Author: desy
Summary: One month after Carthis, Parker is once again on the chase after Jarod, but ends up in an accident. A certain wannabe doctor takes care for her.
This story will pick up after the end of IotH and will try to solve all the unanswered questions about who Jarod really is, the scrolls, the Parker family tree and all the other riddles that had appeared on the show.
Spoilers: Set after IotH
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The show 'The Pretender' and all its characters belong to NBC and TNT.
Author's Note: Firstly I wrote that at 4 am, yes AM. So don't be too critical. Secondly if there is some content wrong considering the two movies, please tell me, cuz I have only read summaries about the movies. They weren't aired in free-tv in my country until now. -(

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Chapter 1: Helping the Lost

Faulkner Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
10/02/01

The doors to the ER at Faulkner Hospital swung open to carry in, along with the heavy waves of icy snow flakes, the victims of a car accident. One medic held the IV plastic bag up, while his colleague pressed a compression on the deep wound on the brunette woman's stomach – her blood effervescing and soaking through the cloth. The first one barked to the emergency staff: "Car accident. Three badly injured."

Before he could continue a doctor in his early forties rushed to the patient. When he saw the pale features of the woman brought in, his dark brown curls fell into his face hiding the shock his eyes reflected.

Moments past, his hand firmly clasping hers, his orbs kept looked on her closed lids, hiding the bright blue, her eyes normally had. The doctor, whose name tag read Archer, was startled by the voice of the young nurse pressing a new cloth on the wound. "Dr. Archer! … Jarod?"

Coming to his senses once again Jarod let go of his patient's hand his gaze travelled immediately to the gaping gash. "Molly, I need at least three bags of B negative blood." He took over the pressing on the injury and rolled the woman into the next surgery room. The nurse, Molly, stood startled, wondering whence the doctor knew the blood type, and watched the doors swung shut.

-

The sounds of sirens on the driveway were almost swallowed by the howl of the snow storm that blew over Boston. His eyes watched the flakes threw against the window pane, remembering the last storm he was caught in nearly one month before. Only this one isn't half as bad as the one on Carthis was.

His fingers were still grasping the almost lifeless hand of the brunette. He sat there for more than five hours, allowing to break the physical contact to her only for the briefest of moments and only to check, her still high temperature and pulse. The hours before he had fought for her life – stitching her inner organs up as good as the heavy bleeding allowed. Now he was waiting for her to wake up.

He remembered her arrival at the hospital that afternoon; he was surprised to see her at all – since he wasn't about to leave any traces this time. He wanted to vanish for some time – he was cautious to don't leave any hints at his last hideouts. But somehow she had found him, but instead of chasing him with her gun through the long hallways of the hospital, she was brought in near death.

Suddenly her hand gave his a little squeeze and a moan escaped her lips. Jarod moved closer and sat on the bed next to her injured leg, taking her hand between his larger ones. "Hey."

Her eyes flew open, full of panic looking around in the sterile room – she tried to move her body forward, but was stopped by him. He gently held her shoulders. "Clam down, Parker."

Her blurry blue orbs looked up to the man in front of her, adjusting to the dim light, making out the features of her childhood friend – her current prey. Processing his words, his worried expression, she finally relaxed against the pillows. A light 'Jarod?' rang from her pale lips.

He withdrew his hands from her body and stroke with his fingertips gently over her cheek. "You had a really bad car accident. A van crashed into the driver site of your car. You are lucky you wasn't the one sitting at the steering wheel."

"W-wher…"

"Faulkner Hospital. The one I had my last pretend."

"Did you - stitch me up?" She wasn't sure if she liked the idea to have a surgery by a wannabe doctor, that escaped the same insane firm, she worked for. On the other hand he was a genius and perfect at what he does.

He simply nodded and added when he saw her slightly frustrated features. "Or would you have preferred Dr. Langly, who uses to forget the scalpel in his patients." He raised his brows.

"I hope you locked that guy up."

Jarod reached for the glass of water standing on the nightstand and helped her to take small sips. "My work here was done when the ambulance brought you in."

"Only me?" Not that it really bothered her what'd happened to the sweepers, Raines – no, her father - had assigned her.

"No, also the sweeper that was on the right backseat. He's a floor above. – The other two were immediately dead."

A moment passed and he stood the glass back. "I thought you would like a room for yourself…. How have you found me? I wanted to stay off The Centre radar."

She almost smiled a little self-confident. "Call it a feeling."

"Bad feeling." He looked into her eyes.

"Yeah." Miss Parker tried to sit up, but gave up her attempt, when a searing pain rushed through her stomach. She painted heavily to ease the feeling. After a beat she looked up to meet the worried eyes of the pretender. "How bad is it?"

"You are going to be fine now. Nothing more than a slight scar will be left. I tried my best that not much will be left." He than moved his attention to her IV and checked the tube.

"I know you for too long now, Jarod, for not noticing when you are hiding something from me." A small flame of anger flashed in her body, when he didn't continue. "I'm a big girl now. I can handle the truth."

"Ironic that it is you again asking me for the truth of your life."

"Jar-"

He wanted to protect her, to help her as he always had done. But he knew her stubbornness, so he interrupted her arguing. "When you were brought in, you were nearly bleeding to death. I had to give you four blood infusions. And during th-" His voice cracked and he wasn't aware that his hands searched for hers once more. "you … your heart stopped… from the loss of blood pressure." He swallowed hard, not looking at her, his long bangs hanging into his face. "I had to reanimate you. "

Miss Parker was like frozen. She didn't feel his fingers stroking her cheek again; not hearing him call her name. The minutes passed by until she finally reached her hand out to her cheek and covered his hand with hers. „You could have let me die. Would have made your life much easier."

His voice was barely a whisper. "Maybe. …But I refused to believe that that would be the different ending to our story." He faced her and she could see his eyes were glittering with tears, that he fought to hold back.

"Jarod…"

He pulled his hand away. "I will send The Centre some hint that you had followed me to Chicago, so you'll have time to recover. Tomorrow I'll call Sydney and tell him where you are. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"You are leaving." It was more a statement than a question. A part of her didn't want him to leave; the part that had caused the moment of weakness at Carthis.

"You are going to be fine now." He bent forward and gently brushed a kiss on her forehead. "I will call you tomorrow after I've talked to Sydney." Jarod stood up with a final squeeze of her hand and walked to the door. Before he closed it, he heard her say 'Thank you'.

-

The phone on her nightstand rang and she took the receiver. "What?"

"I assume, you are feeling better, Parker." Jarod had to smile hearing her custom greeting.

"Like a truck had crushed me."

"It was a mini-van."

"Smart ass. Think you are funny. Stop joking and come to the point."

Jarod was glad to see that Miss Parker was fine and back to her usual self. He couldn't resist on teasing her – at least a little. "Maybe I'm just calling to hear your lovely voice. I missed to hear it since that incident on Carthis."

The brunette spoke slow and pronounced every word as if it was a sentence on its own. "There was no incident." Remembering the warming fire from the fireplace behind them, his sparkling chocolate eyes watching her with that understanding and care she hadn't seen in anyone else' eyes before. Not even in the man's she had thought her father as long as she could remember. And the longing that flickered in his dark orbs when their faces drew closer and their lips were about to… suddenly Miss Parker snapped out of her reverie. „Why are you always there for me? Helping me during the most difficult moments of my life?" She had asked him that one back on the Island of the Haunted.

Jarod leaned backing in his chair in front of his desk. "Cuz I remember a little girl, that got lost a long time ago, like that boy she used to care about. She is just about to wake up from that lie, she calls life."

"What if she doesn't want to wake up anymore, Jarod."

"The truth about our lives is out there. The truth our mothers tried to find thirty years ago."

Miss Parker leant back into her pillows, already knowing his respond. „You are not giving up?"

„Neither do you…. As Ocee'd said, on Carthis, my journey – our journey had just begun. The truth is out there – even with the scrolls destroyed."

"You are still looking for that different ending?" Her voice was almost melancholic.

"There are still many secrets hidden and well locked up in the depths of The Centre. ... Are you going to pass your father's legacy on to your children?" With that he disconnected the call, while his attention was centred on his laptop's monitor, showing a confidential file from one of The Centre's many secret research facilities.

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A/N: If you liked it, please leave a review (you can also tell me if you didn't like it…). And tell me if I should write a sequel to this ficlet, revealing more about the scrolls and the prophesy-stuff.