I don't own Relic Hunter or Star Trek the Next Generation; or any of the characters from these shows.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Nigel threw the envelope and wedding photographs back at Sydney, giving her a look that said 'I hate you!' He was so shocked he could barely breathe, he felt so betrayed.
"I'm so sorry Nigel; I don't know what else to say except… we aren't together anymore; I filed for divorce two weeks ago" she said, trying to be sensitive, noticing how devastated he looked and recalling, about three and a half years ago, how upset he'd been when she left him alone in Spain to go off on a relic hunt with, of all people, … Preston! She remembered how insensitive she'd been to his needs back then as, even though she knew his nose had been broken by someone who thought he was Preston, and he was about to give a very important speech, which he needed her there for, for moral support; Preston's hunt took priority! She could still visualise the look of horror he'd given her because of that, but this time, of course, it was even worse. She knew Nigel well and realised that, despite his closeness to his brother, before he went missing, he'd be convinced that Preston would revert back to his old ways and taunt him cruelly about all this. However, even though she was aware that Preston had done that several times before, she didn't believe he would this time; he'd missed Nigel far too much. Nevertheless, to minimise the impact of her revelation she added "Preston's only just gone back to England, so I don't think you need to worry about seeing him for a while, he's got a lot of business matters to deal with, although I did leave a voicemail message to let him know you've been found."
"Yes I bloody bet you did! How could you have married HIM! How could you!" Nigel shouted looking so hurt, the tears instantly pooling in his eyes. He felt like his entire world had collapsed and he glared at Sydney believing, at that moment, there could be no explanation for what she'd done.
"I thought I loved him Nige, I really did, he helped me look for you; he was tireless and refused to give up; even when everyone else had been forced to stop. He stayed here for so long looking for you, he lost his job in London; including his part-time teaching position. Nige, he was so thoughtful and considerate towards me when I was at my lowest; and the love he showed towards you was proof enough he'd changed; I had to practically beg him to take your job when I was so backed up at work" she said, those last few words spoken without really thinking.
"You what!" Nigel screamed, too annoyed to even cry now "you let him have my job!"
"Nigel, he didn't want to take it! He remembered what he'd done so you wouldn't get the job at the British Museum and just kept refusing; he knew how upset you'd be…..but Nigel, someone had to help me, and I needed someone like you; so he eventually gave in" she said, suddenly realising that that statement would probably infuriate him further, as she was aware that Nigel always considered he and Preston were so different.
"Get out of here Syd! I never want to see you again!" he said lying down and turning his back on her; the tears now flowing down his cheeks. She walked around to the other side of the bed so that she could see his face.
"Nigel, I only meant someone with similar knowledge; he was nothing like you, not really… OK he was kind and considerate, most of the time, and his knowledge of history is excellent; but he was also very controlling, like he was with you, he couldn't accept me as his boss once we'd married and he's got some archaic ideas about married life! We'd only been married six months when I realised it was a mistake" she said, thinking she hadn't even told him the worst yet. She looked really miserable and then added "I did try hard to make it work though, especially recently; but it was useless."
Nigel sat up again and wiped his eyes, his face was still flushed from his outburst but he was trying to calm down. He saw the pain in Sydney's face and realised it was Preston he should be angry with, not her and said "Syd, I'm sorry, it's just ….. just; oh why did it have to be Preston!"
Of course, she had no idea how much Nigel loved her, believing his anger was purely because she'd married a man who'd behaved so appallingly towards him for most of his life. She, therefore, just shrugged her shoulders and said "Nige, don't start hating him again, he didn't marry me to hurt you, he loves you."
Nigel, of course, had his reservations about that statement but he tried to be sensible and considered that, because a divorce was pending and his brother had gone home, he wouldn't be around to taunt him and besides, Preston has nothing much to brag about anymore, as his marriage has failed and, therefore, Sydney won't want to see him! Those thoughts cheered him up a little and so to prevent Sydney from leaving, as she was just about to do, he opened his mouth for the purpose of starting a more civilised conversation. However, before he got the first word out he suddenly noticed something that made his heart sink and he called out "Sydney are you, you…. pre.. pregnant!"
She stopped, looked back at him and saw the wounded look on his face that suddenly turned to anger and her heart sank too.
"Yes Nigel; I'm three months along" she said, feeling so upset by that look which caused her to turn her back on him again and leave. She really believed, by his reaction, that he'd never speak to her again. However, even though he was very shocked and exasperated, he suddenly realised, as she left his room, how horrible he'd been and immediately wanted to take it all back. His head was spinning and his stomach was in knots as he thought of how badly he'd behaved; realising he may have lost her friendship forever and he'd now be all alone.
That night he couldn't sleep as the heated conversation he'd had with Sydney raced through his mind time and time again and he feared for his future.
The following day, Nigel's consultant came in to see him and advised that the scans he'd undertaken had revealed nothing unusual. He, therefore, began questioning Nigel in the hope of tripping him up and proving he was lying about his memory loss. Of course, nothing he or anyone else did, or said, made any difference and they eventually realised he must be telling the truth and felt quite sorry for him. The problem was they had no way of helping him now; all they could do was let nature take its course and hope his memory returned.
"You can go home tomorrow Nigel" the doctor suddenly said, as he finished double checking the back of Nigel's neck for any swellings that might have appeared since he'd last examined him "I bet you can hardly wait to leave."
"Sir, I don't think I have a home anymore and I've no idea where I'm going to go when I leave here" Nigel said looking very worried.
"Son, surely you can talk to Professor Bailey, she'll help you, won't she? the doctor said as he felt Nigel's glands under his chin.
Just hearing that name made Nigel to feel quite emotional and he said, almost choking on his words "I um, don't know Sir, we sort of had a row; I doubt she cares much about me now."
His consultant shook his head and said "of course she does; Nurse Mason told me she rang this morning to check how you are, although I understand she didn't want to be put through to you."
Nigel realised he was going to have to grow up a bit now if he was going to survive in the world without Sydney telling him what to do. She'd always been there to protect him and give him advice, not only on personal matters such as girlfriends, but on life in general; especially regarding America, which he found so totally different to England, where he'd been completely sheltered from the real world.
When his consultant left, Nigel sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the floor. He felt so lonely and disheartened and considered that nobody cared about him anymore. He sat there tormenting himself for a good twenty minutes when all of a sudden he heard someone enter his room. He looked up, and to his utter astonishment, he saw it was Preston, who ran over to him and physically picked him up off the bed to hug him!
"Where've you been Podge! Are you alright! Did they hurt you! Have the police got them?" Preston asked, frantically; gently putting his little brother back down on the bed. He stroked the hair off Nigel's face and just stared at him for a few seconds; like he was checking to see he was real.
Nigel was simply dumbstruck; Preston was not behaving at all like he'd imagined he would!
"I'm so glad to see you Podge; I've missed you, I really have, I did ring but you were always away from your bed" Preston said, the tears pooling in his eyes.
"Preston, it's um… I um." Nigel stammered. He was still very angry with him but he was so taken aback by Preston's reaction to seeing him again; he didn't know quite what to say. Nigel hadn't expected to see him at all, believing his brother would be unable to face him, after all that had happened. The fact was he and Preston had actually discussed Sydney in the past and they'd both agreed that neither of them would suit her as a boyfriend. Nigel tried to think clearly and, as annoyed as he was, he decided he had to give his brother a chance to explain himself as, deep down, he didn't really want to fall out with him again and he'd already made the mistake of over reacting to Sydney when she told him the news.
Preston saw the bewildered expression on his little brother's face and said "Podge, when Sydney called to say you were back I almost passed out! We'd looked and looked for you; whoever took you was certainly professional; there wasn't a single clue to where you'd gone. Did you escape or something?" Preston asked, so thrilled to see his brother that it hadn't occurred to him that Nigel might not be happy to see him.
"Preston, please don't call me Podge and, really, I've got no idea what happened to me, who took me; if that's what happened, or how I got away; if I did get away. I don't know anything except that I'm back now, you've married Sydney and she's having your baby!" Nigel said; looking up at his brother, who was almost six inches taller than him.
"Nigel, I've called you Podge since you were a baby, it's a term of endearment, not something I say to upset you; well at least not anymore … and please don't be angry about me and Sydney, we just fell in love; as surprising as that seems, it just happened, I swear I didn't do it to get one over on you, I'm not like that anymore, I've changed. We spent a lot of time together looking for you; we comforted each other through that terrible time and after weeks of checking hospitals and morgues, searching your apartment and speaking to so many people about you, I lost my job." He explained everything to Nigel, just like Sydney had and Nigel noticed how genuine he looked, something that really surprised him.
Nigel's heart soon softened as he realised Preston must have been through hell trying to find him and that nothing he could say or do was going to change the past.
Preston continued "Nanny's over the moon with joy knowing you've been found… you must call her; she'll fret until you do!"
"Pres, I did call her and it was wonderful hearing her voice; I hadn't spoken to nana for a while before I supposedly vanished, so we talked for over an hour; my hospital phone bill's going to be astronomical!" he said, suddenly wondering how he was going to be able to pay for everything now he'd upset Sydney, especially as he'd no idea what was in his bank account and his insurance would surely have lapsed.
"Sorry Podge, I should have realised you'd have done that, but don't you go worrying about the bills, I'm paying for everything, I just want you to get well again and I don't want you in some pokey little room like the one I understand they initially put you in" he said, smiling at his brother, feeling so genuinely happy to see him.
"Oh, um… thanks Pres, I thought um…um …. the room's great, are you sure you don't mind, it's going to be very expensive" Nigel said, feeling quite relieved and very grateful.
"Of course I don't mind, you're my brother and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I look after you, I have to do something to make up for the past. Podge…. Sydney told me you couldn't remember where you've been and by what you've just said it sounds like nothing's come back yet."
"No it's not, it's still a complete blank and I'm scared about what might have happened to me and because I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. Everything's changed in the past three years and I feel like I did when I first left home; completely lost. I'm supposed to be 27, but I look and feel almost exactly the same as I did three years ago; except, um.. well um, one thing's different, um… remember the scars on my um um…. behind?" Nigel said very sheepishly, starting to blush.
"Yes Podge, what about them" Preston asked, looking quite confused.
"Well they, they've um completely vanished!" Nigel said looking up at Preston to see if he believed him.
"Really, are you sure! That seems rather odd! Perhaps it's a trick of the light; or I suppose you could have had a skin graft that you don't remember having" Preston said, feeling quite concerned as he knew Nigel would never have agreed to an operation that wasn't absolutely necessary and, obviously, the scarring wasn't life threatening, or painful anymore; it was just unsightly.
"I suppose, but the skin would have had to have come from somewhere else on my body, but it didn't. I can't believe I would have had plastic surgery, but honestly, I've got no marks left at all! Usually the first thing a doctor asks me when I'm examined is who abused me and I was surprised when they didn't this time! Pres, something else that's odd too; the clothes I was wearing when I was found, they're the same as I was wearing when I apparently vanished and I still don't need to shave more than once every couple of days; it's just like time stopped for me!" Nigel said, looking at his brother with a confused expression on his face.
"That's quite a coincidence about the clothes and, actually, I was thinking you haven't changed, but that's nothing to worry about Podge, lots of people don't seem to age much for a long time, but they do eventually" Preston said, wishing he was as good looking as his little brother but feeling very perturbed about why the scars were removed!
"I know Pres, but those professors I told you about at Trinity, before I lost my memory, the ones who treat me like I'm one of their students and disregard my input at meetings, they're still not going to have any respect for me if I look exactly the same; although I suppose that's not going to be a problem now, since I don't work there anymore" Nigel said, looking so sad, his eyes filling with tears.
Preston took Nigel into his arms again and said gently as he hugged him "it's alright, come on, you'll be glad you look so young in a few years, I can guarantee it! Everyone will be glad to have you back at Trinity and I know Sydney's not found a new assistant yet; so you'll be able to go right back. I know everyone still misses you, especially Karen; I think she might be secretly in love with you!" Nigel blushed because, of course, he knew all about unrequited love!
Preston held him a little tighter and went on "look we can talk about Trinity and what might have happened to you another time, alright, I can see it's upsetting you" Nigel held on to his brother, realising that Preston was being genuine and that felt so good.
It was pretty obvious to Preston that Nigel was feeling utterly baffled by the fact that Sydney had married him, in fact he could hardly believe it himself; he never thought in a million years he'd marry Sydney Fox! He wanted Nigel to be aware of the full facts but it was difficult for him to explain, especially when he felt like such a failure; he simply wasn't used to that! He held Nigel for a little while, not only to reassure him of his sincerity, but also to comfort himself while he considered what to say.
"Sydney and I are divorcing Podge" Preston said suddenly, gently letting go of him "I know you're aware that she's expecting our baby but do you know that too?" he asked, his eyes filling up with tears.
"Yes I know about the divorce Pres; but you'll stay in contact for the baby's sake, won't you?" Nigel said, wiping his eyes on a tissue and handing one to his brother, realising that he'd actually like that to happen now.
"Yes, but only because of the baby; Sydney's been so difficult, she's refusing to even think about giving up work after the birth! She's adamant she'll only stay home for six months and then resume teaching AND relic hunting! I've tried to tell her she can't do that, but she won't listen. We've done nothing but argue about it for months, our marriage has completely fallen apart as a consequence" Preston said, looking really upset, although he realised he wasn't exactly the easiest person to live with.
Nigel wasn't used to hearing his brother be so open about his feelings, but he wasn't surprised that he wanted Sydney to be a housewife, or that Sydney refused.
"Podge, I um, don't want our child to um be raised by anyone but me and um Sydney, but she'll almost certainly prevent me from seeing the baby now we've split up, so I'll probably go back to London to live permanently" Preston said, not looking Nigel in the eye and acting a little shifty, like he was trying to hide something.
"Preston, what is it, why would you say that? Sydney wouldn't stop you seeing your own baby, she'd never be that cruel; you know that!" Nigel looked at his brother and noticed a strange expression on his face and then it dawned on him what was wrong "Pres; is that what you actually want to happen! Do you want Sydney to stop you seeing your baby!... Are you scared of raising your own child? Is that what it is!" Nigel could remember some particularly revealing conversations he'd had with his brother in the past about raising children, which was why this thought occurred to him.
Preston just looked at Nigel with a very pained expression on his face and said, looking down at the floor "no, of course not!"
"That's it, isn't it? You're frightened of looking after a child again!... Pres, I may have lost three years of memories but I still remember you spilling your heart out to me about the guilt you felt for being so strict with me after mum and dad died. You told me then that you'd like to have a child one day; but you were scared you'd lose your temper, like you did with me. Preston, you've done everything you can to ensure you won't behave erratically anymore... it'll be different this time, you'll see. Pres, I know you smacked me and you had a bad temper, but I don't think for one minute you'd harm your own child! You've had psychological counselling and you took anger management classes… and just look at how sympathetic and understanding you're being towards me! You've rarely been this nice to me since I was a very little boy" he said, really believing that Preston had the ability to raise a child properly; not just because he was older, but because he remembered how much kinder he'd become 'three years ago' and he was still behaving the same now. "You'll be a good dad Pres and I'll help, if Sydney will let me" Nigel said, instinctively knowing he was correct about how is brother was feeling.
Preston just looked at his little brother and could hardly believe what he'd just said.
"Podge, how can you have such faith in me after all I put you through since you were 12? I was an awful brother!" Preston said, sincerely.
"Pres you were never given any choice about whether or not you looked after me, it was just assumed that you would and that you were mature enough to do it, but you were only 19 years old! Preston, your 31 now; an adult and I actually always knew you loved me even when you punished me" Nigel said, forgetting about the three years he'd lost; because Preston was actually 34.
"You're such a perceptive little beggar, aren't you! Preston said, pulling Nigel close to him again "I might be a great dad, but I might not and I'm too scared to take the risk Podge; not if Sydney isn't always going to be around."
"Pres, I assume you haven't told Sydney how you feel yet; so how are you going to explain that to her? Nigel asked, feeling sorry for him as he believed his brother was going to miss out on something quite wonderful if he continued thinking the way he did.
"I've no idea how I'm going to tell her but, like I said, I think she'll probably make it difficult for me to see the child, perhaps she'll only allow me to have supervised visits; then I'll only have to worry about it every now and again. I'll send lots of presents and see that financially the baby wants for nothing" he said, still looking quite sad, because in his heart of hearts, he wanted things to be different. Suddenly his expression changed and he looked at Nigel like an idea had just popped into his head and said "did you mean it, you know, when you said you'd help?"
"Oh Preston, of course I'll help… that is… if Sydney lets me. I was so horrible to her when she told me she'd married you, it was such a shock and I thought you'd come to me bragging about it and generally be horrible again; I'm glad I was wrong about that!" Nigel said, looking at his brother with a sad expression on his face. "I told her to go away and that I didn't want to see her again, but I do Preston, I do, but it might be too late now." He let go of his brother and climbed back onto his bed, feeling really dejected.
"Sydney does want to see you Podge; she was rather upset by what you said, at first, but all she really wants is for you to call her to let her know you don't hate her" Preston said, handing Nigel his cell phone. "She was so happy when she called to tell me you'd been found but when she called yesterday to up-date me on things, she was really miserable because you'd fallen out. Please Podge; ring her, she'll be so glad to hear from you. Oh yes, can you please tell her I've not upset you; she was worried about that when I said I was coming here, I don't think she expected me to fly back so soon, even to see you!"
"OK, I'll tell her" Nigel said, smiling at his brother, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering as he dialled Sydney's number. As she didn't answer, he left a message and a text, realising that Sydney would think it was Preston who'd called and may not wish to speak him. Two minutes later Sydney rang back.
"Hi Syd, it's me, I guess you want to speak to Nigel" Preston said, truly hoping they would make up; he could tell how guilty Nigel was feeling about their quarrel.
"Thanks Preston, put him on please" she said.
Nigel anxiously took the phone and immediately said "Syd, I'm so sorry for what I said, please forgive me, I didn't mean it; you can get Preston to smack me if you like!" he giggled nervously, hoping Sydney would find that funny.
"Perhaps I should, you naughty boy!" she laughed, feeling so relieved that he sounded like his old self again. "Apology accepted Nige; but I'm sorry too."
"Syd, you don't need to apologise…. but I want to apologise to you properly and I really need to see you to do that. Oh and um, just one other thing, I know it's not your problem, but I'm being sent home tomorrow and well… I don't have anywhere to call home now; I'm sure my old apartment won't be available after all this time" Nigel said, feeling really down as he loved his apartment and his landlady.
"Nige, don't worry, Preston's been renting it for the last three years, as he had to have somewhere to stay while we looked for you. He even held on to it after we got married and recently he moved back in, for obvious reasons, so you'll be able to go right back! All of your belongings, including your clothes, are still there and from what I saw of you, they're still going to fit!" she said, now feeling on top of the world.
After Nigel had finished talking to Sydney he put down the phone and looked at his brother with a big smile on his face and said "I feel so much better now….. um Pres, why did you keep my little apartment? You can afford to buy or rent something much more lavish than that."
"I supposed….. well, I just needed to feel close to you and seeing your photographs and that silly little polar bear that you still have, helped" Preston said, almost blushing.
"You bought me the bloody bear" Nigel said giving his brother a fake angry look.
"I'll put you across my knee in a minute, you little beggar!" Preston said jokingly; causing fits of laughter from them both. A minute later they stopped laughing and gave each other a look that said 'we must never let anything come between us again'.
Nigel knelt up on the bed, hugged Preston again and said "I think things will be alright now; as long as I don't find out something horrific about where I've been during the last three years; I'm so scared about that Pres."
"Try not to think about it too hard, let things come back naturally, forcing yourself to think probably won't do you any good and you'll probably get a headache" Preston said, actually feeling as scared as Nigel about what might have happened to him.
About an hour later Sydney came into Nigel's room and hugged him tightly; she was so happy to see him looking a lot happier…. and apparently comfortable with Preston!
Preston left them alone and took the opportunity to speak to Nigel's consultant, as he was extremely concerned about his brother. He wanted clarification on what the Police were doing, how Nigel was found and his general state of health, both physically and mentally.
Because of Preston's past association with some undesirable people, he couldn't help but wonder if his attractive little brother had been taken by some perverts to be used for God knows what! He'd had terrible nightmares about that, ever since his brother had disappeared, and Nigel revealing that his scars had been removed from his behind, only reinforced those awful thoughts. This was, of course, because the type of deviants he was thinking of would have wanted a perfect package to sell! The doctors did their best to reassure Preston that there was no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Nigel had been physically, or sexually abused; explaining further that those were some of the possibilities they'd considered initially, as they believed whatever happened to him must have been extremely traumatic to have caused such a complete memory loss of that time.
Preston was glad, at least, that Nigel hadn't been physically hurt, but what the doctor said still didn't stop him worrying that he might have been abused in other ways. He knew that Nigel had been sexually assaulted, by a teacher, when he was a teenager, and he could hardly bear to think about that; never mind something even worse. He hoped, deep down, that if something horrific had happened to him; that Nigel would never remember it.
Preston returned to Nigel's bedside where the three of them had a long conversation about Nigel's future. Sydney wanted him to come back to Trinity, as soon as possible; only as an equal partner, not as her assistant! Nigel was thrilled by the offer but explained that he still wanted to obtain a few masters degrees, which he'd been studying for prior to his disappearance. Unfortunately, relic hunting and working for Sydney had prevented him having the time to complete his studies, which had quite often caused friction between them. Sydney gave that some thought and came up with a plan whereby he could become a part-time student for now and a full-time student during the later stages of her pregnancy and, of course, for the first six months of the baby's life; when she would be away from work. She realised that this might cause difficulties for the college but considered they owed a lot to her and Nigel, so they'd have to manage without both of them during that time. Nigel was so happy that, at long last, he'd be able to complete his education and he felt overjoyed when Preston offered to assist in any way he could.
At Trinity though Nigel was considered, by many, to be a brilliant young man and it was going to make no difference to them whether or not he got his masters, but it did to Nigel! He wanted to show those professors, who didn't think much of him, that he was worthy of their respect.
Sydney and Preston also had a huge discussion, in front of Nigel, about how the baby would be taken care of, once Sydney returned to work. During this lengthy conversation Sydney revealed that she'd already arranged with her father and Jenny that they would take care of the child during the day, although she would visit at lunch time and, of course; take the baby home at night. This was all going to be possible because Randall and Jenny had recently moved to Boston and now lived just a short distance from Trinity. They were delighted to be able to help because, unfortunately, Jenny had been told, some time ago, that she'd be unable to have children of her own. This was, of course, devastating to her, especially since Randall was considered too old to officially adopt. Preston was already aware of Jenny's sad situation and recalled Sydney telling him that when Jenny was trying to come to terms with her condition, she'd jokingly suggested that Sydney should hurry up and get pregnant so that she could, at least, spoil her baby rotten! Of course, had Randall and Jenny not been agreeable to this course of action, Sydney would have given up work until she'd found the best nanny on the face of the earth to look after her child. Louisa Wright was getting too old to help raise another child; otherwise Sydney would have brought her to America for that purpose.
In the midst of their long conversation Preston decided to confess to Sydney that he believed he'd be a terrible father; although he didn't expand on that just then. He did, however, say that he wanted to live in England, explaining that he'd never felt comfortable with the American way of life and found it difficult to socialise now that he and Sydney had separated. Sydney was, naturally, upset and told him that she thought he was being selfish and that even though they were divorcing, she still wanted their child to know him.
Preston now realised he was completely wrong about Sydney making it difficult for him to see their baby and actually began to feel guilty for hoping she would! He decided, therefore, to be as honest as possible, without actually revealing his true misgivings and said "Sydney I believe honestly it'll be better for everyone, not just for me, if I go back home." He looked over to Nigel and said "Podge you understand what I mean don't you?"
"Yes Preston I do" Nigel said, feeling quite awkward about being there while they discussed the matter of the baby.
Before Sydney could say anything, Preston continued "You see Sydney, I've spoken to Nigel about helping you with the baby; I think he'd be a good influence on the child, and he's a blood relative after all." Preston looked over at his brother, as if to check he'd not changed his mind, and continued "you're going to need some help in the evenings and weekends; you can't actually expect Randall and Jenny to be on call all of the time and Nigel's agreeable; so I hope you are too?" He still didn't let Sydney respond before going on "unlike me, he's sensitive and would make a great 'dad'. Would you let him help you? He'd be brilliant Sydney, you know I'm right" he said, desperately hoping she'd agree.
Sydney was a little taken aback by what Preston had said and thought he was wrong to believe he'd be a dreadful dad, even though she knew what he'd done to Nigel. She mulled it over in her mind and it occurred to her that what Preston was suggesting could actually work out quite well as, bearing in mind they'd soon to be divorced; she didn't particularly want to keep running into him at the grocery store and the like.
She also realised that Preston, even though he still worked, was actually very wealthy, having inherited a fortune from his father when he turned 25. This being the case she knew that he could easily afford to fly to and from America any time he liked. She, therefore, made a few things clear to him before she agreed to anything and said "Preston, you can go home if you really want to, as long as Nigel truly doesn't mind helping, because he's got a lot of studying to do. However that has to be on the understanding that you'll regularly visit the baby, especially early on, and take a real interest in him or her. What I mean by that is; I want you to have a proper relationship with your son or daughter." She stared at her husband and wondered how on earth she'd ever come to think of him as the perfect man!
"Sydney I promise I will; he or she will want for nothing! I'll have to come here anyway to visit Podge and check that he's behaving himself and fulfilling his role as an uncle!" he laughed and looked at Nigel, who was giving him a fake hurt look, trying not to giggle. "Only kidding Podge, I know you'll be brilliant" Preston said, meaning every word. He went on to explain that he was determined to be a part of the child's life, but that he didn't feel he'd be able to relate to a child on a day to day basis, which Nigel thought was a good way of covering up what he really felt as, obviously, he couldn't tell the complete truth! Nigel was confident, however, that Preston would be good father, as he seemed completely different to the angry young man that raised him. If he'd had any concerns at all about his brother, he'd have felt duty bound to tell Sydney, but he had none. He also considered that if Sydney was made aware of what Preston thought about himself, she might change her mind about everything and actually prevent him from seeing his child!
By the end of the day everything was agreed and all three were relatively happy about their plans for the future.
Five months after that big discussion Sydney and Preston's divorce was granted, which caused both of them more than a little sadness.
Nigel, in the meantime, had received some wonderful news as, following Preston's return to England; he'd contacted the family lawyer, Mr Middleton, and advised him that Nigel had turned up. That being the case, as it was believed Nigel was 27 (although, in fact, he wasn't even 25 yet) he was given his full inheritance; which made him as wealthy as Preston! Of course, the brothers still jointly owned the family home in London, Sydney not wanting any part of that in the divorce settlement, although only Preston lived there now. Louisa Wright, of course, still had a room there, even though she had her own home, as she still helped Preston with family matters and kept an eye on him!
A short while after the divorce Sydney gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Unfortunately, Preston missed the birth as there was a strike at Heathrow Airport, preventing him getting to Boston in time. Nigel, however, was there holding Sydney's hand, although he was far too nervous and embarrassed to watch the actual birth!
Once Preston arrived he kissed Sydney on the cheek, gave his brother a hug and looked into the crib next to Sydney's bed. He was overjoyed to see his beautiful little girl and actually plucked up the courage to pick her up, much to Sydney's surprise and delight!
After about half an hour Preston asked Nigel if he would mind leaving the room for a moment, as he needed a private discussion with Sydney. Nigel was actually quite relieved as he was almost as exhausted as Sydney and needed a cup of tea to help wake him up!
He went to the bathroom to wash his face and then went to find a vending machine where, unfortunately, he could only get coffee. He sat down on a bench to drink it and smiled as he thought about Sydney and his tiny niece. He began to yawn and wished he could go to sleep but then he noticed a rather large man who was looking quite baffled by the instructions on the drinks machine. Nigel being the helpful young man he was offered to help and once the man had chosen his drink they sat down together to chat for a few minutes.
Nigel kept looking at the man, feeling as if he knew him from somewhere, although he couldn't place him at all. The man was very friendly and didn't appear to know Nigel but being in the maternity wing of the hospital he asked if Nigel's wife had had the baby yet.
Nigel blushed as he explained that Sydney had given birth to a daughter a few hours ago; only he was just the uncle, not the father. The man gave Nigel a beaming smile and replied "I think that little girl is going to be a credit to you, and her parents." He then winked and walked away, leaving Nigel thinking how odd that a complete stranger would say that. Nigel had only spoken to the man for a short time, however, had he gotten around to asking his name he'd have been told it was William Ryker!
Back in Sydney's room Preston nervously held his sweet little daughter in his arms and remembered seeing Nigel just after he was born; he'd actually been premature and was quite tiny and even to seven year old Preston he looked small. Preston placed his baby girl in Sydney's arms and smiled; then he looked at Sydney and said "you know how much I want to make things up to Nigel for what I put him through growing up?"
"Yes I know, but you've done lots of things to help him and I've never seen him happier" she replied, looking quite confused as to why he'd suddenly made that comment.
"So what do you think about the name Nigella?" Preston asked, truly hoping she'd be pleased.
"Preston, it's beautiful, how clever of you to think of it!" Sydney said, feeling overjoyed by Preston's kind gesture "Nigel will be thrilled to bits; I'm sure…. call him back in, I can't wait to tell him!"
Nigel was over the moon with happiness, particularly when Sydney explained it was Preston's idea. He gave his brother a hug to thank him, something that had become completely natural between them since Nigel's reappearance; Preston having always frowned upon any public display of affection, even when Nigel was a small child and liked to be cuddled at every opportunity.
When Nigella was six months old Sydney went back to work and all of the arrangements she'd made regarding Nigella's care, worked perfectly, especially since her daughter was such a good baby. Preston had arranged to visit her every three weeks while she was tiny, so that she didn't change too much in between visits. However, at every visit he ensured that either Sydney or Nigel were present while he played with, or cuddled, his precious little daughter. The instant she cried though, he'd hand her over to either of them which, of course, Sydney didn't think was that odd, as it seemed to her that a lot of men, and women, did that when a baby cried; so it caused her no concern at all. Preston, on the other hand, still worried; deep down, that a crying baby, or child, might set off his anger if he was alone and it went on too long. Nigel, of course, knew how Preston felt and although he tried to reassure him that he had faith in him, Preston refused to take any chances with his fragile little girl.
By now the two brothers were really close again, just like they were when Nigel was an infant, well before their parents were killed. All of their past jealousies about Sydney and all the ridiculous rivalry; which had caused such problems between them, didn't seem to matter anymore. Life became much happier for Nigel who loved being an uncle and was sailing though his studies with great ease. The three years he'd lost hadn't affected his intelligence, or his memory of what he'd studied or knew about before; which he was truly thankful for!
Nigel began to grow in confidence as time passed and although he still couldn't really fight back when he and Sydney were attacked on relic hunts; if he got angry enough he could throw a good punch… once the adrenaline kicked in and he felt less of a burden to Sydney because of that. Of course, she didn't take him along on too many hunts during this time as he was so busy studying and she wanted to ensure he had as much time to do that as possible.
By the time Nigella was a year old, Sydney had started to notice, once again, how appealing Nigel was as a man. However, for Nigel's sake, she decided to keep those thoughts to herself, as he was still a student, even though he'd already obtained two masters degrees and was well on the way to a couple more. Sydney was so proud of him and although she would never admit it, she'd always known that Nigel fancied her, although she had no idea that he actually loved her!
Nigel's courses were accelerated to enable him to obtain his masters much faster than normal and, to Nigel's delight, most of those professors who had no respect for him before, dramatically change their attitude when they saw how quickly he was able to take in information.
Sydney's feelings for Nigel grew practically daily and she soon found herself making comments, once again, about how sexy he looks. She'd always flirted with him that way and although he'd occasionally misunderstood her intentions, particularly early on in their working relationship; he'd always believed that flirting was just something she did and considered these recent comments were just Sydney being Sydney.
Once Nigel had obtained all of the masters degrees he'd studied for, Sydney could no longer hide her feelings and asked him to take her on a date. Nigel thought she was kidding around and said "yes I'll take you, I'll book a table for three, you'd better bring Karen along for protection; you know what an animal I am!" He laughed, but then he saw Sydney's face, she looked kind of miffed!
"Nigel, I'm not joking, I'd really like to go out with you and I don't mean as a friend!" she said, standing in front of him with her hands on her hips.
Nigel was stunned; he blushed from head to toe and when reality really hit him, he was so shocked he fell back in his chair and just stared at her.
"Nigel, don't just sit there looking like that, get something arranged for our date!" she said, jokingly, as she saw him sitting there with his mouth agape.
"Oh um, where um, would you like to go Syd? Um, choose anywhere, anywhere at all" he said, trying not to show how nervous he was; but she knew.
"No Nige, you choose" she said, hoping he would take her somewhere that they'd both enjoy, not just somewhere that would please her.
He chose to take her to dinner at a nice little restaurant near his apartment, somewhere Sydney had never been before; but he had. It was a beautiful place, with excellent food, somewhere that Nigel felt comfortable, having become a regular customer during his long days of studying. The bonus being it was run by Mr and Mrs McDonald, a middle aged Scottish couple, who having noticed how exhausted Nigel was when he ate there, took it upon themselves to look after him and always gave him real English style tea with his dinner. He really hoped Sydney would like the restaurant, and the proprietors, as this was the first time he'd taken a date there and Mrs McDonald made quite a fuss of them.
Sydney was highly impressed that Nigel, instead of being extravagant on their first date, bearing in mind he was now very wealthy; chose to take her somewhere romantic and tasteful, rather than somewhere you needed a magnifying glass to find the food on your plate!
After that first evening out they were inseparable; Sydney being amazed at what a wonderful date Nigel turned out to be. He'd told her of numerous disastrous dates he'd been on over the years, so she wasn't expecting too much. However, he proved to be thoughtful, respectful and interested in what she had to say. He never assumed that, just because their relationship had changed, he could behave any differently towards her, particularly at work; apart from being permitted to actually kiss her now, instead of just wishing he could!
As Nigel couldn't hold his drink, he kept that to a minimum, even if Sydney ended up drunk. In that regard, he was always a perfect gentleman and took her home, never expecting more than a kiss at the door. Then one night she asked him in and she wasn't the slightest bit tipsy!
She'd arranged for Nigella to stay with Randall and Jenny, so there would be no distractions, and pulled Nigel by the hand into her house. Once inside she poured out two glasses of wine, took them into her bedroom and called out to Nigel to join her. He was still awfully shy and having only ever slept with two women in his life (as far as he knew, bearing in mind he believed he'd lost three years) he hesitated for a few seconds, but then followed her nervously.
He'd imagined many times what it would be like to make love to his beautiful partner, but he never thought it would actually happen, so his heart was beating a mile a minute! While Sydney freshened up in the bathroom he nervously gulped down his wine, causing him to feel a little lightheaded and his face to turn red.
When she came out of the bathroom she was wearing nothing but a silky black thigh length night gown and as she moved sexily towards him he backed away shyly and fell on the bed. She laid on top him and they kissed passionately for a few minutes, causing Nigel to perspire and feel like he might pass out; but he didn't.
Realising Nigel was still fully clothed she carefully pulled him to his feet where she helped him take off his shirt and trousers; allowing him to get into bed where he removed his underwear. As Sydney was totally aware of Nigel's past, and the upbringing he'd had which caused him to be so shy; she was very careful not to do or say anything that would make him feel uncomfortable. She thought he looked so gorgeous, if a little childlike, just lying there waiting for her to climb into bed with him. He didn't have to wait long as she was soon snuggling up next to him, giving him a reassuring look that said he mustn't worry and that she was all his!
As they made love for the first time Sydney noticed that Nigel's inexperience was not apparent at all. She was astonished and thrilled by his performance in bed, as he was gentle and caring and seemed to instinctively know what she'd like. She wondered how Nigel knew how to pleasure a woman in such delectable ways, but then she remembered that a few years ago they'd been on a relic hunt in Italy, where they found Casanova's Book of Love! After she'd finished reading it she allowed Nigel to take it home as, naturally, being a young man; he was interested in the subject and she was so glad she'd done that now!
The following morning Nigel was led on his front, fast asleep when Sydney, who was in a playful mood, yanked the sheet off him with the intention of slapping his behind to wake him up. She was just about to do that when, to her astonishment, she noticed the scars she was aware he had on his behind, were gone. She put the sheet back on him and gently woke him up to ask him what had happened to them. He blushed from head to toe as he explained that they'd somehow vanished when he was missing and he'd no idea how; although he was, obviously, pleased they'd gone, especially when Sydney said, as she rolled him back onto his front "wow, nice butt!"
Realising that neither of them could think of to explanation as to why Nigel now had perfect skin, they chose to ignore it, as Nigel had already been doing. Of course he was completely unaware of what Preston's horrible thoughts were on the subject; otherwise he'd have been horrified!
Right from the moment they'd made love there was no doubt in either of their minds that they were made for each other. Two weeks after that fantastic evening Nigel moved into Sydney's house, where Preston had also once lived, and they discovered they were amazingly compatible. Sydney had always believed you could never truly know someone until you'd lived with them, so she was delighted when Nigel proved to be, as she'd hoped; thoughtful, caring, sexy and fun. Apart from being a wonderful companion and lover, he helped with the housework and, of course, Nigella, who loved having her handsome uncle around all the time.
Although Nigel was truly happy with Sydney, he did have one concern and that was what Preston would think about him and his ex wife living together. He'd become extremely close to Preston and hated the thought of doing anything that could damage their relationship, recalling how angry he'd been, at first, about Preston marrying Sydney. However, Nigel needn't have worried because after the initial shock that his little brother was actually sleeping with Sydney; and a normal twinge of jealously, Preston considered that Nigel was overdue for some happiness. Then, after further consideration, he realised that should Nigel marry Sydney, or even just continue to live with her, he would never have to worry about Nigella having an unsuitable stepfather; he'd, of course, heard about the rather unruly men that Sydney was normally attracted to!
After about six months of living together Sydney and Nigel got engaged and wanted to get married as soon as possible, however, there was one problem; nobody was 100% certain that Nigel wasn't already married! As far as anyone was aware, Nigel appeared to have taken his passport with him when he went missing, as they'd searched every inch of his apartment back then and never found it. However, when Nigel reappeared and first went back home, he immediately found his passport where he'd left it, in his rucksack! Nobody could explain it but, to be on the safe side, they got Derek Lloyd to use his expertise to make enquires, worldwide, to check if anyone claimed to be Mrs Bailey. Derek actually expected to get one or two women come forward to claim to be his wife; as Nigel was so wealthy; but those that did Derek soon proved to be liars and the wedding date was set.
They got married in England, Sydney having fallen in love with the country whilst relic hunting and because she knew how much Nigel, like Preston, really wanted to have the ceremony there. As Nigel's parents had both passed on, the closest people to him, apart from Preston, were Louisa Wright, her brother Frederick and Professor and Mrs Bally. As Louisa suffered with arthritis and the professor and his wife were now quite elderly, they were unable to tolerate long haul flights and would have had to miss the wedding if it hadn't been held in England.
Another guest that Nigel was so happy to see was Jacob Irons, who was the only teacher Nigel liked at his horrible boarding school. He was now the headmaster of the Cavendish Academy and had transformed the school into a much nicer and happier place, since his promotion nine years ago.
The ceremony did not take place in the same church as Sydney and Preston's wedding, as even though Nigel would have liked it there, he wanted Sydney to choose where to have it; realising that using the same church as before would be difficult for her and probably for Preston too.
Preston, of course, was Nigel's best man which Sydney had no problem with at all; in fact, she'd started to like him again as he'd become such a kind and considerate brother to Nigel and was getting more confident with Nigella.
Sydney chose to wear a beautiful white silk suit, which was far more comfortable than a dress, being more to her taste and was what she believed Nigel would prefer.
She had the same bridesmaids as before, except for Karen, who explained she had some pressing family matters to attend to during the week of the wedding. However, the truth was, Preston was right about Karen's feelings for Nigel; she loved him and couldn't bear to see him marry someone else, especially Sydney! Nigel was always too much in love with Sydney to let Karen's advances affect him and although Sydney was aware that Karen liked him, she had no idea how much!
As Karen was unavailable Sydney asked Cate Hemphill to take her place as a bridesmaid as Cate had settled down quite happily in England, and was now dating Preston!
Randall Fox, once again, gave Sydney away and was much happier to do so this time, as he'd always liked Nigel and felt quite confident that this marriage would last, although he did drag Nigel off to jokingly give him a lecture on how to look after his daughter!
Louisa Wright was, once again, the guest of honour and she simply couldn't hide how delighted and, quite frankly, relieved she was that Nigel had, at last, found happiness. She'd never seen him so confident and realised that had he had an easier life, he'd have probably always been that way. That thought still fresh in her mind she was suddenly filled with joy when she saw Preston hugging Nigel in front of their guests. She recalled how, when Nigel was little, Preston had frowned upon such things so just watching them hugging each other sent a tingle up her spine.
Louisa had missed Nigel terribly over the years, as he rarely got a chance to come home once he'd commenced working with Sydney. That was bad enough, but when the news of his disappearance reached her, the heartache she felt then almost killed her! Luckily her brother, Frederick, who was also a guest at the wedding, took care of her and convinced her that, one day, she'd see him again. That belief, along with her love for Preston, who'd shown such concern for his missing brother, gave her reason to live.
They held the wedding reception at the Dorchester Hotel as Sydney and Nigel had stayed there before and it was close to the selected church, thus allowing many of their guests, who were staying overnight, to walk to the wedding, rather than drive in the crazy London traffic.
They decided to use the Orchid Room for the reception as the ballroom at the Dorchester was fully booked for months ahead. As it turned out, they were glad they did as the room had been beautifully redecorated in blue and gold, just a couple of weeks before the wedding, and looked quite stunning. There was plenty of room to seat all of their guests around large circular tables and also to enable them to dance to the live band that they'd hired for the occasion.
One of their best friends, magician, Rex Rolands, did some amazing conjuring tricks while the band took a break and, of course, he couldn't resist the urge to pull Sydney and Nigel onto the stage to perform with him! The happy couple had once pretended to be Rex's assistants in order to gain entrance to The Magic Mansion, in Atlantic City; Rex wanting them to find a sceptre that was hidden there. Luckily, this time, neither of them was expected to wear an embarrassing outfit!
Just before Sydney and Nigel went on stage Louisa bumped into William Ryker who was wandering through the lobby. She remembered him from Preston's reception and stopped to say hello, thinking he was such a charming young man, although she really knew nothing about him.
Will was actually only there to check that Sydney and Nigel got married! The fact was, in the correct timeline, that's what had to happen although, of course, Sydney had to marry Preston first and give birth to Nigella! All Ryker had intended to do was spend a little time at the reception, rather than the church, believing he would blend in better there; then he'd return to the Enterprise. However, because Louisa stopped him he felt he had to be polite and talk to her for a little while, although he certainly didn't want to run into Nigel!
Louisa and Will discussed how much Preston had changed and the fact that Sydney and Nigel looked so wonderful together. Of course, because of his mission, Will knew practically everything about the Bailey family and all relevant things about Sydney too. As he chatted with Louisa he told her he thought they were destined to have the best looking children imaginable and Louisa, of course, agreed, after all, you only had to look at them; Sydney was simply stunning and Nigel was exceptionally handsome.
As Will and Louisa were talking, the magic show finished and Nigel came out to the lobby to try and find Louisa, hoping to get her opinion of the show and to make sure she was alright. He spotted her sitting a little way off and then, as he got closer, to his utter astonishment, he recognised the man he'd spoken to at the hospital where Nigella was born!
"What are you doing here!" Nigel asked "Do you know Sydney!" He was rather puzzled and wondered, for a minute, if the large man was actually an old boyfriend of his beautiful bride as, at that second, he could think of no other reason he'd have been at the hospital, in Boston and in London right then!
Ryker didn't get a chance to respond as, at that moment, Sydney came out to the lobby, put her arm around Nigel's shoulders and said "there you are darling, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" She immediately looked at Ryker and smiled.
"Sorry, I um don't know your name" Nigel said, looking at Ryker suspiciously; realising he was wrong about him knowing his new wife.
Thinking very quickly he said "I'm William Ryker; I'm a friend of Preston's….. we were at university together."
"I don't remember you!" Preston said, coming up behind him.
Ryker was completely taken by surprise and realising he couldn't explain himself he ran as fast as he could towards the hotel's main entrance. Of course, seeing him run like that caused Sydney and Nigel to become very suspicious and, giving each other one of their special looks, they were immediately hot on his heels, leaving Louisa and Preston staring in shock!
Ryker ran outside into the busy street, just missing a double decker bus as he raced across the road, where he tripped over the curb on the other side, landed awkwardly on the ground and hurt his right elbow and shoulder. As he was slow getting up, it gave the two relic hunters a chance to catch up with him in the park opposite the hotel, where Sydney caught hold of him and pinned him to a large tree, while Nigel again asked "Who are you! Why were you at the hospital in Boston and at our wedding!"
Sydney wondered what Nigel meant by 'the hospital' but she was too busy squeezing her hand into Ryker's throat to ask him right then. Ryker desperately tried to pull her hand away but she loosened her grip a little anyway, to let him speak; hoping he'd say something to clear that up.
"My name's William Ryker, I didn't mean any harm, now let me go!" He tried to pull Sydney's hand away again but she was so strong and he was quite breathless, having run so fast; plus his shoulder and elbow were painful. Even though he was a very large man who, if he was in perfect health, could have hurt her, Sydney was not about to let him get away without an explanation and threw a punch to his jaw, which knocked him to the ground. Nigel then took the opportunity to jump onto his legs to stop him getting up, however, Ryker still managed to sit up even with Nigel sitting there. Seeing Ryker about to push Nigel off, Sydney moved behind him and put her arm around his throat again and squeezed. She was just about to ask him what he wanted, when Ryker managed to tap his combadge and say "three to beam up!"
PLEASE REVIEW
This has been a mammoth chapter to write and the next one might be the same, so please leave a nice review to encourage me to complete the story! Thanks.
In the final chapter you will find out what happened on the Enterprise and what amazing piece of news Beverly gives to Sydney!