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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
In a Heartbeat
By RaajmdTMP
Part 6
The "Mason Family" House
The shrill ring of the phone woke Jarod from a sleep he hadn't realized he fell into. He had been sitting at his desk in the living room waiting for any news on his daughter or the Centre. Miss Parker stirred in her sleep on the couch. Jarod rubbed his eyes and picked up the phone.
"Any news, Broots?" The person on the other end was silent.
"Hello?" Jarod said when no one answered. Miss Parker opened her eyes sleepily. She looked at the clock and wondered who would be calling at this time in the morning.
"H.hello."
"Fiona?" his voice cracked. Miss Parker jumped off the couch. "Fi, is that you?" he asked after Miss Parker turned on the speakerphone.
"Yes, it's me, Dad."
"Fiona, are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
"They didn't hurt me, I'm fine."
"Where are you? How did you escape?"
"A man named Angelo helped me."
"You know Angelo?"
"Yeah, since before I escaped last time. He told me my parents were alive," she laughed lightly. "I guess he was right. I'm at Mr. Patten's right now."
"We'll come down and get you first thing in the morning.
You stay right where you are. We'll be there as soon as possible. You just stay put."
"Okay, I will. Before you hang up, I just want to tell you that I missed you and. and I love you."
"We love you, too, sweetheart. We're so glad you're safe."
"Thank you." She ended the call.
Jarod smiled.
"She's safe. She's free."
Miss Parker smiled as well. She started to laugh and she sat on his lap. He put his arms around her waist.
"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Parker said her smile widening. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I guess we will finally have the family we always wanted."
60 Herrick Ct
Blue Cove, DE
Later That Day
Mrs. Patten had woken up to a sight she never thought she'd see again. Mr. Patten and Fiona were sitting by the fireplace playing chess.
"Richard, what in the world." her voice trailed off.
"Don't worry, Frances. My parents will be here to pick me up in a little while."
"But, how. what happened? Did the Centre?"
"Yes they did. But I'm safe now. We'll all be more careful in the future."
"You seem to be taking this way too lightly, the two of you. This is very serious. If they found you once, what's to stop them from doing it again?"
"They could only have found us if they had a tip from somewhere. Do you know how many people knew that I was moving away? There were at least three hundred kids in the seventh grade alone that could have, knowingly or unknowingly, given away my secret. We won't tell many people this time. Only the people we have to. And even then we won't tell them where we'll go."
"I suppose you're right. How did this happen?"
"Well, I was at a store after." she began to explain. Frances sat down and listened intently to Fiona's story. Mr. Patten, who had already heard the story, listened carefully as well. He was determined to try to help her as much as possible. There had to be a clue as to how the Centre had found out where her family was.
Once he'd heard the whole story twice, Mr. Patten had ruled only out Fiona's friend, Danny, because he had met her for the first time the day she was kidnapped. It could have been anyone along the way from Blue Cove to Melrose who talked to the wrong people. By the time Mrs. Patten went into Fiona's old room to get her some clothes that she had left behind, he was more frustrated than before. This wasn't his line of work. He was an English teacher, if he wanted to solve things like these, he would have become a detective. He felt so useless. When he was in trouble, she saved his life. He couldn't do anything to protect her anymore.
60 Herrick Court
Blue Cove, DE
3:00pm
The Patten's and Fiona were sitting in the kitchen eating lunch when the phone rang. Mr. Patten got up and answered it.
"Hello? Hang on a second." He held the phone up for Fiona. "It's your father."
Fi jumped up and grabbed the receiver.
"Dad?"
"Hi, Fiona. How are you?"
"Much more relaxed. Where are you guys?"
"We should be in Blue Cove in about a half hour. Can you ask Mr. Patten if he'll drive you to the Beliveau Inn? It's out of the way. It should be a safe place to meet."
"I'm sure he will. See you then."
"I love you."
Fiona smiled, "I love you, too."
The Beliveau Inn
Blue Cove, DE
Jarod pulled up in front of the small inn that he had stayed at when he had been searching for Mr. Patten the previous November. He looked around cautiously before getting out. He put the alarm on the car before entering the building. He booked a room for one night so his family could get their lives back in order before having to travel again.
Within a half hour, Mr. Patten's red truck pulled up outside the inn. Mr. Patten stayed outside near the truck while Fiona walked in to find her parents. Her Inner Sense lead her to room number four. She lifted her hand to knock, but let it drop in defeat. She shook her head, took a deep breath and this time was successful at knocking. She could hear motion from inside the room and, before she knew it, she found herself in a bone-crushing hug.
"Fiona, you're here! You're okay!"
"Mom, I've missed you so much!" Fiona cried, hugging her back.
Miss Parker pulled back and looked at her daughter. She was smiling through tears.
"Sister's back! Sister's back!" cried a little voice.
"Christian? He's talking?" Fiona said looking into the room.
Her little brother was sitting on the bed. Jarod sat on the floor in front of him, keeping him from falling off. That was the only thing stopping Jarod from running over to hug Fiona.
Fi walked over to her father, knelt down on the floor in front of him and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back. She felt his tears on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Dad. I'm safe now," she assured.
"Ouch!" Jarod yelped. Christian had pulled his hair. He turned to face him. "What was that for?"
"Sound!" the little boy said pointing at the muted television. Jarod turned the volume up and soon Christian was singing along to Winnie the Pooh the best that his limited vocabulary allowed. Fiona laughed and got up off the floor.
"Will you give your big sister a hug?" she asked the boy. He smiled and held out his arms. She picked him up and kissed him on the forehead. He blushed and buried his head in her neck.
"Fiona, as much as I hate to ruin this moment by mentioning the Centre." Jarod trailed off, his words catching in his throat.
"You want to know how this happened. I'll explain everything." She put her brother back on the bed and sat down in a chair. She began to tell them, in great detail, everything that happened from the time she first saw the sweepers till the moment she was standing there in front of them. It was all too much for Miss Parker; she had left the room with Christian at the first mention of Mr. Cox.
When Fi was finished, Jarod and Fiona sat silently thinking in the small room. Miss Parker returned to the room to find them with the exact same expression on their faces. It stunned her for a second how alike they were, now more than before.
"It had to be someone at the school. No one else knew about you. No one else knew that you left. No one else could have given our location away," Jarod concluded. He looked at Fiona and Miss Parker. They both shook their heads.
"That may be true, but it really doesn't narrow down the possibilities much. There are nearly 1000 people at the school."
"Do you have even the slightest clue who it might be?" Miss Parker asked.
Fiona closed her eyes. She began to run through different possibilities. She pictured the faces of everyone she'd ever met, working backwards. She shuddered slightly when she pictured Cox. She kept thinking. Lyle, the guard outside her cell, the sweepers who caught her. she stopped. Something was familiar about one of them that she hadn't noticed before. Her memory flashed back to the previous November, before she had met her parents.
~******~
Fiona walked into room 312 for English class. The second she walked through the door, she could tell something wasn't right. The familiar scent of aftershave lotion wasn't as strong as usual, as if the person who wore it hadn't been in the room that day. She looked over at the blackboard to see a strange man writing the day's assignment in yellow chalk. He was of average height with salt and pepper hair. He turned around. She had never seen the man before in her life.
"Hello."
"Hello," she greeted with a knot forming in her stomach. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Mr. Martin, the substitute English teacher."
"No you're not," she said in disbelief.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that I am," he said smiling.
"No, no you can't be. Mr. Patten is here. I was just with him an hour ago."
"Something's wrong with his stomach. He's at the hospital."
"What?" she breathed. She ran out the classroom door and up to the teacher's parking lot. The red truck was in its spot like it was supposed to be.
"What the." her heart sunk and she ran the distance from there to Herrick Court within three minutes.
~******~
Fiona's eyes popped open. She could see the teacher's face in her mind now. It was the same as the sweeper who caught her. Not the tall one with the sandy hair that actually grabbed her, but the smart one. The one that gave the orders. The one with the strangely familiar smile.
"Mr. Martin!" she exclaimed standing up quickly. Too quickly, she had to sit back down. Her parents stared at her with perplexed expressions on their faces.
"Who is Mr. Martin?" they asked simultaneously.
"He was Mr. Patten's substitute teacher the day he disappeared. He's the one that told me the cover story for the first time. He.he was one of the sweepers that found me."
"What?" Jarod asked.
"He took you away from us, that dirty." Parker mumbled incoherently under her breath. She gave her son to Jarod and, before he could say anything to stop her, she grabbed her gun and headed for the door.
"Parker, no!"
"Jarod, shut up! He stole Fiona from us, he's not going to get away with it that easily!" she yelled after whirling around to face him. She felt a hand close around her gun and turned her head to look.
"It's okay, Mom, I'm fine now. Please don't do this," Fi pleaded trying to ease the gun from Parker's grasp. When it was harder than she thought, she looked at Jarod, who added, "We need you too much. I need you."
Parker let her grip loosen and felt the weight of the gun leave her hand. A tear ran down her cheek. Fiona looked down at the gun in her hand and a familiar feeling returned to her stomach. An unwelcome feeling. Suddenly her mind was transported to another year, in early May.
~******~
"Use all the hot water and I'll kill you."
Empty shower, ransacked house, trail of blood, dead body.
"Oh my.Tommy!?"
"There's been a murder up on Briar Road."
"No. Oh, don't leave me. Please don't leave me."
~******~
"Fiona! Fi, are you okay?" Parker asked worriedly. Fiona looked sick. She pushed the gun back in Parker's hand.
"No, I'm not," she said almost in tears as she bolted for the bathroom. She slammed the door shut behind her and began to pace the little room quickly. She felt a strong headache coming on.
How in the world could that be true? They said it would be used to help people, not kill someone. It wasn't supposed to be real. They didn't, they couldn't have. It just wasn't possible.
Miss Parker knocked lightly on the door. "Fiona? Fi, honey, what's wrong?"
The bathroom door swung open slowly. "I need to ask you a question."
"Okay, what do you want to know?"
Fiona tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Was.was that gun, ah, was that gun." she couldn't spit it out. By this time, Jarod, at least, had an idea about what she was trying to say. He put his head down and avoided her eyes. Miss Parker looked over at him and noticed his change in expression. She suddenly realized what Fi was trying to ask them and all the color drained from her face. How could she possibly know?
"Fi, how did you." Parker began looking slowly up at Fi's face.
"It's true then. This gun was used to kill someone."
"That is true, Fiona."
"You were close, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was. We both were," Miss Parker answered glancing at Jarod. He smiled sadly. They both turned back to Fiona, who looked like she was going to cry.
"Fiona, Thomas was a wonderful person and didn't in any way deserve his fate, but there's no way you could have done anything. It's horrible to think about, but I don't understand why it's affecting you the way it is."
"It's my fault," she whispered inaudibly.
"What?"
"It's my fault," she repeated louder and through clenched teeth.
"What are you talking about?"
"About two years ago, I was given a simulation. I was trying to find out if it was possible to kill a man without waking up the person in the bed next to him and if so, how to go about doing it. I didn't know they'd actually use it to kill someone. If I did, I never would have."
"Of course you wouldn't. I know how you feel. When I found out what my simulations were used for, I decided to escape. There was no way you could have known. You can't blame yourself. I know, it doesn't work."
"How many people died because of what I thought up?" Fiona asked sadly.
"I wish I could tell you, but I don't know myself."
The Inn at Mill Falls
New Hampshire
Miss Parker sat on a chair on the back porch of an inn on Lake Winnipesaukee. Fiona was playing with CJ, as he had come to be known over the past few days, on the grass near the water. Jarod was out checking for houses for sale in the area. The small New Hampshire town they were in was very isolated. With the exception of the area surrounding the inn, you had to drive a half hour to the nearest store. It was very peaceful and it felt safe. They had learned from past experiences not to get too comfortable and they really didn't plan to any time soon. They did have to return to some kind of normalcy after what had occurred over the past month, their whole lives for that matter, and that was what they were trying to do.
An older woman walked out onto the porch carrying a cup of tea.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was out here," the woman said and started to walk away.
"That's okay. Sit down," Parker said while pulling a chair over for her.
"Thank you," the woman said and began to sip her tea. "Are you enjoying your stay?"
"Yes. It's beautiful up here. It's definitely a welcome change."
"I know what you mean," she paused. "I'm Maggie," she said holding out her hand.
"Parker. It's nice to meet you, Maggie."
Maggie watched Fiona and CJ playing by the lake and smiled.
"Are those your kids?"
"Yeah, they are," she answered smiling. She had never been able to say that before. It felt right.
"They look like good kids."
"The best."
Maggie's happy mood drained away slowly. Miss Parker noticed her mood fade to sadness.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, yeah, I'm fine," Maggie answered while wiping away a stray tear. "What's your son's name?"
"Christian," she paused. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, it's just that, your son reminds me of my son when he was his age."
"Do they grow up as fast as I've heard?"
Maggie was silent for a second and it made Parker feel as if she had hit upon a sore spot.
"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer. I didn't mean to intrude."
"No, no that's okay. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch my son grow up. There's no way you could have known."
"I'm sorry. What happened?" Parker asked as politely as she could.
"Thank you."
"For what?" she asked confused.
"For offering to listen. I've never had anyone to really talk to about this."
"It's okay."
"My.my son was kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?"
"Yes, he was taken nearly 40 years ago."
"Oh my God!"
"It is hard to imagine, isn't it?"
"You never found him?" Parker asked with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"No. I did see him, about four years ago, but." she couldn't continue. She looked at Parker and noticed that she was staring at the ground. At that moment Fiona came up with CJ toddling next to her.
"Mom, CJ keeps bugging me about Dad. He wants to know when he'll be home, but he doesn't understand that I don't know," she looked at Maggie. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt."
"That's okay."
"Mom, are you okay?" Fiona asked.
"I'm fine, Fi. This is Maggie."
"Hi, Maggie."
"Hello."
"Maggie was just telling me about her son. He was kidnapped 40 years ago."
"He was? But that's."
Parker cut her off with a nod. Fiona's eyes widened.
"Does that mean she's."
"What's going on here?" Maggie asked confused.
"Maggie, I wish I realized this before, you might have heard of the name Parker in connection with."
Sudden realization hit her. "Parker? As in Catherine Parker?" she asked, shock visible on her face.
"She was my mother."
"That means that I was just talking to you about losing my son, when your family is responsible for taking him from me. You'll never understand the pain your family has caused me!"
Miss Parker gasped at Maggie's last statement. Maggie was wrong, she did understand. She stood up quickly and briskly walked toward the dock.
"Wait, Mama!" CJ cried and ran after her. Fiona just stood there and watched her mother and brother walk away.
Without turning to face Maggie she said, "You don't know how untrue that last statement was and, however much she deserved to be lectured about what she did for a living, you shouldn't have said that."
"You don't understand where I'm coming from."
"Yes, Maggie, I do. And she does. More than you'll ever know," she said, raising her voice a little.
"You don't know the Centre. You don't know what I've been through, what she's put me through. You're only a child."
"And so was your son," she paused thinking. "Have you ever wanted to know what your son went through every day? Because if you have, I can tell you."
"How could you know what my son's life was like?"
"Because I lived it!" she yelled.
Maggie's face went stark white.
"Are you saying that you were.that you."
"Your son was taken because of his intelligence. I was created for mine. If you want to know what made my mother so upset, I'll tell you. If you think we were always this big happy family, you're wrong. As I said before, I was created. We met for the first time last November. Not one week ago I was in that place. That's why she went away. Because she does know that pain, all too well."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't have any idea."
"No, you didn't. Neither did she. She delivered her own son. She didn't give birth to him, she delivered him believing he was her half brother. She believed, for over a year, that CJ was her brother."
"How is that possible?"
"Her father remarried and used his wife to carry CJ. He was the final piece of the puzzle to move up the Centre's ladder of success."
"What does the J stand for?" Maggie asked. This was too much unexpected information in too short a time and she wanted to try to change the subject.
Fiona smiled and started to laugh. "My father's name."
"Parker? Fiona? Are you out there?"
"And there he is. Christian will be happy," Fiona said shifting her gaze to the door. Maggie looked over to see Jarod walk out.
"Oh my, God in Heaven, it's you!" Maggie ran over to him and hugged him tightly before he knew what hit him.
"Mom! I can't believe it's you!" he said hugging her back. They pulled away from each other and they both looked at Fiona.
"I guess that makes you Grandma," she said with a small smile.
"I'm a grandmother?"
Miss Parker suddenly appeared at their side.
"This is your grandson, Christian Jarod," she said smiling slightly.
"I'm sorry for what I said. I really didn't know."
"I know. It's okay. Here, hold him."
Jarod walked over to the railing on the edge of the deck. Parker looked over at him and could tell instantly he was crying.
"Honey, are you okay?"
Jarod turned his head to look at her but turned away to hide his tears.
"It's okay to cry," she said reaching up and wiping away his tears.
"I.I don't know what to say," he sighed looking at the ground. She tilted his head so she could look him in the eye.
"Don't say anything, then," she said putting her arms around him. He hugged her back and broke down crying. She felt his tears running down her neck.
The scene was being watched from a short distance away. The onlooker took a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a familiar number.
"This is Lyle.No there's no sign of them here.Yes, I understand.I'll find them." He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket with a sigh.
"I must be going crazy," he said before turning around to face the scene again. When he did, he bumped into Fiona.
"I'm sorry, ah, I have to go," he said embarrassed
Fi stopped him and then hugged him. He became very uncomfortable.
"Uh, what was that for?"
"To thank you."
"I didn't do anything."
"Yes, you did. You saved my family."
"No, I really didn't." he stopped, realizing he couldn't change her mind. "Ah, I really have to go now."
"Wait!" Fiona said, stopping him again. "Stay for dinner at least."
"I would, Fiona, but I don't think I'm welcome here."
"You are welcome," Jarod said stepping behind Fiona and putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled.
Lyle opened his mouth to say something but decided against it and just followed them in the building. A song played on the radio in the lobby of the inn.
Hello my friend we meet again
It's been a while where should
we begin.feels like forever
Within my heart are memories
Of perfect love that you gave to me
I remember
When you are with me
I'm free.I'm careless.I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice
We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh how quickly life can turn around in
an instant
It feels so good to reunite
Within yourself and within your mind
Let's find peace there
When you are with me
I'm free.I'm careless.I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice
I just want to say hello again
The End
Author's Note: Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry it took so long. When I started writing this story on March 12, 2000, I never thought it would turn into all that it has. All I knew when I started was that Fi would be Jarod and Miss Parker's daughter. Everything else pretty much just happened as I was going. It feels good to finally be finished.
Giving credit where credit is due, the three songs I've used in this story were by Creed. Higher and With Arms Wide Open are from the album Human Clay, and My Sacrifice is from Weathered. The cast of the story is as follows:
Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender
(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
MICHAEL T. WEISS ------------ JAROD
ASHLEY PELDON ------------ MISS POWERS/FIONA
ANDREA PARKER ------------ MISS PARKER
PATRICK BAUCHAU ------------ SYDNEY
JON GRIES ------------ BROOTS
JUDY McCARTHY ------------ MS. McCARTHY
JESSIE McNULTY ------------ MRS. McNULTY
PALESA ALLEN ------------ PALESA
STEVEN BELIVEAU ------------ STEVE BELIVEAU
MELISSA STRONG ------------ MELISSA
JASON BROWN ------------ JASON
BOB HOLDEN ------------ MR. HOLDEN
BARBARA POPE ------------ FRANCES PATTEN
CHRISTINA GANDOLFO ------------ YOUNG FIONA
MARY WOLFMAN ------------ DR. WOLFMAN
THOMAS L. BROW, JR. ------------ MR. BROW (VOICE)
NICK SORRENTI ------------ NICK
ALEX WEXO ------------ YOUNG SYDNEY
RYAN MERRIMAN ------------ YOUNG JAROD
ASHLEY PELDON ------------ YOUNG MISS PARKER
TIANA M. PRENDERGAST ------------ TIANA
JO-ANN ERICKSON ------------ JO-ANN
SETH GARLAND ------------ YOUNG RICHARD PATTEN
ALTON BROWN ------------ ALTON BROWN
ALTON BROWN ------------ YOUNG BOB BROWN
RICHARD F. PATTEN ------------ MR. PATTEN
ROBERT BROWN ------------ BOB BROWN
PAUL DILLON ------------ ANGELO
MICHELLE MORRELL ------------ MICHELLE
In a Heartbeat
(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
ANDREA PARKER ------------ MISS PARKER
MICHAEL T. WEISS ------------ JAROD
PATRICK BAUCHAU ------------ SYDNEY
JON GRIES ------------ BROOTS
JAMIE DENTON ------------ MR. LYLE
HARVE PRESNELL ------------ MR. PARKER
CHRISTIAN J. PRENDERGAST ------------ CHRISTIAN PARKER
ASHLEY PELDON ------------ FIONA
RICHARD F. PATTEN ------------ MR. PATTEN
BARBARA POPE ------------ FRANCES PATTEN
KELSEY MULROONEY ------------ DEBBIE BROOTS
DANIEL GUEVIN ------------ DANNY
MARY WOLFMAN ------------ DR. WOLFMAN
MICHELLE CAMELLO ------------ STORE OWNER
MARTY STANTON ------------ SWEEPER #1
JAMES FARGO ------------ SWEEPER #2
THOMAS PIKE ------------ TOM PIKE
LENNY VON DOHLEN ------------ MR. COX
SAXTON SHARAD ------------ SWEEPER #3
PAUL DILLON ------------ ANGELO
STEVEN BELIVEAU ------------ STEVE BELIVEAU
JASON BROOKS ------------ THOMAS GATES
KIM MEYERS ------------ MAGGIE
By RaajmdTMP
Part 6
The "Mason Family" House
The shrill ring of the phone woke Jarod from a sleep he hadn't realized he fell into. He had been sitting at his desk in the living room waiting for any news on his daughter or the Centre. Miss Parker stirred in her sleep on the couch. Jarod rubbed his eyes and picked up the phone.
"Any news, Broots?" The person on the other end was silent.
"Hello?" Jarod said when no one answered. Miss Parker opened her eyes sleepily. She looked at the clock and wondered who would be calling at this time in the morning.
"H.hello."
"Fiona?" his voice cracked. Miss Parker jumped off the couch. "Fi, is that you?" he asked after Miss Parker turned on the speakerphone.
"Yes, it's me, Dad."
"Fiona, are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
"They didn't hurt me, I'm fine."
"Where are you? How did you escape?"
"A man named Angelo helped me."
"You know Angelo?"
"Yeah, since before I escaped last time. He told me my parents were alive," she laughed lightly. "I guess he was right. I'm at Mr. Patten's right now."
"We'll come down and get you first thing in the morning.
You stay right where you are. We'll be there as soon as possible. You just stay put."
"Okay, I will. Before you hang up, I just want to tell you that I missed you and. and I love you."
"We love you, too, sweetheart. We're so glad you're safe."
"Thank you." She ended the call.
Jarod smiled.
"She's safe. She's free."
Miss Parker smiled as well. She started to laugh and she sat on his lap. He put his arms around her waist.
"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Parker said her smile widening. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I guess we will finally have the family we always wanted."
60 Herrick Ct
Blue Cove, DE
Later That Day
Mrs. Patten had woken up to a sight she never thought she'd see again. Mr. Patten and Fiona were sitting by the fireplace playing chess.
"Richard, what in the world." her voice trailed off.
"Don't worry, Frances. My parents will be here to pick me up in a little while."
"But, how. what happened? Did the Centre?"
"Yes they did. But I'm safe now. We'll all be more careful in the future."
"You seem to be taking this way too lightly, the two of you. This is very serious. If they found you once, what's to stop them from doing it again?"
"They could only have found us if they had a tip from somewhere. Do you know how many people knew that I was moving away? There were at least three hundred kids in the seventh grade alone that could have, knowingly or unknowingly, given away my secret. We won't tell many people this time. Only the people we have to. And even then we won't tell them where we'll go."
"I suppose you're right. How did this happen?"
"Well, I was at a store after." she began to explain. Frances sat down and listened intently to Fiona's story. Mr. Patten, who had already heard the story, listened carefully as well. He was determined to try to help her as much as possible. There had to be a clue as to how the Centre had found out where her family was.
Once he'd heard the whole story twice, Mr. Patten had ruled only out Fiona's friend, Danny, because he had met her for the first time the day she was kidnapped. It could have been anyone along the way from Blue Cove to Melrose who talked to the wrong people. By the time Mrs. Patten went into Fiona's old room to get her some clothes that she had left behind, he was more frustrated than before. This wasn't his line of work. He was an English teacher, if he wanted to solve things like these, he would have become a detective. He felt so useless. When he was in trouble, she saved his life. He couldn't do anything to protect her anymore.
60 Herrick Court
Blue Cove, DE
3:00pm
The Patten's and Fiona were sitting in the kitchen eating lunch when the phone rang. Mr. Patten got up and answered it.
"Hello? Hang on a second." He held the phone up for Fiona. "It's your father."
Fi jumped up and grabbed the receiver.
"Dad?"
"Hi, Fiona. How are you?"
"Much more relaxed. Where are you guys?"
"We should be in Blue Cove in about a half hour. Can you ask Mr. Patten if he'll drive you to the Beliveau Inn? It's out of the way. It should be a safe place to meet."
"I'm sure he will. See you then."
"I love you."
Fiona smiled, "I love you, too."
The Beliveau Inn
Blue Cove, DE
Jarod pulled up in front of the small inn that he had stayed at when he had been searching for Mr. Patten the previous November. He looked around cautiously before getting out. He put the alarm on the car before entering the building. He booked a room for one night so his family could get their lives back in order before having to travel again.
Within a half hour, Mr. Patten's red truck pulled up outside the inn. Mr. Patten stayed outside near the truck while Fiona walked in to find her parents. Her Inner Sense lead her to room number four. She lifted her hand to knock, but let it drop in defeat. She shook her head, took a deep breath and this time was successful at knocking. She could hear motion from inside the room and, before she knew it, she found herself in a bone-crushing hug.
"Fiona, you're here! You're okay!"
"Mom, I've missed you so much!" Fiona cried, hugging her back.
Miss Parker pulled back and looked at her daughter. She was smiling through tears.
"Sister's back! Sister's back!" cried a little voice.
"Christian? He's talking?" Fiona said looking into the room.
Her little brother was sitting on the bed. Jarod sat on the floor in front of him, keeping him from falling off. That was the only thing stopping Jarod from running over to hug Fiona.
Fi walked over to her father, knelt down on the floor in front of him and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back. She felt his tears on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Dad. I'm safe now," she assured.
"Ouch!" Jarod yelped. Christian had pulled his hair. He turned to face him. "What was that for?"
"Sound!" the little boy said pointing at the muted television. Jarod turned the volume up and soon Christian was singing along to Winnie the Pooh the best that his limited vocabulary allowed. Fiona laughed and got up off the floor.
"Will you give your big sister a hug?" she asked the boy. He smiled and held out his arms. She picked him up and kissed him on the forehead. He blushed and buried his head in her neck.
"Fiona, as much as I hate to ruin this moment by mentioning the Centre." Jarod trailed off, his words catching in his throat.
"You want to know how this happened. I'll explain everything." She put her brother back on the bed and sat down in a chair. She began to tell them, in great detail, everything that happened from the time she first saw the sweepers till the moment she was standing there in front of them. It was all too much for Miss Parker; she had left the room with Christian at the first mention of Mr. Cox.
When Fi was finished, Jarod and Fiona sat silently thinking in the small room. Miss Parker returned to the room to find them with the exact same expression on their faces. It stunned her for a second how alike they were, now more than before.
"It had to be someone at the school. No one else knew about you. No one else knew that you left. No one else could have given our location away," Jarod concluded. He looked at Fiona and Miss Parker. They both shook their heads.
"That may be true, but it really doesn't narrow down the possibilities much. There are nearly 1000 people at the school."
"Do you have even the slightest clue who it might be?" Miss Parker asked.
Fiona closed her eyes. She began to run through different possibilities. She pictured the faces of everyone she'd ever met, working backwards. She shuddered slightly when she pictured Cox. She kept thinking. Lyle, the guard outside her cell, the sweepers who caught her. she stopped. Something was familiar about one of them that she hadn't noticed before. Her memory flashed back to the previous November, before she had met her parents.
~******~
Fiona walked into room 312 for English class. The second she walked through the door, she could tell something wasn't right. The familiar scent of aftershave lotion wasn't as strong as usual, as if the person who wore it hadn't been in the room that day. She looked over at the blackboard to see a strange man writing the day's assignment in yellow chalk. He was of average height with salt and pepper hair. He turned around. She had never seen the man before in her life.
"Hello."
"Hello," she greeted with a knot forming in her stomach. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Mr. Martin, the substitute English teacher."
"No you're not," she said in disbelief.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that I am," he said smiling.
"No, no you can't be. Mr. Patten is here. I was just with him an hour ago."
"Something's wrong with his stomach. He's at the hospital."
"What?" she breathed. She ran out the classroom door and up to the teacher's parking lot. The red truck was in its spot like it was supposed to be.
"What the." her heart sunk and she ran the distance from there to Herrick Court within three minutes.
~******~
Fiona's eyes popped open. She could see the teacher's face in her mind now. It was the same as the sweeper who caught her. Not the tall one with the sandy hair that actually grabbed her, but the smart one. The one that gave the orders. The one with the strangely familiar smile.
"Mr. Martin!" she exclaimed standing up quickly. Too quickly, she had to sit back down. Her parents stared at her with perplexed expressions on their faces.
"Who is Mr. Martin?" they asked simultaneously.
"He was Mr. Patten's substitute teacher the day he disappeared. He's the one that told me the cover story for the first time. He.he was one of the sweepers that found me."
"What?" Jarod asked.
"He took you away from us, that dirty." Parker mumbled incoherently under her breath. She gave her son to Jarod and, before he could say anything to stop her, she grabbed her gun and headed for the door.
"Parker, no!"
"Jarod, shut up! He stole Fiona from us, he's not going to get away with it that easily!" she yelled after whirling around to face him. She felt a hand close around her gun and turned her head to look.
"It's okay, Mom, I'm fine now. Please don't do this," Fi pleaded trying to ease the gun from Parker's grasp. When it was harder than she thought, she looked at Jarod, who added, "We need you too much. I need you."
Parker let her grip loosen and felt the weight of the gun leave her hand. A tear ran down her cheek. Fiona looked down at the gun in her hand and a familiar feeling returned to her stomach. An unwelcome feeling. Suddenly her mind was transported to another year, in early May.
~******~
"Use all the hot water and I'll kill you."
Empty shower, ransacked house, trail of blood, dead body.
"Oh my.Tommy!?"
"There's been a murder up on Briar Road."
"No. Oh, don't leave me. Please don't leave me."
~******~
"Fiona! Fi, are you okay?" Parker asked worriedly. Fiona looked sick. She pushed the gun back in Parker's hand.
"No, I'm not," she said almost in tears as she bolted for the bathroom. She slammed the door shut behind her and began to pace the little room quickly. She felt a strong headache coming on.
How in the world could that be true? They said it would be used to help people, not kill someone. It wasn't supposed to be real. They didn't, they couldn't have. It just wasn't possible.
Miss Parker knocked lightly on the door. "Fiona? Fi, honey, what's wrong?"
The bathroom door swung open slowly. "I need to ask you a question."
"Okay, what do you want to know?"
Fiona tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Was.was that gun, ah, was that gun." she couldn't spit it out. By this time, Jarod, at least, had an idea about what she was trying to say. He put his head down and avoided her eyes. Miss Parker looked over at him and noticed his change in expression. She suddenly realized what Fi was trying to ask them and all the color drained from her face. How could she possibly know?
"Fi, how did you." Parker began looking slowly up at Fi's face.
"It's true then. This gun was used to kill someone."
"That is true, Fiona."
"You were close, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was. We both were," Miss Parker answered glancing at Jarod. He smiled sadly. They both turned back to Fiona, who looked like she was going to cry.
"Fiona, Thomas was a wonderful person and didn't in any way deserve his fate, but there's no way you could have done anything. It's horrible to think about, but I don't understand why it's affecting you the way it is."
"It's my fault," she whispered inaudibly.
"What?"
"It's my fault," she repeated louder and through clenched teeth.
"What are you talking about?"
"About two years ago, I was given a simulation. I was trying to find out if it was possible to kill a man without waking up the person in the bed next to him and if so, how to go about doing it. I didn't know they'd actually use it to kill someone. If I did, I never would have."
"Of course you wouldn't. I know how you feel. When I found out what my simulations were used for, I decided to escape. There was no way you could have known. You can't blame yourself. I know, it doesn't work."
"How many people died because of what I thought up?" Fiona asked sadly.
"I wish I could tell you, but I don't know myself."
The Inn at Mill Falls
New Hampshire
Miss Parker sat on a chair on the back porch of an inn on Lake Winnipesaukee. Fiona was playing with CJ, as he had come to be known over the past few days, on the grass near the water. Jarod was out checking for houses for sale in the area. The small New Hampshire town they were in was very isolated. With the exception of the area surrounding the inn, you had to drive a half hour to the nearest store. It was very peaceful and it felt safe. They had learned from past experiences not to get too comfortable and they really didn't plan to any time soon. They did have to return to some kind of normalcy after what had occurred over the past month, their whole lives for that matter, and that was what they were trying to do.
An older woman walked out onto the porch carrying a cup of tea.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was out here," the woman said and started to walk away.
"That's okay. Sit down," Parker said while pulling a chair over for her.
"Thank you," the woman said and began to sip her tea. "Are you enjoying your stay?"
"Yes. It's beautiful up here. It's definitely a welcome change."
"I know what you mean," she paused. "I'm Maggie," she said holding out her hand.
"Parker. It's nice to meet you, Maggie."
Maggie watched Fiona and CJ playing by the lake and smiled.
"Are those your kids?"
"Yeah, they are," she answered smiling. She had never been able to say that before. It felt right.
"They look like good kids."
"The best."
Maggie's happy mood drained away slowly. Miss Parker noticed her mood fade to sadness.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, yeah, I'm fine," Maggie answered while wiping away a stray tear. "What's your son's name?"
"Christian," she paused. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, it's just that, your son reminds me of my son when he was his age."
"Do they grow up as fast as I've heard?"
Maggie was silent for a second and it made Parker feel as if she had hit upon a sore spot.
"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer. I didn't mean to intrude."
"No, no that's okay. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch my son grow up. There's no way you could have known."
"I'm sorry. What happened?" Parker asked as politely as she could.
"Thank you."
"For what?" she asked confused.
"For offering to listen. I've never had anyone to really talk to about this."
"It's okay."
"My.my son was kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?"
"Yes, he was taken nearly 40 years ago."
"Oh my God!"
"It is hard to imagine, isn't it?"
"You never found him?" Parker asked with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"No. I did see him, about four years ago, but." she couldn't continue. She looked at Parker and noticed that she was staring at the ground. At that moment Fiona came up with CJ toddling next to her.
"Mom, CJ keeps bugging me about Dad. He wants to know when he'll be home, but he doesn't understand that I don't know," she looked at Maggie. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt."
"That's okay."
"Mom, are you okay?" Fiona asked.
"I'm fine, Fi. This is Maggie."
"Hi, Maggie."
"Hello."
"Maggie was just telling me about her son. He was kidnapped 40 years ago."
"He was? But that's."
Parker cut her off with a nod. Fiona's eyes widened.
"Does that mean she's."
"What's going on here?" Maggie asked confused.
"Maggie, I wish I realized this before, you might have heard of the name Parker in connection with."
Sudden realization hit her. "Parker? As in Catherine Parker?" she asked, shock visible on her face.
"She was my mother."
"That means that I was just talking to you about losing my son, when your family is responsible for taking him from me. You'll never understand the pain your family has caused me!"
Miss Parker gasped at Maggie's last statement. Maggie was wrong, she did understand. She stood up quickly and briskly walked toward the dock.
"Wait, Mama!" CJ cried and ran after her. Fiona just stood there and watched her mother and brother walk away.
Without turning to face Maggie she said, "You don't know how untrue that last statement was and, however much she deserved to be lectured about what she did for a living, you shouldn't have said that."
"You don't understand where I'm coming from."
"Yes, Maggie, I do. And she does. More than you'll ever know," she said, raising her voice a little.
"You don't know the Centre. You don't know what I've been through, what she's put me through. You're only a child."
"And so was your son," she paused thinking. "Have you ever wanted to know what your son went through every day? Because if you have, I can tell you."
"How could you know what my son's life was like?"
"Because I lived it!" she yelled.
Maggie's face went stark white.
"Are you saying that you were.that you."
"Your son was taken because of his intelligence. I was created for mine. If you want to know what made my mother so upset, I'll tell you. If you think we were always this big happy family, you're wrong. As I said before, I was created. We met for the first time last November. Not one week ago I was in that place. That's why she went away. Because she does know that pain, all too well."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't have any idea."
"No, you didn't. Neither did she. She delivered her own son. She didn't give birth to him, she delivered him believing he was her half brother. She believed, for over a year, that CJ was her brother."
"How is that possible?"
"Her father remarried and used his wife to carry CJ. He was the final piece of the puzzle to move up the Centre's ladder of success."
"What does the J stand for?" Maggie asked. This was too much unexpected information in too short a time and she wanted to try to change the subject.
Fiona smiled and started to laugh. "My father's name."
"Parker? Fiona? Are you out there?"
"And there he is. Christian will be happy," Fiona said shifting her gaze to the door. Maggie looked over to see Jarod walk out.
"Oh my, God in Heaven, it's you!" Maggie ran over to him and hugged him tightly before he knew what hit him.
"Mom! I can't believe it's you!" he said hugging her back. They pulled away from each other and they both looked at Fiona.
"I guess that makes you Grandma," she said with a small smile.
"I'm a grandmother?"
Miss Parker suddenly appeared at their side.
"This is your grandson, Christian Jarod," she said smiling slightly.
"I'm sorry for what I said. I really didn't know."
"I know. It's okay. Here, hold him."
Jarod walked over to the railing on the edge of the deck. Parker looked over at him and could tell instantly he was crying.
"Honey, are you okay?"
Jarod turned his head to look at her but turned away to hide his tears.
"It's okay to cry," she said reaching up and wiping away his tears.
"I.I don't know what to say," he sighed looking at the ground. She tilted his head so she could look him in the eye.
"Don't say anything, then," she said putting her arms around him. He hugged her back and broke down crying. She felt his tears running down her neck.
The scene was being watched from a short distance away. The onlooker took a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a familiar number.
"This is Lyle.No there's no sign of them here.Yes, I understand.I'll find them." He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket with a sigh.
"I must be going crazy," he said before turning around to face the scene again. When he did, he bumped into Fiona.
"I'm sorry, ah, I have to go," he said embarrassed
Fi stopped him and then hugged him. He became very uncomfortable.
"Uh, what was that for?"
"To thank you."
"I didn't do anything."
"Yes, you did. You saved my family."
"No, I really didn't." he stopped, realizing he couldn't change her mind. "Ah, I really have to go now."
"Wait!" Fiona said, stopping him again. "Stay for dinner at least."
"I would, Fiona, but I don't think I'm welcome here."
"You are welcome," Jarod said stepping behind Fiona and putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled.
Lyle opened his mouth to say something but decided against it and just followed them in the building. A song played on the radio in the lobby of the inn.
Hello my friend we meet again
It's been a while where should
we begin.feels like forever
Within my heart are memories
Of perfect love that you gave to me
I remember
When you are with me
I'm free.I'm careless.I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice
We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh how quickly life can turn around in
an instant
It feels so good to reunite
Within yourself and within your mind
Let's find peace there
When you are with me
I'm free.I'm careless.I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice
I just want to say hello again
The End
Author's Note: Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry it took so long. When I started writing this story on March 12, 2000, I never thought it would turn into all that it has. All I knew when I started was that Fi would be Jarod and Miss Parker's daughter. Everything else pretty much just happened as I was going. It feels good to finally be finished.
Giving credit where credit is due, the three songs I've used in this story were by Creed. Higher and With Arms Wide Open are from the album Human Clay, and My Sacrifice is from Weathered. The cast of the story is as follows:
Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender
(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
MICHAEL T. WEISS ------------ JAROD
ASHLEY PELDON ------------ MISS POWERS/FIONA
ANDREA PARKER ------------ MISS PARKER
PATRICK BAUCHAU ------------ SYDNEY
JON GRIES ------------ BROOTS
JUDY McCARTHY ------------ MS. McCARTHY
JESSIE McNULTY ------------ MRS. McNULTY
PALESA ALLEN ------------ PALESA
STEVEN BELIVEAU ------------ STEVE BELIVEAU
MELISSA STRONG ------------ MELISSA
JASON BROWN ------------ JASON
BOB HOLDEN ------------ MR. HOLDEN
BARBARA POPE ------------ FRANCES PATTEN
CHRISTINA GANDOLFO ------------ YOUNG FIONA
MARY WOLFMAN ------------ DR. WOLFMAN
THOMAS L. BROW, JR. ------------ MR. BROW (VOICE)
NICK SORRENTI ------------ NICK
ALEX WEXO ------------ YOUNG SYDNEY
RYAN MERRIMAN ------------ YOUNG JAROD
ASHLEY PELDON ------------ YOUNG MISS PARKER
TIANA M. PRENDERGAST ------------ TIANA
JO-ANN ERICKSON ------------ JO-ANN
SETH GARLAND ------------ YOUNG RICHARD PATTEN
ALTON BROWN ------------ ALTON BROWN
ALTON BROWN ------------ YOUNG BOB BROWN
RICHARD F. PATTEN ------------ MR. PATTEN
ROBERT BROWN ------------ BOB BROWN
PAUL DILLON ------------ ANGELO
MICHELLE MORRELL ------------ MICHELLE
In a Heartbeat
(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
ANDREA PARKER ------------ MISS PARKER
MICHAEL T. WEISS ------------ JAROD
PATRICK BAUCHAU ------------ SYDNEY
JON GRIES ------------ BROOTS
JAMIE DENTON ------------ MR. LYLE
HARVE PRESNELL ------------ MR. PARKER
CHRISTIAN J. PRENDERGAST ------------ CHRISTIAN PARKER
ASHLEY PELDON ------------ FIONA
RICHARD F. PATTEN ------------ MR. PATTEN
BARBARA POPE ------------ FRANCES PATTEN
KELSEY MULROONEY ------------ DEBBIE BROOTS
DANIEL GUEVIN ------------ DANNY
MARY WOLFMAN ------------ DR. WOLFMAN
MICHELLE CAMELLO ------------ STORE OWNER
MARTY STANTON ------------ SWEEPER #1
JAMES FARGO ------------ SWEEPER #2
THOMAS PIKE ------------ TOM PIKE
LENNY VON DOHLEN ------------ MR. COX
SAXTON SHARAD ------------ SWEEPER #3
PAUL DILLON ------------ ANGELO
STEVEN BELIVEAU ------------ STEVE BELIVEAU
JASON BROOKS ------------ THOMAS GATES
KIM MEYERS ------------ MAGGIE
