Title - Saying the Words Author - Nicky Rating - PG Category - JMPR Summary - Jarod and Miss Parker have a decision to make - keep running or face the demons from their past? Disclaimer - The characters aren't mine. I'm just using them for my own entertainment purposes. * * * * * * * * * * Chapter 30 * * * * * * * * * * Jarod pulls the car over and sets it in park. After listening to the engine rumble for a few more seconds, he finally shuts it off and looks over at his wife. "This is it. Are you sure you want it to be today?" he asks her. "You had a rough morning. Maybe you should rest and do this tomorrow." "It has to be today," she nods resolutely, taking a deep breath to steel her nerves. "Let's go." She turns to get out of the car, finally hoisting her body up after some struggle. She begins the walk inside the big building when she stops suddenly and turns around. "You know I love you, right?" she asks him. She has to tell him, to make sure he knows. "We may walk in there and never come back out. I just needed to tell you." "I love you too," he smiles, wrapping his arms around her. "You're going to be fine. And if things go the way I'm hoping, I will be too." "Okay, then," she says, pulling away from him, trying to put her 'Miss Parker' icy persona back on. "Let's do this." She starts her walk back towards the building, her heart pounding in her ears. Jarod's fingers lace through her own, clasping her hand to his. She was grateful for the contact. He always had a way of knowing what she needed and when she needed it. "You can do it," he whispers to her just as they reach the front doors of the Centre. "I believe in you." He squeezes her hand one last time for emphasis before breaking the connection. He pulls on the doors and allows her to enter before him. She pauses in the hallway momentarily, mixed emotions about returning to the place. It's been so long since she's been there last. Eight months ago, her father betrayed her, allowing her to be used for Lyle's experiments. She still doesn't know exactly what they wanted with the baby, but she was determined that they would never find out. This was her baby and Jarod's baby. The DNA tests all those months ago proved that. But they were both ready to accept and love him regardless. And in the process, they ended up falling in love and accepting each other. So if anything, she should probably thank her father for actually giving her a life. "Let's get this over with," she whispers to him. "The quicker I get out of here the better." She starts walking towards her father's office, ignoring the looks of everyone as they walked past. She didn't know what was more shocking. The fact that she was very pregnant and was waddling more than walking. Or the fact that she had the ever elusive Jarod walking behind her, looking like a very willing prisoner. They reach his office and are both a bit disappointed to find it empty. "I guess we wait," she sighs, finding the most comfortable chair to sit in. Her feet were killing her. They definitely were too swollen for pumps, even the low heeled variety she had to wear these days. "This may not be entirely bad," Jarod says, a small smirk starting to grow on his face. He makes his way to the computer and starts typing into it. "What are you doing, Jarod?" she asks him curiously, kneading the muscles in her lower back. "Setting up a little meeting. The element of surprise may work to our advantage." "A meeting? With who? About what?" "With everyone. About me," he grins. "You've found me. You've brought me back. I think you have more power now than either of us realize." "I don't get it." "Think about it, Honey. Your father was so intent on getting me back. You think it was just because I was a pretender? I don't think so. This place was around before I came here and it has survived without me for years since I left. There has to be another reason." "But why? We've been searching relentlessly for you for years. What possible reason could they have for wanting you back here so badly?" "That I don't know," he sighs in frustration. "But I don't think we should stick around here while we figure it out. Let's go back to your office until it's time for this meeting." He looks nervously around the office, wondering if they were truly alone. He had the feeling they were being watched. "That's a good idea," she yawns. She eagerly accepts his hand as he helps her out of the chair. "You okay?" he asks with some concern. "Fine," she smiles wearily. "Just tired. And my back is killing me." She leads him the through the hallways to her office with less spunk than she did the first time. She was quickly running out of energy. She hoped all this was over soon. She was ready for it to be all over. Inside her office, she feels Jarod direct her towards the sofa and she happily complies with his order for her to lay down. She had just closed her eyes when she hears a gasp from Jarod. "What is it?" she asks, her eyes popping back open. "It's Angelo," he smiles. He walks over to where the man is hiding in the shadows and pulls him into a hug. "How have you been, Friend?" "Jarod happy," he laughs. He looks over to Miss Parker and gets a confused look on his face. "Miss Parker sad?" "No, Angelo," she smiles, wiping away the tears that confused him. "I'm not sad. I'm crying because I'm very happy to see you. It's been so long since we've all been together." He still doesn't look entirely convinced that she's telling him the truth. "Come here," she tells him. She takes his hand and places it on her belly. "Baby," he smiles in amazement. "That's right, Angelo. It's a baby. And he makes me . . . feel things very deeply," she tries to explain to him the mystery of her raging hormones. "So when I saw you, I got so happy that it made me cry." "Baby," he repeats. "Angelo help baby." "Angelo? Why does the baby need help?" Jarod asks, a worried look now on his face. Maybe coming back was a mistake after all, he wonders to himself. "Baby scared. I can help." He moves his arm from Miss Parker's stomach to around her waist and lowers his head to her belly. He hums lightly, murmuring indistinguishable sounds that leave Jarod and Miss Parker confused. He looks at them and smiles serenely. "Baby fine now. You fine too. Baby protect you." "I don't underst-" "They're afraid of baby," he interrupts her. "Baby will protect you." He smiles one more time at them before scurrying back to the same dark corner he emerged from. By the time Jarod made it over to the same corner, all he saw was a air vent cover being replaced. "He's gone," Jarod says, turning back to face her. He walks over to where she is and sits down next to her. "What do you think he meant by them being afraid of the baby? That the baby will protect us?" "I have no idea," she shrugs. "But we unfortunately don't have much time to figure that out. It's time to go." * * * * * * * * * * They make it to the room with the meeting and find it packed to capacity. The mysterious request sent out by Jarod had piqued the curiosity of just about all the executive level Centre employees, including her father. A hush falls over the room when they enter. And all eyes go either to Miss Parker's stomach or to the man standing next to her. Just as quickly as they had stolen the stage, it's taken away from them again. A group of men they recognize from the headquarters in Africa come into the room and set up a projection screen at the front and video cameras all around. They work wordlessly, not explaining their actions to anyone in the room. Finally, the screen lights up with an image that they've all heard about, but few have ever laid eyes on. "Umbotu," a couple of people whisper. Curious murmurings spread across the room as the meeting attendees wonder aloud what's going on. All sounds cease when the powerful African on the screen raises his hand and demands the attention. "I trust I have been . . . summoned for a good reason," he says slowly, enunciating each word in perfect, yet accented english. "There are rumors that the missing pretender has been returned." "Yes Sir," Mr. Parker boasts. "My daughter has brought him home where he belongs." "He doesn't belong here," she cuts in, interrupting her father. "He doesn't belong to any of you. He's mine. My husband. My child's father. And he's not coming back here." "Is that what you came here to tell us, Angel?" her father asks amidst the mutterings that have started up again. "Silence!" Umbotu yells to the crowd, letting them know with his glare that this was the last time he intended to have to say that. "Miss Parker, explain yourself. Are you and the pretender truly having a child together?" "Yes Sir, we are. And we came here today to demand something from everyone in this room," she says. "And what's that?" "We want our life back. The one stolen from us on the day we were born," Jarod says. "We refuse to run from you anymore. And we refuse to work for you another day." "Not until this place can become the place that it was intended to be," she adds. "The place my mother wanted it to be." Umbotu stares at them for a long, tense moment, his face hard and unreadable. The room silently waits for words, the final say in all matters Centre related. They all knew that. No one ever crossed Umbotu and lived to talk about it. "So be it," he says definitively, his decision made. The audience is shocked. But they didn't dare say another word, not wanting to risk facing Umbotu's wrath. "What exactly is it that you need from me?" "Assurances. I need to know my family will be safe," she says without even a thought. It was the most important thing to her right now. Not money or power. But the security to knw that she will have a future. "I need to know that my child will not become another causualty of this place. Like my mother. Jarod's brother. My brother." "No," her father gasps. "Lyle." "I'm sorry, Daddy," she whispers. "We buried him this morning. With Mom." "You did this," Mr. Parker growls angrily at Jarod. "I know it was you." "No, Daddy! *You* did this. All those years ago when you let Raines take him and turn him into a monster. That will not happen to my child. Anyone who lays a hand on his head will have to answer to me. Anyone who does anything to my baby will have me to deal with." "Wrong, Miss Parker. They will have *me* to deal with," Umbotu says. "This child is sacred. He is special beyond what any of us can fathom. In time, his destiny will become clear. But until that time, no harm shall come to him or his parents. Is that clear?" "My son is dead, Umbotu," Mr. Parker says, with an eerie calm in his voice. "I only think it's fitting that the man responsible should suffer the same fate." With a deadness in his eyes, he pulls out a gun from his pocket and aims it at Jarod. For a split second, he makes eye contact with his daughter, his true intentions clear only to her. "Daddy, don't do this," she pleads, moving to stand in front of Jarod. "You don't have to do this." "I'm sorry, Angel," he whispers, taking the safety off the gun. A few rushed words in African are yelled from Umbotu before the room is silenced by gunshots. The Chairman falls to the floor, seemingly in slow motion. His blood begins to run freely from the various wounds to his body and everyone just watches in shock as his life quickly drains away. Miss Parker kneels next to him to feel for a pulse, knowing there won't be one. Despite her efforts to stop them, her tears begin to flow. This man laying before her didn't deserve them. He's brought her more misery than anyone should have in one lifetime. But the man was also her father. It was a bond she hadn't been quite able to break. "I hope the rest of you realize how serious I am," Umbotu says, breaking the silence. "Let the consequences of Mr. Parker's actions be a warning to you all." Without another word, the African cuts the connection from the video call, leaving the screen in darkness. And the room, once again, in silence. Jarod gives Miss Parker a moment with her father, not really knowing what she's thinking right now. Instead, he looks around and spots his would be murder weapon. He picks up the gun and examines it, shocked to find it empty. "It wasn't even loaded," he gasps. "He wasn't trying to kill you. He just . . . wanted to die," she says with a sigh. That last look he gave her conveyed it all. He didn't have any intention of killing Jarod. But he knew what Umbotu would do to him if he tried. He just didn't want to live anymore. That last look he gave her was to say good-bye. With a lot of a struggle and finally help from a few nearby sweepers, she manages to stand back up on her feet and steps over her father's corpse. There was nothing else she could do for him. There was nothing left for her there. "Let's get out of here, Jarod," she says, wiping away the last tear she intended to shed for her lost family. "Let's go home." She grabs his hand, squeezing it to assure herself that he's really there. That he's really with her. Even though that's how it's been all their lives. Every step of the way, he's been there. And that's how it was now. She didn't know what the future would bring, but she knew that in order to get there, she had to leave the past behind. He smiles down at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Leading her away from the Centre one last time. And she didn't look back once. To be . . . CONCLUDED ! ! ! Stay tuned for the last and final chapter - Coming soon!