Title: When The Tide Comes
Feedback: Appreciated very much. E-mail Me
Archive: Ask first, I'll say yes.
Rating: PG-13 for theme and language.
Pairing: Vaughn/Sydney.
Summary: My vision of the series finale (which hopefully won't be for a very long time). Takes place after "The Confession" and before "The Box".
Notes: Long Alias piece! And yeah, it's an ending that probably won't happen...at least not since "Phase One".
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. JJ Abrams, Bad Robot, ABC, and people who are luckier than me own everything else except the song, which is owned by Michelle Branch. And there's also a quote from Gone With the Wind in there, which I also don't own. Big surprise.

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When The Tide Comes

By Alison


D/C: I don't own anything in this story except for the plot. JJ Abrams, Bad Robot, and people who are luckier than me own them. Michelle Branch owns the song. And I don't won the quote from Gone With the Wind.

~*~*~

I wanted to be like you

I wanted everything

"I would like to be able to look at you in public." "If you ever need to talk to someone, you've got my number." "My guardian angel."

Sydney Bristow was kept awake late one night thinking of her handler, Michael Vaughn.

In a professional way, of course.

It's not as if they would ever be able to think of each other in any way but professional.

So why was she awake at three AM wondering what he was doing at that very moment?

"Probably asleep, like I should be," she grumbled turning over.

But her thoughts kept on drifting towards him.

"I'm acting like an idiot!" she thought, getting up and walking to the kitchen. She made a bowl of Cookies 'N Cream ice cream and sat down with it and her book. It wasn't long before Francie came in.

"Hey," she said, sitting down by Sydney. "I heard you get up. What's wrong?"

"Lots of things," said Sydney. She hesitated. "How's the Charlie thing coming?"

Francie sat back. Hard. "Not good," she said huffily. "While you were gone on your last trip, he had the nerve to ask me if I'd go out with him on Friday. I'm like, 'No, shouldn't you be with some other chick?'" She smiled. "So, really, what's up with you? You never get up at this time of night."

Sydney moved her spoon around her now empty bowl of ice cream. "There's this guy," she said.

Francie looked surprised. "Oh, really." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, really."

"So, who is he?"

"This guy from work." When she saw that Francie wanted details, she continued. "He's been really supportive of me lately. You know, helping me out with my life and all."

"Does Mr. Wonderful have a name?" asked Francie.

"Yeah, right," said Sydney. "If I tell you, you're going to track him down and set us up."

"You're right," said Francie, "but it was worth a try." She got up and stretched. "Don't stay up too late. Will's taking us out to breakfast in a few hours."

"Yes, mother," said Sydney, smiling. "Night."

"Night."

But Sydney couldn't get that afternoon scene out of her head. It started after her latest mission…

*FLASHBACK*

"Good job on your mission, Sydney," said Michael Vaughn. "Thanks to you, we've got even more information on that Rambaldi article."

Sydney smiled back at him. "Hey, we haven't really talked since I found out the news about my mom," she said. "What's been happening over at the CIA?"

Vaughn hesitated before answering. "I had a meeting with Barnett."

"Who's he?"

"He's a she. And she's the CIA shrink."

"Oh," said Sydney. "What'd she want with you?"

He hesitated again. "She asked me about…us."

"Because of the whole my mom your dad thing?"

"Not just that," said Vaughn, growing more uncomfortable by the minute. "She found out about that Christmas present I got you."

"Oh," said Sydney, growing uncomfortable as well. "By the way, I don't think I ever thanked you properly for that."

"It's OK," said Vaughn quickly.

"No," said Sydney. "Thank you. I love it."

Vaughn's smile lit up the dark CIA safehouse. "I'm glad."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Sydney said, "I have to go. Francie and Charlie are in a fight."

"Ouch," said Vaughn. "Wedding problems?"

"Something like that," said Sydney. "Francie found out Charlie was cheating on her a couple months ago."

"That's too bad," said Vaughn. They were about to walk out of the gate and into a world where they had to pretend the other didn't exist. "I'll see you," said Vaughn, guiding her out.

"You too," said Sydney. She looked into his eyes, and they locked for the briefest of seconds. "Bye," said Sydney, walking out quickly.

She didn't notice her handler leaning on the gate after she left, full of unanswered questions.

*PRESENT*

Sydney finally fell asleep, the days events playing in her mind.

So I tried to be like you

And I got swept away

"We have a reason to believe Donato, Rambaldi's last known descendent, isn't dead," said Sloane the next day.

"What?" asked Sydney. "I know he's dead, I saw him murdered right in front of me!"

"One of our contacts told us that they saw Donato in a warehouse last night," said Sloane. "We believe that Donato had a deal with the KGB."

"What kind of deal?" asked Dixon.

"What does the KGB want? Rambaldi artifacts. They obviously thought that by killing Donato, they'd scare Sydney either into giving them the clock, or stunning her long enough to take it from her by force," explained Sloane.

"But what's in it for Donato?" asked Sydney.

"A new identity," said Sloane. "For years, people have been pestering him endlessly about Rambaldi. By faking his death, he'd be able to start life as a free man."

"Why didn't the KGB just kill him?" asked Dixon.

"Donato is a powerful asset to K-Directorate," said Sloane. "They wouldn't want him dead before he revealed his secrets to them." He stood up and gave both Dixon and Sydney a black folder with information in it. "Go to Positano, find Donato, and offer to bargain with him. All the Rambaldi artifacts, documents, etc. he has, in exchange for a free passage to the United States and to be placed in the WPP."

"Why would he agree to that?" asked Sydney.

"I don't think he wants to work with the KGB anymore. It's too risky for him. You leave tomorrow at eight AM." Everyone got up to leave. "Sydney," said Sloane. "Can I have a word?" The way he said it, it sounded more like a statement or an order instead of a question.

"Sure," said Sydney, putting on the smile she had been so accustomed to wearing lately.

"I'll meet you in the tech room," said Dixon. He walked out, leaving Sydney alone in the room with Sloane.

Sloane took a deep breath before starting. "I just want to apologize again for not telling you about your mother earlier. Really, it was a shock to us all. We didn't think you could handle it. Clearly, we were wrong." He smiled at her.

Inside, Sydney felt disgusted. How can he still smile like that? Even after knowing the truth about what he does? But her smile stayed plastered on her face.

"Thank you, sir," she said, wondering when she was going to get out of there.

"Sydney, Sydney, Sydney," he said, chuckling. "No need to get all formal on me. We're just two friends having a chat."

Sydney's insides lurched. Like she could ever call him her friend. "All right," she said, choosing not to call him anything.

Sloane's eyes flickered, and he started to act like he was in a trance. "You look just like her," he said wistfully, almost regrettably. His hand moved slowly towards her face to move her hair out of her eyes.

Sydney's eyes widened, and she took a giant step away from him before he could touch her.

Sloane snapped out of it, and he moved his hand back down to his side.

"I think I should go," said Sydney, backing towards the door.

"I…I'm sorry, Sydney," Sloane stuttered. "I don't know what came over me."

"I need to meet Marshall and Dixon," she said.

"Sorry," he said again. "I've just…always thought of you as my daughter."

Sydney put on her smile again, and walked out.

When she was out of his eyesight, she shuddered.

~*~*~

"He's been creeping me out lately," Sydney told Vaughn after she told him about Sloane that afternoon. "He's been especially weird ever since the attack on us. Paranoid, almost."

"That is creepy," Vaughn agreed.

They were at the zoo at the polar bear exhibit.

Sydney shuddered again. "So, what's my counter-mission?" she asked, changing the subject.

Vaughn told her, even though he was reluctant. I wish it wasn't always about business…But, of course, he couldn't tell her that. Regaining his composure, he shook a bag in his hands. "It has a ring in it," he explained. "The jewel is a camera, and there's a button on the band. Use it to take pictures of all the Rambaldi things you get."

"That's it?" asked Sydney.

"That's it," said Vaughn.

"What, you guys over at the CIA think I can't do anything anymore?" asked Sydney angrily.

"It's not my fault," said Vaughn. "Haladki's checking my…effectiveness as your handler. He thinks you're still in depression over your…mom."

"Well, tell this Haladki guy to get me more helpful counter-missions, or it's going to take a century to take down SD-6."

"I don't think it's do much good," said Vaughn. "He's got Devlin just where he wants him. He'd probably get me fired." He set the bag on the ground. "I'll see you, Sydney."

"Bye," she said, picking up the bag after he left. She sat down on the bench and pulled out the ring. It was pretty ordinary looking, nothing special. She felt something else in the bag. She pulled out a white, furry polar bear stuffed animal.

She hugged it to her chest as she watched him walking away, smiling for the first time that day.

I didn't know that it was so cold and

You needed someone to show you the way

Sydney, Will, Charlie, and Francie went to dinner that night. It was Charlie and Francie's first dinner together since "the incident."

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Sydney asked Will worriedly.

"It's a great idea," said Will. "All my ideas are."

"Like the idea of you dating a fifteen year old?" asked Sydney, a mischievous smile on her face.

Will gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. He had given up on telling her Jenny's age.

Francie came back from the bathroom. "Where is he?" she asked. "I want to get this over with."

"It'll be fine," said Sydney. "Calm down."

Just then, Charlie walked in. "Hey. Sorry I'm late," he said, taking the seat next to Francie.

"We know how busy you probably are at 'work,'" said Francie harshly.

Sydney kicked her under the table. 'Be nice,' she mouthed. Francie rolled her eyes.

"So," said Will, trying to keep the conversation light, "how's work going for everyone?"

When nobody answered, he continued. "OK, so I'm doing this piece on the advantages of two-ply toilet paper over one-ply. Stupid, right? This is my life. This is how I can afford this dinner."

Charlie decided to step in. "My singing gig went really well."

Wrong thing to say. "Oh, the one that your ex-girlfriend went to?" Francie asked coldly.

"Francie…" Charlie started to say.

Sensing a major fight in the works, Sydney stepped in. "I'm going on another business trip tomorrow morning."

"Syd, how could the bank need to make this many business trips?" Will asked. "Just quit. Please."

"Will, I'm not getting in an argument about my job right now!" Sydney hissed quietly.

"Why shouldn't you?" said Francie, raising her voice. "If you have something to discuss with someone, you should!"

"Francie, shh," said Charlie. "You're making a scene."

"Well, at least it isn't with your bad singing!"

"What's so good about the bank that you have to stay there for?" Will asked. "It's that guy, isn't it? That guy who gave you the Christmas present."

"Will, if you knew all the good I did at the bank, you would thank me!" said Sydney, her voice also rising.

"I thought you liked my singing," said Charlie.

"I lied!" said Francie. "Not that you don't know about that!"

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?!" People started to look at them.

"Look, your life would be a lot simpler if you just quit…"

"SHUT UP!"

Sydney and Francie both got up and left Will and Charlie there.

A waiter came up to them. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but we're going to have to ask you to leave now," he said.

Will glared at Charlie and threw down his napkin. "Fine." He stormed out.

Charlie followed him outside. "What'd I do?" he asked.

"What'd you do?!" asked Will, turning on him. "You cheated on Francie, that's what you did! This never would've happened if you hadn't gone out with that other girl! Now, thanks to you,, my friend's mad at me!" He stormed off again.

Charlie got into his car, but didn't start it yet. Just as he thought, Will came back.

"Hey, they, um, took the car," he said sheepishly. "Can I get a ride?"

"Get in," said Charlie.

~*~*~

Sydney and Dixon were waiting at LAX the next day for their flight to Positano, Italy.

"I'll be right back," said Dixon, walking towards the men's room.

"OK," said Sydney. She looked around at their boarding gate.

"Hey," said a voice coming from the row behind her.

"Vaughn!" she said, extremely surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"CIA tech found a bug in the ring," he explained, sliding another bag on her carry-on. "The real one's in there."

"Do I get a stuffed animal this time?" she asked.

"Sorry, it was a stupid little gift…"

"Don't apologize," she said quickly. "I love it. Thanks."

"You're welcome." There was an awkward silence. "Your partner's coming back, I should go. Be careful out there, Sydney."

Even though she knew it was a huge risk, she looked at him. Hard. "Thanks."

"I'm serious. This is a dangerous mission, and I don't want to lose yo…one of the best agents I've had in a long time." They looked at each other. "Just come back."

"You can count on me," she said.

"I know I can," he said, getting up to leave as Dixon came back. He couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy. Dixon got to see Sydney in public, so why couldn't he?

He also couldn't help feeling as he walked away that this might be the last time he ever saw Sydney Bristow.

So I took your hand and we figured out that

When the tide comes I'd take you away

Sydney had come back from Italy. She and Dixon had found Donato and managed to compromise with him. He was now safe as Dr. Frank Black.

She also managed to get pictures of everything. There had been a close miss, though, and her connection with the CIA was destroyed. Right now she was running to the CIA safehouse, hoping Vaughn would be there.

He was. At the moment, he was pacing around on the hard concrete floors, clearly going out of his mind. His back was towards Sydney when she arrived at the gate.

"Vaughn?" she asked in a small voice, announcing herself.

He turned around, and he fell into a state of relief. "Sydney," he whispered. He ran over to the gate and let her in.

She stepped in. "Sorry about the connection," she said.

"Don't apologize," said Vaughn. "I was so worried about you, I heard gunshots and then the connection was lost…"

"I made it out OK," she said. "Dixon, too."

To her surprise, Vaughn pulled her into a hug. "I was so scared I lost you."

He let her out of his embrace, but his hands remained on her shoulders. She looked into his eyes, and for the first time, neither of them looked away.

"Michael," Sydney began. Vaughn started a little. She had never called him Michael before. "I was thinking, on the plane ride home. About us. And after an incident like the last one, I don't want to leave you again without you knowing how I feel." She took a deep breath and said the words he so desperately wanted to hear.

"Michael, I love you."

"I love you too, Sydney," he said, knowing what they were doing was messing up protocol by the second. He leaned closer and closer to her until…

"Kate!" said Dixon, shaking her.

Sydney snapped out of her daydream. Did I just dream about Vaughn and me? she shook her head to try to get a hold of herself.

"Sorry, Justin," she said, using Dixon's alias. "I dozed off for a second there."

"A second?" asked Dixon. "I was trying to get your attention for awhile now."

"Sorry," she said again. "What did you need?"

"Now I'm more interested in this," said Dixon. "Who were you dreaming about?"

"Stop," said Sydney, hitting him lightly across the shoulder.

They landed in Italy without any further incidents. "You know where this place is," said Dixon. "Lead on."

Sydney parted through the crowded streets to the apartment where she had last seen Donato. Part of their assignment was to see what he had left behind.

She approached the tall, familiar building. "This is it," she told Dixon, pushing the entrance door open.

They took the elevator to Donato's floor. Sydney took out the sticks that was holding her hair in a bun. They were actually lockpicks. She started picking the lock open.

"Hurry up," said Dixon, looking around warily.

"I think Rambaldi thought up a futuristic lock," said Sydney, struggling with the door. "It's like you can't pick it open."

"Here, let me try," said Dixon nervously.

"I got it!" said Sydney, a look of triumph on her face as she heard the click of the door unlocking.

"Good job," said Dixon, entering the room cautiously.

"What's up with you?" asked Sydney, taking a look around. With the exception of a few things missing, everything else seemed to be in order. She guessed the missing artifacts were now in KGB hands. "You seem overly nervous about this."

"I've just got a bad feeling about this mission."

"Well, you shouldn't," said Sydney. "This place has been abandoned for awhile." She started taking pictures secretly with her ring.

"Or it was supposed to be," said Dixon, stopping cold.

Donato sat in front of them, gun raised.

"Can I help you?" he asked snidely. Then everything went black.

If you want to, I can save you

I can take you away from here

Sydney opened her eyes. It took her awhile for them to adjust to the almost total darkness.

It didn't take her long to realize she was tied up to a chair. She tried to take out the heavy knot that tied her hands together. She couldn't get it. She was handcuffed under the thick rope.

"Justin!" she hissed through the darkness. There was no answer. Fearing the worst, she searched through the darkness for him.

"Justin!" she hissed again. This time it worked. She saw movement from the far corner.

"Kate," he said weakly. He coughed harshly. "Where are we?"

"I think we got taken," said Sydney. Her head was pounding. For the first time, she could feel blood trickling down the back of her neck.

"Kate," said Dixon. "Are you hurt?"

"I think I'm bleeding pretty bad," said Sydney. "They must have broke the skin when they knocked me unconscious. How about you?"

"I don't think I'm hurt."

"You will be soon, Mr. Brenell."

A tall, intimidating man walked in and turned the lights on. Sydney recognized him at once. "You may know me as Khasinau, head of the K-Directorate. I see you fell for our little plot," he said, starting to pace around. "Yes, Donato never died. And yes, we're both benefiting from it. Or, everyone's benefiting from it but you." He stopped pacing when he got to Dixon. "Who do you work for?"

Dixon spat at his feet. Immediately after, Sydney heard the sound of skin against skin. Dixon fell silent.

"I would be careful if I were you, Mr. Brenell," said Khasinau. "I have your life in my hands." He strode over by Sydney. "Will you be more cooperative, Miss Jones?" Sydney looked away from his menacing glare. "I suppose not.

"Let me tell you a story," Khasinau continued, "about how I got in charge of the great KGB." Sydney and Dixon already knew, but kept their mouths shut. "I got to second-in-command because of my…unconventional torture techniques. You will experience pain like you've never felt it before. In the end, you'll be screaming all of your secrets to me. So, why not save yourself a lot of pain and tell me now?"

Sydney and Dixon didn't talk. "It's very rare that the head of K-Directorate talks to any captives," he said. "Keep that in mind as you think about your decision." They were still silent. "Fine," Khasinau said. Suddenly he slammed his fist against the wall. The sound echoed through the room.

Sydney winced. This man was clearly not in the mood to be trifled with.

"I'll be back in here in seven hours," said Khasinau. "You'd be advised to choose wisely."

He exited the room, flipping the light switch as he walked out. Once again, they were left in total and utter darkness.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever been scared before?"

Sydney hesitated before answering. "I am now."

"Me, too," whispered Dixon.

Sydney sighed and leaned backwards. How were they going to get out of this one?

~*~*~

Sydney woke up about five hours after Khasinau had threatened them. She rolled her neck, trying to get all the kinks out.

She looked around. The lights were still off and it was still pitch black, but Sydney guessed that she had only been asleep for one out of those five hours. She racked her brain trying to think of a plan. She obviously couldn't get her cuffs off, so that threw out the plan that she usually had in a situation like this-beat the crap out of whoever was holding her captive.

A half hour and 124 ideas later, each one stupider than the last, Sydney finally found the perfect plan. It was risky, but she was willing to face the risks. The worst part of it was that it would reveal the truth to Dixon about SD-6. But Sydney was willing to take that risk to save their lives.

~*~*~

Sydney was woken once again. It was Khasinau. He switched on the lights. And he was waiting for answers.

"So," he said, walking around the dark room. "I believe you have an answer for my question. Who do you work for?" He went over by Dixon. "Come on, big man. Who are you? CIA? A division of SD?"

Dixon didn't answer. "Fine," said Khasinau. "You'd rather die than talk. Rather let your pride get the best of you." He paced over to Sydney.

"What about you, little lady?" he asked. "What do you care about more? Your pride or your life?"

Sydney took a deep breath before answering. "My life," she said slowly.

Dixon's eyes flashed. He gave her a look that clearly said What are you doing?!

"I value mine and my partner's life more." Khasinau smiled.

"I knew it," he said. "I knew you'd break down. And I'm glad for it, too. You'll have to go through so much less pain."

He went behind her chair and uncuffed her. "You get to come with me," he said.

Sydney got up and rubbed her wrists, trying to get the circulation back in.

Khasinau shoved her out the door. As she passed by Dixon, she gave him a slight nod, pleading with him to understand. When he wouldn't look at her, she felt horrible.

At least she had a plan.

Khasinau led her to a room a couple hallways over. The hallways were dimly lit. Sydney looked down at her free hands. She saw, with surprise, that her ring from the CIA and a bracelet from SD-6 was still there.

Some prison guards, she thought. They didn't even take off my "jewelry."

Suddenly, a new plan formed in her head. And it wouldn't reveal SD-6 to Dixon.

They strutted into the interrogation room. Or, rather, Khasinau strutted and Sydney lagged behind.

"Sit," Khasinau commanded. Sydney obediently sat down and spotted only one security camera in the room. She carefully aimed her bracelet at it, and pressed on the blue jewel. The red light on the camera turned off, indicating that the camera was off.

Thanks, Marshall, thought Sydney.

"So," said Khasinau. "You agreed to be cooperative. Smart choice. First off-what is your name?"

"My name is Kate Jones," said Sydney, using her alias.

Khasinau looked hard at her. "You're lying and using your alias," he said.

Sydney looked at him with the straightest face she could manage. "Why would I lie with my life on the line?" she asked steadily.

Khasinau sneered at her. "You should know that you, me, and your partner are the only ones in this building. And this building is in the middle of nowhere. It's twenty miles to the nearest civilization."

"Why would that interest me?" Sydney asked, truly curious this time.

"There will be no one to hear you scream, Miss Jones," said Khasinau. He turned around to assemble something on the table. Sydney figured it was some sort of lethal injection.

In one movement, she took off her bracelet, pressed on the red jewel, and threw it at Khasinau.

It blew up, badly burning Khasinau in the process.

He'll live, said Sydney, getting up quickly. Knowing she didn't have much time, she dashed out of the room. She retraced her steps back to where Dixon was.

What she found horrified her. Dixon was still sitting at his chair, but his head had rolled onto his chest. His hair and back was shiny.

Sydney placed her hand on his back.

The shiny stuff on Dixon was blood.

Lot's of it.

Dixon was dead.

"No," said Sydney quietly. Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her. A huge man with a gun charged at her.

Filled with rage over Dixon's death, Sydney kicked the guy as hard as she could in a place where he couldn't kick her back.

He dropped his gun in shock. Sydney picked it up and shot him.

Right after she did, she started crying. She had never shot anyone to kill before. She preferred the less fatal approach.

Convinced that no one else was coming, she managed to carry Dixon by dragging him behind her. She had to bring him back to his family.

Her face was matted with tears as she dragged him outside. She didn't even notice she hadn't met up with any more security.

"Dixon," she said, setting him down a little way away from the warehouse. "Dixon, I'm so sorry," she said, sobbing. "I'm sorry you think you died doing the right thing. I'm sorry I never told you the truth."

She clung to him, weeping, knowing that when she got back to Los Angeles, she'd have to lie to his wife.

For the first time, she looked around and realized she had no idea where she was.

And no idea how to get home.

So lonely inside, so busy out there

And all you wanted was somebody who cares

"Have you heard from Sydney?"

"For the thousandth time, Agent Vaughn, no, I haven't!"

Vaughn walked out of Devlin's office, feeling rejected. Sydney hadn't made her scheduled call yet, and Vaughn was worried.

Probably in a more serious way than he should have.

He went to his office and sat down at his desk. He picked up his King's hockey pen and spun it absent-mindedly between his fingers.

Weiss came in. "Hey, man," he said, sitting down.

"Hey." Weiss didn't say anything, just waited for Vaughn to come out with it. "She hasn't made her scheduled calls," Vaughn finally said.

"I'm sure she's fine," Weiss said.

"She's only done this once, and then she was sitting on a nuclear bomb," said Vaughn. "I admit, I'm scared for her."

"In a completely professional way, of course," Weiss teased.

Vaughn looked at him. Weiss saw it in his eyes.

"Oh, no, man. You don't really like her, do you?"

"Yeah, I do," said Vaughn. "And if she doesn't call here soon, I'm going to kill Sloane for putting her through this."

Suddenly the phone rang. Vaughn just stared at it.

"Speak of the devil," said Weiss. "Well? Aren't you going to answer it?"

Vaughn grabbed it frantically. "Hello?" he asked. Please let it be Sydney, he thought.

"Agent Vaughn, you have a meeting with Devlin now," his secretary said.

"Now?" Vaughn asked. "You've got to be kidding me! I need to be here to hear from Sydney!"

"He wants to see you know," his secretary said before hanging up the phone.

Vaughn hung up. "I need to see Devlin," Vaughn told Weiss.

"You want me to wait to see if Sydney calls?" Weiss offered.

Vaughn's face broke into a huge smile. "Thanks. If she calls, forward her to my cell hone. You're the best."

"I know. Good luck with Devlin. He seems a little on edge lately."

"I think that's my fault," said Vaughn. "I've been asking about Sydney for the past three hours. Remember, forward it to my cell phone, OK?" He walked to Devlin's office.

"Agent Vaughn," said Devlin as Vaughn walked into the room. "Please, sit down."

Vaughn sat gingerly on one of the hard black chairs. "Sir, could we make this quick? I'd really like to be there if Agent Bristow calls."

"I'm here to talk to you about Agent Bristow," said Devlin. "Agent Vaughn, I've been noticing your actions towards Agent Bristow these past couple weeks. I'd say you have a bit of a crush on her."

Vaughn didn't say anything, which Devlin took to mean he was correct. "Agent Vaughn," Devlin continued, "I'm afraid that if you don't pull your act together, I'm going to have to take you away as Bristow's handler."

"What?" asked Vaughn.

"You heard me. It's time to make a choice. What will you choose?"

~*~*~

Sydney stood by a newly dug grave for Dixon. The tears had stopped falling now, but there was still an emptiness she felt she could never repair.

Sydney laid some orange flowers she had picked on the headstone. She stood by the grave, ready for her last words to him.

'Dixon, you were the best partner anyone could even imagine having. You never lost your cool. Like that one time you pulled a bomb out of Patel's chest.

"And no matter what, you always showed loyalty to SD-6. No matter what. Even in the face of death. You showed a courage that few people have.

"In fact, you were too loyal. I only wish I had told you the truth before you died." The tears began to fall. Sydney picked a flower from a bush in arms length.

"Here's to Dixon," she said, laying the flower on his grave. "The best partner and friend a person could have."

I'm sinking slowly, so hurry hold me

Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on

After a couple hours, Sydney decided to move on. She picked up her bag. She was about to pick up Dixon's, but she had an idea.

Opening his bag and sifting through all the gadgets, Sydney finally found what she was looking for: a cell phone. She hadn't brought hers along because Will had to borrow it after he ran over his.

She frantically punched in a number. It rang three times before someone picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Dad," said Sydney.

"Sydney!" Jack Bristow exclaimed. "Where are you?"

"Still in Italy," she said. "Things didn't exactly go according to plan."

"You haven't made your scheduled calls to SD-6 or the CIA…"

"I know…"

"I'll send an SD-6 plane for you and Dixon right now."

"Dad…" Sydney's voice broke. "Dixon's dead."

There was silence on the other line. "I'm sorry, Sydney," Jack said. "I know how much he meant to you. I'm still sending an SD-6 helicopter for you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Sydney. "Are you crazy? You can't send an SD-6 helicopter, send a CIA one!"

"I can't do that, Sydney."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sydney. "You can, too."

"Sydney, listen to me," Jack explained. "SD-6 is already suspicious of you. You haven't made your scheduled callbacks. If you show up there without them transporting you…"

"I'll make up some story!"

"What are your coordinates?"

Sydney pulled out a GPS from Dixon's bag. "I'm at 75, 23. But Dad…"

"Wait there." Jack hung up.

Sydney put the cell phone and GPS back in Dixon's backpack. She leaned back, sighed, and waited.

~*~*~

Sydney dozed off for awhile, but woke up to the sound of a helicopter in the distance. She stood up and moved towards the sound.

She walked through the brush until she came to a clearing.

There was a helicopter in the field. And SD-6 helicopter.

Sydney sighed and figured that she didn't have much choice, so she walked out to the helicopter.

"Get in!" said one of the men in the helicopter. Sydney obediently did as ordered.

In addition to the man who had helped her in, there was a pilot, a copilot, and Jack.

"Dad?" asked Sydney. "What are you doing here?"

"Sloane gave me permission to come here to get you," he said. "You need to tell us everything that happened. Everything."

"OK." Sydney took a deep breath and launched into her story: How the whole Donato thing was a setup, how she and Dixon got captured, their time in captivity, and their escape.

She handed him Dixon's bag. "Here," she said. "I managed to get it out before I got caught again." She started crying again at the injustice at it all.

Jack took the bag. And he did something he hadn't done in years: He pulled his daughter into a hug.

Sydney let him. She felt like she was never going to stop crying.

Jack held her until her cries subsided. "I have some good news," he said.

Sydney pulled away. Jack handed her a letter.

"It's from your friend," he continued. "Francie."

"How did you…"

"She gave it to me to give to you," he said. "I have no idea why. I didn't read it."

"Did you look through the envelope?" asked Sydney, smiling.

Jack gave her a weak smile back.

Sydney tore open the note. Sure enough, she saw Francie's handwriting.

Sydney,

Hey. It's me. Look, I'm sorry I didn't give this to you directly, but I had to tell you right away.

Don't ask me why, but I got back together with Charlie. I know, I know. I really shouldn't have. But I did. I actually forgave him.

Anyway, I'm in Chicago with him now. We have to have dinner with you and Will when we get back.

I can't believe I did this. I'll bet that you can't, either. Anyway, don't let the bank get you down.

~Francie

Sydney smiled. "Francie and Charlie got back together," she explained to Jack.

He nodded. "That's good for them."

Sydney leaned back in her seat. As glad as she was for Francie, she was a little jealous. She found herself missing Danny and wishing for Vaughn all over again.

Please can you tell me, so I can finally see

Where you go when you're gone

"Sydney."

That was all it took. Michael Vaughn saying one word, and she collapsed into his arms, sobbing.

He awkwardly put his arms around her, trying to comfort her.

Sydney was in the CIA safehouse. She had just reported back to SD-6. They had given some emotion to the news about Dixon. Sydney couldn't get out of there fast enough, and she raced out to the safehouse where Jack said Vaughn would be.

And here she was, crying hysterically in his arms.

"Dixon's dead," she managed to say, pulling away from him. She felt cold out of his embrace.

"I know," said Vaughn, not knowing what to do with his hands. He eventually shoved them in his pockets. "Jack told me."

"They didn't even care!" said Sydney, sitting down on a bench. Vaughn cautiously sat down next to her. "SD-6, I mean. Oh, sure, Marshall cared, and all those other guinea pigs showed some emotion. But all the other people, the people who know the truth? You could tell all they were thinking about was who was going to take his spot. I hate them," she added, her voice bitter.

"I know," said Vaughn. "So do I. So does everyone else in this department. What matters is bringing them down. And we're going to do that."

"And Sloane just grabbed Dixon's bag. Right out of my hands. Probably just wanted to see if any of his precious gadgets were harmed," Sydney continued, as if Vaughn had never spoken.

"All you can do right now is keep your head high, as hard as that sounds," Vaughn tried again.

"You know what the worst part was?" asked Sydney, turning to him. Vaughn didn't answer, so she went on. "Lying to his wife. It was horrible. I don't even remember what I told her. My mind was too busy thinking, 'How can I be doing this?' She was always a good friend to me." She paused before continuing. "You know, seeing how Sloane and everyone reacted to Dixon made me wonder what they would do if I ever died. Maybe no one would ever miss me."

"That's not true," said Vaughn quickly. Too quickly. "Your friends would miss you. Francie and Will. And Jack. And me," he added hesitantly, and immediately looked at his shoes.

When he looked up again, he found himself staring into Sydney's brown eyes. A feeling overcame him, and he was wondering if he could make it through this meeting without kissing her.

Regaining composure, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, the only thing we can do now is go on pretending…"

"No," said Sydney. "I don't want to pretend anymore. Not with you. Not with the one truth in my life."

"What do you mean, Sydney?" asked Vaughn, trembling at her gaze.

"What I mean, Michael," she said, "is that I love you."

Vaughn froze. She had said them-the three words that would change his life. "I love you, too," he whispered. "But you know that we can never follow through on it." He got up.

"I know," said Sydney, getting up too.

"Your life is on the line here, and I don't want to risk that."

"You're right," said Sydney. She was moving closer to him.

"And if we were to carry out on it, my heart might get in the way of my head in a decision."

"Absolutely." She was very close to him now.

Vaughn started to stutter. "That, and it's screwing up protocol to, like, the highest…"

"Shh," said Sydney, putting her hand over his lips. "Do you want to screw up protocol?"

"Yes," said Vaughn. And their lips met for the first time.

It was better than they imagined.

~*~*~

"Here's Mr. Dixon's bag, sir," said an SD-6 employee, handing Sloane the bag.

Sloane took it. "Thank you."

The employee left. Sloane looked inside. He found a tape recorder. He took out the tape and rewound it.

"Maybe this will give us some answers," he said while it was rewinding. He pressed PLAY on the tape player.

What he heard next shocked him to the core.

Sydney Bristow's voice, saying, "Vaughn?"

He immediately pressed PAUSE. Surely that wasn't what he heard. But his curiosity was peaked. Carefully, he pressed PLAY again.

The whole conversation played back to him.

"What are you doing here?" Sydney's voice asked.

"CIA tech found a bug in the ring. The real one's in there." There was a slight rumbling sound.

Sloane listened to the rest of the conversation, piecing together everything. Something clicked, and all of a sudden, everything made sense.

His worst suspicions had been confirmed: Sydney Bristow was the mole.

If you want to, I can save you

I can take you away from here

It was like any other ordinary Friday night for the four friends. They were at Sydney's place and had ordered in pizza and were playing poker. Not with real money-Will always lost and claimed he had only brought enough money for the pizza.

All four were slightly drunk and started laughing hysterically when Francie accidentally dealt them their cards face up.

"Shut up, you guys," said Francie. "At least now I know I'm going to lose."

"We should call it a night," said Charlie, getting up.

"Yeah," said Francie, getting up too. "Thanks a bunch, you guys."

"I should go, too," said Will. "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," said Sydney. After her three friends left, she started picking up the mess.

The phone rang, and Sydney took a break from cleaning to answer it. "Joey's Pizza?" asked the voice on the phone.

Sydney smiled. "Sorry, wrong number." As she hung up the phone, her smile grew. She'd get to see Vaughn again!

She drove to a park that was fairly close. But instead of seeing Vaughn, she saw Jack.

"Dad?" she asked. He looked up.

"Don't sound so disappointed," he said. "It's all right, you can sit by me. No one will suspect anything."

Sydney tentatively sat next to him. "What's going on? Where's Vaughn?"

Jack sighed. "I know."

"Know what?"

"That you two…were kissing in the safehouse."

Sydney turned red. "Look, if you feel the need to follow me everywhere I go, let me tell you, you don't."

"I wasn't following you," said Jack. "I had left something behind in the safehouse and I just wanted to go back and get it." Sydney scoffed.

"I don't care if you believe me or not," Jack continued. "There are bigger matters at hand."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that you are putting Agent Vaughn's life in danger."

"We would never do anything like that out in the open, Dad!"

"Or the fact that Devlin got it on tape."

Sydney froze. "You were taping…"

"Not me," said Jack. "They have security cameras in there. Devlin saw you two."

Sydney looked away. "No…"

"Sydney, whatever you have with Vaughn, you need to break it off."

"I can't do that," said Sydney. Jack started to say something, but she cut him off. "Dad, listen to me. I'm not a little girl anymore, I can make my own decisions. And I know that you think I'm very vulnerable right now. You know, with Danny and everything. But I'm not vulnerable. I love him, and, to quote Gone With The Wind, quite frankly, I don't give a damn what you or Devlin thinks." Sydney took a deep breath.

"Are you finished?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," said Sydney.

"Agent Weiss is being reassigned as your handler."

"What?!" Sydney couldn't believe it. "Weiss?"

"Yes," said Jack. "I imagine that this will put tension between you and Agent Vaughn."

"Tell me about it," said Sydney.

~*~*~

"You're Sydney's new handler?!" Vaughn exclaimed. He had just received the news that Sydney had heard.

"I'm sorry, man," said Weiss. He took a step backwards. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

"No," said Vaughn, sitting down. He picked up a pen and started fiddling with it nervously. My Kings pen, he realized. He put it down. Why didn't we go to that game…he wondered.

"Come on," said Weiss. "Let's go get a drink or something."

"No, that's OK," said Vaughn. "I'm just going to stay here for awhile."

"Work's over, man," said Weiss. "Time to get drunk and bring home ugly women and not realizing it until the next day."

"I have lots of paperwork," said Vaughn. "Now that I'm being reassigned, there's piles of it just waiting to get filled out."

"Fine, but don't stay up too late," said Weiss.

"Yes, mother," said Vaughn, smiling for the first time that day.

Then he thought of Sydney and the smile stayed on his face.

~*~*~

Arvin Sloane sat in his office, internally debating what to do with his prize agent. He couldn't very well get rid of her. That would look too suspicious. Plus his past history with her.

But he wasn't going to go into that now. If Sydney was the mole, Jack Bristow might know something about it, too…

After a few more minutes of debating, he finally made a decision. He raised a trembling hand to a red button on his desk.

"Yes, sir?" a voice asked.

"Send a message on all servers except server five," said Sloane, "to security section. I'm calling an assassination order on one of my agents. Sydney Bristow."

"Yes, sir."

And with those two words, the deal was closed on Sydney Bristow's life.

So lonely inside, so busy out there

And all you wanted was somebody who cares

It was almost midnight on the day that Vaughn had found out he was no longer Sydney's handler. He was still in his office. Paperwork was sprawled all over his desk.

He had written one paragraph since Weiss had left three hours ago.

It wouldn't have lasted, anyway, he tried to tell himself. But it didn't work. His mind kept on turning to her.

And for the first time in their four year friendship, Vaughn was jealous of Weiss. Oh, sure, he joked around that Weiss had never been in a serious relationship before while secretly wishing he could go out with three girls in the same week.

But that was nothing, nothing compared to this.

Weiss would get to see Sydney every day. OK, not every day, but a hell of a lot more than Vaughn would be seeing her. And soon enough Sydney would realize that Weiss is more fun than Vaughn. More outgoing than Vaughn, not as uptight as Vaughn, etc.

Vaughn sighed and put down his only slightly used pen. This is pathetic, he thought. I'm never going to get any work done.

He got up, packed up his briefcase, put on his coat, and headed for the door. On the way, he stopped by Weiss's desk and dropped off Sydney's file.

This is really happening, Vaughn thought as soon as the file touched the polished wood.

He stood there for a moment, his hand lingering on the file, then jerked it away. He headed towards the door again.

"Agent Vaughn?" he heard a voice say behind him.

He turned around. Devlin and Jack Bristow were standing by Weiss's desk. Devlin's hand was picking up Sydney's file.

Get your dirty hand off it, Vaughn thought angrily. Then, seeing that he was obsessing over a file, he cleared his throat and said, "Yes, sir?"

There was an expression on Devlin's face Vaughn had never seen before. It was fear.

"What are you doing here so late?" Devlin asked.

"I had some paperwork to catch up on," said Vaughn. "A lot, now that I'm being reassigned," he couldn't help adding. He turned to Jack. "What are you doing here?"

Jack had fear on his face too, but he managed to hide it a lot better than Devlin. He hesitated before answering. "Just talking, catching up on old times," he said in a flat, straight voice. Vaughn could tell he was lying.

"Mr. Bristow," said Vaughn, "your daughter once told me that whenever you lie, you always use a flat voice like the one you just used." Jack shifted uncomfortably. "Look," Vaughn continued, "you might not like me that much and really, I don't care. But just tell me why you're here."

Jack took a deep breath. "Sydney's in danger," he said.

Vaughn froze. "What?"

"Sloane sent out an assassination order on Sydney a half-hour ago," said Devlin. "CIA security intercepted it. Jack's here to try and help us."

"Assassination order…" Vaughn whispered, almost in a daze. "But…SD-6 has sent those out before, right? That…that one time, when they said they were going to shoot her in the park, but they never did, maybe this is like that…"

"This message was sent out on all the servers except server five, the opposite of last time," said Jack. "Sloane sent out the order to shoot Sydney on sight on her next mission."

"We have to enter her in the protection program," said Vaughn. "It's too big a risk to keep her here."

"It won't protect her for long," said Jack. "SD-6 knows all her tricks, it'll be hard to bypass them."

"Well, we have to try," said Vaughn. "We need to do whatever we can to protect her. And her friends, we need to get them safe, too! And…"

"Agent Vaughn, keep a clear mind," said Devlin. "We need to get Sydney safe, we just don't know how."

There was silence for a moment. Vaughn broke it. "I'll go with her."

"What?" asked Devlin. "That's crazy, it won't solve anything…"

"He has a point," said Jack. "Vaughn could protect her cover. It might sidetrack SD-6 to somewhere else."

Devlin finally nodded. "Get Bristow here tomorrow at 8:45 AM. You too, Vaughn. You'll never be the same again."

That seems to be said a lot around Sydney, thought Vaughn as he walked out to his car.

If you want to, I can save you

I can take you away from here

Sydney's phone woke her up at 8:00 AM the next morning. "Hello?" she asked sleepily.

"Joey's Pizza?" the voice asked.

"Sorry, wrong number." Sydney hung up the phone and forced herself to get up.

A change of clothes, a shower, and a bagel later, Sydney got into her car and drove to the CIA safehouse. She didn't really want to, and it wasn't because it was at the crack of dawn.

It was because she knew a certain someone wasn't going to be there.

So, it was to her surprise that he was in there that morning, along with Devlin and her father.

"What's going on?" she asked nervously. "Am I being fired?"

"No," said Devlin. "At least, not in the way you're thinking of."

"So I am being fired." She looked at Vaughn, trying to search his face for an answer.

"Sydney, you can't be a double agent anymore," Vaughn said.

"What?" Sydney asked. "What are you talking about? Yes, I can. It's my job…"

"It's too high a risk for you now," said Vaughn. He was trying to tell her all the information without telling her SD-6 wanted to murder her.

"Too high a risk? How's it any higher since I started out on this job?"

Vaughn sensed that she was going to start yelling soon, so he decided to give her the truth. "Sydney, SD-6 put an assassination order out on you."

Sydney's facial expression changed instantly from anger to fear. "What?" she asked quietly.

"SD-6 found out you're the mole, Sydney," Jack spoke up. "Sloane put an assassination order on you. This time it's for real."

Sydney sank down on an empty chair. "Oh, no," she said, almost to herself.

Vaughn fought the impulse to go over and comfort her. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms and kiss away her tears, but he knew Devlin wanted this to be professional.

Vaughn hated him for it.

"You need to enter the protection program, Miss Bristow," said Devlin.

"Protection program?" she asked.

"Yes. You will now be Anna Smith." He handed her a new ID card. "Agent Vaughn will be accompanying you as your husband, Jon Smith."

Sydney looked at Vaughn. "You're coming with me?"

"Mr. Devlin thought it would be good for me to come with you as sort of a cover agent," said Vaughn.

In spite of everything, he could tell she was fighting a smile.

"Your plane leaves in two hours," said Devlin.

Sydney looked at her new ID card. "Ontario?" she asked. "We're moving to Ontario?"

"We thought that would be the safest place to go," said Vaughn.

"But my friends…"

"They're being relocated as we speak," said Jack. "SD-6 doesn't know about them, except for Will, but they'll be safe."

"I'm never going to see them again, am I?" she asked quietly.

It killed Vaughn to see her like this. Not caring what Devlin or Jack said, he sat down and put his arm protectively around her. She gave in and started sobbing on his shoulder.

"Miss Bristow," said Devlin after a couple of awkward moments, "you and Vaughn need to leave now."

Sydney nodded and got up. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Miss Bristow," said Devlin, shaking her hand.

"Same here, sir," she said. Then she turned to her father, the man she hardly knew until a little while ago.

"I'm going into hiding, too," he said. "In Alaska."

Sydney could see tears in his eyes. "We'll see each other soon," she said with the brightest smile she could put on.

Jack held out his hand for her to shake. Sydney disregarded it and collapsed in his arms. He awkwardly put his arms around her.

"I love you, Dad," said a hysterical Sydney.

"I love you too, Sydney," he whispered. He finally let the tears fall.

They stood like that for a couple moments. Vaughn, as much as he hated to, broke the silence. "It's time to go," he said softly.

Sydney broke apart from Jack. "Bye," she said.

"Bye," said Jack. He squeezed her hand, then let her go.

Sydney and Vaughn walked through the gate one last time.

Onto a new beginning.

So lonely inside, so busy out there

And all you wanted was somebody who cares

A couple weeks later, Vaughn walked into the brightly painted kitchen in his new Ontario home. Sydney was already there, making coffee.

"Hey," said Vaughn. He came up from behind Sydney and put his arms around her waist.

"Hey," said Sydney. Vaughn started kissing her on the neck. "Whoa there, cowboy," she said, giggling. "Did last night leave you wanting more?"

They had made love for the first time last night, and Vaughn had to admit, it was the best night of his life.

"Everyday you leave me wanting more," he replied, planting kisses on her ear.

"Coffee's done," said Sydney. She poured two mugs of the beverage, and Vaughn let go of her long enough to drink it.

They sat down on opposite sides of the table. Vaughn looked around. "I think I'm going to take the day off from work," he said.

"Michael!" said Sydney. "You can't do that. You just started on this job."

"I'll say I'm sick," said Vaughn.

"You're going to get in so much trouble," said Sydney as Vaughn got up to use the phone.

After he called, he went back in the kitchen. "I could get used to this life," he said. "At least I don't have to wear a suit to work anymore."

Sydney nodded. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I miss my dad," she said, sighing. "I don't even know how he is, much less what he's doing today. I just wish I could talk to him again."

"You will," comforted Vaughn. "Once all this is over, you'll be able to talk to him and all your friends again."

"I hope so," she said, putting on a smile. He kissed her and all her problems vanished into thin air. The tingling feeling returned.

It was interrupted by Vaughn pulling away. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?"

Vaughn paused, listening for something. In the distance Sydney heard a window shut.

"Oh, shit," said Vaughn, jumping up. "Go and hide."

"What? I'm not leaving you alone here!" whispered Sydney.

"Sydney, they're here," said Vaughn. "You have to get out of here!"

"I'm not…" Vaughn cut her off. He grabbed her arm and dragged her into a closet, locking her in.

"Vaughn!" Sydney yelled. "Let me out!"

"Sorry," he whispered. "I have to do this."

He sat down in a chair in the kitchen.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Until the words came.

"Hello, Agent Vaughn."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sloane stood before Vaughn. Vaughn pretended to look confused.

"Agent Vaughn?" he asked in French. "There's no Agent Vaughn here. Who are you?"

"Oh, please," said Sloane in English, slightly exasperated. "Cut the act, you're not fooling anyone."

"I don't speak English," Vaughn continued in French. He started to head for the phone. "I'm going to call the police."

Another man stepped out of the shadows. He had a laser-aim gun. "I would stop moving if I were you," said Sloane.

Vaughn put his hands up in defeat. I'm sorry, Sydney, he thought. I failed you. Just as long as you get out of here, it'll be all right.

~*~*~

Meanwhile, Sydney was struggling in the closet, trying to get out. Oh, Michael, she thought. You can't win this by yourself.

She stopped to listen to what was going on. She heard Vaughn in his act as Jon Smith. Don't dig yourself even deeper…She sighed quietly. It was going to take a miracle to get out of this one.

~*~*~

"So," Sloane said, pacing around Vaughn. "This is Agent Vaughn. The man who thought he could protect Sydney. You didn't actually think you would succeed, did you?" He chuckled. "It was easy enough tracking you down, you know. Almost too easy. The protection program doesn't do much to keep you safe…" He turned around. "Does it, Anna?" he asked in a raised voice.

"You'll never find her," said Vaughn, venom trickling through his voice, knowing their cover was blown. At least he could get in a bunch of insults he had been longing to say after he had first hurt Sydney.

"Oh, really?" said Sloane. "Did you learn English all of a sudden, Mr. Smith?" He snapped his fingers. "Search it."

The men broke out in all directions. Sloane turned and faced Vaughn.

"I have no use for you," he said. "Goodbye, Agent Vaughn."

The shot rang out.

"No!"

Sydney finally escaped out of the closet.

Vaughn sat up weakly. "No, Sydney," he whispered.

Sydney ran to him and put his head in her arms. "Michael?" she asked frantically, not caring about what Sloane would do to her. "Michael, talk to me. Michael?!"

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Then, his chest stopped heaving.

His eyes shut.

His heart stopped.

And Agent Michael Vaughn died.

Sydney didn't scream out. She didn't cry. She rose and stood face to face with Arvin Sloane.

"Why did you do it?" she asked, an odd sort of calmness to her voice. "Couldn't stand to have anyone get close to me? You wanted to kill him just like you killed Danny, you son-of-a-bitch?!" She took a deep breath and calmed down. "And look at you. You just stand there. Not caring how many people you murder. All you care about is keeping your damn SD-6 alive! So what now? Am I next? Are you going to make my blood spill all over now?"

"You knew the consequences," said Sloane, his voice trembling only slightly.

"The one truth you told me," Sydney growled. "My father will kill you for this."

"I assure you, he won't," said Sloane. "After all, suicide's a crime."

"What?" Sydney whispered.

"Your mother might have pretended to love Jack Bristow," he said, "but let me assure you, she didn't love him. We had an affair, and from that affair, we created you." Sydney looked away, disgusted. And besides, Jack Bristow is dead." Sydney turned back towards him, horror on her face.

Sloane raised his gun to Sydney. "Now it's your turn," he said, a definite tremble in his voice now. "Goodbye, Agent Bristow."

She didn't even have time to think as the bullet lodged its way into her heart. Her body fell onto Vaughn's corpse.

As Sloane turned and walked away, he wiped a tear from his eye.

That bullet would be the closest he would ever get to her heart.

Please can you tell me, so I can finally see

Where you go when you're gone

FIN

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