Last Chance
Light That Brightens The Dark



The double glass doors opened and Lyle strode into the new tech-lab, Miss Parker noted that the grin he'd been wearing the past few days only now starting to fade. He stopped behind Broots' computer, regarding the room full of busy techs with obvious disdain.

"Any news?"

Broots shook his head, "All up we've had over 200 hits, of that over a hundred have been complaints, people talking about, how, uh, wonderful Jarod is."

Lyle didn't bother to pretend not to look sick.

"We have also had around 30 calls giving us advice, on exactly what we should do with him when we catch him. I uh, think that were from the people Jarod caught."

Lyle ignored the obvious, "Did you record them?"

"Uh, no Mr Lyle," Broots quivered.

"Pity. Record the next one will you. I'd like to hear what Jarod's 'public' has to say."

He swept from the lab, the glass doors hissing closed behind him.

"I'd like to hear what Lyle's public has to say about him," said Miss Parker as the doors closed, she and Sydney got up from the couch to take up Lyle's spot behind Broots, who was nodded his agreement at the screen.

"So," Sydney said, checking to see if anyone was listening, "Have you had any contact with Jarod lately?"

Miss Parker took a sip of her coffee before shaking her head and replying, "Not since it aired."

"And there really hasn't been any hits Broots?"

The tech swivelled round to face them, "No, I told Mr Lyle all we've got."

"Well from now on-" "You first," he finished for her.

Miss Parker smiled, "Good man," she said, and left the buzzing Tech lab - Sydney in tow.

They walked towards the elevators, the new Tech-lab had been built to house and track the information on Jarod's whereabouts. The Powers That Be had chosen SL-2, so even the saps that believed that they really were out to, 'find Jarod to help him' could have clearance.

As they walked Parker noted that Sydney looked decidedly worried. To the casual observer he was - as always - an epitome of calm. However, she noticed the way he kept clenching his hands in his pockets and the way his accent was more pronounced.

"Sydney," she said, though she wasn't really one for reassuring people she could try, "I'll bet that Jarod's on a beach somewhere getting a tan, that I deserve, and drinking disgusting combinations of soft drinks."

Sydney frowned slightly, "Jarod wouldn't just leave like that, he wants to know the answers to badly to leave."

They continued walking, in silence eventually she broke it; "I don't know Syd, this could be the final straw."

The old psychiatrist shook his head in reply.

"There's also the fact you think he'd say goodbye."

Sydney smiled as the elevator door closed, "I think that when Jarod says goodbye, it will be a final goodbye."

Miss Parker wasn't sure what he was referring to, but it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in anticipation.

"Jarod stop!" Miss Parker yelled.

Jarod rounded a corner, two seconds later a bullet nicked the wall where his leg had been.

"Dammit!" she screamed in frustration.

Two hours ago a call had come in from a young woman, she had spotted a man who fitted Jarod's description going into a motel. Unfortunately, at the time Lyle had been in the lab, so she'd had no excuse that she couldn't find him.

The twins rounded the corner into the alley, it was dead end and empty except for a couple of doors, a ladder going up to the roof, and two trash cans - one of which Miss Parker kicked over, the other Lyle shot.

"Dammit." Lyle yelled, his hopes of a shot Jarod falling out of the bin had been dashed.

Sydney arrived just after the second gun shot; he quickly surveyed the scene and found it lacking a shot Jarod. She noticed him let out a deep breath.

Lyle banged on the doors and re-holstered his gun; Miss Parker was surprised to find he looked remarkably happy considering the situation.

"He may have got away this time," he said, as though warning the world in general, "but next time we'll get him. Next time…" He pulled out his cell phone and rang for the car, leaving Miss Parker and Sydney alone, they turned to follow him when Miss Parker noticed movement in the corner of her eye. One of the doors was opening. She motioned Sydney to stop, and as he turned around Jarod's head became visible through the door jam.

"Jarod!" Sydney hissed, hurrying towards the young man.

Jarod smiled and motioned them inside.

Sydney cast the briefest of looks towards her, checking to see she hadn't drawn her weapon. She rolled her eyes at him and passed Jarod into the room.

"Your shot came pretty close," Jarod chided, after hugging Sydney hello.

"It could have been even closer," she replied with a grin.

Sydney put a stop to their banter, "What are you doing here Jarod!" he scolded.

Miss Parker took the opportunity to look around the small room. It was just as sparse as the warehouse, perhaps more so, a red notebook and laptop adorned the grimy desk that was standing haphazardly in the corner.

Jarod was about to start his explanation but Miss Parker beat him to it, "You didn't just run in here did you Jarod."

"No," Jarod admitted, "The girl who rang is a friend of mine."

"How are you getting around?" Sydney asked.

"Private plane, I've learnt that if you line people's pockets with enough Centre cash they look the other way."

Parker grinned broadly at the irony. "You still haven't told us why you're here."

He ignored her, "Are the DSA's safe."

Sydney looked at her curiously, "Why do you have the DSA's Parker?"

Jarod saved her from answering, "For safe keeping while the whole of America is on the look out for me."

"So what are you doing here Jarod." Miss Parker asked again. "What brings us here?"

Jarod smiled all-knowingly, "Tut tut, Miss Parker, no cheating."

"Cheating?" Sydney asked.

"You know the dance."

Miss Parker scowled at the pretender, "What, you tell me about my past, if I tell you about yours?"

Sydney, whose amusement in all this had steadily been rising, frowned. "Sometimes the two of you …" he trailed off but continued as he saw them glaring at each other. Now looking extremely exasperated.

"For once in your lives just stop the games!" he nearly yelled, and with that he embraced the shocked Jarod, and walked towards the exit, "I'll stall Lyle for a couple of minutes. Don't kill each other."

The door closed silently behind him.

Jarod and Parker stared at each other a full 10 seconds before coming to some sort of silent agreement.

Jarod started. "Do you know where my family is?"

"No."

"Did you know that Raines was my father?"

"Yes."

"Could you get information on my family?"

"No."

"Did you really give up your freedom to save me?"

There was a pause, and Miss Parker thought he might not answer. "Yes."

"Why did you destroy the information on my family?"

"It was fake, the information would have led you into a sweeper team."

"Is Lyle really my brother?"

"Yes. Sorry."

"Do you know if Jarod is my real name?"

"No."

"How long did you have my Mother's diary?"

"Couple of days."

"Is it true that you promised to rescue my clone."

She paused this time, "Yes."

"How did you know that Raines was my father?"

"I ran your DNA against the Centre database."

"I did that."

"Yours didn't include Raines."

"Do you still have the gifts I've sent you?"

"Unless they were too extravagant, yes."

"Did you really ask about me after I left."

"I refused to work for a long time."

"Do you still have the rabbit?"

"Yes."

"Did you ever love any of the women you've left behind?"

Jarod looked around the room before answering, and when he did, he looked her right in the eye. "I didn't love them - I cared for them. Just, didn't love."

"Why have you never shot me?"

"You don't kill the goose that gives the golden eggs."

"Do you know whose child my baby brother is?"

"No. Though I do know he's not directly related to you."

"Do you love Sydney?"

Jarod's face became guarded, this time she knew he wouldn't answer. "He doesn't care for me."

She waved away his comment with a gesture. "You're an incredibly stupid genius, he has a box full of items you've given to him over the years, PEZ dispensers, cards, DSA's. He loves you."

"Cards?"

"A fathers day card."

"He kept it?" Jarod's voice was a whisper.

"Yes, talk to him about it later. It's your turn."

Jarod paused, as if getting ready for something, or perhaps he was still digesting this new information. "Why did you hate me?"

Miss Parker looked up sharply, the spell broken. She regarded him curiously for a long while before answering. "I've never hated you Jarod. I've been jealous, angry, hurt, confused, infuriated, cold, numb, happy, irked and drunk because of you - but in all of that I never once hated you." She smiled. "Though I've disliked you immensely, like when you stuck my $200 Gucci's to the floor."

Jarod smiled with her, "It was meant to be a metaphor."

Parker's cell phone started vibrating, buzzing against her hip.

"One last question Jarod."

He raised an eyebrow in reply, "Can I see Ethan sometime?"

The smile that adorned Jarod's face lit up the grimy room.

"I'll have him call you. At a decent hour."

She smiled in reply, trying to convey how thankful she was with her eyes.

"You better go."

Parker nodded her head and got up from the chair she'd been sitting on. She was nearly at the door before he spoke again.

"So we're just going to ignore what happened."

She spun on her heel so she was once again facing him. "Now is not the time to question the game, Jarod. Not with the rules changing," she said, a hint of bitterness was evident in her voice.

Jarod nodded his head. "I just …" he trailed off. "Go," he told her.

For once, she did as he said.


* * *



Miss Parker cornered Sydney in his hydroponics bay, she knew he'd been avoiding her, probably fearing her wrath for the previous day. She knew he wasn't afraid of her, not really, he just didn't want to be bothered fighting with her. As she entered the room, she heard him humming a tune in French as he tended to a Bonsai.

"Something you want Miss Parker?" The old physiatrist questioned.

She watched him trimming the edges of the small tree, slowly constructing the shape; it could take many more years of slow growing and trimming…

"Parker?"

She snapped out of her reverie. "Why don't we go for lunch?"

"It's only 10:30 Parker."

"It will take us a while to get there."

Sydney shrugged, but didn't discourage her. "Of course."


* * *



It had been twenty minutes of driving and the conversation between the two colleagues had been mostly non-existent, only occasionally did they talk, once, for Sydney to ask Miss Parker to slow down. "You drive like a maniac." He informed her. "Never once had an accident," she replied. "Is that supposed to reassure me?" Sydney asked. "Yes." And that had been the conversation of the trip, though Sydney noticed that she had slowed down marginally.

The restaurant they ended up in wasn't far away after all; it was the restaurant that Parker had met an old flame in four years ago.

"I thought you said it was far," queried Sydney.

"Gives us longer to talk." Parker replied simply.

"About what?" Sydney asked; there was no denying his curiosity.

Miss Parker raised an eyebrow, "Jarod of course."

"Did you get your answers?"

Miss Parker didn't answer instead chose to look around the diner, they were almost the only patrons, except for a bunch of women having 'brunch' and a businessman.

"I got some answers," she answered slowly.

Sydney waited for the waitress to leave before continuing. "Anything useful?" He asked, seeing she wasn't exactly going to be forth coming.

"Lyle is my brother."

"Sorry."

"That's what Jarod said." Parker laughed mirthlessly. Sydney regarded her with obvious concern.

"Something else?"

"He kept my mothers diary for a couple of days, knew that Raines was my father, and wanted to know if I kept the rabbit he gave me."

"And how does that make you feel?" He was ever the physiatrist.

"Damn confused because I know he's been in my house."

The waitress was back with their drinks Sydney frowned when he noticed she was drinking tea.

"Ulcer bad today?" To his surprise, she shook her head. They sat in silence, Parker swirling her tea and adding sugar more than drinking it.

"Parker." She looked up from the third bag. "Why are we here?"

She took a deep breath, "Syd, I." She stopped again, shaking her head. She seemed to decide to abandon coherent sentences, just talking instead. "At my mothers funeral, you held my hand … you talked with me after … you taught me to dance … you stayed with me through all the hospital visits." The normally unbreakable Miss Parker was blinking back tears.

"When I was talking with Jarod he said he didn't know how you felt, I told him about the box."

Sydney sat up straighter, fright etched over his aging features.

"He said he'd have to talk with you. It got me thinking, if he didn't know then …" She took another breath. "Thank-you, for putting up with me."

The panic had gone, replaced with a broad smile. He leant across the table and took her hand.

"You are more than welcome, Melanie."

Miss Parker blinked, and then blinked again.

Her voice became a whisper, "How did-" "I know?" Sydney interrupted, "You told me, when you where very small, the first time I ever met you."

"I don't remember."

"Jacob and I were delivering some reports to you're father, he invited us to come in, you introduced yourself - once out of your fathers ear shot - as Miss Melanie Rose Parker." The young women stared down at her tea, now long cold, looking intently as he continued.

"Of course, that's when your father came back in and said you like to be called Miss Parker, and that one day you'd work in the Centre just like Mommy and Daddy."

Parker scooted around the half-circle booth so she was beside Sydney, she leant her head against his shoulder. "I don't think that Daddy - Mr Parker, can remember my first name, and there is no way in hell Raines is using it."

He was about to say something, but she quickly interrupted. "But I'd like it if you used it," she said quietly. He gave no reply; she pulled back slightly and knew she was surprised when she saw tears in his eyes.

"I'm so proud of you, Melanie," he told her, "Raines doesn't deserve you as a daughter."

Miss Parker smiled in agreement then looked away guiltily. "When Alex told me that Mr Parker wasn't my father, on some level I suspected you."

Sydney tried not to, but couldn't help the amused look that spread across his features as she continued. "I mean you were very close friends and all."

"I did love your mother," Sydney admitted. "As I love you."

"You love me?" she asked, her voice child like.

"Of course, you have many people who love you, Broots, Debbie, Sam cares very deeply for your welfare, Angelo and Jarod."

"And I love them," she admitted, "and you."

They smiled at each other for a moment, then, "Wait! Did you say Jarod?"

"Of course."

She gave him a his own amused look, "Yeah and Broots and I are an item."

He was about to reply, but she once again beat him to it, kissing him lightly on the cheek and muttering, "Quiet Freud."

They ended up staying for lunch, both enjoying this new level of friendship, on the way out the waitress told Sydney 'and your daughter' to have a nice day. Neither of them bothered to correct her.