"Why did my dad just wish me a good weekend?" Sydney asked in confusion, still trying to wrap her head around her father's strange behaviour. Not only did he decide at the last minute that he didn't need their debriefs until Wednesday instead of Monday, but he smiled and suggested that she and Vaughn head home before the rush hour traffic hit. Her father may have grown a little softer since he found out he was going to be a grandpa, but Jack Bristow never sent anyone home early, much less with a warm goodbye.
Vaughn rolled his eyes at her sceptical expression as he wrapped his arm lightly around her waist, guiding her towards the elevator that would take them to his car. "Don't be so paranoid," he said lightly. "It's Friday evening…lots of people wish their co-workers a good weekend, and he's your dad."
"Exactly!" she laughed. "My dad isn't exactly the most courteous, if you haven't noticed."
"I'm telling you, Syd. Your dad's lightening up. I don't think he's even given me the patented Death Glare all week. That has to be some kind of record," he joked. They reached the car and he opened her door for her. He held her arm as she climbed in, noticing that she wasn't quite as agile as before. It must drive her crazy, but she hadn't said anything, and he wisely offered his support without making it into an issue.
"What should we do for dinner tonight?" Sydney asked as Vaughn pulled out of the parking garage. "I haven't been to the grocery all week. I don't think we have any food left, so if you want to cook tonight, we better stop before we go home," she advised him.
Vaughn smirked a little, trying his best to hide the smile that threatened to give away his secret. He pretended to be apathetic, shrugging his shoulders in his usual fashion. She hated that he never helped her decide what they should do for dinner, and just as he expected, she shot him a glare, coupled with an exaggerated sigh. "Why don't we go out?" he asked before she was able to reprimand him. "It's been a busy week. I don't really feel like cooking."
Sydney's face brightened as she enthusiastically agreed. "That sounds great. Are you hungry now?"
Vaughn switched lanes and wondered if she noticed yet that he was heading in the opposite direction from their house. "I could eat," he answered noncommittally.
"Vaughn, you're going the wrong way…" she realised.
"No, I'm not," he countered simply.
"Then where are we going?"
"Out to dinner."
Sydney narrowed her eyes and stared at him again, and this time, he nearly cracked under the pressure. Somehow, he managed to stay gazing straight ahead at the road before him, unflinching under her scrutiny. "Okay…are you going to tell me where we're eating?" she tried again.
"It's up to you. If you're starving now, we can stop and eat, or we can find something to hold you over until we get to San Diego," he said casually.
Sydney blinked in confusion once more. Suddenly, her father's strange attitude and Vaughn's feigned innocence made perfect sense. She glanced to the back of the car and saw both of their suitcases already sitting on the bench seat. A wide smile broke over her face as she laughed in delight. "I can't believe you!" she exclaimed. "How did I not notice the suitcases?"
Vaughn grinned in triumph. "I'm a spy too, you know," he teased.
"I can't believe I didn't figure it out," she shook her head. "Why San Diego? What are we doing there?" she inquired curiously.
"Well, that's where my mom lives, so it'll be easier for you to go shopping with her tomorrow if we just stay over. And while we're there, we might as well take advantage of having the whole weekend off," he said casually.
"I'm going shopping with your mom tomorrow?" she asked incredulously, the excitement practically dripping from her enthusiastic words.
Vaughn finally cracked and nodded emphatically. "Yeah," he smiled. "She's expecting us sometime tonight, so we can still eat wherever you want."
Sydney was too excited to waste time, so they quickly found a restaurant and finished their meals. As they walked back out to the car, Vaughn noticed that she had grown a little quieter, more pensive. "Hey," he whispered, swinging her arm lightly before they reached his car. "You okay?"
Sydney nodded and gave him a tight smile, and then opened her door before he could question her further. Knowing not to push her, Vaughn took his seat and headed back towards the freeway. She fiddled nervously with the radio, flipping back and forth between different stations every time the song changed. By the seventh station, Vaughn was ready to grab her hand and forcefully remove it from the radio tuning knob. "Syd, why don't you find a CD?" he suggested.
"Because your CDs are horrible," she answered lightly.
"You'll have to forgive me for not taking musical advice from a woman that owns a startling collection of country albums," he pointed out.
With a huff, Sydney pulled out his CD carrier and flipped through it, finally locating one she found acceptable. She stuck it in the stereo and leaned back against the seat, sighing heavily.
"Okay, Syd," he said seriously. "What's going on?"
"I'm not ready to meet her," she breathed, suddenly gripping the leather armrests with so much force her knuckles turned white. "What am I going to say? What am I going to tell her?"
"About what?" he questioned gently, prying her fingers loose from the seat and weaving them with his own to calm her unravelling nerves. He knew just how to massage the back of her hand with his thumb, and the small circles he slowly traced relaxed her ever so slightly. Still, her face appeared ashen with worry. "Syd, I think she'll figure out the baby on her own," he teased, trying to keep his tone light. Sydney certainly wasn't huge, but it was obvious she was pregnant, and she still felt a little sensitive about the burgeoning bulge despite his assurances that she looked incredible. "She's been waiting for this for a long time, Syd. I promise she'll be thrilled," he soothed.
"I'm not talking about the baby," she amended quietly.
"Then what?" he asked in devoted consternation, stealing a few brief glances at her terrified face before turning back to the road.
"About my mom, Vaughn. I…I don't know what to say, but I can't lie to her. Vaughn, I'm not ready for this!" she insisted, her voice rising slightly with a hysteric edge. "I can't do this. I can't stand in her house and deceive her, but I can't tell her either. She'll hate me!" Tears of sheer terror ran down her cheeks, breaking Vaughn's heart with their sincerity. She truly believed his mother could hate her, and she so obviously needed her future mother-in-law's support. As much as it pained him to talk about Irina Derevko, he sensed that this bothered her far more. "Vaughn, don't make me do this," she pleaded with him.
"Shh," he quieted her. "Slow down, Syd," he instructed calmly. "You're getting worked up over nothing."
"Nothing?" she gaped. "Vaughn, she's your mother! What are you going to do if she hates me?" she asked incredulously, a hint of insecurity creeping back into her words.
"First of all, I love you, and I don't need her approval for that," he said earnestly, his face deadly serious. He would hate hurting his mother, but if she couldn't accept that he loved this woman, their relationship would be over anyway. It scared him at times that he would abandon his own mother for Sydney's sake, but he trusted that it would never come to that. "And second," he continued, "she doesn't hate you. She knows about your mom," he admitted, "and she's still so excited to meet you. You have nothing to worry about."
"She knows? You told her?" Sydney cried in shock. "Were you ever going to tell me this?"
"It never came up, Syd," he defended quietly. He tightened his hold on her hand before proceeding with his explanation. "I told her I knew who killed Dad as soon as we found out, Syd," he said softly. "We never knew anything, never had any closure, so I told her everything I was authorised to tell. And then I told her that his murderer was the mother of one of my colleagues. She was shocked, Sydney, but when I told her what an amazing person you were and how guilty you felt, she was only worried about you. We've had a long time to mourn my dad, but this is still new for you, Syd."
Sydney shook with sobs, but she managed to nod in agreement. He almost wanted to stop the story there; she was still suffering so much over her mother's betrayal, and even more so now that she was about to become a mother herself. But he couldn't – and wouldn't – allow her to spend the weekend believing she was somehow less worthy of his mother's concern and affection because of something as trivial as genetics. "She doesn't want you to feel responsible any more than I do. Even before she knew that I loved you she felt for you."
"But it's different now, Vaughn," she protested weakly. "I was just a colleague then, and now I'm part of your family."
"You weren't Iever/I just a colleague," he refuted vehemently.
"I was to her," Sydney choked through her hiccups. "What did she say when you told her we were dating?"
Vaughn grinned crookedly at the memory and raised her hand to kiss each of her knuckles before speaking again. "I told her I was in love before we even started dating," he admitted sheepishly, causing Sydney to smile just a little. "She was so mad that I was dating Alice again," he chuckled, shaking his head.
"She wasn't the only one," Sydney said softly.
"Well, she made sure to tell me what an ass I was," he assured her wryly. "Anyway, when I told her I was in love, she knew it was you. She suspected all along. I could never hide the way I felt about you, and she said she saw it in my face when I talked about you."
"Really?" Sydney asked hopefully.
"Really," he confirmed. "It never even crossed her mind to be upset, Sydney. When I told her I wanted to bring you down to meet her, she was so excited. She's been making plans all week. I might not see either one of you all weekend," he joked. Then, sobering a little, he added, "She knows you're it for me, Syd. And she's thrilled. You have absolutely nothing to be afraid of, I promise."
"You're amazing," she praised in wonder, offering him a watery smile. "I can't believe you did all this for me," she shook her head.
"Well, believe it," he grinned, squeezing her hand again. "I'll do anything for you."
"Anything?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Syd," he chastised. "Not in my mother's house."
Sydney rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. They shared a warm smile, and Vaughn leaned over to place a quick peck on her cheek. She sighed dreamily and shifted to rest against him. "Are you sure your mom isn't going to be mad we didn't tell her earlier?" she wondered quietly. "Isn't this going to be a bit of a shock?"
"Syd, my mom would never forgive me if I told her over the phone. She's going to be too excited naming all of our children to care how far along you are," he said wryly. "Just be warned, there's going to be a lot of hugging and crying," he advised.
"I can't wait," she said genuinely. "But exactly how many children is she naming?" she asked with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"Oh, at least enough for a hockey team," he said flippantly, matching her jocular tone.
"Okay," she nodded, "but how many of those children are YOU going to be giving birth to?"
Vaughn laughed aloud as he pulled off the interstate. Sydney tightened her grip on his hand as she realised just how close she was to meeting the woman she imagined so many times. "Seriously, Syd, I don't care how many kids we have," he said, hoping to draw her thoughts away from her nervousness. "I'm sure we would love all of our children, but I can also be happy just the three of us. Hell, one baby is icing on the cake," he chuckled. His face softened as his eyes grew tender with love. "You have no idea how happy you make me, Sydney. Every day I'm so amazed that you chose me. Waking up next to you is all I ever need, kids or no kids."
"Vaughn," she whispered tearfully, more eloquent words escaping her vocabulary. She laughed in self-deprecation and wiped at the stray drops on her cheeks. "God, I'm always crying!" she exclaimed.
"I hope those are happy tears this time," he cracked with a smile.
"Of course," she assured him. "And Vaughn," she murmured, "I do know how happy you are, because I'm just as amazed that you picked me. Sometimes I wonder if you'll wake up one day and realise you could have done so much better," she confessed.
"That will NEVER happen, Syd," he countered gravely. "Ever. You're amazing, and there will never be a day that I don't want to be with you, okay? Don't ever worry about that."
"I won't," she promised with a nod. "Besides," she added lightly. "I wouldn't let you go anyway."
"Okay, stay right here for just a minute," Vaughn instructed, grabbing Sydney's shoulders to stop her. They had finally reached his mother's house and currently stood on the long brick sidewalk leading to her front door. Sydney's eyes widened at the command, and Vaughn smoothed down her hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I just want to introduce you before we surprise her."
"Okay," Sydney agreed, her eyes twinkling with nervous anticipation. Vaughn started to walk away, but she grabbed his arm tightly and yanked him back.
"Ow!" he cried in alarm. "Jesus, Syd! You're going to rip my arm off!"
"Sorry," she said sheepishly, releasing her death grip and running her fingers lightly over the sore area. "I'm scared," she admitted.
"Hey," he whispered, pulling her into a gentle hug. "I told you, there is nothing to worry about, I promise. Everything is going to be fine," he assured her. "But if you're really not sure, I'll tell her first. You can wait right out here."
"No," she shook her head. "I trust you."
"Good," he kissed her quickly, and then brushed away the stray locks of hair falling across her forehead to kiss her again. His grin was infectious now, and Sydney loved that this meant so much to him. "I love you," he added seriously. "I'll wave you in, alright?"
"Got it," she confirmed resolutely. "And I love you too."
He practically sprinted the rest of the way, leaving Sydney alone on the walkway. She wrung her hands together in a vain attempt to calm the fluttering nerves in her stomach, currently more prominent than the small person growing inside her. Despite Vaughn's assurance that he didn't need his mother's approval, Sydney craved Celia's acceptance. Without her own mother to guide her through this wonderful but frightening time, she felt woefully alone, and painfully inept. She knew nothing about children, and even less about raising them. The little she knew about pregnancy came from the various books people bought her, and somehow the words on the pages didn't offer her much comfort – certainly not the type she needed. Vaughn was amazing and patient with her, always considering her first and himself second, but even his aide could only go so far. He was new to parenting as well, and he couldn't offer any perspective or wise advice.
She heard the front door opening and grabbed her stomach, trying to remember why she was doing this. He spoke loudly as he greeted his mother, and Sydney smiled in spite of her nerves at the warm reception he received. "Maman, I want to introduce you to someone," he said as soon as they exchanged pleasantries.
"I thought so," she laughed. "Are you making the poor girl stand outside?"
"Well…" he began hesitantly.
"He wanted to prepare you," Sydney swept in to save him. He smiled in admiration and touched the small of her back in silent support. "Hi," she said quietly. "I'm…"
Vaughn recovered from his falter and stepped forward, still keeping his hand firmly in place. "Maman, this is Sydney Bristow," he introduced.
Tears began to stream down Celia's cheeks as she looked Sydney up and down. Sydney glanced over to Vaughn nervously, but he just smiled in reassurance and nodded his head. "I'm so sorry we didn't come earlier," she apologised hurriedly. "Our schedules have been so hectic, but we wanted to tell you--"
Celia cut Sydney's words off by embracing her tightly, wrapping her arms around her in a warm and loving hug. Sydney felt hot tears dripping from her cheeks as she returned the hug, finally assured that everything would be just fine. "Mom, I think Sydney needs to breathe," he interjected quietly.
Celia immediately let go, chuckling a little as she straightened her blouse. "I'm sorry, dear," she apologised. "I was beginning to think I'd never be a grandmother. This is such a wonderful surprise…oh Michel, how could you keep this exquisite girl away from me?" she scolded mildly, her smile belying any true anger towards her son. Sydney flushed bright red at the compliment, bowing her head in embarrassment.
Vaughn stepped to her rescue, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him. "I was never good at sharing," he said lightly, planting a kiss on Sydney's forehead.
"Mrs. Vaughn, thank you so much for having us," Sydney said appreciatively. "I've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time."
"Please, it's Celia, and you're welcome, dear. It's a pleasure to have you. I've been waiting for my son to introduce me to the woman he can't stop talking about," Celia gushed.
Now it was Vaughn's turn to blush as Sydney grinned at him cheekily. "We'll talk later," he whispered in her ear.
They finished exchanging pleasantries, and Celia led them to the kitchen for tea. Sydney sat stiffly in her chair, still a little unnerved by the significance of the night. She wondered now if Vaughn felt this nervous all the time around her father, knowing that he was Sydney's only real family and the one person he must never fail to impress. At least Celia wouldn't make death threats if Sydney disappointed her. Realising just how much courage it took to even dare to date her, much less marry and have a child with her, she reached over and grasped Vaughn's head. He glanced over in worry, concerned that she was still insecure. "You okay?" he mouthed quietly.
"Perfect," she smiled.
"Sydney, you must be an amazing woman to make my son so happy," she said genuinely. She turned to Vaughn with a look that Sydney guessed he'd received more than a handful of times as a teenager. "He's certainly never behaved this way around any other girlfriends, especially that--"
"Mom!" Vaughn exclaimed, cutting her off. He looked over to Sydney to apologise, but she just laughed and kissed his cheek.
"I'm sorry, Michael, but you know that I never liked that Alice," she said with brutal honesty.
"That makes two of us," Sydney agreed.
"Yeah?" he teased.
"Oh please, Vaughn," she chuckled. "I'm sure you remember that ridiculous fight before Nice."
"The Alice reference did come out of nowhere," he agreed.
"I wasn't really mad at you, you know."
"Yeah, I guessed that part," he smiled.
Celia finished the tea and poured them each a mug before sitting down across from Sydney and Vaughn. "So Sydney, tell me about how you and Michael began dating," she prompted.
"It was so gradual," Sydney explained. "When we met, I was wreck – physically, emotionally, everything. Michael had absolutely no reason to do everything he did to make it easier on me, but you raised an amazing man, Mrs. Vaughn." She squeezed Vaughn's hand before continuing. "He was always there for me. I wasn't close to my father then, and I couldn't talk to my friends about what I did. He was the one person that really knew me."
"That must have been hard," Celia noted quietly.
"It was," Sydney nodded, "but he saw me through all of it. I knew that I cared about him, but I didn't realise how much until I was in trouble." Vaughn looked up curiously, not sure he knew what she was talking about. Sydney smiled at him in gentle reassurance before turning back to his mom. "I tried to hide it from him, but he knew. And he sought me out. He looked all over Los Angeles for me…all the places he knew I loved, and he found me at the train station. Right there, he offered to help me, even though it could have cost him his job." She didn't add the part about almost losing his life for Celia's sake, and for the sake of her own sanity at this moment.
"I didn't know that," Vaughn admitted, at little amazed by her admission. He fell a little faster, and pinned his own feelings on that night at the pier. Of course, Weiss was already making hints about his wandering attention, but he didn't truly admit to himself that he felt incredibly attracted to Sydney Bristow until he saw just how amazing she really was, balancing her job and school and her friends all at the same time. "Well, at least it was gradual on one account," he chuckled. Sydney raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and he just shook his head. "God, Syd, how could you not see that I was crazy about you? I think you'll recall me mentioning a rather huge fight with Alice not long after I met you."
"That was about me?" she gaped, a hint of humour on her face despite her attempts to hide her delight.
"Don't look so innocent," he teased, kissing her cheek. "I know you're secretly happy about that."
They all laughed aloud at this, and Sydney and Vaughn continued to share the condensed version of their story, omitting parts where necessary. Sydney grew more and more comfortable as the conversation progressed, and she found herself musing silently over how perfect this all seemed. Vaughn's mother was everything she imagined, and infinitely more giving and kind. She gathered from their intimate conversation that he and his mom shared a special relationship, and her heart beat a little faster as she realised she would soon be a part of this family. Suddenly it didn't seem so frightening; she could picture herself chatting over lunch or coffee, bouncing the baby on her knee while Celia gushed over how much he or she was growing.
Celia launched into full interrogation mode after a while, drilling Sydney and Vaughn with questions about the pregnancy. Sydney naturally moved her hand to her stomach as she answered appropriately, allowing Vaughn to field some of the questions as her eyelids began to droop. "Are you tired, Syd?" Vaughn asked in concern.
"Just a little," she admitted. "But I'm fine."
"Nonsense," Celia shook her head. "I'm sure you've both had a long day. Michael, do you want to show Sydney to your room?"
Vaughn nodded and pulled Sydney up, leading her by the hand up the staircase to the room at the very end of the hall. She sat down on the plush bed and marvelled in its softness, realising for the first time just how drained she felt. Vaughn instructed her to stay put while he grabbed the bags from the car, and she didn't find it too hard to comply with his command.
"You want a bath or a shower?" he asked upon his return.
"Shower," she yawned, following him to the bathroom.
"I'll be downstairs with my mom," he said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the kitchen. "Just come down when you're finished and we can go to bed."
Sydney nodded and playfully pushed him out of the room. He lingered outside the door for just a moment, waiting to hear the shower start. Something about having her here where he spent most of his life felt so incredibly right, and he wanted to savour the moment. He committed the moment to memory and returned to the kitchen to sit down with his mom.
"She's wonderful, Michael," Celia sighed happily. "You chose well." She took a long sip of her tea and looked at her son over the rim of her mug.
"I know," Vaughn nodded seriously.
"You know," she began lowly, her eyes twinkling, "I never thought anyone could love someone as much as I loved your father, but I always wanted you to find someone that made you half as happy. But now I think I might have been wrong," she grinned knowingly.
Vaughn nodded in agreement. "That's actually part of the reason I wanted to come down this weekend," he admitted. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to say everything he planned and rehearsed the entire week. "I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate everything you did for me," he blurted out.
"Michael!" Celia exclaimed in surprise, shocked by his sweet but unexpected declaration.
"It's just…being with Sydney makes me realise how hard it must have been for you. I used to send her into the lion's den every day, and it nearly killed me. If I lost her…" he paused, choking past the emotion clouding his thoughts. His mom smiled sympathetically, allowing her son a moment to compose himself. "Sorry," he apologised sheepishly. "At least I can be with her now; you didn't have that. It would drive me insane, letting her go out there without knowing where she was or if she was okay."
A tear dropped from Celia's eyes as she nodded. "It was awful," she agreed. "But he loved it, and I loved him," she added meaningfully. "Will Sydney go back after the baby?"
Vaughn looked down into his mug, afraid to admit what he already knew. He took a deep breath, steeling himself to answer with painful honesty. "Yes," he nodded. They never talked about it, but he knew. If he begged, if he pleaded with her to consider him and the baby, she might relent and resign herself to desk duty. But he knew what would happen. She would try to be happy for his sake, but she would begin to resent him. She would be bored and dissatisfied, and no matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to help. She needed closure; he never pretended or imagined that loving him would immediately heal the gaping wounds left over from a lifetime of betrayal and loss. Just as she couldn't make him forget the trauma of losing a father, he couldn't offer the peace she so desperately needed after Danny's death. "I hate it," he admitted. "But I guess it's like you and Dad. There are things she – WE – need to do…things I can't talk about. But she can't really be happy until we make things right." He shook his head sadly and massaged his temples.
"Do you tell her?" Celia asked softly.
"I try," he nodded. "I've come so close to losing her so many times, Mom. I swear, she's going to kill me," he tried to joke. He sobered as he remembered countless brushes with death – near torture at the slimy hands of Arvin Sloane, compromised missions, that jump from the plane – and the even more numerous scars and bruises. The injuries were the one part of physical intimacy with Sydney that made him cringe. He tried to lose himself in her, forget about everything but her hands on his skin and her body in his arms, but afterwards, he always noticed. He trailed his fingers over the faint pink lines that stood out as beautiful badges of both her courage and her imperfections, the little signs of her human vulnerabilities that always intrigued and haunted him. She would smile faintly in reassurance, but her eyes betrayed the deeply hidden hurt, the part that didn't ever really heal, and he kissed the scars, promising never to be the source of any such pain. "Sometimes I'm so amazed," he mused aloud, his voice scratchy as his mind lingered in the memories. "She's been through much and never lost herself."
"Where do you think she gets that?" Celia asked pointedly.
Vaughn looked back at her in confusion. "I don't…"
"From you," she answered simply. "The way she talks about you…your father would be so proud."
"I'm worn out!" Sydney exclaimed with a laugh. She dropped the numerous shopping bags weighing her down and plopped heavily into a chair by the Starbucks. Celia added several more bags to the heap and chuckled at Sydney's exhausted face.
"Shopping wears you out?" Celia teased. "I would think international flights several times a week would be more gruelling than a morning at the mall with an old woman."
"I've cut back on the flights," Sydney smiled softly. "And if I didn't, I'm sure your son would make me," she rolled her eyes. She and Celia spent the better part of their morning hitting all the stores, mostly buying the maternity clothes Sydney would need now on a regular basis, but also a few adorable purchases for the baby. Sydney found herself laughing and smiling more than she ever expected, and they swapped sweet and funny stories about Vaughn – several of which Sydney filed away for opportune moments.
"He loves you," Celia said simply. "Vaughn men are protective. His father was the same way. He barely let me walk from one side of the room to the other when I was pregnant with Michael."
Sydney nodded and forced a chuckle, but her smile faltered at the mention of William Vaughn. Though she felt perfectly accepted already (and thanked Vaughn enthusiastically the night before, they were all dancing around the issue, trying not to discuss it. While she believed the Celia did not confuse the sins of the mother with those of the child, a part of her felt like a fraud trying to pretend the elephant in the room didn't really intrude.
"Mrs. Vaughn," Sydney began gravely.
"What's wrong, dear?"
"I just…I know Michael told you about my mother, but I just need to apologise--"
"No, you don't," Celia cut her off gently.
Tears stung Sydney's eyes as she shook her head. "I do. I know it must be hard for you, especially since the baby--"
"Will be the child of two wonderful, caring people," Celia finished for her. "Sydney, how old were you when your mother left?"
"Six," Sydney answered quietly, her eyes fixed on the table.
"And who raised you after that?"
"Nannies," she shrugged. "My father and I never really talked again after she left. He hired nannies to take care of me."
"Then what could you possibly have to be sorry for?" Sydney prodded, reaching across the table to still Sydney's trembling hand. "You were a child, Sweetheart. You played no role in your mother's decisions, and you have suffered just as much as Michael and I have, if not more. I hate your mother for what she did to us, but I also hate her for what she did to you."
"Celia…"
Celia smiled softly and squeezed the younger woman's hand. "You are beautiful, Sydney, and you make my son so happy."
"He makes me happy, too," Sydney added tearfully.
They sat in silence for a few minutes as Sydney fought to compose herself once more. Celia patted her kindly on the back and ordered two coffees – decaf for Sydney – to rejuvenate them both for another round of stores. Sydney gratefully sipped the steaming liquid and pretended it was really working for her, gazing at Vaughn's mother in wonder. Celia didn't notice her scrutiny as she looked around the mall to scope out a plan of attack, but the moment allowed Sydney to really process everything that happened in less than twenty-four hours.
She struck gold when she met Vaughn, and she knew it almost immediately. The moment they took him away and replaced him with that piece of filth that somehow weaselled his way up the ranks, she knew she couldn't manage the fight without him. She didn't realise just how much she would come to need him in every area of her life, but every day he proved his commitment and devotion. It didn't really surprise her that his mother displayed so many of the same admirable qualities. But nothing could have prepared her for the openness and love she immediately felt radiating from her presence. In less than a day she adopted Sydney as her own, taking her under her wing and assuming the role her own mother should have played. Knowing what she did about Irina Derevko, Sydney found it hard to miss Laura Bristow when she had Celia Vaughn.