PN: Bonus Chapter! Because I love you guys.

Chapter 53: The Games We Play

"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal." – Thomas Moore

"Health is not simply the absence of sickness." – Hannah Green


The four friends spent the whole morning and afternoon outside. They spent vast amounts of time doing absolutely nothing, just talking and laughing at the dog as he chased butterflies among other things including his own tail. Sydney sat on Vaughn's lawn chair, happy that he seemed so relaxed outside. He smiled, he laughed, he let his dimples come out to play, and she couldn't stop smiling. Francie and Will seemed to be having quite a good time as well.

Francie finally offered, "You know guys, this was such a great idea today, it's been such a long time since Will and I just sat…having a great time just being together."

Sydney couldn't resist, "Yeah, Vaughn and I get to do that quite a lot, much to my delight anyway."

Vaughn smiled and briefly tickled Sydney until she almost fell off the chair.

"Vaughn! Be careful! You almost knocked us both over!" she said slapping his arm softly. He simply smiled, dimples shining. She was mad for all of two seconds, and then reclaimed her spot on the chair.

"So…" he said, "What else should we do?"

Will piped up, "Sydney and I got a whole bunch of games out and cards…or we could do something else…"

Sydney looked down at Vaughn, "Were you serious about the cloud thing from before? Cause I used to LOVE to do that when I was little."

Vaughn smiled, "Sure…let's do it."

"OK!" she said squealing excitedly. She moved down with Vaughn on the chair and Will and Francie laid down on the grass. They were all silent for a few minutes.

Vaughn pointed, "There! An elephant!"

"Ooo! Good one," Sydney said and then added, "And a spaceship."

"Yup, totally see it."

Will pointed, "Hey! A duck!"

Everyone burst out laughing and it took Will a minute to figure out what they were all laughing at, "Oh, yeah, that's really nice guys…thanks…MAN! I'm never gonna live that down."

"Well, not if you keep bringing it up," Sydney offered as the other three busted out in more giggles. Finally Francie composed herself enough to kiss Will and the giggles died down as well. They went back to finding more shapes.

Francie said, "That one looks like a spatula."

Will looked over at her, "A spatula? Where?"

"Right there!" She said pointing wildly.

"Uh…I don't see it…you mean that broom-looking thingee?"

"It is not a broom! It's a spatula!" Francie said again, smacking Will on the arm.

"What! It's not my fault all you see are cooking utensils!"

They bickered for a few minutes, leaving Sydney and Vaughn in relative privacy. She took full opportunity and kissed Vaughn passionately. They were both thoroughly enjoying themselves, when the bickering died down and Will said, "You see that one?"

Francie asked, "No, which one?"

"That one right there, the one with those two people totally macking on one another in front of their friends."

Sydney and Vaughn stopped their kissing and looked over towards the grass. Will and Francie were both lying on their stomachs, heads resting on their folded hands, smiling at the two.

"Uh…sorry guys," Sydney said, "Couldn't resist, and you two were busy…"

"Hmm…I guess the cloud game is over since they can't even behave for that! I can't wait until we start playing games!" Will said with a smile, offering a hand to help Francie off of the ground. "We should probably think about lunch sometime soon too, don'tcha think?"

Sydney said, "Yeah, that'd be good. You hungry baby?"

"Sure," Vaughn replied.

"What should we have?" Francie asked.

"Something simple, so we don't have to spend anymore time than necessary inside," Sydney said.

"Good deal, how about sandwiches then?" Will asked.

"Sure," they all acquiesced.

Francie and Will went off to make the lunch, and Will poked his head out, "Ham or turkey or salami? We have all three."

"I'll have ham," Sydney answered, "What about you Vaughn?"

"Turkey," he said.

"Alrighty!" Will went back in.

Sydney snuggled with Vaughn, talking in quiet tones and finding more shapes in the clouds while they waited for lunch.

In no time, Will and Francie emerged with plates and drinks, and the foursome dug into their lunch.

Sydney made no move at all to help Vaughn and he was particularly pleased he could handle the whole meal on his own. Lunch conversation varied widely, including a few more jibes at Will, the "duck man."

When lunch was finished, Sydney helped Will and Francie clean up, and they came back out with games in hand. Donovan had crashed, sleeping on the grass in a semi-circle form.

"Ok, we've got lots of card games, regular cards and Uno, umm…Life, Monopoly, Othello, Trivial Pursuit…let's start with those, we've got more in the house though…" Francie finished, looking to the three others, "What should we play?"

Will raised his hand and waved it around, "Oo! Oo! Can I pick? Can I pick?"

Francie rolled her eyes, "Uh…I don't know that man, never seen him before, nope, no…not me…" she pulled her hand up in front of her face, pretending she couldn't see Will.

Sydney was laughing, "Yeah, Duckie, pick one out."

Will's arm instantly fell, and the other three giggled again, "You know…I can just as easily go inside and you guys can just play by yourself!"

"Aw, come on Will…pick one out," Sydney said.

Will pranced over to the pile of games and looked deep in thought.

"Do you need your shorts to make the decision?" Sydney asked as they snickered again.

Will paid them no attention as he straightened his back and came back over with a game, "Seriously, Mike, I don't know how you stand her."

Vaughn smiled, "No, you don't." This sent Sydney into a fit of giggles that only ended when Will showed her what game he had picked.

"There, smarty-pants…let's see how you like being on the losing end!"

"No Will! Not that game!" she said looking scared.

Vaughn's interest was peaked, "What game is it?"

Will moved the game so Vaughn could get a look at the box. "Clue?" he said confused, "You're afraid of Clue Sydney?"

"I hate that game! I never win! Will always figures it out like three seconds into the game…he sucks!"

Vaughn laughed, "Your weakness is Clue?" he laughed.

"No! You are my weakness Mr. Vaughn! And if you don't behave, I'm not going to be on your team for any games!"

"Ok! Ok…" he was still laughing though. He thought a minute, "One problem…"

Sydney looked over concerned, as Will and Francie's eyes traveled that way too, "What's that sweetie?"

"How am I supposed to write down the answers…or hold cards for that matter?"

Sydney thought a minute, "Well…uh…when we're on a team I can just write…um…" she looked over at him as he started back in interest watching her mind work. "How sore is your shoulder?" she asked.

He raised his eyebrows, "I don't know," he said.

She moved over to him and gently moved the sling off of his shoulder. She handed him a pen and a piece of paper, "Ok…try to write, let's see how it goes. And don't ever tell Tom I let you do this…cause it's not supposed to come off for another like two weeks. But I don't think an hour with it off will hurt you."

He took the pen and attempted to write, but it was rather difficult with the splints on his fingers. Sydney could tell that he was going to get extremely frustrated at any second, "Hey, let's try to just make an X or a slash or something…that's all you have to be able to do at this point…we're not writing a novel," she said caressing his cheek.

He smiled, "Yeah, I can manage an X or a slash."

"Good…then we're set. If the shoulder starts to hurt though, we'll have to put the sling back on."

"Got it."

"Ok…set up the board."

Will eagerly set up the board game, dealing out the cards and putting the weapons in various rooms. Once the answers to the game were safely sealed in the "classified" folder, with smirks from all those employed by the CIA, Will said, "Ok…I'm Colonel Mustard…I'm always Colonel Mustard," he said looking at Vaughn.

"That's fine, Colonel…it's ironic though…" Vaughn said.

"What is?" Will asked.

"You picked the character that's the same color as your duckie shorts."

The girls burst out laughing.

"Maybe you should be Colonel Duckie instead of Colonel Mustard."

Will tried to keep a straight face, "You know what, laugh it up guys…that's fine…you'll all be laughing really hard when I've solved the crime and you're a bunch of losers."

Giggling continued until Will cleared his throat and started talking again. "Who do you wanna be?" he asked Vaughn.

"I'll be Prof. Plum," he said.

"Ok! Sydney, Francie, who do you wanna be?"

Sydney answered first, "I'll be Miss Scarlet."

She looked to Vaughn whose eyebrows went up again. They shared a smile.

Francie said, "I'll be Mrs. White."

Will looked over at her amused as he handed her the white pawn.

"What?" she asked.

"Mrs. White? You ever gonna get out of the kitchen?"

"Just shut up…you should talk, Mustard!"

"OK!" Sydney said, "Should we start maybe?"

"Sure," they both said.

The game progressed, and all the players were deep in thought. Sydney was staring at her "notepad" that listed all the information she knew. Francie was also looking at hers, and Vaughn noticed that Will was the only one who didn't seem to be engrossed in the information.

After a few more rounds, Will announced, "I'd like to solve the mystery."

Vaughn couldn't help himself, "Did you solve it already Scooby? Should we give you a Scooby snack?"

The girls busted out in laughter and Will glared at Vaughn, "You know, you guys are just all jealous…not only do I have stylish undergarments, but I also can solve the crime…you'll laugh when I've won." They continued to laugh until he said, "It was Mr. Green, in the Study, with the Candlestick."

Francie and Sydney frantically searched their sheets and could come up with nothing to counter his prediction. Just as he was about to open the envelope proudly, Vaughn said, "That's not possible."

Will's head shot up as did the girls, "What?" Will asked.

"I said that's not possible."

Will looked astonished, "Um…ok…why?"

"Because I have Mr. Green…" Vaughn smirked, "Mrs. Peacock is the murderer, with the Candlestick, in the Study…"

Sydney and Francie looked to Will, who opened the envelope. The cards that he brought out were: Mrs. Peacock, the Candlestick, and the Study.

Sydney squealed again, "Vaughn! You are so awesome! You totally beat Will! I don't think anyone has ever beat Will at Clue!" She rushed over to kiss him, leaving an astonished looking Will.

Francie moved over and kissed him on the cheek, "Can't win 'em all sweetie!"

Will's look traveled over to Sydney and Vaughn, and Sydney was positively beaming, "Vaughn beat Will…Vaughn beat Will…" she sang, and soon, Will was smiling too.

"Way to go man! Actually, I'd rather lose to you!" He came over and shook Vaughn's hand.

Vaughn smiled back as Sydney jumped around Vaughn's chair chanting, "Vaughn beat Will! Vaughn beat Will!"

"Well…" Will started, "Wanna play another game? I can beat Mike at something else!"

"Sure you can," Sydney said. "Let's play Trivial Pursuit!" she said animatedly as she helped Vaughn back into his sling.

Will groaned, "Aw…come on! I lose one game and I have to play that! Smart people crap? I always lose that one!"

"Well," Sydney said gleaming, "At least you'll continue your current trend!"

Will gave her an unsatisfied look and she stuck out her tongue.

Francie got up to get the game and dished out the game pieces. They rolled the die, and Sydney rolled the highest number to go first, then Vaughn, then Will, then Francie. Sydney landed on a Geography space and Will asked the question, "What two countries is Andorra nestled between?"

Sydney thought a moment, "Uh…France and Spain…"

Will flipped the card and looked at the answer, "I hate this game," he said.

Sydney squeaked and grabbed her blue wedge to add to her game token. "My turn again!" she said proudly.

She rolled the die and ended up on an orange space, Sports and Leisure. Will grabbed another card and read, "What are the three Alpine skiing events?"

Sydney thought a moment, "Downhill, cross country, and…I don't know."

Will smiled, "OH! I'm sorry, that's incorrect, the correct answer is 'Downhill, giant slalom, and slalom. Mike's turn!"

Vaughn rolled the die and ended up on an American Literature space. Francie read the question this time, "Who were the Three Musketeers?"

Vaughn wasted no time answering, "Athos, Porthos, and Aramis."

"Correct!" Francie said, putting a brown wedge in Vaughn's token.

Sydney looked over at Vaughn, "If you wouldn't have got that one, I would have hit you."

"It was an easy one," he said shrugging. He rolled again and ended up on a History space.

Francie grabbed the card and read, "Where were Omaha, Juno and Gold beaches?"

Vaughn didn't miss a beat, "Normandy, France."

Francie turned the card over, "Correct! Yellow wedge for Michael!"

Sydney looked at him again, "You know, that one wasn't the least bit fair…"

"Sorry…" Vaughn offered and then rolled again; he landed on a Science and Nature space.

Sydney picked a card this time and read, "Ok Vaughn…seriously…you're getting all the easy questions…What drug was named for Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams?"

Vaughn smiled, "Morphine…and what a wonderful drug it is…"

Sydney smiled, adding a green wedge to Vaughn's token. "Ok, you suck…"

Vaughn smiled and rolled again, and landed on a Geography space.

Will picked the next card, "This game is going to be over in no time, then we can play something less academic!" He read, "What famed London criminal court was once a feudal castle?"

Vaughn thought for a moment, "I have no…clue!"

Will gave him a look and the girls giggled again.

"Ennn! I'm sorry, Mr. Smarty, that's not the correct answer. The correct answer is: The Old Bailey."

Now it was Will's turn. He rolled the die and landed on an orange space.

Sydney grabbed a card and handed it to Vaughn. He read, "Who was…oh man, you better get this one…who was the first major league baseball player to have his number retired?"

Will smiled, "Lou Gehrig!" He stood up and did a little dance, "Orange pie piece for Will, oh yeah, oh yeah…"

He sat back down and rolled again. He landed on a pink space. Francie read, "Who played…oh God…who played the original Charlie's Angels?"

Will smiled again and sighed, "Ahh…that would be the lovely Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett."

Francie disgustingly handed him a pink wedge. He cockily rolled again and landed on a yellow space. He cringed as Sydney grabbed the card and read, "Who said: 'The victor will never be asked if he told the truth?"

Will thought a moment, "I have no idea."

Sydney smiled, "Adolf Hitler…"

"Wow," Will said, "What an asshole."

It was now Francie's turn. She rolled the die eagerly and landed on a pink space. Vaughn read, "Who was Elvis Presley's manager?"

She smiled, "Colonel Tom Parker."

"Tell the lady what she's won Will!"

Will handed her a pink wedge. She rolled again and landed on a blue space. Will read the question: "What's the largest province in Canada?"

She thought a moment, "British Columbia?"

Will looked at the back, "That's what I would have said, but it's Quebec."

Sydney rolled and landed on an American Literature space and clapped. Francie grabbed the card and read, "What was Edward Albee's first full-length play?"

Sydney answered, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

"Correct!" Francie said handing Sydney a brown wedge. She rolled again and landed on a yellow space. Vaughn read the card, "Who was awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize with Le Duc Tho?"

"I have no idea whatsoever," Sydney said.

"Henry Kissinger."

Vaughn rolled and landed on an orange space. Sydney read the card, "What was Willie Mosconi famed for shooting?"

"Pocket billiards," he answered without hesitation.

"Ok…that is so not fair Vaughn!"

He smiled, "Can't help it if I get the ones I know!"

She put an orange wedge in his token. He rolled again and he landed on a blue space. Will grabbed the card, "What river flows past the Temple of Karnak?"

Vaughn thought a moment, "The Nile?"

Will looked up, "Is that your final answer?"

"Yes Regis…"

"Correct," he put a blue wedge in Vaughn's token. He only needed a pink wedge to complete the token and then answer the game winning question.

He rolled onto a brown space. Francie took the card, "What Emily Bronte novel features Heathcliff?"

Sydney rolled her eyes and sighed. Vaughn smiled, "Wuthering Heights."

Since he answered correctly, Francie filled the last remaining open wedge and Vaughn rolled again. He didn't get to the center however, meaning it was Will's turn. Will rolled onto a yellow space. Sydney grabbed the card, "What was the verdict in the trial of Lizzy Borden?"

"Not guilty?" Will said somewhat unsure.

"That's right," Sydney said, and he rolled again, landing on a green space.

Vaughn fielded the question, "What is 400 in Roman numerals?"

"Aw man!" Will said, "Uh…CXV…I don't know."

Vaughn smiled, "CD."

Francie rolled and landed on a brown space. Sydney grabbed the card, "Who defined the Beat Generation?"

"Jack Kerouac."

"Correct," Sydney said as Francie rolled again, landing on a yellow space. Will read the question, "Who defended the Boston Strangler?"

"Hmm…no idea."

"F. Lee Bailey!" Will shouted laughing.

Sydney rolled and landed on an orange space. Vaughn read the question, "What are the team colors of the Boston Celtics?"

"Green and white," Sydney said confidently.

"That's correct," Vaughn said smiling. She rolled again and landed on a yellow space. Francie read, "What mausoleum did Mogul Shah Jahan build to the memory of his favorite wife?"

"The Taj Mahal."

Sydney rolled again and landed on a pink space. Will read, "What film has Cary Grant being attacked by a biplane crop duster…uh! That is so easy."

"North by Northwest." Sydney answered, and rolled to a brown space.

Vaughn asked the question, "Who was King Lear's favorite daughter?"

Sydney smiled, "Cordelia."

"That's right," he said smiling. She rolled again, and landed directly in the middle of the board. She beamed at her friends.

Will smiled evilly, "Yeah, but we pick the category…" he looked to Francie and whispered something and then moved to whisper to Vaughn. Then he sat. "We've decided on Sports and Leisure."

"Aw, you guys suck!"

Will smiled evilly again and handed Vaughn the card. He read, "What is the first shot in a billiards game called?" He smiled widely at her.

She smiled back, "Thank you Mr. Vaughn for all the teaching, that would be 'the break.'"

Vaughn held out his hand to her which she eagerly took as he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner."

Will echoed an earlier statement, "I hate this game…I'm glad it's over. NO surprise whatsoever on who won that round!"

Vaughn just beamed at Sydney as they kissed passionately. "What do I win Mr. Vaughn?"

He smiled, "Well…we'll have to give you your prize later."

"I can wait," she said, "What should we play next?"

Francie answered, "Dinner!"

Will smiled, "Sure, I'll get the coals started…you guys can play something while I'm gone."

Francie got up, "I'll get the meat out…"