Blue Like September Mornings

Author: Janet (SkyGirl5)

Genre: S/V, AU

Summary: Michael Vaughn is a rich single father with one daughter, Megan (age 9). Sydney Bristow is a social worker for an orphanage in Queens, NY who is busy taking care of her favorite orphan, Amanda (age 9). One summer, Amanda and Megan meet by chance at a camp and form an immediate bond. When the adults in their lives meet, sparks fly and the most amazing summer of their lives begins.

A/N: There are 28 chapters to the story, but once it was over I decided that a simple Epilogue wouldn't do this fic justice. So I decided to make 3... sort of. There are 3 "afterward" type events that take place at different times... well, you'll see ;)

Disclaimer: Sydney, Vaughn, etc are properties of JJ Abrams and ABC. Inspiration for this story (in part) came from the movie It Takes Two (property of whoever owns that)

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Chapters 1-10 // Chapters 11 - 20 // Chapters 21-28 // 3 part Afterward

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Chapter 1

Nine year old Megan Vaughn tapped her foot impatiently on the sidewalk as she peered out across the busy New York streets through her designer sunglasses. She sighed heavily as she sat down on one of her suitcases, being careful to cross her legs perfectly and pull down her skirt so that not too much of her legs were showing, just as she had been taught. She was waiting for her father to come and pick her up from boarding school. It was the second week in June and miserably hot as the heat radiated off the concrete sidewalk and the sun beat down on her from above. Glancing at her watch, she saw that he was fifteen minutes late, not unusual for him since he was always busy, but still, she was waiting.

Her father, Michael Vaughn, was the CEO of Vaughn, Inc., a company specializing in micro-technology. Megan didn’t understand much of what the company did at all. All she knew was that her daddy was very busy and very wealthy. It wasn’t that he was distant or cold, he most certainly wasn’t. When he was around, he was the perfect father. The only problem was he wasn’t around very much at all.

Megan’s mother Alice died in childbirth, so, sadly she never knew what it was like to have two parents. She barely even knew what it was like to have one parent. Up until her fourth grade year, the year she had just finished, she was tutored at home by her nanny. But, she had begged and pleaded with her father about wanting to go to school with other children so much that he finally gave in.

He searched and found one of the best private boarding schools in New York City and since his offices were located in the city as well, Megan actually saw her father more often than she had when she lived with him. He managed to stop by two or three times a week on his way home or during a lunch break to eat with her and then every few weekends he would take her shopping.

Though she was thankful that he visited her, summers were the times she looked forward to the most. In the summer, her father always made more time for her. They would hang out together, go on mini-vacations and just spend time with each other. That’s what she loved the most; that’s what she wanted. That’s all she ever wanted.

A black stretch limousine pulled up in front of the school and Megan stood up from her luggage. The back door of the limo opened and Megan’s heart leapt with excitement, but only for a moment, and then quickly fell when she saw who was stepping out of the limo. It wasn’t her father, welcoming her with a huge smile and open arms; it was Niles, the butler.

“He’s not coming...,” Megan sighed sadly.

“I’m sorry Miss Megan, but he’s busy at the house, preparing for your arrival,” Niles told her.

“Fine,” Megan grunted as she stomped towards the back of the limo and threw herself inside. “He’d better have a present for me.”

“Oh he does, miss.” Niles winked before tossing her luggage in the trunk and signaling to the driver that it was time to leave.

~*~

“Amanda, get OUT of bed this instant!” Sydney Bristow demanded of the protesting nine year old.

“NO!” Amanda pouted.

“YES!” Sydney instead.

“Why should I?” Amanda asked as she rolled over, raised an eyebrow and used one of her infamous tones.

“Because if you don’t, we’re going to be late,” Sydney told her.

“Well, what if I don’t wanna go to stupid camp!” Amanda grunted as she buried her face back into her pillow.

“Amanda,” Sydney sighed as she sat on the bed beside her. “You love going to that camp. You go every summer!” Sydney said.

“That’s the point Syd, I go every damn-”

“AMANDA!” Sydney scolded her language use.

“Sorry, every darn summer and I’m sick of it!” she exclaimed. “Why can’t they just leave me here to die a loser orphan in peace!”

“You will not die a loser orphan,” Sydney assured her. “Please come. I’ll make it up to you, I swear,” Sydney tempted.

“How? You gonna adopt me?” Amanda asked excitedly.

Sydney looked away and sighed heavily. “Amanda, we’ve been through this.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever.” Amanda grunted as she dragged herself from the bed, crammed her worn, purple baseball cap on her head, grabbed her backpack and stomped out the door and down the stairs to where the other orphans were filing onto the bus.

Amanda had been an orphan for as long as she could remember, and she had lived at the Queen’s Home for Orphans since before she could remember. There wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t wish she could be adopted and move out of the rat hole she lived in (as she liked to call it). The only thing stopping her from running away was Sydney.

Sydney Bristow was the social worker assigned to QHO (as it was fondly known) and she had been there ever since Amanda could remember as well. Sydney and Amanda were best buds, pals until the end. Secretly, well, not so secretly, Amanda wished Sydney would adopt her so they could move out on their own, just them against the world. Her only verbalization of this wish was in casual passing. Just a suggestion. But inside, she wanted it more than anything else. She would give up every Christmas and birthday present for the rest of her life if she could just have Sydney as her mother. But, sadly, she could never. Like Sydney had sadly explained to her so many times, social workers just didn’t make enough money to adopt children and the fact that she was single didn’t exactly help the situation.

So, Amanda was stuck. No one wanted to adopt nine year old tomboys who chewed big wads of bubble gum constantly, cursed (even though Sydney yelled at her for it), and made occasional trouble. People only wanted to adopt cute little babies with cherub cheeks and dimpled smiles. Well, Amanda had the dimpled smile, but she wasn’t so cute anymore. She was just stuck. Doomed to live in the orphanage until she turned 18 when she would be chucked out in the real world with no family, no life and no where to turn.

“Amanda! Get on the bus!” her friend Tommy called as he hung his head out the window.

“I’m commin! I’m commin! Keep your hair on, jeez.” Amanda groaned as she climbed on the bus and took her seat next to Sydney before it jerked onto the street and began its journey to the camp.



Chapter 2

Megan nearly fell asleep during the two hour drive to the lake. The house where Megan lived was on a lake, or rather, near the lake. Vaughn, Inc. was started by Megan’s grandfather and since the company had been an immediate success and made the transition into higher technology very well, the Vaughn family was quite wealthy. Megan didn’t see her grandparents too often since they were busy with their social life in the Hampton’s, but the Vaughn’s did own an expansive amount of property, including a lake and 20 surrounding acres in upstate New York.

Her father had his own penthouse apartment in New York where he stayed during the September to May months, but once it became summer, they went to the house near the lake. Though the house was large, it still had a homey, cottage-like feel to it. The grounds were extensive, complete with a pool, stables with three horses and tennis courts, and the lake was just a quarter mile walk through some trees.

Megan loved the time she spent at the lake house. For some reason, it made her feel closer to her mother since her father always told her the lake was her mother’s favorite place. As the limo wound its way through the road edged by trees and brush, Megan’s excitement grew for she knew they were getting closer. Finally, the limo turned off onto the private drive and a large yellow bus filled with screaming kids zoomed by them, but Megan hardly noticed. She was waiting on the edge of her seat, ready to bound out the door and into her father’s arms the moment the limo came to a stop.

When the limo stopped in the driveway, Megan was slightly disappointed that her father wasn’t waiting outside for her but that certainly wasn’t going to hold her back. She raced from the limo and threw open the front door. “DADDY!” she called loudly.

“Hey! There’s my sweet pea!” Michael grinned as he came into the foyer from his office on the side.

“Daddy!” Megan grinned as she ran over and jumped into his open arms. She hugged him around the neck as he kissed her head.

“Ready for summer, sweetie?” he asked.

“YOU BET!” She grinned.

“Good,” he laughed as he set her down. “Meg, I’d like you to meet someone,” Michael said as he walked towards his office. Megan looked in the direction he was going and for the first time noticed a tall, blonde woman with ice blue eyes standing in the doorway. Michael put his arm around the back of the blonde stranger. “Meg, this is Lauren Reed.”

Megan was confused at first since she had almost never been introduced to a woman by her father in this manner, but she recovered quickly and plastered on her perfectly polished exterior. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Reed.” She smiled.

“Oh Michael, she’s precious.” Lauren laughed in her British accent. Megan had to fight to refrain from cringing. “It is so nice to finally meet you Megan. Your dad has told me so much about you.”

“Really? He’s told me nothing about you, Miss Reed.” Megan smiled angelically.

Lauren laughed in a slightly obnoxious manner. “Well, I’m sure your father will tell you all about me, but I’m terribly sorry, I must go. I’m going to be late for a meeting. I’ll see you later this week Megan. Bye love.” She smiled to Michael.

“Hold on, I’ll walk you out,” Michael said as he walked quickly beside Lauren as she made her way to the front door. Megan slowly followed them and peered out the front window while they were saying goodbye. When she saw her father kiss the strange blonde woman on the lips, her stomach nearly came out of her throat. Her father had kissed someone. That had never happened before.

“What’s with the face, Meggie?” Michael asked when he walked back inside and saw his daughter looking slightly peaked.

“You kissed her!” Megan grimaced.

“Come with me Meggie, we need to have a little talk,” Michael said as he took her hand and pulled her towards the patio.

~*~

“Here we are home sweet camp.” Sydney smiled as she pulled Amanda off the bus with her.

“Whoopie,” Amanda sighed with a less than festive wave of her hand.

“Oh come on,” Sydney encouraged as she poked Amanda’s belly button causing her to giggle. “See, there, you’re smiling.”

“No fair, you tricked me.” Amanda groaned.

“Come on Amanda!” her friend Tiffany shouted. “If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to steal your bunk!”

“You’d better not, whore!” Amanda shouted.

“AMANDA!” Sydney scolded.

“I mean...ah, never mind!” Amanda yelled as she ran after Tiffany.

Sydney groaned, rolled her eyes and grabbed her own bags from the bus. “That girl...,” she muttered under her breath.

“Amanda still turning you grey even in your twenties?” Lori, the camp manager, laughed from behind Sydney.

“Of course,” Sydney laughed. “When isn’t she? I swear if I didn’t love that girl so much I’d.... well I don’t know what I’d do.” She laughed again.

“Love her? Sydney, I think you’re the only one who doesn’t want to choke her!” Lori laughed.

“Who says I don’t? At least on occasion. But she has her good qualities too,” Sydney said.

“Mmhmm, well let’s get you up to your cabin,” Lori said.

“Whoopie,” Sydney said dolefully as she slung her bag over her shoulder. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy the lake, she did. It was the buggy atmosphere and uncomfortable mattress she minded. Having grown up in Queens and living there her whole life, she wasn’t exactly used to the whole country thing. Plus the fact that her bed would be hopelessly empty didn’t exactly add to the excitement. Dating and her didn’t exactly go hand in hand. She had dates, not many, but some and none of them ever worked out. Eight million people in New York City, presumably at least three of those million were straight males, and yet none of them seemed very appealing to her. Sure, there were the good ones that were taken since they were married, but there had to be someone, right? Preferably not the hot dog vender who always hit on her either. A nice, preferably decent looking, perfect guy – was that too much to ask for?



Chapter 3

Michael had to admit Megan didn’t exactly have the reaction he was expecting. He had expected her to throw a tantrum of some sort but instead, there was nothing; no reaction at all. She simply walked away. That hurt him, even more than he thought.

It was nearly ten years since Alice died. Ten years. Ten years and he hadn’t moved on. He was ready; that wasn't the problem. True, he would always love Alice, but he was ready to love someone else. He believed that there could be someone else out there who he could love as much as he loved Alice, but yet that person could never replace her. Every time Michael looked into the true blue eyes of his daughter, the same eyes as her mother, Michael was reminded of Alice; not painfully reminded, though. It was more of a peaceful reminder. So, yes, he was ready, but he had to think of more than just himself.

When Megan was five, Michael had taken a date to one of his many business functions. It wasn’t even a date, date. She was simply someone who would be Michael’s companion for the evening. He never even kissed her, but when Megan saw her she threw an absolute tantrum. Throwing herself down on the floor, screaming and crying that he didn’t love her mother at all. Up until then, Michael had never seriously considered dating anyone. He was far too busy with raising a toddler on his own and juggling her with his hectic work schedule. But he knew then and there that if he ever started dating again, it would be a serious issue between them.

Since then, Michael had dated a few women casually, nothing serious at all. He had yet to find that person. The person who gave him the feeling in the pit of his stomach like he had when Alice smiled at him. That person who made his skin tingle with every touch. That person. Still, he hadn’t shared any of these dates with Megan, until now.

Lauren Reed was the international financial adviser for Vaughn, Inc. Michael met her for the first time in January of that year. She was blonde and blue eyed like Alice and she had an accent that intrigued him. They met again in March and went out for a casual dinner. One dinner turned into two, two turned into five and suddenly Michael had no idea what he was doing. He still didn’t, but he was dating Lauren. Sort of, anyway. They were both busy and Lauren traveled constantly, so it wasn’t like they saw each other every day or even every week. But still, it was more serious than not serious and Michael knew that Megan needed to know the truth.

He told her that Lauren was his girlfriend and he asked her if she had any questions. She mumbled a quiet ‘no’ before telling him that she was going for a walk and then she left looking rather distant. Michael knew they needed to talk about it further but he was going to let her walk off her emotions for a while, otherwise they would just get into a pointless argument.

~*~

Megan sulked as she walked down the path towards the lake. She knew her father didn’t like her going there alone, but she really didn’t care. She really didn’t like him at the moment. Lauren. That woman made Megan want to gag. Something about her rubbed Megan the wrong way. So, she just sulked and walked.

After Amanda unpacked some of her things onto her coveted top bunk, she decided to go for a walk. She really wasn’t interested in watching Tommy play with a bunch of spiders or watching Tiffany brush her hair. She began walking towards the woods when she spotted a sandy haired girl around her own age. “Hey, who are you?” Amanda asked.

Megan’s head snapped up quickly, for this strange girl had startled her. Megan was unaware that there were other children her age around that area but there this girl was brown hair, brown eyes, dimpled smile. “I... I’m Megan... who are you?”

“Amanda, nice to meet ya,” Amanda said as she extended her hand. Megan shook it cautiously. “You from the camp?”

“Camp? What camp?” Megan asked.

“Hmmm,” Amanda said as she circled Megan. “You don’t look like no orphan.”

“I’m not an orphan!” Megan gasped.

“Ah right... whoa your eyes!” Amanda gasped as she took a closer look at girl in front of her.

“What about them?” Megan asked as she blinked a few times, trying to figure out what was wrong.

“They’re the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Blue like September mornings they are.” Amanda smiled.

“What?” Megan asked in total confusion.

Amanda laughed. “Syd says it.”

“Syd? Who is that?” Megan asked.

“Ahh, you’d love her....everyone does. Come on, I’ll take you to meet her!” Amanda said as she grabbed Megan’s hand and took off running.

“Wait!” Megan called as she ran. “Where are we going? What camp? And who’s an orphan?”

“I’m an orphan, silly,” Amanda said. “Been one all my life. And this camp is by the lake, we come here every summer for the whole summer before they truck us back to the city for school and crap.”

“The city? New York City?” Megan asked. Amanda nodded. “I go to school there, too.”

“Oh yeah? Your parents send you to some fancy schmancy school there?” Amanda asked.

“No, not my parents. Just my dad. My mom died when I was born, I never met her,” Megan said sadly.

“Oh, sorry,” Amanda sighed. “But now at least we gots something in common.” Amanda smiled before she continued running. When Megan caught her first sight of the camp she stopped running and gasped. Kids were running everywhere, throwing balls, squirting water guns at each other and just playing. There was a large cluster of cabins to one side and then two buildings up atop a small hill that she assumed were office buildings or perhaps the cafeteria. “What’d you stop runnin' for?” Amanda asked.

“Sorry, I was just... this is cool!” Megan smiled.

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Would ya just come on!” Amanda said as she yanked harder on Megan’s arm. Megan followed her up the hill and into the one office building. “SYD!” Amanda called loudly.

“What? Oh, who is this?” Sydney smiled as she walked out of one of the rooms branching off the large, makeshift office. When Megan saw the tall, brown haired, soft skinned woman in front of her, she smiled immediately.

“This is Megan.” Amanda smiled proudly.

“Well hi Megan, I’m Sydney.” Sydney smiled.

“Hi,” Megan said rather bashfully.

“Where exactly did you find her Amanda? She’s not from our orphanage.” Sydney eyed the familiar girl suspiciously.

“She found me, I swear,” Amanda defended.

“I live not too far from here,” Megan explained.

“Ohh, alright, well make sure your parents know where you are,” Sydney told her with a smile.

“Okay.” Megan smiled.

“Well, I must keep unpacking before dinner. You two run along and play. I hope we’ll see you again Megan,” Sydney told her.

“Oh you will,” Amanda answered for her.



Chapter 4

“So, how old are you anyway?” Amanda asked as she and Megan walked down towards the lake.

“I’ll be ten in August.” Megan smiled.

“I’ll be ten in September!” Amanda grinned.

“Cool,” Megan said. “Sydney was really nice.”

“Oh yeah, Syd’s great. We’re best buds. She’s been working at the orphanage ever since I can remember... and she just sorta always took special care of me for some reason, so we became this close,” Amanda said as she held up her pointer and middle fingers that were crossed.

“That’s good,” Megan sighed. “I don’t have anyone like that. It’s just me and my dad and he’s not around that often...”

“Ah that sucks.” Amanda sighed. “You can share Syd with me. Everyone else does, even though she treats me extra special.” Amanda winked.

“Extra special how?” Megan asked.

Amanda shrugged. “Just stuff. So you just got out of the fourth grade, right?”

“Yeah,” Megan said.

“You like it?” Amanda asked.

Megan shrugged. “I kinda have to. I go to boarding school.”

“Eww, you mean you live at school?” Amanda asked. Megan cringed and nodded. “That would suck major boogers.”

“It does, trust me. All the other kids are just... I dunno.” Megan shivered.

“You don’t got any friends?” Amanda asked. Megan shook her head. “Well, now ya do.” Amanda smiled. Megan smiled back.

~*~

It had been half an hour and Megan still wasn’t back. Michael was beginning to worry, so he quickly changed into his typical non-work attire – a t-shirt and track pants – before going outside to find his daughter. He searched her usual hang outs around the grounds: by the pool, in the stables, and in the flower garden, but she wasn’t at any of those places.

When he spotted the path towards the lake he realized that was where she had gone and was immediately furious and worried. She knew better than to go there; it wasn’t safe alone. There were other cabins around the lake and someone could... well, he didn’t want to think about that.

He hurried down the path and once in the clearing he started looking around for her. Walking along the lake, he wasn’t paying attention and ran smack into someone. “Oh god! I’m so sorry I wasn’t... hi...,” he sighed when he stepped back and caught a glimpse of who he had run into. It was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties with brown hair pulled up in a ponytail atop her head and with sparkling brown eyes.

“Sorry,” she sighed as she pulled headphones out of her ears. “What did you say?”

“I said, um,” Michael croaked and cleared his throat, shocked that he was suddenly unable to form words in the presence of this beautiful woman. “Sorry for running into you. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Neither was I.” She laughed. “It’s fine, really.”

“I, um, I’m looking for my daughter, she’s nine, have you seen her?” Michael asked.

“Well,” Sydney laughed. “I work at the camp so I’ve seen a lot of kids around that age. You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Camp?” Michael asked.

“Camp Vaughn,” Sydney said as she gestured towards the way from which she came.

Michael laughed loudly. “Now that’s ironic. My name is Michael Vaughn.”

“You’re kidding!” Sydney gasped. “You’re the guy behind the camp? Hmm, I expected you to be much older.”

“Oh trust me, the guy behind the camp is. That would be my father,” Michael told her.

“Ohhh I see.” Sydney smiled.

“And... you are...?” he asked in a leading manner, desperate to get to know this woman in front of him.

“Oh! Sorry,” she laughed. “Sydney Bristow.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Bristow.” Michael smiled as he shook her hand, immediately feeling tingles when she touched his skin.

“Please, it’s Sydney. And... your daughter? I’d love to help you find her. You and your wife must be worried sick.”

“Oh, um, I don’t have a wife... I mean, she passed away,” Michael said as he turned his eyes towards the ground.

Sydney’s face turned immediately hot, feeling awful. She had thrown in the ‘your wife’ line subconsciously. She knew this amazing man couldn’t possibly be available but still, she had to see for herself. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It was ten years ago but...,” Michael sighed. “Anyway, Megan is about this tall and...”

Sydney nodded knowingly. “The September morning eyes.”

“Excuse me?” Michael almost laughed at her unusual statement.

“Sorry,” Sydney laughed, feeling even more embarrassed. “Your daughter has very blue eyes right?”

“Yes.” Michael nodded.

“Well... I don’t know, its sort of a phrase I picked up from my mother. Anytime something is really blue she used to say it was blue like September mornings and it just sort of stuck with me... anyway,” she laughed. “Now that you think I’m an idiot...”

“I don’t,” Michael assured her.

“Well, you can find your daughter on the dock I’ll bet,” Sydney said as she gestured towards the lake further down where faintly in the distance two tiny figures sitting along the dock could be seen.

“Thank you very much.” Michael smiled. “It was nice to meet you Sydney... do you think that maybe we could get together sometime, maybe talk about the camp? I’d love to hear more about it, especially since my name is on it and I know nothing.”

“Sure,” Sydney said. “Whenever.”

“Alright, I’ll see you around then.” Michael waved as he walked off towards the dock.

“Bye,” Sydney sighed as she watched him walk away and then continued on her jog, unable to wipe the smile off her face.




“MEGAN!” Michael yelled as he neared the docks, dodging running kids in his way.

“Crap, that’s my dad! Ohh, I’m gonna be in so much trouble,” Megan whined as she scrambled up off the dock and walked quickly towards her father.

“Hey you commin back?” Amanda asked.

“Uh, tomorrow!” Megan told her before racing off towards her father.

“Megan Amelia, what have I told you about walking by yourself to this lake?!” Michael scolded immediately once his daughter was a few feet from him.

“Sorry Dad,” Megan sighed as she hung her head. “But I made a friend.”

“That’s good Megan, but you need to have someone with you when you walk down here,” Michael told her.

“Okay Dad, I will the next time, I promise.” She smiled her perfectly angelic smile that she knew her father couldn’t resist.

“Fine,” he groaned, unable to stay mad at his little angel for too long. “But we need to talk about Lauren.”

“No, we don’t.” Megan groaned, having forgotten about the blonde until then. “It’s fine Dad, really, whatever.” She sighed. It was the truth. The only way she would really actually care was if they became serious.

“Good.” Michael smiled in satisfaction. “Wanna go play tennis?”

“Okay.” Megan smiled as she grabbed her father’s hand while they walked back towards their house.



Chapter 5

“So tell me about your friend,” Michael said to his daughter while they were getting out their tennis racquets.

“Ohh, Amanda is great! She’s a month younger than me. She’s an orphan,” Megan told him.

“Ohh, that’s sad.” Michael sighed.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t seem to mind.... well, I mean, she wants a family but not a bad one. She said she’d choose just staying with Sydney than having a really bad family. That’s the other thing, Sydney, she’s soooo nice.” Megan grinned.

Michael smiled. “Actually, I think I met her.”

“Ohh! Isn’t she pretty?!” Megan asked excitedly.

“Very pretty.” Michael nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I really like her.” Megan smiled. “Daddy, can I go play with Amanda again tomorrow?”

“Sure sweet pea. I’ll take you.” Michael smiled.

“Thanks Daddy.” Megan smiled.

~*~

“Psst Syd!” Amanda hissed as she snuck quietly into the office that evening. All the counselors had bedrooms off the office and Amanda had learned years ago how to sneak in and play tricks on them. She wasn’t playing tricks that evening however, she was just visiting. “Syd,” Amanda whispered as she slowly pushed open the door to Sydney’s bedroom.

Sydney, who was sitting in her bed reading, jumped about a foot. “Amanda!”

“Sorry,” Amanda cringed as she slipped in Sydney’s room and shut the door behind her. “I just... we didn’t get to talk at dinner,” Amanda said quietly.

Sydney smiled and put her book aside. “Come 'ere.”

Amanda grinned and jumped up on the end of the bed. “So, how are ya?”

“Good.” Sydney laughed. “I met someone.”

Immediately, Amanda’s face lit up. “Who?! A guy someone?!”

“Yeah,” Sydney giggled.

“Oh my god, marry him!” Amanda said enthusiastically.

“Amanda,” she laughed. “It’s not that easy.”

“Oh no, is he ugly?” Amanda asked sadly.

“No, he’s very cute,” Sydney told her.

“So what’s the problem?”

“I can’t just marry him, Amanda. I have to fall in love with him,” Sydney told her.

“Well get fallin' girl!” Amanda told her. Sydney just laughed. “So, wanna hear about my day?”

“Always,” Sydney smiled.

“Well Megan is, like, so great. She doesn’t have a mom, only a dad and she’s sooooo nice.” Amanda grinned.

“Well, can you keep a secret?” Sydney whispered. Amanda nodded vigorously. “The guy is Megan’s dad.”

“NO WAY!” Amanda gasped.

“Yes way.” Sydney laughed.

“That’s sooooo good! You two would be PERFECT!” Amanda exclaimed.

“How do you know? Have you even met him?” Sydney asked.

“No, but I just know, alright?” Amanda said in one of her tones.

“Alright,” Sydney sighed. “Now you get back to bed missy.”

“Nooo,” Amanda whined. “Can I stay here? Please! Pretty, pretty please!” she begged. Sydney hesitated. “Please,” Amanda added with her perfect dimpled smile.

“Fine.” Sydney sighed as she moved aside and pulled back the covers. “Get in here.”

“YAY!” Amanda cheered as she dove under the blanket and snuggled up to Sydney. “I love you, Syd.”

Sydney reached over, turned out the light, put her arm around Amanda and kissed her head. “I love you too, kid.”

~*~

The next morning, Michael awoke, showered and then stared at his closet for twenty minutes, trying to figure out what to wear. “What is wrong with me?” he muttered to himself. Why was he so flustered all of a sudden? More specifically, why had Sydney Bristow made him feel this way? She was all he thought about the previous day and all night long. So, that day, shortly before lunch, Michael was taking Megan to the camp to see her friend with every intention of casually running into Sydney once more. For some reason, she had captivated him and he was dying to know more.

“Daaaad, are you ready yet?” Megan whined.

“In a second Meg,” Michael called as he quickly reviewed his reflection in the mirror. Upon finding it satisfactory, he left his room and found his impatient daughter in the hallway. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Yay! I’ll be in the car!” she shouted excitedly.

“Wait,” he laughed. “Don’t you want to walk?”

“Noooo, come on!” she whined as she grabbed her father’s arm and tugged on it with all her might.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming.”

Their drive was only a few minutes long, but once they arrived, Megan bolted from their car as if she had been restrained for hours. “Megan, wait!” Michael called after her.

“What?” she groaned.

“I’m going to help you find your friend. I don’t want you wandering all by your-”

“Megan!” a child’s voice called across the camp.

“Amanda!” Megan yelled as she took off running.

Michael rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs towards the camp office. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Sydney Bristow?” he asked the woman inside.

“On the roof,” she said with an upward gesture of her hand.

“Thanks…,” Michael said, slightly confused as to why she was there. Outside the office, he found a ladder leaning up against the one story building and he climbed it tentatively. Once he was able to see the top of the roof, he saw her sprawled out on a towel, wearing only a red bikini. Michael gulped slightly before continuing up to the roof. “Excuse me, Sydney?”

“Yeah?” she grunted, not moving at all from her position.

“It’s, uh, Michael Vaughn from yesterday. I, uh…”

“OH!” Sydney gasped as she sat up and quickly tried to cover herself. “Oh I’m so sorry, I was uh… sorry,” she laughed as the color of her face quickly began to resemble that of her suit.

“It’s okay, really,” Michael laughed softly as he sat down on the roof beside her. “So, I don’t want to take up your time…”

“Because of my obviously busy schedule,” she laughed.

“Right,” he laughed as well. “But, uh, I wanted to hear about the camp…”

“Well, I’m afraid I don’t know much about the camp, except my kids come here every summer.”

“Ah, where are they from?”

“Queens Home for Orphans in Queens, New York,” she told him.

Michael nodded. “Is that where you work?”

“Yeah, I’m a social worker there. Have been ever since college.”

“That’s cool. It must be fulfilling work,” he said.

“Actually, it’s kind of sad, working with great kids who are just stuck in the system, you know?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Michael sighed. “That would be hard.”

“Yeah…. So, is that your Megan?” she asked, gesturing towards the two girls sitting upon the dock.

“Yep, she’s with her friend… um,…”

“Amanda,” Sydney told him.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“She’s one of mine… been in the orphanage since she was a baby,” Sydney told him.

“Oh, that’s a shame.” Michael sighed.

“Yeah… she’s almost been adopted a few times, but she always screws them up on purpose.”

“What?” Michael asked in surprise. “Why would she do that?”

Sydney shrugged and laughed. “Dunno… crazy girl.”

“Well, anyway, I think Megan is going to be spending some time here, but I don’t want that to be a problem or anything…,” Michael said unsurely.

“Mr. Vaughn, you own the camp,” Sydney said, almost amused.

“First, it’s Michael and second… well, sort of but…”

“I’ll tell you what Michael,” Sydney began with a smile. “If you promise to take Amanda for a few hours a week, I think we can work out a deal.”

“Uh oh,” Michael laughed. “Why do I feel like I’m getting the raw end of that deal?”

“Oh I’d never try to trick you,” she smiled innocently; he laughed. “But I’m not going to lie to you. Amanda can be a handful if you don’t keep an eye on her.”

“Oh no, I’m sensing a story.” Michael smiled.

“Story? I could write an encyclopedia.” Sydney laughed.

“That bad, hmm?”

Sydney nodded. “For example, this one time, Amanda was convinced she could jump from rooftop to rooftop.”

“Oh god,” Michael gasped.

“Yeah…,” Sydney cringed. “I caught her mid-jump. That was so horrifying... I don’t even want to think about it.”

“I can imagine. Anyway, I promise to take her one day a week.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal then,” Sydney smiled. They were silent for a few moments, just staring out across the placid lake until Sydney asked, “How old are you?” He looked over at her, slightly surprised by the randomness of her question. “Oh, sorry, that was so rude,” she cringed and blushed.

“No, no it's fine, just random.” He laughed. “I’m afraid that I’m much older than you.”

“Ah, you never know. How old?” she asked again.

“I’ll be thirty-three in November,” he told her.

“See, that’s not too old. I just turned twenty-six.”

Michael smiled. Only seven years older.

“So, not that I mind,” Sydney began. “But, shouldn’t a big, important corporate guy like you be working?”

Michael laughed. “Well, don’t let the CEO title fool you…. Nah I’m kidding, I should be working, but in the summer I try to work as little as possible so that I can spend time with Megan. I’m usually very busy during the school year.” He sighed sadly.

“Aw, that must be hard. Megan seems like a great girl.”

“Thanks.” Michael smiled. “It is hard… I mean, she’s all I’ve got and I try to spend as much time with her as I can, sometimes it’s just not possible though.”

“Well, she’s very lucky to have you.” Sydney smiled.

“Thanks.”

“Well, I hate to run, but I’ve got to go. My kids have lunch duty in like, half an hour and I need to put on some actual clothes.” She laughed.

“Oh, sure, I don’t want to keep you. So, um, how is the whole me taking Amanda thing going to work?” he asked as he helped her down the ladder.

“Well, come with me to the office and I can get you some paperwork to fill out. Just general contact information stuff and then when you come to pick her up, you just sign her out and then sign her back in. I can also give you my number so if you have any questions you can just call,” she said.

“Great, thanks.” Michael smiled.



Chapter 6

For the next few days, Amanda and Megan were practically inseparable. It was only when Megan was forced to leave that they did, very reluctantly of course. Megan had never had a real friend like Amanda before and Amanda had never had a friend like Megan. All of Amanda’s friends from the orphanage were, well, different to say the least. Megan was innocent if not slightly sheltered and definitely uncorrupted. Amanda saw her as a blank canvas to transfer all her tricks onto. Of course, the first time Megan tried to play a practical joke that she was taught on her father, she was punished and decided to continue behaving like the angel she usually was.

The paperwork Michael had filled out for permission to take Amanda came back a week later and it was then that they scheduled Amanda’s first visit to Megan’s house. Michael was going to pick Amanda up at 10 a.m. and she’d be staying until after dinner. He was slightly worried about this since he had never had to take care of anyone but Megan for a day. He hoped things didn’t get too out of hand.

“You will be on your best behavior, right? RIGHT?” Sydney asked Amanda before she let her get into Michael’s car.

“Yeah, yeah,” Amanda rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious,” Sydney said sternly.

“Fine!” Amanda grunted. “Can I go now?!”

“Wait, give me the gum,” Sydney said as she held her hand in front of Amanda’s mouth. Amanda groaned, chewed loudly a few times and then spit the gum into Sydney’s hand. Sydney then reached into Amanda’s back pocket and pulled out her pack of gum. “Thank you very much.”

“Awwww,” Amanda groaned. “Whatcha have to do that for?!”

“Goodbye Amanda.” Sydney smiled. Amanda sulked as she climbed into the back of Michael’s car where Megan was giggling.

Amanda glared at her. “Why are you laughing?”

“‘Cause its funny.” Megan giggled. “I like her.”

“Yeah...,” Amanda grumbled, still bitter that her gum had been taken away.

“Did you bring your bathing suit Amanda?” Michael asked.

“Yep,” Amanda grinned as she pulled up her white tank top to reveal the green bathing suit underneath.

“Yay we can swim then.” Megan grinned.

“I still can’t believe you gots your own pool.” Amanda shook her head.

“Look, there’s the house,” Megan said as she pointed out the window.

“DAMN!” Amanda gasped.

“Amanda!” Michael scolded.

“Oops, sorry Mr. Vaughn,” Amanda said more quietly as she blushed. “That house is huge though!”

“It’s not that big. Come on, I’ll show you my room.” Megan smiled as she unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of the car, hardly waiting for Amanda to do the same before racing into the house. Once in the foyer, Amanda froze and gaped at her new surroundings.

“Dang. You like live in The Plaza!” she exclaimed.

“No.” Megan laughed as she grabbed Amanda’s hand and pulled her up the large grand staircase.

“Let me know when you guys want to swim,” Michael called after them.

“Kay!” Megan called back before pulling Amanda into her room.

“Whoa...,” Amanda sighed upon entering Megan’s pink, princess themed room. “It’s very.... girly.”

“Yeah,” Megan laughed. “Dad had a designer do it. It’s a little pink but it’s cool, right?”

“I live in the same room as five other girls. This is WAY cool.” Amanda laughed as she ran over and jumped up on Megan’s bed. “Dang, you have like every stuffed animal ever made,” Amanda said as she gestured towards the large pile on one side of the room.

“Yeah, I guess.” Megan shrugged.

“I could get used to livin’ in this place.” Amanda sighed with contentment as she lay back across the bed.

“Yeah, it’s nice, but kinda empty.” Megan sighed.

“Whatcha mean?” Amanda asked.

“Well, when my dad’s away it’s so... I dunno... big and there’s no one here. It’s no fun,” Megan said.

“What do you mean no fun? You’ve got everything!” Amanda gasped with a shake of her head. Megan just shrugged. “Alright, let’s go swimmin’ then. I’m dyin’ to see this pool.”

“Okay.” Megan smiled. “Dad, we’re ready to swim!” she yelled as she ran towards the steps.

“Good,” Michael smiled as he walked out of his bedroom while tying up his board shorts. “Me too.”

The two girls followed Michael through the house and out to the back patio which was beside the pool. “Whoa, it’s freakin’ huge!” Amanda gasped.

“Yeah.” Megan laughed.

“Score! Last one in is a chicken!” Amanda shouted as she stripped off her tank and shorts before doing a cannon ball into the water. Megan shed her clothes as quickly as possible and then did the same.

“Careful girls,” Michael warned as he took off his shirt and sat on the edge of the pool with his legs dangling in the water.

“Come play, Daddy!” Megan smiled as she splashed some water towards him.

“Okay,” Michael said as he slid into the water, shivering slightly. “It’s freezing.”

“No, it’s nice!” Megan told him.

“Nice, huh?” Michael smiled as he picked up his daughter around the waist and threw her a few feet away where she landed in the water with a splash and a scream. Then, she came up giggling.

“Me next!” Amanda said excitedly. Michael picked her up and did the same to her. For the next hour, the three of them laughed and played together before the girls got out and lay down in the chairs by the pool to dry off. Once dry, Megan showed Amanda around the rest of the house, which she was amazed by, and then they ate an early dinner so Amanda could be back at camp by five thirty, which was her required curfew.

“I hope she wasn’t too much trouble,” Sydney said to Michael when he dropped Amanda off.

“No trouble at all.” Michael smiled. “We’re looking forward to having her back next week.”

“Wow, Amanda, have you ever gotten invited back somewhere?” Sydney asked her with a laugh.

“Shut up.” Amanda glared before starting to walk away.

“Wait, what do you say,” Sydney said as she put a hand on Amanda’s shoulder.

“Thank you Mr. Vaughn.” Amanda smiled over her shoulder.

“You’re welcome.” Michael laughed. “See you guys later.”

“Bye.” Sydney waved as she followed Amanda down the path towards her cabin. “So you had an okay time, huh?”

“Syd, their house is HUGE!” Amanda exclaimed. “Seriously, like HUGE and it’s got all this fancy crap in it.”

“Oh no, you didn’t break anything, did you?” Sydney’s face fell.

“No, ‘course not,” Amanda said.

“Did you swim in the pool?” Sydney asked her.

“Oh yeah, it was soooo great. Megan’s dad got in there with us and he was throwing me it was SO FUN!” Amanda giggled. “You know, I think Megan’s dad would be good for you.”

“You do?” Sydney laughed. “Why do you say that?”

“Well remember how you always drool over those guys in the magazines with those perfect muscles or whatever?” Amanda asked, recalling the many, many times Sydney had shown her the pictures.

“Yeah.” Sydney laughed.

“Well, Megan’s dad looks like that.”

“REALLY?!” Sydney asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.

“Uh huh,” Amanda nodded.

“Hmm, well maybe when you go back to the Vaughn’s next week I’ll take you. So I can see the house...,” Sydney added.

“Right, the house,” Amanda winked.



Chapter 7

The following week, Sydney took Amanda to Michael’s like she had planned. They had no vehicle, so they walked the path through the trees to get there. “Whoa...,” Sydney gasped upon seeing the house. It was like a house from her dreams, perfect and homey. She would have wanted to buy a house just like it, if it hadn’t been so out of her price range.

“I know, isn’t it huge?!” Amanda laughed as she pulled Sydney towards the house. Once they were closer, they spotted Megan and Michael on the porch waiting for them. “HI!” Amanda shouted.

“HI!” Megan waved.

“Oh, good, you found it okay.” Michael smiled.

“Yeah, it was just through the woods like you said,” Sydney said.

“Can I get you some lemonade?” Michael offered.

“Uh, yeah, but I can’t stay for long. I have to get back,” Sydney told him.

“Of course, have a seat.” Michael smiled as he gestured towards the seat beside him. Megan and Amanda exchanged large grins at the sight of them together before running off into the house.

“We should watch them,” Amanda whispered to Megan.

“Why?” Megan asked.

“Why not?” Amanda laughed.

“Right,” Megan laughed. “Come on, I know a place we can watch from.”




“Your house is amazing.” Sydney smiled as she sipped her lemonade. “This lemonade is too.”

Michael laughed. “Well, thanks, on both accounts.”

“You made this?” Sydney asked in surprise.

Michael nodded. “It’s a little known talent of mine,” he told her. She looked interested, so he continued. “When I was younger, my parents were always out doing their socialite thing and I was an only child, bored and stuck at home. So I started hanging out in the kitchen with the cooks and maids. Eventually, they either took pity on me or got annoyed by me – probably the latter,” he laughed. “Anyway, they taught me to cook different things so...,” he shrugged.

“Wow, that’s very interesting.” Sydney laughed.

“Oh yeah, but my mother would probably have a stroke if she knew.”

“Why?” Sydney asked.

“Cooking is servants work,” Michael mocked in a haughty tone.

“Because... we live in the eighteen hundreds?” Sydney asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” Michael laughed. “I don’t believe that, trust me. I mean, I have a butler because he was sort of passed down from my mother and he watches over Megan when I’m away... but if I didn’t need him, I wouldn’t have him.”

“Uh huh,” Sydney nodded suspiciously.

“It’s true!” Michael insisted.

“So, Mr. fancy CEO, what would you do without your butler bringing you your cigar and brandy?” Sydney smiled.

Michael laughed. “Well, I don’t smoke cigars or drink brandy. And... I dunno... I’d like to have a wife.”

“To bring you your brandy?” Sydney grinned broader, having fun teasing him.

“Stop!” Michael laughed.

“I’m sorry,” she said seriously. “You’d like to get married again?”

“Definitely,” he nodded. “It’s just Megan...”

“Ah, she wants her real mother back?” Sydney guessed.

“No,” Michael shook his head slightly. “I don’t think so. I think she just wants to be able to pick the woman for me.”

“So let her.” Sydney smiled.

“If only it worked that way, right?” Michael laughed. “Anyway enough about me, how about you?”

“Me?” Sydney laughed. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Oh come on! You’re telling me that you don’t have a boyfriend?” he asked.

She laughed loudly. “Boyfriend?! I haven’t even had a date in a year. Unless you count the persistent hot dog vender down the street who asks me out EVERY time I go to his stand.”

Michael laughed. “Ok, now you’re just making that up.”

“It’s the honest truth,” she assured him.

“Well, how about I-”

“MICHAEL!” a woman’s shouting voice interrupted him. Sydney’s heart just about exploded. It had been beating rapidly, hoping, praying he’d finish that sentence with a dinner, or lunch invitation at the least, but now it was shattered as a blonde woman came around the corner of the house and Michael bolted to his feet.

“Lauren...,” he said nervously. “What are you doing here?”

“I was... who is this?” She stopped suddenly and looked at Sydney who was both furious and embarrassed.

“Oh, this is Sydney. She brought a friend over for Megan to play with,” Michael explained.

“Ohh,” she smiled, then turned to Sydney. “Hi, I’m Lauren Reed, Michael’s girlfriend.”

“Oh... I’m Sydney, but, uh, I was just leaving. I gotta get back to the camp...,” Sydney said distantly.

“Oh, alright.” Michael smiled. “I'll have her back by five!”

“Sure whatever,” Sydney said with a wave of her hand before walking away rather quickly.

~*~

“Who is THAT?!” Amanda grimaced when she saw Lauren joining Sydney and Michael on the patio.

“Lauren or something,” Megan told her.

“Who?”

“My dad’s girlfriend.” Megan grimaced.

“Ew, yuck. Let’s break them up,” Amanda said with an evil grin.

“We can’t do that.” Megan shook her head.

“Why not?” Amanda almost laughed.

“We just can’t,” Megan said.

“Weren’t you listening!” Amanda gasped. “He was just about to ask Syd out. Wouldn’t you rather have him dating Syd?!”

“Well... that would be nice.” Megan smiled.

“Exactly! Your dad would be great for her. Trust me, I’ve known her forever! So, we just have to get rid of the blonde,” Amanda told her.

“But how?” Megan questioned.

“Well,” Amanda thought aloud. “We could hurt her...”

“Amanda, no.” Megan shook her head. “How about... we just work to get my dad and Syd together.”

“Better.” Amanda grinned.

~*~

“Girlfriend! Of course he has a girlfriend. He’s just perfect...,” Sydney muttered to herself as she stomped back through the woods to the camp. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been, thinking he was single. She had listened to him, like a fool, drinking all of his words in and soaking them up like they were oxygen to her. Then, she was the one who was hurt. Well, no more. She couldn’t let herself think about him any more than she already did.

“What’s with you?” Lori asked as Sydney stomped into the camp office.

“Men SUCK!” Sydney shouted before slamming a door.



Chapter 8

For the next few days, Sydney sunk into a bitterness filled with her anger towards Michael. When Michael dropped Amanda off after she spent the afternoon at his house, Sydney had been incredibly cold and bitter towards him and she wasn’t exactly regretful about that either. Truthfully she was both angry and hurt. After all, it wasn’t solely her semi-delusional mind that had fabricated her crush, if that’s what it was, on him. He had been flirting with her too and leading her on. Doing that when he had a girlfriend qualified him for the ‘jerk’ category. So, she was irritated with him and those feelings wouldn’t go away until he did something to convince her of his un-jerk-like qualities. ~*~

One afternoon, Amanda and Megan were running around by the lake’s edge with a few other kids when Megan tripped and fell. When she hit the ground, her knee scraped across the rough ground and was cut rather badly, causing it to bleed. Megan started to cry and Amanda, not knowing what else to do, helped her up and pulled her towards the camp office while shouting Sydney’s name.

“What... oh god! What happened?!” Sydney asked frantically once she saw a limping and crying Megan.

“She fell,” Amanda told her.

“Ohh it’s going to be ok, Megan,” Sydney told her as she put a tight arm around Megan’s waist and helped her inside. “Okay...,” Sydney sighed as she set Megan up on the bathroom counter. She handed her a tissue, which Megan used to blow her nose, as Sydney examined Megan’s knee while Amanda hovered over them.

“Did she break it?” Amanda asked.

“No, of course not,” Sydney shook her head. “We’ll just clean it up real good and she’ll be fine,” she said while reaching for a cloth and running it under some hot water. Once Megan’s knee was cleaned and less bloody, Sydney applied some disinfectant, which stung, causing Megan to hiss in pain.

“It’s ok,” Sydney told her with a comforting smile. Then, she put on two purple bandages and smiled. “All better.” Megan still looked upset so Sydney hugged her. Megan wrapped her arms around Sydney’s back as she sighed a ragged breath into her chest. Sydney kissed her head softly before letting her go and helping her off the counter. “How does it feel?”

“Okay,” Megan sniffed. “Hurts though.”

“Yeah, it will sting for a while, but you’ll be fine. Just be more careful next time.” Sydney winked.

“Thanks.” Megan smiled at her before walking back out into the sunshine with Amanda. “Sorry,” she sniffed once they were outside.

“Nah, it’s cool,” Amanda said with a wave of her hand. “Syd is great. You should have seen her when I broke my toes.”

“Toes?” Megan asked.

“Yep, three of them. I was climbing up this wall near the orphanage and Syd was yelling at me to get down. So I did, but when I jumped off the wall I knocked a few bricks loose or something and they all came crashing down on my foot. It hurt so bad I just started screaming. Syd was all crazy upset and she took me to the emergency room and stayed with me while they bandaged my foot. She was great,” Amanda told her.

“Oh yeah,” Megan sighed. “She’d be a good mom, don’t ya think?”

“Yeah,” Amanda said as if it was quite obvious. “I want her to be my Mom.”

“Really?” Megan asked.

“Yes, don’t tell anyone though, okay?” Amanda said while looking around cautiously. Megan shook her head. “Yeah, I keep askin’ her to adopt me.”

“Why doesn’t she?” Megan asked.

Amanda shrugged. “They won’t let her.”

“Why not?” Megan asked in confusion.

Amanda shrugged again. “Dunno, she won’t really tell me.”

“That sucks though,” Megan sighed.

“I know,” Amanda said.

~*~

Later that day, after Megan had gone home, Amanda was casually waiting in the doorway of Sydney’s bedroom for her.

“What’s up Amanda?” Sydney asked with a smile.

“Well, I wanted to talk to ya ‘bout somethin’ kinda important,” she said casually.

“Okay?” Sydney laughed.

“Come ‘ere.” Amanda gestured towards Sydney’s room. Sydney followed her cautiously and laughed again at Amanda’s strange and surreptitious behavior.

“So...?” Sydney asked.

“Well, I was thinkin’... what if I don’t get adopted, you know? Which is like, really possible,” Amanda began.

“Amanda, you will. Anybody would be lucky to have you,” Sydney told her with a smile.

“Yeah, but if I don’t... after high school they’re gonna chuck me out, right?” Amanda asked.

“Right...,” Sydney said cautiously, not sure where she was going with her odd conversation line.

“Well, I was thinkin’ maybe... you know maybe after that I could stay with you... I mean if you’d want me, which you might not,” Amanda sighed as she looked towards the floor. “I mean, it wouldn’t be forever or nothin’, just for a bit.”

Sydney had to fight the tears from coming to her eyes so she cleared her throat, leaned over and kissed Amanda’s forehead. “Of course. I’d love to have you.”

Amanda smiled her perfect dimpled smile as she looked up at Sydney. “Thanks Syd.”

“No problem chick.” Sydney grinned as she punched Amanda’s shoulder playfully.

“Okay,” Amanda laughed. “I’m gonna go now.”

“Okay,” Sydney laughed.

~*~

The following week, Sydney was walking Amanda over to Megan’s house on a cloudy day when rain began to pour just as they came within sight of the Vaughn’s patio. Amanda and Sydney took off running and reached the overhang of the porch within a few minutes. “Man, it’s coming down.” Sydney groaned as she shook the water from her hair.

“Yeah really,” Amanda said.

“Hey guys, come on in!” Megan smiled as she opened the patio door.

“Is your dad here?” Sydney asked, not really wanting to see Michael, just making sure the girls wouldn’t be home alone.

“Nope, his trip ran long. Niles is watching us,” Megan told her.

“The butler?” Sydney asked. Megan nodded. Amanda snickered. “What?” Sydney asked.

“They have a butler, it’s nuts!” Amanda laughed. Sydney nodded in agreement.

“Why don’t you stay?” Megan offered.

“Oh... I don’t know...,” Sydney sighed cautiously.

“Come on Syd, what are you gonna do at the camp besides get wet?” Amanda asked.

“Please!” Megan smiled.

“Alright.” Sydney sighed as she kicked off her muddy shoes before walking inside the house. “Wow this is... nice.”

“Come on, I’ll give you the tour,” Megan said as she took Sydney’s hand. Amanda skipped along behind them as Megan showed Sydney the whole house, leaving her bedroom as the final stop on the tour.

“Whoa, I love this.” Sydney smiled at the room's pink princess interior.

“Yeah?” Megan smiled.

“Yep, my room was painted pink when I was a little girl, as well.” Sydney smiled.

“Oh Syd,” Amanda shook her head in disapproval.

“What?” Sydney laughed.

“Nothin’,” Amanda smiled.

Sydney rolled her eyes. “So what do you ladies want to do on this rainy afternoon?”

“Movies and junk food!” Megan grinned.

“Somehow, I don’t think your dad would appreciate the junk food so much.” Sydney laughed.

“Oh come onnnn, you know you want to.” Megan smiled.

“What movies did you want to watch?” Sydney asked.

“Disney-fest!” Megan suggested with a smile. Amanda groaned.

“Uh oh,” Sydney laughed.

“What’s the matter?”

“Disney GAG!” Amanda insisted.

“What!” Megan gasped.

“I know.” Sydney laughed and shook her head. “Amanda hates Disney. The little freak.” Sydney grinned as she poked Amanda’s belly.

“Hey!” Amanda groaned as she brushed Sydney’s hand away. “I’m just not entertained by a cartoon lion sooo-rry.” She rolled her eyes.

“That’s so wrong. You gotta watch one! Pleaaaaase Amanda.”

“Fine, but only if we can watch a movie I wanna watch afterwards.”

“Okay.” Megan smiled.


Later, as the end credits to Brother Bear were rolling, Sydney noticed a tear in Amanda’s eye. Sydney smiled and put an arm around her. “I wasn’t crying...” Amanda insisted.

“Of course you weren’t,” Sydney said.

“I wasn’t!”

“Ha, ha, you were crying!” Megan teased.

“Was not!” Amanda yelled.

“Girls,” Sydney warned. Amanda smirked, obviously joking with her offense to Megan and Sydney’s statements. “You...,” Sydney said as she shot her hands towards Amanda’s waist and started tickling her until she was hysterical laughing. Once Amanda was practically in tears, Sydney turned her tickling on Megan until both girls were in hysterics.

After composing themselves, Megan put in Amanda’s movie choice and then she settled back on the couch underneath one of Sydney’s arms while Amanda was under the other. “Thanks for staying Syd, this is great.” Megan smiled at her.

“No problem.” Sydney smiled, truthfully she was having a blast, as well.



Chapter 9

By the time Michael returned from Europe, he felt like a complete jerk. When he had dropped Amanda off, he had been entirely confused by Sydney’s hostility towards him and it took him the better part of his trip to fully understand it and when he did, he felt like a jerk; a guilty jerk. He had been flirting with her, both subconsciously and on purpose. Truthfully, there was something inside him that she had sparked; something he hadn’t felt for quite some time. But, there was still Lauren, and Michael hated breaking up with people, especially if it was prematurely. At the same time, though, he did not want to lose Sydney as... whatever she was to him.

The day following his return, Michael walked Megan to camp, intending on speaking with Sydney and pretty much groveling, subtly of course.

“You know, Sydney came over while you were away Dad,” Megan said. “That’s ok, right?”

“Sure,” he said. “What’d you guys do?”

“Amanda, her and I watched a few movies on a rainy day. I really like her,” Megan told her father.

“Who? Syd?” Michael asked. Megan nodded. Michael smiled. “That’s good, Meggie.”

After making sure Megan had found Amanda, Michael walked off to look for Sydney. He found her sitting on the steps of the office. “Hey,” he sighed. She looked up briefly but then looked out towards the lake.

“Hi,” she said shortly.

Michael took a deep breath. “I’m sorry...,” he paused and she looked up tentatively. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. It certainly wasn’t my intention.”

“You didn’t hurt me,” she said in a defensive tone.

“Well,” he sighed, taking another step towards her. “I did mislead you. I should have been upfront about the fact that I was in a relationship with someone and I’m sorry.”

Sydney nodded slightly and stood up. “Apology accepted. Don’t worry about it,” she said before turning and walking back up to the office leaving a slightly disheartened Michael on the stairs.

“You see that,” Amanda said, nodding towards the conversation they had been watching from a distance.

“Yeah,” Megan sighed. “What’s that about?”

“Dunno.” Amanda shrugged. “Hey, do you still wanna get them together?”

“Yeah definitely,” Megan smiled. It was the truth, she wanted her father to be with Sydney even more since she had spent the afternoon with her and loved it. Amanda smiled wickedly. “What’s that about?” Megan asked suspiciously.

“You gots those horses, right?” Amanda asked.

“Yeah? So?” Megan asked back.

“Well, when Syd walks me over tomorrow morning why don’t we all go for a ride? Then we can ditch them.” Amanda smiled.

Megan laughed. “I like it, but we only have three horses.”

“So, you and I will share.” Amanda smiled.

“Okay,” Megan laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”

~*~

The following day as they were walking, Amanda was meticulously planning her approach to getting Sydney to stay since it was fairly obvious that Michael wasn’t exactly her favorite person at the moment. “So Syd, you like horses right?”

“Uh, yeah I guess,” Sydney said.

“Well, Megan’s got three of them and I’m supposed to meet her over by those stables. So, you wanna see them?” Amanda asked.

“Sure.” Sydney shrugged. Amanda smiled to herself.

When they arrived at the stables, Michael and Megan were standing by as someone was saddling up their horses. “COOL!” Amanda grinned as she ran over and began to pet the horse Michael was holding by the reigns.

“Very nice.” Sydney smiled as she walked over to a cream colored horse still in it’s stall and stroked its nose.

“Hey Syd, you wanna ride with us?” Megan smiled with a wink towards Amanda, who winked back.

“Ohh no, it’s ok.” Sydney shook her head.

“You can if you want.” Michael smiled.

“Well, um, I’ve never ridden a horse so...”

“You can ride with me.” Michael smiled. “Megan is riding with Amanda.”

“Is that safe?” Sydney asked.

Michael nodded. “Megan’s had equestrian training for the past year, she’s fine. Come on, just once around the stable. You cannot go through life having never ridden a horse.”

“Ohh... alright...” Sydney sighed, giving in somewhat reluctantly. Megan and Amanda exchanged excited smiles.

After Michael helped Megan and Amanda onto their horse, he helped Sydney up onto his horse before climbing up in front of her. “Whoa!” Sydney screeched as the horse started to walk and she grabbed tightly to Michael’s waist.

“You okay?” Michael half laughed.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, loosening her grip slightly.

“This is fun.” Amanda grinned as she held onto the reigns along with Megan.

“Yeah, fun,” Sydney squeaked.

“What’s the matter?” Michael laughed.

“I prefer walking.” She grunted.

“Aw come on.” Michael laughed as he dug his heels lightly into the black horse’s sides, causing him to trot. Sydney squealed and grabbed onto his waist.

“Slow up horsey,” Amanda said quietly as she reached around Megan and pulled back on the reigns.

“What are you doing?” Megan whispered.

“Let them go.” Amanda smiled.

“Okay, please, please make it stop,” Sydney said woefully.

“Sorry,” Michael sighed as he slowed the horse down to a walk.

“Okay, okay walking is good.” Sydney sighed in a flustered manner.

“You’re really scared?” Michael laughed in disbelief.

“Don’t make fun of me!” she gasped in an offended tone.

“I’m not, I swear. I just never realized you could be really scared by a horse.”

“Oh yeah? Let me guess, you rode horses in your prep school at the age of seven?” she asked.

“Nope.” Michael shook his head. “I never went to prep school. I took an equestrian class in college because I thought it would be an easy A.”

“Was it?” Sydney asked him.

“Yeah, I guess, but on the course description they didn’t mention that you had to muck out the stalls at the end of every class.” He laughed.

“Ah, how sneaky.” She laughed.

“Very,” he sighed.

“Well, um, I really should be getting back to the camp,” Sydney said rather quietly.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Michael said as he turned the horse around and took her back to the barn. Amanda and Megan watched them go and followed them. Michael stopped the horse, climbed off and then helped Sydney down by putting his hands on her waist and almost lifting her off the horse. Sydney was flustered slightly by the touch of his hands on part of her bare skin where her shirt came up, but she cleared her throat and quickly regained her composure.

“Thanks for the, uh, ride,” she said.

“Sure, anytime.” He smiled before she walked away.

“Uhh, so close.” Megan groaned quietly.

Amanda smiled. “Progress, definite progress.”



Chapter 10

“You know what Syd told me this morning?” Amanda sighed as she swished her feet in the lake water below the dock one hot day in mid-July.

“Hmm?” Megan sighed.

“Summer is half over,” Amanda said sadly.

“Really? How can it be half over? It just started!” Megan exclaimed in shock.

“I know,” Amanda sighed. “I don’t want summer to be over.”

“Me neither. Icky school,” she grimaced.

“Yeah,” Amanda laughed softly, but truthfully she didn’t want summer to be over for another reason. She didn’t want to leave her new friend behind – which was inevitable – and go back to being her pathetic orphan self.

“You know what would be cool?” Megan asked.

“Huh?”

“A sleepover,” she said with a smile as she looked over at Amanda.

“Ohh! That’s a great idea!” Amanda, who had never spent a night away from the orphanage or the camp, squealed. “What if we did like, a camp-out or something? In a tent?”

“That could be cool.” Megan smiled. “But just for like a night, because I like to shower.”

“Ohh that’s true, but a night would be ok.” Amanda smiled.

“Megan!” Michael called from the end of the dock.

“Ohh my dad,” Megan groaned as she pulled her feet out of the water and crammed her shoes on. “Oh! Let’s go ask him now.”

“Okay!” Amanda grinned. After putting their shoes on, both girls ran up to Michael.

“Dad, can we have a sleepover? Please! Please!” Megan begged.

“Yeah please!” Amanda chorused.

“A sleepover, hmm? Well, we’ll have to check with Sydney,” Michael told them.

“YAY, let’s check now,” Amanda said as she grabbed Michael’s hand and pulled him up the hill towards the office shouting Sydney’s name along the way.

“Good lord, what?” Sydney laughed when she came out of the office.

“He wants to ask you something,” Megan said as she pushed her father forward.

“Okay?” Sydney laughed as she looked at Michael.

“Well, the girls were wondering... if maybe they could have a sleepover...,” Michael began.

“Yeah outside!” Megan grinned.

“In a tent!” Amanda finished.

“Well...,” Sydney sighed. “Amanda, you’re not really supposed to...”

“Please Syd! PLEASE!” she begged with her fingers interlocked and held up in front of her face in a begging manner. “PLEASE!”

“You could come too!” Megan suggested. Amanda’s face lit up and she nodded vigorously.

Sydney was torn. She really didn’t want to break the hearts of the two girls in front of her, but getting permission for Amanda to be away would be difficult. She looked back to Michael, who appeared to be pleading with her as well. “You’re more than welcome to come.” He told her honestly.

“Well, um, outside....,” Sydney hesitated.

“We have two tents,” Michael told her.

“Really? Mr.-I-have-a-butler has tents?” She smiled at him.

“Ha, ha,” he rolled his eyes. “I was normal once.”

“Mmhmm,” she nodded with a smile.

“Do you have your own sleeping bag?” he asked her. She nodded. “So come on then, please?”

“PLEASE, please!!” the girls begged.

“Fine!” Sydney groaned.

“YAY!” Megan and Amanda cheered and jumped up and down.

“We’ll do it on Friday, ok?” Sydney asked.

“Great, see you then.” Michael smiled.

~*~

Friday after lunch, Sydney and Amanda, armed with their sleeping bags that they used at camp (the camp provided beds but only a mattress; they slept in sleeping bags on top of the mattress) and some extra clothes, since it was chilly at night, walked over to Michael’s. They found Michael and Megan, also bearing their camping gear, waiting outside on the patio. “So, where exactly are we going to camp?” Michael asked.

“Down by the lake?” Amanda suggested. Sydney looked wary. “What?” Amanda asked impatiently.

“I don’t want to pee in the woods.” Sydney told her quietly so that Michael wouldn’t hear, but he heard her anyway.

“What if we camp in the backyard? Then you can pee in the house.” He smiled at her. She blushed slightly but tried to hide it.

“If we camp in the backyard, can we still have a camp fire?” Megan asked.

“And marshmallows?!” Amanda asked excitedly.

“I’m sure we can work something out.” Michael smiled.

“YAY!” Megan and Amanda cheered before taking off running through the yard.

“Not a fan of roughing it, hmm?” Michael smiled to Sydney as they followed the girls at a leisurely pace.

“I’m a fan of indoor plumbing, thank you.” She smiled back. He chuckled softly. “Hey, girls don’t have it as easy as guys! We’re higher maintenance!” she insisted.

“Ohh, so you’re high maintenance is what you’re saying,” he teased.

“No,” she laughed. “Just higher.”

“Mmhm, well I have a feeling that my Megan won’t be a huge fan of sleeping outside either, so we might end up inside by the end of the night.” He laughed.

“Uh oh.” Sydney laughed too.

“Yeah, now she’s high maintenance.”

“Hmm, high maintenance or just spoiled?” Sydney smiled.

“Both.” He laughed. “But she’s all I’ve got,” he shrugged.

“Yeah...,” Sydney sighed. In those few minutes walking with him, Sydney forgot that she was ever mad at him. He was just too kind, sweet, funny and perfect to stay mad at.

“Alright ladies, is this the spot you want?” Michael asked as he set his gear down.

“Yes!” they cheered.

“Alright,” he laughed.

“Need help?” Sydney offered. “I mean, I don’t think I know how to pitch a tent, but I can try.”

“Okay,” Michael laughed softly.

“Did I mention what a genius idea it was to invite her along?” Amanda whispered to Megan as they watched the two adults struggle with the tent.

“I know.” Megan grinned.

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Chapters 11-20