State of Grace

To everyone: Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 5

Sydney

God, I felt like such an idiot after I talked to him.

I had read Grace’s file and immediately jumped to conclusions, without stopping to listen to the facts.

He was a nice man, that is what made it ten times worse. He wasn’t egocentric or a jerk or…a liar. He had a kind, open face with an interesting scar on his left eyebrow. He had searching eyes, the kind that grabbed and held you.

He had been hurt, I recognized that in him now.

When I first met him, I had taken that closed look in his face to be arrogance or indifference. Now I knew that it was pain, I saw the same look in my dad’s face when he mentioned Mom, or in Vaughn’s when he mentions…mentioned Lauren.

It is the same terrible feeling I get when I let my thoughts drift to Noah.

It is the ultimate betrayal, the kind that breaks your heart.

We were at a briefing when the baby kicked. I let out a little moan, and grabbed my stomach.

“Sydney?” My dad asked.

Thomas got out of his seat, knelt next to my chair, placed one hand on my back and the other on top of my free hand, “Sydney,” he said in a calm voice. “Take a deep breath. Good. Now another.”

I breathed, taking large gulps and felt the sensation pass.

“You okay?” he whispered and I felt his breath brush my cheek.

I drew back, “I’m fine, thank you, Agent Grace.”

He knew a dismissal when he heard one. He got back into his chair, and I became aware that everyone in the briefing room was staring at us.

“I’m fine,” I repeated.

My dad cleared his throat and began to talk.

It was early morning about a week later and I was walking in to APO, when I heard Thomas and Rachel in whispered conversation.

“Remember when we first met, in Prague?” she asked.

He replied that he did.

“I said that you weren’t my type.”

“I believe so, Rachel.”

“I lied.”

“Oh?”

I was planning to keep walking, but this interesting conversation kept me where I was, eavesdropping.

“I think you are my type, Tom.”

“I think I’m fifteen years older than you.”

She laughed, “That doesn’t matter.”

“Listen, Rachel. You are a very beautiful and intelligent young woman who will now doubt make a man very happy one day. But that man will not be me. I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”

“In me, or woman in general?”

“Rachel…” his voice sounded half-choked.

She sighed, “It’s okay, you’re in love with Sydney.”

Thomas laughed, “Now you’re just being crazy. See you in the briefing room.”

He walked away, and Rachel turned the corner and practically ran into me.

“Hello,” I said pleasantly

“I didn’t know you were an eavesdropper,” she said.

“I didn’t know you were a flit,” I retorted smoothly.

She laughed, “Touché. I’m not, of course.”

“Really?”

“I’m doing someone a favor, that’s it.”

I sighed, not in the mood for these games, “For who Rachel? And how does seducing a fellow agent play into this ‘favor’.”

She tried to walk away, but I grabbed her arm, “Rachel. You are becoming a damn good field agent, but even at seven months pregnant I can still kick your ass. Who asked you to do that?”

“Ask Jack,” she muttered and left.

I walked into Dad’s office.

“Why was Rachel Gibson throwing herself at Thomas under your orders?”

“Thomas?”

I refused to let myself be embarrassed, “Agent Grace.”

“Since he was so blatantly flirting with my daughter, I thought it prudent to make sure he wasn’t a flirt by nature.”

“He isn’t.”

“The cozy little briefing you two were having?”

“He was helping me,” I snapped. “Something you could learn a little about.”

It was a low blow, insulting his parenting like that, but he had really pissed me off.

“Sydney-”

I left his office slamming the door behind me and shattering two plates of glass.
 
To everyone: Thanks for the reviews. This was such a fun chapter to write, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 6

Sydney

I was pulling a late night with Rachel and Thomas, it was us, a lot of Chinese take-out and maps of Iranian weapon smuggling routes.

I was standing to attach a map to the board when I felt my gut constrict sharply and a wetness run down my legs. For a minute I stood confused, wondering what was going on, had my pregnancy caused my to loose all control of my bladder. Then it hit my like a ton of bricks.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

“Ah-me Gould?” Rachel asked, checking the name of suspects. “I don’t think he’s on here.”

“No,” I said, suddenly scared to death. “I…I think my water broke.”

Rachel looked confused, “But aren’t you only like eight months pregnant?”

Thomas snapped into action, “It doesn’t matter. Get Jack, tell him what is happening.”

Rachel ran off, and I felt Thomas place one hand on my waist and the other on my wrist, guiding me along.

“Oh God,” I moaned and we had to stop, while I fought the contractions.

Thomas got me to his car and we drove to the hospital. I got there and was sent into a room, where a nurse checked my blood pressure, temperature and contractions.

“How far along are you?” she asked.

“Eight months.”

I noticed that Thomas was still holding my hand.

“Are you going through a period of stress? A lot of physical activity?”

Then answers to those questions are, Always and Most of the Time, but I couldn’t say that to her, “I guess so.”

“You’re going into labor,” the woman announced, as if I hadn’t noticed. “I’m going to get a doctor in to see you.”

The contractions were coming faster now and they hurt like nothing I had ever felt before.

“Vaughn should be here,” I thought and was filled with such rage. “He’s missing this.”

Thomas

It was very scary, watching Sydney go into child birth. Here was one of the strongest woman I knew crying, my guess was it hurt like hell.

The doctor came in to move her to the delivery room, he asked me if I was coming.

I looked at Sydney, not sure what to do, “Do you want me to come with you Sydney? Or-”

I stopped, realizing that there was no one else here for her.

“Please Thomas,” she whispered, in a fragile voice. “I don’t want to be alone.”

I held her hand and rubbed her back in small circles, “You’re doing great. Keep taking those deep breaths.”

She screamed again, and clutched my hand tighter. Each moment seemed to take forever.

Finally the doctor said, “Okay Mrs. Bristow, you’re doing great. One more push.”

Sydney screamed and, intertwined with her scream, was another, fainter one. A baby’s scream.

The nurses took the baby, cut the umbilical cord and did all of the things they do to new babies. When the baby was cleaned up and wrapped up, they placed her in Sydney’s arms.

“He’s a boy, Mrs. Bristow,” one of the nurses said.

“Oh, oh my,” Sydney traced the little boy’s cheek with her finger.

“What will you name him?” The doctor asked.

“I…I,” she looked at me. “Vaughn and I only really discussed girl names. I don’t know what to name him.”

“Michael?” I suggested, knowing that was the name of her late fiancée. “Or Jack?”

“I don’t want to name him after someone in my family,” she said.

She looked down at the sleeping boy, then back up at me, “What names do you like?”

This was a surreal enough experience, “I don’t know. Benjamin?”

“Benjamin,” she breathed. “Benjamin Bristow Vaughn.” The she nodded at the doctor, “That’s what I want.”

The nurse came to take the baby, “He’s premature, we need to run some tests. We’ll take you to recovery, and bring him to you there.”

Sydney nodded, and I followed the nurse pushing her to a recovery room.

I sat down in the chair next to her bed and took her hand, “You did great.”

She seemed out of it, and I could tell she was starting to fall asleep.

“Vaughn,” she said and stroked my cheek, I froze, “Kiss me, please Vaughn.”

“Sydney, it’s not Vaughn, it’s me, Thomas.”

“Please Vaughn?” she begged and her voice sounded like a little girl’s. “Just one and then I’ll go to sleep.”

“Syd-”

“Please.”

I leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.
 
To everyone: Thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry, but, as you might have noticed, the posts aren't coming very often. My job is super demanding right now, so I have to cut back on practically everything else. I will try to my best to post as often as I can.

Chapter 7

Jack

There are a number of things that can make a day a bad one.

Running out of a Terrorism Security Briefing because your daughter has gone into premature labor is one of those things.

Another is going to her recovery room in time to see her being kissed by a fellow agent who you barely know.

Both of these things happened to me.

After Thomas Grace kissed her he walked out of the room and into me.

“Agent Grace,” I nodded.

“Mr. Bristow.”

“I assume you have a perfectly good reason why you were just kissing my daughter!”

Thomas looked at me for a very long time, not saying anything, then sighed and responded, “Nothing you want to hear.”

“You listen to me, Grace, if you do anything-”

“Jack,” his voice was hard and low. “You area great father and Sydney loves you a lot, but come on. She is thirty-two years old with a beautiful baby boy. You have to stop smothering her. As an adult she is going to hang out with people you may or may not approve of, but you can’t scare them off. You can’t rob her of her choices!”

I simply stared at that man, no one since Arvin had ever talked to me like that. No Dixon, especially not Marshall and never Vaughn.

I glared at Grace and he stared back at me just as fierce.

He walked away and I stood in the hall for a long time while people moved around me, then I went into Sydney’s room.

She was awake, and holding the baby, who was asleep, and stroking his forehead. She smiled when she saw me.

“Dad,” she whispered excitedly, not wanting to wake the baby up.

“Hey princess,” I responded with the pet name I hadn’t used in too many years.

She grinned and held up the baby, “Look, isn’t he perfect.”

The baby was little, with almost no hair, he gave a little yawn and opened his eyes. I was shocked.

“Sydney, he has blue eyes.”

She nodded.

“But neither you nor Vaughn have blue eyes.”

She laughed and rocked the baby a little, sending him back to sleep, “Most babies have blue eyes when they are born, they’ll probably change as he gets older.”

I didn’t know that, “What’s his name?”

“Benjamin. Benjamin Bristow Vaughn.” She looked a me a little nervously, “I didn’t know if I should give him Vaughn’s name, but he is-”

I cut her off, “It’s a perfect name.”

She gave me one of her beautiful smiles, “Thank you so much Daddy, for…for everything.”

I kissed her on the forehead, “I’m sure he would have loved to been here, Sydney. I bet he is so proud of you.”
 
first!!!!yippee!!!! loved jacks reaction to seeing him kiss her...then his reaction wow!!! thats all i can say!!!! and the boy isnt named michael!!!! didnt see that one....i bet in the show itll be a girl though!!!! but what do i know thanks for the update cant wait to read more and srry that your job is so demanding!!!! thanks for the PM
 
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