Disclaimer:
These characters aren't mine. Well, some of them are. But the important ones
are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm
not making any money out of this . . . . Blah, blah, blah. You know the drill.
"The medallion," she whispers, holding the
silver object up in the air so that Jarod could see it. Her hand shakes a little at the enormity of
the small object. It's amazing how such
a little thing could be such a big piece of the puzzle.
"Did Catherine tell you what this was
for?" Jarod asks, trying to find more pieces of the puzzle.
"She just told me to make sure I kept it
safe. And to give it to you, Victoria,
when the time was right. I don't know
how I know this, but the time is right," Miss Dee explains.
They all stare in amazement at the medallion, still
in shock that it just fell into their laps just like that. Only a small ringing sound coming from one
of Miss Parker's bags brought them from their trance.
"That's my phone," Miss Parker says,
carefully placing the medallion in Jarod's hand. "I'll get it."
The others watch as she disappears into the house
before continuing on with the conversation.
"How's she really doing, Jarod?" Miss Dee
asks with some concern. "This
isn't really the time for her to be going through something like this. Pregnancy is hard enough without all of
these extinuating circumstances."
"I keep an eye on her as best I can. But sometimes that's not enough. I still worry," Jarod admits. "And I know it's got to be extra hard
having to take care of Imani on her own when I'm away."
"Jarod, it sounds like you two are onto
something big. Why don't you let Imani
stay with me for a little while. I'd
love to have her," Miss Dee offers.
"I might take you up on that. Because it's time we figured this thing out
once and for all. I'm going to go check
on Tori," Jarod says as he rises from his seat. He makes his way into the house and up the stairs to the room
they'll be staying in. He sees Miss
Parker standing by the bed, repacking the clothes they just unpacked a little
while earlier.
"That was Lyle. He was calling me to tell me they had a tip on your latest
location. In Idaho," Miss Parker
says, zipping up her bag after placing one final item in it. "I have to go."
"One of the false leads I set up last
month," Jarod realizes. "And
Lyle volunteered this information on his own?
It sounds like he's trying to make an effort."
"I know.
I just don't know what to think about him. For the longest time, I hated him. But now, I'm finding it harder and harder to do so. It's almost as if he's starting to respect
me."
"Maybe he is, Tori. Maybe all the two of you needed to do was open up a little to
each other."
"I think he's been talking to Sydney. You know, like professionally. I've seen them huddled together on a couple
of occassions, but I wouldn't dare ask either one of them what was going
on. So I know he's making an effort at
something. I'm just so afraid of him
hurting me. And Imani. She's getting attached to him."
"From what you tell me, he's getting attached
to her too."
"And you're okay with that?" She looks at him, waiting on his
answer. She puts the bag back on the
bed and sits next to it, rubbing the small of her back that was starting to
ache a little.
"Not really.
But my daughter has her own ideas when it comes to who to make friends
with. I wasn't exactly thrilled when
she decided to make you her best friend, Tori.
But look how all that turned out," he smiles at her and steals a
quick kiss. "Imani has a way of
getting to people. And if she makes
Lyle treat you the way you deserve to be treated, then I don't mind the
occassional supervised visit with him."
"Even after all he's done . . . "
"People can change," he interrupts. "You changed. Did you ever imagine we'd be here together? Married with a child and one on the
way?" He smiles and places his
hand on her stomach. "Besides, I
trust your instinct where Imani is concerned.
You do what you feel is right.
Because I'd hate for you to lose out on this chance with your
brother. Family is important."
"I love you," she whispers, pulling him
into her arms and holding him close.
"I know.
I love you too. Be careful,
okay?"
"I will," she promises, planting a kiss on
his lips that threatens to turn passionate before she cuts it off. "I have to go."
"I'll be right behind you," he tells
her. "Miss Dee said Imani could
stay here for a little while. And when
you're off in Idaho with Lyle, I think this will be a good time for me to do a
little snooping at the Centre."
"Are you sure you have to? I don't like the idea of you in that place
again."
"This has to be done, Tori. And now's the perfect time. From what you tell me, your father is
focused on you and Lyle, wondering what you two are up to. He'll be distracted and not expecting me to
show up at the Centre. I'll be in and
out before anyone even knows. And
hopefully I'll have the answers we're looking for."
Jarod and Miss Parker drive from Miss Dee's house to
Charleston and separate there. Miss
Parker takes the next flight to Chicago, where Lyle will be waiting for her at
O'Hare International Airport with the Centre's jet. Jarod flies back to Blue Cove and make his plans to break into
the Centre.
The trip to Idaho with Lyle was uneventful. They poked around Jarod's lair, searched the
city, and asked lots of questions Miss Parker knew wouldn't be answered. Because she knew that her husband wasn't
there. It took a little while longer,
but Lyle started to realize it too.
"I think we must have missed him," she
tells him, trying to get him to give up on the search. She was tired and ready to go back to the
hotel. Her skirt was getting tight
around the waist and she was anxious to get into something more
comfortable. Fortunately, the jacket to
her suit was long, or else she ran the risk of Lyle noticing her slightly
expanding waistline.
"I think you're right," he relents. "How about we call it a night. You look kind of tired anyway. I'm sorry I had to tear you away from your
vacation."
"I'm glad you called," she smiles. "This trip may have been a bust, but we
can use the rest of this time away from the Centre to talk and stuff. Get to know each other. Are you up for that?" she challenges,
flashing him another smile before getting into the passenger side of their
rental car.
They pull up to the hotel and go to their
rooms. Lyle gives her a couple of
minutes to change and get comfortable before tapping lightly on the door
separating their rooms.
"Can I come in now?" he asks shyly, more
nervous about spending so much time alone with his sister. Afraid of what she may find out about him.
"Only if you brought snacks," she teases
while opening the door for Lyle.
"I figured we could just raid the mini
bar. I didn't know you'd be so
hungry. You never had this much of an
appetite before," he comments.
"We'll hit the snack machine later. Sit down.
We have a whole life time to catch up on." She takes a seat in the recliner across the
room, leaving the whole couch for Lyle.
"What do you want to know? I don't think either of us had childhoods
we'd like to relive."
"It wasn't all bad, was it?" she asks
innocently, but realizes that it probably was all bad for him when she sees his
face fall slightly. True he didn't have
to grow up with Mr. Parker, but he also didn't have the few happy years with
their mother like she did. "I'm
sorry, Lyle. I guess things weren't
that great for you growing up."
"Tell me about her. Please," he begs.
"Tell me about our mother."
"I don't remember much," she admits. "But I do know that she loved me. I remember that much. I used to be able to talk to her about anything. And I did," she laughs, remembering the
hours she used to babble on about all sorts of childish things. But her mother would listen to every second,
cherishing every word.
"When did you decide you wanted to follow in
our father's footsteps and work at the Centre?"
"That wasn't my decision," she says kind
of sharply. "I never used to dream
about working at that place, especially after Momma died. I never really had the chance to think about
what I wanted to be when I grew up. I
just had to grow up.
"I remember there was a time when I could
dream," she smiles again at the memory.
"I used to pretend like I was princess. Trapped in a big castle by my father, the evil king. And my dreams would always end the same
way. A handsome prince would come and rescue
me. And we'd run off and live happily
ever after. Jarod was always that
prince.
"He was my best friend. Actually, him and Angelo were the only
friends I ever remember having. But it
was more than that with Jarod. It
wasn't just two lonely kids with no one else to turn to. There was always something else there. A charge or energy or something I would feel
whenever we were in the same room together.
And even now. That's how I knew
he wasn't here in Idaho. I didn't feel
him. Whenever we get close to catching
him, I can feel it. Feel that he's
there. My stomach starts to flip flop. And my palms sweat. And I can actually feel the little hairs on
my arm stand straight up. My heart
starts pounding and I feel as though it's going to spring right from my chest
if I don't see him. And when he finally
reveals himself, all is suddenly still.
And there's actually a second when our eyes meet and time seems to
stop. Everything else ceases to exist
for that one split second. It's nothing
but me and Jarod." She stares off
into space for a minute, suddenly longing to be in Jarod's arms.
"Sounds crazy, doesn't it?" she asks,
shaking herself back to reality.
"Crazy?
Yes," he agrees. "But
love often is. Do you love him,
Parker? Are you in love with your
prey?"
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