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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 and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
The Gift
Epilogue 03
N.R. Levy / Shannon / Trisha
Parker looked down at the baby girl who lay cradled in her arms. One arm would have actually been sufficient to hold her, she was so tiny, but Parker's natural instincts made her grasp Catherine protectively.
Tears formed in her eyes as she watched her daughter's tiny mouth open in a yawn, her rosebud lips parting then mashing together in a thin line before relaxing again. Catherine Margaret Greene had definitely been worth all that her mother had endured the past seven months.
"Oh, Jarod. She's perfect."
"Of course she is. My wife does good work, or didn't you know that?" Parker felt his lips brush her cheek, and she leaned back toward him, enjoying this moment of peace after so much turmoil.
"Where is Ryan? I want him to see her." Jarod looked from his wife to her father, but when Sydney shrugged slightly, Jarod rose from his seat.
"I'll go and get him."
Jarod planted one last quick kiss on the top of his wife's head as he left the room. Sydney, grateful for a moment alone with his daughter and granddaughter, moved toward the bed.
"She is magnificent, Morgana. You should be very proud."
"I'm just grateful. I can't believe how close we came to losing her."
Parker brought her daughter's cheek to her own and snuggled her close. As she did so, Parker's eyes caught her father and she saw that tears were sneaking down Sydney's cheeks.
"Dad, what is it?"
He looked at her, wanting to answer, but the words wouldn't come to him. How could he explain the emotion that had overwhelmed him? Instead of speaking, he reached out and stroked his hand down her cheek.
"Regrets, my darling girl. Just thinking of regrets."
Her mother. Parker suddenly realized what the scene must have brought forth for her father and her heart, despite the joy of Catherine's birth, ached for him. He had never had this moment with her mother and her -- a chance to see the woman he loved holding their child in his arms. Through her and the new Catherine, he was having his chance to share that special time.
Knowing no words she could speak right now would heal her father'sheart, Parker simply took one hand cautiously away from her newborn daughter and placed it on his cheek, her fingers gently wiping away his years of unshed tears.
Jarod was beginning to panic. He had looked in nearly every office for his son, and the thought that Ryan could be in trouble was starting to take hold in his mind. He was just about to rally his family to begin a search of every cupboard and cabinet in the place when he heard the soft sound of laughter coming from behind one of the office doors. Cautiously, he opened it and found himself looking at two wide-eyed children and at Angelo. All three of them were clearly surprised to be interrupted and none to pleased about Jarod's appearance.
"All right, just what is going on in here?"
Ryan looked from his father's worried face to his uncle Angelo. Now what did they do?
"Centre no find family," Angelo stated rather gleefully.
Jarod looked at the trio and felt his brow begin to crease.
"What have you done?" Jarod looked at the two children sitting together in the chair.
"Well, Dr. Greene, it seems that there's this pesky place called the Centre and it likes to take smart children from their families. . ."
"He knows that, Faith. I told you that I came from there before I got back with my mommy and daddy. . ." Ryan stopped his admonishing of Faith, casting an apprehensive look at his father. "Mommy is she alright. Is Catherine here?"
"Yes, Catherine's here and with your mother. She thought that you might like to see your sister."
Ryan climbed down from the chair and walked over taking hold of Jarod's hand. Looking back at his uncle and newfound friend, he smiled.
"Hey guys! I got a baby sister, want to come and see her?" Jarod looked at his son's joy at the arrival of the new baby, but he still had to worry about what they had been doing on the computer. What could two children and one savant do to protect them from the Centre? What was he thinking, he should slap himself upside his head for that, he thought. Standing before him were two pretenders and one clever empathy.
"Go see family," Angelo said as he held out his hand to Faith.
"No that's alright, Ryan you go see your sister and be with your family," the little girl climbed down from the chair, taking hold of Angelo's hand, before she spoke again," I'll walk down with you but I couldn't intrude with the family's celebration."
"Faith family. Come see baby," Angelo said softly.
"That's very kind of you, Angelo," she said, a smile on her face," it's your family."
"All family," he shook his head and grabbed hold of Ryan's hand as well. "Family."
***
Back at the house, a loud beep emanated from the computer, causing a small, balding man to rush from the kitchen, a plate in his hand. Staring at the computer screen, the man immediately reached for his cell phone, hitting the keypad. He brought the phone to his ear and let it ring twice, just long enough to beep Jarod's beeper.
****
Jarod walked down the hallway with his hand held by his son. In front of him walked his brother-in-law holding on to Faith's hand. He was still puzzled over Angelo's remark about them all being family. Granted if it hadn't been for Faith's parents, his wife and daughter would both be dead, but… Reaching his wife's room, he placed his hand on the door and pushed it open, to find Parker alone nursing the baby, when his beeper went off.
"Ryan, go on in and see your Mommy and sister. I'll be right back."
Ryan moved quickly toward the bed, his mother's smile all the reassurance he needed that she was finally going to get better. As Jarod held the door open, Angelo and Faith also entered, and he winked at his wife as a signal that he would be right back.
Quickly, Jarod headed for the chair where he'd left his jacket earlier and grabbed his cell phone. The speeddial button set off ringing in his ear as he waited for Broots to answer.
"Hello?"
"Broots, it's me. What's up?"
"Jarod, what did you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Centre --- they, well, let's just say Miss Parker would get a good laugh out of this. Kind of simpatico for all the years we spent chasing you."
"What, Broots? What's going on?"
"You mean, it really wasn't you?"
"Broots!" The tone of Jarod's voice reminded the former computer technician of Miss Parker's -- a sure sign that the spouses were rubbing off on each other mutually.
"Sorry. Well, someone sent the Centre three leads on pretender blood anomalies, one in Denmark, one in Australia and one in China. They are running wild trying to find the children the reports are on."
"When did this happen?" Jarod asked the question suspiciously, an image of two children and Angelo at the computer popping up in his head.
"About an hour and a half ago. They have sweeper teams scrambling now. No reports at all from the states -- and definitely none from here."
"Keep an eye on them, Broots. That's great news for now, but we need to make sure."
"Don't worry, Jarod. Nicholas and Emily just brought Jake and Debbie back. Between the three of us, we'll make sure they don't pick up anything about the baby. How is she by the way?"
"Beautiful and stubborn -- just like her mother."
Jarod hung up on the sound of Broots' laughter and headed back to Parker's room. He entered to find both Ryan and Faith sitting on either side of her in the bed, both children gently stroking the little baby girl's cheeks. To everyone's amazement, Catherine opened her eyes wide and looked directly at both children.
Jarod made it to Parker's side as she looked up at him. He was so relieved to see all the fear and exhaustion gone from her eyes. Instead they were bright with happiness and love.
"This one's going to be a handful."
"Like that one isn't?" His eyebrow lifted toward Ryan, and his son bashfully lowered his eyes. Looking at Ryan made his eyes round the room, and Jarod realized that someone was now missing.
"Where's Angelo?"
"He said something about 'get family' and he left."
Jarod shrugged and was about to speak when a knock sounded at the door. After a moment, Sean, Hope, Sydney and Angelo entered. Sean walked toward them as the rest of the group gathered in the back.
"I should take her back now. She still needs a little bit of incubator time."
Parker's eyes filled with tears as she lifted Catherine and placed a kiss on her cheek. Jarod, seeing this, moved closer to his wife.
"It's only for a little while, mama. She'll be fine."
Nodding, Parker handed her daughter to Sean.
"I'll be right back." With that, Sean exited the room and Angelo walked over to Faith and Ryan.
"Come. Play."
The kids anxiously climbed down from the bed, of course not before Ryan gave his mother a big hug and kiss, and then they left with the room with Angelo. That was when the nervous looks of everyone around her started to dawn on Parker.
"What is going on? Is something wrong with Catherine that you're not telling me?"
Her panic grew quickly, and Jarod sat down beside her, taking her hands in his.
"No, nothing's wrong with the baby, but there is something we need to talk about. Something, I think, that's going to change a lot for us."
Casting a look at her husband then at her father she had this feeling that something had been kept from her.
"Start talking, buster and it better be good, or else." Her eyes narrowed as she looked into her husband's brown ones and this time he lowered his eyes. "I'm waiting. Dad, Jarod."
"Seems there's a directive out from the Centre regarding a rather specific anomaly," he started to say, and watched the panic resurface to her eyes.
"The baby," she whispered just as the door to her room opened causing the adults to jump slightly.
"She's sleeping, content as a bug in a rug," Sean replied.
"A bug in a rug?" Jarod turned and looked at Sean perplexed.
"Jeez, Jarod. It's just a saying. Get on with the story," she folded her arms across her chest.
"Well, in order to determine if the clinic was in the Centre's back pocket, Emily and Nicholas posed as a married couple and underwent testing. If their blood work was transmitted to the Centre, then the only logical conclusion would be that the Centre had bought them off."
"You used Emily and Nicholas and didn't think to tell me what was going on? And you went along with this, Dad?"
"Morgana, you were at the breaking point. Jarod and I thought it best not to burden you with anymore stress."
"Oh that's just great. You have a lot of explaining to do." She looked at Jarod, a knowing smile on her lips. "There's more, though isn't there? And since you are talking about the Centre in front of Sean and Hope. I take it that it's safe to presume that they aren't in collusion with the Centre?"
Jarod nodded his head.
"You met Faith with Ryan. Well, she's a pretender. Emily discovered it during her visit with Hope here."
"A pretender like Ryan. How is that possible?" she looked from Jarod to the three others that stood at the foot of the bed.
"Well, that's what I'd like to know," Jarod also turned to look at the trio that had this rather guilty look upon their features as well as small smirks.
Sydney stepped forward then, moving to sit on the other side of his daughter, his hand taking hers. Parker saw something familiar in herfather's eyes. What was it? Then, she knew -- it was his guilt. The
guilt she had seen there time and time again in the past year whenever he thought about the fact that he had not saved her from the Centre. What on earth could be bringing that up again?
"Morgana, it seems that I was not the only Dr. Greene to have a child he had to keep a secret."
Parker's eyes flew from Sydney to the two virtual strangers standing at the foot of her bed. It took only moments for the similarities between her father and Hope to begin jumping out at her. The eyes, the nose -- definitely the nose.
"She's Jacob's daughter? How is that possible?" Parker's voice broke as she spoke, and Jarod reached out and took her other hand as he, too, looked to his father-in-law for some kind of explanation.
"Well, Hope could probably tell it better than I, but it seems she and her mother were placed in hiding by Jacob soon after her birth. The Centre somehow found out about Hope, and of course, because of you, Morgana, and your brother, they knew what kind of potential she might have, so they demanded he turn her over. He refused. The accident was two days later."
"But..." Parker's eyes brimmed with tears as a myriad of emotions played out inside of her. She hated seeing all of this pain resurfacing in her father -- his guilt over her, over her mother, and now, his grief over Jacob. She pulled her hand free of his only to raise it to his cheek and cup it there softly. His tired eyes looked into hers and a slight smile graced Sydney's face. He wanted this to be true, needed it to be. It was a second chance in some way with Jacob, and he wanted that desperately. Still, her own natural suspicion and her protectiveness over her family reared their head. Her eyes moved to Hope.
"Look, I hate to be rude or insensitive here. I know that you saved my life and my daughter's, but you can't expect us to just believe this."
Sydney, shocked, was about to answer his daughter's question when Hope spoke instead.
"After spending your whole life at the Centre, I can't blame you for doubting me. If you want to have tests done to prove it..."
"I saw the blood work, Parker." Jarod spoke, though he understood his wife's feelings. Hadn't his first reaction to Sean and Hope been suspicion as well? "You, Hope and Faith all share the same genetic traits."
"Who did the blood work?" Parker's eyebrow raised as she spoke, and both Sydney and Jarod had the same thought at the exact same moment --- ‘Once Miss Parker, always Miss Parker.’ Barely suppressing a smile, Jarod stood.
"I'll do a test myself, just to make sure. Hope, you're sure you're okay with this?"
"I just found out that my dead father has a twin brother and an entire family attached...I think I could use a little unbiased proof myself."
Hope, Jarod and Sean left the room then and headed for the lab. He took Hope's sample and the two doctors then excused themselves to go and discuss the vast changes their life was going through in two short days. Jarod headed back to Parker's room and found her alone. The moment he entered, he felt the sting of her iciest glare, and he knew he was in trouble.
"Before you say anything, Parker, think about what you were going through."
"I don't care. You're lucky I'm even speaking to you."
"Sweetheart, we just didn't want to worry you."
"Seems to me that was my motivation for keeping a secret from you a few months back, and it didn't save me from getting the 'how could you' lecture either."
"Morgana --"
"You made me swear to never keep anything from you again, then you go and put both our siblings lives in danger and you think I should just go, 'Oh, yeah, honey, you were right. It was for the best that I didn't know?' Well, forget it. I'm totally pissed at you and I intend to stay that way for a while."
Jarod stood at the foot of her bed, watching as her lips set in a stubborn and angry frown. He couldn't blame her for being angry, in fact, he'd expected it. He had made her promise, and then HE had broken that promise. Sighing, he moved to her side and suppressed a bout of hurt feelings when she scooted over so that she was not touching him when he sat down.
"Morgana, listen to me. I'm sorry. I should not have kept something from you -- anything. You're right. But please, think about what I was thinking, what we were all thinking. You did this. You made this gigantic group of people a family, and you did it by having the courage to risk everything to save our son. Then, you decide that that isn't enough of a sacrifice, so you risk your life again to give us the family we had dreamed about.
"I knew how much you still worried about the Centre coming after us, that somehow they would find out we were still alive and they would come and take Ryan. You were fighting with everything you had to keep Catherine alive inside of you. I couldn't put that fear on you again --- I just could not do that."
Parker turned her face to him finally, her eyes still hard with anger. Then they met his, and she could see the genuine feelings of remorse that filled them. Damn it, he couldn't even let her stay mad at him, even when he really, really did deserve it.
"I hate you, you know that?" She said it with her trademark raised eyebrow, but a slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and Jarod knew then they would be okay.
"And I love you, Mrs. Greene."
He leaned over and kissed her cheek, and though she was determined to make him work harder for forgiveness than this, Parker was finding that it had been easier to imagine torturing him with silence and glares than it actually was to do it with him sitting next to her with that incredible face of his so close. Still, she wasn't just going to kiss and makeup -- not just yet.
"Don't you have some work you're supposed to be doing?" Her tone was so reminiscent of the old days that it even surprised her, but Jarod's response was to break out into a wide grin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the syringe and empty vials he had brought with him.
"Speaking of which, I want your blood." Jarod delivered his last line with his best Dracula impersonation, and Parker, despite herself, burst into laughter as she extended her arm toward her husband.
****
The woman looked at her husband, and ran a hand through her dark hair pushing the stray tendrils from her face.
"Is it possible, Sean, that there are others that wish to see the demise of the Centre as strongly as I do?" She smiled at her husband." I guess I better go talk to this intriguing cousin of mine."
"In the meantime, I'll order some dinner for the rest of us. The children must be starving. Take Catherine with you."
She walked the corridor, cuddling the tiny infant in her arms. Pushing the door open slowly, she looked at the woman that lay in the bed. She had a devastating combination of dark hair and blue eyes. In other words, a beauty and she had passed it on to her daughter.
"Want some company?" she spoke softly and placed the infant in eager arms.
Parker did a quick inspection of her daughter, then brought her up to lie on her chest. Catherine was still half asleep, but she squirmed until she was comfortable on her mother's chest, then relaxed completely.
"It's amazing, isn't it? That total sense of complete trust they have in you."
Hope spoke with her eyes on Catherine, and it was a moment before she saw that Parker was crying, tears slowly making their way down her face.
"Parker, what is it?"
"I...I never got to hold Ryan when he was born. I didn't even know he existed until he was nearly three years old. I'm just now realizing how much I missed with him."
Hope felt whatever ungenerous feelings she'd had toward her cousin -- wow, how weird did that sound? Anyway, the wary feelings disappeared. Quickly, she moved to sit beside her.
"He doesn't seem to notice he missed anything. He adores you."
Parker only nodded and placed a soft kiss on Catherine's head. Then she brought her eyes back to Hope's.
"How are you doing with all this? I mean, I have some experience with discovering a family you didn't know about...it's not the easiest thing."
Hope smiled, her eyes lowering as she thought about how honest she wanted to be. Then she thought about what Parker had just said to her about Catherine and Ryan. Somehow, this woman didn't strike Hope as someone who confided in others easily. That she had tried, that she had opened up first meant something, and Hope wasn't about to turn her back on that.
"It's not easy, no. I've missed my father so much, and I've spent so much time trying to keep the Centre away from Faith. It's just amazing to think that you've been out there living a kind of parallel life with me."
"I guess that is what we've been doing, isn't it? Hope, I'm sorry if I didn't seem...well, if I hurt your feelings earlier. I just can't risk having anything happen to Jarod or the kids. They're my life."
"And your theirs, that's obvious. Don't worry about the other, I understand. I feel the same way about Sean and Faith."
The two women sat silently for a moment. It was Parker who broke the quiet.
"Hope, there is probably something you should know. At least, something I should tell you. It's about your father."
"Sydney told me he didn't die in the accident, that it happened later."
"Yeah. He was sick for a long time, unconscious for almost all of it. But, um, there was a time when I...I was given orders to kill him."
The look of shock that ran across Hope's face told Parker that her father had not broached this subject.
"I didn't do it. I couldn't. Sydney and I got him somewhere safe and I was with both of them when your father died. I, um, I just didn't want you to hear it from someone else."
"Why didn't you do it?" Hope looked at her with questioning eyes as she spoke. "I mean, they must have put a great deal of pressure on you...why didn't you?"
"I'm not proud of a lot of things I've done, Hope, but I can live with it because I know I've never taken a life in anything but self defense. There was no way I could hurt him, not even because of Sydney, but because he didn't do anything to hurt me."
"Was he..." Hope's voice trailed off as tears crept into her eyes. "Was he ever alert again?"
Parker closed her eyes, remembering that night at the fishing cabin with Sydney, who she had comforted as only her friend then, and Jacob. Those few moments of wakefulness that her uncle had had....was he really alert? She didn't know, but she knew they had meant the world to Sydney.
"He tried to help Dad find Jarod's father. He was still trying to save us all, Hope, even at the end."
Hope nodded, her eyes lowering as tears began to flow. Parker stretched out her hand and took her cousin's in hers. She no longer needed the blood test to tell her the truth -- this woman was her family.
Sydney opened the door expecting to grab a quiet moment with his daughter -- instead, his eyes fell on the sight of Parker holding Hope's hand, his granddaughter sleeping soundly on his daughter's chest. His entry had gone unnoticed by the girls, and he simply crept back out, leaving them alone.
'Well, Jacob,' he thought, 'our girls have found each other. They'll have each other now to hold on to, just like we did.'
"Sydney," Jarod said, softly," Is everything all right?"
"The girls seemed to have forged a bond," he turned, smiling.
"Guess, Parker won't need this then." Jarod handed the piece of paper to Sydney. "Oh, by the way, Sean offered to put you and Angelo up for the night, and Ryan gets to spend the night with his new found cousin. Parker always thought that Ryan and I were trouble, but those two. . .
"Not to bring about doom and gloom, but any word on the Centre?" Sydney asked, stopping Jarod mid-sentence.
"That's what I was getting to. Just before your little bombshell about Hope, Broots beeped me. When I got a hold of him, he wanted to know what I did that sent the Centre scurrying to the three corners of the world in search of new pretenders."
"So, what did you do?"
"That's the problem, Syd. It wasn't me, it was . . ."
"Faith and Ryan!" Sydney's eyes widened, and a chuckle escaped his lips.
"Faith and Ryan what?" Sean asked, as he came upon the two in the corridor," Is Hope still in there?"
"Yes to the last question, as for Faith and Ryan, I would rather repeat this once so we might as well head in. God, Parker is going to . . ." Jarod shook his head and pushed on the door to his wife's room. He hated to intrude, but he wasn't keeping anything from her, not again.
As he opened the door, Jarod's eyes fell on Hope. Clearly she had been crying, and she moved quickly to wipe away the few remaining tears on her cheeks. Catherine had awakened, and Parker was about to nurse their daughter. Hope, seeing Jarod, stood and quickly moved toward the door.
"I'll let you have some time alone."
Jarod put his hand on Hope's shoulder and stopped her. She looked up and found nothing but warmth and compassion in his eyes.
"Hope, stay, please. This is your family, too, and besides, this concerns you as well."
Hope nodded silently and moved to a chair on the other side of the room. Sean followed his wife, concern on his face. She glanced up at him, smiling weakly, trying to tell him she was fine, uncertain how to communicate how overwhelmed she felt right now. Sydney, however, seemed to understand, and he moved to his niece, taking her hand in his as he knelt beside her.
Jarod crossed to his wife and daughter, sitting beside them on the bed as Catherine happily suckled at her mother's breast, a warm, soft blanket his mother had made giving them privacy from the room full of relatives. Parker glared at him, still trying to feign anger, but it was a losing battle, and soon a smile broke out on her face as Jarod reached over and gently stroked Catherine's cheek. Both of them giggled when Catherine reached up and took hold of his finger.
"Jarod, what was it you wanted to tell us about the kids?" Sean's voice was soft, but full of worry, and Jarod realized he needed to get the show on the road. He looked up from his girls and over to the others in the room.
"Well, Broots found out that the Centre has received several reports from different countries about potential pretenders. They have sweeper teams out at the four corners looking for them."
Parker raised and eyebrow and looked at her husband.
"You?"
"No, not me. Angelo--and Ryan and Faith."
"What?!" The sounds of the two mother's voices filled the room as both Parker and Hope began thinking of how difficult it would be to lock their little prodigies in their rooms for the rest of their lives. Jarod and Sean shared a look, and both had to fight back their laughter as they looked at their wives' faces.
"Where are those two? What were they thinking?" Hope stood as she spoke, her tone making it clear she was both angry and worried. She grew angrier as Sean's laughter reached her ear.
"Thinking? Hope, their kids.....they weren't 'thinking.' They were trying to protect their family. Remember, geniuses, yes. Adults, no."
Hope wanted to yell at him, but his words made so much damn sense. Oh, she hated it when he was this right.
"I'm getting rid of every computer in our house, Jarod. I mean it." Jarod looked down at Parker as she finished speaking, her mouth set in a frown as she fumed over the actions of the two overprotective children.
"Okay, honey. If you really think that'll solve the problem."
Parker raised her eyes, locking them with Jarod's. She hated him when he was smug and she hated him when he was right.
"You know what? I really don't like you much anymore."
Jarod laughed as he leaned down and kissed her.
"I know, but there's nothing you can do about it. What was it you said, our family was 'God's gift to us for all the hell we went through?' Guess you're stuck with me."
He kissed her again, this time more deeply, and he chuckled as she responded fully to his advance. Then he heard her voice, muffled against his lips.
"If I have to be."
****
Mr. Parker sat at his desk, a scatter of files before him. The reports had stopped filtering in after the total reached 12. Twelve reports with no confirmations at all corners of the globe. Still, the sweepers continued to search. If there were any other pretenders out there, he was going to find them. He would do whatever it took to increase his power and secure the future of the Centre.
Suddenly, he thought of the searches going on, of the cost of sending sweepers all over the world, and he remembered the endless waste of resources the Centre had thrown down the drain in the years of searching for Jarod. That's what had been bothering him -- the similarity between this event and all of the wild goose chases Jarod has spurred in years past.
As he remembered, Mr. Parker could almost swear he heard the sound of 6-inch stilettos marching down the hall toward his door.
Shaking his head, The Chairman threw these thoughts out of his mind. The past was the past. Jarod and Parker were gone, nothing would change that.
But for just a moment, he thought, it had been nice to imagine them back again. Life at the Centre was easier now that they were gone, but so much less....
well, just less.
THE END
Epilogue 03
N.R. Levy / Shannon / Trisha
Parker looked down at the baby girl who lay cradled in her arms. One arm would have actually been sufficient to hold her, she was so tiny, but Parker's natural instincts made her grasp Catherine protectively.
Tears formed in her eyes as she watched her daughter's tiny mouth open in a yawn, her rosebud lips parting then mashing together in a thin line before relaxing again. Catherine Margaret Greene had definitely been worth all that her mother had endured the past seven months.
"Oh, Jarod. She's perfect."
"Of course she is. My wife does good work, or didn't you know that?" Parker felt his lips brush her cheek, and she leaned back toward him, enjoying this moment of peace after so much turmoil.
"Where is Ryan? I want him to see her." Jarod looked from his wife to her father, but when Sydney shrugged slightly, Jarod rose from his seat.
"I'll go and get him."
Jarod planted one last quick kiss on the top of his wife's head as he left the room. Sydney, grateful for a moment alone with his daughter and granddaughter, moved toward the bed.
"She is magnificent, Morgana. You should be very proud."
"I'm just grateful. I can't believe how close we came to losing her."
Parker brought her daughter's cheek to her own and snuggled her close. As she did so, Parker's eyes caught her father and she saw that tears were sneaking down Sydney's cheeks.
"Dad, what is it?"
He looked at her, wanting to answer, but the words wouldn't come to him. How could he explain the emotion that had overwhelmed him? Instead of speaking, he reached out and stroked his hand down her cheek.
"Regrets, my darling girl. Just thinking of regrets."
Her mother. Parker suddenly realized what the scene must have brought forth for her father and her heart, despite the joy of Catherine's birth, ached for him. He had never had this moment with her mother and her -- a chance to see the woman he loved holding their child in his arms. Through her and the new Catherine, he was having his chance to share that special time.
Knowing no words she could speak right now would heal her father'sheart, Parker simply took one hand cautiously away from her newborn daughter and placed it on his cheek, her fingers gently wiping away his years of unshed tears.
Jarod was beginning to panic. He had looked in nearly every office for his son, and the thought that Ryan could be in trouble was starting to take hold in his mind. He was just about to rally his family to begin a search of every cupboard and cabinet in the place when he heard the soft sound of laughter coming from behind one of the office doors. Cautiously, he opened it and found himself looking at two wide-eyed children and at Angelo. All three of them were clearly surprised to be interrupted and none to pleased about Jarod's appearance.
"All right, just what is going on in here?"
Ryan looked from his father's worried face to his uncle Angelo. Now what did they do?
"Centre no find family," Angelo stated rather gleefully.
Jarod looked at the trio and felt his brow begin to crease.
"What have you done?" Jarod looked at the two children sitting together in the chair.
"Well, Dr. Greene, it seems that there's this pesky place called the Centre and it likes to take smart children from their families. . ."
"He knows that, Faith. I told you that I came from there before I got back with my mommy and daddy. . ." Ryan stopped his admonishing of Faith, casting an apprehensive look at his father. "Mommy is she alright. Is Catherine here?"
"Yes, Catherine's here and with your mother. She thought that you might like to see your sister."
Ryan climbed down from the chair and walked over taking hold of Jarod's hand. Looking back at his uncle and newfound friend, he smiled.
"Hey guys! I got a baby sister, want to come and see her?" Jarod looked at his son's joy at the arrival of the new baby, but he still had to worry about what they had been doing on the computer. What could two children and one savant do to protect them from the Centre? What was he thinking, he should slap himself upside his head for that, he thought. Standing before him were two pretenders and one clever empathy.
"Go see family," Angelo said as he held out his hand to Faith.
"No that's alright, Ryan you go see your sister and be with your family," the little girl climbed down from the chair, taking hold of Angelo's hand, before she spoke again," I'll walk down with you but I couldn't intrude with the family's celebration."
"Faith family. Come see baby," Angelo said softly.
"That's very kind of you, Angelo," she said, a smile on her face," it's your family."
"All family," he shook his head and grabbed hold of Ryan's hand as well. "Family."
***
Back at the house, a loud beep emanated from the computer, causing a small, balding man to rush from the kitchen, a plate in his hand. Staring at the computer screen, the man immediately reached for his cell phone, hitting the keypad. He brought the phone to his ear and let it ring twice, just long enough to beep Jarod's beeper.
****
Jarod walked down the hallway with his hand held by his son. In front of him walked his brother-in-law holding on to Faith's hand. He was still puzzled over Angelo's remark about them all being family. Granted if it hadn't been for Faith's parents, his wife and daughter would both be dead, but… Reaching his wife's room, he placed his hand on the door and pushed it open, to find Parker alone nursing the baby, when his beeper went off.
"Ryan, go on in and see your Mommy and sister. I'll be right back."
Ryan moved quickly toward the bed, his mother's smile all the reassurance he needed that she was finally going to get better. As Jarod held the door open, Angelo and Faith also entered, and he winked at his wife as a signal that he would be right back.
Quickly, Jarod headed for the chair where he'd left his jacket earlier and grabbed his cell phone. The speeddial button set off ringing in his ear as he waited for Broots to answer.
"Hello?"
"Broots, it's me. What's up?"
"Jarod, what did you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Centre --- they, well, let's just say Miss Parker would get a good laugh out of this. Kind of simpatico for all the years we spent chasing you."
"What, Broots? What's going on?"
"You mean, it really wasn't you?"
"Broots!" The tone of Jarod's voice reminded the former computer technician of Miss Parker's -- a sure sign that the spouses were rubbing off on each other mutually.
"Sorry. Well, someone sent the Centre three leads on pretender blood anomalies, one in Denmark, one in Australia and one in China. They are running wild trying to find the children the reports are on."
"When did this happen?" Jarod asked the question suspiciously, an image of two children and Angelo at the computer popping up in his head.
"About an hour and a half ago. They have sweeper teams scrambling now. No reports at all from the states -- and definitely none from here."
"Keep an eye on them, Broots. That's great news for now, but we need to make sure."
"Don't worry, Jarod. Nicholas and Emily just brought Jake and Debbie back. Between the three of us, we'll make sure they don't pick up anything about the baby. How is she by the way?"
"Beautiful and stubborn -- just like her mother."
Jarod hung up on the sound of Broots' laughter and headed back to Parker's room. He entered to find both Ryan and Faith sitting on either side of her in the bed, both children gently stroking the little baby girl's cheeks. To everyone's amazement, Catherine opened her eyes wide and looked directly at both children.
Jarod made it to Parker's side as she looked up at him. He was so relieved to see all the fear and exhaustion gone from her eyes. Instead they were bright with happiness and love.
"This one's going to be a handful."
"Like that one isn't?" His eyebrow lifted toward Ryan, and his son bashfully lowered his eyes. Looking at Ryan made his eyes round the room, and Jarod realized that someone was now missing.
"Where's Angelo?"
"He said something about 'get family' and he left."
Jarod shrugged and was about to speak when a knock sounded at the door. After a moment, Sean, Hope, Sydney and Angelo entered. Sean walked toward them as the rest of the group gathered in the back.
"I should take her back now. She still needs a little bit of incubator time."
Parker's eyes filled with tears as she lifted Catherine and placed a kiss on her cheek. Jarod, seeing this, moved closer to his wife.
"It's only for a little while, mama. She'll be fine."
Nodding, Parker handed her daughter to Sean.
"I'll be right back." With that, Sean exited the room and Angelo walked over to Faith and Ryan.
"Come. Play."
The kids anxiously climbed down from the bed, of course not before Ryan gave his mother a big hug and kiss, and then they left with the room with Angelo. That was when the nervous looks of everyone around her started to dawn on Parker.
"What is going on? Is something wrong with Catherine that you're not telling me?"
Her panic grew quickly, and Jarod sat down beside her, taking her hands in his.
"No, nothing's wrong with the baby, but there is something we need to talk about. Something, I think, that's going to change a lot for us."
Casting a look at her husband then at her father she had this feeling that something had been kept from her.
"Start talking, buster and it better be good, or else." Her eyes narrowed as she looked into her husband's brown ones and this time he lowered his eyes. "I'm waiting. Dad, Jarod."
"Seems there's a directive out from the Centre regarding a rather specific anomaly," he started to say, and watched the panic resurface to her eyes.
"The baby," she whispered just as the door to her room opened causing the adults to jump slightly.
"She's sleeping, content as a bug in a rug," Sean replied.
"A bug in a rug?" Jarod turned and looked at Sean perplexed.
"Jeez, Jarod. It's just a saying. Get on with the story," she folded her arms across her chest.
"Well, in order to determine if the clinic was in the Centre's back pocket, Emily and Nicholas posed as a married couple and underwent testing. If their blood work was transmitted to the Centre, then the only logical conclusion would be that the Centre had bought them off."
"You used Emily and Nicholas and didn't think to tell me what was going on? And you went along with this, Dad?"
"Morgana, you were at the breaking point. Jarod and I thought it best not to burden you with anymore stress."
"Oh that's just great. You have a lot of explaining to do." She looked at Jarod, a knowing smile on her lips. "There's more, though isn't there? And since you are talking about the Centre in front of Sean and Hope. I take it that it's safe to presume that they aren't in collusion with the Centre?"
Jarod nodded his head.
"You met Faith with Ryan. Well, she's a pretender. Emily discovered it during her visit with Hope here."
"A pretender like Ryan. How is that possible?" she looked from Jarod to the three others that stood at the foot of the bed.
"Well, that's what I'd like to know," Jarod also turned to look at the trio that had this rather guilty look upon their features as well as small smirks.
Sydney stepped forward then, moving to sit on the other side of his daughter, his hand taking hers. Parker saw something familiar in herfather's eyes. What was it? Then, she knew -- it was his guilt. The
guilt she had seen there time and time again in the past year whenever he thought about the fact that he had not saved her from the Centre. What on earth could be bringing that up again?
"Morgana, it seems that I was not the only Dr. Greene to have a child he had to keep a secret."
Parker's eyes flew from Sydney to the two virtual strangers standing at the foot of her bed. It took only moments for the similarities between her father and Hope to begin jumping out at her. The eyes, the nose -- definitely the nose.
"She's Jacob's daughter? How is that possible?" Parker's voice broke as she spoke, and Jarod reached out and took her other hand as he, too, looked to his father-in-law for some kind of explanation.
"Well, Hope could probably tell it better than I, but it seems she and her mother were placed in hiding by Jacob soon after her birth. The Centre somehow found out about Hope, and of course, because of you, Morgana, and your brother, they knew what kind of potential she might have, so they demanded he turn her over. He refused. The accident was two days later."
"But..." Parker's eyes brimmed with tears as a myriad of emotions played out inside of her. She hated seeing all of this pain resurfacing in her father -- his guilt over her, over her mother, and now, his grief over Jacob. She pulled her hand free of his only to raise it to his cheek and cup it there softly. His tired eyes looked into hers and a slight smile graced Sydney's face. He wanted this to be true, needed it to be. It was a second chance in some way with Jacob, and he wanted that desperately. Still, her own natural suspicion and her protectiveness over her family reared their head. Her eyes moved to Hope.
"Look, I hate to be rude or insensitive here. I know that you saved my life and my daughter's, but you can't expect us to just believe this."
Sydney, shocked, was about to answer his daughter's question when Hope spoke instead.
"After spending your whole life at the Centre, I can't blame you for doubting me. If you want to have tests done to prove it..."
"I saw the blood work, Parker." Jarod spoke, though he understood his wife's feelings. Hadn't his first reaction to Sean and Hope been suspicion as well? "You, Hope and Faith all share the same genetic traits."
"Who did the blood work?" Parker's eyebrow raised as she spoke, and both Sydney and Jarod had the same thought at the exact same moment --- ‘Once Miss Parker, always Miss Parker.’ Barely suppressing a smile, Jarod stood.
"I'll do a test myself, just to make sure. Hope, you're sure you're okay with this?"
"I just found out that my dead father has a twin brother and an entire family attached...I think I could use a little unbiased proof myself."
Hope, Jarod and Sean left the room then and headed for the lab. He took Hope's sample and the two doctors then excused themselves to go and discuss the vast changes their life was going through in two short days. Jarod headed back to Parker's room and found her alone. The moment he entered, he felt the sting of her iciest glare, and he knew he was in trouble.
"Before you say anything, Parker, think about what you were going through."
"I don't care. You're lucky I'm even speaking to you."
"Sweetheart, we just didn't want to worry you."
"Seems to me that was my motivation for keeping a secret from you a few months back, and it didn't save me from getting the 'how could you' lecture either."
"Morgana --"
"You made me swear to never keep anything from you again, then you go and put both our siblings lives in danger and you think I should just go, 'Oh, yeah, honey, you were right. It was for the best that I didn't know?' Well, forget it. I'm totally pissed at you and I intend to stay that way for a while."
Jarod stood at the foot of her bed, watching as her lips set in a stubborn and angry frown. He couldn't blame her for being angry, in fact, he'd expected it. He had made her promise, and then HE had broken that promise. Sighing, he moved to her side and suppressed a bout of hurt feelings when she scooted over so that she was not touching him when he sat down.
"Morgana, listen to me. I'm sorry. I should not have kept something from you -- anything. You're right. But please, think about what I was thinking, what we were all thinking. You did this. You made this gigantic group of people a family, and you did it by having the courage to risk everything to save our son. Then, you decide that that isn't enough of a sacrifice, so you risk your life again to give us the family we had dreamed about.
"I knew how much you still worried about the Centre coming after us, that somehow they would find out we were still alive and they would come and take Ryan. You were fighting with everything you had to keep Catherine alive inside of you. I couldn't put that fear on you again --- I just could not do that."
Parker turned her face to him finally, her eyes still hard with anger. Then they met his, and she could see the genuine feelings of remorse that filled them. Damn it, he couldn't even let her stay mad at him, even when he really, really did deserve it.
"I hate you, you know that?" She said it with her trademark raised eyebrow, but a slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and Jarod knew then they would be okay.
"And I love you, Mrs. Greene."
He leaned over and kissed her cheek, and though she was determined to make him work harder for forgiveness than this, Parker was finding that it had been easier to imagine torturing him with silence and glares than it actually was to do it with him sitting next to her with that incredible face of his so close. Still, she wasn't just going to kiss and makeup -- not just yet.
"Don't you have some work you're supposed to be doing?" Her tone was so reminiscent of the old days that it even surprised her, but Jarod's response was to break out into a wide grin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the syringe and empty vials he had brought with him.
"Speaking of which, I want your blood." Jarod delivered his last line with his best Dracula impersonation, and Parker, despite herself, burst into laughter as she extended her arm toward her husband.
****
The woman looked at her husband, and ran a hand through her dark hair pushing the stray tendrils from her face.
"Is it possible, Sean, that there are others that wish to see the demise of the Centre as strongly as I do?" She smiled at her husband." I guess I better go talk to this intriguing cousin of mine."
"In the meantime, I'll order some dinner for the rest of us. The children must be starving. Take Catherine with you."
She walked the corridor, cuddling the tiny infant in her arms. Pushing the door open slowly, she looked at the woman that lay in the bed. She had a devastating combination of dark hair and blue eyes. In other words, a beauty and she had passed it on to her daughter.
"Want some company?" she spoke softly and placed the infant in eager arms.
Parker did a quick inspection of her daughter, then brought her up to lie on her chest. Catherine was still half asleep, but she squirmed until she was comfortable on her mother's chest, then relaxed completely.
"It's amazing, isn't it? That total sense of complete trust they have in you."
Hope spoke with her eyes on Catherine, and it was a moment before she saw that Parker was crying, tears slowly making their way down her face.
"Parker, what is it?"
"I...I never got to hold Ryan when he was born. I didn't even know he existed until he was nearly three years old. I'm just now realizing how much I missed with him."
Hope felt whatever ungenerous feelings she'd had toward her cousin -- wow, how weird did that sound? Anyway, the wary feelings disappeared. Quickly, she moved to sit beside her.
"He doesn't seem to notice he missed anything. He adores you."
Parker only nodded and placed a soft kiss on Catherine's head. Then she brought her eyes back to Hope's.
"How are you doing with all this? I mean, I have some experience with discovering a family you didn't know about...it's not the easiest thing."
Hope smiled, her eyes lowering as she thought about how honest she wanted to be. Then she thought about what Parker had just said to her about Catherine and Ryan. Somehow, this woman didn't strike Hope as someone who confided in others easily. That she had tried, that she had opened up first meant something, and Hope wasn't about to turn her back on that.
"It's not easy, no. I've missed my father so much, and I've spent so much time trying to keep the Centre away from Faith. It's just amazing to think that you've been out there living a kind of parallel life with me."
"I guess that is what we've been doing, isn't it? Hope, I'm sorry if I didn't seem...well, if I hurt your feelings earlier. I just can't risk having anything happen to Jarod or the kids. They're my life."
"And your theirs, that's obvious. Don't worry about the other, I understand. I feel the same way about Sean and Faith."
The two women sat silently for a moment. It was Parker who broke the quiet.
"Hope, there is probably something you should know. At least, something I should tell you. It's about your father."
"Sydney told me he didn't die in the accident, that it happened later."
"Yeah. He was sick for a long time, unconscious for almost all of it. But, um, there was a time when I...I was given orders to kill him."
The look of shock that ran across Hope's face told Parker that her father had not broached this subject.
"I didn't do it. I couldn't. Sydney and I got him somewhere safe and I was with both of them when your father died. I, um, I just didn't want you to hear it from someone else."
"Why didn't you do it?" Hope looked at her with questioning eyes as she spoke. "I mean, they must have put a great deal of pressure on you...why didn't you?"
"I'm not proud of a lot of things I've done, Hope, but I can live with it because I know I've never taken a life in anything but self defense. There was no way I could hurt him, not even because of Sydney, but because he didn't do anything to hurt me."
"Was he..." Hope's voice trailed off as tears crept into her eyes. "Was he ever alert again?"
Parker closed her eyes, remembering that night at the fishing cabin with Sydney, who she had comforted as only her friend then, and Jacob. Those few moments of wakefulness that her uncle had had....was he really alert? She didn't know, but she knew they had meant the world to Sydney.
"He tried to help Dad find Jarod's father. He was still trying to save us all, Hope, even at the end."
Hope nodded, her eyes lowering as tears began to flow. Parker stretched out her hand and took her cousin's in hers. She no longer needed the blood test to tell her the truth -- this woman was her family.
Sydney opened the door expecting to grab a quiet moment with his daughter -- instead, his eyes fell on the sight of Parker holding Hope's hand, his granddaughter sleeping soundly on his daughter's chest. His entry had gone unnoticed by the girls, and he simply crept back out, leaving them alone.
'Well, Jacob,' he thought, 'our girls have found each other. They'll have each other now to hold on to, just like we did.'
"Sydney," Jarod said, softly," Is everything all right?"
"The girls seemed to have forged a bond," he turned, smiling.
"Guess, Parker won't need this then." Jarod handed the piece of paper to Sydney. "Oh, by the way, Sean offered to put you and Angelo up for the night, and Ryan gets to spend the night with his new found cousin. Parker always thought that Ryan and I were trouble, but those two. . .
"Not to bring about doom and gloom, but any word on the Centre?" Sydney asked, stopping Jarod mid-sentence.
"That's what I was getting to. Just before your little bombshell about Hope, Broots beeped me. When I got a hold of him, he wanted to know what I did that sent the Centre scurrying to the three corners of the world in search of new pretenders."
"So, what did you do?"
"That's the problem, Syd. It wasn't me, it was . . ."
"Faith and Ryan!" Sydney's eyes widened, and a chuckle escaped his lips.
"Faith and Ryan what?" Sean asked, as he came upon the two in the corridor," Is Hope still in there?"
"Yes to the last question, as for Faith and Ryan, I would rather repeat this once so we might as well head in. God, Parker is going to . . ." Jarod shook his head and pushed on the door to his wife's room. He hated to intrude, but he wasn't keeping anything from her, not again.
As he opened the door, Jarod's eyes fell on Hope. Clearly she had been crying, and she moved quickly to wipe away the few remaining tears on her cheeks. Catherine had awakened, and Parker was about to nurse their daughter. Hope, seeing Jarod, stood and quickly moved toward the door.
"I'll let you have some time alone."
Jarod put his hand on Hope's shoulder and stopped her. She looked up and found nothing but warmth and compassion in his eyes.
"Hope, stay, please. This is your family, too, and besides, this concerns you as well."
Hope nodded silently and moved to a chair on the other side of the room. Sean followed his wife, concern on his face. She glanced up at him, smiling weakly, trying to tell him she was fine, uncertain how to communicate how overwhelmed she felt right now. Sydney, however, seemed to understand, and he moved to his niece, taking her hand in his as he knelt beside her.
Jarod crossed to his wife and daughter, sitting beside them on the bed as Catherine happily suckled at her mother's breast, a warm, soft blanket his mother had made giving them privacy from the room full of relatives. Parker glared at him, still trying to feign anger, but it was a losing battle, and soon a smile broke out on her face as Jarod reached over and gently stroked Catherine's cheek. Both of them giggled when Catherine reached up and took hold of his finger.
"Jarod, what was it you wanted to tell us about the kids?" Sean's voice was soft, but full of worry, and Jarod realized he needed to get the show on the road. He looked up from his girls and over to the others in the room.
"Well, Broots found out that the Centre has received several reports from different countries about potential pretenders. They have sweeper teams out at the four corners looking for them."
Parker raised and eyebrow and looked at her husband.
"You?"
"No, not me. Angelo--and Ryan and Faith."
"What?!" The sounds of the two mother's voices filled the room as both Parker and Hope began thinking of how difficult it would be to lock their little prodigies in their rooms for the rest of their lives. Jarod and Sean shared a look, and both had to fight back their laughter as they looked at their wives' faces.
"Where are those two? What were they thinking?" Hope stood as she spoke, her tone making it clear she was both angry and worried. She grew angrier as Sean's laughter reached her ear.
"Thinking? Hope, their kids.....they weren't 'thinking.' They were trying to protect their family. Remember, geniuses, yes. Adults, no."
Hope wanted to yell at him, but his words made so much damn sense. Oh, she hated it when he was this right.
"I'm getting rid of every computer in our house, Jarod. I mean it." Jarod looked down at Parker as she finished speaking, her mouth set in a frown as she fumed over the actions of the two overprotective children.
"Okay, honey. If you really think that'll solve the problem."
Parker raised her eyes, locking them with Jarod's. She hated him when he was smug and she hated him when he was right.
"You know what? I really don't like you much anymore."
Jarod laughed as he leaned down and kissed her.
"I know, but there's nothing you can do about it. What was it you said, our family was 'God's gift to us for all the hell we went through?' Guess you're stuck with me."
He kissed her again, this time more deeply, and he chuckled as she responded fully to his advance. Then he heard her voice, muffled against his lips.
"If I have to be."
****
Mr. Parker sat at his desk, a scatter of files before him. The reports had stopped filtering in after the total reached 12. Twelve reports with no confirmations at all corners of the globe. Still, the sweepers continued to search. If there were any other pretenders out there, he was going to find them. He would do whatever it took to increase his power and secure the future of the Centre.
Suddenly, he thought of the searches going on, of the cost of sending sweepers all over the world, and he remembered the endless waste of resources the Centre had thrown down the drain in the years of searching for Jarod. That's what had been bothering him -- the similarity between this event and all of the wild goose chases Jarod has spurred in years past.
As he remembered, Mr. Parker could almost swear he heard the sound of 6-inch stilettos marching down the hall toward his door.
Shaking his head, The Chairman threw these thoughts out of his mind. The past was the past. Jarod and Parker were gone, nothing would change that.
But for just a moment, he thought, it had been nice to imagine them back again. Life at the Centre was easier now that they were gone, but so much less....
well, just less.
THE END
