Adam cranes his head to look out of the small window, watching the flap on the wing lower. He gasps a little, murmuring under his breath as he runs the tip of his index finger along the window, tracing its path.

"Missy, we up in the clouds," he tells her in awe of being up so high.

"We are," Parker agrees grateful he's too excited to be affected by the tension coiling in her. She looks up to find Jarod watching them curiously with a soft expression. Parker rolls her eyes at him; she doubts she'd be able to bite back a snarky retort if he was giving her one of his gotcha grins. She knows what he's seeing, what he's thinking.

For a long time, Parker assumed her maternal instincts were non-existent; she certainly didn't plan on continuing the Parker legacy. Considering her only experience with children before Adam was limited to Debbie, who is much older and independent, Parker finds it easy to tend to his needs.

She feels Jarod's eyes on her as Adam relaxes back into his seat, his hand rising and lowering with the motion of the wing as he stares out the window. He yawns, tucking his feet under himself. He slumps towards Parker; his eyes growing heavy as he settles himself. While more comfortable than commercial flights, Parker doesn't know if he'll sleep in an unfamiliar atmosphere. She surprises herself by unclipping his seatbelt. With the straps out of the way, Adam climbs into her lap, snuggling into her embrace. He sighs softly, resting his head on her chest, his eyes drifting closed. She runs a hand over his back, finding his unwavering trust in her grounding.

She lets his breathing even out before addressing her childhood friend without preamble. "Out with it, Genius."

"He loves you very much," Jarod answers.

Parker was and wasn't expecting that. "No 'I told you so'?"

"As much as I'd love to say it, Parker," Jarod smirks. "I fear for my safety and the others aboard if I told you that in a pressurised cabin at this altitude while you're armed."

Parker returns his smirk despite herself. It's merely a flash of her teeth before her attention is drawn by the men at the other end of the small plane. Though McGonnell forced them into this situation, Parker never felt any physical threat from him or his men. They had largely left them alone after boarding. McGonnell apologised once more after take-off and promised all would be explained once they reunited with Margaret in England before retreating to the far corner of the plane to make calls. Jarod had corroborated McGonnell with information from his conversation with his mother, which had apparently taken place in the early hours of the morning.

She can feel the kick in her heart, the longing builds in the pit of her stomach as she wonders if the meeting will be somewhat anti-climactic compared to what they've built in their heads. If it'll even happen, if this is just a ruse to trap them both once and for all. If Raines is waiting for them when the plane lands…

Parker closes her eyes at the thought. Raines has proven himself capable, she wouldn't put it past him to try something like this, capturing Jarod and revealing her true intentions would solidify Raines' power over The Centre. Then he really could do whatever he wanted to them.

She hopes Margaret is there to meet them, to hold her son after so many years apart. If she is, Parker will willingly accept any resentment she's due for her part in keeping them separated. Well, Karma's a bitch, isn't it?

She sighs heavily. She can't think about that for now.

So many different truths have been revealed to them over the years, she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to accept the actual truth if it doesn't result in absolute freedom from The Centre; the only credence she'll give this is if it flows from Margaret's mouth directly alongside evidence Jarod can verify.

She glances at him, wondering if he can compartmentalise whatever his mother will tell them, scrutinise it as he encouraged her to do with her father for so many years. She doesn't envy him, she understands how hard it will be for him, how overwhelming. His silence gnaws at her, yet she understands that as well. Keeping his emotions in check has always been hard for Jarod, and their circumstances are less than ideal for him to process them. They're surrounded by strangers and travelling with a toddler. She wishes they were alone to talk as freely as they did on Carthis.

Jarod bobs his head to the side, a cocky smirk that doesn't quite reach his eyes. They've both been through the wringer since Carthis and they're both exhausted, missing things they never would otherwise. There was a time neither would have been blindsided by McGonnell and his piss-poor plan to spirit them away. There was a time Jarod wouldn't let himself be captured unless he had an escape plan.

Parker is momentarily distracted from her musing when McGonnell stands from his seat and heads towards the cockpit. She hears him give orders for when they land before waiting for replies. She will give him credit; his management style is a far cry from that of Raines or her father's, he listens to his men and considers their opinion. She wonders if he would have allowed her to leave if she challenged him at the airfield.

"Doesn't this seem too easy to you?" Parker asks Jarod as McGonnell lingers at the door of the cockpit, speaking with the pilot.

"A bit," her old friend concedes. Jarod sighs, drawing her gaze to him. He returns it with an impish look which only highlights his exhaustion. If she were anyone else, someone who doesn't know him, she wouldn't see He hasn't slept and has been running on adrenaline since leaving Parker's place. "I spoke with my mother, Parker."

"Jarod," Parker breathes out. He sounds so small and vulnerable. Again, she wishes they were alone so he could deal with this privately. "What did she say?"

He shakes his head, huffing at himself lightly. "I can't remember," his voice is thick with emotion and his eyes well. "Only that she'd meet us in England."

"She wasn't under duress?" Parker asks, trying to be the voice of reason as he has been for her so many times in the past. Jarod shakes his head, yet she can see he doesn't know what to believe. "Jarod, I know how difficult this is for you, but I need you to focus," Parker whispers fiercely. "I need you."

He draws his shoulders back as he sits up straighter, snapping out of his stupor and rising to her command. She relaxes as he finally hears her. "How do you know it was her if you spoke with over the phone?"

Jarod, for his part, looks taken aback, as if this is the first time anyone has used that kind of ruse on him. Hell, the Centre led him to believe his parents were coming to pick him up when he was a kid.

"It was her, Parker," he insists. "I know my mother's voice; I've been hearing it in my dreams for years."

"As hard as it may be to believe, I'm not trying to argue with you, Genius, but we've been lied to all of our lives. We're halfway over the Atlantic with no plan if this turns out to be another lie. This isn't just about you and me, what about Adam?"

Jarod has the grace to look contrite. "I believe it was my mother, Parker," he tells her. "If it wasn't, I will get you and Adam out of this, I promise."

"You better."

The clearing of a throat draws their attention away from each other. They look up to find McGonnell, his eyes switching from one to the other. "I had hoped I would be able to keep my silence till we land, but I feel compelled to offer an explanation."

"You think?" Parker couldn't help herself. Her composure was slipping.

McGonnell chuckles. "I was wondering when I'd be on the receiving end of your temper, it's legendary, Miss Parker."

Jarod smirks slightly while Parker scowls.

He chooses the seat beside Jarod to sit in. Probably safer.

"I guess I should start at the beginning," McGonnell starts.

"It would help," Jarod says before Parker can.

Again, McGonnell chuckles. "If you two could only see the influence you have on each other," he tells them without fear of retribution.

"I came to the states to attend college. I was lonely and being the only English man around for miles, I ventured off campus one afternoon and ended up in a diner. A group of women from the local nursing college. Two of them were your mothers. One of their friends heard my accent while I was ordering at the bar and decided to invite me to sit with them," he remembers wistfully. "The friend was convinced Catherine needed someone mysterious and, being English, I apparently fit the criteria."

Parker tenses despite herself. She knows her parents didn't have a great marriage, her mother had, at least, an emotional affair with Ben, who she cared for deeply. Parker held no resentment over the omission, she liked and felt an affinity with Ben, wanting to understand the connection he had with Catherine. Like Ben, McGonnell is a part of her mother she never knew.

McGonnell smiles kindly. "I didn't fit Catherine's criteria, Miss Parker, and, as wonderful as she was, she didn't fit mine, either."

Parker blinks, drawing in a breath, as she tries to calm her nerves. McGonnell doesn't dwell on her reaction for long, giving her the space to compose herself.

"I spent that night getting to know your mothers, till the diner closed and walked them back to the nursing college. The others went in, yet we sat on the steps talking till the early hours. Your mothers had a way of making people feel accepted. We had many nights like that." He glances at Jarod and then Parker. "This sounds like a cliché, but being only children, they were like sisters to me. Margaret had Charles to take to dances at the college, I would go with Catherine so she wouldn't spend the night fending off advances from men who never looked beyond her beauty." The older man shakes his head.

Parker watches him, feeling a warmth spread through her chest. Finally, after weeks of silence, her mother's voice whispers to her. "Listen, my love."

"The main reason my father wanted me to finish my education in the states was because of the contracts he had with The Centre," McGonnell continues. "He arranged an internship for me while your grandfather was chairman, Miss Parker. I became friends with your father, we worked side by side. Obviously, we intended to build upon the businesses our father's started, I'd never seen anything like The Centre. I never saw the other side of it, not the one you both know so well," he adds.

"Well, I was so busy focusing on making my father proud, I got so wrapped up that summer. I barely spoke with your mothers; they would call and write but I was too busy to talk. At the time, I reasoned with myself they had started working shifts at the hospital. It was just an excuse; I lived off the atmosphere and the prospects. Instead of going back, I was asked to stay on to liaise for my father's business.

"One weekend, your mothers decided to surprise me," McGonnell adds fondly. "Your father and I were going over a project we wanted to run by our fathers when your mothers turned up on my doorstep." His eyes find Parker's. "You may think your temper comes from your father's side, but believe me, when your mother was angry, you knew it."

Parker ducks her head, hiding her smile by inhaling the scent of Adam's baby shampoo. She remembers her mother fighting with Raines.

"My, she was tenacious," McGonnell sighs, crossing one leg over the other to get comfortable. "While I was begging for forgiveness, your father cleared away the paperwork before siding with Catherine and inviting them to stay. Later that night, I showed Margaret to the guest room and when I came down, your father and Catherine were dancing to the new song that was playing on the radio.

"Back then, before the Pretender project, it was easier, no manipulation, before we were warped by power. Unlike the men I'd helped her deter in the past, Catherine liked your father and she could make up her own mind. I believed he was a good man.

"Your father spent the weekend with us, showing us around Blue Cove. He and Catherine exchanged numbers and made plans to see each other again. This carried on for a couple of months after Catherine and Margaret went home, your father was besotted. I wasn't surprised when Catherine announced she was transferring to the hospital in Dover, I was happy to have her close, happy for them." McGonnell turns to Jarod. "At the time, your parents got engaged and they moved near the Air Base your father was stationed. We went to their wedding and I knew then Catherine and your father weren't far behind.

"My father passed away suddenly and I returned to England," McGonnell tells them, his voice turning as he clears his throat. "I had obligations and my family expected me to fulfil them. Instead of returning to the Centre, I was fully emersed in my father's business. Catherine and your father attended the funeral and I was grateful as I felt very alone. We didn't lose touch, but our lives separated. Catherine and I wrote to each other but didn't see each other again till she married your father.

"By that time, she had started working for the Centre, she always wanted to work in paediatrics. The Pretender project wasn't even a blip on the radar, well not for me, anyway. My company dealt with setting up research studies around Europe as control. A couple of years went by, and the two of you came along. I sent gifts to Catherine and Margaret; I didn't have time to visit.

"Then, you were taken Jarod and I had no idea how to help. I reached out to Margaret, to offer support, only to be blocked by the police. I came over, hoping to implore Mister Parker to help, to see if we could pool resources to search for you. He was evasive, different from the man I worked with. I tried to speak with Catherine but he threw me out and revoked my clearance to the Centre. I don't believe Catherine knew you were taken by the Centre till much later, Jarod."

"I can't remember her being there at first, only Sydney," Jarod confirms. "Did you speak with my parents?"

"Your mother was going through hell, Jarod, and I didn't want to add to her grief so I came home. I'm sorry for not doing more than I did."

Jarod shakes his head. "You weren't to know."

"I didn't see or speak with any of them for years. My business still worked with the Centre, but I would only look over the reports. A couple of them stated the source of the research as the Pretender Project, I had no idea what it was and neither did any of my team liaising with the Centre. I was in Washington when I was coming out of a meeting only to find Catherine waiting for me. Her eye was bruised, and she had a cut on her lip that was healing. She and I went to my hotel room where she told me everything. The project, about their plans for the two of you, and how she planned to rescue you. She asked for my help."

"We were supposed to leave for Europe the day after my mother's faked suicide," Parker points out. McGonnell nods in agreement.

"She planned to rescue Jarod and bring you both to England, I made arrangements for you all. Your mother called it off for some reason, she didn't say what had happened only that you were fine and it was meant to be this way. After her death was announced, I tried to reach out to Margaret yet she disappeared. A week later, I received a letter from Catherine. She asked me to stay away, to wait."

"Wait for what?" Jarod asks the question this time.

"She outlined everything in her letter. I have no idea how she knew what she wrote, I was half expecting her to appear out of nowhere but I didn't want to believe she was dead. She begged me to wait until you were both old enough before making sure you were ready to continue her work," McGonnell sighs regretfully. "I'm getting old and impatient and I want to see this through before I die," he shrugs off the comment. "I didn't think it would take this long for you two to grow up," he chuckles ruefully at the face Parker pulls. "But your mother did and, as always, I never listened."

"My mother knew?" Parker asks gently.

McGonnell nods. "She knew your father would force a wedge between you and Jarod, that your friendship would suffer for a long time. She was fraught thinking that you'd lose both her and Jarod." He pauses when Parker averts her gaze. "She also hoped you'd find your way back to each other. I'm glad she's right."

"She's right?" Parker questions incredulously, careful not to jostle Adam who is thankfully still asleep. "If you haven't noticed, I'm in charge of bringing Jarod back to the Centre."

"I believe boarding this plane could be construed as your resignation, Miss Parker," McGonnell retorts dryly. "I promised myself I would honour your mother's wishes and come to you when the time was right and seeing you with Adam at the wake, I know that it is."

"What about my mother?" Jarod asks, giving Parker the reprieve to reign in her ire. "If she disappeared, how is she staying with you in England?"

"I've spent years making ties with the Triumvirate, I managed to keep tabs on the Centre without Mister Parker or Mister Raines finding out. When I heard about what happened on Carthis, I travelled to Scotland with my men instead of heading to Morrocco like everyone else. I spoke to the evacuees, a couple of them said a woman named Margaret was taken to the hospital because her arm wouldn't stop bleeding. By the time I got there, she had discharged herself. After years of feeling guilty for introducing my friends to the Centre, and for waiting, I didn't know whether to give up or not. I sent my men back to the hotel and found myself in a cafe near the hospital. I ordered a tea and turned around to find your mother sitting in the corner. She was as shocked to see me as I was to actually find her. I have no idea how long we held each other, but we got kicked out when the café closed."

Parker meets Jarod's eyes, knowing his tears are mirrored on her face. "Listen, my love."

"I convinced Margaret to stay in England, I would risk coming to find you both. It was time to finish what Catherine started," McGonnell breathes in. "Then, Margaret told me about Adam."

Parker tightens her hold on her sleeping brother instinctively. "What about Adam?"

"He's not your brother."