Chap.28- Sandalwood and Lilies
Vaughn stood by the large glass window of the hospital, a cup of coffee in his hand, the swaying boughs of the skinny trees entrancing him by their dance. He lifted his arm and took a sip of his now ice-cold coffee. Shuddering, he walked over to the bathroom and poured the remains down the sink. Looking up into the mirror, he looked into his own bloodshot eyes, remembering.
A loud gun shot had caught his attention and walking briskly in that direction, he too, came upon the ribbon of blood. He had hoped, prayed, wished, and pleaded that that wasn't Sydney's. He had passed the dead guard, now assured that Sydney hadn't been mortally wounded. But his breath caught in his throat when he had seen Sydney's figure curled on the ground.
Frantically, he had called for an emergency extraction. He and Sydney were flown to the hospital in Langley. After they had assessed that she was at least stable, they were then immediately flown to Los Angeles.
A small tap on the door caught his attention and Ana poked her head into the room. He walked out from the bathroom and she motioned for him to come outside.
"How is she?" Ana asked.
"The doctors say that she's stable." Vaughn answered.
"Has she woken up yet?"
"No. She did, briefly, when we landed in Langley. She has a slight concussion from when she was knocked out."
"Oh...tell her I stopped by, okay?"
"Sure." Vaughn answered and his voice then dropped to a whisper. "How was the dead drop?"
"It went well...Kendall will catch you up on it. Speaking of Kendall, I have a debriefing to get to...so I should go. I just wanted to check up on her. Get some sleep, you look like hell."
Vaughn snorted.
"Thanks."
"No problem!" Ana shouted as she walked down the long, lit hall.
Vaughn was jolted out of his sleep as his ears detected a soft voice that stood out among the gentle whirring of machines and the bleeps of the monitors.
"Vaughn..."
Scrambling up from his fold-away bed the nurses had given him, he crossed the room to the bed and as his eyes adjusted, he detected the outline of Sydney's face.
"Close your eyes." He warned, leaning over her to turn on the tender luminance of the bedside light. He sat down into the chair beside the bed and she sat up to look at him directly.
"What happened?" She asked.
"I don't know." He admitted. "I found you unconscious and so I called for emergency extraction."
Sydney nodded.
"I remember now. I...I heard someone outside the room, so I went to see who it was. Then I saw the blood...and the guard. I bent down to check his wounds and she caught me off guard."
"She?" Vaughn asked.
"Yea. She."
"Do you remember what happened next?"
Sydney frowned and the creases in her forehead disappeared as her eyes flew open.
"She kicked in my stomach, I fell...I don't remember anything after that."
"She knocked you unconscious." Vaughn supplied.
"Is my baby okay?" Sydney asked, her heart monitor number increasing rapidly.
"Syd, calm down." Vaughn soothed, his eyes flickering to the monitor.
"I don't care about those damn numbers!" Sydney shouted. "I want to know if my baby is okay."
Vaughn looked straight at her.
"Syd...I..."
"Vaughn?"
"I'm sorry, Syd. I really am."
"Why are you sorry? Vaughn? Answer me!" Sydney almost screamed in frustration, the tears already beginning to form in her eyes.
"When the woman...attacked you, she kicked you directly in your abdomen and your baby received most of the blow. And..."
"And?" Sydney demanded, almost not wanting to know.
"And it died from brain damage."
An almost un-human scream escaped from Sydney and she bent over, in extreme emotional pain, clutching her heart. Her long hair fell from behind her ears and tears fell from her eyes, spattering the speckled tiles of the hospital room.
Vaughn moved from his chair to the edge of her bed. He didn't hesitate as he brushed the hair from her tear-stained face back behind her ear. She looked up at him and wrapped her cool arms around his neck. His strong arms felt her sobs racking her body and he looked up as one of the nurses walked into the room, her original purpose to tell them to quiet down.
He shook his head slightly and she nodded as she walked back out again, shutting the door quietly behind her.
The next morning, Sydney woke up to a soft rapping on the door. Her eyes, swollen from crying, forced themselves open. She heard a small clatter in the bathroom and a few seconds later, Vaughn walked out quickly to open the door. He was greeted by an enormous stuffed bear.
"Hey." A muffled voice said, seemingly coming from the bear.
"Hey..." Vaughn ventured tentatively.
"It's me, Mike." Weiss answered, peeking around the bear's head to its shoulder.
"I figured." He remarked dryly and then smiled. Weiss had a knack for lightening the air in the stuffiest places.
The bear-man moved from the doorway to the bedside. Thrusting the bear at Sydney, Eric squeaked in a shy voice,
"I, uh...I won it. For you."
A small smile began to form on Sydney's lips and she decided to play along with Eric's mockery of high school teenagers.
"For me?"
"Yea...uh...I had to play like, twenty-seven times...."
"How sweet..."
"Yea...I...
"Okay! Okay!" Vaughn cut in; shaking his head. The other half of him couldn't help but wonder how long they could go on.
Eric and Sydney grinned at each other and Sydney situated the bear in the seat beside her bed. She reached up and hugged Eric briefly.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Lisa and Jake send their best wishes."
The door burst open and Ana's flying figure came to Sydney's bed side. She hugged her tightly and smiled.
"I came to visit you. Did he tell you?" Ana asked, referring to Vaughn.
"No...." Sydney answered.
They both turned to look at Vaughn who shrugged.
"What?" He asked in indignation.
"Never mind." Ana said waving her hand in his direction. "Oo...cute bear."
Eric beamed proudly.
"I thought you said that Mark and James were coming with you." Vaughn said to Ana.
"Oh, they're in the parking lot. Apparently, none of the spaces are close enough for them."
As if on cue, the two materialized in the doorway and after greeting Vaughn and Eric, went to say hi to Sydney.
"Did you find a parking space?" Eric asked Mark.
"Yep," Mark answered. "Right smack near the elevator."
"First floor?" Eric asked.
"Yep."
"Oh, when I came all of them were full."
"They are...except for the handicapped." Mark answered slyly.
"You parked in the handicapped?" Vaughn asked in disbelief.
"Yea, James has a plaque from his uncle."
"You know, you're not really supposed to do that." Sydney spoke up.
"I know. It's against the law or something. Violating the government and whatnot." Mark shrugged.
"Did you forget who you work for?!" Ana asked.
"Oh." Mark answered, his smile disappearing. "Right on. James! To the car!"
Ana turned around and hit James on the arm.
"Ow." He remarked. "I personally thought it was a bad idea. I tried to tell him...really I did..."
Ana turned to Sydney and then rolled her eyes.
"I should go and make sure that they don't run over anything...or anyone. I'll see you soon."
"Bye."
The three of them walked out of the room, their voices could be heard until the elevator closed shut.
"I like that Mark." Eric said. "He reminds me of..."
"You." Vaughn cut in. "He reminds you of you. That's why you like him so much."
"Exactly!" He exclaimed.
"Do I know you or do I know you?"
"You know me."
"That's what I thought."
Later that day, the nurses informed Vaughn that they could not get a hold of Scott and that nobody had picked up the phone at the university hospital. They assured him that he could go home and get a decent night's sleep, pointing out the fact that he would need to be at work the next day.
A few days later, Sydney was admitted from the hospital and allowed to go home. The doctors had detected no further brain injury and assured her that she would not experience any side effects from the concussion that would hinder her performance in the field.
She was packing her clothes to go home when a nurse walked into her room.
"Do you need any help?" The nurse asked.
"Oh, no thank you. I'm fine." Sydney answered politely.
"I tried called your emergency contact, and he's not picking up."
"It's my husband. He's at a medical conference in Europe."
"Is there anybody else I can call to come pick you up?"
"I can't drive home myself?" Sydney asked.
"Well...we like our patients to refrain from any operation of heavy machinery for at least twenty-four hours. It's a hospital policy. Are you sure there's nobody else? Relatives? Friends?"
Sydney thought for a moment. Jack was in Langley and would be for the following week. Will and Katie were probably swamped at work, the demanding deadline closing near. Lisa had Jake to deal with, which was enough to handle already. Eric was in court. Ana, Mark, and James were all at work and she knew that they had too much paperwork to fill out, testimonies to give, and evaluations to present. Vaughn...
"Does this hospital hold permanent records?"
"Yes."
"Would you mind looking up my former emergency contact? It was...five years ago."
"Who am I looking for?" The nurse asked brightly.
"Vaughn, Michael. He's....he's a friend."
Late that night, Vaughn stayed up, pacing around the house with nothing to do. He couldn't sleep, but he was dead tired. He swirled the glass of white wine that he was holding in his hand, poured from the bottle Sydney had given them at the dinner party. It didn't do much for him though. He would have preferred a glass of brandy or scotch, but Lauren didn't like the presence of them in the house.
The sudden patter of raindrops hit the roof and the slid down the windows. Drawing the curtains, he stood in the window of the living room and watched as nature took out its anger. Thunder shook Vaughn's eardrums and he counted silently, watching for the lightening.
'Eleven miles.' He told himself as he saw the brilliant flash of light.
The rain began to fall harder from the sky, in larger raindrops, it seemed. Randomly, Vaughn's mind drifted back to the lilies in Sydney's garden and he sincerely hoped that they would not be destroyed during this rainfall.
Lightning struck again and Vaughn jumped as the doorbell rang simultaneously with it. His drowsiness cleared and adrenaline rushed through his body. He wondered who would be out at this hour, and in this weather.
Slowly, he walked to the front door and cautiously peeked through the peephole in the door. He drew back, shocked, and quickly unlocked the door.
"Syd! What are you doing outside?" Vaughn asked, as more rain spattered onto her hair, dripped through the light jacket, and down her legs. He looked up to her face and he could see the tear stains that ran down her cheeks.
"Vaughn...I'm sorry to bother you..." Sydney started.
"Sydney, you're soaked." Vaughn said, cutting her off. He pulled her inside, locking the door.
"Is Lauren sleeping? Did I wake you up?"
"She..."
"It's probably not a good time, is it? I'll just go. I'm sorry." Sydney said quickly, now embarrassed, her mind wandering to what she could have interrupted. Her fingers numb from the cold, worked unsuccessfully at the heavy lock.
"She's not home." Vaughn answered, his hand closing on hers to stop it.
"Oh." Sydney replied, her teeth chattering.
"You're freezing." He said, feeling her cold fingers. "Come on." He said leading her to the bedroom. She stood by as he pulled a large sweater and flannels from closet hangers. He moved to the linen closet to get a towel and handed the pile to her. "The bathroom is over there."
"Thanks." She whispered and moved past him.
A few minutes later, he could hear the bathroom light click shut and the bathroom door swinging open. Sydney padded into the room softly and curled up into the couch opposite of him.
"Hey." He said softly.
"Hey." She answered.
"Are you okay, Syd?"
A brief silence followed and she finally shook her head.
"No." Sydney admitted. "I just killed my child, how can I be alright?"
"You didn't kill it."
"I technically did."
"We aren't speaking technically."
"I'm experiencing the worst thing that anybody can experience. It's not just losing a child. It's....regret."
"Regret?"
"Yes. Regret. I just keep telling myself over and over that if I had just LISTENED and not have been so stubborn...You kept telling me not to go. My father kept telling me not to go. But I didn't listen."
"Syd, I don't want to sound insensitive. But you have to stop beating yourself up about it. Because nothing is going to change it."
"I know...I just....I can't stop. The house is so empty."
"Your husband..."
"...Is at a medical conference. In Europe." Sydney finished. "Oh god, he doesn't know. How am I supposed to tell him?" She buried her face in her hands.
"Syd, listen to me. Sydney. Listen." Vaughn demanded. "He WILL understand."
"You don't know that. He's going to hate me."
"No, he won't."
"How do you know that?" She asked, desperation beginning to show in her voice.
Vaughn looked intently at her.
"How can anybody hate you?" He asked quietly.
The thunder rolled again. The flash of lightening filled to room.
"Three miles." Sydney said softly. She rested her head against the arm of the couch. None of them spoke for a long time and by the time the next sound of thunder filled the air; Sydney had fallen into a light sleep.
Vaughn got up to turn up the heat and his gaze fell on Sydney. Gently, he lifted her from the couch and transferred her onto the bed. Vaughn looked at Sydney, the Kings logo emblazoned largely on the chest of his favorite sweater and the faded red flannel of his pants, lying on Lauren's side of the bed. Sighing, he reached over and gently lifted her to his side, covering her with the thick comforter.
His nose inhaled the familiar scent of her and he smiled in recognition.
Sandalwood and lilies.
Crossing to the other end of the room, he grabbed an extra pillow and a blanket from a chair. Vaughn walked to the living room and arranged his make-shift bed on the couch.
Just like the gentleman that he was.
Author's Note: Hi! How was that? Was it too choppy? Because there were so many things that were happening in this chapter. If you're like me and sometimes space out when reading and don't really read word-for-word, then I do kind of recommend that you go back because there will probably be references in the future and there are A TON of hints.
But I'm not telling.....
OKAY! So anyways, I was reading some reviews and I realized that there are questions that you guys asked me that I DIDN'T EVEN ANSWER!! Which is, if you ask me, extremely rude. So I'm sorry for being rude. Here we go:
Agent Lopez, I think the word you're looking for is "fetus". Lol.
"I'm sorry!" Is the first thing I have to say. The second is explaining Vaughn's position in all of this. He ACCEPTS the fact that Sydney is pregnant (or was) with another man's kid but it doesn't mean that he's OKAY with it. You see the difference? I mean, it's not like he has another other choice because he has absolutely no say in it whatsoever. He does in a way, feel responsible for Sydney's safety because he knows that he's the only one that knows that she's pregnant and if in case, she is exposed to ULTRA- dangerous situations or whatever, he's there for her. (Victoria-Marie, I hope that's helpful a bit. I'm not correcting you or anything. Just elaborating a bit...)
Jayme: Teeheehee. Geez, your reviews are so long, it's like ::whoosh:: and goes right over my head. But whatever you do: DON'T STOP WRITING THEM!!! Okay, well you had a lot of questions. First, my presents. Oh yes! Let's talk about that! Well, I got moolah and clothes and such. Lots of little things that my friends gave me that are inside jokes. Yep yep. Second: No, I don't think that koalas are on lamp posts and kangaroos are everywhere....but THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!! I mean, you're talking to your friend in the street and a kangaroo just hops by in the back round. ::hop hop hop:: SO COOL! YES! Third: NO, Bridgette doesn't know about Lauren not being able to have kids. Fourth: Scott knows that Sydney is CIA (read about it in: Chapter 3) but he doesn't know about Vaughn. Fifth: (coughhennycough) Sydney and Scott moved back to LA because Scott got a job transfer to the university hospital (read about it in: Chapter 1- Sydney is unpacking and reminiscing).
To: madnuninblue
I told you I would find out who you were! You (and your friends) predicted the part about Sydney going on the mission and something goes wrong. I see that you've got that part down pat. BUT like I said before...you've only got PART of it right. But good job anways! Teeheehee. ::high-five!::
Ok, yes. Loser. Me. Dork. Me.
Tell me something I DON'T know.
But...AHH! Yes! What will happen in the next chapter?
Read on!
Jen
P.S. Wasn't this a long chapter? YES. All nod with me now. YES.....
Vaughn stood by the large glass window of the hospital, a cup of coffee in his hand, the swaying boughs of the skinny trees entrancing him by their dance. He lifted his arm and took a sip of his now ice-cold coffee. Shuddering, he walked over to the bathroom and poured the remains down the sink. Looking up into the mirror, he looked into his own bloodshot eyes, remembering.
A loud gun shot had caught his attention and walking briskly in that direction, he too, came upon the ribbon of blood. He had hoped, prayed, wished, and pleaded that that wasn't Sydney's. He had passed the dead guard, now assured that Sydney hadn't been mortally wounded. But his breath caught in his throat when he had seen Sydney's figure curled on the ground.
Frantically, he had called for an emergency extraction. He and Sydney were flown to the hospital in Langley. After they had assessed that she was at least stable, they were then immediately flown to Los Angeles.
A small tap on the door caught his attention and Ana poked her head into the room. He walked out from the bathroom and she motioned for him to come outside.
"How is she?" Ana asked.
"The doctors say that she's stable." Vaughn answered.
"Has she woken up yet?"
"No. She did, briefly, when we landed in Langley. She has a slight concussion from when she was knocked out."
"Oh...tell her I stopped by, okay?"
"Sure." Vaughn answered and his voice then dropped to a whisper. "How was the dead drop?"
"It went well...Kendall will catch you up on it. Speaking of Kendall, I have a debriefing to get to...so I should go. I just wanted to check up on her. Get some sleep, you look like hell."
Vaughn snorted.
"Thanks."
"No problem!" Ana shouted as she walked down the long, lit hall.
Vaughn was jolted out of his sleep as his ears detected a soft voice that stood out among the gentle whirring of machines and the bleeps of the monitors.
"Vaughn..."
Scrambling up from his fold-away bed the nurses had given him, he crossed the room to the bed and as his eyes adjusted, he detected the outline of Sydney's face.
"Close your eyes." He warned, leaning over her to turn on the tender luminance of the bedside light. He sat down into the chair beside the bed and she sat up to look at him directly.
"What happened?" She asked.
"I don't know." He admitted. "I found you unconscious and so I called for emergency extraction."
Sydney nodded.
"I remember now. I...I heard someone outside the room, so I went to see who it was. Then I saw the blood...and the guard. I bent down to check his wounds and she caught me off guard."
"She?" Vaughn asked.
"Yea. She."
"Do you remember what happened next?"
Sydney frowned and the creases in her forehead disappeared as her eyes flew open.
"She kicked in my stomach, I fell...I don't remember anything after that."
"She knocked you unconscious." Vaughn supplied.
"Is my baby okay?" Sydney asked, her heart monitor number increasing rapidly.
"Syd, calm down." Vaughn soothed, his eyes flickering to the monitor.
"I don't care about those damn numbers!" Sydney shouted. "I want to know if my baby is okay."
Vaughn looked straight at her.
"Syd...I..."
"Vaughn?"
"I'm sorry, Syd. I really am."
"Why are you sorry? Vaughn? Answer me!" Sydney almost screamed in frustration, the tears already beginning to form in her eyes.
"When the woman...attacked you, she kicked you directly in your abdomen and your baby received most of the blow. And..."
"And?" Sydney demanded, almost not wanting to know.
"And it died from brain damage."
An almost un-human scream escaped from Sydney and she bent over, in extreme emotional pain, clutching her heart. Her long hair fell from behind her ears and tears fell from her eyes, spattering the speckled tiles of the hospital room.
Vaughn moved from his chair to the edge of her bed. He didn't hesitate as he brushed the hair from her tear-stained face back behind her ear. She looked up at him and wrapped her cool arms around his neck. His strong arms felt her sobs racking her body and he looked up as one of the nurses walked into the room, her original purpose to tell them to quiet down.
He shook his head slightly and she nodded as she walked back out again, shutting the door quietly behind her.
The next morning, Sydney woke up to a soft rapping on the door. Her eyes, swollen from crying, forced themselves open. She heard a small clatter in the bathroom and a few seconds later, Vaughn walked out quickly to open the door. He was greeted by an enormous stuffed bear.
"Hey." A muffled voice said, seemingly coming from the bear.
"Hey..." Vaughn ventured tentatively.
"It's me, Mike." Weiss answered, peeking around the bear's head to its shoulder.
"I figured." He remarked dryly and then smiled. Weiss had a knack for lightening the air in the stuffiest places.
The bear-man moved from the doorway to the bedside. Thrusting the bear at Sydney, Eric squeaked in a shy voice,
"I, uh...I won it. For you."
A small smile began to form on Sydney's lips and she decided to play along with Eric's mockery of high school teenagers.
"For me?"
"Yea...uh...I had to play like, twenty-seven times...."
"How sweet..."
"Yea...I...
"Okay! Okay!" Vaughn cut in; shaking his head. The other half of him couldn't help but wonder how long they could go on.
Eric and Sydney grinned at each other and Sydney situated the bear in the seat beside her bed. She reached up and hugged Eric briefly.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Lisa and Jake send their best wishes."
The door burst open and Ana's flying figure came to Sydney's bed side. She hugged her tightly and smiled.
"I came to visit you. Did he tell you?" Ana asked, referring to Vaughn.
"No...." Sydney answered.
They both turned to look at Vaughn who shrugged.
"What?" He asked in indignation.
"Never mind." Ana said waving her hand in his direction. "Oo...cute bear."
Eric beamed proudly.
"I thought you said that Mark and James were coming with you." Vaughn said to Ana.
"Oh, they're in the parking lot. Apparently, none of the spaces are close enough for them."
As if on cue, the two materialized in the doorway and after greeting Vaughn and Eric, went to say hi to Sydney.
"Did you find a parking space?" Eric asked Mark.
"Yep," Mark answered. "Right smack near the elevator."
"First floor?" Eric asked.
"Yep."
"Oh, when I came all of them were full."
"They are...except for the handicapped." Mark answered slyly.
"You parked in the handicapped?" Vaughn asked in disbelief.
"Yea, James has a plaque from his uncle."
"You know, you're not really supposed to do that." Sydney spoke up.
"I know. It's against the law or something. Violating the government and whatnot." Mark shrugged.
"Did you forget who you work for?!" Ana asked.
"Oh." Mark answered, his smile disappearing. "Right on. James! To the car!"
Ana turned around and hit James on the arm.
"Ow." He remarked. "I personally thought it was a bad idea. I tried to tell him...really I did..."
Ana turned to Sydney and then rolled her eyes.
"I should go and make sure that they don't run over anything...or anyone. I'll see you soon."
"Bye."
The three of them walked out of the room, their voices could be heard until the elevator closed shut.
"I like that Mark." Eric said. "He reminds me of..."
"You." Vaughn cut in. "He reminds you of you. That's why you like him so much."
"Exactly!" He exclaimed.
"Do I know you or do I know you?"
"You know me."
"That's what I thought."
Later that day, the nurses informed Vaughn that they could not get a hold of Scott and that nobody had picked up the phone at the university hospital. They assured him that he could go home and get a decent night's sleep, pointing out the fact that he would need to be at work the next day.
A few days later, Sydney was admitted from the hospital and allowed to go home. The doctors had detected no further brain injury and assured her that she would not experience any side effects from the concussion that would hinder her performance in the field.
She was packing her clothes to go home when a nurse walked into her room.
"Do you need any help?" The nurse asked.
"Oh, no thank you. I'm fine." Sydney answered politely.
"I tried called your emergency contact, and he's not picking up."
"It's my husband. He's at a medical conference in Europe."
"Is there anybody else I can call to come pick you up?"
"I can't drive home myself?" Sydney asked.
"Well...we like our patients to refrain from any operation of heavy machinery for at least twenty-four hours. It's a hospital policy. Are you sure there's nobody else? Relatives? Friends?"
Sydney thought for a moment. Jack was in Langley and would be for the following week. Will and Katie were probably swamped at work, the demanding deadline closing near. Lisa had Jake to deal with, which was enough to handle already. Eric was in court. Ana, Mark, and James were all at work and she knew that they had too much paperwork to fill out, testimonies to give, and evaluations to present. Vaughn...
"Does this hospital hold permanent records?"
"Yes."
"Would you mind looking up my former emergency contact? It was...five years ago."
"Who am I looking for?" The nurse asked brightly.
"Vaughn, Michael. He's....he's a friend."
Late that night, Vaughn stayed up, pacing around the house with nothing to do. He couldn't sleep, but he was dead tired. He swirled the glass of white wine that he was holding in his hand, poured from the bottle Sydney had given them at the dinner party. It didn't do much for him though. He would have preferred a glass of brandy or scotch, but Lauren didn't like the presence of them in the house.
The sudden patter of raindrops hit the roof and the slid down the windows. Drawing the curtains, he stood in the window of the living room and watched as nature took out its anger. Thunder shook Vaughn's eardrums and he counted silently, watching for the lightening.
'Eleven miles.' He told himself as he saw the brilliant flash of light.
The rain began to fall harder from the sky, in larger raindrops, it seemed. Randomly, Vaughn's mind drifted back to the lilies in Sydney's garden and he sincerely hoped that they would not be destroyed during this rainfall.
Lightning struck again and Vaughn jumped as the doorbell rang simultaneously with it. His drowsiness cleared and adrenaline rushed through his body. He wondered who would be out at this hour, and in this weather.
Slowly, he walked to the front door and cautiously peeked through the peephole in the door. He drew back, shocked, and quickly unlocked the door.
"Syd! What are you doing outside?" Vaughn asked, as more rain spattered onto her hair, dripped through the light jacket, and down her legs. He looked up to her face and he could see the tear stains that ran down her cheeks.
"Vaughn...I'm sorry to bother you..." Sydney started.
"Sydney, you're soaked." Vaughn said, cutting her off. He pulled her inside, locking the door.
"Is Lauren sleeping? Did I wake you up?"
"She..."
"It's probably not a good time, is it? I'll just go. I'm sorry." Sydney said quickly, now embarrassed, her mind wandering to what she could have interrupted. Her fingers numb from the cold, worked unsuccessfully at the heavy lock.
"She's not home." Vaughn answered, his hand closing on hers to stop it.
"Oh." Sydney replied, her teeth chattering.
"You're freezing." He said, feeling her cold fingers. "Come on." He said leading her to the bedroom. She stood by as he pulled a large sweater and flannels from closet hangers. He moved to the linen closet to get a towel and handed the pile to her. "The bathroom is over there."
"Thanks." She whispered and moved past him.
A few minutes later, he could hear the bathroom light click shut and the bathroom door swinging open. Sydney padded into the room softly and curled up into the couch opposite of him.
"Hey." He said softly.
"Hey." She answered.
"Are you okay, Syd?"
A brief silence followed and she finally shook her head.
"No." Sydney admitted. "I just killed my child, how can I be alright?"
"You didn't kill it."
"I technically did."
"We aren't speaking technically."
"I'm experiencing the worst thing that anybody can experience. It's not just losing a child. It's....regret."
"Regret?"
"Yes. Regret. I just keep telling myself over and over that if I had just LISTENED and not have been so stubborn...You kept telling me not to go. My father kept telling me not to go. But I didn't listen."
"Syd, I don't want to sound insensitive. But you have to stop beating yourself up about it. Because nothing is going to change it."
"I know...I just....I can't stop. The house is so empty."
"Your husband..."
"...Is at a medical conference. In Europe." Sydney finished. "Oh god, he doesn't know. How am I supposed to tell him?" She buried her face in her hands.
"Syd, listen to me. Sydney. Listen." Vaughn demanded. "He WILL understand."
"You don't know that. He's going to hate me."
"No, he won't."
"How do you know that?" She asked, desperation beginning to show in her voice.
Vaughn looked intently at her.
"How can anybody hate you?" He asked quietly.
The thunder rolled again. The flash of lightening filled to room.
"Three miles." Sydney said softly. She rested her head against the arm of the couch. None of them spoke for a long time and by the time the next sound of thunder filled the air; Sydney had fallen into a light sleep.
Vaughn got up to turn up the heat and his gaze fell on Sydney. Gently, he lifted her from the couch and transferred her onto the bed. Vaughn looked at Sydney, the Kings logo emblazoned largely on the chest of his favorite sweater and the faded red flannel of his pants, lying on Lauren's side of the bed. Sighing, he reached over and gently lifted her to his side, covering her with the thick comforter.
His nose inhaled the familiar scent of her and he smiled in recognition.
Sandalwood and lilies.
Crossing to the other end of the room, he grabbed an extra pillow and a blanket from a chair. Vaughn walked to the living room and arranged his make-shift bed on the couch.
Just like the gentleman that he was.
Author's Note: Hi! How was that? Was it too choppy? Because there were so many things that were happening in this chapter. If you're like me and sometimes space out when reading and don't really read word-for-word, then I do kind of recommend that you go back because there will probably be references in the future and there are A TON of hints.
But I'm not telling.....
OKAY! So anyways, I was reading some reviews and I realized that there are questions that you guys asked me that I DIDN'T EVEN ANSWER!! Which is, if you ask me, extremely rude. So I'm sorry for being rude. Here we go:
Agent Lopez, I think the word you're looking for is "fetus". Lol.
"I'm sorry!" Is the first thing I have to say. The second is explaining Vaughn's position in all of this. He ACCEPTS the fact that Sydney is pregnant (or was) with another man's kid but it doesn't mean that he's OKAY with it. You see the difference? I mean, it's not like he has another other choice because he has absolutely no say in it whatsoever. He does in a way, feel responsible for Sydney's safety because he knows that he's the only one that knows that she's pregnant and if in case, she is exposed to ULTRA- dangerous situations or whatever, he's there for her. (Victoria-Marie, I hope that's helpful a bit. I'm not correcting you or anything. Just elaborating a bit...)
Jayme: Teeheehee. Geez, your reviews are so long, it's like ::whoosh:: and goes right over my head. But whatever you do: DON'T STOP WRITING THEM!!! Okay, well you had a lot of questions. First, my presents. Oh yes! Let's talk about that! Well, I got moolah and clothes and such. Lots of little things that my friends gave me that are inside jokes. Yep yep. Second: No, I don't think that koalas are on lamp posts and kangaroos are everywhere....but THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!! I mean, you're talking to your friend in the street and a kangaroo just hops by in the back round. ::hop hop hop:: SO COOL! YES! Third: NO, Bridgette doesn't know about Lauren not being able to have kids. Fourth: Scott knows that Sydney is CIA (read about it in: Chapter 3) but he doesn't know about Vaughn. Fifth: (coughhennycough) Sydney and Scott moved back to LA because Scott got a job transfer to the university hospital (read about it in: Chapter 1- Sydney is unpacking and reminiscing).
To: madnuninblue
I told you I would find out who you were! You (and your friends) predicted the part about Sydney going on the mission and something goes wrong. I see that you've got that part down pat. BUT like I said before...you've only got PART of it right. But good job anways! Teeheehee. ::high-five!::
Ok, yes. Loser. Me. Dork. Me.
Tell me something I DON'T know.
But...AHH! Yes! What will happen in the next chapter?
Read on!
Jen
P.S. Wasn't this a long chapter? YES. All nod with me now. YES.....