Disclaimer: All Pretender related ideas and characters are the property of NBC’s not mine. As much as I wanted them to, the Pretender characters, such as Miss Parker, Jarod and Sydney, do not belong to me. –Sorry-
Author’s note: Okay, I usually write only 2 part stories, sothis is my first shot at a real ‘series’. I am going to try my best at it, so here it goes. (My biggest problem is finishing the stories, so keep your fingers crossed.)




What’s Left

By AngelWings






Jarod smiled at the woman behind the counter. “If it isn’t
‘Handsome Baby Brown’,” the elderly woman said with a
sweet, kind smile.

“Hello Mrs. Jones,” Jarod said politely, as he slid into
one of the stools.

“Let me guess… coffee, decaffeinated, cream and a
donut… glazed donut!” she said with a cheerful tone,
happy she remembered the order.

Jarod let out a gentle chuckle. “On the nose.”

The woman let the proud smile yank at her mouth as she
quickly poured the coffee, grabbed the donut from the
shelf and grabbed a couple of cream cups from
underneath the counter. Placing the items in front of
Jarod, she leaned her elbows on the counter and smiled
at him.

“How are you Baby Brown?” Jones asked.

He smiled at her, as he opened one of the small cream
cups. “I’m perfect,” Jarod replied.

‘Baby Brown’, that was what Mrs. Jones called him since
the day she saw him because she claims he has the
eyes of a child; bright and brown. He doesn’t mind her
calling him that. He feels cared about when she says that
to him. If he didn’t know any better, he would say she was
his mother. He only hoped she loved him
back the same way.

“Perfect? Well that’s great! So… you want to come over
tonight and keep an old lady company?” she asked with
innocent eyes.

He looked up from his coffee and lifted an eyebrow,
before smiling. During his pretend, he had gone to Mrs.
Jones’ house and asked her questions about her
grandson who had died mysteriously. Somehow, Jarod
had stayed for almost three hours talking to the nice
woman about things off the topic of the whole reason he
had gone there. Jarod, finding Jones to be good
company, had gone back to her house, after he had
promised her, to hear more stories about her and to
actually tell stories about himself, the ones he could at
least, and promised her he would come back again.
They had grown close over the couple weeks and Jarod
almost found himself calling her mom.

“Well, how about it?” she asked. Jarod stared at her with
a smile on his lips.

“Of course I would,” he replied, his eyes sparkling with
happiness.

“Great! Eight, okay?” she asked.

“Okay,” he replied.



Jarod, his head in her lap, lay on the couch and hung on
every word she said. Her fingers lightly stroked his hair
back from his brow as she told him about her dead
husband. She described him in such detail that Jarod
could see him: his face, his smile. Jarod felt completely
at peace with Jones. She had that affect on him. Jarod
didn't usually get close to the people in his pretends, but
she was different. She would just chase every worry
away.

Jarod felt her fingers still on his temple before she asked
quietly.

“Why aren’t you married, Baby Brown?”

Jarod slowly sat up from her lap and looked at her gently.

“It’s complicated,” he said simply, pulling his legs up and
sitting Indian-style on the couch beside her.

“Complicated? Is that the best you can do?” she asked,
scooting closer to him. “You are sweet, handsome, well
dressed, good money, good sense of humor, well
mannered, nice car… what else would a lady want? I
mean, you must have them lined up right?”

Jarod smiled and shook his head as he fiddled with a
string on the blanket that laid half on his lap, half on the
couch. “Yeah right,” he said softly.

“There is something else isn’t there?” she asked, getting
a brief glance from Jarod. “What is it Baby Brown? You
can tell old lady Barbara!” Jones said, wrapping her arm
around Jarod’s shoulders. He smiled and looked at her
with gentle eyes.

“I’m… not normal,” he answered, the smile softening.

“Honey, no ones normal these days,” she answered,
squeezing a little on his shoulders.

Jarod shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. I-“

“You’re gay?” Jones finished for him.

“No!” Jarod snapped. Jones let out a chuckle before
muttering an apology under her breath. Jarod gave her
an accusing smile before he went on. “I was… involved
with these people. I’ve been called a freak numerous
times… and I-“

“What people?” Barb asked with worry, her eyes
questioning.

Jarod stared at her for a long moment. He had gone too
far. He should have never even said what he said, but…
he trusted her.

“You wouldn’t understand if I explained it to you,” Jarod
said.

“Try me,” Jones replied.

Jarod briefly closed his eyes. “I was… stolen from my
parents when I was very young by these people… called
the Centre. They took me in and with my genius abilities,
trained me into a-“ Jarod paused and stared at Barb.
The sirens in his head were telling him to bail out, don’t
tell her! “Into a Pretender.”

“A what?” Barb asked.

“A Pretender. A genius that can become anyone they
want to be. Barb, I’m a Pretender.”

Jones stared at him for a long moment, her face blank,
her eyes searching for the truth. Jarod stared back, his
eyes glittering in hope that she’d understand. His heart
skipped a beat as the gentle smile yanked at the corners
of her mouth.

“I knew you were smarter than the average bear,” she
said with a soft chuckle. Jarod returned the soft smile
and leaned his head on her shoulder. After a moment of
silence, she spoke again. “You were stolen from your
parents?” Jarod lifted his head level to hers again and
nodded sadly.

Jones gave him a look of sad eyes. “You poor baby,” she
said sadly, placing a kiss on his forehead. “If these
people got you? Why are you here now?”

“I escaped. After finding out they were using my abilities
to hurt and kill people, I ran away.”

“Kill people?” Barb asked with surprise. Jarod nodded
slowly. Jones inhaled sharply. “Did you find your
parents?”

Jarod sadly looked to his lap. “No… I can’t find them…”

Jones pulled Jarod into a hug and kissed the top of his
head. “I’ll be here as long as you need me, Baby Brown.
As long as you need me.”

Jarod smiled, and was thanking whatever power there
was that brought Jarod to Jones. She was the protector
of his nightmares and creator of his dreams.

“Let’s get off the subject of the evil past, okay?” Jones
said with a wink, releasing him from her embrace. Jarod
nodded. “So… is there anyone special in your
life? Any little lady with eyes of stars from the sky or
something?”

Jarod smiled. “I thought we were getting off that subject?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she kind of leads back to the ‘evil past’.”

“Oh… how is that?”

Jarod stared at her and then shook his head. “Never
mind.”

“Honey, you need someone to love.”

Jarod snapped his eyes to her face. “Why? I’ve got along
fine without it my whole life…” he said sadly.

“If you don’t have love and trust in your life, then what’s
left?”



“Mom?” she called, opening the door and setting her
black bag on the floor. “Mom, you home?” she called.

“Bliss, shh!” Barb hushed her quickly, walking into the
room with her finger to her lips. Bliss cocked her head to
the side in confusion. She watched as her mother
motioned with her head towards the couch.

There lying on the couch, was a man, looking around her
age, sleeping. Bliss shot her mother a questioning look
and tiptoed over to the sleeping form on the couch.

“Who is he?” Bliss whispered to her mom who came
walking up behind her with a smile, watching Jarod
sleep.

“He’s a friend of mine. He was here last night and had
fallen asleep. I let him stay the night since I didn’t want to
wake him and-”

“And you wanted me to meet him,” Bliss stated, staring
into her mother. Barbara smiled at her daughter. “Oh,
mom! I hate it when you set me up with guys I don’t
know!”

“Oh, but honey. This one is way different then the others.
Look at him. He is good looking, no?”

Bliss stared at the handsome man on the couch. He
looked so peaceful.

“I’ll admit, he is rather cute… but he is probably stuck on
himself and-”

“Oh no. Jarod is sweet, funny and fun to be around.”

“Jarod?” Bliss asked, liking the name. Her mother
ignored her.

“He is also compassionate. Hey, he has to be
compassionate if he is here with me, right? No man
would ever hang around a weird old bag like
myself!”

Bliss smiled. “Oh, mom.”

“Come into the kitchen. I’ll make us some coffee. When
he wakes up, I’ll introduce you two.”



Jarod slowly opened his eyes and let them focus on the
strange room. He jolted upwards and tried to remember
where he was. He let out a sigh of relief, followed by a
moan when remembering the location. He must have
fallen asleep last night during one of Barb’s stories. He
swung his long legs off the small couch and sat up
completely.

“Ah, you’re awake,” he heard Barb’s friendly voice sing
as she entered the living room. Jarod smiled up at her.
Bliss followed behind her mother, but stopped at the
doorway so he wouldn’t notice her just yet.

“Sorry, Barb. I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that. You
should have woke me."

“Oh nonsense, Baby Brown. I enjoyed having you here.
You looked so peaceful; I couldn’t bare to wake you. The
way you fell into a dreamless sleep seemed to me that
you don’t sleep often.”

Jarod bit his lower lip. I don’t sleep often, he
wanted to say, but something caught his eye. He
snapped his attention to the woman in the doorway of the
kitchen. She was beautiful: long, brown hair to her
shoulders, blue eyes and a beautiful smile. She just
stared at him with that smile.

“Oh, Baby Brown, this is my daughter Bliss,” Barb said.
Jarod still stared at her and returned the smile.

“Hello,” he said softly.

“Hi,” Bliss replied as her smile widened. Barb smiled as
well at the progress they were showing. Bliss stared at
the man who still sat on the couch. The sparkle of
curiosity in his gorgeous glare took her breath away.
When he was sleeping, his eyes were closed, but with
him awake, his eyes completely brightened up his whole
face.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Barb said quietly, scurrying out
of the room before protest.

Bliss slowly walked over to the chair from across the
couch and sat down. “So… Jarod, what’s your last
name?”

Jarod’s smile lowered a notch. “Weiss.”

“Jarod Weiss. I like it.”

“Bliss Jones…? Or are you married?”

“No!” she snapped, too quickly. She swallowed, quickly
recovering. “I mean, I am available.”

Jarod’s smile went to ear to ear as he watched her
blush. He has never seen some thing so beautiful in his
life.

“Bliss, it means total happiness?” Jarod asked, more of
a statement, then a question.

“Yeah. Silly name, huh?”

“No, of course not! I think it is beautiful.”

“Thank you, Jarod.”

“You’re welcome, Bliss.”

“Do you two want anything to eat or drink?” Barb
suddenly asked, breaking the silence. They both
snapped their attention to her.

“Mom,” Bliss snapped, giving her a look of warning.

“Gee, I should really get going,” Jarod said, looking at his
watch and getting up from the couch.

“No, please stay Baby Brown,” Barbara pleaded with
him.

“Oh,” Jarod moaned in protest. “I would love to stay Barb,
you know that. But, certain people will be asking
for me. Can’t have them finding out where I am now do
I?” Jarod said with a smile, but in his eyes he pleaded
with Barb. She understood what he was talking about
and quickly nodded. He got up from the couch and
walked over to Barb, hugging her and whispered in her
ear, “My past in our secret.”

“Your past is safe with me, Baby Brown,” she whispered
back before he released her from the embrace. “You
take care now, you hear?”

Jarod smiled at her before walking to the front door. He
turned around and smiled at Bliss. “It was really nice
meeting you, Bliss.”

“You too, Jarod Weiss.”

He gave her a final wink and opened the door, and
exiting from their view. Bliss let out a long sigh and Barb
caught it.

“Well now, what do you think of that piece of work, huh?
Isn’t he the cutest little thing you have ever-“

“Mom! How long have you known him?” she spat out at
her angrily. Barb took a step back in surprise.

“Ah… almost two weeks now.”

“And you never told me about him?” she shouted, the
smile soon following. Barb smiled in return.




Jarod prayed that Parker and her gang wouldn’t show up
at Barb’s doorstep and parade through her house. That’s
the last place he would want them to be, scaring her and
her daughter. Jarod briefly closed his eyes before
quickly returning them back to the road.

Now, to get out of this state. He had to get far away and
cover up his trails good. He turned off the main road and
onto a dirt road called Craig. He surveyed the
surroundings and admired the beautiful green of the
leaves on the trees blowing in the wind, to the soft clouds
gliding in a sky of blue. He smiled faintly to himself as he
stopped at a stop sign.

Turning to the right he could see a ditch up ahead that
had a bridge going over it. As he reached a couple feet
from the bridge, a red dodge skidded wildly out of a road
across the bridge and sped Jarod’s way. Jarod, sensing
something was wrong with the driver slowed down a bit,
but it was too late. The drunk driver slammed into the left
front side of Jarod’s car and through it through the rail of
the bridge.

The small blue car was no match for the truck, and it
rolled down the ditch helplessly, coming to rest on its
hood, glass surrounding the demolished vehicle. The
dodge was stopped on top of the bridge, and the
passenger side door opened, revealing a screaming
young girl.

“You stupid asshole! You hit him!” she screamed, running
to the side of the bridge and looking down at the car.
Soon, the driver’s door opened, and out wobbled a
teenage boy.

“He was in my way!” he slurped, walking up behind the
girl and wrapping his arms around her waist. “Let’s go
back to my place, sweet cheeks.”

“No!” she screamed, hitting him away. “We can’t leave
that guy down there like that!”

“Fine!” he shouted angrily, a hick-up following. “You can
stay here and be a hero, while I go back to my place and
get more to drink.”

“You drunken son-of-a-“

“Fair well my dear… bimbo!” he shouted at her. He
scrambled back into his huge truck and drove off with a
skid.

The girl watched after the speeding truck and then turned
back to the car below. She made her way to the end of
the bridge and began to follow a path that led to the
bottom. As she reached near the bottom she began to
scream, “Hello? You okay? Sir? Can you hear me, sir?”
She reached the car and saw that its hood was
completely crashed down, leaving no room for anyone to
be sitting up.

“Shit,” she whispered in astonishment. She got down on
her knees and peeked through a small slit between the
car door and the ground. She couldn’t see anything; it
was too dark in there, do to the dark shadows the trees
provided over the large ditch.

“Oh god,” she whispered. “Hello?” she said louder.
“Hello, are you in there? Are you okay? Hello?” Nothing,
not a single sound. “God damn it.”

Gathering her courage, she reached in with her arm and
felt around. Feeling her hand lay upon something, she
pulled it out. As if a miracle, she held in her hand a
cellular phone. “Damn, I’m good,” she said with a
smile and flipped the phone open.



“Okay, help is on their way, okay?” the annoying 911
operator said to her as if she was a small child. “Stay on
the line Sweetie.”

At that, the girl hung up on her. She got up from the
ground and trotted over to the driver’s side and knelt
down. She peered in once more, but still saw nothing.
Letting out a huff, she climbed to her and let the phone
drop to the ground. She bent down and grabbed the
door handle, giving it a tug. Like before when she tried, it
didn’t budge. She was too weak to do a job like that.

“Damn,” she whispered, getting down on the ground
again. She picked up the phone and flipped it open
again. She pushed the speed dial button
and saw 0-Sydney. Hmm she thought, maybe
his friend should know what happened and with any luck,
he could be somewhere near here and help me!

She jammed her finger on the button and pulled it back
to her ear.



“What does it mean?” Broots asked as Sydney and
Parker studied Jarod’s last ‘gift’ to them. It was a
medium sized box with many contents… a toy
whale, a picture of a dolphin, Mickey Mouse ears, a
picture of the Cinderella castle and a postcard with the
costumed characters of Mickey Mouse and his gang.
“Oh, wait, it’s easy. He is in Florida. Disney World
and Sea World are in Florida.”

“Too easy,” Miss Parker snapped.

Just then, Sydney’s phone rang. Sydney glanced at the
two briefly before lifting the phone off the receiver.

“This is Sydney.”

“Ah… hi there Sydney,” he heard a young female say
over the line nervously.

“Who is this?”

“My name is Celina… and well, see this guy who owns
this phone was in a car wreck. I called the ambulance
already, but I can’t see him.”

“Who?” Sydney asked, the worry building up in his chest.

“I don’t know who. I just know that this is his phone. I think
he is badly hurt. Are you anywhere near here?”

“Is his name Jarod?” Sydney asked, getting confused
looks from his other two companions.

“I don’t know! I told you!” she snapped. “Please, are you
anywhere near here, because I need help!”

“Where are you and I’ll tell you if I’m near,” Sydney
replied.

“Okay, Youngstown, Ohio. And you?”

“That’s only an hour away… what road are you on?”

“Craig.”

“Okay… I’ll be there as soon as possible.”



Fifteen minutes later, the ambulance arrived. She
watched as they trotted down the pathway and trotted up
to the car. They studied the vehicle a second or so
before they quickly called in more help.



Celina watched helplessly as the men surrounded the
upside down vehicle and cut away at the car. They would
stop once in a while to look inside the car and see if they
could reach him, before continuing on.

The paramedics declared the driver unconscious, but
they didn’t know how badly hurt he was. It seemed to be
hours of cutting away the car when Celina spotted
an old man, a woman with a short skirt and a balding
man come down the path in mid trot. Sydney took one
look at the scene and almost fainted. Miss Parker stood
behind him with an open mouth, as Broots looked away
from the terrifying scene.

Sydney tore his eyes from the crushed car as he noticed
a young teenager walk up to him.

"Are you Sydney?” she asked. Sydney said nothing, only
nodded.

“I’m sorry Sydney. You know, for calling you like that and
letting you know the hard way.”

“Looks like you didn’t need my help after all,” Sydney
said quietly, his eyes fixed on the car, the sound of the
saw cutting at the car filling his ears. The sound of the
door giving way caught everyone’s attention. They
watched as the paramedics rushed in and peered into
the car.

“Get the stretcher!” one shouted up to the ambulance that
was parked on the bridge.

Sydney and Miss Parker watched in horror as three men
pulled Jarod from the demolished vehicle. They carried
him a couple feet away from the car and laid him gently
on the ground. Sydney trotted up as close as he
could before one of the men told him to stay back. He
watched in utter terror as the paramedics checked
breathing, pulse, wounds and bones. His throat became
dry as he watched. Closing his eyes to calm himself, he
swallowed hard and began to pray to the lord above.

All four watched as Jarod was loaded on the stretcher
and was carefully pushed up the hill. Sydney shook his
head and held back the tears, hiding his terror for his
friend as much as he could. He felt Miss Parker place
her hand on his shoulder from behind him and whispered
softly, “He’ll be okay, Syd. I know it.”



Miss Parker and Broots watched as Sydney paced
nervously. “Syd, you know, you are just torturing yourself
if you do that. Calm down,” Miss Parker said.

“How can I calm down when Jarod is in there either dead
or in critical-“

“He’s not dead Sydney.”

“How do you know that?” he spat out at her.

Just then the doctor walked out of the hospital room,
chart in one hand and a glitter in his aged eyes. Miss
Parker and Broots stood up from their seats and came
to Sydney’s side.

“How is he doctor?” Sydney asked, worry filled his tone.

The doctor gave all three a half smile. “He's fine for now.”

Sydney let the sigh of relief escape his lips. “Thank god.”

“What's his condition?” Miss Parker asked.

“He has a broken arm, three broken ribs, blood loss and
a fracture in his left leg. He was wearing a seat belt
luckily, or he would have had greater injuries or worse.
He does have a minor concussion and was very close to
loosing his left leg. It was jammed between the door and
the dashboard and I can’t even imagine how it got away
with just a fracture.”

“Is he awake now?” Sydney asked.

“Yes, he's in and out, but he was awake when I was in
there. You may go in if you like-“

Before the doctor could finish his sentence, Sydney was
in the hospital room. Miss Parker and Broots followed
behind but stopped at the end of the bed and watched
Sydney sit down in the chair by Jarod’s side.

Jarod slowly opened his eyes to see his new visitors and
almost cursed at the face of Miss Parker and Broots
staring back at him from the end of his bed. He slowly
turned his dizzy gaze to the person who sat next
to him.

“Sydney?” Jarod whispered hoarsely.

Sydney nodded. “Yeah, it’s me. How are you doing?”

Jarod stared at him for a split moment before answering
softly. “I feel like shit, Sydney.”

Sydney smiled weakly. “I know. What happened?”

“I was in a car wreck.”

“Well, I know that. But… how?” Sydney asked.

“Didn’t they tell you?” Jarod said, lowering his eyebrows.

“Didn’t ask.”

“A drunk driver hit me from what I can remember.
Knocked me off the bridge and my car rolled down into
the ditch. I remember being upside down in seat for a
few minutes, covered in my own blood, before I
blacked out.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sydney said softly. Sydney noticed the
surprise flash through Jarod’s brown eyes.

“It’s not like you to apologize for something you didn’t do,
Syd,” Jarod said softly and slowly. “What is wrong?”

“What’s wrong? Here you are in a hospital bed and
I'm--“ Sydney began. He was showing and telling too
much of his feelings for Jarod. He stopped in mid-
sentence.

“And you are what, Sydney?” Jarod asked.

“Nothing, Jarod. Just that you can’t go back to the Centre
in this condition and I was--“

“Disappointed,” Jarod finished. Sydney saw the hurt and
betrayal in Jarod’s eyes and hated himself for being so
cruel to him.

“Baby Brown!” a woman said in worry from the door
behind Miss Parker and Broots. She hurried over to the
bed, as a younger woman followed her but stopped at
the door. “Oh, honey are you all right?”

“Barb!” Jarod said with a smile.

The woman leaned down and hugged him gently. “When
I heard that you were in an accident I came right away.”
She kissed him gently on the forehead and then on both
cheeks. “How are ya doing, Baby Brown?”

“I’m fine,” Jarod answered sadly, briefly giving Sydney a
look. Barb smiled down at him and then looked up at the
confused faces of the strangers.

“Oh, excuse me. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything,” Barb
quickly apologized.

“Ah… you didn’t,” Sydney replied with a smile, holding
out his hand.

“Oh, I’m Barbara Jones, and that is my daughter Bliss
Jones,” she said, pointing with her free hand to the
woman at the doorway, while shaking Sydney’s hand
with the other.

“Hello Barbara. I’m Sydney, and that is Broots and Miss
Parker.”

“Hello all,” she said with a smile. “I’m guessing you aren’t
family.”

“Why?” Sydney frowned.

“Because Jarod already told me he doesn’t know where
his family is. So who are you? Friends?”

“Yeah, we are friends,” Sydney replied, looking down at
Jarod.

Barb nodded and sat down in the chair opposite of
Sydney. Sydney suddenly stood.

“Well, I’ve got things to do and plans to ruin. I’ll be
back in an hour or so,” Sydney said, making his way out
of the room.

Broots followed, but before Miss Parker left, she
watched Bliss walk over to Jarod and sit down in the
chair Sydney had sat in. Bimbo Miss Parker
thought to herself, but quickly shook the thought out.



That day, Sydney, Miss Parker and Broots had been
gone most of the day, Sydney especially. Barb sat by
Jarod’s side and smiled at him. He now was prompted
up against the headboard, with of pillows behind his
head. Barb gently took his hand in hers and asked softly,
“Are you okay, Baby Brown?” His eyes slowly turned to
hers and they glittered in confusion.

“Why do ask?” he asked with a smile.

“Well, you look like something is bothering you, well,
besides the fact that you are lying in a hospital bed.”

“Oh nothing…”

“What is it Baby Brown? You can tell old lady Jones.”

He smiled warmly at her, his smile reaching his eyes.
“I’m just so glad you are here, that’s all.”

Barb’s face lit up in happiness, and in the same time
sorrow. “Oh baby,” she whispered, leaning down and
hugging him gently. She pulled away after a moment to
give him a sweet kiss on the forehead. “I’ll be where ever
you need me to be, you got that?” Jarod bit his lower lip
and nodded.

“Knock, knock,” they heard the soft voice of Bliss come
from the doorway. She held flowers in her hand and a
smile on her face.

“Why, look who’s here,”’ Barb said with a smile. “I
thought you had to go to a friend’s party?”

“I was… but I decided something else was more
important,” she replied, sitting down by the bed, opposite
of her mother.

Jarod smiled at her. “But you hardly know me, Bliss. Why
would you cancel something for me?”

“I know you through my mother. She talks about you a
lot,” she replied, smiling briefly at Barb. She lifted the
flowers up to him. “And oddly, I always want to listen.”

He took the flowers from her slowly. “Thank you,” he
whispered, looking down at them. There was a small
card that read: Get well soon, Love, Bliss. He smiled
warmly, before setting them carefully on the nightstand
beside his bed.

“Well,” Barb said with a smile. “I’ll have to get something
to eat. I’ll be right back. I’m going to the lobby to grab
myself a donut.”

Jarod and Bliss nodded and watched as she left the
room silently. Bliss turned to Jarod a moment later. “I’m
sorry about what happened to you. Something like that
should never happen to someone like you.”

Jarod smiled, before swallowing hard. “Thank you, but
there are better people than me and most of them are
dead.”

Bliss briefly looked to the ground before leaning forward
towards him. “Can they get any better?”

Bliss’s heart skipped a beat at the smile he gave her.
His eyes sparkled like the stars in the midnight sky. His
eyes were dark enough to be the sky.

“Yeah, they can,” he replied suddenly. “There’s you, isn’t
there?”

Bliss couldn’t hold back the blush that crept up from her
collar. She bit her lower lip in order not to smile widely.

“You’re too much,” she whispered in a bashful manner.

Jarod let out a soft chuckle and shook his head. “I know,”
he said in playful sarcasm.

Miss Parker slowly peeked in the doorway and watched
as the two talked to each other with silly grins. She
watched in envy as the woman, around
her own age, made Jarod smile in a way she has never
seen him do before. Unable to take it anymore, she
barged right into the room.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting anything?” she asked in
mock concern.

Bliss looked away from Jarod to look at what the cat
brought in. This woman looked as sharp as a dagger,
wearing a black suit over a short black skirt. Her dark
hair was curled out perfectly at the ends and her
eyes were as blue as ice. She has seen her in here
before, but never really got a good look at her.

“Hello,” Bliss said softly.

"Hi,” Miss Parker snapped, lifting both eyebrows.

“Careful, she bites,” Jarod whispered to Bliss, causing
Bliss to smile.

“What the hell is your problem?” Miss Parker snapped,
coming around the other side of the bed.

“Ah…” Bliss began, looking at Jarod quickly for help.

“Knock it off Parker,” Jarod said with an annoyed huff.

“Knock what off Rat Boy?” she asked innocently.

“Rat Boy?” Bliss asked, watching as Jarod rolled his
eyes.

“Yeah, just like your old lady calls him Baby Brown. You
know it’s a nickname…” Miss Parker explained as if she
was talking to a young child.

“Don’t talk about Barb like that,” Jarod growled at her.

“Why does she call you Baby Brown anyway?” Miss
Parker asked, looking back at Jarod.

“Do you need to know?” Jarod asked.

“Maybe I do,” Miss Parker said, not taking her eyes from
his face.

“Why do you?”

“Because!”

“Because why?”

“Because I want to know!”

“Well why?”

Bliss watched as the two shouted back and forth in
amazement. “Are you two sister and brother or
something?” she asked suddenly.

Both paused and turned their gaze on Bliss. Bliss
wanted to dig a hole and hide at the look both of them
gave her.

“NO!” they both snapped at the same time.

“What’s going on?” Barb asked, coming in the room with
a donut in one hand. “Sounds like someone released the
dogs. There is a lot of growling and barking in here.”

Bliss, almost in relief, leaped to her feet. “Mom! Good,
you’re back. Hi!” Bliss said with a smile.

Barb stared at her for a moment in confusion. “Ah…
yeah,” she said slowly, unsure. She snapped her eyes
down to the donut. “You’re not getting my donut, if that’s
what’s it about.”



After an hour of talking, Bliss and Barb left Jarod to rest,
but Miss Parker stayed. She watched the two leave the
room, before walking from her corner of the room, up to
the side of his bed. He slowly turned his gaze on her.

“Well, Parker, are you leaving?” Jarod asked.

“No, I’ll wait until you’re asleep before I leave,” Miss
Parker replied with an evil smile.

Jarod lifted an eyebrow. “You’ll probably stuff a pillow
over my head and wait until I suffocate.”

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea,” she said, sitting down in
the chair. She watched as he rolled his eyes, before
attempting to scoot down in a lying position. A moan,
followed by a hiss escaped his lips as the pain that shot
through his body. “What’s your problem?” Miss Parker
asked, placing a hand on his arm.

“God, my whole body aches,” he moaned.

“You want me to help you?” Miss Parker asked, no worry
or concern in her tone. After he said nothing, she began
to help him. She gently pulled each pillow from under his
back, and held the back on his head so he wouldn’t just
fall backwards. Placing only one pillow down, she laid
his head down.

“Thank you,” he whispered, letting out a sigh.

“Whew, who’d a thunk would have heard those words
from you, eh?”

He smiled, not looking at her, but it was a good smile.
Miss Parker let out a sigh before leaning her elbow on
the bed.

“You, ah, want me to turn the light off or something so you
can sleep? Or are you one of those guys who can sleep
whenever, where ever?” Miss Parker asked, looking
down at him. His eyes finally met hers.

“Why are you doing this?” he whispered. She stared
down at him for a long moment. “What do you mean?”

“Never mind,” Jarod replied. “Um, the lights off please.”

She gave a simply nod before getting up and walking to
the doorway to where the light switch was located.
Before turning off the light, she shut the door quietly.
Walking back to his side again, she sat down with
a sigh. “There,” she said, no expression in her tone.

He swallowed before nodding his gratitude. “Thanks.”
She watched as he closed his eyes, but after a moment,
had them snap open again. Through the dim darkness
she watched as his eyes met with hers, shooting a chill
down her spine. “I hate to break it to you,” he began
quietly, almost too softly, “But I can’t sleep with you
watching me.”

She smiled with all teeth. “Poor thing,” she purred. “You
want me to turn around or something? Because no
matter what you say, I am not leaving.”

“What to keep an eye on me, huh?” he asked softly.

“You betcha. You are not escaping my sight!”

He let out a sigh of defeat. “Of course not,” he answered
softly.



Miss Parker sat quietly in the corner of the room, her
eyes on the form on the bed. It had been about ten
minutes since she agreed to sit farther away and he
hasn’t said a word. It was too dark in the room to tell if he
was awake or asleep, but as she could hear his even
breathing she could guess which one it would be.

She slowly got up from the chair and tiptoed towards the
bed. Sitting down softly in the chair by his side, she now
could see his face. His eyes were closed, and his face
was slightly tilted towards her. She stared for a moment;
getting lost in her thoughts, but quickly pushed the
unwanted ones away. God, this job sucks, she
thought, staring at him.

She has blamed him for all the things that go wrong all
her life, trying to force herself to hate him. But, now, as
she stares at him sleeping, she was now forced to hate
herself. But why? Why did she feel so guilty? It’s
her job to recapture him, to bring him back to the Centre.
But that guilt weighed on her shoulders heavily. Letting
out a sad sigh, she leaned her chin down on the bed, still
keeping her eyes on his face. She leveled her chin with
the bed and stared at him. He looked so peaceful, so
innocent. He looked so damn sexy. Damn you,
Parker, she scowled herself, get a hold of
yourself.

“Excuse me,” she heard someone whisper from the
doorway. Miss Parker snapped her attention to the
female nurse who had her head peeking through the
crack of the door. “Visiting hours are over.”

“May I stay with him?” Miss Parker asked, for once,
tenderness in her voice.

The nurse stared at her for a moment and then smiled.

“Of course.”



“Ah… Miss Parker?” Broots asked, poking the sleeping
woman in the side.

She didn’t wake, still with her head lying on the pillow
Jarod was using, their faces inches away. Sydney came
in the room, saw the scene and couldn’t hold back the
wide smile that yanked at his mouth. Broots looked
nervously to the old man and smiled as well.

“Why, isn’t that something new?” Sydney asked, coming
up to the two sleeping forms.

“I, ah, don’t want to wake Miss Parker. She’ll, you know-“
Broots mumbled. Sydney nodded in understanding. He
walked over to the other side of the bed and gently put a
hand on Jarod’s shoulder. He squeezed a little and then
shook. Jarod’s face tensed and a whimper escaped his
lips. Sydney leaned down and whispered, “Jarod, wake
up.”

Jarod’s eyes fluttered open at that. He waited until his
gaze focused on the man that stood over him and then
turned to the person who was sharing his pillow. “Shit!”
he spat out, seeing Miss Parker’s face next to his. He
sprang to the other side of the bed, almost falling off, and
letting out a gasp and moan of pain. Sydney chuckled
softly and leaned down to Jarod.

“You are going to kill yourself if you don’t stay put,” he
whispered in humor.

“No, Miss Parker will kill me if she does that again,”
Jarod whispered back, staring at Miss Parker’s sleeping
face that still lay on his pillow.

“So, I’m guessing you didn’t know about it,” Broots
asked.

“Know about what? Her sleeping with me- I mean
sharing the same pillow. Oh no,” he said, still staring at
her.

All three men watched as the sleeping woman stirred
and slowly sat up without opening her eyes. As she
started to flutter them open tiredly, she wanted them
closed again. All three men had huge smiles on their
faces and just stared at her.

“What the hell is…?” she began to ask angrily, but it hit
her. Her mouth dropped open and tried to block out the
laughter around her. “You son-of-a-“

“Ah-ah, Parker, you are the one who fell asleep by me!”
Jarod said, waving a finger at her.

Miss Parker inhaled sharply before leaping to her feet.
“You all are just a bunch of morons!” she spat out angrily.

“Oh c’mon Parker, we are laughing with you!” Sydney
sang in humor, his voice full of laughter.

Miss Parker shook her head, trying to hold back the
smile.



“Check mate,” Jarod said with a grin on his face. Sydney
shook his head in defeat.

“Three times in a row!” Sydney said in astonishment.
Broots looked up from his newspaper to look at the two
playing chess. Jarod was sitting up again, with one of
those portable tables over his lap and Sydney sat
at his right side, staring at the board on the table.

At that moment, Miss Parker walked in, coffee in hand
and looked at the two chess playing men. “Sydney, aren’t
you going to give it up? You can’t beat him.”

“Yes I can,” Sydney said. “Let’s play again.”

Jarod shook his head with a smile on his lips and began
to set up the board again. “All right Syd, have it your
way.”

“So, when is ‘Prefect Happiness’ and ‘Baby Brown
Calling Jones’ going to be here?” Miss Parker asked,
sitting down at the small table that Broots sat at across
the hospital room. Jarod looked away from the board
briefly, before returning his attention to the game.

“Um… Barb said she was going to try to get to work
early so she can get off and come here. As for Bliss… I
don’t know.”

Miss Parker nodded, setting her cup down.
Damn, she thought. “Give me that,” she hissed,
stealing the comic section of Broots’ newspaper.

After a moment of silence, only the sound of the vent
system and the tap of the chess pieces now and then,
Miss Parker looked up from the paper and looked at the
two that were involved in their little game.

“Isn’t my father and Mr. Raines going to suspect
something went wrong since we’ve been gone so long
and no word?” Miss Parker asked.

Sydney, still staring at the board figuring his next move,
he spoke, “You better call them, Parker. Lie to them,”
Sydney said with out a thought, picking up a piece and
moving it a square ahead.

Jarod looked up from the board to Sydney, seeing if he
heard him right.

“Lie to them?” Miss Parker repeated.

Sydney looked up from the board, as Jarod considered
his next move, and looked across the room to Miss
Parker. “Right, lie to them. You know that Jarod can’t go
back to the Centre in this condition, can he? Tell them
we haven’t found him yet and that we are following
‘bread crumbs’,” Sydney said.

Miss Parker stared at him for a moment, only to have
him look away towards the chess game to move his
piece to another square. “Fine, Syd,” she snapped. “I’ll
call daddy later tonight.”

Sydney looked over at her and then nodded with a soft
smile. “Good.”

“Umm… Sydney?” Jarod asked, still staring at the board.
Sydney looked away from Parker to Jarod. “Check
mate,” he said with a smile, knocking Sydney’s piece
down.



“Yes Daddy,” Miss Parker said, leaning against the
hallway wall. As she listened to her father tell her about
‘failing’ to catch Jarod, she saw Bliss coming down the
hall. “Uh huh,” Miss Parker said to her father, but her
attention was on the brown-haired bimbo coming her
way.

As Bliss got nearer, she smiled at Parker as best she
could. Miss Parker ignored her and pretended that the
phone call was very important. Bliss walked passed her
and into the Jarod’s room, and Miss Parker could
have sworn that bimbo called her a bitch. Miss Parker
peeked in the door at the woman who came around and
sat by Jarod’s bed and almost growled.

“Angel?” she heard her father say.

“Yes daddy!” she snapped to attention.

She heard her father’s heavy sigh and then him saying,
“Look, just find Jarod and get home, all right?”

“Of course,” Miss Parker said with a light sigh. “Good-
bye daddy.”

With the click from the other line, Miss Parker flipped her
cell phone shut and walked into the hospital room.

“Hello, Bliss… again,” Miss Parker sneered.

“Hello, Parker,” Bliss said, an obvious fake smile on her
lips.

Sydney watched the silent cat fight and almost smiled
when the truth dawned on him. My, my Parker, I never
would have guessed, he thought.

“You want to share something, Syd?” he heard Parker
interrupt his thought.

“Hmm?” he asked, snapping his attention to her face.

Miss Parker only rolled her eyes.

“Did you call your father?” Sydney asked. Miss Parker
gestured towards Bliss with her eyes and then widened
them in warning. “I know,” Sydney replied softly. “Did
you?”

“Yes Syd, I did,” she replied.

“And…?”

“And, he said to try to find… a cat, and then bring
it home so Daddy and I can name it together.”

Sydney smiled. Miss Parker looked away from Sydney
to Jarod and Bliss. Both had confused expressions on
their faces and just stared at her. She lifted both
eyebrows at them before walking over to the table
Broots still sat at and sat down.

“So… Bliss, where’s your mom?” Sydney asked, trying
to make conversation.

“She is at work,” Bliss replied kindly, looking from Jarod
to the older man.

Sydney nodded. “Where does she work?”

“At a café in town. It’s a real nice place if I can say so
myself.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there more than once,” Jarod replied.
“That’s where I met her.”

Bliss nodded. “I know, my mom told me,” she replied with
a smile.

“What is the café called? Maybe I should stop there
sometime,” Sydney asked.

“Oh, it’s called Blue Light Café. Really nice place.”

“Look, this is all really nice and… nice, but I really
need you people to shut-up,” Miss Parker snapped.

“Parker,” Sydney scowled, as if he was talking to a small
child.

“Sydney,” Parker said in the same tone.

“Look, whatever your problem is, lady, I wish you would
knock it off!” Bliss spat out suddenly, rising to her feet.
“All I have seen from you is disrespect! You treat Jarod
like shit and you even talk to your elders like a damn
piece of gum under your shoe! Either you get out or
shape up, because I am not going to take it anymore!”

The three others in the room just stared at her in open
mouth. Miss Parker quickly snapped her jaw shut and
gave her the most iron stare she could manage. “Do you
want to fight for your words? Or are you expecting me to
forget you said that?” Miss Parker sneered.

“I’ll fight for my right if that’s what you mean.”

“Fight for whatever the hell, I’ll take your ass down with
one iron bullet to the head!”

“Knock it off you two!” Sydney said, breaking the fight up.
“Miss Parker, may I speak to you in the hall?”

“No,” she snapped, still staring at Bliss.

“Now, Parker!” Sydney roared. Miss Parker finally tore
her eyes from Bliss and looked at Sydney’s face. She
slowly made her way to the door as Sydney followed
close behind.

As the two were out in the hall and the door was shut,
Broots got up from his seat. “Damn, that was awesome.”

Bliss smiled at him. “Thank you, thank you.”

“You are going to get yourself killed, you know that?”
Jarod asked her from below. Bliss sat down again and
smiled warmly at him.

“I don’t care, at least I’ll get my point across.”

Jarod smiled in return.



“Guess what?” Barb asked, walking into the room. “You
are going to be out of here today!”

“Already? It’s only been a week,” Broots said, glancing at
Miss Parker and Sydney.

“Well, the Doc said that his bones are healing just fine
and the swelling in that big brain of his went down a lot.
Baby Brown, you are free to go!” Barb said smiling,
walking over to him and kissing him on the forehead. He
smiled up at her.

“Well, that’s just great!” Miss Parker said softly in
sarcasm.

“You want to come to my house and stay there for a
while, babe? The Doc said someone should take care of
you for a while,” Barb asked Jarod, still having her gentle
hands on the sides of his face.

“Ah, no Mrs. Jones, Jarod will come with us,” Miss
Parker said, getting up from her seat at the table.

“Sure Barb, I would love to stay with you,” Jarod said with
a smile, glancing briefly at Miss Parker’s furious face.

“No, Jarod. You are coming with us. Isn’t that right
Sydney?” Miss Parker asked, looking to Sydney for help.
Sydney had that faint smile on his face like always.

“But, I want to stay with Barb,” Jarod said, looking up at
Barb briefly.

Miss Parker stared into Jarod, giving him a fierce
warning look. But her glare didn’t faze him at all. He just
stared back with a half smile.

“No, Jarod. You are coming with us if you like it or not!”
she said, walking over to him. “Get up, now!”

“Miss Parker,” Barb began. “What’s so important that
you need him to-“

“He is coming with us!” she shouted at her. Barb leaned
back in amazement.

“I’m not going with you Parker!” Jarod shouted at her.

“Oh yes you are!”

“Well, I guess you are going to drag me unconscious
because I am not going back to the Centre!” he shouted
angrily. Silence rang through the room. Barb looked
between Jarod and Miss Parker in surprise, then
catching her daughters confused expression. Barb
silently stood up from her chair.

“Get out,” she whispered to Miss Parker angrily. Miss
Parker cocked her head to the side. “Now, get out!”

Jarod watched Barb’s face become furious. “Barb-“ he
began to whisper to her.

“Out!” Barb shouted at Parker. “You three, now!”

Broots and Sydney began their short way to the door, but
stopped to look over their shoulders at Miss Parker. She
still stood there, staring at the old woman.

“Miss Parker, let’s go,” Sydney said. Still keeping her
eyes on the woman, Parker turned towards the door.
She stared at the woman for a split second more before
ripping her eyes from Barb and storming out of the room.

Barb let out a sigh of relief and sat back down. She
looked down at Jarod and smiled.

“Thank you,” Jarod whispered.

“Oh baby,” she whispered, leaning down and hugging
him. “It is true. I believed you before, but you
know… it was a little murky. Now it puts everything in
place. I am so sorry.”

“You mind explaining this to me?” Bliss interrupted.

Barb and Jarod turned their attention to Bliss, who stood
there with her arms crossed her chest.

“Come here,” Barb said, gesturing to the other chair.
“But we need to explain it fast, because we have to get
away from here,” Barb said with a wink at Jarod.
Jarod smiled.



“What?” Mr. Parker asked.

“He got away daddy,” Miss Parker said. “We even went
to the old lady’s house… nothing. Not even his usual
‘bread crumbs’.” She had never mentioned that he was
in the hospital, but she told him about Barb and
Bliss.

“All right, find more about the two, Barb and Bliss, all
right? That’s where he’ll be.”

“Yes daddy.”



More than six weeks went by and Jarod was able to walk
again. His leg was still a little sore, but he was able to
wobble around the cabin that was purchased by Barb’s
late husband. Located on a beach, the three had been
sharing it for the past three weeks.

The weather was wonderful in Florida this time of year
and the three enjoyed their bon fires on the beach at
night, because the nights were so warm.

“Where are the matches?” Bliss asked her mom as she
opened another kitchen drawer and searched in there.

“You're going out on the beach again?” Barb asked.
Bliss smiled at her as she nodded.

“Yeah, aren’t you coming?” Bliss asked, finally spotting
the matches under a bunch of junk in one of the drawers.

“No, I can’t this time. I am tired. You guys wore me out at
the movies and then that dinner.”

Bliss smiled. “Fine, but you are missing out on some
fun!” She gave her mom a quick kiss on the cheek. “Love
you!” she shouted happily, taking off out of the sliding
glass doors and running out towards the beach where
Jarod sat on the blanket setting up the logs in the pit.

He smiled as she ran up to him through the darkness
and collapsed on the blanket. “Where’s your mom?” he
asked.

“She said was tired tonight,” Bliss replied, handing him
the matches.

“Oh,” Jarod said, shrugging quickly afterwards.

As she watched him start the fire, she bit her lower lip.
“You know, this will be the first time it’s just you and
me…”

He turned his eyes from the building fire and looked at
her carefully. “I know.”

She smirked at him, her eyebrows curling together. He
returned the smile. She slowly reached up and placed
her hand on his cheek gently.

“You know Jarod, I have never felt this way towards any
man before. You are different. Not because of the
Centre… it’s just, something about you… I don’t know
how to explain it.”

He smiled, the warmth of the gesture reaching to his
eyes. She leaned forward a little so their lips were inches
apart. “Do feel the same way I feel about you? Please
say yes.”

“Yes,” he whispered. As their lips were about to come in
contact, a crack from the sky got their attention. Both
turned towards the water and watched as fireworks
colored the dark, starlit sky.

Bliss smiled. “How beautiful.”

Jarod smiled. “Yeah,” he turned to her again. “Very
beautiful.”

She ripped her eyes from the flashes of bright blue and
red to look into dark brown. She stared into his eyes for
a moment before smiling warmly.

“I never got the reason why my name is Bliss. But now
that you’re with me, I know why. It was fate Jarod.”

He smiled, one side of his smirk curling up farther. He
watched as her gorgeous face was lit up with gold, green
and blue from the flashes in the sky above. “You are
my perfect happiness,” he whispered.

“God, you know exactly what to say,” she whispered,
capturing his lips at that. Their passion grew at every
flash of fire in the sky. She pulled him down on the
blanket with her and wrapped her arms around his
neck. Pulling her lips away from his, she whispered
breathlessly, “I love you, Jarod.”

He stared down at her for a long moment before smiling.

“I love you too, Bliss.”

She smiled and brought his face down to meet hers
again. She kissed every inch of his face as the loud
cracks and pops echoed through the sky, along with
flashes of fire of red, green and gold. But soon, the
fire of their bomb fire and the beautiful explosives in the
sky tuned out of their attention. Only the passion was
what they were aware of now.



Bliss watched the sleeping form beside her on the
blanket. She knew it was really late and their bon fire
was dying, providing their only light, but she didn’t want
to wake him. He looked so peaceful. She let out a sigh
and began to caress his cheek, thinking about what had
happened an hour ago. That was the best night of her
life. She smiled at that. Now I know the true meaning
of my name, she thought, staring at him as he slept.
Only the silent song of the crickets, the crack of the
fire and the crash of the waves were all the sounds she
heard.

She inched her head closer to his face and kissed him
on the tip of his nose. He let out a tired whimper and she
smiled warmly. Never in her life has she ever loved a
man so much. But of course, he had to be on the run.
There was always something. But god, she would run
through fire with him if he needed her to. No, she would
run through hell if he needed her to!

Suddenly, Jarod stirred and let out a moan as he opened
his eyes. Seeing Bliss there beside him, he smiled.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“Hi,” he whispered back hoarsely. She placed a gentle
hand on his cheek and rubbed her thumb in circles over
his lips.

“We should get inside, Baby Brown,” she whispered with
a smile.

He smiled back. “I know, but… I don’t want to.”

“Oh poor baby,” she whispered, kissing his lips softly.

He let a moan escape from his throat and it echoed into
her mouth. She smiled against his mouth and pushed
him back onto the blanket. “All right, tough guy. Get up,”
she said, getting up from the blanket and grabbing
his hand. “C'mon, up!”

He let out a moan of protest and climbed to his feet.

“All right you win,” he mumbled tiredly.

She smirked at him as she picked up the blanket and
brushed off the sand.

“So…” she began. “You gonna be lonely in your little,
cold room?”

Jarod gave her a smug smirk with one eyebrow lifted.



Barb tiptoed through the hall and peeked into Jarod’s
room. She smiled as she saw Bliss lying on Jarod’s
chest in the darkness, fast asleep. She bit her lower lip,
holding back the smile.

“After one bon fire and I miss out on everything!”
she said to herself happily.



Barb smiled at the two that walked into the kitchen and
sat down at the breakfast table. She took a bite of her
eggs, still staring at the two as they piled some of the
eggs and bacon on their plates.

“How did you two sleep?” she asked with a knowing
smile.

Jarod and Bliss exchanged looks and then smiled.

“Great mom,” Bliss answered, taking a bite of her eggs.

Barb nodded. “That’s good,” she replied, still smiling.

Suddenly, there was a huge bang at the door. All three
stood up as they heard people parading into the cabin
from the other room.

“Jarod, run!” Barb screamed, as men in dark suits
poured into the kitchen. Jarod took off towards the
sliding glass doors, but one of the men grabbed him by
the arm and pulled him roughly onto the counter of
the kitchen. Bliss let out a scream of panic and through
her plate of food at the man. It hit him square in the
forehead, his head snapping back from impact. Jarod
leaped off the counter and was about to run towards the
exit with Bliss, when he stopped.

“Freeze Jarod! Or the old lady gets it!” one sweeper
shouted, holding a gun to Barb’s head with his arm
around her neck. Jarod froze and stared at Barb in
terror.

“Run Jarod!” she screamed.

“Shut-up!” the sweeper shouted in her ear, causing her to
wince.

Jarod’s eyes flicked over to Miss Parker’s approaching
figure, Sydney and Broots close behind her. She
stopped and smiled at him evilly.

“What will it be Jarod?” Miss Parker asked.

Jarod swallowed hard, looked back at Barbara and just
stared. Barb pleaded with him with her eyes. She
mouthed the word, ‘leave’, but Jarod shook his head.

“Jarod, make up your mind! Either you have Barb’s
blood on the floor or you come back with us.”

“Mom?” Bliss asked, staring at Barb with worry and
terror. Jarod briefly closed his eyes and took a step
towards them. “No Jarod!” Bliss shouted, reaching out
and grabbing his hand, pulling him back towards
the sliding doors.

“Stop!” the sweeper shouted at them.

BANG!

“BARBARA!” Jarod screamed, running towards her
fallen figure. Two sweepers got in Jarod’s path and
grabbed him. “NO! BARB!” he screamed, tears running
down his face.

“MOM! Oh god, mom!” Bliss shouted, running towards
her mother’s bloody body on the floor.

Sydney watched in horror as Jarod struggled with the
men, desperately trying to get to Barb. Sydney looked
from the scene to Miss Parker, who stared, her lips
slightly parted, no expression at all.

“She’s dead!” Bliss announced, tears running down her
face. “SHE’S DEAD! You assholes! You killed my mom!”

“No… NO!” Jarod shouted. The sweepers began to pull
the struggling pretender towards the entrance of the
cabin. “NO! Bliss! Bliss please!”

Bliss looked up from her dead mother, through the tears
looked at Jarod, anger in her eyes. Her stare grabbed
his heart and squeezed painfully.

“No… PLEASE BLISS! Please!” he screamed, not able
to see her anymore as he was dragged out of the kitchen
and into the living room. “Bliss! Bliss I love you! PLEASE
FORGIVE ME!” he screamed, his voice cracking
from his tears.

Miss Parker, Broots and Sydney still stood in the kitchen
watching Bliss cry over her mother. As Jarod screamed,
she cried more, her sobs shaking her body violently.
Miss Parker briefly shut her eyes as Jarod shouted his
love for Bliss, but she said nothing. Miss Parker quietly
walked out of the room and followed the sweepers to the
limo, as Sydney and Broots followed close behind.

“Sydney! Sydney how could you let them do that?” Jarod
screamed, as the sweepers struggled to shackle Jarod’s
flailing arms behind his back.

Sydney looked from Jarod to Miss Parker, shooting her
a look of pain and anger. Turning his attention back to
Jarod, he watched in horror as they began to beat him.

“Stop it!” Sydney screamed, stepping closer to the
sweepers. The sweepers kept hitting him; Jarod let out
grunts of pain at every blow to the stomach. “Miss
Parker, please!” Sydney pleaded.

“Stop,” Miss Parker snapped, the sweepers sneaking in
a couple more blows before stopping. Miss Parker
swallowed back the anger and tears as she watched
Jarod fall to his knees, spitting out blood in the process.

Sydney ran to Jarod and bent down on his knees. “Jarod
are you okay?”

Sydney asked softly, his tone full of concern for his pet
project.

Jarod’s eyes slowly looked up from the ground and rose
to Sydney’s glare. He stared at the older man with no
expression at all, only pain behind his brown eyes and
tears down his cheeks.

“What do you care?” he whispered, almost not audible.
Sydney’s eyes flashed with sorrow.

“I’m sorry, Jarod,” he whispered back. “I never meant for
this to happen.”

“The hell you didn’t!” Jarod shouted, leaping to his feet.
Sydney rose to his feet slowly, keeping his eyes on the
screaming man’s face before him. “You are the reason
why I’m who I am today! You are the reason the Centre
wants me!”

“Jarod, listen to me…”

“No listen to me for once! I lived my whole life in hell!”
Jarod screamed, more wet tears running down his
flushed cheeks. “They treated me no other than a lab rat,
making me run their mazes and then threw me back in
my little cage! Do you know how many nights I wept…
alone thinking that I was no one and that no one wanted
me? Thinking that my family never loved me?” he paused
to see the reaction of Sydney’s face, only to have the
older man look to the ground. “Thinking that you never
loved me,” Jarod whispered.

Sydney’s eyes snapped up to the younger man’s face in
surprise. He watched as Jarod’s lower lip quivered, his
eyes staring into him. Sydney shook his head slightly,
sadly.

“You know better than that,” Sydney whispered. He
watched as Jarod’s eyes glitter from his tears, staring at
him sadly, only to have them skip over his shoulder.
Sydney slowly looked over his shoulder to see Bliss
standing in the open doorway, listening to everything.
Her eyes were red and puffy, tears still running down her
cheeks. Sydney turned his attention back to Jarod, who
still stared at her.

Never in Sydney’s life has he seen so much emptiness
and sadness in those brown eyes. Sydney swallowed
back his own tears as he watched Jarod fight the
unspoken battle with Bliss. His eyes were pleading and
his lower lip quivered again.

Miss Parker had watched with sadness as Jarod
screamed at Sydney, and then found them all in silence
as Bliss came into view. Knowing, for the first time, what
pain Jarod was feeling, she almost whimpered a loud.

“Sam,” Miss Parker whispered, inhaling sharply at the
quiver in her tone. “Sedate him,” she simply said.

The sweeper nodded and walked to the limo to retrieve
the needle. Jarod watched as Bliss’s eyes ripped from
his gaze to the sweeper who made his way to the limo.
Her eyes were confused, her jaw quivering as she
watched him quickly grab something from inside the limo
and begin to make his way back to the one sweeper that
held tightly to Jarod’s handcuffed figure.

Sam pulled out the needle, filled it with the liquid and
pushed the air bubbles out. Jarod, his attention never
leaving Bliss, winced a little as he felt the needle being
jabbed into his arm’s flesh.

“No,” Bliss said softly, taking a step from the door. Miss
Parker pulled out her gun and aimed it at the woman.

“Don’t make me-“

“No!” Jarod shouted. Miss Parker looked away from
Bliss, looking over her shoulder at Jarod and glared at
him. His eyes bore into her, his eyebrows lifted together
in sadness, his cheeks wet from his weeping. He didn’t
look like the man she knew to be the little devil who
played games with her or the one who had tormented her
all her life. No, this man wasn’t him at all. This was a
screaming soul ripped from his being and sucked dry
from life.

Miss Parker slowly slid her eyes off his face and turned
her gaze back to the woman who stood a step from the
door of the cabin. She still stood where she was…
staring at Miss Parker and her gun.

“Get back in the cabin. If I see you so much as peek out
a window, I’ll come in there and shoot you! You got that?”
Miss Parker said dangerously.

Bliss stared at her, her eyes weak from tears. She slowly
took a step back, glancing at Jarod briefly, before turning
on her heel and leaving their view as she entered the
cabin and closed the door. As soon as she was out of
sight, she ran for the phone. Miss Parker turned back to
the man who was on the verge of unconsciousness. She
knew Sydney was digging his nails in his palms as
he watched Jarod fall lifelessly against the two sweepers
arms.

The two sweepers carried the unconscious man to the
black limo and placed him inside, strapping him down
quickly. Miss Parker, Broots and Sydney climbed in after
them, Sydney grabbing the seat next Jarod and Miss
Parker and Broots across from the two. The sweepers
climbed in front.

As they drove, Miss Parker watched Sydney’s face as
he stared at Jarod. Finally, looking away painfully, he
turned his gaze out the window.

“I’m sorry Sydney,” Miss Parker whispered. Sydney’s
eyes looked at her in anger.

“You’re sorry?” he asked angrily.

“Look, there was no other way.”

“No other way? Look at him Parker!” he screamed,
gesturing towards Jarod’s unconscious form. Jarod’s
cheeks were still wet from tears, his face pale and
bruised on one side. Miss Parker swallowed back the
sadness as Sydney continued. “He was treated
like shit his whole life, having no one to love, no one to
trust. And then, when he finally is able to have some kind
of freedom, we steal it away. He was able to find
someone he loves and trusts; we steal it! All the Centre
did was steal from him. Not from his life, but his soul and
humanity!”

“Sydney… he is only a lab rat-“

“Excuse me?” Sydney asked, feeling the heat of anger
building up in his head. “Will you listen to yourself? Lab
rat? He is not a lab rat! He is a human being! He
deserves freedom!”

“Listen to yourself Sydney! He is a pretender! You said
yourself he needs to be isolated!”

“That was only to get over my true feelings!” he said
bitterly, pausing in surprise at the truth in his words. He
swallowed hard. “But… I said he deserves
freedom… not to be free.” He closed his eyes
briefly, opening them again to focus on his pet project.
Staring at him for a moment, he turned his gaze to the
window again, letting the silence flow through the vehicle,
his last words hanging in the air.

Miss Parker leaned forward and gently wiped a tear from
Jarod's cheek.

Disclaimer: All Pretender related ideas and characters are the property of NBC’s not mine. As much as I wanted them to, the Pretender characters, such as Miss Parker, Jarod and Sydney, do not belong to me.




What’s Left II

By AngelWings






Jarod slowly opened his eyes, only to see a blurry white
room. He blinked a couple times and found the blurry
white room was just a white room. He shivered violently
at the familiar surroundings and almost went into a
panic. Unwanted memories flooded back to him and he
jolted upright on his cot, gasping out loud at the pain in
his stomach and head. He clutched his abdomen and
moaned.

Lying back down slowly, an unwelcome sob rose from
his throat. I’m so sorry Barb, he thought, tightly
closing his eyes as he lay there on his side. Opening
them again he stared off toward the wall across the
room, but he was somewhere else entirely.

~ “I’ll be here as long as you need me, Baby Brown. As
long as you need me,” ~ her kind voice echoed in his
head. A single tear made its way down his cheek. The
huge lump formed in his stomach again, feeling the
loneliness and the sorrow resume his body. The
psychical pain was nothing to the pain he felt inside.

~ “Honey, you need someone to love.”

Jarod snapped his eyes to her face. “Why? I’ve got
along fine without it my whole life…” he said sadly.

“If you don’t have love and trust in your life, then
what’s left?” ~

The memory of the night when Jarod and her had talked
flooded his mind. He clenched his teeth and shut his
eyes, trying not to let the sadness of the memories
return. Making a fist around the blanket under him he
began to sob as the horrible memory consumed his
conscience.

~ “Freeze Jarod! Or the old lady gets it!” one sweeper
shouted, holding a gun to Barb’s head with his arm
around her neck. Jarod froze and stared at Barb in
terror.

“Run Jarod!” she screamed.

“What will it be Jarod?” Miss Parker asked.

Jarod swallowed hard, looking back at Barbara and just
stared. Barb pleaded with him with her eyes. She
mouthed the word, ‘leave’, but Jarod shook his head.

“Jarod, make up your mind! Either you have Barb’s
blood on the floor or you come back with us.” ~

My fault, he sobbed, letting the sobs shake his
entire body. “Oh god, Barb,” he whispered, his voice
cracking from his tears. His knuckles turned white as he
clenched hard on the sheets, trying not to let the worst of
the memory return.

~ BANG!

“BARBARA!” Jarod screamed, running towards her
fallen figure. Two sweepers got in Jarod’s path and
grabbed him. “NO! BARB!” he screamed, tears running
down his face. ~

Jarod’s whole body was shaking violently from his
emotions. Every time he would try to stop crying and not
think of Barb and Bliss, the tears became worse. “No…”
he whispered hoarsely, the sobs too much to bare.
The pain in his stomach became worse by the second
from his weeping, but his mind wasn’t tuned on the
physical pain. The emotional made his heart grow
heavier and heavier. He wanted to scream!

“No! Please god…” he whispered.



Sydney, his hand over his mouth, watched sadly as his
pet project wept and wept for over an hour. He wanted
so bad to go down there and tell him that it was going to
be okay, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to do so.

He turned from the monitor on his desk and looked at
Miss Parker as she entered with a folder in her hand.
She stopped in the doorway and cocked her head to the
side in confusion at Sydney’s pained face.

“What is it Syd?” she asked softly.

Sydney looked into her like a cat looking at its mouse.
He slowly brought his hand from his mouth and wearily
pointed to the screen before him. Miss Parker slowly
entered Sydney’s office and came around his desk
to look over his shoulder at the small screen before him.

It was from the camera in Jarod’s room, where the
pretender was lying on his bed, eyes shut tightly and
tears consuming his face once more. Miss Parker
watched sadly as he wept. Watching as the sobs
quaked his body.

She inhaled sharply as she whispered into Sydney’s ear,

“You are just torturing yourself, Syd.”

She heard the sharp breath Sydney took in as well
before she stepped back a little, trying to block out the
sound of Jarod’s weeping. Sydney looked over his
shoulder at her and stared.

“They won’t let me see him, Parker,” Sydney whispered
sadly.

“Why not?” Miss Parker snapped.

Ignoring her he went on, pointing to the screen of Jarod’s
room behind him, “This is the only way I get to see him.”

“Why wouldn’t they let you see him, Sydney?” she asked
slowly, placing her hands on his hips. Sydney shook his
head. Just then, they heard a new noise from the
speaker on the screen other than Jarod’s cries. They
both turned back to the monitor and watched as two of
Raines’ goons walked in and grabbed Jarod by the arm.

“Get up,” one of the men roared at Jarod. Jarod had
controlled his sobbing down to taking short deep
breathes, still staring off towards the wall, ignoring the
hand on his arm. “Get up now, freak!” the man roared
again, tugging roughly on the pretender’s arm, pulling
him half way off the bed, then letting him drop to the
mattress again.

“What the hell is this?” Miss Parker asked over Sydney
shoulder as they watched open-mouthed.

“Raines wants to see you! Get up!” the man in black
shouted, taking both hands and grabbing Jarod roughly
by the arm, pulling him off the bed entirely. Jarod let out a
sob between pain and sorrow as he was forced to his
feet.

“Raines?” Sydney repeated, watching in horror as both
men roughly pushed Jarod, face down, on the bed and
pulled his hands behind his back. Jarod let out a
whimper of pain as they snapped the handcuffs on his
wrists, drawing blood from a cut that was caused by the
rough edge of metal.

Sydney leaped to his feet and took off for the elevator,
Miss Parker taking off after him.




“Stop that crying!” the man shouted at Jarod’s tear-
stricken face, whipping his hand across the pretender’s
cheek. The slap of flesh echoed through the room, along
with the gasp of pain.

Jarod tightly shut his eyes, trying to block out the panic
and pain, trying to rid the man’s voice from his mind.

“Open your damn eyes!” he heard the man shout at him.
As he opened his eyes, he was just in time to see the
hand come at him quickly for another slap, this time
harder. Jarod’s head snapped to the left, the echo of
flesh echoing through the room again.

“Hey!” the heard an old accented voice shout from the
door. Both sweepers and Jarod looked over at the
doorway to see Sydney standing there, Miss Parker
standing behind him, either one of them looking
happy. “What do you two think you are doing?”

The man that stood in front of Jarod stared at Sydney for
a moment before smiling evilly. “Retrieving Raines’
project.”

“Raines’?” Sydney asked angrily.

“Yeah. He belongs to Raines now.”

“Over my dead body!” Sydney shouted, taking a step
towards the three that stood in the middle of the cell.

The main sweeper pulled out his gun and aimed it at the
old man.

“Gladly!” he shouted. Jarod inhaled sharply as he
watched both men stare at each other, before the older
man stepped back in defeat. The sweeper smiled. “If you
have a problem with this arrangement, go talk to Mr.
Parker,” he answered, glancing briefly at Miss Parker’s
wide-eyed expression. “He’ll tell you what’s going on.”



“Daddy, you can’t be serious!” Miss Parker said in
astonishment, as Sydney leaped to his feet.

“Mr. Parker!” Sydney shouted at him.

“Sydney, sit down,” Mr. Parker roared in his deep,
threatening voice.

Sydney obeyed reluctantly. “Raines has talked to me
about the issue and I agreed with him. Jarod will
probably be… suborn about finishing his sims since he's
had a real taste of the ‘outside’ world. Raines suggested
he take Jarod, perform experiments with him-“

“You mean on him!” Miss Parker snapped. Her
father ignored her.

“And shall I say… break him in? After a week… couple
weeks, you will have him again Sydney.”

“What do you mean, ‘break him in’? You mean beat him
don’t you?” Sydney asked.

“I have no idea how Raines tends to-“

“Raines will beat him to death, daddy!” Miss Parker
shouted at her father. Her father’s eyes snapped to her
face and was about to say something when Sydney cut
in.

“Fine, but only if I can check on him and supervise the
experiments,” Sydney bargained, but Mr. Parker was
already shaking his head.

“Won’t allow it. Another reason Raines made clear is
your obvious affection for the pretender. Before you took
the prodigy under your wing, you agreed no feelings
were going to be involved. You broke that promise
Sydney. It is very dangerous for you to care for-“

“No, it’s not dangerous to care for him. You are just
afraid I might let him escape,” Sydney said, his aged
eyes baring into the other old man.

“Again?”

Sydney stared at Mr. Parker in confusion. “I never helped
him. He escaped on his own.”

Mr. Parker looked away from the man in front of him to
shuffle some papers on his desk before linking his
fingers together and placing them on the pile
comfortably. “Your request to see the pretender is
denied. You will not so much as watch him on the
surveillance tape. If we do find you sneaking
communication to him, what so ever, I will order Jarod to
the isolation room in SL-27 with no food or contact with
anyone for a week. And if I see you so much as sneak a
peek at him through a doorway or hallway, I will have the
pretender killed, you got that?”

Sydney swallowed at the thought. “What if it's an
accident?”

Mr. Parker shook his head slowly. “There will be none.”

Sydney briefly shut his eyes before looking down to the
floor in consideration. “It be only a week,” Sydney
stated.

“Two at the most.”

“Only one week.”

“Sydney you are in no position to decide how long
Raines will have Jarod. Two at the most!”

Miss Parker looked at Sydney and gave him a warning
look. Sydney eyed Miss Parker quickly before returning
his gaze back to the head chairman.

“Fine,” Sydney snapped, getting up from his chair.

As Miss Parker and Sydney turned to leave, Mr. Parker
spoke again.

“Sydney?”

Sydney turned to look over his shoulder. “If you act up
like that again… I will have you fired. Take that as your
warning.”



The first couple days working for Raines was hell. Jarod
tried to do what he was told, but Raines and his goons
would find something he did wrong and had another
reason to beat him.

Jarod glanced up at Raines briefly, making sure he
wasn’t mad, before he slowly walked around, clenching
his teeth so he would ignore the pain in his stomach and
studied the objects on the table. It was evidence from a
murder investigation and he had to figure out who the
murder was before the day was over.

Jarod let out a sigh as he lifted the black glove from the
table. Studying it carefully for a second, he found it
useless at the moment and tossed it back to the table.
He briefly glanced at Raines again to see if he didn’t
disappoint him in anyway before continuing on with the
other items. Picking up the ski mask, he studied it as
careful as the glove before tossing it back to the table
again.

“Jarod, are you in anyway trying to make me mad?”
Raines hissed. Jarod looked up at the bald man and
desperately tried to control the shiver that rolled down his
spine.

“No,” Jarod replied.

Raines cocked his head to the side. “No? That’s it?”

Jarod stared at him in confusion. Jarod took the second
to think of what this man wanted from him, but before he
could do so, he had his hands pinned behind his back
painfully. Jarod gasped in pain and watched as the bald
man walked over to him, pulling his breath of life behind
him with an eerie squeak.

“No, what?” Raines wheezed.

Jarod stared at him for a second, his lower lip quivering.
What did he want from him? Jarod’s mind was so fuzzy
he couldn’t think straight.

Raines rose his hand quickly and slapped Jarod’s jaw to
the side. “No what?” Raines screamed. Jarod, his face
still off to the side, closed his eyes tightly, preparing for
another hit. “No sir!” Raines shouted.

Jarod winced in surprise. Raines stared at him, his
breath wheezing steadily, evil in his glare.

“Beat him,” Raines simply said.

Jarod’s eyes snapped open and watched as the man
walked away with his eerie squeal of his tank before the
sweepers surrounded him like the night swarmed the
day.



Three days have gone by, almost in slow motion it
seemed. Every night, the tears and pain would become
stronger and his hatred towards Raines grew. He laid on
his bed, curled in a tight ball, hugging his knees and
staring off across the room. After an hour of so of just
plain weeping, he grew tired and found himself lying
there and taking short rugged breaths, desperately trying
to control his breathing.

The pain, oh the pain. It ate at him alive. Even though the
way he laid was very painful, he found himself curling into
a tighter ball. He let out a loud, slow whimper and shut
his eyes tightly. Never in his life has he felt so alone and
frightened. He wanted to die; anything would be better
than this hell. Maybe he could die. Just let death take
him, forget trying to be brave and fight. Just let the angel
of death wrap its wings around him and pull him away.

Oh… that would be so easy and peaceful. He almost
smiled at the thought of death, but at that found himself
truly sad. Never in his life had he ever wanted to die.
That scared him to think that he now wanted death. It
was so easy to reach out and grasp.

“Hey freak!” the sweeper shouted from the door. Jarod
made no sign of recognition. “Raines wants you now.”

Jarod closed his eyes, trying to make him go away. As
he listened to the footsteps come closer to him in the
room, he wanted death more than ever. Now, his
mind screamed, Angel of death take me, please!

The sweepers had practically carried him down to the
sim lab since he was too weak to walk on his own. They
pulled him into the room and roughly threw him on a
table. Confused, Jarod looked around weakly, as the
sweepers strapped him down to the table.

Finally, Raines came in view, an bitter smile on his old
lips.

“Finally I get to do this to you,” he wheezed. Confused,
Jarod tried to speak, but only made a raspy sound.

Jarod shivered violently as he heard the wheezy chuckle
of his enemy. “Don’t try to fight it Jarod. Just… relax and
let the drug do its work.”

Jarod wanted to ask what was going on, but was so
weak. He only let out a small whimper as he felt the prick
of the needle in his arm. Oh god, take me now…
please, he thought, as the drug caused his whole
body begin to tingle and become numb. He watched as
one of the men in the room walked up to him and smiled
coldly down at him. He reached out and pinched Jarod in
the arm. Jarod watched as the fingertips of the man
squeezed his flesh. Jarod had seen it, but didn’t feel it.
His whole body… it was numb!

Jarod felt the panic arose through him as he tried to
wiggle his fingers but couldn’t.

“Relax prodigy,” the man said in the deepest voice Jarod
has ever heard in his life. “We are only testing a virus.”
The man smiled as he watched Jarod’s eyes widen. He
let out a soft chuckle, causing Jarod’s lip to quiver.
“Don’t worry. It shouldn’t kill you. First, your whole
body
will become completely numb, and then you’ll start to
hallucinate, loosing control of your mind. You will start to
shiver violently and will go through series of cold and hot
flashes. And last, but certainly not least… we will have
complete control over your mind.” Jarod’s eyes
widened. “Where will mold it into what we want and when
the drug where’s off… you’ll be doing things you don’t
want to, uncontrollably.”

Jarod already began to see things, or at least, he was
telling himself he was seeing things. He watched as
Sydney stood in the corner of the room, that permanent
smile on his face. The old man’s eyes danced across
Jarod’s body in disgust. As Jarod watched him, Sydney
shook his head in disappointment, his eyes narrowing
and his eyebrows lowering. Jarod’s heart skipped a bit
as the older man turned and walked away. No
Sydney, please help me! Sydney I beg you to help
me! But he was gone.

Jarod closed his eyes, a moan of grief coming from the
base of his throat. Opening them again, he saw
someone… who was it? Barb! No… it was Bliss. She
stared at him; the same look she had given him after she
announced her mother was dead. Jarod inhaled sharply,
the pain in his heart grew worse.

His body slowly began to shiver on its own as she
approached him. She stood over him, watching as he
shook violently, his breath getting caught in his throat.
She shook her head slowly in disgust, watching his
body quake repeatedly on the table, his ankles and
wrists strapped down. He tried to read her lips as she
moved them, trying to concentrate on her other than the
constant movement his body took on. Her lips moved ‘I
hate you,’ and Jarod felt his whole world crash down, the
burning heat flushing over his body. Not able to take it
any longer, the blackness consumed his consciousness.




A week… maybe two weeks has already gone by. Jarod
had lost all track of time; however, the time was the least
on his mind. Mind? What was that again? Jarod felt the
pain all over his body, but his mind was pumped
with so many drugs, he couldn’t accurately pinpoint
where the exact location of the pain was.


He let a whimper escape his bruised lips as he
remembered the testing he took last night; of how he
snapped to attention automatically, saying ‘sir’ after
every sentence and never making eye contact. He
swallowed, his dry throat burned, still tasting blood in his
mouth. What did they do to me? He was now
watching his actions closely, but still couldn’t solve the
sims accurately. Too much was in his head, he couldn’t
think straight.

Two, three, maybe four of his ribs were broken, again he
was unsure. He tried to count them, but was too weak to
do so. He let out a moan again, squeezing his eyes shut.
I want Barb, he thought sadly.

That familiar lump formed in his stomach again. “Oh
no…” he wined, his voice cracking. The burning in his
throat became worse as the memories flooded to him
again at the thought of Barb’s name. He let out a sob
that quaked his body and he moaned in pain at the
movement. Unable to control it anymore… the sobs
returned, shooting pain down his body. He let out a soft
scream of pain as the tears ran down his face.



“God, Parker, I can’t take this anymore!” Sydney
shouted, slumping down in his chair.

Miss Parker shook her head and sat down in the chair
across from his desk. “Sydney, I’m sure he is fine,” she
said, not believing it herself.

Sydney shook his head and covered his face with his
hand. “Only one week, Parker, and already I am a
mess!”

Miss Parker briefly closed her eyes. Licking her lips she
leaned forward and whispered, “You want me to see if I
can see him?”

“No… I can’t risk it.”

“I can do it Sydney.”

“What’s your excuse to go down there in the first place?
You can’t just walk down there, walk casually through the
halls and sneak a peek through his door and then walk
back.”

“Broots, he could go down there. Maybe a computer
needs fixing and-“

“Oh Parker,” Sydney wined, covering his face. “I can’t
handle this.”

“You really do care for him, don’t you Syd?”

Sydney looked up at her in surprise. Staring at her for a
long moment he nodded. “I love him like a son, Parker.”

Miss Parker’s mouth curled up a little, before she wiped
it away quickly. Getting to her feet, she walked to the
doorway and looked over her shoulder. “Jarod is
strong… he’ll survive.”

Sydney nodded, a weak smile yanking at his mouth. “I
know he is… I know he will.”

Miss Parker smiled and gave a simple nod, before
leaving from Sydney’s view.



After doing the sim, completely in pain and weakness,
two sweepers literally dragged Jarod back to his room.
Throwing him on his bed roughly, Jarod automatically
curled up into a fetal position, hugging his knees and
shivering as Raines stepped into the doorway his cell.

Speaking to the two sweepers, Raines wheezed, “Ease
off on the punishment, because in a week or so, Sydney
will get him back and… well, we want him in good
shape. But, if necessary, take him to cell 31 and…well,
you know what to do. We have seen too much
misbehavior coming from our little pretender, and until
that day that he performs a complete accurate, no-
problem-what-so-ever, sim… he will see black and blue.”

The two sweepers nodded, following the bald man out of
the room and closing and locking the door behind them.
Jarod was, once again, left alone in his dark room.

Sydney? In a week? Oh, Sydney, please help me…
please! I need you so bad, he let out a sob,
Please…

The sharp pain in his stomach made tears form in his
eyes. He was certain that there were at least two ribs
that needed care. And his head… he was so dizzy that
his head hurt. He almost found himself passing out.

Suddenly, soft fingertips lightly ran over his temple, the
pain disappearing for a split second. Jarod froze like
deer in headlights, waiting for further movement. For a
long minute, there was none, until he felt the same
fingers on his head again, this time lightly running
over his head, through his hair. He closed his eyes, not
caring whom the intruder was, and concentrated on the
soft comfort the person gave to him. The soft skin of the
fingertips ran down his jaw line, over his lips and up the
bridge of his nose. He forgot about the pain and
concentrated on the caressing, the careful movement of
those fingers.

Suddenly, the bed gave way as the intruder sat down
behind him. Jarod felt the breath of the person on his
neck as they leaned over his side, still caressing his
face. Their fingers ran over his forehead, down his
temple, over his nose and then over his lower lip. Jarod
swallowed, his throat dry and tasted the blood. Sensing
the person knew his discomfort, they ran their fingers
over his mouth and Jarod didn’t taste the blood
anymore.

Jarod wanted to mutter a thank you, but couldn’t find the
words as the fingers trailed down to his chin, down his
neck and down to his collar bone. The soft fingers made
small circles on his flesh there, feather light.

Jarod sighed heavily and, for the first time since his
capture, he was finally at peace. The fingers stilled, and
Jarod could feel the intruder lean forward a little, their
breath in his ear and heard then whisper in a kind voice,
“What's the matter, Baby Brown?”

Jarod smiled warmly, not needing to see her face as he
stared off towards the wall.

“Barb,” he whispered, finding his voice completely strong
again.

“I’m here, Baby Brown. I’ll always be here, whenever you
need me, wherever you need me. I’ll be here.”



A dream or not, Barb had given him strength. The next
morning, as Raines’ goons came to retrieve Jarod from
his room, Jarod had walked to the sim lab on his own.
And in the lab, Jarod accurately solved the sim
quickly.

Raines smiled at him evilly as Jarod shut the folder and
looked up at Raines. After a moment of silence, Jarod
softly spoke. “May I return to my cell?”

Raines cocked his head to the side. “Why would you
want to do that, Jarod?”

Jarod swallowed hard, looking briefly to the folder in front
of him.

“Well, I did well and I thought I deserved time to take a
shower and-“

“You do not decide what you deserve Jarod!” Raines
said angrily. Jarod blinked once.

“But I-“

“Are you talking back?” one of Raines’ assistance
asked.

Jarod briefly glanced at the man. “No… I didn’t-“ Jarod
began. Jarod watched in fear as the man leaned
towards Raines and whispered something in his ear,
getting an agreeable nod from Raines.

“Take him to cell 31,” Raines simply said.

“No! I didn’t mean anything by-“ Jarod began.

“Now!” Raines ordered his sweepers. They quickly
rushed in and pulled Jarod to his feet.

“No please, Raines! I didn’t mean anything by it. I-“

Raines shook his head as Jarod was pulled from the lab
screaming.



Numbness… pain… Slash… pain… numbness…
Whip… so much pain… Slap so much…
pain… unbearable… crack… screaming…
Help me!…

“How does that feel?” the man roared in Jarod’s ear.
Jarod whimpered weakly. He couldn’t feel his hands
anymore, hanging from the ceiling by his wrists. He
knew, without even looking up, that his wrists were
bleeding, badly. His whole body burned from the short
whip the man used on him, slashing it at him randomly.
Jarod let out an abrupt scream at every crack of the
whip.

He let out a sob as the man paused between hits and
placed his cold hand on Jarod’s burning back, pressing
cruelly into one of his bleeding welts. Jarod screamed, a
tear running down his cheek, and clenched his teeth
together.

They had stripped him from his shirt, hung him from the
ceiling of the small cell by his wrists and began to place
welts all over Jarod’s weak and bruised body. He had
pleaded with them and told them he would never
upset anyone again, that he would do what they wanted
him to do, but they didn’t give in. They just stepped out of
the light, and let this cruel man take over his body.

An hour… one full painful hour of this torture and
Jarod was now weeping uncontrollably, his sobs quaking
his body once more. He felt the whip lash across his
back hard and he arched forward letting out a scream of
pain.

“No tears!” the man shouted at him from behind, causing
a shiver to go down his spine. “No more tears…”

Jarod swallowed back the sob and took short, ragged
breaths, trying to control his breathing… but was having
a hard time doing so. The man circled around Jarod like
a lion circling the antelope. Jarod’s lower lip quivered in
fear as the man lifted the whip in the air and…
Crack!



Miss Parker walked into Sydney’s office, sitting down
across from Sydney and placing a folder on his desk. He
glanced at her and smiled. She cocked her head to the
side in confusion.

“I get to see Jarod today. I finally get to work with him
again,” Sydney explained. Miss Parker let the smirk
form on her lips.

“Good for you Syd,” she said. He nodded with the small
smile on his face, reaching over and lifting the folder
from his desk. As he flipped through it, Miss Parker
spoke again. “Are you going to want company as
you-“

“Parker? Are you wanting to go down there with me?”

Miss Parker straightened in her chair. “Not if you have to
work. I know how distracting it would be if I was to stand
there and-“

“We won’t be working today,” Sydney replied with a
smile. “You can come. I am taking this day to… get to
know each other again.”

Miss Parker nodded. “But won’t Mr. Raines mind if I am
there?”

“Since when have you cared about what Raines thought?
No, he has no say in it anymore. Jarod’s my pretender
now.”



Miss Parker was having a hard time keeping up with
Sydney’s pace. The man was going at the rate of
100mph and Miss Parker found herself trotting to keep
up with him.

As Sydney reached Jarod’s cell, he quickly glanced at
the guard and then at the door.

“Open the door, please Frank,” Sydney said, his tone
showing just a hint of Syd’s excitement.

“They already took Jarod down to the lab,” the guard
replied in his deep voice. Sydney glanced at the door
briefly before nodding to the guard once and taking off
down the hall, Miss Parker trotting behind him.



Sydney quickly unlocked the lab and stepped inside,
Miss Parker peeking in after him. All the way across the
room, his back towards them, Jarod sat, alone, with his
head bent down in his folded arms. As Sydney and
Miss Parker approached, they stared at him cautiously.
As Sydney circled around the table to stand in front of
him, Syd stared at the hidden face that was tucked in the
crook of his arm. Studying his resting pretender, he
surveyed every detail of him. His long sleeve shirt hid his
arms, his hands were tucked in under his armpits, and
the only flesh he saw was an inch of his face, and that
was only his temple.

Sydney briefly glanced at Miss Parker before sitting
down in front of the pretender, slowly reaching out and
gently placing a hand on his arm. With still no
movement, Sydney gently squeezed.

With that, Jarod jumped in his seat and sat upright. His
eyes widened at the sight of Sydney and Miss Parker
standing before him.

Miss Parker let out the gasp of surprise at his features,
watching as Sydney slowly stood in shock. Jarod had a
huge bruise on his left side of his face, and a long
scratch going down his jaw line on the right side.

Jarod, being trained (beaten) to do so, he looked away
from their stare. “I’m sorry, I fell asleep,” he mumbled. “I
won’t do it again.”

Sydney exchanged looks with Miss Parker before sitting
down. “It’s all right Jarod,” Sydney said slowly, softly.
Sydney reached over to take Jarod’s bloody wrist, but
Jarod flinched and yanked it back.

“I’m sorry,” Jarod apologized quickly.

Sydney stared at him, confusion in his aged eyes,
watching as his project made no eye contact. “What did
they do to you?”

Just then, the door to the sim lab opened, and Raines
appeared in the doorway. At that, Jarod painfully leapt to
his feet, standing as straight as possible as the
weakness and exhaustion tried to pull him back down.
Sydney stood as well, watching as Raines approached
the three.

“What are you doing here?” Raines asked, staring at
Miss Parker.

Miss Parker lifted her chin a little and stared down at the
bald man evilly. “Does it really matter to you?”

Raines stared at her for a few seconds before turning to
Jarod. “If I ever catch you sleeping or as much as rest
your eyes-“

“Are you threatening him?” Sydney asked, stepping
forward.

“It’s called punishment Sydney,” Raines wheezed. “If you
would have used it more on him when he was younger,
he wouldn’t be so stubborn and… difficult,” Raines said,
looking back at Jarod. Jarod swallowed hard and
Sydney caught the movement in his throat.

“What the hell did you do to him?” Sydney asked.

Raines smiled. “Like I said before, Punishment.”

“It’s called abuse!” Miss Parker snapped.

Raines smiled evilly again. “Well, whatever works.”

“You bastard,” Miss Parker said slowly, dangerously.

“Well, as you heard, Sydney, he is yours again,” Raines
said, turning to leave. “Oh, and if he acts up, don’t
hesitate to ask for help.”

Sydney shook his head in disgust, watching as the man
left the room, pulling his tank behind him. Sydney sat
down again with a huff of frustration, as Miss Parker sat
beside him. Sydney looked up and watched as Jarod
stared at him, still standing.

“You can sit Jarod,” he said softly. Jarod slowly lowered
in his seat, quickly looking again from their eyes. Sydney
briefly closed his eyes.

“Jarod, you are okay now. It’s only me,” Sydney said
gently, reaching over the table to give contact to Jarod’s
arm. Jarod flinched in fear and closed his eyes, his
whole body tensing for the hit. Sydney watched in
sadness, gently laying his hand on his arm. Sydney felt
the younger man’s arm tremble at the contact and
frowned in sorrow. “Jarod, I am not going to hurt you.”

Jarod slowly opened his eyes and looked at Sydney
briefly, before lowering his gaze again. No eye
contact, Jarod told himself. His mind was so fuzzy,
he couldn’t think clearly. Hell, he didn’t even know if he
was dreaming or not. Was Sydney really here? He knew
Sydney would never hurt him, but it became a habit to
flinch at anothers touch and he couldn’t help it anymore.
And he knew if he acted up, he would be beaten again
by sweepers later by Raines’ orders. He had been hurt
and beaten so much; it was now instinct to run away
from the others.

Miss Parker watched with great sadness as he flinched
away from Sydney. She had never seen Jarod afraid of
Sydney. Parker shook her head softly in disgust. Never
in her life had she wanted to kill Raines more. She
inhaled deeply as Sydney squeezed a little on Jarod’s
arm, causing Jarod to whimper and yank his arm free.
Sydney let out a low, frustrated sigh, almost a growl as
he pulled his hand back on his side of the table, still
watching Jarod’s fearful expression. Sydney’s eyes
came to meet with Miss Parker’s, softly telling her to get
the first aid kit.

Miss Parker quickly obeyed, getting up from her seat
and walking over to the far end of the corner of the lab,
opening a cabinet and pulling out a white box. She
brought it back to the table and set it down in front of
Sydney, who quickly opened it up and pulled out its
contents. Getting up suddenly to move around the table
to Jarod’s side, Sydney watched as Jarod flinched again
at the sudden movement. Briefly closing his eyes in
sadness, Sydney slowly moved around the table, quietly
sitting down next to Jarod. Sydney watched Jarod’s eyes
as they bounced across every item Sydney held, his
gaze filled with confusion and fear.

“This might sting a little, Jarod,” Sydney said softly,
getting a wide-eyed look from the pretender. Sydney
carefully poured the medicine on the gauze, then lifting it
very slowly, so Jarod wouldn’t get scared, to the cut that
ran down Jarod’s jaw line.

When the gauze and raw flesh was in contact, Jarod let
out a gasp of pain and leaned back suddenly. Sydney, in
instinct, grabbed Jarod’s arm and pulled him back
towards him, getting a scream of pain from Jarod.

“Owe!” Jarod shouted, scrambling out of his seat and
gripping his arm.

“I’m sorry Jarod,” Sydney said as he stood, seeing the
blood begin to show through the white material of
Jarod’s long sleeved shirt. Sydney stepped towards
Jarod slowly and gently grabbed Jarod’s arm. Briefly
glancing up at Jarod’s pained look for warning, Sydney
slowly pulled Jarod’s sleeve up to his elbow.

Miss Parker stood up from her chair, trying to see for
herself as she heard Sydney’s gasp of horror. Now, both
got a good look at Jarod’s wrist, seeing a deep, bloody
cut going all the way around, looking as if the bone was
close to being seen through the gash.

Ropes, Miss Parker thought in utter disgust. And
on Jarod’s arm were welts, bruises and cuts, one of
which was freshly bleeding where Sydney had reopened
it.
Seeing how much blood the cut was shedding, Sydney
cringed.

“I am so sorry, Jarod,” Sydney whispered, looking up at
Jarod again. Jarod’s brown eyes sparkled with unshed
tears, utter pain in his eyes.

Sydney hurt me, Jarod’s blurry mind thought.
Why did he do that?

“Here, sit back down and we’ll fix you all up, okay?”
Sydney’s voice trembled.

Jarod’s pain stricken eyes danced over the table where
the gauze and bottle of alcohol still laid. He felt his arm
being pulled at towards the table. Jarod slowly sat down
and watched as Sydney again lifted the gauze, this time,
lowering it to Jarod’s bleeding arm.

"This is going to sting really bad, but you have to
trust me okay Jarod?” Sydney asked, waiting for a
response from the younger man.

Jarod still stared at the gauze as if it was going jump up
at him and bite him.

“Jarod?” Sydney asked, getting the pretender’s
attention. “ Are you going to trust me on this one?”

Sydney was satisfied when the pretender slowly nodded
his head. Sydney swallowed, slowly lowering the gauze
more when he froze. He looked up at Miss Parker.

“Could you come over here and… hold his hand or
something?” Sydney asked, almost in an embarrassed
whisper.

Miss Parker lifted an eyebrow evilly and just stared at the
man. “Please Parker, it will take his mind off the pain.”
Letting out the most frustrated sigh there’s possible, she
got to her feet and moved around the table, pulling a
chair up beside Jarod and Sydney and sat down. She
lifted her hand quickly, but Sydney grabbed it.

“Slow movements. Nothing that will frighten him. He is a
little on the murky side, if you know what I mean,” Sydney
whispered. Sydney watched as Miss Parker rolled her
eyes and slowly reached for Jarod’s hand.

Jarod looked down at her palm in confusion, briefly
flashing his frightened brown eyes up at her. After a few
seconds, Miss Parker reached over and took his hand
gently, giving it a reassuring squeeze. His eyes slowly
moved to hers and they got caught in each other’s stare.

“Okay, on three, Jarod,” Sydney interrupted. Jarod
looked from Miss Parker to Sydney, then to the gauze
that was held over his flesh by an inch. “One… two…
three!” Sydney pressed down, Jarod letting out a
whimper of pain, tried to pull away, but Sydney held on to
his arm firmly.

Miss Parker felt Jarod tense, squeezing harder on her
hand. She felt his hand shake a little after a moment,
Sydney still holding the gauze on the cut. She looked up
to his face; his eyes were closed tightly, his brow
wrinkled in pain.

Oh, Jarod, she thought to her self in sadness.

“Okay,” Sydney said, pulling the bloody piece of cloth
from Jarod’s flesh. Jarod inhaled sharply and let out
short deep breaths. “See? That wasn’t so bad, now was
it?” Sydney asked, Jarod’s eyes still stared down at the
cut. Sydney began to wrap Jarod’s arm with one of the
bandages from the case slowly.

Miss Parker released her hand from Jarod’s grip, as
Sydney let out a slow, heavy sigh. “What did they do to
him, Syd?” Miss Parker whispered.

Sydney looked from Jarod’s expressionless face, his
eyes staring out, and looked at Miss Parker.

“I don’t know, Parker. But, whatever they did…” Sydney
said slowly, softly, glancing back at Jarod with sad eyes.
“They killed his soul.”



After almost an hour of cleaning the wounds on Jarod’s
arms and face, and trying to get Jarod to tell them what
happened, Sydney and Miss Parker gave up.

“All right Jarod, we’ll take you to your room,” Sydney said
softly, getting up from his chair. Jarod’s eyes followed
him as he walked over to his side of the table and held
out his hand. “Come on, Parker and I will take you to your
room now.”

Jarod didn’t take Sydney’s hand, but stood. Sydney
gently pulled at Jarod's sleeve so he would take a step
towards him, but Jarod wouldn’t move.

“Jarod, come on!” he said, his voice getting an edge.

Jarod blinked once and leaned back a little, before
taking a step towards Sydney. Letting out a gasp of
pain, Jarod’s leg gave way under his weight.

Sydney wrapped his arms around Jarod’s thin waist,
holding him up. As Sydney pulled Jarod back up onto
two feet, he felt Jarod’s ribs through his shirt. Sydney
briefly closed his eyes as his hatred towards Raines
grew.

“What is it Sydney?” Miss Parker asked, seeing the
hatred burn in Sydney’s eyes as he let go of Jarod. Miss
Parker walked over to Sydney and Jarod, then gently
reached out to pull Jarod’s shirt up. Jarod yanked
his shirt from her hand and stepped back, again his leg
collapsed in pain and he fell into his seat.

Sydney leaned down to Jarod’s level and looked him in
the eyes gently.

“How long has it been since you ate?”

Jarod stared into the older man’s eyes for a moment.
After a few seconds without an answer Sydney
straightened up.

“Can you walk Jarod?” Sydney asked. Jarod closed his
eyes tightly.

Sydney nodded a little in understanding, then looking at
Miss Parker, told her to get the guard from outside.



With the help of the guard, Sydney and Miss Parker got
Jarod to his room. Miss Parker watched as Sydney
made sure Jarod was comfortable in bed, amazed by
his gentleness. She always knew Sydney loved Jarod.
The small smile yanked at her lips as the old man tucked
the sleeping pretender in carefully.

Sydney gave her a small gentle smile as he passed her,
on his way out of the room.



“I am too attached,” Sydney murmured suddenly.
Miss Parker looked up from her file, looking at Sydney
who sat in the overstuffed chair by her desk.

“What?” Miss Parker asked. Sydney, who was staring off
into space, slowly turned his gaze to the brunette behind
the desk.

“Raines is right, I am too attached to Jarod. If something
was to happen to him…” Sydney trailed off. He didn’t
need to finish his sentence. After a moment he looked at
Miss Parker in consideration.

“Will you… help me get Jarod out of here?”

Miss Parker leaped out of her chair and slammed her
fists onto her desk. “Are you crazy!?” Sydney winced at
her sudden out burst.

“Please Parker… help me save Jarod.”

“Save him? He belongs here! You said so yourself!”

Sydney shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. “I was a
fool. I thought, if Jarod was in here, he wouldn’t be able
to get hurt. Well, he is getting hurt now. Parker, you saw
the scars! You saw what they did to him!”

Miss Parker slowly said down, inhaling deeply. She
stared at Sydney for a long moment before briefly
closing her eyes. “You have no idea what you are asking
of me.”

“Please Parker. You care for Jarod, don’t you?”

Miss Parker snapped her eyes up at the old man in
surprise. She stared at him as if she was going to catch
him on fire with her burning glare. Looking away, she
muttered under her breath, “I need a cigarette.”

“Will you?”

Miss Parker looked back up at Sydney. “If I said yes,
what will we do with the weakling anyway? He is in no
condition to be out on his own. And besides, we are
risking our asses!”

“Well, I was thinking we could drive as far as we possibly
can, get a motel, stay there until we can move him again
and then-“

“Whoa, back up the rescue bus for a minute!” Miss
Parker said, getting up from her desk and walking
around it to stand in front of Sydney. “Who is we? And
how the hell do you think we are going to get Boy
Wonder out of here and then hide him well enough so the
Centre won’t find us, huh?”

Sydney looked down at the floor briefly, before turning
his aged eyes back up at her. “With Broots’ help, I’m
sure we can make it safely.”

“And what happens to us when we return from our little
trip? They will know we had something to do with it since
we will be missing as well.”

“Well, I could get Jarod out and take him somewhere
nearby. When the Centre realizes Jarod is gone, you tell
them you and Broots are going after him.”

“Well, won’t they find it odd that you are missing?”

Sydney bit his lower lip. “Then I’m afraid, Broots will have
to get him out.”

“Broots couldn’t get a cat out of a tree!” Miss Parker
snapped. “I’ll get Jarod out.”

“Won’t they find it odd that you are missing?”

“I’ll drop him off somewhere, return to the Centre, wait for
the dimwits to find out that the bird flew the coop and
then the three of us will take off after the escapee.”

Sydney nodded once slowly. “Will this work?” he asked
softly.

“It has to.”



Miss Parker carefully looked around the dark corner. I
can’t believe I am doing this, she thought, watching
the red light on the camera in the corner of the hallway
turn off. Good work Broots. She quickly dashed
down the hall and ran to Jarod’s room, skidding to stop a
couple feet away, seeing a guard by the door. She
quickly dashed behind a corner and waited for the man
to turn his back again before throwing a punch to the
back of his head. As he landed on the floor unconscious,
Miss Parker grabbed the keys from his belt and
unlocked the door quickly.

Briefly looking up at the camera, she noted the light was
off. She dashed into the dark room and ran to the
sleeping figure on the bed.

How am I going to get you out of here if you can’t
walk, she thought, placing a hand on Jarod’s arm
and shaking him a little. Jarod moaned, stirring a little.
“Come on, Jarod! We have to go!” she whispered,
shaking him more. Jarod jolted upward in fear and
gasped at the dark figure standing over him. “It’s okay,
it’s me Jarod.”

With no reply from him, she grabbed his arm gently,
trying not to harm him and pulled him out of the bed.

“You are going to have to limp Jarod,” she whispered,
throwing his arm behind her neck and letting him put
some support on her.

Jarod was very slow, and Miss Parker knew that every
step had to be painful for him. She was trying to speed
up, but that just made it more difficult for him. So she bit
her lower lip and walked at the pace he was, helping him
as much as she could.

Finally they reached the boiler room. Miss Parker quickly
pulled off the vent’s wire door and looked inside the
small tunnel. There was no easy way to do this. She
turned to Jarod, who was leaning against the wall
weakly. He looked terrible and tired and she was
beginning to worry if he was going to make it.

“I’ll go first, you crawl in behind me okay?” she asked
gently. His eyes darted briefly up at her face and then
back to the vent’s small escape route. She gently tapped
him on the arm twice before sliding into the dusty tunnel.
Shortly after her, Jarod slid in as well.

Along the way, Miss Parker kept looking back, seeing if
he was still behind her and then kept going. Every
second was torture, wondering if they escaped with out
notice and if Jarod is going to make it.

They finally reached the end of the tunnel and Miss
Parker kicked out the door. Fresh air hit them; the night’s
air was cool and refreshing. Miss Parker carefully pulled
Jarod out of the vent from behind her, brushing him off a
little from the dust. She looked up at his face, watching
as a small smirk curved at his lips as he closed his eyes
and let the air hit his face, ruffling his hair. Miss Parker
stared at him in fascination and sadness.

“Come on, let’s go before they find you missing,” Miss
Parker whispered, pulling him toward a cut in the fence
surrounding the building.



Knock, knock, knock!

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” she shouted, opening her door
to see her old friend standing there and a man who
looked like shit. “Miss Parker… what the hell-?”

“Tasha, I need your help,” Miss Parker said, walking into
her house with Jarod, his arm still around her neck
weakly. After lying Jarod down on her old college friend’s
couch she looked back up at the black haired girl. “This
is Jarod. He is in danger. I need to look after him just
this one night.”

Tasha stared into her friend’s pleading eyes, before
looking over Parker’s shoulder at the man who was lying
on her couch. “What kind of danger?”

“No time to explain. Please do this for me, please!” Miss
Parker said, taking off towards the door.

“Ah… all right,” Tasha said, wincing as her door was
slammed shut. She turned back to the man on her couch
and walked over to him.

He weakly looked up at her and watched as she sat
down on the coffee table in front of him. She studied him
closely seeing the bruises, cuts and scrapes, but behind
that he was a very attractive man. Okay, I can handle
this, Tasha thought.

“Hi,” Tasha said softly. Jarod just stared at her, just a hint
of confusion in his brown eyes, but his eyes soon
drooped shut tiredly.

Tasha let out a sigh, watching as the man fell into a
dreamless sleep.



Sydney watched as Miss Parker entered Sydney’s office
and noticed Mr. Parker and Raines standing there. Both
gave her a look.

“Did I miss something?” Miss Parker asked, as if she
didn’t know.

“Jarod escaped,” Raines wheezed. “Did you have
anything to do with this?”

Miss Parker looked at the bald man evilly. “Why would
I?”

Raines lifted his chin a little, still watching her carefully.
“Gather men, he couldn’t have gotten far.”

Miss Parker smirked. “Sydney, call Broots,” she told
Sydney. “We have a pretender to catch.”



“There you go,” Tasha said, lifting the cup of water to
Jarod’s lips. After Jarod drank about half of the cup in
one gulp, Tasha set the cup onto the table by the couch.

“Thank you,” Jarod whispered.

Tasha dashed her eyes down at the man in surprise.
That was the first thing Jarod had said to her. His voice
was deep and weak, but still as handsome as his face.
“You’re welcome, Jarod.”

He smiled softly, ripping his eyes from her glare to stare
down towards the floor.

Suddenly there was banging at the door and Jarod
winced. Tasha gently placed a hand on Jarod’s arm to
calm him then quickly got up and went to the door.

Miss Parker, followed by two men, barged into her
house. Jarod began to shake at the sight of Miss Parker,
Sydney and Broots barging in and walking towards him.
Jarod’s eyes were filled with fear as Miss Parker
bent over him.

“It’s okay Jarod, it’s time to go,” she whispered.

“No,” Jarod whimpered. “I don’t want to go back.” His
voice was so weak and frightened that Miss Parker
almost sobbed.

“No, Jarod, we aren’t going to take you back. Come on,
we need to get going,” Miss Parker said, helping Jarod
stand. As Sydney and Broots helped Jarod to the van
outside, Miss Parker smiled at her friend.

“Thank you so much Tasha,” Miss Parker said, hugging
her old friend.

“Honey, if they all look that good… anytime,” Tasha
replied with a chuckle.



Sydney, for the hundredth time, looked over Jarod to
check if he was okay. Jarod was out like a light as soon
as they made it to the hotel. He had been sleeping
soundly for the past two hours.

“Don’t worry yourself so much, Syd,” Miss Parker said,
coming out of the bathroom to see the old man looking
down at the sleeping form.

Sydney let out a sigh, before turning away and looking at
Miss Parker.

“Maybe we should check on his wounds and see if any
are infected or anything.”

Miss Parker nodded. “Fine, whatever makes you happy,
Syd. I’ll grab the first aid.”

As Miss Parker returned to the room with the small case
in her hand she looked around. “Where did Geek Boy
go?”

“Broots went to get some food.”

Miss Parker nodded as she sat down on the edge of the
bed. “We're going to have to wake him.”

“I know,” Sydney said sadly. “Forgive me Jarod,” he
whispered, before shaking Jarod from his peaceful
slumber. Jarod whimpered a little before opening his
eyes, seeing two blurry figures standing over him.

“No,” he whimpered. “No more tests, please!”

“Jarod, it’s us,” Sydney said gently, shaking Jarod a little.

“Please! Don’t hurt me!”

“Jarod, it’s okay! It’s okay!”

Sydney carefully pulled Jarod up into a sitting position
and held the whimpering pretender closely.

“Shh,” Sydney hushed him. Soon, the whimpering died
away, only to have Jarod’s body shake from fear. Lying
Jarod back down, Sydney inhaled sharply at Jarod’s
face. His eyes were closed tightly, his lower lip quivering
as his body shook.

Miss Parker reached out slowly and ran her fingers
through Jarod’s hair soothingly. Jarod let out a shaky
sigh, his eyes still closed and soon his body relaxed.

Sydney smiled up at Miss Parker briefly before pulling
out the contents of the first aid kit. After taking care of his
arms and the cut on his face, Sydney pulled up Jarod’s
shirt.

“Oh my god!” Sydney gasped. Miss Parker covered her
mouth in horror.

Jarod’s abdomen and chest were covered with cuts,
bruises, scrapes and scars, and most of all, puffy welts
from a belt or whip. His ribs were clearly visible and
Sydney tried to hold back the tears of hatred as he
studied the damage.

“How could they have done something like that to
someone? To him?"

Miss Parker shook her head. “Oh god, Syd. It must have
been awful.”

Sydney nodded his head, inhaling sharply as he pulled
out the alcohol. Miss Parker looked from the bottle to
Sydney. Sydney gave her a look of sadness, before
pouring some of the liquid onto a piece of cloth.

Pressing it down on one of the cuts, Jarod let out a
scream of pain, arching his back upwards. Miss Parker
grabbed Jarod’s arms and pinned them down carefully.

“No! Please!” Jarod screamed. “Please don’t hurt me
anymore!”

“It’s okay Jarod,” Sydney said, his voice quivering in
sadness as he watched the pretender squirm in pain.

“Please! Sydney help me!” Tears began to run down
Jarod’s cheeks, his body quaking in sobs.

At that, a tear ran down Sydney’s face in sadness. “I’m
here Jarod.”

“Please Sydney,” Jarod whimpered, his voice becoming
weaker. At that, Sydney lifted the cloth from the cut.
Jarod let out a gasp of pain and relief. He was still
sobbing as Sydney put away the first aid kit.

“This will have to wait,” Sydney informed Miss Parker,
gesturing towards the kit. Sydney sat down on the bed
and pulled Jarod up to him again. Hugging Jarod gently,
Sydney hushed the pretender as he sobbed against him.

“I’m here Jarod. They are gone. I’m here for you now.”

“Sydney…?” Jarod whispered against Sydney’s
shoulder.

Sydney let out a sob. “Yes Jarod, it’s me.”

“They hurt me, Sydney,” Jarod whimpered softly.

“I know,” Sydney said, a tear running down his aged
face. “But they won’t be able to hurt you again.”



“I’m going to kill him!” Sydney shouted angrily, throwing a
pillow at the table. Miss Parker flinched in surprise at
Sydney’s sudden outburst.

“Sydney, you are going to wake him,” Miss Parker
whispered, gesturing toward the connecting door of the
two rooms.

“I am going to kill that wheezing bastard! Raines knew
how emotionally involved I was with Jarod and so he
beat the shit out of him just to show me who has the
bigger ass in the Centre!”

“Sydney!” Miss Parker said in shock, placing a hand on
her chest in astonishment. She noted how Syd’s accent
magically disappeared when he was mad, no, furious!
Miss Parker quickly stood up from the bed and walked
over to Sydney, placing a hand on his shoulder gently.
“Jarod will be okay. The drugs will wear off in no time
and Rat Boy will be as good as new!”

Sydney turned to her at that moment and stared. “How
do you know if it is drugs at all? They could have hit him
on the head one too many times and-“

“Sydney, you are smarter than that,” Miss Parker
snapped.

Sydney let out a sigh, slumping down on the bed tiredly.
“I just can’t stand seeing him like-“ Sydney said, his
sentence interrupted by a sob.

Miss Parker sat down beside him and smiled gently.

“You know, if it makes you feel any better, you would
have made a hell of a father for Jarod.”

Sydney swallowed, as a weak smile yanking at his
mouth. “And he would have made a hell of a son. I am
so proud of him Parker,” he said, his eyes
sparkling with unshed tears. “No matter what pulls him
down,
he just gets right back up. He’s one of the
strongest people I know.” Sydney glanced at Parker with
a smile on his face. “And you are the other one. You are
strong inside and out, just like him. I always considered
you two like my own children. Hell, I raised you both from
the beginning.”

Miss Parker inhaled sharply, slowly getting up from the
bed and walking to the window. Sydney rose too, staring
off towards Parker in sadness. “I’m sorry,” Sydney
whispered. “I didn’t mean it like-“

“No Sydney,” Miss Parker whispered. “I know my father
doesn’t-“ she swallowed hard, forcing the tears back. “I
know I’m not an important issue in my father’s life. I know
he doesn’t care…” She let the sob escape her lips,
quickly covering her face with both hands to hide her
tears.

Miss Parker felt Sydney at her side, his arm wrapping
around her shoulders and pulling her towards him. She
let the embrace go on for only a couple seconds, before
pulling away and wiping at her eyes.

“Excuse me,” she whispered, taking off towards the
bathroom.



Light fingers stroked through his hair gently. A light smile
lay on his lips as he concentrated on those fingers. Her
sweet voice hummed a beautiful tune as she caressed
his head and face. Her fingers lightly traced a pattern on
his cheek, running across his brow, down his nose,
over his lips and back again.

“How are feeling today, Baby Brown?” her voice sang.

Jarod frowned. “Fine, until Raines gets me,” Jarod
whispered.

“Oh baby, he won’t come and get you. Raines is gone
now.”

“Where did he go?” Jarod asked softly, his frown slowly
turning upside down.

“He didn’t go anywhere. You did. You are safe now.”

“Where am I?”

“With some people that care a great deal about you.”

“You?”

“Of course me. And we all want you to wake up now.”

“But I am awake, Barb.”

“No, baby. You are, but your mind isn’t. Wake up now,
babe.”

“But-“

“Wake up, Baby Brown.”

“Barb?”

“Wake up, Jarod.”

“Barb, wait! Where are you going?”

“Wake up!”

“Barb… Barb no! Don’t leave me! Not yet!”

“Wake up, Jarod.”

“No…”

“Jarod, come on. Wake up,” Sydney said softly, shaking
the pretender as gently as possible. Jarod whimpered
her name again. Sydney briefly closed his eyes before
resuming his shaking. “Come on Jarod, wake up!”

Jarod’s eyes snapped open, resting upon his face.
Whose face? Jarod searched desperately in his mind to
put a name on that face. Sydney! Sydney, oh god,
Sydney! Now, search for the voice, search for my
voice.

“Syd… ney?” Jarod asked weakly, looking up at the
older man’s face. Sydney nodded, gently running his
hand over Jarod hair. Jarod was confused for a moment.
Did Sydney just… did he just… does he love…
Jarod swallowed staring up at the face, watching his
gently smiling lips move, his eyes glittering in hope and
sadness. The words? What were the words? What
was he saying? So blurry… so fuzzy. Can’t think
properly.
Focus… concentrate!

~ ”We need you to wake up now, Baby Brown,” ~ Barb’s
words echoed in his mind. Jarod faintly smiled, still
staring up at Sydney’s face.

“Where am I Syd?” Jarod asked, his voice gathering an
unfamiliar strength.

Sydney’s face lit up in happiness. “You are at a hotel,
about five hours away from Blue Cove.”

Jarod’s eyes danced around the room briefly. “Who is
here?”

“Miss Parker is in the other room, and Broots went to get
dinner for us.”

Suddenly, the connecting door opened and Miss Parker
came barging in.

“Syd, when is Geek Boy getting back? I am starved and I
can’t find my damn cigarettes anywhere!” she hissed.
She stopped suddenly at the sight of Sydney and
Jarod staring at her, only Sydney had a huge smile on
his face. Miss Parker’s eyes snapped down to Jarod’s
and then back to Sydney again.

“He’s awake Parker,” Sydney said with a smile. Miss
Parker inhaled sharply, before walking towards the bed.

“Welcome back Rat Boy,” Miss Parker said softly,
staring down at his weak figure.

“Thanks,” he whispered with no expression in his tone.



Miss Parker glanced over at Jarod who was still in bed,
watching TV that sat across from him. She popped
another crouton in her mouth, her eyes still on him,
watching him stare at the TV.

“I was going to check out some computers tonight, but
didn’t get to it,” Broots said, interrupting their silence as
they ate their dinner of salads, chicken sandwiches and
soda drinks. Jarod, surprisingly, only had one chicken
sandwich and half a can of Pepsi. Well, Sydney had
told him not to eat too much or he might get sick.

“Sydney, would you come with me to check ‘em out in
the morning?”

“Why do you need a computer, Broots?” Miss Parker
snapped at him, turning her attention back to them.

“Ah… well, there are a few things I need to check out.”

“Does this have to do with your ‘cyber girlfriend’?” Miss
Parker asked, stabbing her fork in a piece of lettuce.

“No… no. I wanted to check e-mail and I needed to
check into the Centre’s files.”

“Why?” Miss Parker snapped.

“Because, that is my job, Miss Parker,” Broots said
softly. “Mr. Parker had asked me to check the files for
any… loose ends and wanting me to ‘tinker’ with the
‘guard dog’ device.”

Miss Parker rolled her eyes and looked over her
shoulder at Jarod again.

“He isn’t going anywhere, Parker,” Sydney said with a
smile. Miss Parker turned towards Sydney again, her
wide eyes sparkling in surprise.

“Pardon?” Miss Parker snapped.

“Ever since he woke you are always looking over at him.
He won’t escape. Even if he did snap out of the drugs he
can’t run away in his condition.”

“Hmph, I’ve heard that before,” Miss Parker said, fiddling
with a piece of tomato in her salad, pushing it around
and around her plate. Sydney let out the sigh that
hovered in his throat and took a look for himself
at Jarod.

Sydney, declaring he was finished, got up from his seat
and walked over to Jarod. Jarod peeled his brown eyes
away from the screen of the TV to look at the
approaching man for a split second, only to have his
eyes glued back onto the tube again. Sydney sat down
on the bed by Jarod’s side and looked at the TV.

“What are you watching?” Sydney asked softly, looking
at Jarod, watching his eyes dazzle of fascination
towards the electric window of fantasy.

“One Fine Day,” Jarod replied softly.

Sydney nodded, before looking back at the TV, watching
as George Clooney paraded across the screen.
Returning his attention back to Jarod, he studied the
younger man’s face.

“How are you doing, Jarod?” Sydney asked.

Jarod slowly peeled his eyes away from the TV to look at
the man before him. Jarod stared at Sydney for a
moment before replying. “Shit, Sydney. Like shit.”

Sydney let out a soft chuckle. “At least you are honest!”

Jarod weakly smiled, shaking his head a little. “Yeah,
well I hurt all over and knowing the fact that I killed
someone I-“ Jarod’s voice trailed off, any sign of hope
and emotion gone from his face in an instant.

Sydney’s face turned serious. “Jarod, you didn’t kill her.”

Jarod shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. “Oh,
Sydney, but I did. I killed her like I’ve killed all those other
people. I brought the Centre into her and Bliss’s life
and I-“

“Jarod, listen to me,” Sydney said, putting a gentle hand
under his chin to turn Jarod’s face towards him. “It wasn’t
your fault. It wasn’t!”

Jarod bit his lower lip and nodded, holding back the
tears that made his brown eyes sparkle. Sydney nodded
as well.

“Okay,” Sydney whispered, releasing Jarod’s jaw.
“Tomorrow we are going to move farther out. Get some
rest, okay?” Sydney stood up and turned to leave when--

“Why did you do it?” Jarod asked, staring off towards the
wall, his eyes and face expressionless.

Sydney turned and glanced down at Jarod. “Did what,
Jarod?”

Jarod finally turned his eyes up onto the old man. “Why
did you save me? Why did you take me away from the
Centre?”

Sydney sat back down beside Jarod again. “Because…
because I couldn’t last another minute when I knew you
were in pain and sadness. I couldn’t live with myself
knowing that I could do something about it but never
did it. Because… I care, Jarod. I care about you.”

Jarod stared at the older man for a long moment, his
eyes searching.

“Do you?”

Sydney nodded. “Yes, I do.”

“Then why do you let her be killed?” Jarod asked softly,
looking away.

Sydney winced, as if he has been slapped, and stared at
the pretender before him. “I’m sorry Jarod. But there was
nothing I could have done.”

Jarod nodded, closing his eyes. “I know,” Jarod
whispered, a quiver in his tone. “I know.”



“You killed her! You killed my mother!” Bliss screamed at
him.

“No Bliss! I didn’t kill her!” Jarod said weakly. His body
was like dead weight.

“Oh yes you did! You did!” she screamed, stopping her
foot. Tears began to make their way down her cheeks.
“Revenge!” at that she began to hit Jarod over and over
again. He couldn’t stop her, for some reason his whole
body was too weak and numb to fight. Every strike was
like a blow to the heart. He wept as she beat him to
death, his sobs causing his whole body to shudder after
every blow.

“Oh please! Bliss please, you are hurting me!” Jarod
screamed up at her, but she kept hitting him, over and
over again. “Please…” his voice became weaker and
weaker. “Please…”

“Jarod!”

Slap.

“Jarod, wake up.”

“What?” Jarod snapped, jolting up in bed and smacking
into Miss Parker. Their foreheads hit together with a thud
and both let out a yelp of pain. Jarod fell back into the
pillows, his hand on his forehead.

“God, what were you dreaming about?” Miss Parker
hissed, holding her forehead as well.

“Ah…” Jarod began, but wasn’t able to finish.

“You were tossing and turning.”

“Yeah… I was having a nightmare,” he replied softly.

“Obviously.”

Jarod glanced around the room quickly. “Where are
Broots and Sydney?”

“They went to check out computers.”

Jarod nodded. Miss Parker licked her lips quickly before
straightening up more.

“Well, I’m taking a quick shower,” she said. She
looked him up and down. “Get up.”

Jarod glanced down towards himself briefly, before
returning his gaze up at her again. “I can’t.”

“Good. I’ll be out soon.”

“Parker?” Jarod began as she turned towards the
bathroom. She turned. He quickly shut his jaw with a
snap. “Never mind.”

“What is it, Rat Boy?” she asked, placing her hands on
her hips.

“Could… um…” Jarod stuttered. He briefly closed his
eyes and then looked down to the floor. “Never mind.
Just forget it.”

Miss Parker walked back to the bedside and bent down
so that her face was just hovering over Jarod’s. “What?”
she snapped.

Jarod smiled weakly up at her. “I just wanted to take a
shower too… but I would need help and-“

Miss Parker smiled. “I’ll be out in a minute and then I’ll be
out to… ‘assist’ you.”

Jarod looked at her in surprise. “Excuse me?”

“You need help, don’t you?” Miss Parker asked, leaning
up straight again, still staring down at him.

“Well… yeah, but-“

“All right then. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Jarod watched her as she disappeared into the
bathroom and blinked a couple times in astonishment.

What the hell was that?



Miss Parker came out of the bathroom and looked over
at him. With the towel on her head, her hands massaging
her scalp through the material, she walked over to him.
His eyes were closed and appeared to be sleeping.

Seems like I was in there longer than I thought

She leaned over his sleeping form and stared down at
him. The unwanted smile appeared on her lips as she
stared at him. Quickly wiping it away, she poked him into
the side.

He let out a whimper, followed by a mumble of words.
She leaned down, her ear just an inch over his lips, trying
to hear what he had said. She heard him moan again,
turning her head slowly down to him and saw that
his eyes were open now, fully awake and staring up at
her with sparkles in those eyes. After a moment of
getting caught in each other’s gaze, she realized how
close they were. She quickly stood up straight, still
keeping eye contact and just stared.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I must’ve fallen asleep.”

Miss Parker nodded, in lost of words. Finally, gathering
back her control, she said softly, “Well, we ah, better-“

“Yeah.”

Miss Parker nodded. “Do you-“

“Would you?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.”

Jarod sat up painfully and then she carefully helped him
stand. At first he just stood there, on weak legs and
swayed a little back and forth. Miss Parker wrapped her
arm around his thin waist and pulled him a little forward.
Jarod took a step forward and hissed in pain at all
his aching muscles.

“Oh, I can’t do this,” Jarod whimpered, trying to take a
step back.

“Do you want to take a shower or not?” Miss Parker
snapped, keeping a firm hand on his lower back. Jarod
took a deep sigh and then nodded reluctantly.

“All right, fine… I can do this,” he said softly, taking
another step forward. Groaning in pain, he leaned
backwards again. “No I can’t.”

“Jarod!” Miss Parker snapped, pulling him forward a
couple steps.

“Shit! Owe…” Jarod shouted.

“Sorry,” Miss Parker apologized softly. “But move your
ass!”



“All right,” Miss Parker said, closing the door behind
them. She turned towards him, who stood in front of the
mirror, staring at himself in disgust. He brought his hand
to the bruise on his cheek and closed his eyes tightly at
the memory of the beating.

Miss Parker quietly came up beside him, staring at him
carefully and then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He flinched at the contact and snapped his eyes open at
her. Letting out a heavy sigh, he looked down to the
ground, mumbling a soft apology.

“It’s okay, Jarod,” she replied softly. “All right, let’s get
you… naked.”

Jarod’s wide eyes snapped up at her face.

Miss Parker cocked her head to the side. “Don’t give me
that ‘what the hell are you talking about’ look. You can’t
get in the shower with your clothes on.”

“Yeah, but the classy way would have been to not bring
attention to it.”

Miss Parker smiled, all teeth, before grabbing Jarod’s T-
shirt by the waist and pulled it over his head in one swift
motion. Jarod hissed in pain as Parker tossed the shirt
to the tiled floor. She tried with all her might not to stare
at his six-pack. She had to admit, behind all the scrapes,
bruises and welts, Rat Boy had a nice body. The
kind that any woman would be purring like a tiger for.

Again, she watched as Jarod looked in the mirror,
staring back at himself, at all the bruises and cuts that
covered his torso. He inhaled sharply, holding back the
tears as he stared at the damage that would scar his
mind forever.

“It will all heal,” Miss Parker said softly, breaking into his
thoughts. He looked over at her and gave her a weak
smile.

“Not everything,” Jarod whispered, looking back at the
mirror and putting a hand to his temple.

Miss Parker swallowed hard, staring at him as he
replayed the damaging memories through his empty
eyes. Not able to take anymore of the silence, she
walked passed him and turned on the water, placing a
hand under the running water to check the temperature.
Shaking off the water from the tub, she looked over her
shoulder at Jarod who was now turned from the mirror
and staring at her.

“Now,” Miss Parker began, standing up straight and
turning to him. “The rest of your clothes.”

Jarod swallowed hard, the action caught by Parker, as
she came closer to him to grab his button on his pants.
Quickly unbuttoning it, she briefly glanced up at him. Big
mistake. His eyes had turned from empty to seductive,
causing her insides to stir a little. Damn it, Parker.
It’s Rat Boy, she argued with her self. Yeah, but
Rat Boy became a man… ALL man.

Shaking that thought away, she bent down to take his
socks off first. Ripping them off his feet, she noted his
cute toes. Damn it, Parker! Leaning back up level
with him again, she took a hold of the zipper on his
pants. Unzipping them slowly, too slow from where both
were concerned, she slid her warm fingers into the
material and pushed downwards, the material falling
down into a heap of cloth around his ankles.

She inhaled sharply as she reached out for his blue (silk)
boxers. The material was smooth against her flesh,
sending chills throughout her body. Sliding her fingers
between the elastic and his soft skin, she looked up into
his eyes. Even bigger mistake. He stared down at her,
briefly closing his brown eyes as she pushed down, the
silk material landing on top of the pants. They both
stared at each other, wondering who was going to make
the first move.

Miss Parker didn’t dare to look down, knowing it would
cause real problems for her, so she just stared up at him,
waiting for him to make his move first. Finally, his
gorgeous glare skipped over her shoulder to the bathtub.

“Ah… Parker,” Jarod whispered.

Miss Parker snapped her head over her shoulder and
saw the bathtub was steaming with hot water. “Damn!”
she hissed, turning on her heel and quickly turning the
cold water on to cool the scolding liquid.

“It’s okay. I like hot baths,” Jarod said from behind her.

“Not when you have millions of painful cuts on your body,”
she said, still staring at the water, not daring to look
behind her.

“Well… yeah.”

After a few moments, Miss Parker tested the water. “All
right, I think the water is cool enough now,” she
announced. Pretending to be fixing the towel on the
towel rack, her back facing the tub, Jarod climbed in,
letting out a painful moan as he sank into the water.

“Oh god, my muscles kill,” Jarod said softly. Miss Parker
turned towards the door.

“Well, since we got the hard part done, I’ll be leaving
now,” she said softly. Gathering her courage to look over
her shoulder, she looked at his face, leaning against the
edge of the tub, his eyes drooped down. “Or do you
need my help with-“

She watched as he smiled, his eyes staring off into
space. She wasn’t even sure he was smiling at her.

“Well… I hate to say, but…“ he began, his voice trailing
off.

Miss Parker forced the smile back. “Fine,” she said,
faking a huff. Walking over to the side of the tub, she
swallowed, and got down on her knees so she was level
with his face. Using a paper cup from the sink, she
poured water on top of his head, getting his hair wet, as
well as making sure none got in his eyes. She reached
over him, his eyes now closed, to grab the shampoo
from the shelf. Staring at him closely, she poured a good
amount of the slimy liquid onto her palm. Rubbing her
hands together, she placed both soapy hands on his hair
and began to massage gently.

He smiled, eyes still closed, and moaned. “That feels so
good.”

Miss Parker’s hands stilled for a second, before
continuing her work on his scalp. The feel of him under
her hands sent shivered down her spine. She almost
found her self smiling and moaning as well.

Oh god, this is getting out of hand, Parker, she
thought to herself. Quickly, but carefully, she poured
more water onto his head, washing the shampoo from
his hair.

His eyes snapped open, and looked up at her. “Done?”

“No… conditioner and then… um, your body, and then
we are done.”

Jarod let out a sigh and then closed his eyes again, as
she took the conditioner bottle and poured the slimy
liquid onto her palm. Massaging the soap into his scalp,
he let out a sigh again.

“You are enjoying this too much,” Miss Parker mumbled.
She watched as Jarod smiled, his eyes still closed, and
let out a soft chuckle.

“I’ll admit it. But I’m getting the feeling I’m not the only
one.”

Miss Parker’s hands stilled again, staring down at his
closed eyes and smile. Saying nothing, she began to
pour water onto his head, washing away the conditioner.

“So I’m right?” Jarod asked, more of a statement then a
question.

“No,” Miss Parker snapped, her voice uneven.
Damn.

Jarod let out another soft chuckle and sat up more, finally
opening his eyes. Changing the subject, he reached for
the washcloth. “I guess I’ll be able to clean myself.”

Miss Parker watched as he winced as he reached up to
grab the bar of soap. “No, you probably shouldn’t. You’ll
have to twist and turn and you are in no condition to do
that.” Miss Parker grabbed the soap before he was able
to.

Jarod let out a huff as she ripped the washcloth out of his
hand and began to rub the soap on it.

“Look, Parker, I don’t mean to break up your happy hour
to put me in pain, but I can do it. I mean I’m a big boy, I
know how to wash my own-“

“Shut-up Rat Boy. I’ll be careful, don’t worry.” Miss
Parker reached over and placed the washcloth gently on
Jarod’s shoulder, slowly sliding it down his arm. Oh
god, she thought, watching her own hand work its
way over his arm in straight patterns. I won’t be able
to last.

Wincing when she ran over a terrible looking welt, she
briefly looked up at his face. His eyes were closed and
he seemed to be not enjoying this one bit. His brow
would lower ever time she would flick the washcloth
over a cut or welt and he hissed in a breath of air when
he was in pain. Parker slowly brought the cloth to his
chest and ran it across his collarbones, then down his
right side. The water level was about six inches above
his belly button and the damn water wasn’t clear as she
wanted it to be to see… properly. She swallowed hard
as she ran the cloth quickly over his six pack, moving it
up again to his chest.

“I’m, ah,” Miss Parker began. What was I going to
say? Oh yeah! “I am going to need you to turn
around. You know, to get your back.”

Jarod obeyed, groaning softly in pain as he slowly turned
in the bathtub, with his back facing her now. She inhaled
sharply at the sight of his back. The welts that were on
his chest and abdomen weren’t remotely close to the
huge gashes on his back. There were about twenty or
thirty of them covering his flesh.

“Oh god, Jarod,” Miss Parker whispered. Jarod slightly
turned, so his side was facing her, not wanting her to see
anymore.

“I’m fine,” Jarod snapped quickly, not looking at her. “I
didn’t want you see that. I-I guess I forgot.”

“Does it hurt?” Miss Parker asked, leaning a little so she
could see his face. He made no eye contact as he softly
nodded.

“A little,” he replied.

Miss Parker briefly closed her eyes, before gently
pushing his back to face her again. She studied the
damage for a second before saying softly, “I’ll be
very gentle, okay?”

She watched as the back of Jarod’s head slowly bobbed
up and down twice before she placed the washcloth on
his shoulder blade. After running the washcloth over his
back carefully, she stood up to get the moveable
showerhead to wash off the soap suds. After he was all
fresh and squeaky clean, Miss Parker held out a towel
for him. Jarod, using the rails on the side, stood up in the
tub and reached for the towel, wrapping it around his
waist before stepping out. Miss Parker almost found
herself smiling as he stood up, but quickly wiped it away.

No Parker. This isn’t just a man, it’s Jarod!

“Thank you Parker. I mean for the help and all,” Jarod
said softly.

“Anytime,” Miss Parker replied with a smile.



“You guys ready?” Sydney asked, Broots coming in
behind him.

Miss Parker glanced up from her cup of coffee to look at
Jarod, who was sleeping on the bed.

“I’m ready. Boy Wonder fell asleep about fifteen minutes
ago,” Miss Parker replied, getting up and walking over
to Jarod’s sleeping form. Looking up at Sydney she
asked quietly, “Should I wake him?”

Letting out a sad sigh, Sydney nodded. “You are going
to have to.”

As the two men lifted two suitcases and carried them
outside to the van, Miss Parker began to shake Jarod
gently.

“Come on Jarod. Wake up. We have to go,” she
whispered, still shaking him.

“Hmm…?” Jarod murmured, half asleep, half awake.
Miss Parker smiled a little.

“We have to go now Jarod.”

Jarod’s eyes slowly fluttered open, looking up at Miss
Parker.

“Hello there, Rat Boy,” Miss Parker said with a sneer.

“Nice to see you too,” Jarod replied, his voice raspy from
sleep.

“Come on, get up. We are loading the van now,” Miss
Parker said, grabbing his arm carefully and pulling him
up in a sitting position.

Jarod let out a groan as she pulled him up. “Where are
we going?” Jarod asked, softly, rubbing the back of his
neck.

“Farther west,” Miss Parker replied, helping him stand.
Jarod threw an arm around her neck and together they
made their way to the door. Sydney and Broots were
waiting outside the van for them, helping them inside.
Miss Parker took the passenger seat, Broots took one
of the seats in the second row and Jarod got the whole
back seat to have leg room and to lie down.

“All right,” Sydney said with a sigh, climbing in the
driver’s seat. He looked in the rear view mirror at Jarod,
who had his head leaning back on the seat, eyes
dropped half way down and staring out of the large tinted
window. “Are you all right, Jarod?”

Jarod’s eyes snapped up at the mirror, a weak smile
soon appearing on his lips. “Yeah, Syd. I’ve just been
through a lot.”

Sydney smiled sadly, nodding twice quietly. “I know. But
it will all change for the best.”



It had been about seven hours of just plain driving and
Jarod had slept most of the way, only getting up to eat
and limp to the rest stop.

Surprising enough, Sydney noticed he wasn’t limping so
badly now, able to walk on the foot more. After the fourth
rest stop, everyone climbed into the van. Sydney let
out an exhausted sigh, pulling out a map and studying it
carefully.

“Do you want me to drive, Syd?” Miss Parker asked,
looking over at him.

Sydney glanced at her briefly, shaking his head no.

“No Parker, I can handle it,” he said, his voice quivering
tiredly.

“Sydney, you need sleep. You can take the back seat,”
Jarod offered from the back. “I slept my share of sleep.
It’s your turn.”

Sydney let out a chuckle. “Fine, but only for two hours.”



Jarod glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the sight
of Sydney sleeping almost curled in a ball like a cat on
the back seat of the van. Broots was also in dreamland,
his seat leveled back, revealing a small bed.

Jarod let out a sigh as he turned back in his seat, quickly
glancing over at Miss Parker, then back to the window.
Miss Parker briefly ripped her eyes from the road to look
at Jarod.

“You okay? You are not going to pass out on me or you?”
she asked, just a hint of the ice in her tone. Jarod shook
his head softly, a weak smile playing at his lips.

“Long day, that’s all,” Jarod murmured. Miss Parker
nodded in agreement.

Silence stretched across the two, only the sound of the
whirling road zipping under the rubber tires of the black
van.

After a few seconds, Miss Parker bit her lower lip. “I
know this could be the worst time to ask… but what did
they do to you?”

Jarod snapped his attention to her, staring at her for a
moment before looking towards the windshield. “Why do
you want to know?” Jarod asked softly, a slight quiver
showing the tension in his words.

“I don’t know, I just thought it might make you feel better,”
she replied, glancing between the road and him as she
spoke.

Jarod closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the
cushion of the seat. “Nothing will make it better.”

“Then will it make it less worse?”

Jarod smiled, letting a sad chuckle escape his lips. But
soon his laughter and smile disappeared, his face
showing no happiness at all.

Letting out a sigh he spoke softly, “Oh, Parker. I
really don’t want to talk about it… ever. The
memory is more painful then the experience.”

Miss Parker knew the truth in his words. The memory
is more painful then the experience, she
thought. Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she
briefly glanced at him, flashing him a weak smile.

“All right, Rat Boy. I won't play shrink with you,” she said
softly.

“Thank you,” he replied back, not looking at her, still
staring off in a daze towards the windshield.



That night, they grabbed a hotel by the name Western
League. It had to be the worst place Miss Parker ever
stayed. The towels weren’t clean, the water was always
freezing cold, no soap, the toilets didn’t work properly
and the service sucked!

Miss Parker let out a huge frustrated huff, throwing the
yellowish towel to the floor. Jarod watched the cloth hit
the floor, before snapping his eyes up at Miss Parker’s
furious face.

“No way in hell am I taking a shower with that thing!” she
shouted, kicking it a couple feet across the floor.

“Calm down Parker,” Sydney said in his usual calm
voice. “I’ll go to the counter and ask for clean ones.”

Miss Parker sat down on the bed next to Jarod as
Sydney left the room. She let out a sigh and turned to
Jarod, who was leaning against the headboard, eyes
shut. Gently, she poked him in the side.

“You all there?” she asked, as his eyes snapped open.
He stared at her for a second before smirking.

“No… not really,” he replied softly.

Miss Parker nodded with a knowingly smile on her lips. “I
figured.” She stared at him for a moment, before
reaching up and brushing her fingertips down his jaw
line. He blinked in surprise at her actions, as she
suddenly realized what she did. Placing her hand on her
lap, she looked away. What the hell was that,
Parker? she scolded herself.

Looking back up at him, she said softly, “The bruise is
almost completely gone and the scratch is healing over
already.” There, that was the best she could come up
with at the moment.

Jarod nodded, placing his own hand on his face, feeling
over the healing flesh. Sighing, he let his hand fall down
to the bed again.

Silence broke through, both sitting there waiting for the
other to speak. Finally Miss Parker spoke up.

“Sydney said you aren’t limping as bad anymore,” Miss
Parker said quietly.

Jarod shrugged a little. “Yeah, it doesn’t hurt as much.
Still there is a pain that shoots up my leg, but it isn’t as
numbing as before.”

Miss Parker smiled all teeth. “Well, it’s a start right?”

Jarod snorted a laugh. “Sure, why not.”

Miss Parker chuckled softly, looking down to the floor.
Again, that damn silence returned, hanging their last
words in the air.

“What happens when I get better?” Jarod asked softly,
fiddling with a loose string on the bed sheet. Miss Parker
looked up at him.

“Well…” she began, studying him, watching him fiddle
with the string casually. “You disappear.”

Jarod’s attention snapped up to her face. He stared at
her, confusion in his dark brown eyes. “What?” he asked
softly.

“I said, you disappear,” Miss Parker said softly. “Vanish,
make dust, say good-bye, take off, loose contact… and
don’t look back.” Miss Parker watched as he blinked
twice in astonishment. She smirked. “Get a life,”
she said softly.

“Are you serious?” Jarod asked, the corner of his mouth
curling up a little, as his dark eyes sparkle.

Miss Parker shrugged. “Why not?”

Just then, Sydney entered the room carrying four towels
in his arms. He dropped the white towels onto the bed by
Jarod’s feet and sighed, looking up at Parker. Gesturing
towards the towels he said, “There you go.”

Miss Parker smiled. “Thank you, Syd.” Grabbing two of
the towels, she walked passed him and entered the
bathroom, closing the door behind her.



“I mean, we say we lost him and then return back to our
normal, track-Jarod-everyday, life, pretending not to
know a thing. After a month, two months of no contact, no
calls, no tricks, no sightings, we declare Jarod has
vanished and then tell the board,” Miss Parker
explained, pacing in front of Sydney and Broots, while
Jarod was fast asleep on one of the beds.

Sydney smiled. “Sounds like a good plan, Parker. But…”
Sydney began, getting up from the bed Broots and him
sat at. “Why the change of mind?”

Miss Parker stopped pacing, looking over at the other
bed where Jarod lay. “More of a change of heart,” she
replied softly. She smiled, looking back at Sydney. “And
I’m sick of chasing him around the bloody world. Let Rat
Boy have his own life, get a permanent job and move
on.”

Sydney smiled and nodded. “Couldn’t have said it better
myself.”

“Yeah, but the Centre has its ways of finding people. I
mean, how is Jarod going to completely disappear?”
Broots asked.

“Well, I can changed my name legally and move into a
secure area,” Jarod said, sitting up.

All three looked over at him in surprise. “You were
awake all this time?” Miss Parker asked, placing her
hands on her hips
.
Jarod shrugged. “You guys are too loud for
anyone to get some rest.”

“Well, how does it sound, Jarod?” Sydney asked.

Jarod smiled knowingly.





To be continued…