Title - Saying The Words (5/?) Author - Nicky Rating - PG Category - JMPR Summary - Jarod tries to say good bye, but ends up coming back to rescue Miss Parker and finds her in a surprising predicament. Disclaimer - The characters aren't mine. I'm just using them for my own entertainment purposes. * * * * * * * * * * Miss Parker waits patiently for the nurse to leave. She figures today is as good a day as any to make her break. She couldn't see herself laying there another day pretending to be unconscious while they doped her up with God only knows what. She's never been 're-educated', but if this is what they did, she can understand why so many Centre employees fear it. The nurse jots some notes in Miss Parker's chart and finally leaves. After a few moments, Miss Parker can hear the daily ritual of the wing being shut down for the night. Nurses and other employees telling each other good night. Lights shutting off. Doors being locked. Pretty soon, the usual calm envelopes the halls and she decides to make her move. She's spent most of her nights planning this. They think she's unconscious so they haven't taken proper precautions to make sure she stays their prisoner. She discovered a few nights earlier that there was no lock on her door. But, there's a guard that patrols the hallway on a fairly regular, but inconsistent basis. There's no way to know when he'll be by. So she's been preparing herself physically to overtake him if necessary. Waiting by the door until the guard passes, she tries to decide which direction to take to lead her out. She watches him turn down the one hallway, making her decision that much easier. When she can no longer hear his footsteps, she sneaks out of her room and goes in the opposite direction as the guard, not sure where it will lead, but willing to take the chance. Taking a look at her surroundings, she notices that the hallways don't look like the Centre's. But they do look vaguely familiar. Like maybe she's been here before. She searches her mind for some sort of clue to help her remember where she is and possibly how to get out. She's interrupted, however, by the sound of approaching footsteps. She freezes, and finds herself just a hall's length distance away from the security guard. Apparently, the halls take a circular path around the building. "Hey!" he calls out when he notices her standing there. He starts running towards her, reaching for his walkie talkie to alert the other guards. She looks all around, trying to figure out which way to run. But before she can make a step, she finds her possible paths blocked by approaching guards. "No," she screams, sinking down to her knees in frustration. She braces herself for an attack from the guards, but one doesn't come. In an instant, the hall turns silent, and the guards who were previously running for her, are now crawling on the floor, struggling to move. A sweet smell invades her senses and she too finds her body unable to move. Her vision starts to cloud and she eventually gives up trying to fight the darkness. * * * * * * * * * * Donoterase was a much smaller facility than the Centre and therefore didn't have as extensive a security system. Jarod didn't foresee a big problem getting in, finding Miss Parker, and getting out. It was mostly going to be a waiting game. By six that evening, Jarod sat in his car outside the facility watching most of the staff go home. By nine, he was sure that only a few guards remained. It was time to make his move. He slings his backpack over his shoulder and makes his way through the darkness towards the building. From his surveillance, the security guards were focused mainly on the south side of the building, so Jarod decided to begin his search there. He sneaks around the building until he's up against the outside wall near the entrance he plans on using. Digging through the back pack, he gently pulls out a cannister and attaches it to the air conditioner unit. He flips the switch on the cannister and then reaches back into his bag, pulling out a gas mask. He places the mask over his face and hurries into the building. He can see the immediate effects of his little concoction. The gas from the cannister was making it's way through the halls, anesthesizing everything in it's path. He steps over unconscious guards, nurses, and lab workers as he begins the search of each room. After about 6 rooms, he realizes how futile this method is. With the number of rooms on this one hall alone, it would take him more time than he has to search. He leans against the wall in frustration, trying to quickly SIM a better method of searching when he hears the sound of pounding footsteps in the distance. He panics briefly, wondering why those people haven't succumbed to the gas when he hears a sound that frightens him more. "No!" a terrified voice screams. A voice that sounds a lot like Miss Parker. Guards or not, he runs toward the sound of the scream, determined to fight if necessary to get to her. But when he reaches the hall, he sees that fighting won't be necessary. A line of passed out guards surround Miss Parker, their arms outstretched as if they were reaching for her. It looks like he found her just in time. Releasing a relieved breath, he jumps over the bodies to reach her, easily picking her up and carrying her to safety. * * * * * * * * * * Miss Parker awakens feeling fuzzy and lightheaded. She looks around and groans at the seemingly familiar surroundings. Her escape attempt must have failed because here she was in yet another bed in another room that she doesn't remember coming to. She grabs the nearest thing to her to throw against the wall. Hot, angry tears fill her eyes as groans of frustration fill her throat. "Miss Parker, are you alright?" a stunned Jarod asks, standing in the doorway. He heard something crash against the wall and was concerned for her safety. Miss Parker stares at him in confusion for a moment before assuming he's a dream. She blinks her eyes in an effort to rid her brain of the hallucination, but when she opens them again, he's still there. "Jarod? Where am I? What are you doing here?" "You were being held at Donoterase," he tells her. "It took us weeks to find you. I went and got you last night." "Donoterase? Why?" She tries to sit up in the bed, but encounters a painful throb in her head accompanied by a flash of nausea. "Don't worry about that right now," he says, rushing to her bedside to lay her back down. "That gas I used to sedate the guards at the facility has a few side effects. Monster headache? Feeling a bit woozy?" "Yeah," she nods. "I think I'm going to be sick." "Just take it slowly. It'll subside," he assures her. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath until the sickness abates. Then she tries rising again, this time without rushing the movements. Jarod holds onto one side of her to help her up to a sitting position. "Better?" he asks, once she's settled. "Yeah. Thanks," she whispers. She looks around the room again, this time noticing that it lacked the clinical sterility of her last abode. "Where are we?" "Someplace far from the Centre and far from Donoterase. Someplace safe," he promises. He tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and gently strokes his finger down her cheek, much like he did that night when he left. But unlike that night, she doesn't allow him the luxury this time. "Stop that," she snaps at him, swatting away his hand. She stiffens her back and glares at him with as much hatred as she can muster. "Thank you for helping me. But I'm sure there's a life out there that you need to get back to. Don't let me keep you from it." "I'm in no hurry." "Well, you were in a hurry that night you left me. You couldn't seem to get far enough away fast enough." She folds her arms across her chest and the glare intensifies. But beneath the anger, Jarod can see how much she's hurting. "Miss Parker," he sighs. "I thought you understood. It wasn't *you* I was leaving. It was that life we were forced to live. I couldn't live like that anymore. But if things were different . . . " He trails off, letting the thought hang in the air. He grabs her arms and gently unfolds them, holding on to both her hands. This time, she doesn't object to his touch. "Yeah, if things were different," she nods sadly before letting out a big yawn. "But let's not worry about what happened yesterday or what's going to happen tomorrow. You're wiped out and still under the effects of that gas and whatever else they were drugging you with. Why don't you get some more rest." He smiles at her and tucks her back into the bed. Her eyes are drifting shut before he even finishes straightening the covers. "If I close my eyes, are you going to be gone again when I open them?" she murmurs sleepily. "Shhh. Go to sleep, Miss Parker. I'll be right here when you wake up," he promises. He leans over to kiss her quickly on the forehead before heading towards the door. He takes one last look at her and sighs in resignation. Right now, he would be able to keep his promise. But not for much longer. They couldn't be safe together. And he knew that the longer he stayed, the more difficult it would be to leave. If not impossible. To be continued . . .