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Chapter 27: Reawakening

Miss Parker moaned, rolled over, and hit the sleep button on the alarm clock that was blaring. She felt like she had been the basketball for a group of dinosaurs. Moaning again, she sat up and rubbed her sore shoulders. Where had she been last night? Oh, that's right. She had been chasing Jarod through Seattle and got herself locked in prison. He was going to pay.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she sat there a couple of seconds, taking in the sounds and smells of her house. The sound of something sizzling told her that Tommy was in the kitchen making breakfast. Great. She was starving. Miss Parker stood up, but quickly sat back down as dizziness overtook her. What was wrong with her? Shaking her head, she tried getting up again, only to fall back down.

Memories of some dream danced around her head like wisps of broken spider webs. She could see images flashing before her eyes, but none of them made sense. Pictures of Kyle and Jarod arguing, being threatened by sweepers, her mother getting shot in SL-27 all came and went faster than she could grasp them. What kind of dream did she have last night? She tried to dislodge the memories with a shake of her head, but they persisted in coming out. Her eyes darted frantically around the room, hoping to land on Tommy. He could help with this nightmare.

But he was no where to be seen. Miss Parker placed her fingers on her temples and tried to rub away the pounding in her head. What was going on? She moaned as her sore shoulders worked to get her hands up to her temples. Her fingers came in contact with a scratch that dominated the left side of her temple. She traced it gently; it was a tasty cut. Where had that come from? Had she fallen out of bed last night? No, that couldn't have happened; she would have remembered.

"Parker, are you okay?" A male's voice asked. Miss Parker jumped. Her first instinct told her that it was Jarod, but a quick glance showed that it was Thomas.

"Tommy." She said, getting up and collapsing into his arms. Her head was pounding faster and faster. What was going on?

"Shh, it's okay, Parker. It's okay." Thomas whispered, gently massaging her shoulders. He could feel how tense they were and wondered what had happened to her. Thoughts crowded his mind, but he pushed them back. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I keep seeing images flashing through my mind. Events I never saw happen. It must have been a dream. A terrible dream." Miss Parker looked up at him and tried to smile. "I can't think of another explanation for it." Thomas nodded slowly as he brushed back her hair. He saw the cut in all its ugliness.

"We need to get this cleaned up. What did you do, fall out of bed?" He teasingly asked. She laughed and he led her to the bathroom. He had to support her most of the way because for some reason, her legs couldn't hold her. Five minutes later, Miss Parker was calmer and the cut was bandaged. Thomas planted a kiss on her cheek.

"There, all better."

"Well, thank you, Dr. Gates. I certainly feel better." Miss Parker said with a smile. She gently touched the bandage. Where had that cut come from? A flash of memory. A sweeper… Willy… thrusting her into a table. Her body trembled and Thomas wrapped both his arms around her.

"It's okay. Those dreams will go away soon. Don't let them bother you." He whispered, rocking her gently in his arms. Miss Parker sighed and let her mind relax. Tommy was right. It was just a dream; on that would go away soon. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being rocked.

"Remember this, Parker. Never forget." The words echoed in her brain. She tried to open her eyes, but found them sealed shut. Miss Parker wanted to struggle but she couldn't. "Remember that I love you. Remember what you learned here. Don't loose him without a fight." The voice was Jarod's. It had to be. What was going on? Miss Parker struggled to open her eyes.

"Parker, what's the matter." Her eyes flew open and she found herself staring at Tommy. "What's happening?" She shook her head. And made a decision.

"I don't know. But, Tommy, I want to go with you to Oregon." At first his face registered shock, and then a smile beamed out. He grabbed her up in his arms and kissed her. Miss Parker never wanted him to let go. With that kiss, all the wisps of memory faded and disappeared.

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Thomas listened to the shower water run as Miss Parker took a shower. He was flipping pancakes on the griddle. He smiled to himself, thinking of the last hour and all the things those few words had brought on. Parker was going to go with him to Oregon. He couldn't believe it. Smiling, he flipped another pancake. Better call and tell him the good news.

"Jarod." A voice said over the cell phone.

"She's going to come with me. She's going with me to Oregon." Thomas said, barely able to control his excitement.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you." Jarod said happily, Thomas' excitement mirrored in his own voice. "When did you find out?"

"This morning. Jarod, you don't think she…"

"No, she won't after today. It will all just seem like a bad dream to her. Are you going to tell her, though?" Jarod asked. Thomas thought about it for a moment. To go into the future and then end back into the past was a difficult journey. Thomas didn't know what she had experienced there, in that world. But it had to have been traumatic. It had left its mark in the form of the cut and in other things unseen. Thomas shook his head, even though Jarod couldn't see.

"No, she doesn't need to know. Apparently, her journey taught her something or else she wouldn't have agreed to come. I think, though, it's best not to say anything. I don't want to reawaken memories or something that could send her overboard. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yes, I know what you mean and I agree. If she remembers, let her do it on her own time. Well, I better run. I'll call later and see how everything's going."

"All right. Have a great day. And Jarod, thanks for everything."

"No problem." Jarod hung up with a click. Thomas sighed and put the cell phone back in his pocket. How could he not tell Parker? What had happened… well, Jarod was right. They didn't want to send Parker into a downward spiral that could destroy her. Thomas turned back to the pancakes and thought.

Neither he nor Jarod had expected to remember anything of what had happened. It was assumed that when Andi stepped through the light, they both would forget everything. Only Miss Parker and Andi were expected to remember their experiences in the other worlds. But that it seemed, wasn't the case. He and Jarod had waited for what had seemed like hours after Andi walked into the light. Thomas didn't know about Jarod, but he had suddenly blacked out and then this morning woke up next to Miss Parker.

And he remembered everything. Jarod also remembered. Thomas had called him up as soon as the first memories of Andi had slipped in. Jarod said he was experiencing the same thing; remembering events of the so-called future which should have been erased from each of their minds. It was a weird case of flip-flop. One Thomas could have lived without.

Two arms wrapped themselves around his neck, causing him to start from his thoughts. Miss Parker. Thomas turned and planted a kiss on her lips. She laughed and he spun her around. She was different, but a better kind of different. Thomas smiled and laughed with her. For now, life was good. And that adventure would just always be a bad dream.

A/N: Well, this is the end. Thank you to all my faithful reviewers. Your comments always lifted my spirits and gave me inspiration to write. My deepest thanks to you all. On another note, I was thinking of maybe writing a companion to this story that dealt with Andi's time in "our" world. If anyone's interested, let me know. Again, thanks for sticking with this story. It would have been nothing without any of you.

Alia G. L.