CHAPTER 20

BAD DREAMS

Dover, Delaware

Armada Inn

February 29, 2003

11:00am

Alex walked over to Jarod who was sitting in front of his laptop typing away. "Whatch doin'?" Alex asked climbing into his lap.

"Trying to figure out a way your brothers and your friends out."

"Oh." She stated. She studied his progress. After a while she began to drift off to sleep. "Jarod is Will going to be okay?" she asked trying to fight off sleep with out much success.

"Of course he will, he has Miss Parker, Broots, Sydney and Sam looking after him." He replied.

"Good." She commented. "Jarod." She said after a while."

"Hum?"

"Thanks."

"Your welcome." He whispered as the little girl drifter off to sleep in his lap. He had to admit it. He had become taken with the child. He supposed that it was because she reminded him so much of a young Miss Parker. Like Parker, Alex was stubborn as well as curious. Alex kept getting into things. Much to Ethan's dismay, Alex had taken apart his electric razor to see how it worked. Ethan was relived when she put it back together again in working order.

Earlier that day Alex had given both Jarod and Ethan a fright when she had gone exploring the hotel. The found her at the bar discussing the founders of modern art with several college professors in town for a conference.

"No." Alex mumbled in her sleep shaking Jarod from his musings. Tears were streaming down the child's face. "No, please stop. I'm sorry I didn't mean to."

"Alex!" Jarod said gently shaking the child. "Wakeup sweetheart." She opened her eyes with a start, and then flung her self into Jarod's arms. "Hey it's oh kay." He spoke trying to comfort the trembling girl." She buried her face into his shirt and sobbed. "Hush now Alex, you're safe. No one here is going to hurt you." He said calming the distressed child. Finally he cries subsided and emotional exhaustion drove her back to sleep.

"Is she alright." Ethan asked from the doorway, having witnessed the event.

Jarod sighed. "In all honesty no. She's so young and has been through so much." Jarod got up from his seat and carried the child over to the bed. He laid her down and covered her with a blanket. Jarod studied her for a moment and then turned to face his younger brother.

"What are you thinking?" Ethan asked him

"I want to take Alex to Parker's."

"What." Ethan said in a very good imitation of his sister.

"I have my reasons. The first is for Alex's own well being. She ran off earlier today, someone from the Centre could have easily spotted her. Then there's her nightmare. I've been reading up on the children's files. There is a reason that they have only been separated for such a short time. They cannot truly function with out each other. They also suffer from night terrors when they are separated from one another. At Parker's house Alex is closer to her brothers and their mental bond is stronger." Jarod explained.

"Oh kay, so we take her to my sisters. She has to work Jarod. She can't suddenly take a week off after a child from her pursuit team has gone missing. And she'll still be on vacation or what ever when we get the other kids out. It's going to look bad. Very bad and the Centre will believe that she had something to do with the escapes." Ethan protested

"I know that which is why one of us is going to stay at your sister's house. That way while she's at work you or I will watch Alex." Jarod countered.

"Good idea. Why don't you call my sister and tell her this plan of yours?"

"Why don't you call her?" Jarod asked.

"Are you afraid of my sister?" Ethan asked, a smirk gracing his face.

"No. I'm just afraid of what she's going to say."

"Fine I'll call her." Ethan said sighing in disgust of his older brother's uneasiness of his sister.

"Thanks little brother."

"What ever."

"So what did she say?" Jarod asked looking up from his computer, when Ethan walked back into the room.

"She said fine we're to bring Alex to her tonight." Ethan replied

"That's perfect."

"I'm going to stay at the house while she's at work. Unless you want to that is?"

"No that's quite alright. You can stay with her that way you to can catch up more." Jarod told him.

"Chicken." Ethan commented.

"What's going on?" Alex asked getting out of bed as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

"You're awake." Jarod said picking the child up.

"Obviously. I pretty sure I'm not sleep walking." She said.

"It would appear that you like Parker are a bit grouchy when you just wake up."

"Maybe she wouldn't be grouchy if you'd stop calling her at two in the morning." Alex said. "So like I asked before what's going on?"

"We're going to send you to my sisters for a few days. I'm going to look after you while my sisters work." Ethan informed her.

"What you don't trust me to behave while I'm by my self?" Alex asked putting on her best "I'm a little angel" look.

"No." Ethan said. "The last time we left you unattended you took apart my razor."

"Hey I put it back together. Didn't I Jarod?" Alex asked looking to Jarod for backup.

"Well yes you did." Jarod said feeling uncomfortable playing the middleman.

"See. And it still works." Alex shot back sticking her tongue out at Ethan. "Jarod why aren't you staying with me?"

"Because I have work to do." He replied.

"You can do it at Miss. Parker's house. I'll help you."

"Uh." Jarod said trying to think of an excuse.

"You see Alex, the reason Jarod isn't going to my sisters house is because they don't get along very well. There tends to be threats made and my sister with a gun aimed at Jarod."

"Please come and stay Jarod. For me, please. I won't let Miss Parker shoot you, I promise." The child begged displaying a puppy face.

"You know what Alex if you had brown eyes you would have the most irresistible puppy face." Jarod said

"Who say's that I don't?" She said raising and eyebrow. "Please come Jarod."

"Fine, fine I'll stay." Jarod said giving into the child's pleading.

"Yes!" She squealed and gave the pretender a kiss on the cheek. Jarod could help but smile at her antics. He then realized that the little girl had him wrapped around her finger. Not that Jarod would have it any other way.

"You know we need to take her shopping." Ethan spoke. "We can't have her wearing her Center grays around the whole time."

"Can we get my brothers and the others some clothes too."

"Why don't we just get your brothers some clothes for now."

"Oh kay. Lets go then we have a lot to do before we head back to Blue Cove." Alex said leading the two men out of the hotel room.

Five hours and a thousand dollars later the three exited the mall. They were ladled with clothing, books, toys, and luggage. Over all the shopping experience went well. Only once did Jarod and Alex have a conflict. It occurred when Jarod had tried to get Alex to ware clothing from the girls department.

"No!" The girl declared. "I am not wearing anything that is pink, or purple. And I am definitely not wearing anything that has ruffles, flowers or butterflies." She said enunciating each word as if Jarod was a moron.

"What about this?" Jarod said holding up a jean skirt.

"No! And no to dresses as well. Jeans and a shirt is that to much to ask for?" Alex asked. Ethan laughed at Jarod's difficulty with the child.

In the end Jarod bought several outfits for the triplets in three different versions from the boys section. All things red were for Aaron, Black was for Andros, and Blue for Alex. For Will it was easier to shop. Ethan had picked out all of Will's clothing in the time it took for Jarod to realize that there was no way Alex was going to wear anything form the girls department. Just as Jarod was about to pay for the items a sweatshirt caught his eye. It was black with a red Phoenix embodied on it; the pretender immediately placed it on the pile of clothing. After the clothing ordeal they brought four pairs of sneakers. Three of which were identical.

The three then stopped in a bookstore where Jarod brought Alex the first Five Harry Potter books. After several minuets of begging Jarod also purchased Alex a copy of Stephen King and Peter Sturab's The Talisman. The trio then entered the toy store where Jarod spent close to two hundred dollars.

"All right we get these bags in the car. Get you changed, and head to my sisters." Ethan said.

"What about dinner?" Alex asked

"We'll go to dinner after we get all of this stuff packed." Jarod told the child.

"Where are we going?" She asked the two.

"Do you like Italian?" Jarod asked her.

"I don't know." She replied

"Well then lets find out." Jarod said bucking Alex into the car.