Halfway to Anywhere
Sydney and Vaughn make a short escape. A piece of S/V fluff written for the April 2003 SD-1 Challenge
Title: Halfway to Anywhere
Summary: When Sydney can’t take it anymore, she and Vaughn make a short escape. General spoilers. This was written for SD-1’s April 2003 Challenge.
Challenge elements: sporks, April Fools, rain
~*~*~
Sydney listened to the rain spattering just outside, feeling it pervade her heart and deep into her soul. It had been over a day since she had ventured outside her room, preferring to shut herself out from the emotional storm that awaited her beyond that door. The doctor had recommended bed rest, which usually drove her crazy, but this time she was all too happy to oblige. She could lie around, look out the window, and try not to think about the betrayal that had nearly killed her.
The one person that she had never thought she could lose was gone. Gone forever. The pain was still so fresh, days later, that she still couldn’t bear to remember it. Couldn’t keep from reliving it over and over in her mind.
A knock on the door startled into her thoughts. Sydney burrowed farther under the covers, refusing to acknowledge the person on the other side. She frowned when she heard the doorknob rattle and a voice call out, “Sydney, the first thing they teach us at Langley is how to pick a lock. Give it up.”
She let out an aggravated sigh, hauled herself out of bed, and walked to the door. She flipped the lock and promptly returned to her cocoon, not bothering with idle conversation.
He sat next to where she was lying on the bed, gently tugging at the covers that she had pulled over her head. “Syd.”
“Vaughn, go away.”
He shook his head. “You really don’t know me if you think you’re getting rid of me that easily. Sydney. Look at me.” When she still refused, he said, “If you don’t look at me, you won’t be able to see my brand-new tongue ring.” When her head popped out, her eyes wide with shock, he grinned and stuck out his unmarred tongue. “April Fools.”
She gave him a bittersweet smile. “And I am, Vaughn. I’m the biggest fool of them all. How did I not see it, all this time?”
He shook his head. “There was no way you could have known. She fooled all of us.”
“But Francie was my best friend! I knew her inside and out. I should have been able to tell that it wasn’t her! But no, for months I was too oblivious to realize that my roommate, my last tie to normality, had been replaced by...” her face screwed up as she spit out the name, “Anna Espinosa. My ignorance nearly got both of us killed.” Her eyes glanced wildly to Vaughn’s face. “Are you okay?”
He nodded and smiled. “The doctor says the wound is healing nicely. I’ll be fine in a few weeks.” His eyes narrowed in concern. “You?”
Sydney’s hand unconsciously went up to her throat, feeling the bruises there. Never would she forget the image of being held at knifepoint by someone who had the face of a person that she had trusted and loved her whole life. Vaughn, though extremely wounded by a bullet to the abdomen, had stepped in at just the right time. He had shot Francie...no, Anna, she reminded herself fiercely...over Sydney’s shoulder before the knife could penetrate Sydney’s neck.
She nodded at him. “It hurts a bit to speak. Vaughn...”
“Yeah?” He tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Francie’s dead.” She put a hand to her mouth as another bout of sobs threatened to overtake her.
“I know.” He leaned back against the headboard and pulled her to him.
“She’s really gone, Vaughn. The one person I thought would always be there for me is dead. The nightmare I envisioned for years has finally come true.” She suddenly extricated herself from his arms and stood up in the middle of her bedroom. Sobbing, she screamed, “Why her? WHY? She was completely innocent. It’s all because of me. She was murdered because of me!!” Sydney felt her throat burning, but she didn’t care. “Danny, Francie, you. All in danger because of who and what I am.”
He stood up right in front of her, not daring to touch her in the state she was in. “Am I standing right here? Am I still alive?” She nodded. “That’s what I thought. So please don’t pull that martyr act, Sydney. Danny and Francie died because this world is wrought with evil, evil that even the all powerful Sydney Bristow has no control over.”
“I know that. I just feel like I don’t have control over anything anymore. This life has completely swept over the person that I used to be. I feel so lost. I just want to escape, get away from all of this.”
Vaughn nodded. “I understand, Syd. I do.” He softly kissed her forehead, then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He took a few steps away from her as he punched some buttons and held the phone to his ear. “Yes, LAX please.”
“What are you doing?” Sydney asked, looking wondrously at the man before her.
He glanced at her. “We’re escaping.”
Dear my love, haven’t you wanted to be with me
And dear my love, haven’t you wanted to be free
She listened incredulously as he booked two first-class tickets to Rome.
“Rome?” she asked as he hung up the phone. “Is this another April Fools joke?”
He grinned. “Not at all. You owe me a dinner, remember? At Trattoria de Nardi.”
She rubbed her temples. “It sounds wonderful, Vaughn, but we can’t just leave. We have responsibilities and family and friends.”
“No,” he interrupted. “Now, right now, we have each other. You said it yourself. This life will drag us under unless we fight back, escape if only for a little while. Come on, Syd.” He cradled her face in his hands. “Francie, more than anyone, would want you to be happy.” He reached down and clasped her fingers in his.
Take my hand
She took a deep, shaky breath and said one word: “When?”
We’re leaving here tonight
There’s no need to tell anyone
They’d only hold us down
So by the morning’s light
We’ll be halfway to anywhere
Where love is more than just your name
24 hours later, they walked out of Trattoria de Nardi, holding hands and laughing. “I can’t believe you told the maitre’d that we were on our honeymoon!” she exclaimed.
“Hey, did it or did it not get you free cheesecake?” He asked, motioning to the to-go boxes she had in her hand.
“True enough. But I still don’t understand why we couldn’t eat it there.”
“Because, this is more romantic,” Vaughn said, pulling her over to a small fountain and sitting on the ledge. “Eating cheesecake under the stars with the perfect woman.”
Sydney blushed. “And sporks, don’t forget the sporks,” she said, waving them in front of his face.
He grinned devilishly as he opened his cheesecake box and dug in with the spork. “Of course. The sporks just make the night.”
They both glanced up in surprise as a few raindrops splattered on their heads. “So much for romance under the stars,” she teased him as the rain became heavier. She lifted her head to the sky, silently letting the rain wash over her. It was raining just as badly as the day before, but then it had seemed as though the rain would rip into her, destroy her. Now all she felt from the water was healing, and a sense of peace from the man sitting next to her.
“Syd,” Vaughn said. “Syd, where’d you go?”
She smiled, leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his lips, running her hand through his wet hair. “Just halfway to anywhere.”
end
Posted by Carrie on 12:36 PM