A Helping Hand

I think Santa is a cool name for the doggy... exactly what a child would pick anyway :lol:

It looks like the Vaughn/Bristow families are enjoying their time together!!! :blush:
 
How cute! I think that she should have named her Sydney, this way when she screamed at Sydney for peeing on the carpet, the real Syd would wonder what was going on! :smiley:

Excellent update :smiley:
 
hey!~!
OMG so sweet!~!
“You’re not up Sydney!! Daddy make Sydney get up!” Grace said.
“Oh trust me,” Michael paused to yawn, “I will.” Feeling rather vindictive, Michael yanked all the blankets off Sydney’s balled-up form. She squirmed and tried to tuck all her limbs further into her body, shivering from the sudden cold. “Five seconds until I dump the mattress. Five. Four. Three. Two-”
“Alright I’m up, I’m up,” Sydney grumbled as she pushed her body up into a sitting position.
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:lol:
“No you have to wait for Sydney’s parents, but!” he caught her just as she was about to charge back up the stairs, “you can’t wake them up.”
“Why not!” she whined.
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yer why not?~?
“Yeah I think we should let her,” Sydney said very seriously. Forcing them to get up at sunrise was a very nice form a payback for the critique she would inevitably receive from them before the holiday was over.
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i'm with Syd on this one!~!
“Seriously, you amaze me,” Sydney sighed.
“What!? Why? Because I can make pancakes?” Michael laughed in disbelief.
“No, because you can make pancakes and make it look easy,” she told him.
“It is easy. I bet you could do it,” he told her. She shook her head. “Yes you could!”
“Well, maybe I could mix the dough-”
“Batter,” he corrected.
“Whatever, but if I tried to cook it I’d burn it,” she sighed sadly.
“Oh,” Michael laughed softly.
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awww :love: cuteness
Just as the present opening was wearing down, Sydney flashed her father a secretive look and he disappeared from the family room. The previous evening, she had enlisted him to help with Grace’s special puppy surprise. A minute after he left, he returned holding a square box very gingerly. “Grace, I believe this is for you,” he said simply before setting the box down in front of her gently.
“What does it say?” Michael asked, referring to the card atop the box.
“It says, ‘To Sydney and Grace, from Santa’…who would give us something?!” Grace asked Sydney with confusion. Sydney shrugged innocently and encouraged her to open the box. Grace whipped the top off quickly and gasped upon seeing its contents. Never in her life had Sydney seen a more touched and purely excited look on anyone’s face than she saw on Grace’s face in that moment. Her look alone was worth more than a million presents every day for the rest of her life; it made her feel wonderful.
“A puppy!” Grace said in disbelief for, looking up to her from the box was a tan colored ball of fur with a tiny little tail. “Daddy it’s a puppy!” she said almost tearfully.
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THE PUPPY ARIVED!~!
“Why don’t you name her,” she suggested.
“Okay… Sydney. I want to name her Sydney,” Grace said after only a moment’s thought.
With this announcement, all the adults laughed softly. “Honey, you can’t name the puppy Sydney,” Michael told her. “Why don’t you pick another name?”
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WHY CANT SHE NAME THE PUPPY SYD?
pHEONIX :P
 
Chapter 20
Not surprisingly, Grace spent most of Christmas Day physically attached to her puppy. She carried little Santa everywhere with her, even into the bathroom. The only chance the adults got to interact with her was by petting her while she was sitting in Grace’s arms. Finally, Sydney, concerned for the puppy’s welfare, suggested that Grace give Santa a break and put her down in her little puppy bed. Naturally, Grace did not respond to this well.

“I don’t wanna put her down! She’ll forget who I am!” Grace insisted, clutching the puppy tighter.

“No she won’t sweetie, but little Santa needs a nap. Come on, give her to me,” Sydney said, reaching her hands out carefully, but Grace backed away.

“Daddy! Sydney says I have to give Santa to her, but I don’t wanna. Do I hafta?!” Grace asked as she ran over to her father.

“Well first, little Santa is looking a little worse for the ware,” Michael said before prying the puppy from his daughters grasp. He put her down by her food bowl and let her take a drink and munch on some puppy chow before guiding her to her little puppy bed, where she willingly collapsed, exhausted from a long morning of man-handling.

“Second,” Michael continued, turning back to his daughter. “If Sydney asks you to do something or tells you to do something you have to do as she says, alright? You have to listen to her just like you listen to me.”

“But what if she tells me to eat my fingers!” Grace exclaimed with horror.

A confused look crossed Michael’s face as he looked up to Sydney, who looked equally perplexed. “Well, um… Sydney’s not going to tell you to eat your fingers…,” Michael said with slight uncertainty, confused as to where his daughter came up with such a ridiculous request.

“What if she does!” Grace insisted.

“If Sydney tells you to eat your fingers you don’t have to, but if she tells you to do something else you have to, alright?” Michael told her. Grace nodded before walking off in the direction of Santa’s bed. “Freeze,” Michael stopped his daughter. “Leave Santa alone until at least dinner; go play with your new game, okay?”

“Fiiiiiine,” Grace groaned loudly before stomping her way into the family room.

Sydney laughed softly as she walked over to Santa’s bed and pat her head gently. “Poor girl…you can’t say Grace doesn’t love her, though,” she smiled at Michael.

“Yes, but unfortunately the phrase, ‘love her to death’ is taking on new meaning,” Michael said with a light groan that made Sydney laugh. “You think I’m not serious?”

“Oh no I know that is a very likely possibility, which is why we need to designate puppy time – time when Grace can play with Santa – and time when Santa gets a break,” Sydney pointed out.

“Good idea…Santa, jeeze,” Michael laughed softly as he looked down at the sleeping pup. “Poor little girl…she doesn’t even have a dog name like Spot or Fluffy.”

“I know,” Sydney laughed. “Maybe we should have let her name it Sydney.”

“But that’s weird,” Michael grimaced. “I mean, it’s a joint dog…so what if you were taking a walk and one of your friends saw you and they were like, ‘oh what a cute dog, what’s her name?’ and you told them they’d think you were a freak who named the dog after yourself.”

“True,” Sydney laughed. “That reminds me though – I need to hire a dog walker…what?” she asked upon seeing Michael roll his eyes dramatically.

“Dog walker,” he said with obvious disapproval.

“Well I don’t have time to come home over my lunch break and neither do you. We can’t have her peeing all over the house, can we?” she challenged, folding her arms over her chest.

“No,” he said quietly.

“Exactly,” she smiled proudly. “So what’s the big deal?”

“It’s just…weird. I’m not used to anyone hiring someone to do everything for them,” Michael said.

“People don’t do everything for me,” Sydney defended.

Michael rolled his eyes. “Um, okay, Ms. I have a driver and a dog walker and a housekeeper and a chef and someone who does my laundry-”

“I do my own laundry!” Sydney insisted. Michael gave her a skeptical look. “I do too! I don’t want anyone else…touching my underwear,” she said quietly, “that’s creepy!”

“I agree,” Michael laughed.


Michael and Sydney spent a greater part of the afternoon keeping Grace away from Santa’s bed. However, once dinner arrived, their promise wore out and Grace was allowed to play with – or, rather torment – the pup once more. Shortly after dinner, Sydney and Grace took their new little Christmas present for a very short walk around Sydney’s minimalist back yard before bringing the very sleepy little dog back inside and letting her go to bed. By this point, Grace too was feeling rather sleepy, so she retired to the couch to watch some Christmas programming for the last time that year.

After Grace went to bed, Sydney pulled Michael aside into his bedroom so that they could talk privately. She sat down on the end of the queen size bed and Michael did the same. “So I thought about what you asked me last week about taking custody of Grace…,” Sydney began slowly, glancing over to meet Michael’s eyes. He swallowed hard and nodded his head gently. “And…and it’s something I want to do; I would love to do it,” she said firmly.

Michael exhaled with great relief and forced a smile across his face. Though giving up his little girl was absolutely the last thing he wanted to do, he knew it was best for Grace. Having a temporary home with Sydney was the best thing he could possibly do for her, especially since Grace and Sydney were already so close. “Thank you; thank you very much,” he said sincerely.

“I’ll call my lawyer first thing tomorrow morning and we’ll figure it out…there’s just one tiny little condition,” she told him. His brow furrowed and he looked at her, confused. “I… I don’t know what you were planning but…but if I take Grace, you have to stay here too so that nothing changes,” she told him.

Michael stood up off the bed and circled around to the other side, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. “I don’t think I can do that,” He told her.

Sydney stood up off the bed, angry with the answer she could not honestly say surprised her. “Oh god damn your stupid pride Michael. What is the point of living out on the street in some god forsaken shelter when you don’t have to!? Explain this to me!” she demanded.

“It’s not about that! If I leave Grace with you I don’t have to worry about getting her to school every day or feeding her dinner. I can take a second job to-”

“Take a second job?!” Sydney gasped, utterly lost. “You already work full time!”

“Not in the evenings and weekends. I’ll get another job…work all night if I have to so I can make more money,” he told her simply.

“Work all night?!? When will you sleep?!” she demanded. He merely shrugged. “Michael you’re being absurd and ridiculous. What are you going to say to Grace when you just leave here and never come back!?”

“I never said I wouldn’t be back!” He insisted. “I’ll explain it to her…she’ll understand.”

“No she won’t,” Sydney shook her head.

“Well she’ll have to! I’m doing this for her; for Grace,” he said simply.

“No, that’s not what this is about,” Sydney said, still shaking her head. “You have some illogical need not to accept help from anyone because of your damn pride. It doesn’t make any sense at all. The only explanation I can come up with is its part of your ‘I’m a man, I have a penis and it gives me the right to be an asshole’ complex.

“All you care about is your pride and you don’t give a damn about the people who care about you…so you know what – I’m sick of caring and I’m sick of worrying and I’m sick of trying to convince you to do the right thing when obviously you have no interest in doing that. So go, do whatever the hell it is that you want to do; I have Grace to think about now.” And with that, she turned on her heel and she stormed out of his bedroom, not even bothering to look back to see what his reaction was to her very blunt and honest evaluation of his feelings.
 
well somehow i do understand how michael feels the whole 'i'm the man' thing must be bothering him. but what syd is suggesting i think would be the best for grace... i really hope michael reconsiders...
 
In a way I have to disagree with Sydney. True it would be easier for Michael to just live with her but he wants to financially get back on his own feet. Obviously what he earns as a janitor doesn't do that. He needs to earn more money in order to provide a home for his daughter and getting a second job is the only way he can see doing it.

Sydney thinks Michael refusing to live with her is solely because of pride. It's not, he doesn't want to be dependent on her. If Sydney wants to help Michael then help him find a better paying job.

Chris
 
With Syd yelling at Vaughn, I was starting to think she was going to blurt out that she has feelings for him or that she loves him. :thinking:

Michael's problems won't be solved as easy as Syd thinks. If she really wants to help him out and for him to spend more time with grace she needs to help him find a better paying job. So if she wants Michael to continue to stay she needs to help him and not just give him a FREE ride. Michael needs solutions and not easy way outs.
 
IT had to be said... but i think that this is what will be a wake up call for Michael in how he is handling all of this.

It would hurt to hear but would save a lot of heart ache from Grace if he listens to what sydney said. Grace needs both of them at the moment.. she wont understand why michael would never be around if he took that second Job. Grace would think that he doesn't want her anymore because she likes syd as well....

Hope he can see the light before someone gets really hurt
 
Chapter 21
For the few days after Christmas, things between Sydney and Michael were rather tense, which was not surprising at all considering the argument they had on Christmas night. For once, Sydney was thankful for her parent’s presence. The elder Bristow’s being there meant she did not need an excuse not to spend time with Michael; it was perfectly understandable for her to spend time with her family while they were visiting. However, one downside to their visiting at that point in time was that, with her father hovering around her practically non-stop at work, it was much more difficult for Sydney to surreptitiously meet with a lawyer regarding Grace’s custody. Of course Sydney knew she could not hide this fact from her parents for too long, however she preferred to explain it to them over the phone once they were back in Florida. That way, if the yelling and disapproving words became to intense she could always hang up on them.

When she was finally able to contact a lawyer, Sydney found that Grace’s custody switch would actually be rather complex; possible, but complex. Unfortunately after her legal conversation, she needed to speak with Michael for the first time since the incident. He did not bring up their fight at all, though; he merely listened to what she was relaying to him from her conversation with the lawyer. In the end, they decided it was best for them both to meet with this lawyer over one of their lunch breaks in the next few days. After that, they would have a better understanding of how the situation would work for them and Grace.

~*~

“Sydney, is there something you’d like to tell me?” her mother asked her in one of the sweetest voice she had ever heard. The two women were shopping at Bergdof’s department store a few days before New Year’s. Shopping was the only activity that the Bristow women could do that bonded them together, since neither had an affinity for sports and Sydney’s mother was not a big fan of television or movies.

“Um…no. Why?” Sydney asked curiously. Her mother’s tone indicated that she was prying for information on something that she already knew (via one of her secret sources) but wished to hear it from Sydney – the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

“Well something about Michael…and Grace,” her mother led.

“Nope. Nothing I haven’t already told you,” Sydney said with a casual shrug.

“I see. So there’s nothing going on between you and Michael romantically?” she asked with a suspiciously raised eyebrow.

“Definitely not,” Sydney said with an almost laugh. Of course she found Michael to be an attractive man. After all, she did have eyes, but she was not attracted to him, at least not to the point where she would violate his trust in her and cross a line that could not be crossed while they were under the same roof.

“And between you and Grace?” her mother asked.

“Okay Mom, you got me. I want to date Grace, happy now?” Sydney asked in a monotonous tone.

“Sydney that is disgusting,” her mother snapped.

“Well how was I supposed to respond to that?!” she asked with an innocent laugh.

“Well it’s just…you seem to really care for her – not that I can blame you, of course. Grace is a very sweet girl, but…well, I’m concerned you’re getting too attached to her,” her mother said.

“I love Grace, Mom,” Sydney told her simply.

“Which is exactly my point. You’re too attached. What is going to happen between you and Michael? Nothing, obviously because nothing could happen and then he’ll-”

“Wait,” Sydney cut her mother off sharply. “What do you mean ‘nothing could happen’?”

“Oh Sydney be serious,” her mother said with a tongue click. “Michael is a janitor in your father’s building. He is not the sort of person you should be seeing romantically. COOs, company presidents – those are the sort of people you should be seeing.”

“Mother,” Sydney practically growled, “those sort of people aren’t interested in having families like I am. Or even if they want children, they don’t want to be involved in parenting. When I have children of my own, I want to stop working so that I can raise them until they’re at least school age. I want to be in their lives.”

“Like your father and I weren’t in your life,” her mother concluded with downcast eyes.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. You and dad were around when I was younger… it wasn’t until I was a teenager that you disappeared and that was okay. I don’t blame you, really, but I also don’t want my children being raised by nannies,” she told her.

“I understand that, but that still doesn’t explain why you can’t marry a company president. You’ll stay home with the children and he’ll go to work,” she said simply.

“And he’ll miss every dance recital and soccer game as well,” Sydney told her. “Not that I’m going to marry Michael or anything, but seriously – what is wrong with being a janitor? It’s a job, is it not?”

“Of course it’s a job but… well, janitors don’t marry CEOs Sydney. They just don’t. It doesn’t happen – this is not Cinderella,” Mrs. Bristow said with a sigh before walking off to leaf through another rack of expensive dresses.

“No it’s not,” Sydney said, following her. “This isn’t a movie, Mom; this is real life, but those two things have one similar thing in common. You can’t help who you fall in love with.”

“Are you saying you’re in love with Michael?!” her mother gasped.

“No, I’m not,” she shook her head. “I’m just saying that…well, I might fall in love with a janitor…or a bartender or a taxi cab driver and if that person is a good man who I connect with, I’m not going to not marry him just because of his job. That’s not the kind of person I am.”

“I’m not telling you to discriminate Sydney, I’m simply saying it would be very unlikely for you to have something in common with such a person,” her mother said, continuing to defend her stance.

“Opposites attract,” Sydney said with a simple shrug.

Her mother gave her a dangerous look. “Now you’re just trying to fight with me.”

Sydney laughed softly. “No, not really…oh! We have to go anyway! I promised Grace I’d pick up some toys for Santa.”

“That’s another question I had,” her mother said as she followed her quickly out of the department store. “This dog – Santa – does it not belong to both you and Grace?! Who will get to keep it when Michael and Grace move out at the end of the holiday season?”

“Well, actually Mom, Michael and Grace might be sticking around for a while longer,” Sydney said casually.

“Oh will they? I suppose this has to do with the thing you’re keeping from your father and I,” her mother said with a rather perturbed expression.

“Yes, but trust me Mom,” Sydney sighed, “you would not believe me even if I told you…”
 
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