Everyday Peril

Chapter 1: One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest


"…Yes… I know… Love you, too… Bye."

Sydney Vaughn sighed as she hung up the phone, resisting the urge to slam it back against the receiver. Instead, she rested her head against the wall and took a deep breath: in and out, count to ten. She didn't know what her problem was. She had been a spy, tortured and tested in every way imaginable; she now spent her days teaching, sometimes as many as thirty students at a time under her direction. But she wasn't at the school today. She was home, where the heart is, or at least that's what they said. Maybe her heart was there, but it felt as if someone had ripped it out, shredding it, and flinging it against the wall. She had been a kick-ass super spy and she couldn't handle a day at home? Impossible…

But it seemed to be the truth. Maybe it was lack of sleep, she thought, as she turned on the CD player, not knowing or caring what CD was inside, and flopping down on the couch. She could always attribute it to tiredness. She had been awake since almost 5:30 yesterday morning. And it was now… 2:23 in the afternoon.

Yes, time was flying. 2:23. Soon it would be 2:24, then 2:25, and before she knew it, Michael would be home. She had just gotten off the phone with him, and he had promised to try to come home early. Sydney had tried to sound energetic and happy, but he knew her better than that, probably better, even, than herself. He saw right through her deception. Despite her assurances that she could handle this for five more days, no problem, he told her that he would leave the office as soon as he possibly could, and the second he came through the door, she was going straight to bed.

Sydney couldn't wait. She let the music quietly wash over her, calming her with its eerie harmonies and sad lyrics. Four-year-old Hailey had woken up just after 10:30 last night, right as Sydney and Michael had been heading off to bed. Sydney heard the little girl's tears first, and, thinking that she had had a nightmare, was at the her side almost before Michael realized what was going on. He appeared in the doorway just in time to see Hailey's dinner resurface, all over Sydney's clothes.

Sydney had gathered the her daughter into her arms and plunked her down in the tub, whispering soft reassurances in her ear as she left Michael to clean what little vomit had not found its way onto her shirt. Hailey had thrown up twice more before her bath was even over. The first time, Sydney had been able to help her to the toilet in time, but the second, she had just left the room to change her shirt and discuss with Michael who would take the next day off from work, and needless to say, the bathtub had to be cleaned out, and Hailey given another bath.

"I'll take care of it, Syd," Michael had said as they both peered in at the mess.

"No, I've got it," she had answered, foolishly, she now realized. "You have to get up for work tomorrow."

Michael had nodded, wrapping an arm around her and planting a kiss on her forehead. "You sure?"

"Uh huh," Sydney responded with Hailey already in her arms, soaking her clean shirt. "Come on, angel," she whispered to the little girl, carrying her out of the room. "Goodnight, Mike."

"Night," he called after her.

Sydney brought her daughter to the other bathroom, cleaning her quickly this time, before she could dirty herself or the water again. She had her dried, dressed, and tucked into bed within fifteen minutes, and decided she should clean out the other tub.

A quick glance in the bathtub, however, revealed that it had already been cleaned, and Sydney went to thank her husband on her way back to Hailey's room, but Michael was already sprawled out on the bed in his boxers, fast asleep.

"Mommy, my tummy feels yucky," Hailey whimpered when Sydney returned to her room.

"I know, sweetie," Sydney answered. She thought for a moment and glanced down at her daughter. "You know what? Why don't we take some books and go sit in the bathroom for a little while."

They had sat on the bathroom floor for hours, reading book after book: The Cat in the Hat, Are You My Mother?, Stone Soup, Mother Goose, The Ugly Duckling….It wasn't until nearly four o'clock in the morning when Hailey's stomach settled enough to allow her to sleep, right in the middle of Go, Dog, Go!. By that time, Sydney was exhausted beyond sleep, and lay with her eyes open and her daughter in her arms, listening as Michael got ready for work, and smiling weakly when he came to check on her and kissed her tenderly on the forehead.


Hailey had finally calmed down and seemed to be feeling better, albeit very grumpy from lack of sleep. It looked like now Sydney was finally going to get some rest, maybe a little nap. Even fifteen minutes would be heaven. She sat up and strained to hear any sounds from the other room. All was quiet, except for the noise from the movie she had popped into the VCR a little while ago, and the soft strains of the music she had just turned on, barely loud enough to be heard.

Sydney lay back and snuggled into the comfortable couch, closing her eyes. The prince and the princess had just begun their famous duet: "I know you. I've walked with you once upon a…"

"Mommy!" The high-pitched little voice pierced her eardrums, but Sydney gathered her wits and calmly walked towards the family room. She was met halfway by Hailey and William, the older sister holding her 18-month-old brother firmly by the arm.

"Hailey!" Sydney exclaimed, managing to keep her voice cheerful for the children and kneeling down to be at their eyelevel. "What's the matter?"

"He was staring at me!" Hailey whined, tugging her brother's arm. "I was trying to watch the movie and I couldn't because he was staring at me!"

Sydney picked up her little boy, his dark, serious eyes gazing into her own. Although she knew that he could talk, Sydney rarely heard her son's little voice. He was an almost eerily quiet and good-natured child, whose deep eyes spoke volumes, as if to make up for his lack of spoken words.

"Just like that, see!" Hailey cried, raising her arms in exasperation. Although usually as good-natured as her brother, Hailey was a talkative little girl, who neither understood nor appreciated her brother's constant gaze.

Sydney turned from her daughter to her son, William's gaze seeming to change to one of irritation and tired disbelief, as if to ask, what's with her?

"I know," Sydney murmured, ruffling his sandy hair. "Hailey, why don't you go in the other room and finish watching your…" But when Sydney turned her head, Hailey was already gone. "Come on, buddy," she sighed, kissing William on the cheek. Well, if she had to take one of her children into the other room with her, William would be the one to take. Quiet and charming, a miniature of Michael right down to the tiny cleft in his chin, but with her deep brown eyes, he was a little angel, happy to sit wherever his mother or father placed him and amuse himself for hours.

They certainly had made perfect children, Sydney mused as she placed William on the floor beside a half-built tower of blocks. Just as everyone had said they would. She loved them to pieces and would do anything for them, but sometimes she just needed a break. Yesterday, they had seemed like such little angels, and she knew they still were, but after being up for almost 36 straight hours and cleaning up vomit for a good part of the night….

She lay back down on the couch and put an arm over her eyes. She could feel the familiar pounding beginning again, as it had so many times before. Please, please, please. Not a sick four-year-old and a headache. Please…

"Mommy!"

Sydney's eyes snapped open and she jumped up, shaken from her peace, the little girl's shriek carrying over her calming, quiet music, increasing the pounding in her head. Maybe if she waited, Hailey would come to her again. Maybe the little girl would forget what she wanted. Maybe she wouldn't have to get up…

"He keeps getting in the way!"

Or maybe not.

Sydney turned to the floor where she had left William, but he was still there, calmly stacking blocks, unshaken by his sister's shouts. She and Michael had often been worried about their little one's lack of speech and concern for the world around him, but the doctor had assured them that he was just fine, and told them to be thankful that they had at least one quiet little boy.

William looked up from his tower long enough to meet his mother's gaze, but his eyes told her that he had just gotten away from his overly tired and crabby sister, and Sydney was on her own.

"In a second, sweetie." Advil first. Or better yet, her medication. Screw over the counter painkillers. Her prescription pills would knock out the pain before it got any worse, before it took over her whole body, overwhelming her in a worse way than her kids were that day.

"No, now!" Hailey drew out the last word, whining to perfection. The flu and less than fours hours of sleep transforming Sydney's sweet little angel into a cranky little girl. "I'm missing the movie!"

Sydney walked into the family room just in time to hear Maleficent cackle evilly, right before she unveiled the Sleeping Beauty. But she couldn't see the villain. Jonathan had pressed himself to the screen, nose to nose with the evil witch.

"Let's go, sir," Sydney said, picking up the little boy. "Your sister's trying to watch…"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Jonathan shrieked, kicking and fighting to break free of his mother's grasp.

Sydney stood still, knowing that his tantrum would run its course in a few moments. Little Jonny could be a real handful.

"Mommy! I can't see!" Hailey called over her brother's yells.

Sydney quickly stepped to the side, allowing her daughter to clearly view the TV, and grateful that she quieted as soon as she could see. Noticing that his mother was no longer paying attention to him, Jonny quieted. "No?" he tried one last time, his dark eyes questioning.

"Come on," Sydney sighed, carrying him from the room. When she walked into the other room, she found William standing in the middle of it, having abandoned his blocks when he discovered himself alone.

Sydney placed Jonny down next to his brother, his little double. Their eyes, their little faces, their sweet dimples, everything exactly the same. The younger of the two by only a few minutes, and by far the shyest of her three children, William immediately took his brother's hand, seeming to relax and become more comfortable now that he was back with his twin.

"Mommy, please come back to me."

This time, the words weren't whined or shrieked, but merely spoken. Her little girl had returned through the tired, cranky little monster that seemed to have replaced her that day. As impossible as it seemed, something had happened in the thirty seconds since she had left her daughter's side.

Sydney left the two boys in the living room, hands still clasped, picture perfect, if only there were film in the camera, or she knew where the camera was.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" She asked when she reached her daughter's side, pressing her lips to Hailey's forehead. "You feel warm again. I'll get you some medicine."

"The purple kind?" Hailey asked, eyes growing wide.

"Yep," Sydney nodded, knowing what would come next. They had been over this at least three times since last night.

Hailey screwed up her face and stuck out her tongue. "The purple kind tastes yucky."

"I know. But it makes you feel better, angel. I'll be right back, okay?" At least her daughter was now old enough not to spit the medicine back out at her. Although even if she did, Sydney didn't think it would be half that bad. Purple was a nice color; the liquid was grape-flavored, after all, and somewhat sweet smelling. She had had worse crap all over her, some of it within the last twenty-four hours.

Hailey nodded, pouting and turning her eyes back to the television. Sydney went in the other room and retrieved the Children's Tylenol and a glass of water.

"My tummy feels icky again," Hailey informed her solemnly, as Sydney walked back into the family room.

"I'll get you a bowl to use in case you feel sick," Sydney responded. "Here, Hailey, take this first." She put the spoon up to her daughter's mouth. Hailey turned away from the movie and eyed it warily. "I have water right here," Sydney assured her, motioning to the glass she held in the other hand. Hailey hastily swallowed the medicine and gulped down the water afterwards, almost drowning herself in the attempt to get both down as quickly as possible. "Good job," Sydney praised her messy but mostly successful effort, and brushed back her daughter's chestnut hair to kiss her temple. "I'll be right back with the…"

Before she could finish her sentence, she heard crying from the other room. Thinking her boys had found some way to hurt themselves and imagining all the possible and even impossible ways they could have managed it, Sydney ran into the other room.

Jonny, the more outgoing and stronger of the two, was in tears, shocking his mother and apparently his brother as well. The boys were in the middle of the room where she'd left them, hands still held tightly. William began to gently pat his brother's face with his free hand, which would have made a very sweet picture if Jonathan hadn't been crying.

"Jonny, what's wrong?" Sydney asked, reaching down to scoop her son up.

But before she had her arms around him, Jonny was sick. And not just on Sydney, because that would have been too easy to clean up, but all over the new living room carpet and of course, his brother as well. William didn't move, and Sydney had to physically remove his hand from Jonny's in order to pick the older twin up and soothe him.

"My poor little baby," she cooed, rocking him gently. I can handle this, I can handle this…

In seconds, William started to cry, probably, Sydney thought, because his brother's tears had yet to dry up. She gathered her other son into her arms, at the very moment that he became sick just as his brother had moments before. Whether from the flu, the unappealing sight and smell of vomit, or even just because he and Jonny always did everything together, Sydney didn't know.

The reason didn't matter either, Sydney thought as she surveyed the room. The mess was still there, all over the room, the twins, and herself. Hailey chose that moment to peek her little head into the doorway, her bottom lip trembling as she tiptoed into the room.

"Mommy, I missed. I'm sorry."

And Sydney had to close her eyes for a moment, needing to take a deep breath, but not wanting to fill her nostrils with the scent of the room. Somehow, she managed to tell her daughter that it was okay, to pat her on the head, and to lead her and the twins to the bathroom and clean all of them up.


Michael walked through the door at 7:29, just after Sydney had finally gotten the twins in bed. Hailey was in the living room, finishing up The Sword in the Stone, her fourth movie of the day. "I'm so sorry, Syd," he murmured, guilt and sorrow clearly evident in his eyes. "Something came up and I was only able to walk out the door…"

"Don't," Sydney snapped, pulling away from him as he moved to kiss her. "Don't kiss me. And don't kiss the kids either."

"Are they all…?" Michael began to ask, but was again interrupted.

"On second thought," Sydney continued, subconsciously switching to French, as they usually did when they did not want the kids to hear them. Hailey knew a few words of the language, but her mother and father spoke too fast for her to understand any of it, and as they were both fluent speakers, this way was easier than spelling individual words out. "Don't touch the kids, don't go near them, don't even look at them."

"Syd, it's only the flu. Kids get it all the time…" he replied in his native tongue, moving to caress her.

"Dammit, I told you not to kiss me!" Her eyes flash angrily, frustration and exhaustion overtaking her. "I haven't gotten a chance to shower yet, and I'm probably crawling in germs!"

"I wasn't…"

"Hailey was sick all night, and then Jonny this afternoon, so of course William had to follow suit, and then Hailey again… And it was everywhere, Michael, and I've only just finished cleaning all of it and the kids up again. This damn flu is driving me insa..."

"Sydney," Michael cut in, taking her face in his hands and switching back to English. "Honey, you're exhausted. Go to bed. I've got it from here, and I'll stay home with them tomorrow. I'll call Devlin right now."

Sydney tore his hands away from her face. "I'm too… I can't… I'm going for a run," she stated, storming out of the room.

"But Syd," Michael called after her, following her to their room, "it's going to… oww, dammit…" She had slammed the door in his face and he walked right into it. Giving up, Michael sighed and walked back into the kitchen, rubbing his stinging nose.

Moments later, he heard the front door slam, and considered going out after her, but then decided that she'd figure it out soon enough and be back, probably angrier than ever, but he knew how to handle her.

Sydney sat on the porch steps, lacing up her shoes. The sun had already started to set, and in her fury, she hadn't noticed that it was darker than normal outside. She finished tying her shoes and stood up, just as lightning lit up the sky and the rain began to pour down in sheets. "Shit!" she cried, as thunder crackled loudly, trying to split the sky open.

For a moment, she considered running in the rain anyway, not really caring if she got hit by lightning or not, but then she heard a voice behind her, and that voice and the words that were spoken melted her, finally managing to shake her from the frustration of the day.

"Mommy, what does "shit" mean?"