DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: I just wanted to apologize to all my reader for the delay. I got stuck on this chap and had to sort my story out. It will take three chapters, this one included to finishe this properly, so stick with me here!

I just wanted to thank all those who took the time to review...

Leochick ( I have this scene I just have to play out, so... lucky 15!),

Maggy ( hi again! Nice to know you are still reading...),

Gemini-M ( faithful reviewer, I hope the end will be worth the wait!)

phi4858 ( the sequel will come, meanwhile, I hope you like this!)

sirus183( they will... with lots of sap, tears and happy 'endings')

zipp ( keep reading til its finished and I hope you will be pleased)

Chapter 13: Melanie

Standing at the top...

Gazing at the horizon...

Finally free...

There's still a hollow...

Within...

That longs to be filled...

Sigh...

Break...

And be brave enough...

To jump...

The sun finally broke free from the horizon, it's captor each night, only to find high towers and skyscrapers now blocking its way. It rose then, higher, to meet the sky, as the city continued with it's life, never asleep, never awake. Finally, a stream of yellowed light conquered over the buildings and the curtains, hitting Parker's heavy eyelids and sadly whisking sleep away.

Lazily stretching her somewhat sore muscles, she remains with eyes closed, hopelessly trying to preserve the image of his face, the color of his eyes and the curve of his right cheek as he smiled. Yet it slipped away easily, as had the dream before. Sighing, she abandoned resistance and rose, dragging her sleep ridden body out of bed. Still not completely conscious, Parker turned the coffee machine on and exercised patience during the three minute wait until her much needed caffeine fix could be attained.

After drinking two mug sized cups and feeling relatively more alert, Parker dragged herself in for a hot shower. Standing under the pouring water, which cut needles on her skin, she allowed her mind to go over the previous night's events. Hands busy shampooing her hair, she tried once more to evoke her inner sense. However, the voices, as they had before, remained silent. Strangely, it happened right after Parker had whacked that man over the head. The spirits, if one could call them that, had been chanting one moment, franticly urging her forward. Then, only silence..

The more paranoid part of her wondered about their 'mission' and worried about their absence. More so , she missed their constant presence and for the first time since her departure from the Center , Parker was overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness, which she found to be quite unsettling. It almost seemed like, by staying quiet, they were sending her a message. And it was frustrating, her inability to understand it's meaning.

Later, wrapped in a big, blue towel, her wet hair dripping down her bare back, the former huntress entered her newly decorated bedroom. Shedding the soft fabric in favor of a black, silk robe, she satin front of her vanity mirror, proceeding to towel her hair. When, distracted, she raised her eyes to the reflecting surface, a flash of movement caught her attention. There, to the left, on her bed, sat a little girl, sporting a sailor dress. Staring transfixed by the girl's wise eyes, Miss Parker recognized her as the crypt keeper' s daughter, her great aunt, dead a hundred years, which did not show on her smooth skin or her long, golden hair.

Swiftly turning around, Parker, actually expecting Angel to disappear during the brief lost of visual contact, was surprised to see her still there, sitting with her legs tugged to one side and her head to the other, while she smiled at her predecessor with an almost imperceptible hint of mischief in her eyes. Once Parker overcame the initial shock of actually seeing a ghost on her home, a thousand miles away from Carthis, she questioned the intruder's presence.

" What are you doing here?" voice a bit quivery and fingers still laced between drying curls, Parker stared inquisitively at her ancestor.

" Don't run, Melanie..." with an innocence, which had surprisingly survived time and pain, Angel spoke softly, her words just above a whisper, which the wind seemed to carry to all four directions, making it echo all around. Next she raised her delicate hand, and with her index finger, pointed to Parker's bedside table.

The dark-haired woman turned her gaze to the right, spotted her notebook, the one she had used to write Angie's full name and the hospital they had taken her to, and looked back at the bed, only to find it empty. There were no signs that anyone beside herself had been there.

" I don't know why the need to keep going in circles like that... Go there, do this, stay here, don't run... Just once I would like a straight answer from those meddling voices..." Glaring at her own reflection, Parker continued to towel her hair, all the while murmuring to herself. She had no doubt that Angel had been her inner sense's manifestation, telling her of something she again failed to grasp...

What else was new?

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Memorial Hospital

NYC

Tuesday

Nurse Andrea Owens had always been cursed with the kind of curiosity that refused to settle down. When something particularly mysterious came her way, she always found herself with an incredible urge to unveil it. But nothing peeked her interest more than Doctor Jarod Wilks... A kind, handsome man, who carried such a deep loss in his eyes and seemed to be so removed from the world.

He was a mystery indeed...

Lost in thought and in the doctors deep brown eyes, Andy was leaning against the admissions desk, when a tall shadow inserted itself in her line of vision. Bringing herself back to reality and readjusting her sight to see the figure better, Andy found herself face to face with a woman's chest. Slowly looking up, she was met by a pair of clear blue eyes, framed by a halo of dark brown hair. Unable to blame this stranger for interrupting thoughts she shouldn't be having anyway, Andy plastered a smile on her lips.

" What can I do for you, miss?"

" Hello, I am looking for Angela White. Uh, ... She was brought in last night. Could you tell me where I can find her?" This newly arrived woman seemed polite and genuinely interested in finding Angie, so Andy so no harm in allowing her to see the patient.

" Sure. What is your name? You know so I can put down in the visitors list. The police was very insistent that we keep one in this case..."

" Melanie Hart." As soon as the woman said it, Andy recognized the name. It was the same the police had given her when she asked about the one who had helped Angie. With this new piece of information, the petit nurse took a second look at Melanie. Andy had heard from the police officer who had come just a few hours before, that Angie's rescuer had knocked the attacker out with her bare hands. But now, looking at her, Andy found it hard to believe that such a thin, fragile woman could do such a thing.

" You are the one who ..."

Nodding her head, a bit embarrassed to have been discovered, Parker was afraid to be bombarded with questions she had no will to answer. But the nurse, whose name tag betrayed her as Andy, just gave her a smile, a genuine this time and came out from behind the desk. She asked Parker to follow her and proceeded down the hallway, filled with running nurses and stressed out doctors.

Miss Parker just followed her...

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When Parker was standing right outside Angela's room, she froze. Her inner sense did nothing without a hidden agenda and she was almost afraid to discover what that was. Something inside her didn't want to go in, while another incessant part of her needed to see the woman they had wanted her to help.

Breathing in deeply, Parker turned the doorknob to the left and casting a glance in Andy's direction, entered the room. The first thing that caught her attention was the excessive white of the walls and furniture, that glowed, even though the room had been cast in shadows. Then, she saw Angie lying down the tall bed, looking more fragile than she had the night before. The bruises on her face were a shocking contrast to the whiteness of the room...

If I hadn't been there...

Seeing her there, battered and bruised, but otherwise, alive, Parker thanked her unresponsive inner sense for sending her there that night. She may not have understood their reason, but being able to make a difference in Angela's life filled Parker with a peace of spirit that she had not believed possible.

So she took a step forward and then another, until she reached Angie's side. Parker held the woman's yellow and purple hand and felt it squirm beneath her own. Slowly she looked up in time to see Angela's eyelids flutter. When the victim saw her savior, a smile graced her face, lighting it up.

"My Angel... Thank you..." Angela's voice was hoarse and frail, but determined. She had difficulty keeping her eyes open, the drugs dripping from the IV pole beside her bed making her extremely drowsy. Realizing this, Parker prepared to leave and let her rest, but Angie needed to know the name of the one who had come to her rescue like a modern knight in shinning armor and refused to let Parker's hand go.

" What... Is... your name?" Parker could see how much energy Angela was spending just to stay awake. So she placed her other hand above their joined ones and whispered her first name, the one which was really hers. Finally having the piece of information she had desired to obtain, Angela White succumbed to a drugged filled slumber. Delicately, as not to wake her, Parker placed the woman's hand back down and quietly left the room.

Thinking to herself and willing the voices to hear her words, Parker smiled...

Done now...

I didn't run...

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