She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks, as Vaughn pulled her
swiftly into his arms. He was whispering things into her ears, trying to
soothe her, but she couldn't hear him. She was too overrun by thoughts of
worry and angst. She had been so excited to see Vaughn, up until three days
ago. She had been worried about missing her period, and had gone to the
doctor, who confirmed that she was pregnant. She was not so excited to see
Vaughn after that, though she missed him terribly. Those three days had
gone by incredibly slowly. Every second seemed to take and eternity to
pass. Sydney had debated how to tell Vaughn, and what she wanted to do. She
loved Vaughn, and she loved Ryan, both immensely, but she for one didn't
want another child, and two didn't think that the timing was right at all.
On top of all this, what her mother had told her was weighing heavily on
her mind. She was incredibly worried about what Slone had done to her in
those two years, and though Ryan was her own personal miracle, she feared
having another child. Part of her fear was totally inexplicable, and she
couldn't root out the source. She did want to have children with Vaughn,
someday, but now was just so wrong. 'I needed more time.' Sydney thought to
herself, 'I just needed more time.'
She managed to pull away from Vaughn slightly, enough so that she could speak. "I am just so scarred, and I didn't know what you'd think, and I wasn't sure how to tell."
"Sydney everything's fine. I love you, and now there's going to be one more person to love." He interrupted. He kissed her forehead and looked deeply into her eyes. "Just think of all the people out baby will have to love it. It already has three brothers, and now three grandparents, and there's us Sydney. You and me, together. Not just you this time. You won't have to do this alone." He said firmly. Sydney pulled him closer and nestled her face into his shoulder.
She hadn't though of it that way. She hadn't even though of the child as a person, much less a baby. Up until now it only seemed like an insurmountable task, and one she wasn't fully committed to in the first place. 'We all will love this baby.' She said to herself. 'And she'll grow up to be a wonderful kid, just like Ryan. And we'll be a real family.' She took a deep breath and listen to the sound of Vaughn's heart beating. She could have sworn that it was inside her own chest. Their hearts were so close together they might as well have been one. They beat strong and sure in rhythm, and to this Sydney was able to drift off to sleep.
The next day went by incredibly quickly. Sydney had woken to a beautiful breakfast which Vaughn had prepared and brought to her bed. They ate together, and were only mildly distracted by the fact that neither was exactly -fully clothed. After breakfast they had driven to pick up Ryan at his friend's house. They had gone to the door together and when Ryan heard Vaughn's voice he had been so overjoyed that he'd forgotten to even say 'hi' to his mother. The mother of Ryan's friend was quite taken aback by Ryan's shout of "Daddy," and had given Sydney an extremely quizzical look. Sydney had just smiled and thanked her.
Soon after that, they were off to the grocery store and then back home. Ryan was giddily bouncing off of the walls and showing Vaughn every new toy he had acquired in Vaughn's absence. In truth most of the toys he'd had for years, but Vaughn listened attentively anyway. Sydney was busy bustling around the house cleaning and preparing for the guests which were arriving that night. She had made up the small bedroom in the basement for her and Vaughn, and had arranged the pull out couch for the boys to sleep on. Meanwhile she'd been preparing her own room for Vaughn's mother, and the guest bed room for her father. Sydney had never been so incredibly happy to be cleaning, and was surprised at how quickly she'd gotten everything done. As she was scrubbing the toilet in the bathroom that was shared between Ryan's room and the guest bedroom, she realized: We don't have a Christmas tree. She quickly dropped everything she was doing and ran into Ryan's room. Vaughn looked up from the book he was reading Ryan. "Do you need my help?" He asked for the fiftieth time.
"No, not with cleaning, it's almost done. But I have totally forgotten a very important part of Christmas. The tree!" She said sitting down on Ryan's bed. "I need you to go out and get one." She smiled weakly, realizing that it was two days before Christmas. Sydney quickly explained where Vaughn needed to go to get one, though she found Vaughn quite shocked at the fact that he'd have to cut it down himself. As she explained this she'd realized that she's also forgotten the saw that she was supposed to buy, in order to cut the tree down. So after explaining how to get to all the places Vaughn needed to go, and writing down all the directions, she was able to return to the toilet.
By dinner time the tree was ready to be trimmed and Vaughn and Ryan were anxiously unwrapping the decorations they had purchased. Sydney was preparing her famous spaghetti, and watching from the kitchen as the tree went from ordinary to what looked like Ryan's masterpiece.
"Look Mommy! Daddy helped me put the star on the top!" Ryan squealed as he raced into the kitchen, and then raced back out even faster.
Within seconds the doorbell rang and Ryan was off and racing to open it. "Damien!" Sydney heard Ryan squeal as she walked out of the kitchen. She found Damien smiling and juggling Ryan in one arm and two large suitcases in the other.
"Here let me help with that." She said reaching for the suitcases. Just before she reached them though Vaughn came running out of nowhere and grabbed them.
"I got it!" He said smiling at Sydney before turning to Damien. "Hey Damien, how was your flight?" He said leading Damien into the living room where he set the bags down.
"Uh...it was alright. They gave us these lame snack packs, with some ancient sausage, and a crusty roll. It was bad." He said as he tickled Ryan furiously. Soon Alex came in the door carrying a huge box in one hand and two even bigger suitcases in the other.
"Hi Alex, " Sydney said quickly taking the huge box out of his hands. Vaughn again relieved her of it quickly and set it down in the living room. Alex smiled as though he was exhausted and then plopped down on the couch.
"Umm.aren't we missing someone?" Vaughn said looking at the open door. He walked toward it and peered out.
"Yeah, uh, grandma's locking the car up." Damien said as he set Ryan down in Alex's lap, who immediately started tickling him. Over Ryan's giggled and squeals Sydney could hear Vaughn outside talking to his mother. She went to the door and looked toward the driveway. There were two more large boxes sitting out side the very large rental car, and Vaughn was helping his mother with the automatic lock button. She chuckled to herself and than went back into the living room.
"Okay which of these suitcases are yours?" She said looking at Alex and Damien. Damien stood up and stepped toward her.
"These two, do you want me to move them?" He said.
"Umm.well yeah why don't you guys take them down stairs, I've set up the pull out couch, and the TV is all ready for you to hook up your game thingie." Sydney smiled, and Damien's face lit up.
"Okay great we'll go do that." He smiled picking up the bags.
"Just don't play the R-rated video games around Ryan." She said patting his shoulder.
"Of course not, we brought our old ones for him to play!" Damien smiled and then went downstairs. Alex followed carrying Ryan upside down and laughing.
Sydney turned to find Vaughn and his mother coming into the house. Vaughn set the two oversized boxes down as Sydney hugged his mother.
"Oh how are you dear?" She said as she pulled Sydney down and squeezed her tight.
"I'm good how are you?" Sydney said, though it was hard to speak without any air.
"Oh I'm fine dear. Much better than the last time we met up. I was so happy to hear you were having Christmas out here, thank you so much for inviting me." She smiled letting go of Sydney.
"Oh well, you're family." Sydney said, suddenly self conscious about the words. Though she and Vaughn weren't married she had come to think of his mother as her mother in law. Soon the boys were tromping back up the stairs and Sydney retreated to the kitchen, as Vaughn took his mother's things to her room. Sydney noticed the four or five enormous boxes now strewn about the living room, and laughed to herself. This would be one of the first true family Christmas's for her. She was excited about her father's arrival, but saddened that her mother couldn't attend. Irina had assured her that she would be thinking of them all as she relaxed on some tropical beach. This said, Sydney still could shake the picture in her mind of her mother sitting in some run down hotel room, lonely and wishing she were around the tree in Colorado.
Mrs. Vaughn came into the kitchen disrupting Sydney's thoughts.
"Can I help dear?" She said smiling. "Everything's ready I'm just waiting for the noodles to be down." She said stirring the large pot once again. "What are all of those boxes in the living room?' Sydney said, half knowing the answer.
"They're presents dear. I wasn't going to come empty handed now was I? Most of them are for Ryan and the boys, well the bigger ones are anyway, but there is plenty for you and my son too." She said giving Sydney as mysterious look. She really liked Vaughn's mother. She was everything Sydney had always pictured his mother to be.
"So," his mother said nonchalantly. "When's the baby due?"
She managed to pull away from Vaughn slightly, enough so that she could speak. "I am just so scarred, and I didn't know what you'd think, and I wasn't sure how to tell."
"Sydney everything's fine. I love you, and now there's going to be one more person to love." He interrupted. He kissed her forehead and looked deeply into her eyes. "Just think of all the people out baby will have to love it. It already has three brothers, and now three grandparents, and there's us Sydney. You and me, together. Not just you this time. You won't have to do this alone." He said firmly. Sydney pulled him closer and nestled her face into his shoulder.
She hadn't though of it that way. She hadn't even though of the child as a person, much less a baby. Up until now it only seemed like an insurmountable task, and one she wasn't fully committed to in the first place. 'We all will love this baby.' She said to herself. 'And she'll grow up to be a wonderful kid, just like Ryan. And we'll be a real family.' She took a deep breath and listen to the sound of Vaughn's heart beating. She could have sworn that it was inside her own chest. Their hearts were so close together they might as well have been one. They beat strong and sure in rhythm, and to this Sydney was able to drift off to sleep.
The next day went by incredibly quickly. Sydney had woken to a beautiful breakfast which Vaughn had prepared and brought to her bed. They ate together, and were only mildly distracted by the fact that neither was exactly -fully clothed. After breakfast they had driven to pick up Ryan at his friend's house. They had gone to the door together and when Ryan heard Vaughn's voice he had been so overjoyed that he'd forgotten to even say 'hi' to his mother. The mother of Ryan's friend was quite taken aback by Ryan's shout of "Daddy," and had given Sydney an extremely quizzical look. Sydney had just smiled and thanked her.
Soon after that, they were off to the grocery store and then back home. Ryan was giddily bouncing off of the walls and showing Vaughn every new toy he had acquired in Vaughn's absence. In truth most of the toys he'd had for years, but Vaughn listened attentively anyway. Sydney was busy bustling around the house cleaning and preparing for the guests which were arriving that night. She had made up the small bedroom in the basement for her and Vaughn, and had arranged the pull out couch for the boys to sleep on. Meanwhile she'd been preparing her own room for Vaughn's mother, and the guest bed room for her father. Sydney had never been so incredibly happy to be cleaning, and was surprised at how quickly she'd gotten everything done. As she was scrubbing the toilet in the bathroom that was shared between Ryan's room and the guest bedroom, she realized: We don't have a Christmas tree. She quickly dropped everything she was doing and ran into Ryan's room. Vaughn looked up from the book he was reading Ryan. "Do you need my help?" He asked for the fiftieth time.
"No, not with cleaning, it's almost done. But I have totally forgotten a very important part of Christmas. The tree!" She said sitting down on Ryan's bed. "I need you to go out and get one." She smiled weakly, realizing that it was two days before Christmas. Sydney quickly explained where Vaughn needed to go to get one, though she found Vaughn quite shocked at the fact that he'd have to cut it down himself. As she explained this she'd realized that she's also forgotten the saw that she was supposed to buy, in order to cut the tree down. So after explaining how to get to all the places Vaughn needed to go, and writing down all the directions, she was able to return to the toilet.
By dinner time the tree was ready to be trimmed and Vaughn and Ryan were anxiously unwrapping the decorations they had purchased. Sydney was preparing her famous spaghetti, and watching from the kitchen as the tree went from ordinary to what looked like Ryan's masterpiece.
"Look Mommy! Daddy helped me put the star on the top!" Ryan squealed as he raced into the kitchen, and then raced back out even faster.
Within seconds the doorbell rang and Ryan was off and racing to open it. "Damien!" Sydney heard Ryan squeal as she walked out of the kitchen. She found Damien smiling and juggling Ryan in one arm and two large suitcases in the other.
"Here let me help with that." She said reaching for the suitcases. Just before she reached them though Vaughn came running out of nowhere and grabbed them.
"I got it!" He said smiling at Sydney before turning to Damien. "Hey Damien, how was your flight?" He said leading Damien into the living room where he set the bags down.
"Uh...it was alright. They gave us these lame snack packs, with some ancient sausage, and a crusty roll. It was bad." He said as he tickled Ryan furiously. Soon Alex came in the door carrying a huge box in one hand and two even bigger suitcases in the other.
"Hi Alex, " Sydney said quickly taking the huge box out of his hands. Vaughn again relieved her of it quickly and set it down in the living room. Alex smiled as though he was exhausted and then plopped down on the couch.
"Umm.aren't we missing someone?" Vaughn said looking at the open door. He walked toward it and peered out.
"Yeah, uh, grandma's locking the car up." Damien said as he set Ryan down in Alex's lap, who immediately started tickling him. Over Ryan's giggled and squeals Sydney could hear Vaughn outside talking to his mother. She went to the door and looked toward the driveway. There were two more large boxes sitting out side the very large rental car, and Vaughn was helping his mother with the automatic lock button. She chuckled to herself and than went back into the living room.
"Okay which of these suitcases are yours?" She said looking at Alex and Damien. Damien stood up and stepped toward her.
"These two, do you want me to move them?" He said.
"Umm.well yeah why don't you guys take them down stairs, I've set up the pull out couch, and the TV is all ready for you to hook up your game thingie." Sydney smiled, and Damien's face lit up.
"Okay great we'll go do that." He smiled picking up the bags.
"Just don't play the R-rated video games around Ryan." She said patting his shoulder.
"Of course not, we brought our old ones for him to play!" Damien smiled and then went downstairs. Alex followed carrying Ryan upside down and laughing.
Sydney turned to find Vaughn and his mother coming into the house. Vaughn set the two oversized boxes down as Sydney hugged his mother.
"Oh how are you dear?" She said as she pulled Sydney down and squeezed her tight.
"I'm good how are you?" Sydney said, though it was hard to speak without any air.
"Oh I'm fine dear. Much better than the last time we met up. I was so happy to hear you were having Christmas out here, thank you so much for inviting me." She smiled letting go of Sydney.
"Oh well, you're family." Sydney said, suddenly self conscious about the words. Though she and Vaughn weren't married she had come to think of his mother as her mother in law. Soon the boys were tromping back up the stairs and Sydney retreated to the kitchen, as Vaughn took his mother's things to her room. Sydney noticed the four or five enormous boxes now strewn about the living room, and laughed to herself. This would be one of the first true family Christmas's for her. She was excited about her father's arrival, but saddened that her mother couldn't attend. Irina had assured her that she would be thinking of them all as she relaxed on some tropical beach. This said, Sydney still could shake the picture in her mind of her mother sitting in some run down hotel room, lonely and wishing she were around the tree in Colorado.
Mrs. Vaughn came into the kitchen disrupting Sydney's thoughts.
"Can I help dear?" She said smiling. "Everything's ready I'm just waiting for the noodles to be down." She said stirring the large pot once again. "What are all of those boxes in the living room?' Sydney said, half knowing the answer.
"They're presents dear. I wasn't going to come empty handed now was I? Most of them are for Ryan and the boys, well the bigger ones are anyway, but there is plenty for you and my son too." She said giving Sydney as mysterious look. She really liked Vaughn's mother. She was everything Sydney had always pictured his mother to be.
"So," his mother said nonchalantly. "When's the baby due?"