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Sleight of Hand
Part 17



Ashe, New York
Helen carried the little boy down the stairs and into the cellar, watching to make sure that his eyes were still tightly closed. Coming into the room, she could hardly hold back a gasp of shock at the sight, and looked sharply at Jarod, who was studying the floor with intensity, his eyes dancing as he subtly watched her. Laughing, she nodded her head and he started it up.

"Okay, sweetie. You can look now." She kissed David as he opened his eyes and stared at the table, an expression of amazement and delight on his face.

"Whose is that?"

"It's yours, baby."

"Really?"

"Mmm hmm." She put him down before glaring at the Pretender as he came to stand beside her. "Well, you three took your sweet time."

"We had to test it and make sure it worked."

Helen snorted derisively. "Yes, I'll bet you did. I'm willing to bet that the assembly took all of about twenty minutes and the next hour was spent 'testing' it." She glanced at Steve. "Considering how at home he is with this and not having seen anything like this since he was six years old, that tells me you've been 'playing' not 'testing'."

"Aren't they the same?" Jarod looked at her in mock-astonishment. "I was sure those two things were identical!"

"Then I suspect that this train set will get a lot of 'testing', won't it?"

"Very possibly, yes."

Hiding a smile, Helen watched Steve and David playing with the toy, her eyes glowing as she saw the expressions on their faces. Jarod gently touched her arm and she turned to him.

"What were you and Sydney talking about?"

"How do you know we were talking about anything?"

"Broots told me, when I came up to get something, that it sounded like the two of you were having some serious conversation but he couldn't understand what the topic was through the closed door."

"So why should I tell you?"

"Because the fact that you're not telling me is enough to tell me that it’s something you don't want to tell me."

"So if I don't want to tell you, why would I tell you when you ask me to tell you?"

"Because, if you don't tell me, I'll ask Sydney to tell me."

"And why would he tell you?"

"Because I'll be the one asking him to tell me."

She snorted again. "I love your logic. It's so male."

He raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall, his arms folded. "Isn't that just a little sexist?"

"It's very sexist, but if you try to insult me, David will probably get upset, the way he did this morning. Besides, your insults have no impact on me at all."

"Why is it that kids defend you so much?"

"They know I love them."

"And you don't love adults?"

"Only when they behave like kids." She eyed him, hiding a smile. "With one or two exceptions, of course."

"I think I've just been insulted," he remarked.

"If you choose to take it that way." Hiding a laugh, Helen shrugged and went over to play with the train set.

# # #


"Do you understand it now, Debbie?"

"Mmm hmm."

The girl bent over the book and began working on another example as Helen leaned back in her chair. Ethan carried in a mug and put it on the table in front of her.

"Where is everyone? Still playing with that train?"

He smiled. "Jarod, Broots, Steve and David are. My sister and Sydney are having some serious conversation."

"Something else of no great shock today." She smiled. "And did you put Michael to bed alright?"

"I think so. He went to sleep pretty fast, so I guess I must have."

She smiled. "And you said I was nervous."

"I've never had anything to do with small children before."

"I've never lived with them before. I've only ever treated them."

"You're putting on a very convincing act, then."

"That could be possible." She paused. "Are you planning to stay around for a while longer or were you wanting to get going again?"

"If you need me, I'll stay."

"Ethan, answer my question."

He gave her a small smile. "I thought I might go visit Dad and the others for a few days."

"That sounds like a good idea." She put a hand on his. "But you know that you've got a room here whenever you want it."

"Thanks, Helen." He gave her another, larger smile, standing up. "But right now I want to see how they're going with that train set."

"You mean you want to play with it, too." She rolled her eyes. "Maybe it's not just when adults are sick that they become kids again."

# # #


Helen opened the door to the baby's room and walked inside, closing it softly and going over to the crib. Looking down, she found the boy solemnly gazing up at her as he held the teddy firmly in his arms. A smile lit her face and Michael smiled in response, scrambling to his knees and pulling himself to his feet with assistance from the bars. Laughing, she picked him up.

"Were you waiting for me, sweetheart?"

Snuggling close to her, he cooed softly as she carried him over to the old-fashioned change table, another relic of her childhood, and gently put him down, easing off the newly-purchased sleeping suit and dressing him in a pair of pants and warm top, folding up the suit and putting it aside.

"Hungry, Michael?"

"I bet he is."

"Oh, really?" Helen turned to find Jarod in the doorway. "How do you know that?"

"Because I'm hungry." He glanced at his watch, laughing. "Are you too insulted to make dinner?"

"Well, I might make it for everybody else."

Jarod rolled his eyes. "You did that one already."

"And it was very effective. I had you literally begging on your knees."

"I'm just glad that none of my family saw that."

"Sydney did."

"That was bad enough."

"Aw!" Helen turned, her face wearing an expression of sympathy. "Did the poor little Pretender get his feelings wounded?"

"Little?" A laughing voice from the doorway prevented Jarod from answering. "How can anybody possibly call him 'little'?"

"Who says I was talking about his stature?" Helen laughed, turning to Sydney. "I could have been referring to his mental abilities."

# # #


"Mommy, when will I see you again?"

Helen hugged the girl. "I'm not sure when I'll be in Blue Cove again, sweetie, but you can call me every night, if you want. And we can talk to each other using the computer, meaning that we'll be able to see each other too."

"And, when we get vacation in two weeks, can I come visit?"

"If your dad thinks it's okay, Debbie, I'd love for you to."

"Even with David and Michael here?"

"I'm going to need your help, sweetheart. Ethan's going to see his family and I'll never want to rely on Jarod hanging around."

"Are you going to be their mom too?"

"If they want me to be."

"So does that make me their kind-of big sister?"

"That's right."

"Cool." Debbie gave the doctor one final hug and then got into the car, waving as Sydney started the vehicle and drove away from the house. Helen turned to find Jarod beside her.

"Are you suggesting I'm unreliable?"

"Completely. A person turns around and you've vanished - or at least that's the complaint I hear most often from your second cousin."

"You're loving the fact that that relationship exists, aren't you?"

"Well, there is a certain enjoyable irony in it." Helen led the way in, the smile on her face fading to a more serious expression. "At least it will give her a family again, considering she's about to lose her father."

"A family that she can't really afford to visit."

"That's true, but your mother promised to write to her and I think that can only be helpful."

# # #


"Do you like it, David?"

"Yup." He scrambled up into her lap as she sat on the sofa. "But you didn't play it with me."

"There were so many other people, honey, that I thought you had enough."

"Will you play it with me tomorrow?"

"I'd love to."

"Goody." He put both arms around her neck and rested his head on her shoulder, giving a little yawn. "And will you take me shopping tomorrow?"

"What sort of shopping, baby? For food or other things?"

His response was drowsy. "Will you buy me some books?"

"Definitely, sweetie. I'll buy you lots of books, and toys, and yummy things to eat, like I promised last night."

Nodding slightly, he nestled closer and closed his eyes, giving a sigh, before falling asleep. Jarod looked over with a grin.

"You've got to teach me how to do that."

"Why? It's nice to have a trick that even the genius doesn't know." Cautiously, the doctor rose to her feet, but the boy continued to sleep. "I'm going to put him to bed. When I come back down, we'll need to find out how things have been going all day." She laughed softly. "It feels weird. I haven't been this out of the loop in months."

"What an awful pity!" Jarod seized his laptop. "We can't possibly have that, can we? We'll have to do something about it immediately."

"Oh, stop sucking up, Jarod. It's painful. In fact, it's worse than the begging was."

"I can't suck up, I can't beg, I can't insult you - what other options do I have?"

"Well," she told him from the top of the stairs. "You could always come down with an illness of some description again..."

# # #


Lyneham, New York
With a smile, Helen wiped the last of the ice cream off the boy's face as he licked the spoon.

"Helen?"

"Yes, baby?" She finished her fruit sorbet. "What's up?"

"How come Steve didn't come?"

"He stayed to talk to Jarod, David."

"Will he come next time?"

"He might, we'll see." She stood up. "It's time to keep moving, sweetheart. We've still got a bit of shopping to do."

Gently she picked Michael up from the high chair and sat him into the stroller, strapping him in, before helping David up on the step behind the baby. Dumping the rubbish into a bin, she put her bag on her shoulder and then pushed the stroller away from the table. David twisted around so that he could see her face.

"Are you going to buy me books, now, like you said last night that you would?"

"Definitely, honey. I want you growing up to know a lot and you can do that much better if you read lots of books now."

"Do you read a lot?"

She smiled at the curiosity on his face as he watched her. "I sure do."

"So does that mean you know a lot too?"

"I guess so." Helen steered the stroller into the bookstore and over to a corner where the brightly colored children's books were shelved. She put the baby where he could see the rows of picture books and glanced at David as the boy began to look through books that were meant for children several years older.

"You know," a voice from behind her commented casually. "I was positive these kids belonged in Delaware."

# # #


Ashe, New York
"Here, Steve."

Jarod handed the mug to the younger man and sat opposite him, grinning as the man hesitated. "I thought you trusted me."

"I do - sort of."

"So why trust me less here than in the Centre?"

"Because we were supervised there."

The prompt response made Jarod laugh. "Do you trust Helen?"

"I think so."

"So why her more than me?"

"I only said I thought so, Jarod."

"But you do trust her."

"I didn't, at first. But Angelo was there."

"That helps," Jarod agreed.

"Was Angelo there when you first saw Helen?"

"No, he wasn't. Helen and I first met when she hit me with her car."

The younger man's eyes were wide. "Why would she...?"

"Oh, it wasn't on purpose," Jarod assured him. "I wasn't paying attention and ran out in front of her."

"Why weren't you paying attention?"

"I was being chased at the time."

"Does that happen a lot?"

"Not as much as it used to, but sometimes, yes."

"And will it happen to me?" There was a suggestion of fear in Steve's eyes.

"If you don't contact the Centre or leave hints of where you are, no. As Helen told you, you are safe here. They have no idea where you are, as we heard them say last night."

"So how did they...?"

"I didn't have help, Steve. Nobody gave me hints or answered my questions after I escaped, so I felt like I had to ring Sydney for answers. It meant the Centre was able to keep track of me more easily. Also, I didn't have money, so I had to steal from accounts of the Centre itself, meaning that they only had to keep an eye on the source to have a better idea of where I might be."

"Why would you need money?"

Jarod swallowed the exclamation that sprang to his lips, recalling his own naïveté in the first few weeks after his escape, and responded calmly. "The world runs on money and it's not really that possible to survive without it. But for now, Helen will buy the things you'll need until she can help establish you with work and security."

"Work?" The flicker of fear reappeared and Jarod spoke hurriedly.

"It's different work now, better and easier, at least partly because you get the chance to work with other people, but also because the things you use are real. Once you've had time to get used to things, you can find an area that interests you. We'll both help you find a job doing something you get interested in."

"What do you do?"

"Everything," Jarod smiled, before becoming more serious. "Because the Centre wants me back so badly, it's safer if I move around, doing a lot of different things."

"So you won't stay here?"

"No, Steve, I can't. I’d love to, but it's not safe, not just for me, but because that might draw the attention of the Centre here."

"But," Steve looked confused, "weren't they here yesterday? Sydney said he was on the team to catch you, and Helen said last night that the other two people are also trying to find you."

"Things changed a little," Jarod assured him. "Officially, it's still their job, but the woman who was there..."

"Miss Parker?"

"Yes. We found out a few days ago that we're related. Our mothers were cousins."

"And that makes a difference?"

"To a person as much with loyalty to family as Miss Parker, yes, it makes quite a difference. But the relationship we have was changing before that anyway."

"And Sydney?"

"You don't understand my relationship with Sydney? I thought you, of all people, would be able to."

"I think I do."

Jarod nodded at the mug in the man's hand. "Cocoa's better hot than cold."

"Oh, right."

# # #


Lyneham, New York
"And I was sure that's where you were," Helen replied, before throwing her arms around the man who stood behind her. "It's been ages, Sam. I missed you."

"I missed you, too, Helen." He hugged her before eyeing the children. "Although, if I'd come into the room with Mr. Raines the other night, I might have seen you."

"You wouldn't have remembered it. I would have made sure of that."

"So that explains why he looked like he was sleepwalking."

She laughed softly. "He was." Going over, she picked up the boy. "David, do you know Sam?"

"No." The boy shook his head vigorously and Helen smiled.

"Well, this is him. He’s another friend, and he works with the other people you met yesterday." She put him down and the boy immediately went back to the books. "So what are you doing in New York? Why aren't you combing Delaware, like everyone else?"

"I had a commission for the Big Boss."

"Oh, yes?" Helen responded calmly, a small grin on her face. "How is my brother these days?"

"Your what?!" The sweeper stared at her.

"Oh, you're one of those people I haven't mentioned that little fact to yet. Sorry, I forget."

"Are you serious?"

"Completely."

Sam rolled his eyes. "And I thought Miss Parker had a twisted family."

"Seen her lately?"

"Only yesterday, when they went off in response to sighting of Jarod in Iowa."

"Did they find him?"

"Do you think I'd tell you?"

"So they didn't." She grinned as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I know you would have told me otherwise."

"And I know you would have raced off and rescued him, like you did last time and like you did with these kids."

"Sam, I ran him over. That's not exactly helpful, is it?"

"Let's just say I was slightly suspicious when Broots found that he hadn't gone to any of the local hospitals."

"You never trusted me, Sam." She shook her head in mock sorrow.

"Hey, you're working against the agency that pays my bills."

She folded her arms, leaning against a shelf. "So turn me in."

"Now that's something I could never do." He smiled. "After all, if you weren't there, who would I have to loosen the air vent cover for?"

"Helen?"

The doctor felt David tugging at her jeans and bent down. "Have you found some that you want, baby?"

"Uh huh." The boy gave her four books. "Is that too many?"

"Not at all, sweetie. And, when we go the library tomorrow, you can get lots more there."

"Wow." He hugged her tightly. "And Steve, too?"

"Yes, I think so. He'll want some books to read as well." She helped the boy onto the stroller step and pushed it over to the cash register, the sweeper following.

"Steven, too, huh?” Sam commented. “You had a busy night."

"Do you know what would have happened if I hadn't?"

"Yes," he responded softly. "And I had every intention of preventing it."

# # #


Ashe, New York
"They're going to flip when you walk in,” Helen remarked. “Can you cope if somebody sticks a gun in your face?"

"Hey, I do it to certain people all the time. Maybe it's time for payback." He smiled at her from the passenger seat. "So who's there?"

"Steve, of course."

"Of course."

Her lips twitched. "A certain Pretender."

"Jarod?" Sam looked startled. "What's he doing there?"

"I called him for help after bringing the kids home."

"You're a children's doctor and you couldn't cope with two children?"

"Actually, it was more as comfort for Steve."

The sweeper nodded slowly. "Is that it?"

"He might have left, but the brother of a certain pretender and a certain sweeper's immediate boss."

"Ethan?" Sam laughed. "What are you doing, setting up a refuge for victims of the Centre?"

"I thought about it, but I had to wait ‘till we shut down a hospital for measles-infected pretenders and technician's daughters first."

"So that's the reason he got hit. I thought it was weird that Jarod could pay so little attention to his surroundings, you were actually able to hit him."

"Hey, my aim's pretty good."

"But you're not that cruel, unless you've changed a lot in fifteen years."

"You've seen me since then."

"On DSAs, yes. I had a hard time saying nothing when Sydney and Broots found the images of you."

"Well, I was able to prevent them from revealing too much information."

He eyed her. "Were you the reason they suddenly vanished?"

"Do you think I'd tell you?"

Sam laughed. "Thanks, you just did."

# # #


"Hello, we're back."

"About time. What were you doing, draining Raines' account?"

Jarod came out of the living room, about to continue, when he saw the black-suited figure that came in behind Helen. The man was preparing to take off through the open door when Sam put a hand on his arm.

"Hold on there, runaway. I'm not here to take you back to Delaware."

"Relax, Jarod. Sam's a friend."

"Of Raines, yes."

"Of mine, too."

Unable to release his arm, Jarod raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. We dated for several months."

The man's jaw dropped. "Now I know you're kidding."

"If I let you go," Sam's eyes twinkled as he spoke, "will you believe her?"

"In the second and a half before I bolt through the doorway, maybe," the Pretender retorted.

"Jarod, I'm serious." After firmly closing and locking the door, Helen picked up the baby from the stroller and handed him to Sam, who cradled him with one arm but kept the other hand firmly on Jarod's arm. "He's a very close friend."

"And he happens to work for the Centre."

"The same place, if you'll remember, that my brother's head of."

"That wasn't your choice."

"Nor was going out with a sweeper, which he wasn't at the time."

"Are you saying it wasn't your choice to date me?" Sam replied immediately.

"Well," Helen laughed. "If you remember you were the one who asked me out not the other way around."

"You just accepted." His hand still around Jarod's wrist, Sam managed to take advantage of the fact that Helen was standing beside him and kissed her as Jarod's eyes widened in disbelief. As she laughed and stepped away, he continued. "So that did make it your choice."

"We have an audience," she reminded him, her cheeks glowing faintly as she noticed the look on Jarod's face.

"A skeptical one. I just thought I'd prove a point." He smiled. "Besides, that's most definitely one of the things I missed about you."

"Great, five months together and that's the best thing about the whole time?"

"I said one of the things." He released his hold on Jarod's arm and sat down. "But if it makes you feel any better, I do have one or two other good memories."

"Anything in particular?"

"Nothing that can be stated in mixed company."

"'Mixed' being…?"

"Normal people and pretenders." Sam glanced at Jarod. "I'm assuming, by the fact that you haven't disappeared yet, you're a little convinced. What can I do to make you more convinced?"

"Leave without taking me with you."

"Jarod, I have no intention of taking you, Steve, Ethan, Michael or David with me. If I had, would I be sitting here, flirting?"

"Oh, is that what you call it?" Helen laughed, having recovered from her embarrassment. "I wasn't quite sure."

"What would you call it?"

"Distraction."

"Now that's something I've always been good at."

"Yes, you even distract yourself. Are you going to continue trying to persuade my guest that you mean him no harm or should I take over?"

"Oh, go ahead. It's your house."

"Jarod, I know you don't trust Sam, and with good reason, but surely you trust me by now?"

"I did, until about ten minutes ago."

"How is this situation any different from when you found out about my brother?"

"Because he's sitting in front of me. I would have reacted in exactly the same way if you'd brought your brother into the room, I promise."

"You wouldn't have been the only one." Helen laughed. "If I didn't trust Sam totally, would I have given Michael to him? You know how I feel about these children."

"I guess..."

"And, if I didn't trust him, would I have brought him back here, knowing you were here? For all I knew, your dad could have decided to call on Ethan or something. Sam is one of few people that I'd trust with my life; a very short list that got longer after I met you and your family."

Jarod glanced at the sweeper. "Have you ever helped her inside the Centre?"

"A few times. At strange hours, I've heard people in offices and guessed that it would be her, so I would volunteer to check it out. Instead of going in, though, I’d stand guard until the rooms were silent again. Also, when I'm not helping Miss Parker look for you, I keep an eye on the vent Helen uses to get in and out, making sure it's not covered up or sealed."

The Pretender slowly sank into a chair. "So what are you doing here now?"

"Helen's brother asked me to try and arrange a deal for some information, lost in the mainframe collapse, with one of their partners here. I'd finished the deal and was leaving when I saw Helen, David and Michael in the food court so I followed them into the bookstore..."

"And gave me a heart attack,” Helen broke in. “Thanks."

"What heart? You told me fifteen years ago that I'd stolen it."

"I was soppy and romantic then."

"So you didn't mean it?" Sam tried to look hurt and she laughed.

"Nice try but I don't believe that, any more than anyone believes my innocent act, and that's not convincing either." She touched his hand. "Are you due back at the Centre tonight?"

"No, the deal went ahead faster than expected. I don't have to return to Delaware until tomorrow."

"And do you have somewhere to stay?"

Sam looked at her out of the corner of his eye as Michael clutched his finger. "Is that an invitation, Helen?"

"I haven't seen you for years, Sam. Why wouldn't I want to catch up?"

"Because I'm making your other visitors twitchy."

"Surely you’ve only got to be your usual charming self and that ought to go some way towards convincing them." She smiled. "It convinced me."

Sam glanced at Jarod. "Can you cope if I stay?"

"As long as I'm not within arm's reach,” Jarod agreed slowly, “probably."

"Well, can you go and convince your brother and Steve that I'm safe? At a guess, Steve will be a little nervous when he sees me. I came in with Sydney on several occasions before Raines took over his supervision."

Nodding slowly, Jarod rose from his seat. Before he entered the living room, Helen spoke. "We’re expecting to see all three of you for dinner. You'll still be here, right?"

As the door closed behind Jarod and David, Helen looked at over Sam. "You've never told me, in a single one of your messages, that you knew I was sneaking into the Centre."

"I was never completely positive, but I read Jarod's simulation results from when he was given the intruder's print. It sounded so much like you that I just made that assumption, and then I couldn't bear the thought that they might catch you."

Helen tightened her hold on his hand. "I missed you, Sam."

"I missed you, too, Helen. There were a lot of times that I thought about throwing away the Centre job and coming back to Minnesota, just to be near you again."

"By which time, I was probably already living in New Jersey."

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

She smiled faintly. "I had such a hard time after you left and if you felt the same way, I didn't want to make it harder for you."

"It wasn't easy," he admitted as he released the hold on her hand before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. "I've even still got your photo, see?"

He showed her the picture and she smiled.

"If the Centre had ever seen that while the mainframe was still active, you could have been in all sorts of trouble."

"What do you know about that?"

"You just told Jarod about it."

"What else? I don't believe for a minute that you weren't involved."

Her eyes widened. "Now why would I do something nasty like that?"

"As you said, Helen, nobody believes your innocent act, particularly not me."

"Well," she admitted, with a grin. "I might have had a bit to do with it."

"And the theft from Mr. Parker's office too?"

"Whose T-Board did you work at?"

"Willie's 'friend'."

"Cox?" Helen laughed. "Someone should have told Cox that nobody in their right mind ever trusts Willie."

"Just out of interest, Helen," he eyed her, "do you know any brunettes who work in the Centre infirmary?"

"I believe there are a couple," she replied calmly. "Are you able to be a little more specific?"

"I also worked at the T-Board after my immediate boss suddenly reappeared and Sydney passed out. I wasn't paying too much attention to her, but the doctor who responded to the Triumvirate's call seemed vaguely familiar when I though about it later." He lifted an eyebrow. "Do you have a single idea who it might have been, or were you too busy, that day, to pay any attention to the Centre?"

"Well,” she admitted, “I was rather busy after a while."

"Yes, I can imagine all of those burn victims would have kept you going, not to mention caring for Sydney." He leaned forward. "Had you completely lost your mind or did you have a good reason for it?"

"I had a very good reason for it,” she told him. “I was responsible for him collapsing like that, and I wanted to be sure that the Triumvirate believed his 'condition' was potentially too serious for him to be asked any more questions."

"What did you give him?"

"I gave all three of them an antidote to those drugs in the dispensary I knew the Triumvirate could potentially use as 'persuasion'."

"So if they use any of them on either Miss Parker or Mr. Broots...?"

"The same thing will happen. They'll be unconscious for several hours."

# # #


The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware

The red-haired man looked down, as the door of the cell was swung open, to find Mr. Parker lying on the bed in the cell, his face contorted in agony, even after the poison had worked, and death had taken away any chance of him completing his planned coup.

"Oh, what a shame," the man murmured emotionlessly.

"Indeed," his fellow Triumvirate member commented. "Still, I'm of the opinion that we've got everything we need from him."

"I'm glad to hear it." He looked at the black-suited figure in the doorway. "Get that cleaned up and ensure that the other prisoner is made aware of the fact."

"Yes, sir," the sweeper agreed at once.

The two men walked back to the T-Board table and the first glanced at his co-member. "So, is the autopsy report already prepared?"

"Yes, sir. Everything's ready for the taping of the autopsy onto DSA and the only difference will be that it won't be Raines carrying it out."

"Wonderful." The first man rubbed his hands, grinning cruelly. "There is a certain enjoyable irony in this."

# # #


Ashe, New York
Jarod walked into the kitchen to find Helen at the sink, washing the dishes as she stared dreamily out into the gathering darkness of the garden.

"Are you serious?" he demanded at once.

She half-smiled at his tone. "About?"

"Christmas, Helen." Jarod rolled his eyes as he sat at the table. "Sam, of course. What else would I need to ask you about?"

"I had no idea, but yes, I am serious."

"So where is he now?"

"Knowing that being in my living room was making you, your brother and Steve a little nervous, he decided to go for a walk. He said he'd come back later."

"And where will you put him to sleep?"

"Well, as all three of you would be edgy if I suggested that he sleep down in the cellar, I thought he could either have the sofa in the living room, or else sleep in one of the rooms upstairs."

"Yours," Jarod stated flatly.

"Possibly."

"Did he ask you to marry him, too?"

"We never got that far. He moved to Blue Cove before that."

"Will you tell me every sordid detail?"

"No," she smiled. "Some of it's a little too private, but I'll tell you a few of the basic facts." Helen poured boiling water into two mugs, stirred in some coffee and then took them over to the table, giving one to Jarod.

"How did you meet?" he asked curiously.

"I was at medical school and Sam was doing an engineering course at a training school nearby. The med school held a dance for us all to be able to celebrate our graduation in grand style, and invited people from those nearby institutions. One of our mutual friend introduced us, he asked me to dance, and that's the way we met."

"How very clichéd," Jarod commented, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, completely." She smiled. "But it was lovely. Sam, in spite of everything you might think about him, is a very old-fashioned person."

"Yes, I noticed that every time he locked the door behind me."

"Jarod, please. I told you that I don't expect you to trust him, but he's very special to me. I don't want hear him insulted, or I might get genuinely offended, and I don't want to do that, not to you."

He nodded slowly. "Okay, sorry. I'll try to prevent myself from interrupting."

"Well, don't strain yourself." She grinned. "If you can do that, I'll try to ignore all of the interruptions that slip past your strict controls."

Jarod smiled. "Go ahead."

"As you know, I was brought up in the convent, so I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when he called the next day and asked me out. Still, I accepted, so we went for a movie and dinner. He was the perfect gentleman, escorting me home and all that. We went out casually for a few times, then, going home one night, we got caught in a rainstorm. As we were passing his apartment, he invited me in to wait for it to stop." Helen smiled, but spoke in innocent tones. "Sadly, the rain just kept on falling, so, at around midnight, he suggested I stay instead. Sam gave up his bed to sleep on the sofa."

"And you slept in his bed."

"That was the plan," she agreed, fighting to hide a smile at the expression on his face

The Pretender grinned. "You, a good Catholic girl, slept on the sofa with him?"

"You can bet that night cost me a few 'Hail Marys' in my next confession," she giggled.

He laughed. "Now that's a side of Sam I wouldn't have believed. What happened next?"

"I'd moved out of the convent because my med school was in a different state, and my apartment was bigger than his, and Sam’s lease was about to end, so I invited him to come and move in with me."

Jarod rolled his eyes. "You must have spent a while on your knees at your next confession after you two made that decision."

"They were good reasons!" Helen tried to look indignant, but Jarod laughed again.

"Since when does the Catholic church consider 'reasons'?"

"Good point. Yes, my priest was a little astonished, but my other 'confessor' said that she wasn't surprised at all."

Jarod looked at her narrowly. "That wasn't my mother, was it?"

"Actually, yes." She smiled. "How did you guess?"

"Just lucky. So after that?"

"We lived together for five months, until he got offered a job at the Centre. They were conducting a recruitment drive in the area." She smiled. "Going through their papers later, I found that they'd even considered offering me a job."

"Would you have accepted?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "With what I know now, definitely not, but then the situation would have been very tempting. The pay's pretty good, on the surface the working conditions look good, and it would have meant that Sam and I could have stayed together."

"So he accepted?"

"He was never hugely thrilled with engineering, so it seemed like a good way to get out of it. We had several discussions about it, but eventually decided it would be silly for him to knock it back. One of the things we said was that, if he didn't like it, Sam could always resign and come back to Minnesota."

"Very likely." Jarod rolled his eyes. "Was that naïveté or...?"

"Lack of information." She eyed him. "Do you think the working agreements say 'if you ever leave, you will be hunted for the rest of your life' or something?"

"Okay, okay. So he moved to Blue Cove, and you?"

"I stayed in Minnesota, because I got a job there right after I graduated. We still wrote - in fact we never stopped writing. My last email from him was the day you and Debbie got sick - and then I got a new job in New Jersey. That's the reason why I bought the house there."

"Did he know you knew my mother?"

"He never knew it was your mother. His first letter from Blue Cove mentioned you and, on the off chance that it might have been Margaret's son he was talking about, I decided it would be better not to ask. I didn't want him to have conflicts with work and he knew how much she meant to me."

"Does she know?"

"No. I didn't want her to feel the same way that she did about Sydney. She knew about Sam, of course, but not who employed him when he moved. Perhaps she suspects, I don't know. You could ask her."

"Have you told him now?"

"Jarod, you've heard most of our conversations tonight and, trust me, the little bit of time we had alone wasn't spent on other people."

He smiled. "Will you tell him?"

"Yes. It can only put him in the same situation as Sydney and Broots are now."

"And Miss Parker."

"I have to confess that I'm still a little dubious about her. We'll have to see."

"Why would you tell him?"

"He might be helpful if we find things that still have to be done. My discussion with Sydney yesterday - the one you asked so persistently about - was him trying to convince me that I can't leave these children alone to sneak back into the Centre for files like I've been doing for so long."

"I agree with him."

"You just want the chance to be a hero," she teased.

"No,” he contradicted. “I just don't want to leave these children without you."

"Well, we'll see what happens. But Sam would be able to sneak in and out a fair bit, as required. I'll see if he's willing."

Jarod smiled faintly. "I think, if you ask him, he will be."









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