Sydney was beginning to think that if she made another lap around this damn warehouse without talking about the document in her hands, she might just go insane.

She heard the door creak open and Vaughn's familiar footsteps. She wanted to run to meet him and show him what she had found, but she forced herself to stop and be still.

"Did you bring the code key?" she asked.

"Yeah, I have it," he replied. "What the hell is going on, Sydney?"

She held up the rolled parchment as he approached, stopping a few feet away from her. "I told SD-6 I didn't get it."

"Sydney! Your countermission was to photograph the page, not take the document. When SD-6 finds out — "

"— SD-6 cannot ever find out," she said, hands a little shaky as she started to unroll the document.

She handed him it to him wordlessly. He scanned the sketch of Will with visible apprehension.

"This looks like — " he started, but she cut him off, unable to stay quiet any longer.

"It is. It is Will. First my mother and now my best friend. Vaughn, I need to know what this says about him," Sydney heard the tremor in her voice as the words tumbled out.

Vaughn studied her face for a moment, then nodded. "Ok, let’s figure it out. But we don’t have much time. I need to get the code key back before they realize it’s missing."

Vaughn reached out, lightly touched her shoulder. "We will figure it out, Sydney. Okay?" He watched her carefully, waiting for her assent.

She dipped her head, took a deep breath. "Okay," she whispered.

* * *

Sydney tried to stop thinking about Will during the drive home from the warehouse. She and Vaughn had only managed to translate a tiny bit of the Rambaldi document before he had to return the code key to the CIA. She heaved a frustrated sigh as she retrieved her suitcase from the car trunk and stopped to pick up the mail. She flipped through the bills and junk mail and stopped suddenly in the middle of the walkway.

She held the envelope in her hand, not quite able to believe it. It certainly looked like a lie, but this time, it wasn't one of her own. She scanned the UCLA envelope — "Final Drop Notice" on the front in bold black letters above Francie's name — one last time, just to be sure. The words were still the same, and she braced herself, ready for a confrontation, as she opened the door.

Francie was only a few feet away, ready to leave, apparently. "This came for you," Sydney said, holding up the envelope.

"Oh," was the only response she got.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is." Francie only shook her head in response. "Francie, when did you decide to do this? Why didn't you tell me?" Sydney asked.

Francie walked away from the doorway, toward their living room, and motioned for Sydney to follow. She sat on the couch, and took a long pause before she began. "I filed the paperwork about two weeks ago, and I was going to tell you, but — " Franice’s voice trailed off.

"— A couple weeks! Francie, how could you not tell me?" Sydney interrupted.

"Syd, you're so busy, I hardly ever see you. I had just broken up with Charlie, and I saw you with that add/drop form. I started thinking, 'maybe this isn't what I want to do with my life.' And by the time I made my decision, you were back to juggling school, and your job, and I just didn't know how to say it."

"So when you told me you had a huge exam last week, that was a lie? When you met me after class for lunch, there was no class? Francie, I can't believe you would keep this from me!"

"Syd, I know, and I'm sorry. It just kind of got away from me, like one little lie turned into a bigger lie, and it got out of control," Fran explained.

"It got away from you? I’m your best friend, Francie! We live together! You could have told me a thousand ti— "

"I did try to tell you! You could have tried paying attention! But you had your own worries, the bank, tests, papers for your classes. You and Will always have some big crisis that you are in the middle of dealing with, and neither one of you have even noticed anything that's been going on in my life!" Francie shouted.

"Francie, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I haven’t been here much lately, but…there is — there are a lot of things — " Sydney started to explain.

"Yeah, I know, things I don’t understand, things that are more important to you than your friends," Francie’s voice was uncharacteristically bitter as she finished Sydney’s sentence. Silence filled the room as they avoided each other’s eyes. Just as Sydney opened her mouth to reply, the trill of the telephone broke the quiet. Francie snatched the phone from its cradle before it rang again.

"Hello? No. No! Listen, there is no pizza place at this number! You have got to stop calling here," Francie’s voice grew louder with each word, until she was shouting into the receiver. She threw the phone down on the coffee table, and turned to face Sydney, who stood abruptly.

"I can’t…Francie. I can’t do this right now. I can’t…I have to go. I — I’m going to take a walk and think about some things. We’ll talk when I get back, ok? I mean," Sydney blinked through the tears that sprang to her eyes. "We’ll really talk. And I’ll listen," Sydney promised as she headed towards the door, leaving Francie staring after her in angry disbelief.