Vaughn was first seen working with Josslyn Jacks at a WSB training facility, and wondering why a rich girl was working to become an agent. Learning she wanted to help people, he warned that being idealistic wasn’t helpful as an agent, but when she threw him during sparring practice, he was grudgingly impressed.

Vaughn later interrupted Josslyn studying Easter Island to back up her cover story of where she was supposed to be and warned that being an agent is a lonely life because you have to lie to everyone around you all the time. She insisted she could handle it and told him to bring on whatever challenges he wanted because she’d beat them.

After administering a lie detector test to see if Joss could keep her cool, Vaughn reported to Jack Brennan that she did well. Later, he continued pushing Josslyn’s buttons during another sparring session and, after seeing she was in pain, noted her swollen ankle. He urged her to ask for help when needed and explained that violence should always be a last resort. When Joss questioned how he became an agent, Vaughn wouldn’t say.

Vaughn later informed Josslyn that he was her handler and gave the rookie agent her first assignment, which was to take Professor Henry Dalton’s class at PCU and become his research assistant. To ensure Emma Scorpio-Drake didn’t get the position herself, Vaughn distracted her at a beach party so Joss could corrupt the hard drive containing her research project. Taking a job as a custodian at PCU, Vaughn joined Josslyn in searching Dalton’s office and realized the evidence they needed would be in his lab. The pair also grew closer, and after she opened up to him about wanting to become an agent to take Sonny down, they shared a passionate kiss.

Things were complicated by the fact that, for the sake of their mission, they had to pretend to be a couple, and Jack wanted them to be more convincing. The pair discovered that Jenz Sidwell was also mixed up in whatever Dalton was working on, and they tracked a courier sent to Port Charles. Anna Devane and Dante Falconeri were also tracking that courier and realized Vaughn and Josslyn were WSB. Learning that the courier went to Croatia, Jack sent Vaughn and Josslyn to the Five Poppies resort on a reconnaissance mission. He also told them their cover was newlyweds on vacation and ordered them to act like they were in love.

Vaughn and Josslyn checked into the resort, and she scolded him for hitting on one of the other guests, who turned out to be Britt Westbourne, who was supposed to be dead. Learning about the doctor, Vaughn realized she could be the key to finding out what’s going on at the Five Poppies. He tried to send Josslyn home for her own safety, but she ended up saving him from an assassination attempt. When she was shaken by taking the killer’s life, Vaughn comforted her. Unfortunately, their cover was blown, and Pascal held them captive to find out what they knew. Thankfully, Britt and Jason Morgan helped them to escape before the entire place blew up.

While unwinding post-mission in Australia, Vaughn warned Josslyn that their boss couldn’t know about them being together, but then Jack showed up and revealed he was well aware of their relationship, ordering it to cease immediately. He also promoted Vaughn to deputy station chief to replace Colette, who was found to be a traitor working with Pascal. When Josslyn informed Vaughn that she’d told her mother that he was WSB, he agreed it was the smart move to take the heat off of herself.

Though they weren’t supposed to see each other anymore, Vaughn and Josslyn just kept their relationship even more secret, and he promised to back her if Jack ever pushed her to do something she wasn’t comfortable with. After using Joss to help squeeze some information out of an inebriated Dalton, then using his WSB credentials to take the professor in for questioning, Vaughn met with Jack to update him on the mission progress, only to be grabbed by a pair of agents! Brennan coldly informed him he’d disobeyed a direct order and was still seeing Agent Jacks, and had the agents drag Vaughn away.