A/N: I want to apologize for the entirely too long wait for this. I had a really rough summer, went through some personal things and I ended up taking a break from just about everything. And then school started again and the wonderful journey they call college applications started up. Oh and has that been a wonderful journey. Yes, I am lying. Still, I am sorry it has taken quite so long for me to have put this out.
Thank you to all of you who were kind enough to send me emails and go back and find places where you could review again (Krystal I don't know how you got that many reviews out…). It was very sweet and kind and it let me know that people were actually still reading.
There is at least one more chapter, though I'm thinking that will be it. I'm not sure but I am assuming. I'm not quite in the same place that I was in when I first started this and coming back and trying to write it is a bit difficult, one of the reasons this file has been on my computer for a month now, very slowly coming together. But the next chapter will come. I hope to get it out relatively soon, and by that I mean not 6 months from now. But these next few months are going to be filled with "Where are you going to college" and an endless array of school work . . . whoever said Senior year was easy, lied. So thank you all for staying with me on this.
Dedicated – To all of you who are still with me, and who got me over 200. You have made me smile. Thank you.
Ch. 11 Really Here
It was foggy. Terribly foggy and the noises around her were becoming increasingly louder. Her entire body tried to fight each step she took, forcing her to turn back, to stay in the comfort of the darkness. Ignoring the feeble protests every fiber of her body was making, she stepped clear into the light, listening as the sounds intensified, almost as if a rushing train was coming at her.
Her hand twitched lightly in his as he slept by her side. His head rested gently against their joined hands and the movement barely stirred him. Her hand twitched again, forcing him out of his reverie. Blinking slowly, he lifted his head from their hands, trying to catch his bearings.
"Sydney?" His voice was barely more than a whisper, afraid to scare her away if she was truly the reason he had woken up. "Syd?"
Her hand twitched again, stronger this time, against his and a tiny moan escaped her cracked lips. Rising to his feet, Vaughn reached over and pressed the call button impatiently as he tried to soothe his slowly waking wife.
"Sydney…Sydney listen to me. I need you to open your eyes for me. Please love, just open them for me. Let me see those gorgeous brown eyes I fell in love with. Please. Please Sydney." He kept his voice soft as he ran his thumb over her hand, impatiently pressing the button before finally giving up, leaning over her.
"Sydney, come on. I know you can do this for me. Don't give up on me now. Please." He placed a gentle kiss across her forehead, trying everything he could think of to arouse her.
He watched as her head slowly tossed, eliciting quiet moans. Keeping her hand in his, he slowly ran the other along her arm, continuing to whisper to her.
Feeling a presence next to him, he slowly turned his head to see his son, staring up at her, his eyes wide.
"Mommy?" His voice was cracked and full of emotion.
Vaughn watched in amazement as her eyes began to move slowly, Danny's voice having helped bring her about. She struggled to open her eyes as both husband and son watched in silence.
Blinking, she suddenly came in contact with a harsh white light, and quickly forced her eyes closed. It hurt.
She could hear sounds around her, feel a hand holding hers. Listening to the gentle pleads, she opened her eyes again, blinking until the harshness of the light subsided and her eyes were met with the smiling, tear stained face of her husband.
"Hi." He whispered softly. "No, no. Don't talk." He spoke quickly, stopping her before she could try. "You have a tube down your throat that's been helping you breathe." Blinking back the tears, he sighed softly and bent to kiss her forehead gently. "You've had me so scared. So scared." He leaned over; pressing the button again, this time, finally eliciting the reaction he wanted as a nurse came striding into the room.
"She's awake." He spoke softly, never letting his eyes leave Sydney's face.
Smiling, the nurse informed him she'd be right back, and quickly exited the room.
"Dad?" Vaughn tore his eyes away from Sydney's to meet his son's request. "Dad, can I…can I talk to her?" Danny whispered softly.
Vaughn could only smile as he reached down and picked up his son, placing him on his lap so that Sydney could see him without moving her head.
"Hi Mommy." Danny smiled as tears began to fall down his cheeks.
Struggling slightly, Sydney raised her hand, letting her fingertips drop gently against the cheek of her son. "I missed you, Mommy."
Vaughn opened his mouth to speak when the door burst open and Dr. Bloomer rushed in, coming straight to the bedside.
"So she finally decided to wake up?" He smiled good-naturedly as he turned to face Vaughn. "I need to examine her for a bit. You're welcome to stay Mr. Vaughn, but I suggest your son go and sit with the rest of your family." Turning to Danny, he smiled warmly. "I'd bet your family would love to know that your mommy is awake. Why don't you go and give them the good news and tell them that your dad will be out to see them when they can all come in and visit?"
Danny nodded slowly and, leaning down to kiss his mother's cheek softly, crawled off his father's lap and quickly exited the room.
"Can you…can you take the tube out?"
"That'll be the first thing I check for." Dr. Bloomer smiled softly and motioned for Vaughn to step back as he moved into Sydney's eye sight. "Hello, Mrs. Vaughn. My name is Dr. Bloomer. About three days ago, you were brought here to St. Joseph's Hospital because you were in a very bad car accident. You've been in a coma since the EMT's brought you in. I'd like to examine you quickly, just to make sure things are okay before I take that tube out of your throat. Is that all right with you?" Sydney nodded slowly, never allowing her eyes to wander from the Dr.'s kind face. "Wonderful. It won't hurt and it'll just take a moment."
Vaughn stood off to the side and watched as his wife was slowly examined. He smiled softly at Dr. Bloomer's bed side manner, watching as he softly joked with her and took her mind off the examination. Vaughn instantly regretted the harsh treatment he had given the doctor earlier, but seeing the way he treated his wife now, Vaughn knew that Dr. Bloomer would understand and not hold it against him.
"Now Sydney, I need you, when I count to three, to blow out really hard so that I can remove the tube from your throat. Once it's out, don't try and talk right away, it's been in there for a while and your throat is going to be irritated. We'll get you some ice chips so that you are able to talk in a bit. All right?" She nodded slowly to his smiling question. "Okay, then on three. One . . . Two . . . Three."
Vaughn shuddered involuntarily as he watched the doctor pull the tube from Sydney's throat, her coughing ringing out in the tiny room.
"Well, Mr. Vaughn. From what I see your wife is doing fine. I'll have to run some more extensive tests later, but for now, she is set." He watched as Vaughn never took his eyes off his wife. "I'll let you two have some time. You can bring your family in when you are ready." Placing his hand gently on Vaughn's arm for a moment, Dr. Bloomer moved towards the door.
"Thank you Dr. For everything." Vaughn called after him before stepping closer to his wife.
Sitting back down in the chair next to her bed, he smiled softly as she turned to look at him. "Hi."
"Hi." She rasped out softly.
"You aren't supposed to do that." He chided gently, brushing away a lock of hair from her face. "But, then again, when have you ever listened to Dr's instructions?" He laughed lightly. "Do you . . . do you remember that horrible doctor we went to when you were first pregnant with Danny?"
"The . . ." she cleared her throat harshly. Vaughn reached over and grabbed the cup of ice chips the nurse had brought in not moments before and helped her take a few. "Thank you. The stupid one that expected me to stay in bed for 9 months?"
"Yeah. That one." Vaughn smiled as he ran his fingers down her cheek. "God, Sydney. You've had me so scared. I . . . I have never been so scared in all of my life. No mission ever scared me like I have been. I . . . I thought I lost you." He whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Taking his hand in hers, she pulled him to her, cradling his head against her, whispering soft "Shhhh"s as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm here. I'm okay."
He lifted his head, kissing her forehead, her nose and her mouth gently, needing to feel her. He placed several light kisses along her mouth before kissing her deeper, pulling away when the need to breathe became essential.
"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have . . . I just . . ." he sighed deeply as he looked at her.
And suddenly he broke. Tears began rushing down his face as his words came out in a flush of pain. "I'm so sorry Sydney. I didn't mean them. I didn't mean anything I said. I was just hurt and angry and I never wanted to take it out on you." He dropped to his knees, cradling her hand between his own. "I'm so sorry . . . so sorry . . . sosorry sososorry."
He continued to talk in rushed, muffled tones as tears pooled along the soft white sheets. She watched in awe for a moment at the man who was breaking silently before her. The man she had seen fight along beside her for so many years and weather so many bumps and bruises along the roads that marriage had led them. And now she was watching as he broke down into a small little boy.
Leaning down to him, Sydney tried her best to take him into her arms and cradle him slowly, the same way she would have Evelyn or Bella.
"Shh. Shh. Michael, Michael, sweetheart, I'm right here." Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper and still raspy from the tube having been down her throat for almost three days. She ran her fingers through his hair softly, letting him release his anger, his grief as she held him gently.
When his tears had subsided, Vaughn lifted his head and looked into her eyes, mesmerized at the fact that she was indeed still there, looking back at him. Brown and green molded perfectly as he stared into her eyes intently listening as the sound of her soft breaths echoed off the walls.
"Are you really here? Really awake?" His voice was barely above a whisper as he moved his hand to sweep her hair behind her ear.
Instinctively Sydney leaned into his touch, closing her eyes for a moment at the feeling. "Yeah, I'm here." She opened her eyes slowly, brown meeting green once more, tears pooling gently behind her lashes. "I'm here."
Standing slowly, Vaughn leaned in, kissing her forehead for a long moment. Closing his eyes, he was startled at the gentle ping that occurred moments later. Looking down at the floor, his eyes focused in on the reason behind the noise and the world seemed to stand still. Slowly he moved down to pick up the two tiny circles, standing again, holding them out for her to see.
"Oh Michael I . . . "
"No." He cut her off quickly. "I don't want to talk about that now. I mean, we do have to talk about that. There is no question. But right now, right now I just want to forget about it. Can we? Please?" His eyes were pleading as he slowly looked up at her. She nodded in consent.
Taking a seat on the edge of her bed once again, Vaughn looked back down at the perfect circles in his hand. He barely registered her voice calling out to him.
"What?"
"Can I . . . can I have them back?" Her voice was small, childlike.
Smiling, Vaughn reached for her left hand, slipping the rings back on slowly as he leaned in to kiss her gently on the mouth.
"In my eyes, they were never gone in the first place." She smiled up at him as he stood. "I should probably go let everyone know. I'm sure they are all going insane wanting to come in and see you. You up for that?"
Nodding slowly, Sydney sunk back into her pillows, getting comfortable.
"Okay, I'll be right back." Moving quickly, he turned and made his way towards the door, only turning at the sound of her voice.
"Michael?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you."
Smiling, he whispered the words back to her before turning and walking into the hallway, letting the door close gently behind him.
So, there we go. I hope that wasn't too different from the rest of the chapters. Thank you for sticking with me.
Merci,
SAG