Spoilers: IOTH

Disclaimer: The Pretender doesn't belong to me and neither do any of the characters… except for Morgan Parker. She's mine, all mine! Mwahahahaha! The story and situation are also property of my chocolate and Pez sodden imagination.

Clone Challenge. Okay, here's part one of my take on the clone challenge. I changed it a bit to suit myself--I'm saying that the clone of Miss Parker would also be slightly younger than Jarod's clone because Raines would want to keep the approximate age gap the same. [eg] Read on to find out what happens.


Nighttime Epiphanies - Chapter 1

Brightfeather


Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
SL 26 RM 210A

A young girl huddled on the corner of a cot, her blanket wrapped around her. She sighed quietly as she added one more line to the sketchbook in her lap, completing the portrait of a woman she had seen in only her dreams.

'Hello, my baby girl.' she heard the voice inside her head say.

"Momma?" she whispered.

'Yes, sweetheart. I'm here.' the voice answered.

"Who is this, Momma?" she asked, looking at the picture.

'It's you twin sister, baby,' came the reply.

"But she's older than me!" the girl objected.

'They created you from her, Morgan… you are genetically identical and that makes you twins. You see her in your dreams--and if you concentrate, you can feel what she feels. Try it, baby.'

"Yes, Momma," she said, obediently closing her eyes to concentrate.

****

Raines checked the security monitors once more, checking on the Parker clone. The Triumverate would be very unhappy if this one managed to escape. After all, no negative emotions were allowed around her. Slowly, he began to smile evilly. This child would be much more biddable than Miss Parker was. After all, Miss Parker's life was just as much of an experiment as Jarod's was. Mr. Parker had been acting under orders when he had hurt her as a child.

Morgan was to be raised without being exposed to negative emotions of any kind for years. Some of the pet scientists thought that the lack of bad experiences would make her inner sense controllable by the Centre. Before Gemini's escape, they had also planned to introduce the two as teenagers and let nature take its course. Any children by the pair were bound to be remarkable... and, given the obvious connection between the originals, it had been theorized that such a connection would exist between the duplicates as well.

Raines chuckled to himself as he observed the child drawing. Soon it would be time to break her to the Centre's will. Her time of peace was almost finished. He walked away, plans for the child's future dancing around his head. In Gemini's absence, perhaps Morgan could be used as a mother for Jarod's child. After all, they still had plenty of sperm left in the storage vaults.

****

Morgan opened her eyes and stared at the picture. "She's in pain, Momma," she said softly.

'The man she thought was her father died two months ago.'

"But Momma, it's more than that. She doesn't know who she is anymore… and they're making her chase her best friend."

'I know, baby. She's had to chase him for five years and she's never liked it; she's just begun to learn to listen to me.'

"If the man who died isn't our father, Momma; then who is?"

'I can't tell you, sweetie. You're not a Parker, but it's up to your real father and he's not sure if it's true. You will both find out in time. I have to go, darling. I think your sister will come for you, soon.'

"Goodbye, Momma," she whispered.

Angelo peered through the vent. "Sister sad," he said quietly. He pried off the vent cover and lowered himself in the room. "Why sad, Sister?" he asked.

Morgan dropped the blanket and flew across the room to hug Angelo. "Hey, Angelo!" she said, smiling. She sobered for a moment. "Angelo, do you know my sister? Is that why you call me 'sister' because you know her?"

Angelo smiled gleefully. "Know Daughter," he said. "Daughter know about Sister soon." The little man smiled once more before hoisting himself back in the vent. "Be back soon," he said before disappearing.

Morgan sighed and walked back over to her bed. They could come for her soon, so she might as well get some rest. It was impossible to know when they would come, so it was best to be prepared.

****

Outside Miss Parker's House
Blue Cove, Delaware
12 am

"He wasn't really your father, anyway," the words echoed in her head. "You're a Parker, Angel. Act like one. No tears. I never want to hear you mention her again. She's dead. It's over. Life goes on." Parker shivered and pulled her coat closer to herself in the cold rain. It had been two months since her fa-Mr. Parker had committed suicide in front of her by jumping out of the plane. Two months since she had told Jarod that the game would continue as per usual. Two months since Raines had tried to tell her that he, Dr. Lucifer, Nosferatu, was her biological father. Two months since the ground had been pulled out from beneath her feet… her world was now peopled by nightmares.

Parker trudged through the dark, trying to wear herself out so that her frequent nightmares did not return. She knew that she should probably talk to someone-Sydney, perhaps. But the thought of letting anyone in terrified her. Grimly, she mused that her surrogate father had done a very good job turning the little girl he raised into an emotional wreck. She was the Ice Queen, unable to let anyone inside, anyone at all.

Years ago, it had been different. Before her mother's death she had been a different person; before her father had gotten complete control of her. She had spent after-school hours at the Centre, sometimes more than that, until her father was ready to go home. Back then, Jarod had been her best friend; her only friend close to her age besides Angelo.

Parker turned around and began the long walk back toward her house. Deep down, she knew her hostility towards Jarod was mostly for her own protection and his. For years, she had been cut off from him, but at the same time, she never forgot the good memories of sneaking off with her best friend to play. She shivered and stuck her hands further down in her pockets as she remembered how Mr. Parker had tried to convince her that Jarod was someone not to be trusted, that he was to be hated and feared.

She had let the man she thought her father think he had won and had spent years sniping at her friend. It was her one solitary gesture of defiance-one single swerve from being the obedient, trusting daughter that Mr. Parker wanted. She took her real feelings for Jarod and hid them where no one could see, covering them with sarcasm and barbed comments. She had known from the beginning of the hunt that she could never really bring him back to the Centre-at least not permanently. He had escaped, and if he remembered their childhood promises at all, he'd eventually help her escape as well.

She turned down her driveway and trudged inside her home. Jarod. The original Lost Boy. The corners of her mouth turned upwards in the hint of a smile. His Peter Pan to her Wendy. They were both getting closer to middle age, but in many ways, he was still the little boy that had been there for her growing up. She walked over to the rabbit hutch, pulled JJ out, walked over to the couch, and sat down, petting her favorite present from her best friend. The feel of JJ's soft fur brought back memories of the rabbits in the Centre lab… and Jarod.

Lately it seemed as if everything in her life led back to him. He was one of the few people who had never lied to her. He had always been there to offer comfort when she most needed it. And even though he irritated the hell out of her sometimes, he was still the person who came to mind when the words 'best friend' surfaced in conversation. She half-closed her eyes and tried to focus on him… it had worked before.

The memories assaulted her.

The Centre
April 17, 1972

"Angel, Jarod cannot be trusted. He's a psychopath-it's why he's here. He'll kill you in the end. He murdered his whole family, you know."

"But Daddy," her younger self objected. "He's my best friend! He'd never hurt me."

Her father loomed over her, smacking the leather belt against his hand that he'd just pulled from his pants. "Oh, yes he would, Angel. Emotion is weakness. Love brings pain. Or have you forgotten our little 'lessons'? You're a *Parker*, dammit. Act like one,"

Her younger self shrank into the corner, trying desperately to escape what she knew would be coming next.

Parker shuddered and opened her eyes. She thought she had managed to block out most of those memories, but her father's death was bringing it all back. She got up from the couch and put JJ back in his cage. Briefly, she considered going to the liquor cabinet, but she was starting to get tired of being a drunk. Getting smashed right now was the last thing she wanted to do.

Parker shivered and went upstairs to change clothes. She rummaged through the dresser in her room until she found what she was looking for, quickly, she changed into the flannel pajamas, choosing warmth and comfort over style. She climbed into bed and pulled the covers up, wishing for someone to be there for her instead of having to fight this battle alone.

The phone on her nightstand rang, so she reached over to pick it up. "What?" she demanded.

"Hello, Parker," a familiar voice said. "Nice to hear that some things don't change."

"Jarod," she said. "So when are you going to tell me where you are so I can drag your sorry ass back home?"

Jarod chuckled. "Not a chance, Parker. I… just had a feeling that you needed me tonight… that you needed your old best friend."

"Let me set you straight, Labrat. I don't need anybody--especially not a friend I outgrew years ago… Is that clear?"

"Crystal." He chuckled again, but the laugh soon turned into a hacking cough.

"Jarod, are you ok?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

"Fine," he wheezed through the coughing spasms.

"You don't sound too good," she said, noticing the fatigue and horseness in his voice for the first time. Suddenly the line went dead. Parker frowned. Jarod was sick, and she didn't like the idea of letting the game go forward when her best friend was ill. Hell, he probably needed her to take care of him even if he couldn't admit it.

The Ice Queen in her surfaced, reminding her what would happen if the Centre got wind of what she was thinking about doing. She shoved the thought down mercissly. The Centre be damned. She could catch him later--it wasn't like her father was around to be proud of her catching him anymore, anyway.

She slipped out of bed, changed into some casual clothes and started tossing items in a suitcase. She finished packing quickly and picked up the phone to call Sydney. "Syd? I hope this message won't wake you… I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking some time off and I wanted to know if you'd inform Raines and Lyle for me. I'll call them tomorrow, but I really need the time away to sort through some things about my fa-Mr. Parker's death. I'll be back in two weeks. Thanks, Syd," she hung up the phone and headed outside, locking the door to her house behind her.

She tossed her suitcase in the back of her car and climbed in. Parker sat in silence for a moment, closing her eyes to concentrate on her bond with Jarod. She opened her eyes, smiled, started the car, and headed off in the night, sure she knew where he was.

****

Angelo's hiding place
The Centre

Angelo finished attaching the last file and typed in his message. He smiled as he added the addresses of the Friend, the Daughter, and the Mentor. It wouldn't be long now before the Sister was rescued…

****

Greenville, South Carolina
Jarod's Apartment

Jarod coughed and wrapped the blanket around him more securely. He was freezing even though he knew he was running a fever. He shivered as he booted up his laptop and downloaded his mail. He opened the first one.

"Project Doppleganger in trouble. Raines start to hurt soon."
CJ

Jarod grimaced as another coughing fit overtook him. He doubled over, wishing his cough would go away. He shivered once more, the contents of Angelo's email barely registering on his consciousness. Absently, he saved the attachments to his desktop and shut down the computer before standing up to try and make it to the bed. He swayed back and forth a bit before he staggered over and collapsed into his bed.

Project Doppleganger, whoever it was, would have to wait.

****

Miss Parker's Car

Miss Parker tapped her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. She had been on the road, driving south, for hours and she wanted nothing more than to finally arrive at her destination. She was getting closer, she knew it, but she figured that she was still at least thirty minutes away. She had gotten a rental car in Dover and even bought a new cell phone and had her old number transferred to it just in case her idiot twin had decided to put a tracer on her phone.

She'd be damned if Raines and Lyle got their filthy hooks into Jarod when he was sick and unable to escape. He had been one of the few constants in her life and she knew what they had done to him the last time he'd been a prisoner of the Centre. If she had anything to say about it, there was no way that the ghoul and the cannibal would hurt someone that she cared about. hell would freeze over first. She'd personally send them to Hell first.

She hated the idea of killing--she'd only ever thought that she'd done it once, but if anybody deserved to die it was Raines and Lyle. Jarod was hers. Hers to catch. Her best friend... despite everything. The devil and his angel couldn't have him. She would protect what was hers.

Parker sighed as she contemplated her relationship with Jarod. The only way to describe it was... complicated. They were best friends, enemies, huntress, prey, and had the beginnings of something more all at the same time. She flipped the dial on the radio to another station and continued to drive, lost in her own thoughts.

****

The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
SL 26 Rm 210A
The Middle of the night.

The slight form of a young teenager stirred on the dingy mattress. "Momma," she murmured, dreaming. "Meagan," she whispered, still asleep. "My sister..." She woke up suddenly. 'Momma?'

'Yes, baby?'

'She's going to see him, isn't she?'

'Yes, honey. Your sister is on her way, and you can't let anyone know.'

'I won't, Momma. But I thought she hated him.'

'No, baby. Remember, Jarod is her best friend...'

'But Momma, there's something else there.'

'I know, baby. She can't admit it... or let herself remember. It's too dangerous for her to do that.'

'Why, Momma?'

'Morgan, if the people in charge of the Centre found out about how she really feels about Jarod, they'd most likely kill her like they did me.'

'But Momma, that's not *fair*!'

'No, baby, it's not.'

Morgan curled up on the thin, shabby mattress and pulled the flimsy, gray blanket over her head, hiding from the presence she could feel outside her room. For as long as she could remember, she had heard her mother's voice in her head, giving her the guidance that her caretakers didn't provide. Her mother had warned her about showing exactly how smart she really was and taught her to use the gifts she had inherited. She could always feel the presence of others outside her cell, and there were a few that she wanted kept far away from her.

A few years ago, she had overheard her guards calling them "Mr. Raines" and "Mr. Lyle". Lyle in particular made her uncomfortable--he kept giving her predatory looks. He looked at her as if she were... lunch. She had lived in this square 12x12 gray room for as long as she could remember, only making trips outside it to a SIM lab or to the Infirmary. Few people talked to her, and they were never anything but nice to her.

In the warm darkness under her blanket, she wished she could see the things that she overheard from other people's thoughts--sunshine, rain, snow. They all sounded so wonderful that she wanted to see them for herself. Morgan sighed and buried her face in the skimpy pillow. Her mentor, Louise, would most likely be there in a few hours and she needed sleep.

'I love you, Momma' she sent sleepily.

Just like every night since she was small, she heard her mother's voice in her head, singing her to sleep.

****

Greenville, South Carolina
Jarod's Apartment

Jarod shivered and pulled the quilt on his bed closer to him. He hadn't felt this lousy in a long time. He knew he was probably running a fever and he should probably see a doctor, but he didn't think he should risk it. He coughed, trying to get rid of the phlegm that was starting to fill his lungs. Jarod curled up into a ball, attempting to get warm.

He hadn't been able to resist calling Miss Parker, a part of him wished that he hadn't hung up on her, but he couldn't afford to let her know that he was sick. She could catch up to him easily when he was feeling like this. He rubbed his aching head and wished that he weren't so alone. Once again, he wondered how he had ended up like this--alone, always alone.

Jarod closed his eyes and began to picture the one person who had once brought light into his dark existence. Her face was always lurking in the shadows of his consciousness, both the person she was and the person she had become. He'd loved her for years and was past the point of trying to deny it. Their time on the Island of Carthis had forced him to acknowledge it, at least to himself.

Jarod didn't dare to really tell her how he felt. He could imagine her reaction and he doubted that she'd even bother to draw her gun. She'd kick his ass for even thinking such a thing. His Parker was tough, with a sweet, softer side that she rarely let anyone see.

Jarod groaned softly, pulled his quilts up over his head, and began to slip closer to the sleep that his body so desperately craved. His eyes flew open as he heard someone pounding on the door. He sighed, pushed back the covers and dizzily stood up. After a moment to regain his balance, he made his way, weaving slightly, to the door.

Jarod fumbled with the lock and pulled it open. He was shocked to see Miss Parker standing in his doorway. "You're not taking me back," he said in a raspy voice.

"No, I'm not," she affirmed quietly. "You're sick. Let me in, Lab Rat. "I'm not chasing you... tonight."

Jarod thought about arguing with her, but his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool and he couldn't bring himself to do it. Standing there in his doorway was the little girl he used to know. He stepped away from the doorway and stumbled slightly. Jarod recovered his balance, but stood still swaying, near the door, his hand on the wall to support his weight.

Parker reached out and grabbed his arm. "Jarod, you're burning up. C'mon, let's get you in bed." She pulled his arm around her shoulders and, wrapping her arm around his waist, led him back over to the bed in the small loft. "Lay down," she ordered.

"Why are you doing this, Parker?" Jarod asked before beginning to cough.

Parker dropped to her knees beside the bed and covered him with the blankets, tucking them securely around him. "Maybe it's because I remember the little boy," she said softly, "who gave me my first kiss." She brushed his hair back from his face and dropped a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Go to sleep, Jarod," she said. Until Jarod was better, she wasn't going to listen to the Ice Queen in her anymore.

****

Sydney's House
Blue Cove, Delaware

Sydney groaned as his alarm went off. He shut it off, climbed out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. A few minutes later he came out of the bathroom, grabbed his clothes, and got dressed. He left his bedroom and went downstairs, not bothering to make his bed. He wandered into the kitchen and started to make coffee. As the coffee was percolating, he dropped a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster.

He frowned as he noticed the light on the answering machine blinking. It was unusual for him to sleep heavily enough not to hear the phone ringing. What if he had been needed at the Centre? What if something had happened to Jarod, Parker, Broots, or Angelo? He hit the button and listened to the message. It was Parker.

She had been unusually quiet lately, but she had seemed to be dealing with Mr. Parker's death rather well. He was worried about her, but he couldn't do anything unless she came to him. He loved her as if she were his own daughter, but he couldn't tell her that. They worked for the Centre, after all. Neither one of them could afford the liability of the powers that be knowing the truth. He didn't want Raines or Lyle to use him against her or vice versa.

He wished that he could have done more to protect Parker... to protect both of them. He knew that he couldn't have prevented what happened to Angelo--he hadn't even known him when he was still Timmy. But Parker and Jarod were different. He should have been able to protect them. He should have been able to keep Jarod's SIMs from being able to be used for horrible things. He should have been able to protect Parker as well. He should have been able to do more for her than to comfort her after Catherine's death.

When he looked at Parker, he saw his Catherine all over again. A more defensive, slightly colder version of his Catherine, but his Cat all the same. There was a slight possibility that Parker really could be his little girl, but he wasn't sure, and he would probably never know. Catherine had told him at the time that her baby was Mr. Parker's, so he had no choice but to believe her. Instead, he had stood on the sidelines, watching Cat's little girl grow up, rarely daring to intervene.

Sydney sighed and stopped woolgathering. He had to hurry if he was to get to the Centre on time to deliver Parker's messages to Lyle and Raines. She was on shaky ground as it was, and he didn't want anything to happen to her.

****

The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
SL 26 Rm 210A

Morgan woke up to the sound of the waking-bell and sighed. She pulled herself out of bed and carefully made it before heading to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later and grabbed her brush from the small table that sat beside her bed. She ran it through her hair and sat down on the chair near the desk to wait for Louise, her mentor this month.

While everyone had treated her kindly, she had never had anyone to truly depend on. Her mentors switched every once in a while, so that she never knew who would be working with her each day. Her mother's voice in her head was her only constant.

'Momma?'

'Yes, baby?'

'Is my sister really going to come for me?'

'Morgan, sweetheart, your sister doesn't know about you yet, but she'd never leave you here for Raines to experiment on.'

'Will she love me, Momma? I've never had anybody love me except for you, and you're dead.' Morgan sent wistfully.

'Yes, she will, sweetie. It may take her a little while, and you may not get to see her often, but she will.'

'Why won't I get to see her often?' Morgan asked.

'Baby, your sister will want to protect you, so she'll have to send you away.'

Morgan heard someone at the door, so she reluctantly broke off her conversation with her mother to stand and greet her visitor.

****

Greenville, South Carolina
Jarod's Apartment

Jarod thrashed around in his bed, obviously having a nightmare. Miss Parker leaned over and began to rub his back in gentle circles. "Shhh. It's okay, Jarod. I'm here."

Slowly, he began to quiet. Parker put her hand on his forehead and recoiled. He was so hot! She had already searched his apartment for medical supplies, but had come up with nothing. She frowned and ran her hand through Jarod's sweat-soaked hair. She needed a thermometer and something to bring down his fever.

Parker leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be right back, Jarod," she whispered. "I need to go get you some medicine."

"Hurry back," he sighed, still asleep.

Parker pulled up his blankets and tucked them in around him securely. "Sleep well, my friend," she murmured. Parker grabbed her purse, and, after a few minutes, located Jarod's keys. She grabbed them and locked the door behind her as she left to find a pharmacy.

****

Raines's office
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
February 2002

Raines sat behind his new desk, watching the surveliance videos of Miss Parker's clone, Morgan. Soon, he could set Lyle the task of breaking the sixteen year old. Soon, he could finally expose her to the darker emotions and begin to make a better profit off of her SIMs. If it weren't for Mr. Parker's soft spot for Morgan's progenitor, the process would have been started long ago.

Lyle would be given free reign to do what ever he pleased short of killing the girl. They needed her completely compliant and subservient to his wishes. After all, being Miss Parker's clone, she surely had the same spirit and determination. Such things could not be allowed to flourish under his watch. Project Doppleganger must be allowed to proceed according to plan. They may have lost Gemini and his sperm, but there would have been quite a risk producing a viable child from two cloned beings anyway.

Luckily, they had managed to extract enough samples from Jarod the last time he had been captured to produce an embryo. It had been done before, after all. At three, Master Parker was only beginning to show his potential. He was well ahead of his age markers, but it would be another year before he would be able to start producing SIMs. And, unfortunately, Mr. Parker had only authorized taking genetic material from his "daughter" once.

Raines chuckled, his version of laughter echoing evilly from the walls of his office. With Mr. Parker out of the way, he had secured the Chairmanship of the Centre. He answered only to the Triumverate and his word was law. He pulled some paperwork towards him and signed the authorization to add enough fertility drugs to Morgan's food so that she would be sure to conceive when they inseminated her with Jarod's seed. Soon, there would be another Pretender joining the ranks of the Centre--and he could begin to fully exploit the one living in the bowels of the Centre the way her original should have been.

If only Catherine hadn't stopped him. It was her fault that Parker hadn't been trained and used as was proper for a pretender. Parker should have been locked in an adjoining cell to Jarod's. If things had gone according to his wishes, Parker and Jarod would still be at the Centre, raising a few litters of little pretenders for him to bend to the Centre's will. Between Catherine's objections, and Mr. Parker backing her up, he hadn't had a chance of following through on his plan. He was glad that both of them were dead, and happier still that he had taken care of Catherine personally.

Morgan Parker would follow in her brother Lyle's footsteps as a completely loyal Centre operative, preferably a mind-controlled, mind-wiped version. Some of Lyle's past actions had been out of control, and he didn't intend to repeat some of the same mistakes. Her childhood had been peaceful--it was her young adulthood that they wanted to proceed with her total corruption in.

The child she produced would be whisked away to live with Master Parker--genetically they would be full siblings, regardless of who were their biological mothers. Keeping the children together would be wiser than separating them; after all, they could always use the threat of hurting one of them to get the other to produce. Raines smiled as he signed yet another authorization form for his new pet project. He would add another purple file, another member of Project Progeny, as soon as his new subject became pregnant…

Then again, with enough fertility drugs added, it was possible that they could produce a child from her with Lyle at the same time and double the Inner Sense that was the inheritance from Catherine. A slow smile began to spread over Raines's face. It was a terrifying sight to behold, one that would send small children running away from him, screaming in terror. Absently, he turned to his keyboard and began to type up notes. It was possible, more than possible--and Lyle would probably want to handle the job of acting as a sperm bank personally; and with much enjoyment.

*****

The Ventilation Ducts

Angelo shuddered as he felt what the Bad Man was planning. Sister was in trouble. Sister would hurt very soon. He had to warn Daughter, Friend, and Mentor again before the Bad Man could start. Angelo didn't remember much about the Before when he had been Timmy, but he knew that it was the Bad Man's fault that Timmy was gone.

The Bad Man had to be stopped. Friend could do it. Daughter could do it. They could do it together, like they had rescued the Boy. He looked out through the slats of the vent and saw the Bad Man working. Angelo turned and began to scurry towards his hiding place. He had to show Friend, Daughter, and Mentor the Sister. They would make her free before the Bad Man could hurt; destroy like Timmy.

He reached his safe place and began to burrow through a box of DSAs, looking for the ones that had the right empathic signature on them. He began to hurry towards the Mentor's office--Daughter was with Friend, so her office wouldn't help Sister. Quickly, he opened the vent and dropped two disks on Sydney's desk. He hurried back to the vent, climbed into the shaft, and began to go to another one of his hiding places.

Angelo squatted in front of his computer and downloaded a DSA on to his hard drive. Quickly, he composed another message to Friend and sent it out, attaching the DSA file to it. He sat back on his heels and smiled, satisfied. Friend would tell Daughter, and they would rescue Sister now. He'd have to visit Sister tonight to make sure that the Bad Man hadn't hurt her yet. Everything would be okay soon enough. He crawled over to his bedding and lay down, exhausted.

It wasn't long before he started hearing the voice that had been murmuring comfort to him for years. His concept of time wasn't good, but he knew that a long time had passed since Timmy died because he had gotten bigger and people he cared about had changed. The voice had been in his head ever since the day that had made Daughter hurt so much; the days that still made her sad. He yawned as the voice started singing him a lullaby--the voice was happy with him helping Friend, Daughter, and Sister. He smiled as his eyes began to drift shut and reached for a box of cracker jacks. He held them close like a security blanket and drifted off to sleep.

****

Greenville, SC
Jarod's Apartment

Parker unlocked the door and walked quickly in, shutting and locking it behind her. She tossed her purse and keys on the coffee table and headed over to the bed where she set down the bag from the pharmacy that she was carrying. She dug around inside it, pulled out a thermometer, and an opened the packaging. "It's time to wake up, Jarod," she said softly, reaching out to shake his shoulder.

Jarod rolled over and looked at her with fever-brightened eyes. "Parker?" he said hoarsely.

"Jarod," she began gently, "I need you to hold this in your mouth for me," she finished, running her hand through his soft, dark hair.

"You're not here," he mumbled, his eyes beginning to slide shut. "Parker wants to haul me back into hell; not to take care of me." A single tear slid down his face. "Want my best friend back," he muttered. "Want her to love me again..."

"Jarod Whatever-your-last-name-is! Sit up and keep this under your tongue, or, so help me, I *will* haul you back to the Centre!" Parker put her hands on her hips and frowned at him in exasperation.

Jarod sat up as he began to cough. The moment the spasm eased, she stuck the thermometer under his tongue. "Hold it there," she ordered. She waited, tapping her foot impatiently, until the device beeped and pulled it out of his mouth. "Shit," she swore softly, looking at the reading. "103.4. We've got to get your fever down, wonderboy." Parker yanked a bottle of Tylenol out of the bag, pulled it out of the packaging, opened it, and shook out two pills. She went into the small kitchenette, found a glass and filled it with water.

She took the water back to Jarod and handed it to him with the pills. "Take those," she ordered.

Jarod put the pills in his mouth and then spit them out. "They taste awful," he said petulantly.

"Not enough like Pez, rat boy?" Parker groaned and grabbed the bottle of pills. "Why is it," she muttered, "that grown men suddenly start acting like they're five years old whenever they get sick? I can't make it taste like Pez, but I'll see what I can do." She walked over to the fridge, opened it, and brightened when she saw a half-empty jar of strawberry jam in the door--she'd used something like it to get her little brother to take his medicine. She pulled it out and grabbed two spoons out of a drawer. Carefully, she crushed the Tylenol in between the spoons and then mixed the crushed bits with a spoonful of jam. Jarod *would* take his medicine--she'd make sure of that!

Parker walked back to his bedside, carrying the spoonful of jam and medicine, and smoothed Jarod's hair back from his face. "Jarod," she began sweetly, "I've got something for you."

"Wha--?" he opened his eyes and looked at her.

While his mouth was opened, she stuck in the spoon and deposited the jam and medicine mixture in his mouth. "Swallow," she ordered, then handed him the previously spurned glass of water. "Drink it, Jarod," she stood with her hands on her hips, waiting for him to finish. She grabbed the glass from his hand as soon as he finished drinking the water, placed it on the nightstand, pushed him back down in bed, and covered him up again, tucking the blankets around him tightly.

Parker leaned over the bed and felt Jarod's forehead. She frowned, she knew that the medication wouldn't take effect immediately, but she didn't like his fever. Resolutely, she walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, filled it with cool water, and carried back to the bed, snatching up a dish towel on the way. She set the bowl down on the nightstand, folded the towel, and dipped it in. She wrung the excess water out of the towel and began to use it to bathe Jarod's face and neck.

"Mommy," Jarod moaned, beginning to thrash around in the bed. "My tummy hurts," he whimpered, restlessly pushing the blankets off of him. He started coughing, his breath rattling in his chest.

"Dammit, Jarod, you'd better not be developing pneumonia on me," Parker growled, pulling the blankets back up. "Get better. You manage to die on me and I'll haul you back from the dead so I can kill you myself." Her actions belied her words as she tucked him in yet again and began to gently stroke his hair back from his forehead.

Jarod restlessly turned over on to his stomach. "I want Teddy, Mommy," he muttered, his right hand groping around him for the toy.

Parker sighed and began to look around for a substitute. She began to smile as she spotted a white teddy bear that had her name embroidered on its foot sitting on the couch. Valentines Day was just around the corner, and it looked like Jarod had already gotten her a present. Parker grabbed the bear and went back over to the bed where she put it under Jarod's seeking hand.

He rolled over again, clutching the toy to his chest. Parker sat down on the side of the bed and began to bathe his face again, wishing she dared wake him up to take off his t-shirt so that she could bathe his chest as well. Jarod opened his eyes and looked at her. "Parker?" he asked hoarsely.

"I'm here, Jarod," she said quietly, leaning down to place a kiss on his stubbly cheek.

"You're not a dream?" he asked before he started coughing again.

"No, ratboy. I'm not a dream; I'm here." She ran her hand through his hair again. "Now, sit up, Jarod." she ordered quietly.

He obeyed and she reached back into the medicine bag to pull out a bottle of Nyquil. Parker poured out a dose and handed it over. "Drink it," she said, reaching for his free hand.

Jarod knocked back the medication with a grimace at its taste and handed the dosage cup back to her. "Stay with me?" he asked, his voice rasping in his throat.

"I came to make sure you get better," she said softly. "Lay down, Jarod." She pushed him back down gently and pulled the blankets up again. Parker rubbed his back lightly until his eyelids began to drift shut. She stayed at his bedside for a few minutes before getting up to go heat one of the cans of chicken soup she'd seen in the cupboard when she was looking for a bowl. The next time he woke up, she wanted to have some liquids on hand to get into him. Parker glanced over a Jarod before looking away as if she were afraid that he'd notice that she really did care. The next few days would be long ones.

****

Sydney's Office
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware

Sydney dropped his briefcase next to his desk and sat down, slumping in his chair. He was worried about Parker. It wasn't like her to take a sudden vacation like this. In fact, Parker even taking a vacation was rare--she was usually at the Centre for up to 16 hours a day. She was a workaholic; it was just one of the many things that Mr. Parker had taught her over the years.

He raised one hand to rub his temples and wished that things could have been different. It just wasn't fair that the happy child he'd know had been forced to turn into the lonely and bitter woman she had become. Sydney sighed as he contemplated his almost-daughter. He wished that he could fix things. For all she tried to hide it, she had been terribly wounded yet again by her "father's" suicide in front of her. He could see it in her eyes--it was a terrible sorrow and a feeling of abandonment. He desperately wanted to hold her the way he had once held her mother when things got tough.

It wasn't possible. Parker hated showing her vulnerability--Mr. Parker had seen to that. Sydney didn't know much of what her "father" had done to her, he just knew that slowly but surely, the happy little girl she had been before her mother's staged "death" in the elevator was replaced by a slightly withdrawn child who only opened up in Jarod's presence. For that alone, he had carefully allowed them to have time alone and did his best to encourage their friendship.

Back then, it had only taken each other's presence to make both Parker and Jarod happy. It took so little to make children happy, he reflected. He wasn't sure what had happened to change their friendship into what it had become. After all, Parker had continued to sneak out of the Centre apartments to play with her friend. Soon after she was sent away to boarding school, things started to change. On her school vacations, while she still came to visit, she had become colder; more distant; harder to reach. Soon after her graduation, the visits had simply stopped. He had gone to watch all of her graduations, but had stood carefully in the background, unnoticed.

By the next time they had met, soon after Jarod's escape, the transformation had been complete--she had become the slightly promiscuous Ice Queen. He still saw flashes of the lonely little girl that lay underneath the facade. He wished that he could get that little girl to come out more often; her few beautiful smiles only appeared when she let go of the prickly exterior.

Sydney ran his hand through the remains of his silvered hair and began to sort through the paperwork on his desk. He was puzzled to find a silver DSA disk lying under some of the papers. He pulled out his DSA player and put the disk inside it to play, curious as to what it contained.

For Centre Use Only
Morgan
November 16, 2001
A young girl sat at a polished metal table, reading a file in front of her. She looked up from the file. "Amanda, tell me about my parents again, please?"

"Your parents loved you very much, Morgan," Amanda replied. "They both were very special people who worked for the Centre and that's why you were left in our care after the car accident. You were lucky to survive--Morgan, you know this."

"I know," Morgan answered with a small sigh.

"Now, Morgan, back to the simulation--lives are depending on you to try and find the cure to this disease," Amanda redirected the teenager's attention to the file folder. "I'll be escorting you to the lab in a few moments, but you need to concentrate on the available information right now."

Morgan heaved a sigh and began to read again. "Yes, ma'am," she answered.

Sydney drew in a sharp breath as he watched the familiar scene play out in front of him. How many times had he reinacted a similar scene with Jarod? But this child was an exact replica of a fifteen-year-old Miss Parker. With a slightly trembling hand, he shut off the DSA player and closed it. Could they have done it? After all, a few years ago, they had discovered Gemini--could Morgan be the product of yet another Centre cloning project?

Sydney closed his eyes briefly before turning on his computer. He needed to get word to Jarod and set Broots to look into it. If the Centre had truly cloned Parker, they needed to liberate her clone as well. He waited impatiently for the computer to boot up and then connected to the Centre's LAN. He opened his email program. "You have mail," the computer's annoying voice chimed at him. He slid his mouse over to click on the flashing icon.

****

Disclaimer' The Pretender doesn't belong to me and neither do any of the characters… except for Morgan Parker. She's mine, all mine! Mwahahahaha! The story and situation are also property of my chocolate and Pez sodden imagination.

Clone Challenge. Okay, here's part one of my take on the clone challenge. I changed it a bit to suite myself--I'm saying that the clone of Miss Parker would also be slightly younger than Jarod's clone because Raines would want to keep the approximate age gap the same. Read on to find out what happens.

Spoilers' IOTH


Nighttime Epiphanies - Chapter 2

Brightfeather


Miss Parker's Car

Miss Parker tapped her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. She had been on the road, driving south, for hours and she wanted nothing more than to finally arrive at her destination. She was getting closer, she knew it, but she figured that she was still at least thirty minutes away. She had gotten a rental car in Dover and even bought a new cell phone and had her old number transferred to it just in case her idiot twin had decided to put a tracer on her phone.

She'd be damned if Raines and Lyle got their filthy hooks into Jarod when he was sick and unable to escape. He had been one of the few constants in her life and she knew what they had done to him the last time he'd been a prisoner of the Centre. If she had anything to say about it, there was no way that the ghoul and the cannibal would hurt someone that she cared about. Hell would freeze over first. She'd personally send them to Hell first.

She hated the idea of killing--she'd only ever thought that she'd done it once, but if anybody deserved to die it was Raines and Lyle. Jarod was hers. Hers to catch. Her best friend... despite everything. The devil and his angel couldn't have him. She would protect what was hers.

Parker sighed as she contemplated her relationship with Jarod. The only way to describe it was... complicated. They were best friends, enemies, huntress, prey, and had the beginnings of something more all at the same time. She flipped the dial on the radio to another station and continued to drive, lost in her own thoughts.

****

The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
SL 26 Rm 210A
The Middle of the night.

The slight form of a young teenager stirred on the dingy mattress. "Momma," she murmured, dreaming. "Meagan," she whispered, still asleep. "My sister..." She woke up suddenly. 'Momma?'

'Yes, baby?'

'She's going to see him, isn't she?'

'Yes, honey. Your sister is on her way, and you can't let anyone know.'

'I won't, Momma. But I thought she hated him.'

'No, baby. Remember, Jarod is her best friend...'

'But Momma, there's something else there.'

'I know, baby. She can't admit it... or let herself remember. It's too dangerous for her to do that.'

'Why, Momma?'

'Morgan, if the people in charge of the Centre found out about how she really feels about Jarod, they'd most likely kill her like they did me.'

'But Momma, that's not *fair*!'

'No, baby, it's not.'

Morgan curled up on the thin, shabby mattress and pulled the flimsy, gray blanket over her head, hiding from the presence she could feel outside her room. For as long as she could remember, she had heard her mother's voice in her head, giving her the guidance that her caretakers didn't provide. Her mother had warned her about showing exactly how smart she really was and taught her to use the gifts she had inherited. She could always feel the presence of others outside her cell, and there were a few that she wanted kept far away from her.

A few years ago, she had overheard her guards calling them "Mr. Raines" and "Mr. Lyle". Lyle in particular made her uncomfortable--he kept giving her predatory looks. He looked at her as if she were... lunch. She had lived in this square 12x12 gray room for as long as she could remember, only making trips outside it to a SIM lab or to the Infirmary. Few people talked to her, and they were never anything but nice to her.

In the warm darkness under her blanket, she wished she could see the things that she overheard from other people's thoughts--sunshine, rain, snow. They all sounded so wonderful that she wanted to see them for herself. Morgan sighed and buried her face in the skimpy pillow. Her Mentor, Louise, would most likely be there in a few hours and she needed sleep.

'I love you, Momma' she sent sleepily.

Just like every night since she was small, she heard her mother's voice in her head, singing her to sleep.

****

Greenville, South Carolina
Jarod's Apartment

Jarod shivered and pulled the quilt on his bed closer to him. He hadn't felt this lousy in a long time. He knew he was probably running a fever and he should probably see a doctor, but he didn't think he should risk it. He coughed, trying to get rid of the phlegm that was starting to fill his lungs. Jarod curled up into a ball, attempting to get warm.

He hadn't been able to resist calling Miss Parker, a part of him wished that he hadn't hung up on her, but he couldn't afford to let her know that he was sick. She could catch up to him easily when he was feeling like this. He rubbed his aching head and wished that he weren't so alone. Once again, he wondered how he had ended up like this--alone, always alone.

Jarod closed his eyes and began to picture the one person who had once brought light into his dark existence. Her face was always lurking in the shadows of his consciousness, both the person she was and the person she had become. He'd loved her for years and was past the point of trying to deny it. Their time on the Island of Carthis had forced him to acknowledge it, at least to himself.

Jarod didn't dare to really tell her how he felt. He could imagine her reaction and he doubted that she'd even bother to draw her gun. She'd kick his ass for even thinking such a thing. His Parker was tough, with a sweet, softer side that she rarely let anyone see.

Jarod groaned softly, pulled his quilts up over his head, and began to slip closer to the sleep that his body so desperately craved. His eyes flew open as he heard someone pounding on the door. He sighed, pushed back the covers and dizzily stood up. After a moment to regain his balance, he made his way, weaving slightly, to the door.

Jarod fumbled with the lock and pulled it open. He was shocked to see Miss Parker standing in his doorway. "You're not taking me back," he said in a raspy voice.

"No, I'm not," she affirmed quietly. "You're sick. Let me in, Lab Rat. "I'm not chasing you... tonight."

Jarod thought about arguing with her, but his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool and he couldn't bring himself to do it. Standing there in his doorway was the little girl he used to know. He stepped away from the doorway and stumbled slightly. Jarod recovered his balance, but stood still swaying, near the door, his hand on the wall to support his weight.

Parker reached out and grabbed his arm. "Jarod, you're burning up. C'mon, let's get you in bed." She pulled his arm around her shoulders and, wrapping her arm around his waist, led him back over to the bed in the small loft. "Lay down," she ordered.

"Why are you doing this, Parker?" Jarod asked before beginning to cough.

Parker dropped to her knees beside the bed and covered him with the blankets, tucking them securely around him. "Maybe it's because I remember the little boy," she said softly, "who gave me my first kiss." She brushed his hair back from his face and dropped a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Go to sleep, Jarod," she said. Until Jarod was better, she wasn't going to listen to the Ice Queen in her anymore.

****

Sydney's House
Blue Cove, Delaware

Sydney groaned as his alarm went off. He shut it off, climbed out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. A few minutes later he came out of the bathroom, grabbed his clothes, and got dressed. He left his bedroom and went downstairs, not bothering to make his bed. He wandered into the kitchen and started to make coffee. As the coffee was percolating, he dropped a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster.

He frowned as he noticed the light on the answering machine blinking. It was unusual for him to sleep heavily enough not to hear the phone ringing. What if he had been needed at the Centre? What if something had happened to Jarod, Parker, Broots, or Angelo? He hit the button and listened to the message. It was Parker.

She had been unusually quiet lately, but she had seemed to be dealing with Mr. Parker's death rather well. He was worried about her, but he couldn't do anything unless she came to him. He loved her as if she were his own daughter, but he couldn't tell her that. They worked for the Centre, after all. Neither one of them could afford the liability of the powers that be knowing the truth. He didn't want Raines or Lyle to use him against her or vice versa.

He wished that he could have done more to protect Parker... to protect both of them. He knew that he couldn't have prevented what happened to Angelo--he hadn't even known him when he was still Timmy. But Parker and Jarod were different. He should have been able to protect them. He should have been able to keep Jarod's SIMs from being able to be used for horrible things. He should have been able to protect Parker as well. He should have been able to do more for her than to comfort her after Catherine's death.

When he looked at Parker, he saw his Catherine all over again. A more defensive, slightly colder version of his Catherine, but his Cat all the same. There was a slight possibility that Parker really could be his little girl, but he wasn't sure, and he would probably never know. Catherine had told him at the time that her baby was Mr. Parker's, so he had no choice but to believe her. Instead, he had stood on the sidelines, watching Cat's little girl grow up, rarely daring to intervene.

Sydney sighed and stopped woolgathering. He had to hurry if he was to get to the Centre on time to deliver Parker's messages to Lyle and Raines. She was on shaky ground as it was, and he didn't want anything to happen to her.

****

The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
SL 26 Rm 210A

Morgan woke up to the sound of the waking-bell and sighed. She pulled herself out of bed and carefully made it before heading to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later and grabbed her brush from the small table that sat beside her bed. She ran it through her hair and sat down on the chair near the desk to wait for Louise, her mentor this month.

While everyone had treated her kindly, she had never had anyone to truly depend on. Her mentors switched every once in a while, so that she never knew who would be working with her each day. Her mother's voice in her head was her only constant.

'Momma?'

'Yes, baby?'

'Is my sister really going to come for me?'

'Morgan, sweetheart, your sister doesn't know about you yet, but she'd never leave you here for Raines to experiment on.'

'Will she love me, Momma? I've never had anybody love me except for you, and you're dead.' Morgan sent wistfully.

'Yes, she will, sweetie. It may take her a little while, and you may not get to see her often, but she will.'

'Why won't I get to see her often?' Morgan asked.

'Baby, your sister will want to protect you, so she'll have to send you away.'

Morgan heard someone at the door, so she reluctantly broke off her conversation with her mother to stand and greet her visitor.

****

Greenville, South Carolina
Jarod's Apartment

Jarod thrashed around in his bed, obviously having a nightmare. Miss Parker leaned over and began to rub his back in gentle circles. "Shhh. It's okay, Jarod. I'm here."

Slowly, he began to quiet. Parker put her hand on his forehead and recoiled. He was so hot! She had already searched his apartment for medical supplies, but had come up with nothing. She frowned and ran her hand through Jarod's sweat-soaked hair. She needed a thermometer and something to bring down his fever.

Parker leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be right back, Jarod," she whispered. "I need to go get you some medicine."

"Hurry back," he sighed, still asleep.

Parker pulled up his blankets and tucked them in around him securely. "Sleep well, my friend," she murmured. Parker grabbed her purse, and, after a few minutes, located Jarod's keys. She grabbed them and locked the door behind her as she left to find a pharmacy.

****

Disclaimer' The Pretender doesn't belong to me and neither do any of the characters… except for Morgan Parker. She's mine, all mine! Mwahahahaha! The story and situation are also property of my chocolate and Pez sodden imagination.

Clone Challenge. Okay, here's part one of my take on the clone challenge. I changed it a bit to suite myself--I'm saying that the clone of Miss Parker would also be slightly younger than Jarod's clone because Raines would want to keep the approximate age gap the same. Read on to find out what happens.

Spoilers' IOTH


Nighttime Epiphanies - Chapter 3

Brightfeather

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raines's office
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
February 2002

Raines sat behind his new desk, watching the surveliance videos of Miss Parker's clone, Morgan. Soon, he could set Lyle the task of breaking the sixteen year old. Soon, he could finally expose her to the darker emotions and begin to make a better profit off of her SIMs. If it weren't for Mr. Parker's soft spot for Morgan's progenitor, the process would have been started long ago.

Lyle would be given free reign to do what ever he pleased short of killing the girl. They needed her completely compliant and subservient to his wishes. After all, being Miss Parker's clone, she surely had the same spirit and determination. Such things could not be allowed to flourish under his watch. Project Doppleganger must be allowed to proceed according to plan. They may have lost Gemini and his sperm, but there would have been quite a risk producing a viable child from two cloned beings anyway.

Luckily, they had managed to extract enough samples from Jarod the last time he had been captured to produce an embryo. It had been done before, after all. At three, Master Parker was only beginning to show his potential. He was well ahead of his age markers, but it would be another year before he would be able to start producing SIMs. And, unfortunately, Mr. Parker had only authorized taking genetic material from his "daughter" once.

Raines chuckled, his version of laughter echoing evilly from the walls of his office. With Mr. Parker out of the way, he had secured the Chairmanship of the Centre. He answered only to the Triumverate and his word was law. He pulled some paperwork towards him and signed the authorization to add enough fertility drugs to Morgan's food so that she would be sure to conceive when they inseminated her with Jarod's seed. Soon, there would be another Pretender joining the ranks of the Centre--and he could begin to fully exploit the one living in the bowels of the Centre the way her original should have been.

If only Catherine hadn't stopped him. It was her fault that Parker hadn't been trained and used as was proper for a pretender. Parker should have been locked in an adjoining cell to Jarod's. If things had gone according to his wishes, Parker and Jarod would still be at the Centre, raising a few litters of little pretenders for him to bend to the Centre's will. Between Catherine's objections, and Mr. Parker backing her up, he hadn't had a chance of following through on his plan. He was glad that both of them were dead, and happier still that he had taken care of Catherine personally.

Morgan Parker would follow in her brother Lyle's footsteps as a completely loyal Centre operative, preferably a mind-controlled, mind-wiped version. Some of Lyle's past actions had been out of control, and he didn't intend to repeat some of the same mistakes. Her childhood had been peaceful--it was her young adulthood that they wanted to proceed with her total corruption in.

The child she produced would be whisked away to live with Master Parker--genetically they would be full siblings, regardless of who were their biological mothers. Keeping the children together would be wiser than separating them; after all, they could always use the threat of hurting one of them to get the other to produce. Raines smiled as he signed yet another authorization form for his new pet project. He would add another purple file, another member of Project Progeny, as soon as his new subject became pregnant…

Then again, with enough fertility drugs added, it was possible that they could produce a child from her with Lyle at the same time and double the Inner Sense that was the inheritance from Catherine. A slow smile began to spread over Raines's face. It was a terrifying sight to behold, one that would send small children running away from him, screaming in terror. Absently, he turned to his keyboard and began to type up notes. It was possible, more than possible--and Lyle would probably want to handle the job of acting as a sperm bank personally; and with much enjoyment.

*****

The Ventilation Ducts

Angelo shuddered as he felt what the Bad Man was planning. Little Sister was in trouble. Little Sister would hurt very soon. He had to warn Daughter, Friend, and Sydney again before the Bad Man could start. Angelo didn't remember much about the Before when he had been Timmy, but he knew that it was the Bad Man's fault that Timmy was gone.

The Bad Man had to be stopped. Friend could do it. Daughter could do it. They could do it together, like they had rescued the Boy. He looked out through the slats of the vent and saw the Bad Man working. Angelo turned and began to scurry towards his hiding place. He had to show Friend, Daughter, and Sydney the Little Sister. They would make her free before the Bad Man could hurt; destroy like Timmy.

He reached his safe place and began to burrow through a box of DSAs, looking for the ones that had the right empathic signature on them. He began to hurry towards the Sydney's office--Daughter was with Friend, so her office wouldn't help Little Sister. Quickly, he opened the vent and dropped two disks on Sydney's desk. He hurried back to the vent, climbed into the shaft, and began to go to another one of his hiding places.

Angelo squatted in front of his computer and downloaded a DSA on to his hard drive. Quickly, he composed another message to Friend and sent it out, attaching the DSA file to it. He sat back on his heels and smiled, satisfied. Friend would tell Daughter, and they would rescue Little Sister now. He'd have to visit Little Sister tonight to make sure that the Bad Man hadn't hurt her yet. Everything would be okay soon enough. He crawled over to his bedding and lay down, exhausted.

It wasn't long before he started hearing the voice that had been murmuring comfort to him for years. His concept of time wasn't good, but he knew that a long time had passed since Timmy died because he had gotten bigger and people he cared about had changed. The voice had been in his head ever since the day that had made Daughter hurt so much; the day that still made her sad. He yawned as the voice started singing him a lullaby--the voice was happy with him helping Friend, Daughter, and Little Sister. He smiled as his eyes began to drift shut and reached for a box of cracker jacks. He held them close like a security blanket and drifted off to sleep.

****

Greenville, SC
Jarod's Apartment

Parker unlocked the door and walked quickly in, shutting and locking it behind her. She tossed her purse and keys on the coffee table and headed over to the bed where she set down the bag from the pharmacy that she was carrying. She dug around inside it, pulled out a thermometer, and an opened the packaging. "It's time to wake up, Jarod," she said softly, reaching out to shake his shoulder.

Jarod rolled over and looked at her with fever-brightened eyes. "Parker?" he said hoarsely.

"Jarod," she began gently, "I need you to hold this in your mouth for me," she finished, running her hand through his soft, dark hair.

"You're not here," he mumbled, his eyes beginning to slide shut. "Parker wants to haul me back into Hell; not to take care of me." A single tear slid down his face. "Want my best friend back," he muttered. "Want her to love me again..."

"Jarod Whatever-your-last-name-is! Sit up and keep this under your tongue, or, so help me, I *will* haul you back to the Centre!" Parker put her hands on her hips and frowned at him in exasperation.

Jarod sat up as he began to cough. The moment the spasm eased, she stuck the thermometer under his tongue. "Hold it there," she ordered. She waited, tapping her foot impatiently, until the device beeped and pulled it out of his mouth. "Shit," she swore softly, looking at the reading. "103.4. We've got to get your fever down, wonderboy." Parker yanked a bottle of Tylenol out of the bag, pulled it out of the packaging, opened it, and shook out two pills. She went into the small kitchenette, found a glass, and filled it with water.

She took the water back to Jarod and handed it to him with the pills. "Take those," she ordered.

Jarod put the pills in his mouth and then spit them out. "They taste awful," he said petulantly.

"Not enough like Pez, rat boy?" Parker groaned and grabbed the bottle of pills. "Why is it," she muttered, "that grown men suddenly start acting like they're five years old whenever they get sick? I can't make it taste like Pez, but I'll see what I can do." She walked over to the fridge, opened it, and brightened when she saw a half-empty jar of strawberry jam in the door--she'd used something like it to get her little brother to take his medicine. She pulled it out and grabbed two spoons out of a drawer. Carefully, she crushed the Tylenol in between the spoons and then mixed the crushed bits with a spoonful of jam. Jarod *would* take his medicine--she'd make sure of that!

Parker walked back to his bedside, carrying the spoonful of jam and medicine, and smoothed Jarod's hair back from his face. "Jarod," she began sweetly, "I've got something for you."

"Wha--?" he opened his eyes and looked at her.

While his mouth was opened, she stuck in the spoon and deposited the jam and medicine mixture in his mouth. "Swallow," she ordered, then handed him the previously spurned glass of water. "Drink it, Jarod," she stood with her hands on her hips, waiting for him to finish. She grabbed the glass from his hand as soon as he finished drinking the water, placed it on the nightstand, pushed him back down in bed, and covered him up again, tucking the blankets around him tightly.

Parker leaned over the bed and felt Jarod's forehead. She frowned, she knew that the medication wouldn't take effect immediately, but she didn't like his fever. Resolutely, she walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, filled it with cool water, and carried back to the bed, snatching up a dish towel on the way. She set the bowl down on the nightstand, folded the towel, and dipped it in. She wrung the excess water out of the towel and began to use it to bathe Jarod's face and neck.

"Mommy," Jarod moaned in a high, child-like voice, beginning to thrash around in the bed. "My tummy hurts." He restlessly pushed the blankets off of himself and started coughing, his breath rattling in his chest.

"Dammit, Jarod, you'd better not be developing pneumonia on me," Parker growled, pulling the blankets back up. "Get better. Don't you dare die on me, ratboy. You do, and I'll bring you back just so I can have the pleasure of killing you myself." Her actions belied her words as she tucked him in yet again and began to gently stroke his hair back from his forehead.

Jarod restlessly turned over on to his stomach. "I want Teddy," he muttered, his right hand groping around him for the toy.

Parker sighed and began to look around for a substitute. She began to smile as she spotted a white teddy bear that had her name embroidered on its foot sitting on the couch. Valentines Day was just around the corner, and it looked like Jarod had already gotten her a present. Parker grabbed the bear and went back over to the bed where she put it under Jarod's seeking hand.

He rolled over again, clutching the toy to his chest. Parker sat down on the side of the bed and began to bathe his face again, wishing she dared wake him up to take off his t-shirt so that she could bathe his chest as well. Jarod opened his eyes and looked at her. "Parker?" he asked hoarsely.

"I'm here, Jarod," she said quietly, leaning down to place a kiss on his stubbly cheek.

"You're not a dream?" he asked before he started coughing again.

"No, ratboy. I'm not a dream; I'm here." She ran her hand through his hair again. "Now, sit up, Jarod." she ordered quietly.

He obeyed and she reached back into the medicine bag to pull out a bottle of Nyquil. Parker poured out a dose and handed it over. "Drink it," she said, reaching for his free hand.

Jarod knocked back the medication with a grimace at its taste and handed the dosage cup back to her. "Stay with me?" he asked, his voice rasping in his throat.

"I came to make sure you get better," she said softly. "Take off your shirt and lay down, Jarod." After he pulled the damp t-shirt off over his head, she pushed him back down gently and pulled the blankets up again. Parker rubbed his back lightly until his eyelids began to drift shut. She stayed at his bedside for a few minutes before getting up to go heat one of the cans of chicken soup she'd seen in the cupboard when she was looking for a bowl. The next time he woke up, she wanted to have some liquids on hand to get into him. Parker glanced over a Jarod before looking away as if she were afraid that he'd notice that she really did care. The next few days would be long ones.

****

Sydney's Office
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware

Sydney dropped his briefcase next to his desk and sat down, slumping in his chair. He was worried about Parker. It wasn't like her to take a sudden vacation like this. In fact, Parker even taking a vacation was rare--she was usually at the Centre for up to 16 hours a day. She was a workaholic; it was just one of the many things that Mr. Parker had taught her over the years.

He raised one hand to rub his temples and wished that things could have been different. It just wasn't fair that the happy child he'd known had been forced to turn into the lonely and bitter woman she had become. Sydney sighed as he contemplated the young woman that he considered his daughter. He wished that he could fix things. For all she tried to hide it, she had been terribly wounded yet again by her "father's" suicide. Sydney simply couldn't believe that any father could be so callous as to commit such an act in front of his child, especially this one. She had thought she saw her mother die in the elevator thirty years before; how could her father commit such an unconscionable act that re-opened old wounds by subjecting her to virtually the same thing? He could see it in her eyes--it was a terrible sorrow and a feeling of abandonment. He desperately wanted to hold her the way he had once held her mother when things got tough.

It wasn't possible. Parker hated showing her vulnerability--Mr. Parker had seen to that. Sydney didn't know much of what her "father" had done to her, he just knew that slowly but surely, the happy little girl she had been before her mother's staged "death" in the elevator was replaced by a slightly withdrawn child who only opened up in Jarod's presence. For that alone, he had carefully allowed them to have time alone and did his best to encourage their friendship.

Back then, it had only taken each other's presence to make both Parker and Jarod happy. It took so little to make children happy, he reflected. He wasn't sure what had happened to change their friendship into what it had become. After all, through the years, Parker had continued to sneak out of the Centre apartments to play with her friend. Soon after she was sent away to boarding school, things started to change. On her school vacations, while she still came to visit, she had become colder; more distant; harder to reach. Soon after her graduation, the visits had simply stopped. He had gone to watch all of her graduations, but had stood carefully in the background, unnoticed.

By the next time they had met, soon after Jarod's escape, the transformation had been complete--she had become the slightly promiscuous Ice Queen. He still saw flashes of the lonely little girl that lay underneath the facade. He wished that he could get that little girl to come out more often; her few beautiful smiles only appeared when she let go of the prickly exterior.

Sydney ran his hand through the remains of his silvered hair and began to sort through the paperwork on his desk. He was puzzled to find a silver DSA disk lying under some of the papers. He pulled out his DSA player and put the disk inside it to play, curious as to what it contained.

For Centre Use Only
Morgan
November 16, 2001

A young girl sat at a polished metal table, reading a file in front of her. She looked up from the file. "Amanda, tell me about my parents again, please?"

"Your parents loved you very much, Morgan," Amanda replied. "They both were very special people who worked for the Centre and that's why you were left in our care after the car accident. You were lucky to survive--Morgan, you know this."

"I know," Morgan answered with a small sigh.

"Now, Morgan, back to the simulation--lives are depending on you to try and find the cure to this disease," Amanda redirected the teenager's attention to the file folder. "I'll be escorting you to the lab in a few moments, but you need to concentrate on the available information right now."

Morgan heaved a sigh and began to read again. "Yes, ma'am," she answered.

Sydney drew in a sharp breath as he watched the familiar scene play out in front of him. How many times had he re-enacted a similar scene with Jarod? But this child was an exact replica of a fifteen-year-old Miss Parker. With a slightly trembling hand, he shut off the DSA player and closed it. Could they have done it? After all, a few years ago, they had discovered Gemini--could Morgan be the product of yet another Centre cloning project?

Sydney closed his eyes briefly before turning on his computer. He needed to get word to Jarod and set Broots to look into it. If the Centre had truly cloned Parker, they needed to liberate her clone as well. He waited impatiently for the computer to boot up and then connected to the Centre's LAN. He opened his email program. "You have mail," the computer's annoying voice chimed at him. He slid his mouse over to click on the flashing icon.

****

Disclaimer' The Pretender doesn't belong to me and neither do any of the characters… except for Morgan Parker. She's mine, all mine! Mwahahahaha! The story and situation are also property of my chocolate and Pez sodden imagination.

Clone Challenge. Okay, here's part one of my take on the clone challenge. I changed it a bit to suite myself--I'm saying that the clone of Miss Parker would also be slightly younger than Jarod's clone because Raines would want to keep the approximate age gap the same. Read on to find out what happens.

Spoilers' IOTH


Nighttime Epiphanies - Chapter 4

Brightfeather

~*~*~*~

The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
SL26 Rm 210A

Morgan wrapped her arms around her legs and laid her head on her knees. She was bored. She had been awake for hours, but nobody had come to collect her--she could only think that something big was going to happen. She sighed and began to play with her hair, braiding and unbraiding the waist-length locks.

The sweepers had delivered breakfast a while ago, but she wasn't hungry, so it sat, congealing into a hard, gluey mass on her tray. Briefly, she wondered if there was food in the world that tasted better, but the green nutritional supplement was just about all she had ever been given to eat.

Morgan sighed again. 'Momma?' she sent.

'Yes, baby?'

'Tell me a story about my sister?' she asked.

'Your sister is a very brave person, Morgan' Catherine began. 'She's a survivor--and you can't really separate her from Jarod because their pasts and futures are so intertwined.'

'Who's Jarod, Momma?' Morgan asked.

'Remember the best friend that they make her chase? That's Jarod.'

'Okay.'

'She and Jarod remember meeting for the first time when they were around ten tears old, but they really met before that--long before. They played together as babies--Margaret and I had *such* plans for our little ones! I hadn't seen Margaret and Major Charles for a few years before Jarod was taken, so I didn't recognize him when he got to the Centre. I think he was about five and your sister was four when they met again.'

'But Momma, four and five year olds are babies!'

Morgan could hear her mother's sigh. 'Baby, do you want to hear the rest of this story?'

'Yes, Momma'

'Okay then, I needed to talk to Sydney, but your sister had been clingy that day and refused to leave me, so I brought her along. I found Sydney in Jarod's room that morning and when my back was turned, Jarod and your sister had started playing together. I was so surprised! She'd never wanted to play with the other children at her babysitter's house, but she and Jarod were playing quietly together, lost in their own little world.' Morgan could hear a smile in her mother's mental voice.

' I kept talking to Sydney for a little while longer, and when both of us turned to look for the kids, they were curled up together on Jarod's bed, fast asleep.'

'Momma, that's so sweet,' Morgan said. 'But you said that my sister was brave, remember?'

'Baby, after I died, Mr. Parker used your sister for a project and he hurt her rather badly--all in the name of science and advancing his career. She never told anybody what the man who raised her did; not even Jarod knows the full extent of what he did to her. After I died, she only had Jarod--and Sydney, but he couldn't show it. Your sister survived, sweetie, and it took a lot of courage to do it. She and Jarod were inseparable back then--and after she was threatened into giving up the friendship, she started to pretend that she hated him to protect him.'

Morgan frowned. 'But she loves him, I've seen it inside her.'

' I know, baby. But she won't admit it; she's been denying it for the better part of 20 years. She knows that if she admits it, the Centre will hurt both of them, so she refuses to.'

'Wow,' was Morgan's response. 'I want to meet her.'

'You will, baby, you will.'

****

Greenville, South Carolina
Jarod's Apartment

Jarod woke slowly and yawned. He ached all over and still wasn't feeling very well, but he felt better than he had last night. He could have sworn that Parker had shown up to care for him, but it was probably just a dream brought on by his fever.

He opened his eyed and frowned in puzzlement. Long, dark hair was spread out over his quilt--and as the figure it belonged to stirred, he could see that it was Miss Parker. Slowly, as if he were afraid that she'd disappear, he put his hand gently on her head and began to stroke her hair. It must not have been a dream, he thought.

He had his best friend back. Quickly, he moved his hand as her gray eyes opened and looked at him. "Morning, Jarod," she said, her voice hoarse with sleep. She reached over, grabbed the thermometer, and held it out. "Open up," she demanded.

Jarod rolled his eyes and let her stick the device under his tongue, trying not to cough. While he was glad to have his best friend back, he wasn't sure he was ready to have Parker fussing over him like a mother hen. "Mph. Why are youmph doing this, Parker?" he asked around the thermometer.

"Because, I refuse to let Lyle and Raines get their filthy hands on you," Parker regarded him thoughtfully. "If I can help it, you're not going back there," she said determinedly. The thermometer beeped and she pulled it out of his mouth. 98.6. Normal.

"Why the change of heart?" he asked quietly. "Two months ago, you said it was still 'you run, I chase'." He interrupted himself with a fit of coughing.

Parker looked down at the bed and began to pluck at the yarn ties that held the quilt together. "Because..." she began softly. "You're mine, Jarod. I don't share, remember? I won't let them hurt you again; I refuse."

Jarod's face lit up as he tentatively reached for her hand. She was protecting him--just like she had when they were children. Parker was the only person whom he could ever remember standing up for him; and that had gotten her a one-way ticket to exile at boarding school. "Does this mean that if I asked you the same question that I asked two months ago, your answer would be different?" He covered her hand with his own and squeezed it gently.

Parker slipped her hand out from under his. "No, wonderboy. I don't have a death wish; but if you do, I'm certain I can arrange something."

"Parker," Jarod began, determined to be persistent. "If the Centre weren't in the picture, do you think that we might have a chance?"

Parker's face began to turn a dull, brick red. "I don't know," she admitted softly. "I care about you, Jarod; I always have," she said in a burst of honesty. "But there's so much history between us--and a lot of it isn't good. Hell, I'm not sure if anything other than friendship, if that, would work between us, pezhead."

"Parker--"

"Don't, Jarod," she said softly. "Just don't. Even if we both want it, the Centre would either kill us for trying it, or lock us in adjoining cells and use us to breed more pretenders for them--I won't let that happen."

"Do you think we could try being friends again?" he asked hesitantly. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," she admitted quietly. "I never wanted to cut off our friendship, but I had to." Parker's face clouded over. "Daddy said he'd give you to Raines to play with if I continued to be your friend."

"Is that why you started becoming distant when you came back on your vacations?" he asked, pushing back the blankets and getting up on his knees.

"Why else, labrat?" she asked. "You were my best friend; my only friend. Cutting off our friendship was one of the hardest things I've ever done." Parker flipped her hair over her shoulders, agitated.

"You were protecting me--again," he said softly. Jarod reached out and pulled her into an embrace. Parker stiffened for a minute and then began to gradually relax.

Feeling uncomfortable, she wiggled out of his arms. "Back in bed, rat boy," she ordered. "I didn't stay up for half the night getting your fever down to have it come back--or do I have to go get my gun and shoot you to make you stay put?"

"I'll be good," Jarod grumbled, settling back down in the bed and pulling the blankets up. "Stay with me?" he asked, again. "I'll be good, I promise--the bed's plenty big enough; you can nap up here."

Parker hesitated, then shrugged mentally. She was safe with Jarod; she knew that. It wasn't like they'd never shared a bed before. Before their forced estrangement, she had found her way to Jarod's room more than once and slept in his arms, always leaving before Sydney showed up. She had felt safer with Jarod than she had felt in her own bedroom because she knew he would protect her; not hurt her like her father did. She kicked off her shoes and slid under the covers.

Jarod smiled and pulled her, unresisting, into his arms. Parker buried her face in his shoulder and began to relax. Being in his arms felt exactly like coming home.

****

The Centre
Raines's Office
Blue Cove, Delaware

Lyle settled himself comfortably in the chair and looked at Raines expectantly. Dear old dad had called him in with the lure of a particularly juicy assignment that was something along the lines of his specialty. He smiled in anticipation. "You said you had something for me, Dad?" he inquired, a bland look settling over his face.

"The time has come," Raines wheezed, "for Doppleganger to fulfill her purpose."

"You mean, it's time to--" Lyle trailed off.

Raines began to smile; it was a smile that sent chills down Lyle's spine--it was one he remembered well from his days as Raines's science project. "Yes--son." He picked up a file folder off his desk and handed it to Lyle. "Here are the parameters; just don't kill her."

"Yes, Father," Lyle answered. He smiled at the folder in his hand. He'd always wondered how Miss Parker would be in bed--she was the hottest babe he'd ever seen in spite of his predilection for Asian women. It was really too bad that she was his sister. Now that he had Doppleganger, it wouldn't be a problem. Morgan was just another Centre-created science project. And now she was his.

Raines drew in a rattling breath and exhaled. "Get started... Bobby."

Lyle's head snapped up and he looked at his father through narrowed eyes. Bobby was dead. It was rare that Raines called him that; and he knew why his father did it. Calling him by his old name was the fastest way to get under his skin--it had also become a trigger for his more violent acts after he had 'died'. "Yes, sir," he growled, pushing himself up out of the chair and stalking out the door.

Once outside, he took a deep breath to calm himself. It wouldn't do to show up at Doppleganger's cell upset. First he had to woo her, to win her trust, before he could begin his program. This particular carrot had been dangling in front of him for some time, even before the DNA test that had revealed Miss Parker to be his, he licked his lips in anticipation, sister. Doppleganger was a younger version of her; hidden in the bowels of the Centre for him to mold, to train, to have submit to his wishes and desires.

Lyle headed toward the elevator, entered it, and pushed the button for SL26. He needed to begin immediately. He knew that he had to show progress quickly unless he wanted one of Raines's punishments in the shed. He smiled as the elevator doors opened and he strode out into the corridor. He had a little clone-sister to talk to.

Lyle arrived in front of her sweeper-guarded door, knocked, and entered. "Hello, Morgan," he purred. "I'm going to be your new Mentor starting today. My name is Mr. Lyle."

Morgan shivered, climbed off the bed, pushed her long hair off her face, and turned to face him. He could see the fear in her eyes--good, if she feared him already, then breaking her would be easier.

"Hello, Mr. Lyle," she said softly.

Lyle smiled, showing his even white teeth to his new prey. He could see her struggle not to show her obvious fear at his presence. "When I come in each morning, Morgan, you will be ready to go. I want to see your bed made and you standing beside it---no more lazing about. It that clear?"

"Yes, Mr. Lyle," she whispered.

"Follow me," he said, smiling. He turned and headed towards the door. He stopped at the door and looked back; she hadn't followed him. He turned back to face her and sneered before he strode over and slapped her with as much strength as he could muster, almost knocking her to the ground. Her hand flew to her face, gingerly feeling around the area that was already beginning to puff up with the signs of a deep bruise, and a cut from the ring he wore on his hand.

"You will do as I say without hesitation; is that clear?" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the door, leaving bruises behind on her pale skin.

****

Disclaimer' The Pretender doesn't belong to me and neither do any of the characters… except for Morgan Parker. She's mine, all mine! Mwahahahaha! The story and situation are also property of my chocolate and Pez sodden imagination.

Clone Challenge. Okay, here's part one of my take on the clone challenge. I changed it a bit to suite myself--I'm saying that the clone of Miss Parker would also be slightly younger than Jarod's clone because Raines would want to keep the approximate age gap the same. Read on to find out what happens.

Spoilers' IOTH


Nighttime Epiphanies - Chapter 5

Brightfeather


Greenville, South Carolina
Jarod's Apartment
Jarod rolled over in bed and came in contact with another warm body. He smiled sleepily as he threw his arm over the figure next to him and hugged it. Long, dark hair landed in his face as the person lying next to him shifted and found a comfortable spot to rest on top of him. He cracked open his eyes slightly, then winced and let them slide shut again when the light from the large windows hit them. His new teddy bear smelled familiar--kind of like Miss Parker. Groggily, he decided that he must be dreaming--Parker would end up in a bed with him when hell froze over.

Jarod smiled again and decided to enjoy the dream while it lasted. While he'd had more than a few erotic dreams about Parker--especially before he'd escaped the Centre--he'd never before dreamed of the contentment he was dreaming of now. It was the bliss of simply holding her close to him because he loved her… and in this dream, she at least cared about him as well.

Jarod buried his face in her hair, enjoying the scent of her shampoo. He smiled sleepily; even Nia's or Zoe's hair hadn't smelled as good as Parker's did. He tugged her closer to him and hugged her tightly, relishing how her soft form felt in his arms. He twitched his nose as some of her hair tickled it and reached up to pull some of the thick tresses out of his face, accidentally bumping Parker with his elbow. She grunted softly and rolled away from him as he drifted back into sleep.

****

Parker smiled in her sleep. For once, her dream was good--she was dreaming of her mother.

"Momma?" a younger version of her said as her mother brushed her hair.

"What is it, baby?"

"I'm gonna marry Jarod when I grow up."

Her mother laughed softly. "You are, baby?"

"Yes, Momma, I am!" she insisted. "He's my best friend, and I love him."

"That's nice, baby." Catherine said with a soft smile.

Evening morphed to day and she was chasing Jarod again. Her eyes grew wide with horror as Lyle and Raines appeared, grabbed Jarod, and shot him. She fell to her knees to cradle his broken body as they started to laugh. "It--doesn't hurt, Parker," he whispered as blood began to form at the corner of his mouth. "So... bright." Jarod drew in one last breath and his eyes closed for the last time.

"Jarod, NO! Don't leave me!" she sobbed.

Lyle grinned at her. "So, sis, *that's* how the labrat managed to evade us for so long. You two had a thing going and *you* were helping him." he turned to Raines. "So, Dad, what should we do with the traitor? It's not like we can't just create a new one--we have enough material left to create a whole new generation of labrats, after all."

"Kill her," Raines said, his lips turning up into a smile that gave her the chills. "We can make another--she's useless to us, now."

Parker screamed and sat up, her heart pounding. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath and looked down at the man sleeping beside her--Jarod. She hated how it always came down to him. First he was the focal point of their childhood. *Jarod* had meant more to her father than she had, he had meant more to Sydney and to everyone else for that matter. For the past six years she had hunted him; her life now depended on catching him. Somehow, Jarod had managed to worm his way into the center of her life as well.

Parker closed her eyes against the knowledge of what she had done--gon haring down the coast to take care of him lest Lyle catch up when he was sick and unable to run. Jarod. It still came down to him. The past few years, he'd pulled her, kicking and screaming, out of ignorance and showed her more of the ugliness that existed in the Centre than she cared to know of.

Jarod. One of the few people who still cared what happened to her. She had no doubts that if she were in serious danger that he'd come and get her. He was just that type of man; he didn't abandon his friends.

Parker sighed and carefully disentangled herself from him. Quietly, she slipped out of bed and started towards the door. "Parker?" the pretender's sleepy voice assaulted her ears.

"What?" she snapped, suddenly angry.

"Where y'goin'?"

"Away from you, ratboy! I'm sick of you being the be-all and end-all of everyone around you. Jarod, the special, Jarod the *wonderful*, Jarod the MARVELOUS!" she yelled. "Didn't you know that you were more important to Daddy than *I* was?"

Jarod sat up, now fully awake. "Riiight," he snorted. "I was only important as long as I produced *results*; as long as I made them *money*. You didn't have to come, Parker--nobody forced you. I can take care of *myself*! I've been doing it since I was four *freaking* years old, if that's the age I really was!"

"Oh, yes. Trot out that, again," Parker sneered. "*Saint* Jarod. The martyr. Poor baby, doesn't know who he is. The perfect one. Do you have *any* idea how it feels to be second best? To know that you're never going to be good enough?"

Jarod started to answer, but a violent fit of coughing overcame him, and sent him tumbling out of bed. Parker rushed to his side and winced as she saw the phlegm that he was bringing up. She pressed a tissue in his hand and rubbed his back soothingly. As soon as the coughing fit passed, she helped him back into bed. "I'm sorry, Jarod," she said quietly, sounding just like the little girl who had come seeking her best friend years ago in the bowels of the Centre.

"It's okay," he said hoarsely. "We've been fighting for so long that it's hard to remember what it was like when we got along. Come back to bed, Parker. I sleep better with you here."

Parker pushed him back against the pillows. "In a minute." She disappeared out the door, and reappeared a few minutes later with a mug. She walked over to his bedside and handed it to him. "Drink this," she ordered, then grabbed the bottle of Tylenol off the bedside table. As Jarod began to obediently sip from the mug, she shook out two pills and handed them over.

"And take these," she said, handing them over.

"Do I have to?" he asked petulantly.

"Yes--and take some cough syrup, too," she said sharply, reaching for the bottle of Nyquil.

Jarod glared at the pills, and the dose of medicine that she was pouring for him, then looked back up at her. "I'll make you a deal," he said, a slow smile creeping onto his face. "I'll take the medicine, if you come back to bed."

Parker rolled her eyes. "All right," she grumbled. "If it'll keep you quiet."

Jarod grinned, then finished the soup and took the medication. He set the mug on the nightstand and held his arms out to her. "C'mere," he said. "I need my teddy bear."

Parker groaned, and stopped herself from kicking his ass. He *was* sick, after all. She reminded herself that if he pissed her off too badly, she could always haul him back to the Centre… for a little while. Then, of course, she'd break him out. Lyle and Raines weren't allowed to hurt her Jarod. She crawled into bed an allowed him to give her a hug. No matter the circumstances, she'd always felt safe with Jarod, and now was no exception. She felt him press a kiss into her hair.

"Parker," he whispered. "Yesterday, you said that I'm yours--if that's true, then you're *mine*. Ownership goes both ways; and you're the only person who’s given a damn about me for me, and not just what I can do."

Parker didn't answer, she just reached up and ran a gentle hand through his hair, then down to rub his back. Slowly but surely, his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. She lay quietly, and allowed herself to revel in the feeling of safety. It had been a long time since she'd allowed him to hold her. Part of her insisted that she should be angry for his last statement, but it was true. Jarod owned a piece of her soul that nobody else was allowed to have, or even see.

It was Jarod who'd comforted her after her father's bouts of abuse. Jarod who'd kept her safe from her father's unwanted advances. Until she'd had to leave to protect him, Jarod had been the center of her world after her mother's death. It wasn't surprising that he'd been able to get past her protective shell, for in a way, he'd always been there. Even Tommy hadn't known her as well as he did.

For better or for worse, Jarod had been her best friend for the better part of thirty years. It was something that Parker doubted would ever change--and she wouldn't have it any other way.

*****

Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
SL 26 RM 210A

Morgan huddled in the corner of her bed and drew the blanket up around her to hide her tears. Gut-wrenching sobs overcame her as she cried for her hurts. Never before had anyone raised a hand to her, and she now had bruises, large and small, peppering her body. She began to shiver as she remembered the unholy glee on Mr. Lyle's face as he had cut her when she had started to cry.

'Momma' she cried out, wanting the comfort of the one person that she *knew* loved her.

'Baby, what happened? Who did this?'

'My new mentor, Mr. Lyle,' she answered dully. Morgan felt warm arms surround her, and she began to quiet.

'Shhh… Baby, it's okay.'

'What did I do, Momma?' she asked. 'Why did he hurt me?'

'You did *nothing* wrong, sweetheart. Mr. Lyle is an evil man who likes to hurt people. This is probably part of a twisted experiment, honey, just like your sister's abuse was.'

'This happened to Meagan, too?' Morgan asked.

'I'm afraid so, baby. Only the man she called her father was responsible, and it was much worse for her. After I died, I couldn't stop him anymore. I swear, if I had known what he would do, I would have talked your *real* father into helping *all* of us escape, and not trusted that *bastard*, Raines.'

'He's the man with that tank-thing, isn't he?'

'Yes, baby. He turned Mr. Lyle into what he is--and destroyed Timmy.'

'Who's Timmy?'

'You've met him, sweetheart. He goes by Angelo, now. Mr. Raines destroyed who he used to be--he broke Timmy's music.'

'Did Mr. Raines hurt my sister?'

'Not directly, Morgan. But he came up with the plan that allowed it to happen. They hurt her badly, baby. If it weren't for Jarod, they might have succeeded. She trusts him because he protected her.'

'Will he protect me, too?'

'Yes. He won't be able to help it. He'll send you to his family to keep you safe--and you'll meet a boy that they cloned from Jarod. I think that the two of you will be friends.'

Morgan yawned and laid down on her cot, exhausted by the recent events. 'That's good, Momma. I'd like a friend like Meagan has.' She smiled as she heard her mother begin to sing a lullaby to her. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep, despite the pain from her bruises and cuts.

Angelo pushed the grill away and slipped into the room. He stroked the girl's hair for a few minutes. "Little Sister, *Morgan*," he whispered. "Bad men won't hurt long. Jarod help, Parker help, Sydney help." He smiled crookedly, leaned down, and kissed the child's cheek.

"Angelo save Morgan. Bad men won't hurt Little Sister like hurt Timmy. Morgan won't be gone like Timmy." Angelo started as he heard a noise outside the cell. He scurried back to the vent and got inside. "Promise, Little Sister. No more Bad Men," he whispered before moving down the vent. He went to his favorite hidey-hole and pulled out several recent DSAs of Morgan. They were easy to recognize--they felt much like Miss Parker, only lighter. He stuck them in his computer and sent several files to Parker and Jarod before turning off the computer and sticking them in his pocket,

Angelo got back into the vents and made his way to Sydney's office. He dropped the DSAs onto Sydney's desk and went back to his pile of bedding. Happily, he hunkered down into the blankets and pulled some over him. "Momma proud?" he murmured.

'Of course I am, Angelo.'

"Good," he said with satisfaction. "Jarod and Parker save Morgan." Angelo smiled as he heard the familiar song from his invisible mother. She was happy that he was helping Morgan. He yawned. It felt good to help his friends, and it felt even better when Momma approved. He pulled his blankets tighter and reached for a box of cracker jacks. It wasn't long before he had fallen fast asleep, listening to his mother sing.