A/N: Ask and you shall receive… which basically means that someone asked for this and they shall now receive it. I'm back. Marty (the Muse) and I have been gone for a while but have now returned. We're rockin' this fic again and totally jazzed for the Ducks to play against the Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals (DUUUUUDE!) Could I love Jean-Sebastian Giguere anymore? No I don't think so. MOVING ON! Here's chapter 8 for you all.

kittyfantastico – I swear sometimes I think you people are reading my mind. Here's more of what you wanted doll.

Jennifer – you cannot steal Vaughn! That's the rule! Yay for cable!! And seriously that dream… creepy much! (esp. considering what I had asked my mom… poo to her not wanting to pay for me going to private school on the other side of the country.)

Ch. 7    On This Lovely Bella Notte

            He woke up when he felt movement to his right. Lifting his hand, he moved to wipe the sleep from his eyes. Danny lay at his right, leaning against his father as he slept peacefully. He shifted again in his sleep and Vaughn smiled slightly, brushing a small kiss across his son's head.

            Shaking the sleep from his head, he surveyed the room around him. Everyone had fallen asleep and glancing at his watch, Vaughn understood why; it was closing in on 3 am. He smiled slightly when he saw Evelyn curled up against Lucy, sleeping soundly as Lucy slept against Will. Weiss and Francie sat across from them, next to Brigitte as they all dozed. Looking to his right, he saw Jack leaning against his right hand as he slept, Danny's feet curled on his lap as he shared the couch with Danny and Vaughn. Irina had been by earlier, but due to her CIA restrictions, had left shortly after, though Vaughn was not one to object. Looking around he noticed that of all the people in the room, there was one missing. Bella was nowhere in sight.

            Disentangling himself from Danny, Vaughn stood and looked around the waiting room for his daughter. He checked all of the chairs, hoping to find her curled up in one of them. He began to panic when he noticed that she was nowhere in the room. Walking down the hall, his panic rose as everywhere he looked was empty. As he neared Sydney's room, he got the fleeting notion that maybe she had slipped in there. Creeping inside, his heart stopped and tears pooled in his eyes. He had found his daughter.

            Sometime in the middle of the night, Bella had removed herself from her father's lap and had made her way into Sydney's room, settling herself with Sydney. Vaughn ventured further into the room and stopped to watch his daughter sleep as she snuggled up against her mother, her cheeks glistening with dried tears. He watched silently as she snuggled closer to Sydney and memories assaulted his mind.

            He sat at the table, enjoying his cup of coffee and reading the newspaper that he had had no time for that morning when the door opened and Sydney floated in.

            "Hello." She smiled as she walked over to him and leaned down to kiss him.

            "Hello." He smiled. "What's got you in this fabulous mood?"

            "I have to talk to you about something." She smiled, sitting down next to him.

            He folded his paper and gave her his full attention. "Ok, must be good. You're glowing."

            She smiled and took a deep breath. "Do you remember the other day last week when we were talking about painting Danny's room?"

            He raised his eyebrows suspiciously. "Uh-huh."

            "Well, I was thinking blue."

            "This is what you wanted to talk about?" He laughed as he reached for his paper, only to have her snatch it away from him. "Syd!"

            "I'm trying to have a serious conversation here. The Kings' aren't going to magically disappear if you don't read that right now." She sighed in exasperation.

            "Fine. Blue?" He consented.

            "Yes. Like, sky blue." She smiled, knowing she had won.

            "Sounds good. It takes what, 3 coats? So like 2 gallons?" He asked, calculating the costs in his head.

            "Uh-huh." She smiled as she nodded. "Plus two gallons of Mossy-Mint Green, Calculator Man."

            "Why, exactly do we need two gallons of Mossy-Mint Green?" He mused.

            "Well, I figured this time around the nursery could be green."

            "Oh, ok." He shrugged and turned back to his paper.

            He began to read again as Sydney mentally counted. "1 … 2 … and…"

            "NURSERY?" He spat out at her suddenly.

            "3!" She smiled as she nodded. "Yeah, nursery. I figured we could use green this time. Gender neutral."

            "You mean you're … we're …" She nodded. "Oh, Sydney." He smiled and took her in his arms, spinning her around. "A baby." He smiled and kissed her fully. Pulling back, he smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "When?" He shook his head in disbelief. "When did this happen?"

            "Do you remember when you did the week of "The Rat Pack"?" He nodded, smiling. "On Dean Martin night." She smiled before kissing him again.

            "Oh, Syd." He took her face between his hands and smiled at her, his dimples coming out in full force. "How far along are you?"

            "Six weeks." She kissed his nose as she placed her hands over his.

            He gazed at her for a moment before suddenly bending down and throwing her over his shoulder. "Michael! What are you doing?!"

            "I am taking you to celebrate." He stated matter-of-factly.

            "What about Danny?"

            "My mom took him for the night." He smiled as he dropped her down on the bed and assaulted her lips.

            "Thank God for her." She sighed as he lips traveled down her neck as she began to unbutton his shirt.

            He pulled back suddenly and looked into her eyes dead on. "A baby?"

            She nodded and whispered, "Yeah. A baby" before taking his shirt in her hands and pulling him towards her. "We're having a baby."

            He hastily wiped at his eyes as he stepped from the darkness and gently lifted his daughter from the bed.

            "No." She called gently as she turned to him. "I don't want to leave."

            He couldn't hold back the tears as he nodded and sat down in the chair next to Sydney's bed, Bella curled up against him as they, together, watched her sleep. "When is Mommy going to wake up?" Bella whispered, afraid that if she spoke loudly she would hurt her sleeping mother.

            "I don't know Bel, I don't know." He whispered back as he softly stroked her hair.

            "Memere said she may not wake up." Bella whispered as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

            He didn't want to frighten his daughter, but Vaughn knew that his mother had told her these things as to make sure that she was prepared, incase Sydney didn't wake up. But he refused to lie to her either.

            "I don't know baby. We'll just have to pray that she does." He kissed the top of her head, his eyes never leaving his wife.

            "Daddy?"

            "Yes baby?"

            "Doesn't Mommy want to come back to us?"

            "Oh, Bella." Vaughn picked up his daughter and forced her to meet his eyes. "Bella, Mommy wants nothing more than to wake up. She loves you so much. You and Danny and Evelyn. But its God's decision to make. And right now, He's trying to decide whether He wants Mommy to wake up or go and be with Him." He spoke softly, hoping that the 4 year old understood.

            "I don't want her to go be with God." Bella cried softly as she dove into Vaughn's chest.

            "I know baby, I know." Me neither. He added silently.

            He listened to his daughter cry softly for a few moments wished he could do something; say something to take away her pain. Glancing between his wife and his daughter, he couldn't help but remember the night Bella was born.

            "Did Mommy ever tell you the story of how you got your name?" He whispered softly as Bella shook her head against his chest. "No? Well, Mommy and I were right here I this very hospital and you came and Mommy looked at you and turned to me and said, "Here she is, this is our little Beauty." He smiled, remembering the smiled that had shown on Sydney's face. "That's who you are, our little Beauty." He listened to the steady sounds of Bella's breathing as he watched Sydney and remembered that night.

            "Michael, next time you say "let's have another kid" I'm going to kill you." Sydney spoke through clenched teeth.

            Vaughn laughed softly as he kissed her temple and smoothed down her hair. "I know baby, I know." She clenched his hand tightly as she breathed through another contraction. "You know, you were a lot less violent when you were in labor with Danny."

            "Yeah, well, I was a little too overjoyed at being a first time Mommy then to focus on the pain. This time, the pain's pretty damn obvious and a strong focal point." She sneered back as the doctor gave her a quick examination.

            "Ok Sydney, you remember how this goes? Time to push." The doctor spoke softly as Sydney repositioned herself.

            Moments later, a cry rang out as the newest Vaughn entered the world.

            "Congratulations, it's a girl."

            "Oh, Sydney." Vaughn sighed as tears pooled in his eyes. "Look at her. She's beautiful. A daughter. We have a daughter."

            "Look at her Michael. This is out baby girl. This is our beautiful baby girl." Sydney sniffled as tears fell down her cheeks. "Here she is, this is our little Beauty." She smiled as she held her daughter close.

            "Hey beautiful." Vaughn smiled as he placed a small kiss on his daughter's head. "She is so beautiful. Just like her mother, a perfect little Beauty."

            "This little Beauty still needs a name."

            "Well, what about 'Beauty'?" Vaughn smiled at Sydney's raised eyebrows. "Well, not in English. But with all the languages between us, there must be one that fits."

            Sydney studied her daughter for a moment before a smile crept across her face. "Bella. Bella Michelle."

            "Bella? What made you pick Italian?" Vaughn smiled as he ran his hand along his daughter's head.

            "Dean Martin."

            "What?" He laughed.

            "The night this one was conceived. Dean Martin night. What song did you have repeat like three times?" Vaughn shook his head.

            "I have no idea."

            "This is the night, it's a beautiful night." Sydney began to sing softly.

            "And they call it Bella Notte." Vaughn joined in as a smile crept across his face. "It's perfect." He leaned over and kissed Sydney softly.

            She leaned against him as they gazed down at their daughter and she began to sing softly, Vaughn joining her after a few words. "Look at the skies; they have stars in their eyes, on this lovely Bella Notte. So take this love of your loved one. You'll need it about this time. To keep from falling like a star. When you make that dizzy climb. For this is the night and the heavens are right, on this lovely Bella Notte."

            Vaughn was brought back to the present as he felt Bella move from his lap and crawl back up with her mother. He was about to pull her off again when he froze on the spot, listening to his four year old as she pleaded with her mother and God.

            "Please Mommy. Wake up, wake up Mommy." She whispered as she buried herself in the crook of her mother's arm. "Mommy, I need you." She sniffled as she shut her yes, allowing herself to calm and slowly drift of to sleep. "Mommy I love you."

            She had paused for a moment, taking several deep breaths as she struggled to calm her nerves and catch her breath. The darkness around her seemed to be pressing own on her, getting thicker and heavier as she made her way towards the voices, creating a blanket around her.

            Her heart stopped cold as she heard the tiniest of whispers off in the distance. "Mommy, I need you."

            "Bella." Sydney called softly as she forced herself to stand and pushed her way through the blackness around her.

            "Mommy I love you."

A/N: So? What did you all think? I actually planned on typing this up yesterday, but I just didn't feel like it at the time. But Jennifer yelled at me earlier to write so I did. Happy Jenn!? I hope you all enjoyed it! There's the Bella chapter. I hope I really wrote it well. It is seriously (as sadistic as this sounds) my goal to make someone cry. Did I?

Don't forget… Ducks start a series against the Devils on Tuesday (GO DUCKS!)

Please review and let me know what you think!

Merci,

SAG