A/N: Changing up some things and when you see 474747 that means the same as () did.

Sydney and Cory had just stepped out of the car when a older brunette woman came flying out of Claire's house, immediately going for her great niece. Aunt Trish. Sydney laughed, the memory of when Vaughn first told her about his aunt, echoing in her mind.

"I've... I've got this aunt. Um, Aunt Trish. She's the insane one in the family. She, uh, speaks to the dead, she does the readings, she's a crop circle worshipper..."

That was the first time he ever really mentioned his family to her. And now, here she was, in France with his family and without him. The picture didn't make a lot of sense.

Aunt Trish turned from Cory to Sydney, embracing her warmly. "I've missed you, Sydney."

"I missed you, too." Sydney replied, stepping out of her aunt-in-law's -if that makes any sense- arms.

Trish offered to entertain Cory. Which meant telling her stories about "freaky deaky" stuff, which left Sydney and Clair to talk. For some reason, Sydney still felt intimidated by her mother-in-law. She couldn't say if it was because she was Vaughn, the-man-she-loved's mother or if it was because she was Vaughn, the-man-that-left-her's mother. Claire offered to make tea to ease some of the tension.

"How's Cory's school work going?" Claire asked, avoiding the subject of her son for the moment.

Sydney smiled, "Fine, really good, actually. Her teacher says she's never seen a little girl so independent as Cory." Claire chuckled, retrieving two mugs from the cupboard, "And I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Why?"

"Well, for one, she's able to take care of herself in some respects and two, I know that she's not going to need me much longer and I want my little girl forever." Sydney smiled at her motherly instincts.

Claire nodded, "I know what you mean. The second Michael told me that he was moving back to the States, I knew he wasn't going to need me anymore." Sydney was silent at the mention of Vaughn so Claire added, "I'm sorry, Sydney, I shouldn't have..."

Sydney interrupted her, "It's fine, really. It's been six years, seven months, and eleven days since I last saw him and it's taken me this long to even begin to accept that there is every possibility of him not coming back."

Claire set a mug of hot tea in front of her and sat in the chair next to her at the small table in the kitchen. "I know. I still half expect his father to come waltzing in the door and it's been...over thirty years now." Sydney nodded and dropped her gaze to her tea. "What's bothering you, Sydney?"

"I think he was in her room." Sydney said quietly.

"Michael?" Sydney nodded. "In Cory's room?" Another nod. "How?"

Sydney recounted the events of the night two days earlier. When she finished, she went back to intently studying her tea, still having yet to drink any of it.

"Do you think he followed you to France?"

Sydney let out a slow breath, "God, I hope not." She reached up and rubbed at her head. "Do you have an aspirin? My head is killing me."

Clair nodded and stood up to retrieve the medicine, "It's the worrying, you know. It gives you a headache."

"I know," Sydney sighed, "But I can't stop."

"I know," Claire answered, setting a bottle of aspirin in front of Sydney and reclaiming her chair. Sydney smiled her thanks and reached for the bottle. "You'll wear yourself into the ground worrying constantly about something that might happen." Claire said, brushing Sydney's hair out of her eyes in a motherly gesture. Sydney couldn't help but think that her own mother had never done such a simple thing for her. "You need a break."

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Sydney asked, with a laugh. She popped the aspirin into her mouth and finally took a drink of her tea to help it down.

"It's a start but not what I'm talking about. You need a break...from motherhood." Sydney gave her a quizzical look so she continued, "Take the day off tomorrow. Go shopping, see the sights, get your nails done, eat some bread." Sydney smiled at the last comment. Claire knew that Sydney adored French bread. "Trish and I will watch Cory."

Sydney shook her head, "I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, I'm offering and I'm not taking no for an answer. You are taking the day off tomorrow and that's final."

"Yes, Madam." Sydney answered, teasingly causing a laugh from Claire.

474747

"What if she doesn't like me?" Sydney questioned again, peering out of the windshield at the house growing ever closer.

Vaughn laughed at her, again, "She'll love you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well," Vaughn started, his smile growing, "For one, you're coming to visit her in France, her native homeland, and she loves everyone in France."

"Gee, that's not helpful at all." Sydney answered.

Vaughn laughed so she punched him in the arm, "Ouh, that hurt."

"Good," Sydney answered, playfully. Vaughn pulled the car to stop outside his mother's home and Sydney's smile faded, "Seriously, Vaughn, I cannot do this."

"Seriously, yes you can..." He shut off the engine and leaned over to kiss her reassuringly, "And it wouldn't hurt to call me Michael every once in a while." Sydney gave him a glare so he shrugged, "Or whatever you feel like calling me." Sydney smiled and kissed him again.

Vaughn reached over and opened the door and his side of the car and stepped out, Sydney joining him after a couple of seconds. He smiled at her and pulled her into a hug, silently reassuring her that she would be fine.

Claire came out to meet them before they had the chance to take two steps towards the door. Of course, she immediately went to her son, pulling him away from Sydney and into her arms, unintentionally making Sydney feel alone.

"Maman, this is Sydney, my fiancé," Vaughn said proudly, turning his mother's attention from him to Sydney. Claire smiled proudly and hugged Sydney, eliciting a surprised look from Sydney and a bemused look from Vaughn.

"It's so good to finally meet the girl that Vaughn has been talking about non stop for two years." Claire gushed.

Sydney smiled, knowingly at Vaughn, "Oh really, non stop huh?" Vaughn grinned sheepishly.

Claire nodded, "Goodness, yes, it was a minor miracle to get him to talk about someone or something besides you, dear."

"Alright then, I'm going to show Sydney around the house, now. When's dinner?" Vaughn said, putting a stop to the conversation that would only lead to his embarrassment.

"An hour," Claire answered, smiling at her son.

"Okay, we'll be there." Vaughn answered, taking Sydney by the hand and pulling her into the house where he spent his childhood. He started by showing her the entire downstairs before pulling her upstairs by the hand like a giddy little child.

"Was this your room?" Sydney asked, stopping outside of an open door.

Vaughn nodded, "Yeah, what tipped you off?"

Sydney pointed to a little sign on the door that said 'Michael's room', "I am a spy you know."

"Super spy," Vaughn corrected lightly, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Super spy Sydney." He murmured, gently pushing her into his childhood room, and placing a soft kiss on her neck. Sydney laughed and let him guide her into the room.

"And super spy Vaughn." She said, softly.

"Nah...just...regular...spy...Vaughn..." Vaughn said just as soft between his lips' assault on her neck. She giggled when he hit a sensitive spot and he went back to kiss it again, just to tease her.

"Vaughn..."

"Hmmmm," was all he responded while his hands started to get restless and draw little circles in her belly.

"Stop." She said firmly.

"Nuh-uh," Vaughn responded, pulling her closer to him and kissing her neck more firmly.

"What?" Sydney questioned, "Vaughn, I'm not having sex with you in your mother's home."

"Why not?" He asked like it was the most natural thing in the world. He stopped kissing her neck and rested his head on her shoulder.

"You're kidding me, right?" Vaughn shook his head. "Come on Vaughn, I want to make a good impression with your mother."

"And I want you too. I love you so much and I want her to love you, too."

"And how is us doing it in your old room, going to make her love me?" Sydney asked, wondering what exactly she had agreed to marry.

"She'll know that you make me happy in many ways." Vaughn responded, lightly.

Sydney realized that he was kidding her, testing her patience and she shook her head incredulously, "I can't believe you!" She exclaimed turning around and hitting him in the arm. "You're mean."

"And you hit hard." Vaughn joked.

"Well, you deserve it." She answered.

474747

The last light in the house went out and he leaned back in his seat, shaking off the memory. That was a long time ago. It was now just after midnight, too late to knock on the door. Not that that would be a good idea, anyway. He had to do this carefully. He couldn't just show up after six and half years, say 'Honey, I'm home' and expect a good reaction. Not that stalking her and their child was any better of an option but it did involve less pain on his part. Sometimes it was just better to observe life from a distance. Sometimes life was better off without you. He knew that she probably better off without him but it killed him to stay away any longer. He just couldn't do that.

His cell phone on the seat next to him started to ring and he answered it after the seventh ring. "I said I was out." The voice on the other end of the line said something and he frowned, slightly, "I don't care. I'm out. I told you that. It's over. Done. Finis. That's it." The voice said something else and his frown disappeared, "Yeah, sure, I'll tell her. Goodbye." He hung up the phone and threw it onto the seat.

He watched the dark house for a few minutes longer before he revved up the engine and drove off. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Again.

474747

After saying a drawn out goodbye to Cory, telling her to behave for her Grandmere and Great Aunt, Sydney took Claire's car and headed towards the nearby town five miles away. She had no idea what she was going to do. Shopping was an option, she supposed, but there wasn't anything she really needed. Any local sight to be seen she had already seen. Getting her nails done didn't really seem appealing. But the idea of French bread did.

Smiling to herself, Sydney parked the car on a side street and decided to stroll along the streets until she came across a vendor. Maybe Claire was right, just taking a day off does help.

She turned a corner and her heart literally stopped beating. There he was, not even three feet away from her, leaning against the wall of the building next to her. Just casually leaning there like he hadn't been missing for over six years, like he hadn't left without a word, like he hadn't let her and their child down.

His disguise, if that, made no impact to hide his identity. She wasn't even sure if it was meant to be a disguise. Just sunglasses -she was pretty sure they were the same sunglasses that he owned back when they first met- couldn't be classified as a disguise.

"You know any jokes? 'Cause I could use one." Sydney said, sitting down next to Vaughn on the roof top of a building, their latest place to meet.

"This grasshopper walks into a bar and the bartender says, 'Hey, we have a drink named after you!' And the grasshopper says-"

Sydney interrupted him, "You have a drink named Doug?"

"Well, I was going to use Phil." Vaughn explained, smiling.

"Well, Phil is certainly no funnier than Doug." Sydney answered.

"No, I know, I'm sorry. It's a non-humorous, uh..." His sentence dropped off in the middle as she burst into giggles and he started laughing as well.

She had no idea why she was reminded of that day years ago. Maybe it was the sunglasses. He was wearing those exact sunglasses that day. But other than the sunglasses, he made no attempt to conceal who he was. Like he was taunting her with a ghost of the past.

"Oh...my...God..." Sydney whispered.

A/N: Okay, so there are two reasons why y'all are going to hate me. One, I left this chapter at a very cliffhangery part. (is cliffhangery a word? lol) And second, unfortunately school has started again and for me that means that I need to take a break and step back from the fanfiction world and get reorganized. In other words, that means that I'm taking a hiatus for at least a week, quite possibly two and maybe even three. I know it sucks but I can't screw up my classes this year because of fanfiction. You can be mad, that's okay but I'm not changing my mind. When I come back, I will have a new chapters and most likely new stories. So, see y'all soon. And thanks in advance for your reviews, they really keep me inspired.

Rach5- I have the sinking feeling that you're going to hate me even more after this chapter. lol.

kay10197- In the next chapter, I'm hoping is when you find out why Vaughn left. I say 'i'm hoping' because i have no idea. i have yet to write any of the chapter. lol. i dont know why i find that funny.

baby le- lo. you rushed again? that's great! i love that! it makes me feel all special and loved and happy and about a million other things that i am too lazy to type out. lol.

Grouchy- It does seem that way, doesn't it? After this chapter, it seems even more so, doesn't it?

ProvidenceSea- lol...you called me evil but a good evil? lol. that makes absolutely no sense...okay so it does and yeah, i'm taking it as a compliment. being evil isn't bad, it's fun. lol. now that makes no sense.

Charmed-angel4- vaughn's identical evil twin Bob? lol. where do you come up with this stuff? cause it's funny. and no, i can say this on the record, it is not vaughn's identical evil twin Bob. at least not in this story. that would make a funny fic, would it not? til next time STALKERGIRL!

Anonymouse- Thanks and there's more for ya. lol. i'm in a weird mood.

Miss47- yeah, i've heard that it was kinda scary but then again, they didn't see it, so they wouldnt be scared, right? and can i have some of those chocolate chip cookies? i love chocolate chip cookies.

Natalie- lol. that's okay. cause i went back and read what i wrote and it does seem like vaughn left cause he was an ass. lol. no wonder people were asking me why i wanted them to hate vaughn. lol

vaughnbear- that's the second time that i've heard that. "not the vaughn i know and love" and yeah, so far he really doesnt seem like it, does he? but it does get better, i'm hoping. i'm not sure cause i havent written any of the next chapter.

TheUptownGirl- you're a counselor for a bunch of ten year old girls? that has to suck. it sounds like a long summer and i know what you mean about the "wealthier" bratty ones. i hate little children like that. they make me want to smack some sense into them sometimes which doesnt make me sound like a very nice person, does it?

tiffany- thanks, i really appriciate it and there will be some syd and vaughn. can't say how much though.

Ren201- Okay, i'm sorry for putting the guilt trip on you but i freaked when i read your other review cause i really do love your reviews and they really do make me happy. no more guilt trips, i promise. and i ain't telling if vaughn is good or bad now. that has yet to be decided.

morrisseylover- lol. vaughn, the stalker. somehow that has a nice ring to it. i cant explain why.

rainluver- thanks for the help and yeah, she is really stubborn but that's what makes syd, syd. and yeah, i try to keep you on your toes. lol.

Erin- while stalking her until she dies would be an option, i can't stand the thought of no syd and vaughn so yeah, there he is. wonder what she's gonna do about it cause honestly i have no idea. i love cory too!

Lil Aussie Alias Chick- and hopefully in the next chapter you will know why cause at the moment i'm not sure of where i'm going with the next chapter. but i'll figure it out...somehow.

Agent Flamingo- thanks for complimenting me on my writing of cory. i really enjoy writing her cause she's so cute and as you put it inquisitive. and vaughn's getting closer...::the sound of the shark attack music playing somewhere in the background:: lol.

Scary-Girly- harry potter has green eyes? i had no idea. i knew that vaughn has green eyes (duh, i think everyone knows that) and strangely enough, nothing you said was weird or odd in my opinion but then again, it takes a lot to scare me.

stargirl591- thanks. i dont know what much else to say but thanks. so thanks again.

x-elektra-natchios-x- i reckon that syd would make a good mother too. she just seems like the motherly type, ya know.

hannahbannah- i totally understand about school which is why i'm taking my hiatus. but that's explain above. and thanks.