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Chapter or Story
Part 27
Ashe, New York
Helen carried the tray into the living room, setting it on the coffee table, before sitting down beside Sam on the floor.
"I thought you might have fallen asleep while waiting for me."
"I don't make assumptions like those," her fiancé chuckled.
She laughed. "But you make some."
"Well, if you order me not to, like you did with your brother, then I might consider obeying."
"Are you better at obeying my orders than his?"
"I don't know." He lowered his mouth to hers. "You tell me."
The woman was about to respond when the door opened, brightening the room that had, before now, only been lit by the leaping flames.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting?"
"No, Sydney, it's fine." Helen rolled onto her stomach, propping her face on her hands. "Actually, I wanted to ask if there was anything else of interest in the files that you, Jarod, Michelle, Nicholas and Steve were looking through while we were shopping."
"We had Angelo take a look through them first,” the psychiatrist replied, taking a seat on the sofa. “He directed our attention to the ones that would be of most use to your friend, the detective."
"That reminds me." Sam looked down at Helen as he sat up and reached for his coffee. "I thought he was coming tonight."
"He called to say he'll be here in the morning. Apparently my brother's being a little stubborn."
"Gee," Sydney raised an eyebrow. "That's not a trait that runs through your family or anything, is it?"
"You mean like the sarcasm that your son inherited from you?"
"If it was only inherited then Jarod wouldn't have it in such abundance."
"So it's environmental as well." Helen shrugged. "You, as a psychiatrist, ought to know that the debate of 'nature versus nurture' hasn't been settled yet."
"Have you organized anything for the future, Doctor?" the other man put in.
"Trying to get rid of us, Sam?"
The younger man laughed. "Now why would I do that, sir?"
"You know, Sam, you could call me by my name. I'm not your superior now."
"Except in age, sir, and that's one thing that will never change."
"Why, Sam!" Helen looked at him in mock-astonishment. "I had no idea you were so respectful."
"Only to those that deserve it." He laughed, holding her at bay with one hand while she lunged at him, seeking vengeance for the implied insult. "What sort of an example are you setting Sydney by this behaviour?"
"He already knows what I'm like after all this time. You, on the other hand, seem to be forgetting."
"It has been fifteen years," he reminded her.
"So the past few days haven't had an impact?"
"Maybe my memory's been affected by my work."
"You mean the mindless obedience you were supposed to display? What sort of a husband will you be in that circumstance?"
"Is that what you're expecting? The same sort of immediate reaction to orders as your brother demanded?"
"Well, it doesn't sound bad..."
Sam looked up. "Excuse me for a moment, sir, while I display very unsweeperish behaviour."
"Go right ahead," Sydney responded with a smile. "I'll be entertained."
Grabbing the woman around the waist with one hand, Sam began to tickle Helen, listening to her shriek before she began to breathlessly plead for mercy.
"I'm sorry, no, please!"
"Are you expecting that?"
"No! I'm not expecting anything! I promise you, I'm making no expectations about our married life whatsoever!"
He tickled her again. "And assumptions?"
"No, none of those either!" She tried to wriggle out of his grasp but he was able to prevent it.
"So now you're trying to escape from me?"
"No! Never! I wouldn't!" She gasped for breath, her face red and hair tousled.
"Oh, really? Never?"
"Not in the foreseeable future..." Breathless, Helen shrieked as Sam tickled her again, before she managed to roll away. As another figure appeared in the doorway, Helen ran over to hide behind him. "Jarod, protect me!"
"From what?"
"My future husband."
The Pretender raised an eyebrow. "And why should I do that?"
"Gratitude for all the things I've done for you."
He snorted. "Good luck. Need a hand, Sam?"
"That's mean, Jarod." The little boy's voice spoke from the stairs and the child ran into the room, grabbing Helen around the waist. "I'll protect you, Mommy."
"Thank you, sweetheart." She picked him up and hugged him. "I know I'm safe now. Your Daddy wouldn't dare do anything now." She walked back over to the rug and sat down, the boy in her lap, eyeing Sam warily. "Would he?"
"I'll wait until he goes back to bed and do it then," the man laughed.
"I won't go to bed," the child piped up.
"We'll see, baby." She took the mug that Sydney handed to her with a smile.
"If he gets to stay up, do I get to as well?" asked another young voice.
Sam looked up with a laugh as the girl came down and curled up in his lap. "We'll see, sweetie."
"You're going to have problems with these two," the psychiatrist smiled. "They're always going to be leading each other into trouble."
"Is that your professional opinion, Doctor?"
"Something like that."
"We'll just keep them away from disruptive forces," Helen smiled. "Like Jarod."
"And this from the woman who wanted my protection!"
"You didn't give it to me, so I repay that cruel neglect in taunts."
"You don't deserve my mommy to be nice to you, Jarod. You were horrible to her, so why should she be nice?"
"That's a very good point, David." Helen hugged him. "I don't think he does. I might never be nice to him again." She grinned at the Pretender. "Even if he gets sick again, and nods off against my shoulder with a high fever."
Jarod laughed, leaning against the sofa. "So what would you do if that ever did occur again?"
"Pack you off to an infectious diseases hospital so that you didn't give it to any of my children, or to Steve or Angelo."
"What about Sydney, Michelle or Nicholas?"
The psychiatrist smiled. "We're going back to Albany tomorrow and Nicholas will be going back to work the day after. Now that the Centre is no longer a threat, it's quite safe for us to do so."
Helen glanced at Jarod. "And when are you going again?"
The Pretender laughed. "Soon, it would seem, as I'm no longer welcome here."
"And this is Sam."
"Your fiancée?"
Helen smiled. "How did you guess?"
"Oh, we're trained to notice things like that." The detective shook the man's hand, with a smile. "It's good to meet you, Sam. You're a lucky man."
"Thank you. I know."
"And these are the children." Helen picked up the boy. "David, this is another one of my friends."
"More?" The child rolled his eyes and Sam grinned.
"You've been picking up bad habits from Jarod."
"No, Daddy!" The child's face took on an expression of innocence before he had to grin. "Miss Parker taught me how to do that."
Helen noticed the slightly uncomfortable expression on the face of the detective and picked up her niece.
"And this is Louise."
"His daughter?"
"Yes." She eyed the man. "Did you get the paperwork signed?"
"It's all done for her."
Noticing the hesitation, Helen put down the girl. "Baby, you and David run away and play now."
"Yes, auntie." The girl grabbed David's hand and the two children ran out of the room. When they were gone, Helen turned to the detective. "Is David's through as well?"
"That's something we need to talk about."
"In what way?"
The man swallowed hard before looking up at her. "Helen, we've found David's family."
The woman felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach, and for several minutes she stared uncomprehendingly at the detective in front of her.
"But... I thought this parents..."
"It isn't his parents. It's the sister of his mother and her husband. They contacted us after seeing the reports about the Centre on the news, and they provided more than enough information for us to believe them."
"And they want him?"
"Yes."
"What's their situation?"
"His aunt is a paraplegic after an accident several years ago, but I talked to her myself, and she seems to be a very kind, caring woman. She has a nurse living in the house with them full-time, so David won't have to worry about helping."
"I should hope not," Helen murmured.
"We'll have social services check on them every few days until we see how he's settling in."
"But they'll have custody."
"Helen, they're his relatives." He rested a hand on her arm. "I know how attached you've become to that child, but they do have more of a right to him than you do."
"Despite everything we've done for him."
"I'm sorry." The man shook his head. "We'll be coming to get him in the morning. If either of you make any difficulties, I'll have to arrest you."
"I understand," she muttered, looking at David, who was playing with Steve and Louise while Angelo watched. Feeling the hand on her shoulder, she turned to see Sam standing behind her and the pain in his eyes told her that he had heard every word of the conversation. She let herself be pulled into his arms and rested her head against his shoulder, willing away her tears.
Sam slipped into bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her, feeling Helen start to sob. Gently stroking her hair, he felt the tears from her face running down onto his shoulder.
"I just want my son, Sam. Is that so wrong?"
"No, Helen. Of course not. But his family have the right to him as well, and you're the person who gave them the chance to have him. I'm sure they'll let us see him sometimes."
"It won't be the same," she murmured. "And Louise is never going to get over it."
"Neither will we," he told her gently. "Even if he belongs to another family, we can still think of him as our son. We've earned that, with everything we've done." The man pulled back, looking down at her. "It's still better than leaving him with Raines."
"I know." She nodded slowly, looking up at him. "But it's so hard, Sam."
"Mommy?"
The two people looked around to see the little boy standing beside the bed with a worried look on his face.
"Why are you crying?"
Helen put out her arm and he scrambled up into bed between the two people, his head lying on the pillow with his arms around Sam's neck.
"Sweetie, you've got a new home to go to in the morning. Your auntie and uncle want you to live with them from now on."
The boy looked up at her. "But I want to live with you."
"I know, baby, but you aren't allowed to. You have to go with them."
"Who says?"
"The law says, darling." She gently stroked his cheek. "But we'll try to visit you, if we can."
"Can I visit here?"
"We don't know, David," Sam responded quietly. "We'll have to wait and see what your aunt and uncle say."
The boy buried his head in the man's shoulder. "You aren't going to make me go, are you?"
"David, we don't have a choice. If we try to stop them, we could get into trouble."
"Can grown ups get into trouble too?"
"Yes, baby." Helen wiped away the tears that had begun to roll down his face. "If we do anything wrong, we can get into lots of trouble."
"I don't want that." He kissed her. "But if I go without making any fuss, you won't get into trouble, right?"
"That's right, honey," the woman agreed softly.
"But will you be sad too?"
"Of course, darling. We don't want you to go. If it was our choice, you'd stay here forever." Helen kissed the now-round cheek. "We love you a lot, David and don't want to let you go, even to other people who will probably love you just as much as we do."
"Auntie, is it true that David's going?"
"Yes, Louise." Helen picked up the small girl. "His auntie and uncle want him with them, just like we want you."
"But we want him, too."
"I know, baby, but they're his family and we're not. Not really."
"So he has to go, like he said?"
"Yes, sweetheart." She tightened her hold around the child. "But we never have to let you go, and Michael will always be here with us. Nobody can take the two of you away."
"But David won't be here." The girl's eyes filled with tears. "I'll miss him."
"Yes, darling, and so will we, but we can't be too upset, or it may make him upset, and it wouldn't be good when he gets to his family, okay?"
The girl nodded obediently, wiping her eyes on the tissue Helen gave her as they went to the kitchen. "When is he going?"
"In a few hours, Louise, just after lunch. The same person who came yesterday to see us is going to take him to his family."
"And will we ever see him again?"
"I don't know, baby. Maybe sometimes."
"Does Steve know?"
"Yes, sweetie. We called him this morning and told him. He's coming this afternoon, before David goes. But we didn't tell anyone else. We wanted this just to be us today."
"Will you tell them later?"
"We'll have to, Louise, because people will wonder where he is, but we'll wait for a few days until we get used to it ourselves."
"And that could take some getting used to," a quiet voice from behind her stated.
"Hi Steve." Helen turned, hugging him. "How's work?"
He half-smiled, understanding her attempt to change the subject. "It's different in a lot of ways, but I like it."
Helen handed the counselor a small bag of clothes she had packed earlier that morning and then took the child from Sam's arms. David threw both arms around her neck, hugging her hard.
"I love you, Mommy."
"I love you, too, David." She kissed him on the forehead. "Be a good boy."
"Uh huh." He nodded, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, and then let her put him into the car seat. As she pulled back, he grabbed her one more time and planted a final kiss on her forehead, before letting go and turning away so she couldn't see his face. The car pulled away from the curb as soon as Helen closed the door, and she buried her face in Sam's shoulder for a moment before he bent down to pick up Louise.
"Do we get to see him again?"
"No, baby," the man answered. "They don't want us to."
"Why not?"
"They want him to get used to them and not always be coming to us for things."
"But we want to see him."
"I'm sorry, Louise, but we have to do what they want. They're in charge, not us."
"And what are we going to do with his room?"
"Eventually we'll clear it out, baby, and use it for another room, but not yet."
The girl looked at her aunt as the woman walked into the house. "David won't want you to be sad, auntie. Isn't he going to be happy with his family?"
"We hope so, baby, but we're allowed to miss him."
Helen walked into the room and sank down on the boy's bed, glancing around at the decorations on the walls as she let the tears flow down her cheeks. The door went unnoticed as it opened but the woman looked down as she felt the hand on her wrist to see the empath curled up at her feet.
"Sad."
"Yes, Angelo. I am."
"David sad."
"I'd expect him to be, but I hope he'll be happy soon."
"Homesick."
She stood up. "That's his home now, and the sooner he realizes that, the better it will be for him."
"Leave room."
"For now." She nodded. "We'll leave it until we can bear to change it."
"Hungry."
"You or Louise?"
"Michael."
"Okay, let's go and feed him."
"Louise."
"And you, too, I suppose." She smiled weakly as he grinned slyly at her. "All right, let's feed you all."
As they came into the kitchen, Sam put his hands on her shoulders, turning Helen to face at him and brushing away the tears on her cheeks.
"I just called the counselor and it seems that everything's okay. She's going back there each day for the next week or so, and if it's still fine then they'll get custody of him."
"And if not?"
"Then we'll get him back until they work out the problems."
Nodding, she opened the fridge and began to get out the food she had made for dinner, watching as Louise set the table.
"Did you come to bed at all last night?"
Helen jumped at the voice behind her, looking around as Sam came down the stairs. He sat next to her, looking at the machine in front of her, showing a DSA of David performing a simulation.
"Sweetheart, you have to let him go. He's with his family now."
"You make it sound like he died," she responded with a sob, smiling faintly as she leaned against the arm he put around her shoulders
"It seems like it," he agreed. "It's certainly a way for us to cope with it."
"And they won't even let us see him."
"You know why they did that, Helen." Sam kissed her softly. "We might have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed."
"I just hope he's happy..."
"If he isn't, I'm sure they won't make him stay with them. That child's suffered too much in his life already - "
"And now he has to have another separation, and I promised him he could be with me forever. He's going to start hating me because I broke my promise."
"No, Helen. He loves you too much for everything you've done to ever hate you."
"It won't matter." Her tones became hard. "We aren't going to see him again."
"You don't know for certain," he chided lovingly. "It's possible. They arranged it this way because they don't know about his aunt and uncle but they do know we'd care for him properly. If there's even the slightest problem..."
"I know." She leaned against him, feeling his arms wrap around her. "And it's the one thing that's helping me to deal with it. As long as he's happy..."
Sam walked into the kitchen and began to dry the dishes that Helen was washing, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. When the silence had continued for almost twenty minutes, he broke it.
"Steve's taken Louise and Michael out for the afternoon."
"Where?"
"That movie Louise wanted to see." He put a finger on her lips as she opened them to reply, using his other arm to pull her close to him. "I know you said you'd take her, but I'm not sure it's the best for either of you right now."
"Maybe you're right. And Angelo?"
"He's downstairs, I think. I'm not exactly sure what he's doing, but he's quite able to take care of himself. He's been doing it for years."
She nodded. "I know." Helen looked up sharply as the phone rang and wiped the tears from her cheeks as if the caller was going to see her. As she reached for the phone, Sam maneuvered around her and picked it up.
"Hello?"
Rinsing the last pot, Helen placed it, steaming, on the rack, able to hear the tension rising in her fiancé’s voice as he responded to the caller.
"We'll be there as soon as possible. Half an hour, maximum."
Hanging up the phone, Sam walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. "That was the counselor. They want us to meet them there."
"Why?"
"She went to the house today in time to hear David's uncle yell at him and saw him strike our son, knocking him into a wall."
Sam put his arms around Helen as she swayed, her hands clenched into fists.
"After calling the police, the counselor went to talk to his aunt's nurse. The woman reported that she’d suspected it was happening, but, because David never made any noise, she thought it couldn't have been anything serious."
He took their coats off the hook near the back door and put hers around Helen's shoulders, gently brushing her forehead with his lips.
"Come on, sweetheart, let's go and bring our boy home for good."
Alton, New York
"Where is he?"
"In his bedroom." The counselor led the way past the police as they talked to the nurse. "He won’t talk to anyone and he won't move, crawling back into the same spot as soon as somebody lets him go."
Helen looked up sharply. "And what's going to happen?"
The woman looked at the other two people as they halted outside the door. "I've already got the court order. He's all yours, and I'll deliver the papers to you as soon as they're processed."
The counselor opened the door and stood back, allowing the two people to enter the tiny, dark room. As her eyes adjusted, Helen saw the child curled up on the floor with his head on his arms as he sat in the corner, rocking slightly, and Helen could hear him softly humming the lullaby that she had sung to him after carrying him back to bed two nights earlier.
"David?"
She walked over and knelt on the floor next to him, feeling the boy flinching at her touch, before he looked up.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, baby. I'm here."
Helen wrapped her arms around him as David flung himself at her, sobbing suddenly and violently.
"Please, Mommy, take me home. I don't like it here."
"That's exactly what we're going to do, sweetheart. We’ll take you back home and never let you go again."
Helen carried the boy over to where Sam was waiting. The child threw himself at the man, wrapping both arms rightly around the man’s neck and burying his face in the former sweeper's shoulder.
"It's all right, Davy-boy," Sam soothed, putting his other arm around Helen and pulling her close to him also. "We're here now, and you're safe."
"Do I have to live with them anymore?"
"No, my darling." Helen smoothed his hair and stroked his cheeks. "No, you don't have to see them. You won't see him anymore."
"And can I come home now, Daddy?"
"Yes, David." Sam held the boy closer. "You can come home and you really don't have to leave us this time ever again."
Helen got into the back seat with the boy still clinging around her neck and Sam climbed into the driver's seat, looking over his shoulder to see David put his head in the woman's lap, and, despite the limitations of the seatbelt, still manage to lie close to her.
"Come on, Sam." The doctor's tone was light. "Let's get away from here at some point before the sun goes down."
"Mommy?"
She looked down as the man started the car with a laugh. "What is it, baby?"
"Are Louise and Michael at home, too?"
"Not right now, honey. They went to the movies with Steve, but they'll get there a few hours after we do."
"And Angelo?"
"Yes, he's there."
The boy gave her a tiny smile. "He was there last night, too."
She smiled back at him, her tones betraying her skepticism. "Was he?"
"Uh huh. He came in through the window."
"Are you sure you weren't dreaming, baby?"
The boy awkwardly reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a familiar gold band, which he gave her. "He said to give that back to you."
"What is it?" Sam glanced in the rearview mirror to see the look of amazement on Helen's face.
"The ring you gave me when we moved in together ten years ago." She held it up so he could see it. "I couldn't find it this morning, but I thought you might have taken it to be cleaned, like you said you would." She looked at the little boy. "And he gave it to you last night?"
"Uh huh. And he stayed until I fell asleep." David wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. "If I didn't see the ring, I’d have thought I dreamed it, too, but that made me positive it was real, that he'd been. I had to hide it, though, so that the man wouldn't be able to find it."
"It doesn't matter now, baby." She slipped the ring back on her finger and then hugged him. "You won't need Angelo to come to your room tonight."
"Will you be there?"
"I'll sleep in your room tonight, David, if you want me to."
He nodded, squeezing her tightly. "I don't want to be alone again."
Helen stroked his cheek, bending down to kiss him. "You don't have to be, baby. I promise, you'll never ever have to be alone again."
Ashe, New York
With his arms around her neck, she carried him into the house, putting him down on the sofa in the living room, at which point he immediately scrambled over into her lap. As he rested his head against her shoulder, she began to stroke his hair, turning to kiss his cheek.
"Mommy, is my room still the same?"
"Yes, David. We didn't change it and we won't now."
Nodding, he nestled into her neck. "And are you glad I'm back?"
"Most definitely, baby." She tightened her hold around him. "I missed you so very much."
"I missed you, too." He lifted a hand, rubbing one eye. "I wanted you so badly last night, and you were so far away."
"Never again, my darling." She looked down into his tear-stained face. "I promise, if you want me from now on, all you have to do is call and I'll come."
"Like Angelo did?"
"I'm not as clever as Angelo, baby, so I won't know how you feel, unless you tell me something's wrong."
"Happy."
"Yes, Angelo." She turned with a smile, watching David hug the man. "I do know that much." The boy put his head back on her shoulder as Helen eyed the empath. "I also know it's going to be a miracle if you don't get a cold from all your wanderings through the night to comfort my boy."
"Favor."
"It was lovely of you to return the favor, Angelo, but I don't want you getting sick as a result."
"Tell."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that a promise? You won't do what Jarod did and try to hide it in the hope that it goes away?"
Grinning, the man shook his head, going over to the corner and picking up one of Michael's toys. Helen looked back at David in time to see his eyes close as he relaxed. Gently she started to stroke his hair, looking up in time to see Sam walk into the room.
"Asleep?"
"He's worn out, poor baby. It was hard for him."
Sam eyed the shadows under her eyes. "He's not the only one. Why don't you go up to our room and have a nap together?"
"Steve should be back soon and I want to see him before he heads back to work again. Besides, I'm not that tired."
Nodding, the man put an arm around her and drew her close to him. A smile curled her lips as she leaned against him, feeling his hand on her hair. Just for a brief moment, Helen closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the child in her lap and the man behind her.
"Asleep," the empath murmured and Sam looked down with a smile.
"I thought you said you weren't tired, Helen," he commented softly, receiving the blanket from the other man and covering the people in his arms with it. With his free hand Sam picked up his book from the arm of the sofa, but found it insufficient to distract him from the sight of the child lying in his fiancé’s arms. Reaching out a hand, he stroked the boy's hair and touched his cheek with his thumb. David’s eyes opened and he looked up drowsily.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, baby?"
"Why is Mommy tired?"
"She was up all night thinking about you, sweetheart,” Sam told him lovingly. “She didn't even go to bed."
"Poor Mommy."
David's arms tightened around Helen's neck and she opened her eyes, looking down at him.
"It doesn't matter, honey. You're here with me now so I'll sleep tonight."
"You don't have to sleep in my room if you don't want to."
"Believe me, sweetie, I want to." She kissed him gently. "I also want to make you something nice for dinner. Shall we go and pick something?"
"Can I have something now? I'm hungry."
"Did you get anything for breakfast, David?"
"No." The boy shook his head, resting it back on Helen's shoulder as she rose to her feet.
"So you haven't had anything to eat for the whole day?" The doctor glanced at her watch. "What would you like now, darling?"
"Can I have a pop-tart?"
"You can have whatever you want." She carried the boy into the kitchen. "Do you know what you want for dinner, too?"
"Could we go to a restaurant? Then you won't have to cook."
"When did you go to a restaurant, David?"
"My other mommy and daddy took me before the men came in through my window to take me to him." The boy shivered and hid his face in Helen's neck.
"It's okay, sweetheart," she soothed softly. "You're safe now. Your daddy and I will protect you."
"Really?"
"Look at your dad, David. Doesn't he look like he could protect anybody?"
"What are you suggesting, Helen?" Sam's voice was full of amusement. "That I'm a bully?"
"Bully? Oh, no. But most people would think twice before they tried to interfere with a person like you."
"How long did you think about it before you agreed to dance with me?"
She smiled, letting him wrap his arms around her and their son. "You didn't seem like quite such a daunting prospect then."
"Oh, so you're daunted?"
"No, but then I know what a softy you are." Helen kissed him. "Other people might be less sure."
"Such as?"
"I think my brother would be rather daunted if you appeared in his jail cell."
"And with good reason." He stroked her cheek with his free hand. "But I'm not so sure that other people should be daunted."
"What's 'daunted'?" the boy enquired curiously.
"It means the same thing as scared, David."
"Why would anybody be scared of Daddy?" The boy looked at the man whose arms were around him.
"That's a very good question, David," responded an amused voice from the open doorway. "But he can be quite scary, sometimes."
"Well, that's revealing, Pretender," the man grinned. "I wish I'd know it before."
"Believe me, you wouldn't have." Jarod walked into the house. "I don't reveal my weaknesses to my enemies."
Sam laughed. "So, considering you just revealed that particular weakness, what makes you think I'm not your enemy anymore?"
"Hey, you were the person who said I could trust you. I saw no reason to be at all skeptical."
"Mommy, can I have my Pop-tarts now?"
"Of course you can, sweetheart." She carried him into the pantry, bringing out the box and taking it over to the toaster. "Oh, what a pity! There's just one package left but after everything that my boy's gone through yesterday and this morning, I think he should get both of them."
"I agree," Jarod commented and she looked at him sharply.
"Who have you been talking to?"
"Steve called me last night to tell me what was going on." The Pretender took a seat opposite the former sweeper, lowering his voice so only the other man could hear. "In fact I'm surprised to see him here. Did you abduct him again?"
"No." Sam shook his head and briefly related the circumstances before taking the boy as Helen held him out, seating the child on his knee.
"I thought I wasn't mean to do this." David looked up doubtfully. "That's what both Mommy and Sydney said."
"This is special, baby, but when we go out for dinner tonight, you have to sit on a chair properly."
"That's okay. I don't mind." He broke off a corner of the Pop-tart Helen put on a plate in front of him, reaching over to put it in Jarod's mouth.
"Thank you, David. That was very nice."
"Mmm hmm," the boy mumbled with his mouth full, nodding vigorously.
"Could I ask, unintentionally sounding rather rude, what you're doing here anyway, Jarod?"
He grinned. "You can ask. I'm not promising to answer."
Picking up a glass, Helen half-filled it and dumped the water over his head. "I told you, it's not a good idea for you to quote me."
As David giggled, the man gasped. "That was cold!"
"Serves you right." She took the dishcloth off the hook and threw it at him. "When you're dry, you can wash the floor as well."
"You're a genuine optimist, aren't you?" Jarod rubbed his wet hair, drying his face before throwing the dishtowel back at her. "Actually, I only came by to see if there was anything I could do to help, but everything seems to be working out on its own."
Sam grinned at Helen. "Now I bet you're sorry that you gave him the shower."
"Not at all. It's been a long time coming, ever since he stripped the paint from my lovely rental."
"I would have thought that you repaid yourself for that."
"Okay, then what about your fracture, getting the measles, and reuniting you with the members of your family who are still alive?" She suddenly laughed. "And you never asked me for that package from your brother either. It's on the bench there behind you"
Turning, Jarod stood and seized the wrapped package, eyeing the hand-written label in the script he could remember from visiting his brother's jail cell more than four years earlier. With reverent hands, Jarod unfastened the tape, folding back the brown paper and revealing the small heap of objects. The package contained a pile of blue notebooks as well as a model aeroplane carved out of the remains of a bar of soap. Glancing at Helen, Jarod saw a smile appear on her face as she looked at the object.
"You can't make me believe that a child of the age Kyle was when the two of us were abducted could remember that sort of detail," he stated.
"Jarod, do you remember what Angelo gave you in August of 1968? You also got it again only a few years ago and gave it to Kyle before the van exploded, when he gave it back to you."
"The Flying Cross." He nodded slowly. "But did you tell him, too?"
"I never told Kyle anything about your parents. After all, I knew why he was in jail in the first place and I didn't want to put my own life at risk."
"But did he ever talk to you about that?"
"Yes."
Jarod gazed at the objects for several moments before glancing at her again. "I don't understand why you were permitted to visit him. I mean he was kept in a high security prison. Did you say he was your brother something?"
She smiled. "No, Kyle always believed that I was his psychiatrist."
"And you said I was bad because of creating fake ids." He rolled his eyes. "So he believed you?"
"He had no reason not to. I consulted with one of my medical colleagues - a qualified psychiatrist, incidentally - and showed him tapes of the sessions so that he could advise me on what to say."
The Pretender lifted an eyebrow. "My brother let you tape the sessions? I didn't think he'd be that trusting."
"Jarod, he was in jail. They have a bad habit of video-taping things, whether a person wants them or not." She smiled slightly. "Like the Centre used to do."
"So you last saw him when?"
"I last visited him in prison about a week before he escaped."
