Total Recall
Prologue

Jarod climbed onto the almost empty bus and paid his fare before sitting down in a seat where he could look out at the streets they drove along, his back to the driver. With another successfully completed pretend behind him, he was looking for a new possibility and thus had no real destination in mind. Passing the bus stop, he had seen the vehicle approaching and climbed on, paying for a ticket to the end of the line but unsure if he would remain on for that long. Reaching over, he took the newspaper that he had bought earlier out of his carryall and, folding it so it was easier to handle, he started to read through the first article, glancing up as the bus slowed down for the next stop.

The woman stood at the bus stop, her hands deep into her pockets and her head bowed to keep the cold wind off her face. She saw the vehicle stop in front of her and allowed an elderly lady to get on first, watching as the driver nodded for the pensioner to sit down without paying. The woman pulled the dark blue knitted hat off her head as she held out the coins.

"Good morning, Henry."

"Miss Jennifer, you sure make my bus cheerful in this cold weather with that red hair o' yours."

She laughed. "If it wasn't natural, I'd say I did it just for you. Can I have my ticket please?"

"You just go right on and sit down. I'll enjoy your beaming face and long red curls in my mirror as your fare today."

The woman smiled. "Well, as long as you're sure." She looked up at him, trying to hide a grin. "Aren't you running a little late this morning, Henry?"

Jarod turned to watch the driver glance at his watch with a hurt look on his face before he looked up to meet the teasing expression in the woman's eye. Sitting up straighter in his seat, he looked at her, his face calm.

"No, ma'am. Your watch must be fast."

She laughed. "It might be, at that."

As the bus pulled into the early morning traffic, she walked past him and took the seat opposite Jarod. She looked out briefly at the traffic before reaching into her bag and pulling out a folder. Glancing up to see the smile that still hovered at the corners of his mouth in response to the conversation that he had overheard, she grinned before looking down at the papers.

Ten minutes later Jarod saw her put the folder down and, turning so that she was looking out of the window, reach up to loosen her hair clip. As she let the curls fall around her shoulders, he heard the loud laughter from behind him and glanced up in time to see her meet the amused eyes of the driver in his mirror.

"Miss Jennifer, how am I supposed to concentrate on my work when you keep on distracting me?"

She laughed. "What would your wife say if she knew you were flirting with me like that Henry? I think that beautiful little boy of yours might be a bit upset, too, if he heard you talking like that to somebody who wasn't his momma."

The man's laughter filled the bus and several of the other passengers smiled in amusement.

"Are you saying that you'd tell my Mary-Ann, Miss Jennifer?"

"What incentive will you give me not to?"

"If you come up here, I could give you a real good incentive..."

"Henry!" she scolded him, even as her brown eyes danced with laughter. "Not in front of the other passengers. Some of them don't know you as well as I do and might be shocked." As she spoke, she happened to catch Jarod's eye and saw the amusement in them, smiling in return. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a brush and pulled it through her hair several times.

"I don't know what you mean, ma'am." The voice coming from the driver's seat was trying to sound innocent. "I was just going to give you your ticket."

Pulling her hair neatly back with a practiced hand, the woman slipped the clip into the red curls and fastened it before looking up to meet the driver's eyes. "I think I'd rather stay here, Henry. If loosening my hair is a temptation, I'd hate to think what might happen if I came and stood next to you. Besides, I do have some work to do."

"I don't know why. All you gotta do is read over it once and you know it."

"But I haven't read over this at all."

The man's face took on an expression of mock-sadness. "Are you deserting me for some other fine man that you were out with all night, Miss Jennifer?"

"That's right, Henry, a very fine man. Paul."

"Your brother?" His deep, rolling laughter caused her to grin. "Well, I guess I'm still safe for a while then."

"You never know. The love of my life could climb onto your bus one day, sit down opposite me and sweep my heart away. Then what would you do?"

"Isn't that obvious, ma'am? I'd never stop at his stop again."

Laughing, she picked up the folder once more and glanced through the pages. A small frown appeared on her face as she pulled out a pencil and began to scribble in the margin of one of the sheets, taking another sheet of paper out and comparing figures. With a sigh, she crossed out one and wrote in another before replacing the single sheet. Jarod watched as the frown slowly deepened, a small pucker forming on the previously smooth forehead. Suddenly, as though feeling his eyes on her, she raised her head. He gave an embarrassed smile and looked back down at his paper, watching out of the corner of his eye as the frown vanished and she smiled in return. She focused once more on the papers but felt his gaze on her again and looked up more quickly than before in time to see him glance away. A curious expression on her face, she opened her mouth to say something but then thought better of it and remained silent.

"Good morning, Ms Sarah."

Jennifer glanced up to see the woman climb on and smiled, looking over in time to see the man opposite watching her once more.

"Good morning, Henry. How are you today?"

"Better now that you've got on. With my two favorite ladies on board..."

"Henry, if you've already been flirting with Jennifer then you shouldn't be doing it with me. Besides, my husband would be very hurt if he knew."

"Ms Sarah." The man's voice sounded deeply offended. "As if I would ever flirt with any of the lovely young ladies that I drive around."

"No, of course you wouldn't, Henry. I just wanted to make sure." The newcomer laughed and, taking her ticket, moved further back in the bus and sat down next to the woman opposite Jarod.

"Since when do you take the bus?"

"Since Adam's car broke down and he needed to borrow mine."

"Is this instead of or in addition to the lunch we had planned for today?"

"It all depends how much time I have. I've tried to leave the lunch hour free but I can't guarantee it. Stop by the office and, if I'm available, we'll go." As the woman stretched out her legs, she accidentally tapped Jarod's leg with her shoe, looking up quickly. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He smiled and tried to concentrate on the paper.

~~~~~

He watched as the woman opposite him waved to her friend through the window and then glanced down at her watch.

"Don't you worry, Miss Jennifer. I'll get you to work on time."

"I bet you will, Henry. You always do. I'm never late on days when you drive."

"Well now, if you're going to flatter me..."

She laughed and cast one final glance over the papers before dropping them into her bag and pulling out a book. Opening it, she slipped the bookmark inside the back cover and then settled down into her seat. Jarod glanced at her several times, turning so that he could just make out her reflection in the window he sat beside and using that as a method of watching her. For a second his eye was caught by movement outside and he looked back to see that her eyes were fixed on him. He looked sharply up at her and saw the expression of amusement in her eyes as she replaced the book in her bag and got up off the seat.

"Don't you work too hard today, Miss Jennifer."

"I won't, Henry. See you tomorrow."

As the doors swung open, she stepped down onto the pavement before casting one final glance over her shoulder as the doors swung shut and the bus pulled away from the curb.

Total Recall
Part 1 – Total Recall

"And this is Jennifer. She's our resident computer expert."

Jarod down looked into the cool but not unfriendly eyes of the woman sitting at the desk and felt his hand firmly shaken before he and his new manager moved on.

The redhead watched as they left the room and then, by hitting a few keys, was able to use the security camera in the hallway to view their progress. She smiled slightly before reopening the file she had been using when they had entered her office. Then, as a thought floated into her head, she remembered where she had heard the name before. Of course: Jarod, the 'Good Samaritan' her friend mentioned had had that name. She would have to ask him about it.

~~~~~

Jarod dropped an armful of papers onto Jennifer's desk and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Wait, don't tell me," she laughed. "ASAP, right?"

He grinned, revealing a dimple in each cheek and shiny, white teeth. "Well, of course. It's not as though you've got anything else to do." Eying the large pile of papers that already sat in the tray, Jarod laughed and turned to leave. He had just reached the door when she spoke.

"So, Jarod, I hear you like Albany."

He turned and stared at her but her eyes never left the screen. "What makes you think I was in Oregon?"

"Oh, a little bird told me."

She smiled and, out of the corner of her eye, watched him leave the room before beginning to look through the papers he had left behind.

~~~~~

Jarod recalled the conversation as he sat in front of his desk and again winced inwardly. He knew that she would immediately pick up on his slip about Oregon and wondered if she would actually ask him about it or merely wait for him to make second mistake like the first. She had the ability to make people say more than they realized, as he had heard someone say earlier that day in response to his covert questions.

"Oh, it's incredible. She just asks you one question and, before you know it, you're spilling your guts."

"You're...doing what?"

"Spilling your guts. You know, telling her everything. It's just incredible. Even the boss can't keep anything from her. But trying to get anything out of her that she doesn't want you to know is like trying to break into an ATM with a chopstick."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. It's hard, that's all."

He turned back to his computer and once more attempted to work out the current password that would allow him access to the Centre's mainframe. Jarod shook his head in frustration as he was rejected again before sealing an envelope and sticking on a stamp, placing it into the box from where all of his other mail would be collected that evening.

~~~~~

Jennifer went in Jarod's empty office and placed the large bundle of papers and folders onto his desk. Scanning the empty shelves and almost clear desktop, she wondered why he had no pictures or personal knick-knacks like those that most people, even temporary staff, usually left in their offices. There were plenty of secrets to be discovered about her new fellow employee, Jennifer was sure.

~~~~~

Miss Parker picked up a book from her desk and threw it at the door as the new sweeper fled through it. Grimly smiling, she listened to him run down the hall and allowed herself a moment to enjoy the power-rush. The smile vanished from her face as Broots entered the office.

"And what do you want?"

"Lyle says to tell you that there's been a sighting of Jarod in Albany."

"Which one?"

"He doesn't know. There was a paper delivered here with a picture of Jarod on the front page. It was about him saving some woman from being evicted. The paper was called the Albany Express."

"Well get onto it, Broots. We don't have all day."

"Yes, Miss Parker." He shuffled out of the office and Miss Parker turned in her chair, staring at the floor with unseeing eyes.

~~~~~

Jarod stared down in amazement at the large pile on his desk that he noticed the moment he walked in. By his estimation, it should have taken at least three days to finish all of the work that he had asked Jennifer to do and yet here it was, the next morning, complete.

"Coming for the meeting?"

He turned and stared at her, uncomprehending. "How did...you've finished all this already?"

"Of course, Jarod. That's easy stuff. It doesn't take long."

"I'm stunned."

She laughed. "Obviously. Now are you coming or not?"

~~~~~

Jennifer was kneeling in front of her fireplace, about to strike the match she held in her hand, when she heard a knock on the door. Cursing under her breath and looking incredulously at her watch, disbelieving that the pizza could be being delivered already, she moved through the kitchen and opened the door. From the bottom step, Jarod grinned up at her, dangling a set of keys from one finger.

"Hi. You left these in my office this afternoon and I thought you might want them."

Jennifer grinned, sighing with relief. "Thank goodness! I thought I'd lost them for good and I had to get a taxi back here to get my spare set this afternoon so that I could bring my car home. Do you want to come in?"

She held the door open as he entered the house and then closed it against the cool autumn wind. Walking over to light the fire, she indicated one of the seats.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Sure. What do you have?"

"Pretty much everything. My friends have a wide variety of tastes."

"Dr Pepper?"

"Tons of the stuff."

She handed him a can and glass before taking a seat opposite and picking up her own drink. Jarod looked over, curiosity on his face, and she laughed.

"There's obviously something you're dying to ask me. What is it?"

"How long have you been working there?"

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "That's it?" As Jarod grinned, she laughed. "About two years. I like the work and the people are friendly."

"But don't you get bored? I mean, if you find all the stuff as easy as what I gave you then you must have a lot of spare time."

"Of course, but I spend a lot of my spare time designing computer packages that I distribute and that provide greater security or to enhance a company's image. It helps to supplement my salary and the boss doesn't mind as long as I finish all of the other, 'official' stuff first. I also have a few web sites that I work on. Other than that..." she laughed, miming the idea of sleeping, and Jarod laughed with her as she took a drink and then looked up at him. "How about you, Jarod? Have you always been involved with architecture?"

He was slow to respond, not seeing the light in Jennifer's eyes as she asked the question, wondering if she was about to learn this man's secret.

"Well, not really. I've been moving around a lot recently." Jarod stared into the fire, determined not to look at Jennifer, concerned that she might be able to learn from his eyes what he hadn't told her verbally.

Another knock at the door made Jennifer jump out of her chair. "Great! Dinner at long last! Do you want to stay?"

"What are you...?" Jarod's voice died away as she opened the door, purse in her hand. Minutes later she turned and, kicking the door shut, put the steaming box down on the table before getting out two plates and a pile of napkins.

"I always order pizza on a Tuesday night. It was a family tradition and I've kept it up. Can't help myself." She divided the pizza between the plates and handed one to Jarod. "Sorry, but on pizza night I can't really be bothered being polite. Enjoy."

~~~~~

"Syd? Hey, Sydney."

The psychiatrist looked up from his current report to see Miss Parker, jacket in hand, standing in the doorway of his office.

"Yes, Miss Parker?"

"Confirmed sighting of Jarod. We're going to Albany."

Sydney stood and snatched up his own coat, familiar excitement flooding through him at the thought of possibly, finally, bringing Jarod back where he belonged.

~~~~~

Jennifer put the last plate into the dishwasher, turned in on and smiled out into the darkness of the back garden as the machine began to hum. Several slips that Jarod had made that night had given her an indication to his character and she was certain that, with a little more time and persuasion, she could find out all about him. The article she had been shown proved invaluable and Jennifer had been able to find out other things about him in newspapers from across the country that she had seen on microfiche at the library. Of course she knew why he was at the company. She had been trying to gather the evidence that would convict the boss's secretary of blackmail and fraud for months and, although she hadn't succeeded, she felt that Jarod, with a little help, just might.

~~~~~

As the jet circled above the airport, Miss Parker glared through the window at the storm that was preventing them from landing.

"So, are we sure that Jarod is in New York State?"

"Of course not, Syd. We just have to hope he is, that's all."

"And…and what if he's not?"

Miss Parker turned her attention from the storm to Broots, who tried to hide in his seat as he saw her expression.

"Then we'll search through Albany in Georgia, Albany in Oregon and any other Albany we can think of until we do find him, that's what."

~~~~~

Jarod stared in disbelief at the files that had appeared when his computer booted up, quickly reading through the material. It was exactly what he needed. A sound from the doorway made him look up and his stunned eyes beheld Jennifer as she leaned against the doorframe and grinned at him. After several long moments of silence she stepped into the room and shut the door, taking a seat in the chair opposite his desk.

"How much time do you need?"

He tried to bluff. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, Jarod. Everyone in this place knows that something illegal's going on. In fact, I'm willing to bet that's why you turned up so suddenly. I know what you do and I've given you what you need to get it done, so let's do it. Let's shut this place down!"

Jarod glanced covertly up at a security camera and then back at her, his mouth open to speak, but she jumped in.

"The camera? Don't worry. I fed it some dummy material and it's humming away up there, quite happily. As far as they know, you're working at your desk and I'm busy at mine."

"How do I know if I can really trust you?"

"Do you think I would have given you those files if I didn't want to help you? And if you really didn't trust me, you wouldn't have stood in the doorway of my house last night, swinging my keys in my face. You would have snuck in while I was at work and tried to find something incriminating about the company. Now, can we get on with it?" She leaned back and, grinning, waited for his response.

~~~~~

Sydney slowly climbed into the Centre jet. The six days of fruitless searching had taken their toll and he couldn't wait to get back to Delaware.

"Where do you think he is now?"

"I don't know, Broots. He could be just about anywhere." Sydney glanced at Miss Parker but she was giving directions to the pilot and he took his seat with a weary sigh. "I didn't know there were so many places called Albany in America."

"Do you think we'll ever find him?"

Sydney looked out of the window. "I don't know, Broots. I really don't."

~~~~~

Jennifer carried a tray into the living room where the flames were creating a pleasant heat around the fireplace. A newspaper, lying on the table, showed the result of the several days of hard work that they had both put in. Thanks to their efforts, the illegal activities of the company had finally been exposed and it had been shut down. Jennifer took her steaming mug and smiled at Jarod as she sat opposite him.

"Well, I think we did that rather well, don't you?"

He smiled back. "Superbly." There was a lengthy pause. "Do you know, we've been working together for about a month now and I know as little about you as I did on the first day I met you."

"And what, exactly, did you want to find out?"

"Well, most people like to talk about their families and have photos of them all over the house. I haven't seen any of them here."

"Maybe I just don't like to display them." Her voice was very quiet and she stared into the fire. A lone tear rolled slowly down her cheek but, as she had turned away from Jarod, it went unseen and disappeared into the red curl that touched her cheek, just near her mouth. After a prolonged silence, she began to speak, her voice soft and filled with pain.

"My parents died three years ago. I was really close to them. They couldn't have kids and so they adopted me when I was two. All through my life, as I grew up, we always had difficult kids living with us. We were a kind of 'half-way house' for them, between the old life and the new, so to speak, so I had heaps of company. We lived in a little place called Townsend, in Nebraska. When I was twenty they adopted another child. He was two years younger than me and he was perfect - good-looking, smart, super intelligent, the whole bit. He missed a lot of school when he was younger so my parents sent him back to the local High School to get a decent education. He attended Douglas High for a few years but left to go to a more advanced college before graduation. When he started dating, he had more girls chasing him than we could keep up with. We'd make a joke out of it, 'Hey, here's another one', and he'd come to the phone and then we'd tease him for ages afterwards. After we adopted him, we stopped taking in other kids, so for a few years it was just the two of us and Mom and Dad; that was until I moved out of home. Then, after studying part-time and working at various other companies, I came to the firm to work. That was in '93. About two or three years later, after he'd had work at a few businesses, building his resume, my brother got a job at some center. He never told us which one but he seemed to be doing really well and, as long as he was happy, that was all that mattered to the rest of us. He sent us letters and cards all the time, telling us how he was. I thought it was a bit strange when Mom and Dad died in September '96 that he didn't come to the funeral, but he said there was some sort of crisis at the place where he worked and they wouldn't give him time off..."

Finally the words ran out and Jennifer sat silently as tears filled her eyes. Jarod moved over and sat next to her but she made no move towards him. He placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. "I understand."

~~~~~

Miss Parker stormed down the hall to Raines' office but stopped at a room that had previously been used for storage. To all appearances, it seemed that it had now had been converted into an office of some sort. Without knocking, she threw open the door and stared at the sole occupant - an unknown, red-haired woman sitting at the computer.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?"

The woman smiled up at her calmly. "Oh, you must be Miss Parker. I've heard a lot about you."

Miss Parker heard a squeak and a step behind her, turning to see Raines come up behind her, oxygen tank in hand.

"Ah, Miss Parker! It's about time you and the others returned. Lyle's followed a number of new leads while you've been gone. This is Jennifer. She's a computer analyst. We've brought her in to improve the security system and to complete any other trivial secretarial tasks. You may give her any work you require." He turned to leave but was stopped by the newcomer.

"Mr Raines, these are the papers you wanted. And this disk contains the files you asked me to look for."

"Very good!" the man wheezed. "Miss Parker, this woman is an excellent worker."

As he left, she stared at the newcomer in shock. "How much are you paying him to talk about you like that? He's never nice - to anyone!"

Jennifer shrugged. "He's been fine to me. I've been here three days and he's had nothing but pleasant things to say to and about me." She turned her head as loud footsteps could be heard outside her office.

"Miss Parker..."

"Broots, get in here!"

"Oh, there you are. I have to tell you they've brought in..."

"I know that, you moron. She's sitting right in front of you. Jennifer, this is Broots; he can be a moron but he's pretty handy with a computer so I imagine you'll have a lot to take about. I'll leave you two to get acquainted."

She shut the door behind her and walked quickly along the hall, hearing snatches of conversations that told her that, although the new person had been installed in the Centre a few days, the unexpectedness of her arrival, as well as the obvious change in Raines' mannerisms were still causing surprise among other Centre employees.

~~~~~

"This is Sydney."

"I hear you've got a new workmate."

"Jarod! Yes, she's...how did you know?"

"Oh, I know everything, you know that."

There was a pause

"I was disappointed to miss you in Albany."

"You weren't there."

"Oh, I was. You just didn't look hard enough."

"Jarod - Jarod, don't hang..."

~~~~~

Jennifer turned as her door opened and smiled at Miss Parker who was standing in the doorway. The brunette walked into the room, leaning against the desk.

"Going home already, Parker?"

"No. I have to leave for a while. Jennifer, did Raines tell you about Jarod?"

The newcomer's neutral expression was enough to convince Miss Parker of her ignorance, however, as Miss Parker turned to face the artificial window and began her explanation, Jennifer slipped her hand under her desk, pressing a small button….

~~~~~

"'And so, for the last four years, we've been trying to get him back.'"

Jennifer pressed the stop button on the small, hand-held tape recorder and then grinned at Jarod, who raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Can no-one keep anything from you?"

"Well, you couldn't, could you?"

He didn't answer the question but scooped up the last few noodles from his plate into his mouth and then sat back against the sofa.

"What is it about you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, why are you so special? You're different from just about anyone I've met before. I've never known someone who can get people to say anything without really asking the necessary questions, or that can repeat so much information without really trying."

There was another long pause while Jennifer's eyes twinkled as she stared into the fire. "Well, I'm afraid I can't give an answer to your first comment because I honestly don't know why. Someone told me that I was just a very friendly person and they could know that, when I said things, I meant them. As for point two, I have eidetic memory. That means, if you haven't heard of it before, that I trained my memory so that it can remember things after only seeing them once. As an example, on the day we met, I recalled the fact that a friend of mine in Albany had mentioned you. When I asked how you liked the place, your response confirmed what I already suspected. I did a little more searching for details before I gave you those files on the computer. That's how I knew I could trust you and why you were there."

She shifted her gaze from the leaping flames to his face and smiled at him. After a moment, he smiled back.

~~~~~

Sydney flipped through the papers in the folder in front of him. The neatly typed notes were a record of the recent experiments he had performed on sets of twins within the Centre and which he had given to Jennifer the day before. As he was beginning to think how much easier it was to have somebody like that there, his door flew open and he looked up in shock.

"Syd, have you seen Lyle?"

He shrugged. "Not for a few days. Why?"

"It's just that we can't find him again. He's gone off on some new project or other and now, even though someone thinks they've seen Jarod, we can't find him."

Sydney's response was calm. "Does that matter? We could go without him."

Miss Parker glared at a spot on the floor for several seconds but then decided that he was right. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

~~~~~

Jennifer glanced back over her shoulder at her door but it remained closed. Still she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Surreptitiously she slid her hand under the desk and pressed a small button that was situated there, remembering when she had explained the system to Jarod the day that they had begun working together to close down the architectural firm.

"It's simple. I've set the program so that, when I press this button, a piece of film threads itself into the security monitor. It shows the occupant of the office working quietly at their desk. I've also put a ten second delay on the camera so that, as soon as the button is pressed, the film starts up. That means even if I have to leave my desk for some reason, it'll still look as though I'm working there."

Thankful that she had had the foresight to install it here as well as at her old job, Jennifer was now able to look around the office more openly. A tiny flash of light made her move over to the air duct in the corner and she was about to go back to her desk, believing she was seeing things, when the vent cover moved and Angelo's head appeared. Having met him on several previous occasions, though never in a situation quite like this, she returned to her desk. However she was not permitted to work.

"Jen-ni-fer...come."

"Angelo, I'm busy. Can it wait?"

"Jen-ni-fer come now...must see."

With a sigh she rose from her chair once more and locked the door of the office before moving over to the open vent. Squatting down, her eyes widened as she saw papers, rolled and tied up in bundles, on the floor of the vent at the empath's feet, and she looked up at him.

"What's this?"

"Read..."

She unrolled the bundle closest to her and visually scanned it. "Dara Landers? I never...hang on, yes I have!" She moved across to her computer and ran a quick search of the entire mainframe. "Bingo! But this is in the very depths of Raines' files. Why would he hide it?" She turned back to the man. "Who is she, Angelo, and why is she so important to Raines?"

He picked up two other rolls and, moving across the room, handed the first one to her. She unrolled it and, after reading it for several seconds, looked up at him in amazement. "Kyle? And that one?" She pointed to the papers he still held in his hand, keeping them away from her. "Is it Jarod?" He nodded. "Then these are all - Pretenders?" There was a long pause, during which she looked over Kyle's papers again and then glanced up at him once more. "Has anybody else read these? Sydney? Miss Parker?" He shook his head again, silently. "Then why are you showing them to me?"

"You help Jarod. I help you."

Jennifer's eyes narrowed. "How do you know I help Jarod? Who told you?"

"I feel it. You are… friends."

"Do you want me to take these - or should I leave them here?"

"Copy - for Jarod."

"But wouldn't it be better for Jarod to have his own file, rather than Kyle's?"

"Needs part of Kyle for himself. Has guilt."

She nodded slowly. "I know. He told me. Okay, let me copy this and then you can have them back. Have you got a good hiding place?"

"I keep - for years."

"True. I guess you must have." She quickly watched the pages slip through the copier that stood in the corner of her office. "Okay, here, that's done. I'm going to see what I can find out about Dara in the Centre's files in SL-25. You keep them safe, Angelo, to give back to Jarod and the others later."

~~~~~

Jennifer was examining the small amount of information about Dara that she had been able to discover when Miss Parker appeared in the doorway.

"Are you doing anything important?"

"Actually I was just about to leave. Why?"

"My car died and I was hoping you could give me a lift home."

The redhead smiled and slipped the pages into her bag before shutting down her computer. "Sure thing. Not a problem."

Total Recall
Part 2 – Playing With Fire

As Jennifer drove out of the Centre, she glanced at Miss Parker. "I have to say that I'm curious about something."

"What?"

"I know quite a bit about almost everyone at the Centre now, but there's a person who's still a mystery. Mr Lyle. Raines asked me to do a check on various people for the Centre records but there's nothing on Lyle prior to 1995. It's like he didn't exist."

Miss Parker sat quiet for a minute before she spoke. "Lyle came to work for the Centre in 1995 and helped Raines to do some experiments on Jarod."

"I know; I saw the DSAs. Raines has them and I used them to try and understand Jarod, after you told me about him. But Lyle?"

"He disappeared for a few years but in 1997 he reappeared and started to try and take over my father's position. During an unfortunate...incident...in November of that year, Lyle was set up, first by Raines and then by Jarod. That's when he lost his thumb. But in June last year he came back and he's been trying to thwart my efforts to catch Jarod ever since."

"But I mean before that. He can't have just come into existence in 1995. What about his past?"

Miss Parker paused for a moment before she spoke. "I found something in April last year about his family. He was adopted by a couple in Nebraska and then was presumed dead after a body was found. His father, Lyle Bowman, has been in prison ever since for the murder. Apparently Lyle adopted his father's name after that incident. According to some information we discovered, he attended a High School in a little town called - oh, I forget, but some really dinky little out-of-the-way place. The school believed that he died before the class he was in could graduate in '83. Then, fifteen years later, he appeared at the Centre and started work."

Miss Parker had been looking out of the window while she had been talking but now glanced at Jennifer and was shocked at her expression.

"What's wrong? You look like you're about to pass out!"

"Did you say...Lyle Bowman?"

"His dad? Yeah."

"So what was Lyle's name before that?"

"Didn't the files say? Bobby. Bobby Bowman."

Fortunately for both occupants, the car was stopped at a red traffic light. Jennifer turned and stared at Miss Parker.

"What is it?"

"Bobby Bowman...Lyle...was my brother."

"What?!"

"I mean it. You remember I told you how my parents also adopted a boy and that must have been Lyle. There are too many co-incidences for it not to be, I mean, the name - and the school - and the new job! Not to mention that Jarod's escape would have prevented him from attending the funeral of our parents!"

"But surely you've...seen photos?"

"Sure, years ago, Parker. He looked...he was a different person then!" She took several deep breaths to calm down. "When we met, I knew he reminded me of a person that I knew really well. That must have been who it was, but I would never have worked it out myself. I must ask him..."

~~~~~

Even two days later, Jennifer was still in a daze. It had been hard for her to learn that her brother had been responsible for the death of Jarod's brother, and she could still remember the exact details of the discussion she had had with Jarod about it. When the door of her office swung open, she stared uncomprehendingly at the man who was leaning against her desk, a gun in his hand.

"You must have known how much I resented you." His voice was softly menacing. "I've always hated you. They both always preferred you to me and you got everything before I did - a good education, a good job, your freedom. But now I've got the upper hand..."

"Bobby, I - "

"I'm not Bobby," he hissed. "I'm nothing like him. I'm Lyle, Mr Lyle, and I would advise you to remember that."
"Well, if you're going to shoot me then it doesn't really matter, does it?" she retorted, unable to believe that he would really shoot her. "But what do you mean 'they preferred me'? You were the handsome one, the intelligent one. The whole family was centered on you and your life. You were the person I looked up to and wanted to be like. I relied on your advice. You were my hero and I was the envy of every one who knew us, being your sister."

"Yeah," he sneered. "You'd say anything to save your own neck, just like they did. But I know what it was really like, what they really wanted."

"B…Lyle..."

Jennifer stopped as the gun recoiled once and then a second time in his hand. She felt the bullets enter first her left arm, just above the elbow, and then her chest. Her breath exploded out of her as she began falling towards the carpet on the floor of her room. Hitting the floor, she could feel Lyle glaring down at her before racing out of the door of her office. He almost collided with Mr Parker, who tried to clutch at him but was distracted by the sight of the injured woman on the floor. Raines appeared, only moments after the blast, and ordered her carried down to the infirmary.

~~~~~

Jarod picked up the phone but put it down immediately. He couldn't let Sydney realize how much he knew about Jennifer. They would kill her before they let her out of the building. He listened on the radio in his ambulance to a request for transportation of an injured person to the hospital in Blue Cove and wondered if the Centre had any involvement.

~~~~~

"We had no choice. It was my decision and I stand by it. I wasn't going to wait for those bumbling idiots down at the infirmary to make her worse. I want her to have the best treatment available. Do you understand, Mr Parker?" Raines eyes were narrow, shooting fire from the blue depths at the white-haired man opposite.

"Yes, but I still think..."

"Enough! The Triumvirate was consulted and agreed with me. There is nothing more to be said or done."

~~~~~

Jennifer's eyes flickered open and she stared uncomprehendingly around her for several seconds. Then, as her gaze met the amused one of the man standing beside her bed, she struggled to sit up.

"Jarod! What are you doing here?"

He grinned and, placing a gentle hand on her uninjured arm, prevented her from moving, before reaching up to adjust the IV that she saw led into her arm. "I'm taking care of you, of course. What does it look like?"

"But..." her face showed her confusion and doubt, "Raines is letting you work in the infirmary?"

He grinned. "Hardly. No, this is Blue Cove Hospital."

She smiled up at him and rested back against the pillows as he tucked a red curl behind her ear. "You get away with so much!"

He turned to leave, smiling over his shoulder at her. "I'm not the only one."

~~~~~

"The Triumvirate has told me to assure you that you are only to return to work once you are medically fit to do so."

"Yes, Mr Raines. I understand."

"Good." He turned, leaving the room, as Miss Parker approached the bed and grinned at the patient.

"How do you do that?"

Jennifer laughed, despite the slight pain it caused. "Make him be nice to me? I don't. It happens on its own."

"Well, all I can say is 'you're lucky'. The only reason you're here is that he made the Triumvirate agree to letting you stay away from work until you were properly recovered."

"I recently discovered a possible reason for the way he treats me."

Miss Parker sat down in the chair beside the bed and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what's that?"

"Jarod sent me a photo of Raines' daughter. You know, the one that died, Annie."

"Yeah, so?"

"There are some incredible likenesses between us in looks. I think that's why he acts the way that he does."

Miss Parker shrugged carelessly. "Could be."

~~~~~

Sydney entered the room and Miss Parker stood up. "I must go, I've got heaps to do. See you later, Jennifer."

Taking a seat beside the bed, the psychiatrist looked at her. "How are you?"

"Improving every day. I should be able to get out of here soon, I'd say. I have no need for hospitals."

He smiled. "Well, I hear you've got your orders."

"The Triumvirate is thorough."

"And Raines even more so - when he wants to be!"

After about ten minutes Sydney rose from his seat and said goodbye. As he left, his eye fell onto the medical folder that was lying open on the table at the end of Jennifer's bed. His eyes widened as he took in the writing and he glanced at the woman, who was apparently engrossed in something outside. Reaching over to tear the page out, however, a voice stopped him.

"Is something the matter, Syd?" Jennifer looked at him in concern and he forced a smile, shaking his head as he left the room.

~~~~~

"It's nice to be home." Jennifer sighed as she lowered herself onto the sofa in her living room and Jarod gently covered her with the blanket that he had had draped over one arm. She eyed him, settling her arm into a more comfortable position. "Are you trying to mother me, Jarod? Because now I'm home, I won't stand for it."

He hid a smile and spoke sternly. "I'm not trying to mother you. But nothing can prevent me from doctoring you. Even you can't deny me that role."

"Oh, I can. I'll just have to get better as soon as possible, that's all."

He grinned at her determination as he sat on a chair facing her and she laughed in response.

"Well, I convinced you to let me out early, didn't I? So what is there to stop me from getting better faster than expected as well?"

"Me!"

She nodded in mock sincerity. "Oh, of course. I forgot. And you've managed to stop me from doing things before too, I suppose. Like stopping me from working at the Centre, even though you didn't think it was such a good idea. And also stopping me from helping you shut down the architectural business. You stopped me very effectively then!" She snorted in derision and then grinned at him. He tried to look indignant but eventually smiled back at her.

~~~~~

Jennifer pulled the car to a stop and got out. Sighing with pleasure, she looked around at the mountains that ringed the lake and were reflected in its mirror-like surface. Then she turned to the small cabin that stood on its shore and, pulling a large key from her pocket, unlocked the door. She walked inside and dropped her bag onto the large table in the living room before pulling out a small, square device, out of her other pocket and plugging it into a power point. With a flick of the switch, she nodded in satisfaction, knowing that if any tracking devices had been planted on her or in her bag, they would be short-circuited. A similar device had already detected several bugs attached to her car, phone and house in Blue Cove, as well as in her office. It was fortunate that Broots had so willingly told her the frequency at which they transmitted, thus enabling her to create and use the device.

After a few hours watching t.v and admiring the view, she pulled out her laptop and connected to the Centre's mainframe. Within two hours she had finished the work that she had intended to finish earlier that day but which a sighting of Jarod had prevented. With a stifled yawn she rose and, after blowing out the candle by which she had been working, climbed the ladder leading to the upper level. The bed swayed slightly as she sat on the edge of it, the thick chains with which it was suspended from the ceiling creating a pleasant rocking sensation. After peeling off her socks, she rubbed her bare feet through the thick sheepskin rug that lay on the floor and then swung her legs up onto the mattress.

~~~~~

Lyle struck a match and held it between cupped hands as he tried to get a better measure of his surroundings. With the rain starting, he had seen a lone building amid the trees and had stumbled towards it in the hope of bullying the occupants into giving him shelter for the night. When nobody was visible and the interior had remained dark, he'd smashed a window and dropped inside. Now, as he looked at the pleasant furnishings and shook the water from his hair, Lyle complimented himself on his good luck.

~~~~~

At about two a.m., Jennifer was woken by a sound downstairs. She reached over and silently took out the gun that lived in the drawer beside her bed, picking up the torch that sat on the tabletop. Silently moving to the point at which the upper level stopped, and with moonlight streaming in through the window, she had a very fair view of a male figure on the level below. He was standing in the middle of the room, looking around, and she watched as he approached the ladder. Silently moving back a few paces, she warily faced the top of the steps, the gun ready in her right hand and the torch in her left, thumb on the switch. The silent ascent of the intruder was enough to convince her that he had removed his shoes, as she did, just inside the door, and Jennifer readied herself for his appearance.

~~~~~

Miss Parker crept along the side of the house, glancing in each window as she passed it, but ensuring that she stayed out of sight. A movement warned her that the object of her search could be inside and, waving at others to be ready, she moved silently towards the door. A slight noise from within made her stiffen but she stretched out a hand to the door and had just touched it when headlights swept over the scene.

~~~~~

As the head appeared at the top of the ladder, Jennifer switched on her torch and aimed its beam at the head of the uninvited guest, her eyes widening as she instantly recognized his familiar features.

"Jarod?"

He grinned and climbed up the last few rungs as Jennifer put the gun on her bed and moved across, lighting the kerosene lantern that hung from the middle of the ceiling. Its soft glow provided sufficient illumination for her to turn off the torch and return it to the table.

"What are you doing here? More to the point, how did you find this place?" She asked the questions with her back to him, as she returned the gun to the drawer, but turned when he stayed silent. Kneeling on the rug at her feet, he showed her the badge that proclaimed him to be a park ranger and she laughed.

"I'd seen this house in my work and I thought I recognized your car. Besides, you once mentioned that you had spent time in this area when you were younger." She nodded and laughed again, at which Jarod raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"This situation. Have you heard what's been going on this week? No? Shame on you! What happened to your regular contacts, might I ask?"

He grinned. "I wasn't accessible, being in the middle of a forest. But I'm asking one of my contacts now, so tell me what's funny."

"Raines called me into his office on Monday morning. He's proposed that, as I've nearly finished all the stuff he wanted me to do, I should be given additional work and that, ironically enough, is - "

"Chasing me." Jarod's voice was serious.

"Right." She rocked with laughter but, although Jarod smiled in sympathy at her amusement, his face remained sober and she looked at him. "What is it?"

"They aren't going to let you go now. You know that, don't you?"

She leaned forward. "But I don't mind, Jarod! Oh, I don't say I'm ever going to become like Raines, say, or Mr. Parker, but I enjoy the work and I like Parker, Sydney and the others. Besides this gives you an even better chance to avoid capture - and they'll never even know who's helping you!"

"Are you sure? I'd hate you to be doing something you didn't want to!"

She slipped off the bed and sat down on the rug beside him. "Jarod, you warned me of the risks when this all started and, as you might imagine, I haven't forgotten them. If anything, they've been made even more obvious. But I wanted to do it then and I still do. I love my work." He moved one hand to silence her but she trapped it and the other in both of her own and held them, continuing. "I wouldn't have taken on this job if I'd had any concerns and I certainly wouldn't have gone back after the shooting in that circumstance."

"But you don't know what they're really capable of, and..."

She placed one finger on his lips in a move that silenced him instantly. "Jarod, working in the way I am, I'd say that I'm more than aware of what they can do, wouldn't you? After all, I'm constantly working on deals and presentations for the Centre, so I'd have to be blind, deaf and stupid not to know!"

"But if you make a mistake..."

"But I won't make a mistake! And even if I did, you forget that I've got Raines to protect me from anything the Triumvirate can throw my way. That reminds me, he's changed my working hours. Having realized that I can do so much from my own computer, he said that I only need to come in every second week, so that's why I'm here at the moment. Parker can't even call me for a 'sighting' when I'm not at work. Now, isn't that nice of him?"

He laughed but stopped as he felt her shiver slightly. "What's wrong?"

"To be honest," she grinned at him through chattering teeth. "I'm freezing!"

~~~~~

Lyle stretched himself out on the sofa and gave a weary sigh. Just prior to falling asleep he heard the creak of hinges and silently rolled over, facing the door with his gun at the ready in his hand. He had already been forced to use it in obtaining the lift that had carried him away from the Centre and it had easily convinced a shopkeeper to give him some food. Now Lyle waited to see who he could take advantage of next.

~~~~~

Jennifer stretched and felt as the bed rocked gently underneath her before she opened her eyes, rolling over to look out of the window. The sun was still hours from rising and, as the moon shone in through the uncovered window, she knew, without looking at her watch, that is was only half past six. She rolled over onto her other side and looked at the sleeping figure of Jarod on the rug, wrapped in her thickest blankets and with only his face showing. Knowing how comfortable it was, she was not surprised at how deeply he was asleep. For several moments she gazed at him, but the cold air that had pervaded the cabin overnight acted as an incentive to get up and, collecting her clothes from near the ladder, Jennifer softly descended to the lower floor.

~~~~~

Miss Parker spent several long seconds getting her breath. The headlights that had appeared to be sweeping over the entire veranda were actually still a short distance away and the group had had time to conceal themselves before the car had arrived. They watched silently as an elderly couple approached the house, chatting quietly about the evening and they waited until the two were inside and had closed the door. Then, at a signal from Miss Parker, the group slowly began to circle the house.

~~~~~

Thirty minutes later, Jennifer emerged from the bathroom, her hair hanging in a thick, damp plait down her back and skin shining from the rough, homemade soap that she used when staying in the cabin. The solid timber walls prevented the sound of her movements from reaching the upper room and it wasn't until the slices of bread, coated in the egg mixture, were warming in the oven and Jennifer was in front of the computer that he descended the ladder.

"Good morning."

She smiled. "Did you sleep okay? I hope the floor is comfortable enough."

"If I said it wasn't, would you let me share the bed?" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as he grinned, but said nothing. "So, where can a person get a decent wash around here?"

In response Jennifer waved her arm in the direction of the lake and enjoyed the look of shock on Jarod's face as he took in the frozen water and the snow that covered braches on many of the trees close to the bank. "Out there?"

"And why not? I'm sure it would be very - refreshing!" She tried to cover a smile but Jarod had noticed.

"Okay, give. Where's the real bathroom?"

"Through there." She pointed to the door. "Don't take too long. Breakfast's waiting."

~~~~~

Jennifer curled up in the corner of the sofa with a gloomy sigh as she flicked on the television. Jarod had left that morning to finish some work and she already felt lonely. He had promised to return by nine p.m. and, looking outside at the dizzying dance of snowflakes, Jennifer felt a shiver of apprehension. A glance at her watch showed that there was about half an hour before the time he said he would be back and, if she was any judge of the local weather, a massive blizzard was on the way. She hoped he would have the sense to stay out of it.

~~~~~

Miss Parker held Lyle firmly as Sam locked the handcuffs onto his wrists. As the elderly couple, shaken but unhurt, returned to their home, the group began to move towards the car. However, one of the sweepers failed to see a fine wire, tied about three inches off the ground, and he tripped and fell. In the confusion Lyle managed to wrench his arms from Miss Parker's hold and began running downhill. Sam attempted to fire at him but the bullet went wide. Miss Parker, cursing angrily, ordered the group to separate and locate him before morning.

~~~~~

An hour later, Jennifer glanced down at her watch in anxiety. She had expected that Jarod would call and let her know what he was doing but she hadn't heard from him. A call on her own behalf had resulted in a cheerful voice telling her that his phone was, in all probability, turned off. Thoughtfully staring at the television screen, she saw nothing of what passed before her eyes. The hands of the clock ticked forward until, as it chimed ten, the sounds galvanized her into action. She leaned forward and pulled a book of maps across the table. Opening it, she ran her finger along the road until it forked off and nodded. It was more than likely that, having never been to her house in the dark before, and particularly not during a storm, he could have taken the wrong road. After preparing a flask of hot coffee, she poured the remaining water into several hot water bottles before glancing at her watch to find that it was now ten thirty. Being so late and having heard nothing, there was almost no doubt in her mind that he had either broken down or else had had an accident in the car. Glancing at the door, she could see the pile of chains that he had left behind that morning, believing he wouldn't need them. Jennifer pulled on her jacket, scarf and gloves, collected everything and carried it out to the car. Several blankets on the floor of the front seat, as well as a first aid kit, satisfied her and, after she checked that the chains on her tires were secure, she drove away from the house.

~~~~~

Jarod pressed the accelerator again and listened to the wheels spin uselessly in the snow. He muttered angrily and shivered, despite the warmth that the heater was throwing out. The snow was flying wildly around outside the car and even a brief spell of watching it made him slightly dizzy but he knew that the cabin could not be too much further along the road and he was determined to reach it. As he switched on his headlights, Jarod reached into the back seat for his jacket. It was not as thick as he would have liked but he could do nothing about it then. With grave misgivings he opened the door and felt it pulled away from his grasp by the force of the wind. The light stretched a short distance along the road and, closing the door of his car, he began to trudge along, head lowered against the wind. He expected at every second to see a glow from the cabin but, just as he felt that he should have reached it, the light that had been dimly showing the way flickered and went out. Jarod cursed but dared not turn back. Instead he walked hesitantly onwards. Finally, however, he veered slightly off course and, as his foot trod on an uneven part of the road, he fell forward onto the ground and lay there, eyes closed.

~~~~~

Jennifer's car pulled up beside Jarod's and she frantically scrabbled for the torch that lay on the floor of the passenger seat. Its high-powered beam cut through the darkness and another light, temporarily fixed to the roof of the car and with its own generator, illuminated the scene as she moved over to his vehicle. Finding it empty she fought her way back to her own car and, knowing instinctively what he would do, began to slowly drive down the centre of the road.

~~~~~

Miss Parker heard the roar of a motor on the road ahead and accelerated. As she careened down the road, the car, with no chains, began to rock, and Miss Parker had to fight keep it on the road. Believing it to be Lyle in the car ahead, she forced the vehicle to go faster. However, the icy surface had no grip and the car left the road and, clipping a tree, rolled several times before finally coming to rest.

~~~~~

Jarod forced open his eyes and watched drowsily as the snowflakes gently came to land on him. Something inside screamed that he had to get up and move but he was too tired and ignored the warning signs. Out of the corner of one eye he thought that he could see an orange glow but the effort of turning to look was too much and allowed his eyes to slip closed. Dimly Jarod wondered what Sydney would think when he heard, or how his parents would learn what had happened.

Then he relaxed.

~~~~~

Miss Parker sat for several seconds in shock before pulling herself together and tugging on the handle. To her relief the door swung open and, climbing out of the wreck, she, the two sweepers and then Broots climbed out of the wreck. He turned and looked at the car for several seconds before being violently sick and his reaction set off one of the sweepers. While the other went to get water from a bottle that was always carried in the trunk, Miss Parker shook her head.

"Mutant."

~~~~~

Jennifer finally saw a small pile of color on the side of the road and, even as she stopped the vehicle, stretched out one hand to lower the passenger seat to an almost horizontal position. Yanking on the handle, she let the wind hold the passenger door open and then snatched up a blanket. Turning on the torch and searchlight again, she trained them on the figure. Within seconds she was on her knees beside him and, as she put a blanket around his shoulders, his eyelids flickered, but didn’t lift. Still, it meant that he was alive.

"Jarod, come on, look at me. I need you to help me here. I know you can hear me and I can't lift you on my own. Work with me here."

Half carrying, half dragging, she got him over to the car and onto the passenger seat. Once he was lying down she grabbed the second rug and wrapped it tightly around his chest and arms before wiping the snow from his face. After shutting the door she dashed around to her side. Sitting in the car, she tucked the hot water bottles under him and draped the other blankets around his semi-conscious body. Turning the key, she started the engine and did a u-turn, driving back to the intersection where Jarod become lost. A light that she had placed there still burned, despite being covered by a layer of snow, and once the car was facing in the right direction she got out, turned off the lamp and left it there for later use.

~~~~~

Miss Parker glared out at the darkness through the windshield. Although the car was still drivable, an occasional crunch made her secretly wonder whether they would actually get back to the Centre at all. In some ways she couldn't help but hope they wouldn't. It was bad enough that Jarod was still free and she knew that her father was going to want her to also try and locate Lyle. It didn't matter to him that Lyle had tried to kill Jennifer. It was from Raines' wrath that Lyle had fled and Miss Parker knew that he wouldn't hesitate to contact his father for help if he needed it.

~~~~~

Jarod felt chills go through him and he shivered violently, trying to curl up but unable to move. Something warm was pushed in beside him and, gratefully, he felt the heat against his chest. He felt as if he was breathing through glue and struggled to open his eyes, turning his head slightly. A voice murmured softly and soothingly in his ear as his hair was brushed away from his face but Jarod had no energy to try and work out who had done it. He felt himself begin to slip away from the voice and his lips parted with a sigh as he fell asleep.

Jennifer stepped back from the bed with her own sigh of relief. It had been four long days since she had brought Jarod back from the brink of death. His almost constant nightmares had restricted the amount of sleep she had had and was also preventing him from getting well as quickly as he ought. She had lost count of the number of times she had wiped his face and neck with water and held him down while he thrashed on the bed. She reached over to the bowl that sat on the bedside table and squeezed excess moisture out of the cloth before wiping his face. As the damp material passed over his mouth, Jennifer watched in disbelief as he swallowed for the first time since she had found him. Quickly she reached over and picked up a glass. Using a teaspoon, she poured several drops of liquid into his mouth and watched in anticipation. His throat moved and, encouraged, Jennifer gave him the rest of the dose she had prepared for this occasion. Then, with a weary sigh, she returned to her bed.

~~~~~

Jarod opened his eyes and stared blankly up at the ceiling that he could just recognize, feeling himself in a bed with blankets tucked around him. The chains that held up the bed gave him some hint of his location, but his memory was still hazy. A sound made him look around and he saw Jennifer standing at the end of the bed. Seeing that he was awake, she moved over and sat beside him, reaching up to smooth his hair.

"How are you feeling?"

He smiled feebly. "Like I was run over by a truck!"

She laughed and then, standing, pulled the blankets more closely around him, gently smoothing the pillow.

"What happened?"

Jennifer folded her arms and looked down at him sternly. "You were very stupid, that's what. If you want to go for a walk, it's better to do so in fine weather and not when there's a blizzard raging."

"I...what?" He sat up but the world began to spin around him and he was thankful when Jennifer gently pushed him back onto the pillow.

"Just stay there. It's all right; you don't have to go anywhere just yet." She took a seat beside him again. "You were coming back here when it started to snow and you took the wrong road. After your car got stuck, you decided for some foolish reason to get out and walk. When you didn't show, I got worried and went out to look for you. I found you in the snow and brought you back here. You've had a bad bought of pneumonia, but I think we've finally got that licked."

"How?"

"My parents lived here continuously for a number of years and my dad got sick like that a lot. I remembered the name of the medication and got a friend of mine to bring some here for you."

"A...friend?" He looked up at her slightly nervously.

"Don't worry, it's no one that you know or that knows the Centre. She and I went to school together. We've stayed close friends and, as luck would have it, she's a doctor, so I got everything that I could need from her to help you."

She got up but he grabbed her hand.

"What about Lyle?"

"What about him? Oh, do you mean does he know about this place? No. We got it after he started work at the Centre and I don't think he ever even heard about it. My parents left him their other house when they died and I got this. I think he sold that house, though. It was in Nebraska, so it wasn't very convenient for him. Now, try to sleep, Jarod."

She turned and went towards the ladder. Jarod watched until he couldn't see her any more, and then closed his eyes and relaxed.

Total Recall
Part 3 – Dangerous Games

Two days later Jennifer and Jarod were sitting in the living room, watching a new snowstorm that had started the day before. Jennifer picked up the empty plates and carried them into the kitchen, turning on the kettle.

"You're certainly better!"

"Oh, I have this thing about being sick," he told her. "I'm not too fond of it."

"Well, that makes two of us." She filled the two mugs and carried them over to the sofa. Handing him one, she smiled as she sat down beside him. "At least you're a good patient."

They sat in a companionable silence for several moments. As Jennifer brought the mug up to her lips, Jarod spoke.

"Jenn?"

She looked up, lips on the warm rim. "Umm?"

"I love you."

Jennifer, having taken a sip of coffee, choked loudly. She glanced suspiciously at Jarod, thinking that he was joking, but the look on his face convinced her that he was serious. There was a long pause.

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I..."

Putting her mug down on the table in front of her, she leaned over and, taking the mug out of his hand, kissed him. Feeling his hand come to rest on the back of her head as he responded, she sank into his arms. Being something that she had wanted to do to him for a long time, Jennifer knew that it was the best answer she could have given.

~~~~~

Jennifer looked up as Miss Parker burst into her office, with a sideways glance at a small girl who was sleeping on the sofa in the corner. As the door banged back against the wall, the child sat up, her hair sticking in every direction and her eyes bright. Miss Parker opened her mouth to speak but stopped at the sight of the infant.

"What on earth...?"

Jennifer turned to her. "Good morning, Parker. This is Louise."

The baby stared at the woman out of large brown eyes. A soft sound in another corner made Miss Parker look to see Angelo crouched in front of a vent. Jennifer looked in the same direction and smiled.

"Angelo, will you take Louise to see Sydney for me?"

As the two disappeared through the door, Miss Parker sat in one of the chair on the other side of the desk. Jennifer quickly hit several keys and closed down the files she had been working on. Then, as she met Miss Parker's startled gaze, she burst out laughing.

"Oh, Louise isn't mine! She's the daughter of a friend who has to go to hospital for surgery and will be out of action for about a week. Raines said that I could bring her to work."

"You should be careful; they might test her as potential Pretender material."

"Unlikely. The only person who might have tried is Lyle and...well..."

Miss Parker handed over the papers that she wanted Jennifer to prepare and then left the room. Outside the office she found her stepmother haranguing Angelo for having seemingly released one of the children from their rooms. Miss Parker became embroiled in an argument with the other woman that lasted until Jennifer appeared in the doorway of her office. Louise, breaking loose from the grip in which Brigitte held her, ran to her mother's friend. Gently picking up the girl, Jennifer cradled her while she explained to Brigitte. None of them saw Raines appear in the hallway and pause as a strangely paternal look came into his eyes. Taking as deep a breath as he was capable, he returned to his office.

~~~~~

Jarod sank back into the shadows and watched as the three figures entered the house. He had been stunned to recognize Sydney's voice through the open window of the car as it pulled up into the driveway. Having had to quickly revise his idea about being inside when Jennifer arrived home, he tried to imagine why Sydney could be there, eventually coming to the conclusion that they had come to pick up something that Sydney wanted before Jennifer drove him home. Hovering outside the entrance that she had shown him and that was not visible from the street, he waited impatiently for them to return to the car. Now that he knew what Jennifer felt for him, as well as having recognized the depth of his feelings for her, he wanted them to spend every spare moment together. As he waited, he recalled the conversation that they had had the day before she left the cabin for work.

"Jarod, surely I'm not the only one of us who knows the danger of you being so close to the Centre. I know you're stubborn but I wasn't aware that stupidity was one of your major faults..."

"Oh, please! Why won't you realize...?"

"No! Why won't you realize that what you're suggesting to me now is tantamount to suicide! You saw what Raines tried to do to Kyle when they brought him back and what he would have done if you hadn't saved him! Why put yourself at the same risk? The only way for you to remain safe from them is to do what you've been doing! Staying almost within Delaware, especially this close to Blue Cove, is ridiculous!"

"Oh, come on!" He leaned back, looking at her skeptically. "It takes a good two hours to get here by car and it's a horrible place to find!"

"And by air? Or had you forgotten about the fleet of Centre helicopters?"

The question had hung in the air between them for several seconds, at the end of which Jennifer had risen and continued to pack the few bags that she would take back to Blue Cove with her. The recollection of the time they had spent together made Jarod smile and he watched as Sydney and Jennifer came down the few stairs from the house and got into her car. Within twenty minutes she was back and he waited for her to go inside before entering the house himself.

~~~~~

Jarod sat on the sofa, watching as Jennifer picked up Louise and carried her out of the room. He waited while the small girl was put to bed and then Jennifer returned.

"What's the story?"

"She's the daughter of my friend, Sarah, the doctor who helped look after you when you were sick. I'm Louise's Godmother and while Sarah's recovering from surgery, she's staying here."

"And you're taking her to work?"

"She and Angelo are great friends."

Jarod laughed and then turned to stare out of the window. The snow, which had only begun to fall within the last few minutes, made any view of the outside world impossible. Wrapping his arms around the woman who leaned against him and stroking her hair, he smiled. Suddenly he looked down at her.

"I just thought - is she going to say anything?"

"Definitely not. Her father's in the CIA and she's learnt that anything she hears at home isn't to be told to other people. Her mother says that she has a tenacity for secrecy better than that of most adults."

He grinned at her and, getting up off the seat, poked the dying embers of the fire and stared out again at the snow.

~~~~~

Miss Parker settled herself into her chair. There had been no sign of either Lyle or Jarod in some time - the former in three weeks and the latter in as many months. However she had her suspicions that her father kept in covert contact with Lyle, especially as he had ceased to nag her over his disappearance.

"M...Miss Parker?"

"What is it, Broots?"

"Jennifer wanted to know if she could see you for a minute."

Miss Parker sighed with supposed frustration at the request curt but she was actually enjoying having a colleague with whom she could freely converse and therefore her actions were put on for the benefit of the man who was waiting for an answer.

"Yes, all right. I'm coming."

Miss Parker strolled into the office and watched as Jennifer tossed a bundle of papers into the top drawer, closing it. Miss Parker took advantage of the time to glance around the room.

"You've lost your visitor then?"

The redhead nodded. "She went back home yesterday."

"I see."

There was a pause.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." Jennifer leaned back in her chair. "Quite the contrary, actually. I was able to inform Raines today that I had finished the work that he wanted me to do using the archives. Everything else that he asked for can be completed without having to be actually at the Centre, so from now on I only need to come in every second Monday, if necessary."

"Does that mean you won't be helping us anymore?"

"I'm afraid so."

Miss Parker sighed heavily and stared at the floor. "Damn."

"I know. But it's not the end of the world. I mean, I'll still be coming in every other Monday and there's always the phone - or email. Heck, it works for Jarod and Sydney, so why not us, too?"

"But..."

"...it's not the same. I know."

~~~~~

Jennifer settled herself in the large chair in the cabin. The thought that she had several weeks before she needed to return to the Centre was certainly a pleasant idea and, as she stretched out, she indulged in a satisfied smirk. She knew that Jarod was busy for at least a week, so she could have some time alone and look forward to seeing him whenever he turned up. However, as she glanced at her laptop, planning to shut it down, a message appeared on the screen. She stared blankly for several seconds, reading the words over and over until their meaning sank in. It was fortunate that the computer had been resting on a small table because, had it been in her hands, it would certainly have ended up on the floor. Gathering the bags that she had only recently discarded and tossing them into the car, she locked the cabin and then sent the vehicle hurtling down the road at its fastest speed.

~~~~~

Raines smirked in delight as he looked at the two screens. Both prisoners had fought constantly as they were taken to their cells. In fact it had taken several sweepers to restrain the older man. He looked around as the door opened and his eyes lit up as Jennifer walked into the room. Her eyes traveled quickly from his face to the two screens and the expression of joy on her face, put on for the benefit of the man in front of her, was almost painful for her to maintain.

"Well, I see you got my message."

"I did indeed." It took all Jennifer's self-control to keep her voice from trembling, but she managed. "What, exactly, were you wanting me to do?"

"I need someone to keep the records of all that occurs during their..." he paused to find the right word. "Treatment."

"Yes sir." Her voice remained non-committal as she followed him from the room.

~~~~~

Sydney caught up with Jennifer as she entered her office. Carefully shutting the door behind him, he moved one of the seats facing the desk and, with a heavy sigh, sank down on it.

"What are they going to do to them?"

She looked up at him. "Nothing, yet. They want to find out what they know about Jarod, and where the Centre might find him. If they won't tell, and I personally can't see how they could possibly know when they were only together for a few days, then they'll use tougher methods."

Sydney sighed and wearily rubbed one hand across his forehead. "If Jarod knew about this, it would destroy him."

"That's why you mustn't tell him."

"Ever?"

Jennifer caught Sydney's eye and smiled. "Can you really see either of the two of them sitting in their cells quietly for the rest of their lives? That sort of thing is probably hereditary." A faint grin appeared on Sydney's face as he rose to leave her office. At the same moment, a message arrived for Jennifer.

~~~~~

As she approached the door to the first cell, Paul, her own sweeper, dismissed the other guard and placed himself before the door. With a secret grin, to which the stony-faced man never responded, she entered the cell. The older figure was lying on the cot in the corner of the room and, as she entered, Jennifer was able to instantly detect the likeness to the man she adored. The figure swung his legs off the bed and sat up.

"What do you want?"

"To talk." She pulled up the chair that had been put in the room for her use and sat on it, facing the Major.

He regarded her somewhat skeptically, and, with a heavy sigh, turned to stare at the wall. The pen that she had brought down to make notes with slipped between Jennifer's fingers and, as she bent over to retrieve it, she surreptitiously pressed a button on a small black box that was concealed in her hand before easing the object into her pocket.

"Major, I want you to let me help you."

"Why should I?"

"I need you to understand. I don't really work for the Centre itself. I'm here so that I can help another person who has connections with it to stay out of it."

His face lifted and suddenly his eyes were full of hope. "Jarod?"

"Yes, of course. Now listen. We don't have much time. I'll be helping as much as I can and, when it's time to leave, it will need to be done without question. I would like to tell you more but I can't. Raines will be coming down shortly as the camera has stopped working temporarily." Her eyes danced and the man half-smiled.

"How did you do it?"

"Oh, I know a trick or two. I know this is hard but I need you to try and work with these people. If you were to be medicated, or moved to a different place in the Centre, I might never be able to find you again. Promise me."

The man nodded slowly and then, as knocking was heard on the other side of the door, he stared back at the wall. The door was swung open and Jennifer stood as Raines walked in.

"Jennifer, if you wouldn't mind?"

She joined Sydney and Raines outside the cell as Paul shut and locked the door.

"What is it?"

"The camera system on this level has failed completely."

"Does that mean I can't visit the boy?"

"You can, but we shall be with you."

"Very well, Mr Raines," she agreed, having surmised that this would be the result of her actions with the cameras, but believing it was worth the risk to ensure that Jarod's father, at least, knew her motives.

She entered this cell with as much caution as the other and her heart suddenly constricted as she saw a figure lying on the cot. There was no movement as they entered and Sydney bent over the young boy in concern. Raines merely smirked as he leaned against the wall.

"I've been informed that the boy was sedated this morning in an effort to prevent self-mutilation."

Sydney rounded on the other man and during the argument that ensued Jennifer was able to approach the bed and look down at the small face, eyes closed and his expression artificially calm. The likeness caused her to feel ill at the thought of what this child could suffer if not released soon and, prior to exiting through the door that the two men had just used, she gently ran her finger down the cheek of the small boy. It was a gesture that had calmed and comforted Jarod during the worst of his delirious babblings and she hoped that it would likewise prove a comfort to this child, who was only Jarod in miniature. As she left, she slipped a small piece of paper into the hand of the sweeper, but he showed no recognition of the fact as Jennifer walked down the corridor.

Two hours later a small rap on her door attracted Jennifer's attention. Even as she called to the visitor to enter, she was thankful that she had taken Jarod's advice. Paul had been a friend of hers ever since her parents had taken him in for a few months and it had been easy for her to accommodate the necessary references to get him his present job. His rise in power had been reflected in her own. As he shut the door, she disabled the cameras and short-circuited any microphones in the room before the two began to talk.

"What's the plan?" The expressionless face of the sweeper dissolved into that of the boy who had been such a good companion during the short time they had spent together as children.

"We need to get them out, and soon. If not, I hate to think what Raines could do to them."

"Do you have an idea?"

She grinned slyly at his question and he reciprocated in kind, raising an eyebrow as his curious expression demanded details.

"Of course. Well, the germ of one. You'll get your directions later. Just try to prevent them from being moved and, if they are, I want to know where, at once."

~~~~~

Jennifer was waiting in the bedroom that Raines had given her, having managed to meddle with the cameras in the same way as with her office. This gave her a relatively safe place in which the two prisoners could be brought prior to their planned escape. What amazed her was that it was the same room as appeared on some of the DSAs she had seen: the place where Jarod had spent most of his life. The boy had been sedated again, despite Jennifer's attempts to prevent it, and so was unconscious when Paul had carried him out of his room. It had not been difficult for Jennifer to slip a small tablet into Raines' drink during the course of the night and he was sleeping in the room in his private wing of the Centre. Jennifer and Paul, therefore, had the Centre virtually to themselves, having even persuaded the man in charge of the security room to take a break. Paul smiled as the two were brought into her room and the door shut.

"Well, that was easy."

Jennifer grinned as she glimpsed the sweat on his forehead and questioningly raised an eyebrow. He laughed softly and turned to the man.

"Sir, is there anything else before we get you out of here?"

"What about the boy?" Major Charles turned in concern to the bed where the boy lay, breathing deeply and steadily, but Jennifer smiled briefly as she walked over and gently ran her finger down the young face.

"He'll be fine. He should sleep it off in a few hours and that gives us plenty of time to get you both out of here."
As she spoke, the cover of the air vent in her room moved aside and Angelo, as he pulled a small, flat trolley behind him, peeped into the room.

"Right on time," Jennifer told him.

Angelo grinned. "Must hurry. Late."

"Yes, indeed. Major, Paul, let's go."

~~~~~

As the helicopter took off, Jennifer and Paul exchanged amused glances before returning to the lower levels of the Centre. Jennifer entered her office as Paul returned to his place in front of the rooms that had contained the prisoners. Then, when he was in position, Jennifer released the loop that she had placed on all of the cameras and returned to her work. It was only a moment before the man in charge of security burst, unannounced, into her office. She hurried down the halls behind him without a word, but, although it was hidden from the cameras, a small smile curled the corners of her mouth.

"What is it?"

"Look. The rooms..." The man waved at the screens. "They're empty!"

"What?!"

"The two of them. They've escaped somehow. One minute they were there and the next - "

Raines, responding to the alarm that had sounded through the Centre, burst into the room and glared at the guard. The drug had almost worn off and only a slight stagger betrayed its use.

"Well, what's going on?"

The guard looked terrified and, as Jennifer slipped behind the central computer in the room, and, beginning to type, she surreptitiously watched his face as it turned first pale and then slightly green. "M...Mr Raines, sir, I...I don't really know what happened. One minute there were there and...and the next..."

Raines brushed the man aside. "Fool." He turned abruptly to Jennifer. "What do you have?"

"The system was infiltrated several hours ago. A small piece of tape, made two days ago when they were first brought here, had been fed in and activated by an outside source."

"Where?"

"Somewhere in New York. At the same time, the security system on the roof was disengaged, allowing a vehicle, I would assume a helicopter, to land. It remained for several moments before taking off." Jennifer allowed herself to repeat her own actions of the evening, knowing that the one small fib about the location would be sufficient. Raines picked up a phone on the wall. Almost instantly the figure of Paul on the screen that displayed the outside of the cells showed him picking up a receiver that hung on the wall near him.

"Yes?"

"Paul, have you noticed anything strange or left you post within the last two hours?"

"No, sir, Mr Raines. No one's been here since your visit earlier this evening." The smooth, easily told lie reminded Jennifer of Paul's first weeks living with her family. Having learned from beatings by his parents that lying was easier than telling the truth, Paul had continued to hide behind a wall of untruth until he had been shown that honesty was not always unsafe. Raines hung up the phone and stared moodily at the wall as Jennifer waited for the response she knew would follow.

"Jarod! Damn it!" He turned and left the room, the wheels on his tank squeaking indignantly. Jennifer patted the shoulder of the disconsolate guard and followed the man out.

~~~~~

Miss Parker stared out of the jet window as she watched the ground vanish. To be woken from a perfectly sound sleep was annoying but to learn that the two prisoners had escaped was bad enough. And then to have to fly to New York with only Sydney for company, as Broots was needed to help Jennifer scan the system to find out what else the intruder had damaged, was even worse.

"How long?"

The pilot glanced back nervously over his shoulder. "At the very least an hour, Miss Parker. And even then the weather may prevent us from landing. That snowstorm from last week is unlikely to be cleared up."

She growled something inarticulate in response and glared back out of the window.

~~~~~

Jarod stared around at the interior of the cabin and wondered where its usual occupant was. He knew that she had had her hours of work reduced and had assumed that she would be there. With a sigh of regret, he turned and walked back out of the door. There were plenty of things he could do while he waited.

~~~~~

Jennifer closed down the final file with which she had been working and got up from the desk. Unaccountably, she was already exhausted and it was an effort to drag herself across the room. Stretching out on the bed with a tired sigh, she noticed that there was a slightly sweet smell in the air but lacked the energy to try and find its source as her eyes slipped closed and she relaxed.

Angelo watched from his spot behind the vent as two figures entered Jennifer's room and quickly moved her still form onto a stretcher that they wheeled between them. His eyes widened as he tried to empath her feelings but something was preventing her from feeling anything at all. He shook his head in bewilderment and began to follow the trolley as it silently moved through the halls and into the elevator. He watched as it stopped at SL-23 where, he knew, there were several rooms concealed down a corridor. That, he realized, was the place to which she was being taken. As he approached, he could feel the hatred that burned in the two people and, slowly, the fear building in his friend as the drug wore off. Angelo squeezed through the last few metres of vent and was able to clearly view the room and the figures almost directly below them.

"B...Lyle? Wh... what are you...?" The words were slurred and muffled as Jennifer fought against the drug that had been administered.

Brigitte moved into Jennifer's view and gloated as she watched the heavy eyes of her victim droop again. Although Jennifer fought against the drug with which Lyle was injecting her, it was useless and, several seconds later, she was thoroughly sedated.

~~~~~

Jarod paced the entire length of the cabin. It had been four days since he had first arrived and the fact that Jennifer had not appeared in that time was initially surprising and then concerning. The message from Raines had vanished from her computer within ten minutes of reading it, as she had programmed, and Jarod had been unable to learn her password, despite his best efforts. Each time he tried a false word, the machine closed down and he was concerned that she may have put a destructive file on. This prevented him from trying as often as he otherwise would have.

~~~~~

Angelo watched the two people leave the room and the door swung shut behind them with a loud click. Several seconds later the lights extinguished, except for one dull bulb in the corner, and then he crept out of the vent. Sidling over to the bed, he hesitated for a moment before reaching out and lightly running a finger down the woman's cheek, trying to avoid the newly created gash on her face. As her eyelids slowly lifted, she struggled to focus on his face, one hand coming up to cover his.

"A...Angelo."

"Pain." She nodded slowly and saw the expression of sadness that came into his eyes. "Tell Jarod."

"No, Angelo." She tried to sit up but the drugs were too strong and she couldn't move. "Please, don't tell Jarod. He can't do anything to help me." Her eyes filled with tears. "Promise me you won't tell him."

Angelo could feel the panic building inside her at the thought of Jarod being told she was trapped and he knew that there was only one way to ease it. Slowly he nodded. "Promise."

"Thank you." She gently squeezed his hand and he leaned over her again.

"Tell Sydney?"

Jennifer hesitated for a moment and then reached under her pillow, pulling out a tiny slip of paper that she pushed into his hand. "Give that to Raines first." She watched the empath shudder and her eyes softened. "I know you're scared of him, Angelo, and I do understand it, but he's the one who can help me most right now. If Sydney were to come down here on his own, Lyle might..." She stopped, unable to continue. "Put that on Raines' desk and then, tomorrow, tell Sydney."

He nodded before gently and slowly beginning to stroke her hair, watching as her eyelids slid down. She forced them open and looked up at him. "Thank you, Angelo." Her voice was a faint murmur. "Thank you so much." Her eyes closed again and she relaxed.

~~~~~

Sydney stared unseeingly at the computer screen in front of him. Jennifer's disappearance, now almost a week ago, had put everyone on edge, himself not least of all, and a lack of sightings of Jarod was not helping. He had sent several emails to Jennifer but all had been returned within forty-eight hours and so he was at a loss to know what had happened. Being deep in thought, he almost missed the glint of light from the air vent. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he glimpsed it and turned.

"Angelo?"

"Sydney come."

"Angelo, no, this isn't a good time." The older man looked up as both Miss Parker and Broots entered the office, waving at them to stay silent. He looked back to where Angelo was visible in the half-light, shifting impatiently.
"What is it?"

"Need help."

"Who?"

"Need help - now!"

Miss Parker moved over and impatiently pulled the cover from the vent. As the screws bounced onto the floor, the figure of Angelo dashed across the room and out of the door. Just outside he stopped and waved frantically. Sydney, feeling suddenly that this was important, jumped out of him chair and, followed by the others, ran down the corridor after the empath.

~~~~~

Jarod stared moodily out of the window at the teeming rain that was blocking his view. This made him certain that Jennifer would not return that night and he had been depending on it. Grumpily he turned and removed his computer from its bag. Slowly he began to run a search and, becoming involved, the frown left his face.

~~~~~

Sydney burst into the room and saw Lyle and Brigitte standing with their backs against the wall. What amazed Sydney was that it was Raines who stood with a gun in his hand, supported by more than a dozen armed sweepers. He scanned the room with his eyes and saw Angelo leaning over a still figure, lying on a bed in a far corner. Moving faster than he had known possible, he reached it and stopped, unable to touch her face. Jennifer's eyes were swollen and black, a cut ran from her right temple almost to her mouth and a split ran vertically down the centre of her top and bottom lips. They were parted, and in the silence, a ragged, uneven breath could be heard.

"Oh God." Sydney turned as he heard Miss Parker's voice beside him but he was unable to move his eyes from the woman before him. Angelo stroked her hair as he made small sounds in his throat.

"Angelo, what do you feel?"

"Nothing. Not there." Sydney nodded, having only wanted confirmation of what he already suspected.

"What did they do to her?" Miss Parker hissed in his ear.

"I dread to think."

Miss Parker turned slightly as Lyle and Brigitte were marched out of the room to cells. Raines moved from the doorway over to the group and stood staring down at the still figure.

Total Recall
Part 4 – A Central Monopoly

Jennifer turned her head slightly and winced from the pain that the action caused as she licked her lips. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Sydney sitting in a chair beside the bed. He rose and placed a hand on her arm.

"Finally. It's good to see you're awake."

She moved her head and glanced around the room, looking up to meet his eye, and he understood her concern.

"It's okay. We're alone."

"Where…" Her voice was raspy and she coughed slightly to clear it. "What happened?"

"I was hoping that you'd be able to tell me," he responded gently. "Apparently Lyle and Brigitte were playing around with some things that they didn't understand." He stood back as a doctor, who had entered seconds earlier, gently examined Jennifer.

"Considering what they put you through, you're doing well. Do you want something for the pain?"

Jennifer slowly shook her head and the doctor left the room. She looked back at Sydney.

"Have you told Jarod?"

"No. I didn't think you would want me to. In fact I haven't spoken to him since you first disappeared. There have been no new leads."

"Don't tell him."

He nodded, gently placing one hand on hers. "I won't."

~~~~~

Escorted by Miss Parker and Sydney, Jennifer slowly walked through the door of her house in Blue Cove. While they were there she tried not to show how terrible she felt but, as soon as they left, she dropped onto the sofa and flicked on the television. Over the past few nights, she had dreamed of horrors that she either imagined or had actually happened to her - she wasn't sure which. Terrified of sleep, she wouldn't use painkillers in case the dreams came to haunt her and she couldn't escape from them. Having lost count of the number of times that she had woken, trembling, from some half-remembered nightmare, all she could hope was that the marks on her face had disappeared before Jarod found out she was home.

~~~~~

Lyle glared at the wall of the cell and muttered angrily. The jacket in which they'd bound him meant that he had almost no movement and, as a further measure, chains around his ankles were attached to the wall with a strong ring. The look on Raines' face, when he'd burst into the lab, had been enough to show that he'd gone too far and, although him father had tried to help, the hold Raines had over the Triumvirate was enough to block the older Parker out of the picture. Lyle heard the faint squealing from the cell next to him and he knew enough to realize that they were responding to Brigitte's self-imposed hunger strike by force-feeding her. If it was the same awful stuff that they fed him, it was no wonder she was trying to refuse. However the worst part, and the icing on the cake for him, was the fact that his guard during meals was Jennifer's personal sweeper and Lyle could tell that Paul would not hesitate to use the gun he held. The one time he had tried to refuse his meal, Lyle had received a punch that had given him a thick ear for three days. Remembering the food, he glared at the roof as he lay on his bed and shuddered in disgust. Optimized nutritional supplements, with something else added that had stripped him of any energy and left him helpless and listless. How could anyone survive on a diet like that? And it wasn't only good food he missed. There was also the open air and his car with its personalized number-plate. Lyle-3. He had had to get another after his second one had also disappeared. There was no guarantee that Jarod had taken it but Lyle was certain he had. Thinking of the prodigy, his eyes narrowed and he muttered angrily to himself.

~~~~~

Jarod slipped around the outside of the building. He had been about to enter the previous evening when he recognized one of the silhouettes through the window as they prepared the house for its returning occupant. The sight of Miss Parker had caused him to withdraw into the shadows of the garden and it wasn't until later, looking at his hands as he typed, that he realized it had probably been one of Jennifer's rose bushes. Now, as he glanced through the window and saw the figure lying on the sofa, his heart leaped and he slipped through the passage to appear in the doorway. Jennifer lay with her eyes closed and, taking in the marks on her face and the small gasps, signaling pain, as she breathed, he gripped the doorway to stop himself from swaying. What on earth had they done to her, and who had done it? Then, as he stood there, she was gripped by a nightmare and he moved quickly across the room.

Jennifer, recalling what they did every other time she fought, immediately lay still and, with closed eyes, anticipated the next prick of the needle. She had never felt pain like that in her life and, as the bile rose at the back of her throat, she waited for it to come again. When it didn't, and a soothing voice could be heard in her ear as one gentle hand swept her damp, sweat-soaked hair back from her face and the other supported her shoulders, Jennifer slowly eased her eyes open and stared blankly up at Jarod. Trembling from shock, she clung to him, face pressed to his neck, breathing deeply and trying to forget the images that had appeared during the dream.

"What was it?" His voice was soft and tender. "What did they do?"

"I don't...remember." The lie sounded hollow in her own ears, but she knew that Jarod wouldn't demand an explanation, in the same way that she never pressed him. However she knew that he would find the disc that Broots had left beside her portable DSA machine and could play it for himself. She felt him lift her off the sofa and carry her upstairs and into the bedroom. Although she considered protesting, the nightmares left her with little energy and it was easy to submit to his attentions. He put her on the bed and gently removed the clothes that she had been wearing since her return home, helping her into the nightgown that was on her pillow. Then, laying her down, he slipped into bed beside her and kept his arms around her until, finally, she was asleep.

~~~~

Sydney stared at the screen in front of him, unable to believe what he saw. How she had survived the experiments was more than he could understand. It took him several seconds for him to break out of his trance and answer the phone.

"What on earth did they do to her?"

"Have you seen her? Did she tell you anything?"

"No, but I found the DSA." In the background, Sydney could hear the sound of heavy traffic and surmised that, although Jarod had been in Blue Cove, he was no longer there.

"Apparently Lyle was performing similar experiments to those he performed on you. He also pumped her full of sodium pentathol."

"Truth serum? That's never used any more. It isn't reliable enough."

"I know. But Lyle was hoping to find out some information, probably about you."

"Did she tell him anything?"

"According to Lyle's notes, nothing. She had no reaction to it at all, except apparently some extreme pain and nausea. I did a little research and a very small proportion of people react that way. Obviously Lyle didn't know in advance that she would be one of those people."

~~~~~

Jennifer woke and stared blankly out of the window. She had felt Jarod leave the room earlier that morning and knew that she wouldn't find him downstairs. This was too close to the Centre for his comfort, or hers either, for that matter. She had arranged with Sarah to go down to the cabin for a few weeks, Raines having given her time off, and she was looking forward to it. A hand pressed across her stomach to try and ease the pain that her aching muscles caused, she moved around, slowly packing. She had almost finished when a box, tucked away in the corner of the room, drew her attention. It was not the box itself that she noticed, but rather the fact that it was rocking violently. Walking over, with a gasp for the pain, she bent down and opened the lid, stared down at the small face, which blinked back at her. The big, brown eyes watched her and, almost disbelieving, she picked up the dog from the container. Carrying him over to the sofa, she sat down and pulled out the note, which had been tucked under its collar.

'I've been training this little one for you since we first got to know each other. He's eight months old, fully house-trained and quite well trained in other areas too. His owner originally called him Jarod, which was one of the reasons I chose him. Now, if Louise said anything about Jarod, it could mean the dog. And if Miss Parker threatens to tell the Triumvirate about you receiving presents from me, remind her about a certain white rabbit.'

~~~~~

"You look like something the cat dragged in."

"Gee, thanks. It's great to see you, too."

Sarah grinned as her friend opened the car door. However her eyes widened as a dog leaped into the car and curled up on the floor.

"What's that?"

"It's a dog, Sarah. What did you think it was?"

"Oh, very funny. Couldn't Lyle have taken your so-called sense of humor away while he had you there?"

Jennifer grinned at her friend as Sarah started the car. "Actually, he was given to me as a present. He was left at my house with a mysterious, anonymous note on his collar."

"Oh, and I don't suppose this mysterious, anonymous visitor of yours was tall, dark and in all other respects totally clichéd by any chance, was he?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jennifer tried to hide the smile that curled at the edges of her mouth and Sarah snorted with amusement before she turned back to concentrate on the road.

~~~~~

Lyle looked up as the door to his cell was swung open. After so many days in the half-darkness, the brilliance of the lights in the hall dazzled him and, turning his head aside, he blinked violently until his eyes could stand the glare. "What?"

"Time for your first lesson."

Lyle stood up and watched warily as Raines and three sweepers entered the cell. His feet, although still chained together, had been untied from the ring in the wall so that he could stand. Now a sweeper that Lyle had never seen before knelt and began to remove the chain. Lyle, as soon as his foot was free, kicked out violently and was rewarded with a punch to the side of the head that sent him over like a tenpin and caused him to see stars. He was jerked violently to his feet and shoved out of the room.

~~~~~

Jennifer unlocked the door of the cabin and then turned to wave as Sarah drove away. One glance showed that Jarod was not there and her heart sank slightly with disappointment. She waved the dog into the building and watched as he gradually familiarized himself with the interior. Finally he flopped down on the mat in front of the fireplace and watched as she slowly moved around, putting things away in the kitchen. She knew that Jarod had given the dog to her as a form of protection and had obviously been imbuing a sense of devotion in the canine, if his constant proximity to her was anything to judge by.

~~~~~

Lyle fought as he was almost carried into the room and tied, spread-eagled, to an x-shaped board. Once fully immobilized, Raines came and stood before him, smirking.

"Having shown us how much you enjoy experiments, we thought you might like the chance to be the subject of one."

Lyle shrank from the penetrating gaze that swept over him and frantically tried to imagine what could be about to happen to him. Having waited for a response and received none, Raines continued.

"The Triumvirate felt that only death would be a sufficient form of punishment for what you did, however I presented my suggestion to them and they found that it was sufficient. The only part of you that is of any value to us at all is your mind and, while we briefly considered just removing it, what we have planned is even better."

As Lyle began to suspect what was coming, he lunged against the restraints but it made no difference.

"I see you understand me. However, if you will remain still, this won't hurt. Or not for too long."

~~~~~

Jennifer was lying against the arm of the sofa with the dog's body pressed firmly against her own and she looked up in surprise as the door opened.

"Did I give you a key for that?" she demanded.

"Well, no. But a locksmith is an easy job."

"I should have guessed." She lifted her face for his kiss and he looked down at the dog who, although he wagged a tail politely when Jarod touched him, didn't moved.

"I taught him well."

"He's a wonderful present. Thank you Jarod."

"What are you going to call him?"

"Well, not Jarod. It would be too confusing. No, I decided on JD."

"JD?"

"Jarod Dog. Much simpler, don't you think?" Jarod laughed and Jennifer, knowing about Jarod's association with Argyle, let her eyes twinkle at him.

"Very clever."

"I thought so too."

~~~~~

Brigitte looked around the inside of her cell from the corner where she remained for most of each day. The only exception was when food was brought to her and then she was strapped to the bed as it was forced down her throat. Despite her struggles, the lack of sugar was doing wonder for her health; she just hated to admit it. Without a clock she had no idea of time and that was something else she hated, only being able to estimate that a day was passing by when she was fed. Several 'days' before, she had heard Lyle removed from the cell beside hers and, as far as she could tell, he had never been brought back there. Brigitte had wondered when her husband would come and rescue her from the predicament however, as time passed and he didn't appear, she surmised that Raines had persuaded the Triumvirate to give him control over her situation. Sometimes she wondered what was happening to her son. When she had returned to work, a month after giving birth, he had been left with a nanny her husband had hired. However she had long since lost any feeling that she may have had for the boy and the only emotion she now experienced was hatred for the people who put her in this situation.

~~~~~

After four months Jennifer was getting used to the lifestyle she was leading. The experiments had caused no lasting damage, except for the nightmares she still had occasionally, and she was gradually getting used to Jarod stopping by every so often. JD was almost fully grown, and the sight of a large Alsatian outside the cabin was a deterrent to most visitors. In all that time she hadn't returned to the Centre, however she occasionally kept in touch with Sydney or Miss Parker by telephone. One day she had inquired about Lyle.

"Do you know - what have they done to him?"

"You mean...you haven't heard?" It was the first time Jennifer had heard Miss Parker so uncertain. "It...Raines was furious about the things Lyle did to you. He convinced the Triumvirate that..."

"What?"

"Jenn, Lyle's a quadriplegic." There was a pause before the woman continued to speak. "Raines didn't actually sever the spinal cord but he injected something in that caused it to swell and, well, it's permanent."

"So he's..."

"Strapped to a wheelchair. He gets injections every day to keep him alive so that Raines can use the ideas he comes up with, but otherwise he's useless."

Try as she might, Jennifer couldn't remove the image of her adopted brother from her mind. She compared the memory of the boy, developing into a man, running around the house and driving scores of pretty, Asian girls, for whom he'd always had a liking, around the town in which they'd lived, with the images that Broots sent her, of him strapped, helpless, into a chair and forced to comply with the will of Raines and his henchmen. It was a comfort to her that Paul was no longer involved with that work. He had, in fact, vanished from the Centre a week after she had been brought out of the infirmary.

Jarod had taken the news well and, Jennifer couldn't help suspecting, considered it revenge for death of his brother. He'd stayed only a few days before leaving again and this time she knew that it would be about six weeks before he came back. All that she knew, from what he told her, was that his destination was somewhere in South America. He never told her precisely where he was going and she preferred not to know. However she had decided to take advantage of the time and leave Delaware. Her grandfather had had a farm close to Boston that had been under the care of neighbors since his death, years earlier. The organization, moving and settling in took almost the entire six weeks and the house was set up by the time Jarod was due back in the States. She'd informed him of her move and the location of the house, which was almost impossible to see from either the air or the road. With help from neighbors, she finally had everything running smoothly. It was not a large farm, with only a few sheep and hens and a couple of ducks floating on the pond, located on only three acres, but she had always liked the place and knew Jarod would too.

~~~~~

Jennifer heard him enter the house and, waiting behind a semi-closed door, listened as he picked up the envelope that lay on the table. As she had anticipated, his reaction to the contents was total, stunned silence. When she appeared in the doorway, he looked up at her with a face still full of shock.

"What's this?"

Jennifer walked over to him. "It's an ultrasound."

"It's...you're...you mean...?"

"Yes, Jarod, I'm four months pregnant."

He stood for several minutes staring out at the spectacular valley that was visible through the large window. She waited, facing him. Finally, realizing that he was incapable of uttering a word, she spoke again. "I wanted to tell you when I first found out, but I didn't want to interfere with your work. As time went on, though, you probably would have noticed eventually."

"I can't believe it. I mean, it's a little unexpected."

"I know."

He looked up at her. "Which is it?"

"A boy."

"A boy..." Jarod reached out and drew her to him, wrapping both arms around her and holding her close. "I'm going to be a father..."

~~~~

Lyle looked down at his helpless hands and feet and struggled to make them move. He could still remember the red-hot feelings that had burned down the length of his body, leaving numbness and immobility to follow the agony. He had never been returned to his cell but, instead, was strapped into the chair and moved around to the different places that Raines wanted him. The feelings of helplessness had initially been terrifying but now they only angered him. He hadn't seen his father since the operation had been performed. On occasion Miss Parker had passed him in the corridor, still in search of leads of Jarod, and he ignored her. The expressions that had once made others, such as Broots, tremble before him, no longer had any effect and this, too, he deplored. Every so often he wondered what they had done to Brigitte or to his new brother. It never last for long though. His thoughts nearly always came back to his own situation.

~~~~~

Jennifer was terrified when, with twenty-eight days until the baby was due, she went into labor. Jarod wasn't home at the time, however, as Sarah was staying for a few days, Jennifer was rapidly in hospital and, in an emergency operation, her son was born. Although the baby was immediately taken off for tests, he was soon well enough to be taken in to see his mother. Once he was returned to the nursery and Jennifer was sleeping, Sarah began frantic efforts to contact Jarod. Within two hours, he was at the hospital. With his son in his arms, he went into the private room where Jennifer lay and watched until she woke up.

"I'm sorry."

She smiled. "For what?"

"That I wasn't there."

"It doesn't matter. You're here now."

Jarod moved over and sat on the bed. "He's beautiful."

"He's just like his father."

At that point Sarah came in with her Polaroid and took a photo. She gave it to Jarod, who pocketed it.

"For Sydney?"

He smiled and gently placed one hand on her cheek. "How did you guess?"

She smiled back at him. "Oh, I know you pretty well by now."

~~~~~

Lyle looked down at his right hand and, with extreme concentration, watched as it slowly flexed. Although Raines had intended the treatment to be permanent, the very slow movement he was regaining convinced Lyle that with time and extreme patience he could recover. Unfortunately his stock of patience was limited at the best of times and now he just wanted to throw the chair away and leave the Centre for good. He muttered angrily to himself but soon fell silent and began to mentally coax the muscles in his legs to move.

~~~~~

Jennifer looked from the small face, framed in wavy brown hair to the view from his bedroom window. She was just in time to see a car rattle its way up towards the house and JD's actions told her who was coming. She picked up her two-month-old son and, by the time she was in the doorway, the car was parked under the carport. Jarod got out and took his son from the boy's mother, at the same time draping his other arm over Jennifer's shoulders as the two walked into the house. He had been tempted on several occasions to give up his traveling and stay with the two people who made up the only home he knew, but Jennifer had dissuaded him from doing so. Jarod knew that she had put his feelings before her own and it made him love her even more.

~~~~~

Miss Parker stormed through the halls of Centre. Her temper had become worse since Jennifer had left the Centre and not even the phone calls that the two made several times every week were enough to please her. Raines was on her back constantly, not only about Jarod but also his family, and the Triumvirate, too, was demanding results, as the trail left by Jarod gradually grew weaker. The hints that he had once sent her were no longer to be found and the team had to rely on sightings and reports for all of their information. Equally frustrating to her was the behaviour of her father. He had withdrawn even further from her, almost as if he resented her being the only other family member who wasn't being obviously punished. She knew that it was painful for him to see Lyle in his current state and he had begun to spend less time at his house, as though the sight of his new son made him ill. Remembering her baby brother and his mother her glare deepened and, as she flung open the door of Sydney's office, her expression caused Broots to try and disappear into a corner. Sydney, on the other hand, stayed in his seat, looking at a photograph. As Miss Parker sat down, he pushed the picture over to her and she saw Jarod holding a small baby.

"His son?"

"Apparently." Sydney tried to hide his pleasure at the sight, however Miss Parker wasn't fooled and shot him a venomous glance.

"Enough of the Happy Families, Syd. Have you run a search on him?"

"Yes...well...I mean..."

She glared at him. "Spit it out, Broots."

"There's something wrong with the system. We can't run any searches with the name 'Jarod'. There's a block somewhere in the system."

"Well, find it and fix it."

"I...we can't. The system doesn't recognize that there's a problem and, until it does, it won't allow us to enter without the passwords."

"So, use the passwords."

"I can't. They've been changed and I don't know what to."

"Then keep trying."

"Each time we try three wrong words the system shuts down and, although the computers start, the system doesn't boot up."

"Which means?"

"If we don't look - no searches. If we do - no computers."

"Then contact Jennifer."

"I tried. Her number's changed and a search of the tracking device that was put on her car leads us to her house in Blue Cove - and she moved from there just after the incident with Lyle and Brigitte and no-one knows where she went."

She snorted and stood up, walking to the door.

"M...Miss Parker? What do you want me to do?"

"Keep trying!"

~~~~~

Lyle pulled himself out of the air-vent and into the woods just outside the walls of the Centre. It was, although he didn't realize it, the same path that Jarod had taken after his escape years earlier. Tentatively, his legs still heavy from crawling along the tunnels, he began to make his way down the path, keeping the gun he had taken from the guard in his hand. He hoped fervently that he wouldn't have to do any shooting, feeling that the shaking of his hand would ruin his aim.

~~~~~

Miss Parker sat and stared blankly down at the piece of paper Sam had handed to her. It was a report written by the sweeper who had found Lyle's unconscious guard in the former prisoner's cell and showed the probable escape route. Finally she snapped her head up and glared at the man.

"Well, what are you standing around for? Go and find him. Now!"

"Yes Miss Parker." She could hear the low response as he walked through the door. Then, as the phone rang, she glared at it and picked it up.

"What?!"

"My, my, somebody's feeling cheerful today, aren't they?" Miss Parker could hear the tracer that she had ordered on every line cut in and hoped that it, at the very least, was working.

"Jenn, hi. God, nothing else could possibly go wrong now. Enough has already."

"Oh yes, what with Lyle escaping, the mainframe being damaged and no leads on Jarod, I can see how frustrating that would be."

"What did...how did you know about all that?"

"Oh come on, Parker. I designed the system. I can always find out what's going on at the Centre. In fact..."

The brunette stared as the computer screen in front of her flickered and an image appeared. She saw Jennifer sitting on a sofa, with an instantly recognizable child on her lap. However it was only when Jarod appeared and sat next to her, taking the baby and grinning at the camera, that Miss Parker reached for the button to activate a search.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." The words stopped her. "After all, it would be terrible if the system were just to collapse without warning, wouldn't it?"

"You mean you're...you've been..."

"Working for the Centre?" Jennifer shrugged. "You could say that, yes. But my loyalty was always with someone else. Meet the father of my son, Miss Parker, unless, of course, you two already know each other." She grinned. "Isn't it nice that I finally have a family? After all, the Centre took from me just as much as it took from you. Surely you wouldn't deny me this happiness."

Miss Parker buried her head in her hands and dropped the receiver, however the speaker switched itself on and she could still hear the other woman's voice.

"Parker, make sure you tell Broots not to bother with the system. I can control it very easily from here and...well, it would be awful if all of the information I typed in was to be lost, wouldn't it?"

Jarod chortled with laughter and Miss Parker glared at the security camera in the corner of the room. At the same time, the baby began to cry softly.

"Oh, gotta go. It's been lovely talking to you. We must do this again some time." The phone and screen instantly switched themselves off but the computer began to reboot immediately and went through its usual start-up process as Miss Parker blindly watched. Nothing, surely, nothing else could go wrong now. She was so deep in thought that she completely missed the sound of footsteps and the small squeak of an oxygen tank as they made their way into her office.

Total Recall
Part 5 – Happy Families

Parker looked at the screen for the third time and then let her head sink into her hands. It just wasn't possible. Was she going mad? The telephone record had no indication that Jennifer had just called, and Raines had made no comment on the fact when he had been in her office. Maybe she was going mad. It would be quite feasible, especially considering the state of her family. She quickly accessed the program that they had always used to run searches on Jarod. As she began to type, she felt a little more comfortable. After all, if that phone call hadn't happened then it wasn't certain that anything else had either. Maybe the system...

~~~~~

Jennifer curled up against the cushions on the sofa and giggled as she thought of Miss Parker's confusion. Jarod, disconnecting the camera and other equipment, joined in her amusement. Jennifer gently clasped her hands behind her head and glanced out through the streaming windowpanes at the green slopes below.

"I was thinking..."

Jarod rolled his eyes. "I feel a nightmare coming on."

"When did you see 'The American President'?"

His expression was confused. "What?"

"Never mind. I was thinking that maybe I should go back."

Jarod stared, jaw lowered. "Wha-at?"

"I think it's time I went back to the Centre."

"But...why?"

"Well, there's still plenty more that needs doing. And I can help you much better from in there..."

"Oh, yeah." Jarod's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Really well, once you're trapped inside one of those little cells, never to see the light of day again."

"You know what I mean. Raines still trusts me. He knows why I went. Here, look at this." She handed over a small card that Jarod hadn't seen before.

"What it is?"

"It's a congratulations card, from Raines, on Kyle’s birth."

"But he...why..."

"...didn't I show it to you before? Because I'm not that silly. I'd be perfectly safe, going back there. Nobody knows we're connected and if I know Parker, right know she's probably shaking her head, questioning her own sanity and wondering how things got that bad."

~~~~~

Miss Parker shook her head, questioned her sanity and wondered how things had got that bad. That morning everything had seemed so perfect - Lyle was helpless inside the Centre, the new system designed by Jennifer had found three new leads on Jarod and she, Parker, had realistically began to think that her days at the Centre may had been drawing to a close. She typed in the first letter on the search screen, holding her breath. Then another. However as the A followed the J, the computer instantly shut down. Damned message. 'It is now safe to turn off your computer'. She could imagine some bright, smiling little technician coming up with that phrase to make everyone else's day as painfully happy as hers was. Miss Parker slammed both palms down on the surface of the desk and jumped in shock as her computer responded to the vibration by booting up again. God, she hated this thing. Not, perhaps, in the same way that she hated Raines, but hate was hate and it ate away at you regardless. The most annoying point was that Raines knew little and cared less about her feelings and this stupid inanimate object couldn't even feel the pain she wanted to inflict upon it.

~~~~~

"One of the neighbors said he'd look after JD."

"And what about Kyle?"

"What about him?" Jennifer looked fondly down at where the small boy sat in his playpen, staring up at the mobile that Jarod had designed and built for him.

"Who's going to take care of him while you're locked up every day?"

"Sarah said she would. She has to take some time off herself."

"Maternity leave?"

"Uh huh."

"Must be contagious."

Jennifer grinned in response to Jarod's smile. "Contagious, maybe. But there's no way just yet..."

He tried to look innocent. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

~~~~~

Raines smiled in satisfaction as he watched Jennifer leave his office. The smile almost made the oxygen tube slip out from under his nose but he grabbed it and fixed in firmly in place. He was pleased that she was back. He tried not to think about the similarity between her and his lost daughter but it was just too unmistakable. The months that she had been away he had spent trying to work out whether he wanted her to return or not. It had been so many years but the pain never diminished. Admittedly the experiments he had carried out on Jarod had eased it a little but it was still there and nothing he could think of would remove it. To Jennifer's surprise, he not only understood but also agreed with her decision that her son would never appear at the Centre. However, he could never understand her deepest reason for that - her desperation that Raines and Kyle be kept as far apart as possible. One look would show clearly who her son's father was. Even if he hadn't had the small mole below his right eye, the dark hair and beautiful brown eyes were a dead giveaway.

~~~~~

Jennifer settled in behind the familiar desk and quickly removed any new bugs that may have been placed there in her absence. She was developing a new detector, with Jarod's help of course, which would tell her where to find the bugs once she had destroyed them, but the use of that was still several weeks off, particularly with Jarod off on one of his jaunts around the country.

"You're back then."

"I certainly am." Jennifer smiled up at Sydney, who gave a half-hearted smile in return.

"Have you seen Parker?"

"No, in fact I haven't even spoken to her for a while."

"You know that Lyle's escaped, though, right?"

"I know. What I can't understand is why you haven't got him back yet. It's not all that difficult."

Sydney's attempt at being cool dissolved under the pressure of her pleasantries and he slipped into the chair in front of the desk. She started the computer and, after hitting a few keys, brought up a map of the Americas on the screen.

"What's that? An atlas."

"Not exactly. It's a satellite-linked map, for tracking people."

"What, you mean track one person in a continent of this size? That's hardly going to be possible, is it?"

She laughed. "Of course not, if you're only looking for him blindly. That's needle-in-a-haystack or," she grinned up at him, "pretender-finding stuff. But if you're looking for a specific point..." Jennifer pressed another few keys on the screen and one solitary yellow dot appeared on the screen. A few more keystrokes and the screen zoomed in, enlarging the state of Nebraska. "Gee, Lyle. I knew you were a sentimentalist but I never imagined you'd go to that length."

The sarcastic tones made Sydney smile. "How do you know it's him?

"It's almost impossible to be anyone else. I suggested to Raines that he put in a tiny microchip, implanted under the skin in the same way that you tag a pet, only on a different wavelength. Otherwise," Jennifer laughed, "we'd be seeing every dog and cat between here and the southern border of the States."

"So he's..."

"Townsend. Where we grew up together."

Sydney was about to turn when they heard Miss Parker's voice on her phone in the doorway behind him. "Townsend. Nebraska. And I want every single sweeper with us. There's no way Lyle can escape now."

Sydney smiled ruefully at Jennifer, who laughed. "It's all right, I knew she was there. If you're going to go with her, you might want to get a move on."

~~~~~

Jennifer closed down the last of her files and, with a sigh of relief, stood up and switched off the computer. As she took down her jacket from its hook, the door of her office swung open and Miss Parker grinned at her. Jennifer smiled back.

"Hello. What can I do for you?"

Without a word, Parker moved to one side and Jennifer watched in silence as three sweepers dragged Lyle down the corridor. His total lack of movement and blindly staring eyes convinced Jennifer that Raines was aware of his return and had administered a drug to make him easier to handle. Miss Parker carefully watched the other woman's expression before moving into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"How can you bear that? I mean, he's your brother, for God's sake."

Jennifer sat down and placed her jacket on the desk. "He's yours too, remember, and he's not really my brother. I left my brother - Bobby - in Townsend, when I moved out of home. That, as he reminded me months ago, is Lyle. A completely different entity."

"I see." Miss Parker stared into the small mirror-globe that Jennifer had on her desk while the redhead waited for her to continue. She had been waiting for this discussion all day and a few more minutes was not difficult.

"Did you or did you not call me two weeks ago?"

"Of course I did." Miss Parker opened her mouth but Jennifer jumped in. "But the office said that you were busy looking for Lyle, who had just escaped, and that you weren't available. It was a shame because I'd been looking forward to a nice long chat."

Jennifer waited to see what response Miss Parker would make. Little though she liked lying, she'd begun to realize that life at the Centre involved a lot of them and that most were unavoidable. However to ensure the accuracy of her 'lie' she had phoned the main office of the Centre and her number was clearly in their records. Still, she was pretty certain that Miss Parker would only check her own listing, and not bother about the general information. It appeared that she had been right.

~~~~~

Sarah sat and rocked a sleepy Kyle as Louise sat in front of the television. The boy was incredibly advanced for a child of eight months. He had been crawling for some time already and had recently begun to walk, although he was still unsteady and needed someone to keep a constant eye on him. His speech was also well ahead of normal children, using not only single words but phrases although they often made no sense. However, Sarah reflected, considering his parentage that was hardly surprising. She glanced up, seeing a tall figure approach the house, and, through the darkening shadows of the garden, she recognized Jarod. Getting up, she put Kyle down and opened the door to let him in.

"Come to get your son?"

"I thought I'd wait for Jennifer, if you don't mind. I got someone to drop me here and she can give me a lift home."

It was a word Jarod loved saying. Home. It was a part of his life outside the Centre that he appreciated most of all. For a time he had felt that perhaps he would have to leave Jennifer as he had left Nia, however that moment had been bypassed by the work she did at the Centre. Sarah was preparing to hand over the child to his father when Kyle held out his hands.

"Da-da."

Jarod's face lit up in one huge beam. Sarah handed over the boy and then moved into the kitchen to begin dinner for herself and her husband.

~~~~~

Jennifer pulled up Sarah's house. It had been a long day. Parker had continued to talk for more than two hours and Sydney hadn't gone with the others to bring back Lyle but had instead remained in her office, chatting to her about children and how they grew. During this conversation, Jennifer realized for the first time how much Sydney regretted not seeing his own son grow up. She knew about Nicholas, of course. Her searches through the Archives, and the detailed profiles she had made on each Centre employee had taught her a lot, mostly that the Centre liked to know everything they possibly could about everyone who worked under their direction. It was a comfort for her to see that all of the small details that she had dropped into the Centre's mainframe about her own 'past' had been picked up and given as proof of not only her life, but her loyalty also.

She hardly waited for the engine to stop before she was out of the car and walking up to the door. Sarah met her, a finger on her lips.

"What is it?" Jennifer kept her voice low and looked over as Sarah indicated something away to her left. At the sight of Jarod lying on the sofa with his son on his chest, both fast asleep, Jennifer couldn't help smiling.

"As a memento..." Jennifer took the photo that Sarah handed to her and looked from that to the two on the sofa.

At that moment Kyle woke. When he saw his mother, the boy struggled to sit up. Jennifer moved across and cuddled him to her as she walked away from Jarod. For ten minutes she and Sarah chatted until he appeared in the doorway.

"Do you think maybe we should head off?"

"How very considerate." Jennifer smiled as Jarod took Kyle. "I thought you might have wanted to stay there all night."

"Oh, very funny."

As they walked down the drive, they met Sarah's husband. Adam had gone to school with both women and he and Sarah had married soon after graduation. Jennifer and Jarod exchanged a few comments with him before getting into their car.

~~~~~

Lyle lunged against the restraints that bound him to the wall of the cell. He had not been enlightened as to the method that had been used to bring him back to the Centre, but he was determined to find out and also to escape once more. He wanted freedom so badly that he could almost taste it and he was sure that his escape this time would not end up with him back here. There had to be some place he could go where they wouldn't find him...

~~~~~

Sydney looked at the photos that he had received in the post over the last few weeks. If he hadn't known that Jarod would never be vindictive, he could almost have believed that his protégée was doing it on purpose. Nice though they were to see, the photos showed Sydney what he had missed in the growth of his own son. He threw the photos onto his coffee table and watched as they fluttered from the smooth surface to the floor, each one landing face up and in a position where he could see them clearly. He moaned and buried his face in his hands.

~~~~~

Brigitte sank down in the corner of her room. Not that it even qualified for a room, she thought bitterly. It was a cell, pure and simple. Perhaps it was a little different from the cell that had housed her for the first five months of her captivity, but still a cell. From that time she had forcibly blocked out the memory of her son and now she forgot that she even had one as she wondered what Raines had in store for her. It was unbelievable that she was still a prisoner but she reflected angrily that it clearly showed the loss of power her husband had obviously suffered. She wished that she had killed him when she had had the chance. If only his daughter hadn't interfered, she would have ended up under Raines' protection and not Mr Parker's. Having failed the Triumvirate's order, she had had to rely on her talents and skills to get her the position she had enjoyed for the time she had been free. She glared around the room and watched as the door opened.

~~~~~

Miss Parker picked up the small boy from his bed. She had virtually taken over the care of her brother and it was not a task she enjoyed. A sense of revulsion hit her every time she went near him and she had as little to do with him as possible. She had seen the increasing similarities between the boy and his father and for that reason only was she willing to take care of the child when the nanny that her father had hired was not working. It seemed unreal to her that her father now blamed her for Lyle's escape and that she was almost unable to approach him with hearing a constant stream of criticism for her lack of success. Now even he was commenting, as Raines had done in the past, on her lack of Parker instinct.

Jennifer placed her son in his cot and watched him for several minutes as he lay, peacefully asleep. She heard the door open and felt Jarod slip his arms around her waist as he stood behind her.

"He's beautiful."

"Just like his mother."

"Father," corrected Jennifer, smiling. "He looks just like you." She led Jarod out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"How was your week?"

"Busy." Jarod sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair in an unconscious sign she had learned to recognize as an indication that things weren't going well.

"Can I help?"

Jarod smiled and kissed her gently. "No, sweetheart. It's not something you can do anything about."

~~~~~

Sydney flipped through the papers on his desk without seeing anything. With a deep sigh he closed the folder and slipped it back into his filing cabinet. His thoughts, despite his best efforts, constantly went back to the two images he had recently seen - the photo of Jarod with his son and the sight of Miss Parker with her baby brother. Both beautiful but both would be better if only he, too, had had a child to watch grow.

~~~~~

Jennifer glanced over and saw Jarod's head droop sleepily forward as he sat at the table in front of his computer. The usually rapid pace of his typing slowed and she watched his eyelids close before forcing themselves open several times until finally he gave up the fight against his exhaustion and sat back in the chair with his chin resting on his chest. Shivering, despite the blazing fire, as the cold eased into the room, Jennifer picked up the travel rug laying on one of the chairs nearby and slipped it around his shoulders. Then she moved the laptop away from him and visually scanned the pages that he'd accessed. Her eyes slowly widened as she read and instantly understood the situation in which Jarod was involved. Suddenly she was scared for him. She had always been nervous when he began a new pretend, aware of the dangers and risks, but now she was scared. At least, though, there was something she could do to help this time.

~~~~~

Lyle silently screamed as the needle was stabbed into his skin and then into the wall of the artery, and the fluid flowed in. It had seemed to Raines that the best thing would be to make Lyle unable to recover and to remove any further chance of escape. Raines watched with satisfaction from the observation deck as Lyle struggled against the anesthetic, but the fight was brief and the operation commenced. Raines sat down and watched with something approaching glee as Lyle's further chance of escape was removed and his chance of movement was brought to nothing. Raines had no further use for Lyle, but he wanted him under his control and it had been so very simple to get the Triumvirate to agree to this operation. Mutumbo regarded Lyle as a pest and, having failed in his task, was willing to remove him from any chance of further action within the Centre.

~~~~~

Jarod woke in the chair with a jolt and glanced around the room. Jennifer was no longer there and he imagined that she had either gone in to see Kyle or had gone to bed. Still drowsy, he failed to notice that his computer was now turned off. Moving over to the sofa, he lay down on it and sighed deeply as his eyes closed, having completely missed the note that lay on the table nearby.

~~~~~

Jennifer slipped into the pub and approached the bar. Two of the men glanced over their shoulders and immediately moved over to make way for her. She picked up the glass that the barman had handed to her with a wink and turned to the man on her left.

"So, Jerry, how's tricks?"

"Oh, busy, busy. You know the deal."

"I do indeed." Jennifer slipped a coin onto the bar. "Got time for a chat?"

"With you? Always." Jerry and his friend left the bar only seconds after Jennifer and followed her into a room up the stairs. She sat on the edge of the table and the two men turned chairs so that their backs faced her and straddled them.

"What's up?"

"I need a hand."

"Drug-runners?"

"You bet. Big men too, from what I heard."

As she continued the conversation, the two men moved in a little closer, their interest obvious.

~~~~~

Brigitte looked up at the four unknown figures standing in the doorway. As they walked in o the room, she shrank back against the bed but stayed silent during the walk to Raines' office. Standing by his desk was a figure that she instantly recognized, however Brigitte wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad sign that she saw Mutumbo there, a stern expression on his face and his arms folded across his chest. He eyed her up and down before looking at Raines.

"I want her." His voice boomed through the room.

"You shall have her. At the price we agreed." Immediately the woman cringed. She was being sold? Like a slave?

"She shall join the other women in my harem. I've long wanted a white woman. She will compliment the others."

"What you do with her is of no concern to me. She is yours and you may take her immediately."

Mutumbo nodded to the men who fastened chains to her wrists and waist before escorting her out of the building. She suddenly wanted to cry, to protest. A fleeting memory of her son assailed her and she tried to go back, to beg Raines to change his mind, but the men forced her onward. A member of his harem? A sex-slave? And as Mutumbo had paid for her, there was no way she could ever return to the Centre. She was pushed into a seat on a lavish jet that she had seen only once, when Mutumbo had come to the Centre to bring the clone to Africa. Now she watched as he left the building and climbed into the jet and she could smell the alcohol on his breath as he sat in the seat beside her.

~~~~~

Lyle looked around at the clear plastic wall of the bubble that was now his room and home. He had had no idea of what Raines had intended to do to him but not in his worst nightmares had he imagined this. Rubbing the scar on his chest that showed where the new heart had been implanted, he swallowed the anti-rejection tablets lying beside his meal. He had the choice. Either take the tablets and live in this plastic globe, or refuse to take the tablets and die a slow death as his body rejected the new heart. Glancing up from his meal, he saw the woman standing at the window and looking down into the room at him.

"What do you want?" The snarl had no impact considering his situation.

"I just wanted to make sure that you've fully recovered from that horrible surgery, my dear twin brother," Parker cooed, but her eyes gleamed as she took in his situation. "At least we now know beyond doubt that you actually have a heart. It was always questionable before, you know."

Lyle muttered something incomprehensible and glared at her from beneath his lowered lids. He lunged at the window but the pain from the wound in his chest made him stop as the bubble rocked alarmingly. Miss Parker reached down to the floor beside her and picked up the baby.

"Lyle, meet your brother. This is Robert." Lyle glanced up but paid little attention, however his sister wasn't disconcerted.

"Well, I just wanted to see how my darling brother was. Must dash. Got to keep up the hunt for Jarod, after all. I'd hate to be sent to Africa to become a member of Mutumbo's seraglio, like our dear stepmommy was. Bye." She fluttered her fingers at him as he stared up at her through the plastic and glass and left the observation area with her baby brother in her arms.

~~~~~

Jennifer dropped the newspaper on the table and put on the kettle. She really needed a cup of strong coffee. It had been a long and very busy night but she was happy that the situation in which Jarod had potentially been involved was now solved. As she blew to cool the drink down, she glanced at the headline in satisfaction: 'Contaminated Drugs Swooped On In Raid'. A small sound from the bedroom took her in there and she scooped up her son with a sigh of gratitude. It was useful that she still had contact with Jerry and Mick, two of the boys taken in by her parents at one time. Although she didn't really approve of the way they worked, it was always good to have connections in areas like that. When her son was satisfied, she laid him down again in his bed and then went into her own room. Lying down in bed beside Jarod, slipping an arm around his waist, she was quickly asleep.

~~~~~

Sydney watched the footage of the jet taking off from the runway. He hadn't been able to account for Miss Parker's cheerfulness until he learned who had arrived and had seen Brigitte brought to Raines' office by several of Mutumbo's men. In fact, the atmosphere in the Centre had improved greatly since both Lyle and Brigitte had ceased to be active members, and particularly since Jennifer had returned to work.

~~~~~

Raines fingered the notes that crinkled between his fingers. He was staring out of the window but turned as Mr Parker stormed into the room.

"Where is my wife?"

"You ex-wife is no longer within the Centre."

"What do you mean, ex-wife?" Mr. Parker hissed, his eyes narrow. "What have you done with her, William?"

Raines reached out and drew a folder to him. Pulling out a form, he held it up for Mr. Parker to read. The man's face turned red as he looked back at Raines. "I never wrote this."

"You must have. Your signature is on the bottom of the paper. Your marriage has been null and void for the last three months and Mutumbo has taken Brigitte to his office in Africa. The only way for you to see her again is for you to follow her there, and if you do and succeed in returning to Delaware, you will, of course, not be welcome back here."

Mr. Parker understood the implied threat and turned on his heel without a word, leaving the office.

~~~~~

Jarod threw the paper down in front of where Jennifer was eating lunch, a look of amazement on his face.

"What do you know about that?"

Jennifer smiled. "Is that a hypothetical question?"

"No."

"Only what I read when I bought it this morning. I'm glad to see something like that stopped. If people need drugs, it's better, and safer, that they be pure and not mixed with other potentially fatal substances, I suppose." She smiled again as she spread jam on to a piece of bread but bent her head over the paper to try to hide the smile from Jarod. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh...no reason."

~~~~~

Miss Parker put her baby brother down on his bed and stood for a few seconds, watching him sleep. She heard the footsteps behind her and turned to see her father in the doorway.

"You'll make a wonderful mother, you know."

"If I ever get that chance."

Mr Parker's mouth tightened as his daughter turned back to the cot.

"Please, Angel. You're all the family I've got now. Don't turn against me." He held out his arms in mute appeal and, after a second's hesitation, Parker went to him.

~~~~~

Jarod was clearing the last of his belongings out of the police locker when Mick approached him, hiding a grin as he looked at the man, having been told by his one-time sister who he was, and recalled the night of hard work, now two days earlier.

"You're leaving, then?"

"Yup. Got a transfer interstate. I need to fill the position immediately or miss it."

"Well, good luck." The two men shook hands and then Jarod picked up his bags. He was going to have a break before his next job, he hoped. He wanted to spend some time with his family.

~~~~

Jarod came in to the bedroom as the moon shone in through the window, to find Jennifer sitting in the rocking chair near the bed and humming a song under her breath, the baby in her arms.

"What's that?"

"It's a lullaby."

"A what?"

"A song you sing to children to make them go to sleep, like the one you told me that your mother sang to you."
Jarod looked down at his son. "It seemed to work." He took Kyle from her arms and put him down in his cot.

Jennifer stood up and stretched before leaving the room, preceding Jarod down the hall and into the kitchen, where she put a large covered dish into the microwave.

"What's that?"

"Your dinner, if you want it."

"Definitely. I didn't get lunch today."

"Why not?"

"No time."

"What, were you chasing crooks around or something?" Jennifer smiled and glanced out of the window however, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jarod blush and look sharply at her.

~~~~~

Sydney stood nervously on the doorstep. He had spent hours debating what to do but he knew that he had to do something about the whole circumstance. He couldn't bear to leave things the way they were at present and, after sitting at his desk and staring blankly at the wall in front of him for almost the entire day, he had finally picked up the phone.

"Hello, Michelle? This is Sydney. I'd like to see you. Can I pick you up for dinner?

Total Recall
Part 6 – The Family Game

Jennifer stirred vigorously at the contents of a pot on the stove. As she stood with the wooden door open and only the wire security door between her and the many mosquitoes buzzing around outside, she heard a car pull up in the driveway and two doors slam.

"Daddy, that was the best trip. Can we do it again?"

"Maybe, but don't tell your mother. She worries enough about that as it is."

"Yes," Jennifer turned as the door opened and the two entered the kitchen. "I do worry about the way you drive the car when your son is in it with you." She glared at Jarod, who looked abruptly from her to their son.

"Kyle, go and play in your room for a minute."

"Are you two...?"

"Kyle, go!"

As the boy laggingly left the kitchen, glancing back over his shoulder in concern, his mother threw the spoon, with which she had been stirring the pot, into the sink so hard that it nearly flew out again and glared at Jarod angrily. "How many times do I have to tell you not to speed when Kyle’s in the car with you? You know he wants to do everything that you do!"

"Jenn, it's..."

"I don't want to hear it. I just don't want you to do it again."

Jarod leaned against the wall on the other side of the kitchen and waited warily as she stormed around the kitchen, getting out the plates for dinner. The years had taught him that the best way to deal with her was to wait until the anger subsided, as he knew it eventually would. Finally he spoke.

"The reason that I drove fast was because Parker was in the car behind."

"What?!" She spun around and stared at him.

"I saw Parker and Sam in the car behind me."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

Jennifer stared at him for several seconds before running into his outstretched arms. With a trembling hand, recalling the urgency of the moment, he stroked her shining red hair.

"Mommy, Daddy, are you still fighting?"

Jennifer and Jarod turned with a slight laugh and Jennifer freed an arm, holding it out to the boy. He moved over and joined in the hug.

"No, son, we're not fighting anymore."

~~~~~

Miss Parker stared out of the window at the setting sun. Her brother was curled up, a sleeping ball in her arms, and it was during moments like these that she wondered what kind of a father Thomas would have made. She had now virtually adopted her brother, her father being totally wrapped up in his work at the Centre and Miss Parker sometimes wondered if he even knew his wife was gone. It was about the same amount of emotion that he had shown when her mother had died. The memory of her mother caused Miss Parker's arms to tighten on the boy until he woke up with a slight squawk. With a small laugh, she loosened her hold and pulled her mind out of the past as she got up to feed her brother and herself.

~~~~~

Jarod woke with a jump and, heart pounding, gazed frantically around the room for several seconds. He looked over to Jennifer as she slept beside him and, with confused thoughts in his mind, got out of bed. Slowly he walked into the other room, where his ten-month-old son slept in his cot. Jarod remembered hearing that, if you pinched yourself, you would know whether you were dreaming. Doing so and feeling the pain, he realized that this, and not the other, was real. It had been so realistic. He shook his head in confusion before going out into the living room. The sun was only moments from rising as Jarod opened the door and went outside. He sat down on the top step of the porch with his knees curled up in front of him and his hands linked around them.

"You're up early." The voice from behind him was bright and Jarod watched as Jennifer came over and sat down on the step below him, leaning against his legs.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Bad dream?"

"Not exactly. It just woke me up."

Jennifer rested her head on his knees. "Do you have to leave just yet, or were you planning to stay for a while?"

"Well, if nothing interrupts us, I thought I'd give myself a vacation." He put both hands on Jennifer's shoulders, beginning to rub gently, but she ignored it and twisted around to look at him, a smile on her face.

"Do you know how frustrated the Centre's getting? You've even stopped calling Sydney, let alone leaving a trail of red notebooks to follow."

"I have someone better to talk to."

Jennifer smiled fleetingly and then turned back to face the sun, however, when she didn't speak, Jarod became concerned and tilted up her head so that he could see her face. "Look, what's the problem? There's been something wrong ever since I got home. Can't you tell me?"

For answer, Jennifer went back into the house and reappeared several minutes later with a gun holster in her hand, from which she extracted the deadly weapon and held it out to him. "See this? Raines came into my office yesterday and told me that I should carry it, just in case I ran into you."

"But you told me that you were...?"

"A sharp-shooter? Yes, I am, and I don't mind a gun if I'm standing in front of a target. I actually enjoy pumping a piece of paper full of holes. But I have a small problem doing the same thing to another human being. Especially you."

"So don't take it."

"And what excuse would I give to Raines?"

"Hmm. Good point."

There were several minutes of silence and then Jarod looked up at Jennifer once more. "What have you done to it? I know that expression."

"Oh, okay." Jennifer grinned and opened the gun, dropping the six silver bullets into Jarod's outstretched hand. "The first four are blanks. Only the last two are genuine."

"Nice one. But why the real bullets?"

"If I aim at something, I want there to be holes in the thing I hit, even if it's not the main target."

~~~~~

Sydney looked across the table to where Michelle sat and smiled. The early part of the evening had been somewhat difficult, with the two of them unsure what to say to each other. However a few reminisces about their years working together at the Centre had started the conversation flowing. Now, as time moved quickly, he was desperately trying to think of a way to prolong the evening.

"Can I see you again?"

Michelle smiled. "You said the same thing to me the first time we started going out, remember? But, yes, I'd like that too."

"Does Nicholas mind?"

"That his mother and father are seeing each other? No, I don't think so."

There was several seconds of silence.

"Is the Centre going to interfere?" the woman prompted softly.

Sydney reached over and took Michelle's hand. "I don't know. But, now that I finally have you back, I'm not going to let you go again."

~~~~~

Jarod came into the room and looked down at the sleeping woman on the bed as he removed his shoes. He hadn't wanted to leave but felt that the situation had desperately required his attention and he hadn't wanted to ignore it. She had, as always, been understanding, but there were times that he wished he could have a regular job and a normal family. After changing, he slipped into bed and then wrapped his arms around Jennifer, feeling her sigh as she settled back in his arms without waking up. He gently kissed the top of her head and then the back of her neck. Slowly he began to stroke her hair but the exhaustion that he had begun to feel on the long drive back to the farm was setting in again and, as it caught up with him, he gave in and relaxed.

~~~~~

Sydney walked through the doors of his office as his computer beeped to alert him of a message. His heart leaped at the thought that it might be from Jarod but the screen showed him that it was just an office memo and, as he went down the hall towards Jennifer's office in response to it, he wondered what it was about. Jennifer, at his entrance, picked up a pile of papers and slammed them down in front of Sydney, one hand preventing them from landing on the floor. He looked up, surprised to see the anger in her eyes.

"What's all this?"

"That's what I should be asking you," she growled softly, her eyes burning with rage. "Raines sent me down to locate a particular file for him and, in the process, I found those."

Sydney glanced through the pages and the color drained from his face as he looked up at her. "Jennifer - I...I can explain..."

She leaned back in her chair. "I hope so. If other people got hold of those - "

"Jarod couldn't...could he?"

Jennifer turned the screen of her computer around to face him so that he could see the replicas of the files that he held in his hand. "I've tried to delete them but I can't. They've been downloaded in such a way that I would need to have at least level eight access and I only have level seven. Therefore I would say that it's only a matter of time. In fact, I'm surprised that he hasn't found them already, and I don't know why I shouldn't tell him myself." Her eyes became sad. "Jarod always trusted you, Sydney, and you betrayed him."

For several moments Sydney sat and stared at the pages in his hands while the woman closed the files on which she had been working and then turned off the screen. Folding her arms, she leaned back in her chair and waited for him to speak.

~~~~~

Miss Parker turned over the gun in her hand and stared at the shining metal that gleamed under her hands. She had waited until Robert was asleep before taking the gun from the position in the linen closet where she kept it. By having it there she knew that he wouldn't be able to find it during one of his regular whirlwind dashes through the house. He could now get up a high level of speed and she only had to take her eyes off him for a few seconds for him to be on the other side of the room. A sharp rap caused her to slip the gun into the hall table before she opened the door.

"Daddy?"

"Angel, I need to talk to you."

"Of course."

~~~~~

"This is Sydney."

The voice on the other end exploded almost before he got the words out. "How could you, Sydney? How could you do that to me?"

"Jarod - I..."

"Well?"

"You have to understand - "

"I don't have to understand anything, except that you signed a hand-over of the results for every single simulation I ever performed. All this time, when you were saying that you had no idea of their eventual uses, you knew exactly where they were going. You knew how every one would be used - that they would be used to kill people! It wouldn't take a genius to work out their potential results."

"Jarod, listen to me - "

"Why should I?"

"I want you to know the whole situation before you condemn me."

"It's a little late for that," the Pretender spat.

"Please, Jarod."

Jennifer slipped her hand into Jarod's and gave it a gentle squeeze as they sat opposite each other across the table. He looked up at her and his voice, when he spoke, was full of pain.

"Okay."

"Jarod, when the results of every simulation were complete, I had to write them up. Then I had to sign a document stating that they could be legally given, or sold, to their intended client. At the time, those forms were blank. I had no way of knowing who the results were designed for, any more than you did. But if I, as your guardian, hadn't completed the paper work, none of the deals would have been legal."

"That's a joke, Sydney, unless, of course, kidnapping, torture and murder have been legal for the last forty years." Jarod's face wore a bitter smile. "How can you honestly believe that it would be 'legal' unless you signed it? It's a farce, like everything else at the Centre. The only reason they had you fill these out was to shove the blame away from the Triumvirate." The accusing tone faded a little from his voice. "They used you, like they used me. Can't you see that?"

Pressing a button, he disconnected the call and stared blankly out of the window above Jennifer's head. She put her other hand on his and waited until he looked at her.

"Jarod, I think he's telling you the truth. He would have had no way of knowing for whom those details were designed. I know it's hard to believe, but I did a test on the paper and the details were applied some time after the signature had been written. Of course, the exact times are impossible to judge but, on several of the forms, typing was put over the signature. I tested it myself."

Jarod shook his head and the tear that had escaped from his eye slowly began to zigzag down his cheek. "I trusted him, Jenn. I trusted him and he betrayed me."

"No, Jarod." She came around and started to gently rub the back of his neck. "It wasn't Sydney that betrayed you. It was the Centre. Sydney played his role but the one at whom you should be directing your anger is the Centre and only the Centre."

Jarod allowed his head to roll forward as Jennifer continued to unravel the stress that had built up in his neck.

"When I talked to him about this - I've never seen anyone so upset before. And you know as well as I do that he doesn't like to show his emotions. The thought that you might find out and hold him responsible is going to give him nightmares for a long time. And the call isn't going to help."

Jarod raised his head stared blankly out of the window. "But he...I'd never have thought that he..." He paused. "How am I supposed to live with this?"

"In the same way that you've learned to live with everything else. Sydney, don't forget, has to live with the same guilt that you do."

Jarod slammed two fists on the table and pushed back his chair. Jennifer hid the pain as its back slammed into her waist and she moved to lean against the wall as Jarod began to furiously pace the room, his voice full of rage.

"How can you honestly say that? Do you really believe that he was really naïve for so many years?"

Jennifer watched as he continued to angrily pace, her hands clenched into tight fists as the throbbing in her stomach gradually increased. He hadn't yet had the chance to learn that she was pregnant again and, in her concern for herself, she stopped listening to what he was saying as Jarod continued to stride the length of the room. Finally, as she knew he would, he stopped and glared blankly out of the window. Fighting the pain and nausea that the knock had caused, she came and stood behind him, slipping both arms around his waist.

"Jarod, Sydney was the person who taught you everything that you believe about ethics and moral standards. He's not capable of pushing aside his own feelings to teach you something that he didn't believe himself. You know him better than I do, but I know I'm right when I say that. He wouldn't - he couldn't have done that, either to himself or to you." She felt the warm tear splash down onto her hand and was about to pull away when he grabbed her arms and turned her body to face him. Before she could react he lowered his head and kissed her. Then he took her face in both hands and looked into her eyes.

"What would I do without you?"

She tried to smile but the agony in her stomach was too great. Jarod noticed the pain in her eyes at the same moment as he saw the small flecks on blood on the edges of her fingernails. He forced open one palm and saw where the nails had pierced the skin as she clenched her fists. With a rapid movement he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Moments later, after a quick examination, he carried her out to the car and, putting Kyle into his baby seat, drove off.

~~~~~

Miss Parker hadn't moved since her father left. She had remained in the same seat while he had let himself out of the house, unable to believe what he had said. He was backing out of their deal, thus ensuring that she would never leave the Centre. He had, as he always did, relied on her loyalty but now she could see the threats that, although implied, were still obvious. And there wasn't a single thing she could do about it. She knew that he didn't care what she thought of him and wasn't interested in her opinions. Looking back, she could see he never had been. Suddenly she felt lonely.

~~~~~

The sound of Jarod's footsteps filled his ears as his mind filled with thoughts and regrets over what had happened. But he was distracted as a hand came to rest gently on his shoulder and he turned to find Sydney behind him.

"How is she?"

Jarod stared blankly at the man for several seconds before a tear slipped down his cheek.

"Sydney, I'm sorry."

"I know, Jarod."

"I really am. I was angry...hurt...I needed someone to blame." Suddenly, unable to help himself, he threw both arms around Sydney and hugged him. Over the other man's shoulder, Jarod saw Michelle kneeling beside the baby capsule in which Kyle lay and, despite the tears in his eyes, couldn't help smiling.

~~~~~

Lyle stared around the walls and tried to think of a way out. The scars were no longer painful but he wasn't willing to stop taking the medication. Living was still slightly preferable to death. His predicament, however, left him a lot of time to think. The plastic bubble had only one exit and that wasn't accessible to or by him. Raines had shown him a DSA that contained the both design and creation of the thing and it was almost unbearable for him to learn that Jarod had been responsible for its inception. His speech was beginning to deteriorate due to the fact that he had no one to talk to. Sometimes he was certain that he was being watched but the reflective glass of the window, high above his head, prevented him from seeing through it. He never thought to look at the air vent…

~~~~~

When the doctor walked into the hallway, Jarod was already on his feet, waiting for news. The doctor didn't need anyone to tell him that the young man had been pacing the hallway since the operation began.

"Well?"

The doctor smiled. "She's going to be fine. We stopped the bleeding and we also managed to save the baby."

Jarod's eyes widened in shock. "The...baby?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"Uh...no. Not yet."

"Well, congratulations. She's three months pregnant. I'm going back to help them settle her into the room and then you can go in and see her."

As the doctor left, Jarod sat numbly in a chair. Sydney came over and sat next to him. "So the two of you are..."

Jarod didn't answer but Sydney's mind had been working quickly. He was about to speak which Michelle interrupted him. "Oh please, Syd." She held up the sleepy baby, who looked at his father and the other man out of drowsy brown eyes. "You only have to look at him to know who his parents are."

Sydney began to laugh and Jarod turned stunned eyes to him. "You knew?"

"I've had some suspicions."

"Since when?"

"After Jennifer was shot, I went to visit her. Her medical file was lying open and I thought I recognized the handwriting but, because it was only numbers, I couldn't be sure. Now, of course, I can see that I was right. It was you."

"So now what are you going to do?" Jarod's voice was cautious as he examined the floor. "No matter what, nothing will change the fact that you work for them."

"Oh, it changes a lot. I can see that I've been wrong, Jarod." Sydney stared at his hands. "I used to think that it would be better for you in the Centre, that you'd be safer there, that if the government found out about you, they'd do all they could to get hold of you. I even tried to convince myself that you could be happy there. And that I could be, too."

Jarod finally looked at Sydney. "You admit that you were wrong?"

"Now you have someone to depend on, a family. It's what you've always wanted and I hoped that I could give that to you."

"But you have your own family."

"Thanks to you. I wanted to return the favour."

"You provided me with that, too. Please tell me that all those years didn't mean nothing to you."

"No," Sydney admitted softly. "They meant a lot."

"Jarod," the nurse hesitantly interrupted the conversation. "She's asking for you."

Jennifer moved slightly, ignoring the twinge of pain that it caused. Her biggest relief was in knowing that the unborn baby would be all right and, if she took life easy for the next six months, should be as healthy as Kyle was. It would be a shock to Jarod that she was pregnant again. She had just got to the stage of wondering what his reaction would be and, imagining it, had begun to giggle softly when the door to her room opened and he was standing there.

"I'm sorry."

"Jarod, it wasn't your fault. If..."

"It was! If I hadn't been so angry..."

She held out one hand and he moved across, taking it as he sat down in a chair beside the bed. "Jarod, I should have got out of the way faster, that's all. And it wasn't even as though you knew."

"How long have you known?"

"About two weeks. I was going to tell you..."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because, if you'll remember, you've only been home two days, and you slept for the whole of one. Besides, I thought it was more important for you to find out about the forms first. I wanted you to get over your anger regarding them before you learned about this."

He looked down at her in amazement. "You knew what I'd do?"

"I guessed. Once a person knows you, you can be a little predictable, as long as you're not pretending to be someone else."

"Are you really going to be okay?"

Jennifer raised a hand and touched his cheek with her fingertips. "I'm going to be fine, Jarod. And so is our baby." She paused. "Have you talked to Sydney?"

He sat back in his chair and stared at her. "How on earth did you...?"

"I told the doctor to call him. I knew that he was staying around here, visiting Michelle. Did you talk to him? Did you tell him?"

"Yes."

"And?"

Jarod's eyes filled with tears for the second time within the space of half an hour and he was unable to speak but Jennifer was satisfied. To save him further pain, she changed the subject. "Where's Kyle?"

"Outside, with Michelle."

"She came too? Oh, good."

Jarod looked at Jennifer suspiciously. "Are you trying to match-make?"

"I hardly need to. They've been in love for years. I just thought that Sydney ought to have a chance at a life too, now that you've got one."

"How far do you think it can go?" Jarod's tones betrayed his curiosity.

"Well, marriage would be nice." She smiled at him. "It would even give Nicholas a father again."

Jarod stroked Jennifer's hair with his hand as he leaned over, smiling at her. "Are you always thinking about other people?"

She kissed him softly. "That depends on who the other people are."

~~~~~

Miss Parker picked up her brother from his baby seat and carried him into the house. Ben followed with her bags. It had taken a lot of courage to pack her car and drive out of Blue Cove. She'd even disengaged the car's tracking system so she could have a few days before they caught up with her.

"You can have your mother's room, if you want."

"Thank-you. I'd like that." Somehow, here, it was easy to drop the facade that was so well known among Centre operatives. When he left, she put the baby on the bed and made up the small cot that Ben had placed in the corner. As she placed her small brother onto the blankets and watched him stare solemnly up at her, she realized how powerfully protective she had become towards him. The idea of letting her father or Raines near the child, not even her own, made her angrier than she had been for months. She wondered if this was how her mother had felt, not only about her but also the children within the Centre.

~~~~~

Sydney walked into the room and sat beside the bed. Within only a few hours, Jennifer's fitness was ensuring that she was recovering from the incident as quickly as possible. He and Jarod had discussed what had occurred and he had done his best to dispel the young man's guilt but had a sense that Michelle would be more effective. So, while he visited Jennifer, he knew that the woman he was now determined to finally marry would talk to the young man he could now admit that he'd always loved as much as if he had been his own son.

"Well, you kept this a well hidden secret."

She grinned. "It's a shame that I won't get to see Raines' face if or when he ever works it out."

"He'll be furious."

"That was the idea."

Sydney laughed. "And you've kept this a secret from Miss Parker, too. I think that's an even greater achievement."

"I kept promising to show her photos of Kyle, or the boy himself, but somehow I never got around to it."

"Well, she certainly would have guessed then. He's the absolute mirror image of his father."

"Then or now?"

"Both. I can see some of Jarod as a boy and there are certainly looks that are very much identical to the man."

"I haven't watched too many DSAs of Jarod as a boy but there are certain strong resemblances to the clone."

Sydney became a little uncomfortable. Then his mind put together the pieces that he'd been trying to understand since the disappearance.

"You helped them escape, didn't you?"

Jennifer tried to hide her smile. "Well, I might have helped a bit."

"Have you told Jarod?"

"No."

"Why not?"

The smile vanished. "I was supposed to meet up with them two days after they escaped and bring them to Jarod. That would give them time to collect Margaret and Emily and I would have a chance to finish my work without Raines getting suspicious. But of course, thanks to Lyle and Brigitte, I never got the chance to go to that meeting. I have no idea where they are and I couldn't tell Jarod about it, not now. He's had so many disappointments of that sort; I can't bring myself to be responsible for another one."

Sydney nodded. "I understand. And he would be disappointed. I'm sure one day, though, he'll find them."

Jennifer smiled. "With that much determination, he'll have to get results, and I know he will. At least, he's not going to stop until he does."

"Does what?" Jarod's voice interrupted the conversation.

"Funny," Jennifer grinned. "I didn't hear you knock."

"Neither did I. But I thought I'd left you two alone long enough."

Jennifer could hear in his voice that the guilt he'd been carrying was gone. This was the cheerful, bright Jarod that she had originally fallen in love with and the smile he gave her showed that, as usual, he had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking.

Sydney stood up. "I'm going to find Michelle." He left the room quickly, but not before he heard the final comments.

"Is he going to ask her?"

"I hope so. If not, I'm going to do it for him!"

~~~~~

As Jarod sat beside Jennifer's bed, he looked at a folder that had been lying on the small table in the corner since he had come in. He had originally thought that it was a medical folder but several nurses had entered and left the room without touching it. He glanced over, seeing that Jennifer was still asleep so he stood up and walked over to the table. Seeing a name on the folder that he easily recognized, he picked it up and returned to his seat. Slowly his eyes absorbed all of the information it contained and, after completing it, Jarod looked up to see Jennifer watching him.

"Is this for me?"

"It was suggested that I find an appropriate moment to give it to you."

"By whom?"

"The person who gave it to me."

Jarod thought for a moment. "Angelo?"

"One day, in my office, he showed it to me. That's a photocopy, by the way, not the original. He's keeping them, perhaps for the day when the Centre no longer exists, and then I imagine he'll try and give them back to the relevant people."

Jarod looked at her. "Is there one for me?"

"Angelo wouldn't give it to me and I only saw it briefly. I had no chance to read anything on it."

"And one day...?"

She nodded, reaching out to take his hand. "One day, Jarod. One day."

Total Recall
Part 7 – The Game of Life

Once she was finally allowed into the room, Jennifer stopped at the threshold, a hand holding open the door, and stared at the figure on the bed. She was frozen in place, except for her eyes that traveled over his body and the equipment with which he was clinging to life. It took several seconds before she realized that she had ceased to breathe and her first intake of air matched the first step that she took into the room.

White gauze pads were taped onto his skin and, stained slightly with blood, contrasted sharply with the bronzed skin that had been tanned by the surgical disinfectants. His face…her eyes traveled to his face and she visually scanned the closed eyelids and the partly open mouth, a tube vanishing into its depths that was responsible for the regular rise and fall of his chest. It wasn't natural - she could see that. His breathing had never been so regular, so measured. Even in his sleep, it was often ragged and erratic. Now the steadiness of it frightened her and she took a half step back before going into the room and letting the door swing shut behind her.

With trepidation, she approached the bed. For several seconds she stood there, waiting for some response as he had so often responded during the nights they had spent together. When that failed, however, she dropped into the chair that waited beside the bed for that purpose and, slowly, took one of his hands in both of hers. It was warm and this fact registered in her mind with a dull sense of surprise. Seeing his lack of color, she had expected his skin to be cold, even slightly damp, but instead it was warm and dry. When the door opened, she turned quickly, heart pounding. The woman who had entered softly walked over and stood beside her.

"Jennifer, I'm sorry about what happened."

"Mary-Ann, are you...?"

"I've been put on as Jarod's nurse for the next few hours. If you need anything, just press that." The dark-skinned nurse indicated the small buzzer that lay near the pillow, pinned to the sheet and then put a gentle hand on Jennifer's shoulder. "I've pulled people back from the brink of death before this. I'm sure, together, we can do it again."

Jennifer tried to smile, but she felt as if all of her emotions had been drained from her in the few half-seconds after watching Jarod crumple to the ground. The agony of that moment swept over her again and she failed to notice as the nurse slipped from the room. It wasn't until the door opened nearly an hour later and Sarah entered that Jennifer looked around. Even then she stared blindly, taking in nothing of the scene before her.

Sarah, too, was shocked at the sight but she remained calm and walked over to Jennifer, Kyle clutched in her arms. The boy's mother took him automatically but the gurgling that began the moment her arms were around him brought her out of her thoughts and she looked at the small face smiling up at her. The similarity to the man lying on the bed brought her both pain and relief and she looked at her friend with a smile, even as a tear slowly made its way down her face.

"How was he?"

"Angelic, as usual." Sarah paused. "Can you tell me - what happened?"

Jennifer took a deep breath and controlled the trembling in her voice. "My car wasn't working and so I asked Parker to give me a lift home. I was going to call you from there and have you bring Kyle around. But she had to stay for a meeting and arranged for Sam to drive me."

"The sweeper?"

Jennifer nodded slowly. "We were approaching the house when Sam recognized a figure that I'd seen several moments earlier. Of course, I hadn't said anything about who it was, but Sam recognized him nonetheless and before I could stop him, had brought the car over to side of the road and jumped out, drawing his gun. Jarod had seen the car stop and was preparing to run but, when Sam yelled out, he paused before taking off. Sam fired two shots and hit Jarod both times in the chest. As he turned to me, I'd taken my gun out of its holster and slammed him in the back of the head with it. I don't have proper bullets in it so shooting him would have been no good. He dropped as fast as Jarod did, but I ignored him and ran over to..." The tension of the moment swept over her again and the muscles in her face tightened. "It was lucky that the road was quiet, otherwise I probably would have been run over."

"A woman called an ambulance as her husband came out to help me." She paused and steadied her voice, unaware of the tears that were pouring down her cheeks. "It hadn't really hit me, what had happened, and I told them to take Sam into their house and keep him there until I called for him."

"But Sam's got to be a big, strong guy and these two people are...?"

"About our age. However he's my dentist and I think Sam might be doing a bit of sleeping for the next few days." The giggle that she let out revealed to Sarah how emotionally wound up she was, and the doctor forced her voice to be calm.

"So you got the ambulance to bring him here? When?"

"About six...no, seven hours ago. They finished with the surgery to remove the bullets, settled him in here and then let me come in to see him."

"Oh God." Sarah's voice was soft as she put her arm around her friend. "But he'll pull through, I know he will. We got him through that bout of pneumonia, so we can get him through this too."

~~~~~

Jennifer sat in the chair and waited for something to happen. It was all she was able to do, wait, and she remembered the time, only a few months earlier, when Jarod had had to wait in the same way while she was in theatre. Her hand moved to her stomach, now beginning to announce the coming baby, and she allowed herself several seconds to think about what it would be like to bring up both the children without their father. To remove the thought, she shook her head gently and then picked up one of the books that Sarah had brought. It was a relief, she thought as she began to read, that her friend was willing to take care of Kyle. She didn't feel as though she could deal with an active two-year-old at this point. And Kyle was certainly active. Sydney had come around on several occasions to see them and commented on the similarity between the child now and his father at twice that age.

The opening door revealed the subject of her thoughts and she watched his face gradually drain of color as Sydney took in the scene.

"Is he...?"

Jennifer closed the book and put it on the blanket next to Jarod's hand. "He's still alive - just. At least, they did an EEG and there was brain activity. I couldn't help thinking, though, that it was less than it would usually be for him." Jennifer's voice was cold and emotionless but Sydney was so caught up in his own feelings that he never noticed. "They're not sure that he'll ever wake up."

She fought back the tears and moved away from the bed so that Sydney wouldn't see her face. He took her place in the chair and she moved over to the window and stared out at the trees bending under the strong winds that usually foreshadowed a storm.

"Do you think he can hear us?"

"I don't know, Sydney." Her voice shook and she had to swallow several times before she could trust herself to speak again. "The doctors said he might be able to. They really aren't sure."

Jennifer half turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked into Michelle's eyes as they overflowed with sympathy, causing her own to fill again with tears.

"And how are you doing?"

~~~~~

Jennifer looked up from the book to see Sydney asleep in his chair on the other side of the hospital bed. He had protested that sleep would be impossible, but after Michelle telling her that he had driven them both from Michelle's house to the hospital without a break, Jennifer knew that he would need as much sleep as he could get. For that matter they all would but she wouldn't let herself close her eyes. She had to be there, and awake, no matter what happened.

Walking over to the playpen, she picked up her son and carried him over to the window. Softly she began to tell him the names of the trees that they could see through the small pane of glass. Everyone who entered the room spoke quietly, as though the patient could be disturbed. In the silence, Jennifer's mind went back to a conversation that she and Jarod had had just after Lyle and Brigitte had experimented on her.

"You told me that you once believed in God. What happened?"

"That's true. I used to believe in God. I guess I don't anymore."

He looked up at her from his seat on the floor. "Why not?"

She sighed and, without realizing what she was doing, placed one hand on her arm where the drugs had been injected. "Every night, when they were holding me in the Centre, I prayed to God to get me out so that I wouldn't have to deal with it again. But He didn't. I was still there when I woke up every morning. Jarod, I..."

Her sobs cut her short and Jarod knelt in front of her, his face on a level with her own as he looked into her eyes, holding her face in his hands.

"I didn't want you to see me like this, not with all the bruises and cuts. I wanted to be okay by the time you found that I was out. I made Sydney promise not to tell you." He moved over to sit next to her on the sofa and she buried her head in his shoulder. "But even earlier than that, after my parents..."

Her voice trembled, revealing to him an emotion that she had never shown before when talking about her family.

"After they died, I prayed that I wouldn't be alone and that I wouldn't feel lonely, but I did - I felt like the whole world was passing by and that I had stepped out of the line. I couldn't do anything except watch it go."

"I'm sorry." His voice was a soft and tender whisper. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to help you. I'm sorry that you had to go through it alone. But don't ever hide things like that from me. Let me help you to deal with them. I want to help you."

A ringing brought her out of her daydream and she turned to see Sydney jump out of his seat and pull the cell phone from his pocket. Despite being on the other side of the room, she could still hear what was being said.

"Sydney, where the hell are you?"

"Does it matter?"

There was a short pause, resulting, Jennifer guessed, from Miss Parker's shock at receiving such an unusual answer.

"Of course it damn well matters. There hasn't been a clue left by Rat-Boy in over a month, I've got the whole Triumvirate on my back and you're off having a holiday somewhere."

Sydney's jam set firmly and Jennifer knew that he was fighting for control just as much as she was. They both turned to look at the figure on the bed.

"Sydney? Sydney, answer me, dammit!"

"Parker...Go to hell!"

Sydney disconnected the call. He and Jennifer stared at each other for several seconds before they both laughed. It was only brief, however. The gravity of the situation was too great for amusement. Jennifer moved over and was about to hug him when a thought occurred to her.

"Could they trace that? I mean can they find out where we are?"

"Jarod gave me a device about a month ago that would prevent the Centre from being able to trace it. At least, it gives the impression that I'm at home. But for now..." He turned the phone over and removed the battery from the handset, walking over to place it in the bin that sat in the corner of the room.

"You're putting Jarod ahead of the Centre?"

"Don't you think it's time I did? After you found those files, it made me realize that I've been fooling myself all along. All I've ever done is put space between us. In the end, it took you to show that to me."

"It sounds as though you're jealous."

Sydney looked at her as he took his seat beside the bed and she put Kyle back in the playpen. "In a way I was. When Jarod suddenly stopped calling, I couldn't help wondering what was preventing him. And I kept hoping that it wasn't another person, never dreaming that it was someone just a few doors down the hall."

Jennifer took the seat opposite and tried to smile. "In some ways, Jarod's very similar to his son. He's always running after new things. When he does, he often leaves the old ones, but he always comes back to them. He would have started calling you, if...if this hadn't happened. If it's any consolation, he would never stop calling altogether."

"Really?" Sydney was interested. "Why not?"

"He thinks you know things...about his family. He won't stop until he finds out about them, and about himself, if it means going back into the Centre to do it."

"Would he...really?"

"He'd think he had to."

"He'd never get out again."

"Oh, I don't know. Other people have got out of the Centre. Why shouldn't he?"

Sydney looked at Jennifer and a small smile curled the corners of his mouth. "You mean Major Charles and the boy? But I doubt you'd get access to Jarod."

"And why not? Raines would need someone to take notes and who better than his trusted secretary and computer analyst? After all, I've redesigned the entire system so it's more secure than it ever was before. Why should he doubt me?"

Sydney's expression was so comic that she was unable to suppress her laughter. The sound woke her son and he pulled himself to his feet, beginning to gurgle as though joining in. Jennifer walked over, picked him up and gave him to Sydney.

"And now?" Sydney continued with the conversation as Kyle pulled on his tie.

"I can't help thinking of what Jarod would want. I'm not going back there - I can't, not after this. But I'm going to do what I...we should have done at the start." She walked over and pulled out her laptop from a bag in the corner of the room.

"And what should you have done?"

Jennifer pulled out two disks from the case, putting one into the drive. For a few moments she concentrated and then, removing the disk from the machine, she tossed it over to Sydney who caught it clumsily and pocketed it so that the boy in his arms wouldn't chew it.

"That's the record of your time with the Centre: every file and fact that I could find when I was creating the database. For you, Broots and Miss Parker." She then plugged the computer into the phone point and began to send messages through it. "That will send a copy of all the information on the mainframe to the computer at...our house." Her lip trembled slightly but stopped as she pushed the second disk into the computer and began to activate it. "And that is going to send a nasty little virus into the Centre's mainframe."

Sydney grinned. "And this nasty little virus is going to do what?"

"Immediately? Not much. Slowly, over a few weeks, though, files are gradually going to begin disappearing. They'll only be small ones at the start, but then slowly larger ones until the whole system is blank. Also, anything they send will immediately corrupt everything it finds - files, data, everything. And the traces of the virus will be very easy to find for anyone to find, allowing people to easily discover Centre contacts by following the leads. The Centre relies on the mainframe for its whole existence. This will destroy it totally."

"But won't that corrupt your computer as well?"

"J...Jarod and I created this some time ago and I made sure that my computer was immune to it. But I'll have a continued record of any messages they send."

"Continued? So you've always known what was going in and out?"

"Well, of course. It wouldn't be much use to know everything about the Centre if I couldn't find out what was happening, would it?"

"And now?"

"Any record of your association with the Centre, or that of Broots, Miss Parker, Jacob, Angelo, and a select group of others will now have vanished. You'll also find that a very healthy check has been deposited in your bank account." She tried to smile. "Consider it a termination payment."

"What?!"

"Well, with a new chance at life, do you want to have to keep working there, with all the risk involved?"
Sydney remained silent.

"Besides, you've always said that you only wanted to stay there until Jarod was safe. And he is - from Centre capture." Jennifer's voice faded away as her mind filled with the other, and greater, threat, and she was unable to speak.

~~~~~

The disturbance in the doorway brought Jennifer's eyes away from the figure on the bed and she watched as three nurses fought to keep the woman from the room. Sydney had left, several hours earlier, to have dinner with Michelle, but he had extracted a promise from Jennifer that he would be contacted immediately if anything changed.

Seeing who had just arrived, Jennifer was pleased that he had gone. Miss Parker was alone, she noticed, with no sweepers in sight and she mentally congratulated herself on having made a plan for this. At a nod, Sarah, who had arrived as Sydney was leaving, stepped forward and a look from Jennifer dispersed the nurses from the doorway. Miss Parker stepped into the room and froze as her eyes took in the sight. Then, suddenly feeling a hard point pressed into her back, she hesitated and automatically reached for her gun.

"You needn't bother." Jennifer voice was as calm as she hoped it would be. "It's gone." She walked over and took the weapon from the nurse who had slipped it away without being noticed.

"Well, so you've been helping him all the time." Parker's voice was a sneer and her top lip curled.

"Helping him? No, it’s more than that. I've been working with him, as I told you on the message."

"You mean...that was real? Genuine?"

Jennifer didn't reply verbally but nodded and Miss Parker changed the topic of conversation. "And what's this place? I'm guessing it's not a public hospital."

"No, not exactly. The people working here are all friends of mine. Working for and with me...us."

"So what have you done with Sam? I'm guessing it's no co-incidence that he happens to be missing."

"You're right. He's got a sore head but apart from that, he's fine. If...when Jarod wakes up, Sam will be returned to the Centre."

Miss Parker's eyes traveled to the figure on the bed. "And if he doesn't?"

"He will." Jennifer's voice held the certainty that she didn't really feel and it was only the woman standing before her who prevented Jennifer from sinking into the chair and allowing the tears, amassing in her eyes, to fall. As a form of distraction, she picked up her son. "Tell me, Miss Parker. Just by looking at Kyle, can you guess who his father is?"

Miss Parker's face bore a startled expression as her eyes traveled over the small visage, recognizing instantly the dark eyes and other features.

"J...Jarod?"

"Very good. I think an answer like that can move you on to the bonus round."

"And what's the 'bonus round'?"

The pain of a needle in Miss Parker's arm made her turn but the contents were injected before she had a chance to react. With astonishing rapidity, she felt her limbs begin to give way but her mind remained clear and, despite being unable to move from her position on the floor, she could still hear what was being said and, looking up, could see Jennifer standing above her.

"So that you don't run back to the Centre with this little bit of news, I'm afraid that we're going to have to keep you here for a while. Don't worry; the medication will wear off, eventually. At least I hope it will. That's what I've been told."

Jennifer looked up as a trolley was wheeled into the room. The orderly winked at her and then picked up Miss Parker and put her onto the gurney. The woman's face was calm, the drug having fully taken effect, but in her eyes blazed a fierce energy as she glared up at Jennifer, who responded in tones of false merriment.

"Oh come on, Parker. I wouldn't worry. Everything will be fine. Just a few days, hopefully, and we can let you go back to Daddy. All you have to do is wait until Jarod wakes up. Not too hard, really, is it?"

The rapid blinking, the only movement over which she had control, revealed the anger that filled Miss Parker as she realized the trap into which she'd fallen. It had been foolish to obey the directions on the note she'd received, but her only thought had been bringing Jarod back - alone. It was an event that she was sure would have given her the freedom that she wanted, despite what her father had said. That was why she hadn't contacted the Centre before leaving Maine. Now she had become as much as physical prisoner as she had ever been a mental one during her years of involvement with the Centre.

Jennifer turned to the bed and sank, once more, into the chair beside it. Sarah returned the gun to Jennifer's holster and placed it back in the bag.

"You did the right thing."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that." Jennifer sighed and, slowly reaching forward, took Jarod's hand in both of hers. "I just keep hoping every time I look up that he'll be looking back at me. I keep waiting for him to let me know that he knows I'm here."

Sarah put a hand on her shoulder. "You aren't giving up, are you?"

"Sometimes I feel like I should. You know, just let him go."

"But is that what he would want?"

"I guess not."

"Besides, there's another reason."

"Really, what?"

Sarah pointed to the boy, who was back in the playpen in the corner, and tried to smile. "He needs a father. They both do."

~~~~~

Jennifer was finally sleeping, her head resting on the bed near Jarod's hand and with her hand wrapped in his, when Sydney and Michelle returned. Sarah stood up, silently ushering them out of the room.

"Jenn asked me to show you something."

She led them out of the room and into one nearby. Sydney lips twitched with amusement as he saw Miss Parker lying on the bed in the middle of the room, her eyes blazing with anger. The only difference was that now, although other movements were still impossible until the drug wore off completely, she was able to speak. Her room, she had been told, was soundproof and, after some minutes of screaming, Miss Parker had begun to realize that if anyone could actually hear her, they weren't going to come. Since then she had fallen silent, only occasionally cursing at her current situation. Now, as the door swung open, she looked up and glared to see Sydney watching her, his lips twitching.

"Well, Miss Parker, what a surprise to find you here as well!"

"Dammit, Sydney, is there where you've been all along?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is. Jennifer called me and suggested I come."

"So you know about the two of them?"

"I worked it out some time ago. In fact I'm rather surprised that you haven't figured it out before this happened." Sydney's voice took on a patronizing tone. "After all, with your feminine instinct, I would have expected you to be able to guess. Or perhaps that instinct only works when you're pursuing Jarod."

Michelle suppressed a splutter of amusement and she hurriedly left the room with Sarah so that they could enjoy their laughter elsewhere.

~~~~~

Jennifer's head shot up as a crack of thunder brought her out of the sound sleep and she gazed around the dark room for a moment before memory returned. A figure in the corner made her turn but the brief illumination of lightning showed her the white hair and solid figure and she looked back at Jarod.

"I thought you'd be gone longer, Sydney."

The man stepped forward, his features more recognizable in the glow from the heartbeat monitor. "It's not..."

Jennifer turned in amazement. "Major? Major Charles? So you...?"

Jarod's father nodded. "I found something that told me he was and came as soon as possible."

"And...the boy...?"

"He, along with the rest of my family..."

"You found them, then? Oh, how wonderful! Jarod will be thrilled!"

The man walked over, placing a hand on her arm, and looked down at the body of his comatose son. "Tell me, Jennifer, do you think he's going to wake up?"

She sighed and looked back at Jarod. "I...don't know. The doctors think he may, perhaps, one day."

The man went to the door and opened it. Immediately three other figures walked into the room. Despite the dimness of the light, Jennifer could see the red hair of the older woman and the dark hair of the younger one. She also had no trouble recognizing the boy from the short time they had spent together, and the DSAs of Jarod at the same age.

"Oh God!"

Jennifer, not knowing which of the group had uttered the statement, moved away from the bed, allowing Jarod's family the first view of him that they had had for a long time. As she was about to leave the room, however, his mother grabbed her arm and turned a desperate face to her.

"Please, tell me that my son's going to be all right."
"I would give anything in the world to be able to tell you that, but I honestly can't. I don't know. No-one does."

Jennifer walked over to the playpen and picked up her son as Jarod's sister followed.

"This is Kyle." She handed the boy to his aunt. "We named him in honor of your son." Jennifer looked up in time to see Margaret wiping a tear from her cheek and her expression became sad. 'I'm awfully sorry. This is a terrible time for me to mention it."

"No." The woman came over and looked down at the boy and then back up at his mother with a weak smile. "No, it's lovely that you thought of it."

Jennifer leaned back against the windowsill, with her back against the glass that allowed a view of the room from the hallway. "Jarod always felt guilty about what happened, feeling that it should have been him. I thought that might be a way to relieve it."

Charles turned and looked at Jennifer. "What happened - to Lyle, I mean."

"He's a prisoner of the Centre. After you two escaped," she smiled at the boy, who remained silent, "they, Lyle and Brigitte, experimented on me until Raines found out. Raines always liked me and he punished Lyle. He's unable to leave the Centre now, or he'll die quickly and unpleasantly."

"And a good thing too!"

"Charles!" Margaret admonished.

"Well, it is."

"Actually," interposed a voice from the doorway. "I agree with you."

Jennifer took her son as the group took a collective step backwards, away from the intruder. She smiled. "It's all right. Sydney's definitely been one of the best friends that we could have had, especially since...this happened."

"Major," Sydney stepped forward and held out one hand. "It's good to see you again. And Margaret, and you, Emily."

"You must remember, Mom," interposed Emily. "He saved our lives, that day when we first saw Jarod in Boston. Thank-you," she came forward and took his hand, "for letting us get away that day."

Margaret came forward and held out her hand. "I'm sorry. It's just been so long since I've been able to trust anyone..."

Sydney's expression became slightly haggard as he took her hand in both of his and gently kissed her cheek. "I understand."

Jennifer slipped out of the room and allowed the group to get to know each other and try to adjust to the circumstances. As she was making coffee, she felt that a second person was in the room with her and, turning, she saw the boy.

"I never had a chance...to thank you."

She smiled. "For what?"

"Helping us to escape."

Jennifer turned and looked at him, the smile widening. "You could have made it a little easier."

"Yeah...well..."

She walked over and knelt in front of him, putting a gentle finger under his chin and turning his face to hers.

"What is it, James? What else is wrong?"

"It's just...seeing him like that. He's..."

"A part of you. It's natural that you should feel that way. Heck, it's hard on all of us and we all want to do something about it."

"Especially you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, aren't you...?"

Jennifer looked down at the small boy that she had put down on the floor of the kitchenette. "Yes, I suppose we are."

He shuffled his feet and then looked at her. "Have you seen Miss Parker?"

"Would you like to?"

"Well, yeah. She was really nice to me when we met."

Jennifer hesitated. "She...might not be so nice this time."

"Why?" The face that looked up at her carried an expression so familiar it brought tears to her eyes.

"I'll show you."

She ushered him down the hall and into the other room, where Miss Parker now sat on the bed. The Centre operative's eyes narrowed as she saw both Jennifer and the boy enter the room.

"So you found him. I'm impressed."

"Actually, they found me. Walked in on me, the whole group."

Miss Parker turned her attention to the boy, glaring. "And you're helping them, I suppose?"

He looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, yes. I have to. They're..."

Jennifer interrupted smoothly. "They're his family, Parker. You couldn't expect him to work against the family he's just getting to know, could you? After all, you have such a strong belief in family yourself that you wouldn't want to deny him the chance, I'm absolutely certain."

She put a hand on the boy's shoulder and steered him out of the room, leaving Miss Parker to choke angrily over her response.

When Jennifer returned to the room, Sydney and the Major had left it. James had taken Kyle to the playroom down the hall and so she was alone with Emily and Margaret.

"You've known him for a long time." Margaret's voice broke through the silence of the room but her eyes never moved away from her son's face. It was a feeling Jennifer knew well and she nodded.

"Three years. But I'd seen him before that."

"Tell me. I want to know what my son's like."

Jennifer smiled faintly. "I was on the bus, traveling to work one day and I saw a man who kept watching me. It was very subtle but I've always been pretty aware of what was going on around me and if I looked up quickly I could see his eyes leaving my face. It became a kind of game, for me anyway. He might have found it annoying, I don't know. I never asked. But then, a couple of weeks later, he turned up at the office. I matched the face and remembered where I'd heard about him. It all started there."

"And what's he like?"

"Well, I might be a little biased..."

"I bet you are." Emily smiled as she made the statement, her eyes glistening.

~~~~~

The doctor walked into the room and the six adults turned to him. He came over to Jennifer, being the main person he knew, but his comments were addressed to everyone as he led them out of the room and into a nearby empty office. "I said, when this first occurred, that a last resort would be an operation to try and end the coma. I'm afraid we've reached that point now."

Margaret's face sank into her hands and her shoulder began to heave as emotion from the days that they had spent in the hospital began to come out. Her husband put his hands on her shoulders and looked up at the doctor.

"What chance will that give him?"

"I'm afraid that it will only increase his chances by about five percent. But if we don't do it, then it's unlikely that he'll wake up. There was a lot of internal injury..."

Jennifer stopped listening as she clutched her son in her arms and thought about trying to bring up two children without the person who meant so much to them all. Her mind went back to a dream that she had had the previous evening.

'"Momma?"

"What is it, Kyle?" The boy, now twelve, stood beside her bed, out of breath and pale.

"What happened?"

"There was...a man in my room!"

She grabbed the boy and pulled him up onto her bed, holding him. "What do you mean? Where was he?"

"He came from the wall and then he stood at the end of the bed, watching me for a few seconds, before he disappeared."

"Disappeared?” She arched a skeptical eyebrow. “Kyle, are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

"No, Mom. Look." He held out his arm and she saw the red area where he'd obviously pinched himself to make sure that it was real.

"What did he look like?"

"He looked...like that." The boy pointed to the photo that Jennifer had on her wall of Jarod, taken only two months before the shooting. "Just like Dad."

Jennifer felt something twist painfully inside her. "Oh, Kyle, you know it couldn't have been him."

"I know...but it was!"

She took the boy's chin in her hand and made him look at her. "I'm sure it was just your imagination. But even if it wasn't, he wouldn't hurt you."

"Are you sure?"

She kissed him gently on the forehead. "I'm positive."

He hugged her and scrambled off her bed, going back to his room. Through the thin walls of the house she could hear him getting into bed and, a few minutes later, was almost asleep again when her door was flung open and her daughter threw herself at her mother.

"What is it, Emily? What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"The...the man. He's come to get me."

"What man, darling?"

Emily looked around and pointed to the doorway with a muffled scream as she hid her face in her mother's shoulder. "That one! The one standing right there! The one that looks like Daddy!" '

Jennifer looked over but couldn't see anything. However she comforted her in the same way that she had done with her son, thinking at the same time that it was a little unfair that they had seemingly seen their father and she hadn't.

She had woken from the dream feeling slightly comforted but the thought that it could now be real wasn't something that she wanted to contemplate. To control her feelings, she listened to what the doctor was saying.

"...The operation could take some time - anything up to eight hours, in fact. And we need to do it as soon as possible. I'd like it to take place today, now."

Jennifer glanced at her watch. It was only nine o'clock, meaning that the best part of the day would be taken up with the surgery. When the doctor left the room a few moments later, to prepare, the group remained seated. Finally Sydney stood and looked around at the others.

"I'm going to Michelle's for the best part of today. I'd suggest that you might like to come," he looked at Jarod's parents, sister and the boy. "We can't do anything by staying here."

"But...just in case..." As Margaret said the words, her husband put a gentle arm around her shoulder. "I know how you feel, but I think Sydney's right. We can't do anything here. I'm going to go in and see him. Do you want to come? And then we could go with Sydney to see Michelle and her son."

The family left the room and only Sydney, Jennifer and Kyle were left

"Do you want to join us?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No. I'll stay here. Even if I can't do anything, I'll feel better by staying. And," her mouth tried to smile but there was no life in her eyes. "Maybe I can get Miss Parker to forgive me for holding her here."

Sydney smiled slightly in response. "Well, I won't hold my breath." He began to leave the room.

"Sydney?"

"Yes?" He looked back.

"I know that Jarod would want me to thank you for everything you've done. I know that he forgave you, especially after that phone call. I thought you might like to know."

He nodded and left the room, determined not to let her see the tears in his eyes.

~~~~~

Jennifer stood as the doctor entered the room. She moved back against the wall, out of the way, while they rolled the bed into its usual position. Her eyes traveled over the still figure and she could see no difference, except for the bandages around the head that completely hid his dark hair.

"Jennifer? Can I have a word?"

She followed the doctor into the hallway but her eyes continued to look through the window at the body on the bed.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" She shook her head to clear her mind and then stared at the doctor.

"There's nothing else we can do now."

"You mean he could...?" The word stuck in her throat.

"I'm afraid it's quite likely. There's nothing more that modern medicine can do for him. All we can do is hope - and pray."

'"You told me that you once believed in God. What happened?"'

The memory of the phrase drifted teasingly through Jennifer's mind. She hardly noticed when the doctor gently touched her on the arm and moved away down the hall. When the room was empty, she walked in, pausing on the threshold as she had done on the day that he was first admitted. Her memory began assailing her with images of their time together.

"What makes you think I was in Oregon?"

"Let's shut this place down!"

"How do I know if I can really trust you?"

"Can no-one keep anything from you?"

"You get away with so much!"

"If you do want to go for a walk, it's better to do so in fine weather and not when there's a blizzard raging."

"A boy...I'm going to be a father..."

"Well, if nothing interrupts us, I thought I'd give myself a vacation."

"What would I do without you?"

"Are you really going to be okay?"

"Are you always thinking about other people?"

"I love you."

Each thought was accompanied by a step into the room until she stood beside the bed. The last words caused tears to begin pouring down her cheeks and she began to sob wildly, clutching his hand frantically in both of hers.

"Oh, Jarod, please, you can't expect me to bring up our children alone. Do you want them to have to grow up without a father?" The tears flowed freely down her face and began to soak into her top and also to fall onto the bed sheets. "I need you. I've always needed you. I haven't been lonely or unhappy since I met you, even when things were going badly. I can't afford to lose you now."

'"You told me that you once believed in God. What happened?"'

The thought appeared again, accompanied by the doctor's advice. '" All we can do is hope - and pray."' Jennifer dropped to her knees by the bed and took firmer hold on Jarod's hand. Then she did something that she had thought she would never do again. She began to pray.

Total Recall
Interlude

Jarod blinked several times in the bright light, trying to look past it into the thick blackness that was obvious beyond the bright beam. He could hear a loud and regular booming that filled his ears and was, in some strange way, comforting to him. Pain coursed through him at intervals and he felt as if he had been drained of energy. Making an effort, he stood and looked around, hesitantly going first in one direction and then moving back and stepping in another. Eventually giving up, he sank back to his previous position and closed his eyes. A shadow moved over him and forced Jarod to look up. A man stood beside him, a person that he knew he had never seen before but from whom emanated a sense of comfort. As he spoke, the booming faded into the background.

"How are you feeling?"

Jarod shook his head and pulled himself up into a sitting position, his voice a hoarse whisper. "I can't go on."

"You've reached the right place."

"You mean...this is..."

"This is the place where the future is decided on. You can go on fighting or you can give up."

Jarod closed his eyes to stop the tears of exhaustion and pain slipping down his cheeks. "I can't take it any more. It's too hard." He could feel sympathy from the figure that now knelt beside him.

"Jarod, the rest is now up to you."

"I don't understand."

"You have to make a decision."

"About what?"

Suddenly the blackness on one side vanished, to be replaced by an image of a room containing a bed. A woman slept in a chair beside it, her hand wrapped in the hand of the person lying down. Her red hair cascaded down her back and she looked tired. An older man sat in a chair at the other side of the bed as a small boy played in the corner.

"Jennifer...and Sydney?"

"And yourself, Jarod."

Suddenly the pain made sense and he found himself looking at the figure on the bed with perfect understanding. The weariness came back and Jarod realized how easy it would be to give up and simply stay where he was. As if he could read his thoughts, the other man looked over at him.

"Are you going to keep fighting, Jarod?"

"It's so hard..."

"Are you?"

"I don't know if I can..."

"It's not easy, I agree. But sometimes you find things in life that aren't."

Jarod stood up and turned to face the man. "But why are you here?"

"To help you decide."

"And how can you do that?"

A picture appeared on another wall as the first faded. The frozen image showed a small room with a woman whose hair now showed strands of gray. An older version of the boy sat at a desk, writing, and the woman played with a baby as it sat in her lap.

"What's this?"

"This could happen if you give up."

"I don't understand."

The man turned and faced the pretender. "You're to make the choice about the fate of the people who mean so much to you. This is the first possibility."

"Wait." Jarod held out a protesting hand. "I have to decide?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you're the one deciding whether to live or not. To balance that, you must also decide what is to happen to those you leave behind."

Jarod looked again at the picture and then back at the man who stood patiently beside him. "But I don't know anything about what's going on."

"Then we'll find out."

The two men walked forward and Jarod gasped in surprise as the scene in front of him came suddenly to life. Music from a small radio could be heard in the corner and Jennifer hummed softly as she rocked the baby in her arms. Jarod walked over and knelt in front of her.

"Jenn? Jennifer?"

The woman didn't respond and Jarod was about to put a hand on her shoulder when his companion spoke.

"She can't hear you, Jarod. Nor can she see you. You can't contact her. All you can do is watch and listen."

"So they don't know...I'm here?"

"You aren't here, Jarod. Neither am I."

"What?"

"This scene will only exist if you want it to."

Jarod watched as Jennifer picked up the baby and carried it through into another room, placing it into a small cradle. Jarod looked around the room in disgust.

"Why would she live here?"

"She doesn't have a choice. After you died, she broke off all contact with anyone from the Centre and fled. This is the best she can afford on a small salary."

"But surely she could get a job...?"

"The last time she tried, the Centre found her. She only escaped with minutes to spare." The man paused. "You know how that feels."

Before Jarod could reply, Jennifer came out of the other room and went into the small kitchenette.

"Momma?"

"Yes, my baby?"

"Can we go outside and play?"

"After Baby wakes up. Then we'll go to the park."

The boy’s dark eyes lit up in delight. "Really?"

"Really."

There was a pause, during which Jarod looked more closely around the room. It was broken when Jennifer spoke again

"What are you writing, Kyle?"

"A letter."

"To whom?"

"Daddy."

Jarod watched as Jennifer turned back to the sink and looked out of the window. Tears formed in her eyes and her lip trembled slightly before she steadied it and began to get some vegetables out of the fridge.

"Kyle remembers me?"

"Oh yes," the other man assured him. "And he misses you terribly. He cried for you every night for the first weeks after you died. And Jennifer can't even go and see where you're buried, because Sydney took your body and she doesn't know where it is."

"Sydney did?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He felt that he had to. Also Miss Parker forced him to."

There was a pause, during which Jennifer continued to prepare dinner and Kyle kept writing.

"What's going to happen now? I mean, why are we here?"

"You have to decide."

"Between this and what else?"

"There are other options. But first you have to see the whole of this one."

Jarod was about to continue when he heard Jennifer gasp. She spun around and pulled Kyle up from the table, carrying him in her arms. As she was about to go into the bedroom, the door to the apartment slammed back against the wall. A barrage of bullets entered the apartment, smashing glass and creating holes in walls. Jarod ran forward as Jennifer slumped to the floor, blood pouring from holes in her body, but his hands went straight through her and he could do nothing as Mr Parker walked in through the doorway and looked down at the two lifeless bodies on the floor. Then he walked into the other room and emerged with a screaming child in his arms.

"Get a cleaner team in here."

"Yes sir."

The man looked at the child he held. "So, finally we have our future Pretender."

"Noooo!"

Jarod's agonized scream broke out and echoed, as the scene was suddenly as still as if it were a photograph. He turned to the other man, a look of anguish and terror on his face. "I don't care what other options there are," he whispered. "None of them can be as bad as this one!"

"That remains to be seen, Jarod."

"What do you mean?"

"Life is never easy."

Jarod looked around at the destroyed room, his finally eyes coming to rest on the two figures at his feet, and sank slowly to his knees. His voice, when he finally spoke, was a soft and tortured whisper. "It couldn't be any worse than this."

"It depends what you consider to be bad."

"Do I have to...?"

"Shall we see the other options?"

"Yes." Jarod finally dragged his eyes away from the scene of devastation and got to his feet as the picture slowly backed away, leaving the two men standing in the black space.

"Look at this."

Jarod turned around and looked at another black wall, on which a picture began to develop until another scene was presented to them. The two stepped forward, the scene coming alive as before, but now the place was different. A darkened room was where they found themselves, with a figure lying in a bed. As they watched, a boy of about seven ran into the room and gently shook the figure into wakefulness. Had it not been for the red hair, Jarod would never have recognized Jennifer as the woman who gradually pulled herself up in bed.

"Sydney's here, Momma. And Miss Parker, and Broots."

"That's good, sweetie. Do you want to go and play while I talk to Sydney?"

The little boy nodded and skipped out of the room while Jennifer pulled open the blinds to reveal a bright blue sky. She reached over and pulled on a bathrobe before pulling a brush through her hair several times. But it was the lack of emotion in her face that scared Jarod most.

"What's wrong with her?"

"She lost the baby that she was carrying after you died. She fell down a flight of stairs and the child died before they could deliver it."

"But she...wouldn't still be upset over that - would she?"

Jarod was interrupted as the door opened to show a familiar figure. Sydney sat on a chair in the corner and looked at Jennifer.

"How are you feeling?"

"The same. Sometimes I wonder if there's actually a purpose to getting up in the morning." The voice was as expressionless as the face and Jarod shuddered as he looked at her.

"But you manage?"

"Some days. Others it's easier just to stay here."

"You know that Jarod would hate to see you like this." Jarod nodded in total and silent concurrence with his former mentor's statement.

"He won't get that chance." Tears glittered in her eyes and Jarod looked over at the stranger.

"She's still thinking about me?"

"It's sent her into a deep depression. It's been several years now and she's still badly affected by the fact that you gave up. If it weren't for Sydney, Broots and Miss Parker, I don't know how she'd cope."

"But...the Centre?"

"They all worked together to destroy it after you died, but once that was over, this is what happened to Jennifer."

Sydney's calm voice interrupted their discussion. "If you wanted to come to the Centre, there are plenty of things you could do."

"You don't need me. Broots can do anything I can, and better."

"You know that's not strictly true."

Sydney looked at the woman as she turned away. He gently placed one hand on hers and she glanced at him

"You know what I still can't understand."

"What?"

"Why Jarod gave up. I mean, one day it seemed like he might make it, and the next he..." She paused. "I just wish I knew why he did it."

"Maybe he felt like he had to. He probably thought you would be able to manage without him."

"Well, he was wrong." Jennifer's mouth twisted and tears started to roll down her cheeks as Sydney watched. Suddenly, as if what she was doing wasn't allowed, Jennifer covered her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry."

"Why? It's been two years and this is the first time you've cried. Things always get better once you let the emotion out." Sydney sat on the edge of the bed. He gently took her face in his hands and forced it up to look at him. The tears poured over his fingers and dripped onto the bed. He looked her into her eyes for a long moment until she made a sound that was almost a howl to Jarod and collapsed into the waiting arms of the psychiatrist.

The Pretender looked from the weeping woman to the man who stood beside him with a look of deep sorrow on his face and tears glistening in his eyes. "Please tell me things get better now."

"You can't get over feelings like this in one day. But, yes, things do improve to a certain extent."

Jarod caught the hesitation. "Why, what happens?"

The man looked at him. "I told you that life isn't fair. Kyle will be killed in a plane crash in several years time, leaving Jennifer completely alone. After that…" he trailed off and shrugged.

Jarod's eyes widened in terror. "And that will happen anyway, won't it?"

"Every place his its own future, Jarod. Just because it happens in one time and place doesn't mean it will happen in others. But then it might. It's not for me to say."

"Is that the end?"

"For now. There's no more of this scene for you to see."

"How many choices do I have again?"

"Three. This is the last."

Jarod watched over his shoulder as the figures froze into stillness and he passed from the picture into the single spotlight once more. The new image was already waiting for them on the third wall. This time, however, it was very different. The figure of a woman stood at a sink, washing dishes, as the kitchen gradually grew lighter with the rising sun. The long, red hair was intermingled with gray and hung down her back in a thick plait. She hummed along to the music on the radio as she scrubbed at the last pot and, after rinsing, put it gently and almost silently onto the sink. A smart suit hugged her slim figure and an apron prevented her from splashing the clothes. As she completed the washing-up, the clock in the kitchen clicked over to seven and, in another part of the house, an alarm could be heard. Jennifer calmly hung up the dishtowel and took off the apron, carefully hanging it up before walking over to a cupboard. She got out a bowl and large container of cereal, both of which she placed on the table. From the fridge she got out a glass of juice and a spoon from a nearby drawer. Finally she poured boiling water into a waiting mug and then sat at the table, reading the paper for a moment. Jarod watched as, with perfect timing, she lifted her head and a male voice called from the depths of the house.

"Debbie Broots, you get yourself out of bed this instant!"

Jarod turned to the other man with a look of astonishment. "Broots and Debbie live here - with Jennifer?"

"Oh, yes."

"And our children?"

The man pointed slowly at a small, framed newspaper article that hung on the wall, almost out of sight. There, Jarod read about a car accident that had killed two children and injured the other two occupants of the car. He didn't need to be told who the two children were.

"When?"

"Six years after you died. It was a terrible time." The man's face showed his sorrow as he looked from the black and white photos to the woman sitting at the kitchen table.

"But she's..." Jarod's voice trailed away as he looked up at the color photos on the opposite wall, the boy's face showing the clear eyes and strong features of his father and the girl's eyes gleaming with paternal intelligence and the kindness that had been inherited from her mother. Before he could say anything more, a girl burst through the doorway and pulled the chair out from under the table, sitting in it.

"Good morning, Debbie."

"Morning." The girl grinned as she began to eat the cereal and Jennifer, a smile on her face, continued to read the paper.

"Have you packed your bag?"

"Yup. It's all ready to go. Have you done my lunch?"

"In the refrigerator, as usual. Where's your father?"

As if in response, Broots rushed into the kitchen, still knotting his tie. He kissed Debbie on the top of her head and then picked up the mug from where it sat on the kitchen table. In two gulps he emptied it and then headed for the door.

"Broots!" The man turned in time to see Jennifer holding out a case. With two steps he grabbed it and was back at the doorway.

"See you later!" His voice could be heard even after his body was out of sight and within a few seconds a motor could be heard starting up.

"Ten minutes." Jennifer grinned at Debbie as she spoke and then got up and turned the kettle on to boil more water.

"Are we going to pick up Miss P.?"

"Don't we always? And I thought she didn't like you calling her that."

Debbie blushed and giggled.

"Make sure you're nice to her today. It's a sad day for her."

"And for you, too."

Jarod watched as Jennifer struggled for a moment to keep her composure before she spoke. "Yes, but she's always found it more difficult to deal with than I have."

Jarod turned to his companion. "Why? What's today?"

"An anniversary." He pointed at the calendar on the wall that showed the days crossed off and the date told him everything he needed to know. May 8. Jarod turned to the stranger with one question.

"But what does that have to do with Jennifer?"

"It's not just the anniversary of Thomas' death, Jarod. It's yours as well. Ten years ago today. And, tragically, that of your children too."

Jarod looked from the calendar to the man and there was pure horror written all over his face.

"But...why...?" The whisper was more tortured than the one during the earlier scene had been.

"There's no answer to that question, Jarod. There's no reason why. Things just happen."

"H...how does she cope?"

"Remarkably well. But she does keep busy."

The two men watched as Jennifer filled a mug with the hot water, adding a large dash of milk and a spoonful of coffee, and then headed up to the other end of the house. The two men followed her but, before they even reached the room, a grumbling but still familiar voice could be through from an open doorway.

"Where's my coffee?"

"Good morning to you, too, Sydney." Jennifer's voice was cheerful and, as the two men entered the room, they saw the answering smile that it grudgingly brought to the face of the man in the bed.

"I thought you might have left already."

"Then it wouldn't have done much good, yelling for your coffee, would it? You'd have had to get up and get it yourself." She smiled and Jarod saw the lines that had formed around her eyes.

"Get up? I don't know that I'll ever be able to do that again."

"Old bear!" She teased him laughingly as she picked up a couple of pillows from the floor. "You could be in trouble if you didn't. What would you do all day in bed, until we got home?" She helped him to sit up and then gently pushed a few pillows in behind him. "Besides, one sip of that coffee and you'll be as active as you ever are." She picked up the mug and put it in his hand before turning to leave the room.

"Are you all right?" The voice startled Jarod, being so different from what it had been before. The woman about to exit the room paused at the doorway and stared at the wall in front her.

"I'll be better once today is over. The sooner I get to work, the better."

"Don't work too late."

"I can't. I have to pick Debbie up after school and then do some shopping. We'll probably be home about five."

She left the room and, after one final look over his shoulder at Sydney, Jarod followed, looking over at his companion. "Where to now?"

"Parker's house and then, after dropping Debbie at school, to the Centre." The two men got into the car as Debbie and Jennifer did.

"Why do they still work there?"

"Nobody other than Broots and Miss Parker have any idea you were ever associated with Jennifer, and Raines was insistent that she return."

"What about Sydney?"

"He's no longer able to work. They were compelled to allow him to retire and for time some they've had no idea where he is. Broots and Jennifer have never let that information become public knowledge and even Miss Parker isn't aware of it."

Jarod now focused his attention on the discussion that was taking place in the front seat.

"You know that Miss Parker is never in a great mood on this date..."

"…so I'm not to say anything that will upset her. I know. You tell me every time."

Jennifer smiled. "Just to make sure. We wouldn't want her to get angry with you, would we? Now, into the back seat, young lady."

Pulling over to the curb, Jennifer stopped the car. Debbie jumped out, climbing into the back seat. Seconds later, a figure stepped out of the front door of the house and walked over to the car. Jarod drew in his breath sharply to see how the years had affected the woman for, while she maintained the tall and slender figure she had always had, her face was creased with lines and her hair, like Jennifer's, had streaks of gray. There was silence during the car trip that even Jarod, despite knowing that they wouldn't hear him, didn't feel he could break. Finally, as they stopped to let Debbie out of the car at school, he turned to his still-unnamed companion.

"Why has Sydney stopped working at the Centre?"

"He's unable to put up with the constant traveling required."

"Why? What happened?"

"A car accident."

Jarod silently absorbed that fact for a moment, his face sober. When he turned back, tears glistened in his eyes. "Sydney was driving the car when my children died."

"And he's never forgiven himself for an accident that wasn't his fault and was unavoidable."

"The Centre...?"

"No, not the Centre. Raines would never have ordered such a thing to be done to Jennifer and nobody else has the power to override his orders. This was a simple accident, but it's the reason Sydney can no longer work. He received serious internal injuries and, for some time, was in danger of losing his life."

Jarod watched as Jennifer and Miss Parker got out of the car and walked up the stairs and into the familiar building.

"Is that all?"

"You know everything."

"But I don't! I mean I have to decide..."

"You've seen more of this option than any other."

Jarod turned and faced the other man. "Please. Just a little longer."

"Why would you want to? This time is full of painful memories."

"Please...I...need to see..."

The man sighed, and then smiled. "All right. A little longer."

As they walked down the hallway of the Centre, Jarod couldn't help shuddering slightly and the man looked over at him.

"This was what I was trying to avoid."

"It's okay. I'll be all right."

They entered Jennifer's office in time to see her turn on her computer and sit in her chair with a sigh. She glanced over at the air vent cover in her room and then sadly shook her head and focused on her work.

"Angelo?"

"He's gone, Jarod. He died a few years ago, after another experiment to try and enhance his abilities. He died in Jennifer's arms and she finds it very hard to forgive herself."

"Like Catherine?"

"Very similar, yes. In fact, Jennifer's had a great deal to do with removing children from the Centre completely. She thought for a while she'd succeeded. Recently, though, she's found others that she's trying to release."

Jarod was about to comment when a groan from the chair made him look over and he watched as Jennifer placed her hands on the back of her neck and began to rub gently, working slowly up to her head. As she did so, she swept some of the hair aside to reveal several large scars on the back of her neck that ran down below her shirt.

Jarod looked over at the stranger.

"What...?"

"She received those four years ago."

"She was in the car."

"Yes. It left her with severe neck and back injuries and she required surgery to recover properly. She still has pain from them."

Jarod stared in horror, unable to speak. Then he turned back to look at her and the tears that he had managed not to shed before now started to spill down his cheeks. His companion placed a hand on his shoulder.

"There's no more time. You have to decide now."

At his words, the scene froze and began to recede. Looking around, Jarod found himself faced with scenes from each of the possibilities he had witnessed. The expression on his face as he looked at the stranger showed his understanding at the magnitude of his choice but also the difficulty he was having in making it.

"I can't do it. Not any of these - they aren't fair!"

"Life isn't fair, Jarod. But it's your decision and you have to make it. Between these three and - "

"And? And what?" Jarod eagerly embraced the other option, forgetting momentarily what it was and how much effort was required by him to fulfill it.

"You could go on, Jarod. Continue to fight."

"It's hard..."

"I never said it was easy."

Jarod looked slowly from one scene, brilliantly lit before his eyes, to another and then finally back to the stranger.
"Why are you here? Who are you?"

"I'm a guide. I help people to make these types of decisions."

"But who are you - really? Why do I feel as though I know you?"

"Because I'm you. I'm the you that would have existed if you hadn't been kidnapped by the Centre."

"You mean...there...?"

"Different versions of your life exist and, depending what happens in those, you change. That means the 'you' who was a part of the scene that didn't occur fails to exist. So I've been here, waiting for you to come and make this decision."

"And depending on what I choose...?"

"Life itself will alter. The beings belonging to a version you don't select will be discarded. That's why I wasn't able to say whether the situation in one scene would occur in another. It all depends on what happens during that scene. And now you have to choose."

Jarod looked for one final time at the three scenes in front of him and then turned to the one behind, showing the first image he had seen of time as it was and not as it could be.

"If I do go on, will I remember this?"

The man, the other version of himself, smiled. "How can you possibly remember something that doesn't exist? If you do decide to continue fighting, this whole situation won't ever have happened."

"I'm not sure I understand. How can something not exist when it's existing now?"

"Time is fairly complicated. I'm not sure I could make you understand, at least not in the short time we have available."

"Why short?"

"Listen."

Jarod heard the regular beating become louder and also slower.

"If you don't hurry, the choice won't be yours to make. Quickly, Jarod."

The Pretender looked for one final time around the room and then at the original image.

"I can't...I can't do it to her. To them. I choose...this."

"You choose life. The best choice." The man smiled. "Now go and embrace life. It's yours for the taking."

Jarod glanced briefly at the other version of himself and then forwards. Slowly at first, and then faster, he stepped towards the picture and into the future.

Total Recall
Part 8 – Chance of a Lifetime

Time had seemed to stand still since Jennifer's impassioned plea. She had backed away from the bed and now stood leaning against a wall, trying to gain strength from its sturdiness. Her eyes flickered around the room and she was numbly surprised to see that it had been more than two hours since the doctor had spoken to her. A sound in the corridor drew her eyes to the internal window and she watched as a figure, sheet completely covering the body, was wheeled past on a trolley.

'Jarod's taller than that,' she thought vaguely, 'so the sheet will have to be bigger'.

That thought, somehow, didn't now seem harsh or out of place. She waited for her mind to scream that he was still alive and needed her to fight for him but the thought never came. Understanding, she realized that his death now seemed inevitable. Her mind was full of the idea but the peace she had been expecting to accompany it wasn't immediately forthcoming. She stumbled towards the bed and slipped her hand into his non-responsive one. Leaning down she whispered into his ear the phrases that slowly formed in her mind.

"It's okay, if you want to go. Don't stay for us. We'll miss you, but we'll be okay. You do whatever you have to do, but always remember that I love you with all my heart and soul."

~~~~~

Sydney closed the door and slowly sat down in the chair beside the bed. He had been counting the time since the phone call that had first brought him to the hospital: fifty-seven days and still no change. He was sure that eventually something had to happen - it was merely a matter of waiting. No matter what the doctor thought, Jarod would eventually open his eyes and life could get back to normal. It was impossible to think otherwise. His gaze moved to the screen where the green line rose and fell, accompanied by the monotonous beeping. Sydney half turned as the door opened, hopeful for a new face from those gathered around the bed for the previous three months, although he would have been unable to give a name, had he been asked. The woman was a disappointment and, as Margaret came over to the bed, he turned back and recommenced his examination of the thin, wan features before him.

"How is he?"

"The same. When the doctor came in he...there's no change."

Sydney swallowed the harsh sentence that the physician had been forced to utter and that the loving mother had missed by virtue of having been made to sleep in a room down the hall for a short time.

"Do you think he'll...ever...?" The words choked the mother's throat as her eyes tried to absorb the image of as much of the face, which she had only just begun to know, as possible, before it was torn away by the forthcoming separation.

Sydney rose and put a hand on her shoulder. "We can only hope. I'm sure that he wouldn't leave - if he didn't have to. But we need to wait and see."

~~~~~

Jennifer entered Miss Parker's room with such a look of desperate sorrow, mixed with a sort of resignation, on her face that Miss Parker feared that a cessation of life had occurred within the building and the sharp sentences that had formed on her tongue dissolved before she had a chance to verbalize them.

"What...is he...?"

"Not yet, although I'm not entirely sure why you care."

Miss Parker jumped at the bitterness in the tone. "Do you really think that I wouldn't care?"

"Yes, I do."

Jennifer turned to face her and Miss Parker felt almost afraid as she saw the brown eyes staring at her with such an expression of revulsion and disgust in them that Miss Parker wondered how any friendship have ever existed between them.

"Why would you care? All you've ever done is to try to repel any attempt he made to be friendly towards you. He gave you everything that you could have needed to break away and have a good and happy life, but every time you threw it all back in his face. I hope you realize that you're at least partly responsible for this and I wonder how you can even live with yourself!"

Jennifer spat out the last sentence and turned on her heel, abruptly leaving the room and slamming the door behind her. Miss Parker, to her surprise, could think of nothing to say in her own defense. There was truth in what Jennifer had said, she silently acknowledged, although it hurt to admit it.

~~~~~

Later that night, as Jennifer lay in her bed, two doors down from the room where Jarod was, she regretted the words. They came, she knew, from frustration but it wasn't justified. It wasn't Miss Parker's fault that they were in the situation. She had contributed to it, beyond doubt, but there was no direct responsibility. As she turned these thoughts over in her head, the door to her room opened, a crack of light widening on her bed. She sat up and watched as two figures came in. Her son ran over and pulled himself up onto the bed, nestling into his mother's arms.

"He was having a nightmare," Emily explained, unnecessarily considering Kyle's agitation, and Jennifer rubbed a hand on his back.

"What happened, sweetie?"

"Mommy, is Daddy going to wake up?" The words were quite clear, despite his age and the fact that his face was buried in her shoulder. She put up a trembling hand and stroked his head.

"I...don't know," she replied honestly. "But maybe, if we ask God, he will."

"Promise?"

"I don't promise because I never make promises I can't keep. And, if he doesn't wake up, then we'll know that God needed him more than we did. Remember how we talked about it last night?"

The little boy nodded and slipped him thumb towards his mouth, but a look from his mother made him whip it out again and he gave her a small smile. "I wanted to see if you would remember."

"And remember what Daddy said would happen if you sucked your thumb?"

"Yup." He smiled at his aunt. "He gave me a present when I stopped." Emily smiled back at him and in the half-dark he couldn't see the tears that glistened in her eyes. Jennifer knew they were there, though, as she looked down at her son with a smile. "Now, will you go to bed and not worry any more. Even if God does take Daddy, we'll still have each other, right?"

"Uh huh, and the new baby."

"That's right." She kissed him on the top of the head and he scrambled off the bed. "Good night, precious."

She watched as he left the room and Emily came over and sat on the bed beside her. "Do you really believe that? The things you said to him?"

Jennifer looked at her. "I don't say things to him that I don't mean, and I certainly wouldn't not tell him what might happen. It'll be a terrible shock for him if...when Jarod dies. I couldn't bear it if he went through the whole of his life resenting me because I didn't tell him that his father was dying. I might have to bring up one child with no living memory of a father. I don't want to have to do it for both."

Emily got up from the bed. "I want you to know how...how much I respect you for that." She was gone before the other woman could respond, so Jennifer lay down again to try and sleep.

The next disturbance was, she knew, not reality. For one thing, Jarod sat on the bed beside her and for another he held a newborn baby in his arms. A baby, she knew, that belonged to him. He leaned over and brushed away the tears that she felt spilling down her cheeks as she watched him.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't there when Kyle was born. And if I can't be there when the other member of our family comes into the world then I'm sorry for that too. But mostly, I'm sorry if I have to leave you. I don't want to, you know that."

"I know." The words that came from her mouth were soft and seemed detached, but the feeling that swept through her like an incoming tide was unmistakable. If he did go, she knew, suddenly, that they would be all right without him.

"I love you."

He nodded. "I know. I've always known that."

~~~~~

Total Recall

Part 9 – Breaking the Rules

As Jarod's eyes finally opened, he focused on the sight of Sydney sitting beside the bed, tears pouring from his eyes and down his cheeks. Jarod tried to speak or to move but found himself unable to do so, fear clutching at his chest and making his heart feel like a lump of ice. It was only an instant, however, before Sydney realised the change in the situation and, wiping the drops from his face, he took one of Jarod's hands in both of his and tried to smile. The expression lasted only a fraction of a second before the tears once more appeared. The question in Jarod's eyes was very obvious but Sydney found himself suddenly unable to speak. With an effort, he swallowed the lump in his throat and found the voice he had lost.

"Hello, Jarod. Welcome back to the world."

~~~~~

Kyle sat on the seat where the man who looked so like his father had put him and watched as his grandparents and aunt gathered in the corner of the room, tears pouring down their cheeks. He could understand that they were unhappy but no one had told him the reason and he couldn't bring himself to interrupt. Finally a man with little hair on his head and a worried expression on his face came through the door and stood just inside it. At his appearance the three occupants turned but, as he slowly and sadly shook his head, Kyle saw his grandmother sob as his grandfather placed an arm around her shoulders. The unknown man then walked over and held out a hand to the boy.

"Come on, Kyle. Let's go for a walk."

Kyle linked his fingers and kept his hands in his lap as he politely looked up into the man's face. "My mom always says that I shouldn't talk to strangers."

A half-smile crossed the man's face and then vanished, to be replaced by a look of sadness. "I'm...I was a friend of your mother's and I know she'd want you to come with me. I'm going to take you to see your Daddy. He's awake now."

One of the women looked up. "Jarod's awake?"

"It just happened. Sydney told me to come and get Kyle, but he said he would tell Jarod himself."

"Tell him what?" Kyle wondered silently as he was led out of the door.

~~~~~

"Where's Jennifer? I would have thought she would have been here."

Sydney looked away briefly, trying to gather together what courage he had left after the scene he had witnessed. Finally, knowing Jarod as well as he did, he realized that it was best to be straightforward.

"Jarod, Jennifer went into labor earlier today. The baby was... it was going to be a breach birth but... she died during the labor, of massive hemorrhaging. There was nothing anyone could have done," he continued rapidly, seeing that Jarod, like the others, was struggling to come to terms with what he had heard. "She was gone before they even had a chance to move her into theatre. And... and the baby drowned on the blood before they could deliver it." Sydney leaned over and gently placed one hand on either side of Jarod's head, turning the man to face him. "The last thing she said to me was 'Tell Jarod I love him. And tell him to take care of our boy.' Then she lost consciousness. She died only a few seconds later... with her hand... still wrapped in mine." Sydney took a deep breath but the tears that had begun to form spilled down his cheeks in a flood that deepened as he saw the impact that his news had on the Pretender.

The door opened and Broots led Kyle into the room. Sydney had been ready to prevent the two from entering but he saw that Jarod's attention swung to his son and, as he helped the boy onto the bed, Sydney smiled briefly and then left the room, pushing Broots gently before him.

"Daddy, why is everyone crying?"

The little boy's face was full of trust that here, finally, was a person who would tell him what was happening. He was, therefore, somewhat surprised when his father merely pressed his head down onto the bandaged chest as he was caught up in a harder embrace than many he had experienced. Finally, though, he was allowed to sit up and his father began to speak.

"Mommy's...gone to be with the angels. Remember how we talked about them one night?"

Jarod was suddenly and inwardly grateful that he, Jennifer and Kyle had discussed death and dying one night after a bird that Kyle had found and nursed for several days had finally stopped struggling. The little boy nodded and moved a thumb up towards him mouth. Just as quickly, though, he whipped the hand back down and put it in his lap, looking up at his father.

"So she's not coming back?"

"No, son. It's just us now."

"And Auntie Em’ly an’ Gran’ma and Granpa," the little boy began eagerly, but the look on his father's face stopped him.

"Who?"

"When you were still asleep, these people came into the room and Mommy told me who they all were. They're all in another room. They wanted to come an' see you but that other man wouldn't let them."

Jarod looked at the boy, a light in his eyes for the first time since hearing what Sydney had said. "Go and get them for me. Tell them that I told them to come."

Kyle trotted down the hall but was confronted by the figure of a woman he had never seen, blocking his path and staring down at him.

"'Scuse me," he said politely. "Can I get past please?"

"No." The woman's voice was harsh and aggressive. "Instead you can tell me where your daddy is."

Kyle looked at her and instantly felt that this person wasn't to be trusted. He had been warned several times, by both of his parents, about the possibility that he might meet her and suddenly he knew what to do. Being at a point where several hallways me, he pointed down one that was in a completely different direction from that where his father lay and smiled up at her. "He's down there. The third door on the left."

The woman smiled charmingly at him. "Thank-you. That's very helpful." She spun on her heel and ran towards the room. Kyle watched as she yanked open the door and entered the room. He heard the harsh click as the lock, preventing her from opening the door on the inside, activated and, wearing an expression almost identical to those that his parents had often worn, he turned and entered the room where his relatives, now supplemented by Sydney and the man that Kyle still didn't know, were waiting.

~~~~~

Miss Parker had ceased kicking the door several minutes earlier. She worked out that the room was soundproofed and, from the padded walls and lack of furniture, was presumably intended for use by those who might pose a danger to themselves or to others. 'Well,' she thought ruefully, 'I probably fit into one of those categories.' Only a few more minutes passed before the door was yanked open and Sydney and Broots stood, silently, in the doorway. She was about to speak when she noticed simultaneously the gun in Sydney's hand and the tears, still evident on his cheeks.

"Give me your gun." Despite the tears, his voice was a steady as ever.

"Why?" She tried to snarl but his tones forced the aggression out of her own.

"Because if you don't," the cultured, European accent was heightened, "I will shoot you."

Miss Parker was about to retaliate when she looked in his eyes. The expression that nestled there sucked the aggression out of her and she meekly handed over the weapon that she had retrieved earlier that day.

"What is it?" Having known Sydney for so long, she knew that only a very serious situation could do this to him. "Is Jarod...?"

"What do you care?" Sydney's calm finally broke and he was suddenly screaming at her with such ferocity that she flinched back, noticing idly that Broots had already disappeared. "Despite everything that's happened, you would have marched in there and dragged him back to the Centre, in the state he was in! All you've thought about since this happened is yourself! Not a word, not a query about anything but your own feelings and frustrations, as if you were the most important person in the world! Jennifer should have finished you off when you first arrived, instead of leaving you in that damned room! It would have made things a lot easier!"

Tears had started to pour down his cheeks but he ignored them.

"Now that she's dead and Jarod has to cope without her, and with their son to care for, you're going to stay well way away from them, if I have to take care of it myself!"

Sydney stepped away, slamming the door so hard that the windows rattled. Miss Parker, however, was unable to react. The news that Jennifer was dead was as much of a shock to her as it had been to the others who were now grieving. She slowly slumped down in the corner of a room and sank her head in her hands, struggling to take a deep breath.

~~~~~

Jarod stared at the wall, tears pouring down his cheeks, as he tried to deal with the situation that his heart screamed was not happening. Even the news that his family was finally with him was not enough to drag him out of the numbness that seemed to surround him. He watched blankly as the door opened and a woman that he had only seen briefly, and yet whose image was firmly engraved on his memory, slowly approached the bed, her hands held out to him and the tears on her cheeks showing that she shared his feelings of grief.

"Jarod."

"Mom."

In an instant he was in her arms and he felt her tears as they fell from her face and into his own. It was a feeling that he had often asked Jennifer to describe to him and now it was as though he could feel her in the room with him, smiling and telling him that she had told him so. He sighed deeply and felt a stab of pain go through his chest, settling in the places where the bullets had entered.

"I've missed you so much. You know that, don't you?"

"How could I help knowing it? Everything..." His voice trailed off as emotion made him temporarily speechless. Finally he looked up as she stroked his head and face, as though unable to believe that he was really there. "You aren't going to leave now, are you? You're staying?"

"Of course. Now that I've got you again, I'll never let you go."

"Promise?" The eyes that looked up held the same expression that the woman had seen in the boy's face so many years earlier and her response was to hold him tighter, kissing him gently on the forehead.

"Not even the Centre could part us now."

A tremor went through Jarod at the mention of the organization and his mother immediately drew back slightly so that she could look down into his face. "I know how hard it's going to be, without Jennifer, but I want you to know that she was always thinking about you. She organized for you to be here and it was through information she made available that told us where to come. Before she went into the delivery room, she made me promise that I would help you bring up Kyle to be a credit to you both. Your father, Emily, James and I are going to honor that promise. See if we don't."

"She knew?"

"I think she suspected that something was wrong. And she might have struggled harder if she thought that you were going to be left alone. Jarod, she had a hard time. Don't begrudge her the happiness that she's got now."

"But I miss her!" The exclamation broke from him and his eyes were suddenly full of tears once more.

"And no doubt she misses you, too. Jarod, despite everything, you know that she loves you. When a person dies, that love still goes on. It becomes deeper, more personal. And you know that she'll be yours forever, going through life." Margaret sat gently on the edge of the bed and placed one hand on that of her son's, leaving the other cradling his cheek. "There was a time when we thought that you and your brother had died. We received a message telling us it had happened and, for several weeks, we had no choice but to believe it."

"But you didn't really believe it?" Jarod had become sufficiently interested in the story to stop thinking about his own grief and concentrate on that of his mother.

"I tried to." She sighed and smiled slightly. "After I learned that my mother, your grandmother, had died, I felt as though I could hear her, that she was still with me. But when I thought I'd lost my boys forever, somehow I knew that you were still alive. And, just sometimes, it was almost as though I could even feel your pain. When Harriet came to tell us that you were still alive, it only confirmed what I already thought."

Jarod felt tears slip down his face and, as his mother gently reached up to wipe them away, he looked up, seeing the grief in her eyes even as she smiled down at him. "When your father became friends with some Native Americans, they taught him a proverb. 'When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in a manner so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.' Don't forget that even if you mourn over your loss, Jennifer won't want you to dwell too much on it. And you have your son..."

As if on cue, the door to the room opened and Kyle burst in, running over to the bed and pulling himself up onto it. Jarod wiped the tears from his face with one hand and gently hugged the boy with the other.

"Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can," Jarod responded, with a watery attempt at a smile.

"You remember when we talked about Charlie dying, you said that he was happy and so we should be happy that he wasn't in pain any more?"

"We did say that, you're right."

"So why is everyone crying ‘bout Mommy? If she's happy now, shouldn't we be happy too?"

Jarod smiled and blinked away the tears that filled his eyes again. "Kyle, people don't cry for the person that died. They cry because they're left behind and they'll be lonely."

"But we won't, will we?" Kyle snuggled up against his father. "'Cos we’ve got each other."

Jarod's arms closed around his son and he watched as his mother got up from her seat on the bed and, blowing him a kiss, left the room.

~~~~~

Miss Parker sat in the corner of the room, her arms wrapped around her legs and her face lowered onto her knees. It wasn't a position her body was used to and her muscles were starting to cramp when the door was thrown open. She waited for several seconds before she looked up and saw the figure of her father in the doorway. Even then she didn't get up immediately but waited until the sweeper came over and pulled her to her feet.

"Where is he?"

Miss Parker's voice was soft, almost inaudible in reply. "He was here. I don't know now."

"Speak properly to the Chairman."

Miss Parker was only slightly surprised to hear the harsh voice of the sweeper and the expectant look on her father's face that told her he had taken advantage of the absence of the three of them to make a push for power within the Centre. He had obviously succeeded and that meant, she realized quickly, that Lyle must have died. It would have been impossible, even with Lyle in the situation that she had last seen him, for her father to gain his current position if Lyle was still alive. Receiving a shake from the sweeper, she looked at the floor, determined to avoid making any kind of contact with her father. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she saw him nod slightly and it was no surprise when she was grabbed by the shoulder and shoved into the opposite corner of the room. For a second she felt his gaze and even without looking she could feel her father's scornful eyes on her before the door was slammed shut and she was alone again.

~~~~~

Jarod looked up from the small, red book in his hand as the chair was wheeled up the path of a house. He felt the hand on his father resting on his shoulder, as he carefully maneuvered the chair with the other, and smiled.

"Jarod, we've been dreaming for years of bringing you here. Welcome home."

The little boy, marching a little ahead of the group, turned and ran back to his father. "Are we really going to live here? All of us?" Jarod put his arm around the boy and, with the help of his mother, pulled his son into the chair.

"Would you like to?"

"Oh, yes! At least, I would've liked best to go home with you and Momma, but if God needs her more than we do, then I’d love to live here always with you!"

Jarod swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to smile as he nodded and held his son more tightly in his arms. "Did you remember to thank God last night that He gave her to us, even for a little while?"

The little head nodded earnestly. "And I asked him to make sure we would all be together and safe for a long time." There was a long pause before the boy spoke again. "What happened to that woman, back at the hospital?"

Jarod looked at where Sydney was walking beside him. "Yes, what did happen to her?"

"After your son trapped her in the padded room, we left her there until we were ready to go. But," Sydney paused, not wanting to upset Jarod more than he could help, "I saw a car pull up as we left. I think her father was inside and, since she and I left the Centre, he's worked his way up the top rung. He regained all of the power that he'd lost and I doubt..." Sydney's voice trailed off but Jarod picked up his train of thought.

"Oh God, he'll kill her! She's failed for so long and if he's succeeded without her, she won't stand a chance. Sydney, we have to help her."

"You'll do no such thing." Jarod, even as Kyle jumped off the chair, was ready to tear off the blanket which lay over his legs but a hand on his arm caused him to look up and he saw a determined expression, familiar to anyone who had seen Jarod when he was working on his pretends, on his mother's face. "I don't care if he puts her up against a wall. You're not going anywhere near her."

"But, Mom..."

"Jarod," the voice was soft and came from over his head. "I don't think you really need to worry about Miss Parker. As we were leaving, I saw Mr. Miller arrive. She won't be alone for long."

"And when you're feeling better," Broots put in, "you could always call her. I think, by then, she might feel the need for a little support."

As they entered the house and Jarod was pushed into the living room, he looked up at Sydney. "Do you think I should call her?"

"Do whatever you want." Sydney sounded distracted. "You always do anyway."

~~~~~

Miss Parker hadn't moved since the two other people had left the room. She felt as though her emotions had been drained and the actions of her father had little impact. When the door opened for a second time, she didn't look up but waited for the bullet that she was certain was going to end her life. What she felt instead, however, was the small arms of her half-brother as he hugged her.

"I missed you so much, and I couldn't even come and see you! Did you miss me?"

Miss Parker's response was an automatic hug but the blank expression on her face didn't go unnoticed by the man standing in the doorway.

"Steady, Robert. Give her a bit of space." As the boy moved back, grumbling under his breath, Ben stepped forward and helped Miss Parker to her feet.

"I never even had a chance...to thank her." The whisper was almost inaudible but Ben had been listening for her speech and heard it.

"But she knows now, without you having to say it. Come on, let's go home."

~~~~~

Jarod looked around the room with a sigh of satisfaction. It was only small but it was familiar to him. Only a short time and memories of the few years he had had with his family were coming back to him. The room that had been prepared for Kyle before his disappearance was now given to another Kyle and Jarod knew that this would be a balm for the wounds that his parents had felt at never knowing the other child they had fought so hard to have. A knock at the door tore his thoughts away from the past and into the present.

"Come in."

"Can I?" Emily's face poked into the room, wearing an enquiring look.

"Of course." Jarod carefully crossed his legs as he sat on the bed. "Or would you prefer," he added, teasingly, "to have a conversation from the hallway?"

She walked in, giggling, and sat in a chair that was opposite the bed. Suddenly, though, her face became sober.

"You are happy to be home, aren't you?"

"Happy? I've dreamed about this for years! You have no idea..."

"Oh, I do. In some ways, I think it was worse for me, knowing I had brothers I would probably never see. At least you never knew about me."

Jarod looked at her thoughtfully. "I hadn't really thought about it from that angle, but you might have a point."

"And you like it here?"

Jarod sighed and glanced once more around the room before looking back at her again. "The one home that I ever knew before this was with Jennifer, and I wasn't there all that often." He took a deep breath and felt the short pains that acted as a reminder of his injuries. "When Kyle was born, it became more homelike than it had been, but it was still the only real home that I'd known. I...I want to go back there at some point - there are things I need to do there anyway - but not yet. I couldn't face it yet."

"I understand. Dad went to Dry River soon after Kyle died. He'd been in contact with us for some time and he asked if I wanted to come along, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I've visited his grave sometimes, though. It's weird, going there. He's a person that I never met and don't know, but I've got a closer connection with him than with many people I'm friends with. I know it's all my imagination, but I try to imagine what kind of a person he would have been."

Jarod tried to think of a response but realized quickly that Emily didn't really need one. She was simply using him as a receptacle for her thoughts and he suddenly realized that he preferred it, especially as it meant there was no need to break the promise that he had made to his brother many years earlier, when he first thought that Kyle had died in the van explosion.

~~~~~

Miss Parker was lying on her mother's bed, staring at the ceiling, when her phone rang. It was an automatic response that made her answer it.

"Hello."

"Parker?"

"Jarod?" She pulled herself upright on the bed, feeling the emotion begin to ebb its way back into her at the sound of his voice. "Are you okay?"

"You sound as though you were worried about me." His teasing voice acted as a reminder of the many earlier calls. Suddenly, though, the teasing vanished. "Are you okay? I was worried that you... your father..." He found himself unable to voice his fears.

"His latest pet sweeper dumped me in a corner and left me there. I suppose, at some point..."

"Don't!" Jarod's voice was sharp. "Don't go there. There's no need, not yet. How's Robert?"

"Good." Miss Parker's voice was gradually becoming more enthusiastic. "He's angry because Ben wouldn't let him come and see me, but I know he'll get over that. And Kyle?"

"He's doing a good job of... keeping me going." Jarod's voice broke and, although his lips moved, no sound came from them.

"Jarod, I'm sorry. Sydney told me about... everything."

"The new baby died, too. Did he mention that?" Jarod's voice became as flat and unemotional as Miss Parker's had been when the call began.

"No, he didn't. I'm sorry."

"It's funny, that baby was so important. But suddenly..."

"I think I understand."

"You probably do."

There was a short pause, but it was not totally uncomfortable.

"Do you have plans?"

"Don't I always?" The teasing was back and Miss Parker couldn't help smiling at the sound. "I... We're all going to build a life together. Once it's completely established... Well, let's just say that I wouldn't bother trying to apply for your job again. If I were you, I'd take out an early retirement. It'll be more beneficial in the long run." He was about to hang up when Parker stopped him with words that left him dumb.

"Jarod, be careful."

~~~~~

Having recovered from the phone call, Jarod picked up the small, red book that he had been carrying since he had learned of Jennifer's death. He leafed through the pages, with their various headings and relevant quotes that Jennifer had found during the hours of reading she had done at the hospital. He let several hot tears fall on the pages that contained the two quotes she'd last read to him under the heading of 'Great Men'. Now he turned to the last few pages, titled 'Death'.

They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still.
William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude

No one's death comes to pass without making some impression, and those close to the deceased inherit part of the liberated soul and become richer in their humanness.
Hermann Broch

If, as I can't help suspecting, the dead also feel the pains of separation (and this may be one of their purgatorial sufferings), then for both lovers, and for all pairs of lovers without exception, bereavement is a universal and integral part of our experience of love.
C.S. Lewis

~~~~~

Jarod looked out of the window to where the winds were tossing the brown, dried leaves and then into the fire that burned brightly in the living room grate. Then he looked across to where his mother sat, the knitting needles flashing in her hands and where, next to her, his father sat, reading the paper. A bang of the front door was almost immediately followed by the sight of his sister in the doorway. During the exchanges of wishes for a pleasant night, Jarod was able to feel the warmth that seemed to surround his heart.

His mind traveled back to a night that he and Jennifer had shared when they'd discussed family.

"Just knowing that, somewhere, people are thinking about you and hoping you're safe and happy is a very valuable thing."

"Do you still feel that?"

Jennifer had shifted position slightly, from looking into the heart of the fire, and focused on his face, nodding. "Even after my parents died, I could still feel how much they wanted me to be happy and to get on with my life. The people who really love you, no matter what they might say or do, will always want you, first and foremost, to be happy. If they push you in a certain direction, it's because they hope you'll succeed and do well, so that you don't disappoint yourself by failing."

"I've seen so many examples where people don't seem to care what other people think of them." Jarod had sighed and stared out into the clear, starry night.

"And yet, inside, the confirmation that they are doing the right thing, from people whose opinions they value, is the one thing that they're always trying for, even subconsciously."

"Do you think I do that?"

Jennifer had looked at him and he had found himself unable to avoid a gaze that was as frank as it was critical. "Yes, I do. It's all you've ever wanted."

"And that's why...?"

"...That's why both Sydney and Miss Parker mean so much to you, and why you would never willingly break the connections you have with them. I think," Jennifer had continued, expansively, "that we all want a little validation in our lives. We're all conceited creatures at heart, and we want other people to see how well we do things."

Jarod, brought back to the present by a collapse of logs in the fire, looked around the room and sighed deeply.

"Happy?"

"That too."

"What else?" Margaret put the knitting down and looked across at her eldest son.

"I think I'm finally realizing that the search I've been on ever since I got out of the Centre is finally beginning to draw to a close. I didn't think that it would present a whole lot more challenges, but I'm glad I didn't have them earlier, because I don't think that I would have been able to deal with them before. But now I think I'm ready. To bring up a son. To get used to having a family. Everything."

His father looked up. "It'll take some getting used to."

"But I'm better prepared than I was."

Margaret smiled. "Who helped you to prepare for it all?"

"A lot of people, almost from the first day I got out. But Jennifer was a big part of it. She directed me towards it, almost from the first day we met. You were right, Mom." He looked at her and smiled. "I won't need to miss her. She'll always be here, with me, helping me. If she'd survived, maybe I would have had to make a family apart, instead of here with you. I don't really know. But now she's more mine than she ever was before. I know that for sure. And her son is going to grow up knowing it, too."



The End

Total Recall

Part 9 – Playing By The Rules

Jennifer waited until she was out of sight before slowly and awkwardly lowering herself into a chair. She had been mentally trying to time the contractions but it had proved impossible while concealing the feeling of pain from Jarod. Away from him she could permit herself the luxury and wasn't surprised to find that they were only minutes apart. At least, she thought grimly, the baby had waited until the correct day. In fact, the way things were going, it looked as though it was going to be born right on schedule. She leaned her head back against the wall and tried not to scream as the next wave of contractions hit. Turning her head, she saw James standing at the end of the corridor and, as he walked towards her, the pain receded. Her energy levels, though, were not sufficient to prompt a long conversation.

"Get...Sydney."

The words came out as a gasp and the boy eyed her in amazement. "Why? What's happened?"

She eyed him and he shrank slightly back in a movement that would have looked amusingly reminiscent of Broots when he was facing Raines, had the situation been different. "Don't argue with me, James. Just...get Sydney for me."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't I look sure?" She paused for a breath. "If you don't get him..."

"Okay, okay. I'm going!"

He took off down the hall and Jennifer caught the attention of the nurse who had just come out of another room.

"Mary-Ann, get the doctor for me."

"On my way." In a few seconds, Jennifer could hear a voice paging the doctor as Sydney came up the hall. It took no time for the doctor to realize what was about to happen and Jennifer was quickly on a bed in the delivery room.

"Should I...tell anyone?" Sydney stood by the bed, looking very helpless, as it became obvious that the birth was imminent.

Jennifer, being between contractions, eyed him critically. "Were you planning to call Jarod to witness this? Get him up and bring him in? Of course not! Besides, this gives you the opportunity for an almost-new experience."

He backed away slightly and, putting up both hands in a gesture of helplessness, looked suddenly inept.

"But...when I studied...that's why I did psychiatry..."

Jennifer grabbed his hand, knowing that the next bout of pain was only a short time away. "Don't be so sensitive, Syd. It's a perfectly natural and beautiful thing."

He eyed her in much the same way that the boy had. "Beautiful? Jennifer, there are plenty of words that I could use to describe you at this moment but..."

She smiled half-heartedly as the contraction deepened. "Sydney, I know you always regretted not seeing this for your own son. I also know that, as Jarod can't be here, then he'd want you to be. Please."

As the doctor entered, Sydney nodded slightly and allowed her to take a firmer grip on his hand. It was only a short time before the cry of the newborn baby echoed through the room and Jennifer was able to appreciate what she had missed the previous time, being under anesthetic during the emergency delivery. Only when the baby girl was put into her arms did she miss Jarod's presence. Smiling up at Sydney, she held the wrapped bundle out to him. He hesitantly took it but his grasp tightened and he smiled as he looked down into the small, red face of the newborn.

"Would you...do me a favour? Don't tell Jarod. I want to be the one to do that."

Sydney looked at her in time to see her yawn widely. "And what should I say if he asks where you are?"

Jennifer smiled tiredly. "Tell him I'm resting. It'll be the truth, anyway. But I'll come down to see him tomorrow or the next day at the latest." She looked up again. "Oh, and don't let Kyle in until he's seen me first."

At this point a nurse took the baby from Sydney and some time later Jennifer was taken up to a room that had been prepared for her.

When she awoke the next morning, her eyes roved around the room and connected with those of a person sitting in a chair against the wall opposite.

"Broots!" She slowly pulled herself up in bed. "When did you get here?"

"Sydney called me some time ago. I've been trying to legitimately arrange things for a while but a virus mysteriously appeared in the Centre's mainframe some time ago," he broke off and grinned at her meaningfully. "And I've been trying to fix it ever since. That's why I couldn't get here earlier."

"And Angelo?"

"He's safe. You've really thought this whole thing through, haven't you?"

Jennifer smiled. "I've had a lot of time to think." Her face became serious as she thought of the reason for the extra time she had for contemplation. "Have you seen him?"

"From outside the room, yeah. He was asleep though."

"And Parker?"

"Do you really want to know what she said when she first saw me?"

Jennifer smiled. "Come to think of it, no, I don't."

At this point Sydney entered the room, carrying the new baby and followed by the proud grandparents.

"Well, how are we this morning?"

Jennifer smiled as Charles lifted the head of the bed and Margaret put an extra pillow behind her head. "Better than I was yesterday. How's she doing?"

For an answer, Sydney placed the baby in her arms and she looked down, gently stroking the small head with one hand. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes and her voice was a whisper. "She looks just like Jarod."

Sydney nodded, swallowing hard, but neither Margaret nor Charles was able to respond and Jennifer saw him place one hand on the shoulder of his wife as the two left the room. She looked over at the remaining two men.

"Can you get me a wheelchair, Sydney? I want to go and see him."

He moved over to the side of the bed. "Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want..."

She looked up at him, her mouth twisted to the side and a frustrated look in her eyes. "Will you kindly not treat me like a breakable piece of china? I haven't seen Jarod in almost twenty-four hours and he doesn't need to be worrying about me right now. So if you'll get a chair..."

Jarod opened his eyes as the door to his room opened and he looked across at the small procession that entered. Seeing Jennifer being pushed in by Sydney and with a nurse following, he struggled to sit up. Sydney stepped from behind the chair and placed one hand on his shoulder, effectively preventing him from moving as the nurse gently propelled the chair forward until it came to rest by the opposite side of the bed from that at which Sydney stood. As the nurse left again, Jarod slowly turned his head and reached out for Jennifer's hand.

"Where have you been? I've missed you."

She smiled at him, wrapping her fingers in his and squeezing them gently. "Do you mean, despite the fact that you should have been concentrating on getting better, you've still been thinking about me?"

Jarod's eyes responded to her teasing but the curiosity that was implicit in him rapidly took over. "So where were you?"

For answer, Jennifer turned and nodded. In response, Jarod saw the door open and a familiar figure entered, carrying a small wrapped bundle that he handed to the baby's mother. Jarod turned inquiring eyes her. "When?"

"Yesterday, just after I left your room."

"And nobody even...?"

"Told you. I know. I wanted to show you myself." She looked up at him for a few seconds, wondering inwardly if she'd done the right thing, before he smiled.

"I guess keeping secrets is a hard habit to break. Does Kyle know?"

"Of course." She looked back down to the small face and then up again. "Do you want to see him?"

Jarod nodded and Jennifer turned to the door. "Broots, would you mind...?"

The technician disappeared, followed by Sydney, leaving the two parents alone with the baby. Jennifer gently reached forward and placed the small baby against her father's arm, keeping one hand under it for support. There was a moment of silence before Jarod looked up at her again.

"How long has he been here?"

"Who?"

"Broots."

"Since yesterday, or earlier today. I'm not sure which. He was there when I woke up this morning. He told me that he had to do a fair bit of work at the Centre before he could get away. Apparently a virus entered the mainframe and he had to fix it." Jennifer tried not to look conscious as she spoke but she knew from his expression that he realized what she had done. His next question confirmed it.

"When did you put the virus on to the mainframe?"

Her face sobered and she looked sadly down at the floor. "A couple of days after it all...happened. Sydney and I were talking and I realized that it was what you would have wanted if..." She trailed off and swallowed the tears that threatened to pour down her cheeks.

Jarod reached over and gently touched her face with the tips of his fingers as she took the baby out of his arms.

"I didn't, though. I'm still here. And I'm not going anywhere."

At this point the door reopened and the technician appeared, leading a small boy who took one look at the bed and then scrambled up onto it as Broots left again.

"Whoa, slowly," Jennifer cautioned and put out an arm to hold the small boy back from throwing himself at his father.

"Daddy, I wanted you so much!"

Jarod opened his arms and tried not to show his pain as the boy hugged him but it was only brief and soon Kyle was sitting on the end of the bed, watching as his parents talked. Having to stay quiet, however, was too hard for him and he soon interrupted.

"Mommy, can I hold the baby?"

Jennifer laughed. "If you sit properly. Remember what we said?"

"That she's...what was the word again?"

"Fragile."

"Yeah, that."

Jarod smiled to hear the small voice and he watched as Jennifer put the baby in his son's arms. Jennifer looked up at him.

"What should we call her?"

Jarod turned from his son to Jennifer and smiled slightly. "I haven't really thought about it, strangely enough. What do you think?"

"Em'ly," the little boy piped up. "After Aunty Em'ly."

Jennifer glared quickly at Kyle, who gulped and looked guiltily downwards. She then looked at Jarod, who in turn was looking at his son.

"Well, what do you think?" Jennifer asked, trying to fill in the awkward pause and hoping for the first time that the coma had slowed Jarod down. He ignored her and concentrated on Kyle.

"How do you know Emily?"

"Well...I...she..." Kyle's voice gradually faded and he struggled to think of a good enough excuse. Then he brightened and looked up at his father. "I heard Mommy and Sydney talking about her. I thought the name was pretty an' Mommy told me who she was." The little boy smiled proudly at his mother, who raised an eyebrow and watched the smile vanish. Jarod also looked at Jennifer, suspicion obvious on his face.

"Plausible as that sounds..." he began, but she gave him no chance to finish.

"You don't believe him. Oh well," Jennifer smiled as she turned the chair around and began wheeling away from the bed. "Kyle, come with me. Let's leave Daddy alone for a while. I think," her eyes gleamed with amusement and she winked at a person who was visible to her from her position but not from Jarod's, "that he needs some time without us."

She watched as Kyle, his sister still in his arms, carefully slipped off the bed and came walking slowly towards her. Jarod was about to reply when a figure stepped into the prearranged position outside the room. The single word that broke from the patient's mouth contained a note of desperate longing as the door swung open.

"Mom!"

Jennifer quickly left the room, her smiling son leading the way.

~~~~~

Miss Parker continued to mutter angrily as she stared glumly out of the window and on to the garden below. The view was hardly stimulating and this was the point in the day that she really hated. Ben and Robert rarely arrived before ten and so, for the hours between being woken by the irritatingly cheerful nurse at six a.m. and when they arrived, she was at a loose end. A noise in the doorway made her turn and she saw Broots and Sydney standing there.

"How are you, Parker?"

She turned back to the window. "Frustrated, that's how. I mean, how would you be if you had to spend all of your time in this bloody awful place?"

"Some of us," Sydney spoke quietly but with meaning, "are here, not because we have to but because we want to be."

Miss Parker look away, in that moment trying to disentangle to knot of emotion that had grown within her, and Sydney continued to speak calmly.

"Jennifer asked me to convey to you how sorry she is that it had to happen this way. She would have told you herself but the time that she's away from Jarod, she's spending in bed."

"Is she sick?" Miss Parker was surprised by the concern which was evident in her tones and which she had not intended.

"No," Sydney replied quietly. "She gave birth to their second child yesterday." He waited to hear if she was going to make a response before turning and exiting the room. Broots continued to stand in the doorway. Not having spoken since he walked in, he was at a loss to know what to say now.

"Have you seen my father?" The question took them both by surprise, but Broots eventually found the strength to answer.

"He asked about you the day before yesterday, but I said that you were off with Sydney, looking for Jarod. That's been all."

"Hmm." The non-committal response forced Broots to change his mind about the attempt at cheerful conversation that he had been about to begin. Instead the technician shuffled his feet for several seconds more before making a bolt out of the door.

~~~~~

Jennifer suppressed a chuckle as she sat on the bed, her new daughter now well fed and sleeping with infantine ease in her arms, and looked down into the tiny face, gently stroking the girl's cheek with a tender finger. She regretted that Jarod had missed the birth of their second child but she knew that it would take some time before he would be able to arrive at the same decision. The appearance of his family would occupy his thoughts for some time to come, she knew.

"Did I do it right?"

Jennifer smiled at her son and pulled him towards her, kissing him. "Perfectly, Kyle. Exactly the way we planned."

"And he was s'prised, wasn't he?"

"What do you think?"

"I think, from the looks of things, he's still trying to recover," stated a new voice from the doorway.

"Michelle!" Jennifer looked up and waved the woman into the room. "Come and meet the latest addition to the refugees."

"That's why I stopped by. Well, that and to try and convince Sydney to come and spend a few days with me."

"I think you've got a good chance, now he knows other people are responsible for Jarod and can help to take care of him."

The woman came into the room, hugged Kyle and then took the baby that was held out to her, looking down into the small face with a smile before glancing back up at the girl's mother. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine. There was never much wrong with me and I always get over these things fairly quickly."

"And when will you go back and see Jarod?"

"When he's had time with the rest of his family. I think it only fair that they have a chance to know him better. And they so desperately want to."

"I know how they feel." Michelle's face became suddenly serious. "After Sydney reappeared, part of me just wanted to sit down and talk about everything that we'd missed out on over the years. But another other part couldn't bear to hurt either George or Nicholas. That part won."

"I know. Sydney talked to me about it once."

"I didn't think he would tell anyone." Michelle's voice held a slight rebuke as she looked up and Jennifer hastened to explain.

"I suspect, from the effort he had to make, that I was the first, and I think it was only because he had to tell someone. I was just the closest at the time. It was a while after Kyle was born, and Jarod had sent him a photo. I came into the office - it was my first day back - and we started talking. Of course, he didn't know then that Jarod and I were together. But we talked and, well...I think it's something that the two of you should discuss."

"Michelle?" Jennifer looked up to see Sydney in the doorway and smiled, letting the other woman's greeting count for them both.

"Hello Sydney."

Jennifer, as she received her daughter from the other woman, suddenly felt that she was in the middle of a potentially emotional situation. "Perhaps," she broke into the silence, "Sydney might be willing to go and visit for a while." She smiled as Michelle looked at him with a pleading look. "After all, with all of us here, there isn't a great deal for him to do."

Sydney looked from one woman to the other, a smile on his face. "Maybe you're right." A look of concern suddenly replaced the smile. "Are you really sure you can manage without me?"

"Would I suggest it if I wasn't? Now go and have some time away from here. I'm sure you can do with it." She smiled slyly, eyeing the shadows under his eyes and the creases denoting stress that lined his forehead.

"Perhaps you're right." Sydney gently placed a hand in the middle of Michelle's back and directed her out of the room as Jennifer turned back to her new baby with a grin.

~~~~~

Miss Parker sat down wearily on the bed and looked around her. This was now the only place where she really felt safe and it was ironic, she thought, that it was also probably the only place where her mother also felt secure. It had been such a relief when Ben had appeared and taken her away from the hospital. She knew that the promise she had made to Sydney was the only thing that had allowed it to happen. Her brow furrowed slightly as she remembered the fact that she had done so. Of course, the glimpse of Jarod that she had had before he woke up had shaken her more than she liked to admit and made the promise come out slightly more easily than it otherwise would have.

"Auntie?"

"Yes, my baby?" Miss Parker forced a smile onto her face and looked towards the door as the boy appeared.

"Daddy's here."

"What?!" Parker's expression was pure astonishment but added to that was a small degree of fear. This would be the test of her ability to keep a promise. "Is he alone?"

"I didn't see anyone with him."

"Run down and tell him that I'll be right there."

She watched blindly as he turned and left the room. She heard the high, piping voice and the deep, familiar, resonating tones of her father in reply. Quickly she turned to the dressing table and took off the necklace that she had been wearing and that Ben said had been a favorite of her mother's. Then she left the room.

~~~~~

Jennifer leaned against the window and watched as the new baby girl made her mobile swing, a faint smile on her face.

"Why did you bring me back?"

Jennifer looked up in surprise at Jarod as he lay on the bed, a look of anger in the eyes that met her gaze, and her brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

"It's been more than a week and I'm not a lot better than I was." Jarod's mouth was twisted with bitter resentment. "Why didn't you just leave me there? I would have been better off."

He turned his face away from her and stared at the floor, the muscles in his neck tense. Jennifer bit back the reply that was on the tip of her tongue and remained silent for several seconds, hiding the pain in her eyes as she considered the way to answer him. After several long moments, she decided that the best reply would be in the one language that Jarod appreciated above all others. Picking up the baby girl, she walked over and placed the tiny, warm body against the arm that baby Emily’s father kept rigidly against his side. Then she looked at his averted face, her voice soft.

"And what am I supposed to say to her in a few years' time when she asks about her father?"

As she spoke, Jennifer had turned away and now walked towards the door, her hand outstretched to open it, when the silence of the room was broken by a single sob of raw emotion. She turned back in time to see him clutch tenderly at the small bundle, holding it close to him. After debating for a brief instant whether to leave the room, she decided against it. Instead she approached the bed, leaning on the edge of it, one hand under the girl's body to help support it. As she leaned forward, her soft voice was full of understanding.

"We weren't the ones who kept you alive, Jarod. You did that. And now you need to remember why you did it."

He looked at her, his eyes full of glittering tears. "You know why."

"But you need to remind yourself of 'why'. Would you really want to leave all this behind, now you've got a chance at life and a family? And it's finally a real family: mother, father, sister and brother as well as us. Would you want to throw all that away?"

"But it's so hard..." Jarod looked at her and his eyes revealed the struggle that was going on inside. The words were no more than a whisper but filled with an audible agony. Jennifer leaned over and placed her free hand under his chin, raising his face so that his eyes met hers.

"That's why we're here, Jarod, all of us. Your mother can't wait for the chance to have you standing next to her so that she can throw her arms around you and make up for all of the time that you've missed; your father wants to experience one of his favorite things with you - flying; your sister is longing to get you home so that, after all this time, she can begin to realize what it's really like to have a big brother; your brother wants to get to know you so that he can find out what kind of a person he came from; Kyle just wants his Daddy back so that life can get back to normal..." She stopped talking and watched as the tears finally fell in streaks down Jarod's cheeks and onto the hand with which she was holding his chin. "And me..." Jennifer paused and watched his reaction to her words. "I simply love you." She leaned over and kissed him softly on one cheek before getting up and leaving the room.

~~~~~

Miss Parker stared at the floor of the room in disbelief. He was gone - and not a word of reproach. In fact no words that could be considered in any way to denote affection; no sign of any of the experiences they had shared together. He was leaving to be with her: the woman that had first tried to kill him then married him. It had been as though he was talking to a stranger. Of course she understood why. Fear - fear of Raines, whose anger was directed at anyone within his reach, due to the men in their dark suits who were combing the offices and finding all of the evidence that was wrapped up for them in neat little bundles. It would destroy the Centre and almost everyone involved in it. Except her, it seemed. Despite her father being able to find her, they hadn't. And now she had a new, and far more pleasant, burden of responsibility to carry.

"Can I call you Mommy now?"

She broke off her train of thought and smiled at the small boy who was clutching her leg. Bending down, she picked him up. "Of course you can. And, since we'll be here for a while..." She walked out of the room, still talking.

~~~~~

Jennifer moved around Jarod's room, collecting all of the bits and pieces that had amassed over the time they had been there, as they finally prepared to leave the hospital. Jarod sat in a chair opposite and watched as she packed, their earlier conversation having faded into a comfortable silence. Suddenly, with an effect similar to a stone dropping into a still pond, it was broken.

"Marry me."

Jennifer straightened up and eyed Jarod critically but with a hint of amusement in her eyes as she responded. "Obviously whatever medications they're giving you need to be reduced."

"No, I'm serious."

"What?" The word was a whisper and Jennifer's eyes widened as she sat down on the edge of the bed, facing him. "Jarod, I thought we agreed..."

"But that was before. Things have changed. I've changed." He paused. "In all of the nightmares I've had here, they've always been about losing you. I can't bear for that to happen, not now. Not ever."

"And you want...?" She stopped, unable to finish the sentence.

"I want you to marry me."

There was a very long pause. Jarod began to wonder if he had done the right thing and only the eyes looking at him prevented him from wriggling slightly in anticipation. Finally she leaned forward and put one hand on his.

"Are you sure?"

He struggled into a more upright position, his expression indignant. "Yes, of course I'm sure! I wouldn't ask you if..."

"Jarod, do you remember when we first talked about this, all the reasons...?"

"It's not going to change anything. Especially now, with Mom and Dad here." He stopped. "I've really thought about this and, if you're willing, then I am, too."

~~~~~

Sydney stared out at the crashing waves and listened as the sounds of the ocean filled his ears. It had been more than a month since Jarod and the others had left the hospital and, although he had occasionally heard from them, it had been only an intermittent message, until now. He gently extracted a small book from his pocket. In the sudden rush of leaving, it had been overlooked and Sydney had rescued it before he and Michelle also left, eventually finding a place where they could live, far enough away from the Centre and close enough to Nicholas for both their comforts.

"Sydney."

He turned to see Jarod with a boy that Sydney instantly recognized riding on his shoulders. Jennifer was visible a short distance away, a baby in her arms and another, older boy walking beside her.

"It's good to see you again - and looking so well!"

"Well, I made a quick recovery."

There was a short pause until Jarod knelt and Kyle slipped off his back onto the sand.

"Run and tell Mommy to come here."

"Yes, Daddy." Kyle gave his father a look of pure adoration before running off as the two men stepped towards a picnic table.

"Have you heard from Miss Parker?"

Sydney looked at Jarod in surprise at the question. "No, not since you left. I gave her a call her then to tell her what was going on. We didn't talk for very long, but I understand she and Robert are living with Ben in Maine."

"One of the few things I gave her that she really appreciates."

Sydney looked sad for a moment. "I think that's true."

At this point, Jennifer joined the others, carrying the baby girl in her arms as Kyle pulled the younger version of Jarod along the sand.

"How are you, Sydney? Keeping busy?"

"Definitely." He kissed her on the cheek. "How about yourself?"

"I've got more work that I really need, especially with these three at home." The adults sat down and watched as Kyle and James started to build a sandcastle.

"Do you still move around a lot?"

Jarod grinned. "No, not as much as I used to. For one thing, the pursuit isn't as aggressive, maybe because it's more of a vendetta than an actual chase."

"Also because you don't leave her any hints like you used to," Jennifer put in with a smile. "It was always more difficult to find you without clues."

"Not that the clues were easy to solve." He grinned slightly wickedly. "But that was always the way I intended."

Jennifer, unable to help herself, looked at Sydney. "Was there a reason for us to come here? Other than to see you, I mean."

The older man smiled. "I wanted to return this." He pushed the small book across the table and Jarod grabbed it.

"You had it then. I've been mourning its loss ever since we left."

"I promised to redo it for him, but he wanted that one. He was worried that Miss Parker may have had it, although how she was supposed to have it is something that he's never been able to tell me." She grinned and glanced over but Jarod had ignored her as he flicked through to a specific page. He creased the corner, making it easier to identify the next time he searched and then closed the book and slipped it into his shirt pocket.

"Which one are you marking?"

Jarod took the book out again and opened it. He glanced quickly at Jennifer and smiled before glancing down at the children, slipping one hand into hers while holding the book open with the other. His voice, when he began to read, was deeper than usual with the emotion that he felt.

"Remember always to say what you mean. If you love someone, tell them. Don't be afraid to express yourself. Reach out and tell someone what they mean to you. Because when you decide that it is the right time, it might be too late. Seize the day. Never have regrets. And most importantly, stay close to your friends and family, for they have helped make you the person that you are today...The difference between doing all that you can or having regrets which may stay with you forever."

Total Recall
Part 10 – Winning The Game

"Mom, Dad is coming home tonight, isn't he?"

Jennifer turned from the stovetop and smiled at her son. "Has he ever broken a promise to you before?"

"Well, no."

"So what makes you think he would do it today? After all, your first birthday as a teenager is an important event. He wouldn't miss it for the world. If I know your father..."

"You ought to after all this time," interjected her son with a grin that, right down to the dimples on both cheeks, was the mirror of his father's and also that of the young man who sat at the kitchen table, watching the scene in amusement.

"Then he wouldn't miss it for the world, would he?" She ruffled her son's hair and, when he tried to duck out from under her hand, tickled him until he gasped for air.

"Mercy, mercy. You win."

She let him go and he shot over to the other side of the room, peering out from behind James with a curious expression on his face. "What are you cooking?"

"What do I always cook on your birthday?"

"Pasta?"

"Well, naturally," Jennifer laughed. As she turned back to the stove, a sound was heard from the next room.

"That's Sydney!" Kyle made a leap for the door. "Should I get him up?"

"See if he'll go back to sleep first and try not to wake Jacob in the process." The crying of a healthy three-year old continued for several seconds before there was silence. Jennifer, glancing over her shoulder, saw her ten-year-old daughter in the doorway and exchanged amused glances with James.

"Don't I look pretty, Mommy?"

"Very pretty," agreed Jennifer. "But what did I say about wearing that dress?"

"On special occasions?"

"Try again."

The girl sighed. "When we're going out."

"And are we going out?"

"No, Mommy."

"So take it off and put on the clothes that I put out for you, please."

"I told Emily that she wouldn't be allowed to wear that dress."

Jennifer grinned at her son as he re-entered the room. "Smarty," she teased and watched as the boy laughed. With a final stir, she turned off the gas and put the lid on the pot. "Okay, everything's ready. Did you bring in the chickens?"

"Yes, Mom."

As he spoke, Jennifer saw headlights sweeping through the darkness as the car drove up the driveway, and then came to a stop. Before Jarod could get out, his son was climbing all over him. The other occupants all got out, laughing, and entered the house.

"Jennifer, it's wonderful to see you. How are you?"

The younger woman wiped her hands on the apron she wore and returned the kiss that her mother-in-law gave her. "I'm very well, thank you Margaret. I hope the journey was pleasant? Jarod didn't drive too badly?"

The conversation continued as Margaret and Emily, who had followed her mother in, began to set the table that James and Major Charles carefully extended to fit the extra guests. Jarod came in and handed Jennifer a large bunch of roses.

"Did you miss me?"

"Oh, goodness no. You know that we make a point of never missing you, unless we have to. Did you miss us?"

"Oh, once in a while, I suppose."

The Major came up to the couple in time to hear that statement. "Oh, come on, son," he teased. "You were saying in the car that you couldn't wait to get home."

Jennifer's eyebrows went up and she laughed. "So, you did miss us."

Jarod tried to glare at his father but couldn't and laughed instead. "Guilty. I did. And you're sure you didn't miss me? Not even the tiniest little bit?" Jarod slipped his arms around her waist and softly kissed the back of her neck.

His wife was about to respond when she heard gagging noises behind her and turned to see her older son and daughter with their fingers in their mouths, pretending to be sick. Jarod growled in his throat and laughingly chased them upstairs.

Jennifer laughed as well and then looked up as another car could be heard in the driveway. "Sydney and Broots?"

"I hope so. I understand from what Jarod said that they were coming, depending on work, of course."

James looked up, curious. "Is Sydney still working? I thought he'd retired."

Jennifer laughed. "He helps with therapy and flutters around the place. But yes, officially he retired after Jarod was shot."

"We heard about that retirement," her father-in-law smiled.

"And Miss Parker's still trying to find Jarod?"

Jennifer turned around so that her back was to the stove and shrugged. "That's something I've never been able to understand. Perhaps she thinks he still knows more about her family than he's telling her. I'm not sure."

"Why not ask her?"

"The last time I spoke, we didn't really get on. I'm not sure that she'll ever forgive me for having her held at the hospital. Even Sam forgave me for that."

"How was he?"

"Afterwards? Pretty good, actually. He didn't even have a headache, which is more than what we did. Of course that was nothing compared to the headache that the Centre had while trying to remove my virus. I still say that it was the cause of the place, to all intents and purposes, being closed down."

Jennifer looked up at the door as it opened to reveal the last visitors and then smiled, moving across to greet them.

"Sydney, Broots, how lovely. I'm so glad you could come."

"Well, having been to all the other birthdays, I couldn't really miss this one, could I?" Sydney smiled as he kissed Jennifer on the cheek. "How are you?"

"Very well. Emily's been waiting for you to come..."

"...but she had to change her dress!" The boy ran over and hugged Sydney while Broots moved to greet Jennifer. She was about to make a comment when she looked again at the doorway.

"Kyle!"

He looked up sharply, recognizing the tone in her voice. "Yes, Mom?"

"Come here!"

The boy moved over and she waved at him to stand behind her before she spoke again. "Miss Parker, it's been a long time."

"It...it has."

Jarod entered the room at this point and Jennifer looked briefly at him, raising her eyebrows, and he nodded slightly. However before she could say anything, the other woman spoke.

"I...Jarod suggested I come."

"Really..."

Jennifer looked at Jarod again, for a little longer this time, as a feeling of futility welled up in her. For so many years they had managed to avoid this moment but now it had come. She looked at the woman again and was surprised to see that she carried no gun. Not that it mattered. There was, no doubt, a helicopter full of sweepers heading their way at that moment, having been kept expressly for this occasion. Sydney and Broots, too, were silent until the woman spoke again.

"Jennifer, I...I'm not going to, I mean, I don't want to...I won't..."

Sydney stepped forward and placed a hand on Miss Parker's shoulder. "She isn't here as a Centre operative, Jennifer, but as a friend. She was in my office when Jarod called to let me know what time to come, and I thought it might be nice if she came along."

Parker found her voice. "Believe me, I really don't want to...ruin this. I..."

"I need to know that my children are safe." Jennifer's voice did not sound as hard as she had thought it would.

"They are. Believe me, they really are. I just wanted to...see how things were going."

Jennifer looked at her for a long minute. Miss Parker was staring at the floor and Broots' expression begged her to believe his colleague. Jennifer let out the breath that she had been holding and the tension in the room broke at the same moment. Sydney pulled out a chair for Miss Parker at the table as he and Broots sat down.

"Kyle, you can go into my room now, if you like."

The smile in Jennifer's voice was reflected in the face of her son as he grabbed James' hand and pulled the laughing young man out of the room.

Sydney leaned over the table to where Miss Parker was standing. "Jennifer always puts the main present in her room until we arrive and then the birthday child can go and find it."

"And you've been to every birthday?"

"Four times a year for the children's birthdays and Christmas."

"Four?" Miss Parker looked around to where a young girl had sidled in.

Jennifer laughed and turned to her daughter. "Sweetie, go and get the twins."

Sydney glanced up as the girl left the room. "Michelle and Nicholas send their regrets. They couldn't make it this year."

"Kyle will be disappointed. He and Nicholas get on well."

"Nick said he'd make an effort to try and come down at some later date."

Margaret and Emily were still standing, although Major Charles had sat beside Sydney and the two of them had begun to talk. Miss Parker turned to them and the unsure way in which she spoke was a comic contrast to her usual style.

"I...I'm sorry."

"Are you, Miss Parker? After everything that my family has had to go through for all these years because of the fear caused by you and that team of yours, all you can say is 'I'm sorry.' Do you have any possible idea what it's like, going through life wondering if you're just around the next corner, waiting to grab us at the first opportunity. I can't help wondering when the sweepers are going to burst through the door and drag us all away."

Jennifer started at hearing her thoughts echoed as Jarod got up and put his hands on his mother's shoulders, leading her gently out of the room. Emily followed them.

"Parker, sit down." Sydney nodded at the chair and the other woman sank slowly into it. "I'm sorry. She's still a little..."

"Tense?" Broots suggested before a look from Sydney made him shut his mouth.

"I can understand it. I mean, if I'd spent all my life running from me, I don't think I'd want to see me either, even more."

Jennifer suppressed a smile at the absurd remark and was about to comment when a sound brought Major Charles to his feet. "Be right back."

"Where's he going?" Miss Parker's tones revealed her thankfulness at a change of topic.

"To help Emily with my babies. I don't not sure if Sydney would have told you about the newest arrivals, three years ago.

"Sydney hasn't told me anything, which was probably the right thing to do."

"Are you so determined to take us back? Even now?" Jennifer voice was soft. "I mean, with Raines, Lyle, Brigitte and the others out of the way, what on earth is your incentive? Even your father can hardly keep his end of the deal from Africa."

Miss Parker looked startled. "How did you know he went?"

"Oh, I keep an eye and an ear on everything to do with the Centre. It was a form of security in the past and now it's a habit. Until Raines' death, he was the one we all had most to fear from. Even he must have realized the link between me and that virus."

"You? You mean...?"

Jennifer slammed her fist on the table in annoyance as she got up. "I thought you would have realized. Yes, I put it into the system. Who did you think?"

"Well...Jarod. He seemed like the most obvious suspect. Even after the shooting, I thought he must have infected the system before. It never occurred to me that you would have..."

"Well...I did." Jennifer sighed heavily. "I couldn't help myself, and one day, when you called Sydney at the hospital, I realized what Jarod would have wanted if he hadn't woken up. So I did it."

Emily reappeared at this point, being pulled into the room by her namesake. The little girl ran to Sydney and scrambled up into his lap. "I didn't get my hug."

"It's not your birthday, gorgeous," responded Sydney with a smile as he kissed the top of her head. "You'll have to wait for that." He began to tickle her and she slid off his lap amid peals of laughter. Running to her mother, Emily tried to hide behind her.

"You'll have to do better than that." Jennifer swung her daughter up in her arms and dropped her into a chair at the table. "Where's Kyle?"

"He's showing Daddy his present. He got dragged all the way up the stairs by his tie, Kyle was so excited."

"What's he getting?" Broots smiled at Emily as he asked the question.

"I don't know. I don't get to see until he shows me. But I know it's something very special. I mean, Mom's been telling us for ages what an important birthday the thirteenth one is."

"And you're not going up there until he asks you to, understand?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"Oh, man!" An excited thirteen-year-old burst into the room, followed by the two identical men, and threw his arms around his mother. "How did you know that I wanted a stereo?"

"I guessed. And I suppose," Jennifer continued with a smile, "that you'll want some music to play in it, won't you?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out the two objects that she had slipped in there several minutes earlier.

"Oh, wow!" Kyle gasped, taking them from her almost reverently. "Come on, Em, I'll show you. Dad set it up in my room."

"Kyle." The boy looked at his father. "Remember what I said about the volume, please. We want to be able to hear ourselves think out here."

"Yes, Dad." The two ran off and Jarod grinned before sitting down in the chair that his daughter had vacated and looking up at his wife. "Mom and Dad will be down soon with the other two. They needed changing."

"Good. We'll want to eat soon or it will get cold."

~~~~~

After dinner, the adults moved into the living room. The older children were in Kyle's room, using the new stereo and the twins were close to going to bed. Miss Parker held little Jacob in her arms and gently rocked him.

"You're good at that."

"I had a lot of practice with Robert."

"How is your brother? He's a year older than Kyle, isn't he?" Margaret inquired politely. She had gradually become used to the idea of Miss Parker's attendance and, although she wasn't as friendly and warm as she was to the others, she could at least now be civil.

"He's growing up fast. He started at boarding school last month and he's doing well and really enjoying it."

"Is he as independent as you were at that age?"

"More so, if that's possible."

Sydney smiled at the remark but didn't comment.

"Have you heard from your father?" Jarod's question sounded off-hand but his wife could hear the underlying meaning in it. She understood, feeling the same concern herself.

"He wrote a few years ago, to tell me she was still alive and possibly pregnant again, but that was all. I don't think he's actually allowed to write any more than that. Mutumbo won't let him. It was part of the deal, trading freedom for a life as a slave, just to be close to her. They don't get time alone so I don't really see what good it did him, but it did give him protection against Raines' anger, and after betraying the Centre to the CIA, he needed all the protection he could get." Jennifer tried to hide the smile on her face but Jarod noticed it and raised one eyebrow in an unspoken question. She nodded, knowing that he was well aware that it hadn't been Mr Parker who had betrayed the Centre to the CIA and she wondered if he would comment. The child in her arms spoke first.

"Momma, I want to go to bed."

"Okay, sweetie." Jennifer smiled down at the little boy. Miss Parker glanced at the mother as she got to her feet, the boy nestling into her neck.

"Should I come too?"

"Sure."

"He speaks well." Miss Parker commented as they climbed the stairs to the upper level of the house.

"Considering who his father is, I don't think that's such a surprise. Margaret said that Jarod spoke earlier than most other children. Kyle and Emily both did too. In fact, they did most things earlier."

Jennifer entered the room, still wondering in the very darkest part of her mind if Parker was planning to use the occasion when they were alone to take a little revenge for the past. She was still undecided when they left the room and began to descend the stairs. Suddenly the redhead stopped and turned to look at the other woman.

"Parker, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything. But mostly for having held you at the hospital when Jarod was shot. I know that it was hard for you to take..." She trailed off.

"I can't deny that I was angry about it, but after I learnt that you arranged for Ben to look after Robert and organized everything else, I realized why. I guess it was about that time that I forgave you for it. And," she smiled, "it's easier to work for the Centre now than it was then."

Jennifer leaned against the banister railing. "I find it incredible that you still work there. I mean, I organized a nice retirement package and everything, so that it would be possible for you to leave."

Miss Parker stopped on the step. "I thought about it, I really did. But I had this fear, for the first few years, that if I left they would come for me, like they did..."

"...with your mother."

She nodded silently. "It's always haunted me that I could end up in the same situation. I had nightmares about it for years. And then," she abruptly changed the subject, "I got interested in what I was doing and so I stayed."

"Why are you still looking for him?" Jennifer's voice was soft, as if afraid of the storm the question might incite. "I mean if you want to ask anything, all you've got to do is call. What is it incentive, after all these years?"

Miss Parker looked a little sheepish. "Habit."

"Habit?"

"I guess so. I know it sounds strange but I'd been looking for him for so long that it seemed impossible that it could be unnecessary. Of course, it is now."

"So, you'll stop?"

"I...I guess I will."

Jennifer let out a sigh of relief. "You've got no idea how good it is to hear that."

"I can guess. It wasn't not only when a person was being chased by the Centre that they felt hunted."

Jennifer and Miss Parker looked at each other for several seconds, considering what had been said, before they both began to laugh. They were still giggling as they re-entered the room where the others sat.

~~~~~

Jennifer climbed into bed with a sigh of relief. The guests hadn't left until late and, having to cope with four children as well as prepare the house for the visitors, she was exhausted. Sleep, though, was impossible with so many thoughts in her mind. When Jarod got into bed beside her, she rolled over and propped her head up on one arm.

"So, how does it feel?"

He looked at her with a bemused expression. "I know you don't like this word, but 'huh'?"

"How does it feel not to be hunted anymore?"

He shook his head and put the back of his hand to her forehead. She pulled out from his touch impatiently and then began to giggle again.

"I'm sorry. I forgot that you didn't hear that conversation." She repeated the main points of it for him, by which time he was lying on his back with his hands tucked behind his head. After a pause Jennifer spoke again. "Well?"

"I don't know. I'll need some time to get used to it." His glance met hers. "Do you believe her?"

"Actually, yes. She's never lied to me, so I don't see any reason not to. Come to think of it, I don't think she's ever lied to you either."

"No, that's true." The words came out slowly, almost unwillingly. She lowered herself until she was lying on his chest.

"Let's change the subject. How long are you home for?"

"Not sure, exactly. A couple of days, anyway." He wrapped both arms around her and held her close. "I really missed you, did you know that?"

"I missed you, too."

"Dad had this great idea. He and Mom volunteered to baby-sit the kids for a few weeks and I was thinking maybe we could finally have that honeymoon we always talked about."

Jennifer lifted herself and looked at him. A smile spread across his face and one hand came up to gently stroke her cheek. "Well?"

"Where?"

"Wherever you want. I'm happy anywhere, as long as it's with you."

"Oh, Jarod." She lowered herself again but, as she ran her hand down his chest, the smile vanished from her face.

"What?" Jarod's voice was full of concern at her continued silence. "What is it?"

Jennifer broke out of the reverie and tried to smile. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking about the time before we got married."

"The hospital? I thought you were going to try not to think about that again."

"I know. And I do try. But sometimes, I can't help thinking about it."

"Hey, it all worked out, remember? I'm still here. With you."

"Thank God." The phrase was soft, but Jarod heard it and smiled.

"I guess that prayer worked after all."

"I guess it did. I'll never forget looking up and seeing you looking back at me. I nearly fainted."

"Well you certainly cried," he teased.

"As you would have. In fact, if our situations had been reversed, I think you would have cried more."

"Maybe." After a pause, Jarod spoke again. "So, where do you want to go?"



The End