Author: Bookworm0509
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In celebration of hot daddy Vaughn, part of my Vaughnerific series

AN: I have a lot of fun with the development of this story, going between the events and the back stories. It is still in progress and would love to know what you think about my creative license with our favorite couple.

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178 Nights ~ Chapter 1

Father's Day …

I've always felt conflicted about it. As one raised by nannies and boarding schools, I remember feeling resentful about why on earth I was the only one who wasn't excited about making cute cards or planning backyard barbeque parties. Then came teenage years when most of my friends were envious of my non-obligation to sit through long family meals entertaining both the father and the grandfather. After meeting Francie, I secretly wished for a dad like hers – so readily accepting and yet full of advice for life's unexpected turns.

I finally, albeit unconventionally, got to know my own father after all those long bitter years. Deceits and secrets aside, I realized he did love me. I was not his greatest mistake, but rather, his greatest joy. But fate would have me lose him just when I learned to appreciate him.

My dysfunctional relationship with my dad was certainly not helpful when I tried to plan this year's Father's Day. I am rather lost when it comes to celebrations associated with a parent. I grew increasingly nervous as the day approached. Knowing he has also tip-toed around Father's Day for over 25 years, I want this one to be special and memorable for Vaughn. As corny as it sounds, I am fearless when it comes to indulging him. Nightmares of watching him die in my arms still plague me, though I have had him safely beside me every night for the last 178 nights. So I secretly went about putting together a day that tells him how thankful I am for each day I get to love him and how lucky our little girl is to be loved by him. Of course, there is also the competitive side of me that needs to out-do what he did for me last month on my first Mother's Day with Isabelle.

As I mentally put final touches on the day, my sight drifted to the man I now am more in love with than ever before ... if that was even possible.

Somehow, I just knew that Vaughn would be an amazing father.

My childhood did little to encourage raising my own family. When I was with Noah, that thought would have scared me though we were very sexual. Danny was vocal about his desire to have children – and I usually kept quiet, thinking to myself "maybe someday". Vaughn and I didn't spend much time discussing the topic, not that we were dodging it. Foiling conspiracies, trying to stay alive from sadists, saving the world simply took precedence. I felt so complete whenever I was with Vaughn that having his children seemed like a rather nice idea. Though we weren't trying to have a baby, we were not at all concerned about contraceptives when we were between sheets.

I had no doubt about him welcoming a family I practically blurted out the news of me being pregnant just before we jumped off the cliff in Cape Town. The gravity of the situation did not hit me until afterwards that might not be what he wanted. But Vaughn did not disappoint. His honesty in the car moved me. It truly felt like we were on this new journey together – our love for each other created a new life. A little person who would always be 100% Vaughn and 100% Sydney – no evil in this world could ever change that. We might have had been way over our head but the anticipation brought us that much closer to the dream we had always held.

As much as it killed me inside to be without Vaughn for the next 13 months, I should have known that things for Sydney and Vaughn had never been easy. We had always fought hard to be together. I just thought it was unfair to bring Isabelle to this world without the welcome of a doting father. Having experienced the pain of growing up without one or both parents, Vaughn and I had secretly vowed to protect our children from the same fate. That's what kept me going. I endured the separation in hopes of bringing her dad safely back to her as soon as possible.

And it was all worth it.

Seeing the way Vaughn is with his little girl from the moment they laid eyes on each other.

~tbc