Title: Americans in Paris
Rating: PG, I guess
Author: Kate :D
Disclaimer: I only wish I owned Alias

I started to post this on AllAlias yesterday, but it's offline for now. It takes place after Higher Echelon and before Getaway, but there's no SD-6. It's my first fic, so please read and respond.

***

“I’ll see you back in L.A.”
“Vaughn sighed and gave her one of his sad, half smiles. He hated it when she said that, but he knew if she didn’t leave now he would tell her everything.
“Bye,” he said softly as her heels clicked away. “Get a hold on yourself, Michael,” he told himself. But he knew that it was useless. He had had this conversation with himself many times. He had tried not thinking about her, he had tried to keep his mind on what they were supposed to be talking about, but every time he looked at her, looked into her eyes, he found a glimmer of hope. The look in her eyes encouraged his feelings, as much as he tried to dismiss-
“Vaughn?”
His head snapped up. Sydney was standing a few yards away, looking at him curiously.
“Are you okay? You look kind of stressed,” she said, stepping closer to him.
“No, I’m fine. It’s nothing. Uh, was there something we forgot to talk about?” he asked, wondering why she hadn’t left to catch her plane.
“Well, I just have this problem. I tried talking to Francie about it, but she didn’t understand. You’re realy the only one I can talk to.”
“Of course, you can talk to me about anything.”

Sydney smiled. How could she say this to him? Oh, he was looking right at her. She couldn’t concentrate when he was this close, looking right through her with his gorgeous green eyes. She dragged her eyes away and focused on her shoes, spiky red leather shoes that matched her short dress.
“Well….There’s this guy” she said. Vaughn seemed to tense beside her. “I…we used to work together. And we were friends, but I always felt like we should have been more. The place where we worked wouldn’t let us date, so neither of us ever brought it up, but now we don’t realy work together. Anyway, I realy want to tell him how I feel, but I’m scared that he won’t feel the same.” Vaughn was frowning. Why did he care who she loved?

Vaughn sighed. She was in love with someone else. But she deserved to be happy, and it wasn’t like he had done anything about his feelings.
“Tell him. He will feel the same. Trust me. How could he not feel the same? You’re amazing! You’re smart and you’re funny and you’re so beautiful-“ He stopped suddenly. How could he have said that? She was blushing.

She couldn’t believe he had said that. She wished she could tell him the truth, he almost looked disappointed about her imaginary man. “Don’t be silly,” she told herself. “He has a girlfriend.” Alice. That’s what she told herself every time she got lost in his eyes. Alice. They sat there a while, not saying anything, absorbed in their thoughts.

i absoulutely love it! add more soon please!

Plz post more soon!!! You are a very good writer!!!

sorry, I completely forgot to update this. :blush01: Here's a bunch all at once.


Chapter 2

“This is not acceptable, Agent Bristow. This agency has ignored the silly flirting between you and Agent Vaughn, but it has gone far enough. There is no need to meet with him every day. And if I find out you’re breaking protocol, I’ll-“
“You’ll what? You’ll fire me? You wouldn’t have the guts” she said angrily. “I will date whomever I want to.”
“What’s going on?” she heard someone say behind her. Spinning around, she saw Vaughn. She couldn’t tell him what she and Kendall had been talking about.
“Uh, nothing” she said quickly. Kendall rolled his eyes and walked away, calling over his shoulder, “Think about it Bristow.” Sydney shook her head. Vaughn put his hand gently on her shoulder and led her away from the center of the busy room to a corner. He was concerned. Kendall was a jerk and tended to be oblivious to human emotions.
“Seriously, Syd. What was that about?” he asked. Sydney sighed. This was her opportunity to confront him, but could she?
“He was just…questioning our relationship. He sort of threatened to fire me.”
“He what? Just because we’re friends?”
“No, because we meet too often and he thinks…” Sydney paused. “He thinks we’re more than friends.” There was an awkward pause in the conversation where neither of them looked at the other.
“Syd?” said Vaughn.
“Vaughn?” said Sydney at the same time. “You go first,” Sydney said, laughing.
“I wanted to talk to you about what I said earlier. About how amazing you are. Although I meant it, it was out of line and I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that.”
“Don’t be silly. Your opinion means more to me than anyone’s. And your advice helped me decide what to do about that guy.”

Vaughn’s heart broke, thinking of Sydney telling some jerk how much she loved him, but he tried to hide his feelings.
“So, what did you decide to do?” he asked.
“I’m going to tell him how I feel” she said, stepping closer to him. “I’m just scared”
“You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met!
“Vaughn, I have to tell you something,” she said nervously. Vaughn was startled. Was she going to say what he had been fantasizing over for a year? Could it be him?
“Hey! What are we talking about over here?” Weiss’ cheery voice interrupted Sydney.
“Weiss, not now kay?” Sydney said, glaring at him.
“Oh come on! Include me in the conversation.”
“Go away!” snapped Vaughn.
“Okay, okay. But if Kendall sees you two together again he’s gonna blow a blood vessel.” Weiss walked away.
Vaughn looked at Sydney, willing her to continue.
“I have to tell you something” she repeated. “The guy…it’s…it’s you.” Vaughn’s eyes widened and he felt his mouth open. “Vaughn?” Sydney looked worried that she had made a mistake.

“Syd, I feel exactly the same way. I was just afraid you wouldn’t feel the same and we’re not realy allowed.” Sydney felt a grin tugging at her mouth and smiled at him happily. She stepped closer, put her hand on his shoulder and leaned up to kiss him. Vaughn lowered his head, but stopped, suddenly aware of where they were.
“Syd, we can’t do this here. Someone will see.”
“So? What are they going to do, fire me?”
“No, Kendall can’t afford to lose you. But what about me?” Then his lips were on hers, a soft, sweet kiss that lasted a few seconds but went on for eternity.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted them.
“Vaughn! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jack was walking towards them looking even more unhappy than usual. Weiss was standing nearby mouthing, “Sorry!” at Vaughn.
“Dad…” Sydney started to say something, but was speechless.
“Sydney, what are you doing? You know very well the rules of this organization. And you! How dare you take advantage of my daughter!” Jack’s face was turning a little pink. They had rarely seen him this angry.
“Dad, he wasn’t taking advantage of me. I kissed him.” Sydney tried to defend Vaughn.

“What? Why?!?” Jack was bewildered by this. He knew that Sydney and Vaughn were close, but not this close.
“Because I care about him…I love him” Sydney said, shyly looking up at Vaughn.
Vaughn looked at her, amazed. “You love me?” Sydney nodded and smiled at him. “I love you too. I’ve loved you since I met you!” Jack looked at the two of them, looking more and more bewildered.
“I didn’t like you when we met. But then I got to know you.” Sydney looked into his eyes and found herself kissing him again.
“Wooh! Way to go Balls of Steel!” Everyone looked over at Weiss, who was doing his happy dance. Jack looked unamused and glared at Vaughn.
“Ugh, this is going to make your mother so happy.” he said. “I guess if you truly care about eachother I can’t do anything about it.”



Chapter 3

“Well, I can!” boomed a voice from the other side of the room. They all looked over and saw an angry bald man storming towards them. Vaughn sighed and looked worried. Sydney slipped her hand into his and gave him a little smile.
“I warned you Bristow. Better start cleaning out your desk, Agent Vaughn.” Kendall seemed almost happy to have finally caught Sydney and Vaughn breaking protocol.
“I’m not working with any other handler!” Sydney said angrily.
Weiss had walked over and joined the conversation. “I wouldn’t recommend splitting them up sir,” he said, “They actually care about eachother, and they work well together because of it. Besides, I think Syd’s gonna do some damage if you cross her.“

Jack had regained his composure and decided that he would try to be a supportive father for once. “I’m afraid I have to agree with Weiss. They do work well together, and I don’t see the harm in them…seeing eachother” he said with a grimace.
Sydney smiled at her father, who nodded. Kendall was looking furious.
“I don’t care what you think. These two are breaking protocol and I will not ignore it any longer. Agent Vaughn, you will accompany Sydney on her mission as previously planned. Agent Weiss, you will tag along and keep an eye on them. When you get back, we'll have a little meeting with Devlin.””

“You’re sending Weiss as their chaperone? He’s the one who encouraged this!” Jack said incredulously.
“I did no such thing!” Weiss said with mock horror, winking at Vaughn and Sydney again.
“So what are our aliases?” asked Vaughn, laughing. Kendall handed Weiss a paper with their instructions before spinning on his heel and walking away, arguing with Jack.
“Says here, you’re…Matthew and Scarlett Heron.” Vaughn’s heart leapt. He and Sydney were going to Paris, the most romantic city in the world, and they got to pretend to be married?
“Woah,” said Weiss. “Uh, sorry you guys…You’re brother and sister! Apparently I’m your cousin and we’re all going to visit some relatives.” Sydney and Vaughn looked at eachother, disbelief on their faces.
“Oh great. Now we have to hide our feelings for eachother some more.” Sydney said.
“Well, we’ve been doing it for a year now, it shouldn’t be so hard!” Vaughn said, trying to brighten the situation. “When do we leave?”
“Tonight” replied Sydney. “I’d better get packing, see you later.” She started to walk away, then turned to look at Vaughn. She grinned and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then walked out.

Vaughn smiled. He was in heaven! “Dude, way to go!” said Weiss. “I can’t believe you finally told her how you feel. Took you long enough!”
“Shut up,” said Vaughn, laughing. “I’ll pick you up later. Bye!”
“Bye, Mike.” Weiss shook his head. He was happy for the two of them. They should have been together for months now.

Dingdong! Sydney’s door bell rang. She ran to get to the door before Francie, but despite her CIA training, she wasn’t fast enough to beat out Francie’s curiosity. Francie opened the door as Syd ran into her. They collapsed on the floor, giggling. (sorry, good Francie not evil Freplica)
“Um…” Vaughn was standing on her front step, not knowing whether to come in or not. Sydney stood up quickly, brushing herself off.
“Come on in. Francie, this is Michael, from the bank.”
“So you’re Michael. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Francie said, shaking his hand. “You’re right, he is hot cute!” she whispered to Syd. Vaughn heard her and raised his eyebrows, questioning.
“I’m ready. Bye Fran, see you later!” she said, grabbing Vaughn’s hand and pulling him out the door.
“Bye Syd. Have-“ Francie was cut off by the door slamming. Sydney and Vaughn walked to the car. Sydney went to the passenger door, but saw Weiss already there, grinning at her. She opened the door and said, “Okay, back seat.”
“Oh, man! You’re not going to let her talk to me like this are you, Mike? Mike?”
“You know she can kick your butt, right Eric?” Vaughn said, starting the car. Weiss got into the back seat, grumbling. When they arrived, Weiss was still grumbling. “Okay, Mike” he told his friend, “No flirting anymore. You’re brother and sister until we get back.” Vaughn groaned.
“Well, I guess I should kiss you now…since I won’t get to for another three days.” He smiled at Sydney who laughed and kissed him. They walked inside happily.

The flight lasted forever, a whole 7 hours. Midway through the first movie, Vaughn fell asleep. Sydney quietly lifted the armrest between them and settled her head on his chest. Soon most of the people on the plane were snoring and the lights had been turned out. She sighed happily and looked up at Vaughn.

***

Chapter 4

“I swear! He asked me if I had a hamster!” The three of them were standing around waiting for their luggage to come around on the carousel.
“Yeah right, Syd. Did Santa Claus also come tell you not to do drugs anymore?” Weiss asked, not believing her.
“Tell us again what happened.” Vaughn said, laughing.
“I don’t know! I was just about asleep when the flight attendant walked over, shone a flashlight in my eyes and asked me if I had seen a hamster recently. I think I told him to go away or something, because I was so tired. Then he came back about half an hour later and asked me again. I was actually awake that time, so I asked what happened. He told me that some girl had brought a hamster on the plane and it had gotten loose! It’s true, don’t laugh!” Weiss was doubled over, and even Vaughn was trying hard not to smile at the look on Sydney’s face. They walked through the airport, still laughing, to a cab waiting outside.


When they got to their hotel, they stood in line, checked in and were told they were in rooms 356 and 357, but that the elevator was broken so they’d have to walk.
“Oh, no way am I walking up three flights of stairs” said Sydney, dropping her bags on the floor of the lobby.
“And I thought you were little Miss Sporty! Three flights of stairs is too many?” asked Weiss, risking a smack.
“I haven’t slept in a reeeaaallly long time,” she explained, glaring at him.
“Well, why didn’t you sleep on the plane? Everyone else did!” Vaughn asked.
“Not everyone. Hamster girl wasn’t asleep! The rude flight attendant wasn’t asleep!” Sydney said, but couldn’t help but laugh at herself. “But seriously. One of you is carrying me up those stairs.” Weiss and Vaughn looked at eachother.
“She’s not going to move until she gets what she wants, is she?” Vaughn said.
“I’ll carry the bags” said Weiss. Vaughn bent down and Sydney hopped on his back, giggling.

“I can’t believe I’m carrying you up the stairs!” Vaughn said, groaning.
“Fine, I’ll walk the rest of the way!” Sydney said and laughed. She was so happy to be in Paris with him she couldn’t stop being cheerful. They got to their rooms and realized that they didn’t know how they were splitting up.
“Uh, who’s sleeping where?” asked Weiss, grinning at his two blushing friends.
“Well, I’m not sleeping in the same bed as Weiss” said Vaughn.
“No offense, but you’re not sleeping in the same bed as me, either.” said Sydney.
“I feel so loved,” said Vaughn. “I’ll sleep on your couch, okay Syd?”
“Sure,” she said, smiling at him.
“No hanky panky, you two” teased Weiss.
“As if. I’m going straight to sleep” said Sydney, walking into her room. Vaughn shook his head at the sad face Weiss was making at him and followed behind. Sydney sucked in her breath, and Vaughn looked around her at the room. It was small, but furnished lavishly. Sydney set down her bags and started pulling things out.

“Uh, Vaughn?” she said, frowning. “I forgot to pack pajamas.”
“Sydney! What is this, your first mission?” he joked. “Wanna borrow a t-shirt?”
He tossed one to her and she went to the bathroom to change. She emerged a few minutes later, her hair out of its ponytail. He smiled at the sight of her wearing his shirt, which came down to mid thigh on her. She noticed him looking her and nervously tugged on the t-shirt, trying to make it longer. “What?” she asked.
“You look better in that shirt than I do! But why am I surprised?” Vaughn replied. Sydney smiled at him, no longer self-conscious. She loved the way he looked at her. “What are you watching?” she asked.
“Some French show. A soap opera of sorts” he replied. “Wanna watch it with me?” Sydney was already in bed, snuggled under the soft covers. “Guess not. Goodnight, Scarlett.”
“G’night, bro.”
He smiled. It was weird to pretend to be her brother, but she was so beautiful that he couldn’t help but smile at her. He watched her sleep, his soap opera forgotten.

***
That was a lot all at once, wasn't it? Oh well. Enjoy!

Yes, that was a lot, but thats ok!! That was a very good chapter!!! You really are a good writer!!!

Chapter 5

“Morning Sunshines!” Weiss’ cheerful voice interrupted their breakfast. Vaughn and Sydney both looked up from the bed, where they were having a picnic breakfast. “What? You ordered room service and you didn’t tell…Syd, is that Mike’s shirt?” Weiss asked, waggling his eyebrows at her.
“Yeah, I forgot my pajamas. Geez, mind your own business!” Sydney replied, shaking her head. Weiss could be so nosy.
“So I guess you’re joining us for breakfast?” asked Vaughn, although he knew the answer. Weiss just grabbed a piece of toast and sat down.
“Hey Weiss? You never told us what your alias is.” Sydney suddenly realized.
Weiss swallowed his toast and glared up at them. That’s cuz I didn’t want to tell you. It’s…Tyler Heron.”
“What’s wrong with Tyler?’ asked Vaughn.
“It’s a cute name, Weiss” said Syd, reassuringly.
“It’s a little kid name” said Weiss sullenly, pouting. Vaughn and Sydney looked at eachother and laughed, thinking the same thing.
“It suits you!” they both said, laughing at his behavior. Weiss shot them both a look and grabbed another piece of toast.
“Okay, so can we just review what the plan is? What exactly are we going after?” Syd asked.
“We’re going after this Rambaldi device. It’s another piece of that clock.”
Sydney looked at him curiously. “I thought there were no more pieces.”
“So did we, but apparently there’s another. We don’t know what it does yet, but I guess that’s why we need it. It’s in a back room of the kitchen in the Eiffel Tower restaurant. We’ll go into the restaurant together, then you’ll excuse yourself and sneak into the kitchen. You’ll have to be fairly inconspicuous, since there are a lot of tourists wandering around. We think Sark might be there as well, so watch out for him.”
“Oh, great.” Sydney groaned at the thought of fighting Sark again. He always seemed to find her weakness and beat her. However, she had thrown an ice pick at his leg, so she guessed she probably deserved it.

***

“Excuse me, guys. I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Sydney said, scooting her chair back. She walked towards where the bathroom was, through the gift shop and past the kitchen. She ducked inside and surveyed the room. A waiter came around a corner and she quickly hid behind a counter. She wandered around the kitchen a bit, looking for a back room.
“Vaughn, I can’t find any hidden rooms” she said. ’Duh, Syd. It’s a hidden room’ she thought to herself. “Oh, wait. Let me try this.” She opened a door and found herself in a dark room full of boxes. They were all marked with French names. Opening one, she found 50 cans of crushed pineapple. She sighed, frustrated. Looking around, she finally saw a small one perched on a shelf with a <O> scribbled on the side. “What kind of hiding place is this?” she asked herself.
“Not a very good one” a voice behind her said. She sighed and spun around slowly, knowing already who it was. Sark stood in the doorway, pointing a gun at her. “I thought we might meet eachother today. Nice to see you again” he said in his cocky British voice.
“Sark, if you shoot that there will be mayhem. Do you know what a riot these tourists will cause if they hear a gunshot?”
“Then I’ll have no trouble blending in and getting away. With the box.” He replied, smirking at her. She sighed and raised her hands in surrender. Sark walked towards the shelf, still pointing his gun at her, then turned to grab the box. As he turned, Sydney kicked the back of his knees, causing him to fall and drop his gun at her feet. She grabbed it and the box and ran out. Hiding the gun in her jacket pocket, she ran down the hallway towards the restaurant. She grabbed a bag from the gift shop, yelled her thank you to the frightened woman behind the counter and shoved the box into it.

“Hey guys. I picked something up for Grandma at the gift shop. Do you wanna go now?” she said quickly. She looked over her shoulder and thought she saw Sark talking to the woman working in the gift shop. The woman was pointing him out to where they were. Vaughn and Weiss nodded and they headed towards the elevator. On the way down, she let them peek into the bag to see the box.
“That’s great, Scarlett. “Grandma” is going to love it.” said Vaughn, smiling at her. She laughed, thinking of how happy Kendall would be if he knew they were talking about him like this.

hey babe! that was so good! no wonderful! i really loved it! can't wait for more sweetheart. kendall a grandma! lmao!!!!!!!!!!!!! love ya chickadee~goofygal~ :reallyexcited: :angel 1:

Great chapter!! :D

Two more chapters for y'all.

Chapter 7

The next morning, Weiss slowly peeked his head in again. He looked around and saw that they had ordered breakfast without him again. Vaughn was sitting on the edge of the bed reading a Parisian newspaper and eating a ‘pain au chocolat’. Sydney was no where to be seen.
“Hey man, where’s your girlfriend?” he asked, walking into their room. Just then, Sydney walked out of the bathroom, with only a towel wrapped around her.
“Woah, Syd! Yesterday I come in and you’re wearing Vaughn’s shirt. Today you’re wearing even less!”
Sydney rolled her eyes. “I just got out of the shower. Now would you mind giving me a little privacy so I can get dressed?” she asked, gesturing for him to leave.
“Oh, I have to leave, but he doesn’t?” asked Weiss, feigning disappointment.
“I don’t have to leave because I’m living here too” said Vaughn smugly from behind his newspaper.
“Actually, Vaughn…Would you mind going too? I’d just like a little privacy for twenty minutes.” Sydney said.
“Ooh, burn!” said Weiss, laughing at Vaughn.
“Shut up, Eric” he said, pushing his friend through the door and into the adjoining room. “See you later, Syd.”

An hour later Sydney came through the door between rooms looking questioningly at Vaughn. “Are you packed yet? We’re leaving in 15 minutes. You too, Weiss. Let’s go!” Vaughn and Weiss looked at eachother and jumped up off the couch. They ran around, stuffing things madly into their bags.
“Syd? Where’s the shirt I let you wear?!?” Vaughn asked, panicking that he had no idea where he had stored half his clothes.
“Relax, I must have stuck it in my bag” she replied, laughing at the look on his face. “Are you guys done yet? Come on!”
Finally, they had found everything and packed it all. They grabbed the Rambaldi box and shoved it in Sydney’s bag as they walked out the door.
“Phew. I didn’t think we were going to make it. Vaughn’s been walking around in a cloud for the past three days, I’m surprised he was able to focus long enough to get packed” Weiss said, ducking as Vaughn tried to smack him.

***

“Hey, I didn’t get a single éclair!” Weiss realized as they stepped onto the plane.
“You should have gotten one in the airport. Didn’t you see the woman selling them?” asked Vaughn.
“Was she a good-looking woman?” Weiss joked as they reached their seats. Vaughn and Sydney laughed as they settled into the uncomfortable airplane chairs. Sydney rested her head on Vaughn’s shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. Everything seemed so peaceful and right in the world and she felt herself start to feel drowsy. Just as her eyes closed, Vaughn leaned over. “Wake me if you see any hamsters this time,” he whispered. “Ow!” he yelped as Sydney pinched him.

***
Chapter 8

“So how was the mission? Did everything go as planned?” The three of them nodded at Kendall. “Weiss, you kept an eye on them, right?”
Weiss grinned. “Yeah, I kept an eye on them. And they were very well behaved. Although I walked in one morning and Sydney was wearing-“ Weiss was interrupted as Vaughn elbowed him in the side. Kendall did not need to hear gossip about what Sydney had slept in…or rather, what she hadn’t.

Kendall narrowed his eyes and glared at the three of them. “I meant what I said, Agent Vaughn. The director is going to hear about this and he will decide what to do with you. Come with me, please.” Vaughn made a face at his back. Sydney smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
“I meant what I said too, Kendall!” she called. “I won’t have any other handler.”

Jack walked over to where Sydney and Weiss were watching Vaughn walk away. Weiss saw him and quickly walked in the other direction, suddenly very busy.
“Sydney, what’s wrong?” Jack asked, seeing the concerned look on her face.
“Kendall and Vaughn are going to see Devlin. Isn’t there something you can do? You’re a senior officer, Devlin will listen if you ask him not to fire Vaughn” Sydney pleaded.
“Are you sure it’s good idea for you two to be working together?”
“Yes!” Sydney practically yelled. She sighed and lowered her voice. “Vaughn and I have felt this way about eachother for a long time and it hasn’t affected our work yet. Besides, we’re adults and we are going to date no matter what Devlin’s decision is. I hate this agency and Vaughn is the only thing that keeps me sane!”
Jack looked at the plaintive look she was giving him and couldn’t refuse. He desperately wanted to be closer to his daughter, he just didn’t know how. Trying to accept her relationship was a start, he supposed. “I’ll see what I can do” he said and walked off.

***

“Hey Syd. Are you okay?” Will asked, coming through the front door and spying her on the couch.
“Oh, it’s just work. My boss is trying to fire Vaughn” she explained.
“What? Why?”
“It’s all my fault, Will!” she cried. Will sat down beside her and gave her a hug. “We sort of kissed in the middle of the CIA and everyone saw. In hindsight ,it was a pretty stupid thing to do. We’re not allowed to date, it’s against protocol. And I want to be with him, but I don’t want him to lose his job!”
Will was stunned. “Wow. Since when are you two together?”
“Since three days ago, I guess.”
“Who have you been with for three days?” Francie asked, walking in and joining the conversation “Ooh, how was your trip with that Michael guy?”
“The trip was great, but now Michael might lose his job because we kissed in the middle of the office. In hindsight, it was a pretty stupid thing to do.”
“You kissed?!?” Francie was happy for Sydney, but her face fell when she saw how distressed her friend was. “Oh Syd, I’m sorry. Do you want to come to the restaurant with us and take your mind off it?” she asked.
“No, I’m okay here” Sydney replied. She would just interrupt their fun. Just then Sydney’s phone rang. She lunged for it, checking the number. Vaughn!
“Hello?” she said.
“Joey’s pizza?”
“Hey Vaughn, what did they decide?”
“Well, I still have a job” he replied happily. “But when we’re in the office we’re supposed to pretend we’re not dating.”
“Oh, are we dating now?” Sydney teased. “As I recall, we haven’t gone on a single date yet.”
“Well… would you like to go for dinner tonight?” he asked.
“Sure, but it’s already like 5:30!” she said.
“Well, I’ll be there at 7, okay?” he replied.
“All right, bye.” Sydney hung up and grinned at Francie and Will, who were watching her intently from the couch. “He didn’t get in trouble and we’re going for dinner in an hour and a half!” she exclaimed. Francie jumped up and hugged her tightly.
“Wait. Did you say an hour and a half? You have to get ready, let’s go!” Francie said frantically. She grabbed Sydney’s hand and hauled her into her room.

Chapter 10

Sydney and Francie emerged from the bedroom an hour later.
“Wow, Syd. I mean, wow” said Will from the couch. Sydney spun around, showing off her simple black dress. Her hair was half pulled back (like JG wore to the Oscars) with a clip. She laughed at Will’s reaction and at Francie, who was standing in the doorway looking proud of herself.
“Geez, you guys. You don’t have to act like parents watching their little girl go on her first date! You’re making me even more nervous!” she exclaimed. She was actually very anxious about going on a date with Vaughn.
“What are you so nervous about? You’ve already kissed, so you don’t have to worry about that. You already know he doesn’t have anything wrong with him, some kind of personality disorder, right? So you have nothing to worry about!” Will said from the couch, grinning.
Sydney and Francie exchanged a look. Guys just didn’t understand anything sometimes.

Vaughn stood outside her door, his hand reaching for the doorbell. He was pretty nervous about this, although he couldn’t imagine why. He hoped he wouldn’t do anything stupid to embarrass himself. Vaughn had spoken to Weiss before he left, and could still remember his advice. “If you want to get yourself invited inside after the date, just ask if you can use her bathroom. That way, you’re already in her house and she can’t just kick you out!” Vaughn shook his head at Weiss’ advice. He always knew exactly the wrong thing to say.

Dingdong! The three of them froze. Then Sydney and Francie both sprinted for the door. Sydney won this time and opened the door, out of breath.
“Hi” she said shyly.
“Hi. Do you two always run to the door?” Vaughn asked her. Sydney and Francie looked at eachother and giggled.
“Not always. Just when there’s a guy on the other side. Especially if it’s a hot pizza guy, right Fran?” Sydney told him. Francie glared at her, remembering her 80-yr-old pizza guy.
“I see. Oh, hey Will” Vaughn said. Will waved from the couch and went back to watching TV. He was happy for Syd and he liked Vaughn, but he wasn’t ready to watch Sydney go off with another guy. Sydney grabbed her purse and went to the door. “I’m ready” she said. Vaughn smiled and opened the door for her.
“Bye you guys! I won’t wait up, Syd” Francie called as they walked out.

Getting into the car, Sydney got curious. “So where are we going?”
“Paris,” he replied with a mischievous grin. “I told you I’d take you there, didn’t I?”
Sydney smiled back at him. She couldn’t help but grin like an idiot when he gave her one of those knee-weakening smiles. “Vaughn, come on!”
“Why don’t you call me Michael?” he asked. Sydney was caught off guard. She didn't call him Michael because….
“I don’t know” she admitted, shrugging. “Maybe I’ll start. But tell me where we’re going.”
“You know I’m not going to tell you, right?”
“Vaughn, if you don’t tell me, I’ll-“ she threatened. Vaughn laughed at her and kept driving. She shook her head. Maybe a surprise was better.

They pulled up to a restaurant in downtown L.A. Sydney got out of the car, looking around her. “Now are you going to tell me where we are?” she asked.
“Le Beau Jolie” he told her. “Since you had a burger in Paris, you’re going to have French food in L.A.” He smiled at her and led her inside.

***

“Can you believe how rude that waiter was?” said Sydney, giggling.
“I know. Did you see the look he gave me when I asked for a salt shaker?” Vaughn replied, laughing with her. They drove into her driveway and got out of the car. Sydney grabbed his hand as they walked up the sidewalk. As they reached the door, he gave her hand a little squeeze. They stood there just looking at eachother for a second, taking in the moment, then Sydney started giggling.
“What? What’s so funny?” asked Vaughn.
“It’s just that before I left, Will told me that I didn’t have to worry about a goodnight kiss because we’ve already kissed” Sydney admitted, blushing.
“Well, Eric was giving me advice on how to get myself into your house so you wouldn’t be able to kick me out! Only he would spend time thinking about things like that.” Then Vaughn remembered all the countless hours he had spent daydreaming about Sydney. He looked up at her and saw her blushing. “Oh, I mean…” he stuttered. “I wasn’t going to do it. But Will was right, I am going to kiss you.”
Sydney smiled as Vaughn leaned over and kissed her. She felt like a teenager for the second time that night as her knees went weak. “Lucky his arm is around my waist,” she thought to herself. Then she just got lost in his passionate kiss.
Suddenly they heard a shrieking coming from the house, then a thumping sound and a slam. Vaughn pulled away, looking up at her house with a puzzled look.
“Was that Francie? Do you think she’s okay?”
Sydney rolled her eyes. “The shriek was her looking out the window and seeing us. Then she realized that we heard the shriek and she fell off the couch, ran to her room and slammed the door so she can pretend to be asleep when I come in.”
Vaughn looked at her. “She’s done this before?” he asked.
“Only every time.” They smiled at eachother again. Vaughn couldn’t help it, she was so beautiful!
“I love you, Sydney.”
Sydney’s smile widened. “I love you too…Michael. Goodnight.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Vaughn said. He walked back to his car and heard more shrieking coming from the house. Obviously Francie had given up on pretending to be asleep.

Francie was jumping around and talking so fast that Sydney couldn’t help but laugh.
“Omigod Syd, he’s so hot! And he seems so nice! Is he a good kisser? Where did you go? What did you eat? How long have you known this guy? Why didn’t you invite him in?” Francie asked all at once.
“Um, we went to a French restaurant, we ate food, I’ve known him for a year and I might have invited him in if you hadn’t been thumping around!” Sydney replied, sitting at the counter.
“Oh, I’m sorry! But I heard the car pull up and I just had to look out the window. You didn’t tell me if he’s a good kisser or not!” Francie said, not the least bit embarrassed. Sydney just laughed. “That’s a yes, isn’t it? It’s a yes! Oh, I’m so happy for you, Syd!” Francie said, hugging her.

“Thanks, Fran. I’m happy for me too! But I’m realy tired, I need to go to bed” she replied. Francie hugged her again, then they both went to bed. Sydney hadn’t unpacked from Paris yet and she knew that she couldn’t put it off any longer. She started putting her clothes away but stopped when she saw Vaughn’s shirt in the bottom of her bag. It wouldn’t hurt to sleep in it again, as long as she didn’t let Francie see her wearing it. She slipped it on and slid into bed with that calm feeling she had felt when she had been wrapped in Vaughn’s arms on the plane. “I wonder what kind of after-shave he wears” she thought to herself as she drifted off.

***
Chapter 11

“Good morning Agent Vaughn” Sydney said, sneaking up behind him. He jumped, then turned around, realizing it was her. She smiled brightly as he scowled at her. She leaned in, very close to him, then stepped back.
“Syd? What are you doing?” he asked, puzzled.
“Nothing, Agent Vaughn” she said innocently. She was sure now that it was his cologne, or after-shave or something. She felt a little silly about it, but it made her go weak in the knees. That was part of the reason she felt so peaceful in his arms.
“Whatever you say, Agent Bristow. Hey, do you still have that shirt of mine? I can’t find it anywhere” he asked. She nodded and grinned at him. He sighed. “What do I have to do to get it back?” he asked.
“Hmmm…take me to Paris?” she said. He laughed, but their fun was interrupted by Jack. He glared at Vaughn and said,” I don’t even want to know what you were talking about. But I would be more careful if I were you. No public displays of affection, remember?” He turned to Sydney and his face softened. “We have intel on Sark. Your mother wants to talk to you about it.”
Sydney nodded, then smiled at Vaughn and walked away. Jack gave Vaughn another glare.
“Agent Bristow and I were just talking about-” he tried to say, but was interrupted by Jack.
“Don’t think that you can get cute with me Vaughn, just because I saved your job. And by the way, if you hurt my daughter in any way, I will hunt you down.” With that, Jack walked away.

Sydney walked down the long hallway to her mother’s cell. As the last gate clanged shut, she looked in the window at Irina. She was sitting in the middle of the floor, staring at the wall, obviously deep in thought. Irina looked up at Sydney, who was surprised by the sudden movement. Sometimes her mother made her wonder.
“Uh, mom? Dad said you wanted to talk to me about Sark.”
Irina chuckled. “No, this isn’t about Sark. It’s about Agent Vaughn. But I knew you wouldn’t come if I told the truth.”
“Mom, I should tell you something” Sydney started to say.
“No, Sydney. Listen to me. It is very obvious to me that you care a great deal about his man, love him even. And he feels the same way. I know it is against protocol, but you need to tell him how you feel. You’re not happy and it’s not fair to you” her mother said as she got up and walked to the window.
“Mom, he already knows I love him. We’re…we’re dating now.”
Irina didn’t say anything. Sydney smiled inwardly at the fact that for once, she had startled her mother.
“Does the agency know about it?” she asked finally.
“Yes, and while they’re not happy about it, they realized that they can’t fire Vaughn without me quitting” Sydney replied, smiling at Irina.
“And what does your father say about this?” Irina asked curiously.
Sydney laughed. “I don’t know what he thinks. He understands that he can’t keep us apart and he’s the one who convinced Devlin not to fire Vaughn. He’s being pretty supportive so far. I bet he has threatened to hunt Vaughn down, though. He always said that to my boyfriends” Sydney explained. A flicker of pain crossed her face as she realized that her mother had never met any of her boyfriends. She shook it off, knowing that it was too late to change the past. “Was that all you wanted to talk about?” she asked.
“Yes….I’m happy for you Sydney. Agent Vaughn is a very lucky man. I just hope he knows it’ Irina replied. Sydney nodded, remembering their trip to Paris, and walked out.

***
Chapter 12

“Hey Mike! How did it go last night? Did she invite you in, or did you have to invite yourself in?” Weiss asked, bounding across the office towards Vaughn.
“Neither” replied Vaughn without looking up from his computer screen.
“Why not? What are you an idiot?” Weiss asked incredulously.
Vaughn looked up from his computer at Weiss. “You don’t know the first thing about women, do you?” he asked.
Weiss frowned at him, then looked over Vaughn’s shoulder. “Okay, what is all this?” he asked, peering at the screen.
“It’s the new intel on Sark. I’m trying to figure out where he is now.” replied Vaughn focusing on the computer again.
“Who cares? Tell me about your date.” asked Weiss.
“It’s possible that he’s meeting a contact here” Vaughn said. “Or maybe he’s after something that we don’t know about.”
“Who knows.” said Weiss. “So when are you and Syd going out again?”
Vaughn sighed and gave Weiss a look. Weiss made a face at him, but saw Agent Philips walking past. She raised her eyebrows at him curiously and he straightened up, suddenly very serious.
“New girl has a thing for me” he said to Vaughn, watching Agent Philips walk away.
“Yeah, I heard. Didn’t she tell you she has a boyfriend?”
Weiss glared at him. “Sydney thought you had a girlfriend and that didn’t stop her.”
“Eric, I never told Syd that I had a girlfriend. You, on the other hand, have asked Agent Philips out, been rejected and told her you have a boyfriend. Sorry, man, but I don’t think she’s interested.” Vaughn said, rolling his eyes.
Weiss pouted again and walked away. Jack walked over, his face emotionless as usual. “Vaughn” he said. “We think Sark is in the city meeting a contact.”
“I know” interrupted Vaughn, but he was silenced by the murderous look on Jack’s face.
“Well, tell Sydney to watch her step next time you see her.”
Vaughn simply nodded and Jack walked out.

***

“Francie?”
“Um, yeah. Who’s this?” she replied.
“It’s Michael Vaughn. You know, from-“ Vaughn was interrupted by a sudden giggling on the other end of the phone.
“Oh, hi” Francie tried to say calmly. “Sydney’s not here right now. She went out…somewhere.”
“Oh, that’s great. I actually wanted to talk to you. I just found out it’s Syd’s birthday soon. I need your advice on what to get her. Can you help me, please?” Vaughn heard Francie’s voice muffled. “It’s not for a few months, you know… It’s Michael from the bank. He wants advice on Syd’s birthday….Hi. sorry about that, Will wanted to know who it was. So you want me to tell you what to get her?”
“Well, not exactly. Just some sort of… hint? Please, I’m clueless!” Vaughn replied.
Francie thought for a second. “Will, what should he get her?” Vaughn heard Will in the background saying, “How should I know? I don’t even know what I’m going to get her!”
Vaughn grinned. Although he suspected that Will had feelings for Sydney, he still liked the guy.
“Ooh, I know!” exclaimed Francie. “Take her away for a weekend! Go to some bed and breakfast nearby. I know you’ve only been dating for a little while, but she was going to invite you inside last night. And you will have been dating for quite a while by the time it’s her birthday. Sorry about the distraction, by the way.”
“It’s okay. Thanks for the idea, I might do that…” said Vaughn slowly, thinking about the idea. “Bye Francie.”


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