Disclaimer: see part 1
Part 2
"What?" Miss Parker asked in a tired voice. It had been a long day and all she wanted to do was take a hot bath and crawl into bed.
"You sound tired Miss Parker, are you getting enough sleep?" Jarod asked, half teasingly, half worried.
"I am when run away lab rats don't call me at 3am." She had known it was him. Recently she found she could feel if it was Jarod calling or if it was someone else. She knew it was just her imagination, but the phone seemed to ring differently when it was him.
"Do you believe in God, Miss Parker?" Jarod asked seriously, ignoring her comment.
She paused, he had never talked to her about religious issues before. "I don't know Jarod. Why do you ask?" she was too tired to play games right now.
"I met someone who told me that maybe God had a reason for my life, and that maybe I was meant to be stolen and lead the life that I am. It's an interesting concept to me, that certain aspects of my life are not in my control. I've spent so much time since I escaped trying keep in control of my life, thinking of sharing that control is appealing. Maybe there is a higher purpose to my life. I like that thought, it gives me inner peace."
"What do you want Jarod?"
"I want to know if there is more to our life than this."
"Jarod, why don't you just tell me where you are so that I can return you to the Centre and get on with my life."
"Actually, I'm sitting on your back porch."
Knock, knock, knock.
Miss Parker stood up quickly and looked at her back door. She slowly walked over and opened the door. Standing there, looking at her was Jarod.
"Jarod, please go, I'm too tired to deal with you right now."
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong!? YOU have got me following trails all over the country and I've got Raines breathing down my neck and pressuring me for some sign of loyalty. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep since before the Island and Lyle is walking around with a smug look on his face and that is never a good sign."
"You need a good week of vacation."
"Those words are not in Raines' vocabulary."
"Well, maybe 'kidnapping' is."
"Jarod, what are you talking about?"
"Nothing Parker, just get some sleep. I'll talk to you soon."
Jarod let himself out the back door and Parker went upstairs to bed. She was too tired for a bath. As she lay in bed she thought about what had just happened. When did she become so, so calm about having Jarod come to visit her? Why didn't she threaten him or call the sweeper team? All she knew was that since coming back from the Island she always seemed to be mentally very tired. Having Raines in charge was taking a lot out of her. And she wasn't sure why, but every time Lyle came into her office smiling she was worried that he had caught Jarod. And not because of what it would mean for her, but because she didn't want him back in the Centre. It was all too much to take. She fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, thinking about Jarod.
Sydney walked into his office at the Centre the next morning to find Broots pacing in front of his door.
"What's wrong Broots?"
"Miss Parker is not in her office. She's been in her office every morning at 7am since coming back from Carthis but she's not here yet today."
"Have you tried calling her?" Sydney asked as he unlocked his door and walked in.
"Yes, and there is no answer at her house or on her cell phone."
Syd turned on his computer and sat down behind his desk. "I know she has had trouble sleeping lately, maybe she is finally getting some sleep."
As he opened his e-mail he noticed a message from Jarod and the subject line read "Miss Parker". He opened it and quickly read through it before looking at Broots.
"Broots, Miss Parker is fine. She is taking some vacation time."
"Miss Parker??? Are you sure?"
"Yes. I just got a message saying she is taking a week's vacation and will not be accessible at all until a week from Monday."
"Wow. I wonder how she got Raines to agree to that."
Just then Lyle came into the office. "I just got a message from Jarod saying that he has kidnapped my sister for some "enforced vacation time". Did you know anything about this?"
"No, I just got the same message. This is the first I've heard of it."
"Well, we're not going to stand for this. I've just talked to Raines and he agreed that this is our best chance to catch Jarod. He's distracted and it should be easier to catch him. So get to work and report everything immediately to me." Lyle walked out and Broots turned to Syd.
"You didn't tell me Jarod KIDNAPPED her?!?" Syd just shrugged and Broots left to go get to work.
Miss Parker woke up feeling better than she had in a long time. She felt rested and relaxed, like she had no obligations or pressures in the world. Then she noticed that she was not in her bed, or her room for that matter. She sat up and looked around. She was in a King sized bed with light purple and white stripped sheets and light purple comforter. The carpet and walls were light purple and there were sheer white curtains hanging on the big wall to wall windows. She looked again and saw that there were sliding glass doors leading out to a porch. There was a white dresser against one wall and two doors, both closed. She assumed one went to the rest of the house and other to be a closet or bathroom. She noticed that she was still in her long silk night gown and looked around for something to wear. She got up and went over to the dresser. She assumed it was empty but decided to check anyway. She opened the top drawer and was surprised to see it full of simple, white cotton women's underwear and socks. She pulled open the next drawer and found several pairs of blue jeans and simple gray T-shirts. There was a note sitting on top of the shirts.
"I know these cloths are not your usual style but they'll have to do for now. The bathroom is through the door on your left if you want to shower there are clean towels on the racks. There is also a toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter for you. When you're ready come downstairs and I'll fix you something to eat and explain everything." -J-
Her first instinct was to charge downstairs and confront him, but she was aware that she wasn't wearing much and she really wanted a shower since she skipped her bath last night. She quickly took a shower and got dressed. All the clothes fit perfectly (of course) but it felt weird to wear such simple clothes. She pulled on the pair of white Keds sitting next to the dresser and went downstairs. Downstairs she found a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs, french toast, and sausage. A bowl of cut watermelon was also there with a cup of steaming coffee and a cold glass of orange juice.
But no Jarod.
She took the coffee and started exploring. The was a bedroom off to the side of the kitchen with a Queen sized bed and a dresser. Jarod's bag was sitting beside the dresser along with a small pile of folded clothes (they looked new). The bed looked rumpled, as if someone had sat on it and not smoothed the covers out when they got up. She went back through the kitchen to the living/dining room. The TV was on MTV but muted. Other than that everything looked normal. She went out the sliding glass doors to the porch and looked out over the ocean. The day was perfect, not oppressively hot but warm. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the water was a beautiful deep blue. Her eyes wandered from the water to the sand and then she saw Jarod. He was laying on the beach, far enough up so that no water would get him and he was talking to a woman sitting beside him. She was wearing a bathing suite with shorts over it and she had long brown hair that was pulled back in a loose pony tail.
Miss Parker finished her coffee, put the cup down on the porch and walked down to the beach. As she got closer she noticed that Jarod was wearing only a bathing suite and that there was a book on the sand next to him.
