I hate cell phone ringers. They're too damn annoying. Sydney and I
programmed a special tone to ring when we needed each other. We use it
sparingly. I had almost forgotten the sound before I was reminded.
I was talking to Weiss when the ring rang out.
There were only two thoughts that ran through my head. Sydney and Emily were at the warehouse and Jack was with them. I didn't even say goodbye to Weiss. It was a strain not to speed, but a ticket would only slow me down.
I'm running through the chain link fence, and a funny smell alerts my brain. Gas. I take a deep breath and run through the fenced maze. I almost keel over at the sight of my family unconscious on the metal floor. The gas is slowly fading away, but I can tell that it did some damage. Sydney and Jack's pulses are strong, but Emily's is frighteningly weak. My wife and father-in-law recover within five minutes, but we cannot stir my daughter.
I carefully scoop Emily off the ground and carry her to my car. We've called one of Jack's doctor friends. He's meeting us at Francie's house. Jack drives because I will not leave my daughter. Sydney and I both hold her hand. The trip is only five minutes; it lasts a lifetime. I will never forgive myself if she is not ok. We brought her to Los Angeles so we wouldn't have to lie any longer. We didn't realize we would be putting her life at risk.
Jonathon and Francie both hover as I carry Emily inside. I am directed towards an empty bedroom. I lay my daughter on the bed. Jack's friend arrives shortly after and shoos us out. He is checking her. I never understand why doctors can't diagnose with people in the room. I wish I had my lucky coin. Even Weiss' goddamned yo-yo. Something to occupy my hands. Anything.
A hand creeps into mine. Sydney's eyes are filled. I pull her to me and hold her close. She looked dead at the warehouse. I can't live without her. She and Emily are my oxygen. I need them to live.
Which brings me to a rather concerning question. Who filled the room with gas? Sloane is dead, Derevko is in jail, and the Alliance is dead. There's only one person I can think of who would do this.
Sark.
Sydney has always had a special hatred for him. He's always taunted her. Sark was brilliant and he was the only person we worried about finding us. He never did.
And if he hated Sydney, why didn't he kill her? He had the perfect opportunity. He could have caused Sydney excruciating pain by killing our daughter. My thoughts are interrupted by someone entering the house. Sydney is still in my arms. She feels safe there. I feel like I'm protecting her when I hold her. I love protecting her.
Will comes around the corner. I let out a sigh of relief. I was beginning to fear it was Sark. He looks genuinely concerned.
"Is she alright?" He almost whispers the words.
"We don't know yet. My friend is checking her right now." Jack answers. I'm glad. I don't think my vocal cords are functioning properly. And I can tell by how wet my shoulder is that Sydney can't speak either.
Jack's friend opens the door and looks out. He doesn't look too grim. Maybe it's not so bad.
"I can't find any problems. She's healthy as an ox. The gas may have stunned her systems, but I see no reason why she won't wake up. Because of how long she was exposed, it may take up to twenty-four hours for her to completely recover. While she is unconscious she will have dreams and probably speak out. It's normal. Call me when she wakes up." He shakes Jack's hand and then leaves. Thank god she's all right.
Sydney and I walk in together, still holding hands. Emily looks so at peace. We each find a chair and hold our daughter's hands. Francie enters the room with a damp cloth. She places it over Emily's forehead and eyes. I remember Sydney saying something about a nursing ambition. Francie would have made a good nurse.
A few hours pass. Sydney and I are alone. She has finally stopped crying. I need to find out what happened.
"Syd, what happened in there?"
She looks at me slowly. "There was something I had never told anyone. It's haunted me, but I never told you. Do you remember when I was locked in with my mother?" Yes. I remember. It was one of the worst days of my life. I thought she had died. I can't tell her that, so I nod.
She stares at Emily while she speaks. "She told me a secret that only two people in the world knew. I had a baby brother."
Oh. God.
"Dad didn't even know. She was pregnant when she 'died'. Sark is my brother." I knew before her mouth formed the words. Sark had always taken special pleasure in taunting Sydney.
"I was going to tell Dad today, but he was at the warehouse. He knew about Emily and Canada. He said that he tried to protect me. He let you live because I needed you. I don't know what to believe. If he knew everything, he could have come after Emily anytime. But why did he try to kill me so many times?" Sydney looks at me pleadingly for an answer. I wish I had one. Maybe Sark did try to be a good brother, in his own twisted way.
"Maybe this isn't something you can explain, Sydney." I want to leave it at that. If she tries to fathom Sark's mind she may drive herself crazy. She doesn't answer me.
We spend a long night waiting for Emily to wake up. Around six in the morning she started moving. We reasoned it was the dreams. Sydney leaned over and whispered in here ear. I didn't catch the words.
At seven Jack left. He was reluctant to go, but he had scheduled a meeting with Devlin last night. He cancelled because of Emily, but we told him he should go.
It was four more hours before Emily showed signs of movement. At 11:30 she let out a blood-curdling scream. Will was in there with us and pinned her arms down when she began thrashing around. She belted him a good kick in the stomach before Sydney told him to back off. Emily moves her hand to the damp cloth on her forehead. She removes it and squeezes her eyelids shut. The light must have shocked her systems. After a few minutes she speaks. Her voice is raspy.
"What happened?"
Sydney explains everything and I realize that I've been stupid. My daughter knows I love her, but she doesn't comprehend the extent. After Emily is updated, I make everyone leave. I tell my daughter everything I've been feeling. I feel myself tearing up and restrain it. She did save us. She throws herself into my arms and I feel content. My family is alive. We love each other.
That's all I need.
AN: I felt it was time for Vaughn to have a say. Everyone else in the family has. Sorry about my emotional outburst earlier. I was very upset when I wrote that. I've calmed down and written another chapter. And I know ring tones are set for a certain phone number, but this in 16 years in the future and I'm sure that the scientists at Nokia will have figured out how to explain what I described.
*Duck
There were only two thoughts that ran through my head. Sydney and Emily were at the warehouse and Jack was with them. I didn't even say goodbye to Weiss. It was a strain not to speed, but a ticket would only slow me down.
I'm running through the chain link fence, and a funny smell alerts my brain. Gas. I take a deep breath and run through the fenced maze. I almost keel over at the sight of my family unconscious on the metal floor. The gas is slowly fading away, but I can tell that it did some damage. Sydney and Jack's pulses are strong, but Emily's is frighteningly weak. My wife and father-in-law recover within five minutes, but we cannot stir my daughter.
I carefully scoop Emily off the ground and carry her to my car. We've called one of Jack's doctor friends. He's meeting us at Francie's house. Jack drives because I will not leave my daughter. Sydney and I both hold her hand. The trip is only five minutes; it lasts a lifetime. I will never forgive myself if she is not ok. We brought her to Los Angeles so we wouldn't have to lie any longer. We didn't realize we would be putting her life at risk.
Jonathon and Francie both hover as I carry Emily inside. I am directed towards an empty bedroom. I lay my daughter on the bed. Jack's friend arrives shortly after and shoos us out. He is checking her. I never understand why doctors can't diagnose with people in the room. I wish I had my lucky coin. Even Weiss' goddamned yo-yo. Something to occupy my hands. Anything.
A hand creeps into mine. Sydney's eyes are filled. I pull her to me and hold her close. She looked dead at the warehouse. I can't live without her. She and Emily are my oxygen. I need them to live.
Which brings me to a rather concerning question. Who filled the room with gas? Sloane is dead, Derevko is in jail, and the Alliance is dead. There's only one person I can think of who would do this.
Sark.
Sydney has always had a special hatred for him. He's always taunted her. Sark was brilliant and he was the only person we worried about finding us. He never did.
And if he hated Sydney, why didn't he kill her? He had the perfect opportunity. He could have caused Sydney excruciating pain by killing our daughter. My thoughts are interrupted by someone entering the house. Sydney is still in my arms. She feels safe there. I feel like I'm protecting her when I hold her. I love protecting her.
Will comes around the corner. I let out a sigh of relief. I was beginning to fear it was Sark. He looks genuinely concerned.
"Is she alright?" He almost whispers the words.
"We don't know yet. My friend is checking her right now." Jack answers. I'm glad. I don't think my vocal cords are functioning properly. And I can tell by how wet my shoulder is that Sydney can't speak either.
Jack's friend opens the door and looks out. He doesn't look too grim. Maybe it's not so bad.
"I can't find any problems. She's healthy as an ox. The gas may have stunned her systems, but I see no reason why she won't wake up. Because of how long she was exposed, it may take up to twenty-four hours for her to completely recover. While she is unconscious she will have dreams and probably speak out. It's normal. Call me when she wakes up." He shakes Jack's hand and then leaves. Thank god she's all right.
Sydney and I walk in together, still holding hands. Emily looks so at peace. We each find a chair and hold our daughter's hands. Francie enters the room with a damp cloth. She places it over Emily's forehead and eyes. I remember Sydney saying something about a nursing ambition. Francie would have made a good nurse.
A few hours pass. Sydney and I are alone. She has finally stopped crying. I need to find out what happened.
"Syd, what happened in there?"
She looks at me slowly. "There was something I had never told anyone. It's haunted me, but I never told you. Do you remember when I was locked in with my mother?" Yes. I remember. It was one of the worst days of my life. I thought she had died. I can't tell her that, so I nod.
She stares at Emily while she speaks. "She told me a secret that only two people in the world knew. I had a baby brother."
Oh. God.
"Dad didn't even know. She was pregnant when she 'died'. Sark is my brother." I knew before her mouth formed the words. Sark had always taken special pleasure in taunting Sydney.
"I was going to tell Dad today, but he was at the warehouse. He knew about Emily and Canada. He said that he tried to protect me. He let you live because I needed you. I don't know what to believe. If he knew everything, he could have come after Emily anytime. But why did he try to kill me so many times?" Sydney looks at me pleadingly for an answer. I wish I had one. Maybe Sark did try to be a good brother, in his own twisted way.
"Maybe this isn't something you can explain, Sydney." I want to leave it at that. If she tries to fathom Sark's mind she may drive herself crazy. She doesn't answer me.
We spend a long night waiting for Emily to wake up. Around six in the morning she started moving. We reasoned it was the dreams. Sydney leaned over and whispered in here ear. I didn't catch the words.
At seven Jack left. He was reluctant to go, but he had scheduled a meeting with Devlin last night. He cancelled because of Emily, but we told him he should go.
It was four more hours before Emily showed signs of movement. At 11:30 she let out a blood-curdling scream. Will was in there with us and pinned her arms down when she began thrashing around. She belted him a good kick in the stomach before Sydney told him to back off. Emily moves her hand to the damp cloth on her forehead. She removes it and squeezes her eyelids shut. The light must have shocked her systems. After a few minutes she speaks. Her voice is raspy.
"What happened?"
Sydney explains everything and I realize that I've been stupid. My daughter knows I love her, but she doesn't comprehend the extent. After Emily is updated, I make everyone leave. I tell my daughter everything I've been feeling. I feel myself tearing up and restrain it. She did save us. She throws herself into my arms and I feel content. My family is alive. We love each other.
That's all I need.
AN: I felt it was time for Vaughn to have a say. Everyone else in the family has. Sorry about my emotional outburst earlier. I was very upset when I wrote that. I've calmed down and written another chapter. And I know ring tones are set for a certain phone number, but this in 16 years in the future and I'm sure that the scientists at Nokia will have figured out how to explain what I described.
*Duck