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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.
Catherine Parker looked around in her room, not sure what she had expected, but sure that it hadn’t been this. She knew the Centre’s cells; the gray and semi-dark rooms. But this was more like a hotel suite in first class hotel. She carefully moved around and searched the room for surveillance cameras.
Either there weren’t any, which she really couldn’t believe, or they were damn good. The Centre never settled for subtlety. The cameras were always clearly visible; a reminder that you were never alone.. The red blinking eyes were always there to keep you in line.
With a sigh Catherine sat down in a chair next to a large table. The last days had taken their toll on her. A past she had believed was lost forever had returned, and with a force that left her feeling that her head was going to blow up any minute.
The joy of having her baby back was worth everything, even the pain that the old memories brought her. She felt sad when she thought about her son, a son she had never had the chance to meet, but she tried to push those thoughts back. Now wasn’t the time to mourn. Now was the time to think about the living; about her daughter who needed her more than ever.
She had tried to reach her more than once after they had been separated, but no luck. The last time she had had felt something like a angry yell, which she took as a good sign. If her daughter was able to be angry then she was fine. She just hoped that Angelina wasn’t letting herself get too upset. She’d nearly lost the baby once already.
Even though she was sure the Centre was somehow involved in the pregnancy, Catherine knew that her daughter wanted the baby. She sighed again, feeling slightly overwhelmed. As usual where the Centre was concerned, there was much more going on than what met the eye.
*******
"Miss Parker, please! Dr. Baker is only here to make sure you and the baby are OK." Alexander was starting to feel desperate. This wasn’t going like he had planned it. No matter what Marion had planned for Miss Parker, Alexander was sure he would regret it.
"Alexander is right, I just want to make sure you are all right. He made sure I would be here when you arrived for *your* sake. Don’t fight us. We know what Marion plans to do; to you and to the baby, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help you." The elderly woman tried to calm her down.
"Sure, you’re just going to give me a check up and then you’ll let me walk right out of the building." Miss Parker replied sarcastically.
She saw Alexander and the Doctor exchanging uneasy looks that ended when Alexander shrugged his shoulders.
"What?" Miss Parker demanded harshly.
After a few seconds of complete silence Alexander decided it would be better to tell her everything. It would surely be better than having her working against them the whole time.
"Things have been going down hill here for some time." The blonde man started his explanation. "As you can see, we have made good progress in genetic design, but we have made no progress in increasing the abilities we achieved. I can understand your thoughts, yes, but only because of your ability. If I want to read anyone else, I have to touch them and even then we have to concentrate. Alexander stopped and shot the woman in front of him a nervous glance.
"Marion contacted your brother, trying to trade him some of our research in return for you. She was sure he had no idea about your abilities. Maybe she was right, I do not know, but Lyle never agreed to the exchange. One day our spy inside of the Centre told us of his plan. I don’t think I have to tell you that Marion was overjoyed to hear about the baby." He cast another nervous glance over to Miss Parker, but still she showed no reaction. He was sure she didn’t believe a single word he’d said, and he had to admit that in her situation he wouldn’t believe him either.
"OK," Alexander finally gave up. "I will leave the room and let Doctor Baker check up on you in privacy. Please don’t try anything stupid! We will talk later; maybe you will be more willing to listen then than you are at the moment. I have important meeting to get to right now."
"Important for you, or for me?" Miss Parker mocked
"For all of us," Alexander answered as he headed for the door. "For all of us." He repeated softly as the door closed behind him.
As soon as the door was closed Doctor Baker walked over to the younger woman. She opened her mouth to continue the argument when Miss Parker stopped her with an upraised hand.
"You win." She conceded, but the moment she saw the smile forming on the doctor’s face, she added; "for the moment."
But the smile just broadened on the older woman’s face. Strangely enough Miss Parker felt that she could like this woman and she wasn’t sure if she liked that feeling,
*****
Marion just starred at Jarod’s back, giving him some room to think. She was sure she knew how he would decide. She had studied him for a long time. She may not have been such a good Pretender, but to know a man it wasn’t required to be a genius.
Jarod’s first priority had always been his family; the baby was, of course, but the mother---not really. He might think he loved her right now, but she would teach him otherwise.
As the silence drew on she wondered if she had made the right choice. Maybe it had been a mistake to talk about the breeding project to early... Marion was just about to speak when Jarod suddenly turned to face her.
"OK. I’ll take you up on your offer. I’ll stay with you, and the baby will stay with me." Jarod stated flatly.
With a victorious grin Marion stalked towards him...
Either there weren’t any, which she really couldn’t believe, or they were damn good. The Centre never settled for subtlety. The cameras were always clearly visible; a reminder that you were never alone.. The red blinking eyes were always there to keep you in line.
With a sigh Catherine sat down in a chair next to a large table. The last days had taken their toll on her. A past she had believed was lost forever had returned, and with a force that left her feeling that her head was going to blow up any minute.
The joy of having her baby back was worth everything, even the pain that the old memories brought her. She felt sad when she thought about her son, a son she had never had the chance to meet, but she tried to push those thoughts back. Now wasn’t the time to mourn. Now was the time to think about the living; about her daughter who needed her more than ever.
She had tried to reach her more than once after they had been separated, but no luck. The last time she had had felt something like a angry yell, which she took as a good sign. If her daughter was able to be angry then she was fine. She just hoped that Angelina wasn’t letting herself get too upset. She’d nearly lost the baby once already.
Even though she was sure the Centre was somehow involved in the pregnancy, Catherine knew that her daughter wanted the baby. She sighed again, feeling slightly overwhelmed. As usual where the Centre was concerned, there was much more going on than what met the eye.
*******
"Miss Parker, please! Dr. Baker is only here to make sure you and the baby are OK." Alexander was starting to feel desperate. This wasn’t going like he had planned it. No matter what Marion had planned for Miss Parker, Alexander was sure he would regret it.
"Alexander is right, I just want to make sure you are all right. He made sure I would be here when you arrived for *your* sake. Don’t fight us. We know what Marion plans to do; to you and to the baby, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help you." The elderly woman tried to calm her down.
"Sure, you’re just going to give me a check up and then you’ll let me walk right out of the building." Miss Parker replied sarcastically.
She saw Alexander and the Doctor exchanging uneasy looks that ended when Alexander shrugged his shoulders.
"What?" Miss Parker demanded harshly.
After a few seconds of complete silence Alexander decided it would be better to tell her everything. It would surely be better than having her working against them the whole time.
"Things have been going down hill here for some time." The blonde man started his explanation. "As you can see, we have made good progress in genetic design, but we have made no progress in increasing the abilities we achieved. I can understand your thoughts, yes, but only because of your ability. If I want to read anyone else, I have to touch them and even then we have to concentrate. Alexander stopped and shot the woman in front of him a nervous glance.
"Marion contacted your brother, trying to trade him some of our research in return for you. She was sure he had no idea about your abilities. Maybe she was right, I do not know, but Lyle never agreed to the exchange. One day our spy inside of the Centre told us of his plan. I don’t think I have to tell you that Marion was overjoyed to hear about the baby." He cast another nervous glance over to Miss Parker, but still she showed no reaction. He was sure she didn’t believe a single word he’d said, and he had to admit that in her situation he wouldn’t believe him either.
"OK," Alexander finally gave up. "I will leave the room and let Doctor Baker check up on you in privacy. Please don’t try anything stupid! We will talk later; maybe you will be more willing to listen then than you are at the moment. I have important meeting to get to right now."
"Important for you, or for me?" Miss Parker mocked
"For all of us," Alexander answered as he headed for the door. "For all of us." He repeated softly as the door closed behind him.
As soon as the door was closed Doctor Baker walked over to the younger woman. She opened her mouth to continue the argument when Miss Parker stopped her with an upraised hand.
"You win." She conceded, but the moment she saw the smile forming on the doctor’s face, she added; "for the moment."
But the smile just broadened on the older woman’s face. Strangely enough Miss Parker felt that she could like this woman and she wasn’t sure if she liked that feeling,
*****
Marion just starred at Jarod’s back, giving him some room to think. She was sure she knew how he would decide. She had studied him for a long time. She may not have been such a good Pretender, but to know a man it wasn’t required to be a genius.
Jarod’s first priority had always been his family; the baby was, of course, but the mother---not really. He might think he loved her right now, but she would teach him otherwise.
As the silence drew on she wondered if she had made the right choice. Maybe it had been a mistake to talk about the breeding project to early... Marion was just about to speak when Jarod suddenly turned to face her.
"OK. I’ll take you up on your offer. I’ll stay with you, and the baby will stay with me." Jarod stated flatly.
With a victorious grin Marion stalked towards him...
