Chapter 148: Sleeping In

"Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together." – Thomas Dekker

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." – Irish Proverb

"There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep." – Homer

"It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes." – Thomas Aquinas

"Sometimes the most urgent and vital thing you can do is take a rest." – Unknown


Sydney and Vaughn both woke at relatively the same time. Sydney stretched in a cat-like manner while Vaughn let out a sleepy yawn as he wiped the blurry sleepiness from his eyes.

He craned his neck to look at the clock, "Jesus Sydney…it's 11:30!"

Her head whipped back to look at the clock, "Wow!" She looked at him, "I didn't realize I was that tired."

"I was!" he said with a smile.

She leaned back into his chest, "Well…if I should go easy on ya, you should let me know…"

"NO! I like sleeping in…VERY much!"

She giggled, "Good…then we can do that again…"

"Yay!" he said happily.

She smirked, "You hungry?"

"Mmm, oh yeah," he said.

She kissed his chest and pushed off, getting off the bed. "I'll make breakfast, lunch…whatever…I'll see what we have."

"Ok," he said yawning again.

She came back a few minutes later, "Well…let's put it this way…I don't feel like cooking…and I don't wanna go get anything…what if we just mix and match – fruit, vegetables, crackers…I can dig up a bunch of that stuff."

"Sure," Vaughn said smiling, "I'm all for low maintenance."

Sydney smirked, "Ok, back in a few minutes."

She gathered up a plateful of assorted fruits and vegetables, took out a bunch of cheese and sausage and crackers and put them on another plate, and grabbed the container of dip from the refrigerator. She carried as much as she could manage back to the bedroom and then made another trip back for the rest.

"This," he started as she handed him one of the plates, "was a great idea."

She smiled, "Good, cause I'm lazy."

"You don't have to cook all the time for it to be a good meal."

She smiled and kissed him, handing him a carrot dunked in dill dip, off of the plate she held.

"Thanks," he said accepting it and crunching away.

"Mmm," she said halfway through a piece of broccoli, "We have to change your bandages and stuff today…and we should really start exercising."

"I think I did enough yesterday to qualify as 'exercise.'"

"That's true…my mistake," she said glancing at him playfully, "You were really tired."

He smiled, "Yeah, I made it all through, what, five minutes of the movie?"

She giggled, "About that yeah."

"However, you were helping…"

"Why? Because I was playing with your hair?" she asked.

"Yeah, I swear, it puts me to sleep in no time…" he turned to her, "I like it."

She smiled back, "Good, cause I like it too…"

He smiled at her and then turned back to the food on the plate. He took a cracker, and placed a piece of the round summer sausage on top of the cracker and then a piece of cheese on top of that. He determinedly put another cracker on top of the whole thing and then picked up the whole mess and proceeded to shove it in his mouth.

"Vaughn…" she said shaking her head, "Be careful you don't choke…"

"M nat gurner coke."

She giggled, "Chew, then we'll discuss."

He chewed for several seconds and grabbed a drink of his milk, "What?" he asked.

"You just made a sandwich," she said giggling.

"Yeah…so?"

"Nothing, you're just adorable as usual…"

He smiled, "Well yeah."

She smirked as he drank the rest of his milk, "You done?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Ok, I'll get this stuff cleaned up, then we'll do bandages and exercise…k?"

"Ok," he said in a resigned manner.

She smiled at the way he made the exercises sound like such a chore, but in reality, when she thought about it, that's probably how they seemed to him. Unfortunately, it was something they had to do…

She walked back in and pulled back the covers, "You wanna bath first?" she asked.

His eyes lit up, "What kind of bath?"

She smiled and touched his cheek, "The kind where you relax and have a nice soak…with me in there too."

He smiled, "Well, I was thinking about something else, but I'll take that gladly…"

She helped him sit and walked him to the bathroom, sitting him in the usual chair while she filled up the tub. She turned to him and followed the routine – removing clothing and bandages and then helped him ease into the tub when it was full.

She got in the tub behind him and pulled him back to her, and they just sat and soaked for a while; neither moved save for Sydney's hand tracing gentle patterns on Vaughn's chest. They eventually washed and got out, and Sydney started the customary after-bath routine of checking the wounds and replacing the bandages.

"Shave?" she asked when she was done with phase one of the custom.

He smiled, "Yes please."

She returned the smile and sat on his lap, lathering him up, and then deftly removed the hair from his face. She smiled as she ran the towel over his face and applied aftershave, "I'm getting really good at that," she said proudly.

He smiled back at her, "I know you are…I think you might just have to continue that…even after I'm better," he said with a wink.

"I would be happy to oblige…" she retorted.

He nodded and she rose from his lap, pulling him up with her. They walked back to the bedroom and she sat him on the bed. "K, what do you wanna wear?" she asked.

"Mmm…how bout that new shirt you bought me…" he said.

She smiled, "The blue or the green?"

"Blue," he said quickly.

She smiled and fished it out of the bag and cut the tags off, and laid it on the bed while she got the rest of his clothes. "Jeans? Or different pants?"

"Jeans."

She grabbed a pair of his jeans and then started to dress him, starting with boxers and pants, getting them both on at the same time. She did the shirt next, buttoning it up slowly and grinning at him the whole time, and then socks, before helping him sit back on the bed.

"Ok," she said, "My turn." She opened the closet door and grabbed a white tee shirt and grabbed a pair of jeans as well, and dressed with him watching her the whole time, a lazy smile on his face.

"You gettin ideas?" she asked with a sexy smile.

"Always…although soon I'm gonna be able to act on them…I hope you're ready…" he said, his look a dare.

She turned to face him, "Mmm…you devising a plan Mr. Vaughn?"

"Have been for weeks…" he shot back with a grin.

"Hmm…well…I'll have to prepare myself…you gonna warn me or not?" she asked.

He smiled evilly, "I don't know yet…haven't devised that far."

She came back to the bed, now fully dressed and sat down, leaning over to kiss him, "I can't wait…"

"Me neither," he said, pulling her over for another kiss.

She leaned down further and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sydney…"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we gonna live?" he asked as he pressed a kiss to her head.

"Um…well…I guess we'll have to go looking…or we could move into your place…"

"Mmm…no, I think we need some place new…some place that's just ours."

"Sounds great."

"The beach…"

"What?"

"I wanna live by the beach…"

She smiled and titled her head up, "That would be nice…" she pressed her head into him, "Nice long walks in the sand…"

"Mmmhmm…sex in the sand…sex in the water…" he giggled.

"Ok, I've created a sex-crazed monster…I should have stopped halfway through…"

"NO! Ugh…that would be bad – if you stopped in the middle," his eyebrow rose as he waited for her to look at him.

She sat up and tapped him playfully, "God, look what I've done…you've got sex on the brain now…"

"Um…is that bad?"

"Well…no," Sydney said quickly and with a smile, "It's actually a good thing."

"Oh admit it," he said, "You live in the gutter with me."

She giggled, "Yeah, that's true."

"You are the one who came up with the phone sex…and the pop rocks…and the–"

"Ok," she said cutting him off, "I'm just as bad."

"Thank you!" he said happily, "So…we gonna look at the paper or what?"

She picked up her head, "Paper?"

"To look at real estate…"

She smiled, "I'll go get it." She ran off and grabbed the paper from the doorstep and brought it back to the bedroom, practically jumping on the bed in glee.

She giggled, "This is so fun Vaughn."

He smiled, "K…you can just hand me the sports section for later too…"

She handed it to him and settled back against the headboard to look at the real estate section of the paper.

She browsed a few and then read to him, "Here…Four Bedrooms, Three and ½ baths, Great room style family room with fireplace adjoins kitchen, Master Suite with large spa type bathroom, private retreat and French door to outdoor view patio, Retreat in master bedroom could be a fifth bedroom with separate entrance, Dramatic entrance foyer with two story ceiling and dramatic lighting, Two Staircases to upper level, Beautiful formal living room and formal dining room, Gourmet kitchen with granite counters, center island, breakfast area and French doors to outdoor dining patio, Large Bonus Room/second family room on upper level, Built-in art niches and cabinetry, Dramatic two story windows with plantation shutters and custom draperies, Custom interior color finishes and faux painting, Rounded archways and passageways, Lushly landscaped with a large rear yard, Full 3 car garage (not tandem), Single loaded street (no immediate neighbors in front or back)…"

"Mmm…sounds nice…on the beach?"

"Oh…no…and it's in Carlsbad…" Sydney realized, "Ok…let's see…"

He chuckled, "Gotta be on the beach…"

"Yes, honey I know."

"Sand…mmm…" he said closing his eyes.

She looked over at him and smiled at his euphoric countenance.

"You thinking what I think you are?" she asked as she looked back at the newspaper.

"Mmm…if you're thinking that I'm thinking of nice, warm, sand, and the sound of the ocean…mmm, then yeah."

She smiled, "That's gonna be our first stop honey…ok? When you're ready…first stop…"

He opened his eyes and smiled at her, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"After we go to the beach can we look at houses?" he asked with a hopeful grin.

"Sure honey…we'll go house-hunting…"

"Let's pick out what we want…"

She giggled, "Ok…should I get a pen?"

"Yeah, write this down."

She giggled more and grabbed a pen and paper, "Ok…shoot…"

"Um…beach…sand…ocean-front view…did I mention that?"

She jotted it down, "Yeah, I think you might have…"

She had just finished writing the beach specifications when the doorbell rang…