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 WaitingBy Bec-Bec
Chapter 22Love Catherine, Always Andrew
It took three days for Angelo's response to reach Jarod and Ms. Parker by express mail. Plans to go after the scrolls had been put on hold as they awaited what the disc would tell them. Ms. Parker knew that Jarod was still SIMming how they would get the scrolls out but she couldn't focus enough to help him. Her mind kept drifting back to everything her father had ever told her that had turned out to be a lie and the time that her Inner Sense had brought her mother to her to say that her father knew all of the answers…but then, had she meant Mr. Parker, or Raines…or someone else entirely? Jarod knew that the thoughts were consuming all of her time and tried to distract her with a ride down the Seine, fancy food, and even a shopping trip where she had got some killer leather boots. But still, her mind kept wandering back to her father and the disc. She even started to wonder if all of the thinking she'd been doing in the last week was starting to damage her brain. Finally, the disc arrived.
****
Ms. Parker and Jarod's Hotel Room, The Claudette Hotel, Harfleur, France
A knock on the door roused Ms. Parker from her thoughts. She got up from her sitting position on the bed and walked to the door. Jarod was too lost in his SIM to let the door knocking bother him.
"What?" she barked as she flung the door open.
"Pardon, C'est pour vous." A hotel attendent said that the envelope he was holding was for her and handed it to her.
"Merci," she said politely. She waited for him to walk down the hallway and then slammed the door shut and ran over to Jarod. "Jarod, it's here."
Finally pulled out of his SIM, Jarod looked up at Ms. Parker, "What?"
"The disc, it's here."
"Oh. Well, come on, lets put it into my laptop."
"There's a note too."
"What does it say?"
"More soon…Angelo."
"I guess it wouldn't all fit."
They pushed the disc into the drive and sat down to see what it could possibly have to tell them. The first part was a letter to Ms. Parker about why Mr. Parker had put the disc into the pacemaker. It described a promise that he had made to Catherine.
****
The Parker House, The Day Before Catherine Parker's Murder (Artificial Suicide)
"Catherine, they know!" Mr. Parker said in a low incredibly distressed voice.
"And what are they going to do, Andrew, kill me?"
"Probably. It's the Centre, anything they don't like, they destroy, any truth you find, they corrupt it. I know…it's my family."
"Andrew, If that's what's meant to happen, then that's what will happen. I will not quit trying to help the children escape from that place."
"Catherine, you have your own child to take care of."
"Andrea will be fine, the voices assured me."
"Oh, the voices…Catherine, you can't trust those crazy voices."
"Why not, darling? They seem to be the only thing that hasn't lied to me."
"Catherine, it was not my choice to withhold that information from you."
"I know," Catherine finally sounded as though everything Mr. Parker was warning her against was sinking in, "But, I can't stand knowing the truth and not doing anything to stop it. I have to stop it."
"What about our daughter?"
"If something happens to me, I want you to record every bit of truth about the Centre that you can and save it to give to her when she's old enough for it."
"Why?"
"I don't want her to live in the lie that I've been living in. Promise me that you'll save it for her so she gets it when she's safe to have it."
"I promise. Catherine, please be careful."
"I'll try Andrew, but I will not stop my work."
"Okay…but I don't know how long I can pretend that I don't know what's going on. Someone will catch on eventually."
"It's going to be okay. The voices say so. You'll have Andrea and Andrea will have you and Jarod."
"Jarod?"
"Well, of course, don't you know how important his role in all of our lives is?
"No. I don't understand."
"It's best if I don't tell you anymore than this…like you said, someone will catch on soon and it will be better if you know less."
"I love you Catherine."
"Always Andrew."
****
Mr. Parker's letter to Ms. Parker contained a paraphrase of his last conversation with Catherine. Ms. Parker was in tears when they finished reading it. The letter finished off with something Catherine had asked him to tell Ms. Parker and was followed by a letter from Catherine herself.
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Angel, your mother will always be with you. She told me to make sure that you knew that. I'm sorry for the lies I'm going to have to tell you over the years for your protection. Someday, you will understand why I did it. Someday, you will find the truth. Even as I record all of this, I cannot tell you the whole truth, it may fall into the wrong hands. I wish you the best in life and I look forward to watching you grow up into the woman that your mother was. Always my Angel.
Andrew Parker
****
My darling Andrea,
I've asked your father to make sure you get this letter. I know that my time is short, the voices tell me so. I know that you have the gift of the Inner Sense as well, listen to it always, it is me, it is your family. We will always be watching to make sure that everything turns out as it should. I want you to know the reason that I am no longer with you. I discovered a large part of the Centre's past which they had tried to cover up. The ancient scrolls tell the entire story, past, present, and future. You will find them on a trip with Jarod, I believe. Shortly after, you will receive this letter and one from your father. Everything that you need to know is in those scrolls. I left them where I found them, on the Island of Carthis. Margaret knows where they are but not what they conceal. I thought it best that she not know what was going to happen to her…though it was hard to hide it from her. Margaret was my best friend, darling. But you will know that to. Be sure to tell Jarod that she loves him and will find him soon. I love you always.
Catherine Parker
****
"Jarod, I already knew that my mother knew that she was going to die," Ms. Parker said softly, in disbelief, "But, this sounds like my father knew too…and that he didn't know she staged her suicide…"
"She was best friends with my mother," Jarod followed up with his own look of disbelief.
Author's Note: Okay, that didn't really answer much but the answers are coming, promise. By the way, I wish all the best of luck to Andrea Parker (Ms. Parker) on her new show "Less Than Perfect." In all seriousness, it's not as great of a role as Ms. Parker, but she has some of the trademark sharp tongue dialogue…sigh, I miss the Pretender. Please Review!!!
Disclaimer for the above: I don't have the rights to use the name "Less Than Perfect," sorry ABC.