A/N: Argh.. I could. not. write. this. chapter. It was hard but I just sucked it up and did it. Funny thing was, I kept working on the next chapter, so expect something sugary sweet soon. I know that we're all a little sad about the.. recent developments.. on Alias so I just felt we needed a little fluff here.. Enjoy!
Dedications: Many people in this chapter.. It seems like a lot of new people picked up the fic in that last chapter and I can't even name them all! Lol. I'd like to extend a little welcome to the new people and a big hug to those who mentioned they missed this fic. ::hugs:: And a cookie to everyone that guessed correctly! (BTW, the movie was Jerry McGuire)
Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing of the sort.
Chapter 12 - What Normal Is
I wake up that next morning looking forward to staying at home and doing virtually nothing. I know Sydney doesn't have work because I'd arranged it that way but I can't help but smile at the thought of how we'll spend our day. There are already a million thoughts in my head but it's her that compels me to get up and actually do something about it.
Sure enough when I wake up, she's inches away from my face, a silly grin on her face that probably matches the one on mine. Every hair seems to be in place like it miraculously always is when we wake up in the morning. My favorite part is that in the morning and only in the morning does she have this unique glow that just makes me wish for more mornings like this.
"Morning, you." I mumble.
"Morning." She leans over placing a small kiss on my nose, laughing at my reaction. "Good dream?"
Untangling them from the covers, I snake my arms around her, bringing her closer. And leaning in, I finally get the chance to kiss her properly. She laughs when we apart. "You have no idea."
Her grin gets impossibly bigger and she buries her head into my chest, batting her eyelashes with each word. "Oh yeah?" She scoots closer than ever to me, inches away from my face now. "Tell me about it.."
=-=-=-=-=-=
I want more than anything to complete the memory that keeps circling around my head, but I don't - not willingly at least. Being this close to her again, sharing more than housing makes me think of the way things used to be between Sydney and I. The past week hasn't been easy obviously but somehow that night when I agreed to stay with her, things have changed dramatically.
I don't want to completely forget the fact that we ended up on a couch together, but she does. There hasn't been any mention of it at all but then again, things couldn't be any better between us. Besides the obvious physical contact, we seem to have fallen back into the comfort we've had years ago.
She smiles more, I've noticed and from Eric's teasings, it seems that I have as well. Whenever we happen to meet, I get the occasional inappropriate comment about us but it doesn't bother me anymore because deep down, I know that what comes with his ridicules are worth it completely.
I fight the urge to laugh out loud when a child comes up to Sydney and Donnovan, politely asking permission to pet, "the tubby puppy." Sydney wears a mask of confusion, unsure if she should allow it as Donnovan runs around erratically around her. From my view from the bench, the sight is comical as the child remains persistent. After her escapade, she flops down onto the seat next to me, huffing out a breath.
"Why do all these kids come up to me only when I have the leash?"
Laughing, I reply, "Because you're more approachable than I am."
She makes a face and then continues to rest, prompting me to think that this walk might have gone on longer than it should have. Our walks have become a daily occurrence and because she is discouraged to go out too much, she revels in it. Over time, she's healing so perhaps this is actually good for her; all I know is that it makes her happy, which is fine with me.
She scowls again both when Donnavan settles down at our feet and she notices my amused expression. "What?"
"Nothing."
Her looks aren't foreign to me so when she raises her eyebrows, I flash her another smile. To take her mind off her speculations, I ask her if she wants a ice cream cone and willing get into the long line when she complies. The wait isn't long, but out of the corner of my eye, I see a man approach Sydney and to my surprise, embraces her. The man begins to talk animatedly and even at one point, pets Donnovan. I try to turn my head nonchalantly as I watch their interaction, a million thoughts going through my head.
I shouldn't be jealous.
She's not my girlfriend, after all.
For all I know, the man's a cousin of hers.
The man behind the ice cream cart clears his throat and my head spins back to him. Through my ministrations, I've moved up to the beginning of the line. I choose and pay for two cones and with all the subtleness I have, I maneuver back over to them. When Sydney catches sight of me, her face brightens considerably; there's a look of pure desperation in her eyes and it was all that I needed to convince myself that perhaps this jealousy was misplaced.
After a few more moments, when the man finally noticed that Sydney was no longer pay attention, he looked up and spotted me. I met his wary glance with an almost territorial look and Syd steps in a moment later.
She rushes up to me, a plastic grin on her face and places a hand on my arm. "Oh Michael, you're back!" she exclaims dryly.
I reserve my smile for her and hand over her ice cream. I extend my free hand over to the man he reluctantly takes it. "Hi, Michael Vaughn. So you're a friend of Syd's?"
"Yeah we went to high school together. I'm Richard. And you're..?"
"He's uh.." Syd stammered.
I think quickly of the best way to get out of this awkward position and decide to damn them all to hell, picking the route I find most amusing. I step a little closer to Syd and without another thought, I slip my arm around her waist protectively. When I do this, she trails off in her sentence and looks to me, obviously confused.
"Oh honey, is this the Richard you were telling me about?"
I know damn well this is the "Richard" Syd had told me about a few days ago. We had a rut where we decided to recollect our entire high school careers to each other. Sydney's past contained a Richard and by the way she was acting and the way she looked at him, well.. It made me want to act on all the things she told me this jerk did.
Luckily for me, Syd picks up on my act quickly and even goes as far as to slide her arm around me as well. "No dear, that was another Richard. That Richard was a complete ass; this Richard was nothing but sweet to me during high school."
Along with Syd, Richard seems to have picked up on her "mistake" and is visibly uneasy. I plaster on a fake smile and take the game to another level. "Of course, you are. I bet you probably can help me find the guy who seemed to be so horrible to Syd. I don't know how far I would go, but I can't have anyone harassing my wife."
Richard and Sydney both tense with those words but I'm having too much fun to ever consider stopping. "How much you bench there, Rich?"
"Oh, I don't lift much.."
I tsk for added affect. "That's a shame- it keeps you in shape for when you might need your strength."
He nods languidly. "Well, I actually have to get going."
"So soon?" Sydney mentions.
He nods again, mimicking upset. "Nice seeing you, Sydney and nice meeting you, Michael." he says timidly extending his hand.
"A pleasure." I say taking. He leaves moments after and I turn back to Syd hoping she found the situation as funny as I did. Shaking my head, I say, "That was rude; leaving so soon."
Syd cocks her head to the side for a moment and then lets out a laugh. "That has got to be the most ridiculous thing I've done in ages."
"Well, I don't know. You've only been out of work for a few weeks." I say grinning.
She glares playfully. "True, but you've been out of work almost as much as I have."
"You miss work?"
She shrugs. "I miss seeing everyone."
"So visit them." I deduce.
"Not a bad idea." She says getting up. She finishes off her ice cream and throws the napkin away. With me sitting on the bench still, there's a strange sense of dejá vu. I quickly get up and courteously offer her my arm as she takes Donnovan's leash again.
To my satisfaction, she does take my arm and it's enough to overwhelm myself with happiness. She gives me one of those shy smiles of hers and I feel as if I know what she's thinking. I didn't let, "wife" slip accidentally and I hope she knows that. Someday, everyone will know that and if Sydney's with me, I'm content to wait as long as it takes.
"Work's fun and all, but you got admit, this isn't so bad."
=-=-=-=-=-=
The next morning, per her request, I drop Syd off at Carrie's home. I walk her in and decline when Carrie asks me to stay. She hasn't seen Mitchell since his birth but when Carrie brings him out to the living room her eyes light up. My mind wanders when I sit there for the required amount of time. Silly as it is, I used to entertain the thought that Sydney and I would have a family together and I felt that we could still do that. Before I say anything that I regret, I excuse myself and promise to pick Sydney up later.
When I leave their home and head to my car, it feels almost empty with out Syd in it. I've spent most of my time with her the past few weeks and after a few minutes, I seem to already start to feel a withdrawal. Over the past few days, I've had almost no contact with anyone from work aside from Weiss. Of course I've always wondered what happen to Lauren and a a part of me- an irrational part, wants dire revenge and has the undying need to protect Syd and kill Sark for what he did to her. This time I've spent with her though, getting to know her again, it's somehow encouraged me to put it behind me.
I could have gone completely crazy, risking my life and others to get them, but now, I'm just more grateful that I have Syd's alive. She'll care if something happens to me and that's enough to stop me from doing anything stupid. It would hurt me more to know that I couldn't protect her- or at least try.
I clear my head and decide that what I should do with my free time is a better thing to be thinking of. Over the past few weeks, I haven't been able to pick up any hockey for one reason or the other, so it's obviously the first thing that pops into my head. Somehow though, I can't help but want to go in.. to at least check on them.
When I chose my outfit this morning, I obviously didn't plan to come into work. It's only then when I realize how informal my clothes probably come off as. I brush it off and just suck it up and go into the building, parking my car in it's usual spot. When I enter though, it's an entirely different situation.
Inside the ops center, it's a bustle of activity and everyone- for the first time in my time there- seems to be doing something. It strikes me as a bit curious, because something big must have happened to garner all this dedication. I spot Eric's behind his desk and head over.
"Someone die?"
At the sound of my voice, he jumps, overturning a stack of papers on his desk. I almost laugh when I bend down to help him pick them up. "What are you doing here?" he asks, flustered.
I look at him skeptically, a smile still on my face. "I work here, remember?"
He sits down while I grab a chair. He looks around, then back to me, and whispers, "Did someone call you?"
I shake my head, "No. Was someone suppose to? I just had some free time."
"You shouldn't be here right now, man." He says flatly.
Despite all the sign he's been dropping since I've got here, this finally sparks my attention. There's nothing out there that the agency would try to keep from me, specifically. I look around and sure enough, I've seem to have caught a few stares from others.
"Weiss, what's going on?"
He sits back and looks around again, clearly uneasy. For a moment there's silence. I look at him expectantly and he musters up some courage and thankfully decides our friendship over work.
"Remember how I didn't show up last night for the movie?"
"Yeah.." I nod my head the situation flashing through my head. He'd called and canceled with Syd and I last minute sitting that he had to work a little later than he'd plan. I never in my mind ever thought that this was what he was doing. I prompt him to continue and he does, looking up from his hands and facing me finally.
"Sark and Lauren- we took them in custody last night, Mike."
TBC
A/N: Lol.. I was only half kidding when I wrote earlier, "Let's
just pretend Lauren fell off the face of the earth!" So.. Liked? Didn't
like? Let me know cause you know I cherish your feedback. =)
