~One More Day~

A/N: This is just a quick one-parter i decided to write. Hope you enjoy it. It's after Syd comes back, Vaughn isn't married, nor does he have a girlfriend.


Song: Diamond Rio "One More Day"
Last night I had a crazy dream
A wish was granted just for me,
It could be for anything
I didn't ask for money
Or a mansion in Malibu
I simply wished, for one more day with you


One more day
One more time
One more sunset, maybe I’d be satisfied
But then again
I know what it would do
Leave me wishing still, for one more day with you


~~

~One More Day~
~Part I of I~

She stood in the rain, on the end of the street, just under the city stoplight. It was four minutes past three in the early morning. No one was out, no one but her. The streets were silent except for the thunder rumbling overhead. The excess water ran along the curb and dumped off in an inset sewer grate.

She’d been standing on that same corner for over and hour, just staring at the intersection. Her eyes darting from the starbucks across the street. To the old movie store kiddy-corner from where she stood.

The simplicity surprised her. Never had she seen a city in such abandon. Even the homeless veterans were nowhere to be found. She was the only person in the city to have absolutely nowhere to go. She had a house, but it wasn’t her home. She had friends, but they didn’t understand. She had love, but it was useless, or atleast she thought so.

She finally came to the conclusion, that this was what it was like to truly feel alone. It caused her to become an insomniac. When she did sleep it turned out to be in the middle of her busy workday. Her father and the few friends she had left constantly worried about her health, she only wished it were physical aspect of it. But what caused her to feel the loneliest was the fact that she was still in love with a man that was grieving over her death. After he buried her he had moved to Chicago, he left everything behind him, even his name.

Of all the exotic places she’s been in her mid-years. She’d never once, set foot in Chicago. Half of the places she’s been no one’s ever heard of. They’re third world countries in the middle of nowhere. That was one of her problems. The way people never seemed to care what was outside of the country they lived in. As much as her job put her life at risk and as much death she saw. There was also beauty in it. She felt at peace when she looked over Paris from 3000 feet above the city of romance. When she flew over the mountains in South America she’d wish that she could have a cabin down in the valley somewhere. A place no one knew about except her.

She took out a piece of paper she kept hidden under her watchband that was protected by the black fabric of her warm coat. The paper was folded messily. After three months she had found what she was looking for. A simple piece of paper was the only thing that would bring her out of the darkness she’d been shunned too. She quickly unfolded it. She had already memorized the address, but she had to look one more time to be certain.

1350 S. Michigan Ave.
Apartment 3B

The raindrops fell onto the paper and caused the black ink to spread further out on the soft surface. She stuffed the paper in her jeans pocket and turned to her right. Without even looking she crossed the street and made the walk to the apartment building that was conveniently built between a laundry mat and a small bar. She stopped at the front door; the awning giving her protection from the storm.

Her eyes slowly scanned the nameplates on wall. She stopped when she saw 3B – Michael Delorme, he had obviously taken back his mother’s maiden name. She took a deep breath and carefully pushed in the fragile ivory button and waited for a response. There was no answer and so she pressed it again. She gave up after a moment and turned to the door. She slipped a small metal lock pick out of her coat pocket and began to pick away. A few moments later the door budged and she slipped through. She closed it carefully and stood in the small foyer for a moment. The floor was paved with white linoleum tiles and the building looked as though it was well maintained.

She walked up the stairs to the third floor, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was late, and she didn’t want to wake the rest of the occupants up. She finally stood at the landing of the third floor. The hallway was narrow and dark. It was lit by a small fixture at the end of the hallway, but it didn’t give nearly enough light as needed.

She stood still for a moment. Her mind imagining how many times he must have walked up this same route during the two years and three months he’d been there. She hoped he looked the same; she was worried that the stress and agony might have aged him, she had seen it before.

Her eagerness took control of her body and before she knew it she was standing in front of apartment 3B. The paint on the bottom of the door looked as though it was slowly chipping away due to the constant kicking of people’s feet. There was a deadbolt on the door, which none of the other doors had.

She was scared at first, and before she even could find the courage to lift her hand to knock; tears filled her eyes and collected at the corners as she broke down outside of his room. She stepped back and leaned on the wall across from his door for support. It was hard, almost too hard. She was afraid that it would hurt him more to know that he’d wasted two years of his life grieving for her when she was never really gone.

Someone must have heard her muffled sobbing, because a lock somewhere in the hallway started to click. She quickly pushed herself off the wall and started to walk down the hallway. She heard a door open and just as she was about to walk down the stairs she heard his deep, throaty voice. It was a sign he had just woken up.

“Wait.” He spoke softly.

She stopped at the end of the hallway. Her hand rested on the railing of the staircase.

“I heard you crying. Are…are you hurt?”

She could hear the concern in his voice. And she could just imagine his furrowed forehead as he stared at her through the dimly lit corridor.

She closed her eyes briefly and her face fell toward the ground; her chin hanging near her chest. She subconsciously pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear and put a hand to her forehead. She knew if only he could see her posture, then she wouldn’t have to say anything, because he’d know. But it was too dark, and he’d just woken up.

She looked up again and pushed the tears away from her eyes, smearing her already smudged mascara. She took a deep breath and slowly turned around. She didn’t look him in the eye until she was completely facing him. When she did, the amount of shock on his face was enough to pass around to the entire world.

His lips parted slowly as if he was in awe of what was before him. He didn’t blink at first, as if he thought she’d disappear again.

“Before you ask, yes, this is real.” She said softly. She brought her sleeve up to her runny nose and stood there for a moment staring at the ground.

“Sydney?” He asked softly. He stepped into the light and she was able to see his face in more detail. The stubble that she was so accustomed to was evident on his face. But his eyes were more worn that she had remembered. His features were softer and more tired.

Her tears quickly returned when he spoke her name. It had been void from her ears for far too long, and hearing how desperate his voice was made her feel weak again. Her brow furrowed and her lower lip started to tremble softly.

“Syd…” He started to take slow steps toward her. His feet making a pattering noise as he walked barefoot over the clean linoleum floor. He stopped a few feet away from her. His eyes scanned her face, as if he was reacquainting himself with her.

“Vaughn….hold me.” She said softly.

He didn’t need to be asked twice. He stepped forward and slowly put his arms around her. At first he was tense, his muscles were tight under her touch. It had been so long since he’d held her, and it was as if it were the first time again.

Her arms clasped around his back and she held a fist full of his shirt in both of her hands. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed against him, her body shaking slightly from still being wet from the rain outside, and from all the emotional pain that was resurfacing.

He finally loosened up and laid a hand on the back of her head. He pulled her as far into him as possible and held her tight against his chest.

“I missed you.” She cried in a broken voice. “I missed you so much.”

He closed his eyes and nuzzled his face in her wet hair.

“I missed you too.” he spoke softly. It almost surprised her. She thought she was the one that was going to be comforting him, but here he was, as usual, trying to take all her pain away. “But I don’t understand….”

She pulled away from him, only far enough so she could look up into his eyes.

“I was kidnapped, it was a setup. I got back three months ago.” She told him. Her hand moved up his chest, rested on his shoulder for a moment and then slid up his neck to his cheek. She brushed her fingers across the stubble.

She saw sadness surface in his eyes as he looked at her.

“I’m sorry, Michael. I’m so sorry.”

She hugged him tightly again; the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms was enough for her.

The sound of the front door opening downstairs disturbed them as they embraced in the hallway.

“Come on. Come inside.” He told her.

He didn’t let go of her, in fact he held onto her as much as he could while successfully walking back to his apartment. He pushed the door open with his foot and guided her inside. He kicked the door closed behind him and flipped on the light in the living room. It wasn’t bright, and the lampshade made the room glow a dull orange, it made it more warm and inviting.

Her eyes immediately scanned his apartment. It was decently furnished. Most of the things were from his apartment in LA, but there were items she’d never seen before.

The kitchen was small and was enclosed by a half-wall that overlooked the dining room table. The living room was across from the other two rooms and had a plasma screen television above the small fireplace in front of the couches.

She shivered slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by her shocked lover. Vaughn took her hand and led her slowly to his bedroom.

“I’ll get you some dry clothes.” He told her.

Sydney stopped in front of the bed as he walked over to his closet. She slipped her jacket off of her broad shoulders and let it fall to the ground. She stripped out of her wet jeans and her shirt and stood there in her black bra and panties.

“I think I have something you….” Vaughn just turned around and looked up at her. His words stopped short, a heavy black sweatshirt in his hand. She stood there as his eyes roamed her body, stopping at the small scar on her abdomen. His eyes shifted from desire to pain.

“What’s that?” he asked as he stepped closer to her. He stopped a few inches from her and raised his fingers to trace the small pink scar plaguing her smooth skin. Chills ran up her spin as he touched her.

“I don’t know yet.” She said softly. He looked at her confused. She rested a hand on his chest, her fingers playing with the soft white cotton of his shirt. “I can’t remember anything.”

“You mean….”

“The last thing I remember before I was kidnapped, was sitting in the car with you, talking about Santa Barbara. Then of course my fight with Allison. Otherwise I remember nothing, atleast nothing useful.”

“Syd.” He sighed and pulled her into him once again. This time she didn’t shiver; instead she snuggled into his warm embrace and laid her head on his shoulder. Everything had changed except him. He was the same caring man that she had been in love with nearly two years before.

His left hand traced soft circles on her bare back as she stood in his arms. Her fingers glided over the muscles in his back and rested on his shoulder blades.

Vaughn pulled back a few minutes later and unfolded the sweatshirt he still had in his right hand. Sydney smiled softly when she saw it.

“You kept it.” She said as her eyes fell upon the sweatshirt he had won when going to a Kings game with Weiss when they first got together. She almost immediately claimed the sweatshirt as her own. Wearing it more than a few times a week. Of course no one saw her in it but him, it was two-times to big for her. But she loved it because it kept her warm; it made her feel safe.

“Of course I kept it.” He said opening the bottom. “Lift.” He told her. She lifted her arms up and he helped her get it on.

“Alright.” He said. She dropped her arms as he pulled the wet strands of hair out of the neckband of the sweater. He smiled at her softly and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. He lingered there for a moment, his lips hovering over her skin, barley even brushing.

“Why don’t you climb in bed? I’ll be right there.” He told her. She watched him as he walked out of the room. She climbed under the blankets and got comfortable. She laid there in silence, wondering what he was doing. A few moments later he came back in and closed the door. He smiled softly when he saw her lying on the left side of the bed, the same side she always insisted sleeping on years before.

He walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers next to her. He slid into bed and laid on his side so he could look at her. Sydney smiled and turned her head towards him. He took her hand under the covers and ran his thumb across the back of it. They stared at eachother intently, both of them thinking different thoughts.

“What was it like?” She asked. He knew what she was asking.

“Can you imagine hell?” He asked her.

She nodded softly. “I’ll try.” She said.

“Go deeper than that, and multiply it by a trillion. That’s how it felt.” He said speaking of her disappearance and how it effected him.

“That good, huh?” She asked jokingly.

“It could have been worse.” He said.

“How so?”

“You never could have come back to me.” He told her. She laid there, silent. “It was….depressing. Up until the funeral, everyone was nice to me, comforting. But then afterwards, everyone went back to their normal lives, and I was alone. Just like you were when you lost Danny.” He looked into her eyes. “You know how much I loved my father, how much I cared for him.” He shook his head. “But nothing…..nothing in the world compared to how broken I was when I lost you.”

Sydney stared at him. She could feel her eyes start to burn again, signifying that her emotions were being stirred up again.

“I forgot who I was, and I started hating the world. I didn’t want anyone’s condolences. People say they’re sorry, but they never really mean it. They make you think that they know what you feel, but they don’t. Everyone looked at me differently, they talked to be differently. I got tired of it. I decided that I needed to start over.” He said. “It worked. I coach high school hockey, I’ve managed to build everything back up. It took a lot of effort. I wanted to give up so many times. But I wouldn’t allow myself to fail you again.”

“You never failed me.” She told him. “You’ve never let me down.”

“I should have….”

“Stop.” She said. “Don’t finish that sentence. I don’t ever want to hear ‘what if’ about what happened. It was no ones fault. We couldn’t stop it.”

“But if I could have gotten just one more day….”

“You have one more day, Michael.” She told him. She turned on her side so she was facing him. “And the day after that. I’m not leaving again, after seeing what this did to you, I’m never leaving your side again.”

“Everyone says that. They make promises that they don’t know they can keep. I’ve stopped taking time for granted. Because you can promise forever, but forever won’t promise you anything.”

“Then what, Michael? If you had one more day, if this was the last day we had together. How would you spend it?” She asked him sincerely.

“I’d spend it like this.” He said. “If I had one more day, I’d spend it laying here with you in bed. Because what I see in you right now would be burned into my memory forever.” He sat up on his elbow and looked down at her. “I’d make love to you one last time. But above all else, the one thing that I’d do if I only had one more day, is I’d finally, after almost four years, tell you how much I love you.”

Tears collected in the corner of Sydney’s eyes.

“I’ve been holding that in my heart for the last two years. I’ve regretted every morning I’ve woken up without you, because I never told you how much you mean to me, Sydney. You have no idea how much it hurt. I tried saying it outloud once, after you were gone. I went to where we had your service and I spilled everything in my heart into the ocean. I told you I loved you, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t see your face when I said it, I couldn’t see the reaction and I couldn’t hear you say it back.”

“I’ve said it before.” She said softly. A single tear slipped down the side of her face and soaked into the pillow.

“What?” he asked.

“A lot of times, after you’d fall asleep, I’d say it. The first time I said it I just slipped, and it sounded weird to me at first, but I got used to it.”

“How often?” He asked.

She shrugged. “A few times a week.”

“And I never once spoke those words to you.” He said.

“I knew though. It’s not like I didn’t know. I knew you loved me, everyone did.”

“That doesn’t change anything. I never said it.”

“Then pretend.” She told him.

“What?” He asked.

She sighed. “All the things you just told me. You said you’d do them if we only had one more night. So pretend.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” He asked.

“Michael, just tell me you love me already.”

“It’s not something that I can just rush.” He said as his voice raised slightly.

“Well, I don’t see why you can’t just say it.”

“Because I can’t! I just…” He paused.

“I love you.” She told him. He looked into her eyes to see she was saying it with all seriousness. She wasn’t grinning or smirking.

“What?” He asked surprised.

“If you won’t say it I will. I love you, Michael. Deal with it.” She said as she rolled onto her back again. She stared up at the ceiling. Silence passed over them for a few moments before he finally said it.

“I love you.”

A small smile played on Sydney’s lips as she turned her head to look at him.

“Deal with it.” He told her with a small smile. She let out a soft laugh and stared into his eyes.

“You still have one more thing to do.” She told him.

He smiled and moved on top of her.

“Do I?” He asked.

She nodded. “You’ve got one more thing…”

“…and we’ve got one more day.” He finished.

For the first time in two years both of them found security, a remedy to the pain they were both feeling, and the love they’d built together.

And of course…they’d always have one more day.

~~~

First thing i'd do, is pray for time to crawl
then i'd unplug the telephone
and keep the tv off
I’d hold you every second
say a million i love you's
that's what i'd do. with one more day with you



leave me wishing still for one more day
leave me wishing still for one more day
 
That was so good
I wish thats how season 3 would have turned out
Thanks so much for the PM
And for sharing such a wonderful fic!
 
First????...Nope...Second! Stealthy beat me!

That was great! I agree with Stealthy..I wish that is how season 3 turned out too! Your way was so much better! I loved how they finally told each other I love you! And the way that at first he couldn't say it was sweet! And then when he did, he told her deal with it like she said to him! That was sweet and funny.

Excellent Job! Thanks for the PM! I love reading your fics!

Megan
 
oh wow! oh wow! oh wowie wow!

I loved it! I mean...you just have no idea. A warm and fuzzy feeling washed over me while I was reading. And I must admit I got a little teary eyed reading it. So sweet...just perfect!

Such an awesome job! :smiley:
 
OMV this is so good, Kristina!!
It almost made me :cry: :depressed:
The emotions were conveyed so beautifully, the way you described the building, the surroundings, perfect........
thanks for the PM :hug:

:love:,
nicki
 
OMG ive been sitting here for about 10 minutes reading, with my jaw on the desk!! That was so fantastic!!! Brilliant! Wow, so much :love: Totally the cutest fic!! OMG, awesome!!! Thank you so much for the pm!!!
 
OMG ive been sitting here for about 10 minutes reading, with my jaw on the desk!! That was so fantastic!!! Brilliant! Wow, so much :love: Totally the cutest fic!! OMG, awesome!!! Thank you so much for the pm!!!
 
I forgot to add:

“You know how much I loved my father, how much I cared for him.” He shook his head. “But nothing…..nothing in the world compared to how broken I was when I lost you.”

this is sooooo heart-breakingly sad and sweet, I can almost feel Vaughn's pain.........nothing in the world means more to him than Syd........aww.........
 
:smiley: I am so glad you sent me this new fic. This is beyond words that can be expressed. It was so EXCELLENT!!! I loved the ending. Keep getting these great ideas in your head. :D
 
wow. that has to be by far the best one parter i've ever read. it was so perfect. in that one chapter you've brilliantly captured every aspect i wished was in season three. thanks for the PM.
 
OMG!! SO FRICKEN AWESOME!!! i loved it!! EVERYTHING!! i wish that it turned out like that on the SHOW!! would have been so much BETTER!!! OMG!!! I LOVED IT!!! :smiley: :P!! GREAT WRITING!! :smiley: :P!!
 
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