A/N: OMG! Would you look at that? Another Christmas Miracle! 
I think I'm finally back on track with this fic, but we'll just wait and see how my weeks leading up to exams go Hopefully, I'll get back to writing Stepping Stones soon enough, but this is my favourite Alias fic that I've written, just because its so different, so I've made this one my top priority. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
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Stockholm, Sweden
“So...?”
The two sat on the ledge of a beautiful fountain, as crystal clear water poured out. Azrael had designated this spot as the meeting place, but he was yet to be seen, and Sydney and Vaughn had time to kill.
“What is there to say?” she countered with her own question.
Nadia has made things very complicated between them. They couldn’t risk being seen together again, or they’d both have hell to pay. However, she couldn’t risk living without him. Just the uncertainty had made her sick with worry.
“Are you okay?” Vaughn asked, concerned, “You look pale.”
“Yeah, I’m just a little... overwhelmed,” she replied.
“Syd...”
“What do we do?” she asked.
This couldn’t go on. It hadn’t even been a day and she was sure of that much. Their had to be something they could do.
“I have no idea. I thought you had some sort of plan,” Vaughn answered.
“I did, but its not a very good one...,” she mumbled.
“Well, what is it?” he asked.
“I was just going to forget all about what Nadia said. Then again, she’d probably know. She’s taking extra precautions,” Sydney explained.
“What do you want to do, then?” Vaughn asked.
“Maybe... maybe we should just stop seeing each other. Just for a little while, until we’re back under the radar.”
There was silence between the two. A deafening silence. Neither of them liked it, but they both convinced themselves it was for the best. If they wanted to be together, they needed to not be together... if that made any sense.
The wind began to howl in the nighttime sky and a chill blew over them. With her keen senses, Sydney knew they weren’t alone and stood, looking for their visitors.
“What is it?” Vaughn asked, standing with her.
Sydney shushed him and looked around, not seeing anything abnormal. She knew Azrael was here, somewhere. Why couldn’t she pick him up?
“Azrael!” she shouted, stepping out, away from the partial protection on the fountain and into the open, “Show your face! I’m here!”
“Why, hello, Miss Son!” that sickening voice replied, “I’m so glad you’ve come! I knew you would!”
Azrael, as well as a large, burly man, stepped out from a dirty alleyway to greet here. His man stood back as Azrael approached, and Sydney did the same, meeting him half way. Vaughn scowled, not liking this plan. He kept his eyes trained on the large thug the entire time.
“I must say, I was surprised when you agreed to the CIA’s demands,” he smiled, “I wondered what they did to make you change your heart so quickly, since we both know empathy does no exist anywhere in that perfect body of yours.”
“Really? I could say the same thing,” she retorted.
She couldn’t let those people die. Not when she was the cause. Those people... they didn’t do anything wrong and they didn’t deserve this.
“Do you have the device?” he asked.
“Where’s the family?” she countered.
“You’ll have them back safe and sound... in time. First, I need the device. I need to be sure that its not a fake, like last time,” he answered.
She hated it, but there was no sense in dealing with him. He wouldn’t listen until he got his way, so she gave in and motioned for Vaughn to bring the case with the device over. He cautiously approached them, reluctant to hand it over. Sydney looked at him, giving him the look which read, “Its okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”
He nodded and placed the case into Azrael’s hand. He walked back over to his thug, who opened another case. He withdrew something that looked like a scanner and scanned the device, making sure it was authentic. When he looked pleased, he placed the device back in the case and walked back over to Sydney.
“Good sir, bring out the family,” he spoke to his man, who pulled out a radio and contact others.
“That wasn’t part of the agreement, Azrael!” Sydney shouted, “You said we’d both be alone!”
“I know, but it was the only way I could think of to make sure we both got what we wanted.”
Within seconds, a large, black Mercedes SUV appeared, screeching in from around the corner. She stood her ground as the doors opened, as did Vaughn. Behind the doors were a woman and her young daughter, who could be no more than eight. Both of them looked terrified and Sydney suddenly felt horrible. The wave of nausea was coming back.
One man commanded the mother to step out of the car, a gun pointed to her head. She was sobbing and reaching out for her daughter and the men pulled her away, motioning for her to move forward. She did as she was told and stumbled into Sydney’s arms, a pitiful wreck. Sydney was never good at comforting people, so when this woman reached out to her, all she could do was wrap her arms tightly around her and whisper, “Its going to be okay.”
A moment later, she gently moved the woman to her side, glaring at Azrael.
“Now, the child,” Sydney said, waiting for him to send her over.
“I’m sorry, Miss Son, but I can’t do that,” he replied.
The mother began sobbing again and this time, Vaughn grabbed her. Sydney’s eyes narrowed, her jaw clenched and she let out a deep, guttural growl, “You dirty rat! I upheld my part of the bargain!”
“I’m afraid not,” he answered, “I believe it was an associate of yours that stole a device from me, earlier.”
Sydney’s thoughts immediately traveled back to her mother. He was still pissed about the artifact she stole from him. He wanted it back.
“No!” she replied, “You hand her over now and I’ll see what I can do!”
“No deal.”
With that, he slammed the doors shut and climbed into the passenger’s side. Sydney was furious; she would not let this bastard get away with that child if it cost her everything she had. So, he retrieved the gun she was hiding under her skirt on her thigh. She ran in front of the SUV which came speeding at her and fired to shots into the driver’s head. He slumped against the wheel as Azrael grabbed it and she leapt out of the way.
The vehicle slammed into the wall of an old electronics store, but Azrael backed the car up in an attempt to get away. She ran back over, grabbing on to the handle of the door as he drove off, her hand feeling like it was going be crushed. She could hear Vaughn screaming at her from behind, as well as the mother’s desperate sobs, and she knew she had to get that little girl back.
Shots were fired through the door and she moved back and forth, barely dodging them. She was dangling, her feet skidding against the ground and she let out a grunt as she tugged as hard as she could on the handle, opening the door.
The door flew open and she was still dangling from the handle as the men inside the SUV fired a round of shots into the emptiness. With her gun in her other hand, she fired shots into the car, making sure they were aimed higher so that she wouldn’t hit the girl. She heard a grunt and a loud thump and she knew she hit one of them. There were two more to go.
Hearing that the goon were out of ammo and the little girl screaming, Sydney used all of the upper body strength she had left and hoisted herself up into the car, roundhouse kicking one of the thugs in the face and watching him fly out the door, rolling on the road below.
She grabbed the last man’s head, banging it against the side of the car until blood seeped out everywhere. When she decided she was done with him, she threw him out the door like the last thug. The little girl was still screaming and crying for her mommy.
“Its okay!” Sydney said, raising her hands, “I won’t hurt you!”
The little girl saw the blood on Sydney’s hands and fainted. She just caught Azrael jumping out of the driver’s door and looked through the windshield to see that they were heading straight for a lake.
“Damn!” she shouted, as she ran over to the girl and stumbled with her seatbelt.
The thugs had tied it in a knot and it wouldn’t come off by the simple click of a button. She tugged at it, grunting and trying to tear it free, to no avail. The car plunged into the lake, as icy water surrounded and engulfed them.
They were completely underwater when Sydney remembered the knife she had stowed away. It took her a moment to cut through the child’s bind and scoop her up in her arms. She could hold her breath for a long while, but she knew the child couldn’t and she had already wasted precious seconds.
She swam to the surface, positioning the child’s head in a straight position above the water, her airway clear. She swam the child over to a dock, where she hoisted her up and lay her down, panting. Vaughn and he woman came, both screaming at her, as Sydney caught her breath and looked down at the girl. She wasn’t breathing.
She immediately started CPR, blowing air into the girl’s tiny mouth and starting gentle but forceful compressions on her chest. The mother held on to Vaughn for dear life as he watched, hopeful that Sydney could revive her.
A few minutes later, the child coughed up a generous amount of water and Sydney let out a sigh of relief, collapsing beside her, catching her breath. The mother let out joyful tears and screamed, running over to embrace her daughter in a crushing hug.
“Mom...,” the little girl squeaked for air, “Mom... I can’t breathe...”
The mom smiled and placed the little girl down, looking to Sydney.
“God bless you!” she shouted, running over to her and hugging her.
Sydney smiled, sitting up, “Think nothing of it.”
Then, the little girl walked over to Sydney, placing her tiny hand in Sydney’s larger one, wrapping herself in the older woman’s arms.
“You saved my life,” she said, clinging to Sydney.
Sydney smiled, placing a hand on her head and stroking her hair, gently. The mother and daughter embraced her and Vaughn stood a few feet away, smirking, with that all-knowing and pleased look on his face. Sydney smiled back at him, and then down to the family. She had never felt this way before. She felt like she was worth something. She felt like she actually mattered. She felt like she finally had meaning.
