All in the Family Series

~One Child
 

Author:  Gillian
Rating:  NC-17, Sexual situations, Language, Adult Situations, Violence
Category:  Drama, Major Angst (J/MP)
Timeline:  Mid-season three
Spoilers:  None
Summary:  There's a new Pretender at the Centre . . . but who is she really?

Disclaimer:  The Pretender and the characters of Jarod, Miss Parker, Sydney, Broots, Brigitte, Mr. Lyle, Sam, Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines are the property of NBC. No copyright infringement is intended.
 

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Miss Parker walked into the observation room and took a deep drag on her cigarette, slowly exhaling and blowing smoke toward the older gentleman in front of her. She hated coming down here. As long as she was safe on the corporate levels, far away from all the little science experiments, she was perfectly happy. Well, almost.

"Parker, what brings you down here?" Sydney asked, turning around.

"A new lab rat?" Parker nodded toward the window at the little girl curled in fetal position against the wall in the room on the other side of the glass.

"No, actually she's been a resident for awhile." Sydney turned back around to observe. "She's really quite fascinating," he continued. "According to her file, she was the most promising Pretender we've ever had."

"Really? Better than Jarod?" Miss Parker asked, walking to the window to try to get a better view. It secretly made her stomach turn to see children being used, but that was what the Centre was for. "Sydney, she can't be more than five years old."

"I know, it's incredible." He said, his excitement obvious. "She's four, but she's demonstrated as much ability as Jarod has right now." Miss Parker turned around to face him.

"You said she used to be a Pretender. What happened?" She asked. Sydney fidgeted.

"I don't know." He confessed. "I've only learned of her existence today. Her file only mentions her past accomplishments and the fact that she alternates from being unresponsive, as you see here," Sydney gestured toward the glass, "To becoming violent." Miss Parker's eyebrows shot up and she tapped the ashes off her cigarette on the edge of the table.

"Violent?"

"Yes . . . wait a minute" Sydney moved to the window to get a better view. Miss Parker turned back around and tried to get a glimpse of the child's face, but her hair was tangled and in the way. Sydney and Miss Parker watched as two Sweepers approached the little girl. She curled up tighter, burying her face in her knees.

"Sydney . . ." Miss Parker started. She watched in horror as the Sweeper kneeled down in front of the child and grabbed her. Miss Parker jumped back as the little girl shrieked in terror. She clawed at the Sweeper's eyes, causing him to drop her. She fell to the ground and scrambled under a table in the room.

"This is crazy, Syd." Miss Parker said, opening the door that joined the two rooms.

"Parker, you can't interfere!" Sydney called. He reached out to grab her arm, but only managed to brush her sleeve.

"Sydney, this is wrong, she's just a baby." Miss Parker ran into the room. One Sweeper was on the ground, holding his bloody eyes. The other was trying to coax the child out from under the table. Finally he reached down and grabbed her foot, causing her to scream again. He dragged her from under the table and picked her up. Miss Parker ran closer and could hear the girls' sobs. The Sweeper smacked the child across the face, causing her head to whip back. She only cried louder.

"What the hell are you doing?" Miss Parker shouted at the Sweeper. She ran to him and grabbed the little girl out of his arms.

"I can't let you do that, Miss Parker." The Sweeper told her, pulling the screaming child back to him. The little girl twisted and turned in his arms, trying to break free. Miss Parker managed to pull the child out of his grasp. The child wrapped herself around Miss Parker's body and held on. The Sweeper dug out a syringe from his pocket and quickly injected it into the little girl's arm.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Parker shouted, jerking the child away.

"I have my orders." The Sweeper told her. "No special treatment for that thing." Miss Parker stood there, acutely aware of the child's body pressed against hers. Her sharp baby fingernails dug into the back of Miss Parker's neck, drawing blood. Her other arm wrapped around Miss Parker's upper back and her legs circled her waist, crossing at the small of her back. Miss Parker could feel the child breathing against her chest, erratically at first, but as the drugs the Sweeper gave her took effect her breathing became regular, except for the occasional hiccup.

"Melissa, it's time to get you to bed," Miss Parker heard Sydney say. She shot him a menacing glare, but then softened when she realized he was talking to the girl. He walked to them and put his hands on the child. She tightened her grip on Miss Parker.

"It's okay, Syd. I'll take her." Miss Parker managed to whisper. She looked down at the tangled red hair. She couldn't see Melissa's face; she could only feel her soft, wet skin on her chest.

Miss Parker followed Sydney to the child's room. Sydney opened the door and Miss Parker walked to the bed. She gently pried the Melissa's body off of her own and laid her down under the covers. She felt a stirring inside her she hadn't felt in a long time as she studied the little girl before her. Melissa's red hair was very long and Miss Parker had to imagine what it would look like after being brushed and styled. Her large brown eyes fixed on Miss Parker and blinked very slowly in a futile attempt to fight the effects of the drugs. She looked lost, Miss Parker decided, watching the child's eyes close as she drifted off to sleep. She brushed a strand of hair away from Melissa's face and stood up.

"Syd, let's help," Miss Parker started, but stopped as she saw Sydney studying Melissa's artwork taped to the wall above her bed. Miss Parker leaned in and gasped as she saw a black and white drawing of her and Jarod's kiss.

"Look at this one," Sydney whispered to her, pointing at a black and white drawing of Jarod in the Apollo 1 simulator with a young Sydney pulling him out.

"Oh my God," Miss Parker said. Sydney moved next to her to see what she was referring to. The drawing was in color this time. It was a picture of Catherine Parker lying on the floor of the elevator dead. "Who is this child?" Miss Parker asked. Sydney just shook his head.

*****

"Oh, she was a Pretender, all right." The large black woman told Sydney and Miss Parker. Vivian Grey had been the head of the residence for as long as Sydney remembered. "The thing is," she continued, "she's only been in this residence three months."

"That can't be," Sydney said. "Her file dates back two years."

"You said this residence," Miss Parker said, catching Vivian's hidden meaning. "Is there another?"

"I think so." She replied. "Never seen it or heard of it, but it's there. Too many of these kids disappear all of a sudden, other kids appear."

"SL-27?" Sydney whispered to Miss Parker. She nodded and lit a cigarette. He looked up at Vivian. "What can you tell us about Melissa?" He asked. Vivian grunted.

"That kid has been nothing but trouble the first day she came. And I'm the one stuck with her." Vivian folded her arms across her chest. "Orders from above." She told them. "Raines said no one else was to handle her. I convinced him to allow Peg to share the duty; I can't be here 24 hours. He was insistent though. Just Peg and me. No one else was to have access to her."

"What kind of trouble did Melissa cause?" Sydney asked, hoping to get an idea of the child's condition.

"Oh, the worst kind." Vivian rolled her eyes. "From the get-go she was mean. Wouldn't let me touch her, bathe her, dress her, feed her. For two days she sat curled up in the corner of her room naked and hungry. Then, they'd take her out during the daytime. That was Peg's shift. She was lucky, hardly ever had to deal with that child. She'd be gone all day. They'd bring her back to me at night drugged. Sometimes she'd be lethargic and sometimes she'd be wild, depending on what they gave her."

"Do you know what they gave her?" Sydney asked. He looked over at Miss Parker and noticed her stony expression.

"No. They never told me and I never asked. It wasn't any of my business. Sometimes she'd have bruises."

"Bruises?" Parker asked, leaning forward.

"Yeah, bruises and cuts on her face. I assumed she got them when she was wild and had to be restrained."

"Restrained how?" Sydney asked, horrified.

"Straight jacket." Vivian replied without a hint of emotion. "Then the nightmares started."

"Do you know what the nightmares were about?" Sydney asked.

"I watched on the monitor. She kept screamin' for her mama. Nothing out of the ordinary for this place. Jarod used to have mama nightmares all the time." Vivian told Sydney. Sydney looked down at his hands. He hadn't realized the frequency of Jarod's nightmares until now.

"And you didn't try to comfort her?" Parker asked, blowing smoke at Vivian.

"I am not a nurse maid." Vivian told her. "I make sure these kids get their food and their baths and their clothes, but that's it. I tell all my girls when they come they can't treat these children as children. They are experiments. Melissa was no different." Miss Parker felt her ulcer twinge.

"You make me sick," She told Vivian. Miss Parker stood up and crossed the room, her back to Sydney and Vivian. She didn't want them to see the horror on her face, not just at the blatant lack of affection she now knew the children received, but that she too outwardly held the same attitude. She detached herself when it came to Jarod and when it came to other children she came across here. Why couldn't she detach herself with this child?

"You can't go around caring for these children," Vivian continued. "You do, you're gonna wind up dead, just like your mama, Miss Parker." Parker spun around. Sydney groaned inwardly when he saw the venom in her eyes.

"What did you say about my mother?" She asked, advancing toward the older woman.

"You heard me." Vivian stood her ground. Even Miss Parker did not easily intimidate her.

"And just what do you mean by your little dig on my mother?" Miss Parker asked, crushing out her cigarette on the table in front of Vivian.

"Miss Parker, this is a research facility." Vivian told her. "You know it and I know it. And this research facility does research using children as subjects. You have to keep these kids at the top of their game. You can't go around getting all mushy over them. They are experiments, that's all. You can't accept that, you gonna wind up face down in some elevator with a bullet in your heart." Parker grabbed Vivian's shirt and pulled her off her chair.

"You cold-hearted bitch, I should kill you right here." Miss Parker growled, drawing her gun.

"Parker, no!" Sydney said, putting his hand on Parker's wrist. "Not here, not now." He nodded up at the video camera placed inside the vent. "She's not worth it." He whispered in her ear. Miss Parker nodded reluctantly and put her gun back. She released Vivian and lit another cigarette.

"Vivian," Sydney said. "Do you know what happened to Melissa before she came to you?"

"No." Vivian responded, shaking her head. "All I know is that child is a pain in the ass. That and the fact that Miss Parker is the first person I've seen her touch willingly. "

"Thank you, Vivian." Sydney said. He grabbed Miss Parker's arm and they left the room.

"God, Syd, can you believe that woman?" Miss Parker asked, still fuming.

"Parker, I'm surprised at you. Showing concern for all the little science projects are we?" He asked smiling.

"Sydney, there is professional detachment and there is abuse. That woman crossed the line." She told him, exhaling smoke as she spoke.

"I know." Sydney looked down at his shoes. "I've always had a problem with her style. But she was able to give us some important information about Melissa."

"Oh really," Miss Parker snorted.

"Yes. Very important. Especially the part about Melissa being in SL-27 before she came up here."

"I'll have Broots see what he can dig up." Parker said. "Sydney, I have a gut feeling on this one. That child knows something about my mother's death."

"Miss Parker, that can't be. She's only four."

"She knows. And you have to find a way to get it out of her. Fast." Miss Parker ordered, then walked off.

*****

Miss Parker shut the water to her tub off. She slowly peeled off her Centre attire and let it fall carelessly to the marble floor. She stepped into the bubble bath, not even flinching at the initial burn of the hot water. She always felt relaxed in a hot bath. She settled in, leaned her head back against the edge of the antique tub and closed her eyes.

Images of the evening played like a movie against her eyelids. Feeling that child's body pressed against her own was like nothing she ever felt before. Even Debbie's visit a few months back had not affected her this way. Melissa was so tiny and she wrapped herself around Miss Parker so freely and unconditionally. Perhaps it had been maternal instincts she felt when she put Melissa to bed and touched her face? She had always been able to push those feelings aside, telling herself that she was not meant for motherhood. This child told her different. This child told her that she could comfort and love someone, just by a simple touch.

Then, the picture. It all came back in a rush. Seeing her mother round the corner, walking toward the elevator holding her present. Hearing her mother shout no, hearing the shots, seeing her mother's body on the floor of the elevator. That was the image Melissa drew. How could a little girl know so much about that day? And the other pictures, what about those? That kiss she shared with Jarod. Miss Parker touched her lips with her fingertips, remembering that day when she kissed Jarod. His lips were soft and gentle. She remembered various times when she was much older and wished for a kiss that was much deeper. She ran her fingers through her hair, then over her body. How many times as a teenager and young adult had she wished for Jarod's hands to touch her? Don't be ridiculous, Parker, she told herself. That can never happen. Ever.

*****

Miss Parker opened the door to the sim lab and walked in. Sydney and Broots were already there, at work at a DSA computer.

"Oh, Miss Parker, glad you're here," Broots said. Miss Parker raised her eyebrows. "I found something about that kid, uh, Melissa."

"Is it something about my mother?" She asked, anxiously looking at Sydney.

"No," Sydney told her. She reached in her purse and drew out her cigarettes. "It is something very interesting though." Broots started the DSA and Miss Parker watched as a two-year-old Melissa explained a hostage rescue scenario.

"Look at her eyes, Syd," Parker said. She knew that he saw it too. Her eyes held none of the innocence of childhood, but great intelligence and pain instead.

"Do you recognize this sim, Parker?" Sydney asked.

"They used this when Lyle took that woman, Emily somebody, right?" She asked.

"Yes," Sydney nodded. "All the DSA's Broots recovered are Melissa duplicating Jarod's sims."

"So Melissa is somehow connected to Jarod?" Parker asked, blowing smoke as she spoke. Great, she thought. Just what I need, a miniature Jarod.

"Yes, it's almost as if Melissa is Jarod." Sydney told her. "It's incredible, Parker. No two Pretenders should be having the exact same results on a sim. There are always individual differences. And look at the date on this sim." Parker looked at the date, then back at Sydney and shrugged. "She did this sim the same day Jarod did."

"Do you think Melissa is somehow pretending to be Jarod?" Miss Parker asked.

"Could be." He answered. She knew he was not convinced of that theory.

"Well, then do you think Raines did to her what he did to Angelo? And maybe that's why she has some kind of psychic connection to Jarod?" Parker crushed her cigarette out in the ashtray.

"It still doesn't completely fit." Sydney said, shaking his head.

"Wait a minute," Broots interrupted.

"What?" Miss Parker asked impatiently. It wasn't as though Broots usually had something useful to contribute.

"All, right," Broots started. "We know Melissa isn't Jarod, but what if she is?"

"You lost me, moron."

"No, I mean, not Jarod, but Jarod's child." He said. Sydney and Miss Parker were silent.

"No," Miss Parker said after a few minutes of mulling it over. Jarod never even had sex until after he left the Centre. Melissa would have already been born and . . ."

"You may be on to something Broots." Sydney said. Miss Parker spun around to face him, her eyes wide. "They took, well, samples." She looked confused. "Sperm samples, Miss Parker." She looked away, disgusted.

"Could that be it, Sydney?" Broots asked. "Could Melissa be his daughter and have a psychic connection?"

"I don't know." Sydney confessed. The phone rang, interrupting their discussion. Sydney answered.

"Yes." He said. "Is she alone? okay....thank you, I'll be right there." He hung up. "Melissa is awake."

*****

Miss Parker and Broots watched the monitor as Sydney entered Melissa's bedroom. Melissa was curled under her desk crying. Sydney had been told that Vivian had been in the room and had tried to get the child to the bathtubs.

"Hello, Melissa." Parker heard Sydney say. "My name is Sydney. I'm going to take care of you." He sat down on the floor in front of where Melissa sat.

"Those are the exact words he said to Jarod when Jarod was brought here," Parker whispered to Broots.

"Do you think he said them on purpose?" Broots asked. Parker rolled her eyes at him. She turned back to the monitor and watched. Melissa crawled out from under the desk and walked to her bed. Sydney stood up and followed. Melissa stood on her bed and pulled a picture off the wall.

"Sydney safe." She said, handing Sydney the picture. Sydney took the picture, then turned to face the camera. He was obviously surprised by what he saw.

"Yes." He said, turning back to Melissa. "You will be safe with me."

*****

Sydney stood with his hands folded looking down at the drawings he scattered on the table in the sim lab. They were incredible, he thought. No, not incredible, that wasn't the right word. Fascinating. That's it. He knew that the child, Melissa, had some sort of connection to Jarod. The hypothesis that she may be his daughter troubled him greatly - he should have been able to stop Raines from using Jarod that way. It would go down as yet another way he failed the man he had come to regard as a son. Sydney pushed that thought from his head. He would have to cross that bridge when, and if, he came to it. He focused on the matter at hand - the drawings. He knew Raines made Melissa perform Jarod's sims, but these were not drawings of her doing the sims. These pictures were drawn in pencil - black and white. These were drawings of someone watching the sims.

"They're DSA's." Sydney said suddenly. He looked over at Miss Parker standing next to him.

"What do you mean they're DSA's?" She asked, rubbing her temples with her thumb and forefinger.

"Look," Sydney said, rearranging the drawings. "These are all in black and white, and they are all drawings of Jarod performing a sim." He pointed to twelve black and white drawings. "And these," he glanced up at Parker and knew she was uncomfortably anticipating his words. "Deal with your...relationship with Jarod - past and present."

"What about those?" Miss Parker pointed to another pile of color drawings in the corner - all drawings of a pair of hands doing various tasks.

"I haven't figured those out yet."

"And what about this one, Syd?" She asked, holding up the drawing of her mother.

"That one," Sydney told her. "Is still a mystery." Miss Parker crumpled the picture and threw it on the floor.

*****

She watched the woman. All she wanted was to be in her arms, to be held by her, to feel her soft skin again. She touched her cheek and closed her eyes, remembering the woman's gentle hand.

They were talking - the woman and the man. She wondered what they were talking about. She could hear them and knew what they were saying, but the significance of their words was lost. She closed her eyes, trying to see what they saw. A hospital. No, they didn't see the hospital, she did. But why? Why was she suddenly having images of a man being rolled into an emergency room by a pair of hands? She placed her palms on her temples and pressed, trying to squeeze the image from her mind. Who are these people? Who am I? She opened her teary eyes and looked up at the woman.

*****

Damn that child, Miss Parker thought, looking at Melissa. Their eyes locked sending a chill through her she never felt before.

"Sydney ..." Miss Parker whispered. He looked at her and she nodded, walking toward Melissa.

"Parker ...." He warned as she walked to the little girl. He watched with apprehension as she knelt down and touched Melissa's hair.

*****

"Who are you?" She heard herself whisper. The woman was so familiar, but it was as if the memory was locked away on a shelf that was just out of reach.

"Miss Parker." The woman told her. Parker...the elevator door slid shut in her mind. She gasped and pulled back. Where was she? She struggled to remember. There was a woman in front of her. Someone safe - she knew that somehow. Who is she? She reached out and touched the woman's cheek. She drew her hand back sharply when the image of the dead woman in the elevator flashed through her mind. Who is she, who is she? She tried to get the memory back. Who am I? She wondered, backing herself into a corner.

*****

"Sydney, it was ..." Miss Parker struggled for the right word. "Spooky."

"Spooky?" He asked.

"Yes." She confirmed, fumbling with her cigarette. "When I told her who I was, it was like she wasn't looking at me, she was looking in me."

"Parker ...?"

"I know it's crazy, Syd." She told him, her cigarette bobbing in her mouth. She brought her lighter up to her cigarette and lit it. She inhaled once and took the cigarette out of her mouth. "It was like she could see right into me, just by looking into my eyes. Then . . . I don't know." She struggled to describe the change in Melissa she had witnessed. "All of a sudden she was lost again."

"Lost?" Sydney thought it over. "It could be that she is trying to remember something." He looked over at Melissa. She was sleeping, curled up on the floor. Could it be that she does know something about Catherine's death? Sydney's pager went off. "Damn," he said, checking the number. "It's one of the other children. I have to go. I shouldn't be long ..." He told her, glancing back at Melissa.

"I'll stay here, Syd." She said, smoking. He hurried out of the room.

*****

She walked down the hall toward the elevator and caught a glimpse of her mother. Her mother smiled at her. She smiled back. She watched as her mother turned and saw the man behind her. The man in the dark suit. 'Leave me alone!' Her mother shouted. 'No!' Bang! She stumbled back, dropping the book she was to give to her. Bang! Bang! She fell into the elevator.

"Mama! Mama!" She ran into the elevator and saw her mother lying in a pool of blood. "Mama no!" She opened her eyes.

"Mama!" Melissa cried out. "Mama, no...Mama! Sydney they're hurting her...Mama!" She felt the arms around her, drawing her close as she cried. He killed her mama.

"Melissa," Miss Parker said, stroking the child's hair. "It's okay, it's over. It's okay." She pressed the child close to her body. She had heard the screams and was convinced that Melissa was somehow reliving her mother's death. Melissa's sobbing had stopped, though she was still crying softly. Miss Parker set her down on the table. She brushed strands of sticky hair out of the little girl's face.

"It was a bad dream." The woman told her. Bad Dream? "You're safe now." She looked around the room. It was familiar to her. She had been here before, yet she could not remember when or for what purpose. It was a scary place, yet it was also comfortable. She looked at the woman. "You know what I think?" the woman asked. "I think I should take you upstairs and give you a bath. Would you like that?"

*****

Miss Parker carried the girl upstairs to the residence. Vivian sat at the admitting desk on the phone. When she saw Miss Parker and Melissa, she hung up.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." Vivian drawled standing up.

"Where's the bathtub?" Miss Parker demanded. Vivian folded her arms across her chest. "Where is the bathtub?" Miss Parker repeated, saying each word slowly.

"Last door on the left." Vivian conceded, nodding her head toward the end of the hall. Parker stormed past her and into the bathroom. "Towels are in the cabinets" Vivian called after her. "Good luck."

The bathroom was a large room with four tubs in the center. Six toilets lined one wall and six sinks lined the opposite wall. Against the wall farthest from the door were four sinks with cabinets built into the walls above them and barber's chairs in front of them. Miss Parker set Melissa down in front of one of the bathtubs and rummaged through the cabinets for a towel, shampoo and soap. After she gathered the items, she went back to the tub and started the water.

"I bet you'll feel much better after you are clean," She told Melissa, taking off the little girl's clothes. Melissa didn't respond, but watched every move she made. "I always feel better after a long, hot bath." She lifted Melissa into the warm water. She washed Melissa's hair and her body until she was clean and soft. She wrapped Melissa in the towel and carried her to a chair. Miss Parker found a comb and blow dryer in one of the cabinets and started to work on her tangled, wet hair.

*****

Is this the woman who used to brush my hair? She closed her eyes and tried to remember. She saw the woman, but she looked different, and she was brushing her own hair.

"Hair . . .?" Melissa whispered. Miss Parker rounded the chair and knelt in front of her.

"What did you say?" Parker asked. Melissa reached out and touched a strand of Miss Parker's hair.

"Long hair." She said. She had long hair before. Why?

"I suppose my hair is long." Miss Parker smiled at her. "Your hair is very long, Melissa. It's very beautiful." Miss Parker stood up and continued combing Melissa's hair. Melissa closed her eyes and remembered when the longhaired woman brushed her hair.

*****

"I don't believe it." Vivian said, watching Miss Parker carry a very clean Melissa out of the bathrooms. "I'm seeing it, but I just don't believe it."

"Take advice from an expert, Viv," Parker said, opening the door to Melissa's room. "It doesn't always pay to be a bitch." She closed the door behind her. Miss Parker set Melissa down and unwrapped the towel from the little girl's body. She found underwear and pajamas in a small dresser across from the bed. She dressed her and sat down on the chair, pulling Melissa onto her lap. Her phone rang.

"Damn," She muttered, pulling it out of her pocket and turning it on. "What?" She whispered fiercely.

"Uh, Miss Parker?" Broots whispered on the other end.

"Broots why are you whispering?" She asked, impatient to get him off the line.

"Uh, because you are."

"You moron. What do you want?"

"I, uh, found Jarod." He told her. She sat up, nearly dropping Melissa. "He's in Chicago. Uh, he's an emergency room doctor at Cook County Hospital."

"Very good Broots," Parker complimented. "Get the corporate jet ready. I'm going to Chicago."

"Um, I was wondering," he continued just as she was about to hang up. "Do you think you'll need, uh, technical support on this one?"

"Hot date Broots?" She teased. She could almost see him blushing.

"Uh, no, actually, Debbie is in her school play. Uh, Annie. She's an orphan. And well, it's opening night. I was hoping..."

"No, Broots, I won't be needing technical support." She told him. Debbie didn't need to suffer because of her mission to get Jarod.

"Oh, gee, thanks Miss Parker," he said, relieved. "Um, if you get back in time. It starts at eight. She wanted me to ask you."

"I'll see what I can do." Parker hung up. She put her phone away and stood up. The door opened and Raines stepped inside the room.

"It's not a good idea to get cozy with the children Miss Parker," he wheezed.

"And your point?" She asked, wrapping her arms around Melissa.

"Where's Sydney?" He growled, glaring and Miss Parker and Melissa.

"I'm not his keeper."

"Tell Sydney I'm using Melissa tomorrow morning," Raines told her. He turned around and walked out of the room, dragging his oxygen tank behind him. Damn, Miss Parker thought. She looked down at the child. No way in hell am I going to let Raines get his claws into you again, she thought. Her mind drifted toward the drawings with the hands. Why were they familiar? That's it, she smiled. They were all places Jarod had been and the hands were Jarod's. Melissa doesn't just have a connection to Jarod's past, but to his present as well. She put Melissa down on her bed and rummaged through her dresser, taking enough clothes for an overnight trip. Too bad, Raines, she thought, picking Melissa up again and leaving the room. Catching Jarod takes priority over your twisted experiments.

*****

It was 12:30 in the morning when Miss Parker checked into the Chicago Hilton with Melissa. The hotel was down the street from the hospital Broots said Jarod was at, and Miss Parker figured he had no clue of her arrival. While on the corporate jet, she received a very angry phone call from Sydney regarding her taking Melissa out of the Centre. Sydney told her she had no business taking Melissa, but he softened when she told him about Raines' visit to Melissa's room and about her theory on the drawings.

Miss Parker carried Melissa upstairs to their room and tucked her into one of the queen size beds. She put on her own pajamas and fell asleep in the other bed. Her dreams were tormented. She saw pieces of her mother's death, of Raines torturing Melissa and of her and Jarod making love on a beach with her father watching. She woke up sweaty and irritable. She rolled over to check the clock and almost had a heart attack when she saw Melissa standing next to her bed.

"Are you alright?" Miss Parker asked. Melissa didn't respond. Something was definitely wrong. Melissa's face was flushed, her eyes were glassy and she held her hand over her right ear. Miss Parker reached out and touched her face. It was hot. "Great," she muttered. Now what do I do? She thought back to when she was a child. What did her mother do for her when she was sick? Soup? Warm bath? She looked at Melissa and shrugged, a warm bath was worth a try.

The bath didn't do much for Melissa, Miss Parker noted, putting a fresh pair of pajamas on the little girl. In fact, she felt hotter than before, and she was still holding her ear. I have to take her to the hospital, Parker decided. She dressed, grabbed her purse and Melissa and walked a block in the snow to Cook County Hospital.

"Excuse me," Parker said to the back of the nurse at the admitting desk. She had been standing there with Melissa for fifteen minutes and still no one had talked to her. "Excuse me!"

"What?" The nurse turned around, her hands on her hips.

"My little girl is sick." Miss Parker told her. The nurse sighed, rolled her eyes and handed Miss Parker a clipboard with a piece of paper on it.

"Sit down over there," the nurse pointed to the benches lining the wall. "And fill these out."

"I don't think you understood what I just said," Miss Parker leaned in and glared at the nurse. "My little girl is sick. I need to see the doctor. Now."

"Look lady, you go sit down, you fill out the forms, you come back. Then you wait until the doctor can see you. Now if you'll excuse . . ." The nurse informed Miss Parker as the emergency room doors slid open and paramedics rolled a gurney inside.

"We got gunshot wounds!" The paramedic shouted. Miss Parker turned to see what the commotion was. When she turned back around, the nurse was gone.

"Just beautiful," She muttered, snatching the clipboard. She turned around just as a tall dark-haired doctor ran in and rolled the gurney away.

*****

"Glad you could make it," Raines wheezed. He closed the door to Mr. Parker's office and made his way to the desk.

"Yeah, well, I don't see how this meeting is necessary." Lyle informed them.

"Oh?" Raines challenged. "I knew it was a bad idea to allow Miss Parker and the child to know about one another."

"It is the only way to get Melissa to continue with the experiment. After the disaster a few months ago . . ." Lyle argued.

"I know all about how that turned out!" Raines tried to shout, he ended up in a coughing fit instead.

"If you hadn't pushed her too hard, she never would have had the breakdown. We still could have used her as a Pretender." Lyle shouted.

"Both of you stop it." Mr. Parker intervened. "Perhaps we pushed her too hard, you're right." He nodded at his son. "But it was the only way we could find out if she knows the truth. There was no way we could have predicted the result." He turned to Raines. "Allowing Melissa to be in contact with my daughter is the only way to open up her memories. It's risky, I know. But my daughter is a professional. She's not about to let herself be taken in by an experiment."

"Oh?" Raines said. "Then why did she remove Melissa from the Centre?"

*****

Miss Parker filled in what information she could about Melissa and made up the rest. Finally the nurse called her name and led them to an examination room. Miss Parker sat in the metal chair with Melissa straddling her on her lap. Melissa's thumb was in her mouth and her fist was curled around Miss Parker's neckline and the edge of her bra. We've been here forever, Parker thought leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes.

She felt him before she saw him. Jarod. Slowly she opened her eyes and was mildly amused at the open-mouthed expression of the "doctor" in front of her. Damn, she thought as she realized her gun was still under her pillow in the hotel room. She was too tired to care at this point anyway.

"Who...who is that?" Jarod stammered. Parker was about to respond with a rude remark, but thought better of it.

"One of Raines experiments gone wrong." She told him.

"Are...are you rescuing her?"

"Don't be silly Jarod." Parker told him. "She belongs to the Centre."

"It's just . . . you look . . . " He couldn't quite get the word 'maternal' out.

"Don't get any romantic ideas about her, or me Jarod. She's with me because she can help me find you." Parker explained. Jarod tilted his head, confused. "She's a Pretender. She led me here. But as you can see, she's sick. She has a fever and I think her ear hurts." Miss Parker took a deep breath, realizing she had been babbling like some nervous schoolgirl.

"Put her up here," Jarod said, gesturing to the examination table. Parker stood and sat Melissa down on the paper-covered table. "How long has she been symptomatic?"

"She woke me up at about three. She was fine before that." Parker told him. She stood next to Melissa and kept her arm around the little girl - there was no way she was going to let Jarod snatch her and take off.

"Hi," Jarod said to Melissa. "My name is Jarod and I'm going to be your doctor. Does your ear hurt?" Melissa didn't respond. "Would it be okay if I take a look at your ear?" He asked, holding an instrument up.

She saw the hands - the same hands she had been seeing. She grabbed one, held it up and examined it. Yes, it was the same. She looked into the man's eyes. She saw a collage of images playing in her mind. A group of men grabbing him, pulling him out of a window, a man laying on the ground, dead by a bullet, the woman pointing a gun at him. She shook her head. He said his name was Jarod. Am I supposed to know him? I remember him, but I don't know him.

"Melissa?" Miss Parker said, the look in the little girl's eyes was familiar. She watched as Melissa held Jarod's hand, turning it and studying it. Melissa pressed her palm against Jarod's and looked into his eyes.

"Mad." Melissa said to Jarod. Jarod nodded slowly.

"Jarod . . .?"

"She'll be all right, Miss Parker," Jarod said, breaking his gaze. "I'll just, uh, get a prescription. She'll be okay."

*****

Miss Parker shut the tub water off. Jarod had given Melissa a prescription for amoxicillan, ear drops to numb her ear, as well as children's Motrin. Miss Parker had even bit the bullet and asked for a refill on her ulcer medication. Now that she and Melissa were both heavily medicated, she slipped into the hot tub. The look on Jarod's face was priceless, she thought leaning her head back and closing her eyes. But Jarod must never know about Broot's theory, that Melissa may be his daughter. I wonder, Parker thought, if Melissa really is Jarod's child? The way she looked at him . . . it was the same way she looked at me earlier today, so that doesn't prove anything. I have to find out what she knows about my mother's murder. If she knows who actually shot her...that would answer my questions, and Jarod's.

Miss Parker opened her eyes when she felt a disturbance in the water. Melissa had come into the bathroom, taken her clothes off and was climbing into the tub with Miss Parker. Parker just stared - too surprised and curious to stop the little girl. Melissa sat sideways on Miss Parker's lap and laid her head down on Parker's shoulder. She let her right arm rest on Miss Parker's bare stomach and her left arm wrapped around her back. Miss Parker sat there frozen.

I'm naked! Parker screamed inside her mind. She took as deep a breath as she could without upsetting Melissa and tried to relax, allowing the new sensations to overtake her. Should she respond? Should she wrap her own arms around the child? She decided to give in to her instincts and put her arms around the little girl. She gently stroked Melissa's hair and kissed her forehead. This is the worst thing I've ever let happen, she told herself. But I don't care.

After the bath, Miss Parker put Melissa's pajamas back on, as well as her own, and put Melissa into bed with her. Melissa burrowed into Miss Parker's left side, her left arm and leg flung across Parker's body. They both fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow, just in time to miss their nocturnal visitor.

Miss Parker opened her eyes. She felt a weight on her left side, preventing her from rolling over. She brought her arm up and checked her watch - 9:45, damn! Oh well, she thought, remembering the events of the evening. Jarod was long gone the second we left that hospital. She turned and saw a single white rose on the pillow next to her. Jarod, she thought, her fingers went immediately to her lips. Jarod was in here. She picked up the rose. It was beautiful. She stroked the soft petals. A perfect rose, she thought.

Miss Parker looked over when she felt Melissa stir. The rose wasn't the only present Jarod had left. Melissa opened her eyes and saw the small, white terrycloth bunny perched on her chest. Her eyes crinkled and she picked it up.

"Soft," she whispered. She saw little girl hands reaching into a rabbit pen and pulling out a bunny. She remembered the feeling of soft fur nestled against her cheek. He remembered, she thought, smiling.

Jarod remembered, Miss Parker thought, watching Melissa cuddle the stuffed animal.

*****

Jarod stared at the white canvas in front of him. He closed his eyes. He remembered walking into Miss Parker's hotel room and seeing her sound asleep with Melissa snuggled against her. That was the image he was to immortalize on the canvas. She had looked so peaceful, so beautiful. He left the bunny for Melissa and set the rose down on the pillow next to Miss Parker. Then, he couldn't help himself. He had leaned in and gently kissed Miss Parker's lips. He would like to think that Miss Parker would have enjoyed the kiss - there had been a time when she would have. He knew he shouldn't have taken advantage of her like that, and it made him feel guilty. Perhaps that was why he wanted to share what he saw that night with her.

*****

"Miss Parker," Sydney acknowledged her return with a curt nod.

"Any new developments?" She asked, stopping between Sydney and Broots. They exchanged a glance. "Did you find something about my mother?" Miss Parker asked anxiously.

"Uh, no." Broots answered. "Just, uh, more information about Melissa. About where she came from."

"Did it mention any connection to Jarod?"

"No," Sydney answered. "That is still a mystery, as is her connection to your past, Miss Parker."

"Well, what did you find?" She pulled a cigarette out of her case and lit it.

"This." Sydney pushed a DSA into the computer and started it. Parker watched in horror as Melissa was pushed into an isolation room on the Renewal Wing. She was in a straight jacket, and from what Miss Parker could tell, there was sufficient reason. Melissa was trying to kick free of the restraints. She even bit one of the handlers.

"Nooo!" Melissa cried out. "Maaamaaa! Mama, don't leave me!" They watched as Melissa flung her body against the padded door. "Please, mama, no! Mama don't leave me please!" Her crying wasn't a typical child's wailing. It was an hysterical, primal scream that left Miss Parker wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Finally, Melissa wore herself out and fell asleep on the floor in front of the door.

"My God," Parker said, inhaling hard on her cigarette creating one long ash that finally fell to the floor.

"Uh, it gets better, Miss Parker," Broots said, taking the disk out and replacing it with another. "Watch this."

The date on the second DSA was two weeks after the first. Melissa was sitting on the floor, her knees pulled into her chest. She was crying. She lifted her head and looked directly into the camera.

"Who am I?" she whispered.

*****

Miss Parker walked into her house after a very long day at the Centre. Her father had raked her over the coals for not only failing, once again, to catch Jarod, but also for taking Melissa out of the Centre. She didn't care. She knew she had done the right thing. She flipped on the light switch and gasped when she saw the large square object wrapped in brown paper propped against her fireplace. Jarod, she thought. It had to be. Part of her didn't want to open it. She knew whatever was wrapped up for her would just make her ulcer grow bigger until she didn't have a stomach left. But part of her knew that whatever Jarod sent to her, he did so for a reason and not all of his reasons were to cause her pain.

She walked to the object and slowly unwrapped it. Tears collected in her eyes when she saw the painting before her. Melissa's head rested on her shoulder, and her head rested on Melissa's. Their bodies were close and their arms entwined so that she could not tell where her arms began and Melissa's ended. It was the most beautiful painting she had ever seen and she sobbed, her body sinking to the floor. She hugged her knees to her chest and cried.

*****

Jarod picked up his cell-phone and hit the speed dial. He knew she would be home, and he knew that she would have already seen the painting.

"What?" He heard her answer in her "I've been crying but I don't want anyone to know it" voice.

"Tell me about her." Jarod said. He heard her take a deep breath and slowly exhale, and knew she was deciding whether to answer or to hang up.

"What do you want to know?"

"Who is she? Where did she come from?"

"She's a Pretender, Jarod." Miss Parker said. "At least Sydney said that she used to be. We found some DSA's that attest to that. Sydney also said she was better than you."

"Where did she come from?" Jarod asked, deliberately ignoring her last comment.

"We don't know. Yet." Parker told him " I'm working on it, though I know that SL 27 and the Renewal Wing come into play."

"Renewal?"

"Yes. Look, Jarod, is there some point to this call or . . . ?" She asked, impatience creeping into her voice.

"I got what I needed - for now." He knew that he was pushing her and he didn't want to lose her wavering allegiance.

"Jarod," she said, as he was about to hang up. "Thank you . . . for the picture, and the rose, and the bunny." Before he could respond, she hung up.

*****

Unraveling the key to Melissa's past proved to be more difficult than finding information on Catherine Parker's death. Other than a few more DSA's of Melissa performing Jarod's sims, their now three-month long search hit a dead end. They did have a break in one area - Melissa herself. Since Sydney stopped the drugs Raines had been giving her, she seemed more coherent. Her thought processes were still jumbled, but it seemed to Sydney that she was trying to remember what happened to her and recover the lost years of her past. Spending time with Miss Parker appeared to be the key. It was becoming evident to Sydney that Melissa had somehow been brainwashed to believe she was Miss Parker as a child. The memories that surfaced were commonly known to have happened to Parker when she was a girl. The question was . . . why did Raines want Melissa to be Miss Parker?

*****

"She's getting . . . dangerously close." Raines wheezed.

"So. There's no evidence, you saw to that, right?" Mr. Parker answered, pointing to the third man in the room.

"Tucked it away in the archives myself." Lyle told them. "Miss Parker will never know the truth about Melissa."

*****

Melissa sat on her bed, her legs crossed and her eyes closed. She wanted so bad to find out who she was and who the people around her were. She took a deep breath and began. Her first memory was seeing the woman lying on the elevator floor. She had been shot. That day was important, but why? She remembered happy times with the woman - when she would brush her hair or read to her. She remembered one very scary time, as well. There was a big dinner on the table. The woman was in the next room arguing with someone, then she came out. Her face was bloody and bruised. She ran to the window and saw someone running away.

Melissa opened her eyes. Why couldn't she remember anything else? And why didn't the woman remember anything either? Then there was that man, the one they called Jarod. Why did she see his hands? And why did she see him as a little boy? Tears collected in her eyes. Would she ever remember?

*****

Broots opened the door to the Archive Room. He and Sydney had received an anonymous message that there were answers here about Melissa. Broots had disabled the security system and tiptoed inside, closing the door behind him. He flipped on the flashlight and jumped as a mouse scurried across the floor in front of him.

"Oh, man," He whispered, wiping his brow. "I hate this. I really hate this." He found the row of shelves marked M,N and figured Melissa's archive had to be here. He shone his flashlight from top to bottom, finally finding what he was looking for - CA/M-1194. There was only one problem he could see - the box was on the top shelf. Broots looked at his watch - he had two minutes sixteen seconds until the security system re-engaged and he was toast. He started pulling boxes off the lower shelves and stacking them up so he could reach the top shelf and get Melissa's archive. He stood on his toes and pulled the box off the shelf. He wobbled, trying to balance the box over his head and still remain standing. He overcompensated too far to the left and the tower he stood on crumbled, sending Broots and Melissa's archive to the ground.

"Oh, damn!" He shouted, then looked around frantically. What if someone heard me, he thought. He stood up. Shit, he thought checking his watch. Thirty seconds left. Melissa's box had opened on impact and the contents scattered across the floor. Broots had barely enough time to collect the contents and replace the other boxes before he ran out of the room.

*****

She skipped out of her father's office and toward the elevator. She had to find her mother. Daddy said they were going to Luciano's, her favorite restaurant in Blue Cove. The elevator closed and she stepped onto Jarod's floor. That's what she called it, anyway. She peered into the room and watched Jarod and Sydney from her perch on the alcove. What was that bubble thing Jarod was in anyway? She heard footsteps - the unmistakable click-clak of her mother's high-heeled shoes. The ones Mama ordered special from Italy that she secretly tried on last night. She turned around. Her mother saw her and smiled. She was carrying a present! Then . . . No! Mama. Mama turned around. She saw him, she saw the man with the gun, the man in the dark suit. Leave me alone! Bang! No! Bang Bang! "Mama!" She ran to the elevator. Mama was on the ground. She was bleeding. "Mama, no! Mama!" The men inside the elevator grabbed her and pushed her out. She wanted to go back to her mama, but the men wouldn't let her. They kept pushing her toward Jarod's lab. She twisted her head around "Mama! Mama please, Mama!" She moved! She saw her move. Mama's alive!

Melissa sat up in her bed. Her body was drenched in sweat and her heart was pounding.

"Mama's alive," She whispered. She kicked the covers off her bed. That's what it was all about. She saw her mother get shot. Everyone thought she was dead, but she wasn't. She wasn't! The woman. The woman is my mother. Mama loves me, why wouldn't she want me back? Why would she let them lock me up in this place? "Mama!" Melissa screamed, pounding on her door. She had to get out and find her mother. She had to find out why she let them take her away. "Mama, Mama!" She cried and screamed and pounded her tiny fists on the door. "Open the door, please, I have to find her!" The door swung open, knocking Melissa to the ground. Vivian walked into the room, her hands on her hips.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked.

"Move out of my way!" Melissa pushed Vivian.

"Security!" Vivian bellowed as Melissa darted past her and into the hallway. Two Sweepers blocked her path.

"I have to find her, I have to!" Melissa cried. The Sweepers approached cautiously. Melissa watched, waiting for a break. Just as one lunged toward her, she skirted around him and past the other and ran toward the elevators. The elevator opened immediately when she pushed the button. She stepped inside and saw the two men approaching just as the doors slid shut. "Mama," she whispered, pushing the button for Miss Parker's floor. Melissa turned around and saw the bullet holes near the top of the elevator. Mama. The images rushed back. Her mother, the gun, the screaming. Melissa pressed her hands against her head, trying to squeeze the horrible images out of her mind. Why? Why did mama let them take me away? Why? The elevator stopped one floor shy of Melissa's destination.

*****

"My God," Sydney exclaimed as he closed the last of Melissa's files. "It's true. It's all true."

"We need to tell Miss Parker." Broots said. Sydney nodded and picked up the phone. He dialed Miss Parker's extension and when she answered he asked her to come to his office immediately.

"I should have been able to stop this." Sydney buried his head in his hands.

"Sydney, there was nothing..." Broots started, then stopped suddenly. "Do you hear that?"

"It sounds like . . ."

"Melissa."

*****

"Let go of me, you're hurting me!" Melissa screamed. The Sweeper grabbed her arm and was dragging her out of the elevator. Melissa bit down hard on his forearm causing him to let go. "Where is she? I have to find her." She sobbed when she saw Sydney and Broots running toward her. "I have to find her."

"It's okay Melissa, you're safe now." Sydney told her as he scooped her into his arms.

"Mama, where is she? I have to find her, I have to," Melissa squirmed in Sydney's arms and he dropped her as soon as they were in his office.

"What the hell is going on here?" Parker asked as she walked into Sydney's office and saw Melissa on the ground crying.

"Why?" Melissa sobbed. "Why did you let them take me away?"

"What are you talking about? Syd what's going on?"

"You loved me, mama. Why did you go away? Why did you let them take me away? I thought you loved me!"

"Syd . . ."

"We found some files Parker." Sydney told her. "About Melissa, and where she came from."

"Jarod . . ." She started. Sydney nodded.

"Jarod is Melissa's father, Miss Parker." She felt the blood drain from her face and her legs go weak. Jarod is Melissa's father. Deep down she knew it all along, but hearing it out loud made it so true. She looked at Melissa. She was crying and screaming something at Miss Parker, but she couldn't hear her. It was just like the very essence of her being had suddenly drained from her body. She had nothing. Sydney would tell Jarod, he had to. Jarod would take Melissa away from her and disappear forever this time. No wild goose chases, no late-night telephone calls, no gifts . . . no Melissa. Parker closed her eyes and remembered that first day when Melissa was so terrified and how the only thing that calmed her down was being in her arms. She remembered how the little girl's tear-stained cheeks felt against her chest . . . how her hair smelled . . . how her tiny arms wrapped so tightly around her body.

"I can't . . ." Parker whispered. She spun around and ran out of the room. She could hear Sydney calling after her, and Melissa screaming for her not to leave again. Parker pushed their cries from her ears and left them behind.

*****

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Broots asked Sydney.

"No." Sydney picked up the file and sat down behind his desk. "Broots, take Melissa back to her room and see that she's safe."

"What are you going to do?"

"Call someone who can help Miss Parker."

*****

After Sydney had handed Jarod Melissa's files and told him what happened in his office that afternoon, Jarod knew where to find Miss Parker. He pulled the car to a stop and got out. There she was, her back to him. The wind was blowing, tossing her hair, and although there was a definite chill in the air, Miss Parker only wore one of Jarod's favorite mini skirts and a silk blouse. She held something in her right hand. Jarod stepped closer and realized it was a gun.

"Miss Parker?" He said, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. She did not turn around. Jarod stepped closer and saw that she was precariously close to the edge of a steep cliff. He could hear the ocean crashing against the rocks below.

"She used to bring me here." Parker said, her back still to Jarod. "We would just sit and sit, looking out at the water. We wouldn't talk." Miss Parker turned around. Jarod stepped closer. "Stay there." She raised the gun and pointed it at him.

"Miss Parker, I have to talk to you." He said, raising his hands. She shook her head.

"No." Miss Parker pulled back the safety on the gun and pressed it against her temple. Jarod felt his heart race and his stomach drop.

"Parker, you have to listen to me." He said as tears filled his eyes. He wasn't going to lose her, not this way.

"Just go, Jarod." Parker said. He shook his head and stepped closer. "Just go. Just take her and go."

"Parker, I'm not leaving here without you." He told her softly.

"I know you've been waiting for this moment ever since I brought her into the emergency room, Jarod. Well, you won. She's yours. Sydney said she's your child, so just take her away from me like you've been planning all along." Miss Parker began crying. "But I'm not going back with you or anyone else. How can I? How can I be there without her, Jarod? Tell me!"

"Parker, you don't understand." Jarod said, stepping toward her.

"Don't come any closer," Miss Parker warned. "If I go back there . . . I . . . I'll have to . . . I'll have to hunt you down, and . . . her. If I catch you . . . they'll, they'll kill you. And her . . ."

"Parker . . ." he knew she was dangerously close to carrying out her plan for this evening.

"No, Jarod!" Miss Parker pulled the trigger.

"Nooo!" Jarod lunged and grabbed the gun as it clicked, but didn't go off. He held onto her wrists and tried to wrestle the gun away from her.

"Leave me alone Jarod! She's yours, just take her, just leave me alone!" Parker shouted.

"No, Parker, she's not mine." Jarod said, looking into her eyes. Miss Parker still had her fingers around the trigger. "She's ours." He told her just as the gun went off. "Oh God, Miss Parker . . ." He searched her body for blood or a bullet hole as she searched his. It took them a minute to discover that the gun had fired a bullet about one inch away from Jarod's left foot. Relieved, Miss Parker collapsed in Jarod's arms. He held her tight and felt her wet tears soak through the front of his shirt. Jarod pulled Miss Parker's face away from his chest and smoothed her hair. "Thank God," he whispered. "Thank God you're okay." He pulled her face to his and kissed her, lightly at first, but as she began to respond he kissed her with all the intensity and passion that he had been building up for her since the first day he laid eyes on her.

*****

"Uh, Sydney . . . Syd?" Broots called, running toward Sydney's office. "Sydney!"

"What is it Broots?" Sydney asked, meeting him in the hallway.

"Uh, Melissa," Broots started, panting from running up three flights of stairs. "I tried . . . but there were four of them . . . took her. I tried to stop them."

"Oh my God." Sydney said. He turned and ran back to his office.

"I tried to stop them, Syd." Broots called after him. "Tell Miss Parker I tried."

*****

Miss Parker stood once again at the edge of the cliff. She and Jarod had finished reading the files Broots had stolen and Sydney had smuggled to Jarod. They had just learned the horrible truth of Melissa's existence . . . and of theirs.

"Are you okay?" Jarod asked, stepping behind her.

"I'm not going to jump, if that's what you're worried about." She replied caustically. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. "It's so . . . sadistic. They planned this. Four Pretenders born on the same day. One to be raised in what seemed at the time to be a stable home, one in an abusive home and two to be stolen and formally trained. Timmy turned out to be a mistake, so they took Kyle. Simple as that. Did you know about all of this, Jarod?" She pulled away from him and turned around.

"Not the specifics." He told her.

"My mother found out." She continued. Jarod nodded. "That's why they killed her. She found out and was going to take us all away." Tears filled her eyes.

"They?"

"My father, Jarod. Are you satisfied?" She turned back to look out at the water. Jarod said nothing, just waited for her to continue. "I didn't hear you say 'I told you so.'"

"I would never say that to you."

"No, one look from you can say all that and more."

"I'm sorry . . .  I" Jarod started. Miss Parker spun around.

"Don't apologize Jarod. You were right. You are always right. My father is a monster. He stole you, murdered my mother, stole my eggs, your…" Parker held her hands out, gesturing at his midsection. "Well, you know."

"He didn't know Melissa was mine until after she was born. She could have been Kyle's or Angelo's."

"He robbed me of the opportunity to carry your child." Parker gasped as the realization of what she just said hit her.

"Parker . . ." He stopped when his phone rang. "Damn," he muttered. "Yes?" He answered. His eyes lifted and met Miss Parker's. "When?" He walked to her and took her hand.

"Oh God. Melissa?" Parker asked. Jarod nodded as he turned his phone off and put it back into his pocket.

"They took her." Jarod told her. Parker's legs buckled and she felt Jarod's arms catch her as her world went black.

*****

Miss Parker opened her eyes. She was strapped in the passenger seat of Jarod's black Expedition. They were driving toward town at speeds she didn't even dare drive on this twisty road.

"We're meeting Sydney and Broots at your house." Jarod told her. Parker nodded. "We're going to rescue her." She didn't say anything. Jarod reached across and took her hand.

They arrived at Miss Parker's house ten minutes later. Sydney and Broots were inside at the kitchen table. They had brought along several blue prints for the Centre.

*****

"Do we have her?" Mr. Parker asked.

"She is being restrained now." Lyle answered.

"And my daughter?"

"It, uh, has been discovered that some sensitive files are missing from Centre archives." Lyle shifted his feet and looked at the floor.

"What?" Parker boomed. "How the hell did you let this happen?"

"They were secure, I filed them myself."

"In Centre archives? Under what, P for Parker?"

"No, of course not."

"Then maybe under M for Melissa?" Mr. Parker suggested. Lyle's silence produced the answer. "You imbecile. My daughter and her motley crue are not as befuddled as they look. I'll bet it was Mr. Broots who discovered the files?"

"Uh, yes." Lyle confirmed. "But he had help. I mean…"

"The leak?" Parker interrupted. Lyle nodded his head. "Dammit, I thought we had that taken care of."

"I'll begin an investigation, I'll . . ."

"You will do no such thing." Parker ordered. "We have to accept the fact that my daughter"

"And Jarod," It was Lyle's turn to interrupt.

"And Jarod," Parker grudgingly conceded. "Know about Melissa's origins. They may even know about her purpose. But . . ." he waved his finger in the air for emphasis. "They do not know about her true mission. Do they? No," Parker answered his own question. "They most certainly don't. And they don't know about the other."

*****

Miss Parker and Jarod, once again, were traveling in the black Expedition. They had poured over the plans with Sydney and Broots, and even contacted their inside source. After much arguing and deliberation, they agreed to enter the Centre through the maintenance hatch on the south lawn. Jarod informed Parker that he used this entrance in the past and that it remained secure. Angelo told them that Mr. Parker and Lyle had taken Melissa to the Renewal Wing. He had no information as to her condition. Angelo agreed to disable the security system in such a fashion that Parker and Jarod could sneak up to Renewal through a series of air ducts and service tunnels and no one would be alerted that security was off-line. The plan was a good one, except for the unpredictability of what they would find inside Melissa's room. Parker and Jarod rode in silence. They each tried to push horrible images of their little girl injured or dead, yet they were bracing themselves for that very real possibility.

"Ready?" Jarod asked as he turned the car off. He looked over at the mother of his child. Her face was ashen and her fingers clutched the armrest so tight her knuckles were white. He watched her hands relax as she nodded.

"Let's go get our daughter."

*****

Jarod opened the last of the air conditioning vents. He stopped briefly as a Sweeper walked by. As soon as the man entered another room, Jarod pulled the vent off and jumped out. He helped Miss Parker out of the shaft and they crept along the hallway toward room RW-16. They were almost to her room when Miss Parker stopped.

"Parker . . . " Jarod whispered. Miss Parker stopped in front of room RW-15. She had a strange feeling in her stomach, and it wasn't her ulcer. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she swore she could feel familiar arms around her. And she could smell . . .

"Parker," Jarod whispered again. He walked to her and pulled her arm. "She's in the next room." Parker nodded and followed Jarod. They paused outside Melissa's room. "You ready?" Jarod asked.

"Open the door." Miss Parker told him, her gun ready. Jarod kicked the door in and they charged into her room. "Oh my God" Parker exclaimed. Melissa was alive! She lay strapped to the bed. Lyle stood over her with a syringe in his hands, ready to inject her with whatever poison he had in mind. Her father stood at the opposite end of the room.

"Well, it's about time you showed up." Mr. Parker said. He stepped toward his daughter. She pointed her gun at him. "C'mon, Angel. You're not going to shoot your old dad, are you?" He favored her with his most charming smile.

"My dad? You make me sick. What you did . . ."

"Was for the good of the Centre!" Mr. Parker boomed. "Mr. Lyle, you may proceed." Before Jarod or Miss Parker could stop him, Lyle plunged the syringe into Melissa's arm.

"Mama!" Melissa cried. Miss Parker fired her gun and shot Lyle in the shoulder. He fell to the ground, but the syringe remained embedded in Melissa's arm. Parker ran to her daughter.

"It's okay, sweetheart," She whispered. "It's going to be okay." Miss Parker gently pulled the syringe out of Melissa and stroked her hair.

"Mama . . ." Melissa said softly.

"I'm here." Parker said. She tried to keep the fear from her voice, but Melissa was becoming drowsier with each passing second.

"Mama . . . I knew you'd come back." Melissa's eyes closed, but her breathing remained steady.

"Jarod?" Miss Parker turned to him.

"What did you give her?" Jarod asked Mr. Parker.

"It's an experimental medication." He told them. "It puts the subject in a coma."

"Subject?" Miss Parker seethed. "This is my little girl you're talking about."

"For how long?" Jarod asked, though he already knew the answer.

"The only other test subject hasn't awaken yet. And it's been oh, around thirty years or so." Mr. Parker smiled.

"You son of a bitch," Miss Parker growled. She turned her gun at her father and fired twice, hitting him in the chest both times. "Let's go." Parker turned back to Melissa and started undoing the restraints. Jarod kept his gun trained on Lyle.

*****

Jarod watched Miss Parker through the screen door. She sat on the wooden bench swing with her elbow on the armrest and her head resting on her hand. Jarod's gaze followed where he anticipated hers to be. The view was spectacular - mountains of green forest as far as the eye could see. Jarod had chosen this location well. He opened the screen door and walked to the swing. He saw now that a cigarette dangled from Miss Parker's free hand. Jarod picked up a blanket that rested on the back of the swing and secured it around Miss Parker's shoulders. She didn't move, except to take a drag on her cigarette. Jarod sat down next to her.

"I chose this place," he said after a few minutes, "because I found that if I stand in this spot, I could look out and lose myself in the eternal expanse." No response. Jarod used his feet to push the swing. "Melissa is safe here." He said, watching Miss Parker flinch at the mention of their daughter's name. "Sydney is with her right now." Miss Parker did not comment. They just sat on the swing and watched the sun sink beneath the emerald mountains.

"I often wonder if I would be the person I am today if my mother were still alive." Miss Parker finally said. She turned her head and looked at Jarod. He held her hand. "I think about her all the time, Jarod. I miss her."

"I know you do."

"Perhaps it's just as well she's dead." Parker turned her head away so Jarod wouldn't see the tears escape her eyes. "I wonder what she would say to me."

"That she loves you." Jarod said. Miss Parker shook her head.

"I think she would be ashamed of me. I've made some horrible choices."

"I don't think that would matter to her." Jarod turned Miss Parker's head to face his. "She loves you no matter what."

"I knew Melissa was my daughter, our daughter, the first time I held her. I should have rescued her. I should have let you take her that night at the hospital. I thought I could protect her. I turned my back on her because I was selfish. I needed to be with her."

"Miss Parker, she loves you. She needed to be with you too."

"No." Miss Parker shook her head. "When I found out she was yours, I left. I could hear her screaming and Sydney was calling after me. I knew deep down she was mine too, but I denied it until you said it out loud. If I hadn't left her, she wouldn't be upstairs in a coma."

"You can't blame yourself, Parker."

"Oh," Parker laughed, "who should I blame Jarod? You?"

"You could." He challenged. "I could have taken her anytime I wanted. I didn't."

"I let her down, Jarod. I left her."

"So go to her now."

"I can't," Parker whispered, her tears now a steady stream.

"She needs you."

"I can't face her."

"You have to."

"I know."

*****

Miss Parker lay on the bed next to Melissa. The little girl had been in a coma for three weeks with no sign of waking. Parker opened her eyes and checked the clock on the other side of Melissa. 6:43am. She propped herself up on her elbow and studied her child. Melissa's skin was pale and she had lost much weight. Miss Parker knew that unless Melissa woke up soon, she may not make it. Parker traced her finger along her daughter's cheek.

"I love you Melissa," She whispered. Miss Parker laid her head down and turned her body to face Jarod. She knew he'd been so patient with her. He wanted to be with her so bad, and she wanted to be with him too. She just hadn't felt ready. She touched his face. "Soon Jarod." Parker said. "Very soon." Miss Parker climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom.

Jarod waited until he heard the shower running before he opened his eyes. He was worried about Miss Parker. He believed she was conflicted between her feelings for him and her feelings of duty for Melissa. But he wanted her. He thought about her in the shower. About how her body must look wet, with shampoo bubbles dripping off her hair and onto her shoulders. Dammit, he thought. What if I just go in there? What will she do? He decided to find out.

Jarod opened the bathroom door and was met by a cloud of steam. He could see the contours of Miss Parker's body through the frosted glass door. He knew he couldn't wait any longer, he just hoped she would feel the same. Jarod quickly undressed and stepped into the shower.

Jarod watched Miss Parker pause, her hands lost in her soapy hair. He watched her face and knew they wouldn't be able to control themselves anymore. He reached out and took Parker's hand and pulled her to him. Her nipples tightened as their bodies brushed . She could feel that he was already hard. Jarod touched his lips gently on hers. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. So much passion and desire. She knew her eyes mirrored his. She pulled him closer so their bodies pressed against each other. She wrapped her arms around him and moaned as he did the same. Jarod kissed her - this time using his tongue to explore her mouth. Miss Parker pulled away to catch her breath, but Jarod placed his hands on her cheeks and drew her to him, kissing and nibbling her mouth and face and neck. She moaned as he moved lower to her breasts. Her hands gripped his head and she massaged his scalp as his tongue caressed each nipple in turn. He moved his mouth down along her body until she couldn't take it anymore. She pulled him up so they were kissing again and wrapped her arms around his neck. Jarod put his hands under his arms and gently lifted her high enough so he could enter her. Miss Parker arched her back as she felt him inside her. She wrapped her legs around his torso and lifted and lowered her body so she could control his thrusts.

"Mmmmm Parker" Jarod moaned. He was close. He nibbled her neck and ears and lips and she reciprocated eagerly. She let out a scream that was quickly masked by his mouth when she felt him come inside her.

"Oh, Jarod," Parker panted. "Wait, Jarod" Her movements intensified and she felt herself climaxing. Jarod pressed her against the tile wall to keep him from dropping her as her gyrations intensified. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. "Jarod," She whispered after the moment was over. "Jarod, put me down." Jarod lifted her up and set her down. They stood under the stream of hot water staring at each other.

"Miss Parker, I . . ." Jarod reached out his hand toward her. Parker backed up.

"I can't believe . . . oh God Jarod . . . what?" Parker asked, her eyes wide and teary. "What did we do?" Jarod's face fell.

"I'm sorry." He told her. "I thought, you wanted . . ."

"She's just lying there. And I . . . all I can do is . . . this." Parker gestured at him.

"No, Parker. God, no, you did nothing wrong. We did nothing wrong." He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. She jerked away from him and shut off the water.

"Get out of my way." Parker opened the shower door and stepped into the steamy bathroom.

"Parker . . ."

"I just can't Jarod." Parker turned away from him. She just couldn't face him right now.

"Miss Parker, I think we should talk about this." Jarod persisted. Parker walked around him and out the bathroom door. Jarod followed her into the bedroom where she was going through drawers trying to find something to wear. He noticed her shoulders heaving and knew she was crying. "Parker . . ."

"Leave me alone." She managed to say as she put her underwear on.

"No, I won't." He moved toward her. "This is too important." He put his hands on her still-bare shoulders and turned her around. "I . . . I don't understand this."

"I just feel . . . I can't . . . I . . ." she looked over Jarod's shoulder at Melissa's sleeping form and fresh tears covered her cheeks.

"Parker, you're here for her. That's all that matters. She knows that you're here and that you love her. Making love doesn't . . ."

"Is that what you think we did?" Parker interrupted. "No, Jarod we didn't make love. We had sex, no we didn't do that either. We fucked, Jarod. That's all it was, a quick fuck in the shower. She deserves better. And I . . . I have to give it to her." Jarod tilted her head up to his. Her eyes betrayed a multitude of emotions, but horror and guilt were right on top. Jarod never wanted her to feel that way about him.

"I'm sorry." He told her. "I shouldn’t have come in there." Jarod leaned in and kissed her wet forehead. "I love you." He walked out the door and closed it behind him.

*****

"Well, will he make it?" Lyle demanded. He stood over his father's body. Mr. Parker had remained in a coma since he was shot, and the prognosis was not good.

"Mr. Lyle," The doctor began. "Your fathers injuries are life threatening. It's a miracle he's lasted this long. I can't forsee him hanging on much longer. I'm sorry."

"Oh, well. You win some you lose some. Right?" He turned to face the man with the oxygen tank behind win. The man nodded. "So, Mr. Raines, where does this leave us?"

"Right where we want to be."

*****

"Don't worry baby," Parker whispered to Melissa. "Everything will be okay. You'll wake up. I know you will. And you and me and Jarod and Sydney and Broots and Debbie will all find somewhere safe to live. Someplace with horses and green grass and a stream running through the backyard. I . . . oh, damn, not again." Parker clutched her stomach as a wave of pain passed through her. Her ulcer had been killing her all night and morning. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the pain subsided.

"Go to Jarod." Miss Parker heard Melissa say. Her eyes flew open. There was no change in Melissa. She lay as still as she had a few moments before.

"What did you say?" Parker asked her daughter. "I heard you say something, something about Jarod. Dammit Melissa . . . oh God." Parker fell onto the floor in pain. "Jarod," she whispered. "Have to find Jarod."

*****

"Jarod, did you hear me?" Sydney asked. He had been speaking to Jarod for the past ten minutes, but Jarod was engrossed in the new files Angelo had smuggled out of the Centre.

"Melissa's purpose has everything to do with Catherine Parker's death, Sydney. These files outline every pretend they had her do, it all ties to Mrs. Parker. Listen to this, 'Treatments have been successful in transforming Subject M into M Parker, age 12. I recommend we move immediately into Phase three and begin the elevator simulations.' Were they that worried that Miss Parker may have seen her mother's shooter that they had to brainwash Melissa into reliving Catherine Parker's death over and over?"

"Jarod, I'm worried about Miss Parker." Sydney pushed the papers out of Jarod's hand.

"Sydney, this is about Melissa."

"We need to talk about Miss Parker. I'm very concerned. It's been a month since your . . . encounter. She hardly speaks, she's thinner than Melissa. You have to talk to her. Make her realize that this destructive behavior is not only endangering her life, but Melissa's well-being as well."

"I can't force her to do anything she doesn't want, Syd. I've already . . . Oh God, Parker!" Jarod jumped out of his chair as he saw Miss Parker clutching the banister at the bottom of the stairs. Her face was chalk white and her hand covered her stomach.

"Jarod," She whispered. "Help me, please." Miss Parker collapsed in Jarod's arms.

"Miss Parker, Miss Parker . . ." Jarod gently lowered her to the floor. "Parker, oh God, Parker please, wake up."

"Jarod, look." Sydney pointed to a growing pool of blood accumulating between Miss Parker's legs.

"Oh, Sydney, no, please, no no no." Jarod cradled Parker's head.

"Jarod," Sydney shook Jarod's shoulder. "Jarod we have to get her upstairs and cleaned up. There's nothing more we can do here. She'll be alright, but we have to get her to bed. Okay? C'mon, let's get her to bed." Jarod and Sydney carefully carried Miss Parker upstairs.

*****

It was so dark here. The only light was a thin strip far away. Miss Parker tried to move toward the light, but she could not pick up her feet. The light moved closer toward her and she could make out the outline of a door. Parker reached out and touched the door handle. She could hear a rhythmic creaking from the other side. She could also smell a combination of French perfume and baby powder. Melissa. Parker opened the door and stepped into the room. Her mother sat in a rocking chair at the far side of her childhood bedroom. She was holding Melissa.
 

To Be Continued . . .
 

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