Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part I
by Trish




The clicking of her heels on the hallway floor, alerted Sydney to her approach. She had probably received the same memo that he had, regarding the fact that he had been ordered off of the hunt for Jarod. The triumvirate, Mutumbo, to be more accurate, had a special project for him. A new pretender was being brought to the Centre, today. One with Jarod's potential the memo said, but he was unruly. According to his last teacher, stubborn as hell, impossible to control, lacked discipline, and a temper to boot. The triumvirate wanted Sydney to work with him and perhaps he could guide this new member of the Centre. A Christmas gift, Mutumbo claimed, since the holiday was only two weeks away and since Sydney was so loyal to the Centre, he wouldn't mind spending it with the new pretender.

"What the hell is this all about?" she flung the file on his desk.

"I've been removed."

"I can read that Syd, but where did this new pretender suddenly appear from?" she ran a hand through her dark hair.

"I only know what's in the file, Miss Parker. According to the notes, he's just as gifted as Jarod, so I was reviewing some of the older dsa's. When Jarod first arrived here."

"Why?"

Parker stepped behind the desk and stared at the black and white images on the screen. A young Jarod, no more than four years old. In fact, the dsa, that Sydney had cued up was when they first met. He looked so lost and afraid, that is until . . .

"Syd, Miss Parker, he's here," Broots cleared his throat then said, standing in the doorway, nervously looking behind him," He's down on SL-4. They thought that you would want to be there, Syd."

"Coming, Miss Parker?"

"Sure, Syd. I need to met the heir apparent to Jarod."

The three of them entered the elevator, Parker pushing the button to SL-4. The elevator descended at a snails pace, or at least it seemed that way to Parker. The doors opened to reveal, the others that awaited the arrival of the newest pretender. It had been seven years since, Jarod had escaped and three and a half since the clone had disappeared with the Major. She was tired of the chase but she had a job to do and had accepted it with a sense of resignation that she would never leave the Centre.

"Hello, sis," Lyle smiled.

"Lyle," she acknowledged her twin for the sake of the other members that were present, Raines, her father, and entering the hallway was the man himself, Mutumbo.

"Dr. Green, Miss Parker," he boomed, loudly," He's in the sim lab. His name is Ryan."

Mutumbo opened the door to the room, and allowed Sydney to enter the room first.

"Hello, Ryan. My name is Sydney and I'm going to take care of you while you're here."

Parker watched as a small child of three crawled out from under the table that housed the computer for the room. His dark hair, his dark eyes, a look of disdain on his face. Something about the child struck a chord with her, looking at him again, it hit her. Jarod. This was no ordinary child, snatched from his parents, the son of a bitches did it again. Another clone. Her heart sank. A feeling of despair filled her.

"Who are you?" she looked down and saw dark brown eyes stare up at her, intrigued.

"Why?" she replied rather curtly.

"'Cause I want to know?" he replied back.

"My, aren't we rude? Didn't anyone teach you to be polite to adults?"

"Nope."

"So ask nicely and I may tell you."

"Nope, won't ask, nicely. I'm hungry. Sydney!" he said rather matter of factly and climbed into the bubble that was suspended from the ceiling.

"It's not time for dinner, yet, Ryan. First there's a sim you need to perform for us," Sydney said patiently.

"HUNGRY! NOW!" he yelled.

"Listen young man," Parker was at the side of the bubble," He said that you needed to do something first."

"I won't, I won't, I won't," he screamed, a petulant look on his face as he kicked the bubble.

"Get him something to eat," Mutumbo ordered, " we'll leave you with your charge, Dr. Green."

The young sweeper entered and placed a tray on the low table, just to the right of the bubble. Parker watched as the little boy scrambled out and pulled a chair up to the table, removing the lid off of the plate.

"Uck!!!!" he shrieked, and pushed the tray away from him.

"Look you, little brat. This isn't the Ritz and you won't get any special treatment," she voiced, pushing the tray back in front of him," NOW EAT!"

Ryan shook his head in defiance, and watched as Parker picked up the fork and stabbed it in to the pile of bean sprouts. She then held it in front of his mouth, which he refused to open. He shook his head, back and forth.

"Open up or I'll . . ."

"You'll what. . . '" that was all the opportunity that Parker needed, she slipped the fork into his mouth and pulled it out minus the bean sprouts, only problem is that they didn't stay in his mouth. Little Ryan spit them all over Parker, then picked up the plate and threw it at her.

"Don't like it! Won't eat it!"

Parker glared at the child and had to remind herself that this was just a child. A spoiled rotten child, but a child. Turning, she glared at Sydney and Broots, wiping the remains of his dinner off of her suit.

"Not a word, hear me. NOT ONE WORD!" the two men just shook their heads turning not to laugh.

"Do it again. I want to do it again," small laughter echoed around the sim lab.

"Broots, you're with me, now," she snapped her fingers together and watched the techie jump and follow her out the door," Found out everything you can on that brat. NOW!'

"Yes, Miss Parker," he whimpered and scampered away.

"Miss Parker."

"Sydney, did Jarod ever act like that as a child?"

"Never. I can't understand why he would now. I realize what we are dealing with from the resemblance. He's . . ." the doctor hung his head.

"Say it, Syd. A God-dam clone!" she hissed.

Meanwhile in the sim lab, the vent of the air shaft slowly moved and a dark form entered, looking at the child huddled in the plastic bubble, fascinated

"Look like friend, act like daughter. Why?"

"Who are you? I'm Ryan."

"Angelo, friend." the savant reached out and took hold of the small hand that was offered. Eyes widen at the connection.

"Son!"

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part II
by Nicolette




Miss Parker stood in the small bathroom located off of her office. After she had unsuccessfully tried to remove the rest of the food from her suit, she finally gave in and changed. Critically she eyed the reflection in the mirror, the dark blue short-sleev silk blouse along with the matching blazer set off her eyes making them a deeper shade of blue. With a smile of satifaction, she returned to her office.

The file was sitting in the middle of her desk and caught her attention as soon as she entered the room. Good old Broots, he must have come in while she was changing, so he would have heard her cursing. The image of the balding man tiptoeing to her desk, carefully placing the file on it, scurring out even faster, lifted her spirit enormously. Sometimes she wondered if he really feared that one day she would take out her gun and shoot him.

She dismissed the thought as soon as she thought it. They had been working together for seven years now, and if she could trust anyone in the Centre than Broots and Sydney, were the most logical choices, and she was sure that they trusted her as well.

With a smile on her lips, she sat down on the black leather chair, picked up the file and started to read.

It was rather on the thin side, only three pages long. The first one consisted of the boy's medical report, amazing short. Stunned, she looked at the date of birth, from the way the boy had acted earlier, she had thought that he was at least 3 ½ or 4 years old. However, according to his file, the boy wouldn't turn 3 for another 7 weeks.

There was written in the space on the certificate regarding his parents. She snarled, what would they write in?

Father: Dr. Frankenstein. Mother: Test -Tube A.

Perfect parents. Miss Parker was about to read last page when it hit her. the boy was to young to be from Donoterase. After she saw him downstairs, she had automatically presumed that he was one of the last successful experiments from there. According to his file that was an impossiblity, she knew that the Centre had closed the lab a day or two after they had removed Jay, the other Clone, to the Centre. After all Jarod and his father had been there.

She could clearly recall the few minutes she had spent with Jay before they were to transfer him to Africa. He had been exactly like she remembered. Not only did he look like Jarod, he had been equally quiet and shy like him. A docile child and she could actually see her lost friend in him. The one she had met today, was a totally different person. What a temper.

Recalling the events, she could not completely suppress a thin smile, Mutumabo had left the scene surprisingly fast after he had ordered someone to bring some food for the brat. She wondered if he had experienced a similar encounter with flying food. This thought made the child almost simpatico to her. Almost.

Miss Parker rescanned the last two pages in the file; nothing useful. They needed to find the new lab. She tried to push away the images that invaded her brain about the failures she had detected with Broots at Donoterase. Since it took just over three years to manufacture a new clone, it seemed that the rate of success had not improved any.

Impatiently, she threw the file back on the desk. She had promised Jay to take him out of the Centre and let him lead a normal life like other children. She hadn't been able to keep her promise to him, so maybe it was time with young Ryan. She needed a plan and allies, since the boy had no parents to locate and be returned to the question was to find a family willing to take the little boy.

She knew Jay still lived with the Major, she had managed to miss them on several occasions over the past several years that she tracked them. Jarod, on the other hand, was a completely different case, he still played his little mind games. He had managed to reduce her social life to occasional visits on the Blue Cove graveyard. Otherwise she spet more time on board the Centre plane than at her home.

Jarod, she sighed inwardly, as soon as he got wind that there was a second clone, he would come and play his version of Robin Hood.

*****

Ryan sat at the table staring stubbornly down at the floor. This was a completely new experience for him. As far as he could remember, everybody would do just what he wanted, in order to make him work, or stop crying.

A strange man had visited him, but only briefly, but he was long gone. After some time past, the same sweeper that had gotten him the food, returned to cleaned up the mess. He had asked when he was allowed to go back to his room and when he would get something better to eat.

The tall man simply shook his head.

"Sorry, young man," he replied "you threw your dinner at the wrong person. Miss Parker gave orders, nothing more for you, today. She said as long as you can throw your food, you must not be really hungry." Than he had flashed Ryan a rueful smile.

The sweeper had really felt sorry for the little boy, granted he was new here and looked lost, but he had gotten himself into major trouble. He managed to mess with the ice queen in record time.

All to soon the sweeper had left him as well. The room was almost dark, the only really light spot was the plastic bubble in the middle of the room. He was really scared, now. Everything was so big and so dark here, that his imagination started to play tricks on him.

The shadows started to move, long dark fingers stretching out to grab him. He felt like crying, but he knew there where several surveillance cameras around that would record every move. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing that she won.

He had not meant to upset her. All he wanted was her to pay attention to him, after all he had never seen anyone so pretty. Yet, she had tricked him into eating, and that upset him, nobody had ever done that to him. He had regretted his action, the moment he saw the icy glare in her eyes. She would propably hated him now. The way the sweeper and Sydney referred to her, indicated that she was high up in the hierarchy, so she would have no reason to come back down here to see him. He wanted that, she intrigued him.

For the first time in his life, he felt so lonely. A distant thud that rolled like thunder in hi ears made him jump. He forgot all about what he had sworn to himself. Not letting them see him cry.

Ryan run over to the bubble, jumped in, closed the lid, then curled up in a tight little ball and started to cry, silently.

****

"Uh, Sydney, " Broots stared at the video screen, "I know Miss Parker was really angry about the incident with Ryan and the bean sprouts, but I'm sure she would not want this."

Broots pointed sadly to the monitor where he and Sydney were observing the little boy.

Sydney was surprised at how long the boy had managed to sit at the table, unmoved by the events of the day. For a child of his age he was pretty tough, but no matter how smart he was, he was still only a small child. To see him in the bubble crying, made his heart ache.

"Please, Sydney, " Broots spoke, again "No matter what Miss Parker ordered, you are in charge of him, go and ask her to take a look at the monitor. I'm sure she doesn't want Ryan to suffer so much. "

Everytime his daughter spent time with his boss, he had to hear for weeks on end, on how cool she was, from her enthusiasm, she knew that Miss Parker didn't hate children. On the contrary, she was pretty good with kids, when she wanted to be. It was a side reserved for a select few.

Sydney rose from his chair "You're right, Broots. I'll go get her, she needs to see this with her own eyes" Sydney stated and left the room.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part III
by Shannon




Jarod limped slightly as he walked slowly down the steps of the courthouse, as a bitter wind reached its icy touch deep into his collar. It was two weeks before Christmas, and he had forgotten how cold it could get here in December. It had been a year since he'd visited here. To visit his family, they managed to get together, but with the Centre still on the hunt, no one could set down anything permanent, so clandestine meetings were the only option. He was still handsome, a bit weathered, and showing the wear of running. He had spent the last seven years, searching for answers about himself, while helping others along the road on his quest, fighting causes not his own, but which caused him to care deeply.

This latest pretend had finally drawn to a close and now he could relax and spend the few weeks, the Russell family, had before the Centre tracked them down, and they had to scatter to the four corners of the earth, again. The Centre, he really didn't want to think about the place, for if he did, it always went back to one person. He didn't want to think about her, and the sorrow that he felt, each time he saw or talked to her, knowing that she was still trapped in that place.

She would wander into his dreams at night, on an almost daily basis, especially if he was in danger, or afraid. Funny he thought, she was the one that usually brought the danger. Yet it was her face . . . her lips . . . and those unforgettable eyes. . .and the sound of her voice that calmed him. She fueled his desire to remain free, and only wished he could return the favor. He had been trying for the last seven years to persuade her to leave, walk away. He almost thought he had done it, persuaded her to leave, it was after she had lost Thomas and had been shot. Rubbing his gloved hands together, he recalled that day on the tarmac in North Carolina which such clarity that he had to distance himself, before getting caught up in the memories, emotionally. She took a damn bullet to save the man she called father. He had been so certain that she would die, lying there barely conscious, in a pool of blood, he tried to help, only to be returned to the Centre for a month of torture and testing at the hands of her demented twin brother. Later, he had discovered that her own brother had her committed to St. Catherine's, claiming that she was about to go postal, yet even after leaving there, she returned to the only thing she was comfortable with. The Centre and hunting him.

He made his way to the corner and walked the rest of the way to his hotel, with intentions of packing for the countryside. He was to meet his sister, three days from now, at the small cabin that they used, nestled deep in the mountains, untraceable. As he passed the shops, he was suddenly drawn to one in particular, upon entering he was greeted warmly by an elf.

"Happy holidays, sir," the young elf said, cheerfully.

"Merry Christmas, to you too. And it's Jarod," he smiled, brown eyes twinkling.

"Is there anything I can help you find?"

"The doll in the window, the porcelain one with the beautiful blue eyes," he pointed.

"Isn't she? Ummm, she's rather expensive."

"Money isn't a problem," he chuckled," There are some other things that I need, so I'll meet you at the register."

Twenty minutes later, Jarod returned to the counter, his arms loaded with a few board games, model rockets, a chemistry set for Jake, he also found two rather cute teddy bears for his sister, Emily along with some odds and ends. The elf was waiting with the doll, patiently at the counter, her eyes widening at his other selections.

"Christmas, got a love it," he laughed," Is it possible to get this delivered? I have the address, right here."

The store owner overheard the question and immediately surveyed the customer, taking in the expensive leather duster, well groomed hair, and his purchases.

"We can ship it out today, for you sir."

"Jarod."

"Okay, Jarod. It's will arrive tomorrow, if that's all right," the store owner replied, as he looked at the address," Its local, so the store personally delivers anything in a 30 mile radius. Do you wish to include a card, sir, Jarod?" the owner laughed, his spirit suddenly much improved.

Nodding, Jarod took the card that the young elf offered and inscribed it with the following message.

Even when you aren't chasing me, Miss Parker, I seem to find something to remind me of you. In this case, the eyes wouldn't stop following me, until I bought her. Merry Christmas, Jarod P.S. Her name is Morgana.

Slipping the card in the envelope and sealing it shut, he tucked it in the doll's tiny hands and then replaced the lid. Casting a glance at the wrapping paper, his eyes feel on one in particular.

"Could you wrap it in the angel paper, as well?"

He paid for his purchases, watched them bagged and left the store, only to resume his stroll back to the hotel, feeling rather pleased with himself. He had been rather worried about finding just the right gift for her, and an animal wasn't in the cards this Christmas.

Greeted by the hotel doorman, Kevin, Jarod made his way to the penthouse suite. Not actually his typical living accomadations, but the pretend had required it. Dropping the bags from the toy shop on the couch, he walked over to his desk and removed the metal case from underneath. Placing it on top of the desk, he opened the lid, and run the Internet program, checking to make sure that all was in readiness for the holidays with his family.

The mailbox icon popped open and the familiar voice informed him that he had mail. Dragging the cursor to the top of the page, he double click and waited.

Opening the email, he laced his hands behind his head, his eyes scanning the contents, when he suddenly gripped the sides of the chair and pulled himself forward. Rereading the message. He then clicked on the accompanying download. Holding his breath as the file loaded itself.

Running the video play button on his computer, Jarod wasn't sure if he should laugh as he watched the little boy spit his dinner at Miss Parker, then throw the rest of his plate at her, ruining a truly expensive suit. Something he had done on occasion to her. However, laughing was not the right response at the moment. Quickly he composed a brief letter to his sister informing her that he would be delayed by a day or two, that something had come up that required his immediate attention. The only thing that bothered him was Angelo's rather cryptic message, it simple stated, "Ryan, both friend and daughter."

Damn them, he thought as he pulled himself away from the computer screen and made his way to the bedroom, cell phone to his ear.

"This is Sydney."

"They did it again, Sydney. And you both knew about it," his voice bitter.

"Jarod, we only just found out. There isn't much to tell. Miss Parker doesn't even know where he came from. Mutumbo brought him here, this evening. How did you find out?"

"I have my sources, you of all people should know that by now. You realize that I can't let him stay there."

"She said that you would play Robin Hood, once you found out about him," Sydney chuckled," She may beat you to it, this time. Something about keeping a promise."

"Really? She better be careful, that's exactly what Lyle wants her to do? Proving that she's disloyal to the Centre. Tell her, Sydney. She better watch her back, or I just might have too," with that he terminated the call and continued to pack. She'd get his help anyway, wanted or not.

************************

Sydney stared at the cell phone, oblivious to the voice that whispered to him.

"Syd," the techie whispered again, before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Broots, where's Miss Parker?"

"She asked me to disable the cameras in the sim lab. I think seeing little Ryan crying got to her, but don't tell her I said that."

"I won't, Broots," the doctor turned his head and smiled.

********************************

Parker glanced at the cameras, and noticed that the little green light was no longer lite. Broots had come through, again. Opening the door to the darkened sim lab, her eyes fell upon the plastic bubble and the tiny form huddled inside. She could see his tiny shoulders shaking from the silent sobs. Kicking off her damn heels, she padded quietly over to the little boy, and opened the door.

Turning at the sound of plastic against plastic, Ryan was surprised to see the woman that he had previously upset, when he let his temper get the best of him. Amazed that she came back, he flung his tiny arms around her neck and his little legs wrapped around her waist, startling her, as he buried his head in her shoulder, still crying.

"Shhhhh!" she found herself, rubbing her hand up and down his back, trying to calm him down. Surprised at how comfortable he felt in her arms.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part IV
by N.R. Levy



Parker looked behind her and saw a chair nearby. Holding tight to Ryan, shemaneuvered her way there, and after sitting down, she began to rock the still crying little boy. Guilt flooded her. Granted, he had been a monster to her, but she hated seeing anyone this hurt, especially a defenseless child. He was only a baby, she reminded herself, not even three yet, and being a genius didn't make him a grown up, nor did being raised by Centre goons give him any idea of how to behave himself.

Softly, the words muffled against her neck, she heard Ryan's little voice break through his tears.

"I'm sorry I was a bad boy. I didn't mean to..."

Parker continued to soothe him, her hand moving up and down his back as she rocked her body back and forth on the chair.

"Shh, it's okay, Ryan. I didn't mean to get so mad, either. Maybe the two of us better just learn to think before we do something, hmm?"

She felt his head nod against her, and finally, his tears began to subside. She continued to rock him, his breathing growing more and more relaxed until Parker knew that the little boy had fallen asleep in her arms.

Sydney watched from the darkened shadows of the room. He had come to tell Parker about Jarod's call, but seeing the quiet moment between her and the child, he had decided not to interrupt. Clearly, something far more than just an exchange of anger had occurred in this room today. A bond was forming between Parker and Ryan that Sydney knew could be good for both of them, but could also be very, very dangerous.

Seeing that Ryan had fallen asleep, Sydney stepped forward, clearing his throat to alert Parker to his presence so as not to startle her.

"Syd, where's his room?"

"They fixed up Jarod's old room for him. I can take him..."

"No, that's all right. I'll take him and then I'll meet you back in my office."

Sydney nodded as Parker left, and it was with a bit of shock that he noticed her heels still lying on the floor after she'd gone. Miss Parker walking barefoot through the Centre with a sleeping toddler in her arms....somehow he knew almost no one would believe it if they weren't witness to it.

*****

Jarod drove the short distance to Blue Cove with his mind clouded by a constant echo of Angelo's message. "Ryan, both friend and daughter." What exactly did that mean? Jake was living proof that the Centre had samples of his DNA, but he had checked their records carefully after Donoterase and found nothing to indicate they had any of Miss Parker's genetic material. He still wasn't sure what had made him check, a nagging fear that if they'd cloned him, that logically she was next? He still wasn't certain, but his worry was renewed by the current situation.

He needed to learn as much about the child as he could, and the best way to do that was to go straight to the source -- the Centre. He knew his family would be worried about him, but there was little he could do about that right now. Whether he was another clone or the result of some new twisted Centre experiment, Ryan had to be freed from the monstrosity that had created him.

He thought about Parker, and about what Sydney had said. A promise to who, he wondered. And why was it that she could have such concern for Ryan, that she could knowingly have let his father and Jake slip through her grasp so many times in the last four years, and yet still hunt him so viscously? Of course, she didn't know that he knew about the latter, but it was hard to miss when you studied the scenarios as carefully as he could. He'd spent too many hours jumping through hoops trying to avoid her not to see when she had pulled up the reins, keeping the sweepers just a few steps behind for enough minutes to let the other two men in his family escape.

Well, Ryan, he thought, you've got yourself some ally there. I just wish I knew what I had to do to make her feel that way about me.

*****

Miss Parker found Sydney in her office, and she tried to hide an embarrassed smile when she saw her heels sitting on the floor beside her desk. Casually slipping them back on, she sat down in her chair and let her fingers idly slide over the file Broots' had compiled on Ryan.

"Ryan is settled in?"

Parker looked up at Sydney, and then leaned forward on her desk, her hand running through her hair.

"Yes. He didn't even wake up when I laid him down. He must have been exhausted."

Sydney nodded, not wanting to say anything that would make her feel uncomfortable with her behavior toward the little boy. Her concern and care might be too instrumental in the boy's future to make her feel awkward about it and risk having the cold shield she normally put up in front of the world come back into place. Instead, he decided to update her on the situation with Jarod.

"Jarod knows about the boy."

"Tell him to stay away, Sydney. They probably expect him to come after Ryan. That's probably why they brought him here."

"He told me to tell you basically the same thing. Something about Lyle testing your loyalty to the Centre."

"I've given them my entire life, how much more loyalty do they want?" Parker spoke the words with a venom she didn't even realize she was feeling, and she immediately regretted them. Sydney's face filled with concern for her, and she hated the way it made her feel to see that -- needy, something she could not afford to feel any more. She had made that mistake with Thomas, she would not make it again.

"Syd, I mean it. Tell him I'll deal with it."

Shaking his head, Sydney turned and walked out of the room. Parker was definitely the most stubborn person he had ever encountered in his life. He walked down the hallway, a slight smile on his face until another thought followed his first.

'Stubborn like Ryan.'

The words ran through his brain, and Sydney turned heading to Broots' office rather than to his own. He found the tech running a tracking program, trying to find leads on Jarod.

"Broots, I need you to do something."

"What's up, Syd?"

"I know you've done a thorough check of Ryan's records already --"

"Yeah, not much there though."

"I want you to do a check on someone else's. We need to find out if there's anything out of the ordinary, anything we can't account for in the last four years."

"Sure. Who, Syd?"

"Miss Parker."

****

Emily held the letter in her hand. She read the words again, knowing there was nothing inherently threatening in them, and yet, fear still filled her heart. Jarod was delayed, "a day or two," by something that needed "his immediate attention." That meant only one thing -- something to do with the Centre. She knew him too well now to not know that's what he meant.

Many times over the past few years, she had asked Jarod why he didn't simply end his game with the Centre. He had a lot of excuses, about righting wrongs, saving friends, making up for his own mistakes, but none of them ever seemed to carry quite enough weight with her. Not even his obvious affection for Sydney seemed to be reason enough to continue the dangerous cat and mouse chase.

It was Jake who had finally made her realize why it was he wouldn't cut the cord. They had been talking one day about how he came to be with their father, and he had begun describing that horrible scene at the airfield when Miss Parker had been shot and Jarod had chosen to stay behind. Emily doubted Jake realized he was giving anything away with the way he related the details, but he clearly felt that Jarod's feelings for Miss Parker were anything but those of a man toward his pursuer.

It was difficult for her to understand that. The woman had done nothing but hound her family, specifically her brother for years now, and though both Jarod and Charles had told her on several occasions that Miss Parker had made certain Jake escaped the Centre's clutches any chance she got, her relentless pursuit of Jarod made any gratitude Emily felt toward the icy brunette disappear.

Whatever was happening at the Centre had something to do with her, Emily was certain of that, and that meant Jarod was in more danger than he could possibly know. His heart was far more vulnerable than he imagined.

Sighing, she moved to the window of the little cabin, waiting for her parents to arrive. There was no reason to call them on their cell phone, they would be worried enough once they learned of Jarod's change in plans.

****

The night had been a restless one for Parker, and she was late getting to the Centre because of it. She'd slept hardly at all, her dreams haunted by the little boy who had both sparked her fury and touched her heart yesterday.

What was it about him that made her feel such strong emotions? She loved Debbie, and she never felt that angry or that moved by anything that happened between them. Still, there was no denying that the sight of the boy huddled in tears had practically left her crying herself.

Maybe it was just the fact that she knew he was a part of Jarod. True, it was not yet confirmed that he was another clone, but her suspicions were based on lots of past history. Despite her resolve to catch him, she was never able to push the loneliness she'd seen in Jarod as a little boy out of her mind. Maybe that's what had touched her about Ryan -- he was Jarod in so many ways, and it was just the memories of the boy she'd known that were getting to her.

Exhausted, she made her way to her office, her eyes immediately drawn to the beautifully wrapped package that sat on her desk. Moving closer, she dropped her briefcase on the floor and looked down at the package --- a box wrapped in beautiful gold and white angel paper, a spray of iridescent ribbon adding the perfect final touch.

A Christmas gift. Odd, the holiday was still two weeks away, and no one she knew was going to be sending her any gifts anyway....unless. Their contact had been far less recently, but he always remembered her birthday and Christmas, and he still called her every year on the anniversaries of both her mother and Thomas' deaths.

Well, there was nothing on it saying "Do not open until Christmas," as if she'd have listened anyway, and so Parker unwrapped the beautiful gift and then reached into the box, pulling free the most amazing doll she had ever seen in her life. As she picked up the porcelain creation, she saw a card in the box and, after carefully sitting down the blue-eyed figure, she opened it.

Jarod. She knew she shouldn't be surprised that he had sent her gift, or that it was something so beautiful. He always sent her the most spectacular things, and though he didn't know it, his gifts were the only parts of the holidays she ever looked forward to. And her name, Morgana, another reminder of who she used to be, of the life they had shared together so many years ago now that it hurt to think of it.

Taking great care, she replaced the doll into the box. This gift would be going home with her. Like so many of his others, it was not meant for Centre eyes. She had just finished putting the package away in a safe place when her phone rang.

"What?"

"Miss Parker, it's Sydney. I'm afraid my little charge is refusing to do his work again."

"Sydney, what do you expect me to do about it?"

"He says he wants to see you. I was wondering if..."

"Fine, I'm on my way."

Miss Parker slammed down the phone, and taking deep breath, made her way out of the office. 'Great,' she thought,' just what I need -- another Jarod running my life!'

*****

Mutumbo hated Mr. Lyle. The fact that he was a useful ally didn't change that fact, and seeing the man pacing angrily in his office was not helping.

"But I don't understand why you didn't tell me you were bringing him here."

"I wasn't aware, Mr. Lyle, that I had to clear my decisions with you."

Lyle stopped moving, realizing his mistake. Don't challenge him directly, he thought, remember the objective here.

"I only meant, Mutumbo, that I -- well, I played an instrumental part in achieving Ryan's creation. I would just like to be kept informed of his progress."

"He wasn't making any progress, that is why he is here. There is no use in us having a Pretender of his magnitude if he is uncontrollable."

"But bringing him here, this close to --"

"I'm well aware of what I'm doing, Mr. Lyle. The child needs to learn discipline. I have seen to it that he is surrounded by those who can teach it to him. Already, he has learned his first lesson."

"Yes, because she was there."

"And she is the key, Lyle. She always has been. You are the one that's forgetting that."

Scorched by the glare he received from the Triumvirate boss, Lyle stood still in his spot as Mutumbo exited the room. He made certain the man was gone before he let his anger come through on his face.

She was not the key, he was, and damn it, this time, he'd prove it to all of them.

*****

Sydney stood in the SIM lab, awaiting Miss Parker's arrival. Ryan was sitting on the table, his arms and legs crossed, refusing to look at anyone until she got there. When the door opened, he turned, expecting her, but instead finding Broots.

"Broots, good morning."

"Morning, Syd. Look, about that check you asked me to run?"

"Yes?" Sydney raised an eyebrow, and seeing the worry on Broots' face, he steered the technician into an unoccupied corner of the room.

"Well, remember when Miss Parker was shot in North Carolina? She had emergency surgery at the county hospital, then Mr. Lyle snuck her out and into that mental place, um, St. Catherine's?"

"Yes, Broots, how could I forget."

"Well, the weird thing is, there's no record of Miss Parker needing any other procedures once she got to St. Catherine's, but there is an order for general anesthesia for her in the logs the doctor kept. Why do you think they needed that, Syd, if she didn't have any more surgery?"

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.




The Gift
part V
by Michele




Lyle, he thought as he looked at the techie, then answered," See who the doctor was, discreetly, Broots. Truth of the matter is that I have a bad feeling about this."

"Sure, Syd. Is he okay?" Broots nodded in the direction of the little boy who sat in the middle of the table, pouting.

"He wants Miss Parker," Sydney replied.

"Are you kidding? After what he did to her yesterday," the man looked at the child, smiled, only to see him scowl even more, " Is he taking lessons from her, Syd? Look at that look. Next thing he'll be doing is snapping his fingers when he wants something."

The thoughts that crossed Sydney's mind ran along the same lines, only he wasn't ready to voice them just yet. If what he was thinking was true, than the party that was responsible had better run in fear of what would come their way once Jarod and Miss Parker found out. He had to make sure he was right first, yet that inner voice told him he was.

Parker stood for a moment in the hall, listening to Broots, trying to coax the child off of the table, when she walked as though pulled by some force of nature toward the SIM lab door. The door of the SIM lab was closed, and as she reached it, she could hear him arguing with Broots. She placed her hand on the silver knob, knowing that she had the element of surprise on her side, turning it slowly, she pushed it open. As it opened, Ryan, turned his dark hair and big brown eyes toward the noise, then his whole face exploded into smiles at her entrance.

"Miss Parker!" He flew off the table and into her arms before anyone could stop him, not that she would have allowed them to. For her own face melted into a smile as she felt him wrap his baby arms around her legs. She picked him up and held him to her as he nuzzled her neck and breathed in her scent.

"You smell good," he whispered, and she surpressed the urge to laugh.

"What's this about you not wanting to work?" she pulled away to look at him with disapproval in her eyes.

"I wanted to see you, first," he answered her, looking very serious," And, ask you to have wunch with me." He looked pensive, and then he smiled at her again, snuggling closer. He only met her yesterday, but he loved being close to her, smelling her perfume, feeling the silk of her hair, and letting her kiss him, which she did when she had put him to bed last night. She thought he was asleep, he wasn't, it was a game he was good at, pretending, and he liked the feel of her lips on his cheek. She was the most beautiful and exciting person he knew, at least in this ugly place. His other friend intrigued him.

"Ryan, I have work to do?" she started to say, then looked at the little boy, his lower lip beginning to turn down.

"Of course Miss Parker will have lunch with you today, young Ryan," the voice at the top of the stairs said, causing Parker to turn her head. There stood Mutumbo ginning, while Lyle stood behind him, a look of disgust on his face.

"Can she stay? He hesitated, not wanting to cross the line again.

Parker looked at Mutumbo, knowing full well that he would hate if there was interference of any kind regarding the tests that were to be run.

"She can't stay?" It wasn't Mutumbo that answered the question, but Lyle, with a look of satisfaction as he watched the boy's eagerness deflate before his eyes, only to be filled with contempt. Parker, still holding the child, also looked at him defiantly.

"Ryan, do you promise to work with Dr. Green, if I let Miss Parker stay?" the triumvirate boss asked solemnly, knowing that Lyle would be seething with anger at this turn of events.

Shaking his head eagerly, his brown eyes shining, he wiggled to indicate he had enough of being held. Slowly and with a tinge of regret, Parker put the boy down. He immediately scrambled to the big plastic bubble, crawled in and then turned toward Syd.

"Seems we have work to do, Doctor," he smiled, as he watched Miss Parker take a seat in the chair next to the bubble.

The occupants of the SIM lab didn't realize that they were being watched. The figure sat in the shadows behind the air shaft vent, waiting for a chance to be with the new friend he made yesterday. Other friend, the savant thought, come and save both, child and daughter. Needed to save both from bad man, as bad man walked away angry. Need to warn friend.

**************************

Emily looked out the cabin window, and caught sight of the headlights coming down the winding driveway. Finally, she thought. Her parents and Jake. She had worried that they had been delayed due to the snow, but it had let up about an hour ago. Taking a deep breath she knew that she had to tell her parents that Jarod went back to the Centre to help that woman. Again.

The door to the cabin blew open, and the snow swirled around the three figures bundled warmly against the cold.

"Emily," a woman's voice called out," Come help us, dear."

"Mom, Dad. Jarod isn't'. . ." she was cut off, by her younger brother, Jake.

"We know, Em. He got a hold of me, via his website. So before you get all bent out of shape with Miss Parker, listen to what we have to tell you. Please."

Emily looked into his big brown eyes, and knew that she was one against the rest of them. She was fighting a loosing battle, whatever hold that woman had on her brother's heart was unbreakable. She watched as the men went out to retrieve the rest of the items from the car, and headed into the kitchen with her mother.

"Mom, I don't get it? She hunts him down like he's a wild animal, yet at the first sign of trouble he's off," she shook her dark hair.

"Em, baby. Next time watch his eyes, everything that he feels is reflected in his eyes. He loves her, and nothing is ever going to change that."

"How can he love her?"

"Oh honey, think about it. She's been the one constant in his life. Always there. And I bet that I can say the same about her regarding your brother. She feels the same way, only she hides behind that tough woman exterior. She's afraid that if she lets him in, he'll end up dead. So, she plays the game that the Centre taught her, only she changed the rules on them and they don't even now it."

"But, Mom."

"There are no buts, young lady," the voice was that of her father, who had been standing in the doorway, listening, "Seems that there's a little boy being held at the Centre. Jarod went to get him. According to Jake, he's only a baby. "

"Poor thing," whispered Margaret as she put the kettle on the stove," coffee or hot chocolate, Charles."

"Hot chocolate is fine. Jake's setting up his computer, in case Jarod needs us for any reason. I think that I'll send Sydney a message. Perhaps he can shed some light on this. After all he was the one that alerted Jarod and I when they decided to move Jake earlier than scheduled."

Margaret and Emily watched as he left the kitchen, knowing that he was worried about his oldest but that Jarod adopted causes that no one else would. A modern day Robin Hood, thought Emily.

"Is it a girl or boy being held at the Centre?" she asked her mother.

"It's a little boy," Jake answered, as he stepped into the kitchen," Dad said that you had hot chocolate out here. Got any more of those cookies, too?"

"Where do you put it, young man?" his mother laughed, then turned serious again," Is he a . . ."

"Clone? Could be. Jarod only sent me what Angelo sent him. A rather cryptic message and some video of him. Ryan. That's his name and he looks to be about three. Here I pulled his picture off the computer." Jake handed the photo to his sister, who held it out for her mother.

"Three! What could they possible want with a baby?" Margaret wiped her hands on the towel before accepting the sheet of paper.

"Not just any baby, Mom. If it's Jarod, he's a genius." Emily turned and headed into the other room, as her mother gazed at the picture.

"Em," her mother's voice came in a hushed whisper," Get your father, please."

'Mom, what's wrong!"

"Nothing just get your father," she sank into the kitchen chair, still staring at the picture before removing the locket that was pinned to her blouse. Opening it she took out the four pictures in it. Baby pictures of Jarod, Kyle and Emily. The other was picture of Miss Parker, one that Jarod
asked her to hold on to. A wistful sigh escaped her lips as she looked teary eyed at Kyle's but she returned the one of her youngest children back in the locket and looked at the one of Jarod and Miss Parker.

"Margaret, Emily said that you wanted to see me. What's the matter?"

"Have you contacted Sydney yet?" she raised her eyes to her husband.

"Not yet, why? What is it, what's wrong? "

Sliding the two pictures in front of him as well as the picture of Ryan that Jake had given her, she watched as he looked at all three.

"Jake," the major said, calmly, " Email Sydney, quickly."

"Charles, that little boy isn't a clone, is he?"

"Not if what I'm seeing is the truth. Jarod had that little mole since he was born, Ryan doesn't, but the resemblance to both is uncanny . . ." he stopped short and looked at his wife.

"He's their son. Our grandson," she whispered.

"Angelo's message. It makes sense to me now," a cry from the doorway, startled the two at the table.

"Jake?" his mother turned a quizzically gaze at him.

"Angelo's message to Jarod, was " Ryan, both friend and daughter." He knew and tried to tell Jarod that the Centre has his son, not a clone." Jake looked at the couple that sat at the table.

"How is it possible?" Emily voiced.

"With the Centre anything is possible," the major answered," I'd hate to be the one to tell either of them what the Centre did."

"You mean she doesn't know that Ryan is . . ." Emily looked at the three others who stared at her, incredulous.

"She promised me that I'd live the life that every normal boy should and then was going to take me out of there. She never got to because . . ." Jake shook his head.

"Oh God, we're going to have to tell them before each of them does something stupid," Emily said, receiving looks from the others.

"We, since when have you . . ." Jake smiled.

"Okay, I've been a bit judgmental regarding Miss Parker . . ."

"A bit judgmental, did you hear that Mom, dad," Jake laughed.

"Hey its a woman's prerogative to change her mind.'

"Just admit that you were jealous of her, because she stolen our brother's heart first," Jake continued to laugh, then sobered quickly," She's right, they need to know and it needs to be confirmed. I'll get a hold of Sydney, Dad. Perhaps Jarod will call him when he gets to Blue Cove."

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part VI
by N.R. Levy



He poked his head in to the office, cautiously looking around, breathing a sigh of relief that the one person he didn't want to see wasn't in the office.

"Broots!"

"Syd, you scared me."

"If you're looking for Miss Parker, she's having lunch with Ryan in her office."

"Good, because that search you wanted me to do about Miss Parker's stay at St. Catherine's. Syd, I found the doctor's orders, it was an ob/gyn. Syd, they harvested Miss Parker's ovum. So I dug a little deeper, that was when Jarod was back here as well. They ran a lot of tests on him, one was to... I can't say it, Syd?"

"That's what I was afraid of," as Sydney shook his head," You said it yourself, this morning, Broots. Yet, Miss Parker only sees the resemblance to Jarod."

"Huh?"

"The look that Ryan gave you, the stubbornness, the temper."

"Syd, tell me that what I'm thinking isn't so?"

"She doesn't want to see past the resemblance to Jarod, the bond that's forming between them, if she acknowledges it . . ."

"They betrayed her again," Broots whispered," Syd, that's not all Ifound, when they did the procedure, here read it for yourself."

Sydney took the file from the shaking hand of the techie, and quickly scanned the information that was in it. The phone sitting on the desk, rang, interrupting the silence that engulfed the room.

"This is Sydney."

"Sydney."

"Major, what can I do for you?"

"Jake said to seek out a Christmas refuge."

At that the line went dead, and Sydney turned to the computer, quickly finding the site that the major had directed him too. The on the screen were the scanned photos of Jarod, Miss Parker, and Ryan. The Russell's knew, but the two that mattered the most didn't. Jarod was on his way, that Sydney was aware of , question now, was who to tell first.

******************************************

The sounds of laughter filled the office, something that drew wide eyed stares from the sweepers that past by. That was not normally the sound one heard emanating from the Ice Queen's office. If anyone had dared to enter, they would have never believed their eyes. Yet no one was going to enter that room, Miss Parker, herself, left orders that it was off limits to anyone.

Parker was having lunch with Ryan in her office, he sat in her lap and she ran her fingers through his hair as he ate. She planned on reading him a story, one that her mother had read to her, when she was a child. The feelings that she was experiencing were almost as wonderful as when she had found Jarod's Christmas gift, this morning. It was at that moment that his eyes spied the gift wrapped box tucked under the desk.

"What's that?" he asked, his baby finger pointing at the angel wrapped box.

"What?'

"The pretty box."

"Do you want to see what's inside," she asked, a smile on her lips when he nodded yes. Taking the box out from under the desk, she removed the top, peeled back the silver and gold tissue paper to reveal Morgana.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh," he said, clapping his hands in delight," She looks like you."

Looking at the doll with a wistful gaze on her features, she realized that Jarod had sent it with that purpose in mind. Even his message implied the same thing. "Even when you aren't chasing me, I seem to find something to remind me of you'. That he thought about her, amazed her, yet that's what Ryan did for her, reminded her of Jarod. An unexpected gift.

*********************

Lyle groveled in front of the triumvirate boss, but his eyes betrayed his anger. Mutumbo seemed to be ignoring his thoughts of allowing Parker to spend time with the child. It was just to dangerous.

"We have to be careful on how to handle their future meetings," he was saying, only to watch Mutumbo scowl at him.

"I believe we covered this, Mr. Lyle. The child will see Miss Parker as often as I see fit."

"Why are you doing this? You realize what will happen if she finds out?"

Mutumbo glared at Lyle, his tight control on his anger about to slip. "Do you think that I have engineered this entire scenario not knowing all of the potential dangers? I realize, more so than you, the dangers of having a Parker woman find out the true agenda behind the Centre's actions, I've seen the results first hand. But unlike your mother, I have no intention of losing control over your sister."

"When she finds out the truth about Ryan, you'll lose more than control over her. You need to let me take charge of this situation now."

Mutumbo stormed toward his desk, his eyes glistening with rage. How dare this man challenge him or his authority? He was growing tired of having to explain himself, for that matter, the Triumvirate as a whole. It had been a group decision to bring the boy here, and they were all agreed that the risks of discovery were worthwhile given the expected improvements in the boy's performance. Already, Ryan was proving to be the most exceptional Pretender they'd ever had. His simulations were going to make them a fortune. If, of course, he could keep Lyle from interfering.

"It almost sounds to me, Mr. Lyle, as if you want your sister to find the truth. Why is that?"

Lyle stood his ground but remained silent. Damn him, damn them all. He was in control now, and he was going to have to find a way to prove it. And what better way he thought, than showing them how right he was about Ryan.

*****

Miss Parker returned her charge to the SIM lab and regretfully turned to leave him for the day. She was amazed at the feelings the little boy stirred in her, and she'd already realized that fighting them was pointless. For whatever reason, Ryan had been brought into her life and now he was a part of it, for better or worse.

After giving him one last hug and the promise of a bedtime story if he was a good boy and finished all of his work, she left him under Sam's watchful eye. She knew he was not happy about his new assignment, but she had decided immediately she wanted the boy under the protection of someone she trusted. With Lyle around, and so unhappy about Mutumbo's handling of the situation, there was no telling what could happen.

That was the another thing that was troubling her. It wasn't unusual for Lyle to throw his weight around, try to act like the big man on campus, but he seemed downright upset with Mutumbo, which was one thing, but he was showing it publicly, which was taking his life in his hands. What about her seeing Ryan could be upsetting him so much?

****

Jarod had intended to go straight to the old farmhouse he used as a refuge in Blue Cove, but a building sense of unease sent him to Miss Parker's stone cottage instead. He saw that she was not home, and after hiding his car, he made his way to the house.

Entering, he felt a sense of loneliness race through his heart. She was so alone here. He could see that she'd done nothing to decorate for the holidays. The place was still filled with family photos and it still looked like it had come straight out of a decorating magazine, but it felt cold to him, and it made him that much sadder for her.

Needing to change his mood, he headed toward the studio, finding the key in the usual spot. He unlocked the door and stepped in, his eyes widening as soon as he got inside and shut the door. The room still contained scant furnishings, a chaise lounge, a table, but it was filled with other items that Jarod couldn't help but recognize. They were the gifts he'd sent Parker over the last few years. A hand made quilt he'd bought for her in Pennsylvania, the antique crystal angel he'd found in a store in London two years ago, even the stained glass piece he'd made for her just after Thomas' death, they were all there.

He stepped toward the stained glass figure, his fingers moving to trace the cut out space where the heart was missing. He wondered again – was her heart missing, or was it just closed to him? He had broached the subject once with Sydney and the doctor's reply still rang in his head. "Self preservation -- that's why she doesn't let anyone in."

Shaking the thought from his head, Jarod glanced at his watch. It was nearly six. The way she worked herself into the ground, it could be hours before she got home, so he decided to grab his computer and get to work on checking into Ryan's background.

After retrieving the laptop from the car and setting it up in her dining room, Jarod raided the scant contents of Parker's fridge and was just taking a drink of milk when the web site he used to communicate with his family finished loading.

"Urgent -- contact home."

Jarod read the message and felt a tightening in his stomach. He wanted to believe the message was just general worry on his family's part, but something told him there was a far darker cloud coming his way. He picked up his cell phone and, after enabling his cloaking program on the computer, dialed his family.

****

She had returned to her office to gather her things and head home, exhausted from a day that, to Miss Parker's recollection, was the happiest she'd spent in a long time. Despite the extreme lack of work she'd accomplished by spending most of the day with Ryan, the morning and afternoon had been filled with smiles and laughter like she hadn't known since -- well, in a long time. The little boy had weaseled two stories out of her instead of one, but she'd loved every minute of it and after he dropped off to sleep, she had kissed his cheek again as she had the night before.

Parker retrieved her briefcase and picked up the box with the doll, about to leave when the blinking email icon on her computer caught her attention. She hesitated only a moment before reaching over to click the message open.

Her eyes widened as the words began to sink into her brain. Ovum...surgery....surrogate mother.....Jarod.

Parker sank into her chair, unable to move or to steady her legs. It couldn't be. They wouldn't -- her father wouldn't have let it happen.

'No, Parker, think. Daddy was already gone. Lyle was in charge – he could have done anything.'

Oh, God, anything but that. Please, please, it can't --- but then she began to let the small little features and the familiar gestures seep into her consciousness. His laugh, the way he squinted his eyes when he worked, his hands, his glare....

"Oh, God,' she thought,' Ryan is my son.'

****

Lyle stared at his computer waiting for the confirmation to come that his sister had opened the helpful message he had sent her. As the flashing icon began to blink, he knew that now all he had to do was wait. It was time to prove himself right, and bring Parker and Jarod to their knees.

****

The phone barely completed its first ring when Jarod heard the voice of his father. In fact, he didn't even need to open his mouth to speak, and if anyone had been in the room to see the stormy expression that formed on the handsome face one would have left in a hurry. Absorbing the information, he didn't need to know that Parker was in trouble, he just hoped that he could get to her to tell her the truth before someone else did. His family knew, Sydey knew, which meant that others knew. This had to have been sanctioned by someone other than Lyle. Not that Lyle wasn't responsible for obtaining the necessary . . . God he thought, used as science experiments to fit the Centre's desire to obtain the perfect pretender.

"This is Sydney," the voice on the other end repeated for a second time.

"Sydney."

"Jarod, thank goodness. Why the hell did you send the message regarding the child to Parker over the computer?"

"Syd, what message? I just found out." His mind was like a steel trap and wrapped around the situation quickly," Is Broots there? Have him run a trace on the message, fast." What seemed an eternity was actually a few minutes, when he heard Sydney's voice again.

"It came from within the Centre," his tone was soft.

"Damn, Lyle,'' Jarod hissed," He's setting her up. Where is she, Syd?"

"To get the boy."

"It's a trap. Lyle wants her to take him, to prove that she's disloyal. He'll be waiting. Syd, you have to try and stop her. Tell her to wait for me, please," he terminated the call, pulled on his leather duster and hightailed it to his car, praying that he'd make it in time. In time for what, though.

Parker flew through the hallways, not caring who saw her or what they thought. Damn them. How could -- no, there was no sense wondering how, they had, and now she had to get her son out of this place.

No mother bear ever had anything on Parker from the moment she'd realized Ryan was hers. She was already attached to him, but knowing that he'd been stolen from her body -- at least, part of him had been, it was the absolute last straw. Sydney had tried to stop her, telling her there was more she needed to know, but she had not stopped to listen. She had to get to her son.

Sam didn't dare question her arrival and knew instantly from the look on Miss Parker's face that something had gone very wrong. His thoughts were confirmed when he heard the few words she uttered his direction.

"Leave now, and make sure the logs show you were sent home an hour ago.

She slipped into the room without saying another word to him, and made her way to the sleeping little boy, not even certain that Broots had gotten the cameras shut down and not caring.

He was an angel -- his little face turned up in a smile and she loved that despite all the loneliness he had endured, he could still have pleasant dreams. Maybe he could teach her how to do it again.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and gently stroked his cheek, rousing him easily out of sleep. As his eyes blinked open and he saw her, he sat up, throwing his arms around her.

"You came back."

"Yes, I did. I need to go away for a little while, Ryan, and --"

Before she could finish she felt his arms tighten around her, and tears formed in her eyes as she realized how much he needed her, even without knowing who she really was.

"Don't go, please, don't go."

"Shh, Ryan, listen. I'm taking you with me, okay? I promise, I'm not going to leave you."

"Really, you promise?"

"I promise. Now listen, we need to get you dressed, and then we have to leave. You're going to have to be very, very quiet, okay?"

"Okay. I can do that."

The boy scrambled out of bed and hurried to his closet, pulling out a pair of pants and a T-shirt and Parker helped him into the items. Of course, he didn't have a coat because the Centre had never intended to let him outside, so she grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped him up in it before she picked him up in her arms and headed for the door.

The hallway was empty, and Parker headed out, her keys already in her hands. She couldn't risk taking the time to go back for anything, even though, from nowhere, she thought of the doll Jarod had sent her and felt a fleeting sense of regret that it was getting left behind.

Shaking away such foolish thoughts, she hurried on. She had Jarod's son in her arms -- her son -- and nothing mattered as much as that.

She had just reached the SIM lab when she heard the grating moving and saw that Angelo was waiting for them. She wasn't certain how he knew she needed his help, she was just grateful that he was there. Parker quickly handed Ryan up to Angelo then climbed up into the vent herself, thankful that she had worn a pants suit today instead of her usual tight mini skirt.

They made their way through the cavernous vent system until Angelo brought them to what had to be the most obvious and therefore the most overlooked escaped point in all of the Centre -- the loading dock. The place had hardly any security and after hours, they depended only on the electronic surveillance for protection, and she couldn't care less about that. Let them watch her run away with her son. Once she was away from here, they would never find them again.

Parker made it to the ground and reached up to take Ryan, who had been true to his word and uttered not a peep the entire way. She turned back to try and coax Angelo out too, hoping he would come with them, but he shook his head immediately,sensing her thoughts.

"Stay."

"Angelo, please?"

"Home."

With that, he ducked back inside the vent, replacing the screen and disappearing from her view. Realizing there was nothing more she could do, Parker leaned down so she was face to face with Ryan. There was still a chance a stray sweeper would happen across them, and so she had to prepare him for what might happen.

"Okay, Ryan. We're going to have to get to my car now, and we might have to run very fast. If we do, I'll tell you, and you have to keep running until I tell you to stop, okay?"

"Okay." He was starting to look a little scared, but there was nothing else she could to right now to stop that. She reached out and took his hand.

"Okay, let's go." They headed off, Parker pulling him along as she navigated the treacherous 500 yards to her car. The parking lot was eerily silent, and she felt her nerves growing more and more on edge. She brought her free hand to her gun, keeping her fingers laced over the grip.

"Where do you think you're taking my pretender?" The sound of her brother's voice made her stomach knot instantly. She stopped, keeping her left hand firmly on Ryan's shoulder as she turned to face her hated twin.

"You mean where am I taking my son?"

"Motherhood has made you careless. You should have known it was too easy."

Parker scanned the area. He had come alone -- Thank God for his overconfidence problem.

"Adulthood has made you foolish. You should have known I would find out, and that I would kill you for it."

Parker pulled her gun in a flash, firing at her brother as she pushed Ryan behind a parked town car nearby. She could hear her son crying, and though she wanted to comfort him, now their survival was utmost in her mind.

She could hear Lyle screaming at her, and shots flew over her head, telling her that he had come armed. Firing a few more cover shots, Parker moved quickly to the far side of the lot, pulling Ryan with her.

"Baby, listen to me, okay? I know you're scared, but we have to go now. Do you see the black car over there, the one with the Q in the license plate?"

Shakily, Ryan glanced to where Miss Parker pointed, and then looked back at her as he fought the tears in his eyes.

"Yeah."

"Okay, we're going to run there as fast as we can. I want you to climb in the back and get down on the floor, okay?"

"Why is he so mad?"

"Later, baby, I promise. I'll explain everything, okay? Now, on three. 1...2...3!"

As she called the last number, she grabbed Ryan's hand and they charged across the lot, Parker firing at her brother as she moved. She dropped the empty clip on the ground, shoving another into the gun as they neared the car, and after firing again, she reached into her pocket to key the remote locks so that Ryan could do as she'd told him. That was when a familiar pain tore through her body, nearly knocking her down. Parker glanced at her ride side and saw the bright red blood beginning to show on her clothes.

Forcing herself to fight back the pain of the bullet wound, Parker moved toward the car, climbing into the driver's seat. She started the car, slammed it into drive and moved off as she saw a wave of sweepers emerge from the Centre. The gun shots, she figured, had alerted them.

She ducked down as she passed her brother, his gun firing lamely at her car, running out of bullets as she moved by him. She caught sight of Sydney and Broots in the swarm of men that had arrived, but she knew there was no way they could help her now.

Lyle screamed with rage as his sister escaped and he ordered the sweepers to their cars to pursue her. As the men ran, Broots' eyes focused on the dark red trail that went from the middle of the lot to where Miss Parker's car had been parked.

"Oh, God, Sydney." He reached out and pointed, and as Sydney's eyes focused on what lay before him, he began to panic, wondering how he would reach Jarod when his cell phone rang.

"Jarod ..."

"Sydney, where is she?"

"Jarod, it's too late. She took him and they're after her now."

"Damn it! Sydney, did she tell you where she was going?"

"No. She was so angry, Jarod. She wasn't thinking, and Jarod, there's something else."

"What?" He felt the sense of foreboding that had been plaguing him all day grow.

"She's been shot, Jarod. I don't know how bad."

Jarod hung up the phone as tears began to sting his eyes. He had to find her, but how? How long would she be able to run if she were really hurt, and where on earth would she run to?

****

Mercifully, Ryan had fallen asleep on the back seat of the car, making it easier for Parker to let down the facade she'd put in place to keep him from panicking. Her side was killing her, the pain pulsing through her body everytime she breathed, and she continued to bleed. She had taken off her jacket and balled it up behind the entry wound in her back, trying to slow the flow down, but she knew that she had to get to her destination soon. She was growing weaker by the minute, and though she wouldn't allow herself to consider the possibility that she wouldn't survive, she was damn sure going to make sure that if she did die, her son was somewhere safe.

Her eyes began to blur as she navigated the long, winding road that led to the house she was seeking. Again and again, she had to force herself to stay conscious, digging her nails into her hands to jolt herself awake. They were almost there. Just a few more miles, and Ryan would be safe.

She pulled up in front of the house and found it filled with blazing light, as if everyone in the house were up and working on something, despite the lateness of the hour. She parked, hoping the stopping of the car wouldn't wake Ryan. She was too weak to pretend anymore. She was dying....and she had to get her son into that house.

Parker opened the door and tried to move, but pain overwhelmed her and she knew that she could not get out of the car herself. Out of options, she looked at the horn and then back at her son before letting her hand fall on to the noisy device.

Ryan's head immediately popped up, and it took the boy little time to realize that the woman he had come to care for so much in just two days was very, very sick. He stood up on the back seat and leaned over, his little face coming even with hers.

"Miss Parker, it's okay. I'll take care of you."

She looked at him as she heard the door to the house open. Voices shouted, and she heard footsteps approaching her. With what little strength she had left, Parker turned her head in time to see Charles and Jake approaching her. Charles immediately knelt by her side, his eyes staying on her as he spoke to Jake.

"Jake, take him inside."

"No, I'm staying with Miss Parker. No!" Jake picked the little boy up, hating to force him away from her, but one glance at the woman who had once promised him freedom told him she was in very bad shape.

Parker reached out toward the sound of Ryan's screams, but her vision was fading, blackness coming to take her. She forced herself to focus on the last thing she needed to do.

"Charles, he's my son....Jarod's son."

"I know, Miss Parker, I know. Come on, let's get you inside."

Parker felt his arms come around her, but she couldn't see the look of horror that crossed his face as he saw the dark blood stains that covered the front seat of the car. He picked her up, settling her in his arms as he turned toward the house. He held her close to him, like one of his own children as he leaned down and whispered to her.

"You're going to be fine, Miss Parker. You have to be."

******

They had lost sight of the car in the swirling snow, Lyle cursed and wondered how the hell his sister always managed to come out on top. She got the boy, even though he had staged the whole thing, now he had to go back to the Center and explain what happened. Maybe he could turn this around, he had warned Mutumbo about what would happen if she discovered the truth. No one knew he was responsible.

Strolling into the Centre lobby, Lyle pushed past the sweeper that blocked his way up the stairs. That is until he looked up and saw Mutumbo standing there, fury written on his features, his hands gripped tightly on the rail.

"What the hell were you thinking? A shoot out in the loading dock."

"She took the boy. I warned you that you'd lose if she found out," Lyle announced with a smile, hoping the triumvirate boss accepted his excuse," If it wasn't for the damn snow storm, she'd be back to answer for her betrayal against the Centre."

"Mr. Lyle," the man shook his head," You've got a lot to learn, don't you?"

"She betrayed the Centre."

He watched as the triumvirate boss reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of paper, and shoved it in Lyle's face, a murderous look on his dark features.

"Funny, since the email that informed your sister regarding the parentage of Ryan came from your computer. Do you think that I'm a fool?" He looked at Lyle, hard. Lyle closed his eyes trying to pretend that he didn't hear that. Shit, he never even thought about them tracking Parker's email.

"Take him to SL-26."

"Noooooooooooooo."

Lyle missed the smirk that graced the savant that hid in the air shaft vent or else he would have realized that he had played a part in his dressing down from the triumvirate boss.

*****

Charles carried the wounded woman into the house and into the room that would have been Jarod's, if he were here. What amazed him is that she was able to drive to the cabin, let alone that she knew where it was? Placing her inert form on the bed, he gently removed her blouse, the wound, a small hole, that went through. That at least was a good sign. Now to stop the bleeding.

Blackness had engulfed her, but now there was nothing but a bright light that seemed to warm her sore and tired body. Images passed before her. Things that she had not thought about for the longest time, had not been allowed to think about because it hurt to much. A handful of people passed in front of her, those that were lodged in her heart. Ice blue eyes looked into hers.

"Are you real?" she muttered.

"No, ghosts. All we are are memories. Your memories."

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part VII
by Nicolette & paula h




"How is she? " Margaret asked, fearful. The worried look on her husband's face gave him away before he even spoke.

"I stopped the bleeding, that is all I could do for her now. She started to shake and fantasize; she called for her mother. I have never heard anything like this before, she talked with her, asked her if she was real and if she would now stay with her. She begged her mother not to leave her." A shudder run down the Major's spine as he remembered the scene.

"For a moment I thought she would die right away. " he added with a sigh. "To be honest I have no idea how she was able to make it the whole way up here."

"She had no choice," Margaret replied, "she knew that she was badly wounded, she needed to bring her son to a safe place, to people who would protect him against The Centre no matter what, us. "

When his wife mentioned the little boy the Major looked around, searching for him. When he could not see him he worried a bit. When Jake dragged him out of the car he had heard him scream, and he had heard more than one painful grunt from Jake when he was kicked by Ryan.

Not that he could fault him for this, he must had been scared as hell. He just hoped that the shock was not to much for him.

"Where is Ryan?" he finally asked, the worry about his grandson evident in every word.

"Uh, " Emily spoke for the first time, "he is in my bedroom, sleeping"

The embarrassed and guilty look on his daughter's face raised some suspicions in the Major. He cocked a questioning eyebrow at the young woman.

"Look," she tried to defend herself, "It was not my fault, he was completely frantic, he never stopped screaming and threw around everything he could get a hand on, just go and look at my room, it looks like after hurricane ." Emily hesitated for a moment. "It took me long enough to make him finally drink the Kool-Aid, it was only Benadryl, it was Jake's idea, it made him drowsy." she finished in a defensive tone.

"You drugged him?" her father asked, not believing his ears.

"It was only antihistamine, what Jake took for the bee sting. I wish you had seen, there was no other chance for Jake and me, the only other option would have been to tie him to the bed." Emily finished contrarily. She didn't dare to look at her father, or her mother, she felt guilty enough for it. But they had not seen the rage from the boy. She wished Jake was here to confirm her words, but he had decided to stay with Ryan, just in case. She was ready to defend herself even more when she heard the chuckle of her mother. Her head snapped up and watched the couple in front of her, disbelieving.

Her mother was now laughing and even her father looked like he would laugh out loud any minute. For a moment she feared her parents had lost it.

"Oh, Emily do you know what you said? Jake and you, a strong young woman and a teenage boy where both not able to handle a not-even-three year old baby." Margaret gasped trying to get air back into her lungs. She was aware that her laughter was almost hysterical, the last hours had just been to much.

Finally Emily joined them. She was sure that if the situation was not so sad it would have made a great joke for anyone who saw the fight with Ryan. She briefly wondered who gave him his name, the "Little King," it seemed that somebody had picked it out on purpose.

The urge to laugh faded as soon as it had hit them and it was suddenly absolutely quiet inside of the cabin, except an occasional knick and knack from the open fireplace.

"I'll call Sydney, it's overdue. Maybe he has news on what happened there and he may even know where Jarod is." Not waiting or expecting any response, he took out this cell phone and hit speed dial.

Margaret rose from the sofa, not waiting for a her husband to even start the call, with a short excuse she walked over to the bedroom where Miss Parker now lay.

****

Jarod stopped the car. He was less than two miles from The Centre, but Parker and his... her son were no longer there. He was at a complete loss. It was difficult enough to comprehend the child's existence; another Centre betrayal; and now he had no chance to help. To help, he smiled at himself, to save the day... to ride in and play hero, just like Parker always said he did. Parker, she'd been shot rescuing his son from that hell. Like mother like daughter. How badly was she injured? There were sweepers looking for her. Where could she go? Not her home, she was too smart for that. He could only hope she had some sort of plan. He had none.

A blast of wind buffeted the car and knocked him out of his reverie. If he couldn't go to his child, at least he might be able to keep The Centre away. He dialed The Centre's number as he watched the wind sweep snowflakes across the hood of his car. "Mr. Lyle, please," he said to the evening receptionist.

"Mr. Lyle is no longer employed here. Is there anyone else you wish to speak with?" she responded as she activated a trace on the call, per standing order on any calls for "former" employees.

"Mutambo, then," Jarod smiled wickedly. So Lyle had been found out. Setting up Miss Parker was not a career enhancing move. Good, he hoped the bastard was already dead, it would save him the trouble.

"Is Mr. Mutambo expecting your call? Please give me your name. I need to check it against a correspondence list."

"Jarod." If Jarod could have seen the receptionist face, he would have been gratified. Her eyes widened; she did not need the list. She did not know who this Jarod person was but she did know that any calls from him were to be directed to the recipient immediately. She was glad she had already started the trace.

He waited only moments until Mutambo's rich voice filled his ears, "Mutambo here." Jarod felt like the icy wind hit the back of his neck. He could feel it moving down his back to his heart, which froze with fear.

Jarod took a deep shaking breath, steeling himself for what he was going to try. "Call off your dogs."

"Why, Jarod, to what do I owe this call?" Mutambo smiled, possible victory from the jaws of defeat. "We are not currently pursuing you."

"You are trailing my son. As you have trailed me and my clone."

"Your son? I am impressed. Your knowledge of Centre activities is rather amazing." That leak needed to be plugged.

"Human beings are not activities," anger re-warmed Jarod's soul. He had to do this. "Call them off."

"And in return...?

"Me."

"The child has possibly greater potential...."

"He is still too young for many sims. A few years of freedom will not dull his abilities. It has not dulled mine. I can prove that. And a bird in the hand...."

May bring others from the bush. A new plan swiftly formed in Mutambo's mind. "You will cooperate?"

"Yes," Jarod gritted his teeth. Could he; would he? At least this would buy Parker time. "This time I want Sydney in charge."

"You are presumptuous. Very well, I am calling back the sweepers," he nodded his head and an assistant picked up another line to follow the order. "How will you know that they are back? When will you arrive?"

"I will know, and within ten minutes of their return. Sydney or no cooperation. You tried to force me before."

"Sydney, perhaps, we will make no further agreement until you are here."

Jarod broke the connection. Mutambo smiled. A further agreement? Does a man make an agreement with his hounds? No more than with the antelope they pursue. Once this hound was back under The Centre's chain, he would obey. And there was time to recover the pup. A short space of freedom and experience of The Centre's power might make him easier to train. Mutambo moved to watch the increasing snow outside his window. The boy was out there somewhere, watching his mother bleed.

****

"Syd, please pinch me," Broots nearly whined, "wake me up." He had followed Sydney back into the Centre, not knowing what else to do. Now they where standing in Miss Parkers office, her former office, after what has happened here during the last hours she surely would not be back. Broots silently prayed that she was not injured too badly, but from the amount of blood they had found on the parking lot, it was definitely more than a scratch.

"I know how you feel, " the older man assured him, " I can not believe it myself., after all those year of hunting, tricks and sacrifices, now this." Sydney felt older than ever in his life before. Everything was going downhill and he felt simply helpless and useless. God what a mess. He carefully scanned the room. Finally his eyes rested on a beautifully decorated box, placed next to her briefcase. She must have been about to leave when she received that damn mail from her brother.

After Mr. Parker was gone he had thoughts the siblings had called a truce, fragile but steady. He had been proven wrong, again. He asked himself what else must happen to finally let him see that nothing at The Centre was as it seemed.

Absently, Sydney traced the patterns on the box, carefully he lifted the lit and pushed the paper away. A beautiful doll. He didn't need to read the note, even before he opened the box he knew it was a present from Jarod. Thoughtfully, he stared into the porcelain face, a face that reminded him so much of the woman he worried about now. The doll smiled at him, a frozen smile, prefect beauty for eternity but, even so, easy to destroy beyond repair.

The shrill of his cell phone shocked him out of his daydream. He glanced over to Broots who stood there silently observing him. He saw the same fear he felt mirrored in the eyes of the younger man.

"Broots, take the box with the doll, please" Sydney ordered while he took out his cell phone to answer the call.

******

As carefully as she could, Margaret opened the bedroom door and slipped into the room. She stooped next to the bed and looked at the sleeping form. She was no doctor, but one was not needed to tell the young woman had been badly injured. Her skin was pale and sweaty.

It was the second time in her life she saw her; the first was a life time ago. She had hoped to meet her son, but as soon as she saw him this woman was there with a bunch of Sweepers.

About four years later she had finally met her son and he had given her the picture of her. A snap shot, clearly taken with a tele, but every time she looked at that picture she had the feeling the woman on it would look directly into her soul. As she told Emily, she knew how much she meant to her son.

Margaret sat down onto the bed, stroking some strands hair out off Parker's face. She had risked everything to take her son out and now it seemed she had lost. She had not only let her husband and Jake escape on more than one occasion, but she had known exactly where they where to meet and spend the holidays. She prayed to God that Charles was able to reach Jarod and let him know that she was here before he could do anything completely stupid.

Miss Parker stirred and opened her eyes, her fevered gaze fell on the woman sitting on her bed.

"Mom? I am sorry, I failed you." Her voice nearly inaudible, her eyes fell closed and her whole body turned limp.

For a split second Margaret was in panic, but than she noticed the even rise and fall of her breast, it seemed that she had finally to fallen into a deep slumber, at least she hoped so. She had lost so much blood and needed to rest more than anything else.

The older women stood up and rearranged the quilt and covers, Miss Parker responded and snuggled deeper into them.

Margaret was about to leave but turned back and placed a light kiss on the forehead of the woman, "Sweet dreams, Morgana" she finally whispered into her ear and left to check up on her grandson.

*****

Jarod watched the sweepers' town cars return to The Centre through the increasing snow. He waited nine minutes, he would not give them any more time or cooperation than promised. He had demanded Sydney. If Mutambo would not allow that, he would not perform. He had promised them himself, nothing more.

It was time to live up to his promise. Jarod gunned the motor and drove into The Centre parking lot. He left the headlights on when he got out. He wanted to see their faces; he did not want them to see the expression on his. He barely took three steps when he saw the trail of blood Parker had left during her flight. It was hard to tell in darkness, but new white snow was trapped in what looked to be a large amount of spilled blood. He stopped dead in his tracks, wanting to turn and run.

He forced himself forward. This was for his son, the son he might never see. It was the best plan he could think of, to keep him free. He could see people through the door. He could not tell if Sydney was there or not, and he almost panicked. Without Sydney he might never know how badly Parker was injured. Once inside he might never know if she survived.

Mutambo watched the car pull into the lot. He saw Jarod's shadow in the headlights; watched him stop; held back the sweepers who would have gone out to retrieve him. Mutambo smiled, it was always best to honor your enemies, in defeat or in victory. He wanted to see Jarod acknowledge this defeat. He was gratified to see the man start forward again. He watched him stride across the rest of the lot to the door. A gust of snow-filled wind blew around him just before he reached the door, trying to pull him back. Mutambo saw the look on Jarod's face, the warrior's mask. It was a shame he served another purpose, this one could have been made into a great hunter.

Jarod walked into The Centre and stopped, allowing his eyes to adjust. He looked quickly from face to face. He did not see Sydney.

"Come in, Jarod," Mutambo gestured as he spoke. "I see you are a man of your word."

"Where is Sydney?"

"We will discuss that. You are not in a position to make demands." Sweepers moved between Jarod and the door.

"You promised that Sydney would be here, in charge."

"I said, 'perhaps.'"

"I said, 'Sydney,'" Jarod growled. They had lied, he was not surprised, but he was angry. He started to move toward Mutambo and a sweeper grabbed each arm. Jarod fought to remain calm. Every minute he cooperated was another minute the boy was free. "All right," he shook off the sweepers and Mutambo signaled them to stand down. "What now?"

"Now, the sweepers will go back out to make sure your son is not sitting in a car somewhere beside his dead mother." Mutambo signaled the sweepers to return to their cars. Four remained to control Jarod, if necessary.

Jarod could not breathe as he watched the sweepers walk out the door. They were going after the boy, "You gave your word!" he spun toward Mutambo; the sweepers grabbed his arms again. Mutambo did not stop them.

"I agreed to call off the search in exchange for your return. They are not actively trailing the boy. But he is not yet three years old. The woman was shot, in disobedience to my wishes, and may not be... able to care for him. This is a precaution, for his well being." Mutambo smiled. "As to Sydney, we will see if you deserve such a reward. For the present you will be treated as any other who has disobeyed The Centre." He spoke to the guards, "Take him to SL-26."

Jarod did not fight the sweepers. There would be time enough to fight. "You will get nothing from me."

Mutambo's smile broadened, "Ah, but we already have..." He turned and walked away.

******

Lyle could not believe this. Where had his plan started to fail, She had reacted exactly the way he had expected. Running off with the boy, she even tried to reach her own car.

He paced around in his small cell. He had underestimated her, he had not expected her to start a gunfight. She had fired two full clips, but not hit him once. First he had called himself lucky, but now he was sure she had missed him on purpose.

Everything for her little bastard. He had known from the beginning that it would be a big mistake to let them meet. The Triumverate was sometimes completely blind. She was able to track anything and anybody down. But she failed again and again with Jarod and his family. All he ever wanted was proof. He had collected evidence over the years, but his traitorous sister had always been able to wind herself out.

But this time, this time he had caught her. He remembered the trail of blood in the snow. She was dying, no he corrected himself, she was surely dead by now. She had nobody she could turn to.

A smile came up on Lyle’s lips, he imagined his dead sister somewhere out in her car. This would be a good lesson for the little lab rat, spending a night with his dead mother in a freezing car would teach him not to disobey anymore.

Lyle thought about the possibilities with the boy under his control. All he needed was to get out of this rotten damn hole.

*****

Two more sweepers joined Jarod's honor guard at the elevator. He knew they had been ready to intervene if he had resisted Mutambo's orders at the door. They searched him and called the elevator.

As the elevator descended, Jarod mused that this had not been the smartest move of his life. Briefly, he even considered trying to fight his way out of here, maybe grab a sweeper's gun... and possibly leave his son an orphan. His search for family had brought him full circle; it would be the death of him yet. If he intended to get out of this position, he would have to pretend to cooperate. He needed to be sure his son... his son... had the freedom he deserved. He had to know they got away, that Parker had survived and found a refuge... Refuge... Sydney. Did Sydney even know that he had walked back in the front door? Mutambo did not intend to live up to his side of the bargain, that was hardly a surprise. What next?

The next stop was an all-too familiar sub-level. Rows of faceless doors, except for the one with the sweeper beside it. It had a barred window, as did the cell across from it. Jarod did not notice that he had stopped walking. Could they have Parker and the boy already? Did they want him to watch her die like her mother? He pulled back, and the sweepers pulled him forward. He deliberately refused to look in the other cell.

The sweepers pushed him into his cell and moved back, out of view. A surveillance camera was his new companion. Jarod stood at the far wall of the cell, unable to bring himself to look through the door. He heard the elevator again. A flash of Lyle's triumphant face from his last visit made Jarod queasy. But Lyle had crossed Mutambo; Jarod was not his toy this time. He wondered who his new playmate would be.

The cell door opened and Mr. Raines walked in. Shock was only the first of Jarod's emotions. Raines smiled at the obviously nervous man. "Hello, Jarod," he still had a slight wheeze to his voice, "welcome back, again. I just came down to tell you I will be taking care of you for a while. Mutambo has informed me that you offered to cooperate under certain conditions. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to grant your wishes."

Jarod frowned, he began to make an angry reply, but Raines stopped him with a gesture. "However, I am able to reward good behavior. In exchange for your nonviolent return, I offer you this bit of information. No sign of the boy, Ryan is his name I believe, has been found. Hopefully, Miss Parker was somewhat more successful in her 'rescue' attempt than her mother was." Raines saw disbelief on Jarod's face. "I say this, not because I want the boy outside The Centre, this is where he belongs. But because there is a snow storm and the temperature is rapidly dropping. If Miss Parker succumbed to her injury, there is a good chance she took the boy with her.

"As to your demand to see Sydney, that will be considered as a reward for good behavior. As to our pursuit of Miss Parker and our stolen property, that will be the subject of a Triumverate meeting. Your complete cooperation may influence their decision." Raines turned to leave the cell, "One final thing, just as your good behavior will be rewarded, bad behavior will be severely punished." He smiled, "God be with you," and left.

Jarod walked to the door. God? What did God have to do with this place? He watched Raines walk away as far as he could, then looked at the cell across the hall from his.

Lyle looked back at him, an odd glimmer in his eyes, "Welcome back to Hell...."

*****

"This is Sydney", the psychiatrist answered the phone, observing Broots, who carefully carried the box with the doll out of the room.

"Sydney, this is Major Charles," came the immediate reply.

Sydney closed his eyes in relief, hopefully the Major would know where Jarod was, so he could help them to find Miss Parker. Sydney just prayed that Jarod was close enough to make it in time, Miss Parker had no time to loose.

"Major, I am glad you called. We have a little problem here, Sydney started. Before he could go on and explain the whole situation.

Major Charles interrupted him, "We have no time for details yet, do you know where is my son? Do you know where Jarod is?

The desperate sound of the voice on the other end of the line made Sydney frown. Confused he tried to make sense out of the words. No time for detail and why was he asking for Jarod. He had hoped to get the Pretender’s location from his father.

"I hoped you could tell us, " Sydney replied calmly. "We need his help, Miss Parker freed their son, but was caught by her brother on the parking lot. He shot her, and from the blood we found there we need to find her as soon as possible. "

The silence on the other end was tugging on Sydney’s nerves. Finally he heard a soft curse. The Major spoke again. "I'm worried that Jarod has not called you as well. We need to find him, but for another reason than you think. Miss Parker is here. She is not in a good shape, but I am sure she will make it. Ryan is not injured at all. Jarod is the one I really worried about at the moment, he has no idea that they are with us and knowing him he may be about to make a big mistake."

Sydney was stunned about the revelation. "How was you able to find Miss Parker so fast?" he was finally able to ask.

"We did not find her, she found us. She drove directly up to our cabin," the Major declared, after a few seconds he added. "I will go and try to reach him via his laptop, if you have any chance to talk with Jarod, tell him he should come home, he knows where he can find us." With this the Major disconnected the line.

Sydney stood there staring at the phone in his hand as the last words from the Major sunk in, '...she found us. She drove directly up to our cabin.’ God she had been aware of their location all the time.

He was still lost in his thoughts as the door to Miss Parker’s former office was pushed open forcefully. Sydney turned and looked directly in the worried face of Sam.

Sam looked at the older man, a bit unsure. This could be a big mistake. He shifted, a bit uneasy, from foot to foot. He had always been loyal to Miss

Parker and he still felt really guilty for his actions three years ago when Jared was captured by the Centre. But this might be his chance to make up for it a bit.

"Dr. Green," he addressed the older man respectfully." Jarod turned himself in a few minutes ago. "

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part VIII
by Shannon




Sydney stared at Sam, letting the information he just revealed, slowly sink in. Fear coiled in his heart. He should have realized that Jarod had been close. After all he had asked him to stop Parker from rescuing the child. That he was on his way.

"You have my undivided attention, Sam," the doctor replied.

"He called asked to talk to Lyle, then Mutumbo. He wanted the search for the boy and Miss Parker called off. Mutumbo agreed for all of ten minutes, then once Jarod was back inside the Centre, the sweepers were unleashed. She took a hit, didn't she. I saw the trail of blood," the sweeper closed his eyes, briefly.

"She's not dead, Sam, and that's all I'll tell you," he returned a hard stare at the sweeper," Why are you telling me about Jarod, anyway?"

"Do you know where she is?"

The sweeper watched the good doctor shake his head, no.

"Where's Jarod, Sam?"

"SL-26 across the hall from Lyle. Raines was given the go ahead to debrief him."

"Damn! I was afraid that he'd do something stupid. He sacrificed his freedom for the boy and Miss Parker."

"Can I ask why she took the child? She didn't tell me a thing, earlier."

"That child is her son, and Jarod's."

He watched the face of the sweeper pale than darken with anger, the implications of what Sydney just told him taking hold.

"Her son?"

"Yes, seems that the Centre decided to branch out and try other ways of creating the prefect pretender. Seems that the cloning business is all right for cattle," Sydney spat in anger.

"I'd be careful if I where you, Syd. Loyalty to Miss Parker is a dangerous thing around here, at this moment in time."

"So are you saying that you are no longer loyal to her, Sam?"

"She deserves better, Syd. Does that answer your question?" the sweeper turned and headed back to the door, but not before he looked at the doctor, again," If you need anything, don't hesitate."

"There's no going back, once that line is crossed."

"They crossed it first," with that said he left the office, and headed for the meeting with Mutumbo, appearances needed to be kept up.

Sydney sat in the chair, that previously held mother and son, picking up the picture of the beautiful woman and adorable girl off the desk, he wondered if getting to Jarod was a possibility.

"Catherine, protect her. She needs your love and strength more than ever, now. And don't let Ryan give the Russell's a hard time. They say this is the season for miracles, Lord, then we could use one." Removing the picture, he put the empty frame back on the desk and then left the office, stopping at his office, he made a call.

"Broots, get to Miss Parker's house. No, the cottage. Hurry before the sweepers get there. Any information regarding Jarod and his family take it out, now. Don't come back here, take Debbie and go. No don't worry about me. Jarod. Yes, I know where he is. he turned himself. Worried, hell yes, I'm worried. It was a stupid move on his part. Have I seen him, no? Raines is in charge of him, at the moment. Now, go. No. I'll keep in touch."

Snapping the cell phone shut, he headed for the confrontation with the triumvirate boss over the supposed care of Jarod, he would get in to see him if it killed him.

Meanwhile in Miss Parker's office, the grate to the air vent opened very slowly and effortlessly. Fingers reached for the computer, quickly accessing the files, the download was completed within a few minutes, and the safety perimeters of the Centre's mainframe never knew that a breach had occurred. He had stayed to help protect his friends. Always overlooked and underappriecated. Returning to the air shaft, he made his way to the little room that he used to send out his tidings of good cheer. Swiftly accessing the video tape that was recorded from Miss Parker's office earlier, on the Centre's cameras. He pulled up the image of Miss Parker with the boy on her lap, both laughing, happy. Once the image printed, the paper is folded and placed it in a pocket. Gone into the bowels of hell, he crawled. Down and down, into areas that he rarely ventured to go anymore.

Jarod sat on the cot that was located just under the vent of the air shaft, hearing a shuffling noise, he knew that his Centre connection had come to offer some form of solace. Quickly making his way to the door and the small barred window, he watches as the surveillance camera follows his movements.

"Hey, Lyle!" the pretender calls out watching as the hated man comes his own barred window," Fancy meeting a sick, sadistic soul like you in a place like this?"

"She's dead," he sneered, hoping to get a rise out of the pretender," And when they bring the little labrat back, he's all mine."

"Really! Doesn't look like you're going anywhere, anytime soon, Lyle. Going against the triumvirate is not one of your smartest move, but then again you never were considered genius material, now were you, more like primordial ooze," he laughed, trying to fight down the rage and anger he felt for the man across the hall. After all it was his bullet that placed his son and mother in a rather precarious position. She wasn't dead, repeated over and over in his mind. As long as he held on to that thought, he could endure whatever the Centre had planned. For a while.

"Shut up, Jarod. I will triumph, believe me," it was the timbre of his voice that betrayed him to the pretender.

"Lyle, you're a dead man. Whether its at the hands of the Centre or," he paused and whispered the words," Mine. DEAD MAN."

Returning to the cot, Jarod almost missed the small folded piece of paper, realizing that the camera was upon him once again, he slowly sat down, placing his hand on it. Watching the blinking light on the surveillance camera suddenly stop, he frantically unfolded it. A picture that would remain burned in his brain and give him the incentive to get the hell out of the damn mess he had gotten himself into. If Parker was alive, he was never going to live this one down, she's make sure of that.

*******************************

The snow continued to fall, heavier with each passing hour, and the wind whipped it around like cotton balls. The Major was worried about the fever that was consuming Miss Parker's, in her weakened condition, he hoped that she had the strength to fight it off. Margaret was in with the woman, while he paced waiting to see if his son answered his email message.

Margaret watched as her toss and turn, asking for her mother. Earlier, when Margaret had checked her, she had fallen into a deep slumber, but now the fever called forth memories and she spoke to imaginary ghosts.

There came a bright light from under the door and the sound of a child's laugh, turning her head, Parker tried to call out for Ryan, but failed to find her voice.

"Oh, my baby," she thought, as a single tear escaped her.

"Suddenly a cool hand brushed the tear away, opening her eyes, Parker looked into familiar blue ones.

"Momma."

"Hush, Morgana, you need to rest."

"Have you come to take me with you," her words caught in her throat, yet she could not remember why.

"Not yet," the voice answered," Rest."

The hand closed around hers and she felt herself drifting back to sleep remembering.

A warm kitchen, the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafted through the house. Hints of cinnamon, allspice, and cardamom layered together. A figure by the oven, Momma.

"Are they done, Momma?"

"As soon as the timer rings, Morgana," she turned and smiled.

"That's the last batch, right?'

"Yes, baby. That's the last batch," the woman smiled, just as the timer buzzed," Go get your skates."

The little girl scampered off the kitchen chair and dashed into the hallway, only to emerge minutes later, dressed for the outdoors, her shiny figure skates in her gloved hands.

Miss Parker watched and remembered the joy that use to fill her heart at Christmas time, but that changed when she was ten. After that the holidays held no special meaning for her, not anymore.

"What made you forget to celebrate Christmas?"

"Your death, daddy, the Centre, a million reasons. Why?"

The room changed and became cold, dark and devoid of anything that would have announced the Christmas holidays. No light, no tree, no tinsel, not even a wreath on the front door. It was at that moment that the door, opened and in entered Parker. This Parker made a beeline for the sideboard that housed the liquor and glasses. Pouring a glass and dropping on to the sofa, she sipped her drink and was about to lean her head back when the knocker on her door fell. A guttural groan escaped the woman's lips, as she got up and answered it. Lyle. Damn.

"Missed them again, did we? If I didn't know better, I'd say you did it on purpose."

"Go to hell, Lyle and leave me alone."

"Sis, it's Christmas Eve."

"I said go away," she aimed the empty tumbler at his head. It only just missed.

Parker turned to the figure next to her to find her mother gone and someone else from her past.

Thomas.

"Christmas last year, the year before that, will it be like that this year, Parker," he said shaking his head, sadly," there was only one time that you actually enjoyed Christmas, since your mother died."

The cabin stood nestled between the tree, lights blazing from the windows, smoke curling from the chimney. A car pulled up and parked, a lone figure emerged, the black leather duster, a dead give away as to who it was. She watched from a distance, the door slowly opened and mother and son, stood hugging in the doorway, under the mistletoe.

"You always made sure that no one found that place, Parker."

"I have no regrets," she said wistfully.

"Liar!"

She closed her eyes tighter, afraid. Margaret took the cool cloth and wiped away the beads of perspiration that had appeared on her forehead. A slight knock at the door, broke Margaret's thoughts.

"Mom," Emily entered with a tray laden with tea pot and a cup," It's willow bark tea. It's supposed to help reduce her fever."

"How's Ryan?"

"He's with Dad and Jake. They got him to eat something and then promised to let him see her briefly."

Parker eyes opened. For a moment she was startled, unsure where she was. Shapes.She shrank against the pillows, the inky dark reminded her of the Centre.

"Yes, it's the Centre," the voice was monotone.

No lights came from the room that they stood in front of, and no noise either. Yet the door swung open and laying on the cot was a little boy of around four. His features familiar to her. Two entered the room, one older, the other younger, but it is the older one that speaks.

"Ryan, they need us in the SIM lab."

"No," Parker whispered,"Jarod, should have waited. So sorry." She fell into a troubled sleep.

Someone is crying. A child crying. A man and child walking away from a white headstone.

"Jarod," she murmurs, as another tear falls from her eyes.

The two women stepped out of the room only for a moment, curious if there was any news on the whereabouts of their missing family member. Entering the living room, the found the Major in the computer.

"Where's Ryan?" Margaret asked as she scanned the room.

"He was on the sofa just a minute ago. Jake, is Ryan in there with you?"

"No, dad. I left him on the sofa, he wanted another glass of milk."

The tiny hand pushed the door open slowly, his eyes found Miss Parker laying on the bed , her face ashen, her dark hair damp from the fever, spread around her face. As though sensing that someone had returned to the room, Parekr stirred. Trying to wake up, was like trying to rise from a pool of sryup. Every muscle in her body ached, she was exhausted, and breathing still hurt. She forced her eyes to open. Not her bed. Not her home. then the nightmare came back to her. It was then that she caught sight of dark eyes peering from over the mattress.

"Ryan," she whispered, straining to sit up, but barely able to raise her head.

The little boy scampered around to the other side of the bed and crawled up, pulling the covers back, he snuggled close to the woman.

"I won't leave you, again. I promise, " his tiny hand draped itself across her chest, his head nestled next to her shoulder. He kissed her cheek, just like she had done to him, when he was sleeping.

"Ryan, my baby," she murmured as she felt sleep over take her again.

***********************************

Broots looked out the window again for the umpteenth time. He got to Parker's and immediately began to search for any sign that all these years that she know the location of Jarod's family. Sydney had said that she made it to their house. Drove right up to the front door. Hurt and in pain, she still managed to get away. Sweepers would be here, soon, granted the snowstorm would slow them down but not for long. Entering the dining room, Broots stopped cold in his tracks. Jarod was either extremely careless or in such a hurry that he neglected to take his laptop with him. Disconnecting the computer, Broots hurriedly placed it in the bag that lay on the floor, pulling his coat around him, he made his way to the car that was parked across the street. Placing the laptop in the front seat, he returned to the house to check out the closed door off the living room. As he started to turn the knob, he heard the slam of car doors and the shouts of sweepers.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part IX
by Ashlee & Trisha




Sam walked down the halls of SL-16, his face steeled in the expression that he had been taught to wear in training, the expression that had kept him alive since his employment, here at the Centre. It revealed nothing of the anger, the hatred, and the vengeance that was gestating in his mind and soul. Hehad not only served Miss Parker, but he liked to think that he had become a trusted friend, someone that she could count on, someone that HE could count on. He sighed inwardly as he entered an abandoned office and sat down. He opened the drawer and pulled out something that he had hoped he would never have to use.

*****

Broots looked back at the front door, pure horror painted an almost translucent color on his features.

"Ah man… what do I do, what do I do ?"

The noise of one sweeper talking to another rang a deafening tone in his ears.

"On the count of three you knock down the door and I'll cover you. One…"

Broots looked around, panic gripping his heart and then realized where his hand was. He pushed open the door, ducked in and shut the door as quietly and quickly as he could, just as the front door was torn from it's hinges. He quickly locked the door and looked around for a place to hide. Only to realize that he didn't have that many options.

******

Jarod sat on the cot, trying not too let the worry bother him, but the not knowing was killing him. He kept telling himself that Parker was all right, that had she really died, he would have felt it. They had a bond that was unexplainable and ran deeper that either cared to admit. He sigh, resisting the urge to pull out the picture that Angelo had brought to him. Parker and the boy, his son, no their son. Looking at them together, one could not miss the resemblance. The same aura surrounded them, one of control and temperament. If they team up against me, he thought. Goner. He laughed, as an image of Parker, the boy and him wrestling on the hard wood floor of the cabin that had become like a home to him. At least for the holidays. Like that was ever going to happen, he thought, sadly. He lay in the cot, his hands behind his head, closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on some way of escaping. It was certainly obvious that Mutumbo had no intention of keeping his words. Riding in like the gallant knight to save the day, what a joke. He made a mess of it, that was for sure. He needed to get out, if he wanted to save his family.

***********************

The sweepers walked around the house searching for any sign of Miss Parker and the young boy, but found none. Their boss, Bart was under direct orders from Sam, his boss. Sam had informed him that the computer techie had gone to the house, find him, get him out of there and then leave the place alone. Spotting the door in the living room, Bart took up a position in front of it.

It was the only logical place Mr. Broots would be cowering.

Broots leaned against the door. He could hear the sweepers, through the heavy wooden door, but the sounds were muffled. He just might survive this. Taking in his surroundings, he realized that he was in Catherine's studio. The only furniture was that of a chaise lounge, table and a rather wondrous collection of memorabilia. Jarod's gifts to Miss Parker, he thought. Draped in the window seat, as if it had been wrapped around someone's shoulders earlier, was a blue and white handmade quilt. Walking over to it, he extended his fingers and took it up. Recognizing the pattern from one that Debbie's sitter had made, Broots pondered the meaning behind it. A Celtic love knot pattern, traditional bestowed on the wedding night, a symbol of everlasting love for all eternity. Hearing a voice at the door, Broots held his breath.

"Sir, there's no sign of the boy or Miss Parker. There's nothing to indicate that she was ever disloyal to the Centre until this evening."

Bart nodded.

"Head back to the Centre, report your findings to Sam. Then sweep her office, again. He knew that nothing would be found, for Sam had already checked, personally.

"Yes, sir! The door behind you sir?"

"I'm to take care of it personally, understood," he was harsh, but he needed to get his point across.

"Yes, sir."

The sweepers filed out of the house, leaving the rest of the house in a shambles, Bart watched from the window as the black town cars pulled away, an ink blot in a snowstorm.

Trying the knob, Bart find the door locked.

"Broots? Damn it man, I know you're in there. I'm here to get you out!"

Silence filled the room.

"Look it, I don't want to kick this door in either, but if you don't open it."

The door slowly swung open, Broots standing in the doorway hugging the quilt to his chest, looking as though he was about to die of fright.

"Come on Mr. Broots, out," he nearly dragged the man out of the room.

"But Dr. Green asked me to. . ."

"I'll personally take the rest of the items to him. Who do you think told Sam that you were here?"

"Okay, okay," Broots was grateful that Miss Parker instilled such loyalty in people. It was then that he spotted the bunny cage in the corner of the living room.

"I can't leave him alone," he draped the quilt over the cage and headed out the door, crossed the street, put the rabbit and its cage in the back seat. The snow was still falling and visibility was next to nothing but he was determined to make it home. Spying the bag that held Jarod's computer, he hoped that it held some answers. After all computers were his specialty, and this was one computer he'd like to crack. Turning on the radio for the latest weather report, Broots began to hum to the Christmas carol that was playing, The Gifts They Gave. He had to call Sydney as well. Later, once he was home, safe.

***********************************

The two that were incarcerated on SL-26, began to panic when the approach of footfalls on the cement floor signaled the first signs of life since either had been dumped in their respective cells.

Lyle's eyes flew open, panicked, then calmed himself. Coming to inform the lab rat that his sister was dead and her body was in the Centre morgue. Also that his creation was back in his cell, throwing temper tantrums. He laughed at that. He wished that he could see the expression on the pretender's face when told of his poor sister's demise. It was the click of his door, that wiped the wistful look off it.

Oh damn, was the only thought that registered, as Mutumbo and Raines entered his cell.

"Hello, Lyle," Mutumbo said, rather gleefully.

Lyle knew that was not a good sign. He felt his body shudder and not from the cold.

"Mutumbo," he replied, surprised at the calm in his voice,"Mr. Raines."

"Good day, Mr. Lyle," he stepped into the light.

Lyle had to fight the urge not to laugh, for Raines had on his happy blue suit, the one that he had on after returning from equatorial Africa.

"I must say that I am quite disappointed in your recent behavior. Your lack of charitable works toward the good of mankind, namely the triumvirate as caused us great pain. Therefore you have been selected for enlightenment."

"Nooooooooooooo," he yelled as the two sweepers that stood outside his door came in and hooked him by an arm.

"Really, Mr. Lyle, it's not that bad. Not that bad at all. I haven't felt this good in years," Raines voice was surprisingly reassuring.

The minute that Jarod had heard the approach of footsteps, a sense of dread had come over him. That Parker had been found and the boy back in this cesspool. Making his way to the small barred window, Jarod took pleasure in watching Lyle dragged out forcibly by two sweepers.

"Enjoy breathing, Lyle, at least for a while."

"This isn't over, not yet, Jarod! I'll be back and when I am, he's mine," he yelled as he was forced on to the awaiting elevator.

"Not while I'm breathing," Jarod whispered, not wanting to incur the wrath of either Mutumbo or Raines, who had emerged from Lyle's former home. Releasing the bars of the window, that he had been gripping, he threw himself on to the cot. As his door opened, he turned to look at the imposing figure that stood there as nonchalantly as possible. In reality, he was analyzing a way out of his cell. Looking for some possible means of escape. None seemed to reveal itself. He had considered the airducts briefly, but on this level, they unscrewed from the inside. Seemed that they didn't want to make the same mistake, again. He would have to wait for Angelo, if he attempted to use the air vent. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes, listening to Mutumbo, halfheartedly. That is until he felt the presence of someone else in the small room. Opening one eye, Raines.

Damn it, he thought, silently. Forrest Gump had something there when he said stupid is as stupid does.

*************************************

Ryan lay nestled next to Miss Parker, his eyes heavy with sleep, yet he didn't want to succumb. Unfortunately, the power of sleep was stronger than his will to protect her.

It was Margaret and the Major that found them, together, sleeping peacefully.

"Her fever, as well as her dreams, seem to have abated since he crawled in with her," Margaret spoke softly, in the dimly lite room.

"Let him stay. After all she is his mother," the major said, turning to leave, worry still readable on his features over the disappearance of his oldest child.

"Dad, Jake just received some information on the website," Emily said, as he alighted from the staircase.

"Jarod!" his features starting to relax.

"No, it wasn't from Jarod. It was from Angelo. He transferred all of Miss Parker's files from the Centre to us. Then erased any trace of the download from the Centre's database. Dad, she's known about this place from the start."

"But how? We were so sure it was well hidden."

"That's just it. She use to own it. She came here with her mother as a little girl. That's why they never found it. Any paper trail to this place is gone. In other words, this place doesn't exist."

"She's been protecting us all this time," Emily spoke, as she sank slowly onto the sofa," And I thought..."

"Em, don't be so hard on yourself. Just wait until Jarod finds out," Jake couldn't help but grin," And he thought he was such a genius."

The major looked at his youngest son and chuckled, slightly before sobering again.

"Any news on Jarod?"

"Yes, but you won't like it

"What about Jarod?" the voice was that of their mother's.

"He turned himself in to protect. . ."

"Damn, damn, damn. Son of a . . ." the expletives flew from the Major's lips.

"Charles, calm down," Margaret wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"That's so him, thinking with his heart, again, he's going soft in the head."

"Charles, stop it. You know that he loves Morgana and nothing is going to change that," Margaret said, softly, that only Charles heard her.

"Nooooo," the voice was soft and came from the figure that stood on the stairs. It was Emily that got to her first, just as her legs collapsed from under her.

"Miss Parker, you shouldn't be out of bed," the Major admonished her.

"Bad dreams," she whispered as he picked her up in to his arms.

"You've had a fever, dear. Let's get you back under the covers."

"Ryan," panic crossed her pale features. As they reached the top of the stairs, a two year old tornado came whirling out of the room, clearly agitated.

"Miss Par. , " he stopped, short as he saw the Major bringing her back into the bedroom.

"You shouldn't get out of bed," the toddler said as he resumed his place, he had just vacated, smiling that smile that reminded her of him.

"Ryan, baby," she whispered as she placed a hand on his cheek.

"Rest," Margaret started to say but stopped following to where the woman's eye's had gone.

"This is his room," she said, watching the other woman nod.

"Whose room?" the boy asked, curiosity written on his small features.

"A friend, baby. A very special friend," she replied to his question.

"Your friend?" he asked, looking at her, as she nodded," Do you think he'd be my friend too?"

The Major and Margaret tried not to laugh but could not help but let a small chuckle escape their lips.

"He'll be your friend and so much more, now its bedtime for everyone. It's very late," Margaret pulled the coverlet up around mother and son. Her eyes twinkling, yet a tinge of regret filled them as well.

"He'll find a way to get home," Parker murmured, taking hold of her hand, before closing her eyes.

Margaret walked to the window and looked out, seeing nothing but snow swirling around. I hope so, Morgana, I hope so.

*****************

Sydney found the cardboard box on his desk, with a note from Sam. Lifting the lid, he found the crystal angel, but it was the stainglass window of Miss Parker that drew his attention. Running his finger around the edges of where the heart should be, he sank into the leather chair, and felt warm tears fall from his eyes. Should have tried harder, that inner voice said. Should have protected her. She had more guts than you ever did, the voice mocked. She risked her life to protect her, what a fool you are? Closing his eyes, he sank into a troubled sleep.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part X
by Nicolette & paula h



Major Charles looked at his wife standing beside the window. How often had she stood the same way, worrying about him and her sons? Now one of them was dead and the other was beyond their help, back in The Centre. What could Jarod have been thinking? More likely, he was not thinking at all. He wanted to protect the boy and the woman, and even his years of freedom had not convinced him that good cannot always triumph. Rescuing Jarod would be dangerous, if it was even possible, and he and his family had two new members to worry about first. It appeared that Miss Parker would survive. The bullet had done a fair amount of soft tissue damage and she had lost far too much blood to be walking around, but it had somehow missed her lung and major blood vessels. Her father called her Angel, and she must have one of her own.

He left the bedroom and descended the stairs. Jake was standing at the bottom. He looked concerned. "Dad, I think we need to do something about her car...."

"Jake, we're far from the beaten path here, and the snow will cover the car tracks. No one will find it."

"That's just it, Dad, no one can find it here. They will keep looking for it, and them," he nodded to ward the top of the stairs. "We have to give them a reason to stop looking, or at least another direction to look in."

"And you have a plan, I suppose?" the Major smiled. Both Jake and Jarod always had a plan. When they were together no one was safe. His smile faded; he could only hope to see them together again.

"Toward the north there are a couple bridges crossing one river. I can't remember the name, but it's pretty deep and fast, and there was rain before the temperature dropped. The water should be running pretty fast. Anyway, it empties into the Delaware and then out to the ocean. If we ditch the car over the edge of a bridge, they will have a hard time proving nobody was in it."

Major Charles nodded, "I see your point. But the weather is getting worse by the hour. If we're going to do this we better do it now. Can you and Emily watch Parker and Ryan while your mother and I are gone?"

"I wanted to drive," Jake whined. He managed to look like Ryan when the child asked for more cookies.

"I think not; you have no experience with this kind of driving."

"But Jarod says I'm good at pretending..."

"And I say no!" Charles and Jake turned to look at Margaret, who quickly joined them. "You just tell us what we need to make this look real and we'll do it. I will not risk any more of my children." She looked on the verge of tears, but both men recognized her resolve.

"Okay," Jake agreed, slightly deflated, and outlined his plan.

********

Margaret drove the family's SUV; Major Charles drove Miss Parker's car. He chose a bridge with a deserved reputation for accidents. The road had a short downhill curve that practically aimed a car at the river. A recent wreck had left the guard rails bent at the near edge. That driver was fortunate, the Russells hoped to convince The Centre that Miss Parker was not.

The Major pulled the car over to the curb, toward the middle of the rise. He adjusted the steering wheel so that the car was aligned with the broken guard rail. He opened the trunk and pulled out a garbage bag and a short heavy board. From the bag, he removed Miss Parker's blood-soaked coat, packed with snow. He placed the coat firmly on the gas pedal and was gratified to hear the engine rev. Then he pulled out a strip of silk ripped from her equally bloody blouse and forced it to catch on the edge of a metal seam along the outside edge of the driver's side door. He and removed the plastic sheet he had been sitting on to protect him from the bloody seat. The plastic sheet went into the plastic bag.

Then he looked up the hill to where Margaret waited and watched for traffic. He flickered his lights; she flickered hers in response. No one was coming. He pulled one of Ryan's tiny shoes from his pocket and threw it on the back seat. An added touch, suggested by Jake. He used the board to press on the brake while he put the car into gear. He left the car door wide open. He mentally crossed his fingers and jumped back, taking the board with him.

The car rolled slowly away, then picked up speed on the slope. It hit the damaged railing and tottered at the edge. The Major feared it might not go into the river, but a tire caught on the twisted metal and the car spun slightly. It went into the water. It twisted in the strong current and the rear end sank. The front end slowly followed until all that was visible were the lit headlamps. This plan was not perfect. The Major decided he might have to make an anonymous call to report the car wreck.

Margaret pulled up behind her husband. He threw the board and the bag into the back and jumped into the driver's seat. She smiled at him and reported, "We'd better get going. I saw headlights coming."

The Major drove over the bridge, turned around as quickly as possible and drove back the way they came. As they were cresting the hill, they passed a black Town Car going toward the river. Miss Parker's car was about to be discovered.

****

"They're both sleeping now," Emily joined her younger brother in front of the fireplace. Silently she stared into the flames. After several minutes she stood up and paced around.

"I wish Mom and Dad were back; I have a bad feeling," Emily said nervously.

Jake turned around to face the young woman. "Don’t worry, the plan is perfect," Jake assured her, "I've simmed the whole situation. This will give us the time we need."

Emily glared darkly at him and turned toward the kitchen, just before she left the room she turned and looked back to the teenager sitting in front of the fireplace.

"I just hope that your plan is not as perfect as Jarod's last one, 'cause now he's at The Centre."

Not waiting for an answer she walked out.

***

Jarod sat on his cot, eyes closed, wishing both Mutambo and Raines would go away. Then he realized they had stopped talking; they were waiting for him to say something. He tried to remember what Mutambo had said, how he should answer. The seconds of silence seemed like hours; Jarod raised his head and looked at Mr. Raines' expectant smile. He turned his head slightly and looked at Mutambo; the words "contact with you" came into Jarod's mind. "'Contact me?' What do you mean?"

Gratified that Jarod was now attentive, Mutambo repeated his question, "You have been with us several hours. Has anyone attempted to contact you?"

A thrill of impending doom ran through Jarod's mind. "There is no way any one could reach me," Jarod lied. "You have me buried here."

Mutambo frowned, "Ah, Jarod. I had hoped that we could come to a point of mutual trust. After all, you returned of your own free will." He ignored the look Jarod shot at him. "But you have chosen to lie."

Shit, was all that Jarod could think. He watched Mutambo turn to Raines. Mr. Raines picked up the conversation. "I warned you that transgressions would be punished. What did Angelo say or give you?"

Jarod's first urge was to lie again. But they already knew Angelo had been there. "He said nothing. He just came to see me."

"Would you prefer that we question Angelo?"

Jarod knew that they would, and that they would search the cell and him until they found the picture. "All right," he said and handed the print to Mutambo.

Mutambo unfolded the picture, looked at it briefly, and returned it to Jarod. Jarod felt a wave of relief, followed by one of suspicion. Mutambo nodded to Jarod and Raines, then he left the room.

Raines shook his head sadly, "You will be allowed to keep the picture to remind you why you will obey in the future. However, since you have abused our trust, you must be moved to an area where further contact can be better controlled. Come with me, now." Jarod stood and followed Raines without comment. He knew that he had failed their test, and had been expected to do so. He suspected that his visit to SL-26 was mainly for that purpose; the conversations with Lyle an object lesson. Now he prepared himself to be thrown into the cage they used on his last visit.

****

Miss Parker stirred in her sleep; she felt a heavy weight on her chest; for a moment a wave of panic shot though her; she opened her eyes and looked directly into two dark brown eyes. The panic was gone the same moment she realized who it was. Ryan lay partly on her fresh wound. She welcomed the pain in a way, it told her she was still alive.

The boy looked at her in mixture of love and curiosity.

"What?" she asked him softly, lifting her left arm and stroking a stand of his dark hair out of his face.

"Are you really my mother?" Ryan asked, cocking his head

Flabbergasted, Miss Parker looked at the baby face only inches from her own. The urge to laugh was nearly overwhelming. If this is a taste what it is to have a genius as baby, then what would come when he was a bit older?

"How did you come up with this idea?" she finally asked, really curios to hear his answer, and to buy herself a bit of time. She still felt dizzy and weak, not really ready to get in such a discussion with her son. She still felt the shock of finding out he was her son. Everything since the email was a blur.

"Major Charles said to his wife, when they where here, to make sure you are okay before you stood up and walked around," his voice indicating he was still upset that she had left the bed.

"Would you like it, if I were your mother? " Miss Parker still wondered if she would ever be able to adjust the abrupt changes in his behavior. One second he was a not even three year old baby; the next he sounded grown-up.

The expression on Ryan’s face changed again. Fear in his eyes as his slowly nodded.

Miss Parker felt a twinge of guilt that she had answered his question with another question. The way he looked now assured her that no matter how intelligent he was, emotionally he was the same as every two year old child. Turning on her left side, she let the small body slowly slide down hers. He now lay in her arms, while she curled her body as well as possible around his small form.

"I am your mother." The lack of reaction to her statement was like a cold hand grabbing her heart. Suddenly, two small arms where around her neck and the boy pressed himself a close as he could into her arms. He lifted his head so that his lips where close to her ear.

"I love you, Mammy," he whispered and buried his face in her hair.

*****

Jarod was surprised when the elevator continued to rise until it reached ground level. Were they taking him out of The Centre? The party of Raines, Jarod and four sweepers walked through the main lobby and continued on to the hall that led to the Tower. Jarod felt a new chill as they boarded the Tower elevator. Mr. Raines flashed him one of his insanely beatific smiles, and Jarod was sure this move was not destined to be pleasurable.

When the elevator doors opened Jarod hesitated; one of the sweepers shoved him forward. Raines turned to the man, "Jarod is to be treated as a guest, a truculent one, but a guest." The man nodded and stepped back. Jarod looked around the room. It was almost filled with a Plexiglas booth. The booth extended from floor to ceiling. It contained a cot, a small desk and chair. Raines unlocked the door to the booth with his hand print and opened the door himself. Jarod walked in. There were air vents in the ceiling, several of them, none wider than Jarod's head. He suspected that Angelo would not be able to crawl close enough to this Plexiglas cell to give him more notes. There were cameras trained on the booth; and, most amazing of all, a widow. The cameras and the window were outside the booth. In a corner opposite the window, farthest from the elevator, was a small area enclosed in opaque walls.

Mr. Raines followed Jarod's gaze. "The bathroom will offer you privacy. You are a guest here. If you can act like a guest, your privacy will be maintained. If you perform to your abilities, you will be rewarded."

"What? No reeducation?"

"Our last attempt at force proved ineffective. We realize you are intelligent. We have seen that you appreciate and know how to use power. If you wish, you may reeducate yourself; cooperate; and be granted increased privileges. If not, this will be your permanent home."

Jarod's first impulse was punch Raines in the face, but he wished them to think he was considering working for them. He needed to work for them to buy Miss Parker time. He clenched his fists and said, "I will consider it," when hell freezes over, "I make no promises."

Raines smiled again, "An honest answer. Good. I will leave you alone now, to think." He and the sweepers left Jarod. He spent the next several hours checking every inch of the cell, looking for a way out.

*****

Lyle sat at the end of the T-shaped table. The room was nearly dark except the white glow of the table. He felt a shiver run down his spine. He had always enjoyed the T-boards, but this was the first time he sat on this end.

Today he had to admit he was scared, he felt small and unsure. They had dragged him out of his cell to this room, and left him alone. He had no idea how long he was here now, nothing indicated the time. The silence was absolute; the only sounds he could hear were his own breath and the hushing sound of his clothes when he sledded around his hard chair.

From time to time he was even sure that he could hear his rapid heartbeat. Normally there was no room without a camera, but as much as he looked around he could not find the red eyes that indicated that there were any cameras. He tried to remember where they where and concentrate on those points, but all he saw was darkness. He had hated the dead eyes in his cell, recording every second. The red light had made him angry, he had wanted to smash anything against it. Now he missed it, no sign of life, the light had at least indicated that they where recording his movement, so they had interest in him, here he felt like he was buried alive. The urge to stand up and scream against the silence was nearly overwhelming. He was sure he could see the walls moving, they where coming closer and closer. And was it not warmer now? It was harder to breath.

He had to stay focused, he knew all the psychological tricks. They just want to break you, he told himself, or they want you dead.

****

Mr. Raines walked into Mutambo's office. The big man raised his head, "Report."

"The sweepers have completed their on-site investigation. No sign of Miss Parker or the boy," Raines rasped, grimly. "By the amount of blood in the car, I'm surprised she got that far."

"She was a determined woman," Mutambo interrupted. "And a strong one." He thought back to the time he first met her; how she had disagreed with his ruling. He had cut her down then, 'This is not a democracy!', but it had made him smile later. She had been a good choice to mother the "Little King." Mr. Lyle had not been a good choice to manage her. "I will bring him personally. I want the interior of the car undisturbed until he sees it." Raines nodded and left.

Mutambo stared after Raines for a moment. They had Jarod but had lost their leverage against him. It might be advantageous to allow him to continue believing the boy lived but, then again, this way Jarod had no immediate reason to escape. Mutambo had watched the man pace the glass cage. He understood Jarod far better than Raines. They would never break Jarod. They needed to convince him to join them or coerce him into bending to their will. Jarod's "family" could still be used as a bargaining chip, and this bit of honesty would both discomfit the man and show him the folly of crossing The Centre. He rose from his chair, considering the spectrum of Jarod's possible reactions to the news. First he had to attend to the matter of Mr. Lyle and his disobedience.

*****

Lyle had no idea how long he was there, when the shadows on the other end of the room suddenly came alive. He could make out at least four different persons. His throat tightened even more. He was not able to identify anybody. Only four shadows in different sizes. No words where spoken. He could here them taking their seats, and than nothing again.

Nobody spoke. It was again so quiet that he could hear his heartbeat. A pressure was building in his lungs, rising up to his head.... he felt a urgent demand to... to what his brain was not able to make it out. The shadows from the room had invaded his mind. Breathe! A voice demanded and he realized that he was holding his breath. As carefully a he could manage he exhaled, praying that the others would not notice. At the same time he asked himself who he was fooling. They where watching every move.

Why they are so silent, please let them speak, Lyle could feel cold sweat running down his back. The last time he was so terrified was when the Yakusa had tied him up. The memory of the event when he lost his thumb swamping into his mind. He was sure he could feel the knife again, slicing his skin, his flesh, his....

"You have destroyed Centre's property! " a deep male voice swept through the room like a thunder roll. Lyle immediately identified it as Mutumbo’s.

*****

Destroyed... does this mean they are dead? No, not this. The boy was his! He belonged to him; it was his project; he had worked it out. He had taken the whole risk. He only wanted his sister out of the way. It was not fair that she had failed the Centre again and again; they had threatened, but never really punished her.

She was going to run away with that carpenter and nobody did anything to stop her; he had finally taken care of the situation. God, that man had been so stupid. What had he been thinking, just walking in and taking her away? He would never forget the surprised expression on his face as he pointed the his sister's gun at him. He liked the slight blaze in his eyes, satisfied that he was aware that the gun of the woman he loved would kill him. After the man was dead Lyle took some blood and placed it in the middle of the living room and arranged the whole scene. He was still sorry that he had been not able to watch his sister discovering his great work. Surely she had admired his perfect setup.

"We are waiting" Mutumbo’s voice growled again.

Waiting? Waiting for what? "What do you want from me?" Lyle was surprised that his voice was so small, his throat felt like he had swallowed sheets of sand paper.

"Well," another voice came up in the room, "you have cost us a lot of money. And we need you to pay it back."

"Dad?" Lyle was shocked, this was not possible, his father had not been here for years. But this was a good sign, he would help him.

"Sorry, Mr. Lyle," Mr Parker spoke again, "you are not my son anymore. The Centre is your father and your mother, and you have betrayed them. You shot my daughter. She is dead; we found her car and this." With the last words a small dark object came flying across the table. It was a small shoe, one of the black shoes he remembered seeing on Ryan. The shoe was wet.

"You have killed my daughter."

Lyle could hear his father again, no he had said he was not his father anymore. But he was, he had proven it with a genetic test. How could he refuse the truth? His mind was playing tricks on him again, Pictures where popping up in his mind, a dark big figure coming towards him, a belt in his hand. Yelling words at him he could not understand. All he felt was the sharp pain when the belt hit him again and again, he had done nothing, why he was hitting him again and again.

The picture changed, now he was holding a belt in his hand, he saw the small figure in front of him, lying on a bed. She was crying, pleading that she had done nothing. But this would not help her, she had to be punished, he had never done anything wrong, but he had taken the whole blame from his father, as she would now. With every hit he could feel the anger raising and he could not stop, he was still hitting the girl when she lay there motionless. Sheer exhaustion stopped him and he was sitting on the floor, he could hear Bobby screaming, terrified, but he did not listen.

The memory faded and all he saw was the little black shoe on the white glowing table. Whom this shoe belonged to, he could not remember, for a moment he was sure this was his shoe, the one his mother had bought for his third birthday. He had been so proud, but then his father came in.. No it was not his shoe, he was not longer three years old and his mother was not his mother.

Lyle had no idea how long he was sitting there, he heard two different male voices yelling at him, accusing him, but he had no idea what they wanted from him. He had been a good boy. He could feel salty tears running down his face, collecting into the corners of his mouth. He slipped down his chair and tried to hide under the table.

He could hear his mother yelling to stop beating him and then he heard her cry in pain. He was beating her as well, he needed to go up and protect her, but he could not move. The smell from his new shoes mixed up with the familiar scent as he wet his pants. For this his father would lock him in the shed again.

Suddenly Lyle felt the hard floor under his hands. Why was he under the table? He could see four pairs of shoes from his point of view. Slowly, and embarrassed, he crawled out. The room was still dark, but he was not terrified anymore, he was old enough and he was the Chairman of the Centre. He and not his traitorous sister.

Out of nowhere two big men in dark suits appeared, taking him with them. The words reeducation and renewal wing rang in his ears.

*****

Mutambo left the T-Board room immediately after Lyle. He walked into Jarod's room alone. Jarod stood and walked to the door of his cage. They might not beat him but they seemed to have no intention of leaving him alone. Mutambo unlocked the door with his hand print and stepped back. "You will come with me."

"But I just got here," Jarod surprised himself with his attempt at humor. So, there is life after failure.

"You will be returning," he gestured toward the elevator. The door opened, revealing two sweepers with a set of familiar shackles. Jarod balked, and Mutambo placed a hand on his shoulder. "It is necessary if you are to accompany me." Jarod submitted to the restraints, gritting his teeth at the sensation of being a prisoner again. Raines had been right, they had treated him like a guest, until now. Where were they taking him that they wanted additional control? They boarded the elevator.

Mutambo was silent during the descent. Two more sweepers joined them at the main lobby; the elevator continued down two sub-levels. Jarod identified this as the storage level for Centre-owned vehicles. He could see a stretch limousine and two vans as he exited the elevator. The group rounded a corner and Jarod stopped. The sweepers looked at Mutambo for orders.

"Stay here." He placed a hand briefly on Jarod's arm, "Come."

Jarod identified Parker's car instantly. They had her! They had the boy! Mutambo had lied and wanted to gloat. Jarod did not notice that he had stopped; he did not notice that he obeyed Mutambo and moved forward. They reached the car before Jarod saw the water dripping on the cement and flowing down a drain. Water. The car had been in the water. Jarod moved around the open driver's door, noting that it was no longer capable of closing. Someone got out! He looked at the interior; the driver's seat stained black with blood, and felt nausea and fear rising. He looked up at Mutambo; the big man was expressionless. He looked around the garage. They were the only ones there except for Mr. Raines, who wore a look of sincere sorrow. Jarod refused to know. He looked in the car again, saw that it had obviously been submerged. no! Saw the bloody jacket. No! Saw the shred of bloody silk on the door. NO!!

Mr. Raines walked over to the paralyzed man. He held out something in his hand. Jarod had difficulty tearing his eyes away from the car he did not want to see. He looked at the object in Raines hand. His eyes refused to focus. He took it in his hands; it was wet. NO, his mind screamed, NO, No, no, nonono. He saw the small shoe in his hand, and recognized it as Ryan's from the picture. His vision blurred again, this time from tears. He fell to the cement; he did not feel his knees hit the floor. He could not feel anything but the cold dark water. He did not know that he had made a sound.

Mutambo heard the sound, the small whimper, the "no" that came with unwanted knowledge. He had felt the same when his own family was... but that was the past. The future knelt before him struggling with his own loss. Mutambo was gratified when Jarod spoke; the younger man was still able to question, even in despair.

"Bodies?" Jarod managed in a shaky whisper. He was fighting to control his tears.

"None yet," Mutambo knew the question was to him. "It is a swift current and not far from the big river." Jarod nodded; the tears stopped. Control was foremost in his mind, other thoughts were difficult. "Jarod, do you believe this is real?"

Jarod's eyes shifted to Mutambo. Did he believe this was real? Were they trying to trick him, or did they think Parker was trying to trick them? He returned his attention to the car. "She was shot?" He could see Mutambo nod. "This is her car. Where was it?"

Raines responded, "The Dolores Hill Bridge, across Angel Creek. It's near where the creek empties into the Delaware."

Jarod nodded, he was familiar with Blue Cove area. It made sense, Parker would have headed north, to loose herself in New York or Philadelphia; maybe try for Maine. From the amount of blood on the seat and jacket, he was amazed she got as far as she did. Running on adrenaline. Had she lost consciousness or tried to ditch the car? Did she know she was not going to make it and choose death for them both? The tears threatened; he returned to abstract analysis of the evidence. soaking wet and injured she probably could not have left the scene if she escaped. Now for the car itself, "The blood is hers?"

"It is being analyzed."

The comparison should be easy. Jarod was sure they knew her blood right down to the DNA. He touched the jacket; he recognized it as hers. He touched the fabric on the door. She had tried to get out. "Where was the shoe?"

"The floor in the back."

She would not have saved herself without her son. And she could not save them both...he could not save them at all. "It is real," he said, his voice reflecting the ice in his soul.

Mutambo nodded, turned and left. It was some moments before Jarod spoke, "I would like to go back to my room now."

Raines called the sweepers, who helped Jarod to his feet. Jarod clutched the shoe as he was led to the elevator. He noticed the shackles again. Had they expected him to try as escape? To fight? They overestimated him. The only desire he had now was to see Lyle...one last time.

The elevator door opened on the main lobby, and Bridgette. Jarod was momentarily shocked. What was she doing here?

"Hello, Luv. Sorry about the news. My poor dear stepdaughter, I never really got to be her friend," she smiled like a snake. "I can hardly wait to see what projects Mr. Raines finds to fill your time. I have a new project of my own, you see."

Jarod was not interested, until she stepped aside. His attention moved from her wide smile to the man behind her. Lyle! Jarod did not think. His posture did not alert the sweepers. He was out of the elevator and had the chain from his cuffs around Lyle's neck before they could move. He put what was left of his soul into the effort to crush Lyle's wind pipe. It took all four of his sweepers plus the two with Lyle to pry Jarod off the man. When that failed he tried for one of the sweepers guns. But they threw him to the floor and Bridgette stepped on his hand. "Naughty, Naughty!" she laughed. "Rainsey will have to punish you if you can't behave." She licked her lips; she would be more than willing to punish him herself.

Raines held the elevator open till the sweepers dragged Jarod back in, "Bridgette, you would be advised to keep that...thing away from Jarod," he rasped, "or you will be the one punished." The elevator closed on the still smiling Bridgette as she checked on her coughing prisoner. She noticed something on the floor at Lyle's feet.

*****

Sydney sat on his chair, still shaken from the last four hours. This was only his second T-board and the first one from this end of the table. When Mutumbo ordered him into the tower he had no idea what was up this time, for some seconds he had even suspected that he was having a T-board meeting. Oh sure, he had one, but not on the end he had expected.

He had tried to set his focus on the man at the other end of the table. Mr. Parker and Mutumbo had accused Lyle over and over again; asked questions he was sure Lyle could not answer. Not that they had even given him room to answer them.

The real shock had come when he entered the room behind the T-board room. It was furnished like a VIP lounge in a cinema. A big screen on one wall, displaying the almost dark room with the T-shaped table. Seeing Lyle at the end of the T had not been a real surprise. This time he had stepped on one toe too many.

It was the time before Christmas; Sydney felt like he already had his gift. When he had seen all the blood on the parking lot he felt like he would die. He believed he had lost her. The image of Catherine’s dead body had come up as clearly as if had been yesterday that she had lain in that damn elevator. History repeats itself? He was glad that it was not the case this time. This time the mother had managed to rescue her child and she had survived. He could not be thankful enough that she had known the location of Jarod’s family, he still marveled how, but this was not important. His little girl was safe and so was her baby.

He had smiled when he remembered mother and son, so it took him some seconds to process the information his eyes gave him about the two other persons in this room. Sydney had felt his mouth drop open and, recalling the moment, he was sure he had looked like Broots would if Miss Parker told him that she loved him.

This reaction was triggered by the couple that sat in the corner of the room and seemed to enjoy watching Lyle sweat in the other room. Brigitte and Mr. Parker where sitting there like they had never been away. Three years and now they where just sitting there. His mind at first refused to accept it, but Mr. Parker’s faked and enthusiastic greeting, as well as Brigitte’s purred "Luv" convinced him that he was not dead and in hell.

He was in a state of shock, and the way Mr. Parker had accused him of failing to save his *daughter* had left only one wish open, his fist in the other man's face. But he knew that would do nobody a favor. God, but he wished.......

Then Mutumbo had swept in, fuming. Waving around a plastic bag with a baby shoe inside, he told them that they had found the car. He reported they where still searching for bodies.

Now that Brigitte was back it had been not a big surprise for Sydney that
she was in charge of the new project they call BBL. He was really not sure if he liked the reeducation programs the Centre was doing lately. He felt sorry for Lyle when he watched him during the four hours session. He was too long in his job not to see what was happening to the young man. A degree was not needed, anybody could clearly see the pain in him. His expression had changed as well as his behavior. He had been a child crying for help and in the next moment he was a cold blooded killer. Knowing that Brigitte would be his supervisor did not make it easier for him.

Brigitte had not changed a bit, she had sat there the whole time a smug grin on her face a Lolly Pop in her mouth and a predators gleam in her eyes.

No matter what, Sydney was sure he could do nothing at the moment. Maybe he should contact Broots and see how things had gone. With a heavy sigh he got up and left the room.

*******

Jarod was still shaking when he lay down on the cot in the glass cage. The sweepers cautiously removed his shackles and backed out the door. Jarod put an arm over his eyes. "Is it possible to turn off the lights?"

"Not at this time," Raines paused. "You will not be punished for that little episode. It appears that Bridgette has the same poor judgment as her stepson."

Jarod did not care about punishment, all he could think about was the car in the river and that small shoe. The shoe! He had dropped it when he went after Lyle. Raines and the sweepers were getting into the elevator. "Raines!" The other man turned with a questioning look. "What happened to my son's... Ryan's shoe?"

Raines looked around the elevator, "I don't know. I will have someone look or it." The elevator doors closed.

Jarod sat at the desk and put his head down on his arms. He was back where he started. If he had stayed here Ryan might never have been born, and Parker would not have died. He damned The Centre, and he damned himself. He still felt his hands around Lyle's throat. One more nanosecond, another ounce of pressure.... The look on Lyle's face when he saw Jarod springing on him; the gurgling scream; the weakening fight. They were all gratifying but not enough. Even so, Jarod replayed them in his mind. It kept him from thinking of other things.

Jarod heard the elevator open again and lifted his head. Now what Hell did they want to show him?! It was Mutambo, "Mr. Raines has advised me about your brief encounter." Jarod looked at him without emotion. "I cannot allow Lyle to be further damaged, at this time."

"He's MINE!" Jarod stood and moved to the door.

Mutambo smiled, "If I decide he is no longer of use, we will see...."

Jarod turned away. He walked to the wall nearest the window. "He is mine," Jarod repeated softly. He wrapped his fingers around the picture of Parker and Ryan, and stared out at the early morning darkness.

"For the interim I must go home for several days. I will not return until after your Christmas. Mr. Raines will see to your care and assignments. I trust you will cooperate. I would hate for you loose additional family." Jarod did not respond. "Then it is farewell," Mutambo returned to the elevator. He did not know what Jarod would do during his absence, but it was better to let underlings deal with such things. One could always take the credit, or assign the blame. This man was a leopard; Mutambo wondered if a glass cage could hold him.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part XI
by N.R. Levy & Trisha



Broots paced nervously around the hotel room where he and Debbie had stayed since their flight from Blue Cove. Again he silently thanked Miss Parker for all that he had learned from her in the past seven years. How to be invisible, to stay alive no matter what it took – she was a good example and he was glad he had paid attention. He’d even managed to sneak Bunny into the room without any raised eyebrows.

Glancing at his daughter, who lay sleeping comfortably for the first time since they’d arrived under the warmth of Miss Parker’s quilt, and he marveled at how much things had changed in such a short period of time. Why had Mutumbo brought Ryan so close to Miss Parker? Did he think she would never figure it out? The arrogance of it was almost too much for the techie to comprehend, and he knew he couldn’t spend too much time thinking about it now.

As soon as Debbie woke they had to leave. His conversation with Sydney made that clear. The Centre believed that Miss Parker was dead, which meant that the sooner he got to her, the sooner the two of them and Jarod’s family could find some way to get the Pretender out of the mess he had created for himself.

Looking again at Debbie, Broots felt a tightening in his heart as he thought of Jarod. True, he had stepped into it all on his own, but the thought of him lying there in his cell, believing that the woman he loved and his child were dead...Broots knew they had to get to him as soon as they could. The mental anguish he must be going through was a greater threat to him than anything the Centre could manufacture.

Now he had to decide what he would tell her about Ryan. Yes, she was no longer a child, she’d be 15 on her next birthday, but she was still his child, and he wanted to protect her from as much of the ugly realities of the Centre as possible. Mulling the question in his mind, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes for a few precious minutes of rest.

*****

Jarod lay on his cot, an arm cast over his eyes to block out the lights they still refused to extinguish. He wanted them gone. All he wanted now was to lie here in the dark and think about the hell his life had become. It was useless and self-centered, and he knew it, but he didn’t care. She was gone. Years of trying to save her proved useless against the ultimate evil that was the Centre. Worse yet, their son was gone, too.

Ryan – he had never even seen him, never held him, and though it was a small comfort indeed, it did help to know that for at least a few hours, Parker and Ryan had found each other, and his son had known the warmth of his mother’s love before...God, it couldn’t be. He knew it was true, he’d seen the evidence himself, but his heart wouldn’t accept what his mind knew...he would never see his son’s smile for himself, and he would never have the chance to tell Parker all the things he had meant to tell her along the way.

A slight humming alerted him to the fact that the elevator was rising through the Tower. He did not care now if they came for him. His only reason to live was to exact revenge against the man who had caused this, who had left his heart cold and dark. Part of his mind rebelled at the thoughts he was having. He still had a family that loved him. They would help him through this. Jarod fought the voice inside of him. He didn’t want to think of reasons to go on, not without them.

A female voice echoed outside of the room which held his cell, and Jarod recognized it immediately. There was a slight discussion between her and the sweeper assigned to his room – and then the exterior door slid open. He refused to look at her, but he knew when she stopped walking that she was in front of his cell.

"Poor baby. You look so sad." Brigitte stared hard at him, willing the prone form to look at her, but he would not move. With an exasperated sigh, she stepped closer to the cell, placing the small object she’d brought with her on the tray outside of the slot they used to push his food into the cell.

"Heard you were looking for this. Guess you dropped it when you went psycho in the hallway. You almost hurt my pet, Jarod. That wasn’t very nice of you."

‘This,’ Jarod thought, ‘what is this?’ He wanted to stay unaffected by her yet he was drawn to look at what "this" was. He turned his head and his eyes fell on the small black shoe that sat just outside of the Plexiglas cage that was his home. He was unable to control his body as he sprang from the cot, moving to the slot quickly as his eyes remained locked on the small memento of someone he had never known, but loved with all of his heart.

"She should have never tried to run. Always letting her emotions get in the way, that girl. I warned her, you know, after the carpenter bit it that she was getting soft, but I suppose she chose to ignore her dear mommy’s advice."

Now Jarod’s eyes lifted to meet Brigitte’s, and his cold glare caused her to take a step back from the glass.

"You are not her mother. You could never be her mother." Jarod’s words were filled with ice, and they strengthened Brigitte’s resolve. Finding her courage renewed, she stepped back toward the glass.

"Of course not, I’m still alive. Makes me a rarity among Parker women, doesn’t it?"

Jarod felt his hands clench into tight fists as he reminded himself to keep his rage down. Now was not the time. He would make them all pay for what they had done to her, but not yet. He had to get a grip on his mind first. He had to stay strong. This was the last thing he could do for her, and he would make certain he saw it through to the bitter end.

"Go away, Brigitte. Mutumbo and Raines won’t be happy to find out you were here."

"Mutumbo is gone, and Rainesey is busy planning all of the fun projects he’s going to give to you. I doubt they’ll be concerned with a brief visit from me. Anyway, I heard Raines started a Centre-wide search for this silly little shoe, and I was just bringing it back to you."

Jarod’s eyes returned to the small shoe that had just hours ago been worn by his son. Tears threatened at his eyes for the millionth time since he’d told Mutumbo that the accident had been real, but he would not cry in front of her. He moved his hand toward the slot and realized that he could not grasp the shoe from where it sat. The thought of asking Brigitte for help chilled his soul, but he felt a need he couldn’t begin to explain to hold that small piece of Ryan in his hands. He lifted his eyes and found hers.

"Would you move it closer?"

Brigitte licked her lips, a sly smile crossing her face. She took another step toward the cell and let one finger casually drop on to the shoe.

"Why should I?" Her words were somehow expected but the coldness of it still managed to shock Jarod. Parker was right, she was a total bitch.

"Please?"

Brigitte used her finger to move the shoe back from him, as her eyes laughed at him.

"Over attachment to children is such an old fashioned concept, Jarod. If you’d just seem him for what he was...look at my husband and I for example. Our little angel paved our way back to the Centre, to the seat of power. She’s marvelous...no pretender, but I’m told she may turn into the best assassin the Centre has ever raised."

Jarod closed his eyes against the emotion that welled up inside of him. Parker was gone, dead because she had tried to save their child and here this creature was flaunting the fact that she was letting them turn her baby into a killer? He felt himself silently curse God’s name for letting a world like this exist – one where people who deserved to have long, happy lives with their children bled to death in cars or drowned in rivers while they were running for their lives.

Brigitte read the hatred emanating from the Pretender in every feature of his face. She fought down the urge to laugh. He was so easy. A jibe about Parker, a careless remark about the little thing that had in actuality, guaranteed she and Mr. Parker’s return from exile, and he was ready to snap.

Brigitte pushed the shoe deeper into the slot and she saw Jarod’s eyes open as his hand reached out for it. He felt a slight scratching on his near one knuckle as he pulled the little black object away from her, but ignored it, his thoughts now only on what he held and who it belonged to.

"You’re such a sap, Jarod. Don’t you think it’s time for you to grow up?" He ignored her words, staring down at the shoe in his hands. "Oh, well, better get back to work. My little Lyle needs some more attention."

Brigitte walked out of the room, her triumphant smile going unnoticed by the sweeper outside. If Jarod thought he felt bad before, just wait until that little surprise she’d given him took effect. She’d teach him to mess with her possessions – and Lyle was just that – hers.

Back in the cell, Jarod sank down onto the cot, the tiny shoe clutched in his hands. He pulled out the photo again and stared at the smiling faces and hoped that wherever they were they were together and at peace. He did not notice the slight swelling on the area of his hand where Brigitte had scratched him, or feel the fever that was beginning to seep into his body. He felt nothing but pain and grief and he wondered how he was going to keep it from drowning him as they finally, mercifully extinguished the lights and left him in darkness.

He lay there in the darkness, and felt a coldness move into his soul. Gone. Dead. The words seem to amplify themselves with each passing thought. He screamed her name, waiting for a response. When he didn't hear anything, he'd scream it again and again. The words echoed off the Plexiglas and surrounded him. Soon he exhausted himself, waiting to hear her answer, then he yelled for Ryan, the shoe clutched tightly in his swollen hand. Thinking that he heard a small cry emanating some where in the dark room, he got off the cot and rushed to it only to crash resoundingly into the clear wall. After the third time, he slumped down, bringing his knees to his chest, hands over his ears, and screamed. The sweepers stationed out side his room, where terrified that they called for Raines.

******

A thin ray of light streaked across her eyes, causing her to awaken. She could sense something, someone calling to her, but she could not seem to make the answer of who it was come clear in her mind. Instead she focused on her present circumstances. Her side was sore, yet she had slept, soundly. Glancing around the room in the pre-dawn light, she realized that this was his room. She remembered asking. It was as her eyes focused on the desk that she inhaled sharply. Seated at the desk was, Ryan, his back to her.

"Ryan," she whispered in a hoarse croak," what are you doing?"

"Reading, Mommy." he climbed off the chair, a red notebook and photo album in his hands.

"What would you be reading?" she tried to keep the emotion out of her voice, yet she wanted to hear that word from him, she loved hearing that word.

He pushed the book and photo album onto the comforter, then scrambled up after them. Parker struggled to pull herself to a sitting position on the bed. Her body angry that she attempted to move, it was stiff and a wave of lightheadedness caused her to moan softly. She placed her head on the pillows, waiting for the moment to pass, before she placed a hand out for the notebook.

"This," he picked up the red notebook and placed it in Parker's outstretched hand," and pictures."

Startled at the revelation, that Ryan had found pictures. Pictures. What pictures, she asked, herself? Putting the notebook down, she patted the place beside her, Ryan scooted under the covers, dragging the big album with him. Just as she was about to open the cover, there was a knock at the door.

"What?" she called out, forgetting herself, momentarily," Come in."

The door opened and Jake popped his head in, taking in the sight of the boy and woman in the bed. A slow smile spread on his face when he caught sight of the album in her hands. Boy! did Jarod have some explaining to do when he got home.

"Mom wants to know if you're hungry?" Jake grinned, and Parker had to catch her breath.

"A little," she replied," Jake, any word on Jarod?"

"Hey, Ryan, how about some waffles and whipped crème. If you go down to the kitchen, I bet you could find a big plate loaded with. . ."

"Jake," Emily stood in the doorway," Hello, Miss Parker, Ryan."

"Emily, would you be so kind as to take Ryan to your parents, please," Parker asked, softly. She watched as the young woman came over to the bed, sitting next to the little boy.

"How about a piggy back ride?"

"What?" he asked, which drew a small smile from Parker.

"Climb on my back, and I'll carry you downstairs," Emily smiled at the small boy.

Parker watched as Emily and Ryan left the room amidst squeals of delight. Closing her eyes, briefly, she listened to the sound until she could no longer hear them.

"Jarod turned himself in shortly after you escaped," Jake said barely audible, yet loud enough that Parker's eyes flew open.

"He what?"

"Turned himself in, but that's not the half of it. We. . .drove your car of the Dolores Bridge by Angel Creek, the Centre sweepers found it shortly after. He probably believes that you and Ryan are. . . ."

"Dead?" she whispered, "Does anyone know that I'm alive?"

"Sydney and Broots. In fact, Broots and his daughter should be arriving shortly. He found Jarod's laptop and contacted Dad."

Parker again tried to up, but her body protested the attempted action by jolting her with a sharp and painful reminder that she was in no shape to go running to Jarod’s rescue.

"Jake, listen to me. You’ve got to find a way for someone to get word to Jarod that we’re okay."

"We will. It’s just going to take time."

"No!" Parker’s tone made the boy step back a bit, and had she not been so worried she would have felt sorry for startling him. "You’ve never seen Jarod grieve. I have. If he thinks he’s lost...his son, Jake, he’ll shut down. All he’ll care about is getting to my brother, and that’s it."

"Miss Parker –"

"Jake, you have to tell Sydney to get to him. He has to know the truth before it’s too late."

Jake was still a young man, but he could see the genuine fear that was in Miss Parker’s eyes. He was about to speak when a tiny voice boomed loudly from downstairs.

"Mommy, I’ll be up with your breakfast in a minute. Me and Emily are doing a surprise for you."

"Jake, please." He looked back at her, and though he couldn’t imagine his brother reacting the way she was describing, he had to admit that she had known Jarod longer, and seen him in far worse situations than he and the rest of the family had.

"Okay, I’ll go and get Dad."

Parker watched as he left, her heart pounding in her chest. She understood of course why they had done what they’d done. It was good strategy and it had probably saved them all – no doubt a scheme of Jake’s making. Still, it didn’t make it easier to know that Jarod thought that they were gone. The Centre would rub his face in it.

She could feel tears threatening at her eyes when she heard footsteps coming toward her room. Soon Emily and Ryan entered with a breakfast tray filled with waffles and whip crème and milk. The tray was adorned with tinsel – a reminder that Christmas was coming soon.

"Look Mommy, it’s all dec’rated." Emily held the tray as her nephew climbed into bed next to his mother, then she sat it down over Parker’s legs. She watched as the woman she’d resented for so long struggled into a comfortable position her hand, rediscovering the red notebook and the photo album that Ryan had handed her earlier. Emily sat down on the edge of the bed, as she reached over to cut up the waffles into kid-size pieces.

"What have you got there?" Ryan managed to look up from the waffles, which had him most intrigued as Emily spoke, and he glanced over at the items in his mother’s hand.

"Oh, that’s stuff I was reading earlier. It’s all about Mommy."

Emily and Parker shared a surprised look, then Parker reached over and smoothed Ryan’s hair as he began munching on the delicious new breakfast food in front of him.

"What do you mean, Ryan? What’s all about me?"

"The book. It’s stories about you. Stuff you did when you were little, and stuff that made you sad when you grew’d up. And the other book has lots and lots of pictures of you in it."

Parker narrowed her eyes, her confusion mixing with her curiosity.

"Where did you find these, baby?"

"In that desk. Hey, I guess they must belong to your friend, right? You said this was his room."

Parker looked at Emily who could only shrug in response. She had seen Jarod with both of the books several times during their holidays together, but he had never allowed her to see what was inside.

"Mommy, who is he? Why did Margaret say he would be more than my friend?"

"Well, baby, he’s, um..."

"Is he my daddy?"

Parker again felt the urge to run and hide from the tiny genius who sat beside her. How did he keep figuring everything out before she was ready to talk about it? Her eyes fell on Emily who remained powerless to help her, and after taking a deep breath, Parker decided she had no choice but to try and answer his question.

"Yes, Ryan, Jarod is your daddy."

"Jarod – isn’t that Major Charles’ other son?"

"Mm-hmm, and he’s Emily’s big brother." That surprised Ryan, who still wasn’t sure how all of these people were connected. His eyes widened as his whip crème covered smile grew.

"So that means we’re related?"

Emily nodded and Ryan happily picked up another bite of waffle. He chewed carefully looking at both women before he finally uttered a response of his own.

"Cool. Mommy, you’re not eating."

Parker looked at the plate, and though what little hunger she’d felt had vanished with the news of the trouble that Jarod was in, she didn’t want Ryan worrying about her, so she reached out and grabbed her fork, taking a small bite of the food.

"That’s better. So, will you tell me about him?"

Emily sat in the silence that followed the little boy’s question, and she decided it was time for her to go. She began to stand up when she felt Parker’s hand reach out and touch her knee.

"Stay, please."

Emily nodded and sat back into the spot she had occupied. Ryan climbed closer to his mother, leaning against her uninjured side as he reached out and covered his little fingers with whip crème, quickly putting them into his mouth. Parker laughed out loud, thinking about how much this little miracle was like his father.

"Well, for starters, your daddy and you are going to get along really, really well."

*****

Sydney had carefully packed up the items from Miss Parker’s house which Broots and given to Bart. They were now safely in his car waiting for him to make some move toward his daughter. God, it felt so good to think it, to stop censoring his love for her after so long. He knew that she would probably never forgive him for keeping the truth from her, and he couldn’t really blame her. How do you forgive someone for abandoning you to the darkness? Yet when she’d had to, she had saved herself from it, hadn’t she? Something he wanted to feel pride in, but he felt he did not deserve to. Besides, there was no time to feel sorry for himself right now. There was something he could do for his child, and he intended to do it.

The web site had come to life an hour ago and the message from Jake not only made perfect sense, it alerted him to Parker’s improving condition. She had guessed that the Centre would use her "death" against Jarod and wanted him to know the truth.

He had been trying to get to Jarod since the debacle of a T-board had ended, but Raines had left orders that he was not to be allowed access to Jarod, and no one seemed willing to disobey those orders. He was even barred from using the Tower elevator for the moment. Which meant he needed help.

It had taken some time to find Sam without drawing attention to the fact that he was searching for the man. Finally, he came upon the sweeper in of all places, the hallway outside of Mr. Parker’s office.

"Sam, what are you doing here?"

"I asked to be assigned to Mr. Parker. I thought it was what Miss Parker would want." Sam winked slyly at Sydney to let him know that he was in on the game and would not let the truth get away from him. Good. There was one problem solved.

"Has there been any word on Jarod?" Sydney tried to sound as neutral as he could, though he figured anyone who was listening would know he was anything but where the Pretender was concerned.

"I hear he’s not doing well, sir." A tightening in his chest kept Sydney from responding right away, and before he could get any more words out, the door of the office swung open and Mr. Parker was beside him.

"Oh, Sydney. I’m glad to see you. I was wondering if you would mind pulling together a small service for Angel. You know, something she would have liked. I’d do it but..."

‘But you have no idea who she loves or what she’d want.’ The thought went unspoken, but only because Sydney was no longer interested in himself. He was going to do what Catherine had died trying to do. Somehow, Jarod was going to be free again.

"Of course, I’ll get right to it."

Having received the answer he wanted, Mr. Parker moved back into his office and shut the door again, leaving Sam and Sydney alone.

"Well, Sam, I’ll be in my office. Please let me know if there’s any other news."

Sam nodded and Sydney moved away. He had a lot to think about, starting with how on earth they were going to get into that room with Jarod.

*******

The sweepers watched as the man they had all chased for years began to throw his body against the Plexiglas. He was going to hurt himself for certain, and they knew that would mean their heads. Thankfully Bart arrived and made the only clear headed decision that could be made. He would try and reach Mr. Raines.

Of course, he didn’t tell them that before he did so, he would be stopping by Sam’s new post to tell him of the goings on in the Tower. They had to be able to use this somehow. He and Sam had decided the night of Miss Parker’s disappearance that every action they took from now on would be to protect those she cared for.

He knew people would wonder why, but he didn’t care. For years now they had managed to survive in a place where watching your back wasn’t just a saying, it was a mantra, but you had to watch it a little less when Miss Parker was around. She never let anyone on her team go down without fighting for them, and Bart had long ago decided she was the most amazing person he had ever known. Now he and Sam had a chance to pay her back for the loyalty she had bestowed on them.

Sam was in the hallway just where Bart knew he would be, and he approached acting like any mid-level sweeper would when consulting with a supervisor. He informed Sam of the situation with the Pretender, and of his intention to contact Mr. Raines.

"That sounds like the best course of action, Bart. I’ll make sure the proper people know of the situation."

Bart nodded and headed off, and Sam knocked softly on Mr. Parker’s door. His fought to keep his eyes from rolling in disgust as he saw Brigitte sitting on the edge of his desk, fawning over the old man. It was she who turned and looked at him.

"What is it, Sam?"

"I need to go check on some new recruits. Will you be all right without me?"

"Don’t worry, Sammy. I’m here to look after my sweetie pie if anything happens."

A wave of nausea passed through the sweeper’s stomach as he turned and left the office. That those two were here safe and sound when...no, he wouldn’t think about it. They had a chance now, and he was going to see to it that they used it.

It took him but a few minutes to reach Sydney’s office, and he saw the older man look at him with expectant eyes as he stepped into the room.

"Sydney, can you get a message to Broots?"

"Yes. Why?"

"We need to make sure Mr. Raines is unreachable by pager or cell phone."

Sydney reached for the computer and began typing on the secure line Broots had set up before leaving, but his attention remained on Sam.

"What’s going on, Sam?"

"Jarod’s having a crisis." He saw Sydney tense immediately, but knew now was not the time for keeping secrets. "If we can’t reach Raines, maybe we can get them to let you inside, and then..."

‘And then,’ Sydney thought, ‘we’ll find a way to get Jarod the hell out of here.’

*****

The incessant beeping from the laptop jolted Broots awake. Heading to the table, he answered his email. Waiting for the letter to open, he glanced over at his daughter, who was now awake.

"Daddy?"

"Get ready to leave, pumpkin. As soon as I'm finished here, we have someplace wonderful to go."

"Will I see Miss Parker?"

"Yes," Broots replied, busy at the keyboard.

*****

The dreams came again.

Lyle sat on his cot in the dark cell. He was distracted, his mind was wandering. It was the dreams he feared. The images. A sense of helplessness seemed to fill him. There was something nibbling away at him. He brushed the thought away. It was nothing. He was allowing the dreams to push his imagination to the limits. The dreams filtered around his consciousness. He needed answers. Who did the many pairs of luminous eyes belong too?

Black as night. . . .there were voices whispering to him, and crying to him, and shapeless forms moving about gracefully; at first they didn't seem to notice him, but then they did, and they walked toward him, and surrounded him, and they began to scream, louder and louder and yet the louder they screamed, the quieter they were. How he thought? How could they make no sound?

He threw his arms up defensively, trying to ward them off, and then they were upon him and through him, insinuating themselves into him and he tried to run, but there was nowhere for him to go. He cried out, shouting for help, and they were everywhere . . .

They called to him, Lyle! Lyle! You loved us, hurt us, tortured us, why, why, why? He had no idea what to do or where to go, and there was no escape, and they were calling to him again. . .

And there was a woman, a blue-eyed woman, and she was walking toward him with a grim and frightening look on her face, and he heard a name-Murderer and it frightened him and she was reaching for him. . . He opened his eyes and screamed, his body drenched in a cold sweat.

Brigitte watched the scene from the office she shared with her husband, sucking eagerly on her lollipop. Good. He was suffering just as he deserved to suffer. Despite all that had transpired between them, despite their past as allies, he had left her out in the cold for nearly four years – four years of battling along side her husband to reclaim their power.

To her surprise, Mr. Parker had turned out to be a far better ally than she had ever imagined. Though he had random bouts of what she could only describe as insanity thanks to the "re-education" he had endured after the disaster in North Carolina, when he turned it on, he was as formidable as any man she had ever known.

Lyle curled up into a ball, trying to fight back whatever demon was chasing him now, and Brigitte smiled, wondering how the other man she hated was doing right about now. Oh, how she loved having the Centre drug cabinet at her disposal once again.

*****

Bart had entered the room, ordering the other sweepers to remain outside. He knew that he could not enter the Plexiglas cage to help Jarod, but he would not leave him alone. He had tried to talk to him, to find a way to let him know that Miss Parker and the boy were not dead, but there was no reaching him.

For hours now the Pretender had done nothing but alternately scream their names and cry. He was exhausted. His body was bruised from repeated rammings against the glass, and he was covered with sweat, but still he would not stop. It was as if his grief had become completely irrational, and Bart had no idea how much more the man could take.

Thankfully, there was hope that it might end soon. Sam was on his way to see Mr. Parker to tell him that despite repeated attempts, Mr. Raines was unreachable and the Pretender needed help now. Hopefully, the plan would work. If not, they might all be facing the grim task of finding Miss Parker only to tell her that Jarod had not survived his incarceration.

******

Sydney sat at his desk waiting. The phone needed to ring. It had to ring. From what Sam had told him, Jarod was in very bad shape and he had to get to him to make him understand the truth.

As he sat there waiting, Sydney fingered the medical file that Broots had given him...God, had it only been two days ago that their whole world had turned upside down?

He did not open the file. He knew all to well what was inside of it. Another misdeed done against his daughter. Not only had they stolen her child from her, but they had been careless in doing so. The chances of Parker being able to carry a child herself were now less than 40%. Sydney had no idea how he would tell her this. He knew that she had stopped wanting children after Thomas, feeling that it was something she was not meant to have. Yet now there was Ryan, and soon, hopefully, there would be Jarod for her, too. He suspected that motherhood would stoke in her a desire to have another child – one she carried herself. How could he tell her that she would be risking her life if she did so?

Damn them, he thought. Damn them all. And damn myself for not getting her out of here sooner.

The phone rang and Sydney reached for it, trying to keep his voice even and free of expectation. He was not surprised to hear Mr. Parker’s voice on the other end.

"Sydney, we have a situation here."

"Sir?"

"Jarod is...having some difficulties. We’ve been unable to reach Mr. Raines. I was wondering..."

"There are orders that I’m not to be allowed in the Tower or near Jarod."

"I’ll take you there myself. I’ll meet you at the Tower elevator in three minutes."

Sydney hung up the phone and turned and stared once more at the file on his desk. He could not undo the damage they had done to Parker’s body, but he could find a way to heal her soul...and Jarod’s. That begun by doing what seemed impossible.

Setting Jarod free.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part XII
Michele & Shannon
with a little help from NR Levy & Trisha



Sydney entered the elevator, tossing a brief backward glance toward Mr.Parker, who had paused a moment in the corridor with a look of curious confusion.

"Mr. Parker?"

"Coming," the man replied as he entered the elevator, waiting for the doors to close.

"Ummm. . .How's the plans for my Angel's service coming?"

"Fine," Sydney looked at the man through half closed eyes, not wanting him to read the hatred that burned deep inside him. He had to get to Jarod, hopefully it wasn't to late. Parker was right about one thing, if Jarod felt that he had nothing left, he would shut down, and revenge would overtake his soul. He wasn't about to let that happen. The elevator stopped and the doors hissed open, the corridor was dimly light, yet he could make out the shapes of two sweepers at the door.

"Sir," the one snapped at attention," He's still thrashing about. Bart's with him but it doesn't seem to matter much."

"Sydney, I leave this in your capable hands, do what you think is necessary. Calm him down, any way you can," Mr. Parker said calmly. Opening the door to the darkened room, Sydney stepped in and scanned the room. All it took was a subtle motion of his eyes and Jarod was rising off the floor, and making his way to the plexiglass door, toward him.

"Betrayed," he whispered, hoarsely," Why?"

"I need to go inside," Sydney said to the older man next to him, waiting for him to open the security door. He watched as Mr. Parker placed his hand on the computer screen, a click of the latch told him that he could enter, turning around he looked the former chairman in the eyes," Leave us. Bart can stay, if I need help."

"Fine, just calm him down, before he hurts himself."

Jarod heard the rustle of the door parting, felt a cool draft of air, then saw Sydney's tall silhouette as he stepped through the opening.

"Jarod," he whispered," Talk to me."

He stumbled closer to where his mentor stood, his feet tangled by his haste and a fear so strong it weakened his knees.

"No," he searched the man's face for some sign of compassion. Jarod shut his eyes. This simple act should have allowed him to slip into SIM mode, but today the skill eluded him. He struggled to submerge himself and failed. He took a deep breath.

He was haunted by memories of the dead.

"Ryan is dead. My son is dead," he looked Sydney in the eyes. It was then that Sydney noticed the dilated pupils. Reaching out to Jarod, Sydney gripped the younger man's hands. They were warm to the touch and on one he noticed a scratch, which was puffy, red and extremely enflamed.

"Bart," Sydney called out to the sweeper," Who visited Jarod last?"

"I'm not sure Dr. Green. I'll go check with the others," Bart replied and left the room for a moment, leaving the door unattended.

"Jarod, look at me," Sydney cupped the man's chin, looking him in the eyes, hoping that what he was about to impart would take root in his drug induced haze and eventually sink in," Jarod, Miss Parker and Ryan. . .are not. . ."

"Dead," he cried, and sank to his knees, taking the doctor with him. Sydney placed his hand into his pocket, removing a small blue tablet. He pushed it between Jarod's lips and gripped the man's chin refusing to let go, all the while looking into the dark anguish filled eyes.

"No, Jarod, No."

The pretender looked at the doctor trying to comprehend what was being said to him, it was at that moment that he noticed the open door. Making his way to it, his body tired and pushed beyond its limits, yet if he could get out, he could find the one person that deserved death more than his son and Parker. At the same time that Jarod crossed the threshold, Bart re-entered. Drawing his gun, he aimed it at the pretender, ordering him to stop. When Jarod ignored him and continued to move forward, Bart fired. The noise alerted the other sweepers, stationed outside.

"He tried to escape," Bart said, as Sydney stooped next to the body, his eyes filled with remorse and anguish.

"He's dead," the doctor said softly, as he felt for a pulse on the neck of the body, the blanket which covered the body was stained with a deep crimson.

"Go get me a gurney," Bart told the two sweepers, and he watched them leave the room in a hurry, only to return moments later with the gurney," Go on, I'll take it from here. He'll be in the morgue, inform Sam, so that he can tell Mr. Parker. The two sweepers watched as the men lifted the body onto the gurney, then pushed it down the corridor to the elevator. The two sweepers then headed for the former chairman's office in search of his new personal sweeper.

The two men entered the elevator, the gurney between them, the blanket drawn up around the body.

"How is he?"

"Drugged. Who was the last to visit?"

"Brigitte," the sweeper said, bitterness dripping off his voice," Will the sleeping pill you gave, effect him adversely?"

"No, I was afraid that something like this would happen. It'll just put him to sleep, he doesn't understands. He's not processing the information, properly, his emotions are heightened, to the point that that's all he's feeling," the doctor bent down and pulled the sheet away, " He doesn't have a clue."

The phrase rattled around in his brain, fuzz yet fimiliar. He tried to remember why that phrase should call forth an image of Miss Parker. Doesn't have a clue, about what he thought, before he drifted off to sleep.

"How do you plan on getting him out of here?" Sydney inquired of the sweeper.

"You leave that to Sam and me, Dr. Green," the sweeper said impassivly as the elevator doors hissed open, revealing a dark, long corridor lit only by tiny lights recessed in the concrete walls every three feet. They gave the corridor a rather ghostly feeling, and why shouldn't it, this after all was the morgue. The bowels of hell. Wheeling the gurney toward the door at the far end of the corridor, Bart watched furitively as he got closer. Suddenly the door swung open revealing a darkened shadow. Sydney cringed slightly, afraid that they had been discovered,only to breath deeply when Sam stepped forward out of the shadows.

"We don't have alot of time," Sam said as he hoisted Jarod's sleeping form over his shoulder. Heading for a double door located on the left side of the room, Bart followed quickly opening it. Sydney exhaled deeply as he saw has car backed up to the loading ramp and watched as the sweepers placed Jarod's body in the back seat.

"There's going to be a slight accident in about five minutes," Sam said, looking at the doctor," There won't be any survivors down here. I'm really sorry about that, but maybe we will meet again in a different life time. Tell Miss Parker that being dead as a lot of advantages. Now get in the car and drive. Don't look back!"

"Sam, Bart." Sydney tried to thank them, but he was pushed out the door, and watched as the door closed. Sliding in the car, Syd found the keys already in the ignition, he eased the car out of the underground garage, and grateful that this part of the Centre was located back behind the loading docks, hidden by transporters and tractor-trailers. The snow was beginning to fall, heavily than earlier, Sydney stopped, when he felt a tinge of regret. He'd forgotten all about Angelo. Cursing softly to himself, he debated on going back, when he heard a soft voice from the back seat of the car.

"Friend need both."

"Angelo," a smile beginning to form. The season of miracles, perhaps theirs just happened. It was at that moment that the back of the building exploded and then erupted into flames. No one noticed the car that pulled away, heading away from the Centre, for all the guards where running in the direction of the flames that seemed to leap and dance in jubilation.

*****

Parker stirred in the bed, her legs thrashed beneath the sheets until she kicked off her covers entirely. The loss of warmth and a nagging agitation prodded her up through the layers of unconsciousness. Her eyes fluttered open for only a second. Fighting against the impulse to wake, she buried her head deeper into the pillow. This nap was no luxury. She did not want to wake, but somewhere in the other side of consciousness there came an insistent demand for her to wake. Her name was repeated over and over again until she grew weary of resisting and opened her eyes.

"You sleep deeply, Miss Parker," said the man who knelt before her. The lines of the Major's face were marshalled into an impassive mask, but his voice was full of concern, and his eyes mirrored the same.

"I was dreaming," she said, as the memory started to fade.

"You where calling for Jarod, Miss Parker," the Major looked her in the eyes and smiled, tenderly.

"Any news?" she pulled herself into a sitting position, taking a deep breath as she did so.

"No, but Broots and Debbie are on the outskirts of the town and should be here before night fall. Hopefully before the storm hits," the Major informed her as he glanced out the window.

"Where's Ryan?" she glanced at the empty spaced next to her.

"He decided to check out the snow," the Major chuckled, remembering the sight that greet them when they looked out the front window, to see the two year old standing almost chest deep in the snow.

"He'll catch a cold," she struggled to get out of the bed, worry written on her face. The Major gently placed his hands on her shoulders and eased her back onto the pillows.

"He's getting a bath, and some warm clothes. Granted everything is a bit big on the little mite, but Margaret knows how to handle it. She did it with Jarod and Kyle. I asked Broots to bring some things for the both of you, but Emily says that you two can share as well."

At that moment, the door to the bedroom burst open and a flush-faced, wet haired little boy, dressed in a forest green sweatshirt that was much to big, scrambled on to the bed.

"Mommy, did you have a nice nap? I don't like naps. . .but I like the snow," his brown eyes wide with awe," Mommy, do you like the snow? Does my daddy like the snow? When is he going to get here?"

Parker closed her eyes, and tried to figure out the best way to tell him that his father was. . .how do you explain that his father sacrificied his freedom for their's.

"Ryan," the voice was that of the Major's," your daddy loved the snow, when he was little. He would go outside and dig for hours, building a snow fort. We could never find him, it had so many rooms and tunnels to hide in.'

"Do you like the snow?" he asked again, as he stood on the bed, his
little face looking into Parker's blue eyes, waiting eagerly for her answer.

"Yes, baby. I like the snow," she said wrapping him in her arms and kissing his nose," but no more going outside with out the right clothes on. You'll get sick."

"That's what Grandma said, after she kissed me too," he laughed, as his little hand patted Parker's cheek," He's very smart, you know."

"Who is?"

"My daddy. He'll get here soon," he looked away momentarily and then turned back, and asked," Mommy, what's Christmas?"

Parker looked over at the Major, then back at the big brown eyes filled with curiosity. Strange that he could understand concepts that most adults would struggle with but it was the everyday common place ideas that boggled his little mind. She had spent the better half of the morning telling Ryan about his father and that the Major and Margaret were his grandparents, that Emily and Jake, his aunt and uncle. Once satisfied with her explanation, Ryan demanded that she rest.

"So you want to know about Christmas," Miss Parker said softly, when suddenly Jake stood in the doorway, carrying a tray of mugs and a plate of cookies.

"Who wants to know about Christmas?" he asked, placing the tray across Miss Parker's lap. Ryan's eyes grew wide, as he peered into the mugs.

"What's that?" he asked as he poked a finger into it, touching the mini marshmallows, then licking it," Mmmmmmm!"

"It's hot chocolate, baby?" Miss Parker smiled, as she watched him examine a cookie.

"It's a grandpa cookie," he stated as he continued to stare at it. The others chuckled softly.

"No, Ryan. It's Santa Claus," Jake said as he walked over to the bookshelf that was located next to the bed, reaching up on the top shelf, he removed a book with a white dustcover," Here, your daddy gave this to me, a long time ago and now I;m giving it to you. It's all about Christmas." Little hands eagerly grasped the big book and he cooed at the cover of the man that was similiar to his cookie.

"Can we read it, Mommy? Can we?" he looked up into her blue eyes, a hot chocolate mustache above his lip. Parker reached down and wiped the chocolate off his face with her thumb, returning his smile.

"Yes, baby. We can read it," she then turned to Jake," Thank you!"

"I'm glad I could help, at least a little."

*****

Broots finished filling the tank of his car, while Debbie sat in the front seat, impatiently waiting for them to get moving. She had asked a million questions regarding their destination. The doll that Jarod had given to Miss Parker sat in front of her, still wrapped in it's angel paper and silver and gold bows. The quilt was folded and next to Debbie. The bunny was in the backseat in it's cage busy nibbling on a carrot. Hanging the pump back in the holder, Broots ran into the store, paying cash for the gas and purchased some groceries for the two of them.

"Ready?" he said as he slide behind the wheel.

"Dad, I've been ready for a long time. Can I ask you a question?" she turned and looked at her father, "And get a truthful answer."

"What?" he nearly choked on his water, god he sounded like Miss Parker.

"Are you done working for that place?" Debbie asked, trying not to laugh at her father's use of Miss Parker's favorite word.

"Why do you ask?'

"Come on dad, that place is . . .I don't know exactly but its not a good place to work. Is it? I mean Miss Parker carries a gun and so do most of the others. Any place that requires it's employees to carry guns and no badges, can not be a good place to work."

"Seriously, Deb. It's not the greatest place but at the time I had to support both of us and well. . .It was . . ." the man shook his head, unable to finish.

"Is Miss Parker going to go back?"

"No," he whispered," Debbie, there's something that you need to know. When we get to where we are going, there's going to be a little boy there. I mean little. His name's, Ryan and he's Miss Parker's son."

"Wait a minute! She had a baby! Dad, do I look stupid? I know that she was never.."

Broots held his hand up to silence her, then continued to explain the whole story to his daughter. She sat and listened to all that was done to her friend in the name of power and control.

"I was kind of wondering why we bought clothes for a little boy," she replied," I know that we need to get there before the storm but it's Christmas in one week and well . . ."

"Presents. Sure but not long. I want to get there before its to dark," Broots said as he pulled the car in the parking lot of the small plaza that was on the left of them. After spending the next hour and half, the twosome left laden down with bags and boxes.

"Thanks, Dad," she said as she wrapped herself in the quilt and closed her eyes as Broots headed North to the cabin and the only other friend he had in the entire world beside Sydney. Once at the cabin, he would contact the doctor and see what was happening at the Centre.

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part XIII
N.R. Levy & Trisha


The night they escaped the Centre, Sydney felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders. Free...to tell the whole story, to accept the repercussions of what would come from that truth.

Jarod slept. It was a long sleep, and deep, like a tree sleeping during the winter waiting for the spring thaw. Then he woke. A sense of darkness claimed him, no longer filled with a sense of magic that filled him. It was always that magic that let him disappear whenever he chose. To become invisible. He lived inside his soul. He gave so much of himself, an honest, kind, and generous as well as openhearted person able to fight back from anything. Until now.

Miss Parker had been his magic, and he lost it the night that he saw the car. Dead. Both gone. Another tragic result of being associated with the Centre. He felt himself falling, weightless. Dreaming. She had never known that he loved her. He needed his soul back, but how. How does one reclaim the dead?

While Jarod slept, Syndey looked around outside of the hotel window. The fog was almost gone, it was cold, and the sky was heavy with snow. The clouds hung low with a noise that reverberated from them as from a concrete wall.

Jarod was wild eyed and unsure of his surroundings. His eyes very bright from the low-grade fever, his cheeks flushed and his mouth dry and his limbs ached. His face was level with Angelo's when his eyes started to focus. Startling him.

"Friend awake," he said his voice low and clear.

"So, this is what it's like to be alive, when those you love have died," he whispered.

"Jarod," Sydney sat on the bed and looked at the worn face, "Go back to sleep, you need to rest. I'll have you home, soon."

"Home?" his voice was sorrowful and it cracked," There is no such place without her and Ryan. . ."

He laid his head back on the pillows and closed his eyes. Images of Parker filling his mind, his hand reached for his shirt pocket and lingered there when he felt the folded piece of paper within. Still there, he thought, the only picture of her and their son.

"Heart broken," Angelo whispered, "No grieve."

The clock in its polished oak case ticked, steadily on the nightstand. It was getting colder outside, the ice formed on the windows, yet it was growing light out, signaling it was time to leave. Time to head home. They had hidden long enough.

In the predawn light, Sydney gathered his passengers and took the Three Mills road to go home. To his daughter. His grandson. To Freedom.

The weather seemed calm, a few dry flakes fell, but in less than a half hour it was falling fast and furious.

After that, the wind came.
It lashed the car and any soul that braved it was left floundering, numb, and blind.

After the wind, the drifts.

After the drifts, the dark.

For Jarod, the weather was like his mood. Dark and angry.

*****

The car turned right and began to twist and turn, carefully down the snow-covered road. Debbie read the directions that her father had written down, making sure that they didn't miss the turn-off near the wooden post. The sun had set but with the cloudy sky cover it didn't matter, the day had been dismal. Broots had tried to contact Sydney or Angelo and received no answer from either of them. In fact the Centre's mainframe was down, Broots hoped it was due to the inclement weather and nothing else. The wind was beginning to pick up speed and whip the snow around again, causing whiteouts in spots. And even though they had detoured to do some quick gift shopping, they had made good time reaching the cabin.

"Dad, there's the wooden post. It's almost covered in snow, but it looks like someone came and cleared around it," Debbie pointed out the front window.

"Thank goodness, I'm exhausted and hungry."

"You're always hungry, Dad," his daughter laughed," I can't wait to see Miss Parker."

She hesitated slightly, and then looked at her father, knowing that she was going to meet a little boy that was Miss Parker's son as well as a eighteen-year-old young man. The truth of the matter is that she was nervous to meet Jake, after her father explained who and what he was, she was so afraid that she'd embarrass herself.

The lights were blazing from the living room windows, smoke curled from the chimneystack, lazily making circles in the gray-blue night. This was no ordinary cabin, it was beautiful. In fact, Broots was positive that he saw a painting of this house in Miss Parker's studio. Pulling the car in to the circular drive, Broots cut the engine and he and Deb made their way to the front door. Knocking somewhat timidly, Deb grabbed the knocker and banged it against the metal clapper. Opening the door, was a young man, with close-cropped hair, dark chocolate eyes, a small mole young his right eye, and a killer smile, standing next to him was a small boy.

"It's Mis'er Broots and a girl, Mommy," he yelled, pulling Debbie by the hand into the house. Broots entered the house, and stood nervously in the hallway, not quite sure of what to do or say.

"I need unload the car," he stammered.

"I'll help," Jake offered and grabbed his coat off the rack next to the door, slipping his feet into his snow boots.

Snow was swirling about them, and there were snowflakes on their hats and even clinging to Jake's eyelashes. And how dark it was, the stars looked as if they were falling too, all mixed up with the twirling of the snowflakes. Broots looked at the young man who he’d last seen four years ago as he peaked out of the plane that he and Major Charles had escaped in. He was definitely no longer a boy...and in many ways, no longer a "clone" of Jarod. He had turned into his own man, that was clear from his style of dress. A little funkier than the original model, Broots noted.

As Jake and Broots unloaded the car, Debbie shared a heartfelt reunion with the woman she regarded more as a mother than she did her own. Miss Parker was helping her grow up, doing all of the things that her mom should have been doing, and she’d been terrified that she might lose that when her father had first tried to explain things to her. When she saw Miss Parker’s face light up as she entered the room, her fear vanished.

"Miss P, I was so worried about you." Miss Parker was lying on the couch, her body wrapped in a warm blanket, so Debbie crouched down beside her to receive her embrace. After a moment, they both pulled back to survey each other.

"I’m okay, sweetheart. How are you? This must all seem pretty scary to you, hmm?"

Debbie let her eyes fall down to the floor for a moment, then back up at Miss Parker. It was all a little scary – her friend had almost died, her father was running for his life, and what they’d done to make Ryan...She nodded silently and Miss Parker soon had Debbie curled into her reassuring arms again.

"I know. I wish we could have always protected you from this, but you’re dad loves you, and as long as you have him, the rest will all work itself out, okay?"

Parker felt Debbie nod against her, and a she remembered again how important this "little girl" was to her. Hardly little anymore, she’d be a grown woman soon, but for now, she was still Broots’ to protect, and hers to spoil.

That was when Debbie remembered the bundle tucked under her arm. It had practically fallen on the floor and she scooped it up and stood. She unfolded it and placed it over the blanket that already covered Miss Parker.

"Isn’t this the quilt from my studio?"

Debbie nodded and sat down on the couch again.

"Yeah. Daddy went to your house and got some of your stuff he knew you’d want. We brought some and Dr. Greene has the rest."

Just then Broots and Jake walked in with the first load of boxes and bags and Ryan, who had been running around finding all of his family and alerting them to the new arrivals flew into the room just in time to see Broots sit down the white and gold angel box he had seen in his mommy’s office a few days earlier.

"You brought Morgana. Can I take care of her, Mommy? Can I?" He had the box in his hands and was already climbing up onto the couch with her before Miss Parker could even react. Debbie smiled at the little boy taking a good look at him. He was so clearly Miss Parker’s son, yet he was all little boy...curious and adorable.

"Yes, baby, you can, but first I want you to come meet a friend of mine. Ryan, this is Debbie, Broots’ daughter, and a very special friend of mine."

"Will you be my friend, too? I like having friends."

Debbie laughed out loud at the happy little boy, and for a moment, the spirit of the house was lifted by the pure joy of children being children. Sadly, after the unloading was finished, and a proper place was found for Bunny, who completely fascinated Ryan, it was time for a very worried Broots, Miss Parker and Charles to talk about the Centre.

"You mean you can’t get through either?" Broots looked at them totally worried. What the hell was going on back there and where were Sydney and Jarod?

"No." Charles shook his head, trying to keep all of the fear he felt out of his voice. "We haven’t heard anything since Sydney told us he would get Jarod out."

"Well, I’ve got my computer set up and it’s checking for anything Syd might have hidden in the mainframe. Problem is, the thing is a mess. Someone must have really shot the system to hell."

"Let’s just hope it was Syd and that he got Jarod out of there."

Miss Parker’s voice sounded so weary to Broots, the way he’d remembered her sounding after Thomas’ murder. He hated hearing it, but knew that for now, there was little he could do to fix it. Just then, Ryan bounded back into the room, Jake and Debbie, who had taken an instant liking to each other, following close behind.

"Mommy, I was looking at the book some more and we need a Christmas tree? Don’t you think we need a Christmas tree, Grandpa?"

Parker and Charles exchanged glances as they considered theirresponses. Certainly none of the adults in the house were in the mood to deal with Christmas, not with Jarod still missing, but Ryan was just a baby and now that they’d excited him about the holiday, there wasn’t much else they could do but put on happy smiles and charge ahead.

Charles stood and picked his grandson up in his arms, a quick tickle making him laugh.

"If it’s a Christmas tree you want, young man, then that’s what you’ll have."

*****

Chaos reigned at the Centre. In the aftermath of the horrible explosion which had killed two sweepers, destroyed Jarod’s body and left the not so impenetrable building barely functional, few details were making sense. Angelo was also missing and presumed dead. No one seemed to know how Mr. Raines’ cell phone and pager had stopped functioning. One thing Mr. Parker was certain of was that there was going to be hell to pay when Mutumbo found out that they had not only lost Angel and the boy, but now Jarod as well.

The thought of facing down the angry African sent chills down the old man’s spine. So many failures – Angel, the boy, though those were credited to Lyle, Jarod’s two escapes and now his death – Mutumbo would have a great deal to charge him with...and now he had to plan his defense. If it was convenient, he would save Raines as well. The man had his uses.

For no particular reason, he found himself wandering through the maze of workers who were trying to fix the damage done by the explosion. That would be easy enough to deal with...no matter what the real cause, he would blame it on Sydney. After all, the sentimental shrink had tried to blow the place up once before, hadn’t he? No difficulty in pushing the blame for this disaster on him.

Finally, Mr. Parker stopped in front of a glass window in Renewal Wing, and let his eyes fall on the figure inside. A shell – hardly anything left of the man he used to be, that was the only way to describe his son now. Not that he didn’t deserve it, hadn’t tried to kill him on more than one occasion, and what he’d allowed to happen to Angel...

His mind locked onto the plan that was forming there. Brigitte had been in full control of Lyle since Mutumbo had handed down the order for re-education, giving her full access to the Centre. A sweeper had already confessed to him that before his death, Bart had discovered that Brigitte had drugged Jarod...possibly leading to his attempted escape and his eventual death?

Mr. Parker stood a little straighter and smiled. There were scapegoats to be had, and he would hand each and every one of them over to Mutumbo if that’s what it took to save himself. It wasn’t as if the empire was permanently damaged. They had another clone in development, and there was always the girl child Brigitte had given birth to. True, she was no Jarod, no Angel for that matter, but he could build a new dynasty with out his treacherous wife around to endanger them. As for Lyle, the son he had barely known and never loved was no longer a danger to anyone, except maybe himself.

Some part of Lyle’s twisted mind, which now seemed trapped between a horrible beating at Lyle Bowman’s hands and the imagined, agonizing screams of his sister and her son going to their watery graves, Lyle knew someone was watching him. He turned his eyes and stared toward the glass. A face was there, but he no longer recognized the face. He was disappearing...sinking into a black hole...He wasn’t even sure what his name was anymore. He just wanted the screams to stop, his, hers, and that sweet-faced little boy who looked at him with questioning brown eyes and said one word over and over "Why?"

The face in the window left, and the man in the room curled into a tighter ball and began to disappear even deeper into the void that was now his home.

*****

He was bundled up in the snowsuit that Mr. Broots and his daughter, Debbie, had brought for him, his hands covered with warm mittens and snuggly warm boots on his feet. Much better then the first time he had decided to investigate the snow. He sat covered with a fleece blanket on the sled, when he decided to stick out his tongue and catch a plump white snowflake on its tip.

Up a hill they went, toward the big round moon. Ryan could hear the crunch of snow under the others boots. Up and over snowdrifts, they pulled him, wind whistling, nipping his nose, that he pulled the scarf up over his nose.

"There it is, Dad," Jake said, lifting it so that Ryan and Debbie could see the fir tree, which lay on its side almost buried in the snow.

"Broots and I cut it earlier," Jake said proudly.

"It's the biggest tree in the world," Ryan breathed," Will it fit in the house?"

"We'll make it fit," the major said, as he took the tree from Jake, shook some of the snow from its branches and hoisted it up onto the back of the other sled, then secured it with ropes.

As they pulled the tree through the frosted air, over moon-sparkled drifts, the heady pine smell reminded them that Christmas was fast approaching. Christmas Eve was five days away.

The tree was dragged into the house at last, along with a good deal of snow, which Margaret did her very best to seem stern about. Rather unsuccessfully too, for she was as excited as any of them.

They stood the tree up in front of the window, it fit exactly, its tip just brushing the ceiling of the room.

"Wow," said Emily.

"Mommy, do you like the tree?" cried Ryan as he rushed toward the sofa that she sat upon. She was so glad they had finally allowed downstairs, her place having been strictly in bed since they arrived.

"Baby, that's the biggest tree, I've ever seen," she smiled as she gathered him in her arms and kissed him.

There were strings of popcorn and cranberries which Miss Parker, Debbie and Emily made with Ryan's help, although he ate more popcorn that he strung. Margaret unpacked the cotton-whiskered Santas, the beautiful shining balls of red, gold, and green glass. Jake found the swans and birds with feathered tails, along with the angel-hair and tinsel, and red candles in silver holders. They all kept the mood as light as they could for the sake of the little boy who was just learning about the magic of this holiday.

The last thing to be placed on the tree was the Christmas Angel, however, that was always Jarod's responsibility, no one wanted to place her on the tip of the tree. Parker could see Ryan eying the beautiful decoration, though, and she knew she had to say something to him. Margaret had told her earlier about making the angel, and about the joy it had brought Jarod their first Christmas together, and now she could see her own son’s eyes reflecting that same happiness.

"Ryan, baby, the angel there is the decoration your Daddy always puts on the tree. Do you mind if we wait until he gets here for that?"

"You mean, my daddy’s tall enough to put that on the very top of the tree? I’ve just been standing there wondering how tall you would have to be to do that?"

His sweet and innocent answer sent the room into a fit of laughter, and as they began to clean up from their decorating, they all felt a little more hopeful that Christmas might bring something to celebrate after all.

Hours later, Miss Parker lay in bed, her arms wrapped around the son who had so quickly taken full possession of her heart. Looking at him, she marveled again at how little she had ever meant to her own father...never could she imagine harming this little innocent boy the way her father had her. She would not steal his life away, nor let anyone else do it, ever. She made the silent pledge as she kissed his head and closed her eyes, one last wish for the holidays in her heart.

"Please, please let Jarod make it home. His son needs him...I need him."

****

The house was dark and silent when they arrived. Jarod had been awakefor nearly an hour but he had not spoken to either of his fellow travelers since opening his eyes. He couldn’t speak – if he did, he was terrified the pain inside of him would explode. It was only because he knew he had to utter a few words that he pushed a few tight lipped utterances out as they reached the door of the place that had once held such joy for him...now it was as cold as his heart.

"Syd, I don’t want to face them all, not yet. Just get some sleep and we’ll deal with it all in the morning."

Sydney did not argue. Clearly, Jarod was still not ready to hear the truth. Morning would be soon enough, and he would have the real live pieces of evidence to back up his story.

After directing Syndey and Angelo to the bedroom, off to the left of the dining room, Jarod returned to the living room. Throwing another log on the fire, he curled up on the sofa, grabbing the quilt that lay draped across the arm, unaware of whose quilt he had wrapped his body in.

In his sleep, his mind filled with a dream that could never be – a Christmas tree surrounded by gifts, his son held high in his arms as he lifted him up and let him place the angel on top of the tree. And Parker...she was there, laughing, and her eyes were so happy and alive...alive.

It was still dark when he woke and he was unsure how long he slept. It seemed like that was all he had been doing since they left the Centre. His means of escaping reality. Ryan was sitting on the other end of the sofa, by the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket, rocking back and forth, his tiny feet banging against Jarod's. That is what had awakened him, it wasn't something Ryan had meant to do. Jarod looked at the small figure and was speechless.

"Are you a ghost, come to haunt me on Christmas?" he whispered.

"No!" the little boy smiled.

"Ryan!"

"Did Santa bring you in his sleigh, Daddy?" with that said, Jarod sat upright, reaching across the sofa, and like lightening he slipped his hands in side the blanket that was wrapped around Ryan.

Solid.

"My god, you're real. Alive. Here! How?" he pulled the little boy to him, revealing in the small arms that wrapped around his neck.

"Daddy, did you have a bad dream or something? You were calling me and you were calling Mommy."

Jarod squeezed the little bundle in his arms, trying to be careful not to hurt him. How? How was it possible? He’d seen the car, the blood. Carefully, he pushed his son back away from him and looked at him. His eyes danced in the soft moonlight that lit the room, and his smile was unmistakably that of his mother. He was real.

"Daddy, did you?"

"Did I what, Ryan?"

"Have a bad dream?"

Jarod pulled the little boy back into his arms and hugged him again, his heart coming to life again as he did so.

"Yes, I did. The very worst dream I’ve ever had." Suddenly, something dawned on Jarod, and he sat Ryan on his knee as he looked at him. "Ryan, you know who I am?"

"’Course I do. Mommy and grandma and grandpa and aunt Emily and Uncle Jake, they told me all ‘bout you. And look, we saved the angel for you...Grandma says that’s always your favorite part."

Jarod looked to where Ryan’s little baby finger pointed and sure enough, there was the angel his mother had made their first Christmas together. Then Jarod remembered his dream, and suddenly, he realized that it could come true after all. He stood up, holding his son in his arms as he crossed to pick up the angel, then he handed it to Ryan.

"How about we both do it?"

Ryan squealed with delight as his father lifted him high in the air and his little arms stretched out to get the placement just right. When he was satisfied, he smiled down at his father, and Jarod pulled him down, holding him tight again. They would have stayed like that forever had they both not heard the small gasp that came from the stairs.

Jarod turned and his eyes fell on Parker. She looked tired and thin and there were tears in her eyes – and to him, she had never been more beautiful.

Parker felt frozen to the spot where she stood. She’d woke and found Ryan gone and worried, had come to look for him. The effort had nearly killed her, her side throbbing, but she had to find her boy. Then she’d taken the last step from the staircase and seen...oh, God was it really him? Jarod.

It was Ryan who broke the silence. He squirmed out of his father’s arms and ran to his mother.

"See, Mommy, I told you. Daddy made it home in plenty of time for Christmas."

Parker nodded, blinking back the tears that threatened. Quickly, she leaned down and made herself eye level with her son.

"Yes, you did, baby. I’ll tell you what, why don’t you go in the kitchen and see if there are any cookies left for Daddy?"

"Okay." Ryan skipped happily out of the room, and Parker stood straight, her eyes locking with Jarod’s. Now he was crying, and her own tears began to stream down her face. Her voice cracked with the emotions that were coursing through her body.

"What the hell were you thinking? Walking in the front door and turning yourself in? I thought...God, Jarod, I thought we’d lost you."

"You thought YOU had lost ME?"

Jarod moved quickly, his heart reminding him of all the things he had said he would do if Parker were still alive. Before she could think to move, he had her in his arms, and his lips found hers. To both his surprise and delight, she did not pull away and instead melted into his arms.

The kiss left them both shell-shocked. Jarod could see that the combination of all the emotional upheaval was beginning to take its toll on her and he directed Parker to the couch where he had been sleeping earlier. It was while they were settling down that his eyes finally focused on the quilt he’d covered himself with earlier...her quilt, the one he’d bought her.

"You brought it?"

"Broots did. It’s a long story. Jarod, I’m so sorry. We never meant for you to think..." He pulled her into his arms again, feeling the small sobs that were coming from her body.

"Shush. It was brilliant. They’ll never look for you now. I convinced them that you were dead...believe me, I convinced them."

"I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. There’s just been so much and it all happened so fast..."

"I know, Parker. I know. I’m here now. Oh, God, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, I promise."

The two were still sitting together when Ryan peeked around the corner. He knew from watching his grandparents that this was what parents were supposed to do, hug and kiss each other, so he figured everything was okay. He decided to sneak upstairs and give the grown ups a little time to themselves.

After Parker’s tears finally stopped and after Jarod regained the power of coherent thought, they sat apart from each other, each with a thousand questions they wanted to ask. It was Jarod who spoke first.

"Parker, how did you get here? Did Dad find you?"

"No, I found him."

"But how? I kept this place so hidden." He saw her eyes sweep downward, and his hand reached out and lifted her chin, bringing the brilliant blue orbs back even with his own.

"How?"

"I used to own it."

"What?"

"Momma and I, we used to come here during the holidays. Daddy...well, he wasn’t really into Christmas, so we would come here and celebrate for days and then Daddy would come on Christmas Eve. After she died, we never came again..."

"But how could you have known I bought it?"

"I made it too attractive for you not to buy it." She watched his eyes widen with surprise and finally, with realization.

"You’ve known all along?"

"When Sydney told me you’d found your family, I – Jarod, it was all I could do. Two weeks of peace and quiet a year, it was the only gift I had to give you. You’d given me so much...I just wanted to do something...to say thank you."

"Something...Parker, you gave me my life..." He pulled her into his arms again, and remembering another of those promises he’d made to himself, he stood and walked to the tree, knowing that his mother would have placed the ornament for him. After a lengthy search, he found what he was looking for and he returned to the couch.

"I kept this with me all this time because I – Parker, I kept it because it was the only part of you I could keep."

Parker looked down at his hands and her eyes focused on the red stained-glass heart that sat in his hands. Her mind was about to question the why of it when she remembered...the stain-glassed portrait of her...it had been missing it’s heart...and Jarod had kept it with him, safe and protected all this time.

She took hold of his hands with hers, covering the heart, she watched him drop to his knees, then bending his head over her hands, he brings them to his lips, kissing them.

"Put your arms around me," she whispered to him," Hold me. I need to feel your arms around me." They clung to each other for a long time before anyone spoke again.

"Parker, I want you to listen to me. I know we have a lot to sort through. I know we can’t pretend the last seven years didn’t happen, but we’re going to get through it. After these last few days, I know that I won’t let us not get through it. I need you too much. Believe me?"

Parker nodded against him and tightened the grip her arms held him in. She could do this – would do this. She would do it for her son because he needed a family, and for Jarod because he was asking, and for herself because...because...

‘It’s what you’ve always wanted, Parker.’ She heard her own voice in her head and it was soft and gentle, scolding her a bit like she remembered her mother doing when she was young. Yes, it was what she’d always wanted, and now, miraculously, it was possible.

*****

Sydney stood in the dark hallway watching the two of them. Sydney had this feeling of mental angst when matters turned to Parker. Parker, who had the look of a carefully sculpted china doll, so fragile that even a harsh word would shatter her, yet Sydney realized that she was tougher than she looked.

He wanted to walk over to her, hold her tightly, tell her everything that he was feeling, explain how much he loved her and why he never revealed the truth. He also felt completely inadequate to the task.

Tomorrow. There would be time tomorrow.

*****

Margaret stood and stretched, pulling on her bathrobe. She walked downstairs to start the coffee hopeful that today would be the day that brought news of her oldest son. He had so much to live for now. He had to find a way home.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and small gasp escaped her mouth before she could stifle it with her hand. The noise brought Ryan’s tiny head up from where it rested against his mother’s chest. He smiled over at his grandmother, then lay back down again, securely held in his mother’s arms...and she was held in his father’s.

Margaret looked at the scene, father, mother and child sleeping together, and tears poured from her eyes. Jarod was home, reunited with the two people he’d almost thrown his whole life away for, and Christmas, it seemed, had brought them a miracle after all.

Quickly, Margaret climbed the stairs, anxious to let the rest of the family know what had happened. Minutes after she left, Jarod’s tired eyes blinked open, and he looked down at his arms to see Ryan staring up at him.

"Morning Daddy."

Jarod raised a finger and indicated to Ryan they should whisper so as not to wake Parker. Ryan smiled and then in a loud whisper only children can really manage, he spoke again.

"Mommy’s really beautiful, isn’t she?"

"Yes," Jarod replied, a smile spreading over his face as one finger began to gently stroke Parker’s cheek, "yes, she is."

Parker stirred then, opening her eyes and finding Ryan in front of her, which meant the incredible warmth and security she felt behind her came from only one person. It had not been a dream. He was home, and they were together again.

Soon, the room filled with more Russells who had awakened to the good news of Jarod’s return, and then Debbie and Broots came down and finally Sydney and Angelo joined them. Hugs and expressions of love were the order of the day, and it was only the rumbling of their stomachs that broke up the happy scene. Margaret went off to start breakfast, and Jarod, who had noticed Parker wincing a bit, insisted on taking her upstairs to look at her wound.

His father had done a good job considering how little he’d had to work with. She would heal fine, though she’d hate the scar it left behind. Armed with a fresh dressing, she insisted on getting cleaned up and in some clean clothes. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, her face flushed from the hot water, she found herself facing someone she hadn’t expected.

"Syd, you startled me. We haven’t had much chance to talk yet, have we?" She crossed over and embraced him, grateful for all he had done to bring Jarod home to them. When she stood back, she could see the dark clouds in his eyes, and for some reason she couldn’t explain, they frightened her.

"Syd, what is it?"

Jarod walked past the bedroom door, but, hearing Sydney’s voice in the room with Parker’s he left them alone. He would come back in a minute and check on her.


Jarod took one look at Parker and knew something was wrong. He had left her alone with Syd, and now she was very quiet. It was this silence that caught Jarod's attention.

"What's wrong?" he asked, coming to sit on the edge of the bed, taking hold her hands in his.

"Nothing," the response was so Parker that he smiled, slightly.

"What did Sydney have to say to you?"

She looked at him, then away, her eyes threatening to overflow with the tears that she tried to will away.

"Don't withdraw on me, Parker!"

"I don't withdraw," she got up from the bed, looked out the window to the three figures that were under the window.

"Where are you going?"

"To check our son."

"We're in the middle of a discussion, Parker."

"No, we're not. You're in the middle of treating me as if I'm a child, telling me that I'm withdrawing. Me, I'm just going to check on our son."

"He's playing in the snow with Jake and Emily. And yes, you're withdrawing. Damn it, Morgana!"

She whipped her head around, staring opened mouthed, totally stunned that he had used her first name. He was standing in front of her, his hands on her shoulders, brown eyes boring into blue ones.

"The truth is, I. . .he. . . you see."

"Morgana," he reached up and cupped her face in his hands, "What did we talk about last night? No more secrets."

"He's my father," she whispered, her resolve finally crumbling, the tears streamed down her face, as she leaned against his chest. He led her to the bed, and she curled up against him, his hand stroking her hair as she cried. He would wait until she was ready to talk.

"How could he do it, Jarod? How could he just stand by and not tell me?"

"I’m sure he had his reasons, Parker." Jarod knew instantly he had given the wrong response. It had been an honest one, but it was not what she wanted to hear. She pushed away from him, sitting up.

"You think there were ANY reasons good enough? He sat there and watched me fighting a losing battle, Jarod, and he did nothing."

"He loves you, Parker. Imperfectly, and not the way you needed to be loved, but he does love you. So did your fath—so did Mr. Parker, they just weren’t good at dealing with it."

"Well, why the hell not? Why is it that no one ever seems to know how to deal with loving me?" She was crying again, and Jarod knew that the last statement was directed just a little bit at him. Sighing, he stood and walked around to where she was sitting, his arms wrapping around her as he pulled her even with him.

"Because we’re all flawed, silly men who don’t know how to do the easiest thing in the world, and that’s tell you that we love you."

She sank deeper into his embrace, and her tears flowed again, but this time not from anger.

"You do?" Her voice was small and hesitant, and Jarod hoped it was the last time ever he would hear that tone in her voice.

"More than my life, Parker. Always have, always will."

The words said, they both felt a new freedom and they held tight to each other. Still, Parker’s heart was heavy, and she knew there was still more she needed to tell the man who held her. Her tears gone, shelooked up into his dark eyes, a slight smile on her face.

"I love you, you know that, don't you?" she whispered, he nodded his head, uncertain were this conversation was going, "So much so that I would risk everything to. . .to see you have all the things you’ve ever wanted."

"Parker," his eyes filled with worry, an ominous feeling entered his heart, "You weren’t just crying because of finding out about Syd being your father were you?"

Looking into his eyes, she removed herself from his embrace and walked over to the desk, picking up the file that Sydney had given her. Hesitating for only a moment she placed the file in his outstretched hand. Walking over to the window, she looked down at the three figures, the two older ones were showing Ryan how to make snow angels. Placing her hand upon the windowpane, she released the breath she had been holding, anticipating the explosion from Jarod. An explosion that never came, instead she felt his arms wrap around her, his chin nestling in the crook of her neck, his sweet warm breath next to her ear.

"Not your life, Parker. I can’t let you risk that again. I need you too much, and so does Ryan."

"But if I want to..."

"Parker, how can you ask me to do that?" She turned in his arms, and he felt his heart tighten at the depth of the mixture of pain and love he saw in her eyes.

"Jarod, they stole it from me. I know we have Ryan, and I love him with all my heart, but I used to dream about having a child of my own...that is when I used to dream. I pushed that dream away forever after Tommy died, but now, how can I? I want to know what it’s like to carry our child, your child, and I know you want more children..."

"What if we lose you? You read the file, Parker. Your risk of serious complications is more than 60%. You could go into premature labor, the scar tissue could tear and cause hemorrhaging...I hate what they did to you. I wish I could...Parker, please, I don’t know if I can stand by and let you take a chance like that."

Parker lifted her hand and placed it against his cheek. Of course she understood, but it didn’t change how she felt in her heart. She needed to do this, in fact, she needed to so badly it frightened her. Something inside of her had been awakened by Ryan’s appearance in her life, maybe that little sliver of her mother Jarod had always tried to keep alive, and she couldn’t ignore it, not even for him.

"We’ll talk about it later, okay? Right now we need to go spend the holidays with our son."

Jarod nodded, knowing the fight was far from over, but for now Parker was right, there was no reason to let it spoil these first few precious days together. The Centre was behind them, the powers that be convinced the three of them were dead. Someone, some angel watching over them had given them the most miraculous gift in the world...each other, and it was time for his little family of three to begin their life together

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
part XIV
N.R. Levy / Shannon / Trisha




The mouth of hell -- His own body no longer part of him. His brain had severed all connection with reality. All gone. No knowledge, no memory, no pride, and no shame. No faith. He ceased to exist. Brigitte had made sure of it by filling him so full of experimental drugs. Lyle no longer cared. He was an empty shell. The dreams had ceased, and now had become reality. Mr. Parker had tried to find some relief for him but the combination of drugs that had been introduced into the man's body had caused irreparable damage.

Anyway rebuilding the Centre was top priority for Mr. Parker now. It had been over a year since Miss Parker had died along with her son. Jarod the pretender, had been killed due to an escape attempt and Sydney had been lost in the explosion that caused the Centre's mainframe to scramble itself for months. Mutumbo had been livid at the loss of Miss Parker and the little boy. He was also extremely annoyed that Brigitte had been allowed to get close to the pretender and drug him. It was that drug that caused the loss of the pretender, so Brigitte answered for her error. Not that Mr. Parker missed her. She had been a burden. The little girl that she had given birth to, however, was being raised at the Centre and was full of all the hatred and venom that his angel had not been.

Then again what had one expected from Catherine and Sydney's daughter.

He had known that she wasn't his just has he knew that Lyle wasn't his son. Lyle was nobody's son. He had tampered with the DNA test results only to ingratiate himself back into the good graces of the Centre. Angelo had been Miss Parker's true brother and he had been assumed lost in the explosion, too. Enough reminiscing about the past, Mr. Parker thought. Raines had informed him that the birth of the newest clone had been successful, granted they had many years to wait to utilize him. So it didn't hinder them from looking for other natural pretenders like Jarod. They bought off doctors and fertility specialists, searching for that rather special anomaly. To date nothing. He almost wondered if the line had died out with Jarod, Parker and Ryan. They had wanted to use the other embryos that Lyle had obtained but they had been lost during the explosion.

******

Parker looked at the two that had just placed the angel on the tree, and smiled. They had covered their tracks and spent the past year being a family. She loved ever minute of it. She had come to terms with Sydney being her father and that Nicholas was her half-brother. And of course, there was Angelo. That had been a shock, not only to her but to Sydney as well, but a welcomed shock. Angelo had caught a cold that turned into pneumonia and when Jarod had run the blood work the deception on Lyle's part had been revealed. Jarod's family had accepted her with open arms. And then there was Jarod. How does one describe the feelings of love that invaded her when she looked at him and their son? She had ignored his pleas and taken the ultimate chance with her life. Moving her hands to her abdomen, feeling the baby move. Each day was another day closer to the ultimate goal of giving him everything he ever wanted. The pregnancy wore her out and sapped her strength, yet true to her promise of secrecy, Parker didn't tell him. She was too weary and had no strength to care, so she made her way to the bedroom, were she turned off the light and barely stretched between the lace-edged sheets before she fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes again, she was starving, as well as relaxed until she noticed that she was wearing her favorite nightgown, which she hadn't been wearing when she'd fallen asleep.

She cursed, softly.

"Secrets," she muttered, pulling off the covers, "secrets everywhere. Secrets to keep the peace, one way or another, and if you don't want to keep a secret, you've got to keep that a secret."

"Something that we agreed not to do to each other, Morgana," the voice came from the figure that sat in the chair across from the bed. His voice was low and the tone gentle, but she could hear the anger that laced through that softness -- and she knew it was directed at her.

"You know." It was a statement more than a question. She was beginning to show, at least when she was naked, and there's no way he could not have noticed her rounding belly when he'd changed her into her nightgown.

"I have known....I've known for weeks. I can't believe you thought I wouldn't. I know your body better than I know my own, Morgana, and it's not like we haven't been together. I guess I was just waiting for you to tell me."

"I wanted to, Jarod, but I knew what you'd say."

"Well, I'm glad you know because I have no idea what to say."

He stood then and began pacing the room. Parker looked at him, her heart breaking because she could see the pain on his face, and she knew she had caused it.

"I never wanted to lie to you, but you didn't give me any choice."

"Who isn't giving who a choice here?"

"Damn it, Jarod, I want this baby. I'm sorry if that upsets you. I tried to explain to you why I needed this, why I had to do this, but you wouldn't listen."

"I don't want to lose you."

"And I don't want to be lost, Jarod, but I want to have this baby. I need to do this."

"Why? Or aren't Ryan and I enough for you?" The words erupted from him, his calm tone long since lost, and Parker found herself actually stepping back from the strength of his anger. The realization of how emotional he was seemed to hit Jarod suddenly, and he sank down onto the bed, his body suddenly exhausted.

Parker cautiously made her way to where he sat, easing herself down beside him. She felt a small sense of relief when he did not move away from her, and a deeper one when her outstretched hand was able to gently rest on his shoulder without him flinching from her touch.

"You and Ryan are my life, Jarod."

"Then why? What are we supposed to do if something happens to you? God, Parker, I fought so long for this, I can't lose it now."

He was keeping his face from her, but she knew he was crying. She could hear it in his voice, and she reached out to pull him into her arms. He did not fight her, and soon she was rocking him the way she did Ryan after a bad dream.

"I'm not going to leave you, Jarod. I know it. I know I can do this. They've taken so much from us, Jarod. I couldn't let them take this, too. I couldn't let them take away our right to have a child together, really together. Please, try and understand that."

He continued to cry and she continued to hold him. No one spoke any more for a long time, and finally, she felt him begin to pull away from her. She let him go, uncertain what was going to come next. She was relieved when he reached for her and pulled her into his arms, reversing their earlier positions.

"You cannot leave me. Do you understand me? You are going to do everything I tell you to do, even if you hate it."

Now Parker began to cry. She knew it had been wrong to deceive him, and he had a right to stay angry with her, but instead, he was doing what he always did -- standing by her no matter what.

"I'll do whatever you want, Jarod, I promise. I'll stay in this bed for the next five months if that's what it takes to get our baby here safely."

"Don't forget you said that."

Suddenly a fit of laughter struck them both, and they began to giggle through their tears. It was then that a tiny voice came from the door.

"Mommy?"

Parker pulled back from Jarod and wiped stray tears from her cheeks as she looked at the door. There stood their son, his eyes heavy with sleep, his hand wrapped around the blanket his grandmother had made for him.

"Hey, baby. What are you doing up?" She reached out her arms to him, and Ryan scurried over, happily climbing into her lap as they both relaxed in his daddy's arms.

"I thought I heard yelling."

Parker immediately felt worried. She and Jarod had never fought around their son, and she had not expected him to hear them. Thankfully Jarod was ready to handle the situation.

"Mommy and I were trying to figure out something very important, and we got a little loud. Nothing for you to worry about, I promise."

"Can I sleep in here with you tonight?"

Parker looked up at Jarod and saw him nod, and soon the three were settled back down in the bed. She briefly remembered that she had woken from hunger, but the emotional roller coaster she'd been on had dampened that feeling. She snuggled up to her son and husband, and felt herself drifting off to sleep again.

Jarod did not sleep. He kept watch over his family, his heart still filled with worry. He did not believe it would be as easy as she made it sound, but he was prepared to do whatever it took to get her through this, to get their new child into the world without he and Ryan losing her in the process.

****

Broots carefully weeded his way through the Centre's defenses. He and Jake had managed to hack into the mainframe. It was the only way to stay ahead of the evil twisted bastards that ran the place. It was a
survival mechanism that had been instilled in him by Miss Parker. Keep your enemies close, and how much closer can you keep them but by hacking in to the mainframe. It was Jake that discovered the latest memo handed down from the chairman. It was important that Jarod had this information. The Centre issued an alert to any and all, that a certain gene anomaly in the blood of any newborn would garner rather substantial monetary rewards to the hospital, doctor or clinic that found it. There was no way in hell the Centre would be allowed in his family's life, again.

"Jarod," Jake yelled up the staircase, waiting impatiently for a reply.

"What is it Jake?" Jarod peered down from the top of the stairs, Ryan standing next to him.

"Broots and I found something that you need to look at, it's rather important," he glanced down at the little boy. "Hey, Ryan can you go into the kitchen and see if grandma and Debbie are done with those
sandwiches we asked for?" He tousled the little boy's head as he and his father descended the stairs.

"Sure, Uncle Jake. I'm starving and mommy needs a glass of milk, anyway, right daddy?" he stated matter-of-factly.

"That's right. And you make sure she drinks all of it," Jarod smiled down at him.

The three men watched the four year old scamper off in the direction of the kitchen and heard him yelling about starving from hunger and the women laughing, heartily.

"So how is she, Jarod? It was a close call earlier, wasn't it?" Broots asked, concern on his features.

"I wish I knew what possessed that woman to get out of bed. She's due in two months and it’s been smooth sailing until now. I managed to get the contractions under control but one more stunt like that and this baby is going to arrive way too early. Jake, what did you want me to see?"

The young man motioned for Jarod to come over to the computer terminal and read the file for himself. He watched the older man's features contort in anger and his knuckles lose their color from gripping the
sides of the table tightly.

"Those sons of bitches," he muttered under his breath. "Any idea if the clinic I plan on using for the delivery is on the take, if it is I need to make other arrangements. . . ."

"I didn't think that there were other options, Jarod," the voice was that of Sydney, who had just entered the room with Nicholas and Emily behind him.

"Home delivery may be the only one available to us, Syd. That daughter of yours is pushing the envelope and my patience. I swear if I didn't love her and that baby," he shook his head, a smile on his face, albeit a weary one.

"I'll go up and talk to her." Sydney excused himself and headed upstairs as the younger men began to try and calculate the risks and benefits of various ideas regarding Parker's delivery.

He found his daughter -- God, it was so nice to be able to say and think that freely now -- sitting up in bed. She was leaning back with her eyes closed, and he could see that she'd been crying. His fatherly instinct immediately kicked in, and he rushed to her bedside.

"Morgana, what is it sweetheart?"

"What if he was right? What if I can't do this?" New tears began to pour out of her eyes, and Sydney understood instantly what was happening. He smiled and moved so that he was sitting beside her. He opened his arms to her and she leaned forward, letting him hold her with the same protectiveness with which she held Ryan.

"You can do anything, my beautiful girl. You're just tired. None of this has been much fun for you...keeping secrets, worrying about Jarod -- but it'll all be worth it, sweetheart, I promise. When you hold that sweet little girl, it'll all be worth it."

"I just -- I didn't mean to do anything. I just wanted to go check on Ryan, and what if I hurt her?"

"You didn't, but you will if you keep hurting yourself like this. Enough beating up on my girl, all right?"

He felt her nod against him, and he continued to hold her until he realized she had fallen asleep. Gently, he laid his daughter back against her pillows. She was so beautiful, but he could see that the pregnancy was taking its toll on her. She had not gained nearly enough weight, and she always seemed exhausted. He knew Jarod was taking the very best care of her, yet still, he understood why it was that Jarod had not wanted her to do this. The emotional as well as the physical strain on her was almost too great, yet he pushed the thought out of his head. Stubborn and determined was the best way to describe her.

Silently, he cast his eyes skyward and looked toward the heavens, and his thoughts fell on another woman who had undertaken a pregnancy her husband had not wanted.

"Catherine, please take care of her. She needs you now, more than ever."

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
Epilogue 01
N.R. Levy / Shannon / Trisha




Parker woke with a start. Cold sweat trickled down her back and she sat up slowly, looking around the darkened bedroom. She remembered crying in her father's arms, afraid that she had hurt the baby. God, how Jarod must hate her for putting him through this. As she thought about the child she carried, about the man who fathered this baby, she almost started to cry, again. She could feel the tears welling up behind her lids and forced them away.

"Morgana," he whispered. Her head shot up, her heart was beating against her ribs as she stared at him. She shook her head, flooded with confusing emotions, glee, fear, a sense of helpless foreboding left from the morning's ordeal... and hope. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, Jarod pulled her closer, holding her gaze.

"It's all right," his hand pushed the stray tendril from her cheek. Her tears won the battle, trickling down her cheeks, but she smiled at him, grateful to have this precious connection to him. Jarod straightened, pulled her closer and kissed her tenderly on the mouth.

"I'm sorry," she whispered against his lips, "I let you down."

"Let me down?" he gazed into her blue eyes," You haven't let me down. God, you're brave and strong and I am so proud of you, do you hear me?" The blanket enveloped them in their own private world. He linked his hands beneath the swell of her belly, holding her and the baby both. Happier than she believed she had a right to be, she snuggled closer to him. It was at that moment that the baby moved, her little foot dragging across the bottom of Parker's stomach.

"She's awake, Momma," he whispered in her ear.

"That's because she knows that you're here," she whispered back, reveling in his soft chuckle. "I love you."

****

Soft rays of light broke through the morning clouds, and Jarod dragged himself from the bed, not wanting to wake the woman that was sleeping so soundly, finally. He had been rather harsh with her, hopefully last night had elevated her fears but still he could not take any chances, with her health or their daughter's. Now he also had to worry about the Centre finding them and the whole ugly saga beginning again. No, he would not let that happen, there had to be some way to find out if the clinic he planned on using was in the Centre's pocket. That was all he needed, any complication to Parker or the baby that required blood work, red flags would be rising from here to Delaware.

The question now was did he face this demon alone or did he burden her with one more problem. True they had promised no more secrets, but how could he justify such a heavy burden on an already fragile soul. She was risking her life to give him a far greater gift. For now, he'd take the chance and deal with this one alone. Making his way down the stairs, he found his brother, sister, brother-in-law and father-in-law in a deep discussion that abruptly stopped the minute he entered the kitchen.

"Did I grow a second head during the night?" he asked, quizzically.

"No, Jarod," the sage voice of Sydney responded, "but we think that we may have found away to establish the credibility of the clinic that you want to use . . ."

"Broots has it all figured out. Say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Stamos. Nicholas and I are going to go there and let them test us for their fertility program," Emily's eyes were bright with anticipation.

"Are you all crazy? Please tell me that I'm living in the twilight zone. My wife is seven months pregnant, and risking her life, and now my sister and brother-in-law want to risk theirs. Do you know what will happen if the Centre is involved? Em, do you realize the risk you run, do you? The minute they run your blood work, the Centre will be on the two of you like leeches. Oh god, this is crazy, absolutely crazy!"

"Okay, Mr. Genius, what do you want to do? Home delivery? Please, if Morgana starts to hemorrhage, then what?" Emily snapped back," Listen you, it's about time we helped out. That's my sister and niece and by god I won't let the damned Centre ruin everything. Stop playing the martyr, Jarod. We may not all be geniuses or pretenders, but we are family, and families stick together, no matter the consequences. Nicholas and I are going to do this, whether you like it or not!"

He watched the faces of those around him. She was right he didn't have to do this alone. He had his family and that was what they had been fighting for all this time.

As the morning wore on, Jarod listened in more detail to the plan Nicholas and Emily had come up with, and though he hated them being at risk, it made too much sense to ignore. It was the simplest way to find out if the clinic was on the Centre's payroll, and Broots would be able to monitor their computer transmissions to see if they contacted the evil empire after Emily's results came back.

Now he had only one thing left to decide -- tell Parker or not tell her. He was so uncertain on this point. He had thought it resolved, but now he wondered again. What if something happened to Nicholas or Em? She would never forgive him for keeping it a secret. But if nothing happened, was it worth the extra worry it would place on her? She was already battling a heavy dose of guilt, which he knew he hadn't done enough to counteract when there'd been time. She was worried about the baby, she thought she was neglecting Ryan -- was it fair to put more on her?

Sydney saw the turmoil on his son-in-law's face -- something he knew well -- and headed toward him. A gentle hand on the shoulder got Jarod's attention, and the two men went outside onto the porch of the house.

"What is it, Jarod?"

"I haven't told Parker the Centre might be involved again. I just can't stand the thought of seeing how scared that will make her, not on top of everything else. But then, what if something goes wrong? She'll be so angry that I didn't tell her."

"Jarod, Morgana is about to break and you and I both know it. She's handling all she can manage right now. Now I know that at any other time, if we kept a secret from her she'd be ready to shoot us both, but I think this time, once she got some perspective, she'd see what we did was for the best -- for her and for that baby girl."

"So we don't tell her?"

"What is your heart telling you, Jarod?"

"Don't tell her."

"Then listen to it. It's rarely failed you where my daughter is concerned."

Jarod nodded and the two men headed back inside just in time to see Nicholas and Emily headed upstairs to get into their undercover outfits. They already had an appointment at the clinic for later this
afternoon. Resigned, Jarod turned and headed for the kitchen.

"I guess it's time I let mom and Dad know what's going on."

*****

Parker woke slowly, her eyes focusing on the room around her as a warm, small weight pressed against her side. She looked down and found Ryan there, his eyes glued to a book he was reading as he waited for her to wake.

"Hi, baby. What are you reading?"

"This book grandpa Sydney gave me. It's about this family of girls who all live together. Way too many girls, if you ask me."

Parker laughed as she took the book from her son's hands. Sure enough, "Little Women." Sydney never forgot anything.

"Well, if there were no cute little boys like you around, I'd have to agree."

Ryan beamed a smile at his mother and sat up so that they could read together. She had been so sick the last few days, and though he knew no one suspected his understanding of the situation, he knew perfectly well how much danger his mother was in. Sometimes, it was funny that they all forgot how smart he was because his daddy was so good at teaching him how to be a kid.

He snuggled close to his mother as she began reading to him from the book. If he had to, he would find an excuse to stay with her every minute that his daddy was busy. He was not going to lose his mother, not after everything she'd gone through to make them a family.

*****

Emily and Nicholas sat in the cozy office waiting patiently for the doctor to enter. Emily took in the surroundings, wondering if anything here would scream Centre to her. It was a normal looking office, the
glass topped desk, black leather chair, the degrees from the medical board as well as the doctor's credentials, and rows of books. Nicholas watched as Emily scanned the room. He himself made a mental note of the school and accreditations that the clinic had received. Not that Jarod hadn't researched this place already. Emily was pacing around the room, nervous and a bit of worry written on her features when a picture on a small table next to the door caught her eye. A striking woman with a small little girl around Ryan's age. Picking up the silver frame, Emily was looking at the picture with such longing that she had not heard the door to the office open.

"My daughter, Faith," the woman, said a smile on her face. "You must be Emily Stamos and this must be Nicholas."

"Yes," Emily replied a tad flustered, as she replaced the picture back in its spot, and she watched as Nicholas extended his hand to the doctor's.

"Doctor Hope Allyn. I'll be the one to explain the procedure, run some rather simple tests-ranging from mental well-being to blood work. I want to make sure that you both can handle the pressure that comes with this. Having a baby is a big commitment and whether its done naturally, with fertility treatments or by adoption, I need to know that both of you can handle the disappointments as well as."

"Disappointments?" Nicholas queried.

"Of course, don't expect Emily to get pregnant right away. This is an expensive procedure and not one that works miracles on the first try, not that it hasn't happened but its rare and it could be a whole year before Emily is pregnant."

Both nodded their heads, and a slight blush rose to Emily's cheeks as Nicholas reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. The doctor asked them questions regarding their family, how the family felt about children, if there would be problems with conceiving with the use of fertility drugs and could they cope with the fact that sometimes fertility drugs could lead to multiply births. After being as candid and straightforward as Nicholas and Emily felt they should be, they were then taken to separate exam rooms.

Emily watched as the doctor drew three tubes of blood and the feeling of grabbing them up and running from the room had to be pushed way down. She had to remember that this was to determine whether or not the clinic was in the Centre's back pocket. So deep in thought that she missed the question that the doctor had asked her.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about something else."

"Thanks at least I haven't lost my touch when it comes to drawing blood. Do you want a boy or girl, Emily?"

"Oh, I haven't given much thought really. I have a nephew and he's adorable. Smart as whip, but then again I'm biased," she laughed.

"I think all parents think that their children are smart, my Faith is only four and is reading already," the doctor looked in to Emily's dark eyes.

"Reading! Baby books, right?"

"No it seems that she likes Louisa May Alcott, right at the moment," the doctor was busy wrapping a yellow tape around the test tube of blood that she missed Emily's face nearly drain of its healthy pink color.

*****

Back at the house, there was a lot of pacing taking place. In the kitchen, Margaret was trying to cook while Broots and Sydney paced from the dining room to where she stood and back again. Jake and Debbie were wearing paths in the living room -- both of them should have been back at school by now, but neither was willing to leave the family they loved so dearly. Charles was outside chopping firewood -- his version of pacing. The only room where there was no pacing was the one upstairs where the woman who sat at the center of it all was spending the afternoon with her two favorite men.

Ryan sat at the end of the bed, his animated story entertaining both of his parents. Parker sat leaning back against Jarod's chest, his arms wrapped around her. He had come up here mostly to check on his wife, but it was his son that made him stay. Something in the tiny face had asked him to, as if he was letting Jarod in on the fact that he knew how serious things were becoming. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that his son was smarter than both of them -- after all, he was them put together.

Thankfully, Parker hadn't had any contractions today, but that didn't mean they were out of the woods. She was scared now, or more scared, which was probably a better description. He knew she hadn't meant to take any chances, but still, it was better for her to be truly afraid now -- it would keep both his girls safer.

Ryan reached the crescendo of his exciting tale about a knight who rescued the beautiful princess from the tower. The story sounded vaguely familiar to Parker, who realized her son had picked up on far more of the details of her relationship with Jarod than she'd imagined. It made her smile to see all of the emotions he let play over his face – his anger when the bad king tried to hurt the knight, his disappointment when the princess told the knight to go away, and his joy when the knight finally convinced the princess to come away with him. Jarod could feel Parker becoming more and more relaxed in his arms, and he began to massage her shoulders, feeling her slipping away into sleep as the story reached its end.

"Mommy's sleep." Ryan's voice was quiet, and his eyes stayed fixed on his mother.

"Good. She needs to rest a lot right now, but you know that, don't you?"

"Daddy, you know, I'm not such a little kid."

Jarod smiled at his four-year-old son. A boy who never should have existed but did and his life had made both of theirs so much better than it had ever been before. Maybe that's what Parker had been feeling when she'd decided to take this risk.

"I know you aren't, Ryan. It's just that I'm your dad. It's my job to protect you from things."

Ryan considered this a moment, then crawled next to his mother in the bed.

"It's okay, Daddy, I understand. I'll stay here with Mommy if you have work to do."

Jarod easily slipped from the bed, settling Parker against the pillows. Ryan snuggled closer to his mother, and Jarod walked around and placed a kiss on his son's forehead.

"I love you, Ryan."

"Love you, too, Daddy."

Jarod made it downstairs just in time to see the pacing marathon end as Emily and Nicholas returned home. It didn't take a genius to read the pure distress on Emily's face, and he quickly took his sister by the hand and led her to the sofa. Jake ran for a glass of water, returning quickly and handing it to Jarod who insisted that Emily drink it. Her hand shook when she took the glass.

"Em, what is it?"

Nicholas sat down beside her and took her hand. Jarod did not really notice this, rather some part of his brain filed it away for later, and he instead focused solely on Emily for the moment.

"Em, what is it?"

"Something the doctor said -- Jarod, I don't know what to think."

"What, sweetheart? What did she say?"

"Her daughter. She was talking about her four-year-old daughter, and about the fact that she can read. She's reading "Little Women," Jarod."

Jarod sat back on his heels immediately upon hearing his sister's last words. A stunned silence fell over the room, everyone in it understanding the implications of what they had just learned. Ryan was reading "Little Women." He was four years old. If this woman's daughter was doing the same...

"Oh, my God." Sydney's voice came from near the kitchen entry way. He leaned against the door jam for support. "There's another pretender."

****

Parker woke quickly, her nap shortened by a nagging pain in her lower back. Ryan woke the moment her felt her breathing change and he sat up and looked over at her.

"Mommy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, baby, anything."

"Well, I was thinking when I told my story, if Mubuto --"

"Mutumbo." She smiled as she corrected him. For some reason, her genius of a son could never get the Centre boss's name right.

"If he didn't want you to know about me, why did he bring me to you?"

Parker took a deep breath as she looked at his eyes. She had often wondered the very same thing, and she was unsure how to explain her theory to him. He was no ordinary child after all, but he was still her child, and he didn't need to know every horrible thing that could happen in someone's mind and heart -- not yet, and hopefully not ever.

"I think that he brought you to me because he wanted me to care about you. He wanted me to be willing to do anything to protect you. See, the Centre likes to control people -- they like to make them do what they want -- and sometimes, they use the people we love to do that. So guess Mutumbo thought that once I loved you, I would do whatever he wanted to protect you. Only I showed him, didn't I?"

She began to laugh as she sat up to tickle him. His eyes brightened as his first giggles started, but they darkened immediately when he saw the look of sudden agony that rushed crossed his mother's face.

"Mommy? Mommy, what is it?"

"Ryan -- Get...go get your daddy."

Ryan hopped from the bed, his little legs flying as Parker rolled onto her side, her hand gripping her belly as fire rose inside of her. Pain -- the most intense pain she had ever felt began to wilt what little strength she had left, and she felt herself beginning to fight to stay conscious. Something terrible was happening -- and suddenly all she could think to do was pray.

"Oh, God, please, please don't take her. Please."

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
Epilogue 02
N.R. Levy / Shannon / Trisha




Ryan ran down the stairs, holding on to the rail so as not fall, intent on getting his daddy. Something was terribly wrong with mommy and she needed daddy right now, that much he knew.

"Daddy, Daddy," Ryan yelled, pulling up short when he saw all the adults in the living room.

Jarod turned to look at his son and realized by the frightened expression on the little boy's face that something was wrong. Ryan stood in front of his father and had to take a moment to catch his breath.

"Mommy. . .she's sick. . .something's wrong," he gushed as he pulled his daddy to his feet, pushing him in the direction of the stairs. Jarod knew better than to argue and took the stairs two at a time. Upon reaching the bedroom, he found Parker lying on her side, her hand wrapped around her belly, and her face drained of all color.

"Morgana," he flew to her side, panic on his face.

"Jarod," she whispered," something’s wrong. . .pressure. . pain. ...feels like she's coming."

"Damn," he muttered, softly, so as to not upset her. Gently he pulled back the bed sheets to check her and immediately saw that she had started to spot. Realizing that there was no way to stop the contractions this time, he made the decision to take her to the clinic and pray to God that it was the right one.

"Parker, honey," he brushed the hair from her face, and looked into herblue eyes, "stay with me, baby. Looks like this little one is rather impatient to meet her family. I'll be right back." He made his way to the doorway only to encounter Sydney.

"Jarod?" the older man inquired worry on his features.

"She's hemorrhaging, Syd. I have no choice. I need to get her to the clinic, Centre or no Centre. If I try to deliver the baby here, I could lose both of them and I won't, she endured to much."

"I'll get the van ready, and inform the rest of the family. Get her ready, Jarod." Jarod watched Sydney turn and head down the stairs. Returning to the bedroom, he quickly wrapped his wife in the comforter from the bed, then gathered her in his arms and made his way down the stairs. He found his family dressed and ready to accompany them to the clinic. All except for Broots.

"I'll stay here and monitor the clinic and the Centre. If they contact the Centre then I'll call the Major on his beeper. Everyone has their cell phones with them. Jarod, take care of them," he turned his head and
headed back to the table that held the computer.

Jarod sat in the back seat of the passenger van, cradling his wife in his arms, watching as his father and father-in-law drove to the clinic at speeds his wife would have been proud of.

"Parker, come on baby, open those beautiful blue eyes for me," he whispered.

He had to keep her alert and awake. She was his only source of information regarding the progression of the contractions. The bleeding hadn't gotten any worse yet it had not stopped either. The drive lasted only twenty minutes but seemed to last a lifetime as far as those in the van were concerned. Jarod exited the van with his wife still cradled in his arms, protectively.

"I need help here," the major yelled.

A striking woman, around 5'5" came running at full bore, her attention immediately given to Parker.

"Dr. Hope Allyn," she breathed as she ran a cursory check of Parker, taking in the problem, "How far along is she?"

"Seven months. She’d been experiencing contractions early yesterday. I managed to control them but. . .she began hemorrhaging about twenty-five minutes or so ago. It's a high risk pregnancy."

"Get operating room 2 ready, stat. . .and call my husband," she yelled to the nurse at her side, before turning her attention back to Jarod, "You a doctor?"

"I am today. Jarod Greene," he looked into dark eyes.

"Then let's go scrub, Jarod. Seems we have a baby to save as well as your wife. Did you get a hold of my husband, Angela?" the woman asked.

"He's on his way but he as to bring. . ."

"Look, Dr, Allyn, we don't have time to waste on another doctor. . ." Jarod snapped.

"Hope, what do we got?" a dark-haired gentleman asked as he walked beside the gurney that was being wheeled down toward two green double doors.

"Patient is seven months, contractions earlier and now is hemorrhaging, and she’s going in and out of consciousness. This is her husband, Dr. Greene, he's going to assist us. Ready."

"Mommy, Daddy," a small voice spoke up, seemingly forgotten in the mad rush to get Parker to the operating room, "I'll show the others to the waiting room."

"Oh , my goodness, Faith, I forgot all about you. I'm sorry. That would be wonderful and then if you want go and see Angela," the older man said.

"That's okay, daddy, mommy. I'll keep the others company and anyway I have my book to read." She smiled and held up the book that was under her arm. Jarod just stared and took in the scene until the green double doors closed on the little girl, he then turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

The little girl made her way down the corridor to the main entrance were she found a group of people clamoring around the desk asking a million questions all at once. Placing two fingers in her lips, she let loose a shrilly whistle, which not only silenced the group but intrigued four-year-old Ryan.

"Hey, how do you do that?" He approached the little girl that was as tall as him, "I'm Ryan and that was my mommy and daddy that come in here."

"Well Ryan, my name's Faith," she answered, casting a glance at the nurse. "Angela, I told daddy and mommy that I 'd show these people to the waiting room. Follow me."

The entourage followed the two four-year-old children, Sydney right behind them, listening with utter amazement to the little girl explain to Ryan how to whistle. The group made themselves comfortable in the waiting room and waited impatiently.

"What are you reading?" Ryan asked Faith. He watched as she held out the big book. Looking at the cover, he laughed and smiled.

"Me too, but I still think there are too many girls in it. Mommy and I were reading it earlier and then she. . " he suddenly got very quiet.

"You can't read, you're a boy." Faith said. "She'll be okay. My mommy and daddy are the best."

"Can too." Ryan took hold of the book and paged through it till he found the spot that he and mommy had left off at.

"I guess you can. What else can you do?" She looked at Ryan closer, it was at that moment that Emily, Nicholas and Angelo entered the waiting room.

"Sister okay?" Angelo asked, staring at Sydney.

"We don't know yet," Sydney walked over and put a comforting arm around him.

"Who's that?" Faith inquired, pointing toward Angelo.

"That's my uncle Angelo," Ryan whispered. " He's different but smart too."

Faith made her way to the savant and looked into his blue eyes with her blue ones, reaching out a small hand. Angelo bent down so that he was eye level with the little girl. Ryan made his way over to the duo.

"Uncle Angelo, this is Faith."

"Faith," he whispered and took hold of the small hand that was offered, then he turned and took hold of Ryan's. The trio made their way to a corner of the waiting room and huddled together, conversing. The adults soon forgot that the children were even there.

Suddenly, a loud sobbing filled the room, and all eyes turned to Emily. Nicholas immediately moved next to her, a protective arm coming around her as her father and mother leaned closer.

"Honey," Major Charles reached over and took her hand, "we're all worried, but she'll be okay. They both will."

"Dad, I was just thinking about...God, can you believe I used to hate her? But now she's my sister....we can't lose her, Dad, we can't."

In the operating room, Jarod pushed down his growing panic by focusing more on being a doctor and less on being a husband. By the time he had finished changing and scrubbing, Parker was already out, the anesthesia doing its job quickly.

As he looked at her now, his heart pounding, he tried to think of the situation in purely medical terms. Parker was a strong woman, and even though she'd been through a lot of stress the past seven months, she'd been in perfect health before the pregnancy. The baby also had a good chance. Her lungs might need some help, but chances were definitely on her side if they got her out in time. If. The word hung in the air around him, and he fought to keep control, not just over his worry, but over the thick sense of guilt that was also building inside of him. He had been so angry with her for this -- for getting pregnant without telling him, without consulting him. Now she might die, and it would all be because she had been trying to make his dreams come true.

"Dr. Greene, let's get going, shall we?"

It was Hope that spoke to him, and her soft but commanding voice forced Jarod to bring himself back to the moment at hand. He nodded, and the two of them joined her husband at Parker's side. Within seconds, the procedure was underway.

It took them less than six minutes to deliver his daughter, a tiny bundle of energy. Hope handed Jarod his little girl for a rather quick inspection and then Hope's husband, Sean took her. Jarod watched as he placed her in a incubator. Her lungs were functioning, but Sean wanted to be on the safe side and give her a little help in the breathing department. Unfortunately, Parker wasn't completely out of danger. Hope was busy trying to stop the bleeding.

****

Jarod lay sprawled in the chair next to Parker's bed. Waiting for his wife to regain consciousness so that he could tell her that all that she had endured for the last seven months had been worth it. Their daughter Catherine lay fast asleep in an incubator in the clinic's nursery under the watchful eye of Dr. Sean Allyn. A soft knock at the door, interrupted his thoughts.

"Jarod, can we talk a minute," Sean entered the room, a folder in his hand.

"Is there a problem with Catherine?" his immediate concern was for his daughter and not the fact that they still didn't know if the Centre would be swooping down on them shortly.

"No, she's fine. We need to talk though. Look I know that there is more to you and your wife than just an average ordinary family. Your son is so like my Faith. No, hear me out please. I just got done with the blood work not only on the baby but on your wife. Here, read." He handed Jarod the folder, which he accepted with rather shaky hands, not normal for him but nothing about this day had been normal. He opened the file and began to read the material presented to him, his eyes immediately sought out Sean's.

"It's Faith's blood work, isn't it?"

"Yes, and the one under it is your wife's and daughter's. Jarod, I don't know if you have ever been tested, not that it matters, but since you understand what I'm showing you. There's this place, its not a place that should even exist but it does and it looks for children such as Ryan, Faith and Catherine. It's called the. . ."

"Centre," he whispered, watching the shock in Sean’s eyes widen.

"You know it?"

"I lived it. So did Parker."

"Then you know that it's evil, Jarod. My wife wishes to see the place destroyed. She works at it in her spare time, trying to undermine their searches for exceptional children. We could use help and in the meantime protect our children and any others that we discover."

"How exactly did your wife find out about the Centre?" Jarod was on edge now. He somehow sensed that this man and his wife weren't looking to hurt his family, but any hint of the Centre this close to his children made him nervous.

"That's kind of a long story, Jarod."

Jarod glanced at his sleeping wife and then back at Sean.

"I think it's a story I need to hear, Sean. If not now, then soon."

Sean nodded and headed out of the room. Jarod moved to his wife's bed. Gently, he leaned over her and kissed her forehead.

"You did it, baby. It's time to wake up now, okay?"

She did not stir. Hope had told him not to worry if she didn't wake immediately, but he couldn't help but worry. She had lost a lot of blood...again. So many times her blood had been the cost of their family's survival. But no more. He didn't care what he had to do, he was going to make certain that today was the last time Parker's life was put at risk.

Hope Allyn was looking for her daughter, both her patients now stable enough for her to do so. She was in total awe of Morgana Greene. Hope had seen a great deal as a doctor, but the moment she'd removed little Catherine from her mother's uterus, it was apparent to her what a risk the woman had taken to have the child. Jarod later explained that she'd had a botched egg-harvesting job done on her, and the scar tissue Hope had found supported that. The Greenes had been very lucky -- by rights, neither mother nor child should have survived.

Hope checked her office, but Faith wasn't there or Sean's, so she headed for the waiting room, remembering her daughter's promise to watch over the Greene's family. She was just through the door when she caught sight of a very familiar couple sitting on the sofa.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stamos?"

Emily and Nicholas looked up at Hope Allyn and felt their hearts stop momentarily. What did they do now? They shared a quick glance and stood, their eyes moving from each other to the doctor.

"Dr. Allyn, nice to see you again." Nicholas extended his hand and Hope took it, though a look of definite suspicion was on her face now.

"What are you two doing here?" The Centre -- she could feel it. Damn, she should have been more careful.

"Well, actually…" Nicholas stammered, not certain what he should say.

"Actually, Dr. Allyn, we have kind of a small world thing here." Emily's voice sounded suddenly confident, and it surprised Nicholas. He looked over at her, anxious to see what she would say. Hope continued to stare at them, waiting for Emily to continue.

"You see, I am actually Dr. Greene's sister, and my husband here is Mrs. Greene's brother. Half-brother, you know, different last names."

Hope was about to dive into some serious questioning when she felt her husband's hand on her shoulder.

"Hope, we need to talk."

"Not now, Sean."

"Now, babe."

She turned, and the look in his eyes told her that she should go with him. It also caused an immediate attack of panic in Emily.

"Is it Catherine? Is she all right? Or Morgana? What's happened?"

Hope turned, and seeing the genuine fear and concern on the younger woman's face, she no longer knew what to think. Sean quickly assured them that both mother and daughter were fine, then led his wife from the room.

"Sean, what the hell is going on?"

"I think we may have just found the people we've been looking for, Hope. The people who can get the Centre off of our backs once and for all."

"Care to explain that please," her dark eyes narrowed, as she pushed away a loose tendril of hair from her forehead.

"I finished the blood work on the Greene's, Hope. After what Angela told me about their little boy, how he and Faith seemed to forge some type of bond in a matter of hours and that the two of them are like to peas in a pod. Hope, Jarod knows about the Centre… you should have seen the look of panic when I started to mention it."

"So for a look, I'm suppose to what, trust them? Sean, there's more that you aren't telling me, isn't there."

It was at that moment that a distinguished looking gentleman rounded the corner, stopping short of the talking couple.

"Excuse me, but have either of you seen my grandson Ryan," his rich timbre struck a chord with Hope, her eyes went to the man's face. Her eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Papa?" she whispered as the color drained from her face, and then her body went limp into Sean's arms as he caught his wife's form.

"Damn it. It wasn't suppose to happen like this!"

Sydney stared at the couple, still trying to comprehend what had just transpired. It wasn't every day that someone called him Papa. Actually only three people had that exclusive right, his daughter and his sons.
Hope Allyn slowly opened her eyes, and sought out her husband's blue ones.

"Tell me that I didn't just see my father standing there. Mama said that the Centre killed him," her words barely audible, but Sydney hung on each and every one.

"Sweetheart, I think we better get you in the office, and then I think we have a lot to talk about. Sir, maybe you should come with us."

Sydney nodded, but kept his distance as Sean helped his wife to her feet. She glanced back at the older man again, her eyes widening, but this time she did not faint. Instead she blinked several times, her eyes still not believing. After a moment, she allowed her husband's gentle pull to guide her down the hallway.

*****

"Jarod, Jarod, where is she? Where's Catherine?"

The words sank into Jarod's brain and he suddenly realized whose voice he was hearing. Quickly he forced himself awake and in moments, he was sitting beside his wife.

"She's fine. She's just down the hall."

"Is she all right? Are you sure?"

"Shh, I'm sure. The doctors are just giving her some extra care for insurance, but so far she's as strong and stubborn as her mother, as well as beautiful."

That managed to bring a weak smile to Parker's face and she relaxed against the pillows.

"Can I see her?"

"I'll go check with the docs and see if she's ready to come in, okay? You rest until I get back. Oh, and, Morgana, I love you."

"I love you, too."

Jarod placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before standing up and heading out in search of Sean. He knew the layout of the clinic well enough now, and he moved directly toward the doctor's offices. Soft voices told him more than one person was inside. He knocked gently and then entered, surprised to see Sydney holding Hope Allyn's hand.

"Syd, what is going on?"

"More, Jarod -- More of the Centre."

*****

Faith pulled the chair closer to the computer, and within moments both she and Ryan were squeezed into it. Angelo knelt beside them on the floor. For the first time all day, Faith seemed a bit hesitant to go along with her new friends' plans.

"Are you sure we should do this?"

"Of course I'm sure." Ryan's smile made her feel a little better, but she was still nervous. "Besides, my uncle Angelo's here. He'll make sure it all goes right, won't you, uncle?"

Angelo nodded and reached over to press the power button on the computer. Time to make sure his family was safe, he thought.

****

The look on Sydney's face was enough to send chills through Jarod's whole body, and he reached for a nearby shelf to steady him.

"They don't know about the baby, do they? They can't know that Morgana's alive?"

"No, son," Sydney's voice was warm and comforting, and momentarily Jarod felt some relief, "for now, the girls are safe. I know you've already talked a bit with Sean. If Morgana's up to it, I think it's time you hear all of the story."

"Fine, but first she needs to see Catherine. She's been through too much not to enjoy at least a few moments of peace with that baby before we turn the world upside down on her."

Sean nodded, then stood up from his seat.

"I'll go and get the baby and meet you in your wife's room."

****

With a slight hesitation in his step, Jarod followed Sean out of the office, but not before he cast a look back at Sydney and Hope. Sydney was still holding Hope's hand from the chair opposite her, and talking in that low voice that could soothe even Parker when she was furious. He saw a small smile cross Hope's features and a light began to shine in her eyes. He headed toward his wife's room and let his mind play back the events that he had just seen in Sean's office. Was it possible that they had found potential allies against their greatest enemy? Pushing the door open to Morgana's room, he found her sitting up in bed, waiting expectantly.

"Well?"

"Sean's bringing her from the nursery."

"Sean?"

"Sorry, he's the pediatrician taking care of Catherine, and his wife, Hope is the one that delivered her."

"But I thought. . ."

"I was right there with you and her in the operating room." He took a seat next to her on the bed, picking up her hand as he looked into her blue eyes. "I want you to forgive me for being such an . . ."

"Shh, you don't have to. . ." she didn't finish for the door to her room opened and a tall, silver haired, gentleman entered the room carrying a pink blanket.

"Someone here was rather anxious to meet her mother." Smiling, Sydney placed the tiny bundle in Parker's waiting arms.


"Oh, God, please, please don't take her. Please."

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.



The Gift
Epilogue 03
N.R. Levy / Shannon / Trisha




Parker looked down at the baby girl who lay cradled in her arms. One arm would have actually been sufficient to hold her, she was so tiny, but Parker's natural instincts made her grasp Catherine protectively.

Tears formed in her eyes as she watched her daughter's tiny mouth open in a yawn, her rosebud lips parting then mashing together in a thin line before relaxing again. Catherine Margaret Greene had definitely been worth all that her mother had endured the past seven months.

"Oh, Jarod. She's perfect."

"Of course she is. My wife does good work, or didn't you know that?" Parker felt his lips brush her cheek, and she leaned back toward him, enjoying this moment of peace after so much turmoil.

"Where is Ryan? I want him to see her." Jarod looked from his wife to her father, but when Sydney shrugged slightly, Jarod rose from his seat.

"I'll go and get him."

Jarod planted one last quick kiss on the top of his wife's head as he left the room. Sydney, grateful for a moment alone with his daughter and granddaughter, moved toward the bed.

"She is magnificent, Morgana. You should be very proud."

"I'm just grateful. I can't believe how close we came to losing her."

Parker brought her daughter's cheek to her own and snuggled her close. As she did so, Parker's eyes caught her father and she saw that tears were sneaking down Sydney's cheeks.

"Dad, what is it?"

He looked at her, wanting to answer, but the words wouldn't come to him. How could he explain the emotion that had overwhelmed him? Instead of speaking, he reached out and stroked his hand down her cheek.

"Regrets, my darling girl. Just thinking of regrets."

Her mother. Parker suddenly realized what the scene must have brought forth for her father and her heart, despite the joy of Catherine's birth, ached for him. He had never had this moment with her mother and her -- a chance to see the woman he loved holding their child in his arms. Through her and the new Catherine, he was having his chance to share that special time.

Knowing no words she could speak right now would heal her father'sheart, Parker simply took one hand cautiously away from her newborn daughter and placed it on his cheek, her fingers gently wiping away his years of unshed tears.


Jarod was beginning to panic. He had looked in nearly every office for his son, and the thought that Ryan could be in trouble was starting to take hold in his mind. He was just about to rally his family to begin a search of every cupboard and cabinet in the place when he heard the soft sound of laughter coming from behind one of the office doors. Cautiously, he opened it and found himself looking at two wide-eyed children and at Angelo. All three of them were clearly surprised to be interrupted and none to pleased about Jarod's appearance.

"All right, just what is going on in here?"

Ryan looked from his father's worried face to his uncle Angelo. Now what did they do?

"Centre no find family," Angelo stated rather gleefully.

Jarod looked at the trio and felt his brow begin to crease.

"What have you done?" Jarod looked at the two children sitting together in the chair.

"Well, Dr. Greene, it seems that there's this pesky place called the Centre and it likes to take smart children from their families. . ."

"He knows that, Faith. I told you that I came from there before I got back with my mommy and daddy. . ." Ryan stopped his admonishing of Faith, casting an apprehensive look at his father. "Mommy is she alright. Is Catherine here?"

"Yes, Catherine's here and with your mother. She thought that you might like to see your sister."

Ryan climbed down from the chair and walked over taking hold of Jarod's hand. Looking back at his uncle and newfound friend, he smiled.

"Hey guys! I got a baby sister, want to come and see her?" Jarod looked at his son's joy at the arrival of the new baby, but he still had to worry about what they had been doing on the computer. What could two children and one savant do to protect them from the Centre? What was he thinking, he should slap himself upside his head for that, he thought. Standing before him were two pretenders and one clever empathy.

"Go see family," Angelo said as he held out his hand to Faith.

"No that's alright, Ryan you go see your sister and be with your family," the little girl climbed down from the chair, taking hold of Angelo's hand, before she spoke again," I'll walk down with you but I couldn't intrude with the family's celebration."

"Faith family. Come see baby," Angelo said softly.

"That's very kind of you, Angelo," she said, a smile on her face," it's your family."

"All family," he shook his head and grabbed hold of Ryan's hand as well. "Family."

***

Back at the house, a loud beep emanated from the computer, causing a small, balding man to rush from the kitchen, a plate in his hand. Staring at the computer screen, the man immediately reached for his cell phone, hitting the keypad. He brought the phone to his ear and let it ring twice, just long enough to beep Jarod's beeper.

****

Jarod walked down the hallway with his hand held by his son. In front of him walked his brother-in-law holding on to Faith's hand. He was still puzzled over Angelo's remark about them all being family. Granted if it hadn't been for Faith's parents, his wife and daughter would both be dead, but… Reaching his wife's room, he placed his hand on the door and pushed it open, to find Parker alone nursing the baby, when his beeper went off.

"Ryan, go on in and see your Mommy and sister. I'll be right back."

Ryan moved quickly toward the bed, his mother's smile all the reassurance he needed that she was finally going to get better. As Jarod held the door open, Angelo and Faith also entered, and he winked at his wife as a signal that he would be right back.

Quickly, Jarod headed for the chair where he'd left his jacket earlier and grabbed his cell phone. The speeddial button set off ringing in his ear as he waited for Broots to answer.

"Hello?"

"Broots, it's me. What's up?"

"Jarod, what did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Centre --- they, well, let's just say Miss Parker would get a good laugh out of this. Kind of simpatico for all the years we spent chasing you."

"What, Broots? What's going on?"

"You mean, it really wasn't you?"

"Broots!" The tone of Jarod's voice reminded the former computer technician of Miss Parker's -- a sure sign that the spouses were rubbing off on each other mutually.

"Sorry. Well, someone sent the Centre three leads on pretender blood anomalies, one in Denmark, one in Australia and one in China. They are running wild trying to find the children the reports are on."

"When did this happen?" Jarod asked the question suspiciously, an image of two children and Angelo at the computer popping up in his head.

"About an hour and a half ago. They have sweeper teams scrambling now. No reports at all from the states -- and definitely none from here."

"Keep an eye on them, Broots. That's great news for now, but we need to make sure."

"Don't worry, Jarod. Nicholas and Emily just brought Jake and Debbie back. Between the three of us, we'll make sure they don't pick up anything about the baby. How is she by the way?"

"Beautiful and stubborn -- just like her mother."

Jarod hung up on the sound of Broots' laughter and headed back to Parker's room. He entered to find both Ryan and Faith sitting on either side of her in the bed, both children gently stroking the little baby girl's cheeks. To everyone's amazement, Catherine opened her eyes wide and looked directly at both children.

Jarod made it to Parker's side as she looked up at him. He was so relieved to see all the fear and exhaustion gone from her eyes. Instead they were bright with happiness and love.

"This one's going to be a handful."

"Like that one isn't?" His eyebrow lifted toward Ryan, and his son bashfully lowered his eyes. Looking at Ryan made his eyes round the room, and Jarod realized that someone was now missing.

"Where's Angelo?"

"He said something about 'get family' and he left."

Jarod shrugged and was about to speak when a knock sounded at the door. After a moment, Sean, Hope, Sydney and Angelo entered. Sean walked toward them as the rest of the group gathered in the back.

"I should take her back now. She still needs a little bit of incubator time."

Parker's eyes filled with tears as she lifted Catherine and placed a kiss on her cheek. Jarod, seeing this, moved closer to his wife.

"It's only for a little while, mama. She'll be fine."

Nodding, Parker handed her daughter to Sean.

"I'll be right back." With that, Sean exited the room and Angelo walked over to Faith and Ryan.

"Come. Play."

The kids anxiously climbed down from the bed, of course not before Ryan gave his mother a big hug and kiss, and then they left with the room with Angelo. That was when the nervous looks of everyone around her started to dawn on Parker.

"What is going on? Is something wrong with Catherine that you're not telling me?"

Her panic grew quickly, and Jarod sat down beside her, taking her hands in his.

"No, nothing's wrong with the baby, but there is something we need to talk about. Something, I think, that's going to change a lot for us."

Casting a look at her husband then at her father she had this feeling that something had been kept from her.

"Start talking, buster and it better be good, or else." Her eyes narrowed as she looked into her husband's brown ones and this time he lowered his eyes. "I'm waiting. Dad, Jarod."

"Seems there's a directive out from the Centre regarding a rather specific anomaly," he started to say, and watched the panic resurface to her eyes.

"The baby," she whispered just as the door to her room opened causing the adults to jump slightly.

"She's sleeping, content as a bug in a rug," Sean replied.

"A bug in a rug?" Jarod turned and looked at Sean perplexed.

"Jeez, Jarod. It's just a saying. Get on with the story," she folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, in order to determine if the clinic was in the Centre's back pocket, Emily and Nicholas posed as a married couple and underwent testing. If their blood work was transmitted to the Centre, then the only logical conclusion would be that the Centre had bought them off."

"You used Emily and Nicholas and didn't think to tell me what was going on? And you went along with this, Dad?"

"Morgana, you were at the breaking point. Jarod and I thought it best not to burden you with anymore stress."

"Oh that's just great. You have a lot of explaining to do." She looked at Jarod, a knowing smile on her lips. "There's more, though isn't there? And since you are talking about the Centre in front of Sean and Hope. I take it that it's safe to presume that they aren't in collusion with the Centre?"

Jarod nodded his head.

"You met Faith with Ryan. Well, she's a pretender. Emily discovered it during her visit with Hope here."

"A pretender like Ryan. How is that possible?" she looked from Jarod to the three others that stood at the foot of the bed.

"Well, that's what I'd like to know," Jarod also turned to look at the trio that had this rather guilty look upon their features as well as small smirks.

Sydney stepped forward then, moving to sit on the other side of his daughter, his hand taking hers. Parker saw something familiar in herfather's eyes. What was it? Then, she knew -- it was his guilt. The
guilt she had seen there time and time again in the past year whenever he thought about the fact that he had not saved her from the Centre. What on earth could be bringing that up again?

"Morgana, it seems that I was not the only Dr. Greene to have a child he had to keep a secret."

Parker's eyes flew from Sydney to the two virtual strangers standing at the foot of her bed. It took only moments for the similarities between her father and Hope to begin jumping out at her. The eyes, the nose -- definitely the nose.

"She's Jacob's daughter? How is that possible?" Parker's voice broke as she spoke, and Jarod reached out and took her other hand as he, too, looked to his father-in-law for some kind of explanation.

"Well, Hope could probably tell it better than I, but it seems she and her mother were placed in hiding by Jacob soon after her birth. The Centre somehow found out about Hope, and of course, because of you, Morgana, and your brother, they knew what kind of potential she might have, so they demanded he turn her over. He refused. The accident was two days later."

"But..." Parker's eyes brimmed with tears as a myriad of emotions played out inside of her. She hated seeing all of this pain resurfacing in her father -- his guilt over her, over her mother, and now, his grief over Jacob. She pulled her hand free of his only to raise it to his cheek and cup it there softly. His tired eyes looked into hers and a slight smile graced Sydney's face. He wanted this to be true, needed it to be. It was a second chance in some way with Jacob, and he wanted that desperately. Still, her own natural suspicion and her protectiveness over her family reared their head. Her eyes moved to Hope.

"Look, I hate to be rude or insensitive here. I know that you saved my life and my daughter's, but you can't expect us to just believe this."

Sydney, shocked, was about to answer his daughter's question when Hope spoke instead.

"After spending your whole life at the Centre, I can't blame you for doubting me. If you want to have tests done to prove it..."

"I saw the blood work, Parker." Jarod spoke, though he understood his wife's feelings. Hadn't his first reaction to Sean and Hope been suspicion as well? "You, Hope and Faith all share the same genetic traits."

"Who did the blood work?" Parker's eyebrow raised as she spoke, and both Sydney and Jarod had the same thought at the exact same moment --- ‘Once Miss Parker, always Miss Parker.’ Barely suppressing a smile, Jarod stood.

"I'll do a test myself, just to make sure. Hope, you're sure you're okay with this?"

"I just found out that my dead father has a twin brother and an entire family attached...I think I could use a little unbiased proof myself."

Hope, Jarod and Sean left the room then and headed for the lab. He took Hope's sample and the two doctors then excused themselves to go and discuss the vast changes their life was going through in two short days. Jarod headed back to Parker's room and found her alone. The moment he entered, he felt the sting of her iciest glare, and he knew he was in trouble.

"Before you say anything, Parker, think about what you were going through."

"I don't care. You're lucky I'm even speaking to you."

"Sweetheart, we just didn't want to worry you."

"Seems to me that was my motivation for keeping a secret from you a few months back, and it didn't save me from getting the 'how could you' lecture either."

"Morgana --"

"You made me swear to never keep anything from you again, then you go and put both our siblings lives in danger and you think I should just go, 'Oh, yeah, honey, you were right. It was for the best that I didn't know?' Well, forget it. I'm totally pissed at you and I intend to stay that way for a while."

Jarod stood at the foot of her bed, watching as her lips set in a stubborn and angry frown. He couldn't blame her for being angry, in fact, he'd expected it. He had made her promise, and then HE had broken that promise. Sighing, he moved to her side and suppressed a bout of hurt feelings when she scooted over so that she was not touching him when he sat down.

"Morgana, listen to me. I'm sorry. I should not have kept something from you -- anything. You're right. But please, think about what I was thinking, what we were all thinking. You did this. You made this gigantic group of people a family, and you did it by having the courage to risk everything to save our son. Then, you decide that that isn't enough of a sacrifice, so you risk your life again to give us the family we had dreamed about.

"I knew how much you still worried about the Centre coming after us, that somehow they would find out we were still alive and they would come and take Ryan. You were fighting with everything you had to keep Catherine alive inside of you. I couldn't put that fear on you again --- I just could not do that."

Parker turned her face to him finally, her eyes still hard with anger. Then they met his, and she could see the genuine feelings of remorse that filled them. Damn it, he couldn't even let her stay mad at him, even when he really, really did deserve it.

"I hate you, you know that?" She said it with her trademark raised eyebrow, but a slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and Jarod knew then they would be okay.

"And I love you, Mrs. Greene."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, and though she was determined to make him work harder for forgiveness than this, Parker was finding that it had been easier to imagine torturing him with silence and glares than it actually was to do it with him sitting next to her with that incredible face of his so close. Still, she wasn't just going to kiss and makeup -- not just yet.

"Don't you have some work you're supposed to be doing?" Her tone was so reminiscent of the old days that it even surprised her, but Jarod's response was to break out into a wide grin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the syringe and empty vials he had brought with him.

"Speaking of which, I want your blood." Jarod delivered his last line with his best Dracula impersonation, and Parker, despite herself, burst into laughter as she extended her arm toward her husband.

****

The woman looked at her husband, and ran a hand through her dark hair pushing the stray tendrils from her face.

"Is it possible, Sean, that there are others that wish to see the demise of the Centre as strongly as I do?" She smiled at her husband." I guess I better go talk to this intriguing cousin of mine."

"In the meantime, I'll order some dinner for the rest of us. The children must be starving. Take Catherine with you."

She walked the corridor, cuddling the tiny infant in her arms. Pushing the door open slowly, she looked at the woman that lay in the bed. She had a devastating combination of dark hair and blue eyes. In other words, a beauty and she had passed it on to her daughter.

"Want some company?" she spoke softly and placed the infant in eager arms.

Parker did a quick inspection of her daughter, then brought her up to lie on her chest. Catherine was still half asleep, but she squirmed until she was comfortable on her mother's chest, then relaxed completely.

"It's amazing, isn't it? That total sense of complete trust they have in you."

Hope spoke with her eyes on Catherine, and it was a moment before she saw that Parker was crying, tears slowly making their way down her face.

"Parker, what is it?"

"I...I never got to hold Ryan when he was born. I didn't even know he existed until he was nearly three years old. I'm just now realizing how much I missed with him."

Hope felt whatever ungenerous feelings she'd had toward her cousin -- wow, how weird did that sound? Anyway, the wary feelings disappeared. Quickly, she moved to sit beside her.

"He doesn't seem to notice he missed anything. He adores you."

Parker only nodded and placed a soft kiss on Catherine's head. Then she brought her eyes back to Hope's.

"How are you doing with all this? I mean, I have some experience with discovering a family you didn't know about...it's not the easiest thing."

Hope smiled, her eyes lowering as she thought about how honest she wanted to be. Then she thought about what Parker had just said to her about Catherine and Ryan. Somehow, this woman didn't strike Hope as someone who confided in others easily. That she had tried, that she had opened up first meant something, and Hope wasn't about to turn her back on that.

"It's not easy, no. I've missed my father so much, and I've spent so much time trying to keep the Centre away from Faith. It's just amazing to think that you've been out there living a kind of parallel life with me."

"I guess that is what we've been doing, isn't it? Hope, I'm sorry if I didn't seem...well, if I hurt your feelings earlier. I just can't risk having anything happen to Jarod or the kids. They're my life."

"And your theirs, that's obvious. Don't worry about the other, I understand. I feel the same way about Sean and Faith."

The two women sat silently for a moment. It was Parker who broke the quiet.

"Hope, there is probably something you should know. At least, something I should tell you. It's about your father."

"Sydney told me he didn't die in the accident, that it happened later."

"Yeah. He was sick for a long time, unconscious for almost all of it. But, um, there was a time when I...I was given orders to kill him."

The look of shock that ran across Hope's face told Parker that her father had not broached this subject.

"I didn't do it. I couldn't. Sydney and I got him somewhere safe and I was with both of them when your father died. I, um, I just didn't want you to hear it from someone else."

"Why didn't you do it?" Hope looked at her with questioning eyes as she spoke. "I mean, they must have put a great deal of pressure on you...why didn't you?"

"I'm not proud of a lot of things I've done, Hope, but I can live with it because I know I've never taken a life in anything but self defense. There was no way I could hurt him, not even because of Sydney, but because he didn't do anything to hurt me."

"Was he..." Hope's voice trailed off as tears crept into her eyes. "Was he ever alert again?"

Parker closed her eyes, remembering that night at the fishing cabin with Sydney, who she had comforted as only her friend then, and Jacob. Those few moments of wakefulness that her uncle had had....was he really alert? She didn't know, but she knew they had meant the world to Sydney.

"He tried to help Dad find Jarod's father. He was still trying to save us all, Hope, even at the end."

Hope nodded, her eyes lowering as tears began to flow. Parker stretched out her hand and took her cousin's in hers. She no longer needed the blood test to tell her the truth -- this woman was her family.

Sydney opened the door expecting to grab a quiet moment with his daughter -- instead, his eyes fell on the sight of Parker holding Hope's hand, his granddaughter sleeping soundly on his daughter's chest. His entry had gone unnoticed by the girls, and he simply crept back out, leaving them alone.

'Well, Jacob,' he thought, 'our girls have found each other. They'll have each other now to hold on to, just like we did.'

"Sydney," Jarod said, softly," Is everything all right?"

"The girls seemed to have forged a bond," he turned, smiling.

"Guess, Parker won't need this then." Jarod handed the piece of paper to Sydney. "Oh, by the way, Sean offered to put you and Angelo up for the night, and Ryan gets to spend the night with his new found cousin. Parker always thought that Ryan and I were trouble, but those two. . .

"Not to bring about doom and gloom, but any word on the Centre?" Sydney asked, stopping Jarod mid-sentence.

"That's what I was getting to. Just before your little bombshell about Hope, Broots beeped me. When I got a hold of him, he wanted to know what I did that sent the Centre scurrying to the three corners of the world in search of new pretenders."

"So, what did you do?"

"That's the problem, Syd. It wasn't me, it was . . ."

"Faith and Ryan!" Sydney's eyes widened, and a chuckle escaped his lips.

"Faith and Ryan what?" Sean asked, as he came upon the two in the corridor," Is Hope still in there?"

"Yes to the last question, as for Faith and Ryan, I would rather repeat this once so we might as well head in. God, Parker is going to . . ." Jarod shook his head and pushed on the door to his wife's room. He hated to intrude, but he wasn't keeping anything from her, not again.

As he opened the door, Jarod's eyes fell on Hope. Clearly she had been crying, and she moved quickly to wipe away the few remaining tears on her cheeks. Catherine had awakened, and Parker was about to nurse their daughter. Hope, seeing Jarod, stood and quickly moved toward the door.

"I'll let you have some time alone."

Jarod put his hand on Hope's shoulder and stopped her. She looked up and found nothing but warmth and compassion in his eyes.

"Hope, stay, please. This is your family, too, and besides, this concerns you as well."

Hope nodded silently and moved to a chair on the other side of the room. Sean followed his wife, concern on his face. She glanced up at him, smiling weakly, trying to tell him she was fine, uncertain how to communicate how overwhelmed she felt right now. Sydney, however, seemed to understand, and he moved to his niece, taking her hand in his as he knelt beside her.

Jarod crossed to his wife and daughter, sitting beside them on the bed as Catherine happily suckled at her mother's breast, a warm, soft blanket his mother had made giving them privacy from the room full of relatives. Parker glared at him, still trying to feign anger, but it was a losing battle, and soon a smile broke out on her face as Jarod reached over and gently stroked Catherine's cheek. Both of them giggled when Catherine reached up and took hold of his finger.

"Jarod, what was it you wanted to tell us about the kids?" Sean's voice was soft, but full of worry, and Jarod realized he needed to get the show on the road. He looked up from his girls and over to the others in the room.

"Well, Broots found out that the Centre has received several reports from different countries about potential pretenders. They have sweeper teams out at the four corners looking for them."

Parker raised and eyebrow and looked at her husband.

"You?"

"No, not me. Angelo--and Ryan and Faith."

"What?!" The sounds of the two mother's voices filled the room as both Parker and Hope began thinking of how difficult it would be to lock their little prodigies in their rooms for the rest of their lives. Jarod and Sean shared a look, and both had to fight back their laughter as they looked at their wives' faces.

"Where are those two? What were they thinking?" Hope stood as she spoke, her tone making it clear she was both angry and worried. She grew angrier as Sean's laughter reached her ear.

"Thinking? Hope, their kids.....they weren't 'thinking.' They were trying to protect their family. Remember, geniuses, yes. Adults, no."

Hope wanted to yell at him, but his words made so much damn sense. Oh, she hated it when he was this right.

"I'm getting rid of every computer in our house, Jarod. I mean it." Jarod looked down at Parker as she finished speaking, her mouth set in a frown as she fumed over the actions of the two overprotective children.

"Okay, honey. If you really think that'll solve the problem."

Parker raised her eyes, locking them with Jarod's. She hated him when he was smug and she hated him when he was right.

"You know what? I really don't like you much anymore."

Jarod laughed as he leaned down and kissed her.

"I know, but there's nothing you can do about it. What was it you said, our family was 'God's gift to us for all the hell we went through?' Guess you're stuck with me."

He kissed her again, this time more deeply, and he chuckled as she responded fully to his advance. Then he heard her voice, muffled against his lips.

"If I have to be."

****

Mr. Parker sat at his desk, a scatter of files before him. The reports had stopped filtering in after the total reached 12. Twelve reports with no confirmations at all corners of the globe. Still, the sweepers continued to search. If there were any other pretenders out there, he was going to find them. He would do whatever it took to increase his power and secure the future of the Centre.

Suddenly, he thought of the searches going on, of the cost of sending sweepers all over the world, and he remembered the endless waste of resources the Centre had thrown down the drain in the years of searching for Jarod. That's what had been bothering him -- the similarity between this event and all of the wild goose chases Jarod has spurred in years past.

As he remembered, Mr. Parker could almost swear he heard the sound of 6-inch stilettos marching down the hall toward his door.

Shaking his head, The Chairman threw these thoughts out of his mind. The past was the past. Jarod and Parker were gone, nothing would change that.

But for just a moment, he thought, it had been nice to imagine them back again. Life at the Centre was easier now that they were gone, but so much less....

well, just less.


THE END