AN: I'm sorry it took so long to update. The art section of my methods of teaching fine arts class swamped me with homework for the first month of classes. Now that we're in the music area, I should be able to update more frequently. Because it's been so long I wanted to give you guys something even though it is short. This little snippet was originally the beginning of the second part of Union of the Snake. Hope you like. :) Keep those reviews comin', please. ;)

Alexceasar: Thank you so much for the kind reviews and welcome aboard! Original characters are always tricky to introduce so I'm very pleased that you like Mia. I'm also glad that you like this interpretation of Lyle. I could never believe he was quite as soulless as many believe; after all he is Catherine Parker's son and a victim of the Centre as much, perhaps more, than Parker. As bad as he is in this series, I can't help feeling bad for him knowing what lies ahead of him... ;)

KoolCaz: Yeah, they sure do hurt. I'm glad it's all over with. And I'm glad you like the Parker twins dynamic. Look for more of it.

NYT: Indeed they are! As for Parker, we may never know and Lyle will have his moments. ;-)

LJP: For most men a psycho wife probably would guarantee their fidelity, but then Lyle isn't most men...

Interlude: Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola

Home.

Normally, being home gave her a semblance of peace; a sanctuary of sort, away from the walls of the Centre. Home, however, was not where she wanted to be- at least not alone.

She sighed heavily, staring out of the rain-streaked window at the dark yard in front of her house. Though the room she stood in was comfortably warm, she still shivered. Lightening illuminated her face, briefly exposing the tears that threatened to fall.

When a loud crack of thunder made the house shuddered, she didn't flinch. Yet she jumped abruptly when the phone rang.

"What?" she snapped laconically into the receiver as she tried calm her nerves.

"It's a dark and stormy night isn't it, Miss Parker?"

She sighed again, this time in irritation. "What do you want, Jarod? I am not in the mood to play your games."

There was the briefest of pauses on the other end of the line before the Pretender responded. "Is everything all right?"

"Is anything ever all right?" she continued staring out of the window, this time with a purpose- she had the distinct feeling he was very near.

"Rumor has it your father is leaving town."

"Yes," she breathed as the subject she was trying not to think about was broached. "Do you have any insight as to where he's going?"

"No," Jarod said, sounding truly contrite that he had nothing to tell her. "I was calling to see what's going at the Centre."

"You mean you don't know?" Surprise overcame sarcasm in her tone.

"No." She could almost hear him wince. "I'm still... recovering from my last encounter with Lyle."

"Are you all right?"

Out of habit, Jarod nearly came back with a tart retort, but something in her voice alerted him to the rather enervated state she was in, and he did not wish to upset her more.

"Yes," he reassured her. "My left hand got the worst of it, but almost completely healed." He paused, wondering if he should just leave it there. "Thank you for asking."

The other end of the line was so still that Jarod wasn't sure she was still there.

"Daddy is gone," she finally said abjectly. "And Cox is taking his place."

"Cox?" The Pretender was undoubtably stunned. "Not Lyle?"

"No. And baby brother is not happy about that."

"I can imagine," Jarod breathed. "What's changed that would have put Cox in charge? Somehow that seems even more dangerous than Lyle running the Centre."

Parker filled the Pretender in on the fate of Mutumbo's family and the disturbing conversation with her father with peculiar impassivity

"What was Lyle's reaction?"

"He claims no knowledge of what's going on. Somehow I doubt he's really been shut out- especially since Cox is involved.."

Jarod didn't say anything right away as he began putting the bits and pieces of information together.

Parker chewed on her bottom as her brother's cutting remark came to her unbidden.

"Lyle's married," she blurted out, regretting the words as soon as they her mouth.

"Oh?" Jarod hesitated to say more. There was something so curious in her voice as though there was something encrypted in her words.

"Yes," she went on, that strangeness still coiled around her throat. "To Amelia."

"That is a little strange," he commented cautiously.

"She doesn't remember anything, Jarod. Lyle had her visit Sydney- she was the new patient he couldn't talk about."

Though he had many questions, he didn't pursue them. "What else?" he queried gently. He felt she was on the verge of confiding in him and did not want to upset her by saying something stupid or wrong.

"Lyle said..." she paused, pressing her finger against her lips. She watched the gleam in the rainy reflection in the window from her mother's ring.

Jarod was barely breathing. The connection between them was as delicate as a spider's web; a careless word or inattentive tone would break the link. And he feared he might never regain it.

"What did Lyle say?"

"Lyle said that Tommy," her voice broke on the name, "that Tommy would have come to his senses before marrying me. He said..."

The pain in her voice was almost more than he could bare. The tears that slipped down her cheeks almost made him step out from his hiding place.

She drew in a shaky breath. "He said that no one would ever want to marry me."

"Oh, Parker," Jarod exhaled softly. "That's not true. He was only saying that to hurt you. Clearly, he accomplished his objective. Don't believe it... it's not true."

"But what if it is?"

"It's not!" he told her passionately. "Stop thinking that way."

There was a long moment of silence before she spoke again.

"Jarod, have you ever-" A sudden hardness flashed into Parker's eyes as her brow furrowed in irritation. Her jaw tightened.

"What?" he asked, worried by the abrupt change in her demeanor. The warm he had been feeling was instantly replaced by a bone shaking chill.

"No," she laughed scornfully, more at herself than him. "No, of course, you haven't thought about that."

"Parker-?" But it was useless to say more.

She hung up on him, discarded the phone carelessly on the couch, and returned to staring blankly out of the window.

Her finger pressed against her lips once more as she shook her head reproachfully at what she had almost done, almost said. Before she could weaken to the point where she voiced her inner most thoughts to him, the memory of the last time that nearly occurred came back to remind her what a foolish thing that would be to do. She was glad she had remembered that voice- Zoe's voice...

She ignored his further attempts to reach her and, after the third try, the phone stopped ringing.

Woeful and angry with himself for whatever he had done to offend her, Jarod watched her for a long while before letting himself out through the back door.

Somewhere a Pretender sighed.