Neighbors
Summary: Sydney is over Vaughn and has moved on. When she and her husband decide to buy a new house, who, other than Vaughn and his wife are their neighbors?
Disclaimer: These characters belong to J.J. Abrams and the TV show Alias and are not mine.... unfortunately.
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Chap.1 - Life Changes
"My feet are killing me!" Sydney groaned to her husband as they got out of their car and went into the house to meet with the realtor.
"Maybe you shouldn't have worn those heels." He laughed. "They aren't exactly house-touring shoes."
"Well...the store said they were out of those special house-touring shoes you're talking about."
Her husband's deep blue eyes twinkled and when he was about to answer her sarcastic comment, the realtor interrupted them and began to show them around the house.
"Come in! Come in! I saved the best for last! It has five regular bedrooms and a master, four and a half baths, a bonus room, a study, a pool, tennis court, high ceilings, four car garages, and the usual living room and family room as well as an added dining room. The materials are just excellent! Cherry wood for the cupboards and areas of hardwood, a small section of marble for the entry way, Italian tile for the bathrooms, and good carpet with a double padding underneath. The kitchen is to die for! It has granite topped counters, there's a barbeque area installed outside, a pantry. The molding has just exquisite carvings. Look, aren't they beautiful? This house is one of a kind. I really think that this is the house for you!"
"Didn't she say that for the last 8 houses we looked at?" Sydney whispered to her husband.
"Yes, but she said that in one breath, so maybe we should consider this one..." Sydney giggled at her husband's remark but looked around the spacious house in awe. This time, the realtor wasn't lying. It was the house for them.
"Scott?"
"Yes?"
"I love it..." Scott Voyer looked at his wife and waited for her to finish. "I mean, it has an amazing view, it's close to work for both of us, it just seems right."
"It really is perfect for us, but there are so many bedrooms, do we really need that many?"
"All the more little Voyers," Sydney laughed. Scott grinned.
"We'll take it."
"Excellent! This is a new development so you'll get a good price for this house. It's an amazing neighborhood. There's an elementary school in walking distance, a school bus for the middle and high school. A plaza will be built over the bridge, not very far away and there's talk of a new mall. Oh, I must be aging, this almost slipped my mind. Mr. and Mrs. Voyer, do you mind dogs?"
"No...We don't have a problem with them." Scott said.
"Well then, there's no issue there." To answer the confused look upon their faces the realtor explained, "A couple recently bought the house right next to yours and they own a dog. They say it's very friendly so I don't think it'll be a problem but you'd be surprised at the amount of people that don't particularly care for dogs."
Sydney and Scott nodded.
"Ok then, let's head back to the office so I can get your paperwork done."
Two weeks later, on a bright and sunny day, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Voyer moved into their new home. As Sydney sat in the bedroom unpacking the linens and bedspreads while trying to direct the movers where to place the bed frame, tables, desks, and furniture, she heard a beeper go off. The familiar beep threw her into a wave of bad memories of beepers always interrupting perfect moments with her friends; she had always preferred hearing the telephone ring instead. But this time, it wasn't hers.
"I'm sorry Syd. It's the hospital." Scott said apologetically to his wife.
Sydney assured him. "I'll just finish up here. Just call me when you're coming home so I can start dinner, okay?"
"Excellent." He replied, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be home as soon as I can." An hour later, Sydney finished unpacking the bedroom and had stored all the linens and towels in the linen closet. Feeling energized and happy with her new home, she decided to tackle the kitchen too.
While she was removing the knives, pots, and pans she was deep in thought about the past five years. Vaughn and six other CIA agents had escorted her from the safe house in Hong Kong back to Los Angeles. At the time, she couldn't get past the initial shock that Vaughn was married to a woman that was not herself. She knew it was self-centered and selfish, but she couldn't imagine Vaughn loving or being with anyone else.
Six months later, Jack had informed her of an open position at Langley and she took the job so she could start fresh and not have to think about anything but her job. After working at Langley for a year, she had met Scott after she had been wounded in a mission at Colombia. When they started dating, the pain lessened. When Scott made the perfect proposal to her in a romantic and snug French bistro, the pain lessened even more. And when they were finally joined in holy matrimony, the pain was obliterated. It was then when she understood how Vaughn could be with another woman.
After two years of blissful marriage, Scott had received a promotion that would result in a move back to California. Sydney missed her father and Will, who had survived the gun shot wounds and had since resigned from the CIA, and was eager to return. Although any mention of Vaughn still tugged at her heartstrings, whenever Sydney looked at Scott she didn't feel any regret or feel that he was only second-best. She was filled with warmth and had the feeling that she was about to burst with happiness, so she knew that she was in love.
The telephone then started to ring, making Sydney jump and snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Sydney?"
"Dad?"
"How are you?"
"Fine, I'm just unpacking the kitchenware."
"Good. Kendall has been asking when you will start."
"Soon. I need to get everything unpacked and situated."
"How's Scott?"
"Fine. He's at the hospital right now."
"I know you need to unpack, but I want you to come down to the office."
"Dad...I really need a break from work and...." she trailed off.
"Agent Vaughn is currently on a mission to Burma. He won't be back until Sunday." He interrupted.
"But..."
"Sydney. It's imperative that you come down here immediately."
"Ok. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Sydney sighed. Only her father really used words like 'imperative'.
Fifteen minutes later, Sydney walked through the doors that she was so familiar with. Mostly everyone was surprised to see her, and Sydney could tell by their faces that they all knew what had happened.
"Sydney." Sydney turned her head to her left to see Vaughn and the shocked expression on his face.
"Vaughn...I thought you were on a mission to Burma." Vaughn looked confused and answered,
"No...I rarely go on missions anymore. My...wife..." He said uncomfortably, "is afraid something is going to happen to me." Sydney almost snorted but decided to nod instead.
"Understandable."
"Yea..."
"Oh! I should go, I'm meeting my father."
"Well...it was nice seeing you again."
"You too." And with that she hurriedly walked away towards her father's private office. When she reached his office, she pushed open the door,
"Dad!"
"Sydney."
"You said that Agent Vaughn was in Burma when he is actually sitting at his desk!"
"I had to get you to come."
"Why? What is so important that you had to make me...?" Sydney stopped in her tracks.
She was so caught up in her agitation towards her father that she didn't notice that she was following him and there were gates that were opening in their paths. Once she did become aware of her surroundings, the last gate had closed shut and she was staring into the face of Arvin Sloane.
She had thousands of emotions running throughout her body at the same time, but anger and hurt flared up bigger and faster than the rest.
"You bastard! Why did you do this to me? WHY? ANSWER ME! Goddammit! Answer me!"
Suddenly, she lashed out pounding and kicking at the barrier between them, screaming. When she found that it wouldn't break, she started on the door. Jack went to stop his daughter, but stopped. She had to let all her anger out. Sydney was then abruptly aware of how tired she was and slumped to the floor. Sullenly, she got up and regretted how she had let her emotions overcome her common sense. Slowly, she walked to stand in front of the glass and really looked at the prisoner.
He had aged tremendously and looked like he was on the verge of collapsing. Normally, if Sydney had reacted this way, he would have just stared at her coldly, knowing that the barrier was unbreakable. If it wasn't, he wouldn't still be in that cell. But now, Arvin Sloane was nothing but normal.
"Why am I the bastard? The fish is the one that's the bastard! I'm just an old man trying to catch this bastard fish!" Sloane cried. Sydney turned to her father.
"Dad...what is the matter with him?"
"He's gone insane. He doesn't really need to be in this cell because he doesn't remember anything that has happened in his lifetime. Not even Emily."
"So why do you keep him here?"
"For his own protection," Jack answered, "the CIA is getting to be a bit soft now. But lately Sloane apparently thinks that..."
"He's the old man in Hemingway's classic The Old Man of the Sea." Sydney finished. She looked at the shriveled old man that she despised with every fiber and tissue of her body. He started to crawl toward a corner of the room, crying out random words every inch he moved. "What about mom? Did you catch her too?"
"We didn't catch Sloane," Jack answered, "Irina Derevko turned herself and Sloane in. She gave us massive amounts of accurate Intel, and we still don't know why she did it. Irina is under CIA surveillance and strict terms, but we allow her to live in her own house, buy her own food, much like parole except if she makes a wrong move, our group of sharp shooters will kill her at our command."
"Was Sloane like this when she turned him in?"
"No. He wouldn't talk and we were forced to torture him for information. He became mentally insane."
When Sydney was about to ask him on the whereabouts of her mother, her cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket.
"Hello?"
"Sydney? Where are you? I'm sorry I forgot to call. I totally forgot."
"Scott!" A feeling of relief encased Sydney and she looked at her watch, 8:47. "Oh, it's okay. I'm at the office right now with my dad, I lost track of time."
Jack looked at his own watch and he signaled for them to leave. Sydney nodded and followed behind him.
"Well, I just finished unpacking everything for the living room. Are you proud of me?"
"Very." Sydney grinned. "Are you hungry? I can pick up some groceries on the way home."
"That sounds great."
"What do you feel like?"
"Hmm...How do you feel about some macaroni and cheese?"
Sydney laughed.
"Very posh, Mr. Voyer."
"Perhaps it is a bit extravagant." Scott joked in a British accent. Vaughn was tiding up to head home when caught the last bit of Sydney's conversation,
"Okay, I'll be home soon...love you too...bye." He sat back down in a daze as a wave of jealousy overrode him. Sydney, with her heels clicking, walked past him in a hurry, not even noticing he was there.
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Summary: Sydney is over Vaughn and has moved on. When she and her husband decide to buy a new house, who, other than Vaughn and his wife are their neighbors?
Disclaimer: These characters belong to J.J. Abrams and the TV show Alias and are not mine.... unfortunately.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chap.1 - Life Changes
"My feet are killing me!" Sydney groaned to her husband as they got out of their car and went into the house to meet with the realtor.
"Maybe you shouldn't have worn those heels." He laughed. "They aren't exactly house-touring shoes."
"Well...the store said they were out of those special house-touring shoes you're talking about."
Her husband's deep blue eyes twinkled and when he was about to answer her sarcastic comment, the realtor interrupted them and began to show them around the house.
"Come in! Come in! I saved the best for last! It has five regular bedrooms and a master, four and a half baths, a bonus room, a study, a pool, tennis court, high ceilings, four car garages, and the usual living room and family room as well as an added dining room. The materials are just excellent! Cherry wood for the cupboards and areas of hardwood, a small section of marble for the entry way, Italian tile for the bathrooms, and good carpet with a double padding underneath. The kitchen is to die for! It has granite topped counters, there's a barbeque area installed outside, a pantry. The molding has just exquisite carvings. Look, aren't they beautiful? This house is one of a kind. I really think that this is the house for you!"
"Didn't she say that for the last 8 houses we looked at?" Sydney whispered to her husband.
"Yes, but she said that in one breath, so maybe we should consider this one..." Sydney giggled at her husband's remark but looked around the spacious house in awe. This time, the realtor wasn't lying. It was the house for them.
"Scott?"
"Yes?"
"I love it..." Scott Voyer looked at his wife and waited for her to finish. "I mean, it has an amazing view, it's close to work for both of us, it just seems right."
"It really is perfect for us, but there are so many bedrooms, do we really need that many?"
"All the more little Voyers," Sydney laughed. Scott grinned.
"We'll take it."
"Excellent! This is a new development so you'll get a good price for this house. It's an amazing neighborhood. There's an elementary school in walking distance, a school bus for the middle and high school. A plaza will be built over the bridge, not very far away and there's talk of a new mall. Oh, I must be aging, this almost slipped my mind. Mr. and Mrs. Voyer, do you mind dogs?"
"No...We don't have a problem with them." Scott said.
"Well then, there's no issue there." To answer the confused look upon their faces the realtor explained, "A couple recently bought the house right next to yours and they own a dog. They say it's very friendly so I don't think it'll be a problem but you'd be surprised at the amount of people that don't particularly care for dogs."
Sydney and Scott nodded.
"Ok then, let's head back to the office so I can get your paperwork done."
Two weeks later, on a bright and sunny day, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Voyer moved into their new home. As Sydney sat in the bedroom unpacking the linens and bedspreads while trying to direct the movers where to place the bed frame, tables, desks, and furniture, she heard a beeper go off. The familiar beep threw her into a wave of bad memories of beepers always interrupting perfect moments with her friends; she had always preferred hearing the telephone ring instead. But this time, it wasn't hers.
"I'm sorry Syd. It's the hospital." Scott said apologetically to his wife.
Sydney assured him. "I'll just finish up here. Just call me when you're coming home so I can start dinner, okay?"
"Excellent." He replied, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be home as soon as I can." An hour later, Sydney finished unpacking the bedroom and had stored all the linens and towels in the linen closet. Feeling energized and happy with her new home, she decided to tackle the kitchen too.
While she was removing the knives, pots, and pans she was deep in thought about the past five years. Vaughn and six other CIA agents had escorted her from the safe house in Hong Kong back to Los Angeles. At the time, she couldn't get past the initial shock that Vaughn was married to a woman that was not herself. She knew it was self-centered and selfish, but she couldn't imagine Vaughn loving or being with anyone else.
Six months later, Jack had informed her of an open position at Langley and she took the job so she could start fresh and not have to think about anything but her job. After working at Langley for a year, she had met Scott after she had been wounded in a mission at Colombia. When they started dating, the pain lessened. When Scott made the perfect proposal to her in a romantic and snug French bistro, the pain lessened even more. And when they were finally joined in holy matrimony, the pain was obliterated. It was then when she understood how Vaughn could be with another woman.
After two years of blissful marriage, Scott had received a promotion that would result in a move back to California. Sydney missed her father and Will, who had survived the gun shot wounds and had since resigned from the CIA, and was eager to return. Although any mention of Vaughn still tugged at her heartstrings, whenever Sydney looked at Scott she didn't feel any regret or feel that he was only second-best. She was filled with warmth and had the feeling that she was about to burst with happiness, so she knew that she was in love.
The telephone then started to ring, making Sydney jump and snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Sydney?"
"Dad?"
"How are you?"
"Fine, I'm just unpacking the kitchenware."
"Good. Kendall has been asking when you will start."
"Soon. I need to get everything unpacked and situated."
"How's Scott?"
"Fine. He's at the hospital right now."
"I know you need to unpack, but I want you to come down to the office."
"Dad...I really need a break from work and...." she trailed off.
"Agent Vaughn is currently on a mission to Burma. He won't be back until Sunday." He interrupted.
"But..."
"Sydney. It's imperative that you come down here immediately."
"Ok. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Sydney sighed. Only her father really used words like 'imperative'.
Fifteen minutes later, Sydney walked through the doors that she was so familiar with. Mostly everyone was surprised to see her, and Sydney could tell by their faces that they all knew what had happened.
"Sydney." Sydney turned her head to her left to see Vaughn and the shocked expression on his face.
"Vaughn...I thought you were on a mission to Burma." Vaughn looked confused and answered,
"No...I rarely go on missions anymore. My...wife..." He said uncomfortably, "is afraid something is going to happen to me." Sydney almost snorted but decided to nod instead.
"Understandable."
"Yea..."
"Oh! I should go, I'm meeting my father."
"Well...it was nice seeing you again."
"You too." And with that she hurriedly walked away towards her father's private office. When she reached his office, she pushed open the door,
"Dad!"
"Sydney."
"You said that Agent Vaughn was in Burma when he is actually sitting at his desk!"
"I had to get you to come."
"Why? What is so important that you had to make me...?" Sydney stopped in her tracks.
She was so caught up in her agitation towards her father that she didn't notice that she was following him and there were gates that were opening in their paths. Once she did become aware of her surroundings, the last gate had closed shut and she was staring into the face of Arvin Sloane.
She had thousands of emotions running throughout her body at the same time, but anger and hurt flared up bigger and faster than the rest.
"You bastard! Why did you do this to me? WHY? ANSWER ME! Goddammit! Answer me!"
Suddenly, she lashed out pounding and kicking at the barrier between them, screaming. When she found that it wouldn't break, she started on the door. Jack went to stop his daughter, but stopped. She had to let all her anger out. Sydney was then abruptly aware of how tired she was and slumped to the floor. Sullenly, she got up and regretted how she had let her emotions overcome her common sense. Slowly, she walked to stand in front of the glass and really looked at the prisoner.
He had aged tremendously and looked like he was on the verge of collapsing. Normally, if Sydney had reacted this way, he would have just stared at her coldly, knowing that the barrier was unbreakable. If it wasn't, he wouldn't still be in that cell. But now, Arvin Sloane was nothing but normal.
"Why am I the bastard? The fish is the one that's the bastard! I'm just an old man trying to catch this bastard fish!" Sloane cried. Sydney turned to her father.
"Dad...what is the matter with him?"
"He's gone insane. He doesn't really need to be in this cell because he doesn't remember anything that has happened in his lifetime. Not even Emily."
"So why do you keep him here?"
"For his own protection," Jack answered, "the CIA is getting to be a bit soft now. But lately Sloane apparently thinks that..."
"He's the old man in Hemingway's classic The Old Man of the Sea." Sydney finished. She looked at the shriveled old man that she despised with every fiber and tissue of her body. He started to crawl toward a corner of the room, crying out random words every inch he moved. "What about mom? Did you catch her too?"
"We didn't catch Sloane," Jack answered, "Irina Derevko turned herself and Sloane in. She gave us massive amounts of accurate Intel, and we still don't know why she did it. Irina is under CIA surveillance and strict terms, but we allow her to live in her own house, buy her own food, much like parole except if she makes a wrong move, our group of sharp shooters will kill her at our command."
"Was Sloane like this when she turned him in?"
"No. He wouldn't talk and we were forced to torture him for information. He became mentally insane."
When Sydney was about to ask him on the whereabouts of her mother, her cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket.
"Hello?"
"Sydney? Where are you? I'm sorry I forgot to call. I totally forgot."
"Scott!" A feeling of relief encased Sydney and she looked at her watch, 8:47. "Oh, it's okay. I'm at the office right now with my dad, I lost track of time."
Jack looked at his own watch and he signaled for them to leave. Sydney nodded and followed behind him.
"Well, I just finished unpacking everything for the living room. Are you proud of me?"
"Very." Sydney grinned. "Are you hungry? I can pick up some groceries on the way home."
"That sounds great."
"What do you feel like?"
"Hmm...How do you feel about some macaroni and cheese?"
Sydney laughed.
"Very posh, Mr. Voyer."
"Perhaps it is a bit extravagant." Scott joked in a British accent. Vaughn was tiding up to head home when caught the last bit of Sydney's conversation,
"Okay, I'll be home soon...love you too...bye." He sat back down in a daze as a wave of jealousy overrode him. Sydney, with her heels clicking, walked past him in a hurry, not even noticing he was there.
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