Chapter 5
She had packed up a few of her belongings, said goodbye to Vanessa and Zara and gotten on a plane with a man she hardly knew. But Sydney felt very calm about it all. She looked over at Vaughn, who kept stealing glances at her. He smiled, caught staring at her and said, “Are you nervous?”
“Not really” she said, smiling back. “What exactly are we doing when we get there?”
“You father is meeting us at the airport. Well, he’s meeting me. All I told him was that there was something he needed to hear about. Anyway, he’s picking us up. I don’t know where you’re going to stay. You’re welcome at my place, of course, but I don’t know if you’re comfortable with that. Or you could stay with your father, or in a hotel or something…” Vaughn’s voice trailed off.
“We’ll figure it out when we get there. When are you hypnotizing me?”
“Tomorrow, probably. As soon as we can, I promise.”
“I guess you’re pretty eager for me to have my memory back. I’m sorry this is so hard on you, Michael. I wish I could make it easier. I wish I could just remember everything” she said sadly, patting his hand.
“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself, Syd. You’re right, though. I do want my girlfriend back” he said. They smiled at eachother and Vaughn had to stop himself from kissing her.
The flight lasted a few hours. Tired after staying up late packing, Sydney quickly drifted off to sleep, her hand still on his. When they landed, Sydney woke with a start.
“I had just had the weirdest dream ever” she told him. “You were in it. We were in this warehouse full of boxes and stuff. I was all dressed up for some reason. You were realy nervous, kept looking away and stuff. You asked if I was taking… some guy to dinner and then you looked me in the eye and told me I looked pretty. That’s when I woke up”
Vaughn stared at her. “That was when you went to Sloane’s for dinner. You took your friend Will with you and I was so jealous.”
Sydney grinned at him. “I remembered something…” she said happily. She hoped this meant that she was doing the right thing. The two of them walked off the plane and into the airport. “Okay, now I’m nervous” she told him. She was going to see her father for the first time in two years, a man she couldn’t remember at all.
“Don’t worry, it’s just your father” he said, reading her mind. “I don’t know how he’ll react, though. But if he faints, I’m not catching him” he joked
She looked at him quizzically, but instead of explaining he shook his head and smiled. They walked out of customs towards the door and she instinctively slipped her hand into his.
Jack stood up from the hard, plastic chair abruptly as Sydney and Vaughn walked through the doors. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw Sydney.
“Come on” Vaughn told her, leading Sydney towards her father. “Jack, I found her.”
Jack was still standing there gaping at her. He couldn’t believe he was seeing his daughter again. Vaughn smothered a laugh. He had never seen Jack Bristow flustered and speechless before. Suddenly Jack stepped towards Sydney and enveloped her in a hug. She froze immediately.
“Jack!” said Vaughn quickly. “She doesn’t know you!”
Jack let go of his daughter, who was staring at him with a startled look. “Sydney? Vaughn, you have 30 seconds to tell me exactly what the hell is going on.”
Vaughn quickly explained the situation. “I found her in Charleston. She doesn’t remember anything before she woke up in a park. I brought her here for hypnotic regression therapy.”
Jack nodded. “All right…Hello, my name is Jack Bristow. I’m your father. I’m an agent of- Vaughn, does she know about the CIA?” Vaughn nodded and Jack continued. “An agent of the CIA with you. You didn’t tell her everything about the CIA, did you?” Vaughn shook his head. He knew better than to randomly tell people about his job.
Sydney smiled warmly at Jack. Shaking his hand, she said “Hi. Um, where are we going?”
Jack picked up her bags and the three of them walked through the airport.
“We’re going to…I don’t know. Jack?” said Vaughn as they walked.
“Well, where is she staying?” asked Jack.
“I’m right here, guys. I think I’d like to stay with you, Michael. If that’s okay…?” Sydney said quietly.
“Of course it’s okay” said Vaughn while Jack looked at them disapprovingly. Vaughn gave Sydney a smile that Jack couldn’t see and gave her hand, which was still in his, a little squeeze. Sydney smiled back at him. She still couldn’t believe how irrational she was being by flying to L.A. with a stranger, but everything felt familiar and…right. She was realy starting to like this guy. She squeezed his hand back.
When they pulled up in Vaughn’s driveway, there was already a car in it. Jack stopped at the curb to let them out. “Goodbye Sydney. I’ll see you early tomorrow morning. Get some sleep.”
The two of them climbed out of the car and walked up to the door.
“Weiss is here” Vaughn explained. “He’s a friend of ours from the CIA. He’s probably just dropping off Donovan, my dog.”
“Oh, you have a dog?” asked Sydney as they walked through the door.
“Yep. Eric?” he called, looking around his house. Weiss walked out of the kitchen, sandwich in hand. He stopped suddenly when he saw Sydney.
“Weiss, I found her. But she has amnesia, so she doesn’t know you” Vaughn explained quickly.
“Syd! Oh, it’s great to see you! Beautiful as ever, lucky Michael!” Weiss said excitedly.
“Syd, this is Eric Weiss. He hangs around here a lot” Vaughn explained.
“Like Will does at my house, right?” Sydney asked, trying to remember what Vaughn had told her earlier. He smiled at her and nodded, impressed.
She smiled back. Eric just watched the two of them, who were staring at eachother.
“I’m going to go, Mike. See you later” he said quietly as he sidled out the door.
Vaughn broke the silence first. “I think there’s a hockey game on…do you want to watch it?” he asked timidly.
“Sure” she said. “But you’ll have to explain it to me.”
They sat on the bed, which was in front of the tv. “Okay” Vaughn said. “The idea is to get the puck in the net. Ow!” he said as Sydney pinched him.
“I know that!” she told him indignantly. They joked around as they watched the game, not paying much attention. Near the end of the game, Sydney yawned and laid her head on Vaughn’s shoulder and Vaughn put his arm around her. She settled on his chest, wrapped in his strong arms, and fell asleep peacefully. Vaughn kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I love you.”
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