney, as do you. I just want you to feel it one more time, because Danny’s death was quick, Mr. Vaughn’s will not be.”
Sydney shuddered at the thought of Sloane’s responsibility in Danny’s death and started to shake at the prospect of what Sloane would have in store for Vaughn. She was in shock.
“Sydney, are you still there?” Sloane said in an almost mocking tone.
It took all of Sydney’s composure not to yell at the top of her lungs at the man on the other end. “Yes, I’m here.”
”Good.”
“What do you want Sloane?” Sydney tried to keep an even tone.
“Hmm…that’s such a complicated question. What I really want is Emily back, but since I know that’s not possible, I seek to make you suffer.”
“Emily wouldn’t want that…” Sydney tried to reason.
“Well, probably not, she loved you like a daughter.”
Sydney winced at that remark. Yet another person she let down.
“But that is of no consequence anymore, you see, Emily is gone, and she no longer has any wants.”
“Sloane, name your price. What can I do to get Vaughn back?” Sydney hoped there was still something that he wanted.
There was dead silence at the other end of the phone and Sydney was beginning to panic. “Sloane?”
“Yes, I’m still here. I’m just thinking what I could possibly want that would warrant this man’s life. Trouble is, I can’t think of anything at the moment,” Sloane replied coldly.
There was some muffled noise at the other end of the phone. Sydney swore she heard Vaughn’s voice.
“Sloane! Is that Vaughn?!?! Don’t hurt him, please; I’ll do whatever you want. Whatever the cost!!!”
The crowd that had gathered to watch the display of emotions over Sydney’s face was brought out of their stupor by Kendall who made a move towards Sydney after she uttered her last sentence. He was stopped by Jack, who placed himself directly in front of Sydney. No words were exchanged, but by Jack’s demeanor, Kendall knew to back down. His horns receded and he fell back into the crowd. Jack stayed in between the crowd and Sydney. She would have taken it as a heartwarming paternal gesture had she not been bargaining for Vaughn’s life at the time.
Sloane laughed on the line and it made Sydney’s blood run cold. Sloane was playing with her and she knew it.
“Sydney, I’ve already told you, there is nothing you have that I want. Do you want to speak to him one last time? I’ll grant you that. I suppose I owe you that.”
Sydney fought the tears that were brimming. “Yes…” She heard a scuffle again and then heard the voice that she had longed for all day. However, the voice was weak and strained.
“Sydney?”
“VAUGHN!!! Are you all right? What did he do to you? Can you tell me where you are?” She realized Sloane would never let him answer all those questions and decided to just let him talk a moment.
“I’m ok, don’t worry. I’m sorry Syd.”
“Oh God, Vaughn, no, don’t be sorry.”
“Sydney……..”
There was a long pause and for a moment Sydney thought he was gone, “Vaughn? Are you still there?”
“Sydney…I love you.”
“Vaughn, I love you too. I’m coming to get you, do you hear me? I’m going to find you, ok? Just hang on!”
There was another scuffle on the other end and Sydney could decipher the sounds of punches being thrown.
“VAUGHN! VAUGHN!”
The voice was not who she wanted. “That was really quite moving Sydney, I must say, even I was touched.”
“You bastard, if you hurt him, I swear I–“
“Please, Sydney, your threats are completely useless, and as far as the injuries go, he all ready has quite a few.”
Sloane let the last part of his sentence sink in before he continued. “It’s been nice chatting with you again, I must say, I’ve missed hearing your voice…until we meet again.” The line went dead.
“Sloane! SLOANE! NO!!!” Sydney was screaming through her tears. Then everything went black…

vartan88

 

[mystery_chick]

eh :blink: she coudlnt' have passed out?!!!! :blink:
--mandy

 

[Vaughn_Lovah]

why dont you find me some readers

 

[IluvVaughn13]

ooo very nice BOBO

 

[Vaughn_Lovah]

The smut WILL come...(no pun intended), but it doesn't come until Chapter 12.

I know, I know, I'm really mean...but really...I mean the poor guy has some injuries here, gotta set up plot, you understand...right?

Without further ado...I give you chapter 3...this one is a shorter one...


Chapter 3: The Call, Part 2 – Who is it this time?

"God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right, even though I think it is hopeless." – Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Sydney woke up a few hours later on a cot in the sick bay. Jack was sitting quietly by the bed.
“Hello sweetheart…”
“Dad?”
“Yeah, it’s me. How are you feeling?”
“How did I get here? We have to get Vaughn!” She bolted upright in the bed.
“Sydney, please, calm down. You were exhausted after your phone call with Sloane. I brought you in here to rest. We’re doing everything we can to locate Sloane and Vaughn.”
Sydney started to cry again. Jack moved to sit on her bed. She tried to pull it together, but it wasn’t working very well. “Dad, Sloane is going to kill him. I could hear them beating him in the background.”
“Sydney, we’ll find him. He’s strong, he’ll make it.”
“You have no way of knowing that…”
Jack was quiet again for a few minutes. “Sydney, tell me about the phone call…what did you hear, besides Sloane I mean. What background noises were there?”
Sydney tried to think and said, “There was a lot of scuffling noises, I think they were holding Vaughn, trying to keep him quiet.”
“No, I mean did you hear any outside noises, that could give us a clue as to where Sloane was calling from.”
“I don’t know, Dad. I was too involved with what Sloane was saying and what was going on with Vaughn. I’m sorry, I should have been more attentive.”
“No, no, sweetheart, that’s ok. It’s not important.”
“YES! YES! It is important.”
“We’ll find him, Sydney…”
Sydney looked at her father and even with his best game face on, she knew there were doubts lingering in his eyes as well.

It had been three days since that fateful call from Sloane, three days of waiting, hoping. Three days of nightmares whenever she closed her eyes. Three days of terror. Three days and they still had no leads as to where Sloane was hiding and where he had Vaughn. Every morning, Sydney got up from a restless night of no sleep and nightmares and went to work. Every day she did the same thing, she looked for clues. The rest of the world went on with their lives, oblivious to Michael Vaughn’s disappearance, but for the group of CIA Agents who knew him best, and one woman in particular, the world stopped and the search started. Sydney, Jack, Weiss, Dixon, Marshall, Kerry and a handful of other agents worked tirelessly trying to find leads that would result in the acquisition of their lost agent and friend. Three days turned into a week, and a week turned into 16 days and 16 days turned into 18 days. Kendall was growing more restless by the minute and Jack and he had a number of altercations. Day 19 started out like the previous 18 for Sydney. She followed the same routine and the morning progressed like the others had. Some agents were beginning to lose hope of ever finding a clue that would lead them anywhere near Vaughn. Sydney was at Vaughn’s desk searching various records when her cell phone rang. The whole Ops Center went mute. Sydney said a silent prayer that this was the call that would end her search and result in Vaughn being back with her where he belonged. She closed her eyes as she brought the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” she said.
“Hello, Sydney…”

vartan88

 

[Alias_Unknown]

Great chap pm me when u put up the next update

 

[Colly E.]

Wow!! This is great!!! Nice turning of the tables and LOVE how Sydney is being supported by everyone!!! Even Kendall is there....sort of!
Can you PM me when the next part is up!!??
thanx!!

 

[Vaughn_Lovah]

Chapter 4: 19 days, 16 hours, 22 minutes, and 37 seconds

"Some things...arrive on their own mysterious hour, on their own terms and not yours, to be seized or relinquished forever." – Gail Godwin

“MOM?”
“Sydney, you have to listen to me. If you want Vaughn back you must listen to me now, I don’t have much time.”
Sydney was silent for a moment and then replied, “How do I know this isn’t a trick? How do I know you haven’t all ready killed Vaughn and that this is a trap for me?”
Irina was silent a moment as well and then said in an even tone, “You don’t…but you’ll have to trust me if you want Vaughn alive. I told you Sydney, truth takes time. I meant that…”
“What does that mean? How am I ever supposed to trust you again? You’ve betrayed me more times than I can count, and that’s just me. I mean–“
“Sydney!” Irina yelled. “You must believe me. Do you want Vaughn or not?”
There was no moment of hesitation this time, “Yes.”
“All right, here’s what you do…”

Less than an hour later, Sydney and a team that included Weiss, Jack and Dixon were on a plane bound for coordinates Irina had given them. Sydney sat nervously, hoping against hope that this wasn’t another one of her mother’s games, that this was real and Vaughn would be with her in a few short hours. Jack looked over at his daughter and could read what she was thinking. He gave her a small smile and a reassuring glance as they careened their way to their destination. When the plane landed, they set off for the warehouse that Irina had instructed them was holding Vaughn.
They entered through the side door by cover of darkness and made their way down the narrow pathway that Irina had described. They encountered the exact number of guards she had said and Sydney’s hope started to grow.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached the door that Irina had said Vaughn was behind. The agents got into position and in five…four…three…two…one…they burst through the door. No one, least of all Sydney, was prepared for what they found behind that fateful door. 19 days, 16 hours, 22 minutes, and 37 seconds had passed since Sydney had last seen Vaughn. The man she encountered was not the man she had known.

Sydney gasped at the figure that lay on the cold, hard, cement floor. She flung herself down next to him and cradled his head. If she wouldn’t have noticed the shallow and labored breathing, she would have thought that they were too late, and that he was dead. To say that he was a mess, that he was hurt, was understating every law known to man. Tears flowed freely as she said his name over and over and over. Other disjointed sentences held remnants of apologies and ‘what have they done to you’s.’ The other agents were sympathetic to her situation but also realized they were in hostile territory. Jack and Weiss went over to the couple and tried to explain to Sydney that they needed to leave. Whether she understood or not, Jack, Weiss, Dixon and another agent gently lifted Vaughn’s limp form off the floor as Sydney held his battered hand and walked alongside them. Other agents flanked them on all ends and they made their way back through the labyrinth of corridors that would lead them to safety. They weaved through the maze trying not to damage Vaughn any further and reached the surface just as their extraction vehicle was ready to leave. They eased Vaughn inside and left the horrors of the warehouse behind. What they didn’t know was that the horrors were far from over and would follow them all the way back to Los Angeles.

vartan88

 

[Vaughn_Lovah]

Chapter 5: The Evaluation
(As a side note, my medical knowledge is limited to my years of watching George Clooney be really hot as Dr. Doug Ross on ER, so I really had no idea what to say. My theory at first was to go with “If it sounds good (or bad – hehe) than go with it.” However, I did some research, and now I can at least talk somewhat intelligently about injuries I have for Vaughn. FYI, Good Samaritan is a hospital and the Drs. are real people – that I also did my research on…no infringement or disrespect is intended to Drs. Kerns or Groves…I just picked names…they should be honored…the doctor that appears later is my own creation.)

“In the face of uncertainty, there is nothing wrong with hope." – Dr. Bernie Siegel

On the ride back, Jack tried to survey Vaughn’s wounds. Sydney refused to leave him and spent the ride with his head in her lap. This made Jack’s survey difficult, but he refused to take Vaughn away from her again. From the limited surveying, he could only say that Vaughn’s injuries were severe and extensive at best. He couldn’t make an accurate judgment, however, and they really had no clear picture of Vaughn’s state. Vaughn was airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital and he was wheeled into the emergency room with an entourage of people with him. Sydney never left his side and had to be escorted away by Jack when they reached the ER exam room. Sydney paced around the waiting room until Jack forced her to sit and eat something. About an hour later, Dr. Robert Kerns, M.D., introduced himself as the doctor who had seen Vaughn preliminarily.
Sydney was confused, “What do you mean preliminarily? Where is he?”
Dr. Kerns patiently responded, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name…”
“It’s Sydney.”
“Ok, Sydney. Mr. Vaughn has injuries that are far beyond the capability of the emergency room. He was transferred to surgery a few minutes ago. I assure you, Dr. Groves will take good care of him.”
“Dr. Groves? Who the hell is he? What does Vaughn need surgery for?”
Jack stepped in, “Sydney, calm down. They are only doing their job.”
“It’s all right, Mr. Bristow, I understand that this has been a terrible ordeal for all of you. I’d be happy to talk with you about Dr. Groves’ capabilities if you’d like. He’s a great surgeon.”
Sydney calmed slightly, “No, I’m sorry. It’s just that we’ve only just found Vaughn, I don’t want to lose him again.”
“I understand. Why don’t we sit down and we’ll talk about his preliminary injuries.”
They retreated to a consultation room that was quieter and private.
“Please sit. I’ll give you a run down of Mr. Vaughn’s condition and then I will try to answer any questions you might have.”
“Thank you doctor,” said Jack.

What followed made Sydney’s heart sink. As the doctor went on describing Vaughn’s preliminary injuries, her mind swam with thoughts of all that must have been done to him to create such wounds. Plus, always in the back of her mind was that these were simply preliminary. She knew that when Vaughn was out of surgery, there would be a whole new list of injuries to add to the seemingly never-ending list. She suddenly felt very sick herself, and a rage that had never reached the surface started to boil when she pictured Arvin Sloane in her mind. She tried to push those thoughts aside and listen to Dr. Kerns as he listed Vaughn’s injuries.
“All right, now first, I want to tell you that Mr. Vaughn’s injuries are extensive and severe. That said, I will begin with what we found upon initial examination. Mr. Vaughn came into the ER with many external and internal injuries. From what we’ve deduced, most of these injuries could only have been inflicted by repeated beatings and what would be best described as common torture methods. From his line of work and the limited information that you have provided us with, that seems to be the most likely scenario. His external injuries vary from small and minor to deep and major lacerations, which cover a great deal of body parts. Most significantly, it seems the areas his captors focused on were the back and chest/abdominal areas. This is where most of the damage was done. He has small first and second-degree burns which were probably inflicted by objects heated at a high capacity and then applied to his body. He has other lacerations on his face and head, and there is evidence of a concussion as well, which will be better determined by Dr. Groves. He has many broken ribs, which I could determine from the bruising and discoloration around the rib area, and from what I could see, I would say he has damage to his spleen as well. It’s obvious from these injuries that at least one but possibly both of his lungs have been punctured or have collapsed evidenced by extremely labored breathing coupled with dangerously low blood pressure. His left shoulder was dislocated and he also has several broken fingers. He was fairly stable when we moved him and the less severe wounds will be taken care of after the surgery to repair his ribs, spleen and lungs. Once all of those things are fully stabilized, we will proceed with the lesser injuries. In part because I do not know the total extent of his internal injuries, and also do to breathing problems that he is experiencing, he is going to be listed in critical condition.”
Dr. Kerns looked pointedly at both of the people who were listening to him. Jack had the same expression that he has earlier, what the doctor would describe as almost passive, yet with a guarded sense of emotion. If one looked close enough, worry could be detected in his eyes. The other occupant of the room was not so composed. If there was any question of her composure, it was eliminated when she ran out of the room and down the hall to the women’s bathroom. Jack got up quickly after her. “Excuse me a moment doctor.” He said as he rushed down the hall.
When he got to the door, he went inside despite the markings of another gender on the door. He found Sydney in a stall, bent over the porcelain structure, the faucet of tears blazing once again.
Jack tentatively reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. She reacted only with more sobs. He stood and went over to the paper towel dispenser, grabbed a few, wet them and went back to the stall. He handed them to Sydney.
“Thanks,” she said quietly and shakily.
“Are you all right?” Jack asked gently.
“Well, no, not really…but that’s not important right now. What’s important is if Vaughn is ok. I couldn’t stand it anymore, I felt myself getting sicker by the minute. It’s a wonder I didn’t hurl right there on the doctor’s shoes.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t have blamed you if you did. Those injuries are staggering even if you don’t care deeply for the person involved…I’m sorry Sydney, for what’s its worth.”
“Thanks, dad. Just give me a few minutes, I’ll be back then.”
“Ok sweetheart, I’ll be in with the doctor.” Jack got up silently and left Sydney alone.
She got up and went to the sink to splash some water on her face and rinse her mouth. She finished and started out down the hall again. When she got in the consultation room, the doctor was conversing with Jack.
Dr. Kerns looked empathetically at Sydney, “I’m sorry Sydney, perhaps I didn’t prepare you enough for that information. I’m terribly sorry if I seemed harsh.”
“No, I’m sorry, I just needed to get some air, among other things,” Sydney smiled weakly.
“Did either of you have any questions?”
Jack and Sydney sat in silence for a few minutes. Sydney looked at her father and then back at Dr. Kerns.
“Is he going to be all right? Honestly?” Sydney looked hard at the doctor.
“I’m not going to lie to you Sydney and say that the injuries aren’t life threatening, or tell you that he’s a trooper and will pull through. He has tremendous injuries. In my honest opinion, his chances look good. I’m not sure that’s as assuring as you would have hoped, but it’s the best I can offer you.”
Sydney was quiet again for a moment. Jack looked at his daughter and then at the doctor. He stood and put out his hand, “Thank you Dr. Kerns, you’ve been very helpful. I trust you’ll let us know when Mr. Vaughn is out of surgery.”
Dr. Kerns rose as well and shook Jack’s hand. “Of course, I’ll let you know the moment I do. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you, or if you have any other questions.”
With that, he left the room. Jack looked back down at Sydney who seemed lost in her thoughts.
”Sydney?”
“Yes?”
”Do you want to be alone for a while?”
“Yes.”
Jack left his daughter to ponder her thoughts.
Ten minutes later, Sydney emerged from the consultation room and found her father and Weiss and the other agents in the waiting room. Weiss was pacing quietly, and several of the other agents were conversing in hushed tones. They all looked at Sydney when she entered, several smiled, but no one approached her or asked her any questions. Her dad must have briefed them, she thought. She took a seat next to her father and waited like everyone else in the room.

vartan88

 

[agentbristow]

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Very good so far!! Can't wait for more. lol though at Jack calling Sydney sweetheart twice!</span>

 

[agentbristow]

lol, three times now

 

[Colly E.]

I'm absolutely IN LOVE with this story!! Okay, now I sound morbid; :blink: I don't like seeing Vaughn all beat to he** and back, but I LOVE how you write the story.
There, that makes better sense I think.
Love how her daddy is there for her and the other agents are supporting her as well.
POOR VAUGHN!!
Can't wait for more!!!! PM me!!! thanx!

 

[Ames47]

this is sooo good!!! i love it!!!
i hope you have more up soon!! great job!!

 

[Alias_Unknown]

Very good i liked being able to read so much in one day but maybe 1-2 chaps a day so you hold peeps. But as i said before Awesome story

 

[mystery_chick]

OMG first of all. all the chapters are awsome. and I've just finished Chapter 32. talk about butt cramp. but that's only thread 3! oh well must finish it tomorrow then..
--Mandy

 

[Vaughn_Lovah]

Chapter 6: The Evaluation, Part 2

"We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch." – John F. Kennedy

At some point, Sydney fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. When she finally woke up, she was covered in her father’s jacket and the crowd in the waiting room has dissipated. She figured some of the agents had probably gone home. Jack, Weiss and Dixon were talking in the hall and as she approached, they smiled.
“Any word yet?” she asked.
“Sorry, not yet.” Jack answered.
She nodded and headed down to the cafeteria to get some coffee. She returned minutes later and almost spilled her coffee. Dr. Kerns was headed down the hall towards the waiting room with another doctor she hadn’t seen yet. She threw her coffee in a nearby trashcan and ran down the hall.
“Is he ok?” She blurted as she stopped in front of them.
Dr. Kerns smiled slightly and said, “This is Dr. Wesley Groves. He performed the surgery on Mr. Vaughn. He’s here to update you on Mr. Vaughn’s condition. Dr. Groves?”
The conversation then turned to the other doctor. “Hello, maybe we should sit?”
Weiss looked at Sydney and said, “Do you want us to stay, Syd or should we go back to the waiting room?”
”No, it’s ok, you can stay.”
The group moved to another consultation room.
Dr. Groves once again began the briefing. “I operated on Mr. Vaughn to investigate and repair the damage that he sustained. Since Dr. Kerns has all ready briefed you on the minor injuries, I’ll stick to the internal ones. Rest assured, however, that the minor lacerations and burns, etc. have been attended to. Now, he had major internal bleeding and damage to several major organs. The human body has 24 ribs, 12 to a side that protect the heart, lungs and upper contents. The ribs are attached to the vertebrae in the rear and 10 of them are attached to the sternum by cartilage at costochondral junctions. Of the 24 ribs, he has 13 fractures – 8 on the left and 5 on the right – and 4 costochondral separations, which means that 4 of his ribs were separated from the breastbone – 3 on the left and 1 on the right. He also has many bruised ribs. Fractures and separations are not really the biggest concern, but the damage that the ribs can cause. This was another area of damage. Both his spleen and lungs were damaged as a result of the rib injuries. The spleen sits under the lower left ribs and it was ruptured as a result of some kind of blunt trauma. The good news; is we were able to repair the damage to his spleen and stop the bleeding, so we did not have to remove it. One of his lungs had already been punctured or collapsed when he started surgery. The other lung was very close to collapsing as well. The technical term for this is pneumothorax. Pneumothoraxes occur when air enters the space between the two layers of the membrane that surrounds the lungs. The air separates the layers and causes part or all of the lung to collapse and lose the air that is normally inside the lung. This makes breathing extremely difficult. Treatment for this entails removing the air that has collected there so the lung can reexpand to its original capacity. We inserted a chest tube into the pleural cavity to reinflate the lungs and keep the area airtight. The chest tube will remain in his chest until the lungs have reexpanded. Until then, he’s on 100% oxygen to alleviate his breathing problems. He also had a severe concussion, which we are monitoring, and his left shoulder was dislocated. It has been put back into the socket and that arm is in sling. He has 3 broken fingers on his left hand and one on the right hand. Those have also been splinted. All the other lacerations and burns have been treated and dressed. He hasn’t regained consciousness yet and is currently in the Intensive Care Unit. Until his breathing stabilizes, he’ll be listed in critical condition. However, based on my analysis, I would venture to say that he will make a full recovery given sufficient recovery time.”
The room was silent as the news set in. Jack looked to Sydney again, to see if her reaction would be similar to the last, but she seemed almost in a state of shock this time around.
Finally she asked, “What kind of recovery time are we looking at?”
The doctor looked her way and said, “Collapsed lungs generally take about 1-2 weeks to heal. However, coupled with all of his other injuries, I’d guess a recovery time of about 3-4 weeks for those. Rib fractures usually heal in 4-6 weeks, but costochondral separations can double that time. Again, coupled with all the other injuries, I’d say 10-14 weeks would be more accurate. In sum, he’s looking at best at a 3-4 month recovery phase to be fully recuperated. And of course, that’s only the physical recuperation. Since he hasn’t regained consciousness, there is no way to gauge the psychological or emotional damage that he has suffered.”
Silence filled the room after the doctor finished. It seemed no one really knew what to say. Dr. Kerns finally spoke up and said, “Thank you Dr. Groves.” He walked him out and then came back in and squatted in front of Sydney. She looked back at him. He smiled slightly and said, “Do you want to see him?”
Sydney looked astonished and said in almost a whisper, “Yes.”
He got up and she followed him out of the room. The other occupants moved back to the waiting room.

vartan88

 

[vartan88]

Heellloooo......

I would be the author of this fic...

VL has decided that you NEED to read this...and since one message board and writing the story keep me MORE than busy, she's been nice enough to take over the posting responsibility. YAY VL! The wallpaper queen!

So, I'll pop in from time to time to check things out...

Thanks for all the comments and reviews.

I hope you all enjoy the story!

v88

 

[Ames47]

wow this is amazing!! your research certainly paid off!! im impressed!! great job and poor vaughn!! damn how many injuries can a man have?! well i hope you have more up soon!