Summary At Paul's memorial, Parker wished he could still have visions. But if he could, he may not like what he would see. He may be powerless to do anything about it.
Rating T
Author Note The /dashes/ are the "quotations" I use for the spirit voices that deliver Parker's vision. This story features practices that some may consider occult, but nothing heavy. And it's nothing that hasn't happened on the show anyway. But as I must say: don't like, don't read.
It was late at night when Parker sat at the kitchen table staring into space. Everyone else had long sense turned in for the night, but Parker hadn't been able to get more than an hour of sleep at a time sense JJ had been kidnapped. It had only gotten worse when Jack and Carly had left town to follow a lead. Now he had three loved ones to think about. Gwen and Will didn't help. Katie didn't help. Meg didn't help. Craig defiantly didn't help. Nothing could take his mind off of his little brother, how they had been fighting so much, how he had blamed JJ for almost getting him sent away. He loved his brother more than life itself, but no matter how hard he tried, Parker couldn't rid himself of the thought that maybe JJ didn't know how much he cared.
Is JJ okay? Does he know I love him? Does he know that I've forgiven him and that I'd do anything for him?
In the darkness of the kitchen with only the moonlight streaming in from the open curtain, Parker suddenly felt a chill rush down his spine like someone had dropped an ice cube down his shirt and his head involuntarily turned toward a cabinet behind him. He knew better than anyone in the house what was in there, Paul's wee-gee board. He couldn't take his eyes off of the cabinet door, and he soon began to here a ringing in his ears. He only knew of one explanation: the board was calling to him.
Calling to him? He didn't know a wee-gee board could do that. But as the chill grew colder and the ringing grew louder, he knew that was what was happening.
He could soon resist the call no longer. He slowly stood and went to the cabinet. The hinges creaked as he eased it open and took out the black and white box. He set the box on the table, lifted the lid and set the board at his seat at the table. He positioned his hands on the planchette and took a deep breath. He had heard that these things wouldn't work with only one person, but if it was calling to him, maybe the "Great Spirits" would make an exception.
"Great Spirits," Parker said with his voice scratchy slightly shaking, "Is my brother JJ still alive?"
With no effort of his own, Parker felt his hands move to the upper left corner. He heard a strange voice in his head tell him the answer. Yes
Parker felt a wave of relief wash over him, but he wasn't finished yet. If it answered his first question, maybe it would answer some more.
"Okay, Spirits, does JJ know that I forgave him for the BB gun thing?
Again, his hands moved to the upper left corner. /Yes/
"How about my Mom. Is she okay, Spirits?"
Again, the board gave him good news. /Yes/
"How about my dad this time, Spirits. Is he okay?"
To Parkers horror, his hands moved to the upper right corner. /No/
The relief he had felt from the news of his mother and brother was replaced with the fear of knowing that something had happened to his father.
"Great Spirits, what happened?"
His hands moved across the board the spell out Jack's tragedy.
F-I-R-E
"Fire?' Parker began to panic. "Is he dead?" The planchette did not move. "Spirits, is my dad dead?" he asked again.
To Parkers overwhelming relief, his hands moved to the upper right corner. /No/
Parker sat back and relaxed in his chair. He almost wanted to ask if he would ever see JJ again, but he didn't want to tempt fate. So instead, he put the wee-gee board back in the cabinet. He was kneeling on the ground about to close the door when his nerves were suddenly attacked by a sharp headache. It kayoed him so quickly and painfully that he cried out and fell over, his eyes were clinched shut. Then the voice from the board screamed inside his mind.
/Your brother is frightened/
"What?"
/Your brother is in pain/
"What? No! You said he was okay!"
/I said he is ALIVE/
Then Parker saw him. He saw JJ and he knew what was happening. He was having a vision. At Paul's memorial he had told Barbara that he wished he still got the visions like Paul. But now that it was happening, he wanted it to go away, but he was powerless to do anything about it.
JJ sits curled up in a dark closet. His hands and feet are bound and ducked tape covers his mouth.
"That kid's ganna' get what's commin' to him pretty damn quick," a man's voice threatens. "He ain't got no more options now that I took care of that detective Snider and his bimbo ex-wife."
"You just better hope he's dead this time, Silas," says a woman.
"Don't you worry. Ain't no one could' a got out of that."
JJ tries to scream but all that is heard is a mumble. A stout, scruffy looking man yanks the door open and picks JJ up by the caller of his shirt and throws him to the ground. He kneels down and rips off the tape covering JJ's mouth.
"What did you do to my mom and dad!" JJ cries.
"Silas," the woman says, "You sure you want to keep that kid? He's not to smart."
"Hush, Eva." The man turns back to JJ. "I ain't done nothin' to your mom and dad cause those people I just killed weren't your parents. Detective Snider wasn't your father, Less was. And now that he ain't here, I'm ganna' raise you the way Less would have." The man stands and lazily kicks JJ in the chest. "Now that's the last time I'm explainin' that to you, Jacob."
"My name is JJ," he says through his tears. The man picks JJ up again and sets him up in a chair.
"Your name is Jacob Jenkins, you're my son, and I'm ganna' teach you that!" The man rises up his hand and strikes JJ across the face knocking, him out of his chair. The man yanks JJ to his feet, drags him across the room and throws him onto a dusty mattress.
"Get some sleep, kid." The man kneels down again and orders, "Now say 'good night, dad'"
Just as suddenly as it had began, Parkers vision ended.
"Great Spirits?" There was no answer. No voice, no ringing, no chills, just silence as he lay there on the floor next to the cabinet. Parker quickly stood up, kicked the cabinet closed and ran to his room. He wanted to be as far away from that wee-gee board as possible.
As he collapsed onto his bead crying, soon to cry himself to sleep, he hoped that he never had another vision again, but not as much as he hoped that JJ would be home safe and never be abused again.
