Chapter 121: Explanation

"Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And, cooking done with care is an act of love." – Craig Clairborne

"A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness." – Elsa Schiaparelli

"No mean woman can cook well. It calls for a generous spirit, a light hand, and a large heart." – Paul Gauguin

"With true friends... even water drunk together is sweet enough." – Chinese Proverb

"A friend is someone who can see the truth and pain in you even when you are fooling everyone else." – Unknown

Amélie looked at Sydney with apprehension and fear, "Ok...what's going to happen tomorrow..."

"Were you planning on spending the night?"

"I guess I hadn't thought about it...I did pack a bag in case...why?"

"Tomorrow is going to be hard on Vaughn...and he only knows so much, so what I'm about to tell you, you can't repeat to him...ok?"

"Alright..." Amélie agreed.

"Tomorrow, Dr. Barnett is going to...well...she's going to break down the walls that Vaughn has put up to protect himself, and I can't be here...I can't be in the house, and that means, you couldn't be either. She wants a completely closed session."

"I don't understand..."

"Vaughn's put up walls to protect himself – because of the torture. Since he won't talk about it, Barnett has been using me and our relationship as fuel to get him to lose control – to break down the walls...and she's doing it Friday...tomorrow..."

"Is that dangerous?"

"Well...I mean it won't be pleasant for him, but after, she'll be able to get him to talk, and then he can start to move past all of this...right now, he's just stuck in it...he knows I won't be here, but he doesn't know anything about what she's doing...and he can't know..."

"Ok," Amélie said, "But I'm not sure I agree with it..."

"Well, I know, but I have no choice, and actually, I trust Barnett, she's a good doctor, she knows what she's doing...and I think...it'll be hard on him for awhile...but if he will talk...he can get better then..."

Amélie shook her head, "My poor Michael..."

"He'll need us after..." Sydney said quietly.

"He'll need you after," Amélie said smiling.

Sydney blushed, "Maybe we should go somewhere together tomorrow, worry together..."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Sydney..."

"You wanna make lunch?" Sydney asked.

"I'd love to..."

"What should we make?" Sydney asked, "What did Vaughn like when he was little?"

Amélie smiled, "Well, when he was sick, he liked soup a lot...but I made him tomato soup the last time I was here...do you have chicken noodle?"

"Um...let me check..." Sydney said as she padded over to the pantry and rummaged through the various cans and boxes. She voiced an exasperated "AHA!" and turned to show Amélie two proud cans of chicken noodle soup, "Here we go!"

Amélie chuckled as Sydney got out a pan and handed the cans to Amélie. They both worked around each other, chatting about nothing and yet, everything. Sydney couldn't remember the last time she had felt so close to someone that resembled a mother, and Amélie was such a wonderful one. They both made turkey sandwiches to go with the soup and got everything ready.

Sydney said, "I'm gonna go ask Vaughn something, I'll be right back."

"Ok dear," Amélie said as she continued to make the sandwiches, cutting Sydney and Tom's into triangles and cutting Vaughn's into squares, with no crust, just like he liked when he was a boy.

Sydney entered the bedroom to find the boys both smiling widely; Vaughn was gazing at her like he usually did after they made love. "Hi guys..." she said looking at both of them strangely.

"Hi," Vaughn said, reaching his hand out to her.

Tom smiled, "Hey Syd..."

Sydney came over to Vaughn and sat on the bed. He pulled her hand until he kissed it and then pulled her over more so he could kiss her on the lips.

"What's going on in here?" she said with a smile, looking between the two of them, "The women leave and you guys get all weird..."

"Just musing..." Vaughn said with a huge smile.

"About?"

"You...and the love of Tom's life..."

Sydney turned to Tom, "Love of your life? What's this?"

"I met someone at work, her name is Kaia..."

"Well...Tom...are we serious about Kaia?"

"Yeah, I am..." Tom said confidently.

Sydney smiled, "Good Tom, I'm really happy for you...she better be good to you Tom, cause otherwise..."

"You'll have to meet her, she's so great; she'd love you guys...and she's VERY good to me..."

Sydney's eyebrows rose, "Oh...I see...well, you're quite a catch Tom...you're a great guy...we'll have to do that Tom – get together with you guys," Sydney agreed.

She turned to Vaughn; "You wanna try to eat at the table today?"

Vaughn smiled, "Yeah, I can try...I don't know how long I'll make it today..."

She brought her hand up to trace his cheek, "You tired?"

"Yeah..."

"Ok, we'll bring it in here..."

"No, we can try..."

"No, you rest...we'll bring it in...another time," she said kissing him and getting up, sharing a warm glance with Tom on the way out.

Sydney walked back out and smiled when she saw the plates that had the sandwiches on them.

Amélie noticed her smile, "I couldn't help myself...Michael loved that as a boy, and well – you two are just as young, so I figured, what the hell..."

Sydney laughed, "It's great Amélie!"

She grabbed a few of the plates and took those into the bedroom and then came back to help Amélie carry in the bowls of soup. She grabbed the tray for Vaughn and grabbed all of his medication as well.

She and Amélie returned for drinks and then they all finally settled down in the bedroom.

Sydney sat on the bed with Vaughn, giving him his pills before helping him with the soup. He did well with the sandwich, dunking his crust-less squares into the soup.

Amélie watched him do that with a smile, enjoying the fact that he seemed to like his meal.

"What?" he asked softly when he caught her watching.

"Nothing Michael...you just...look very much like you did when you were little...you did the same thing then – dunking your sandwiches, it's nice to see some things don't change."

Vaughn smiled at his mother, "Thanks for remembering."

"That's my job Michael."

He smiled back at her, dimples blaring, reminding her even more of him when he was little.

When they finished, Tom helped the ladies remove the dishes and then went back into the bedroom to say goodbye to Vaughn.

"Ok Mikey, I'm gonna go and leave you in the hands of those two very capable ladies..."

"Sounds good Tom, thanks for everything."

"You bet Mike...I'll call in a few days, check up on ya – see how the antibiotic is working on the wound, ok?"

"Ok."

"You take care..." Tom said with a wave as he exited the room.

He stopped by the counter, "I'm gonna go ladies, thank for you lunch..."

"Tom," Sydney said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for stopping by today...and I wanted to ask you..."

"You're welcome...and sure...what?"

"Um...Barnett is going to...well...she's gonna break down the walls that Vaughn has put up...tomorrow...I just wanted to let you know...in case...in case we need you...ok?" Sydney finally stammered out.

Tom just stood there for a moment and then looked back down the hall that led to the bedroom, "I'll be here if you need me...just call...any time...ok?"

"Thanks Tom," Sydney said, hugging him.

"Anytime...good luck tomorrow..." Tom said, "Goodbye Amélie, it was nice to meet you."

"You too Tom, thank you for taking such wonderful care of my son."

"My pleasure, I'll talk to you soon," Tom said as he walked to the door and shut it softly behind him.

Sydney and Amélie walked back to the bedroom. Vaughn yawned as they entered, "Sorry," he said.

Both Sydney and Amélie smiled. Sydney took her spot next to him on the bed and Amélie settled into the chair.

"Why don't you take a nap Vaughn," Sydney suggested as he let out another yawn.

"Yeah, I'm sorta worn out..."

"You should be..." Sydney said as she ran her hand through his hair. "You rest, us girls will chat..."

"Oh great, more stories about little Michael..." he said as another yawn snuck out.

Sydney smiled and kissed him gently, "Of course, have a good nap."

Sydney got off the bed and Amélie smiled at her son as the two ladies walked out of the bedroom.

Sydney and Amélie took a seat on the couch, and after a few minutes, Sydney got up to get them iced tea. She handed the glass to Amélie.

"Thank you Sydney," Amélie said.

"You're welcome...so...tell me some more fun stories about Michael..."

"Hmm...ok...well...let me think..." she thought a moment and then chuckled, "He was about five, and for some reason, I believe it was because he watched Sesame Street – he loved Big Bird, and he would only eat foods there were yellow..."

Sydney started giggling.

"Yes it was so much fun, trying to find everything yellow...or dying it yellow...he ate a lot of eggs, and corn, and bananas there for a while..."

She thought again for a moment, "One Christmas – must have been the last Christmas that William was alive, Michael became obsessed with proving that Santa Claus existed. He planned a whole mission to capture Santa on film for the whole world to see. I think some of William's work, some of the talk, rubbed off on him, and he planned it all out. He called it 'Operation Chimney Sweep.'" Amélie stopped to laugh, "He made William stay up with him. They were supposed to stay awake until Santa got there, snap a picture and run. They hid under the coffee table – seeing William weasel under there was priceless. They even had codenames...it was so funny..." Amélie broke off in giggles, "To hear my son saying, 'Gingerbread Man, this is Frosty," to my CIA Agent husband was the most enjoyable thing I think they ever said to each other."

Sydney was laughing uncontrollably, but she managed to ask, "Did they get a picture?"

"They were both asleep before it was even 11:00, if I remember correctly...William had such a back ache – and Michael was furious that one of them didn't stay awake..."

Amélie thought again, "When he first learned how to ride his bike...William was still alive...Michael must have been about six or seven, and they went out into the street...William was holding onto the back of the bike, and I was worried sick of course. They went up and down the street, back and forth, until Michael was confident enough to do it himself, then William let go, but kept running with him. And Michael was so adorable, he was waving to me, 'look at me mommy...look at me,' such a fond memory. It was all great until he hit a little rock that was on the road, well...let's just say it wasn't a smooth landing...William had to carry him inside, he was pretty banged up...he had a huge egg on his head, and bruises and scrapes all over. I was hysterical and William was so calm! It infuriated me to no end. So, we cleaned him up...he spent the night on the couch, sucking milkshakes and wouldn't ya know – he was out there again the next day, tearing up and down the street...he's always been resilient...but kids heal faster..." Amélie trailed off, obviously in thought. Sydney didn't press her for more information.

They sat in silence for a while, both lost in thought of the man sleeping in the next room...