All the Time in the World (Janet's Version)

starts at the end of No Hard Feelings as is obvious


“Syd?” Vaughn questioned. It had been a solid three minutes since she had snapped her phone shut. In that time, she had stood with her back to him, unmoving. He tried to catch a glimpse of her facial expression, but was unable to because of the angle at which he was positioned. Briefly, he glanced back down to Isabelle, who was still sleeping peacefully beside him, her tiny fist clamped around his finger. At the sight of her perfectly angelic smiling face, a smile blossomed across his. He knew as long as he lived he’d never get tired of watching her sleep; he could have done it all day long if possible.

When he looked back up to Sydney, she had turned to face him. Her face was expressionless which caused him to question, “What’s the matter? Who was on the phone?”

Before answering, she plastered a smile across her face. “Oh, just my dad,” she sighed as she put the phone back where she had found it. “No big deal; it can wait for tomorrow.”

From her body language and tone of voice, Vaughn knew immediately she was lying. There was no sense calling her out on it, though. That would most likely only lead to an argument, which was something he didn’t want; not on his first night with Isabelle anyway. “Okay,” he sighed with a slight smile. Sydney leaned across the bed and kissed him gently. Then as she pulled back, she looked down at Isabelle and stroked her head.

“Should I put her in her crib?” Vaughn asked softly. Sydney nodded wordlessly. Just as he began to move, she opened her mouth, but Vaughn cut her off before she could speak, “I know; I’ll be careful,” he told her with a knowing smile. He had already been warned by her eighty times (well, not literally, but it had been frequent) to be gentle with Isabelle. He wasn’t offended by this; in fact, it made him smile, loving how protective she was over their precious angel.

Vaughn moved his right hand under Isabelle’s head as he lifted the rest of her body with his left hand and arm. Ever so slowly, being supremely careful not to wake her, he pulled Isabelle tightly to his chest and walked with her out of their bedroom. It had only been four hours since he met her face-to-face for the first time, but, to him, it felt like he had always known her.

In the lonely ten months he spent in Nepal on the path to recovery, Vaughn had pictured Sydney’s face and the face of his unborn child (at the point he disappeared the gender of their baby was still unknown so it was a surprise to him until the monk told him). Their faces got him through the worst part of his recovery; they gave him strength. After receiving word that he had a healthy baby girl, Vaughn pictured her face, wondering what she looked like. Did she have his green eyes? Would she have Sydney’s dimpled grin? Musing all these things made it feel like he had always been a part of her life, even if he hadn’t been there physically.

Once in Isabelle’s pale colored room, Vaughn paused. He loved that room, yet, at the same time, it made him sad. He was sad that he missed painting the walls with Sydney and laughing as he’d ‘accidentally’ drip a spot of paint on her hand. He missed picking out the crib and then struggling to put it together as Sydney, who hated relinquishing control, shouted instructions to him in an annoyed tone while stroking her expanded belly. He’d missed everything but, hopefully, he’d get the chance to experience it with another child of theirs, in a few years, of course.

Vaughn walked to the edge of Isabelle’s crib and ever so slowly lowered her down onto the mattress below. Once she was down, he let his hands linger beneath her for a few minutes before slowly sliding them away. Thankfully, she didn’t wake. He stood there a moment, taking all of her in and revising the past four hours with her in his mind.

The moment he and Sydney left that Italian prison, he had tunnel vision. In his mind, there was only one thing that was going to happen next: meeting Isabelle. He was already months too late and refused to wait another second. Thankfully, Sydney shared his sentiments and they immediately boarded a plane for home.

When he walked into Sydney’s house, Vaughn was trembling with nerves and anxiousness. He wasn’t sure what he was nervous about. After all, Isabelle, the two month old infant, wouldn’t be able to have much of an impression of him from their first meeting. Still, his hands were trembling as Sydney led him back through the house with a grin.

He forced himself to ignore the comical sight of CIA issue babysitters as he caught sight of the back of a baby carrier. He froze, staring, as Sydney walked around the counter top, grin plastered across her face, cooing to her infant daughter. She lifted her up and, the moment Vaughn laid eyes on her, his heart melted into a giant puddle. He knew that, for the rest of his life, his first born precious little girl would have him wrapped around her tiny little fingers.

Holding her in his arms for that first time was like some wonderful dream. Those months spent in Nepal his biggest fear was that he’d never be able to see Sydney again or their baby. He cradled Isabelle close to him, inhaling the perfect baby scent from her hair, and pulled Sydney into a hug with his free arm. The three of them held each other that way for a solid five minutes; it was perfect.

After their first greeting, Vaughn refused to put Isabelle down until Sydney forced him to so that she could change Isabelle’s diaper. Vaughn paid close attention, knowing that he’d be changing diapers on his own within a matter of days. Shortly after that, the three of them settled down into their big family bed for one of the most perfect moments of Vaughn’s life.


After staring at Isabelle for almost ten minutes, Vaughn tore himself away and returned to the other love of his life. She was sitting on the bed, one leg tucked underneath her, staring down at her lap, but, when he entered, she looked up at him with a smile. “She still sleeping?”

“Like a baby,” he returned with a grin. A breathy laugh escaped her lips and, for a moment, neither of them moved from their positions. Sydney stood and approached him slowly, her eyes focused on the center of his t-shirt. She stopped directly in front of him, her toes bumping up against his, and raised her hands to his shoulders along with her eyes. She raised her body up so that their heads were even and then she kissed him. Within a moment, Vaughn’s hands were around her back, drawing her closer to him; closer than they had been in almost a year.

Their kiss was hungry and passionate and undoubtedly leading to something they’d both missed in their time apart. Sydney broke their kiss and rested her forehead gently against his as her eyes traveled down towards his t-shirt. She let her finger tips graze the soft fabric as she lowered her hands from his shoulders to his hips, where the hem of his t-shirt rested. Vaughn assisted her in removing his shirt and they locked eyes before Sydney allowed herself her first glimpse of Vaughn’s battered body. She didn’t gasp at what she saw; she had been prepared for it.

The first place her fingertips traveled to was the long horizontal scar caused by Anna Espinosa. It was still fresh and scabbed over since it was only two days old. Her fingertips traced the bumpy edge of the scar before traveling an inch northward to the nearest bullet hole.

Ten in all, the perfectly circular bullet hole scars were scattered across his chest. They’d always be there as a constant remind of just how lucky he was to be alive. Sydney’s fingertip circled that first scar for a few moments before she lowered her lips to it and pressed two gentle kisses on it. After the second kiss, she drew her head back slowly while moving her fingertips down to the next circular scar. She continued her pattern with that scar and then the eight others until she had covered every inch of his battered chest.

She raised her head back to his and kissed him once more. Their second, longer kiss only broke so that the fabric from Sydney’s two tank tops could pass between them. “Oh, now this is sexy,” Vaughn said in a deep tone while running his fingers along the straps of Sydney’s nursing bra.

“Shutup Vaughn,” Sydney retorted playfully with a slight laugh before throwing her arms around him once more.

~*~

Almost an hour later, Sydney and Vaughn were still laying in silence, their heads sharing one pillow as they exchanged loving glances. Vaughn’s hand rested gently on Sydney’s back and, every so often, he would run it up her spine, across to her shoulder and then back again.

“Michael,” Sydney said, finally breaking their silence.

His brow furrowed as he tucked his hand under his head. “Michael?! How come you didn’t call me Vaughn?!”

Sydney laughed softly, recalling how that comment mirrored one that was made lifetimes earlier. “Because,” she responded. “Michael.”

“What?” he asked softly.

“When can we get married?” she asked.

“That depends… who was on the phone earlier?”

She was silent for a few moments before lowering her eyes and responding quietly, “Sloane…”

Vaughn shifted his position in bed so that he was hugging Sydney tightly. Sydney responded by tucking her head in the crook of his neck and hugging him back. “You and I,” Vaughn began. Just by the tone of his voice Sydney knew he had a huge grin, even though she couldn’t see his face. “are going to have the most beautiful and most perfect wedding. It’s going to be on the beach with everyone we love and Isabelle in the most adorable dress their ever was in the whole world.”

Sydney shut her eyes and pictured such a scene in her mind. The way things were at that moment, it was difficult to picture it and feel as though it could come true some day. “But you didn’t say when,” she told him softly.

Vaughn placed a soft kiss on her forehead before saying, “It doesn’t matter when we do it, Syd. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

yup well im the first to reply and i must say that was pretty much perfect and im liking it so so much thanks

i agree!that was perfect!i think u should do a cute little missing scene from the series finale too...

yeahh i totally agree!

DO A MISSING SCENE!

nina.