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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc.and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
Regeneration
part 5
by Gizmo
A hand shook his shoulder and he groggily propped an eye open. Miss Parker shook harder and he turned over onto his back and blinked up at her.
“What is it?” he asked when he saw her expression.
“Emily and Ethan have been in an accident. Your father went to the hospital.”
He pushed himself up onto his elbows. “Where? What hospital? How bad is it?”
“Emily is fine,” she started. Jarod pushed himself to a sitting position and she frowned.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going after my dad. I need to borrow your car.”
“You’re not going anywhere. Remember our agreement?”
“I’ll play lab rat for you some other time. Right now, my family…”
“Needs to know you’re safe and getting well. They don’t need to worry about you. I can get the handcuffs if you’re going to be difficult.”
He looked up at her but she didn’t relent. Frustration built and he grabbed a pillow and threw it at the wall.
“Feel any better?” she queried sarcastically.
“I can’t just stay here and do nothing.”
“You’re right. You’re not going to do nothing. It’s time to start those simulations you agreed to perform.”
He frowned up at her and she pulled up a chair. After she finished updating him, he narrowed his eyes and stood.
“Let’s get to work,” he told her.
**
Jeff filled another syringe and gazed down at the sleeping man. Keeping Lyle sedated this long may be dangerous, he thought. They needed to awaken him to determine if there was any brain damage or hemorrhaging. Sighing, he injected the man and checked his vitals.
Yawning sleepily, he left the room and knocked quietly on his brother’s door. Miss Parker peered out at him from around the door.
“What?” she hissed. She softened her eyes when she saw her visitor.
“I’ve sedated your brother again,” Jeff whispered. “I wanted to check on Jarod.”
“He’s busy.”
Jeff frowned as he considered this. “But he shouldn’t be doing simulations yet. He’s still too sick and weak. I could have done them.”
“No. You go get some more sleep.”
The woman shut the door and Jeff was left standing in the hallway. Frustrated, he headed downstairs to the kitchen just as the phone rang.
“Jeff,” Ben called out. “Your father wants to talk to you.”
“Dad!”
Ben watched as the boy nodded and answered a few questions. When he had hung up, he turned with a smile to the older man.
“Ethan came through the surgery wonderfully. The doctors said he should be released within a couple of days. Dad is bringing Emily back here and then going back.”
“And how is Emily?”
“A little banged up. Dad said there’s something bothering her but she can’t remember what it is. The doctors think she’s just exhausted and needs sleep.”
“Well, I’ll go get a bedroom ready for her. I’m sure a nice hot breakfast and soft bed will fix her right up.”
“I hope so.”
“I’m going to have to change my advertising. With Lyle and Jarod recuperating and Emily on her way, maybe I ought to become a convalescence home.”
The boy laughed. “Let’s just hope my family doesn’t put you out of business.”
****
“Maggie!”
The girl looked up at her oldest brother and jumped up from her seat. Patrick hugged her tightly and she felt tears gather. Everything was all right now, she told herself. She could go back to her house and fishing and pretend none of this had happened.
Patrick released her and she wiped her eyes. He began rapid firing questions at her and she sighed tiredly.
“Patrick, I’ve been up for over 24 hours. Is there anyway you could get me out of here and I’ll tell you about it on the drive home?”
He nodded and turned to the police officer standing nearby.
“Is there anything else you need from her?”
“I’ll need her location and a phone number where she can be reached. If the driver of the other car makes it, I’m sure they’ll be a hearing or trial.”
Patrick nodded and gave the officer his New York address and phone number. Taking Maggie out of the shack they had grown up in was something he had yearned to do for years. Now, from her ramblings on the phone, he knew she needed more than just sleep.
“I just want to go home,” Maggie whispered as they left the police district.
“I’m taking you home, Maggie,” Patrick replied. “Here, put your seat back and go to sleep.”
His sister closed her eyes and he sighed. He was determined to give his sister the best help he could find. The wild story she had told had even the officers shaking their heads in pity at the girl. Maggie had always been different but this was something else. Something he should have been prepared for. Afterall, their mother had exhibited the same problems.
***
Jarod lowered his head to his hands and shook off the after effects of the simulation. The sick feelings and manipulations inside Lyle’s head had been hard to withstand. But worse, were the mistrust, aloneness and feelings of being used that Lyle had felt.
“He wasn’t going to take them back,” he told Lyle’s sister. “He wanted to keep them safe from Cox. But they were his guarantee. He was supposed to have called Willie after the surgery.”
“Then why didn’t he tell us about them? Why hold them with the intention of using them to force you to perform the surgery correctly and not tell you?”
“They weren’t his guarantee that we’d do the surgery right.” Jarod raised his head and met her eyes. “He knew we wouldn’t do something like that. They were his guarantee that after the surgery, we wouldn’t turn the tables on him and make him our prisoner. He wanted to make sure we went ahead with the plan to take me back and shutdown regeneration.”
“So he didn’t trust us? He demanded our trust and then made all these side plans just in case?”
“Basically,” Jarod ran his hands through his hair. She stood and went to the window and peered out. A car pulled to a stop.
“Your father is back,” she commented. “Emily is with him. She looks exhausted.”
He stood unsteadily and walked towards the door.
“Where are you going?” she demanded.
“I want to get cleaned up a little.”
“No showers or baths today, Jarod. Your shoulder is infected. Stay here. We’re not done yet.”
“Yes, we are.”
“What do we do about Lyle?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean? He tried to keep Emily and Ethan hostage!”
“And if we keep him prisoner, we will be doing exactly what he was afraid of. We go through with it – all of it. Regeneration has to be shutdown for good.”
****
Cox paced impatiently. Sydney should have called hours ago and he was unable to reach Dan. Something had gone terribly wrong and Cox found it excruciatingly annoying when his plans failed.
The door to Mr. Parker’s office opened and Willie exited. The sweeper scowled at him as he went past then stopped in front of him.
“Fishing should be excellent in the waters near the girl’s cottage,” Willie implied. “I’ve seeded the waters with plenty of fish bait.”
Cox smiled coldly at the news that his sweeper was dead and pushed past the sweeper into the office. Mr. Parker scowled at him from his desk.
“Willie spoke with my daughter. Apparently, Jarod caught up with Lyle and put my son out of commission for awhile. He informed me that Emily and Ethan had been captured. What I can’t understand is why they weren’t brought to the Centre. What was Lyle up to?”
“As soon as I heard, I sent Sydney to bring Ethan and Emily here. But Sydney hasn’t returned my calls…”
The older man waved his hand in dismissal.
“Ethan and Emily and the girl escaped Willie. Sydney probably never made it to the girl’s cabin before they escaped. He’s probably on his way back here now.”
“They escaped? Was Willie been able to determine which direction?”
“They could have gone anywhere. But Willie has people watching the girl’s brothers. Her older brother left his apartment in New York early this morning. I need you to go to pick her up. They’re heading back to New York now.”
Cox nodded and smiled with satisfaction. Once he retrieved Emily and Ethan’s location out of the girl, he would have everything he needed to recapture the pretender. With Jarod back at the Centre, regeneration would proceed as planned.
***
Emily gave up trying to keep her eyes open long enough to eat the food in front of her. Blinking blearily at her father, she rose from the table.
“I can’t eat anymore,” she whispered. “I just need to get some sleep, Dad. There’s something important that I can’t remember and it’s driving me nuts.”
“Nuts?” Jeff asked.
“Crazy,” his father supplied. “It’s making her frustrated.”
“Oh.” The boy looked thoughtful for a moment. “Perhaps Jarod can help jog your memory. Your room is near his upstairs. I’ll show you.”
She mumbled something about how pretty the inn was as they climbed the stairs. Jeff stopped outside Jarod’s room and tentatively knocked. When there was no answer, he opened the door to find the room deserted. Hearing voices, he went to Lyle’s room and found his older brother and Parker checking over Lyle.
“Jarod? Do you have a minute?”
“What is it?” Jarod asked in concern.
“Emily…” The boy stood aside as his sister pushed her way into the room. She gasped when she saw the unconscious man.
“Lyle,” she spat. “That bastard. Did he tell you where our mother is?”
“Emily,” Parker began gently. “He never knew.”
She studied Parker’s face then nodded and turned to her older brother. Jarod grew uncomfortable at her visual examination and turned his face away to grimace at the floor.
“You should be in bed,” Emily said quietly.
“You’re one to talk,” Jarod replied. “How do you feel?”
“Tired. But mostly frustrated. There’s something important I can’t remember. The doctors think it’s an after effect of the concussion. They said to give it a couple more weeks and I’ll be back to new.”
“I might be able to help.”
“No, you need to go back to bed. I’ll think of it.”
“Just let me try. It won’t take long.”
She sighed and studied him again. The bruises and shakiness were obvious but it was the pallor and glassiness in his eyes that really concerned her. But he seemed determined and she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until this thing stopped nagging at her.
“Okay,” she sighed. “Let’s do this somewhere else though. I’m not sure I like the company in here.”
***
She sat in the chair beside the window while Jarod sat on the bed’s edge. Closing her eyes, she relived the events leading up to the crash – the road, the darkness. She and Ethan had been arguing with someone.
“Maggie,” she breathed. Her eyes popped open. “I completely forgot about Maggie! Oh, dammit, she’s probably called her brothers by now!”
“Calm down and tell us who Maggie is,” Jarod told her. “And why she would have been with you.”
“Our car broke down and she stopped to help us. We were in the middle of nowhere and hadn’t eaten in awhile. She offered us some seafood stew and we went to her house. That’s where Willie caught up with us.”
Jarod looked over at Parker who looked concerned. She hunched down in front of Emily.
“Did you tell Maggie where you were taking her?” she asked. Emily shook her head.
“Good.”
“We’ve got to call the hospital and warn my dad,” Jarod said and stood unsteadily. Parker rose to her feet and pressed him back down.
“We’ve got time. Once they get Maggie, they’ll need to search all the nearby hospitals. We can pick up your father and brother on our way out of here.”
Jarod frowned. “Why can’t we bring them here?”
“It’s not safe. Someone involved in this knows about this place.”
“Sydney wouldn’t do that,” Jarod said firmly.
“We can’t trust him. Cox is involved. We need to clear out of here.”
**
Major Charles stood up and stretched the kinks out of his back tiredly. A nurse came into the room and smiled at him. She bent over his son and checked the bandaging.
“He’s doing wonderfully,” she reassured the older man. “The doctors said his spleen didn’t burst as they were afraid. He’ll be on his feet in no time.”
He smiled back at her. “Any word on how the other driver is doing?”
“He came out of surgery a couple of hours ago. He’s in intensive care. They haven’t been able to find any records on him. It’s like he doesn’t exist. It’s quite sad because they haven’t been able to identify any next of kin. All they know is that he’s a doctor of some kind.”
“How do they know that?”
“There were some papers signed ‘Dr. Green’.”
He spun around to stare at her. “Green?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
He didn’t answer but charged out the door and headed for ICU. Standing outside room 3, he stared in shock at his eldest son’s mentor for thirty years.
***
Cox smiled as he hung up the phone. Sweepers had captured the girl, Maggie, and her brother. Apparently, the brother had been all too willing to tell the sweepers everything he knew. A quick check of hospitals in the area had yielded Ethan’s location. . He would be able to reach them in two hours.
Once he had Ethan and Emily, he was certain Jarod would appear. Soon, he thought, soon I’ll have Jarod back to work. He had thought of his new technique and was eager to try it out. Picking up the phone, he confirmed the construction of his new tank. Smiling, he hung up and tried to control the little shivers of excitement.
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part 5
by Gizmo
A hand shook his shoulder and he groggily propped an eye open. Miss Parker shook harder and he turned over onto his back and blinked up at her.
“What is it?” he asked when he saw her expression.
“Emily and Ethan have been in an accident. Your father went to the hospital.”
He pushed himself up onto his elbows. “Where? What hospital? How bad is it?”
“Emily is fine,” she started. Jarod pushed himself to a sitting position and she frowned.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going after my dad. I need to borrow your car.”
“You’re not going anywhere. Remember our agreement?”
“I’ll play lab rat for you some other time. Right now, my family…”
“Needs to know you’re safe and getting well. They don’t need to worry about you. I can get the handcuffs if you’re going to be difficult.”
He looked up at her but she didn’t relent. Frustration built and he grabbed a pillow and threw it at the wall.
“Feel any better?” she queried sarcastically.
“I can’t just stay here and do nothing.”
“You’re right. You’re not going to do nothing. It’s time to start those simulations you agreed to perform.”
He frowned up at her and she pulled up a chair. After she finished updating him, he narrowed his eyes and stood.
“Let’s get to work,” he told her.
**
Jeff filled another syringe and gazed down at the sleeping man. Keeping Lyle sedated this long may be dangerous, he thought. They needed to awaken him to determine if there was any brain damage or hemorrhaging. Sighing, he injected the man and checked his vitals.
Yawning sleepily, he left the room and knocked quietly on his brother’s door. Miss Parker peered out at him from around the door.
“What?” she hissed. She softened her eyes when she saw her visitor.
“I’ve sedated your brother again,” Jeff whispered. “I wanted to check on Jarod.”
“He’s busy.”
Jeff frowned as he considered this. “But he shouldn’t be doing simulations yet. He’s still too sick and weak. I could have done them.”
“No. You go get some more sleep.”
The woman shut the door and Jeff was left standing in the hallway. Frustrated, he headed downstairs to the kitchen just as the phone rang.
“Jeff,” Ben called out. “Your father wants to talk to you.”
“Dad!”
Ben watched as the boy nodded and answered a few questions. When he had hung up, he turned with a smile to the older man.
“Ethan came through the surgery wonderfully. The doctors said he should be released within a couple of days. Dad is bringing Emily back here and then going back.”
“And how is Emily?”
“A little banged up. Dad said there’s something bothering her but she can’t remember what it is. The doctors think she’s just exhausted and needs sleep.”
“Well, I’ll go get a bedroom ready for her. I’m sure a nice hot breakfast and soft bed will fix her right up.”
“I hope so.”
“I’m going to have to change my advertising. With Lyle and Jarod recuperating and Emily on her way, maybe I ought to become a convalescence home.”
The boy laughed. “Let’s just hope my family doesn’t put you out of business.”
****
“Maggie!”
The girl looked up at her oldest brother and jumped up from her seat. Patrick hugged her tightly and she felt tears gather. Everything was all right now, she told herself. She could go back to her house and fishing and pretend none of this had happened.
Patrick released her and she wiped her eyes. He began rapid firing questions at her and she sighed tiredly.
“Patrick, I’ve been up for over 24 hours. Is there anyway you could get me out of here and I’ll tell you about it on the drive home?”
He nodded and turned to the police officer standing nearby.
“Is there anything else you need from her?”
“I’ll need her location and a phone number where she can be reached. If the driver of the other car makes it, I’m sure they’ll be a hearing or trial.”
Patrick nodded and gave the officer his New York address and phone number. Taking Maggie out of the shack they had grown up in was something he had yearned to do for years. Now, from her ramblings on the phone, he knew she needed more than just sleep.
“I just want to go home,” Maggie whispered as they left the police district.
“I’m taking you home, Maggie,” Patrick replied. “Here, put your seat back and go to sleep.”
His sister closed her eyes and he sighed. He was determined to give his sister the best help he could find. The wild story she had told had even the officers shaking their heads in pity at the girl. Maggie had always been different but this was something else. Something he should have been prepared for. Afterall, their mother had exhibited the same problems.
***
Jarod lowered his head to his hands and shook off the after effects of the simulation. The sick feelings and manipulations inside Lyle’s head had been hard to withstand. But worse, were the mistrust, aloneness and feelings of being used that Lyle had felt.
“He wasn’t going to take them back,” he told Lyle’s sister. “He wanted to keep them safe from Cox. But they were his guarantee. He was supposed to have called Willie after the surgery.”
“Then why didn’t he tell us about them? Why hold them with the intention of using them to force you to perform the surgery correctly and not tell you?”
“They weren’t his guarantee that we’d do the surgery right.” Jarod raised his head and met her eyes. “He knew we wouldn’t do something like that. They were his guarantee that after the surgery, we wouldn’t turn the tables on him and make him our prisoner. He wanted to make sure we went ahead with the plan to take me back and shutdown regeneration.”
“So he didn’t trust us? He demanded our trust and then made all these side plans just in case?”
“Basically,” Jarod ran his hands through his hair. She stood and went to the window and peered out. A car pulled to a stop.
“Your father is back,” she commented. “Emily is with him. She looks exhausted.”
He stood unsteadily and walked towards the door.
“Where are you going?” she demanded.
“I want to get cleaned up a little.”
“No showers or baths today, Jarod. Your shoulder is infected. Stay here. We’re not done yet.”
“Yes, we are.”
“What do we do about Lyle?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean? He tried to keep Emily and Ethan hostage!”
“And if we keep him prisoner, we will be doing exactly what he was afraid of. We go through with it – all of it. Regeneration has to be shutdown for good.”
****
Cox paced impatiently. Sydney should have called hours ago and he was unable to reach Dan. Something had gone terribly wrong and Cox found it excruciatingly annoying when his plans failed.
The door to Mr. Parker’s office opened and Willie exited. The sweeper scowled at him as he went past then stopped in front of him.
“Fishing should be excellent in the waters near the girl’s cottage,” Willie implied. “I’ve seeded the waters with plenty of fish bait.”
Cox smiled coldly at the news that his sweeper was dead and pushed past the sweeper into the office. Mr. Parker scowled at him from his desk.
“Willie spoke with my daughter. Apparently, Jarod caught up with Lyle and put my son out of commission for awhile. He informed me that Emily and Ethan had been captured. What I can’t understand is why they weren’t brought to the Centre. What was Lyle up to?”
“As soon as I heard, I sent Sydney to bring Ethan and Emily here. But Sydney hasn’t returned my calls…”
The older man waved his hand in dismissal.
“Ethan and Emily and the girl escaped Willie. Sydney probably never made it to the girl’s cabin before they escaped. He’s probably on his way back here now.”
“They escaped? Was Willie been able to determine which direction?”
“They could have gone anywhere. But Willie has people watching the girl’s brothers. Her older brother left his apartment in New York early this morning. I need you to go to pick her up. They’re heading back to New York now.”
Cox nodded and smiled with satisfaction. Once he retrieved Emily and Ethan’s location out of the girl, he would have everything he needed to recapture the pretender. With Jarod back at the Centre, regeneration would proceed as planned.
***
Emily gave up trying to keep her eyes open long enough to eat the food in front of her. Blinking blearily at her father, she rose from the table.
“I can’t eat anymore,” she whispered. “I just need to get some sleep, Dad. There’s something important that I can’t remember and it’s driving me nuts.”
“Nuts?” Jeff asked.
“Crazy,” his father supplied. “It’s making her frustrated.”
“Oh.” The boy looked thoughtful for a moment. “Perhaps Jarod can help jog your memory. Your room is near his upstairs. I’ll show you.”
She mumbled something about how pretty the inn was as they climbed the stairs. Jeff stopped outside Jarod’s room and tentatively knocked. When there was no answer, he opened the door to find the room deserted. Hearing voices, he went to Lyle’s room and found his older brother and Parker checking over Lyle.
“Jarod? Do you have a minute?”
“What is it?” Jarod asked in concern.
“Emily…” The boy stood aside as his sister pushed her way into the room. She gasped when she saw the unconscious man.
“Lyle,” she spat. “That bastard. Did he tell you where our mother is?”
“Emily,” Parker began gently. “He never knew.”
She studied Parker’s face then nodded and turned to her older brother. Jarod grew uncomfortable at her visual examination and turned his face away to grimace at the floor.
“You should be in bed,” Emily said quietly.
“You’re one to talk,” Jarod replied. “How do you feel?”
“Tired. But mostly frustrated. There’s something important I can’t remember. The doctors think it’s an after effect of the concussion. They said to give it a couple more weeks and I’ll be back to new.”
“I might be able to help.”
“No, you need to go back to bed. I’ll think of it.”
“Just let me try. It won’t take long.”
She sighed and studied him again. The bruises and shakiness were obvious but it was the pallor and glassiness in his eyes that really concerned her. But he seemed determined and she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until this thing stopped nagging at her.
“Okay,” she sighed. “Let’s do this somewhere else though. I’m not sure I like the company in here.”
***
She sat in the chair beside the window while Jarod sat on the bed’s edge. Closing her eyes, she relived the events leading up to the crash – the road, the darkness. She and Ethan had been arguing with someone.
“Maggie,” she breathed. Her eyes popped open. “I completely forgot about Maggie! Oh, dammit, she’s probably called her brothers by now!”
“Calm down and tell us who Maggie is,” Jarod told her. “And why she would have been with you.”
“Our car broke down and she stopped to help us. We were in the middle of nowhere and hadn’t eaten in awhile. She offered us some seafood stew and we went to her house. That’s where Willie caught up with us.”
Jarod looked over at Parker who looked concerned. She hunched down in front of Emily.
“Did you tell Maggie where you were taking her?” she asked. Emily shook her head.
“Good.”
“We’ve got to call the hospital and warn my dad,” Jarod said and stood unsteadily. Parker rose to her feet and pressed him back down.
“We’ve got time. Once they get Maggie, they’ll need to search all the nearby hospitals. We can pick up your father and brother on our way out of here.”
Jarod frowned. “Why can’t we bring them here?”
“It’s not safe. Someone involved in this knows about this place.”
“Sydney wouldn’t do that,” Jarod said firmly.
“We can’t trust him. Cox is involved. We need to clear out of here.”
**
Major Charles stood up and stretched the kinks out of his back tiredly. A nurse came into the room and smiled at him. She bent over his son and checked the bandaging.
“He’s doing wonderfully,” she reassured the older man. “The doctors said his spleen didn’t burst as they were afraid. He’ll be on his feet in no time.”
He smiled back at her. “Any word on how the other driver is doing?”
“He came out of surgery a couple of hours ago. He’s in intensive care. They haven’t been able to find any records on him. It’s like he doesn’t exist. It’s quite sad because they haven’t been able to identify any next of kin. All they know is that he’s a doctor of some kind.”
“How do they know that?”
“There were some papers signed ‘Dr. Green’.”
He spun around to stare at her. “Green?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
He didn’t answer but charged out the door and headed for ICU. Standing outside room 3, he stared in shock at his eldest son’s mentor for thirty years.
***
Cox smiled as he hung up the phone. Sweepers had captured the girl, Maggie, and her brother. Apparently, the brother had been all too willing to tell the sweepers everything he knew. A quick check of hospitals in the area had yielded Ethan’s location. . He would be able to reach them in two hours.
Once he had Ethan and Emily, he was certain Jarod would appear. Soon, he thought, soon I’ll have Jarod back to work. He had thought of his new technique and was eager to try it out. Picking up the phone, he confirmed the construction of his new tank. Smiling, he hung up and tried to control the little shivers of excitement.
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