* * * * *
Vaughn was down on one knee smiling proudly at Sydney, his wife, and someone he wanted to marry again. Never in his life did he think that he would marry Sydney once, let alone asking her to marry him again. He continued to smile, as he saw Sydney not smiling back at him. It was all he could do to hide his disappointment. "Michael." Sydney said, her smile quickly fading. "Michael." His name seemed to be the only thing she could say. She knew her answer, but there was no way she could tell him, and she didn't want to sound like a complete fool. "Michael." She tried again, this time successful in getting past his name. "I- I." But she couldn't make it any farther.
"I see, you don't feel the same." Vaughn hung his head low, and tried not to show the hint of a tear forming in his eye. He moved slowly back to his seat, and pulled his hand back, but Sydney grabbed it, and squeezed it tight.
"No, it's not like that at all!" Sydney quickly corrected. "I just met you. I mean, I know you've known me for years. But I still just met you. The memories still aren't there. I think it would be too soon for me." Vaughn still looked like a lost puppy. Sydney knew what she had to say. It was still written on her heart. Even now, she still felt the same. But it was the first time she would admit it since they returned to each other's lives. "I love you too Vaughn, but it's too soon for me. Maybe, once I get to know you better. I don't even know your favorite color…"
"Brown. Like your eyes and your hair." Sydney blushed.
"Michael." Sydney began to say something, but Vaughn cut her off.
"That's my favorite color, because when I see brown, it reminds me of your beauty. But second favorite is blue. Sydney, I know you think it is fast, but I don't. Forget about what your head is telling you. Just feel. If you really feel like marrying me again is too fast, I want you to know that I will wait until the end of the world for you."
"I only learned I was not Jessica English, single mother of one, a month ago. Suddenly, I am Sydney Bristow Vaughn, mother of two, wife to the most fantastic man, and I still don't know where I belong in life. But you and Alexandra fit into my puzzle perfectly. I don't want to screw it up by moving too fast."
"I understand completely."
"You do?"
"Yeah."
"I'm so glad. We can see where and how things go after I move to LA this summer."
"Yeah." An awkward silence filled the room. There is often nothing to say after a marriage proposal has been turned down.
They cleaned up from breakfast, silently walking on eggshells. "You're not upset I hope." Sydney checked.
"Sydney, honey, why would I be upset?"
"Well, you know."
"You're still by my side. Why should I be upset about that? You're still planning on moving to LA, why should I be upset? I still have you. I could never be upset."
"I have to tell Juliana about moving tonight."
Vaughn dropped the spoon he was cleaning. "You haven't told her?
Sydney couldn't look Vaughn in the eye. She just dried the plates, unable to see Vaughn's hurt face. "I'm not sure she'll take it very well. It isn't like moving her across the country. I'm moving her to the other side of the ocean. Rosa has been like a second mother. And Luis like her father. And she and Raquel are close like sisters. I'll be taking everything from her. Even the words she speaks will become cast aside. Juliana doesn't take change very well."
"She's only five. She'll adjust very well. And Alexandra will be so happy to have her sister living with her." Vaughn said.
"I know that. I know that she will probably do even better, but she doesn't understand. The other night, I was tucking her in, and she asked if you guys were going to come and live here with us."
Vaughn's voice was barely above a whisper. "And what did you say?"
"I told her that it was doubtful."
"What did she do?"
"Gave me a blank stare, like when I told her about you guys, and turned over in her bed. I think that she got that we will never live together. I don't think she got that we're the ones moving. But I am going to straighten it out tonight. After dinner."
"About that."
"About what?"
"Moving."
"Yeah?"
"When."
"When was I thinking about moving?"
"Yeah."
"August. That way we have plenty of time after school gets out to pack."
"So after I leave tomorrow, with Alexandra, we won't see each other until August? Sydney, I don't know if I can live without you that long."
"You've done it six years. What's another 5 months?"
"Eternity." They were once again blanketed in a vale of silence, as they both were recalling the proposal.
"So um…" Sydney tried to start a new conversation, as it kept her mind off of what had happened. "What time is your flight?" The information was on the fridge, but anything to start a conversation.
"We need to be at the airport at 8 tomorrow morning." Vaughn didn't want to talk about leaving. He just couldn't bear the thought of leaving Sydney, ever.
"So a 10 flight."
"10:30 actually."
"I'm going to let Juliana come with us tomorrow morning. She has been dying to spend a day with us, but her teacher really disapproves of anyone missing school. There are some things that she shouldn't miss." Sydney turned to Vaughn, beaming at him. He smiled back at her. But they went back to the dishes.
Silence over came them again. Sydney couldn't bear it anymore. She walked over to the stereo, and turned on some music, letting the sweet melodies drift through the apartment. Vaughn put down the dishrag he was drying with, and grabbed Sydney. He dragged her to a spot in the living room, and he began to dance. Sydney smiled, and danced along, laughing and smiling as they danced their morning away.
That afternoon, they just basked in each other's company, watching movies. A third through Kate and Leopold (Sydney's choice) Sydney looked up at Vaughn. "Tell me about LA." She demanded.
Vaughn was taken aback by the question. "W-w-what?" He stuttered.
"Tell me about what our life was like in LA. If I can't remember it, tell me about it."
Vaughn smiled. "You know. In LA, we can get you into some regression therapy, probably courtesy of the CIA, and you could remember it all."
"I might just take you up on that offer. But we're not in LA right now are we? So for now, you have to tell me about it."
Vaughn began to tell Sydney everything he could think of. From what kind of cereal they ate for breakfast, to the restaurants that he and Alexandra liked to visit, to the kind of detergent they used on their sheets. In the midst of it all, Sydney leaned back into Vaughn's embrace, letting his arms circle her. The stories enchanted her like stories of fairies, castles, knights in armor, enchant a child. She quickly fell asleep in his arms for an afternoon nap. Vaughn didn't wish to wake her, and had the TV quietly going in the background. But he too fell asleep, from the warmth, the comfort, the tranquility of the moment. They were found sleeping in each other's arms when the girls and Deloris came around at six. Deloris was the first through the door, and immediately saw the sleeping couple. Figuring that it was their last night together for some time, that they could use even more time alone, she shut the door again, and told the girls that they were going to stay with her for a little longer. As they were having fun, neither girl minded too much. Deloris scribbled a quick note telling that she would return the girls at 8 that night, and put it on the counter while the girls waited outside.
Sydney woke with a jerk an hour after Deloris had stopped by. She looked at the clock on the VCR, and noticed that it was just past seven. Vaughn was still sleeping on the couch, his arm still around her shoulder. He stirred when she sat up, but did not wake. The only sound in the apartment came from the TV. She double-checked her watch. It read the same as the VCR. The stillness upstairs was unnerving. No one had woken them up. Something wasn't right. "Michael wake up! It's seven, and the girls aren't home yet!"
Vaughn wasted no time in jerking awake. Sydney often would wake him up when Alexandra was young, when Sydney hadn't woken up to feed Alexandra, or change Alexandra for longer than unusual, and Alexandra was silent. Sydney had an irrational fear that someone had come in the night and stolen their little angel. They would both go into Alexandra's room to find her sleeping quietly. Over two years, he was used to Sydney jolting him awake with that sort of greeting. And even after 6 years, he still responded the same. "What do you mean, not home yet."
"Do you hear anything?"
Vaughn was quiet. "No. No, you're right. It's too quiet for them to be home. What time is Deloris supposed to drop off the girls?"
"Six!"
"Ok. Has Deloris ever been late?" Vaughn said, trying to calm her. Sydney at this point had gotten up off the couch and began pacing wildly, looking at the floor.
"Once, but she called. And she was only late because they had to walk because her bus line was temporarily closed."
"Maybe she left a note."
"If she left a note, it would mean they were here. If they were here, how come we didn't know?" Sydney said.
Vaughn could see where she was coming from. But decided to take a quick look around just in case. He saw a piece of paper lying on the counter that he didn't recall seeing there before. "What's this?" He said, walking over to the paper.
Sydney followed him with her eyes, and figured where he was going. "Just the grocery list."
"No, this is the grocery list." Vaughn held up a piece of paper that lived a foot to his right. He quickly read the note, and smiled. "This is a note from Deloris, explaining that the girls are still with her, so we can have some more time to ourselves. She saw us asleep. She's bringing the girls back at 8." He said. Sydney stopped pacing, and took the note from Vaughn. She quickly scanned it for herself. Upon her finish of the note, she began to laugh wildly. Vaughn couldn't see what was so funny. "What is it?"
"Nothing. You were right. The last thing I expected was what came true."
"Murphy's law."
"I guess so. I'm so sorry I got a little paranoid."
"When it came to Alexandra, you always were."
"So this isn't a new thing?"
"You never wanted to return back to work, because you were afraid that someone would come and take her or something."
"Really?"
"You got better. I mean, all you had to do was go to work. But you could always panic when you were worried."
Sydney only blushed at her mistake. She didn't say anything more than, "I'll make us some dinner."
"Do you need help?" Vaughn offered.
"I got it." Vaughn nodded, and went into his bedroom and began to pack his things. There wasn't much to pack. It felt unnatural to be packing so little. He was leaving his wife, and his daughter for months, and all he had was a small suitcase that held a week's worth of clothing. It wasn't right. You leave your wife and daughter, and you pack everything you can. Not a week's worth of clothing. Vaughn threw his stuff into his suitcase, sparing his clothing for the flight home, and went into Juliana's room to pack Alexandra's suitcase.
Their games were littered on the floor. Drawings pinned to the walls. Vaughn got down on his hands and knees, and tried to pick out Alexandra's stuff from a plethora of clothing. Somberly, he put her things into her suitcase. She had been packing her own things for years now, but Vaughn felt awkward around Sydney. What could he say that would make her feel better about turning him down? Obviously that was where all the awkwardness was coming from. Sydney. It was written all over her face how guilty she felt. It was written all over her face how much in love she was. And it was the one time in his life that Vaughn had no idea how to make her feel better about it.
Vaughn couldn't express his ecstasy that Sydney had agreed to move to LA. The four of them could be a family again. Doing normal things from soccer games, to backyard barbeques with Francie, Joe, Will and Mia. They could be the model family, as neither of them would work for the CIA anymore. Jack would pop by every once in a while, to play the role of the caring grandfather. But even with all of his hopes, Vaughn felt scared. The Sydney he had gotten to know over the past week wasn't the same Sydney that he had fallen in love with. He loves both Sydney's the same. But the new Sydney seems insecure with herself. And Vaughn couldn't help but feel worried that she would change her mind. After all, she was going to wait until the last possible second to leave Barcelona. And she did turn down his proposal. Vaughn wasn't sure he could take that kind of rejection again.
He was just about done packing when he heard Sydney warmly welcoming Deloris and the girls to the apartment. Hurriedly, he threw the rest of Alexandra's stuff into her suitcase before heading downstairs, to spend just a little more time with Juliana and Sydney before he and Alexandra had to leave the next day. As an added bonus, he could smell beef stroganoff, only reminding him of the fact that he hadn't eaten since lunch.
"Gracias Deloris. Hasta luego." Sydney said, shutting the door. "*Juli, go change out of your uniform.*" Juliana did as she was told. Sydney then turned to her other daughter. "Did you have fun Alexandra?" She asked.
"Yep. School was boring though. I didn't know what was going on, and they didn't have PE, or music, or Art, or computer or anything!"
"You hit school on English day, didn't you?"
"Yeah. They made me talk a little then. But that was ok."
"And Deloris is really nice. She kept telling me things, but I couldn't understand what she was really saying, but every time that she'd start telling me something, she'd laugh, the way that Grammy does when she's telling a story about me. So I guess it was a good laugh."
"Yep. That does sound like a good laugh." Sydney scooped some noodles onto two plates, and then added some beef stroganoff to the top. "Michael, dinner." She said, sliding the plate down the counter. "There's salad in the fridge." She reported.
"What no sit down?" Vaughn asked, slightly upset, but not at all surprised.
"**No. I've got to go talk to Juliana.**" Sydney ran up the stairs, hoping to find Juliana still in her bedroom. "Juli?" Sydney cautiously opened the door.
"*Sí Mama?" Juliana asked.
"*I need to talk to you for a second.*" Sydney responded, by pulling Juliana onto her lap after sitting down on Raquel's bed. Juliana remembered the last time her mother said those words, and remained silently picking at her mother's dress. "*You like Daddy and Alexandra, right?*"
"*I love them.*" Juliana corrected.
"*I do too. But they're going home tomorrow.*"
"*I know.*"
"*Juliana, this is the hard part. In August, I agreed that you and I would move to live at their house, way on the other side of the ocean, because I love them very much too.*"
Juliana began to tear up. "*Why can't they move here? I don't want to move!*"
"*A lot of reasons that you're probably too young to understand. But this will be a good move for us. You'll get your own room, and a nicer teacher. Juli, look up at me. We will still be able to visit everyone here. Almost anytime you want, we can call Tía, and Tío Luis, and Raquel. And on holidays we can come visit them sometimes. And- Juli, look at me- its going to be a good thing.*"
"*That's not a good enough reason!*"
"*Ok, you want the real reason. Because Daddy asked me to. And I said ok, because I don't want to live away from Daddy and Alexandra anymore. I promise you Juli, this will be a good thing. Understand me?*" Sydney asked. Juliana didn't look up at her mother, but quietly nodded. "*Good. Tomorrow, how about you come to the airport and see them off. And then you and I in the afternoon can go to the beach or something. How does that sound?*"
"*But its cold!*"
"*We don't have to go swimming. We could have a picnic instead, how does that sound?*"
"*Ok.*" Neither Sydney nor Juliana moved, and they just sat there, pondering the upcoming new chapter in their lives.
Sydney slowly opened her eyes, and rolled over, looking at the clock that sat by Rosa's bed. The rain outside quietly patted down on the roof, making Sydney feel very relaxed. She blinked as she double-checked the time. She sprang from her bed, and ran down the hall. "Wake up girls!" She said, throwing the light on, and yanking the covers off the sleeping girls. "We overslept. Come on, wake up. Get dressed quickly! We should be leaving right now!" Juliana jumped out of bed, and then looked around confused. Alexandra slowly sat up, and began to look for her socks.
"*What's wrong mama?*" Juliana asked.
"*We overslept. We should be leaving right now. Get dressed quickly, and grab a banana or something like that for breakfast. Now, lets go.*"
"*What about our picnic? Do we have time to do that?*"
Sydney thought quickly. There wasn't time to pack a meal. "*We'll grab a blanket from here, and then some McDonalds or something near the beach.*"
"*Ok!*"
"*Now hurry, get dressed.*"
Sydney sprinted down the hall, and violently shook Vaughn. "Wake up Michael. We need to leave as soon as everyone is dressed."
Vaughn rolled over, and blinked double-checking the time. He checked again, before realizing how late it was. "Shit!" Satisfied that everyone was up and moving, Sydney ran back to her room, and began to get dressed. She ran down the stairs where Alexandra was already waiting for her.
"Good thing that Daddy packed everything last night? Right?" Alexandra said optimistically.
"Yup." But Sydney was distracted. She was looking out the window. At the bus that just passed them. Cursing just barely above her breath, Sydney picked up the phone book, and dialed a cab service. "Who are you calling Mommy?"
"A taxi. The bus that just went by comes once every 15 minutes. That was our bus. We can't wait 15 minutes for another bus." Alexandra sighed, as she went upstairs to go help everyone else along. Sydney called the cab. "Gracias señor." Sydney said.
"Mom! Juli can't find her shoe!" Alexandra shouted from the stairs.
"Can you help them Michael?" Sydney said. "Check under the dresser, it's often under there, like behind a pile of clothing that she hides under there before going to bed."
Vaughn's shirt was unbuttoned as he went flying into the girl's room to help them find Juliana's shoes. Sydney caught a glance at his bare chest, and blushed. He was still the perfect male. "Sydney! It's not up here!" Michael called.
"The taxi is going to be here in a minute. Just put some of her summer sandals on her!"
"It's raining hard though."
"It's either those or her winter boots. Her choice."
Sydney pulled out some fruit and put them on paper towels as everyone ran out the door, Juliana in her winter boots, after not finding one of her summer sandals. The cab had been on the street honking for several minutes waiting for the scattered family to come down. The suitcases were squeezed in the trunk, and the family got in the back. The ride was slow. Sydney rubbed her temples, as she saw a traffic jam ahead, and shouted an alternate route to the driver, who shouted back that he was on the quickest path to the airport. Sydney watched as the parallel street that she suggested went by at an intersection, much clearer than the street they were on. A trip that normally took 30 minutes, took about 50 minutes. Leaving Vaughn and Alexandra extremely pressed for time by that time. The rain began to pound harder, as they pulled into the airport. "You guys have to run. We can't go any farther than this point for international flights." Sydney said, as they stood in line waiting to check in.
"I know Sydney." Vaughn said as he tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, before hugging her.
"I left some things unsaid, and in all the chaos of last night and this morning, I didn't get time to explain myself very well."
"Hey, that's what telephones are for."
"*SIR! I NEED YOU TO COME TO THE FRONT!*" A guard said, pulling Vaughn to the front in order for him and Alexandra to make their flight.
"We got to go Sydney. We'll see you in August, right?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Sydney said, kissing Vaughn on the cheek. She then turned to Alexandra while Vaughn said good-bye to Juliana. "Come here, Alex." Sydney said. Alex ran to her mother's arms, in tears.
"I don't want to go home Mommy."
"I know sweetie. But don't forget that Juliana and I will be there in August, and we will be living there."
"August is too far away."
"If you ever need to talk to me, about whatever, you can always call me. I don't care what time of day or night it is. You understand Alex?" Alexandra nodded. "Ok. I love you, and we will see you very soon. That is my deepest promise." Sydney assured.
"I love you too Mom."
Vaughn had picked up Juliana in his arms to say his good byes. "*I don't want you to go Daddy.*" Juliana said, clinging to his neck.
"*I don't want to go either. But Alexandra and I have to go back to school, and to get the house ready for you and Mommy to move in. And we will talk on the phone a lot. Sound good?*"
"*Yup. Mommy doesn't sing me to sleep like the way that you sing Alexandra to sleep every night. I wish that she would.*"
"*Well, we will have to see what we can do about changing that. Maybe a couple times, I could even call you, and sing you to sleep. How does that sound?*"
"*Yeah. I like that.*"
"*Good. Now. We got to go, so you have to let go of my neck my Little Spanish Star.*"
"*Bye Daddy.*' Juliana said, giving his neck one last tight squeeze. And then in very careful English, she said, "I love you!"
Vaughn beamed. "*Keep that English up and soon you'll be a pro! I love you too.*"
Sydney pulled Juliana back into her arms, as Alexandra took Vaughn's hand, as they prepared to leave. "See you soon Sydney. I love you."
"I love you too Michael." Sydney said, before kissing Vaughn on the lips this time.
"*Sir! We need to leave now!*" Because Vaughn and Alexandra were running so late, they had a guard use a little electric car to rush them to their flight, which was already boarding, and the guard was getting a little impatient. As they drove off, the waving never ceased until they had driven around the corner, and out of sight.
"*I didn't want them to go Mama.*" Juliana cried into her mother's shoulder. "*I miss them already.*"
Sydney rubbed her daughter's back to comfort her. "*Neither do I, neither do I.*"
"*Are we still going to the beach, because it's raining?*" Juliana asked, once her tears had been wiped, and they waited for a bus.
"*Do you still want to go to the beach?*"
"*No. It's not fun when it's raining. Can we go to a movie instead?*"
"*Why not?*"
Rosa, Raquel and Luis were home when Juliana and Sydney returned. Luis' mother had passed away, and they had come home for the weekend to get some clean clothes, for the funeral. Sydney watched them grieve together, as a family. And Sydney thought back to the week that had just passed, she became very jealous. They were a family for a week. She wanted someone to always be there, someone to cry on. Sydney suddenly felt very alone.
One night, two weeks after Vaughn and Alexandra's departure Sydney had had enough. She didn't realize how much she needed Vaughn until he was gone. She couldn't believe what an idiot she was. Turning down his proposal like that! What was she thinking? She bolted up out of her bed, and ran into Rosa's room. Luckily, Rosa and Luis were not doing anything that would embarrass her or them. They were merely sleeping.
"*Rosa. Can you watch Juli for me? I need to leave.*" Sydney desperately begged.
"*Where are you going?*"
"*LA. And I don't know how long I will be gone. I will be coming back of course. I just need to go.*"
Rosa only smiled at her friend. "*Have a good flight.*"
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