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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Part 4
Ashe, New York
"Helen?"
"Yes, Debbie?" The woman looked up as the girl came into the living room, a rug wrapped around her.
"Where's Daddy?"
"He and Jarod left to do some shopping," Helen smiled. "You're up very early this morning, aren't you? Even Miss Parker and Sydney are still asleep."
The girl sat down on the sofa beside the woman. "I had a bad dream."
Slipping an arm around her shoulders, Helen gently drew the girl closer to her, one hand brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Want to tell me about it?"
"Not..." the girl broke off to yawn. "Not right now."
Smiling, Helen let the girl rest against her shoulder and turned her attention back to the television she had been watching. Feeling the girl's head begin to nod drowsily against her arm, the woman lifted a hand and began to slowly stroke Debbie's hair.
"Helen?"
The voice was a murmur and she looked down. "What is it?"
"Were you ever a mom?"
"No, Debbie." Her tones were normal, but a look of sorrow came into her eyes as she shook her head. "No, I wasn't."
"You'd be a good mom." There was a pause before Debbie continued in sleepy tones. "Will you be mine?"
Helen smiled tenderly. "If you want me to be, then I don't see why not. Sure."
"Good."
The girl snuggled closer, her head threatening to roll forwards off Helen's shoulder. Reaching up, the doctor gently supported it until it was lying on her lap. The girl nestled nearer, relaxing almost immediately into sleep and Helen smiled faintly, arranging the blanket so that Debbie was warmly covered, an expression of sadness apparent in her eyes as she turned back at the screen.
An hour later, seeing a movement out of the corner of her eye, Helen looked over to see Sydney standing in the doorway of the living room, a smile on his face.
"You'll make a good mother one day."
"I just became one."
The psychiatrist raised an eyebrow as he sat opposite her. "Are you going to clarify that, or leave it as a mystery?"
Helen laughed softly. "Debbie asked if I'd be her mom."
"And of course you said yes."
"What else could I say?" She smiled. "As long as Broots doesn't mind..."
"I don't think he will."
"Oh, so he's forgiven me for abducting him? I'm glad to hear it."
"I think he's appreciating the vacation away from the Centre, and being able to spend time with his daughter."
"There's always a silver lining. You just have to look hard sometimes."
Sydney smiled and glanced at the television before looking back. "I'd never have picked you as the 'inane early morning cartoon watching' type."
"It's a nice 'no thinking required' activity. Makes a break from Centre DSAs."
A smile on his face, Sydney got out of the chair. "I'm going to get dressed. Have you got any idea how long Jarod and Broots might be?"
"Not a clue. But they probably won't be that much longer."
As Sydney descended the stairs to the cellar Helen looked down at the girl whose head still lay in her lap. The small face was flushed bright pink and her lips were parted. Even as Helen watched, Debbie shivered, snuggling closer before relaxing once more. Raising a hand, Helen placed the back of it against Debbie's forehead, lifting an eyebrow as she felt the warmth coming from the girl's face. A gentle touch revealed that her body was also unnaturally hot and Helen placed two fingers on the girl's neck, feeling the bounding pulse. Gently, the doctor shook Debbie until the girl’s eyes slowly opened, drowsily looking up out of dull eyes.
"Sweetie, do you feel sick?"
"Uh huh." The girl nodded slowly, shivering, tears appearing in her eyes. "Everything really hurts, like my throat, and my arms and legs do too."
"How long have you felt like this?"
"Since yesterday, but I didn't want to tell Daddy 'cos he'd worry." Tears began to slip down the girl's cheeks and she shivered again.
"Well, we're going to have to tell him now," the doctor declared firmly.
She was about to get up but Debbie sat up and put her head against the woman's shoulder before wrapping her arms around Helen's neck as she began to cry. Helen lovingly stroked the feverish head. "It's okay, Debbie. You're allowed to get sick, sweetheart but, if you'd told me yesterday, I could have given you something to make you feel better."
"You were busy."
"Not busy enough that I couldn't have looked after you." Helen stood up, the girl in her arms. "I'm going to take you up to my room now and put you into my nice, warm bed. Would you like that?"
Debbie nodded and nestled closer to the woman, closing her eyes again as the doctor ascended the stairs. By the time they reached Helen's room, the girl had drowsed off, and never moved as Helen turned back the blankets, putting her down. Quickly she examined the girl before covering her warmly. She stood for a moment beside the bed, watching the girl sleep, before turning and leaving the room, knocking softly on the door of the next bedroom.
"Come in." Emily looked up from her book with a smile. "Hi, Helen. What's up?"
"Do me a favour."
"Sure. What is it?"
"Can you go downstairs and wait ‘till your brother and Broots get back from the store? When they do, send Broots up to my room."
"Not a problem. Going to tell me why?"
Helen grinned. "Have you had the measles?"
"At age twelve." Emily swung her legs off the bed and stood up. "Debbie's got it, right?"
"Unless my diagnosis is way out, definitely. But don't tell her father. I'll do that."
"Can do."
The two women left the room together and, as Emily went downstairs, Helen went to the bathroom to retrieve her medical bag. Going back to the bedroom, she took out a thermometer and inserted it into the drowsing girl's ear, waiting a few minutes before it gave a reading. Unsurprised at the elevated temperature, the doctor walked over to the window and lowered down the blind, hiding the light that the rising sun was casting. Looking up as she returned to the bedside, Helen saw all three men appear in the doorway.
Sydney's voice was low. "What is it?"
"Measles."
"How bad?" Broots' tones were full of concern and she hurried to ease it.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. A few days of fever, then a lot of grumpiness and after that she'll be eating everything put in front of her and complaining because she has to stay in bed." The doctor grinned. "You've had it, right?"
"Years ago, when I was a kid. You?"
"When I was about Debbie's age." She laughed, turning at the sound of the voice from the bed.
"Mommy?"
"It's okay, Debbie." Helen walked over to the bed where the girl was watching her with too-bright eyes and the flush in her cheeks deepening.
"Did Daddy come yet?"
"Yes, baby. I'm here." Broots stepped over to bed and sat beside her. At the sight of the man, his daughter's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry, Daddy."
"What for, sweetie?" He gently stroked the side of her head.
"'Cos now you know I'm sick you're going to worry about me." She started to sob quietly. "I didn't want to tell Mommy either, but she asked."
The technician looked up at Helen in confusion. "Who?"
"Uh, that'd be me." Helen grinned. "We had a discussion before and she asked if I'd be her mom."
Broots smiled before kissing at his daughter. "It's okay, Debbie. I just want you to get well as fast as possible."
"Y… you're not mad?"
"No, baby." As she tried to sit up, he cuddled her. "Of course I'm not mad." He rocked her until she drowsed off against his shoulder before looking up. "She really asked?"
"Yes." Helen leaned against the wall, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her jeans. "She said that I'd be a great mom and wanted to know if I'd be hers."
"You don't mind, right?"
"Of course not, Broots. I won't even mind if she stops saying it once she starts to feel better." She hesitated. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all, particularly if it makes her feel happier to do it."
Helen turned towards the door. "Want me to bring you up some food?"
The technician smiled. "That'd be great, thanks."
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"Well, where is she?"
The cold, blue eyes had a slightly unusually fearful expression in them as the dark-haired man looked at the figure on the other side of the desk.
"I'm afraid I don't know, Mr. Parker." The words came reluctantly. "She isn't at her house, though there are signs she was there at some stage last night, and she isn't at her desk this morning."
"Well, find her." The man's hand slammed down on the desk with a strength that made many of the objects on it jump and he glared at the black-suited figure in the doorway. "I want every single sweeper combing the country for her."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Parker." The man's voice was a murmur, and he disappeared without waiting for an official dismissal. Glaring at the door briefly, Mr. Parker then turned to look at the man opposite. "And get that office cleaned up. If he had any supporters, they'll have got the idea by now and it's starting to stink."
Ashe, New York
"Okay, who's had the measles? Emily, I know, has, as has Broots, and so have I, but what about the rest of you. Sydney?"
"Yes."
"I'm glad to hear it."
Helen was about to continue when Miss Parker spoke. "Why?"
"Because things like the measles can sometimes be dangerous in older people." She grinned at Sydney. "Not that I'd ever suggest you were old."
"No, of course not," he responded in tones of extreme sarcasm, smiling.
"Miss Parker?"
"I… think so. I'm not fully sure."
"I'll get Broots to check it out on your medical records. Jarod?"
The Pretender looked at Sydney. "Not as far as I can recall. In fact, I don't think I was ever sick at the Centre, and I certainly haven't had it since I left."
"You haven't."
"And he was never immunized after the vaccine was created in 1968?"
"The Triumvirate decided against it. They were worried he might react badly and felt, because he was in such a limited environment and I'd already had it as a child, that they could keep him away from anybody who had it."
Helen rolled her eyes. "They're so accommodating. Okay, that makes life a little bit easier. I'll do a check, just in case you had it before you got there, but I can cope with a couple of maybes." She sighed, picking up her laptop, before turning to the stairs, suddenly shooting a look back over her shoulder. "If anyone needs anything, I'll be up in the sick room."
Entering the room, she put the machine down on the desk in the corner and went over to the bed, feeling the girl's forehead with a gentle hand.
"How's she doing?"
"She was awake about ten minutes ago."
Helen went over to the bag and pulled out a bottle and measuring glass. "I need to wake her up again so that she can take this."
"What is it?"
"Something to get bring down her fever."
Broots glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Do you think she'll be the only patient?"
"I'd be very surprised, ‘though it'd be nice if it was that easy." Helen measured a dose of the medicine, replacing the lid. "Miss Parker was sitting next to Debbie for all of yesterday afternoon, watching t.v and reading to her, and she helped me cook dinner last night - dinner Jarod also ate. I'm expecting them both to come down with it, unless Miss Parker's had it already." The woman nodded at the laptop as she picked up the glass. "While I give Debbie this, could you check if she has?"
"Sure thing." Broots got up from his seat beside the bed. "Shall we find out if they've discovered your theft in Blue Cove yet as well?"
The woman grinned. "Why not? I could do with a laugh." She turned to the figure of the drowsing girl, gently shaking her. "Debbie? Come on, sweetheart, wake up."
Helen sat down beside the child, lifting her to a sitting position and resting Debbie's head against her shoulder. As the girl's eyes opened, drowsily fixing on her, the doctor smiled.
"Here, baby. I'm going to give you some medicine to make you better. Drink this for me." She held the glass to the girl's lips, watching as she swallowed the dose. "Good girl, Debbie."
Placing the glass down onto the bedside table, Helen gently brushed the long hair away from the flushed face.
"Mommy, I feel sick."
Helen smiled sympathetically. "I know you do, sweetie, but the medicine will help and you'll start to feel better soon, I promise."
"You won't catch it from me, will you?" The girl's eyes filled with tears once more, and the doctor shook her head.
"No, neither your Daddy nor I will catch it from you, and we'll only let people come see you who won't get sick either, okay?"
Sleepily, the girl nodded, nestling against the woman's shoulder, and she closed her eyes. Helen continued to brush back the long hair until she could feel that the girl was asleep. Gently she put Debbie down and then Helen got up, covering her lovingly.
"What's your specialty, Helen?"
The voice from the doorway made the two adults turn to see the psychiatrist leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded, and the woman smiled.
"Can't you guess, Sydney?"
"Pediatrics?"
"Exactly." Helen sat down in the armchair in the corner. "I love kids, and this was always going to be my career, ever since I was about fifteen."
"Why then?"
Sydney came into the room and closed the door, taking a seat at the desk as Broots vacated it, to sit beside his daughter. Helen stared at the floor for a few moments before she looked up.
"When I was fifteen, I got very sick. They thought it was appendicitis, and did exploratory surgery. Unfortunately the operation gave me a secondary infection and so I was even sicker than I'd been originally. The only way they could get rid of the infection was to perform a total hysterectomy."
"At fifteen?"
"Sydney, this was years ago. It seemed like the only option. The tests weren't advanced enough to pinpoint what the exact problem was, so they did all they could and hoped for the best. I'm still alive so they must have done something right." She smiled slightly bitterly. "Of course, being told at the point in time that you're just finding out about boys that you'll never be able to have kids is a little hard to deal with, but I managed."
"You never talked to anyone about it?"
"Who?" Helen shrugged carelessly. "The general view then was that the person just had to get on with their life, whether they were fifteen or fifty. I was never given the option of talking about how I felt and being around nuns, whose idea of 'sex' was the good old 'birds and the bees' talk, wasn't exactly helpful either."
"No, I can imagine it probably wasn't." Sydney paused. "And that was when you decided to study medicine?"
"Exactly. I made the decision that if I couldn't have kids of my own, then I'd treat those belonging to everybody else. It was a choice between that and adoption and, while I have thought about it, this just all seemed to fit into place. I did work as a GP for a while, but when I specialized several years ago, this was always going to be the field I chose."
"Fortunately for us."
Helen eyed the psychiatrist. "Hey Doc, you're not trying to escape from your part in this, are you?"
Sydney spoke in innocent tones. "You're doing it all so well. I wouldn't want to do your job for you, Helen."
She snorted indignantly. "Well, you can have the even more fun job of ensuring that Miss Parker and Jarod don't get up to too much energetic activity, at least for the next ten days or so."
"Why?"
Helen glanced at the technician as he asked the question. "The incubation period for measles is ten days. It means that Jarod should show the first symptoms in about a week's time, which just gives Debbie time to get over the worst of it before he'll start. And he should be in the middle of it when Miss Parker will come down with it, if she hasn't had it already."
"She hasn't." Broots nodded at the laptop. "According to that she got chicken pox and the mumps as a child, but she never had either the measles or the vaccine."
"Great!" Helen rolled her eyes and then turned to Sydney. "So much for thinking you could get out of it. I’ll need all the help I can get and since they both grew up at the Centre with you, guess who will be playing surrogate Daddy until they're feeling better?"
As the psychiatrist rolled his eyes, she laughed and glanced at Broots.
"Another nice point that Sydney needs to remember is that, being adults, they'll both have it much worse than Debbie, so he's got a few days of moans and groans to look forward to." She grinned at the older man. "Of course, being sick first, and children being my specialty, Debbie has first dibs on my attention, so I'll leave the care of Jarod and Miss Parker to you."
Sydney groaned and stood up, going over to the door "I had a bad feeling about you the moment we came out of the alley. I knew I should have called in sick that day."
Several hours later, and grinning widely, Helen descended the stairs to find Jarod and Sydney in the living room.
"What is it?"
"Want to watch havoc unfold? It's funny."
"I'll bet."
Helen took a seat next to Jarod on the sofa and Sydney came over to sit on her other side as she opened the laptop and started up the file Broots had retrieved from the Centre's security system.
"This is the Tech Room at 7:14 this morning," she explained as a picture appeared.
"Just after Debbie got sick."
"Correct. It was the first place to make a discovery of my little 'theft'."
Grinning, she sat back against the cushion and looked at the screen. There was a moment of silence before a man retrieved his email with the word of the day. In full view of the other people in the room he put in the word and sat back, expecting the normal processes. His face, when the standard start-up failed to occur, was enough to make Helen laugh again and Sydney was unable to hide his amusement at the technician's near-terror as the computer provided a second chance to enter the word and, when still wrong, a third.
"You didn't mention that they've have so many attempts."
Helen glanced at Jarod. "It didn't matter. They've got no hope of getting it right and all they can do is enter the wrong word again. Besides, this is their last chance and do they know it!" She waved in the direction of the screen. "Look at the poor things. They're terrified."
A new figure walked in through the doorway, followed by another, at the sight of whom Helen felt Jarod stiffen. She laughed. "Now this is funny. I hoped they'd in call Raines."
"Why would they?" the older man queried.
"As I said, he hired Stevens, the security chief, and Stevens was presumably told what was going on. He'd want Raines there as support, 'just in case' the wrong word resulted in what we know will happen."
Raines went over to the computer and momentarily considered the email that the technician had opened earlier. Carefully, obviously, and in full view of everyone in the room he typed in the eight letters. As the last was put in, the screen went black and the three people in the room in another state could hear the sound of the computer shutting down. There was a moment of silence before the first bitter accusations began to fly.
Helen laughed and reached forward to pause the screen. "Raines and Mr. Parker were called up to face the Triumvirate three hours ago. The T-Board began about ten minutes ago and it's going to last for hours."
"How do you know?"
"It has to. The entire security of the Centre has been breached and they have no idea by whom. I think they'll both be accused of sabotage and that's no light-weight crime in the Centre."
"And Cox?"
"Gone." Helen's eyes twinkled. "He left the Centre as soon as he found out about the mainframe disturbance, concerned that his former partner would betray him."
"And what if he finds us?"
"He won't." She grinned. "I know where he's heading for, and it's not here."
Sydney eyed her. "How do you know, Helen?"
"Inside information. Cox believed that one of the sweepers was his friend and let him know where he was headed so that Cox could return when it was safe. That 'friend' betrayed him immediately to the Triumvirate. They’ve sent teams of sweepers out to find him, one of which had to be called back from New York State."
"And what were they doing here?" Miss Parker demanded as she walked into the room, sitting in an armchair.
"Looking for you." Helen's voice was flat. "Your father ordered it this morning, just before they got locked out of the mainframe." Leaning forward, she brought up the video and turned the screen around, playing the short clip. Once it ended, she glanced over at the woman. "When we got you from your house, Miss Parker, we didn't realize that it was just in time."
"We?" The woman looked up sharply at the people on the sofa, thankfully changing the subject. "I was under the impression that Jarod was just as much a 'victim' as I was."
Helen laughed. "No, not exactly. As he said, I needed someone to help get you to the car."
"In fact," Sydney added with a smile, "Jarod and Emily are the only two people not 'abducted' by our considerate life-saver here."
"Although Jarod thought he was." Helen grinned at the man who was reclining on the seat next to her, his arms folded on his chest and a small smile on his face. "I was pleaded with, before my nice little sleeping pill took over, wasn't I?"
"And in the car?" the other woman queried before the Pretender could speak.
"Do you know how easy it is to 'pretend' to be knocked out, Parker?" Jarod asked in expressionless tones. When there was no response to his question, Jarod slumped sideways in the seat, let his head roll onto Helen's shoulder and, with a little sigh, gave every appearance of falling asleep.
"But… why? I mean, was it necessary?"
"Perhaps not." Helen smiled. "But I knew that if you were panicking enough about Jarod, you'd be more likely to breathe in the gas more quickly and that would put you to sleep faster, before you could even think about, as Jarod put it, 'wrapping both hands around my throat'. Funnily enough, I've got this thing about my health. I like keeping it healthy."
Sydney's eyes narrowed. "I'm beginning to think 'devious' is an understatement."
"Thank you." Helen smiled. "I always like compliments."
After watching the other two people leave the room, Sydney to prepare lunch and Miss Parker, at Helen's direction, to spend the rest of the morning reading on her bed, Helen looked at Jarod. His head was still resting against her shoulder, eyes closed, as he had been since his demonstration earlier, and she grinned.
"It's kind of hard for me to go back to Debbie with you like that."
"Please, Mom, no."
The words were softly muttered and Helen narrowed her eyes, moving a hand so the backs of her fingers touched his forehead. Feeling the heat coming off his face, she pursed her lips in a silent whistle as Jarod, his eyes closed, continued to murmur quietly but audibly.
"I feel so sick. Let me sleep for just a little longer, please. I don't want to get up."
Giving a sudden and violent shiver, his eyes still closed, he nestled closer to her, his head sliding off her shoulder. Gently Helen supported it until it was resting down on her lap and, shivering again, he tried to curl up on the sofa.
"Jarod?" She rolled him over slightly and shook him until he looked at her, eyes dull and lifeless. Helen smiled down at him. "I think it's time that we put you into your nice, warm bed too, just like we did with Debbie."
"No." He tried to raise his head but lacked the strength. His voice, as he continued to speak, was weak. "I'm okay. I'm not sick. Really."
"I disagree." She watched as he was unable to suppress another shiver. "And as a doctor, I'm giving you a medical order, Jarod. Let's get you up to bed." His expression revealed his dissatisfaction and she changed tactics, starting to gently smooth his hair, and lowering her voice to the almost hypnotic tones he had heard her use in the car. "Wouldn't you like to be in bed, Jarod, under the soft, cozy covers? I'm sure you feel cold, and I bet your throat hurts as well. Your arms and legs are probably aching too, aren't they?"
"Uh huh." Much as Debbie had, he nodded, and tears filled his eyes as he gazed up at her, both his eyes and the tone of his voice suddenly childish.
"So wouldn't it be lovely to be in bed, where you can sleep? Of course," her tone became sharper to rouse him. "If you feel better later, you can get up again, but, for now, this is just a preventative measure. Come on."
Slipping an arm around his shoulders, she helped him up off the sofa, using much of her strength just to keep him upright. Jarod's eyes were only partly open and he leaned heavily on her as she urged him towards the stairs. Hearing voices, Sydney came out of the kitchen and moved quickly to Jarod's other side, taking some of the weight.
"Come on, Jarod. Just a few more steps and then you can sit down."
Finally in the bedroom, the two people were able to lower the feverish man into an armchair that, as in Helen's room, stood in one corner. While Sydney left to get Helen's bag from the other room, she got clean sheets from the cupboard. Glancing over as she rapidly remade the bed Helen saw him drowsing feverishly, and she wondered how he had managed to develop the symptoms of it so quickly. It seemed to be the measles as well, and she hoped so, not wanting to have to deal with more than one potentially contagious disease at a time.
"Here, Helen."
Sydney put the bag on the table in the corner and then walked over to where Jarod reclined in the chair, shivering occasionally. Gently he placed the back of his hand against the pretender's warm forehead before glancing at Helen.
"What do you think?"
"I hope," she emphasized the word, "it's the measles too. I'm just not sure..."
"...how he got it that fast." Sydney nodded. "I was thinking the same."
She grinned and turned back the crisp sheets. "Ready to play Daddy?"
He rolled his eyes. "If I have to."
Going over to the chair, Helen bent down so that her eyes were level with Jarod's, and shook him gently. Drowsily he opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Jarod, did you go to Broots' house about two weeks ago?"
The man nodded slowly. "Uh huh."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He shrugged sleepily. "You didn't ask."
"And did you see Debbie at that time?"
Jarod nodded again, the movement becoming exaggerated as he began to drowse once more. Helen moved closer in time for his head to roll down onto her shoulder. She gently slipped an arm around his back before she shook him once again.
"I know it's hard, Jarod, but we want to get you into bed, so try and stay awake for a few minutes, okay?"
With Sydney's help, she got him out of the chair, supporting him onto the bed. No sooner was he sitting on the mattress than Jarod was asleep again, his head resting against her shoulder. With a half-smile as he eased off the man's shoes, Sydney looked up.
"That seems to be popular - first Debbie and now him."
She grinned. "I'm just a comfortable person. Come on, Jarod," she roused once more. "This isn't lying down, not yet."
"Please, Mom," the sick man muttered, nestling closer. "No. This is nice."
"Lying down is nicer," she told him firmly. "You proved that point to me. I get to return the favour."
She and Sydney placed him in a more comfortable position in bed before they let him drowse off into a feverish sleep against the pillow. The man shivered as he was tucked in, bright red spots on both cheeks as the hot, feverish breath rasped from between his parted lips.
With a rueful grin, Helen looked up. "How much do you want to bet that he had no plans to tell us he'd been visiting Broots?"
"I don't bet on certainties," the psychiatrist smiled. "And I know that's a certainty. He was hoping to avoid getting sick, I suppose."
"It's a bit late for that now." She grinned. "I bet he was pleased with the chance to sleep when we were sitting downstairs. That 'pretend' sleep probably became real very quickly. I did wonder why his reaction to the Centre seemed so calm. Now I guess we know."
"You didn't feel the fever when he was lying against your shoulder?"
"I thought he felt a bit hot, but I wasn't expecting it for more than a week. In case Miss Parker was visiting Debbie in the last two weeks and wasn't going to mention it either, I'll also give her a quick examination later."
"And what am I supposed to do all afternoon?" the man demanded.
Helen smiled. "Stay up here, of course. I don't think you'd mind. I'd expect Jarod to be feverish for the next few days and it'll make him very like the boy you cared for in the Centre." She glanced at him shrewdly, pulling out another thermometer out of her bag at the same time. "You were much nicer to him as a child than as an adult."
Sydney's face became somber. "I didn't have a choice."
"I dispute that. The Triumvirate, no matter what you may have imagined, had no plans to remove him from your care. I've found several memos stating that it was never to happen. Still, because of your concerns about it all, you changed in your attitude towards him. Now you can return to the way it was when he arrived at the Centre. And I'm sure he'll like that too."
The psychiatrist's face became skeptical. "You think so?"
"Couldn't you hear the concern in his voice when he called to find out where you were, or if you'd been taken in by the Triumvirate?" She removed the instrument from the ear of the man lying in the bed as she looked at Sydney. "Although he tries to hide it, Jarod worries about you a lot. This will be a good chance to show him that you worry about him too."
Sydney glanced at her briefly, but looked away without speaking. Helen made a mental note of the thermometer reading before she looked at him again.
"I've seen more than enough, in all my time creeping around the Centre air vents and also when I was watching DSAs, to convince me that he's important to you." She paused. "It'd also be easier for me if I know that there's somebody in here who can make sure he's okay. I can't ask Broots to do it when Debbie's sick, Miss Parker's in danger of catching it herself and Em, although she can read up on what she should do, isn't a real doctor. You are, and you're also a person that he feels comfortable around."
"He seems to be pretty good around you too."
"But I can't devote all my time to him, not with Debbie being sick too. That's why it would be great if you'd agree to stay here with him. Not all the time. Em can do some of the work too but it would be a lot easier..."
"All right, Helen. You've convinced me." He gave her a weak smile. "Actually, you did it about five minutes ago, but you were doing so well that I didn't want to stop you."
She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, I think."
Walking into the other bedroom, she placed a large bottle on the bedside table and the technician eyed it.
"What's that?"
"Something I just made up. I don't want to have to give Debbie or Jarod a whole lot of medicines to help with all their symptoms. One dose of this a few times during the day will be better."
"And how's Miss Parker?"
"I haven't examined her yet. I will, but I wanted to get this done first. I've mixed a bottle for each room, too, so we don't have to keep running back and forth." She briefly woke the girl and gave her a dose of the medicine before Helen sat down on the chair opposite the technician. "So what have you been doing since I dragged Jarod up to bed?"
"Enjoying the free entertainment." Broots nodded towards his laptop. "Mr. Parker is into the fourth hour of his T-Board."
"You're getting a kick out of watching him sweat."
"Definitely." He grinned. "Of course, it helps that we're both a long way away from the hub of the action."
"Now aren't you glad I brought Debbie along when I abducted you?" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and he laughed.
"Okay, you're forgiven."
"I'm glad to hear it." She stood up. "I'm going to check on the other patient. If you need me, yell."
"No problem. Thanks."
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"I think that will be all, Mr. Parker. For the moment, anyway."
"I take it that doesn't mean I'm free to go?" The man's tone was surly and one of the men at the other end of the table raised an eyebrow.
"No," he responded coolly. "Not yet. And particularly not after that."
"Well," commented Mr. Parker arrogantly. "I hope all my answers to your so-nicely-put questions have been sufficient that my next session will be some time away."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Mr. Parker." Another figure leaned forward. "I think we've only just started to find out all of the things you've got to tell us."
Mr. Parker raised an eyebrow in a manner reminiscent of his daughter. "Let's just see about that, shall we?"
Ashe, New York
"I'll stay here for a while if you want a break, Sydney."
The older man looked up from his book with a smile. "I'm fine thanks, Helen. How's Debbie?"
"Well, I just gave her a dose of this," Helen indicated the bottle on the bedside table that she had brought in with her, "so I'd expect her temperature to go down a bit fairly soon." She picked up the measuring glass. "I think we'll give Jarod some as well. It can only help, although I really made it with Debbie in mind."
Sydney glanced at his watch. "I'm assuming he won't want to eat for a while."
Helen snorted softly. "It's been a while since you studied childhood diseases, hasn't it, Sydney?"
He laughed softly. "Now that you mention it, yes. But I was really making an statement, not asking a question." The psychiatrist paused. "It doesn't mean the carers have to go hungry though, does it?"
"Is that a hint?"
"Perhaps just a very subtle one," he smiled.
Helen laughed. "Once I've given Jarod this, I'll go down and help Emily concoct something for the hungry people." Smiling, she sat down on the bed and gently roused the patient. "Jarod, wake up. Come on."
Moaning, the man turned his head away from her but a violent fit of coughing brought Jarod to full wakefulness. Helen set down the glass and put an arm around his shoulders for support until the bout was over. Finally, when he was lying against her, white and gasping for breath, she took the glass again and held it to his lips.
"Drink this, Jarod. It'll help, I promise."
Slowly he swallowed the contents, his eyes languidly fixed on her face, before Helen placed the glass down again. With her free hand, she gently stroked his cheek as he relaxed against her, at the same time feeling the heat coming off his body.
"It's okay, Jarod. I know you feel sick, but you'll start to feel better from now on, I promise. Just try to sleep, okay?"
He smiled faintly and closed his eyes, turning his head in toward her and one hand reaching up to take hold of that with which she was still gently stroking his cheek, bringing it down to rest on his chest.
"It's all right, Jarod." Understanding what such a movement indicated, she lowered her voice to a murmur. "We won't leave you alone. There'll be someone here all the time. Try to sleep now. When you wake up again, you'll feel much better, but you really have to sleep for that medicine to work well."
He nodded slightly, curling his legs up and nestling further against her neck, his lips touching her skin. She could feel the hot, feverish breath from his slightly open mouth as he exhaled, and she moved the fingers that still rested on his arm in slow circles. Looking down, she could see the beads of perspiration that glistened on his forehead and felt that the hand covering hers was damp with sweat. A few moments later, as she continued to murmur comfortingly in his ear, he let out a soft sigh and his body went limp against her. She slid her hand from under his, easing him down onto the bed, before looking up.
"You're good at that," Sydney remarked.
"Hey, we all become little kids when we're sick." She smiled as she got to her feet. "Maybe that's why I like medicine so much."
Coming into the kitchen, she paused in the doorway and glanced at her friend, who stood by the stove.
"Smells great, Em. What is it?"
Emily turned, a broad grin on her face. "Pretty boring soup, Helen. I thought it'd be the best - nice and easy."
Helen looked into the large saucepan and then up again, laughing. "Should I ask for the names of all the different vegetables in that pot?"
"No, don't." Emily turned down the heat, putting the lid on. "You'd probably think that I was being excessive or something."
"Want a drink?"
"As long as you don't do anything to it."
The redhead tried to look hurt. "I thought you trusted me, Emily!"
"Oh, I do. Sort of."
"Gee, thanks." Helen carried two cans and two glasses to the table. "I hope you're happy now."
"Very." Emily opened the can and then looked at her friend. "How's Jarod?"
"Right now, pretty feverish but I gave him something to help with that so I expect he'll begin to get better soon." Helen looked up. "If I guessed that you wanted to spend the night in there with him, would I be right?"
"Actually, yes."
"Okay, you and Sydney discuss it and work out how you want to arrange all that."
"And how about you?"
"I'll probably spend most of the night in with Debbie but I'll be in and out to check that everything's okay."
"Have you talked about it with Broots?"
"Uh huh." She sipped her drink. "He's quite happy, because he knows Debbie won't miss him if he's not there."
"What are you going to do when she goes home?"
Helen laughed. "Em, when I treat kids in hospital, they do tend to go home at the end of it. If I can deal with that, why should I have a problem with Debbie?"
"Because most of your patients don't call you 'Mommy'."
"No, that's true. That might make it a little different this time." She stood up. "Let's just wait and see what happens, okay?
