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 another instalment. I hope you like it.
Summary: How will Miss Parker, Jarod, Chrissie and Lyle react to their prospective news? Will Jarod even let Lyle marry Chrissie? Will Lyle be alright with his sister marrying the 'enemy'? Miss Parker has some news but is she right about her assumptions? Chrissie gets back results of her latest procedure, what will they be? And who is the latest person to find out about their secrets?
Strange Things Happen
Part 8
Chrissie and Lyle walked into the house and found Miss Parker and Jarod sitting on the couch gazing into each others eyes. They hadn't even noticed that Lyle and Chrissie had even entered the room. Chrissie cleared her throat to get their attention. They turned from each other and smiled at the two new people in the room. Miss Parker stood up and walked over to them.
"You're never going to guess what happened." Both of the girls spoke at the same time. They laughed then both tried to continue. "Jarod/Lyle proposed to me." Both of the girls frowned. They had wanted their news to be special and unique.
"What how can you be engaged to him? You're already married." Miss Parker pouted. Jarod stood next to her and put his arms around her.
"Come on. We should be happy for them as they should be happy for us." She smiled lightly and kissed his hand.
"Well you can't really think that I'm happy to be married to that man. Besides it's for after we get rid of the Centre." Chrissie was upset and put her head down. "I'm very happy for you two. It's about time." She didn't want to put her head up to look at Miss Parker. She thought that Miss Parker would have been happier for her. Lyle stepped forwards and held her. He lifted her head up to meet his gaze. No words were spoken, but his eyes conveyed all that needed to be said between them. Miss Parker felt bad.
"I'm sorry Chrissie. It's great, I'm happy for you. It's just that, like you said it's been coming for a long time. I didn't exactly expect you to have the same news as I did." Chrissie looked up at Miss Parker and smiled.
"It's okay." Her smile got wider. "So did you get a ring?" Miss Parker smiled and held out her hand. Chrissie gasped and took the hand in her own so she could see it better. It was a stunning ring. It had a huge diamond in the middle surrounded by two heart shaped sapphires.
"Did Lyle get you one?" Chrissie nodded and showed her the ring on her necklace. Miss Parker smiled. She recognized the design of the ring.
"This is like our mothers." Lyle nodded. Chrissie looked at her ring.
"I saw the one she wore in a picture dad has of her. It was beautiful and I thought it would be perfect." Tears welled up in both Miss Parker and Chrissie's eyes.
"That's so sweet." Chrissie leant over and kissed him. Chrissie and Miss Parker walked away into the kitchen while Jarod and Lyle had been left to talk.
"I'm happy for you Lyle. Chrissie is a really important person in my life. She loves you very much and I can see how much you love her. I never thought I'd say it but you really deserve to be happy with her." He shook his hand and pulled him into an awkward hug.
"Thanks man. I know what you mean. You make my sister happy. You two were meant for each other. I'm just sorry that so many things stood in your way for so long. I know because I'm one of the things that stood in your way. But I regret that now. You two are perfect. Hey you're my brother in law now. This is just too weird. I go from having no family to gaining all of you." Jarod nodded. It was the same for him. He'd never had a family either and he was happy that he had one now.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Miss Parker and Chrissie were in the kitchen discussing the events that had happened that evening. They showed off their rings and were bragging about how their respective partners had proposed. They had even gotten into a mock argument about whose was more romantic. Miss Parker won out in the end. Chrissie informed Miss Parker that she was happier because they'd been able to do what they hadn't had the chance to do before that. Lyle and Chrissie had consummated their relationship without any interference.
"So are you aware that this means that you are not only technically my step mother but now you'll be my sister in law." She pulled Chrissie into a hug.
"I know. This is great. I just hope that I don't have to wait too long to marry your brother. I don't think I could stand being married to Mr. Parker for much longer." Miss Parker nodded and frowned.
"I know. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all this. You shouldn't have even found out about the Centre." Chrissie frowned.
"I know but some good did come out of it. I met Lyle and I have a whole new family." They hugged again.
"Let's just hope that you don't have a whole new family." She put her hand on Chrissie's stomach to emphasise that she was talking about hoping she wasn't pregnant.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Three weeks later Miss Parker was in her office staring at a calendar. Chrissie came in the office and sat down on the couch.
"Oh god I wish Broots would hurry up and get those damn results back to me. It's taking longer then it did the other two times." She looked up and realised Miss Parker had tears in her eyes. "Hey what's wrong?" She looked up but instead of sadness her eyes were filled with joy and even with a hint of fear.
"I'm late." Chrissie looked at her watch.
"What are you talking about? No you're not." Miss Parker sighed.
"No that's not what I'm talking about." She held out the calendar for Chrissie to see. "I'M LATE!" Everything clicked in Chrissie's mind. She went to Miss Parker, who was now standing, and hugged her tightly.
"So do you think you are?" Chrissie couldn't be happier for her. Miss Parker and Jarod had been through so much and Chrissie knew that they'd both be absolutely ecstatic if they were going to have a child.
"I'm not certain of it yet but… I'm pretty sure. I still have to take the test though." She looked down at the calendar she was clutching in her hands. "Chrissie what if I am? We'll be in danger." She put her hand protectively over her stomach even though she still wasn't sure if she was pregnant or not.
"Then we'll protect you." They were both talking in hushed voices in case the walls had ears. Chrissie hugged her again and spoke directly to her ear in a hushed voice. "All of us will, me, Lyle and Jarod. I know Jarod would never let anything happen to you or your child." She pulled back and smirked. Miss Parker laughed.
"I need to find out first." She pressed a button on her phone and yelled into it, "Broots get your ass in here now." Broots was in there in no time, looking out of breath and nervous.
"Y-y-y-yes Miss Parker, what do you want me to do?" Miss Parker was already writing something on a piece of paper which she handed to him.
"I want you to get me this. And Broots… it's confidential." Broots nodded and started walking out the door. He opened it and read what it said then turned around nervously.
"I can't get this." Miss Parker rolled her eyes.
"Yes you can Broots, and I need it yesterday." She started walking towards him and guided him towards the door. "And Broots…" She put her finger to her lips in a conspiratorial manner. He sighed and walked out the room mumbling his contempt at his task. Once he was gone Chrissie laughed.
"That was mean Parker. You're going to embarrass the poor guy to death." Miss Parker laughed.
"Well I had to get someone to get it. I can't, it would raise suspicions, you can't, you're already getting a professional one done, Jay can't, he's not around right now, and it would be just as bad if Lyle got it. Broots is the only other person who knows about everything. I would go to Syd but he doesn't know." Chrissie nodded. She knew she was right. It was the only way.
"Well what are we hoping for? Are we hoping you are: which puts you kind of in danger, or that you're not: which would be heartbreaking?" Miss Parker shook her head.
"I don't know. I just don't know."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Twenty minutes later, after Broots had returned with the pregnancy test for Miss Parker, all three were waiting. They had all decided not to tell Lyle yet until they were sure of the results. Too many people knew as it was. The timer sitting on Miss Parker's desk went off signalling that the results of all three pregnancy tests were ready. She'd taken three tests to be sure of the results. Chrissie squeezed her hand for support. No one could tell the results from Miss Parker's eyes. They were completely neutral. She slowly looked up and let a small smile spread across her face.
"I'm pregnant! I'm going to be a mother." She instantly found herself swamped by Chrissie's tight hugs and Broots trying to shake her hand. Chrissie pulled back and looked her straight in the eye, suddenly very serious.
"This is something to be celebrated isn't it?" Broots backed off as well trying to gauge her reaction. One of Miss Parker's most vibrant smiles lit her face.
"Of course it is. I'm in love with the father so I instantly love this child." They had all agreed, long ago, never to actually say Jarod's name in the Centre when they were talking about private matters. They had found it was safer that way. Chrissie hugged Miss Parker tightly again. Broots got a quick hug in as well then left to leave them with some privacy. He knew how close they were and he also knew that they would want to talk things over.
"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you. But what are you going to do?" Miss Parker shrugged. She herself had no idea. All she knew was that she'd have to discuss it with Jarod and hopefully he'd know.
"We'll just have to wait and see." Chrissie nodded. She looked at Miss Parker and saw how happy she was. She wished that she could be that happy. Sure she was waiting for pregnancy test results herself but she didn't want those to be positive. Her gaze went down to Miss Parker's stomach where a new life was being housed. Something inside her own stomach swelled as if telling her something. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Broots re-entering the room.
"Um Chrissie, I hate to interrupt right now, but this just got back." He held out an envelope that all three knew what the contents held. She gasped and took the envelope from his hand. She opened it as fast as she could anxious to know the results. She read the lines and her face went pale. She dropped the envelope and her body followed its journey to the ground, everything around her going black.
When she awoke she was lying on the couch in Miss Parker's office with both Miss Parker and Broots hovering over her with concern all over their faces. One look in them and she knew they already knew what had made her blackout.
"Could there be some mistake Broots?" He frowned and shook his head no.
"I double and triple checked the results myself." She sighed and tried to sit up. Miss Parker forced her to lie back down.
"Don't get up yet. You just had a pretty nasty fall and with your condition, we don't want anything to happen." Tears started falling down her cheeks.
"God, I knew it would probably happen eventually, I was just hoping that my eggs would hate his sperm as much as I hate him. I just wish that he didn't have to be the father." Miss Parker hugged her tightly.
"Just because he is the genetic father doesn't mean that he'll be its father. I pretty much consider Syd to be my father." It was true. She loved Sydney like a father and no matter whom her real father was she had decided that it didn't matter because Sydney was her father now, he always had been.
"How do you… I mean… Lyle… how do you think Lyle will react to this news?" She fiddled with the ring she was wearing around her neck. "I mean three weeks ago he asked me to…" She lowered her voice "…be his wife. We finally resolved some… tension between us. I just wish that it was that encounter that produced a child and not the procedural one." She started sobbing openly. Miss Parker hugged her again.
"It's alright. I know he'll love you all the same. And he'll love your child because it's a part of you." She wiped some of the tears away. Chrissie smiled.
"Did you say three weeks ago?" Broots was standing away from them with a confused look on his face. Both women nodded, now looking at him with confusion. "As in the day the procedure was done?" Chrissie thought back then nodded. "Remember the blood was taken straight after the procedure was done. Mr. Raines came down and got the results after the first week. They were negative then. He demanded that they be rechecked saying the lab techs were incompetent. Remember when we retook your blood?" Chrissie nodded.
"I thought that was for something else." Broots shook his head.
"No, we had to re-do the results. That was after… you know… and when they came back they were positive. We retook the results numerous times after that and they were always the same. Chrissie, you might have your wish." Chrissie sat up immediately. Miss Parker was at her side and she looked into her eyes. She was happy that it was probable that she had a niece or nephew instead of a brother or sister. Chrissie was ecstatic. She stood and went to stand face to face with Broots.
"Are you serious?" Broots nodded and let a smile creep across his face as well. Chrissie hugged him tightly. She was yelling "Thankyou" over and over. Mr. Parker and Lyle walked into the office and stood shocked at what they saw. Miss Parker walked quickly and hid all the evidence of her own pregnancy tests in her desk drawers.
"Daddy, Lyle what brings you two in here?" Chrissie stopped her hugs and her yells and looked at Mr. Parker and Lyle who were looking at her like she'd grown another body part.
"What's going on in here? I just went to get Lockie off of Lyle when we heard the ruckus in here. What is going on?" Lockie poked his head out from behind Lyle's legs. He ran over to Chrissie and put his hand on her stomach. He looked up at her with a smile on his face.
"Hello." He smiled at the stomach and everyone was aware that he was talking to it instead of Chrissie. Chrissie understood what he meant. He was an empath so he would surely know. She filled in the gaps for everyone else.
"I'm pregnant. He's an empath, he knows." Both Mr. Parker and Lyle smiled. Both went to walk over to embrace her but Mr. Parker got there first.
"It worked? It finally worked! I'm going to be a daddy again." He hugged her tightly and Chrissie cringed.
"Yes, I'm pregnant." She didn't say that he was going to be a father because she knew he wouldn't be one. She looked at Lyle. "You're going to be a father." Mr. Parker assumed that she was talking to him. Lyle didn't quite understand. He stepped forward and shook her hand.
"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you." The contempt oozing off his tongue was easy to do because it was what he was feeling towards Mr. Parker at that moment. Mr. Parker would never appreciate the woman carrying his child or what a big thing it was that she was doing so. To Mr. Parker, Chrissie was just another vessel for yet another child but Lyle knew otherwise. He wished that he could be the father of that child and had no idea that he already was. Mr. Parker was shaking everyone's hand when Sydney came into the office.
"Am I interrupting something?" He felt like an intruder. He had noticed that he had been not so in tack with the group as he had once been. He was a bit hurt that Mr. Parker was in there and he wasn't. Chrissie walked over to him and embraced him.
"No Syd, not at all. Come on in. We're just having a little celebration. I'm pregnant." Sydney was shocked. He stared at her then at her stomach. He knew how distraught she had been when she was going through the procedures so he didn't understand why she was so happy now. He realised that his face must have looked beyond stunned so he shook himself to get his bearings back. When he went back to some kind of normalcy he shook her hand.
"Well, uh, I guess congratulations are in order." Chrissie smiled and nodded. Mr. Parker kissed Chrissie on the cheek and left the room saying he had work to do. Once he was out of the room Chrissie wiped her cheek.
"At least he's gone. Lyle I need to talk to you. Could you come here for a second?" She waved him over to the corner of the room and talked to him in a hushed tone. Sydney had heard the rumours about what Lyle had done to Chrissie so he didn't understand why they were talking so closely. He didn't mean to eavesdrop but when Lyle spoke it was loud enough for everybody to hear.
"I'm the father? Are you sure?" Chrissie nodded with a huge smile on her face. Broots stepped forward and patted Lyle on the back.
"I can vouch for that." Lyle stared at Broots then turned back to Chrissie. He lifted her up and swung her around. When he put her down he put his hand over her stomach and crouched so he was level with it.
"There's another life in there, one that we created. The Centre had nothing to do with its creation. You're not carrying my father's child." His voice was filled with wonder. He planted a kiss on her stomach that got her giggling then rose to meet her lips in a passionate kiss. To say that Sydney was confused was an understatement. He looked around the room to see if anyone was as confused as he was but was surprised to see the happy faces of Miss Parker and Broots.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but I don't understand what's happening." Everyone in the room turned their attention to Sydney. Chrissie smiled and filled him in on everything to do with her and Lyle, leaving out the things about Miss Parker and Jarod. She knew that they'd want to tell him those parts themselves. When she finished her story Sydney was completely shocked. Miss Parker laughed at his evident confusion.
"We couldn't tell you. Broots only found out because we couldn't hide it. We couldn't have him kill Lyle because of what he saw. We only didn't tell you because it was safe that way." Sydney nodded at Miss Parker's explanation as to why he didn't know about the relationship.
"I understand, and believe me, you can trust me." He walked towards Chrissie and hugged her. He turned towards Lyle and shook his hand heartily. Both smiled happily. It was important to them that Sydney was happy about it. Because Chrissie couldn't be with her family, she had kind of made Sydney like a surrogate father in her eyes. It just seemed right that he approved.
"Well Syd I know we can trust you, I've always known, which is why I'm going to tell you something myself… Sydney, I'm pregnant."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The waves of the beach were crashing against the sand and the wind was blowing serenely. Sydney sat watching the surf feeling contented. Miss Parker had told him about her being pregnant the day before. He was a little saddened at first. He thought that the pregnancy had resulted in a one night stand. He was happy for her and told her that she could count on him. Later that evening when he was at home he received a knock at the door. He hadn't been expecting anybody so he trudged over to the door tentatively. He peered through the peep hole and was glad when he saw the face of Miss Parker. He opened the door and let her in.
"Syd I didn't tell you the whole story about my pregnancy." He was shocked to hear it. He thought that she trusted him but if she didn't tell him the whole story he thought that he was wrong. "There's more that I couldn't tell you at the Centre, but I feel like I can tell you here. It's safer to everyone concerned." Safety was why he was out of the loop in the first place. Everyone was looking out for everyone else's safety.
"Go on. What is the rest of it?" He was curious to know what was so dangerous that he couldn't be told at the Centre.
"It's about who the father is." She took a deep breath and continued. "It's Jarod. Jarod is the father..." She showed him the ring on her finger. "…and he's my fiancé." She let out a breath. Sydney stared at her in disbelief. It couldn't be true. How could they be together? She was still hunting him and he hadn't seen any signs that she'd slowed.
"This is all a little much… did you get engaged because of the baby?" It was the only rational thing Sydney could think of. That is until he saw the look of hurt on her face. She smiled softly.
"Actually the engagement is why I'm pregnant in the first place." She put her head down, afraid to look at the older man's face. He felt instantly bad for what he had said.
"I'm sorry Parker. It's just I'm confused… when did all of this happen?" She smiled fondly at the memory of how everything had come about.
"It's been coming for a while now. We've been seeing each other secretly for some time now." Sydney was stunned again.
"How… how have you been able to have a relationship without anyone knowing?" His throat had gone suddenly dry. He couldn't believe that he hadn't been able to notice anything out of the ordinary with either of them.
"Well it's not like we were the only one's who knew about us. There was Chrissie and Lyle and then more recently Broots when we were forced to tell him. But it was relatively easy. As long as we had each other and we knew about our love for one another it was easy. Besides Chrissie did it without anyone knowing otherwise." Sydney's eyebrows arched so high that even he thought they'd fall off his head. He was completely shocked.
"Chrissie, the Chrissie we work with, the Chrissie who is currently seeing Lyle?" Miss Parker nodded.
"It seems she helped him get away a number of times. They met before she came to the Centre, remember the boyfriend she had? It was Jarod." Sydney was still shocked.
"I never would have known." Miss Parker had laughed at his surprise. "I didn't think everything was so complicated." He looked at the woman he considered his daughter and realised he hadn't congratulated her properly. "You and Jarod together… I had hoped but I had given that hope up a long time ago. Congratulations." He pulled her into a bear hug. She was completely happy. She had wanted Sydney to be happy but this was unbelievable to her.
"Thankyou Syd, I will pass that on to Jarod the next time I see him." Sydney snorted.
"Nonsense, next time you see him, you bring him to me. I want to congratulate him myself." Miss Parker nodded.
"Jarod would like that very much, I'm sure." She took her gaze off him for a moment to try and build up the courage for what she was about to ask him. "Syd, you mean a lot to both Jarod and me. I was wondering… if you'd mind…" Her voice turned from sure to almost a whisper.
"What is it Parker? What is it you're trying to say?" He took her hand and squeezed gently for support. This seemed to give her the courage she needed.
"Would you give me away when I marry Jarod?" She shyly put her head down so that if he rejected her offer she wouldn't have to see it in his face. He leant forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"I'd be honoured to." She looked up and smiled happily at his acceptance.
Sydney's thoughts returned back to the waves. This was the place that Miss Parker had described to him of where she wanted to get married. It was a little close to the Centre but it would be perfect. It was hidden in a little known spot. She hadn't even known about it. Neither did Sydney. In fact it was Chrissie who had discovered it. She was out for a run when she saw a pathway that looked as though it hadn't been used for a long time. The plants and weeds around it were growing over everything and it was obvious no one had walked down there in a long time. She had followed the path and it had led her to a clear opening. She had heard the crashing of waves and followed until she found herself on the shore of a beach that also looked as though it hadn't been used in a long time. She had eventually taken Parker and she had fallen in love with the location. Both had made sure that no one would know that it was even there.
"Sorry to disturb your thoughts but I was wondering if I could share your beach." Sydney smiled as he heard the familiar voice behind him.
"Of course you can." He patted the sand next to him. Jarod took the seat next
to his mentor. There was a pregnant silence as they enjoyed each other's
company. Jarod turned to Sydney and
smiled with pure joy.
"Parker just told me the good news. Sydney I'm going to be a daddy." Sydney smiled and nodded.
"Yes I know. Congratulations for that as well as your engagement." Jarod nodded and smiled the widest smile Sydney had ever seen. Jarod's smile disappeared.
"Well not all things are good. We still have to work out how Parker's going to have the baby without the Centre knowing. And we've got to make sure Chrissie and her baby doesn't become the Centre's latest pet projects. We're also planning the downfall of the Centre so it will be a long time before everything's alright and we can celebrate properly." Sydney nodded solemnly. He agreed totally. He hadn't thought about how they'd make sure the Centre wouldn't find out about Miss Parker and Jarod's baby.
"What are you planning on doing about it?" Jarod got a very determined look in his face. Sydney knew he was already hatching a plan.
"I've already got an idea."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
To be continued...