Chapter 50: The Visitors, Part 4
"Your children are not your children, They are the sons and daughter's of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable." – Kahlil Gibran (The Prophet)
Jack arrived at Sydney's door with food in hand precisely 24 minutes later. She answered and helped him carry in the various bags of Italian food that he picked up on the way to her house. Sydney and Jack walked through the kitchen to place the bags on the counter and Sydney started to unpack the bags and get plates and silverware from the cupboards. Then she moved to get Donovan and let him out into the backyard.
"Hello Vaughn," he said and then also added, "Hello Eric."
"Hi," they both said, still watching the lame B-movie.
"Do you need any help Sydney?" he asked his daughter.
"No, not right now. You can help me carry it in when I've got it all sorted out, I'll let you know."
"Ok…" Jack said.
Jack stood rather awkwardly in between the kitchen and the living room, really standing in neither room. He thought that was quite fitting at the moment, it was usually how it was with Sydney. It had gotten better, but he wasn't sure she really wanted him fully in her life (in the kitchen) and he didn't think it was proper to be intruding on obviously close friends' (in the living room).
Vaughn finally noticed that he was just standing there, "You wanna sit Jack?"
"No, I'll wait to help Sydney," he said.
"Ok…it was nice of you to stop by…bring dinner…thanks."
"Of course," Jack said evenly. "How are you doing? Are you feeling any better?"
"Uh, yeah, somewhat…it depends on the day and the time, and the weather, and about a million other things, but yeah, I'm better," he looked at Jack for a minute and then said, "Sydney helps a lot."
Jack looked rather uncomfortable at that statement, and wondered if Vaughn had done that on purpose, trying to push a reaction from him. He realized though when he looked into Vaughn's eyes that he didn't mean anything of the sort, he was just simply stating the fact, and at once, Jack Bristow was very proud of his daughter.
"She's a wonderful person," he offered with a warm smile that rather startled Vaughn.
He returned the smile, "Yes, she truly is."
Sydney came into the living room and looked curiously at her father and Vaughn, wondering why they both had similar smiles on their faces, looked to Weiss for a minute who winked at her, and then decided not to press it.
"Dad, you wanna give me a hand now?"
"Of course," Jack said as he followed her into the kitchen.
Once they had arrived in the kitchen, she checked to make sure that Vaughn and Eric were occupied and then asked, "What was that about? I come in and my father and my boyfriend are both grinning like idiots, it's rather disturbing."
"We were simply discussing how wonderful you are."
"Really?" she asked surprised.
"Yes, Sydney, really. Contrary to what you might think, I am very proud of you. Although I don't think any father relishes the idea of their daughter being involved with someone, I must say that Vaughn is a good man. I think it's amazing what the two of you obviously have…he trusts you; you can see it. The way you've been taking care of him is nothing short of extraordinary Sydney. Dedication is one of your best qualities."
Sydney swore that her mouth must have been on the floor after her father finished that sentence. For a minute, she couldn't think of anything to say.
"Dad?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you…that…that means so much to me…coming from you…I…it's nice to know…"
"Would I be pushing it too far to tell you that I love you Sydney?"
She beamed at him, "No, I don't think it's ever going to far to tell someone you love them dad, and I love you too…it's been a really long time since you've said that to me."
"I know…I'm sorry," Jack said, eyes downcast, "I know I've been a terrible father, but I'd like to change that…I guess you could say that Vaughn's whole ordeal made me realize that it could have been you…I could have lost you without ever telling you that…"
She surprised herself when she launched herself into his arms and they hugged for several moments. Sydney was slightly teary and she could have sworn that her father was as well.
"Dad, thanks…for everything you've said…it's nice to know that you're proud of me, and that you "approve" of Vaughn, although that wouldn't have stopped me if you didn't."
"I'm well aware of that Sydney," Jack said with a smile.
"But it's true…it's not only trust Dad, I love Vaughn…and he loves me too."
"I know."
"Good."
They stood there for a few more moments before Sydney said, "We should really get the food out there before they think something happened to us."
"Of course."
They each took several articles and began carrying them into the living room. Jack went back for the rest, letting Sydney start to get Vaughn settled for dinner. He smiled at them as he came back into the living room, and Vaughn looked at the two strangely, reminding himself he'd have to ask Sydney later what they had done with her father, and who this strange man was in her living room, serving dinner.
Dinner conversation also struck Vaughn as odd. Jack was actually addressing him, asking questions with what he could only decipher as concern. Jack Bristow seemed genuinely concerned…about him. Weiss watched the whole scene between father, daughter, and boyfriend with interest while he ate his spaghetti. He caught Vaughn's eye a few times, asking silently what the hell was going on, and what planet he had landed on, but Eric could only shrug. It was actually pleasant.
Sydney helped Vaughn with his dinner, until he realized she wasn't really eating.
"Yours is going to get cold," he said.
She smiled, "That's ok."
"No it's not," he said seriously.
Jack and Eric looked at the couple on the couch, but didn't remark.
Sydney looked down at Vaughn when he asked, "Do you always do that? Eat after me?"
She shrugged, "Yeah…what's your point?"
"What's my point?" He made his tone one of annoyance, "Sydney, my point is that you always eat cold food because you're always helping me…that's not right."
"Why isn't it right Vaughn? What else would you suggest?
"Let me try…"
"Vaughn, it's not a big deal, I don't mind…"
"I do…" he said simply.
She looked at him for a minute, and realized his determination, sighed, and moved him to sit up a little more, moved the plate so it was resting on his chest and handed him the fork. Then she picked up her own plate and started to eat. Jack and Weiss continued with conversation, and Sydney tried to give them both looks not to say anything. Vaughn managed to feed himself with moderate success, although it was awkward because he wasn't using his usual hand. He seemed frustrated at a few points, but Sydney didn't attempt to help him. He didn't talk much through the rest of the meal, but the other occupants of the room continued to talk nonetheless. Once they were finished, Sydney started to clean up and Jack got up to help her.
Weiss looked at Vaughn, "What was that about?"
"I don't think it's right for Sydney not to eat or eat cold food because she has to take care of the idiot who got himself tortured."
"Vaughn, she said she didn't mind…she's happy to help you."
"That doesn't make it right Eric."
Sydney came in at the tail end of the conversation, on her way to get more of the dishes. She looked at Eric, "Can you give us a second?"
"Yeah…sure…I'll take those," he said as he took the dishes from the table and went off into the kitchen.
"What's going on with you?"
"Sydney…if I would have realized earlier that you don't eat when you help me or you eat after, I wouldn't have let you help…"
"Vaughn…why not? That's what I'm here for, to help you…"
"But I don't want you to help me at your expense."
"That's love Vaughn…"
He couldn't come up with a good response to that one. She waited, but when one didn't come, she said, "Look…I know you're frustrated, I'm sure you're really pissed sometimes, and that's ok…but I don't want you to feel like you don't need help. I'm here to help you…sacrifice is part of love Vaughn…that's what happens. It's not bad that I eat after you…it won't be forever, and seriously, it's not all the time. Usually I eat in between your bites…you know? You don't have to be embarrassed or anything, please…Vaughn…please, just give yourself a break. You can't keep being this hard on yourself."
He listened to her pleading with him, but it didn't make him feel much better. "I don't want you to hurt yourself because you're helping me."
"Is this the resentment thing again?"
"Maybe…I don't know…I just…it seems like everything that you have to do for me in someway is a detriment to your health."
"What do you mean?"
"Eating for one, sleeping for another – you never get any sleep with me…if I'm not having a nightmare, then I'm up anyway, pretty much everything – pain medication, exercises, you're whole–"
"Vaughn, stop," she said, "Listen…I don't know exactly why this is bothering you so much…I knew what I was taking on here…I don't mind any of those things, I'm not burning myself out or anything. You're really blowing this out of proportion…"
"I don't think so…"
"Well, I know so, and you've said it before – I'm always right."
"I don't want to hurt you…"
"You're not…" she touched his face, "You're not…"
He looked up at her, "You'd tell me if I was…wouldn't you?"
"Yes."
"If it gets to be too much, if I get to be too much, you'll tell me?"
"Yes, but that won't happen."
He looked up at her in uncertainty.
"It won't Vaughn…don't worry so much…"
He managed a weak smile.
Jack and Eric came in at that moment, entering carefully, in case they were still discussing.
Eric was the first to talk, "Well…everything's cleaned up…I really should get going…it's getting late."
Vaughn looked up at Eric, "Thanks for coming over Eric."
Eric looked at Vaughn quizzically, "Sure…I'll see you next week – probably sooner, I'll call…"
"Ok." Vaughn said.
"Thanks for dinner Jack."
"Sure."
Eric said goodbye to Sydney and Jack and left.
