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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: The characters etc. of the Pretender don't belong to me. No copyright infringement is intended & I'm not making any money from this so please (pretty please, with a cherry on top) don't sue me.
The Baby Series
Crossed Wires
Melanie-Anne
"Wow, Lyle…Chinese. I am impressed. I had no idea you had a taste for the oriental."
"Are you kidding? It's my best." He took Emily by the hand and led her inside the tiny restaurant.
Sitting at a window table, Lyle and Emily studied their menus. She wrinkled her nose. "You know, I've always believed that you should never eat what you can't pronounce."
"Now who's being a baby?" he teased.
"Fine. I'll have the chicken chow mien," she said to the waiter with perfect pronunciation.
"Umm…I'll have the sweet and sour pork."
"How's your cheek?"
"I'll live."
"So do you think Jarod's still pounding on the door for Miranda to let him in?"
"I wouldn't be surprised." Lyle laughed. "You'd think we'd have learned by now that pissing her off is a bad idea."
Emily laughed too. "No, seriously. How long is she going to stay mad?"
"I don't think we should worry about them. They'll work it out."
She took a sip of her water. "I guess we don't have to worry about telling Jarod now, right?"
"Right. I'll just make sure I keep my door locked tonight."
Poker-faced, she asked, "Then how am I supposed to get in?"
Lyle gaped at her, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. "Wh-what did you just say?"
She smiled instead of answering. Lyle decided he wasn't going to press the issue. He wasn't going to pretend that he'd never thought about sleeping with Emily but strangely, with her he'd been reluctant to rush into sex. But if she wanted to come to his room in the middle of the night…well, they'd see.
He smiled back at her.
*
Much, much later Jarod and Miranda woke to the sound of knocking. Miranda stood up and re-buttoned her blouse. Jarod smiled lazily.
"I like that look on you."
"Shut up," she said, retrieving her panties from the floor. "Don't be such a pig."
He pouted. "But you're so sexy."
Miranda pulled on her skirt. "Are you going to get dressed while I see who's at the door?"
He stretched. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Jarod-"
"Fine," he groaned. "But this is far from over."
She shot him a backward glance as she walked out of the room. "I'm going to hold you to that."
He grinned, and then scrambled to get dressed.
Miranda opened the front door. Emily and Lyle guiltily stepped apart.
"Hey, uh, we were wondering if-"
"Come on in."
"Thanks, Sis."
"Uh, where's Jarod?" Emily asked.
"Right here," he said. He'd broken a record by getting dressed so fast.
"You made up then," Emily observed. Both Jarod and Miranda nodded.
There was an uncomfortable silence where everyone stared awkwardly at each other.
"Coffee, anyone?" Miranda offered.
"I'll help," Lyle offered, following her to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry I overreacted, Em. I wasn't thinking."
"Miranda's right, though. I should have told you."
Jarod put his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "I'm still getting the hang of this big brother thing. I want you to be happy. Are you happy?"
"I am. Are you?"
"More than I ever thought possible. Come on." He started in the direction of the kitchen.
"Wait. Jarod, are you really okay with this?"
"I'm working on it."
*
"So why the last-minute dinner arrangements?" Lyle asked, fiddling with his tie.
Miranda shrugged. "Why not?"
"You just want a chance to dress up while you still have a figure, don't you?" he teased.
She smiled. "Yes, that's exactly it. Lyle, why did you keep your name?" she asked as the thought struck her.
"What do you mean?"
"Why didn't you change it? I don't understand why you'd still want a name associated with them."
"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought."
"Someone's hungry," Emily said, walking into the living room with Tommy on her hip.
"Well, he must tell his Daddy then because his Daddy is the one keeping us all waiting," Miranda said. "Jarod!"
"Okay, let's go." He trotted down the stairs. "You look lovely, Andi," he said, looking her up and down appreciatively.
Taking advantage of his distraction, she snatched the keys dangling from his hand. "I'm driving."
Despite the undercurrent of tension still running through the group, dinner went surprisingly well. Emily was besotted with Tommy, constantly remarking on his quick development and his verbal skills. When his diaper needed changing she insisted that she be the one to do it and Jarod surprised everybody with his comment of "You better watch out, Lyle. I think she's getting broody."
While they waited for their dessert to be served, Jarod took a deep breath and slipped his hand into his jacket pocket.
"Umm, Miranda and I have something to share with you."
Miranda looked at him, smiling, and nodded for him to continue.
"We're engaged. I wanted to make it official, so –" he pulled out a tiny box and presented it to his fiancée. "This was your mother's ring."
She allowed him to slip the ring onto the third finger of her left hand.
"Congratulations," Lyle said.
"Yeah…wow. That's great." Emily went around the table to hug her brother and then Miranda. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you."
Lyle tenderly kissed Miranda's cheek, smiling at her. Then he shook Jarod's hand, cementing the truce between the two men.
As excited as the adults were, they couldn't compare to Tommy whose squeal of "Ice cream!" as the waiter approached drew the attention of almost all the other patrons.
"You heard the boy," Jarod said, picking up his spoon. "It's ice cream time."
"Only you!" Miranda laughed.
"Yeah, but that's why you love me."
She couldn't help teasing him. "Don't push your luck!"
He leaned over and whispered something in her ear, causing her eyes to widen and a faint blush to creep up onto her skin.
"Hey, don't you know it's rude to whisper in company," Emily said.
"I'm not so sure I want to know what he said," Lyle said. "Not if it made Miranda blush like that."
*
The next morning Miranda stood at Tommy's bedroom window, cradling him in her arms as she watched the sunrise. He was in that halfway place between sleep and wakefulness and looked up at her with a dreamy look in his eyes. She saw Jarod jogging up the street and smiled. How he'd found the energy to wake up and go exercise after the night before was beyond her.
But wow…what a night….
"A penny for them?"
Miranda turned slightly to face her brother. "I was just thinking."
"So…you're getting married?"
"Yes."
There was a pause, then, "Good."
"We – Jarod and I – we haven't discussed anything yet but I was wondering…well, hoping, actually, that you would give me away."
Lyle smiled. "I'd love to, but what about Sydney?"
"You're my brother."
"That means a lot to me. Thank you." He slipped an arm around her shoulder. "He'd better take good care of you."
"He will."
If there was one thing Lyle was sure of, it was that his sister was right. He didn't for one-second doubt the depth of Jarod's devotion to her.
*
Just after lunch, Miranda ran into Lyle in the kitchen. "Could you do me a favor?" she asked sweetly.
"What?"
"Could you get some more peanut butter? We've run out."
"Well, if you didn't eat it like it was going out of fashion…."
She threw her hands up in the air. "Hey, it's Sara's fault, not mine."
"I'll go on one condition. Can I take Tommy with?"
"Sure, just don't buy him any candy."
"Do you need anything else?"
She shook her head then wandered upstairs, suddenly very tired. A little while later Jarod found her asleep on their bed and covered her with a blanket. He kissed her forehead before leaving, only half-closing the door. Emily was in the living room watching television. He joined her on the couch; then got up immediately as somebody knocked on the door. The visitors were his dream come true.
"Dad? Mom?"
They were equally surprised.
"Jarod?!"
"Emily said she had information…we never thought…this is incredible!"
Jarod couldn't believe it. It seemed to good to be true. He grabbed his mother in a bear hug and held her as if he never intended to let her go.
*
Once the initial excitement had passed, Jarod and his family sat in the living room, getting reacquainted.
"So, is this yours and Emily's house?" Margaret asked.
"Uh, no. Actually, uh, there's someone you should meet."
"Who, son?"
"My fiancée."
"You're engaged?" JJ, Jarod's clone, asked. "To who?"
Ethan smiled. The voices told him who the lucky lady was but he opted to keep quiet.
"Let me find her." Jarod disappeared upstairs leaving Emily to face the barrage of questions.
"Who is she?" Margaret wanted to know who had stolen her son's heart.
"What's she like?" JJ asked.
"When did this happen?" Charles demanded.
Ethan was more curious as to what Emily thought. "What do you think?"
Before she could reply, Jarod had returned. "Would anybody like anything to drink?"
Miranda made her appearance while Jarod was in the kitchen. The first thing she noticed was that Jarod's family had arrived. The second was that his mother was sitting on the couch on which she and Jarod had made love the previous day. She wondered how much more uncomfortable things could possibly get.
Charles jumped to his feet in alarm. "What are you doing here?"
She looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "I live here."
"What? I don't understand."
"Miss Parker!" Ethan stood up, smiling from ear to ear and went to hug her. Aside from JJ who had a slight crush on her, he was the one other person who had truly missed her.
"It's Miranda now."
"You're pregnant?" he whispered as he stepped back to look at her.
"Courtesy of the Centre."
"Jarod's?"
She nodded, equally thrilled to be reunited with him.
Lyle chose that moment to arrive, a shopping bag in one arm and Tommy in the other.
"You!" Charles hissed.
"Wait!" Miranda stepped between them.
"Dad, it's okay," Emily said.
"Would somebody mind explaining what exactly is going on here?" Margaret asked.
"We left the Centre," Miranda said.
"Nobody leaves the Centre," Charles said. "What did you do to my children to get them to lead us here?"
"Nothing!"
"Dad, relax," Emily pleaded.
"Why is my family so important to you? Why can't you just let it go?"
Jarod reappeared, taking in the scene before him with no small amount of horror.
"Dad, put the gun away! Please!"
Charles looked to Jarod, shaking his head. "We could end this now."
"Dad, please just take a seat and I'll explain everything, okay?"
Charles reluctantly sat down next to Margaret.
"Okay, where do I begin?" Jarod murmured to himself.
"Major-" Miranda began, taking a step towards Charles and stopping when she came face to face with the barrel of his gun.
"Stay there. Now, tell me why I should trust you."
Miranda lifted her shirt to reveal the slight protrusion of her belly, touching it lovingly with her left hand. "Because I'm carrying your granddaughter and I am in love with your son."
Margaret gasped, seeing the telltale ring on Miranda's hand.
"I don't believe you. For all we know it's his child!" Charles waved the gun in Lyle's direction.
"That's disgusting! He's my brother!"
"And you work for the Centre! I wouldn't put it past you to be-"
"Dad! That is enough!" Jarod said, his eyes steely with anger. "Sara is mine, as is Tommy. I love Miranda and I intend to marry her. If you don't like that, well, there's nothing keeping you here." He couldn't believe he'd just said that, but he meant it.
"Who's Tommy?" Margaret asked, trying to break the tension.
Lyle passed the child to Miranda, who hugged him to her chest. "Our son."
"Okay, say you're telling the truth about that part. Where does he fit in?" Charles asked, his eyes narrowed as he glared at Lyle.
"He helped Miranda leave the Centre. He left after he killed Raines," Jarod said.
"Raines is dead?" Margaret asked.
Lyle nodded.
"I need to think this over," Charles said suddenly, standing up. "I'm going for a walk."
"Well, that could have gone better," JJ quipped.
"JJ!" Margaret admonished. "Emily, is all of this true?"
"Yes."
"Miss Par-"
"Miranda," she corrected softly, not wanting to upset Tommy further.
"Miranda, come sit here. I'd like to meet my grandson."
"Tommy, say hi to your Grandma."
"Hello, Gramma," he said and stuck out his hand for her to shake.
"Uh, Mom, there's one more thing," Emily said, smiling at Lyle. No more secrets, she thought. "Lyle and I are sort of…seeing each other."
Margaret sighed again and looked up at Lyle and then back to Emily and Jarod. "Do you do this to us on purpose? Come here, Lyle, let me see if I approve."
"Mom's great, isn't she?" Emily said to Jarod.
He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I'm surprised at how quickly she's accepted all of this."
"Dad'll come around too, don't worry."
"I wasn't!"
"Yeah, right. Anyway, I think somebody wants to talk to you."
Jarod looked at JJ and grinned. "He's a good-looking kid, isn't he?"
Emily playfully swatted him. "Just shut up and get over there."
*
Later on the occupants of the house were still all in one piece although Charles had yet to come back from his walk. Margaret volunteered to take Tommy up to his room but because she didn't know the way, Miranda accompanied her. Emily took advantage of the opportunity to sit next to Lyle.
"I don't know how she does it," he said, half to himself.
"Does what?"
"She gets everyone to like her. Even your mother likes her. I bet it's the baby. She wasn't this likable before she was pregnant."
"Lyle! That's not very nice. Anyway, my mom likes you."
"Yeah, but Jarod's just waiting for the excuse to kill me and your father probably doesn't even need an excuse."
Emily laughed. "Stop feeling so sorry for yourself."
"So what happens now that everyone's got what they want?"
"We all live normal lives."
"Normal," he tasted the word. "It sounds so…boring."
"I can cope with that."
In Tommy's room, Margaret laid the sleeping child in his cot.
"So you really delivered him, not knowing he was yours?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"And the baby…Sara…she was implanted?"
"Yes."
Margaret touched the younger woman's arm. "I'm really sorry that they hurt you, Miranda. But you were born to survive it. You and Jarod – you're both survivors. Just like Catherine always said."
"C-Catherine?"
"Your mother was my best friend. It hurts to look at you, that's how much you remind me of her. She was so in love with your father in the beginning, but by the end the only thing she didn't regret about that marriage was you."
Miranda smiled and tentatively embraced her future mother-in-law. "Thank you."
"I'm really happy for you and my son. Charles will come around too. I think it was just too big a shock for him to deal with all at once. We weren't expecting to find Jarod here, let alone with you and Lyle. And finding out we're grandparents and Emily and Lyle together…how did Jarod handle that?"
"Did you not notice the bruise on Lyle's face?" Miranda laughed.
"That was Jarod? Oh, my!"
"I think he's okay with it now, though."
"That's good to hear."
"How do you feel about it?"
"God does things that sometimes don't have an explanation. But he always has a reason. It's not for us to question why."
Miranda thought about that for a moment, then smiled sadly as she replied. "That sounds like something my mother would have said."
"She did. When she was told that only one of her twins had survived – you – that's what she said when I visited her."
Miranda was near tears. "I'm keeping you from Jarod. You'd better go down, you two have so much to catch up on."
Margaret stopped at the door. "Are you coming?"
"In a minute."
Miranda paused on the third step from the bottom when the front door opened and Charles stepped inside.
"Major," she said curtly.
He stood still, holding the door half-open with one hand and looked at her for a long moment, his thoughts unfathomable. Then he dropped his hand and the door swung shut behind him with a dull thud.
***
The Baby Series
Crossed Wires
Melanie-Anne
"Wow, Lyle…Chinese. I am impressed. I had no idea you had a taste for the oriental."
"Are you kidding? It's my best." He took Emily by the hand and led her inside the tiny restaurant.
Sitting at a window table, Lyle and Emily studied their menus. She wrinkled her nose. "You know, I've always believed that you should never eat what you can't pronounce."
"Now who's being a baby?" he teased.
"Fine. I'll have the chicken chow mien," she said to the waiter with perfect pronunciation.
"Umm…I'll have the sweet and sour pork."
"How's your cheek?"
"I'll live."
"So do you think Jarod's still pounding on the door for Miranda to let him in?"
"I wouldn't be surprised." Lyle laughed. "You'd think we'd have learned by now that pissing her off is a bad idea."
Emily laughed too. "No, seriously. How long is she going to stay mad?"
"I don't think we should worry about them. They'll work it out."
She took a sip of her water. "I guess we don't have to worry about telling Jarod now, right?"
"Right. I'll just make sure I keep my door locked tonight."
Poker-faced, she asked, "Then how am I supposed to get in?"
Lyle gaped at her, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. "Wh-what did you just say?"
She smiled instead of answering. Lyle decided he wasn't going to press the issue. He wasn't going to pretend that he'd never thought about sleeping with Emily but strangely, with her he'd been reluctant to rush into sex. But if she wanted to come to his room in the middle of the night…well, they'd see.
He smiled back at her.
*
Much, much later Jarod and Miranda woke to the sound of knocking. Miranda stood up and re-buttoned her blouse. Jarod smiled lazily.
"I like that look on you."
"Shut up," she said, retrieving her panties from the floor. "Don't be such a pig."
He pouted. "But you're so sexy."
Miranda pulled on her skirt. "Are you going to get dressed while I see who's at the door?"
He stretched. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Jarod-"
"Fine," he groaned. "But this is far from over."
She shot him a backward glance as she walked out of the room. "I'm going to hold you to that."
He grinned, and then scrambled to get dressed.
Miranda opened the front door. Emily and Lyle guiltily stepped apart.
"Hey, uh, we were wondering if-"
"Come on in."
"Thanks, Sis."
"Uh, where's Jarod?" Emily asked.
"Right here," he said. He'd broken a record by getting dressed so fast.
"You made up then," Emily observed. Both Jarod and Miranda nodded.
There was an uncomfortable silence where everyone stared awkwardly at each other.
"Coffee, anyone?" Miranda offered.
"I'll help," Lyle offered, following her to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry I overreacted, Em. I wasn't thinking."
"Miranda's right, though. I should have told you."
Jarod put his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "I'm still getting the hang of this big brother thing. I want you to be happy. Are you happy?"
"I am. Are you?"
"More than I ever thought possible. Come on." He started in the direction of the kitchen.
"Wait. Jarod, are you really okay with this?"
"I'm working on it."
*
"So why the last-minute dinner arrangements?" Lyle asked, fiddling with his tie.
Miranda shrugged. "Why not?"
"You just want a chance to dress up while you still have a figure, don't you?" he teased.
She smiled. "Yes, that's exactly it. Lyle, why did you keep your name?" she asked as the thought struck her.
"What do you mean?"
"Why didn't you change it? I don't understand why you'd still want a name associated with them."
"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought."
"Someone's hungry," Emily said, walking into the living room with Tommy on her hip.
"Well, he must tell his Daddy then because his Daddy is the one keeping us all waiting," Miranda said. "Jarod!"
"Okay, let's go." He trotted down the stairs. "You look lovely, Andi," he said, looking her up and down appreciatively.
Taking advantage of his distraction, she snatched the keys dangling from his hand. "I'm driving."
Despite the undercurrent of tension still running through the group, dinner went surprisingly well. Emily was besotted with Tommy, constantly remarking on his quick development and his verbal skills. When his diaper needed changing she insisted that she be the one to do it and Jarod surprised everybody with his comment of "You better watch out, Lyle. I think she's getting broody."
While they waited for their dessert to be served, Jarod took a deep breath and slipped his hand into his jacket pocket.
"Umm, Miranda and I have something to share with you."
Miranda looked at him, smiling, and nodded for him to continue.
"We're engaged. I wanted to make it official, so –" he pulled out a tiny box and presented it to his fiancée. "This was your mother's ring."
She allowed him to slip the ring onto the third finger of her left hand.
"Congratulations," Lyle said.
"Yeah…wow. That's great." Emily went around the table to hug her brother and then Miranda. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you."
Lyle tenderly kissed Miranda's cheek, smiling at her. Then he shook Jarod's hand, cementing the truce between the two men.
As excited as the adults were, they couldn't compare to Tommy whose squeal of "Ice cream!" as the waiter approached drew the attention of almost all the other patrons.
"You heard the boy," Jarod said, picking up his spoon. "It's ice cream time."
"Only you!" Miranda laughed.
"Yeah, but that's why you love me."
She couldn't help teasing him. "Don't push your luck!"
He leaned over and whispered something in her ear, causing her eyes to widen and a faint blush to creep up onto her skin.
"Hey, don't you know it's rude to whisper in company," Emily said.
"I'm not so sure I want to know what he said," Lyle said. "Not if it made Miranda blush like that."
*
The next morning Miranda stood at Tommy's bedroom window, cradling him in her arms as she watched the sunrise. He was in that halfway place between sleep and wakefulness and looked up at her with a dreamy look in his eyes. She saw Jarod jogging up the street and smiled. How he'd found the energy to wake up and go exercise after the night before was beyond her.
But wow…what a night….
"A penny for them?"
Miranda turned slightly to face her brother. "I was just thinking."
"So…you're getting married?"
"Yes."
There was a pause, then, "Good."
"We – Jarod and I – we haven't discussed anything yet but I was wondering…well, hoping, actually, that you would give me away."
Lyle smiled. "I'd love to, but what about Sydney?"
"You're my brother."
"That means a lot to me. Thank you." He slipped an arm around her shoulder. "He'd better take good care of you."
"He will."
If there was one thing Lyle was sure of, it was that his sister was right. He didn't for one-second doubt the depth of Jarod's devotion to her.
*
Just after lunch, Miranda ran into Lyle in the kitchen. "Could you do me a favor?" she asked sweetly.
"What?"
"Could you get some more peanut butter? We've run out."
"Well, if you didn't eat it like it was going out of fashion…."
She threw her hands up in the air. "Hey, it's Sara's fault, not mine."
"I'll go on one condition. Can I take Tommy with?"
"Sure, just don't buy him any candy."
"Do you need anything else?"
She shook her head then wandered upstairs, suddenly very tired. A little while later Jarod found her asleep on their bed and covered her with a blanket. He kissed her forehead before leaving, only half-closing the door. Emily was in the living room watching television. He joined her on the couch; then got up immediately as somebody knocked on the door. The visitors were his dream come true.
"Dad? Mom?"
They were equally surprised.
"Jarod?!"
"Emily said she had information…we never thought…this is incredible!"
Jarod couldn't believe it. It seemed to good to be true. He grabbed his mother in a bear hug and held her as if he never intended to let her go.
*
Once the initial excitement had passed, Jarod and his family sat in the living room, getting reacquainted.
"So, is this yours and Emily's house?" Margaret asked.
"Uh, no. Actually, uh, there's someone you should meet."
"Who, son?"
"My fiancée."
"You're engaged?" JJ, Jarod's clone, asked. "To who?"
Ethan smiled. The voices told him who the lucky lady was but he opted to keep quiet.
"Let me find her." Jarod disappeared upstairs leaving Emily to face the barrage of questions.
"Who is she?" Margaret wanted to know who had stolen her son's heart.
"What's she like?" JJ asked.
"When did this happen?" Charles demanded.
Ethan was more curious as to what Emily thought. "What do you think?"
Before she could reply, Jarod had returned. "Would anybody like anything to drink?"
Miranda made her appearance while Jarod was in the kitchen. The first thing she noticed was that Jarod's family had arrived. The second was that his mother was sitting on the couch on which she and Jarod had made love the previous day. She wondered how much more uncomfortable things could possibly get.
Charles jumped to his feet in alarm. "What are you doing here?"
She looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "I live here."
"What? I don't understand."
"Miss Parker!" Ethan stood up, smiling from ear to ear and went to hug her. Aside from JJ who had a slight crush on her, he was the one other person who had truly missed her.
"It's Miranda now."
"You're pregnant?" he whispered as he stepped back to look at her.
"Courtesy of the Centre."
"Jarod's?"
She nodded, equally thrilled to be reunited with him.
Lyle chose that moment to arrive, a shopping bag in one arm and Tommy in the other.
"You!" Charles hissed.
"Wait!" Miranda stepped between them.
"Dad, it's okay," Emily said.
"Would somebody mind explaining what exactly is going on here?" Margaret asked.
"We left the Centre," Miranda said.
"Nobody leaves the Centre," Charles said. "What did you do to my children to get them to lead us here?"
"Nothing!"
"Dad, relax," Emily pleaded.
"Why is my family so important to you? Why can't you just let it go?"
Jarod reappeared, taking in the scene before him with no small amount of horror.
"Dad, put the gun away! Please!"
Charles looked to Jarod, shaking his head. "We could end this now."
"Dad, please just take a seat and I'll explain everything, okay?"
Charles reluctantly sat down next to Margaret.
"Okay, where do I begin?" Jarod murmured to himself.
"Major-" Miranda began, taking a step towards Charles and stopping when she came face to face with the barrel of his gun.
"Stay there. Now, tell me why I should trust you."
Miranda lifted her shirt to reveal the slight protrusion of her belly, touching it lovingly with her left hand. "Because I'm carrying your granddaughter and I am in love with your son."
Margaret gasped, seeing the telltale ring on Miranda's hand.
"I don't believe you. For all we know it's his child!" Charles waved the gun in Lyle's direction.
"That's disgusting! He's my brother!"
"And you work for the Centre! I wouldn't put it past you to be-"
"Dad! That is enough!" Jarod said, his eyes steely with anger. "Sara is mine, as is Tommy. I love Miranda and I intend to marry her. If you don't like that, well, there's nothing keeping you here." He couldn't believe he'd just said that, but he meant it.
"Who's Tommy?" Margaret asked, trying to break the tension.
Lyle passed the child to Miranda, who hugged him to her chest. "Our son."
"Okay, say you're telling the truth about that part. Where does he fit in?" Charles asked, his eyes narrowed as he glared at Lyle.
"He helped Miranda leave the Centre. He left after he killed Raines," Jarod said.
"Raines is dead?" Margaret asked.
Lyle nodded.
"I need to think this over," Charles said suddenly, standing up. "I'm going for a walk."
"Well, that could have gone better," JJ quipped.
"JJ!" Margaret admonished. "Emily, is all of this true?"
"Yes."
"Miss Par-"
"Miranda," she corrected softly, not wanting to upset Tommy further.
"Miranda, come sit here. I'd like to meet my grandson."
"Tommy, say hi to your Grandma."
"Hello, Gramma," he said and stuck out his hand for her to shake.
"Uh, Mom, there's one more thing," Emily said, smiling at Lyle. No more secrets, she thought. "Lyle and I are sort of…seeing each other."
Margaret sighed again and looked up at Lyle and then back to Emily and Jarod. "Do you do this to us on purpose? Come here, Lyle, let me see if I approve."
"Mom's great, isn't she?" Emily said to Jarod.
He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I'm surprised at how quickly she's accepted all of this."
"Dad'll come around too, don't worry."
"I wasn't!"
"Yeah, right. Anyway, I think somebody wants to talk to you."
Jarod looked at JJ and grinned. "He's a good-looking kid, isn't he?"
Emily playfully swatted him. "Just shut up and get over there."
*
Later on the occupants of the house were still all in one piece although Charles had yet to come back from his walk. Margaret volunteered to take Tommy up to his room but because she didn't know the way, Miranda accompanied her. Emily took advantage of the opportunity to sit next to Lyle.
"I don't know how she does it," he said, half to himself.
"Does what?"
"She gets everyone to like her. Even your mother likes her. I bet it's the baby. She wasn't this likable before she was pregnant."
"Lyle! That's not very nice. Anyway, my mom likes you."
"Yeah, but Jarod's just waiting for the excuse to kill me and your father probably doesn't even need an excuse."
Emily laughed. "Stop feeling so sorry for yourself."
"So what happens now that everyone's got what they want?"
"We all live normal lives."
"Normal," he tasted the word. "It sounds so…boring."
"I can cope with that."
In Tommy's room, Margaret laid the sleeping child in his cot.
"So you really delivered him, not knowing he was yours?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"And the baby…Sara…she was implanted?"
"Yes."
Margaret touched the younger woman's arm. "I'm really sorry that they hurt you, Miranda. But you were born to survive it. You and Jarod – you're both survivors. Just like Catherine always said."
"C-Catherine?"
"Your mother was my best friend. It hurts to look at you, that's how much you remind me of her. She was so in love with your father in the beginning, but by the end the only thing she didn't regret about that marriage was you."
Miranda smiled and tentatively embraced her future mother-in-law. "Thank you."
"I'm really happy for you and my son. Charles will come around too. I think it was just too big a shock for him to deal with all at once. We weren't expecting to find Jarod here, let alone with you and Lyle. And finding out we're grandparents and Emily and Lyle together…how did Jarod handle that?"
"Did you not notice the bruise on Lyle's face?" Miranda laughed.
"That was Jarod? Oh, my!"
"I think he's okay with it now, though."
"That's good to hear."
"How do you feel about it?"
"God does things that sometimes don't have an explanation. But he always has a reason. It's not for us to question why."
Miranda thought about that for a moment, then smiled sadly as she replied. "That sounds like something my mother would have said."
"She did. When she was told that only one of her twins had survived – you – that's what she said when I visited her."
Miranda was near tears. "I'm keeping you from Jarod. You'd better go down, you two have so much to catch up on."
Margaret stopped at the door. "Are you coming?"
"In a minute."
Miranda paused on the third step from the bottom when the front door opened and Charles stepped inside.
"Major," she said curtly.
He stood still, holding the door half-open with one hand and looked at her for a long moment, his thoughts unfathomable. Then he dropped his hand and the door swung shut behind him with a dull thud.
***
