"What's she like? Vaughn's wife?"

There it was. The one question he hadn't wanted to answer, the one he'd been dreading, had finally been asked. It now hung in the air between them and he would have no other recourse but answer it and the problem with *that* was, Weiss knew Sydney wasn't going to like the answer all that much. In fact, she was probably going to hate it.

"Are you sure you want to know?" He asked with a dubious expression.

"Yes," She nodded once, deliberate in her movement, "I want to know."

"You want to know the *real* truth? Or the Ohimigod-she's-such-a-bitch-I-wish-she'd-die truth?"

Sydney laughed a little despite herself. "The real truth please."

He sucked in a slow breath, delaying the actual answer for just a few seconds more. "For starters, her name is Chloe. Chloe Sullivan-Vaughn. She heard us calling her just 'Vaughn's wife', she'd give me an earful on it." He grinned faintly. "And believe me, Chloe does that like nobody's business. So, yes, her name is Chloe and, to be honest, she's fantastic."

He stopped, pointing at her in warning. "Remember, you asked for the real truth."

Again she nodded, "I did."

"Okay, so Chloe's CIA, worked out of Langley as an analyst and occasional aide to her old friend, Senator Peter Ross. Senator Ross, if you don't know, is the swing vote on the intelligence committee, the guy's got serious clout in D.C. She's also a total caffeine junkie, quirky dresser, hangs out with Superman and, oh yeah, is from - get this - *Smallville, Kansas*. Which, I think, is probably the last place on earth you'd expect a CIA agent of her caliber to come from so, of course, that's where she's from."

Sydney absorbed the monologue with a thoughtful expression then her brow wrinkled in confusion. "Who's Superman?"

Weiss boggled at her. "You don't...Right, how would you? You missed the guy's grand debut." He leaned over, taking the morning's paper and the tv remote control from the coffee table. "It's like this, Syd, we have ourselves a bonafide superhero in play."

She took the paper from him, unfolding it to look at the picture of the caped figure splashed across the front page. "He's flying..."

"Yeah, Superman's not much with the obeying the laws of physics. They tend to get in the way of the rep, y'know?" Flipping through the channels, he found a report on Superman's most recent activities. "He's been giving most terrorist groups absolute fits. They try to pull something, he shows up, and the only thing they end up pulling is serious jail time."

"So...Vaughn's...Chloe, she knows him?"

"Umm...from all accounts, yes. She probably met him through her cousin, Lois Lane. She's that reporter from the Daily Planet with a hate on for Lex Luthor. Ms. Lane gave the world the exclusive on Superman so...it's the most logical way for her to meet him. Chloe's pretty tight-lipped on the whole Superman deal." He leaned back, putting his feet up. "All in all, he's pretty handy to have around."

"I'll bet." Sydney mused, watching the tv.

"I don't know about your father's opinion but the running theory at work is Superman's one of the reasons Sloane's been minding his p's and q's lately. The guy's invulnerable as far as we can tell. He's been hit by everything from small arms fire to surface-to-air missiles without even a scratch. Sloane can't do a thing to take the guy out so...there's not many options open for him but behave until he, or someone else, can figure out a way to take Superman down."

"Impressive."

"Oh, yeah." Weiss nodded. "The world's finally changing for the better."

"What's she look like?"

Ah. Back to Chloe again. "Blonde. Kinda short. Pretty. Always has a smile on her face...except when she's questioning someone." He grinned fondly. "She's a holy terror in the interrogation room. She *looks* quirky but...nerves of steel that lady."

He sighed, sitting up a little to look at his friend solemnly. "Chloe's a great person, Syd, she really is. I remember when she and Vaughn came back to the states...the change in him..." He gestured helplessly. "She was a big part of him putting himself back together. For a long time he depended on her...still does in a lot of ways." He slipped his hand into Sydney's. "She doesn't deserve it, Syd."

"Deserve what?" She echoed, trying feebly to look blank.

"That look in your eyes. The anger...hate. She didn't 'steal' him, Syd. What I saw of their relationship...she didn't push him. She knew what had happened to you, how he was when he lost you, and she just couldn’t. She held off. Was hesitant to even enter a relationship but...what happened was what needed to happen. Truth is, even with Chloe's help, it was a battle for him. It took everything Vaughn had to start over again..."

"I don't hate them." Sydney mumbled, her gaze on their hands.

"But you're tempted to. It'd be easier to." He let go of her hand and put his arm around her. "I can't say I know how you feel, Syd...no one can exactly know how you feel but..." He chuckled wryly. "Believe it or not, Chloe can come close."

"I find that hard to believe."

"You shouldn't. Like you said...one thing we learn in this business, anything's possible."

"I talk too much."

"Not touching that one."

"Jerk."

"Prima Donna."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Uh huh."

"Nu uh..."

His hand sneaking down, Weiss tickled her side, eliciting a squeal of protest.

"Don't even *think* of doing that again!" She warned, scrambling back.

He grinned. "Or?"

Sydney lifted a brow and smirked at him. "Or else."

"Now that's not fair." He protested. "Kicking my ass over a tickle fight?"

With a touch of melancholy in her voice, she responded. "Since when is life fair?"

"It isn't." Weiss let the humor fall away to say, "I tend to be happy about that fact. Otherwise, if life is fair and everything that happens to us happens because we deserve them...I don't think either one of us would like that very much."

He stood, reaching out to hug her. "I know this sucks, Syd but...things will get better...you just have to give it time. I promise..."

"I'm holding you to that." She vowed, hiding her face against his neck.

"Sweetie, you can hold me to anything you want." He answered automatically.

She pinched him.

"Ow!"

"Behave."

"Okay...but no promises."

Finis

 

None of them is mine but if somebody wants to give me Vaughn or Weiss...I wouldn't say no *G*

 

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