Gray Areas by Nicky
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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Title - Gray Areas (2/4)
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG to PG-13 (for some violence)
Category - JMPR/MPL
Summary - Lyle meets someone who changes his entire life. That new life is threatened when Jarod's actions, although done for the right reasons, turn out wrong for all involved.
Disclaimer - Most of these characters don't belong to me. But I'm staking my claim to Jessica and Zachary. They're all mine :-)
* * * * * * * * * *
Lyle pulls into the parking space and shuts off the car. He takes a deep breath and looks to the seat next to him.
"You know, you really don't have to do this if you don't want to, Jessie," he tells the girl, hoping she'll take him up on his offer. He looks at the door and sees a woman approaching the car. "It's not too late for me to take you back home."
"Mr. Parker," the woman says through the open window.
"Lyle," he corrects her.
"Excuse me?"
"It's just Lyle," he repeats. For some reason, he had a hard time taking the last name Parker. He just went by Lyle when at all possible.
"Okay, Lyle," the woman smiles. "You can come in with Jessica if you'd like. Most parents do that on the first day."
Lyle looks at Jessie again to see if he can see what she wants him to do.
"I'll be fine. I promise," she smiles before leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. She grabs her backpack and gets out the car.
"You heard her yourself. She'll be fine," the teacher says. She grabs Jessie's hand and leads her into the school, letting her stop once to wave good-bye to Lyle.
Lyle stays until they both disappear into the school, tempted to just sit there until the end of the day. But, his ringing phone reminds him of the many things at the Centre he's been neglecting to do since he got Jessie.
"Yes," he answers.
"Lyle, it's me," Miss Parker says. "Are you coming in today? I need to talk to you."
"Yeah, I should be there soon. I was just dropping Jessie off at school." He shifts the phone to his ear and starts the car, pulling out carefully into traffic.
"First day at school, huh?" Miss Parker smiles. "Was she nervous?"
"No. She was fine," he sighs, somewhat disappointed. "I was the nervous one. It just felt kind of strange leaving her all alone like that in the hands of a stranger."
"Lyle, it's preschool," Miss Parker laughs. "It's not like she's joining the Army."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lyle agrees.
"I'm sure she's going to have fun. It'll be 4:00 before you know it and time to pick her up again."
"Alright, alright. I get your point, Parker. Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"I'd rather talk about it in person," she insists. "Just get here soon."
* * * * * * * * * *
True to his word, Lyle arrived at the Centre just a few minutes after hanging up with Miss Parker. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to meet with her. They both had endless meetings and a never ending stack of work to get through. Before Lyle knew it, it was time to go pick up Jessie from school. He calls Miss Parker and leaves a message for her to meet him at his apartment when she left work.
A few hours later, Miss Parker arrives, just in time for dinner.
"Perfect timing, Sis. Jessie and I were just about to eat," Lyle says, showing her in.
"I can't stay long," she tells him, hating to disappoint him. "I have another meeting later, but I wanted to talk to you. Where is Jessie, anyway?"
"In her room doing homework. Can you believe that? They give out homework in preschool now," he says with a little laugh. "Okay, so talk." He offers her a seat before sitting down next to her.
"Word has it that Jarod is working on a pretend in the area," she starts, hoping he doesn't want to know where she got this 'word' from. Then she realizes that won't be a problem since he's not even paying attention to what she's saying. "Lyle, what are you staring at?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's just there's something on your . . . Parker is that a hickey?" he asks, barely able to hide the amused smirk.
"No," she says quickly, a little too quickly, as her hand flies up to the exact spot on her neck he was staring at. She thought she had hidden all the evidence of last night's make out session with Jarod, but she apparently missed one.
"Really?" Lyle grins. "A mouth shaped bruise right under your ear and it's not a hickey?"
"A mosquito bite," she lies. "They come out in full force this time of year. Can we get back to what I actually came her for?" she asks in a desperate attempt to change the subject.
"Alright," he chuckles. "Just remind me to wear the military strength insect repellant the next time I come over to your place."
"Shut up, Lyle," she says with a glare. "You're not going to be laughing when I tell you my news."
"Okay," he says, calming down finally. "You were saying?"
"Jarod. He has a pretend in the area. It possibly involves you . . . and Jessie." She sees that gets his attention. "He heard about a missing girl in the area. She disappeared about a month ago along with her mother, whom they assume is dead. It could be a coincidence, but the similarities were too great to ignore."
"It probably is a coincidence," he says nervously. "What makes you think this pretend has anything to do with me and Jessie?"
"Jarod told me," she admits.
"Jarod! When have you heard from Jarod? Is he who you've been carrying on with? Is he the one putting hickeys all over your neck? Really, Sis. I thought you were smarter than that. Getting involved with the missing labrat."
"Shut up, Lyle," she orders again. "I defended you to him. At least you can hear me out about him." She stares at him until he calms down.
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing. That's why I don't know how much he knows about this. I didn't want to ask too many questions and raise his suspicions. But you know how Jarod is. He thinks you had something to do with her mother's death. He's going to come after you, Lyle. You shouldn't have anything to worry about if you did nothing wrong."
"*If* I did nothing wrong?" he shouts. "What, you're starting to doubt me now? A few rolls in the hay with him and you're turning your back on your family . . . "
The crack of her hand against his face stops him midsentence.
"I think you've said more than enough," she says coldly and calmly, her eyes turning a cool, steely gray color. "I'm trying to warn you about this and you accuse me of sleeping with the enemy. To answer your question, no. Jarod and I have never shared a bed. But yes, I am carrying on with him if you must know. I've known and trusted him my entire life, yet I still risk giving you the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to hear your side of the story. For the first time when someone said something bad about you, my first instinct wasn't to believe them, but it was to defend you. I wanted to give you a chance to explain. But instead of explanations, all you have are insults. Well, consider yourself warned. Good luck." She gives him one last glare before turning to leave.
"Wait," he calls after her. "Look, I shouldn't have said all of that. I'm . . . "
"I think 'sorry' is the word you're looking for, Lyle. It's called an apology."
"I am. Sorry, that is. I apologize for insulting you and assuming the worst."
"Okay," she says quietly, but still a little upset at him.
"That's it? You forgive me?"
"Contrary to what you said, Lyle, I haven't forsaken you for Jarod. I believe you've changed. And I care about what happens to you," she tells him. Her ringing phone puts a halt to their conversation. She excuses herself to take the call, returning a few minutes later with red cheeks and a grin that spread across her face.
"Listen, I have to go," she says.
"Jarod?"
"Yeah. How did you guess?" she asks.
"You don't blush often, Parker," he smiles. "He must have big plans."
"Let's just say he's bringing handcuffs," she grins wickedly.
"Eww, too much information. I did NOT want to hear that," he groans. "But seriously. Be careful with this whole thing."
"Lyle, I think it's too late for the Birds and the Bees talk," she laughs.
"I mean it, Parker. Be careful with him. Discrete, I mean. I don't plan on saying anything to Dad, but the Centre has eyes and ears all over. And if they were to find out . . . "
"I understand," she says, gently laying a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for caring." She reaches up after a moments hesitation and places a kiss on his cheek. She's surprised by his arms encircling her and pulling her into an awkward hug. After a few moments, they both relax into the embrace and hold on tightly.
"I should go," she says when he finally releases her. She gives him a loving smile before walking out the door.
He smiles back, watching her until she disappeared down the hall, wondering how they made it to this point in their lives. A month ago, he would have laughed in someone's face if they told him he'd be in a semi-healthy relationship with his sister. But now look at him. They were on hugging terms. It was only a matter of time before one of them utters the L-word.
"Jessie," he calls after he's sure Miss Parker's gone. "It's time for dinner."
"Coming, Daddy," she yells back, her words causing him to freeze.
"Wh . . what did you call me," he gasps. "Did you just call me Daddy?"
"We talked about families today at school," she says nonchalantly, skipping out into the living room with a stack of papers to share with him. "We learned that there are all different types of families. Some families have a mommy and a daddy. But some families only have one parent. And that's you. You're the daddy in our family," she says with a proud smile.
"I'm the daddy," he repeats, starting to like the sound of it. "Yeah, that's me. I'm the daddy."
"You're silly," she giggles.
"I may be silly, but I'm the daddy," he says, reaching across the couch to tickle her. Their laughter can be heard all the way down the hall as father and daughter finally begin to accept who they are to each other.
"Guess what, Jessie?" Lyle asks the girl once they calm down. "I've never been anybody's daddy before. But I think I like it. And I think I like you . . . a whole lot. You're my little girl now. And I want to take care of you forever. Because I . . . I love you, Jessica."
"I love you too, Daddy," she smiles.
"Okay, then. Let's eat," Lyle says. "What else did you guys do in school today? You were a mess when you got home - dirt from your head all the way to your toes."
"It wasn't all dirt," she giggles. "The black stuff on my hands was ink. We did finger things with the police?"
"What?" he asks panicked. "What about the police?"
"Susie Austin's daddy is a policeman. So he came to the school to help us all do the dent a kid program," she tries to explain. But when she sees that he's confused, she gets her stack of papers and shows him the one she's talking about.
"The 'Ident-a-kid' program," he reads, starting to understand more what she was trying to say. "It says here that they took your fingerprints and a picture to keep on file with the local police."
"So if we get lost or stolen, we'll be found easier," she finishes.
An uneasy feeling starts to develop in the pit of his stomach. Jessie's records to start school with were all fabricated so that her true identity wouldn't be discovered. And normally, fingerprints wouldn't be a problem. A child like Jessie more than likely wasn't in the system if her mother lived on the streets with her. But with Jarod poking his nose into things, no doubt the police now knew all about Jessie. And with these fingerprints and picture now on file, it was only a matter of time before they came looking for her.
"Jessie, honey. Why don't you go get your favorite doll and some clothes for a few days. We're going to go on a little trip," he says as calmly as possible to avoid scaring the girl.
"Why, Daddy?" she asks anyway, confused at the sudden need to leave.
"Just think of it as an adventure," he smiles uneasily. "Go get your things. We have to leave now." He goes to his room and gets a few things for himself before going into Jessie's room to help her pack. They couldn't take a lot, but he at least needed enough stuff to keep her routine as much as possible.
"Ready, Daddy." she says, reaching her arms up. He slings his bag over one shoulder and lifts her up with the other arm. he doesn't even bother to turn off the lights before racing for the front door. And immediately running into the very person he was trying to avoid.
"Mr. Lyle, I presume," the man says. "I'm Detective Lowry with Blue Cove Metro police. Could you step back inside, please Sir? We have a couple of questions for you."
"We?" Lyle asks weakly.
"Allow me to introduce my friends. Special Agents Rogers and Wilson with the FBI," the detective says. "We're here to talk to you about a missing little girl."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Jarod?" Miss Parker says as she opens the front door. "Are you here?"
"What took you so long?" he asks out of the darkness. She feels his arm circle her waist and pull her close to him. She moans out loud when his lips find the nape of her neck and start nibbling there.
"Had to talk to Lyle," she admits, pulling out of his embrace. "Jarod sit down. We need to talk too." She grabs his hand and pulls him to the sofa.
"What about?" he asks curiously.
"You. Me. And this Lyle situation." She pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. "Jarod, I'm starting to feel things for you I never thought I'd be able to feel again. Especially after what happened to Thomas. We got back that special relationship we used to have when we were kids, but it's gone beyond that. I don't know, I guess this has been brewing all this time and I'm finally acknowledging it. But I just wanted to say that I love you, Jarod."
"That's what you had to tell me?" he laughs with relief. He takes her hand in his own and brings it up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her palm. "I love you too, you know."
"I know," she smiles sadly. "That's what makes this so hard. But just let me finish. I wasn't completely honest with you the other day when you were telling me about that little girl who was kidnapped. Lyle did have something to do with it. He has her. But he didn't kidnap her. And he didn't kill her mother."
"How do you know all of this?"
"He told me," she answers.
"He told you?" Jarod asks with a cynical little laugh. "And you actually believed him?"
"Actually, I did, Jarod," she snaps. "You should see Lyle with Jessie. She's changed his life."
"Well, you should see Jessie's father. He was distraught over her disappearance," he snaps back. "I can't believe you fell for his lies. How many times have I warned you about trusting your family. They'll stab you in the back everytime."
"Not this time," she insists. She stands up to put some distance between herself and Jarod. "He's telling the truth this time. He found Jessie. Or more like, she found him. And you're right about her mother. She is dead. But Lyle didn't do it. He saw the men who did it."
"I just find this so hard to believe," he sighs.
"Normally, I would too, Jarod. But you haven't seen Lyle with this girl. They have this special bond. And he's made it his personal goal to take care of her because he promised her he would. Jarod, Lyle loves this little girl. And she loves him." She pauses to give him a chance to process all that she's said. "Jessie's never mentioned a father. How do you know this guy is for real?"
"I don't," Jarod says, her words starting to make some sense. "I was so set on getting her out of the Centre that I didn't even do any research to make sure what the man said was true."
"Well, that's where you and Lyle are walking the same path," she grins. "Neither of you wanted to see her in that place. She hated it there, so he made her a room in his apartment so she wouldn't have to stay there. And he enrolled her in school so she'd have a place to go during the day."
"He did?" Jarod worriedly runs his hands through his hair. "He did all of that for her?"
"Yes. I told you. He loves her, Jarod. He's not keeping her as some kind of hostage. She's with him because she wants to be with him."
"Maybe now. But not for much longer," he mumbles almost under his breath.
"What? What do you mean by that?" she eyes his suspiciously. She starts to get angry when he doesn't answer. "Jarod, what did you do?"
"I quite possibly made the biggest mistake in my life," he says cryptically, jumping up off the sofa. He rushes over to her and grabs her hand on the way to the door. "Come on. We don't have much time."
"Time for what?" she asks, snatching her hand from his. "Jarod just tell me what you did!"
"Tonight's the night the FBI decided to move in on Lyle," he says quietly, trying hard to avoid her gaze. "They're going to arrest him and take Jessie back to her father. You were going to be arrested as well, but I was able to get to you in time."
"You knew about this? Of course you did. You planned it all," she realizes and glares at him with disgust. "You called me to meet early to get me out of the way so that the police could swoop down on my brother. Jarod, how could you?"
"It wasn't like that," he tries to explain, reaching out to grab her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" she yells. "You used me to get to my own brother. And here I am pouring my heart out to you. Here I am feeling guilty for keeping something from you. Jarod, I told you I loved you. You told me you loved me. How could you do this to me?"
"Parker . . ."
"Let's just go," she says icily, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall. "We have to get Lyle out of this mess that *you* got him in."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I demand to see him now," Miss Parker yells, scaring the poor desk clerk almost to tears.
"Ma'am, I was instructed not to allow that prisoner any visitors," the clerk explains again.
"Were you also instructed to violate his civil rights? Did you even allow him to make a phone call?" she sneers. "Now I suggest you let me see him."
"I'm sorry, but I . . . "
"That's alright, Officer. I'll escort her back," Jarod says as he walks through the police station front doors. He holds up his badge for the officer to see.
"Alright, Agent Daniels. He's in the holding cell until his transfer tomorrow," the officer tells him.
"Thank you very much," Jarod says with a smile before leading Miss Parker to where Lyle's being held.
"FBI? Should have figured," she snorts. "Where did you get the fake badge from, Wonderboy? Wal-Mart?"
"It's a real badge. And that's Special Agent Jarod Daniels to you, ma'am. At your service," he smiles. She glares.
"Don't try to be cute, Jarod. Now shut up and take me to Lyle. If I wanted to chat with you I would have ridden here with you," she says.
"Yeah, I got that. You almost ran over my toes when you pulled away from the house, you know."
"Too bad I was aiming for something much higher," she growls. They walk down a hall and make a turn to reach the holding cell.
"Parker," Lyle says with surprise when they approach. "What are you doing here? They wouldn't let me make any phone calls. How did you know where to find me?"
"That's a long story. I'll get into it later," she says, glaring in Jarod's direction. "Where's Jessie?"
"Gone. They took her," he sighs. "It was the men who killed her mother. They just walked right in here and took her from me." He lowers his head, but Jarod and Miss Parker can both see that he's crying by the shaking of his shoulders. Never in his life had he loved anyone like he loved that little girl. And now, she was gone.
* * * * * * * * * *
"How could you allow something like this to happen?" Lyle angrily asks. He slams his front door shut and goes to sit on his couch. After pulling some strings, Jarod was able to get Lyle released immediately. And with his statement regarding the events the night Jessie's mother was killed, they were able to get an APB out for the real killers.
"I thought I was doing the right thing," Jarod tries to explain weakly. "I thought you had killed her mother and stolen her. I thought she was going to be used and exploited at the Centre the way I was."
"That's how everything is with you, isn't it?" Lyle asks. His anger has dissipated to frustration and exhaustion. He was mentally and physically worn out. And his heart literally ached knowing his little girl was gone. "You think in terms of right and wrong, black and white. But life isn't like that, Jarod. There are a lot of gray areas in between."
"I don't know what else to say, Lyle. I'm sorry. I made a mistake," Jarod confesses.
"That's right, Jarod. You made a mistake. And it ruined my life. You let those people take my little girl away. And now she's probably dead. A life for a life. I hope you think we're even now," Lyle says before turning to go to his bedroom.
Miss Parker follows him with her eyes as he drags his tired body down the hall. In the span of one month, she has watched her brother grow to love that little girl. She was even starting to think he had feelings for her. But with what happened tonight, she was afraid he would give up on love, afraid of getting hurt again.
"It wasn't about revenge," he whispers, more to himself than to Miss Parker. But she heard him anyway.
"Too bad," she says. "Revenge, I could understand. I could understand you doing something like this to get back at Lyle for all he's done to you. Your motives were true. If there's one thing I know about you, it's that. Your primary concern was for Jessie."
"I was so sure that Lyle had her locked away some place in the Centre, testing her and experimenting on her. I never realized he would just simply be loving her."
"And you wanted to save her," she adds. "But you see, Jarod. That's what makes what you did so bad. You're on this quest to save the helpless. But only your definition of helpless. I don't doubt that you thought you were doing the right thing. That's just who you are. You always do what's right. But this time, it's turned out badly for everybody. You used me. You lied to me. You ruined our trust. A trust that we spent a lifetime building. My brother's spirit has been broken. His child is now in the hands of a killer. And that's all because of you and your never ending quest for justice, not taking a moment to take stock of the damage you cause in the process."
"I never meant to hurt you," he insists. Reaching out to her, he takes her hand in his and is relieved to feel her squeeze it in response.
"I know," she smiles sadly, lifting his hand to her lips and kissing it gently. "And I know you didn't mean to hurt Jessie, either. But you did. You hurt us both, possibly beyond repair. Listen Jarod, I'm not saying this to hurt you. I love you. But you have to learn to face the consequences of your actions. You need to hear this. This is what happens when you alone try to be judge and juror. You take people's lives in your hands in the name of justice. But you're not God, Jarod. You don't have that power. You don't get that right."
She allows him to pull her into his arms and they sit for awhile just holding each other. But as close as she is to him, Jarod can still feel the chasm between them. The broken trust a hurdle their love just can't jump right now.
"I should go," he whispers hoarsely, not even trying to hold back his tears. She just nods her head in agreement. "But I swear to you, I'll make this up to you. I'll fix us, Parker."
"This isn't about us, Jarod," she sighs. "Right now, my brother is the one broken. He's the one who needs to be fixed. Good night." She pulls herself from him and walks away, leaving him sitting alone in silence. A few minutes later, she hears the front door close. A part of her wants to run after him, but a bigger part knows this is for the best. She has to let him go.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lyle tries to focus on the computer screen in front of him, but all the words just end up blurring together. Yesterday was quite probably the worst day in his life. Worse than any of those days his adoptive father left locked him in the tool shed. And even worse than the day the Tanaka's took his thumb. Losing Jessie was like no pain he's ever known.
He gives up trying to work and decides to take a walk down to the nursery. Miss Parker always seems to find peace with their little brother. Maybe Joshua could ease the pain left by Jessie's absence.
"Parker." Lyle is surprised that she's down there as well. "What are you doing here?"
"It's Zachary. I think he can sense that something's wrong. I came down here to spend some time with Josh and found him curled up in the corner. What about you? What are you doing down here?"
"I guess the same thing you are," he sighs, reaching into the crib to pick up Joshua. "I just wanted to spend a little time with them."
"Where's Jessie?" Zach asks with a little quiver to his bottom lip. "I want to see Jessie."
"I know you do, Buddy." Lyle runs his hand through Zach's hair and looks up to Miss Parker for a clue as to what to say to the boy. But she doesn't know what to say herself. All she can do is gather him closer to her body and hold him tightly. The little boy trembles and cries in her arms.
"It's okay, Sweetie," she whispers in his ear, rocking him back and forth until he settles down. Eventually his sobs die down and he falls asleep, feeling safe in her arms.
"You're so good at that," Lyle marvels. "It took me awhile to get that comfortable with Jessie. But she was just a little girl. And she needed so much love."
"And you were good at giving it to her, Lyle," Miss Parker assures him. "Never doubt that."
"Thanks, Sis," he says with a sad smile, standing to put the now sleeping Joshua back in his crib. "I should get going."
"Wait," she stops him. "Can you bring Joshie down to my car? I'm going to take the boys home with me. They're both too upset to be left here."
"You really care about them, don't you?" He lifts the baby up to his shoulder again and heads towards the door. He holds it open while she grabs the boys' bag with one hand and Zach with the other. They walk down the hall to the elevator and take it all the way to the parking garage.
"Yeah," she says with a dreamy smile. They reach her car and she unlocks it, making sure the boys get strapped in securely. "I love them, plain and simple. I tried to rationalize it and say that I spend time with Joshie because he doesn't really have anyone else since our father doesn't seem to have any interest in him. But it's more than that. Every day I come down here to see them, I find myself staying longer and longer because I can't stand leaving them. And everyday I wonder if Zach is going to be like Jarod - spending most of his life locked away inside this place, then running away only to be hunted like some animal. Turning into some avenging angel with a misguided sense of justice. I don't want that to happen to him. It's tragic enough that it happened once to someone I cared about."
She looks in the back seat at her two angels. The Centre has never done anything but ruin lives. She wasn't going to let it ruin theirs as well. She'd do anything to prevent that. They were too young and too innocent to get caught up in all the ugliness. Poor Jessie was an unfortunate tragedy. But she wasn't going to let her boys become victims as well.
"I'm going to get them home," she says quietly so she wouldn't wake them up. "Come over later if you feel like it. You shouldn't be alone."
"Thanks for the offer. I'll think about it," he promises. Giving his best effort at a smile, he steps back and allows her to back away. He gets into his own car and drives away, going to a home that was once again empty and void.
* * * * * * * * * *
Miss Parker arrives home and looks in the back seat. Both boys were sound asleep. She didn't know how she was going to get them both into the house. She decides to start with the baby. That way, if Zach woke up, he was older and was less likely to be as afraid.
She unstraps Joshua from his car seat and lifts him up on her shoulder. Digging in her pocket for her keys, she finally comes up with them and manages to open the door, kicking it open with her foot. She takes Joshua over to the couch and gently lays him down, preparing to go out and get Zach. When she turns around, she sees that will no longer be necessary.
"Should have figured you'd show your face around here one of these days." Jarod's standing in the doorway carrying Zach into the house. She walks over to get him, but he stops her.
"I got him," he whispers. "You get the baby."
"What are you doing here?" she asks, not moving from her spot. Afraid that if she took a step towards him, she'd end up running to him with open arms.
"I needed to see you," he tells her. He walks to the couch and lays Zach on the other end. "Parker, please." He places a tentative hand on her shoulder, expecting her to jerk away, but glad when she doesn't.
"Jarod, don't," she protests verbally while unconsciously leaning into his touch.
"I missed you," he says, pulling her into his arms.
"I missed you, too," she confesses. After enjoying his touch for a moment, she pushes him away. "Help me get the rest of the stuff out of the car. You can spend the rest of the night showing me how sorry you are."
"Really?" he asks, with a surprised grin, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
"Down, Boy," she smiles. "It's not what you think." She leads him out to the car where she proceeds in watching him unload the contents and carry it all into the house. She then directs him to the big box leaning against the corner containing a brand new crib for Joshua.
"Handyman is not on my resume," he teases.
"Well, you're a genius. I think you can figure it out," she says with a yawn. "I'm going up to take a shower. The crib is going in the guest bedroom. Try not to wake the boys."
"Yes, Ma'am," he salutes. "Anything for you, my love."
"What did I say before about trying to be cute?" she says with feigned anger, her resolve already weakening. The reason why she didn't want him being cute was because she knew she wouldn't be able to resist that charm.
"What? I can't help it if you love me like that," he smiles that smug smile. She can't help but smile back before continuing her way up to her shower.
* * * * * * * * * *
"A few more screws and I'll be all done." Jarod flashes a grin at the freshly showered Miss Parker standing in the doorway.
The sweat dripping down his shirtless torso glistens in the light drawing attention to the defined muscles there. Miss Parker takes a long, appreciative look at his physique, admiring each and every square inch. Her cheeks flush and she begins to feel as if she should have taken a cold shower.
"Finished," he calls out, startling her from her daze.
"Looks good," she says as she clears her throat, trying to regain her composure. "How about you bring the boys up and I'll put on the crib sheet." It all felt so normal. Like they were a family. For the first time since the whole thing with Jessie started, she was starting to feel as if things with Jarod would be alright.
After both boys are snug in their respective beds, Jarod walks Miss Parker to her room, halting just outside the doorway.
"Thanks," she whispered. "It would have been harder taking care of them by myself."
"Glad to help out," he whispers back, lightly sweeping his lips across hers. Their mouths barely touch, yet they feel the shock all the way down to their toes.
"I should get some sleep," she gasps. "The boys will be up early."
"It is late," he points out, running his fingers up and down her arm. "Maybe I should go?"
"Or, you could stay," she suggests, fully capturing his lips for a quick, but passionate kiss.
"I'd like that," he smiles.
"On the couch of course." She grins wickedly as his own smile falls at her words, the disappointment written clearly across his face.
"I thought I was going to spend the night showing you how sorry I was," he pouts, leaning in to try to kiss her, but being rebuffed.
"And you made a good start," she says, pushing him out the door. "I couldn't have put that crib together as quickly as you did. But for right now, it's Couch City for you, Sweetheart." She quickly closed the door in his face before he gave her one more of those pouts, tempting her to kiss those little gorgeous lips of his. Her resolve was practically nonexistent now. It was only a matter of time before he had broken her down completely.
* * * * * * * * *
The next morning, Miss Parker rolls over in bed and is shocked to see the time on the clock. It was practically midmorning and she was still in the bed. She was surprised the boys hadn't woken her up. She jumps out of the bed, pulling on a robe over her gown and sliding her feet into her slippers. On her way down the hall to check on the children, she hears giggling and laughing coming from the room. Peeking inside, she sees Jarod entertaining the boys. They were laughing in ways Miss Parker had never heard them laugh before. Jarod was sitting on the floor with them making stupid faces and tickling them. And as goofy as he looked, she thought it was the sexiest she's ever seen him. Even more so than last night when he was half naked and sweaty. The sight of him playing with the kids made her insides melt and her knees quiver like jelly.
"So, who's the babysitter here?" she asks, startling all three of her 'boys'. "It's hard to tell, Jarod. You're acting just like one of them." She smiles and walks into the room, kneeling on the floor to give the boys good morning kisses.
"Do I get one of those, too?" Jarod grins, closing his eyes and puckering up his lips.
"I think that can be arranged," she says. She pushes him on his back and starts to crawl up his body. Just as she's about to kiss him, the doorbell rings, causing both of them to groan their disappointment. "Be right back." She gives him a quick peck on the cheek before going downstairs to get the door.
"Morning, Sis," Lyle says from the threshold.
"Lyle," she gasps with surprise. "You're here."
"You invited me, remember? I thought I'd take you and the boys to breakfast lest we risk a trip to the emergency room for food poisoning from your cooking," he teases.
"Very funny," she says sarcastically. "They're upstairs. We still need to get dressed, but that shouldn't take long."
"You need some help?" he offers.
"No," she says quickly. "I mean, I can handle it myself. But thanks." She runs up the stairs, grateful she dodged that bullet. The last thing Lyle needed was a confrontation with Jarod this morning. "Jarod," she whispers into the room. "Lyle's here!"
"What?"
"Just help me get the boys dressed. And stay quiet. I don't want him seeing you," she orders. "Zach, go into the bathroom and get washed up. Lyle's here to take us to breakfast."
"Lyle's here? Did he bring Jessie?" he asks with enthusiasm.
"I'm sorry, Zach. You know that Jessie's gone. We don't know where she is," she explains to the boy, glaring at Jarod from the corner of her eye. Seeing the sadness on the boy's face, all the anger and contempt she felt for Jarod the day before begins to rise back up. She gives Zach a hug and kiss and sends him off to the bathroom.
"They were close?" Jarod asks. He notice her change in attitude and realizes that all the progress they made finding their way back to each other has been lost.
"About as close as we were when we were kids," she sighs. She goes to Zach's bag and pulls out some clothes for him, laying them out on the bed. Then she takes the bag and picks up Joshua, heading for her own bedroom. "I'm taking Joshie and we're going to get dressed. Help Zach when he gets out of the bathroom." She places a hand on the doorknob, about to open it. With her back to Jarod, she pauses briefly to speak. "We probably won't be at breakfast very long. Please don't be here when we get back."
He lowers his head and nods in understanding, even though he knows she can't see him. She doesn't even bother to face him. She just keeps on to her bedroom. He fears things with Miss Parker may be beyond repair. He had to do something to fix this. Even if *they*t couldn't be fixed, the situation could. He just had to find Jessie.
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG to PG-13 (for some violence)
Category - JMPR/MPL
Summary - Lyle meets someone who changes his entire life. That new life is threatened when Jarod's actions, although done for the right reasons, turn out wrong for all involved.
Disclaimer - Most of these characters don't belong to me. But I'm staking my claim to Jessica and Zachary. They're all mine :-)
* * * * * * * * * *
Lyle pulls into the parking space and shuts off the car. He takes a deep breath and looks to the seat next to him.
"You know, you really don't have to do this if you don't want to, Jessie," he tells the girl, hoping she'll take him up on his offer. He looks at the door and sees a woman approaching the car. "It's not too late for me to take you back home."
"Mr. Parker," the woman says through the open window.
"Lyle," he corrects her.
"Excuse me?"
"It's just Lyle," he repeats. For some reason, he had a hard time taking the last name Parker. He just went by Lyle when at all possible.
"Okay, Lyle," the woman smiles. "You can come in with Jessica if you'd like. Most parents do that on the first day."
Lyle looks at Jessie again to see if he can see what she wants him to do.
"I'll be fine. I promise," she smiles before leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. She grabs her backpack and gets out the car.
"You heard her yourself. She'll be fine," the teacher says. She grabs Jessie's hand and leads her into the school, letting her stop once to wave good-bye to Lyle.
Lyle stays until they both disappear into the school, tempted to just sit there until the end of the day. But, his ringing phone reminds him of the many things at the Centre he's been neglecting to do since he got Jessie.
"Yes," he answers.
"Lyle, it's me," Miss Parker says. "Are you coming in today? I need to talk to you."
"Yeah, I should be there soon. I was just dropping Jessie off at school." He shifts the phone to his ear and starts the car, pulling out carefully into traffic.
"First day at school, huh?" Miss Parker smiles. "Was she nervous?"
"No. She was fine," he sighs, somewhat disappointed. "I was the nervous one. It just felt kind of strange leaving her all alone like that in the hands of a stranger."
"Lyle, it's preschool," Miss Parker laughs. "It's not like she's joining the Army."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lyle agrees.
"I'm sure she's going to have fun. It'll be 4:00 before you know it and time to pick her up again."
"Alright, alright. I get your point, Parker. Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"I'd rather talk about it in person," she insists. "Just get here soon."
* * * * * * * * * *
True to his word, Lyle arrived at the Centre just a few minutes after hanging up with Miss Parker. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to meet with her. They both had endless meetings and a never ending stack of work to get through. Before Lyle knew it, it was time to go pick up Jessie from school. He calls Miss Parker and leaves a message for her to meet him at his apartment when she left work.
A few hours later, Miss Parker arrives, just in time for dinner.
"Perfect timing, Sis. Jessie and I were just about to eat," Lyle says, showing her in.
"I can't stay long," she tells him, hating to disappoint him. "I have another meeting later, but I wanted to talk to you. Where is Jessie, anyway?"
"In her room doing homework. Can you believe that? They give out homework in preschool now," he says with a little laugh. "Okay, so talk." He offers her a seat before sitting down next to her.
"Word has it that Jarod is working on a pretend in the area," she starts, hoping he doesn't want to know where she got this 'word' from. Then she realizes that won't be a problem since he's not even paying attention to what she's saying. "Lyle, what are you staring at?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's just there's something on your . . . Parker is that a hickey?" he asks, barely able to hide the amused smirk.
"No," she says quickly, a little too quickly, as her hand flies up to the exact spot on her neck he was staring at. She thought she had hidden all the evidence of last night's make out session with Jarod, but she apparently missed one.
"Really?" Lyle grins. "A mouth shaped bruise right under your ear and it's not a hickey?"
"A mosquito bite," she lies. "They come out in full force this time of year. Can we get back to what I actually came her for?" she asks in a desperate attempt to change the subject.
"Alright," he chuckles. "Just remind me to wear the military strength insect repellant the next time I come over to your place."
"Shut up, Lyle," she says with a glare. "You're not going to be laughing when I tell you my news."
"Okay," he says, calming down finally. "You were saying?"
"Jarod. He has a pretend in the area. It possibly involves you . . . and Jessie." She sees that gets his attention. "He heard about a missing girl in the area. She disappeared about a month ago along with her mother, whom they assume is dead. It could be a coincidence, but the similarities were too great to ignore."
"It probably is a coincidence," he says nervously. "What makes you think this pretend has anything to do with me and Jessie?"
"Jarod told me," she admits.
"Jarod! When have you heard from Jarod? Is he who you've been carrying on with? Is he the one putting hickeys all over your neck? Really, Sis. I thought you were smarter than that. Getting involved with the missing labrat."
"Shut up, Lyle," she orders again. "I defended you to him. At least you can hear me out about him." She stares at him until he calms down.
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing. That's why I don't know how much he knows about this. I didn't want to ask too many questions and raise his suspicions. But you know how Jarod is. He thinks you had something to do with her mother's death. He's going to come after you, Lyle. You shouldn't have anything to worry about if you did nothing wrong."
"*If* I did nothing wrong?" he shouts. "What, you're starting to doubt me now? A few rolls in the hay with him and you're turning your back on your family . . . "
The crack of her hand against his face stops him midsentence.
"I think you've said more than enough," she says coldly and calmly, her eyes turning a cool, steely gray color. "I'm trying to warn you about this and you accuse me of sleeping with the enemy. To answer your question, no. Jarod and I have never shared a bed. But yes, I am carrying on with him if you must know. I've known and trusted him my entire life, yet I still risk giving you the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to hear your side of the story. For the first time when someone said something bad about you, my first instinct wasn't to believe them, but it was to defend you. I wanted to give you a chance to explain. But instead of explanations, all you have are insults. Well, consider yourself warned. Good luck." She gives him one last glare before turning to leave.
"Wait," he calls after her. "Look, I shouldn't have said all of that. I'm . . . "
"I think 'sorry' is the word you're looking for, Lyle. It's called an apology."
"I am. Sorry, that is. I apologize for insulting you and assuming the worst."
"Okay," she says quietly, but still a little upset at him.
"That's it? You forgive me?"
"Contrary to what you said, Lyle, I haven't forsaken you for Jarod. I believe you've changed. And I care about what happens to you," she tells him. Her ringing phone puts a halt to their conversation. She excuses herself to take the call, returning a few minutes later with red cheeks and a grin that spread across her face.
"Listen, I have to go," she says.
"Jarod?"
"Yeah. How did you guess?" she asks.
"You don't blush often, Parker," he smiles. "He must have big plans."
"Let's just say he's bringing handcuffs," she grins wickedly.
"Eww, too much information. I did NOT want to hear that," he groans. "But seriously. Be careful with this whole thing."
"Lyle, I think it's too late for the Birds and the Bees talk," she laughs.
"I mean it, Parker. Be careful with him. Discrete, I mean. I don't plan on saying anything to Dad, but the Centre has eyes and ears all over. And if they were to find out . . . "
"I understand," she says, gently laying a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for caring." She reaches up after a moments hesitation and places a kiss on his cheek. She's surprised by his arms encircling her and pulling her into an awkward hug. After a few moments, they both relax into the embrace and hold on tightly.
"I should go," she says when he finally releases her. She gives him a loving smile before walking out the door.
He smiles back, watching her until she disappeared down the hall, wondering how they made it to this point in their lives. A month ago, he would have laughed in someone's face if they told him he'd be in a semi-healthy relationship with his sister. But now look at him. They were on hugging terms. It was only a matter of time before one of them utters the L-word.
"Jessie," he calls after he's sure Miss Parker's gone. "It's time for dinner."
"Coming, Daddy," she yells back, her words causing him to freeze.
"Wh . . what did you call me," he gasps. "Did you just call me Daddy?"
"We talked about families today at school," she says nonchalantly, skipping out into the living room with a stack of papers to share with him. "We learned that there are all different types of families. Some families have a mommy and a daddy. But some families only have one parent. And that's you. You're the daddy in our family," she says with a proud smile.
"I'm the daddy," he repeats, starting to like the sound of it. "Yeah, that's me. I'm the daddy."
"You're silly," she giggles.
"I may be silly, but I'm the daddy," he says, reaching across the couch to tickle her. Their laughter can be heard all the way down the hall as father and daughter finally begin to accept who they are to each other.
"Guess what, Jessie?" Lyle asks the girl once they calm down. "I've never been anybody's daddy before. But I think I like it. And I think I like you . . . a whole lot. You're my little girl now. And I want to take care of you forever. Because I . . . I love you, Jessica."
"I love you too, Daddy," she smiles.
"Okay, then. Let's eat," Lyle says. "What else did you guys do in school today? You were a mess when you got home - dirt from your head all the way to your toes."
"It wasn't all dirt," she giggles. "The black stuff on my hands was ink. We did finger things with the police?"
"What?" he asks panicked. "What about the police?"
"Susie Austin's daddy is a policeman. So he came to the school to help us all do the dent a kid program," she tries to explain. But when she sees that he's confused, she gets her stack of papers and shows him the one she's talking about.
"The 'Ident-a-kid' program," he reads, starting to understand more what she was trying to say. "It says here that they took your fingerprints and a picture to keep on file with the local police."
"So if we get lost or stolen, we'll be found easier," she finishes.
An uneasy feeling starts to develop in the pit of his stomach. Jessie's records to start school with were all fabricated so that her true identity wouldn't be discovered. And normally, fingerprints wouldn't be a problem. A child like Jessie more than likely wasn't in the system if her mother lived on the streets with her. But with Jarod poking his nose into things, no doubt the police now knew all about Jessie. And with these fingerprints and picture now on file, it was only a matter of time before they came looking for her.
"Jessie, honey. Why don't you go get your favorite doll and some clothes for a few days. We're going to go on a little trip," he says as calmly as possible to avoid scaring the girl.
"Why, Daddy?" she asks anyway, confused at the sudden need to leave.
"Just think of it as an adventure," he smiles uneasily. "Go get your things. We have to leave now." He goes to his room and gets a few things for himself before going into Jessie's room to help her pack. They couldn't take a lot, but he at least needed enough stuff to keep her routine as much as possible.
"Ready, Daddy." she says, reaching her arms up. He slings his bag over one shoulder and lifts her up with the other arm. he doesn't even bother to turn off the lights before racing for the front door. And immediately running into the very person he was trying to avoid.
"Mr. Lyle, I presume," the man says. "I'm Detective Lowry with Blue Cove Metro police. Could you step back inside, please Sir? We have a couple of questions for you."
"We?" Lyle asks weakly.
"Allow me to introduce my friends. Special Agents Rogers and Wilson with the FBI," the detective says. "We're here to talk to you about a missing little girl."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Jarod?" Miss Parker says as she opens the front door. "Are you here?"
"What took you so long?" he asks out of the darkness. She feels his arm circle her waist and pull her close to him. She moans out loud when his lips find the nape of her neck and start nibbling there.
"Had to talk to Lyle," she admits, pulling out of his embrace. "Jarod sit down. We need to talk too." She grabs his hand and pulls him to the sofa.
"What about?" he asks curiously.
"You. Me. And this Lyle situation." She pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. "Jarod, I'm starting to feel things for you I never thought I'd be able to feel again. Especially after what happened to Thomas. We got back that special relationship we used to have when we were kids, but it's gone beyond that. I don't know, I guess this has been brewing all this time and I'm finally acknowledging it. But I just wanted to say that I love you, Jarod."
"That's what you had to tell me?" he laughs with relief. He takes her hand in his own and brings it up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her palm. "I love you too, you know."
"I know," she smiles sadly. "That's what makes this so hard. But just let me finish. I wasn't completely honest with you the other day when you were telling me about that little girl who was kidnapped. Lyle did have something to do with it. He has her. But he didn't kidnap her. And he didn't kill her mother."
"How do you know all of this?"
"He told me," she answers.
"He told you?" Jarod asks with a cynical little laugh. "And you actually believed him?"
"Actually, I did, Jarod," she snaps. "You should see Lyle with Jessie. She's changed his life."
"Well, you should see Jessie's father. He was distraught over her disappearance," he snaps back. "I can't believe you fell for his lies. How many times have I warned you about trusting your family. They'll stab you in the back everytime."
"Not this time," she insists. She stands up to put some distance between herself and Jarod. "He's telling the truth this time. He found Jessie. Or more like, she found him. And you're right about her mother. She is dead. But Lyle didn't do it. He saw the men who did it."
"I just find this so hard to believe," he sighs.
"Normally, I would too, Jarod. But you haven't seen Lyle with this girl. They have this special bond. And he's made it his personal goal to take care of her because he promised her he would. Jarod, Lyle loves this little girl. And she loves him." She pauses to give him a chance to process all that she's said. "Jessie's never mentioned a father. How do you know this guy is for real?"
"I don't," Jarod says, her words starting to make some sense. "I was so set on getting her out of the Centre that I didn't even do any research to make sure what the man said was true."
"Well, that's where you and Lyle are walking the same path," she grins. "Neither of you wanted to see her in that place. She hated it there, so he made her a room in his apartment so she wouldn't have to stay there. And he enrolled her in school so she'd have a place to go during the day."
"He did?" Jarod worriedly runs his hands through his hair. "He did all of that for her?"
"Yes. I told you. He loves her, Jarod. He's not keeping her as some kind of hostage. She's with him because she wants to be with him."
"Maybe now. But not for much longer," he mumbles almost under his breath.
"What? What do you mean by that?" she eyes his suspiciously. She starts to get angry when he doesn't answer. "Jarod, what did you do?"
"I quite possibly made the biggest mistake in my life," he says cryptically, jumping up off the sofa. He rushes over to her and grabs her hand on the way to the door. "Come on. We don't have much time."
"Time for what?" she asks, snatching her hand from his. "Jarod just tell me what you did!"
"Tonight's the night the FBI decided to move in on Lyle," he says quietly, trying hard to avoid her gaze. "They're going to arrest him and take Jessie back to her father. You were going to be arrested as well, but I was able to get to you in time."
"You knew about this? Of course you did. You planned it all," she realizes and glares at him with disgust. "You called me to meet early to get me out of the way so that the police could swoop down on my brother. Jarod, how could you?"
"It wasn't like that," he tries to explain, reaching out to grab her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" she yells. "You used me to get to my own brother. And here I am pouring my heart out to you. Here I am feeling guilty for keeping something from you. Jarod, I told you I loved you. You told me you loved me. How could you do this to me?"
"Parker . . ."
"Let's just go," she says icily, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall. "We have to get Lyle out of this mess that *you* got him in."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I demand to see him now," Miss Parker yells, scaring the poor desk clerk almost to tears.
"Ma'am, I was instructed not to allow that prisoner any visitors," the clerk explains again.
"Were you also instructed to violate his civil rights? Did you even allow him to make a phone call?" she sneers. "Now I suggest you let me see him."
"I'm sorry, but I . . . "
"That's alright, Officer. I'll escort her back," Jarod says as he walks through the police station front doors. He holds up his badge for the officer to see.
"Alright, Agent Daniels. He's in the holding cell until his transfer tomorrow," the officer tells him.
"Thank you very much," Jarod says with a smile before leading Miss Parker to where Lyle's being held.
"FBI? Should have figured," she snorts. "Where did you get the fake badge from, Wonderboy? Wal-Mart?"
"It's a real badge. And that's Special Agent Jarod Daniels to you, ma'am. At your service," he smiles. She glares.
"Don't try to be cute, Jarod. Now shut up and take me to Lyle. If I wanted to chat with you I would have ridden here with you," she says.
"Yeah, I got that. You almost ran over my toes when you pulled away from the house, you know."
"Too bad I was aiming for something much higher," she growls. They walk down a hall and make a turn to reach the holding cell.
"Parker," Lyle says with surprise when they approach. "What are you doing here? They wouldn't let me make any phone calls. How did you know where to find me?"
"That's a long story. I'll get into it later," she says, glaring in Jarod's direction. "Where's Jessie?"
"Gone. They took her," he sighs. "It was the men who killed her mother. They just walked right in here and took her from me." He lowers his head, but Jarod and Miss Parker can both see that he's crying by the shaking of his shoulders. Never in his life had he loved anyone like he loved that little girl. And now, she was gone.
* * * * * * * * * *
"How could you allow something like this to happen?" Lyle angrily asks. He slams his front door shut and goes to sit on his couch. After pulling some strings, Jarod was able to get Lyle released immediately. And with his statement regarding the events the night Jessie's mother was killed, they were able to get an APB out for the real killers.
"I thought I was doing the right thing," Jarod tries to explain weakly. "I thought you had killed her mother and stolen her. I thought she was going to be used and exploited at the Centre the way I was."
"That's how everything is with you, isn't it?" Lyle asks. His anger has dissipated to frustration and exhaustion. He was mentally and physically worn out. And his heart literally ached knowing his little girl was gone. "You think in terms of right and wrong, black and white. But life isn't like that, Jarod. There are a lot of gray areas in between."
"I don't know what else to say, Lyle. I'm sorry. I made a mistake," Jarod confesses.
"That's right, Jarod. You made a mistake. And it ruined my life. You let those people take my little girl away. And now she's probably dead. A life for a life. I hope you think we're even now," Lyle says before turning to go to his bedroom.
Miss Parker follows him with her eyes as he drags his tired body down the hall. In the span of one month, she has watched her brother grow to love that little girl. She was even starting to think he had feelings for her. But with what happened tonight, she was afraid he would give up on love, afraid of getting hurt again.
"It wasn't about revenge," he whispers, more to himself than to Miss Parker. But she heard him anyway.
"Too bad," she says. "Revenge, I could understand. I could understand you doing something like this to get back at Lyle for all he's done to you. Your motives were true. If there's one thing I know about you, it's that. Your primary concern was for Jessie."
"I was so sure that Lyle had her locked away some place in the Centre, testing her and experimenting on her. I never realized he would just simply be loving her."
"And you wanted to save her," she adds. "But you see, Jarod. That's what makes what you did so bad. You're on this quest to save the helpless. But only your definition of helpless. I don't doubt that you thought you were doing the right thing. That's just who you are. You always do what's right. But this time, it's turned out badly for everybody. You used me. You lied to me. You ruined our trust. A trust that we spent a lifetime building. My brother's spirit has been broken. His child is now in the hands of a killer. And that's all because of you and your never ending quest for justice, not taking a moment to take stock of the damage you cause in the process."
"I never meant to hurt you," he insists. Reaching out to her, he takes her hand in his and is relieved to feel her squeeze it in response.
"I know," she smiles sadly, lifting his hand to her lips and kissing it gently. "And I know you didn't mean to hurt Jessie, either. But you did. You hurt us both, possibly beyond repair. Listen Jarod, I'm not saying this to hurt you. I love you. But you have to learn to face the consequences of your actions. You need to hear this. This is what happens when you alone try to be judge and juror. You take people's lives in your hands in the name of justice. But you're not God, Jarod. You don't have that power. You don't get that right."
She allows him to pull her into his arms and they sit for awhile just holding each other. But as close as she is to him, Jarod can still feel the chasm between them. The broken trust a hurdle their love just can't jump right now.
"I should go," he whispers hoarsely, not even trying to hold back his tears. She just nods her head in agreement. "But I swear to you, I'll make this up to you. I'll fix us, Parker."
"This isn't about us, Jarod," she sighs. "Right now, my brother is the one broken. He's the one who needs to be fixed. Good night." She pulls herself from him and walks away, leaving him sitting alone in silence. A few minutes later, she hears the front door close. A part of her wants to run after him, but a bigger part knows this is for the best. She has to let him go.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lyle tries to focus on the computer screen in front of him, but all the words just end up blurring together. Yesterday was quite probably the worst day in his life. Worse than any of those days his adoptive father left locked him in the tool shed. And even worse than the day the Tanaka's took his thumb. Losing Jessie was like no pain he's ever known.
He gives up trying to work and decides to take a walk down to the nursery. Miss Parker always seems to find peace with their little brother. Maybe Joshua could ease the pain left by Jessie's absence.
"Parker." Lyle is surprised that she's down there as well. "What are you doing here?"
"It's Zachary. I think he can sense that something's wrong. I came down here to spend some time with Josh and found him curled up in the corner. What about you? What are you doing down here?"
"I guess the same thing you are," he sighs, reaching into the crib to pick up Joshua. "I just wanted to spend a little time with them."
"Where's Jessie?" Zach asks with a little quiver to his bottom lip. "I want to see Jessie."
"I know you do, Buddy." Lyle runs his hand through Zach's hair and looks up to Miss Parker for a clue as to what to say to the boy. But she doesn't know what to say herself. All she can do is gather him closer to her body and hold him tightly. The little boy trembles and cries in her arms.
"It's okay, Sweetie," she whispers in his ear, rocking him back and forth until he settles down. Eventually his sobs die down and he falls asleep, feeling safe in her arms.
"You're so good at that," Lyle marvels. "It took me awhile to get that comfortable with Jessie. But she was just a little girl. And she needed so much love."
"And you were good at giving it to her, Lyle," Miss Parker assures him. "Never doubt that."
"Thanks, Sis," he says with a sad smile, standing to put the now sleeping Joshua back in his crib. "I should get going."
"Wait," she stops him. "Can you bring Joshie down to my car? I'm going to take the boys home with me. They're both too upset to be left here."
"You really care about them, don't you?" He lifts the baby up to his shoulder again and heads towards the door. He holds it open while she grabs the boys' bag with one hand and Zach with the other. They walk down the hall to the elevator and take it all the way to the parking garage.
"Yeah," she says with a dreamy smile. They reach her car and she unlocks it, making sure the boys get strapped in securely. "I love them, plain and simple. I tried to rationalize it and say that I spend time with Joshie because he doesn't really have anyone else since our father doesn't seem to have any interest in him. But it's more than that. Every day I come down here to see them, I find myself staying longer and longer because I can't stand leaving them. And everyday I wonder if Zach is going to be like Jarod - spending most of his life locked away inside this place, then running away only to be hunted like some animal. Turning into some avenging angel with a misguided sense of justice. I don't want that to happen to him. It's tragic enough that it happened once to someone I cared about."
She looks in the back seat at her two angels. The Centre has never done anything but ruin lives. She wasn't going to let it ruin theirs as well. She'd do anything to prevent that. They were too young and too innocent to get caught up in all the ugliness. Poor Jessie was an unfortunate tragedy. But she wasn't going to let her boys become victims as well.
"I'm going to get them home," she says quietly so she wouldn't wake them up. "Come over later if you feel like it. You shouldn't be alone."
"Thanks for the offer. I'll think about it," he promises. Giving his best effort at a smile, he steps back and allows her to back away. He gets into his own car and drives away, going to a home that was once again empty and void.
* * * * * * * * * *
Miss Parker arrives home and looks in the back seat. Both boys were sound asleep. She didn't know how she was going to get them both into the house. She decides to start with the baby. That way, if Zach woke up, he was older and was less likely to be as afraid.
She unstraps Joshua from his car seat and lifts him up on her shoulder. Digging in her pocket for her keys, she finally comes up with them and manages to open the door, kicking it open with her foot. She takes Joshua over to the couch and gently lays him down, preparing to go out and get Zach. When she turns around, she sees that will no longer be necessary.
"Should have figured you'd show your face around here one of these days." Jarod's standing in the doorway carrying Zach into the house. She walks over to get him, but he stops her.
"I got him," he whispers. "You get the baby."
"What are you doing here?" she asks, not moving from her spot. Afraid that if she took a step towards him, she'd end up running to him with open arms.
"I needed to see you," he tells her. He walks to the couch and lays Zach on the other end. "Parker, please." He places a tentative hand on her shoulder, expecting her to jerk away, but glad when she doesn't.
"Jarod, don't," she protests verbally while unconsciously leaning into his touch.
"I missed you," he says, pulling her into his arms.
"I missed you, too," she confesses. After enjoying his touch for a moment, she pushes him away. "Help me get the rest of the stuff out of the car. You can spend the rest of the night showing me how sorry you are."
"Really?" he asks, with a surprised grin, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
"Down, Boy," she smiles. "It's not what you think." She leads him out to the car where she proceeds in watching him unload the contents and carry it all into the house. She then directs him to the big box leaning against the corner containing a brand new crib for Joshua.
"Handyman is not on my resume," he teases.
"Well, you're a genius. I think you can figure it out," she says with a yawn. "I'm going up to take a shower. The crib is going in the guest bedroom. Try not to wake the boys."
"Yes, Ma'am," he salutes. "Anything for you, my love."
"What did I say before about trying to be cute?" she says with feigned anger, her resolve already weakening. The reason why she didn't want him being cute was because she knew she wouldn't be able to resist that charm.
"What? I can't help it if you love me like that," he smiles that smug smile. She can't help but smile back before continuing her way up to her shower.
* * * * * * * * * *
"A few more screws and I'll be all done." Jarod flashes a grin at the freshly showered Miss Parker standing in the doorway.
The sweat dripping down his shirtless torso glistens in the light drawing attention to the defined muscles there. Miss Parker takes a long, appreciative look at his physique, admiring each and every square inch. Her cheeks flush and she begins to feel as if she should have taken a cold shower.
"Finished," he calls out, startling her from her daze.
"Looks good," she says as she clears her throat, trying to regain her composure. "How about you bring the boys up and I'll put on the crib sheet." It all felt so normal. Like they were a family. For the first time since the whole thing with Jessie started, she was starting to feel as if things with Jarod would be alright.
After both boys are snug in their respective beds, Jarod walks Miss Parker to her room, halting just outside the doorway.
"Thanks," she whispered. "It would have been harder taking care of them by myself."
"Glad to help out," he whispers back, lightly sweeping his lips across hers. Their mouths barely touch, yet they feel the shock all the way down to their toes.
"I should get some sleep," she gasps. "The boys will be up early."
"It is late," he points out, running his fingers up and down her arm. "Maybe I should go?"
"Or, you could stay," she suggests, fully capturing his lips for a quick, but passionate kiss.
"I'd like that," he smiles.
"On the couch of course." She grins wickedly as his own smile falls at her words, the disappointment written clearly across his face.
"I thought I was going to spend the night showing you how sorry I was," he pouts, leaning in to try to kiss her, but being rebuffed.
"And you made a good start," she says, pushing him out the door. "I couldn't have put that crib together as quickly as you did. But for right now, it's Couch City for you, Sweetheart." She quickly closed the door in his face before he gave her one more of those pouts, tempting her to kiss those little gorgeous lips of his. Her resolve was practically nonexistent now. It was only a matter of time before he had broken her down completely.
* * * * * * * * *
The next morning, Miss Parker rolls over in bed and is shocked to see the time on the clock. It was practically midmorning and she was still in the bed. She was surprised the boys hadn't woken her up. She jumps out of the bed, pulling on a robe over her gown and sliding her feet into her slippers. On her way down the hall to check on the children, she hears giggling and laughing coming from the room. Peeking inside, she sees Jarod entertaining the boys. They were laughing in ways Miss Parker had never heard them laugh before. Jarod was sitting on the floor with them making stupid faces and tickling them. And as goofy as he looked, she thought it was the sexiest she's ever seen him. Even more so than last night when he was half naked and sweaty. The sight of him playing with the kids made her insides melt and her knees quiver like jelly.
"So, who's the babysitter here?" she asks, startling all three of her 'boys'. "It's hard to tell, Jarod. You're acting just like one of them." She smiles and walks into the room, kneeling on the floor to give the boys good morning kisses.
"Do I get one of those, too?" Jarod grins, closing his eyes and puckering up his lips.
"I think that can be arranged," she says. She pushes him on his back and starts to crawl up his body. Just as she's about to kiss him, the doorbell rings, causing both of them to groan their disappointment. "Be right back." She gives him a quick peck on the cheek before going downstairs to get the door.
"Morning, Sis," Lyle says from the threshold.
"Lyle," she gasps with surprise. "You're here."
"You invited me, remember? I thought I'd take you and the boys to breakfast lest we risk a trip to the emergency room for food poisoning from your cooking," he teases.
"Very funny," she says sarcastically. "They're upstairs. We still need to get dressed, but that shouldn't take long."
"You need some help?" he offers.
"No," she says quickly. "I mean, I can handle it myself. But thanks." She runs up the stairs, grateful she dodged that bullet. The last thing Lyle needed was a confrontation with Jarod this morning. "Jarod," she whispers into the room. "Lyle's here!"
"What?"
"Just help me get the boys dressed. And stay quiet. I don't want him seeing you," she orders. "Zach, go into the bathroom and get washed up. Lyle's here to take us to breakfast."
"Lyle's here? Did he bring Jessie?" he asks with enthusiasm.
"I'm sorry, Zach. You know that Jessie's gone. We don't know where she is," she explains to the boy, glaring at Jarod from the corner of her eye. Seeing the sadness on the boy's face, all the anger and contempt she felt for Jarod the day before begins to rise back up. She gives Zach a hug and kiss and sends him off to the bathroom.
"They were close?" Jarod asks. He notice her change in attitude and realizes that all the progress they made finding their way back to each other has been lost.
"About as close as we were when we were kids," she sighs. She goes to Zach's bag and pulls out some clothes for him, laying them out on the bed. Then she takes the bag and picks up Joshua, heading for her own bedroom. "I'm taking Joshie and we're going to get dressed. Help Zach when he gets out of the bathroom." She places a hand on the doorknob, about to open it. With her back to Jarod, she pauses briefly to speak. "We probably won't be at breakfast very long. Please don't be here when we get back."
He lowers his head and nods in understanding, even though he knows she can't see him. She doesn't even bother to face him. She just keeps on to her bedroom. He fears things with Miss Parker may be beyond repair. He had to do something to fix this. Even if *they*t couldn't be fixed, the situation could. He just had to find Jessie.
