Forever Be

Summary: Ha, ya'll are gonna laugh at me for this... But the Americans might have heard of a children's book series called American Girl, which talks about 10 yr old girls growing up at differnt times during history. Well anyway, on TV the other week, there was a movie about Felicity, a girl from 1776.... so I started like... shipping for her to be with this guy failing to realize that she was TEN... thats where this came from. Just enjoy :)

Disclaimer: JJ owns it all, isn't he a lucky guy?

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Sitting in the parlor, Sydney Bristow could barely focus on the breeches she was supposed to be mending. All she could think about was the fact that in only a short while she would be seeing Michael Vaughn again after five long years. The last time they had seen one another they were practically still children. She had been only eleven; he sixteen. Now, at nearly eighteen, she was much more mature and knew that he would be manly at age 21. Her heart fluttered just thinking about Michael as a grown man.

They had met when she was only eight. Michael became an apprentice in her father’s shop in Williamsburg, Virginia, their home town. Her father’s store of dry goods, fabric, tea and almost any item one could desire, was considered one of the finest in all the colonies, so apprenticing there was a great honor.

Michael worked in the store by day and spent time with the Bristow family at night. Sydney clung to him immediately as a new friend and someone to play with, since her only sibling, Nadia, was only two years old at the time and didn’t offer much entertainment. Sydney would go every day to her father’s store and follow Michael around until her father forced her to leave. Then, during his free time, Sydney forced Michael to go to the barn with her and ride or play with the family’s two horses, but Michael never minded. Sydney’s favorite thing in the world was those horses and he loved listening to her talk about them or talk to them, making up wild stories about heroes and heroines and horrible villains.

Michael worked in Mr. Bristow’s store until 1775, when he reached the age of sixteen and opted to join the Revolutionary Army. When he left, Sydney was devastated and clung to him until her father pulled her away. She made him promise to write and he did, but not as frequently as she would have hoped. Mostly, he wrote letters to their family as a whole, detailing the progress of the war, and then, once it was over, stating his plans to go to New York City and attempt to make something of himself there.

Sydney though she heard someone walking up the path and bolted to the window, letting her sewing drop to the floor. Seeing that there was nothing there but a rabbit, she walked dejectedly back to her seat, picking up the breeches on the way. The wait was killing her.

Two weeks earlier she had received a letter from Michael and reverted back to a child-like, very un-ladylike excitement (much to her parent’s displeasure). She had never been overly intent on being the most proper lady of her age. Mostly, she just wanted to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, without anything holding her back, which resulted in many hours of punishment in her youth. Her most common offense was stealing breeches and using them to ride one of the horses instead of utilizing the proper, ladylike sidesaddle fashion. While her mother found her behavior sickening, Michael found it amusing and often encouraged her, which was another reason why she loved him.

Love. Sydney had come to realize during his absence that she was, in fact, in love with Michael. While she was thrilled for his return just so that she could see him again, she also was hoping that just maybe he could become the one she spent her life with. She wasn’t very secretive about her desires, either. Her sister had noticed right away and proceeded to taunt her, telling her that Michael had found someone to marry in New York and he would be bringing his bride with him to visit. The thought of this alone sent tears flooding down Sydney’s cheeks, but she refused to believe it. She knew she loved him and was almost convinced that he felt the same way about her.


Finally, after what seemed like years of waiting, Sydney heard the sounds of a horse coming up the path. She threw her mending down and ran to the front port, ignoring her mother’s scolding from behind her. For the first time, she saw him and was amazed. He was more tan, older looking and obviously more experienced in life. He was still the same height, but appeared to be more muscular and his face no longer had a boyish look to it. He was even more handsome than she remembered.

She watched her father walk over to Michael and shake his hand when he dismounted his horse. She was about to walk forward to greet him herself when Nadia blasted past her, running at full speed, shouting his name and finally colliding with his body so forcefully that Michael stumbled back a step. This was Nadia’s favorite greeting for any new guest.

“My goodness, this cannot be little Nadia,” Michael laughed as he hugged her tightly.

“It is! It is!” Nadia grinned.

“How’d you get so big, hmm? You’re a lady now!”

“Almost,” Nadia sighed.

While they were talking, Sydney approached slowly and completely unnoticed by Michael. When he finally looked up from speaking with Nadia, he did a double take upon seeing her, then stared at her in amazement. She gave him a shy smile. “Sydney...,” he breathed. “Is it really you?”

She nodded. “Welcome back, Michael.”

He simply gaped at her, looking over every inch of her face. She had grown much taller since the last time he saw her and was now nearly as tall as he. Her hair had lost it's wild childhood curl, but still held that beautiful shade of brown. Mostly, he was amazed by the fact that this once boy-like child with mud stains on her boots and torn clothes from climbing fences, had become a beautiful woman, even more beautiful than he imagined possible.

“Come, come inside, Michael,” Mr. Bristow told him, interrupting the silent staring exchange between Michael and his eldest daughter. “You must rest after your trip so that you can tell us all about New York.”

Michael nodded and followed him into the house with Sydney and Nadia close behind them. Michael greeted Mrs. Bristow warmly and then the five of them sat down to tea. Michael then began to detail them about his life in New York, his job there and the interesting things he encountered on a daily basis.

After listening to him speak about things he was clearly amazed by and loved, Sydney began to feel intensely sad. Suddenly, she realized that maybe he wasn’t there to stay; maybe he just came to visit. Sydney took a brief break in the conversation as an opportunity to slip away and walk out to the barn. She didn’t want to hear about how happy he was in New York. She knew that was wrong, but it was the truth. She wanted him to be happy, but she wanted him to be happy there, in Williamsburg, with her.

She had only been out in the barn ten minutes, stroking one of the horse's noses before she heard footsteps crunching on the hay lining the barn floor. She turned her head and saw Michael behind her, smiling. Suddenly, she felt nervous. “Where’s Apple?” he asked, referring to Sydney’s favorite horse.

“She fell ill and passed last spring,” Sydney told him sadly.

“I’m sorry,” he told her sincerely, knowing how much she loved that animal. She gave him a small smile in return. He walked a few steps closer so that he was only a foot behind her and asked, “Was I boring you with my stories of New York?”

“No, no of course not,” she said quickly. “It sounds perfect. I’d like to visit there someday.”

He nodded. “I’ll take you if you want.”

“I’d like that,” she said. Then, they fell into silence as Sydney continued to stroke the horse almost out of a nervous habit while Michael stared at her. “What?” she asked finally as she laughed nervously.

“Nothing,” he sighed. “I just can’t get over how beautiful you became... not that you weren’t before,” he added quickly. She blushed and said nothing.

“You know,” Michael continued. “New York was a very different place from here, not bad different either, just different. It is fast paced and modern and you can get the best of everything there, but with all that it has, it lacks something very, very important.”

Sydney looked over at him curiously. “What?”

“You,” he said simply. Sydney’s eyes began to water and she could hold herself back no longer. She threw her arms around his neck and held him tight. Michael wrapped his arms around her and sighed at how perfect she felt in his embrace.

“I missed you, Michael,” Sydney sighed into his shoulder.

“I missed you too, Syd,” he told her. Then, he turned his face and kissed her cheek. She pulled back from their embrace and he noticed that the cheek he had just kissed was beginning to turn slightly pink. Feeling bold, he decided to do the thing he had been thinking about doing ever since making plans to return to his home town. He leaned forward and pressed his lips softly against hers in their first kiss.

At first, Sydney was stunned and frozen, unsure of what to do, since not only was it her fist kiss with Michael; it was her first kiss ever. Once she relaxed though, tingles shot all the way down to her feet and she let out an involuntary giggle, thrilled that her wishes had come true.

Michael broke their kiss and smiled at her, his arms still locked firmly around her waist. “I want to marry you, Sydney Bristow. If you’ll have me, that is.”

Sydney shut her eyes and looked down, letting the tears that had formed moments earlier begin to fall. Michael, upon seeing this, began to panic. “I um... I didn’t mean to upset you...”

“You didn’t, you didn’t.” She sniffed as she hugged him again. “I’ve just... I’ve wanted that for so long.”

“Oh Syd,” he sighed with relief as he hugged her even tighter. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she told him with a huge grin. He grinned back and then he kissed her again. That time, their kiss was longer than before and unfortunately, they were caught.

“Well, well,” Nadia grinned from behind them. Both Sydney and Michael jumped apart.

“Nadia! What are you doing?” Sydney gasped.

“Mother sent me to see where you went... and now I’m going to-”

“You’re not going to tell,” Sydney snapped. Nadia looked unfazed. “I’ll tell Father you broke that shelf in the store when you climbed on it after he told you not to.” Nadia gasped and then pouted while she stomped off.

“That may only buy us a day or so,” Sydney warned Michael.

“It’s alright, I plan on speaking with your father tonight,” he assured her.

She smiled and kissed him quickly. “Come on, we should get back inside before Mother comes after us.”


Once back inside, Michael decided to rest while Sydney helped her mother to prepare dinner, then their conversation about New York continued while they ate. After they finished their meal and were sipping coffee, Michael cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Mr. Bristow, sir, I know this isn’t exactly the best time, but I just can’t wait. I’d like to marry your daughter, sir, with your permission,” Michael managed nervously. Sydney’s heart leapt into her throat and her mother let out a tiny gasp.

For a moment, Jack looked unsure as he looked between Michael, who was looking as though he was about to pass out, and Sydney, who was looking extraordinarily hopeful. “Well, I suppose that would be al-”

But Jack was unable to finish because Sydney squealed and jumped out of her seat. Then, she ran around the table and kissed his cheek. “Oh thank you! Thank you!” she squealed.

“Sydney, this isn’t-”

“I don’t care, Mother!” Sydney practically shouted at her before diving into Michael’s lap, kissing him and hugging him tightly. He just laughed.

“I do hope you realize what you’ve gotten yourself into,” Mr. Bristow mumbled to Michael.

“Trust me,” Michael smiled. “I do.”