Chapter 15
Ms. Parker was more than a bit dismayed to discover that Debbie's friend, Eddie, was sixteen. But, Debbie was right. He did have a lot of cars. Unfortunately, they were his father's. Fortunately for Jarod and her, Eddie didn't care what his father thought. He also seemed to think it was very cool that they were running from the police!
Neither of Eddie's parents were home, as he turned over one set of keys to Jarod. Jarod thanked him, telling him he would get in touch with his father, and let him know where the car was.
Ms. Parker, who had been eyeing some of the trees in the yard, and thinking that some of the branches would probably be taken to Eddie's hide, once his father realized what he had done!
Jarod jumped into one of the vehicles, which was some sort of SUV. He gave Ms. Parker a lingering glance, one that she returned, as he got into the car. She walked over to his passenger side window.
'Somehow you've got to get back into the Centre.' she told him. 'I don't know why I feel this way, but I think Irina Derevko is meeting your mother there.'
'Take care of Abby. I'll be back.'
Ms. Parker just nodded, not really believing that. But, she shoved that negative thought from her mind, as Jarod drove away. She then turned to Debbie's teenage friend.
'Alright, Edward. Show me what I'm going to be driving.'
****
Debbie was quite impressed with Ms. Parker's wild driving! It almost reminded her of some of the driving games, she played on her X-Box!
Jarod had told her, as they left Broots's house, the address for the safehouse. Ms. Parker made it there, without incident. She parked on the street, then looked both ways for cars. Debbie got out on her side. Ms. Parker grabbed her hand, then hurried down the alley.
The door opened for them, before they reached it. Sidney appeared. Before she could say a word, Ms. Parker spoke.
'You have to raid the Centre today!'
'We know. There is a plan to...in one hour. With all that's going on now, we changed the game plan.'
Ms. Parker looked at Debbie.
'Go on in. I'll be along.'
'What about my father?' Debbie asked, her voice sounding worried again.
Ms. Parker rested her hands on the young girl's shoulders.
'Your father is fine.' she said calmly. She felt as if Broots was fine, but scared. If he was dead, she would know. Just like she would've known if Sydney or Jarod were dead. She'd be able to feel it.
Sidney smiled at Debbie.
'Why don't you come on in and wait for your father? Ms. Parker and I will be along in a minute.'
Debbie nodded, not looking as certain as she did before, but trusting in the women's words, she did as she was told. She walked in, past Sidney. Another female agent greeted her, and they soon disappeared.
Sidney pulled Ms. Parker inside the safehouse, then closed the door.
'What's happened?' Sidney asked.
'Jarod went to the Centre to keep your mother from killing his.'
'What???'
'Sidney, I know that your mother and you aren't close. But do you have any idea why she's so desperate to get in contact with Jarod's mother?'
Sidney shook her head quickly.
'Not a clue. Look, I'm going with the team...so I'll see what happening with Jarod and Mr. Broots.'
Ms. Parker eyed the young girl.
'What will you do, if you have to shoot your own mother?'
Sidney shrugged.
'I've lived most of my life, thinking she was dead....' Sidney said no more.
Ms. Parker said no more either. It had been a stupid question to ask. For no matter what the history between Agent Sidney Bristow, and her rogue mother, Irina Derevko, no woman could take down her own mother, violently at that, and sleep easy for the rest of her life.
'Sydney is with Abigail. I'll take you to them before I get ready to leave.' Sidney said. Ms. Parker nodded, then followed after Sidney. She lead her to a sterile looking, white room. Sydney was sitting in a rocking chair, with Abigail in his lap. He was reading her a story from some big picture book. Ms. Parker made a mental note to remember the book.
Sydney looked up. His face was a mass of shame. Ms. Parker looked from him to Abigail. The baby looked up at her, smiling. Ms. Parker smiled back. At least her daughter remembered her. It was a nice feeling.
Ms. Parker reached out for her. Sydney stood up with Abigail in his arms, then placed her in Ms. Parker's. Ms. Parker took her over by the window.
'How is my girl? Huh? How is my favorite peanut? Have you been a good girl for Uncle Sydney? Huh? Have you been a good girl?'
Sidney smiled at the sight. She then glanced over at Sydney. He almost looked like a proud grandfather. She knew that Ms. Parker, and him, would have to talk out his betrayal of her and Jarod. Sidney looked at him.
'When I get back, I'll have those notes. Vaughn is interrogating Mr. Lyle now.'
Ms. Parker turned to look at her. Abigail reached out and touched some of her hair.
'Lyle is on the same premises as my daughter?! Why didn't you throw him in a dark cell somewhere?'
'Ms. Parker,' Sydney gently began, 'the baby has been safe with me. And she is showing no signs of the illness yet.'
'Sidney, could you leave us?' Ms. Parker requested tersely. Sidney nodded, knowing this was the moment of truth.
'I could have one of the other agents watch Abigail?' she suggested.
Ms. Parker was about to decline, when she realized that maybe it might not be such a good idea for Abigail to hear her bitch Sydney out! She nodded at Sidney. Sidney took Abigail from her, then left the room, closing the door behind her. Sydney looked Ms. Parker in the eye.
'You hate me too?' he asked.
'How could you have been part of this?' Ms. Parker whispered brokenly, shaking her head. Sydney moved closer to her.
'Ms. Parker, there is no excuse for what happened back then. But what was done was done. We have to get back to the business of helping your daughter.'
'And my son?' she hissed, looking in to his eyes. Sydney looked away briefly.
'Sydney, I do intend on watching ALL of the DSA's. It would be nice to know, that you really didn't mean to betray Jarod and I, when you did what you did.'
'Ms. Parker, what would you have done with a baby? Your father was not going to let Jarod go! I thought it would be better if you both forgot the pain of what you had lost! Your father, no matter his faults, thought he was doing the best thing for you.'
'No, Sydney! What would have been 'best', would've been if he had given my son away for adoption, instead of keeping him in that damned dungeon! Then, when I finally found out about him, my father, and you too Sydney, lied to my face, and told me he was a clone of Jarod! As if he was less than human! Did you see how he was acting?! God only knows what the sonofabitch Raines did to him! I have never been so glad that someone was dead in my life!'
'Ms. Parker, there is much that you still don't know. Both Jarod and you.'
'Then make it easy for yourself, Syd, and tell me now! Because I don't know if I could ever forgive you, if I watched another one of those DSA's, and found out that you lied to me again!'
Sydney cleared his throat.
'Your father was very angry when he found out about your pregnancy. He knew before you broke the news to him. The DSA's of your intimate encounters with Jarod were shown to him.'
Ms. Parker gave him a blank stare.
'Go on, Syd. I don't remember any of this, so there's nothing for me to react to yet.'
'Your father blamed me for the whole matter. He said I didn't keep an eye on Jarod, and...even though it was evident that you were both consenting, your father remained convinced that Jarod raped you.'
Ms. Parker rolled her eyes!
'You've got to be kidding! Who gave my father those DSA's?'
Sydney pursed his lips.
'It was Raines.'
'Of course it was!' Ms. Parker said tiredly, rubbing her forehead.
'Your father was not going to let you have the baby. Then, Raines put it into his head, that your child with Jarod, could be beneficial to the Centre.'
'You know what, Syd? I'm just going to ask you what I really, really need to know. And after you answer, I'll just deal with whatever I need to. Was it my father's idea to keep my son a prisoner all of these years? Or was it all Raines?'
'What does it matter?' Sydney asked in a calm voice.
'Excuse me?'
'No, Ms. Parker. I'm very serious. Yes, it was Raines's idea, but your father could've overridden him at anytime. What you want to know is, did your father have so little disregard for you, and your baby, that he would drug you, take your baby, then let you live a lie? The answer is yes. Yes and it gets a lot worse.'
Ms. Parker stared blankly at him. She had never heard him use that sharp tone of voice with her before. She folded her arms, and gave him a look that dared him to say more. He did.
'Your father took his disappointment in you, out on Jarod. He was scheduled for release from the Centre when he was to reach the age of 18. He only had months left. He could've been a father to your son...the two of you could've had a life together. But your father chose to keep him there, indefinitely. His asking you to hunt him down was no accident either. He had hoped to turn you against Jarod. Your father couldn't have known that the bond between yourself and Jarod, was too strong to break, even if neither of you remembered all of it.'
Ms. Parker broke then! She put her face in her hands and began to sob. Sydney walked over to her and put his arms around her.
'I will live with the shame, until my dying day, that I did not do more to help either you, or Jarod. Let me help you now. Let me help Abigail. Once she is safe from the ill effects of the drug, Jarod and you can live happily everafter.'
Ms. Parker sniffed and pulled out of his embrace. She then laughed shortly.
'What is so funny?' Sydney asked gently.
'Oh, it's just that twice now, I've told Jarod that I didn't think that the two of us were meant for happily everafter.'
'Why?'
Ms. Parker shrugged.
'Fate, I don't know. I just have this feeling that there is something else left. Something else we know nothing about, that will tear all of us apart.'
'Come. Let's go and see your daughter.' Sydney said, pulling on her arm. Ms. Parker nodded. Together, they left the room.
****
Irina Derevko had a small gun drawn, as she re-entered Sloane's office at the Centre. It was now her office.
The chair behind the desk slowly turned. Marina Derevko, a.k.a Margaret Russell, revealed herself, to her younger sister. A sister she had not seen, in over thirty years.
Irina slowly lowered her weapon. Marina stood up. Her read hair was a bit shorter now, as she did not wear it in her trademark bun.
'Hello, Irina. It's been a long time.'
Irina gave her a cool nod.
'Yes, it has.'
There was a short silence. Then Marina walked around the desk to face Irina.
'I know that you've threatened my son and granddaughter...'
'No! No, I haven't. Marina, just give me the key, and this can end now.'
'What good can it do to stir up this kind of trouble?' Marina asked, her tone pleading.
Irina squinted at her.
'Trouble? I want to claim my heritage...look, I'm not going to explain this to the likes of you!'
'The likes of me? Look at how you've lived your life! You abandoned your husband and child!' Marina cried.
Irina blinked. She then burst out laughing! Marina licked her lips nervously. Neither woman saw Jarod, lurking out in the hallway. He then eased the door open, to the office that formerly belonged to Mr. Parker. As Jarod began to sneak up behind Irina, Marina's facial expression, gave her son away.
Irina turned quickly, but could not get her gun up quick enough. Jarod managed to wrench it from her hand, then kick it away! He then shoved her into a chair. Irina sat back, as Jarod hurried over to the gun, setting it on a far away table. Then, he looked at his mother. He blinked back tears. Marina did as well, as they embraced.
Irina rolled her eyes and coughed loudly. Jarod pulled away and put an arm around his mother. He glared at his aunt.
'Looks like I came just in time to stop you from killing my mother.' Jarod said quietly, tightening his arm around his mother, protectively.
'Oh please!' Irina snapped. She then looked her sister straight in the eye.
'I'm too far away from gun to use it. That's fine. I can kill you in other ways, Marina. Give me the key now, and you can stay on your son's pedestal.'
Marina eyed Jarod nervously, before she pulled something out of her side blazer pocket. It was a lone key. Jarod looked from the key, to her.
'Mother? Mother what is that? You don't have to give it to her.'
'No you don't, Marina! I can just start talking, and keep talking...'
'Stop it!' Marina cried out. But the tears began to run down her face, fast and furious. Jarod was confused and upset. His mother was in great pain over something...something that her sister kept alluding to.
Jarod pulled his mother closer. He glared at Irina.
'Why don't you talk, 'Aunt Irina'? Start by telling me why that key is so important?'
Irina looked at her sister for a long moment, before focusing in on Jarod.
'Alright. The key is to a lab in Switzerland.'
'A lab?' Jarod asked, glancing at his mother.
'Yes. A lab that has proof of our family heritage.'
Jarod shook his head slightly.
'What are you talking about? What is this that is worth killing my mother over?'
Irina began to walk towards them, slowly.
'Proof that my great, great grandmother, was the mistress of Tsar Nicholas II. Proof that I am entitled to my birthright as a descendent of the Imperial Royal Family of Russia.'
Jarod's mouth dropped open! Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered in 1918. Jarod looked at his mother.
'If this is true, then you are a descendent as well.' he noted.
Marina smiled bitterly.
'Jarod, your aunt said 'she'. I don't think she wants to share the wealth.'
Jarod looked back at Irina.
'You were going to kill my mother so that you could make your claim alone? What about Sidney?'
'Sidney is who I'm doing this for!' Irina almost screamed. Jarod's eyes widened. He had never seen Irina Derevko lose her cool before. But Jarod had learned that greed could do that to a person.
'Give me the key, Marina!' Irina snapped. 'Or your son will learn the truth.'
'The truth about what?' Jarod asked, turning to his mother again. He took his arm from around her, suddenly sick of being lied to! What else was there to know?
Marina threw the key at her sister. As Irina bent down to get it, Marina ran over to the gun that Jarod had dropped on the desk! Marina forgot about the key and hurried to intercept her sister.
Jarod ran over to get the gun from the two women, before someone got hurt. Irina and Marina were struggling over it, when it went off!
Jarod, his mother and Irina Derevko, froze for a moment, as if waiting to see who would fall first. Unfortunately, Marina did.
'NOOOOO!!!' Jarod screamed, catching his mother, and lowering her to the ground. Irina used that moment to run back over to the fallen key, pick it up, give her sister and nephew one last regretful glance, before running out of the office. Irina had thought of killing Jarod as well, but, somehow, she sensed that her nephew's longing to find his family, didn't extend as far back into the past, as hers did. And not for the same reasons either.
Alarms began to go off, as the CIA invaded the Centre. Jarod gently held his mother's head in his lap, and began to see to her wound. The shot had went right to her heart.
'Jarod....Jarod...' Marina/Margaret Russell began to moan.
'Shhhh. Don't talk. Look, I can stabilize you, until help comes.' he said, flashing back to the moment that Kyle had died in his arms. This couldn't be happening again! It just couldn't! Was his life really meant to be this cruel? That the moment he was able to touch the mother that he had been separated from, most of his life, she was to be snatched away again, only this time by death?
'No...Jarod...you have to listen to me!' Marina/Margaret cried out, laboring for breath. Something inside Jarod, forced him to accept the fact that his mother did not have much more time on this earth, and that she had a secret she wanted to tell him. He knew from past experience, that if he did hear what she had to say, he'd spend the rest of his life regretting it...and wondering.
'Tell me, Mother. Tell me.' he said.
She swallowed convulsively.
'Your father....your father...'
'He loves you! I know he does! Hold on for him...and Emily!'
Marina/ Margaret shook her head.
'No...he doesn't! Loves someone else...hated me after...after what happened....'
Jarod just stared down at her. What the hell was she talking about?! His father didn't hate his mother! She was wrong...or delirious! That's what she was! She didn't know what she was saying!
A CIA team burst into the office! Sidney was among them, and ran over to Jarod and her aunt. She knelt down, then looked back at the team.
'Go and search the rest of this complex! Get some medics in here!'
Medics appeared within seconds. Jarod stayed by his mother's side, perplexed as to what she was saying. Sidney stood up, staring down at a woman she never knew. But then again, that was the story of their family. Missed moments and lost opportunities.
'Where is my mother, Jarod?' Sidney asked, between gritted teeth. Jarod eyed her.
'She escaped.'
'Did she do this?'
Jarod looked at his cousin with pity. They were coming to the end of a long road. Now, Sidney would have to deal with her feelings for her mother.
'Our mothers were grappling for the gun and it went off.' was all he said. Sidney touched his arm.
'I have to find Mr. Broots for Debbie. I'll be back.' she said, reluctantly leaving them. She glanced at her dying aunt one last time, then hurried from the room.
A gurney had been brought in. Marina/Margaret was barely alive. The Medics said they would do all they could for her.
'Jarod...'
Jarod hurried over to the gurney and picked up his mother's hand.
'What is it, Mother? What is it you wanted to say?'
'Ms. Parker...'
Jarod squeezed his mother's hand.
'What about her?'
'Catherine Parker...not dead...loves your father...' she then fell into unconsciousness.
'We really need to get her out of here.' one of the medics said to Jarod urgently. Jarod just nodded, staring after his mother, as she was hustled out of Mr. Parker's office.
His mother had been delirious, right?! She hadn't meant to say that Catherine Parker was still alive, had she? His mother had said that Catherine Parker was alive, and in love with his father! She had to have been out of it! She had to have been! Because Jarod didn't think he could tell Ms. Parker that. Not without solid proof.
Jarod could only hope that it wasn't true. Because that would mean that Catherine Parker had abandoned her daughter. That would mean that Ms. Parker's illusion of being separated from her beloved mother by death, was nothing but yet another lie.
****
Sidney ran through the darkened hallways of the sub-levels of the Centre. She kicked into rooms, but found nothing, but old, sinister looking lab equipment.
She had been about to turn around, when she heard someone cry out! Sidney turned and kicked into the last room in the hallway. Two sinister looking men, that she did not recognize as standard Sweepers, had Mr. Broots on a machine, tied down. It looked as if they were just about to give Broots some sort of lobotomy!
Sidney shot them both dead, before they could reach for their guns. She then ran over to Mr. Broots and unbuckled him from the table. He was shaking, as he threw his arms around her!
Sidney briefly hugged him back, as she helped him off of the table. He was shaky, but otherwise, unharmed.
'Mr. Broots, we have to get out of here. The CIA has raided this organization, and with your help, would like to put away other key figures.'
'You mean you want me to testify? Oh, I don't know...'
'Mr. Broots, either you help the government make their case, or you can go to prison. It's up to you. Ms. Parker and Sydney were given the same choices. They're doing the right thing.'
'Oh. was all Broots said. He guessed if Ms. Parker and Sydney were going to testify, then he could too!
'What was going on down here anyway?' Sidney asked, as they began leaving the room. 'Those guys weren't Centre Sweepers.'
'No! They were with Jarod's mother!'
Sidney whipped her head around to look at him!
'Excuse me?'
'Oh yeah! And I always thought Jarod's mother looked so nice in the pictures we had of her. That and she was Jarod's mother...and he's a good guy...anyway, it was just as I found out about her connection with your mother, that she and her two goons dragged me from my office and brought me down here!'
'The truth?' Sidney asked. 'The truth about what?'
'Well, it seems Jarod and you are related to Tsar Nicholas the II...it's kind of a long story, but that's not really the bad part.'
Sidney squinted at him. She was trying to be patient, but Mr. Broots had this way of rambling on and on, kind of like someone she knew at the CIA. She sighed.
'Broots, you think that Jarod's mother tried to lobotomize you, because you found out she was related to a dead Tsar?'
'No! No, she told me why she was doing it!'
There was this silence. Sidney took a deep breath.
'Mr. Broots!'
'Oh! Yeah, look, I like Jarod. This is going to hurt him so badly when he finds out.'
'Finds out what?' Sidney almost snapped. Now she was fearful of what she was going to hear!
'Jarod and his brother Kyle, weren't stolen! They were a sort of 'payment'.'
Sidney's blood chilled. She had read Jarod's file! He had been stolen in the middle of the night and brought to this ungodly place! As was Kyle! Their parents spent years searching for them, but to no avail! The strain eventually took a toll on their marriage.
But Broots was shaking his head.
'You know, Ms. Bristow, I would've never just believed it from looking at the files...but Jarod's mother was CRYING, as she hooked me up to this thing! She said she was sorry she had to do this, but that she intended to have a relationship with Jarod again, and that he couldn't know what she had done.'
'What exactly had she done, Broots?' Sidney asked.
****
By the time Broots finished the story, Sidney felt tired. Margaret/Marina Russell had failed to get the intelligence she was supposed to from her husband/assignment, Major Charles Russell. By then, she had fallen in love with him, and the two boys they already had, Jarod and Kyle.
The Centre had ties with Russian government Marina, and Irina worked for. One day, while hanging wash on an outside line, Marina was dragged off by two men, that were KGB. She was confronted on her failure, and it was made clear that she would be killed....unless she agreed to turn her two boys over to the Centre. For what was not common knowledge, was that the Centre had agreed not to come after her boys, if she got certain intelligence from her husband, that not only would be passed to the Russians, but certain members of the Triumvirate, in Africa.
When Marina failed to do so, she told them to take the boys, but to spare her life! Broots told Sidney, that Marina had told him that the guilt and shame she felt, over her cowardly act, had haunted her. And that her husband, Major Charles, eventually found out about her betrayal, thus, the real reason they were no longer together. Apparently, the Major hadn't had the heart to tell Jarod the whole truth about his mother's betrayal.
Sidney had looked away at that point, wondering if her mother's ties to the Centre, had included selling her as well?
'I can't tell Jarod this.' Broots said.
Sidney shook her head.
'We'll leave that to Major Charles. I just hope it doesn't come out at the trials. Come on, let's go. I still have to find some notes for Sydney. We have Debbie at a safehouse.'
Broots nodded with relief, as the two of them left that room.
****
AFTERMATH
6 months later, Jarod and Ms. Parker, who's real first name was Mallory, were dancing at their wedding reception. Mallory Parker, formerly, Ms. Parker, and now Mrs. Jarod Russell, had thrown out the wedding dress that Arvin Sloane had given to her, in anticipation of their nuptials.
The wedding, was the only bright light, for the past 6 months had been more than trying.
The trials of the Centre operatives, had been very public. People demanded to know how our government could've let a place like that exist. Jarod was interviewed on '60 Minutes', 'Dateline' and Primetime Live'. Mallory declined.
Of course, the biggest question everyone seemed to want to know, was how Jarod could want to marry the woman who had chased him for years? Jarod always defended his wife to be, explaining that she had been a Centre prisoner for years as well, just on the other side of the fence. Some people bought that, some didn't.
Abigail was given the drug, as soon as Sidney Bristow returned to the safehouse that fateful day, with Sydney's notes. The daughter of the Pretender and his pursuer, had never had the chance to get sick. She sat on Sydney's wife, Michelle's lap, during the reception, clapping her hands. She was dressed in a sweet looking pink dress, with a little tiara on her head.
Sydney and Michelle, the true love of his life, and mother of his only son, Nicholas, had found one another again, during the trial. Michelle had come forward to testify as well, speaking of how the Centre was responsible for keeping her from Sydney, and keeping Nicholas from knowing his true father.
Jarod's testimony was the most heartbreaking. He spoke of the loneliness and despair he felt, living in that dark place. He spoke of the simulations that were used to hurt people, and how he finally just had had enough, once he realized people had died over what he had thought up.
Many of the people that Jarod had helped over the years, came from all over the country, to sit in at the trial. Many of them approached Jarod, to give him their support. They always cast a wary eye at Mallory Parker. They couldn't quite fathom their relationship either.
Mr. Lyle was in the courtroom as well. He winked at Agent Sidney Bristow, when she testified. He said nothing to Jarod, Sydney or Broots, but made comments to his twin sister, as to how pretty Abigail was. Mallory took that as the threat it was intended to be, and made it clear she'd sear his balls off, if he so much as looked at her daughter. Mr. Lyle blew her a kiss in response to her threat.
Irina Derevko had not been heard from. No one knew if she had gotten the proof she needed, to claim her royal heritage or what. It was almost as if she had dropped off of the face of the earth.
Shortly after the trials, Jarod and Sydney were offered professorships at prestigious colleges in the New England area. Jarod also had speaking engagements and a book deal, in the works. Mallory had smiled when Jarod informed her of these offers. He was a people person. People loved him. She loved him. He would be a good professor.
But, for Jarod, his mother, who had died from her wound, still haunted him. More specifically, her dying words. With the trial and all of the stress surrounding it, Jarod had not had the chance to confront his father, who had come to testify, about what his mother had said about Catherine Parker being alive, and that the two of them were in love.
As Jarod held the woman he had loved most of his life, in his arms, it saddened him that they had to begin their marriage with such a damning secret. Jarod spun his new wife around, and listened to her laugh. If she knew that her mother might still be alive, there would be no more laughter.
Yet, Jarod knew it would be irresponsible for him to blurt something out like that to Mallory, and it not be true. He eyed his father, who was talking to Broots over by the bar. Jarod intended on getting him alone today...and confronting him.
****
Mallory Russell's eyes were not on Broots, or her new father-in-law, but on her son, Brian. He was such a handsome boy! He was dancing with Debbie, who clearly had a crush on the teen.
Jarod and Major Charles had agreed, that for now, it might be best to just leave things be. Meaning, Brian would be leaving with Major Charles after the reception, to go back and live with him. Mallory wasn't going to have it!
Brian was her son! And yes, it would be hard...but she so wanted him with her and Jarod. Jarod did not know it, but she had already looked into high schools for her son to attend. She planned to spend a lot of time getting to know him today...and everyday...because he was home. Mallory was not letting Brian leave with Major Charles. And hopefully, Jarod would see that she was right. And, if he didn't, then she would withhold sex!
Her eyes moved from Brian and Debbie, to Agent Bristow and Agent Vaughn. They looked so perfect and in love. She was staring at them dreamily, when a short, balding man, stepped into her line of vision. Mallory took her head off of Jarod's shoulder abruptly. Jarod turned to look.
'Hello, Christina. You're looking well.'
Mallory stared at the short, obnoxious looking man. She then looked up at Jarod.
'Who is this?' Mallory asked between clenched teeth.
'Well, 'honey' this is the husband you divorced...the one you were married to when you had amnesia? His name is Dr. Robert 'Rocket' Romano.' Jarod was already sorry they had invited the guy! Jarod hoped he had come with Elizabeth Corday!
Mallory's eyes widened! She stuck out her hand towards him. Good God! She was damned glad she had no memory of sleeping with this guy!
But Robert Romano didn't return the handshake.
'You're going to tell me, that you have absolutely no memory of the earth shattering sex we used to have?'
Jarod moved so that he was in front of Mallory, but she looked at Jarod.
'It's alright, 'honey', I'll handle this.' she said sweetly. She then turned to look down at her former 'husband'.
'No, I don't. And I'm sorry...for myself, that I let a small rodent such as yourself touch me. But you must know, that if we for some god forsaken reason, were married now, you would have to find satisfaction elsewhere, since by ankles would be permanently locked. Now, please go and die.'
Mallory then turned back into Jarod's arms. He winked at Dr. Romano, and together, the couple resumed dancing. Dr. Romano looked around self-consciously, wondering how it was that his 'Christina' turned into such a bitch?
Broots tapped Jarod on the shoulder, to cut in. Mallory smiled at him, then pulled him to her. They began making small talk about Debbie, as Jarod headed over to the bar to confront his father.
Ms. Parker was more than a bit dismayed to discover that Debbie's friend, Eddie, was sixteen. But, Debbie was right. He did have a lot of cars. Unfortunately, they were his father's. Fortunately for Jarod and her, Eddie didn't care what his father thought. He also seemed to think it was very cool that they were running from the police!
Neither of Eddie's parents were home, as he turned over one set of keys to Jarod. Jarod thanked him, telling him he would get in touch with his father, and let him know where the car was.
Ms. Parker, who had been eyeing some of the trees in the yard, and thinking that some of the branches would probably be taken to Eddie's hide, once his father realized what he had done!
Jarod jumped into one of the vehicles, which was some sort of SUV. He gave Ms. Parker a lingering glance, one that she returned, as he got into the car. She walked over to his passenger side window.
'Somehow you've got to get back into the Centre.' she told him. 'I don't know why I feel this way, but I think Irina Derevko is meeting your mother there.'
'Take care of Abby. I'll be back.'
Ms. Parker just nodded, not really believing that. But, she shoved that negative thought from her mind, as Jarod drove away. She then turned to Debbie's teenage friend.
'Alright, Edward. Show me what I'm going to be driving.'
****
Debbie was quite impressed with Ms. Parker's wild driving! It almost reminded her of some of the driving games, she played on her X-Box!
Jarod had told her, as they left Broots's house, the address for the safehouse. Ms. Parker made it there, without incident. She parked on the street, then looked both ways for cars. Debbie got out on her side. Ms. Parker grabbed her hand, then hurried down the alley.
The door opened for them, before they reached it. Sidney appeared. Before she could say a word, Ms. Parker spoke.
'You have to raid the Centre today!'
'We know. There is a plan to...in one hour. With all that's going on now, we changed the game plan.'
Ms. Parker looked at Debbie.
'Go on in. I'll be along.'
'What about my father?' Debbie asked, her voice sounding worried again.
Ms. Parker rested her hands on the young girl's shoulders.
'Your father is fine.' she said calmly. She felt as if Broots was fine, but scared. If he was dead, she would know. Just like she would've known if Sydney or Jarod were dead. She'd be able to feel it.
Sidney smiled at Debbie.
'Why don't you come on in and wait for your father? Ms. Parker and I will be along in a minute.'
Debbie nodded, not looking as certain as she did before, but trusting in the women's words, she did as she was told. She walked in, past Sidney. Another female agent greeted her, and they soon disappeared.
Sidney pulled Ms. Parker inside the safehouse, then closed the door.
'What's happened?' Sidney asked.
'Jarod went to the Centre to keep your mother from killing his.'
'What???'
'Sidney, I know that your mother and you aren't close. But do you have any idea why she's so desperate to get in contact with Jarod's mother?'
Sidney shook her head quickly.
'Not a clue. Look, I'm going with the team...so I'll see what happening with Jarod and Mr. Broots.'
Ms. Parker eyed the young girl.
'What will you do, if you have to shoot your own mother?'
Sidney shrugged.
'I've lived most of my life, thinking she was dead....' Sidney said no more.
Ms. Parker said no more either. It had been a stupid question to ask. For no matter what the history between Agent Sidney Bristow, and her rogue mother, Irina Derevko, no woman could take down her own mother, violently at that, and sleep easy for the rest of her life.
'Sydney is with Abigail. I'll take you to them before I get ready to leave.' Sidney said. Ms. Parker nodded, then followed after Sidney. She lead her to a sterile looking, white room. Sydney was sitting in a rocking chair, with Abigail in his lap. He was reading her a story from some big picture book. Ms. Parker made a mental note to remember the book.
Sydney looked up. His face was a mass of shame. Ms. Parker looked from him to Abigail. The baby looked up at her, smiling. Ms. Parker smiled back. At least her daughter remembered her. It was a nice feeling.
Ms. Parker reached out for her. Sydney stood up with Abigail in his arms, then placed her in Ms. Parker's. Ms. Parker took her over by the window.
'How is my girl? Huh? How is my favorite peanut? Have you been a good girl for Uncle Sydney? Huh? Have you been a good girl?'
Sidney smiled at the sight. She then glanced over at Sydney. He almost looked like a proud grandfather. She knew that Ms. Parker, and him, would have to talk out his betrayal of her and Jarod. Sidney looked at him.
'When I get back, I'll have those notes. Vaughn is interrogating Mr. Lyle now.'
Ms. Parker turned to look at her. Abigail reached out and touched some of her hair.
'Lyle is on the same premises as my daughter?! Why didn't you throw him in a dark cell somewhere?'
'Ms. Parker,' Sydney gently began, 'the baby has been safe with me. And she is showing no signs of the illness yet.'
'Sidney, could you leave us?' Ms. Parker requested tersely. Sidney nodded, knowing this was the moment of truth.
'I could have one of the other agents watch Abigail?' she suggested.
Ms. Parker was about to decline, when she realized that maybe it might not be such a good idea for Abigail to hear her bitch Sydney out! She nodded at Sidney. Sidney took Abigail from her, then left the room, closing the door behind her. Sydney looked Ms. Parker in the eye.
'You hate me too?' he asked.
'How could you have been part of this?' Ms. Parker whispered brokenly, shaking her head. Sydney moved closer to her.
'Ms. Parker, there is no excuse for what happened back then. But what was done was done. We have to get back to the business of helping your daughter.'
'And my son?' she hissed, looking in to his eyes. Sydney looked away briefly.
'Sydney, I do intend on watching ALL of the DSA's. It would be nice to know, that you really didn't mean to betray Jarod and I, when you did what you did.'
'Ms. Parker, what would you have done with a baby? Your father was not going to let Jarod go! I thought it would be better if you both forgot the pain of what you had lost! Your father, no matter his faults, thought he was doing the best thing for you.'
'No, Sydney! What would have been 'best', would've been if he had given my son away for adoption, instead of keeping him in that damned dungeon! Then, when I finally found out about him, my father, and you too Sydney, lied to my face, and told me he was a clone of Jarod! As if he was less than human! Did you see how he was acting?! God only knows what the sonofabitch Raines did to him! I have never been so glad that someone was dead in my life!'
'Ms. Parker, there is much that you still don't know. Both Jarod and you.'
'Then make it easy for yourself, Syd, and tell me now! Because I don't know if I could ever forgive you, if I watched another one of those DSA's, and found out that you lied to me again!'
Sydney cleared his throat.
'Your father was very angry when he found out about your pregnancy. He knew before you broke the news to him. The DSA's of your intimate encounters with Jarod were shown to him.'
Ms. Parker gave him a blank stare.
'Go on, Syd. I don't remember any of this, so there's nothing for me to react to yet.'
'Your father blamed me for the whole matter. He said I didn't keep an eye on Jarod, and...even though it was evident that you were both consenting, your father remained convinced that Jarod raped you.'
Ms. Parker rolled her eyes!
'You've got to be kidding! Who gave my father those DSA's?'
Sydney pursed his lips.
'It was Raines.'
'Of course it was!' Ms. Parker said tiredly, rubbing her forehead.
'Your father was not going to let you have the baby. Then, Raines put it into his head, that your child with Jarod, could be beneficial to the Centre.'
'You know what, Syd? I'm just going to ask you what I really, really need to know. And after you answer, I'll just deal with whatever I need to. Was it my father's idea to keep my son a prisoner all of these years? Or was it all Raines?'
'What does it matter?' Sydney asked in a calm voice.
'Excuse me?'
'No, Ms. Parker. I'm very serious. Yes, it was Raines's idea, but your father could've overridden him at anytime. What you want to know is, did your father have so little disregard for you, and your baby, that he would drug you, take your baby, then let you live a lie? The answer is yes. Yes and it gets a lot worse.'
Ms. Parker stared blankly at him. She had never heard him use that sharp tone of voice with her before. She folded her arms, and gave him a look that dared him to say more. He did.
'Your father took his disappointment in you, out on Jarod. He was scheduled for release from the Centre when he was to reach the age of 18. He only had months left. He could've been a father to your son...the two of you could've had a life together. But your father chose to keep him there, indefinitely. His asking you to hunt him down was no accident either. He had hoped to turn you against Jarod. Your father couldn't have known that the bond between yourself and Jarod, was too strong to break, even if neither of you remembered all of it.'
Ms. Parker broke then! She put her face in her hands and began to sob. Sydney walked over to her and put his arms around her.
'I will live with the shame, until my dying day, that I did not do more to help either you, or Jarod. Let me help you now. Let me help Abigail. Once she is safe from the ill effects of the drug, Jarod and you can live happily everafter.'
Ms. Parker sniffed and pulled out of his embrace. She then laughed shortly.
'What is so funny?' Sydney asked gently.
'Oh, it's just that twice now, I've told Jarod that I didn't think that the two of us were meant for happily everafter.'
'Why?'
Ms. Parker shrugged.
'Fate, I don't know. I just have this feeling that there is something else left. Something else we know nothing about, that will tear all of us apart.'
'Come. Let's go and see your daughter.' Sydney said, pulling on her arm. Ms. Parker nodded. Together, they left the room.
****
Irina Derevko had a small gun drawn, as she re-entered Sloane's office at the Centre. It was now her office.
The chair behind the desk slowly turned. Marina Derevko, a.k.a Margaret Russell, revealed herself, to her younger sister. A sister she had not seen, in over thirty years.
Irina slowly lowered her weapon. Marina stood up. Her read hair was a bit shorter now, as she did not wear it in her trademark bun.
'Hello, Irina. It's been a long time.'
Irina gave her a cool nod.
'Yes, it has.'
There was a short silence. Then Marina walked around the desk to face Irina.
'I know that you've threatened my son and granddaughter...'
'No! No, I haven't. Marina, just give me the key, and this can end now.'
'What good can it do to stir up this kind of trouble?' Marina asked, her tone pleading.
Irina squinted at her.
'Trouble? I want to claim my heritage...look, I'm not going to explain this to the likes of you!'
'The likes of me? Look at how you've lived your life! You abandoned your husband and child!' Marina cried.
Irina blinked. She then burst out laughing! Marina licked her lips nervously. Neither woman saw Jarod, lurking out in the hallway. He then eased the door open, to the office that formerly belonged to Mr. Parker. As Jarod began to sneak up behind Irina, Marina's facial expression, gave her son away.
Irina turned quickly, but could not get her gun up quick enough. Jarod managed to wrench it from her hand, then kick it away! He then shoved her into a chair. Irina sat back, as Jarod hurried over to the gun, setting it on a far away table. Then, he looked at his mother. He blinked back tears. Marina did as well, as they embraced.
Irina rolled her eyes and coughed loudly. Jarod pulled away and put an arm around his mother. He glared at his aunt.
'Looks like I came just in time to stop you from killing my mother.' Jarod said quietly, tightening his arm around his mother, protectively.
'Oh please!' Irina snapped. She then looked her sister straight in the eye.
'I'm too far away from gun to use it. That's fine. I can kill you in other ways, Marina. Give me the key now, and you can stay on your son's pedestal.'
Marina eyed Jarod nervously, before she pulled something out of her side blazer pocket. It was a lone key. Jarod looked from the key, to her.
'Mother? Mother what is that? You don't have to give it to her.'
'No you don't, Marina! I can just start talking, and keep talking...'
'Stop it!' Marina cried out. But the tears began to run down her face, fast and furious. Jarod was confused and upset. His mother was in great pain over something...something that her sister kept alluding to.
Jarod pulled his mother closer. He glared at Irina.
'Why don't you talk, 'Aunt Irina'? Start by telling me why that key is so important?'
Irina looked at her sister for a long moment, before focusing in on Jarod.
'Alright. The key is to a lab in Switzerland.'
'A lab?' Jarod asked, glancing at his mother.
'Yes. A lab that has proof of our family heritage.'
Jarod shook his head slightly.
'What are you talking about? What is this that is worth killing my mother over?'
Irina began to walk towards them, slowly.
'Proof that my great, great grandmother, was the mistress of Tsar Nicholas II. Proof that I am entitled to my birthright as a descendent of the Imperial Royal Family of Russia.'
Jarod's mouth dropped open! Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered in 1918. Jarod looked at his mother.
'If this is true, then you are a descendent as well.' he noted.
Marina smiled bitterly.
'Jarod, your aunt said 'she'. I don't think she wants to share the wealth.'
Jarod looked back at Irina.
'You were going to kill my mother so that you could make your claim alone? What about Sidney?'
'Sidney is who I'm doing this for!' Irina almost screamed. Jarod's eyes widened. He had never seen Irina Derevko lose her cool before. But Jarod had learned that greed could do that to a person.
'Give me the key, Marina!' Irina snapped. 'Or your son will learn the truth.'
'The truth about what?' Jarod asked, turning to his mother again. He took his arm from around her, suddenly sick of being lied to! What else was there to know?
Marina threw the key at her sister. As Irina bent down to get it, Marina ran over to the gun that Jarod had dropped on the desk! Marina forgot about the key and hurried to intercept her sister.
Jarod ran over to get the gun from the two women, before someone got hurt. Irina and Marina were struggling over it, when it went off!
Jarod, his mother and Irina Derevko, froze for a moment, as if waiting to see who would fall first. Unfortunately, Marina did.
'NOOOOO!!!' Jarod screamed, catching his mother, and lowering her to the ground. Irina used that moment to run back over to the fallen key, pick it up, give her sister and nephew one last regretful glance, before running out of the office. Irina had thought of killing Jarod as well, but, somehow, she sensed that her nephew's longing to find his family, didn't extend as far back into the past, as hers did. And not for the same reasons either.
Alarms began to go off, as the CIA invaded the Centre. Jarod gently held his mother's head in his lap, and began to see to her wound. The shot had went right to her heart.
'Jarod....Jarod...' Marina/Margaret Russell began to moan.
'Shhhh. Don't talk. Look, I can stabilize you, until help comes.' he said, flashing back to the moment that Kyle had died in his arms. This couldn't be happening again! It just couldn't! Was his life really meant to be this cruel? That the moment he was able to touch the mother that he had been separated from, most of his life, she was to be snatched away again, only this time by death?
'No...Jarod...you have to listen to me!' Marina/Margaret cried out, laboring for breath. Something inside Jarod, forced him to accept the fact that his mother did not have much more time on this earth, and that she had a secret she wanted to tell him. He knew from past experience, that if he did hear what she had to say, he'd spend the rest of his life regretting it...and wondering.
'Tell me, Mother. Tell me.' he said.
She swallowed convulsively.
'Your father....your father...'
'He loves you! I know he does! Hold on for him...and Emily!'
Marina/ Margaret shook her head.
'No...he doesn't! Loves someone else...hated me after...after what happened....'
Jarod just stared down at her. What the hell was she talking about?! His father didn't hate his mother! She was wrong...or delirious! That's what she was! She didn't know what she was saying!
A CIA team burst into the office! Sidney was among them, and ran over to Jarod and her aunt. She knelt down, then looked back at the team.
'Go and search the rest of this complex! Get some medics in here!'
Medics appeared within seconds. Jarod stayed by his mother's side, perplexed as to what she was saying. Sidney stood up, staring down at a woman she never knew. But then again, that was the story of their family. Missed moments and lost opportunities.
'Where is my mother, Jarod?' Sidney asked, between gritted teeth. Jarod eyed her.
'She escaped.'
'Did she do this?'
Jarod looked at his cousin with pity. They were coming to the end of a long road. Now, Sidney would have to deal with her feelings for her mother.
'Our mothers were grappling for the gun and it went off.' was all he said. Sidney touched his arm.
'I have to find Mr. Broots for Debbie. I'll be back.' she said, reluctantly leaving them. She glanced at her dying aunt one last time, then hurried from the room.
A gurney had been brought in. Marina/Margaret was barely alive. The Medics said they would do all they could for her.
'Jarod...'
Jarod hurried over to the gurney and picked up his mother's hand.
'What is it, Mother? What is it you wanted to say?'
'Ms. Parker...'
Jarod squeezed his mother's hand.
'What about her?'
'Catherine Parker...not dead...loves your father...' she then fell into unconsciousness.
'We really need to get her out of here.' one of the medics said to Jarod urgently. Jarod just nodded, staring after his mother, as she was hustled out of Mr. Parker's office.
His mother had been delirious, right?! She hadn't meant to say that Catherine Parker was still alive, had she? His mother had said that Catherine Parker was alive, and in love with his father! She had to have been out of it! She had to have been! Because Jarod didn't think he could tell Ms. Parker that. Not without solid proof.
Jarod could only hope that it wasn't true. Because that would mean that Catherine Parker had abandoned her daughter. That would mean that Ms. Parker's illusion of being separated from her beloved mother by death, was nothing but yet another lie.
****
Sidney ran through the darkened hallways of the sub-levels of the Centre. She kicked into rooms, but found nothing, but old, sinister looking lab equipment.
She had been about to turn around, when she heard someone cry out! Sidney turned and kicked into the last room in the hallway. Two sinister looking men, that she did not recognize as standard Sweepers, had Mr. Broots on a machine, tied down. It looked as if they were just about to give Broots some sort of lobotomy!
Sidney shot them both dead, before they could reach for their guns. She then ran over to Mr. Broots and unbuckled him from the table. He was shaking, as he threw his arms around her!
Sidney briefly hugged him back, as she helped him off of the table. He was shaky, but otherwise, unharmed.
'Mr. Broots, we have to get out of here. The CIA has raided this organization, and with your help, would like to put away other key figures.'
'You mean you want me to testify? Oh, I don't know...'
'Mr. Broots, either you help the government make their case, or you can go to prison. It's up to you. Ms. Parker and Sydney were given the same choices. They're doing the right thing.'
'Oh. was all Broots said. He guessed if Ms. Parker and Sydney were going to testify, then he could too!
'What was going on down here anyway?' Sidney asked, as they began leaving the room. 'Those guys weren't Centre Sweepers.'
'No! They were with Jarod's mother!'
Sidney whipped her head around to look at him!
'Excuse me?'
'Oh yeah! And I always thought Jarod's mother looked so nice in the pictures we had of her. That and she was Jarod's mother...and he's a good guy...anyway, it was just as I found out about her connection with your mother, that she and her two goons dragged me from my office and brought me down here!'
'The truth?' Sidney asked. 'The truth about what?'
'Well, it seems Jarod and you are related to Tsar Nicholas the II...it's kind of a long story, but that's not really the bad part.'
Sidney squinted at him. She was trying to be patient, but Mr. Broots had this way of rambling on and on, kind of like someone she knew at the CIA. She sighed.
'Broots, you think that Jarod's mother tried to lobotomize you, because you found out she was related to a dead Tsar?'
'No! No, she told me why she was doing it!'
There was this silence. Sidney took a deep breath.
'Mr. Broots!'
'Oh! Yeah, look, I like Jarod. This is going to hurt him so badly when he finds out.'
'Finds out what?' Sidney almost snapped. Now she was fearful of what she was going to hear!
'Jarod and his brother Kyle, weren't stolen! They were a sort of 'payment'.'
Sidney's blood chilled. She had read Jarod's file! He had been stolen in the middle of the night and brought to this ungodly place! As was Kyle! Their parents spent years searching for them, but to no avail! The strain eventually took a toll on their marriage.
But Broots was shaking his head.
'You know, Ms. Bristow, I would've never just believed it from looking at the files...but Jarod's mother was CRYING, as she hooked me up to this thing! She said she was sorry she had to do this, but that she intended to have a relationship with Jarod again, and that he couldn't know what she had done.'
'What exactly had she done, Broots?' Sidney asked.
****
By the time Broots finished the story, Sidney felt tired. Margaret/Marina Russell had failed to get the intelligence she was supposed to from her husband/assignment, Major Charles Russell. By then, she had fallen in love with him, and the two boys they already had, Jarod and Kyle.
The Centre had ties with Russian government Marina, and Irina worked for. One day, while hanging wash on an outside line, Marina was dragged off by two men, that were KGB. She was confronted on her failure, and it was made clear that she would be killed....unless she agreed to turn her two boys over to the Centre. For what was not common knowledge, was that the Centre had agreed not to come after her boys, if she got certain intelligence from her husband, that not only would be passed to the Russians, but certain members of the Triumvirate, in Africa.
When Marina failed to do so, she told them to take the boys, but to spare her life! Broots told Sidney, that Marina had told him that the guilt and shame she felt, over her cowardly act, had haunted her. And that her husband, Major Charles, eventually found out about her betrayal, thus, the real reason they were no longer together. Apparently, the Major hadn't had the heart to tell Jarod the whole truth about his mother's betrayal.
Sidney had looked away at that point, wondering if her mother's ties to the Centre, had included selling her as well?
'I can't tell Jarod this.' Broots said.
Sidney shook her head.
'We'll leave that to Major Charles. I just hope it doesn't come out at the trials. Come on, let's go. I still have to find some notes for Sydney. We have Debbie at a safehouse.'
Broots nodded with relief, as the two of them left that room.
****
AFTERMATH
6 months later, Jarod and Ms. Parker, who's real first name was Mallory, were dancing at their wedding reception. Mallory Parker, formerly, Ms. Parker, and now Mrs. Jarod Russell, had thrown out the wedding dress that Arvin Sloane had given to her, in anticipation of their nuptials.
The wedding, was the only bright light, for the past 6 months had been more than trying.
The trials of the Centre operatives, had been very public. People demanded to know how our government could've let a place like that exist. Jarod was interviewed on '60 Minutes', 'Dateline' and Primetime Live'. Mallory declined.
Of course, the biggest question everyone seemed to want to know, was how Jarod could want to marry the woman who had chased him for years? Jarod always defended his wife to be, explaining that she had been a Centre prisoner for years as well, just on the other side of the fence. Some people bought that, some didn't.
Abigail was given the drug, as soon as Sidney Bristow returned to the safehouse that fateful day, with Sydney's notes. The daughter of the Pretender and his pursuer, had never had the chance to get sick. She sat on Sydney's wife, Michelle's lap, during the reception, clapping her hands. She was dressed in a sweet looking pink dress, with a little tiara on her head.
Sydney and Michelle, the true love of his life, and mother of his only son, Nicholas, had found one another again, during the trial. Michelle had come forward to testify as well, speaking of how the Centre was responsible for keeping her from Sydney, and keeping Nicholas from knowing his true father.
Jarod's testimony was the most heartbreaking. He spoke of the loneliness and despair he felt, living in that dark place. He spoke of the simulations that were used to hurt people, and how he finally just had had enough, once he realized people had died over what he had thought up.
Many of the people that Jarod had helped over the years, came from all over the country, to sit in at the trial. Many of them approached Jarod, to give him their support. They always cast a wary eye at Mallory Parker. They couldn't quite fathom their relationship either.
Mr. Lyle was in the courtroom as well. He winked at Agent Sidney Bristow, when she testified. He said nothing to Jarod, Sydney or Broots, but made comments to his twin sister, as to how pretty Abigail was. Mallory took that as the threat it was intended to be, and made it clear she'd sear his balls off, if he so much as looked at her daughter. Mr. Lyle blew her a kiss in response to her threat.
Irina Derevko had not been heard from. No one knew if she had gotten the proof she needed, to claim her royal heritage or what. It was almost as if she had dropped off of the face of the earth.
Shortly after the trials, Jarod and Sydney were offered professorships at prestigious colleges in the New England area. Jarod also had speaking engagements and a book deal, in the works. Mallory had smiled when Jarod informed her of these offers. He was a people person. People loved him. She loved him. He would be a good professor.
But, for Jarod, his mother, who had died from her wound, still haunted him. More specifically, her dying words. With the trial and all of the stress surrounding it, Jarod had not had the chance to confront his father, who had come to testify, about what his mother had said about Catherine Parker being alive, and that the two of them were in love.
As Jarod held the woman he had loved most of his life, in his arms, it saddened him that they had to begin their marriage with such a damning secret. Jarod spun his new wife around, and listened to her laugh. If she knew that her mother might still be alive, there would be no more laughter.
Yet, Jarod knew it would be irresponsible for him to blurt something out like that to Mallory, and it not be true. He eyed his father, who was talking to Broots over by the bar. Jarod intended on getting him alone today...and confronting him.
****
Mallory Russell's eyes were not on Broots, or her new father-in-law, but on her son, Brian. He was such a handsome boy! He was dancing with Debbie, who clearly had a crush on the teen.
Jarod and Major Charles had agreed, that for now, it might be best to just leave things be. Meaning, Brian would be leaving with Major Charles after the reception, to go back and live with him. Mallory wasn't going to have it!
Brian was her son! And yes, it would be hard...but she so wanted him with her and Jarod. Jarod did not know it, but she had already looked into high schools for her son to attend. She planned to spend a lot of time getting to know him today...and everyday...because he was home. Mallory was not letting Brian leave with Major Charles. And hopefully, Jarod would see that she was right. And, if he didn't, then she would withhold sex!
Her eyes moved from Brian and Debbie, to Agent Bristow and Agent Vaughn. They looked so perfect and in love. She was staring at them dreamily, when a short, balding man, stepped into her line of vision. Mallory took her head off of Jarod's shoulder abruptly. Jarod turned to look.
'Hello, Christina. You're looking well.'
Mallory stared at the short, obnoxious looking man. She then looked up at Jarod.
'Who is this?' Mallory asked between clenched teeth.
'Well, 'honey' this is the husband you divorced...the one you were married to when you had amnesia? His name is Dr. Robert 'Rocket' Romano.' Jarod was already sorry they had invited the guy! Jarod hoped he had come with Elizabeth Corday!
Mallory's eyes widened! She stuck out her hand towards him. Good God! She was damned glad she had no memory of sleeping with this guy!
But Robert Romano didn't return the handshake.
'You're going to tell me, that you have absolutely no memory of the earth shattering sex we used to have?'
Jarod moved so that he was in front of Mallory, but she looked at Jarod.
'It's alright, 'honey', I'll handle this.' she said sweetly. She then turned to look down at her former 'husband'.
'No, I don't. And I'm sorry...for myself, that I let a small rodent such as yourself touch me. But you must know, that if we for some god forsaken reason, were married now, you would have to find satisfaction elsewhere, since by ankles would be permanently locked. Now, please go and die.'
Mallory then turned back into Jarod's arms. He winked at Dr. Romano, and together, the couple resumed dancing. Dr. Romano looked around self-consciously, wondering how it was that his 'Christina' turned into such a bitch?
Broots tapped Jarod on the shoulder, to cut in. Mallory smiled at him, then pulled him to her. They began making small talk about Debbie, as Jarod headed over to the bar to confront his father.