SkyGirl5
Cadet
Title: What's Left of Me
Genre: S/v AU
Summary: While at the park one day, Michael and his three year old daughter, Emily, run into Sydney Bristow. She's interested; he's unsure. Will she be able to heal the wounds Emily's mother inflicted on him?
28 Chapters plus a 6 Chapter Afterward (yea i know thats weird, but oh well
)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1 (below) Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16
Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24
Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28
Afterward Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 & 5 Part 6
Chapter 1
“Daddy,” three-year-old Emily Vaughn asked softly. She reached up and tugged on her father’s sleeve as she craned her head back very far to look up to her father’s green eyes.
“What is it, Sweet Pea?” Michael Vaughn asked her, looking down. Emily stamped her foot on the ground and he saw the problem she was alerting him to: her sneaker had come un-Velcroed. He knelt down and snapped it shut before tapping her toes lightly. “All better,” he smiled at her. Then, he took hold of her tiny hand and they continued walking down the path towards the playground.
Once they reached the toddler playground, Michael gave his precious daughter his usual safety warning (“Don’t run; Be careful around the other kids; Play nice and have fun”) before releasing her hand and letting her scamper off towards her favorite playground item – the balance beam. She spent so much time on it that Michael was convinced one day she’d be asking for gymnastics lessons.
Michael sat down on a bench nearby Emily and pulled out the Sports Illustrated magazine from his pocket and began to leaf through the pages. He enjoyed that magazine. Especially since it served as a reminder of his younger days, back when he used to play all the sports instead of reading about them. Every minute or so, he’d look up and check on Emily to make sure she was alright and within view of him.
After about ten minutes of half-reading, half-watching Emily, Michael tossed his magazine into the nearby trashcan, having read all that interested him. He was just about to walk over to Emily and ask if she wanted to swing when an out-of-breath woman jogged up beside him and leaned heavily on the back of the bench where he sat. “May I sit here?” she asked, breathless from exertion.
“Uh yeah… sure…,” Michael said slowly. Once she sat, he moved further towards the opposite end of the bench, giving her more room. Then, he turned to look at her. Tiny sweat beads that dotted her hairline were visible since her chocolate brown tresses were secured in a messy bun at the top of her head. Her complexion was pale, but not sickly so; it was a healthy soft pink shade and her forehead and cheeks were sprinkled with light brown freckles. She was wearing a navy blue jogging outfit with an i-Pod strapped to one of her arms.
“Stupid thing,” she muttered as she brought her left leg up, crossed it over her right and began tugging at her sneakers.
Michael tore his gaze from her and swallowed hard, attempting to rid his stomach of the butterflies that had formed there at the mere sight of this woman. He searched for Emily in the crowded park and found that she was actually jogging towards him. “Daddy, will you fix my tail?” she asked, referring to her ponytail.
“Sure Sweetie. Turn around,” Michael instructed. Emily stopped beside him and turned around. Michael tugged the bright pink ponytail holder from her existing, limp ponytail and held it between his teeth as he combed all her hair back into a proper ponytail position with his fingernails. Then, he quickly wrapped the holder around her light brown hair and sent her on her way.
“Boy, you did that like a pro; I’m impressed,” the woman sitting beside him said once Emily jogged away.
Michael turned to her and laughed slightly. “Thanks. I’ve had over three years of practice. You shoulda seen my first try though – it was ugly.”
She laughed softly at his comment. Then, she glanced briefly at the playground before looking back to him. “Your daughter’s beautiful; she looks just like you.”
Michael nodded with a smile, gazing back towards Emily. Though her hair was a darker shade and she didn’t have his chin dimple, Emily’s appearance was notably similar to her father, right down to their matching green eyes. “Yeah, she does,” he said with a slight sigh.
“I’m Sydney, by the way. Sydney Bristow.”
“Michael Vaughn,” he said, shaking her extended hand. As he did this, she flashed him a smile and, when Michael caught sight of the cavernous dimples that filled her cheeks and sent out a warm glow, his heart nearly fluttered right out of his chest. He immediately took a deep breath, ridding himself of those feelings; he refused to let them overtake him.
“Do you come here a lot?” she asked. He nodded. “Me too. I love to watch the kids play,” she said with a sigh. He gave her a strange look, wondering what exactly she meant by that and she cringed immediately, smacking her forehead. “God! Sorry… that sounded so wrong. I’m not dangerous or anything, I swear. I just meant that watching them reminds me of how life was simple and fun once – there weren’t jobs or appointments or bills to pay.”
“Oh, yes. I see,” he laughed softly at the pink shade that was creeping into her face, finding it an adorable color for her. “I know what you mean though, and I agree. Watching Emily makes me realize that life shouldn’t be all about work.”
“Mmm,” she nodded with a sigh. “Is that why you two are at the park in the middle of the day on a Tuesday?” she asked with a knowing smile.
He nodded and shrugged slightly, guilty as charged. “I took the day off so we could hang out together.”
“Well, Emily is very lucky to have such a great daddy who would take a day off to have a special father-daughter day like that,” Sydney said with a smile.
“Thanks, but it’s not all that special. I mean, her mother isn’t around, so it’s just us,” he said, looking towards Emily. He managed to keep an even voice as he said those words. There had been one time in his life when he couldn’t mention Emily’s mother without feeling the urge to break something. That time, however, had long since gone.
Silence hung between them for a few moments before Michael turned to Sydney and asked, “So, what are you doing in the park in the middle of the day?”
“I’m a teacher; school’s out for the year. Yesterday was our last day,” she explained.
“Really? This early in May?” he asked, surprised. She nodded. “Boy, in my day we went well into June… what do you teach?”
“Sixth grade English,” she told him. “But I’m also a freelance photographer on the side.”
He nodded with a smile before they both looked out towards the playing children once more. Another minute of comfortable silence passed between them before Emily approached asking, “Daddy, can we swing?”
“Sure, Sweet Pea,” he said, standing up. Then, he turned around and saw Sydney standing as well. “I’m sorry, I-”
“’sokay. I need to shower anyway,” she smiled. Then, from her back pocket she pulled a business card and held it out to him. “My home number’s on the back if you ever wanna… you know, catch a movie or something. It was nice to meet you, Michael.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too, Sydney,” he said. He took the card from her and watched as she jogged off with a slight wave over her shoulder. Once she had disappeared out of view he turned his eyes down to examined the card. It was simple, only containing her name, the word photographer, and a cell phone number in blue lettering.
“DADDY!”
“Yes, I’m coming,” he told his daughter. Then, he tucked the card into his jeans pocket knowing that he’d never use the number it contained.
Genre: S/v AU
Summary: While at the park one day, Michael and his three year old daughter, Emily, run into Sydney Bristow. She's interested; he's unsure. Will she be able to heal the wounds Emily's mother inflicted on him?
28 Chapters plus a 6 Chapter Afterward (yea i know thats weird, but oh well
)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1 (below) Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16
Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24
Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28
Afterward Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 & 5 Part 6
Chapter 1
“Daddy,” three-year-old Emily Vaughn asked softly. She reached up and tugged on her father’s sleeve as she craned her head back very far to look up to her father’s green eyes.
“What is it, Sweet Pea?” Michael Vaughn asked her, looking down. Emily stamped her foot on the ground and he saw the problem she was alerting him to: her sneaker had come un-Velcroed. He knelt down and snapped it shut before tapping her toes lightly. “All better,” he smiled at her. Then, he took hold of her tiny hand and they continued walking down the path towards the playground.
Once they reached the toddler playground, Michael gave his precious daughter his usual safety warning (“Don’t run; Be careful around the other kids; Play nice and have fun”) before releasing her hand and letting her scamper off towards her favorite playground item – the balance beam. She spent so much time on it that Michael was convinced one day she’d be asking for gymnastics lessons.
Michael sat down on a bench nearby Emily and pulled out the Sports Illustrated magazine from his pocket and began to leaf through the pages. He enjoyed that magazine. Especially since it served as a reminder of his younger days, back when he used to play all the sports instead of reading about them. Every minute or so, he’d look up and check on Emily to make sure she was alright and within view of him.
After about ten minutes of half-reading, half-watching Emily, Michael tossed his magazine into the nearby trashcan, having read all that interested him. He was just about to walk over to Emily and ask if she wanted to swing when an out-of-breath woman jogged up beside him and leaned heavily on the back of the bench where he sat. “May I sit here?” she asked, breathless from exertion.
“Uh yeah… sure…,” Michael said slowly. Once she sat, he moved further towards the opposite end of the bench, giving her more room. Then, he turned to look at her. Tiny sweat beads that dotted her hairline were visible since her chocolate brown tresses were secured in a messy bun at the top of her head. Her complexion was pale, but not sickly so; it was a healthy soft pink shade and her forehead and cheeks were sprinkled with light brown freckles. She was wearing a navy blue jogging outfit with an i-Pod strapped to one of her arms.
“Stupid thing,” she muttered as she brought her left leg up, crossed it over her right and began tugging at her sneakers.
Michael tore his gaze from her and swallowed hard, attempting to rid his stomach of the butterflies that had formed there at the mere sight of this woman. He searched for Emily in the crowded park and found that she was actually jogging towards him. “Daddy, will you fix my tail?” she asked, referring to her ponytail.
“Sure Sweetie. Turn around,” Michael instructed. Emily stopped beside him and turned around. Michael tugged the bright pink ponytail holder from her existing, limp ponytail and held it between his teeth as he combed all her hair back into a proper ponytail position with his fingernails. Then, he quickly wrapped the holder around her light brown hair and sent her on her way.
“Boy, you did that like a pro; I’m impressed,” the woman sitting beside him said once Emily jogged away.
Michael turned to her and laughed slightly. “Thanks. I’ve had over three years of practice. You shoulda seen my first try though – it was ugly.”
She laughed softly at his comment. Then, she glanced briefly at the playground before looking back to him. “Your daughter’s beautiful; she looks just like you.”
Michael nodded with a smile, gazing back towards Emily. Though her hair was a darker shade and she didn’t have his chin dimple, Emily’s appearance was notably similar to her father, right down to their matching green eyes. “Yeah, she does,” he said with a slight sigh.
“I’m Sydney, by the way. Sydney Bristow.”
“Michael Vaughn,” he said, shaking her extended hand. As he did this, she flashed him a smile and, when Michael caught sight of the cavernous dimples that filled her cheeks and sent out a warm glow, his heart nearly fluttered right out of his chest. He immediately took a deep breath, ridding himself of those feelings; he refused to let them overtake him.
“Do you come here a lot?” she asked. He nodded. “Me too. I love to watch the kids play,” she said with a sigh. He gave her a strange look, wondering what exactly she meant by that and she cringed immediately, smacking her forehead. “God! Sorry… that sounded so wrong. I’m not dangerous or anything, I swear. I just meant that watching them reminds me of how life was simple and fun once – there weren’t jobs or appointments or bills to pay.”
“Oh, yes. I see,” he laughed softly at the pink shade that was creeping into her face, finding it an adorable color for her. “I know what you mean though, and I agree. Watching Emily makes me realize that life shouldn’t be all about work.”
“Mmm,” she nodded with a sigh. “Is that why you two are at the park in the middle of the day on a Tuesday?” she asked with a knowing smile.
He nodded and shrugged slightly, guilty as charged. “I took the day off so we could hang out together.”
“Well, Emily is very lucky to have such a great daddy who would take a day off to have a special father-daughter day like that,” Sydney said with a smile.
“Thanks, but it’s not all that special. I mean, her mother isn’t around, so it’s just us,” he said, looking towards Emily. He managed to keep an even voice as he said those words. There had been one time in his life when he couldn’t mention Emily’s mother without feeling the urge to break something. That time, however, had long since gone.
Silence hung between them for a few moments before Michael turned to Sydney and asked, “So, what are you doing in the park in the middle of the day?”
“I’m a teacher; school’s out for the year. Yesterday was our last day,” she explained.
“Really? This early in May?” he asked, surprised. She nodded. “Boy, in my day we went well into June… what do you teach?”
“Sixth grade English,” she told him. “But I’m also a freelance photographer on the side.”
He nodded with a smile before they both looked out towards the playing children once more. Another minute of comfortable silence passed between them before Emily approached asking, “Daddy, can we swing?”
“Sure, Sweet Pea,” he said, standing up. Then, he turned around and saw Sydney standing as well. “I’m sorry, I-”
“’sokay. I need to shower anyway,” she smiled. Then, from her back pocket she pulled a business card and held it out to him. “My home number’s on the back if you ever wanna… you know, catch a movie or something. It was nice to meet you, Michael.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too, Sydney,” he said. He took the card from her and watched as she jogged off with a slight wave over her shoulder. Once she had disappeared out of view he turned his eyes down to examined the card. It was simple, only containing her name, the word photographer, and a cell phone number in blue lettering.
“DADDY!”
“Yes, I’m coming,” he told his daughter. Then, he tucked the card into his jeans pocket knowing that he’d never use the number it contained.
