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"Syd, it's Weiss."

"Hey Houdini. What's up?"

"Syd, I'm at the hospital."

"What?" Sydney sat up. "What have you done to yourself?"

"No, it's not me. It's Vaughn." Weiss paused. "Look Syd, you need to get down here…"

Sydney barely let Weiss get out his last sentence. "I'm on my way."

Dropping the phone and grabbing her keys, Sydney was out of the house and in her car in a flash. Seconds later she was racing towards the hospital, hoping that Vaughn was ok.

"Look Syd, you need to get down here…Vaughn told me to ask you to bring his health insurance information down." Weiss paused, only hearing a dial tone. "Syd? Hello?" He turned to Vaughn, who was sitting up on the bed with his ankle strapped. "She hung up."

"Well, it's no wonder!" Vaughn said, exasperated. "You made it sound as if I was knocking on death's door. 'Syd, you need to get down here'- she's probably having a heart attack by now!"

"I didn't, did I?" Weiss glanced at Danielle who was nodding her head. "Oh god. Syd is going to kill me."

"Don't worry about it, Weiss," Danielle piped up. "You couldn't help it. It was just your fifteen year old mentality talking."

"My what?" Weiss repeated and then glared at Vaughn. "What the hell have you been telling her?"

Vaughn grinned. "Can I plead the fifth?"

"No, you cannot plead the fifth! And if you don't tell me what you've been saying then Sydney will have something real to worry about when she gets here."

"Michael Vaughn. Which room?" Sydney asked at the front desk, trying hard to keep herself composed. The receptionist gave her a slightly odd look before directing her to room 147.

Sydney walked brusquely, her mind going at a million miles an hour, with about a hundred different scenarios screaming around in her head.

She felt her stomach tighten when she saw Danielle standing in the hall, rubbing her eyes.

"Danielle." Sydney gasped as she ran up. "What happened?"

"Ugh, I had enough!" Danielle declared. "How they can argue over one topic for so long is beyond me."

"What?"

Danielle pointed to the door. "Just listen."

"So how come I have a fifteen year old mentality? Nice loyalty you've got there, Vaughn!"

"It was a joke!"

"Yeah, well your little French cousin seems to…" Weiss trailed off as Sydney entered the room. "Oh, hey Syd."

"Hi Houdini." She looked at Vaughn. "Not quite the drama I was expecting."

"Yeah, look about that—"

Sydney held up a hand, cutting Weiss off. "How about next time you let a nurse call me, ok?"

Weiss grinned sheepishly. "Deal."

Grinning back, Sydney settled herself on the edge of the bed. "So what have you done to yourself?"

"Just my ankle." Vaughn replied, grabbing Sydney's hand. "We're just waiting for the x-ray's to confirm there's no major damage."

"So did it happen in the game?" Sydney asked.

Vaughn looked up at Weiss, who was snorting in laughter. "Well, not exactly…"

"Not exactly?" Weiss scoffed.

"Ok, what happened?" Sydney demanded.

"I, uh…" Vaughn cleared his throat. "I kinda rolled it getting into the car."

Sydney stared at his embarrassed face. "Are you for real?"

Vaughn nodded. "Unfortunately, I am."

"Ok." Sydney said, biting her lip in an attempt to stop herself from laughing. It was, of course, a complete failure and soon Weiss was joining in.

"Ok, ok." Vaughn threw up his hands. "Laugh it up at my expense."

"Yeah, well, don't blame me." Weiss shot back. "It's just my fifteen year old mentality coming through."

Vaughn hadn't done any major damage to his ankle. He needed a crutch to help him get around for a couple of days after, but was back to good as new by Saturday.

Which was the last thing he wanted.

Francie had decided, in order to save costs that she didn't need to hire professionals to paint her restaurant. Instead she had invested in the help of all her friends. So, instead of spending their Saturday out in the sunshine, Sydney Vaughn, Weiss, Ainsley, Craig and Will were all stuck inside, rollers and brushes in hand.

But that's not to say that they weren't making the most of it.

"I'll give you ten bucks." Weiss murmured to Vaughn.

"No way. Twenty."

"Fifteen and I'll say I was the one who dared you."

"You got yourself a deal." With a quick shake of Weiss's hand, Vaughn headed over to where Sydney was painting. Gingerly he bent down and picked up a brush.

Across the room Will and Craig has caught wind of what was going on. They looked at Weiss incredulously. How on Earth had he gotten Vaughn to do this?"

Slowly, Vaughn raised the brush, planning to swipe it down the back of Sydney's hair. Unfortunately, at that moment, Ainsley came in from outside.

"Syd!" she yelled. "Watch out."

Instinctively Sydney whipped around. Instead of having her hair painted, she copped it right in the face. A great, big, bright red streak from her forehead to chin.

Vaughn stared in shock. He was sure that he was going to cop it now.

"Uh, Syd." Weiss spoke up. "This was my fault. I dared him. It was supposed to be your hair, not your face."

"That's ok." Sydney said, smiling. "I forgive him."

"You do?" Vaughn and Weiss both blurted out in surprise.

"Of course I do. Vaughn, I love you."

"Even after this?" Vaughn inquired.

"Yes." Sydney stepped forward. "And do you know how much I love you?"

"How much?"

"This much!" Sydney pounced, placing kisses all over his face, and as a result smearing a considerable amount of pain onto him.

Vaughn jumped back laughing. He was still holding the brush, which he brandished like a weapon. "Care to take me on, Bristow?"

Sydney grinned, grabbing her roller. "Why certainly."

"Ok, ok." Ainsley stepped in. "We are going to need to set some ground rules here." She paused, thinking.

"How about no eye gouging or aiming for the groin?" Weiss piped up.

Ainsley turned to him. "Sounds good enough to me." She looked back at Sydney and Vaughn. "You two ready? Right, on the count of three…"

Right then Francie, who had been outside talking to some contractor over the phone, walked in. Her brow furrowed at the sight of Sydney and Vaughn's painted faces. But the confusion soon ebbed when she saw the ways in which they were holding the brush and roller.

"Are you serious guys? Attacking each other with the paint that is supposed to go on my restaurant walls! I open in a little over a month and I've got contractors messing me around, insurance agents making my life hell and a mother telling me that she'll stand by me when, not if, the restaurant fails." Letting out a frustrated sigh Francie, continued. "I just thought that I would be able to get a little support off you guys."

With that she stormed outside, leaving the other to glance at each other guiltily.

Sydney went to go after her, but Will stopped her. "I'll go." Before walking out he turned back to them all. "Don't worry. Francie has been really stressing and I guess this was the release she needed."

Sydney stared after him, feeling awful. She'd had no idea that Francie had been this worked up. She'd been so distracted lately, with thinking about the wedding plans and Danielle and how much of her life the school production was taking up, she had failed to notice what was going on with her very own best friend.

Will silently sat next to Francie on the curb.

"I hate who I've become, Will," she said. "Maybe I'm just not cut out for this whole restaurant thing."

"Sure you are." Will assured her. "Things are just a little crazy at the moment, sure, but I see the way your eyes light up when you talk about this place."

"I just want everything to be perfect."

"Fran, nothing is ever perfect." Will started gently. "Maybe if you accepted that fact, then you would stop putting yourself under so much pressure."

"So I'm not supposed to set myself challenging goals now?"

Will shook his head. "I never said that. Challenging goals, they're fine. It's the unattainable ones that'll get you. Like wanting everything to be perfect."

Francie let out a small laugh. "So, what do you think? A mediocre restaurant with average dishes?"

"No. How about a fantastic restaurant with incredibly delicious dishes?"

"That sounds good to me." Francie smiled as she gave Will a quick hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Will stood, holding out a hand to help her up. "Let's get in there and join the fun."

"Huh?"

"Me and you with a roller? We're the only ones who stand a chance at beating Syd and Mike."