Chapter three
Disclaimer: ALL ELEPHANTS ARE INCOMPLETE BANANAS! Yes, that's right folks. Oh sorry, this is meant to be the fanfic disclaimer isn't it? Meh, it'll do.
A/N: The only place I've ever been in America is Los Angelus Airport, for two hours while I waited for a connecting flight to Vancouver. I can't be hedge-hogged checking whether my geographical facts are correct so you can review and tell me if it pisses you off that much. Then, and only then will I happily ignore it. What would be useful though is if someone could tell me whether Delaware is on the east or west coast. I think it's east but I'm not really sure.
The next morning when Parker woke up, she was snuggled against Jarod's chest like a teddy-bear. She sighed in happiness. Once he was awake she would have to put the mask back on- she knew no other way to deal with the emotional blow she had been dealt- but for now she could relax in the warmth of a loving embrace.
As the room slowly lightened she watched the dust motes twirl in the stream of golden light coming through the window. Her mind relaxed and drifted, until she was almost back asleep. Only when she felt a deep rumble in Jarod's chest did she snap out of it. Reluctantly she peeled his arms from their bear hug of her and put her feet to the cold floor. Stretching and yawning she padded bare foot across to the bathroom to shower.
Once the warm little body extracted itself from Jarod's grasp, he rapidly awoke. For a moment he desperately patted the bed around him, till the sound of the running shower registered. He sighed and allowed his head to fall back on the pillow. He was relieved that she hadn't stolen the car in the night and run (however irrational the thought had been), but he missed the feeling of her slim body cradled against him.
By the time she was out of the shower, re-dressed in her stylish business suit, Jarod was up and inhaling a bowl of cereal. 'Morning' he greeted her.
'Morning' she replied. Not cold, but detached. The psychiatrist that Jarod had pretended in the past winced. 'That won't help Parker' he said softly. She looked at him, the pain and emptiness swirling through her grey eyes. There was a message there too. It say 'leave it be.' Jarod sighed again and finished his cereal, then padded into the bathroom to shower.
While he shower, Parker made some toast and a strong brew of black coffee. She felt better after a cup. She was hunched over the second cup when he emerged, hair damp and eyes bright.
'You'll be bouncing off the walls if you drink to much of that' he observed.
'Wrong, PEZ head. I thought you knew my habits better than that. I need a cup a day just to get out of bed.'
He shrugged and smiled. 'I spent the time when most teenagers are trying to stay awake to study, sleeping, so I guess just the thought of that much caffeine gets my poor, sheltered nerves on edge. I just can't imagine anyone having that much without a bit of a fizz.'
'Shall we hit the road?' asked Parker in bemusement, knowing just how much sugar the man could consume. The hollowness inside retreated slightly.
'As you wish m'lady'
*********************************************************************
An hour later they were out of the backwaters and onto the freeway. 'First stop is a clothing shop.' Parker told him firmly, 'I am *not* wearing this for another day.'
Jarod laughed, and obligingly pulled off at the next exit into a medium sized town. Taking Parker clothes shopping was an enlightening experience for Jarod. By the time he managed to wheedle her back into the car, he was loaded down with various shopping bags, paid for, of course, courtesy of her father's bank account.
Despite his mock complaints, Jarod had quite enjoyed acting as Parker's helper. Striding through the shopping centre at her heels, he caught the envying looks passed his way by many young men. It was a kind of power he had never experienced before.
Behind the wheel again he quickly negotiated the car onto a winding back road, nervous that the transaction would be traced. For a while he let his mind drift, simply enjoying the feeling of driving. Parker was equally silent.
They were driving down the western seaboard, green, forested hills to their left, golden sea stretching like glass to the horizon on their right. The majestic sunset was lighting the small clouds in burning golds, reds and oranges. Both the occupants of the car sat in companionable silence, enjoying the peaceful scenery.
The peace was abruptly shattered by the harsh ringing of a mobile phone that made both of them jump. After a moment Parker recovered enough to realise that, although she had taken the gun, Naomi had neglected to remove Parker's phone. She took it out of her pocket and stared at it, before looking at Jarod for permission. He shrugged, so she answered it.
'What?'
'Miss Parker, thank god I reached you.' Sydney sounded less than his usual calm. 'Is she OK?' asked Broots anxiously in the background. Parker glanced over at Jarod and raised her eyebrows questioningly. He could hear both sides of the conversation in the small car but he wasn't looking at Parker so she made a non-committal 'I'm fine.'
'The Centre is in uproar' Sydney told her, 'your father is on the war path. The message that one of the Los Angelus agents had captured Jarod was intercepted by Lyle and he sent his own orders back, without informing Mr. Parker.'
There was dead silence in the car.
'Miss Parker, are you there?'
'Thanks for the info Syd.' Her tone was clipped and emotionless.
'Miss Parker?' He was confused and concerned. Parker hung up, leaving it at that.
At Sydney's words a stone had sunk into Jarod's gut, making him feel sick and restricting his breathing. Her father had not betrayed her, she was still welcome at the Centre, she had no reason to stay with him. She had no reason not to take him in. This last thought sent jabs of panic shooting through him and he had to pull over, to avoid running into a tree in his distress. Once the car had coasted to a halt he rested his head on the top of the steering wheel and took several deep breaths. Parker was equally stunned.
Finally he raised his head and met her eyes. They were deep and unreadable. For once in his life he had absolutely no idea what she was thinking. All the while his thoughts were churning like a stormy sea and he was internally debating whether stay or get out of the car and just start running while he still could.
'It was Lyle' said Parker dumbly. Jarod nodded. 'They don't want me dead.' He shook his head. Parker turned to look at the rapidly darkening seascape. Jarod waited.
'The blond bitch still would have killed me. How many times have you saved my life Jarod?'
'I lost count at fifteen.' This made her laugh. The stone began to melt, and trickle away but she still hadn't said what he needed to hear.
'Every day I go to work I could get killed. One day Lyle might succeed. And I will die never having done anything worthwhile with my life.'
Jarod didn't reply, knowing she needed to get this off her chest.
'My mother wouldn't have wanted that.' She said.
'What would you call something worthwhile?' he asked gently, giving her the chance. She cocked her head on one side, giving him a measured glance. 'I'm not sure yet,' she replied, 'but I know I won't find it in the Centre.'
Jarod smiled, his eyes filling with warmth. Parker returned the smile. After a moment Jarod started the car and they drove onwards, the air thick with contentment.
###
TBC... (btw, I wasn't be able to post during the Easter hols cos I can only log onto the internet with this laptop at school. Which is where I really *didn't* want to be in the holidays. So you all just had to wait for a coupla weeks. Thank you for your patience :P)
Disclaimer: ALL ELEPHANTS ARE INCOMPLETE BANANAS! Yes, that's right folks. Oh sorry, this is meant to be the fanfic disclaimer isn't it? Meh, it'll do.
A/N: The only place I've ever been in America is Los Angelus Airport, for two hours while I waited for a connecting flight to Vancouver. I can't be hedge-hogged checking whether my geographical facts are correct so you can review and tell me if it pisses you off that much. Then, and only then will I happily ignore it. What would be useful though is if someone could tell me whether Delaware is on the east or west coast. I think it's east but I'm not really sure.
The next morning when Parker woke up, she was snuggled against Jarod's chest like a teddy-bear. She sighed in happiness. Once he was awake she would have to put the mask back on- she knew no other way to deal with the emotional blow she had been dealt- but for now she could relax in the warmth of a loving embrace.
As the room slowly lightened she watched the dust motes twirl in the stream of golden light coming through the window. Her mind relaxed and drifted, until she was almost back asleep. Only when she felt a deep rumble in Jarod's chest did she snap out of it. Reluctantly she peeled his arms from their bear hug of her and put her feet to the cold floor. Stretching and yawning she padded bare foot across to the bathroom to shower.
Once the warm little body extracted itself from Jarod's grasp, he rapidly awoke. For a moment he desperately patted the bed around him, till the sound of the running shower registered. He sighed and allowed his head to fall back on the pillow. He was relieved that she hadn't stolen the car in the night and run (however irrational the thought had been), but he missed the feeling of her slim body cradled against him.
By the time she was out of the shower, re-dressed in her stylish business suit, Jarod was up and inhaling a bowl of cereal. 'Morning' he greeted her.
'Morning' she replied. Not cold, but detached. The psychiatrist that Jarod had pretended in the past winced. 'That won't help Parker' he said softly. She looked at him, the pain and emptiness swirling through her grey eyes. There was a message there too. It say 'leave it be.' Jarod sighed again and finished his cereal, then padded into the bathroom to shower.
While he shower, Parker made some toast and a strong brew of black coffee. She felt better after a cup. She was hunched over the second cup when he emerged, hair damp and eyes bright.
'You'll be bouncing off the walls if you drink to much of that' he observed.
'Wrong, PEZ head. I thought you knew my habits better than that. I need a cup a day just to get out of bed.'
He shrugged and smiled. 'I spent the time when most teenagers are trying to stay awake to study, sleeping, so I guess just the thought of that much caffeine gets my poor, sheltered nerves on edge. I just can't imagine anyone having that much without a bit of a fizz.'
'Shall we hit the road?' asked Parker in bemusement, knowing just how much sugar the man could consume. The hollowness inside retreated slightly.
'As you wish m'lady'
*********************************************************************
An hour later they were out of the backwaters and onto the freeway. 'First stop is a clothing shop.' Parker told him firmly, 'I am *not* wearing this for another day.'
Jarod laughed, and obligingly pulled off at the next exit into a medium sized town. Taking Parker clothes shopping was an enlightening experience for Jarod. By the time he managed to wheedle her back into the car, he was loaded down with various shopping bags, paid for, of course, courtesy of her father's bank account.
Despite his mock complaints, Jarod had quite enjoyed acting as Parker's helper. Striding through the shopping centre at her heels, he caught the envying looks passed his way by many young men. It was a kind of power he had never experienced before.
Behind the wheel again he quickly negotiated the car onto a winding back road, nervous that the transaction would be traced. For a while he let his mind drift, simply enjoying the feeling of driving. Parker was equally silent.
They were driving down the western seaboard, green, forested hills to their left, golden sea stretching like glass to the horizon on their right. The majestic sunset was lighting the small clouds in burning golds, reds and oranges. Both the occupants of the car sat in companionable silence, enjoying the peaceful scenery.
The peace was abruptly shattered by the harsh ringing of a mobile phone that made both of them jump. After a moment Parker recovered enough to realise that, although she had taken the gun, Naomi had neglected to remove Parker's phone. She took it out of her pocket and stared at it, before looking at Jarod for permission. He shrugged, so she answered it.
'What?'
'Miss Parker, thank god I reached you.' Sydney sounded less than his usual calm. 'Is she OK?' asked Broots anxiously in the background. Parker glanced over at Jarod and raised her eyebrows questioningly. He could hear both sides of the conversation in the small car but he wasn't looking at Parker so she made a non-committal 'I'm fine.'
'The Centre is in uproar' Sydney told her, 'your father is on the war path. The message that one of the Los Angelus agents had captured Jarod was intercepted by Lyle and he sent his own orders back, without informing Mr. Parker.'
There was dead silence in the car.
'Miss Parker, are you there?'
'Thanks for the info Syd.' Her tone was clipped and emotionless.
'Miss Parker?' He was confused and concerned. Parker hung up, leaving it at that.
At Sydney's words a stone had sunk into Jarod's gut, making him feel sick and restricting his breathing. Her father had not betrayed her, she was still welcome at the Centre, she had no reason to stay with him. She had no reason not to take him in. This last thought sent jabs of panic shooting through him and he had to pull over, to avoid running into a tree in his distress. Once the car had coasted to a halt he rested his head on the top of the steering wheel and took several deep breaths. Parker was equally stunned.
Finally he raised his head and met her eyes. They were deep and unreadable. For once in his life he had absolutely no idea what she was thinking. All the while his thoughts were churning like a stormy sea and he was internally debating whether stay or get out of the car and just start running while he still could.
'It was Lyle' said Parker dumbly. Jarod nodded. 'They don't want me dead.' He shook his head. Parker turned to look at the rapidly darkening seascape. Jarod waited.
'The blond bitch still would have killed me. How many times have you saved my life Jarod?'
'I lost count at fifteen.' This made her laugh. The stone began to melt, and trickle away but she still hadn't said what he needed to hear.
'Every day I go to work I could get killed. One day Lyle might succeed. And I will die never having done anything worthwhile with my life.'
Jarod didn't reply, knowing she needed to get this off her chest.
'My mother wouldn't have wanted that.' She said.
'What would you call something worthwhile?' he asked gently, giving her the chance. She cocked her head on one side, giving him a measured glance. 'I'm not sure yet,' she replied, 'but I know I won't find it in the Centre.'
Jarod smiled, his eyes filling with warmth. Parker returned the smile. After a moment Jarod started the car and they drove onwards, the air thick with contentment.
###
TBC... (btw, I wasn't be able to post during the Easter hols cos I can only log onto the internet with this laptop at school. Which is where I really *didn't* want to be in the holidays. So you all just had to wait for a coupla weeks. Thank you for your patience :P)