Different Time, Different Place by Trish, admin
Different Time, Different Place by Trish
Different Time, Different Place

Author: Trisha
Rating: PG, Adult situations, Langauge
Category: Drama, Major angst (J/MP)
Archived on: August 1, 2000
Timeline: Post-"Donateresa"
Spoilers: "Donateresa"
Summary: Some special people help Miss Parker make a difference, while Jarod battles to save her life.

Author's Notes: Copyrighted May 25, 1999. FEEDBACK IS GREATLY CRAVED IT MEANS ALOT SO I KNOW TO CONTINUE

Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this fan fiction belong to NBC and any other copyright holders. No infringement is intended.


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The brightness of the light nearly blinded her; yet she continued to walk toward it, unsure of her destination but unafraid.

"Hello, Parker," a voice said from the darkness.

" Thomas?" Parker murmurs.

"Yes! It's me," the voice says as Thomas Gates emerges from the shadows into the light, dress in his red plaid shirt and jeans.

"Where am I ?" Parker asks with hesitation.

"In the netherworld, Parker. Look!" Thomas waves a hand in front of her.

She turns to see her body on an operating table with medical personnel scrambling all around her. Yet, one in particular, drew her undivided attention.

"Damn it, Parker! You aren't going to die on me,"the voice behind the mask growls.

"Tommy, what the hell is going on?

"You were granted a gift Parker. A gift, very few receive. Do you remeber what happened?"

Raines ordered my father's death. I ran to protect him. Next thing, I'm here with you," Parker answers his question, confusion plastered across her face.

"Then let me show you what happened, after you took the bullet meant for your father."

The light swirled and misted and then cleared. Parker stood near Thomas on the runway and watched herself run to protect her father, explaining to Jarod why she came. The next thing she sees is Jarod running to her and her father. He helps carry her inert form over by the car , screaming to apply pressure on the wound. Jarod's father calls for his son but he refuses to go. They will met later, yet Parker hears the fear that the meeting will never take place in his voice. Surprise shows on her face.

"You never told once me that you loved me, Parker. I always knew that I wasn't the right one for you."

"He stayed behind for me ! Why?" Parker whispers, shocked.

"He cares for you. Isn't it obvious."

"After all I've done to bring him back. I don't understand."

"That he cares for you? So that's why he is trying to save your life back there. They caught he, and he threatened what's his name with the oxygen tank." Thomas states as he waves his hand again. Jarod lay on the ground, the mororcycle still skidding across the runway, when they surround him with their guns drawn. Lyle roughly pulls him to his feet but Jarod turns a savage face to Raines.

"Listen, you rotting bag of bones, she protected her father because this lollipop sucking trollop figured she could rid herself of two albatrosses and continue to play lady of the centre with Mr. Nine Fingers here. Now I either get her medical treatment or I'll rip that plastic tubing out of your nose as these moronic goons pump my body full of lead. Perhaps one of the bullets will hit your tank, again. How about another trip to the burn unit, Raines? You see, I have nothing to lose. My father has the boy and no one, myself included, have any clue as to where they've gone," Jarod says sarcasm dripping from his voice like venom.

"He's bluffing," Lyle screams over the helicopter's engines, waving his gun at Jarod's head.

"Am I?" Jarod sneers, his brow furrowed.

" Love, your luck just ran out. You will return to the Centre," Bridgette states cooly, slowly returning the lollipop to her mouth.

"Like hell I'll return," Jarod replies back acidly, as he stares past the group and into the distance.

*****

"Like hell, I'll return," Jarod replies back acidly as he stares past the group and into the distance.

"I take it that Jarod escaped," Parker asks Thomas sincerely.

"Of course he escaped, but I'm not at liberty to reveal how he did it. Breach of security, but then you know all about that don't you," Thomas retorts bruskly.

"Why am I not surprised! So what! The whole point of this mindless excerise is . . ." Parker leaves the statment unfinished due to the look on Thomas's face.

"You really are a pain in the royal ass. You were granted something special. A chance to see who cares for you, in this insane world you live in. It wasn't like I was given a choice at all, Parker," Thomas growls at her as he places a mock gun to his head and pulls the trigger.

"I'm so sorry, This is just to much to take in but then so has every thing that's occurred in the last few weeks. What if I want to stay here with you, instead of going back?" Parker whispers lowly, the tears slipping down her cheeks like diamonds.

"Then you have been granted a glimpse into the future of the world you leave behind. Unfortunately, that job belongs to someone else," Thomas explains to a totally perplexed Parker.

The mist returns and the next thing Parker is alone and afraid in a room that looks like a room from the now destroyed SL-27. Wondering what was coming next Parker paces the room's tiny floor, looking for a way out of this nightmare, when out of nowhere stand a very amused Kyle.

"Good to see you, again, Miss Parker," his eyes twinkle at her agaitatien.

"Oh, God! Are you the one who decides if I life or die?" the fear on her face no longer hidden behind the veneered mask.

"No, that choice is still your's to make, but I have a special little trip into the future to show you," Kyle laughs softly, yet his eyes now reflect sadness in them.

The room is suddenly plunged into a velvety darkness, when Parker catches a glimpse of someone cringing in the corner. The door to the room slowly creaks open, allowing a thin shaft of artifical light to filter through. Kyle hears her catch her breath as the idenity of the lonely figure is revealed.

"Come here, sweetness. Come out of the dark, Michaela," the tall figure croons so softly, his features blurred from Parker's sight but she reconizes the voice.

"Pappa?" the little girl chokes back her tears as she emerges from her hidding place in the corner.

"Yes, sweetness. It's me. I am here and that nasty old bag of bones won't be back. I know that he is a scary sight, but it's all right now," he extends long slender fingers to her.

"Oh, Pappa," the young girl flings her thin body into the waiting arms, and he strokes her head lightly.

"Kyle, what's going on here? I know that Jarod would never work for the Centre, much less have his family raised here," Parker questions.

"He is not here by choice, and the girl may call him pappa but look at her carefully. Don't tell me you don't reconize her?" Kyle turns a concerne gaze to Parker, waiting for understanding to reach her.

" It's me. The bastard played god,again," Parker screams then stopped when she realized she spoke to loud.

"Don't stop now. They can't hear you. Yes , he did. Really pretty scary, huh. First my brother, then you, and then himself. Would you like to met Willy Jr., nasty piece of work that one. Jarod nearly killed him earlier for the prank he pulled, then he threatened Raines. Little Willy won't bother again, at least for a while," Kyle revealed solemly.

"How? Why?" shock swam across her brow, trying to understand all that has been shown her.

"YOU DIED," Kyle replied, "as did others."

*****

"Others died. Who? she asked but the question hung in the air. Parker waited none to patiently for Kyle to answer, her eyes starting to take on a renewed interest in the situtation.

" Let's just say that Raines got approval from the triumverate and not only cleaned house but is building a whole new one," Kyle spat at her.

"So what does that have to do with Jarod being here at the Centre. Are you saying that I'm responsible?" Parker hissed back at him.

"Yes, in away you are. He never belonged here in the first place, hell none of the children did. You just refused to see it until it was to late. He came back and continues what your mother started. Saving children!" Kyle reveals.

"So if I go back, what difference will it make? What guarantee is there that if I live, Jarod doesn't go back to the Centre."

"That's rich. You want a guarantee regarding the future. That my dear Miss Parker is something that is not written in stone. Paths are taken every day in hopes that the right one is chosen. If you go back, you have some serious choices to make." "So why should I go back?" Parker replies bitterly.

"I would think that you would want answers to all those unanswered question that still nag at you everytime you try to go to sleep at night."

"Why? When I can get all the answers here."

"I am afraid that isn't how it works here. Basically your life down there is unfinished. There is more to be done, but perhaps I am not the right one to make you see the light," Kyle says as he turns and walks away slowly starting to fade into the darkness.

A feeling of dread overcame Parker as she realized that she was soon to be alone in a black void. With no sound, no light, no anything. Empty like her life. "This is crazy. KYLE!! Just make a decision and be done with it. Stop yanking my god-damn chain with a bunch of malarky," she screams at the darkness.

"No, one can make the decision regarding your life but you, my darling," a voice spoke from the dark. It was a soft melodious tone that only lived in Parker's mind and was usually called forth in times of need.

"Kyle stop playing mind games with me?" Parker snaps angerily. Kyle slowly returns and takes Miss Parker's hand and slowly, gently places it in a hand that seemed to emerge from parts unknown.

"I leave her in your good care, Catherine," Kyle turns to Parker, "goodbye, Miss Parker, and consider your options. Whatever path you choose will have serious ramifications on many lives."

Parker listens numbly to Kyle's speech and her head nods up and down slowly but her blue eyes are gazing at a person that departed to quickly from her young life. "Momma..." the word was a strangled whisper, unspoken for so long it nearly ripped at the vocal chords that said it.

"Yes, my darling. I have been given the opportunity to reveal a small bit of the future to you, if you chose this path that has been laid out for you," Catherine closed her fingers around daughter's and together, mother and daughter walked into the mist that once again, returned to show Miss Parker a glimpse of a differnt time, different place.

*****

The mist swirled and cleared as quickly as it came and Catherine and her daughter were standing in the middle of a very fimiliar living room, yet it seemed bright and more cheery than Parker ever remembered it to be, except when momma was alive.

"This is my home. Why did you bring me here?" Parker uttered and turned to face her mother with a perplexed look on her face.

"Shhh, my darling. Watch," Catherine placed a finger to her lips as she looked at her daughter with amusement.

Miss Parker glanced slowly around the room taking in the surroundings and that is when the door to the studio slowly opened. A dark head appeared at that moment, that gave Parker a shock, for she knew this person well. He stepped into the hallway with an expression of satisfaction on his face before he glanced back into the room, quickly.

"What to come see your surprise?" he called out as if he belonged there.

"What is it with him and surprises?" Parker, her eyebrows raised slightly, remarked somewhat annoyed.

"Patience, little one, patience," Catherine said persuading her daughter, to watch with wide-eyed wonder as the person that Jarod called to, came out of the bedroom, her bedroom. The sharp intake of breath was not lost on Catherine, for she realized that her daughter reconized the person that was dressed in a luxurious midnight blue robe, towel drying her hair.

"This had better be good, we have to be at daddy's in two hours," can the response.

"Come over here. Sydney can wait," Jarod said quietly, as he picked up the silk scarf that was sitting on the table by the doorway, " turn around, please."

"You have got to be kidding," the woman said slightly exsaperated.

"Oh! Come on, Parker," Jarod lowered his dark eyes, hurt that she refused to be blindfolded and play along.

"Oh, alright! How can I refuse that little boy pout of your's," she crooned as she raised her hand and traced his jawline with a well manicured finger. Jarod tenderly placed the scarf across her eyes and then gingerly took her hand and lead her into the darken room.

Catherine gave her daughter a slight shove in the direction of the doorway. "You won't see anything from here," Catherine remarked smugly.

"This is unfair," Parker replied, yet she edged closer to the doorway, because curiosity was one of her worst faults. The look on her face was priceless, as Catherine just stood there laughing quietly, amused that her daughter was for once, since this little journey had began, speechless.

*****

"Breathe, darling," Catherine informed her daughter, still amused at the fact that she had been rendered speechless. Parker exhaled slowly still dazed at the scene that loomed in front of her. There illuminating the corner of the darkened room stood a towering evergreen tree fully adorned in royal blue and iridescent silver bows, tiny white lights twinkled like ice crystals, beautiful and delicate porcelain angels graced each branch, and an antique angel smiled down from the treetop.

"I know that angel." Miss Parker whispered through her hands,"she use to sit on the top of our tree every Christmas when I was little and you were . . . . . I've not seen her since you died. Daddy said she broke," Parker let out a small sob.

"No, Jarod found her," Catherine informed her daughter," but you need to see what happens next in order to make a decision."

"Okay, let's remove the blindfold," Jarod whispered in the woman's ear, then softly places a kiss on the side of her temple. Slowly the blindfold is removed and there is an audible cry of delight at the sight.

"OHHHHHH! That's momma's angel, yet there is something missing. I'll be right back."

"Missing? What could possible be missing?" Jarod perplexed turned to ask her, only to find her gone, yet she returned almost immediately with a small box in her hand. She silently hands it to Jarod and watches as he opens it, a wistful expression on both faces. Catherine watches her daughter's face for she to is intrigued by the small gift. Jarod lifts the lid and pushes the tissue paper to the side and stares from the box to the woman to the box.

"It wasn't the flu," she whispers sheepishly and blushing slightly.

"You're sure," Jarod chokes, trying to hold back the tears that are welling up in his eyes.

"Merry Christmas, my darling," she murmurs, nodding her head as Jarod sweeps her in to his arms and off the parapet floor.

"Sorry," Jarod says aprenhensively as he quickly puts her back on solid ground.

"Jarod, I'm not made of glass, just pregnant," she laughs, "the look on you face is priceless, I suppose daddy's will be the same. I can not wait to tell him."

"Please! After the hoildays. Let me just love you and this precious little bit of us. I am still a bit overwhelmed," Jarod's dark
eyes still trying to focus on the implications one little gift had on him, then she tentatively places his hand on her abdomen and covers it with hers.

Catherine turns to face her daughter only to see tears flowing down her cheeks. Quickly brushing the wetness away, Miss Parker turned away, then turned to look one last time as the couple embraced each other in the twinkling light of a thousand stars.

"That's great, now I gush at the thought of a happy ending, please spare me. Answer me this first, are there happy ending for the others, because fairy tales and happy endings just don't seem to be my forte, contact with me usually leads to sickness and death," she spits, her anger taking hold.

"You once asked if you would know when you were in love, you have to open up your heart, my darling. Love hurts, yet there are so many simple pleasures one can receive when one loves and is loved in return. As for the others, one last glimpse at a brighter future. Then you, my darling daughter, must chose, stay or go. Agreed," Catherine raises a hand and the silver mist returns swirling and rising around the pair.

*****

The haze dissapiated rapidly, and to Parker's amazement they have not vacated her living room. Upon further inspection, Parker realized that the room was different. It had a lived-in feeling and there was no mistaking the childrens' toys strewn about the floor. She found that not only amusing but comforting. Family. That was important to her, she never realized just how much until now.

A cool sweet-scented breeze caressed the lace curtains that hung around the window from which Parker saw herself. An older version but softer, there were no hard egdes to this Parker standing looking out the window at the scene below. Emerging for the hallway and into the bedroom, slipping strong arms around her in a loving embrace, nestling his chin in the curve of her shoulder, his cheek next to hers, he makes himself comfortable.

"We did good. Didn't we, Parker?" his whisper carasses her like the breeze that flutters the curtains.

Smiling, both look out into the yard, sprawling across its green expanse are two children, chasing iridescent bubbles that look like blown glass ornaments in the sparkling sunshine. The bubble makers are grinning from ear to ear, not at the children's antics, but at each other. Debbie and Jarod's brother. Under an enormous oak tree with it limbs canopying those who have sought refuge from the sun's rays, sit Sydney and Michelle, Broots and Angelo, drinking in the happiness of the day, completely unaware that they are being watched by two who do not belong to this time or space.

"Better than good, Jarod. A miracle," Parker spoke her voice cracking with emotion.

Turning slowly, so as not to lose the embrace of his arms from around her, she traces the grin lines of his face with her fingertips, then kisses them.

"I love you, Jarod, forever," she murmurs as her lips seek out his.

The scene fades as quickly as it played out for Parker and there in a stark, white sterile room, the only noise from the hum of machinery is her prone, pale, and listless form. Seated anxiously watching for some sign of improvement, is a scrub-dressed Jarod. His brown eyes unreadable, but heavy with dark circles underneath from lack of sleep, a shadow of growth on his cheeks and chin, he places her pale hand in his and gently soothes her brow with his other hand. Hoping that the touch will ellict
some sort of response.

"Live of die? Once made there is no going back," Catherine informs her daughter, "Make no mistake. The next time you meet death, it will be final. Understand."

"Yes. I want to go back. It's time to set things right," Parker lowers herself into the unconsious form on the bed, mumbling the words softly, "love you."

Catherine watches her daughter return to her body and glides effortlessly over to the slouched form of Jarod. Placing a ghostly hand on his shoulder, he shudders slightly cilled, and she whispers, "Take good care of my baby for me. I'm entrusting you with my life's blood, Jarod. Show her how to love." With those final words, Catherine realizes that she to must return to a differert time, different place, but forever watching.


To Be Continued . . .


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