Thank you all so much for your feedback.

aliasmydrugofchoice: Vegemite is an Aussie thing. It's a spread, for like toast and sandwiches and stuff. It's taste is not exactly something that I can describe.

"I'm setting some ground rules before you even think about dipping that roller in paint." Sydney said to Vaughn Sunday morning.

"Ground rules?" he repeated. "Like what?"

"Like I don't want a repeat of when we were painting Fran's restaurant." Sydney answered. "I'll tell you now, if I cop a face full of paint there is no way that I'll let you off so lightly this time."

Vaughn laughed. "Ok, I swear. No attacking your face with paint."

"Or any other part of my body."

"Or any other part of your body."

The two of them had finally got themselves organized enough to paint their spare room, which was to become the nursery. Picking the colour had not been as simple as expected. Sydney and Juliette had spent a considerable amount of time pouring over the green shades. The search had ended when Vaughn walked in, picked up a random card and said that that was the one he liked. The soft green was, of course, perfect and Vaughn had not let Sydney, or his mother, forget that he was the one who had chosen the colour.

A couple of hours in, Sydney was still free from any paint attacks, though she suspected that she would not stay that way. Vaughn had been lying through his teeth when he said that he would leave her alone.

But then, she was kind of anticipating the first swipe. What good was a day painting if you couldn't paint each other?

"Hey Vaughn," Sydney spoke up at one point. "What did you want to do next weekend?" she asked, in regards to his birthday which was the following Sunday.

Vaughn looked at her from his position on the stepladder. "I want to go bowling."

"Bowling?"

"Yeah. Weiss was telling me about this alley downtown. Apparently it has all you can eat hot dogs after ten."

"All you can eat hot dogs? Why doesn't it surprise me that Weiss was the one who discovered this place?"

Vaughn grinned. "I'll book a couple of lanes this week."

"And that's all you want to do?"

Vaughn shrugged. "Yeah. Chances are everybody will probably end up back here for drinks afterwards."

"For drinks and to see a performance of the Weiss show." Sydney added.

"Right," Vaughn laughed, stepping down from the ladder. "Because we haven't all seen it a hundred times already."

"But Weiss's shows are like fingerprints, or snowflakes." Sydney pointed out. "No two have ever been the same."

Vaughn just shook his head as he gazed around the room, surveying their handiwork so far. "You know, it has to be said. I think I have a real artistic talent."

"Really?" Sydney said, coming up beside him. She knew exactly what he was getting to. "And what makes you say that?"

"Well, it takes real creative genius to be able to pick a colour that so perfectly—"

"Vaughn." Sydney cut him off.

"What?"

With a grin she swiped her brush down the side of his face. "Shut up."

For a few seconds he just stared at her through wide eyes. Then, slowly, he reached down for his roller. "I believe you just broke our peace agreement, Bristow."

Sydney just smiled at him. "I believe I did."

He held up his roller. "You've got three seconds."

"Till what?"

"One…"

"What are you gonna do Vaughn?" she laughed.

"Two…"

"You don't scare—"

Vaughn pounced before he even got to three.

Wednesday evening Sydney, Francie and Ainsley had organized to go out for dinner and afterwards found themselves back at Sydney and Vaughn's place.

"Where's Mike?" Ainsley asked as Sydney let them in.

"Next door," Sydney replied. "Marshall has hooked up this new surround sound system and apparently it's 'bitchin'," she paused as Ainsley and Francie laughed. "Marshall's words, not mine."

"And so Michael's over there so they can play with the big boy toy together?" Francie said.

"Yup," Sydney nodded as she sat herself down on the couch. "If you two want a drink or anything, you can get it yourselves. I am not moving."

"So hospitable, Syd." Francie joked as she headed towards the fridge.

"Yeah," Ainsley agreed, sitting down on one of the armchairs. "Just when did you get so nice?"

Sydney laughed. "Give us a break. My ankles are swollen, my back is aching- so for tonight you can get the drinks."

"Oh, here we go." Francie said, walking across and placing three glasses on the coffee table. "She's playing the pregnancy card."

"Well, she hasn't got that much longer to go," Ainsley pointed out. "She's gotta milk it while she can."

"Yeah, but then she'll be able to use the whole exhausted mother with a new baby excuse." Francie said.

"Thanks a lot!" Sydney said with a grin. "It's nice to know that I've got myself some really sympathetic friends."

"We're always here for you, Syd." Ainsley deadpanned.

"Speaking of which, there's something we want to talk to you about." Francie said.

"What?" Sydney looked between the two of them.

"About when we should throw your baby shower." Francie replied.

"Oh," Sydney said. "Look, thank you for the thought, but I really don't want one."

"What? Why not?" Ainsley demanded.

"Because I don't need one."

"Sure you do." Francie insisted. "Think about all the presents you'll be depriving your poor child of if you don't have one."

Sydney laughed. "With mine and Vaughn's friends and family, I hardly think that this baby will be deprived."

Ainsley shook her head slightly. "You seriously don't want one?"

"I seriously don't." Sydney affirmed. "But again, thank you for the thought."

"You disappoint me Sydney." Francie said. "I thought I had trained you right."

"Don't stress too much, Fran." Ainsley piped up. "Syd may be a lost cause, but you're going to be able to mould that kid of hers from birth."

Francie's eyes lit up, but before she could say anything, the all heard the front door open and Vaughn's voice, clearly audible, came drifting down the hall.

"…So how much do you think it would cost to have the same set-up here…" he trailed off as he and Marshall came into the lounge room. "Hey," his face broke into a smile as he walked across to give Sydney a kiss.

"Have a good time?" Sydney asked.

"Uh, yeah." Vaughn replied. "You would not believe the sound that came out of that system. Beyond belief."

"Yeah," Marshall piped up. "You hear that boom? That's my mind blowing."

Sydney raised her eyebrows. "That good, hey?"

Vaughn nodded, his expression suddenly appearing eager. "We should get the same set-up here."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Syd, just imagine watching Dirty Dancing with this amazing surround sound. It would be just like you were there, in the middle of the movie. Wouldn't you like that?"

Francie looked at Ainsley. "Ooh, he's bringing out the big guns. Somebody is desperate," she finished in a singsong voice.

"Yeah," Ainsley laughed. "And perhaps we should leave them to it."

Francie nodded. "I'll speak to you tomorrow, Syd," she said, standing up.

Outside, Francie and Ainsley stopped before getting into their cars.

"Syd sounded pretty adamant about no baby shower, hey?" Francie said.

"Yeah. I think we should just forget the whole idea." Ainsley said, wisely.

"But we can't just do nothing."

"I know," Ainsley mused. "But I'm at a blank. How about we sit on it for a few days. We're bound to come up with something."

"All right!" Ainsley pumped her fist and then whirled around. "I'd like to see you beat that, Eric," she said, sauntering over.

The night at the bowling alley for Vaughn's birthday had taken an unusual twist. Upon their arrival, they made the discovery that the alley had a new addition to its lanes- a screen that displayed the speed at which the bowling ball travelled.

Immediately, any plans for an old-fashioned game of knocking down pins went out the window. Instead a new game was invented- see how fast you can bowl a ball down the lane.

It had eventuated into a battle of the sexes, with Vaughn, Weiss, Will and Craig playing on one lane and Sydney, Ainsley, Francie and Nat playing on the other. And out of all of them, it was Vaughn and Nat who were vying for the position of top dog.

"Oh god," Sydney laughed as Weiss tried to take a running start before releasing his ball. "Why do I get the feeling that we're going to get ourselves kicked out?"

"Wooh!" Weiss yelled as his speed was displayed. "Suck on that, Ainz!"

Ainsley just poked her tongue out at him, and then turned back to Sydney. "Don't worry. They won't kick us out unless we cause some real damage, like denting the lane or something."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience, Ainz." Craig said.

Ainsley nodded, a gleeful grin on her face. "My fourteenth birthday."

"What did you do?" Francie asked.

"Absolutely nothing. It was all Campbell."

"Yeah right," Vaughn scoffed as he stood up for his shot.

"You just concentrate on your bowling, Mike." Ainsley shot back. "You're gonna have to, if you want to beat our Nat."

"Your Nat doesn't stand a chance," Weiss retorted.

"Wanna bet?" Ainsley stood up, a hand on her hips.

"Uh, yeah." Weiss stood, imitating her.

"Ok kiddies!" Sydney clapped her hands together. "Settle down, please."

"Ooh," Will said jokingly. "She's using the teacher voice. You guys are in trouble."

"Pfft," Weiss waved a hand. "We're in trouble? What else is new?" Suddenly he jumped, his hands in the air. "Vaughn! My man!"

Vaughn turned around, a grin on his face. "I believe the birthday boy just got the best time yet."

Nat just stood up. "Don't get too cocky. The night is far from over."

"Oh god," Sydney sighed as she crawled into bed that night. "I am exhausted."

Vaughn chuckled softly. "Yeah, speed bowling seems to take a bit more out of you…especially when you're the fastest."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "How along are we going to hear about your victory?"

"Hmm," Vaughn paused. "For as long as I like."

Sydney gave him an impish grin. "What would you do if I told you Nat let you win? You know, cos it was birthday."

Vaughn's eyes widened. "You take that back."

"Or what?"

"Or you know what," Vaughn shot back, his hand moving towards her ribs.

"Ok, ok. I take it back." Sydney said quickly. Smiling, she brought her own hand up, running it down the side of Vaughn's cheek. "So, was it a good birthday?"

Vaughn nodded, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Of course it was. You, my friends and the discovery of an all new bowling form."

"Don't forget all you can eat hotdogs," Sydney pointed out.

"The icing on the cake," Vaughn grinned.

"You know what I realized tonight?" Sydney asked and Vaughn shook his head. "We've been going through a series of 'lasts' these past months. The last time we'll be doing things before becoming parents. Our last Halloween, your last birthday and soon it will be our last Christmas and New Years." She paused, taking a breath. "And I think I getting scared."

"Hey Syd." Vaughn ran a hand over her hair. "You're not the only one."

"Really?" she asked and he nodded. She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god. I mean, I am so excited but then there's this fear in the back of my mind, telling me that we're not ready for this."

"We're ready." Vaughn said firmly. "That I'm sure of. And this fear? It can be a good thing. It's like when you're playing—"

"Vaughn," Sydney interrupted. "If you compare us having a baby to a hockey game, I swear, I cannot promise that I will won't cause you harm."

Vaughn grinned. "Not just any game, Syd, a—"

"A hockey final. Right." Sydney laughed. "Same thing, still going to cause you harm."

"Come here," Vaughn wrapped his arms around her, in a safe and warm embrace. "Do you still want to hurt me?" he murmured into her ear, as he proceeded to trail a line of kisses down her neck.

Sydney laughed softly, his breath tickling her skin. "I think the urge might be fading," she said, tilting her head so that their lips could meet.