"Playing Doctor" (4/6)
By Emily Siazon

Summary and disclaimer in part 1.

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Jarod frowned as he reread the last passage. He really didn't understand number five, but he was pretty sure that he could do the rest(though probably not number two. Ms. Parker would kill him for even thinking of it).

He grabbed another book and read a random advice aloud to reassure himself that he wasn't about to make an ass of himself. "Show a lot of leg. Your date is sure to appreciate it." He smiled with satisfaction as he looked down at his skimpiest pair of black silk boxer shorts and mentally crossed that one off his list.

Now all he needed was some mood music; the dating books had repeatedly stressed its importance. Jarod walked over to Ms. Parker's entertainment center and rifled through her stack of CDs. He didn't recognize any of the artists, but he figured the band called Nine Inch Nails was the one most likely to have romantic songs; after all, with a song title like "Closer to God," how far off the mark could he be?

******

"I'll be damned," Broots muttered as the sedan sped towards their destination. Feeling Sydney's curious stare, he pointed at the billboard welcoming them to the town of Oxford, Mississippi, home of the state university and William Faulkner. "I guess those books Jarod left behind were also a clue."

"I guess so. This doubles the possible places Jarod could be hiding in, so we're going to have to split up. I'll go to the university to look for clues there while you follow the ones having to do with Faulkner."

A ripping noise echoed around them as Broots involuntarily tore the bottom corner of his T-shirt. "Alone?!" he squeaked. "But. . . But I can't! That's not. . . I mean. . ."

Sydney placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder in hopes of calming him down. "I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"But Ms. Parker. . ."

"Ms. Parker is currently at home with the flu. I doubt very much that she can do her job from there, so it's up to you to fill in for her today."

"But. . ."

"You'll do just fine," Sydney repeated, a small smile forming on his lips as he watched Broots square his shoulders and form a determined look on his face.

"Let's get this show on the road, then."

******

Ms. Parker woke up to the familiar opening chords of "Closer to God" and decided that she had died and gone to hell. There was no way they'd play that song in heaven.

She quickly revised her opinion, however, when a shirtless Jarod walked in wearing what had to be the skimpiest pair of boxer shorts ever created. She was in heaven and God just had a sick sense of humor.

Jarod gave her one of his heart-stopping smile as he headed towards her bed, his expression quickly turning to one of alarm when Trent Reznor, the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, began to sing.

You let me violate you
You let me desecrate you
You let me penetrate you
You let me complicate you

He was running out of the room before the first verse could even finish. She listened with undisguised amusement as he rushed towards her stereo to stop the CD before it could do anymore damage.

(Help me)I broke apart my insides
(Help me)I've got no soul to-

There was a moment of deafening silence before the sound of Jarod slowly going back up the stairs one at a time echoed around the house. His face was flushed as he tentatively peeked at her from the side of her bedroom door, and it took all her concentration not to smile as she asked, "What the hell was that all about?"

"I wanted to surprise you," he answered softly, his eyes looking everywhere but at her. "I even made you breakfast."

Ms. Parker looked down at the foot of her bed, and sure enough, a tray containing a huge stack of pancakes and a glass of milk was inches away from her. She sat up and brought the tray on her lap. She could feel his eyes on her as she cut off a small piece of her breakfast and placed it in her mouth, a small groan of pleasure escaping her lips as the sweet maple syrup came into contact with her tongue.

She watched him shift uncomfortably through half-lidded eyes. She decided that she liked seeing *him* uncomfortable for once and so moaned again. The hand holding onto the door frame tightened in response.

Ms. Parker wanted to see how far she could take it and leaned way down for her next bite, causing her robe to part and to reveal just a hint of the swell of her breasts. She could clearly hear Jarod's sharp intake of breath from where she sat and hid another victorious smile.

She then took another glance at him from the corner of her eye and found him clinging to the door frame much in the same way a drowning man would to a life preserver. He was licking his lips-a habit he had whenever he was nervous or excited-and she found *herself* getting involuntarily turned on as she imagined how those lips would feel pressed against her skin.

Ms. Parker felt her face burn-though this time not from her fever- and pressed the cool glass of milk against her cheeks. Was it just her or was it getting really hot in her room?

******

Broots walked out of the William Faulkner's preserved home with a frown on his face. This had been the third place he'd gone to in town, and he wasn't any closer to finding Jarod than when he'd started.

He'd been so sure that he got the location right this time. Could there be some other connection among the clues that he'd missed?

He looked up and found a man leaning against the driver side of their Sedan, trying to pick its lock with a clothes hanger. The pair of Sweepers trailing behind him also noticed the stranger and rushed towards the car as they reached for their guns.

Broots dove behind the lime green '79 Pinto parked behind the Sedan and tried to curl himself into as small a ball as possible while the Sweepers and the would-be-carjacker's bullets whizzed around him. He thought of what Ms. Parker would do under the situation and stood up, knowing that the person whose place he'd taken for the day would rather die than be known as a coward.

A bullet rushed by mere centimeters from his head and he quickly ducked back down, his newfound courage having quickly been replaced by his even stronger sense of self-preservation.

Maybe he'd be better off leaving the Wonder Woman stuff to Ms. Parker.

******

Jarod never thought it was possible for him to be so jealous of an inanimate object, but right then, he couldn't think of anything better than being the glass of milk Ms. Parker was rolling against the base of her neck.

She let out another soft moan after the glass left behind a cool trail of moisture in its wake, her back arching slightly as she dragged it down to the valley between her breasts.

Jarod couldn't take it anymore and rushed inside her room. He placed the glass of milk on the nightstand before kissing her with abandon, his hands cupping her cheeks as he held her face against his.

He could have sworn that he felt Ms. Parker smile under him, but didn't have the time to analyze the reason for it as her fingers trailed down his chest, causing all his blood to rush south for what seemed like the umpteenth time that week.

This could't be healthy, Jarod thought. The human body just wasn't made to handle all these frequent, rapid changes.

Ms. Parker let out another moan as his lips moved down to the hollow of her neck, and he felt whatever blood remained in the rest of his body rush down to his groin.

It might not be healthy, Jarod silently amended, but what a way to go.

******

When Sydney got back to the car, he found some of the Centre clean up crew carrying a body bag away from the Sedan while the rest went door to door harassing witnesses into silence.

He looked around for Broots and found the younger man hunched down behind an ugly green car two yards away from the scene of carnage.

"What happened here?" He asked the techie, a note of concern entering his voice when he saw Broots begin to shake.

"S-somebody t-tried to steal the c-car."

Sydney nodded his head in understanding, feeling a bit of pity for the poor thief for picking the wrong car to mess with. He took a hold of the younger man's arm and led him to the sidewalk where he could sit down and catch his breath.

"You know something, Syd?" Broots said after drinking most of the can of Surge the older man handed to him in one gulp. "Guns can be *really* scary sometimes."

******

Jarod wasn't quite sure how they ended up naked on her bed, groping each other like teenagers with overdeveloped hormones(Not that he was complaining). One second he was scared of having Ms. Parker laugh in his face for his sad attempt at romance, the next she was moaning his name saying that if he didn't fuck her soon she was gonna die.

He was all too familiar with the second sentiment, a feeling that had constantly plagued him since he first saw her as a woman at seventeen. However, all those years of sexual frustration had also given him enough control over his desires to be able to take things slow.

Jarod wanted this to last. He wanted to make Ms. Parker feel so good that even thinking about this encounter decades from now would leave her incoherent and begging for more.

He slowly made his way down the salty valley between her breast, smiling as he heard her sharp intake of breath as he made his way towards her left nipple and felt it harden under his tongue.

Jarod's hands wandered south and skimmed them over the soft skin on her waist, her inner thigh, her ass, everywhere but where she wanted most to be touched.

He heard Ms. Parker groan out in protest as his lips left her breast, only to be replaced with one of appreciation when he began to kiss her stomach. He felt it quiver beneath him but continued on with his assault, her grip on his hair tightening as he made his way down.

She was staring down at him with wild eyes, eyes that he knew was going to be the source of many sleepless nights to come. He was about to go continue kissing her when she abruptly pushed him off the bed and rushed out of the room, her footsteps fading as she made a beeline for the bathroom at the end of the hall.

Jarod sat on the floor, unmoving. His expression was one of disbelief as he stared at the open doorway. What just happened? Had he broken some sort of sexual etiquette that he didn't even know existed?

The sound of something heavy falling in the bathroom broke through his musings. He ran down the hall, all thoughts of self-pity forgotten as he frantically knocked on the bathroom door. "Parker, are you all right?" Hearing no answer, he tested the knob only to find it locked. "Dammit, Parker, answer me!"

End Part (4/6)

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Author's Notes: I'd like to thank Nicky for giving me the kick in the ass I needed to finish this part; I couldn't have done it without her ^_^

Please send feedback to

Emily Siazon

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Come check out my homepage at:
http://www.geocities.com/igarashim.geo/

Part 5