Author's Note: Hey look! I'm actually posting this!! Bout time too. Sorry for the wait. My muse and I were just not communicating. But now apparently we are. So here's my 4th-quel… WHAT WAS ONCE PERFECTION. And while the title may be a little nerve racking and, yes I am venturing off into my first adventure in Angst-Ville, this will have a happy ending, hopefully.
As always, S/V through out and Francie is not evil in this. The first three in the series really lets you know what's been happening, and while I'd like you to read those, just to catch you up --- S/V got together a week or so after The Counteragent and took down SD-6 (and Sloane and Sark) about a year or so later. Irina, isn't completely good, nor is she completely evil (more about her in the chapter). Francie married Weiss and Lucy is Jack's secretary who Sydney set up with Will and now they are married. This takes place about 9 or so years after the ending of FROM TWO TO THREE the prequel to this one (Danny is now 9).
I hope you enjoy!! And please review and let me know what you think. – Secret Agent Girl (SAG)
Ch. 1 The Illusions of Perfection
"Daniel!" She hollered as she raced down the hall to stop her son from creeping out the door. "Daniel William Vaughn, don't you even think about leaving this house."
"But Mom…"
"Don't 'but Mom' me. I just tried to walk through your room and I tripped over 2 hockey sticks, a pair of skates, your backpack and the gigantic pile of laundry that seems to be growing hourly." Sydney folded her arms across her chest, staring down at her 9 year old son, a hockey bag and skates slung over one shoulder and a hockey stick in his hand. "Now to my knowledge I asked you yesterday to clean up and I reminded you this morning to clean up and I reminded you an hour ago that unless you clean up your room, you won't be going to practice."
"But Mom, if I don't go to practice today, I don't get to play tomorrow. And Grandpa, Grandma, Memere, and Uncle Eric, Aunt Francie, Uncle Will and Aunt Lucy are all coming! And I can't be sitting on the bench if they are all going to be there! Please Mom! I promise the second I come home, I'll clean it up! Please Mom!" Danny begged, flashing his deep green eyes at her. He always knew how to get to her. She could never say no to the green eyes, one of the many traits that he had picked up from his father, and one of the ones he cherished the most.
Sydney sighed and threw up her hands in defeat. "Fine. But if you don't clean it up tonight, I'll make sure you're benched tomorrow, I don't care who's going to be there."
"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Danny bounced up and down and kissed his mother on the cheek before rushing out the door to the car that was waiting for him. "Bye mom!!" He called over his shoulder as he jumped into the car.
"Thanks again Paul!" Sydney called as she waved to the man behind the wheel of the car. She shut the door and heaved a large sigh. As she made her way to the kitchen she picked up a few scattered toys along the way, depositing them in the playpen in the corner of the living room. She moved through the house, picking up the discarded books and toys and placed them in their proper places. As she moved into the dining room she laughed as she scooped up her 4 year old daughter who was currently trying to persuade their old white bulldog to parade her around the room like a horse.
"Bella, leave Donovan alone." Sydney smiled as the little girl squirmed in her arms, her sandy blond curls bouncing in Sydney's face. While Danny was the perfect image of his father, Bella was the perfect combination of the two of them, having inherited Vaughn's hair and chin while obtaining the rest of Sydney's facial features. The one thing truly special about her features, however, was her eyes; they sparkled green with a thin brown ring around the pupil.
Sydney kissed the girl's forehead lovingly before placing the 4 year old on the floor. Bella smiled up a her mother for only a moment before rushing off, no doubt in search of Donovan, her favorite playmate.
Sydney shook her head in amusement as she entered the kitchen to find Vaughn feeding their youngest in her highchair. Sydney brushed her hand over the little girl's head as she passed through to the fridge.
Vaughn glanced up as Sydney passed him and smiled at his wife. "Danny off to practice?"
"Yeah." Sydney sighed as she pulled a bottle of water out. "He got out of cleaning his room, again." She took a drink as she sat down next to her daughter.
"Yeah? How did he do that?" Vaughn chuckled as he tried to get the one year old to eat the cheerios in front of her.
"Same way he always does. The eyes." She smiled as she took another sip of water. "That's the only times I wished he had my eyes. He knows that I can't say no to the green eyes." Sydney smiled as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down as she took another drink.
"Well the green eyes are key." He smiled as he stood to remove his daughter from her highchair. "That is, after all, how I got you." He smirked as he leaned over to kiss her lightly before unstrapping his daughter. He picked up the giggling one year old and brought her over to the sink to clean her off.
"Oh really?" Sydney challenged.
"Yeah. That's why I'm glad Evelyn here has your eyes. It's going to be bad enough when she's a teen what with your looks. I'm going to be beating the boys away from her." Vaughn smiled as he wiped down his daughter.
"What about Bella? She's got green in her eyes." Sydney smiled as she stood and walked over to them, taking her newly washed daughter from him.
"Well we'll just have to lock her up, now wont we?" Vaughn leaned over and kissed her lightly.
"I think Danny's going to be the one we have to lock up." Sydney joked as she giggled at her daughter. "Huh, Evelyn? You're big brother is gonna be a heartbreaker!"
Vaughn smiled as he threw a towel at them. "No, I am telling you. This one here's going to be trouble." He smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter.
"This angel?" Sydney gasped as she eyed her daughter. "How could this perfect little angel be trouble?" She mocked him. She brought Evelyn up to her father and smiled devilishly. "Never could this sweet little girl be trouble! Huh? Evelyn, give Daddy a kiss." She lifted the little girl up so that she could place an opened mouth smack on her father's cheek.
Vaughn groaned and rolled his eyes as he swept his daughter up from Sydney's grasp and swung her around in the air as her laughter rang out. When he stopped, he brought her close and held her tight. Evelyn giggled and kissed him again.
"Cookie." She smiled as she saw a bag of chocolate ship cookies on the counter.
"No you cannot have a cookie. You didn't finish your cheerios." Vaughn smiled at her.
"Cookie!"
"No."
"Daddy, cookie?" She asked him again before placing another kiss on his cheek. "Love Daddy. Cookie!" Evelyn giggled as Vaughn caved and handed her a cookie as Sydney could only look on and laugh.
"See? This one's going to kill me." Vaughn smiled down at his daughter as she munched away at her cookie.
"Yum." She giggled at him as Sydney burst out into a fit of laughter.
Danny burst into the house, his dirty blond hair sticking out at every angle, a side effect from his helmet. He threw the door open and slammed it shut, dumping all of his equipment in the hallway haphazardly before rushing into the living room. "DAD!" He called as he flew into the living room, only to find Donovan cowering under a table as Bella tried to coax him out. "DAD!" He shouted again as he raced into the kitchen to find both of his parents preparing dinner while Evelyn sat in the corner, in her highchair, watching.
"Dad!" He spoke breathlessly as he bent over to catch his breath.
"Yes?" Vaughn asked calmly as he turned to face his winded son.
"I get to start!" Danny exclaimed once his lungs had relaxed.
"What?" Vaughn exclaimed as a strangled cry ran out followed by a yelp.
"I'll get that." Sydney sighed as she went to check on Bella.
"Dad!" Danny shouted, pulling Vaughn's attention back on himself. "I'm starting tomorrow!!"
"That's great!" Vaughn replied as he moved about the kitchen. "When did this happen?"
"Today. I was on the ice and Coach Tuffs called me over and said I had really improved and he's putting me on as a starter…offensively!"
"Alright!" Vaughn cheered as he gave his son a high-five. He was about to inquire further when a shout rang out from the hallway.
"DANIEL! I know I must be seeing things because I know that this hallway isn't full of hockey equipment!"
Danny cringed as Vaughn looked over at him. "You better go take care of that and your room. Or else she won't let you play. And she's set on that, there won't be anything I can do about it."
Danny sighed defeated. "Ok, ok. I'm going." He slumped out of the room as Vaughn chuckled.
Sydney entered a moment later, a red eyed Bella in her arms. "What happened?" Vaughn asked as he moved towards them.
"Oh, she was trying to get Donovan out from under the table and she smacked her head on it and dropped a book onto Donovan's head." Sydney sighed as Bella sniffled.
"Come here, baby." Vaughn cooed as he gathered Bella in his arms. "You wanna help Daddy finish dinner?" he asked as she nodded against him. "Ok."
Sydney smiled. She loved to watch him interact with their children. His kindness and compassion that he showed with them never ceased to amaze her. She moved over to sit next to Evelyn as Vaughn and Bella moved around the kitchen, finishing dinner. As they finished up, Vaughn placed his daughter on the floor and instructed her to go tell her brother that dinner was ready.
Vaughn smiled as he watched his daughter scurry from the room and turned to find Sydney sitting at the table, peacefully watching him. "What?"
"Nothing." She smiled. "Just watching you."
"Yeah? See anything you like?"
Sydney chuckled softly as Vaughn moved towards her. "I dunno." She smiled as he leaned towards her. "Whatcha got to offer?"
"Oh, nothing much." He smiled. "Just this." He whispered as he captured her lips with his own.
Sydney leaned up into him as he placed his one hand on the high chair and the other on the table as to steady himself. Sydney placed a hand over his hand that rested on the highchair, her other hand reaching up to cup his cheek as she softly raked her nails across it.
They stayed that way for a moment when a strangled noise came from the doorway. "UH! So not what I wanted to be seeing first thing back in LA!"
Sydney broke away from Vaughn and turned towards the doorway. "ERIC!" She cried as she stood and ran into his arms. "I thought you guys weren't coming back till tomorrow?!" She looked over Weiss's shoulder as she gave him a hug and saw the woman walking in behind him. "FRANCIE!" She squealed as she rushed to hug her best friend.
"Hey, Syd." France smiled as she pulled back.
"What are you guys doing here?" Vaughn asked as he shook Weiss's hand and gave Francie a hug.
"Well, we got an earlier flight." Francie informed him matter-of-factly. "We wanted to surprise you."
"I can't believe you survived it out there for three years without coming back!" Sydney exclaimed as she led them to the table and they all sat down.
"You make it sound like we were in some third world country in the middle of some war." Weiss joked as he accepted a drink from Vaughn.
"Well in some ways you were." Vaughn joked.
"Yeah, Langley; it's a dangerous jungle!" Weiss smiled as Danny and Bella entered the kitchen.
"Uncle Eric! Aunt Francie! I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow?" Danny exclaimed as he embraced them both.
"Well we thought we'd come early and surprise you." Francie smiled as she pulled Bella on to her lap. "Besides, we missed LA."
"I missed you!" Bella giggled as she hugged Francie close. Despite the fact that she had a limited memory (given her age) and the fact that she had only met Francie a few times, she had immediately taken a liking to both Weiss and Francie, falling in love with them from the very first meeting.
"Oh, well that's good, because Aunt Francie and I missed you!" Weiss called as he picked the little girl up off of Francie's lap and tossed her into the air, basking in the sound of her giggles as they called through the house. He placed her back down on the floor and turned to Sydney and Vaughn. "Well, we didn't want to interrupt anything. We just wanted to say "hey" and we'll see you tomorrow."
"Are you joking?!" Sydney asked in amazement. "Eric Weiss sit your butt down! The two of you are not only staying for dinner, but you are not going to stay in that hotel that I know you booked since your house won't be ready for another two days. You are staying right here."
"Oh, no Syd. We don't want to put anyone out." Francie insisted. "I mean, you already made dinner for the five of you and…"
"Oh, please! First off, you are not putting us out. We can save all of this and order a couple of pizzas. And second, two years ago we converted the study into a guestroom after we found out about Evelyn. It's absolutely no problem. And I won't take no for an answer." Sydney protested.
"I wouldn't fight it Fran," Vaughn advised. "Even after all these years being a Vaughn, she's still got the Bristow perseverance." Vaughn joked lightly.
"Ok, ok, we'll stay." Weiss conceded, not wanting to be reminded of the 'wrath of Sydney'.
Sydney and Vaughn woke up the next morning to find the upstairs eerily quiet. "Mike, why is there no sound coming from our children's rooms? It's almost 9:00"
"I don't know. But they better not be bothering Eric and Francie." Vaughn replied as they rose from bed.
"Oh, geez." Sydney groaned as she threw on a sweatshirt and made her way downstairs, Vaughn following closely behind.
When Sydney reached the kitchen, she couldn't help but smile at the sight. Francie and Bella stood at the stove, cooking what appeared to be a fabulous breakfast while Weiss and Danny sat that the table discussing hockey and Danny's upcoming game, Evelyn bouncing on Weiss's knee. Vaughn came up behind Sydney and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his chin on her shoulder. He laughed as he heard Danny stating to argue with Weiss over Weiss's new found love for the St. Louis Blues.
"No way Uncle Eric! No way. I am telling you, this year is the Kings' year!"
Weiss turned when he heard Vaughn's laughter in the doorway. "You've created a monster, Mike. You've created a monster."
"Yeah, whatcha gonna do about it?" Vaughn laughed as he and Sydney moved into the kitchen. "The Kings fascination started at birth."
"Oh, you don't have to remind me, I remember. The first time I met this one he was wearing a Kings hat." Weiss smiled as he ruffled Danny's hair.
"Really?" Danny inquired, truly fascinated.
"Yeah. It was a gift from Uncle Will." Sydney smiled.
"Uncle Will?! Coyotes-loving Uncle Will?!" Danny asked incredulously.
"Well, he made sure there was a Coyotes hat in there too." Vaughn chuckled. "Said something about letting 'the kid' decide which team was best. But no kid of mine was going to be a Phoenix fan!" Vaughn smirked as Weiss burst out laughing.
"Yeah, I don't know what you would have done if Danny was a girl, Mike." Weiss joked.
"Well, Danielle would have been the fist female in the NHL." Vaughn smiled.
"Man, really set on that name, aren't we now?"
"More like the reasons behind it." Sydney smiled at her son, picturing his namesake.
"Well, we all know that story." Francie began. "But what about Bella and Evelyn? How did you come up with those names?"
Sydney smiled and leaned up against Vaughn. "Well, Evelyn was just a name I stumbled across on a business trip back when I worked at 'the bank' and Marie is Mike's Grandmother's name. So that's how we got Evelyn Marie." Sydney smiled at her daughter as she sat in Weiss's lap. "I loved it and when we found out about her, I knew I wanted to use that name."
"What about Bella?" Francie asked.
"Well, Michelle is obviously after Mike."
"And her Bella?"
Sydney suddenly blushed and turned to her two oldest children. "Danny, why don't you and Bella go get dressed. We have to leave for the rink after breakfast."
"Ok." Danny replied standing and holding his hand out to his sister. "Come on, Bel, let's go."
Once her kids had left the room, Sydney turned back to Francie and Weiss. "Bella, well we got that name from a song. Amazingly enough, Bella was named after Dean Martin's "Bella Notte"."
"Interesting choice. What made you think of that song?"
Sydney giggled as Vaughn supplied the answer. "Bella was conceived during that song. I was on a Dean Martin kick." Vaughn smiled as he shrugged.
"Oh, I totally understand that. Eric's been on a Frank Sinatra kick lately." Francie joked as her husband turned a light shade of red. "You two are so funny. What a pair." Francie smiled at them.
"Yeah, just wait till Jack and Irina get here today." Vaughn smiled. "Now those two… I don't know how they were ever married."
"My parents are not that bad." Sydney insisted.
"Alone, no. Together, now that's another story. And at a hockey game… now that's a whole different category in itself. Plus we are adding my mother to the mix. Danny is going to have the loudest cheering crowd there. Two CIA agents, one former agent, one CIA consultant-former agent, a CIA analyst, a CIA secretary, a chef, a former Russian spy, and a very rambunctious French grandmother cheering on her only grandson, it's going to be a nightmare." Vaughn smiled as everyone laughed as Bella ran down back into the room, dressed, and straight into Francie's arms.
"MOM!" Danny's voice carried down from the top of the stairs. "Mom, I can't find my jersey!"
"So much for a relaxing morning." Sydney rolled her eyes as she stood. "Ok! I'll be right up!" She called back to her son before turning to Vaughn. "You take care of Evelyn and I'll cover the other two." Vaughn nodded in agreement as Sydney turned to her oldest daughter. "Come on Bel, we'll go help Danny find his jersey and then do your hair, ok?" She held out her had for the child to take.
"Ok. Can I have two braids today?" Sydney nodded. "With bows and sparkly barrettes and…" She continued as they made their way up the stairs.
Weiss smiled as he handed Evelyn to Vaughn. "Today should definitely be interesting. What with the two of us in the stands together again with Will. It's going to be the Kings game of '05 all over again."
"Just you wait. You gotta remember Jack's going to be there. He may look calm and stoic but put him in a hockey arena with his grandson on the ice, I'm telling you, you won't recognize him."
"Really? Jack Bristow, closet hockey fan. I would have never guessed."
"Come on Danny!" Lucy Tippin called as she stood in the stands next to Will. They all stood together in the cold arena, watching Danny skate across the ice as his peewee team vied of the championship.
They all winced as Danny was thrown against the boards. "Come on Danny! Hit him back!" Weiss called only to receive a smack on the arm from Francie. "Ow! Fran!"
"Eric! Don't encourage that!" She called.
"Fran, that's the way hockey goes." Sydney reassured her, having long become accustomed to seeing her son be on the giving and receiving end of a hit while on the ice.
She smiled as Vaughn called out against the ref, "Come on! That was holding! Do your job ref!"
"Mike! Keep it down with the insults!" Sydney whispered before turning to Francie. "Sometimes he forgets that this isn't a Kings' game." Both she and Francie giggled.
Brigitte Vaughn leaned over and smiled at Sydney. "William was the same way. Every time Michel was in a game and William went to see it, he would get so heated at the ref. Once he got thrown out of the rink for it. I was so embarrassed." She smiled fondly as Vaughn stood again to yell, this time accompanied by Jack Bristow.
"Oh, come on ref! You call that tripping?! THAT deserves a penalty?!" Vaughn shouted as one of Danny's teammates was led to the box.
"Come on now! That was interference!" Jack shouted as another of Danny's teammates was thrown against the boards.
Sydney leaned over and glanced at her mother from where she sat next to Jack. "Don't look at me!" Irina reasoned.
"He's your husband." Sydney reminded her.
"Only on paper." Irina smiled at her daughter. Sydney could only laugh as her and her mother turned back to watch the game. While Jack and Irina would never be back to where they were when she was Laura Bristow, they were still legally married and were 'trying to work out their problems', though they had been 'trying to work out their problems' for the past nine years.
Danny ran up to his family at the end of the game, a broad smile playing across his face. "We won! We won! And I scored!" He shouted as he was engulfed in a mountain of hugs.
"That was great Dan!" Will smiled as he gave Danny a high five. "One day you'll be playing for the Coyotes."
"KINGS." Danny, Vaughn, Sydney and Jack all corrected him as Weiss replied, a bit lamely, "Blues."
Lucy burst into a fit of laughter at Will's hurt expression. "Face it babe, this is a Kings' family. You'll never win."
Will smiled mischievously as he scooped Evelyn up from Sydney's arms. "Well, I can still convert this one."
Vaughn smiled. "Oh, you think so? Evelyn, Evelyn, who is the best hockey team?" He asked his daughter sweetly.
"Kings!" She cried as she giggled in Will's arms.
Will groaned as he handed her to her father. "I will never win with you people!"
"Nope." Vaughn smiled as he handed his daughter a cookie. "My kids are Kings fans from conception."
"So I'm standing there, waiting as always, and he walks in, this HUGE grin on his face and just says 'Hey Weiss, how's it going?'." Weiss sat in the living room, on the couch next to Francie as Will and Lucy sat in one of the overstuffed chairs in the room, Vaughn and Sydney in the other one, all listening to his tale. "So I ask him what in the world is making him smile like that and where the hell was he last night when I called him. I mean he had just gotten out of the hospital a week before. And he says to me 'nothing' and 'out'. So I ask, 'how's Alice?' You know a nice normal question and he tells me, 'oh, we broke up'. So I'm thinking he'd be at least a little upset about it, right? I mean, breaking up with someone and all. But no! This one can't seem to wipe this God awful grin off his face!" Weiss cracks as they all laugh. "Little did I know he had spent the entire night making out with Sydney at the warehouse. And of course that was nothing compared to the smile on his face after their first night together." Weiss smiled as a blush crept onto Sydney and Vaughn's faces.
"Why, again are we listening to this?" Vaughn smiled at his best friend.
"Because. Your story is so much more interesting that ours!" Weiss reasoned.
"How so?!" Sydney questioned.
"We got together at a party." Weiss gestured to himself and Francie. "And you set them up." He gestured to Will and Lucy. "You two are the only ones who broke a whole bunch of federal lays as well as put both of your lives in danger to be together."
"Doesn't that just make them idiots?" Will joked only to receive a pillow to the head. "Hey!"
"Serves you right!" Sydney laughed. "I think it means that we were willing to risk everything for love."
Will groaned as he stood. "That's our cue to leave," He smiled down at his wife and helped her stand. "Besides, I have to get this one to bed." He smiled as her draped an arm across Lucy's shoulders.
"Was Mike this annoying with you, Syd?" Lucy asked as she put on her coat.
"He was worse!" Sydney smiled at Vaughn's look of mock hurt. "Just wait till you start to show. It becomes that much worse!"
"Joy." Lucy deadpanned. "Least he hasn't started baby proofing the house yet."
"Nah. I've still got another 6 months to do that." Will smiled. "We'll see you guys tomorrow. What time again?"
"The movers are coming at 10." Francie called.
"Alright. Bye, all." Will called as he led his wife out to the car.
"Ah, the joys of first time parenthood." Weiss smiled as he stood and stretched.
"Indeed. When are you two going to join in the fun?" Vaughn smiled as they all stood.
"I think we are just enjoying this time with the two of us." Francie smiled as she leaned against Weiss.
"As much fun as that is, there is nothing like holding your baby for the first time and seeing them smile at you." Vaughn smiled as they all made their way into the hallway.
"Yeah, who knows. Maybe now that we're back in LA permanently, we may just start talking about it." Weiss smiled as they reached the guest room. "Well, goodnight."
"Night." Sydney and Vaughn chimed as they made their way up the stairs.
Sydney poked her head in Bella and Evelyn's room as Vaughn checked in on Danny. She stood there watching her two daughters sleep when Vaughn came up behind her. "You're right." She whispered.
"About what?"
"There is nothing like holding your children and knowing that they were made from love." She smiled and closed the door to the girls' room.
"Nope. Nothing like it." Vaughn smiled as they made their way into their room, closing the door behind them.
Authors note: Well, there we go. Don't get too comfortable in Fluffland; I plan on getting into the angst by the end of the next chapter. I have so many things planned for this, so sit back and get ready for a long ride. This shall be my longest fic to date, though my chapters maybe a bit smaller than the last fic's.
Oh, and I don't know much about peewee hockey. High school, college (UHN!) and Pro, yes, but peewee no. So if I got some things wrong (like the allowance of checking) I apologize. And I have nothing against the Coyotes or the Blues. Personally I'm an Anaheim and LA girl (GO DUCKS!! #10 Jason KROG!!) Despite my east coast residence. I personally think they are great teams and totally love #33 on the Blues… Eric Boguniecki (former UNH player like my Krog.)
Thanks for reading and please review and let me know what you think.
Don't forget to check out Mental Break by Jennifer and myself (alternating chapters) I'm taking on the even's.
Merci,
- SAG