Chapter 4Vaughn's POV

As we are waiting for our bags inside the airport, I see Eric looking around. He seems to be searching for something. Or someone.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Trying to see who my mom sent to get us."

Hearing him mention his mom, a thought crosses my mind:

"Weiss… Have you told your parents about me and… her?"

I can't bring myself to say her name, even more so in front of Sydney.

"Yes, I told my mom you were getting a divorce, nothing more."

I don't know why it matters, but I can't help to ask:

"What did she say?"

Eric sighs and answers:

"She gave me a lecture about marriage being hard work and all. She thought it was pretty soon to give up, but of course she doesn't know the half of it…"

I make a face and he continues, reassuring:

"Don't worry, I made up a few awful things Lauren supposedly did to you. I'm actually pretty good at it. You should have seen me trying to explain how Sydney wasn't really dead…"

"And how did you explain?" Sydney wonders, visibly unsure whether she should laugh or cry.

"I told her you had escaped the fire after all and had amnesia. That's why we didn't know you were alive…"

Syd looks kind of discouraged.

"Sounds like a bad movie. Did she buy any of it?"

"I think so. But I should warn you: she thinks you're nuts."

"Great."

But all of a sudden Weiss seems as dejected as Sydney.

"Oh, no… Not him," he sighs.

"Who?" I ask.

"My cousin Gerard. I see him over there. The one with all those muscles. He's the one picking us up. And he's not really the one to give a good first impression of my family…"

"How come?"

Eric sighs once again.

"He's the arrogant one in the family. The one nobody likes. You'll see."

We finally pick up our suitcases and walk up to Gerard.

"Gerry, hi," Weiss greets him.

"It's Gerard, Eric," he replies, seemingly not too happy.

"Yeah, I forgot."

Weiss introduces us and I can see Gerard finds Sydney much to his taste. Although he is absolutely not her type, I hate the way he is looking at her. I breathe deeply to avoid telling him off.

A few minutes later, sitting in Gerard's car, we learn that he is a bodybuilder. His 'art' takes him all over the world for various competitions.

"Are you all working at the State Department?" he asks.

"Yes," I reply a bit coldly, but Gerard doesn't notice.

"Huh. Well, I pity you. Stuck in your offices, you have no idea how the world really is. I travel a lot, you know, for my job. Competitions. World is bad, people, bad. You have no idea."

I raise my eyes to the ceiling. If only that jerk knew!

We have to endure his non-stop talking until we finally arrive at the Weiss family house, up in the mountain. The ground is covered with snow. It's beautiful.

We get out of the car and I take a deep breath of that clean air. I feel rejuvenated. Sydney looks around, eyes wide open. It's obvious she is in total awe of the place. We then get our bags from the trunk, but Gerard takes Sydney's from her hand.

"Sydney, I'll help you with this. The ground is slippery. Take my arm, I'll keep you from falling."

Sydney smiles and takes his arm. Jealousy is stirring up inside me. Until, suddenly, Gerard trips. He would have fallen down if it hadn't been for Sydney's surprising strength. He looks at her, astonished, and she starts giggling.

"You okay?" she asks.

He can only nod. Eric and I, a few steps behind them, exchange a look. That guy has no idea what Sydney is capable of.

She's still smiling as she starts to walk again toward the house. We just got here and already she seems more relaxed than she had been in a long time. All thanks to my buddy Weiss. I've got to thank him.

"Hey, Eric. Thanks so much for inviting us here. It's just what we needed."

He smiles and pats me on the back.

"I know."

XXXX**

Sydney's POV

"Michael! How are you?" Mrs Weiss asks as she hugs him.

He smiles widely.

"Good."

She releases him and turns to me.

"And you must be Sydney. So nice to finally meet you," she says, also hugging me. I like her already, and just hope she doesn't really think I'm crazy.

"The pleasure is mine. Thanks for having us."

"Don't worry about it. Since Eric NEVER brings us ANYONE…" she frowns, looking at her son.

He blushes but says nothing. His mother continues:

"Now take your luggage upstairs. Eric will show you your rooms. Then come back here. I need some volunteers to taste my donuts."

XXXXXXXX

As I lay in bed that night, only a wall apart from Vaughn, I think back on the day that is about to end.

We spent the afternoon skiing. It was fun. Since I had only skied two or three times, the guys were nice enough to give me some helpful tips and to wait for me when I had trouble following them. Weiss never left Vaughn and I alone and I'm pretty sure that was on purpose. He just knew I wasn't ready for THE talk.

Eric. I smile thinking about how well I've gotten to know him since I came back. He may often come across as the clown of the group, but there is so much more to him than those childish yo-yo tricks. He was the one that kept me sane after I returned and found out Vaughn was married. Somehow, he knew taking us here could be the solution, the only way to make me feel better…

And it already has. It's strange… I feel like I'm Sydney again. I mean… We only left LA this morning, but it already seems like it was a million years ago. I feel like we left our past behind at the same time we left the JTF rotunda, allowing us to see more clearly how we feel about each other.

Today, on the ski slopes, I saw the way all the women looked at him. Of course I can't blame them. Tanned, unshaven, messy hair… I know he never even tries but always ends up looking irresistible. They were drooling at the sight of him and I hated it. I had to stop myself from going up to them and telling them he is mine. And now, I realise I shall not take him for granted. I need to tell him if I want to be with him or not. And if I need more time, I also need to tell him. But now I come to think of it, I don't think I need anymore time.

I think I am ready for the talk.

For the first time in a year, I'm starting to think we could make it after all. From the glimmer of optimism that ignited in Palermo, I'm now moving on to a real feeling of hope.

I gaze at the wall, knowing he is there on the other side, just a few inches away from me. Maybe that's the way I could sum up things: since I've been back, even if I couldn't see him, even if there was a wall between us… he's always been there, close to me.

Yes, I'm looking forward to spending another day with him. I wonder if he is sleeping. Maybe is he thinking about me, too?

I smile and whisper:

"Goodnight, Michael."