Chapter 187: The Tardy Couple

"Better late than never." – Titus Livius

"Ah! the clock is always slow; It is later than you think." – Robert Service

"Friendship make prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it." – Cicero

"Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go...And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over." – Gloria Naylor

"A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities." – William Arthur Ward


Sydney looked in the refrigerator and then in the pantry, trying to figure out what to make for dinner. After rummaging a while, she decided to make meatloaf. It wouldn't be done until around 8:30, but since neither Will nor Francie was home yet and Vaughn was napping, she figured she'd have more than enough time to get it all ready. She put it in the oven and got out the box of mashed potatoes for later, as well as a can of corn. Then she walked back to the bedroom to check on Vaughn.

She watched him on the bed for a few seconds, and was about to turn and leave when she heard him say in a sleepy voice, "Lay with me…"

She smiled and lay down with him on the bed, a drowsy smile playing on his face. She ran her hand over his scruffy cheek and kissed him before moving her hand up to his hair, running it through the soft strands and sending him into sleep within a few minutes.

She stayed at his side until she heard the front door open. Quietly leaving the bed, careful not to wake him, she padded out of the bedroom and closed the door softly.

"Shh…" she said as her friends closed the door and began to shed their coats.

Will looked over at her, "Hey…what's up?" he asked slightly concerned.

"Vaughn's napping…I don't want to wake him up," she explained.

"He ok?" Will asked.

"Something happen?" Francie added.

Sydney smiled, "Yeah, well…yeah…" she turned and walked over to the oven, checking the meatloaf.

"You're making dinner?" Francie asked.

"Yeah, well you're late," Sydney said with a wink.

Francie laughed, "We got a little…sidetracked…"

Will beamed, "Yeah…"

Sydney turned to regard the two, "Where?"

Will stammered, "Uh…I was working on…a file…"

"Yeah, and I was…cleaning up…"

"Mmmhmm…" Sydney said, "You two were totally off somewhere getting it on."

Francie smiled, "Well…maybe…in the back room quickly…after Will got there to pick me up…"

"Yeah," Will said, "Or…in the supply room…"

"Yeah, or the walk-in freezer…" Francie said to him.

"Right, but that was kinda cold…"

"Yeah, it was."

Sydney watched the exchange between her friends with amusement, "All those places huh? Explains why it took you two hours to get home…dinner's gonna be about another hour or so."

"What'cha makin?" Will asked.

"Meatloaf."

"Cool, meatloaf's good."

Francie looked to Sydney, "So what happened today? Something with therapy?"

"No, not really…that actually helped him."

"So, what then?" Will asked.

"Um…I'm going to say this, and I'm really sorry…so don't take it the wrong way…but in this case, I really don't think I'm going to tell you. First, it's not my place, and second, I'm not sure he'd want you to know and he's already beating himself up about it more than he should…so…please understand why I'm not going to tell you."

Will looked to Francie and then back to Sydney, "That's cool," he said with a nod. "He ok though?"

"Yeah, better."

"Good," he said, moving to the refrigerator and grabbing a beer, "So whatdya wanna do tonight?"

"I don't know…"

"It's Friday night…we could stay up late," Will said with a boyish smile and a gleam in his eye.

Sydney chuckled, "Yeah, we could, but I think Vaughn would crash long before it's late. He didn't get much sleep last night."

Francie shot Will a look, "It was probably all that shit you guys ate last night…"

Sydney smiled, "No, I don't think that was it."

Will pretended he didn't hear Francie's comment, "Well, we could watch a movie…we could…hmm…"

Sydney smiled, "We could 'hmm?'"

Will chuckled, "Well, it's kinda hard to plan when we can't leave the house…can't go bowling, can't go to a game…that kinda thing."

"Yeah, I know…you guys can go out," Sydney said.

Will looked to Francie, "No…we wanna hang out with you guys, we already talked about it on the way over."

"Well, then I'm afraid you'll have to settle for the indoor entertainment."

Will chuckled, "We'll come up with something fun. I'm gonna take Donovan for a walk before dinner," Will announced, setting his beer on the counter.

Sydney smacked her forehead, "Will…seriously, if you didn't take care of that dog…I don't know who would. I'm so glad you seem to remember, because really, with all the shit that goes on, sometimes I think Vaughn and I forget he's here. He's gonna know you better than he does Vaughn pretty soon."

"Nah, he loves Mike, I'm just an ok substitute," he said with a smile, grabbing the leash from the hook by the door and walking out the patio door to get the dog. Donovan trotted over to him happily, his tongue lolling out and his tail wagging, clearly happy to be going for a walk.

Will waved and went out the back way, through the fence.

Francie smiled as she watched Will and the dog go out of her line of view. "So, you really ok?" she asked.

Sydney sighed, "Yeah, I'm ok…we're doing alright."

"You gonna tell me what happened? Just girl talk?"

Sydney smiled, "Mmm…only if you don't say anything to Vaughn."

"Ok…I won't."

"I'm serious…you have to promise."

"Ok, now you're scaring me…"

"Just promise me or I won't tell you."

"Ok, I promise," Francie said.

Sydney sighed, "Ok…Vaughn had a nightmare last night. He woke up; he was disoriented. We did what we normally do, which is make love. So, everything's going fine, he rolls us over–"

"Can he do that?"

Sydney chuckled, "If he's careful. He's only done it recently, because he's getting a little better, but his shoulder isn't liking it too much."

"Ok, sorry."

"No, it's ok…so he's on top. And I realized that he wasn't really there with me. He was physically, but his mind was obviously somewhere else." Sydney paused, trying to figure out the best way to say this. "So, I reached up, tried to get him to look at me, and he just reacted instinctively, because he had no idea what he was doing…and he held my arm down…and he got a little…rough."

"He what?" Francie blurted.

"No, just let me finish…please…"

Francie nodded, but her brow was furrowed in an unhappy manner.

"I knew that he didn't realize what he was doing…and because his other shoulder was needed for balance, I reached up again, and then I finally got him to look at me…" She stopped, shaking her head, "The look on his face when he realized…he had no clue…and it just…completely destroyed him."

"Him?! What about you?! Are you ok?"

"Francie, yeah, I'm ok…please – this wasn't his fault. He was still lost in the nightmare and he didn't know how to handle it. He had no idea he was even being rough. And yeah, it was scary…I was scared, but watching his reaction, I knew it wasn't his fault, right away…"

"Why didn't you just like kick him off the bed?"

Sydney looked at Francie with a disapproving glance, "Because one, that would have hurt him. And two, that wouldn't have solved the problem – and it probably would have made him feel worse. Or three, it could have provoked him, made him think he was in the nightmare and then who knows what would have happened. He's beating himself up about it so badly, and he wouldn't sleep then, the whole rest of the night."

"Sydney…Are you sure he should be here? I mean is he dangerous?"

Sydney shook her head, "No he's not dangerous; it was just the first time something like this happened. We both know how to handle it now if it happens again. It wasn't his fault; it wasn't anyone's fault. He has no control over what he dreams. Sloane and Sark – they did this to him. And no way in hell am I gonna take that out on him. He's not to blame…"

"But Sydney…I mean – he hurt you."

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you about this. I think it was a bad idea."

"Well I mean come on – how am I supposed to react?"

"You're supposed to be understanding and listen to me…What if it was Will? Would you blame him if it were Will? If he had been through everything Vaughn's been through?"

Francie thought a moment; "I don't know…probably not."

"Exactly. Because it wouldn't be Will's fault either." She turned towards the oven again, checking the meatloaf. Then she looked back at Francie as she started to get the mashed potatoes and corn ready. "If I knew this was the way you'd react, I wouldn't have told you…I'm sorry…"

Francie looked at her and took the box of mashed potatoes, helping her get it ready, "No…I was just shocked. You can talk to me about anything. I just; I don't want you hurt. I didn't react well. I don't know as much as you do about what happened to him and what's normal for someone who's dealing with it. I'm sorry. You forgive me?"

Sydney looked over and smiled, "Yeah…I'm sorry too, I get a little defensive when it comes to him…"

Francie smiled back, "Well, I wouldn't expect it any other way."

"Love is strange that way."

"Yes it is." They worked next to each other for a minute before the turned simultaneously and hugged. Then Francie smiled and said, "I'll do this…you should go start to wake him up…"

Sydney smiled, "Ok…"