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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Part II ~Megan’s a woman~

“Mom!! Mom did you leave yet?!” twelve year old Megan yelled as she ran through the apartment.

“Nope, not yet,” Sydney said from the doorway.

“Can you pick me up some stockings, please? I just snagged mine on the drawer and I need them for Sunday.”

“Sure, sweetie, no problem.” Sydney sighed as she stroked her five month pregnant belly. “Anything else you need?”

“Nope,” Megan smiled.

“Okay then, I’ll be back in a few hours,” Sydney told her before leaving.

It had been over two years since Sydney and Michael’s mid-January wedding, and they couldn’t have been happier. Their girls were getting along perfectly (with an occasional fight thrown in) and their family was expanding. At Christmas the previous year, Sydney and Michael announced that they were expecting their first (and most likely only) child together, who would be due the following August, and everyone was thrilled. That afternoon, Sydney was going crib shopping with her mother while Michael stayed home with the girls.

It was a relatively peaceful Saturday afternoon. Michael was on the couch watching a hockey game and the girls were off doing their school reading. Peaceful, until around 2 p.m. when a squeal came from the bathroom, which Michael failed to hear because of the cheering on the TV.

“What happened?” Amanda asked quietly from the other side of the bathroom door. “Are you ok?”

“No,” Megan whimpered.

“What is it? Want me to get Dad?”

“NO! Do not get Dad!! Ohh why did Mom have to go away...,” she groaned.

“What happened?” Amanda asked more forcefully.

“I think I’m bleeding...”

“How can you think you’re bleeding?”

“I dunno,” came another whimper.

“Wait, oh my god, did you get your period?”

“I think so...”

“OH MY GOD!” Amanda, who had yet to get hers, laughed loudly.

“AMANDA! This isn’t funny!” Megan hissed.

“Wait, I have to get Dad for this.”

“NO! Amanda DON’T!! DO NOT GET DAD!!” Megan practically yelled.

“What’s with all the screaming?” Michael asked as he walked down the hall and found Amanda standing outside the bathroom door.

“Megan’s a woman now,” Amanda snickered.

“Megan’s a what?!” Michael asked.

“A woman! She got her period,” Amanda whispered.

Michael dropped the remote he was holding and went pale. “Sweet Jesus...”

“AMANDA!” Megan screeched.

Michael began to hyperventilate and panic. “Oh my god... oh my god... wait!! I can fix this... I think...,” he said as he rushed off to the bathroom and opened the cabinet he swore to himself he’d never look in, for his own mental sanity. It was Sydney’s cabinet where she kept all her ... things.

“That’s not going to help,” Amanda warned from the doorway as her father picked up a Tampax box with a look of fear.

“What?” Michael squeaked.

“Just call Mom,” Amanda sighed.

“YES!” Michael shouted as if he had just found a million dollars. “YES! Your mother will know what to do!” he said as he ran to the phone, practically tripping on the way. “SYD! Syd where are you?”

“Just coming out of a store, why? What's the matter?”

“Well um, Megan, got her period I think and I’m...”

“Freaking out,” Amanda yelled into the phone with a smirk. Michael glared at her.

“Ohhh oh no!! Did she?” Sydney asked sounding almost tearful.

“Yes,” Michael whimpered.

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Sydney said. Michael hung up the phone feeling slightly less panicked than before, but still an utter wreck. His Megan wasn’t a little girl anymore she was... well, a woman, technically.

“DID YOU GUYS FORGET ABOUT ME?!” Megan screamed from the bathroom.

“Noo! No honey, we didn’t forget about you!” Michael said as he rushed down the hall. “We called your mom and she’s coming home as soon as she can get here.”

“What am I supposed to do until then?” she whimpered.

“That depends. How badly are you bleeding?” Amanda smirked. Megan almost wailed.

“Not. Helping,” Michael grunted.

~*~

Twenty minutes later Sydney burst, or rather waddled, in the door with an armful of bags. “I’m here, I’m here!”

“Oh thank god. She’s in there whimpering and crying about blood,” Michael sighed. “Is all that for her?”

“No, this is for our son, this is for Megan.” Sydney smiled, distinguishing between the bags.

“Oh ok.” Michael laughed.

“Michael, you’re sweating.” Sydney laughed. He looked even more nervous. “It’s ok, you can go back to hockey now.”

“Ohh,” he groaned. “Now I feel like a horrible parent.”

“You’re not, you’re just a guy.” She smiled as she walked back to the bathroom and knocked. “Megan it’s me, can I come in?”

“Yes,” Megan whimpered.

~*~

“Michael!” Sydney screamed ten minutes later.

“What? What?” he asked frantically from where he had been waiting outside the bathroom door.

“We have a situation.”

He gulped. “What kind of situation?”

“A 'your pregnant wife is stuck on the floor and she can’t get up' situation,” Sydney groaned.

“Oh,” he laughed. “I can help with that. Can I come in?” he asked cautiously.

“Yep,” Sydney said. Michael opened the door and found Sydney sitting pathetically on the floor and he laughed softly. He picked her up by the arms and hoisted her to her feet. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, where’s Megan?” he asked looking around the tiny bathroom and not seeing her.

“She’s hiding in the shower,” Sydney whispered as she pulled Michael out of the room and across the hall into their bedroom.

“What’s going on?” Michael asked.

“Well, she’s just a little embarrassed,” Sydney told him.

“Ohhh ok.” Michael sighed. Then, noticing Sydney’s lip quivering slightly, he cupped her face with his hands. “What?”

“Sorry, the hormones,” she sniffed. “She’s all grown up.”

“I know,” Michael sighed as he pulled her into a hug.

“Oh god, Amanda better not get it before the baby comes or I’ll be a wreck!” Sydney laughed softly through her tears.

“Yeah,” Michael sighed as he slid down to the floor, lifted Sydney’s shirt and placed his hands across her expanding belly. “How’s our guy doin’ today?”

“He’s good.” Sydney sighed as she patted her belly. “A little restless though. He didn’t like the shopping apparently.”

“Well he’s a guy, of course he didn’t.” Michael grinned. Then, he placed a few kisses near her bellybutton. “Ah... baby, you just kicked daddy in the face.”

Sydney laughed. “Yeah, I felt that. Maybe he doesn’t like you either.”

“Ha, ha,” Michael laughed dryly. Just then the bathroom door shut hard and Michael looked around Sydney’s belly to see Megan slinking off to her room. “Is she going to be ok?”

“Yeah, she just needs a bit of time. I remember when I first got mine... ah never mind, I’ll spare you.” Sydney laughed softly.

“Is this a funny story or one that will scar me?”

“More on the funny side of scarring,” she told him.

“Okay, go ahead then.” He smiled.

“Well, I thought people could tell that I had it by just looking at me, so I was so freaked out. It was in the summer, so I didn’t leave my room for the whole week,” Sydney told him.

“Aww,” Michael sighed.

“I’ll be right back,” Sydney said as she kissed the top of Michael’s head and then walked to the bathroom. “Michael... what is this?” Sydney laughed, seeing the mess he had made with her things.

He blushed. “I was trying to help.”

“God, if you had given her these things you would have scarred her!” Sydney laughed.

“Why do you think I called you?” he laughed.

~*~

Later, Michael was walking past Amanda’s room and saw her sitting looking rather sad on her bed. “Kiddo? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing...,” Amanda sighed rather sadly.

“Amanda,” Michael said, knowing there was something wrong.

“Well.... it’s just... I’m never going to be normal!”

“What?” Michael asked in surprise, having no idea what his daughter was talking about.

“Well... Megan’s all womany now and so are most of my friends but... I’m not.”

“Well...,” Michael began cautiously. “From what I understand that’s a good thing... but I’ll get Syd...”

“No, it’s ok, you don’t...,” but Amanda let her voice drift off since Michael had walked away.

“Honey what’s wrong?” Sydney asked as she came in the room snacking on carrot sticks.

“Nothing,” Amanda sighed as she grabbed her pillow and hugged it. “It’s just... everyone else has their periods now...”

“Oh honey, if that’s one thing you’re left out on that’s a good thing.” Sydney laughed softly. “Once you get it, you get it every month until you’re like fifty.”

“Fifty!” Amanda gasped.

“Yeah, unless your pregnant,” Sydney said while patting her belly. “It will happen Amanda, when it’s the right time.”

“I know but... I’m still all ugly,” Amanda groaned.

“WHAT?! You are far from ugly! You’re beautiful honey,” Sydney told her.

“Megan wears all that makeup crap and I just look like a freak in it and I’m all... boyish,” Amanda mumbled into her pillow.

Sydney sighed and stroked her daughter’s hair. It was true; Amanda was much more of a tomboy than Megan. She never wore dresses or skirts, wore boys shoes and played every sport she could. “Sweetheart, not everyone has to be like Megan. If everyone was, it would be boring. You, you are special.”

“None of the boys think so...”

Sydney had a mild stroke with her comment. She was definitely not ready for either of her girls to start dating. “Well, they will, just give it time. You have your whole life to date boys,” Sydney assured her.

“No... they think I’m one of the guys.” She sighed.

“So show them you’re a girl,” Sydney told her.

“How?” Amanda asked.

“Well, the dance is coming up on Saturday right? Ask one of them to go,” Sydney suggested.

“Noo.” Amanda shook her head. “They’ll turn me down.”

“You never know until you ask.” Sydney smiled.

“Yeah, I guess,” Amanda sighed.

“Amanda you have to realize something. Boys are stupid,” Sydney told her. Amanda, not expecting that, burst out laughing. “I’m serious! Especially at that age. They don’t... well, they don’t grow out of their stupid phase for a little bit longer. Besides, they’re all self conscious about their squeaky voices,” Sydney winked.

Amanda laughed. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too sweetie, now help me off the bed,” Sydney groaned.



Part III ~Baby Daniel~

“Ohhh this hurts!” Sydney grunted through another contraction.

“Jeez Mom, didn’t I hurt this bad?” Amanda asked as she squeezed her mom’s hand, standing in for their father who had taken a bathroom break after four hours of standing by Sydney’s side while she grunted, cried and cursed him and his ‘little swimmers’.

“Yes, but I guess I forgot,” Sydney whined.

“Just take deep breaths,” Megan said as she pushed some of Sydney’s matted hair out of her face.

“Uhhh, where is your father?!”

“Hiding,” Amanda smirked.

“Okay, so how are we doing in here?” the doctor asked cheerfully when he walked in. Sydney groaned in agony. “Almost there Sydney, don’t worry. So this is your third child?”

“Second,” Sydney told him. The doctor looked confused as his eyes darted from the bump in her belly to the girls on either side of her.

“Oh, I’m not hers, not technically anyway,” Megan said, referring to the fact that while Sydney had adopted her, they had no biological relation.

“Oh, my mistake,” the doctor chuckled softly.

“Okay, I’m back,” Michael smiled as he walked in the door.

“Unless you brought a gun to shoot me, I really don’t care,” Sydney said bitterly.

Amanda laughed. “She’s funny when she’s mean.”

~*~

“Here he is.” The nurse smiled a she placed the blue bundle of blankets into Sydney’s arms.

“Ohh, he’s so gorgeous.” Sydney sniffed, smiled down at her newborn son.

“Perfect,” Michael said, kissing her forehead and sounding a little tearful himself.

“So did you two decide on a name yet?” the nurse asked.

Sydney looked up at Michael and smiled. “Did we?”

“Yeah... Daniel?” he asked for confirmation. Sydney nodded with a smile. “Yes, Daniel William Vaughn.”

“Hi Daniel, hi,” Sydney cooed at her son while holding onto one of his tiny hands. For the next ten minutes, Sydney and Michael admired every inch of their tiny baby. They counted all his fingers and toes and all the tiny little tufts of hair on his somewhat bald head. Finally, Sydney gave Michael a chance to hold him and he took the tiny boy like a pro. “Aww, look at you two. So perfect.” Sydney sniffed. “I’m going to be a wreck!”

“No, sweetie, no you’re not,” he said, trying to calm her.

“Yes I am! I never took care of a baby!! I’m going to do it wrong,” she cried.

“Noooo, no you’re not. Besides I’m here to help you.” He smiled.

“Yeah ok,” she sighed. He leaned down and kissed her softly. “I think I’m going to rest a bit.... why don’t you show the girls...”

A pang of fear and panic shot through Michael as he saw her shut her eyes and start to drift off. He cradled Daniel closer as his heart raced. How could he leave her? How could he be sure it wouldn’t happen again? If he lost Sydney, he knew he’d never make it alone.

He stood there for a solid ten minutes just watching her chest rise and fall slowly, making sure she was still okay. Daniel began to fuss softly causing Michael to snap from his intent staring. “Okay, buddy,” he said softly. “You want to go meet your sisters?”

Michael slowly backed out of the room, keeping his eyes on Sydney until the very last second, when he turned and came face to face with two smiling girls. “Is that him?!” Megan asked excitedly.

“Yes, this is Daniel.” Michael smiled.

“Awww,” they said together as they looked into the blankets. “Can we hold him?”

“Yep, go sit down.” Michael gestured towards the nearby chairs.

“Me first,” Amanda grinned. Michael transferred the bundle to her arms and then watched as she cradled her baby brother. “Ohh he’s so cute. We’re going to have fun with him,” she smiled wickedly at Megan, who grinned and nodded.

“Girls, he’s not a toy for you to abuse,” Michael reminded them with concern.

“We know that,” Megan said. “We’re just gonna... play with him...”

“Dress him in girls clothes.” Amanda laughed.

“Oh my god, you’re going to scar him.” Michael sighed even though he was laughing slightly.

“Nah.” Amanda shook her head.

“My turn!” Megan grinned. Michael transferred the baby to her arms. “Ohh he’s heavy.”

“He was over nine pounds,” Michael told them.

“Yikes, poor Mom.” Amanda shuddered. “Ohh look! There’s gramma and grampa!” Amanda grinned, gesturing towards Sydney’s parents who were walking up the hall.

“Did we miss it?” Irina asked almost sadly.

“Only by a little bit,” Michael said as he picked up the baby from his daughter and held him out to his mother-in-law.

“Ohhh he’s precious.” Irina smiled at him.


After Jack took his turn holding the baby, Michael, who was practically having an anxiety attack from being away from Sydney’s side for so long, returned him to the bassinet beside his mother’s bed. “I’m still here,” Sydney mumbled sleepily.

“What?” Michael asked, not having heard her.

“I said I’m still here. I know you’re worried.” She sighed as she looked over at him. He looked slightly nervous but she just smiled reassuringly and took his hand. “How’s our guy doing?”

“He’s good,” Michael told her. “He met everyone and now he’s sleeping off the trauma from being manhandled.”

Sydney laughed softly. “Good. Hey, I love you.”

“I love you too Syd, so much,” he sighed as he leaned over and kissed her.



Part IV ~Look Who’s Talking!~

“Hey! Syd! Wait up!” Michael called to his wife when he saw her walking towards the elevator in the lobby of their apartment building.

She stopped, turned and smiled at him. “Hey,” she sighed as she hoisted their three year old son further up on her hip.

“Let me take those,” he said as he took the grocery bags she was struggling with.

“Thanks, how was work?”

“Eh you know,” he shrugged. “How was your day?”

“We painted!” Daniel smiled proudly.

“Yes, tell Daddy how you got finger paint alllll over Mommy.”

“Uh oh.” Michael laughed.

Once on the 30th floor, Michael unlocked the apartment door and set the bags down in the kitchen. They heard a suspicious noise from the family room and exchanged glances. Sydney set Daniel down and let him run off to his room before they both went to investigate.

“AMANDA!” Sydney gasped when she saw her daughter and a boy making out on the couch. Unfortunately, their hands weren’t visible due to the fact that they were under each other’s shirts.

“MOM!” Amanda gasped as she jumped back from the boy. The boy turned pink, grabbed his backpack and ran from the apartment.

“Amanda, what were you doing?!” Michael demanded.

“Jeez, I was just kissing him!” Amanda groaned as she wiped her smeared lip gloss off her cheek.

“But... but... hands!” Michael stammered. They had never had any problems of that sort before. Megan had gone on a few dates and had kissed a boy outside their apartment, much to Michael’s extreme dismay, but neither of them had been caught full on making out.

“I know what I’m doing,” Amanda said with a tone.

Sydney narrowed her eyes. “What is that supposed to mean, Amanda Rose? What exactly are you doing? You’re only sixteen!”

“Look who’s talking,” Amanda muttered under her breath.

“Excuse me?” Sydney challenged.

“I said look who’s talking!! You’re such a god damn hypocrite, Mom!” Amanda yelled.

“Hey,” Michael interjected but Amanda continued anyway.

“Who are you to tell me that I can’t kiss a boy when you were the slut that got pregnant at my age?” Amanda hissed. Megan, who had been listening from the doorway, gasped.

“HEY!” Michael yelled louder. “Don’t you dare call your mother that word. I don’t want to hear it ever again. Do you understand me?”

“Whatever,” Amanda scoffed.

“You... you... you don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Sydney said, her voice trembling.

“No, I guess I wouldn’t. You never even told me about it. Who was it? Some older guy who Grampa hated? Someone who dumped you?” Amanda questioned cruelly.

“STOP!” Sydney hissed. “This is not the same...”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure its not... why don’t you just-”

“I WAS RAPED!” Sydney blurted out.

Everyone froze. No one moved; no one even breathed. The words just hung there for a moment, everyone soaking them in, trying to understand. Sydney breathed in sharply and covered her face with her hands. She hadn’t meant to blurt that out, she never wanted Amanda to know that, but those words were playing over and over in her head and they simply spilled out. Amanda stared at her mother for a moment, utterly speechless, completely unable to comprehend the words she had just heard. Tears brimming in her eyes, she brushed past her father and her sister and ran to her room.

“Oh god...,” Megan sighed before walking off to tend to Daniel, who was screaming because of the noise.

“Syd,” Michael sighed as he tried to put his arms around her.

“No, don’t,” she sniffed as she backed away from him, shaking her head. “I didn’t mean to... I didn’t ...”

“I know,” he sighed, taking a step towards her. She willingly fell into his arms that time, hugged him tightly and sobbed softly. A few minutes later Daniel walked in and tugged on his mother’s shirt.

“Mommy, why yelling?” Daniel asked.

“Ohh Dan, I’m sorry,” Sydney sighed as she picked up her son. “Mommy didn’t mean to yell, it’s ok,” she told him while kissing his head.

A few minutes later, Sydney noticed Amanda standing in the doorway, tears falling silently down her face that was covered with a look of determination.

“I’ll take him,” Michael sighed as he took his son and left them alone to talk.

Amanda took a cautious step forward and looked directly at her mother. “I want you to tell me,” she said bravely.

Sydney sighed and looked away. “I’m sorry Amanda. I never wanted you to find out. But, it’s the truth. When I was fifteen, I was walking home from school in the dark and I was raped. I don’t remember it. All I remember is walking through an alley and then waking up in the hospital.”

“Who? Who did it?” Amanda asked with a shaky voice.

Sydney looked back to her daughter and shook her head softly. “I don’t know. I don’t want to know, either. All I know is that he was in prison for twelve years and then he was released.”

Amanda sniffed and wiped a tear away. “Why... why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because, I didn’t want it to affect you. I didn’t want it to bother you because it doesn’t matter. Who cares about some guy who did something awful? I don’t.”

“But... but that... that is my biological father... that’s... awful,” she choked out.

Sydney shook her head. “Genetics only controls what you look like and maybe what your blood type is, but it doesn’t control who you are. Who you are, Amanda, is who we raised you to be, a wonderful, wonderful person,” Sydney said as she stroked Amanda’s face.

“Mom... Mom, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean what I said I was just upset,” she cried.

“It’s okay Amanda, they’re only words,” Sydney told her.

“But you.... you’re so amazing. God, how did you do it?”

Sydney shrugged. “I don’t think that’s something you can explain or understand until you’re in that situation, which is why I hope you can never understand it. It just happened and I dealt with it. That’s all anyone can do.”

Amanda gave her mother a tight hug. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Sydney whispered.

“Just thank you.”

~*~

Amanda was rather quiet for the next few days, which was understandable given the gravity of the information she had received. She kept to herself and didn’t want to talk about it with anyone. One afternoon, Megan was walking past her sister’s room when she caught a glimpse of her staring at her computer screen. “Amanda? Whatcha doin’?”

“Oh... nothing.... just looking up some articles,” Amanda sighed quietly.

Megan walked into the room and sat down next to her sister. “Who was he?” she asked, knowing that her sister could never let anything go.

Amanda looked over at Megan briefly before looking back to her computer screen and reading the article quietly. “Bradley Gibson, 27, of Brooklyn was arrested Friday and charged with the rape and assault of a fifteen year old girl from Long Island. Reports state that the girl was on her way home from school when Gibson attacked her. The girl received a concussion as well as various other cuts and bruises from this brutal attack. Authorities will be seeking the maximum punishment.”

“That’s him?” Megan asked quietly.

“I subtracted ten months from my birthday and started looking there,” Amanda told her. “The location isn’t too far from Gramma and Grampa’s house and it was the only one in the month of December I found, so, yeah, I guess it is.”

Megan got up and hugged Amanda tightly. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Amanda sighed. “I just had to know, you know? I’m gonna let it go now. Don’t tell Mom, ok?”

“I won’t,” Megan promised her. After Megan left, Amanda got up and walked to the kitchen where her mother was making dinner. Amanda walked over to her and gave her a tight hug from, resting her chin on her mother’s shoulder (since they were the same height).

“Hey sweetie, can I get you something?” Sydney asked.

“No, I’ve got everything I need.” Amanda smiled at her.

-Fin-

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