Disclaimer: As Chapter One

Notes : Still no title yet, but I'm working on it.  I've got a vague idea about where the story is going now, but I'm not saying anything.

Feedback : Yes please!

PS. If anybody knows the name of Sydney's father, could they let me know.  Thanks.

UNTITLED

CHAPTER TWO

Nigel Bailey, TA and friend to Sydney Fox, walked through the doorway into Sydney's office and immediately tripped over a pile of books laying in the middle of the floor.  He lay on the floor blinking in confusion and wondering how he could have missed the fact that the office had obviously been hit by a tornado.  Books were dumped all over the floor, the shelves held nothing but fragments where the night before they had held some beautiful pieces of ceramics and the whole room looked as though it had been picked up and shaken.  The only clear place in the entire office was Sydney's desk and the only reason that was clear was because everything had been swept off it in one go and now lay by the side of the desk.

"Syd, what the hell happened in here?" Nigel asked.  "More to the point what happened to you?  You look terrible."

She looked like she hadn't slept all night, her usually lustrous black hair had been tied back in a scraggly ponytail and look as though it hadn't been brushed and she had obviously been crying.  He could still see the tear tracks down her face, and her eyes were rimmed with red.  She was just standing there, looking at him but not really seeing him.

Nigel was starting to get worried.  "Sydney," he said gently.  "What is it?  What's happened?"

She continued to just stand there, not saying anything.  This apathy was totally unlike her behaviour of a few minutes ago and Nigel's worry was increasing by the second.

He walked over to her gently touched her cheek to get her attention.  "Syd?" he whispered.  "Talk to me."

She looked at him and he could see such pain in her eyes that he thought his heart would break.  "He's dead, Nigel."  It was barely a whisper, he had to strain to hear what she said.  "My father's dead."

Nigel didn't know what to say, so he did the only thing he could think of and put his arms around her.  At first she just stood there, but then he felt her gradually relax.  Her arms slid around his waist.  She clung onto him as if her were her lifeline in a stormy sea and she cried as if she was never going to stop.  Nigel stood there, gently stroking her hair and not saying anything, just letting her cry.  After a while, the sobs slowed and then stopped altogether.  She looked up at him and smiled.  It was a weak effort but it was a start.  "Thank you." She whispered.

"What for?" he asked, confused..

"For being my friend."

Nigel blushed, embarrassed.  "That's okay.  Do you want to talk about it now?  Or would you rather not?"

"No I want to talk.  I need to talk!  Not here, though.  Con you take me home?" she asked.

"Of course, just let me tell Claudia where we're going and then I'll be right back.  Okay?"

"Okay."

Nigel gently unwrapped her arms from around his waist, led her over to her chair and made her sit down.

By the time he got back to the outer office where Claudia was waiting for him, he had realised what had to be done.

"Claudia," Nigel said before she could say anything.  "I'm taking Syd home.  Her father's died and she really doesn't need to be here right now. Her office is a total mess, so you need to get maintenance to come clear it up.  Cancel all classes for the foreseeable future and if anyone's got any problems they can contact me on my mobile.  Oh, and I don't think she's eaten anything so can you call that restaurant she likes and have them deliver something to her house in a couple of hours?"

Claudia just sat there, staring at him.  "O-of course," she stammered.  "anything else?"

"No, that's it.  I'm going to take her home now.  I'll call you later and let you know what's going on.  In the meantime, if anything comes up and it's something you can't handle, let me know and I'll deal with it."

He went back into the inner office and led Sydney out.

"Syd," Claudia said quietly.  "I'm sorry about your father.  Don't worry about the office, I can cope on my own for a couple of days."

Sydney just gave her a small smile without saying anything as Nigel took her out to his car.

Claudia was just about to ring maintenance, when a though struck her. * I've never seen Nigel take charge like that.  Guess that's what happens when the person you love is hurting. You just do everything you can to make everything right and try to take away the pain.*  She shrugged and reached for the phone.

TBC