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Chapter Seven:
Small Wonders

As Vaughn followed Dr Emery down the hospital's hallway, he could feel trepidation intensifying with each step. He was absolutely terrified- he wasn't going to deny that fact. What he wasn't sure about was what exactly was scaring him so much. Was it the idea of actually having to take a newborn home- alone, or was it that he had no idea what he would feel when he looked at her for the first time.

In front of him, Dr Emery pushed open a door and then gestured for Vaughn to enter the room. "She is in here, Agent Vaughn."

Taking a second to draw in a deep breath, Vaughn stepped through the doorway. As he approached the hospital cot, he became acutely aware of the sound of his own breaths.

But then all sound ceased to exist as Vaughn took the final step, looked down and laid eyes on his daughter for the first time.

"Weiss," Sydney looked up from the instruction manual she was holding. "It says here to insert piece B into slot G."

"So?" Weiss replied.

"So, by the diagram here, you're inserting piece D into slot A."

Weiss exhaled exasperatedly. "Sydney, all the pieces are exactly the same. Does it really matter which one I pick as G or D?"

Sydney grinned, putting down the manual. "Probably not." She glanced at her watch. "How long do you think Vaughn will be?"

Weiss shrugged. "Who knows…but we're almost done with the cot. We can leave the rest for another time."

Sydney fell silent at that point, her expression turning serious.

"Syd?"

She looked up. "It's just really strange…I mean, Vaughn's a dad. By himself. To…I just never thought…"

"Hmm…and if we're having this much trouble wrapping our heads around this, imagine what he's going through."

"What…who do you think she'll look like?"

"Well, for his sake, I hope to god that it's Vaughn."

Sydney allowed herself a small smile. "A little green eyes version of her father- I can see that."

"There," Weiss announced, tightening one last screw. "All done."

"Good," Sydney said. "Because we should get out here. They should be home soon."

Vaughn walked through his front door, capsule in hand. Inside everything looked the same, but the apartment felt different. Placing the capsule on his kitchen bench, Vaughn took a few steps and opened the door to the nursery. A fully constructed cot sat in the middle of the otherwise empty room. Turning he saw several boxes stacked in the corner. The top one with a note attached.

We did the best we could :)
There is formula made up in the fridge,
nappies in the bag in the cot.
If you need any help with the other stuff,
or anything else, you know what to do.
S & W

Folding the note and placing it in his pocket, Vaughn walked back out of the room and found himself staring at his daughter, fast asleep in the capsule. He was yet to see her awake and to him, that was something of a blessing. The idea of looking into her eyes and seeing Lauren's staring back was one that literally made him feel ill. The notion that this child could possibly posses traits of her mother was sickening.

His heart skipped a beat as she stirred slightly, he relaxed as it became apparent that she was not waking.

And as Vaughn stood there, watching the tiny and peaceful creature, he could not help but wonder, 'What now?'

Sydney was in her bedroom, having just taken a shower when she heard the phone ring. It stopped after a short while and so she guessed that Nadia had answered it. She was right.

"Sydney!" Nadia's voice called out. 'It's for you."

"I'll get it in here," she called back, throwing on a robe and then reaching for her extension. Before she could speak, Nadia appeared in her doorway.

"Vaughn," she mouthed.

"Thanks," Sydney whispered, lifting the phone to her ear. "Hey," she said. "How's it going?"

"Ok," Vaughn replied. "I just wanted to say thanks for the cot."

"Well, Weiss did most of it. I just dictated."

"You know, I have no trouble picturing that."

Sydney laughed softly. "Is that an insult?" There was no reply on the other end of the line. "Vaughn?"

"Yeah…sorry. I'm having a little trouble staying focused."

"Understandable."

"Look, Syd, I was wondering if you could drop by sometime later. Everything just seems so strange. I need to see somebody who makes me feel like me."

"Sure," Sydney replied. "I have to go into Operations for a few hours, but how about I come by tonight. I could bring dinner."

"That would be great. Thanks."

Sydney smiled to herself. "I'll see you then."

Sydney could hear crying when she approached Vaughn's door that evening. Knocking, she waited but there was no reply and so she tried the knob. Finding the door unlocked, she pushed it open and walked inside.

"Vaughn?"

He gave no reply. Placing the pizza she'd picked up for dinner on the bench, Sydney made her way towards the baby's room. There she found Vaughn standing over the cot, his expression a combination of fear and helplessness.

"Vaughn," she said. "What's wrong?"

He looked at, almost surprised to see her there. "I don't know…she just started crying."

"Well…maybe she needs changing," Sydney suggested. "Check."

"Check?"

"Pick her up and see if she needs changing."

Vaughn looked back down in the cot. "I can't," he said quietly.

"What?"

"I can't," he repeated, backing away from the cot and then walking out of the room.

"Vaughn," Sydney called after him. But it was obvious that he was not coming back and so Sydney did the only thing she could. Stepping over to the cot, she reached in and picked up the miserable baby.

"Hey," she whispered, cradling her in her arms. "It's ok. I got you…now, what seems to be the problem?"

About fifteen minutes later, Sydney walked back out into the living room. Vaughn was sitting on the couch, with his head buried in his hands.

"It was a dirty nappy," Sydney said, placing herself on an armchair several feet away.

"I'm sorry," Vaughn muttered. "I just freaked. I don't…"

"Hey, so what?" Sydney said. "I'm assuming that most new parents get a little daunted. You did nothing wrong. It was just a reaction, that's all."

Vaughn didn't say anything. He couldn't tell Sydney what was really going on in his mind. There was a hell of a lot more to this than just first-time parent fears. Deep down, there was a part of Vaughn rejected that little girl, not wanting to get close or attached. And he knew that it was because of who her mother was.

Just how exactly was he supposed to put that into words?

"You know, Vaughn," Sydney said, snapping him out of his reverie. "She really is beautiful."

"Hmm…" Vaughn ran a hand through his hair.

Sydney sensed that he was not all that comfortable with the conversation. "How about we have some dinner. I got pizza- is that alright?"

"It's fine."

Taking in his expression, Sydney stood and headed over to the bench. She was beginning to wonder if Vaughn was really going to be able to pull this off.

"Dr Emery!"

She looked up from the notes she was making on a chart, to se a nurse heading in her direction. "Yes, Amanda?"

"Your coma patient..."

Dr Emery frowned, capping her pen. "Lauren Reed?" Amanda nodded. "What about her?"

"There's been... you need to come now."

Later that night, as she and Vaughn sat in his living room, Sydney found herself stating to yawn. Glancing down at her watch, her eyes widened slightly.

"Wow…I didn't realize it was that late."

Vaughn was suddenly seized by an anxious fear. "Are you going?" he asked, knowing all too well that he would fall apart if left alone that night.

Sydney scrutinized him for a second. There was something slightly off with his tone of voice. "Well, unless I'm being presumptuous, I thought that I might stay again tonight."

Vaughn blinked. "Really." It was hard to keep the relief out of his voice.

"Yeah. Nobody should be expected to do this alone. Even with all your extra dramas aside."

Vaughn tried hard to smile. "Thank you."

"Ah," Sydney waved a hand. "You don't have to thank me. I have an ulterior motive."

"You do?"

"Uh huh," Sydney smiled. "I want another night on that couch- it really is comfortable."

Vaughn could only shake his head. "I don't know where I would be right now without you."

"Probably cowering in a corner having succumbed to a nervous breakdown," Sydney quipped. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go brush my teeth."

As she walked off, Vaughn made his way to his bedroom, his thoughts a jumbled mess.

'Probably cowering in a corner…'

He shuddered at Sydney's words. She didn't know just how right she was.