Las Vegas Borderline- Two days later

“Aw, come on,” Argyle complained as he saw the bright lights flashing in the window. “I was going the speed limit.”

“They know, Argyle,” his dad warned him. “Even just a little over, they know. You should be more careful, there’s a pregnant woman in this car. With twins, you know. You should know better.”

“I wasn’t speeding, pops.” Argyle insisted. It felt good to be back to his old car instead of that rental, and it felt much better almost being back home. And plane rides? Don’t get him started. At least it was almost all over.

And this was a pretty big favor. He didn’t feel like he had anything left on his conscious. Traveling across America to get Miss P out of harm’s way, it was pretty even to . . . trying to sell J-Man to The Centre. Getting him smacked in the face as Dick Dixon. Helping him from being toast with crime bosses. Getting him and his father honestly talking again. Even helped him save Mona. They were a good thing for a little while. Still, sort of. On and off problems. His dad was all over him to commit.

Argyle drummed on his steering wheel. Soon, it would all be behind him. As soon as he dealt with the flashing red lights. He reached for his credentials, already knowing the drill.

Instead he felt his car door open and he was being pulled away. “Whoah, hey! I might have gone over the speed limit a little bit, but no reason to do that.”

“Shouldn’t talk to police officers like that.”

“Uh?” Wait. “You uh . . .?”

The police officer lowered his finger. “Thank you.” There was that familiar smile. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Yeah. No problem,” Argyle said, noticing him. “Baby momma completely fine, nothing wrong at all.” He expected Jarod to keep moving.

“What do you mean no problems?”

“No problems.” He coasted his hand across himself. “Got through, safe as a breeze.”

Jarod didn’t look like he was backing down. “Argyle, what are you hiding?”

“Nothing big, ‘cause you and her aren’t a thing. She said that a lot. You know, you’re not a thing.” He tried to smile.

Jarod wasn’t.

“Oh, oh, hey? Promise, didn’t hurt a thing,” Argyle said. “Really, kids all safe and-“ He felt himself getting pushed back on his car. “What? She started it.”

“Argyle. What did you do with her?”

“Nothing much. She saw her enemy, and she took action,” Argyle said. “I didn’t never let anything else happen!”

Jarod sighed and let him go. “You just kissed her. She was using you as a shield.”

“How’d you know?”

“She’s good at shielding herself.” Jarod smiled at him again. “No biggie.”

“Really?” Argyle smiled. “Cause that woman was at the gas station for awhile, we must have made out like five minutes.”

“ . . . fine.”

“Really?” Argyle asked. Even through his disguise, he could tell it was bothering him. “Okay. But, you should probably watch her. She’s really wanting it bad, and if you like her?” He hit him playfully on his chest. “Then don’t let her go batting with another guy. Know what I mean, J-dog?”

“I gotta go.” Jarod didn’t answer. Argyle, she made out with Argyle? He could buy shielding, but the second part definitely didn’t make him happy. She wasn’t going to do anything while she was pregnant with his kids.

He went over to the passenger door, opened it up, and started to pull her out. She didn’t seem surprised.

“Officer,” she muttered. “If you intend on bringing me to your family, you can forget me going along peacefully.” She was holding her DSA case.

“Turn around.” He brought out some cuffs. She seemed disturbed for a second. “You’re coming with me, in a cop car? My family isn’t anywhere around. What’s wrong?”

She simply held her hands up, but didn’t answer. He cuffed her hands and brought her over to the car.

They were soon on their way out. Jarod reached in his pocket and gave her the keys.  She undid her cuffs. “Lyle took control of The Centre, as well as Broots.”

“Broots?” she asked.

“Lyle had a ‘temporary’ cure,” Jarod said. “Once a month, for the rest of her life. Which means Broots was his slave.”

“That little bastard.” She folded her arms. “I should’ve known. Broots must have seen him again.”

“My family got out,” Jarod said. “Broots had a connection to Ethan. He got us out, without looking like Broots helped. I also have Debbie now, and her treatment. It can be duplicated, but I need to find something long-term for her.” She was staring out the window. “There’s absolutely no way you can say ‘for now’. Lyle has control of The Centre. Raines is a whisper on the wind. Even Sydney can’t be found. I think Broots must have warned him before everything happened.”

“Where’s Debbie and Ethan?” Miss Parker asked.

“Safe. With my clone. He calls himself Gemini,” Jarod said. He pulled up next to another car. “Come on.” They both got out and headed for the other car. “You’ll see them soon.”

“I saw her.”

She was opening up about what she was hiding now? “Saw who?”

“I took a ride with a waitress at a small diner,” Miss Parker said as she got in the car with Jarod. “She played Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses as we drove to a hospital. I dressed as a nurse, helping her with her rounds, and she drove me right back to the diner.”

What? “What do you mean?”

“Your mom, Jarod, I was with your mom.”

He felt his heart pounding in his chest, remembering all the little details she just said. “Waitress. Doctor?”

“She was a Pretender,” Miss Parker said. “Natural. She grew up in foster care, found her way out, made her new life. Living day to day free until she met your dad. Fell in love, had children. You know the rest.”

“Mom?” His mom? “Well, what else? I mean, what did she say? What did you talk about? What was the name of the hospital? The diner?”

“Calm down,” Miss Parker said.

“Well, what did you talk about? Why was she talking with you?” He wanted to know a million things!

“She knew I was pregnant. She knew I was chasing you. She and my mother saw the scrolls, and that’s why The Centre keeps her away,” she answered. “She knows how The Centre and The Triumvirate end, and she warned me to never look at the scrolls myself.”

“Well, what?” Jarod asked. “How? What is it about the scrolls and me?”

“You. Your first name was in the scrolls,” Miss Parker said.

“My name?” Jarod sighed, staring at the road. Almost angrily. “My first name. Might be me, might not, but it’s my name. Is that why they won’t quit?”

“I guess.”

“Is that why you never quit?” Cheap shot, but he wasn’t feeling very amiable. His name. He was taken away because of his name. He scoffed. “Cloning me with Gemini. Wanting to name the male Jarod before it was born. Now it makes sense.” He shook his head. “And these twins. Oh, let’s make sure he’s completely tied to The Centre by making sure it’s Parker blood.” He kept driving. “My family went to get you and you weren’t there.”

“Like hell I would be,” she remarked. “Your family’s not going to come near me.”

“No, they aren’t, and because I’m with you, now I can’t be with them either,” he shot right back toward her. He sighed.

“Your mom had no problem with me,” Miss Parker added oddly. “She was more than happy to see me.”

Jarod looked over toward her. “Why? Because your mom and her used to be friends, she thinks you’re different?”

“Be that way. I won’t tell you anything else,” Miss Parker said darkly.

Damn. “Look. I just. I want to be with my family, but I can’t. Even when I find them again, I can’t be there and here. Gemini’s fine with you. Ethan trusts you,” Jarod said. “Other than that.”

“Oh, pour whiskey all over my heart,” Parker muttered. “You’re not the only one stuck in hell.” She tried to pull her dress down more over her stomach. It was bunching up at the top.

Easy. He needed to keep her stress down. “It’s been a little while. Do you feel them yet?”

“Yes,” she said honestly. “Poor Angel was constantly kicking to get away from Argyle.”

 “He’s . . . unique.” Jarod looked over to her tummy. “Still kicking?”

“No. Argyle’s gone.”

Jarod tried not to smile on that one.

“Your mom said that The Triumvirate think that you are the source of their power,” Miss Parker went on. “But you’re not. You’re supposed to destroy The Triumvirate and The Centre somehow, when they go too far. Those were her words.”

Him? He did it somehow? Took the whole thing down. How? And what did it mean by go too far? They’ve always gone too far. “Anything else?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Miss Parker,” Jarod said. “I haven’t seen her since I was taken as a child. I remember her hair. I’ve seen her once, in a car, calling to me . . . telling me she loved me,” he trailed off. “You know how special a mother is. Every single word you can remember, please.”

“You’ve got an image of a woman in your head, Jarod,” Miss Parker said. “She may not fit that image.”

“I don’t care,” he said. “I want to know her. The real her.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “She was miserable with the life she chose.”

Jarod raised an eyebrow? “What do you mean?”

“How do you feel when you think about the future, Jarod?” Miss Parker asked curiously. “When The Centre is gone. You can be with your family.”

He smiled for a bit. “Better than ever. Watch Emily grow up. Watch Ethan grow up. Get to know my dad better. Meet my mom.”

“But no more Pretending,” Miss Parker said. “No more atoning. No more of anything but books and guides to study new things. New things that you’ll never have a need for.”

Why was she saying that? “I haven’t allowed myself to think that much ahead.” She was wanting an answer though. “I don’t know how I’ll feel.”

“Trapped and miserable. Your mom loved your dad, that was clear,” she said, “and she loved her children. But she was miserable. She stopped Pretending when she met your father. She fell in love but she wasn’t happy.”

Jarod . . . focused on the road more. “Oh.”

“Your dad thought maybe she wanted family. So, they went to Nugenesis. Then she had family,” Miss Parker said. “Do I need to say it?”

“She was still miserable.” He rubbed the bottom of his mouth.

“She loved her boys,” Miss Parker said. “After you were taken, she still never said anything. Probably guilt.”

Jarod continued to drive. Pretending . . . learning new things, becoming new people. Everyone had a career, a goal, a desire to be something. Whether it was an artist, a writer, a construction worker, or just rich lounging around. Everyone wanted something. “I love it all.”

They both looked at each other.

“Everything,” Jarod said. “She must be the same way. Staying still is . . .” He shook his head. “I can’t be just one thing. There’s so much out there. So many professions. Things to learn. It never stops. I could learn and study for a lifetime, and there will still be so much more. Not everything I do is a hyped adventure, or classy, or great,” he said. “Some is. Some isn’t. But.”

“You want to experience everything. Because you can be everything,” Miss Parker said. “Even your taste reflects it, Jarod. You’re even more out there than your mom. At least she just has CD’s of Guns N Roses, Jovi, Aerosmith and the like in her car. You’ve got Blues, Jazz, Classical, Country, Nature and everything else.”

Jarod smiled. And then, he strangely found himself starting to laugh.

Miss Parker looked toward him. He looked like he just discovered something for the first time. “What?”

“I always wanted to know what I’d be,” Jarod said. “If I wasn’t taken. If I didn’t have everything ripped away.” He sighed. “I’m  . . . I’d still be me. I’d still want to be me. I don’t want to do just one thing, or live in one place. Helping people with my Pretending skills, it’s . . . me.”

“I don’t think you’d be so God of Retribution about it,” she corrected him. “Probably on the right track though.”

“What else did you learn?”

Of course ‘what else did you learn’. “Uuh . . .” Oh yes.” She had laid them inside her DSA case on top of her mother’s papers. “She had some pictures before you were nine. She didn’t have many, so knock yourself out.”

“Pictures before I was nine?” He actually pulled over on the side of the road and took them. He looked at each of them like they were a treasure to behold. Over and over. “A dog? A family dog. A red house. Climbing trees. Kyle.” He looked back toward her DSA. “What are those papers?”

“My mother’s,”  Miss Parker said.

“Her plans?”

Miss Parker sighed. “Mom heard her inner sense more. It even whispered about the future to her.” She picked up one of the papers and handed it to Jarod. “She knew.” Jarod took the paper and looked.

“Twins between enemy and friends. Good words.”

“She was always good with words,” Miss Parker said, holding her hand out again for the paper. Jarod didn’t give it back though. What was he doing?

“By a trick of the heart, the eyes cannot know.” Jarod muttered.

“Mother’s words aren’t simple.” She held her hand more out for the paper.

“Most of its easily decipherable,” Jarod said. “From that context, it sounds like something happened that another person was lied to or mistaken about.”

It wasn’t a mistake. It couldn’t have been a mistake. Because that couldn’t . . . no, it . . . she couldn’t be mistaken. “The Centre and lies. That’s not a stretch.”

“Yeah. Why’d she write it?”

Crap. She looked out the window, knowing it was coming.

“Something wrong?”

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“Do we really want to get that curious into personal things again?” she said giving him a warning. “The way Sydney’s cologne-“

“Stop.” He rolled his eyes and kept driving. “Half an hour more.”

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

Bright green grass. Not a grand house, not a small house. Middle of a suburb. In the middle of the grass she saw Debbie smiling and playing ball with Jarod’s clone.

Jarod pulled into the driveway.

“Miss Parker!” Debbie threw the ball to Gemini and launched herself right at Miss Parker. “I missed you so much.”

“Easy on mom, Sis,” Gemini said coming toward her. “How were things?”

Okay. Hm. “Are you feeling okay, Debbie?” She bent down toward her and looked at her.

She was happy, but there was definitely something there. “I’m okay. I just miss someone. Really badly. I’m trying to imagine it’s like camp. Gemini’s trying to help.” She looked over toward Gemini. “He tries hard to be a brother. Little too hard.”

“I am learning how to be a normal brother,” Gemini said. “I’ve never had a sister that I had to interact with at my age.”

Miss Parker looked at him oddly. “How much interaction have you had since you left Donoterase?”

“Isolation is best to stay hidden,” he admitted.

Sad. At least he’d been safe. “Let me guess.”

“Go ahead, dear,” Jarod said.

She rubbed her brow. “Mother to a teenage son, mother to a teenage daughter, carrying your twins, and married to you?” Just a smile. “Oh god.”

“What’s wrong, Miss Parker?” Debbie asked.

“Let’s just say mommy didn’t always like to stay home,” Jarod said, looking toward Miss Parker. “Think of it as practice.”

“Why couldn’t it be an Aunt or Uncle, extended family?” Miss Parker questioned.

“Same rules apply.”

“Different circumstances, different things.” She rubbed her face and sighed, rolling her eyes. She looked around. Some kids were playing in the neighbor’s front yard. The neighbors across the street were people who were just sitting on benches, enjoying the day.

“Good morning,” someone said as they passed Miss Parker, walking their dog.

“Good morning to you too, Ma’am.” Gemini said, not missing a beat.

Jarod waved at the nice lady.

Miss Parker just stared, taking into account all the little things she saw, darting across the neighborhood. She’d worked apartments, small rentals, a luxurious house and hotels with Jarod and her team for years.

This was none of those.  “I. Have stepped. Into Hell.”

“Actually, it’s Summerlin,” Jarod corrected her.

Miss Parker rubbed her eyes. “Okay. I’m just gonna stay over with Argyle after all. Let me borrow your car.”

“Oh, come on. It’s new. Exciting. Good practice.”

“Good practice for gun training,” she said darkly. “Family neighborhood. This better not be a long Pretend.”

“Oh, it’s not unusually long,” Jarod said. “About average. Why?”

She gestured around here. “Not going to last long.”

Jarod shrugged. “Good practice.”

“For what?” He wouldn’t be. He would not be doing that. He better not be doing that.

Jarod gestured to Gemini and Debbie. “When Debbie’s cured, I can stop using Pretends with a family, and I can take her back to Mister Broots. After that, Gemini will contact dad and he’ll be gone. Until then, it doesn’t matter whether I am a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick-maker.” He waved toward them. “They need to have decent lives. Besides, if I bring Debbie out into a less than stellar neighborhood and something happens to her, I believe Mister Broots will kill me.”

“Right after me.” That’s right. She grabbed Jarod’s jacket. “Damn it, Jarod, you better not be planning to do something stupid in a ghetto somewhere anywhere in the near future!”

“I know. I’ve fixed it, relax.” He pulled his jacket away. “Good?”

“Almost.” She grabbed his jacket again, tighter, pulling him closer. “I worked for The Centre. I don’t know how the hell any of this is working out for the future. I am getting through this hell, day by day. For now. But if you expect me to just be a stay at home mommy while you run around Pretending all day, you better start figuring out a different plan.” She let him go.

Jarod fixed his jacket. “What has Argyle been feeding you?”

“What’s it matter?!”

“Anything bad?”

She bit on her thumb briefly. “Stupid morning sickness is coming back.”

“Moving into your third trimester in less than a month.”

“Bite me. I need a toothbrush.”

“Already bought. Come on.” Jarod gestured to Debbie and Gemini.

Right inside, Miss Parker saw someone she’d been waiting to see again. He’d been watching the kids near the windows. “Hello, Ethan.”

He stood up from his stool and came over. His eyes. The way he used them over her.  A feeling that she couldn’t hide anything. A trusting soul, so open, it wanted to connect to hers.

“Six months.” He looked at her stomach. “You’ll be a mom soon.”

“Yes,” she said softly.

“Jarod will be a dad soon too,” Ethan said. “The Centre.” He looked toward Jarod. “He can’t see our sister, or our dad again. Because of it.”

“The Triumvirate and Lyle,” she corrected him.

Ethan came closer to her, very close to her. He stared at her, like he was trying to pull something from her. Then, he hugged her.

Miss Parker quickly patted him. “Okay.”

“No. It’s not. Jarod is your enemy. You are Jarod’s enemy. This is the last thing that should have respectfully happened,” he said. “You were driven away from the place you used to consider a second home. Jarod’s being driven away from his family. It’s not okay at all.” He hugged her tighter.

Uh. “I need to brush my teeth,” she insisted. “My breath is horrible.”

“Everything is horrible. For the rest of your life, you’ll be chased by the enemies you used to call friends.”

Sydney. Broots. “I gotta go. Let go.”

“You’ve been forced into a role that you aren’t ready for,” Ethan continued. “I can feel it. You’re burning, and you can’t figure out how to put out the flames.”

“Ethan!” Okay, she was getting mad. She tried pushing him off. “Get off. Let go. Get off!”

“Ethan.” Jarod came over and tried to pull him off. “Now’s really not the time.” He still wasn’t budging. Jarod pulled harder. “Ethan, what are you doing?”

“Six,” Ethen repeated. “6.6.6.6. Six hours.”

Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop! “I survived so it doesn’t matter!” She yelled at him. “Now get off of me!”

She felt Ethan get off of her finally, but it was because Jarod pulled him off. He tried to get him to settle down. Which made her feel worse. I don’t need him to be my damn protector. He wasn’t there for me. He was never there for me. He was behind glass. I run my own life. I run it. I run it! She stalked off angrily, trying to find the bathroom. Bathroom, bathroom, damn toothbrushes.

Found. She closed the door and looked at the toothbrushes. Which one? Deduction time. Two blue, solid blue. One pink. One red. Clown red could be Jarod’s. Two solid blues though, Gemini is a clone. They could like the same color? Aw hell, that wouldn’t work. He likes all colors. He likes all things. All I can figure out is the pink.

There was a knock at the door. “Can . . . I come in, Miss Parker?”

Debbie. “Sure.” She opened the door and saw the familiar face. “You can help me figure out which toothbrush is mine.” She closed the door afterward as Debbie moved toward the toothbrushes.

“Jarod . . . I mean, dad . . .” She pointed to the blues. “The blues are his and Gemini’s. They seem to know which side each one is on, and can tell the difference even though they are the same color.” She pointed to the pink. “I got pink. So, you got red. It’s pretty, right?” she asked. “It kind of goes, you know, with the dark outfit that you . . . you know, with the red tha . . .”

Oh no. She felt Debbie grab her and start to cry.

“I’ve been trying really hard!” Debbie said, clinging to her. “And Jarod, he’s been really good, and I should just be really happy that I get to live, but I can’t- I can’t- I can’t!”

“See your daddy,” Miss Parker finished for her, bending down toward her.

“What if it takes a long time?” She grabbed tighter around her neck. “I-I asked Gemini, and he said he couldn’t stay. It could be days, weeks, months or years. I don’t want to be away from daddy for years! He’ll forget about me!”

“He would never forget about you,” Miss Parker said.

“If I’m not there, when I could come back, I could be too big. Or, maybe he’ll like not having to deal with me.”

“You. Debbie. You are the most important thing in this world to Broots,” Miss Parker said as she held her. “As much as you miss him, he will miss you. And it doesn’t matter how many days pass by. If you are missing him, then he is missing you.”

Debbie rubbed her nose with her hands. “I’m getting you all wet.”

“Don’t worry,” Miss Parker said. “These aren’t designer anything. Now, if these were my favorite top and blouse, it’d be different,” she tried to joke. “Broots will never forget you. He knows where you need to be to really get cured.”

“We’re all just . . . we’re all just stuck, aren’t we?” Debbie asked her. “None of us want to be here like this.”

“Yeah. We’re all that crusty toothpaste on the top of the tube that can’t close,” Miss Parker said as she tried to brush her cheeks.

“How?”

“Fate . . . funks it all up.”

“No, I mean you. How?” Debbie asked. “How do you make it through? I mean, you’re carrying, I mean, Jarod, the guy that’s playing my dad, you’re carrying . . . I mean his kids? But he’s your enemy too.”

Miss Parker sighed. “Life is cruel. You have to learn to deal.”

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

Jarod approached the bathroom door. He was about to ask Miss Parker if she’d seen Debbie, when he heard something. After crying. That crying sound when the tears are done and the body just wants to relax. Not wanting to eavesdrop, he knocked on the door. “It’s Jarod?”

“Like I care?” Miss Parker’s loving voice responded.

Jarod was rewarded with Debbie popping out. She looked better. He knew a good cry would do her a lot of good with Miss Parker. “Doing better?”

Debbie rubbed her eyes. “I’m okay.”

Jarod bent down to her. “I promise, Gemini and I, were going to do what we can. We can’t work on it 24/7, but we are going to work hard on it.”

“I know,” Debbie said. “I just miss Daddy. Not you. My real dad.”

Jarod smiled. “It’s just pretend. I would never dream or be able to replace your daddy. Okay?”

Debbie nodded.

“Great. Why don’t you go ahead and go downstairs? We’ll figure out what to eat.” Debbie headed downstairs while Jarod looked in the half open bathroom. “Miss Parker?”

“What, hubby?” She said coming out to the hallway, making him straighten back up.

“Dinner?”

“As long as I’m not making it.”

“Nah. Prefer tasty things.” The usual bicker back and forth. Whatever happened to that tea and night on Carthis? “Before we go, I thought we’d talk out something real quick. I don’t expect you to be a stay at home wife, if you don’t want to be. But. We are moving around. A lot. I don’t have time to watch anyone.” She was still staring hard at him. “I’ll make you a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“Wherever we go. Two houses, next to each other,” Jarod said. “One yours, one mine. We’ll switch off who’s a parent, but can go over and see the kids. Fair?”

“Well, well, Pretender.” She looked up and winced her eye. “That would work.”

“Just two requests.” Jarod help up two of his fingers. “I need to take them a few times a year to see the family.”

“What?”

“It’s family.”

“Over my dead body,” she snarled. “I dealt with Argyle and the colonel to avoid that!”

“Look.” Jarod held up his hands. “You can’t know where they are, and they won’t know where you are. You know I won’t run off with them. Right?” That was a deep breath from her. “I won’t let anyone take them.”

She gestured at him with her pointing finger. “ . . . you better be damn careful,” she settled with, “and no way when they are newborn.”

“Good. We’ll fix the housing after their born, and after Debbie’s better,” Jarod said.

“How long do you think?” Miss Parker. “No promise, don’t get all scientific, just about how long?”

“Maybe a week? Month, tops, hopefully,” Jarod said. “It’s a lot more possible now without the stupid games The Centre was pulling. Worst case scenario I can make enough of the temporary cure to last her a lifetime. But, there’s no guarantee it would be foolproof.”

“Great,” she said. “So what’s number two already?”

Jarod looked around him to make sure Gemini and Debbie weren’t around.

“Oh, I’m not going to like this one if you are doing that.” She stared at him. “What is it?”

“You’re free to live your life however you want,” Jarod said. “Say you’re just babysitting the twins, or say you don’t have them. I don’t care, make up your Pretend life story in each place. But.” He looked at her seriously. “Nothing doing until after their born.”

Miss Parker took a step forward. “What? Excuse me?”

“The third trimester is usually mellow, but you’re in the second trimester,” Jarod said. “Argyle thought you might be trying to do something that wouldn’t be a good idea right now. With kids in there.” He gestured toward her tummy.

“Are we seriously having this discussion?” She growled.

“Do whatever you want afterward, but you’re not risking anything with them. Anyone could have any disease or condition out here, and we aren’t very far away from Las Vegas, where there’s a lot of temptation.”

Miss Parker closed her eyes and held her hands up. “I can’t believe you’re having this discussion with me.”

“Medical,” Jarod said.

“Bullshit answer,” she growled.  “I just used a technique that I’ve used more than once to easy targets of the opposite sex, to make sure he didn’t spout out where we were on the phone! A tactic, thankfully, that kept Lyle in the dark.” She stepped back to her original position. “It’s a bonus he was just a friend the whole time and I didn’t have to knock him out.”

Thank goodness. Jarod believed that. Argyle did look like an easy target. “I won’t do anything either. It’ll screw up the Pretend considering were supposed to be man and wife, with two kids, and two more on the way. Oh.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out the marriage ring. “Would you put on this ring and be my fake wife?”

She took it and put it on her ring finger. “Til death do us part. Maybe less considering the sparkle.”

He listened. Carefully for ‘for now’. When he finally didn’t hear it, he almost couldn’t stop the smile from gracing his face. No more ‘for now’. He finally found a deal she was willing to accept.

“For now, Jarod, wipe that smile off your face.” She headed downstairs.

Well. It was delayed. Which still didn’t wipe the smile off his face. He was at least getting somewhere.

As he started to head down though, Ethan started to head up. “Jarod.”

Jarod nodded. Ethan wasn’t into Pretending, and he wanted to get back to the others.

The whole family found each other again. Only, Jarod wasn’t invited. Gemini was only staying to help him find the cure, and to experience life a little more. “Off already?” he asked. “Could come with?”

Ethan stood still. “Six hours, Jarod.”

“I heard that,” Jarod sighed. “What’s it mean?” He said nothing though. “Bye, Ethan.” He passed him down the steps.

“Two separate houses will not destroy the pain,” Ethan said, “but two DSA cases watched together, can stop the hiding.”

That made Jarod stop and look back toward him. “What?”

“The voice . . . check both your DSA’s. What you think you know, you don’t know.” Ethan shook his head. “I’ll see you soon and I’ll try to bring her back with me.”

“My . . . mom?” Ethan didn’t say anything. Jarod just continued on his way out. He loved his brother, but when he got deeply mysterious, it could be tough sometimes.

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