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Author's Note: The part you have all been waiting for...
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Ben's Home, Maine
Monday March 9
Miss Parker had been sitting in the gazebo for close to an hour staring at nothing while her mind sought peace from the thoughts racing through her mind. When she had first arrived she had sat with Ben and talked about her mother. She wanted to know if he remembered anything more about her mother, unfortunately nothing came to mind. She avoided talking about current Centre dealings because it only made her think of Jarod, something she didn't want to think about quite yet. 'Why can't I just tell him that I have feelings for him? Oh that's right I've been chasing him for five years! What's gotten into me? As if he could have feelings for me now…'
Behind a withdrawn Miss Parker a gentle voice was heard, "I want you."
The voice startled Miss Parker, she wasn't expecting to hear any voice, least of all his. "What?" she asked him as she jumped up and turned around facing Jarod.
"I said I want you," Jarod still didn't see any reaction on Miss Parker's face. "Miss Parker, I want you. I've always wanted you."
Miss Parker closed her eyes as the words set in, 'He still wants me!' When she opened her eyes, her eyes were glistening with tears. Jarod neared her as he saw the tears form in her eyes. A sense of relief was heard in her voice as she spoke, "Jarod I want you too. And I'm sorry for everything I've done or said that has hurt you."
As Jarod learned that his feelings weren't unrequited a sense of relief hit his entire body. He was now standing directly in front of her and reached for her hands and held them both between their chests as he drew even closer. "I'm sorry for all I've done that has hurt you as well. What happened to us Miss Parker? We used to be such good friends…" Tears were now welling in his own eyes as he recalled what had once been.
"I know, I know… Jarod let's forget about the past tonight. Tonight I just want you, I want you to hold me." Jarod wrapped his arms around Miss Parker and held her close, he held her so closely that he could not distinguish his own heart's beating from hers. "I don't want to be alone anymore Jarod."
"You won't be Miss Parker, not anymore. I'm here for you now and I will always be here for you." His hands gently held her head as he looked deeply into her eyes, he saw the child he once knew grown up and a woman now. He tilted her head down as he lightly kissed her on the forehead, "I'm not leaving Miss Parker."
Miss Parker looked into his deep brown eyes and saw the love he had for her. She then leaned forward tilting her head up and kissed him passionately. In that kiss over thirty years of pent up feelings and emotions were released.
Jarod pulled back from the embrace after several long passionate moments. "I've always loved you Miss Parker."
The mention of love for her caught Miss Parker off guard momentarily, even though she had seen it in his eyes. Miss Parker though recalled all her actions to Jarod, especially those of the last five years, she was ashamed of herself. 'How can he love me after all I've done?' "Why Jarod?" Jarod looked at her and was shocked by her question? Didn't she feel the same way? Miss Parker saw the pained and questioning look on his face and continued on, "Jarod what I mean is how can you love me after all this time? After everything I've done to you?"
Jarod then recognized what was bothering Miss Parker, she did not feel she deserved the kind of love he was offering. "Miss Parker, when we were children you were my best friend. And even though for a long time we never saw each other, I never forgot you…"
"That's just it Jarod… are you in love with the little girl I used to be? Because I'm not her anymore." Tears were welling anew in her eyes.
Jarod wiped the tears from her face gently. He decided to be completely honest with her, "Three weeks ago I thought that was true. I didn't think that the little girl in you existed any more, but I was hurt and angry then. I wasn't seeing clearly. But I know that she is in you, and she has grown into a beautiful woman. You've been denied so much in your life that it affected you. But I can see in your eyes that she wants to get out."
The tears were now coming out of her eyes in full force, "But Jarod you were denied so much more than I was and look at you! You are always trying to help others, even when they don't deserve it, like me. You're not bitter and hateful like me! How can you love me?"
"Because I believe in you Christiana Parker and I love you no matter how undeserving you may think you are. There is no one I would rather bestow my love on than you. I love you Miss Parker. I love who you were, who you are, and what you can become. I love you now and that is what matters."
Miss Parker looked through her tears deeply into Jarod's and saw the passion he was speaking with. She saw the deep and profound love he had for her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head downwards and began to shake her head. She quietly spoke to herself, "I must be the luckiest girl in the world right now."
"What was that?" he asked her as he gently lifted her head.
She continued to shake her head before she opened her eyes and looked into his. "Thank you Jarod… I love you too Jarod." She then pulled him into another kiss.
Later that night, "Look up there." Jarod's hand then pointed at a shooting star he saw streaking through the sky.
"Make a wish Jarod," she told him as she first looked into the night sky before turning her head to look at his face that was still following the star.
To any other pair of eyes, one would have thought the pair had been in a relationship and in love for years, which wasn't far off the mark. Jarod sat against the base of a maple tree, his arms wrapped around the reclining form of Miss Parker that lay against his own chest. Their fingers interlocked and played with each other under the night sky.
Jarod then looked down into her face and spoke, "I already got my wish." He then reached over and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.
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Tuesday March 10
Early evening
"Jarod what's going to happen to us?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the Centre. What are we going to do about them?"
Jarod turned to look at her and saw the fear in her eyes. "We can disappear without a trace. They'll never find us."
A small smile crept across her lips, "There is nothing more I would like to do," her face then turned serious, "but I don't want to live in fear of the Centre. I don't want to be constantly looking over my shoulder thinking that that time they may just be there."
"Actually, I've been working on something that'll put the Centre, and the Triumvirate out of commission for good."
With hope in her eyes she questioned him further, "You do? How?"
Jarod had a pensive look on his face and didn't reply immediately. After a few moments of silence and thinking he looked up at Miss Parker with a glean in his eyes, "First we make a few phone calls. You need to call your father first and tell him that you're going to be staying up here for the rest of the week. Then we're going to go to somewhere else where some friends are going to meet us."
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Wednesday March 11
Early afternoon.
Miss Parker stepped out of the car and looked at the dock they had arrived to. She questioningly looked over at Jarod who was coming to the rear of the vehicle and opening the trunk. "Just help me unload the car now. We need to stock up the boat before everyone else arrives."
"Which reminds me, you haven't told me who we're meeting here."
"It's a surprise Miss Parker!" he told her with a smirk on his face as he handed her a box of supplies. Miss Parker just glared at him before a smile broke out on her face. Jarod grabbed another box of supplies and headed down the dock, "Come on the boat's this way."
They walked down the dock and when Jarod boarded a boat, a trailing Miss Parker paused and looked at the boat's name, 'First Starry Night', before joining Jarod aboard the boat. After dropping off her box she took a tour of the boat as Jarod tended to the boat. She called out to him as she neared the end of the tour, "Nice boat! How many people can this hold?"
"Fifteen. I'm going to go get some more stuff from the car, you care to help?"
At that moment Miss Parker walked into the room where Jarod was and sneaked up behind him wrapping her arms around his waist, "Yes, and I love your boat." Jarod turned as he felt her arms and smiled down at her and then gave her a quick kiss before leading her off the boat.
They made several more trips and Miss Parker was down in the galley tending to food stuffs and Jarod on the deck tending to the boat when their visitors arrived. When Jarod saw them walking down the deck he smiled and yelled into one of the doorways to Miss Parker telling her that some of their guests had arrived. Jarod was already on the dock walking to meet his guest when Miss Parker appeared on the deck to see who had arrived. When she saw Sydney and his family walking, a large smile broke across her face and she jumped off the boat and ran down the dock to meet Sydney.
"Sydney!" she yelled as she ran to him and hugged him. Surprising herself and everyone else since she had tears in her eyes. "God it's so good to see you!"
Sydney returned the embrace the way a father would to a daughter he had not seen in years. "Miss Parker I'm sorry about the secrecy, but there's no need for you to go yelling and announcing to the world that I am alive," he told her with a smile on his face.
"I should hate you and Jarod for what you did, but I'm just so glad to see you alive!"
"It's good to see you too Miss Parker, and I truly am sorry that I could not tell you. I hope you understand." Miss Parker nodded her head. When she was at Ben's home before Jarod had arrived she had reconciled herself to the fact that Sydney had done what was necessary and that she had no right to be mad at him. He had suffered as much as she had. "Hello Jarod."
"Hello Sydney! Good to see you." He too embraced his former mentor and then greeted both Michelle and Nicholas.
Michelle was the next to speak, "Jarod, we can't thank you enough for what you did for us. We're forever indebted to you." Miss Parker looked at Michelle as she expressed her gratitude and saw for the first time what motivated Jarod in his pretends.
"It was nothing. Besides we're not out of the clear yet, hopefully after the next few days we'll be closer to that goal."
As they boarded the boat and loaded their bags the next guests arrived. When Miss Parker saw who it was she was utterly shocked. She couldn't believe her eyes, neither could the individuals who were about to board the boat but stopped when they saw her.
At that moment Jarod stepped out from inside and a smile spread across his face as he saw who had just arrived. "Dad! Julian! How are you?" He excitedly walked over to them as he saw them. He noticed that they were not as excited as he was at the moment. He saw their faces and then looked to where their gazes were falling and then understood. "It's okay you guys. She's with us, and more importantly she's with me!" he said the last part looking back at Miss Parker with a warm smile on his face.
Apprehension was still evident on the Major's and Julian's face, less so on Julian's since he recalled how nice she had been at Donoterase. "Jarod are you sure? I mean she works for the Centre?"
Jarod grabbed both their arms and practically pulled them aboard the boat as he spoke, "Dad she's with us. We love each other." At that both the Major and Julian looked at Jarod with shock on their faces and then turned to Miss Parker who composed herself and then walked up behind Jarod and held his hand, more for her own reassurances than to reassure the audience.
"I know this must be a shock for you both. And Major Charles I'm sure you must hate me for all that has happened to Jarod, but please forgive me. I do love Jarod. I'm not hunting Jarod down anymore. I want to be free of that place as much as you do, that's why we called you and whoever else Jarod called, to bring the Centre down and get them out of our lives forever." 'They're never going to trust me. What was Jarod thinking?' She then squeezed his hand searching for strength.
Major Charles still had a skeptical look on his face as he spoke, "I'm sorry Miss Parker it's just that it's hard for me to accept the fact that the two of you are in love with each other even though you have been chasing him for the past five years or so." His demeanor changed though as he spoke and looked into their faces, "but I can see that you two really do love each other." He paused again before continuing, "Well if Jarod trusts you Miss Parker, then so will I."
A look of relief came over Miss Parker's face. Taking the cue from his father Julian then introduced himself. "Hello Miss Parker. The name is Julian now."
She looked down at the boy that so reminded her off the young Jarod she grew up with. "Hi Julian, it's nice to see you again. How've you been?"
"I'm doing great. It's amazing everything that is out here in the real world!"
"Yeah it is isn't it Julian?"
"Miss Parker do you mind if I steal my son for a few moments?"
Miss Parker looked at Jarod and squeezed his hand before letting go, "No not at all. Julian come on, let's go take a tour of the boat shall we."
Major Charles and Jarod watched as the pair walked into the boat. "Jarod what happened?"
"Dad, come on give her a chance will you? She was and is just as much a prisoner of the Centre as I was."
"Come on though, you were taken from us, her family runs that place. And she's spent the past five years chasing you to take you back there." Major Charles was still having a hard time coming to terms with this.
"Yes she did chase me but remember her mom tried to get me out of there. Miss Parker is like her mother, it was just deep down in her. I had to go searching for that part, and now that we've found it she's coming out. She wants to be free of that place as much as I do."
"Even though her father still runs the place."
"Yes even though her father still runs the place. She's come to realize that it takes more to being a father than just providing the seed. That man has lied to her his entire life, she sees that now. Besides, he may not be her father after all. While we were in Maine with Ben Miller, she wanted to know for sure who her father was, so we took some blood to run some paternity tests. We should find out by tomorrow morning if Ben is her father. Will you please just give her a chance? She's the woman I love, I've loved her since we were children. She won't betray me now."
"How can you be so sure of her?"
"Because I've looked into her eyes dad. She wants to see the Centre destroyed as much as the rest of us. Besides we need her for what I have in mind. Just give her a chance, she really is a wonderful person."
Major Charles looked hard at his son trying to see if he was crazy, but he wasn't. His son was the epitome of sanity at the moment. "All right, it's just that it's hard to see her with you."
"I understand… How've you been?"
"Pretty good. Julian and I had some rough spots when we were first together, but then after awhile it improved. He's a good kid you know?"
"I figured as much. So where have you two been hiding out? I've been looking for you both for a while. Broots was able to locate you guys just two weeks ago which is when I contacted you."
"Broots?"
"He used to work for the Centre. Calm down dad, not anymore though. His daughter and another ex-employee's, Sam, son were kidnapped by the Centre in a trap to get me back. When I got them their children back over a year ago they left, and I've been helping them stay away ever since. They'll both be joining us shortly. Don't worry about them dad, they're the good guys now. So where have you two been?"
"Okay… we went up to Canada for awhile. And then we headed down over to California. He loved California, learned how to surf and all. He's actually pretty good at it." Major Charles looked at his son and wondered what life musts have been like for him since his escape, having to discover the world alone. "It's good to see you Jarod."
"It's good to see you too dad."
The next conspirators to show up were Broots and Debbie, then Sam with Tyler and Simone, and lastly Steve Daniels. As soon as Steve showed up they got under away to their destination that only Jarod knew.
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Author's Note: I'll be honest with you all now (at least to most of those who have been giving me feedback), I really considered making you all wait for a long time to read this after posting the last chapter. You guys need to have a little faith, I mean seriously, Jarod and Miss Parker are meant to be together! Anyone who thinks otherwise isn't a fan of the Pretender and apparently never watched any of the shows and saw the tension between them! As I said a few chapters ago, Marie was created and used as a vehicle for the progression of this story. Without her, Parker never would have acted wrecklessly and revealed to herself how she really felt... I don't think she would have done it any other way. Anyways, I'll post some more chapters in the near future.
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Ben's Home, Maine
Monday March 9
Miss Parker had been sitting in the gazebo for close to an hour staring at nothing while her mind sought peace from the thoughts racing through her mind. When she had first arrived she had sat with Ben and talked about her mother. She wanted to know if he remembered anything more about her mother, unfortunately nothing came to mind. She avoided talking about current Centre dealings because it only made her think of Jarod, something she didn't want to think about quite yet. 'Why can't I just tell him that I have feelings for him? Oh that's right I've been chasing him for five years! What's gotten into me? As if he could have feelings for me now…'
Behind a withdrawn Miss Parker a gentle voice was heard, "I want you."
The voice startled Miss Parker, she wasn't expecting to hear any voice, least of all his. "What?" she asked him as she jumped up and turned around facing Jarod.
"I said I want you," Jarod still didn't see any reaction on Miss Parker's face. "Miss Parker, I want you. I've always wanted you."
Miss Parker closed her eyes as the words set in, 'He still wants me!' When she opened her eyes, her eyes were glistening with tears. Jarod neared her as he saw the tears form in her eyes. A sense of relief was heard in her voice as she spoke, "Jarod I want you too. And I'm sorry for everything I've done or said that has hurt you."
As Jarod learned that his feelings weren't unrequited a sense of relief hit his entire body. He was now standing directly in front of her and reached for her hands and held them both between their chests as he drew even closer. "I'm sorry for all I've done that has hurt you as well. What happened to us Miss Parker? We used to be such good friends…" Tears were now welling in his own eyes as he recalled what had once been.
"I know, I know… Jarod let's forget about the past tonight. Tonight I just want you, I want you to hold me." Jarod wrapped his arms around Miss Parker and held her close, he held her so closely that he could not distinguish his own heart's beating from hers. "I don't want to be alone anymore Jarod."
"You won't be Miss Parker, not anymore. I'm here for you now and I will always be here for you." His hands gently held her head as he looked deeply into her eyes, he saw the child he once knew grown up and a woman now. He tilted her head down as he lightly kissed her on the forehead, "I'm not leaving Miss Parker."
Miss Parker looked into his deep brown eyes and saw the love he had for her. She then leaned forward tilting her head up and kissed him passionately. In that kiss over thirty years of pent up feelings and emotions were released.
Jarod pulled back from the embrace after several long passionate moments. "I've always loved you Miss Parker."
The mention of love for her caught Miss Parker off guard momentarily, even though she had seen it in his eyes. Miss Parker though recalled all her actions to Jarod, especially those of the last five years, she was ashamed of herself. 'How can he love me after all I've done?' "Why Jarod?" Jarod looked at her and was shocked by her question? Didn't she feel the same way? Miss Parker saw the pained and questioning look on his face and continued on, "Jarod what I mean is how can you love me after all this time? After everything I've done to you?"
Jarod then recognized what was bothering Miss Parker, she did not feel she deserved the kind of love he was offering. "Miss Parker, when we were children you were my best friend. And even though for a long time we never saw each other, I never forgot you…"
"That's just it Jarod… are you in love with the little girl I used to be? Because I'm not her anymore." Tears were welling anew in her eyes.
Jarod wiped the tears from her face gently. He decided to be completely honest with her, "Three weeks ago I thought that was true. I didn't think that the little girl in you existed any more, but I was hurt and angry then. I wasn't seeing clearly. But I know that she is in you, and she has grown into a beautiful woman. You've been denied so much in your life that it affected you. But I can see in your eyes that she wants to get out."
The tears were now coming out of her eyes in full force, "But Jarod you were denied so much more than I was and look at you! You are always trying to help others, even when they don't deserve it, like me. You're not bitter and hateful like me! How can you love me?"
"Because I believe in you Christiana Parker and I love you no matter how undeserving you may think you are. There is no one I would rather bestow my love on than you. I love you Miss Parker. I love who you were, who you are, and what you can become. I love you now and that is what matters."
Miss Parker looked through her tears deeply into Jarod's and saw the passion he was speaking with. She saw the deep and profound love he had for her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head downwards and began to shake her head. She quietly spoke to herself, "I must be the luckiest girl in the world right now."
"What was that?" he asked her as he gently lifted her head.
She continued to shake her head before she opened her eyes and looked into his. "Thank you Jarod… I love you too Jarod." She then pulled him into another kiss.
Later that night, "Look up there." Jarod's hand then pointed at a shooting star he saw streaking through the sky.
"Make a wish Jarod," she told him as she first looked into the night sky before turning her head to look at his face that was still following the star.
To any other pair of eyes, one would have thought the pair had been in a relationship and in love for years, which wasn't far off the mark. Jarod sat against the base of a maple tree, his arms wrapped around the reclining form of Miss Parker that lay against his own chest. Their fingers interlocked and played with each other under the night sky.
Jarod then looked down into her face and spoke, "I already got my wish." He then reached over and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.
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Tuesday March 10
Early evening
"Jarod what's going to happen to us?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the Centre. What are we going to do about them?"
Jarod turned to look at her and saw the fear in her eyes. "We can disappear without a trace. They'll never find us."
A small smile crept across her lips, "There is nothing more I would like to do," her face then turned serious, "but I don't want to live in fear of the Centre. I don't want to be constantly looking over my shoulder thinking that that time they may just be there."
"Actually, I've been working on something that'll put the Centre, and the Triumvirate out of commission for good."
With hope in her eyes she questioned him further, "You do? How?"
Jarod had a pensive look on his face and didn't reply immediately. After a few moments of silence and thinking he looked up at Miss Parker with a glean in his eyes, "First we make a few phone calls. You need to call your father first and tell him that you're going to be staying up here for the rest of the week. Then we're going to go to somewhere else where some friends are going to meet us."
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Wednesday March 11
Early afternoon.
Miss Parker stepped out of the car and looked at the dock they had arrived to. She questioningly looked over at Jarod who was coming to the rear of the vehicle and opening the trunk. "Just help me unload the car now. We need to stock up the boat before everyone else arrives."
"Which reminds me, you haven't told me who we're meeting here."
"It's a surprise Miss Parker!" he told her with a smirk on his face as he handed her a box of supplies. Miss Parker just glared at him before a smile broke out on her face. Jarod grabbed another box of supplies and headed down the dock, "Come on the boat's this way."
They walked down the dock and when Jarod boarded a boat, a trailing Miss Parker paused and looked at the boat's name, 'First Starry Night', before joining Jarod aboard the boat. After dropping off her box she took a tour of the boat as Jarod tended to the boat. She called out to him as she neared the end of the tour, "Nice boat! How many people can this hold?"
"Fifteen. I'm going to go get some more stuff from the car, you care to help?"
At that moment Miss Parker walked into the room where Jarod was and sneaked up behind him wrapping her arms around his waist, "Yes, and I love your boat." Jarod turned as he felt her arms and smiled down at her and then gave her a quick kiss before leading her off the boat.
They made several more trips and Miss Parker was down in the galley tending to food stuffs and Jarod on the deck tending to the boat when their visitors arrived. When Jarod saw them walking down the deck he smiled and yelled into one of the doorways to Miss Parker telling her that some of their guests had arrived. Jarod was already on the dock walking to meet his guest when Miss Parker appeared on the deck to see who had arrived. When she saw Sydney and his family walking, a large smile broke across her face and she jumped off the boat and ran down the dock to meet Sydney.
"Sydney!" she yelled as she ran to him and hugged him. Surprising herself and everyone else since she had tears in her eyes. "God it's so good to see you!"
Sydney returned the embrace the way a father would to a daughter he had not seen in years. "Miss Parker I'm sorry about the secrecy, but there's no need for you to go yelling and announcing to the world that I am alive," he told her with a smile on his face.
"I should hate you and Jarod for what you did, but I'm just so glad to see you alive!"
"It's good to see you too Miss Parker, and I truly am sorry that I could not tell you. I hope you understand." Miss Parker nodded her head. When she was at Ben's home before Jarod had arrived she had reconciled herself to the fact that Sydney had done what was necessary and that she had no right to be mad at him. He had suffered as much as she had. "Hello Jarod."
"Hello Sydney! Good to see you." He too embraced his former mentor and then greeted both Michelle and Nicholas.
Michelle was the next to speak, "Jarod, we can't thank you enough for what you did for us. We're forever indebted to you." Miss Parker looked at Michelle as she expressed her gratitude and saw for the first time what motivated Jarod in his pretends.
"It was nothing. Besides we're not out of the clear yet, hopefully after the next few days we'll be closer to that goal."
As they boarded the boat and loaded their bags the next guests arrived. When Miss Parker saw who it was she was utterly shocked. She couldn't believe her eyes, neither could the individuals who were about to board the boat but stopped when they saw her.
At that moment Jarod stepped out from inside and a smile spread across his face as he saw who had just arrived. "Dad! Julian! How are you?" He excitedly walked over to them as he saw them. He noticed that they were not as excited as he was at the moment. He saw their faces and then looked to where their gazes were falling and then understood. "It's okay you guys. She's with us, and more importantly she's with me!" he said the last part looking back at Miss Parker with a warm smile on his face.
Apprehension was still evident on the Major's and Julian's face, less so on Julian's since he recalled how nice she had been at Donoterase. "Jarod are you sure? I mean she works for the Centre?"
Jarod grabbed both their arms and practically pulled them aboard the boat as he spoke, "Dad she's with us. We love each other." At that both the Major and Julian looked at Jarod with shock on their faces and then turned to Miss Parker who composed herself and then walked up behind Jarod and held his hand, more for her own reassurances than to reassure the audience.
"I know this must be a shock for you both. And Major Charles I'm sure you must hate me for all that has happened to Jarod, but please forgive me. I do love Jarod. I'm not hunting Jarod down anymore. I want to be free of that place as much as you do, that's why we called you and whoever else Jarod called, to bring the Centre down and get them out of our lives forever." 'They're never going to trust me. What was Jarod thinking?' She then squeezed his hand searching for strength.
Major Charles still had a skeptical look on his face as he spoke, "I'm sorry Miss Parker it's just that it's hard for me to accept the fact that the two of you are in love with each other even though you have been chasing him for the past five years or so." His demeanor changed though as he spoke and looked into their faces, "but I can see that you two really do love each other." He paused again before continuing, "Well if Jarod trusts you Miss Parker, then so will I."
A look of relief came over Miss Parker's face. Taking the cue from his father Julian then introduced himself. "Hello Miss Parker. The name is Julian now."
She looked down at the boy that so reminded her off the young Jarod she grew up with. "Hi Julian, it's nice to see you again. How've you been?"
"I'm doing great. It's amazing everything that is out here in the real world!"
"Yeah it is isn't it Julian?"
"Miss Parker do you mind if I steal my son for a few moments?"
Miss Parker looked at Jarod and squeezed his hand before letting go, "No not at all. Julian come on, let's go take a tour of the boat shall we."
Major Charles and Jarod watched as the pair walked into the boat. "Jarod what happened?"
"Dad, come on give her a chance will you? She was and is just as much a prisoner of the Centre as I was."
"Come on though, you were taken from us, her family runs that place. And she's spent the past five years chasing you to take you back there." Major Charles was still having a hard time coming to terms with this.
"Yes she did chase me but remember her mom tried to get me out of there. Miss Parker is like her mother, it was just deep down in her. I had to go searching for that part, and now that we've found it she's coming out. She wants to be free of that place as much as I do."
"Even though her father still runs the place."
"Yes even though her father still runs the place. She's come to realize that it takes more to being a father than just providing the seed. That man has lied to her his entire life, she sees that now. Besides, he may not be her father after all. While we were in Maine with Ben Miller, she wanted to know for sure who her father was, so we took some blood to run some paternity tests. We should find out by tomorrow morning if Ben is her father. Will you please just give her a chance? She's the woman I love, I've loved her since we were children. She won't betray me now."
"How can you be so sure of her?"
"Because I've looked into her eyes dad. She wants to see the Centre destroyed as much as the rest of us. Besides we need her for what I have in mind. Just give her a chance, she really is a wonderful person."
Major Charles looked hard at his son trying to see if he was crazy, but he wasn't. His son was the epitome of sanity at the moment. "All right, it's just that it's hard to see her with you."
"I understand… How've you been?"
"Pretty good. Julian and I had some rough spots when we were first together, but then after awhile it improved. He's a good kid you know?"
"I figured as much. So where have you two been hiding out? I've been looking for you both for a while. Broots was able to locate you guys just two weeks ago which is when I contacted you."
"Broots?"
"He used to work for the Centre. Calm down dad, not anymore though. His daughter and another ex-employee's, Sam, son were kidnapped by the Centre in a trap to get me back. When I got them their children back over a year ago they left, and I've been helping them stay away ever since. They'll both be joining us shortly. Don't worry about them dad, they're the good guys now. So where have you two been?"
"Okay… we went up to Canada for awhile. And then we headed down over to California. He loved California, learned how to surf and all. He's actually pretty good at it." Major Charles looked at his son and wondered what life musts have been like for him since his escape, having to discover the world alone. "It's good to see you Jarod."
"It's good to see you too dad."
The next conspirators to show up were Broots and Debbie, then Sam with Tyler and Simone, and lastly Steve Daniels. As soon as Steve showed up they got under away to their destination that only Jarod knew.
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Author's Note: I'll be honest with you all now (at least to most of those who have been giving me feedback), I really considered making you all wait for a long time to read this after posting the last chapter. You guys need to have a little faith, I mean seriously, Jarod and Miss Parker are meant to be together! Anyone who thinks otherwise isn't a fan of the Pretender and apparently never watched any of the shows and saw the tension between them! As I said a few chapters ago, Marie was created and used as a vehicle for the progression of this story. Without her, Parker never would have acted wrecklessly and revealed to herself how she really felt... I don't think she would have done it any other way. Anyways, I'll post some more chapters in the near future.
