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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
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."
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."
