Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. I'm just borrowing them. I don't get paid for these stories; this is purely for entertainment purposes.
Author: Kimmi
Feedback: Yes please.
Rating: PG13
Authors note: Here is Part 5. I'll try to get part 6 up as soon as possible.
Summary: There is the aftermath of the diner between Lyle and Chrissie. Broots gets a location on Jarod at the same time he's there, what can Miss Parker do to make sure they don't take him in? And someone gets shot trying to protect one of the others.
Strange Things Happen
Part 5
Chrissie watched from the veranda as the two boys she loved more than anything in the world played in the front yard. She noticed how happy her son seemed whenever he was with Lyle. It was like they were both part of the same soul. She sat on the step and watched as Lyle tickled and chased the younger boy around the yard. She laughed softly as they came colliding into each other and fell to the ground in a fit of giggles. The young boy turned and saw her watching them. He stood up and ran to her with his arms out. When he reached her she hugged him as tightly as she could. Lyle looked up to where they were sitting and frowned. He stood slowly and walked towards them. Chrissie fumbled nervously wondering what she could say to him. He came and stood opposite them. He rubbed the boys hair then turned to Chrissie.
"We had a good time today. I took him to the zoo." Chrissie nodded as a knot in her stomach tightened. She looked into his eyes and wanted nothing more than to hold him. The young boy on her lap stared between them. He could obviously feel the electricity in the air between them. He took his mothers hand and brought it up to Lyles. He put her hand in his and smiled between them. He climbed off her lap and moved away to play on the lawn. Chrissie and Lyle both watched him play in wonder, both drawing their eyes back together to look at one another. Neither one knew what to do. Lyle looked into her eyes and smiled. Chrissie was entranced by his eyes. They moved in closer. A car pulled up in the driveway and drew their attention away from each other. Both took their hands away as if they were touching fire. Lyle walked away silently as he watched the man get out of the car. Chrissie looked between both of the men as Lyle disappeared from sight. All of a sudden she was back in the car, swirling out of control, wrapping her body around her sons. She felt the impact of the car hitting the tree and the evil laughter coming from outside the car. She heard the sirens in the distance coming closer and closer.
Chrissie awoke with a start and realized her alarm was going off. She turned it off and got up slowly. She dressed in her work clothes and walked quietly out of the house, careful not to wake Mr. Parker. She started her car and drove out of her driveway. On the way to work she passed a huge tree. At first glance it was nothing. She looked again and realized that she knew the tree. It was the tree from her dream. That was what had led to her death. She shuddered at the realization and kept driving her thoughts never leaving the tree.
She pulled into her parking space at the Centre and noticed Lyle's car next to hers. She took a deep breath and climbed out. Her thoughts still on the tree, she made a mental note to tell Jarod about it. She slowly walked into the Centre halls. She ran into Broots who was looking very excited.
"You're here early Broots. What's going on? You look excited about something." She noticed a file in his hands and instantly knew what it was. Broots spoke hurriedly trying to get to where he was going.
"I got here early because I had to take Deb to an excursion, she's going on a camp, really early so I thought I'd come here and get some work done. I've got a hit on Jarod." Broots walked past her, making a beeline for Miss Parker's office. Chrissie followed after him quickly. Broots burst into Miss Parker's office and found her talking with Mr. Lyle, who looked very upset about something. Chrissie came in a second or two after him and felt out of place. Lyle saw her and attempted to walk over to her but was unable to because of Broots.
"Don't you knock Broots? We were having a conversation here." Miss Parker glared at him then turned her glare on Chrissie. Chrissie wanted to shrink into oblivion.
"I'm sorry but it was urgent. I have a hit on Jarod." Miss Parker jerked upright. She composed herself and started walking for the door.
"Tell me about it while we walk." Broots followed after her. Chrissie saw Lyle start to walk towards her again and quickly followed after Miss Parker and Broots. "So where are we headed Broots?" Broots told her and they were on their way.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Miss Parker was worried. The location Broots had told her was correct. She didn't want to have to find him and bring him back. She'd have to make sure he got away somehow. She'd already made them late by making sure they waited for Sydney to show up but she was still worried. She noticed how Chrissie had at first went to sit next to her but moved when Lyle sat opposite them. Instead she'd gone and sat next to Broots. Lyle had told her about what had happened on their dinner. She felt sympathy for Lyle and had at first sided with him, but she realized that Chrissie must have had a good reason to do what she did. Not only that, she'd seen Chrissie stealing glances at Lyle when he wasn't looking. Miss Parker wanted to get to the bottom of things between them but knew it had to wait. First she had to make sure Jarod got away safely.
"So what's Jarod doing at this hospital anyway?" Lyle broke his silence. Broots turned around and looked at him. With his motion Lyle could see Chrissie. He averted his gaze so he didn't have to look at her. Chrissie noticed this and stared at the ground.
"I'm not sure exactly. I think he's helping someone there but I don't know who and I don't know why." Lyle nodded and went back to his silence. Broots turned to Chrissie. "This is your last time coming out with us isn't it?" Lyle looked up and watched Chrissie. He was both upset and relieved. He couldn't stand not being able to see her, but knew it would be easier if he didn't see her.
"Actually I'm staying on." Everyone looked at her in surprise.
"I thought you were desperate to see your family." Chrissie looked at Miss Parker and shrugged.
"Well I realized that I… I, uh, need this job more than I thought I did. I'm, uh, I'm staying on." Chrissie looked at the ground and prayed for no more questions. Sydney opened his mouth to say something but wasn't able to as they had landed. Chrissie was the first one up and off the plane, followed closely by Miss Parker. Miss Parker jumped into the driver's seat of the first car and Chrissie jumped into the passenger seat. She yelled out the window to the others that she'd meet them their and took off leaving everyone wondering what her hurry was.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jarod was sitting in Jackson's room watching him sleep. He had the pictures he had found earlier out and was looking over them. He jumped when his cell phone rang. He picked it up quickly making sure he didn't wake Jackson.
"Hello?" He heard distant sounds then a female voice speak.
"So Miss Parker, how long do you think it will take to get to where Jarod is?" Jarod realized that it was Chris speaking.
"Uh I don't know. Maybe ten minutes, not very long." Jarod's heart did a flip as he heard Miss Parker's voice then realized what she had said. He quickly got up and put the photos away. He made sure there was no evidence that he had been there and walked out into the corridor. He'd taken a while putting things away and he saw Miss Parker and Chrissie enter the lobby. He ducked into a janitor's closet. He heard Miss Parker's heels clicking as they came closer. They stopped outside the closet he was hiding in.
"Chrissie you look here and I'll look over there." He heard Miss Parker walk away and took a step back. He knocked over a broom and he silently cursed himself. He saw the door open slowly and saw Chris's face looking inside. He reached out and pulled her in, closing the door behind her. Chrissie looked at him and smiled a small smile.
"Jarod you're still here? I though you'd leave when you heard us." Jarod smiled at her, trying to show that he was grateful.
"I was on my way out when I saw you two come in. I hid in here. Where are the rest of the team and sweepers?" Chrissie was about to speak when they both heard the familiar voice of Lyle speaking.
"Syd we have to find Chrissie and Miss Parker. Maybe they have Jarod." They heard Sydney speak next.
"Shouldn't we wait for Broots and the rest of the sweepers?" They could both tell that he didn't want to find Jarod.
"Well we need to find Chrissie and Miss Parker so we'll look for them without the sweepers." They heard Sydney agree then start walking away. Chrissie waited until they were gone to speak.
"Well there they are. Listen you need to get out of here." Jarod nodded and opened the door to make sure no one was there. He realized that the coast was clear and they both walked out. Jarod turned towards the door and started walking towards it. Chrissie turned the other way and went in search of the others. Chrissie turned around to see Jarod make it safely out of the doors. She smiled and turned around. She bumped into a man she thought she recognized. "I'm sorry." The man smiled at her and kept walking. Chrissie saw a familiar glint in his pocket. It was the glint of a gun. She looked around trying to figure out what to do.
"There you are Chrissie. It seems Jarod's not here so we're leaving." Chrissie turned around to face Sydney. She nodded then turned back to see if she could see the man with the gun. He was no where in sight. She sighed and turned back to Sydney.
"All right, I'm going out front. I'll wait for you there." Sydney nodded and turned around. Chrissie made her way out the front and searched for the man. When she saw him he was heading towards the door. She scanned the immediate area. There seemed to be no trace of him. She heard someone calling her name. She turned around to see Miss Parker, Sydney, Lyle, Broots and the sweepers walking towards her.
"You didn't find anything did you?" Miss Parker's eyes were pleading for an answer of no. Chrissie shook her head. Miss Parker sighed but made it sound like a grunt of frustration. Chrissie got a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She turned around and saw the man with the gun again. This time he had his gun out and it was pointed towards them… more particularly at Lyle. Chrissie saw him pull the trigger. She screamed and jumped in front of Lyle, the bullet hitting her instead. She fell to the ground taking Lyle down with her. She heard chaos erupting around and could feel the searing pain of the bullet in her body. Things around her started getting dark and her head became heavy. She succumbed to the dark numbness surrounding her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jarod walked out of the office building across the street when he heard a shot being fired. He had been safe in the building because it had easy access out and away from his would be captures, but when he heard the gunfire he couldn't help it. He had to help. He stood across the street watching people huddle around a certain spot. He heard someone saying that someone had been shot.
He was about to go over and see when he saw a blood drenched Miss Parker emerge from the group. She had tears streaming down her face. Sydney emerged after her and held her for support. Jarod wondered what had her so upset. He wanted to run over and hold her. He noticed Broots emerging from the crowd of people. He had blood over his hands. He walked over to Sydney and Miss Parker and was definitely in a state of shock. He looked around and saw a few sweepers wandering around clearly not believing what happened. Jarod searched for the two remaining members of team as a lump formed in his throat. The hospital staff emerged with a stretcher. They made their way through the crowd.
Jarod took a few steps closer to see who it was who had been shot. A police officer came and entered the crowd. As the stretcher was pulled up Jarod saw Lyle emerging the crowd, the front of him covered in blood. As the stretcher began to be pulled away Jarod saw the body of who had been shot. The lump in his throat became bigger as he saw Chris covered in blood. His thoughts wondered back towards the dream he'd had in which he'd seen the same sight. All logical thoughts escaped him as he ran over to the hospital.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Miss Parker pulled Lyle into a hug. Both were covered in blood. She'd tried to stop the bleeding with her jacket and Lyle had gotten blood all over him from Chrissie lying on top of him. Broots was whimpering behind them. Sydney was trying to comfort him. It seemed Sydney was the only one without Chrissie's blood on his body. Broots had blood on his hands after taking over from Miss Parker.
"I'm sure she'll be alright. I think I heard one of the doctors saying she was shot in the shoulder." Everyone tried to believe him but no one could. Chrissie had looked so lifeless. Her body had started to become cold. Of course Lyle was the only one who knew this. A doctor walked up to them.
"Are you the people who were with Miss Lopez?" Everyone nodded. "I have news for you. The bullet hit her in the shoulder; it hit a vein, that's why there was so much blood. We had to give her a blood transfusion. She had a very rare blood type but thankfully one of our doctors had it. She'll be fine in a few days. It's lucky she got shot just outside of here. If we hadn't got to her as fast as we did, she wouldn't have survived." Everyone was relieved.
"How long is it until we can see her?" Broots was anxious to see if she was alright for himself. The doctor sighed.
"Come back tomorrow. She needs to rest." Sydney nodded and excused the doctor. He turned to the rest of the group.
"Come on, lets get back to the hotel and we'll come back tomorrow." He stood up and stared at the three unmoving forms still not moving. He sighed. "There's nothing we can do for her here. We'll come back tomorrow. We'll clean up, get some rest and we'll be better for it tomorrow." Slowly Broots stood up. Sydney smiled at him and looked back towards the other two. "Come on." He held his hand out to Miss Parker. She stared at it then took it slowly. Sydney put his arm around her. Lyle sighed.
"I'll stay here. I don't think she should be alone." Miss Parker took over from Sydney in trying to coax Lyle.
"You can't see her yet. You want to at least be clean when you see her don't you?" She pointed towards his bloodstained clothes. Lyle sighed and stood slowly. Miss Parker put her arm around him and led him out.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jarod sat beside Chrissie. He held her hand. He looked towards the bandage around his own arm. They had taken his blood to give to her. He hadn't even known they shared a blood type. He sighed and kissed her forehead. She stirred and groaned. He heard her mumble something but wasn't sure what it was.
"Shh, it's okay. You're okay." He stroked her cheek in a comforting motion. She groaned again and whimpered.
"Lyle? What about Lyle? Is he okay?" Jarod was shocked. He hadn't expected that.
"Uh, he's fine, I think." She seemed relieved.
"They were trying to shoot him. I couldn't let them." She groaned again and went back to sleep. Jarod sat in a state of shock. She risked her life to save Lyle's? He couldn't believe it. In his opinion, Lyle deserved to die. The shooter had probably been someone Lyle hurt in the past and they were out for revenge. Chris had just gotten in the way. Chris was such a good person that she saved someone who, in his opinion, didn't deserve saving. That's what he fell in love with. He kissed her forehead and watched her sleeping.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lyle tossed and turned. The image of Chrissie, falling against his chest and the blood flowing freely onto his shirt kept playing over and over in his head. He saw it when he closed his eyes so he kept them open. He thought about the moments leading up to the shooting. He'd seen her looking around then saw her face break into a panicked expression and she started screaming. The next thing he knew she'd thrown herself in front of him and was falling against him. At first he was in a state of shock and wasn't sure what had happened, but when he felt the blood trickling onto him he knew exactly what had happened. Lyle shot out of bed and paced around his room. He looked out the window and wished that the sun would rise. The scene played again in his mind. He closed his eyes to try and make it stop but all it did was make it worse.
Lyle quickly went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He stepped in and let the water wash over his body. He put his head under the water and let the water drip over it. The images slowly faded away. He stepped out of the shower and dressed in his day clothes. He went back into the bedroom and sat on his bed. He knew there was no chance of getting sleep so instead he turned on the TV. He saw an image of Chrissie, but this time it wasn't of the scene that had played out earlier, it was an image of her when they were snowed in. The image was when they were having a snow fight. She'd looked so innocent, so pure, so caring. She looked like an angel. Lyle was pleased that he at least didn't have to see her getting shot. He drifted slowly to sleep with this more pleasant image in his head.
Lyle chased Chrissie as she ducked behind a tree. He acted as if he hadn't seen where she'd gone and walked slowly to her hiding spot. He faked going one way and went the other way. He lifted his snow ball and was about to strike when he got hit square in the face. He shook the snow from his eyes and saw Chrissie collapse in laughter.
"You're going to pay for that." He picked up some snow and dumped it over her. She just laughed more. Lyle collapsed next to her. She stared at him and smiled. Lyle smiled back at her. She looked past him and screamed. He turned around to see himself walking towards them with a gun in his hands. The other him had a smile plastered on his face. Lyle stood protectively in front of Chrissie. Chrissie stood and huddled to his back. The other Lyle pushed him out of the way so he was standing behind her. He shot Chrissie and the real Lyle could do nothing but watch as she tumbled to the floor. "NOOOOOOOOO!" He cried out in pain and was instantly at her side. He felt for a pulse but couldn't find one.
"She deserved it. She doesn't want us." Lyle looked at the other version of himself. He stood and stood face to face with him.
"This isn't right. I didn't shoot her. Some psycho on the street did." The other version of him laughed. He saw a blood soaked version of Chrissie came from behind the other Lyle. Lyle turned around to see she was still lying on the now red blood soaked snow.
"What's the difference? I was shot trying to protect you. The gun might have well been in your hands." Lyle stared at her as more blood seeped through. She leant over and put her arms around the other version of him. She reached out and took the gun from the other Lyle's hands. She pointed it at his chest.
"Would you make the same sacrifice? Would you jump in front of a bullet for me?" She didn't sound like the Chrissie he knew.
"Probably not, he's Mr. Lyle. He only cares about himself. I should know." The other version of himself reached out and put his hands over Chrissie's still with the gun faced towards Lyle.
"That's not true. It used to be, but you changed that." He pleaded with her. "I want to change." Chrissie and the other version of Lyle laughed. The other Lyle turned into Miss Parker.
"You could never change my dear sweet brother. Monsters can't change." She inched the gun closer to Lyle.
"But I want to change. Chrissie, you made me want to change." He pleaded with her. She scoffed.
"And how do you think you'll do that?"
"You can help me. I know you can help me change." Chrissie and Miss Parker looked at each other and laughed. Miss Parker turned into Jarod.
"You want to be with her? She's a saint compared to you. She deserves so much more than you. She needs someone who will… help the helpless. She does in her own way." Jarod turned towards Chrissie and stared kissing her. Lyle tried to restrain the hurt he felt. He'd often thought that she had a lot in common with Jarod and that if anyone deserved this earthly angel it was him. Chrissie turned her attention back to Lyle.
"Do you still want me to help you change?" Lyle swallowed then nodded. She sighed and put the gun closer to him. "If I shoot you here you wouldn't want me." Lyle sighed. He truly believed she would kill him.
"Go ahead. If you don't believe in me then my life is not worth living." Jarod disappeared from her side and this time was not replaced with anyone else.
"You believe that?" Lyle nodded. She slowly put the gun to her side. She stared at him then disappeared. He turned back around to where the lifeless body of Chrissie had been. She was still there but she was alive and ok. She smiled up at him and gestured for him to sit next to her. He sighed and sat next to her again. She dumped some snow on his head and it fell over his eyes. He shook his head and sent the snow falling everywhere. He laughed but his amusement soon dissipated when he saw her holing a gun to his head,
"You still don't deserve me." She pulled the trigger. BANG!
Lyle woke with a start. He looked around him and noticed the morning light shone around the room. The TV was still on and someone was banging at his door. He stood up, turned the TV off and answered the door. He saw a very worried looking Miss Parker.
"Are you okay? I've been knocking for ages." Lyle walked back in the room and got his jacket.
"I'm fine. I was sleeping. You woke me from a very bad dream." Miss Parker walked over to him and pulled him into an awkward embrace.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She looked him in the eyes and for the first time he saw something he never thought he'd see from another person. Love, worry and support. He smiled knowing that he finally had a family. He shook his head.
"I'd rather not." Miss Parker nodded. "Did you come to get me so we could go to the hospital?" Miss Parker nodded again. "Where are Broots and Sydney?" Miss Parker sighed.
"You aren't the only one who had nightmares last night. Broots had an awful nightmare last night. It was something about Chrissie. He was really affected by… what happened. He cares a great deal for her; she's the first real friend he's made in a long time. To think that he almost lost that friend hit him really hard. I don't think he could stand seeing her in the hospital. Syd's going to stay with him." Lyle nodded.
"Well I really need to see her. Let's go." Miss Parker nodded and followed him out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jarod awoke to find someone poking his head. He looked around and realized he was still in Chrissie's room; his head was rested on her bed. He looked up and saw her sitting up poking him. She smiled at him. He smiled back and sat up.
"I guess I fell asleep. Sorry." Chrissie smiled at him.
"It's okay. Um… how long have I been in here?" Jarod looked at his watch.
"Don't worry only since yesterday. You were shot." Chrissie laughed.
"I know that Jarod. I was shot in the arm not the head, I know what happened." Jarod remembered what she had said the night just passed. He wanted to know what she had meant.
"What exactly did happen?" Chrissie thought back to seeing the man with the gun pointed towards Lyle and jumping in front of it. She didn't think she should tell that part.
"Well after I left you I saw a guy with a gun. I went outside in search of him. I saw him and the next thing I knew I was shot." Jarod sighed. She'd left out everything to do with Lyle.
"Okay, well I've got to be going." He leant forward and kissed her temple. He brushed his arm against the bed and howled in pain.
"What happened to you?" Chrissie cradled his arm with concern. Jarod chuckled.
"I gave you my blood. Turns out we've got the same blood type." He grinned at her. Chrissie stared up at him surprised.
"I've got a very rare blood type. You have it too?" Jarod nodded. He chuckled again.
"You have my blood in you. We're linked forever." Chrissie smiled at him. Jarod looked out into the corridor and saw Miss Parker and Lyle approaching. "I have to be going. You're about to have some more visitors." Chrissie tried to look out but only hurt her arm. Jarod turned to go.
"Uh Jarod I need to tell you something. I…I can't see you anymore. It's complicated and I know you'd never understand but I can't." Jarod stood shocked. He wasn't expecting to hear that. He saw her guests approaching. He nodded and walked out the room heading the other way.
Miss Parker walked in the room cautiously. She was relieved when she saw Chrissie sitting up. Her shoulder was bandaged and in a sling. Chrissie looked up at her and smiled. She walked in the room and sat in the chair Jarod had just left. It felt warm but she ignored it.
"You're alright!?" Chrissie chuckled at Miss Parker's exclamation/question.
"Yes I'm alright. I'm sore and I feel a bit woozy, but other than that I'm fine. It takes more than that to kill me." She chuckled a bit but stopped when she saw the look on her face. "I'm sorry. That was stupid." A rebel tear ran down her cheek.
"No don't be sorry. It's just… I was scared. You're the first friend I've made in a long time. I didn't want anything to happen to you. You seem to have that effect on people." Miss Parker laughed despite the tears that joined the first one.
"It's okay. I'm alright." Miss Parker sighed.
"I know." She looked around to try and find Lyle but she couldn't find him. "I think I'll be going. There's someone here who I think needs to see you're alright more than I do." She stood up and walked to the hall. Lyle was standing not wanting to go in. "Lyle you can go in. She's alright." Lyle stared at her like he didn't believe her. She pushed him into the room. He turned around and saw Chrissie sitting up. He went to sit next to her. He couldn't speak. She stared at him wishing he would say something. He took her hand in his own and stroked it. Only then did it all seem real. He broke into tears. This shocked Chrissie.
"You're alright. You're really alright." His head fell to her hand. She stared at him then stroked his hair with her other hand.
"Shh, it's alright. Everything's going to be alright." Lyle kissed her hand. He looked up at her.
"I thought I killed you." He stared into her eyes. She felt as though she would melt under his gaze.
"You kill me? It wasn't your fault. I jumped in the way. I didn't want anything to happen to you." She leant forward and kissed his cheek. He started crying again. She was still amazed. She'd never envisioned Lyle as a person who'd cry. In fact she was certain that he wasn't.
"You mean you don't blame me?" His dream played over and over in his head. Chrissie held his hand and shook her head. He leant forward and kissed her. At first she didn't respond but she soon melted into the kiss.
Jarod watched from outside. He realized why she had jumped in the way of the bullet. She had feelings for him. He thought he knew the why she said she couldn't see him anymore as well.
Miss Parker watched from the corridor. She smiled to herself. She had hoped that they'd work things out. Lyle needed someone like her to help him become a better person. Chrissie would be good for him.
Chrissie pulled away from the kiss and stared at Lyle. She frowned knowing that they couldn't do that. There was something standing in their way.
"Lyle this doesn't mean… I mean we still can't be together." Lyle frowned. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't when he saw the look in her eyes. It was a look that showed him that if she could, she'd be with him. He sat just being comforted knowing she was okay and didn't hate him and providing support for her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Miss Parker came in to find Lyle asleep on the chair, his head thrown back and his mouth open. Chrissie was staring at him making no attempt to wake him. She looked up at Miss Parker and smiled.
"He didn't have a good night last night. He needs his sleep. Plus he looks so cute when he's sleeping." Miss Parker smiled back at Chrissie. She noticed a certain glint in her eyes while she watched him sleep.
"You have strong feelings for him don't you? I can tell by the way you look at him. What's so complicated that you can't work through it?" Chrissie looked panicked. She knew that she couldn't tell Miss Parker what the reason was. If she did she would be in trouble.
"I can't talk about it. I'm sorry. I know I must seem heartless to you but the reason why I'm this way is to protect him. And I can't tell you either because of the same reason." She looked out the window and hoped that she stopped with the questions. Miss Parker saw the look on her face and decided that that was enough for her. She didn't need any explanation.
"It's okay. It's not like I'm the one you have to explain anything to anyway." She smiled, took Chrissie's hand and squeezed it for support. Chrissie looked up at her and took a deep breath.
"In that case could you do something for me?" Miss Parker nodded. "I need to get in contact with someone. Could you please call my house and leave a message on my machine saying what happened to me. It's really important. I'd do it myself but I'm kind of stuck here." She nodded and went out of the room to make the call. She wondered why she wanted her to do such a strange thing but didn't think it would be wise to ask.
Miss Parker walked into the hall and opened up her cell phone. She dialed Chrissie's home number and waited for the machine to pick up. Once her machine picked up and Chrissie's message played Miss Parker started with her message.
"Hi, this is Miss Parker, Chrissie's boss. I'm calling on behalf of Chrissie. She had a little accident while we were here. She was shot. But she's okay. She'll be released in a few days. She's fine, she just can't move her right arm and she's in a bit of pain. Um I guess that's it." She hung up the phone feeling a bit awkward. She turned around and walked back into Chrissie's room. Chrissie looked up at her with an expectant look. Miss Parker nodded her head. "I did it. I felt a little bit weird. I don't even know who I was leaving the message for." Chrissie sighed.
"It was just for a… uh, friend of mine. He should know that I'm here and won't be home for a while." She wasn't sure what to tell her. A small half smile curled at Miss Parkers lips.
"Is it your boyfriend?" Neither of the girls saw Lyle's eyes opening slightly. Chrissie sighed.
"Well I guess you could kind of say that." Miss Parker took the seat on the other side of the bed.
"Is this the guy who held you after your nightmare that time?" She leant forward wanting to hear more about this guy. Chrissie sighed.
"No it's not. I'm, uh, not seeing him anymore. I met this guy after we got back from being snowed in." Lyle, who was pretending to be sleeping, couldn't pretend anymore. He sat up, which startled both of them.
"What? So after what happened between us there, where you said it wasn't right because of your boyfriend, you go home, dump your boyfriend and get with this guy. You just seemed to forget about me." Chrissie stared at him not knowing what to say. Miss Parker was trying to figure out what he meant by what happened between them at the weekend they were snowed in.
"Lyle it's not that simple…" They were cut off by the shrill sound of her cell phone ringing. She sighed and asked Miss Parker to hand her the phone. She picked it up.
"Hello… oh hi… no I'm fine… I'm sure… I can come home soon… a few days… that's sweet but you don't have to… I'm sure, I'm fine… okay I'll see you when I get home… uh can we talk about it later… how'd you know my size… oh you found my rings… well I'll try it on when I get home… if it doesn't fit we can get it resized… no everything doesn't have to be perfect… no I agree, only a small ceremony… listen we'll talk about it when I get home… uh thanks… do I have to… okay, okay love you too… seeya." She hung up hastily. She looked around the room embarrassed. Lyle sat with his mouth open. Both he and Miss Parker were in a state of shock. Lyle stood up and walked out of the room as quickly as he could. Miss Parker stared at her still in shock.
"What's going on Chrissie? It seems you forgot to tell us a few things."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jackson had a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He got up and wandered around the hospital. He saw a man sitting in one of the waiting room seats with his head in his hands. Something drew him towards him.
"Hey are you alright?" He took a seat next to the man. He was shocked a bit when he looked up towards him. A face he'd seen a lot when he was younger stared up at him. He'd seen it every day in the mirror. He tried to act as though he didn't notice anything. Lyle looked at him like he had three heads.
"I'm fine." He stared at him and expected him to leave. Jackson just sat there.
"I don't think so. You look like something's wrong. Why don't you tell me about it? It'll help, trust me." Lyle stared at him. Something inside told him he should trust him.
"Well there is something. My name's Lyle by the way. Mr. Lyle." The name confirmed his suspicions. This was his nephew. It made sense that if Miss Parker looked like his twin sister Cat then Mr. Lyle, Miss Parker's twin brother would look like Cat's twin brother Jackson. He got comfortable in his seat.
"My name's Jackson. What's your trouble's Lyle?" Lyle laughed.
"It's about a girl." Jackson shook his head. He thought back to what he always used to talk to Cat about. It was always about some girl.
"Go ahead. I'm listening." Lyle sighed. He wasn't sure why he wanted to talk to this guy but a little voice inside his head told him he should.
"Well I work with this girl. From the moment I met her I felt, I don't know, connected to her. You know what I mean?" Jackson smiled and nodded. A voice inside his head spoke to him.
"Jackson he's talking about his guiding angel. You've got to make sure he doesn't lose faith in her. Trust me." Jackson nodded to the voice.
"I know what you mean. Well tell me what she's like." Lyle smiled.
"She's the best. She's gorgeous. She is kind and sweet. She deserves better than me." Jackson smiled along with him.
"I'm sure that's not true. I'm sure you're not as bad as you think." Lyle looked at him. He had no idea just how bad, no beyond bad, evil he was… or used to be. He continued with his story.
"Everything I feel with her is new. When I first met her I couldn't even speak. That's never happened to me. I've never been shy around a girl. Then, when I finally got my nerve to speak to her, we get snowed in, in this really romantic place. We connected there. I told her things about me that I thought would have made her hate me. But she didn't. She made me feel sorry for the things I did. She made me not want to do those things again." Jackson chuckled. He inwardly spoke to Catherine.
"You're right Cat. She is his angel." He turned back to Lyle. "She sounds nice. What's the problem?" Lyle laughed. He wasn't sure where to start.
"Well the problem is that when we connected I kind of, uh, kissed her." He thought back to their kiss. He couldn't hold back the smile that formed on his lips. "And the problem with that is she was seeing someone. So nothing could happen between us."
"That is a problem." Jackson wondered how Cat could send an angel with such complicated circumstances. Lyle laughed.
"You think that's a problem? It gets more complicated. We decided we needed to talk about things so she came to my house for dinner. The evening was going great. I thought I ruined everything by kissing her. Next thing I knew the dinner was burning because of another kiss, one that she started." He thought back to that moment. The smile on his lips widened. He remembered how her lips tasted, the smell of her hair and skin overwhelming his senses even at the memory.
"So what's so complicated about that? It sounds like things got less complicated." Lyle snapped back to the present.
"That's what I thought at the time. But then she freaked out. Things got awkward. Then our work sent us and a few others here. She jumped in front of a bullet for me." He cringed when he remembered her body falling on him and the blood staining his shirt.
"It seems to me that she cares a great deal for you. If she jumped in front of a bullet for you then I'm sure she has some sort of feeling for you." He watched as Lyle's face seemed to fade into depression.
"I found something out just now. Apparently she broke up with her boyfriend but now she has another one. All thoughts of me must have been forgotten when she met this guy. I have a feeling that she's marrying this guy." His words were venomous. Jackson had a bad taste in his mouth just hearing it. He heard Catherine mutter something in his head that he couldn't understand.
"I see you've got a real problem there." Catherine mumbled for him to not lose faith. All will be explained. "But if you ask me, that girl of yours cares a great deal for you. Wait a while and I bet you'll see her reasons." He smiled at him and patted his back. Lyle stared at him confused for a moment.
"I don't know what it is but I believe you. I trust you. This is scaring me a bit but I swear I can hear a voice telling me to believe you. You've been a lot of help. Thank you." He stood and walked away.
Jackson smiled. He knew who had told him to trust him. Cat was making her miracles happen. Lyle was starting to listen to his Inner Sense. He could hear it and not ignore it any longer. He sent a prayer up to Catherine to try and make things alright for Lyle. He could feel that he needed a miracle.
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"I can't tell you what's going on. I promise you'll find out, both of you will, just not now." Chrissie avoided looking at Miss Parker. A few tears welled up in her eyes. "Listen, I'm feeling kind of tired, I need some rest." Miss Parker understood. She smiled and walked towards the door.
"I'll make sure Broots and Sydney comes visit you tomorrow." She smiled and opened the door.
"Miss Parker, can you make sure Lyle's alright?" She turned on her side and buried her head. Miss Parker looked back at her. She could tell how much she cared for him.
"Okay. Goodnight." She walked out and closed the door behind her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A few days past and Chrissie was allowed out of the hospital. She had to still have her arm in a sling. She was still in pain but it was healing. She hadn't seen Jarod since her first day at the hospital and Lyle had barely come to visit. Sydney put her bags into the back of their car.
"I'm sure you're anxious to get back home to a familiar environment." Chrissie smiled at him and nodded. She got into the passenger seat in the front; they had decided it was best so no one would bump her accidentally. The only problem with that was that Lyle was driving. She sat down and tried not to look at Lyle.
"Are you, uh, comfortable?" He felt as awkward as she did. She nodded in response and stared out the window. Everyone pilled in the back and they were on their way. When on the way to the airport Chrissie's phone rang, piercing the silence that was inhibiting the car. She smiled and reached into her bag with her good hand.
"Uh hello, who is it?" She looked around at the others in the car.
"Are you on your way home?" Chrissie sighed at hearing Mr. Parker's voice.
"Yeah I am. We just left the hospital."
"Good. When you get back to the Centre I want you to tell Raines that you're going on a holiday to heal up."
"Listen I don't know if I can but I'll try. Why do you want me to have a holiday?" Lyle couldn't help but over hear. So her boyfriend wanted her to take a holiday. He gripped the steering wheel more tightly.
"Because then I can set my plan in motion." He was talking through clenched teeth. This scared her.
"Ok I'll see what I can do. I'll see you when I get home." She hung up before he could say anything else. She looked at everyone. "He wants me to get better." Everyone accepted her lie. Lyle turned to her slightly.
"We all do." He smiled at her. She felt her heart flip. "I'll put my recommendation in to Raines to let you go. Everyone else will as well won't you?" Every agreed with him. It amazed Chrissie how he could do such a kind thing for her. He was only thinking about her well being all the while not knowing what he had done.
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Two weeks later Miss Parker walked through the Centre halls. Raines had given in to everyone and let Chrissie go on her holiday. She decided she wanted to visit with her little brother. She took a turn down to the Centre Baby Care Unit and went in search of Baby Parker. She became startled when she couldn't find him. She stormed down the hall and ran into Mr. Raines talking with Lyle. Lyle saw her distressed expression and was instantly worried.
"What's wrong sis?" Miss Parker ignored his question and turned to Raines.
"Where is he? Where is my brother? Where is Baby Parker?" Mr. Raines didn't seem bothered.
"He was adopted. He has a proper family now." Miss Parker was still upset.
"You adopted him out. You deprived me of watching one brother growing up now you're doing the same thing with my other one, you son of a bitch!" Lyle stood next to Parker. He was on her side.
"He's better where he is." Lyle laughed.
"What like I was better where I was. You took me away from my family and now you're doing the same thing with my brother." Miss Parker looked at Lyle, thankful he was supporting her.
"I assure you he's alright…" He was cut off by his phone ringing. "He's here? Yes I understand. I'll bring them there right away." He looked at the twins. "We can discuss it later. There's somewhere I need to take you." He walked off. Lyle and Miss Parker had no choice but to follow him. He walked to Mr. Parker's old office. He turned to them, with his hand on the door knob. Miss Parker stared at him like he'd grown another head.
"Why are we going in my fathers...uh, I mean Mr. Parker's old office?" Raines looked at her for a moment.
"There is someone you have to see." He opened the door and walked in. Miss Parker stood on the spot, frozen. Lyle looked at her and smiled.
"It's alright. I'm here with you. It's not like he's back from the dead." He took her hand in his and smiled a more awkward smile. She smiled back and together they walked through the door.
"Angel, I've missed you so much. Come here."
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To be continued...