Life or Death
Part 23: Epilogue Part 3
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Author's Note: I just wanted to express my sincere thanks to all who have reviewed this fic. It's not over just yet, but I keep experiencing the feeling that it soon will be (because it will be finished soon). And then I'll have to say goodbye to the characters I've created. But that's okay. I'm sorry it's taken me awhile to get back to this fic. So many others have been screaming my name, and this one got put on the backburner. So, without any further ado, here's the next part of the epilogue. ~~Bethe
Author's Note 2: Hi all. Again, I want to say thanks to you who have stuck with me. We're in the homestretch. One more epilogue chapter after this one, and it's finished. I'm so sorry I haven't written in so long, but my muses went on indefinite strike. I think one came back to see how I was doing, and he helped me along for this chapter. Oh, I also want to let you know that the original author of Life or Death, SpaceCadet, is wishing to resume the series where she left off. So, hopefully we'll see something by her sometime soon. I'm interested to see where she takes it. I love you all!!! Thanks for reading! ~~Bethe
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"What do you mean, 'Oh, boy'?" Parker asked coldly. In the dark, Sam's nervous chuckles could be heard.
"Well," he began, "Jarod leaping must've drained the system of too much power. Because of the shortage. . .we can't get Jarod back with the program he'd originally developed. We've lost him." Sam heard Parker mutter a few profane words before Libby started to cry.
"It's okay, sweetie. Shush, it's okay."
"Al," Sam addressed his friend, "get the power back on."
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"Miss Parker, maybe you should go home," Verbena Beeks suggested soothingly.
"No," Parker whispered, massaging her temples with her thumb and middle finger. "I have to be here when he gets back."
"Miss Parker," Verbena said after a few moments, "you're a wreck."
Parker's hand dropped to the marble-topped table, her wedding ring cracking loudly against the surface. "Don't you play psychiatrist with me," she ordered in an icy monotone. "I will stay here until my husband returns. End of discussion."
"Why don't you just rest? It's been a very trying day for you, and already you're becoming short with me. You don't want to frighten Libby, do you?"
Parker said nothing more, but sighed and got up. She left the conference room with head up and shoulders back, but her gait was one of defeat. Dr. Beeks watched the proud woman go, and shook her head to herself. That Parker woman was made of very strong stuff indeed.
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The computer room was dark, with the exception of the blue glow of a screen. Eddie Broots sat in front of that screen, hunched over with his head resting on the space of table beside the keyboard. He was muttering something under his breath, and he would twitch every few moments.
A woman tentatively approached the sleeping man. She tapped his back lightly, but he gave no response. She stepped a little closer and asked, "Mr. Broots?" He didn't wake up, so she repeated, "Mr. Broots?" a little louder.
With that, he jumped violently and exclaimed, "Mr. Wiggles!" before opening his eyes. He lifted his head, wiped the drool from the right corner of his mouth, and turned to address who had woken him up.
The woman before him was giggling slightly. The light of the computer screen gave her an ethereal glow. She ducked her head, then lifted it and extended her hand. "Hi," she said softly with a slight southern drawl. "I'm Sammy Jo Fuller, but you can call me Sammy Jo." She gave him a smile that cleared his head of all thought for a brief moment.
After a dead silence, Broots shook his head and said, "I-I-My name is Broots. E-Eddie Broots." He took her hand and shook it before quickly releasing it.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Broots," she said in a soft, warm tone. "Dr. Beckett's told me so much about you." She smiled again.
"H-he did?" he stammered. He wondered why he was acting this way after so long. He'd just met this woman, yet he was reduced to a stuttering mess around her. For a brief moment, he took in her appearance. Her light red hair fell around her shoulders in a mop of curls and her eyes were a penetrating green. She looked more like she belonged on the set of a movie, not tucked away in some underground lab.
"Yes," she affirmed. "I was assigned to help you out with writing the new retrieval program. Dr. Beckett has already developed a basic idea of what he thinks might work. I have it with me now, if you want to give it a try."
Eddie blinked to wake himself up and then nodded.
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Sammy Jo rubbed her eyes 12 hours later. This wasn't working. Dr. Beckett's theories made sense on paper, but they didn't pan out in practice. She turned to look at her partner, and caught him in mid-yawn. She smiled to herself and glanced down at her feet. She liked him already, which spoke volumes. Sammy Jo was usually one tough cookie, and didn't fall easily. But this man had stolen her heart the moment she had first seen him asleep at his computer station. In their breaks throughout the day, she'd met his daughter as well. They were a darling, even if small, family.
Before she had zoned out too far, Sammy Jo caught where her thoughts were heading and reined them in. She turned back to Eddie Broots and said wearily, "I'm all out of ideas." She covered her eyes with her hands as it hit her. "We may never get Jarod back."
Broots, whose previous train of thought had been almost identical to Sammy's, shifted to face her and took her hands in his own. Pushing away the shock at his sudden courage, he said softly, "Don't think that way. We'll get him back." He kept both of her hands in his left one, and moved his right hand to brush some flyaway curls from her face. "I promise," he said gravely while looking her straight in the eyes.
After a few moments, Sammy Jo realized how close they were and self- consciously looked down. Broots looked down as well, but caught sight of her lips first. Feeling more like a man in that moment than he ever had in his life, he pressed his palm flush against her soft cheek and pulled her toward him. Their lips met for a few agonizingly brief moments before they both pulled away and looked each other in the eyes.
"That was. . .nice," she murmured, a coy little smile turning her lips upward.
Eddie raised an eyebrow. "Nice?" he asked, almost huskily.
"You know what I mean," she began softly, but was interrupted by his lips on hers once more, and a soft noise escaped from her throat. Broots slid the hand that had previously been on her cheek to the back of her head, and brought his left hand to join the other one. She brought her now-free hands up to grasp his shoulders. The kiss deepened, yet remained slow and tender.
After a few moments more, however, they broke apart and looked each other in the eyes once more. "Wow," Sammy Jo whispered breathlessly. "How long have I known you?"
Broots chuckled, just as breathlessly, and murmured, "Does it really matter? I feel like I've known you my whole life."
"I seem to have that effect on people," she replied softly. "But while I would love to sit here and discuss where we go from here, we have a pretender to retrieve."
Broots nodded with a lazy smile and released the beautiful woman across from him. Then he rolled his chair next to hers and they began to reread what they had down so far. They were close; he could taste it. And they would get Jarod back. Broots prided himself in keeping his promises.
Part 23: Epilogue Part 3
----------
Author's Note: I just wanted to express my sincere thanks to all who have reviewed this fic. It's not over just yet, but I keep experiencing the feeling that it soon will be (because it will be finished soon). And then I'll have to say goodbye to the characters I've created. But that's okay. I'm sorry it's taken me awhile to get back to this fic. So many others have been screaming my name, and this one got put on the backburner. So, without any further ado, here's the next part of the epilogue. ~~Bethe
Author's Note 2: Hi all. Again, I want to say thanks to you who have stuck with me. We're in the homestretch. One more epilogue chapter after this one, and it's finished. I'm so sorry I haven't written in so long, but my muses went on indefinite strike. I think one came back to see how I was doing, and he helped me along for this chapter. Oh, I also want to let you know that the original author of Life or Death, SpaceCadet, is wishing to resume the series where she left off. So, hopefully we'll see something by her sometime soon. I'm interested to see where she takes it. I love you all!!! Thanks for reading! ~~Bethe
----------
"What do you mean, 'Oh, boy'?" Parker asked coldly. In the dark, Sam's nervous chuckles could be heard.
"Well," he began, "Jarod leaping must've drained the system of too much power. Because of the shortage. . .we can't get Jarod back with the program he'd originally developed. We've lost him." Sam heard Parker mutter a few profane words before Libby started to cry.
"It's okay, sweetie. Shush, it's okay."
"Al," Sam addressed his friend, "get the power back on."
----------
"Miss Parker, maybe you should go home," Verbena Beeks suggested soothingly.
"No," Parker whispered, massaging her temples with her thumb and middle finger. "I have to be here when he gets back."
"Miss Parker," Verbena said after a few moments, "you're a wreck."
Parker's hand dropped to the marble-topped table, her wedding ring cracking loudly against the surface. "Don't you play psychiatrist with me," she ordered in an icy monotone. "I will stay here until my husband returns. End of discussion."
"Why don't you just rest? It's been a very trying day for you, and already you're becoming short with me. You don't want to frighten Libby, do you?"
Parker said nothing more, but sighed and got up. She left the conference room with head up and shoulders back, but her gait was one of defeat. Dr. Beeks watched the proud woman go, and shook her head to herself. That Parker woman was made of very strong stuff indeed.
----------
The computer room was dark, with the exception of the blue glow of a screen. Eddie Broots sat in front of that screen, hunched over with his head resting on the space of table beside the keyboard. He was muttering something under his breath, and he would twitch every few moments.
A woman tentatively approached the sleeping man. She tapped his back lightly, but he gave no response. She stepped a little closer and asked, "Mr. Broots?" He didn't wake up, so she repeated, "Mr. Broots?" a little louder.
With that, he jumped violently and exclaimed, "Mr. Wiggles!" before opening his eyes. He lifted his head, wiped the drool from the right corner of his mouth, and turned to address who had woken him up.
The woman before him was giggling slightly. The light of the computer screen gave her an ethereal glow. She ducked her head, then lifted it and extended her hand. "Hi," she said softly with a slight southern drawl. "I'm Sammy Jo Fuller, but you can call me Sammy Jo." She gave him a smile that cleared his head of all thought for a brief moment.
After a dead silence, Broots shook his head and said, "I-I-My name is Broots. E-Eddie Broots." He took her hand and shook it before quickly releasing it.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Broots," she said in a soft, warm tone. "Dr. Beckett's told me so much about you." She smiled again.
"H-he did?" he stammered. He wondered why he was acting this way after so long. He'd just met this woman, yet he was reduced to a stuttering mess around her. For a brief moment, he took in her appearance. Her light red hair fell around her shoulders in a mop of curls and her eyes were a penetrating green. She looked more like she belonged on the set of a movie, not tucked away in some underground lab.
"Yes," she affirmed. "I was assigned to help you out with writing the new retrieval program. Dr. Beckett has already developed a basic idea of what he thinks might work. I have it with me now, if you want to give it a try."
Eddie blinked to wake himself up and then nodded.
----------
Sammy Jo rubbed her eyes 12 hours later. This wasn't working. Dr. Beckett's theories made sense on paper, but they didn't pan out in practice. She turned to look at her partner, and caught him in mid-yawn. She smiled to herself and glanced down at her feet. She liked him already, which spoke volumes. Sammy Jo was usually one tough cookie, and didn't fall easily. But this man had stolen her heart the moment she had first seen him asleep at his computer station. In their breaks throughout the day, she'd met his daughter as well. They were a darling, even if small, family.
Before she had zoned out too far, Sammy Jo caught where her thoughts were heading and reined them in. She turned back to Eddie Broots and said wearily, "I'm all out of ideas." She covered her eyes with her hands as it hit her. "We may never get Jarod back."
Broots, whose previous train of thought had been almost identical to Sammy's, shifted to face her and took her hands in his own. Pushing away the shock at his sudden courage, he said softly, "Don't think that way. We'll get him back." He kept both of her hands in his left one, and moved his right hand to brush some flyaway curls from her face. "I promise," he said gravely while looking her straight in the eyes.
After a few moments, Sammy Jo realized how close they were and self- consciously looked down. Broots looked down as well, but caught sight of her lips first. Feeling more like a man in that moment than he ever had in his life, he pressed his palm flush against her soft cheek and pulled her toward him. Their lips met for a few agonizingly brief moments before they both pulled away and looked each other in the eyes.
"That was. . .nice," she murmured, a coy little smile turning her lips upward.
Eddie raised an eyebrow. "Nice?" he asked, almost huskily.
"You know what I mean," she began softly, but was interrupted by his lips on hers once more, and a soft noise escaped from her throat. Broots slid the hand that had previously been on her cheek to the back of her head, and brought his left hand to join the other one. She brought her now-free hands up to grasp his shoulders. The kiss deepened, yet remained slow and tender.
After a few moments more, however, they broke apart and looked each other in the eyes once more. "Wow," Sammy Jo whispered breathlessly. "How long have I known you?"
Broots chuckled, just as breathlessly, and murmured, "Does it really matter? I feel like I've known you my whole life."
"I seem to have that effect on people," she replied softly. "But while I would love to sit here and discuss where we go from here, we have a pretender to retrieve."
Broots nodded with a lazy smile and released the beautiful woman across from him. Then he rolled his chair next to hers and they began to reread what they had down so far. They were close; he could taste it. And they would get Jarod back. Broots prided himself in keeping his promises.