I do not own Pretender. No profit is made off of this, it’s strictly for entertainment.

He didn’t hear that. She is serious? He couldn’t believe after six years out there, she even said it. Fine, if she said it in his first coming year, at least it was an unknown variable, how he would handle extra stimulation in his environment.

But. Six. Years. That wasn’t even a viable excuse! But the way she said it. “Well. I think that I’m more dangerous inside The Centre, being used, against my own will, for Sims that go out and hurt people. Kill people. So, the logic is a little lost on me since I’ve been out here for six years helping society. Helping others.” He dropped the donut bag on the ground. “I’ve helped anyone I could out here! I’ve helped atone what I could for my Sims. I helped dads keep kids. Moms keep kids. Men and women, find their way back to a happy life. Avenging deaths of hate. Showing others how to live when they felt lost and alone. I did everything I could, more than anyone else with my abilities would bother doing! I did it, by using my pretending skills. So, if you could explain that ridiculous phrase you just spouted out at me, then do it!”

Done. He felt so done. He never gave up. On anyone. On anything. How? How was he supposed to be able to raise his kids, his family, with her? She was their mom, it was true. She deserved to be there, it was true, but-! “How are you gonna put our kids to bed each night, telling them you think I’m dangerous, and that I’m going to go crazy on them one day?”

It wasn’t going to work.

It just wasn’t going to work. “You know I’m not dangerous. Parker, I even saved your father once! The man who locked me away from my family, I saved him for you!” And his family. “I was fine as a kid, out here, in society. I wasn’t dangerous to it. The Centre stole me, stole me from my family and locked me away into that environment!” How? How?

She would never change. She was so psychologically damaged over the years, she would never come back. And he knew it. He knew it. He just let himself, just for a little while, pretend that she could.

That somehow, they could work this all out. But if his family stayed with her, she could turn the children against him. Eventually get him caught. Convince them he was ‘dangerous’.

To pull them away from her though . . . it would break her heart, and it would be the end of his atonement.

“Pretenders are dangerous and don’t belong in society. You’re slow with the change, and I don’t know why, Jarod!”

Hm? He watched her turn around.

“Pretenders have thrived at The Centre since it began, and the ones that did escape, every single one of them, their minds shattered, Jarod.” She rolled her eyes. “In The Centre, with limited stimuli, with focus and control, you aren’t  dangerous. When a Pretender makes it out here too long, their minds unravel and they Pretend themselves into something so deep that they can’t make it back out.”

 “I know, but after six years you still thought that?” It was insane for her to think that.

“Not thought, think. No Pretender. Stays out here. Sane. Forever.”

Wait? “I’m not slowly changing. I’m not going to go crazy, period.”

She turned back to look at the garden. “We have access to the older generations of Pretenders, and how they acted. That’s why The Centre is so difficult to escape. That’s why even a man as soft as  Broots was okay at trying to find you and putting you back in. That’s why Sydney was torn between letting you go and bringing you back. Everyone thought that you would curb your ‘saving people’ to ‘making them pay’.”

Crazy. Even Sydney? No, he knows better. And Mister Broots? Well . . . he did grab a spoon . . . he said ‘don’t kill me’. That. Could it?

“Of course, things were ran different back then. It wasn’t plexiglass and good teachers, it was guards and metal and darkness. More like a dark fortress ran by an evil wizard.” She just sighed. “Then you just had to pull out the secrets of my mother. Red Files. Gemini. Even Ethan. I couldn’t walk away, none of us could.”

“You’re expecting me to go insane, still?” Jarod asked. “Well, I’m not, and I’ll tell you why.” This time, he tried to say it with a smile. Work with it, no matter how simple the concept was to see. Act like she’s a child, learning her ABC’s. He picked his bag of donuts off the ground. None of them had fallen out or got dirty.  “The ones who escaped, their minds were overwhelmed by all of the increased stimulation at once, and they didn’t know how to get away,” Jarod said. “I don’t have that problem. I isolate myself. When I give myself time, and let my mind wander specifically into one direction, I’m fine.”

“What? You mean, all the nutty things you’re doing between places that make it look like you’ve gone nuts . . . actually keep you sane?” She was starting to put it together. “It’s not all just to play with us? I don’t buy it.”

How could she not buy it? “Sometimes, sometimes not,” he admitted. “Besides, I like that time,” he still smiled. “Isolating myself into my own conscience, not by physical walls of The Centre, and going my own way, not the way anyone wanted to make me go. Six years later, I’m still here. Still happy.”  He held out the donuts, wiggling the bag, one more time. One more shot. “Still offering donuts?”

Miss Parker’s stance was still hard, but finally her body relaxed as she walked over to him. “Fine. Maybe you’re not going crazy . . . but I feel like I might be.” She took a donut out of the bag and walked away. “I’m still here. For now.”

How many times had she seen my isolation afterwards? Even Sydney understood. How could she not?

Miss Parker wasn’t stupid, but how did she believe that statement after six years? “Wait. Speaking of isolation.” He walked toward her and gave her the bag. “Stay on the ground floor a couple of days, and don’t bother me upstairs for anything unless it’s important. And I don’t mean a crashing personal problem, I’m talking lives on the line.”

She looked up to the whole second floor from the outside.“You’re going to get all funkadelic up there, aren’t you?” She looked toward the bag. “Don’t you usually do that while you’re learning skills?” She raised an eyebrow. She huffed. “You were only here to check me out, weren’t you?”

Intelligent. Yes, he was there just to check her out. And yes, he did get all ‘funkadelic’ when he was learning his skills. So how did she know all that, and still believe the excuse she just gave him?   “I’ll see you Thursday.”

“You gone and undisturbed, I could slip away right underneath your nose,” she said curiously.

“You might.” But, he didn’t see or sense anything that told him she would. And, it was necessary. He needed time away, time to let his mind work and all social sensory to stop. He loved the world, and all the interaction, but his mind also needed a sense of peace.

He needed that time. Even if I did have to take them away, I couldn’t watch them. Without isolation time . . .

He gestured toward the donut bag. “There’s a little money in there too. You can go grocery shopping, or just go out. Don’t go nuts though, that’s all you’re getting.”

“I’ll try and contain myself.” She looked inside. “Ooh, a whole hundred. I’m ready for multiple shopping sprees,” she said sarcastically.

He reached in his pocket and put in another hundred. “Different area, different clothes too.”

“I am still the girlfriend who’s pregnant?” She looked in the bag one more time. “Ooh, a manila envelope. Nevermind.”

“I’ll see you Thursday morning,” he said chipperly as he went off.

And then the phone rang. Sydney. The one call a month was getting to be more frequent. He understood it, of course, Miss Parker was in a new and fragile situation. Still. “What.”

“Jarod? Is Miss Parker rubbing off on you that much?”

Oh. His annoyance peeked through there. “I can’t talk for a few days, Sydney. Remember? I have to go be by myself. It keeps me from going crazy.”

“I know that, Jarod.”

Then why didn’t she?

“Jarod, it’s important that someone speaks to Miss Parker.”

What a surprise. “The more you use something, the more chance it’ll be found out. Then, I’ll have to work extra hard to find a way to set this back up.” But, he stopped talking as he heard a light cough behind him. It was female. Young girl. “Who needs to speak to her?”

“Debbie. And, Miss Parker is going to be furious at you if you turn her away right now.”

Great. Broots’ daughter now wanted to talk to Miss Parker. “How many people know about this phone?”

“Jarod.”

“This is putting me more behind, Sydney,” Jarod complained.

“A lot of things are bound to change in your life, Jarod. It’s inevitable. If you have to go, then you should let Miss Parker hold the phone. She still needs to stay in communication with her old life. Completely cutting it off will only make her grow further apart.”

Jarod took a deep breath and handed the phone to Miss Parker. If it was life or death, Sydney would have explained it. What a little girl wanted to say to Miss Parker, he had no clue. But, he couldn’t ignore Sydney’s advice. “For you.”

“For me? You mean I don’t have to steal it away when you’re not looking?” She took the phone. “What.”

Then, he saw it. What he dreamed of seeing. Ungarnished by a disguise or just a need to act. The edges of her mouth curled ever so gently and her eyes lit up.

“Debbie,” she said. “How are you?” He watched her expression fall into something else. Surprise? Nostalgia? “Ah. Yes.” She pulled the phone from her mouth and waved Jarod away. “Go do your anti-nuts thing that makes you look even nuttier already. Girl talk.” She focused back on the phone. “Well, it won’t be the easiest thing in the world to tell Broots, but you’re going to have to.” She waved him away again, and then rolled her eyes. “Don’t. Don’t be scared. Broots is going to pace up and down and go a little nuts when he found out you had your period, but it won’t be that bad.”

Oh. Guess there was a reason for calling. Sydney’s right. If she needs it, she’d either come up and steal it or leave the house for a phone. “Keep the phone with you,” he decided as he started to walk away. Less of a chance of him being disturbed by it anyway.

“Me? Oh no, my momma already passed when I had mine. No, it wasn’t easy. Sydney and Mister Raines were both called down there, and daddy demanded blood tests to make sure everything was on the up and up before ‘the situation was resolved to the best of his abilities’,” she laughed on the phone. “Funny now. Mortifying back then.”

Jarod couldn’t help a small smile as he walked away. Small things in everyday life. She was almost completely out of ear shot, but he looked back one more time. He just wanted to see her with that smile again. He had no idea that a phone call was going to let him see that. It was the first time he’d seen it since he watched her with Thomas Gates.

Debbie apparently meant as much, if not more, than Thomas had meant to her.

----------------------

Broots’ Home

“Thank you, Sydney,” Debbie said to him. She curled her fingers on top of each other. “I think I can do this now.”

“Hm. I will leave your home soon then,” Sydney said with a smile. “You are an incredibly wonderful girl, and you can do this. It’s just another step in life.” As she left the room though, Sydney thought back to that day Miss Parker started her period. It was not something that he wanted to leave on a Saturday night to discuss with Mister Parker.

It was more than nerves though, Mister Parker was thorough. Although he was nervous about how much his ‘Angel’ was growing up, in fact the next day visiting even Jarod . . . it was more than that.

Sydney rubbed his bottom lip. Debbie was certainly at an age when she could start, and she did complain about cramps and what to do with Miss Parker on the phone. But.

Mister Parker was cautious.

Sydney leaned back in his seat, thinking. They were only making things up about Debbie to keep Broots quiet. She’s been fine. Hasn’t she? He looked toward her one more time.

He dismissed the thought away. It took them six months for Jarod to discover it was a trick. They were only giving her vitamins, she’d been fine. Even Jarod never thought twice about it, and Jarod never let anything stay unturned.

No. It was just a natural part of a growing young ladies’ life. Best not to get anyone antsy. But, still. A little precaution went a long way. “Do you mind coming with me for a little while, Debbie? When bodies change, sometimes other things happen to.”

She looked surprised. “You mean something could be wrong with me?”

“Not likely, but your whole body is changing, and sometimes there are unexpected side effects.” He smiled. “If I can take a simple blood test, I promise I will make it back up to you. Besides,” he said. “Your father is at work, and he’s going to question where I am at anyhow. Meet life head on, dear.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay, Sydney. I can do this.”

----------------------------

Centre Leader’s Room

“Sir. We have some news about Mister Broots.”

“What,” Raines said. “It better be important.”

“His daughter started her menstrual cycle, sir.”

“Oh?”

“And Sydney is insisting on a blood analysis.”

“Oh.” That was important. While Jarod had future children on his mind, and the hell of having Miss Parker tag along, he was too busy to see it.

But Sydney wasn’t. “He must be being extra cautious because of what happened to Miss Parker.” If Sydney found something, he didn’t have six months. “This is troubling news.”

“It could be, sir.”

Raines got up and wheeled his oxygen tank to the office room’s secret safe, for the leader of The Centre only. Inside was a DSA case. “A child’s body, so unpredictable.” He sighed. “I have no choice. We are turning the heat up to smoke out Miss Parker.”

“What about the Pretender, Sir?”

“With Lyle’s scheduling, and whatever Triumvirate drug they concocted, there isn’t time to play ‘get Jarod to trust’.” He wheezed as he brought the DSA case out. “I didn’t want to use this. It’s a one-time card.”

“Oh.” The guard looked toward him. “Is that her mother, Sir?”

“No,” Raines said. “She wished. Set up an appointment with Sydney and Broots. I have to start this fire.” He breathed harder. “Give Jarod back his old room when he gets here. Be ready to quickly stock it with every drug the Triumvirate’s worked on. Give him any kind of ingredient he wants that is medicinal. Nothing else. Have all security ready on his room again, including standing guards.”

“But, sir? You wanted a new room, with everything that looked the same?”

“When he’s done, he’ll be moved. Until then, he’s not going anywhere.”

“Sir?”

“Not unless he wants to lose the chance the ‘young lady’ is going to die. All the potions, test tubes, and everything else will be distributed at 8 AM and be picked up at 11:59 PM. If there’s a way to find the cure, he will.” He wheezed. “If not, oh well.”

“Oh. Then, Broots, sir?”

“If Jarod saves his daughter, his death would be a waste considering his skills. Perhaps, Broots would become even more loyal to The Centre.” Yes, he might. If The Centre discovered the problem so early . . . hmm.

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