REMINDER: Nigel had been nervous of Harry Middleton, the Bailey family lawyer, since he was a child, as Harry had shouted at him viciously when, unbeknown to Nigel, Harry discovered Preston wanted to take care of him after their parents died, rather than permit Harry to do it.

CHAPTER 11

Feeling very excited Sydney dressed in less than five minutes and immediately rushed out the door with Nigel trailing behind her. However, having thought about the note again, she began to wonder if she'd missed something, or even if there was anything else in the envelope! She, therefore, asked Nigel to drive them to the tower, enabling her to feel right into the corners of the packet while they were on their way. Sadly though, she'd missed nothing and there was simply no way of identifying who'd written the note as, obviously, it had been typed. The only extra things she noticed were that the paper was very high quality and that the note had been written by someone of high intelligence, who knew how to punctuate!

"Oh well, I guess we'll soon see who sent it Nige….now it says to go to the ticket booth right next to the news stand" Sydney said, as Nigel parked the car as close to the Tower as he could "right….that's the booth over there….do you recognise anyone?"

"No…nobody….but they said they want to meet us up there" he said, looking up at the massively high Tower "I'll um…ask the ticket lady if anyone's left a message for us, they must have some reason for asking us to go to that particular booth."

"Yes OK" she said, deciding to walk over with him.

"I'm Monsieur Bailey…has" Nigel said, looking up at the lady inside the booth who interrupted him before he could finish.

"Ah Monsieur Bailey" she said, smiling at the handsome young man as she handed him another envelope, identical to the other one "I wuz told to 'and this to you."

"Oh um… Merci" he said, immediately handing it to Sydney

"It contains two tickets for the lift….and a note that says go to the top please, I hope you'll be glad that you did" Sydney said, looking quite intrigued "well Nige….I hope we'll be glad too!….Oh but Sweetie…will you be OK?.…I keep forgetting how much you hate heights….and the lift is quite exposed…..although the top of the tower's encaged….so you'll be quite safe."

Nigel looked up at the exterior of the tower again and began to feel quite sick "Oh God!" he said.

"Sweetie…do you want to wait down here? I don't want you to be ill...but you know Nige….I've always wanted to see Paris at night….from up there….I think it'll be quite magical…..especially if you're there with me."

"Oh Syd….I know it'll be nice for you...but I'll um….have to go too….because whoever it is wants us both up there…..I'll um….just snuggle up to you and bury my eyes in your shoulders…if um….that's alright with you?" Nigel said, taking hold of her hand as they started making their way to the lift.

"Of course it's alright Nige…you don't need my permission!.….I love cuddling with you!" she said, walking into the lift and throwing her arms around him.

"Is he alright Madame?" the lift attendant asked, smiling strangely at both of them.

"He'll be fine once we reach the top" Sydney replied, feeling a little on edge as the man was smiling at her rather creepily.

"I will 'ave to put you out on zee second floor…you 'ave to change elevators to go to zee top" the attendant said, continuing to smile strangely. Nigel didn't open his eyes even once as they ascended the first two floors and he held onto Sydney even tighter as they went to the top; although he certainly enjoyed snuggling up to her!

"We're here Sweetie, let's find out who's waiting for us….oh but Nige…I'm a bit suspicious of that guy in the first lift…I think he knows something…..so keep your eyes peeled!" Sydney whispered, so that the other lift attendant wouldn't hear.

They cautiously stepped out onto the viewing platform and looked left and right "strange…we were the only ones in the lifts and now it looks like we're the only people up here as well!...That is unless whoever we're meeting is around the other side…..walk with me Nige…but be careful…this really is a bit odd."

They carefully walked around the viewing platform twice, barely noticing the stunning views at all in their eagerness to meet the author of the note "There's nobody here Nige!" Sydney said; feeling a little annoyed.

"No I um…guess not…. Um Syd…..come over here for a minute" Nigel said, looking rather sheepish "th…there's a w….wonderful view of the Sacré-Coeur o…over here….we may as well um….take advantage of seeing it since we're here anyway."

Sydney looked into the distance and smiled "Oh my goodness….it's stunning…that's one of the reasons I've always wanted to come up here at night….they light it up so beautifully…in fact the whole of Paris looks amazing from up here…..just as I thought it would."

"I…I'm glad you like it Syd" Nigel said, as he clung on to the railings and began to look queasy.

Sydney brushed the hair off his face with her hand "Is the height affecting you Sweetie? Look…there's nobody up here to meet us…so if you're feeling nauseous we can go back down right now…they'll just have to contact us another time" she said, suddenly feeling guilty as she believed he'd just felt obliged to come up there with her.

"Oh um, not um….not just yet" he said, putting his hand in his pocket "I um…um want to um…..g…give you something" he said, looking like a shy little boy who'd brought something home for his mum that he'd made at school.

"Oh…what is it Sweetie; surely it can wait until we're back on firm ground and you're feeling better" she said, noticing that he really did look quite unwell.

"Um…no…it…it really c…can't wait" He said, having a quick look around.

"Hey what…what's going on!?" she said, slightly louder than normal, barely believing what Nigel appeared to be doing as he took a very deep breath and got down on one knee!

"Syd…w…will you make me the happiest man in the world and…and marry me?"

Sydney's eyes almost popped out of her head as Nigel looked up at her and showed her a stunningly beautiful diamond engagement ring!

"Oh my God Nigel!...Of course I'll marry you!" she said, looking overjoyed yet quite astonished as she realised Nigel had totally set her up! "Oh Sweetie….it's such a beautiful ring….but you're a sneaky little devil!"

"Sorry…my beautiful angel" Nigel said, blinking back tears of joy as he took hold of her hand, slid the ring on her finger and got up and kissed her.

"Sweetie….Sweetie….the ring….It...it's practically identical to my mom's!….Except hers has an emerald in the centre!" Sydney said, noticing he smiled cheekily and feeling then that it was no coincidence!

"You mean like this?" he said, pulling out another small box from his pocket and showing her what was inside.

"Hey!...That…that's my mom's ring!" she uncharacteristically squealed, feeling totally confused!

"That's right…..it is….and it's yours as well" he said, handing it to her and explaining that Randal had given it to him to use as an engagement ring "I...I didn't want to upset him by telling him I'd prefer to buy one myself…so I took it and kept it for you….but um….the thing is….when I was looking for the perfect engagement ring….I…well….I realised that your mum's ring was actually just that….the perfect ring!...So I had it copied….but…obviously…I exchanged the emerald for a diamond."

"Oh Nigel….you're just so amazing…..I've always loved my mom's ring….but well…diamonds are forever" she said, throwing her arms around him and kissing him on the lips.

"Yes….forever and ever my Angel" Nigel said, trying not to think about how high up they were.

"Nige…..did you…..did you pay someone to let us have the tower to ourselves!?"

"Well um….yes…Preston knows Alain Chase…who's in charge of the tower…..and…..well…..Alain very kindly….for a large sum of money….closed the top of the tower for us….all I had to do was get you here….then as soon as we collected our tickets…he moved everyone off the top…probably told them there was an emergency or something…he'll let them all back up here again as soon as we leave!" Nigel said; noticing Sydney actually looked dumbfounded!

"You really are quite remarkable Nigel Bailey" she said, as the lift door opened "Sooooo…..I guess we'd better leave now so they can come back up….do you want to go back to the hotel?...Or are you planning to fly me to the moon!?"

"Well um…..maybe not the moon….but a quick flight to London for a few days would be nice….wouldn't it? Nigel said, looking at her cheekily.

"Are you kidding me!?" She said, looking him straight in the eye.

"No…Gerard's waiting for us at the airport right now…you remember him…he flew us to Malta" Nigel said, as he put his head on Sydney's shoulder and prepared to go down in the lift.

"Yeah of course I do….but what about our luggage….and I haven't chosen a relic yet!" Sydney said; feeling unusually overwhelmed.

"Oh um…..don't worry about that…the hotel staff started packing our bags the moment we left…they've probably already transported them to the plane….now all we have to do it get there too!" Nigel said, cuddling into her as close as possible as he listened to the creaking of the lift as it moved downwards.

"And the relic?" she said, hoping he'd had a plan for that.

"We can come back to Paris in a day or two to collect it" Nigel said, wishing they'd reached the bottom "Jean-Paul will take ages to sort them out anyway."

My goodness Nige….you can be so assertive when you want to!…I just hope I'll get to choose my own wedding dress!" Sydney joked; as they swapped lifts, realising Nigel would rather cut his own throat than go shopping for that!

"Um…um….are we nearly down?" Nigel asked, taking a quick look at Sydney's face and closing his eyes again just as they stopped moving.

Once the lift doors opened, they made a quick dash for the car as, unfortunately, it was raining and they had no umbrella. This time though Sydney decided she'd like to drive, not only because Nigel was still feeling a bit dizzy, but because she wanted to watch her ring sparkle in the moonlight as she held onto the steering wheel!

Having jumped into the car Nigel began to wonder if Sydney was feeling a tad unneeded right now, not only because he'd done quite a few things on his own lately, but because of her comment about her wedding dress. He sat there for a good ten minutes pondering this before he felt brave enough to ask her about it.

"Um….Syd….wh…what you said about your um….wedding dress….I…I'm sure you'll pick something stunning by yourself….and…and you know you can choose whatever you like for the wedding itself….I…um….sort of assume you'll want a church ceremony….but it's totally up to you….have a castle…hotel….or even a marquee….I really don't mind….you choose the date…the reception….the cake….you'll be great at all of that...I won't have time to do it for a while…I need to study extra hard…I um want to finish my Masters as soon as possible and start on my PhD….but um…I hope you'll be able to find some time to help me with that too" Nigel said, looking pleadingly at Sydney, who instantly knew what he was thinking, because he'd never needed her help with his studies before!

"Of course I'll help you Sweetie and well….if you're sure you don't mind me making all the decisions on the wedding I'll do that too…..I definitely want the 25th August….that gives us just over four months….I already know exactly where I want the wedding too...there's this beautiful little church near the house I grew up in…on Hawaii"

"Well um…the date sounds good" Nigel said, feeling quite worried about the location when his 'family' all lived in London!

"Yes….it's the same date my parent's married Sweetie….they were so happy" Sydney said, trying hard to concentrate on the road "Oh and I'd like you and you're your best man…Preston...to have dark green jackets with tartan kilts exactly the same as Angus'….that tartan had a lovely shade of purple in it….you remember Angus Sweetie….from the Scottish castle where we were found the lost Twining Ring?"

Nigel nodded, but he was far too shocked to interrupt her; even though he was glad she'd considered he'd want Preston as his best man!

"Actually Sweetie….you know what?….Copies of the Twining Rings would be a nice touch…and I think the bridesmaids should have frilly pink dresses….you know….the ones with the big puffy sleeves…oh and they should probably carry purples flowers to match your tartan…..and then….then maybe you and Preston could have pink ties to match their dresses…that would look amazing!"

Nigel looked quite horrified, but Sydney was really enjoying explaining what she'd like, so she barely noticed his expression "oh…do you know what would be really cool?" she began again "A cake shaped like Elvis' guitar….with a Buddha sat next to the bride and groom on the neck! In fact….yes…yes…let's have a relic hunting themed wedding!…It'll be so cool Nige….everyone will love it!"

Nigel was speechless…but by then he believed that if he objected to anything, he'd upset her and spoil the rest of the day; which he couldn't bear to do when she looked so happy.

Having reached the airport, and dropped off the hire, car they went through passport control with no problem at all, as Nigel, obviously knowing the plan, had kept their passports in his coat pocket all day.

Once they'd boarded the plane, Gerard kissed Sydney and shook Nigel's hand "my goodness Nigel….you're looking well…that must be due to this delightful young lady" he said, smiling fondly at both of them.

"It is Gerard…it is" Nigel said, his queasiness having gone away "I love her more than life itself."

"That's exactly what Mrs Jackson said!" Gerard replied, smiling at both of them.

"Oh! That's nice" Nigel said, sitting down next to Sydney and pulling her close; hoping desperately she'd reconsider her wedding choices when she'd had the chance to really think about it!

"Oh your suitcases are just there by the drinks cabinet if you need to get anything out….they should be fine there….I'm afraid I couldn't find an air hostess to help on this flight….so just help yourself to anything you want….the refrigerator's full" Gerard said, opening it up for them to see and taking out some champagne.

"Thanks Gerard" Sydney said, lying back in her seat.

"You know Preston's absolutely beside himself with excitement….he can't wait to see you" Gerard said, handing them each a glass of bubbly "right then…..the flight will be about an hour and ten minutes….I'm afraid the rain might cause a bit of turbulence…but nothing too horrendous….now fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the flight."

After Gerard had gone to the cockpit, and taken off, he put on some relaxing music, which he hoped his passengers would enjoy. However, having been in the air for half an hour, Sydney noticed that Nigel was far from relaxed, in fact, he looked rather on edge "Are you OK Nige? You've hardly said a word since take off" she said, looking deeply into his eyes "you're not still feeling woozy from being up in the tower are you?"

"No…no…I'm fine Syd….just pondering a few things….sorry…do you want something to eat….or drink? There're some delicious things in the fridge" Nigel said, getting up to see what she might like.

"I'd just like a diet Coke please Sweetie" Sydney said, noticing Nigel was totally distracted as he poured out her drink and brought it over to her "Nigel…come on now….spit it out…what's the matter?...I can see you've got something on your mind."

"Oh…Syd….please don't get upset….but…but…well….about the wedding"

"Yes…what about it Nige?"

"I…I know I said you can have anything you want….but…but are you really sure about….well…Hawaii? And….and…the tartan and that bloody cake!? It's…um….well...it's not really what I thought you'd choose for our special day" Nigel said, holding his hands over his face and peeping through his fingers, waiting for all hell to break loose!

Sydney looked furious and turned her head away quickly and then just stared out of the window. Believing then that he was about to feel her wrath, he started to grovel when, suddenly, she flicked her hair and turned back to face him "Ha! Got Ya!...Of course I don't want all those silly things Sweetie!" she said, laughing at Nigel's shocked little face.

"Oh thank God! Thank God!" Nigel said, putting his hand on his heart and looking quite relieved "Nana's too frail to travel all the way to Hawaii."

"Actually I….well I really would like to have the wedding there….but obviously I would hate it if your Nana couldn't come….so shall we say…London?" Sydney said, smiling widely as his face lit up.

"Oh Syd…thank you, thank you so much….of course…if you like….we can have a blessing at that church…um….right after the honeymoon….oh and you can choose wherever you want to go for that too" Nigel said, believing she'd want to go somewhere really beautiful.

"No Nige…you choose that" Sydney said, realising he liked to be warm, so he'd probably choose the Caribbean, or somewhere in the Mediterranean; either way she didn't mind.

"Oh…OK then...I'll try to come up with something spectacular for you" Nigel said, cuddling up to her again. It was only a very short time after that that the plane landed at Heathrow; where it had turned very cold indeed for the time of year.

Gerard quickly put their suitcases onto a trolley and smiled at the attractive couple "right you two…enjoy your visit and let me know when you need to fly back….I have a few bookings coming up…but I'll always find a way to fit you in….now I'm afraid I've got to move the plane so I'll say goodbye….um…give Preston my best wishes and tell him I'll see him soon."

"Thanks Gerard" Nigel said, as he started to shiver quite badly.

"Yeah thanks" Sydney said, waving as he left.

"Hey Syd look….it's Preston!" Nigel said, excitedly, just as they came through the barrier in arrivals. Nigel threw his arms around his older brother and they held each other for quite some time without saying a word. Sydney watched them in amazement as she recalled the big tantrum Nigel had had at the airport in Rio, when she'd secretly invited Preston to join them there!

"Podge…I'm so glad you could make it…Mrs Jackson and Nathan are in the limo waiting for you….and Sydney….welcome back…did you have a good flight? Preston said, kissing her on both cheeks and grabbing hold of the trolley.

"Yes it was fine…but wow it's so cold here Preston…it's much warmer in Paris right now" Sydney said, taking hold of Nigel's outstretched hand and noticing how cold he was already.

"Yes I believe it is….oh Podge…come on…it'll be nice and warm in the limo…it's just over there" Preston said, noticing his brother shiver and pointing to the car park just across the road.

Within two minutes they were stood by the car where Nathan got out and gave Nigel a huge bear hug "welcome home Little Einstein…hey you're freezing!…Go and get in the car…you too Sydney" Nathan said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and then opening the door for them both.

Nigel insisted Sydney got in first and then Preston, so that he'd be able to sit next to Mrs Jackson without anyone having to move out of the way "Nana…nana…oh my gosh…it's so good to see you…but you really shouldn't have come out in the cold to meet me" he said, as they embraced.

"Oh sweetheart I simply couldn't wait to see you….and it's so lovely to see you too Sydney...I think you've been looking after him well…he's even got rosy cheeks!" she said, suddenly realising that that was mostly because he was really cold "I'll give you an electric blanket to put on your bed when we get home…can't have you catching cold now, can we?"

"That'll be great Mrs Jackson" Sydney said, looking forward to getting into that warm bed.

"Sydney….please call me Nana now…you're almost part of the family anyway" the elderly lady said, noticing Nigel give her a huge smile.

Just over an hour later they reached the Bailey house and noticed it was pitch black "What happened…has there been a power cut?" Nigel asked, expecting at least to see the exterior lights on in the front garden.

"Um maybe" Preston said, helping Nathan take the suitcases out of the car.

"Hold my arm Nana….would you take her other arm please Syd…it's so dark" Nigel said, feeling quite worried that his beloved Nana might fall over.

A minute later Mrs Jackson opened the front door and, just like magic, all of the lights came on "Surprise!" dozens of people shouted!

"Oh my gosh!?" Nigel said, smiling broadly as he realised Preston and the staff had arranged a lovely party to welcome them back home and, obviously, to celebrate their engagement. Of course, Nigel recognised most of them, although there were some strangers, most of them being women who looked ultra glamourous and seemed to be eyeing up Preston!

Having mingled for a few minutes and having received lots of hugs and kisses, Sydney and Nigel eventually sat down "congratulations you two" Harry Middleton, the family lawyer said, appearing from nowhere "I still think you're too young for marriage Nigel….but at least if you have to marry an American….Sydney Fox is one of the better ones…yes she's quite pretty…..and highly intelligent…just like you young man."

"Oh…um…I've grown up a bit in the last year Sir….so…so I think I'm ready" Nigel said; feeling a little tense as he picked two glasses of champagne and handed one to Sydney.

"Oh he's ready alright" Sydney said, trying not to take offence at what the lawyer had said "Sweetie you're still shivering…why don't you go and have a quick shower to warm yourself up….the guests will understand."

"Oh thanks Syd…but aren't you cold too?"

"No Sweetie I'm fine…I warmed up in the car….but you obviously didn't…now go and get warm…I'll be fine here with Auntie Alice…and Mr Middleton" she said, giving the lawyer a slightly sarcastic smile.

"I'll be as quick as I can" Nigel said, running into the hallway and finding himself just behind Nathan who was carrying one of the suitcases up the stairs.

"You're on the third floor Einstein" Nathan said, turning around to Nigel "um…do you need both cases?"

"I'd better have them both as I've no idea which one has the things I need in it….we didn't pack them ourselves you see….anyway...let me take that one from you and I'll run down to get the other case in a minute…going up and down stairs might warm me up a bit….but I still want a quick shower."

"Actually there's plenty of shower gel and shampoo in the bathroom…so you can go straight in…I don't want you catching a cold" Nathan said, refusing to give Nigel the case and carrying on up the stairs.

As soon as they reached the third floor they walked along the wide corridor which had one very large bedroom on each side "I see this has all been repainted since I was last up here" Nigel said, wondering if the guest bedrooms had been redone too.

"Yes…the decorators did a nice job…um you're in here Einstein" Nathan said, standing outside the door on the left.

"Um…um…are you sure….th.…that was um…mum and dad's room…Preston always puts couples in that room" Nigel said, pointing to the door on the right and looking rather confused.

"Yes I know….but nobody's used this room since your parents passed away so Preston….well all of us really….thought it was about time it was used again…especially since you'll be getting married soon and goodness knows what else!" Nathan said, looking at Nigel's surprised face "we're hoping you'll want to use this room whenever you're in London….we've had it redecorated….but you can change it if you like….you'll see there's plenty of room for extra furniture."

Nigel opened the door very slowly and noticed that the large bed that his parents had used for most of their married life; was still there; albeit the mattress had been changed. There was a space left along one wall, which he knew was where his and Preston's cots used to be; until he and his brother were old enough to have their own rooms on the floor below. Obviously, though, when Nigel returned home after his horrific ordeal with Ferreira's gang, when he was six, Mr and Mrs Bailey temporarily moved downstairs to a smaller room, so that they'd be close to him.

"Oh…um…I see what you mean about there being room for extra furniture Nathan….but I um…don't…don't think we'll be…um…needing that kind of furniture for a little while yet…but this is beautiful….and Syd's going to love it" Nigel said, looking around at the newly painted white walls and yellow flowered bedding and curtains.

Nathan smiled at Nigel and noticed he was blushing a little "hey come on now….go and get in the shower….and when you're finished there's plenty of underwear and other things in the drawers and wardrobe….it's what you left here last time….you may as well use it" Nathan said, before leaving Nigel to discover the stunning new bathroom Preston had had fitted for him and Sydney.

Nigel was delighted when he saw the new bathroom, but he was more concerned with getting the hot water running over his cold body, than what the room looked like. Of course, once he was warm he was able to see how thoughtfully the room had been designed, with two sinks, a Jacuzzi bath, a walk-in shower and plenty of storage!

Back downstairs, Sydney was enjoying herself with some of the guests she'd met before, although, bearing in mind how important Harry Middleton was to the Bailey family, she felt obliged to chat with him as well; particularly as he looked so left out! Even though Preston could see she was finding Harry a little irritating, he was pleased to see her making an effort, especially as he believed she must know how nervous Nigel was in his presence. Preston was actually correct as Sydney was aware of Nigel's feeling towards the lawyer, although she realised too that Harry wasn't a bad man, just a little old fashioned and set in his ways.

Having interrupted Sydney's conversation to ask where Nigel was, Preston immediately went upstairs to see him, not only because he wanted to have a word with him but because he needed to get away from some rather clingy women who were at the party.

Once he'd reached the second floor he bumped into Mrs Jackson who asked him to take an electric blanket up to Nigel's room. Naturally, Preston was only too glad to do that, especially as it would save the elderly lady's legs and he was going there anyway.

Having reached the third floor he knocked on Nigel's door and went straight in, where he placed the blanket on a chair for now "Podge it's just me" he called through the bathroom door "I need a quick word please….I um….hope you're OK with this room."

Nigel immediately came out wearing a large towel around his waist "the room's amazing Pres….thanks…what's the matter…you look worried" he said, rubbing his hair in a smaller towel "Syd's alright isn't she?"

"Yes….she's fine….she's chatting with Harry….look…I…um…just need to know that things are alright with you" Preston said, while Nigel chose some clothes to put on "I couldn't ask you earlier when we were all in the car….I didn't want to worry Mrs Jackson."

"Everything's fine Pres…really….things are great!" he said, picking up his underwear and trousers and walking into the bathroom "won't be a minute."

Preston waited and two minutes later Nigel popped his head around the door "just going to dry my hair a bit more…then I'll be right with you" he said, closing the door again, having noticed that his brother still looked very anxious. Guilt soon got the better of Nigel though, so instead of drying his hair completely, he came out with it still damp "what's worrying you Pres?"

"Sit down Podge…look…I need to talk to you about…about…well….the hunt you've just been on…why haven't told anyone how it went?" Preston said, looking a little annoyed.

"Oh…sorry Pres….it was an absolutely brilliant hunt…..we um…found some amazing Knights Templar relics…they're at the Louvre right now…but they're giving Syd one to take back to Trinity!" Nigel said enthusiastically; noticing Preston didn't look satisfied with his reply.

"That….that's wonderful Podge…but I want to know how you were afterwards!….Did you sleep alright?…Did you have any nightmares?...Things like that…Nancy said you didn't call her after the hunt either….although you'd promised you would!"

"Oh God….I'm so sorry Pres I forgot…things got so complicated in Paris…you know…collecting the ring….talking to Alain Chase about closing the tower…and…and hiding things from Syd!" Nigel said, remembering he'd promised Preston, prior to flying to France, when they were organising Sydney's Eiffel Tower surprise, that he'd call him and Nancy "But…but…actually I was fine…I slept OK…really I did….so you can stop worrying."

Preston looked a little sceptical "so there's nothing I should know about that hunt then? It went smoothly….with no problems and you had no bad after-effects?"

"Oh well….I suppose you'd better know.….Sydney's probably already mentioned it in her excitement to tell a good story to the guests" Nigel said, going on to explain how they'd been attacked by some thugs with guns!

"Oh my God Podge!…Th….that's terrible! But…..I'm even more surprised now that you had no nightmares!...Now come on….tell me the truth?...I know you don't like worrying anyone but…but that just makes things worse!" Preston said, looking very serious.

"I am Pres.…honestly….I was alright….ask Syd…she'll tell you."

"Podge….swear that's true….and make sure you talk to Nancy" Preston said, walking with Nigel to the door so that they could go back downstairs to re-join the party.

"It's true Pres...I swear…look…there're always going to be rival relic hunters….but you don't need to worry anymore…..we have this guy…Jim Bird…to protect us….he used to be a professional wrestler" Nigel said, explaining that Jim would be coming along on all future hunts, even though Sydney was still capable of beating the heck out of anyone who tried to attack them.

By the time they got downstairs, Preston felt a lot better, although he made Nigel promise that he'd never forget to ring him again after a hunt!

As soon as they returned to the party Nigel was immediately surrounded by the guests, some of whom had arrived while he was having a shower. Noticing, however, that he looked a little bit overwhelmed by all of the attention, Sydney rushed over and took his arm "come on Sweetie….would you excuse him please….he's had nothing to eat since early this morning" she said, handing him her own glass of wine and dragging him by the hand to the buffet.

"Thanks for rescuing me Syd….sorry I took so long upstairs" Nigel said, just as Alice came over to give him a hug and grab some caviar and crackers "Oh Auntie Alice it's so nice to see you…are you well?"

"Yes I'm fine Sweetheart…especially now I see how happy you two are…Sydney told me you've overcome your anxiety….I'm so pleased!" Alice whispered in his ear.

"Oh um…thanks Auntie…it um….took a while but…but I think I have.…at least with my beautiful Sydney anyway" Nigel said; feeling a little embarrassed, as he recalled, once again, the time that he and Sydney tried to make love in Alice's back room!

"Well Sydney's special Sweetheart….so I don't think you'll ever need to worry about being with anyone else! Now I must go and find Preston…try some caviar darling….it's delicious" Alice said as she left the young couple in peace.

Of course, within minutes of Alice leaving yet more guests came over to offer their congratulations to the couple; which made Sydney feel very welcome in the Bailey 'family'. Nigel, however, began to feel rather uncomfortable again with all of the attention; although he was far too polite to just move away.

After about an hour of people continually shaking their hands and hugging them, Nigel was feeling quite shaky and gave Sydney's hand a tight squeeze, hoping she'd realise he needed to get out of there! Fortunately, though, before Sydney had a chance to do anything, Nancy noticed Nigel had that anxious look on his face and managed to get both of them away by pretending Mrs Jackson needed them in the kitchen!

"Um…I think Nana's still at the party Nancy" Nigel said, as they walked towards the kitchen.

"No she's not….she's upstairs, I just said that because I could see you were getting stressed….sorry Sydney if you were enjoying the party" Nancy said, pointing to a couple of chairs "sit down a minute….I just need a quick word with Nigel."

Nigel immediately guessed what she wanted to say as, obviously, Preston had told him earlier. Therefore, before Nancy could tell him off, he apologised for not ringing her and explained what happened during and after the hunt.

"My goodness…I'm amazed" Nancy said, turning away from Nigel and then looking directly at Sydney "is it true Sydney…he really didn't have any nightmares?"

"Yes it is…but Nancy but we both know he could still have bad reactions to what happened in the past" Sydney said, patting Nigel's knee.

"Yes I know that could still happen" Nigel said, giving Nancy a huge smile "but at the moment I'm so happy I don't think there's room in my head for bad thoughts….or anything else that might give me nightmares!"

"Well you seem to have made amazing progress Nigel….but I still want you to call me immediately if you have any setbacks….oh and call me for a chat anyway every now and again…I don't want to lose touch with you" Nancy said, looking really happy as she got up off the chair.

"Thanks Nancy…I'll call….I promise…but hopefully just for those lovely warm chats we have" Nigel said, noticing Nancy looked quite delighted as she returned to the party.

"Shall we hide in here a little while longer Syd?" Nigel said, pulling her close to his side.

"Oh yes….I definitely think we should!"

"Nancy seems really pleased with me Syd…even though she kind of rescued me from the party!" Nigel said, realising then that being the centre of attention, or in a crowd, had always bothered him, long before he went to Rio.

"Yeah I think she was delighted….and so am I…but you know feeling like you do at parties is actually quite normal…it's only when you're surrounded by people and feel trapped and disorientated that it's a problem….but I love my shy handsome Nigel Bailey just the way he is!" Sydney said, gently kissing him on the lips "we'll go back to the party in about twenty minutes…but you'd better text Preston so he'll know where we are...you know how he worries.…although he might actually come and join us….there are so many woman at the party who have their eyes on him!"

The party actually finished quite soon after they returned to it, as everyone realised the young couple were tired and Preston wanted to get rid of the women, who were obviously, gold-diggers! It was still quite a while before they actually went to bed though, as they had to take their engagement presents to their room and opened one or two.

Sydney, of course, was also very aware that she hadn't called her father yet to tell him the wonderful news. Therefore, before she settled down for the night with Nigel, she put that right! Naturally, he was over the moon with joy, although she didn't mention that Nigel had given her a diamond ring, as well as her mom's, but he was very impressed at Nigel's ingenuity in getting his daughter to the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Having stayed at the London house for a few days, where they did very little but eat, drink, watch TV and play board games with the 'family', they eventually packed their suitcases and returned with Gerard to Paris. However, having received so many wonderful gifts, they decided to leave some permanently at the house and asked Preston to ship the others to Boston for them.

As soon as Sydney and Nigel checked back into their Parisian hotel, they went directly to Jim's room to ask if he'd like to come to the Louvre to help them choose a relic. Of course, he was delighted to do that as, although he was enjoying being in Paris, it wasn't as much fun on his own.

Jean-Paul had already set aside several pieces that he thought Sydney and Nigel might like; all of which were absolutely amazing and priceless! Eventually though, after looking at the items several times, Sydney chose a jewel encrusted sword, similar to the one that belonged to Jacques de Molay. However, because Jean-Paul was so grateful to the team of relic hunters for finding the treasures, he gave her a shield to go with it!

Bearing in mind, however, that the relics were so valuable, a lot of paperwork had to be done before they could be removed from the museum and taken out of the country. However, once it was completed and filed, they all said goodbye to Jean-Paul and Michel, who'd already started his new job at the museum, and returned to their hotel.

Naturally, having had such an exhausting day, as soon as they got back to their hotel room they got ready for bed, hoping to get a good night's sleep before their flight back to Boston, the following day. Unfortunately, however, that wasn't to be, as Nigel, out of the blue, had his first nightmare in ages! "Don't touch me!...Get away!" he screamed, having no idea where he was "no…no…leave me alone!".

"Sweetie…Sweetie it's alright…it's just a bad dream" Sydney said, trying to calm him down as he tossed and turned in the bed.

"Go away!"

"Nige….it's Sydney….you're safe…I'm here now!" she said, stroking his head gently.

"Syd!" he called out "Syd!"

"I'm here Sweetie…I'm here" she said, noticing how disorientated he was as he started to wake up. A minute or so later, however, he was fully awake and immediately threw his arms around her and held her tightly.

"It was horrible Syd…horrible….Ferreira cut your beautiful face with…with…a sword and…and Maria was touching me over and over again!" Nigel said, blinking back the tears as he clung onto her.

"Sweetie, you know it wasn't real….oh God….if I could dream your dreams for you I would….I hate seeing you suffer this way" Sydney said, kissing the top of his head as he cuddled into her shoulder.

"I know you would Syd…I know" Nigel said, starting to feel slightly embarrassed "I…I'm going to wash my face….um don't worry…I'll be fine….It was probably caused by seeing all those swords at the Louvre…and…and….because Jim told me about a movie he saw on TV last night…. 'The Texas Chainsaw' something or other….God it sounded gruesome."

"I think I'll be having words with Jim about that!" Sydney said, realising, of course, that Jim wouldn't have deliberately tried to make Nigel have nightmares.

"No don't Syd….please…it's embarrassing" Nigel said, rushing into the bathroom but leaving the door open.

"Well…OK….but don't listen to him the next time he starts talking about movies….he's a horror movie buff! Now come back out here and place that gorgeous body of yours next to mine!" she said, noticing he immediately popped his head around the bathroom door, smiled and then rushed back to bed!

Realising that Nigel seemed very eager, they immediately made love, although Sydney was slightly aware that Nigel flinched a few times, which she hoped was not triggered by thoughts of Maria! Thankfully, though he was fine for the rest of the night and even when he slept for a couple of hours during their flight, the following day, he had no further nightmares and seemed to be back to his happy self.

Once they arrived back in Boston Nigel gave Nancy a quick call to let her know he'd had a 'minor set-back'. However, once she'd heard his explanation as to what he believed caused the nightmare, she considered he was probably correct, which was a relief to both him and Sydney.

The following morning, having had good night's sleep, Sydney and Nigel returned to Trinity and immediately presented Dean Bernson with the sword and shield. Naturally he was delighted with them, although the news that Sydney and Nigel had gotten engaged filled him with joy as well. However, having gotten it into his head that their marriage wouldn't take place for ages yet, the Dean was shocked to receive holiday requests for the last two weeks of August and first two weeks of September for that very reason!

In the next chapter they arrange the wedding!