Miss Parker felt a sharp pain in her heart for the love of the baby. She felt the thumping in her chest and hoped it would have drowned out her loud cries. Jarod was silent, which frightened her. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes were focused on the road as he drove like a maniac. The light had turned red, when he nearly hit the car in front of him due to a sudden stop. Jarod blasted his horn impatiently. He backed up, switched lanes, at the change of the light to green, he overtook the guy who had been in front of him. He felt her hand touch him lightly on his thigh.

"Jarod," Parker spoke nervously. "Please slow down a bit. It won't do Burke any good if we're both killed in a traffic accident."

The "pretender" stepped harder on the gas pedal and weaved in and out of traffic angrily. He said nothing. She shut her eyes tightly, held her breath and readied herself for a crash. Jarod felt his body falling apart. His strong arm pushed her hand away from her touch.

After what seemed like forever, Jarod screeched his car to a halt right in front of "The Centre". Those eyes of his glared into hers. Terrified, Miss Parker sat there unable to move in wonderment of his irises which gazed upon her. She only could imagine what thoughts passed behind his eyes. She knew at that moment, no matter what, their relationship had already been destroyed.

"You really are something else, you know that?" He gently stroked her face. "I never felt this way about anyone before. I've always loved you. I've always wanted you. I questioned myself if you ever felt the same. I wanted you forever." He opened the car door, then looked over his shoulders. "The love we once shared, the one I dreamed of feeling, of finding and finally felt and found, is no more. When I get my son back, you're out of our lives."

JMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMP

Sydney walked out of his office to the sounds of gunshots and commotions. Broots trailed behind him.

"Get down!" Someone yelled. A bullet narrowly missed "old man Parker" and hit the wall. Raines stood next to him as the two clowns raised their hands up.

"Angel, what are you doing? I'm your father." His voiced trembled.

Miss Parker stayed along side of Jarod. "Daddy, where's the baby? Tell me where he is." She begged and pointed to her partner-in-crime. "He will shoot you if you don't tell us where he is."

Jarod pointed the gun into the air and shot to get their attention. "How dare you! To take an innocent child! Like this hell-hole did to me. Give him back! And I mean now!" He pointed the gun to them, ready to pull the trigger. The sound of his mentor's voice made him turn slightly.

"Jarod, put the gun down. If you kill them, you'll never get your son back. Or know where he is. You weren't brought up to kill."

"No!" He raised the gun above his head and pulled the trigger. "Surprise to see me here, Sydney? To just waltz right in? I'm not leaving until I get my baby back."

"Jarod, you've lost your way and you need to find your way back."

"Back? Back to what? This life I was brought up in? The hell with these guys." He aimed the barrel of the gun into Mr. Parker's chest. "You first." He then turned to Raines. "And then you're next. And whoever gets in my way."

"Where is he, daddy? Where's my baby?" Miss Parker pleaded with her father.

"I'll make a deal with you." Jarod waved the gun at "daddy". "Her. You get your daughter for good, if you give me back my son."

She felt her heart crushed.

"He's not here. He's in a safe place." Raines volunteered the information. "I guess he doesn't want you with him, Angel," Raines smirked.

"I'm not your Angel," she hissed, as she turned to Jarod, Sydney, Broots and "daddy". "I'm nobody's angel," she said sadly.

Courageously, Broots spoke up. "Hey, Jarod. We'll help you find the baby. You helped me get custody of Debbie and I promise you we'll get your baby back. I...I'll call the police. They'll be charged for kidnapping and endangerment to a minor. Let me call them, okay? Okay, Jarod?" Nervously, he waited for an answer as his insides shook with fear.

Still, Jarod pointed the 9mm at them. "Make it snappy, before I change my mind," he growled at Broots.

JMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMP

Jarod couldn't cry. He was beyond tears. His pains and emotions had turned off. With Miss Parker, all hours of crying had not been enough. Burke was worth all of the pain she felt. She was one who never seemed to have cared about anything or anyone, now, unable to hide behind her mask, she broke down. There was a time that all Jarod had to do was to hold her in her arms and her pains and sorrows would have disappeared. But, not this time. He was emotionless and watched her, never once had they tried to comfort each each. He wished for her pain to turn to numbness.

For a split second, as Miss Parker crumbled down to the floor, he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. But, only for just a second. How he would go on without her, was a question he quickly diminished in his thoughts. He hated her at that very instant for being a "Parker", for everything she was to him and especially hated himself for still loving her.

JMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMP

Lyle held a sleeping Burke in his arms when Jarod kicked the door open. Startled, unable to move, he saw his son snuggled in the comfort of that psycho's arms. The baby let out a cry.

"Shh," Lyle cuddled him. Slowly, he rocked the baby back and forth and quieted him down immediately. "Your daddy's here."

He took several slow steps towards Jarod, unsure of the pretender's sudden move, he stopped, then continued. "He's a good boy. I-I fed him, changed his diaper. I rocked him to sleep." Lyle handed Burke to his father. "He's a good baby. They made me do it. I may be a lot of things, Jarod, but, I would never harm a child."

Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots along with the police arrived a couple of minutes later.

"You, bastard! Did you hurt him, huh? Did you?" She slapped her other half across the face, not once, but twice. The "ice queen" attacked her brother. With all of her strength, she grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. With the help of Sydney and Broots, they pried her away from her twin.

"Tell her, Jarod. I took great care of him."

"He did." It was all he had said.

"So, you're condoning to what he had done?" Parker hollered at Jarod.

"He's fine." He looked down at his son and not at Miss Parker. "You want to hold him or not?"

This time her cries were of happiness. "I've been so worried about you. Mommy's been so worried about you." She walked away from the commotion and cradled Burke tightly. "Thought I'd never see you again. I'm so sorry, very sorry. I should have taken better care of you. I promise you, nothing like this will ever happen to you again. Those bad guys at "The Centre" will all go to jail. Oh, my baby! Finally, I've got you in my arms again. I'm never letting you go."

Jarod joined her in the corner. His demeanor had changed from a madman to cool, calm and collected.

"Parker, I meant what I said. I don't want you in our lives anymore." His voice was soft.

"What?" Her tears of happiness turned to heartbreak.

"I'll never be able to forgive you for all of this. I've forgiven you for a lot of things, but, not this. Not when it concerns my son's life."

"I need both of you in my life. Don't you know that? And I'm not giving up without a fight. You're not taking him away from me!" She yelled for all to hear. "It would be so easy to just walk away. But, Burke made me love him! He needed me as much as I needed him!"

"Lower your voice. You're frightening him. Kiss him one last time before we leave."

"No. Please don't do this to me. I'm the only mother he knows. He's mine." She hugged him possessively and protectively like a mama bear shielding her cubs away from danger.

"No, Parker, you're forgetting. He's mine. He was never yours."

"I didn't give birth to him. I know who's name is on that birth certificate, but, I'm his mother! Don't you understand? Jarod?"

"What happened to the Miss Parker I knew? The one who never cared about anyone else but herself. I worried you could never love anyone to your fullest. Now, I worry what you feel for the baby is much too much. You have changed. But..."

"But, what? I can't see him anymore? I'm just supposed to pretend he never existed in my life? I don't do pretends as well as you do! When I failed, you saved me. You made me trust you. You made me believe in you. Sometimes the best things in life are the ones you least expect. I never expected you and the baby in my life. I love you! I love the both of you!"

"I can't. It's not a matter of love. There's no "us" anymore, Miss Parker."

JMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMP

Jarod stared into his son's eyes, his beautiful dark eyelashes fluttered back at his father. He looked up from his crib and looked around as if awaiting for Parker to enter his room. It had been nearly a week since he saw his mommy. And on those first three days, she called, each time it had always been the same heartbreaking answer.

"Not a good time, Parker. We'll see. I'll think about it." Jarod said repeatedly, then hung up.

She hadn't called since then. Jarod had begun to feel uncomfortably worried. There was no way, she would suddenly cut herself out of Burke's life. She possibly couldn't have just stopped loving the baby. But, then, he made it clear to her that she was not welcomed in his home or their life ever again.

"Where is your mommy?" He spoke to Burke like he understood every work that had been said to him. "You think mommy would mine if we paid her a visit? Show her how much you've grown in just a week." Jarod picked him up. "Would you like that? To go see her? Your mommy?"

At the sound of mommy, he wiggled in his daddy's arms and smiled. "Let's go put on that baseball cap of yours from her, okay? She'll be happy to see you. And don't you worry, she definitely loves you. It's me, that she doesn't. Afterall, I did push her over the edge. She'll surely shoot me with her Smith and Wesson. No, wait, I still have it with me. Whew! Don't want her shooting your old man, do you?"

Burke looked at his father innocently. "Don't look at me like that. Okay, okay. So, it's my fault. You know, you do say things to the ones you love when you're angry with each other. But, not like the things I told her. I was really cruel. So glad you can't talk yet, you'd give me a tongue-lashing like your mommy."

JMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMPJMP

Miss Parker hung on to a picture of the three of them. Her fingers traced the outline of their faces. She smiled a sad smile. This was once her family. They were no more, but only a piece of lifeless portrait framed in sterling silver. Her world had been turned upside down. Everything inside of her died. She'd awaken in the middle of the night in a cold, panic sweat and cried out loud, then, muffled her cries into her pillow.

Jarod and Burke were the centre of her world. She reminisced back of how it felt when Jarod had loved her. It magnified her pain.

TBC - Chapter 8