Here we are again guys. This part was written specially for 'Romance Is My Life', as it was requested I somehow fit this in to the story. Hope this makes your day!

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Vaughn sat alone in his room, worrying about Josie. Professor Z's speech about the wormhole had done little to reassure him about her safety. And until they got her back from wherever she'd disappeared to and she was standing in front of them, Vaughn knew he wouldn't be able to feel at peace.

He'd tried not to admit it to himself, tried to hide it inside, away from the others and from his own scrutiny, but he knew… He knew deep down that his feelings for the petite red-headed girl were slightly more than platonic.

"At least the janitor thinks she's coming back," he muttered to himself as he threw himself down on to his bed helplessly.

Being the only member of the science club who wasn't in the slightest bit scientific, he felt at a disadvantage. Vaughn felt that there was nothing he could really contribute to the discussion of finding Josie. He knew his abilities lay more in physical activities than in the 'brainier' world that the others lived in.

Just as he was contemplating calling his father to see if there was anything that Victor could help them out with, there was a knock on the door.

Vaughn sighed in relief at having his thoughts interrupted. He knew without a shadow of doubt that his friends would no longer be his friends if he'd bought his father in to it. But at the same time, he knew that although there was something his father was hiding from him, that his help would be valuable. He just couldn't get his friends, especially Josie, to see it.

"Come on," he called out when there was a second knock on the door.

The door opened, and Marshall poked his head through the small gap he'd made.

"Mind if I come in?" Marshall asked with a hopeful look at the doleful boy on the bed.

Vaughn nodded. "Yea, come on in. What's up?" he asked as Marshall entered the room and shut the door behind him.

At Vaughn's urging, Marshall took a seat on the desk chair, and turned to face Vaughn.

"Look… I came here because I know you're worried about finding Josie…" Marshall trailed off, uncertain how to broach the subject of Vaughn's dad. He glanced at a picture of Victor Pearson that was framed and placed next to Vaughn's computer.

Vaughn, noticing the flick of Marshall's eyes in the direction of the photo, sucked in a deep breath. He felt hot anger rise inside him.

"You wanted to know if I was going to go to my dad about this, right?" he asked angrily.

Marshall shook his head, before slowly nodding. "Well, yea. I thought, you know, since it is Josie, that you may decide go to him about this. I know you'd do anything to get her back."

"And you thought that I'd go behind your backs to ask him to help?" Vaughn replied, still feeling angry that his friends hadn't trusted him… Again. But at the same time, shame welled within him, as he remembered that he had been contemplating it.

Marshall slowly nodded again in reply. "It's just… It's Josie. I know how you… you know, feel about her, and I know you want her back at any cost."

Vaughn smiled tautly. Somehow, he wasn't sure how, but Marshall knew an awful lot about things that he shouldn't. He rubbed a hand over his mouth, as if to cover the slight smile that was beginning to show on his face.

"Alright," he eventually sighed, looking at the uncomfortable Marshall. "I was considering it. But I would never have done it. I know how you all feel about my father." He shook his head slightly. "But you're right. I would do almost anything, including going to my dad, if it meant getting Josie back." He looked away from Marshall, feeling weird about how he'd basically admitted, outloud, that he liked Josie as more than a friend.

Marshall nodded and smiled encouragingly at Vaughn. An admission of feelings was more than he'd hoped for. He didn't know Vaughn very well, and was a little intimidated by the large football player, but he knew that Vaughn wasn't always as tough as he'd tried to make out.

"I don't know how you know, Marshall," Vaughn continued, taking a deep breath as he began to confess how he really felt about Josie. "But I really like her… There's something about Josie that just makes me feel… Alive, I guess. She kind of makes me feel like I'm at home when I'm around her. And we all know there's no place like home."

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