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 9:
If You Could Dream
Ms. Parker had fallen asleep on the couch, overwhelmed at the thought of the scrolls. Worn out by all of the dreadful thoughts that kept circulating through her mind, she had drifted off into unpeaceful dreams.
When she woke up, it was midnight. The power of her terrible dreams still lingered over her.
Slowly, they began to fade away and she was left in the dark silence. She wasn't sure why, but her mind seemed less tumultuous. She thought, for a long time, about everything and, sometimes, as the mind is apt to do, nothing at all.
She wound through the mazes of information she had gathered over the years, trying to piece together everything she could. Though she didn't want to admit it, Jarod was the only reason she knew any parts of the truth. Maybe it was time for her to put an end to the chase…maybe she should join him and try to put an end to the Centre.
It seemed as though they had been caught in the web of the Centre forever; caught in suspension, somewhere between hell and the hellish truth…whichever came first.
Suddenly, she got the distinct feeling that someone was watching her. It did not feel menacing though, it felt more like how your guardian angel would look at you when you were having a particularly bad day. A reassuring warmth almost. It reminded her of her mother.
She walked to her window and peered out into the black night, but didn't see anyone. She was about to go to her bedroom when the phone rang. Only one person ever called at this time of night.
"Well, hello Wonder Boy," Ms. Parker said, after picking up the phone. She used her usual annoyed phone voice, not willing to let Jarod know the change that her emotions were undergoing.
"What have you thought of my gifts?"
"They were alright, if you like sentimentality. By the way, its illegal to enter someone's home without their permission."
"Well, it's not like you can call the cops, what are you going to tell them? The man you've been trying to return to a facility they don't know exists is a genius who can become anything he wants to be?" Jarod played along with her annoyance, "For all you know, I might be a cop right now."
"Are you?" Ms. Parker asked, trying to get a hint at where he was.
"Parker, you know I wouldn't tell you that, half the fun of our little game involves you trying to find out where, and what, I am."
Ms. Parker sighed with annoyance. "Well, as usual I'm stuck trying to decode whatever menial bit of infromation you've left me."
"You're sounding a bit tired of our game, Parker. Ready to give up?"
"I will not give up until the day I find you and drag you back into hell with me."
"Well here's a question for you, why do either of us have to stay in hell?" he asked, trying to persuade her like he had in the limo at the airport.
"Jarod, I already answered this question, I can't leave the Centre. The Centre is my life. It always will be."
"Parker, the choices you make are your own."
"Jarod, we're just going in circles here," she sighed.
"What would you dream of doing tomorrow if you could do anything?" he asked, trying to tip the scale in his favor.
"Jarod, there is no dreaming in my world."
"Parker, it's a simple question, just answer it," he coaxed her.
"Nothing in my world is simple."
"For god sakes woman! Forget for once in your life that everything in our world is complicated," he replied angrily, losing his patience.
Ms. Parker was shocked and didn't say anything. Jarod never yelled at her. He would speak with frustration, or be snide, but he would never yell. She thought for a moment before deciding to respond, "Jarod…do you remember that day that my father sent me to boarding school and I came to say goodbye before I left?"
"Yes," Jarod replied. All of his anger was gone, he just sounded tired, very tired.
"Well, I would dream of that day. Instead of being sent away, I would stay, and we would grow up together."
"Really…?" Jarod questioned.
"No," Ms. Parker laughed wickedly. She wouldn't dare to let him know how much he mattered to her.
"Good bye Ms. Parker," Jarod said as he abruptly hung up the phone.
Ms. Parker was left in the silence she had created…alone. "Damn it!" she thought "Why do I always have to play the Ice Queen? He's offering me another world, why don't I just take it?" She covered her face with her hands. "He sounded so sad, like he'd lost his best friend." She sat up straight. "I am his best friend." She sat for a long time, thinking some more, the air, as usual, full of unanswered questions.