hey!

sorry it's taken me so long to post this, but i've been busy revising for exams:( anyways enjoy :)

Chapter 12

"How's it going in here?" Francie stood in the doorway, looking into Sydney's bedroom. Sydney glanced over at her and sighed.

"I'm a mess!" She walked over to her. "Francie look at me!" Francie did just that and smiled.

"Hun, there's nothing wrong with you." She gently assured her. "You're just a little nervous, that's all. Hell, I'd be nervous if Michael was coming over here for the night!"

"Ok, not helping here Fran." Sydney warned her. She wasn't in the mood for her jokes, especially since she was no where near ready for her 'date' with Michael.

Francie apologized and took a seat on the bed. "Ok, so what's the problem here?" Dropping down onto the bed next to her, Sydney covered her face with her hands.

"I don't know." She admitted truthfully. She couldn't quite out what was wrong, but she knew in the back of her mind that something was up.

Francie pulled her up, so she was now sitting. "Look, firstly take a deep breath." Sydney looked at her cautiously, but did as she said. "Now listen to me, this is just a casual thing. You've invited him over to watch a movie, eat some food, just to hang out. Just relax and everything will be fine. Ok?" Sydney nodded, as the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Will. You sure I'm ok to leave you now?" Sydney nodded again and hugged her friend.

Francie walked out of the room, but came back a few seconds later. "Call me later, I want details."

"Francie! I'm not gonna call you while he's here. And besides there may be no details!"

"Sure. Love you." She laughed to herself as she left with her boyfriend.

Sydney sat alone in her room, wondering what she should do next. Looking around the room, she laughed at the mess she had made trying to pick out an outfit.

"Ok, casual. I can do casual." She reassured herself, and looked down at her clothes, deciding to change her skirt for a pair of jeans.

"So tonight's the big date, hey?" Weiss teased Vaughn, who was looking for his car keys.

"Give it a rest Weiss." He finally found his keys on the kitchen table. Walking back into the living room, he stared at Weiss. "What are you doing here anyways? You knew I was going out tonight…did you come over just to give me hassle?"

Weiss blushed and turned away from the TV. "You're TV is better!"

Vaughn frowned at him. "You have the same TV."

"But you have better channels!" Weiss argued back.

Vaughn threw his arms in the air and sighed. "You have the same channels!" In all the time that he had known Weiss, he had still never figured out why Weiss did the things that he did.

"Whatever dude. You're gonna be late." Weiss nodded towards the clock and then focussed his attention back onto the TV."

Vaughn parked his car infront of her house. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he walked up to the door, a small box in his hands. He knocked confidently on the front door, although he was anything but confident on the inside. A couple of seconds later, Sydney came to the door looking as beautiful as ever.

"Hey." She greeted him with a smile.

"Hi."

She stepped aside and he walked into her house, kissing her lightly on the cheek as he walked by. Smiling to herself, she closed the door and turned to face him, noticing the object in his hands.

He followed her stare and remembered that he had something to give to her. "These are for you." He handed over the box and Sydney couldn't help the small laugh that escaped from her lips.

"You're a traitor to your profession, you know that?" She teased, admiring the box of Belgian chocolates.

Vaughn blushed slightly, a half smile on his lips. "You're worth it." He paused. "Just don't be telling your dentist. I don't want to be known as the dentist who gives out sugary treats." Sydney rolled her eyes and took his jacket before walking into the kitchen. He followed her and leaned back against the kitchen counter, admiring her as she put the chocolates into the fridge.

"You trying to tell me that I'm not the only one you give chocolates too?" She feigned hurt.

He laughed and looked down at the floor, trying to think of a witty come back. Failing to think of something witty, he opted for something sweet instead. "You're the only one." He smiled at her as she walked back towards the fridge.

"You want a beer?" He nodded and she took two bottles out, handing one of them to him. "So what do you feel like eating?"

Vaughn shrugged. "Whatever you want."

Sydney thought for a minute, and then walked over to one of the kitchen drawers, returning a couple of seconds later to the kitchen table, her hands full of pieces of paper. Vaughn observed her curiously, wondering what she was up to.

Dumping the papers on the table, she motioned for him to come and stand next to her. Obliging, he walked over and looked at the array of colours scattered across the wooden surface.

"I'm scared to ask, but what are these?"

"Take-out menus."

"Take-out menus?" She nodded. "But there's just so many of them…"

Sydney laughed. "Yeah, we think we may have one for every take-out joint in the city." She smiled proudly. It had taken her and Francie a long time to do, but they had built upon their collection in time.

Vaughn picked up random menus and began to browse through them. "Wait," He paused, looking at her. "I thought Francie was a…"

"Oh she is." She confirmed. She knew how crazy all of this was, but to her and Francie it made perfect sense. Will didn't seem to understand it either, although he did take advantage of all the menus whenever he was over at their apartment. "But you know, sometimes she's a little tired after work to cook something, or when she isn't in, me and Will order take-out. It's good to have a mixed selection."

Vaughn was truly amazed by her. "How do you even chose one? It must take hours to read through them all…"

"Michael, I have so much to teach you." She joked, shuffling the menus up. "It's simple, we do Pick It."

"I'm sorry, Pick It?"

Sydney couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked so cute when he was this confused. "It's ok, you're new to the game, but in future I won't be able to guide you through this. You're taught once, and then expected to know how to do it forever!"

"Yes Yoda!" He teased, loving the smile that appeared on her face.

She playfully slapped his arm before continuing. "Pick it, is just how it sounds…you close your eyes and pick a menu!"

He shook his head and laughed along with her. "Well I could have guessed that much! Why didn't you just say that in the first place…why make up the name?"

"Because," She started matter-of-factly, with a hint of laughter in her voice. "Without the name, we're just two people randomly picking menus, the name makes it more fun." She reassured him. "Close your eyes." He did as she requested and reached out, picking up a blue menu.

"Excellent choice Mr Vaughn."

They got their order together and Sydney called it through. After hanging up the phone, she walked into the living room and sat beside him on the couch.

"It'll be here in twenty minutes." She informed him with a smile. "You wanna wait until the pizza's here before we watch the movie?"

"Well that would depend. If it's a chick flick, I'd have to say that we hold off as long as possible until we watch it." He joked. "But any other film will be good after the pizza." She playfully rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink.

They continued to talk and joke while they waited for the pizza to arrive. Finally Vaughn asked the question that he had been wondering for a while.

"Where's Francie tonight?"

Sydney couldn't hide her smile. "Will has taken her out for the night."

Vaughn returned her smile. "So if I go to kiss you right now, she won't walk in again?" He joked, as he slowly moved closer to her.

"You'll just have to take your chances." She replied, her voice barely above a whisper as his lips met hers.

The kiss quickly deepened and they were soon back to where they were the night before. After a couple of minutes the doorbell rang and Sydney reluctantly pulled away.

"Pizza's here!" She got up of the couch and grabbed her purse, adjusting her top and hair as she went to answer the door. Vaughn watched her go, feeling extremely lucky that he had her in his life.

After paying the pizza guy, Sydney walked back into the living room and retook her seat on the couch, placing the pizza on the table infront of them.

"How about that movie?" Michael asked and she nodded. He picked up the selection of DVDS that she had layed out and laughed as he looked through them.

"You really went all out didn't you. I know I said no chick flicks, but The Fast and The Furious…really?" He held the film up infront of her and she laughed along.

"Hey don't mock it. Will told me it was a classic." She defended, remembering the conversation they had had about what film would be a suitable guys film.

"A classic?"

Sydney smiled smugly. "Well if you'd rather watch a real classic, I have Breakfast At Tiffany's around here somewhere." She suggested, noting the panicked look that came across his face.

"So The Fast and The Furious it is then." He walked towards the DVD player and put in the disc, acting like he hadn't heard her last comment.

She laughed and settled back on the couch, the pizza box open on her lap. As the movie started, he came and sat beside her, taking a slice of pizza and kissing her gently on the cheek.

After they had finished the pizza, Sydney leaned forward to put the now empty box on the floor, and as she went to sit back on the couch, Vaughn opened out his arm to her. She smiled as she moved towards him, her head resting lightly on his chest, while his arm was wrapped securely around her. He gently ran his fingers through her hair as they watched the movie, but Sydney wasn't even paying any attention to the screen. All she could concentrate on was the safe, comfortable feeling of being in his arms.

"Well that wasn't that bad." Vaughn commented as the credits began to roll. Sydney sighed contentedly and looked up at him.

"No, but it wasn't exactly Breakfast At Tiffany's."

He laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around her, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Ok, I promise you next time we can watch that, ok?" She nodded against his chest and smiled.

"I'll definitely hold you to that."

Sydney switched off the TV and turned in his arms to face him. She smiled, bringing her hand up to stroke his cheek. Cupping his face with her hands, she brought his face closer to hers and kissed him. Vaughn deepened the kiss, his arms holding her closer to him as she pulled his sweater over his head.

"You…wanna…go…" She asked between kisses, not even having to finish the sentence for him to agree. He nodded and kissed her again as they stood up and walked towards her bedroom.

Sydney woke up to find Michael asleep next to her, his arm draped across her stomach. She smiled, remembering all the details from the night before. Everything had gone perfectly, just the way that both of them had hoped.

She lay watching him sleep, the steady rise and fall of his chest telling her that he was in a deep sleep. She noticed the small smile on his lips, and wondering what she was dreaming about, unaware that she was the one person taking over his dreams.

Rolling over, she picked up her clock and sighed. She knew that she had to be getting up for work soon but she didn't want to leave the bed.

"Hey…" He spoke sleepily, causing her to jump as she thought he was fast asleep.

"Good morning." She placed a chaste kiss on his lips and smiled.

He pulled her into his arms and wrapped the duvet firmly around them both. After planting a series of kisses down her neck, he lay back down and sighed contentedly.

"I have to get up soon." Sydney informed him.

"We could both just call in sick…"

She laughed lightly. "What?"

It had started off as just a suggestion, but now he was serious. "Yeah, you could call the school and tell them about that terrible headache you have, and I could call my surgery and tell them about the mystery cold that had infected me."

She turned over to face him. "And what would I do instead of going to work?"

"Spend the day with me."

There was something about the way that he said it that made her unable to refuse. "Ok."

"Great." He kissed her. "Mind if I use the bathroom?"

She burst out laughing, covering her face with the pillow. "Michael, you do not have to ask to use the bathroom." She pulled tongues at him as he got out of the bed and put on his boxers.

Laughing along, he walked out of the room and left her alone in the bed, thinking of the excuse that she was going to give to work.

"Francie, do you really think this is a good idea?" Will asked, as they crept up to the front door.

"Yes. Sydney will be up, she's got to be in work soon. And besides, we're just gonna go in and get changed for work and leave. No interrupting them." She quietly opened the front door and found the apartment to be empty. "They must still be asleep. Come on." She whispered, walking further into her home.

Will walked straight into Francie's room to get a change of clothes, but Francie stopped in the hallway, noticing that Sydney's door was open and only Sydney was in the room.

He must have left already…

She walked into the room and jumped on Sydney's bed, immediately waking Sydney from the pleasant dream that she had been having.

"Francie?" Sydney grumbled, her eyes still shut.

"Yes, now wake up. I want details missy." She shook her lightly, and Sydney opened her eyes and looked at her.

"What time is it?"

"Nevermind the time. Details!"

"Francie!" Sydney moaned, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep.

"So, how was he?"

"He…" She paused for dramatic effect. "Is standing right behind you." She smiled sweetly at Francie.

Francie froze. She stared at Sydney, waiting to see some change in her facial expression to tell Francie that she was only joking. But nothing changed. Slowly, Francie turned her head and made eye contact with a boxer wearing Michael Vaughn.

She felt her face redden as she stood up. "Dr Vaughn." She greeted him, running out of Sydney's room and into her own. She immediately ran into Will's arms and buried her head in his chest.

"Will, promise me something."

"Sure."

"Never let me talk to people again. Ever."