Stolen Memories- Chapter 2

A/N- I did not have this chapter beta’d so ignore the errors.  The next few chapters are much better.

 

A lump suddenly arose in Sydney ’s throat.  “Vaughn,” she said quietly, “it’s me…Sydney.”

 

“ Sydney .”  He said her name as if he were saying it for the first time.  His head turned up and the wrinkles instantly appeared on his forehead.  “ Sydney .”  He closed his eyes as he said it a second time.

 

“Yes, Vaughn, it’s me…I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”  She fought the tears that were springing up in her eyes.

 

He opened his eyes and studied her.  “You’re pretty.”

 

She blushed in spite of herself.  “Thank you…you’ve told me that before.”

 

He looked surprised.  “I have?” a smile played at the corner of his mouth.  “So we’ve met.”

 

Sydney ’s stomach churned and she moved closer to him and gently grabbed his hand.  He watched her so intently as she moved toward him feeling uneasy.  “Vaughn,” she said slowly.  “Michael…I’m your girlfriend.”  A tear slipped from her eye.  “You’ve been missing for three months.  I’ve been looking for you for a very long time.” She whispered the last part as another tear escaped.

 

He sat on the bed and stared openly at the beautiful woman standing before him.  “Why don’t I know you?”

 

“I’m not sure,” she said quietly, “but we’re going to find out.  You’re going to have to come with me.”

 

With that comment he stood and pulled his hand out of hers.  “I can’t leave here,” his voice was on the verge of panic.  “I can’t leave!”  He was almost shouting.

 

Sydney realized he was in no condition to trust her.  “Ok, let’s just sit.  We won’t leave.”  He seemed to relax a little and sat down on the bed.  “Can you tell me what you remember?”  She tried to stay calm while she was screaming on the inside.  She wanted to shake him…make him remember…remember the pier, the hockey games, Nice, their love…remember me , Vaughn!  But she stayed calm and tried to figure out how to get him to trust her enough to walk out the door.

 

“I..um…” he stammered and then closed his eyes. “I live here.  I’ve lived her for a while.” 

 

“Where did you live before you lived here?”  she pried.

 

“I’m not sure.”

 

“Do you live here alone?”

 

“No.  My friends live here.  I…don’t know their names…but my friend, the older one, comes in to talk to me everyday.  He’s the only one I talk to.  He’s the only one I trust.” 

 

Sydney swallowed hard and reached into the pocket of the pack secured to her waist.  She pulled out two worn, wrinkled pictures.

 

“Are these your friends?”

 

Vaughn took the pictures from her and studied them.  “Yes,” he said quietly.  “That’s Mr. Sloane.  And this man is Mr. Sark.  They take care of me.”

 

The room began to spin for Sydney as she fought down the bile rising in the back of her throat.  No, they didn’t.  He did not take him from me.  Heknowsmeheknowsme.  

 

“Vaughn, “ she quietly began.  “These men took you and have kept you here against your will.” At this he began to protest but she stopped him, “they have brainwashed you.  You work for the CIA.  Mr. Sloane and Mr. Sark are enemies of the United States .”

 

He didn’t move for a few minutes, trying to size up this woman.  There was something achingly familiar about her…like he’d seen a picture of her before or maybe in a movie.  Nothing she said made sense but he couldn’t remember much before this morning.  His gut told him to trust her.  Besides, his friends weren't around now.

 

“Why would these men do this to me?”  he asked laughingly.

 

He answer was quiet and sad, “because of me.”

 

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Hours later Sydney convinced Vaughn to go with her.  She had found him in Reno , Nevada .  It had taken her two and ½ months to find him and she was still in shock that he was sitting quietly in the passenger seat of her rental car.

 

She did not want to attempt to put him on a plane and decided instead to drive back to LA.  It would only take a couple of days and she wanted to try to make him remember something before he was poked and prodded by Barnett and her team.

 

“Are you hungry?”  She jumped at the sound of his voice.  He hadn’t spoken to her in hours.  “Because I’m hungry.  Maybe we could eat.”

 

She looked over at him and smiled, “Sure, we’ll stop soon.  What do you want to eat?”

 

He pondered this question for quite sometime.  He turned to her, almost childlike and said, “Do I like burgers? Because I think I’d like a burger.”

 

She grinned again, “Yeah, you like burgers.  But you don’t like onions.”  At this she laughed out loud and corrected herself, “Actually, you do like onions…I just don’t like to kiss you after you’ve had onions.”

 

The laughter suddenly stopped as they both realized she was sharing a one sided memory.  She turned her attention back to the road.  “We’ll stop in an hour, is that ok?”

 

“Sure” and he turned to gaze out the window again.

 

A few minutes later she felt him watching her.  She tried to keep focused all the while hoping some glimmer of recognition would cross his face.  He studied her face, her neck and her arms, down to her fingertips.

 

“ Sydney ?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, Vaughn.”

“I want to remember.”

 

**********to be continued***************