Chapter 7

Eric's POV

That next morning, I arrived at the hospital earlier than I needed to since I didn't know how long Sydney might want to talk about Michael's sudden absence.

When I opened the door to the room, she looked up and smiled, which only made me feel worse. Her smile faded when she saw my dark expression.

"Eric, is something wrong? Where's Michael?"

"He can't come, Syd. He asked me to be here instead."

I took a seat in the chair beside the bed, trying not to see the surprised, hurt expression on Sydney's face. "What do you mean he can't come?" she whispered."He promised. Where is he, Eric?"

"Italy. Sydney... he says Kendall's told him there are hints his dad might be alive. Nothing definite, but he's gone there to find out what he can. He said to tell you he'll be back as soon as he can."

"But he didn't say he was sorry, did he?" Her voice was so soft; I knew she was trying not to cry, even though I still couldn't look at her.

"No, actually he didn't. Even if he's not sorry, I am, and I'll stay with you as much as I can. After they let you out of here, I'll take you to the pharmacy if you need to go, then I'll take you home. How does that sound?" I tried to sound cheerful for Sydney's sake, but only partially succeeded.

"Okay," Sydney said in a terrible, hollow voice. "He promised he'd be here. He's never broken a promise to me before...at least not over anything really important. But his dad would be more important than me, wouldn't he, Eric?"

I sighed deeply. "I know he hasn't, Syd. But don't talk like that. He loves you, you know that. I think he just can't help hoping that maybe it's all true. I told him just what I thought of his leaving, and he...He told me to shut up."

That was when Sydney started to cry in earnest. I sat there quietly, just watching her. After her tears had ebbed a little, she reached for my hand. I folded hers in both of mine at squeezed it tightly. I wanted to tell her to try not to cry... but she had every right to cry. The doctor would be coming in soon, perhaps with bad news, and Mike wasn't even here to hold her hand. When she spoke again, I was sure I could hear my heart breaking. "Thank you for coming, Eric," she whispered. "I'm glad I don't have to be here all alone."

I told Sydney I was glad too, and then sat there quietly with her waiting for the doctor. During that time, Jacqueline called, and Sydney was able to give her her home address so they could see each other again in a day or two. Not five minutes after that, the doctor stepped inside. I felt Sydney tense the moment he stepped through the door, and I silently cursed Mike for not being here.

Sydney's POV

The visit with the doctor was brief, and only a bit less frightening than I expected. He gave me a prescription, and told me that he'd expect to see me once a week or more often if there were any problems. He said I was already free to go home, and that was the best thing I'd heard all morning. I'd gathered my few things, and we were on our way not a half hour after the doctor left. After that came the pharmacy, which was more embarrassing than anything else. Then, finally, I was able to go home. I wanted to go straight to bed, but Eric wouldn't let me escape that easily.

"Lunch first," he said. "And then your first dose of the medicine. The doctor did say to start today. What are you hungry for, Syd?"

I really wasn't hungry, but I knew he was right. I had to eat. My next hurdle was deciding what I wanted. I would like to go out because I'd been in that hospital room for so long, and I needed some fresh air, but I would feel really embarrassed anywhere I went publicly. I decided to ask to go home. We could eat something there and have a talk together about my fiancé who had decided to ditch me on the day of my homecoming. Then later I would ask to go for a walk or something for the fresh air. Eric agreed to take me home, and when we got there he made grilled cheese sandwiches at my request. As we ate he gave me more of the details of Michael's sudden disappearance.

"Why did Michael have to leave on such short notice, Eric?" I inquired. "Why couldn't he stay just long enough to get me out of that hospital and do what you did for me? I appreciate it that you came, but I hope you understand that I wish he could have been there."

"First of all," he began, "He has known about this for a long time. Well, a long time being a few days, anyway. I don't know why he chose to keep this secret from you, Syd, but as I told you before, I tried to confront him on this. He did it to all of us. Then all of a sudden he calls me and tells me to be there for you instead of him. I tried to convince him to stay, but he was adamant. I'm sorry, and I apologize for him. I know it's not the same, but I'll be here at least until he gets back."

As he was talking I was trying to picture the conversation between Michael and Eric the night before. I could almost see both of their faces. As Eric explained, I could see the anger mounting in his expression and I imagined that the same had occurred the night before. Then I pictured Michael, solemn and determined as always.

"Thank you, Eric. I couldn't have done this without you. It would have been so embarrassing and humiliating to go through this without someone at my side, and you were there for me when my own fiancé would not be. Do you think he really loves me? What happens if I marry him and he deserts me at every other impulse like he did today? He professes to love me and care for me, but he ditches me at the time I most wanted him to be there." The madder I got at Michael the faster I talked, and a look of worry grew in Eric's face.

"Look, Syd, I understand that you are angry at him. You have every right to be, but don't you think that's a little drastic? He took weeks and weeks off of work just to sit by your bedside and watch over you. He knows you need him, and right now I honestly think he's just lost his mind. Before you make any rash decisions, just remember that he spent days and weeks rejecting all opportunities to do anything else simply so he could watch you and be with you. You probably don't remember all of that because a lot of the time you were sleeping or in one of those fits, but he was there. He was there the whole time. Don't forget that."

"I know, and I'm glad he was. I'm disappointed, that's all. We'll have to talk about it when Michael gets home. I should go take a nap. Francie will be here in a few hours, and she'll worry if I'm sleeping when she gets home. Will you stay?"

"Sure, I told you I would. Medicine first, Sydney. I know you don't want to take it, but it's important." Eric got up from the couch and retrieved the smalj bottle from the middle of the dining table. He carefully read the label, then unscrewed the top, shook one of the pills into his hand, then gave it to me.

"Just one?" I said, surprised. I placed it in my mouth, then went to get a glass of water from the kitchen as Eric went on talking.

"Yeah, for now. Normally you'll take one after breakfast and one after dinner."

I emerged from the kitchen and went straight to my room, telling Eric I'd see him later. I barely heard anything from the living room once I laid down, because less than five minutes later, I was falling asleep.

The next few days passed slowly. Eric came and went every day, and when Francie wasn't working, she stayed with me too. I took my pills as the doctor had ordered, but quickly decided I didn't like them. I had no attacks, but I was always tired, and often very dizzy. My spirits were lifted one afternoon when Jacqueline called saying she wanted to come by for a visit. I said yes immediately, and she arrived in less than an hour.

Eric had been at the house with me before Jacqueline called, and he stayed so he could say hello. When she arrived, I let them talk alone for a few minutes while I prepared for a nice afternoon with my sister. The two of them talked for no more than five minutes, and then she came inside to visit, and Eric left.

For a while, we sat at the dining table, having coffee and talking. I'd felt very dizzy all morning, but around lunchtime it had passed. It was too early for anyone else to come in from work, so Jacqueline and I were alone. We'd been talking a while when she said,

"At home in France, almost everyone calls me by my middle name. I don't know why, that's just how it's always been. If you like Jacqueline better, that's all right. But all my friends and other family call me Simone."

I told her I thought the name was very pretty, and I was glad she'd told it to me. As I stood to take our cups from the table I had a sudden spasm in my hand, and the cup I had been holding crashed to the floor and shattered. When the tremors wouldn't stop, I sat down again, turning my face away out of embarrassment. But Jacqueline knelt in front of me, carefully avoiding the pieces of the mug scattered on the floor.

"Sydney, has this happened before? Should I call the doctor for you?"

"No, it hasn't. It will pass, everything else has. I don't want to go back there. I'll be okay, I just..."

In that moment, I felt my entire body tense, and everything drifted away into a haze.

Jacqueline's POV

I felt very scared. I had only just met my sister a few weeks ago, and here I was the only person who could help to save her. I hadn't seen any seizures before, but from what I had heard, they were not too dangerous. I knew that they were not normal, and that I should call the doctor, especially because of the medication, but I didn't think it would be appropriate against Sydney's will.

I tried to talk to her and soothe her, but she made no response. I did my best to gently carry her over to the couch and lay her on it, and once I had done that I found a telephone and a phone book to see who I could call. She had told me that Michael was out of town, so I skipped over his number and called Eric instead. I told him what had happened and he said he would be over as soon as possible. In the meantime, it was up to me to keep Sydney comfortable and safe.

I walked quickly back to the couch where I had put her, and sat down. I held her in my lap for some time thinking of how her life must have been here in America with our father, who she now thought she had killed. I felt jealous of her, yet sorry for her at the same time. I wished I could have grown up around the two of them, but I hadn't. My life had not been bad in France, in fact, it was just the opposite. I had a wonderful childhood there, but it would have been different had I known my family.

For about ten minutes, Sydney lay shaking in my lap, unable to speak, or even move voluntarily. I sat there thinking and holding her. Occasionally I would whisper to her that everything would be ok. I don't know if that helped her, but it certainly helped me.

At a knock on the door, I got up to answer, leaving Sydney on the couch. I was so relieved that someone was here to help. As I opened the door, I frowned. I had never met our mother, but somehow I knew it was her. "I'm here to see my daughter." She told me quite frankly.

Even though I had never met her, I sensed an air of deceit, lies, and tension. The last thing I wanted to do was to let her into the room. I had not known Sydney long, but I knew I had to protect her from this woman. This was my time to act as Sydney's mother, not hers. I stood there, staring this woman in the face. Did she recognize me? How could she? After all, she had only seen me as a baby. Could she tell that I looked like my father? She answered that question for me in her next sentence.

"You must be Jacqueline. I had heard you were here in America and I came to see if your father was correct. Yes, he is alive, but that's a different story. We have so much to catch up on, sweetie. Let's go in and talk. I'll keep you company."

I could sense that she had an alternate motive, and I didn't like it. I knew somehow that this woman did not mean a word she said and she was trying to get me to trust her. I decided to let her have it. "You have never been my mother. You abandoned me my entire life and now you expect me to let you waltz in here and trust you completely. Think again! My French mother is the only mommy I've ever known and the only one I care to know. You're not going to come in this house with either me or Sydney in here. Just you try it, and see what happens!"

With that I slammed the door in her face and wished more than ever that Eric would come. It was all I could do not to reopen the door and slap her face, but I willed myself not to. Just then I heard Sydney's weak cry coming from the living room, and I ran in to meet her. She didn't even notice my entrance. She was calling, with more intensity each time, "Michael, Michael, Michael!" I knew she needed him, but there was nothing I could do. He was away, and there was no information to contact him. I tried to soothe her and tell her I was here to watch over her, but she did not hear me. She just kept saying his name. In a matter of minutes, her cries had grown to screams, and she was wailing out the name of her fiancé. Then, she looked at me straight in the face with a look of terror in her eyes and screamed, "I killed him! I killed him, didn't I! I didn't mean to, but I killed him, just like daddy! I swear, I didn't want to! I didn't mean to! I just want him back! I want his help! Help me, Michael!" With that she let out another scream, and collapsed into my lap, unconscious.

Eric's POV

As I knocked on the door to Sydney's house, I prepared myself to see the worst. I had rushed there as fast ad I could, and I knew a lot could have happened during that time. When I saw the worried look on Jacqueline's face as I opened the door, a fear started growing inside me as well. As we went in together to go see Sydney she told me that their mother had shown up and wanted to see Sydney. I was relieved to hear that she had not been admitted inside, but from what I knew of Irina, she would not be the type to give in on the issue easily. I told Jacqueline to be aware of this, but she seemed to have already guessed that she had not seen the last of her mother during this ordeal.

Then she told me about what Sydney had said right after her mother left. That was what had worried me the most. She thought she had killed Michael, and there was no way at the moment to prove otherwise to her. I had to do something, so I had Jacqueline sit with her while I went outside to dial Jack's phone number that Michael had given me.

When I told Jack about the situation, he was worried, and told me to alert the doctor, but not take her in unless it was absolutely necessary. He also told me about his plans with Michael to verify that Jacqueline was Sydney's true sister. I knew I had to be the one to ask her for it since Michael had left, and I knew it would be uncomfortable, but I had to do it. I could not let this woman hurt Sydney too. She would never forgive herself if Jacqueline turned out to be another liar.

I walked inside after hanging up with Jack and asked Jacqueline if I could talk with her in the kitchen. She made sure that Sydney was comfortable and then followed me to the table. "I know this must be an awkward situation for you," I began, "stepping into this sister role so late in your life, and not even knowing Syd as the independent, headstrong person she really is. I admire you a lot, Jacqueline."

"Please, call me Simone. That's my middle name, and it's also what they called me in France. That is, if you don't mind it. I can go by either. And thanks for the compliment. I guess Sydney's all I've ever really wanted. I want to help her out of this so I can finally have my sister."

"Ok, Simone, let's go make sure she's ok."

"Wait, Eric," she said, looking into the living room to make sure Sydney was still unconscious. She pulled closer to me and very quietly asked, "Is my father still alive? When my mother came to the door she said he was, but I didn't know if I wanted to believe her." Her look was very intense, and I knew she had to know the truth.

"Yes, he is alive." That was the only reply I could give.

"That would mean that for the second time now my sister's fiancé has lied to her. I know she loves him and that there's a lot I'm missing, but it doesn't look good to me right now for her to marry him. Please tell me that he's worth it. I don't want my sister to marry a creep like our mother. Please tell me that he's not like this." She was pleading with me to justify Michael's actions, and I myself had criticized his choices. I tried to explain to her.

"Simone, he's not usually like this. He's normally a very gentle, devoted person, but for some reason these last few days he hasn't been. He was not honest with Syd. about your father because at the moment that would destroy her. You can see what a mess she is, and the truth would simply put her over the top. She has to recover. As to the other matter, I cannot justify him. I tried to convince him not to go, but he was determined that he had to do this. Boy, is he going to be sorry when he gets back. Now not only is his wedding in danger, but his fiancé, and more than a few of his friendships. Wait until he gets a few words from me!"

"Ok, well, we can concentrate on him when he gets back, but for now we need to focus on Sydney. What did Dad say to do?"

"He told me to call the doctor to see if we need to take her in. My guess is that they'll want to see her because of the medicine. But before we call there's something I have to ask you. We are very grateful that you're here, but in our line of work we need verification of certain things because sometimes our work is very personal." I was stumbling and we both knew it. Why couldn't Michael have done this? It was not my place. "What I'm getting at is that…"

She finished my sentence for me. "…that you want me to prove I'm her sister….so I can't hurt her any more than everyone else in her life has. I understand. Whatever you want me to do, I'm willing. Just let me know."

I was grateful that she was so willing. I was glad that this moment had passed, but my happiness only lasted a few seconds until I heard Sydney's scream coming from the living room.

I nearly ran to the couch, where Sydney now sat bolt upright, screaming Michael's name. Simone had followed me in, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her frown. "This is how she was before you got here... She thinks she killed him." she whispered.

I knelt beside Sydney and called her name until her screams finally died away and she would hear me. "Mike isn't dead, Sydney," I said firmly. "You didn't do anything to him. He's in Italy. He'll be home soon, it will be okay."

I stayed like that, talking to her, for the next twenty minutes. At last, she had calmed enough that she seemed to be almost back to her old self. When I suggested going to the hospital, she at first protested, but soon admitted she thought the seizure was due to the medication as well. Minutes after that, we were all in my car and on our way.

Once we were there, we had to wait a while for Sydney to be able to see her own doctor, since he was with another patient. Once Sydney had gone in, Simone turned to me and asked if I'd contact Jack and ask him to come to the hospital to have the DNA test done.

"Sure," I said quietly. "But I have to warn you... he's going to be very on edge. Whenever anything is wrong with Sydney, it's hard on him."

"Of course," she whispered. "How else could he be? I hope he can go in and see her."

"We'll figure something out." Just as we fell silent, Dr. Coldwell emerged and came over to us. "Sydney is very disoriented, and she's having severe tremors. They haven't turned into another seizure yet, and even if they did, it would be more frightening than harmful. She does need to stay here, at least overnight, so I can decide how to adjust her dosage. If you like, you can wait here until we get her in a room, then you can see her."

Simone and I thanked the doctor, then he left to return to Sydney. I called Jack quickly, and he agreed to come to the hospital immediately. He arrived not twenty minutes later, and I was sure he'd been speeding all the way there.

"How is she?" he asked, without a trace of nervousness in his voice.

"Still with the doctor. He did come tell us she's extremely disoriented. They're admitting her to adjust the medication."

Jack nodded tersely and walked away from us, down the hall. Simone watched him curiously, realizing his mind was completely on Sydney. He hadn't even spoken to Simone herself, let alone ask who she was, or anything. After a moment, she made a move to follow him. I rested a hand on her arm.

"Not now," I cautioned. "He needs to be by himself. We need to wait until later... after he's seen Sydney."

Jack's POV

It wasn't until nearly an hour later that we were all allowed into the hospital room where Sydney lay, resting. I waited outside until Eric came and assured me that Sydney was still too ill to realize who was or wasn't with her.

"Haven't they given her another sedative?" I asked tensely. Eric took a step back before answering.

"No... They say they need to monitor her, without interfering. They need to know exactly what her symptoms are like. She won't know you're there... She's exhausted, and the tremors still haven't stopped. But if you aren't ready..."

I turned and entered Sydney's room without a reply. The young woman I could only assume was Jacqueline was seated beside Sydney's bed, whispering words of comfort, When she saw me, she stood and left the room, allowing me a few minutes alone with Sydney.

I could assume one of two things. Either Eric had told her to back off of me, which was probably a smart thing to say, or it was time for her DNA test. She did not seem too upset about it, but I was pretty nervous. I knew Sydney would have jumped at the chance to have a sister and used their few hours of conversation to begin forging a relationship, and if that relationship was stolen from her, it would make her recovery, and therefore our separation, take longer.

I sat by her bedside for some time, just being with her. I did not want to talk because I was afraid that she would wake up and see me, especially since the doctors would not give her any sedatives. I sat next to her just thinking about her childhood and the wonderful woman she had grown up to be. I hoped this phase of her life would pass her quickly so we could have more time together.

It had been a relief to hear that the seizures would not be dangerous. I had made sure not to convey it to Eric over the telephone, but I had been very afraid for Sydney when he had told me the news. I had switched the subject to the DNA test so that Eric would not know.

As I sat by my daughter's bedside, I heard her whisper in her sleep. "Daddy." I turned to face her, fearing that she had awoken and seen me, but I was satisfied to see that she was asleep. Furthermore, it seemed that she was having a pleasant dream, evidenced by the smile on her face. The smile quickly vanished however as she opened her eyes, which were glazed over, and started screaming.

"Daddy, no! I didn't mean to kill him! No! Please, don't hurt me! I didn't mean to kill you either! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

She was in hysterics, and by the time she finished these words, a whole legion of nurses had come to her aid. They were under orders not to sedate her, so they had to calm her down by waking her up, and that meant that I needed to leave the room. As I stepped outside, I heard her calling for someone named Simone, so I went to the waiting room where Eric was to see what I could do.

Simone's POV

When I saw my dad enter the waiting room, I knew that something was wrong. He approached Eric and told him that Sydney was calling for me. I did not wait for Eric to explain, but I ran back to help my sister.

The DNA test had gone well, it was quite simple really, just a cotton swab in my mouth and I was done. They said we'd have the results in a few hours. I had assumed we would be here longer than that for Sydney anyway, so that had not been much of a problem.

As I entered Sydney's room, I was surprised to see that she calmed down upon seeing me. It felt good to know that she trusted me already, even though her friends were discouraging her from doing so. She and I talked for some time, and I tried to avoid the subject of her father or her fiancé. I knew she would not be able to handle that right now. All she needed at this moment was a friend, and that was what I needed to be.

After a few more minutes, Sydney's tremors finally eased, and she drifted off to sleep. When I went back out into the hall, I found my Dad pacing slowly near where Eric sat. He looked as tired as Sydney had minutes before. I took the seat beside him.

"You should go home for a while. Dad and I will stay. It's just going to be a lot of waiting, so..."

"No, I can't," Eric answered quickly. I promised I'd stay with her until Mike got back. She needs people to be here. I won't break my promise to her, too."

"Okay," I whispered. "But try to rest... Sydney is asleep, and it will be a few hours yet until the DNA test results come back."

Eric nodded and turned away, trying to get comfortable enough to doze off. I sat watching Dad, pacing steadily back and forth over the same few feet of hallway. Finally, I could stand it no longer, and walked over to him.

"She's asleep now. You could go back in... If it would make you feel better."

He said it would, but he was afraid of awakening Sydney. "She was so frightened before... I couldn't do that to her again."

I tried to reassure him. "The doctors say that she didn't even see you. It was almost like she was sleepwalking. Don't worry about it. If she does see you the worst that can happen is we have to convince her it was a dream. If you'd like I'll come with you." I knew this was my chance. If this man was going to accept me as his daughter, now was the time to tell.

I looked into his face as he pondered the situation, and anxiously awaited his reply. When it finally came I was relieved. "Sure, let's go."

I tossed a glance in Eric's direction, to see how I was doing, and he gave a nod of approval. I was finally on my way toward winning my father's heart. I knew I'd have to wait for the DNA test to win him completely but this was a step. We spent about ten minutes in the room together with Sydney when a doctor came in and told me that the results from the test had come in. I excused myself, even though my father looked worried as I left and went to get the results.

I brought the slip of paper back to my father, who read it carefully and then pulled me into a hug while we sat there crying together. This was the moment I had been waiting for all my life. My father held me close for some time. We both wept for Sydney and out of joy that we had finally found each other.

It seemed that this moment would last forever, but we were both pulled out of our thoughts by the sound of Sydney falling to the floor. She was shaking all over and had fallen out of her bed. She was screaming for Michael and her father again, and that made Dad even more nervous. I screamed for a doctor and they came rushing in. They carefully put her back on her bed and watched over her so she wouldn't fall again. Dad crept out of the room during the process, obviously afraid that she would wake up and see him. I followed him, seeing that my sister was well protected by the doctors, and that my father needed more consolation right now than Sydney did.

I admired him for his devotion to Sydney and his strength to fight his desire to be with her. When things had calmed down, I convinced Dad to go back in and sit at Sydney's side with me for just a few more minutes. I wanted him to have just enough time so that he could get a good look at her. I knew he had to miss her, and that this was the best therapy he could have at the moment, so I made sure to let this scene drag out as long as I could.