"He's not your brother."

Jarod barely had time to react as Parker stands abruptly, Adam in her arms, determined to get an explanation out of McGonnell for his declaration. His hands find her shoulders as Adam startles from being sandwiched between them. Jarod adjusts to help her secure the boy, yet the kid struggles against them as his indignant cries from being rudely awoken to fill the cabin.

Parker steadies her glare on Jarod while hoisting Adam to her shoulder, murmuring in his ear. She pointedly jerks her head at the older man who had remained seated while Parker reacted to his announcement. Adam's wails continue unabated and Parker has to give in, passing Jarod to the other end of the private jet to calm the toddler. Adam's far from pacified, but he's thankfully stopped struggling. Parker runs a hand over his back to comfort him. The boy has a set of lungs on him, that's for sure.

Jarod pinches the bridge of his nose as his eyes close for a moment. When he opens them, he finds Parker still aiming her glare at him, her eyebrow perfectly cocked expectantly. She needs him. She can't exactly interrogate McGonnell herself.

Jarod nods at her once. He's probably the safer option for the older man anyway, Jarod thinks as he remembers Parker is still armed. However, none of McGonnell's guards seem phased by the turn of events yet are obviously waiting for a signal from their boss to intervene.

"Can you explain what you mean by that Mister McGonnell?"

"First, I'd like to apologise for my candour, Miss Parker," their would-be rescuer says. "I have witnessed a great deal of affection between you and Adam and I hate that I seem dismissive of that."

"Get on with it, old man," Parker seethes from the other end of the cabin. McGonnell accepts her anger gracefully with a nod.

"If Mister Parker was unsuccessful at fathering children in his prime, how could he during the last years of his life?"

Jarod glances at Parker, standing rigid, poised with her eyes fixed on McGonnell. He steps between them, blocking her, protecting him. "Mister McGonnell, please."

McGonnell bobs his head. "It was a coincidence, all of it," he starts. "No one knew Catherine or Charles held the Pretender gene, I've seen it in notes my assistant uncovered recently. As part of the study, all Centre employees were tested without their knowledge. Catherine's blood work flagged," he bites out.

"When the Centre began searching for children, no one expected you to be at the top of the list Jarod, but you were years ahead of other children in your class. You displayed characteristics they needed and they took you despite the connection between Margaret and Catherine. At the same time, Raines watched you closely, Miss Parker, for any sign of what they were looking for. You were bright, he noted in his report, yet knew how to hide it even back then.

"He wanted to develop the project, create a Pretender of his own. He was jealous of Sydney's success with you, Jarod, and his side project with your brothers bore the brunt of his frustration. Raines figured if Catherine and Charles could produce high-functioning pretenders separately, a child from both of them would outperform either of you. I don't know why Catherine went along with Raines's plan, but Mister Parker refused to entertain the idea of his wife being used as a vessel for Raines's experiment."

Well, at least the late Mister Parker tried to protect his first wife from Raines.

"What does this have to do with Adam?" Parker's voice cracks with denial and anger and unshed tears. Jarod wishes he could reach out to her, except he's paralysed by fear, of rejection, of the truth.

McGonnell is grave as he continues. "Years later, your father needed to secure his position after Jarod ran away. He was desperate and dug up Raines's proposal he'd dismissed hoping it would save him if he modernised it from Catherine and Charles to the pair of you.

"Your father wasn't a scientist, Miss Parker, but he had access to the best IVF specialists in the world. He also had a surrogate who was willing to do anything to stop her employers from deciding she was disposable when she failed to assassinate your father."

The bile churns in Jarod's stomach as the realisation dawns on them. They have a son.

He drops into Parker's abandoned seat, feeling deflated and defeated, helpless in the face of never-ending revelations. Parker's hand drops to his shoulder, gripping so tightly that her nails cut into his skin through his shirt. Jarod's hand covers hers gently. Adam sobs into her neck, oblivious to the conversation around him, and she looks like she's about to join him before she turns from all of them to hide her tears.

He watches Parker turn her back on him to pace up and down the aisle, calming Adam as best she can as he cries. His sobs strike Jarod to his core. He wishes he could help comfort both of them, yet he assumes his input would do more damage than good as he's a stranger to the little boy and Parker is ready to kill whoever dares to interfere during this moment with her son.

His son.

Their son.

They're parents.

Together.

At long last, Adam finally settles as Parker moves to the seat beside Jarod. "Well, this has been quite a ride, I'd really like to get off of it now."

"I quite agree, Miss Parker, we shall be landing in a few hours. I'll give you three some space to digest everything I've said."

"My mother knows about Adam?" Jarod questions quietly as McGonnell rises, barely able to tear his eyes away from the child in Parker's lap.

"She knows she shares a grandson with Catherine, yes," he confirms kindly before retreating to the front of the plane, giving them relative privacy in the confines of the small plane.

Now they're alone, Jarod looks at the woman and child beside him. He tilts his head to observe them, expecting to see something different after McGonnell's declaration, something he didn't see before.

He doesn't; Adam is all Parker with big blue eyes, which are currently studying him for the first time. Tears hang onto his lashes, his cheeks red from being distraught. His fingers scrunch tightly around Parker's sleeve, clinging on as his quiet sobs turn into hiccups.

Jarod carefully reaches out to the small boy so as not to scare him. He runs a finger over the back of Adam's hand, hoping to give him some reassurance. Jarod's knotted stomach relaxes when Adam doesn't flinch or pull away. He just cuddles into Parker, who brushes her lips across his forehead. Jarod continues stroking the back of his hand for a long minute before meeting Parker's eyes.

As open as she's being with them, Jarod knows she desperately wants to reconstruct her walls. He is suddenly very grateful for Adam's grounding presence, drawing the focus from the devastating revelations to him. If Parker was afraid of leaving Adam before, he knows she's downright terrified now and will be ready for a fight at the next opportunity. Given their penchant for drawing out the worst in each other, Jarod expects them to clash sooner rather than later. He doesn't mind, it's safer for her to be angry at him than at their host. He just hopes it doesn't distort his sons' opinion of him.

She's still his confidant, still his childhood friend, the one who he finds in the middle of storms, literal and metaphorical. The person who calls him out on his bullshit and refuses to cut him any slack when he pretends to be anyone other than himself. The person who knows him better than Sydney does because she lived the same life. The person who makes him better because she anchors him through their connection, which neither can quite comprehend. God knows, he's tried and failed.

Jarod sighs, settling back in his chair. He doesn't see anything different in the woman and child than he did before. Nothing has changed. He would've done anything for them before, he'll do anything for them now. Deep down, Parker is keenly aware of that no matter how many times she denies it.

"What do we do now, Parker?"

"Not much we can do right now, Genius," comes the quick retort. "We don't have enough information to make any plans yet."

"You know what I meant."

Parker rolls her eyes. "If we think this is bad, co-parenting is going to be a bitch."

Jarod shrugs. "We've proved to be a good team in the past and I can think of quite a few things we've done that are worse than co-parenting."

"I don't know, Jarod," Parker drawls. "About twelve years from now, imagine what the teenager phase is going to be like if he's as bull-headed as you and as stubborn as me."

"I believe you mean as tenacious as me."

"I believe I mean you're an ass to me." Jarod smiles when Adam perks up at the exchange.

"We're going to have to watch what we say around him." Parker rolls her eyes again, yet nods anyway. "Co-parenting will be more rewarding than anything we've ever done before," he asserts gently. "I know your plan was for me to find him a home-."

"You'd be insufferable if I left." Parker holds his gaze. She won't leave them, or at least, she won't leave Adam. "Although, I'd like running while you chase, for once."

"I don't know Parker," Jarod lowers his voice. "For a while now, I've felt like I've been chasing you."

"Having a child together doesn't make this easier, Jarod. It only complicates an already complicated situation."

"It simplifies it for me." Parker raises an eyebrow at his boldness. "I know this isn't the time or place to have this conversation, but when you're ready, I'm here."

"It might take a while," Parker concedes. He shrugs. He won't risk pushing her away by rushing her. Besides they have other pressing matters to deal with while they figure out what they want from each other.

"Parker, whatever happens between us, has happened between us, I know there's no one else who can love and care for Adam the way we can."