Disclaimer: Pretender = not mine. The characters aren't mine, the actors aren't mine, the title isn't mine, the sets aren't mine, the production companies aren't mine, anything having to do with the show is not mine. Sigh…tell me if there's something else that I don't own because I'm feeling really sad and that will just be the final nail in the coffin. Maybe someday, I'll buy the show and then it really will be mine…someday.

Summary: Jarod decides to end the chase, but he and Ms. Parker end up locked inside of a warehouse and…well, there's some arguing, some anger, and maybe something more.

Trapped In A Box

By Bec Bec

Chapter 1

Tears and Shattered Glass

"I'm Gone." It was remarkable how much those two words changed her entire life. How they could manage to create a feeling of anger, horror, abandonment, fear, and a whole range of other emotions just by themselves. And all because she wouldn't offer him the three words he wanted to hear. All because she wouldn't let herself admit the truth to her heart.

"Damn him," Ms. Parker whispered to herself, "Damn him and his stupid clues and his stupid turning points, and his stupid card that say's 'I'm gone.' I wish he were dead. I wish…" She couldn't even keep going because her voice was choked out by the sobs that wracked her body. She took the glass of vodka she was holding and threw it against the wall. It didn't shatter, so she picked it up and threw it again, until the glass shards rained down to the floor as it smashed into a thousand pieces, a thousand pieces of her broken life. She curled up on the floor and cried herself to sleep as every horrible thing that had ever happened in her life filled her thoughts, each bringing on its own bout of tears.

In the morning, she woke up lying among the pieces of shattered glass. She mindlessly began to sweep them into a pile with her hands, ignoring as they began to slice into the palms of her hands, leaving them dotted and streaked with blood. The phone rang and she pulled herself up from the floor quickly, hoping it was the one person she most desperately needed to talk to. "Hello," she mumbled into the phone.

"Did you just say hello?"

"Oh, it's you," she answered into the phone as Broots voice echoed out at her, "What do you want, Broots?" she said, transforming her voice into the cold and formal tone that she usually used.

"We found Jarod."

The shock of what she'd just heard prevented her from responding and Broots wondered is she had been cut off.

"Ms. Parker, are you there?"

"Call Sydney, I'll meet you at the Centre." She abruptly hung up on him.

****

A Warehouse in Los Angeles

Ms. Parker, Sydney, and Broots had just pulled up, or rather, screeched to a stop because of Ms. Parker's manic driving, when an alarm began sounding.

"What's that noise?" Ms. Parker demanded of Broots.

"W-Well, it could be a lot of things. It might be a signal for a shift change, a fire alarm, a…"

"Broots what's the noise!?" Ms. Parker cut him off.

"A-An alarm."

"Great, Wonder Boy's trying to escape once again, using something loud as a distraction. But, I'm gonna get him this time, I can feel it."

"Ms. Parker, perhaps this new aggression you have towards Jarod is…" Sydney was cut off by Ms. Parker.

"Cram it, Syd. I didn't ask for a shrink session. Now, come on."

They exited the car and Ms. Parker noticed the door to the building was mechanically preparing to seal itself. She ran forward, with her gun cocked, as Sam and two other sweepers followed quickly, but she was the only one who managed to squeeze through the gap before the door clicked into place. She turned around and pulled on the door's massive handle, but it wouldn't budge.

"Great, I'm trapped in Wonder Boy's newest lair all alone," then she let the coldness leave her voice and shed her Centre persona, since no one was watching anymore. "I wonder if he's still here."

Just as she stepped away from the door, the lights in the building went out.

"Lost in the dark, great." She slid her gun into the back waistband of her pant suit and crept along the wall until she saw a red emergency light on the wall, opposite what appeared to be a staircase to a lower level of the building. She descended the stairs and when she was halfway down, she heard a voice come form the darkness.

"Ms. Parker."

Quick as a whip, her cold Centre persona was back in place, "Who'd you expect, Lab Rat? Santa Claus?" She quipped as she finished descending the stairs and came to the floor.

"Of course not, who would ever link a symbol of childhood joy with the Centre?" Jarod said, emerging from the shadows.

"I suppose you concocted this little lockdown."

"No, as a matter of fact, I did not. I thought the Centre did, after all, locking me away has been their goal for the last…hell, for my entire life."

"The Centre would never plan to lock me in here with you because they know I'd shoot their precious pretender right in the head if no one was around to stop me."

"Would you?" Jarod asked, half full of hope and half full of anger…if such a thing is possible. His eyes pleaded with her to say "no" and yet his mouth was held in a firm line as though he expected the answer to be "yes."

Ms. Parker walked toward him, and pulled her gun out. He noticed and began to back into the shadows, preparing to run. But she tossed the gun away, into the blackness.

"No."

He walked back toward her and pulled her into a long overdue embrace.

Ms. Parker hadn't been hugged in a long time and hesitated at first, before giving in to his strong arms. Then, he pulled her away far enough to look down into her eyes.

"Parker, wh…" he didn't get any further in his question because she had pulled his head down and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

She pulled back and stared deeply into his eyes. Then, she pushed him backwards, hoping to meet a wall, but instead causing them to fall onto his bed, which had been hidden in the darkness. She landed on top of him and he pulled her closer to himself.

"Barely five minutes and we're already on my bed. Do you want to slow down?"

"No," Ms. Parker whispered. "We've been going slow long enough."

She kissed his forehead and then down along the bridge of his nose until she met his mouth. Again, she kissed him softly. He pulled her in tighter and she smiled against his mouth, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth. But then, he pulled back.

"It can't happen this way, I'm sorry," he turned his head away.

There was hurt in her eyes and she quickly covered it with her usual curtness.

"What, am I not good enough for you, Lab Rat? Had your taste of the Ice Queen and decided it wasn't to your liking?" She pushed herself up off of him and began to walk back to the stairwell. She was three steps up, with her back facing him, before he said anything.

"Parker, that's not what I meant," he said, getting up and standing at the end of the bed.

"And what did you mean, Jarod? What could you possibly have meant?" her voice cracked. The idea that she had finally come to him and he had turned away broke her heart into a million pieces, just like the glass from the previous night. She almost smiled in spite of herself at the thought that she actually had a heart…how had she let herself be so weak?

"I need to know, Parker, are you going to leave the Centre?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything. Are you going to leave the Centre?" he asked again.

She turned her head slightly so she could just see him out of the corner of her eye, "I don't know." She said softly. "I don't know."

"I was serious, Parker, I'm ending the chase."

"Then why'd you let us find you?"

"Because, I had to try one more time. I had to ask you just once more if you would come."

She turned all the way around to face him, "So, you did plan for the doors to lock us in."

"No…I didn't. I just took it as a sign. I don't know who pulled the alarm."

She could tell that he wasn't lying. He never lied to her…so, she couldn't lie to him anymore. "Ask me."

"Ask you what?"

"The question you've had hidden for the last six years, but has been burning inside of you. Ask me."

"Parker…will you leave the Centre and come away with me?"

She walked back down the stairs and back to where he was standing. "Yes."

They stood in silence, neither one really believing she had just said yes.

"Parker?"

"What?"

"Did you just say yes?"

"Yes."

He couldn't stand not touching her for a minute longer, and pulled her to him. He had one arm looped around her waist, and the other slid up her waist and to the side of her face. She slid both of her arms around the back of his neck. They both just stood there, staring into each others eyes, happy just to be next to one another, happy to be with the person they loved most in the world.

Jarod finally broke the silence.

"Parker?"

"What?"

"Will you…"

"Yes."

He pulled her back with him, and again, they were lying on the bed. He spun them around and Ms. Parker pulled Jarod down to her. Their tongues explored each other's mouths. Then, Jarod pulled away.

"What?" Ms. Parker asked.

"I love you."

Ms. Parker pulled Jarod's shirt off and then lowered his head down to her chest, to whisper in his ear, "I love you too."

He unbuttoned her shirt while kissing her neck in the little hollow of her collarbone.

The undressing process continued slowly, as they kissed passionately.

They made love in the same fashion, slow and full of passion. For all of the times in the past when they had argued. For all of the times they had nearly died. For all of the times they hadn't said, "I love you." And, for all of the times they knew they did love one another. Their breathing slowed as they drifted off to sleep, still holding each other closely, not willing to let go of everything they had just found. The fact that they were trapped in a building was lost to them because, they were lost in each other.

****

Outside the Warehouse, Ms. Parker's Centre Issue Car

"I hope Ms. Parker's okay in there," Broots said worriedly.

"You can't override the system?" Sydney asked, full of worry.

"No. I don't have the proper key codes to unlock the door mechanism. It's strange that they locked in the first place. What kind of warehouse is this?"

"I don't know, but we'll have to find out."

"My laptop can't do much from here, Syd, I'm going to need to get into their security office."

"I don't know where that is."

"We'll have to investigate…" Broots said worriedly. He hated investigating because it almost always meant he went somewhere he didn't want to go and found something he really didn't want to find. That was the problem when you worked at the Centre, when you finally found the truth, you really wished you hadn't.

They climbed out of the car. "We should take Sam, Broots, I have no idea what any of this means and it may be dangerous."

"That's what I'm worried about."

Sam, Broots, and Sydney walked all the way around the perimeter of the building, checking each of the doors as they went along. They finally came to what appeared to be a small office, off of the main building. The door was locked, but Sam kicked it open. In his world, there was no time for picking the lock. He was worried for Ms. Parker's safety and that meant he had to find the quickest and easiest way to make sure she was safe. That's what made him her best sweeper, even if she never told him that he was.

Once inside the office, Broots could see that it was, in fact, the security office. There was a long row of computers, but the screens were all blank and the only light entering the room came from the doorway.

"The power must have been cut. What's going on?"

That's when he saw it, a piece of paper with the Centre letterhead on it, lying on the floor.

"Syd, come look at this."

"What is it Broots?" the older gentleman came over and took the paper from Broots outstretched hand. Sydney looked at the letterhead, "This building belongs to the Centre?"

Author's Note: I have practically no idea where I'm taking this. Anyone have any suggestions? I just sat down and started writing. I hope that the Ms. P and Jarod love scene wasn't too Lifetime movie of the week. I really tried but I'm a complete romantic at heart. Please Review!!!