Title: Trying to carry on
Summary: He had left her, her and her daughter. She wanted nothing to do with him. What happens when he comes back and crashes the life she's tried to carry on to?
Ship: S/V Baby! I don't think you'll ever get me to write any thing but a Sydney and Vaughn story. Ah well, anyway, there's bits and pieces of Will/Francie in this too.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I am not in ownership of Syd, Vaughn, Weiss, Jack, Will, Francie, and all of the other characters on Alias. But I do own Cory, the ice cream, and the swings.
A/N: In my continuing crusade to write fics that aren't usually written, I was having a lot of inspiration yesterday and was like instead of Sydney leaving Vaughn and their child, what if Vaughn had left Sydney and their child? Just an interesting twist on a plot that's been done a lot, by myself included.
Setting: Season two up until the telling happened, after that, nothing. No season three, no Syd missing for two years, no Lauren(thank God!), none of that. None. This would be set like seven or eight years after what would be season two, except for the telling. And no, Francie was not doubled, she is still normal Francie like in season one and the first half of season two. So again, no evil Francie and Will and Francie are married but kidless for now. Okay, you got that? Good.
Rating: PG-13 to be safe. It's always better to be safe than sorry. And there might be some swearing, so that's why it's PG-13.
Now on with the story!
"But Mommy."
"No buts, Cory, get in the car."
The six-year-old girl pouted for a moment before realizing that her mother wasn't going to budge on the subject. With an overexaggerated sigh, Cory piled into the passenger seat of the car and buckled her seatbelt. Disappointment radiated from her daughter, causing Sydney to sigh.
Sydney made her way to the driver's side and got into the car as well. Cory turned her head to look out the window the second she did. "Cory?" No response. "Corrina Elaine Vaughn, look at me right now." Sydney ordered.
Cory did as she was told but she made no move to hide her anger. "Yes, mommy?"
Playing cute are we? Your father used to do that too. Sydney smiled at her daughter and said softly, "How about we get some ice cream?"
"Can I get coffee?" Cory asked, eagerly. One thing she had learned from Sydney was her love of coffee ice cream.
Sydney pretended to think about it. "Alright, I suppose. So is that a yes?"
"Yes." Cory answered, immediately, her anger towards her mother for not letting her stay at her friend's house longer suddenly gone. Who said bribery can't get you anywhere?
Sydney smiled widely and turned the engine over, "Okay, are you going to share with your dear mommy?"
Cory laughed, "You can get your own mommy."
Sydney laughed as well, "Alright, I'll get my own."
Halfway through ice cream, Sydney's cell phone started to ring. Throwing Cory a apologetic glance, Sydney reached into her purse and produced the ringing object. Not even bothering to read the caller ID, Sydney flipped open the phone and said automatically, "Sydney here."
"Hey Syd, where are you?"
Weiss. Sydney smiled, "At the park getting some ice cream with Cory. What's up? Do they need me?" Code for: What does the CIA need me to analyze now?
Weiss laughed, "No, they don't need you." Sydney breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since she left the CIA, they had called her in so many times to analyze this or give information on a mission to a place that she had been before. "I was just curious."
"Do you want to join us?"
"Are you kidding? And miss ice cream with my two best ladies? Are you insane, Sydney Vaughn?" Weiss immediately recognized his mistake and corrected himself, "I mean Sydney Bristow."
"It's okay, Eric, really. It is my last name after all even if the man that gave it to me isn't around anymore." At Cory's bewildered stare, Sydney changed the subject, "We're at the park one fifth. See you in ten?"
"Yeah, I'll be there. Bye Syd."
"Bye Eric." Sydney hung up the phone and shoved it back in her purse. "Uncle Eric's coming." She said, cheerily to Cory.
Cory regarded her mother, "Where you talking about Daddy?"
Damn, this child is smart. I think having two spies for parents gave her the I-know-that-you're-hiding-something gene. "Yes, sweetie. I was." It wouldn't do any good to lie to her. Then Cory would only be mad that Sydney was keeping something from her. One thing about Sydney and Cory's relationship was that they were honest with each other, or as honest as you could get with a six year old.
"Where's Daddy?" was Cory's next question. It always came next after Sydney mentioned Vaughn or Daddy.
"I don't know, sweetie." It was the truth or close enough to it. Sydney had no idea what had happened to Vaughn after he had left almost seven years earlier and she didn't want to know.
"Is he in heaven?" This question always followed Cory's previous question.
"I don't know, sweetie." Again, Sydney had no idea if Vaughn was still alive and she didn't want to know.
"Is he coming back?" Well, that's actually a rare question. Cory didn't ask it very much because of the answer Sydney gave her.
"I don't know, sweetie." Half of her wished that Vaughn was coming back to his wife and daughter while the other half wished that he was rotting somewhere because he left his wife and daughter. "Finish your ice cream, so when Uncle Eric gets here, you two can go play on the swing set."
This seemed to lighten Cory's mood and she started eating her half melted ice cream cone again.
Ten minutes later, true to his word, Weiss joined the two girls. He was greeted with a brief hug from Sydney and a wild clinging from Cory. Cory had finished her ice cream cone and begged for Weiss to pick her up. Weiss complied with her request and lifted the forty-eight pound girl effortlessly.
"Is this my Cory? There's no way you could be the Cory I saw last week. You've grown too much."
"It is me," Cory insisted, "Mommy says that I'm growing faster than a weed in her garden."
"Well, your mommy just might be right. I don't think I've seen a weed grow as fast as you. You're getting to be a big girl now." A compliment that every little girl loved to hear. Just say that they're becoming a big girl and they love you for life or until they find someone else to love. Whatever comes first and usually it's the latter.
"Can we still play on the swings now that I'm a big girl?" Cory asked, suddenly serious.
"Of course, you can. Look at me, I'm nearing forty, which is old man age and I can play on the swings." Weiss said, shifting her weight a little. "Why, do you want to play on the swings with old Uncle Eric?"
"You're not that old, Uncle Eric. Grandpa is old."
Weiss laughed while Sydney stood shocked that her daughter would say that before she started to laugh as well. "Yes, Jack Bristow is very old." Weiss set Cory down and gave her a slight push towards the swings, "Why don't you get a head start, I just need to have a word with Mommy."
"Okay." Cory agreed before running off towards the swings.
"She really is a sweetheart." Weiss commented.
"Yes she is," Sydney agreed. She studied Weiss for a moment, "What's really going on? I don't believe that you just wanted to hang out with us."
"They found him." Sydney's heart literally stopped beating before Weiss added, "Well, they found traces of him. Photos, documents, credit card bills, things like that."
"Where is he?"
"Currently, we have no idea. He was last spotted in Switzerland three months ago and he appeared to be just passing through. He could be literally anywhere."
Sydney was silent, trying to process the new information. At long last, she finally spoke. "Well, at least now I can tell Cory that her father isn't in heaven."
Weiss stared at the woman in front of him, "That's it? That's all you have to say about the man that left you?"
"What do you want me to say, Eric? You said it yourself, he left me and when I was pregnant no less. I have nothing to say in regards to that man." Sydney answered in fast, hushed whispers. Sydney glanced over his shoulder to check on Cory when she froze, "Where's Cory?"
Weiss turned around and did a quick search of the park. Cory was no where in sight. "I don't know. She was just here a minute ago."
"You go that way, I'll go this way." Sydney ordered, taking off at a run in the direction of the playground. Weiss obeyed her orders and took off running the opposite direction.
"Cory! Cory, where are you! Cory!" Sydney yelled over and over, searching the faces for a trace of her daughter's. She was met with strangers.
For a moment, she thought that Cory had been kidnapped by one of Sydney's enemies that she had made during her time with the CIA. God knows, she had a lot of them. Sloane, Sark, Anna Espinosa -though that enemy was made during her work with SD-6-, Irina Derevko, Alexander Kasinau, and that's just at the top of the list. It didn't include all the low level crime leaders and their lackeys that she had pissed off.
"Cory! Cory! Cory, answer me!" Across the park, she could hear Weiss's urgent calls for Cory as well.
Then a thought struck her. What if he had taken her? What if he had followed them to the park and had taken his daughter the first chance he got? Weiss had said that he was spotted, alive, three months ago and that he could be anywhere. What if he had come to L.A. to take Cory? If he had her, he could disappear again and Sydney would never see her daughter again.
"Cory!" Her voice was beginning to get hoarse from yelling over and over. All of the sudden, a little girl's voice came from behind Sydney, saying, "Here I am!" The girl giggled after.
Sydney spun around, relief filling every inch of her body when she saw Cory standing behind her, alive and well and with Vaughn no where in sight. Sydney rushed to her daughter, falling to her knees and taking the child in her arms. "Oh my goodness, you're safe." Sydney gasped, holding Cory tightly to her.
"Of course I am, Mommy. I was hiding." Cory seemed very proud of herself to accomplish the act of hiding from her mom and uncle. And if she hadn't thought that Vaughn had taken her, Sydney would have been proud of her daughter on her vanishing act.
But she had had that thought and it scared her to death to think that Vaughn could take her at any moment and she would never see Cory again. "Don't you ever do that, again. Do you hear me, Cory? Don't ever do that to me again."
Cory seemed upset and confused by Sydney's sudden outburst, "Why Mommy?"
"Because I thought that you had been kidnapped, sweetie and that thought scared me so much." Sydney didn't need to inform Cory that she thought that she had been kidnapped by her father. That would cause Cory to be scared of Vaughn and that was one thing that Sydney didn't want.
Cory nodded and wrapped her arms around Sydney's neck. "I won't do that ever again, Mommy. I promise."
Sydney smiled and pulled Cory closer to her. Over Cory's shoulder, she noticed Weiss and his relived expression that Cory had been found. "I love you," Sydney whispered.
"I love you, too, Mommy." Cory whispered back.
Yay? Nay? Continue? Reviews please!