It was impossible to breathe. The air was no longer in a gaseous state, but semi-solid- permeated with heavy particles of concrete residue. Miraculously, when the world fell down it had not crushed her, as it should have. Instead, perhaps by an angel’s hand, the heavy concrete slabs that had once been a part of the walls and ceiling had formed a sort of refuge around her. With the exception of bruises and cuts, she was largely unhurt. Unhurt, but alone.

The quake had vanished long ago, but she was so badly shaken that she could only sit her sanctuary. Unaware of how much time had passed, she finally crawled out of her shelter to see the extent of the devastation.

The world was gone- she could not tell which way was up or whether she was standing on the floor or ceiling or wall. So thick with dust was the air around her that light was completely absorbed by it and everything was dark. And cold- so very cold.

She began to gasp for air- for any little bit of oxygen she could salvage from the atmosphere, but every breath caused her to choke. She raised her jacket to cover her mouth and nose to use it as filter against the dust. Relief did not come. The jacket itself was so saturated with the fine debris that it only further congested her lungs. She was beginning to suffocate. As the world around her spun out of her reach, a dark figure approached the spot where she had fallen. Masculine in form, the figure took on a demonic look as it neared. She began to cough up blood as the thing reached her. Her eyes closed in acceptance of fate.

“Miss Parker?”

She lifted her head and looked up into clear gray eyes.

It was the only hint of his existence she had since the demise of Dominatus. There had been no calls- at least not to her. Even on the last pursuit, he had made no effort to contact her by any means other than a long series of clues.

The phone continued to ring and she continued to stare at the note.

“We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz….”

“Ding dong, the Witch is dead. Which old witch? The wicked Witch…

The phone was relentless.

“There’s no place like home. Everyone deserves one so why don’t you leave me alone and let me find mine.”

“Parker, Jarod called. I’m worried about him. The last thing he said was ‘the body heals, but the soul not so easily. Do you have any idea what he might have meant?”

“No, Syd, I don’t. Who knows what he ever means?”

Who knows? Who knows? I know…

“…Leave me alone and let me find mine…”

“…Leave me alone…”

Alone…

“What is it?” Guilt caused her to bark into the receiver more harshly than she intended.

“I see I caught you in a good mood.”

“Jarod?”

“You still remember… I’m touched.” There was a hard edge to his voice that she couldn’t miss.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror- she was pale and looked shaken… and extremely guilty. She frowned at her reflection annoyed- she had nothing to be guilty about.

“Of course, I remember,” she replied as she fell back into the chair she had been sitting in before the call disrupted her fitful slumber. “That was quite trip you sent us on.”

“Yes, well, business as usual- isn’t that the Centre motto these days?”

“So it would seem.”

He heard the exhaustion in her voice. He wanted to ask how she was feeling, but something held him back.

“Sydney said you made an antidote for Amelia.”

“Yes, how is she doing?”

Parker shrugged to herself and picked up the paper on the floor. “Who knows? Lyle refuses to talk about her. He’s been acting odd, even for Lyle. He’s different somehow… I don’t know what’s going on with him.”

Jarod was silent, lost in thought. Parker, afraid that he would hang up, rushed on. “He also refused to give her the Antidote. I’m sure you know about that though.”

“No,” Jarod sounded perturbed. “I didn’t.”

“Oh?” Parker feigned shock. “And I thought you and Sydney were so close nowadays.”

Apparently his ignoring her had had an effect, but strangely he did not feel vindicated by it. In an attempt to resist the wave of emotions that threatened to drown him, he focused on her last statement.

“Why won’t Lyle give her the Antidote?”

Parker drew in a deep breath. “Sydney’s the only one who’s spoken to him since,” her voice trailed off as her thoughts drifted off-course. “The only thing he told Syd was that he wasn’t going to give her up, whatever that means.”

Jarod sighed heavily. Parker knew that sigh well; he was frustrated, but deep in thought- working to find a way around the problem. Finally, he spoke again. “I was afraid Lyle might resist.”

Parker sat up a bit straighter. “What’s wrong?”

“The more time that passes before the Antidote is administered, the more memory loss she’ll suffer.”

“If too much time passes?”

“The worst that will happen is that she’ll have no memory of anything that’s occurred in the last two months.”

Parker folded Jarod’s note in half. “I don’t see what’s so bad about that.” I wouldn’t mind forgetting…

“It could be very bad if she forgets what she knows about Lyle. Rediscovering those secrets might cause her to respond differently to him and well, I don’t want to see her end up like Shei Lin.”

“Neither do I. I don’t know what good it’ll do, but I’ll try to talk to Lyle about it. There are a few things I wanted to discuss with him anyway.”

Jarod’s jaw tightened from… jealousy? No, but he was a bit annoyed that she was willing to clear the air with her brother, but she could hardly spare him a few seconds. “If he won’t listen to reason, then I’ll find her.”

Of course you will… you always do… Parker folded the paper into quarters as an awkward silence widened the chasm between them. She asked about the fate of the other Members and she noticed that he went into a long rambling explanation that was out of character for him. As she listened to his voice, her heart rate began to quicken. She hoped that he would keep talking, but, of course, he did not.

“Parker?” there was irritation in his voice. Apparently he had asked her something that she’d miss.

“Do you remember… do you remember when we were young…”

“And?”

“And you kissed me?”

“Why are you bringing this up now?” We don’t have time for this nonsense.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking,”

“Look if you’re not going to listen to me,” he was angry and he didn’t bother to hide it. “Then I’ll stop wasting my time.”

“Jarod,” she almost wished they were face-to-face so that he could see that she wasn’t being cruel… not this time. “Wait, I’m… sorry. I got distracted.”

“Sorry to have bothered you.”

“Jarod…” Parker inhaled deeply. “Is everything that happened with Dominatus over?”

Something in her tone struck a cord with him. But he played it cautious, in case he was imagining something that wasn’t there. “I believe so.”

“Everything?”

“What is it?” his throat constricted on him, making it difficult to speak. “If there is something you want to ask me, just ask me.” He closed his eyes, as a glimmer of hope broke through his darkened thoughts.

Pride goeth before a fall… So many things are lost because of pride; Parker knew this but could not let go of hers.

“I did,” she said finally. “I just want to be sure that this is all behind us- that we won’t have to deal with that demented freak show again.”

Jarod grunted angrily. “As far as I know it is all over with. But as we both know, few things rarely ever die at the Centre.”

The sting of rejection went deep as Jarod answered her. He was embarrassed, hurt, and tired- tired of the game they always played. He was so tempted to just walk away from it all and disappear.

On her end of the line, Parker crumpled the folded note in her hand without thinking as though by clutching it, she was somehow holding onto him. It was possible that he would hang up and she would never hear from him again.

Do you remember… do you remember when we were young? And you kissed me?”

“What were you going to tell me… back there?”

The question came out of nowhere, surprising them both. He froze. Ever since he had escaped from the Centre, he had chosen to take the high road, to do the right thing. But now he had been handed the chance to get her back. He swallowed. Could he really be that bitter? Under normal circumstances, no. But he was only human- a very hurt human.

“It doesn’t really matter does it?” he replied starkly. “After all, you chase, I run- you’ve made that quite clear.”

The coldness in his voice stunned her, but she knew she deserved it. Jarod, however, instantly regretted speaking so harshly.

Her response so quiet that he wasn’t sure he heard her correctly, “What if I was wrong?”

I’m dreaming, he thought, it’s the only explanation. I am dreaming.

“Jarod? Jarod, who ya talking to?”

Parker heard the unmistakable voice of a woman over the receiver. She crumpled the note into an even more compact ball, as anger and embarrassment flooded her system. “Who’s that?” she swore spitefully.

Jarod closed his eyes and his shoulder slumped in despair. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

“Who is she?”

“Zoë,” he answered despondently. “I met her while… while…”

“While I was running your stupid little maze,” she finished snappishly. “You’re unbelievable, you know that.”

“Parker, I, I,” he stumbled over his words; frantically trying to recapture what was lost. The damage was irreparable.

“Save it,” she barked and cut the connection.

Morning found Miss Parker asleep on her couch, wrapped in one of Thomas’s shirts and holding in her hands a Valentine Jarod had sent her once upon a time.

He had managed, with few exceptions, to avoid anyone who might want an audience with him since his return to the Centre. Perhaps, though, he had grown overly confidant in his adeptness for avoidance. As he made his way down the corridor to his office, he turned a corner and nearly walked into his sister.

“Hey there, baby brother,” she flashed him a faux smile. “Long time no see.”

She was the last person he wanted to have to deal with at the moment, but she wouldn’t let him get away. “We need to talk.”

“I don’t have time for this now, Parker, okay.” He rolled his eyes skyward; yet still saw the weariness in her features.

“Not okay. Make some time. Now.” She took him by the arm and forced him to walk with her.

“What’s with you?” he asked coarsely. “I haven’t seen you look so bad since the demise of the shop teacher.” He winced slightly as her nails dug into his flesh through his jacket.

“How’s your friend- the redhead?”

Lyle shot Parker a side-glance, a bit surprise that she didn’t make a rebuttal to his comment.

“The redhead has a name and she’s fine.” He pulled away from her as soon as they reached his office door. “Glad we had this chat, Sis, but I’ve got work to do.” He tried to shut the door on her, but she pushed her way through.

“Chat’s not over.” She positioned herself in front of his desk with her arms folded over her waist. She watched him pace restlessly back and forth, rubbing his forehead with his good hand.

“What is it that you want, Parker?” His voice had an odd tone to it almost as though it was on the verge of cracking.

“It’s about Amelia. If you haven’t given her the Antidote yet, then you have to give it her now.”

He turned on her, glowering. “And why is that, huh? Why is this such a big deal to everyone?”

Parker didn’t answer she simply stared at him, taken slightly about by the force of emotion behind his words. “Because,” she said slowly, “the longer you wait to give it to her, the more likely she is to forget everything that has happened. Everything, including you.”

Time drifted into oblivion before Lyle finally lifted his eyes to meet hers. They stared at each other for several moments.

“What’s wrong with you?” They asked each other simultaneously. Speaking in unison would typically be considered happenstance, except that it had never happened to them before. Lyle looked disturbed and Parker took a step back.

“I’ve have work to do,” he said finally.

“So do I.” Parker left quickly without another word.

After she was gone, Lyle pushed away thoughts about what had just occurred and tried to do some paperwork. Several wasted minutes later he shoved the files away and opened a desk drawer. He set the silver case on his desk and stared at it for a long time.

His sister’s gray eyes sparkled. “I’ll be fine, Mario,” she smiled slightly. “Really.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he sighed a bit and opened the door a crack. “I wish you’d come back home and live, Fioretta. I don’t see why you want be on your own after all,” he spread his hands out and let them drop in a shrug. “All that’s happened.”

“It’s not that I want to be on my own,” Mia crossed the room and wrapped her arms around her brother’s waist. “It’s that I want to be here… this is his place.”

Mario sighed and rested his chin on the top of her head. “I don’t even know what name to call him by,” he murmured absently. “Somehow, I don’t quite care for Lyle.”

“Me neither,” she agreed. “I doubt he’d mind if you called him Robert.”

“Yeah.” Mario sighed again. “I should go- otherwise Nonna will start calling.”

Mia released him and stepped back with a smile. “You never shoulda given her your cell number.”

“Take care, Fioretta,” he kissed her forehead. “I’ll call you tomorrow so we can visit Maria’s grave.”

“Drive safe.”

After closing and locking the door behind him, Mia rested her head against the door briefly before turning back to the living room.

It was impossible to take a normal breath. The air was heavy with ash and dust. Her body cried in pain as she tried to pull herself out from under the collapsed wall that pinned her to the ground. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t move. And then everything went black.

She woke days later in a City hospital with her grandmother and brother worriedly hovering around her. Through joyous tears, her grandmother assaulted her with a barrage of Italian. Looking over Nonna’s shoulder to Mario, she regarded him seriously.

Mario bent down to kiss her. “He’s okay, Fioretta,” he informed her, calling her by her childhood nickname. “He brought you here.”

There was nothing that had to be done, so Mia choose to wander around her new apartment, hoping that, maybe, today would be the day he would come by. She shivered- there was a bit of a chill in the air. Rather than turning up the thermostat, she opted to instead get a man’s slim-cut Armani jacket from the closet. It was comforting to wrap up in it, even though dry-cleaning had removed his scent from the material.

Time passed slowly and she tried to distract herself through television and books, but her thoughts kept drifting to him.

“What do you mean this place is mine? Where you stay?”

“Me? I’m rarely ever in the City. I don’t know why I’ve kept it this long.”

“This is really nice of you, Bobby. I’ve never had a place so nice, but I’m not going to be able to afford it.”

“Who said you’re going to be paying for it?”

The doorbell rang around four-thirty that afternoon and Mia dashed out of the bedroom to answer it. She was visibly let down to see it was a flower delivery boy.

“Hey, Miss Mia,” the freckle-faced youth greeted her. “It’s the fourteenth already.”

“Thanks, Jordan,” she smiled as she accepted the delivery.

Back inside, Mia opened the florist box to find the familiar sight of a rare orchid from Java. She smiled slightly. Ever since she had been released from the hospital, she had received these singular flowers every seven days and on every fourteenth day a sizeable deposit was made to a bank account that had been set up in her name.

She settled the orchid into a slender vase, before settling herself on the couch with a sigh. It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful for all the material things he had set her up with; no one had ever lavished gifts on her before, but in all honesty, she would have preferred his presence to everything else.

Sometime after five, she fell asleep, dreaming of blue eyes.

It was almost eleven-thirty when she woke. Her head was throbbing and she frowned in the dark. With a weary sigh, she stood up shakily and tried to feel her way out of the living room.

“I thought you’d never wake up.”

Mia spun around, almost tripping over the coffee table. “Bobby? Is that you?”

“Yeah, unless some other guy has a key to your place.”

“Of course, no one else has a key.” She finally saw him sitting in a recliner that was cattycorner to the sofa and hurried over to him. “I thought you’d never come back!”

He didn’t say anything; he just tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she snuggled against him.

“Where’ve you been?” she asked, straightening a bit as she reached to turn on the table lamp.

“You ask too many questions,” he chided carelessly, pushing her hand away from the light source. “Don’t turn that on.”

Silently, she leaned back and just listened to him breathing. He was too tense- something was wrong. It was then that she realized he had not come by to pay a social call.

“What is it, Bobby? What’s wrong?”

He sighed peevishly. “You can’t just let things be can you?”

“Not when something’s wrong.”

“Fine,” he sounded pained. He held a case in front of her. “Jarod made an Antidote for you.”

“Oh?” She was curious, but downplayed it upon sensing that this was a touchy subject for him.

“You won’t have to worry about that sub-personality surfacing again.”

“That’s good isn’t it?”

“For you.”

“What about you?”

“There is no me,” he said crossly, sitting up straighter and nearly dumping her out of his lap. “There is only you.”

“I see,” her brow furrowed. “What if I don’t take it?”

“According to our Pretender, you’ll lose your memory of the past few months. And you’ll still have the sub-personality.”

“Oh.” Mia pulled a little further away to get space to think. She didn’t care much for her choices. After several minutes, she leaned her back against him once more. “What do you think I should do?”

He knew what he wanted to do- he wanted to keep her the way she was- like him. He wanted her to be like him. “It’s not my choice,” he said sullenly.

“If it was…?”

“It’s not so drop it.”

“Okay, it’s my choice and I choose not to take it.”

“What?”

She twisted to face him. “I don’t want it. Tell Jarod thanks, but I don’t want it.”

“Why?” He was floored by her verdict.

“Because,” she bit her lip as she thought about her choice of her words. “I want to be like you.”

It took him a moment to regain the ability to speak as he stared at her. “H-how could you have possibly known?”

He was doing this for his own benefit, he told himself as he removed the syringe from the case. He didn’t want her to have the chance to grow to hate him. The needle was at the base of her skull. The sooner she was out of her life the better it was for him. He depressed the plunger releasing the Antidote into her system. He didn’t want the distraction. He didn’t want to weaken like his sister had when she was with Thomas.

The kiss lasts few seconds long before she slumped against him, unconscious. He held her loosely in his arms for a long while afterwards.

Above all, he did not want her to end up like Shei Lin.