This is the Way the World Ends
By Bethe
~*~
Part Three
~*~
Jarod pulled into Melanie's driveway and turned off the car. Then he looked at her. During the drive, she had somehow shifted herself to the point that her head was resting on Jarod's leg, her hand on his knee. Jarod sighed and brushed her hair away from her face as he whispered, "Mel?" Still asleep, her face contorted into a frown as she mumbled something unintelligibly. "Mel, we're home," he said louder, giving her shoulder a slight squeeze. Nothing.
Jarod sighed once more and smiled to himself. He slid his hands underneath her and pushed her up into a sitting position, making sure she was leaning against the frame of the car. Then he got out of his side and made his way over to her side. In one swift movement, he opened her door and caught her before she fell out. Grunting softly with the effort, he braced one arm around her back while he slipped his other arm underneath her knees and lifted.
Somehow, he managed to shut the car door, open the door to her house, and turn on the lights without dropping her or losing control. He got to her bedroom and pushed the door open with his foot. He gently laid her down on top of her made bed. Then he found a blanket and covered her with it.
"Goodnight, Mel," he whispered. Before he realized what he was doing, he bent down and placed a light kiss on her forehead. At that moment, Melanie sighed and snuggled up with the quilt before turning on her side. The feeling that Jarod experienced then was so strong that he had to sit down in a nearby chair.
He was not one usually taken to flights of fancy. But watching her sleeping caused a deep yearning in him for him to be the one lying beside her.
The attraction had always been there, but she'd never seemed interested. He felt a glimmer of hope when they were stranded on Carthis, but she killed that hope as only she could.
Now, after this strange turn of events, he was beginning to feel things that he wasn't sure he wanted to feel ever again.
~*~
Melanie stretched and opened her eyes. She shielded her face from the glaring sun while wondering what it was that had woken her up. Then she heard it again: someone was knocking on her bedroom door.
"What?" she asked around a yawn, rubbing her face with her hand. Jarod walked in carrying a tray. She couldn't see what was on the tray, but it was steaming. Then she took in Jarod's appearance. His hair was spiky and still wet from his shower. A smile played upon his freshly shaven face. He was wearing black slacks and a crisp white dress shirt. His tie hung loosely around his neck. She raised an eyebrow. "What's this for?" she asked.
"Oh," Jarod said as he neared the side of her bed, "You made me dinner. I thought I should return the favor." He lowered the tray. On it were two plates. They both carried cheesy scrambled eggs, three pieces of bacon, and one piece of toast with melted butter and cinnamon on it. "I didn't know what you liked, so I made my favorite. Hope you don't mind." He smiled sheepishly.
"Jarod!" she exclaimed in a whisper. Then she playfully slapped his arm. "You shouldn't have!" Despite her protests, she picked up the plate, forked off a piece of egg and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she savored the taste. "Excellent, Master Chef," she teased. Then her eyes went wide. "What time is it?" she asked.
"Relax," Jarod said, "You have plenty of time to eat before getting ready. Now eat, or I'll be insulted." Melanie smiled before attacking her plate. Jarod sat down on the foot of her bed with his own plate. When they'd finished eating, she looked up and noticed that his tie wasn't tied yet.
"Jarod," she said, catching his attention, "come here." She sat up straight, then got up on her knees. Jarod got up from his position and walked over in front of her, questions in his eyes. Wordlessly, Mel reached between them and took the ends of his tie in her hands. With nimble fingers, she deftly tied it. Then she looked at her work and tilted her head. She grabbed ahold of the knot with one hand and the flap with the other and began to straighten it.
When she had finished, she looked up to Jarod's eyes, only to find that he had been watching her face the entire time. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?"
"Where'd you learn to do that?"
"Well, Daddy may not have always been there for me, but how else do you think his ties got tied the right way?" she asked, a small smile on her face. Then her eyes dropped to the ground. "That's probably one of the reasons I despised Brigitte so," she whispered. "When she married him, it became her job to do that."
Jarod placed a finger underneath her chin and lifted her head so she was looking in his eyes. "Thanks," he said. "Now go get ready. We're going to be late."
~*~
Melanie rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I don't know where else to look, Jarod," she said, shaking her head. "I'm having problems with this case, and I don't know why."
"Well, let's go over the facts again," Jarod stated calmly despite the frustration he was experiencing as well. "Jerry Walters and the killer were friends, as we've already deduced."
"They were hanging around in Jerry's hotel room," Mel added, biting her lip in concentration. Then she met Jarod's eyes. "We need to go back there. Witnesses had to have seen them there *together*."
"You're right. Let's go."
They left the building and got in Melanie's car. In no time, they were back at the hotel, interviewing Walters' neighbors. However, that proved to be yet another dead end.
In a moment of desperation, they questioned the concierge again. No new information, except that he did, in fact, remember that a "tall, big guy" had accompanied Walters on the days prior to his murder. Jarod placed a quick call to Howard, and then swiftly ushered Mel to her car.
Once they were seated, Jarod in the driver's seat and Melanie in the passenger's, he looked over at her. "What's wrong, Mel?" he asked soothingly. She looked out her window.
"I don't know," she murmured, tracing a pattern on the glass with her finger. "I'm just really stressed out, is all. A lot is on my mind."
"Like how you got that bruise?" Jarod asked, nodding his head toward her. She looked at him, her gaze questioning.
"What do you mean? I already told you how I got the bruise," she replied defensively.
"C'mon, Mel," he protested. "I know you. Especially when you lie." She exhaled in a frustrated burst before crossing her arms and looking away. Jarod placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mel, you can talk to me."
"The bastard doesn't know when something's finished," she spat out tearfully. Jarod furrowed his brow in concern. He put his other hand on her other shoulder and forced her to face him.
"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, although he could probably guess her meaning. Melanie let her gaze drop to the floorboard before opening up.
"Awhile back, I started dating this guy. Michael. Handsome, smart, could charm your socks off." She chuckled. "Well, he could charm more than your socks off," she commented sadly. "I really thought he was the one. But my work kept us from spending a lot of time together. He got jealous, then demanding. Now, I may have changed my name, but I'm still a Parker at heart. I wasn't going to have any of it." She closed her eyes. "He had other plans."
Jarod reached over and lightly touched the dark spot by her eye. "He did this to you," he murmured. "Parker," he reverted to her old name after a momentary silence, "Why didn't you tell me?" He gently stroked her smooth cheek while patiently waiting for an answer.
"I'm a big girl, Jarod," she replied, refusing to meet his eyes. "I can handle it myself."
Jarod pressed his palm against her cheek and forced her to look at him. "I know you can, Mel, but you don't have to handle it alone." He sighed. "No one should have to handle it alone."
She bit her lip. "Jarod, I'm tired. Just. . .just drive." She pulled herself out of his hold and propped her elbow on the door's armrest.
~*~
Jarod replayed the events of the past four hours in his head while laying in the guest room. The dark space allowed his mind to open up and look at the situation from every angle.
Why would someone as strong as Melanie accept this abuse? Why didn't she fight back? He desperately wanted to sim it so he could understand. But the one thing he swore that he'd never do was to sim her. That would be an invasion of privacy on the basest of levels.
The sound of shattering glass brought him back to earth. He looked over at the clock, and then realized that he'd drifted off to sleep about four hours ago. Then he heard a thump that sounded like a body hitting the floor.
Without any further hesitation, Jarod jumped out of bed and rushed down the hall. He searched every room, and stopped when he reached the kitchen.
"Heya, pretty boy," Melanie slurred from her position on the floor. She turned to look at him. Jarod gasped when he saw her face. Her left eye was swollen to the point that it was no longer open. The whole right side of her face was one long bluish mark. Dried blood surrounded a gash on her forehead.
"Melanie!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. He coughed and covered his mouth and nose when the thick wall of alcohol fumes assaulted his senses.
"You wanna drink?" she asked, shoving her shot glass in his face. He shook his head as he took the glass from her hand and set it down away from them. Melanie simply shrugged, then took a long swig from the bottle in her other hand. "You sure?" she asked with a giggle in her voice while waving the bottle under his nose. "It's reeeal gooood," she drawled out. Jarod then took the bottle from her hands, eliciting a pout to cross her face.
"Mel," he whispered, moving one hand to touch her right cheek. She flinched, then backed away, fear in her eyes. "What happened to you?" he asked, but he already knew the answer. She shrugged. "Why do you let yourself be his battering post?" he tried. He felt genuine shock when he received a slap to the face.
"What the hell do you know?" she shouted, staggering to her feet. "You don't know the first thing about me!" Jarod stood as well. He started to walk toward her, but she stamped in frustration. "Don't! Okay? Just don't! Don't go into your shrink mode!" With that, she stormed out of the house and onto the back porch.
Jarod sighed, but decided that she needed a few moments to herself. So, he busied himself with cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Before he could get out to the porch, Melanie stomped back into the house, slamming the door on her way. Suddenly, all was silent. Jarod turned from his position at the sink and saw her standing still. He would have turned back around had he not noticed that her face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and her skin was very pale.
"What's wrong, Mel?" he asked, dropping his dishtowel and moving to her side. She moved her mouth several times, but nothing came out.
"I stepped on the glass," she whispered. A tear rolled out of her good eye. Jarod instantly picked her up and set her on the countertop. He hastily searched until he found some tweezers and then turned on the overhead light. He tenderly picked up her foot and moved it closer so he could see. He closed his eyes when he saw the extent of the injury. This would hurt.
"Melanie," he addressed her gently, grabbing the towel he had recently dropped, "I want you to put this between your teeth and bite down hard when it hurts, okay?" She nodded and accepted the cloth with wide eyes.
Jarod hesitated, then started to work. He tuned out her whimpers of pain. The glass had to come out, or her foot would get infected. The thought didn't help his heart, though. He was causing her pain. She had probably whimpered exactly the same way when Michael What's-His-Face was beating on her earlier. In moments, although they seemed like hours, the last remaining bits of glass had been removed. Jarod grabbed another towel and used it as a makeshift tourniquet. Then he looked up at his patient.
She had put the towel down, and tears were now flowing down the right side of her face. Jarod gently placed his hand on her knee. He asked softly, "Do you want to talk now?" Melanie's response was to hop off the counter and then hobble back outside. This time, however, she went calmly. Jarod followed, and sat beside her on the back steps. The two sat in silence while Melanie looked up at the stars.
"Love is a funny thing," she remarked cryptically. Jarod looked at her and waited for her to continue. "All of my life, I've never been given really all that much love. I mean, after Mamma died. Sure, Tommy loved me, but he was taken from me so abruptly that it didn't seem to count." She looked to her feet. "When I met Mike, the sparks flew. By that time, I was so love- starved that even if our relationship had only been for sex, I would have been satisfied. With him, I wasn't invisible. I didn't blend into the woodwork. When he started getting jealous of my career, the sensible part of me knew that there would be problems. So, I broke up with him. Well, he didn't let that get him down. He started stalking me. Then, one night, he snuck into my room. He woke me up and tried to talk with me. We ended up getting in a fight, and he hit me." Melanie stopped it there, sighing tremulously.
"It's okay, Mel," Jarod murmured. "Take your time." She nodded and swallowed a couple of times.
"Jarod, I wanted him to love me. Part of me doesn't really know what love is. But, in my mind, if what Mike does to me is the closest to love I'll get, then I'll take it." She closed her good eye. "Beggars can't be choosers," she whispered bitterly.
Jarod immediately cradled her face between tender hands as he looked her in the eyes. He shook his head while he said, "You are not a beggar. Mel, he's using you. He knows you're vulnerable, and he's using that to his advantage. You deserve so much better. If only you knew. . ." he finished mysteriously.
"If only I knew what?" she asked in a whisper.
Jarod shook his head. "That's not important right now. I can't tell you what you should do. What is important is that we catch up on our sleep. Tomorrow's our only day off." He helped a confused Melanie to her feet, then aided in returning her to her room. He tucked her in and tweaked her on the nose.
"Thanks, Jarod."
"For what?"
"For not giving up on me, like the rest."
"What are friends for?" he asked with a small smile. Then his face turned serious as he added, "If you ever need to talk; I'm here, Mel." She nodded. Jarod then exited the room and quietly shut the door, plunging the room into darkness.
By Bethe
~*~
Part Three
~*~
Jarod pulled into Melanie's driveway and turned off the car. Then he looked at her. During the drive, she had somehow shifted herself to the point that her head was resting on Jarod's leg, her hand on his knee. Jarod sighed and brushed her hair away from her face as he whispered, "Mel?" Still asleep, her face contorted into a frown as she mumbled something unintelligibly. "Mel, we're home," he said louder, giving her shoulder a slight squeeze. Nothing.
Jarod sighed once more and smiled to himself. He slid his hands underneath her and pushed her up into a sitting position, making sure she was leaning against the frame of the car. Then he got out of his side and made his way over to her side. In one swift movement, he opened her door and caught her before she fell out. Grunting softly with the effort, he braced one arm around her back while he slipped his other arm underneath her knees and lifted.
Somehow, he managed to shut the car door, open the door to her house, and turn on the lights without dropping her or losing control. He got to her bedroom and pushed the door open with his foot. He gently laid her down on top of her made bed. Then he found a blanket and covered her with it.
"Goodnight, Mel," he whispered. Before he realized what he was doing, he bent down and placed a light kiss on her forehead. At that moment, Melanie sighed and snuggled up with the quilt before turning on her side. The feeling that Jarod experienced then was so strong that he had to sit down in a nearby chair.
He was not one usually taken to flights of fancy. But watching her sleeping caused a deep yearning in him for him to be the one lying beside her.
The attraction had always been there, but she'd never seemed interested. He felt a glimmer of hope when they were stranded on Carthis, but she killed that hope as only she could.
Now, after this strange turn of events, he was beginning to feel things that he wasn't sure he wanted to feel ever again.
~*~
Melanie stretched and opened her eyes. She shielded her face from the glaring sun while wondering what it was that had woken her up. Then she heard it again: someone was knocking on her bedroom door.
"What?" she asked around a yawn, rubbing her face with her hand. Jarod walked in carrying a tray. She couldn't see what was on the tray, but it was steaming. Then she took in Jarod's appearance. His hair was spiky and still wet from his shower. A smile played upon his freshly shaven face. He was wearing black slacks and a crisp white dress shirt. His tie hung loosely around his neck. She raised an eyebrow. "What's this for?" she asked.
"Oh," Jarod said as he neared the side of her bed, "You made me dinner. I thought I should return the favor." He lowered the tray. On it were two plates. They both carried cheesy scrambled eggs, three pieces of bacon, and one piece of toast with melted butter and cinnamon on it. "I didn't know what you liked, so I made my favorite. Hope you don't mind." He smiled sheepishly.
"Jarod!" she exclaimed in a whisper. Then she playfully slapped his arm. "You shouldn't have!" Despite her protests, she picked up the plate, forked off a piece of egg and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she savored the taste. "Excellent, Master Chef," she teased. Then her eyes went wide. "What time is it?" she asked.
"Relax," Jarod said, "You have plenty of time to eat before getting ready. Now eat, or I'll be insulted." Melanie smiled before attacking her plate. Jarod sat down on the foot of her bed with his own plate. When they'd finished eating, she looked up and noticed that his tie wasn't tied yet.
"Jarod," she said, catching his attention, "come here." She sat up straight, then got up on her knees. Jarod got up from his position and walked over in front of her, questions in his eyes. Wordlessly, Mel reached between them and took the ends of his tie in her hands. With nimble fingers, she deftly tied it. Then she looked at her work and tilted her head. She grabbed ahold of the knot with one hand and the flap with the other and began to straighten it.
When she had finished, she looked up to Jarod's eyes, only to find that he had been watching her face the entire time. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?"
"Where'd you learn to do that?"
"Well, Daddy may not have always been there for me, but how else do you think his ties got tied the right way?" she asked, a small smile on her face. Then her eyes dropped to the ground. "That's probably one of the reasons I despised Brigitte so," she whispered. "When she married him, it became her job to do that."
Jarod placed a finger underneath her chin and lifted her head so she was looking in his eyes. "Thanks," he said. "Now go get ready. We're going to be late."
~*~
Melanie rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I don't know where else to look, Jarod," she said, shaking her head. "I'm having problems with this case, and I don't know why."
"Well, let's go over the facts again," Jarod stated calmly despite the frustration he was experiencing as well. "Jerry Walters and the killer were friends, as we've already deduced."
"They were hanging around in Jerry's hotel room," Mel added, biting her lip in concentration. Then she met Jarod's eyes. "We need to go back there. Witnesses had to have seen them there *together*."
"You're right. Let's go."
They left the building and got in Melanie's car. In no time, they were back at the hotel, interviewing Walters' neighbors. However, that proved to be yet another dead end.
In a moment of desperation, they questioned the concierge again. No new information, except that he did, in fact, remember that a "tall, big guy" had accompanied Walters on the days prior to his murder. Jarod placed a quick call to Howard, and then swiftly ushered Mel to her car.
Once they were seated, Jarod in the driver's seat and Melanie in the passenger's, he looked over at her. "What's wrong, Mel?" he asked soothingly. She looked out her window.
"I don't know," she murmured, tracing a pattern on the glass with her finger. "I'm just really stressed out, is all. A lot is on my mind."
"Like how you got that bruise?" Jarod asked, nodding his head toward her. She looked at him, her gaze questioning.
"What do you mean? I already told you how I got the bruise," she replied defensively.
"C'mon, Mel," he protested. "I know you. Especially when you lie." She exhaled in a frustrated burst before crossing her arms and looking away. Jarod placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mel, you can talk to me."
"The bastard doesn't know when something's finished," she spat out tearfully. Jarod furrowed his brow in concern. He put his other hand on her other shoulder and forced her to face him.
"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, although he could probably guess her meaning. Melanie let her gaze drop to the floorboard before opening up.
"Awhile back, I started dating this guy. Michael. Handsome, smart, could charm your socks off." She chuckled. "Well, he could charm more than your socks off," she commented sadly. "I really thought he was the one. But my work kept us from spending a lot of time together. He got jealous, then demanding. Now, I may have changed my name, but I'm still a Parker at heart. I wasn't going to have any of it." She closed her eyes. "He had other plans."
Jarod reached over and lightly touched the dark spot by her eye. "He did this to you," he murmured. "Parker," he reverted to her old name after a momentary silence, "Why didn't you tell me?" He gently stroked her smooth cheek while patiently waiting for an answer.
"I'm a big girl, Jarod," she replied, refusing to meet his eyes. "I can handle it myself."
Jarod pressed his palm against her cheek and forced her to look at him. "I know you can, Mel, but you don't have to handle it alone." He sighed. "No one should have to handle it alone."
She bit her lip. "Jarod, I'm tired. Just. . .just drive." She pulled herself out of his hold and propped her elbow on the door's armrest.
~*~
Jarod replayed the events of the past four hours in his head while laying in the guest room. The dark space allowed his mind to open up and look at the situation from every angle.
Why would someone as strong as Melanie accept this abuse? Why didn't she fight back? He desperately wanted to sim it so he could understand. But the one thing he swore that he'd never do was to sim her. That would be an invasion of privacy on the basest of levels.
The sound of shattering glass brought him back to earth. He looked over at the clock, and then realized that he'd drifted off to sleep about four hours ago. Then he heard a thump that sounded like a body hitting the floor.
Without any further hesitation, Jarod jumped out of bed and rushed down the hall. He searched every room, and stopped when he reached the kitchen.
"Heya, pretty boy," Melanie slurred from her position on the floor. She turned to look at him. Jarod gasped when he saw her face. Her left eye was swollen to the point that it was no longer open. The whole right side of her face was one long bluish mark. Dried blood surrounded a gash on her forehead.
"Melanie!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. He coughed and covered his mouth and nose when the thick wall of alcohol fumes assaulted his senses.
"You wanna drink?" she asked, shoving her shot glass in his face. He shook his head as he took the glass from her hand and set it down away from them. Melanie simply shrugged, then took a long swig from the bottle in her other hand. "You sure?" she asked with a giggle in her voice while waving the bottle under his nose. "It's reeeal gooood," she drawled out. Jarod then took the bottle from her hands, eliciting a pout to cross her face.
"Mel," he whispered, moving one hand to touch her right cheek. She flinched, then backed away, fear in her eyes. "What happened to you?" he asked, but he already knew the answer. She shrugged. "Why do you let yourself be his battering post?" he tried. He felt genuine shock when he received a slap to the face.
"What the hell do you know?" she shouted, staggering to her feet. "You don't know the first thing about me!" Jarod stood as well. He started to walk toward her, but she stamped in frustration. "Don't! Okay? Just don't! Don't go into your shrink mode!" With that, she stormed out of the house and onto the back porch.
Jarod sighed, but decided that she needed a few moments to herself. So, he busied himself with cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Before he could get out to the porch, Melanie stomped back into the house, slamming the door on her way. Suddenly, all was silent. Jarod turned from his position at the sink and saw her standing still. He would have turned back around had he not noticed that her face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and her skin was very pale.
"What's wrong, Mel?" he asked, dropping his dishtowel and moving to her side. She moved her mouth several times, but nothing came out.
"I stepped on the glass," she whispered. A tear rolled out of her good eye. Jarod instantly picked her up and set her on the countertop. He hastily searched until he found some tweezers and then turned on the overhead light. He tenderly picked up her foot and moved it closer so he could see. He closed his eyes when he saw the extent of the injury. This would hurt.
"Melanie," he addressed her gently, grabbing the towel he had recently dropped, "I want you to put this between your teeth and bite down hard when it hurts, okay?" She nodded and accepted the cloth with wide eyes.
Jarod hesitated, then started to work. He tuned out her whimpers of pain. The glass had to come out, or her foot would get infected. The thought didn't help his heart, though. He was causing her pain. She had probably whimpered exactly the same way when Michael What's-His-Face was beating on her earlier. In moments, although they seemed like hours, the last remaining bits of glass had been removed. Jarod grabbed another towel and used it as a makeshift tourniquet. Then he looked up at his patient.
She had put the towel down, and tears were now flowing down the right side of her face. Jarod gently placed his hand on her knee. He asked softly, "Do you want to talk now?" Melanie's response was to hop off the counter and then hobble back outside. This time, however, she went calmly. Jarod followed, and sat beside her on the back steps. The two sat in silence while Melanie looked up at the stars.
"Love is a funny thing," she remarked cryptically. Jarod looked at her and waited for her to continue. "All of my life, I've never been given really all that much love. I mean, after Mamma died. Sure, Tommy loved me, but he was taken from me so abruptly that it didn't seem to count." She looked to her feet. "When I met Mike, the sparks flew. By that time, I was so love- starved that even if our relationship had only been for sex, I would have been satisfied. With him, I wasn't invisible. I didn't blend into the woodwork. When he started getting jealous of my career, the sensible part of me knew that there would be problems. So, I broke up with him. Well, he didn't let that get him down. He started stalking me. Then, one night, he snuck into my room. He woke me up and tried to talk with me. We ended up getting in a fight, and he hit me." Melanie stopped it there, sighing tremulously.
"It's okay, Mel," Jarod murmured. "Take your time." She nodded and swallowed a couple of times.
"Jarod, I wanted him to love me. Part of me doesn't really know what love is. But, in my mind, if what Mike does to me is the closest to love I'll get, then I'll take it." She closed her good eye. "Beggars can't be choosers," she whispered bitterly.
Jarod immediately cradled her face between tender hands as he looked her in the eyes. He shook his head while he said, "You are not a beggar. Mel, he's using you. He knows you're vulnerable, and he's using that to his advantage. You deserve so much better. If only you knew. . ." he finished mysteriously.
"If only I knew what?" she asked in a whisper.
Jarod shook his head. "That's not important right now. I can't tell you what you should do. What is important is that we catch up on our sleep. Tomorrow's our only day off." He helped a confused Melanie to her feet, then aided in returning her to her room. He tucked her in and tweaked her on the nose.
"Thanks, Jarod."
"For what?"
"For not giving up on me, like the rest."
"What are friends for?" he asked with a small smile. Then his face turned serious as he added, "If you ever need to talk; I'm here, Mel." She nodded. Jarod then exited the room and quietly shut the door, plunging the room into darkness.