"Playing Doctor" (5/6)
By Emily Siazon

Summary and disclaimer in part 1.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Go away, Jarod!" Ms. Parker yelled, her voice echoing back at her in her cavernous bathroom. She placed shaking fingers against her flushed cheeks, all the while wondering what had possessed her to try and seduce Jarod and wondering when they could do it again. To say that she found the two conflicting emotions confusing was a gross understatement, so she decided to fall back on old habits to buy her some time to think. "Leave me alone!"

"No, not this time," he whispered in reply, his voice gaining strength with each word. "I'm sick of having to start over again every time we meet, as if all those years of friendship and the multitude of truces we've had over the years means nothing. What are we so afraid of?"

Ms. Parker pressed her face against the cool tile-covered wall, her head turned away from him as if it would somehow help her ignore the truth in his words. "I'm not afraid of anything," she answered petulantly, her voice reminiscent of a little girl unused with not getting her way.

Jarod slumped against the wooden door, his countenance defeated. "Then why is it so hard for us to move past this point? Why is it that I can never tell you that I. . ." his voice trailed off as he heard her shift uneasily, an involuntary reaction he knew she had born from being disappointed too many times by those who claimed to love her.

He wanted so badly to break down the barriers that stood between them -both physical and psychological-but didn't have enough guts to deal with the consequences if she turned him down. So instead he stood there and repeated the words Sidney had told him so many years ago, all the while hating himself for not being strong enough. ". . . I'm unable to fall in love, did you know that? Sydney told me right after I first thought I felt it. He explained to me that it was just human instincts trying to get me to procreate, nothing more. Don't you think that maybe, this was just an example of that?"

Thank God, Ms. Parker thought with a sigh of relief. She didn't have worry about petty emotions getting in the way after all this blew over after all. But then why did her heart feel like it was going to break?

******

Jarod didn't know how long he stood there, waiting for some word from her telling him that he was wrong. She'd always been the gutsier one, leading their various adventures throughout the Centre, and a part of him had hoped that same quality would end the dance they'd played around each other for years.

After a couple of minutes of utter silence, however, he painfully came to realize that no words to the contrary would come. Even as he lingered there he could see some of Thomas' things she'd lovingly kept in honor of his memory. There were also files that she'd brought home from work neatly stacked up at the other end of the hall, further reminding him of the many obstacles that still stood between them.

There would be no happily ever after here; at least, not today. They still had a long time to go before they could utter a word of what they really felt without fear of rejection.

With more will power than he thought he had, Jarod extricated himself from the door and walked back to Ms. Parker's room to pack. He wasn't very happy with his next course of action, but knew that it was for the best. Staying would only prolong the awkwardness the was sure to follow.

It didn't take him long to put away his meager belongings, and he was just closing the trunk of his Lexus when he happened to look up and found the irate form of Ms. Parker watching him from her bedroom window.

Even from that distance he could see her cheeks flushed with anger, and for a moment he was confused by it. Shouldn't she be happy that she was finally getting her wish? But then he looked up at her eyes and noticed an emotion there that belied her confident form. They reminded him of the pictures of Holocaust victims Sydney had shown him once, wide eyes staring at him with so much hopelessness that he wanted to kneel down and weep.

He was the cause of that. He was no better than all the others he'd tried so hard to protect her from over the years. He was leaving her, too.

"Fuck happily ever after," Jarod mumbled to himself as he purposely made his way back up to her room. He wanted so badly for everything between them to be perfect that he'd lost sight of the fact that their relationship wasn't always going to be smooth sailing. The story didn't end just because they finally got together.

For a genius, he certainly was dense sometimes.

******

Ms. Parker knew that he was coming back and was therefore unsurprised to hear her bedroom door opening.

"Forgot something?" she asked frostily, not even bothering to turn around and see Jarod up close. She couldn't bear it just then.

"Yes, actually," he answered, seemingly oblivious to the sound of her heart breaking. She tensed up as she felt strong hands take a hold of her shoulder and turn her around. She was about to demand what the hell he thought he was doing when she felt his soft lips brush against hers.

For a couple of seconds Ms. Parker stood still, afraid that this was just another game intended to toy with her heart; however, the sincerity shining in his brown eyes convinced her to let her guard down and let nature take its course.

Her tongue slid wetly against Jarod's as he pressed her body against his. His hand roamed over her until it found the opening to the red silk kimono she'd hastily put on only moments before, slipping it in until he reached her breast.

Ms. Parker let out a surprised yelp as he placed a cool hand over her left nipple, her nails digging into his arms as he began to trace concentric circles with his thumb.

She was in the middle of unbuttoning his black oxford shirt when the phone rang, causing Jarod to freeze mid-tease.

"Ignore it," Ms. Parker murmured, nuzzling the base of his neck as she savored the heady smell of his cologne.

Jarod shook his head and reluctantly disentangled himself from her arms. "T-This wasn't how I wanted this to happen. I feel like I'm taking advantage of the situation."

She watched him through half-lidded eyes, a mischievous smile on her lips as she kissed her way down his chest. "You're not."

Another ring.

"You don't understand. What I want to tell you. . . I don't want it to be misinterpreted as a declaration made out of lust."

Now Jarod got her attention. Ms. Parker stopped her advance and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"What I told you earlier. . . I lied. I've been in love with you ever since I saw you at seventeen and I. . ."

He was interrupted by the sound of her answering machine picking up the call. "Ms. Parker," Sydney's cultured voice echoed around the room. "I was just calling to tell you that our search for Jarod. . ."

Without breaking eye contact, she pressed the mute button and waited expectantly for Jarod to continue. She'd never wanted anything as much as she wanted to hear what he had to say just then.

". . . I just thought you should know."

And then he was gone, leaving Ms. Parker standing in her room with a hand over lips still swollen from his kisses as she stared at his retreating car in wonder. "Me, too."

End Part (5/6)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: I know, I know, I promised that this part would be out by early January; unfortunately, I got the flu and then my computer started acting up on me, leaving me without internet access for a couple of weeks. Only one more part to go, though, so let's hope that one gets written faster ^_^ Please send feedback to emily9@erols.com