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Disclaimer - Most of these characters aren't mine. You know that. And I know that. They're property of someone else and used without permission strictly for entertainment purposes.
The Eyes of a Child
By Nicky
**************
Jarod paces nervously around the top of the roof, each lap moving him dangerously closer and closer to the ledge. He takes a couple of steps towards the edge and peers over the side. It's a long way down, he thinks to himself. But that's why they allow him up there. A little bit of freedom and privacy, but without the worries of him being able to escape. Because there's only one way to escape the Centre from up there, and that's straight down. And while it's true he'd be of no use to them dead, they were willing to take that chance because at least then he would no longer be a threat.
"They'd rather see me dead than free," he mumbles out loud. If that's the way they want it, then that's the way they can have it, he concludes. He sits down, slowly swinging his legs over the side and allowing them to dangle free. How did he get to this point? Why couldn't he allow himself to care about anything anymore?
He used to care very deeply for everything. And everyone. He used to care about helping those who couldn't help themselves. He used to care about finding his parents and restoring his family. He used to care about being free to do those things. But not anymore. They had finally broken him. They finally stole his will to live. They finally killed his spirit.
He closes his eyes and imagines the feeling of the wind as his body falls to the earth. To his freedom. He wouldn't fight gravity, he tells himself. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't be afraid. It would be the only way to be free, he convinces himself. He's spent years helping others. It was time to help himself.
Just as slowly as he sat down, he carefully tucks his feet back up on the ledge and raises his body to a standing position. Looking down once more, he braces himself for the hardest step he'll ever have to make. But at the same time, the most liberating. His eyes fill with tears as images of his mother flash in his mind. Images that he had long forgotten, but are now coming to the surface. Images of happy times from his past, before he came to the Centre. But surprisingly, some happy times were from his days there.
"Jar, don't leave me. I need you," a voice calls.
"Who said that?" Jarod says, startled. He turns around and steps off the ledge and back onto the roof, searching the darkness for the mysterious, yet familiar voice.
"I'm over here," the voice calls out again.
Jarod runs from corner to corner of the roof, looking for the source of the voice. He finally sinks to ground, out of breath and out of hope. He draws his knees to his chest and starts to sob uncontrollably. So much pain and anger that has never been allowed to come out is coming out now. All he ever wanted was for someone to love, but all he ever got was the Centre. They took away anyone he ever dared to care about. His loneliness brings more tears.
"Shh. It's okay." The voice whispers in his ear.
Jarod hears the voice and begins to calm down. He feels a hand on his face and is soothed. He doesn't dare to open his eyes for fear that the apparition will disappear. He wants the rare feeling of peace to last for a few moments longer.
"Feel better now?"
He nods, unable to speak. He finally looks up at his angel of mercy and sees a hazy image through his tear-blurred eyes.
"It's you," he says to the voice. "I thought you were gone."
"You needed me. I had to come," the voice says.
"Why did you leave me? I missed you so much. Things weren't the same after you left."
"That's a long story, Jar. I'm not sure what all happened. But I'm here now. That's all that matters." The voice grabs Jarod and holds him close, rocking him until he was no longer shaking.
"Thank you," Jarod says to the voice. But when he opens his eyes again, all he sees is darkness. The voice is gone. Just a figment of his imagination. Just a memory from his past. The only comfort he had ever known in the terrifying halls of the Centre. The only person able to soothe his spirit.
"Miss Parker," he whispers. "Come back. Please come back," he says through the freshly flowing tears. "I need you. Please come back."
* * * * * *
Miss Parker sits up with a start in her hospital bed. The movement was a bit too quick and she cringes at the pain that shoots through her chest. But it's more than the physical pain the bullet left through her body. This was an ache in her heart.
She reaches over to the table at the side of her bed and takes a sip from the glass of water. Something isn't right. She can't place her finger on it, but she feels unsettled. Was she dreaming? All she remembers is someone calling out to her. Someone needs her. But who? Whoever it was, the aching she felt in her heart belonged to them. And they needed her to relieve it.
She slides her feet into her slippers and pulls her robe over her shoulders and she slowly stands from the bed. She peeks a head out the door and checks the hallway for anyone to stop her before she ventures out. She wasn't sure where she was, but if she knew her father, she was someplace in the Centre. A mysterious, near fatal gunshot wound would have been too much to explain to the doctors and police. No, she was sure they had brought her to the Centre for her recovery.
She wandered down the hall, careful to avoid any staff or cameras. She thinks she hears someone coming, so she slips through the nearest door she can find to hide from them. But she looks around and sees that she has inadvertently found the stairway to the roof. Needing a little fresh air, she ties her robe and proceeds up the stairs.
She finally reaches the top and has to give the door a good shove to get it open. A warm breeze greets her as she steps outside. She doesn't realize until that moment how much she missed the tranquility of the outdoors. She closes her eyes and can almost imagine that she is at home. She can almost see the bright stars and moon shining down, giving everything a mystical appearance. She can almost hear the chirping of the crickets and hoots of the night owls and . . . something else. She can't quite place it, so she opens her eyes and realizes that she's not imagining the sound. She looks around and finds a form curled up in the corner, moaning softly and rocking itself furiously, as if desperately trying to comfort itself. She walks slowly and cautiously to where she's just in front of the form. She pauses a moment before kneeling down in front of him, inwardly crying as his heart wrenching sobs reach her very soul.
"Excuse me, are you alright," she finally asks the form. She is shocked when the form's face is finally visible to her. "Jarod! What are you . . . How did you . . ."
"Miss Parker. You came back," he says with a smile.
Miss Parker stares at him and notices that he's not really looking at her. It's almost as if he's looking through her and not really seeing her. She places her hand on his cheek to try to get his attention.
"Jarod," she says gently.
He's shocked at her touch and jumps back. It hadn't felt like that when the voice touched him before. His eyes shoot across her face and stare intently into her eyes. His face turns ashen when he realizes he's staring into the face of a real life person.
"Miss Parker," he says with a shaky voice. "Is that really you?" He stays stuck in the corner, suddenly very afraid.
"Of course it's me, Jarod. You know it's me. You were just talking to me. You kept saying that I came back. Back from where, Jarod?" She notices that he looks completely shocked to see her now, when not even a minute ago he seemed comforted by her presence.
"No, it can't be you. It can't be. They told me you were . . . " His eyes start to glaze over with tears.
"What Jarod? What did they tell you?" She reaches out and tries to touch his face again, but he jumps back.
"They told me you were dead," he says with a whisper.
A chill goes down her spine when he tells her that. He thought she was dead. The words echo through her head as she tries to sort out how that makes her feel. But her feelings are getting all jumbled up with Jarod's and all she feels is pain. His pain. She realizes that the aching in her heart belonged to him and she suddenly understands his bizarre behavior. He was in mourning.
"Jarod," she whispers, trying to hold back her tears. "It's me. It's really me."
She slowly reaches for his hand, and this time he doesn't jump away. Instead, he allows her to grab it and bring it to her face. She holds it there for a minute, catching his eyes with her own. She stares at him until she sees a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.
He slowly begins to register her touch as real and moves his other hand to the other side of her face. He stares back into her eyes and can see that it really is her. He finally realizes the she is sitting there in front of him. She wasn't dead like they told her. She was alive. Alive and bringing him hope and comfort like she had all those years before.
Nothing is said, as no words are necessary. Their communication has always been a silent, unspoken kind. Their words always got mixed up with emotions and were of no use to them. Words were the manifestation of their doubts and fears and was the cause of the strife and discord between them. This is the only way they could ever truly speak to each other. Through their hearts. This was the way their souls connected.
* * * * * *
"Jarod, I'm fine. See for yourself," she says through her tears. As many times as she claimed to hate him and tried to catch him to bring him back to this place, she never really knew what that would do to him. That's not true. Deep down, she knew what it would do to him. But she just tried not to think about it. But she couldn't avoid it any more. She was looking at the results of Jarod being back in the Centre. He was a broken man, with no hope and no direction. "But you're not fine, are you? Why were you trying to kill yourself?"
"How did you know . . ." he starts, getting a confused look on his face. How could she possibly know that? He was barely aware of his actions. How could she know that he was about to . . . He can't even say it now.
"I just know," she interjects. "I can't explain it. Maybe it was something that I saw when I looked into your eyes. It was a desperation that I've never seen in you before. You always said you'd rather die than come back here. I guess I can see that you were serious about that. But, what are you doing here, Jarod? The last I remember, you were on a plane with your dad and the boy."
Jarod looks away. He didn't know how to explain what happened. And he didn't want her to be able to see it in his eyes.
"That's not important. What's important is that you're alive. That's all I care about right now." He lifts his hand to her face and gently strokes her cheek with his thumb as he gets one last look at her. "I have to go," he finally says. "They'll be looking for me soon."
He stands to his feet and jogs to the door, leaving her mind buzzing with more questions than he was willing to answer.
**************
Miss Parker's mind continues to race as she recalls the night on the roof. Seeing Jarod was the last thing she expected. What was he doing there, she wondered. When did they capture him? There were gaps in her memory from the shooting, but she was determined to fill in the missing pieces. It's been a week since she talked to Jarod on the roof and she still couldn't remember what happened that night she got shot. And she had a feeling she was forgetting something important. Something that no one, not even Jarod, wanted her to remember.
The sounds of footsteps outside her door shake her from her memory recovery efforts. She quickly closes her eyes and pretends like she's asleep. She had stopped taking the medication they had been giving her days ago. It made her mind too cloudy and she couldn't afford that. She couldn't allow herself to be at the Centre's mercy. But she wasn't ready to let them know that just yet. As far as they were concerned, she hasn't regained consciousness yet.
The footsteps get closer and stop in front of her door right after she's calmed her breathing to a deep, steady rhythm and is almost convinced herself that she's asleep.
The door starts to creak open, but then stops abruptly.
"Mr. Parker," a raspy voice stops her visitor.
"Raines. I'm just going to check on her if you don't mind," replies her father in an indignant tone.
"I need to speak with you first."
"That's fine. She's still asleep anyway. How much longer is she going to be on that medication? It can't be good that she's been unconscious for this long," Mr. Parker says, almost sounding concerned.
"You don't need to worry about that anymore. She belongs to the Centre now. Her life in exchange for yours. Or don't you remember making that deal," Mr. Raines laughs before turning suddenly serious. "But to answer your question, she won't be on the drugs for much longer. Our plans for her need for her mind to be clear and sharp. But you should know. You came up with the idea."
"Speaking of which, we really need to get everything in place. Jarod has been making demands lately to see Sydney. I think he may know something we don't want him to know yet. And our plan hinges on his belief that my daughter is dead."
"How long has this been going on?" Raines growls, obviously starting to grow angry.
"Just this past week. It's like he woke up one morning and all of a sudden had the will to live again. A complete 180 from how he was before." Mr. Parker takes another quick peek in on his daughter and smiles at her seemingly sleeping form. "Rest well, Angel. You've got a lot of work ahead of you," he whispers before closing the door and walking back down the hall with Raines.
* * * * *
Miss Parker continues to lay still for a few more minutes until she's sure that her father and Raines are gone. When she's convinced that nobody's coming back, she starts to blink her eyes. Her hand sweeps across her face, wiping away the inadvertent tears that are now flowing down her cheeks. Did she just hear right? Is her father really going to let Raines use her for some twisted project? And did he really come up with this plan as an effort to save his own life? She heard the words out of his own mouth. And it's a good thing because she wouldn't have believed it any other way.
She's never believed what anyone has said about her father. But she also never heard the evidence for herself until that night. And although it was pretty incriminating, it wasn't enough to convince her that he didn't love her. She knows that her father loves her on some level. And she'll always believe that. Even after all that he's done and what she just heard, she believes that he loves her. But, her attitude has now changed. His love and approval no longer mean anything to her. They come with a price. And it's a price that she's unwilling to pay anymore.
After her mother's death, she was so desperate for her father's love that she spent the rest of her life trying to win it. She worked so hard to gain her father's affections that she threw away the love that others so freely wanted to give her. Sydney has been more of a father to her for her entire life. Yet, she treats him like dirt. And Tommy. Her poor, poor Tommy. She didn't deserve his love. All he wanted was to love her and make her happy. She loved him dearly, but not enough. She couldn't. There wasn't enough room in her heart for it. Most of it heart was already filled with an emptiness that was waiting to be replaced by her father's love. Love that she never got, yet the space remained in her heart. The rest of it belonged to the memories of her childhood. And memories of Jarod.
Thinking back to her childhood with Jarod brings a fresh stream of tears. They spent so many wonderful hours together, laughing and playing. Being the only comfort that each other knew. Theirs was a true friendship, producing happiness and the purest love that she's ever known. Yet, she threw that love away too. But for some reason, it was still stored someplace deep in her heart.
"I have to get out of here," Miss Parker says to herself as she pushes her body up to a sitting position. She needed someplace to go. She needed someone to talk to. She sneaks out into the hall and, after making sure no one saw her, made her way back up to the roof.
"Jarod," she calls, hoping and praying that he was up there. She didn't know why she wanted to see him. She just knew that she had to.
"I'm here," he answers from the darkness. He watches as she spins around in the direction his voice came from to try to locate him.
"Yes. You are," she answers after finally finding him. "You're always there just when I need you. How do you do that?"
"I don't know. I guess the same way you came to my rescue the other night. I didn't think I had anything else to live for. But then you showed up. Out of nowhere. You saved my life that night, Miss Parker."
"Me? I gave you a reason to live? Jarod, I don't see how that's possible. I'm nothing but trouble for you," she says before breaking down into sobs. The next thing she knows, she's across the roof and in his arms. He's hugging her so tight and making her feel so safe that she doesn't want to let go.
"What's wrong, Miss Parker? Just tell me," he says in a calm and soothing tone and he gently strokes her hair.
"I think I'm in trouble," she finally whispers. She lifts her head out of his chest and goes to sit down. He sits down next to her, keeping his arm protectively around her shoulders. "I overheard Raines and my father talking about me. They're up to something that involves you and me. I'm scared, Jarod. What could they be up to?"
"I wouldn't worry so much," Jarod says to her, trying to sound reassuring. "Your father wouldn't let anything happen to you."
"It's funny you say that," she laughs. "Whatever they have planned was my father's idea. He was the one who turned me over to Raines' mercy. He betrayed me to save his own sorry hide."
"I'm sorry," Jarod says softly.
"You shouldn't be. I'm only sorry that I believed in him for so long. I'm sorry that I wasted my life trying to please him. I'm sorry that I ruined our friendship because of him." She looks up at him and their tear filled eyes meet. "Why is it that you even care what happens to me, Jarod? I've been so horrible to you. I don't deserve someone like you. Was I even a good friend to you back then?"
"The best. You were the best friend I've ever had. It's more than how you treat me or how I treat you. It's about something deep inside both of us that longs for the other. How do you think you found me up here that night I was about to jump off the roof? How do you think I knew to come up here tonight to see you? It's nothing either of us can explain. It's just something that's there. Something that's going to tie us together forever. I've always known that. I guess it just took you a little longer to figure that out."
"Well, I still think I'm getting the better end of this friendship. I mean, don't get me wrong. You have been a complete pain in my behind at times. But I've been awful, Jarod. Really, really awful. You do things for me that I don't even thank you for. That whole incident with Thomas. You were there for me the entire time. And I've never thanked you. And when we were younger, you got me out of all the trouble I managed to get myself into."
"And that was a lot," Jarod says with a little laugh, remembering some of the humorous situations Miss Parker would end up in.
"There's one time in particular that I'm thinking about," she says, suddenly serious. "It was that last time I saw you. Until I started to chase you, that is. Do you remember?"
"I remember," he says somberly, looking down in his lap. He didn't like the direction the conversation was about to take.
"It was the summer after my first year away at school. I came back home and spent a lot of time at the Centre. We couldn't hang out much because they kept you so busy and they kept an eye on me to make sure we didn't have any contact. But, we found a way somehow." She looks over and sees that he's still focused on his lap, refusing to make eye contact with her. "Then I got in that terrible fight with my father. I don't even remember what it was about now. You'd think that I'd remember every detail of an event that changed our lives so much. But I don't. But, I can't forget the ramifications."
"Miss Parker, let's not go there. Let's just leave the past behind us and start over," Jarod begs.
"Jarod, I can't let go. I don't know why, I just can't let it go. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have been able to bring you back to this place." She takes a deep breath and gathers the courage to continue.
"After the fight with my father, I came to you and begged you to help me runaway. I wanted you to come with me. After a while, you agreed. But we didn't make it very far. Some sweepers caught up with us and we decided to split up to try to outrun them. You got away. You should have kept running and never looked back. But you didn't. You turned around one last time and saw that they had me. And without even a second's hesitation, you came to try to rescue me. And because of that, they caught us both and brought us back to my father. He was so mad. I don't think I've ever seen him angrier. Then, he was about to hit me. He raised his hand and balled it into a fist and was actually about to hit me. But when his hand came down, it hit you instead of me. You had pushed me out of the way and took the blow."
"And then, you proceeded to tell him this crazy story about how you forced me to take you from the Centre. You made it sound like an elaborate escape attempt on your part. I didn't do anything but stand there and cry. I wanted to speak up, but something in your eyes told me to stay quiet. That this was for the best. But it wasn't. You ended up back at the Centre and I ended up back at school with a threat that if I ever pulled another stunt like that, they'd kill you. After that, things got really hazy and confusing because I was drinking and partying a lot. Pretty soon, I started to blame you for me being unhappy. I blamed you for putting me in the situation where my father and the Centre would be able to control me. It doesn't make any sense to me now that I'd blame you for that, but I did," she finally finishes, her tears freely flowing again.
"They probably reprogrammed you. Or brainwashed you to think certain things. Can you remember when or even why you started to hate me? Why did you start to blame me for your mother's death? You can't really remember, can you? My guess is that they did a little behavior modification experiment on you to see if they could get you to hate me. And it worked," he says sadly.
"I guess they know we'd do anything for each other by now. They learned back then that you would disregard anything that could happen to you and lie to my father to protect me. And they knew that threatening to hurt you would make me do what they wanted until they could make my mind believe I hated you. And now, they know that you'd give up anything, including your freedom and the family you've been searching for to try to save my life."
"What . . I . . " he stammers. But he can't get out a full sentence. She wasn't supposed to find out. How did she find out, he wonders silently to himself.
"It all just came back to me. Just now. I guess there's only so much you can erase from a person's memory. Some things are there for life. You're one of those memories, Jarod. They couldn't permanently erase our past and they can't stop me from remembering how you tried to help me. Remembering how you were in the past is making everything so much clearer. I understand how they caught you now. I understand why you wouldn't let me know. And I understand why they told you I was dead. Tell me what happened that day, Jarod. Tell me what happened in the airstrip when I got shot."
"I can't," he says, vehemently shaking his head from side to side. "You don't need to know. It's no good for anyone to know what happened."
"It doesn't matter. I'm remembering more and more of that day. You were by the plane, about to go leave. I showed up and you were so upset to see me. But ironically, I was calmed that you were there. I knew you wouldn't hurt Daddy, but that Raines and his sweeper team was going to try. Anyway, we were yelling at each other when the shots rang out. I ran over to Daddy and felt this pain burn it's way through my entire body before falling into his arms. I felt another set of arms lift me up and carry me someplace. That was you, wasn't it?"
She looks over at where he's standing. His back is to her, so that he can't look at her to confirm, nor deny what she's saying. It doesn't matter because the memories are all flooding back now.
"You don't have to say anything. I know it's all true. You had a chance to get away, but you didn't. You stayed to try to help me, and to protect us from Raines. I heard you tell your father to go on without you. Then I heard you fighting with Bridget. I'm guessing she tried to bring you in. After that, everything is blank. Until I woke up here in the Centre one day."
She stands up and walks over to where he's standing, still with his back turned to her.
"You really did that for me, Jarod? You gave up your freedom and you family to try to help me? Please answer me. Say something. Say anything. Why would you do that?" She's crying now, not able to fully sort out all of the memories that have surfaced.
"Because I can't stand to see you hurt," he says through his own tears. "For years I watched how your father treated you. That's why when I escaped, I made it as an imperative a goal to figure out your past as it was for me to find out about my past. I couldn't stand to see that man hurt you anymore. And when that bullet hit you, I saw our life flash before my eyes. I saw all of the good times when we were kids and I saw all of the adventures from when you were chasing me. And at that moment I knew I wouldn't be able to live if you died. I saw my dad. I know that he's fine and he has the boy to look out for now. It was okay to let them go. But you. I'm not ready to let you go yet. I'll never be ready to let you go."
"Don't let me go, Jarod. Don't ever let me go," she begs, grabbing onto his hands and lacing their fingers together.
"I won't," he says, kissing her on the cheek. "I can't. You're as vital to me as the air that I breathe." Jarod pulls her in the direction of the door. It was time for them to get back before anyone started to wonder about where they were. He leads her quietly down the stairs and through the hallways, taking special care not to be seen.
"Thank you," she whispers as they finally reach her room. She looks up at him and throws her arms around his neck, squeezing him in a tight embrace. “Thank you for everything."
They share an innocent peck on the lips before he bids her goodnight. Going back to his prison that for some reason no longer seems confining anymore. His heart was alive again and as long as that vitality existed, he would be free.
**************
"Get up, Jarod. It's time to get started." Raines saunters into the new SIM lab that Jarod had been brought into. He had spent the past few days trying to figure out what Raines was up to, and how to keep Miss Parker out of it.
"I don't know why you're wasting your time, Raines. You know that I'm not going to do anything for you. I demand to see Sydney. I've been here for almost a month now. Why haven't I seen Sydney yet?"
"Oh, I think you're going to want to cooperate with us, Jarod. The SIMs you've been refusing could have been used to save people's lives. Why, just the other day, one of the SIMs was going to be used by the doctor that could have saved Miss Parker's life. What does it feel like to have her blood on your hands?" Raines steps back and laughs at Jarod, not noticing how calm Jarod was remaining. His smile fades, however, when he finally sees that Jarod is unaffected by the mention of Miss Parker's death.
"What's the matter, old man? You look scared about something," Jarod teases.
"Nothing," Raines mutters. "I just have to get out of here. I remembered that I needed to talk to someone. Pete!" He yells for a guard to take Jarod back to his room. After the guard's left with Jarod, he angrily wheels his oxygen tank towards Mr. Parker's office.
"What does Jarod know?" he barks at Mr. Parker. "I was just with him and he all of a sudden seems to be carefree. What happened to that pathetic, whining loser who was so distraught over your daughter's death? He didn't even seem to care about her anymore."
"You think he might know that's she's really alive?" Mr. Parker wonders.
"The more I think about it, the more sure I am that he knows. We'll have to come up with another plan. This one won't work anymore. It hinged on his belief that she was dead."
"It's still not hopeless," Mr. Parker tries to convince. "It could still work. It just won't be as easy as we had thought before. How can we resist the possibilities a successful plan would yield? With their genetics, we'd for sure have a super pretender on our hands."
"One way or another, I'm going to have my new Pretender," Raines wheezes. "But it's too risky right now. For the time being, don't let her get suspicious about anything. When the time is right, we'll resume with our plans for those two to produce a child for us."
* * * * * *
"Boo!" Miss Parker surprises an already nervous Broots. "What's the matter Broots? I hope I didn't make you wet yourself," she says with a chuckle. She had missed the way she could scare him to death.
"Miss Parker. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be recovering."
"I've spent enough time in that hospital bed. Besides, my father convinced the doctors that I needed to get up and move around a bit. Little does he know that I've been doing plenty of that already," she says with a genuine smile.
One of the first Broots had ever seen from her. It surprised him to see it. He knew she had a heart deep down in there someplace, but nobody ever got to see it. Maybe Debbie, but to everyone else, she was as cold as ice.
"What's got you in such a good mood, Miss Parker. If you don't mind my saying," he adds quickly.
"A new lease on life, Broots. I've learned some things about this place that I guess I've always know. I'm just ready to see them now. My eyes are open. And as soon as I can get Jarod out of here, I'll be able to leave this place for good."
"Jarod? You want to help Jarod escape?" Broots asks incredulously, lowering his voice a little when he says the last part.
"He saved my life, Broots. I figure I owe him. And you can help me."
"You know about that, huh? We were denied access to you so that you wouldn't find out. They didn't want me or Sydney blabbing about Jarod being back here or how he saved your life. How did you find out anyway? Your father?"
"Yeah, right," she says with a laugh. "My father has his own agenda as far and I'm concerned. And it's one that I'm not going to stick around for anymore. Jarod told me," she says quietly.
"Jarod? You've seen Jarod? Not even Sydney can get in to see him. I snuck in to see him a couple of times. But it wasn't easy. How did you manage to . . ."
"Wait, you've been in to seem him? For what?" she asks, her curiosity suddenly piqued.
"He asked me to keep an eye out for messages for him. Messages from the outside. People he's helped before and people who needs his help," Broots starts to explain. "Most of it is pretty ordinary. Nothing special or anything. Except for this one. It's a message marked extremely urgent and high priority from Nia."
"Nia Pedron?" Miss Parker interrupts. "The girl from the mountains?"
"That's her," Broots continues. "She desperately needs to reach Jarod. From the way the message sounds, it could be a matter of life or death."
"There's no need to bother Jarod about this one," she says slowly as a plan starts to evolve in her head. "There's nothing he'd be able to do about it anyway, and it would just worry him unnecessarily. I'll handle it myself." She has Broots print out a copy of the message and she races out the door, down to her father's office.
Lucky for her, he had seen her talking to Broots. He got a little worried about her finding out too much before it was time, so by the time she got to his office, he had papers ready for her to take a little vacation.
"Perfect," she thinks to herself. After what she felt like was the requisite amount of grumbling and griping about being forced to take a vacation, she heads to her house to pack for the trip she already knew she had to take. She had to meet with Nia. The only person she felt was a threat to her. Most other people she could scare and bully. But Nia was able to get something she feared she'd never have - Jarod. And no amount of intimidation could take away what they shared.
* * * * * *
Miss Parker knocked on the door to Nia's cabin. Her heart was pounding so loud she thought everyone would be able to hear it. She knocks again and waits a few more moments before the door finally opens.
"Nia?" Miss Parker looks at the woman. Her competition. She was a beautiful woman. Even Miss Parker had to agree. She had dark hair, a lot shorter than the last time Miss Parker had seen it. And her eyes had that same wild passion dancing in them. It had been a couple of years since Miss Parker tracked Jarod here, but she remembers this woman as if it were yesterday.
"You may not remember me, Nia. I was here a few years ago looking for this man." Miss Parker holds out a picture of Jarod for Nia to see. She can tell by the spark of recognition in Nia's eyes that she knows exactly who Miss Parker is and why she's there.
"You don't have to say anything. I can tell that you know him," Miss Parker states. "I'm not here to start trouble. I'll admit that the last time I was through here, I was trying to take Jarod back to a place that nobody deserves to be. But that's all different now. I'm here to help him now."
"You want to help Jarod? How?" Nia asks.
"Certain things have happened and Jarod is held captive once again at the Centre. A couple of us on the inside are helping him as much as we can, but there's no way he can get out right now. We intercepted your message and I came here to see if I'd be able to help you instead." Miss Parker smiles uneasily at the small woman staring at her.
"Are you serious about this? Why the sudden change, Miss Parker?"
"Jarod saved my life. I owe him."
"I think it's more than that, Miss Parker. Much more than that," Nia says as she continues to stare at Miss Parker. Directly into her soul. "I knew that anytime I had with Jarod would be short. And not because he was on the run. But because of you. When he was with me, I knew that I could never get his heart. You already owned it."
Both women are silent for a while. Miss Parker doesn't really know what to say to Nia's last comment, and Nia is still absorbing the shock of seeing Miss Parker.
"Miss Parker," Nia says, finally breaking the silence. "I know you want to help, but I really need for Jarod to be here . . ."
"If there were any way, he would be," Miss Parker interrupts. She's beginning to notice a sense of desperation on Nia's part. She feels a little sorry for the woman. "For now, I'm going to have to be the next best thing."
She looks again at Nia. She's visibly shaken by the last statement. Something wasn't quite right. She was trying to put up a brave front, but Miss Parker could tell now that something was really wrong.
"But you need him NOW, don't you?" Miss Parker asks, suddenly starting to understand. "Later is going to be too late."
It all became clear. Nia didn't need a favor from Jarod. She didn't need to be rescued from anything. Anyone could have done that. And she knows how dangerous it would be for him to try to contact him to go to her. She needed him there to tell him things before it was too late. She had to tell him good-bye. Forever.
"I'm sick," Nia finally says through some tears that have begun to fall. "The doctors say I don't have much longer."
Miss Parker gets up and walks around, not wanting to let Nia see her upset. Jarod couldn't be there, but at least she could try to be the strong one for Nia. She walks over to the mantle on top of the fireplace and looks at all the pictures. There weren't many. Nia seemed to be a loner. There was a pencil drawing of a sleeping man that looked a lot like Jarod. And there was one of Nia when she was younger taken with her family. But the rest of the pictures were of a beautiful little girl who looked a lot like Nia. She had long, dark curly hair, about the same color as Nia's and skin with just a hint of brown tinting it. Most of her features came from her mother. Except the eyes. Miss Parker stared at the eyes on the little girl in the picture and saw Jarod staring back at her.
She lets out a gasp as she shakily sits the picture back on the mantle. She walks back over to her chair plops down heavily, holding her head between her hands.
"You noticed my daughter," Nia says, not knowing what to really expect from Miss Parker. She could tell it was a big surprise. "Her name is Alyssa."
"Beautiful child," Miss Parker says. She feels as if her head is about to explode. "She looks a lot like you."
"Thank you. She has her father's eyes."
"Jarod's eyes," Miss Parker whispers. "Can I have a glass of water please. I . . . I . . ."
"I understand," Nia says quietly. It was too much at once for Miss Parker to deal with. She stands to go get the water, but wobbles a little. She grabs on the arm of the chair to steady herself.
"Whoa, you just sit back down. Let me get that," Miss Parker says with a smile. She was there to help, and that's exactly what she's going to do, she decides.
For the next three weeks, Miss Parker was there for Nia. Anything she needed, anything she wanted, Miss Parker made sure she had. She still felt that it was her fault that Jarod couldn't be there with Nia. She could at least make sure Nia wasn't there to die alone.
Those weeks brought Miss Parker close to Nia and Alyssa. Almost closer than she's ever been to anyone. Besides Jarod, Nia became the best friend Miss Parker ever had. They confided in each other about things Miss Parker never knew she could talk about.
And when the end was near, Miss Parker remained a solid rock by Nia's side. Taking care of her to the end. And vowing to take the same good care of Alyssa. Nia was comforted by Miss Parker's presence and her assurances that Alyssa would be protected and get to know her father. She drew courage from Miss Parker's strength. She was able to die in peace.
**************
"Come on Alyssa, I'm running late," Miss Parker calls to the little girl. It was hard getting used to being someone's mother, but she was getting the hang of it. Alyssa was the cutest, sweetest little thing and Miss Parker couldn't help falling in love with her. But everything still took almost twice as long to do with a two year old around.
She was able to get to know the little girl while they were still with Nia, so it wasn't so much a shock to Alyssa when they came back to Blue Cove. But the daily and constant awareness that she was always responsible for another life was a bit overwhelming at times.
Alyssa finally finds her favorite doll and comes running out of her room and into Miss Parker's arms. A sweet kiss and cute little smile was all it took from the little girl to abate any anger Miss Parker may have felt. The little girl had that kind of effect on her.
"Just like your father," she says to Alyssa. "That killer smile can melt anyone's heart."
They finally get everything together and head out the door. Normally Miss Parker wouldn't even think of taking Alyssa to the Centre, but she had no choice today. Her father was demanding to see her. She had tried her hardest to avoid him that month she's been back from Nia's, but that was all about to end today.
She also tried to avoid Jarod as much as possible. As much as he needed to know about Alyssa, Miss Parker couldn't tell him until she knew Alyssa wouldn't be in any danger. If the Centre ever found out about Alyssa being Jarod's daughter, they would find a way to get her, just as they did with Jarod. Miss Parker was not going to let that happen. And if that meant not being able to tell Jarod about Alyssa, then that was what she had to do.
"Broots," she says, poking her head into the door to his office. She looks around to see if he had company and was pleased to see Debbie sitting over in the corner.
"Miss Parker!" Debbie says excitedly, running over to give her a hug. "How are you? My dad told me that you were shot. Are you feeling better?"
"Much better, Honey," Miss Parker says. She bends down and kisses her gently on the cheek. "It's a good thing you're here. I have someone I want you to meet." She opens the door the rest of the way to reveal Alyssa in the hallway. She pulls the little girl into the office and closes the door back.
"Who's this?" Broots wonders. "Where did you get her from?"
"This is Alyssa. And it's a long story where I got her from. One that I don't plan to get into with you right now. I was summoned here by my father and couldn't find anyone to leave her with. I came here to ask you to watch her for an hour or so while I meet with Daddy. Debbie can help you. Please, Broots."
Broots couldn't resist. He doesn't ever remember hearing the word 'please' from Miss Parker's lips. She must be desperate. He agrees to watch Alyssa for her.
"Thank you, Broots. You're a life saver. Alyssa, Sweetie," she calls to the little girl. "I have to go and talk to someone for a few minutes. Why don't you stay here and play with Debbie while I'm gone, okay?"
" 'kay, Momma," Alyssa says, hugging Miss Parker good-bye. She looks a little sad when Miss Parker turns to leave, but is soon distracted by something Debbie pulls out of her backpack.
"She'll be fine," Broots says to Miss Parker. "Nobody will even know she's here," he reassures, sensing her hesitation about being at the Centre with her.
"Thanks again, Broots," she says, finally leaving before she started to miss Alyssa too much. She had bigger things to worry about. Finally confronting her father. Trying to figure out what he had planned for her. And trying to stay out of trouble, for Alyssa's sake.
* * * * * * *
The meeting didn't go as badly as she had expected. She was certain that her father was still up to something, but she still didn't know what. He was being unusually supportive and forth coming with her in areas where he was normally tight-lipped. He talked all about the inside details of some of the higher security level projects. But nothing about Jarod. It was like he was trying to trick her into a false sense of security by making her feel like she was still a major player in the game when in fact she knew that she was in fact the game.
Miss Parker's newfound importance didn't escape Lyle's watchful eye either. He waited until she left Mr. Parker's office before going in.
"Dad, what's going on in here? Was there a meeting nobody told me about?" he asks curiously.
"Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about, son. I was just filling your sister in on a few things we'll be working on in the future."
"Nothing for me to worry about? Are you trying to keep me out of things? Why the sudden cold shoulder?"
"Lyle, I can't get into this now. I have a meeting with Raines. Catch up with me later," he says as he walks out the door, leaving Lyle in a stunned silence.
Lyle stands there for a few more moments before storming off to his own office. He sits down at his desk and opens a secret compartment. He stares at it for a moment before pulling out a vial of a clear liquid. Shaking it up a bit, he looks at it and smiles.
"I will not let my sister take replace me in this company. I hate to have to do this, but if she keeps on getting in my way, I'll have to get rid of her - permanently," he says with an evil grin. He places the vial in his pocket and carefully closes the secret compartment before walking out of the door.
A pair of small eyes spying from the vents blink away tears.
"Daughter in trouble," Angelo says before turning around and rushing back into the bowels of the Centre.
* * * * *
"Knock, knock."
"Jarod," a surprised Broots answers, looking up from his computer. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just taking a little stroll," he says with smirk. "I wanted to see what you've found out for me? Anyone trying to contact me?"
"Not really," Broots says, trying to sidestep the question. Although he didn't see how he'd be able to avoid telling him about Nia's message. "There was one that was kind of important, but . . . "
"Dada," a voice calls from across the room.
Jarod and Broots turn around and see Alyssa toddling towards Jarod, reaching out to him.
"Well, hello cutie! Debbie, who is your little friend? She's so sweet," he says, lifting her up into arms.
"Dada," she says again, smiling and touching his face.
"No, Sweetie. I'm just a friend. I'm not your daddy."
Just then, the door swings open wildly, and Miss Parker comes running through it.
"Broots, I'm sorry I took so long. She wasn't any trouble, was she?" Miss Parker stops in her tracks when she sees Jarod standing in the middle of the office, holding Alyssa.
"Broots, what's going on here?" she asks angrily.
"Jarod stopped by for a surprise visit . . .", he starts to explain.
"So, this little one is with you Miss Parker?" Jarod interrupts. "She's so beautiful and so sweet. But she seems to think that I'm her daddy."
"Ha ha ha," Miss Parker laughs nervously. "Come on Alyssa. We've got to get home," she says, taking the little girl from Jarod. She tries hard to avoid his glance, and that doesn't go unnoticed by him.
"Miss Parker? You seem a little nervous all of a sudden. What's the matter," Jarod asks. "Who is this little girl? Where did she come from?" He continues to watch as she nervously attempts to gather Alyssa's things. There was something she was trying to hide from him. And he had to find out.
"Broots, I know this is incredibly rude, but could you and Debbie please excuse us? It seems that Miss Parker and I have a few things to discuss." Jarod thanks them as they make themselves scarce. Miss Parker tries to leave too, but he grabs her arm before she can get out the door, and closes it so they can have privacy.
"Now, there's obviously something going on. Either you tell me now or neither of us are leaving until you do," he threatens.
"What do you want me to say, Jarod?"
"For starters, how about you tell me who this little girl is and where you got her from. Then maybe you can tell me why she thinks I'm her father." He grabs her other arm and turns her body until she's facing him. They're staring at each other eye to eye, and he notices that she's starting to tear up.
"Don't make me. Not now. Not like this," she says through her tears. She couldn't lie to him. Not to his face like that. It was one thing keeping the truth from him when she wasn't around him, but now that they were standing face to face, she couldn't lie. He knew her too well for her to even try.
So she decides to tell him. She tells him the whole story. About the message from Nia. About Nia dying. And about how Alyssa is his daughter. They wait in silence when she finishes her tale while he absorbs all he's just heard.
Jarod's knees begin to give away and he has to find a chair before he falls. His daughter. He has a child. He can't believe it. My daughter, he thinks to himself as he looks over at the little girl playing over in the corner. She's beautiful. She looks just like her mother. But she has his eyes. He doesn't know why he couldn't see it before.
"How does she know me? I mean, how does she know that I'm her father?"
"Pictures. I show her pictures of you all the time. And I tell her about you. At first I used to think that she just considered you to be the hero in one of her fairy tales. But she's very intuitive. Very smart, like you. She knows that you're her father."
"You two are obviously very close," Jarod says in a biting tone. He's starting to get very angry when he realizes how long Miss Parker has kept this a secret. "You've been together for awhile. When were you planning on telling me about her? Or were you going to just keep her for your own selfish purposes. Maybe to get back in Daddy's good graces." Jarod stops when he realizes that he's yelling. He doesn't want to scare Alyssa, so he takes a moment to try to calm back down.
"I know you're angry at me, Jarod. But I was only trying to protect her. Please believe that," she begs.
"I don't know if I'll be able to believe you again, Miss Parker. You know how important family is to me. How could you betray me like that?" He starts pacing the floor, not really knowing what he's doing. Just trying to think. He hears Miss Parker crying in the background, begging forgiveness. But how could he forgive a betrayal like that? He looks at her one last time with so much hate in her eyes and realizes what he must do.
"Jarod, what are you doing?" she asks hysterically when she notices him walking towards Alyssa and picking her up.
Before she can catch him, he has the baby and is out the door. She tries to run and catch him, but he's slipped into some tunnel someplace and she knows she'll never find him. After searching for a few minutes, she hears a fire alarm. Probably a diversion for Jarod to be able to safely escape. She prayed for Alyssa's sake that he made it out safely. She promised Nia that she would protect the little girl. But it was out of her hands now. It was up to Jarod to keep that promise.
* * * * * *
Angelo walks in to find Miss Parker curled up on the sofa in her office, crying to herself. She looked so sad, he thought.
She didn't know why she was so upset. Alyssa had reached a place in her that she never knew existed. The part that was like her mother. She connected with that part and was the best mother to Alyssa that she could be. In the process, she grew attached the little girl. And now, she felt as if her heart was breaking. She didn't know when she'd see Alyssa again. If ever.
"Daughter cry," Angelo mutters.
"Angelo. What are you doing here?" she asks.
He doesn't say anything. He just hands her a bottle, similar to the one he saw Lyle get.
"What is this, Angelo? It looks like some sort of serum or antidote. Am I in some kind of danger? Is somebody trying to poison me?" She felt a little like Timmy, trying to get answers from Lassie. It was frustrating trying to figure out what Angelo was trying to communicate.
"Brother angry. Brother hurt Daughter."
"Are you talking about Lyle? Lyle's going to try to kill me?"
He nods his head and then gets a wild look in his eyes when he hears something. He looks around the office for his hallowed vents and goes through one of them, getting out of sight just as Lyle walks into the office.
"There you are. We thought you had gone after Jarod. He escaped, you know," Lyle says disgustedly.
"I heard all about it. But no, I couldn't join the chase. The doctors haven't cleared me for active duty just yet. If I so much as look at a gun, a herd of goons flock around me faster than I can blink. It's amazing how well they can keep an eye on me yet they let Jarod get away. Besides, Daddy has other things in store for me," she says, teasing him slightly.
"Oh, the secret meetings you've been having with him. What have you two been plotting anyway?" Lyle asks as discreetly as he knows how.
"Dear brother. Are you feeling out of the loop? A little left behind? I'd watch my back if I were you. You might be getting the squeeze put on you," she says with a laugh.
She gets up and walks into her washroom. She must look like a wreck. She's been there crying for hours and she knows her eyes are all red and puffy.
"How about I fix us a drink? You look like you could use one," Lyle yells through the door.
This is it, she thinks to herself. This is what Angelo was trying to warn her about. Lyle felt so threatened that he was going to try to kill her. She looks at the vial she has in her hand. She's not really sure what's in it, but she trusts Angelo. She opens it and takes it down in one swig. When she walks back into her office, Lyle already had the drinks poured and offers her one.
"What are we drinking to?" She asks.
We're drinking to me. And how I will be on top again, Lyle says to himself. Once you're out of the picture, I'll be the one that Dad needs. He grins at the thought of how the poison will kill her quietly in her sleep that night. Long after the alcohol is out of her system. There will be no way to trace it back to him. It was the perfect murder.
"We can drink to you. And your recovery. May your life be long and happy." He grins that evil smirk again as she finishes her drink.
"Thanks for the drink, Lyle, but I got to get out of here. See you tomorrow?"
"Can't wait," he says with another knowing smile. Too bad you won't have a tomorrow, dear sister.
**************
Miss Parker doubles over as another pain shoots through her stomach. She could only hope that the serum Angelo gave her was working to counteract the effects of the poison. She didn't have time for the pain to stop her, though. If Lyle was trying to kill her, then she had plans to make. This was going to be her chance to finally be free.
She gets up and continues with the preparations. Making phone calls and setting her plan in motion. She calls Sydney to help her with what she can't do alone. Her plan was simple. Lyle thought he has killed her, so she's going to go with that. She would let them all think that she was dead. There was no way Lyle would risk getting caught, so he'd make sure the body was properly disposed of. All they needed now was a body. That's where Sydney came into the picture.
He would help her get to the hospital where he had a few doctor friends that could pull some strings. They would need a body from the morgue that matched her physical type. And thanks to a make up artist she dated briefly a year ago, she had the knowledge to disguise the body enough to convince everyone that she was really dead.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Sydney asks.
"I'm sure, Sydney. I have a life to live. And I can't do it here," she replies. She watches the worry lines etch across his face. She was going to miss him. She had to admit it. Broots too. She didn't let them know it, but hey had been her family when she needed it the most. She takes one last look at Sydney before hugging him tightly around his neck.
"Let's do this," she says quietly.
* * * * * *
Jarod holds onto Alyssa's hand tightly. Not so much to show her the way, but for his own comfort. He knows what he has to do, but it gets harder and harder the closer he gets to his destination.
They continue to walk across the vast field until he spots the marker a few more feet ahead. A simple headstone resting beneath a big, shady tree. Nia's grave.
Jarod takes a deep breath and goes to sit next to the grave. A few tears trickle down his face as he takes a few moments to remember her. Their time together was short, but she gave him so much love he hardly knew how to handle it. And he wanted to love her back the same way that she loved him, but he just couldn't. She didn't expect him to. She just accepted what he was able to give her.
And now, he has the evidence of their time together sitting on his lap. A beautiful little girl whom he'd give his life for. Their daughter. But just as Jarod's mother didn't get to see him grow up, neither will Nia get to see her baby girl grow into a woman. It was a vicious circle that Jarod was determined to see broken.
"Nothing's going to tear us apart, Alyssa. I'm your daddy and I love you. We're going to be together forever," he says to the little girl.
"Momma," Alyssa starts to utter.
"I know. Your momma said that too. And even though you won't be able to see her everyday, she's still inside your heart. Just remember that she loved you very much."
"Momma," the girl screams excitedly.
Jarod realizes that she isn't looking at Nia's grave. She sees something else. Someone else.
"Momma," she screeches one more time, jumping out of Jarod's lap and running across the field towards the approaching Miss Parker. She jumps into Miss Parker's open arms and giggles happily when Miss Parker plants kisses all over the little girl's face.
Miss Parker and Jarod exchange glances, not really sure what to say.
"How did you find us?" he asks, finally breaking the silence.
"I'm not really sure," she replies. "I guess I just figured you'd be here. I knew you'd want to come say good-bye to Nia before you disappeared. To at least let Alyssa see her mother one last time."
"Thanks for making sure she had a nice grave. And for taking such good care of Alyssa. I can see that she loves you very much."
"Well, I promised Nia that I would keep her safe. You know that, Jarod. I did what I had to do. I love her too, and I'd do it all again if I had to."
Jarod's eyes flash with anger and he stomps over to Miss Parker. He holds his arms out to try to get the baby, but when Miss Parker won't let go, he tries to pry her out of her arms.
"Stop, Jarod! You're scaring her,” Miss Parker yells when she sees tears starting to form in Alyssa's eyes. "Don't let your anger at me affect her."
Jarod looks at his frightened daughter and backs away, suddenly remorseful. He was turning into the heartless monster that he always accused Miss Parker of being. He takes a few deep breaths to clear his head before stepping back to Miss Parker.
"I'm sorry, sweetie," he says to the little girl, with his hand gently stroking her cheek. "Daddy's so sorry he was being mean."
She smiles and then reaches out for him, wrapping her arms around his neck and he hugs her tightly.
"It's amazing how forgiving they can be," Miss Parker states. "I think we all could learn a lesson from children. Jarod, I don't know how many times I have to apologize to you, but I really am sorry I kept Alyssa from you for as long as I did. But you have to realize that I promised I would keep her safe. And that meant keeping her from you for the time being. You have to know that I wasn't going to keep her away forever."
"I know," he whispers. "It still hurts. To know how you kept her from me knowing that she was all the family I had. It just felt like a betrayal. But I see now how much you two love each other. I can see that you had her own safety in mind when you did what you did." He looks off in the distance for a second, trying to think of a way to say what he knows he has to say.
"What happens now, Miss Parker? You take me back in? And then take her away from me again?"
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. I'm going to let you get away with it this time. But if you ever question my love and loyalty to this little girl, you'll be sorry," Miss Parker says with an icy glare. "Alyssa is your daughter. She is a part of you. Don't you think I know what would happen to her if the Centre ever found out about her? I can't let what happened to you happen to her. She belongs with you. You're her father. You can't lose each other now. But at the same time, she can't lose another mother. It would kill her. And it would kill me. I love her too much to let that happen. I love both of you too much."
"Huh?" Jarod asks. He's at a loss for words. Was he hearing right? Did she just say what he thinks she said. She loves him? "Miss Parker, . ."
"Shh," she says, walking up to him and putting a finger on his lips. "Don't say anything. Just kiss me." She replaces her finger with her own lips, silencing him with a kiss.
"Miss Parker," he says, pulling away. "Don't do this. Don't start something you won't be able to finish," he warns.
"I love you," she says for a second time, smiling at him. She kisses him again, drawing him deeper and deeper until he's lost all control and couldn't pull away from her if he tried.
"I love you too," he murmurs through the kisses. "With all of my heart and all of my soul. I love you, Miss Parker." This time he kisses her with so much passion that it's her turn to feel as if she's lost control. Her knees start to feel wobbly, as if her legs were about to give away.
"What now? What do you have planned for us? Do we just run off and live happily ever after?" Miss Parker asks.
"'Us'? 'We'? You're in this for the long haul?"
"I'm in this forever, Jarod. I love you. And I love Alyssa. Everything else, I left behind. Besides, everyone at the Centre, with the exception of Sydney and Broots, thinks that I'm dead. So they won't be coming for me. But you won't be safe. They're still looking for you," she says with some concern.
"Not a problem," Jarod says. "I've always had the means to disappear completely. But that meant being cut off from everything. Including my family and you and the answers we were looking for."
"So, you're just going to give up on finding your family?"
"I have my family right here with me. You and Alyssa. That's all I need. And if it's meant to be, I'll find my parents and my sister one day. I just have to believe that. But I'm not going to risk losing what I have right in front of me to search for a family I might not ever find. I love you, Miss Parker. I've always loved you. And I know now that I always will."
"Okay," she says excitedly. She reaches up and gives him a quick kiss on the lips. "Let's get out of here. Let's go start our new life."
She takes one of Alyssa's hands and Alyssa reaches up and grabs one of Jarod's hand. They begin a journey that will last them the rest of their lives. A journey that will take them to their new home.
The little girl looks up at her parents and smile. She was still young, but she knew that this is what all her storybooks meant by 'riding off into the sunset'. She was getting the fairy tale ending. They were going to live happily ever after.
**************
The End.
By Nicky
**************
Jarod paces nervously around the top of the roof, each lap moving him dangerously closer and closer to the ledge. He takes a couple of steps towards the edge and peers over the side. It's a long way down, he thinks to himself. But that's why they allow him up there. A little bit of freedom and privacy, but without the worries of him being able to escape. Because there's only one way to escape the Centre from up there, and that's straight down. And while it's true he'd be of no use to them dead, they were willing to take that chance because at least then he would no longer be a threat.
"They'd rather see me dead than free," he mumbles out loud. If that's the way they want it, then that's the way they can have it, he concludes. He sits down, slowly swinging his legs over the side and allowing them to dangle free. How did he get to this point? Why couldn't he allow himself to care about anything anymore?
He used to care very deeply for everything. And everyone. He used to care about helping those who couldn't help themselves. He used to care about finding his parents and restoring his family. He used to care about being free to do those things. But not anymore. They had finally broken him. They finally stole his will to live. They finally killed his spirit.
He closes his eyes and imagines the feeling of the wind as his body falls to the earth. To his freedom. He wouldn't fight gravity, he tells himself. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't be afraid. It would be the only way to be free, he convinces himself. He's spent years helping others. It was time to help himself.
Just as slowly as he sat down, he carefully tucks his feet back up on the ledge and raises his body to a standing position. Looking down once more, he braces himself for the hardest step he'll ever have to make. But at the same time, the most liberating. His eyes fill with tears as images of his mother flash in his mind. Images that he had long forgotten, but are now coming to the surface. Images of happy times from his past, before he came to the Centre. But surprisingly, some happy times were from his days there.
"Jar, don't leave me. I need you," a voice calls.
"Who said that?" Jarod says, startled. He turns around and steps off the ledge and back onto the roof, searching the darkness for the mysterious, yet familiar voice.
"I'm over here," the voice calls out again.
Jarod runs from corner to corner of the roof, looking for the source of the voice. He finally sinks to ground, out of breath and out of hope. He draws his knees to his chest and starts to sob uncontrollably. So much pain and anger that has never been allowed to come out is coming out now. All he ever wanted was for someone to love, but all he ever got was the Centre. They took away anyone he ever dared to care about. His loneliness brings more tears.
"Shh. It's okay." The voice whispers in his ear.
Jarod hears the voice and begins to calm down. He feels a hand on his face and is soothed. He doesn't dare to open his eyes for fear that the apparition will disappear. He wants the rare feeling of peace to last for a few moments longer.
"Feel better now?"
He nods, unable to speak. He finally looks up at his angel of mercy and sees a hazy image through his tear-blurred eyes.
"It's you," he says to the voice. "I thought you were gone."
"You needed me. I had to come," the voice says.
"Why did you leave me? I missed you so much. Things weren't the same after you left."
"That's a long story, Jar. I'm not sure what all happened. But I'm here now. That's all that matters." The voice grabs Jarod and holds him close, rocking him until he was no longer shaking.
"Thank you," Jarod says to the voice. But when he opens his eyes again, all he sees is darkness. The voice is gone. Just a figment of his imagination. Just a memory from his past. The only comfort he had ever known in the terrifying halls of the Centre. The only person able to soothe his spirit.
"Miss Parker," he whispers. "Come back. Please come back," he says through the freshly flowing tears. "I need you. Please come back."
* * * * * *
Miss Parker sits up with a start in her hospital bed. The movement was a bit too quick and she cringes at the pain that shoots through her chest. But it's more than the physical pain the bullet left through her body. This was an ache in her heart.
She reaches over to the table at the side of her bed and takes a sip from the glass of water. Something isn't right. She can't place her finger on it, but she feels unsettled. Was she dreaming? All she remembers is someone calling out to her. Someone needs her. But who? Whoever it was, the aching she felt in her heart belonged to them. And they needed her to relieve it.
She slides her feet into her slippers and pulls her robe over her shoulders and she slowly stands from the bed. She peeks a head out the door and checks the hallway for anyone to stop her before she ventures out. She wasn't sure where she was, but if she knew her father, she was someplace in the Centre. A mysterious, near fatal gunshot wound would have been too much to explain to the doctors and police. No, she was sure they had brought her to the Centre for her recovery.
She wandered down the hall, careful to avoid any staff or cameras. She thinks she hears someone coming, so she slips through the nearest door she can find to hide from them. But she looks around and sees that she has inadvertently found the stairway to the roof. Needing a little fresh air, she ties her robe and proceeds up the stairs.
She finally reaches the top and has to give the door a good shove to get it open. A warm breeze greets her as she steps outside. She doesn't realize until that moment how much she missed the tranquility of the outdoors. She closes her eyes and can almost imagine that she is at home. She can almost see the bright stars and moon shining down, giving everything a mystical appearance. She can almost hear the chirping of the crickets and hoots of the night owls and . . . something else. She can't quite place it, so she opens her eyes and realizes that she's not imagining the sound. She looks around and finds a form curled up in the corner, moaning softly and rocking itself furiously, as if desperately trying to comfort itself. She walks slowly and cautiously to where she's just in front of the form. She pauses a moment before kneeling down in front of him, inwardly crying as his heart wrenching sobs reach her very soul.
"Excuse me, are you alright," she finally asks the form. She is shocked when the form's face is finally visible to her. "Jarod! What are you . . . How did you . . ."
"Miss Parker. You came back," he says with a smile.
Miss Parker stares at him and notices that he's not really looking at her. It's almost as if he's looking through her and not really seeing her. She places her hand on his cheek to try to get his attention.
"Jarod," she says gently.
He's shocked at her touch and jumps back. It hadn't felt like that when the voice touched him before. His eyes shoot across her face and stare intently into her eyes. His face turns ashen when he realizes he's staring into the face of a real life person.
"Miss Parker," he says with a shaky voice. "Is that really you?" He stays stuck in the corner, suddenly very afraid.
"Of course it's me, Jarod. You know it's me. You were just talking to me. You kept saying that I came back. Back from where, Jarod?" She notices that he looks completely shocked to see her now, when not even a minute ago he seemed comforted by her presence.
"No, it can't be you. It can't be. They told me you were . . . " His eyes start to glaze over with tears.
"What Jarod? What did they tell you?" She reaches out and tries to touch his face again, but he jumps back.
"They told me you were dead," he says with a whisper.
A chill goes down her spine when he tells her that. He thought she was dead. The words echo through her head as she tries to sort out how that makes her feel. But her feelings are getting all jumbled up with Jarod's and all she feels is pain. His pain. She realizes that the aching in her heart belonged to him and she suddenly understands his bizarre behavior. He was in mourning.
"Jarod," she whispers, trying to hold back her tears. "It's me. It's really me."
She slowly reaches for his hand, and this time he doesn't jump away. Instead, he allows her to grab it and bring it to her face. She holds it there for a minute, catching his eyes with her own. She stares at him until she sees a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.
He slowly begins to register her touch as real and moves his other hand to the other side of her face. He stares back into her eyes and can see that it really is her. He finally realizes the she is sitting there in front of him. She wasn't dead like they told her. She was alive. Alive and bringing him hope and comfort like she had all those years before.
Nothing is said, as no words are necessary. Their communication has always been a silent, unspoken kind. Their words always got mixed up with emotions and were of no use to them. Words were the manifestation of their doubts and fears and was the cause of the strife and discord between them. This is the only way they could ever truly speak to each other. Through their hearts. This was the way their souls connected.
* * * * * *
"Jarod, I'm fine. See for yourself," she says through her tears. As many times as she claimed to hate him and tried to catch him to bring him back to this place, she never really knew what that would do to him. That's not true. Deep down, she knew what it would do to him. But she just tried not to think about it. But she couldn't avoid it any more. She was looking at the results of Jarod being back in the Centre. He was a broken man, with no hope and no direction. "But you're not fine, are you? Why were you trying to kill yourself?"
"How did you know . . ." he starts, getting a confused look on his face. How could she possibly know that? He was barely aware of his actions. How could she know that he was about to . . . He can't even say it now.
"I just know," she interjects. "I can't explain it. Maybe it was something that I saw when I looked into your eyes. It was a desperation that I've never seen in you before. You always said you'd rather die than come back here. I guess I can see that you were serious about that. But, what are you doing here, Jarod? The last I remember, you were on a plane with your dad and the boy."
Jarod looks away. He didn't know how to explain what happened. And he didn't want her to be able to see it in his eyes.
"That's not important. What's important is that you're alive. That's all I care about right now." He lifts his hand to her face and gently strokes her cheek with his thumb as he gets one last look at her. "I have to go," he finally says. "They'll be looking for me soon."
He stands to his feet and jogs to the door, leaving her mind buzzing with more questions than he was willing to answer.
**************
Miss Parker's mind continues to race as she recalls the night on the roof. Seeing Jarod was the last thing she expected. What was he doing there, she wondered. When did they capture him? There were gaps in her memory from the shooting, but she was determined to fill in the missing pieces. It's been a week since she talked to Jarod on the roof and she still couldn't remember what happened that night she got shot. And she had a feeling she was forgetting something important. Something that no one, not even Jarod, wanted her to remember.
The sounds of footsteps outside her door shake her from her memory recovery efforts. She quickly closes her eyes and pretends like she's asleep. She had stopped taking the medication they had been giving her days ago. It made her mind too cloudy and she couldn't afford that. She couldn't allow herself to be at the Centre's mercy. But she wasn't ready to let them know that just yet. As far as they were concerned, she hasn't regained consciousness yet.
The footsteps get closer and stop in front of her door right after she's calmed her breathing to a deep, steady rhythm and is almost convinced herself that she's asleep.
The door starts to creak open, but then stops abruptly.
"Mr. Parker," a raspy voice stops her visitor.
"Raines. I'm just going to check on her if you don't mind," replies her father in an indignant tone.
"I need to speak with you first."
"That's fine. She's still asleep anyway. How much longer is she going to be on that medication? It can't be good that she's been unconscious for this long," Mr. Parker says, almost sounding concerned.
"You don't need to worry about that anymore. She belongs to the Centre now. Her life in exchange for yours. Or don't you remember making that deal," Mr. Raines laughs before turning suddenly serious. "But to answer your question, she won't be on the drugs for much longer. Our plans for her need for her mind to be clear and sharp. But you should know. You came up with the idea."
"Speaking of which, we really need to get everything in place. Jarod has been making demands lately to see Sydney. I think he may know something we don't want him to know yet. And our plan hinges on his belief that my daughter is dead."
"How long has this been going on?" Raines growls, obviously starting to grow angry.
"Just this past week. It's like he woke up one morning and all of a sudden had the will to live again. A complete 180 from how he was before." Mr. Parker takes another quick peek in on his daughter and smiles at her seemingly sleeping form. "Rest well, Angel. You've got a lot of work ahead of you," he whispers before closing the door and walking back down the hall with Raines.
* * * * *
Miss Parker continues to lay still for a few more minutes until she's sure that her father and Raines are gone. When she's convinced that nobody's coming back, she starts to blink her eyes. Her hand sweeps across her face, wiping away the inadvertent tears that are now flowing down her cheeks. Did she just hear right? Is her father really going to let Raines use her for some twisted project? And did he really come up with this plan as an effort to save his own life? She heard the words out of his own mouth. And it's a good thing because she wouldn't have believed it any other way.
She's never believed what anyone has said about her father. But she also never heard the evidence for herself until that night. And although it was pretty incriminating, it wasn't enough to convince her that he didn't love her. She knows that her father loves her on some level. And she'll always believe that. Even after all that he's done and what she just heard, she believes that he loves her. But, her attitude has now changed. His love and approval no longer mean anything to her. They come with a price. And it's a price that she's unwilling to pay anymore.
After her mother's death, she was so desperate for her father's love that she spent the rest of her life trying to win it. She worked so hard to gain her father's affections that she threw away the love that others so freely wanted to give her. Sydney has been more of a father to her for her entire life. Yet, she treats him like dirt. And Tommy. Her poor, poor Tommy. She didn't deserve his love. All he wanted was to love her and make her happy. She loved him dearly, but not enough. She couldn't. There wasn't enough room in her heart for it. Most of it heart was already filled with an emptiness that was waiting to be replaced by her father's love. Love that she never got, yet the space remained in her heart. The rest of it belonged to the memories of her childhood. And memories of Jarod.
Thinking back to her childhood with Jarod brings a fresh stream of tears. They spent so many wonderful hours together, laughing and playing. Being the only comfort that each other knew. Theirs was a true friendship, producing happiness and the purest love that she's ever known. Yet, she threw that love away too. But for some reason, it was still stored someplace deep in her heart.
"I have to get out of here," Miss Parker says to herself as she pushes her body up to a sitting position. She needed someplace to go. She needed someone to talk to. She sneaks out into the hall and, after making sure no one saw her, made her way back up to the roof.
"Jarod," she calls, hoping and praying that he was up there. She didn't know why she wanted to see him. She just knew that she had to.
"I'm here," he answers from the darkness. He watches as she spins around in the direction his voice came from to try to locate him.
"Yes. You are," she answers after finally finding him. "You're always there just when I need you. How do you do that?"
"I don't know. I guess the same way you came to my rescue the other night. I didn't think I had anything else to live for. But then you showed up. Out of nowhere. You saved my life that night, Miss Parker."
"Me? I gave you a reason to live? Jarod, I don't see how that's possible. I'm nothing but trouble for you," she says before breaking down into sobs. The next thing she knows, she's across the roof and in his arms. He's hugging her so tight and making her feel so safe that she doesn't want to let go.
"What's wrong, Miss Parker? Just tell me," he says in a calm and soothing tone and he gently strokes her hair.
"I think I'm in trouble," she finally whispers. She lifts her head out of his chest and goes to sit down. He sits down next to her, keeping his arm protectively around her shoulders. "I overheard Raines and my father talking about me. They're up to something that involves you and me. I'm scared, Jarod. What could they be up to?"
"I wouldn't worry so much," Jarod says to her, trying to sound reassuring. "Your father wouldn't let anything happen to you."
"It's funny you say that," she laughs. "Whatever they have planned was my father's idea. He was the one who turned me over to Raines' mercy. He betrayed me to save his own sorry hide."
"I'm sorry," Jarod says softly.
"You shouldn't be. I'm only sorry that I believed in him for so long. I'm sorry that I wasted my life trying to please him. I'm sorry that I ruined our friendship because of him." She looks up at him and their tear filled eyes meet. "Why is it that you even care what happens to me, Jarod? I've been so horrible to you. I don't deserve someone like you. Was I even a good friend to you back then?"
"The best. You were the best friend I've ever had. It's more than how you treat me or how I treat you. It's about something deep inside both of us that longs for the other. How do you think you found me up here that night I was about to jump off the roof? How do you think I knew to come up here tonight to see you? It's nothing either of us can explain. It's just something that's there. Something that's going to tie us together forever. I've always known that. I guess it just took you a little longer to figure that out."
"Well, I still think I'm getting the better end of this friendship. I mean, don't get me wrong. You have been a complete pain in my behind at times. But I've been awful, Jarod. Really, really awful. You do things for me that I don't even thank you for. That whole incident with Thomas. You were there for me the entire time. And I've never thanked you. And when we were younger, you got me out of all the trouble I managed to get myself into."
"And that was a lot," Jarod says with a little laugh, remembering some of the humorous situations Miss Parker would end up in.
"There's one time in particular that I'm thinking about," she says, suddenly serious. "It was that last time I saw you. Until I started to chase you, that is. Do you remember?"
"I remember," he says somberly, looking down in his lap. He didn't like the direction the conversation was about to take.
"It was the summer after my first year away at school. I came back home and spent a lot of time at the Centre. We couldn't hang out much because they kept you so busy and they kept an eye on me to make sure we didn't have any contact. But, we found a way somehow." She looks over and sees that he's still focused on his lap, refusing to make eye contact with her. "Then I got in that terrible fight with my father. I don't even remember what it was about now. You'd think that I'd remember every detail of an event that changed our lives so much. But I don't. But, I can't forget the ramifications."
"Miss Parker, let's not go there. Let's just leave the past behind us and start over," Jarod begs.
"Jarod, I can't let go. I don't know why, I just can't let it go. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have been able to bring you back to this place." She takes a deep breath and gathers the courage to continue.
"After the fight with my father, I came to you and begged you to help me runaway. I wanted you to come with me. After a while, you agreed. But we didn't make it very far. Some sweepers caught up with us and we decided to split up to try to outrun them. You got away. You should have kept running and never looked back. But you didn't. You turned around one last time and saw that they had me. And without even a second's hesitation, you came to try to rescue me. And because of that, they caught us both and brought us back to my father. He was so mad. I don't think I've ever seen him angrier. Then, he was about to hit me. He raised his hand and balled it into a fist and was actually about to hit me. But when his hand came down, it hit you instead of me. You had pushed me out of the way and took the blow."
"And then, you proceeded to tell him this crazy story about how you forced me to take you from the Centre. You made it sound like an elaborate escape attempt on your part. I didn't do anything but stand there and cry. I wanted to speak up, but something in your eyes told me to stay quiet. That this was for the best. But it wasn't. You ended up back at the Centre and I ended up back at school with a threat that if I ever pulled another stunt like that, they'd kill you. After that, things got really hazy and confusing because I was drinking and partying a lot. Pretty soon, I started to blame you for me being unhappy. I blamed you for putting me in the situation where my father and the Centre would be able to control me. It doesn't make any sense to me now that I'd blame you for that, but I did," she finally finishes, her tears freely flowing again.
"They probably reprogrammed you. Or brainwashed you to think certain things. Can you remember when or even why you started to hate me? Why did you start to blame me for your mother's death? You can't really remember, can you? My guess is that they did a little behavior modification experiment on you to see if they could get you to hate me. And it worked," he says sadly.
"I guess they know we'd do anything for each other by now. They learned back then that you would disregard anything that could happen to you and lie to my father to protect me. And they knew that threatening to hurt you would make me do what they wanted until they could make my mind believe I hated you. And now, they know that you'd give up anything, including your freedom and the family you've been searching for to try to save my life."
"What . . I . . " he stammers. But he can't get out a full sentence. She wasn't supposed to find out. How did she find out, he wonders silently to himself.
"It all just came back to me. Just now. I guess there's only so much you can erase from a person's memory. Some things are there for life. You're one of those memories, Jarod. They couldn't permanently erase our past and they can't stop me from remembering how you tried to help me. Remembering how you were in the past is making everything so much clearer. I understand how they caught you now. I understand why you wouldn't let me know. And I understand why they told you I was dead. Tell me what happened that day, Jarod. Tell me what happened in the airstrip when I got shot."
"I can't," he says, vehemently shaking his head from side to side. "You don't need to know. It's no good for anyone to know what happened."
"It doesn't matter. I'm remembering more and more of that day. You were by the plane, about to go leave. I showed up and you were so upset to see me. But ironically, I was calmed that you were there. I knew you wouldn't hurt Daddy, but that Raines and his sweeper team was going to try. Anyway, we were yelling at each other when the shots rang out. I ran over to Daddy and felt this pain burn it's way through my entire body before falling into his arms. I felt another set of arms lift me up and carry me someplace. That was you, wasn't it?"
She looks over at where he's standing. His back is to her, so that he can't look at her to confirm, nor deny what she's saying. It doesn't matter because the memories are all flooding back now.
"You don't have to say anything. I know it's all true. You had a chance to get away, but you didn't. You stayed to try to help me, and to protect us from Raines. I heard you tell your father to go on without you. Then I heard you fighting with Bridget. I'm guessing she tried to bring you in. After that, everything is blank. Until I woke up here in the Centre one day."
She stands up and walks over to where he's standing, still with his back turned to her.
"You really did that for me, Jarod? You gave up your freedom and you family to try to help me? Please answer me. Say something. Say anything. Why would you do that?" She's crying now, not able to fully sort out all of the memories that have surfaced.
"Because I can't stand to see you hurt," he says through his own tears. "For years I watched how your father treated you. That's why when I escaped, I made it as an imperative a goal to figure out your past as it was for me to find out about my past. I couldn't stand to see that man hurt you anymore. And when that bullet hit you, I saw our life flash before my eyes. I saw all of the good times when we were kids and I saw all of the adventures from when you were chasing me. And at that moment I knew I wouldn't be able to live if you died. I saw my dad. I know that he's fine and he has the boy to look out for now. It was okay to let them go. But you. I'm not ready to let you go yet. I'll never be ready to let you go."
"Don't let me go, Jarod. Don't ever let me go," she begs, grabbing onto his hands and lacing their fingers together.
"I won't," he says, kissing her on the cheek. "I can't. You're as vital to me as the air that I breathe." Jarod pulls her in the direction of the door. It was time for them to get back before anyone started to wonder about where they were. He leads her quietly down the stairs and through the hallways, taking special care not to be seen.
"Thank you," she whispers as they finally reach her room. She looks up at him and throws her arms around his neck, squeezing him in a tight embrace. “Thank you for everything."
They share an innocent peck on the lips before he bids her goodnight. Going back to his prison that for some reason no longer seems confining anymore. His heart was alive again and as long as that vitality existed, he would be free.
**************
"Get up, Jarod. It's time to get started." Raines saunters into the new SIM lab that Jarod had been brought into. He had spent the past few days trying to figure out what Raines was up to, and how to keep Miss Parker out of it.
"I don't know why you're wasting your time, Raines. You know that I'm not going to do anything for you. I demand to see Sydney. I've been here for almost a month now. Why haven't I seen Sydney yet?"
"Oh, I think you're going to want to cooperate with us, Jarod. The SIMs you've been refusing could have been used to save people's lives. Why, just the other day, one of the SIMs was going to be used by the doctor that could have saved Miss Parker's life. What does it feel like to have her blood on your hands?" Raines steps back and laughs at Jarod, not noticing how calm Jarod was remaining. His smile fades, however, when he finally sees that Jarod is unaffected by the mention of Miss Parker's death.
"What's the matter, old man? You look scared about something," Jarod teases.
"Nothing," Raines mutters. "I just have to get out of here. I remembered that I needed to talk to someone. Pete!" He yells for a guard to take Jarod back to his room. After the guard's left with Jarod, he angrily wheels his oxygen tank towards Mr. Parker's office.
"What does Jarod know?" he barks at Mr. Parker. "I was just with him and he all of a sudden seems to be carefree. What happened to that pathetic, whining loser who was so distraught over your daughter's death? He didn't even seem to care about her anymore."
"You think he might know that's she's really alive?" Mr. Parker wonders.
"The more I think about it, the more sure I am that he knows. We'll have to come up with another plan. This one won't work anymore. It hinged on his belief that she was dead."
"It's still not hopeless," Mr. Parker tries to convince. "It could still work. It just won't be as easy as we had thought before. How can we resist the possibilities a successful plan would yield? With their genetics, we'd for sure have a super pretender on our hands."
"One way or another, I'm going to have my new Pretender," Raines wheezes. "But it's too risky right now. For the time being, don't let her get suspicious about anything. When the time is right, we'll resume with our plans for those two to produce a child for us."
* * * * * *
"Boo!" Miss Parker surprises an already nervous Broots. "What's the matter Broots? I hope I didn't make you wet yourself," she says with a chuckle. She had missed the way she could scare him to death.
"Miss Parker. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be recovering."
"I've spent enough time in that hospital bed. Besides, my father convinced the doctors that I needed to get up and move around a bit. Little does he know that I've been doing plenty of that already," she says with a genuine smile.
One of the first Broots had ever seen from her. It surprised him to see it. He knew she had a heart deep down in there someplace, but nobody ever got to see it. Maybe Debbie, but to everyone else, she was as cold as ice.
"What's got you in such a good mood, Miss Parker. If you don't mind my saying," he adds quickly.
"A new lease on life, Broots. I've learned some things about this place that I guess I've always know. I'm just ready to see them now. My eyes are open. And as soon as I can get Jarod out of here, I'll be able to leave this place for good."
"Jarod? You want to help Jarod escape?" Broots asks incredulously, lowering his voice a little when he says the last part.
"He saved my life, Broots. I figure I owe him. And you can help me."
"You know about that, huh? We were denied access to you so that you wouldn't find out. They didn't want me or Sydney blabbing about Jarod being back here or how he saved your life. How did you find out anyway? Your father?"
"Yeah, right," she says with a laugh. "My father has his own agenda as far and I'm concerned. And it's one that I'm not going to stick around for anymore. Jarod told me," she says quietly.
"Jarod? You've seen Jarod? Not even Sydney can get in to see him. I snuck in to see him a couple of times. But it wasn't easy. How did you manage to . . ."
"Wait, you've been in to seem him? For what?" she asks, her curiosity suddenly piqued.
"He asked me to keep an eye out for messages for him. Messages from the outside. People he's helped before and people who needs his help," Broots starts to explain. "Most of it is pretty ordinary. Nothing special or anything. Except for this one. It's a message marked extremely urgent and high priority from Nia."
"Nia Pedron?" Miss Parker interrupts. "The girl from the mountains?"
"That's her," Broots continues. "She desperately needs to reach Jarod. From the way the message sounds, it could be a matter of life or death."
"There's no need to bother Jarod about this one," she says slowly as a plan starts to evolve in her head. "There's nothing he'd be able to do about it anyway, and it would just worry him unnecessarily. I'll handle it myself." She has Broots print out a copy of the message and she races out the door, down to her father's office.
Lucky for her, he had seen her talking to Broots. He got a little worried about her finding out too much before it was time, so by the time she got to his office, he had papers ready for her to take a little vacation.
"Perfect," she thinks to herself. After what she felt like was the requisite amount of grumbling and griping about being forced to take a vacation, she heads to her house to pack for the trip she already knew she had to take. She had to meet with Nia. The only person she felt was a threat to her. Most other people she could scare and bully. But Nia was able to get something she feared she'd never have - Jarod. And no amount of intimidation could take away what they shared.
* * * * * *
Miss Parker knocked on the door to Nia's cabin. Her heart was pounding so loud she thought everyone would be able to hear it. She knocks again and waits a few more moments before the door finally opens.
"Nia?" Miss Parker looks at the woman. Her competition. She was a beautiful woman. Even Miss Parker had to agree. She had dark hair, a lot shorter than the last time Miss Parker had seen it. And her eyes had that same wild passion dancing in them. It had been a couple of years since Miss Parker tracked Jarod here, but she remembers this woman as if it were yesterday.
"You may not remember me, Nia. I was here a few years ago looking for this man." Miss Parker holds out a picture of Jarod for Nia to see. She can tell by the spark of recognition in Nia's eyes that she knows exactly who Miss Parker is and why she's there.
"You don't have to say anything. I can tell that you know him," Miss Parker states. "I'm not here to start trouble. I'll admit that the last time I was through here, I was trying to take Jarod back to a place that nobody deserves to be. But that's all different now. I'm here to help him now."
"You want to help Jarod? How?" Nia asks.
"Certain things have happened and Jarod is held captive once again at the Centre. A couple of us on the inside are helping him as much as we can, but there's no way he can get out right now. We intercepted your message and I came here to see if I'd be able to help you instead." Miss Parker smiles uneasily at the small woman staring at her.
"Are you serious about this? Why the sudden change, Miss Parker?"
"Jarod saved my life. I owe him."
"I think it's more than that, Miss Parker. Much more than that," Nia says as she continues to stare at Miss Parker. Directly into her soul. "I knew that anytime I had with Jarod would be short. And not because he was on the run. But because of you. When he was with me, I knew that I could never get his heart. You already owned it."
Both women are silent for a while. Miss Parker doesn't really know what to say to Nia's last comment, and Nia is still absorbing the shock of seeing Miss Parker.
"Miss Parker," Nia says, finally breaking the silence. "I know you want to help, but I really need for Jarod to be here . . ."
"If there were any way, he would be," Miss Parker interrupts. She's beginning to notice a sense of desperation on Nia's part. She feels a little sorry for the woman. "For now, I'm going to have to be the next best thing."
She looks again at Nia. She's visibly shaken by the last statement. Something wasn't quite right. She was trying to put up a brave front, but Miss Parker could tell now that something was really wrong.
"But you need him NOW, don't you?" Miss Parker asks, suddenly starting to understand. "Later is going to be too late."
It all became clear. Nia didn't need a favor from Jarod. She didn't need to be rescued from anything. Anyone could have done that. And she knows how dangerous it would be for him to try to contact him to go to her. She needed him there to tell him things before it was too late. She had to tell him good-bye. Forever.
"I'm sick," Nia finally says through some tears that have begun to fall. "The doctors say I don't have much longer."
Miss Parker gets up and walks around, not wanting to let Nia see her upset. Jarod couldn't be there, but at least she could try to be the strong one for Nia. She walks over to the mantle on top of the fireplace and looks at all the pictures. There weren't many. Nia seemed to be a loner. There was a pencil drawing of a sleeping man that looked a lot like Jarod. And there was one of Nia when she was younger taken with her family. But the rest of the pictures were of a beautiful little girl who looked a lot like Nia. She had long, dark curly hair, about the same color as Nia's and skin with just a hint of brown tinting it. Most of her features came from her mother. Except the eyes. Miss Parker stared at the eyes on the little girl in the picture and saw Jarod staring back at her.
She lets out a gasp as she shakily sits the picture back on the mantle. She walks back over to her chair plops down heavily, holding her head between her hands.
"You noticed my daughter," Nia says, not knowing what to really expect from Miss Parker. She could tell it was a big surprise. "Her name is Alyssa."
"Beautiful child," Miss Parker says. She feels as if her head is about to explode. "She looks a lot like you."
"Thank you. She has her father's eyes."
"Jarod's eyes," Miss Parker whispers. "Can I have a glass of water please. I . . . I . . ."
"I understand," Nia says quietly. It was too much at once for Miss Parker to deal with. She stands to go get the water, but wobbles a little. She grabs on the arm of the chair to steady herself.
"Whoa, you just sit back down. Let me get that," Miss Parker says with a smile. She was there to help, and that's exactly what she's going to do, she decides.
For the next three weeks, Miss Parker was there for Nia. Anything she needed, anything she wanted, Miss Parker made sure she had. She still felt that it was her fault that Jarod couldn't be there with Nia. She could at least make sure Nia wasn't there to die alone.
Those weeks brought Miss Parker close to Nia and Alyssa. Almost closer than she's ever been to anyone. Besides Jarod, Nia became the best friend Miss Parker ever had. They confided in each other about things Miss Parker never knew she could talk about.
And when the end was near, Miss Parker remained a solid rock by Nia's side. Taking care of her to the end. And vowing to take the same good care of Alyssa. Nia was comforted by Miss Parker's presence and her assurances that Alyssa would be protected and get to know her father. She drew courage from Miss Parker's strength. She was able to die in peace.
**************
"Come on Alyssa, I'm running late," Miss Parker calls to the little girl. It was hard getting used to being someone's mother, but she was getting the hang of it. Alyssa was the cutest, sweetest little thing and Miss Parker couldn't help falling in love with her. But everything still took almost twice as long to do with a two year old around.
She was able to get to know the little girl while they were still with Nia, so it wasn't so much a shock to Alyssa when they came back to Blue Cove. But the daily and constant awareness that she was always responsible for another life was a bit overwhelming at times.
Alyssa finally finds her favorite doll and comes running out of her room and into Miss Parker's arms. A sweet kiss and cute little smile was all it took from the little girl to abate any anger Miss Parker may have felt. The little girl had that kind of effect on her.
"Just like your father," she says to Alyssa. "That killer smile can melt anyone's heart."
They finally get everything together and head out the door. Normally Miss Parker wouldn't even think of taking Alyssa to the Centre, but she had no choice today. Her father was demanding to see her. She had tried her hardest to avoid him that month she's been back from Nia's, but that was all about to end today.
She also tried to avoid Jarod as much as possible. As much as he needed to know about Alyssa, Miss Parker couldn't tell him until she knew Alyssa wouldn't be in any danger. If the Centre ever found out about Alyssa being Jarod's daughter, they would find a way to get her, just as they did with Jarod. Miss Parker was not going to let that happen. And if that meant not being able to tell Jarod about Alyssa, then that was what she had to do.
"Broots," she says, poking her head into the door to his office. She looks around to see if he had company and was pleased to see Debbie sitting over in the corner.
"Miss Parker!" Debbie says excitedly, running over to give her a hug. "How are you? My dad told me that you were shot. Are you feeling better?"
"Much better, Honey," Miss Parker says. She bends down and kisses her gently on the cheek. "It's a good thing you're here. I have someone I want you to meet." She opens the door the rest of the way to reveal Alyssa in the hallway. She pulls the little girl into the office and closes the door back.
"Who's this?" Broots wonders. "Where did you get her from?"
"This is Alyssa. And it's a long story where I got her from. One that I don't plan to get into with you right now. I was summoned here by my father and couldn't find anyone to leave her with. I came here to ask you to watch her for an hour or so while I meet with Daddy. Debbie can help you. Please, Broots."
Broots couldn't resist. He doesn't ever remember hearing the word 'please' from Miss Parker's lips. She must be desperate. He agrees to watch Alyssa for her.
"Thank you, Broots. You're a life saver. Alyssa, Sweetie," she calls to the little girl. "I have to go and talk to someone for a few minutes. Why don't you stay here and play with Debbie while I'm gone, okay?"
" 'kay, Momma," Alyssa says, hugging Miss Parker good-bye. She looks a little sad when Miss Parker turns to leave, but is soon distracted by something Debbie pulls out of her backpack.
"She'll be fine," Broots says to Miss Parker. "Nobody will even know she's here," he reassures, sensing her hesitation about being at the Centre with her.
"Thanks again, Broots," she says, finally leaving before she started to miss Alyssa too much. She had bigger things to worry about. Finally confronting her father. Trying to figure out what he had planned for her. And trying to stay out of trouble, for Alyssa's sake.
* * * * * * *
The meeting didn't go as badly as she had expected. She was certain that her father was still up to something, but she still didn't know what. He was being unusually supportive and forth coming with her in areas where he was normally tight-lipped. He talked all about the inside details of some of the higher security level projects. But nothing about Jarod. It was like he was trying to trick her into a false sense of security by making her feel like she was still a major player in the game when in fact she knew that she was in fact the game.
Miss Parker's newfound importance didn't escape Lyle's watchful eye either. He waited until she left Mr. Parker's office before going in.
"Dad, what's going on in here? Was there a meeting nobody told me about?" he asks curiously.
"Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about, son. I was just filling your sister in on a few things we'll be working on in the future."
"Nothing for me to worry about? Are you trying to keep me out of things? Why the sudden cold shoulder?"
"Lyle, I can't get into this now. I have a meeting with Raines. Catch up with me later," he says as he walks out the door, leaving Lyle in a stunned silence.
Lyle stands there for a few more moments before storming off to his own office. He sits down at his desk and opens a secret compartment. He stares at it for a moment before pulling out a vial of a clear liquid. Shaking it up a bit, he looks at it and smiles.
"I will not let my sister take replace me in this company. I hate to have to do this, but if she keeps on getting in my way, I'll have to get rid of her - permanently," he says with an evil grin. He places the vial in his pocket and carefully closes the secret compartment before walking out of the door.
A pair of small eyes spying from the vents blink away tears.
"Daughter in trouble," Angelo says before turning around and rushing back into the bowels of the Centre.
* * * * *
"Knock, knock."
"Jarod," a surprised Broots answers, looking up from his computer. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just taking a little stroll," he says with smirk. "I wanted to see what you've found out for me? Anyone trying to contact me?"
"Not really," Broots says, trying to sidestep the question. Although he didn't see how he'd be able to avoid telling him about Nia's message. "There was one that was kind of important, but . . . "
"Dada," a voice calls from across the room.
Jarod and Broots turn around and see Alyssa toddling towards Jarod, reaching out to him.
"Well, hello cutie! Debbie, who is your little friend? She's so sweet," he says, lifting her up into arms.
"Dada," she says again, smiling and touching his face.
"No, Sweetie. I'm just a friend. I'm not your daddy."
Just then, the door swings open wildly, and Miss Parker comes running through it.
"Broots, I'm sorry I took so long. She wasn't any trouble, was she?" Miss Parker stops in her tracks when she sees Jarod standing in the middle of the office, holding Alyssa.
"Broots, what's going on here?" she asks angrily.
"Jarod stopped by for a surprise visit . . .", he starts to explain.
"So, this little one is with you Miss Parker?" Jarod interrupts. "She's so beautiful and so sweet. But she seems to think that I'm her daddy."
"Ha ha ha," Miss Parker laughs nervously. "Come on Alyssa. We've got to get home," she says, taking the little girl from Jarod. She tries hard to avoid his glance, and that doesn't go unnoticed by him.
"Miss Parker? You seem a little nervous all of a sudden. What's the matter," Jarod asks. "Who is this little girl? Where did she come from?" He continues to watch as she nervously attempts to gather Alyssa's things. There was something she was trying to hide from him. And he had to find out.
"Broots, I know this is incredibly rude, but could you and Debbie please excuse us? It seems that Miss Parker and I have a few things to discuss." Jarod thanks them as they make themselves scarce. Miss Parker tries to leave too, but he grabs her arm before she can get out the door, and closes it so they can have privacy.
"Now, there's obviously something going on. Either you tell me now or neither of us are leaving until you do," he threatens.
"What do you want me to say, Jarod?"
"For starters, how about you tell me who this little girl is and where you got her from. Then maybe you can tell me why she thinks I'm her father." He grabs her other arm and turns her body until she's facing him. They're staring at each other eye to eye, and he notices that she's starting to tear up.
"Don't make me. Not now. Not like this," she says through her tears. She couldn't lie to him. Not to his face like that. It was one thing keeping the truth from him when she wasn't around him, but now that they were standing face to face, she couldn't lie. He knew her too well for her to even try.
So she decides to tell him. She tells him the whole story. About the message from Nia. About Nia dying. And about how Alyssa is his daughter. They wait in silence when she finishes her tale while he absorbs all he's just heard.
Jarod's knees begin to give away and he has to find a chair before he falls. His daughter. He has a child. He can't believe it. My daughter, he thinks to himself as he looks over at the little girl playing over in the corner. She's beautiful. She looks just like her mother. But she has his eyes. He doesn't know why he couldn't see it before.
"How does she know me? I mean, how does she know that I'm her father?"
"Pictures. I show her pictures of you all the time. And I tell her about you. At first I used to think that she just considered you to be the hero in one of her fairy tales. But she's very intuitive. Very smart, like you. She knows that you're her father."
"You two are obviously very close," Jarod says in a biting tone. He's starting to get very angry when he realizes how long Miss Parker has kept this a secret. "You've been together for awhile. When were you planning on telling me about her? Or were you going to just keep her for your own selfish purposes. Maybe to get back in Daddy's good graces." Jarod stops when he realizes that he's yelling. He doesn't want to scare Alyssa, so he takes a moment to try to calm back down.
"I know you're angry at me, Jarod. But I was only trying to protect her. Please believe that," she begs.
"I don't know if I'll be able to believe you again, Miss Parker. You know how important family is to me. How could you betray me like that?" He starts pacing the floor, not really knowing what he's doing. Just trying to think. He hears Miss Parker crying in the background, begging forgiveness. But how could he forgive a betrayal like that? He looks at her one last time with so much hate in her eyes and realizes what he must do.
"Jarod, what are you doing?" she asks hysterically when she notices him walking towards Alyssa and picking her up.
Before she can catch him, he has the baby and is out the door. She tries to run and catch him, but he's slipped into some tunnel someplace and she knows she'll never find him. After searching for a few minutes, she hears a fire alarm. Probably a diversion for Jarod to be able to safely escape. She prayed for Alyssa's sake that he made it out safely. She promised Nia that she would protect the little girl. But it was out of her hands now. It was up to Jarod to keep that promise.
* * * * * *
Angelo walks in to find Miss Parker curled up on the sofa in her office, crying to herself. She looked so sad, he thought.
She didn't know why she was so upset. Alyssa had reached a place in her that she never knew existed. The part that was like her mother. She connected with that part and was the best mother to Alyssa that she could be. In the process, she grew attached the little girl. And now, she felt as if her heart was breaking. She didn't know when she'd see Alyssa again. If ever.
"Daughter cry," Angelo mutters.
"Angelo. What are you doing here?" she asks.
He doesn't say anything. He just hands her a bottle, similar to the one he saw Lyle get.
"What is this, Angelo? It looks like some sort of serum or antidote. Am I in some kind of danger? Is somebody trying to poison me?" She felt a little like Timmy, trying to get answers from Lassie. It was frustrating trying to figure out what Angelo was trying to communicate.
"Brother angry. Brother hurt Daughter."
"Are you talking about Lyle? Lyle's going to try to kill me?"
He nods his head and then gets a wild look in his eyes when he hears something. He looks around the office for his hallowed vents and goes through one of them, getting out of sight just as Lyle walks into the office.
"There you are. We thought you had gone after Jarod. He escaped, you know," Lyle says disgustedly.
"I heard all about it. But no, I couldn't join the chase. The doctors haven't cleared me for active duty just yet. If I so much as look at a gun, a herd of goons flock around me faster than I can blink. It's amazing how well they can keep an eye on me yet they let Jarod get away. Besides, Daddy has other things in store for me," she says, teasing him slightly.
"Oh, the secret meetings you've been having with him. What have you two been plotting anyway?" Lyle asks as discreetly as he knows how.
"Dear brother. Are you feeling out of the loop? A little left behind? I'd watch my back if I were you. You might be getting the squeeze put on you," she says with a laugh.
She gets up and walks into her washroom. She must look like a wreck. She's been there crying for hours and she knows her eyes are all red and puffy.
"How about I fix us a drink? You look like you could use one," Lyle yells through the door.
This is it, she thinks to herself. This is what Angelo was trying to warn her about. Lyle felt so threatened that he was going to try to kill her. She looks at the vial she has in her hand. She's not really sure what's in it, but she trusts Angelo. She opens it and takes it down in one swig. When she walks back into her office, Lyle already had the drinks poured and offers her one.
"What are we drinking to?" She asks.
We're drinking to me. And how I will be on top again, Lyle says to himself. Once you're out of the picture, I'll be the one that Dad needs. He grins at the thought of how the poison will kill her quietly in her sleep that night. Long after the alcohol is out of her system. There will be no way to trace it back to him. It was the perfect murder.
"We can drink to you. And your recovery. May your life be long and happy." He grins that evil smirk again as she finishes her drink.
"Thanks for the drink, Lyle, but I got to get out of here. See you tomorrow?"
"Can't wait," he says with another knowing smile. Too bad you won't have a tomorrow, dear sister.
**************
Miss Parker doubles over as another pain shoots through her stomach. She could only hope that the serum Angelo gave her was working to counteract the effects of the poison. She didn't have time for the pain to stop her, though. If Lyle was trying to kill her, then she had plans to make. This was going to be her chance to finally be free.
She gets up and continues with the preparations. Making phone calls and setting her plan in motion. She calls Sydney to help her with what she can't do alone. Her plan was simple. Lyle thought he has killed her, so she's going to go with that. She would let them all think that she was dead. There was no way Lyle would risk getting caught, so he'd make sure the body was properly disposed of. All they needed now was a body. That's where Sydney came into the picture.
He would help her get to the hospital where he had a few doctor friends that could pull some strings. They would need a body from the morgue that matched her physical type. And thanks to a make up artist she dated briefly a year ago, she had the knowledge to disguise the body enough to convince everyone that she was really dead.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Sydney asks.
"I'm sure, Sydney. I have a life to live. And I can't do it here," she replies. She watches the worry lines etch across his face. She was going to miss him. She had to admit it. Broots too. She didn't let them know it, but hey had been her family when she needed it the most. She takes one last look at Sydney before hugging him tightly around his neck.
"Let's do this," she says quietly.
* * * * * *
Jarod holds onto Alyssa's hand tightly. Not so much to show her the way, but for his own comfort. He knows what he has to do, but it gets harder and harder the closer he gets to his destination.
They continue to walk across the vast field until he spots the marker a few more feet ahead. A simple headstone resting beneath a big, shady tree. Nia's grave.
Jarod takes a deep breath and goes to sit next to the grave. A few tears trickle down his face as he takes a few moments to remember her. Their time together was short, but she gave him so much love he hardly knew how to handle it. And he wanted to love her back the same way that she loved him, but he just couldn't. She didn't expect him to. She just accepted what he was able to give her.
And now, he has the evidence of their time together sitting on his lap. A beautiful little girl whom he'd give his life for. Their daughter. But just as Jarod's mother didn't get to see him grow up, neither will Nia get to see her baby girl grow into a woman. It was a vicious circle that Jarod was determined to see broken.
"Nothing's going to tear us apart, Alyssa. I'm your daddy and I love you. We're going to be together forever," he says to the little girl.
"Momma," Alyssa starts to utter.
"I know. Your momma said that too. And even though you won't be able to see her everyday, she's still inside your heart. Just remember that she loved you very much."
"Momma," the girl screams excitedly.
Jarod realizes that she isn't looking at Nia's grave. She sees something else. Someone else.
"Momma," she screeches one more time, jumping out of Jarod's lap and running across the field towards the approaching Miss Parker. She jumps into Miss Parker's open arms and giggles happily when Miss Parker plants kisses all over the little girl's face.
Miss Parker and Jarod exchange glances, not really sure what to say.
"How did you find us?" he asks, finally breaking the silence.
"I'm not really sure," she replies. "I guess I just figured you'd be here. I knew you'd want to come say good-bye to Nia before you disappeared. To at least let Alyssa see her mother one last time."
"Thanks for making sure she had a nice grave. And for taking such good care of Alyssa. I can see that she loves you very much."
"Well, I promised Nia that I would keep her safe. You know that, Jarod. I did what I had to do. I love her too, and I'd do it all again if I had to."
Jarod's eyes flash with anger and he stomps over to Miss Parker. He holds his arms out to try to get the baby, but when Miss Parker won't let go, he tries to pry her out of her arms.
"Stop, Jarod! You're scaring her,” Miss Parker yells when she sees tears starting to form in Alyssa's eyes. "Don't let your anger at me affect her."
Jarod looks at his frightened daughter and backs away, suddenly remorseful. He was turning into the heartless monster that he always accused Miss Parker of being. He takes a few deep breaths to clear his head before stepping back to Miss Parker.
"I'm sorry, sweetie," he says to the little girl, with his hand gently stroking her cheek. "Daddy's so sorry he was being mean."
She smiles and then reaches out for him, wrapping her arms around his neck and he hugs her tightly.
"It's amazing how forgiving they can be," Miss Parker states. "I think we all could learn a lesson from children. Jarod, I don't know how many times I have to apologize to you, but I really am sorry I kept Alyssa from you for as long as I did. But you have to realize that I promised I would keep her safe. And that meant keeping her from you for the time being. You have to know that I wasn't going to keep her away forever."
"I know," he whispers. "It still hurts. To know how you kept her from me knowing that she was all the family I had. It just felt like a betrayal. But I see now how much you two love each other. I can see that you had her own safety in mind when you did what you did." He looks off in the distance for a second, trying to think of a way to say what he knows he has to say.
"What happens now, Miss Parker? You take me back in? And then take her away from me again?"
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. I'm going to let you get away with it this time. But if you ever question my love and loyalty to this little girl, you'll be sorry," Miss Parker says with an icy glare. "Alyssa is your daughter. She is a part of you. Don't you think I know what would happen to her if the Centre ever found out about her? I can't let what happened to you happen to her. She belongs with you. You're her father. You can't lose each other now. But at the same time, she can't lose another mother. It would kill her. And it would kill me. I love her too much to let that happen. I love both of you too much."
"Huh?" Jarod asks. He's at a loss for words. Was he hearing right? Did she just say what he thinks she said. She loves him? "Miss Parker, . ."
"Shh," she says, walking up to him and putting a finger on his lips. "Don't say anything. Just kiss me." She replaces her finger with her own lips, silencing him with a kiss.
"Miss Parker," he says, pulling away. "Don't do this. Don't start something you won't be able to finish," he warns.
"I love you," she says for a second time, smiling at him. She kisses him again, drawing him deeper and deeper until he's lost all control and couldn't pull away from her if he tried.
"I love you too," he murmurs through the kisses. "With all of my heart and all of my soul. I love you, Miss Parker." This time he kisses her with so much passion that it's her turn to feel as if she's lost control. Her knees start to feel wobbly, as if her legs were about to give away.
"What now? What do you have planned for us? Do we just run off and live happily ever after?" Miss Parker asks.
"'Us'? 'We'? You're in this for the long haul?"
"I'm in this forever, Jarod. I love you. And I love Alyssa. Everything else, I left behind. Besides, everyone at the Centre, with the exception of Sydney and Broots, thinks that I'm dead. So they won't be coming for me. But you won't be safe. They're still looking for you," she says with some concern.
"Not a problem," Jarod says. "I've always had the means to disappear completely. But that meant being cut off from everything. Including my family and you and the answers we were looking for."
"So, you're just going to give up on finding your family?"
"I have my family right here with me. You and Alyssa. That's all I need. And if it's meant to be, I'll find my parents and my sister one day. I just have to believe that. But I'm not going to risk losing what I have right in front of me to search for a family I might not ever find. I love you, Miss Parker. I've always loved you. And I know now that I always will."
"Okay," she says excitedly. She reaches up and gives him a quick kiss on the lips. "Let's get out of here. Let's go start our new life."
She takes one of Alyssa's hands and Alyssa reaches up and grabs one of Jarod's hand. They begin a journey that will last them the rest of their lives. A journey that will take them to their new home.
The little girl looks up at her parents and smile. She was still young, but she knew that this is what all her storybooks meant by 'riding off into the sunset'. She was getting the fairy tale ending. They were going to live happily ever after.
**************
The End.
