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Disclaimer: Everything belongs to NBC and the Pretender peoples: Except for Joely, she's mine. ;-) Please don't sue, you won't get a thing. Hope you enjoy this little fic, it's a sequel to Lonely In Your Nightmare, for those of you out there who asked me to write a conclusion. You know who you are. ;-) Thanks to Trixi for beta-reading, where would I be without you, girl? :-)
And now, on with the show! Title courtesy of Motley Crue.
This is a sequel to Sequel to Lonely in Your Nightmare
If It Weren't For Bad Luck
by Miss Houk
Parker Residence
Blue Cove, Delaware
"Hello, daddy. Thank you for coming by." Parker replied softly, opening the door so the older man could step inside.
"Well angel, you said it was urgent that we speak, and I wanted to make sure that everything was all right." he replied, appearing to be concerned.
"Well daddy, it is urgent. Please, come in and sit down." she offered, gesturing to the couch. "Would you like a drink? I have your favorite bourbon."
"Thanks angel, that sounds great." he said jovially, taking a seat. "So, why don't you tell me what the problem is? It isn't like you to avoid the issue this way."
"Daddy, there is something important I have to tell you, something that might surprise and make you mad."
"Well, spit it out. I'm sure it's no worse than your current failures."
Parker recoiled, as if he had struck her, and the walls came down around her immediately. She took a breath and replied, "Daddy, I have a child."
"Well that's...you what?"
"I have a child, daddy. Her name is Joely."
"When the hell...."
"When I took my leave three years ago. I was pregnant and starting to show, so I took a leave so I could give birth." she explained.
"And you kept the little brat?" he thundered.
"Yeah, daddy, I did. She's not a mutt, she's my child." she shouted, her voice breaking.
"Dare I ask who the father is?" he asked icily.
"His name is Knox."
"Why the hell hasn't he taken care of this situation?" he demanded.
"Because daddy, he doesn't know she exists." she shot back.
"Well this is just wonderful. And how the hell do you propose to continue doing your job? You can't haul the little bastard with you." he complained, standing.
"Right now, daddy, that's not important. Getting Joely settled here is. I was hoping that you would like to see her, even meet her. She's a beautiful child."
"Children all look the same." he muttered darkly.
Parker stared at him, the man she had called her father all of her life, and realized that she hated him. He did not care about anything, only himself. She turned away from him and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. Why the fuck did I ever think he would give a damn? she wondered silently to herself. He had never cared before, and things certainly would not change now. She had hoped that the mention of a grandchild would incite some interest or excitement in him, but as usual, he was only concerned about the bottom line, about the capture of Jarod. She could never tell him that Jarod was the father, unless she wanted to be chasing after her own child. She would never tell him that Jarod was the father, she loved them both too much to put them in that kind of danger. She loved them so much that she would die protecting them if it ever came to that. And at this moment, she wished that she had taken Jarod up on his offer; she wished that she had packed herself and Joely up, and disappeared with him. It was never too late; she could wait until the next encounter. It was only a matter of time before he mocked the Centre again. This time when he did, she would be there waiting for him, she and Joely.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Parker asked softly, pleading.
"No, I don't. I just need to know if this will affect your position at the Centre." he stated, walking toward the front door.
"No daddy, it won't. I'll find a sitter for her and I'll be in first thing in the morning."
"Why don't you leave her in the daycare center?" he suggested.
"No daddy, I really don't want anyone to know about her."
"Well, suit yourself. I'll see you tomorrow angel." he replied and left silently, his disappointment contaminating the air like a
poisonous gas.
"'Bye daddy." she murmured to the closing door.
* * *
"What." she demanded groggily, switching on a lamp, searching for her cigarettes.
"Daddy didn't take the news too well, huh?" Jarod asked mockingly.
"Please Jarod, not now." she said, her voice weak.
"Hey, I'm sorry." he replied soothingly. "What happened?"
"He more or less called me a whore, my daughter a bastard, and wanted to know if I can still do my job." she replied, lighting up.
"That shit is bad for you, and for Joely." he reprimanded gently, wishing he could be there to hold her. "And can you?"
"Can I what?" she asked, confused.
"Still do your job." he asked huskily.
"I have to, Jarod. I have to bring you back." she muttered softly.
"No, you don't. Come with me, you and Joely. I'll protect you both. We'll be happy together, Parker, you know we will. We belong together. We're a family."
"God Jarod, why do you always have to make these calls from hundreds of miles away?" she asked, sniffing as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'm not." he replied, his voice low.
"Huh?"
"I said I'm not far away." he replied, standing in the doorway of her bedroom.
She looked up and saw him standing there, her eyes wide with shock. She smiled suddenly and leapt out of bed and into his arms, holding him tightly to her, kissing him frantically. He ran his fingers through her hair, stroking her back gently. He froze for a millisecond when he felt her body shaking softly with silent sobs. He felt her fingers curl into his hair at the nape of his neck, and into his shirt, her hand winding tighter. He sensed that there was something more going on, but he did not want to press her for an explanation. She would tell him when she was ready to share, of that he had little doubt. He had known her to rant and rave for hours, but this silent sobbing was beginning to scare him. Parker rarely showed this kind of emotion to anyone, most of all to him. What was going on?
"Hey, it's O.K." he said softly, stroking her back gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"God Jarod, I want to get out of here. I want to get away from all of the bad memories, to get away from him most of all." she murmured softly, her hands clenched into fists, pulling at his shirt tightly, as if that would remove the pain.
"I know, baby. I want to get you out of here. If you want to go, I'll take you away from here." he whispered lovingly, looking into her eyes and stroking her cheek, his touch feather-light.
"Get me out of here, Jarod. Please, just get us out of here." she pleaded, drawing him closer to her.
* * * * *
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"Miss Parker?" Broots called, peering into the darkened tech lab.
"Will you shut the hell up?" she hissed softly, yanking him into the room roughly.
"Wh-what did I do?" he murmured, frightened.
"Listen shit-for-brains, if we are caught, we're dead, got it? Do you want Sydney to have a nice Christmas or not?" she demanded, facing him, hands on hips.
"W-well yeah, I want him to have a nice Christmas. But do you think this will make him happy?" Broots queried nervously.
"All right then, shut up and help me set this up." Parker ordered, and walked out of the room, toward her office.
* * *
"Parker? Broots? Where are you?" Sydney called, glancing around the empty tech room. "You told me to be here, damnit."
"Syd! There you are!" Broots called cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear.
"Yes, I'm here. Where have you been? Where is Miss Parker?" he queried, looking hard at Broots.
"It's a surprise, just hang on a minute." Broots said in a rush, and hurried out of the room.
"Broots!" he called, but stayed in the tech lab.
He stood in the middle of the quiet tech lab, alone, and waited impatiently for his so-called 'surprise.' He hated waiting. Funny, a trait both he and Parker shared. He never thought that would happen. But he stood there, tapping his foot impatiently, his eyes darting around the room for any sign of movement. He did not want this to be an ambush or be suddenly taken by surprise by someone. From the corner of his eye, he saw sudden movement, and whirled around to see who was approaching him. He saw Broots walking into the room, Miss Parker close behind him, handcuffed to something. His heart sank, and he realized what had happened. She had caught him. After all this time, and all they had been through together, she was actually going to trade him for her freedom. He noticed Parker stop and turn, jerking the cuff toward her, yanking Jarod into the tech room. He was grinning good-naturedly, unaware of his surprise too. As they caught sight of each other, each froze, but for different reasons. Sydney drew his gun, pointing it at Parker, ready to force her to let Jarod go. Unfortunately, Broots picked the wrong time to be a hero.
"Syd, no!" Parker shouted, as the bullet ripped through Broots' chest.
"NOOO!" Jarod shouted, his eyes full of pain and disbelief.
Parker and Jarod rushed to Broots, Parker cradled his head in her lap, speaking softly to him, begging him to hold on. Parker looked up at Sydney and screamed, "You bastard! He was trying to stop you! This was your Christmas gift!"
"What?" Sydney replied, dumbstruck.
"Parker and I are leaving the Centre with Joely. Together. All of us." Jarod mumbled, ripping Broots' shirt open, assessing the damage.
"M-Miss P-Park-ker, promise me." he stammered, shaking violently, blood gushing from his chest.
"No, Broots, don't start this. You're going to be fine!" she cried, her eyes filling with tears for her friend.
"P-promise me, t-take c-care of Deb-Debbie." he choked out, his eyes starting to glaze over.
"NO!!! Broots, NO!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You can't leave her now! She needs you!"
"Max, it's too late." Jarod murmured, grief-stricken, pulling her into his arms.
"No! Jarod it can't be! He can't leave her too!" she cried, sobbing against his chest.
"Oh my God." Sydney whispered, staring down at his friend, who lay dead on the tech room floor. "Oh my God."
"We have to get him to a hospital." Jarod said urgently, looking from Parker to Sydney.
"You're crazy! You're not going anywhere!" she shouted.
"And if he stops breathing on the way, do you know how to resuscitate him? Jarod challenged.
"All right, you can go. But you're staying cuffed to me the whole time, got it?" she replied, a hint of promise in her tone that was not lost on Sydney. "Well, come on! What are you two waiting for, a sign from God?"
* * *
"No one is following us? You're sure?" Parker demanded, glancing over at the form in the passenger seat.
"Sure thing, Miss P." Broots assured her, smiling nervously.
"Where are we?"
"Um....Cherrington, South Carolina." he responded.
"Well, this looks like a safe place to spend the night" she replied, pulling across three lanes of traffic for the exit.
"Jeez, Miss Parker!" Broots squealed, grasping the "Oh Shit" handle.
"Oh Jesus, Broots, calm down." she muttered, taking a somewhat sharp curve on two wheels.
"Miss Parker!" Debbie cried, obviously enjoying the wild ride.
"Max, calm down." Jarod admonished gently.
"Jarod..." she replied warningly, still not comfortable with the use of her fist name.
"Children, let's just find a place to spend the night." Sydney replied teasingly.
Parker could not help but smile at the comment, and she began to look for a decent motel to spend the night in. There was not much to the town, in fact, the city limit sign proudly proclaimed less than six thousand people. This did nothing for Parker, but the rest of the crew was enchanted by the quaint town. She stopped at the Holiday Inn, because it appeared to be the nicest in town, parked the car, and went inside to the front desk. There was no one inside that she could see, and she began to ring to bell impatiently, drumming the fingers of her free hand on the counter, her foot tapping noisily on the floor.
"Yes'm, may I help you?"
* * *
"O.K., room assignments are as follows: Broots and Debbie, 215, Jarod and Sydney 219." Parker replied, handing out card keys to each responsible adult, namely Debbie and Sydney.
"Where are you staying, Miss Parker?" Debbie asked innocently, her blue eyes fixed on Parker.
"I'm in room 220." she answered uncomfortably, knowing that every eye was on her. "So, let's get our stuff, get to our rooms, and get a good night's sleep. We're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Each of them nodded at her, in agreement. There were all tired and emotionally drained. Parker smiled at Debbie and gave her a hug and a kiss and turned, starting to unload the Blazer and hand out the luggage.
* * * * *
Parker turned over for the hundredth time that night, still unable to sleep. She pushed away her pillow and sat up, the blanket falling, exposing her bare torso. She did not understand why she could not sleep. She was tired in body and spirit, yet sleep still eluded her. She kicked off the covers and stood, clad only in a pair of cotton bikini panties. She scrounged through her things and found a long t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She grabbed the card key and left the room, padding softly down the hallway toward the small gift shop/grocery store. She purchased a carton of Benson and Hedges, padding back upstairs toward her room.
Paying little attention as she let herself back into her room, she began to rip open the carton of cigarettes, then a pack, and lit up, deeply inhaling the nicotine. She closed her eyes, ecstasy marring her features slightly. It had been a long time since she had touched a cigarette, but its immediate gratification still remained. She smiled to herself and took a seat. The moonlight streamed through the half-open blinds, caressing her face and body with its soft light, almost like a lovers touch. She sat there, smoking and staring at the muted t.v. screen, wondering what her daughter was doing now, what she really thought of her mother. Did she realize that she loved her? That one day she hoped that they could escape together? She sighed heavily and took another drag from her cigarette.
"Wanna talk about it?" Jarod whispered in her ear, startling her.
"Jarod..." she murmured, her hand fluttering to her chest in surprise. "How did you get in here?"
"Picked the lock to the door adjoining our rooms." he replied, grinning, and pulled a chair across from her and taking a seat.
Parker smiled at him and shook her head. "How did you know?" she whispered, her lower lip trembling slightly, her voice a little choked.
"I have mystical, magical, my-Max-is-hurting powers." he whispered softly, kissing her lips lightly. "I know without you even saying a word."
"Jarod, I feel awful for leaving without her." she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
"Max, we're going back for her. We just had to hide before doing so. Trust me, Max, my--our-- daughter is going to be raised by us."
"Us? Jarod, there is no us. We can't stand one another." she muttered, hoping that if she hurt him enough he would leave her alone.
"Max, don't even start that bullshit with me." he growled dangerously, cupping her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "I know that you're hurt, that you're only doing this to protect yourself from getting hurt again. But damnit, what kind of life will you have? Raising a child alone, no meaningful relationships over two hours, and no one in the world for you to turn to? Do you think that was what Catherine envisioned for you?"
"Jarod, please stop." she pleaded, her lower lip and chin quivering, a single tear escaping petulantly from an icy blue eye.
"Max, I've stopped too many times before, because you begged me to. But not this time. If I can't make you see the happiness in front of you, I'll leave. But until then, you're stuck with me." he said stubbornly, his gaze fixed on her, the seriousness of his words in his eyes.
"All right." she whispered, closing her eyes, saying a quick prayer of thanks.
"Good." he replied, smiling warmly at her. He released her face and took her hand, kissing her wrist tenderly. "Good night, Max."
"Jarod?" she queried softly, grabbing his hand.
"Hmm?"
"Jarod, Max really isn't my name." she confessed, looking away.
"I know that." he responded gently.
"You do?" she gasped, shocked. "How-how did-do-you know?"
"I just do."
"Oh." she breathed, looking away from him momentarily.
"Goodnight."
"Jarod?"
"Yes?"
"Will you....um, hold me please?"
* * *
"Parker!" Sydney shouted, banging on the adjoining door. "Open the door! This is serious!"
"Keep your pants on!" Parker shouted back sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "The damn door's open, Syd."
"Parker! Jarod's gone and I can't..."Sydney cried frantically, trailing off as he saw his former protegee lying in bed, curled up beside his co-worker, his arm flung around her waist. "Oh, he's here."
"Yes, he is." Jarod replied sleepily, rubbing his cheek against Parker's arm.
"I'm um...I'm just going to go. Pretend like I never saw anything." he replied, embarrassed.
"Syd, chill. We're both clothed." Parker replied, amused.
Jarod pushed the covers off and stood, his cotton Looney Toons boxers showing in all their glory. "Sorry Sydney, I didn't mean to upset you. I just came over for a visit and I didn't want to wake you."
"Please, don't explain." Sydney muttered, blushing slightly.
"It wasn't like that." Jarod protested.
"O.K., we can just leave it at that." he said hastily, not meeting either of their eyes. "Well, I uh, I'm glad to see that you're all right, and I'll catch you later."
"O.K. Syd, see you at breakfast." Parker replied cheerfully.
Sydney rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Jarod and Parker looked at each other and burst into laughter. The two had finally found a way to get through Sydney's amiable nature. Maybe not in a way that they would have hoped, but they had found a way just the same. Parker and Jarod did not say anything; a look simply passed between them and they went their separate ways, knowing they would meet at breakfast.
* * * * *
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"What do you mean they are gone?" Lyle shouted angrily, turning to face a slightly shaking Sam.
"Sir, Mr. Lyle, they are all gone. I've gone to their houses, like you asked. Empty. They've taken their things and fled."
"They can't have gone far, Sam. Get a team together and find them. Now." Lyle ordered, slamming his fist down on his desk.
* * * * *
Holiday Inn
Cherrington, South Carolina
"Can I sit beside you, Miss Parker?" Debbie pleaded, smiling up at her.
"Of course you can sweetie." she said softly, giving the girl a quick hug.
They found a large table and took their seats, Debbie on one side of Parker, Jarod on the other. While outwardly to all who watched them, they appeared to be getting along nicely, considering. However, under the table, their legs touched, occasionally rubbing against each other, Jarod's tennis shoe-clad foot caressing Parker's calf softly. She smile throughout breakfast, a small, mysterious, half-smile. If anyone was aware of the things occurring between them, no one said or indicated otherwise. After they had finished eating, they sat at the table, discussing their next move.
"Maybe we should stay here for awhile. I-I mean, I hate having to move Debbie around so much like this." Broots replied, looking at both Jarod and Sydney for support.
"I think you're right, Broots." Parker supplied, looking at Broots, flashing him a small smile.
"That sounds good for the time being." Jarod agreed. "We need to get a place to live, though. Any kind of hotel or motel will be the first place they look for us."
"Jarod's right." Parker replied seriously, looking at each man. "Sydney, you, Jarod and Broots find us all a place to live."
"What are you going to do, Parker?" Sydney asked quietly.
"I have some personal business to attend to while you three are busy." she replied, hedging.
* * *
Sending the three men to find a house had been a good idea after all. However, their forcing Parker to come along was not a part of the plan. But, Parker had a good time with them, and the day had not been a total loss. They found a large, two-story, renovated Victorian house along the beach. The best part? There was room enough for all of them with space left over. That had been the one major selling point with them. Jarod had provided the up-front financing for the house, and the other three promised to pay him their part once they had settled in and were able to get to their finances. Jarod had smiled and gone along with them, knowing that he would never accept anything they gave him.
They spent the rest of the afternoon moving their meager belongings into the house, each of them choosing their rooms and what "chores" they wanted to have. They had all laughed when Parker proclaimed that she wanted to cook, none of them figured that she was all that domesticated, but were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt--until one of them got sick. Jarod wanted to clean, Broots elected himself the "fixit man" as he was more oriented to that field than any of them and enjoyed it a hell of a lot more. Sydney decided he wanted to garden and care for the front lawn, and Debbie decided that she wanted to sleep in every morning and have breakfast in bed. They laughed and assigned her the telephone duties. She was to field all calls and deny that they were the residents of the house, no matter how credible or believable the caller sounded. She accepted the mission with much seriousness.
* * *
"Jarod, I told you I don't' need you to come with me." Parker protested.
"Look, I'm her father. I'm going to make sure that both of you make it back here safely and in one piece."
"Thank you for your vote of confidence." she replied wryly.
"It's not that I don't' believe in you. But I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to either of you. You're all I have." he said, his eyes shining.
"Jarod, you still have your mom and dad. They're looking for you."
"I know. But for now, I want to make sure that you two are O.K. I want to get you settled and safe."
"Why? So you can run off again when we are with a clear conscience?" she demanded shrilly, her eyes flashing with pain and anger.
"Max..."
"My name is Meredith!" she shouted, her fists clenched at her sides. "It's what you're planning, isn't it?"
"Meredith..."
"Isn't it?"
"I want to be with you, Mer. I want to raise our daughter knowing both of her parents." Jarod said, his voice hard.
"How will she ever know you, Jarod? You're gone all the fucking time, saving the world! You'll never change!" Parker shouted, shoving him away from her.
"Mer...Meredith!" he shouted after her, grabbing her arm and turning her to face him. "I'm not going anywhere, Mer. I'm going to stay with you, if you'll have me."
"Oh Jarod..." she replied softly after a moment of silence, her eyes welling with tears.
"Does that mean yes?" he asked softly, caressing her check with the pad of his thumb, his touch feather-light.
"Jarod, after everything, do you really expect me to allow you back into my heart?" she queried softly, her eyes staring soulfully into his.
"No, I guess I don't. But I was hoping you'd let me try to make up for the past." he mumbled, looking down sadly.
Parker walked out of the living room and onto the front porch, breathing in the salty, honeysuckle-perfumed night air, wishing she had grabbed her cigarettes off of the foyer table before she had exited the hose. Instead, she sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing briefly. She strolled across the front porch to the hammock and took a seat, staring alternately at her blue-painted nails and the boards of the porch. Jarod had followed her, and stared down at her, both love and hurt the conflicting emotions flittering across his handsome face. When she refused to look up at him, he grinned and shook his head. he slowly walked over to her and sat down before her, taking her tightly laced fingers in his hands, massaging her fingers lightly.
"Meredith, talk to me." he encouraged softly, watching her closely.
"What is there to say, Jarod?" she asked dully, still refusing to meet his gaze. "Even if we could make it work, you'd only leave us every time someone needed to be saved."
"Meredith, I love you. And if you want me to give up pretending..." he said, trailing off.
She glanced up at him sharply, hope and disbelief in her icy blue eyes. No one had ever done such a thing for her--would he actually do this for her?
He took a deep breath and smiled, "Then I'll do it. Meredith, I can't bear to lose you. I'm not quite complete when you aren't by my side. I love you and I need your love. Without it, I just stumble through life looking for something I can never have in someone else who doesn't posses what I need."
"You'd-you'd give up pretending? For me?" she stuttered in disbelief.
"Yes, I would."
"Oh Jarod!" she cried, pulling her hands free of his grasp, pulling him to her tightly. "I love you too, baby."
Jarod held her tightly to him and kissed her softly on the lips. She returned the kiss lovingly, never happier in her life. She finally had her heart's desire; her child and the man she lived in her arms. They were all free. She hugged him tightly to her, threading her fingers through his hair, kissing him deeply, her tongue sneaking out to lick his lower lip then into his mouth, her tongue sliding against his languidly. He ran his hands down her arms, over her ribs, to her waist. He paused momentarily and cupped her derriere, pulling her into his erection. She smiled up at him, and rubbed her pelvis against him teasingly. He quirked an eyebrow at her and grinned boyishly at her.
"So, you want to play, huh?" he queried softly, his eyes darkening with desire.
"Oh yes, Jarod. I love to play." she answered, staring up at him, her eyes wide and full of innocence.
Jarod crawled into the hammock, pulling Parker into his lap. She smiled up at him seductively and pulled his head up for a kiss.
Jarod ran his fingertips up her thigh, to her hip, up her ribs, to her breast, his thumb caressing her nipple through her spandex tank top. She broke off the kiss her head arching backward, her mouth open, her breathing becoming heavier and labored. Jarod smiled up at her and slid his hands under the tank top pulling it over her head, tossing it onto the porch. She arched her back, drawing his gaze, and attentions, back to her breasts. He raised his head, their eyes locked on each other, and took a nipple into his mouth. She moaned softly, a soft smile touching her face and she threaded her fingers through his hair.
"Oh yes....Jarod..." she whispered, rubbing his calf sensuously with her toes.
He smiled against her skin and continued his ministrations to her breasts. Parker's head dropped forward; her eyes half-closed, now panting, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. She rubbed her hips lightly against him, smiling as his body responded to her movement. She released her hold on his hair and began to unbutton his shirt, running her fingers lightly across his chest.
"Should we take this upstairs?" Jarod murmured, smiling up at her.
"I'm perfectly happy where we are." she answered throatily, staring down at him, blatant invitation in her eyes.
* * * * *
New Orleans, Louisiana
"Meredith, you know we have no problem with keeping Joely for you." Claire protested.
"Claire, I know you have grown attached and I understand that. But I've always wanted to raise Joely, for her to know that I'm her mother and how much I love her." Parker replied firmly, her eyes pleading for Claire's understanding.
"I know how much you love that child, Mer. Even a blind mute could sense that when the two of you are together. " Claire replied with a sigh. She walked over to her husband and clasped his hand both of them exchanging smiles. "Mer, what I want to tell you, is that we love Joely as our own. And even if we weren't pregnant, she would always be welcome here."
"Claire, I know you love her but...wh-what did you say?"
Claire smiles at Parker, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm pregnant, Mer."
"Claire! Oh my God!" Parker exclaimed happily, jumping up and throwing her arms around her friend, hugging her tightly. "When?"
"The baby is due in six months." Beau replied proudly, touching Claire's tummy lovingly.
* * * * *
American Airlines--Flight 242
Somewhere over the Appalachian Mtns.
"She looks just like you, Mer." Jarod whispered, smiling lovingly at Parker and the sleeping child in her arms.
"She's got a lot of you in her too, Jarod." she replied softly, touching his cheek.
"I love you, Mer. Both of you." he murmured, kissing her softly on the lips.
"I love you too." she answered, brushing a lock of hair off of Joely's forehead. "How are they going to react?"
"Probably with shock." Jarod murmured, looking at her evenly.
"How are we going to explain the situation?" she asked, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Well, no one said we had to give details." he teased, his eyes darkening at the memory.
"Well, I wasn't planning on explaining that much." she retorted, her eyes softening at the memory of the night Joely had been conceived.
"What are you thinking about?" he whispered softly, after a moment.
"Oh, just the night this little miracle was created." she replied, touching Joely's cheek softly.
"It was the last night we were together--at the Centre, wasn't it?" he queried, smiling.
"Yes, it was. We could never arrange another meeting because Syd and daddy were working you hard over that Gulf War Air Raid-thing for the government."
"Oh yeah, I remember that one. You were next to unreachable after that night."
"I thought I had caught an exotic, deadly disease from you for the first few weeks." she muttered, laughing softly.
"Were you happy when you found out?"
"Oh Jarod..." she began exasperated, until she caught his hopeful gaze. "I-I was terrified...and estatic. I was going to be a mother."
Jarod smiled at Parker, his face full of love for his small family. "I wish I could have there, Meredith. To watch our child grow inside of you. To see her born. To hold you in my arms every night."
"Oh Jarod, I used to dream that you were there, that somehow ...that you knew..."Parker whispered, almost inaudibly, tears welling in her eyes.
"Mommy?" a tiny voice murmured, looking up into Parker's face.
"What is it, baby?" Parker asked gently, smiling down at her daughter.
"Love you, mommy." she mumbled sleepily, gently clutching her mother's denim blouse.
"I love you too, baby." she whispered in Joely's ear, kissing her cheek softly.
* * *
Cherrington, South Carolina
Six Weeks Later
"Jarod! Telephone!" Parker shouted out the back door, hoping she was heard over the blaring music, laughter, and noise of the beach party in their back yard.
"Whew! Some party!" Jarod exclaimed, stopping behind Parker, planting a kiss on her shoulder.
"Yeah, too bad we keep forgetting stuff." she retorted good-naturedly, returning outside once again to the party, hoping now she could sit down and relax.
"Mommy!" a small voice called, matching the small figure running toward her, Debbie in tow.
"Well, hello you two!" she cried, smiling warmly at the two girls. "Are you having fun?"
"Sure Miss--I mean, Meredith." Debbie replied, smiling at Parker.
"Good. So, what can I get for you?"
"Juice, mommy." Joely replied, shoving her sippy cup into her mother's hands.
"Sure baby. Debbie, watch her please?"
Debbie nodded and the two took off toward the beach to play with the neighborhood children. Parker watched them join the group and smiled to herself, so happy with her new life. She slowly trudged toward the house, a soft smile on her face. She faintly heard Jarod's voice, assuming he was still on the phone. She had not recognized the voice and had not thought to check the Caller ID. She went into the kitchen and refilled Joely's cup and went into the living room looking for Jarod. She saw him standing before the bay window, still chatting on the phone, the words not yet penetrating her brain.
"Yes Mary, I understand. And you say she's gone again? Has she been hanging around with the gang again?" Jarod queried, his free hand clenched at his side. "Uh huh, I see. Do you think she's still in San Francisco?"
"Mary, I'll have to talk with my wife...yes, I understand, but I promised...I know she's all you have left...O.K., O.K., Mary. Yes, I'll call you tomorrow morning and we can work out the details. O.K., you too., 'bye." Jarod replied tiredly, and hung up the phone, throwing the cordless onto the couch.
"What the hell is going on, Jarod?" Parker demanded, her voice soft and deadly.
"Meredith! Jesus, you scared me." Jarod exclaimed, turning to face her.
"Answer me!" she exclaimed, her voice shrill.
"Mer, she needs my help. Her daughter ran away once, and I helped her..."
"Jarod, you promised no more pretending!"
"I know, Mer and I tried to tell her...but her daughter is all she has in the world."
"Ditto! If the Centre catches you, all I'll have is Joely. Why can't you let go of this? You can't save the world!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around herself, her expression hard.
"Meredith, it's just this once!" Jarod argues, his eyes pleading for her understanding.
"Yes! For now. Until someone else refers a friend to you and you're back out there! I can't take that, Jarod! I won't!"
"Meredith, please..."
"It's your choice, Jarod. If you go, don't expect us to be here when you get back."
THE END
And now, on with the show! Title courtesy of Motley Crue.
This is a sequel to Sequel to Lonely in Your Nightmare
by Miss Houk
Parker Residence
Blue Cove, Delaware
"Hello, daddy. Thank you for coming by." Parker replied softly, opening the door so the older man could step inside.
"Well angel, you said it was urgent that we speak, and I wanted to make sure that everything was all right." he replied, appearing to be concerned.
"Well daddy, it is urgent. Please, come in and sit down." she offered, gesturing to the couch. "Would you like a drink? I have your favorite bourbon."
"Thanks angel, that sounds great." he said jovially, taking a seat. "So, why don't you tell me what the problem is? It isn't like you to avoid the issue this way."
"Daddy, there is something important I have to tell you, something that might surprise and make you mad."
"Well, spit it out. I'm sure it's no worse than your current failures."
Parker recoiled, as if he had struck her, and the walls came down around her immediately. She took a breath and replied, "Daddy, I have a child."
"Well that's...you what?"
"I have a child, daddy. Her name is Joely."
"When the hell...."
"When I took my leave three years ago. I was pregnant and starting to show, so I took a leave so I could give birth." she explained.
"And you kept the little brat?" he thundered.
"Yeah, daddy, I did. She's not a mutt, she's my child." she shouted, her voice breaking.
"Dare I ask who the father is?" he asked icily.
"His name is Knox."
"Why the hell hasn't he taken care of this situation?" he demanded.
"Because daddy, he doesn't know she exists." she shot back.
"Well this is just wonderful. And how the hell do you propose to continue doing your job? You can't haul the little bastard with you." he complained, standing.
"Right now, daddy, that's not important. Getting Joely settled here is. I was hoping that you would like to see her, even meet her. She's a beautiful child."
"Children all look the same." he muttered darkly.
Parker stared at him, the man she had called her father all of her life, and realized that she hated him. He did not care about anything, only himself. She turned away from him and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. Why the fuck did I ever think he would give a damn? she wondered silently to herself. He had never cared before, and things certainly would not change now. She had hoped that the mention of a grandchild would incite some interest or excitement in him, but as usual, he was only concerned about the bottom line, about the capture of Jarod. She could never tell him that Jarod was the father, unless she wanted to be chasing after her own child. She would never tell him that Jarod was the father, she loved them both too much to put them in that kind of danger. She loved them so much that she would die protecting them if it ever came to that. And at this moment, she wished that she had taken Jarod up on his offer; she wished that she had packed herself and Joely up, and disappeared with him. It was never too late; she could wait until the next encounter. It was only a matter of time before he mocked the Centre again. This time when he did, she would be there waiting for him, she and Joely.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Parker asked softly, pleading.
"No, I don't. I just need to know if this will affect your position at the Centre." he stated, walking toward the front door.
"No daddy, it won't. I'll find a sitter for her and I'll be in first thing in the morning."
"Why don't you leave her in the daycare center?" he suggested.
"No daddy, I really don't want anyone to know about her."
"Well, suit yourself. I'll see you tomorrow angel." he replied and left silently, his disappointment contaminating the air like a
poisonous gas.
"'Bye daddy." she murmured to the closing door.
* * *
"What." she demanded groggily, switching on a lamp, searching for her cigarettes.
"Daddy didn't take the news too well, huh?" Jarod asked mockingly.
"Please Jarod, not now." she said, her voice weak.
"Hey, I'm sorry." he replied soothingly. "What happened?"
"He more or less called me a whore, my daughter a bastard, and wanted to know if I can still do my job." she replied, lighting up.
"That shit is bad for you, and for Joely." he reprimanded gently, wishing he could be there to hold her. "And can you?"
"Can I what?" she asked, confused.
"Still do your job." he asked huskily.
"I have to, Jarod. I have to bring you back." she muttered softly.
"No, you don't. Come with me, you and Joely. I'll protect you both. We'll be happy together, Parker, you know we will. We belong together. We're a family."
"God Jarod, why do you always have to make these calls from hundreds of miles away?" she asked, sniffing as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"I'm not." he replied, his voice low.
"Huh?"
"I said I'm not far away." he replied, standing in the doorway of her bedroom.
She looked up and saw him standing there, her eyes wide with shock. She smiled suddenly and leapt out of bed and into his arms, holding him tightly to her, kissing him frantically. He ran his fingers through her hair, stroking her back gently. He froze for a millisecond when he felt her body shaking softly with silent sobs. He felt her fingers curl into his hair at the nape of his neck, and into his shirt, her hand winding tighter. He sensed that there was something more going on, but he did not want to press her for an explanation. She would tell him when she was ready to share, of that he had little doubt. He had known her to rant and rave for hours, but this silent sobbing was beginning to scare him. Parker rarely showed this kind of emotion to anyone, most of all to him. What was going on?
"Hey, it's O.K." he said softly, stroking her back gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"God Jarod, I want to get out of here. I want to get away from all of the bad memories, to get away from him most of all." she murmured softly, her hands clenched into fists, pulling at his shirt tightly, as if that would remove the pain.
"I know, baby. I want to get you out of here. If you want to go, I'll take you away from here." he whispered lovingly, looking into her eyes and stroking her cheek, his touch feather-light.
"Get me out of here, Jarod. Please, just get us out of here." she pleaded, drawing him closer to her.
* * * * *
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"Miss Parker?" Broots called, peering into the darkened tech lab.
"Will you shut the hell up?" she hissed softly, yanking him into the room roughly.
"Wh-what did I do?" he murmured, frightened.
"Listen shit-for-brains, if we are caught, we're dead, got it? Do you want Sydney to have a nice Christmas or not?" she demanded, facing him, hands on hips.
"W-well yeah, I want him to have a nice Christmas. But do you think this will make him happy?" Broots queried nervously.
"All right then, shut up and help me set this up." Parker ordered, and walked out of the room, toward her office.
* * *
"Parker? Broots? Where are you?" Sydney called, glancing around the empty tech room. "You told me to be here, damnit."
"Syd! There you are!" Broots called cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear.
"Yes, I'm here. Where have you been? Where is Miss Parker?" he queried, looking hard at Broots.
"It's a surprise, just hang on a minute." Broots said in a rush, and hurried out of the room.
"Broots!" he called, but stayed in the tech lab.
He stood in the middle of the quiet tech lab, alone, and waited impatiently for his so-called 'surprise.' He hated waiting. Funny, a trait both he and Parker shared. He never thought that would happen. But he stood there, tapping his foot impatiently, his eyes darting around the room for any sign of movement. He did not want this to be an ambush or be suddenly taken by surprise by someone. From the corner of his eye, he saw sudden movement, and whirled around to see who was approaching him. He saw Broots walking into the room, Miss Parker close behind him, handcuffed to something. His heart sank, and he realized what had happened. She had caught him. After all this time, and all they had been through together, she was actually going to trade him for her freedom. He noticed Parker stop and turn, jerking the cuff toward her, yanking Jarod into the tech room. He was grinning good-naturedly, unaware of his surprise too. As they caught sight of each other, each froze, but for different reasons. Sydney drew his gun, pointing it at Parker, ready to force her to let Jarod go. Unfortunately, Broots picked the wrong time to be a hero.
"Syd, no!" Parker shouted, as the bullet ripped through Broots' chest.
"NOOO!" Jarod shouted, his eyes full of pain and disbelief.
Parker and Jarod rushed to Broots, Parker cradled his head in her lap, speaking softly to him, begging him to hold on. Parker looked up at Sydney and screamed, "You bastard! He was trying to stop you! This was your Christmas gift!"
"What?" Sydney replied, dumbstruck.
"Parker and I are leaving the Centre with Joely. Together. All of us." Jarod mumbled, ripping Broots' shirt open, assessing the damage.
"M-Miss P-Park-ker, promise me." he stammered, shaking violently, blood gushing from his chest.
"No, Broots, don't start this. You're going to be fine!" she cried, her eyes filling with tears for her friend.
"P-promise me, t-take c-care of Deb-Debbie." he choked out, his eyes starting to glaze over.
"NO!!! Broots, NO!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You can't leave her now! She needs you!"
"Max, it's too late." Jarod murmured, grief-stricken, pulling her into his arms.
"No! Jarod it can't be! He can't leave her too!" she cried, sobbing against his chest.
"Oh my God." Sydney whispered, staring down at his friend, who lay dead on the tech room floor. "Oh my God."
"We have to get him to a hospital." Jarod said urgently, looking from Parker to Sydney.
"You're crazy! You're not going anywhere!" she shouted.
"And if he stops breathing on the way, do you know how to resuscitate him? Jarod challenged.
"All right, you can go. But you're staying cuffed to me the whole time, got it?" she replied, a hint of promise in her tone that was not lost on Sydney. "Well, come on! What are you two waiting for, a sign from God?"
* * *
"No one is following us? You're sure?" Parker demanded, glancing over at the form in the passenger seat.
"Sure thing, Miss P." Broots assured her, smiling nervously.
"Where are we?"
"Um....Cherrington, South Carolina." he responded.
"Well, this looks like a safe place to spend the night" she replied, pulling across three lanes of traffic for the exit.
"Jeez, Miss Parker!" Broots squealed, grasping the "Oh Shit" handle.
"Oh Jesus, Broots, calm down." she muttered, taking a somewhat sharp curve on two wheels.
"Miss Parker!" Debbie cried, obviously enjoying the wild ride.
"Max, calm down." Jarod admonished gently.
"Jarod..." she replied warningly, still not comfortable with the use of her fist name.
"Children, let's just find a place to spend the night." Sydney replied teasingly.
Parker could not help but smile at the comment, and she began to look for a decent motel to spend the night in. There was not much to the town, in fact, the city limit sign proudly proclaimed less than six thousand people. This did nothing for Parker, but the rest of the crew was enchanted by the quaint town. She stopped at the Holiday Inn, because it appeared to be the nicest in town, parked the car, and went inside to the front desk. There was no one inside that she could see, and she began to ring to bell impatiently, drumming the fingers of her free hand on the counter, her foot tapping noisily on the floor.
"Yes'm, may I help you?"
* * *
"O.K., room assignments are as follows: Broots and Debbie, 215, Jarod and Sydney 219." Parker replied, handing out card keys to each responsible adult, namely Debbie and Sydney.
"Where are you staying, Miss Parker?" Debbie asked innocently, her blue eyes fixed on Parker.
"I'm in room 220." she answered uncomfortably, knowing that every eye was on her. "So, let's get our stuff, get to our rooms, and get a good night's sleep. We're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Each of them nodded at her, in agreement. There were all tired and emotionally drained. Parker smiled at Debbie and gave her a hug and a kiss and turned, starting to unload the Blazer and hand out the luggage.
* * * * *
Parker turned over for the hundredth time that night, still unable to sleep. She pushed away her pillow and sat up, the blanket falling, exposing her bare torso. She did not understand why she could not sleep. She was tired in body and spirit, yet sleep still eluded her. She kicked off the covers and stood, clad only in a pair of cotton bikini panties. She scrounged through her things and found a long t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She grabbed the card key and left the room, padding softly down the hallway toward the small gift shop/grocery store. She purchased a carton of Benson and Hedges, padding back upstairs toward her room.
Paying little attention as she let herself back into her room, she began to rip open the carton of cigarettes, then a pack, and lit up, deeply inhaling the nicotine. She closed her eyes, ecstasy marring her features slightly. It had been a long time since she had touched a cigarette, but its immediate gratification still remained. She smiled to herself and took a seat. The moonlight streamed through the half-open blinds, caressing her face and body with its soft light, almost like a lovers touch. She sat there, smoking and staring at the muted t.v. screen, wondering what her daughter was doing now, what she really thought of her mother. Did she realize that she loved her? That one day she hoped that they could escape together? She sighed heavily and took another drag from her cigarette.
"Wanna talk about it?" Jarod whispered in her ear, startling her.
"Jarod..." she murmured, her hand fluttering to her chest in surprise. "How did you get in here?"
"Picked the lock to the door adjoining our rooms." he replied, grinning, and pulled a chair across from her and taking a seat.
Parker smiled at him and shook her head. "How did you know?" she whispered, her lower lip trembling slightly, her voice a little choked.
"I have mystical, magical, my-Max-is-hurting powers." he whispered softly, kissing her lips lightly. "I know without you even saying a word."
"Jarod, I feel awful for leaving without her." she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
"Max, we're going back for her. We just had to hide before doing so. Trust me, Max, my--our-- daughter is going to be raised by us."
"Us? Jarod, there is no us. We can't stand one another." she muttered, hoping that if she hurt him enough he would leave her alone.
"Max, don't even start that bullshit with me." he growled dangerously, cupping her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "I know that you're hurt, that you're only doing this to protect yourself from getting hurt again. But damnit, what kind of life will you have? Raising a child alone, no meaningful relationships over two hours, and no one in the world for you to turn to? Do you think that was what Catherine envisioned for you?"
"Jarod, please stop." she pleaded, her lower lip and chin quivering, a single tear escaping petulantly from an icy blue eye.
"Max, I've stopped too many times before, because you begged me to. But not this time. If I can't make you see the happiness in front of you, I'll leave. But until then, you're stuck with me." he said stubbornly, his gaze fixed on her, the seriousness of his words in his eyes.
"All right." she whispered, closing her eyes, saying a quick prayer of thanks.
"Good." he replied, smiling warmly at her. He released her face and took her hand, kissing her wrist tenderly. "Good night, Max."
"Jarod?" she queried softly, grabbing his hand.
"Hmm?"
"Jarod, Max really isn't my name." she confessed, looking away.
"I know that." he responded gently.
"You do?" she gasped, shocked. "How-how did-do-you know?"
"I just do."
"Oh." she breathed, looking away from him momentarily.
"Goodnight."
"Jarod?"
"Yes?"
"Will you....um, hold me please?"
* * *
"Parker!" Sydney shouted, banging on the adjoining door. "Open the door! This is serious!"
"Keep your pants on!" Parker shouted back sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "The damn door's open, Syd."
"Parker! Jarod's gone and I can't..."Sydney cried frantically, trailing off as he saw his former protegee lying in bed, curled up beside his co-worker, his arm flung around her waist. "Oh, he's here."
"Yes, he is." Jarod replied sleepily, rubbing his cheek against Parker's arm.
"I'm um...I'm just going to go. Pretend like I never saw anything." he replied, embarrassed.
"Syd, chill. We're both clothed." Parker replied, amused.
Jarod pushed the covers off and stood, his cotton Looney Toons boxers showing in all their glory. "Sorry Sydney, I didn't mean to upset you. I just came over for a visit and I didn't want to wake you."
"Please, don't explain." Sydney muttered, blushing slightly.
"It wasn't like that." Jarod protested.
"O.K., we can just leave it at that." he said hastily, not meeting either of their eyes. "Well, I uh, I'm glad to see that you're all right, and I'll catch you later."
"O.K. Syd, see you at breakfast." Parker replied cheerfully.
Sydney rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Jarod and Parker looked at each other and burst into laughter. The two had finally found a way to get through Sydney's amiable nature. Maybe not in a way that they would have hoped, but they had found a way just the same. Parker and Jarod did not say anything; a look simply passed between them and they went their separate ways, knowing they would meet at breakfast.
* * * * *
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"What do you mean they are gone?" Lyle shouted angrily, turning to face a slightly shaking Sam.
"Sir, Mr. Lyle, they are all gone. I've gone to their houses, like you asked. Empty. They've taken their things and fled."
"They can't have gone far, Sam. Get a team together and find them. Now." Lyle ordered, slamming his fist down on his desk.
* * * * *
Holiday Inn
Cherrington, South Carolina
"Can I sit beside you, Miss Parker?" Debbie pleaded, smiling up at her.
"Of course you can sweetie." she said softly, giving the girl a quick hug.
They found a large table and took their seats, Debbie on one side of Parker, Jarod on the other. While outwardly to all who watched them, they appeared to be getting along nicely, considering. However, under the table, their legs touched, occasionally rubbing against each other, Jarod's tennis shoe-clad foot caressing Parker's calf softly. She smile throughout breakfast, a small, mysterious, half-smile. If anyone was aware of the things occurring between them, no one said or indicated otherwise. After they had finished eating, they sat at the table, discussing their next move.
"Maybe we should stay here for awhile. I-I mean, I hate having to move Debbie around so much like this." Broots replied, looking at both Jarod and Sydney for support.
"I think you're right, Broots." Parker supplied, looking at Broots, flashing him a small smile.
"That sounds good for the time being." Jarod agreed. "We need to get a place to live, though. Any kind of hotel or motel will be the first place they look for us."
"Jarod's right." Parker replied seriously, looking at each man. "Sydney, you, Jarod and Broots find us all a place to live."
"What are you going to do, Parker?" Sydney asked quietly.
"I have some personal business to attend to while you three are busy." she replied, hedging.
* * *
Sending the three men to find a house had been a good idea after all. However, their forcing Parker to come along was not a part of the plan. But, Parker had a good time with them, and the day had not been a total loss. They found a large, two-story, renovated Victorian house along the beach. The best part? There was room enough for all of them with space left over. That had been the one major selling point with them. Jarod had provided the up-front financing for the house, and the other three promised to pay him their part once they had settled in and were able to get to their finances. Jarod had smiled and gone along with them, knowing that he would never accept anything they gave him.
They spent the rest of the afternoon moving their meager belongings into the house, each of them choosing their rooms and what "chores" they wanted to have. They had all laughed when Parker proclaimed that she wanted to cook, none of them figured that she was all that domesticated, but were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt--until one of them got sick. Jarod wanted to clean, Broots elected himself the "fixit man" as he was more oriented to that field than any of them and enjoyed it a hell of a lot more. Sydney decided he wanted to garden and care for the front lawn, and Debbie decided that she wanted to sleep in every morning and have breakfast in bed. They laughed and assigned her the telephone duties. She was to field all calls and deny that they were the residents of the house, no matter how credible or believable the caller sounded. She accepted the mission with much seriousness.
* * *
"Jarod, I told you I don't' need you to come with me." Parker protested.
"Look, I'm her father. I'm going to make sure that both of you make it back here safely and in one piece."
"Thank you for your vote of confidence." she replied wryly.
"It's not that I don't' believe in you. But I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to either of you. You're all I have." he said, his eyes shining.
"Jarod, you still have your mom and dad. They're looking for you."
"I know. But for now, I want to make sure that you two are O.K. I want to get you settled and safe."
"Why? So you can run off again when we are with a clear conscience?" she demanded shrilly, her eyes flashing with pain and anger.
"Max..."
"My name is Meredith!" she shouted, her fists clenched at her sides. "It's what you're planning, isn't it?"
"Meredith..."
"Isn't it?"
"I want to be with you, Mer. I want to raise our daughter knowing both of her parents." Jarod said, his voice hard.
"How will she ever know you, Jarod? You're gone all the fucking time, saving the world! You'll never change!" Parker shouted, shoving him away from her.
"Mer...Meredith!" he shouted after her, grabbing her arm and turning her to face him. "I'm not going anywhere, Mer. I'm going to stay with you, if you'll have me."
"Oh Jarod..." she replied softly after a moment of silence, her eyes welling with tears.
"Does that mean yes?" he asked softly, caressing her check with the pad of his thumb, his touch feather-light.
"Jarod, after everything, do you really expect me to allow you back into my heart?" she queried softly, her eyes staring soulfully into his.
"No, I guess I don't. But I was hoping you'd let me try to make up for the past." he mumbled, looking down sadly.
Parker walked out of the living room and onto the front porch, breathing in the salty, honeysuckle-perfumed night air, wishing she had grabbed her cigarettes off of the foyer table before she had exited the hose. Instead, she sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing briefly. She strolled across the front porch to the hammock and took a seat, staring alternately at her blue-painted nails and the boards of the porch. Jarod had followed her, and stared down at her, both love and hurt the conflicting emotions flittering across his handsome face. When she refused to look up at him, he grinned and shook his head. he slowly walked over to her and sat down before her, taking her tightly laced fingers in his hands, massaging her fingers lightly.
"Meredith, talk to me." he encouraged softly, watching her closely.
"What is there to say, Jarod?" she asked dully, still refusing to meet his gaze. "Even if we could make it work, you'd only leave us every time someone needed to be saved."
"Meredith, I love you. And if you want me to give up pretending..." he said, trailing off.
She glanced up at him sharply, hope and disbelief in her icy blue eyes. No one had ever done such a thing for her--would he actually do this for her?
He took a deep breath and smiled, "Then I'll do it. Meredith, I can't bear to lose you. I'm not quite complete when you aren't by my side. I love you and I need your love. Without it, I just stumble through life looking for something I can never have in someone else who doesn't posses what I need."
"You'd-you'd give up pretending? For me?" she stuttered in disbelief.
"Yes, I would."
"Oh Jarod!" she cried, pulling her hands free of his grasp, pulling him to her tightly. "I love you too, baby."
Jarod held her tightly to him and kissed her softly on the lips. She returned the kiss lovingly, never happier in her life. She finally had her heart's desire; her child and the man she lived in her arms. They were all free. She hugged him tightly to her, threading her fingers through his hair, kissing him deeply, her tongue sneaking out to lick his lower lip then into his mouth, her tongue sliding against his languidly. He ran his hands down her arms, over her ribs, to her waist. He paused momentarily and cupped her derriere, pulling her into his erection. She smiled up at him, and rubbed her pelvis against him teasingly. He quirked an eyebrow at her and grinned boyishly at her.
"So, you want to play, huh?" he queried softly, his eyes darkening with desire.
"Oh yes, Jarod. I love to play." she answered, staring up at him, her eyes wide and full of innocence.
Jarod crawled into the hammock, pulling Parker into his lap. She smiled up at him seductively and pulled his head up for a kiss.
Jarod ran his fingertips up her thigh, to her hip, up her ribs, to her breast, his thumb caressing her nipple through her spandex tank top. She broke off the kiss her head arching backward, her mouth open, her breathing becoming heavier and labored. Jarod smiled up at her and slid his hands under the tank top pulling it over her head, tossing it onto the porch. She arched her back, drawing his gaze, and attentions, back to her breasts. He raised his head, their eyes locked on each other, and took a nipple into his mouth. She moaned softly, a soft smile touching her face and she threaded her fingers through his hair.
"Oh yes....Jarod..." she whispered, rubbing his calf sensuously with her toes.
He smiled against her skin and continued his ministrations to her breasts. Parker's head dropped forward; her eyes half-closed, now panting, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. She rubbed her hips lightly against him, smiling as his body responded to her movement. She released her hold on his hair and began to unbutton his shirt, running her fingers lightly across his chest.
"Should we take this upstairs?" Jarod murmured, smiling up at her.
"I'm perfectly happy where we are." she answered throatily, staring down at him, blatant invitation in her eyes.
* * * * *
New Orleans, Louisiana
"Meredith, you know we have no problem with keeping Joely for you." Claire protested.
"Claire, I know you have grown attached and I understand that. But I've always wanted to raise Joely, for her to know that I'm her mother and how much I love her." Parker replied firmly, her eyes pleading for Claire's understanding.
"I know how much you love that child, Mer. Even a blind mute could sense that when the two of you are together. " Claire replied with a sigh. She walked over to her husband and clasped his hand both of them exchanging smiles. "Mer, what I want to tell you, is that we love Joely as our own. And even if we weren't pregnant, she would always be welcome here."
"Claire, I know you love her but...wh-what did you say?"
Claire smiles at Parker, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm pregnant, Mer."
"Claire! Oh my God!" Parker exclaimed happily, jumping up and throwing her arms around her friend, hugging her tightly. "When?"
"The baby is due in six months." Beau replied proudly, touching Claire's tummy lovingly.
* * * * *
American Airlines--Flight 242
Somewhere over the Appalachian Mtns.
"She looks just like you, Mer." Jarod whispered, smiling lovingly at Parker and the sleeping child in her arms.
"She's got a lot of you in her too, Jarod." she replied softly, touching his cheek.
"I love you, Mer. Both of you." he murmured, kissing her softly on the lips.
"I love you too." she answered, brushing a lock of hair off of Joely's forehead. "How are they going to react?"
"Probably with shock." Jarod murmured, looking at her evenly.
"How are we going to explain the situation?" she asked, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Well, no one said we had to give details." he teased, his eyes darkening at the memory.
"Well, I wasn't planning on explaining that much." she retorted, her eyes softening at the memory of the night Joely had been conceived.
"What are you thinking about?" he whispered softly, after a moment.
"Oh, just the night this little miracle was created." she replied, touching Joely's cheek softly.
"It was the last night we were together--at the Centre, wasn't it?" he queried, smiling.
"Yes, it was. We could never arrange another meeting because Syd and daddy were working you hard over that Gulf War Air Raid-thing for the government."
"Oh yeah, I remember that one. You were next to unreachable after that night."
"I thought I had caught an exotic, deadly disease from you for the first few weeks." she muttered, laughing softly.
"Were you happy when you found out?"
"Oh Jarod..." she began exasperated, until she caught his hopeful gaze. "I-I was terrified...and estatic. I was going to be a mother."
Jarod smiled at Parker, his face full of love for his small family. "I wish I could have there, Meredith. To watch our child grow inside of you. To see her born. To hold you in my arms every night."
"Oh Jarod, I used to dream that you were there, that somehow ...that you knew..."Parker whispered, almost inaudibly, tears welling in her eyes.
"Mommy?" a tiny voice murmured, looking up into Parker's face.
"What is it, baby?" Parker asked gently, smiling down at her daughter.
"Love you, mommy." she mumbled sleepily, gently clutching her mother's denim blouse.
"I love you too, baby." she whispered in Joely's ear, kissing her cheek softly.
* * *
Cherrington, South Carolina
Six Weeks Later
"Jarod! Telephone!" Parker shouted out the back door, hoping she was heard over the blaring music, laughter, and noise of the beach party in their back yard.
"Whew! Some party!" Jarod exclaimed, stopping behind Parker, planting a kiss on her shoulder.
"Yeah, too bad we keep forgetting stuff." she retorted good-naturedly, returning outside once again to the party, hoping now she could sit down and relax.
"Mommy!" a small voice called, matching the small figure running toward her, Debbie in tow.
"Well, hello you two!" she cried, smiling warmly at the two girls. "Are you having fun?"
"Sure Miss--I mean, Meredith." Debbie replied, smiling at Parker.
"Good. So, what can I get for you?"
"Juice, mommy." Joely replied, shoving her sippy cup into her mother's hands.
"Sure baby. Debbie, watch her please?"
Debbie nodded and the two took off toward the beach to play with the neighborhood children. Parker watched them join the group and smiled to herself, so happy with her new life. She slowly trudged toward the house, a soft smile on her face. She faintly heard Jarod's voice, assuming he was still on the phone. She had not recognized the voice and had not thought to check the Caller ID. She went into the kitchen and refilled Joely's cup and went into the living room looking for Jarod. She saw him standing before the bay window, still chatting on the phone, the words not yet penetrating her brain.
"Yes Mary, I understand. And you say she's gone again? Has she been hanging around with the gang again?" Jarod queried, his free hand clenched at his side. "Uh huh, I see. Do you think she's still in San Francisco?"
"Mary, I'll have to talk with my wife...yes, I understand, but I promised...I know she's all you have left...O.K., O.K., Mary. Yes, I'll call you tomorrow morning and we can work out the details. O.K., you too., 'bye." Jarod replied tiredly, and hung up the phone, throwing the cordless onto the couch.
"What the hell is going on, Jarod?" Parker demanded, her voice soft and deadly.
"Meredith! Jesus, you scared me." Jarod exclaimed, turning to face her.
"Answer me!" she exclaimed, her voice shrill.
"Mer, she needs my help. Her daughter ran away once, and I helped her..."
"Jarod, you promised no more pretending!"
"I know, Mer and I tried to tell her...but her daughter is all she has in the world."
"Ditto! If the Centre catches you, all I'll have is Joely. Why can't you let go of this? You can't save the world!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around herself, her expression hard.
"Meredith, it's just this once!" Jarod argues, his eyes pleading for her understanding.
"Yes! For now. Until someone else refers a friend to you and you're back out there! I can't take that, Jarod! I won't!"
"Meredith, please..."
"It's your choice, Jarod. If you go, don't expect us to be here when you get back."
THE END
