Title: Waiting for My Angel
Author: Kimmy
Rating: G-PG
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. I disclaim. Don’t sue!
Email: hibiscus_sweetie@hotmail.com
Feedback: Please, pretty please? With MV on top? or Sark? whichever you prefer...
Archived: Cover Me, SD-1, AB, and APB
Spoilers: not sure yet..it shouldn’t have too much
Summary: Ever had a dream turn into reality? What happens when everyone around you has lost hope? What will give you faith then?
Author’s Note: This is a just an idea I got from reading so many fics and just thinking to myself when I was bored. lol.
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Waiting for My Angel
by
Kim Phan

Chapter 1

Vaughn’s POV

I walked down the dark and gloomy corridor slowly. My footsteps echoed on the hard shiny floor. This was why I hated hospitals. They just weren’t friendly places. Looking around, I noticed that there was no one here. The place was completely empty. There were no doctors, no nurses, no patients. For some reason though, I didn’t feel worried about that. All I felt was an emptiness inside. There seemed to be an invisible weight on my shoulders that refused to be lifted. At every hospital window, I stopped as if making sure no one was really there. I couldn’t seem to control my movements.

It was like this for awhile. I just stopped at every window. I tried to go faster because as I got further down the corridor, the more calm I seemed to feel. My feet refused to budge as if someone else were controlling my body. Looking at one of the hospital windows, I saw my reflection on the fiberglass. My hair was more ruffled than usual. Green eyes that were usually lit up were now dull. I hadn’t shaved in what looked like days. To sum it up, I was a mess. What was happening? Why was I here?

Finally I had reached the last window, the last hospital room, room 47. This one was different from the rest. It was lit up although very dimly. Without realizing it, I had opened the door and had come in. Looking at the small table across from the bed, I saw that the flowers were wilting and many of the balloons were deflated. Whoever was in here didn’t get visitors very much anymore. I moved closer to the bed. As I did, I realized who the patient was and cried. Pulling a shaky hand up, I gently stroked her soft brown hair. What happened to her? What happened to the strong, vibrant Sydney I always knew? Who did this to her? So many questions and I had no answers. Her skin was ghostly white and her lips looked pale. I doubt she was conscious. The thought scared me. So this was the source of my emptiness. It’s no wonder. Without her, I am empty.

“Sydney, what has happened to you? Please wake up.” I lightly stroked her hair as tears fell down his face.

“I’m afraid she may never wake up again, Mr. Vaughn.” Surprised, I stumbled back a little and looked towards the door. There was a man standing there. He looked to be a doctor of some sort. He looked a little better than I did, but not by much.

“Who are you?” He looked at me strangely as if I should know already who he was.

“Why do you still come here every day?” I stared at him confused. Every day? I had only been here today. What was he talking about?

“What do you mean? Why doesn‘t she get any visitors?” He sighed and gave me a pitiful look.

“Everyone has moved on. Everyone, but you. This isn’t healthy for you, Mr. Vaughn. You know there’s nothing we can do for her anymore and even if she does wake up, she’ll never live a normal life like you and I. Why do you keep torturing yourself?”

“Sydney is my life. There’s no one for me, but her.” The strange man shook his head in sadness. Suddenly, the heart monitor started beeping rapidly. I started to panic. The doctor wasn’t even trying to help her. He was slowly fading away.

“Help her! Can’t you see something is wrong? Help her!” I tried to grab a hold of him to keep him there to save her, but he always seemed to be out of my grasp.

“There’s nothing left I can do for her.” He disappeared into the darkness that surrounded the hospital. All I was left with was the rapid beeping of the heart monitor and my cries.

*sorry for the shortness, next chapter will be much longer. What did you think? I know it’s different from what I usually write, but there’s a reason for it. You’ll find out in the next chapter. :)

AN: Thanks to all of you for your wonderful reviews! All of you are great. :) Sorry for the confusion, hopefully this explains it to you. Enjoy and please review!
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Chapter 2

Sydney’s POV

*beep*
*beep*

“Mike, turn that thing off.” I mumbled while still half asleep. Grabbing the pillow from under me, I pulled it over my head to try to muffle the noise.

*beep*

I heard Vaughn gasp next to me and sit up straight from the bed. He had turned off the alarm as well. Wondering what was up, I pulled the pillow off my head and looked at him. He looked somewhat panicked and not his regular self. I sat up from the bed and put a hand lightly on his shoulder.

“Michael, what’s wrong?”

He turned and breathed a sigh of relief when he looked at me. “Thank god you’re okay, Syd.”

I was confused and gave him a questioning look. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

He sighed and ran a hand through his ruffled hair. “I had a dream, well a nightmare really. I was in this hospital that was completely empty. I didn’t have any control over my body. When I reached the last room, room 47, you were there. You were so pale and sick. Then this doctor came in and asked me why I kept coming there. I was confused, because I had never been there before. Soon the heart monitor started beeping rapidly and I tried to get him to help you, but he just walked away.”

“It was just a dream, Mike.”

“I know. It just seemed so real. I never want anything like that to happen to you.” I smiled lightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. Now come on, we have to get ready or we’ll both be late for work.”

He gave me a quick kiss and got out of bed. “Okay, by the way, I have a long meeting tonight so I’ll be home late. Why don’t you invite Francie over and you girls can have a girls’ night or something? I know how you hate sitting at home by yourself.”

I smiled at his concerns. He was still thinking about the dream and wanted to make sure I was safe. Although I knew I would be fine, I decided to not argue with him about it.

“Okay, that sounds good. I’m going to go make breakfast.”

I headed to the kitchen and got the coffee ready. Looking out the backyard windows, I leaned back against the counter and got lost in my thoughts. You would think that after I got out of the CIA business, he would stop worrying so much. It was just the opposite. Vaughn seemed to worry more now that I was just a regular teacher. I laughed and shook my head in amusement. I loved him for it though. He truly was my guardian angel. A pair of arms around me pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Hey! Less worried now?”

He chuckled. “A little. I’ll be fine though. I have to leave early, but have a good day at work, okay?”

I kissed him. “I will. Try not to fall asleep when Kendall’s talking.”

He laughed and kissed me back. “I’ll try although I’m always tempted to just tell him to shut up.”

“It’s okay. I think everyone is. You better go now.”

He sighed and smiled. “Alright, alright. I’m leaving.”

I smiled and watched him walk out the door.

*********

“Are the plans ready?” She asked him as he walked in the door. The room was very dimly lit and there were no windows for any light to get in. She sat at the only table in the room.

“Yes, everything’s set. Everyone’s where they are supposed to be.”

“Now remember. Don’t shoot her. I just want her captured and brought back to me.”

“What if she resists?”

She laughed. “Of course she’ll resist. You don’t actually think she’ll let you kidnap her, do you?”

“Well how am I supposed to bring her back here then?” He pounded his fist on the table.

“Don’t give me that tone. You know better than that. Be creative and figure out a way. Your job is on the line here, not to mention your life.”

“Is that a threat?” He looked a little worried by her comments.

“I don’t make threats. It’s a cold hard fact.”

**********

Sydney’s POV

As I headed into school, I couldn’t help but feel that something wasn’t right. Vaughn’s dream must be getting to me. I shook my head to try to shake the bad thoughts away. SD-6 was gone. My mother and Sloane were dead. There was no one left that would be a real threat to me or anyone close to me. There was no reason I should feel this way.

Even so, I walked cautiously to my classroom looking left and right every once in awhile. I hated being paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

“What are you doing, Mrs. Vaughn?” I gasped and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Abby, one of my students. She was a favorite of mine mostly because she was so independent and quiet. She reminded me of myself. Abby had blonde hair and blue eyes and was somewhat tall for her age. Even though she was quiet, her looks made her stand out from the crowd. It didn’t seem to bother her very much though. She was always just herself.

“Abby! You scared me. I was just looking around at the banners.” The school had banners all around the hallways advertising this club and that dance.

“Sorry, Mrs. Vaughn. Do you want some help this morning?”

I smiled at her. “Sure, Abby. Why are you here so early anyway?”

“My dad had to work early so he dropped me off here.” I just nodded. Her dad was just like mine. Always working and never seemed to have much time for their daughters. My dad was better now though. Jack Bristow had softened up over the years.

Once we entered the classroom, I noticed a note on my desk. It was from the drama teacher.

Could you meet me in the auditorium this morning? I need to talk to you about one of your students. I’m not sure if he can be in the play because of his grades. Thanks.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Voigt

Oh boy, which one of my students was in trouble this time? I sighed and looked up at Abby. She was looking at one of the books off my bookshelf. I smiled.

“I need to go to the auditorium for a minute. Do you think you can manage here by yourself?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” With that, I quickly headed to the auditorium. There was a lot of things to get done today with grades and all needing to be turned in so I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Opening the door to the auditorium, I noticed it was strangely dark. Then I realized that my classroom door had been locked. No one would have been able to get in without a key meaning Mrs. Voigt couldn't have left that note for me. Something was not right here. I called out to her hoping that there was an explanation for this and that something bad wasn't going to happen.

“Mrs. Voigt? Are you there?”

“Mrs. Voigt has been detained. There is something though that I need to speak with you about.”

I gasped. I knew that voice from anywhere. “What are you doing here?”

*sorry, I know. This chapter was sort of lame. Next chapter will be better though :)

AN: Sorry for the long wait. Great guesses btw, everyone! Onto the fic...enjoy and please review!
Thankies to Michelle, my beta!
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Chapter 3

Sydney’s POV

“What are you doing here?”

“I told you. I need to talk to you.” I gave a bitter laugh. Like he would ever want to just talk.

“What are you really here about?”

“Just following orders.” He smiled and pulled a gun out of his pocket.

“If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it a long time ago. Do you really think that gun scares me? I may be out of the spy business, but I can still kick your butt.”

He laughed. “I could kill you in a second, but I’ve just been ordered to bring you in.”

I wasn’t going to listen to him any longer. Kicking the gun easily out of his hands, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a wall.

“So Sark, who are you working for this time?”

“You actually think I would tell you?” Just then the door opened and I turned around to see who it was.

“Mrs. Vaughn, do you have..” As soon as Abby saw what was going on, she screamed. The distraction was enough for Sark to maneuver out of my grasp and grab his gun.

“Your little student here better not cause any trouble for me.” I clenched my fists in anger and moved in front of Abby to protect her.

“Don’t you dare touch her.” Abby had stopped screaming, but was now crying very loudly. I tried to calm her down, but it was useless.

“Look, I’ll leave with you if you just leave her alone.” I was scared, not for myself because I could defend myself, but for Abby. She didn’t deserve to get hurt because of me.

“I’m not sure if that’s possible. You see if she goes, she’ll know what I look like and could easily lead someone to find me. I’m not willing to take that risk.”

“Then I won’t go. Not until her safety is guaranteed.”

“You are in no position to make any demands, Mrs.Vaughn.” With that, he drew his gun and my trained eyes watched as the trigger got pulled slowly back and a bullet split through the air.

*********

Vaughn’s POV

I sat in my office staring blankly at the files piled on my desk. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t concentrate. There was this nagging feeling that was telling me something was wrong. I opened a drawer and pulled out a coin that I used to play with. It was a little dusty from non-use. I remembered when I first met Sydney. This coin was worn out a lot because of my constant worrying.

“Uh oh, trouble with the missus?” I looked up and saw Weiss leaning against the doorframe.

“What do you mean?” I almost laughed as he rolled his eyes at me.

“You only take out that coin when you’re thinking about Sydney and something’s wrong.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “It’s nothing really. I just had this nightmare and it’s been bugging me all morning.”

“Really? What was the nightmare about?” I could tell by his amused expression that he would just laugh.

“I’m not going to tell you if you’re not going to take it seriously.”

“Oh, come on. I always take things seriously. Don’t comment on that.” I laughed. Weiss was great when I needed to stop worrying about something. He could always find the humor in situations.

“Oh by the way, the reason I came in here was to tell you that Kendall moved the meeting to an earlier time.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Really? When?”

“In about five minutes.” With that, he left my office and quickly walked away. I shook my head in annoyance. It was just like him to be so last minute about things. Hurriedly gathering the things I would need for the meeting, I went to the meeting room.

Just as I took my seat and waited for Kendall to start, my cell phone rang. Quickly picking it up, I murmured an apology to everyone and stepped outside to take the call.

“Hello?”

“Mike, it’s Francie.”

“Hey Francie, could we talk later? I’m kind of in the middle of an important meeting.”

“Are you near a television?”

“What?” What was Francie getting at here? What was going on?

“Something’s going on at Sydney’s school. It happened early this morning. Someone was shot, but they’re not sure who. I don’t like the sound of this, Michael.”

“Oh my god, when did you hear about this?” All that was running through my mind was that hopefully Sydney was alright.

“Just a few minutes a go. I was taking a break at the restaurant and turned on the TV and saw Sydney’s school. I knew you would want to know about this.”

“Thanks, Francie. I’m going to go see what’s wrong and I’ll give you a call if I find out anything.”

“Thanks, Mike. Bye.”

“Bye.” I hung up the phone and ran back inside the meeting room.

“I have to leave.”

“What? Agent Vaughn, sit down. This meeting is very important to the security of our country.”

“I don’t have time for this, Sir. Something could be wrong with my wife and that is far more important to me than some meeting.”

“What? What’s wrong with Sydney?” I had forgotten that Jack was also in the room. Turning to him, I briefly told him what Francie had told me.

“Then I’m leaving too.” With that, Jack and I left to go to Sydney’s school and see what was going on. As Jack drove closer to the school, I couldn’t help, but feel that something was wrong and our lives would never be the same.

AN: Sorry for the late update. Been putting if off because of all the tests and things going on. Anyways, thanks for your reviews and sorry for the cliffhanger. I know, it was evil of me. lol. So enjoy and please review!
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Chapter 4

Sydney’s POV

My heart started beating faster and faster as the bullet came closer and closer. I turned and looked at Abby. She had this fearful look on her face and tears were streaming down her face. I quickly ran over to her and pushed her down just as the bullet hit and my world went black.

*******

Vaughn’s POV

My palms felt sweaty as Jack and I walked up to the entrance of the school. It was a little bit like chaos. Students were everywhere with question looks and confusion in their eyes. Police cars surrounded the school and no one was allowed inside except authorized personnel.

After some convincing on Jack’s part, the police chief let us in to see what was going on.

“So what exactly happened here?” I looked at Jack and was amazed at how calm he was being or at least trying to be.

“We received a call about half an hour ago from a teacher inside the school reporting hearing gunshot sounds. Apparently, there was one shot and then several others afterwards.”

“What were the casualties?”

“A teacher was shot once after trying to protect one of her students. The student managed to get a hold of the gun and fired it several times at the man who had tried to shoot her, but he managed to escape.”

I felt my heart sink as barely audible words escaped my lips. “What were the names?”

“We’re not sure who the teacher is yet, but she has brown hair, about 5’ 9”, Caucasian. The student was Abby Miller. So far, there are no leads about the shooter either.”

I turned to Jack with scared eyes. “Abby Miller is one of Sydney’s students. Sydney talks about her all the time.”

Jack just nodded, looking far less calm then he did seconds before.

“Where is the teacher?” I was afraid to know, but I knew we had to find out the truth.

“She’s in the hospital in critical condition.” Just then, I felt like the world was spinning, and I was still standing still. I prayed it wasn’t Sydney, but I had the sinking feeling it was.

Jack, seeming to regain his senses somewhat, told me to call Sydney’s cell to see if maybe she was just somewhere else. After calling three times with no one picking up, I turned off my cell phone and ran a hand tiredly through my hair.

“Let’s go, we need to get to the hospital.” Quickly following Jack, we headed to the hospital.

*******

Getting into the emergency room, we found a doctor who could help us.

“We need to see the teacher that was just brought in. We think we may know who she is.”

“Come with me.” We followed him to a room near the end of the corridor which eerily read Room 47. I tried to not think about it as I stepped into the room. Walking slowly towards the bed, I saw, with a sinking feeling, that it was indeed Sydney. Staring at her pale face, I was silent for a long time until the doctor spoke.

“So do you know her?”

“She’s my wife. What‘s happening to her?”

“She was shot as you may know. She had some internal bleeding before, but we were able to stop it. Unfortunately, she is now in a coma.”

“What? When will she wake up?”

“It’s uncertain at this point. I’m sorry.” Tears slowly fell down my face. I didn’t bother trying to wipe them away. What was the point?

“Will she hear me if I talk to her?”

“She might. It’s worth a try,” he paused. “I need one of you to fill out some forms by the way.”

I looked at Jack. “Don’t worry. I’ll fill them out.”

He headed out with the doctor leaving me alone with Sydney. I grabbed a chair and sat next to her bed. Taking her hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze.

“How ironic that we’ve switched positions. I remember when I was the sick one, and you were the one by my side. I would give anything to be in that position just as long as you were safe.” My voice was cracking as I gently stroked her soft brown hair. She had said it wouldn’t come true. That she was perfectly safe and my dream was nothing more than a dream. I wished with all my heart that she had been right. I pinched myself hoping that maybe this was a dream and I wasn’t sitting in this hospital hoping Sydney would wake up from her coma. I almost laughed at the irony of the situation. Sydney had quit the CIA to be away from the danger that came with the job, and now she was in more danger than ever.

I knew there were people I needed to call, people that needed to know what was happening and whether or not Sydney was okay. I couldn’t find the strength to get up though and make those calls. All I wanted to do was be here next to Sydney, just in case she woke up.

Whoever did this to her would pay dearly. I never took well to people I loved getting hurt. Whoever this man was, he’s going to wish he never fired that gun.

AN: Sorry for the long wait, but here it is. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. Enjoy the chapter!
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Chapter 5

Weiss’ POV

I hated hospitals. Just the smell of them was nauseating to me. I walked down the corridor searching for Room 47. The last few days have been bad for everyone. Jack was working nonstop to find the person who shot Sydney, Dixon hasn’t come to work at all, Marshall hasn’t even touched his computer, Francie worked at the restaurant every hour of the day, Will won’t speak to anyone except Jack and that was only to help in the search, and Vaughn, well, I was pretty sure he’s been by Sydney’s bedside this whole time. Everyone was taking this badly including myself. Sydney was my friend and Vaughn was my best friend. I hated that Sydney was in the hospital and I hated seeing Vaughn this way.

Quietly opening the door to Sydney’s room, I walked in to find Vaughn in almost the same position as the day before, just sitting beside Sydney watching her. I shook my head in sadness. Never in my life have I seen a couple go through so much. Just as things seemed to be almost normal, this had to happen.

“Hey Mike. How are you doing?”

“I think you know the answer to that.” I sighed. This wasn’t good for him. Just sitting here hoping she would wake up. Vaughn hadn’t eat much, hadn’t showered, or even hadn‘t slept much. I didn’t know much, but I knew Sydney wouldn’t want him to be like this.

“You should go home, Mike. Get some rest.”

“I can’t, Eric. I won’t leave until she wakes up.”

“But what if...”

He interrupted me with a sharp tone and a determined look in his green eyes. “She will wake up, Eric. I know she will. She has to.”

“Sydney wouldn’t want you to be like this. You need to get some rest, if not for your sake, for hers.”

“How’s the investigation going? Any leads?” I knew he was changing the subject, but decided I would go along for now.

“We think it may be Sark. He fits the description Abby Miller gave. From her statement, it seems he’s working for someone else.”

“He’s always working for someone. Who could it be this time? Who would want Sydney captured?”

“Irina Derevko was spotted in Kashmir.”

Vaughn looked up with surprised and angry eyes. “What? She’s dead!”

“Apparently it was a hoax and she was never really dead.”

“I saw her body. I know she’s dead.”

“There’s this chemical that can make a person seem dead even though they are truly alive. We think that was what she took.”

Vaughn banged his hand on the table. “Why can’t that woman leave us alone?”

There was a deadliness in his voice that I rarely heard. Vaughn was never the revengeful type, but when it was for the woman he loved, there was no telling what he was capable of. Love can bring out many sides of a person and they aren’t always good. I just hoped Sydney would wake up before Vaughn did anything rash.

Putting a hand on his shoulder, I looked at Vaughn. “Come on, Mike. Let’s get you home. I promise if anything happens, I’ll call you right away.”

After a few seconds, he finally agreed. “Alright, I’ll go home, but only for a couple of hours.”

********

Vaughn’s POV

As I looked in the bathroom mirror, I knew Weiss was right in sending me home. I was in one word, a mess. My hair was rumpled, I hadn’t shaved in days, and there were bags under my eyes from lack of sleep.

Turning on the faucet, I splashed the cool water onto my face. After freshening up a bit more and taking a shower, I headed into the bedroom. I walked over to the drawers and grabbed some clothes out to change into. I was just about to head out into the living room when I noticed the antique picture frame I had given to Sydney many Christmases ago on the drawers. Memories came flooding back to me.

We were at a flower shop discussing work of course. I was so nervous about the present, I almost didn’t give it to her. Finally after we were done discussing work, I nervously set it down near her.

“Sorry that I called you on the weekend. It's just that I needed to talk to you.”

“You don't ever have to apologize for calling me. Speaking of which, I got you something.”

“What? No, you didn't.”

I gave her an embarrassed look. “I don't know. I was in this store, you know, um... this little antique place.”

She grinned at me. “What were you doing in an antique store?”

“I don't know.” I laughed nervously. “Whatever. Um, look, if you don't like it just... don't tell me.”

“Okay.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.”

I fingered the frame and noticed that Sydney had changed the picture. Before she had a picture of her dad and her when she was little, but now there was a different picture. I smiled as I recognized what it was. We’d gone to Griffith Park that day. Sydney had just quit the CIA and I proposed to her. I had asked this photographer I knew to take pictures of us that day so that we’d always have memories of that day. I gave them to Sydney on our one year anniversary. I found a letter sitting next to the frame. Picking it up, I opened it and took out the letter inside.

V.-

I thought this would cheer you up today and ease your worries. No matter what happens, we’ll always get through it together. Always have faith.

Your angel,
S.

I dropped the letter on the ground and sat down next to the bed crying. My tears falling on the photo frame I still held in my hand.

wow. just...wow. i need more, please!

more more more! i'm dying here!

Noooo, it's the evil cliffé! :o Is it Sark in the auditorium? Or Irina? No wait, could it possibly be Sloane?! Hmmm...heh, you've got me hooked.

Very good post, Kimmy! I think your fic's have gotten better each time you write one. :)

Surely Sark wouldn't shoot Syd when he had orders to bring her in...and he would shoot a kid. *sigh* What in the world is Irina up to now?

Sark will pay for it, right?!?!?
Can´t wait to read more of your story!

AN: No excuse this time. This was all due to my constant procrastination. Sorry. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and if you get a little confused at the beginning, just keep reading and you’ll get it.
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Chapter 6

Vaughn’s POV

I woke up to the sound of knocking on the door. Slowly rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I hurried to get the door. Opening it, I was shocked to find Sydney standing on the other side. She looked just as she had looked in the morning when she had left for work. I touched her soft brown hair to make sure she was for real. It felt real, but this wasn’t right.

“What are you doing here, Syd?”

She looked at me like I was crazy. “What do you mean? I live here. I just forgot my keys so I had to knock. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“But you’re supposed to be in a coma! You’re in the hospital. I was there waiting for you to wake up everyday.”

Sydney looked at me confused. “Are you okay, Mike? Were you dreaming again?”

I thought about it, and she must be right. I must have been dreaming again. “Yeah, I guess I was.”

I hugged her tightly and gave her a light kiss. Just then, the phone rang.

“You should answer that,” she whispered to me.

“They can wait.” The phone just kept ringing though and I looked over at it in annoyance. Turning back, I saw no one there. Sydney was gone.

*Ring, ring, ring* I opened my eyes slowly, and decided that if I didn’t hate dreams before, I sure do now. Getting up, I answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Mike, it’s Eric.”

“Is something wrong? Is Sydney okay?”

“Well she’s still in a coma, but we now have confirmation that Sark was the one that shot her. It seems he was just supposed to kidnap her, but his mission went awry.”

“So this is Irina Derevko’s work then?”

“It’s not certain, but it seems like it was. We have traced Sark to London, and the CIA is going to send a team there.”

“I want to be the first to interrogate him when the team brings him back.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You’re not very good about controlling your emotions, and you might do something rash.”

“What are you talking about? I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know. I mean you already hate Sark as it is, but now he shot your wife. As much as I would like to see him dead, do you really want murder on your record?”

“Don’t worry about me. Just make sure the team brings him back.” Weiss sighed into the phone.

“Alright, we’ll do our best. In the meantime, don’t do anything you’ll regret later.” I hung up the phone and quickly got changed. Grabbing my coat, I headed to the hospital.

*********

“You shot her! I can’t believe you went against my orders!”

“I didn’t mean to. I was shooting at her student, and Miss I-have-to-save-the-whole-world jumped in front of her!”

Grabbing Sark by the collar, she said in a deadly tone, “You better hope she comes out of her coma, because if she doesn’t, you won’t live to see the light of day.”

He looked worriedly at her. “You have caused me a lot of trouble, Sark. Now the CIA will be on a even larger hunt for me than I expected.”

“I’m sorry.”

Irina sighed. “I have another job for you. You need to go to London. An art dealer will be waiting for you. He’ll be dressed in green and will be holding a manila envelope. Here is his picture.” She handed him the picture.

“What’s in the envelope?”

“Nothing that concerns you. Just don’t screw up again.”
“You have no faith in me.”

“Have you given me reason to?”

“If you don’t have faith in me, why still keep me around? Not that I’m not grateful or anything. I’m just curious.”

“You’re a part of my plan just as Sydney, Jack, Vaughn, and many others are.”

“You’re not going to tell me your plan, are you?” Irina smiled and shook her head.

AN: Sorry for the long wait. I’m such a procrastinator. I can’t believe I put it off for a whole month though! Usually, I’m better than that. lol. Anyways, enjoy and let me know what you think!
Thanks to Michelle for her wonderful betaing!
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Chapter 7

Vaughn’s POV

I walked moodily through the hospital corridors. It had been over a week and a half since I had that fateful dream. Sydney had not woken up yet. Every day I would sit holding her hand and reminiscing about our many memories together. Sometimes it would seem that she would about to smile, but I realized that I must have just imagined it. The doctors were getting more and more worried about the day. I had faith in her though. She had been through many obstacles before and I knew this would just be another hurdle for her to jump over. It was either that or the alternative, something I refused to even think about.

I had not heard from Eric since he went to London, but Jack was keeping me up to date every now and then. Ever since Sydney first went into the hospital, Jack had buried himself into his work. He, himself, would be on the London mission if it had not been for Devlin’s direct order that he not leave LA. Devlin didn’t think it was safe for Jack to be on the mission with his emotions running high lately. Jack, of course, argued with him, but in the end, he stayed behind. Instead he’s been keeping track of the mission from LA. Apparently, they had been close to capturing Sark once, but he had managed to get away once more. The CIA’s informants have reported that Sark was still in London though so the team was waiting for the right opportunity to catch him.

Sitting next to Sydney’s bed, I stroked her hair lightly and stared at her pale face. As I put my palm on her cheek, I felt coldness on the tips of my fingers. It reminded me of our hockey trips which made me give the smallest of smiles. Suddenly, I heard footsteps entering the room. Looking up, I was surprised to find Eric standing in front of me.

“What are you doing here?”

“We’ve caught him. He’s been brought to headquarters.” Eric looked apprehensively at me, but I ignored his look.

“Sark?” He nodded grimly. I stood up from my seat and pulled on my coat. After giving Syd a kiss on the forehead and pushing a stray strand of hair away from her face, I started to leave. Grabbing a hold of my arm, Eric stopped me.

“Remember what I said.” I gave him a curt nod and walked out the door with a quick glance at Sydney.

*******

Walking through the gates that lead to Sark’s cell, I remembered the times that Irina Derevko had been held here. Feelings of anger and resentment filled me. I hated her then and I hated her even more now. What did she want with Sydney? Hadn’t her daughter suffered enough by her hands? As soon as I saw Sark, almost all of my self control was gone. Once I was let into the cell, I slammed him against the wall.

“Care to calm down a bit, Mr. Vaughn? That’s no way to interrogate people.”

“I’m just doing my job.” I gave him a cynical smile, slamming his head against the wall once more. He tried to push me away, but I had too tight of a hold on him. Blood was trickling down his nose.

“I don’t think doing your job involves beating me up.”

“Don’t tell me how to do my job. You almost killed my wife. Do you understand that? Do you understand that you almost took away the thing that mattered the most to me? The only thing that keeps me sane in this world? You should be glad I don’t kill you on the spot.”

He laughed. “You wouldn’t kill me. You’re too weak to do something like that. That’s the problem with you, Mr. Vaughn. You are too blinded by your morals. Besides, do you really want your wife to feel guilty about you murdering me because of her? No, I don’t think so. You would do anything to keep her happy. You wear your emotions on your sleeve and it will only get you in trouble in the future.”

“At least I have morals. You obviously don’t have any and don’t bring my wife into this.” He smiled lightly.

“A little touchy about Sydney, aren’t you?” I punched him twice in the face.

“You don’t deserve to even breathe the same air as her let alone call her by her first name. Do you understand me?”

“Right, my mistake. Won’t happen again, I promise you.” I gave a bitter laugh.

“What good are your promises?” With that, I kicked him in the stomach and watched as he slid to the floor.

“I think that’s enough damage for today, Agent Vaughn.” I turned around and saw Kendall standing at the doorway. He had a little smirk on his face.

“We want him to still be able to answer our questions, don’t we? Besides you’re wanted at the hospital. You can question him further tomorrow.”
“Why? What’s happened? Is Sydney okay?” I forgot all about Sark and started worrying about Sydney.

“They didn’t give me any details. I’m sorry.” Frustrated that I didn’t know what had happened, I ran out to the parking lot.

*********

I walked quickly through the hospital doors; my heart pounding inside me. Different scenarios flashed through my head. Looking at a window I was passing, I saw many wrinkles on my forehead. I prayed that nothing had gone wrong and that Sydney was fine. I regretted leaving her alone. Seeing Eric sitting outside the door to Sydney’s room, I ran to him.

“What happened, Eric? Please tell me Sydney is okay.”

“Come on, let’s get you inside.” They walked inside the room and I gasped.

“Sydney!”

ack! don't leave us hanging, kimmy!!!! more soon!

AN: Thanks Berry for reviewing! Now flashing back to my “evil” cliffhanger....

Chapter 8

Vaughn’s POV

I walked quickly through the hospital doors; my heart pounding inside me. Different scenarios flashed through my head. Looking at a window I was passing, I saw many wrinkles on my forehead. I prayed that nothing had gone wrong and that Sydney was fine. I regretted leaving her alone. Seeing Eric sitting outside the door to Sydney’s room, I ran to him.

“What happened, Eric? Please tell me Sydney is okay.”

“Come on, let’s get you inside.” We walked inside the room and I gasped.

“Sydney!”

*****

“Where is she?” Panic seized me as I saw an empty bed where Sydney was supposed to be laying. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“I need you to be calm, Mr. Vaughn.” I looked over at the doctor standing in front of me with frustration.

“Calm? You want me to stay calm? My wife is missing! What the hell happened here?”

“She woke up. We only left her for a minute, maybe less. The nurses were getting some things together so they could run some tests on her. I was paged to the surgery room, and your friend, Mr. Weiss, was busy calling you and her father. When the nurses came back, she was gone. We don’t know how it could have happened. This hospital has the highest security there is.”

I stood there frozen, letting the doctor’s words slowly sink in. He may not know how it could have happened, but I did. There was only one explanation for this. Irina. It was just like that woman to take her away just when I had gotten her back again. Didn’t she have anything better to do than make my life miserable?

Without speaking to anyone, I strolled out of the room and towards the hospital exit. I could hear Eric’s footsteps behind me trying to catch up. When he did, I told him to get a CIA team down here to search Sydney’s hospital room in case there was any clue there that would lead them to Sydney even though I doubted there would be.
“Where are you going?”

“To find information.” He just nodded knowing where I was headed.

******

I walked into CIA headquarters and found Jack waiting for me. From the look on his face, I knew he had heard what had happened.

“I’m going to talk with Sark.”

“Last time you did that, all that happened was you roughed him up a little. Let me handle this my way.” Trusting that Jack knew what he was doing, we headed to Sark’s cell.

We didn’t talk much as we headed there, but I was worried to see that Jack looked almost panicked. He wasn’t one to show many emotions. Any emotion was gone from his face though as soon as we saw Sark.

“Here to beat me up again, Mr. Vaughn?”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Sark, but Sydney’s father will be talking to you this time.”

We went into the cell and I saw Jack take out a vial.

“Do you remember drinking anything recently, Mr. Sark?” He looked skeptically at Jack, but nodded slightly.

“Water, right? The guard brought it in to you?”

“What’s your point?” Jack smirked at him.

“I thought you were smarter than that, Sark. You should know better than to drink anything someone else gives you. That so called water was a virus that slowly decays your body from the inside out. It works rather quickly. Have you been feeling nauseous yet?” I could tell that Jack was getting to him and on closer inspection, his face seemed paler than normal and he looked somewhat flushed.

“You’re lying.”

“Don’t believe me then. You’ll find out soon enough for yourself.” Sark shook his head.

“You wouldn’t kill me. You couldn’t. You need me to get information.”

“I have plenty of informants, Mr. Sark. There is no need for you.” Sark nodded at the vial.

“Is that the antidote?”

“Yes and as could be expected, there is a price for it. Where was Irina Derevko last?”

“She’s in France in Grenoble near the Alps. Her alias there is Katherine Hardenne. It‘s a small place, you‘ll be able to find her.” Jack handed Sark the vial.

“It will only stop the virus for a couple of days. If this information is false, you will die a painful death.”

With that, we left to make plans for a trip to France, hoping we would find Sydney there.

*sorry for the shortness. Also if you ever been Grenoble and it’s not a small place, please excuse me. I just picked out a town off the map. lol. Next chapter will be all Sydney’s POV.

it's not that short... geez i don't think i've ever written a chapter that long, what can i say? short attention span.

anyways, I love it! can't wait to read more!

AN: lol here's what I consider a long chapter, Berry. ;) Enjoy the chapter! I apologize for my affinity to cliffhangers.

Chapter 9

Sydney’s POV

As I slowly opened my eyes, I felt pain slice through my body. Groaning inwardly, I willed my eyes to open fully. Looking around, I realized that I wasn’t in the hospital anymore. Suddenly, it all came back to me. The doctor and nurses had left my room and a strange woman had come in carrying a tranquilizer. I had tried to call out for help, but my throat was too sore for anyone to hear my cries. Before I knew what was happening, she had shot me and all I saw was darkness. Trying to keep myself from panicking, I thought about who had taken me away. Could it have been an associate of Sloane or was it Sark again? If it was, why did he hire someone else to take me? It wasn’t Sark’s style to do that. Before I could think more about it, I heard footsteps entering the room. Closing my eyes and pretending to be asleep, I listened in to the conversation.

“How is she doing?”

“She’s recovering. It’ll be a few more days. I’m curious, why didn’t you just kill her?”

“Because I want her to suffer for what she did to him.”

“How?”

“You’ll see.”

Once I heard them leave the room, I cautiously opened my eyes. Even though it hurt to even think, I willed myself to figure a way out of here. Soon I realized though, that it would be at least a day or two before I would be able to escape. The pain was just too much. Not sure where it had come from, I deduce it to something they had given me. I wondered silently if it woud subside anytime soon. Although I was glad to be awake, this wasn’t exactly the situation I had imagined myself in. I had imagined that I would wake up to Vaughn by my side and there would be tears, hugs, and kisses for hours. Instead, I hadn’t even gotten to see him.

At least I had gotten to hear his voice for awhile. What doctors said was true, people in a coma do hear the things around them. I had listened to him speak loving and comforting words to me and reminisce about our past. I had tried to wake up, but it was as if there were invisible chains keeping me from speaking, from opening my eyes so I could stare into his emerald ones. It was as if I were stuck in a mind-like prison and when I escaped, my angel had not been there. It was okay of course. Eric had told me he was going to call him so I lay there and waited to see my angel again. I never had a chance though. Anger surged through me. I wanted to destroy the person who had taken me away before I had the chance to see him. Now, I may never see him again.

Tears fell from my eyes and I put a hand over my mouth to muffle my cries. I knew I couldn’t alert them that I was awake. If I delayed them knowing, I would have more of a chance to escape. Finally, my cries died down and the tears had dried on my face. I could feel sleep pulling at my exhausted body, but I didn’t want to give in. I wanted to know who those people were and what was going to happen to me and I certainly wouldn’t know that if I were asleep. You would think the pain would keep me away, but it made me want to sleep even more.

I settled on thinking about other things, hoping that would keep me awake. I thought about Abby and how I hoped she was okay. I felt guilty for her being in that situation even if I had no control over it. She had always been my favorite student even though I tried to like her equally as much as the rest. Even Vaughn had gotten attached to her. I smiled as I remembered the time they first met. He had gotten off early and was visiting me at work. I hadn’t even noticed he had come into the room since I was engrossed in the lecture about romance literature I was giving. Finally when I noticed none of the students were listening to me anymore, I noticed him watching me.

I smiled and shook my head.

“Look what you did. My students aren’t even paying attention to me anymore.”

“I can’t help it if the subject you’re talking about is boring, Sydney.” I lightly smacked him on the shoulder and turned to the class.

“Class, this is my husband, Michael Vaughn.” There was a chorus of hi’s around the class. I almost laughed as I saw the girls staring dreamily at him.

“Why don’t you all get started on your homework since it looks like we won’t be getting much of this lecture done today.” They got out their stuff and started working. I couldn’t say it was quiet though since there were whispers and noises all around the room. Laughing inwardly, I turned to Vaughn.

“It seems you’ve got some admirers, Michael.” He raised one of his eyebrows at me and smiled.

“Jealous, Syd?” I rolled my eyes and smacked him again.

“You wish. There’s nothing to be jealous of.” Vaughn was about to speak and say some witty retort back when Abby came up to her desk.

“Mrs. Vaughn?”

“Yes, Abby.”

“Can I take this hockey book home?”

“Sure, you like hockey?” She nodded and smiled.

“My favorite team is the Kings.” I smiled and leaned back in my
chair, knowing that Vaughn was interject any second now.

“That’s my favorite team too. How long have you been a hockey fan?” Vaughn said. I watched observantly as they talked about teams, playing, and who would make the playoffs. Vaughn’s eyes had light up with excitement. Although I played hockey with him, I wasn’t an avid fan like him so I knew he was happy to find someone who was. From the way he talked to her, I knew he would make a great father. He had the protectiveness thing down before, but he also knew when to just be a friend and never talked down to kids. They talked until the class was over and Abby had to leave. I grinned at him when he turned to me.

“What?”

“You have this way with kids. You always know how to talk to them.” He shrugged.

“It’s nothing really. We were talking about hockey. I can talk to
anyone about hockey.”

“Well what about that time we took care of Sam? Will said that he kept asking for you every hour once they got him home.” He blushed.

“Sweetie, I think it’s cute.” Giving him a kiss, I smiled at him
again.

“Cute, huh? You couldn’t have to picked a better word?” I laughed.

“Come on, let’s go home. I’ll make you your favorite dinner to make up for using ‘cute’.” Grabbing his hand, we walked out of the classroom.

I smiled sadly and wiped the tear that was falling down my face.
Before I knew it, my eyes were slowly closing and I was drifting
into sleep. Just before I did though, I heard a faint gun shot and
then silence.