Starting Anew by icd
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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see part one
Author’s Note: I’m pushing this ahead; joined two chapters to one and after this one more to go to finish this story. Don’t scream at me for rushing things but I’m kind of anxious to get to the next story and I didn’t want to draw this one out too long (since the concept is not new and stuff and blah.) I’ll shut up now. Just the thanks and then right on to the story.
~~~~~~~
Starting Anew
Part 4
Liberation
He crawled silently through the dark air vents. In front of him he could hear Angelo shuffling forward as well. The empath had joined him on his way and was guiding him through the maze of tunnels, even though Jarod knew the layout without having to think about it. He knew which turns to take and where to avoid security.
Yet Angelo was with him. It was kind of a friendship service and Jarod was glad the empath was there. Just his presence seemed to have a calming effect on him.
Even though he was too deep in concentration to be distracted, he was glad that Angelo was there to keep him out of trouble in case his mind wandered off to the reason why he was here, what the deeper meaning of this mission was.
This was about a new family member.
Jarod nearly scoffed.
It seemed as if every time he stepped into the Centre it was because they held one or another family member in their darkest corners.
“Hold on a sec,” Jay’s voice spoke up.
Jarod stopped instantly. “Angelo, stop,” Jarod whispered and Angelo looked back over his shoulder, stopping as well.
“Wait, there’s a guard at the next vent entrance,” Jay said, his voice barely more than a whisper in Jarod’s ear. “Let me make a distraction so you can move on.”
Jarod rearranged the earpiece of the micro he was wearing and waited for a few minutes.
“Ok, he’s been taken care of. There’s currently a malfunction of a surveillance camera in one of the rooms further down and he’s been sent down there to check. Move on,” Jay’s voice came back on.
“Thanks Jay,” Jarod chuckled and motioned Angelo to move on. The empath nodded and started crawling again, followed once more by Jarod.
Jarod bent his head slightly. “Where’s Miss Parker right now?” he whispered into the small micro that was attached to his collar.
There was a short pause. “Just getting up from her chair after a look at her watch,” Jay informed him.
Jarod nodded again and smiled slightly. Till now everything had been working out just fine. It had taken them the better part of two days to work out a good and functional plan to liberate Jarod and Miss Parker’s son from the Centre.
Miss Parker had voted for the ‘I’m just walking in there, grab our son and shoot my way out of the Centre if necessary’-plan. Only after lengthy discussions had she agreed to wait for the two men to come up with a better plan.
The last two days had been hard on her. Knowing her son was in the Centre was hard; even worse was that she had to maintain her daily visiting routine without being able to take him with her.
She had admitted to Jarod and Jay that she had been tempted more than once to go back to her original plan and shot everyone in sight if they tried to stand in her way.
There had been many arguments as to how they would pull this off. At first she had insisted on getting in by crawling through the Centre’s vents. Then she had demanded to at least help on the way out. It took some time to get her to agree – albeit grudgingly – not to do either of those.
Finally they agreed she was to meet Jarod in the infirmary where their son was still kept and then leave again while Jarod brought the little boy out through the small tunnels and to safety.
Jay was outside of the Centre in the car Jarod and he had arrived with. He was holding all the cards. He had hacked himself into the Centre’s system and now he was able to access the security footage as well as every data they needed. “Damn it,” Jay cursed suddenly.
Jarod’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?” he asked while still crawling onward.
“Nothing. Miss Parker just can’t seem to get rid of Sydney,” Jay replied.
“Where is she?”.
“In the elevator.”
Jarod thought quickly. “Doesn’t matter. Our timeframe isn’t that tight. She’ll get rid of him eventually.”
They crawled on and soon stopped next to the vent’s entrance in the infirmary room. Jarod risked a quick glance through the vent’s cover and his features softened.
Angelo drew him back only a heartbeat later.
Before Jarod could complain about it, he heard the door open noisily and a pair of high heels clicking on the floor. He grinned but then sobered again and concentrated back on their mission.
“No Sydney. I don’t know why Jarod doesn’t make contact that often any longer. I don’t know what it is that’s keeping him away,” she said briskly, and then her voice softened. “Hey my little man, how are you today?” And then her voice switched back to business. “I’m sure he has a reason for his behaviour,” she paused. “Don’t you have another nutcase to work with now, Freud?”
“But Miss Parker,” Sydney tried to approach her again.
“Sydney, damn it, I’ll come talk to you later but right now I would like to enjoy keeping my so… little brother company,” she stated, exasperation colouring her voice.
Jarod clenched his teeth. ‘That was a close one, Parker,’ he thought. Hopefully Sydney would not get too alert by her near mistake.
“Right, I see you later then,” Sydney finally said and Jarod could hear a relieved huff coming over the radio.
“Yes,” Miss Parker replied briskly and under her breath she mumbled something that sounded like ‘don’t count on it’ from Jarod’s position in her air vent, close to where she was standing.
Angelo was already starting to unscrew the vent when Jay gave Jarod the command to move forward. “He’s gone, you can move in now.”
Only seconds later Jarod was in the room and walking over to Miss Parker, who stood with the young boy in her arms, facing him.
Jarod’s features softened just like they had done before in the air vent. He walked up to Miss Parker so he was standing in front of her.
“Hey, this is Jarod, he’s your Dad. He’s gonna take you away with him now, ok?”
The boy tilted his head to the side and looked at Jarod with piercing blue eyes so much like his mother’s. After a few seconds he nodded determinedly he then turned back to his mother and yawned. Putting his head onto her shoulder, he whimpered when she started to pull him away.
“Back to the vent. Nurse coming,” Jay demanded in short barks over the earpiece, anxious to get them to safety.
“Shit,” Jarod swore softly. He scrambled over to the vent and jumped in. The cover was barely back in place when the door opened and the nurse poked her head through it.
Miss Parker had been about to comment on Jarod’s hasty departure when she heard the woman enter behind her. She straightened and turned around, her ice-queen mask firmly back in place.
“What?” she snarled at the intruder, standing directly in front of the door, not letting the nurse come in.
“Miss Parker, Master Parker needs his bottle now,” the nurse said and pushed forward to grab the boy.
Miss Parker yanked the bottle out of her hand. “I’ll give it to him, then,” she growled and gave the door a hard shove, sending it crashing shut.
The boy started crying at the loud noise as well as at the tension that radiated from his mother’s body.
Jarod was out of the vent only a moment later and he observed the boy for a few seconds. When it became apparent that the child wasn’t about to calm down, he shrugged out of his backpack and rummaged through it.
Miss Parker watched him. When he straightened again, Jarod had a syringe in his hand and was filling it with a clear liquid he drew out of a small bottle.
“What are you doing?” she growled dangerously and took a step back, protecting her son with her own body. She knew that this move was somehow irrational; Jarod would never hurt anyone intentionally, let alone his own son but her instincts kicked in, telling her to protect her child.
“Parker, this is merely a light sedative,” Jarod said and took a step towards her.
“Forget it,” she shook her head.
Jarod closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he looked up again the tightly controlled person focussed on the mission was back in place.
“I can’t have him babbling along the way. Don’t you think it would be a bit strange if there were children’s noises coming from out of the air vents?”
“That was not part of the plan. When did you plan on informing me about that little detail?” she threw back.
Jarod swallowed the anger and irritation he was feeling over this argument; or rather the time and place this argument was being brought up. He should have known better and talked about that with her. “I had hoped that we wouldn’t have to use it but it seems as if we don’t really have another choice,” he said calmly.
“And what if he’s silent from now on?”
“You can’t guarantee that. This is only a mild sedative and it will wear off quickly. It’s barely enough to keep him drowsy through the vents,” Jarod grumbled, exasperation showing in his voice.
Miss Parker’s eyes narrowed and she observed him closely.
“Jarod, you have to get moving soon,” Jay informed his brother through the earplug that was connecting them.
“I know,” Jarod mumbled into his microphone, tilting his head slightly. He looked up again and was about to start and try to convince Miss Parker once more, when she held up her hand to silence him.
“Ok, do it but if this hurts him more than it has to or if it has any effects that I don’t like, I will get your ass for it,” she growled darkly.
Jarod nodded. “Got it,” he said and looked her directly in the eye. “Sit down over there.”
She did as he had asked her to do. The little boy was still firmly attached to her neck.
“Hey my boy,” Jarod cooed. “I have to give you this now. This might sting for a second but not long, ok?” Jarod spoke softly while he gently tugged at the boy’s arm.
The child turned so that he was facing Jarod and he nodded slightly.
Jarod took the small arm and injected the boy with the sedative while Miss Parker stroked a hand over the boy’s head and planted a kiss onto his forehead every now and then.
“My, are you a good and brave young man,” Jarod praised the boy when he was done. He then took the boy out of Miss Parker’s arms. The child was grinning proudly at his father’s comment. Jarod walked back to his backpack to put the syringe and bottle into it once more, his son cradled into his arms.
Miss Parker came up behind him and tussled the child’s hair. “Keep him safe,” she whispered.
Jarod turned and looked her deep in the eye. Then he bent forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “I will protect him with my life,” he vowed.
“I know,” Miss Parker said and then watched him straighten again and walk over to the vent. He gave the boy, whose eyes were drooping shut, to the waiting arms of Angelo and then Jarod hoisted himself up. He looked at her from the vent’s entrance. “Just stick to our plan. We’ll be out of here in no time,” he said before he shut the vent’s cover.
Miss Parker nodded at his words and watched the gate shut softly and then a hushed conversation, followed by shuffling sounds.
And then everything was silent.
She had to keep herself occupied for a few more minutes and then she straightened and walked back over to the door.
Switching off the light while opening the door, she sneaked out and walked over to the nurse’s desk after firmly shutting the door behind her again.
“He’s asleep now,” she informed the nurse, while putting the emptied bottle down in front of her. “He gave me a bit of a hard time so you’d better not wake him now that he’s finally asleep. He might be wide awake otherwise and give you a rough evening,” she said, knowing full well that the nurse was work-shy.
The nurse’s face twisted at that thought and she quickly nodded. “Ok, then. I better let him sleep if you say so,” she replied quickly.
Miss Parker nodded and then stalked off, knowing that she had just given them the head-start they needed to get far enough away from the Centre before anyone would know what was happening.
She walked towards the elevator. She had intended to go to her office and then get the hell out of the Centre herself. If she didn’t encounter any more difficulties she should be out of there and reunited with Jarod and her son in a little more than an hour.
~~~~~~~
The dark van stood slightly hidden from view.
Miss Parker drove past it and parked her car in the driveway.
She nodded into the direction of the van and then quickly made her way into her house. Only a few minutes later, she reappeared and jogged over to where Jarod and Jay were waiting for her in the car. She threw her bag into the back and climbed into the van.
The moment the side door was closed Jarod put it into gear and drove off into the night.
Miss Parker looked up into the face of her childhood friend’s copy and smiled at the expression she saw. Jay’s face showed the contentment that he was feeling and that also radiated from Jarod. They were not completely out of danger but the worst part lay behind them.
Jay’s face lit up as he saw her and he handed her the little boy without her having to ask him to do so. He saw her need to hold the child that she had just learned was hers a few days ago. He looked over to Jarod who was concentrated on driving and yet keeping an eye on the rear-view mirror for a different reason other than watching Miss Parker and their son.
Miss Parker relaxed when she saw a pair of blue eyes looking up at her groggily. “When did he wake up?”
“About half an hour ago. I told you that the sedative wasn’t strong,” Jarod replied and their eyes met briefly in the rear-view mirror.
She merely glared at him, not backing down or excusing her behaviour.
Jay chuckled and Jarod just shrugged his shoulders.
They made their travel mostly in silence.
Jarod was driving and he insisted on keeping his place on the wheel. For him it was a way of letting go of the tension. Driving gave him a feeling of security and relaxation. Whenever he was driving away from one spot of the earth, he was leaving an area and bringing a distance between himself and his pursuers. It had been that way ever sine he had fled from the Centre.
Miss Parker, Jay, and the little boy dozed on and off in their seats and Jarod kept a protective eye on them while driving. He silently vowed that he would protect his family with all he had.
~~~~~~~~
Seven hours and three car changes later, the group had crossed the Canadian-American border with fake passports Jarod had manufactured.
The plan was to get lost in the Canadian country, a task that was not hard to accomplish once they had reached the border.
They had agreed upon heading to the south west of Ontario and stay there until they felt that the situation had cooled down.
Jarod and Jay had been climbing there a few months before and so they knew the area and they had already rented a small cabin that would serve their purposes.
The travel through Canada would take two more days but they had decided to go there by car and not take a small airplane.
~~~~~~~
Miss Parker let herself fall into the soft armchair and sighed.
Jarod had the little boy in his arms, walked over to her, and gave him to her. After that, he helped Jay to get what little luggage they had into the house.
They were all tired and glad to finally get out of the confined space of the van. There had been the first tender arguments about unimportant matters like radio stations and such, once they had all let their guards down.
Having to spend the whole day on the road and not being able to get away form one’s companions was always difficult. Jay and Jarod were by now used to it but for Miss Parker it was completely new. Riding with her former prey and his clone didn’t make it any easier.
She closed her eyes and cradled her son to her. She had expected to be more unnerved about the little boy but her patience with him never seemed to end. Contrary to the boy’s presence, she had a rough time coping with his father’s being there.
She was particularly irritated about the way he behaved. One minute he seemed to be content and relaxed and the next he was closed up and snapped at her.
Jay tried to stay out of their arguments as much as he could and both Jarod and she tried to keep it that way. They both tried to avoid drawing him on one or the other side.
She got up and sat her son on the chair. “Will you keep an eye on him?” she asked Jarod when he came back into the house, while she brushed past him.
“Sure,” he responded and walked over to his son.
He shook his head and took the boy in his arms. He was time and time again mesmerized at the wonder that he now held in his arms. He was a father and this was his son. He had lost the first ten months of his life but they had managed to liberate him from the people that had kept him away from his mother and father.
The tiny hands reached out to him and touched Jarod’s stubbly cheek, making him smile at the contact. It was as if the boy had to convince himself that he was with his family just as much as Miss Parker and he himself had to convince themselves time and time again.
He sighed.
Miss Parker.
That was a tender theme at the moment. At first everything had seemed fine, but as the journey wore on it had become more and more complicated.
Sometimes he just couldn’t fathom what she was trying to accomplish with her remarks; if she was trying to hurt him or to push him away or both… he didn’t know.
The only thing he knew was that she wouldn’t succeed with driving him away or whatever it was that she had in mind. Now that he had a son with her – one he intended to stay with - she was stuck with him.
He looked up when she stepped out of the bathroom and nearly gasped out aloud.
She had nothing on expect a towel that was wrapped around her body, barely hiding anything, and letting her legs seem as if they stretched to all infinity.
His mouth was suddenly dry and his palms were sweaty. His heart was beating overtime in his chest. Jarod swallowed and tried to tear his gaze away from her.
Miss Parker looked up to find him gaping at her. “What?” she asked.
Jarod blinked, realising that she had spoken to him. “Nothing,” he managed to say.
She chuckled lightly and turned around to walk back into the bathroom.
Jay came through the front door with the last piece of luggage and nearly dropped the bag when he saw Miss Parker vanishing into the bathroom.
“Wow,” he breathed, making Jarod snap out of his reverie.
“Yep,” Jarod smiled towards his younger self. “Can you stay with him for a few minutes, I have to get something,” Jarod more ordered than asked and with that he already pushed past Jay to get out of the house. There was nothing still in the car he needed to fetch. What he really needed was some air.
Jarod walked the short distance to the lake and kept on ambling along the shore, thinking about how his life had changed in the short span of not even half a year.
First Jay had come into his life, then once that was all clear and easy, this new discovery had sent him back to Blue Cove to get two more added to his family circle.
He had been on rather good terms with Miss Parker since he and Jay had finally connected and then this new turmoil threw them together and left them no time to figure out where they stood with each other.
The little scene in the house just minutes ago had vividly showed him that the word ‘friendship’ was not an accurate description of what he was feeling for Miss Parker.
The problem was just that he wouldn’t get away with his skin intact if he tried to act on his feelings.
He had felt uneasy with her during the last few days in the small space of the car but had suppressed his feelings then. But suppressing his feelings for all eternity while being together with her to raise their son… not an acceptable thought.
He just couldn’t come up with a satisfactory solution for this problem. Being a genius or not, this put him in an awkward situation and he had no idea how to handle it.
He stayed outside for a while longer and then reluctantly made his way back to the cabin.
~~~~~~~
She leaned against the bathroom door with her back firmly pressed against the wood.
God, what had she thought by walking out of there with just the towel?
She rolled her eyes. She had thought nothing and that was the problem. She still had to get used to the thought of living together with two men and a child - her child and the father of her child and his clone.
She tried to get her heart rate back under control. She could still picture Jarod sitting there with their child in his lap, his mouth agape and that absolutely stunned expression, born out of surprise and something deeper that she had been able to see in his features.
She closed her eyes and swallowed with difficulty.
It hadn’t just been surprise she had seen in Jarod’s face but also open adoration and affection as well.
God, this was certainly not getting easier. Just living together with her childhood friend, her best friend who she had never completely gotten out of her mind even if her job would have required it, was difficult. But should her feelings started to act up now, this would get more than complicated.
Memories of their shared youth invaded her consciousness. How they had sneaked off in the Centre and played together, pictures of how he had looked at her at that time and pictures of their kiss.
She shuddered.
This would definitely get complicated.
It wasn’t as if she didn’t want more than ‘friendship’ but Jarod wouldn’t return those feelings these days. She knew that he cared and that he wanted a friendship with her and that he would always be there for her and help her but she was also certain that the ‘love-train’ was long gone. Long gone from the platform she just now arrived upon for there had been too many detours and obstacles keeping her from arriving earlier.
She sighed and then resolutely walked over to the mirror. Watching her reflection in the cool glass she wondered how she would be able to pull this through; living together with her childhood friend, her first love whom she still had deep feelings for, and maintain the distance that would be needed if she didn’t want to get too badly hurt.
She swallowed and then turned to the shower.
Maybe she would find a way, a solution for this problem.
To be continued…
Author’s Note: I’m pushing this ahead; joined two chapters to one and after this one more to go to finish this story. Don’t scream at me for rushing things but I’m kind of anxious to get to the next story and I didn’t want to draw this one out too long (since the concept is not new and stuff and blah.) I’ll shut up now. Just the thanks and then right on to the story.
~~~~~~~
Part 4
Liberation
He crawled silently through the dark air vents. In front of him he could hear Angelo shuffling forward as well. The empath had joined him on his way and was guiding him through the maze of tunnels, even though Jarod knew the layout without having to think about it. He knew which turns to take and where to avoid security.
Yet Angelo was with him. It was kind of a friendship service and Jarod was glad the empath was there. Just his presence seemed to have a calming effect on him.
Even though he was too deep in concentration to be distracted, he was glad that Angelo was there to keep him out of trouble in case his mind wandered off to the reason why he was here, what the deeper meaning of this mission was.
This was about a new family member.
Jarod nearly scoffed.
It seemed as if every time he stepped into the Centre it was because they held one or another family member in their darkest corners.
“Hold on a sec,” Jay’s voice spoke up.
Jarod stopped instantly. “Angelo, stop,” Jarod whispered and Angelo looked back over his shoulder, stopping as well.
“Wait, there’s a guard at the next vent entrance,” Jay said, his voice barely more than a whisper in Jarod’s ear. “Let me make a distraction so you can move on.”
Jarod rearranged the earpiece of the micro he was wearing and waited for a few minutes.
“Ok, he’s been taken care of. There’s currently a malfunction of a surveillance camera in one of the rooms further down and he’s been sent down there to check. Move on,” Jay’s voice came back on.
“Thanks Jay,” Jarod chuckled and motioned Angelo to move on. The empath nodded and started crawling again, followed once more by Jarod.
Jarod bent his head slightly. “Where’s Miss Parker right now?” he whispered into the small micro that was attached to his collar.
There was a short pause. “Just getting up from her chair after a look at her watch,” Jay informed him.
Jarod nodded again and smiled slightly. Till now everything had been working out just fine. It had taken them the better part of two days to work out a good and functional plan to liberate Jarod and Miss Parker’s son from the Centre.
Miss Parker had voted for the ‘I’m just walking in there, grab our son and shoot my way out of the Centre if necessary’-plan. Only after lengthy discussions had she agreed to wait for the two men to come up with a better plan.
The last two days had been hard on her. Knowing her son was in the Centre was hard; even worse was that she had to maintain her daily visiting routine without being able to take him with her.
She had admitted to Jarod and Jay that she had been tempted more than once to go back to her original plan and shot everyone in sight if they tried to stand in her way.
There had been many arguments as to how they would pull this off. At first she had insisted on getting in by crawling through the Centre’s vents. Then she had demanded to at least help on the way out. It took some time to get her to agree – albeit grudgingly – not to do either of those.
Finally they agreed she was to meet Jarod in the infirmary where their son was still kept and then leave again while Jarod brought the little boy out through the small tunnels and to safety.
Jay was outside of the Centre in the car Jarod and he had arrived with. He was holding all the cards. He had hacked himself into the Centre’s system and now he was able to access the security footage as well as every data they needed. “Damn it,” Jay cursed suddenly.
Jarod’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?” he asked while still crawling onward.
“Nothing. Miss Parker just can’t seem to get rid of Sydney,” Jay replied.
“Where is she?”.
“In the elevator.”
Jarod thought quickly. “Doesn’t matter. Our timeframe isn’t that tight. She’ll get rid of him eventually.”
They crawled on and soon stopped next to the vent’s entrance in the infirmary room. Jarod risked a quick glance through the vent’s cover and his features softened.
Angelo drew him back only a heartbeat later.
Before Jarod could complain about it, he heard the door open noisily and a pair of high heels clicking on the floor. He grinned but then sobered again and concentrated back on their mission.
“No Sydney. I don’t know why Jarod doesn’t make contact that often any longer. I don’t know what it is that’s keeping him away,” she said briskly, and then her voice softened. “Hey my little man, how are you today?” And then her voice switched back to business. “I’m sure he has a reason for his behaviour,” she paused. “Don’t you have another nutcase to work with now, Freud?”
“But Miss Parker,” Sydney tried to approach her again.
“Sydney, damn it, I’ll come talk to you later but right now I would like to enjoy keeping my so… little brother company,” she stated, exasperation colouring her voice.
Jarod clenched his teeth. ‘That was a close one, Parker,’ he thought. Hopefully Sydney would not get too alert by her near mistake.
“Right, I see you later then,” Sydney finally said and Jarod could hear a relieved huff coming over the radio.
“Yes,” Miss Parker replied briskly and under her breath she mumbled something that sounded like ‘don’t count on it’ from Jarod’s position in her air vent, close to where she was standing.
Angelo was already starting to unscrew the vent when Jay gave Jarod the command to move forward. “He’s gone, you can move in now.”
Only seconds later Jarod was in the room and walking over to Miss Parker, who stood with the young boy in her arms, facing him.
Jarod’s features softened just like they had done before in the air vent. He walked up to Miss Parker so he was standing in front of her.
“Hey, this is Jarod, he’s your Dad. He’s gonna take you away with him now, ok?”
The boy tilted his head to the side and looked at Jarod with piercing blue eyes so much like his mother’s. After a few seconds he nodded determinedly he then turned back to his mother and yawned. Putting his head onto her shoulder, he whimpered when she started to pull him away.
“Back to the vent. Nurse coming,” Jay demanded in short barks over the earpiece, anxious to get them to safety.
“Shit,” Jarod swore softly. He scrambled over to the vent and jumped in. The cover was barely back in place when the door opened and the nurse poked her head through it.
Miss Parker had been about to comment on Jarod’s hasty departure when she heard the woman enter behind her. She straightened and turned around, her ice-queen mask firmly back in place.
“What?” she snarled at the intruder, standing directly in front of the door, not letting the nurse come in.
“Miss Parker, Master Parker needs his bottle now,” the nurse said and pushed forward to grab the boy.
Miss Parker yanked the bottle out of her hand. “I’ll give it to him, then,” she growled and gave the door a hard shove, sending it crashing shut.
The boy started crying at the loud noise as well as at the tension that radiated from his mother’s body.
Jarod was out of the vent only a moment later and he observed the boy for a few seconds. When it became apparent that the child wasn’t about to calm down, he shrugged out of his backpack and rummaged through it.
Miss Parker watched him. When he straightened again, Jarod had a syringe in his hand and was filling it with a clear liquid he drew out of a small bottle.
“What are you doing?” she growled dangerously and took a step back, protecting her son with her own body. She knew that this move was somehow irrational; Jarod would never hurt anyone intentionally, let alone his own son but her instincts kicked in, telling her to protect her child.
“Parker, this is merely a light sedative,” Jarod said and took a step towards her.
“Forget it,” she shook her head.
Jarod closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he looked up again the tightly controlled person focussed on the mission was back in place.
“I can’t have him babbling along the way. Don’t you think it would be a bit strange if there were children’s noises coming from out of the air vents?”
“That was not part of the plan. When did you plan on informing me about that little detail?” she threw back.
Jarod swallowed the anger and irritation he was feeling over this argument; or rather the time and place this argument was being brought up. He should have known better and talked about that with her. “I had hoped that we wouldn’t have to use it but it seems as if we don’t really have another choice,” he said calmly.
“And what if he’s silent from now on?”
“You can’t guarantee that. This is only a mild sedative and it will wear off quickly. It’s barely enough to keep him drowsy through the vents,” Jarod grumbled, exasperation showing in his voice.
Miss Parker’s eyes narrowed and she observed him closely.
“Jarod, you have to get moving soon,” Jay informed his brother through the earplug that was connecting them.
“I know,” Jarod mumbled into his microphone, tilting his head slightly. He looked up again and was about to start and try to convince Miss Parker once more, when she held up her hand to silence him.
“Ok, do it but if this hurts him more than it has to or if it has any effects that I don’t like, I will get your ass for it,” she growled darkly.
Jarod nodded. “Got it,” he said and looked her directly in the eye. “Sit down over there.”
She did as he had asked her to do. The little boy was still firmly attached to her neck.
“Hey my boy,” Jarod cooed. “I have to give you this now. This might sting for a second but not long, ok?” Jarod spoke softly while he gently tugged at the boy’s arm.
The child turned so that he was facing Jarod and he nodded slightly.
Jarod took the small arm and injected the boy with the sedative while Miss Parker stroked a hand over the boy’s head and planted a kiss onto his forehead every now and then.
“My, are you a good and brave young man,” Jarod praised the boy when he was done. He then took the boy out of Miss Parker’s arms. The child was grinning proudly at his father’s comment. Jarod walked back to his backpack to put the syringe and bottle into it once more, his son cradled into his arms.
Miss Parker came up behind him and tussled the child’s hair. “Keep him safe,” she whispered.
Jarod turned and looked her deep in the eye. Then he bent forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “I will protect him with my life,” he vowed.
“I know,” Miss Parker said and then watched him straighten again and walk over to the vent. He gave the boy, whose eyes were drooping shut, to the waiting arms of Angelo and then Jarod hoisted himself up. He looked at her from the vent’s entrance. “Just stick to our plan. We’ll be out of here in no time,” he said before he shut the vent’s cover.
Miss Parker nodded at his words and watched the gate shut softly and then a hushed conversation, followed by shuffling sounds.
And then everything was silent.
She had to keep herself occupied for a few more minutes and then she straightened and walked back over to the door.
Switching off the light while opening the door, she sneaked out and walked over to the nurse’s desk after firmly shutting the door behind her again.
“He’s asleep now,” she informed the nurse, while putting the emptied bottle down in front of her. “He gave me a bit of a hard time so you’d better not wake him now that he’s finally asleep. He might be wide awake otherwise and give you a rough evening,” she said, knowing full well that the nurse was work-shy.
The nurse’s face twisted at that thought and she quickly nodded. “Ok, then. I better let him sleep if you say so,” she replied quickly.
Miss Parker nodded and then stalked off, knowing that she had just given them the head-start they needed to get far enough away from the Centre before anyone would know what was happening.
She walked towards the elevator. She had intended to go to her office and then get the hell out of the Centre herself. If she didn’t encounter any more difficulties she should be out of there and reunited with Jarod and her son in a little more than an hour.
~~~~~~~
The dark van stood slightly hidden from view.
Miss Parker drove past it and parked her car in the driveway.
She nodded into the direction of the van and then quickly made her way into her house. Only a few minutes later, she reappeared and jogged over to where Jarod and Jay were waiting for her in the car. She threw her bag into the back and climbed into the van.
The moment the side door was closed Jarod put it into gear and drove off into the night.
Miss Parker looked up into the face of her childhood friend’s copy and smiled at the expression she saw. Jay’s face showed the contentment that he was feeling and that also radiated from Jarod. They were not completely out of danger but the worst part lay behind them.
Jay’s face lit up as he saw her and he handed her the little boy without her having to ask him to do so. He saw her need to hold the child that she had just learned was hers a few days ago. He looked over to Jarod who was concentrated on driving and yet keeping an eye on the rear-view mirror for a different reason other than watching Miss Parker and their son.
Miss Parker relaxed when she saw a pair of blue eyes looking up at her groggily. “When did he wake up?”
“About half an hour ago. I told you that the sedative wasn’t strong,” Jarod replied and their eyes met briefly in the rear-view mirror.
She merely glared at him, not backing down or excusing her behaviour.
Jay chuckled and Jarod just shrugged his shoulders.
They made their travel mostly in silence.
Jarod was driving and he insisted on keeping his place on the wheel. For him it was a way of letting go of the tension. Driving gave him a feeling of security and relaxation. Whenever he was driving away from one spot of the earth, he was leaving an area and bringing a distance between himself and his pursuers. It had been that way ever sine he had fled from the Centre.
Miss Parker, Jay, and the little boy dozed on and off in their seats and Jarod kept a protective eye on them while driving. He silently vowed that he would protect his family with all he had.
~~~~~~~~
Seven hours and three car changes later, the group had crossed the Canadian-American border with fake passports Jarod had manufactured.
The plan was to get lost in the Canadian country, a task that was not hard to accomplish once they had reached the border.
They had agreed upon heading to the south west of Ontario and stay there until they felt that the situation had cooled down.
Jarod and Jay had been climbing there a few months before and so they knew the area and they had already rented a small cabin that would serve their purposes.
The travel through Canada would take two more days but they had decided to go there by car and not take a small airplane.
~~~~~~~
Miss Parker let herself fall into the soft armchair and sighed.
Jarod had the little boy in his arms, walked over to her, and gave him to her. After that, he helped Jay to get what little luggage they had into the house.
They were all tired and glad to finally get out of the confined space of the van. There had been the first tender arguments about unimportant matters like radio stations and such, once they had all let their guards down.
Having to spend the whole day on the road and not being able to get away form one’s companions was always difficult. Jay and Jarod were by now used to it but for Miss Parker it was completely new. Riding with her former prey and his clone didn’t make it any easier.
She closed her eyes and cradled her son to her. She had expected to be more unnerved about the little boy but her patience with him never seemed to end. Contrary to the boy’s presence, she had a rough time coping with his father’s being there.
She was particularly irritated about the way he behaved. One minute he seemed to be content and relaxed and the next he was closed up and snapped at her.
Jay tried to stay out of their arguments as much as he could and both Jarod and she tried to keep it that way. They both tried to avoid drawing him on one or the other side.
She got up and sat her son on the chair. “Will you keep an eye on him?” she asked Jarod when he came back into the house, while she brushed past him.
“Sure,” he responded and walked over to his son.
He shook his head and took the boy in his arms. He was time and time again mesmerized at the wonder that he now held in his arms. He was a father and this was his son. He had lost the first ten months of his life but they had managed to liberate him from the people that had kept him away from his mother and father.
The tiny hands reached out to him and touched Jarod’s stubbly cheek, making him smile at the contact. It was as if the boy had to convince himself that he was with his family just as much as Miss Parker and he himself had to convince themselves time and time again.
He sighed.
Miss Parker.
That was a tender theme at the moment. At first everything had seemed fine, but as the journey wore on it had become more and more complicated.
Sometimes he just couldn’t fathom what she was trying to accomplish with her remarks; if she was trying to hurt him or to push him away or both… he didn’t know.
The only thing he knew was that she wouldn’t succeed with driving him away or whatever it was that she had in mind. Now that he had a son with her – one he intended to stay with - she was stuck with him.
He looked up when she stepped out of the bathroom and nearly gasped out aloud.
She had nothing on expect a towel that was wrapped around her body, barely hiding anything, and letting her legs seem as if they stretched to all infinity.
His mouth was suddenly dry and his palms were sweaty. His heart was beating overtime in his chest. Jarod swallowed and tried to tear his gaze away from her.
Miss Parker looked up to find him gaping at her. “What?” she asked.
Jarod blinked, realising that she had spoken to him. “Nothing,” he managed to say.
She chuckled lightly and turned around to walk back into the bathroom.
Jay came through the front door with the last piece of luggage and nearly dropped the bag when he saw Miss Parker vanishing into the bathroom.
“Wow,” he breathed, making Jarod snap out of his reverie.
“Yep,” Jarod smiled towards his younger self. “Can you stay with him for a few minutes, I have to get something,” Jarod more ordered than asked and with that he already pushed past Jay to get out of the house. There was nothing still in the car he needed to fetch. What he really needed was some air.
Jarod walked the short distance to the lake and kept on ambling along the shore, thinking about how his life had changed in the short span of not even half a year.
First Jay had come into his life, then once that was all clear and easy, this new discovery had sent him back to Blue Cove to get two more added to his family circle.
He had been on rather good terms with Miss Parker since he and Jay had finally connected and then this new turmoil threw them together and left them no time to figure out where they stood with each other.
The little scene in the house just minutes ago had vividly showed him that the word ‘friendship’ was not an accurate description of what he was feeling for Miss Parker.
The problem was just that he wouldn’t get away with his skin intact if he tried to act on his feelings.
He had felt uneasy with her during the last few days in the small space of the car but had suppressed his feelings then. But suppressing his feelings for all eternity while being together with her to raise their son… not an acceptable thought.
He just couldn’t come up with a satisfactory solution for this problem. Being a genius or not, this put him in an awkward situation and he had no idea how to handle it.
He stayed outside for a while longer and then reluctantly made his way back to the cabin.
~~~~~~~
She leaned against the bathroom door with her back firmly pressed against the wood.
God, what had she thought by walking out of there with just the towel?
She rolled her eyes. She had thought nothing and that was the problem. She still had to get used to the thought of living together with two men and a child - her child and the father of her child and his clone.
She tried to get her heart rate back under control. She could still picture Jarod sitting there with their child in his lap, his mouth agape and that absolutely stunned expression, born out of surprise and something deeper that she had been able to see in his features.
She closed her eyes and swallowed with difficulty.
It hadn’t just been surprise she had seen in Jarod’s face but also open adoration and affection as well.
God, this was certainly not getting easier. Just living together with her childhood friend, her best friend who she had never completely gotten out of her mind even if her job would have required it, was difficult. But should her feelings started to act up now, this would get more than complicated.
Memories of their shared youth invaded her consciousness. How they had sneaked off in the Centre and played together, pictures of how he had looked at her at that time and pictures of their kiss.
She shuddered.
This would definitely get complicated.
It wasn’t as if she didn’t want more than ‘friendship’ but Jarod wouldn’t return those feelings these days. She knew that he cared and that he wanted a friendship with her and that he would always be there for her and help her but she was also certain that the ‘love-train’ was long gone. Long gone from the platform she just now arrived upon for there had been too many detours and obstacles keeping her from arriving earlier.
She sighed and then resolutely walked over to the mirror. Watching her reflection in the cool glass she wondered how she would be able to pull this through; living together with her childhood friend, her first love whom she still had deep feelings for, and maintain the distance that would be needed if she didn’t want to get too badly hurt.
She swallowed and then turned to the shower.
Maybe she would find a way, a solution for this problem.
To be continued…
