crazyaliasfan47
Cadet
Ohhh!!! yeay! go Syd! go get Vaughn... lol. You update fast... Biba told me you wrote this already... I think.. so.. thats probably why. 
Back To Your Heart
- Thread starter spichik453
- Start date
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- Tags
- creative
German Muse
~ Hopeless Romantic ~
Yeah call him!spichik453 said:
honecall: Don´t let him leave like that, with everything hanging in the air! :what:
I´m really curious now!
How will this call be?
Exactly!spichik453 said:
Rosa is a smart woman, you have to listen to her!
Can´t wait for more!
Thanks for da PM!
Muse
vaughnshoney
Cadet
Great story... Love it.
Will be an interesting phone call... she has to go to LA with him.
Be true to your heart, isn't that what they say??
Please PM me when you update
Thanks
Deb
Will be an interesting phone call... she has to go to LA with him.
Be true to your heart, isn't that what they say??
Please PM me when you update
Thanks
Deb
FuzziLizzi#47
Cadet
great update.......i so want Alexandra to know her mom is alive.......
thx for the pm ^_^
thx for the pm ^_^
spichik453
Cadet
Well folks. It is just another update! Huzzah for me!
Thanks for all of your great reviews! It has been a while since I have gotten feedback for this fic. I finished writing and posting it more than a year ago, so fresh feedback on it always is really nice.
crazyaliasfan47: Yep. Biba was right. Did Sis also tell you that there is a sequel in the works? Kinda sorta?
Yes folks. There is a sequel. I'll let you know more details about it as they come. I'm not the one writing it, and it is the next big project.
Anyway. I've been such a horrible poster in the past that I shall not delay your reading anymore.
Live on. Love on.
Cathy
Chapter 13:
Review. Please?
* * * * *
Alexandra wouldn’t stop talking from excitement as Francie drove her to the airport to pick up her father. After four days, Alexandra really missed her father. Francie decided that it was a good idea for Alexandra to surprise him by being at the airport. She even took Alexandra out of school for the afternoon. Alexandra held Francie’s hand tight as the two waited for Vaughn at the baggage claim. Calvin was in Francie’s other arm. After twenty minutes, he had begun to get squirmy waiting. Francie was forced to put him down, but kept his hand tight, and wouldn’t let him venture far. Instead, she was forced to spin as he ran around her, so that her arms wouldn’t get tangled up. Alexandra, although obviously annoyed by it, tolerated the spinning. “Are you sure he is going to come here Aunt Francie?” Alexandra asked. For the fourth time in twenty minutes, Alexandra had ventured away from Francie to peer around the corner for her father. Each time she would come back, and say nothing as she grabbed Francie’s hand again.
“Yeah, it’s just that his plane was a couple of minutes late, and it takes them a while to get here when he’s flying from over seas.”
“Oh.” As another wave of people came, Alexandra watched the corner carefully, and then, “DADDY!” She screamed. She let go of Francie’s hand and ran over to where her father was coming.
Vaughn smiled, and scooped up Alexandra. “Hey there Angel. I missed you so much.” With her in his arms, he walked over to where Francie was, slowly, as to get more time alone with his oldest daughter.
“I missed you more!”
“I don’t think so.” Vaughn played.
“I’m glad you’re home, and then Grammy comes in two days.”
“I know.”
“Were you surprised Daddy?”
“What?”
“You knew?” Alexandra’s face fell.
Vaughn smiled, and then did his notorious nose tapping. “Angel, I didn’t know a thing. I am so glad that you are here.”
“Aunt Francie even let me come here instead of school.”
“That is what I figured.”
“Yup. And Calvin, he’s here too.”
“I can see that.” Vaughn said, stopping at where Francie was trying to get Calvin down from where he was climbing on the carousel. Kicking and screaming, she picked him up and forcefully held him.
“How was your trip Mike?” Francie asked.
“Good. Thanks for watching Alexandra for me.”
“Sure, we had fun.”
“Daddy! Look, there goes your bag!” Alexandra said, as suitcase after suitcase spun around them.
“There isn’t a lot in there. I think you can get it. Do you want to, or should I wait?”
“I’ll go get it!” She said, dodging the people on her quest for the suitcase.
“Did you talk to her?” Francie asked Vaughn. She knew that Calvin didn’t know who they were talking about, so she didn’t have to worry.
“Yeah, and there were some surprises up both of our sleeves.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Mike. I wondered if she had re-married.”
“Re-married? God no, something else.”
“What else is there?”
“She was apparently pregnant when she left. Neither of us knew, but guess who was waiting for me, kinda. She didn’t know who I was, and she wasn’t waiting for her father, but she was sick and in her office when I stopped by.”
“Another daughter?”
“Yeah, but you can’t tell Alexandra anything. And I’ll tell you more after I tell Alexandra. She deserves to know first.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it any other way.” There was a silence, as Alexandra came back, struggling from the weight of what was heavier than anticipated duffel bag. Francie noticed the absence of the other agents. “Where is everyone else?” She questioned.
“They had to stick around a little longer. We had two objectives. They’re making a replica of something. Since I wasn’t part of that team, I got to go home before they did.”
“Ah.”
“Daddy, I want to show you something I made at Sunday school.” Alexandra said, holding her father’s hand, as they walked to the car.
“You went to Sunday school?”
“We always go to church, and we couldn’t leave her behind.”
“That’s ok.”
“But it is at Aunt Francie’s house.”
“We have to stop by there anyway.” Vaughn got in the passenger’s seat, as Francie attempted to put Calvin into his child’s seat.
“Guess what Daddy!”
“What?”
“Aunt Francie gave me my birthday present early.”
“Your birthday isn’t for another month.”
“It’s a really pretty dress.”
“She didn’t have anything nice enough for church.” France explained.
“I had forgotten that you guys went to church. I would have packed a nicer dress for you.”
“It is ok, it brightened her weekend.”
When they pulled into Francie’s drive way, Alexandra jumped out, and ran inside. Vaughn went following after her. He barely got to the living room, before he found Alexandra coming through the hall, with her little suitcase following. “I’m ready to go home now Daddy.” She said.
“That I can see.” Vaughn turned to Francie. “Thanks so much for taking her this weekend again. I really appreciate it.”
“It was no problem. We had fun.”
“We did. Now can we go!?!?” Alexandra said, standing by the door.
“Yes.”
“Will, Mia, and the twins are coming tonight for dinner, you are now officially invited.” Francie invited.
“Depends on how well she takes the news.” Vaughn said, lowering his voice.
“I understand.”
“I’ll call you if we can’t make it.”
“Ok.”
Alexandra had had enough waiting. She grabbed her father’s arm, and dragged him unwillingly out the door. As Vaughn pulled up to the house, Alexandra looked at it excitingly. Vaughn pulled into the driveway, and before he had the chance to unbuckle his seat belt, Alexandra had jumped out and ran for the front door. “It’s locked!” She shouted.
“I know! I locked it before we left.” Vaughn went to the back of the car, and pulled out Alexandra’s suitcase, and his duffle bag. Alexandra just stood by the door waiting impatiently. Vaughn saw her standing there, and decided to play a little game with her. He walked up the side walk as if he was going into the house, but when it came time to turn to the door, he kept walking. He could hear the playful shouts of Alexandra yelling at him to come back as he walked around the entire house. When he reached the front door Alexandra was mad, in an excited way. She giggled as he finally opened the door. “Excited to be home?” He said, as she went running around the living room once.
“Yep.” Alexandra ran and took her suitcase from her father. “Can I show you what I made now?” She said.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m only kidding. Show me.”
Alexandra opened her suitcase and began to throw her clothing around. Vaughn noticed a dress that he had never seen before. “Alexandra, honey, is this the dress Aunt Francie gave you?”
“Yep.” She continued to throw her things around. “Here it is!” She shouted. She ran over and handed him the little ornament that she made. Vaughn looked at the delicate angel in his hand.
“What is this Angel?”
“It’s Mommy.”
“I can see that.”
“Because she’s an angel in heaven.” Vaughn looked at the picture that she had chosen.
“Come here Angel. I need to talk to you about that.” Vaughn sat down on the couch, and patted his knee to get Alexandra to come over and sit with him. Curious, she did. “Who told you Mommy was an angel?”
“No one. I kinda guessed it.”
“Mommy isn’t an angel.”
“What?” Her voice raised.
“Mommy got lost when you were two. She couldn’t find her way home, and she didn’t know who she was, or anyone else for that matter.”
“Mommy isn’t dead?”
“No, she isn’t. That is where I was this weekend. Someone had said they had found someone named Jessica English in Barcelona, Spain, and we thought it was Mommy. It was.”
“But you said Mommy’s name was Sydney Vaughn.”
“It is. Remember how I said that she didn’t know who she was?” Alexandra nodded. “Well, because she didn’t know her name was Sydney, she made up a name.”
“Is she coming home?”
“Not yet. We may go to see her first.” Vaughn didn’t know how his daughter would take the news. There were times where she would act like Sydney, and just break down in tears, and then there were times where she’d still act like Sydney, and put on her thick skin, and mask it, and then there were times where he didn’t know where she was coming from. Her mother not dead, a sister she never knew. Her own mother did not take the news that Irina wasn’t dead well at all. But then, Sydney’s emotions were a lot more complex than Alexandra’s. Irina Derevko wasn’t exactly the nicest person. His own father was killed by her wrath. And on their first meeting, Sydney was promptly shot in the arm, and told that she would have been better off dead at birth. Still, within Alexandra, there was so much of Sydney in her. The fiery temper, the cool beauty, the charming personality. Within the time it took Alexandra to react to everything Vaughn had said, her face had changed as everything sunk in. At first it reflected her confusion, then excitement, anger as the lie came out, and now, he couldn’t read her.
“Let’s go!”
Vaughn smiled. He was glad to see his daughter taking the news so well. He was afraid that she wouldn’t take it well at all. “Now? But I thought you were happy to be home?”
“I am, but I want to see Mommy.”
Vaughn was a little startled. “Angel, do you know where Spain is?”
Alexandra shook her head. “No.”
Vaughn took Alexandra by the hand, and led her to the globe that sat in the study. “Do you know where we live?” Alexandra smiled, and pointed to California. “Spain is all the way over here.” Vaughn let his daughter trace the route across the Atlantic Ocean until it stopped on Spain.
“All the way over there?”
“Yeah.”
“That is a long way.”
“It is. See why we can’t go now. Maybe in a couple weeks. You have a day off from school coming up after Grammy goes home. Maybe we’ll go then.”
“Ok.” He and Alexandra walked back to the living room.
“Good. Now come here, there is more I need to tell you.”
“What.”
“When your Mom disappeared, neither of us realized that she was pregnant. You have a little sister.”
“I do?!?!”
“Yep, her name is Juliana.”
“That is so cool!”
“I’m glad that you’re excited about that.”
“I’ve always wanted a little sister.”
“You now have one. She’s five, and only speaks Spanish.”
“Spanish? I don’t know Spanish.” Alexandra’s face fell.
“I know. But if you’d like, I could teach you Spanish before we go.”
“Yeah.”
“You will only learn a little bit, but you’ll hopefully learn enough that you can tell her hi.”
“What is hi?”
“Hello in Spanish is Hola.”
“Hola.”
“Yep.”
“Hola.” Alexandra repeated to herself.
“I’ll teach you more later. I got to go do some things, like unpack, and make a lesson plan for tomorrow, and make sure that the sub doesn’t show up. I want you to clean up this mess. Put it all in your room, and then you can play.”
“Ok Daddy.”
“Do you have any homework?”
“A little.”
“Ok, I want you to do it before dinner.”
“I will.”
“Do you want to go to Aunt Francie’s for dinner tonight? Uncle Will, Mia, Allie and Leigh are all going to be there.”
“Yeah.” Mike smiled, and went into his bedroom, and threw his bag on the floor. That sort of thing used to bother Sydney. She never liked it when he would come home from a trip, and leave his bag on the floor. It always had to be unpacked right then. But over the past six years, that habit had been dropped. He stared at the bag, and decided now that he knew where Sydney was, he better get back into that habit. He unpacked and then went into the study to do work. “When they move back, this or the play room will have to go.” He told himself as he sat down in the chair.
Francie wasn’t surprised when they showed up for dinner. She was actually expecting them to show up. Alexandra wasn’t the kind of girl to take things too seriously, or blow things out of proportion. After dinner, when the kids were all playing together, the grown ups had time to talk. Mia and Joe had never met Sydney, so they weren’t really part of it, but they listened intently, seeing as their respective spouses talked about her a lot, and after all, Leigh was even named after her.
“She’s ok?” Will checked. The news came as a large shock. He was told that Sydney was missing. Now, he was just told that she wasn’t only alive, but thriving in a place away from them. She was his best friend. They had been friends since high school. You don’t just forget friends like that. At least, that was the way that Will felt. He didn’t know weather to be relieved, or upset. Vaughn and Francie both knew that she was alive. He was only told that she was missing. Missing could mean anything. Missing could mean dead. Missing could mean alive. Missing could mean captured. Sydney could have been captured, tortured, and then killed. Missing could mean that too. His scissors were often missing from his desk. But no. In this case missing was living. Living in an upper class apartment with some other people, thriving. And all this time, Francie and Vaughn knew she was alive. True, they didn’t know where she was, but they still knew that she was alive. Even though, the steam rose, Will remained calm.
“Yeah, living in Barcelona, teaching English at the college.”
“Language, or like English Lit?” Joe asked. This whole Sydney thing was new territory for him. He didn’t know too too much about her. Mostly the little things that made his wife and her such good friends. But he didn’t know what her interests were. He didn’t even know how to react to finding out that Vaughn had reunited with her.
“Language.”
“And what about this other daughter?” Francie said.
“Whoa, back up. What’s this other daughter business?” Will said.
“When Syd disappeared, we were trying for another kid. We didn’t realize that she was pregnant as she left. So to my surprise I get there and discover, I have a five year old that I never knew.”
“Name?” Will demanded.
“Juliana.”
“Ohh… I like that. It sounds all Spanish like.” Mia said.
“I mean that is the only language that she speaks, so Spanish like makes sense.”
“How did Alexandra take the news?” Will asked.
“Surprisingly well. I thought she’d be at least a little upset that I never told her that her mother was alive, but it didn’t faze her. She wanted to fly to Barcelona right then to visit her.”
“She is as tough as her mother.” Will said. There was an uneasy silence that filled the room.
“So, your mother comes tomorrow.” Francie said, she felt the subject needed to be changed.
“Yeah. Her plane gets in nice and late, so I don’t have to leave school or anything. And she’s getting here on her own.”
“Have you told her about Sydney?” Will pried.
“Are you kidding? I just got back this afternoon.”
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Eventually.” A tired wail rang from down the hall. It was followed by the giggling of girls. There was a clunk, and the wailing stopped. The adults all had a pretty good feeling of what had just happened. Francie glanced down at her watch.
“Excuse me. I have to get Calvin to bed.” Francie stood up, and quickly walked down the hall to rescue her son from his own sleepyness.
“Yeah, I should probably also be heading home. Alexandra has school tomorrow.” Vaughn stood up. “And I have to return to work as well. The party was breaking up. Alexandra, Ally, and Leigh were all disappointed to leave each other. In their own temporarily care free world, princesses ruled the kingdom, and they were the ones that defeated the angry dragons, and saved the villagers. They couldn’t go, and leave their people to the wrath of the fire breathing dragon. But eventually, the three friends departed, with promises of a play date the next day after school, leaving Joe, Francie, and Calvin at their house. Vaughn had no problems getting his angel to bed that night. It had been a busy day, and she was back in her own, familiar bed. Throughout Vaughn’s song, her eyes slowly fell, as the eyelids got heavier and heavier. After Vaughn sung his daughter to sleep that night, he heard the melodic voice of his angel.
“Daddy? Tomorrow can we go see Mommy and my sister?” She asked.
“Nope. Soon though. I promise. But for now Grammy is going to come. You can’t tell her about Mommy and Juliana yet. It will be our secret.”
“Ok.”
“Night Angel.”
“Night Daddy.” Alexandra rolled onto her side and shut her eyes. Vaughn went into his study, and turned on his computer. While it booted up, he busied himself with checking his lesson plans, and other little things. When he opened his email, he saw that there was more than his fair share of notes for him.
“I was only gone five days!” He exclaimed, as he tried to weed through the fifty some messages for spam. “54 messages, and my spam guard caught every bit of spam.” He said. Figuring he would start at the beginning, he began reading through each message. Many were from students asking for help on homework that the sub did not do a good job explaining. A few from his co-workers, checking on him to see if he was alright. There was a handful of jokes from Weiss who subscribed to the daily joke mail, and then always forwarded it to Vaughn. But there was a good number of legitimate emails. One of them stuck out as something that he got that morning. He smiled as he opened the lengthy email from someone at jenglish. There was no doubt in his mind on who that was.
Michael,
I don’t know how to thank you. There was this gap in my life. I only knew six years. I had no idea how old I was. What my background was, I didn’t even know if Jessica English was my real name. And then, my life changed the minute you strolled into my office. I didn’t know how I knew you, but I knew that I knew you. The heart never forgets. Well, you knew that. Suddenly, there was someone standing in front of me that knew everything about me. You know more about me, than I know about me. You suddenly gave me a history.
I haven’t told Juliana yet about you, or Alexandra. I plan to tell her soon. She won’t take the news well. Juliana has this innocence that disappears at the first sign of news. Good news, she becomes too excited to be innocent. Bad news, and she becomes quiet and withdrawn. Once I tell her, I will call you so we can begin to make plans for you and Alexandra to come to Barcelona. Of the two options you gave me last night, that was the one that sounded most appealing. I don’t know how I could handle meeting so many people at once. Or in my case, re-meeting them.
I would have called you, but I figured your plane hadn’t left yet, and I needed to tell you what I was thinking right then. With the prospect of another meeting, I end.
~Sydney
Vaughn couldn’t believe what he was reading. He and Alexandra had a formal invite to Barcelona, and Alexandra wasn’t mad at him for hiding the truth. As he pulled the covers over his head before his dreams came to life, Vaughn could only think of one thing. His life, after six years, was finally getting back on track.
Thanks for all of your great reviews! It has been a while since I have gotten feedback for this fic. I finished writing and posting it more than a year ago, so fresh feedback on it always is really nice.
crazyaliasfan47: Yep. Biba was right. Did Sis also tell you that there is a sequel in the works? Kinda sorta?
Yes folks. There is a sequel. I'll let you know more details about it as they come. I'm not the one writing it, and it is the next big project.
Anyway. I've been such a horrible poster in the past that I shall not delay your reading anymore.
Live on. Love on.
Cathy
Chapter 13:
Review. Please?
* * * * *
Alexandra wouldn’t stop talking from excitement as Francie drove her to the airport to pick up her father. After four days, Alexandra really missed her father. Francie decided that it was a good idea for Alexandra to surprise him by being at the airport. She even took Alexandra out of school for the afternoon. Alexandra held Francie’s hand tight as the two waited for Vaughn at the baggage claim. Calvin was in Francie’s other arm. After twenty minutes, he had begun to get squirmy waiting. Francie was forced to put him down, but kept his hand tight, and wouldn’t let him venture far. Instead, she was forced to spin as he ran around her, so that her arms wouldn’t get tangled up. Alexandra, although obviously annoyed by it, tolerated the spinning. “Are you sure he is going to come here Aunt Francie?” Alexandra asked. For the fourth time in twenty minutes, Alexandra had ventured away from Francie to peer around the corner for her father. Each time she would come back, and say nothing as she grabbed Francie’s hand again.
“Yeah, it’s just that his plane was a couple of minutes late, and it takes them a while to get here when he’s flying from over seas.”
“Oh.” As another wave of people came, Alexandra watched the corner carefully, and then, “DADDY!” She screamed. She let go of Francie’s hand and ran over to where her father was coming.
Vaughn smiled, and scooped up Alexandra. “Hey there Angel. I missed you so much.” With her in his arms, he walked over to where Francie was, slowly, as to get more time alone with his oldest daughter.
“I missed you more!”
“I don’t think so.” Vaughn played.
“I’m glad you’re home, and then Grammy comes in two days.”
“I know.”
“Were you surprised Daddy?”
“What?”
“You knew?” Alexandra’s face fell.
Vaughn smiled, and then did his notorious nose tapping. “Angel, I didn’t know a thing. I am so glad that you are here.”
“Aunt Francie even let me come here instead of school.”
“That is what I figured.”
“Yup. And Calvin, he’s here too.”
“I can see that.” Vaughn said, stopping at where Francie was trying to get Calvin down from where he was climbing on the carousel. Kicking and screaming, she picked him up and forcefully held him.
“How was your trip Mike?” Francie asked.
“Good. Thanks for watching Alexandra for me.”
“Sure, we had fun.”
“Daddy! Look, there goes your bag!” Alexandra said, as suitcase after suitcase spun around them.
“There isn’t a lot in there. I think you can get it. Do you want to, or should I wait?”
“I’ll go get it!” She said, dodging the people on her quest for the suitcase.
“Did you talk to her?” Francie asked Vaughn. She knew that Calvin didn’t know who they were talking about, so she didn’t have to worry.
“Yeah, and there were some surprises up both of our sleeves.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Mike. I wondered if she had re-married.”
“Re-married? God no, something else.”
“What else is there?”
“She was apparently pregnant when she left. Neither of us knew, but guess who was waiting for me, kinda. She didn’t know who I was, and she wasn’t waiting for her father, but she was sick and in her office when I stopped by.”
“Another daughter?”
“Yeah, but you can’t tell Alexandra anything. And I’ll tell you more after I tell Alexandra. She deserves to know first.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it any other way.” There was a silence, as Alexandra came back, struggling from the weight of what was heavier than anticipated duffel bag. Francie noticed the absence of the other agents. “Where is everyone else?” She questioned.
“They had to stick around a little longer. We had two objectives. They’re making a replica of something. Since I wasn’t part of that team, I got to go home before they did.”
“Ah.”
“Daddy, I want to show you something I made at Sunday school.” Alexandra said, holding her father’s hand, as they walked to the car.
“You went to Sunday school?”
“We always go to church, and we couldn’t leave her behind.”
“That’s ok.”
“But it is at Aunt Francie’s house.”
“We have to stop by there anyway.” Vaughn got in the passenger’s seat, as Francie attempted to put Calvin into his child’s seat.
“Guess what Daddy!”
“What?”
“Aunt Francie gave me my birthday present early.”
“Your birthday isn’t for another month.”
“It’s a really pretty dress.”
“She didn’t have anything nice enough for church.” France explained.
“I had forgotten that you guys went to church. I would have packed a nicer dress for you.”
“It is ok, it brightened her weekend.”
When they pulled into Francie’s drive way, Alexandra jumped out, and ran inside. Vaughn went following after her. He barely got to the living room, before he found Alexandra coming through the hall, with her little suitcase following. “I’m ready to go home now Daddy.” She said.
“That I can see.” Vaughn turned to Francie. “Thanks so much for taking her this weekend again. I really appreciate it.”
“It was no problem. We had fun.”
“We did. Now can we go!?!?” Alexandra said, standing by the door.
“Yes.”
“Will, Mia, and the twins are coming tonight for dinner, you are now officially invited.” Francie invited.
“Depends on how well she takes the news.” Vaughn said, lowering his voice.
“I understand.”
“I’ll call you if we can’t make it.”
“Ok.”
Alexandra had had enough waiting. She grabbed her father’s arm, and dragged him unwillingly out the door. As Vaughn pulled up to the house, Alexandra looked at it excitingly. Vaughn pulled into the driveway, and before he had the chance to unbuckle his seat belt, Alexandra had jumped out and ran for the front door. “It’s locked!” She shouted.
“I know! I locked it before we left.” Vaughn went to the back of the car, and pulled out Alexandra’s suitcase, and his duffle bag. Alexandra just stood by the door waiting impatiently. Vaughn saw her standing there, and decided to play a little game with her. He walked up the side walk as if he was going into the house, but when it came time to turn to the door, he kept walking. He could hear the playful shouts of Alexandra yelling at him to come back as he walked around the entire house. When he reached the front door Alexandra was mad, in an excited way. She giggled as he finally opened the door. “Excited to be home?” He said, as she went running around the living room once.
“Yep.” Alexandra ran and took her suitcase from her father. “Can I show you what I made now?” She said.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m only kidding. Show me.”
Alexandra opened her suitcase and began to throw her clothing around. Vaughn noticed a dress that he had never seen before. “Alexandra, honey, is this the dress Aunt Francie gave you?”
“Yep.” She continued to throw her things around. “Here it is!” She shouted. She ran over and handed him the little ornament that she made. Vaughn looked at the delicate angel in his hand.
“What is this Angel?”
“It’s Mommy.”
“I can see that.”
“Because she’s an angel in heaven.” Vaughn looked at the picture that she had chosen.
“Come here Angel. I need to talk to you about that.” Vaughn sat down on the couch, and patted his knee to get Alexandra to come over and sit with him. Curious, she did. “Who told you Mommy was an angel?”
“No one. I kinda guessed it.”
“Mommy isn’t an angel.”
“What?” Her voice raised.
“Mommy got lost when you were two. She couldn’t find her way home, and she didn’t know who she was, or anyone else for that matter.”
“Mommy isn’t dead?”
“No, she isn’t. That is where I was this weekend. Someone had said they had found someone named Jessica English in Barcelona, Spain, and we thought it was Mommy. It was.”
“But you said Mommy’s name was Sydney Vaughn.”
“It is. Remember how I said that she didn’t know who she was?” Alexandra nodded. “Well, because she didn’t know her name was Sydney, she made up a name.”
“Is she coming home?”
“Not yet. We may go to see her first.” Vaughn didn’t know how his daughter would take the news. There were times where she would act like Sydney, and just break down in tears, and then there were times where she’d still act like Sydney, and put on her thick skin, and mask it, and then there were times where he didn’t know where she was coming from. Her mother not dead, a sister she never knew. Her own mother did not take the news that Irina wasn’t dead well at all. But then, Sydney’s emotions were a lot more complex than Alexandra’s. Irina Derevko wasn’t exactly the nicest person. His own father was killed by her wrath. And on their first meeting, Sydney was promptly shot in the arm, and told that she would have been better off dead at birth. Still, within Alexandra, there was so much of Sydney in her. The fiery temper, the cool beauty, the charming personality. Within the time it took Alexandra to react to everything Vaughn had said, her face had changed as everything sunk in. At first it reflected her confusion, then excitement, anger as the lie came out, and now, he couldn’t read her.
“Let’s go!”
Vaughn smiled. He was glad to see his daughter taking the news so well. He was afraid that she wouldn’t take it well at all. “Now? But I thought you were happy to be home?”
“I am, but I want to see Mommy.”
Vaughn was a little startled. “Angel, do you know where Spain is?”
Alexandra shook her head. “No.”
Vaughn took Alexandra by the hand, and led her to the globe that sat in the study. “Do you know where we live?” Alexandra smiled, and pointed to California. “Spain is all the way over here.” Vaughn let his daughter trace the route across the Atlantic Ocean until it stopped on Spain.
“All the way over there?”
“Yeah.”
“That is a long way.”
“It is. See why we can’t go now. Maybe in a couple weeks. You have a day off from school coming up after Grammy goes home. Maybe we’ll go then.”
“Ok.” He and Alexandra walked back to the living room.
“Good. Now come here, there is more I need to tell you.”
“What.”
“When your Mom disappeared, neither of us realized that she was pregnant. You have a little sister.”
“I do?!?!”
“Yep, her name is Juliana.”
“That is so cool!”
“I’m glad that you’re excited about that.”
“I’ve always wanted a little sister.”
“You now have one. She’s five, and only speaks Spanish.”
“Spanish? I don’t know Spanish.” Alexandra’s face fell.
“I know. But if you’d like, I could teach you Spanish before we go.”
“Yeah.”
“You will only learn a little bit, but you’ll hopefully learn enough that you can tell her hi.”
“What is hi?”
“Hello in Spanish is Hola.”
“Hola.”
“Yep.”
“Hola.” Alexandra repeated to herself.
“I’ll teach you more later. I got to go do some things, like unpack, and make a lesson plan for tomorrow, and make sure that the sub doesn’t show up. I want you to clean up this mess. Put it all in your room, and then you can play.”
“Ok Daddy.”
“Do you have any homework?”
“A little.”
“Ok, I want you to do it before dinner.”
“I will.”
“Do you want to go to Aunt Francie’s for dinner tonight? Uncle Will, Mia, Allie and Leigh are all going to be there.”
“Yeah.” Mike smiled, and went into his bedroom, and threw his bag on the floor. That sort of thing used to bother Sydney. She never liked it when he would come home from a trip, and leave his bag on the floor. It always had to be unpacked right then. But over the past six years, that habit had been dropped. He stared at the bag, and decided now that he knew where Sydney was, he better get back into that habit. He unpacked and then went into the study to do work. “When they move back, this or the play room will have to go.” He told himself as he sat down in the chair.
Francie wasn’t surprised when they showed up for dinner. She was actually expecting them to show up. Alexandra wasn’t the kind of girl to take things too seriously, or blow things out of proportion. After dinner, when the kids were all playing together, the grown ups had time to talk. Mia and Joe had never met Sydney, so they weren’t really part of it, but they listened intently, seeing as their respective spouses talked about her a lot, and after all, Leigh was even named after her.
“She’s ok?” Will checked. The news came as a large shock. He was told that Sydney was missing. Now, he was just told that she wasn’t only alive, but thriving in a place away from them. She was his best friend. They had been friends since high school. You don’t just forget friends like that. At least, that was the way that Will felt. He didn’t know weather to be relieved, or upset. Vaughn and Francie both knew that she was alive. He was only told that she was missing. Missing could mean anything. Missing could mean dead. Missing could mean alive. Missing could mean captured. Sydney could have been captured, tortured, and then killed. Missing could mean that too. His scissors were often missing from his desk. But no. In this case missing was living. Living in an upper class apartment with some other people, thriving. And all this time, Francie and Vaughn knew she was alive. True, they didn’t know where she was, but they still knew that she was alive. Even though, the steam rose, Will remained calm.
“Yeah, living in Barcelona, teaching English at the college.”
“Language, or like English Lit?” Joe asked. This whole Sydney thing was new territory for him. He didn’t know too too much about her. Mostly the little things that made his wife and her such good friends. But he didn’t know what her interests were. He didn’t even know how to react to finding out that Vaughn had reunited with her.
“Language.”
“And what about this other daughter?” Francie said.
“Whoa, back up. What’s this other daughter business?” Will said.
“When Syd disappeared, we were trying for another kid. We didn’t realize that she was pregnant as she left. So to my surprise I get there and discover, I have a five year old that I never knew.”
“Name?” Will demanded.
“Juliana.”
“Ohh… I like that. It sounds all Spanish like.” Mia said.
“I mean that is the only language that she speaks, so Spanish like makes sense.”
“How did Alexandra take the news?” Will asked.
“Surprisingly well. I thought she’d be at least a little upset that I never told her that her mother was alive, but it didn’t faze her. She wanted to fly to Barcelona right then to visit her.”
“She is as tough as her mother.” Will said. There was an uneasy silence that filled the room.
“So, your mother comes tomorrow.” Francie said, she felt the subject needed to be changed.
“Yeah. Her plane gets in nice and late, so I don’t have to leave school or anything. And she’s getting here on her own.”
“Have you told her about Sydney?” Will pried.
“Are you kidding? I just got back this afternoon.”
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Eventually.” A tired wail rang from down the hall. It was followed by the giggling of girls. There was a clunk, and the wailing stopped. The adults all had a pretty good feeling of what had just happened. Francie glanced down at her watch.
“Excuse me. I have to get Calvin to bed.” Francie stood up, and quickly walked down the hall to rescue her son from his own sleepyness.
“Yeah, I should probably also be heading home. Alexandra has school tomorrow.” Vaughn stood up. “And I have to return to work as well. The party was breaking up. Alexandra, Ally, and Leigh were all disappointed to leave each other. In their own temporarily care free world, princesses ruled the kingdom, and they were the ones that defeated the angry dragons, and saved the villagers. They couldn’t go, and leave their people to the wrath of the fire breathing dragon. But eventually, the three friends departed, with promises of a play date the next day after school, leaving Joe, Francie, and Calvin at their house. Vaughn had no problems getting his angel to bed that night. It had been a busy day, and she was back in her own, familiar bed. Throughout Vaughn’s song, her eyes slowly fell, as the eyelids got heavier and heavier. After Vaughn sung his daughter to sleep that night, he heard the melodic voice of his angel.
“Daddy? Tomorrow can we go see Mommy and my sister?” She asked.
“Nope. Soon though. I promise. But for now Grammy is going to come. You can’t tell her about Mommy and Juliana yet. It will be our secret.”
“Ok.”
“Night Angel.”
“Night Daddy.” Alexandra rolled onto her side and shut her eyes. Vaughn went into his study, and turned on his computer. While it booted up, he busied himself with checking his lesson plans, and other little things. When he opened his email, he saw that there was more than his fair share of notes for him.
“I was only gone five days!” He exclaimed, as he tried to weed through the fifty some messages for spam. “54 messages, and my spam guard caught every bit of spam.” He said. Figuring he would start at the beginning, he began reading through each message. Many were from students asking for help on homework that the sub did not do a good job explaining. A few from his co-workers, checking on him to see if he was alright. There was a handful of jokes from Weiss who subscribed to the daily joke mail, and then always forwarded it to Vaughn. But there was a good number of legitimate emails. One of them stuck out as something that he got that morning. He smiled as he opened the lengthy email from someone at jenglish. There was no doubt in his mind on who that was.
Michael,
I don’t know how to thank you. There was this gap in my life. I only knew six years. I had no idea how old I was. What my background was, I didn’t even know if Jessica English was my real name. And then, my life changed the minute you strolled into my office. I didn’t know how I knew you, but I knew that I knew you. The heart never forgets. Well, you knew that. Suddenly, there was someone standing in front of me that knew everything about me. You know more about me, than I know about me. You suddenly gave me a history.
I haven’t told Juliana yet about you, or Alexandra. I plan to tell her soon. She won’t take the news well. Juliana has this innocence that disappears at the first sign of news. Good news, she becomes too excited to be innocent. Bad news, and she becomes quiet and withdrawn. Once I tell her, I will call you so we can begin to make plans for you and Alexandra to come to Barcelona. Of the two options you gave me last night, that was the one that sounded most appealing. I don’t know how I could handle meeting so many people at once. Or in my case, re-meeting them.
I would have called you, but I figured your plane hadn’t left yet, and I needed to tell you what I was thinking right then. With the prospect of another meeting, I end.
~Sydney
Vaughn couldn’t believe what he was reading. He and Alexandra had a formal invite to Barcelona, and Alexandra wasn’t mad at him for hiding the truth. As he pulled the covers over his head before his dreams came to life, Vaughn could only think of one thing. His life, after six years, was finally getting back on track.
crazyaliasfan47
Cadet
Yeay!! and no... Biba didnt tell me there was a sequel.. I'll have to beat her severely... (only kidding) lol. She keeps on bugging me to go write my story.. so... yeah. Im off. Great chapter...
Juliana
Juliana
Ms.MichaelVaughn
Cadet
I'm glad that Alexandra took the news so well
It's so sweet that she can't hardly wait to meet her mommy and her sister.
Well I hope that Juliana will take the news just as good as her sister did.
Oh and I liked the fact that Syd wrote him an e-mail
I can't wait till the next update.
--trish--
It's so sweet that she can't hardly wait to meet her mommy and her sister.
Well I hope that Juliana will take the news just as good as her sister did.
Oh and I liked the fact that Syd wrote him an e-mail
I can't wait till the next update.
--trish--
vaughnshoney
Cadet
I have one word for this story... Unbelievable.
Honestly, I love it. I can't wait till you get Syd and Juliana to meet Vaughn and Alex.
Please update again soon. Great work and thanks for the PM.
Deb
Honestly, I love it. I can't wait till you get Syd and Juliana to meet Vaughn and Alex.
Please update again soon. Great work and thanks for the PM.
Deb
frangipani
Cadet
hehe i finally finished reading love it! plz pm me hehe
love it! plz pm me heheGerman Muse
~ Hopeless Romantic ~
Sorry, for cutting your story!spichik453 said:
That are my fav part!
I´m gald Alex took it so cool and calm!
Hope she get the opportunity to see her sis and mom soon!
Yeah, that was really kinda smooth for him telling Alex the truth, but how will it be like for Syd telling Juliana?spichik453 said:
*hintcoughsydpovcoughhint*
Can´t wait for more!
Thanks for da PM!
Muse
FuzziLizzi#47
Cadet
yeah.......Alex knows she has a mommy........ ^_^
secret_agent_angel
Cadet
THIS FIC TOTALLY ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i'm not kiddin', it is the best
i love the plot line and how you've written it.
i'm not kiddin', it is the best
i love the plot line and how you've written it.
spichik453
Cadet
I am on a roll!
* * * * *
Happily, Juliana pranced around the apartment in some of her mother’s old clothing for Rosa. Sydney still had to go to work. Despite this, Juliana was sick Rosa was able to stay home. After resting the day before, and that morning, Juliana was feeling better, and was up and playing. Giggling, she jumped onto the couch. “*Juli, don’t jump on the couch.*” Rosa said, scooping up the little girl and helping her back onto the firm floor. Juliana smiled, and then went running around again.
“*When is my Mommy supposed to be home?*”
“*Soon. You know that.*”
“*When is Tío Luis come home?*”
“*After your mother.*”
“*When is Raquel coming home?*”
“*With your mother.*”
“*Will you play dolls with me?*” Juliana ran and got two dolls from her room before Rosa could even answer the little girl’s request. Juliana handed a doll to Rosa, who took it.
“*Juliana, you actually need to take a nap first.*”
“*Why?*”
“*Because, you were sick this morning, and when you’re sick, you have to take more naps.*”
“*Not tired.*” With that, Juliana took off running. After much convincing, Rosa was able to get Juliana to at least play quietly in her room.
Sydney came home, and was surprised to come back to a quiet house. She put her bag down and found Rosa bent over work at the table. Raquel had run upstairs to play with her toys that she had spent the bus drive home talking about. “*How did you get her to go to sleep?*” Sydney inquired.
“*She’s just quietly playing.*”
“*I’m going to go talk to her.*” Sydney quietly ascended the stairs, to the upper part of the apartment. Quietly playing with Raquel, the two had their dolls, lying in the doll house, as the two prepared play food for their dolls to eat. Upon seeing her mother standing at the door, Juliana smiled brightly, and jumped up and hugged her mother.
“Hola Mama!” She said. “*Come play!*”
“*Juli, I need to talk to you for a minute before I can play. Come on.*” Sydney scooped up her little girl and carried her to the bed room. “*Juliana, do you remember the man that came to my office yesterday?*”
“*Yes.*”
“*You know how Mommy doesn’t remember anything before you were born.*”
“*You still don’t.*”
“*You’re right. I still don’t remember things very well. Juli, that man was from my past. He was from before you were born.*”
“*Ok.*”
“*Juliana, I want you to be serous now.*” Juliana’s attention had wavered, and she no longer sat on her mother’s lap. She saw the jewelry on her mother’s dresser, and began to play with it. Upon her mother’s snap, Juliana put down the necklace and walked back to her mother’s lap. “*Juliana, how would you like to go to America?*”
“*For a vacation?*”
“*Maybe, but maybe to live there one day. I don’t know when.*”
“*Will Tía, and Tío, and Raquel come too?*”
“*I don’t think so sweetie.*”
“*Nope, don’t want to go.*”
“*I didn’t say we would. I said that there might be a chance that we would go there.*”
“*Why?*”
“*Why?*” Sydney knew that this was the part where the truth had to come out, and there was no more beating around the bush. “*Juliana, that was your Daddy, and I didn’t know that until last night.*” Sydney looked into her daughter’s eyes for a hint of what she was feeling. But she only got a blank stare. Juliana had stopped tracing the patterns on her mother’s quilt, and looked at her mother. She was silent. “*Juli, I know that this is a shock for you, but I didn’t know this until yesterday either.*” Juliana still didn’t move. “*You also have a sister I didn’t know about until recently. She’s eight, and her name is Alexandra.*” At this point, Juliana still hadn’t moved since she found out. “*They might come here in a couple of weeks, to meet you.*” Sydney could tell that her daughter had heard every word that she had just said.
“Mama?”
“*Yes?*” Sydney asked, hoping she would get some sort of reaction from Juliana.
“*Can I go play now?*” Sydney almost burst out crying right there. Her daughter had just soaked in everything she was just told, without saying anything. Positive, or negative, Sydney wanted to hear what her daughter thought.
“*Yes.*” Juliana walked out of Sydney’s room, and back into the one that she and Raquel shared. Sydney allowed two tears roll gently down her cheek before she reached over and picked up the phone. The card that Vaughn had given her, to call, sat on the dresser. She glanced at her clock, and noticed that it was four. She quickly figured the time difference, and called Vaughn at work. Her fingers shook as she dialed each number. In five years, she had gone out with a number of guys. Not a lot, but she wasn’t staying at home for a year at a time without a date. And never had she ever been so nervous about calling a guy. Figuring he had a class right then, she hoped to leave a message on his machine. Which was fine. She was so nervous that she was afraid that she would say something stupid to him.
“Michael Vaughn.” Sydney almost dropped the phone at the sound of his voice.
“Michael, it’s me.” Her voice wavered like the ocean.
“Sydney, hello.” Vaughn detected that Sydney was immediately reached out to her. “What’s wrong Syd?” He asked.
“I told Juliana about you.”
“I take it she didn’t take the news well at all?”
“No.”
“She took it well?”
“No.”
“What do you mean?”
“She just took it. All she did for like several minutes was give me this blank stare. It hurt. I have no idea how she felt.”
“I told Alexandra.”
“How did she take it?”
“Very well. She wanted to fly out and meet you guys right then.”
Sydney gave a small laugh. “I’m glad she was excited.” There was a long and awkward pause before Sydney spoke again. “Michael, I think it would be good if you and Alex come out.”
“You’re already calling her Alex.”
“I am?”
“Yeah. It was something that only you did. Everyone else calls her Alexandra. She never liked anyone else calling her Alex except for her mother, she still doesn’t.”
“I didn’t even know I called her Alex.”
“Deep in your heart, it is obvious that you still remember the little things that your head forgot.”
“I guess I do.”
“So when should I order the tickets for?”
“What is best for you and Alexandra?”
“We have a spring break in less than a month.” Sydney could hear the rustle of papers as Vaughn checked the dates. “Actually in two weeks.”
“Mr. Vaughn?” Sydney heard a quaint voice call from the other line. She heard Vaughn talk briefly to the student, asking him to wait.
“Syd? What do you think?”
“Two weeks is fast.”
“We can always wait until the summer. I mean, I can’t take anymore time off.”
“I understand.” Sydney quickly thought. “Two weeks it is.”
“Great!”
“And just to clarify, it will be just you and Alexandra. Not anyone else I know?”
“Yeah. But your father may stop by before then.”
“My father. Why?”
“He had access to the same resources I did. And he was looking just as much as I was. Jack was in Tibet at the time.”
“Oh.”
“Syd, I have to go and help a student with something. I’ll call you later.”
“Ok.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.” Sydney heard the defining tone of the phone as she put it in its cradle.
Vaughn paused before he turned back around to his student. He desperately wanted to tell Sydney that he loved her, like he always ended conversations with her. But he knew that she would be weirded out by that. To her, they had only just met. Giving a smile, he turned around. “What can I help you with Mr. Mathews?”
“Sir, I was wondering, is there anyway you can raise my grade?”
“Kevin, you haven’t turned in three assignments. The only way I could raise your grade was if you took this test.” Vaughn pulled out a test from one of his AP classes, and handed it to him. “It is over material we’ve covered, but it is at the AP level. If you get a 50% I’ll give you 10 extra credit points. For every ten percent, you get another five points.” Vaughn said.
Kevin looked briefly over the test. He looked worried. “What would ten points do to my grade?”
“About 3 percentage points.”
“What is my grade?”
Vaughn quickly opened up his grade book, and selected Kevin Mathews’ grade. “You have a 68.4 percent.”
“I need a C to remain in track.” Kevin desperately said. “I don’t think I can get a 50% on this test here. Is there anything else?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Kevin stormed out of Vaughn’s office in a fit of furry. Vaughn just smiled, remembering his own high school experiences. He picked up the thrown test, and put it back onto his desk.
“The track kids are the worst.” Fellow teacher Chris Chadwick said. He was only a few years out of college, and the resemblance, maturity wise, between him, and his students was uncanny. “I had three in my class once, and I caught all three of them cheating on a test. I was egged the next week. And my mother was in town. She just flipped out.”
“Kevin just isn’t able to put dates with events. I have tried to help him get that C for track, but history doesn’t click.”
“I’m just saying, if you get egged, it’s your own fault.” Chris sat down in the desk next to Vaughn. “Now, where are you going over spring break?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, I’m three desks over, I think I heard you talk about buying tickets for spring break. Where are you and Alexandra going?”
“Barcelona.”
“Spain?”
“Aren’t you a social studies teacher as well? Of course Barcelona, Spain.”
“You are only going to see one city in Europe for a week. If I was going to Spain, I would see all of Europe, and spend like a month there.”
“It was the longest amount of time we could go, in the shortest time.”
“Something important must be in Barcelona.”
“Yep.” Vaughn heard the bell ring, signaling the end of third period, and his planning time. He stood up, straightening the papers he had just finished grading, and walked to the exit of the door. Chris quickly grabbed his materials for his next class, and followed Vaughn.
“Are you going to tell me?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“I’m entitled to my secrets.” Vaughn paused in the middle of the hallway. Like water around a rock, busy students parted for him and Chris. “God, Sydney would kill me for saying that. She hated secrets, considering it hurt her once.”
“What are you jabbering about?”
“Nothing.” Vaughn went into his class room. As students began to file in, Chris backed off. Vaughn absent mindedly taught for the rest of the day. His thoughts were elsewhere. He thought about Sydney mostly. But of course coupled with Sydney was Juliana, and Alexandra, and the upcoming trip to Barcelona. He thought of his mother arriving, and what she would think when she found out that Sydney was alive. She had always loved Sydney like her own daughter, and was upset when she first went missing. Recently, she had taken to nagging Vaughn about trying to find someone new, so that Alexandra would have a mother to talk to when it came time for that time. Vaughn still hadn’t figured out how to tell his mother. Alexandra was a breeze. It was his mother he was really worried about. Vaughn also thought about how mad Kevin was about his grade, and getting kicked off the track team. He wondered if his own house would get egged. Relief came when the final bell rang. But it didn’t last long. Vaughn had forgotten that he had to stay around for a while, to help some students make up some work. He went into the pod, where his and other teacher’s offices were, and found the table full of teachers grading homework, around the common table, complaining about their days.
“Mike, join us?” Chris called out, as Vaughn went slinking into his office.
“I can’t actually. I was just going to get a couple of things, and then I have to go. My mother came today.” His colleagues sent him well wishes, as he waved good bye.
Vaughn walked out to his car, and almost dropped his bag in shock. Sitting on the hood of his car was none other than Eric Weiss. “What’s up man?”
“You left some paperwork undone yesterday. Kendall wasn’t happy. He threatened to fire you, and then forgot you didn’t work there anymore.”
“I haven’t worked there for years. He forgot I didn’t work there?”
“Kendall is getting old. Memory is definitely going. But you still need to fill these out.”
“Explain to me Eric, what will happen if I don’t?”
“He won’t trust you with missions again.”
“Fine with me.”
“This weekend’s was considered a mission.” Vaughn stood there silent.
“Tell him that I will get these to him, if he gets me and Alexandra well priced tickets for Barcelona in two weeks.”
“What is well priced?”
“Anything below what we would pay through a travel agency. He owes it to Sydney, with their half-ass efforts to find her.”
“Is that what you think the efforts were?”
“I worked there the year after she disappeared. She was a priority for a few weeks, and then it fell through the cracks.”
Eric had lost it. His best friend wasn’t acting himself. “Listen up man.” he said, getting up into Vaughn’s face. “There were a bunch of us who for five years would pull all nighters for weeks on end. Going on missions out of our own pocket to look for her. There were eight of us who after you left, kept up your work. Sure Kendall didn’t sanctify everything we did, but we never gave up. We want to see Sydney come home too.”
“Thanks for doing that. But one think I always trusted the agency with was getting their agents home. Twice now, that hasn’t happened. First with my father, then with my wife.”
“But we found her. You’re going to see her in two weeks.”
“Then explain to me, why my daughter doesn’t know who I am? Explain to her whose fault it is that I wasn’t by her side when she was sick this week. Explain whose fault it is that I wasn’t by Sydney’s side when she needed me.”
“You know whose fault it is.”
“The KGB, yeah, but they don’t know this. I want you to explain this to them.”
“I can’t.” Eric admitted.
“Give me the papers. I’ll get them to his desk by tomorrow before work.”
“I’ll see what I can do about those tickets.” Eric said.
“Thanks. I’m sorry for that.”
“Its ok. You’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“And now I have to go tell my mother that her daughter in law is not really dead, and she has another granddaughter.”
“Bridgette is in town?”
“Should be at the house now. Her plane arrived early this afternoon.”
“Well, tell her hello for me.”
“I will.” Vaughn got into his car, and drove home, cursing leaving so late. He sat on the beltway, not moving. The radio killed the eerie silence that accompanied him. The bad news had been reported only minutes earlier. An accident had blocked the entire road for several hours. If he had left five minutes later, he would have been ushered off the interstate. Now he was stuck, with miles of other stranded travelers in front of him, and a block behind him. Knowing he was stuck for a while, he picked up his cell phone.
“Bonjour.” He heard his mother answer.
“Mom.” He said. “I’m glad to see you made it ok.”
“Oh yes. Quite fine. Your daughter is now showing me the finer parts of your charming house.”
“It hasn’t changed since you came last year.”
“I’m letting her humor me.”
“Ok. I’m just calling to say that I will be home late.”
“Oh dear. Are you stuck in that awful traffic jam?”
“How did you know about that?”
“Dear, its all over the news.”
“Right.”
“Well, the entire better. This way when you get home, dinner will be waiting for you.”
“Maman, you really don’t have to do that.”
“But I want to.”
“Seriously, just let me come home, and let me cook. You’re our guest.”
“Since when have you cooked?”
“Since Sydney-“Vaughn cut off there, knowing that his mother still didn’t know that she was alive.
“I understand. I must finish this tour your daughter is giving me.”
“Maman, I want to tell you something first.” Vaughn didn’t have time to think about what he had just said. For a split second when he first called, he considered calling to tell his mother about Sydney. His upbrining taught him that there were things you don’t say over the telephone. But the words slipped out before he had a chance to stop them.
“Of course Michael.”
Over the phone wasn’t how he had planned to tell his mother, but she was the last person he had to tell. Keeping this wondrous news bottled in him was killing him. He needed to tell her, weather it was the right time or not. Vaughn took a deep breath before continuing. “Sydney never died.”
“I know, she only disappeared. But really, its been six years. I, like your daughter, believe that she didn’t live. Now I know that isn’t what you believe, and I respect that.”
“No, we found her.”
“Excuse me?”
“In Barcelona this weekend. Weiss and I went over there. I saw her, I’ve talked with her.”
“Oh.” His mother breathed. “Have you told Alexandra yet?”
“Yes.”
“Michael, we will talk more when you get home. Your daughter is about ready to pull my arm off.”
Vaughn chuckled as he pictured the sight from his car. “Alright Mom. I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Yes. Au revoir.”
“Au revoir.” Vaughn ended the call, and sat back in his seat. It was going to be a long drive home.
* * * * *
Happily, Juliana pranced around the apartment in some of her mother’s old clothing for Rosa. Sydney still had to go to work. Despite this, Juliana was sick Rosa was able to stay home. After resting the day before, and that morning, Juliana was feeling better, and was up and playing. Giggling, she jumped onto the couch. “*Juli, don’t jump on the couch.*” Rosa said, scooping up the little girl and helping her back onto the firm floor. Juliana smiled, and then went running around again.
“*When is my Mommy supposed to be home?*”
“*Soon. You know that.*”
“*When is Tío Luis come home?*”
“*After your mother.*”
“*When is Raquel coming home?*”
“*With your mother.*”
“*Will you play dolls with me?*” Juliana ran and got two dolls from her room before Rosa could even answer the little girl’s request. Juliana handed a doll to Rosa, who took it.
“*Juliana, you actually need to take a nap first.*”
“*Why?*”
“*Because, you were sick this morning, and when you’re sick, you have to take more naps.*”
“*Not tired.*” With that, Juliana took off running. After much convincing, Rosa was able to get Juliana to at least play quietly in her room.
Sydney came home, and was surprised to come back to a quiet house. She put her bag down and found Rosa bent over work at the table. Raquel had run upstairs to play with her toys that she had spent the bus drive home talking about. “*How did you get her to go to sleep?*” Sydney inquired.
“*She’s just quietly playing.*”
“*I’m going to go talk to her.*” Sydney quietly ascended the stairs, to the upper part of the apartment. Quietly playing with Raquel, the two had their dolls, lying in the doll house, as the two prepared play food for their dolls to eat. Upon seeing her mother standing at the door, Juliana smiled brightly, and jumped up and hugged her mother.
“Hola Mama!” She said. “*Come play!*”
“*Juli, I need to talk to you for a minute before I can play. Come on.*” Sydney scooped up her little girl and carried her to the bed room. “*Juliana, do you remember the man that came to my office yesterday?*”
“*Yes.*”
“*You know how Mommy doesn’t remember anything before you were born.*”
“*You still don’t.*”
“*You’re right. I still don’t remember things very well. Juli, that man was from my past. He was from before you were born.*”
“*Ok.*”
“*Juliana, I want you to be serous now.*” Juliana’s attention had wavered, and she no longer sat on her mother’s lap. She saw the jewelry on her mother’s dresser, and began to play with it. Upon her mother’s snap, Juliana put down the necklace and walked back to her mother’s lap. “*Juliana, how would you like to go to America?*”
“*For a vacation?*”
“*Maybe, but maybe to live there one day. I don’t know when.*”
“*Will Tía, and Tío, and Raquel come too?*”
“*I don’t think so sweetie.*”
“*Nope, don’t want to go.*”
“*I didn’t say we would. I said that there might be a chance that we would go there.*”
“*Why?*”
“*Why?*” Sydney knew that this was the part where the truth had to come out, and there was no more beating around the bush. “*Juliana, that was your Daddy, and I didn’t know that until last night.*” Sydney looked into her daughter’s eyes for a hint of what she was feeling. But she only got a blank stare. Juliana had stopped tracing the patterns on her mother’s quilt, and looked at her mother. She was silent. “*Juli, I know that this is a shock for you, but I didn’t know this until yesterday either.*” Juliana still didn’t move. “*You also have a sister I didn’t know about until recently. She’s eight, and her name is Alexandra.*” At this point, Juliana still hadn’t moved since she found out. “*They might come here in a couple of weeks, to meet you.*” Sydney could tell that her daughter had heard every word that she had just said.
“Mama?”
“*Yes?*” Sydney asked, hoping she would get some sort of reaction from Juliana.
“*Can I go play now?*” Sydney almost burst out crying right there. Her daughter had just soaked in everything she was just told, without saying anything. Positive, or negative, Sydney wanted to hear what her daughter thought.
“*Yes.*” Juliana walked out of Sydney’s room, and back into the one that she and Raquel shared. Sydney allowed two tears roll gently down her cheek before she reached over and picked up the phone. The card that Vaughn had given her, to call, sat on the dresser. She glanced at her clock, and noticed that it was four. She quickly figured the time difference, and called Vaughn at work. Her fingers shook as she dialed each number. In five years, she had gone out with a number of guys. Not a lot, but she wasn’t staying at home for a year at a time without a date. And never had she ever been so nervous about calling a guy. Figuring he had a class right then, she hoped to leave a message on his machine. Which was fine. She was so nervous that she was afraid that she would say something stupid to him.
“Michael Vaughn.” Sydney almost dropped the phone at the sound of his voice.
“Michael, it’s me.” Her voice wavered like the ocean.
“Sydney, hello.” Vaughn detected that Sydney was immediately reached out to her. “What’s wrong Syd?” He asked.
“I told Juliana about you.”
“I take it she didn’t take the news well at all?”
“No.”
“She took it well?”
“No.”
“What do you mean?”
“She just took it. All she did for like several minutes was give me this blank stare. It hurt. I have no idea how she felt.”
“I told Alexandra.”
“How did she take it?”
“Very well. She wanted to fly out and meet you guys right then.”
Sydney gave a small laugh. “I’m glad she was excited.” There was a long and awkward pause before Sydney spoke again. “Michael, I think it would be good if you and Alex come out.”
“You’re already calling her Alex.”
“I am?”
“Yeah. It was something that only you did. Everyone else calls her Alexandra. She never liked anyone else calling her Alex except for her mother, she still doesn’t.”
“I didn’t even know I called her Alex.”
“Deep in your heart, it is obvious that you still remember the little things that your head forgot.”
“I guess I do.”
“So when should I order the tickets for?”
“What is best for you and Alexandra?”
“We have a spring break in less than a month.” Sydney could hear the rustle of papers as Vaughn checked the dates. “Actually in two weeks.”
“Mr. Vaughn?” Sydney heard a quaint voice call from the other line. She heard Vaughn talk briefly to the student, asking him to wait.
“Syd? What do you think?”
“Two weeks is fast.”
“We can always wait until the summer. I mean, I can’t take anymore time off.”
“I understand.” Sydney quickly thought. “Two weeks it is.”
“Great!”
“And just to clarify, it will be just you and Alexandra. Not anyone else I know?”
“Yeah. But your father may stop by before then.”
“My father. Why?”
“He had access to the same resources I did. And he was looking just as much as I was. Jack was in Tibet at the time.”
“Oh.”
“Syd, I have to go and help a student with something. I’ll call you later.”
“Ok.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.” Sydney heard the defining tone of the phone as she put it in its cradle.
Vaughn paused before he turned back around to his student. He desperately wanted to tell Sydney that he loved her, like he always ended conversations with her. But he knew that she would be weirded out by that. To her, they had only just met. Giving a smile, he turned around. “What can I help you with Mr. Mathews?”
“Sir, I was wondering, is there anyway you can raise my grade?”
“Kevin, you haven’t turned in three assignments. The only way I could raise your grade was if you took this test.” Vaughn pulled out a test from one of his AP classes, and handed it to him. “It is over material we’ve covered, but it is at the AP level. If you get a 50% I’ll give you 10 extra credit points. For every ten percent, you get another five points.” Vaughn said.
Kevin looked briefly over the test. He looked worried. “What would ten points do to my grade?”
“About 3 percentage points.”
“What is my grade?”
Vaughn quickly opened up his grade book, and selected Kevin Mathews’ grade. “You have a 68.4 percent.”
“I need a C to remain in track.” Kevin desperately said. “I don’t think I can get a 50% on this test here. Is there anything else?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Kevin stormed out of Vaughn’s office in a fit of furry. Vaughn just smiled, remembering his own high school experiences. He picked up the thrown test, and put it back onto his desk.
“The track kids are the worst.” Fellow teacher Chris Chadwick said. He was only a few years out of college, and the resemblance, maturity wise, between him, and his students was uncanny. “I had three in my class once, and I caught all three of them cheating on a test. I was egged the next week. And my mother was in town. She just flipped out.”
“Kevin just isn’t able to put dates with events. I have tried to help him get that C for track, but history doesn’t click.”
“I’m just saying, if you get egged, it’s your own fault.” Chris sat down in the desk next to Vaughn. “Now, where are you going over spring break?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, I’m three desks over, I think I heard you talk about buying tickets for spring break. Where are you and Alexandra going?”
“Barcelona.”
“Spain?”
“Aren’t you a social studies teacher as well? Of course Barcelona, Spain.”
“You are only going to see one city in Europe for a week. If I was going to Spain, I would see all of Europe, and spend like a month there.”
“It was the longest amount of time we could go, in the shortest time.”
“Something important must be in Barcelona.”
“Yep.” Vaughn heard the bell ring, signaling the end of third period, and his planning time. He stood up, straightening the papers he had just finished grading, and walked to the exit of the door. Chris quickly grabbed his materials for his next class, and followed Vaughn.
“Are you going to tell me?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“I’m entitled to my secrets.” Vaughn paused in the middle of the hallway. Like water around a rock, busy students parted for him and Chris. “God, Sydney would kill me for saying that. She hated secrets, considering it hurt her once.”
“What are you jabbering about?”
“Nothing.” Vaughn went into his class room. As students began to file in, Chris backed off. Vaughn absent mindedly taught for the rest of the day. His thoughts were elsewhere. He thought about Sydney mostly. But of course coupled with Sydney was Juliana, and Alexandra, and the upcoming trip to Barcelona. He thought of his mother arriving, and what she would think when she found out that Sydney was alive. She had always loved Sydney like her own daughter, and was upset when she first went missing. Recently, she had taken to nagging Vaughn about trying to find someone new, so that Alexandra would have a mother to talk to when it came time for that time. Vaughn still hadn’t figured out how to tell his mother. Alexandra was a breeze. It was his mother he was really worried about. Vaughn also thought about how mad Kevin was about his grade, and getting kicked off the track team. He wondered if his own house would get egged. Relief came when the final bell rang. But it didn’t last long. Vaughn had forgotten that he had to stay around for a while, to help some students make up some work. He went into the pod, where his and other teacher’s offices were, and found the table full of teachers grading homework, around the common table, complaining about their days.
“Mike, join us?” Chris called out, as Vaughn went slinking into his office.
“I can’t actually. I was just going to get a couple of things, and then I have to go. My mother came today.” His colleagues sent him well wishes, as he waved good bye.
Vaughn walked out to his car, and almost dropped his bag in shock. Sitting on the hood of his car was none other than Eric Weiss. “What’s up man?”
“You left some paperwork undone yesterday. Kendall wasn’t happy. He threatened to fire you, and then forgot you didn’t work there anymore.”
“I haven’t worked there for years. He forgot I didn’t work there?”
“Kendall is getting old. Memory is definitely going. But you still need to fill these out.”
“Explain to me Eric, what will happen if I don’t?”
“He won’t trust you with missions again.”
“Fine with me.”
“This weekend’s was considered a mission.” Vaughn stood there silent.
“Tell him that I will get these to him, if he gets me and Alexandra well priced tickets for Barcelona in two weeks.”
“What is well priced?”
“Anything below what we would pay through a travel agency. He owes it to Sydney, with their half-ass efforts to find her.”
“Is that what you think the efforts were?”
“I worked there the year after she disappeared. She was a priority for a few weeks, and then it fell through the cracks.”
Eric had lost it. His best friend wasn’t acting himself. “Listen up man.” he said, getting up into Vaughn’s face. “There were a bunch of us who for five years would pull all nighters for weeks on end. Going on missions out of our own pocket to look for her. There were eight of us who after you left, kept up your work. Sure Kendall didn’t sanctify everything we did, but we never gave up. We want to see Sydney come home too.”
“Thanks for doing that. But one think I always trusted the agency with was getting their agents home. Twice now, that hasn’t happened. First with my father, then with my wife.”
“But we found her. You’re going to see her in two weeks.”
“Then explain to me, why my daughter doesn’t know who I am? Explain to her whose fault it is that I wasn’t by her side when she was sick this week. Explain whose fault it is that I wasn’t by Sydney’s side when she needed me.”
“You know whose fault it is.”
“The KGB, yeah, but they don’t know this. I want you to explain this to them.”
“I can’t.” Eric admitted.
“Give me the papers. I’ll get them to his desk by tomorrow before work.”
“I’ll see what I can do about those tickets.” Eric said.
“Thanks. I’m sorry for that.”
“Its ok. You’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“And now I have to go tell my mother that her daughter in law is not really dead, and she has another granddaughter.”
“Bridgette is in town?”
“Should be at the house now. Her plane arrived early this afternoon.”
“Well, tell her hello for me.”
“I will.” Vaughn got into his car, and drove home, cursing leaving so late. He sat on the beltway, not moving. The radio killed the eerie silence that accompanied him. The bad news had been reported only minutes earlier. An accident had blocked the entire road for several hours. If he had left five minutes later, he would have been ushered off the interstate. Now he was stuck, with miles of other stranded travelers in front of him, and a block behind him. Knowing he was stuck for a while, he picked up his cell phone.
“Bonjour.” He heard his mother answer.
“Mom.” He said. “I’m glad to see you made it ok.”
“Oh yes. Quite fine. Your daughter is now showing me the finer parts of your charming house.”
“It hasn’t changed since you came last year.”
“I’m letting her humor me.”
“Ok. I’m just calling to say that I will be home late.”
“Oh dear. Are you stuck in that awful traffic jam?”
“How did you know about that?”
“Dear, its all over the news.”
“Right.”
“Well, the entire better. This way when you get home, dinner will be waiting for you.”
“Maman, you really don’t have to do that.”
“But I want to.”
“Seriously, just let me come home, and let me cook. You’re our guest.”
“Since when have you cooked?”
“Since Sydney-“Vaughn cut off there, knowing that his mother still didn’t know that she was alive.
“I understand. I must finish this tour your daughter is giving me.”
“Maman, I want to tell you something first.” Vaughn didn’t have time to think about what he had just said. For a split second when he first called, he considered calling to tell his mother about Sydney. His upbrining taught him that there were things you don’t say over the telephone. But the words slipped out before he had a chance to stop them.
“Of course Michael.”
Over the phone wasn’t how he had planned to tell his mother, but she was the last person he had to tell. Keeping this wondrous news bottled in him was killing him. He needed to tell her, weather it was the right time or not. Vaughn took a deep breath before continuing. “Sydney never died.”
“I know, she only disappeared. But really, its been six years. I, like your daughter, believe that she didn’t live. Now I know that isn’t what you believe, and I respect that.”
“No, we found her.”
“Excuse me?”
“In Barcelona this weekend. Weiss and I went over there. I saw her, I’ve talked with her.”
“Oh.” His mother breathed. “Have you told Alexandra yet?”
“Yes.”
“Michael, we will talk more when you get home. Your daughter is about ready to pull my arm off.”
Vaughn chuckled as he pictured the sight from his car. “Alright Mom. I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Yes. Au revoir.”
“Au revoir.” Vaughn ended the call, and sat back in his seat. It was going to be a long drive home.
spichik453
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~ Hopeless Romantic ~
Ohhhhh ... not good!spichik453 said:
But I can understand little Juliana!
So much for her to take in at one time! :blink:
We get her (verbal) reaction soon?
I saw that coming! -_-spichik453 said:
Of course Vaughn had to let out his frustration soon! :argue:
I´m kinda glad it was Weiss and not anybody else!
You know he could understand it and knows the whole story!
Can´t wait for more! I wanna see how the story goes on!
Thanks for da PM!
Muse
At least Syd is thinking about moving back to America, that is a step in the right direction
I'm so glad Alexandra will get to see her mother again, and Juliana will get to se her father
I hope Sydney will remember, that something will trigger her memory back
Thanks for the PM
Update again soon
I'm so glad Alexandra will get to see her mother again, and Juliana will get to se her father
I hope Sydney will remember, that something will trigger her memory back
Thanks for the PM
Update again soon