Thanks everyone for reading this! You have no idea how scared I was when I wrote the first chapter, that people wouldn't like it. Ironically, the first chapter of Mary Waters was written as a one parter. But the outcry from my readers wanted a second chapter, or a sequel or something. So I wrote the second chapter, telling people what happened to Vaughn. And that was still all I was planning on writing. But my muse wouldn't let it rest. My readers wouldn't let it rest. So I started writing this fic, and it has come to what it is today. I honestly started to write this blind. I had no idea where it was going, or even how it was going to end. But as the story got closer and closer to a conclusion, this ending came to me. I was half asleep at the time, and immediately woke up, and typed out the last paragraph. Writing is my reason for my lack of sleep.
There are a lot of people to thank for the success of this not so little fic. I have had countless people beta it (I went through a couple beta switches) but I have to really thank kmc who betaed most of it for me. If there was a way I could thank you with more than just words, I would. But words are all I have. So here is a large "THANK YOU"
This is it. So a big THANK YOU goes to my readers as well. You guys are always my reason for writing. If my readers, well, didn't exist, I can tell you, this would have ended after the first chapter. Forever am I in your debt for pushing me to keep writing, and to keep achieving.
Lastly, to my reviewers. You guys made me realize that I did have readers out there. You guys are even more the reason for my writing than my readers. I'd name all of you by name, but well, there are just too many to do so. Your encouragement, your support, your constructive criticism. Every bit of it helped me. I drew upon my reviewers for my inspiration. This chapter is dedicated to you.
This is. The last chapter. I will not be writing a sequel. I have found when I have attempted sequels, the characters and the plot lines increasingly go down hill. So there will not be a sequel.
THANK YOU EVERYONE!
Live on. Love on.
Cathy
* * * * *
When Sydney arrived at school Monday morning, she was nervous beyond all reasoning. She was getting tired of telling everyone about why she was Sydney now. And she was nervous to tell an audience that big. Plus, she hadn't quite mastered the shooting of rubber bands off her fingers, and the science teachers seemed to prey off of that. Walking through the door just five minutes later than the office personnel, Sydney had already been hit by several rubber bands.
She unlocked the door to her classroom, which had been locked up most of the summer. The wing of the building she was in was rarely rented out or used, so the desks and chairs were just as they had been left. She set her bag on her desk and looked around. It was a good feeling to be back in her classroom.
"So here's the thing," A voice from behind Sydney said, startling her so much that she jumped. "His family all loved me, but they are the most annoying people I have ever met."
Sydney spun around. "Gretchen!"
"Hey Sydney."
"Were they really that bad?"
"Worse."
"I'm sorry."
"You're lucky, Michael doesn't have any family left."
"Only because my mother killed his father."
"It's a twisted world you two live in."
"It is."
"Listen Sydney, I'm sorry for being so rude to you. I just didn't understand. Its kinda hard to hear."
"I understand. I wanted to tell you the truth. I wanted to tell a bunch of people. But when I told someone once, he was killed. And then when another found out, his life was ruined."
"It was really dangerous for me not to know."
"I told Danny about SD-6. I came home one day to see him shot dead in the bathtub. I couldn't afford to lose someone else to the same fate."
"Then I should thank you for lying to me?"
"No. There is no good excuse for lying to you, except that it was to protect you and myself. If I had told you why my name was Mary Waters, or that my name was really Sydney Bristow, who knows what would have happened to the both of us if Sloane had found out. It is possible for the worst to happen, and it's not death."
"You were trying to save me from a fate worse than death?"
"No. I was trying to save myself from a fate worse than death. You'd be dead."
"I'm not going to thank you for lying. But I'll thank you for making sure I'm not dead."
"No problem." Silence filled the classroom. "Was his family that bad?"
Gretchen groaned. "They were nice and all, but that was it! They were too nice, and too perfect. They never let Trevor and me be alone for one bit all weekend. And every five minutes, they had something new for me to do. I'm supposed to be on vacation, not mucking out the stables."
Sydney laughed. "You were staying on a farm! What did you expect!"
"I don't know... maybe some alone time with my boyfriend. He told me that we would sit on the porch and watch the sun set every night. Every night at sunset, we were in town getting things for dinner, or inside the house babysitting all of the little kids, or in the middle of a field learning about the soil in the area."
"Was it really that bad?"
"His six brothers and sisters were there with their families too. There were 32 of us. 32! And all of them have big families, or are planning big families."
"Calm down. Is a large family what Trevor wants?"
"I don't know. I haven't really talked to him about it yet."
"You kinda need to. Was his family bad enough to not date Trevor anymore, in case they become your family?"
"I don't know."
Sydney glanced up at the clock. "Grab some rubber bands. We're going to be late for the meeting."
"Do you think we'll see many people?" Gretchen asked, grabbing a handful of Sydney's rubber bands.
"I hope not. I can fire a gun like no other. But I can't seem to shoot a rubber band off my finger."
"Try this." Gretchen suggested as she positioned Sydney's fingers just so. But when Sydney went to fire, the rubber band got caught on her finger and limply hung there. "You're hopeless. I suggest using the slower, and for you more effective, two handed method."
"Works somewhat in the past." Sydney sighed, loading up her hands, and pushing her way to her fate at the staff meeting. Sydney sat down. She and Gretchen were some of the last to arrive. The last three were engaged in an epic battle of the rubber bands outside the conference room, until they saw McClelland enter. They quickly raced in, rubber bands still looped around their finger, and one had two in his hair. McClelland sat down, and nodded to Sydney.
"Would you like to start?" He asked.
Sydney nervously stood up, and began telling what was going on. They looked at her like she was crazy. One of the music teachers actually laughed when she sat down after finishing. "You're joking, right?"
Sydney shook her head. "My name really is Sydney Bristow."
"So if we call you Mary, you'll forgive us?"
Sydney smiled. "Of course. Someone close to me died last week, still calling me Mary. I can understand that."
The room sat there, a mix of unsure of how to react, and unsure if she was telling the truth, and a few were thinking about how to get McClelland with the rubber bands after the meeting.
Sydney was flipping through a new textbook the next night, when the doorbell rang. Vaughn had to work late at the bookshop. She put her pen down, and went to answer it. There stood Weiss with a suitcase by his side. "What are you doing here Weiss?" She immediately asked, giving him a hug, and pulling his suitcase inside.
"My transfer came through, and I realized I forgot to find a place to stay."
"Your transfer? What transfer?"
"I didn't tell you guys?"
"Tell us what?"
"I requested a transfer to the New York office."
"What? When?"
"A couple months ago. I wanted to be closer to you guys, and to Kelsey. And it came through. And it was an immediate placement, so I had a week to find a place to crash, but I totally spaced it."
Sydney looked at him dumbfounded. "So you've moved across the country, and you want to stay with us? Why aren't you staying at Kelsey's? She is your girlfriend after all."
"Because I wanted to surprise her. Besides, I know you guys have that guest bedroom."
"She wasn't at her apartment." Sydney stated. She knew where Kelsey was, but it was too much fun keeping the information from her friend.
"Bingo. Do you guys have cable?" Weiss asked, jumping onto the couch and making himself at home.
"ESPN is 53."
"You know me too well."
"Beer is in the fridge."
"Awesome."
"Eric, not that I'm complaining or anything, but why didn't you tell us you were trying to transfer out here?"
Weiss put on an apologetic face. "Because at the time I applied for it, you guys were still in hiding. Then when you guys came out to LA, things were so hectic, that it slipped my mind almost completely. And when I did remember to tell you guys, we were in meetings. So I forgot about it. They told me on Wednesday that I had to be here tomorrow. And then I had so much to do, that I didn't have time to call you. And when I did call, you guys weren't home. Telling you that I was moving your direction didn't seem to be the thing to leave on an answering machine. Or I would remember to call, at like 11, which is even later here. So it just kept slipping my mind."
"If you've moved out here, where's all of your stuff?"
"Coming over at the end of this week."
"You're going to find a place to stay by the end of this week, right?"
"I'm taking a half day tomorrow, to look for a place."
"You're going to try to find an apartment in New York City in an afternoon?"
"Do you think that's too much time?"
Sydney shook her head, eyes open far too wide. "You know, I never took you to be an idiot, but you're proving me wrong."
"More than that?"
"Unless you have a lot of money."
"Do you think I could crash at your place for a little longer than this week? Until I find a place to crash?"
Sydney sighed. "I know Michael won't mind and I don't either."
"Great. You pride yourself in knowing your friends pretty well, right?"
"Until you showed up at my door, yeah. Why?"
"I need your help."
"With what?"
"Picking something out for Kelsey."
"Christmas isn't for another couple months, her birthday was two months ago. Ok, I give up. Why do you need to get Kelsey a present?"
Weiss turned bright red. "I need to pick out the perfect ring." He blushed.
Sydney gasped. "Really!"
"Yes, but you can't tell her."
"I promise I won't. Are you really going to propose to her? I mean you've only been doing a long distance relationship since May."
"I know four months is nothing. But I've been flying out every other weekend to see her, and she's been flying out to see me on the alternate weekends. I just know she's the one for me. You know how you and Mike just knew."
"Kinda."
"Well, Mike was smitten with love the instant he saw you. You were still getting over Danny."
"Very true."
"Well, it was the exact same thing for me. I saw Kelsey helping you guys out, and I knew that I had to ask her out."
"That's really sweet."
"Does she say that kind of thing about me?"
Sydney bit her lip. "Actually, I haven't talked to her about much lately. Lilly just died, so we're still trying to get over the shock of that. And I haven't seen her since the funeral."
"She mentioned that Lilly died. I'm sorry for you guys."
"Thanks."
"But seriously, the last time you guys did talk about guys."
"Last time your name was mentioned was when I was talking to her outside the JTF…" Sydney's voice trailed off, as she tried to remember. "Wait, she said something after the funeral."
"Oh, and after the funeral, what'd she say?"
"She saw me and Michael supporting each other, and she commented she wished she had you."
Weiss smiled. "That's exactly what she said?"
"Give or take a few words."
"Never fear my love! The Weissmaster is here for you!" Weiss jumped up, and pretended to fly around the room like a superhero, making Sydney laugh. He suddenly stopped. "Do you know where she is?"
"Kelsey?"
"No. My mother. Yes, Kelsey?"
"She left her apartment 20 minutes ago."
"And that helps me, how? Where is she going?"
"She's coming here. With Michael working late, we were going to catch a movie."
"She's coming here?"
"Are you deaf?"
"She could have seen me doing my Weissmaster dance!"
"Don't worry, she's still a good 15 minutes away. Have you told her that you've been transferred?"
"I mentioned it when I first submitted the request. I told you I wanted to surprise her."
"Oh she'll be surprised. She'll definitely be surprised."
The front door opened, and Weiss immediately perked up. "Sydney! Are you ready for a girls night!" Gretchen called out. Weiss turned back to his sports, disappointed that it wasn't Kelsey.
"I sure am. Kelsey isn't here yet though."
"How long will we have to wait?"
"Probably another 15 minutes."
"Do you have a beer in the fridge?"
"There should be one or two. Help yourself."
"Actually, you're out Syd!" Weiss called from the couch.
"Go buy your own beer!" Sydney instructed. "You know Michael's rule! The house guest buys the beer."
"Who is that?" Gretchen asked.
"Eric."
"As in Kelsey's Eric?"
"The very one."
"What is he doing here?"
"Very long story."
"He's not going to interrupt out night, right?"
"I hope not."
"Syd, can I borrow your car to go buy some more beer?" Sydney pointed to the key rack by the door.
"Sure."
"Alright, I'm going to get you guys some chick beer, and some man beer."
"There's a difference?" Gretchen asked.
"Oh yeah. There's a big difference." Eric grabbed the keys, and left, shouting thanks over his shoulder.
He had not been gone more than three minutes when Kelsey walked through the door. She barely stopped. "Let's go! Come on! We're going to be late enough as it is."
Sydney grabbed Gretchen, and they all ran out to the car. "What? You got here early, and you're saying we're going to be late."
"When I drove past the movie theater, there was already a line."
"If we miss the previews, it's alright."
"The previews are the best part!"
The girls went to their movie, and then returned to Sydney and Vaughn's house, as was the tradition. They came in, laughing as Kelsey badly acted out the funniest bits of the movie. Weiss and Vaughn had camped out on the couch, watching sports on the television. "Hello?" Sydney called.
"Hey Honey." Vaughn called, getting up from the couch.
Weiss got up, and turned around, facing Kelsey squarely. "Hey there, Kelsey."
Kelsey's eyes lit up like a child's in a candy store. "Eric!" She squealed, quickly running to his arms.
"Hey." He said, before kissing her.
Gretchen looked around. Sydney was in Michael's arms. Kelsey was still passionately kissing Eric, and she stood all alone, the fifth wheel. "You know what? I think I'm going to head home. You guys seem to be happy here. I got Trevor waiting at home."
"Alright Gretch. See you tomorrow. Oh hey- how far do you think we can go tomorrow?"
"Taco Bell. We can probably go to the far Taco Bell."
Sydney scrunched up her nose. "I'm not a fan of Taco Bell."
"We only have to buy a drink to make it official."
"True. I'll see you."
"Yep. See ya. Bye Kelsey!"
But Kelsey didn't hear her. Gretchen shook her head, and left. Sydney watched Kelsey and Eric make out in their living room. "Hey guys!" Sydney yelled, hoping to get their attention.
They broke apart, and then glared at Sydney. "What?"
"I wanted to break this up before it went any further in our living room."
Kelsey glared at her best friend, but then ignored her and turned back to Weiss. "What are you doing here?"
"My transfer came through!"
"When do you start?"
"Today."
"Eric Weiss! Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to surprise you!"
"Where's your apartment?"
"I don't have one yet. I'm crashing with these guys until I find one."
"Don't be silly! You're not going to need to look any farther than my apartment!"
"You want me to move in with you?"
"Yes!"
"Alright!"
"Lets go now!"
"Right now? What about these guys?"
Kelsey turned to Sydney and Vaughn. She gave them a smile. "We'll see them later. Come on!"
Weiss turned to Sydney. "You'll hook me up with that thing, right Syd?" He asked. Sydney nodded.
"What thing?" Both Kelsey and Vaughn asked.
"It's for us to know and you to find out."
"Eric is moving in with me!" Kelsey exclaimed looking at her best friend.
"Yay!" Sydney said, spreading her friend's enthusiasm. Kelsey grabbed Weiss' suitcase then ran out the door.
"I'm moving in with Kelsey!" Weiss quickly exclaimed, then followed his girlfriend out the door.
"Well, that was slightly interesting." Vaughn said, slightly amused.
"They're happy."
"About as happy as we are."
"No one can be as happy as we are." Sydney said, kissing Vaughn.
"True. So, are you going to tell me what you're going to hook Weiss up with?"
"No! I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone. That includes you!"
"Oh yeah!" Vaughn said, quickly making his way to tickle Sydney.
"Yes! There is nothing you can do that can make me spill!" Sydney giggled, as she ran away from her fiancée.
"Nothing?" Vaughn asked, catching Sydney, and kissing her.
"You can always try." Sydney tempted.
"Well then." Vaughn said, pulling Sydney into another long and passionate kiss.
Come Monday morning, Sydney, in a true glamour style, opened the door to her classroom. A few of the students had already assembled, grabbing the seats of their choice. A few of the front row were already taken, the back two rows were taken, and the entire middle section was left wide open. She looked around and smiled at the nervous students. The warning bell rang, and the classroom was quickly filled. She stood in front of her new students and smiled. "Welcome to US Lit and Comp. There are a lot of familiar faces from last year. I'm happy to see all of you again. For those of you that haven't had me before, and for those of you that have, I'm Miss Bristow. Your schedules will say Miss Waters, but that's a story for another day. I'm passing out the syllabus right now. Let's look over it." As Sydney passed around the papers, she smiled. "I hope everyone had an adventurous summer." The students gave her an unenthusiastic first day and first period groan. She smiled brightly. Some things would never change. They didn't know that the quiz she had written for them, was trashed early that morning. But they had to groan jus the same. Because some things will never change. One thing would always remain the same from that moment on. Greenwich was her home with Vaughn, and teaching was where she belonged. Mary Waters had found Sydney Bristow, and it made her produce one of the most genuine smiles.
Fin.