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Disclaimer: The Pretender and its related characters don't belong to me. There is no money involved here and no copyright infringement is intended. This is all just my humble way of paying tribute to a really entertaining show that I miss a great deal. 04/27/03
Bridge of the Abyss Part 4
5:00 a.m.
By Phenyx
"They cherish each other's hopes. They are kind to each other's dreams." - Henry David Thoreau
-
The first peal of the phone jolted Jarod from sleep. Groping blindly in the dark for the device, he nearly knocked it from the end table gracelessly. The ring sounded a second time before Jarod was able to answer it.
"Hello?" the pretender slurred, hanging awkwardly off the side of his bed.
"What do you know?" Miss Parker's voice drawled alluringly. "I finally get to wake you up for once."
Jarod laughed softly at the teasing tone in Parker's voice. Blinking at the sudden brightness, he clicked on the lamp that stood nearby. Glancing quickly at the clock, Jarod realized that it was early, almost five o'clock in the morning. Knowing that his location was currently in the same time zone as Parker's, concern began to gnaw at the pretender's mind. The fact that she had called at all was unusual enough in itself.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine." She answered.
Jarod knew better than to take that statement at face value. Something was bothering her. He could hear it in Parker's voice. Holding the phone against his left ear with his right hand, as he tended to do, Jarod fluffed his pillow against the headboard and leaned up against it.
"You don't sound fine, Parker." Jarod said in a mildly scolding tone.
The resulting silence from her seemed forlorn.
"You're having trouble sleeping." Jarod stated with a sudden flash of insight.
"Yeah." Parker whispered almost unwillingly.
Jarod sighed. He wished there were someway to protect her from all this. To most of the world, Miss Parker seemed to be strong and tough as nails. But Jarod knew how fragile she could be at times. For now, there was little he could do but offer her the support and understanding she craved.
"Nightmares are a bitch." The pretender stated knowingly.
Parker's voice sounded so small, so lonely that Jarod was sorely tempted to drive to Delaware in order to check on her.
"I can't even remember the dream, Jarod." She sighed. "But it frightened me."
Jarod's mind began to race. Parker had been scared. She had woken up frightened. The pretender guessed that she had probably wandered through her empty house, turning on all the lights. An unknown, indefinable fear had left her in need of human contact. So Parker had called him.
It was a small thing, a lonely phone call in the wee hours of the morning. But Jarod closed his eyes and smiled at what this simple call through the night represented.
"Dreams can't hurt you, Parker." He said with a soothing reassurance.
Parker's voice was slightly muffled as she answered. "I'm not convinced of that."
There was a moment of silence over the line, followed by a deep rumble of thunder.
"It's raining there." Jarod commented.
"Your powers of deductive reasoning are astounding." Parker said sarcastically.
Jarod chuckled. "Well, yeah!" He answered playfully. "I am a genius you know."
Parker's laughter was low and sultry. Jarod sighed as he suddenly found himself imagining her current attire. Was she wearing a warm thick robe like the one she'd worn in Ocee's cabin? Or was she in one of her silkier items?
Jarod abruptly tossed back the blankets and stood up. He retrieved his jeans from the floor and started to pull them up his legs. It was a feeble attempt to resist the sensuous arousal that was creeping up on him, but an attempt none-the-less.
The pretender was fumbling with his belt buckle when Parker's voice asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Jarod froze for a moment as though he'd been caught in the act of some heinous crime. "I'm putting my pants on." He said slowly.
"Why?" She asked innocently.
For a split second, Jarod was tempted to tell her. What would she say, Jarod wondered. Should he reveal the fact that talking to her while wearing nearly nothing was an incredible turn on? Opening his mouth, Jarod began to speak, cowardly putting a platonic spin on his words.
"It seems so vulnerable somehow, to be talking to you in nothing but my boxers." He said.
"You wear boxers?" Parker teased lightheartedly. "I always imagined you were a briefs kind of guy."
"You imagined me in my underwear?" Jarod asked with genuine surprise. That did it. Jarod sank back on to the bed to stare miserably at the ceiling. The tightness in his jeans now would surely require a lengthy, ice cold shower before he went anywhere today.
Parker chuckled at the shock in his voice. "I don't think I like where this conversation is going." She scolded playfully. "I didn't call to engage you in phone sex, Jarod."
"Phone sex?" he asked, nearly choking on the words. Good grief, did she know? Was she even remotely aware of the power she held over him?
"Well I am not going to be the one to explain the term to you." Parker gasped in exaggerated indignation. "Call a 900 number."
"I've tried that." Jarod said, grasping for some tendril of salvation. "But I don't think Miss Cleo can really see the future."
Parker laughed out loud.
Jarod grimaced. Her amusement was completely innocuous and without guile. She had turned to the pretender for comfort and here he was having lascivious thoughts. Jarod sighed and forced his mind to focus on the delightful laughter bubbling through the phone. It was a glorious sound that made Jarod smile.
"Feeling better?" He asked.
"Yes." Parker admitted with a whisper.
A long comfortable silence stretched between them before Parker finally said, "I should go. I have things to do."
"I suppose you've got a busy day ahead of you." Jarod smiled sadly.
"Hunting you down is a difficult job." She said simply.
"But it can be so much fun." Jarod teased.
"Yippee." Parker growled sarcastically.
Jarod grinned. God he loved it when Parker played the game with him. "Be nice Parker," he purred. "And I'll give you a hint." He paused for her reply.
Parker sighed and obligingly asked. "Well? What is the hint?"
"It's not raining here." The pretender snickered.
"Thanks, Pez-head. That really narrows it down for me." Parker sighed dramatically.
Jarod laughed. He was just about to hang up when she said softly, "Jarod?"
"Yes?" He answered.
"Thanks." The dial tone abruptly began buzzing in his ear as Parker disconnected the call.
Sighing again, Jarod continued to stare up at the ceiling thoughtfully. He smiled as he absently pressed the cell phone to his chest. When the pretender realized that the room was brightening with the rising sun, he stood up and stretched. He tossed his phone on the bed and watched the colors shifting in the sky outside his window.
With a final sigh, Jarod grinned to himself and shook his head in amazement.
"What a beautiful day." He said aloud.
Whistling merrily, Jarod headed to the bathroom for his shower.
Bridge of the Abyss Part 4
5:00 a.m.
By Phenyx
"They cherish each other's hopes. They are kind to each other's dreams." - Henry David Thoreau
-
The first peal of the phone jolted Jarod from sleep. Groping blindly in the dark for the device, he nearly knocked it from the end table gracelessly. The ring sounded a second time before Jarod was able to answer it.
"Hello?" the pretender slurred, hanging awkwardly off the side of his bed.
"What do you know?" Miss Parker's voice drawled alluringly. "I finally get to wake you up for once."
Jarod laughed softly at the teasing tone in Parker's voice. Blinking at the sudden brightness, he clicked on the lamp that stood nearby. Glancing quickly at the clock, Jarod realized that it was early, almost five o'clock in the morning. Knowing that his location was currently in the same time zone as Parker's, concern began to gnaw at the pretender's mind. The fact that she had called at all was unusual enough in itself.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine." She answered.
Jarod knew better than to take that statement at face value. Something was bothering her. He could hear it in Parker's voice. Holding the phone against his left ear with his right hand, as he tended to do, Jarod fluffed his pillow against the headboard and leaned up against it.
"You don't sound fine, Parker." Jarod said in a mildly scolding tone.
The resulting silence from her seemed forlorn.
"You're having trouble sleeping." Jarod stated with a sudden flash of insight.
"Yeah." Parker whispered almost unwillingly.
Jarod sighed. He wished there were someway to protect her from all this. To most of the world, Miss Parker seemed to be strong and tough as nails. But Jarod knew how fragile she could be at times. For now, there was little he could do but offer her the support and understanding she craved.
"Nightmares are a bitch." The pretender stated knowingly.
Parker's voice sounded so small, so lonely that Jarod was sorely tempted to drive to Delaware in order to check on her.
"I can't even remember the dream, Jarod." She sighed. "But it frightened me."
Jarod's mind began to race. Parker had been scared. She had woken up frightened. The pretender guessed that she had probably wandered through her empty house, turning on all the lights. An unknown, indefinable fear had left her in need of human contact. So Parker had called him.
It was a small thing, a lonely phone call in the wee hours of the morning. But Jarod closed his eyes and smiled at what this simple call through the night represented.
"Dreams can't hurt you, Parker." He said with a soothing reassurance.
Parker's voice was slightly muffled as she answered. "I'm not convinced of that."
There was a moment of silence over the line, followed by a deep rumble of thunder.
"It's raining there." Jarod commented.
"Your powers of deductive reasoning are astounding." Parker said sarcastically.
Jarod chuckled. "Well, yeah!" He answered playfully. "I am a genius you know."
Parker's laughter was low and sultry. Jarod sighed as he suddenly found himself imagining her current attire. Was she wearing a warm thick robe like the one she'd worn in Ocee's cabin? Or was she in one of her silkier items?
Jarod abruptly tossed back the blankets and stood up. He retrieved his jeans from the floor and started to pull them up his legs. It was a feeble attempt to resist the sensuous arousal that was creeping up on him, but an attempt none-the-less.
The pretender was fumbling with his belt buckle when Parker's voice asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Jarod froze for a moment as though he'd been caught in the act of some heinous crime. "I'm putting my pants on." He said slowly.
"Why?" She asked innocently.
For a split second, Jarod was tempted to tell her. What would she say, Jarod wondered. Should he reveal the fact that talking to her while wearing nearly nothing was an incredible turn on? Opening his mouth, Jarod began to speak, cowardly putting a platonic spin on his words.
"It seems so vulnerable somehow, to be talking to you in nothing but my boxers." He said.
"You wear boxers?" Parker teased lightheartedly. "I always imagined you were a briefs kind of guy."
"You imagined me in my underwear?" Jarod asked with genuine surprise. That did it. Jarod sank back on to the bed to stare miserably at the ceiling. The tightness in his jeans now would surely require a lengthy, ice cold shower before he went anywhere today.
Parker chuckled at the shock in his voice. "I don't think I like where this conversation is going." She scolded playfully. "I didn't call to engage you in phone sex, Jarod."
"Phone sex?" he asked, nearly choking on the words. Good grief, did she know? Was she even remotely aware of the power she held over him?
"Well I am not going to be the one to explain the term to you." Parker gasped in exaggerated indignation. "Call a 900 number."
"I've tried that." Jarod said, grasping for some tendril of salvation. "But I don't think Miss Cleo can really see the future."
Parker laughed out loud.
Jarod grimaced. Her amusement was completely innocuous and without guile. She had turned to the pretender for comfort and here he was having lascivious thoughts. Jarod sighed and forced his mind to focus on the delightful laughter bubbling through the phone. It was a glorious sound that made Jarod smile.
"Feeling better?" He asked.
"Yes." Parker admitted with a whisper.
A long comfortable silence stretched between them before Parker finally said, "I should go. I have things to do."
"I suppose you've got a busy day ahead of you." Jarod smiled sadly.
"Hunting you down is a difficult job." She said simply.
"But it can be so much fun." Jarod teased.
"Yippee." Parker growled sarcastically.
Jarod grinned. God he loved it when Parker played the game with him. "Be nice Parker," he purred. "And I'll give you a hint." He paused for her reply.
Parker sighed and obligingly asked. "Well? What is the hint?"
"It's not raining here." The pretender snickered.
"Thanks, Pez-head. That really narrows it down for me." Parker sighed dramatically.
Jarod laughed. He was just about to hang up when she said softly, "Jarod?"
"Yes?" He answered.
"Thanks." The dial tone abruptly began buzzing in his ear as Parker disconnected the call.
Sighing again, Jarod continued to stare up at the ceiling thoughtfully. He smiled as he absently pressed the cell phone to his chest. When the pretender realized that the room was brightening with the rising sun, he stood up and stretched. He tossed his phone on the bed and watched the colors shifting in the sky outside his window.
With a final sigh, Jarod grinned to himself and shook his head in amazement.
"What a beautiful day." He said aloud.
Whistling merrily, Jarod headed to the bathroom for his shower.
