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 3

Fate and All Of That Other Predestination Stuff

"I wonder what Dr. Sicko has in his bald, demented head this time," Ms. Parker said spitefully.

"I don't think I ever want to know what goes on in Raines head."

Ms. Parker wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Me either." Then, a thought suddenly came to her, "Jarod, why haven't Sydney or Broots tried to call my cell phone?"

"You can't get service in this building."

"Oh. Jarod, why are you here anyway?"

"Fate?"

Ms. Parker smiled wryly, "Yes. But, that's not what I meant, Wonder Boy. I meant, why are you in this warehouse in Los Angeles?"

"So, you admit that it was fate that brought us together," Jarod smiled back, not acknowledging that she had even asked him a question.

Ms. Parker stepped in closer to Jarod and placed her mouth right next to his ear, "Fate, destiny, and all of that other predestination stuff." She placed a wet, steamy kiss right beneath his ear.

Jarod looped his arms around Ms. Parker's waist, pulling her in close to him, as he bent his lips down next to her ear and repeated what she had said, "Fate, destiny, and all of that other predestination stuff." He kissed her in the same spot that she had kissed him.

"Mmm, I guess investigating why we're trapped in here is going to wait until later," she whispered as Jarod pushed her back toward the bed until she could feel the matress pressed against the back of her legs.

"Much later," He whispered into her neck as he lowered them down onto the bed.

The Mighty Mouse shirt was thrown aside and landed somewhere near the staircase. The two pairs of pants and boxers followed shortly after.They held each other close as they made love for the second time that day, and what would become one of the many times in the future.

****

One Level Beneath, In the Drippy Corridor

"Syd, don't worry, I'm sure Ms. Parker is fine. You know her, if she feels anywhere near being in danger, her gun is out in a millisecond." Broots assured the older man.

"Yes. I'm sure she's doing okay. Well, Broots, shall we see what else is in this little alcove?" Sydney pushed all of his worried thoughts as far back in his mind as he could so that he could focus on their present situation. He began walking in the opposite direction of where they had just come from.

"Uh, Syd, do we have to? I'd much rather stay here by this wonderful ladder."

"I know that as a symbol of leaving this claustrophobic area, the ladder is a comforting object for you, Broots, but we can't just stay here."

"Why not? Sam knows we're here, I'm sure he'll be here any minute."

"Broots, whoever wanted to keep us from getting out probably tried to stop Sam as well. Now, stop sniveling and come on, there may be another exit." Sydney headed off down the hallway.

Broots mumbled after him, "I sure hope there's nothing large and hairy down there," before following reluctantly. He figured he would have been far worse off staying alone, what if the abominable snowman came to get him? He quickly reminded himself that they were in Los Angeles and not Alaska or the North Pole.

As they traveled farther down the dimly lit passageway, the dampness increased and there were puddles at various spots on the floor. However, the pipes on this end of the hallway didn't seem to be broken or leaky. Broots wondered where the water was coming from, but didn't say anything.

The hallway came to an end and became wider. There were two doors on the right hand side of the wall.

"Wow, this reminds me of those stories where you're faced with two doors and you have to pick which one leads to certain death and which one leads to where you want to go and there's always something that says you can ask one question but it always lies and so you wonder if it's lying about always lying or if it lies when it answers your question and your head feels ready to just..."

Sydney cut Broots rambling off, "Broots, I'm worried about you. How much time do you spend watching late night television?"

"W-well, not much, only when I can't sleep which is really more often than not, but I enjoy the company of Jay and Letterman and Conan and those old reruns of Cheers and…"

Sydney cut Broots off again, "Broots!"

"What?"

"Just pick a door, you're giving me a headache."

"Oh, sorry Syd. You know how my mouth just…" he stopped himself this time, "Sorry. Um, how about this one?" He turned the handle on the righthand door. It opened easily. Sunlight streamed through as he pulled the door open. "Wow, I was right."

Sydney turned the knob of the other door. It also opened easily, allowing more sunlight to poor into the hallway, "Odd," He commented.

"Wow, I wonder how many times both doors led to the destination point?"

Sydney just shook his head at Broots and walked out the door. Broots shrugged and followed.

They were faced with a staircase which went up the two levels that they were beneath ground.

Broots sniffed at the air, "Syd, do you smell that?"

"It's the ocean," Sydney answered back.

Sydney and Broots had come out in the middle of the beach.

"Wow."

****

Inside the Warehouse

Ms. Parker was staring at Jarod's sleeping form, laying next to her. She ran her hand through his hair, before sliding her hand down to his, which was clasped around her arm, and pulling it off, so she could snuggle in closer to him, she slid her fingers through his. It was amazing how sleepy she was becoming, but she couldn't think of a safer place to sleep than in Jarod's arms, which only made her feel more sleepy, as if she were lost in a dreamy fairytale.

Jarod shifted in his sleep a little and ran his free arm up Ms. Parker's spine and stroked her back, "sleep," he mumbled to her, "it's okay."

It was better than okay.

She whispered, "I love you," and slept, lost in the arms of the only person in the world she could always trust and depend on.

She woke many hours later, still in the same position. She looked up at Jarod's face. He was smiling at her. His eyes held her and she stared right back at him.

"Hello," Jarod finally broke the silence.

"Hello," Ms. Parker yawned. She turned, underneath his arm so that the back of her head now rested on his chest, and stared up at the ceiling. She realized for the first time, how big the building really was. "Jarod, how big is this building?"

"It's three levels. Why?"

"I was just wondering again why it was that you were here."

"Well, I needed a place to stay while I was in Los Angeles, and I tend to prefer cold, dark, industrial rooms, I blame it on my childhood surroundings," he chuckled.

Ms. Parker laughed softly. "So, you have this whole big warehouse all to yourself?"

"Yah, it was shut down six months ago because the police found out they were smuggling drugs into the states." (If only Broots could have known he was right!)

"Did you help the cops bust them?"

"Nope, at the time, I believe I was in Wisconsin."

"Wisconsin? What's in Wisconsin?"

"A lead on my mother."

"Oh," Ms. Parker said softly, "I'm sorry about on the Island."

"Parker, that wasn't your fault," he stroked her cheek, "I guess I just wasn't meant to meet her yet."

"I meant what I said, I hope you find her."

"I know you meant it. I know you."

Ms. Parker turned herself back over to face Jarod and smiled, "Yes, you know me, all of me." She turned her face down and breathed out against Jarod's chest. Then she kissed his chest in a path toward his mouth. When she reached it, she stopped, and held him in a long kiss. Then she pulled back, "Wait, you still didn't tell me why you're in Los Angeles."

Jarod's eyes clouded over a little, "Promise you won't get upset."

Ms. Parker worried about what he was going to say now and pulled out of his arms. "It depends what you have to say," she replied stiffly.

"Just over a year ago, I met a woman named Zoe. We dated on and off, when I wasn't busy with a pretend. Lyle kidnapped her and I had to make sure she was going to be okay. She stayed with my father for a while, and we still saw each other. She moved out here to Los Angeles and…"

Ms. Parker cut him off, "You've got a girlfriend!" The anger caused by such a thought coarsed through her. She rolled away from Jarod and leaned over the side of the bed, searching for her clothes on the floor. She couldn't stop the tears from falling and tried to control the sobs that came and shook her body.

"Parker…"

Ms. Parker cut him off, "Don't Jarod! Just don't. You were the only one I ever trusted, Lab Rat, and now you…you have a girlfriend. Where is my shirt?" she bit out at him.

"Parker, stop it, you didn't let me finish," his arm reached out as he leaned over to pull her back to him. He felt as though he was losing her.

"Don't touch me!" She fought against his strong grasp, a useless effort.

"Parker, I broke up with Zoe before any of this happened."

Ms. Parker was still for a moment. Jarod continued now that she wasn't thrashing against him, "After we were on the island, I realized that I could never really love her because I was in love with you. I couldn't come to tell her until now."

"Jarod, it's been a month since we were on the island," Ms. Parker replied softly, "A whole month, and you didn't have time to tell her."

"I needed to come see you again, tell you that I was ending the chase. But, it had to be safe first. I did a few pretends around Blue Cove, then I decided it would be easier to just send you a note because you couldn't shoot me through a note."

Ms. Parker laughed softly, "You'd be surprised."

Jarod smiled a little, he could feel Ms. Parker coming back to him, so he let go of her. "I came out to L.A. a week ago and broke up with Zoe. I couldn't lie to her about how I really felt. I sent you the note and planned to leave as soon as I was sure you'd gotten it…just in case you decided to respond."

Ms. Parker turned toward him, "And I did."

"And you did," Jarod echoed. He waited for what Parker would do next.

She cuddled back up to him, "I'm sorry. I should have known you wouldn't do that to me…after all, it's you."

Jarod let his breathe out. He hadn't even realized that he had been holding it. "I'm sorry too. I should have told you about Zoe before."

"You didn't have a reason too. I didn't allow myself to be an option for you."

Jarod pulled her as close to himself as possible. He was afraid she'd slip away from him.

She could tell that she'd hurt him, and struggled to prove to him that she wasn't going away. She kissed him long and hard to convince him that she was his and his only and she wouldn't let anything come between them. She pulled back, "So, Mighty Mouse, you up for some exploring?"

"You or the building?"

"She lowered her head down next to his ear, "both," then she slid off of him and out of the bed.

She picked up the Mighty Mouse T-shirt and slipped it over her head, then she pulled the pants on and started up the stairs.

"Parker?"

"Catch me if you can," she replied back, continuing up the steps, smiling mischievously.

Jarod got out of the bed, pulled on his boxers and pants and began climbing the stairs. Parker had already vanished. When he reached the top, he looked in both directions, and saw a hand extend from around a corner and signal for him to follow. He continued to where the hand had been and glanced through the doorway. Across the room, the hand slipped out again, and signaled for him to follow again. This continued for a long time, and Jarod felt as though he was beginning to get lost in a maze in which Ms. Parker's hand taunted him because he could never quite reach it before it disappeared. Finally, he came to a room with a closed door. In a pile on the floor, the Mighty Mouse T-shirt was just visible beneath the silk pajama pants. Jarod opened the door slowly. Inside was a bathroom with a shower. The water in the shower was on and Jarod could make out the shape of Ms, Parker's body through the mottled glass. Jarod slid his pants and boxers off and joined Ms. Parker in the shower.

"It took me forever to find what I was looking for," Ms. Parker told him when she heard the shower door click open.

"Me too," he whispered as he came up behind her and wrapped her in his arms, leaning his head over her shoulder and kissing her neck.

"Mmm…I just thought we could use a change of setting."

"Any setting where you are loses all of its beauty and importance the minute I cast my eyes on you."

"That was beautiful," Ms. Parker turned around in his arms to face him.

The water spilled over their bodies, and they moved with it, still forgetting the fact that they were locked in a building, most likely by the Centre. But then, that's what happens when you're in love, everything else loses its beauty and importance as you lose yourself in eachother.

****

Out on the Beach, San Pedro, Los Angeles

"Syd, what's going on?"

"I don't know Broots. I still have no idea what any of this means."

"Well, it's starting to freak me out. One minute I'm standing in a dark hallway worrying that Bigfoot is gonna come around a corner and eat me, and the next I'm out on the beach worrying that I don't have any sunblock on and I'm getting sand in my shoes. What does this mean?"

"You worry too much," Sydney joked with him, trying to lighten the mood because he was just as worried.

"Hah, there's no such thing as too much worry when the Centre is involved."

"True. Very true. Well, lets try to get back to the warehouse."

"But Syd, I don't want to go back in that hallway. It gives me the heebyjeebies."

"Broots, we'd still be locked out of the security office if we went that way. Think clearly. We'll just walk back to the warehouse from here."

"That would make more sense. You know, sometimes my head just comes up with all of these ideas and then I just start saying them like my brain has no control or off-switch or anything or like it's a blender with all of this stuff swirling inside of it and there are only two speeds, extra fast and too slow and if it's too slow, it won't blend ice, but if it's too fast everything goes flying and makes a big mess and you have to clean it up and there you go you wasted a perfectly good smoothie on the wall that really didn't want a smoothie because what would a wall want with a smoothie…you know what I mean, Syd?"

Sydney nodded. He hadn't been paying any attention to the other man's rambling, he was too busy enjoying the beautiful sunset of a warm California beach.

Broots continued babbling incoherently all the way back to the warehouse, and Syd continued nodding without paying any attention. That's what happened when you knew Broots for a long time, you learned to tune him out.

It was dark when they got back, but the power was still on, so, they made their way back to the security office. Sam and the two other sweepers were nowhere to be found. Neither Broots nor Sydney commented on the fact, they just gave each other grave looks and continued to the security office.

Once they got there, Broots sat down at a computer on the back wall, near the map, and typed away furiously, trying to find what damaging secret the Centre was hiding this time.

"Woah, Syd, look at this."

Sydney leaned over the other man's shoulder and read the memo that was on the screen.

"Who is CJP?"

Author's Note: Okay, thanks to Phenyx for the suggestion of Angelo as the culprit of this little fiasco. I'm considering it, notice how I've left it open, CJ can stand for Cracker Jack, Angelo's nickname, but it may be someone else…it depends on what devilish plot my brain comes up with. By the way, Jarod did break out of the cockpit in IOTH, but that only answers one question. I've got new ones now that I've replayed the scene for the millionth time. Like, how did Raines and Lyle get to the cockpit before Ms. P if she was in the passenger area and they were in the Cargo area? Who put Jarod's backpack on the plane? You can just barely make it out in the background on top of some suitcases. And, by the by, whose suitcases are they? I didn't get a chance to rewatch the train scene yet, so I hold by my previous thoughts. I hope that Broots rambling wasn't too confusing, much like Broots, I sometimes just go off on crazy tangents. Also, I know that Parker and Jarod are doing practically nothing, but give them a break, they're drydocked after all of this time. I hope their scenes aren't to awfully smarmy…I personally think they're sweet, but I'm a complete and total romantic. Hey can someone explain to me what a shipper's heart is? I keep reading reviews where people say they've got shipper hearts and I am completely lost. Thanks for reading and reviewing!!! Luv Ya All!!!