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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
A/N: Sorry the wait was so darn long. I’m planning to make each chapter a little shorter from now on. This length is about the general length to expect henceforth. *bows and almost falls over* Cheers. Read and review.
Chapter Three
"I escape the pain with blackness grim
The Reaper, with me, meets within"
Jarod couldn’t get Miss Parker to talk to him- it had been three days, and she still wasn’t speaking to him. She didn’t seem mad- she confused, and upset. They hadn’t been able to figure out if Lyle had died, or had just been injured, but either way, he couldn’t get through to her.
They had gone north first, towards New York, then Jarod turned and headed west. Michigan, Wisconsin, and possibly further north into Canada. It was the third day of driving, Jarod was finally able to wake up without still feeling a bit ill, and they had stopped for breakfast in a little pancake joint. The last road sign had said Minnesota, and Jarod was trying to do math in his head before they were served.
"Canada?" He inquired of Miss Parker, not thinking she would respond. There was silence for a few minutes, then she surprised him.
"Canada sounds good."
"Canada it is then." He finalized, nodding. Jarod's phone rang as he finished the sentence, and Jarod whipped it out.
"Hello?"
"Jarod!" Sydney greeted him, relief in his voice. "I'm on my cell, outside of my house, first of all. The line is secure. Broots made sure of that before he left."
"Good." Miss Parker had perked up, and was leaning forward to hear the conversation.
"How's Miss Parker?" Sydney questioned. Jarod looked at Miss Parker and raised an eyebrow.
"She's okay." He slowly answered. "She's been better, but she's okay."
"Well, I have some news that may cheer her up." Sydney announced, somewhat cheerily. "Lyle's alive. His knee is going to take a while to heal, but he's otherwise okay. That's one of the reasons I'm calling, actually. He woke up this morning, and demanded that I call you. He's in Dover General right now."
"Dover General?"
"They had to take him there, for a reconstructive specialist. The bullet shattered his kneecap." Jarod turned to Miss Parker, and mouthed 'He's okay'. She sighed in relief, and held her hand out toward the phone.
"Miss Parker wants to talk to you, Syd."
"Put her on!" Sydney replied enthusiastically. There was a changing of hands, and then Miss Parker's voice.
"Sydney?"
"Miss Parker! I'm glad to hear that you're safe. They wouldn't tell me anything."
"I'm alive, Syd." Miss Parker smiled- her first for several days. "How are you?"
"Fine. Broots is in Washington."
"Lyle?"
"Dover General. Jarod can tell you the rest."
"Sydney, I'd like to talk more, but the food just got here, and Jarod's going to use all the syrup if I don't stop him-" There were the sounds of a muffled thud, and a 'Hey!', then Miss Parker came back on. "So, I've got to go. Oh, and can you do me a favor?"
"Hmm?"
"Tell Lyle he can trust Sam."
"I'll be sure to do that. Take care of yourself, Parker." The line was disconnected, and Miss Parker handed the phone back to Jarod. He pocketed it, and grinned at her.
"Shall we eat?" He proposed. She smiled back, and nodded.
"Let's."
Lyle tried to sit up in the hospital bed, and winced as his leg went aflame with unbidden pain. Still in traction, he wasn't good for much at the present time. Sydney had stopped by a few times, but there had been no other visitors and he was beginning to grow bored. He was currently trying to reach the remote, and he could have sworn that the little giggling nurse that came in to check him every once in a while, had purposely set it out of his reach so he would have to call her in. He wasn't going to do it. He would survive without TV.
Sydney at that point walked into the room, box in his arms. He set it down on the bedside table, and carefully studied Lyle with his eyes for several minutes. Lyle raised an eyebrow, and stared back.
"Freud, if that's a bomb, you standing there isn't going to do you any good when it blows. And you being a pyromaniac, I've got enough mistrust left in me to believe it is a bomb." Sydney seemed to snap out of his reverie, and the older man smiled.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't give me that bull. I know all about Raines- the oxygen tank didn't blow on it's own, and Sub Level Twenty-Seven. I'm pretty sure Gar didn't set the bomb, and I'm sure as hell that it wasn't a lightbulb gone wrong." Lyle replied, a hint of amusement in his tone. Sydney studied him again, for a brief second, then opened the box.
"I doubt the television actually gets anything, and I seriously doubt you're going to be happy watching fuzzy soap operas all day, so I brought you these." Lyle's eyes widened, and he snatched up the first one offered.
"Good god, Sydney! You're a mind-reader!" Lyle exclaimed, scanning the title of the book, and the others in the box.
"No, I think I'll leave that to Angelo." Sydney replied with a chuckle. Lyle flashed him a grin, and Sydney nodded to him. "Have fun." That comment brought a dry laugh from Lyle. "I've got to get back to Blue Cove."
"Bye, Syd..." Lyle supplied his farewell rather absently, already beginning to read one of the books. Sydney left the room, it hitting him as soon as he closed the door that for the first time he could remember, Lyle had called him 'Syd'. He shook his head, and strode towards the elevator. It couldn't mean anything. Nothing at all.
“Jarod!” Miss Parker laughed as Jarod struggled through the door with their suitcases. The fact that he was coming through the door with the suitcases was certainly not cause for laughter, but what sat upon his head was. It was a bright red baseball cap, with the word ‘PEZ’ embroidered on the front. He looked up with a questioning look on his face, as he set the suitcases down beside the couch.
“What?” He blinked innocently, and she laughed again, as she picked up her suitcase.
“Never mind.”
“What?” He persisted. Miss Parker pointed to the hat, and he snatched it off his head, revealing a messy head of hair. “This?”
“It’s a kids hat, Jarod.”
“Explain then, why it comes in adult sizes.” He retorted with a grin, placing it back on his head. She smiled sweetly, and headed up the stairs, pausing to call back over her shoulder.
“For moronic geniuses who have no grasp on adulthood, like you.” Miss Parker received a pillow ambush on her return downstairs, in payment for her troubles. She squealed, and screamed something about unfairness, before grabbing a few pillows herself, and whacking Jarod upside the head with one of them. An all out pillow fight was the result.
Forts were erected and destroyed before the hour was up, ‘towns’ won and lost. One of Miss Parker’s few sane thoughts during the ‘war’ was that Jarod really knew how to pillow fight. The entire house became a playground, hiding place, and strategy meeting room.
The hour ended with Miss Parker throwing a pillow into the chest of an exhausted Jarod, and declaring gleefully, “I win.” Before collapsing on the floor next to him. They sat together for a moment, catching their breath and enjoying each others company. Jarod finally stood to his feet, and extended a hand to her.
“I’ll make dinner.”
“And dessert?” Miss Parker asked hopefully, a wicked twinkle in her eye. He shrugged.
“If I’ve got no grasp on adulthood, then why wait until after dinner for dessert?” Jarod leaned forward, and kissed her, catching her mouth before she could react. So, she kissed him back. They breathlessly pulled away a second later, and stared at each other. Jarod started to blush, and Miss Parker thought it was incredibly cute. He swallowed hard, and nodded.
“That was definitely better than the first one.”
"I escape the pain with blackness grim
The Reaper, with me, meets within"
Jarod couldn’t get Miss Parker to talk to him- it had been three days, and she still wasn’t speaking to him. She didn’t seem mad- she confused, and upset. They hadn’t been able to figure out if Lyle had died, or had just been injured, but either way, he couldn’t get through to her.
They had gone north first, towards New York, then Jarod turned and headed west. Michigan, Wisconsin, and possibly further north into Canada. It was the third day of driving, Jarod was finally able to wake up without still feeling a bit ill, and they had stopped for breakfast in a little pancake joint. The last road sign had said Minnesota, and Jarod was trying to do math in his head before they were served.
"Canada?" He inquired of Miss Parker, not thinking she would respond. There was silence for a few minutes, then she surprised him.
"Canada sounds good."
"Canada it is then." He finalized, nodding. Jarod's phone rang as he finished the sentence, and Jarod whipped it out.
"Hello?"
"Jarod!" Sydney greeted him, relief in his voice. "I'm on my cell, outside of my house, first of all. The line is secure. Broots made sure of that before he left."
"Good." Miss Parker had perked up, and was leaning forward to hear the conversation.
"How's Miss Parker?" Sydney questioned. Jarod looked at Miss Parker and raised an eyebrow.
"She's okay." He slowly answered. "She's been better, but she's okay."
"Well, I have some news that may cheer her up." Sydney announced, somewhat cheerily. "Lyle's alive. His knee is going to take a while to heal, but he's otherwise okay. That's one of the reasons I'm calling, actually. He woke up this morning, and demanded that I call you. He's in Dover General right now."
"Dover General?"
"They had to take him there, for a reconstructive specialist. The bullet shattered his kneecap." Jarod turned to Miss Parker, and mouthed 'He's okay'. She sighed in relief, and held her hand out toward the phone.
"Miss Parker wants to talk to you, Syd."
"Put her on!" Sydney replied enthusiastically. There was a changing of hands, and then Miss Parker's voice.
"Sydney?"
"Miss Parker! I'm glad to hear that you're safe. They wouldn't tell me anything."
"I'm alive, Syd." Miss Parker smiled- her first for several days. "How are you?"
"Fine. Broots is in Washington."
"Lyle?"
"Dover General. Jarod can tell you the rest."
"Sydney, I'd like to talk more, but the food just got here, and Jarod's going to use all the syrup if I don't stop him-" There were the sounds of a muffled thud, and a 'Hey!', then Miss Parker came back on. "So, I've got to go. Oh, and can you do me a favor?"
"Hmm?"
"Tell Lyle he can trust Sam."
"I'll be sure to do that. Take care of yourself, Parker." The line was disconnected, and Miss Parker handed the phone back to Jarod. He pocketed it, and grinned at her.
"Shall we eat?" He proposed. She smiled back, and nodded.
"Let's."
Lyle tried to sit up in the hospital bed, and winced as his leg went aflame with unbidden pain. Still in traction, he wasn't good for much at the present time. Sydney had stopped by a few times, but there had been no other visitors and he was beginning to grow bored. He was currently trying to reach the remote, and he could have sworn that the little giggling nurse that came in to check him every once in a while, had purposely set it out of his reach so he would have to call her in. He wasn't going to do it. He would survive without TV.
Sydney at that point walked into the room, box in his arms. He set it down on the bedside table, and carefully studied Lyle with his eyes for several minutes. Lyle raised an eyebrow, and stared back.
"Freud, if that's a bomb, you standing there isn't going to do you any good when it blows. And you being a pyromaniac, I've got enough mistrust left in me to believe it is a bomb." Sydney seemed to snap out of his reverie, and the older man smiled.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't give me that bull. I know all about Raines- the oxygen tank didn't blow on it's own, and Sub Level Twenty-Seven. I'm pretty sure Gar didn't set the bomb, and I'm sure as hell that it wasn't a lightbulb gone wrong." Lyle replied, a hint of amusement in his tone. Sydney studied him again, for a brief second, then opened the box.
"I doubt the television actually gets anything, and I seriously doubt you're going to be happy watching fuzzy soap operas all day, so I brought you these." Lyle's eyes widened, and he snatched up the first one offered.
"Good god, Sydney! You're a mind-reader!" Lyle exclaimed, scanning the title of the book, and the others in the box.
"No, I think I'll leave that to Angelo." Sydney replied with a chuckle. Lyle flashed him a grin, and Sydney nodded to him. "Have fun." That comment brought a dry laugh from Lyle. "I've got to get back to Blue Cove."
"Bye, Syd..." Lyle supplied his farewell rather absently, already beginning to read one of the books. Sydney left the room, it hitting him as soon as he closed the door that for the first time he could remember, Lyle had called him 'Syd'. He shook his head, and strode towards the elevator. It couldn't mean anything. Nothing at all.
“Jarod!” Miss Parker laughed as Jarod struggled through the door with their suitcases. The fact that he was coming through the door with the suitcases was certainly not cause for laughter, but what sat upon his head was. It was a bright red baseball cap, with the word ‘PEZ’ embroidered on the front. He looked up with a questioning look on his face, as he set the suitcases down beside the couch.
“What?” He blinked innocently, and she laughed again, as she picked up her suitcase.
“Never mind.”
“What?” He persisted. Miss Parker pointed to the hat, and he snatched it off his head, revealing a messy head of hair. “This?”
“It’s a kids hat, Jarod.”
“Explain then, why it comes in adult sizes.” He retorted with a grin, placing it back on his head. She smiled sweetly, and headed up the stairs, pausing to call back over her shoulder.
“For moronic geniuses who have no grasp on adulthood, like you.” Miss Parker received a pillow ambush on her return downstairs, in payment for her troubles. She squealed, and screamed something about unfairness, before grabbing a few pillows herself, and whacking Jarod upside the head with one of them. An all out pillow fight was the result.
Forts were erected and destroyed before the hour was up, ‘towns’ won and lost. One of Miss Parker’s few sane thoughts during the ‘war’ was that Jarod really knew how to pillow fight. The entire house became a playground, hiding place, and strategy meeting room.
The hour ended with Miss Parker throwing a pillow into the chest of an exhausted Jarod, and declaring gleefully, “I win.” Before collapsing on the floor next to him. They sat together for a moment, catching their breath and enjoying each others company. Jarod finally stood to his feet, and extended a hand to her.
“I’ll make dinner.”
“And dessert?” Miss Parker asked hopefully, a wicked twinkle in her eye. He shrugged.
“If I’ve got no grasp on adulthood, then why wait until after dinner for dessert?” Jarod leaned forward, and kissed her, catching her mouth before she could react. So, she kissed him back. They breathlessly pulled away a second later, and stared at each other. Jarod started to blush, and Miss Parker thought it was incredibly cute. He swallowed hard, and nodded.
“That was definitely better than the first one.”
