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In Pursuit Of Happiness Part 50C2
„So much for my little nap,“ he mumbled in disgust, scooting up in
bed intending to get up and take a shower. Realizing his
tranquilizer had already kicked in, he aborted the effort and fell
back against the soft pillows resigned to the inevitable.
* *
*
Andrea and Jarod’s temporary bed room
12:05
„Jarod, I’m sorry; I just wanted to check on you; I didn’t mean to
wake you.“
„That’s alright, Andi, I never intended to sleep this long.“
„You look a lot better now. How are you feeling?“
„Rested,“ he said, sitting up and stretching.
„The family is about to sit down for lunch. Are you hungry?“
„As a matter of fact, I am,“ he said, running his fingers through
his unruly hair as he left the bed.
„And how are the two of you doing?“ he asked, patting her abdomen
lightly with his hand.
„Starving.“
* * *
Dinning room - -moments later¡K
„There you are. Have a seat,“ the major said with a grin, relieved
that his son no longer had the shakes.
„Here you go, Andi,“ Jarod said, pulling out her chair for
her.
„Emily, please pass the chicken,“ Margaret said with a
smile, trying to mask her ever present concern for her son.
„Jim must have picked this up. He loves Kentucky fried
chicken,“ Jarod said in amusement, glancing at the agents sitting at
a table in the other room. „Here Andi, pick something out.“
„How are you doing mom?“
„I’m fine Jarod. I finally got some decent sleep. Did you?“
„Probably more than I needed,“ he said, trying to put a
positive spin on it.
„Andi can I get you some milk?“
„I’d rather have ice tea and please skip the lecture.“
„Yes ma-am,“ he said, earning an amused look from his sister.
*
Kitchen - - moments later¡K
„Jarod?“
„What is it, Michael?“
„What happened to you right after Sydney left? It felt like
you had a complete melt down.“
„It was nothing like that. I need to work through some
things, that’s all,“ he said taking a couple of glasses from the
cabinet.
„It felt exactly like what I sensed from you the night Hans
died. You simmed it didn’t you?“
„Michael quit meddling in my affairs. You have no right,“
the pretender said heatedly, taking the ice tea out of the
refrigerator and filling the glasses.
„You’re wrong. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.“
„It already did. Look, I’m fine, Michael. Stop worrying
about me.“
„At least let me carry one of those drinks before you spill
them,“ Michael suggested, eyeing his arm in the sling.
Dinning room
Twenty minutes later¡K
„There’s a playoff game on TV this afternoon. Jarod do you
like football?“
„I played for the Eagles once,“ he said, selecting a chicken
leg from the box. „Anyone want more chicken?“
„Over here, Jarod,“ Michael said.
„You played for the Eagles?“
„Only for a few games, Emily; until a dealer selling
steroids could be exposed.“
„It’s hard to believe its still pouring. I’ve never seen
such intense storms.“
„Margaret unfortunately that’s the price one pays for living
in the tropics. Can I pass you anything?“
„No thank you, Charles; Anyone else?“
„Not for me; I don’t want to miss the beginning of the game.“
„I never realized you liked sports that much.“
„Yeah, mom, it’s the great American pass time,“ Emily said,
trying to give everyone a lift. „Anyone else coming? Jarod?“
„I think „the great American pass time“ is a reference to
baseball.“
„What ever. Do you want to watch the game?“
„Sounds fine to me. Andi?“
„Oh, what the heck; I haven’t seen a game in years.“
„Go ahead, Margaret; save me a seat. I’ll toss the paper
plates.“
* * *
Later that afternoon¡K
Foyer¡K
„Dr. Green, please come in,“ Agent Morris said, opening the
door.
„Agent, I missed you this morning.“
„I had a meeting downtown. Jarod’s in the living room with
his family watching football.“
„Thank you. Any movement on the sting operation?“
„Not yet.“
Living room¡K
„Good afternoon. Jarod, it’s time for our session,“ he said,
stepping up to the back of the couch.
„Jarod, wake up,“ Andrea nudged. „Sydney’s here.“
„Oh, um, hi Sydney; long game,“ he said, as he left the
couch feeling vaguely embarrassed. * *
*
Jarod and Andrea’s temporary bedroom¡K
„Why don’t you have a seat, Jarod,“ Sydney encouraged,
pleased that his docile patient appeared to be properly medicated.
„I’m glad to see you spending time with your family. Were
you able to get in a nap?“
„Other than the one I had on the couch? Yes.“
„Did you have any nightmares?“
„I was lucky, I only had one.“
„What was it about?“
„The night I spent with Lyle,“ he said, trying to stifle a
deep yawn.
„Being tortured?“
„Something like that. Actually, it didn’t bother me that
much.“
„Compared with the nightmares last night?“
„Yes. I can’t figure out why I’m having nightmares about
Lyle right now. I quit having them all together after my extensive
counseling in the states. „
„Considering the heinous things he did to you, you’ll
probably have nightmares about your ordeal with him when under
duress, perhaps for the rest of your life.“
„Jarod, I’m switching you back to Trazodone with the
addition of Risperdal and discontinuing the Seconal. I’m afraid it’s
losing its effectiveness and I don’t want to increase the dose.“
„Risperdal? That’s used in treating schizophrenia.“
„It’s also used for treating severe anxiety. It worked
wonders for you in the past. It will help diminish your nightmares
so you can look forward to sleeping again.“
„What about the sting operation? You said we would discuss it this
afternoon,“ he reminded him, overlooking his irritating reference to
his past.
„Yes I did. The fact is you are making remarkable progress
for the early stages of your recovery. However, you are still having
an extremely difficult time discussing your flashbacks and
nightmares, especially those concerning Hans. Once you enter the
computer room where you experienced Hans’ death, I’m quite certain
you’ll become physically ill. I dare say, if you side step that,
you’ll most likely be unable to cope well enough to remain in the
room for more than a token amount of time. Therefore, if I would
allow you to go, I would be setting you up for certain failure.“
„You’re wrong. I simmed it this morning and it wasn’t nearly
that bad,“ he exaggerated, unwilling to face the truth. „If I sim it
a few more times¡K“
„Dear Lord, I can’t believe you tried that alone in your
present condition. You know better than that. If you had gotten into
trouble, no one would have been¡K“
„I didn’t. If you’re that concerned about my well-being, why
don’t you monitor the process? I’m sure I will be ready¡K.“
„No, it’s too dangerous.“
„All right, take me down to the office. We could go into the
computer room a few times before you actually have me sit down at
Broots’ station.“
„I can’t. You’re under protective custody. It would blow
your cover if I took you out of the safe house. Jarod the timing is
all wrong. I’m sorry; I won’t allow you to go.“
* * *
Living room ten minutes later¡K
„How did your session with Jarod go?“ Andrea asked, meeting
the psychiatrist at the bottom of the stairs.
„Basically it went very well. However, he’s understandably
angry with me for not allowing him to be down at the Federal
building when the sting operation takes place.“
„That means so much to him. Are you sure you won’t change
your mind?“
„It would be irresponsible on my part to allow him to go
into that situation in his current state. He’s still having a very
difficult time coming to terms with Hans’ death. I’m afraid it would
be disastrous for him.
„My gosh, is he doing that badly?“
„On the contrary, Jarod’s making remarkable progress. He’s
an extraordinarily tough young man. But as I said before, this just
isn’t the kind of thing one gets over in a week or so. It takes
time, something he’s not willing to accept yet.“
„How can I help?“
„Continue to encourage him to spend time with you and the
rest of the family. He needs your emotional support more than
anything else. I better be going. Give me a call if you need any
assistance.“ * * *
Jarod and Andrea’s temporary bedroom
Twenty minutes later¡K
„Jarod, aren’t you going to come down stairs?“
„Oh, um, hi Andi.“
„What’s wrong with you? You’re as white as a sheet.“
„Nothing really; I just had a difficult session.“
„Is there anything I can do?“
„No, I just need to rest for a little bit. Why don’t you go
back down stairs; I’ll be along as soon as I’m ready.“
* * *
Living room
5:23PM
„Mind if I join you?“ Jarod asked, padding his way into the
room.
„Of course you can, you boob,“ Andrea said, scooting over on
the love seat to make room.
„Where are you going Michael? You said you couldn’t wait to
see the news.“
„I changed my mind,“ he said, giving Jarod an angry look.
„You two have a fight?“ Major Charles asked, craning his
neck around his wife to look at Jarod.
„Not that I know of. Maybe I better go see what’s bothering
him.“
* * *
Michael’s upstairs bed room¡K
„Michael, I need to talk with you.“
„Why? It won’t change anything, will it?“
„Just hear me out. Please open the door.“
„All right, Jarod. I have a few things to say to you.“
Moments later¡K
„You’re mad at me, aren’t you?
„That’s an under statement. Why are you continuing to run
Sims in your condition? You know that’s extremely dangerous.“
„I’m running one very limited Sim with predictable results.“
„You’re taking an unwarranted risk.“
„Michael, I have to do this. The sting operation is going
down any day now.“
„You’re not going to back down are you?
„No.“
„All right, let me help you.“
* * *
Michael’s bedroom
6:30pm
„You two want to come down and eat?“ Margaret asked, tapping
on the door.
„Sure mom, we’ll be down in a little bit.“
*
„Jarod are you going to be all right? You don’t look very
good.“
„I’ll make it. That time went a lot better. I owe you one.
Come on little buddy, let’s go down stairs.“
„Little buddy?“
„Yeah, is that all right?“
„You’re a pretty strange guy, you know that?“
„What can I say?“
* * *
Dinning room¡K
6:55pm
„Well, that’s enough for me. Jarod you didn’t eat anything,
are you all right?“ his father asked, wondering why he looked so
pale. „I hope you’re not coming down with something.“
„No dad, I’m just really tired. It’s been a long day. Um, if
you’ll all excuse me, I think I’ll head up stairs. Andi, I hope you
don’t mind.“
„Of course not, Sweet heart.“
* * *
Jarod and Andrea’s temporary bedroom
9:30pm
„Jarod, Sydney just dropped by your night time medications.
Would you like to take them now?“
„Why don’t I wait on that for a while? It’s still early.“
„Maybe it wouldn’t hurt you to get some extra sleep.“
„What are you trying to do, get rid of me?“
„Yeah, I’ve got a hot date waiting for me down stairs.
Seriously, Jarod, you look completely worn out.“
„Maybe you’re right.“
„Here you are. I’ll get you some water.“
„No you don’t. You do too much for me already,“ he said,
laying his bible aside and getting out of bed.
„Come on, Jarod, it doesn’t hurt to receive a little help. I
love you, for heaven’s sake.“
„And I love you,“ Jarod said, padding his way out of the bathroom
giving her a playful pat
„Watch it, Mr.“
„Oh, and you used to be so much fun.“
„I am, now get in bed.“
„Now you’re talking.“
„Not a chance. Do I have to get a mirror out for you?“
„All right, mother.“
„Good night Jarod, I’ll be up in a little while,“ she said, leaning
over and giving him a kiss. „Now, try and get some sleep.“
„Andi, you know I’m going to pull out of this.“
„Don’t worry ¡V I know.“
* * *
To be continued¡K jemac@g... jojarod50@y...
ļ
„So much for my little nap,“ he mumbled in disgust, scooting up in
bed intending to get up and take a shower. Realizing his
tranquilizer had already kicked in, he aborted the effort and fell
back against the soft pillows resigned to the inevitable.
* *
*
Andrea and Jarod’s temporary bed room
12:05
„Jarod, I’m sorry; I just wanted to check on you; I didn’t mean to
wake you.“
„That’s alright, Andi, I never intended to sleep this long.“
„You look a lot better now. How are you feeling?“
„Rested,“ he said, sitting up and stretching.
„The family is about to sit down for lunch. Are you hungry?“
„As a matter of fact, I am,“ he said, running his fingers through
his unruly hair as he left the bed.
„And how are the two of you doing?“ he asked, patting her abdomen
lightly with his hand.
„Starving.“
* * *
Dinning room - -moments later¡K
„There you are. Have a seat,“ the major said with a grin, relieved
that his son no longer had the shakes.
„Here you go, Andi,“ Jarod said, pulling out her chair for
her.
„Emily, please pass the chicken,“ Margaret said with a
smile, trying to mask her ever present concern for her son.
„Jim must have picked this up. He loves Kentucky fried
chicken,“ Jarod said in amusement, glancing at the agents sitting at
a table in the other room. „Here Andi, pick something out.“
„How are you doing mom?“
„I’m fine Jarod. I finally got some decent sleep. Did you?“
„Probably more than I needed,“ he said, trying to put a
positive spin on it.
„Andi can I get you some milk?“
„I’d rather have ice tea and please skip the lecture.“
„Yes ma-am,“ he said, earning an amused look from his sister.
*
Kitchen - - moments later¡K
„Jarod?“
„What is it, Michael?“
„What happened to you right after Sydney left? It felt like
you had a complete melt down.“
„It was nothing like that. I need to work through some
things, that’s all,“ he said taking a couple of glasses from the
cabinet.
„It felt exactly like what I sensed from you the night Hans
died. You simmed it didn’t you?“
„Michael quit meddling in my affairs. You have no right,“
the pretender said heatedly, taking the ice tea out of the
refrigerator and filling the glasses.
„You’re wrong. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.“
„It already did. Look, I’m fine, Michael. Stop worrying
about me.“
„At least let me carry one of those drinks before you spill
them,“ Michael suggested, eyeing his arm in the sling.
Dinning room
Twenty minutes later¡K
„There’s a playoff game on TV this afternoon. Jarod do you
like football?“
„I played for the Eagles once,“ he said, selecting a chicken
leg from the box. „Anyone want more chicken?“
„Over here, Jarod,“ Michael said.
„You played for the Eagles?“
„Only for a few games, Emily; until a dealer selling
steroids could be exposed.“
„It’s hard to believe its still pouring. I’ve never seen
such intense storms.“
„Margaret unfortunately that’s the price one pays for living
in the tropics. Can I pass you anything?“
„No thank you, Charles; Anyone else?“
„Not for me; I don’t want to miss the beginning of the game.“
„I never realized you liked sports that much.“
„Yeah, mom, it’s the great American pass time,“ Emily said,
trying to give everyone a lift. „Anyone else coming? Jarod?“
„I think „the great American pass time“ is a reference to
baseball.“
„What ever. Do you want to watch the game?“
„Sounds fine to me. Andi?“
„Oh, what the heck; I haven’t seen a game in years.“
„Go ahead, Margaret; save me a seat. I’ll toss the paper
plates.“
* * *
Later that afternoon¡K
Foyer¡K
„Dr. Green, please come in,“ Agent Morris said, opening the
door.
„Agent, I missed you this morning.“
„I had a meeting downtown. Jarod’s in the living room with
his family watching football.“
„Thank you. Any movement on the sting operation?“
„Not yet.“
Living room¡K
„Good afternoon. Jarod, it’s time for our session,“ he said,
stepping up to the back of the couch.
„Jarod, wake up,“ Andrea nudged. „Sydney’s here.“
„Oh, um, hi Sydney; long game,“ he said, as he left the
couch feeling vaguely embarrassed. * *
*
Jarod and Andrea’s temporary bedroom¡K
„Why don’t you have a seat, Jarod,“ Sydney encouraged,
pleased that his docile patient appeared to be properly medicated.
„I’m glad to see you spending time with your family. Were
you able to get in a nap?“
„Other than the one I had on the couch? Yes.“
„Did you have any nightmares?“
„I was lucky, I only had one.“
„What was it about?“
„The night I spent with Lyle,“ he said, trying to stifle a
deep yawn.
„Being tortured?“
„Something like that. Actually, it didn’t bother me that
much.“
„Compared with the nightmares last night?“
„Yes. I can’t figure out why I’m having nightmares about
Lyle right now. I quit having them all together after my extensive
counseling in the states. „
„Considering the heinous things he did to you, you’ll
probably have nightmares about your ordeal with him when under
duress, perhaps for the rest of your life.“
„Jarod, I’m switching you back to Trazodone with the
addition of Risperdal and discontinuing the Seconal. I’m afraid it’s
losing its effectiveness and I don’t want to increase the dose.“
„Risperdal? That’s used in treating schizophrenia.“
„It’s also used for treating severe anxiety. It worked
wonders for you in the past. It will help diminish your nightmares
so you can look forward to sleeping again.“
„What about the sting operation? You said we would discuss it this
afternoon,“ he reminded him, overlooking his irritating reference to
his past.
„Yes I did. The fact is you are making remarkable progress
for the early stages of your recovery. However, you are still having
an extremely difficult time discussing your flashbacks and
nightmares, especially those concerning Hans. Once you enter the
computer room where you experienced Hans’ death, I’m quite certain
you’ll become physically ill. I dare say, if you side step that,
you’ll most likely be unable to cope well enough to remain in the
room for more than a token amount of time. Therefore, if I would
allow you to go, I would be setting you up for certain failure.“
„You’re wrong. I simmed it this morning and it wasn’t nearly
that bad,“ he exaggerated, unwilling to face the truth. „If I sim it
a few more times¡K“
„Dear Lord, I can’t believe you tried that alone in your
present condition. You know better than that. If you had gotten into
trouble, no one would have been¡K“
„I didn’t. If you’re that concerned about my well-being, why
don’t you monitor the process? I’m sure I will be ready¡K.“
„No, it’s too dangerous.“
„All right, take me down to the office. We could go into the
computer room a few times before you actually have me sit down at
Broots’ station.“
„I can’t. You’re under protective custody. It would blow
your cover if I took you out of the safe house. Jarod the timing is
all wrong. I’m sorry; I won’t allow you to go.“
* * *
Living room ten minutes later¡K
„How did your session with Jarod go?“ Andrea asked, meeting
the psychiatrist at the bottom of the stairs.
„Basically it went very well. However, he’s understandably
angry with me for not allowing him to be down at the Federal
building when the sting operation takes place.“
„That means so much to him. Are you sure you won’t change
your mind?“
„It would be irresponsible on my part to allow him to go
into that situation in his current state. He’s still having a very
difficult time coming to terms with Hans’ death. I’m afraid it would
be disastrous for him.
„My gosh, is he doing that badly?“
„On the contrary, Jarod’s making remarkable progress. He’s
an extraordinarily tough young man. But as I said before, this just
isn’t the kind of thing one gets over in a week or so. It takes
time, something he’s not willing to accept yet.“
„How can I help?“
„Continue to encourage him to spend time with you and the
rest of the family. He needs your emotional support more than
anything else. I better be going. Give me a call if you need any
assistance.“ * * *
Jarod and Andrea’s temporary bedroom
Twenty minutes later¡K
„Jarod, aren’t you going to come down stairs?“
„Oh, um, hi Andi.“
„What’s wrong with you? You’re as white as a sheet.“
„Nothing really; I just had a difficult session.“
„Is there anything I can do?“
„No, I just need to rest for a little bit. Why don’t you go
back down stairs; I’ll be along as soon as I’m ready.“
* * *
Living room
5:23PM
„Mind if I join you?“ Jarod asked, padding his way into the
room.
„Of course you can, you boob,“ Andrea said, scooting over on
the love seat to make room.
„Where are you going Michael? You said you couldn’t wait to
see the news.“
„I changed my mind,“ he said, giving Jarod an angry look.
„You two have a fight?“ Major Charles asked, craning his
neck around his wife to look at Jarod.
„Not that I know of. Maybe I better go see what’s bothering
him.“
* * *
Michael’s upstairs bed room¡K
„Michael, I need to talk with you.“
„Why? It won’t change anything, will it?“
„Just hear me out. Please open the door.“
„All right, Jarod. I have a few things to say to you.“
Moments later¡K
„You’re mad at me, aren’t you?
„That’s an under statement. Why are you continuing to run
Sims in your condition? You know that’s extremely dangerous.“
„I’m running one very limited Sim with predictable results.“
„You’re taking an unwarranted risk.“
„Michael, I have to do this. The sting operation is going
down any day now.“
„You’re not going to back down are you?
„No.“
„All right, let me help you.“
* * *
Michael’s bedroom
6:30pm
„You two want to come down and eat?“ Margaret asked, tapping
on the door.
„Sure mom, we’ll be down in a little bit.“
*
„Jarod are you going to be all right? You don’t look very
good.“
„I’ll make it. That time went a lot better. I owe you one.
Come on little buddy, let’s go down stairs.“
„Little buddy?“
„Yeah, is that all right?“
„You’re a pretty strange guy, you know that?“
„What can I say?“
* * *
Dinning room¡K
6:55pm
„Well, that’s enough for me. Jarod you didn’t eat anything,
are you all right?“ his father asked, wondering why he looked so
pale. „I hope you’re not coming down with something.“
„No dad, I’m just really tired. It’s been a long day. Um, if
you’ll all excuse me, I think I’ll head up stairs. Andi, I hope you
don’t mind.“
„Of course not, Sweet heart.“
* * *
Jarod and Andrea’s temporary bedroom
9:30pm
„Jarod, Sydney just dropped by your night time medications.
Would you like to take them now?“
„Why don’t I wait on that for a while? It’s still early.“
„Maybe it wouldn’t hurt you to get some extra sleep.“
„What are you trying to do, get rid of me?“
„Yeah, I’ve got a hot date waiting for me down stairs.
Seriously, Jarod, you look completely worn out.“
„Maybe you’re right.“
„Here you are. I’ll get you some water.“
„No you don’t. You do too much for me already,“ he said,
laying his bible aside and getting out of bed.
„Come on, Jarod, it doesn’t hurt to receive a little help. I
love you, for heaven’s sake.“
„And I love you,“ Jarod said, padding his way out of the bathroom
giving her a playful pat
„Watch it, Mr.“
„Oh, and you used to be so much fun.“
„I am, now get in bed.“
„Now you’re talking.“
„Not a chance. Do I have to get a mirror out for you?“
„All right, mother.“
„Good night Jarod, I’ll be up in a little while,“ she said, leaning
over and giving him a kiss. „Now, try and get some sleep.“
„Andi, you know I’m going to pull out of this.“
„Don’t worry ¡V I know.“
* * *
To be continued¡K jemac@g... jojarod50@y...
ļ
