Disclaimer: Sigh…Sadly, I do not own the characters of The Pretender. I in no way wish to defame any of its affiliates nor NBC or TNT. That's it.Read it now!

Summary: Clues to the past bring Ms. Parker and Jarod back together again. Very involved in IOTH, but you can understand it without having seen it. Ties up most story lines. Mostly from Ms. Parker's point of view. Chapters are short.

The Truth Is Waiting

By Bec-Bec

Chapter 2

The Chase Continues

Jarod had escaped from the Centre six years ago. He had been on the run ever since. His natural abilities made it easier for him to resist captivity; he could become anyone he wanted to be, that's why the Centre wanted him back. The Centre wanted to exploit his gifts to torture and even kill people. The mere thought revolted him on a daily basis. He would not allow them to take him back. So, he played the Centre's game, for his life.

He toyed with Ms. Parker, which slightly amused him and yet disgusted him at the same time. Annoying her at least helped him to see a little bit of the passion he knew she had within her…even if it was a passion for capturing him. But, that was their game. It was better than never talking to her at all.

Then, there was Sydney. Sydney was like his father. He always gave Jarod advice and Jarod was greatful. He was also sure that Sydney was one of the reasons the Centre hadn't brought him back yet. Sydney, in some small way, kept the Centre from finding him because he wanted Jarod to experience life in the real world, and not the black and white of a Centre lab.

Slowly, Jarod gained the experiences that most people had by the time they were ten, and he helped some people along the way. After all, using his talents to help people seemed a better use for them than killing. At the same time, he uncovered pieces of his past. He searched to find out who his parents were and his brothers and sister and at the same time…he found out more about Ms. Parker's family.

That was the only reason that he continued his game with the Centre, because he needed to find out about the past…and maybe because Ms. Parker's happiness was important to him…but, his worrying about her hadn't seemed to matter at all…to her…day and night, this was just the twisted world he lived in.

****

Ever since their return from the island, Jarod had been watching Ms. Parker closely…without her knowing about it. Every night, he would see her toss and turn…and cry. Ms. Parker never allowed herself to cry. She thought she was too strong for it, that's what worried him. If something was bad enough to make her cry, there must be something terribly wrong.

So, he watched her, every night, hoping that one day she would allow him to protect her from all of the harshness of her life. He wanted to talk to her so much, to let her now that no matter how hard se pushed, he wasn;t going to go away. He hoped that she would realize he was the only one she could ever trust…the only one who would tell her the truth because she deserved to know it.

But right now, he couldn't rush in and soothe all of her bad dreams. He couldn't take her away from the Centre…because she wasn't ready to leave. Instead, he waited until he could be sure that if he trusted her, she wasn't going to turn around and hand him over to the Centre. He had offered her another path before… now, he would offer it again…but not until she was ready. This time, he wanted her to come with him. For now, he would just have to stay one step removed from her, close enough to save her, but far enough not to get caught.

****

A tree outside of Ms. Parker's House

Jarod watched Ms. Parker through binoculars from a tree outside her bedroom window. He frowned as he saw her wake up screaming from her nightmare. When she looked as though she had settled back in, he waited a few more minutes for her to fall asleep. Then, he crawled down from his treetop perch and crept silently to her back door.

"I've probably broken into over 100 buildings by now, but none will ever make me as nervous as Ms. Parker's house…or the Centre," he thought, as he picked the lock and swung the door open. He walked quickly into her house to turn off the alarm.

"Wait, the alarm's not on. I wonder why she didn't set the alarm. That's not like her. I'll have to remember to set it before I leave. It wouldn't be safe to leave her unprotected…You never know what the Centre's up to and as much as I'd like to, I can't be outside of her door all of the time."

He checked to make sure the scrambling device he had in his pocket was on.

"I don't want the goons at the Centre to know I was here and I don't know where their bugs are, but I know they're always watching."

He put the scrambling device down on the coffee table in Ms. Parker's living room and went back to the door to pick up the bag he had left there. He opened the bag and pulled out a small white box with a lavender bow tied on it.

As he placed the box on the coffee table, he though to himself, "Well, Ms. Parker, just because you won't let me give you the gift of freedom, it doesn't mean I can't give you something else. You won't understand what it is until you read the note, but even you can appreciate what it means…if you let yourself."

He walked over to Ms. Parker's bedroom and slowly went inside.

"She looks peaceful now…she's beautiful when she's asleep. If only she would come away with me.." he stopped himself.

Wishes weren't going to get him anywhere…they never had before. Whatever he wanted to happen he had to make happen.

Ms. Parker stirred in her sleep and Jarod held his breath, not ready for her to wake up and find him there. She settled back in and he let his breath go. Then he remembered her medication.

"I should check to see what she's taking to make sure that its what it says it is. Who knows what the Centre might have given her."

He picked up the bottle to read the label.

"Mmm…it's a mild sedative. Sydney perscribed it. I can trust it. He would never try to hurt Ms. Parker." He put the bottle back down and pulled a lavender candle and lighter out of his bag. He lit the candle and slowly backed out of the room. He had read somewhere that lavender helped soothe people and soothing was exactly what Ms. Parker needed.