Hey everybody! Hope things are going well with you all. I again want to apologize for the huuuuuge delay in
updates. Like I said... I got snowed in in Missouri... at the Holiday Inn... on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
It was no fun. But at least the snow was pretty! Anyways... here's the next chapter. I decided to stick with the
Sydney POV, since the rest of the story is in that POV. I do have another idea for a different fic, though... and I
may alternate POV's in that one. If anyone has ideas about where I should go from here on this story, please let me
know (adele1013@email.com). I have a few ideas, but I don't know whether I like them or not... as always, READ AND
REVIEW! Gracias :)
Present
We talked for hours, about everything except work. We were both amazed, and a little saddened, by all the things we
didn't know each other. I told Vaughn about my childhood before my mom's "death," about grad school. I even told
him about Danny, something I hadn't felt comfortable talking about with anyone before.
Vaughn told me about his mother, and growing up in France. He enthusiastically related stories about his PeeWee
hockey league, which had me laughing harder than I had in months. Eventually, our conversation slowed to a
comfortable silence. I watched him as he finished his meal, admiring his intelligence and his heart, and taken
aback by how gorgeous he looked in the dimness of the candlelight.
I averted my gaze slightly as Vaughn reached over to pour me some more wine. I smiled at him, and my heart
fluttered as he returned my smile with a heartfelt one of his own. I sipped my wine slowly, not wanting to cloud my
memories of the night. After all, I thought sadly, who knew how many nights like this we would have together? My
vacation couldn't last forever.
Thought we had successfully avoided the subject of SD-6 all night, it remained in the back of our minds. I could
tell, because I noticed the moment Vaughn became distracted after finishing dinner.
I glanced at him, noticing his downcast eyes, suddenly tinted with sadness. I tentatively reached my hand across
the table. I was still getting used to our new closeness--to the fact that we were even able to be close-- and I
felt myself become unreasonably afraid that he would ignore my hand and decide that we shouldn't be here together.
My fears were unfounded. Almost immediately he grasped my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. As if reading my
thoughts, he locked his eyes with mine.
"I will never regret tonight, Syd." I smiled at him, surprised at how well he knew me, and at how relieved I felt
at his simple words. He suddenly began to speak again. "You know that if we do this- if we become an...us-" I
chuckled softly at his words, loving the way 'us' rolled off his tongue so naturally. "It's going to be hard,
Sydney. Really hard. There won't be many nights like tonight, and I have a feeling I'm going to want all my nights
to be like this." He stroked his thumb across my fingers, and I shivered, my heart beating a little faster. I
squeezed his hand in response, suddenly overcome with the urge to comfort him, to repay him for all the times he had
comforted me.
"I know. That's part of the reason I hadn't told you how I felt. I didn't know if it would be too hard... for both
of us." I glanced away from him. "But I think that just knowing that you're in my life will get me through the
times when you can't be in my life."
He grinned at me. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
"Besides," I continued. "We'll find a way. We always do."
"You're amazing," Vaughn said.
"Why?" I asked, smiling in confusion. He shook his head, focusing his eyes on our hands, still joined together
across the table.
"You just are." I laughed at his response.
"So are you," I replied. I wanted to tell him everything I felt about him--everything I loved about him, but for
some reason I felt like a teenager, shy and insecure. Probably, I decided, because I was afraid...no, terrified, of
losing him. He had, in years I had known him, become the only person I could really count on, lean on, and trust.
I laughed, happiness flooding my body in a rush.
"I love it when you laugh," Vaughn said, smiling. He paused, curious. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," I said, grinning. "I'm just really, really happy, for the first time in..." I paused.
"Too long." Vaughn finished for me.
"Exactly." I replied, smiling softly. "Way too long." Suddenly I remembered something, and my eyes brightened. I
saw Vaughn grow suspicious as a grin spread across my face.
"What?" He asked, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"I just remembered--" I paused for dramatic effect. "I have a present for you!"
I watched as the suspicion in Vaughn's eyes changed to curiosity. I reached down and grabbed a small wrapped box
from my purse and handed it to him.
He looked down at it, sitting in the palm of his hand, before looking up at me, trying to conceal the obvious
excitement in his eyes. "Syd, you didn't have to-" I interrupted him.
"I wanted to." I grinned at him. "Besides, I owe you a Christmas present."
"Well, when you put it that way..." he smiled, gazing at me for a few moments.
"So..." I said finally. "Are you going to open it?" I looked at him, trying to conceal the sudden nervousness in my
voice. I had bought the present for Vaughn before I had told him how I felt, and, though it was meaningful then,
that meaning was magnified now. He chuckled.
"Sorry." He began to slowly unwrap the tiny package. He opened the box, and paused as he saw the contents. "Syd... this is... I don't know what to say."
He lifted the tiny angel out of the box. It was brass, and tasteful, or at least I hoped so.
"Do you like it?" I asked hesitantly? "I know it's kind of... I don't know. I was just shopping with Francie and I saw it, and I thought of you." I was realized that I was rambling, and I quickly closed my mouth, blushing.
"No!" Vaughn said. "I love it. I really, really love it." He smiled at me, and I could see in his eyes that he was genuinely touched.
"I'm glad," I said, relieved. "Read the bottom." He hesitated, his smile growing as he turned the angel over and read what was inscribed on the bottom.
"A guardian to watch over my own special angel-" he paused before reading the next words. He glanced up, his eyes connecting with mine. "Love, Sydney." I smiled, averting my eyes, slightly embarrassed and willing to give anything to know what he was thinking at that moment. I finally looked up, surprised to see tears forming in his eyes. My brow wrinkled in concern, but he reached over, grabbing my hand again. "This-" he paused. "This means a lot to me, Sydney." I smiled, squeezing his hand tightly.
"It's for when I can't be there to watch over you myself." I said.
"I love it." He replied. He paused, consumed by thought for a moment. He stood abruptly, his hand still holding mine. I looked up at him, wondering what the problem was. Without a word, he pulled me up, wrapping his arms around me. I paused for only a moment, before returning his embrace, leaning my head on his chest, and breathing in the smell that could only be described as Vaughn. He squeezed me tightly, almost desperately, before loosening his hold and moving his hand to my hair, playing with it lightly. "I love you Sydney... I love you so much." I froze at his words, realizing that it was the first time he had said them. I moved back from his embrace slightly, to look into his eyes, and shocked by the raw emotion that I saw there. I smiled brilliantly at him.
"I love you too." I leaned my forehead against his, surprised by the happiness that swept over me. Vaughn smiled back at me. We stayed like that in silence for a long time. We both realized what we were getting ourselves into, and we both understood the risks.
"We'll get through this, Sydney."
"I know," I replied. "I know."
"We've been here awhile. We should probably go," Vaughn whispered.
"Yeah," I agreed sadly, knowing that there were still security concerns to be considered.
"I'll drive you home," Vaughn said softly, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the door. "I already called for security," he said, anticipating my unspoken question.
"Ok," I replied. I moved closer to him as we headed to the car, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders protectively. He drove me to my house, my hand in his the entire way.
There ya go, guys. Hope you liked it. Next chapter will pick up right after this one, and hopefully it won't take as long for me to update. I'm thinking that the end of this fic is getting closer, but who knows. I'm just going with the flow :) READ AND REVIEW!! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE??? :)
updates. Like I said... I got snowed in in Missouri... at the Holiday Inn... on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
It was no fun. But at least the snow was pretty! Anyways... here's the next chapter. I decided to stick with the
Sydney POV, since the rest of the story is in that POV. I do have another idea for a different fic, though... and I
may alternate POV's in that one. If anyone has ideas about where I should go from here on this story, please let me
know (adele1013@email.com). I have a few ideas, but I don't know whether I like them or not... as always, READ AND
REVIEW! Gracias :)
Present
We talked for hours, about everything except work. We were both amazed, and a little saddened, by all the things we
didn't know each other. I told Vaughn about my childhood before my mom's "death," about grad school. I even told
him about Danny, something I hadn't felt comfortable talking about with anyone before.
Vaughn told me about his mother, and growing up in France. He enthusiastically related stories about his PeeWee
hockey league, which had me laughing harder than I had in months. Eventually, our conversation slowed to a
comfortable silence. I watched him as he finished his meal, admiring his intelligence and his heart, and taken
aback by how gorgeous he looked in the dimness of the candlelight.
I averted my gaze slightly as Vaughn reached over to pour me some more wine. I smiled at him, and my heart
fluttered as he returned my smile with a heartfelt one of his own. I sipped my wine slowly, not wanting to cloud my
memories of the night. After all, I thought sadly, who knew how many nights like this we would have together? My
vacation couldn't last forever.
Thought we had successfully avoided the subject of SD-6 all night, it remained in the back of our minds. I could
tell, because I noticed the moment Vaughn became distracted after finishing dinner.
I glanced at him, noticing his downcast eyes, suddenly tinted with sadness. I tentatively reached my hand across
the table. I was still getting used to our new closeness--to the fact that we were even able to be close-- and I
felt myself become unreasonably afraid that he would ignore my hand and decide that we shouldn't be here together.
My fears were unfounded. Almost immediately he grasped my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. As if reading my
thoughts, he locked his eyes with mine.
"I will never regret tonight, Syd." I smiled at him, surprised at how well he knew me, and at how relieved I felt
at his simple words. He suddenly began to speak again. "You know that if we do this- if we become an...us-" I
chuckled softly at his words, loving the way 'us' rolled off his tongue so naturally. "It's going to be hard,
Sydney. Really hard. There won't be many nights like tonight, and I have a feeling I'm going to want all my nights
to be like this." He stroked his thumb across my fingers, and I shivered, my heart beating a little faster. I
squeezed his hand in response, suddenly overcome with the urge to comfort him, to repay him for all the times he had
comforted me.
"I know. That's part of the reason I hadn't told you how I felt. I didn't know if it would be too hard... for both
of us." I glanced away from him. "But I think that just knowing that you're in my life will get me through the
times when you can't be in my life."
He grinned at me. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
"Besides," I continued. "We'll find a way. We always do."
"You're amazing," Vaughn said.
"Why?" I asked, smiling in confusion. He shook his head, focusing his eyes on our hands, still joined together
across the table.
"You just are." I laughed at his response.
"So are you," I replied. I wanted to tell him everything I felt about him--everything I loved about him, but for
some reason I felt like a teenager, shy and insecure. Probably, I decided, because I was afraid...no, terrified, of
losing him. He had, in years I had known him, become the only person I could really count on, lean on, and trust.
I laughed, happiness flooding my body in a rush.
"I love it when you laugh," Vaughn said, smiling. He paused, curious. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," I said, grinning. "I'm just really, really happy, for the first time in..." I paused.
"Too long." Vaughn finished for me.
"Exactly." I replied, smiling softly. "Way too long." Suddenly I remembered something, and my eyes brightened. I
saw Vaughn grow suspicious as a grin spread across my face.
"What?" He asked, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"I just remembered--" I paused for dramatic effect. "I have a present for you!"
I watched as the suspicion in Vaughn's eyes changed to curiosity. I reached down and grabbed a small wrapped box
from my purse and handed it to him.
He looked down at it, sitting in the palm of his hand, before looking up at me, trying to conceal the obvious
excitement in his eyes. "Syd, you didn't have to-" I interrupted him.
"I wanted to." I grinned at him. "Besides, I owe you a Christmas present."
"Well, when you put it that way..." he smiled, gazing at me for a few moments.
"So..." I said finally. "Are you going to open it?" I looked at him, trying to conceal the sudden nervousness in my
voice. I had bought the present for Vaughn before I had told him how I felt, and, though it was meaningful then,
that meaning was magnified now. He chuckled.
"Sorry." He began to slowly unwrap the tiny package. He opened the box, and paused as he saw the contents. "Syd... this is... I don't know what to say."
He lifted the tiny angel out of the box. It was brass, and tasteful, or at least I hoped so.
"Do you like it?" I asked hesitantly? "I know it's kind of... I don't know. I was just shopping with Francie and I saw it, and I thought of you." I was realized that I was rambling, and I quickly closed my mouth, blushing.
"No!" Vaughn said. "I love it. I really, really love it." He smiled at me, and I could see in his eyes that he was genuinely touched.
"I'm glad," I said, relieved. "Read the bottom." He hesitated, his smile growing as he turned the angel over and read what was inscribed on the bottom.
"A guardian to watch over my own special angel-" he paused before reading the next words. He glanced up, his eyes connecting with mine. "Love, Sydney." I smiled, averting my eyes, slightly embarrassed and willing to give anything to know what he was thinking at that moment. I finally looked up, surprised to see tears forming in his eyes. My brow wrinkled in concern, but he reached over, grabbing my hand again. "This-" he paused. "This means a lot to me, Sydney." I smiled, squeezing his hand tightly.
"It's for when I can't be there to watch over you myself." I said.
"I love it." He replied. He paused, consumed by thought for a moment. He stood abruptly, his hand still holding mine. I looked up at him, wondering what the problem was. Without a word, he pulled me up, wrapping his arms around me. I paused for only a moment, before returning his embrace, leaning my head on his chest, and breathing in the smell that could only be described as Vaughn. He squeezed me tightly, almost desperately, before loosening his hold and moving his hand to my hair, playing with it lightly. "I love you Sydney... I love you so much." I froze at his words, realizing that it was the first time he had said them. I moved back from his embrace slightly, to look into his eyes, and shocked by the raw emotion that I saw there. I smiled brilliantly at him.
"I love you too." I leaned my forehead against his, surprised by the happiness that swept over me. Vaughn smiled back at me. We stayed like that in silence for a long time. We both realized what we were getting ourselves into, and we both understood the risks.
"We'll get through this, Sydney."
"I know," I replied. "I know."
"We've been here awhile. We should probably go," Vaughn whispered.
"Yeah," I agreed sadly, knowing that there were still security concerns to be considered.
"I'll drive you home," Vaughn said softly, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the door. "I already called for security," he said, anticipating my unspoken question.
"Ok," I replied. I moved closer to him as we headed to the car, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders protectively. He drove me to my house, my hand in his the entire way.
There ya go, guys. Hope you liked it. Next chapter will pick up right after this one, and hopefully it won't take as long for me to update. I'm thinking that the end of this fic is getting closer, but who knows. I'm just going with the flow :) READ AND REVIEW!! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE??? :)