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's the next chapter. I hope you like it.

Summary: Miss Parker gets a distressed phone call from Chrissie begging her to come to her house. What's happened and how can it be fixed? There's a lead on Jarod that no one but Broots knew about. Why are they really there?

Strange Things Happen

Part 9

Miss Parker stepped into her house after her first appointment with her doctor. She had chosen a doctor out of town so no one at the Centre would know about her current condition. Jarod had come up with the plan that she would continue working at the Centre until she started showing. When she started showing almost enough to know that she was pregnant she would show signs of stress and go for a holiday to try and get rid of it. She would have Lyle and Chrissie's support that she was stressed and needed a break. Jarod had already organized that she would stay with a 'friend' of his. But she didn't know that this 'friend' was the friend of Jarod's mother that he had found a number of months ago or that he was also Miss Parker's own uncle.

She patted her stomach adoringly, although she hadn't even started showing yet. She was feeling a little hungry so she went to the kitchen to get herself a snack. When she came back she noticed that her answering machine indicated that she had a few messages. She started playing them.

1st Message.

"Hello potential customer. We are offering long distance…" She cut off the message. She hated when advertising people left messages.

2nd Message.

"Hi, I was just calling because I was anxious to see how your first appointment with the doctor went. Anyway you're not home so I'll call you later. I love you." She smiled when she message ended. Jarod was very much already the nervous father, and things were made worse by the fact that he couldn't be there for everything.

3rd Message.

"Hey sis, I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight. I'll be alone for dinner and I'd love it if you'd join me. Call me when you get this message with your answer. Bye." She thought about if she could join him. She had nothing better to do.

4th Message.

"Parker, its Chrissie. Can you come to my house? I… really need you. It's… really important. Please come as soon as you can." Miss Parker got worried at the tone of Chrissie's voice. She quickly turned off the machine and headed out the door. She started driving towards her father's house. She knew that she'd be there and not at her cabin because her father was in town. She barely even drove the speed limit. Once she arrived at her father's house she knocked worriedly on the door. She was surprised when Mr. Parker opened the door slowly.

"Ah Angel, come on in. Maybe you can talk some sense into her." He stepped aside and showed her into the room that Miss Parker knew was Lockie's. She looked around the room and saw things thrown around the room and Chrissie sitting in the middle of the room crying. Mr. Parker sighed angrily and left them alone.

"Chrissie what's wrong? What happened here?" She was instantly at her side and pulled her into an embrace.

"They took him. There was nothing I could do. They said it was for the best." She sobbed against Miss Parkers shoulder. Miss Parker cringed at how broken she sounded.

"I don't understand. What happened?" She sat more comfortably on the floor and prepared to listen to what happened.

"They took Lockie away from me. Mr. Parker said it was for the best; that I should concentrate on the new baby that's coming. He said that Lockie would cause me stress and we couldn't have that because it was dangerous for the baby. They took him. He was so scared and there was nothing I could do about it. He was crying. They brought sweepers to take him. He was so scared." She sobbed again and picked up a piece of clothing that was on the floor. She hugged it tightly. Miss Parker opened her mouth to say something when she heard Mr. Parker speak.

"It was for the best. You've got to concentrate on the new baby. Why can't you see that? It's for the best. He's not even really your son." He turned and stormed out the door. Chrissie started crying even more.

"He doesn't understand. I don't care that he's not really mine. I love him like he is. I've handled looking after myself and others kids all at the same time. It wouldn't be hard. I've had experience with this…" She trailed off. Miss Parker hugged her tightly.

"It's okay. We'll get him back to you. I promise." She helped her to stand up. "Come on, you're staying with me tonight. I don't care what Daddy says, you need to rest and you're not going to get any rest here." She started walking towards the door. Mr. Parker stood in her path.

"Where do you think you're going?" Miss Parker sighed and kept walking.

"She's coming home with me. She can't stay here. She won't be able to stay here until Lockie is home safely." Mr. Parker snorted.

"He's not coming home." Miss Parker pushed him out of the way.

"Well then neither is she." Mr. Parker grabbed her arm and spun her around furiously.

"How dare you. What makes you think you can just do this?" Miss Parker pulled her gun out and pointed it right in his face.

"This. I won't hesitate." Mr. Parker took a step back, relenting to her. "She'll come back here when Lockie does." Miss Parker walked out of the house with Chrissie. They drove to her house. Miss Parker set up the guest room for her to sleep in and went to make a phone call.

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Lyle walked in the door with his arms full of shopping bags. He put his keys on the table next to the door and started putting the groceries away. The phone started ringing but he decided to let the machine answer it. There was no reason for him to stop his routine. It was properly just advertising people or someone from the Centre and he didn't want to speak to either of them. He listened to his message then the beep signalling the caller to speak.

"Lyle, are you there? If you're there, pick up. Okay well seeing as you're not there I'll just leave a message. I need you to come to my house immediately. Daddy took Lockie away from Chrissie and she's really upset. She's staying with me until she gets Lockie back. I think she really needs you." Miss Parker hung up. Lyle was already half way out the door. As soon as he heard Chrissie mentioned he had stopped what he was doing and headed towards the door.

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The room was dark to suit her mood. She couldn't understand what Mr. Parker had been thinking. If anything Lockie would help with the pregnancy. Lockie made her happy and when a pregnant woman is happy that's a good thing. She was still hugging the piece of clothing she had picked up. As far as she was concerned it was probably the only thing she'd have to remember him. She hadn't gotten that chance with the other children that had been in her life… but she couldn't think about that now. She didn't need to become more upset.

Miss Parker knocked softly on the door. Chrissie made no sound so she let herself in. A fragment of light filtered through the room through the small gap that was left opened. The lamp on the table next to her was turned on and the light was sprawled over Chrissie's face accentuating the tears running freely down her face.

"I brought you this. Someone once told me that it's good for emotional upheaval." She laid the special mixture of tea on the table and sighed. Since she'd left Chrissie alone in the room she hadn't moved nor made a sound. She looked to the piece of clothing still in her hands and sighed again. She turned and left the room leaving the lamp on so there was at least a little bit of light. She sat down on her couch and picked up the tea she'd left for herself. She jumped as she heard thumping on her door. Walking over to the door she picked up her gun in case it was Mr. Parker coming to get what he saw as his property. She was relieved when she realised it was just Lyle. She let him in.

"Where is she?" Miss Parker could tell that he was worried so she pointed towards the guest room. He smiled slightly and headed towards the room. When he opened the door it was dark again. Chrissie had obviously turned the lamp off. He trudged quietly to the bed and sat down next to her. He turned the lamp on and stroked her hair.

"It's alright. I'm here now." Chrissie jumped up and into his arms. She sobbed openly as he held her.

"They took him away Lyle. He's probably terrified." Lyle soothed her by speaking nonsense words. She was clinging to him for support so he had to pry her off of him.

"It's okay. I'm here now. You'll get him back. Just don't worry about it too much. It's no good for you or the little one." He patted her stomach. He was glad to hear a small chuckle.

"It's ironic. Mr. Parker said he did this to get rid of some stress in my life but he's just causing it." Lyle laughed along with her. Her laughs turned to sobs again.

"Hey it's okay. You'll get him back." She nodded.

"I know but I miss him so much it hurts. I just want him here in my arms." Lyle nodded and pulled her into an embrace again. He rubbed her back in a soothing manner. "I'm really tired. I'm going to try and sleep. I'm totally drained." Lyle nodded and stood to leave. She grabbed his arm and turned him back around. "Stay. Hold me." He nodded and took off his jacket and shoes and climbed back into the bed. She nestled against him and wrapped her arms around his body. Once she was settled Lyle reached over and turned the lamp off. Both drifted off to sleep in each others arms.

Miss Parker sat in the lounge room. She wondered if Lyle had managed to calm Chrissie so she stood up and walked to check on them. When she opened the door she was happy to see they were sleeping nestled against one another. They looked perfect. She was glad that they'd found each other. She closed the door quietly and went back to her seat. She rubbed her stomach and thought about the life that was in there. She couldn't believe how her life had changed. She was carrying Jarod's child and she was happy about it. She was also going to be his wife. Lyle and she had a somewhat healthy relationship as brother and sister and she was going to have a niece or nephew thanks to Lyle and Chrissie although Chrissie was technically her step mother. She definitely thought that strange things happen sometimes.

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It took a week for the message to actually get through to Mr. Parker; a week in which Chrissie spent staying with Miss Parker. When Lockie and Chrissie were together again both were crying and holding each other tightly, afraid that it was just a dream. Chrissie reluctantly moved back in with Mr. Parker and turned up at the Centre the next day with a shiner curtesy of Mr. Parker, although the cover story was that she fell over into something. Lockie barely even left her side and when he did, he was with someone who Chrissie trusted immensely. Miss Parker had a sweeper assigned to look after Lockie whenever Chrissie had to be away on the hunt for Jarod. They had screened him carefully. They had decided on a sweeper named Joe who they knew would protect Lockie with his life as he had a son about that age himself. Joe hadn't really had to do anything until two weeks after Chrissie got Lockie back.

"M-M-M-Miss Parker we have a hit on Jarod." Miss Parker eyed Broots warily. Jarod hadn't spoken to her about setting up a false hunt, but she couldn't do anything about it.

"Alright, where are we headed to look for the ever illusive Lab Rat?" She started walking towards the door with Broots in tow.

"Detroit Michigan." Miss Parker nodded.

"Broots go get Sydney, Lyle and Chrissie. Tell them we're outta here." She walked one direction to get herself ready while Broots went the other way to get Sydney, Lyle and Chrissie. He found all three together in Sydney's office with Lockie and Joe.

"Um guys, I've got a location on Jarod. Miss Parker wants us to get going." He turned and walked out the door. He had to set up Debbie being picked up from school and where she was going to be staying. He noticed the odd looks that Sydney, Lyle and Chrissie exchanged because Jarod hadn't told them about this setup. He knew this because he was the only one who did know.

"Well you heard him. Let's get ready so we can go." Lyle stood and gave a quick look at Chrissie. Chrissie was holding onto Lockie as if he was actually apart of her body. He resisted the urge to reach down and hold her and walked out the door casting a glance at Sydney sending the message for him to do something. Sydney nodded and crouched in front of her. He took her hand and squeezed gently.

"Come on Chrissie. We've got to go. You've got to let Lockie go. He's safe here with Joe, right Joe?" Joe stepped forwards and nodded.

"I'll look after like he's my own. I'll even take him home. I'm sure he'd love to meet and play with my Patrick." Chrissie sighed and slowly started removing her arms from around Lockie. Sydney took her hands and helped her when she was starting to have second thoughts. When her arms were at her sides she smiled at Sydney then at Lockie.

"You've got to be a good boy for mummy, okay? You're going to get to play with Patrick. You've heard about him now you'll actually get to play with him." Lockie smiled. He took her face in his little hands.

"I know momma. It's alright." He smiled and walked over to Joe. Chrissie smiled and wiped a tear from her eye. She walked over to Joe and pulled her gun out to show him.

"Anything happens to him and you'll see just what a crack shot I am okay?" Joe nodded nervously.

"Yes Mrs. Parker." Chrissie cringed at the name. She blew a kiss at Lockie and walked out the room with Sydney. Once out the room she turned to him with a sad face.

"Anything happens to him and I'll kill Jarod." Sydney laughed and led her away.

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Once they got to Michigan Miss Parker sent Sam and the other two sweepers that accompanied them to get the cars. She turned to her team.

"What's going on? Did Jarod tell any of you about this?" Everyone shook their heads no when she looked at them. Broots nodded slightly but she didn't see it. Chrissie was looking very upset. Lyle looked around to see if the sweepers could see him. When he was satisfied that they couldn't he put his arms around her.

"It's alright Chrissie. Lockie's just fine. If he's not I promise you can use me as shooting practice." Chrissie smiled a bright smile. Lyle laughed. "There's that beautiful smile I fell in love with." He kissed her briefly. Chrissie laughed.

"Oh so you're in love with my smile? What about the rest of me?" Lyle smiled and gave her the once over.

"It's not too bad either." Chrissie laughed again.

"For the moment at least; remember I'm carrying your child right now. In a few months I'll put on weight, and then what will you think about the rest of me?" Lyle pretended to think deeply.

"Then you'll still be absolutely beautiful." He leant over and kissed her neck. Broots saw the sweepers heading back and panicked.

"The sweepers are coming back." His voice cracked as he spoke. Chrissie and Lyle pulled apart and smiled slightly at each other. Lyle gave Broots a look of thanks. Broots smiled back in response. Miss Parker sighed.

"So far I still have no idea why we're here. Why would Jarod set this up and not tell me? Unless he didn't set it up and we've just walked into a trap of some sort." Her hand went instinctively to her gun. Broots shook his head.

"Jarod set this up, don't worry." Everyone looked over at him knowing he knew something. Miss Parker opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't because the sweepers returned. When they opened the doors of their respective cars Miss Parker spoke again.

"Let's go see where Wonder Boy is staying."

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Miss Parker walked up to the woman sitting in the reception. She already had the picture of Jarod out and was preparing herself for the usual questioning. They'd done this a few times since their new life and it was always the same. Miss Parker would hold up the picture of Jarod and ask if they've seen him. The person would smile and say they had and then they'd say something nice about him. She'd ask if they knew where he was and they'd say that she'd just missed him. She'd ask if they knew where he was going and they'd say no. The receptionist looked up and smiled at Miss Parker then looked past her to send a flirtatious look at Lyle.

"Have you seen this man?" The woman took her gaze off Lyle and looked at the picture.

"Jarod? Yeah as a matter of fact he's just through there." She pointed towards a door. Miss Parker was stunned for a moment. She looked behind her to see Lyle, Chrissie and Sydney looking as stunned as she felt. Sam stepped forward.

"Do you want me to go in Miss Parker?" Miss Parker stared at Sam, not knowing what to say. Lyle stepped forward.

"I'll go in there. You stay out here." Lyle walked past the secretary, ignoring the adoring look she was giving him, and walked into the room. He was relieved when he found the office empty. He opened the door wide enough so everyone could see. "He's gone." Miss Parker let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding.

"Oh well then he probably just left. Sorry." Miss Parker glared at her then stepped closer to the room.

"Search the room." She pointed to the sweepers then the room. They all obeyed her instructions. She turned back to the Lyle, Sydney, Chrissie and Broots. "Syd, Chrissie you two come with me, we're checking the surrounding area. Broots, Lyle you two find out where he was staying and check it out." Everyone nodded. Chrissie and Sydney went to Miss Parker's side and Broots went to Lyle's. Lyle walked up to the secretary.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Jarod was staying would you." The woman looked up at him.

"As a matter of fact I do. It's on my way home. I can take you if you wait a few minutes. I get off in five." She put her hand over his and smiled when she noticed no wedding ring. Lyle smiled a fake smile at her. He turned his head towards Broots. Broots tried not laugh. Chrissie gave the woman a death stare.

"We'll meet up at the hotel, unless one of us finds Jarod, then get in contact with everyone and we'll meet up there." She headed out the door with Sydney and Chrissie following. Chrissie gave the secretary one last glare before leaving.

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The sweepers were the first ones back to the hotel followed by Miss Parker, Sydney and Chrissie. The sweepers search had turned up empty as had Miss Parkers. Now they were just waiting for Lyle and Broots. Miss Parker was sitting in her hotel room with Sydney and Chrissie when her cell phone rang. She picked it up hoping it was Jarod with some sort of explanation as to why they were there. Jarod never sent them anywhere without a reason.

"What?" She heard a small chuckle on the other end of the line. A chuckle she'd know anywhere.

"I see you still haven't mastered the proper way of answering the phone yet. Not even to your loving fiancé." Miss Parker grinned.

"Well how am I supposed to know it's you calling especially when I don't even know what I'm doing in Michigan?" Jarod laughed again.

"Very impatient, but then again that's one of the things I love about you." His voice was filled with warmth and love. Miss Parker couldn't help smiling. "I promise that as soon as Tania gets her claws out of Lyle and he and Broots get back to the hotel I promise I'll tell you." He hung up the phone. She put her phone down and looked at Sydney and Chrissie's expectant faces.

"He didn't tell me why we're here yet. He's said he'd tell us when Lyle and Broots get back." They both nodded. There was a knock on the door. Miss Parker got up and opened it. Lyle and Broots stood in the doorway both looking thoroughly annoyed. Lyle walked in and took the seat next to Chrissie. He put her feet on his lap and began giving her a foot rub.

"Next time I see Jarod I'm gonna kill him." Chrissie leant forward and kissed him quickly.

"Why what happened?" Sydney was curious as to what got him in such a bad mood.

"The shorter answer would be what didn't happen." Broots flopped down on the bed. Miss Parker laughed.

"Just tell us what happened." Lyle gave Chrissie a wary look then started with his story.

"Well we had to wait for her to get off work. We tried to just get the address off her but she wouldn't tell us so we had to wait. She kept asking me questions," He put on a girly voice. "What are you looking for Jarod for? Did he do something wrong? Do you have a girlfriend?" He slipped the last one in trying to slip it past Chrissie. Unfortunately for him she caught it. He tried to continue but she wouldn't let him.

"She asked you if you had a girlfriend. I can't believe the nerve of some people. She's lucky I wasn't there. I would of…" Lyle leant over and kissed her. She stared at him. "Did you do that to shut me up?" Lyle grinned.

"I little bit, but also because it's sweet that you care that much about me… to be jealous." Chrissie smiled and motioned for him to continue.

"Well I would have said yes but the sweepers were still there so I had to say no." Chrissie's eyes widened. "But I said I wasn't interested right now."  Chrissie smiled. Broots piped in.

"Then this guy stood up from behind the desk that'd been sitting behind her and said that it's probably because of the two babes he was with earlier, meaning you two of course." Miss Parker scoffed.

"Nah Broots, he was talking about you and Syd." Everyone laughed. Broots sighed and put his head back down.

"Well he asked if the reason I'm single is because I'm harping over you two. I laughed and said that one was my sister." He looked at Miss Parker. "She asked what about the other one. I didn't know what to say. Then Daniel, one of the sweepers, told her that you're my step mother." Chrissie cringed.

"Then she called you a gold digger." Chrissie glared over at Broots who didn't even look like he had spoken.

"That little bi…" Lyle pulled her onto his lap.

"Shh. Don't you worry about her. I know you're not and that's all that counts." Chrissie smiled.

"I know. It just really annoys me." Lyle nuzzled her neck.

"That's not all that happened. When she finally finished she took us to her place." Chrissie glared again. "She said she needed to get changed first. We waited and when she came out she was… she was…" Broots finished off for him.

"She was practically naked." Miss Parker and Sydney burst out laughing. Chrissie stood up. She walked over to the dresser and grabbed her gun.

"Where does she live?" Lyle stood up and took the gun from her.

"We were very annoyed with her so we asked just to be taken to Jarod's place. She pouted and asked if I wanted to stay longer. I demanded that she either take me to Jarod's place or tell me where it is. She pointed to an apartment across from hers. We got out of there as fast as we could. When we were leaving she was waiting for us in the hall. She wouldn't give up so we had to practically push her out of the way." Chrissie stared at him while Sydney and Miss Parker laughed. Lyle watched her trying to gauge what she was going to do. She looked up at him blankly.

"When she was hitting on you, wait hitting on you is the wrong choice of words, molesting is more appropriate, what were you thinking?" Lyle smiled. This was an easy question.

"I was thinking I wish Chrissie were here so she could fend off this lunatic and also give me something better to look at." Chrissie smiled and hugged him.

"You do know that if you ever so much as think about another woman I'm gonna kill you right?" Lyle nodded.

"Oh yeah, of course I know that." They all heard laughing coming from the bathroom. When they turned they were shocked to see Jarod standing in the doorway.

"That Tania is really difficult isn't she?" He walked over to Miss Parker and gave her a kiss. He hugged Chrissie and shook hands with Lyle, Sydney and Broots. "Don't be too hard on her Chrissie. She's just a bit lonely." Lyle laughed humourlessly.

"Yeah well you're not the one she was practically molesting." Jarod looked at him.

"Wanna bet?" Miss Parker jumped up and glared at him. "Don't worry, I told her I was in love with another woman very much and she backed off." Miss Parker glared at him then smiled.

"You're off the hook, but tell me, what are we doing here?" Jarod looked at Chrissie.

"I'm here because of her." Chrissie was shocked.

"What do you mean because of me?" Jarod walked over to her slowly.

"You were too scared to leave Lockie alone. I had to do something to make you feel alright with leaving him, hence bringing you here." Chrissie took a step towards him.

"I'm here because I wouldn't let my baby, whom I just got back by the way, go? Jarod are you crazy?" She took another step towards Jarod and clenched her fists. Jarod backed up. He knew her and he knew what she could do when angry.

"It was for your own good. Broots told me the trouble so I organised this to show that he'd be alright without you around him all the time." Chrissie looked at Broots.

"You knew about this as well?" Broots nodded hesitantly. "I could kill both of you." They both cringed. "But I see you're point. Thank you." They both relaxed. Chrissie turned mischievously towards Lyle. "Well since we're here we might as well enjoy it. Lyle, come on." She took his hand and guided him out of the room, a huge smirk plastered on Lyle's face. The others left in the room laughed. Jarod looked at Miss Parker then at everyone else.

"Hey are you two tired? Maybe you should go to your rooms." Sydney smiled and stood. Broots shook his head.

"Actually, I'm pretty comfortable here." Miss Parker stood up and walked to the bed, yanking him off it.

"GET OUT NOW!" Broots scrambled out. Miss Parker smiled and walked towards Jarod.

"I've missed you." She took a few steps towards him before speaking.

"Oh you did, did you? How much did you miss me?" Jarod's grin got wider as he too took a few steps closer.

"I missed you a lot." Miss Parker's smiled turned seductive.

"Well why don't you show me then?" They bridged the gap between them, kissing passionately.

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To be continued...