Vaughn stared blankly ahead of him, his face absent of emotion. He didn't even notice the people moving around him speaking in hushed voices. He could only think of one thing.
She was on the plane with him.
But she wasn't. And she would never be again.
Yes, her body lay lifelessly in a cold coffin at the tail end of the plane, but SHE wasn't there. SYDNEY no longer claimed control over the now stiff body. Sydney was no longer part of this life...Part of his life. Sydney no longer existed.
And he didn't know how to exist without her.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sydney re-entered the room, welcomed by the same happy noises she had heard as she departed. All the happiness left the room when Rose saw her mother.
"Mommy?"
The rest of the family turned to face what startled Rose.
Sydney stood facing them, sweat beads sticking to her now transparent skin.
"Syd?" Vaughn stood up, concern washing over his features.
Before she could respond, Sydney's knees buckled under her. Somehow, Vaughn managed to move to her quickly enough to keep her from hitting the ground.
"Syd. Here, sit down..." He helped guide her over to the chair Isabelle had anxiously pulled forward.
Sydney sat for a moment, staring down at her hands. When she looked up to the worried faces of her family, she quickly pushed her own concers out of the way.
"I'm sorry," she said looking up at Vaughn. Then plastering a smile on her face, looked to everyone and added, "I'm fine."
Vaughn, without taking his eyes off Sydney, placed Lila gently on the ground.
"Isabelle, could you take everyone upstairs and turn on a movie?"
She wrinkled her nose at her fathers request, wishing to stay with her mother, but found herself quickly join in on the argument over which to movie to watch as she led her younger siblings out.
Once they were gone, Vaughn pulled up a chair and sat down in it, positioning himself directly in front of Sydney, whose gaze now resided on her lap.
He took both of her hands in one of his and used the other to gently guide her chin up to face him, rubbing her cheek to try and force her glance up as well. He wasn't suprised that when her gaze finally met his, they were filled with tears.
"What happened?"
A fresh wave of pain washed over her face, but she hardened her features in a desperate attempt to keep the tears from falling. She looked back down in her lap, collecting herself, before looking back into Vaughn's green eyes.
"Danny called."
