Part 3
When Mulder and Scully arrived back at her apartment, they packed the car and drove to the airport. Later, they took a rental car. Mulder and Scully sat in the front seat, and Jarod and Miss Parker slept in the back.
"So...," Scully began. "Who is this friend of yours, anyway? You never told me about him."
"Oh, we were roommates when I was at Oxford. Heīs American, but stayed there and comes here only a few weeks in the year. We exchange e-mails, but not much more."
"And youīre sure he knew who was calling when he said you could have his cabin?"
"Hey, what do you mean....? I simply told him, I need...mmhh, I told him I know a woman and we could use a little time for ourselves." He kept his eyes on the road.
"Aha, a few days... do I know the poor girl?" she teased, and they grinned at each other.
"Well, what do you think, Mulder? About them?" she said, and pointed to the backseat.
"I ... I donīt know. I read the files Jarod gave you again last night. You told me there was a file about her mother, too. Whatīs in there?"
Miss Parker woke just at that time, and could hear Scully's answer.
"Itīs a different file than the police-one. I donīt know who wrote it, but it certainly proves that she was murdered. She didnīt suicide, which is the "official" story. And, there are details about the weapon and some suspects."
That was too much for her. Miss Parker yelled and hit Jarod in the ribs.
"You bastard, you knew it all the time and didnīt tell me! You suspected *me* of hiding informations about your parents. How could you?"
Jarod tried to save himself from her blows, but without much luck. She was very fast and he couldnīt just grab her because of her wounded shoulder.
Mulder slowed down and parked the car. Scully spun out and opened the backseat-door. She grabbed her on the shoulder and shouted, "Stop, now! Youīre going to hurt yourself. Calm down. Everything is all right."
When the rage was gone, and Miss Parker felt her shoulder freed again, she gasped in pain.
"I had the file with me in SL 27, but before I could give it to you - you know what happened." He tried to apologize.
Scully pulled the sweater back a bit to look at her
"It has started to bleed again. Here, press." She took Jarod's hand and laid it on Miss Parker. She moaned, but didnīt say anything.
"Canīt you give her anything for the pain?" he asked Scully, and stroked one strand of hair out of Miss Parkers face behind her ear. She pulled away first but then let him do IT
"I already gave her enough for an elephant. I couldnīt risk to give her more. Sorry."
"Itīs ok, I can stand it. Iīve suffered worse," Miss Parker said and gave Jarod one of her "looks".
Meanwhile at
The Centre
Sydney and Broots stood in a corner near the elevator as the paramedics carried Brigitte out.
Broots whispered to him, "Who knew she was down there? no one would have found her in SL 27 otherwise."
Sydney only nodded.
"Do you think Miss Parker shot her? We donīt know where she is right now. Besides, I havenīt seen her the last two days..." Broots was, as usual, a little bit nervous.
"She hasnīt said anything to me and Jarod hasnīt contacted me either."
Then Mr. Parker came towards them after shortly talking with Brigitte.
"Where is my daughter? Brigitte says that Jarod shot at her and my daughter. WHERE IS SHE?"
"I canīt believe this. Jarod is no killer, and he would certainly never shoot at Miss Parker."
"Her blood was everywhere on the floor. She is hurt." He seemed to lose his normal control.
"Where exactly did they find Brigitte and your daughter's blood, anyway?" Sydney asked, as if he knew nothing.
Mr. Parker turned on his heel and was gone without saying anything else.
Sydney and Broots looked at each other and went back to the tech-room.
Somewhere on the road
"Scully, may I borrow your cell-phone?" Jarod asked after a while. "I should inform Sydney that we are safe and all right - well, mostly."
"Sure." She handed it to him.
"Here is Sydney," he answered.
"We are fine." Jarod said, then went to hang up.
"Jarod wait! Where are you and Miss Parker? What happened?"
"Letīs say, weīre taking a little break. Miss Parker is shot, but she is ok."
"You did not shoot her, did you? And what about Brigitte, why did you shoot her?"
"No! Brigitte came down to SL 27 and tried to kill me and Miss Parker. I beat her but Miss Parker got a bullet. I did nothing! How could you believe I could have?" Jarod was upset.
"I never believed that, but Mr. Parker told us so."
"Syd, find out who else was down there, and why they tried to kill Miss Parker," Jarod said, then hit the end-button.
When they reached the little cabin it was almost dark outside. The area somehow looked like where the grandma lived in the movie "Danteīs Peak".
"Wow, Mulder, this is beautiful. Look at the lake and ... it looks simply great!" Scully got out of the car and took a look at the surroundings.Mulder went to the trunk, and he and Scully took some of their luggage and went inside the cabin.
Jarod lifted the sleeping Miss Parker in his arms. She murmered something he couldnīt understand and put her arms around his neck.
he thought.
He entered the cabin and caught his breath. This was ... he was at a loss for words. As Scully said before, just beautiful.
"You can bring her up, Jarod," Mulder said from the second floor. "Boys right, girls left, all right?" he asked. "There are only two bedrooms and I think that will be the best choice."
When Mulder and Scully had brought all the luggage inside, Jarod joined them in the kitchen.
"Sheīs sleeping," he informed them. "How long can we stay here?"
"As long as we have to. We can stay here as long as we want." Mulder handed him a cup of coffee.
"Thanks." Jarod sat down, lost in thought.
Two days later, Miss Parker felt much better. She was able to stand up and walk around instead of lying in bed and staring at the walls.
For the first time since the fiasco in SL 27 she wanted a cigarette. She dressed and went upstairs.
The cabin was so beautiful. The sun was shining in through the windows and everything was warm and bright. The stairs to the second floor were bright and ended free in the living room. There was a huge fireplace with a large bearskin rug on the floor before it. There was also a table and a comfortable couch.
Mulder and Scully were sitting at the kitchen table, Scully before the laptop and Mulder behind no fewer than 10 files. Papers, photos and reports were everywhere.
"Hi." Mulder turned around and greeted her warmly.
"Mhm." Miss Parker went around the table to the sink and eyed the area. From the window she had a good look at the little lake outside and the wood behind.
"I guess nobody has a cigarette for me?" That would be too good.
"No, and Iīm sure you wonīt find a drugstore nearer than 20 miles." Mulder tried to hide a smile. He was lucky he was not a smoker.
"Fine." Miss Parker walked slowly to the livingroom. "Whereīs Wonder Boy?" Miss Parker sounded much colder than when she was injured.
"Who?" It took Scully a second before she realized she meant Jarod. She gave Mulder a "Why does she call him that?"-look and said, "Heīs outside by the lake."
"He doesnīt talk much, does he?" Mulder asked her.
"No," she said, and then she was gone.
"Well, and I always thought Frohike was weird." Scully hit a key and saved the last report.
"Yeah. Whoīs the Ice Queen now?" he teased.
Without warning a few of his sunflower-seeds hit him.
"Hey, didnīt your mom tell you not to play with food?"
"Sure, but she also told me to keep away from strangers and crazy people."
"Mhm. Wait, what do you mean by crazy?" Mulder stood up slowly and dangerously.
"You know, people that are a little bit, unnormal. Some believe in the existence of extraterrestrials or in little green, no grey men. I think I remember one, really."
He tapped her on the shoulder, and when she slowly turned around he stood there with a glass of water in his hand above her head and a goofy grin on his face. "Go on. Iīd like to hear more about this guy."
She jumped up, circled the table and grabbed a glass of water from the sink, too.
They looked at each other and grinned.
"Mulder," she warned him, "donīt ruin the reports, Iīm not going to write them again."
"Me too." Then he advanced on her, forcing her towards the living room.
"Mulder. No. I donīt have enough clothes here to change. No." He came closer to her.
"You donīt have to wear ...." he started, but he came no further.
Plitsch! and the water was in his face! Scully tried really hard not to laugh but it looked too funny. When she saw him blink his eyes, she did not know it was too late. She ran outside, Mulder close behind her.
"Youīre going to pay for that!" He grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder. He grinned and walked towards the lake.
"Mulder, you are not going to do what I think you are going to do!" She could not stop laughing. "Mulder no!"
"Oh YES! You havenīt had a shower today, have you, Scully?" He walked on the little footbridge and tried to throw her in the lake, but somehow she gripped his t-shirt and they both fell with a big "splash" in the water.
Blue Cove, The Centre
The same time
"Sydney, I donīt think this is a good idea." Broots stumbled nervously over some stuff on the floor of SL 27. "You know what happened to him when we brought him here last time."
"Angelo," he said softly to him, "you could help us find out what happened to Jarod and Miss Parker down here."
Angelo began to cross a few rooms till he reached the one where Miss Parker had met Jarod.
"Jarod ... Miss Parker ... confused ... Jarod ...." He ran to the next room. "Hurt ... badly hurt..."
"Who is hurt, Angelo?" Sydney tried not to sound too concerned.
"Miss Parker is hurt!" He sounded like a little kid whose dog was injured.
"Who hurt her? Jarod?"
"No! Jarod ... she wants to shoot him ... Jarod confused ..."
"She? Whoīs she, Angelo? Did Miss Parker try to shoot Jarod?" Sydney couldnīt believe this. He knew that they shared a special bond and that she couldnīt shoot him before.
"Blond-head angry ..." Angelo run to another room.
"Jarod afraid ... try to bring her out ... but blond-head ...Jarod now angry ... they fight ...... I decide who lives ..."
"What? I thought Kyle is dead?" Broots was now completly irritated.
"I think he is but Jarod was in rage and he thought of how Kyle was acting." Sydneys mind raced
"So Jarod shot Brigitte?" Broots speculated.
"There is ... there is another one ... he is ..." Angelo began.
"Who is it, Angelo, who?"
"She hurt my daughter, Iīll kill her." Angelo stammerd.
"Mr. Parker? Could that be?" Broots' brain was racing now.
The Cabin
Meanwhile, Jarod and Miss Parker walked on the other side of the lake. She had caught up to him and now walked beside him. Neither of them knew what to say at the moment.
When they heard and saw Mulder and Scully, Jarod smiled wistfully.
"Sounds like fun, huh?"
"Fun? Whatīs that?" Her voice sounded a little bit too sacastic, but she gave him a rare smile.
"In the Centre.." he began but she stoped him.
"Jarod, please, no Centre, no Syd or anything like that now. Iīm not up to that yet."
"But, is that the only thing that holds us back?"
She gave him no answer to his question because they both knew that wasnīt true.
"Great, Mulder, really great. Youīre going to pay for THAT!" Scully said. Then she grabbed Mulder by the shoulders, threw his leg with her foot under him, and before he knew what she was doing he was under water. He curled with his arms and tried to come up again.
She held him so skillfully that he couldnīt keep his balance and she could easily beat him.
Jarod and Parker were now near them.
"Wanna join them?" he teased.
"No, not really." The temperature between them slowly rose from "frost" to "low warm".
"Letīs sit down on the little rocks over there." She pointed to two small stones near the shore.
They sat down side by side and Jarod turned towards her.
"What are we, uhm, you going to do? I mean, when we leave here?"
"I donīt know. Iīve had a lot of time to think these last days, but I didnīt get any answers. What about you? What will you do, when you find your parents?"
"When you have an answer for yourself, could you please tell me? I have no idea." Then, they smiled at each other. Really smiled.
"What about your father? Did he tell you more about the death of your mother?"
She shook her head lightly and her eyes drifted towards the lake.
"No, not since we were at he grave, you know, the anniversary of her... well..."
"You saw me there, didnīt you?"
"If I were to say yes, that would that mean I lost a chance to bring you back to the Centre." She paused. "This is weird. I canīt just forget that Iīm the hunter and you are my hunted...."
"I know what you mean. Itīs the same for me. As I saw you walking after, I had to remind myself where we are and that there are no sweepers behind the trees." His lips formed a little smile.
"At the moment, I donīt know what to believe. My father, the Centre and ...." She stopped when she felt her eyes fill with tears and turned away from him. He took her hand and gave it a little squeeze.
"Iīve often thought about what it will be like, when I find my family. My mom, dad and my sister. Do you think we could live like a family after all these years? Itīs hard to imagine."
"We would make a great couple, huh. We could go together to therapy." She meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words were out, she realized how true they were.
"Someday, we will have our own family. You just have to keep believing." He gave her hand another squeeze and pulled her up with him.
"Letīs go back and try to find something to eat. You hungry?"
"Yes, but letīs walk round the lake once more before it gets dark. Itīs so lovely here. I was trapped in the house long enough!" Miss Parker slowly walked ahead.
Miss Parker let go of his hand as it started to get too comfortable. This was dangerous terretory and she knew that. It seemed like he liked it too, and that was enough for her to keep away a little.
Meanwhile, Scully and Mulder fought a water battle, and it was obvious that Mulder had to try hard to breathe. Most of the time he was underwater. Finally he gave up.
"Ok. Ok. I've drunk enough!"
"What, you give up that easily? I didnīt even really get started... Ok, then say it."
"No," he said, and she pushed him under once more.
"Ok, I give up. You won."
"Thanks. Thatīs what I wanted to hear." Then she released him and swam a few feet away.
He looked really cute with his trousled hair and the clothes clinging to his, from what she could see, muscular body. He must have thought the same about her because he stared at her too. She was a little bit embarrassed because the t-shirt didnīt hide much now.
"Weīre lucky that itīs so warm outside. The water is just right." Mulder swam behind her to the footbridge.
She turned while swimming. "Yeah, but it would have been nicer to be in a bikini than in these clothes. Itīll be days till my shoes are dry again."
"I agree, but you started, remember?"
He was out of the water before her and offered a helping hand. He lifted her up easily and she was suddenly clasped to his chest.
"Oups, youīre not as heavy as I thought." He grinned, and tried to apologize but could not admit that it wasnīt too uncomfortable for him.
When he didnīt release she asked, seduced, "Are you coming on to me, G-man?"
"What would you do if I said yes?" he said, and they walked back to the cabin.
"Well, I surely wouldnīt jump on you, but...."
"But what...?" She turned around and gave him an unexpected and quick kiss on the cheek and walked on.
He wanted to say something but lost his voice. He opened his mouth a few times but nothing came out.
Mulder hurried and got her on the balcony.
"I ...." he started, but cut off when she turned and looked him straight in his eyes.
"Mhm?"
"I would say these vacations are good for you, heh?"
"I would say that too. But the wet clothes are not as good for us. I donīt want to get sick."
He looked up and down her body "Well, you could walk around like this more often but I donīt think the wooden floor would like it as much as me."
"Iīll go change," she said and walked upstairs.
Before she entered her room, he offered "Do you need a helping hand?"
"In your dreams" she laughed, and shut the door behind her. But she really could use a helping hand. It was difficult to get the wet jeans off. She almost had to lay on the floor to get out of them.
End Part 3
Part 4