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See Part 1 for disclaimer.
Brand New Year, Pt. 4
By Ginger
"He's a child of the Centre, isn't he?" Parker challenged. "You made a new life for Davy Simpkins, wherever the hell he is. You rescued James. Isn't Michael worth it? Isn't he special too?"
"Of course he's special," Jarod replied. "I think he may be the most beautiful child I've ever set eyes on, but his situation is entirely different. He was not stolen from anyone. He has a family. YOU are his family, and I would never, ever deprive him of that."
"Not even if I asked you to?"
"WHY ON EARTH would you ask me to? You can't POSSIBLY be planning to go back. There's no way they'll let you get away with this. You'll wind up in Renewal Wing... or worse!"
"I'm not planning to go back," she stated resolutely. "I'm planning to run and, with a little luck, Raines and Lyle will expend the kind of energy and resources hunting me that they've wasted trying to get you back, if only out of vengeance."
Sighing, Jarod sank back into the chair he'd bolted out of when she'd made her proposal, smiled sadly and commented, "How could they? Where would they ever find someone with your passion and persistence, Miss Parker?"
"I'm serious, Jarod."
"I know you are, and the fact that you would be willing to endure that kind of life to keep him safe only proves what I already know. It was written all over your face this morning. You love him very, very much. And he loves you, Parker; he already thinks of you as his mother."
"W... what makes you say that?" she asked haltingly.
"Yesterday afternoon he referred to you as 'Ma.'"
"He did?" she rasped, lowering her eyes.
"Yes, he did, and considering everything he's been through in his short life, I wasn't about to contradict him. Just like I wouldn't dream of taking him away from the woman I watched shower him with affection this morning. No, there has to be another way, and I'll help you find it, I promise. Michael needs his sister."
"But I'm not," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.
"Not what?" Jarod inquired softly. He was tempted to reach out for her hand but refrained.
Swiping the tear away she looked up at him and said, "I'm not his sister."
"What do you mean?" he asked gravely, apprehension creeping over him like a chill.
"Mr. Parker shot blanks, remember?" she spat with a bitter laugh as fresh tears welled in her eyes. "If he wasn't able to father me as a young man, he sure as hell didn't father Michael as an old one."
Jarod swallowed hard and nodded, wondering why it hadn't dawned on him sooner. Bracing himself for yet another Centre horror story, he prompted, "Go on."
"A few months after... the island... and Mr. Parker's disappearance..."
"Wait a minute," he interrupted. "You don't call him 'Daddy' anymore."
"No," she answered with disgust then continued, "I realized that not only had I lost the only father I'd ever known, but I'd also lost my baby brother because if Mr. Parker was sterile then he certainly wasn't the baby's father. Then I started wondering who it could be. Lyle? Based on some things Broots had witnessed the year before Michael was born, that was the most logical assumption. But the baby had been moved and I hadn't seen him in months. Besides, I had the fallout of the 'new Centre order' to deal with so I tried to put it out of mind. Then I started having the dream."
"Dream?"
"I'm wandering through the Centre alone at night, following the cry of a baby. When I finally reach the room the sound is coming from, I open the door and find an empty crib. I turn to leave but Mama is standing in the doorway. She says, 'He was stolen too.' I ask her from whom but she never answers, only shakes her head and says, 'What are you going to do about it, baby?' then disappears."
"And that's when you decided to take him away from the Centre?"
"Well, not immediately. I decided I needed to see him, but that was only after doing my best to ignore the dream for about a week, until I nearly killed Broots and myself at an intersection in Falls Church, Virginia and realized it was no use. But once I decided, a voice inside me - who knows, maybe it was Mama's voice - told me that whatever I was getting myself into, I needed to do it on my own. I couldn't involve Sydney or Broots, but there was one person I could turn to."
"Angelo."
"With his help it didn't take long to find Michael. Shortly before his disapperance, Mr. Parker ordered a special nursery constructed for him on SL-19."
"Restricted Access Area. Very Secure," Jarod interjected then added with a grimace, "Like raising a child in a maximum security prision."
"Nobody on SL-19 looked very happy to see me but they couldn't turn me away because I have, or rather had, security clearance. So I began to visit him." She smiled briefly then continued, "I didn't think he'd remember me, but he seemed to or, at least, he seemed to take a liking to me anyway. He'd gotten so big; he was over a year old."
"And your interest in the baby didn't draw any unwanted attention?"
"I guess not or I wouldn't be sitting here. Raines and Lyle were preoccupied with their latest power play and paying very little attention to what I was doing, which is a damned good thing because I started going most evenings, and even on weekends whenever I could, staying later and later. It was getting harder and harder..."
"To leave him behind."
"God, yes. And every night, when I finally collapsed in bed, that same dream. Until..." Parker looked away, her face a mask of pain. "Until," she added softly, "It wasn't the same."
Jarod realized she was shaking and, alarmed, slipped out of his chair to kneel in front of her. Pressing a hand to her forehead, he said, "You've been up for quite a while and you shouldn't overdo it. Why don't you let me help you back into bed?"
Shaking her head, she insisted, "You need to know. You need to know why I'm asking this of you; why it's the only way. Please, Jarod."
Nodding he backed off and retook his seat as she continued, "About three weeks ago, around the time you went completely off the radar, the dream changed. I managed to stop Mama from disappearing by asking how I could possibly make it right if I didn't know where the baby came from. She smiled that smile of hers and said, 'But you do, baby. You do know.' And when I woke up..." Her expression became hard, her tone chilling as she stated, "I did."
Something twisted in Jarod. As if physically rejecting her words, he began to shake his head slowly.
"Did you think they'd give up?" she choked out. "Did you think they'd ever give up?"
"No," he muttered in denial as he continued to shake his head, tears welling in his eyes.
"They lost you; they lost Gemini; but they were never going to write off their investment."
"Parker, please," he pleaded, as if she had the power to make it not so by not saying it. His tears began to fall.
"I snuck out a few strands of his hair. Angelo secured a sample of your DNA for me but it was just a formality. I already knew and the look in Angelo's eyes... he knew it too."
"Goddamnit!" Jarod shouted, launching from his chair. It was the first time Parker had ever heard him utter profanity. Bracing himself against the windowsill he growled, "They used me again! They used me to impregnate the Chairman's wife, to bring a life into this world without my consent or knowledge! Another life for them to manipulate and destroy!"
"No, Jarod," Parker sighed. "Not the Chairman's wife. She was just a... vessel... a human incubator."
He slowly turned and met her eyes then demanded in a low, quivering voice, "What are you saying?"
"If one parent with the pretender gene is desirable then two is ideal."
He gasped then blurted, "HOW?"
Smiling bitterly and shaking her head, she replied, "Remember when I was hospitalized for my ulcer? Well, Mr. Parker was never one to miss an opportunity!" Closing her right arm tightly around her waist and shuddering, she remarked, "He harvested what he wanted from his precious 'Angel' without thinking twice, and all in service of creating his 'super pretender,' the 'final piece of the puzzle,' the... 'new Parker legacy.'"
Pausing to exhale deeply, she continued, "You'll find it all in a folder in the trunk of the SUV. The sick fuck was thoughtful enough to keep a record of every step. Wait until you read his notes; he really thought he'd eventually talk, or failing that, emotionally blackmail me into helping him raise Michael. Looks like that's why he wanted you back so badly, to secure the Parker line at the Centre with our progeny. Not a word of this would have come out until you were back at the Centre and fully 'reeducated,' of course. He knew how you'd react and wouldn't risk losing another valuable asset. I even think... I have a feeling... he ordered Thomas's murder to eliminate any chance of my starting a competing family of my own... although he never went so far as admitting as much so I'll never know for sure."
Either finished or unable to go on, Parker dropped her head and began to sob quietly. Jarod just stood staring dumbly at her, literally paralyzed by her words and overwhelmed by a staggering array of emotions, none of which he was capable of discerning. Then she looked up at him and her intensely sad, heartbreakingly beautiful blue eyes broke through the wall of shock.
"Miranda"
He took a step toward her but she raised a hand to stop him and said, "I'm tired. I think I need to lie down."
"Of course," he muttered. "Let me help you."
And he did, virtually lifting her out of the chair and walking her slowly over to the bed, which he also helped her into before carefully tucking the covers around her. Sweeping his hand gently across her forehead he asked,
"Are you in any pain?"
"Nothing I can't bear."
"Are you dizzy or nauseous?"
"No," she replied with a faint representation of a smile. "I just need to sleep."
"Okay," he said. "I'll sit here with you."
Retrieving the chair from the window, he sat down at Parker's bedside and watched as she slowly relaxed and drifted into sleep. He remained there for some time afterwards, looking at her as though he were seeing her for the first time; taking in the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the flutter of her eyelids, and the tender rhythm of her breath. He traced every curve and angle of her face with his eyes, mapping her every feature until he couldn't stand it any longer; until the pain in his chest became unbearable; until the walls started closing in. He got up, walked swiftly but quietly out of the room and nearly sprinted down the stairs. Passing the den he heard James announce,
"This is one smart kid! You should see what he's doing with the blocks!"
"Someone needs to go up and sit with Parker, NOW!" he barked, grabbing his coat off the coat rack but not stopping to put it on.
"Jarod?" his father called from the kitchen doorway.
He did not respond, pulling open the front door then all but slamming it closed behind him. Bouncing down the porch steps, he bypassed his car, his father's car, and the SUV Parker had arrived in and just kept walking.
# # # #
Brand New Year, Pt. 4
By Ginger
"He's a child of the Centre, isn't he?" Parker challenged. "You made a new life for Davy Simpkins, wherever the hell he is. You rescued James. Isn't Michael worth it? Isn't he special too?"
"Of course he's special," Jarod replied. "I think he may be the most beautiful child I've ever set eyes on, but his situation is entirely different. He was not stolen from anyone. He has a family. YOU are his family, and I would never, ever deprive him of that."
"Not even if I asked you to?"
"WHY ON EARTH would you ask me to? You can't POSSIBLY be planning to go back. There's no way they'll let you get away with this. You'll wind up in Renewal Wing... or worse!"
"I'm not planning to go back," she stated resolutely. "I'm planning to run and, with a little luck, Raines and Lyle will expend the kind of energy and resources hunting me that they've wasted trying to get you back, if only out of vengeance."
Sighing, Jarod sank back into the chair he'd bolted out of when she'd made her proposal, smiled sadly and commented, "How could they? Where would they ever find someone with your passion and persistence, Miss Parker?"
"I'm serious, Jarod."
"I know you are, and the fact that you would be willing to endure that kind of life to keep him safe only proves what I already know. It was written all over your face this morning. You love him very, very much. And he loves you, Parker; he already thinks of you as his mother."
"W... what makes you say that?" she asked haltingly.
"Yesterday afternoon he referred to you as 'Ma.'"
"He did?" she rasped, lowering her eyes.
"Yes, he did, and considering everything he's been through in his short life, I wasn't about to contradict him. Just like I wouldn't dream of taking him away from the woman I watched shower him with affection this morning. No, there has to be another way, and I'll help you find it, I promise. Michael needs his sister."
"But I'm not," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.
"Not what?" Jarod inquired softly. He was tempted to reach out for her hand but refrained.
Swiping the tear away she looked up at him and said, "I'm not his sister."
"What do you mean?" he asked gravely, apprehension creeping over him like a chill.
"Mr. Parker shot blanks, remember?" she spat with a bitter laugh as fresh tears welled in her eyes. "If he wasn't able to father me as a young man, he sure as hell didn't father Michael as an old one."
Jarod swallowed hard and nodded, wondering why it hadn't dawned on him sooner. Bracing himself for yet another Centre horror story, he prompted, "Go on."
"A few months after... the island... and Mr. Parker's disappearance..."
"Wait a minute," he interrupted. "You don't call him 'Daddy' anymore."
"No," she answered with disgust then continued, "I realized that not only had I lost the only father I'd ever known, but I'd also lost my baby brother because if Mr. Parker was sterile then he certainly wasn't the baby's father. Then I started wondering who it could be. Lyle? Based on some things Broots had witnessed the year before Michael was born, that was the most logical assumption. But the baby had been moved and I hadn't seen him in months. Besides, I had the fallout of the 'new Centre order' to deal with so I tried to put it out of mind. Then I started having the dream."
"Dream?"
"I'm wandering through the Centre alone at night, following the cry of a baby. When I finally reach the room the sound is coming from, I open the door and find an empty crib. I turn to leave but Mama is standing in the doorway. She says, 'He was stolen too.' I ask her from whom but she never answers, only shakes her head and says, 'What are you going to do about it, baby?' then disappears."
"And that's when you decided to take him away from the Centre?"
"Well, not immediately. I decided I needed to see him, but that was only after doing my best to ignore the dream for about a week, until I nearly killed Broots and myself at an intersection in Falls Church, Virginia and realized it was no use. But once I decided, a voice inside me - who knows, maybe it was Mama's voice - told me that whatever I was getting myself into, I needed to do it on my own. I couldn't involve Sydney or Broots, but there was one person I could turn to."
"Angelo."
"With his help it didn't take long to find Michael. Shortly before his disapperance, Mr. Parker ordered a special nursery constructed for him on SL-19."
"Restricted Access Area. Very Secure," Jarod interjected then added with a grimace, "Like raising a child in a maximum security prision."
"Nobody on SL-19 looked very happy to see me but they couldn't turn me away because I have, or rather had, security clearance. So I began to visit him." She smiled briefly then continued, "I didn't think he'd remember me, but he seemed to or, at least, he seemed to take a liking to me anyway. He'd gotten so big; he was over a year old."
"And your interest in the baby didn't draw any unwanted attention?"
"I guess not or I wouldn't be sitting here. Raines and Lyle were preoccupied with their latest power play and paying very little attention to what I was doing, which is a damned good thing because I started going most evenings, and even on weekends whenever I could, staying later and later. It was getting harder and harder..."
"To leave him behind."
"God, yes. And every night, when I finally collapsed in bed, that same dream. Until..." Parker looked away, her face a mask of pain. "Until," she added softly, "It wasn't the same."
Jarod realized she was shaking and, alarmed, slipped out of his chair to kneel in front of her. Pressing a hand to her forehead, he said, "You've been up for quite a while and you shouldn't overdo it. Why don't you let me help you back into bed?"
Shaking her head, she insisted, "You need to know. You need to know why I'm asking this of you; why it's the only way. Please, Jarod."
Nodding he backed off and retook his seat as she continued, "About three weeks ago, around the time you went completely off the radar, the dream changed. I managed to stop Mama from disappearing by asking how I could possibly make it right if I didn't know where the baby came from. She smiled that smile of hers and said, 'But you do, baby. You do know.' And when I woke up..." Her expression became hard, her tone chilling as she stated, "I did."
Something twisted in Jarod. As if physically rejecting her words, he began to shake his head slowly.
"Did you think they'd give up?" she choked out. "Did you think they'd ever give up?"
"No," he muttered in denial as he continued to shake his head, tears welling in his eyes.
"They lost you; they lost Gemini; but they were never going to write off their investment."
"Parker, please," he pleaded, as if she had the power to make it not so by not saying it. His tears began to fall.
"I snuck out a few strands of his hair. Angelo secured a sample of your DNA for me but it was just a formality. I already knew and the look in Angelo's eyes... he knew it too."
"Goddamnit!" Jarod shouted, launching from his chair. It was the first time Parker had ever heard him utter profanity. Bracing himself against the windowsill he growled, "They used me again! They used me to impregnate the Chairman's wife, to bring a life into this world without my consent or knowledge! Another life for them to manipulate and destroy!"
"No, Jarod," Parker sighed. "Not the Chairman's wife. She was just a... vessel... a human incubator."
He slowly turned and met her eyes then demanded in a low, quivering voice, "What are you saying?"
"If one parent with the pretender gene is desirable then two is ideal."
He gasped then blurted, "HOW?"
Smiling bitterly and shaking her head, she replied, "Remember when I was hospitalized for my ulcer? Well, Mr. Parker was never one to miss an opportunity!" Closing her right arm tightly around her waist and shuddering, she remarked, "He harvested what he wanted from his precious 'Angel' without thinking twice, and all in service of creating his 'super pretender,' the 'final piece of the puzzle,' the... 'new Parker legacy.'"
Pausing to exhale deeply, she continued, "You'll find it all in a folder in the trunk of the SUV. The sick fuck was thoughtful enough to keep a record of every step. Wait until you read his notes; he really thought he'd eventually talk, or failing that, emotionally blackmail me into helping him raise Michael. Looks like that's why he wanted you back so badly, to secure the Parker line at the Centre with our progeny. Not a word of this would have come out until you were back at the Centre and fully 'reeducated,' of course. He knew how you'd react and wouldn't risk losing another valuable asset. I even think... I have a feeling... he ordered Thomas's murder to eliminate any chance of my starting a competing family of my own... although he never went so far as admitting as much so I'll never know for sure."
Either finished or unable to go on, Parker dropped her head and began to sob quietly. Jarod just stood staring dumbly at her, literally paralyzed by her words and overwhelmed by a staggering array of emotions, none of which he was capable of discerning. Then she looked up at him and her intensely sad, heartbreakingly beautiful blue eyes broke through the wall of shock.
"Miranda"
He took a step toward her but she raised a hand to stop him and said, "I'm tired. I think I need to lie down."
"Of course," he muttered. "Let me help you."
And he did, virtually lifting her out of the chair and walking her slowly over to the bed, which he also helped her into before carefully tucking the covers around her. Sweeping his hand gently across her forehead he asked,
"Are you in any pain?"
"Nothing I can't bear."
"Are you dizzy or nauseous?"
"No," she replied with a faint representation of a smile. "I just need to sleep."
"Okay," he said. "I'll sit here with you."
Retrieving the chair from the window, he sat down at Parker's bedside and watched as she slowly relaxed and drifted into sleep. He remained there for some time afterwards, looking at her as though he were seeing her for the first time; taking in the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the flutter of her eyelids, and the tender rhythm of her breath. He traced every curve and angle of her face with his eyes, mapping her every feature until he couldn't stand it any longer; until the pain in his chest became unbearable; until the walls started closing in. He got up, walked swiftly but quietly out of the room and nearly sprinted down the stairs. Passing the den he heard James announce,
"This is one smart kid! You should see what he's doing with the blocks!"
"Someone needs to go up and sit with Parker, NOW!" he barked, grabbing his coat off the coat rack but not stopping to put it on.
"Jarod?" his father called from the kitchen doorway.
He did not respond, pulling open the front door then all but slamming it closed behind him. Bouncing down the porch steps, he bypassed his car, his father's car, and the SUV Parker had arrived in and just kept walking.
# # # #
