Save Me

Author: Janet (SkyGirl5)

Genre: S/V, AU

Summary: Sydney Bristow has trapped herself in a life of solitude, swearing off men and any other human interaction, but can her persistent neighbor Michael Vaughn save her from an eternity doomed alone?

Disclaimer: Sydney, Vaughn, etc are properties of JJ Abrams and ABC.

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Chapters 1-10 + Epilogue

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Chapter 1

It was Friday night and Sydney Bristow sat alone on her couch with her TV remote and a pint of rocky road ice cream. She always did the same thing every Friday after work. She went to the video store and rented a movie, unless there was something on TV she wanted to see, and then she went to the grocery store to pick up a pint of rocky road and a microwave meal for dinner. Then she’d sit on her couch, eat and watch TV until she ended up falling asleep. She had done that every Friday night since... well, she had moved into that apartment two years earlier.

It wasn’t as though she was stuck doing that. She chose to. Sure, sometimes it was lonely but it was better than going out and.... well, never mind. She chose to be alone every night. She chose to have no friends. She chose to be boyfriendless. It was her choice and she was content with it. After all, if you don’t let anyone in then no one can hurt you.

~*~

“Ugh, is it Monday again?!” Michael Vaughn groaned as he smacked off his alarm. “Five more minutes.” He mumbled as he flopped on his stomach and smothered his face into his pillow.

Fifteen minutes later he got out of bed and cursed as he made his way to the shower. He was going to be late again. He got dressed quickly, not even noticing he put on two different kinds of socks and grabbed a bagel as he hurried out the door and rushed to the elevator. He saw the woman who lived across the hall from him, Sydney, holding the elevator door open for him and mumbled a ‘good morning’ through his bagel.

Michael usually saw Sydney two or three mornings a week depending on if she was running early or he was running late (though it was usually the latter). She was always pleasant to him, never rude or curt, but she was never the one to strike up the conversation. Michael knew that she was shy but he found it odd that in all the times he had seen her whether it was in the morning or on the weekends or whatever, she was always alone and always looking rather sad. Yet something about her always intrigued him and left him wanting much more.

“Morning.” Sydney smiled at him. “You missed a few buttons on your shirt.” She pointed out

Michael looked down and saw that he had accidentally buttoned the second button in the third hole and from there on his shirt was rather a disaster. Great, he thought. “Thanks.” He mumbled sheepishly, trying to cover it with his tie. “Did you have a nice weekend?”

“Yes.” She said plainly. “You?”

“Oh yeah, I had a massive party on Saturday night, the cops were called and everything. Didn’t you hear it?” He smirked at her. She just chuckled quietly and shook her head. “Nah, it was just a boring weekend at home.”

The elevator reached the ground floor and they both stepped out and began walking towards the parking lot. “So um, you wanna maybe grab coffee sometime this week?” Michael asked as he held open the door for her. She flashed him a polite smile and turned him down saying that she was busy all week with a big project. “Maybe some other time then.” Michael sighed.

“Have a nice day at work Michael.” Sydney said as she unlocked her car with a beep.

“Yeah, you too Sydney.” Michael sighed dejectedly as he walked off in the direction of his own car. He had asked Sydney out four times in the past few months and she always turned him down, yet he kept asking. “It’s almost as though I enjoy the rejection.” He muttered to himself as he began to drive towards his work. But he still couldn’t give up the hope that maybe someday she would agree to go out with him.



Chapter 2

Once she arrived at work, Sydney went straight to her desk like she always did and began to work on the mound of papers that had already accumulated on her desk. Around mid-morning she went to the break room and got a cup of coffee and then at lunch she ate by herself on a bench outside on the side walk. Every day the same routine; nothing ever changed.

When Sydney first started working there two years earlier, her coworkers often tried to talk to her over lunch, befriend her, or get her to go out with them after work but she always refused. After a few months they stopped trying and only spoke to her on work related matters. She was glad that they did, after all she felt bad turning them down but it was something that she just had to do.

While eating her lunch that Monday her thoughts drifted back to her neighbor Michael and their conversation earlier that morning. She was curious as to why he asked her out almost every Monday when she turned him down every time. Part of her found his persistence adorable but she tried to quell that part as much as possible. Sure, she found him attractive with his perfect smile, emerald green eyes and sandy blonde hair, but that was as far as she ever let herself think. He was just another guy who would break her heart eventually. That was what she told herself, but still, her thoughts often drifted back to Michael.

~*~

The next week came and went and once again Michael asked her out and she turned him down. He asked her again; she turned him down. Finally, she impatiently called him out on it using a tone he had never heard on her before. She was almost amused.

“Why do you keep asking me out?” She asked him. It was a Saturday and they were both down in the basement doing their laundry.

“Why do you keep turning me down?” He grinned. He wondered what he was doing. Usually he wasn’t so bold around woman but something about that woman made him more outgoing than he usually was. Her dimpled smile made his heart flutter in his chest and gave him a feeling that he rarely had about anyone.

“What if I have a boyfriend?” She said.

“Do you?” He retorted.

“No...” She said as she looked down to her feet that were shuffling nervously on the dirty, cement floor.

“Then why won’t you go out with me?” He asked. She didn’t answer. She only turned back to the washing machine to check on it even though it was running perfectly fine. “Ok, I’ll make you a deal. If you agree to go out with me just one time then I’ll never bother you again, no matter what the outcome of our date. But... if you don’t agree, I’m just going to keep asking.” He smiled at her.

She laughed and shook her head. “Those are my only two options? Suffer through a date with you or fall subject to your eternal pestering?”

“Suffer? Ouch.” He mocked offense.

She weighted her options for a moment. She knew that he would make good on his relentless asking her out but she also knew that going out with him broke one of her cardinal rules, yet something inside her made her want to take a chance. “Alright.” She sighed. “One date, that’s all.”

“Excellent.” He grinned. “When?”

“When did you have in mind?” She asked. “Tonight?”

“NO! Definitely not enough time. I need to plan. This has to be one hell of a date if I only get one shot at it.” He told her.

“Alright.” She sighed. “Friday then? That gives you almost a week.”

“Friday it is.” He grinned. “Shall we say... five o’clock?”

“Five?” She asked.

“Oh yeah. You didn’t think I was just taking you to the McDonald’s drive through did you?” He asked. She laughed and shook her head. “Of course not. This is going to be a high quality date. It’s good that you have a week to prepare yourself.” He winked.

“Very well, I’ll start preparing now then.” She smiled as she threw all her laundry into a basket and headed up the stairs.



Chapter 3

On Monday, Michael ran into Sydney in the elevator and reminded her that there were only five more days until their date. She just laughed at him.

On Tuesday, there was a card shoved under her door reminding her that they would be walking outside so she should dress appropriately. This made her smile.

On Wednesday, a bouquet of flowers arrived at her apartment with only two words on the card. Three days.

On Thursday, Sydney ran into Michael in the elevator once more and thanked him for the flowers. He reminded her that there were only two more days until their date.

All day Friday, Sydney had butterflies in her stomach just thinking about her date with Michael that evening. She was curious as to what he had planned and ever moment she wondered why she had agreed to go out with him in the first place. Still, she had to admit that she was actually excited about going out with him, especially after all the adorable reminders he had given her thought the week. She only hoped that the actual date was even better that her anticipation of it.

After work she rushed home as quickly as she could so that she would be ready at five when Michael arrived. Her hands were trembling as she tried to put on her mascara and she ended up poking herself in the eye, having to wash her face and then start over.

“Ugh! Why am I like this!?” She whined to herself as she fumbled with the buckle on her shoe. The truth was she hadn’t been that excited, anxious, or nervous about anything in quite some time. She practically jumped out of her skin when there was a loud knock at her door at exactly five o’clock.

“Good evening.” Michael smiled when he saw Sydney open the door wearing khaki pants and a white tank with a pink cardigan. “You look lovely this evening.”

“Thanks.” She blushed slightly. “So do you... look nice I mean.” She added nervously as she admired his khaki’s and green polo shirt that brought out his eyes wonderfully.

“Thanks. You ready?” He asked as he held out his hand. She nodded and took it cautiously as she locked up her apartment and followed him to the elevator.

“So where are we going?” Sydney asked as she fidgeted nervously with the hem on her sweater as they waited for the elevator.

“It’s a surprise.” Michael grinned.

“I, um, don’t do well with surprises. Please, give me a hint at least.” She asked, feeling even more nervous.

“You’re going to love it.” He said.

“How do you know what I love? You don’t even know me.” She said rather sadly.

“True, but I just have this gut feeling that you will. But you’re right, I don’t know anything about you except that your name is Sydney and you look absolutely beautiful tonight. So why don’t you tell me more.”

Sydney blushed and giggled slightly at his comment. “Well, um, I’m twenty five. I’ve lived in LA my whole life. I don’t have any siblings...” She let her voice drift off as he opened his car door for her. She thanked him as she slid inside and buckled his seat belt, and then she continued as he drove off. “I work in corporate law and... that’s about it.” She shrugged.

“That’s it? Your whole life in five sentences?” He teased with a smile.

She shrugged again. “What can I say, I’m not that interesting.”

“Well I think you’re very interesting.” He smiled.

Again, she blushed. “What about you?”

“Well, I’m also twenty five. I have four brothers, all of them older, two of them married and with children so my mom is definitely on my ass about being single, let me tell you.” He said; she laughed slightly. “I was born in Florida and my family moved around a lot because my father worked for the government.”

“Oh that must have been hard.” She sighed.

“Yeah, it was. I always hated loosing the friends I had made.” He sighed. They chatted the rest of the way to the pier where Michael parked the car and glanced over at the rather amused look on Sydney’s face. “When was the last time you were at a carnival?”

“When I was seven years old and got horribly sick from too much cotton candy.” She laughed.

“Well then, no cotton candy for you tonight.” He smiled as he took her hand and they walked towards the noise and the lights.

They grabbed pizza and popcorn for dinner as they wandered around and observed all the playing children with their exasperated parents. They rode a few rides and talked while they walked hand in hand. Sydney had to admit that she let her guard down that evening. Usually she had a well constructed wall built around her that kept all her feelings, opinions and emotions inside. But for some inexplicable reason, Michael was able to break down a tiny part of that wall so that the true Sydney shone through.

With Michael, she laughed like she hadn’t laughed in years, smiled more than she had in the past month and when Michael’s hand squeezed hers chills traveled down her spine like she had never felt before. Once dusk had fallen they made their way out to the beach where they watched a fireworks display. Couples around them were kissing or cuddling but Michael just held Sydney’s hand, he never even tried to sneak his arm around her shoulders and she found his gentlemanly qualities very attractive.

It was almost eleven by the time Sydney and Michael were coming out of the elevator on their floor of the apartment building. They were still laughing together at a joke Michael had told about a suspicious looking woman they had seen at the pier.

“So did you have a good time tonight?” Michael asked once they stopped in front of Sydney’s door.

“I did.” Sydney sighed, but then her face fell as she fumbled with her key, trying to get the right one for the lock on her door.

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked a he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Nothing its just.... I had a nice time tonight Michael but... I can’t see you again, I’m sorry.” Sydney sighed as she let herself into her apartment and shut the door in a very confused Michael’s face. Then she made sure that the door was bolted shut tightly before running to her bedroom and crying herself to sleep.



Chapter 4

Michael was absolutely stunned. He went through their entire date in his mind over and over, completely obsessing and trying to figure out what had gone wrong. They never had an awkward moment. They were laughing the whole night long. She had admitted that she had a good time so why could she never see him again? He had no idea, but he was definitely going to ask her.

~*~

Sydney was definitely not looking forward to an awkward meeting with Michael in the elevator where she would have to explain something that she couldn’t explain. She tried to come up with excuses in her mind but each of them sounded more ridiculous and implausible than the previous. Finally, she decided that she was going to ignore the issue entirely unless she was absolutely forced to come up with an actual answer, which she prayed would never happen.

Sure enough, Monday morning Michael was standing outside the elevator waiting for her. She tried to ignore him but was unsuccessful; very unsuccessful.

“So, what’s the deal?” He asked.

“Deal? There is no deal.”

“Uh yeah, there is. What was with the whole Friday night thing?”

“There was no Friday night thing.” She said quickly.

“Ok then, go out with me again.” He said.

“No.” She told him, avoiding eye contact and staring intently on the elevator doors in front of her.

“Why?”

“Because.” She answered rather childishly, and then mentally slapped herself for it. Michael gave an exasperated grunt beside her. “I thought you promised to stop asking me out.”

“Well I thought that if I we had a crappy time I wouldn’t want to ask you out again but if we had a good time – which we did have a good time - you’d agree to go out with me again and therefore I would not have a problem. Now... I have a problem.” He sighed.

Sydney couldn’t stop her lips from curling upwards at his comment. She really liked him, but she couldn’t. She tried to hide her smile by pretending to brush something off her nose so that she could cover her mouth with her hand but she suspected that Michael saw it anyway.

“Ok just answer me this. Did you or did you not have a good time on Friday?” He asked.

“I did have a good time.” She told him honestly.

“Then why won’t you go out with me again?!” He asked. Luckily, Sydney didn’t have to answer because the elevator doors chimed open and she made a quick b-line for the parking lot with out another word to Michael.

~*~

The whole week Sydney argued with herself over her behavior with Michael. The truth was, she really wanted to go out with him again but had purposely stopped herself. Could she really live alone forever? Was that what she really wanted? She fooled herself into thinking that it was but... was it?

She knew that her heart couldn’t take anymore pain and love didn’t come without pain did it? No, it never could. That’s why she had to avoid it at all costs.

Friday evening Sydney had just settled down with her pint of rocky road when there was a knock at her door. She ignored it but it came again, this time more persistent. She sighed as she got up and walked over to the door.

Upon looking out the peep hole she saw Michael standing there looking impatient. She groaned and yelled, “What do you want!”

“Open the door.” He called back.

“No, you might rob me.” She retorted with a smirk.

“Yes ok, I’m going to rob you. But at least you know that in advance so please, open the door.” He said. She smiled and unlocked the deadbolt, opening the door a crack. “Hi,” Michael grinned.

“What do you want?” Sydney repeated.

“Would you be interested in a movie?” He grinned as he held up two DVDs.

“You’re really persistent aren’t you?” She sighed, half amused.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “It’s once of my worst flaws.”

“You’re not going to leave are you?” She sighed.

“Nope. You can either let me in and we can watch a movie or you can tell me why you won’t go out with me and then I’ll leave.” He smiled.

“There you go again with those two options of which I like neither.” She shook her head. He just grinned at her. Finally she sighed and opened the door, letting him inside. She saw no other option, but was secretly happy that he was there. One less Friday that she spent all by herself.

“Ooo rocky road. That stuff’s good but not as good as Chunky Monkey.” He said.

“How can you eat bananas with your ice cream? That’s gross.” She said as she went to the kitchen and grabbed two bowls and two spoons. “Here.” She sighed as she handed him one of each.

“Thanks.” He smiled. He took that opportunity to observe her apartment. It was plain and simple with minimal furniture and no decorations. There were no knick-knacks or photos of any kind except for one hanging lonely, on the wall. Michael walked over it and saw a smiling little girl who appeared to be about twelve hugging her two parents. “Are these your parents?” He asked.

“Yeah... they were. They died.” She said sadly.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Michael said quickly.

“It’s ok.” She sighed, desperately avoiding the issue. “So what did you bring?”

“The Godfather.” He smiled. She scrunched up her face in disgust and he laughed. “Thought so. I also brought Spider-man.” Sydney shrugged in agreement as she took the DVD from him.

“Mm this is good.” Michael said as he continued to eat the ice cream. “Were you really going to eat all this yourself?” She shrugged and nodded her head. “Jeez woman how do you stay so thin?”

“I just do.” She shrugged as she flopped down on the couch, leaving half a cushion space in between them. The movie began and they were quiet for a few moments before Sydney finally turned to Michael and stared at him curiously. “Why are you here?”

“Shh the movie’s on. No talking.” He said.

“Please, don’t tell me you’re one of those no talking during movies people.” She said.

He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “So what if I am.”

“How can you not talk during movies?! I’m not saying hold a full conversation but you have to make comments!” She laughed.

“Comments? What kind of comments?” He asked.

“Oh come on! Comments... like this movie for example, when Mary Jane is kissing Spiderman out in the rain you have to yell ‘good god woman get a bra!’” She smiled.

He laughed. “I’m a guy I wouldn’t yell that.”

“Ok I’m sorry, you would yell ‘Hey MJ take it off!’” She said in a macho tone.

“Exactly.” He laughed. After that the fell back into silence for the rest of the movie.

Once the movie was over Michael stood up, stretched and carried his empty ice cream bowl to the kitchen and placed it in the sink. Sydney took his DVD out of the player and handed it back to him. “Thanks for coming over... it was nice having someone to watch a movie with.” She said shyly.

“No problem. Wanna do it again sometime?” He smiled.

She just laughed and shook her head. “You’re impossible!”

“Come on, you know I had to ask?” He said.

“Yeah, yeah. Well... maybe....”

“YES!” Michael cut her off with his chant.

“You didn’t let me finish!” She laughed. He apologized and let her continue. “Well maybe we could do it sometime but only as...”

“Friends?” He suggested.

“Acquaintances.” She corrected him.

“Fine,” He sighed. “As my acquaintance, would you like to go with me Sunday to see the art exhibit in the park around say... one?”

“Alright.” She agreed. “See you then.”



Chapter 5

“Ok, what is that?” Sydney asked as she tilted her head to the side, trying to look at the abstract art from a different angle. She and Michael had been walking through the park observing art for almost an hour but neither of them improved on their art interpretation skills.

“Um... it looks like a- well I shouldn’t say that. There are children around.” He said. Sydney snorted with laugher and nodded in agreement with his thought.

“So what do you usually do on weekends? Troll art shows for unsuspecting young, single women?” She smiled.

“Yes, all the time.” He laughed. “No I... hang out with one of my brothers or... go visit my mom... sometimes date but...” He let his voice trail off.

“But...?” She led him to continue.

“But... I dunno, I just haven’t found that person yet.” He sighed.

“Ah yes, that person.” She said.

“So what’s your story?”

“My story? I don’t have a story.” She laughed.

“Oh come on.” He said. “How can you not have a boyfriend? Guys must be lining up at your door begging you to go out with them.”

“Well not guys plural... just this one who’s kind of funny looking.” She teased.

“Funny looking!? Ouch.” He said. She just giggled. “Funny looking... how would you like it if I called you funny looking....” He muttered.

“I’m sorry you’re not funny looking.” She said as she reached over and ran her hand down one of his arms. He grumbled some more before slipping an arm around her waist and giving her hip a light squeeze. Sydney smiled inwardly and leaned closer to Michael as they walked. “So you wanna maybe get out of here and do something else?”

Michael stopped walking and looked at her. “I’m sorry; did you just ask me out?”

“No.” She laughed. “We’re already out I was merely suggesting we do something else.”

“Okay.” He grinned. “But you totally asked me out.”

~*~

For the next week Sydney and Michael continued their get-togethers. Michael thought of them as dates; Sydney tried to talk herself into thinking they were simply acquaintances hanging out together but really she knew they were dates. They had yet to kiss but Sydney knew Michael wanted to. Truthfully, she wanted to as well but she had to stop herself every time.

After watching the movie ‘Shall We Dance’, Sydney had mentioned something about wanting to be able to dance like that and Michael had promised to take her to a club. That evening she got her sequined, black, one shoulder dress that she had never worn out of her closet and tried it on. It fit perfectly but she was still weary of wearing such an outfit. When Michael saw her in the dress his jaw practically crashed to floor which made her smile.

Much to her surprise, Michael was actually a very good dancer. Sydney had to admit she was very impressed. They danced for a few hours before grabbing a late dinner and then heading home.

“I had fun tonight.” She smiled as she pulled her keys from her purse.

“Yeah? You think your feet will recover?” He smiled as he looked down at her shoeless, red, blistered toes.

“Yeah, in a few years.” She laughed. She turned the key in the lock and opened her door a few inches but didn’t go inside. Michael’s hands were on her shoulders, his thumbs brushing against her skin lightly sending chills down her spine. He leaned down his face close to hers. In response she closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards, all the while her brain telling her to stop but her heart telling her to just give in. So she gave in, letting him kiss her and allowing herself to kiss him back. Within a moment her arms were around his neck and they were kissing like she hadn’t kissed in over five years.

Suddenly, she pulled back and let out a tiny whimper as she covered her mouth and turned away from him. She walked into her apartment and wiped a tear from her eye, leaving the door open while Michael just stared at her, wondering what was wrong. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled.

“For what?” He asked quietly as he took a few steps into her apartment.

“I can’t.” She shook her head. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and sighed heavily at her appearance. Her hair was limp and matted from sweating during dancing, her makeup smeared slightly and dripping down her face from her tears and she looked... sad. “When you look in the mirror, what do you see?” She began very quietly. “Do you see the things you don’t like or the things you do like? Do you wish you could change one thing about yourself? What about everything?” She sighed as she looked over at him. He looked curious as to what she was saying.

“When I look in the mirror, staring back at me is someone I don’t like. I want to become someone who I do like. The only problem is, I don’t know who that is and even if I did, I wouldn’t know how to change.... I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” She said quickly as she turned away.

“Syd, what are you so afraid of?” He asked, taking another step toward her.

“I’m not afraid.” She snapped defiantly.

“Like hell you aren’t. You don’t have any friends...”

“I don’t need friends.” She cut him off.

“Yes you do. Everyone needs a friend. You put on this brave face and say that you don’t need anyone but it’s a lie. You need someone more than you know.” He said.

She just shook her head, knowing what he said was true but unable to admit it. “NO.”

“Yes. You won’t let me be your friend, why can’t I be your friend?” He asked.

“You .... you just can’t.” She sniffed, still not looking at him. He spun her around and wiped a few of her tears away. She tried to pull away from him but something inside her made her stay. “Why are you doing this?” She whispered.

“Because somebody has to save you.” He said as he continued to stroke her face. Then he just gave her a small, mysterious smile before saying goodnight and walking out of her apartment, shutting the door behind him. Once he was gone, Sydney let out a half gasp-half sob at what he had said. She shook her head, refusing to acknowledge it as she walked to her bedroom to get ready for bed.



Chapter 6

“... somebody has to save you...”

What was that supposed to mean? Sydney spent the whole night tossing, turning and obsessing over what Michael had said. What did he mean by that? No one needed to save her... she didn’t need to be saved. Did she?

At 8 am, she got out of bed, still in her pj’s and stomped across the hall, banging on his door loudly. It took a few minutes before the door opened slowly and Michael yawned. “Syd... its 8 am on Saturday...”

“What did you mean by that?! Nobody needs to save me Michael! I’m perfectly fine!” She shouted.

“Good lord come inside you’re going to wake up the whole building.” He said as he pulled her in his apartment and shut the door behind her as she continued her ranting.

“I’m fine Michael, fine. I don’t need anyone. I’m fine.” She said, her voice quieter now.

“Are you fine?” He asked.

“Yes.” She said less convincingly. “I will be fine... you just need to leave me alone.”

“Why? So you can die alone on your couch with a pint of rocky road in your hand.” He said.

She glared at him. “How dare you!”

“Don’t give me that crap, you know it’s true. I know you’re afraid to let someone in but the only thing I don’t know why. Tell me why Sydney.” He said softly.

“No.” She said as she backed away, tears burning in her eyes.

“Syd.” He took a step towards her.

“NO! I’m cursed!” She blurted out.

Michael laughed slightly, not expecting that. “What?!”

“I’m cursed... cursed... everyone close to me gets hurt just leave! Stop! Before you get ....” She sobbed.

“Sydney you aren’t cursed.” He said softly.

“Yes I am! My parents... my sister... Sarah! Everyone!” She sobbed. He pulled her into a hug and let her cry into his chest. She didn’t move for a second but then she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly.

“My god Sydney what happened to you?” He asked as he pressed a kiss into her messy hair. She just shook her head slightly and sobbed harder. Her whole body was shaking but Michael just held her close, trying to take away her pain. He held her tightly for a few minutes, kissing her hair softly and stroking her back, before her sobs subsided and she pulled back from his embrace. “Tell me what happened Syd, please?”

“No.” She whispered. “I can’t... not yet.”

“Okay.” He nodded in understanding. He knew it had been difficult for her to say that much so he understood why she couldn’t open up right away. Still, he wondered what horrible things had happened to this amazing woman that caused her to become so broken and so afraid. “Will you let me be your friend?” He asked. She didn’t say anything; she just nodded and hugged him once more.

“We should do something really fun today.” Michael suggested.

“Really fun?” Sydney mumbled into his chest.

“Yeah, something to just get your mind off of everything. When was the last time you went to the beach?” He asked.

She laughed slightly. “It’s been a while.”

“Great, we’ll go then. It’s going to be a perfectly hot, sunny, summer day at the beach.” He grinned. “So go shower and change and get ready and do whatever you girls need to do and then we’ll leave at 11 ok?” He smiled.

“Okay.” She nodded. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.” He said.

~*~

“Come on let me bury you in the sand.” Michael whined. He had dug a rather large hole with a tiny shovel and he had been trying to talk Sydney into getting in it for ten minutes.

“No, because I’m a sane person.” She laughed. “Oh and I’m over the age of eight.”

“Party pooper.” He pouted.

“I never understand why people buried themselves in the sand, I mean, you’d get sand stuck in places you never knew you had.” She giggled.

“That’s true.” He laughed. “How about you just let me bury your feet then?” He smiled.

“Fine.” She groaned, giving into his persistence. “How is it that you can talk me into anything?” She asked as she swung her feet into the hole Michael had created while he began to fill it back up with sand.

“I’m a very persuasive guy.” He grinned.

“So I’ve noticed.” She laughed. A few minutes later she was buried almost to her knees in the sand and she couldn’t move an inch. “Happy now?” She grunted, trying to get more comfortable.

“Very.” He smiled. Then he stood up and brushed the sand off himself before walking over to collect their things.

“What are you doing?”

“Leaving.” He smiled wickedly as he began to walk away.

Sydney struggled against the sand but there was no use; she was trapped. “Michael Vaughn get back here!” She demanded.

“Oh I’m sorry, are you stuck?!” He laughed.

“YES!” She shouted.

“Oh let me help you then.” He smiled as he came over and undug her feet a bit so she could climb out of the hole.

“You weren’t really going to leave me were you?” She asked.

“No.” He laughed. “Come on let’s go.” He said as he bent over and picked her up over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” She laughed.

“Nothing.” He sighed. He carried her all the way to the car before putting her down and groaning as he rolled his shoulders. “Damn you get heavy after a while.”

“Hey!” She pouted. He just grinned. Then she started to laugh.

“So did you have fun today?” He asked hopefully.

“Yeah, I had fun.” She smiled.



Chapter 7

It had been almost a month since that Saturday Sydney broken down and cried in Michael’s arms but she still had yet to tell him the truth about why she was so afraid. In that time she and Michael had spent many evenings and weekends together talking, hanging out, watching movies, or anything just to be together. Their relationship rarely crossed the line of friendship with the exception of a stolen kiss here and there. They had never spent the night together and to be honest, Sydney wasn’t sure that she would be ready for such a serious commitment. In fact, she knew that she wasn’t.

They had been sitting on her couch talking about one of Michael’s brothers when she decided that she was going to tell him. He was in the kitchen putting their dishes away when she started out of nowhere, “It all started when I was eleven and my sister was eight...” She said quietly. Then she looked over at Michael who looked attentive and intrigued. He walked over and sat on the couch sideways so that he was facing her. Then, she continued.

“We were on the playground together. Running around on the swings, the monkey bars and the slide.... She went down the slide first and I was waiting at the top for her to get out of the way.... but when she reached the bottom she didn’t move... she just sort of slumped on the ground. I didn’t understand so I just slid down the slide and landed next to her. I shook her but she didn’t move. I was calling her ‘Nadia! Nadia! Wake up! Wake up!’” Sydney choked through some tears.

“But she didn’t move... so I started screaming and my mom, who had been talking to a friend came over and started screaming as well.... we rode to the hospital in an ambulance.... my father met us there and then they started crying. I didn’t understand because I was only eleven but we left and my parents said my sister wouldn’t be coming with us. She had died of a brain aneurism. The doctors didn’t know why... it just happened. At that age I didn’t understand what that meant and I thought I had done something, by shaking her you know? I thought it was my fault.... it took me years to understand that it wasn’t....

“After that it was hard for all of us. My mom would sit in Nadia’s room for hours, holding her stuffed cat and crying. It wasn’t until I was fourteen that things were really back to normal. In that time my parents sent me to counseling where I met Sarah. She was the same age as me and we even went to the same school but we hadn’t met until then. She had also lost a sibling, a brother, and so we sort of bonded through that and she became my best friend.

“When I was sixteen... it was a Friday night... I went over to Sarah’s house for a sleepover and my parents were supposed to pick me up the next morning.” Sydney paused and took a shaky, ragged breath before continuing. “They never came.” She whimpered. She had to stop for a minute as her tears took over. She reached for a tissue and wiped her cheeks before continuing.

“It was about eight, maybe nine in the morning. A trucker fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the yellow line and hit them head on... they never saw it coming.” She sighed heavily. “So there I was... sixteen and orphaned.... I didn’t have any aunts or uncles to stay with so I was put into the foster care system. The foster parents... they weren’t that bad. I mean, they didn’t really care all that much but they weren’t mean or bad people. They were just busy and overwhelmed with all the foster children. I was one of the oldest so I was sort of ignored because I could take care of myself. It was.... the other foster children that were.... they abused me...” she sobbed. Michael let out a heavy sigh at hearing all the pain she had gone through and sensing that she wasn’t quite done yet.

“I honestly don’t know how I graduated... but I did and Sarah helped... but the second I turned 18 I got out of there as fast as I could. It was then that I inherited my parent’s money... I got a job and was accepted to college. Sarah and I were going to go the same school and room together. I tried to hide it... keep it inside... I was so angry with the world for having such a crappy life. But I told myself it would be better in college because it just had to be better and for a while... it was.

“Starting school I had lots of friends... a boyfriend who I ended up catching making out with some girl at a frat party but even that didn’t upset me that much because I guess I didn’t even like him that much.... but Sarah and I had lots of fun. We partied but it wasn’t that much, I mean I never got totally drunk... she did though. One night she went out.... got totally wasted and came back where she passed out on her bed. I didn’t even notice because I was sick and knocked out from cold medicine. The next morning, I couldn’t wake her up and I called 911. She had alcohol poisoning... she made it but her parents made her leave the school so once again I was alone...

“Sophomore year went better. I met this guy, Adam, and we started dating in the fall and he was just the sweetest, best guy, I mean really nice and I really, really liked him. We dated through the spring... we ended up sleeping together and only a week after that... I found out that he had been cheating on me for months with his roommate... and yes that would be a male roommate.” She said as she looked up at Michael who looked shocked and horrified. Sydney couldn’t help but laugh slightly at his expression. “Yeah that’s what I thought... although I should have seen the signs... I mean he wore pink and he always complimented my shoes.” She sighed. Michael cracked a small smile at this.

“That’s when I did it... I shut everyone out because if I didn’t let them in they couldn’t hurt me and I just couldn’t be hurt anymore.... I just couldn’t take it so I just put up this wall and.... and now.... now I....” She didn’t finish her thought. She just let her voice drift off as she fell into Michael’s arms and then quickly was fast asleep.



Chapter 8

Sometime in the middle of the night Sydney awoke and was confused of her surroundings. There were warm, strong arms around her and her head was resting on someone’s chest that was rising and falling slowly. She raised her head slightly and saw Michael sleeping peacefully with his head resting against the arm of the sofa. She had to admit that waking up this way made her smile; it made her feel safe. Yet the scared, insecure part of her that was still slightly broken was afraid.

It had happened. She had fallen for him. She tried to stop it but she just couldn’t help it because he was amazing and wonderful and he cared for her like no one had in quite some time. She had let her guard down and she had fallen for him hard but now she was in a vulnerable spot. She could keep going. She could continue their relationship. She could let him love her, but could she?

She tried to ignore her nagging thoughts of uncertainty and fall back asleep but it was difficult. Her mind just kept playing out scenarios, horrible ones, so she ended up being awake all night, just listening to the sound of Michael’s breathing.

~*~

Michael awoke and tried to stretch his aching back but he couldn’t since he was weighted down with something or rather someone. He looked down and saw the top of Sydney’s head resting on his chest with her brown hair fanned out on his arm. He smiled slightly as he tried to adjust once more, being careful not to wake her. But she sat up when she felt him move.

“Hi.” She smiled.

“Hey.” He said as he tried to stretch his neck, causing it to crack loudly. “Sorry.” He mumbled at the disturbed expression on her face.

“It’s ok. Thanks for staying with me last night.” She smiled.

“No problem.” He smiled back. “I’m gonna go shower, change, etc but do you want to grab some lunch then?”

“Sure.” She smiled.

“Great.” He said as he got off the couch and walked towards the door, but before he left he looked back and winked at her.

Sydney sighed slightly as she made her way to the shower, unable to get the fact that he looked entirely sexy with a day’s worth of stubble on his face out of her mind.

~*~

When Sydney opened her apartment door she found Vaughn already outside waiting for her. He smiled, said hello and took her hand as they walked towards the elevator.

“So... you still want to hang out with me even after you know how irreversibly screwed up I am?” She asked timidly.

“What? Of course.” He smiled as he tucked some hair out of her face. “I’m really glad you told me.”

“Me too.” She sighed. “I never told anyone before... ever.” He smiled as he kissed her forehead and thanked her for telling him. “You’re welcome but... I’m still going to need some time to....”

“It’s ok. Take the time you need.” He smiled.

~*~

Michael had thought that after Sydney’s confession of her less than blissful past she would open up more to him. Or at least he hoped that she would. No, he truly believed that she would. Her admission had been the first stepping stone and she would let him in slowly but in a matter of time, right?

Unfortunately, he couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, Sydney’s admissions had actually seemed to make it worse. For the first few days, everything was alright. Sydney actually seemed to be more relaxed and less tense around him which gave Michael a false sense of hope. Then the next week she started to get more distant and reclusive again. She would go out with him but stay mostly silent the whole time and only answer direct questions. It wasn’t always that way, some days she acted like her old self but most of the time she was shut down around him. She even tended to react negatively when he kissed her. In fact, it actually seemed like she was trying to push it away but whether it was intentional or subconsciously, he wasn’t sure.

Michael was practically beside himself with confusion. On the one hand he had fallen desperately in love with her and craved her more than ever. But, on the other hand he didn’t know how much longer he could support their one sided relationship before he broke. He didn’t want to leave her but he didn’t know what to do to get her to let him in and at the rate she was going it looked like she never would.

Finally when Sydney’s hot and cold routine had gone on for over a month, they fought about it and that’s when an ultimatum came to light.

Michael and Sydney had been quietly watching a movie on the couch for the past two hours. Sydney had been silent the whole time, something that had been happening over the past few weeks. Michael had to admit that he found her talkativeness during films annoying at first but he had come to except it and when she suddenly stopped, he missed it.

“Hey, whatcha thinking?” He asked sweetly.

Her eyes darted over to him briefly but then looked away. “Nothing.” She said shortly.

“Damn it Sydney, I can’t do this anymore!” He shouted with frustration.

Stunned by his outburst, Sydney looked at him questioningly. “What?”

“This, I can’t do this! You’re pushing me away. I’m trying to get in but you just... you won’t let me. I can’t keep this up; I’m exhausted trying. I’ve tried everything I can but I guess.... I guess you just don’t want to let me in. I only hope that you can find someone you trust before it’s too late.” He sighed sadly as he stood up from the couch.

“Wait, are you leaving?” She asked as she too stood.

He nodded his head slowly. “I’m sorry Sydney. I don’t want to leave, I love you but... I just don’t know what else to do to help you.” He admitted. He knew that was the first time he had confessed his love for her in the back of his mind he thought it could be his final way of breaking through to her but her facial expression was unchanging. He had lost and now there was nothing else to do but go even though that broke his heart.

His hand was just about an inch above the door handle when she rushed forward and said tearfully. “Wait, please don’t go.” He turned to look at her, not saying a word. “Please, please I can try. I know.... I know I’ve been pushing you away... I just... I couldn’t stand it if you left me and... and I don’t know... god, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She sniffed as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m just... I’m afraid to be happy.”

“I know.” Michael whispered.

“I’m sorry Michael, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to push you away.... it just happened. Please, please give me one more chance please.” She begged, tears streaming down her face.

Michael looked hesitant. He wanted to give her another chance but he knew that the longer he stayed, the more attached he would get to her. She took a few cautious steps forward and slipped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “Please, please... I love you Michael.” She said very quietly in a shaky voice.

Michael’s breath caught in his chest. He knew she meant what she said and he also knew that it must have been a difficult admission for her to make. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her back, kissing the top of her head in the process. “Okay.” He said quietly. She squeezed him tighter and thanked him quietly.



Chapter 9

Sydney knew that she had to change or risk loosing Michael forever, which was not an option. She really loved him more than she had loved anyone in her life. She needed him; she needed to change for him. She had to change for him. She would change for him.

She started out slow, just talking with him more about her feelings and opinions on things or stealing kisses here and there. At first, it was really difficult for her but the more she did it the easier it was and it soon became just... natural.

“Good evening, my lady.” Michael grinned when Sydney opened up her door. He was dressed in a black suit with a white button up shirt and red tie and he was holding a long stemmed red rose.

“Good evening to you too.” Sydney giggled. “What is the special occasion?”

“Well, tonight is the four month anniversary since our first date so I figured that we’d do something special.” He smiled.

“Four months, huh?” She giggled as he tapped her nose gently with the rose when she took it from him.

“Yes.” He smiled. “Four months since I fell in love with that wonderful laugh of yours.”

“This laugh?” She giggled.

“Yep, now come on we’ve got reservations.” He smiled as he slid an arm around her waist.

“So Mr. Vaughn, did you really fall in love with me that night on the beach?” She smiled at him.

“Ummm I don’t think I can specifically pinpoint a time but that night on the beach I was in pretty deep already, I know.” He grinned. “What about you?”

“That night I woke up on the couch with you.” She sighed.

“Ah yes.” He nodded knowingly. “That was a good one.”

“Yeah,” She sighed as she buried her face in his neck as they rode down the elevator. “Michael? Stay over tonight.”

Michael tense, unsure of what she meant by that. “Syd I-”

“No, not that. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that yet... I just want to wake up in your arms.” She sighed as she kissed his jaw lightly.

“I want that too, more than anything.” He sighed as well.

~*~

“Oh my god!” Sydney was laughing so hard she could barely stand up straight. “Did you see the look on that lady’s face when that waiter dumped the whole pie on her?!”

“Yes.” Michael laughed as well. “I think I actually saw smoke coming from her ears she was so furious.”

“I know. Oh my god I don’t think I’ve had so much fun at a restaurant in a long time.” She said as she tried to catch her breath and wipe the tears from her eyes. “Damn I can’t see.” She said as she fumbled with her keys.

“Let me.” Michael said as he took the keys from her and unlocked her door.

“You know, I should give you one.” Sydney sighed as she took off her wrap and placed it neatly on a chair.

“One what?” He asked as he began to loosen his tie.

“A key to my apartment.” She said.

Michael looked up at her in surprise. “Really?”

“Sure.” She shrugged. “You’re here like all the time and you look so sad and pathetic hanging outside that door.” She smiled. “What?” She added when she caught a glimpse of his expression.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “I just love you, that’s all.”

“I love you too.” She said as she walked over and kissed him sweetly. “Let’s go to bed.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” He smiled as he pulled her back into a deeper, more passionate kiss. “Mmm okay we can go to bed now.” He grinned once their kiss broke.

“Hold on.” She smiled as she pulled him back into another searing kiss. “Okay... we should stop now.”

“Yeah.” Michael agreed breathlessly.

A few minutes later they were both snuggled together in Sydney’s bed drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

~*~

Michael was shocked awake by the bed shaking slightly. Sydney was beside him sobbing violently, her whole body trembling. “Syd, baby, what’s wrong?” He whispered as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to wake you.” She sniffed.

“It’s fine... what happened? Are you sick?” He asked.

“No... I just... sometimes I have dreams...”

“What kind of dreams?” he asked cautiously.

“Sometimes... its flashbacks to their deaths... but this one... this... it....” She said as she continued to sob harder.

“Shh baby it’s ok.” He said soothingly as he stroked her arms and back.

“You were dead.” She blurted out. “You died... you were gone and I ... I was...”

“Shh, shh its ok Syd. I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.” He told her.

“I know but...” She whimpered.

“No buts.” He said as he pulled her tightly up against his body and held her until she fell asleep.

~*~

“Hey.” Sydney sighed when she woke up the next morning and found Michael watching her.

“Hey.” He sighed back.

“I’m sorry about last night...” She sighed.

“Don’t be. It’s alright.” He smiled.

“You’re too good you know that?”

“Nah...” He smiled. She giggled. “Hey listen, tomorrow my brother is having a barbeque to celebrate his engagement and my whole crazy family is going. So if you want to go....”

“You want me to go?” She smiled.

“Sure, I’d love it if you went. Of course you’ll have to beware of my insane family....” He sighed.

“Oh I’ve heard about them.” She giggled, recalling all of Michael’s explanations about his family. His oldest brother, Todd was married to Becky and they had twin boys. The second oldest brother Brian, wasn’t married. Then next oldest brother, Adam, was (ironically enough) married to a woman named Eve and the final brother, who was just a year older than Michael, was also unmarried. “So who’s engagement is it – Brian or Steve?”

“You remember their names?”

“Sure.” She smiled.

“Well it’s Steve and his fiancée’s name is Megan. We don’t think Brian will ever get married.” He sighed.

“Aww why?”

“Well... for years we’ve had a suspicion that he... bats for the other team if you get my drift, but he won’t admit it to anyone.”

“Oh no.” Sydney laughed.

“Yeah well... you wanna come?”

“Absolutely.” She grinned.

~*~

The next day when Michael was driving Sydney to his brother’s house he noticed that she was fidgeting nervously with her seatbelt. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing...” She sighed. “I just hope they like me.”

“They’re going to love you.” He grinned.

“How do you know?”

“Because I love you.”

~*~

“Hey everyone” Michael grinned as he walked into his brother’s back yard, holding Sydney’s hand. There was a loud chorus of ‘Hey Mike’ that when through the group of people. “This is Sydney.”

“Hi.” Sydney smiled nervously as she looked around the group of people. The first thing she noticed about Michael’s family that all four of his brother’s had the same piercing green eyes as he did. They each took turns introducing themselves and their wives/fiancée/children before Sydney finally reached Michael’s parents at the end of the line of introductions.

“Hello Sydney, I’m Amelia. It’s lovely to meet you.” Michael’s mother smiled.

“And I’m Bill.” His father added.

“Nice to meet you both.” Sydney mumbled shyly.

“Come Syd let’s get a drink.” Michael said as he pulled her towards the cooler up against the garage. “You ok?” He whispered to her.

“Yeah I’m fine.” She smiled.

“Sorry I know they’re overwhelming.” He said as he handed her a beer.

“It’s ok, really.” She said truthfully. The truth was she was glad to finally be involved in this part of Michael’s life, even though it was slightly overwhelming being introduced to eleven new people at once.

It was only a few minutes before they all sat down at a large picnic table and began to pass around burgers and hot dogs. “So it’s been a while since our little Mikey’s brought home a girl... how long was it? Four years?” Todd, his oldest brother said.

“Yeah that ugly chick, what was her name?” Adam asked.

“She wasn’t ugly, just different.” Becky tried to defend her.

“Yeah because having a second nose on the side of your face is ‘just different’.” Todd snorted. Becky smacked her husband’s shoulder and he whined.

“They’re kidding.” Michael told Sydney, who was looking rather horrified. “They like to pick on me because I’m the youngest.” Sydney smiled and nodded knowingly.

“Aww we don’t pick on you Mikey.” Steve said. Michael glared at his brother. “Ok, we do, but we only do it because we care.” He grinned.

Amelia laughed at her sons. “Do you have any siblings Sydney?” Michael quickly shot his mother a silencing glance but she just looked confused.

“I had a sister, but she passed away.” Sydney said quietly.

“Oh I’m terribly sorry.” Amelia said, sounding embarrassed.

“It’s ok.” Sydney assured her. Michael mentally cursed himself for not calling ahead and warning everyone not to mention Sydney’s family at all, but he could only hope they didn’t bring it up again.

“So, Sydney, what do you do?” Eve asked.

“I work in corporate law. I do research and stuff for cases.” Sydney said.

“Oh that sounds interesting.” Eve smiled.

“It can be.” Sydney laughed.

“Hey you guys remember that time Mom and Dad were having that patio party and we made Mikey-”

“NO! Not that story!” Michael cut him off.

“What happened?” Sydney encouraged. Michael looked humiliated and just stared down at his plate.

“Well,” Brian began. “I was bout ten and Todd was twelve but Mikey was only... what was he?”

“Four.” Their mother chimed in.

“Right four.” Brian continued. “And Mom and Dad were having this big patio party with all their friends from work and it was this really hot summer day and we were all bored and stuff so Mom said we could play with the hose as long as we stayed in the front yard away from all the guests.”

“So we all changed into our bathing suits and none of us really wanted to play with Mikey but Mom said we had to.” Todd said in an annoyed tone. Everyone laughed slightly. “So Brian and I got this idea that we’d talk Mike into taking off his swimming trunks and running through the back yard where all the guests were by bribing him with candy.” Todd said as he began to laugh.

“So he did it.” Brian laughed. “And he climbed up on the picnic table, totally naked and-”

“STOP!” Michael hissed.

“And this lady fainted at the sight of him.” Brian snorted. “Oh man it was great... until we got busted.”

“Aww.” Sydney said as she squeezed Michael’s hand. She couldn’t help but laugh a little harder at the bright red color of his face.

“Yes, thanks I hate you all.” Michael grunted.

“Poor, poor Mikey.” Todd smirked.

Their conversation continued with more childhood stories about Michael until he was mortified beyond description and actually had to leave the table. Sydney felt so bad for him and his brother’s took that as a sign to stop so they started turning on Steve, since it was his engagement party. Finally, Michael returned to the table and gave a little toast about his older brother getting married.

“Ok let’s play. I’m so full its sick.” Todd said with a belch which his wife scolded him for and his son’s cheered for.

“Play?” Sydney asked.

“Two on two basketball in the driveway.” Michael explained quietly.

“But there are five of you...”

“Brian referees.” Michael rolled his eyes. Sydney laughed as he got up and kissed her forehead before disappearing with his brothers.

“Mommy! I want to play too!” One of Todd and Becky’s sons whined.

“Me too!” His twin chimed.

“Why don’t you guys go get your soccer ball?” Becky suggested.

“Okay. Auntie Eve will you play with us?” One of them asked.

“Oh I’d love to but I can’t sweetie.” Eve sighed as she rubbed her six month pregnant belly.

“Will you play with us?” They asked as they turned to Sydney.

“Oh Sydney doesn’t want to-”

“No it’s ok.” Sydney smiled. “I used to play soccer when I was younger.” She smiled at them.

“YAY!” They cheered as they ran off to get their soccer ball.

“Thanks for doing this.” Becky said.

“No problem.” Sydney smiled.

“So, how long have you been dating Michael anyway?” She asked.

“Four months.” Sydney smiled. “He lives across the hall from me and he always asked me out in the elevator....”

“Persistently?” Becky asked.

“Yes.” Sydney laughed.

“Yeah that’s our Mike.” She laughed.

“Yeah... so I agreed to go out with him...”

“To get him to shut up.” Becky chimed in.

“Yes.” Sydney laughed. “And then...” She just smiled as she let her voice drift off.

“That’s sweet.” Becky smiled. “Todd and I were high school sweethearts so... I’ve been around for a while now.”

“Oh that’s nice.” Sydney smiled.

“Yeah it is. I know they’re a lot to get used to at first but they’re good people.”

“I know, I can tell.” She said.

~*~

“So Mike, what’s with you and this chick?” Steve asked.

“What do you mean?” Michael asked.

“Oh come on. How long have you been with her?” Brian asked.

“Four months.” He said. “She’s just...”

“Ah I know that look.” Todd smiled. “Our wittle Mikey’s in wub.”

“Shut up Todd.” Michael said as he passed his brother the ball rather violently.

“Oh my god he is!” Adam exclaimed. “Awwww.”

“Stop it.” Michael hissed.

“No, we’re sorry. It’s good Mike, really good.” Brian smiled.

“Yep... we’re all going to be married now... well except Brian.” Todd smirked.

“Shut up asshole and keep playing.” Brian grunted.

~*~

“So Sydney, have you taken Michael to meet your parents?” Amelia smiled.

“Actually, my parents passed away when I was 16.” Sydney said.

“Oh goodness, I’m sorry. I’m just making a horrible conversationalist today aren’t I.” Amelia sighed.

“It’s fine really.” Sydney smiled.

“WOO HOO!” Steve chanted when he and his brothers returned from the driveway looking much sweatier. “We kicked ass!”

“Yep, marriage has made you two soft.” Michael grinned.

“Yeah, Yeah.” Adam and Todd grumbled.

“Congratulations.” Sydney giggled at Michael.

“Ohh don’t touch me I’m gross.” He said as he stepped back from her when she went to hug him. “I’ll go change and be back in a few.” Sydney nodded and then turned her attention to Todd who was chasing his son’s around the back yard.

“Keep in mind, its like having three boys.” Becky laughed to Sydney.

“I can see that.” Sydney smiled. “But it’s nice.”

“Yeah. It is.”

~*~

“So did you have a horrible time today?” Michael asked as they were driving home.”

“No, I had a wonderful time.” She smiled.

“Good so my brother’s stories didn’t make you want to break up with me?” He laughed half seriously.

“No, they made me love you even more.” She told him.

“That’s good Bristow, very good.”



Chapter 10

In the next two months Sydney and Michael rarely spent a night apart though they had yet to cross that physical barrier of their relationship. Mostly they spent the night at Sydney’s place but occasionally it was at Michael’s. By the time their six month anniversary came around, Michael had practically moved in. He kept clothes in her closet, a razor and toothbrush in her bathroom and random sports magazines were scattered around her apartment. Sydney loved every minute of it.

She loved watching him shave from her warm comfy, spot in bed. She loved that the clothes hanging right next to his in the closet had taken on the smell of his cologne. She loved that he made her coffee every morning and when she was in the shower he’d sneak a cup onto the bathroom counter so she could have some when she got out. She had never asked him to do this, he just did it all on his own. She loved the mock-annoyed expression he got on his face when she stole one of his shirts to wear to bed. She loved the way his arms felt when they were around her and she loved the way their hands fit perfectly together.

Even though it had only been six months she was already picturing forever with him and that didn’t scare her one bit. It was one evening that she was flipping through the TV channels while Michael was working late when she came across a special on wedding gowns. She found herself musing about what she would look like in a few of the gowns but then she caught herself. She didn’t catch herself because she was afraid though, but because she was content and couldn’t have been happier with her life in that moment. She wondered how she could have been so naïve when thinking she could be alone forever, because she knew that she couldn’t live her life without Michael. She didn’t even want to think about it. It was then that she knew she was ready to take the next step in being with him.

So, she planned it all out, a very special six month anniversary dinner. She would be cooking it herself as well as preparing her apartment for a romantic evening so she kicked Michael out for the afternoon which he complained about but agreed to after she promised to make it up to him. She made their meal, set the table with candles and flowers. The final touch was a romantic CD and a sexy red halter dress she had bought special.

“Honey, I’m home.” Michael teased when he came through the door at six which was Sydney’s designated return time for him. “Whoa...” he gasped when he saw the romantic setting of the apartment.

“Happy anniversary.” Sydney smiled.

Michael’s eyes grew wide when he saw her. “You look so beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She giggled. “Sit down... relax... dinner will be ready in just a second.” She smiled.

“Ok this food was too good. You have been hiding these cooking talents from me; I’m insulted.” He grinned.

“Trust me, this is a one of a kind dish.” She smiled.

“Well it was fantastic, thank you.” He smiled.

“I got you something...” She said cautiously.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He shook his head.

“I know but I wanted to.” She said. “I’ll just go get it... give me a sec.”

“Take your time.” He smiled as he watched her disappear into her bedroom. He took that opportunity to clear their dinner plates and put the remaining food into the refrigerator so it wouldn’t spoil.

“Michael.” He heard softly. He turned around slowly and his jaw crashed open at what he saw. Sydney was standing in her bedroom doorway looking as though she had stepped out of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue from the clothes she was wearing. Michael was speechless.

“Do you like it?” She asked rather self consciously. Still, Michael had no words but he managed to take a few steps forward. “What’s wrong?”

“Surprised.” He croaked finally. Then he swallowed a few times, trying to regain the ability to speak. “You look... wow.” He said. Her lips curled up in a smile as she reached for his hand and pulled him towards her. “Syd.... are you sure?”

“Very sure.” She whispered as she pulled him into a kiss.

~*~

“Well, you know, this was a very good gift.” Michael grinned mischievously as he admired the red ball of lace that lay discarded at the foot of the bed.

“I’m glad you liked it.” Sydney giggled as she snuggled closer to him.

He sighed contently as he pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her. “You happy, Syd?”

“I’ve never been this happy in my life.” She sighed.

“Me too.” He smiled at her.

“Oh hey are you hungry still? There is dessert...” She said.

“Really?” he smiled wickedly. “I thought we already had it.”

“Michael.” She giggled. “No I made cake.”

“Cake? What kind of cake?” He asked.

“Lemon... your favorite.” She tempted.

“You know I could eat some cake.” He smiled as he began to reach for his boxers but she snatched them from him. “Hey...” He whined.

“Nope, mine.” She grinned.

“Fine. I’ll just eat my cake naked then.” He smiled. She laughed but then ‘boo-ed’ him when he retrieved another pair of boxers from the drawer. She followed him out into the kitchen and helped him cut the cake. They sat on the couch with their legs intertwined as they ate.

“Michael I never thanked you...”

“For what?” He asked curiously.

“Saving me.” She smiled. He smiled back at her and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Really Michael, thank you. I don’t know how to thank you enough for what you’ve done for me...” She sighed.

He smiled softly as he set his plate down and took one of her hands. “You could... marry me.” He suggested. She gasped and shock was written all over her face. Michael took a deep breath and began the speech he had been practicing in his mind for days. “Syd... I know its only been six months but... I love you so much and I need to be with you. We can wait as long as you want to get married but I just....”

He didn’t get to finish because Sydney’s lips crashing into his cut off his speech. “Yes, yes, yes.” She repeated as she showered him in kisses.

“Yes?”

“Yes!” She giggled as she jumped into his lap and kiss him once more.

“Thanks great because... I got you something too.” He smiled as he slid her off his lap, went to his jacket pocket, retrieved a box and handed it to her.

“It’s a ring.” She gasped when she opened it. He slid it on her finger; a perfect fit. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, forever.”



Epilogue

It was another Vaughn family get-together just like all the others. All the brothers were teasing each other and telling less than flattering childhood stories. All the wives were chatting together and the grandparents were playing with their grandchildren. This time they were all gathered at Michael’s new house celebrating the family move.

Sydney was walking around with her 18 month old daughter Amanda on her hip, trying to get her twin nephews not to destroy the house. “No Matthew put that down!” She scolded as she tried to pry a picture frame from his grasp.

“Oh Sydney I’m so sorry.” Beth said when she came in carrying her own infant daughter. “Matthew what did I tell you before we left hmm? I told you not to touch anything in Aunt Sydney’s house.”

“It’s alright.” Sydney sighed. “Let’s just all go outside.” Sydney hugged Amanda tightly as she dogged some running toddlers on her way out to the back yard. She heard Amanda giggled and looked down to see her gorgeous dimpled smile and beautiful green eyes that warmed her heart every time she saw them. She kissed her daughter’s forehead and then walked over to the picnic table and sat down, trying to get her to eat since she had been uninterested earlier.

“Hey baby.” Michael grinned as he sat down next to his wife. “Or should I say babies.” He grinned as he kissed both his wife and daughter.

“Hey are you guys gonna try out the new basketball net soon?” Sydney asked.

“Yep in a few minutes.” He said as he grabbed some vegetables off Sydney’s plate. “Are you feeling alright? You seem quiet today.”

“Oh no I guess I’m just... tried or something.” She sighed.

“Syd.” He said calling her attention. She just smiled at him and looked down at their daughter. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” He asked suspiciously.

“Well... I just found out this morning... I was going to wait until tonight to tell you but-”

“You’re pregnant?!” He interrupted hopefully. She giggled and nodded her head. Immediately Michael showered her in kisses and hugged her tightly.

“Daddy!” Amanda whined since he was almost smashing her.

“Sorry baby Daddy’s just excited.” He said as he pulled her into her lap and began to tickle her. She giggled wildly. “I love you so much.”

“I know, I love you too.” She smiled.

“Mikey come on! Quit making out with your wife and play!” His brother Adam called.

“We’ll celebrate later.” Sydney winked at him.

“Okay.” He smiled as he kissed her once more before joining his brothers.

Sydney sighed contently as she pulled Amanda back into her lap and ran her fingers through her daughter’s brown hair. She looked out across the yard and saw the family that had become hers over the five years since she and Michael had been together.

She had been the orphaned girl with no family and no one to love but now, she had more family than she knew what to do with and more love than she ever thought possible.

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