This is the Way the World Ends
By Bethe
~*~
Part Eight
~*~
"Is it safe to come in?" Lyle asked after knocking on the door. After receiving no answer, he quietly turned the knob and walked in the room. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Parker and Jarod lying on the bed together, asleep.
Uncle Lyle? came a small voice inside his mind. Lyle's face softened into a smile at the sound.
Hey, Kitten, he replied mentally to his niece, who was barely formed inside Miss Parker. How are you doing?
I'm fine, Uncle Lyle.
You haven't spoken to your mother yet, have you? Lyle asked. The following silence could only mean that she hadn't. Why?
Mommy doesn't embrace her gift yet. She likes to think she does, but she doesn't.
Lyle sighed and knew it to be true. Will you ever call out to her?
In time, she replied wisely. Then, all was quiet. He could only assume that she had fallen asleep as well. With one last look to the sleeping pair, Lyle walked out the door and softly shut it.
~*~
Mel sighed in exasperation. She covered her eyes with her hands and asked, "Syd, do you have any idea where it could be?"
"Parker, I've told you, I don't know where Catherine could have left that DSA," Sydney replied, sounding just as exasperated.
Melanie paced back and forth while unconsciously slipping a hand to her abdomen. She closed her eyes and tried to think when she heard another voice come on the line that said, "Angelo knows."
She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the phone. "Angelo?" she asked, "You know where it is?" She could hear something that resembled a chuckle.
"Miss Parker should check email often," he said like a devious little boy.
"Thank you, Angelo," she whispered before pressing a button that hung up the phone. Then she raced to find Jarod's laptop. Once accessing her inbox, she saw that there was indeed one new message. "Jarod!" she bellowed.
He stumbled out of the bathroom holding a razor in his right hand and blood trickling down his left cheek. There was shaving cream slathered on the right side of his face. "What?" he asked breathlessly.
Biting her lip to keep herself from laughing, she whispered, "We got it." Jarod's eyes grew as wide as the smile on his face. He paused for a few beats before running to give her a big hug. "Wait a minute!" she exclaimed while raising her hands, putting a halt to his movements. "Finish shaving first, then hug me. Genius," she muttered with a smirk of her own.
~*~
"Jarod," Catherine Parker said after the screen flickered to life, "this DSA is for you. You may or may not know about the Vespasian Scrolls right now, but they know about you. In fact, you are the key player. I'm afraid I don't have much time. This is going to be short." She nervously looked around before continuing.
"As I said, you are a key player in these scrolls. And, I believe, so is my daughter. She's detailed more in the second scroll, so I made another DSA for her. You, on the other hand, are mentioned mainly in the first scroll, so that's the one we'll be going over." She bent down and picked up the scroll in question.
"The Centre shall rise. The Chosen will be found: a boy named Jarod. The Chosen will reside at the Centre for many years, and be of great benefit. Upon realizing the corruption there, he will leave. Many years will he toil to bring down the Centre, but its foundation will remain firm. The Chosen will merge with an Angel. When this holy merger is complete, the Centre shall fall. The Three will vanish. The New Legacy will begin with the Chosen and the Angel. A New Three will rise and aid the New Legacy. Corruption will remain no longer. The Centre shall rise."
When she finished, she put the scroll back down and looked straight at the camera. "I don't understand much of this scroll. But what I do understand is that only when you and my daughter join forces will the evil corruption that is the Centre fall. The new legacy begins with you, Jarod. With you, and with my Melanie. Take care of her Jarod." Tears streamed down her face.
"Even angels fall."
Static
~*~
"That's the second time we've heard that," Parker murmured after shutting off the computer.
"Heard what?" Jarod asked, facing her.
"Even angels fall," she repeated softly. She slipped a hand to her stomach before looking in his eyes. "Not this Angel," she whispered determinedly.
"No," Jarod whispered back, touching her face gently, "not this Angel."
After a few moments of gazing into each other's eyes, their lips met in a searing kiss. Desire welled up in both of them until they could put it off no longer. Jarod picked her up and placed her on the bed, covering her body with his.
~*~
"What did you do?" Jarod asked afterward. Mel looked down at him. His head was resting on her stomach, his hands stroking the sides of her thighs. Each time his fingers moved up, they would graze the fabric of his shirt that she had just put on.
"What do you mean?" She stretched her arm down and played with his still-long hair.
"During those two weeks," he murmured, "what did you do?"
"I went back to my house," she said without hesitation. She knew he'd be asking, and she could only tell him the truth. "Here, in Blue Cove. Oddly enough, no one lives in it and it's the same as it's ever been. I found some of my old clothes, tried to put them on, and cried like a baby when they didn't fit." She smiled. "I'm getting fat, and it's not the pregnancy. So, I went out and bought new clothes. . .Miss Parker clothes." She shuddered as she managed those words. "Then I went and visited some old haunts, saw some old 'friends', and the like. I started getting really depressed about two days before I came back here. All the voices in my head decided to shout at once, for long periods of time, and that hurt worse than any hangover I've ever had. Also, I really didn't want to trust Lyle. But I'm okay now," she murmured, now raking both hands through Jarod's hair.
"Do you still love me?" he asked, turning his deep brown eyes to her cool blue ones.
"Yes," she purred, smiling lazily at him. "Any more questions?"
"Just one," he murmured. He shifted his head until his chin was lightly resting on her stomach and grabbed her hands. He kissed each one, then her stomach before looking back up at her. "Mel, will you marry me?" he asked in a whisper, sounding slightly choked up.
Parker took his face between her hands and slowly sat up. "Do you mean it?" she asked breathlessly.
Jarod sat up as well and placed his hands on her upper arms. "Yes, Mel. I love you, and I don't want our child to go without having both parents. Will you be my wife?" he asked gently. Seemingly from out of nowhere, he produced a slender silver ring with a small diamond. "I know it's not that big, but--"
"Oh, Jarod," she breathed, cutting him off. "It's perfect. Yes. I'll marry you," she whispered, looking from the ring to his face. She pursed her lips the same way she did in front of Ocee's fireplace and took a deep breath. "I'll marry you," she whispered again.
Jarod couldn't help but give a goofy grin as he slid the ring on her finger. At her questioning look, he simply shrugged and said, "I've just been waiting for this day for years."
"Have you?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Yes," Jarod replied, reaching between them and tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, "I have."
Mel settled back against the headboard. Jarod moved with her and rested his head against her chest, listening to her heart beat a strong and steady rhythm. She buried her fingers in his hair and asked, "So, when were you thinking of going through with it?" She lazily raked her hand through the long brown strands.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" she asked, going stiff. "It's impossible, Jarod. We'll have to get a license, and then wait for 72 hours. Besides, don't you want to get used to the idea?"
Jarod moved his head up and looked her in the eyes. "I've had thirty years to get used to the idea, Mel," he whispered. Then he smiled. "Besides, I know a guy." Neither of them said a word for a few moments.
"Giuseppe?" she murmured arching that eyebrow again. After his nod, she rolled her eyes. "Figures," she muttered. "Did you know that he--"
"Oh, Father Giuseppe and I have shared many stories," he rumbled laying his head back down.
"Oh, God," she whispered, chuckling. "Fine. You win. Tomorrow it is. But I would think it wise to inform your mother first. And, you know, maybe the rest of your family would like to know."
"They will," he replied simply. "They will."
~*~
Despite her seeming indifference, Melanie glowed on her wedding day. Because of the hasty preparations, there wasn't enough time to get proper wedding clothes, so Jarod wore a black suit and Melanie found a presentable white dress on a clearance rack at a nearby store.
The day went by in a blur. Every member of the group took pictures, both with a camera and with their minds. They all wanted to remember this day. It would be one of the last joyful days in the time to come. It would be their beacon of hope, when no hope seemed to be left. Indeed, this day was to be a beginning: a new life for a couple in love, a new relationship between brother and sister, new camaraderie between in-laws, and a new leg of the very long journey to the end.