farliieansds225
Cadet
awesome update
loved it
cant wait to see how it ends
loved it
cant wait to see how it ends
Peaceful
- Thread starter SkyGirl5
- Start date
gtwallichs
Cadet
Yeah! 
Loved it!
Loved it!
fieldstation
Cadet
So... maybe the twist is like... uuh, Michael has to go back to the army?
Michael's brother didn't really die either?
Syd's pregnant?
Irina doesn't want Michael as his son in law?
I'm running out of ideas? Hum, yeah i'm running out of ideas. :lol:
Michael's brother didn't really die either?
Syd's pregnant?
Irina doesn't want Michael as his son in law?
I'm running out of ideas? Hum, yeah i'm running out of ideas. :lol:
vaughnshoney
Cadet
I don't know what this twist you have planned could be, but I hope it's not too bad.
Great chapter Janet. So sweet
Thanks for the PM
Great chapter Janet. So sweet
Thanks for the PM
SkyGirl5
Cadet
omg that woudl be SO cruel
AliasSydney502
Cadet
hahahaaha Nadia walked in on them NAKED!!! hahahahah!!
i;m soooo glad he's home
i;m soooo glad he's home
derevkointraining
Cadet
I love how everyone is focused on the twist and him being home and you are all "nadia saw them naked!!" hehe.. you make me laugh, in a good way
Michael_Vartan_Rocks
Cadet
yay i jsut got caught up and u did make it better
wasn't yesterday MV's b-day?...i just realized that...lol.
wasn't yesterday MV's b-day?...i just realized that...lol.
What doesn't make it okay is the fact it could've been avoided. Michael didn't have to join the army. He didn't have to put her through months of emotional torture and he wouldn't have had to suffer physical torture.
Michael may not remember what happened to him in the last five months but I bet Sydney remembers every minute.
Chris
Exactly. She'll never forget those nine months he was away, let alone the five she was a widow.
Of course now Sydney is overjoyed that he actually is alive but Michael has a lot to make up to, which I'm sure he will.
Nadia's reaction was fun to read but what I'm really looking forward to is Irina's. I bet she'll feel like such an embarrassed fool.
Great chapter!
mbellsdiva
Cadet
So now Nadia knows he's back.
I hope he will continue to get help. Especially when he starts to remember.
I hope he will continue to get help. Especially when he starts to remember.
Vaughn-a-holic!439
Cadet
aww yay, hes back
SkyGirl5
Cadet
long ending
Chapter 6
“So I was thinking,” Michael began as he cracked half a dozen eggs into a skillet on the stove, “that we could maybe go visit my parents this afternoon? I mean, it’s not like we have presents to exchange. Plus, I should kinda tell them I’m alive,” he said with a slight chuckle before glancing over to Sydney. Much to his surprise, she was not wearing the smile she had been just a few moments earlier. Her expression was very grave, so much so that it scared him. “Sydney, what’s wrong?”
Sydney looked over to him cautiously. Suddenly their perfect little Christmas was not going to be so perfect any more. “Michael…your mother she…she isn’t well,” Sydney told him. She did not know quite how to describe the ailment his mother was suffering from, for it was not one that could be cured with medication. She did not have a disease or an infection, which could be cured with antibiotics. What she had was a permanently broken heart.
“What’s wrong with her?” he asked with utmost concern.
“Well,” Sydney began slowly as she sat down in the nearest chair. “As you might imagine, finding out that she lost both of her sons within just a few months of each other affected her deeply. She…she hasn’t spoken since August; she’s catatonic, Michael,” she informed him sadly. Mrs. Vaughn’s grief had been a rapidly deteriorating process that went from days of crying to days of silence almost instantaneously. Though her husband tried to help her through it, as did Sydney, their efforts were fruitless. In Sydney’s opinion, she did not want to come out of her shell-like state, for then she would have to face the pain they were all dealing with on a daily basis. Some days, when her heart was really hurting, Sydney felt as though Mrs. Vaughn might have been the luckiest one of all of them.
“What?” Michael asked in a breathy tone, dropping the spatula he held in his hand.
Sydney nodded solemnly. “Your dad quit his job so that he could take care of her. I help out too, when I can. She just sits in a chair by the window, staring blankly outside. We talk to her, but she doesn’t even blink. She hasn’t looked at us in months. Michael,” she said, getting up and walking over to him, “I’m so sorry.”
“But…but she’ll get better, right? I mean, if she sees me, she’ll get better,” he said, making it sound as though it was an absolutely truthful statement instead of a deep desire.
“I don’t know,” Sydney said honestly. “Maybe…but I guess we’ll see.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
Their meal was understandably very silent. Sydney felt terrible for bringing down the mood of the day the way she had, but, then again, Michael would have found out eventually about his mother, and the sooner he did, the better. As she was cleaning up their breakfast dishes, he wandered his way into the adjoining room where she found him moments later admiring their Christmas tree.
“Looks good,” he told her with a soft smile. She smiled back at him, until a light bulb flashed in her mind as to what she could do to lighten his mood.
“Come with me; I just remembered something,” she said, grabbing his hand. She pulled him up the stairs and into their bedroom. There, she began to rummage through her jewelry box, which was an utter mess of mangled necklaces, bracelets and hair accessories. Finally she found the box she was looking for and revealed it to him.
“I bought it a long time ago, just a day or so after you left. I had forgotten about it, but now…,” she paused to remove the silver ring from his case, “now you should wear it.”
“Gladly,” he smiled, holding out his left hand so that she could put the ring on its proper finger. She did so before standing up on her toes and giving him a long kiss. Michael snaked his arms around her back and pulled her deeper into their embrace, backing his way towards their bed as he did so. That time, instead of stripping as quickly as possible, each item of clothing was removed with great care before the revealed portion of flesh received very thorough attention.
~*~
An hour and a half later, Sydney and Michael were finally making their way out of the house to begin the forty minute drive to his parent’s home. As they dressed, Michael commented how surprised yet glad he was that she had kept all of his clothes. In fact, every single one of his belongings was in almost the exact same position he remembered leaving it in. The only thing that was gone was his car, and he had sold that himself before leaving. After he pointed this out, Sydney sheepishly admitted that she could not bring herself to throw out one single item. It was going to be her task for the New Year, but she was forever thankful that she would never have to complete it.
“It’s going to be okay,” Sydney assured him rather weakly as they drove. She noticed him shifting rather uncomfortably in his seat and, frankly, she could not blame him. Though she had been around Amelia Vaughn many times while she was in her catatonic state, each time had a certain amount of discomfort that went along with it. Amelia had once been so vibrant, with a laugh that filled a room. Seeing her so broken was terrifying, even though she knew what to expect. Michael had no way of knowing what seeing his mother in such a state would be like so, naturally, he was terrified.
“Thanks,” he said softly, giving her a hesitant smile. He knew she was lying to make him feel better, and it did, mildly so. The thing he was most thankful for was that she was going with him. He knew he could not bear to face such a horrible thing alone.
When they arrived at the Vaughn house, Sydney led the way around back and let herself inside like she always did. Very early on in her relationship with Michael, the Vaughn’s adopted her into their family as the daughter they never had. They had always been close and their bond only grew stronger when Michael went off to Iraq; they treated her no differently than had she been biologically their own.
“Bill, I brought a present for you!” Sydney called out as she slipped off her snow covered boots. She found the tall man who greatly resembled both of his sons in the kitchen washing dishes. He stopped when he saw her, though, and his face lit up.
“A present? Sydney, you didn’t have to do that,” he smiled at her.
She shrugged. “Of course I did…this one was a little big to wrap though,” she said before turning around. As she did this, Michael appeared in the doorway. There was a notable half-gasp, half-scream coming from across the room and Sydney hung back so that the father and son could reunite with one another.
Tears flowed as the two men embraced, talking in hushed tones about where Michael had been for the past half year. As they did this, Sydney crept from the kitchen and made her way into living room, where Michael’s mother was in her usual position. Bill and Sydney chose to put her rocking chair close to a window by the front of the house, where she could see the street and watch the cars pass. The doctors were not sure if her brain could even process the images she was seeing, but in case it could, Sydney and Bill wanted her to have something to look at.
“Amelia, it’s me – Sydney,” she said softly as she crouched down beside the rocking chair. She took one of Amelia’s hands in hers, but like usual, Amelia did not move one inch. “It’s Christmas, Amelia. Remember how much you used to love Christmas? You had that great big tree and you’d put all those ornaments on it – the ones that Bill brought you from all over the world. Well, anyway, I brought you a present and I hope… I hope it’ll help you,” she said sincerely. Then she gave Amelia’s hand a gentle kiss before standing up and turning around to find Michael looking rather horrified in the doorway. His father was behind him wearing the same expression he always wore when looking at his wife. To Sydney, it always looked like he was about to scream or cry, she was never sure which, but neither ever happened.
When Michael approached his mother, Sydney stepped aside, giving him the space she knew he needed. He knelt down beside her rocking chair, took both of her hands in his and held them to his face. “Mom, it’s me; it’s Michael. Can you hear me? I’m right here. I know they told you I was dead…and I’m so sorry that happened, but I’m not dead. I’m here. It was all a mistake. Please, you have to get better now. Please Mom, please,” he begged. He kissed her cheek and ran his hands across her face, trying to rouse her, but Amelia stayed just as statuesque as ever.
After a few more minutes of pleas, Michael finally gave up and returned to the kitchen, where the rest of his family was waiting. “I don’t understand,” he said in a distant voice. “I thought she would…”
“I know,” Sydney said softly as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He pulled her close and hugged her tightly.
“It’s not your fault, Michael,” Bill sighed, knowing his son would eventually blame himself. “It just…happened. Between you and what happened to Adam, she just couldn’t take it. She’s too far gone now.”
“Dad, I’m so sorry,” Michael said in the most sincere, sad voice Sydney had ever heard from him.
Bill gave a forced smile. “I know you are, son…but the most important thing is that you’re here with us.”
“Exactly,” Sydney chimed in, smiling up at her husband. He smiled back and gave her a brief kiss.
“So, what about you two?” Bill asked, trying to find a lighter subject. “Finally going to try your hand at married life?”
“You told them?” Michael asked Sydney in surprise.
She nodded simply. “Yeah, after you…,” she let her voice drift off. She could not quite bring herself to say ‘after you died’ but it was unnecessary; Michael knew what she meant.
“It’ll be nice for you two to finally settle back into some normalcy, I’m sure,” Bill commented. Sydney nodded her head; she could not have said it better herself. Bill was about to make another comment, but their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of shuffling feet coming towards them. All three of them turned to face the door and saw Amelia standing there. She was still wearing a rather glazed-over expression, but she had not moved on her own in so long, the three of them could not help but be hopeful.
“Mom?” Michael questioned as he took a step forward. Amelia did not say anything, but she shuffled her way towards the sound of his voice, still distantly staring off across the room. Michael pulled her into his arms and she managed to hug him back. This simple gesture caused everyone’s eyes to flood with tears; there was reason to hope again.
Though Amelia did not speak, she sat with the rest of her family as they ate and carried on a hearty conversation. Though they were still hesitant to be hopeful about a full recovery, their faith that she just might pull through had definitely been restored.
When Sydney and Michael left later that evening, both of their moods were much lighter than before. They laughed and talked about the future, their future – together. By the time they pulled up in their driveway, snow was beginning to fall once more. “Jeez, I just shoveled all this stuff to even get into the house!” Michael grumbled as he got out of the car, staring up at the sky.
“Shh, listen!” Sydney hissed at him. She too focused on the sky as she twirled around in the driveway. After a few moments, she grinned at Michael, who was looking at her with a very skeptical ‘my wife has lost her mind’ expression. “Don’t you hear that?!”
“Hear what? I don’t hear anything!” he exclaimed.
“Exactly!” she grinned. “I love listening to the snow fall. Everything becomes so silent…so peaceful,” she sighed happily. Michael walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. She was crazy, but it only made him love her more.
“You know what I was thinking?” he began softly. “I was thinking that maybe we could try to have a baby. It doesn’t have to be right this moment, but maybe we could think about it and – what was that?” he asked when she gasped loudly and clapped her hands over her mouth. She turned around laughing with one of the brightest smiles across her face.
“We might already have one!” she laughed. His brow wrinkled and she explained further. “I went off birth control right after you left and this morning we…,” she let her voice drift off as Michael joined her with his own laughter.
“Is that alright?” he asked.
“More than alright,” she said. Then she leaned in and gave him a long kiss as the snow fell peacefully all around them.
Epilogue
“Michael! Can you please, please change Adam’s diaper?!” Sydney yelled to her husband over the wailing of her four-month-old son. It was their first Christmas together as a family and, stupidly, she had decided to have all their family members over to their house to celebrate the event. That, of course, was a decision she was deeply regretting at the current moment.
“Of course. Come ’ere, Little Man,” Michael said as he scooped up his son from Sydney’s arms. As the two of them disappeared upstairs Adam’s cries were finally muffled and Sydney could sigh a brief moment of relief.
The previous year had been a whirlwind for their family, a wonderful one. As Sydney expected, she did become pregnant on Christmas day, something she and Michael were happy to announce to their whole family early the next year. In keeping with getting their life back on track, Michael returned to a job similar to the one he had left two years prior. Sydney continued working at her job until giving birth to her son in September. The whole family radiated around their new precious little member, named in memory of the uncle he would never know. Since then, things had been perfect – hectic, but perfect.
At the sound of the doorbell’s chime, Sydney groaned loudly. Someone, she did not know who, was arriving early and the house was not yet spotless. Then again, with a baby who went through diapers and clothing seemingly hourly, there was only a certain level of clean the house would ever reach.
When she reached the door, Sydney was happy to see her in-laws waiting on the front step, huddled together in the cold. This sight immediately made her smile. In the year since Michael’s return, his mother had made great strides on the road to recovery. It took her a few months, but she slowly began talking once more and participating in daily life. She was by no means the person she was before her breakdown, but the fact that she was once again interacting with them was more than any of them could have hoped for.
“Amelia, Bill, c’mon in. It’s freezing!” Sydney exclaimed with a shiver.
“Merry Christmas, Sydney,” Amelia said timidly while giving Sydney a light hug.
“How is that grandson of ours?” Bill asked when he hugged Sydney in turn.
“Oh you know…giving his mother grey hairs,” Sydney laughed slightly.
“Oh Syd, your hairs aren’t grey yet,” Michael said with a grin as he descended the stairs, Adam on his hip. He greeted his mother with a kiss on the cheek before passing the baby off to her. Any time Amelia was around Adam, she was almost always the person holding him. Though they never spoke about it, the whole family believed that Amelia thought of baby Adam as the reincarnation of his elder namesake.
Sydney was just about to follow the rest of her family into the other room, when the doorbell rang once more. That time, her sister, future brother-in-law, and both of her parents were on her doorstep. They all exchanged hugs and Christmas wishes before joining the rest of the family. Naturally, everyone was excited to greet the littlest member of the Bristow-Vaughn clan. Unfortunately, Adam did not share their excitement and he began shrieking at the top of his lungs until Sydney took him to another room in order to calm him down.
After a few minutes of bouncing, soft whispers and walking around the kitchen, Adam’s cries disappeared and he returned to his jovial self. Just as Adam was settling, Nadia entered the room with her usual smirk. “What’s with you?” Sydney asked with a laugh.
“Nothin’,” Nadia shrugged, folding her arms in front of her. “It’s just nice…you with the baby, the whole family in there…we’re like a Christmas card waiting to happen or something.”
“Okay then,” Sydney laughed. “Just think, pretty soon it will be you with the baby.”
“Hell no it won’t!” Nadia exclaimed.
“Nadia!” Sydney hissed, covering up one of Adam’s ears. She was trying to emphasis the use of only G-rated curse words around her son, unsure of when he would start developing the ability to speak.
“Oh, he can’t understand me,” Nadia said with a slight eye roll.
“Yes he can…and why don’t you want a baby?” she asked.
“I do want one, just not for at least another ten years; I’m way too immature,” she sighed.
“At least you recognize it,” Sydney mumbled. Nadia shot her a look and Sydney shot one right back.
“Are you ladies coming back?! I wanna give Adam his presents!” Michael called from the other room.
“What the heck kinda presents were we supposed to get a four-month-old? I just got him diapers,” Nadia said with a shrug. Sydney laughed, but somehow she knew that would be a more practical gift than whatever Michael purchased for his son.
“Here he is; Daddy’s little man,” Michael grinned as he picked up his son. Michael set him down in his lap before picking up a large box wrapped in bright paper. “This is for you buddy,” he said. Then he tore the paper off to reveal the gift.
“A monster truck?! Michael! He can’t even sit up on his own!” Sydney laughed along with the rest of the family at the gift.
“So? He can watch me play with it,” Michael informed her.
“So, really, it’s a present for him,” Nadia whispered in her sister’s ear. Sydney laughed and nodded, knowing how many presents Adam would receive in the near future that were really for Michael. She would not have had it any other way though, especially since if things continued as they were going, they were well on their way to having a better Christmas than the last.
thanks for reading everyone
tomorrow a few fic One Last Chance its only ten chapters its sort of inspired by a TV movie Three Days which is a Christmas movie, but this fic is not a christmas fic
see you then
Chapter 6
“So I was thinking,” Michael began as he cracked half a dozen eggs into a skillet on the stove, “that we could maybe go visit my parents this afternoon? I mean, it’s not like we have presents to exchange. Plus, I should kinda tell them I’m alive,” he said with a slight chuckle before glancing over to Sydney. Much to his surprise, she was not wearing the smile she had been just a few moments earlier. Her expression was very grave, so much so that it scared him. “Sydney, what’s wrong?”
Sydney looked over to him cautiously. Suddenly their perfect little Christmas was not going to be so perfect any more. “Michael…your mother she…she isn’t well,” Sydney told him. She did not know quite how to describe the ailment his mother was suffering from, for it was not one that could be cured with medication. She did not have a disease or an infection, which could be cured with antibiotics. What she had was a permanently broken heart.
“What’s wrong with her?” he asked with utmost concern.
“Well,” Sydney began slowly as she sat down in the nearest chair. “As you might imagine, finding out that she lost both of her sons within just a few months of each other affected her deeply. She…she hasn’t spoken since August; she’s catatonic, Michael,” she informed him sadly. Mrs. Vaughn’s grief had been a rapidly deteriorating process that went from days of crying to days of silence almost instantaneously. Though her husband tried to help her through it, as did Sydney, their efforts were fruitless. In Sydney’s opinion, she did not want to come out of her shell-like state, for then she would have to face the pain they were all dealing with on a daily basis. Some days, when her heart was really hurting, Sydney felt as though Mrs. Vaughn might have been the luckiest one of all of them.
“What?” Michael asked in a breathy tone, dropping the spatula he held in his hand.
Sydney nodded solemnly. “Your dad quit his job so that he could take care of her. I help out too, when I can. She just sits in a chair by the window, staring blankly outside. We talk to her, but she doesn’t even blink. She hasn’t looked at us in months. Michael,” she said, getting up and walking over to him, “I’m so sorry.”
“But…but she’ll get better, right? I mean, if she sees me, she’ll get better,” he said, making it sound as though it was an absolutely truthful statement instead of a deep desire.
“I don’t know,” Sydney said honestly. “Maybe…but I guess we’ll see.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
Their meal was understandably very silent. Sydney felt terrible for bringing down the mood of the day the way she had, but, then again, Michael would have found out eventually about his mother, and the sooner he did, the better. As she was cleaning up their breakfast dishes, he wandered his way into the adjoining room where she found him moments later admiring their Christmas tree.
“Looks good,” he told her with a soft smile. She smiled back at him, until a light bulb flashed in her mind as to what she could do to lighten his mood.
“Come with me; I just remembered something,” she said, grabbing his hand. She pulled him up the stairs and into their bedroom. There, she began to rummage through her jewelry box, which was an utter mess of mangled necklaces, bracelets and hair accessories. Finally she found the box she was looking for and revealed it to him.
“I bought it a long time ago, just a day or so after you left. I had forgotten about it, but now…,” she paused to remove the silver ring from his case, “now you should wear it.”
“Gladly,” he smiled, holding out his left hand so that she could put the ring on its proper finger. She did so before standing up on her toes and giving him a long kiss. Michael snaked his arms around her back and pulled her deeper into their embrace, backing his way towards their bed as he did so. That time, instead of stripping as quickly as possible, each item of clothing was removed with great care before the revealed portion of flesh received very thorough attention.
~*~
An hour and a half later, Sydney and Michael were finally making their way out of the house to begin the forty minute drive to his parent’s home. As they dressed, Michael commented how surprised yet glad he was that she had kept all of his clothes. In fact, every single one of his belongings was in almost the exact same position he remembered leaving it in. The only thing that was gone was his car, and he had sold that himself before leaving. After he pointed this out, Sydney sheepishly admitted that she could not bring herself to throw out one single item. It was going to be her task for the New Year, but she was forever thankful that she would never have to complete it.
“It’s going to be okay,” Sydney assured him rather weakly as they drove. She noticed him shifting rather uncomfortably in his seat and, frankly, she could not blame him. Though she had been around Amelia Vaughn many times while she was in her catatonic state, each time had a certain amount of discomfort that went along with it. Amelia had once been so vibrant, with a laugh that filled a room. Seeing her so broken was terrifying, even though she knew what to expect. Michael had no way of knowing what seeing his mother in such a state would be like so, naturally, he was terrified.
“Thanks,” he said softly, giving her a hesitant smile. He knew she was lying to make him feel better, and it did, mildly so. The thing he was most thankful for was that she was going with him. He knew he could not bear to face such a horrible thing alone.
When they arrived at the Vaughn house, Sydney led the way around back and let herself inside like she always did. Very early on in her relationship with Michael, the Vaughn’s adopted her into their family as the daughter they never had. They had always been close and their bond only grew stronger when Michael went off to Iraq; they treated her no differently than had she been biologically their own.
“Bill, I brought a present for you!” Sydney called out as she slipped off her snow covered boots. She found the tall man who greatly resembled both of his sons in the kitchen washing dishes. He stopped when he saw her, though, and his face lit up.
“A present? Sydney, you didn’t have to do that,” he smiled at her.
She shrugged. “Of course I did…this one was a little big to wrap though,” she said before turning around. As she did this, Michael appeared in the doorway. There was a notable half-gasp, half-scream coming from across the room and Sydney hung back so that the father and son could reunite with one another.
Tears flowed as the two men embraced, talking in hushed tones about where Michael had been for the past half year. As they did this, Sydney crept from the kitchen and made her way into living room, where Michael’s mother was in her usual position. Bill and Sydney chose to put her rocking chair close to a window by the front of the house, where she could see the street and watch the cars pass. The doctors were not sure if her brain could even process the images she was seeing, but in case it could, Sydney and Bill wanted her to have something to look at.
“Amelia, it’s me – Sydney,” she said softly as she crouched down beside the rocking chair. She took one of Amelia’s hands in hers, but like usual, Amelia did not move one inch. “It’s Christmas, Amelia. Remember how much you used to love Christmas? You had that great big tree and you’d put all those ornaments on it – the ones that Bill brought you from all over the world. Well, anyway, I brought you a present and I hope… I hope it’ll help you,” she said sincerely. Then she gave Amelia’s hand a gentle kiss before standing up and turning around to find Michael looking rather horrified in the doorway. His father was behind him wearing the same expression he always wore when looking at his wife. To Sydney, it always looked like he was about to scream or cry, she was never sure which, but neither ever happened.
When Michael approached his mother, Sydney stepped aside, giving him the space she knew he needed. He knelt down beside her rocking chair, took both of her hands in his and held them to his face. “Mom, it’s me; it’s Michael. Can you hear me? I’m right here. I know they told you I was dead…and I’m so sorry that happened, but I’m not dead. I’m here. It was all a mistake. Please, you have to get better now. Please Mom, please,” he begged. He kissed her cheek and ran his hands across her face, trying to rouse her, but Amelia stayed just as statuesque as ever.
After a few more minutes of pleas, Michael finally gave up and returned to the kitchen, where the rest of his family was waiting. “I don’t understand,” he said in a distant voice. “I thought she would…”
“I know,” Sydney said softly as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He pulled her close and hugged her tightly.
“It’s not your fault, Michael,” Bill sighed, knowing his son would eventually blame himself. “It just…happened. Between you and what happened to Adam, she just couldn’t take it. She’s too far gone now.”
“Dad, I’m so sorry,” Michael said in the most sincere, sad voice Sydney had ever heard from him.
Bill gave a forced smile. “I know you are, son…but the most important thing is that you’re here with us.”
“Exactly,” Sydney chimed in, smiling up at her husband. He smiled back and gave her a brief kiss.
“So, what about you two?” Bill asked, trying to find a lighter subject. “Finally going to try your hand at married life?”
“You told them?” Michael asked Sydney in surprise.
She nodded simply. “Yeah, after you…,” she let her voice drift off. She could not quite bring herself to say ‘after you died’ but it was unnecessary; Michael knew what she meant.
“It’ll be nice for you two to finally settle back into some normalcy, I’m sure,” Bill commented. Sydney nodded her head; she could not have said it better herself. Bill was about to make another comment, but their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of shuffling feet coming towards them. All three of them turned to face the door and saw Amelia standing there. She was still wearing a rather glazed-over expression, but she had not moved on her own in so long, the three of them could not help but be hopeful.
“Mom?” Michael questioned as he took a step forward. Amelia did not say anything, but she shuffled her way towards the sound of his voice, still distantly staring off across the room. Michael pulled her into his arms and she managed to hug him back. This simple gesture caused everyone’s eyes to flood with tears; there was reason to hope again.
Though Amelia did not speak, she sat with the rest of her family as they ate and carried on a hearty conversation. Though they were still hesitant to be hopeful about a full recovery, their faith that she just might pull through had definitely been restored.
When Sydney and Michael left later that evening, both of their moods were much lighter than before. They laughed and talked about the future, their future – together. By the time they pulled up in their driveway, snow was beginning to fall once more. “Jeez, I just shoveled all this stuff to even get into the house!” Michael grumbled as he got out of the car, staring up at the sky.
“Shh, listen!” Sydney hissed at him. She too focused on the sky as she twirled around in the driveway. After a few moments, she grinned at Michael, who was looking at her with a very skeptical ‘my wife has lost her mind’ expression. “Don’t you hear that?!”
“Hear what? I don’t hear anything!” he exclaimed.
“Exactly!” she grinned. “I love listening to the snow fall. Everything becomes so silent…so peaceful,” she sighed happily. Michael walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. She was crazy, but it only made him love her more.
“You know what I was thinking?” he began softly. “I was thinking that maybe we could try to have a baby. It doesn’t have to be right this moment, but maybe we could think about it and – what was that?” he asked when she gasped loudly and clapped her hands over her mouth. She turned around laughing with one of the brightest smiles across her face.
“We might already have one!” she laughed. His brow wrinkled and she explained further. “I went off birth control right after you left and this morning we…,” she let her voice drift off as Michael joined her with his own laughter.
“Is that alright?” he asked.
“More than alright,” she said. Then she leaned in and gave him a long kiss as the snow fell peacefully all around them.
Epilogue
“Michael! Can you please, please change Adam’s diaper?!” Sydney yelled to her husband over the wailing of her four-month-old son. It was their first Christmas together as a family and, stupidly, she had decided to have all their family members over to their house to celebrate the event. That, of course, was a decision she was deeply regretting at the current moment.
“Of course. Come ’ere, Little Man,” Michael said as he scooped up his son from Sydney’s arms. As the two of them disappeared upstairs Adam’s cries were finally muffled and Sydney could sigh a brief moment of relief.
The previous year had been a whirlwind for their family, a wonderful one. As Sydney expected, she did become pregnant on Christmas day, something she and Michael were happy to announce to their whole family early the next year. In keeping with getting their life back on track, Michael returned to a job similar to the one he had left two years prior. Sydney continued working at her job until giving birth to her son in September. The whole family radiated around their new precious little member, named in memory of the uncle he would never know. Since then, things had been perfect – hectic, but perfect.
At the sound of the doorbell’s chime, Sydney groaned loudly. Someone, she did not know who, was arriving early and the house was not yet spotless. Then again, with a baby who went through diapers and clothing seemingly hourly, there was only a certain level of clean the house would ever reach.
When she reached the door, Sydney was happy to see her in-laws waiting on the front step, huddled together in the cold. This sight immediately made her smile. In the year since Michael’s return, his mother had made great strides on the road to recovery. It took her a few months, but she slowly began talking once more and participating in daily life. She was by no means the person she was before her breakdown, but the fact that she was once again interacting with them was more than any of them could have hoped for.
“Amelia, Bill, c’mon in. It’s freezing!” Sydney exclaimed with a shiver.
“Merry Christmas, Sydney,” Amelia said timidly while giving Sydney a light hug.
“How is that grandson of ours?” Bill asked when he hugged Sydney in turn.
“Oh you know…giving his mother grey hairs,” Sydney laughed slightly.
“Oh Syd, your hairs aren’t grey yet,” Michael said with a grin as he descended the stairs, Adam on his hip. He greeted his mother with a kiss on the cheek before passing the baby off to her. Any time Amelia was around Adam, she was almost always the person holding him. Though they never spoke about it, the whole family believed that Amelia thought of baby Adam as the reincarnation of his elder namesake.
Sydney was just about to follow the rest of her family into the other room, when the doorbell rang once more. That time, her sister, future brother-in-law, and both of her parents were on her doorstep. They all exchanged hugs and Christmas wishes before joining the rest of the family. Naturally, everyone was excited to greet the littlest member of the Bristow-Vaughn clan. Unfortunately, Adam did not share their excitement and he began shrieking at the top of his lungs until Sydney took him to another room in order to calm him down.
After a few minutes of bouncing, soft whispers and walking around the kitchen, Adam’s cries disappeared and he returned to his jovial self. Just as Adam was settling, Nadia entered the room with her usual smirk. “What’s with you?” Sydney asked with a laugh.
“Nothin’,” Nadia shrugged, folding her arms in front of her. “It’s just nice…you with the baby, the whole family in there…we’re like a Christmas card waiting to happen or something.”
“Okay then,” Sydney laughed. “Just think, pretty soon it will be you with the baby.”
“Hell no it won’t!” Nadia exclaimed.
“Nadia!” Sydney hissed, covering up one of Adam’s ears. She was trying to emphasis the use of only G-rated curse words around her son, unsure of when he would start developing the ability to speak.
“Oh, he can’t understand me,” Nadia said with a slight eye roll.
“Yes he can…and why don’t you want a baby?” she asked.
“I do want one, just not for at least another ten years; I’m way too immature,” she sighed.
“At least you recognize it,” Sydney mumbled. Nadia shot her a look and Sydney shot one right back.
“Are you ladies coming back?! I wanna give Adam his presents!” Michael called from the other room.
“What the heck kinda presents were we supposed to get a four-month-old? I just got him diapers,” Nadia said with a shrug. Sydney laughed, but somehow she knew that would be a more practical gift than whatever Michael purchased for his son.
“Here he is; Daddy’s little man,” Michael grinned as he picked up his son. Michael set him down in his lap before picking up a large box wrapped in bright paper. “This is for you buddy,” he said. Then he tore the paper off to reveal the gift.
“A monster truck?! Michael! He can’t even sit up on his own!” Sydney laughed along with the rest of the family at the gift.
“So? He can watch me play with it,” Michael informed her.
“So, really, it’s a present for him,” Nadia whispered in her sister’s ear. Sydney laughed and nodded, knowing how many presents Adam would receive in the near future that were really for Michael. She would not have had it any other way though, especially since if things continued as they were going, they were well on their way to having a better Christmas than the last.
thanks for reading everyone
tomorrow a few fic One Last Chance its only ten chapters
its sort of inspired by a TV movie Three Days which is a Christmas movie, but this fic is not a christmas ficsee you then
Spydrummer06
Cadet
Aww that was so sad when Michael saw his mom. Glad that she got better though. And little baby Adam, so cute.
Awesome job on the story
Awesome job on the story
Ms.MichaelVaughn
Cadet
beautiful my dear. I loved it
sparklingrainbow
Cadet
awww i'm so glad michael's mother got back to normal.. and cute little adam... it's just perfect..
mightylittleone
Cadet
That was perfectly wonderful! Yay! They had a Merry Christmas! Thank you for sharing another super fic with us!