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Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
"Hey Debbie, wake up." Her father softly stroked her face. She had slept through the entire trip. Even when they stopped to change the drivers she’d remained dead to the world. Broots was thankful that they had let him stay with Debbie instead asking him to take his turn at the wheel.
"Where are we, Daddy?" The sleepy voice of his daughter made him smile. She was the only good thing that had ever happened to his life. No matter what it was he did for her, he was always her Hero. And even better than her confidence in him was the fact that it made him feel brave.
He still couldn’t believe what he had done. Broots tried not to think back on the events of last night. Every time he did he started to shake as all the possibilities of what have could gone wrong popped up into his head
"We’re at Uncle Frank and Aunt Karen‘s. We will go in and get cleaned up and catch a little sleep. Later we will have to try to find Miss Parker, JJ. and Sam." Broots looked into the tired eyes of his daughter. "Do you want me to carry you in?" He asked with a smile.
The only answer were two little arms sliding around his neck. Carefully he lifted the small body out of the car and carried the already sleeping girl into the house.
***
Jarod watched the two woman in front of him. He had been awake for about 10 minutes already but Miss Parker and the woman who could only be her mother still slept. He suspected that he had been less affected by the gas because he had been the one farthest from the window, not mention the fact that he was bigger and would require more of the drug for the same effect.
They were on a plane, secured with to their armrests by cuffs that had a longer chain than normal. But they weren’t long enough for him to reach the others. He had tried to open the cuffs but had no suitable object to pick them, and unlike Parker, he couldn’t dislocate his thumb at will. Even if he could get the restraints off he had no clue where they would go afterwards. He had no idea where this plane was heading, but he knew that what he’d seen between breaks in the clouds beneath them was water, and not land.
He had studied the jet carefully and was positive it wasn’t a Centre jet. After he heard several German words being used around him he guessed that it was a plane from the Pagode. He wasn’t sure which was worse. At least he knew the Centre and always knew that he had a friend there in Angelo. He castigated himself for being a complete fool. Why hadn’t he used his time to find out everything he could about the Pagode? He wanted to protect Parker, but all he had accomplished was to end up in the same trap as her, with no useful information at all.
A stirring caught his attention, and he watched as Catherine Parker’s body came slowly alive. He looked over to her daughter but she was still not moving at all. If it hadn’t been for the regular rising and falling of her chest as she breathed he would have said she was dead. Her body was far more limp than he liked and her face seemed completely bloodless.
He wanted to go over and check her out more closely, but the cuffs wouldn’t reach. He was frustrated, to put it mildly. Everything that had happened since that night he confronted Parker in the Centre had gone totally wrong, and worse, it was all out of his control. He had wanted more than anything to walk into her room in the cabin and tell her what he felt for her, but they had ended up fighting instead.
Sure he had been surprised to find her in the arms of her mother, especially considering the fact that she was supposed to be dead, but it was better to find Parker in her dead mother’s arms than in Sam’s. He still couldn’t quite figure out what he had done wrong that had led to their fighting instead of making up.
For the first time his mind returned to his father and JJ. He saw no sign of them, and had heard nothing to indicate there were more prisoners elsewhere on the plane, and he prayed that meant they had been able to escape. He looked over to Mrs. Parker again and was greeted by a pair of icy blue eyes, identical to her daughter’s.
Jarod blushed slightly; she had watched him staring at her daughter. He wasn’t sure what he should tell her and she said nothing that would help him figure it out. The silence was getting on his nerves; he almost felt like she could see right into his mind.
"You really love her, right?" Catherine finally broke the silence, but it was more a statement than a question.
Jarod could only nod.
"What has happened to you two?" She continued softly.
"I have no idea?" Jarod replied with a deep sigh. He broke their eye contact and lowered his head.
Catherine looked at the young man, and thought about how much he looked like the little boy she had tried so desperately to rescue. She nearly smiled when she thought about her daughter who’d had such a big crush on him at that time. She glanced over to her daughter. Now it seemed that they where starting their own family. But from the short argument in the cabin, it would appear that her Angelina was not too happy about it.
Catherine was sure she was happy about the baby, but there was something in this whole situation that was definitely wrong. The argument in the cabin had sounded more like a cat fight than a lover’s quarrel. She was somehow sure the that Centre was involved in this pregnancy. Why in Gods name would her daughter have faked an abortion otherwise? The mother in her was still a bit angry with Jarod for believing it, though.
On the other had 20 years are a long time. She had left them as kids and she had no real idea what has happened in all those years. She vowed to try to help them work things out. She prayed that her daughter was not too stubborn to be able to give a little. She had said that the father of the baby does not matter anymore, so there had to have been a time when he had.
"Mom?"
Catherine’s head snapped around towards her daughter. Finally! She was awake as well. She had been worried about any side effects but except from a slight dizziness she seemed perfectly fine.
"Where are we?" Miss Parker asked.
"We’re on a Pagode plane." Jarod answered her.
Miss Parker focused on him, her brows lightly furrowed. "I didn’t ask you, wonder-boy!" She hissed into his direction.
"Parker, please..." Her icy glare made him stop.
"Why is it that every time you step into my life it goes down a bit more?" She snarled.
Catherine Parker wondered if she should step in before they went any further, but decided against it for the moment. Better for her daughter to get everything out in the open, and maybe she could get a little more information about this entire situation. She could interrupt them later if things got too bad, but it hurt her to see them act this way. She saw Jarod wince when her daughter used that name on him. Where had she learned to act so mean? Once again, Catherine Parker wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know.
She knew she needed to know more about what was happening, but every tidbit she learned made her like the entire scenario less. What had they done? What has happened during those years.?
"I’m not going away." Jarod stated firmly, raising his head and setting his jaw. "This is my child too, and I will be damned if give up on either of you so easily. If nothing else, I have a right to be a part of the baby’s life as well as you. I *am* the father." He declared glaring back.
‘Smart!’ He chided himself. ‘Make her angry instead of telling her that you love her. That will certainly win her over.’ But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words; he had no idea what would happen if she simply laughed into his face if he did.
"So sure of that, are you? Well if you remember what happened then you have an edge on me!" Miss Parker retorted.
"What do you mean by that?" Jarod asked in confusion.
"Oh, something wonder-boy hadn’t ‘discovered’ yet?" She taunted him bitterly. "Lyle drugged me, you idiot!"
She looked away from his shocked face and finished her attack.
"Oh come on, now! You don’t really believe I would have even let you come close to me without *some* help. If you believed for a minute that I was a willing participant then Lyle must have had them beat you harder than I thought!" Her voice full of venom.
She couldn’t resist the urge to glance at him and she saw that his face had lost all of its color and his eyes had darkened with hurt.
"I just wish that this was Thomas’ child, at least then I would know I don’t have a freak growing inside of me." With this final jab she turned away, pretending that she had lost all interest in the subject.
But she knew one more word would make her break down. She needed all her strength now to go on. Maybe this subterfuge would save them all.
With tear filled eyes she watched the clouds outside the plane.
"Where are we, Daddy?" The sleepy voice of his daughter made him smile. She was the only good thing that had ever happened to his life. No matter what it was he did for her, he was always her Hero. And even better than her confidence in him was the fact that it made him feel brave.
He still couldn’t believe what he had done. Broots tried not to think back on the events of last night. Every time he did he started to shake as all the possibilities of what have could gone wrong popped up into his head
"We’re at Uncle Frank and Aunt Karen‘s. We will go in and get cleaned up and catch a little sleep. Later we will have to try to find Miss Parker, JJ. and Sam." Broots looked into the tired eyes of his daughter. "Do you want me to carry you in?" He asked with a smile.
The only answer were two little arms sliding around his neck. Carefully he lifted the small body out of the car and carried the already sleeping girl into the house.
***
Jarod watched the two woman in front of him. He had been awake for about 10 minutes already but Miss Parker and the woman who could only be her mother still slept. He suspected that he had been less affected by the gas because he had been the one farthest from the window, not mention the fact that he was bigger and would require more of the drug for the same effect.
They were on a plane, secured with to their armrests by cuffs that had a longer chain than normal. But they weren’t long enough for him to reach the others. He had tried to open the cuffs but had no suitable object to pick them, and unlike Parker, he couldn’t dislocate his thumb at will. Even if he could get the restraints off he had no clue where they would go afterwards. He had no idea where this plane was heading, but he knew that what he’d seen between breaks in the clouds beneath them was water, and not land.
He had studied the jet carefully and was positive it wasn’t a Centre jet. After he heard several German words being used around him he guessed that it was a plane from the Pagode. He wasn’t sure which was worse. At least he knew the Centre and always knew that he had a friend there in Angelo. He castigated himself for being a complete fool. Why hadn’t he used his time to find out everything he could about the Pagode? He wanted to protect Parker, but all he had accomplished was to end up in the same trap as her, with no useful information at all.
A stirring caught his attention, and he watched as Catherine Parker’s body came slowly alive. He looked over to her daughter but she was still not moving at all. If it hadn’t been for the regular rising and falling of her chest as she breathed he would have said she was dead. Her body was far more limp than he liked and her face seemed completely bloodless.
He wanted to go over and check her out more closely, but the cuffs wouldn’t reach. He was frustrated, to put it mildly. Everything that had happened since that night he confronted Parker in the Centre had gone totally wrong, and worse, it was all out of his control. He had wanted more than anything to walk into her room in the cabin and tell her what he felt for her, but they had ended up fighting instead.
Sure he had been surprised to find her in the arms of her mother, especially considering the fact that she was supposed to be dead, but it was better to find Parker in her dead mother’s arms than in Sam’s. He still couldn’t quite figure out what he had done wrong that had led to their fighting instead of making up.
For the first time his mind returned to his father and JJ. He saw no sign of them, and had heard nothing to indicate there were more prisoners elsewhere on the plane, and he prayed that meant they had been able to escape. He looked over to Mrs. Parker again and was greeted by a pair of icy blue eyes, identical to her daughter’s.
Jarod blushed slightly; she had watched him staring at her daughter. He wasn’t sure what he should tell her and she said nothing that would help him figure it out. The silence was getting on his nerves; he almost felt like she could see right into his mind.
"You really love her, right?" Catherine finally broke the silence, but it was more a statement than a question.
Jarod could only nod.
"What has happened to you two?" She continued softly.
"I have no idea?" Jarod replied with a deep sigh. He broke their eye contact and lowered his head.
Catherine looked at the young man, and thought about how much he looked like the little boy she had tried so desperately to rescue. She nearly smiled when she thought about her daughter who’d had such a big crush on him at that time. She glanced over to her daughter. Now it seemed that they where starting their own family. But from the short argument in the cabin, it would appear that her Angelina was not too happy about it.
Catherine was sure she was happy about the baby, but there was something in this whole situation that was definitely wrong. The argument in the cabin had sounded more like a cat fight than a lover’s quarrel. She was somehow sure the that Centre was involved in this pregnancy. Why in Gods name would her daughter have faked an abortion otherwise? The mother in her was still a bit angry with Jarod for believing it, though.
On the other had 20 years are a long time. She had left them as kids and she had no real idea what has happened in all those years. She vowed to try to help them work things out. She prayed that her daughter was not too stubborn to be able to give a little. She had said that the father of the baby does not matter anymore, so there had to have been a time when he had.
"Mom?"
Catherine’s head snapped around towards her daughter. Finally! She was awake as well. She had been worried about any side effects but except from a slight dizziness she seemed perfectly fine.
"Where are we?" Miss Parker asked.
"We’re on a Pagode plane." Jarod answered her.
Miss Parker focused on him, her brows lightly furrowed. "I didn’t ask you, wonder-boy!" She hissed into his direction.
"Parker, please..." Her icy glare made him stop.
"Why is it that every time you step into my life it goes down a bit more?" She snarled.
Catherine Parker wondered if she should step in before they went any further, but decided against it for the moment. Better for her daughter to get everything out in the open, and maybe she could get a little more information about this entire situation. She could interrupt them later if things got too bad, but it hurt her to see them act this way. She saw Jarod wince when her daughter used that name on him. Where had she learned to act so mean? Once again, Catherine Parker wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know.
She knew she needed to know more about what was happening, but every tidbit she learned made her like the entire scenario less. What had they done? What has happened during those years.?
"I’m not going away." Jarod stated firmly, raising his head and setting his jaw. "This is my child too, and I will be damned if give up on either of you so easily. If nothing else, I have a right to be a part of the baby’s life as well as you. I *am* the father." He declared glaring back.
‘Smart!’ He chided himself. ‘Make her angry instead of telling her that you love her. That will certainly win her over.’ But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words; he had no idea what would happen if she simply laughed into his face if he did.
"So sure of that, are you? Well if you remember what happened then you have an edge on me!" Miss Parker retorted.
"What do you mean by that?" Jarod asked in confusion.
"Oh, something wonder-boy hadn’t ‘discovered’ yet?" She taunted him bitterly. "Lyle drugged me, you idiot!"
She looked away from his shocked face and finished her attack.
"Oh come on, now! You don’t really believe I would have even let you come close to me without *some* help. If you believed for a minute that I was a willing participant then Lyle must have had them beat you harder than I thought!" Her voice full of venom.
She couldn’t resist the urge to glance at him and she saw that his face had lost all of its color and his eyes had darkened with hurt.
"I just wish that this was Thomas’ child, at least then I would know I don’t have a freak growing inside of me." With this final jab she turned away, pretending that she had lost all interest in the subject.
But she knew one more word would make her break down. She needed all her strength now to go on. Maybe this subterfuge would save them all.
With tear filled eyes she watched the clouds outside the plane.
