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. I know very little about France and have never been there. My knowledge of the French language is limited and not perfect, don't expect my phrases to be correct. I do not mean to offend anyone who is French or the French police departments. I do not know anything about Harfleur, Le Havre or the Normandy coastline, so if you go there, don't expect it to be the way I described it. I apologize to any museums in Le Havre, France, if there are any. 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 18

All I've Got

Jarod had a hard time explaining to the French police department why their newest suspect had been gunned down during the day through a window in the middle of their department. Ms. Parker was too stunned to help him clear up what had happened, but kept enough composure so as to look more strong and unaffected than shocked. Jarod could tell that inside, she was breaking up. Sure, Ms. Parker often threatened violence, but she never actually killed someone…and she never often witnessed when the Centre killed someone. Ms. Parker could feel his worry, but she remained numb while he told what happened. When they finally left the department, she was feeling weak. She must have looked it because Jarod offered her a supporting arm.

"Parker…are you alright?" Jarod said, his voice full of concern.

"Well Jarod, I just saw the Triumverate turn a man into a piece of swiss cheese so…I'm not feeling my best." She had tried to sound sarcastic and hard as stone, but Jarod could feel her tremble at the memory of what had happened. "Damn it Jarod, why do they do this?"

Jarod had no answers so he just held her arm tightly, showing her that he would support her no matter what and yet, allowing her to work through her thoughts about what had happened. His cell phone began to ring. Answering it, his mouth turned into an even harder grim line than it had been before. "Okay, thanks John. We'll be there shortly." Jarod hung up.

"Jarod, who's John?"

"I know now isn't the best time…cosidering what's just happened but…your father's body has been found."

"My father?" Ms. Parker said, sounding faint. She felt as though she desperately needed to sit down somewhere. Seeing nowhere nearby to do so, she walked over to a wall and slank down to the ground.

Jarod wasn't sure what to do. Parker never acted this way. She was always the stone woman, the solid rock, the grizzly bear…okay, maybe not a grizzly bear, but she was definitely ferocious at times. Now, she just looked like a very sad lost doll. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her arms were clasped tight around them. She was rocking, very softly, back and forth…back…and forth.

"Jarod, promise me we're going to put an end to the Centre. Promise me right now. I want it stopped, I want it stopped now." Ms. Parker said angrily.

He walked over and slid down the wall next to her. He pulled her over toward him so that her head rested on his shoulder. Then, he unclasped her hands and held them in his.

"Parker, I promise we'll do what we can. You know, it takes time to get over a loss."

"Save it Jarod," she said bitterly, "Nothing can make up for what the Centre's cost me over the years. All that they've taken away from me and you. My father wasn't even my father, my mother was murdered, my sister died, I've got Lyle, the ultimate jerk, for a brother, Tommy was murdered, I've got nothing to lose. Absolutely nothing."

"Yes you do…you could lose yourself or…you could lose me."

For the second time that day, she turned her face up towards Jarod and spoke sorrowfully, "All secrets, no answers…that's what I've got."

Jarod was a little upset at her lack of faith in his being something she could lose, but he tried to ignore it…she was wiped. He decided they should save the visit to John for the next day. The sun was already starting to set…Ms. Parker needed sleep. He stood up, pulling her up with him and walked out toward the street to hail a cab. When they got back to the hotel, Ms. Parker looked very pale. She had been silent through the entire ride from Le Havre to Harfleur. Jarod had begun to worry that she might be getting sick, but he hadn't wanted to ask her how she was feeling, afraid that she'd yell viciously at him for thinking she was weak. Instead, he had laced his fingers through hers and just sat silently with her. Once they were up in their hotel room, Ms. Parker went directly to the bed, not bothering to retrieve a night shirt from her luggage. The silence was starting to kill Jarod, but he knew better than to interupt her. He got ready for bed, trying to avoid glancing at her every two seconds. When he emerged from the bathroom, after brushing his teeth, he began to walk to the couch when he heard Ms. Parker say shakily, "Jarod…you know how my Inner Sense sounds like my mother…well, I always trust her and she keeps telling me two things. One is that my father is not what he seemed and two is that…" she stopped. Jarod waited for her to continue but she never did. He figured she must have fallen asleep. He climbed onto the couch and fell asleep watching Ms. Parker. In actuality, Ms. Parker had not fallen asleep, she just wasn't ready to tell Jarod what the second thing was…she wasn't really ready to tell herself even. After she heard Jarod's breathing grow steady and shallow, she climbed out of the bed and walked over to the couch. She hadn't wanted to ask before, lest she should seem even more weak than she already did, but she desperately wanted Jarod's strong arms wrapped around her that night. She squished herself in next to him. He must have woken because he put his arms protectively around her and pulled her as close as possible to himself.

"I've got you to lose, Jarod," She whispered softly.

"Never," He said back.

Author's Note: Would it be completely unlike Ms. Parker to be this affected by what happened? I'm really trying to be true to character but sometimes it comes out sounding so…melodramatic. Is it supposed to be that way? As always, send a review! It makes my day better!