Title - Saying The Words (11/?)
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.

* * * * * * * * * *

An older couple paces back and forth across the waiting room 
floor.  The husband's face is filled with fear.  The wife's holds 
resignation.  She knows what she saw.  And she knows what it 
means.  It didn't matter how quickly they managed to get to the 
hospital.  The cause was already lost.  There was always chance 
for a miracle, but she wasn't holding her breath.  She had 
watched her husband hand over the still form and knew no life 
would be in that body ever again.  Now, she was just waiting on 
the doctor to confirm it.

"Mr. and Mrs. Alexander," a man about their age calls to them.  
The woman remains seated and just stares at the doctor, bracing 
herself for the inevitable words that would be falling from his 
lips.  The doctor feels her intense gaze and is a bit rattled by 
her calmness.

"Dr. Jacobs.  Is there any word on our granddaughter?" the 
worried husband asks.  He looks at the doctor with so much hope 
in his eyes, praying for a miracle.  The doctor quickly looks at 
the other man, almost grateful to have something to focus on 
other than the woman's disturbing glare.  Until he remembers what 
he has to tell the man.

"I'm so sorry, Sir.  But the child didn't make it."  The doctor 
takes a step back and watches the scene before him.  Silent tears 
of acceptance flowing down the woman's face while she consoles 
her inconsolable husband.  He's seen many times how the 
realization of lost hope could break a man.  But this woman 
seemed to have been prepared for it.  He's startled when she 
suddenly looks up at him again.  This time, he can almost hear 
her accusing thoughts.

'I know what you did,' the look seemed to say.  'I know what 
you're not telling us.'  

He could tell this woman wasn't going to be content with his 
usual story.  Right then and there, the doctor got worried.  This 
woman could be trouble.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Nice office, Jarod," Miss Parker remarks nervously as she looks 
around the room.  She fumbles with the ties on the paper thin 
gown she had to change into, trying hard to avoid eye contact 
with him.

"That's Dr. Wilkes to you," he grins, causing her to laugh.  He 
senses her nervousness and tries to get her to relax as much as 
possible.  "Why don't you hop up on the table.  I'm still getting 
everything set up, but I'll be with you in a minute."

"I don't understand how you set all this up so quickly.  We've 
only been in town a few days and already you've got people 
thinking you're a doctor," she says, laying back on the table as 
he instructs her to.  "Why are you doing this anyway?"

He grins again at her, but doesn't say anything.  The purpose of 
this latest pretend was two fold.  First, it was imperative that 
Miss Parker start getting prenatal care. There were tests to be 
run to be sure the child was healthy.  There was no telling what 
was done to her.  He just wants to make sure the baby develops 
and stays healthy.  And Jarod couldn't deny how curious he was to 
see if he was the father.  Or if she was the mother for that 
matter.  Again, there was no telling what *they* had done to her.  
Secondly, and this was the part she didn't need to know just yet, 
he was working on a case of mysterious infant deaths at the local 
hospitals.  He was 
sure he knew the doctor responsible, but just needed the proof.  
Pretending to be an OB/GYN was the perfect cover to accomplish 
both those goals.

"We need to make sure the baby's okay," he finally tells her.  
"There are some tests you need and I wouldn't trust these tests 
to anyone else except myself."

"What kind of tests?" she cringes as he brings a needle to her 
arm.  She looks away when he sticks it in her arm, drawing out a 
sample of her blood.

"Don't worry," he chuckles.  "This is about as bad as it gets.  
Today, I just basically wanted to get some bloodwork on you and 
then try to see if we can determine how far along you are.   You 
said you've gained about 5 pounds and you're barely starting to 
show.  Based on that, how long you were at Donoterase, and 
allowing for a week or two of hormone treatments before the 
actual insemination process took place, I estimate the time after 
conception to be around 12 or 13 weeks.  That's putting you right 
at the beginning of your second trimester."

"Is there any way to know for sure?" she asks curiously, trying 
to ignore the ominous looking machines and gadgets around the 
office.  She tries not to cringe when he picks up a mysterious 
tube of something in one hand and what looks like an electric 
razor in the other.

"We can start with seeing if junior here is camera shy," he 
smiles.  "This ultrasound should give us a clearer picture of the 
baby's development."  He flips the cap on the tube and squeezes a 
gel on her stomach, laughing when she practically leaps off the 
table.   

"That's ice cold, Jarod!" she shrieks.  

"Sorry," he continues to laugh.  He sets the tube down on the 
tray and moves the other gadget across her belly.

"You could have warned me.  That stuff was freezing.  There's no 
way to warm . . ."  She stops midsentence when her ears pick up a 
strange sound.  It was watery thumping noise, and it echoed all 
throughout the room.  She looks up at him with a confused 
expression her face, wondering what she's hearing.

"The baby's heartbeat," he says, answering her silent question.  
He smiles as her face lights up, matching his own awe filled 
gaze. 

"Really? It's so fast," she whispers, unable to push her voice 
past the sob she's desperately trying to hold back.  She sees now 
that something else has captured his attention and she lifts her 
head to face the screen he was now watching, wiping away her 
tears to try to remove some of the blurriness in her eyes.  
"What's that you're looking at?"

"The baby," he tells her, utterly amazed at what he was seeing.  
"See that fluttering there?  That's what we heard.  That's the 
heart.  Oh my - "

"What?" she asks, suddenly alarmed by his gasp.  She looks up and 
sees tears fill his eyes and has to grab his arm to get his 
attention.  "What is it?  Is there something wrong?"

"No," he cries, tears making their way down his face.  "Nothing 
at all.  He's perfect.  Absolutely perfect.  He's sucking on his 
thumb," he says with a laugh despite his tears.

"He?"

"Well, I can't really tell just yet," he blushes.  "Maybe in a 
few weeks.  I just didn't think we should call him an 'it' 
anymore.  Look at him.  A real baby.  Right there inside you.  
It's amazing."

"Amazing," she repeats.  She looks over at him just as he looks 
at her and they both smile, reveling in the moment.  Before she 
can stop herself, she props herself up on her elbow and leans 
towards him, pulling him closer to her to kiss him.  He eagerly 
meets her mouth in a hot kiss that soon leaves them desperate for 
air, but not willing to part.

"Dr. Wilkes . . . oops.  Didn't mean to disturb you."  Jarod 
looks up towards the door at the source of their interruption.  
An embarrassed looking nurse was standing there, her eyes averted 
to avoid looking directly at them.

"That's alright Nurse Simpson," he says, letting out a slightly 
frustrated sigh.  

"Dr. Wilkes, I'm terribly sorry," she apologizes, blushing 
furiously as Jarod and Miss Parker wipe off the goopy gel and 
pull her gown back down.

"It's really quite alright.  Come on in and let me introduce you 
to my wife," he lies easily.  "Parker Wilkes, Nurse Helen 
Simpson."

"It's nice to meet you, Nurse," Miss Parker smiles.

An uneasy silence falls and they all sit there just staring at 
the walls for a few seconds.

"Was there something you needed, Nurse?" Jarod asks finally.

"Oh, yes.  Dr. Jacobs was called unexpectedly out of town.  But 
he had two appointments later this afternoon.  Can you see them?"

"No problem.  Where are the charts so I can familiarize myself 
with the patients?"

"Actually, they're not here.  These are his patients from the 
free clinic." 

"Free clinic?" Jarod asks with shock.  He didn't realize the good 
doctor had another source of patients.  This could explain why he 
couldn't find any answers snooping around the doctor's office 
earlier.  All the evidence of the crimes could be at this free 
clinic.

"Yes.  The one on Victory Drive.  Do you know where that is?  I 
know you're new in town.  I can give you directions," she offers.

"No.  I'll find it," he says distractedly, his mind already 
churning with the latest bit of information she just told him. 

The nurse nods and tells him she'll leave the details out front 
just in case, but he barely hears her.  She lets herself out 
after giving Miss Parker one last 'nice to meet you' smile.

"Okay, Jarod.  What's this pretend really about?" Miss Parker 
asks once the nurse is out of the room.

"What are you talking about?" he asks innocently.

"I see that look in your eyes.  I *know* you're up to something."

"This doctor I'm working with is into something bad," he finally 
admits, realizing she wasn't going to let it go.  "He's 
responsible somehow for the mysterious rash of infant deaths.  
I'm just trying to figure out why and how and stop him."

"He's killing babies?" she asks quietly, horrified at the very 
thought.  She unconsciously moves her hands to her slightly 
swollen abdomen.

"Don't worry about it," he says, moving to hug her.  He pulls her 
into his arms and gently strokes his hand up and down her back, 
trying to calm her.  He feels like kicking himself for getting 
her all worked up.  "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's not you, Jarod.  It's me.  I'm such a basket case these 
days.  I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It's all normal," he smiles reassuringly at her.  "Read any 
pregnancy book and you'll see them warn the fathers to be aware 
of their woman's . . . um . . . hormonal issues.  I just have to 
make sure to keep potential projectile objects from between the 
two of us."

"Oh that was so embarrassing," she groans, covering her face with 
her hands.  "I don't know what possessed me to throw that lamp at 
you."

"Because I was being a rude, inconsiderate prick and deserved 
it."  He pulls her hand off her face and kisses her cheek.  "Come 
on.  Let's get out of here.  I got work to do."

"Okay," she smiles, grabbing his hand as he helps her slide off 
the table.  "I'll just get dressed."

"Ooh, don't let me stop you," he leers.

"Jarod," she says sternly, but with a playfullness in her voice 
still.  "Out."

"Okay," he sighs dejectedly, instantly pouting.  The next second, 
his leer returns and he leans close to her to whisper in her ear.  
"But remind me to bring home one of these gowns for you to walk 
around in.  They're practically see through."

He winks at her and walks out the door, leaving her speechless 
and flushed.  She has to shake herself to get a hold of her 
senses, still amazed at how excited that man could make her.  
Just hearing his voice or seeing that smug grin of his and her 
heart starts racing.  Her knees go weak and her palms start to 
sweat.  The man was like a drug she couldn't get enough of.  She 
was strung out on Jarod and proud of it.  And she didn't plan on 
kicking the habit.  She smiles to herself, realizing that for the 
first time ever, her life actually seems to be falling into 
place.

To be continued . . .