Turn Around
By: I_<3_ALIAS (aka Lauren)
Spoilers: Nightingale, some general s4 spoilers
Rating: PG (for now)
Disclaimer: I own absolute nothing. Alias belongs to the great JJ Abrams and Bad Robot.
Set: Immediately after Nightingale
Ship: Syd/Vaughn what else could it possibly be?
A/N: Thank you all so much for your great reviews! You have no idea how much they all meant to me. The response has been phenomenal, and I appreciate it!
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to LaurenRachael. Thank you so much for your support!
Chapter 2
Later that night, Sydney was lying in her bed, wide awake. She had tried everything to keep her mind off Vaughn. At one point, Syd had even pulled out he copy of Alice in Wonderland Weiss had bought for her last year. That had always worked when she was a little girl. But as she was reading about the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat, questions crept into her mind. Like what if he actually found his father? Sydney knew Vaughn would need some one to be there for him for that. Or what if the whole thing was a trap? Different scenarios floated across her mind, each one even worse that the one before it.
Sydney was just lying in bed, sleep unable to claim her, when she heard key rattling in the door. She realized that it was Nadia (and probably Weiss) returning from their date. Sydney quickly flicked off her light. She heard the door open, followed by voices. Syd heard Weiss start laughing and then Nadia shushing him. Sydney then heard footsteps quickly followed by a knock at the door. Syd pretended to be asleep and didn’t answer her. She felt guilty but she just wasn’t ready to deal with it- any of it.
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Hundreds of miles away, Vaughn was preparing for his meeting. He could not believe he was doing this. As he sat in his hotel room, Vaughn wondered what the heck he was doing. He knew what he was doing could cost him everything- his job, Sydney, even his life. Was it really worth it? Did this guy even have the information he was looking for? Vaughn wished Sydney could be there with him, but he knew that was next to impossible. Besides he didn’t want her anymore involved than she already was. He needed to do this by himself.
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After a restless night’s sleep, Sydney woke up, dreading the day before her. She knew she was going to face an endless amount of questions and pitying stares. She didn’t even want to get out of bed. Sydney forced herself to get up, going through her morning routine. When she was finally ready, Sydney braced herself for the day ahead.
Sydney went out into the kitchen that she now shared with Nadia, who was sitting at the table with Eric. The pair had been deep in conversation, but as soon as Sydney walked in the room, they got very quiet. Choosing to ignore it, Sydney went to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. As she did so, Syd felt two pair of eyes following her.
Hesitantly, Nadia asked Syd, “How are you doing?” It was a loaded question, with no real way of answering it.
Here we go, Syd thought. She plastered this smile on her face and responded, “Fine. I guess as well as can be expected.” Syd then took a sip of her coffee.
Eric shifted uncomfortably and asked Syd quietly, “Have you heard from Mike?”
All Sydney could do was shake her head no. Sydney saw Nadia kick Eric under the table. She obviously thought his question had upset her. Actually, it wasn’t the question that had upset her; it was more her answer. It was a lie. She had heard from Vaughn the night before. Even though lying was apart of her job description, Sydney felt guilty about lying the people she cared about, especially Eric and Nadia. And she had been doing it for days. There was no way she could tell them now though. She had to live with her decisions. Thankfully, Eric just let it go.
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A half an hour later, Sydney arrived at APO. Not 5 minutes after she got there, everyone was called into a briefing. Syd walked in to the briefing room and immediately saw Vaughn’s CIA profile on the screen.
Just as she was about to say something, Sloane walked in and started the briefing. He addressed the group and said “I assume you all have become aware that Agent Vaughn has been classified as a rogue operative. Last night, during the mission in Siberia, Agent Vaughn forcibly took the nuclear coil we were trying to acquire from Agent Bristow. We have reason to believe that Agent Vaughn is meeting someone in London and is planning to trade this coil for intel. I know I do not have to remind you that in the wrong hands this technology can be very dangerous. I understand that this may be difficult for some of you to hear. I understand some of you have worked with Agent Vaughn for many years. However, it is our duty to bring Agent Vaughn back in. Unharmed and Unscathed, if at all possible.”
It was all Sydney could do to keep her anger in check and not kill Sloane right there. But Sloane wasn’t done yet. He continued, “I have also contacted Langley. They agree that right now Agent Vaughn is our top priority.”
That almost sent Sydney over edge. She could barely control her anger. In thinly veiled anger, Sydney said “You went to Langley with this? Why don’t you just paint a target on his back?”
Sloane responded. “Sydney, it was a matter of national security. I didn’t have a choice.”
To that Sydney answered, “We could have handled it internally. Vaughn’s search for his father is not a matter of national security. You had a choice. You always have a choice. This time, you just made the wrong one.”
Sloane frigidly said, “Everyone else is dismissed. I need to speak to Sydney privately.” Sloane waited until everyone was gone and then continued, “ Sydney, I understand that you are under a lot of stress right now. Which is why I am going to excuse that little performance and complete disregard for my authority. However, it is clear that you are too emotionally involved to be useful in bringing Agent Vaughn back in. So until Agent Vaughn is brought back here, you are on leave.”
Sydney stared at Sloane in disbelief and walked out of his office without another word.
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Vaughn walked into a warehouse in London’s shipping district, where the meeting was supposed to be held. Vaughn still wasn’t sure if he wanted to go through with the deal. He had this uneasy feeling. Then Vaughn saw the person sitting at the table in the middle in the room.
All Vaughn could think was: Oh s*&%! I’m screwed.
Vaughn realized that there was only one thing he could do, but he needed to do it fast. It was too late to back out now.
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As Sydney was driving home from APO, she heard her cell phone ring. She looked at her phone and saw that it was another message from Vaughn. Sydney got this little smile on her face. But then she read the very short message. All it said was:
SARK LSD
The smile on Sydney’s face quickly disappeared. Her worst fears were coming to life. The only coherent thought Sydney had, was that she had to get to Vaughn.
A/N: What do you think? Please don't hate me!