Disclaimer: see part one

Thanks to:

Winnievbt: Thanks for the compliments! I can't promise anything for the relationship between J and MP right now. You will have to wait and see how things develop. Thank you for the review and now enjoy the new chapter.

Mfkngst: I'm glad that you agree! Thanks for the review and now go on reading and have fun.

gemini006007: Thanks for the compliments and now enjoy the new chapter.

Grace: Hope you survived the waiting! Hey, you don't have to apologize for only sending positive reviews… I can live with them (chuckles). Oh, and don't worry about my stopping writing… it's not gonna happen anytime soon. I still have a lot of ideas for new stories. I fear you are stuck with me (chuckles again). Well, thanks for your review and now go on reading and enjoy.

Brandy: I'm really glad that you like it that much! I can understand that you don't like that the trust is gone and that they aren't talking but… how can one make such a thing ok? Maybe there is a way… maybe. Thanks for reviewing and now have fun with the new chapter.

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The Call Part 10

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Jarod let himself into his apartment and limped over to the bed.

Though he partly feared to stay that close to the Centre, he knew that they wouldn't find him here. They couldn't.

They had no way of connecting this apartment to him.

Additional to that he was too tired to drive. He would probably drift of to sleep. In a worst case scenario, he would cause an accident and either wake up in the Centre or not at all, which he would prefer upon waking up in the Centre.

Either way, driving was no idea with a positive outcome.

The Centre wouldn't think him to stick close. They didn't know that he had a house here to hole up in.

They would search the highways and every street they would think possible as an escape route.

So Jarod settled on staying in this apartment and let the Centre be the Centre.

He stumbled to the bed and sat down heavily.

The fire in his chest had abated somewhat during the drive but now the rest of his body was screaming his anger over this hasty escape at him.

It seemed as if every fibre in his body was communicating its displeasure at the same time.

The result was no system overload but an all consuming pain.

Jarod laid down, ignoring the pain for he had no strength left to shuffle over to the bathroom where he kept the medicine.

In a matter on minutes he was drifting of to sleep despite the pain.

°°°°°°°

Parker walked briskly into Sydney's office. She had deep circles under her eyes.

The moment she entered, Sydney looked up from his reading and quietly observed the state she was in.

"You ok, Parker?"

"Yes,… no", she huffed.

"You didn't sleep last night, did you?" He asked, concern showing in his voice.

Parker just shook her head. "Was Broots able to get his location?" She asked.

Sydney shook his head no and Parker huffed.

"I don't know how you can be so calm about that", she frowned.

"There is nothing else I can do. I've been climbing walls at home", Sydney shrugged.

Before Parker could say anything else, they were interrupted. Lyle was stalking through the door.

"Here you are, sis. Dad wants to see us in his office", Lyle said.

Parker looked at him, annoyed but when she met his gaze, she nearly frowned.

His usual smug and knowing-it-all attitude was gone, replaced by… worry.

Parker straightened. "You heard him, Syd. See you later", she got up and walked out of the psychiatrist's office without waiting for Lyle.

Her brother didn't linger around but just turned on his heel and went after his sister.

Sydney sighed.

°°°°°°°

When he woke up again, daylight was streaming through the open curtains.

Jarod blinked and then started to sit up, only to raise protests form his muscles. Groaning, he let himself fall back into the soft mattress.

Only now was he really starting to wake up and everything came back to his mind.

For once he had slept peacefully and without any nightmares. He had been too tired and exhausted to wake up screaming from pictures in his head.

He sighed for he knew that this was going to change as soon his body had healed far enough to make room for his mind to take over.

And during the last few days he had gathered some more stuff that could easily be integrated into his dreams. He breathed somewhat angrily and shook his head.

After a few more minutes, when his muscles had settled down again, he tried to sit up once more. Just as they had last time, his muscles presented him with a whole orchestra of pain-shouts.

Jarod grimaced but sat up nonetheless. His head was spinning and he felt dizzy.

Concussion. His brain screamed at him.

Jarod breathed deeply only to be confronted with yet another salve of pain, this time coming from his lungs.

"Damit. Is there any muscle or fibre in my body that is not hurting?" He swore softly.

Getting up from the bed, he was encountering another problem. It took him several attempts to make it as far as standing next to the bed and 'standing steadily' was not a metaphor that would spring to his mind as an association.

Swaying, he slowly made his way over to the bath, his sore and bruised muscles protesting all the way.

A hot bath, some new clothes and a whole bottle of painkillers was all he wanted for now.

°°°°°°°

Parker walked back into Sydney's office, still dazed.

Sydney looked worriedly at her when she didn't reply anything after he had called her three times.

"Parker?" Sydney called her once again, touching her shoulder lightly.

She blinked and shook out of her trancelike state.

"Syd?"

"Yeah, Parker. I've been calling your name for about five minutes now but you wouldn't react. What happened?" He asked worriedly.

"He escaped", she whispered softly.

"He what?" Sydney asked, taken aback by her statement.

"He escaped", Parker said again, this time a bit more forcefully. She looked up at Sydney with tears glistering in her eyes.

To be continued…

Well? What do you think? Good, bad, strange,…? Tell me!