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. If there is a Claudette Hotel, I apologize for using its name. 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 26

Catherine's Grievances and the Truth

"Jarod, this looks like chicken scratches."

"It's Aramaic."

"What?"

"The language of God."

"Well, Wonder Boy, can you read the language of God?"

"No, we'll have to scan it into the computer and translate it."

"And how do you propose we do that? Pull out our magical pocket size computer?"

"No, we'll have to take the scrolls out of the museum."

"What?! Jarod, we can't just walk out the door with them. They're going to know that they've been stolen." Ms. Parker said in disbelief at the words coming out of Jarod's mouth.

"Parker, if we don't take them, the Triumvirate's just going to send another agent and we'll never know the truth about any of this. Wouldn't you rather have the truth in your hands than see it in theirs?"

"Yes. Fine. But, just to make this clear, we're not thieves."

"Like you haven't done so many worse things."

Ms. Parker cringed, "That was a low blow, Jarod."

"Sorry, I just can't see why you have a problem with this."

"I don't, it just feels strange stealing from a museum. Never mind, pick up those scrolls and lets get out of here, okay," She squeezed his hand, which she had grasped right after he finished unrolling the scrolls.

"I'll need my hand back."

"Fine," Ms. Parker sighed.

"You can have it back when I'm done."

"Oh goody!" Ms. Parker said, mildly sarcastic, but really happy…for some reason, she was afraid to let go of him.

Jarod rolled the scrolls back up and placed them in the box that they were recovered with, which was sitting on a counter nearby. He tucked the box underneath his arm, gave his hand back to Ms. Parker, and they made their way out of the museum.

****

The Claudette Hotel

When Ms. Parker and Jarod returned to the Hotel, there was a package waiting for them at the front desk. It was another computer disc from Angelo, or CJ, as it was signed. They went up to their room and sat down on the bed to read the note that Angelo had sent with the disc.

"Disc contain DSA from past. Much truth. Angelo," Ms. Parker read aloud. "My mother's DSA," she said at a loss for air.

"Parker, breath."

"I never thought I'd actually find it. What do you think is on it?"

"I don't know, we'll have to put it in the computer."

Ms. Parker shakily handed the disc to Jarod, who popped the disc into the drive on his laptop and then pulled Ms. Parker down into his lap to calm her down. He held her close as she squeezed his arms tightly, nearly drawing blood with her fingernails. However, Jarod didn't stop her, he didn't want to argue with her when she was in such a panicked state. The disc ran and DSA footage came up on the screen and they temporarily forgot the scrolls while Catherine Parker's DSA ran.

****

Raines' Cabin, The day before Ethan's Birth

Catherine Parker sat calmly on a couch staring directly into the camera she was using to send her last thoughts to her daughter. She knew that she didn't have long, Ethan would be born soon and her time on this earth would end. She only hoped that her darling daughter would understand why she had done what she'd done, and how important it was that she continue her plans.

After waiting for a few seconds to make sure nothing got cut off, Catherine began to speak.

"Andrea, sweetheart, this is the most important thing I will ever tell you…the problem is, it's so hard to know where to start," Catherine shifted in her seat, it was easy to see that she was very close to having the baby.

"I suppose I should start by telling you why it was necessary to fake my suicide. I know that it must have hurt you deeply to have to watch that, to have to see me die. The voices told me that the pain you endured from that one act would stay with you for a very long time. I'm so sorry sweetheart," a tear streaked down Catherine's cheek and she quickly wiped it away. "It was the only way to save your brother…and Jarod's brother. I spoke with Jarod and asked him to tell you to trust your Inner Sense and finish my plan. However, I'm afraid that message won't get to you for many years. It wasn't through any fault of Jarod's sweetheart, I know that you will blame Jarod for a lot of your pain in the future, but someday you will forgive him…I hope that someday you will forgive me."

Catherine's emotions overtook her for a moment and she closed her eyes, the voices were echoing in her head along with so many thoughts and secrets, the Centre's secrets and lies. She grimaced, she had a job to do, and she needed to focus.

She opened her eyes and continued with what she intended to stay. "There are so many questions I'm sure you have about how everything unfolded. It's difficult to explain exactly what happened, how everything led up to where I am now and where you will be when you receive this.

"I suppose you should know that I've covered my tracks so well. I left a series of misguiding information with several people. Sydney will never tell you any of this; I didn't want to leave him with that task. You must forgive him as well for following my wishes. Sydney doesn't even know the whole story, the only one that does is your father…but I'll explain that later. I've told Sydney that someone was planning to kill me, and that's true. I also told him that I was faking my death, whether or not he believed that, I don't know. In any case, don't blame him my darling, he doesn't know the whole story and what he does know, I'd rather that you heard from me than him.

"I told Jarod that your father was planning to kill me, that was also a cover-up. I know I caused you even more pain by allowing you to believe that your father and I were fighting, but the truth is, we staged that as well. Your father loves me darling, and I love him as well, I'm sorry that we had to mislead you. Your father has been an important part of this cover-up, but in the end, I didn't even tell him the whole truth. He doesn't know I'm alive at this moment. Like you, he believes that I died in that elevator. I lied to protect him so that he could protect you."

Catherine closed her eyes again, and shook her head silently, trying to keep the voices from whispering in her head and distracting her.

"The Centre has used your father and I in the most despicable ways, sweetheart. His family is to blame…but even that explanation has to wait until later.

"The most confusing thing of all, to you, will be the idea that I allowed Mr. Raines to help me. I had no choice. If I hadn't Ethan would be kept under lock and key, at least this way he can know what the outside world is like…something that Jarod never had the chance to know, something that, in your own way, you never got to know.

"Mr. Raines is dangerous, my darling, I know what he is planning…he will kill me."

Catherine Parker couldn't control her trembling any longer and remained quiet for a moment. She glanced down at her swollen stomach and rubbed it softly, a small smile coming to her face.

"Your brother says hello."

Catherine's expression turned grave again.

"Don't trust Mr. Raines. Whatever you do, don't trust him at all."

Catherine's voice showed desperation and she tried to control it before continuing.

"There is some startling information that you will receive. I don't know if you'll get it before the moment you see this or not, but Mr. Raines is your biological father."

Catherine's face was pained and she mumbled something inaudible.

"That was the most contemptible thing the Centre ever did to your father and I. Your father was unable to have children, we were contemplating adoption, but decided against it and instead endeavored to find a donor. Unfortunately, your father's family found out and threatened that if we did not have a baby of Parker genetics, they would not allow your father or I to live. Again, my apologies…we had to so that we could survive. It doesn't matter though; you were the best gift your father and I ever could have received.

"Raines didn't know, darling. He never knew that I understood that he was your father's brother. He never knew that he was your father either, that was the one battle that your father and I won against them. In the end, we convinced them that it was safer for Centre interests if Mr. Raines was kept as far out of the Parker family circle as possible."

Catherine stopped again as the voices warned her that her time alone was coming to an end.

"I don't have much time, so I suppose that now I should explain my plan…and the scrolls…

Author's Note: There are several things you have to assume for this to work. One is that Ben never had an affair with Catherine. He may have been part of her cover in fact. Another is that Mr. Parker was in fact an okay guy. I have to say that the tally of good things he's done is greater than that for Raines, but sometimes it's still a stretch. I look at it this way, Mr. Parker did cry when Catherine "died," he did grieve for Faith and say that no one should die alone, and he did jump to get rid of the scrolls. However, he also lied to his daughter and kept her from finding out the truth. On several occasions he said he'd tell her everything and that there was so much she needed to know, but then, he never told her. Who knows who's good or bad? That's the beauty of this show. I think I said it around the third or fourth chapter: at the Centre, anyone can be family and anyone can turn around and stab you in the back. For all we know, Sydney could be a mastermind running the whole show. I wouldn't write it that way, but with Craig and Steve, who knows what they'll cook up next…if they ever make that third movie.

Anyway, I managed to avoid writing the scrolls for another chapter, so I'm happy. I hope you enjoyed this and that you didn't feel it was a waste of time. I'm currently more actively pursuing another of my stories, so I apologize if it takes a while for chapters of this story to come up. I'm juggling five stories at the moment and trying to start a sixth…I must be crazy. Oh well, I'm having fun anyway. Thanks for reading. Luv Ya! Please send a review!