Disclaimer: The Pretender isn't mine so don't sue me. I only have claim to all the other characters (not to mention the plot) that you don't recognize.
PhoenixRae's Notes: I actually wrote this fic back in 2000 and since I didn't know that ff.net existed back then, I just kept it saved in a diskette that I just only recently came across once again. I did some editing to it, but please bear in mind that this fic supposedly took place right around Season 4 of the series. This wasn't a finished fic when I wrote it back in 2000, but I'll try my best to finish it this time around.
Summary: Two lost souls on the run from the very place that made their lives hell. Will The Center catch them? Unwanted feelings surfaced. Old feelings reopened. Will one be able to face the truth?
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II. Happily Settled
It has been close to six months now since Lee and Jarod left the States. They settled in a little town south of Toronto shortly after they crossed the border. They stayed in Ontario for a good five days before starting to head west to Alberta.
While travelling, the two of them decided to pose as a still newlywed couple searching for a new life elsewhere. At first Lee opposed to the idea, but after extensive thinking, she figured that Jarod was right; they can't travel well across the border without establishing a means for either of them being propositioned by anyone.
All the marriage necessities were obtained and processed by Jarod before they left the States. Doctoring the documents was easy for Jarod. He put it down in the paper that the two of them have been happily married for a year and a half, and that they were married in Delaware. They settled under the married name of Jarod and Leeiah Feys.
Mr. and Mrs. Feys are now living in a small community in Sherwood Park, a suburb in Alberta. They own a two-storey townhouse and a few necessary household utilities. The house was located in the most remote location of the community where no more than 1,000 occupants lived. Jarod and Lee settled for this type of living conditions since neither one of them wanted to attract attention by buying a big house in Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta.
Their neighbours are all friendly and willing to lend a helping hand to one another. Lee made sure that she kept a harmonious relationship with their neighbours because, like what she told Jarod, they wouldn't know when the two of them would need their help.
Upon hearing the news that a certain Jarod Feys won a case in Alberta, Miss Parker and his crew started heading east from British Columbia. They heard a lead from some of their people in Vancouver that they spotted Jarod and a woman visiting the area a few months back. Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots didn't waste much time; the three of them quickly headed up north to BC. Miss Parker also read in a newspaper article that his wife, Leeiah Feys, was being honoured as an outstanding doctor after saving the lives of many who were thought to have been a lost cause.
"Mr. and Mrs. Feys?" Miss Parker questioned out loud. She looked at Sydney and asked, "Mr. and Mrs. Feys? Syd, do you believe this crap?"
Sydney, who was still reeling from the news, replied, "It could happen, Parker."
"What? The two hardly know each other!"
"It doesn't matter, Miss Parker, " Broots cut in. "Many people today gets married after knowing each other for less than 24 hours sometimes!"
Miss Parker made a face at Broots. "That's an exaggeration."
"N-no, Miss Parker." Broots said sheepishly, "Because...because I did it, " he admitted sheepishly.
Miss Parker's blue eyes widened as she stared at her trusty lackey. This was unbelievable and something new to her ears.
"You and Debbie's mom?" Sydney was the one to ask that question.
"Yes." Broots lowered his head in embarrassment.
"No wonder your marriage fell apart." Miss Parker mocked before turning her attention of the private plane's window.
"Hey, congratulations!" Lee greeted Jarod later in the evening after he got home from court. "Another case won. You are such a good lawyer, don't you wanna stick with that?" She asked after leading her pretend husband into the dining room.
"I don't know, Lee. Maybe I will." He replied, taking a seat at the end of the table.
Lee did her 'wifely' duties by sitting down beside him. Jarod frowned at her when she planted a kiss on his cheek before sitting. She never really do any of these things she was doing now. She greeted him when he got home. She clung on to his arm all the way to the dining room...what was going on?
"Lee?" Jarod didn't elaborate what he had to ask because Lee understood what he wanted to know.
"The curtain's drawn." She explained, "And some of our neighbours would be watching because they think that we are not really happily married."
Not happily married? What was she talking about? They are now both safe—and away—from The Centre, so they must be happy. They changed their status so nobody from The Centre would suspect that it was them—Jarod and Ameleeiah—living in Alberta, Canada.
"But we are happily married." Jarod insisted with enough conviction that made worried Lee a bit.
She made a face at him. "Jarod, this is only a pretend marriage. We are not really married," she reminded him. Somehow it often slipped Jarod's mind that they weren't legally married. Sure the past six months had been bliss for the two of them, and she was glad she ran into him. She would have had a bad time hiding from The Center—with or without Miss Parker's help.
"Even so. We've been living together for almost seven months now as husband and wife. Surely I can—"
"Look, Jarod. This farce of a marriage of ours will end soon enough. After The Centre cools off our trail, we'll part ways—as planned."
Jarod wanted to say more, but she stopped him. No, oh no. He was not going to insist that they stay married even after The Centre cools off their trail. She can't do it; no, not when she was having these mixed feelings for him. They have been together for seven months now, and each day that passed by, her feelings for him changed too. She'd rather leave this farce of a marriage unscathed—and with her heart still fully intact.
"Broots, are you sure this is the place?" Sydney asked for the second time since the black Town Car stopped in front of the small bungalow house.
"I'm positive, Syd." Broots replied. "Look here, see?" He showed him the address he pulled up, confirming that a Mr. and Mrs. Feys lives in this house in front of them.
Miss Parker snatched the paper from Broots and read it. "OK boys, it's show time." She announced before thrusting the paper back at Broots.
Walking ahead of the two men, Miss Parker kept a close-eye on the front door. This better be where Jarod and Ame lives. She will make sure that she captures Jarod and return him to The Centre. As for Ame...she will make sure that she goes back home—with her—safe and sound.
Miss Parker rang the doorbell and waited. It took her three rings before the door opened.
"Hello." an elderly woman, probably in her mid-sixties, answered the door.
Miss Parker's eyes widen. She quickly hid her gun behind her and smiled her sweetest smile to the woman.
"Hi. Is this...is this the Feys residence?"
The woman smiled. "Yes. Yes this is. I'm Mrs. Feys."
Miss Parker raised one equivocal eyebrow. "Mrs. Leeiah Feys?" She asked for confirmation.
"Yes, dear. My name is Lea Feys. And who might you be, dearie?"
Miss Parker's eyes widen some more. This was not happening. This was wrong! Something was terribly wrong here.
"Oh...I'm...I'm just looking for a—my sister. She got married and had the same first and last name as yours. And...she must've given me the wrong address as well." Miss Parker nearly stepped over her tongue thinking up a plausible explanation off the top of her head. Damn you Broots, she mentally cursed her assistant.
"Oh," the woman smiled, "I know what you mean, dear. There are many people here who mistook me as for being Dr. Leeiah Feys when in truth, I am not her."
"Oh." Miss Parker feigned an understanding smile.
"Uh, Mrs. Feys?" Sydney cuts in.
The older woman smiled at him. "Hello there."
"Hello. Um...have you seen this other Mrs. Leeiah Feys?"
"Why yes, of course I've seen Mr. and Mrs. Feys. In fact, my husband and her husband established a law firm together called Feys & Feys Law Firm. Their office is in downtown Edmonton, but the other Mr. and Mrs. Feys lives in Sherwood Park." She informed her visitors.
"Sherwood Park?" Miss Parker echoed.
"Yes. It's just a few minutes drive if you take the freeway heading east from here."
"Oh...thank you very much, Mrs. Feys," smiled Sydney and clamped his hand on Miss Parker's elbow.
"Oh please, call me Lea."
Sydney smiled back. "Okay then, Lea."
The woman bid the trio goodbye, adding, "I hope you find her in time. I hear that the couple will spend a few weeks off from the province and will either head west or east."
Miss Parker nodded back and rounded the car to sit on the driver's side while Sydney occupied the passenger's side and Broots was stuck at the back.
"Where now, Syd?" Miss Parker asked, annoyed that they were foiled.
Sydney looked at her then answered, "Sherwood Park, where else?"
Miss Parker made a face then started the car. Looking over her shoulder, she glared at Broots, "Find out where in Sherwood Park Jarod and Ameleeiah lives and this time, Broots, don't fail me."
Broots gulped and meekly nodded. He flipped his trusty laptop computer open and started his search.
"How was your day?" Jarod asked later that evening.
"Tiring." Lee set down her bag on one of the sofas then continued into the kitchen, surprised to find Jarod actually making dinner. "You cooked?" She asked, stepping right beside him.
Jarod wasn't expecting her to step that close. During the last few months that they were together, Jarod started feeling things he knew he shouldn't feel towards Lee.
"Of course I cook." Jarod replied, trying to sound unaffected by her nearness.
"Cool." Lee grinned, stepping away from him. "So, what else did you do today, considering that it's your day off from the firm?"
"Oh...I cleaned the house."
Lee raised an eyebrow. Turning to face him, she said, "You cleaned the house? But it's already clean!"
Jarod raised an eyebrow at her, "Well, I have nothing to do, besides, I think it's best if we leave the place clean before we leave tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Lee echoed, "Jarod, we can't leave right away. I mean, I have some operations scheduled until the day after!"
"So? We can work it out." Jarod said.
Lee raised an eyebrow once more, "You? Jarod, the whole town knows that you are a professional lawyer!"
"So? Look, we can just say that I majored in medicine before I decided to pursue a career in law."
"Like that will work." She turned her back towards him and walked out of the kitchen.
Putting the spatula down, he followed Lee into the living room. He couldn't tell her now why he wanted to leave Alberta right away. She will worry herself to death, but if he won't, then she would demand a reason on why they have to leave soon.
"Look, I don't want you to worry but you gave me no choice." He stood behind her, slipping his hands in his pants pocket and heaved a big sigh.
Slowly turning around to face him, Lee searched his face for answers, but Jarod masked his face from everything that might give away what he doesn't want her to know.
"Jarod..."
"They know where we are, Lee."
Her sudden gasp told Jarod that he should have had at least a bit of tact when he told her the news.
"Fred told me that Lea had an unexpected visitor. Two male and one female. The female is a brunette while one of the two males is almost bald and the other one is almost the same age as Fred is."
"Miss Parker is here in Alberta?" Lee felt like she was going to be sick. If Miss Parker found the two of them, who says nobody at The Center knew where they are? "But...how? We've covered our tracks perfectly."
"I know. But somehow they caught wind of where we are, and now the Centre is after us."
"Broots, tell me you have good news or I'll wring your pretty little neck!" Miss Parker said back in the Centre a week after their escapade in Canada turned sour.
"W-well," Broots cleared his throat before saying, "I found s-something that might interest you, Miss Parker."
"Oh really?" She said sarcastically.
"Y-yeah." Broots nodded.
"Then spill it."
"O-okay." Broots turned back to fiddle with his laptop and showed Miss Parker what he found out about Jarod and Ameleeiah.
"They were legally married?" Miss Parker asked in disbelief.
"Ready?" Jarod asked three days after he dropped the bomb to Lee that the Centre knew where they were.
"As ever." Looking up at him, her eyes locked with his. "Where are we heading now?"
"Somewhere up north."
"North? Where? The Yukon? Northwest Territories? Alaska? Where?" She asked, wanting to know this time where they will exactly be going.
Putting the 4x4 into gear, Jarod looked at her and answered, "Nunavut."
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to be continued...
A/N: This is a short chapter, I know. I tried adding some more to make it a bit longer, but I think leaving this chapter the way it is now is better. Just to let you know now, I am not sure when I'll update this fic. I can't seem to find the third chapter that I knew I wrote back then. If I can't find it then I'll have to re-write a whole new chapter 3 for this fic.