Darkness Series
Part 14: In A New Light

"Miss Parker's left already?"

 

Jarod looked up from a bowl in which he was mixing something. "Temporarily only. She's going to collect a few other people who still think I'm dead and bring them back here for dinner."

 

"And you're cooking?" Nicole queried.

 

"I would have asked you if you wanted to, but I could hear you chatting to Ann on the phone and thought this was easier."

 

"Where's Sydney?"

 

"Waiting for Michelle." He smiled faintly and looked down again while Charlie hovered around his feet, hoping for a scrap of food.

 

"You're nervous," his wife teased.

 

"No more than I was before, but kind of, yes." He looked up. "Resurrection isn't a thing I'm used to."

 

Nicole’s eyes twinkled as she slipped both arms around his waist. "Hey, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

 

"What, you mean that was it?" He stared at her in horror. "I hoped to make it an annual event."

 

She laughed, kissing him. "Sorry, no. I don't think I could cope if we had to go through it all over again."

 

"Okay," he teased, "next time, you can think I'm dead too, I promise."

 

"That won't make it any easier, Jarod."

 

He looked up to find Sydney standing in the doorway and narrowed his eyes. "I never thought you were the type that would eavesdrop."

 

"Well, you were hardly keeping your voices down, either of you," he smiled as he walked into the room and leaned against the bench.

 

"We aren't used to having somebody else who could overhear our conversations, Sydney," Jarod laughed as Nicole left the room. "It'll take a little getting used to."

 

"You could always rescind your offer."

 

Jarod looked at the psychiatrist and then caught the eye of the woman standing behind the older man, his own eyes twinkling. "No, I think we'll let the offer stand the way it is. While I might knock it back to you, I couldn’t be that rude to Michelle."

 

"For that you'd have to wait until she arrived," Sydney remarked.

 

"She's got ten seconds. If she's not here in that time..." Jarod leaned back against the bench and looked at his watch as Sydney shot a sharp, knowing glance in his direction before turning quickly to see the women standing behind him.

 

* * *

 

Jarod looked up as Michelle followed him into the kitchen and took the mugs out of her hand with a smile.

 

"Are you sure, Dr. Crawford?"

 

"My name's Jarod, Michelle, and yes, I am sure."

 

"It's a lovely offer..."

 

Turning, he looked at her as he leaned against the sink. "I understand that it’s a little unexpected. After all, you called to speak to the specialist and ended up with me." He laughed. "But Sydney's like another member of my family and I really would like the thought that he's around, particularly after so long not being able to talk to him." Jarod hesitated. "I'm not saying that you have to move here completely and leave everything at your house behind. All we're offering is a room here for the two of you whenever you want. And one for Nicholas as well, if he'd like it."

 

"He... Sydney… looks a lot better," the woman hazarded.

 

Jarod smiled. "He is a lot better. And I’d expect him only to continue to improve, particularly now that he's eating and sleeping again properly."

 

"So... I don't..."

 

He walked over and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Michelle, I know you've been worrying about getting him back, only to lose him again, and I felt the same way on the first night he was here, but, as his doctor, I can tell you that you don't have to worry about that anymore." Jarod felt Michelle begin to sob softly. "I can imagine how awful the last eighteen months have been for both of you and I feel terrible about that - I honestly do. But he isn't sick anymore and he'll soon be back to the way he was before, if not better. He won’t have any more fainting or pain, at least not from that source. And I'll be keeping a firm eye on him to make sure that he won't neglect himself again, I promise you."

 

* * *

 

Jarod's eyes gleamed with laughter as he looked up from his desk to see the gate open and Miss Parker and a group of other people, walk through it. Knowing they couldn't see him, he remained at his desk, hearing his wife open the door and usher them inside.

 

"Dr… Austen?"

 

"Actually, it's Dr. Crawford now, Mr. Broots."

 

"Dad, what's going on?"

 

"She didn't tell you, Nicholas?"

 

"No, she just said that you would like to see me."

 

"Miss Parker, what on earth…?"

 

Hearing the group walk towards the living room, Jarod stood up from behind his desk, slipping his glasses into his pocket, as he eased open the door. Going out of the room that he had once slept in, he followed them all down the hall, only stopping when one person, having lingered behind the rest, turned and saw him.

 

"Jarod!"

 

The empath flung his arms around the other man and hugged him fiercely.

 

"Hi, Angelo."

 

"Not dead..." the younger man murmured in delight.

 

"No, Angelo, I'm not.” Jarod embraced him firmly. “You were right."

 

"Happy."

 

"Yes,” he agreed, smiling. “I'm very happy now."

 

Jarod ushered Angelo into the living room, listening to the conversation as he appeared, unseen, in the doorway and waited there.

 

"Where's Angelo?" Broots demanded.

 

Nicole's lips twitched. "He probably stopped to say hello to an old friend."

 

Ethan raised his head sharply, suddenly suspicious, and looked at her. "This 'old friend' wouldn't share your surname by any chance, would he?"

 

Jarod laughed as he walked in. "How did you guess, brother?" He seated himself beside his wife. "Incidentally, it really should be yours, too."

 

There was long moment of silence, during which time Jarod made a determined effort not to look at either Sydney or Miss Parker and knew that they were doing the same.

 

"Jarod?"

 

"Well done, Mr. Broots. I thought you would have forgotten me after all this time."

 

"How...?"

 

"Resurrection." He felt his wife's suppressed laughter. "Unless you can think of an easier way."

 

"So she was right."

 

"Yes, Ethan." The urge to laugh dissolved as he looked up. "Catherine was right when she told you I was still alive, and that there was a good reason for it."

 

"How did you...?"

 

"Sydney told me yesterday." His eyes became sad. "I want to apologize to you all for everything you've gone through over the last few months. I know it can't have been easy."

 

Miss Parker looked up. "It would have been a lot easier to destroy the Centre if you'd helped us."

 

He shrugged. "If I'd been there, you probably wouldn't have been."

 

"Well, possibly..."

 

* * *

 

"Parker?"

 

"Yes, Jarod?" She looked over as she picked up the plate he had just placed on the drying rack.

 

"What happened to...” he hesitated, “your brother?"

 

"Lyle?" She looked startled. "I thought you knew."

 

"I only really know about the general things - like how you did it. I haven't asked about specifics."

 

Miss Parker sighed and put the plate on the bench beside her. "After he was arrested - I assume you knew about that - several of the other groups were afraid that, if he started talking, he might incriminate them too."

 

"So they had him killed," the man finished softly.

 

She nodded. "It was a vaguely similar set-up to the one..."

 

"With Thomas' assumed killer." Jarod saw the tears that filled her eyes and came over, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Parker, I'm so sorry."

 

"I'm not angry, Jarod." She looked up at him. "Not anymore."

 

"But you were."

 

"I was angry at the situation. Not at you. It seemed, the more I was convinced you were dead, the less I thought about the last few years and the more I thought about the way it was before."

 

"With us… as friends."

 

She nodded silently and he drew back, looking down at her face. With a gentle hand he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I never thought I'd say that again."

 

"You didn't simulate it?"

 

He looked down, seeing the faint smile on her face. "Actually, yes. I simulated the situation after Nicole called Sydney. There would still have been time, then, for me to change it, to call and say she was wrong. But, like I said earlier, I couldn't find any other way than what we did."

 

"So all the time we thought you were dead..."

 

"I was trying to kill myself in alternative ways." He grinned as his wife entered the kitchen. "Like falling on the corner of the bathtub..."

 

"And falling in love," Miss Parker added. "That's almost as fatal."

 

"Well, you should know," he teased. "From what I've seen this evening..."

 

Miss Parker tried to look innocent. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

 

"I think Broots might have something to say about that."

 

* * *

 

Jarod walked into the living room, glancing around at the other occupants, as Sydney spoke.

 

"Is everyone gone?"

 

Nicholas grinned. "Did you think maybe he'd shut somebody in the closet, Dad, or locked them in his study?"

 

"Hey!” Jarod sent a mock glare across the room. “Have you been snooping?"

 

"Well, I wanted to know what the house looked like before I decided to move in."

 

Nicole laughed as she handed her husband a mug and he sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist, Charlie flopping across his feet with a sigh. "We're glad you made that decision, Nicholas."

 

"It wasn't hard." He glanced at his father. "And it means I can keep an eye on certain other people who are living here now."

 

"That's my job!" Jarod protested indignantly, narrowing his eyes. "Are you trying to do my work for me, Nicholas?"

 

"Only if I can get paid that well."

 

Jarod laughed and glanced at his watch, raising an eyebrow. "So I guess that means you'll do my seven thirty surgery as well."

 

"Seven thirty? Uh, no,” the younger man protested faintly. “You go ahead, that's fine."

 

"If I can be awake in time."

 

Sydney looked up, an amused look on his face. "Is that a subtle hint, Jarod?"

 

"Not at all." He stood up. "It's your house. You can go to bed whenever you want. But I'm heading off now, or else, tomorrow morning," he caught his wife's eye and grinned, "I might operate on the wrong end."

 

* * *

 

Jarod filled his mug before looking up to see Sydney in the doorway. "Are you mad? Do you have any idea of what time it is?"

 

"Of course. We have a clock."

 

"So what are you doing up already?"

 

"I asked for his help today."

 

Jarod narrowed his eyes as his wife followed Sydney walked into the room. "Do you do anything for yourself anymore or do you just depend on other people?"

 

"Hey, I only asked you once."

 

"And you've only asked Sydney once - so far," he retorted somewhat sharply.

 

Nicole laughed before sitting beside him and gently squeezing his hand. "What's wrong?"

 

Jarod's eyes widened slightly. "How did you...?"

 

"I'm married to you, Jarod. I'm supposed to know if something's wrong." She glanced at Sydney, who nodded. "In fact, we talked about that last night."

 

Jarod rolled his eyes before reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out a folded letter, handing it to her and draining his mug as she read it. "What do you make of that?"

 

"They want you to treat one of the prisoners?"

 

Sydney looked up. "Can one of you either tell me or show me?"

 

"I received a letter from the justice department yesterday asking me to come and examine one of their inmates,” the younger man replied. “When I called, I was told it was felt this person required specialist care and it would be best if I was called in."

 

"It's just another patient, Jarod," the psychiatrist reminded him.

 

He shook his head, refolding the letter. "I have a bad feeling about this but I’m not sure why."

 

"I could come with you."

 

"I thought you were going to work with my wife."

 

"I could come with you this morning and her this afternoon," Sydney paused, a smile on his face, "unless you think I could be in two places at once."

 

* * *

 

"It's a prisoner who's been on death row for almost a year, since the end of his trial. After you give us a diagnosis, we'll decide whether to go on from there."

 

"So why am I being called in?" Jarod asked the man opposite him as Sydney sat quietly at his right.

 

"We want this prisoner to survive long enough to be executed, if possible."

 

"And when will that take place?"

 

"No idea." The head of the jail shrugged. "He's still got several levels of appeal to go through first and, although we're confident that none of them will succeed, we can't set a fixed date until that's all finished."

 

Jarod nodded slowly. "And did I understand that you had him transferred here?"

 

"From interstate, yes. He was in Delaware."

 

Sydney saw Jarod stiffen. "And the trial finished a year ago?"

 

"Yes, Dr. Crawford, but it was all very quiet so I doubt you'd have heard anything about it."

 

"Right, good." Jarod looked up from the notes he had made. "Well, shall we get this out of the way?"

 

* * *

 

Jarod followed one of the guards into the room and looked over at the patient as he sat in a chair. Somehow the features weren't a surprise. He’d had an idea of what to expect, some feeling that told him who it would be, but the look on the other man's face told Jarod that his appearance was more than just a shock.

 

"How the...?"

 

The doctor tried not to smirk. "We meet again, Mr. Parker."

 

"Jarod?!"

 

"Dr. Crawford, if you don't mind." Jarod could hear the dignity that he had never previously been allowed to display in front of this man making his voice cold. He took a seat in the empty chair, watching as the guards took their places at the door, and then opened the folder on the desk in front of him.

 

"What are you doing here?” the older man hissed furiously. “What are you still doing alive?"

 

Jarod saw the look of anger that was in the man's eyes and suddenly felt an urge to laugh. "You should have checked your facts, Mr. Parker. You know that I can become anyone I want to be - even somebody dead." He looked ddown at the papers he held and then back up. "So you've been experiencing pain?"

 

"You'd be experiencing a lot more if we were alone," the man spat.

 

"And that is the exact reason we aren't. Presumably it's also the reason that you and I were never alone in a room together at the Centre: you weren't sure what I might do." There was amusement in Jarod's eyes. "Shall we continue?"

 

"I want a real doctor."

 

"That's exactly what you've got. I am a qualified medical practitioner, an expert in this field, and I was called in because it seems you've been unwell." Jarod leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice, a smile on his face. "Is it true, Mr. Parker or were you just - pretending?"

 

* * *

 

"Jarod?"

 

He looked up as the door was closed behind him to find Sydney leaning against the wall. "Did you see?"

 

"Yes." Sydney's lips twitched but he endeavored to keep the amusement out of his voice. "I heard too."

 

"Dr. Crawford? Is everything okay?"

 

"Fine, thank you, warden." He reached into a folder, extracting a sheet of paper, which he handed over. "This is a list of tests I'd like you to run on the prisoner." Sydney saw the light that appeared in Jarod's eyes as he said the word and tried not to smile. "As soon as I get the results, I'll send a full report."

 

"Thank you." The man looked up. "So I'll hear from you in a few days?"

 

"Yes, you will." Jarod shook the warden’s hand before he and Sydney headed for the exit of the building.

 

"Are you going to tell Miss Parker?" the psychiatrist queried as they passed through the security checkpoint.

 

"You've said that before."

 

"Jarod, I'm serious."

 

The younger man sighed. "I don't know. I think I'd rather wait until I get the results of the tests. If he's as seriously ill as the report suggests, there probably isn't a lot of point."

 

Sydney glanced over. "You handled it well."

 

"I never thought I'd have to see him again." Jarod's voice was soft.

 

"What can he do to you now?"

 

"Expose me."

 

"As what?” the older man demanded. “You're a qualified medical practitioner and you earned your position as head of St. Luke's Hospital. In addition to all that, you're highly respected in your field. How could he expose you?"

 

Jarod stared down at the roof of the car for a moment before unlocking the vehicle. "I don't know, Sydney."

 

"You don't have to be scared of him anymore."

 

"Just because I don't have to be doesn't mean I'm not," Jarod murmured.

 

"I thought you got rid of your nightmares from the Centre."

 

"The Centre, yes, but not of him."

 

"So now you can face them too."

 

"I'm not ready for this."

 

"You never would be."

 

Jarod glanced at his companion, a look of curiosity in his eyes. "Did you work out that it would be him as well?"

 

"I never thought about it," Sydney confessed.

 

"And what did you think when you first saw him?"

 

"I wondered what you'd do," the older man replied quietly.

 

"And what did I do?"

 

"Exactly what I thought you would. You faced him and came out of it well."

 

"I'll have to see him again."

 

"You could hand him on to someone else..." Sydney made the statement with intent and watched as Jarod started the car.

 

"No, I couldn't."

 

The older man nodded slightly. "And why not?"

 

"Because I was the one who was asked to do it - and because, if I don't, it will only haunt me."

 

"I'm glad you understand that."

 

* * *

 

"Sydney, can I have a word?"

 

"Of course, Nicole." The psychiatrist put down the book he was currently reading, looking up as she came into the living room. "What is it?"

 

"It's Jarod."

 

He nodded silently, waiting for her to continue.

 

"He's started having nightmares again."

 

"About the Centre," he finished for her.

 

She looked up, startled. "How did you know?"

 

"I've been expecting it - and I heard them."

 

"Why now, Sydney? It's been almost two years."

 

"Because of the new patient that he's got, the one in prison."

 

Nicole sat back in the chair, looking over at him. "But that was two days ago."

 

"I assume he got the results of the tests today and knows he'll have to see him again tomorrow."

 

She nodded slowly. "He got over that fear..."

 

"Of the Centre. Not necessarily of all the people involved." Sydney sighed. "If his patient were, for instance, Raines, it would be even worse."

 

"Thank you for that suggestion, Sydney. It really helps."

 

They both looked up to find Jarod standing at the head of the stairs, hands deep in the pockets of his dressing gown, Charlie at his heels.

 

"I thought you were asleep," the psychiatrist proposed.

 

"I was,” the other man agreed. “Then certain memories replayed in living sound and color, so now I'm awake again."

 

Jarod descended the stairs and curled himself up on the window seat, staring into the darkness.

 

"Did you get the results today?" Sydney queried.

 

"You know I did."

 

"And?"

 

Jarod sighed. "Six weeks. Maximum. Probably less."

 

"And there's nothing you can do?"

 

"No. Any treatments I could prescribe would only make the rest of his short life more unpleasant. It might prolong it for three or four weeks, but that's all."

 

"You're sure?"

 

Jarod glanced over. "I got two other doctors to look over the results as well, just to be sure that I wasn't allowing my emotions to get in the way. Their prognosis was even less encouraging than mine. Four weeks."

 

"And… what are you going to tell the warden?"

 

"To let nature take its course." He sighed and turned back to contemplating the darkness outside the window, absent-mindedly stroking the dog’s head. "There's nothing else to do."

 

"And Parker?"

 

"I don't know." Jarod closed his eyes briefly and then looked over again. "I'm not sure whether it would better for her to see him like that or not."

 

"Why don't you ask her and let her make up her own mind?"

 

Jarod glanced at Sydney. "Because I'm not sure I want her to see me when I see him."

 

"How is he?" Nicole asked somewhat nervously, seeing the pain and anger in Jarod's eyes.

 

"He collapsed yesterday, according to a call I got, and they've started to give him medication for the pain."

 

"Did you direct them to do that?" the psychiatrist queried.

 

"You know that they couldn't give it without my direction."

 

"So you won't… let him suffer?"

 

Jarod glanced at his former mentor before staring back out into the darkness. "I have got an oath to uphold, no matter what I might feel personally."

 

"I'm glad to hear it, Jarod."

 

He looked up once more, a question apparent on his face, but comforted to see the obvious pride in the older man's eyes. "Sydney, what would you do in my situation?"

 

"Exactly what you've done."

 

"And… Miss Parker?"

 

"I'd let her make her own decision." Sydney got up and came to sit beside him. "She’s got a lot of her own nightmares to overcome."

 

* * *

 

"How is he?"

 

Jarod swallowed the immediate answer, replying cautiously. "He'll be fairly heavily sedated, so he might not even wake up while we're there, Parker. And he may not know who you are."

 

"It's cancer?"

 

"Yes."

 

"And is he… dying…?"

 

He took a deep breath and glanced at Broots, who sat in the back seat, before turning back to the road. "Yes, he is."

 

"How long?"

 

"A week or two. Probably not much more, if he even lives that long."

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her nodding slightly.

 

"Parker, his mind isn't too clear anymore. The cancer is affecting his brain and he can't stand up now, so he'll be in bed. But it also means that he might say some strange or… painful things."

 

"How often have you seen him?"

 

"Three times."

 

"And does he... know who you are?"

 

"He did the first two times. He was unconscious the last time I was there."

 

"But is he… suffering?"

 

"No, Parker." Jarod shook his head definitively. "I wouldn't let that happen."

 

* * *

 

Jarod picked up his bag and was about to close the door of the car when his phone rang. As Miss Parker and Broots got out, he answered it.

 

"Jarod Crawford." He paused. "Yes, warden, I understand… No, we just arrived, so we'll be there in a few minutes… Thank you… Goodbye."

 

He disconnected the called and looked over.

 

"He's slipping away, Parker. That was the call to ask me to come and do what I could for him." He stepped closer and put one hand on her shoulder. "Do you still want to see him?"

 

"Is he… awake?"

 

"Yes, he is. I don't know if he's lucid, but he's awake."

 

She slowly nodded and Jarod put the phone back in his pocket, turning towards the gray building, surrounded by barbed wire.

 

"Okay, let's go."

 

* * *

 

The room was quiet as Miss Parker and Broots entered it, Jarod having gone in several minutes earlier. He sat in a chair beside the bed, a syringe waiting at his right hand, and his eyes fixed on the patient. When they approached, he stood and gently shook the man.

 

"Mr. Parker, your daughter's here."

 

Broots looked up, noticing that Jarod's voice was calm and professional, and he wondered at that fact, feeling his own nervousness. He stepped around to stand beside the doctor as Miss Parker hesitantly approached the bed.

 

"Daddy?"

 

Her voice was a faint whisper but the eyes of the man in bed were already open and they focused on her. She found herself halting some distance away.

 

"Move closer, Parker,” he urged. “He won't be able to focus on you at that distance." As she looked at Jarod, he nodded encouragingly. "It's all right. He can't hurt you now."

 

"Angel…"

 

She heard the faint whisper and looked down again as she stepped closer to the bed, sinking into the chair that was beside it.

 

"I'm sorry, Angel…"

 

The dying man's breath came painfully and Broots glanced at Jarod, lowering his voice. "Is it just his brain?"

 

"No." The doctor shook his head. "It's all through him – lungs, heart, liver – everything. His body’s slowly shutting down."

 

"And how long?"

 

"A few hours, at best."

 

"And how are you…?"

 

The doctor’s voice was firm. "I'm just as scared of him as you are, Mr. Broots, but I have a job to do."

 

Jarod turned back to the table and extracted a sheet of paper, looking up and catching the eye of one of the guards, who came over.

 

"I need you to find the warden and one of the other doctors for me."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

The man left the room and immediately one of the other guards took his place.

 

"What's that?"

 

"Death certificate."

 

"So he's definitely…"

 

"Look at him, Broots." Jarod glanced over at the bed as he softly said the words, seeing that Miss Parker had slipped her hand into her father's. "Nothing could save him now."

 

Sitting down again, he began to slowly fill out the form.

 

* * *

 

"Go ahead, Dr. Crawford."

 

The other doctor, leaning against the wall, nodded as he spoke and Jarod picked up the syringe that lay on the table. He looked at the man who in the bed and uncapped it, about to inject it into the I.V. tube, when one of the machines gave a soft beep, and Jarod replaced the needle on the table. Stretching out one hand, he turned off the machine.

 

"Time of death 19:53."

 

As his colleague spoke, Jarod turned to the folder and noted down the figures, before glancing at Miss Parker and Broots. He handed the form to the other doctor, who signed it and then gave it to the warden. Once the third signature had been applied, Jarod replaced the page in the folder and handed the bundle to the men.

 

"Thank you for your help, Dr. Crawford."

 

"You're welcome, warden."

 

"Will she want his things?"

 

"It might be best, yes, so that we don't have to make another trip." Jarod looked at Miss Parker as he spoke but her eyes were fixed on her father. Putting out his hand, Jarod shut the eyelids of the dead man and held them for several seconds until he was sure that they would remain closed. As he did so, the other two men left the room.

 

"What's that?"

 

Broots nodded at the syringe on the table and Jarod picked it up, replacing the cap. "Painkiller. But he didn't need it."

 

"And why...?" He looked up at the place where the other two men had stood.

 

"It sounds a little strange, considering how close he was to dying, but I could have been sued for negligence or interference if they hadn't been here. I wanted to make sure it didn't happen."

 

Jarod sighed and emptied the needle into a sink in the corner of the room, throwing the syringe into the sharps bin and peeling off the latex gloves that he had been wearing.

 

"Parker?" Broots gently shook her, but she looked past him to the man standing in the corner of the room.

 

"Did he mean it, Jarod?"

 

"Mean what?" He moved to stand in front of her, blocking her view of the dead man.

 

"When he said he was sorry."

 

Slowly, Jarod nodded. "I think he did, yes. He knew who you were and I think he knew what he was saying."

 

"So he heard me... forgive him?"

 

"Yes, I think so."

 

Slowly her eyes filled and Jarod stepped away, allowing Broots put his arms around her.

 

* * *

 

Jarod placed the bag into the trunk and shut the lid, walking around to see that the other two were in the back seat. Sighing deeply, he got behind the wheel.

 

"Are you okay, Jarod?"

 

"I never like losing a patient, Broots."

 

Turning on the headlights, he drove through the parking lot, giving in his pass at the guardhouse as they left.

 

"I'll drop the two of you at your hotel, if you like. You can come and get your car from our house in the morning."

 

"That’d be great, thanks."

 

Nodding, Jarod remained silent for the rest of the trip, occasionally glancing into the back seat to look at the other occupants. Finally he drew up in front of the hotel where they were staying and got out when they did, opening the trunk.

 

"Here, Parker." He put the bag gently into her hand. "You'll want this."

 

She nodded silently and he watched as the two people went inside before slowly getting back into his car.

 

* * *

 

Sydney followed the younger man out onto the veranda, sitting quietly on the sofa and watching as Jarod moved over to stand at the railing, Charlie at his side, the dog sensing that the man was upset.

 

"He died, didn't he?"

 

"Yes."

 

"And did you get there…?"

 

"We were there for the last few hours. Yes, Sydney, she got time to say what she wanted to."

 

"And you?"

 

"I don't know." Jarod stared out into the darkness. "I don't know whether that was enough or not." He turned to look at the older man. "I don't want the Centre in my life anymore, Sydney."

 

"You don't have it there, Jarod. All you had is a patient who was connected to that place and who died. Is it the fact that you couldn't save him, or your feelings of guilt that perhaps, despite the fact that your diagnosis was upheld by your medical colleagues, you think you didn't do enough…?"

 

"Both." Jarod's lips twisted with emotion. "I haven't felt that helpless since I woke up to find myself lying on the bathroom floor." Jarod looked over as Nicole came out to sit on the other sofa and he sat next to her, lying back so that his head was on her lap. She started to stroke his hair, seeing a tear slide down his cheek.

 

Sydney waited for a brief moment before speaking. "Jarod, you overcame your feelings about the Centre. I could see it from the first moment. It wasn't that you'd suppressed or hidden them. The worst of the pain associated with that place was gone. You can't let one small circumstance start it over again. You have to find a way of controlling it so that you can get rid of this too."

 

Nicole wiped away the tears that were flowing fast down onto her skirt and gently brushed his lips with her fingers.

 

"Jarod, was he the last?"

 

Sydney was about to answer the question when she looked up at him and he remained silent so that the other man was forced to consider and state a response.

 

"As far as I know."

 

"So the threat - the real threat - is gone now?" >

 

"Physically."

 

She bent down and kissed him. "We'll get rid of the rest, too, Jarod. Just like we did before."
 

Part 15

 

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