A Helping Hand

awww I feel so bad for michael. doing what he can and feeling inadequte. And now seeing Syd while he's at his job. Oh boy....well hopefully he'll soon realize that she's not a snobby person and really is just wanting to help. Can't wait for more! Hopefully grace can change his mind!
 
Chapter 5
Immediately after realizing that Michael, in a roundabout sort of way, worked for her, Sydney had to fight the urge to look up his employment portfolio. Of course, she could not do this since it would be a vast invasion of his privacy which she was only doing to quell her own obsessive need to find out more about him. Despite this, she wanted to more than ever. Finding out that Michael was employed as a janitor did calm some of her concerns though. At least he had a very well paying job that gave benefits to him and his daughter. Even with this comforting knowledge, though, she could not get them out of her mind.

For the next few weeks, every day in her office when she saw a janitor, she thought of Michael. She constantly thought about going to the building where he worked, waiting until the end of his shift and trying to talk to him. Part of her suspected he might have been embarrassed by his profession, especially when she was standing there in a thousand dollar business suit with five hundred dollars shoes trying to make conversation with him in his stained coveralls. She did not care though; no matter what his profession he would still be the sandy haired man with mysterious eyes she wanted to get lost in. That was, of course, a selfish wish; on a more genuine level she wanted to find out about him and Grace, what they did in their spare time, and whether Grace’s mother was part of their lives.

The more time that passed, it became more and more difficult for Sydney to fight the urge to go and visit Michael. Luckily, though, she was able to cross paths with him in a much less invasive and stalker-like manner.

Part of Sydney’s job as the CEO of one of the wealthiest land-holding companies in the city included attending various benefit galas to put a good face on the company. She needed to appear, hand over a check and prove that she cared about the city in which she lived. Of course she cared, but she found the whole thing very arrogant to say the least, since most of the time the people donating money did not care all that much, at least not genuinely; they were only there to get publicity for themselves or their companies.

On the way home from one such event, Sydney was sitting in the back of her fancy town car shivering due to the frigid temperature of that evening. Apparently, though it was only the middle of November, winter was already beginning to set in. In fact, gala attendees were discussing the possibility of snow flurries later that weekend.

As she rode home, Sydney glanced out the side window up ahead as the headlights bounced along. For the most part, the streets were vacant at that late hour of nearly midnight, but up ahead she spotted something that made her call out, “Stop the car!” Seated on the broken concrete steps of an abandoned townhouse was a man with a large bundle in his lap and somehow she just knew.

Her car pulled over a few feet away from this man so that its headlights shone enough for her to get out of the car and still see him. This man noticeably recoiled as Sydney stepped out of the car, shivering in her fancy gala dress. “Hi,” she said softly. He said nothing. After a moment of silence she said, “Michael,” in a very stern tone.

“What do you want?” he responded, his tone almost annoyed.

“Get in the car,” she said simply.

“No I’m not-”

“Get in the car,” she repeated without hearing what he had to say; there was absolutely no excuse for spending the night outside with a sleeping child in his arms.

“No,” he said simply.

Almost infuriated at how stubborn to the point of ridiculous he was being, Sydney walked closer and crouched down so that she was eye level with him. “It might snow tonight, did you know that?” she said. Michael looked away from her. “You can’t stay out here; get in the car Michael.”

“I’m fine,” he said firmly.

“What about Grace? Is she fine?” Sydney asked as she glanced at the face of the little girl, who was amazingly asleep in the blanket she was bundled in despite the conversation going on around her. “Get in the car Michael, if not for yourself, for Grace. Please, get in the car,” she said in an almost desperate tone. That time, when Michael’s eyes met hers, she saw sadness and remorse, but agreement. Sighing, he stood and walked towards the open door of her car. She let him step inside first before sliding in herself and instructing her driver to continue on.

They were almost painfully silent on the way to Sydney’s house, but once they arrived, Michael spoke. “You know you don’t have to-”

Sydney would hear none of his protest and instructed him in an almost scolding motherly tone, “Inside.” In a way she was scolding him. He was a father and he needed to protect his daughter. In no way was he doing that by sleeping outside on the streets of New York with her. Michael lowered his head and carried his daughter inside her house to her foyer, where he waited for further instruction since it was clear she was in charge of the situation.

“Follow me,” she said quietly, heading towards the stairway to their right. Pulling off her overcoat as she went, she led the way up the stairs, down the narrow hall and to a door with a few pink hearts across it. “This was my room when I was little; Grace will like it,” she said softly as she flicked on the light switch, revealing the pink and soft yellow interior.

Michael said nothing, but he carried his daughter over to the pink duvet covered twin bed. He set her down and began to unwrap her from her blanket cocoon. Sydney assisted by pulling off her worn sneakers and setting them down on the floor beside the bed. She waited until Grace was safely tucked beneath the bed covers before offering, “I have another spare bedroom if…”

“No,” Michael said in a strained voice, exhaustion evident, “I’ll stay here… don’t want her to wake and get scared in the middle of the night.”

“Right,” Sydney nodded in understanding. “Well, my bedroom is at the end of the hall- the double doors…if you need anything. Goodnight Michael,” she said simply before walking towards the door. Before she made it there, though, Michael called out her name.

“Thank you,” he said simply in the most sincere voice she had ever heard in her entire life. In response, she offered him a reassuring smile before leaving the room and closing the door, bound for bed herself.
 
Sydney was mistaken. If a janitor's job was so well paying then Michael would be able to afford an apartment. Obviously, he still doesn't earn enough to put a roof over his daughter's head. Michael really had to hit rock bottom if he's now forced to sleep on the street. And having Sydney find him and Grace doing so really had to distroy what little pride he still had. However, Sydney is right, she offered a helping hand and for Grace's sake Michael needed to take it.

Chris
 
YAY they're back at her place :rolleyes:

I hate to imagine poor Vaughn and Grace out in the cold night! I'm so glad Sydney found them and invited them to her house to sleep in her cozy warm beds :love:
 
Michael is definitely grateful for Syd helping, even if it did chunk the rest of his pride out the window. I'm sure he is beating himself up for not being able to find a place for them to sleep inside when it was going to snow.
Great update
 
Yay Syd found them and brought them back to her place. :love: Hmm can't wait for the next chapter. Will it be morning already? :thinking: Wonder how that will go? :blush:
 
Been away for quite some time, so I'm just starting to catch up on stories.

And I have to say that this story is wonderful. :smiley: I am definitely loving it so far. I can't wait to see what happens next.
 
good girl syd! I'm glad she didn't take no for an answer! I know that michael is upset that he can't provide for grace but at the same time he needs to realize that not all rich people are stuck up and snobby! personally I think he'd find it hard to get grace NOT to stay there. Hopefully grace and syd strike a bond to keep them there! can't wait for more!
 
Sydney was mistaken. If a janitor's job was so well paying then Michael would be able to afford an apartment. Obviously, he still doesn't earn enough to put a roof over his daughter's head. Michael really had to hit rock bottom if he's now forced to sleep on the street. And having Sydney find him and Grace doing so really had to distroy what little pride he still had. However, Sydney is right, she offered a helping hand and for Grace's sake Michael needed to take it.

Chris
I agree completely.
I'm sure Michael must have been really humiliated when Sydney saw him like that, but he did the right thing, for his daughter.
 
Good thing for Michael and Gracie, that Syd found them. Gracie nor Michael should have to deal with that. :(

I know that it must be hard for Michael, but he needs to think about Gracie. :smiley:

Excellent update :smiley:
 
Chapter 6
The next morning, Michael woke his daughter up as early as possible keeping in mind she became very cranky if awoken too early. He did not bother explaining where they were since he knew their location would make her very excited considering she had mentioned Sydney at least once a day since their first meeting. He got her dressed, made her brush her teeth, and then told her to be very quiet as they surreptitiously escaped the house. Sydney, however, had other plans.

Just as Michael and Grace were descending the second half of the stairs, they spotted her on the third step up from the bottom. She was leaning against the wall with her legs spread full out across the step wearing an ivory color robe and matching slippers. Michael was not sure if she was asleep, but her position made it obvious that she was making sure they could not sneak out without her knowledge.

As they grew closer to her, she stirred, looked up at them and smiled. “Going somewhere?” she asked innocently. Michael fought a groan under his breath; his brilliant plan had been destroyed. Ignoring the obviously protesting look on Michael’s face, Sydney turned to Grace and smiled. “Good morning Grace; its nice to see you again.”

“’morning Sydney,” Grace smiled.

“How would you like some pancakes for breakfast, hmm?” Sydney offered. Grace nodded vigorously. “Excellent, c’mere,” Sydney said, opening up her arms. Grace jumped in them and Sydney hoisted her up on her hip, surprised at how lightweight the little girl actually was. “So what do you want on your pancakes, hmm?”

“Chocolate chips!” she exclaimed.

Sydney laughed softly. “Well I’m not sure if your daddy would like that. How about some blueberries instead?”

“I’ve never had those,” Grace told her simply.

“Never!” Sydney gasped. Grace shook her head. “Well then you’ll have to try them; they’re my favorite fruit! Go into the kitchen and tell Consuela you want pancakes and blueberries for breakfast, okay?”

“Okay!” Grace shouted as she bounced down from Sydney’s arms and went tearing through the foyer towards the back of the house. Once she was gone, Sydney looked up to Michael with a very proud smile only to see an annoyed look on his face.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he told her almost sharply.

“Why? What’s wrong with pancakes and blueberries? Would you rather she have cereal instead?” Sydney asked sounding just as innocent as ever.

“We need to be going; we can’t stay for breakfast,” he said simply, pushing past her on his way down the final few stairs.

“Why not?” Sydney challenged, following him.

“Because we can’t.”

“That’s not a reason,” Sydney informed him. He gave her yet another annoyed look. “Michael come on! It’s breakfast! Grace is probably hungry and this way you won’t have to walk all the way to a shelter or a dumpster or God knows where to find food!”

“Excuse me but you don’t know a god damn thing about my life,” he snapped at her.

“You’re wrong,” she informed him, folding her arms over her chest. “I know that if it hadn’t been for me, you and Grace would have slept on the street all night last night! She wouldn’t have had a warm bed to sleep in. She wouldn’t have been safe and you wouldn’t have gotten any sleep either so excuse me for caring!”

Michael shut his eyes and lowered his head, breathing deeply and trying to rid himself of the animosity he felt towards the woman in front of him, who clearly was just being helpful, albeit annoyingly so. “Look, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate very much what you did for us last night, but we don’t need help. We’re doing just fine,” Michael told her.

“Yeah it looked like it too,” Sydney muttered under her breath. Michael was about to glare at her before he heard Grace shout from the kitchen.

“Daddy! Sydney! The pancakes are almost ready!”

“Eat breakfast; we’ll finish this discussion later,” Sydney told him simply before walking back towards the kitchen. Groaning, Michael had no choice but to follow.


In the kitchen, Sydney found Grace seated at the breakfast table staring at a bowl of blueberries practically frothing. Sydney sat down beside her, picked one up from the bowl and popped it in her mouth. “Mmm,” she grinned. “Did you try one yet?”

“Not yet,” Grace told her softly.

“Well what are you waiting for?” Sydney encouraged with a laugh. Mirroring Sydney’s behavior, Grace picked up a small rounded fruit from the bowl and put it in her mouth. “So?!”

“Pretty good,” Grace said.

“What are you crazy?! They’re very good,” Sydney told her, grabbing a handful more of the blueberries and dropping them onto her plate, letting them roll around. Grace was about to do the same before Michael cautioned her,

“Use the spoon Grace; not your hands.” Grace notably rolled her eyes but reached for the spoon like her father asked.

A few minutes later, a large fluffy stack of pancakes was delivered to the table by Consuela. Michael put two of them on Grace’s plate and then two on his own before passing the stack down the table to Sydney, who also took two. Then, she piled more blueberries on top of them before reaching for the bowl filled with a white fluffy substance beside her. “What’s that?” Grace asked.

“Powdered sugar; that’s how I eat mine,” Sydney told her. Then, she took a spoonful of sugar and dusted her entire plate with it before letting a large lump of it plop down atop the blueberries on her pancakes.

“Can I try?” Grace asked. Sydney nodded and passed her the bowl.


“These are the best pancakes I’ve ever had! I think they might be better than yours Daddy,” Grace smiled at her father.

“Great,” he laughed softly. Then he encouraged, “What do you say to Sydney?”

“Thank you!” Grace beamed at her.

“You’re very welcome,” Sydney told her. “Why don’t you sit here just a few more minutes; I need to talk with your father.” She got up from the table and gave Michael a pointed look until he stood rather reluctantly. Then, she led him across the kitchen to a doorway he hardly noticed before and ushered him inside.

“What’s this?” he asked upon entering the small space lined with bookshelves and wood paneling.

“My office,” she said simply before getting down to business, “I want you and Grace to stay.”

“Where?!”

“Here.”

“Absolutely not,” Michael told her.

“Why?” Sydney challenged. Michael looked away and said nothing. “Alright,” Sydney sighed, trying a different approach. “I don’t know much about you, but let me take a guess. You and Grace don’t have a home…you live out of that backpack you carry around, wander the city after work and after Grace is out of school…sleep in shelters at night with god knows what kid of miscreants – am I close?” she asked. Again, Michael said nothing, though he did notably turn a soft shade of pink which confirmed Sydney’s suspicions.

“What happened, Michael? Did you ever have a home?” she asked sounding genuinely concerned.

“Yes,” he said firmly.

“Then what happened?” she asked. He refused to answer. “Alright,” she sighed. “Let’s try something easier. What’s your last name?”

“Don’t have one,” he said simply. She gave him a ‘Nice try, but I don’t think so’ look. “I’m not telling you – you’re probably thinking about calling the police or child services!”

“What?!” she gasped rather horrified. “No Michael I would never I…you know what I would. I would call them if you don’t stay here with me,” she told him with a rather proud, ‘I’ve got you now’ smile.

“You wouldn’t!” he gasped in an almost questioning way.

“Okay I wouldn’t,” she conceded. “But I want you to stay, please,” she requested. He shook his head. “Oh come on Michael! It’s supposed to snow tonight! What if you have to sleep outside again?!”

“We won’t,” he said defiantly.

“How do you know that?”

“We just won’t alright!” he snapped.

Sighing heavily, Sydney rubbed her brow and began to pace. Michael’s extreme stubbornness was beginning to wear upon her. “Please,” she tried once more, “Stay the weekend. Give Grace a chance to sleep in a real bed instead of a filthy cot. Think of it as a vacation; I’ll bet she’s never had one, has she?”

Michael was silent for almost a full five minutes before agreeing quietly. “Fine, the weekend. But come Monday morning we’re gone,” he informed her. Sydney smiled and nodded; that was good enough for now.
 
Well she's gotten him wrapped around her finger (sorta) :lol:

On the other hand I truly wondered what Sydney thought about inviting them to stay at her place. For their entire life? For a month? A few months? A year maybe two?

I guess Michael had some point though about him and Grace not wanting to sleep at Sydney. But at least they got the weekend :blush: What are they going to do????? :rolleyes:
 
Staying with Sydney for the weekend is okay. But if Sydney really wants to help Michael out she should find him an apartment to live, then work out some arrangement where he could afford the rent. Maybe, she could buy an apartment building and he could manage it. Managers usually get their own apartment rent free as part of their salary. That's helping Michael and Grace out and letting Michael keep his pride.

Chris
 
I like Chris's idea for Michael & Grace. Can't just let them move in with Syd forever....just yet anyways. :rolleyes:

Grace is going to have so much fun staying with Syd for the weekend! :blush: I bet Syd will treat her like a princess and Michael will have a fit! hehe
 
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