Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. Well, some of them are. But the important ones are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this . . . . Blah, blah, blah. You know the drill.


One Wish
By Nicky


Part I: Anything For You
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Miss Parker throws her keys carelessly on the table next to her front door. She had just spent another unsuccessfully long and frustrating day at the Centre trying to track down Jarod. It's been a month since her shooting. She had healed. Jarod had escaped. And she was back again trying to find him. But this time, there is a sense of urgency. She doesn't have time to play his mind games. She has to find him soon. Her time is running out.

Without bothering to turn on a light, she walks through the living room and towards the bedroom while kicking off her shoes, only looking up when she feels a warm breeze.

"Did I leave a window open?" she wonders to herself, looking around to see if that was the case. Her eyes focus on a tall, dark shadow with it's back to her standing in the open doorway of her patio. The figure seemed entranced at the view out of her back patio. So entranced that he doesn't seem to notice when the barrel of her gun is suddenly pressed into his back.

"Turn around slowly," she commands. "Unless you want to leave here with more holes than you came in with."

"Don't shoot," the figure whispers. He turns around and Miss Parker finds herself face to face with someone very familiar.

"Jarod! What are you doing here? In my home."

"You know this isn't the first time," he admits with a little smirk. "How else do you think I get those little gifts in here to you." He quickly wipes the little grin from his face when he sees that she is not amused. "Okay, here's the truth. I wanted to check on you. I've been talking to Sydney, and he says that you've been keeping some pretty late hours at the Centre. And, it's no fun calling your place late at night and chatting with your answering machine." He tries the smirk again, but gets the same frigid glare from Miss Parker as the last time.

"As long as you're out there, I have to look for you. And I'm going to keep looking until they have you back at the Centre where they want you."

"But you look really tired. Have you been taking care of yourself?" he asks with sincere concern.

"Listen, Jarod. I don't need for you to pretend to be my doctor, so just quit the act," she snaps.

"What do you want from me, then? I just want to help. We used to be friends. Remember?"

"What do I want from you? Are you serious? What do you think I want from you, Jarod? All I want is for you to be a good little boy and run on back to the Centre. That way, they'll have what they want and I could get what I want. My freedom."

Her words take him off his guard a bit. Her freedom. He never thought of it before, but she was just as much a prisoner of the Centre as he was.

"You feel trapped," he states. "You can't get out until I come back."

"Bingo! Give the genius a cookie."

"I never realized," he says. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever. I don't really feel like this outpouring of emotions right now. So I'm just going to call the sweeper team right now and save us both some time." She picks up the phone, not so much to have the sweepers come get him. She knew that he'd be gone before they got there anyway. But she wanted him out of her hair. She was too tired to deal with Jarod, her father, sweepers, or anything related to the Centre that night.

Placing her gun on the coffee table, she turns her back while placing the phone call, totally expecting him to slip out the back door while she wasn't looking. She'd just explain to the sweepers that he simply got away again. It's a story they're all too familiar with anyway. Jarod is about as slippery as they come.

But instead, after calling the sweepers, she turns back around to see that Jarod has taken a seat on the couch. He leans back calmly and she can feel his eyes go up and down her body. But not in a creepy, perverted kind of way. He appeared to be making a mental assessment of her physical condition.

"Come sit down," he says, holding out a hand to her. "You look like you can barely stand up anymore. “I’m fine," she bites back, slapping his hand out of the way. "What are you still doing here, anyway? I was sure you'd be gone by the time I got off the phone."

"Were you serious when you said that all you really want is for me to be back at the Centre so that you could be free?" He looks at her with the innocence of a child sincerely worried about a friend. "I mean, would you really leave if you had the chance?"

"In a second. I have to get out of there. As soon as I can. And you're my ticket."

"How much time do you have? I mean, before the baby is born?"

"What . . . How did you . . . Who told you?" she stutters. Nobody knew about the baby. How could Jarod? Her knees start to give out and she has to take him up on his offer to sit down.

"Nobody told me," he claims. "I just found out on my own. I told you tonight wasn't the first time I'd been in your house. The last time I was here, I accidentally knocked over a bottle of pills you had on your nightstand. When I picked them up, I saw what they were. Prenatal vitamins."

"Oh," she says quietly, almost in a whisper. He knew this much. She might as well tell him the rest. "I have just a few weeks before someone is bound to notice. Two months at the most. I found out after I woke up from my surgery. At the airstrip, Lyle, Raines, and Brigitte were so preoccupied with getting you back to the Centre, that they forgot about me. Dad, Sydney and Broots took me to the local hospital. The wound wasn't as bad as it seemed. I had just lost a lot of blood. But while I was in there, they ran a lot of tests and found out I was pregnant."

"They didn't tell your father about the baby?"

"No. Daddy wasn't around. Mr. 'Father of the Year' left to go to the Centre as soon as they took me into surgery. Sydney went with him to make sure you were okay. But, Broots was there and he made sure my records disappeared from the system. I was released a few days later and recuperated at home the rest of the time. Nobody else could have found out about the baby."

"And you want to get away from the Centre before they do find out," he concludes. "That's why you've been desperate and relentless lately in my pursuit. The life of your child depends on it."

"Listen, if you're going to leave, you need to do it now. Give me some time to make up a story for the sweepers when they get here. There's no way I can keep you here. We both know that. And I'm too tired tonight to even try," she says, standing up and rubbing her back. She sees Jarod pulls out a pair of handcuffs and opens the ends.

"Oh, yeah. I guess it would make it more believable that you got away if I was handcuffed. Here."

She thrusts her hands out to him, expecting to feel the cold metal clamp around her wrist. He grabs her right hand and pulls her back down on the sofa next to him. He loosely clamps one side of the handcuffs around her wrist, taking gentle care not to hurt her. And instead of completely binding her, she sees that he places the other side of the cuffs around his own wrist.

"Jarod, what are you doing?"

"Making your wish come true," he replies. "For you and you child to be free."




Part II: Finally Understand Why
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Could you repeat that?" Miss Parker asks incredulously.

"I'm granting your wish Miss Parker. Your baby deserves to be free. I know that there's no way you'd want your child to grow up in that place like we did. And I want to make sure that doesn't happen, either. And if that means I have to go back to the Centre, then that's what I'll do." He finishes securing the handcuffs, making sure they're not too tight on her wrist.

"Here. These are for you." He reaches into his pocket with his free hand and pulls out an envelope and gives it to her.

She looks through the contents and sees several false passports and identities. Numbers for anonymous bank accounts with plenty of money to last her for two lifetimes. Everything she needed for a new life.

"What's all this Jarod?"

"Miss Parker, for the past three years, I've devoted my time and efforts to helping people. People who were trapped or in trouble. For the past three years, I've neglected to realize that you were one of those people. I figured it was time to help you too. All this will help you get away from this place. You can be free and nobody will be able to find you."

"Why are you doing this?" she asks with tears flowing down her face.

"Because we used to be friends. And what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help the one person I cared the most about in this world?"

"This better not be a joke, Jarod. I can't take any more of your mind games," she sobs. She couldn't believe this. Why did he care about her? Why was he doing this? He gave up his freedom for her before. That month ago when she had been shot. He had his chance to get away. But instead, he stayed and tried to help her. And his thanks was a one way ticket back to the Centre. She had wanted to thank him personally, but never got the chance.

Right when she was about to go tell her father she was leaving the Centre for good, he escaped again. And she was trapped again. And once again, she blamed him for her situation. She became angrier and angrier at him with each passing day. That anger fueled her hunt for him. She had to find him so that she could get out. And not just for herself. But also for her unborn child.

"Do you see me laughing?" He places one hand gently under her chin and lifts her face up until they're staring into each other's eyes. Her tears make her eyes look like two miniature oceans of clear blue that he would love to drown in. They draw him in, closer and closer until his forehead touches her. His lips follow, brushing against hers in a slow and warm sweeping motion.

He pulls back momentarily, staring back into her eyes. His own eyes begin to tear up at the overwhelming feelings of love and desire racing around his heart at that instant. Seeing the same feelings mirrored in her eyes prompt him to capture her lips again with his own in a deep and searingly passionate kiss. They had a lifetime to make up. From their first, innocent kiss all those years ago, to this moment right here and now.

The slamming of car doors break their physical embrace, but not the emotional one. The sweepers rush in and loose the shackles binding Jarod and Miss Parker, but they can't undo the ties of their hearts. Miss Parker finally realizes what motivates Jarod. She finally understands why he does the things that he does. She opened her heart to him that night and saw that his was already opened to her. And it had been for a long time. All this time, he loved her. All this time on the run, he never was very far away. He had to stay close because he couldn't leave her. But he didn't have a choice anymore. He has to stay close now. Once again he's a prisoner of the Centre because once again he gave up his freedom for her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, Miss Parker walks into her office to find her chair already occupied by someone.

"Daddy," she says with some surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, Angel. We're proud of you, Sweetheart. I always knew you'd bring Jarod back."

"Did Jarod get settled in alright?" She asks, cringing slightly at the accolades being doled out for her part in imprisoning an innocent man. Suddenly, it sickened her that Jarod was back at that place. And she was about to be free from it.

"He's still in a cell. We weren't really prepared for him last night. But, today, we're going to get started on deprogramming him. Maybe even get back to some SIMs," her father says with a smile. "He'll probably be back in his permanent room by this evening."

"I want to see him," she says. "Right now if that's alright. Before anyone gets to him."

"But Angel . . ."

"Please, Daddy. I want to do this," she begs.

"How about you take a few days off. Clear your head a bit. Then when you get back, you can see him if you still want to."

"Daddy. I want to see him now. And if you still want me to, I'll take a few days off afterwards."

"Okay, you can see him," he relents. It's not what he really wanted, but it's better than nothing. He didn't want his little princess anywhere near Jarod. He would infect her mind and make her get noble thoughts like her mother. The last thing he wanted was for any harm to come to her. But, with her out of town for a few days, she should get him out of her system.

They leave her office and walk down to the sublevel containing the cell Jarod was being held in. When they get to the door, she turns and looks at her father as if to say she's going in alone. He tries to resist at first, but then gives in to his daughter once again.

She waits until he leaves before asking the guard to open the door. She had to hurry. She didn't have much time. She asked Broots to disable the cameras while she was in there. He wasn't able to take out the video, but the audio was disabled for a while. But not for long. Whatever she needed to say, she had to say it quickly.

Jarod hears the clicking of her heels walk across the floor of his dingy cell. The cell was tiny, so in a few small steps, she was right next to him. She sat down on the cot next to him, but didn't say anything. For a minute, they sat there next to each other before she finally had the nerve to look at him. When she did, he noticed tears in her eyes.

"I promised myself I wasn't going to cry," she says with a little laugh, trying to cover her sadness. But it was no use. The tears betrayed her and fell anyway. "Don't say anything. I need to get this out and I won't be able to if you interrupt me. And I don't have much time before the sound is back in those cameras." They both look up at the cameras while she pauses for a second. She takes a deep breath and continues.

"I came here to say thank you. Two words that I hardly ever utter, but I think you deserve them. Thank you for granting my wish and setting me free from this place. But it's more than just that. Thank you so much for everything. You've done more for me than I ever wanted to admit."

"Miss Parker, you don't . . . "

"Let me finish. As I was saying. You've done so much for me. Twice you sacrificed your happiness for my well being. The first time, you left me baffled and confused as to why you would do such a thing. But last night, I finally opened my eyes, and my heart, and saw the real reason. It's because you love me."

He looks away, not sure what to say.

"You don't have to say anything. I know it's true. But I saw something else last night. I looked into my own heart and saw that I love you too."

"You don't have to say this, Miss Parker."

"I do, Jarod. I have to let you know, because I know you. You won't be able to stay in here without wanting to die. And I don't want that to happen. You have to fight and get out of here. Otherwise, I won't be able to live with myself. Do it for me, Jarod. Do it for us. Get out of here and fight for us."

She raises her hand to stroke his face, but remembers the watchful eyes of the cameras.

"I want to touch you, too. To hold you right now, but I can't," he whispers. "I want to take you in my arms and show you how much I love you."

"You just did," she smiles. "I heard you say it. And I believe it. I'll keep it in my heart for as long as I have to."

They stare at each other for a minute longer, touching the only way they can. Silently reaching into each other's souls. Then, she gets up without saying a word, walking to the entrance of the cell in silence, crying silent tears the whole way.

"Thank you," he calls after her.

"Why are you thanking me, Jarod?" she asks through the tears she was trying to hide. "You're the one giving up everything for me. I have nothing to give in return."

"Oh, but you have given me something," he says with a sad smile. "You've given me your heart. And that's all I've ever wanted from you. You thanked me for granting your wish, and now I'm thanking you for granting my one wish - for you to love me as much as I love you."

"It looks like we both got our wish," she whispers.

"I guess we did," he whispers back, holding his head down as his own tears start to fall.

"Then how come we're both so miserable now?" She takes one last look at him before running out of the cell and down the hall. Not stopping until she reaches the outside, till she reaches her freedom.

He stares behind her, wanting so much to be able to run after her and kiss her once more. But he knows that isn't possible. He just has to settle for knowing that after all these years, she still cares. She still loves him. Her love is what will keep his heart free while the rest of him is locked away at the Centre. Her love will give him the will to do whatever is necessary to get out, so that one day, they could be together again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission.



One More Wish
By Nicky


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Miss Parker turns the key and opens the front door to her house. She knows it's going to be the last time and she starts to feel a little nostalgic. This house holds a lot of memories for her. Not all good, unfortunately. It'll be good to get away. To finally be free of the Centre. She never had the courage before. But she finally found strength. From Jarod. It was his selfless love that gave her the will to finally get out.

A tear threatens to escape, but she makes it stop. She was doing that a lot these days. Crying for no reason. The doctors warned her about her hormones causing unexplainable mood swings, but she didn't have time for that today. She had a lot of work to do and hardly any time to do it. Jarod worked hard to make sure she had a chance at freedom. She couldn't throw away the opportunity.

Miss Parker walks into her bedroom and to her closet, flinging the doors wide open. She pulls out a suitcase from the back and throws it on the bed. She looks at her wardrobe and starts to flip through it, wondering what to take. She couldn't take much. It had to look like she was just going on the short vacation her father was forcing her to go on.

She looks at all of the suits hanging in the closet. Those wouldn't do her any good on the run. Besides, she couldn't fit half of them anymore anyway. Her pregnancy wasn't evident to the rest of the world, but she could definitely tell the differences in her body. By the looks of things, she was leaving just in time. There was no way she'd be able to hide the steady growing bulge around her middle much longer.

She finally finishes choosing what to take and decides to pack a couple of smaller bags instead of one big suitcase, heeding another warning from her doctor not to lift heavy objects. She holds on to her stomach and smiles at the very thought. She can't believe how much her doctors words echo in her head. She'd never been one to follow the rules. She figured as long as she was still surviving, she was fine doing things her own way. But things were different now. She had another person to think about. One that she was destined to love and care for. One that she'd do anything to keep safe. She had to follow the rules.

Miss Parker walks back over to the closet and feels around for some of her smaller bags. But her hand brushes up a hard, square object. It was probably just another shoe box, but she wasn't really sure. She pulls it out to check what was inside.

She opens the box and her hands start to shake. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about this box. It was a box of Thomas' things. After his death, she ended up with a box of his stuff. She didn't know what to do with it, so she shoved it in the back of her closet, hoping to have the strength some day to deal with it's contents.

She leans against the wall and slides down to the floor. The tears start to burn her eyes again, but this time she lets them fall. She always allowed herself to grieve for him. It was as if the grieving would make up for not loving him enough.

She cries for a few more minutes before she starts to look through the box. There were a few pictures of the two of them. And a book of poetry that he liked to read to her. But towards the bottom, she found a plain envelope with her name scribbled across the front. She puts the rest of the stuff down and opens the envelope. Inside is a letter that Thomas had written to her a couple of weeks before he was killed. She reads it slowly:

My Dearest Parker,

I don't really know why I'm writing this when I can just as easily say it to your face. But maybe it's just not something I can say to you right now. Maybe one day. But not now.

We came close to losing it all. And I don't even know why. I love you so much and I thought that you loved me. But you're a hard one to read, Parker. One minute I think I can understand you, and the next you're a puzzle that I can't even begin to piece together. But I think I know how to figure you out now.

I met a friend of yours the other day. I was out of town working on that emergency job a few weeks ago and I wandered into a bar one night. We had just had a fight about something and I was pretty upset. I usually don't open up to strangers, but for some reason, the bartender that night seemed trustworthy. I started talking about you and he just listened. It seemed like I was working so hard at this relationship with no results. I was ready to cut my losses and just give up when this bartender convinced me not to. Coincidentally, this bartender knew you. Jarod was his name, I think.

Jarod told me that I should hang in there a little longer. He told me that you sometimes had a hard time showing that you cared, but that it didn't mean you didn't care. He told me about how the two of you grew up and how you were the best friend he ever had. I could tell that you two meant a lot to each other. He seemed to know so much about you and how you ticked. And I admit that I was jealous. This man knew you. I mean, he really knew you. He knew things about you that I couldn't ever begin to know. And I have a feeling that he even knew the highly guarded secret of your first name. I was jealous that you had this intense connection with another person and couldn't allow yourself to open up to me.

But then he let me know how to reach you. He gave me hope that there was a chance for us. And the more he talked, the more I began to feel sorry for him. Because it was obvious to me that he loved you very much. But for some reason, you two weren't together. I was the one who was lucky enough to have you in my life. I don't know how he makes it through each day because it would kill me to love you and not be able to be with you. So for that, I'm going to try a little harder. We can make this work. I'm not giving up on you.

Love always,

Thomas

"Oh, Thomas," she says out loud. "You said it would kill you not to be with me. How ironic is it that being with me is what ended up killing you." She sighs and then puts the letter back in the envelope. She carefully places it back at the bottom of the box and then slides the box back in the corner of the closet.

He knew. Thomas knew about Jarod. He knew that Jarod loved her. That he always loved her. When she didn't realize it herself, or couldn't acknowledge it. But Thomas knew. And somehow, that makes leaving much easier for her. She tried to love Thomas but she knows now that it never would have worked out. She knows now that Jarod is in her heart. He always has been and he always will be.

But she'll never regret her time with Thomas. He left her with a lot. He left her with the knowledge that she wasn't a cold hearted Ice Queen. He showed her that she could open up her heart and let someone in. But most of all, he left her with the most important part of himself. Through their child, the best part of Thomas will live on forever. But it was time to move on. It was time to let go.

Miss Parker gets her things and walks to the door. She takes one last look around her house. She would miss it, but she knows she has better things in store for her. Thanks to Thomas, she finally has a family that she can belong to. And thanks to Jarod, she finally has a life that she'll get to lead. Most people are lucky if they can find one person to love them. Miss Parker was blessed with two such people. One of them died trying to love her. She just prays that the other will be able to get out in time. She knows that Jarod won't be able to stand it in the Centre for very long. But all she can do is hope that he too won't become a casualty of her love.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The hot July sun beats down on the interior car as Miss Parker continues to navigate the highways. She's been traveling for 4 days now, carefully following each instruction Jarod gave her. She's been to 14 different cities these past few days and is starting to feel restless. She's ready to settle in the final destination. She's ready to start her new life. And hopefully she'll be in a place Jarod will be able to find her when he's able to win his own freedom back.

The sweat pours down Miss Parker's back as the relentless sun bakes the inside of the car. The air conditioner is on full blast, but it seems to have stopped blowing cool air several hours ago. She decides to pull over at the next gas station for a little break.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," the store clerk greets her. "What can I do for you today?"

"Could you fill the tank on pump number 4? I'm not feeling well and the gas fumes were starting to make me a bit light headed," she responds. Her shirt clings to her sweaty body, revealing the protrusion from her stomach. The clerk notices she's pregnant and feels the need to help her.

"Sure thing, Ma'am," he says with a smile. He had to agree. She didn't look too well. And he'd hate for his wife to be pregnant and stranded out in the middle of nowhere. "We got plenty of cold drinks back there. Why don't you grab one. It might help cool you off a bit," he says just before walking out to fill the tank of her car.

Miss Parker walks towards to drinks and starts to feel a little dizzy. She grabs onto the nearest rack to steady herself. The steadiness lasts for only a moment before the whole store starts to spin around. As if in slow motion, she feels her body fall. The cool surface of the floor against her face is the last thing she feels before the whole world is lost to darkness.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


A sudden shattering of glass wakes Miss Parker from her slumber. She sits up with a jolt and blinks away the haziness from her eyes. She looks around at the unfamiliar surroundings, spying a form in the corner of the room trying to sweep up the broken object.

"I'm sorry, Miss Parker. I didn't mean to wake you," the young boy responds.

"It's you," she mutters, staring at the boy with her mouth wide open. "You're Jarod's clone."

"You can call me Rod," he says. "I'm sorry about the glass. Dad said I should be quiet because you needed rest."

"Major Charles is here too?" Of course he is, she thinks to herself. Why would the clone be here alone. "How long have I been here?"

"Just a day," a deeper voice answers. Miss Parker looks and sees Jarod's father standing in the doorway. "We found you passed out in Dawson's shop a couple miles up the road. I brought you here."

"Thank you," she whispers. "I don't really know what happened. It was so hot. I guess I just collapsed."

"From the looks of things, you've been traveling awhile. Still looking for my son?" The major glares at her momentarily, almost as if she were the enemy.

"Not really looking for him. It's more like I'm waiting for him." Miss Parker looks away as tears start to fill her eyes. She couldn't believe how much she missed him already.

"I'm sorry," the major starts. "It's just the last time we all were together, you wanted nothing more than to take my son back to that prison."

"That's where he is right now. It's funny, but I used to wish for nothing else but for him to be back at the Centre. That way, I could be free to leave. Jarod decided to sacrifice his own freedom so that I can have mine. I think now if I had another wish, it would be for him to be here. With me. Away from that awful place."

"Why the change in your attitude, Miss Parker?"

"It was more a change of my heart, Major Charles. I finally opened my eyes to what was going on in front of me. I don't know if it was that chat that you and I had in your cell that day at the Centre that convinced me of the inherent goodness of you and your sons. Or maybe it was when I got shot and Jarod gave up his freedom and his family for me. Or this last time he allowed himself to be captured so that I could be free of that place. I'm not sure when or how it all happened. But sometime between two lonely kids sharing an innocent kiss and this moment now, I fell in love with your son. And I love him with all my heart."

"Don't cry, Miss Parker." The clone puts his arm around her, and it's strangely comforting to her. It takes her back to a time when she was younger and her Jarod used to comfort her in the evil halls of the Centre. "I'm sure everything will work out."

"Thank you, Rod. And thank you, Major Charles. I know neither of you have a reason to trust me. But I'm so tired of not having anyone. I'm just so tired." Her heavy eyes start to close again. Pretty soon she succumbs to her exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep.

"Just rest, Miss Parker." Major Charles pulls the blanket up to her chin, tucking her into the bed. He looks at her peaceful face and can see the innocent child he once tried to rescue from the Centre. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you out back then. But I'm going to do what I can for you now. That's a promise," he whispers to the sleeping Miss Parker.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Miss Parker spends the rest of the week with Major Charles and the boy, resting and getting to know the men. But the time comes when she must continue her journey. She's been gone for almost two weeks, and pretty soon her father would start to wonder where she was. She only had a few more days to get to safety. She hated leaving the Major and Rod, but she had to keep moving.

"You better get moving," the Major says as he finishes packing up her car. He hated to see her go as much as she hated leaving, but they had no choice. Jarod had a plan for her that she had to follow in order for her to be safely out of the Centre's clutches. "You take care of yourself. And this little guy too," he says, rubbing her stomach.

"Thank you," she says, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a tight squeeze. In the week that she'd been there, the Major has been more of a father to her than she'd ever known Mr. Parker to be. "I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here for me. I'm not used to that."

"Well you should get used to it. You're family now," the Major says with a smile. "We're going to be here for you from now on."

She finally leaves the warm and caring hugs of her new found family and gets into her car. She heads back down the road to finish her journey. She looks back in the rear view mirror and smiles through the few happy tears that are streaming down face. This unexpected stop has turned into a new source of joy and has given her the much needed strength to believe in the happy ending that will be waiting for her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"This is it," Miss Parker says. "This end of the journey."

She steps out of her cab in front of her hotel and pays the driver with what's left of her American money. She had just arrived in Italy two hours before and hadn't had a chance to get the currency exchanged. She looks up and down the street, getting used to her new surroundings. This was going to be it for a while. Her part of the journey was over. She just had to wait and pray that Jarod would make it out alive and be able to find her.

Miss Parker strolls through the front door of the hotel, looking around momentarily until she finds the front desk. She walks over and rings the bell. She only has to wait a second or two before the front desk clerk returns from the back room.

"Hi, I need a room," she says with a coy smile. She's found that it never hurts to flirt a little when she needed a favor.

"I'm sorry, Miss. But we're booked this weekend. What's your name? I can check to see if you have a reservation."

"Rogers," she replies after a short pause. It took her a minute to remember the fake name Jarod had set up for her. She'd used so many so far that it was hard to keep them straight. "The name is Schuyler Rogers."

"Ah, Mrs. Rogers," the clerk says after a few keystrokes to the computer. "I have a room registered to a Trent and Schuyler Rogers. Will your husband be joining you as well?"

"What?" She's taking off guard slightly. "Oh, my husband. No, he won't be joining me today. Maybe later." Hopefully later, she thinks to herself, letting out a wishful sigh.

The clerk finishes with the registration and gives her the keys to her room, the penthouse suite. She thanks him politely and heads upstairs. The penthouse. Finally Jarod sticks her somewhere that's suited to her tastes. All those years of chasing him and ending up in the run down, flea bag motels has finally paid off. He finally gave her a place with some class. She takes a quick tour of the suite when her stomach starts to growl.

"Okay, Junior," she says looking down at her stomach with a smile. "I'm going to feed you. Don't worry." She gives up on the tour inside and decides to take a little tour outside in search of some lunch.

After her lunch, she finds herself wandering down the streets of the city, taking in all the sights and trying to blend in with the rest of the people. It was truly a beautifully historic city and she was glad she brought along her camera.

She sees a couple of kids playing in a fountain and can't resist taking a picture of them. Something about the kids reminded her of the freedom and happiness she and Jarod shared as children. The happiness she wished everyday she could find again.

"Excuse me, you're in my shot," she says to a stranger standing in her way. "I'll just be a second."

"I'm sorry," he replies as he turns to face her. "Is this better?"

Miss Parker's mouth drops open. Standing before her is someone she thought she'd never see again. Someone who's once again making all of her hopes and dreams come true.

"Trent Rogers, I presume," she says with a little grin. "Nice name. Where did it come from? A bad romance novel?"

"I like it," he answers. "Besides, I couldn't use 'Jarod' anymore, now could I? Too many people would be looking for me. Looking for us." He leans over and kisses her gently on the lips.

She responds by throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him close to her. Something she's been waiting too long to do. She didn't want to waste another minute.

"Is this really it? Are we really free?" She's can hardly get the words out through her tears. She couldn't believe it. She was finally at the end of her journey. Finally in the arms of her love.

"I'm here. Always and forever if that's what you want."

"Of course it's what I want." She pulls his head down to meet hers in a deep kiss. "You and me. Always and forever."

"Good," he says with a huge smile. "It's all I want, too. It's all I've ever wanted. The only thing I've ever wished for." He stares into her eyes, easily willing to get lost in them. "Come on, let's walk. I've got to tell you the rest of the plan." He grabs her hand and their fingers twine together, locking their hands in an unbreakable embrace. Sealing their love with an unbreakable bond.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, are you ever going to tell me how you escaped? It couldn't have been easy for you. I can still see the bruises and scars on your face and around your wrists. What did they do to you?" She looks up at him with concern. He looked like he had been through a battle. But one that he had won. Because here he was. Walking next to her. Holding her hand so tight she could hardly stand it, yet she didn't want him to let it go.

"It wasn't easy," he whispers. "I can't get into right now. I may not ever be able to tell you all that I went through. But I can tell you this one thing. I can tell you that I'd go through it all again if I had to. I'd do anything for you. And I'd do anything to be with you."

"Jarod, you're going to make me cry," she says with a playful little shove.

"One more thing," he adds. "I have to be Trent. And you have to be Schuyler. It's too dangerous for us to be Jarod and Miss Parker anymore. Even when we're alone. I don't want to risk anything happening to you. Or this baby." He releases her hand and puts his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. He puts his other and on her stomach and rubs it gently and protectively.

"This is how it's going to be? Trent and Schuyler Rogers? Are we legally married then?"

"That's what people are going to think," he replies. "Does that bother you?"

"I don't know. I'm not really sure. It doesn't bother me. It's just something I have to think about, that's all. So, everyone we meet is going to think we're married. And when we start to make friends, they're going to want to know our life story. What do we tell them?"

"We tell them the truth. That we were childhood sweethearts who were separated for awhile, but were able to find each other again."

"That's a good start," she admits. "So, where did we grow up?"

"A small town in Delaware. I went to this boarding school there and hated it. One day, the head master's daughter strolled past my classroom and caught my eye. She was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. It was love at first site."

"That's so sweet, Jarod. I mean Trent. I never knew that," she says. "Unfortunately it took me a little while longer to realize that I loved you. A couple of years longer," she says with a little laugh.

"So what are you going to tell people when they ask how you fell in love with me?" He wonders.

"I guess I can start where you left off," she starts. "So, I'm guessing I'm the headmaster's daughter who stole your heart. Or at least I better be," she says with mock anger, making them both laugh. "So, we were at this school. And we used to hang out a lot, right? Sneaking around and getting into trouble. For a few years, you were just my friend. But you were the best friend I ever had. I don't think Daddy liked our friendship very much, though. He kept on threatening to send me away if I didn't stay away from you. But I refused to obey him. He couldn't keep me away."

"But one day, things changed. You changed and I changed. We both were getting a little older. And I started to notice the way you looked at me. As if I were the most amazing thing to you. You made me feel so special. My stomach started to flutter whenever I saw you and my palms would sweat. But I also knew that if I noticed those things, then Daddy did as well. I knew that our days together were growing short. And you did too, didn't you?" She doesn't really expect an answer from him. She knows it's true.

"And then, the day I dreaded most arrived. Daddy finally followed through with his threats and sent me away. I was crushed. But somehow, you knew. You knew that I was leaving. That last night we were together, you knew."

"I knew," he admits. "Your father came into my room and told me I was ruining your life. He said that you were leaving and couldn't wait to get away from me. But I didn't believe him. I knew it couldn't be true. But I had to see you to make sure it wasn't true. And since it was our last night together, I wanted to make it
special for you."

"It was special. And something I've never forgotten. It started out like any other day for us. But you were really quiet. I didn't know why, but I didn't push you. Sometimes after your SIMs you got like that and just needed a little time. We walked around for a little while before you took me into one of the abandoned rooms on one of the empty sublevels. I had gotten to know you so well by then. Probably better than you knew yourself. But you did something that night that completely shocked me. You kissed me. A pure and sweet kiss at first. But when I looked in your eyes, I saw longing and desire clouding them. And I felt longing and desire in my heart. I wasn't afraid of what was about to happen. Instead, it seemed perfect that we'd share first love."

"But then, you surprised me again. You didn't try to make love to me. You fell into my arms. And you started to cry." She looks up at him and sees that tears are starting to form in his eyes. She reaches up and gently places her hand on his cheek, wiping away the tears as they fell.

"You just held me," he whispers. "For hours I cried. But you just held me. And cried along with me. I wanted to be with you. I knew you were going away and I wanted a special night that we'd both remember forever. I wanted to spend the whole night making love to you."

"Jarod, what we shared that night went way beyond love, if that's even possible. Sometimes a spiritual love can go deeper than a physical connection. And that night we were connected in a way that transcended any other force that acted on our lives. We were bonded for eternity."

They stare at each other for awhile, lost in the memories of their past before they come back to themselves and realize that they've stopped in the middle of the street.

"So, after being traumatically ripped from each other, how is it that we've come to be Mr. and Mrs.Rogers?" she asks, wiping a few tears from her cheeks.

"I guess this is the part that we'll have to improvise on. How does this sound?" He pauses for a second and looks around, suddenly getting a huge smile on his face. "We were on a vacation. In a foreign and romantic land. We were out for a walk one day, and happened upon a small church. Much like this one," he says, stopping again in the middle of the street.

Miss Parker looks up and sees that they're standing across from a quaint little church. With stained glass window and the doors open to let in the breeze. She sees several old women exit the front of the church, still carrying their rosaries. She looks back at Jarod and sees that mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Come on," he says. "Let's go in."

The get inside the church and Miss Parker is overwhelmed by it's beauty and historic charm. It's so peaceful and quiet that she can almost hear the angels singing from Above.

"So what happened after we found the church," she asks.

"Well, at that moment, we looked around and discovered we were standing in the middle of what seemed like Heaven. And it didn't seem right to walk out of there without making things with us as God had intended. I looked at you and got down on one knee." He takes her hand and lowers his body down to the ground, holding himself up on one knee.

"Jarod! What are you doing?" Her eyes pop wide open and she stares at him in shock and disbelief.

"I'm making the rest of our story true," he replies with 'that' smile. The smile that could always break her resolve and melt her heart in one second flat. It was a smile that she tried to resist for the past three years, but realized now that she didn't want to resist it anymore. She wanted to give in to him. She wanted to give him her all.

"So, what do you say? Will you become my wife? I mean, for real. Not just something that's on paper attached to the new identities we've made for ourselves?"

"Right here, Jarod? Right now?"

"Yes. Right here and right now. These papers in my pocket say that you are Schuyler Rogers. The wife of Trent Rogers. But I want you to say it. I want you to profess it right here and have it blessed and ordained in this church. I've loved you for as long as I've known you. And I want to love you for the rest of eternity."

"I do," she whispers. "I mean, I do too. That's what I want. To be your wife. And to be with you forever. If you're willing to take me. And this child."

"We can be a family. The three of us," he says, holding on to her stomach. "I love you both so much. So let's go get married!"

"We have to find the priest. And what about our vows on such short notice?" she asks.

"I think you two have covered that already," a strange voice says from the front of the church. They both look up and sees the priest smiling down at both of them. "I don't mean to intrude on your moment, but it seems to me that the two of you have said more than enough. It's clear that you love each other very much. I'd be proud and honored to bless this union." He smiles again and looks to Jarod. "So , I guess all that's left is for you to . . ."

"I think I know this part, Father," Jarod says with a smile. "All that's left is for me to kiss my bride."

Trent Rogers looks down at his new wife. Although they were married in the eyes of the law, they were now joined by the laws of God. He leans down and captures her lips in a kiss. A kiss to leave behind the old life and help them step into their new life. No longer did Jarod and Miss Parker exist. They walked out of that church as Trent and Schuyler. Two broken souls finally reunited and made whole.

THE END.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~