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Chapter or Story 
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.
The Tender Side of The Heart
part 1
By Sarah Elizabeth
The man in the leather duster stood silently behind a tree staring at the young woman with the dark brown hair and green eyes. She was tall and slim and wore black jeans and a sweater.
He had seen her twice before. Once working as an administrative assistant at an office where he had worked five months ago, and a year and a half before that working as a flight attendant. Now here she was again working as a preschool teacher.
The second time he had seen her, he had thought that it was coincidence: two women who looked like each other, but now he was certain that it had been the same woman both times. The woman he was looking at now had the same look and the same mannerisms.
He had to meet her, but he must be cautious in his approach. What if she wasn’t a pretender and just had a lot of interests. She could be a twin or even part of a set of triplets. Even if she were a pretender that didn’t mean that she had had any dealings with The Centre. Hell, she might even be a Centre trap. Make friends with him and earn his trust and then turn him in.
The man looked up and realized that the woman was gone. He turned around to find himself face to face with her. She did not look happy.
"It’s illegal to loiter at a school you know," She said. "I should call the police, but for you I’ll make an exception. It’s nice to finally meet you Jarod."
"You know my name?" Jarod asked in surprise.
"Sure I do," the woman answered. "Once Sydney realized that I knew about you, you’re all he ever talked about. Especially after you escaped."
"Sydney," Jarod said. "Then you have been to The Centre."
"Born and raised," she said. "By the way my name is Sarah."
"Nice to meet you," Jarod said. "How long since you escaped?"
"Two and a half years." Sarah answered.
"How did you escape?" Jarod asked.
"We just met," Sarah answered. "I don’t think I’m going to share that much yet. Listen, there’s a great pizza place two blocks away. I get off at five. Meet me there at 5:30 and we can talk. It’s Jessi’s Pizza."
"Okay," Jarod said. "I’ll see you there."
"I have to get back to work, but I’ll see you in a few hours," Sarah said.
**************************************
It was 5:45 and Jarod stood across the street from Jessi’s Pizza looking for any signs of sweepers. Having seen nothing out of the ordinary, he made his way across the street and towards the restaurant praying that he would not be bombarded in the middle of dinner.
When he entered the restaurant, he easily spotted Sarah and was surprised to see a young child about two years old sitting next to her in the booth. They were apparently sharing some private joke as Sarah’s hand moved towards the child’s belly and the boy started laughing hysterically.
"Sarah," Jarod said. "You didn’t mention that you were baby sitting tonight."
"I’m not," Sarah answered. "This is my son Paul. Paul this is my friend Jarod."
"Hi Jarod," Paul said shyly as he buried his face in Sarah’s sleeve.
"Hello Paul," Jarod said. "It’s nice to meet you."
Jarod turned to give Sarah a confused look. "You were pregnant before you left The Centre?" He asked.
"It’s a long story Jarod," Sarah said glancing at her son. "Let’s leave it for later. What do you like on your pizza?"
"The works," Jarod answered.
"You don’t know what you’re saying Jarod." Sarah teased. "This place offers spinach and bean sprouts on the works pizza. How about a basic combo."
"Whatever you say," Jarod said. "As long as you don’t order the bean sprouts."
Sarah started to laugh and her son joined in not understanding the joke. That set Jarod off and they were all laughing loudly when the waiter came to take their order. Jarod was the first to compose him self and ordered a combo pizza and three colas. The waiter shook his head at Sarah’s red face and walked away to give the kitchen their order.
"So," Sarah said. "How long are you in town for?"
"I don’t know," Jarod said. "It depends on how long I wait to reveal myself. How bout you?"
"We’ve been here three months," Sarah said. "I’m planning to leave a day or two before you."
"Three months!" Jarod said. "How do you manage that? I rarely stay anywhere for more than a week."
"I’m not on the run from The Centre," Sarah said. "Only from my ghosts."
"They released you?" Jarod asked looking at Paul.
"I released myself and my son," Sarah said. "With the help of some people on the inside."
"I’m not sure I understand." Jarod said.
"They think I’m dead," Sarah said. "And they never knew that I was pregnant."
"Sydney was in charge of your program?" Jarod asked with hope in his voice.
"Raines was," Sarah said. "I was turned over to Sydney when I was twelve. Raines couldn’t handle me anymore, and he was never able to control me, but then again neither was Sydney."
"What do you mean handle you?" Jarod asked.
"When I was seven," Sarah started. "Raines put a gun in my hand and told me to shoot at pictures of children. I pointed the gun at him. When I was nine he got his first oxygen tube and I pulled it out and threw it across the room. And when I was ten I found some books on the martial arts in an old library Angelo led me to. The next time Raines tried to hit me I put him in the Infirmary. Get the picture."
"Yes, I do," Jarod said. "Remind me to stay on your good side. What exactly led him to turn you over to Sydney?"
"There were five of us in the program," Sarah said. "All born within the same few weeks. We were siblings born from surrogates over a three week period."
"You knew each other?" Jarod asked.
"Yes," Sarah answered. "They played us off each other. We’d all get into trouble and Mr. Raines would punish one of us while he made the others watch. They would put us together and then plant seeds of suspicion among us trying to convince us that one of us was betraying the trust of the others."
"What happened to them?" Jarod asked. "Do you know?"
"The first to go," Sarah began. "Was Paul. I was born with a congenital heart disorder. I needed a transplant and Paul was not a pretender, so Mr. Raines played God and my brother’s heart now beats in my chest. Alyssa’s fate is the only one of which I am unsure. She was an autistic but with major pretender potential. One morning when we were ten we woke up and she was gone."
"And the others?" Jarod asked with a caring voice.
"Let’s leave that for another day," Sarah said. "It’s too hard to talk about all at once."
"All right," Jarod said understandingly. "Why did you want to meet me here."
"Jarod," Sarah said. "I think you have the right to know something about me."
"What is it?" Jarod asked.
"It’s about my parents."
"What about them?"
"Well," Sarah began. "About a year ago, I found out that the five of us were more than mere pretender slaves, we were hostages."
"Hostages?" Jarod asked. "Why would the Centre use five children that no one knows about as hostages?"
"The people they were going to use us against were within the Centre. Our parents."
"Who are they?" Jarod asked.
"Well," Sarah answered. "Miss Parker is our mother. Her father had Mr. Raines steal some of her eggs before he sent her away. We were supposed to insure her loyalty to the Centre forever."
"And your father?" Jarod asked.
"I think you’d better order a drink first," Sarah said.
"I’m fine," Jarod said. "Just tell me.
"You, are my father," Sarah answered.
******************************************************************
Feedback please
part 1
By Sarah Elizabeth
The man in the leather duster stood silently behind a tree staring at the young woman with the dark brown hair and green eyes. She was tall and slim and wore black jeans and a sweater.
He had seen her twice before. Once working as an administrative assistant at an office where he had worked five months ago, and a year and a half before that working as a flight attendant. Now here she was again working as a preschool teacher.
The second time he had seen her, he had thought that it was coincidence: two women who looked like each other, but now he was certain that it had been the same woman both times. The woman he was looking at now had the same look and the same mannerisms.
He had to meet her, but he must be cautious in his approach. What if she wasn’t a pretender and just had a lot of interests. She could be a twin or even part of a set of triplets. Even if she were a pretender that didn’t mean that she had had any dealings with The Centre. Hell, she might even be a Centre trap. Make friends with him and earn his trust and then turn him in.
The man looked up and realized that the woman was gone. He turned around to find himself face to face with her. She did not look happy.
"It’s illegal to loiter at a school you know," She said. "I should call the police, but for you I’ll make an exception. It’s nice to finally meet you Jarod."
"You know my name?" Jarod asked in surprise.
"Sure I do," the woman answered. "Once Sydney realized that I knew about you, you’re all he ever talked about. Especially after you escaped."
"Sydney," Jarod said. "Then you have been to The Centre."
"Born and raised," she said. "By the way my name is Sarah."
"Nice to meet you," Jarod said. "How long since you escaped?"
"Two and a half years." Sarah answered.
"How did you escape?" Jarod asked.
"We just met," Sarah answered. "I don’t think I’m going to share that much yet. Listen, there’s a great pizza place two blocks away. I get off at five. Meet me there at 5:30 and we can talk. It’s Jessi’s Pizza."
"Okay," Jarod said. "I’ll see you there."
"I have to get back to work, but I’ll see you in a few hours," Sarah said.
**************************************
It was 5:45 and Jarod stood across the street from Jessi’s Pizza looking for any signs of sweepers. Having seen nothing out of the ordinary, he made his way across the street and towards the restaurant praying that he would not be bombarded in the middle of dinner.
When he entered the restaurant, he easily spotted Sarah and was surprised to see a young child about two years old sitting next to her in the booth. They were apparently sharing some private joke as Sarah’s hand moved towards the child’s belly and the boy started laughing hysterically.
"Sarah," Jarod said. "You didn’t mention that you were baby sitting tonight."
"I’m not," Sarah answered. "This is my son Paul. Paul this is my friend Jarod."
"Hi Jarod," Paul said shyly as he buried his face in Sarah’s sleeve.
"Hello Paul," Jarod said. "It’s nice to meet you."
Jarod turned to give Sarah a confused look. "You were pregnant before you left The Centre?" He asked.
"It’s a long story Jarod," Sarah said glancing at her son. "Let’s leave it for later. What do you like on your pizza?"
"The works," Jarod answered.
"You don’t know what you’re saying Jarod." Sarah teased. "This place offers spinach and bean sprouts on the works pizza. How about a basic combo."
"Whatever you say," Jarod said. "As long as you don’t order the bean sprouts."
Sarah started to laugh and her son joined in not understanding the joke. That set Jarod off and they were all laughing loudly when the waiter came to take their order. Jarod was the first to compose him self and ordered a combo pizza and three colas. The waiter shook his head at Sarah’s red face and walked away to give the kitchen their order.
"So," Sarah said. "How long are you in town for?"
"I don’t know," Jarod said. "It depends on how long I wait to reveal myself. How bout you?"
"We’ve been here three months," Sarah said. "I’m planning to leave a day or two before you."
"Three months!" Jarod said. "How do you manage that? I rarely stay anywhere for more than a week."
"I’m not on the run from The Centre," Sarah said. "Only from my ghosts."
"They released you?" Jarod asked looking at Paul.
"I released myself and my son," Sarah said. "With the help of some people on the inside."
"I’m not sure I understand." Jarod said.
"They think I’m dead," Sarah said. "And they never knew that I was pregnant."
"Sydney was in charge of your program?" Jarod asked with hope in his voice.
"Raines was," Sarah said. "I was turned over to Sydney when I was twelve. Raines couldn’t handle me anymore, and he was never able to control me, but then again neither was Sydney."
"What do you mean handle you?" Jarod asked.
"When I was seven," Sarah started. "Raines put a gun in my hand and told me to shoot at pictures of children. I pointed the gun at him. When I was nine he got his first oxygen tube and I pulled it out and threw it across the room. And when I was ten I found some books on the martial arts in an old library Angelo led me to. The next time Raines tried to hit me I put him in the Infirmary. Get the picture."
"Yes, I do," Jarod said. "Remind me to stay on your good side. What exactly led him to turn you over to Sydney?"
"There were five of us in the program," Sarah said. "All born within the same few weeks. We were siblings born from surrogates over a three week period."
"You knew each other?" Jarod asked.
"Yes," Sarah answered. "They played us off each other. We’d all get into trouble and Mr. Raines would punish one of us while he made the others watch. They would put us together and then plant seeds of suspicion among us trying to convince us that one of us was betraying the trust of the others."
"What happened to them?" Jarod asked. "Do you know?"
"The first to go," Sarah began. "Was Paul. I was born with a congenital heart disorder. I needed a transplant and Paul was not a pretender, so Mr. Raines played God and my brother’s heart now beats in my chest. Alyssa’s fate is the only one of which I am unsure. She was an autistic but with major pretender potential. One morning when we were ten we woke up and she was gone."
"And the others?" Jarod asked with a caring voice.
"Let’s leave that for another day," Sarah said. "It’s too hard to talk about all at once."
"All right," Jarod said understandingly. "Why did you want to meet me here."
"Jarod," Sarah said. "I think you have the right to know something about me."
"What is it?" Jarod asked.
"It’s about my parents."
"What about them?"
"Well," Sarah began. "About a year ago, I found out that the five of us were more than mere pretender slaves, we were hostages."
"Hostages?" Jarod asked. "Why would the Centre use five children that no one knows about as hostages?"
"The people they were going to use us against were within the Centre. Our parents."
"Who are they?" Jarod asked.
"Well," Sarah answered. "Miss Parker is our mother. Her father had Mr. Raines steal some of her eggs before he sent her away. We were supposed to insure her loyalty to the Centre forever."
"And your father?" Jarod asked.
"I think you’d better order a drink first," Sarah said.
"I’m fine," Jarod said. "Just tell me.
"You, are my father," Sarah answered.
******************************************************************
Feedback please
