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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.
Miss Parker stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the Sim lab where she knew she would find Sydney and Broots. She stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath trying to steel herself for the hurt disapproval she knew Sydney would subject her to. Without further hesitation she pushed the doors open and strode in. Surprised, she stopped after the first two steps. Broots and Sydney where standing close to each other chuckling and sipping coffee, and there was no sign of Lyle. Neither of them noticed her at first.
"What, taking a coffee break so soon?" She asked with saccharine sweetness. "Maybe you could include me in on the joke?"
Inwardly she was pleased with the entertainment her practical jokes on Lyle had provided. She knew just how they felt, really. She had already watched the DSA of Lyle’s journey to the family apartment within the Centre and he’d been madder than a wet hen. She just wished that she could have seen her dear brother’s face when he realized his clothes were completely worthless to him.
At the sound of Miss Parker’s voice Broots stumbled backward spilling his coffee
"M---Miss Parker." he stammered.
Slowly Sydney put the coffee cup onto the table.
"Miss Parker. What can we do for you?" He asked her warily.
‘Yes,’ Parker thought painfully. ‘His disapproval does still hurt. Damn! I wish I could make him understand.’ She felt the pressure of rising tears in the back of her throat, and determinedly swallowed them back.
He narrowed his eyes and studied her carefully as she approached them. Superficially she looked like always; a dark navy blue miniskirt with a matching blazer and light blue satin blouse, no jewelry, except her usual square ring and the watch from her mother, and her hair and makeup as immaculate as always. But he had worked closely with her for several years and he could tell that all was not as well as she tried to make it appear. Even someone who barely knew her would be able to tell she was under a lot of stress if they just looked closely enough. Sydney felt a twinge of concern.
‘Get a grip!’ He ordered himself firmly, ‘She isn’t who you always thought she was. She can take care of herself. Besides, she deserves every moment of pain she might be feeling.’ Immediately he felt guilty for his thoughts. Despite her harsh voice and her cool appearance she looked like a lost little girl underneath
"I’m looking for my brother." Miss Parker replied and waved the manila folder in her hand. "I have a profile done on Jarod for him. It comes directly from the Triumvirate, based on the DSA’s of his time at the Centre and the Pretends he’s done since----after escaping from the Centre, again." When all she got from the two men were identically baffled shrugs, she handed the folder to Sydney.
"Maybe he needed to change his clothes again." She speculated, with what Sydney would have sworn was an amused and devilish glint in her eyes----if he hadn’t known her better than that, that is.
He wondered what she knew that he didn’t. Hadn’t Lyle already gone to the family apartments to shower and change? Perhaps Broots and he had missed out on some of the fun. But how was it that Parker seemed to know more about this than they did? Could she have----no,’ Sydney dismissed the thought almost as fast as it surfaced. There was no way Parker would have---‘ His examination of her sharpened slightly as he examined the possibilities.
Miss Parker tried to ignore the way Sydney studied her, [but] she felt more and more uneasy under his intense stare. She knew she had to get out of there soon, before she broke down and confided in the man that she trusted far more than she did her own father, and if she did that then all of her sacrifices would have been wasted.
"Since Lyle isn’t here I’ll leave this with you. Give it to him when he comes back." With these words she handed Sydney the slim yellow folder and headed back towards the door.
"Oh, and if he decides to come back today," she added, stopping just short the door. "Please tell him that he shouldn’t bother to come to my old office. I’m will just going there to grab a few things and then I’ll be tied up at Donoterase for the rest of the day." Miss Parker turned to leave the office then. It took all her of willpower to saunter coolly and not run out, like she wanted to. As soon as the doors closed behind her she stepped to one side and leaned against the wall. Closing her eyes, she realized how close she had come to losing it. She promised herself that she would avoid her former colleagues as much as possible without raising anyone’s suspicion. Maybe she should just move her office permanently to Donoterase.
After a few seconds she felt calm enough to make her way to her office. Inside her room it was dark, as always, with only a small light on the desk giving off a dim glow. She walked over to the desk and picked up a picture in a square, silver frame. She looked at it for what must have been the millionth time. The woman, who looked exactly like her, held a baby in her arms. Lost in her thoughts she stroked the woman’s face in the picture with her thumb. Looking at this picture was nearly like looking into a mirror----except.. She felt a tear sliding down her cheek. With an unconscious sigh she put the frame down, and headed to the adjoining bathroom. Once there she kept her mind blank while she carefully wiped the tears away without destroying her makeup.
‘If it’s possible,’ she thought. ’I look even worse than I did this morning’. All she wanted was to drive home and to curl up in ball and pray that this was just a bad dream, but she knew that wasn’t an option. With a deep sigh she went back into her office, unaware of the dark, shadowy figure watching her from the vent.
****
Lyle was in his apartment, still fuming. The smug grin of the taxi driver had been the last blow to his bruised ego. All he had wanted was to hit the man and wipe the grin from his face. Since he hadn’t remembered to transfer his wallet to his father’s outfit he had no money. He was forced to ask the cabby to come up to his apartment with him so he could pay him. It wasn’t until he opened the door that he remembered the condition he’d left it in. The driver had turned around twice, double checking the chaos he saw.
"Wild party?" He had asked, amusement radiating from him like heat from a radiator. The idiot had no idea how close he had come to losing his life.
Finally, though, he was alone and he knew he needed to calm down. He hurriedly stripped off the oversized clothes he had borrowed from his father. Then he had carefully opened the closet door but nothing happened. He sighed, relieved.
‘Am I right?’ He wondered. ‘Was this really her work? Had she really been in his apartment while he wasted his time trying to find a hooker that resembled her? Had she been here and placed the garter snakes in his bed?’
‘Yes, she had been,’ he decided. ‘Here in my bedroom.’ He turned towards his bed and looked at the shortened sheets.
‘She touched those sheets, she had been so close---‘ With a low growl he headed towards his bathroom. He knew he needed a quick, cold shower before he could drive back to the Centre. He glanced at the big mirror in the corner of the room.
‘Better make it a long cold shower.’ He amended.
****
JJ was in front of the house. He had been so happy at first that they had found Jarod. The fact that he was drunk was pretty funny too. Jarod was the first really drunken person he had seen. He stifled a giggle as he remembered how strangely Jarod had talked. The best part, though, had been seeing him in the morning hiding under his pillow.
He had looked forward to talking with Jarod, he realized, sobering quickly. And he had wanted to share some ice cream with him again, even though his new father wouldn’t let him have it for breakfast. Breakfast… He thought about the conversation at the table during breakfast. No matter what Jarod and his father believed, he knew they were wrong. His father claimed that she was not always as kind as he remembered, and maybe he was right, but she wouldn’t hurt a baby, of that JJ was certain.
The boy sat on the wooden fence and let his feet dangle, recalling the time he had first seen her. It had been in that empty hallway, and she had looked at him as he was a ghost. He had even wondered, for a split second, if she was going to faint. Later she had come to his new room inside the Centre.
He couldn’t remember ever being that scared; not in his entire life. He’d been on the floor, trying to fight back his tears of fear and loneliness when he heard the door to his room open. Of course he remembered her immediately, and he wondered what she wanted him to do. But she hadn’t said or done anything he expected her to. She didn’t ask him to work but instead she asked him questions that he simply couldn’t answer. What did *he* want to do? He wasn’t allowed to want anything, just to work. And did he want to play? He wasn’t even sure what play was. He had been sitting on his cot by then and she came down on his level so he could see in her eyes. She had spoken in a low, reassuring voice and even in the dim light of the room he could see the sparkle in her beautiful blue eyes. Somehow her kindness just made him feel worse, and even though he knew that Raines would be very angry with him, he’d started to cry again.
Never in his whole life he would forget how he had felt when she joined him on the cot and took him her arms. Nobody had ever touched him like that. For a moment he wanted to pull away, but then he leaned against her and he felt safe somehow. He wasn’t listening to her words anymore only concentrating on the warm feelings. He had wanted the moment to last forever, but, all too soon, Raines had come and broken the spell.
JJ had hoped he’d see her again, but he’d only caught a glimpse of her in the rear view mirror of the truck when Jarod had rescued him and she had captured their father. And then he had seen her on the airfield. He’d had a clear view through the open door of the plane. He had seen her running towards the plane, and Jarod shouting at her. She had shouted back and ignored him, running towards her father. Then things had happened so fast that he could barely remember them. All he had heard was a single gun shot and she had flown in the arms of the father. Sadly JJ shook his head. He wished he could remove that image from his memory. She’d looked so frail, so hurt and her father and Jarod had looked so shocked and frightened.
Shaking off those frightening memories he made himself recall more of her words in his room. She’d told him that she had never let the sad little boy she’d grown up with know how much she cared about him. Now he realized that the boy she referred to had been his brother Jarod. Chewing on his bottom lip he reviewed the whole conversation he had with her in the cell again.
‘Nope.’ He decided adamantly. ‘There is no way that she would never do anything like what my father and brother believe she did. The boy hopped down from the fence and walked inside, determined to make them see his point. He had no idea how he was going to accomplish that; he knew that Jarod would need more than his gut feeling that she wasn’t as cold as they thought she was. He looked around in the living room tying to come up with a good plan as he a beeping sounded from the laptop that sat in the heavy table in front on the fireplace. Curiously he walked over and opened it. A little mailbox had a flag up and the words "you have mail" written by it. Wondering what it meant, he clicked on the mail icon.
"What, taking a coffee break so soon?" She asked with saccharine sweetness. "Maybe you could include me in on the joke?"
Inwardly she was pleased with the entertainment her practical jokes on Lyle had provided. She knew just how they felt, really. She had already watched the DSA of Lyle’s journey to the family apartment within the Centre and he’d been madder than a wet hen. She just wished that she could have seen her dear brother’s face when he realized his clothes were completely worthless to him.
At the sound of Miss Parker’s voice Broots stumbled backward spilling his coffee
"M---Miss Parker." he stammered.
Slowly Sydney put the coffee cup onto the table.
"Miss Parker. What can we do for you?" He asked her warily.
‘Yes,’ Parker thought painfully. ‘His disapproval does still hurt. Damn! I wish I could make him understand.’ She felt the pressure of rising tears in the back of her throat, and determinedly swallowed them back.
He narrowed his eyes and studied her carefully as she approached them. Superficially she looked like always; a dark navy blue miniskirt with a matching blazer and light blue satin blouse, no jewelry, except her usual square ring and the watch from her mother, and her hair and makeup as immaculate as always. But he had worked closely with her for several years and he could tell that all was not as well as she tried to make it appear. Even someone who barely knew her would be able to tell she was under a lot of stress if they just looked closely enough. Sydney felt a twinge of concern.
‘Get a grip!’ He ordered himself firmly, ‘She isn’t who you always thought she was. She can take care of herself. Besides, she deserves every moment of pain she might be feeling.’ Immediately he felt guilty for his thoughts. Despite her harsh voice and her cool appearance she looked like a lost little girl underneath
"I’m looking for my brother." Miss Parker replied and waved the manila folder in her hand. "I have a profile done on Jarod for him. It comes directly from the Triumvirate, based on the DSA’s of his time at the Centre and the Pretends he’s done since----after escaping from the Centre, again." When all she got from the two men were identically baffled shrugs, she handed the folder to Sydney.
"Maybe he needed to change his clothes again." She speculated, with what Sydney would have sworn was an amused and devilish glint in her eyes----if he hadn’t known her better than that, that is.
He wondered what she knew that he didn’t. Hadn’t Lyle already gone to the family apartments to shower and change? Perhaps Broots and he had missed out on some of the fun. But how was it that Parker seemed to know more about this than they did? Could she have----no,’ Sydney dismissed the thought almost as fast as it surfaced. There was no way Parker would have---‘ His examination of her sharpened slightly as he examined the possibilities.
Miss Parker tried to ignore the way Sydney studied her, [but] she felt more and more uneasy under his intense stare. She knew she had to get out of there soon, before she broke down and confided in the man that she trusted far more than she did her own father, and if she did that then all of her sacrifices would have been wasted.
"Since Lyle isn’t here I’ll leave this with you. Give it to him when he comes back." With these words she handed Sydney the slim yellow folder and headed back towards the door.
"Oh, and if he decides to come back today," she added, stopping just short the door. "Please tell him that he shouldn’t bother to come to my old office. I’m will just going there to grab a few things and then I’ll be tied up at Donoterase for the rest of the day." Miss Parker turned to leave the office then. It took all her of willpower to saunter coolly and not run out, like she wanted to. As soon as the doors closed behind her she stepped to one side and leaned against the wall. Closing her eyes, she realized how close she had come to losing it. She promised herself that she would avoid her former colleagues as much as possible without raising anyone’s suspicion. Maybe she should just move her office permanently to Donoterase.
After a few seconds she felt calm enough to make her way to her office. Inside her room it was dark, as always, with only a small light on the desk giving off a dim glow. She walked over to the desk and picked up a picture in a square, silver frame. She looked at it for what must have been the millionth time. The woman, who looked exactly like her, held a baby in her arms. Lost in her thoughts she stroked the woman’s face in the picture with her thumb. Looking at this picture was nearly like looking into a mirror----except.. She felt a tear sliding down her cheek. With an unconscious sigh she put the frame down, and headed to the adjoining bathroom. Once there she kept her mind blank while she carefully wiped the tears away without destroying her makeup.
‘If it’s possible,’ she thought. ’I look even worse than I did this morning’. All she wanted was to drive home and to curl up in ball and pray that this was just a bad dream, but she knew that wasn’t an option. With a deep sigh she went back into her office, unaware of the dark, shadowy figure watching her from the vent.
****
Lyle was in his apartment, still fuming. The smug grin of the taxi driver had been the last blow to his bruised ego. All he had wanted was to hit the man and wipe the grin from his face. Since he hadn’t remembered to transfer his wallet to his father’s outfit he had no money. He was forced to ask the cabby to come up to his apartment with him so he could pay him. It wasn’t until he opened the door that he remembered the condition he’d left it in. The driver had turned around twice, double checking the chaos he saw.
"Wild party?" He had asked, amusement radiating from him like heat from a radiator. The idiot had no idea how close he had come to losing his life.
Finally, though, he was alone and he knew he needed to calm down. He hurriedly stripped off the oversized clothes he had borrowed from his father. Then he had carefully opened the closet door but nothing happened. He sighed, relieved.
‘Am I right?’ He wondered. ‘Was this really her work? Had she really been in his apartment while he wasted his time trying to find a hooker that resembled her? Had she been here and placed the garter snakes in his bed?’
‘Yes, she had been,’ he decided. ‘Here in my bedroom.’ He turned towards his bed and looked at the shortened sheets.
‘She touched those sheets, she had been so close---‘ With a low growl he headed towards his bathroom. He knew he needed a quick, cold shower before he could drive back to the Centre. He glanced at the big mirror in the corner of the room.
‘Better make it a long cold shower.’ He amended.
****
JJ was in front of the house. He had been so happy at first that they had found Jarod. The fact that he was drunk was pretty funny too. Jarod was the first really drunken person he had seen. He stifled a giggle as he remembered how strangely Jarod had talked. The best part, though, had been seeing him in the morning hiding under his pillow.
He had looked forward to talking with Jarod, he realized, sobering quickly. And he had wanted to share some ice cream with him again, even though his new father wouldn’t let him have it for breakfast. Breakfast… He thought about the conversation at the table during breakfast. No matter what Jarod and his father believed, he knew they were wrong. His father claimed that she was not always as kind as he remembered, and maybe he was right, but she wouldn’t hurt a baby, of that JJ was certain.
The boy sat on the wooden fence and let his feet dangle, recalling the time he had first seen her. It had been in that empty hallway, and she had looked at him as he was a ghost. He had even wondered, for a split second, if she was going to faint. Later she had come to his new room inside the Centre.
He couldn’t remember ever being that scared; not in his entire life. He’d been on the floor, trying to fight back his tears of fear and loneliness when he heard the door to his room open. Of course he remembered her immediately, and he wondered what she wanted him to do. But she hadn’t said or done anything he expected her to. She didn’t ask him to work but instead she asked him questions that he simply couldn’t answer. What did *he* want to do? He wasn’t allowed to want anything, just to work. And did he want to play? He wasn’t even sure what play was. He had been sitting on his cot by then and she came down on his level so he could see in her eyes. She had spoken in a low, reassuring voice and even in the dim light of the room he could see the sparkle in her beautiful blue eyes. Somehow her kindness just made him feel worse, and even though he knew that Raines would be very angry with him, he’d started to cry again.
Never in his whole life he would forget how he had felt when she joined him on the cot and took him her arms. Nobody had ever touched him like that. For a moment he wanted to pull away, but then he leaned against her and he felt safe somehow. He wasn’t listening to her words anymore only concentrating on the warm feelings. He had wanted the moment to last forever, but, all too soon, Raines had come and broken the spell.
JJ had hoped he’d see her again, but he’d only caught a glimpse of her in the rear view mirror of the truck when Jarod had rescued him and she had captured their father. And then he had seen her on the airfield. He’d had a clear view through the open door of the plane. He had seen her running towards the plane, and Jarod shouting at her. She had shouted back and ignored him, running towards her father. Then things had happened so fast that he could barely remember them. All he had heard was a single gun shot and she had flown in the arms of the father. Sadly JJ shook his head. He wished he could remove that image from his memory. She’d looked so frail, so hurt and her father and Jarod had looked so shocked and frightened.
Shaking off those frightening memories he made himself recall more of her words in his room. She’d told him that she had never let the sad little boy she’d grown up with know how much she cared about him. Now he realized that the boy she referred to had been his brother Jarod. Chewing on his bottom lip he reviewed the whole conversation he had with her in the cell again.
‘Nope.’ He decided adamantly. ‘There is no way that she would never do anything like what my father and brother believe she did. The boy hopped down from the fence and walked inside, determined to make them see his point. He had no idea how he was going to accomplish that; he knew that Jarod would need more than his gut feeling that she wasn’t as cold as they thought she was. He looked around in the living room tying to come up with a good plan as he a beeping sounded from the laptop that sat in the heavy table in front on the fireplace. Curiously he walked over and opened it. A little mailbox had a flag up and the words "you have mail" written by it. Wondering what it meant, he clicked on the mail icon.
