Title: Wishes and Dreams
Genre/Ship: Romance (S/V)
Rating: PG/TTimeline: Post-3x10-Remnants, before we knew Lauren was evil.
Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, yeah…I don't own anything but mortgages. Included in this disclaimer, along with Alias and all of its characters, is the Lifetime movie, "Comfort and Joy". It's not mine either.
Summary: An Alias Christmas fic written in 2003 based on the premise of the movie "Comfort and Joy" but starring Sydney and Vaughn.
Awarded First Place in the December 2003 SD-1 Fanfiction Challenge!
The Dec. 2003 Challenge guidelines were: Jack Bristow in a Santa suit singing a Christmas carol, a snowball fight, a snow globe that has sentimental value, a scene at an airport, use of the word "gingerbread", and a poinsettia plant.
A/N: As cheesy as it was, "Comfort and Joy," starring Nancy McKeon and Steven Eckholdt, when I saw it four years ago, quickly became one of my new favorite Christmas movies. I had the thought to write this story using Sydney and Vaughn, and when I checked the challenge guidelines, I decided to give it a try and ended up being very proud of this story.
So, in honor of the Christmas season, I thought I'd repost it again, now four years later. Hope it's still as well-liked, even though it's being well-recycled.
Enjoy!
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Chapter 1:
It was the phone call that would change my life. Not that I minded it—any change, good or bad, was definitely a good thing. I mean, how many women had to live every day, working with the man that they loved—and never broke up with, by the way—and his wife? Not many that I've come across anyway. Just me.
"Syd…I need to talk to you. Can you meet me somewhere?" That was how it started—with a simple phone call from Vaughn right before Christmas.
I had sighed then; the prospect of standing in the same room with him again, unable to touch him, completely unappealing to me. I get enough of that at work. And being the holidays, I just wanted to sit alone in my misery. "Vaughn, it's Christmas Eve. Can't you just tell me over the phone?" I had asked.
"No, it's…kind of important. I'd rather say it in person."
It must be bad news. Or rather, more bad news. Like I need that. Merry Christmas to me. I sighed again, knowing it would probably be better to just get it over with. "Alright. Where?"
Although relieved, his voice sounded hesitant as he asked, "Is the pier okay?"
"Why there?" I breathed. That place had way too much emotional history for us, and I didn't really want those great memories tainted with bad news. And if I could hazard a guess, I'd say he was going to tell me he was being transferred across the country, so that he and Lauren could have a healthy marriage without me causing them any more conflict between them.
He didn't have to argue his point. In fact, all he had to say was, "Syd," and I gave in.
If he wanted to end our relationship—whatever that was—at the same place where it began, then so be it. "Okay," I agreed. "I'll be there in an hour."
I took my time getting ready, and then drove toward the pier, wondering if I could've done anything differently to keep Vaughn from wanting to leave, if that was in fact what he wanted to tell me. But what could I have done? I was really the victim in all of this, so why was I the one feeling guilty for making him want to get as far away from me as possible? And why wouldn't he want to work on his marriage? Vaughn was nothing if not moral to the core. In fact, that was one of the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place.
Glancing at my watch and noticing that I was going to be at least fifteen minutes late, I realized I didn't really care. All that I'd cared about had become dust in the wind, and lost to me forever. The only thing I had left was my ability to do my job, so from this moment on I knew that that would have to be what I'd have to live for. Besides, the New Year was just around the corner, and it would be a perfect time to make a new start.
Despite my sad optimism for the next year, I still wished I could go back to that fateful night and change history by asking him to come inside with me. Or maybe I could've checked my messages while still in his car before I went inside and faced Allison Doren alone. I know things would've ended up differently then. It would've been two against one then, and maybe between us we would've killed her, instead of letting her get away the first time. And then we could've gone to Santa Barbara as planned and been happy…and together. If only…
I hear a squeal of tires in front of me, and I snap out of my daydreams to see a car coming straight toward me, causing me to swerve and drive off the road. Knowing that a wooden fence would be easier to hit than a telephone pole, I steered toward that, while slamming on my brakes. I stopped, but I did hit the fence, and I'm pretty sure my head hit the steering wheel too, because everything went black.
I saw a light first, and felt my head aching with pain. Then the words of a familiar voice, "Syd. Syd, can you hear me?" Along with the feeling of a hand lightly touching my face, the voice got louder: "Sydney. Sydney, come on, baby, wake up." Baby? I tried to pry my eyes open to see if it was in fact Vaughn like I had thought at first, but they wouldn't cooperate. "Sydney, are you okay? If you can hear me, open your eyes."
I tried again, and this time my eyes managed to flutter open slightly. Looking over at the voice beside my car and seeing VaughnI realized that he was the only one I ever wanted to see at that moment His face was lined with worry as he said, "Thank God you're okay. I was scared half to death when you didn't show up on time."
With every blink, I noticed my vision was getting clearer, and so was my mind when I recognized the gold wedding ring on his finger as he reached to touch my face again. Lifting a hand to the spot that hurt the most, I noticed that a bump had formed on my forehead. Despite the fog clouding my mind, I was a little surprised that he was the one to reach me first instead of a stranger, or the paramedics, which brought up a good question, "Vaughn…how did you know where to find me?"
He chuckled lightly, continuing to check me for injuries. "I knew where to look for you."
His smile didn't disappear as he unbuckled my seat belt for me, so I ask, "What's so funny?"
"I guess you bumped your head hard. You called me 'Vaughn' and you haven't called me that in years."
"What are you talking about? That's all I've ever called you."
He lifts my legs and turns me until my feet are hanging out of the car. "Nope," he argues. "You haven't used that name for me since…oh, I guess before we got married," he says casually. "Think you can stand up?"
Ignoring his question, I stand to my feet in front of him in confusion. "Before you married Lauren?"
"No," he laughed. "I was talking about us."
"Us? What do you mean us?" He stared at me perplexedly, as if he didn't know how to answer. I tried again, "You think we're married? You and me?"
He nods. "No, I know we're married," he reiterates. "You are my wife." Grabbing my arms as I slump my back against the car, he asks, "Are you feeling alright?"
I shake my head again, and then squeeze my eyes shut. "This can't be happening," I whisper, trying hard to get out of this dream and back to reality before I lose my mind.
Vaughn looks as confused as I feel, and he asks, "Syd, tell me…what's the last thing you remember?"
I tried to organize my thoughts, and focus on that. Gesturing with my hands, I tell him, "I was on my way to meet you at the pier when I crashed."
"That's right," he nods. "We were going to meet there to drive up the coast and look at the Christmas lights with the kids."
My head snaps up to meet his eyes. "Kids? Whose kids?"
His look was incredulous. "Our kids. Sydney, what's wrong with you?"
"Vaughn, please just…tell me what's going on…" I plead with him. "The last thing I remember is going to meet you—just you—at the pier to talk, but you were still very married to Lauren."
Vaughn slowly started to grin as I spoke, and he brought his hands up to cradle my face. "Syd, that happened ten years ago. This is our life now. You and me and our girls."
Girls. We have girls. Vaughn is actually the father of my children. I feel my face lighten with the thought and a smile gradually forms. "We have two girls?" I'm definitely beginning to like the sound of this hopeful, impossible dream.
"Three, Syd." His face scrunched in empathy. "You really don't remember them?"
With tears in my eyes, I shake my head in the negative. "I wish I did."
"Okay," he nods, and then takes my hand in his. "Well, you remember me anyway, so that's a start. And the girls are in the van," he gestured to his minivan parked behind my car. "Let's go say hello. They were really worried about you."
As he tries to lead me toward the van, I pull away and protest, "Oh, Vaughn, I don't know. I don't want to scare them. I don't remember—"
"Come on," he smiles hopefully. "Maybe seeing them will jog your memory."
Tugging at my arm again, he guides me toward the van, and it's then that I notice that my car is different from the one I originally crashed. But as we get closer to where our children are, my mind is occupied, wondering what they look like, how old they are, and most importantly, if they'll accept me.
Vaughn opens the back sliding door and three pairs of brown eyes look back at me. "Mommy?" the middle child says, and instantly tears form in my eyes again. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, sweetie, I'm okay," I answer automatically and I'm surprised at myself.
"Mom, that's a big bump on your head," the oldest one comments, and I nod.
"It doesn't hurt anymore," I fib. Swallowing hard, I turn back to Vaughn, and ask, "Can I talk to you for just a second?" He closes the door again and looks at me. Talking over the sob that's formed, I turn away from the girls' window and tell him, "I feel horrible. I don't remember them, Vaughn. I don't even know their names—"
"It's easy to remember," he assures me, holding my arms. The love I see in his eyes is evident, and I suddenly realize how much I've missed feeling him hold me. "We named the first one after Francie—she's seven. The second one is Emily. She's named after Emily Sloane and my mother, Amélie. She's five. And Baby Jane is fourteen-months-old. She's named basically after your dad, and because 'Jane' means 'God's gracious gift.' The doctor told us you probably wouldn't be able to have any more children after Emily, so Jane was a great surprise."
My heart started pounding as he spoke, and I began to hope this was real. It was, after all, not the first time I'd woken up missing time in my memory. And to think that I'd skipped right over all of the angst and heartache I'm sure we endured before we got to this happy place in our lives was just like the icing on the cake. Glancing through the window at our children, I realize I'm very willing to accept this reality, despite how bizarre it seems. Looking back into Vaughn's eyes, I ask, "So this is really my life now? With you?"
He nods, and pulls me into his arms. "Yeah, it is," he answers quietly, and as my hands snake around his neck, I catch a glimpse of the rings on my own hand.
I stop to admire them, searching my brain for any possible memory connected with them, but I come up empty. It doesn't really seem to matter at that moment though, because my husband is looking at me with those smoldering eyes like he wants to kiss me. And I'm definitely more than willing to oblige.
We spent the next few minutes tasting each other like the old days that I'd remembered before my first memory loss. It's refreshing slipping right back into the role I always wanted as Vaughn's one and only love in his life and at this moment, I don't want this to end. The last time we'd kissed had been a mistake on my part, when I thought I was in a dream, and it didn't even compare to this wonderful, blissfully mutual kiss. As our lips part, I whisper, "I've missed you…so much…" which is only a fraction of what I feel for him at this moment, and frankly, since the day I reappeared in Hong Kong.
Vaughn pulls back and smiles at me; his hand under my hair with his thumb stroking my cheek. I was just thinking that this fantastic dream couldn't possibly get any better, when he proves me wrong by saying the three most magnificent words I've ever heard from his lips:
"Let's go home."
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A/N: I'll try to post at least two chapters a day (there are 8) to be done by Christmas Day. Merry Christmas, everyone!