This is a little something that has putterd around in my head for some time after the second season ended. Besides, V-day is coming up and it's just something to put us all in the mood.
Thanks goes to Yip and all the rest of you for your never ending support.

Zanna


The Promise
by Zanna




Parker residence
Blue Cove, Delaware

Miss Parker stumbled into her apartment. She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed when she saw it was nearly three a.m. She had been busy at The Centre, overseeing the new children that had come in. Her eyes had scanned each one and she wondered who of them would become a Jarod or an Angelo or a Miss Parker.

Sydney had chased her away after a while, told her that she spooked the kids. She had nodded and gave some sort of remark but the images of those children, staring at her with a desperate plea in their eyes to help them, to get them out of this place stopped her. But she glared at them without sympathy anyway. If she could take it, so could they. Besides, they had at least had a couple of happy years. She was born into this place.

The phone rang, it's shrill sound penetrating every room of the apartment. She pushed the speaker button and growled :

"What ?"

"Happy Valentines day, Miss Parker." It was Jarod, only he would call her at this time.

"What do you want ?" she asked while sinking into the couch and kicking off her shoes.

"I was just honouring an old promise I made years ago to your mother." the voice came back smugly.

"A promise. To my mother." she said increduly, lighting up a cigarette.

" She was going to have a party, a surprise party for your birthday. She had invited every child in the Centre. Raines objected and told your father. He forced her to cancel it. The day the party was supposed to be had, she came and visited each and every one of us and told us how sorry she was. But she asked me a very strange question. She asked me what I would have done if the party had proceeded as planned. "

"Jarod, I don't see how this relates to anything with Valentines Day." A light rain was starting and Miss Parker looked out the window,

"Patience Miss Parker. Don't you want to hear the rest of what your mother said ?"

"Not if you are going to continue with the sentamentalism."

"Kids got to you, didn't they ?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't. You don't know that the latest bunch of kids were taken in the middle of the night from their homes."

"At least they got to know their parents, their families. Their names."

"So ? Just because they had a little piece of normality makes it worse to them. Is Sydney getting a new one?

"Yes. A girl. Her name Chelsea. "

"Does she have any potential?'

"You could say so. Jarod, can we please get back to what we were discussing ?"

"Fine, have it your way. I told her I would like to meet you face to face and tell you this new joke that Sydney had told me. Apparently she liked my answer so much, she asked to me to tea one day. We never had that tea. It was scheduled to take place one hour after she was shot. But I received a note from her asking to me to draw a Valentine's day card for you. I also received a box. It was empty but I quickly discovered the fake bottom. Inside was a message, saying that should anything happen to her, that I should always contact you on Valentine's day."

"But why ?"

"I don't know. But I just fulfilled my part of the bargain"

There was a click and then all that Miss Parker heard was the dial tone.

"Happy Valentine's day, Jarod" Miss Parker whispered and curled into herself.