Thank you all so much for your wonderful feedback. A few of you have been raising questions about a possible fourth installment to this fic. Now, I hate to disappoint anybody, but I am afraid that this one is it. It's not that I want to stop writing this AU fic, because I don't. I have loved every second I spent on it (which was many) and actually felt a little lost when I finished it.
However, the reason I decided to stop, was that I believed that I would not be able to sustain a plot long enough for a fourth story, and in a way, I wanted to go out on a high note. The last thing I wanted was to overstay my welcome. That being said, I am continuing to write fics, and sometime in the future, you never know, I just may come up for inspiration for a fourth installment.
So, I hope that you can all understand my decision and that you enjoy this chapter (it's New Years Eve and I had a lot of fun writing it.).

It was the early hours of New Years Eve when Vaughn was ripped from his slumber by a cry from Sydney. Sitting upright, through the darkness, he saw her, awake and visibly upset.

"Sydney." He brought a hand up to her face. It was clammy, a result from breaking out in a cold sweat. "What is it?"

"Something's wrong," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Vaughn asked, concerned.

"There was nothing. I gave birth to absolutely nothing, Vaughn." Sydney replied, looking up at him, distress echoing through her every word. "Nothing," she repeated.

"Oh, Syd." Vaughn gently stroke her hair. "It was just a dream, sweetheart. Nothing is wrong. If it were, Dr Carter would have picked up on it by now."

Sydney shook her head, almost violently. "Then why the dreams, Vaughn? I know you think that I am just being stupid—"

"I do not think you are stupid, Sydney." Vaughn interrupted. "I never have and never will."

"Then please, listen to me. These dreams, they are scaring the hell out of me. And there is no way that I am going to go through these next two weeks without trying to put my mind at ease."

"Ok then," Vaughn pressed his lips onto the top of her head. "Then we'll call Dr Carter first thing Monday morning and make an appointment."

Sydney nodded. "Thank you."

Vaughn looked at her, wishing that there were more that he could do to make her feel better. "I take it that sleep is pretty much out of the question."

"Just a bit," Sydney replied, struggling a little as she sat up.

"You know what you need to do?"

"What?"

"Change the channel," Vaughn replied, smiling at Sydney's puzzled expression.

"Change the channel?" she asked. "What are you talking about?"

"It's what maman used to say to me when I got woken up by nightmares as a kid. She would tell me to just," he reached across and twisted the corner of Sydney's pillow, "change the channel to a nicer dream."

Sydney smiled. "That sounds like a pretty good technique. Do you think your mum will mind if we borrow it?"

"Nah, I don't think she'll have a problem with that," Vaughn replied. "However, I am guessing that it probably won't have an affect on you. Right?"

Sydney nodded. "I am wide awake. There is not a chance that I'm going back to sleep tonight."

"Well then, we'll stay up together." Vaughn reached over, opened his bedside table and rummaged around.

"What are you looking for?" Sydney asked.

"Something to keep us occupied," Vaughn replied as he held up a pack of cards. "Snap?"

With a laugh, Sydney nodded. She would have done anything to take her mind off that dream.

"Who was that?" Sydney asked Vaughn as he hung up the phone.

"Craig. He and Will asked if we could bring some extra speakers for tonight," he replied with a grin. "I have the feeling that they have quite the New Years planned."

"Oh." Sydney rubbed her eyes. The party had totally slipped her mind and after a night of very little sleep, the last thing she felt like doing was going out and socializing. "Look, I think I'm going to give tonight a miss."

"What?" Vaughn looked truly surprised. "But it's New Years Eve, Syd. Everybody is going to want to see you there."

"I know, but I am exhausted, Vaughn." Sydney replied. "Not to mention that I feel like a beached whale, my ankles are swollen, my back is just aching…"

"Ok, ok. I get the picture." Vaughn smiled, sympathetically. "But how about we cut a deal on this one?"

Sydney eyed him warily. "What kind of deal?"

"That you lie down and have a rest." Vaughn said. "And if you still feel horrible after that, then fine, we'll forgo tonight."

"Vaughn, even if I weren't tired, I'm still not going to feel like going to a party."

"You didn't let me finish. If you do feel better, we'll go to the party, as we promised we would, but only stay an hour or two. Then we'll come home and ring in the New Year together with a few movies."

Sydney paused thoughtfully. "Can we watch Dirty Dancing?"

Vaughn nodded. "I think I can manage that."

"Ok then." Sydney smiled. "It's a deal."

It was a rare occasion to get Vaughn to agree to watch Dirty Dancing so easily and so Sydney settled herself on the couch. Picking up a book, she attempted to read, but found that she could not concentrate. Though she was fighting it, in the fear of another dream, Sydney found herself getting sleepy and was powerless in stopping her eyes from closing…

"Here you go." Sydney opened her eyes as a mug of tea was placed in her hands. "Falling asleep in the time it takes to make some tea. You are just like your mother was."

"My moth…" Sydney trailed off as the person talking sat down next to her on the couch. "Emily?"

"Who else?" Emily asked with a bright smile. "Your mother would fall asleep at the drop of a hat in the latter stages of her pregnancy. In the middle of conversations, sometimes."

Sydney could only stare." Emily, what are you doing here?"

Emily let out a tinkling laugh. "I'm here to talk to you. Would there be any other reason?"

"But this is impossible."

"Let's forget about what's possible and focus on you for a bit." Emily said, patting Sydney's hand. "Now, about these dreams-"

"How do you know about the dreams?" Sydney demanded, though not harshly.

"I know a lot of things," Emily replied matter-of-factly. "One of them being that you need to stop worrying yourself sick over some harmless little dreams."

Sydney blinked. "What?"

"Silly little dreams. They mean nothing, Sydney. Absolutely nothing."

"Then why do I keep having them?"

"Sydney," Emily dunked her teabag up and down. "You are two weeks off your due date and as a result, are going through one of the most emotional times of your life. These dreams, they're just your body responding to that and nothing more."

"Are you sure?"

Emily just gave her a knowing smile. "I am certain. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your baby."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." Emily confirmed. "I know that you will give birth to a little…wait, you don't want to know the sex, do you?"

Sydney shook her head, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Well, then you are going to have a healthy little baby, ten fingers, ten toes. All of that."

Sydney grinned. "I can hold you to that?"

"Of course." Emily gave a short nod. "And that other stuff you've been stressing over- stop. You and Michael are going to be fine. I can't guarantee that you won't mess up, but on the whole, this kid won't be totally screwed up."

Sydney laughed. "I guess I should be relieved then."

"Yes, you should. Relax and enjoy this time, Sydney." Emily clasped one of Sydney's hands. "Do you think that you could do that for me?"

Sydney nodded. "I think I just might."

Opening her eyes, Sydney realized that she was curled up on the couch. Hearing Vaughn's voice, but not registering what he was saying, she propped herself up on her elbows.

"What was that?" she inquired.

"I asked what you were smiling about." Vaughn said.

Sydney just shrugged. "I don't know." For some reason she felt like keeping the dream to herself.

Vaughn walked across. "Well, you certainly seem more chipper." He gave her a soft kiss. "I take it we're going to Will and Craig's party?"

Sydney nodded, her smile growing wider. "I reckon we are."

The party was building to a pretty good momentum when Sydney and Vaughn arrived. All of their friends were there, with the exception of Francie, who was working and was planning on dropping by later on.

"Just let me know when you want to go," Vaughn murmured into Sydney's ear. Sydney just smiled as she pressed her lips into his.

"Hey Vaughn!" Weiss's voice could be heard bellowing over the music.

"I think you're being summoned," Sydney said.

"I think I am." Vaughn kissed her again. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah right." Sydney laughed. "I don't see Weiss relinquishing you anytime soon."

It was about twenty minutes later, as she was getting herself a drink, that Sydney felt the first twinge. Stopping in her track, Sydney frowned. 'No,' she shrugged it off. 'It couldn't be.'

"You ok, Syd?" Ainsley asked, coming up behind her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Alright then," Ainsley grinned. "You wanna come outside? Nat has issued a limbo challenge, so I gotta get out there and whoop her butt. Eric's too."

Sydney let out a chuckle. "Maybe later. I just want to sit down for a bit."

It wasn't all that long before Sydney felt another pang and then another. She kept trying to tell herself that it was nothing. After all, her due date wasn't for another two weeks. But as they continued to grow stronger and stronger, she could no longer deny it.

Knowing that Vaughn was outside, Sydney got up and started to make her way down the hallway, but had to stop, resting her hand against the wall as another contraction hit.

"Sydney!" Weiss came bounding down the hallway. "There you are. What's going on?"

"I'm having a baby," she replied.

Weiss cracked up. "Yeah. That fact is kind of obvious, Syd. Either that or you're swallowed a giant beach ball…now there's an image." Weiss paused, a faraway look in his eyes.

"No, Houdini." Sydney shook her head. "I'm having a baby. Now."