DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: Thank you all for reading and special thanks to those who took the time to review ( GEMINI-M, LEOCHICK, CRAZYRUSSIANGAL, SILEA, DAGMAR, JAR-PAR FAN). I am a little short on time lately, so I will make this short ( both the A/N and the chapter ), but don't worry, more is to come soon.

Chapter 10: End of the road...

The road is long...

It stretches far...

But in the horizon...

I see...

An end...

And a beginning...

It takes a great amount of courage to leave everything you've ever known behind and start anew, somewhere else. It takes an even greater amount of courage to continue forward and embrace the changes as they happen. You see, changes have always been hard, because they offer nothing but the unknown and the human mind is afraid of what it can not grasp, catalogue and name. It scares us to think about what lies beyond the horizon.

Miss Parker had been afraid her entire life. Frightened to lose more than she had already lost. So she had stayed put, and watched with dread as time passed her by. But the amount of loss she could survive reached a point so high, that the pain her heart endured throughout it all, reached a limit she dared not cross. So she left. For her, it had not been the courage, but the fear of being scared for the rest of her days, which made her leave.

Now, after being on the road for a couple of days, simply driving towards the horizon, that seemed to go on forever, she saw the end of her journey. Finally she found purpose and destination in the voices she heard. A road sign...

WELCOME to New York City...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Center

Blue Cove, Delaware

Sub-Level 5

Miss Parker's old office

Around the same time...

The lights that shone above the gray room never seemed to be able to illuminate much the shadows that clung on each corner and that threatened to consume the office as a hole. A certain gloom had always hung in the air for as long as he could remember. Nothing had changed since Parker's departure. Not one file had been disturbed and no personal belongings removed.

Strange...

Sydney sat on the black leather chair, staring into the picture frame he held in his hands. The one where Catherine Parker held her little girl gently in her arms. He could see the love emanating from both mother and daughter as they shared a moment the photographer would never be able to capture again. He sighed as he traced with his index finger the corners of Catherine's face.

" Tell me, old friend, that she is okay. Tell me she just left. Tell me..." Again he sighed, his rich voice full of a heavy accent from the old days, when his beloved brother was still alive. His face held a frown, further creasing the lines on his forehead and fresh tears glistened in his eyes. " Promise me you'll take care of her. She suffered enough..."

Finally putting the photo down where it had sat before, he looked around her desk, trying again to catch a glimpse of something, anything that would assure him of her safety. Tucked underneath a mound of files and reports, he saw a tip of a yellowed paper, that stood out of place. Reaching with shaking hands he pulled it out of its hiding spot.

It was a drawing of a little girl holding a doll. The sketch was well drawn, with lights and shadows giving it a feel of reality. He could not place the girl in his memory and he was sure the sketch was not Jarod's. But her eyes captured his attention. There was something about them that spoke to his heart. Sydney did not know what relevance the drawing had, but somehow he felt it to be of great importance. He tucked it away in his jacket's inner pocked and rose to leave

Before walking out, he spoke into the darkness...

" Au revoir, ma cherie..." Goodbye

I know many don't have the patience to review, but I would love to know your thoghts, or a short review to let me know y'all still there...

Sorry it's so short, but more soon... RR!