One Day...
- Thread starter derevkointraining
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derevkointraining
Cadet
Thanks for the reviews everyone!! 
Recap:
I sat and watched her eyes close, then watched her breathe in a peaceful sleep for a while before getting up and knocking on my dad’s door.
“Sydney?”
“She asked about Vaughn.” He looked at me, visibly upset, and pulled me into a hug.
“What did you say?” I told him what I had said to her, feeling awful about lying. “One day, Sydney, things will be better.” I thanked him and headed back to my room. Curling around my daughter, I drifted into sleep myself, thankful I had her in my life.
Chapter 5:
One Month Later
“Vaughn and Sydney. We’re sending you on a mission to Barcelona. You will be staying at this resort where we believe a man named Gregory Tolland is staying. He is in possession of a micro-bomb that he plans to sell on the black market. We need to find him and get pictures of him and retrieve the bomb, which is supposedly in his room.
“Wait, so you mean, we don’t even have pictures of this man?” I broke into Dixon’s instructions.
“He’s very elusive,’ my dad replied. “Plus, he just changed his appearance.”
“Great.”
“Anyway, Sydney, your job is to keep him occupied at the pool while Vaughn breaks into his room. Marshall has your op-tech. Wheels up in two hours.”
“All right. I’m going home to change and get my slutty pool clothes,” I said dryly, after getting the op-tech from Marshall. “See you at the airfield.” Vaughn nodded and went his own way.
~~~
“So…how are things?” He asked me on the plane as we flew toward Barcelona.
“Fine.” I smiled.
“Sydney… don’t be this way.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Vaughn. First your wife gives me nasty looks my first few days back. Then, she threatens to have me transferred to another office. I don’t want her to bother me so it’s best I keep my conversations and time with you minimal.”
“Well, Lauren isn’t here now, is she?”
“Doesn’t matter.” I stood up. “Excuse me, I’m going to start getting changed.” I headed toward the back of the plane to put on my wig of red hair and luxurious clothes to make me look like a million dollars, literally.
A few hours later we were on the ground and headed toward Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I. It was around eleven in the morning. As we stood at the front desk checking in, I looked around in amazement at how beautiful the hotel was.
“Momma!” I heard a small voice cry out from across the lobby. It sounded familiar. Slowly I turned my head and saw the Erikksons at the other end of the room heading toward the elevator bank. They had stopped and Jonna picked up Lily, figuring she was asking for her. They had no idea I was standing less than fifty feet from them. Well, Lily did. She was staring right at me and squirming in Jonna’s arms.
“felgercarb,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Say something, Syd?” Vaughn turned towards me.
“No. Um, I have to use the ladies room. I’ll meet you up at the suite?”
“Sure.” I slipped away quickly and headed toward the elevators.
“MOMMA!” Her cry was louder as I got closer. Jonna and Keith just looked at each other, exasperated. The elevator doors opened and the four of them headed inside. At the last second, I slipped in as well.
“What floor?” Keith asked, barely looking at me. When I said nothing and he finally looked up, his jaw dropped. “SYD?”
“Shh.” I put my finger to my lips as I took Lily from Jonna and cradled her in my arms. “I’m on a mission. I totally forgot you guys were coming here.”
“Are we in danger?” Jonna asked, concerned.
“No. Simple mission, nothing big will happen here. You guys didn’t see me checking in but this one did,” I said, tickling my baby’s stomach. She grinned.
“Now at least we know why she was screaming Momma! I was so confused.”
“I know. Sorry. I’ll walk you guys back to your room.”
“Wed!” Lily cried, tugging at my hair. “No like. Want bwown.”
“It’s not real, pumpkin. Mommy is wearing a costume. Pretend.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought it would be fun.”
“Oh, okay. You stay wif us? Come to beach?”
I smiled at her sadly. “No, sweetie. I’m sorry. Mommy is here for her job. I forgot you would be here too.”
“Oh.” Her face began to crumble. This was such a tease for her, having me here but not being able to play with me.
“Don’t cry, baby. I’ll make time to see you while I am here, even if just for a few minutes.” My words didn’t soothe her and the tears started leaking out of her eyes. Heartbroken, I shifted the way I was holding her to put her head on my shoulder and I hugged her closely. “Mommy loves you,” I whispered into her ear as I stroked her hair.
As we all left the elevator, I realized their suite was just across the hall and two down from the one Vaughn and I were checked into. Wonderful. I decided not to say anything. We went inside the room and I gently placed Lily in her travel crib. Standing up, I asked Keith if he had his cell phone and told him I’d call when I could sneak away. He said that was fine and for me to be safe and call him if we need backup. It always slipped my mind that he worked for the CIA office in Switzerland.
I nodded. “I should get back to my room now.” Kneeling down, I placed a kiss on Lily’s head. “See you later, kiddo.”
She gave me a sad wave. “Bye, bye Aun’ Syddie,” Davina called out. I kissed her as well and slipped out the door.
Gliding down the hallway I knocked on the door and luckily Vaughn had made his way upstairs. “Sorry I took so long,” I said and we started to get ready for our mission.
I headed off to the pool thirty minutes later to look for a man who could only be identified by a necklace he wore that had two green dragons on it, symbolizing protection and good faith. Vaughn would remain in the room and wait for my signal through our comm links to head to Tolland’s room.
I spotted the necklace quickly. Luckily, there was an empty chair next to Tolland so I made a huge show of stripping down to my bathing suit and lowering myself to the chair. I succeeded in grabbing his attention.
“Can I get you a drink?” He asked me, immediately.
“I’d be delighted,’ I said in a fake southern accent. “A Southern Comfort, please,” I drawled in a flirty way. He flagged down a pool waiter and placed my drink order.
“So what brings you to Barcelona?” He asked, staring at my body.
“I just needed some time away. You know. Relax and stuff. Maybe finding someone to relax with…” I said with a wink and knew I had him hooked long enough for Vaughn to get in and out of Tolland’s room.
“Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”
“Sure. I just love talking about little ol’ me. I’m a very interesting woman,” I replied, using the phrase Vaughn and I decided on.
~~~
Once he heard their designated sentence, Vaughn slipped out of the room and towards the elevators where he spotted a couple holding two little girls, one blond and one brunette. The man smiled at Vaughn as they waited together.
The brown haired little girl looked up and grinned at Vaughn too, causing him to do a double take. Upon further scrutiny, the little girl looked exactly like Sydney. A carbon copy. He couldn’t believe his eyes and continued to stare despite the elevator he was waiting for opening.
“Sir? Are you going to get in?” The woman asked with a slight French accent. Vaughn snapped out of his thoughts.
“I’m sorry. Yes. Um, your little girl is adorable, by the way,” he said, motioning towards Lily, who had been following him with her eyes.
“Thank you,” Jonna replied to him as they stood in the elevator. Vaughn looked at the couple, trying hard to figure out how that little girl belonged to them when none of her features came from either the man or woman. Shaking his head, he departed the elevator four flights down and continued to do his job.
He entered the hotel room and searched around until he located the micro-bomb. Pressing a small button near his ear he told Sydney he was finished and he’d meet her back in the room.
~~~
“We’re good, Mountaineer, I got it,” I heard in my ear as I continued to smile and flirt with Tolland. Ten minutes later I stood up when I noticed Lily and Davina playing with Keith by the edge of the pool, 15 feet away.
“Well, Gregory, thank you for the drink and conversation but I’m afraid I must be going.
“So soon?”
“I’m afraid so.” I turned to shake his hand. “Maybe I’ll see you aroun – OH!” I cried when I suddenly felt two little arms wrap themselves around my leg.
“Momma…” Lily whimpered. I smiled at her and reached down to pick her up. I noticed Tolland’s look of confusion.
Just then, Keith jogged up to me, holding Davina. “Sorry…she slipped away quickly.”
“It’s all right,” I smiled and winked at him. “I’ll drop her off with you in a few moments.”
“Okay.” He walked away.
“So, you’re a mother?” Tolland inquired.
“I’m afraid so,” I replied, thankful I had turned the comm off once Vaughn said he was done. “My daughter has been with my nanny and her husband all morning.”
“Cute.” He said shortly. “I understand why you must leave now.”
“Yes, well, it was nice meeting you. See you.” I smiled once more and walked toward where Jonna was sitting nervously.
“Oh my god, we didn’t ruin anything, did we?” She asked as soon as I reached her and handed Lily over.
“No. Thank god Michael wasn’t around though…”
“He’s here too?”
“Yes.”
“Oh boy. We’ll make sure to keep a tighter hold on her.”
I smiled. “It’s okay. We leave in the morning anyway.”
“Who Mi-kal?”
I crouched down next to where Lily was sitting in Jonna’s lap and stroked her hair. “Michael works with Mommy.” I kissed her. “Okay, I have to go. I’ll try to slip away later.”
“Bye, Sydney.”
“See you!” I walked back up to the room and was immediately assaulted by Vaughn the moment I walked into our suite.
“I have to ask you a question.” He said, seriously.
“Okay… What’s up?” I said casually and flopped into a chair.
“Did you have a baby?”
His question caught me completely off guard. “What?”
“While you were missing. Did you have a baby?”
I sighed. “Why are you asking me this?”
He glared at me for a second. “Because when I left for the elevator earlier, there was a couple holding two little girls. One looked like them. The other, however, looked like you. She didn’t just look similar. She was…YOU, right down to the dimples in her cheeks.”
I sighed again. “Vaughn, call the front desk. Tell them we need to stay one more night. I’ll call my dad and tell him to send an agent to pick up the micro-bomb. Meet me here in the living room in 15 minutes. There’s something we need to talk about.”
I left him staring at me as I walked into the room I was using in the suite but I heard him pick up the phone. Shutting the door, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a number.
“Bristow.”
“Dad.”
“What’s wrong, Sydney?”
“Nothing relating to the mission, that went fine…it’s something else.” I quickly told him how the Erikkson’s were here on vacation and how Lily spotted me, and explained how Vaughn confronted me. “I guess it’s time to tell him.”
“Understood. Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll send an agent right away and you just take care of what you need to. It will be all right.”
“Thanks Dad.”
“Give Lily a kiss for me.”
“I will. See you soon.” I hung up and sighed. Vaughn would either be furious, or ecstatic to meet his little girl and I was desperately hoping for option two even though I knew option one would be the more likely scenario.
Quickly I changed into different clothes, took off the wig and scrubbed the makeup off my face. Taking a deep breath, I walked back into the living room area and went to face the music. I found Vaughn sitting there, waiting for me.
“Follow me.” I said and walked to the door.
“Sydney. What is going on?”
“Just trust me.” He remained silent as we rode downstairs and walked back out to the pool. I scanned the area and noticed that Tolland appeared to have left as well. I spotted Jonna still sitting with Lily and headed over.
She saw me coming with Vaughn and started to look concerned, but didn’t say anything. I was grateful for that. I had badmouthed him enough to her. Instead, she must have guessed what was coming because she held out Lily. I took the little girl in my arms, stared into her eyes for a second, and turned to Vaughn.
“Vaughn, meet your daughter, Lilybelle Vaughn Bristow. She’s 20 months. Her birthday is, ironically, October first, and she’s been living with family friends in Switzerland since she was six months old.”
I watched his jaw drop as he stared at the little girl in my arms, taking her in. It appeared he was at a loss for words, probably thinking about how he would explain this to Lauren.
“Momma, is dat the man you work wif, Mi-kal?” Lily broke the silence, pointing to him.
I smiled down at her. “ Yes, sweet pea.”
“He making funny face,” she said, giggling. I watched Vaughn’s face soften as he watched us interact. “No more funny face!” She cried once he closed his mouth. “Do it again!” She demanded.
“Lily, sweetie, Michael is not going to stand here making faces for you. We have to talk.”
“Why?”
“We have something very important to discuss.”
“Oh. So you gonna leave again?” I looked at Jonna and she nodded.
“You want to come with us, baby?” Lily nodded vigorously so I looked over at Jonna again. “I’ll call you when we’re ready to drop her off again.”
“Whenever, Syd. She’s yours, so spend as much time with her as you want. We’ll be here.”
I smiled in return, picked up her diaper bag, and turned to Vaughn. “Back to the suite?” All he could do was nod as he followed us, staring at Lily the whole time.
Once we were in the elevator, he finally found his voice. “She has my eyes.”
“I know.”
“She’s so…perfect.” I smiled at him and looked down at Lily again. “Can I hold her?” I nodded and handed her over. He took her gently and stared down at her. She looked up at him and reached out a hand to touch his face.
“Gween! Gween eyes! Like me!” Lily looked back to me as we stepped out of the elevator.
“I know, Lily.”
“Syd… you said she was 20 months, right?” I nodded. “She’s really… smart.”
I laughed. “Well, Bristows have pretty high IQ’s there, buddy. She’s a smart one. She’s also fluent in both English and French.”
“I should have figured.” As we entered the room, I took Lily back and sat her down on my lap. Michael sat next to us on the couch, gently fingering her hair and face.
“So, tell me…everything.” I nodded and took a deep breath.
“I was pregnant when I was taken after the fight with Francie-Allison. I didn’t even know I was, so that is why you didn’t know. Honestly, I didn’t hide this from you.” He nodded. “She was born six months later. I can’t even tell you what they did to me during that time, or why, because I had my memories erased of the past two years. Everything, except for her. I had found a doctor in Hong Kong who had developed this new technique. I called the CIA the day after he did the procedure, which is why I woke up thinking I had fought with Francie-Allison just a few days prior. This doctor, he modified his procedure so that as soon as someone reminded me of her, my brain would remember everything having to do with her. I had made a video for my dad…that’s how I remembered.”
“So that’s why you left for Switzerland shortly after you returned.” I nodded and went to continue.
“All I know is that the Covenant wanted to do something bad with her so I got her out of there. I staged a kidnapping to make it look like she was taken. In reality, I had made contact with my dad and he helped me set everything up. I can’t remember why I stayed where I was either. But she was in danger, so keeping her hidden away from everyone was the only option.”
“Wait a minute. The whole time I thought you were dead, your father KNEW you were alive? He KNEW I had a baby? Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t he prevent me from marrying Lauren?”
“I’m sure there was a reason, Vaughn. One I honestly don’t know right now. Anyway,” I said quickly, before he could yell again. “The reason I didn’t tell you right when I got back was my decision. It was hard enough coming back to find out you moved on, and it was hard enough having the three of us trying to work nicely together. I felt that holding off on telling you about her until just a little more time went by and we were comfortable around each other again would be best. I’m sorry if you disagree with that decision. But Lily is my life,” I said, looking down at the little girl in my arms who was slowly becoming drowsy. “She was the thing I had been living for, working for. She’s the only thing I have to remind me of the past, before I was taken, and what I had. I also couldn’t bear the thought of another woman taking care of her with you. Because WE were supposed to be taking care of her…together.” I looked down, tears forming in my eyes, and stroked Lily’s face until she shut her eyes.
Vaughn didn’t say anything. Instead, he got up and walked into his room, shutting the door. Sighing, and almost wishing that he had yelled, I got up and went into mine. I curled up on the bed, carefully cradling Lily in my arms, and closed my own eyes.
>o<
Vaughn paced his room. He was furious. Furious at the Covenant for taking Sydney and his baby. Furious at Jack for hiding the truth from him and keeping him from having the family he always dreamed of. But most of all, Vaughn was furious at himself for giving up so easily. He should have pulled himself together and sought answers instead of falling apart and marrying the first woman he came across. But, he wasn’t furious at Sydney. He couldn’t be. He knew she was an intelligent woman who obviously had reasons, good reasons, for everything that took place during those two years.
“What am I going to do? I’m married to Lauren…but my feelings for Sydney will never go away…and now…there’s Lily. My precious little Lily.” Vaughn muttered to himself and tried to make sense of all the emotions he was feeling. He didn’t even know his daughter for a full hour but he was already so much in love with the precocious little girl in the next room.
A little while later he left his room and found Sydney and Lily asleep on her bed. They looked so adorable that it took his breath away. He gently sat on the edge of the bed to watch them.
Soon, Lily’s eyes fluttered open and she saw Vaughn sitting in front of her. “Mi-kal.”
“Hey, cutie,” he whispered and gently removed her from Sydney’s arms. “Let’s not wake up Mommy, okay? She had a rough day.”
“Kay.” Lily eagerly let Vaughn scoop her up and carry her into the living room. “Play wif me?
“Sure.” Vaughn paused. “What the hell do I know about playing with a baby?” He thought and anxiously looked around for something to entertain her with. “You want a horsey ride?”
“Yeah! What’s dat?”
He grinned at her innocence. “Okay, cutie. Climb on my back and hold onto my neck really tight,” he said, lying down on the ground so she could easily climb up. He felt her little arms wrap around his neck. “Now I’m going to get up slowly, so you have to hold really tightly, okay?”
“Kay.” He slowly rose up on all fours and heard her giggle. He started to crawl around the room and make horse noises. Lily shrieked with joy and urged him to go faster.
>o<
I jolted awake when I heard Lily shriek and quickly scooted to my doorway to see what was happening. What I saw made my heart melt and I leaned against the wall, smiling at the scene in front of me. The father of my child was crawling around the room, pretending to be a horse, just to make his little girl laugh. It was too cute for words. Finally, Lily noticed me standing there.
“Momma! Mi-kal playing wif me!” As soon as Vaughn heard that he stopped and slowly turned to look at me, almost in fear.
TBC...
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Recap:
I sat and watched her eyes close, then watched her breathe in a peaceful sleep for a while before getting up and knocking on my dad’s door.
“Sydney?”
“She asked about Vaughn.” He looked at me, visibly upset, and pulled me into a hug.
“What did you say?” I told him what I had said to her, feeling awful about lying. “One day, Sydney, things will be better.” I thanked him and headed back to my room. Curling around my daughter, I drifted into sleep myself, thankful I had her in my life.
Chapter 5:
One Month Later
“Vaughn and Sydney. We’re sending you on a mission to Barcelona. You will be staying at this resort where we believe a man named Gregory Tolland is staying. He is in possession of a micro-bomb that he plans to sell on the black market. We need to find him and get pictures of him and retrieve the bomb, which is supposedly in his room.
“Wait, so you mean, we don’t even have pictures of this man?” I broke into Dixon’s instructions.
“He’s very elusive,’ my dad replied. “Plus, he just changed his appearance.”
“Great.”
“Anyway, Sydney, your job is to keep him occupied at the pool while Vaughn breaks into his room. Marshall has your op-tech. Wheels up in two hours.”
“All right. I’m going home to change and get my slutty pool clothes,” I said dryly, after getting the op-tech from Marshall. “See you at the airfield.” Vaughn nodded and went his own way.
~~~
“So…how are things?” He asked me on the plane as we flew toward Barcelona.
“Fine.” I smiled.
“Sydney… don’t be this way.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Vaughn. First your wife gives me nasty looks my first few days back. Then, she threatens to have me transferred to another office. I don’t want her to bother me so it’s best I keep my conversations and time with you minimal.”
“Well, Lauren isn’t here now, is she?”
“Doesn’t matter.” I stood up. “Excuse me, I’m going to start getting changed.” I headed toward the back of the plane to put on my wig of red hair and luxurious clothes to make me look like a million dollars, literally.
A few hours later we were on the ground and headed toward Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I. It was around eleven in the morning. As we stood at the front desk checking in, I looked around in amazement at how beautiful the hotel was.
“Momma!” I heard a small voice cry out from across the lobby. It sounded familiar. Slowly I turned my head and saw the Erikksons at the other end of the room heading toward the elevator bank. They had stopped and Jonna picked up Lily, figuring she was asking for her. They had no idea I was standing less than fifty feet from them. Well, Lily did. She was staring right at me and squirming in Jonna’s arms.
“felgercarb,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Say something, Syd?” Vaughn turned towards me.
“No. Um, I have to use the ladies room. I’ll meet you up at the suite?”
“Sure.” I slipped away quickly and headed toward the elevators.
“MOMMA!” Her cry was louder as I got closer. Jonna and Keith just looked at each other, exasperated. The elevator doors opened and the four of them headed inside. At the last second, I slipped in as well.
“What floor?” Keith asked, barely looking at me. When I said nothing and he finally looked up, his jaw dropped. “SYD?”
“Shh.” I put my finger to my lips as I took Lily from Jonna and cradled her in my arms. “I’m on a mission. I totally forgot you guys were coming here.”
“Are we in danger?” Jonna asked, concerned.
“No. Simple mission, nothing big will happen here. You guys didn’t see me checking in but this one did,” I said, tickling my baby’s stomach. She grinned.
“Now at least we know why she was screaming Momma! I was so confused.”
“I know. Sorry. I’ll walk you guys back to your room.”
“Wed!” Lily cried, tugging at my hair. “No like. Want bwown.”
“It’s not real, pumpkin. Mommy is wearing a costume. Pretend.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought it would be fun.”
“Oh, okay. You stay wif us? Come to beach?”
I smiled at her sadly. “No, sweetie. I’m sorry. Mommy is here for her job. I forgot you would be here too.”
“Oh.” Her face began to crumble. This was such a tease for her, having me here but not being able to play with me.
“Don’t cry, baby. I’ll make time to see you while I am here, even if just for a few minutes.” My words didn’t soothe her and the tears started leaking out of her eyes. Heartbroken, I shifted the way I was holding her to put her head on my shoulder and I hugged her closely. “Mommy loves you,” I whispered into her ear as I stroked her hair.
As we all left the elevator, I realized their suite was just across the hall and two down from the one Vaughn and I were checked into. Wonderful. I decided not to say anything. We went inside the room and I gently placed Lily in her travel crib. Standing up, I asked Keith if he had his cell phone and told him I’d call when I could sneak away. He said that was fine and for me to be safe and call him if we need backup. It always slipped my mind that he worked for the CIA office in Switzerland.
I nodded. “I should get back to my room now.” Kneeling down, I placed a kiss on Lily’s head. “See you later, kiddo.”
She gave me a sad wave. “Bye, bye Aun’ Syddie,” Davina called out. I kissed her as well and slipped out the door.
Gliding down the hallway I knocked on the door and luckily Vaughn had made his way upstairs. “Sorry I took so long,” I said and we started to get ready for our mission.
I headed off to the pool thirty minutes later to look for a man who could only be identified by a necklace he wore that had two green dragons on it, symbolizing protection and good faith. Vaughn would remain in the room and wait for my signal through our comm links to head to Tolland’s room.
I spotted the necklace quickly. Luckily, there was an empty chair next to Tolland so I made a huge show of stripping down to my bathing suit and lowering myself to the chair. I succeeded in grabbing his attention.
“Can I get you a drink?” He asked me, immediately.
“I’d be delighted,’ I said in a fake southern accent. “A Southern Comfort, please,” I drawled in a flirty way. He flagged down a pool waiter and placed my drink order.
“So what brings you to Barcelona?” He asked, staring at my body.
“I just needed some time away. You know. Relax and stuff. Maybe finding someone to relax with…” I said with a wink and knew I had him hooked long enough for Vaughn to get in and out of Tolland’s room.
“Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”
“Sure. I just love talking about little ol’ me. I’m a very interesting woman,” I replied, using the phrase Vaughn and I decided on.
~~~
Once he heard their designated sentence, Vaughn slipped out of the room and towards the elevators where he spotted a couple holding two little girls, one blond and one brunette. The man smiled at Vaughn as they waited together.
The brown haired little girl looked up and grinned at Vaughn too, causing him to do a double take. Upon further scrutiny, the little girl looked exactly like Sydney. A carbon copy. He couldn’t believe his eyes and continued to stare despite the elevator he was waiting for opening.
“Sir? Are you going to get in?” The woman asked with a slight French accent. Vaughn snapped out of his thoughts.
“I’m sorry. Yes. Um, your little girl is adorable, by the way,” he said, motioning towards Lily, who had been following him with her eyes.
“Thank you,” Jonna replied to him as they stood in the elevator. Vaughn looked at the couple, trying hard to figure out how that little girl belonged to them when none of her features came from either the man or woman. Shaking his head, he departed the elevator four flights down and continued to do his job.
He entered the hotel room and searched around until he located the micro-bomb. Pressing a small button near his ear he told Sydney he was finished and he’d meet her back in the room.
~~~
“We’re good, Mountaineer, I got it,” I heard in my ear as I continued to smile and flirt with Tolland. Ten minutes later I stood up when I noticed Lily and Davina playing with Keith by the edge of the pool, 15 feet away.
“Well, Gregory, thank you for the drink and conversation but I’m afraid I must be going.
“So soon?”
“I’m afraid so.” I turned to shake his hand. “Maybe I’ll see you aroun – OH!” I cried when I suddenly felt two little arms wrap themselves around my leg.
“Momma…” Lily whimpered. I smiled at her and reached down to pick her up. I noticed Tolland’s look of confusion.
Just then, Keith jogged up to me, holding Davina. “Sorry…she slipped away quickly.”
“It’s all right,” I smiled and winked at him. “I’ll drop her off with you in a few moments.”
“Okay.” He walked away.
“So, you’re a mother?” Tolland inquired.
“I’m afraid so,” I replied, thankful I had turned the comm off once Vaughn said he was done. “My daughter has been with my nanny and her husband all morning.”
“Cute.” He said shortly. “I understand why you must leave now.”
“Yes, well, it was nice meeting you. See you.” I smiled once more and walked toward where Jonna was sitting nervously.
“Oh my god, we didn’t ruin anything, did we?” She asked as soon as I reached her and handed Lily over.
“No. Thank god Michael wasn’t around though…”
“He’s here too?”
“Yes.”
“Oh boy. We’ll make sure to keep a tighter hold on her.”
I smiled. “It’s okay. We leave in the morning anyway.”
“Who Mi-kal?”
I crouched down next to where Lily was sitting in Jonna’s lap and stroked her hair. “Michael works with Mommy.” I kissed her. “Okay, I have to go. I’ll try to slip away later.”
“Bye, Sydney.”
“See you!” I walked back up to the room and was immediately assaulted by Vaughn the moment I walked into our suite.
“I have to ask you a question.” He said, seriously.
“Okay… What’s up?” I said casually and flopped into a chair.
“Did you have a baby?”
His question caught me completely off guard. “What?”
“While you were missing. Did you have a baby?”
I sighed. “Why are you asking me this?”
He glared at me for a second. “Because when I left for the elevator earlier, there was a couple holding two little girls. One looked like them. The other, however, looked like you. She didn’t just look similar. She was…YOU, right down to the dimples in her cheeks.”
I sighed again. “Vaughn, call the front desk. Tell them we need to stay one more night. I’ll call my dad and tell him to send an agent to pick up the micro-bomb. Meet me here in the living room in 15 minutes. There’s something we need to talk about.”
I left him staring at me as I walked into the room I was using in the suite but I heard him pick up the phone. Shutting the door, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a number.
“Bristow.”
“Dad.”
“What’s wrong, Sydney?”
“Nothing relating to the mission, that went fine…it’s something else.” I quickly told him how the Erikkson’s were here on vacation and how Lily spotted me, and explained how Vaughn confronted me. “I guess it’s time to tell him.”
“Understood. Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll send an agent right away and you just take care of what you need to. It will be all right.”
“Thanks Dad.”
“Give Lily a kiss for me.”
“I will. See you soon.” I hung up and sighed. Vaughn would either be furious, or ecstatic to meet his little girl and I was desperately hoping for option two even though I knew option one would be the more likely scenario.
Quickly I changed into different clothes, took off the wig and scrubbed the makeup off my face. Taking a deep breath, I walked back into the living room area and went to face the music. I found Vaughn sitting there, waiting for me.
“Follow me.” I said and walked to the door.
“Sydney. What is going on?”
“Just trust me.” He remained silent as we rode downstairs and walked back out to the pool. I scanned the area and noticed that Tolland appeared to have left as well. I spotted Jonna still sitting with Lily and headed over.
She saw me coming with Vaughn and started to look concerned, but didn’t say anything. I was grateful for that. I had badmouthed him enough to her. Instead, she must have guessed what was coming because she held out Lily. I took the little girl in my arms, stared into her eyes for a second, and turned to Vaughn.
“Vaughn, meet your daughter, Lilybelle Vaughn Bristow. She’s 20 months. Her birthday is, ironically, October first, and she’s been living with family friends in Switzerland since she was six months old.”
I watched his jaw drop as he stared at the little girl in my arms, taking her in. It appeared he was at a loss for words, probably thinking about how he would explain this to Lauren.
“Momma, is dat the man you work wif, Mi-kal?” Lily broke the silence, pointing to him.
I smiled down at her. “ Yes, sweet pea.”
“He making funny face,” she said, giggling. I watched Vaughn’s face soften as he watched us interact. “No more funny face!” She cried once he closed his mouth. “Do it again!” She demanded.
“Lily, sweetie, Michael is not going to stand here making faces for you. We have to talk.”
“Why?”
“We have something very important to discuss.”
“Oh. So you gonna leave again?” I looked at Jonna and she nodded.
“You want to come with us, baby?” Lily nodded vigorously so I looked over at Jonna again. “I’ll call you when we’re ready to drop her off again.”
“Whenever, Syd. She’s yours, so spend as much time with her as you want. We’ll be here.”
I smiled in return, picked up her diaper bag, and turned to Vaughn. “Back to the suite?” All he could do was nod as he followed us, staring at Lily the whole time.
Once we were in the elevator, he finally found his voice. “She has my eyes.”
“I know.”
“She’s so…perfect.” I smiled at him and looked down at Lily again. “Can I hold her?” I nodded and handed her over. He took her gently and stared down at her. She looked up at him and reached out a hand to touch his face.
“Gween! Gween eyes! Like me!” Lily looked back to me as we stepped out of the elevator.
“I know, Lily.”
“Syd… you said she was 20 months, right?” I nodded. “She’s really… smart.”
I laughed. “Well, Bristows have pretty high IQ’s there, buddy. She’s a smart one. She’s also fluent in both English and French.”
“I should have figured.” As we entered the room, I took Lily back and sat her down on my lap. Michael sat next to us on the couch, gently fingering her hair and face.
“So, tell me…everything.” I nodded and took a deep breath.
“I was pregnant when I was taken after the fight with Francie-Allison. I didn’t even know I was, so that is why you didn’t know. Honestly, I didn’t hide this from you.” He nodded. “She was born six months later. I can’t even tell you what they did to me during that time, or why, because I had my memories erased of the past two years. Everything, except for her. I had found a doctor in Hong Kong who had developed this new technique. I called the CIA the day after he did the procedure, which is why I woke up thinking I had fought with Francie-Allison just a few days prior. This doctor, he modified his procedure so that as soon as someone reminded me of her, my brain would remember everything having to do with her. I had made a video for my dad…that’s how I remembered.”
“So that’s why you left for Switzerland shortly after you returned.” I nodded and went to continue.
“All I know is that the Covenant wanted to do something bad with her so I got her out of there. I staged a kidnapping to make it look like she was taken. In reality, I had made contact with my dad and he helped me set everything up. I can’t remember why I stayed where I was either. But she was in danger, so keeping her hidden away from everyone was the only option.”
“Wait a minute. The whole time I thought you were dead, your father KNEW you were alive? He KNEW I had a baby? Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t he prevent me from marrying Lauren?”
“I’m sure there was a reason, Vaughn. One I honestly don’t know right now. Anyway,” I said quickly, before he could yell again. “The reason I didn’t tell you right when I got back was my decision. It was hard enough coming back to find out you moved on, and it was hard enough having the three of us trying to work nicely together. I felt that holding off on telling you about her until just a little more time went by and we were comfortable around each other again would be best. I’m sorry if you disagree with that decision. But Lily is my life,” I said, looking down at the little girl in my arms who was slowly becoming drowsy. “She was the thing I had been living for, working for. She’s the only thing I have to remind me of the past, before I was taken, and what I had. I also couldn’t bear the thought of another woman taking care of her with you. Because WE were supposed to be taking care of her…together.” I looked down, tears forming in my eyes, and stroked Lily’s face until she shut her eyes.
Vaughn didn’t say anything. Instead, he got up and walked into his room, shutting the door. Sighing, and almost wishing that he had yelled, I got up and went into mine. I curled up on the bed, carefully cradling Lily in my arms, and closed my own eyes.
>o<
Vaughn paced his room. He was furious. Furious at the Covenant for taking Sydney and his baby. Furious at Jack for hiding the truth from him and keeping him from having the family he always dreamed of. But most of all, Vaughn was furious at himself for giving up so easily. He should have pulled himself together and sought answers instead of falling apart and marrying the first woman he came across. But, he wasn’t furious at Sydney. He couldn’t be. He knew she was an intelligent woman who obviously had reasons, good reasons, for everything that took place during those two years.
“What am I going to do? I’m married to Lauren…but my feelings for Sydney will never go away…and now…there’s Lily. My precious little Lily.” Vaughn muttered to himself and tried to make sense of all the emotions he was feeling. He didn’t even know his daughter for a full hour but he was already so much in love with the precocious little girl in the next room.
A little while later he left his room and found Sydney and Lily asleep on her bed. They looked so adorable that it took his breath away. He gently sat on the edge of the bed to watch them.
Soon, Lily’s eyes fluttered open and she saw Vaughn sitting in front of her. “Mi-kal.”
“Hey, cutie,” he whispered and gently removed her from Sydney’s arms. “Let’s not wake up Mommy, okay? She had a rough day.”
“Kay.” Lily eagerly let Vaughn scoop her up and carry her into the living room. “Play wif me?
“Sure.” Vaughn paused. “What the hell do I know about playing with a baby?” He thought and anxiously looked around for something to entertain her with. “You want a horsey ride?”
“Yeah! What’s dat?”
He grinned at her innocence. “Okay, cutie. Climb on my back and hold onto my neck really tight,” he said, lying down on the ground so she could easily climb up. He felt her little arms wrap around his neck. “Now I’m going to get up slowly, so you have to hold really tightly, okay?”
“Kay.” He slowly rose up on all fours and heard her giggle. He started to crawl around the room and make horse noises. Lily shrieked with joy and urged him to go faster.
>o<
I jolted awake when I heard Lily shriek and quickly scooted to my doorway to see what was happening. What I saw made my heart melt and I leaned against the wall, smiling at the scene in front of me. The father of my child was crawling around the room, pretending to be a horse, just to make his little girl laugh. It was too cute for words. Finally, Lily noticed me standing there.
“Momma! Mi-kal playing wif me!” As soon as Vaughn heard that he stopped and slowly turned to look at me, almost in fear.
TBC...
PM List:
Angel
Iheartvaughn
secret_agent_angel
malumader
farliieansds225
vaughn4eva24
tblash423
sydneymicheal
SpygirlAmy
Smcki10
oooRevesDouxooo
MH55995
texasalias2004
phoenix shotgun 47
funkymonkey
sand2604
LittleNicky
xMountineer02300844x
grassyass
Nicky_Bristow
Jadeygirl
mnkdance963
fire*N*ice
sparklingrainbow
sparklingrainbow
Cadet
aww that was too cute! michael's a great dad! one advice for michael... screw lauren and be with your family! thanks for the pm!
farliieansds225
Cadet
awww that was sooo cute
so glad michael met lily
he already loves her so much
he just needs to get rid of lauren and be with his family
absolutely loved the update
thanx for the pm
cant wait for more
so glad michael met lily
he already loves her so much
he just needs to get rid of lauren and be with his family
absolutely loved the update
thanx for the pm
cant wait for more
SpygirlAmy
Cadet
great update loved it!
thanks for the PM
thanks for the PM
texasalias2004
Cadet
I am soo glad that Michael knows about Lilly now. Update soon.
texasalias
texasalias
Nicky_Bristow
Cadet
I'm so glad he knows he has a daughter, now all he has to do is leave Lauren and be with Syd and Lilly.
°°NiCkY°°
°°NiCkY°°
first woman he came across, damn skippy. idiot.
some great moments:
-the "MOMMA" when entering the hotel
-the elevator when he first saw lily (and i've gotta give him credit for putting 2 and 2 together. on the show he was as dense as a brick for most of s3)
-horsey ride!!!
and as for why jack didn't prevent him from marrying lauren, um, duh. jack never thought he was good enough and he frickin proved it by marrying that bitch. here he was pretty dumb.
see, gimpy's getting better. still hitting the damn backspace...
hugs,
me
some great moments:
-the "MOMMA" when entering the hotel
-the elevator when he first saw lily (and i've gotta give him credit for putting 2 and 2 together. on the show he was as dense as a brick for most of s3)
-horsey ride!!!
and as for why jack didn't prevent him from marrying lauren, um, duh. jack never thought he was good enough and he frickin proved it by marrying that bitch. here he was pretty dumb.
see, gimpy's getting better. still hitting the damn backspace...
hugs,
me
Freelancer7315
Cadet
This is such a cute story
can't wait to see what happens next
can I get a pm please
can't wait to see what happens next
can I get a pm please
vaughn4eva24
Cadet
i wonder why with fear?
is someone behaind syd or is he just scared syd wont let him play with his daughter?
is someone behaind syd or is he just scared syd wont let him play with his daughter?
derevkointraining
Cadet
He is scared Sydney is going to be mad at him for taking the little girl to play with while she was asleep. They're still on shaky ground, Sydney and Vaughn, and obviously the relationship they had is no longer. So he is unsure if Sydney will let him be a huge presence in Lily's life, or if she will even tell her he is her father, despite introducing her to him as "his daughter."
fire*N*ice
Cadet
poor vaughn worried that syd will be mad at him for playing with lily.
derevkointraining
Cadet
OK, here is the Tuesday update a little early since I have to work tomorrow, boo.
Thanks to tracey for the french help although i probably F'd it up anyway
This is a pretty fluffy chapter... family fluff.
Recap:
I jolted awake when I heard Lily shriek and quickly scooted to my doorway to see what was happening. What I saw made my heart melt and I leaned against the wall, smiling at the scene in front of me. The father of my child was crawling around the room, pretending to be a horse, just to make his little girl laugh. It was too cute for words. Finally, Lily noticed me standing there.
“Momma! Mi-kal playing wif me!” As soon as Vaughn heard that he stopped and slowly turned to look at me, almost in fear.
Chapter 6:
I smiled and crossed the room to take Lily off his back. “Sweetie, I think Michael had enough horsey. His knees might hurt soon,” I winked. He seemed to let out a sigh of relief and stood up.
“Sorry, Syd… I saw her waking up and I wanted to let you sleep more.”
“Don’t apologize, it’s okay. You’re entitled.”
Lily watched the interaction between us and then asked the biggest question of all. “Momma, is Mi-kal my daddy? You said I get my gween eyes fwom my daddy.” I couldn’t believe she remembered I said that, over a month ago. I slowly raised my eyes to meet Vaughn’s. He shrugged and nodded.
“Yes, Lily. Michael is your daddy.” She smiled.
“Good. Cause I like him.” He grinned and came over to us, placing a hand on her back. She looked up at him. “Can I call you Daddy?” He looked at me and I smiled, using my eyes to say, “it’s up to you.”
“If you want to call me that, Lily, I’d be happy to let you.” She smiled her ridiculously large dimpled grin and squirmed in my arms.
“Daddy!” She cried, trying to lunge toward him. I released her into Vaughn’s arms and he hugged her close, kissing her head.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Life seemed perfect at that moment. It was as if Lauren melted away and I had my perfect family. Although I knew that wasn’t true, I was glad Vaughn finally knew and could get to know his little girl.
“We obviously have a lot of talking to do now, and a lot to figure out,” I said, breaking the moment.
“I know. But not right now. Can we just enjoy this?” I nodded.
“You know what? I’ll go tell Jonna she’s going to stay here with us tonight and get her things.”
“Can we do that?”
“Vaughn, don’t be stupid. She’s my…our… daughter. We can do what we want. Jonna and Keith are just surrogate parents…they are wonderful. Keith and my father have some sort of past relationship and Keith was more than happy to do this favor for me. We pay for everything of Lily’s. There is a special account just for her that they use. They love her like she’s their daughter and Davina is like a sister to her, but everyone knows the situation is temporary and one day she’ll be living with me.” He nodded. “Anyway, I’ll be right back…will you be okay here with her?”
He looked panicked for a moment and slowly nodded. I smiled and walked over to the diaper bag. “Here. There is some juice in here, and some toys. Diapers also, but I don’t think you’ll need to deal with that before I get back.”
“Okay, thanks, Syd. I think I’ve got it. What do you say, cutie? You’ll be okay here with me for a little while?”
“Yes. Bye Momma.” She waved. We both laughed and I kissed her head.
“Be back soon.”
~~~
Walking out of the room, I first stopped at the Erikkson’s suite to see if they returned upstairs. Jonna answered the door and ushered me inside.
“Sydney…what happened? I didn’t think you were going to tell him!”
“I honestly wasn’t planning on it. But he put two and two together after seeing you guys at the elevator. Once he saw her, he knew. He confronted me as soon as I got back upstairs earlier and asked me if I ever had a baby. So, I let the truth come out instead of lying. That would have made everything worse.”
She nodded in agreement. “So what is going to happen now?”
“Well, we’re going to discuss that tonight…I honestly don’t know. But that’s what I came about, actually. Lily is going to stay with us tonight. We decided to stay another day so we aren’t leaving tomorrow anymore.”
“No problem. I hope everything can work out. Does this mean you’ll be taking Lily with you when you leave?”
“No. I don’t think we’re ready to have her around LA yet. There is so much to figure out, especially in regards to his wife.”
Jonna smiled. “No problem. I still wasn’t ready to let her go yet anyway.” Both women laughed as Jonna helped Sydney gather some of Lily’s things she’d need for the night. They folded up the travel crib and packed a small bag. “Sydney, if you need anything else just call.”
“Ha, I can do better than that. We’re actually right down the hall from you.” Jonna laughed again and walked her to the door. “Oh, do you all want to get together for dinner tonight so you can meet Vaughn? Despite what I’ve said, he really is a great guy.”
“Sure, Sydney. That will be great. Call me when you’ve talked to Vaughn and we’ll set a time and place.”
“Great, see you later.” I exited their room and headed back to mine, dragging an armful of baby things. I kicked on the door so Vaughn would come open it.
He opened the door and quickly took a few things off my hands. “Thanks.” His eyes opened at how much I brought for one night.
“Wow…I honestly didn’t realize everything a baby needs. This is just for tonight and tomorrow morning?”
“Welcome to parenthood, Vaughn.” I set everything down and opened the travel crib. “Where’s Lily?”
“Sitting on my bed watching television. I put her there when I heard the knock on the door.”
“Okay.” I held up a small stuffed bear. “This is her favorite toy. She will not go to sleep for the night without it. She calls it Jack because my dad gave it to her the first time he met her.” He nodded. I walked into his room holding the bear and Lily’s eyes immediately brightened when she saw her toy. Vaughn stayed in the living room to look though everything I brought from the Erikkson’s room.
“Jack!” She stood up on the bed and started jumping.
“Hey, be careful there, sweet pea.” I gently grabbed her waist to steady her and handed the bear over. She toddled to the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around me. “What’s the matter, Lily? Are you okay? It’s been a big day for you, hasn’t it?” She nodded and snuggled closer. “Come on,” I picked her up and carried her into the next room.
“Vaughn, would you be up for having dinner with the Erikkson’s tonight? It might be nice if you got to know them.”
“Sure, sounds great.” He paused and held up Lily’s pajamas. “These are so cute, it’s unreal.” I smiled and Lily gently squirmed in my arms. I knew what that meant.
“Want to learn how to change a diaper?” He turned and looked at me with fear in his eyes but nodded anyhow.
“How did you know you needed to? She wasn’t crying…”
“You learn her movements. She just squirmed in my arms very slightly and that usually means she’s uncomfortable. Lily isn’t the biggest crier. She has her moments, but for the most part she’s a happy baby.” I watched Vaughn gently rub the bridge of his nose. Poor guy, he was probably so overwhelmed. “Okay, hold her for a second? I’ll get what we need.” I handed the baby over and pulled out a new diaper, wipes, powder and a cloth to lay her on. Then I walked into the bathroom and placed the cloth on the counter, along with everything else. “Place her on her back on the cloth,” I instructed.
Once Lily was in place, he turned to me and inquired what was next. “Okay, she’s wearing a sundress, so you get off easy. Just flip it up and peel the tabs off on the Swimper’s diaper. Take it off and put it aside. Then use one of the baby wipes to clean her up…” I waited and watched as he carefully went about that task. “Vaughn, she’s not a bomb. It’s not like she’s going to explode.”
“She could! You never know!” he joked. “Okay, okay.” He finished the task.
“Okay, now position the clean diaper under her…no, that’s the back; flip it around. Good. Sprinkle some powder…yeah, just like that. Now just pull the front and back together and secure the tabs. That’s it.” Vaughn secured the tabs and held Lily up.
“Cool, it’s not falling off.” I laughed. “When will she be potty trained?”
“I think they started working on it with her so pretty soon I’d imagine. But you survived your first attempt. I’m proud.”
“Thanks.” He repositioned the baby so she was sitting on his hip. “Thanks for being such a good girl, cutie. You made my job easier.” She grinned and giggled, gently bouncing on his hip.
“Okay, I’m going to call Jonna and set up dinner plans. Can you entertain her for a few minutes?”
“I think I can manage.” I walked off, leaving Vaughn to bond with his daughter.
“Daddy?”
He looked down. “Yes, cutie? What can I do for you?”
“Do you know Gampy?”
“Gampy? You mean, Grandpa Jack?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I know him. I work with him too.”
“Do you live wif Momma?” Vaughn stared into the eyes of his little girl. He didn’t want to get into his complicated life and how he thought Sydney was dead, so he married another woman. He sighed.
“No, sweetie. I don’t live with Mommy. I live near Mommy, though.”
“Do you love Momma?” Now there was a loaded question. Vaughn sat down on the bed and placed Lily standing up on his legs, facing him.
“Lily, I will always love your mother. She holds a special place in my heart, and now you do too. I promise that for the rest of your life, I’m going to be there whenever you need me. Even though I just met you, I love you so much.” She grinned at him and snuggled closer for a hug.
~~~
I was walking back to Vaughn’s room when I heard Lily ask him if he loved me. Pausing, I listened to his answer.
“Lily, I will always love your mother. She holds a special place in my heart, and now you do too. I promise that for the rest of your life, I’m going to be there whenever you need me. Even though I just met you, I love you so much.”
Tears started to form in my eyes and I held onto the wall for support. He was so sweet with her. This was supposed to be my family. It was supposed to be me and him, not him and Lauren. Working with both of them was going to be a breeze now compared to sharing Lily with him, and potentially Lauren. Taking a breath and wiping the tears away from my eyes, I walked into the bedroom. “Okay, we’re meeting them downstairs in the hotel restaurant at six.” I looked at my watch and saw it was 4:45 p.m. “I’m going to grab a quick shower and then I’ll get her ready. If you can, see if she’ll nap for the half hour or so it will take me to get ready. If you want to get ready too, just put her in her crib and give her Jack.” He nodded.
I walked away before I started to cry and hurried into the safe haven of the shower.
Back in the living room, Vaughn decided to go through some of the clothes in the diaper bag to find a cute outfit to put Lily in for dinner. He felt like giving Sydney a break from being the sole caregiver of Lily. He found a pair of white linen pants with pink and green flowers on them and a little green t-shirt that said “The Sweetest Pea in the Pod.” Deciding this is what she’d wear, Vaughn set about trying to change Lily from her sundress to her new clothes.
“Come on cutie, let’s get this dress off.” As soon as he had removed the garment, Lily slid off the couch he had her standing on and went running through the suite in her diaper. “Hey…come back here! No daughter of mine will be running around without her clothes!” She giggled and crawled under a chair in the dining area. “Lily, come out. Come to Daddy.”
“No!” She giggled again.
“Please?”
“Nu-uh.” He sighed.
“Lilybelle Bristow. You come out here right now or…the tickle monster is going to get you.”
“Nooo…no monstah.” She continued to hide under the chair and watch Vaughn pace around. Finally he turned and looked at her.
“Lily, viens a papa.” He tried French since Sydney said she could speak both.
Lily, shocked that her father spoke French, stopped giggling and stared at Vaughn for a moment before slowly crawling out.
“Good girl.” He picked her up and carried her back over to the couch.
“Parlez vous Francais?” She asked.
He smiled. “Oui. So you can’t trick me little girl. My mom is French.” He gently tickled her stomach while pulling the pants onto her body. He managed to get the shirt on after, despite her squirms and giggles. “Is it always this hard to get you changed?” He picked her up. “Come on, let’s sit down until Mommy is done getting ready.” He grabbed her bear and settled into a chair to wait. She leaned back against him, cuddling her bear. Before he knew it, she was asleep on his lap and all he could do was stare down at this little girl who had suddenly appeared in his life.
~~~
Lost in thought, Vaughn failed to notice me come out of my room. I watched him gently stroke Lily’s hair and smile down at the sleepy little girl in his lap. I was really happy he accepted her immediately.
“Hey,” I said softly and he looked up. “Thanks for getting her changed. Did you have much of a problem?”
He smiled widely. “Not too much.”
I could only imagine what Lily put him through. “I’ll take her…why don’t you get ready?”
Vaughn stood up and gently placed Lily in my arms, his gaze lingering for a few more minutes before he finally went to shower. I looked down at my dozing daughter and whispered, “You are so lucky he loves you. Your daddy is a great guy.” I went about brushing her hair softly and wiping her face with a baby wipe before letting her rest completely in my lap until dinner.
>o<
Dinner went well. Keith and Jonna liked Michael immediately (despite him hurting me with the whole Lauren thing), and before we knew it, we were back in the suite putting our little angel to bed and gearing up for the discussion that was about to come.
Vaughn carried the crib into my room and we both sat down on the bed to read Lily a story. Since all of the books Jonna brought were in French, he read out loud with the baby cuddled on his lap while I watched them interact. Halfway through the story she fell asleep clutching Jack bear and I kissed her before Vaughn placed her into the crib. We stood on either side of the crib, staring down at our daughter, much like new parents would do to their newborn.
“Syd…you’ll let me be a part of her life, won’t you?” Vaughn asked softly.
I looked up in surprise. “Of course…did you think I wouldn’t?”
“I just…didn’t know…what would happen now.” Sighing, I indicated for Vaughn to follow me into the living room so we could talk without disturbing the baby.
“Vaughn. I’ll admit I’m devastated that we’re not going to be the family I always dreamed about. And I’m not keen about Lauren having any part in raising her and taking care of her. But one thing that never crossed my mind was not letting you be a part of her life. I’m glad you know about her now. Do you know how hard it was not to tell you right away? Do you know how many times I almost blurted out something about her? She’s a fantastic little girl and deserves both of her parents to be present in her life. I want you to be there for her.”
“I want to also. Sydney…I love her already and I just met her. She’s amazing.”
“I know. I can see it in how you look at her and handle her. She’s very lucky.” I looked down.
“So, now that I know…are you going to take her back to LA?” I looked up again.
“Well, what do you want? Are you going to tell Lauren? Personally, I wasn’t ready for her to come back with me yet. We still have a lot to figure out with us and I can’t see how having Lily there would help any situations. Not to mention, I have to find a good nanny or day care center for her.”
Vaughn stared at me for a few minutes. “I think it’s a good idea to wait a while before having her with us in LA. I don’t…” he paused. “I don’t think I’m ready to tell Lauren about this yet. She’s like…our little hidden treasure.”
“What?” Hope surged through my chest. He wanted to keep a secret from his wife!
“You know she’s going to freak out about this. And I’d like for the two of you to get to know each other better before throwing Lily into the mix, plus, we should really try to find out what happened to you during those two years to make sure having Lily around us doesn’t put her in any danger. Right now she’s completely confidential and three of us know about her. Once she lives in LA, there’s no hiding her and we don’t want her exposed to the sick Rambaldi freaks or anything.”
Rambaldi. Suddenly my mind flashed and I saw myself as a blond. “I really appreciate you and your family agreeing to raise Lily. The Covenant wants to inject her with the Rambaldi DNA they anticipate finding and I couldn’t bear to have my daughter turned into a science project.” I shook my head.
“Syd? Are you okay? You dazed for a second there…” Vaughn was in front of me looking concerned.
“Yeah…” I said slowly, clearing my throat. “Sorry. Okay, we’ll keep her in Switzerland then, for the time being.”
“So will I be allowed to go visit her?”
“Of course. We’ll work it out. But we have a rule about presents. She was, um, a little spoiled at one point so she’s only allowed one gift per visit now.” Laughing, I told him about the “gift mountain” from her first birthday and how there was a time she would demand presents from my dad and I as soon as we got there.
“Awww…but Syd…I have almost two years to make up for!” he whined, jokingly.
“Okay, well, how about you save those two years for when she is older and wants things like computers, dvd players, cars…” We laughed and started joking about all the things teenagers want these days. Suddenly I yawned. Today had been emotionally draining.
“I’m going to go to sleep, okay?” I started walking off in the direction of my room, but Vaughn grabbed my hand to stop me.
“Syd…” Vaughn watched me, and it was clear in his eyes he felt as pained about something as I did. “What happened between us, everything, the way it is, isn't anyone's fault. And even though everything's changed, some things don't. I'm not gonna lose you twice. We’re going to find a way to make this work…me, you, Lily…and even Lauren. Syd…I love you. I’ve always loved you and I always will love you. You’re the mother of my little girl…this perfect little girl that came into my life today. And that’s worth a lot.”
“Vaughn,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. “Please don’t…” my voice trailed off and he pulled me into a hug.
“Shh. I’ll always be there for you, too.” He gently kissed my tear stained cheeks. “I’ll see you in the morning. The three of us will have a fun day together.” He swooped me up and carried me into my room, softly placing me on the bed. “Sleep well.” With that, he left the room, leaving me to deal with more mixed up emotions.
TBC
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Thanks to tracey for the french help although i probably F'd it up anyway
This is a pretty fluffy chapter... family fluff.
Recap:
I jolted awake when I heard Lily shriek and quickly scooted to my doorway to see what was happening. What I saw made my heart melt and I leaned against the wall, smiling at the scene in front of me. The father of my child was crawling around the room, pretending to be a horse, just to make his little girl laugh. It was too cute for words. Finally, Lily noticed me standing there.
“Momma! Mi-kal playing wif me!” As soon as Vaughn heard that he stopped and slowly turned to look at me, almost in fear.
Chapter 6:
I smiled and crossed the room to take Lily off his back. “Sweetie, I think Michael had enough horsey. His knees might hurt soon,” I winked. He seemed to let out a sigh of relief and stood up.
“Sorry, Syd… I saw her waking up and I wanted to let you sleep more.”
“Don’t apologize, it’s okay. You’re entitled.”
Lily watched the interaction between us and then asked the biggest question of all. “Momma, is Mi-kal my daddy? You said I get my gween eyes fwom my daddy.” I couldn’t believe she remembered I said that, over a month ago. I slowly raised my eyes to meet Vaughn’s. He shrugged and nodded.
“Yes, Lily. Michael is your daddy.” She smiled.
“Good. Cause I like him.” He grinned and came over to us, placing a hand on her back. She looked up at him. “Can I call you Daddy?” He looked at me and I smiled, using my eyes to say, “it’s up to you.”
“If you want to call me that, Lily, I’d be happy to let you.” She smiled her ridiculously large dimpled grin and squirmed in my arms.
“Daddy!” She cried, trying to lunge toward him. I released her into Vaughn’s arms and he hugged her close, kissing her head.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Life seemed perfect at that moment. It was as if Lauren melted away and I had my perfect family. Although I knew that wasn’t true, I was glad Vaughn finally knew and could get to know his little girl.
“We obviously have a lot of talking to do now, and a lot to figure out,” I said, breaking the moment.
“I know. But not right now. Can we just enjoy this?” I nodded.
“You know what? I’ll go tell Jonna she’s going to stay here with us tonight and get her things.”
“Can we do that?”
“Vaughn, don’t be stupid. She’s my…our… daughter. We can do what we want. Jonna and Keith are just surrogate parents…they are wonderful. Keith and my father have some sort of past relationship and Keith was more than happy to do this favor for me. We pay for everything of Lily’s. There is a special account just for her that they use. They love her like she’s their daughter and Davina is like a sister to her, but everyone knows the situation is temporary and one day she’ll be living with me.” He nodded. “Anyway, I’ll be right back…will you be okay here with her?”
He looked panicked for a moment and slowly nodded. I smiled and walked over to the diaper bag. “Here. There is some juice in here, and some toys. Diapers also, but I don’t think you’ll need to deal with that before I get back.”
“Okay, thanks, Syd. I think I’ve got it. What do you say, cutie? You’ll be okay here with me for a little while?”
“Yes. Bye Momma.” She waved. We both laughed and I kissed her head.
“Be back soon.”
~~~
Walking out of the room, I first stopped at the Erikkson’s suite to see if they returned upstairs. Jonna answered the door and ushered me inside.
“Sydney…what happened? I didn’t think you were going to tell him!”
“I honestly wasn’t planning on it. But he put two and two together after seeing you guys at the elevator. Once he saw her, he knew. He confronted me as soon as I got back upstairs earlier and asked me if I ever had a baby. So, I let the truth come out instead of lying. That would have made everything worse.”
She nodded in agreement. “So what is going to happen now?”
“Well, we’re going to discuss that tonight…I honestly don’t know. But that’s what I came about, actually. Lily is going to stay with us tonight. We decided to stay another day so we aren’t leaving tomorrow anymore.”
“No problem. I hope everything can work out. Does this mean you’ll be taking Lily with you when you leave?”
“No. I don’t think we’re ready to have her around LA yet. There is so much to figure out, especially in regards to his wife.”
Jonna smiled. “No problem. I still wasn’t ready to let her go yet anyway.” Both women laughed as Jonna helped Sydney gather some of Lily’s things she’d need for the night. They folded up the travel crib and packed a small bag. “Sydney, if you need anything else just call.”
“Ha, I can do better than that. We’re actually right down the hall from you.” Jonna laughed again and walked her to the door. “Oh, do you all want to get together for dinner tonight so you can meet Vaughn? Despite what I’ve said, he really is a great guy.”
“Sure, Sydney. That will be great. Call me when you’ve talked to Vaughn and we’ll set a time and place.”
“Great, see you later.” I exited their room and headed back to mine, dragging an armful of baby things. I kicked on the door so Vaughn would come open it.
He opened the door and quickly took a few things off my hands. “Thanks.” His eyes opened at how much I brought for one night.
“Wow…I honestly didn’t realize everything a baby needs. This is just for tonight and tomorrow morning?”
“Welcome to parenthood, Vaughn.” I set everything down and opened the travel crib. “Where’s Lily?”
“Sitting on my bed watching television. I put her there when I heard the knock on the door.”
“Okay.” I held up a small stuffed bear. “This is her favorite toy. She will not go to sleep for the night without it. She calls it Jack because my dad gave it to her the first time he met her.” He nodded. I walked into his room holding the bear and Lily’s eyes immediately brightened when she saw her toy. Vaughn stayed in the living room to look though everything I brought from the Erikkson’s room.
“Jack!” She stood up on the bed and started jumping.
“Hey, be careful there, sweet pea.” I gently grabbed her waist to steady her and handed the bear over. She toddled to the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around me. “What’s the matter, Lily? Are you okay? It’s been a big day for you, hasn’t it?” She nodded and snuggled closer. “Come on,” I picked her up and carried her into the next room.
“Vaughn, would you be up for having dinner with the Erikkson’s tonight? It might be nice if you got to know them.”
“Sure, sounds great.” He paused and held up Lily’s pajamas. “These are so cute, it’s unreal.” I smiled and Lily gently squirmed in my arms. I knew what that meant.
“Want to learn how to change a diaper?” He turned and looked at me with fear in his eyes but nodded anyhow.
“How did you know you needed to? She wasn’t crying…”
“You learn her movements. She just squirmed in my arms very slightly and that usually means she’s uncomfortable. Lily isn’t the biggest crier. She has her moments, but for the most part she’s a happy baby.” I watched Vaughn gently rub the bridge of his nose. Poor guy, he was probably so overwhelmed. “Okay, hold her for a second? I’ll get what we need.” I handed the baby over and pulled out a new diaper, wipes, powder and a cloth to lay her on. Then I walked into the bathroom and placed the cloth on the counter, along with everything else. “Place her on her back on the cloth,” I instructed.
Once Lily was in place, he turned to me and inquired what was next. “Okay, she’s wearing a sundress, so you get off easy. Just flip it up and peel the tabs off on the Swimper’s diaper. Take it off and put it aside. Then use one of the baby wipes to clean her up…” I waited and watched as he carefully went about that task. “Vaughn, she’s not a bomb. It’s not like she’s going to explode.”
“She could! You never know!” he joked. “Okay, okay.” He finished the task.
“Okay, now position the clean diaper under her…no, that’s the back; flip it around. Good. Sprinkle some powder…yeah, just like that. Now just pull the front and back together and secure the tabs. That’s it.” Vaughn secured the tabs and held Lily up.
“Cool, it’s not falling off.” I laughed. “When will she be potty trained?”
“I think they started working on it with her so pretty soon I’d imagine. But you survived your first attempt. I’m proud.”
“Thanks.” He repositioned the baby so she was sitting on his hip. “Thanks for being such a good girl, cutie. You made my job easier.” She grinned and giggled, gently bouncing on his hip.
“Okay, I’m going to call Jonna and set up dinner plans. Can you entertain her for a few minutes?”
“I think I can manage.” I walked off, leaving Vaughn to bond with his daughter.
“Daddy?”
He looked down. “Yes, cutie? What can I do for you?”
“Do you know Gampy?”
“Gampy? You mean, Grandpa Jack?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I know him. I work with him too.”
“Do you live wif Momma?” Vaughn stared into the eyes of his little girl. He didn’t want to get into his complicated life and how he thought Sydney was dead, so he married another woman. He sighed.
“No, sweetie. I don’t live with Mommy. I live near Mommy, though.”
“Do you love Momma?” Now there was a loaded question. Vaughn sat down on the bed and placed Lily standing up on his legs, facing him.
“Lily, I will always love your mother. She holds a special place in my heart, and now you do too. I promise that for the rest of your life, I’m going to be there whenever you need me. Even though I just met you, I love you so much.” She grinned at him and snuggled closer for a hug.
~~~
I was walking back to Vaughn’s room when I heard Lily ask him if he loved me. Pausing, I listened to his answer.
“Lily, I will always love your mother. She holds a special place in my heart, and now you do too. I promise that for the rest of your life, I’m going to be there whenever you need me. Even though I just met you, I love you so much.”
Tears started to form in my eyes and I held onto the wall for support. He was so sweet with her. This was supposed to be my family. It was supposed to be me and him, not him and Lauren. Working with both of them was going to be a breeze now compared to sharing Lily with him, and potentially Lauren. Taking a breath and wiping the tears away from my eyes, I walked into the bedroom. “Okay, we’re meeting them downstairs in the hotel restaurant at six.” I looked at my watch and saw it was 4:45 p.m. “I’m going to grab a quick shower and then I’ll get her ready. If you can, see if she’ll nap for the half hour or so it will take me to get ready. If you want to get ready too, just put her in her crib and give her Jack.” He nodded.
I walked away before I started to cry and hurried into the safe haven of the shower.
Back in the living room, Vaughn decided to go through some of the clothes in the diaper bag to find a cute outfit to put Lily in for dinner. He felt like giving Sydney a break from being the sole caregiver of Lily. He found a pair of white linen pants with pink and green flowers on them and a little green t-shirt that said “The Sweetest Pea in the Pod.” Deciding this is what she’d wear, Vaughn set about trying to change Lily from her sundress to her new clothes.
“Come on cutie, let’s get this dress off.” As soon as he had removed the garment, Lily slid off the couch he had her standing on and went running through the suite in her diaper. “Hey…come back here! No daughter of mine will be running around without her clothes!” She giggled and crawled under a chair in the dining area. “Lily, come out. Come to Daddy.”
“No!” She giggled again.
“Please?”
“Nu-uh.” He sighed.
“Lilybelle Bristow. You come out here right now or…the tickle monster is going to get you.”
“Nooo…no monstah.” She continued to hide under the chair and watch Vaughn pace around. Finally he turned and looked at her.
“Lily, viens a papa.” He tried French since Sydney said she could speak both.
Lily, shocked that her father spoke French, stopped giggling and stared at Vaughn for a moment before slowly crawling out.
“Good girl.” He picked her up and carried her back over to the couch.
“Parlez vous Francais?” She asked.
He smiled. “Oui. So you can’t trick me little girl. My mom is French.” He gently tickled her stomach while pulling the pants onto her body. He managed to get the shirt on after, despite her squirms and giggles. “Is it always this hard to get you changed?” He picked her up. “Come on, let’s sit down until Mommy is done getting ready.” He grabbed her bear and settled into a chair to wait. She leaned back against him, cuddling her bear. Before he knew it, she was asleep on his lap and all he could do was stare down at this little girl who had suddenly appeared in his life.
~~~
Lost in thought, Vaughn failed to notice me come out of my room. I watched him gently stroke Lily’s hair and smile down at the sleepy little girl in his lap. I was really happy he accepted her immediately.
“Hey,” I said softly and he looked up. “Thanks for getting her changed. Did you have much of a problem?”
He smiled widely. “Not too much.”
I could only imagine what Lily put him through. “I’ll take her…why don’t you get ready?”
Vaughn stood up and gently placed Lily in my arms, his gaze lingering for a few more minutes before he finally went to shower. I looked down at my dozing daughter and whispered, “You are so lucky he loves you. Your daddy is a great guy.” I went about brushing her hair softly and wiping her face with a baby wipe before letting her rest completely in my lap until dinner.
>o<
Dinner went well. Keith and Jonna liked Michael immediately (despite him hurting me with the whole Lauren thing), and before we knew it, we were back in the suite putting our little angel to bed and gearing up for the discussion that was about to come.
Vaughn carried the crib into my room and we both sat down on the bed to read Lily a story. Since all of the books Jonna brought were in French, he read out loud with the baby cuddled on his lap while I watched them interact. Halfway through the story she fell asleep clutching Jack bear and I kissed her before Vaughn placed her into the crib. We stood on either side of the crib, staring down at our daughter, much like new parents would do to their newborn.
“Syd…you’ll let me be a part of her life, won’t you?” Vaughn asked softly.
I looked up in surprise. “Of course…did you think I wouldn’t?”
“I just…didn’t know…what would happen now.” Sighing, I indicated for Vaughn to follow me into the living room so we could talk without disturbing the baby.
“Vaughn. I’ll admit I’m devastated that we’re not going to be the family I always dreamed about. And I’m not keen about Lauren having any part in raising her and taking care of her. But one thing that never crossed my mind was not letting you be a part of her life. I’m glad you know about her now. Do you know how hard it was not to tell you right away? Do you know how many times I almost blurted out something about her? She’s a fantastic little girl and deserves both of her parents to be present in her life. I want you to be there for her.”
“I want to also. Sydney…I love her already and I just met her. She’s amazing.”
“I know. I can see it in how you look at her and handle her. She’s very lucky.” I looked down.
“So, now that I know…are you going to take her back to LA?” I looked up again.
“Well, what do you want? Are you going to tell Lauren? Personally, I wasn’t ready for her to come back with me yet. We still have a lot to figure out with us and I can’t see how having Lily there would help any situations. Not to mention, I have to find a good nanny or day care center for her.”
Vaughn stared at me for a few minutes. “I think it’s a good idea to wait a while before having her with us in LA. I don’t…” he paused. “I don’t think I’m ready to tell Lauren about this yet. She’s like…our little hidden treasure.”
“What?” Hope surged through my chest. He wanted to keep a secret from his wife!
“You know she’s going to freak out about this. And I’d like for the two of you to get to know each other better before throwing Lily into the mix, plus, we should really try to find out what happened to you during those two years to make sure having Lily around us doesn’t put her in any danger. Right now she’s completely confidential and three of us know about her. Once she lives in LA, there’s no hiding her and we don’t want her exposed to the sick Rambaldi freaks or anything.”
Rambaldi. Suddenly my mind flashed and I saw myself as a blond. “I really appreciate you and your family agreeing to raise Lily. The Covenant wants to inject her with the Rambaldi DNA they anticipate finding and I couldn’t bear to have my daughter turned into a science project.” I shook my head.
“Syd? Are you okay? You dazed for a second there…” Vaughn was in front of me looking concerned.
“Yeah…” I said slowly, clearing my throat. “Sorry. Okay, we’ll keep her in Switzerland then, for the time being.”
“So will I be allowed to go visit her?”
“Of course. We’ll work it out. But we have a rule about presents. She was, um, a little spoiled at one point so she’s only allowed one gift per visit now.” Laughing, I told him about the “gift mountain” from her first birthday and how there was a time she would demand presents from my dad and I as soon as we got there.
“Awww…but Syd…I have almost two years to make up for!” he whined, jokingly.
“Okay, well, how about you save those two years for when she is older and wants things like computers, dvd players, cars…” We laughed and started joking about all the things teenagers want these days. Suddenly I yawned. Today had been emotionally draining.
“I’m going to go to sleep, okay?” I started walking off in the direction of my room, but Vaughn grabbed my hand to stop me.
“Syd…” Vaughn watched me, and it was clear in his eyes he felt as pained about something as I did. “What happened between us, everything, the way it is, isn't anyone's fault. And even though everything's changed, some things don't. I'm not gonna lose you twice. We’re going to find a way to make this work…me, you, Lily…and even Lauren. Syd…I love you. I’ve always loved you and I always will love you. You’re the mother of my little girl…this perfect little girl that came into my life today. And that’s worth a lot.”
“Vaughn,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. “Please don’t…” my voice trailed off and he pulled me into a hug.
“Shh. I’ll always be there for you, too.” He gently kissed my tear stained cheeks. “I’ll see you in the morning. The three of us will have a fun day together.” He swooped me up and carried me into my room, softly placing me on the bed. “Sleep well.” With that, he left the room, leaving me to deal with more mixed up emotions.
TBC
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THAT ROCKED!!!!!!!!!! :band:
that was the best chapter yet...
that was the best chapter yet...
