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 11
A Game of Cat and Mouse
In the morning, Ms. Parker woke up lying on the couch next to Jarod, his arms still wrapped tightly around her, like she was going to vanish if he let her go. She smiled to herself. Nothing had happened the night before, it was just one long memorable hug.
She remembered falling asleep in his arms. He must have carried her to the couch and then lay down next to her.
She had finally slept the whole night through.
As she watched Jarod sleep, she thought of how it would feel to kiss him. She remembered wanting to kiss him, when they had been on the island. She wished she had kissed him right then and changed her whole life. Yet, some part of her still told her that her life would never change the way she wanted it to.
Jarod's eyes fluttered opened slowly, interrupting her thoughts. "Good morning," he smiled.
"Morning," she whispered back as her smile grew even wider.
"Well, Ms. Parker," Jarod yawned, "what are we going to do now?"
Ms. Parker stood up, the smile leaving her face. A frown replaced it. "I don't know," she said, "this is a really big change and I don't think I can do it. I'm not good at turning points, and I can't trust people. The people I trust…I love them and then they die."
"No one said it would be easy," Jarod replied evenly, "but I think that you can do it…I want you to do it."
"Oh, Jarod," Ms. Parker sighed heavily, plopping herself down in a chair, "But no one said it was going to be this hard either. What are we going to do? I can't turn you into the Centre, because it would mean getting rid of the only person in my life that's never let me down. But, I betray my whole family if I let you go. Yet, I can't pretend I didn't see you because…I don't want to. Still, my job…"
"Well…" Jarod started reluctantly, "you could leave with me. We could run away, right now, leave it all behind. But, you wouldn't do that before…what's changed now?"
Ms. Parker started slowly, trying to find the right words, "I've changed Jarod…or at least, I'm trying to. You know I'd love to, but I couldn't live that way, wondering if when I turn the corner on a street, a sweeper team is going to come and kidnap me and take me away from a life I've so carefully constructed."
"Isn't that how I've been living all these years?" Jarod said softly.
Ms. Parker sighed again, "See, it will never work. I want it to…so much, but it can't work. In the end we'll still be stuck in a game of cat and mouse, and I do NOT like playing the mouse."
"Ms. Parker, you're forgetting that the mouse is smaller and can move quicker. Just because he doesn't have claws doesn't mean he loses."
"Oh please, Jarod, have you ever seen a mouse carry in a dead cat that it killed?"
"No," Jarod laughed, "But, that's because the mouse is too smart to drag a dead animal into your house."
Ms. Parker laughed too. "True, I'd probably shoot it if it did."
Jarod stopped laughing and took a serious tone. "Please, Ms. Parker…at least come with me for a little while to see how you like it. A sort of trial run."
Ms. Parker thought for a moment, "Okay. But, you know, it doesn't change anything, the Centre is still after you."
"I know, and we are going to France," Jarod answered back
"What?"
"France…to find the scrolls."
"You're crazy. We can't just fly off to France," Ms. Parker said, in disbelief.
"Perhaps I am crazy, but I'm going to France. I was going to before, I was just hoping that you'd want to come along, so I waited."
"France?" Ms. Parker repeated, "But the Centre…"
"…will be glad that you've taken some time off so that you could consentrate at work better…at least, I think that's your best excuse."
"So, this is how it starts? We run off together for a week and hope that it changes everything…" Ms. Parker said.
"It may not be the best start, Parker, but happily ever after doesn't happen that fast," Jarod answered compassionately.
"What do the scrolls have to do with happily ever after?"
"If they were important enough that your father died for them, there must be something they have to tell us."
Ms. Parker thought for a moment. Jarod was right, it wasn't happily ever after, but there was a promise of happily ever after. Her mothers voice assured her of it. "Okay"
"Solution number one, cat and mouse run away together," Jarod replied.
That afternoon, they flew to France.