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It's my first fanfic.  Please bear in mind that I'm English!!


THE HOMECOMING

By

PHOEBE

 

Disclaimer: The characters from The Pretender series aren't mine. They belong to MTM and NBC Productions and have been used without their permission. No money is being made out of this; I'm just having fun; please don't sue me!


CHAPTER 1 - Reflections

Jarod Russell turned his back to the ocean and pushed up the collar of his black leather coat. The wind whipped his hair back and he felt the fine dampness of the salt spray drying on his face. He was thankful for the warmth of his thick black wool sweater beneath his coat. He pushed his hands into his coat pockets in an effort to calm himself. Carefully, he shifted his position in the damp shingle of the beach and looked up at the stark building half a mile away.

In the gathering gloom of dusk, the noise of the ocean was the only sound he could hear. The surf surged in and out taking with it the debris from the beach. Staring ahead, he gazed at the ominous and chilling building with its' distinctive tower standing in the midst of the smaller buildings. Most of the lights were blazing out across the grounds, like eyes peering into the gloom, and he followed the reflections across the ocean, lighting up a pathway. He was close enough to see the patrolling guards behind the high wire fence with the guard dogs pulling at their leashes. The occasional bark of the dogs at some imaginary shadow shattered the stillness of the evening as the guards strained to control them. He could hear muttered oaths as the guards hushed them quiet as they slowly patrolled the grounds.

At this time of the evening, there were few cars leaving, just the occasional car finding its way out of the underground car park, headlights blazing in the half-light, making its' way to the security barriers and on into Blue Cove.

Jarod stood alone, shivering slightly in the cold wind and wondered, not for the first time, what on earth he was doing here, standing not half a mile away from this centre of terror. Why did this place still hold such fascination for him when he knew that for more than thirty years he had been a prisoner behind its walls?

‘Why can't I just disappear for good' he thought to himself.

Jarod sighed to himself and then turned his thoughts to Parker. He didn't need to have anyone answer that question. He knew exactly why he didn't JUST disappear. He knew that, if he put his mind to it, they would never find him. He had the ability and the resources to just go and disappear from their horizon. To start a new life, build a home and live a normal life, may be even have a family of his own, ‘That's what I should do' he thought. ‘It's what I want to do. After all, I am a Pretender'.

Jarod started walking back in the direction of the sandbank and then onto the gravel road where he had parked the SUV, still deeply in thought. His hand found the remote to the car and he let himself in and slumped down in the driver's seat, thankful to be out of the chill of the wind. He pushed his hair back again in that restless, familiar way and moved both hands to the top of the wheel and let his head rest there, still thinking about her.

He tried to recall their last telephone conversation three months ago - three months since their return from the Island. He had wanted to forget her words but all he could remember was the sound of her softly crying as he ended the call. He had known then, that he could never completely abandon her. He had known her all his life, she was in his blood and he could never just walk away from her. They both wanted - needed - answers to too many questions for him to do that, and what of their future ? Did they have a future ? Or was that just wishful thinking on his part, part of the fascination that kept him tied by fragile strings to the Centre. Strings he could not let go. Surely, they couldn't remain enemies forever ?

They had spent time together on the Island, worked together as a team and there had been flashes of the old spirit of closeness that had been such an integral part of their childhood in the Centre. She had shared with him that fleeting moment when he had sighted his mother, only to lose her again. There had been that magical moment when they had been alone together, when she had started to let the barriers down and to forget who and what they were......those feelings had been real on both sides, he was sure of it. The memory of those soft blue-grey eyes staring at him in the firelight, her hair softly framing her face as she moved towards him ....no, he couldn't have imagined it. That was real.

He'd tried so hard to get her to leave the Centre, to take a new path in life, to make her see the evil that was the Centre but she wouldn't do it. He recalled her words ..."You run, I chase". He also recalled the times that he had been less than kind to her, waking her in the middle of the night with his late night calls, knowing that she would be angry with him, tormenting her with clues and memories that she found hard to accept but also knowing that he would never lie to her. He felt genuine remorse at some of the tricks he had played on her and the pain he had caused her.

To walk away from her now would be to sign her death warrant with the Centre.

Once they realised that he had disappeared for good, the game would be over and they would have no further use for her. She would be expendable. That living, barely breathing, old wheeze bag, Mr Raines would ensure that Lyle stepped up to his chair and there would be no place for Miss Parker. Failure could not be tolerated, would not be tolerated. Parker knew this and yet she continued the search for him, knowing how high the stakes were and what failure meant. Success for her would mean life imprisonment, possibly, death for him.

He hadn't told her that two weeks after returning from Carthis he had found his mother. Finally, he had known the pure joy of reuniting with his family. It had been relatively simple to cover his movements and return to Glasgow and track her to a small clinic on the outskirts of the city where she was being treated for a bullet wound to her arm. It had taken a further week for her to recuperate enough to travel back to the United States by sea. Jarod reasoned that although the Centre was unaware of their reunion, they would never think to run routine checks on sailings to and from Britain. Now his family were living safely just outside a mountain resort of Colorado.

It had been the happiest three months of his life getting to know his father and mother, Emily his sister and Jay, his clone. They had dealt with the death of Kyle in their own individual ways and had now arrived at a point in their lives when they had to decide the direction their lives were going to take. Jarod knew that they were depending on him to give that direction but he also knew he could not offer them anything while so many things were unresolved. He felt the burden of indecision wearing away at his mind and all his insecurities rose to the fore.

He was sure that his family were unaware of his feelings for Parker, but maybe Major Charles was half-way to guessing how he felt. He'd certainly let drop enough hints to Jarod but, so far, he had been able to laugh them off. His mother hardly remembered Parker as a child although, having seen her more recently on the Island, she had instantly recognised Parker as the daughter of Catherine.

His mother certainly didn't know that Parker had spent the last five years heading up the search team to return Jarod to the Centre.

Jarod lifted his head and shuddered in the chill of the evening, his thoughts laying heavy on his mind. With a sigh, he turned the ignition on and pulled away from the verge and headed towards the main highway that would take him into Dover.

 


* * * * *

 


Miss Parker opened her eyes with a start, groaning loudly with the shooting, stabbing pain of the migraine that forced her head back onto the pillow. She closed her eyes again and swallowed hard to force back the overwhelming feelings of nausea. The waves of pain washed over her as she slowly became aware of her cramped arms and legs. She could feel the damp sweat on her neck and face as she tried to turn her head and then slowly she gave into the pain and drifted back into unconsciousness.

 


* * * * *

 


Jarod glanced around the motel room and sat down on the bed. For once, the Comfort Inn was living up to its' reputation and the bed felt comfortable. Night had fallen completely now and the lamps cast a warm glow over the room. Jarod leaned back against the headboard and, pulling his long legs up, he rested his head against his knees. He reached across to the bedside table and took a long gulp of the remaining coffee, heavy with sugar, knowing that it was almost cold. Setting the carton down again he reached for his cell phone and automatically dialled Parker's home number.

He felt nervous and his hand shook a little as he took a deep breath, waiting for her customary "What". This would be the first time he had spoken to her in three months and he longed, yet dreaded, hearing her voice. He tried to steel himself to be cool but he didn't feel cool ..... He felt unsure of himself, not in control of his thoughts. What was he going to say to her ? He really didn't know this time. Maybe, when he heard her voice, he would know.

He could hear the ringing tones and then the automatic switch to her Voicemail. He hung up quickly. It was too late for her to be still at the Centre but he tried the number anyway. Nothing.

‘Where the hell was she,' he thought.

Sydney answered on the second ring and Jarod could hear the sounds of a familiar classical symphony in the background.

"This is Sydney," he answered in his soft Belgian accent.

"Where is she Sydney? I've tried her home and her office and she's not answering me. She should be there," his voice showing signs of some of the frustration he was feeling.

"Hello Jarod, how are you? It's been a long time and I was beginning to worry about you," replied Sydney, trying to keep the genuine happiness he felt at speaking to his protégée again out of his voice.

Jarod paused and then continued "I'm worried about Parker, I've felt anxious about her all day long and now I can't reach her. Do you know where she is"?

"I'm sure she is OK Jarod," he reasoned. "You remember Rosa, her house keeper; well she phoned late this afternoon to say that Parker had decided to take a long weekend. Parker's had a difficult time recently, trying to cope with the death of Mr Parker and the new set up at the Centre. It's not been easy for her to make the adjustment to Mr Raines sitting in the chair. I don't need to tell you the kind of stress she's been under, Jarod".

Sydney sighed as his mind wandered back to their last conversation before leaving the office that afternoon. She had allowed him to walk out with her, long legs striding ahead of him in those ridiculous high-heeled boots. He could only marvel at her that she had not broken an ankle before now. He had escorted her to the black Boxter and helped her to stow her bag into the trunk.

She had seemed quiet, none of her usual sharp, smart come-backs and there had been an air of defeat about her. Sydney had assumed that she was just tired and he felt glad that she was leaving earlier than usual. With all that was going on in the Centre these days, all the constant changes, it wasn't hard to believe that she was exhausted. She had wished him a good weekend and had driven away without a backward glance.

"I don't understand, Sydney, why would Rosa phone you and not Parker herself. If she was planning a weekend break, surely she would have told you about it"? asked Jarod, his voice rising slightly with his impatience.

"Stop worrying Jarod, I'm sure she is perfectly fine. Rosa has phoned before for Parker when she's decided at the last minute to just take off. You know what Parker's like and how unpredictable she can be," he soothed.

Jarod got up from the bed and wandered over to the window that looked down over the rear car park of the motel. He pulled aside the thick curtain and stared broodingly at the glow from the security lights covering the parking area. His thoughts raced ahead and he dropped the curtain and turned back to pace the length of the room.

"I'm not sure Sydney; it doesn't feel right, somehow. I've been anxious all day and it's not like Parker to just up and go like this. Something's wrong, I know it. I just don't know what. Are you sure she didn't say anything about taking off this weekend? Perhaps, she said something to Mr Broots"? replied Jarod hopefully. "Will you call him and check"?

Sydney sighed and sat back down in his armchair casually flicking the switch on the remote to stop the music.

"Jarod, it's after eleven o'clock and Broots will probably have gone to bed. Debbie will certainly be asleep by now" he replied in an effort to calm Jarod's obvious agitation. Sydney sighed again and then relented. "If it helps, I will give him a call now then you can call me back in five minutes, will that be OK"?

"Thank you Sydney, please hurry," urged Jarod and then clicked off from the call.

Jarod threw his cell phone onto the bed and went into the bathroom to wash his face. Wiping his face with the towel, he stared into the mirror and paused, noticing for the first time, the fine lines around his eyes and mouth and the haunted look in his brown eyes.

He stared at himself and with a small shrug he told himself, ‘I can't do this anymore'.

He paced the length of the room and back again, picked up the remote for the television and flicked through the late-night news channels, none of which registered with him. Switching off, he glanced at his watch for the tenth time and resumed pacing the room.

Barely within five minutes, Jarod was scrolling through his directory and had redialled Sydney's number.

Sydney answered on the first ring and before he could say anything, Jarod spoke quickly, "What did Mr Broots say, Sydney? Has he heard from her"?

Sydney sighed and spoke calmly to Jarod. "Hold on Jarod, I spoke to Broots and I think I frightened the poor man half out of his wits, calling him at this time of night. You know what a vivid imagination that man has. Anyway, he tells me that Parker didn't say anything to him about leaving for the weekend. Why would she?" he added.

"That's it then, Sydney; I know something has happened to her. I can feel it," said Jarod rushing the words out quickly, his voice rising with emotion.

 

 

* * * * *

 

 


She opened her eyes slowly again, trying to adjust to the darkness, grateful that the sharp and stabbing pains from the migraine had receded. She lay on her back and slowly eased her cramped muscles, stretching her arms and fingers and working her way down to her legs and feet. She had an overwhelming thirst and her throat felt like she had swallowed a bucket of sand, her lips cracked and dried. She tried to move her back into a different position to ease the stiffness; as she did so, she became aware that something was stopping her from moving her right arm.

As she tried to lift it, she felt the steel band of the handcuff tethered to the chain, the handcuff tight around her wrist.

"What the hell is this?" she hissed out loud, yanking hard on the chain.

 

 


* * * * *

 

 

Sydney stood up again and moved across to a bonsai plant that he had worked on earlier in the evening and began idly removing imaginary debris from the pot as he continued his conversation with Jarod.

"Jarod, calm down for a minute! You can't just go over to Parker's cottage in the middle of the night. I know you have done this before," he reasoned "but things have changed a lot since Mr Parker's death. For one thing, there is the real possibility of a sweeper team on patrol and secondly there will be surveillance cameras. Everyone is watched or tailed these days. Its' too dangerous! This could easily be a Centre trap. Just stop and think, Jarod!" urged Sydney trying to calm Jarod's anxiety.

Jarod paused and took a deep breath. "I hear what you're saying Sydney, but I can't just leave it. I have to check she's OK." Jarod resumed his pacing of the room and then suddenly he sat down on the bed.

"Look, I wouldn't normally ask this but  ........ Sydney, you could go over there, think of a reason ......... check on some papers or something? Just check that everything is OK. You don't have to tell her that I'm the reason for going. Please, Sydney, it's really important to me," he pleaded.

Sydney turned away and returned to his chair, moving aside the medical journal that he had been reading earlier. He sighed and then said,

"Alright Jarod, if it will ease your mind, I will go and get the car out and drive over but, if it IS a false alarm, YOU get the chewing out, right? Second thoughts, she'll probably hang us both out to dry for this"!

Jarod was silent for a moment and then said "Thanks, Sydney. I owe you," and then swiftly disconnected his call.

 

 

* * * * *





Chapter End Notes:
To be continued....................





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