A/N: … Hi. Sorry this took so incredibly long. Really I am.  But I had a little too much fun with If Only Once More a few others that I was doing at sd-1.com (same user name… check um out!!) So I kind of neglected this. Plus the finale blew me away. But I shall keep quiet about that for those of you who haven't seen it. Anyways, I've also been battling some health issues, so I apologize for the lateness. I just finished this chapter (on paper) and didn't have any homework tonight, so I threw in some Coldplay and Foo Fighters and am reading to rock. I hope you all enjoy. Please let me know what you think!

Ch. 6   Pregnancies and First Days

            Jack walked out of her room and slowly made his way back to where everyone was sitting. The waiting room was deserted, save those who were there for Sydney, and eerily quiet. He sighed deeply, clearing his mind, as he sat down across from Vaughn, smiling slightly at the sight of his grandson, who was sleeping, leaning up against his father.

            Francie watched as Jack sat down and shifted the sleeping Bella in her arms. She looked over at Will and locked eyes with him, silently passing along a message, to which he nodded and turned to talk to Lucy.

            "Mike." Francie called softly.

            "Hmm?" Vaughn turned to look at her as he ran his hand softly through Danny's hair, listening to the soft sounds of his sleeping breaths.

            "Will and I want to… we want to go see her. I mean, if you don't…"

            "Go ahead." Vaughn cut her off softly as he tried to give her a slight smile. "You don't have to ask me."

            "Thank you." She smiled as she stood, gathering Bella in her arms. Bella began to stir as Francie stood. "Eric? Will you take…"

            "I want Daddy." Bella cried softly as she woke up fully. "I want to sit with Daddy."

            Vaughn nodded at Francie and held out his free arm to wrap around his daughter as she was placed in his lap. "Come here, baby." He cooed softly as she buried her face in his chest. He ran his hand up and down her hair gently as she struggled to calm her tears. "Everything's going to be ok. I promise." He whispered as he kissed the crown of her head.

            Francie struggled to hold back her tears as she watched Vaughn comfort his daughter. As Will led her towards Sydney's room, she prayed to anyone who would listen not to rip those children away from their mother.

            Will felt the tears rush to his eyes as he stepped into Sydney's room and saw his friend lying there. He silently reached for Francie's hand and gripped it tightly as they moved closer to the bed. He watched her silently for a few moments as he listened to the steady beats of her heart monitor and the gentle cries of Francie's sobs. His tears quickly dried as he forced himself to remember why she was lying there.

            "You know Syd, these flight habits of yours always pissed me off." He whispered harshly.

            "Will!" Francie gasped as she turned to face him.

            "No, Fran. This about it. She gets into an argument with someone and she takes flight. Had she had the brains to not drive around in a storm, we wouldn't be here right now. Mike wouldn't be out there trying to convince his children that their mother was going to come back." His voice hitched as tears began to slide down his cheeks. "And we wouldn't be forced to face the facts that we may have to say goodbye to her."

            Francie broke down as Will sobbed and moved to embrace her friend. They silently comforted each other until their tears subsided and their breathing returned to normal. Francie turned from Will's embrace and faced Sydney. Tears were still softly falling down her face but she struggled to maintain her composure.

            "Everyone's getting really emotional over you." Francie laughed slightly. "You'd hate it." Will walked up next to her and silently took hold of her free hand, her other currently brushing the hair out of Sydney's face. "It reminds me of when you had gotten pregnant with Danny. Michael was so apprehensive about everything you did. And you absolutely hated it. Thinking back on that, I regret not being around when you were pregnant with Evelyn. You were always the happiest pregnant person I had known." She moved her hand to grasp Sydney's and laughed softly though her tears. "I remember when you called to tell me. I was so happy for you."

            "I could have killed him!"

            "Eric!" Francie laughed as she took a seat next to him at the table. "That's not the nicest thing to say about your boss."

            "I don't care." Weiss pouted as he traced shapes on the table with his fingers. "He's worse then Kendall! At least back in LA I had Mike to agree with me about how much of an ass our boss was. Everyone here, they're all such goody-two-shoes. Never say anything bad about the boss."

            Francie smiled as she rose to answer the ringing phone. "It was your choice to come out here, so don't give me that 'back in LA' crap." she smiled as she reached for the phone. "Hello?"

            "You are not going to believe this."

            "Hello to you too, Sydney." Francie smiled as she heard her friend's excited tone.

            "Sorry Fran. Hi, how are you?" Sydney's voice was rushed and excited.

            "We're fine, but obviously not as good as you. What's up?" Francie smiled as she took a seat across from Weiss, who was still grumbling. "Its good news I hope."

            "Great news." Sydney reassured her excitedly. "So great, in fact that Mike and I are coming out there to see the two of you."

            "No way!" Francie exclaimed excitedly. "That's so good to hear. You can finally shut Eric up!!" Francie smiled at Weiss's wounded puppy look as he regarded her curiosity. "But I'm dying here Syd, what is the great news?"

            "I'm pregnant." Francie could hear the smile in her voice.

            "Again!? Sydney that is wonderful! Oh, I am so happy for you." Weiss moved in front of her excitedly, mouthing 'what?!' only to be brushed off. "How far?"

            "About 6 weeks." Sydney giggled over the other end.

            "How's Mike about all of this?"

            "I think he's more excited than I am. He always wanted three. After Bella, I was pretty happy, you know, one of each. But this little one will be a welcomed addition. Plus, last time there was a big hope that it was a girl, this time, we could care less. Though Mike wants this one to play hockey no matter what."

            "How are Danny and Bella dealing with it?"

            "Bella can't wait to play with the baby. And Danny is an absolute doll. Being older now, he's so protective of me." She laughed suddenly. "Do you remember Mike when I was pregnant for Danny?"

            "You mean, 'Mr. Cautious'?"

            Sydney's laughter only grew at Francie's remark. "Exactly. Only picture a 7 year old doing those things. It's absolutely adorable."

            Francie smiled a she imagined Danny doing all the things Vaughn had done. She had only been living in DC for a little over a year and she missed LA desperately. Hearing her best friend over the phone, so excited for their new arrival, only made her miss it that much more. When Weiss had accepted the promotion, she had never imagined having to move to DC, sell her restaurant, uprooting her life. But she had supported him because she loved him and knew, career wise, this was the best move for him. But nonetheless, she missed LA life.

            "Fran?"

            "Oh, sorry Syd." Francie shook her head out of her memories. "So, two weeks?"

            "Yeah. We've already booked the tickets and everything so we'll see you on the 17th."

            "Syd, this is just wonderful. I can't wait. I am so happy for you."

            "Thank you"

            "Mommy, Mommy I need you."

            "Danny, Mommy is on the phone. Go as Daddy for help." Francie smiled as she heard the voice of her godson.

            "I can't Mommy. Dad's trying to get Bella down for a nap. Please Mommy."

            Francie cut in when she heard Sydney's exasperated sigh. "It's

            "Love you too, sweetie. Bye." Francie smiled as she hung up the phone and turned back to Weiss.

            "You finally going to tell me what are going on?" Weiss teased as Francie looked at him smugly.

            "I don't know if I want to now…"

            "Fran!" Weiss whined.

            "Calm down, I'm only joking!" She laughed at his 5 year old like attitude. "Sydney, Mike and the kids are coming out to see us in 2 weeks."

            "Why, is everything ok?" He asked, concern seeping into his voice. They never just came out to DC.

            "Everything's fine. Everything's better than fine, actually. Syd's pregnant." Francie smiled widely at her husband as he chuckled.

            "Oh man," he shook his head in disbelief. "Poor Mike, and he was just starting to be able to sleep through the nights again. Then again," he paused dramatically, raising his eyebrows. "If she's pregnant again, he obviously isn't sleeping through the whole night."

            "Eric!" Francie called as she threw a dishtowel at him. She shook her head as laughter filtered through. "We'll have to have a big celebratory dinner when they get here."

            "Yes, we will." Weiss stated simply as he stood and walked over to her. "However, I think we should have our own little celebration right now." he smiled mischievously before flipping her over his shoulder, her cries of surprise ringing out, before bounding off to their bedroom.

            "We had so much fun that week. You were so happy." Francie sniffled as she continued to brush the hair out of Sydney's face. "I want to have those times again." She whispered as she leaned over and kissed Sydney's head lightly. "Come back so we can have those again."

            Will had stood by quietly as Francie spoke softly and when she stood and backed away, Will took a step forward and took Sydney's left hand in his right, careful of her cast, and placed his left hand up at her head, gently stroking her hair as he squat down to be even with her.

            "This is the last place I'd ever expect to find you. In this bed, this person lying here, this isn't the Sydney I know. You are so much stronger than this. When I first met you, you seemed like this weak little girl. This shy quiet, amazingly intelligent, beautiful young woman who seemed like she didn't have a friend in the world. The person you became, through your work, no one would have ever guessed that you were the same person I met freshman year." He smiled at her as he ran his hand through her hair. The soft sounds of her respirator assuring him that she was breathing.

            "You remember that day don't you? That day we met? I swear I fell for you right then and there. Had you not been involved with… someone," he paused, preferring to glass over the memory of Noah Hicks. "I would have probably hit on you pretty strong." a light laugh escaped his lips as the memories ran through his head. "Come to think of it, I hit on you pretty hard anyways, didn't I?"

            He glanced at his watch again, groaning as he realized just how late he was going to be. Picking up his pace, he began to fly down the quad hoping to make it to his creative writing class on time. His mind was focused solely on getting to class and he didn't notice a thing around him until he collided with another body, books scattering around them.

            "Uh!"

            "Ow!"

            Will looked up; ready to let loose on the person he collided with, but stopped short when he got a look at the other person. She was gorgeous. Her long chestnut brown hair was swept over her shoulders, ending in delicate curls. Her deep chocolate brown eyes seemed to sparkle back at him as she brushed the dirt off her hands.

            "I am so sorry." He stammered as he brushed himself off and extended his hand to help her stand.

            "No, it's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." she glanced away nervously and bent down to collect her things.

            "Here, let me help." Will smiled as he bent down to help her pick up the books lying on the ground. "I'm Will Tippin." He smiled, holding out his hand.

            "Sydney Bristow." She smiled, shaking his hand.

            "Oh, here." He handed her the book he had picked up. "Wow, advanced Russian."

            "Yeah, that's what I was reading. Sorry again." She glanced around the quad, hoping he wouldn't read into it, as she grabbed it and slipped it into her bag. She tried to grab the other books before him, but he beat her to it.

            "Wow. Swedish, Polish and Advanced German. Language major?"

            "No. Lit." She smiled nervously as she snatched the books from him and shoved them into her bag. "Were you trying to make it to a class?"

            "What?" He stammered, coming out of his trance like state. "Oh, yeah." He glanced at his watch. "Damn. I've missed it now."

            "I am so sorry." She began to apologize when he cut her off.

            "Don't worry about it. I'll get the notes from someone else, I'll be fine."

            "Are you sure? I feel so awful about this."

            "Don't worry about it." He smiled, easing her tension. "Are you off to a class?"

            "No, I just left my last one."

            "Do you want to go grab a cup of coffee or something?"

            She smiled at him for a moment, taking in everything about him, the dangers he could hold. Deciding that he seemed harmless she smiled widely at him. "Sure, why not."

            "Great." His smiled grew wide. "So you're a Lit. major huh?" He asked as they made their way out of the quad. "But you just love languages?"

            "Yeah. Something like that."

            "You know, I always wondered why this gorgeous woman was coming with me so easily. I mean we had just met. But little did I know, you were probably using your spy skills to see how dangerous I would be." He chuckled as he brushed a few tears off his eyes.

            "You can't leave us yet Sydney. Who's going to help Lucy and I get ready for Baby Tippin? I can't do this. I need all the help I can get. Who's Lucy going to talk to about how I am driving her mad?" He stood and looked down at her sleeping form.

            "I refuse to say goodbye to you Sydney. So don't you dare make me." He turned and moved to Francie, placing his arm around her shoulders as they exited the room.

            The darkness surrounded her as she walked slowly though it, hoping to find a break of light. She could hear the voices clearer now. Each step she took brought her closer to them, though her pace was agonizingly slow. She smiled as she heard Will remember that day and forced her feet to move faster through the darkness.

            A/N: took me bloody long enough. Course it doesn't help that I was talking to a million people at the same time too. Anyways, let me know what you think. I had a lot of problems with this; Will and Francie are difficult to write sometimes.

            Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know. Reviews soothe my soul and make me feel better.

            Depending on how I am feeling, I hope to get the next chapter out in a week or so.

            As always, thanks in advance for the reviews!!

            Merci,

            -SAG