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A Pretender Fanfic by Sand.

Notes: There are minor spoilers for the episode "Assassin."
There is a secret in this story, can you find it?

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"Jarod?"

"No....I'm his son."

"Oh....You look just like him."

"How did you know my father?"

"He brought my children back to me..." The woman smiled tenderly. "Probably saved my life too." Her name was Rachel, and she was athletic depite her years. Her hair had faded to a soft yellow-gray, and hung in a loose ponytail down her back. She had a straight-forward, confident manner. "Come in, please."

He sat down while she brought coffee in for them. She had pictures of her grown children, a son and a daughter, on her mantlepiece, along with candles and flowers.

"You know, I didn't trust Jarod at first. Even though we had a lot in common. He was a good man; a hero, really, if you believe in such things. Are you in touch with your father?"

"No, we lost touch some years ago. I live with his father and sister, and we're trying to find him right now. That's why I put the website up..."

"I'm sorry. I know he cares about you."

"Thank you. Do you have any ideas about where he might be?"

"No, I don't. Once he was through helping me, he disappeared pretty quickly."

"Yes, that seems to be typical." He frowned and took a long drink of his tea.

She leaned forward. "He was on the run, wasn't he?"

He looked up sharply. "Yes."

"I only know because I was too, for a while. I told you that we had a lot in common. How much do you know about him?"

"Well, whatever you can tell me would be appreciated."

"We'd both been used, for one thing. I understood that the Company--the place I worked, years ago, was much like the place he worked...lived, whatever. I didn't ask, and he wasn't exactly forthcoming. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

"Jarod rescued me out of a bathroom in a bus station, out of the blue." She shook her head in wonderment. "He knew I needed help, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. He was as stubborn as me, maybe more so. He found me, and found out about the people who were blackmailing me. He talked me out of doing what they said, and then blackmailed them right back. He also seemed to know just what I was thinking. It would have been eerie, I mean it was, at least until Jarod showed himself trustworthy, and gave me some of his reasons... Like about how he was trying to make up for the innocent blood on his hands, and how we had similar experiences. He made sure that we were okay, and then he left. Just like that.

"So I didn't know much about him, and I didn't know him for long. I'll never forget him, though."

He smiled. He had heard this story a hundred times-- Killers brought to justice, kids protected, friends made--Jarod had touched a lot of lives. She started speaking again.

"You really look just like him. Younger, though....obviously! And--happier too. He missed his family, that much was obvious."

"Thank you for all you've told me," he stood up, feeling disappointed by another dead end.

"Listen, when you find him, would you give him this for me?" She took a framed picture off the mantlepiece and handed it to him. It was a shot of Rachel and her children, plus another woman and a baby. "My first grandchild. His name is Gabriel."

He nodded, smiling gently back at her. "I will."

"You will find your family. I know your father isn't giving up, so don't you give up either."

He nodded, his throat suddenly constricting. He left and walked back to his car. Before he started the engine, he stared at the picture of the smiling family. This was Jarod's legacy-- the happiness in other people's eyes. And he knew, with the surest of knowledge, that Jarod would be pleased.









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