Later that evening, Arlen walked into Sydney's room without knocking. By the light streaming in from the hallway he could see her face, peaceful and happy with a slight smile on her lips, and hated that he was going to disrupt whatever lovely dream she was having. He made his way to her bed and sat on its edge. He gently stroked her cheek while saying her name. "Sydney…Sydney, honey, I need you to wake up."

"Mmm…Arlen?" She opened her eyes and saw his tears right away. "Arlen?" She was instantly awake and sat up on her elbows. "What's wrong?"

"Rachel's gone," he said, his voice hollow. Sydney couldn't form a question. "She overdosed in rehab…and before you ask, I have no idea how." He wiped at his eyes. "What's worse is that, Syd, I'm not crying because she's dead. I'm crying because…I'm relieved." He broke down completely and Sydney took him into her arms.

"Oh, sweetheart…" She rubbed his back as sobs rocked his body. Rachel was sent to a first class rehabilitation center out of state. David knew of it and was footing the bill. Somehow Sydney just knew that something was looming over that woman that she wasn't going to be able to fight any longer. She felt guilty for only feeling sad for Arlen and not Rachel. Her daughter was going to have a wonderful life and not wind up bouncing around like Jess did.

"David and I have to leave tonight…there's so much to do…"

"What can I do to help you?"

Arlen looked up, a different sort of worry making itself known. "The fundraiser…"

"Don't give it a second thought."

"It's so much…"

"We'll take care of it – all of it – I promise. I'll even call in some more favors with the AV club and record it for you."

"I could cancel…"

Sydney let go of him and took on a faux stern voice. "And let all of your mandatory perfection fade into nothingness? I don't think so, mister." She forced a smile. "I'll MC and organize everything I can. I can take the day off from school and…Brynn and Jess can…"

"I have it planned to the microsecond…I really need to rethink that sort of thing, huh?"

"Right now you don't need to think about anything, okay?" She kissed his cheek. "Let's go get you packed, hm?"

After getting Arlen packed and sending him off to the airport with David, Sydney went back up to her room and crawled into bed. Tears fell from her eyes and she couldn't stop them. Her heart had broken for her best friend…for his guilt, his relief, and his soon to be joy. She looked at the clock, the blue digits telling her it was three twenty-five…and she couldn't stop her hands from picking up her phone and dialing Nathan.

Nathan's voice was groggy and concerned when he answered. "Syd? Everything okay?"

"I'm so sorry for waking you." He heard the tears in her voice and woke up fully. "I just had to get Arlen off to the airport…his sister overdosed and she's gone."

"Oh, God, Syd…I…what can I do?" He echoed her question to Arlen.

Sydney sniffled. "You answered the phone," she said, the words heavy. "I…I think that's all I needed."

"I can come over, if…if you need me."

Her breath hitched. "I do need you," she whispered. She cleared her throat, trying to pull herself together. "We both need to sleep though. After school, I have to get right over to Just Be and…"

"You shouldn't go to school tomorrow, Syd…"

"I have to. How else am I going to see the person I need?"

That morning, Sydney was in her room for less than five minutes when Nathan came through her doorway. He shut the door behind him, something he had never once done. As soon as she saw him, her tears fell and he wrapped her up in his arms. Her body shook in his grasp and he kissed the top of her head.

"I know, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear. "Shh…take a breath, okay?"

"I don't feel bad," Sydney said, choking on the words. "She was a terrible, selfish person, but she's dead and…I should feel something for her, and I don't. I feel for Arlen, I feel for a daughter that will never know her mother….but," she swallowed hard, "she didn't even have the decency to name her!"

Nathan felt her body start to go limp and he eased them to the floor. "Stop wondering what's wrong with you," he said, gently. "I know exactly what you're thinking and you're not some horrible person for feeling what you do." He wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Arlen…he feels the same way. He said he feels horrible for feeling relief." Unable to stop herself, she cuddled into his chest, the warmth of his body soothing her.

He held her tighter, knowing she needed the comfort. "You should be home today, Syd."

"I've already called off once because of her…"

"Nobody's going to hold it against you, I promise." She shook her head. "Stubborn, aren't you?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sydney took a shaky breath. "I guess that's something you need to know." She looked into his eyes, so warm and focused. "You should also know that when I'm a wreck like this…I get a little needy, a little clingy. I swear, it doesn't happen often, but…some guys hate…"

He caressed his face and kissed her deeply, Sydney kissing him back. He wished they were anywhere but the floor of her classroom. "Baby, I swear to you, when you need me I'm going to be exactly where I am now." He called her "baby" for the first time and Sydney felt her heart melt. He didn't say it in the way David ever had, which could sound condescending, and John had never used it. No, the way Nathan had just said the word gave it weight. She saw by the look in his eyes that he thought he overstepped a boundary; she smiled at him, showing not only her approval, but her appreciation. She pulled herself together, thankful for having someone who genuinely cared for her, and made it through the rest of the day without breaking down again.

The next two days passed in a blur. Arlen and David were dealing with a mess at the rehab center and Sydney was handling the last minute details of the fundraiser. When Friday, Valentine's Day, rolled around, there was an "in-service" day at school and Joe let her know that due to her circumstances, she didn't need to worry about being there.

At home, Sydney was sipping a cup of coffee, Brynn at the table with her. The younger woman looked at her and asked, as casually as she could, "So, are you ready for tonight?"

"Oh, yeah…sure," Sydney answered. "All I have to do is be delightfully entertaining all night and not screw up what was to be Arlen's big finish…ugh, I understand that it was a big romantic gesture to David and all, but that song…it's so big!"

"I don't think you have anything to worry about…"

"Why Arlen didn't want to go with all outside talent is beyond me." He nerves started to flare. "New topic. It is Valentine's Day and obviously the fundraiser got you out of having to choose which one you would have spent it with…

"I wouldn't have chosen even if that wasn't going on tonight, that's not fair at all." Brynn sighed and looked out at the hues of pink and purple that were coming up over the horizon. "We made it very clear that there were no be no gestures of any kind today. No flowers, no doting…"

"And you think the boys will abide by those rules?"

"If they don't want to piss me off they will." She cleared her throat. "We shouldn't be talking about that anyway."

Sydney tilted her head. "Why not?"

Brynn looked sheepish. "Well…it's that day and I know your history with it is…"

Sydney rolled her eyes. "It's a made up holiday that I will never let mean anything to me." She bit at her lower lip. "You, on the other hand…I don't think it's the boys you're worried about, is it? I think you're afraid that you might be able to choose one of them."

"I…" Luckily, Brynn didn't have to answer as the doorbell rang. "It's barely seven o'clock."

"Why do I have a feeling that this has something to do with tonight…it's too early!" The girls got up from the table and went toward the front door.

"No way." It was Jess who answered the door. "Brynn, we said no Valentine's Day stuff, right?"

Brynn saw the deliveryman in the doorway. She didn't want to, but she felt herself grow a little flush at the thought of Eric defying their rules to impress her. He knew she was spending the night there so everyone was on the same page in the morning, so she had simply assumed… "Those are gorgeous," she said looking at a beautiful arrangement of pink and yellow roses. "Uh, but, yeah, we were firm on that."

"Stupid Er…Oh…oh!" Jess was no longer angry. "No worries, they aren't for you."

"Huh? Oh, good!" Her words came fast and she hated that her heart dropped a little. "Wait, then…"

Jess was smiling widely. "Someone's thinking of you, Syd."

"Me?"

"That would be your name on the card here…" He signed for the delivery. "Thanks." He shut the door and handed the flowers to Sydney. "There's a to, but no from." He paused a moment, as to not let his voice give anything away. "Any ideas?"

"No," she lied, but she couldn't keep from smiling. Her first proper flower delivery on this date…ever. "But…" She looked at Jess and Brynn. "…yay for me, I guess."

"You guess?" Brynn asked, completely forgetting about her fleeting thoughts of Eric. "Syd, you have a secret admirer…or something similar. That's either really romantic or super creepy, but I'm rooting for romantic. Oh! Could it be the stair sex guy?"

Sydney went crimson. She had forgotten that Arlen had slipped about that at dinner one night. "Uh…" Of course it is…. "…maybe." She decided that this arrangement was going to her room where she could be giddy in private. "We have a long day ahead of us, you guys should do breakfast. I'll be down in a few minutes." She went upstairs as quickly as she could and grabbed her cell phone only to see that Nathan had beat her to her own question.

The text message was quite simple: How am I doing so far? Happy Valentine's Day.