HandlesVartan
Cadet
Hi everyone...A friend encouraged me to post this here at AllAlias. I've been posting this story over at Sd-1.net under HandlesVartan (as well). I hope you guys will enjoy this here.
Disclaimer: I don't own ALIAS - they belong to ABC...
If you would like a pm, let me know.
Chapter 1:
After Sydney’s funeral, Michael Vaughn came home to his apartment and the first thing he did was grab a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass then he proceeded to drown himself in hard liquor. It was a beautiful ceremony, he thought just the way Sydney would have liked it. Vaughn was on the floor of his living room with his back up against the couch for support, a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass on the coffee table in front of him. He poured more in the glass and downed a shot. It burned his throat as he swallowed. He didn’t care. His heart died. He felt nothing but emptiness inside. His mind wandered back to his father’s funeral. He remembered that day so well it scared him.
It was a cold, windy day at the Arlington National Cemetery. Family surrounded Michael Vaughn and many people he had no clue who they were but he suspected that they were his father’s colleagues. He sat next to his weeping mother as the priest led the ceremony at the graveside. He grabbed her hand to hold her. It was the only way he could have comforted her at that moment. He never looked at anyone around them, only at the coffin that lay before him. The American Flag covered the coffin and flowers surround the opening of the grave. It was a sight that Michael never wanted to witness again. At that moment, he made a solemn vow to find his father’s killer and bring that person to justice. He also made another vow. He prayed that he would never have to bury a loved one. At the end of the sermon, there was the sound of “Taps” playing and gunshots in the air.
It woke him out of his thoughts and brought him back to the cold harsh reality he was about to live in. It was too real for him.
Twenty-six years later, he had buried his soul mate. The pain of losing his father was nothing compared to losing Sydney. The loss of Sydney was affecting him more deeply than his father’s death. Now he knew how his mother felt that day. He stared at the shot glass, poured himself another round, and gulped it down in one shot. The tears never stopped falling from his face. He gave up on wiping them away, allowing the tears to fall to his pants, creating sprinkles of wet spots. He didn’t care. He wanted nothing more than to go back to bed and pretend that this was all a nightmare, but he couldn’t. He was living in his worst nightmare. He cried because of all the opportunities they could have had, and dreams for their future were shattered. It broke him into thousands of pieces.
Days went by, and Vaughn was still on the floor, drinking his life away. He figured that he had nothing else to live for. He had finally found his father’s killer and learned that she was the mother of his soul mate. He couldn’t believe that fate brought them together under such painful circumstances. Nonetheless, he loved her deeply, more than life itself. He was amazed at himself, especially his capacity to love her. He never thought he would ever fall in love the way he fell for Sydney. It scared him to need her so much. He didn’t know how he could live without her and yet there he was, living without Sydney.
Vaughn got up from the floor and staggered toward his office with a bottle in his left hand. He walked into the office and sat on his desk. On his desk were pictures of Sydney from her missions. All of them in black and white some had been smudged due to his salty tears and wiping the photos, others had wrinkles and marks from being held tightly. He picked up a photo and stared at it. Almost as if he was willing her to come back to him. In the photo was a picture of Sydney with the bozo red hair and bruised face. He laughed for a second remembering the day she entered his life. Then his laughter turned into more sobs as reality set on him. He couldn’t do this anymore. It was killing him. He looked over to the side of his desk, towards the lamp. Next to the lamp, were several envelopes, all sealed with letters inside, addressed to Sydney Bristow, Heaven. Vaughn wiped his eyes and tried unsuccessfully to straighten up his desk, instead he pushed everything off the desk, photo after photo falling weightlessly towards the ground. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper with his initials and fumbled through the drawer looking for a pen. Finally, he began to write a new letter to Sydney. As soon as he finished writing the letter, he picked up the paper, folded it, and stuck it inside the envelope. He addressed the letter to Sydney Bristow, Heaven and then kissed the envelope. “Sydney, please come home to me. I need you.” He whispered as he held the letter tightly against his chest. More tears fell from his face and he finally succumbed to sleep on the desk holding the envelope in one hand and a picture of Sydney in the other.
Ever since Sydney had died, Vaughn had been falling apart. It was hard for Weiss to see him wasting away like that. Weiss knew that Sydney deserved better than that. He drove to Vaughn’s house and let himself in. Once he entered, he was surprised to see the mess in the house. There were bottles of hard liquor on the counter top and several emptied glasses next to the bottles. Weiss walked into the living room and found more bottles of liquor. He sighed and kicked himself mentally for not taking care of his best friend. He continued to wander throughout the place looking for Mike. As Weiss opened the office door, he found Vaughn slouched over on the desk. There were photos of Sydney all over the floor laying haphazardly everywhere. He bent down, picked up all the photos of Sydney, stacked them neatly in a pile, and put it back in the file where it belonged. Then he proceeded to clean up around Vaughn, picking up all the remains from his desk and putting them back in their rightful place. He stopped when he picked the burnt picture frame. He had never seen it before and he knew it was the picture frame that Vaughn gave to Sydney.
He walked over to stand behind Vaughn and woke him up. “Wake up Mike!” He yelled. Vaughn woke up instantly.
“Sydney?” He whispered.
“Come on man, let’s get you cleaned up.” Weiss whispered to him as he took him down the hall to his bathroom. He put Vaughn in the bathtub and turned on the cold water making sure that it hit him directly in the face. Instantly, Vaughn was awake and yelling about the cold water. Weiss finally turned off the water and told Vaughn to take a shower. Weiss walked out of the bathroom and went back into the living room to help clean up the mess. Several minutes later Weiss heard Vaughn’s footsteps coming down the hallway.
“Hey” was all Vaughn could muster out. He threw on a pair of jeans and white tee shirt, his pants barely hanging on to his waist.
“God, you look like s*** man.” Weiss told him as he gave him the once over. “Haven’t you eaten lately?” Vaughn shook his head no. “You need to stop doing this. It’s killing you. I can’t stand to look at you like this anymore. Sydney wouldn’t want you to waste away like this. She would have wanted you to move on with your life. Live your life for her.” Weiss told Vaughn as he continued to clean the countertop. He stood there waiting and watching Vaughn’s reaction.
“I can’t, Eric. It hurts too much to live without her. I need her. I don’t feel like moving on without her.” He choked out and gasped for breath at the same time.
“Mike, hey it’s ok buddy.” He ran over to grab Vaughn and led him to the couch. “We’ll get through this together. I’m here now.” Weiss grabbed a box of Kleenex and handed it to Vaughn. Weiss stood up in front of Vaughn; walked over to the hall closet; pulled out a jacket and handed it to Vaughn.
“We are going out; you need to eat and get some fresh air.”
Several hours later, Weiss and Vaughn were walking on the pier in Huntington Beach. It was a nice clear day, not too many people were out since it was a weekday. The two of them just walked side by side, not saying a word.
“How am I supposed to live without Sydney?” Weiss was shocked and saddened at Vaughn’s sudden question. Weiss turned to look at Vaughn and what he saw was not the same guy he had known a few weeks ago. What he saw was a man who was completely broken, lost and scared. Weiss felt bad for Vaughn but vowed to himself that he would do whatever it took to make him happy again.
“I don’t know, Mike. We’ll figure it out. I promise we’ll figure it out.” Was all he could say and they began walking in silence again.
Another hour or so went by as they made their way into BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery. “Are you sure you want to be in here?” Weiss asked Vaughn. Vaughn nodded as they waited for the hostess to direct them to their table by the window, which overlooked the ocean. They sat in silence as they ordered their drinks and appetizers. Vaughn was looking over to the horizon and tears began to form around his eyes, and he wiped them away quickly so no one else could notice that he was crying. The waitress came by, brought them their Iced Teas and Buffalo wings, and took their order for dinner. They continued to sit and eat their appetizers in silence. Weiss was beginning to wonder if Vaughn was ever going to get over losing Sydney. He was afraid for his best friend and desperately wanted to help but didn’t know how except to be his friend. It was at that moment that Vaughn took out a small black velvet box and put it on the table for Weiss to see. Weiss looked at Vaughn, waiting to see if he would say something but he didn’t, so he picked up the box and opened it up revealing an engagement ring.
“I was going to ask her to marry me in Santa Barbara.” Vaughn looked back down on the table and brought his hands up to cradle his head on the table. Weiss was speechless at the moment.
“I didn’t know you two were serious.” Weiss looked at Vaughn and set the box down in front of him.
Vaughn took the ring out of the box and read the inscription, “My Soul Mate” to Weiss.
“That’s beautiful, Mike. I’m sure Sydney would’ve loved it.” Vaughn put the ring back in the box and put it in his jacket pocket for safekeeping. “Mike, I think you should go to France for a while. Get away from LA and spend some time with your mother. It would be a nice change for you”. Weiss told him as the waiter arrived with their dinner.
“Yeah maybe I should.” Vaughn replied and took a bite out of his potatoes.
The next week went by in a flash as Vaughn prepared to take a leave of absence from the CIA and spend some time in France with his mother. At first he was hesitant about leaving but decided to do so anyway. His mother, Ameliè picked Vaughn up from the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris and drove him home to the farm in Fleury, Normandy. Vaughn spent the next several months in Fleury with his mother’s family. It was a long and hard recovery process for him.
~~~~
Several months later, Vaughn returned to LA to rebuild his life. He decided that it wasn’t worth working for the CIA anymore since there was nothing keeping him there. There was no more searching for his father’s killer, no more SD-6, and no Sydney. He planned to finish out the month to finish up the paperwork. He settled for a teaching job at a local college, teaching French. It was Sydney’s dream to become a teacher and he thought that he could try to live for her, accomplish some of her dreams as a way of honoring her memory. It was the least he could do. Vaughn and Weiss still kept in touch and occasionally went out to a Kings game here and there. Sometimes they played hockey at Pickwick Ice Skating Rink like old times. Weiss noticed that Vaughn was a different person than before. He was very guarded and carried a heavy heart. He could hear it in his voice. Vaughn even gained some of the weight that he lost after Sydney died and he stopped drinking after he almost died. Weiss hadn’t known what the circumstances were and planned to wait until Vaughn told him what happened during the past several months.
Vaughn and Weiss were at the Pickwick Ice Skating Rink when Weiss mentioned the NSC investigation into Irina. “Why is the NSC investigating Irina now? They should have done it after she escaped.” Vaughn told Weiss.
“I don’t know but the NSC is sending someone out here to investigate.” Weiss replied and shot a puck past Vaughn and it banged against the boards.
“Good shot!” Vaughn exclaimed as he did a slap shot. “Why the NSC? Who ordered the investigation and who is conducting it?” Vaughn asked Weiss. “Agent Vaughn! Slow down! I’d rather talk to Mike!” Vaughn laughed and shot another puck against the boards.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but they want you to work with the NSC on this investigation. Apparently, they feel that you are best suited for this job due to the fact that you were close to the Bristows.” Vaughn let out a sigh of defeat knowing he could never fully move on from the CIA. It had a way of haunting him, starting with his father’s death and continuing with Sydney’s.
“Why can’t they find someone else? Its hard for me, I’m just trying to put my life back together and the NSC wants to rip me apart again! I can’t go through it again.” Vaughn resigned in defeat. He realized that no matter what, it was always going to come back one way or the other. He couldn’t take it anymore and might as well help out and get it over and done with as soon as possible.
Vaughn walked into the JTF the following week, which was supposed to be his last week working for the CIA but he had a gut feeling that it wasn’t going to be his last week. He had already turned in his two weeks notice but since he was one of their best agents, or used to be, they weren’t going to let him go easily. The CIA felt that Agent Vaughn was a great leader. Many junior agents envied him, mostly because he had become a legend due to his father and from working with the Bristows.
Many of these junior agents had wanted to be like him, but that had changed as Agent Vaughn had become out of touch. They actually felt sorry for him after Sydney died. He was the kind of agent that all the junior agents wanted to be. They wanted to have the legacy that he had. They wanted their “asset” to be like Sydney.
“Hey Mike! Wait up for me!” Weiss yelled as he tried to catch up with Vaughn. “Listen, we have a meeting in ten minutes. Before we go in, I wanted to ask you how are you handling this.” Weiss asked him.
“I’m fine and I just want to get this done. The sooner I can get this done, the sooner I can move on.” Vaughn told him, mostly to reassure him that he really was ok. When in reality he was really not ready to deal with it. He never got over losing Sydney and never would.
Vaughn walked into the conference room, what used to be the old and dull conference room had been remodeled. The square table had been replaced with 2 glass tables on each side of the room forming a slight crescent shape. In between the tables stood the state of art TV equipment along with the latest computer. All this was probably done and picked out by Marshall. It is safe to say that these were some of Marshall’s favorite toys. Vaughn walked to the left side of the room and sat down in the middle and Weiss came to sit next to him, followed by Agents Kendall and Dixon. A minute later, a young woman with blonde hair and steel blue eyes came into the room. Vaughn looked at her for a split second and then back to Kendall.
Kendall got up and began the meeting. “Thank you for being here, I want to introduce you all to Agent Reed from NSC. She will be here to investigate Irina Derevko….”
Vaughn interrupted Kendall’s speech and inserted his own. “I don’t understand why we are having this investigation now. This investigation should have happened immediately after she escaped in Panama and what does this investigation have to do with me?”
All eyes left Vaughn and traveled to Kendall and Agent Reed. “Agent Vaughn, you are here because the NSC felt that you will be valuable to this investigation with regards to your close proximity to Sydney Bristow and her father. The NSC believes that because of your relationship with Sydney, you may have been privy to information that we don’t have.” Agent Reed stated to all.
“My relationship with Sydney Bristow is none of anyone’s damn business. I’m not going to share secrets now. Even if I did know something, I still wouldn’t tell a damn soul. Why? Because it was said to me in total confidence. I’m not about to betray Sydney. Not now and not ever. So I would think twice before asking me any questions regarding Sydney. Now, I might be able to help you with Jack but if you really want to know more about Irina Derevko, you are asking the wrong person. The person you should be talking to is Jack Bristow, not me. Don’t make me relive it.” Vaughn stated with urgency in his voice. He sank back down in his seat and began to rub his temples as if he was trying to will the headache that was forming away. He didn’t need this, not now.
“I understand Agent Vaughn, but you are under orders to tell us everything you know about Irina Derevko.” Agent Reed replied in a calming voice.
“Didn’t you read my file? If you did, you would have known about my secret investigation into Irina Derevko after she turned herself in. I believe that everything I know about her is in that file. Maybe you should have done your homework first before harassing me about it.” Agent Reed’s gaze never left Agent Vaughn’s as he said that. It was like he set off something primal inside of her. She became so frustrated and angry. It was evident in her body language. Vaughn just sat back and let out a dry chuckle thinking that he had won the match.
“Agent Vaughn, need I remind you that I can pull rank on you, if I have too.” She smirked as she rebutted.
“That’s fine with me, since this is my LAST week in the CIA and I don’t anticipate that I will be needed ever again once I am out. In fact, I would prefer it if all of you would not contact me about this ever again.” As soon as the words came out of Vaughn’s mouth, he got up and left the meeting. The rest of the occupants in the conference room sat in silence, pondering Vaughn’s last words.
Weiss thought that what just happened was an unexpected twist. Vaughn hadn’t noticed but Lauren could be very stubborn and would refuse to give up. Agent Reed’s stubbornness reminds Weiss of Sydney. Weiss followed Vaughn out of the conference room and over to Sydney’s desk. After Sydney died, Vaughn moved from his desk to Sydney’s. No one dared to question him when he did that. Heck, no one even bothered to use it because it was like committing sacrilege.
“Mike are you ok?” Weiss asked Vaughn as he pulled a chair up to sit next to him.
“For the umpteenth time, I’m fine. Will you please stop asking me! I just don’t like the idea of working with Agent Reed on this investigation. I really don’t want to drag Sydney into this. I just want to keep her out of this as much as possible.” Vaughn looked at him with that look that he knew all too well. It was a look that said, “Don’t argue with me.”
“Mike, I doubt that Sydney is going to care. She’s dead.” Weiss whispered.
“I can’t believe you said that! I care and I’m not going to do it. So drop it!” Vaughn yelled at Weiss and walked away from the desk towards the hallway. It was obvious that Vaughn would soon be on his way back to the pier or to the warehouse. He often when to the pier when he was frustrated or whenever he wanted to be with Sydney. Other times he went to the warehouse when things got worse. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether he would go to the pier or the warehouse.
That night, Vaughn went to the warehouse trying to find some solace in it. The warehouse was the one place that Vaughn felt the closest to Sydney. After all it was the place where their friendship was built and soon their relationship. After Sydney and Vaughn got together, they rarely went to the warehouse since it wasn’t necessary for them to hide their relationship anymore, but now that Vaughn had lost Sydney, he spent a lot of time there, reliving memories, and talking to Sydney as if she was there with him. Tonight, Vaughn decided to write another letter to Sydney. He continued to write letters to her but never mailed them. All the letters were stored in a special box that Vaughn kept in his closet. Inside the box was a sack of letters tied together with gold-laced ribbon that his mother gave him, along with souvenirs that Vaughn kept from the times they went out. The souvenirs included a miniature zamboni, ticket stubs to Kings games, movies, and little post-it notes that she left for him at her place. Vaughn wanted to keep everything because he treasured every moment that he spent with Sydney. These little mementos had become his lifeline. It was the only connection he had to her, other than the fact that she had his heart and he had hers. Vaughn believed the moment Sydney died, his heart died as well.
Disclaimer: I don't own ALIAS - they belong to ABC...
If you would like a pm, let me know.
Chapter 1:
After Sydney’s funeral, Michael Vaughn came home to his apartment and the first thing he did was grab a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass then he proceeded to drown himself in hard liquor. It was a beautiful ceremony, he thought just the way Sydney would have liked it. Vaughn was on the floor of his living room with his back up against the couch for support, a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass on the coffee table in front of him. He poured more in the glass and downed a shot. It burned his throat as he swallowed. He didn’t care. His heart died. He felt nothing but emptiness inside. His mind wandered back to his father’s funeral. He remembered that day so well it scared him.
It was a cold, windy day at the Arlington National Cemetery. Family surrounded Michael Vaughn and many people he had no clue who they were but he suspected that they were his father’s colleagues. He sat next to his weeping mother as the priest led the ceremony at the graveside. He grabbed her hand to hold her. It was the only way he could have comforted her at that moment. He never looked at anyone around them, only at the coffin that lay before him. The American Flag covered the coffin and flowers surround the opening of the grave. It was a sight that Michael never wanted to witness again. At that moment, he made a solemn vow to find his father’s killer and bring that person to justice. He also made another vow. He prayed that he would never have to bury a loved one. At the end of the sermon, there was the sound of “Taps” playing and gunshots in the air.
It woke him out of his thoughts and brought him back to the cold harsh reality he was about to live in. It was too real for him.
Twenty-six years later, he had buried his soul mate. The pain of losing his father was nothing compared to losing Sydney. The loss of Sydney was affecting him more deeply than his father’s death. Now he knew how his mother felt that day. He stared at the shot glass, poured himself another round, and gulped it down in one shot. The tears never stopped falling from his face. He gave up on wiping them away, allowing the tears to fall to his pants, creating sprinkles of wet spots. He didn’t care. He wanted nothing more than to go back to bed and pretend that this was all a nightmare, but he couldn’t. He was living in his worst nightmare. He cried because of all the opportunities they could have had, and dreams for their future were shattered. It broke him into thousands of pieces.
Days went by, and Vaughn was still on the floor, drinking his life away. He figured that he had nothing else to live for. He had finally found his father’s killer and learned that she was the mother of his soul mate. He couldn’t believe that fate brought them together under such painful circumstances. Nonetheless, he loved her deeply, more than life itself. He was amazed at himself, especially his capacity to love her. He never thought he would ever fall in love the way he fell for Sydney. It scared him to need her so much. He didn’t know how he could live without her and yet there he was, living without Sydney.
Vaughn got up from the floor and staggered toward his office with a bottle in his left hand. He walked into the office and sat on his desk. On his desk were pictures of Sydney from her missions. All of them in black and white some had been smudged due to his salty tears and wiping the photos, others had wrinkles and marks from being held tightly. He picked up a photo and stared at it. Almost as if he was willing her to come back to him. In the photo was a picture of Sydney with the bozo red hair and bruised face. He laughed for a second remembering the day she entered his life. Then his laughter turned into more sobs as reality set on him. He couldn’t do this anymore. It was killing him. He looked over to the side of his desk, towards the lamp. Next to the lamp, were several envelopes, all sealed with letters inside, addressed to Sydney Bristow, Heaven. Vaughn wiped his eyes and tried unsuccessfully to straighten up his desk, instead he pushed everything off the desk, photo after photo falling weightlessly towards the ground. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper with his initials and fumbled through the drawer looking for a pen. Finally, he began to write a new letter to Sydney. As soon as he finished writing the letter, he picked up the paper, folded it, and stuck it inside the envelope. He addressed the letter to Sydney Bristow, Heaven and then kissed the envelope. “Sydney, please come home to me. I need you.” He whispered as he held the letter tightly against his chest. More tears fell from his face and he finally succumbed to sleep on the desk holding the envelope in one hand and a picture of Sydney in the other.
Ever since Sydney had died, Vaughn had been falling apart. It was hard for Weiss to see him wasting away like that. Weiss knew that Sydney deserved better than that. He drove to Vaughn’s house and let himself in. Once he entered, he was surprised to see the mess in the house. There were bottles of hard liquor on the counter top and several emptied glasses next to the bottles. Weiss walked into the living room and found more bottles of liquor. He sighed and kicked himself mentally for not taking care of his best friend. He continued to wander throughout the place looking for Mike. As Weiss opened the office door, he found Vaughn slouched over on the desk. There were photos of Sydney all over the floor laying haphazardly everywhere. He bent down, picked up all the photos of Sydney, stacked them neatly in a pile, and put it back in the file where it belonged. Then he proceeded to clean up around Vaughn, picking up all the remains from his desk and putting them back in their rightful place. He stopped when he picked the burnt picture frame. He had never seen it before and he knew it was the picture frame that Vaughn gave to Sydney.
He walked over to stand behind Vaughn and woke him up. “Wake up Mike!” He yelled. Vaughn woke up instantly.
“Sydney?” He whispered.
“Come on man, let’s get you cleaned up.” Weiss whispered to him as he took him down the hall to his bathroom. He put Vaughn in the bathtub and turned on the cold water making sure that it hit him directly in the face. Instantly, Vaughn was awake and yelling about the cold water. Weiss finally turned off the water and told Vaughn to take a shower. Weiss walked out of the bathroom and went back into the living room to help clean up the mess. Several minutes later Weiss heard Vaughn’s footsteps coming down the hallway.
“Hey” was all Vaughn could muster out. He threw on a pair of jeans and white tee shirt, his pants barely hanging on to his waist.
“God, you look like s*** man.” Weiss told him as he gave him the once over. “Haven’t you eaten lately?” Vaughn shook his head no. “You need to stop doing this. It’s killing you. I can’t stand to look at you like this anymore. Sydney wouldn’t want you to waste away like this. She would have wanted you to move on with your life. Live your life for her.” Weiss told Vaughn as he continued to clean the countertop. He stood there waiting and watching Vaughn’s reaction.
“I can’t, Eric. It hurts too much to live without her. I need her. I don’t feel like moving on without her.” He choked out and gasped for breath at the same time.
“Mike, hey it’s ok buddy.” He ran over to grab Vaughn and led him to the couch. “We’ll get through this together. I’m here now.” Weiss grabbed a box of Kleenex and handed it to Vaughn. Weiss stood up in front of Vaughn; walked over to the hall closet; pulled out a jacket and handed it to Vaughn.
“We are going out; you need to eat and get some fresh air.”
Several hours later, Weiss and Vaughn were walking on the pier in Huntington Beach. It was a nice clear day, not too many people were out since it was a weekday. The two of them just walked side by side, not saying a word.
“How am I supposed to live without Sydney?” Weiss was shocked and saddened at Vaughn’s sudden question. Weiss turned to look at Vaughn and what he saw was not the same guy he had known a few weeks ago. What he saw was a man who was completely broken, lost and scared. Weiss felt bad for Vaughn but vowed to himself that he would do whatever it took to make him happy again.
“I don’t know, Mike. We’ll figure it out. I promise we’ll figure it out.” Was all he could say and they began walking in silence again.
Another hour or so went by as they made their way into BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery. “Are you sure you want to be in here?” Weiss asked Vaughn. Vaughn nodded as they waited for the hostess to direct them to their table by the window, which overlooked the ocean. They sat in silence as they ordered their drinks and appetizers. Vaughn was looking over to the horizon and tears began to form around his eyes, and he wiped them away quickly so no one else could notice that he was crying. The waitress came by, brought them their Iced Teas and Buffalo wings, and took their order for dinner. They continued to sit and eat their appetizers in silence. Weiss was beginning to wonder if Vaughn was ever going to get over losing Sydney. He was afraid for his best friend and desperately wanted to help but didn’t know how except to be his friend. It was at that moment that Vaughn took out a small black velvet box and put it on the table for Weiss to see. Weiss looked at Vaughn, waiting to see if he would say something but he didn’t, so he picked up the box and opened it up revealing an engagement ring.
“I was going to ask her to marry me in Santa Barbara.” Vaughn looked back down on the table and brought his hands up to cradle his head on the table. Weiss was speechless at the moment.
“I didn’t know you two were serious.” Weiss looked at Vaughn and set the box down in front of him.
Vaughn took the ring out of the box and read the inscription, “My Soul Mate” to Weiss.
“That’s beautiful, Mike. I’m sure Sydney would’ve loved it.” Vaughn put the ring back in the box and put it in his jacket pocket for safekeeping. “Mike, I think you should go to France for a while. Get away from LA and spend some time with your mother. It would be a nice change for you”. Weiss told him as the waiter arrived with their dinner.
“Yeah maybe I should.” Vaughn replied and took a bite out of his potatoes.
The next week went by in a flash as Vaughn prepared to take a leave of absence from the CIA and spend some time in France with his mother. At first he was hesitant about leaving but decided to do so anyway. His mother, Ameliè picked Vaughn up from the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris and drove him home to the farm in Fleury, Normandy. Vaughn spent the next several months in Fleury with his mother’s family. It was a long and hard recovery process for him.
~~~~
Several months later, Vaughn returned to LA to rebuild his life. He decided that it wasn’t worth working for the CIA anymore since there was nothing keeping him there. There was no more searching for his father’s killer, no more SD-6, and no Sydney. He planned to finish out the month to finish up the paperwork. He settled for a teaching job at a local college, teaching French. It was Sydney’s dream to become a teacher and he thought that he could try to live for her, accomplish some of her dreams as a way of honoring her memory. It was the least he could do. Vaughn and Weiss still kept in touch and occasionally went out to a Kings game here and there. Sometimes they played hockey at Pickwick Ice Skating Rink like old times. Weiss noticed that Vaughn was a different person than before. He was very guarded and carried a heavy heart. He could hear it in his voice. Vaughn even gained some of the weight that he lost after Sydney died and he stopped drinking after he almost died. Weiss hadn’t known what the circumstances were and planned to wait until Vaughn told him what happened during the past several months.
Vaughn and Weiss were at the Pickwick Ice Skating Rink when Weiss mentioned the NSC investigation into Irina. “Why is the NSC investigating Irina now? They should have done it after she escaped.” Vaughn told Weiss.
“I don’t know but the NSC is sending someone out here to investigate.” Weiss replied and shot a puck past Vaughn and it banged against the boards.
“Good shot!” Vaughn exclaimed as he did a slap shot. “Why the NSC? Who ordered the investigation and who is conducting it?” Vaughn asked Weiss. “Agent Vaughn! Slow down! I’d rather talk to Mike!” Vaughn laughed and shot another puck against the boards.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but they want you to work with the NSC on this investigation. Apparently, they feel that you are best suited for this job due to the fact that you were close to the Bristows.” Vaughn let out a sigh of defeat knowing he could never fully move on from the CIA. It had a way of haunting him, starting with his father’s death and continuing with Sydney’s.
“Why can’t they find someone else? Its hard for me, I’m just trying to put my life back together and the NSC wants to rip me apart again! I can’t go through it again.” Vaughn resigned in defeat. He realized that no matter what, it was always going to come back one way or the other. He couldn’t take it anymore and might as well help out and get it over and done with as soon as possible.
Vaughn walked into the JTF the following week, which was supposed to be his last week working for the CIA but he had a gut feeling that it wasn’t going to be his last week. He had already turned in his two weeks notice but since he was one of their best agents, or used to be, they weren’t going to let him go easily. The CIA felt that Agent Vaughn was a great leader. Many junior agents envied him, mostly because he had become a legend due to his father and from working with the Bristows.
Many of these junior agents had wanted to be like him, but that had changed as Agent Vaughn had become out of touch. They actually felt sorry for him after Sydney died. He was the kind of agent that all the junior agents wanted to be. They wanted to have the legacy that he had. They wanted their “asset” to be like Sydney.
“Hey Mike! Wait up for me!” Weiss yelled as he tried to catch up with Vaughn. “Listen, we have a meeting in ten minutes. Before we go in, I wanted to ask you how are you handling this.” Weiss asked him.
“I’m fine and I just want to get this done. The sooner I can get this done, the sooner I can move on.” Vaughn told him, mostly to reassure him that he really was ok. When in reality he was really not ready to deal with it. He never got over losing Sydney and never would.
Vaughn walked into the conference room, what used to be the old and dull conference room had been remodeled. The square table had been replaced with 2 glass tables on each side of the room forming a slight crescent shape. In between the tables stood the state of art TV equipment along with the latest computer. All this was probably done and picked out by Marshall. It is safe to say that these were some of Marshall’s favorite toys. Vaughn walked to the left side of the room and sat down in the middle and Weiss came to sit next to him, followed by Agents Kendall and Dixon. A minute later, a young woman with blonde hair and steel blue eyes came into the room. Vaughn looked at her for a split second and then back to Kendall.
Kendall got up and began the meeting. “Thank you for being here, I want to introduce you all to Agent Reed from NSC. She will be here to investigate Irina Derevko….”
Vaughn interrupted Kendall’s speech and inserted his own. “I don’t understand why we are having this investigation now. This investigation should have happened immediately after she escaped in Panama and what does this investigation have to do with me?”
All eyes left Vaughn and traveled to Kendall and Agent Reed. “Agent Vaughn, you are here because the NSC felt that you will be valuable to this investigation with regards to your close proximity to Sydney Bristow and her father. The NSC believes that because of your relationship with Sydney, you may have been privy to information that we don’t have.” Agent Reed stated to all.
“My relationship with Sydney Bristow is none of anyone’s damn business. I’m not going to share secrets now. Even if I did know something, I still wouldn’t tell a damn soul. Why? Because it was said to me in total confidence. I’m not about to betray Sydney. Not now and not ever. So I would think twice before asking me any questions regarding Sydney. Now, I might be able to help you with Jack but if you really want to know more about Irina Derevko, you are asking the wrong person. The person you should be talking to is Jack Bristow, not me. Don’t make me relive it.” Vaughn stated with urgency in his voice. He sank back down in his seat and began to rub his temples as if he was trying to will the headache that was forming away. He didn’t need this, not now.
“I understand Agent Vaughn, but you are under orders to tell us everything you know about Irina Derevko.” Agent Reed replied in a calming voice.
“Didn’t you read my file? If you did, you would have known about my secret investigation into Irina Derevko after she turned herself in. I believe that everything I know about her is in that file. Maybe you should have done your homework first before harassing me about it.” Agent Reed’s gaze never left Agent Vaughn’s as he said that. It was like he set off something primal inside of her. She became so frustrated and angry. It was evident in her body language. Vaughn just sat back and let out a dry chuckle thinking that he had won the match.
“Agent Vaughn, need I remind you that I can pull rank on you, if I have too.” She smirked as she rebutted.
“That’s fine with me, since this is my LAST week in the CIA and I don’t anticipate that I will be needed ever again once I am out. In fact, I would prefer it if all of you would not contact me about this ever again.” As soon as the words came out of Vaughn’s mouth, he got up and left the meeting. The rest of the occupants in the conference room sat in silence, pondering Vaughn’s last words.
Weiss thought that what just happened was an unexpected twist. Vaughn hadn’t noticed but Lauren could be very stubborn and would refuse to give up. Agent Reed’s stubbornness reminds Weiss of Sydney. Weiss followed Vaughn out of the conference room and over to Sydney’s desk. After Sydney died, Vaughn moved from his desk to Sydney’s. No one dared to question him when he did that. Heck, no one even bothered to use it because it was like committing sacrilege.
“Mike are you ok?” Weiss asked Vaughn as he pulled a chair up to sit next to him.
“For the umpteenth time, I’m fine. Will you please stop asking me! I just don’t like the idea of working with Agent Reed on this investigation. I really don’t want to drag Sydney into this. I just want to keep her out of this as much as possible.” Vaughn looked at him with that look that he knew all too well. It was a look that said, “Don’t argue with me.”
“Mike, I doubt that Sydney is going to care. She’s dead.” Weiss whispered.
“I can’t believe you said that! I care and I’m not going to do it. So drop it!” Vaughn yelled at Weiss and walked away from the desk towards the hallway. It was obvious that Vaughn would soon be on his way back to the pier or to the warehouse. He often when to the pier when he was frustrated or whenever he wanted to be with Sydney. Other times he went to the warehouse when things got worse. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether he would go to the pier or the warehouse.
That night, Vaughn went to the warehouse trying to find some solace in it. The warehouse was the one place that Vaughn felt the closest to Sydney. After all it was the place where their friendship was built and soon their relationship. After Sydney and Vaughn got together, they rarely went to the warehouse since it wasn’t necessary for them to hide their relationship anymore, but now that Vaughn had lost Sydney, he spent a lot of time there, reliving memories, and talking to Sydney as if she was there with him. Tonight, Vaughn decided to write another letter to Sydney. He continued to write letters to her but never mailed them. All the letters were stored in a special box that Vaughn kept in his closet. Inside the box was a sack of letters tied together with gold-laced ribbon that his mother gave him, along with souvenirs that Vaughn kept from the times they went out. The souvenirs included a miniature zamboni, ticket stubs to Kings games, movies, and little post-it notes that she left for him at her place. Vaughn wanted to keep everything because he treasured every moment that he spent with Sydney. These little mementos had become his lifeline. It was the only connection he had to her, other than the fact that she had his heart and he had hers. Vaughn believed the moment Sydney died, his heart died as well.