Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statement.
Author's note: All the action in this chapter occurs in the past.

Time to Consider
Chapter 9
By Callisto

Wyman Cabins
Lake Catherine, VT

With a surprising ease, Parker found she had slipped back into her old habit of seeking Jarod out. Typically, she would show up and he would arrange to get away by himself. It was during one of these times, while they were lying in the grass of the small clearing that Kyle walked up on them. Kyle had become concerned by Jarod's frequent absences. Wondering what his older brother was up to, Kyle noticed him walking into the clearing. After an hour had passed, Jarod still hadn't reappeared. Curiosity getting the best of him, Kyle followed Jarod and was surprised by what he saw.

In the clearing he found his brother lying next to a girl sharing a laugh. They looked comfortable with each other as Jarod held her arm, caressing it and gently playing with her fingers. They fell silent as he approached. The scene was disturbingly intimate and Kyle was on the brink of leaving them when he decided it was time his brother introduced his new girlfriend to his family.

"Hey there, Bro', I finally found you. How about a rematch of our tennis game?" Kyle said loudly as he drew closer. He walked boldly up to them and stared into his brother's face.

Jarod stared back at him puzzled. He knew Kyle had seen him walk into the small copse, but he was wondering at the annoyed, almost irritated tone of voice Kyle had adopted. "I don't feel like it, maybe later."

By this time Kyle diverted his attention to Jarod's female companion, whose hand was still in his grasp. Kyle was caught completely off guard, he thought she would be another uninteresting redheaded bimbo like Asia, but this one was extremely pretty. She had long, honey blonde hair. Her face was pretty but held aspects that strayed directly into beautiful. Her eyes turned out to be her best feature, a changeable gray color that held a knowing amusement in them.

"Hello there. You must be Kyle."

Kyle swallowed hard and said nothing. This girl looked to be no more than his age but the way she talked and acted was too mature. Her voice held a surety of poise that he never detected in anyone his age, oddly leaving him at a disadvantage. The girl sat up and looked up at him; the light from the sun served to further lighten the color of her eyes and cast the illusion of translucency. After a long pause, she smiled at him and said, "Seems like the cat's got your tongue, my name's Maritza." Holding her other hand out to him she asked, "Would you mind giving me a hand up?"

Automatically, he responded and assisted her. She was shorter than he expected, somehow it seemed that she should be taller. Kyle watched her as she brushed grass off her dress and shook any trailing bits out of her hair. Jarod had also gotten up. Their privacy had been invaded and he would have to wait another day before talking to her. He cursed the era they had been thrown back into--utterly cell phoneless. She had been amusing him with recalling her mother's physically challenging expectations of her. Pretending in this reality wasn't limited only to him. Parker also had plenty pretending to do in this reality. Namely, Parker learned that she had become an accomplished pianist and a great, though disinterested dancer. Both skills she had allowed to fall to the wayside after her mother's death. Here, Catherine was alive, shocked and exasperated by Parker's seeming amnesia especially when it came to practice sessions for the piano. Her coach was equally appalled by her sudden inability to perform at the same level as she had achieved in the very recent past. Kyle's interrupting presence caused her to abruptly stop talking.

Staring at his dumbfounded brother, Jarod quickly noticed that Parker's charm had mesmerized Kyle as well. He gave a short amused huff and helped Parker pick some stray grass from her hair. It was softer than he thought and surreptitiously he ran his fingers through it, enjoying the texture. Parker turned to see Jarod self-consciously drop his hand from her hair out of the corner of her eye. With a raised eyebrow and lips twitching into another smile she said, "I better be getting home now. My mother will have a fit if she finds out that I've been gone for so long. I'm supposed to be practicing for my big debut."

"I'll walk you home," Jarod offered but Parker stopped him.

"That's alright. The last thing I need is for her to figure out I've been hanging out with a boy. Lord, I don't think I'll ever get used to this. See you tomorrow, Jarod. Nice meeting you, Silent Kyle."

Both brothers watched her leave in silence. Once her figure disappeared into the forest, Jarod looked at Kyle's mesmerized face and laughed. "Yeah, I know. She has that effect on most men."

"Nice legs. Where the heck did you meet her?" Kyle asked finally finding his voice.

"After our fishing trip, I saw her walking across the street with her father," Jarod answered as he turned to return to their cabin. He had walked along to find Kyle wasn't beside him; instead his younger brother was lagging behind, still trying to catch a glimpse of Parker. With a laugh, Jarod said half-jokingly, "Hey, bro' just remember, I saw her first."

·

Another youthful habit Parker found herself falling into was rising early to start the day. With a vitality brought on by burgeoning health and a lack of threats to her life and its accompanying stress, she was up at the crack of dawn and in time to give Ben some distressing news.

"It looks like it's going to be a lovely day," she stated with quiet reverence as she took a sip of coffee from a large mug while gazing at the sunrise through the kitchen window.

"Yes, it does. I planned on taking your mother out on a breakfast picnic."

"Don't worry, Ethan and I will stay out of your way. I can only imagine how much catching up you two have to do." With a heavy sigh she continued, "Ben, something happened the other day that you need to be aware of. In light of what you told me about my Uncle, it's probably imperative." A late night spent rehearsing this speech, served her well as she told him her carefully edited story striped of any Centre-inspired insider jargon. When she was done, she looked intently into her father's face.

"You said he pulled a weapon on you in the barn?"

Here a choice had to be made and wanting to start off on the right track with her father, she decided to tell the truth. "He was pointing it at a friend of mine. Luckily I had already crept up behind him and hit him over the head before he could shoot."

There were many aspects of her story that worried Ben as he began to pace the length of the kitchen. Her voice was steady and sure but he felt certain that she was holding back something important. "And this 'friend' of yours just went along and helped you wrap up this sweeper and load him in the cargo hold of a bus?" At her artfully puzzled expression, Ben explained, "A 'sweeper' is many things in the Centre. They're everything from bodyguards to kidnappers, assassins to gophers."

"And what would a think tank corporation need with assassins?" she countered smoothly. The closed look on Ben's face reassured her that he would reveal the uglier side of the Centre to his 'legacy' only when absolutely necessary. "My friend is a boy with a crush on me and he doesn't want me to leave, so he helped get rid of the man. Will we have to leave soon?"

"I'll make some calls. But how can you be certain this man even works for the Centre? Perhaps this was something that should've been handed over to the police."

Long years of ingrained training made Parker frown at his suggestion. Then, as though it had just occurred to her, she reached into her pocket and retrieved a small laminated card and handed it over.

Ben took the ID card from her fingers and stared at the man's face and his level of security clearance. At this level there wasn't a doubt who he worked for—either Leith or that ghoul of a man, Raines. "Excellent. This is exactly what I needed. The Triumvirate issued a hands-off order, so they won't be too happy at the thought of Leith ignoring them. For now, enjoy your vacation. You're having a good time I take it?" he asked with an uncertain smile.

"Yes, of course. It's lovely here. Thanks Ben. I'll go and get Ethan and we'll help you cook Mama's breakfast before we get out of the way."

Ben watched as his eldest child smiled, left the kitchen and bounded lightly up the staircase. Her poise and quick thinking made him shake his head in wonder. It would take a strength like hers to clean up the seamier side of the Centre but now he was starting to want something different for her—a normal life. With a start he realized this was the first time she looked at him like he was her father, fully expecting him to resolve this problem and to protect her from any harm. It felt scary and good.

·

An hour later, Parker arrived at the Abernathy home. She rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer. The noisy clamor behind the door told her a very active family lived here. Curbing her natural impatience, Parker rang the bell again and perched herself on the porch railing. Eventually a beautiful redheaded woman answered the door. Realizing who she was, Parker immediately jumped down and addressed Jarod's mother.

"Hi, my name is Maritza. I'm a friend of Jarod's. Is he home?" she asked with careful politeness.

Margaret, like her son Kyle, stared at Parker for several long seconds before responding. "Yes he is. Please come in." The door was opened wider to admit the young guest. With great intrepidness, Parker walked into Jarod's latest lair. The smell inside was wonderful; bread was baking and permeated the entire room. Kyle was there and nodded his hello to her as she waited near the door. Margaret told Kyle to get Jarod and then offered Parker something to drink. The day was already hot and she gratefully accepted. Jarod finally appeared as she was taking her first horrified sip of Kool-aid.

"Par--umm Maritza. What brings you up here so early?" Jarod asked laughingly as she peered incredulously into her glass.

"There's someone I wanted you to meet," she replied after wincing and swallowing hard. When she saw the look of immediate curiosity spark in his face, she smiled quickly and opened the door. Poking her head out she said, "Come here. Now!" Her commanding tone of voice had him very curious and he approached her to see whom she was speaking to. Almost immediately a small body collided into him.

She pulled the small arm closer and placing a hand delicately on the boy's chest she said formally, "Jarod, this is my brother, Ethan. Ethan, this is Jarod. He's a friend of mine."

Jarod's eyes widened as he looked down at the small child with anticipation. Jarod's family watching carefully wondered at his apparent pleasure in meeting the boy. Jarod smoothly dropped to one knee to look the child in the eye and greeted him. This younger version of Ethan reflected everything in this reality—similar but with subtle differences. Here, Ethan was basically the same only with brilliant blue eyes. It would be interesting to see if adulthood would impose the changes on his features that it eventually would on his sister's. Jarod looked up with a large smile at Parker, who nodded and smiled back.

"Ethan, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Your sister has told me a lot about you."

"How do you do?" Ethan replied dutifully and held out his hand formally.

Jarod was as fond of Ethan as Parker. Ignoring the boy's hand, Jarod scooped the child under one arm and ruffled his hair playfully. Ethan couldn't help but laugh and Jarod furthered the boy's amusement by tickling his neck lightly. Ethan was sold; his sister's friend was a hit with him. When Jarod put the boy down, he looked at Parker gratefully. "Thanks for bringing him around."

"Of course," she replied with a smile that quickly faded as she caught the concerned looks of his family. She handed Ethan her glass, which the child gulped down eagerly and waited for Jarod's lead. Jarod turned around to see what had affected her mood and noticed his parents' blatantly curiosity.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? Mom, Dad, this is Maritza Ferrer. I met her after our fishing trip a couple weeks ago. Maritza's family is vacationing here, too."

"It's nice meeting you at last," the major said while, holding his hand out.

Parker shook it and answered, "Likewise."

Kyle, in all his impertinence asked, "Hey, are you looking forward to school this term?"

Parker frowned thoughtfully and asked, "School?"

"Yeah, you know. Large musty buildings, lots of people our age and teachers thrown in for amusement?" he answered with a laugh.

The confusion stayed on her face until he mentioned her age. Understanding cleared her expression as she answered, "Oh yes, school. I'm actually looking forward to the next term and doing some clerking as well. What about yourself?"

"Really? Clerking, huh?" he asked. His amusement turned to vague disappointment as he assumed, along with his parents, that she would be working at a grocery store during her last year of high school. "I'm in my junior year at State."

"My under-graduate days were a blast, you can't match the freedom," Said she. Finally realization dawned on her and she gave him a toothy grin. "You thought I was still an undergraduate didn't you? Been there, done that and got the diploma. Thank God that's behind me. No, I meant I'm in graduate school. Next term, I'm finishing up some elective courses and there's a judge back home who promised me a spot on his staff as a clerk," she said quietly. The paperwork she had found in her dresser drawer had explained her educational status. She would do whatever was necessary to avoid any finals. As in her previous life, she'd finished school at a breakneck pace, graduating from college at 16 years old. This time around her father wasn't there to discourage and off-handedly denigrate her choice of profession by saying dismissively, "The world's full of lawyers, Angel. Business is where the action will be. Do that and make your father proud." As usual she caved into his wishes.

Jarod saw the looks on their faces. The major was looking at his youngest son, slowly shaking his head. If Kyle had applied himself rather than attending every party fraternity row had to offer, he too would be in graduate school instead of staring at Jarod's girlfriend with defeated chagrin. Parker had misunderstood them and in doing so made her assertions all the more credible, without effort. He knew they were thinking high school, not college. Jarod had made it his business, in the other reality, to know as much about her past as possible. She apparently had finished her education in much the same manner as before but now he wanted to hear more about her plans, though in private. 'How to get her by herself,' he thought in a bit of a quandary trying to figure it out, until Ethan assisted him.

"Mari, are we still going to the lake?" he asked bored with the conversation and impatient to spend some real time with his sister. He handed the glass back to her empty.

"How would you like to go out on the lake, Ethan?" Jarod asked quickly.

"Super, can we Mari?" he asked eagerly.

"I suppose so," she answered slowly. Looking up at Jarod, who gave her a smirk, Parker looked back down at her younger brother and said, "As long as there's no standing, rocking or diving. And under no circumstances will there be any skinny-dipping. Why Ben decided to explain that to you is beyond me," she said to Ethan. Then turning she said to both Margaret and the major, " It was nice meeting you." In response, Ethan pulled her out of the house, eager to get started on their new adventure.

Jarod raised his eyebrows and smiled at his parents with a bit of smug triumph. If anything could've been designed to allay their fears over what would happen on the trip, Parker's comments and Ethan's presence should.

Much later that day, Jarod returned alone and glowing from his outing. Though he still didn't understand Alex's reference to Parker's importance to his world, what he did understand was that she was fast becoming a fixture in his desires. He had rented a boat and brought along fishing tackle and rods for the three of them. Carefully guiding their boat down stream he tied it to the pier where he had fished prior with his father and Kyle. Soon after, Parker speaking in Japanese explained how at the airport she had dialed the number she knew by heart and spoke with Sydney. He sounded much younger and his Flemish accent was quite pronounced but she was certain it was him. When she asked for his brother Jacob instead, Sydney replied absentmindedly that he too was busy, then demanded to know her name. Parker who was studying her watch didn't allow the call to go over 30 seconds and ended it abruptly. Jarod sat back in the boat and thought about his mentor. It was good to know that Sydney was alive and well, along with his twin brother.

The heat of the day worked it's magic on all three of them. Ethan began winding down though he kept a wary eye on his fishing pole. Parker leaned back in the shaded boat and answered his questions as well as having her own answered. Jarod explained that his mother had told him he resembled her brother but otherwise was a duplicate of his father at the same age. Parker explained that the voices remained in her head though after they shipped Damon to the nether parts of the country, the voices hadn't been bothering her lately. Jarod listened with a great deal of interest as she sketched a picture of her life with her mother and though she griped at the increased structure to her personal life, he could tell she was basking in her mother's love and interest in her—something that had rarely been, if ever, present with her father.