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Chapter or Story
He hated being this out of control, but there was little choice at the moment. "Then I guess we are going to have to trust him,” He said slowly.
"Is there any other way of getting out of this area that you can think of Jarod?” She asked. She could feel his unease and didn’t blame him. It was hard to trust someone you had never met with something as important as saving your life.
"I don’t even know what 'this area' is,” He whined. Lack of information had hampered him on his first attempt too. It was strange to be the one depending on another to get him out of this, being the one that didn’t know anything.
"Fair enough then. You are just going to have to learn to trust me, no matter how much you don’t want to."
"It's not that I don’t want to trust you, but I have so little reason to.” He tried to explain. She had given him nothing but grief and pain since he had met her, now she was asking for his trust. At the moment Jarod didn’t even trust himself, or his own judgement.
Gracie sighed and nodded, "I know Jarod, and I understand. I don’t blame you for one second.” She looked up at him, "I was trying to be good, to do as I was told, but I never wanted to hurt you like I have." She apologised for the millionth time and found herself wondering why she was. It was her job, he was her project. She had no reason to say sorry for anything she had done to him.
"I don’t think now is the time to get into this. You have a sister in there who is no doubt very traumatised and will not understand this at all. She is going to need a lot of help through this, it will be a difficult adjustment for her.”
He was doing it again, he always changed the subject when it was to close to home, when he didn’t want to talk. "I’m sorry.” She said sincerely as she got up to go back into Bailey.
"It's alright," Jarod said softly as she left. "Just look after Bailey,” He told her.
Gracie put on a smile as she saw Bailey still at the table with Walter. "How is your little boy doing?” She asked, crouching in front of the pair.
"He is scared,” She told her, her own eyes brimming with tears again. "But I think he is going to be alright. Are we going to be alright to Gracie?"
Gracie nodded, "We are going to be fine. I am going to take you to see the beach and the cities, even New York if you want.” She smiled gently at her. "Bailey, none of this is your fault. And I’m not angry or upset with you alright?" Grace said softly to her, wanting her to understand.
She nodded miserably. It was somebody's fault and it happened right after Grace had come to visit her. All of this was because of her. She might only be 7, but she wasn’t stupid.
"Bailey,” She said firmly, lifting her head to look into her sister eyes. "The way Mr Mathew touched you was very wrong. Even an owner isn’t allowed to do that. This isn’t your fault, if it is anyone’s it is his, and mine for not protecting you well enough. But never think any of what has and will happen is your fault."
Bailey wanted to believe that, but owner's could do what they wanted. She hadn’t liked the way he touched her, or the way it made her feel, but she knew he was allowed to do it. But she was upset and scared and didn’t want to fight with Gracie right now. She put her arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. Since she had come back, Gracie liked to touch her a lot more than she used to and Bailey liked that.
Gracie held her and stood up, picking Bailey and Walter up along with her. With her sister on her hip, Gracie holding her tightly she moved slowly into the lounge room. "Bailey, promise me never to think any of what has happened is your fault.” She asked gently.
"I promise,” She agreed quickly.
Jarod looked up at the pair and smiled at them. He knew it would be a long slow recovery, for the both of them, but with the right care, it could be done. He wanted Bailey to have a real life.
"Good girl.” Gracie praised with a smile, kissing her check. She got into the lounge to see Jarod still tending his feet. "How are they Jarod?” She asked, sitting down on the couch, shifting Bailey to sit on her lap. She didn’t let her out of the hug, holding her tightly. There was a lot of work to be undone with the both of them, but Gracie would make sure Bailey was always safe and felt loved.
"They will be fine, but I won’t be going anywhere for a few days,” He said, brushing it off. "How you doing there kiddo?” He asked Bailey. He had met her a few times, and she was still very wary of him and after the headlong flight through the desert, he was worried she would be even more scared of him now.
Bailey didn’t look at him and mumbled. "Fine,” She whispered.
"You know Bailey, that is the exact same answer Jarod gives me when is anything but fine.” She said softly, a smile playing on her lips. She had only asked Jarod that question today, and his answer was a mumbled ‘fine’ too. Same as most of the other days she asked him.
Jarod had been a child psychologist before, and this was something he knew a lot about. He also knew how terrifying being outside was. When he had first escaped, underneath all the exhilaration had been constant fear. He looked at Bailey and Grace for a long moment, thinking about what to say. She would be scared of him as a man who might touch her in new and frightening ways, and he needed to gain her trust before he could begin to help her. "Bailey,” He started, guessing the girl wasn’t going to look at him, but he had to start somewhere.
Bailey tried to move even closer to Gracie, not wanting to talk to this man. She had closed herself down from all the emotions she had been getting, it was too much for her and she was in such bad emotional shape herself, she just couldn’t deal with anybody's else’s at the moment.
Gracie wrapped her arms tighter around Bailey as she snuggled into her a little more. She could feel her shaking slightly and looked at Jarod in worry. "Bailey, Jarod won't hurt you. You said that after the first time you meet him. You were 110 positive I could leave you in his care and he would never touch you. It is the same now. Jarod won’t hurt you, neither will I.” She said gently to her.
"Your sister is right Bailey. I know how scared you are now, of me, of being outside, of everything. I know you miss your home and this place is hot and horrible but we are both going to help you. I promise I will not leave you until you want me to, and I will help Gracie look after you so you will always be safe."
Bailey knew that what Gracie said was true, Jarod would never hurt her, but she was still scared. Jarod was different from anybody she had met before and she didn’t understand who or what he really was.
Gracie sighed softly when her sister stayed silent. "Would you like to go to sleep for a while honey? Keep Walter with you so he is nice and safe too?"
Bailey nodded. "But Gracie, I am dirty,” She whispered.
Jarod tried not to smile at her, keeping very still and quiet, not wanting to upset her any further. She would see in time that he wasn’t going to touch her in a bad way. It seemed they were going to be stuck here for a while and they were going to be forced to get to know each other.
"I know honey, but we can’t have showers here. The best I can do is give you a bucket of water like Jarod and you can just wash yourself down with a cloth and get into some clean clothes.” She knew why Bailey was reluctant, sleeping before showering was forbidden but there was not much they could do.
Bailey bit her lip and nodded.
"I can read you a bedtime story if you like," Jarod offered, hoping to help soothe her into sleep. He could feel how disconcerting this was for her and he wanted to try and make it less traumatic for her, and he hadn’t met a kid yet that didn’t like a bedtime story.
Gracie grinned, "You hear that? A bedtime story. Might be almost as good as me singing you to sleep.” She laughed a little, "Think Jarod knows any good bed time stories?" Grace asked, teasing Jarod, trying to lighten he mood.
She finally looked at him with narrowed eyes, trying to assess him. "I don’t know,” She admitted after a long moment.
"I happen to be an excellent bedtime story teller,” He told her, keeping his voice light. At least she had looked at him now.
"Well, I guess there is only one way to settle it. Jarod will just have to tell you a story and let you decided if he is any good.” She said, "Should we do that Bailey?"
She finally nodded reluctantly wondering what kind of story he would tell her. Curiosity overcame fear.
"Then that is settled, I’ll get some water and a sponge so you can have your bath of sorts. Do you want any help Bailey?” She asked, expecting Bailey to snap and say she is to grown up for help during shower times.
She nodded, tears filling her eyes again, feeling like a big baby.
"Why don’t you two lovely ladies get ready, and I will see what I can scrounge up in the kitchen for a bedtime snack," Jarod said, standing up, trying not to wince.
"Oh honey.” Gracie said seeing her tears and holding her tighter. She brushed her hair back from her face, trying to soothe her. Gracie turned to Jarod, "You stay seated Jarod. You can’t be on your feet.” She told him off.
Bailey brightened a little at the thought of a snack, never having had a bedtime one before and then she slumped in disappointment when Gracie told him to stay still.
Jarod sunk down automatically, slipping back into the mode of obedience without even thinking about it.
"I'll help give Bailey a wash then get some food. I don’t want to see you off that couch until it’s time to come in and read Bailey her story." Gracie said, getting to her feet, not letting Bailey go. “Why don’t you give Walter to Jarod to look after while we get you ready for bed?” She asked, knowing if Bailey handed him over, it was a good step towards her trusting him.
She looked at her possum and then to Jarod, finally opening herself to let her read him. "You won’t hurt Walter will you?” She asked timidly.
Jarod put his hand on his heart and looked at her. "I promise,” He swore.
She hesitated a moment longer and then handed him over. "Please be careful with him.” She intoned seriously.
"Don’t you worry Bailey, I was a vet once." Jarod said, taking the possum.
Her eyes opened wide at that. "You were?” She whispered in awe, everything forgotten.
Gracie laughed, he had her attention now, knowing that her animals were being looked after by a 'vet'.
She had had to leave her new book on American animals behind, it was too big and heavy and might have hurt Walter. "Can you tell me a vet bedtime story?” She asked in hope.
Gracie's eyes were pleading from where she looked at Jarod, hoping he said yes, more importantly, that he knew a vet bedtime story. It would do no good to agree to it, only at bedtime not know any stories to tell her.
Jarod had to fight not to laugh. "Of course Bailey,” He told her very seriously. "I can tell you lots of vet stories.” He bet she was the only kid in the world that wanted a vet story instead of a fairy tale. When he had first learnt about fairy tales, he had been very confused about their appeal. They were usually full of scary and horrible step mothers or witches, but he supposed they all lived happily ever after at the end and that is why people liked them so much. Hansel and Gretel had horrified him and he had had nightmares about it for weeks after reading it.
"Come on Bailey, lets get you washed and changed and Jarod can tell you a vet story.” She said with a smile, "Jarod don’t move an inch, keep your feet off the ground.” She ordered him, knowing he would not disobey her.
Jarod nodded, not looking forward to standing up. He knew if he walked, it would slow down the healing, but he couldn’t be bound to the lounge either. He wondered if she had ever had chocolate milk, or Twinkies or PEZ and wanted to introduce her to the wonders of the world. To all the flavours of ice cream that he loved.
Taking Bailey into the bathroom that didn’t really work, she sat her down, "Get undressed for me please Bailey, I’ll go get some water so we can get you sparkling clean for bed. Then you can have a snack and have your story."
Bailey looked around the new room and then slowly took her clothes off. "Gracie? Will Jarod touch me like that too?” She asked in a tiny voice. Mr Matthews had told her that it was natural for men to touch like that, that as all children got older, that is what happened. It just meant that she was almost a grownup now.
Gracie stopped and knelt down in front of her. "Not ever Bailey. He isn’t like the owners. I did something very wrong when I first met him. I touched him like you were touched. I didn’t know it was wrong but he told me it was, explained how it was a wrong touch and he didn’t like it. Jarod knows how bad it is and would never in even his worst nightmares even think for a slipt second of ever touching you like that." Grace told Bailey, her voice deadly serious, her eyes telling her it was the truth.
Bailey nodded, not knowing how she felt about Gracie touching like she was an owner. “But you touch me all the time Gracie, especially since you came back.” She stood there naked before her, trembling a little. Scared now Gracie would touch her like that too.
Gracie grabbed a towel for Bailey and wrapped it gently around her so she wouldn’t freeze waiting for her bath. "Yes I do, I like touching you a lot. But it is a different sort of touch. This is what Jarod explained to me. How Mr Mathews touched you is wrong because it makes you feel bad, dirty but the way I touch you is good because you like it, I like it. The way I touch you is because I love you, I am comforting you, touching like I do with hugs and kisses makes you feel good, like you are loved. That’s why I do it. To show you how much I do love you,” She didn’t know if she was really explaining it the right way and hoped she wasn’t making things worse.
“You don’t hurt me Gracie,” She said, trying to understand. She had hurt Jarod though and Jarod was afraid of the way she touched him, but she kept that to herself. She hugged the towel around her. “We can’t ever go back can we?” She whispered softly, thinking about her book and the necklace Gracie had given her.
"No, we can’t, or we will be in lots of trouble and I can’t protect you from Mr Mathews. I won’t let anyone hurt you Bailey, or touch you like that.” She said softly. "But it will be good out here. We will get away from this heat, go somewhere cooler, wherever you want.” She told her with a soft smile. "You stay here for a moment Bailey, I’ll go get some water."
She nodded at her, clutching the towel, trying to figure all of this out.
Getting up, Gracie moved out and got a bucket before moving into the kitchen to fill it with as much water as she thought they could spare. A few days here was fine, but she didn’t know when her friend could come out to get them and couldn’t risk running out of water. She got a nice sponge and moved back into the bathroom and shut the door. Kneeling down she took the towel away and put it aside. She looked at Bailey's long thick wavy hair, "We are going to have to tie that up, we don’t have enough water at the moment to wash your hair too.” She said gently, apologising, and took a hair tie out of one of the draws and gently tied her sister’s hair back.
Bailey remained still as she let her sister wash the dust and grime from her body. She hated it here, it was not like at home. It wasn’t hot though, nice and cool underground, and she was happy about that. She didn’t know where she wanted to go, maybe New York.
When Bailey was nice and clean, she got the towel and dried her off before wrapping her in it. "We will be able to have a real shower in a few days with any luck Bailey. I am sorry for this, it is not right for me to make you wash using a bucket and sponge. But I couldn’t leave you there knowing you were being hurt.” She told her, leaving the bucket with the dirty water in the bathroom as she picked her up.
“But he is allowed to hurt me, and they hurt me before, when I was bad.”
"Yes, he is allowed to hurt you if you are very bad Bailey, they are owners, they are allowed to punish. And I understand that, no matter how much I hate seeing you punished. But this isn’t hurting you like a punishment is. I bet you didn’t even do anything wrong before he touched you.” She sighed trying to explain it. "You are my little sister Bailey, my whole life. And I won’t let anyone ever touch you like that again, even if it means we have to live on the moon." Gracie told her walking her to her new room and putting her down. She had put the bag in here on the way back to the bathroom ad reached in and took out some of her clothes and helped her dress.
The first thing when they were safely away from here would be to buy Bailey real clothes. Real clothes and more animal books. Get her some shoes and jewellery. Get her toys. Anything a child of age 7 would want or need.
“You can’t live on the moon Gracie, you are just being silly,” She smiled for the first time as she let Gracie dress her, like when she was little.
Grace grinned, "Yeah, I guess, what about Mars then? Can you live there?” She asked, teasing her.
“No, Grace, it would be too cold. And besides, there is no atmosphere, how would you breathe?”
"Space suits?” She asked, "And first you whine about it being hot, and then you don’t want to move to Mars because it is too cold?” She asked, playfully, teasing her.
“It’s not too hot in here,” She looked around the room and sighed.
Gracie pulled back the covers on the child’s bed, "Come on, climb in. I'll go get your snack and bring Jarod in so he can tell you your story."
She climbed into bed and yawned loudly. “He won’t hurt me will he Gracie?” She asked one more time.
"No he won’t. And if you block out everything expect Jarod, his emotions will tell you that for yourself." Grace told her, knowing if she did it, it would ease her fears a great deal.
She shook her head, not wanting to read anybody right now. She pulled the blanket up to her chin to protect herself.
"I'll be right back.” She told her moving out to the kitchen to find something to snack on.
Grace grabbed some canned fruit and opened it, draining it before serving it out in three bowls. She grabbed three cans of soft drink and set them on the bench ready before moving to the lounge to see Jarod sitting there still and smiled at him.
As Grace came out, Jarod looked up. “Do you have any paper and pencils I could use?” He asked her, not having moved from the couch.
She sat down next to him, "Why?"
“It’s a surprise,” He told her. “I am hardly going to use them to escape now am I?”
"There is nowhere to escape from Jarod. You want to leave, you can walk right out of here. Simple as that. You are not obligated in the slightest to stay here with us."
“I know that, now can I please have them?” He asked her.
"Why do you presume I even have any?” She asked, already moving over to a cupboard.
“That is why I asked,” He said in exasperation.
Gracie grinned broadly as she came back with some lead pencils, pens, paper and a box of colouring pencils, "Here." It was so fun to tease him, it was so easy too. He was too worked up, too stressed out which made it all the more enjoyable for Gracie.
“Thank you,” He said taking them from her. “Tell Bailey I will be in in a few minutes,” He said as he got to work, ignoring the coloured pencils.
"I want you to walk in on your knees Jarod, that why you can move around without hurting your feet. Also, there is a can of soft drink and a bowl of fruit on the bench for you." Grace told him, expecting them to be eaten.
He looked up at her in surprise, but had to admit she was probably right. The less he used his feet, the quicker they would heal. “Very well,” He agreed.
"Good, don’t forget your snack. I’ll see you in her room, don’t be to long." Grace ordered him without thinking about it.
He nodded, getting back to his drawing. When he was happy with it, he got up and made his way to the bench on his knees and grabbed the drink, ignoring the bowl for the moment. He picked up the drawing on his way through and knocked on the door to Bailey’s room before entering.
"Come in Jarod," Gracie said sitting on the bed next to Bailey, eating their fruit.
Bailey had to smile at Jarod on his knees. “He looks silly,” She whispered to Gracie.
Gracie laughed, "He does doesn’t he? But he has to walk like this, so his sore feet will heal a lot faster." She explained.
She thought about her own feet running out there and was glad he had carried her and then felt guilty. “You can sit on my bed if you like,” She offered.
“Thankyou Bailey,” He grinned at her. “I have something for you,” He held the piece of paper up so neither of them could see the drawing.
“For me?” She asked and then saw a bit of paper and lost some of her enthusiasm.
Gracie shifted aside, sitting Bailey on her lap so there was room for Jarod, the blankets covering both Grace’s and Bailey’s lap.
Jarod handed her the drawing. It was an almost perfect picture of Walter, with his name in embossed letters underneath.
Gracie took Bailey's empty bowl and sat it on the ground so her sister could take the drawing. "Wow, look at that Bailey." She smiled broadly, looking at the perfect picture before looking at Jarod, tears in her eyes, "Thank you.” She whispered to him over Bailey's shoulder. She had not ever expected such a kind and generous act from him after all she had done.
She took the bit of paper and looked at it in awe. “It is just like a photo, but not,” She said quietly.
Jarod nodded. “I like to draw,” He explained.
"It’s beautiful isn’t it Bailey? Don’t you think Jarod deserves a thank you for his gift to you?” She asked gently, not wanting Bailey to forget her manners.
“Thank you,” She said, forgetting her manners completely and then blushed. “It is beautiful.”
“You are very welcome,” He told her. “You can teach me all about Australian animals and I can teach you about American animals.”
"How about you two teach each other in the morning, Jarod, can you tell Bailey her story? It’s getting late and its time for her sleep." She knew it wasn’t late at all, but it had been a big day and was almost time for Bailey’s bedtime anyway.
“Of course,” He said, taking a sip on his drink before dropping his voice low. “Once upon a time there was this vet, and he helped lots of sick animals...” He watched as she fought her tiredness, lulled by his voice and finally slipped into sleep.
When Grace knew she was sound asleep, she shifted so Bailey was on the bed and laid her down, tucking her in. Planting a goodnight kiss on her forehead, she grabbed the bowls, and walked out, Jarod following on his knees.
He climbed back onto the lounge, feeling like an idiot walking around on his knees, but he had seemed to make a breakthrough with Bailey and he was happy about that. It was going to get very boring for her in here, so he had thought he might make a file of animals for her, to help pass the time and keep her occupied.
"Do you think we, Bailey and I, should live in the Centre?” She asked Jarod suddenly. "She likes underground and likes being told what to do." It made perfect sense to Grace. They both liked that kind of environment, and it would be the perfect place for them.
Jarod jumped back as if he had been stung. “No!” He said, making sure to keep his voice down.
"Why not?” She asked in confusion. "We both like that sort of life and I know the Centre would never touch her like she was here."
“But they would crush her soul just as surely. I cannot let you take her there,” He told her, expecting an outburst. “I will help in anyway I can, find her a family if that is what you want for her, but I will not let you give her to those people. She will adjust in time.”
"I’m starting to think all of this was a bad idea. I acted on impulse, had nothing planned, never even thought of how Bailey would react to being ripped away from her home.” She admitted sadly. All she had been thinking about was getting Bailey away from those men so they couldn’t touch her again.
“It will be hard, but she has you, and she is young. She will adapt. I can set you up somewhere safe, all the money you will need. We get her into school, give her some structure, she will make friends, she will manage somehow. She is bright and charming, she deserves a full and rich life.” Jarod said with conviction. He was drawing again, this time a picture of Bailey with Walter in her lap, Grace looking over her shoulder.
"But what if she doesn’t? You know how well we are trained. She won’t see having friends as a good thing, we are not to get attached to any one other then out handlers. For us two, there is a small exception of being allowed to get attached to each other. You know me, 3 years outside and free and never once even thought of running away. And I was already in another country set up in a place they didn’t know the exact location on. How do you propose to undo all of this programming in her? In me?" Grace asked, genuinely curious.
“I think you have already taken a huge first step. She is much younger than you, and with the right environment and care, she will learn to accept her new life. It won’t always be easy, but it is the only acceptable alternative. You take her to the Centre, the very first thing they will do is separate you both. The only time projects were ever allowed to associate caused trouble for them. You will never see her again. Is that what you want?” Jarod knew he was being harsh, but he had to dispel that idea from her once and for all.
"No, of course not, but she would have Sydney I am sure, someone like her and me would have to be given to him. She would like him a lot." Gracie’s face light up. "That’s how we can do it without bringing a third party in you don’t know." She knew it probably wouldn’t work, but she was exhausted and hot and sore and wasn’t thinking straight.
“Maybe she would, but Sydney is not well liked by those in charge. What?”
"Sydney. I know his attachment to you, he would have no trouble coming over, or even just organising someone to pick us up and take us somewhere safe, more so if he knew you could go back home."
“Yes, Sydney would be happy to help, but it is dangerous, they will be watching him closely. This is something we should talk about, but not right now. We need time to plan properly, see how she reacts. Decisions do not have to be made this very second.”
"I know it is safe here, but we are still way to close to Gandi for my liking. It’s only a 10 minute drive from here to there. We need to get away from here as soon as we can Jarod. No two ways about it."
“I am aware of that, but don’t you think a helicopter landing here is about to raise suspicions?”
"Yes of course, but by the time it lands and we take off, they would have only just noticed." Grace sighed and curled onto the couch miserably, "I have done the wrong thing again. I shouldn’t have left."
“No, you should have left. The idea of the two of you in there...” He shook his head. “You did the right thing. We just need to take some time now and think it through properly. I want to learn everything about this place, I will get you both out of here safely, I promise.”
"Jarod, if you haven’t already realised, I don’t need you to get us out of anywhere, I am more then capable of doing it myself. At the moment you are not. Not only are you hurt, but you failed the last time you tried." She reminded him of the bitter failure.
“I am well aware of that,” He said, blushing hotly. “I am just suggesting that we pool our resources to minimise the risk, for all of us.”
"So we have one of the worlds strongest empaths, another extremely strong empath that is also telepathic that knows more about this land then anyone around here, and we have a genius that is THE pretender. Now explain to me why this should even be the slightest bit difficult to get out?" Gracie said sarcastically, staring at him.
“I am guessing that they have satellite tracking systems, and unless they have the worst security in the world, they will now about your helicopter long before it lands, and if we are only ten minutes away, they will be here before it even sets down.”
"Yes, you are right.” She sighed, not having thought it through before about getting a helicopter in, "So then what? How are we going to get away from here?"
“Don’t worry, you have done the hardest part, we will work it out.” He soothed her, handing her his new drawing of her and Bailey cradling Walter.
Gracie took at it and looked at it sadly, running gentle fingers over Bailey's face. "I know how to get you and Bailey out of here, give you a chance to escape to somewhere safer.” She whispered, not knowing what else to do. If it meant sacrificing herself to save Bailey, Grace would do it without even blinking.
“How?” He asked, not liking the sound of her voice. “You can’t go back, it would kill her.”
"If they find us, we are both dead and you won’t ever get out. I can get in, find Wil and have him disable the security, all of it. So we can get the helicopter in and get you two out. Since they will know I am back, they will stop the search long enough for you to get away.” Grace said emotionlessly. She didn’t want to lose Bailey, but this could get her out, safe and unharmed.
“No,” Jarod said flatly. “We are all going. We just need some time to think it through. Do you have a short wave radio in here?” He guessed she had some way of communicating with her pilot.
Grace grinned mischievously, "Come with me Jarod.” She said, getting up and walking off.
Jarod stood without thinking and winced as his feet took his weight. “Give me a second,” He told her lowering himself to his knees.
Grace waited for him and then led him down to the back of the house into one of the bedrooms, she opened the door and grinned, "Will this do?” She asked, he had wanted a short wave radio, and she had given him security for the Pentagon. It was set up with computer stations and some of the best equipment in the world here. Anything and everything you would ever need. It helped to have friends like Wil. Grace had no idea how to use almost any of it, it was no use to her but on a off hand conversation with Wil, this was the result.
“This will do nicely, very nicely indeed. You have a satellite uplink?” He asked, looking at it all.
She shrugged, “That’s something you have to ask Wil, but I guess with all this, he would have put something in." She knew how to play games on these computers, anything else she was at a lost.
“I think this might be the answer to all of our problems. I can hack into their system from here, shut down their surveillance, even wipe all record of us from their computers, make it much harder for them.”
"Mr Marcus will not like that Jarod,” She said in worry, not able to help it. She was too heavily programmed to stop all of a sudden.
“I frankly don’t care what Mr Marcus likes or does not.” He decided it was best to keep his plans to himself about trying to bring these people to justice.
"He will be mad with us. He doesn’t like it when people ruin his equipment.” She knew he would be a lot madder about her leaving than this, but she just couldn’t help it.
“That is too bad.” He said absently. “I will look at it tomorrow, see what we can do. They will be on full security alert right now, and I don’t want to trip any alarms until I know what I am doing. I will need a little time to prepare, I don’t want to rush headlong into this. And I think a few days to calm down, adjust, especially for Bailey is important. We have enough supplies to last a while?”
"Yes of course. I told you, a few weeks if we go easy on them." Grace said in a patronising voice. He was starting to lose his memory if he couldn’t remember already asking this question.
“Then I think we should slow down, think it through, take the time.” He told her, looking at all the equipment, he saw a real chance now.
"I’m just worried Jarod, if they do find this house by some chance, we are all in so much trouble and I would have risked Bailey for nothing, this isn’t fair on her."
“No, none of it is fair, but we need to be smart about this.” He turned to look at her, feeling responsible for much of this, but not sorry for it at all. “You did the right thing bringing her here. Nobody should ever touch her, or you like that. Never. Don’t worry, we will work it out. I promise you.”
"Jarod, they have all rights to touch me. But they don’t have any rights to hurt her like that not ever.” She sat down on one of the chairs and sighed. "I wish I knew what to do. I wish we had parents. She needs a real family. Not some screwed up sister that can’t even tell right from wrong most of the time." Grace muttered to herself.
“We can find a family for her if that is what you want. But she has family, you, and you need to trust your instincts about what is right for her. And if it is wrong for them to touch her, don’t you think it is wrong for them to touch you as well?” He prompted gently.
She shook her head, "Why would it?" Grace asked, the confusion evident in her voice and on her face.
“Because you both deserve the same respect, the same rights.”
"We may deserve it Jarod, but we do not have them. I am a project, have been for all my life. I don’t have rights but she is my sister, and I have decided she does, if it will protect her."
“And I have decided that you do too. You are no longer a project, do you understand that? All of that stops now, and if you want to protect her, you can’t think like that anymore.”
Gracie frowned, "Can you even do that?” She asked in amusement, "I am not your family, I don’t think you can tell me I have rights now."
“I believe I just did. The trick will be getting you to believe it.” Jarod smiled sadly at her and offered her his hand.
Gracie hesitantly took his hand, blocking out his emotions. "Why do you even care?"
Jarod laughed softly to himself. “I don’t know, but I can’t sit back and watch, it just isn’t in me, and now I have much to make up for. This might be just the start I need.”
"Why but? I hurt you, made you do things you didn’t want to do, I threatened to follow out on sir's order about Sydney. I don’t deserve you to care." Grace said sadly. After all the things she had done to him here, not to mention in the US, she didn’t deserve anyone even wanting to think they care.
“You deserve a second chance, we all do.” He told her softly, holding both her hands, not letting her pull away.
She shook her head, "Bailey and you deserve a second chance, I don’t. I have done too many bad things. I know I was following orders, but I still did them.” She said shaking her head, tears in her eyes. "I have screwed everything up so badly. I never wanted to hurt you like I did, I never wanted to take Bailey from the one place she felt safe and liked. I never wanted to have to hurt Sydney." Grace said her voice weak, her hands trembling in Jarod’s grip.
“I know that, and I want you to listen to me. What is done is done. Now you have a very scared little girl in there who is going to need you. You can’t afford this kind of self-loathing right now, not if you care about her. You need to be strong and stop this kind of thinking. You must look to the future, not the past, that is the only way to move on. And it can be wonderful. If you give me the chance, I can show you that.”
Gracie rocked gently back and forth. "What if I screw this up even more, what if Bailey hates me for taking her from her home? What if I can’t keep her safe out here? What if she doesn’t want to go to school, doesn’t want to be a civilian? What if she just keeps wanting to come back here and I can’t stop her?"
“Then we deal with that as it comes up. Look Grace, I am not promising this will be easy, nothing ever is, but would you prefer her to stay to be molested?” He asked her bluntly.
Gracie tried to pull her hands back but couldn’t, Jarod was too strong. Her face grew cold, "Of course not, how dare you suggest I would." She snarled at him viciously, yanking on her hands that he wouldn’t let go.
“I am sorry, but you need to face the reality Gracie, and that is the alternative. You will question yourself a million times over this choice, but always remember that, no matter how bad things might seem at any given moment, they could always be worse, and you should never question what you have done here today, it was a good thing. The right thing.” He let her hands go, watching her carefully.
"I don’t seem to do the right thing often do I?” She mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself.
“You did this time,” He reassured her.
"The only other time I seem to have done something right was offer you a way out and look at how badly I screwed that up." She mumbled, remembering how close to death Jarod was.
“I should not have done that, so totally unprepared in a country I know nothing about. But I am not looking back, right now that is pointless, we must look forward.”
"Where should I take her? I would love to stay in our own country. It is our home, but it might be too dangerous."
“It might be, but again, decisions we don’t have to make right now. The world is a big place, full of wonders. Who knows where you may end up, but that is part of the excitement, discovering new things, learning.”
"Do you hate me?" Grace asked in a tiny whisper. Changing the topic suddenly.
He looked at her, all past animosity gone. “No, I do not hate you. Why don’t you come here?” He offered her, looking so forlorn, she needed a hug. “I will look after both of you.”
Gracie got up and moved over to Jarod, unsure of herself like she had never been before.
He folded her into an embrace. “Don’t you worry, we will find a way out of this, for all of us. It is going to be alright, just have a little faith.”
Grace melted into him as she started to cry. "It’s not fair. I have been so loyal to them, done everything they asked of me. They know how I feel about her, why did they have to hurt her like that? She didn’t even do anything wrong.” She sobbed loudly, clinging to Jarod as her body shock with the tears.
He smoothed her hair back continuously, soothing her with gentle rocking. “I know how unfair it is, and you never did anything wrong either.” He needed her to see herself as she saw her sister, then she might be able to begin to heal, to move on.
"I did lots of things wrong and I feel so bad about it.” She cried, "They didn’t really care for me, for us. Just wanted to use the gifts we were given, that’s all." They were never wanted as any sort of people, just as money makers.
Jarod sighed heavily. “They did, but you two have each other, and that is all that matters now. You can fix all the wrong by being strong for her now.”
"I have been strong for her all of her life Jarod. I don’t know if I can do it anymore. It isn’t just looking after her, helping her learn about her animals. This is keeping her alive, away from being hurt again. It’s so much to do, and I don’t know how to even look after myself. I’m only 18, I don’t have the experience.” She said as the sobs lessened, not letting Jarod go.
“I won’t leave you, not until you want me to, I promise, alright?”
"I can’t ask that of you Jarod, you need to look after yourself first.” She whispered, scared he would leave them but.
“I am used to doing that, have had lots of practice.” He was about to add, until recently, but changed his mind.
"But you have never had to look after a screwed up stubborn teenager and a little girl that is terrified." Grace countered.
“I wouldn’t count on that,” He told her, thinking about Parker's moods, when she was a stubborn girl, teenager, adolescent and adult.
"Do you think Sydney would let us stay with him for a few days?” She asked quietly refusing to move from Jarod's arms, feeling safe in them. "He doesn’t like me either, and I understand but it might help Bailey to have someone that is a handler."
“I think it would be too dangerous to go there, but perhaps he can come to us. I don’t think he has taken a holiday in years, and if I am off their radar completely, he might be able to manage it. But if he comes, I know he is unlikely to agree to that. He will want to de-programme her as much as possible, if anything, he will try and be a grandfather figure. But that is a little down the track. We need to concentrate on the next few days before we plan that far ahead. You need to show her touching is not a bad thing, have a talk to her about the different kinds of touching.”
She nodded, "I used what I did to you as an example. Told her I touched you and explained how it was wrong. I told her that you let me know the way I touched you, and Mr Mathews touched her was bad, it isn’t allowed. But how I give her hugs and kisses all the time is, because I’m showing I love her and want to comfort her and keep her safe. I hope I said it the right way, I was scared of making things worse."
“You will mess up Grace, don’t fear the mistakes, learn from them. There will be no punishments here, not like before but mistakes can cost you, the best we hope for is that they don’t cost too much and we are wise enough to learn from them.”
"You are not making any of this easier you know Jarod.” She whined snuggling down into his chest. She didn’t want to think that it was normally Wil or Jon that would have held her like this, knowing if she thought about them to much she would go running back to them both.
“I am?” He asked in worry.
"No you're not. You're not suppose to say if I screw up it could cost me and her. You're meant to say I’ll keep you safe and help fix up any mistakes you make. That kind of thing.” She scolded him lightly, needing to hear him lie to her. It wasn’t often she agreed with lying, but in this case, lies meant it would make her feel better.
Jarod laughed softly. “Well of course I will try and fix them up, but I won’t lie to you Grace, it won’t always be easy, you should be prepared for that. But it will all be worth it, I promise you. Never regret what you did today. Never.”
"Do you think Bailey will be happy away from home?” She asked needing reassurance. "Do you think no matter where we go, as long as I am with her she will not hate me for taking her away?" Grace knew she was worrying big time, but the thought of her baby sister hating her for trying to protect her was terrifying.
“I think that in the long run, yes she will be happy, and no she won’t hate you. As long as you have family, nothing else matters.”
"Will you be our family Jarod? We have no one else. And I know you don’t need us hanging around you and all, but Bailey likes you because you know about American animals and it will help.” She rambled knowing she shouldn’t have said anything. But he was here, was a nice guy, knew about animals. He would be perfect as a role model for Bailey.
Jarod looked at her sadly, smiling. “I would like that very much.” But it almost felt like an admission to himself that he had given up on finding his own family. He smoothed her hair down again. “I will try to keep you both from harm.”
"I really am sorry Jarod. For everything.” She whispered, clinging tightly to him. "I tried to make you happy, make up for everything by giving you those lollies and the towels and the occasional ice cream. I just didn’t know what to do." She whined, head on Jarod’s chest.
“I know, we are not going to worry about any of that now. It is all behind us now, and anything you have done is forgotten. I am out, and that is all I care about. Okay?”
She nodded slowly. "I don’t understand how a life as a project could create such a wonderful person.” She whispered, listening to his heart beating. No other project had she met had such a big heart, a beautiful soul. He was caring, generous, forgiving, compassionate, protective. He was just so different.
“I am not all that wonderful Grace. I have done many things, things that were very bad, and now it is time to try and make up for them, my penance, as Sydney calls it. It is such a wonderful feeling to help someone instead of hurting them, to know you made their life a little better. To do good instead of bad.” He dropped into his familiar rant.
"Like how happy I felt giving you those sweets? I know it wasn’t really much but I made you smile and I was a good sight." Gracie said, remembering the look on his face, the pure surprise she had brought him the lollies.
“Yes, just like that.”
"I think we might have a few sweet foods in the kitchen and you need to eat your fruit, you need some food." She reprimanded him gently for not eating them. He was no good to them if he didn’t eat and became weaker then he already was.
“It was too hard to carry and I didn’t want to ruin the drawing.” He defended himself.
"Sure.” She teased him and reluctantly pulled away, "Come on then, let’s grab something to eat."
“How about I go to the bathroom first and then I get settled on the couch for the night, then I will eat?” He countered but was pleased to see she was feeling a little better.
She nodded, "Sure, but wouldn’t you rather use a bed for the night?" Graced asked with a frown. “I find beds are always so much more comfortable to sleep in, especially if you are injured.”
“You have a spare?” He asked in surprise. It would be pure luxury to sleep on a real bed again.
"I'll sleep with Bailey. She won’t mind, I doubt she will even wake." Grace knew once Bailey was sleeping it was fairly hard to wake her.
“Are you sure?” He asked. “I am more than happy on the couch.”
"Get in the bedroom now.” She ordered in a bark, "Two doors up on your right."
“Yes Miss Gracie,” He teased her, shuffling along on his knees, feeling like a fool.
When Jarod left, Gracie wiped the tears from her cheeks and moved into the kitchen. She prepared some snacks, grabbed Jarod's bowl of fruit and went to him, seeing him on the bed, looking happy.
“Thanks,” He said softly as he placed them on the bedside table. “Grace, it is all going to work out,” He reassured her once more.
"I hope so.” She mumbled, sitting on the floor, taking some of the food. "I want you to eat your fruit first, then we have some Tim Tams I found. They are very nice."
“Tim Tams?” Jarod asked, tilting his head. “Is that Vietnamese?” He was curious to find Asian cuisine in the middle of the Australian desert.
"I don’t think so.” She said, handing him the bowl of fruit to eat, the biscuits on the bed side table. "They are chocolate biscuits."
“Ohh,” He said, picking one up and sniffing it before taking a bite. His face broke out in a broad grin. “It’s very good,” He told her.
"I know.” She said, taking the treat from him. "Fruit first, treats after.” She told him off, setting it aside on the plate.
“Hey,” He protested.
"Think of it this way Jarod, fruit is dinner, Tim Tams are dessert, you never get dessert until dinner is finished. Regardless if it is the Centre, or Gandi Jarod, or even a normal home. Dinner always comes first.”
“Not the way I run things,” He muttered but was happy to eat the tinned fruit anyway. It was sweet and full of sugar, so he couldn’t be happier.
"That may be Jarod, but this is my house so we do things how I run them.” She said with a small smile at him sulking.
He nodded and ate his fruit, wanting something a little more substantial, but didn’t ask, not until he knew what their inventory situation was.
When Gracie was happy, she let him have the biscuits again, eating one herself. "The best we got for dinner right now is baked beans and soups. Sorry." She apologised, she had never intended using this place as an escape refuge and wasn’t very well prepared with the food.
“That is fine,” He told her munching on the biscuits. “These really are very good.”
"They come in a lot of different flavours. The newest in is chilli or black forest.” She informed him, watching him from where she sat on the ground.
“Chilli in chocolate?” He asked suspiciously.
"Yeah I’m not sure how nice it would taste." Grace said more to herself. She had seen them but hadn’t been game to try them as of yet.
"Is there any other way of getting out of this area that you can think of Jarod?” She asked. She could feel his unease and didn’t blame him. It was hard to trust someone you had never met with something as important as saving your life.
"I don’t even know what 'this area' is,” He whined. Lack of information had hampered him on his first attempt too. It was strange to be the one depending on another to get him out of this, being the one that didn’t know anything.
"Fair enough then. You are just going to have to learn to trust me, no matter how much you don’t want to."
"It's not that I don’t want to trust you, but I have so little reason to.” He tried to explain. She had given him nothing but grief and pain since he had met her, now she was asking for his trust. At the moment Jarod didn’t even trust himself, or his own judgement.
Gracie sighed and nodded, "I know Jarod, and I understand. I don’t blame you for one second.” She looked up at him, "I was trying to be good, to do as I was told, but I never wanted to hurt you like I have." She apologised for the millionth time and found herself wondering why she was. It was her job, he was her project. She had no reason to say sorry for anything she had done to him.
"I don’t think now is the time to get into this. You have a sister in there who is no doubt very traumatised and will not understand this at all. She is going to need a lot of help through this, it will be a difficult adjustment for her.”
He was doing it again, he always changed the subject when it was to close to home, when he didn’t want to talk. "I’m sorry.” She said sincerely as she got up to go back into Bailey.
"It's alright," Jarod said softly as she left. "Just look after Bailey,” He told her.
Gracie put on a smile as she saw Bailey still at the table with Walter. "How is your little boy doing?” She asked, crouching in front of the pair.
"He is scared,” She told her, her own eyes brimming with tears again. "But I think he is going to be alright. Are we going to be alright to Gracie?"
Gracie nodded, "We are going to be fine. I am going to take you to see the beach and the cities, even New York if you want.” She smiled gently at her. "Bailey, none of this is your fault. And I’m not angry or upset with you alright?" Grace said softly to her, wanting her to understand.
She nodded miserably. It was somebody's fault and it happened right after Grace had come to visit her. All of this was because of her. She might only be 7, but she wasn’t stupid.
"Bailey,” She said firmly, lifting her head to look into her sister eyes. "The way Mr Mathew touched you was very wrong. Even an owner isn’t allowed to do that. This isn’t your fault, if it is anyone’s it is his, and mine for not protecting you well enough. But never think any of what has and will happen is your fault."
Bailey wanted to believe that, but owner's could do what they wanted. She hadn’t liked the way he touched her, or the way it made her feel, but she knew he was allowed to do it. But she was upset and scared and didn’t want to fight with Gracie right now. She put her arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. Since she had come back, Gracie liked to touch her a lot more than she used to and Bailey liked that.
Gracie held her and stood up, picking Bailey and Walter up along with her. With her sister on her hip, Gracie holding her tightly she moved slowly into the lounge room. "Bailey, promise me never to think any of what has happened is your fault.” She asked gently.
"I promise,” She agreed quickly.
Jarod looked up at the pair and smiled at them. He knew it would be a long slow recovery, for the both of them, but with the right care, it could be done. He wanted Bailey to have a real life.
"Good girl.” Gracie praised with a smile, kissing her check. She got into the lounge to see Jarod still tending his feet. "How are they Jarod?” She asked, sitting down on the couch, shifting Bailey to sit on her lap. She didn’t let her out of the hug, holding her tightly. There was a lot of work to be undone with the both of them, but Gracie would make sure Bailey was always safe and felt loved.
"They will be fine, but I won’t be going anywhere for a few days,” He said, brushing it off. "How you doing there kiddo?” He asked Bailey. He had met her a few times, and she was still very wary of him and after the headlong flight through the desert, he was worried she would be even more scared of him now.
Bailey didn’t look at him and mumbled. "Fine,” She whispered.
"You know Bailey, that is the exact same answer Jarod gives me when is anything but fine.” She said softly, a smile playing on her lips. She had only asked Jarod that question today, and his answer was a mumbled ‘fine’ too. Same as most of the other days she asked him.
Jarod had been a child psychologist before, and this was something he knew a lot about. He also knew how terrifying being outside was. When he had first escaped, underneath all the exhilaration had been constant fear. He looked at Bailey and Grace for a long moment, thinking about what to say. She would be scared of him as a man who might touch her in new and frightening ways, and he needed to gain her trust before he could begin to help her. "Bailey,” He started, guessing the girl wasn’t going to look at him, but he had to start somewhere.
Bailey tried to move even closer to Gracie, not wanting to talk to this man. She had closed herself down from all the emotions she had been getting, it was too much for her and she was in such bad emotional shape herself, she just couldn’t deal with anybody's else’s at the moment.
Gracie wrapped her arms tighter around Bailey as she snuggled into her a little more. She could feel her shaking slightly and looked at Jarod in worry. "Bailey, Jarod won't hurt you. You said that after the first time you meet him. You were 110 positive I could leave you in his care and he would never touch you. It is the same now. Jarod won’t hurt you, neither will I.” She said gently to her.
"Your sister is right Bailey. I know how scared you are now, of me, of being outside, of everything. I know you miss your home and this place is hot and horrible but we are both going to help you. I promise I will not leave you until you want me to, and I will help Gracie look after you so you will always be safe."
Bailey knew that what Gracie said was true, Jarod would never hurt her, but she was still scared. Jarod was different from anybody she had met before and she didn’t understand who or what he really was.
Gracie sighed softly when her sister stayed silent. "Would you like to go to sleep for a while honey? Keep Walter with you so he is nice and safe too?"
Bailey nodded. "But Gracie, I am dirty,” She whispered.
Jarod tried not to smile at her, keeping very still and quiet, not wanting to upset her any further. She would see in time that he wasn’t going to touch her in a bad way. It seemed they were going to be stuck here for a while and they were going to be forced to get to know each other.
"I know honey, but we can’t have showers here. The best I can do is give you a bucket of water like Jarod and you can just wash yourself down with a cloth and get into some clean clothes.” She knew why Bailey was reluctant, sleeping before showering was forbidden but there was not much they could do.
Bailey bit her lip and nodded.
"I can read you a bedtime story if you like," Jarod offered, hoping to help soothe her into sleep. He could feel how disconcerting this was for her and he wanted to try and make it less traumatic for her, and he hadn’t met a kid yet that didn’t like a bedtime story.
Gracie grinned, "You hear that? A bedtime story. Might be almost as good as me singing you to sleep.” She laughed a little, "Think Jarod knows any good bed time stories?" Grace asked, teasing Jarod, trying to lighten he mood.
She finally looked at him with narrowed eyes, trying to assess him. "I don’t know,” She admitted after a long moment.
"I happen to be an excellent bedtime story teller,” He told her, keeping his voice light. At least she had looked at him now.
"Well, I guess there is only one way to settle it. Jarod will just have to tell you a story and let you decided if he is any good.” She said, "Should we do that Bailey?"
She finally nodded reluctantly wondering what kind of story he would tell her. Curiosity overcame fear.
"Then that is settled, I’ll get some water and a sponge so you can have your bath of sorts. Do you want any help Bailey?” She asked, expecting Bailey to snap and say she is to grown up for help during shower times.
She nodded, tears filling her eyes again, feeling like a big baby.
"Why don’t you two lovely ladies get ready, and I will see what I can scrounge up in the kitchen for a bedtime snack," Jarod said, standing up, trying not to wince.
"Oh honey.” Gracie said seeing her tears and holding her tighter. She brushed her hair back from her face, trying to soothe her. Gracie turned to Jarod, "You stay seated Jarod. You can’t be on your feet.” She told him off.
Bailey brightened a little at the thought of a snack, never having had a bedtime one before and then she slumped in disappointment when Gracie told him to stay still.
Jarod sunk down automatically, slipping back into the mode of obedience without even thinking about it.
"I'll help give Bailey a wash then get some food. I don’t want to see you off that couch until it’s time to come in and read Bailey her story." Gracie said, getting to her feet, not letting Bailey go. “Why don’t you give Walter to Jarod to look after while we get you ready for bed?” She asked, knowing if Bailey handed him over, it was a good step towards her trusting him.
She looked at her possum and then to Jarod, finally opening herself to let her read him. "You won’t hurt Walter will you?” She asked timidly.
Jarod put his hand on his heart and looked at her. "I promise,” He swore.
She hesitated a moment longer and then handed him over. "Please be careful with him.” She intoned seriously.
"Don’t you worry Bailey, I was a vet once." Jarod said, taking the possum.
Her eyes opened wide at that. "You were?” She whispered in awe, everything forgotten.
Gracie laughed, he had her attention now, knowing that her animals were being looked after by a 'vet'.
She had had to leave her new book on American animals behind, it was too big and heavy and might have hurt Walter. "Can you tell me a vet bedtime story?” She asked in hope.
Gracie's eyes were pleading from where she looked at Jarod, hoping he said yes, more importantly, that he knew a vet bedtime story. It would do no good to agree to it, only at bedtime not know any stories to tell her.
Jarod had to fight not to laugh. "Of course Bailey,” He told her very seriously. "I can tell you lots of vet stories.” He bet she was the only kid in the world that wanted a vet story instead of a fairy tale. When he had first learnt about fairy tales, he had been very confused about their appeal. They were usually full of scary and horrible step mothers or witches, but he supposed they all lived happily ever after at the end and that is why people liked them so much. Hansel and Gretel had horrified him and he had had nightmares about it for weeks after reading it.
"Come on Bailey, lets get you washed and changed and Jarod can tell you a vet story.” She said with a smile, "Jarod don’t move an inch, keep your feet off the ground.” She ordered him, knowing he would not disobey her.
Jarod nodded, not looking forward to standing up. He knew if he walked, it would slow down the healing, but he couldn’t be bound to the lounge either. He wondered if she had ever had chocolate milk, or Twinkies or PEZ and wanted to introduce her to the wonders of the world. To all the flavours of ice cream that he loved.
Taking Bailey into the bathroom that didn’t really work, she sat her down, "Get undressed for me please Bailey, I’ll go get some water so we can get you sparkling clean for bed. Then you can have a snack and have your story."
Bailey looked around the new room and then slowly took her clothes off. "Gracie? Will Jarod touch me like that too?” She asked in a tiny voice. Mr Matthews had told her that it was natural for men to touch like that, that as all children got older, that is what happened. It just meant that she was almost a grownup now.
Gracie stopped and knelt down in front of her. "Not ever Bailey. He isn’t like the owners. I did something very wrong when I first met him. I touched him like you were touched. I didn’t know it was wrong but he told me it was, explained how it was a wrong touch and he didn’t like it. Jarod knows how bad it is and would never in even his worst nightmares even think for a slipt second of ever touching you like that." Grace told Bailey, her voice deadly serious, her eyes telling her it was the truth.
Bailey nodded, not knowing how she felt about Gracie touching like she was an owner. “But you touch me all the time Gracie, especially since you came back.” She stood there naked before her, trembling a little. Scared now Gracie would touch her like that too.
Gracie grabbed a towel for Bailey and wrapped it gently around her so she wouldn’t freeze waiting for her bath. "Yes I do, I like touching you a lot. But it is a different sort of touch. This is what Jarod explained to me. How Mr Mathews touched you is wrong because it makes you feel bad, dirty but the way I touch you is good because you like it, I like it. The way I touch you is because I love you, I am comforting you, touching like I do with hugs and kisses makes you feel good, like you are loved. That’s why I do it. To show you how much I do love you,” She didn’t know if she was really explaining it the right way and hoped she wasn’t making things worse.
“You don’t hurt me Gracie,” She said, trying to understand. She had hurt Jarod though and Jarod was afraid of the way she touched him, but she kept that to herself. She hugged the towel around her. “We can’t ever go back can we?” She whispered softly, thinking about her book and the necklace Gracie had given her.
"No, we can’t, or we will be in lots of trouble and I can’t protect you from Mr Mathews. I won’t let anyone hurt you Bailey, or touch you like that.” She said softly. "But it will be good out here. We will get away from this heat, go somewhere cooler, wherever you want.” She told her with a soft smile. "You stay here for a moment Bailey, I’ll go get some water."
She nodded at her, clutching the towel, trying to figure all of this out.
Getting up, Gracie moved out and got a bucket before moving into the kitchen to fill it with as much water as she thought they could spare. A few days here was fine, but she didn’t know when her friend could come out to get them and couldn’t risk running out of water. She got a nice sponge and moved back into the bathroom and shut the door. Kneeling down she took the towel away and put it aside. She looked at Bailey's long thick wavy hair, "We are going to have to tie that up, we don’t have enough water at the moment to wash your hair too.” She said gently, apologising, and took a hair tie out of one of the draws and gently tied her sister’s hair back.
Bailey remained still as she let her sister wash the dust and grime from her body. She hated it here, it was not like at home. It wasn’t hot though, nice and cool underground, and she was happy about that. She didn’t know where she wanted to go, maybe New York.
When Bailey was nice and clean, she got the towel and dried her off before wrapping her in it. "We will be able to have a real shower in a few days with any luck Bailey. I am sorry for this, it is not right for me to make you wash using a bucket and sponge. But I couldn’t leave you there knowing you were being hurt.” She told her, leaving the bucket with the dirty water in the bathroom as she picked her up.
“But he is allowed to hurt me, and they hurt me before, when I was bad.”
"Yes, he is allowed to hurt you if you are very bad Bailey, they are owners, they are allowed to punish. And I understand that, no matter how much I hate seeing you punished. But this isn’t hurting you like a punishment is. I bet you didn’t even do anything wrong before he touched you.” She sighed trying to explain it. "You are my little sister Bailey, my whole life. And I won’t let anyone ever touch you like that again, even if it means we have to live on the moon." Gracie told her walking her to her new room and putting her down. She had put the bag in here on the way back to the bathroom ad reached in and took out some of her clothes and helped her dress.
The first thing when they were safely away from here would be to buy Bailey real clothes. Real clothes and more animal books. Get her some shoes and jewellery. Get her toys. Anything a child of age 7 would want or need.
“You can’t live on the moon Gracie, you are just being silly,” She smiled for the first time as she let Gracie dress her, like when she was little.
Grace grinned, "Yeah, I guess, what about Mars then? Can you live there?” She asked, teasing her.
“No, Grace, it would be too cold. And besides, there is no atmosphere, how would you breathe?”
"Space suits?” She asked, "And first you whine about it being hot, and then you don’t want to move to Mars because it is too cold?” She asked, playfully, teasing her.
“It’s not too hot in here,” She looked around the room and sighed.
Gracie pulled back the covers on the child’s bed, "Come on, climb in. I'll go get your snack and bring Jarod in so he can tell you your story."
She climbed into bed and yawned loudly. “He won’t hurt me will he Gracie?” She asked one more time.
"No he won’t. And if you block out everything expect Jarod, his emotions will tell you that for yourself." Grace told her, knowing if she did it, it would ease her fears a great deal.
She shook her head, not wanting to read anybody right now. She pulled the blanket up to her chin to protect herself.
"I'll be right back.” She told her moving out to the kitchen to find something to snack on.
Grace grabbed some canned fruit and opened it, draining it before serving it out in three bowls. She grabbed three cans of soft drink and set them on the bench ready before moving to the lounge to see Jarod sitting there still and smiled at him.
As Grace came out, Jarod looked up. “Do you have any paper and pencils I could use?” He asked her, not having moved from the couch.
She sat down next to him, "Why?"
“It’s a surprise,” He told her. “I am hardly going to use them to escape now am I?”
"There is nowhere to escape from Jarod. You want to leave, you can walk right out of here. Simple as that. You are not obligated in the slightest to stay here with us."
“I know that, now can I please have them?” He asked her.
"Why do you presume I even have any?” She asked, already moving over to a cupboard.
“That is why I asked,” He said in exasperation.
Gracie grinned broadly as she came back with some lead pencils, pens, paper and a box of colouring pencils, "Here." It was so fun to tease him, it was so easy too. He was too worked up, too stressed out which made it all the more enjoyable for Gracie.
“Thank you,” He said taking them from her. “Tell Bailey I will be in in a few minutes,” He said as he got to work, ignoring the coloured pencils.
"I want you to walk in on your knees Jarod, that why you can move around without hurting your feet. Also, there is a can of soft drink and a bowl of fruit on the bench for you." Grace told him, expecting them to be eaten.
He looked up at her in surprise, but had to admit she was probably right. The less he used his feet, the quicker they would heal. “Very well,” He agreed.
"Good, don’t forget your snack. I’ll see you in her room, don’t be to long." Grace ordered him without thinking about it.
He nodded, getting back to his drawing. When he was happy with it, he got up and made his way to the bench on his knees and grabbed the drink, ignoring the bowl for the moment. He picked up the drawing on his way through and knocked on the door to Bailey’s room before entering.
"Come in Jarod," Gracie said sitting on the bed next to Bailey, eating their fruit.
Bailey had to smile at Jarod on his knees. “He looks silly,” She whispered to Gracie.
Gracie laughed, "He does doesn’t he? But he has to walk like this, so his sore feet will heal a lot faster." She explained.
She thought about her own feet running out there and was glad he had carried her and then felt guilty. “You can sit on my bed if you like,” She offered.
“Thankyou Bailey,” He grinned at her. “I have something for you,” He held the piece of paper up so neither of them could see the drawing.
“For me?” She asked and then saw a bit of paper and lost some of her enthusiasm.
Gracie shifted aside, sitting Bailey on her lap so there was room for Jarod, the blankets covering both Grace’s and Bailey’s lap.
Jarod handed her the drawing. It was an almost perfect picture of Walter, with his name in embossed letters underneath.
Gracie took Bailey's empty bowl and sat it on the ground so her sister could take the drawing. "Wow, look at that Bailey." She smiled broadly, looking at the perfect picture before looking at Jarod, tears in her eyes, "Thank you.” She whispered to him over Bailey's shoulder. She had not ever expected such a kind and generous act from him after all she had done.
She took the bit of paper and looked at it in awe. “It is just like a photo, but not,” She said quietly.
Jarod nodded. “I like to draw,” He explained.
"It’s beautiful isn’t it Bailey? Don’t you think Jarod deserves a thank you for his gift to you?” She asked gently, not wanting Bailey to forget her manners.
“Thank you,” She said, forgetting her manners completely and then blushed. “It is beautiful.”
“You are very welcome,” He told her. “You can teach me all about Australian animals and I can teach you about American animals.”
"How about you two teach each other in the morning, Jarod, can you tell Bailey her story? It’s getting late and its time for her sleep." She knew it wasn’t late at all, but it had been a big day and was almost time for Bailey’s bedtime anyway.
“Of course,” He said, taking a sip on his drink before dropping his voice low. “Once upon a time there was this vet, and he helped lots of sick animals...” He watched as she fought her tiredness, lulled by his voice and finally slipped into sleep.
When Grace knew she was sound asleep, she shifted so Bailey was on the bed and laid her down, tucking her in. Planting a goodnight kiss on her forehead, she grabbed the bowls, and walked out, Jarod following on his knees.
He climbed back onto the lounge, feeling like an idiot walking around on his knees, but he had seemed to make a breakthrough with Bailey and he was happy about that. It was going to get very boring for her in here, so he had thought he might make a file of animals for her, to help pass the time and keep her occupied.
"Do you think we, Bailey and I, should live in the Centre?” She asked Jarod suddenly. "She likes underground and likes being told what to do." It made perfect sense to Grace. They both liked that kind of environment, and it would be the perfect place for them.
Jarod jumped back as if he had been stung. “No!” He said, making sure to keep his voice down.
"Why not?” She asked in confusion. "We both like that sort of life and I know the Centre would never touch her like she was here."
“But they would crush her soul just as surely. I cannot let you take her there,” He told her, expecting an outburst. “I will help in anyway I can, find her a family if that is what you want for her, but I will not let you give her to those people. She will adjust in time.”
"I’m starting to think all of this was a bad idea. I acted on impulse, had nothing planned, never even thought of how Bailey would react to being ripped away from her home.” She admitted sadly. All she had been thinking about was getting Bailey away from those men so they couldn’t touch her again.
“It will be hard, but she has you, and she is young. She will adapt. I can set you up somewhere safe, all the money you will need. We get her into school, give her some structure, she will make friends, she will manage somehow. She is bright and charming, she deserves a full and rich life.” Jarod said with conviction. He was drawing again, this time a picture of Bailey with Walter in her lap, Grace looking over her shoulder.
"But what if she doesn’t? You know how well we are trained. She won’t see having friends as a good thing, we are not to get attached to any one other then out handlers. For us two, there is a small exception of being allowed to get attached to each other. You know me, 3 years outside and free and never once even thought of running away. And I was already in another country set up in a place they didn’t know the exact location on. How do you propose to undo all of this programming in her? In me?" Grace asked, genuinely curious.
“I think you have already taken a huge first step. She is much younger than you, and with the right environment and care, she will learn to accept her new life. It won’t always be easy, but it is the only acceptable alternative. You take her to the Centre, the very first thing they will do is separate you both. The only time projects were ever allowed to associate caused trouble for them. You will never see her again. Is that what you want?” Jarod knew he was being harsh, but he had to dispel that idea from her once and for all.
"No, of course not, but she would have Sydney I am sure, someone like her and me would have to be given to him. She would like him a lot." Gracie’s face light up. "That’s how we can do it without bringing a third party in you don’t know." She knew it probably wouldn’t work, but she was exhausted and hot and sore and wasn’t thinking straight.
“Maybe she would, but Sydney is not well liked by those in charge. What?”
"Sydney. I know his attachment to you, he would have no trouble coming over, or even just organising someone to pick us up and take us somewhere safe, more so if he knew you could go back home."
“Yes, Sydney would be happy to help, but it is dangerous, they will be watching him closely. This is something we should talk about, but not right now. We need time to plan properly, see how she reacts. Decisions do not have to be made this very second.”
"I know it is safe here, but we are still way to close to Gandi for my liking. It’s only a 10 minute drive from here to there. We need to get away from here as soon as we can Jarod. No two ways about it."
“I am aware of that, but don’t you think a helicopter landing here is about to raise suspicions?”
"Yes of course, but by the time it lands and we take off, they would have only just noticed." Grace sighed and curled onto the couch miserably, "I have done the wrong thing again. I shouldn’t have left."
“No, you should have left. The idea of the two of you in there...” He shook his head. “You did the right thing. We just need to take some time now and think it through properly. I want to learn everything about this place, I will get you both out of here safely, I promise.”
"Jarod, if you haven’t already realised, I don’t need you to get us out of anywhere, I am more then capable of doing it myself. At the moment you are not. Not only are you hurt, but you failed the last time you tried." She reminded him of the bitter failure.
“I am well aware of that,” He said, blushing hotly. “I am just suggesting that we pool our resources to minimise the risk, for all of us.”
"So we have one of the worlds strongest empaths, another extremely strong empath that is also telepathic that knows more about this land then anyone around here, and we have a genius that is THE pretender. Now explain to me why this should even be the slightest bit difficult to get out?" Gracie said sarcastically, staring at him.
“I am guessing that they have satellite tracking systems, and unless they have the worst security in the world, they will now about your helicopter long before it lands, and if we are only ten minutes away, they will be here before it even sets down.”
"Yes, you are right.” She sighed, not having thought it through before about getting a helicopter in, "So then what? How are we going to get away from here?"
“Don’t worry, you have done the hardest part, we will work it out.” He soothed her, handing her his new drawing of her and Bailey cradling Walter.
Gracie took at it and looked at it sadly, running gentle fingers over Bailey's face. "I know how to get you and Bailey out of here, give you a chance to escape to somewhere safer.” She whispered, not knowing what else to do. If it meant sacrificing herself to save Bailey, Grace would do it without even blinking.
“How?” He asked, not liking the sound of her voice. “You can’t go back, it would kill her.”
"If they find us, we are both dead and you won’t ever get out. I can get in, find Wil and have him disable the security, all of it. So we can get the helicopter in and get you two out. Since they will know I am back, they will stop the search long enough for you to get away.” Grace said emotionlessly. She didn’t want to lose Bailey, but this could get her out, safe and unharmed.
“No,” Jarod said flatly. “We are all going. We just need some time to think it through. Do you have a short wave radio in here?” He guessed she had some way of communicating with her pilot.
Grace grinned mischievously, "Come with me Jarod.” She said, getting up and walking off.
Jarod stood without thinking and winced as his feet took his weight. “Give me a second,” He told her lowering himself to his knees.
Grace waited for him and then led him down to the back of the house into one of the bedrooms, she opened the door and grinned, "Will this do?” She asked, he had wanted a short wave radio, and she had given him security for the Pentagon. It was set up with computer stations and some of the best equipment in the world here. Anything and everything you would ever need. It helped to have friends like Wil. Grace had no idea how to use almost any of it, it was no use to her but on a off hand conversation with Wil, this was the result.
“This will do nicely, very nicely indeed. You have a satellite uplink?” He asked, looking at it all.
She shrugged, “That’s something you have to ask Wil, but I guess with all this, he would have put something in." She knew how to play games on these computers, anything else she was at a lost.
“I think this might be the answer to all of our problems. I can hack into their system from here, shut down their surveillance, even wipe all record of us from their computers, make it much harder for them.”
"Mr Marcus will not like that Jarod,” She said in worry, not able to help it. She was too heavily programmed to stop all of a sudden.
“I frankly don’t care what Mr Marcus likes or does not.” He decided it was best to keep his plans to himself about trying to bring these people to justice.
"He will be mad with us. He doesn’t like it when people ruin his equipment.” She knew he would be a lot madder about her leaving than this, but she just couldn’t help it.
“That is too bad.” He said absently. “I will look at it tomorrow, see what we can do. They will be on full security alert right now, and I don’t want to trip any alarms until I know what I am doing. I will need a little time to prepare, I don’t want to rush headlong into this. And I think a few days to calm down, adjust, especially for Bailey is important. We have enough supplies to last a while?”
"Yes of course. I told you, a few weeks if we go easy on them." Grace said in a patronising voice. He was starting to lose his memory if he couldn’t remember already asking this question.
“Then I think we should slow down, think it through, take the time.” He told her, looking at all the equipment, he saw a real chance now.
"I’m just worried Jarod, if they do find this house by some chance, we are all in so much trouble and I would have risked Bailey for nothing, this isn’t fair on her."
“No, none of it is fair, but we need to be smart about this.” He turned to look at her, feeling responsible for much of this, but not sorry for it at all. “You did the right thing bringing her here. Nobody should ever touch her, or you like that. Never. Don’t worry, we will work it out. I promise you.”
"Jarod, they have all rights to touch me. But they don’t have any rights to hurt her like that not ever.” She sat down on one of the chairs and sighed. "I wish I knew what to do. I wish we had parents. She needs a real family. Not some screwed up sister that can’t even tell right from wrong most of the time." Grace muttered to herself.
“We can find a family for her if that is what you want. But she has family, you, and you need to trust your instincts about what is right for her. And if it is wrong for them to touch her, don’t you think it is wrong for them to touch you as well?” He prompted gently.
She shook her head, "Why would it?" Grace asked, the confusion evident in her voice and on her face.
“Because you both deserve the same respect, the same rights.”
"We may deserve it Jarod, but we do not have them. I am a project, have been for all my life. I don’t have rights but she is my sister, and I have decided she does, if it will protect her."
“And I have decided that you do too. You are no longer a project, do you understand that? All of that stops now, and if you want to protect her, you can’t think like that anymore.”
Gracie frowned, "Can you even do that?” She asked in amusement, "I am not your family, I don’t think you can tell me I have rights now."
“I believe I just did. The trick will be getting you to believe it.” Jarod smiled sadly at her and offered her his hand.
Gracie hesitantly took his hand, blocking out his emotions. "Why do you even care?"
Jarod laughed softly to himself. “I don’t know, but I can’t sit back and watch, it just isn’t in me, and now I have much to make up for. This might be just the start I need.”
"Why but? I hurt you, made you do things you didn’t want to do, I threatened to follow out on sir's order about Sydney. I don’t deserve you to care." Grace said sadly. After all the things she had done to him here, not to mention in the US, she didn’t deserve anyone even wanting to think they care.
“You deserve a second chance, we all do.” He told her softly, holding both her hands, not letting her pull away.
She shook her head, "Bailey and you deserve a second chance, I don’t. I have done too many bad things. I know I was following orders, but I still did them.” She said shaking her head, tears in her eyes. "I have screwed everything up so badly. I never wanted to hurt you like I did, I never wanted to take Bailey from the one place she felt safe and liked. I never wanted to have to hurt Sydney." Grace said her voice weak, her hands trembling in Jarod’s grip.
“I know that, and I want you to listen to me. What is done is done. Now you have a very scared little girl in there who is going to need you. You can’t afford this kind of self-loathing right now, not if you care about her. You need to be strong and stop this kind of thinking. You must look to the future, not the past, that is the only way to move on. And it can be wonderful. If you give me the chance, I can show you that.”
Gracie rocked gently back and forth. "What if I screw this up even more, what if Bailey hates me for taking her from her home? What if I can’t keep her safe out here? What if she doesn’t want to go to school, doesn’t want to be a civilian? What if she just keeps wanting to come back here and I can’t stop her?"
“Then we deal with that as it comes up. Look Grace, I am not promising this will be easy, nothing ever is, but would you prefer her to stay to be molested?” He asked her bluntly.
Gracie tried to pull her hands back but couldn’t, Jarod was too strong. Her face grew cold, "Of course not, how dare you suggest I would." She snarled at him viciously, yanking on her hands that he wouldn’t let go.
“I am sorry, but you need to face the reality Gracie, and that is the alternative. You will question yourself a million times over this choice, but always remember that, no matter how bad things might seem at any given moment, they could always be worse, and you should never question what you have done here today, it was a good thing. The right thing.” He let her hands go, watching her carefully.
"I don’t seem to do the right thing often do I?” She mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself.
“You did this time,” He reassured her.
"The only other time I seem to have done something right was offer you a way out and look at how badly I screwed that up." She mumbled, remembering how close to death Jarod was.
“I should not have done that, so totally unprepared in a country I know nothing about. But I am not looking back, right now that is pointless, we must look forward.”
"Where should I take her? I would love to stay in our own country. It is our home, but it might be too dangerous."
“It might be, but again, decisions we don’t have to make right now. The world is a big place, full of wonders. Who knows where you may end up, but that is part of the excitement, discovering new things, learning.”
"Do you hate me?" Grace asked in a tiny whisper. Changing the topic suddenly.
He looked at her, all past animosity gone. “No, I do not hate you. Why don’t you come here?” He offered her, looking so forlorn, she needed a hug. “I will look after both of you.”
Gracie got up and moved over to Jarod, unsure of herself like she had never been before.
He folded her into an embrace. “Don’t you worry, we will find a way out of this, for all of us. It is going to be alright, just have a little faith.”
Grace melted into him as she started to cry. "It’s not fair. I have been so loyal to them, done everything they asked of me. They know how I feel about her, why did they have to hurt her like that? She didn’t even do anything wrong.” She sobbed loudly, clinging to Jarod as her body shock with the tears.
He smoothed her hair back continuously, soothing her with gentle rocking. “I know how unfair it is, and you never did anything wrong either.” He needed her to see herself as she saw her sister, then she might be able to begin to heal, to move on.
"I did lots of things wrong and I feel so bad about it.” She cried, "They didn’t really care for me, for us. Just wanted to use the gifts we were given, that’s all." They were never wanted as any sort of people, just as money makers.
Jarod sighed heavily. “They did, but you two have each other, and that is all that matters now. You can fix all the wrong by being strong for her now.”
"I have been strong for her all of her life Jarod. I don’t know if I can do it anymore. It isn’t just looking after her, helping her learn about her animals. This is keeping her alive, away from being hurt again. It’s so much to do, and I don’t know how to even look after myself. I’m only 18, I don’t have the experience.” She said as the sobs lessened, not letting Jarod go.
“I won’t leave you, not until you want me to, I promise, alright?”
"I can’t ask that of you Jarod, you need to look after yourself first.” She whispered, scared he would leave them but.
“I am used to doing that, have had lots of practice.” He was about to add, until recently, but changed his mind.
"But you have never had to look after a screwed up stubborn teenager and a little girl that is terrified." Grace countered.
“I wouldn’t count on that,” He told her, thinking about Parker's moods, when she was a stubborn girl, teenager, adolescent and adult.
"Do you think Sydney would let us stay with him for a few days?” She asked quietly refusing to move from Jarod's arms, feeling safe in them. "He doesn’t like me either, and I understand but it might help Bailey to have someone that is a handler."
“I think it would be too dangerous to go there, but perhaps he can come to us. I don’t think he has taken a holiday in years, and if I am off their radar completely, he might be able to manage it. But if he comes, I know he is unlikely to agree to that. He will want to de-programme her as much as possible, if anything, he will try and be a grandfather figure. But that is a little down the track. We need to concentrate on the next few days before we plan that far ahead. You need to show her touching is not a bad thing, have a talk to her about the different kinds of touching.”
She nodded, "I used what I did to you as an example. Told her I touched you and explained how it was wrong. I told her that you let me know the way I touched you, and Mr Mathews touched her was bad, it isn’t allowed. But how I give her hugs and kisses all the time is, because I’m showing I love her and want to comfort her and keep her safe. I hope I said it the right way, I was scared of making things worse."
“You will mess up Grace, don’t fear the mistakes, learn from them. There will be no punishments here, not like before but mistakes can cost you, the best we hope for is that they don’t cost too much and we are wise enough to learn from them.”
"You are not making any of this easier you know Jarod.” She whined snuggling down into his chest. She didn’t want to think that it was normally Wil or Jon that would have held her like this, knowing if she thought about them to much she would go running back to them both.
“I am?” He asked in worry.
"No you're not. You're not suppose to say if I screw up it could cost me and her. You're meant to say I’ll keep you safe and help fix up any mistakes you make. That kind of thing.” She scolded him lightly, needing to hear him lie to her. It wasn’t often she agreed with lying, but in this case, lies meant it would make her feel better.
Jarod laughed softly. “Well of course I will try and fix them up, but I won’t lie to you Grace, it won’t always be easy, you should be prepared for that. But it will all be worth it, I promise you. Never regret what you did today. Never.”
"Do you think Bailey will be happy away from home?” She asked needing reassurance. "Do you think no matter where we go, as long as I am with her she will not hate me for taking her away?" Grace knew she was worrying big time, but the thought of her baby sister hating her for trying to protect her was terrifying.
“I think that in the long run, yes she will be happy, and no she won’t hate you. As long as you have family, nothing else matters.”
"Will you be our family Jarod? We have no one else. And I know you don’t need us hanging around you and all, but Bailey likes you because you know about American animals and it will help.” She rambled knowing she shouldn’t have said anything. But he was here, was a nice guy, knew about animals. He would be perfect as a role model for Bailey.
Jarod looked at her sadly, smiling. “I would like that very much.” But it almost felt like an admission to himself that he had given up on finding his own family. He smoothed her hair down again. “I will try to keep you both from harm.”
"I really am sorry Jarod. For everything.” She whispered, clinging tightly to him. "I tried to make you happy, make up for everything by giving you those lollies and the towels and the occasional ice cream. I just didn’t know what to do." She whined, head on Jarod’s chest.
“I know, we are not going to worry about any of that now. It is all behind us now, and anything you have done is forgotten. I am out, and that is all I care about. Okay?”
She nodded slowly. "I don’t understand how a life as a project could create such a wonderful person.” She whispered, listening to his heart beating. No other project had she met had such a big heart, a beautiful soul. He was caring, generous, forgiving, compassionate, protective. He was just so different.
“I am not all that wonderful Grace. I have done many things, things that were very bad, and now it is time to try and make up for them, my penance, as Sydney calls it. It is such a wonderful feeling to help someone instead of hurting them, to know you made their life a little better. To do good instead of bad.” He dropped into his familiar rant.
"Like how happy I felt giving you those sweets? I know it wasn’t really much but I made you smile and I was a good sight." Gracie said, remembering the look on his face, the pure surprise she had brought him the lollies.
“Yes, just like that.”
"I think we might have a few sweet foods in the kitchen and you need to eat your fruit, you need some food." She reprimanded him gently for not eating them. He was no good to them if he didn’t eat and became weaker then he already was.
“It was too hard to carry and I didn’t want to ruin the drawing.” He defended himself.
"Sure.” She teased him and reluctantly pulled away, "Come on then, let’s grab something to eat."
“How about I go to the bathroom first and then I get settled on the couch for the night, then I will eat?” He countered but was pleased to see she was feeling a little better.
She nodded, "Sure, but wouldn’t you rather use a bed for the night?" Graced asked with a frown. “I find beds are always so much more comfortable to sleep in, especially if you are injured.”
“You have a spare?” He asked in surprise. It would be pure luxury to sleep on a real bed again.
"I'll sleep with Bailey. She won’t mind, I doubt she will even wake." Grace knew once Bailey was sleeping it was fairly hard to wake her.
“Are you sure?” He asked. “I am more than happy on the couch.”
"Get in the bedroom now.” She ordered in a bark, "Two doors up on your right."
“Yes Miss Gracie,” He teased her, shuffling along on his knees, feeling like a fool.
When Jarod left, Gracie wiped the tears from her cheeks and moved into the kitchen. She prepared some snacks, grabbed Jarod's bowl of fruit and went to him, seeing him on the bed, looking happy.
“Thanks,” He said softly as he placed them on the bedside table. “Grace, it is all going to work out,” He reassured her once more.
"I hope so.” She mumbled, sitting on the floor, taking some of the food. "I want you to eat your fruit first, then we have some Tim Tams I found. They are very nice."
“Tim Tams?” Jarod asked, tilting his head. “Is that Vietnamese?” He was curious to find Asian cuisine in the middle of the Australian desert.
"I don’t think so.” She said, handing him the bowl of fruit to eat, the biscuits on the bed side table. "They are chocolate biscuits."
“Ohh,” He said, picking one up and sniffing it before taking a bite. His face broke out in a broad grin. “It’s very good,” He told her.
"I know.” She said, taking the treat from him. "Fruit first, treats after.” She told him off, setting it aside on the plate.
“Hey,” He protested.
"Think of it this way Jarod, fruit is dinner, Tim Tams are dessert, you never get dessert until dinner is finished. Regardless if it is the Centre, or Gandi Jarod, or even a normal home. Dinner always comes first.”
“Not the way I run things,” He muttered but was happy to eat the tinned fruit anyway. It was sweet and full of sugar, so he couldn’t be happier.
"That may be Jarod, but this is my house so we do things how I run them.” She said with a small smile at him sulking.
He nodded and ate his fruit, wanting something a little more substantial, but didn’t ask, not until he knew what their inventory situation was.
When Gracie was happy, she let him have the biscuits again, eating one herself. "The best we got for dinner right now is baked beans and soups. Sorry." She apologised, she had never intended using this place as an escape refuge and wasn’t very well prepared with the food.
“That is fine,” He told her munching on the biscuits. “These really are very good.”
"They come in a lot of different flavours. The newest in is chilli or black forest.” She informed him, watching him from where she sat on the ground.
“Chilli in chocolate?” He asked suspiciously.
"Yeah I’m not sure how nice it would taste." Grace said more to herself. She had seen them but hadn’t been game to try them as of yet.
