By Oriana
Okay, kudos
to anyone who can keep this straight: This is the sequel to "A Night To
Remember," which is the sequel of "To Dance In An English
Garden," which (you guessed it) is the sequel to "Paper
Snowflakes."
*Disclaimer:
I don't own "The Pretender" or any of its characters. Thanx for not
suing! ~Oriana
~~~~~~~~~
Parker stumbled into the
elevator, not quite awake enough yet to fully function. She didn't even want to
get up; spending the morning with Mr. and Mrs. Perfect Hosts was enough to
re-awaken her nausea, which thankfully had subsided when she woke up. There was
exactly one reason, and one reason only, that she was headed up two floors:
coffee.
She still couldn't believe
she'd slept all night, though really she shouldn't be surprised. The exhaustion
was bound to come--it was just rather frightening to realize that she was
progressing that quickly. Last night she'd ignored the weariness, but the
pounding in her head refused to subside. Finally she'd relented to lying on the
bed, on her back. While it'd helped her headache, her mind was more stressed
than before, as she lie staring at the ceiling, contemplating her fate: the
rest of her life, the next 72 hours--it was no comfort to realize that those
two ideas were now the same.
The elevator bell dinged,
the doors slid open slowly, just like usual. She opened the door to the
penthouse, went ahead inside. She passed Syd and Broots on the balcony, and
though she gave the latter the same snappy attitude, it was merely out of
habit, and as she walked on past, Parker couldn't even remember what she'd
said.
Moving on to the kitchen,
she truly felt like she was going to throw up, not because of nausea, but the
sight of Julia bustling about, hair and makeup immaculate -even at this
god-awful hour- and humming sweetly. She looked up from the cookbook in her
hands, and smiled as she spotted Parker -a tone paler than she recalled- in the
entranceway. "Good morning. Get enough sleep?"
"Unfortunately,"
she muttered. "Coffee?"
"Over there, next to
the fridge."
Parker mumbled thanks, then
made a beeline for the pot. Not until after many heavenly sips did she bother
to speak up, asking, "Where's Jarod?"
"Downtown, getting eggs
and a few other things I needed."
"For?"
"Breakfast. He loves my
pancakes."
Parker looked up from her
mug. "You cook?"
"Absolutely--always
from scratch. Things always taste better that way, don't you think?" Parker
didn't reply, just drank more coffee to keep her mouth shut. She was beginning
to hate this girl more and more...
When Julia began to hum show
tunes, Parker slammed her mug down and headed out of the kitchen. Five more
minutes with her and Parker wouldn't be the first die.
"Where are you
going?" Broots asked as she stomped past.
"Jogging!" she
snapped, slamming the door behind her.
~~~~~~~~~
She'd thought that a long
walk along the bay would help to calm her way-too-frayed nerves. In the end,
she never even left the building. Parker was so lost in her thoughts she'd been
wandering around the basement floor 20 minutes before even she even realized
where she was. Entering one of the apartments, she remembered what Julia'd said
about them just being completed. She was right--the carpet was freshly laid,
the smell of paint was just beginning to fade, and there was no sign of
decoration, an odd change from the furnished penthouses upstairs.
Feeling the throb increase,
she looked down at the sleeve of her blue silk shirt with dismay. Her clothes
of preference were always tight, showy, and the ones she'd packed for this trip
were no different. She'd been grateful at first this morning, finding that
Jarod had dropped her luggage off in her living room, but now, seeing how clear
the tight shirt made it that her shoulder was swollen, Parker regretted the
choice. With a sigh, she slipped back on her business jacket.
Parker sat down in the
middle of the large living room, and stared around her. It reminded her of the
Centre, so empty, and lacking life.
~~~~~~~~~
It was another half hour
before Parker returned to the top penthouse. In the dining room sat the other
four, about to begin breakfast. Jarod looked up, and his face lit up.
"There she is."
"Wow, that must've been
some run," Julia commented.
"What?"
"You're sweating,"
Julia replied. With a look of surprise, Parker raised a hand to her forehead,
and felt moisture. She'd been so lost in contemplation of the Centre, she
hadn't even noticed that she'd broken out in a cold sweat.
"Oh, yeah," she
answered weakly, taking a seat at the table. While Julia hurried back into the
kitchen, Jarod looked at her questioningly, but she offered no explanation,
just looked down at the mahogany table.
A moment later, Julia
returned. "Here you are," she said brightly, putting a steaming plate
right beneath Parker's nose. With one look at the food, her stomach clenched,
and she shot up and ran to the bathroom.
~~~~~~~~~
After a few minutes of
gagging -and worse- Parker returned, offering no explanation, just smiled and
assured everyone that she was fine. She was grateful to note that her plate was
gone. Trying to get back to normalcy, she tried to get into the conversation
with everyone else. As Syd and Jarod began to discuss some foreign stock
market, Jarod frowned and looked around. "Where's that tapping coming
from?"
Parker realized her leg had
begun to shake, and placed a firm hand on it under the table. Figuring it had
quit, Jarod shrugged and continued his conversation. Feeling the nausea return
as the smell of everyone else's food wafted towards her, she got a glass of
water from the kitchen, then headed out to balcony. More than anything else,
she just wanted to go downstairs to her bed, but even the idea of an elevator
rushing her down two floors made her head swim.
With Broots and Syd helping
out Julia to clear the table and clean up the kitchen, Jarod saw his
opportunity. He walked out to the balcony, being sure to close the glass doors
behind him, and moved next to Parker.
"Hey."
"Hey." Well, that
got him far. He waited a moment, but she didn't start to talk, so Jarod decided
to go for the more direct route. "Feeling all right?"
Her head shot up.
"What?"
"We had a tough
night."
She tried to read his face,
but couldn't get anything. Had he caught on, figured it out somehow?
Seeing that she wasn't going
to offer up any information, Jarod spoke what was one his mind.
"Parker?"
"Yeah?"
"I know."
~~~~~~~~~
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 2
"So, how long are we
gonna stay here?" Broots asked Sydney in a hushed voice, glancing to the
balcony, where Jarod and Parker were in the middle of some discussion.
"Eager to return to the
Centre?" Sydney smiled.
"Oh, come on,"
Broots replied defensively. "Like you don't find this the least bit weird.
Two days ago we were tracking a pretender down--now we're his house
guests."
"Nothing connected to
the Centre is normal, Broots. I've learned to accept things as they come,
strange as they may be."
"S-so, we're not gonna
bring him in?" Broots was surprised at his calmness.
"Our job is to find
him--it's Parker's to bring him in. If she chooses not to..."
"Why wouldn't
she?"
"Miss Parker may seem a
bit...cold at times, but she has her own code of honor, her own sense of right
and wrong. Now I have no doubt that she will eventually capture Jarod, but you
must remember that they were both raised in the Centre. To her, they're fellow
victims of a sort, so if he helps her in anyway, it's no surprise that she'll
feel an obligation."
"You mean she won't
bring him in just this once, because we owe him for last night?"
"Exactly."
With new understanding, and
bit clearer picture of his boss, Broots looked to the balcony. The glass doors
were closed, so he couldn't hear anything, but the way Parker was staring out
to the bay gave him the idea that much wasn't being talked about as it was.
"But next time...?"
"She will not hesitate.
You know she carries a weapon--ever seen her hesitate to use it?"
Unbeknownst to them, Julia
stood in the kitchen, listening to their every word. She followed the path of
their eyes to the balcony and sighed. Jarod was placing a hand on Parker's
back, and saying something. She frowned. Suddenly, she had the greatest desire
for these people to get out.
~~~~~~~~~
"Parker?"
"I heard you." She
kept her eyes focused straight ahead, and made sure to reveal no surprise at
his words. He knew? How the hell...
"Well?" he pushed
on expectantly. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She turned to him.
"Exactly what is it that you think you know?"
"Last night--" Her
heart stopped. "--you did know how that was, didn't you?" Exhaling in
relief, she shook her head, and even gave a small laugh, but quickly stopped as
the action made her lightheaded.
"Jarod, that man is of
no importance." And it wasn't, compared to what she was going through now.
Thinking that she was just
lying to protect him from the man's identity, he continued. "Of course it
is. Someone tried to kill you last night, Parker."
At the word
"tried," Parker wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. Instead, she
did nothing at all, didn't show an ounce of emotion, and didn't reply.
"Why won't you tell
me?" he demanded.
With an irritated sigh, she
looked him right in the eye and snapped, "It's called doing a favor, you
idiot."
He gave her a blank look.
"What are you talking about?"
She studied his face for a
moment, saw the genuine concern, and finally gave in. "The man last night...
He didn't have a grudge against the Centre. He had a grudge against me."
He raised an eyebrow, but made no comment. Reluctantly, she continued. "He
wanted revenge, for his father."
"His father?"
"Yes...Jarod, his
father's name...it was Nathan Crawford."
His face paled.
"What?"
"He said it was my
fault, everything that had happened. I know, it doesn't make any sense--"
"Unfortunately,"
Jarod cut her off grimly, "it makes all the sense in the world."
It was her turn to be
confused, but she grew suspicious at his uncomfortable look. "Jarod, what
aren't you telling me?"
"Back in England, when
I told you everything about Crawford..."
"Yes?"
"That wasn't really
everything?"
It took an incredible amount
of control, especially considering her current condition, to remain calm.
"What else? Jarod, what did you leave out?"
"I wanted to protect
you," he said, ignoring the question. "With everything else going on,
it just didn't seem right to drop something else -especially something this horrible-
on you."
"Answer the
question--what did you leave out?"
He linked eyes with her,
took hold of one of her hands, and prepared to lay another burden on her
shoulders.
"When your father got
Crawford out, he drove him to the Centre to give him clear instructions, and
the weapon of his choice. He remembered that he'd left something at the house
-your house- that he needed, a file or ssomething, so stopped there. While he
was inside, Crawford was in the car, handcuffed to the seat. Your father...he'd
left the door open a bit, and you just happened to be home." Parker's eyes
widened, but they stayed linked with his. They were suddenly her only source of
comfort. "You were young, of course, and playing with this doll. You
stopped in the doorway, saw Crawford, waved to him..." The memory struck
her like a bolt of lightning.
"I thought he was just
a friend of Daddy's," she whispered. "How do you know all this?"
"You know your father
trusted no one--there were security cameras hidden everywhere in that house."
"Tell me the
rest," she murmured, feeling her eyes water.
"Parker--"
"Tell me!" she
demanded.
A reluctant paused, then,
"I think those handcuffs were all that kept Crawford from going after you.
You'd gone outside, just a few feet from the door--"
"--and picked some
flowers," she finished for him. "I made this bouquet of daisies. I
was headed towards the car to give them to him, when Daddy came outside. I
couldn't understand why he seemed so mad at me...I-I dropped the flowers; he picked
me up and took me inside. I thought I was in trouble, but when he came home
that night, it was if nothing had happened. He never even mentioned it."
"Why should he? Nothing
had happened to you; Crawford was gone, with his orders to kill Helena. He
thought the whole incident was over."
"But it wasn't,"
she realized with a tone of doom, "was it?"
"For you, yes. But for
others...Before this, Crawford was simply a child molester. He had no
preference, no real idea of the children he harmed. But after...after you he
became fixated. You're probably the first child he'd desired that he'd never
gotten."
"You said
fixated--fixated how?"
"After he'd killed
Helena, he disappeared, as per his agreement with your father. He lived a few
places before Los Angeles, but was mostly a drifter. From what I've uncovered,
there were other victims...all fitting the same profile: dark hair, blue eyes,
all near the same age. The clincher was flowers--one girl was last seen in a
garden, another was wearing daisy-shaped hair clips, most had a flower design
somewhere on their clothes."
"God, no wonder his son
blamed me."
Jarod nodded. "It
must've been hard -or in his case, impossible- to accept the truth. I did some
research on the family. Crawford was the perfect family man, which is why it
took so long for anyone to catch on. After he was sent to prison, the mother
had to work to support them. They sold the house, moved into a trailer.
Eventually the mother ran off with her boss, leaving the kids with an aunt.
Little Sarah and Chris had no idea what was going on. Later on, Sarah committed
suicide. My guess is Chris felt that everyone had betrayed him--and Crawford,
away at prison since he was a kid, had always seemed so perfect, that it's no
wonder that Chris began to idolize him. After he got out, Crawford didn't
contact Chris for a long while, not until just before he reached LA. They met
only once--it must have been then that Chris realized the truth."
"And unwilling to
accept it, he blames me."
"Exactly."
Suddenly, horrible nausea
and dizziness hit her. Afraid she was about to pass out, Parker opened the
doors and headed inside. "I'm going down to my room for a bit."
"Of course," Jarod
said sympathetically, seeing how hard it was for her even walk. It must've been
such a horrible shock, he thought.
Under normal circumstances,
Parker would have been upset. But right now, she had bigger problems. In the
elevator, she leaned against the back wall, and struggled to stay conscious.
Just as the doors began to slide shut, Broots opened the door of the apartment
and called out to her, "Oh, M-Miss Parker, I was wondering when we were
leaving--"
"Back off, bald
boy!" she snapped as the doors shut.
Face red, he went back into
the apartment. Seeing Syd on the couch, grinning, he said with a look of
indignation, "Well, that was uncalled for!"
~~~~~~~~~
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 3
"Are you sure you have
to leave so quickly?" Julia asked as they all sat around the table -sans
Parker- drinking coffee about two hours later. "We'd love to have you
stay." Jarod nodded his agreement.
"It's a generous offer,
but really, we must be heading back. Lyle'll be at our throats if we don't
catch that plane this afternoon."
"I think Parker will be
glad to get back," she replied. "I've noticed she doesn't seem too
comfortable around here."
"It was just last
night," Jarod said to comfort her. "It wasn't exactly a calm
evening."
"Still, she just seems
so defensive. I can't imagine why."
~~~~~~~~~
Parker stumbled from the
bathroom, her head spinning. Her balance was completely askew, and she fell
onto the bed more than actually sat down. A sudden, sharp pain shot through her
chest, and only the pillow covering her face kept Parker from letting out a
surprised shout.
~~~~~~~~~
Upstairs, they continued to
calmly stir their coffee and chat. Broots was even getting comfortable enough
with idea of talking with their prey, that he added a comment or two of his
own.
"So," Syd spoke
up, "how did you two happen to meet?"
With a slight blush, Julia
glanced over at Jarod. "In Canada. My sister Lydia is the new nanny for a
little girl, Samantha Lansing, living up there. I was visiting my sister, and
Jarod was spending was time with the Lansings. Once thing led to another,
and..." Again blushing, she moved her eyes down to her coffee.
"And what do you
do?" Broots braved.
"I'm a nurse, down in
Portland as a matter of fact. Although," with a look over at Jarod,
"this place is growing on me." The pretender made no comment.
Sensing that this topic was
not one that Jarod was comfortable with, Sydney changed the subject. "The
building was built rather well," he noted, looking around appreciatively.
"The best of everything, and tight as a ship."
"Yeah, it is great.
They even soundproofed everything. That way, people can feel comfortable having
loud parties, without worrying about disturbing the neighbors."
Syd nodded, then glanced at
a clock on the nearby wall. "You know, Parker's been gone for quite a bit.
Maybe I should go check, make sure everything's fine."
Truth be told, Jarod wanted
to do the same, but leaving Julia alone with two people she hardly knew
wouldn't be fair. "Not a bad idea," he agreed. After a thought, he
added, "And why don't you take some aspirin with you? After everything
that's been going on, I'd bet anything one of her notorious migraines is on the
rampage."
~~~~~~~~~
Parker stared up at the
ceiling, thinking ruefully back to the days when the biggest health problem she
had was an ulcer, or maybe a migraine. Now, compared with what she was going
through, a migraine seemed like child's play.
Suddenly, a wretched sound
blasted at her sensitive ears. At first guess, she would've bet anything that
it was a jet engine warming up next to her bed. But, after a moment of trying
to tune out the painful noise, Parker realized it was a knock at the front
door. Too exhausted to get up, and hardly in the mood for company, she didn't
even bother to answer it.
After a few more knocks, Syd
tried the doorknob hesitantly; finding it unlocked, he walked in.
With a groan, Parker sat up
in the bed. Someone was coming in, and though just the thought of standing made
the room spin 360 degrees, she had to do something to keep up appearances.
Sydney appeared a second
later in the bedroom doorway, aspirin bottle in hand. He felt momentary shock
at how pale she was, and the thin layer of perspiration on her forehead, but
made no comment, just held up the bottle and said, "Jarod thought you may like
this."
She knew the pills were
useless, but managed a weak smile anyhow. "Thanks, Syd. I-I didn't hear
you knock. I was in the...bathroom."
Catching himself staring at
her in concern again, he visibly shook himself, and turned toward the kitchen. "I'll
just get you some water."
While he was gone, Parker
checked her jacket sleeve, to make sure the swelling wasn't evident. Luckily,
there was no sign of her swollen arm.
Upon his return, she took
the pills, then reached for the glass. Parker gulped once before taking it--at
this point, even the idea of water in her system made her want to vomit.
Syd watched expectantly,
waiting for her to down the meds in her usual fashion, but was surprised to see
her hand suddenly break out into a violent shake, so bad that water spilled
over the sides of the glass.
"Parker...?"
"It's n-nothing,
Syd," she reassured him, setting the half-empty glass down. "I'm
fine."
Using a stern face to cover
his concern, Sydney looked her straight in the eye and said, "I've known
you since you were a child. I've seen you at your worst, and this, Parker, is
beyond that. Don't lie to me."
She studied him for a
moment, not quite sure of what to say. She knew that she couldn't keep this a
secret for much longer - not without some help. And considering her options,
Syd was looking like the best. Reluctantly, she pulled off her jacket,
revealing her arm. Sydney's skin color quickly neared her own paleness.
"This, Syd, is my big
secret."
"Parker..." He
shook his head in disbelief, unable to move his eyes from the sight.
She gave a small, weak, sad
laugh. "You don't even realize what it is, do you?" He shook his head
again. "I'll give you a hint. Stage one: large, swollen, painful area
around point of injection, and slight nausea. Stage two: heightened nausea,
uncontrolled shaking and severe headaches and dizziness. Stage three: extreme,
radiating pain, weakening eyesight and equilibrium."
"LS49," he
murmured in realization and shock. "You've been injected with LS49."
He struggled to keep his footing. "But how?"
"That freak last
night," she replied, ignoring the fact that there were three Sydneys in
front of her now. "Last night, before Jarod reached us, he jabbed me with
a syringe full of the stuff...His father was hired as an assassin for the
C-Centre. He must've snuck a vial or two from the weapons vault while picking
his gun out, and somehow his son eventually got hold of it."
"Last night. But that
would mean you only have..." He trailed off, realizing the minutes ticking
away.
She wanted to reassure him.
"Syd, I'm...I'm fi--" Without another word, she collapsed on the bed,
unconscious.
~~~~~~~~~
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 4
"Broots!" Sydney
hissed, leaning into the doorway and peering around inside. "Broots, where
the bloody hell are you?"
The nervous man in question
appeared from the kitchen. "Yeah?" he squeaked.
"Get over here, I need
your help." He obliged, hurrying over the door and looking around
expectantly. "What?"
"Not here, you
idiot," Sydney growled. "Downstairs. Come on." Broots followed
him meekly into the elevator, trying to figure out just what was up with Syd.
He was about as chipper as Parker in the morning before her coffee.
He noticed that they stopped
at Parker's level, and gave Syd a curious look as he followed him inside the
penthouse.
"Wait here," he
ordered. Broots nodded, and stopped at the door. As Sydney walked inside, he
caught a glance of the place--it was pitch black. After a moment, he picked out
the barely audible sound of moaning coming from another room. It almost sounded
like--
"Broots!" Sydney
reprimanded him sharply, though he wasn't entirely sure why. "Get your ass
back in the elevator." He tossed him a white pillow and comforter.
"And take these with you."
"But--"
"Don't talk, just wait
for me there," he ordered. The steely look to his eyes was making Broots
nervous.
"O-okay." A moment
later Sydney reappeared, pushing a fold-away metal cot along with him.
"Basement level,"
he barked. Broots nodded, and pressed the appropriate button. The trip down was
made in complete silence. As the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, Syd
impatiently grabbed hold of the cot and pushed past, dragging it behind him.
Broots followed a little uncertainly down the long hallway, and into the last
apartment on the left.
Flipping a light on, Sydney
stopped in the middle of the bedroom, as bare as the rest of the rooms.
Unfolding the bed, he brought Broots over with a sharp nod. After all of his
rough, hurried movements, Broots was surprised to see the care Sydney took in
making the bed, fluffing the pillow, airing the comforter, as if trying to
maximize the comfort.
"Back upstairs,"
Syd ordered, and they retreated to the elevator. Soon, they were again at
Parker's doorstep. Giving him an expectant look, Syd walked right in.
"I'll need your help. Wait here."
So Broots stood uncertainly
in the elevator, keeping the doors from sliding shut, and looking with question
inside. Soon Sydney reappeared, and all he could do was gape, as Syd continued
toward him, with slow, cautious steps, avoiding jostling the unconscious woman
he carried in his arms. And again he pressed the button for the basement level,
and couldn't help but continue to stare. He'd never personally seen Parker -or
any human being, for that matter- in such a horrible state.
~~~~~~~~~
With the greatest gentility,
Sydney laid his precious bundle on the cot, and after seeing that there was
nothing else to do at the moment, he walked silently back into the empty living
room, where Broots was pacing rather speedily. At his appearance, though, the
smaller man stopped abruptly, and faced him. "Mind t-telling me just
w-what the hell's g-going on?"
"You may want to sit down
for this," Sydney suggested as gently as his wavering energy would allow.
"Where?!" He waved
his hands around sarcastically. "There's not a single damn chair in this
place!"
"Keep your voice
down," Syd hissed.
Broots lowered his voice,
but it was still as angry and scared. "Whatever's wrong with her, she
should be back up in her place, where it's comfortable and closer to us. Hell,
more than that, she deserves it. For that matter, she shouldn't even be in this
building. Mind telling me why you haven't at least called an ambulance?"
"We can't call an
ambulance because if Parker's in the hospital, the Centre's bound to find out.
There's nothing they can do for her anyhow."
"What?"
"The hospital won't
even recognize the foreign agent in her body."
"Centre-made?"
"Yes."
"So we take her to the
Centre, have them take care of it."
"That's not a
possibility. Even by train, we don't have enough time to get there, and it
wouldn't matter--the Centre has no cure either."
"So we fly her."
Syd gave a frustrated sigh,
more towards the situation than his colleague. "You don't
understand."
"Then explain it."
Rubbing his forehead and
giving a concerned glance into the bedroom through the open door, where Parker
-though still asleep- had begun to moan even louder, Sydney began. "When
Jarod was 12, the Centre had him create a biological weapon that worked on an
individual basis. The goal was not death, but symptoms so horrible that death
was desired."
"For
interrogations," Broots murmured.
"Precisely. Problem
was, there wasn't a cure. He'd made such a perfect chemical, there was no way
to remove it from the body. No matter how hard they pressed, Jarod insisted
that there was no cure. Finally they accepted it, but rather reluctantly. Even
the Centre clientele specializing in terrorism is hesitant to use something
that hasn't a solution. Anyhow, fast forward to the ball—the man that went
after Parker injected her with it."
"How'd he get hold of
it?"
"That's another story
for another time."
Broots nodded then gave a
look into the bedroom. "This is probably the wrong thing to say, but it
doesn't seem too bad so far, considering what you've told me. I mean, it
doesn't seem to be a very successful device for torture."
Sydney shook his head, then
led Broots out of the apartment. The last thing he wanted was to wake up
Parker. After closing the door securely behind him, Syd led Broots to the
elevator.
"Where are we
going?"
"We have to talk to
Jarod."
"Oh." The doors
slid shut, and they began their way up to the top floor.
After a moment of thought,
Sydney looked over at Broots. "About what you said--considering you're
involved now, I suppose I should explain the rest."
"You mean, like why she
can't fly?"
He nodded. "LS49 is
rather ingenious, really. Jarod created as brutal a drug as the Centre
demanded. It attacks the very nerves of the body, spreading through the blood
stream. Swelling and such occurs as a reaction. The problem with flying is that
it includes a changed in altitude; during testing, the Centre found that any
change in elevation resulted in an even worse experience for the victim, mostly
because of the stress it caused in blood vessels surrounding the brain. As far
progressed as Parker is, even bringing her down to this bottom floor may have
caused a small bit off relief. Flying would probably send her into shock, if
not kill her immediately."
"And how far, exactly,
has she progressed?"
"She's entered stage
three."
Broots managed a weak nod of
understanding. "There are only three stages, aren't there."
"Why do you say
that?"
"Because I know Parker,
too, though probably not as well as you, and she wouldn't admit to even
something like this unless it'd gotten really bad."
Sydney looked him straight
in the eye, determined to give it to him straight. "There are four stages,
actually."
"That's good, then,
right?"
"No--the fourth stage
is death, Broots." That last word seemed to somehow echo throughout the
elevator, and he seemed to finally absorb just how serious this was.
"How bad is it gonna
get?" Sydney looked away uncomfortably. "Damn it, Syd, I care about
her too. Now tell me, how bad?"
Staring with a sense of doom
at his reflection on the metal doors, Syd replied in a low voice, "Imagine
torture unbearable enough to make a Parker scream in pain."
Broots was speechless.
~~~~~~~~~
Up in the top penthouse,
Sydney and Broots sat down with Jarod and Julia at the kitchen table.
"So, what did you want
to talk about?" Julia smiled.
"And where's Parker?
Was she okay when you checked up on her?" Jarod asked, showing a bit more
concern than he meant.
Syd gave them both a
hesitant look. "Yeah, good as can be expected, but listen, what we came to
talk about is your earlier offer. We've been discussing, and decided that -if
the offer's still open- we'd love to stay for awhile. We could all use a
vacation." Broots shot him a shocked look--why wasn't he telling them?!
"And Parker
agreed?" Jarod asked doubtfully.
"She didn't argue. So
is it all right?"
"Of course!" Julia
laughed.
"We'll be more than
happy to have you. How long do you have?"
"I wish I knew."
~~~~~~~~~
Down in a corner apartment
of the basement, unbeknownst to anyone in the penthouse, Parker -now awake-
released the screams she could no longer hold in, pained cries that echoed
through all the empty rooms.
~~~~~~~~~
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 5
The day continued on, Jarod
still in the dark. He did feel concern as the hours wore on and Parker didn't appear,
not even to chew out Broots, but was calmed by Syd, who casually mentioned over
dinner that Parker had moved into a lower level apartment, so that she could
have some privacy. Even then, as he shook his head at a woman who insisted on
working even when on vacation, there was something that just didn't feel right
to him. And the fact that Broots and Sydney were never both around at the same
time, almost as though they were leaving in shifts, kept bugging Jarod. Still,
he tried to shrug it off.
Everyone headed off to bed
around 11:30. Julia for one was glad to finally have Jarod to herself, but he
was distracted by how quickly Syd and Broots said their goodbyes, and hurried
off.
He lie in bed in a black
t-shirt and baggy pants, trying to put the pieces together in his head,
frowning, knowing there was something that he was missing. In the master
bathroom, Julia smoothed her silk nightgown, tailored to show every curve, and
walked slowly into the bedroom.
Jarod, oblivious to her
standing at the end of the bed, continued to stare at the ceiling and think.
She gave a small, slightly irritated cough, and he looked at her abruptly.
"Ready for bed?"
she smiled seductively.
He gave a small frown.
"You're kidding, right?"
Her face dropped.
"What?"
"You don't find it the
least bit weird, making love knowing full well that there are people asleep one
and two floors down?"
"They aren't going to
hear us," she pointed out, crawling into the bed next to him. He just
raised an eyebrow at her. Julia gave a small pout, but got under the covers.
"Fine, if you're not comfortable with it." She snuggled close, lying
her head next to his chest. He wrapped an arm around her, and closed his eyes.
" 'Night, Jewel,"
he murmured. "Sweet dreams."
"You too."
~~~~~~~~~
"I know I've already
said this about a dozen times today," Broots said, "but thank god
this place is soundproofed." Sydney made no reply, and he glanced over at
the man. His brow was bunched up in concern, and his eyes were glued to the
bedroom door, now shut. Obviously there was only one person and one topic that
would get Syd to talk tonight, and despite how touchy a subject it was, Broots
was desperate to get him out of his reverie. It couldn't be healthy. "So,
why haven't we told Jarod about her?"
Sydney finally looked at
him. "Up in the penthouse, Parker regained consciousness for only a few
seconds. She clearly didn't have much strength, but she used what energy she
had left to give me one definite order: I was not to inform Jarod."
Broots nodded. Right now,
there wasn't a thing in the world that Sydney wouldn't do for her.
Just then, the weak cries
from the bedroom slowly died down, replaced by a constant moan. In a flash,
Sydney was on his feet and in the room. Parker was awake.
She was shivering violently,
despite the three comforters covering her, and she was sweating profusely.
Broots felt a bit lightheaded, as he did every time he caught another glimpse
of her. She looked far beyond death at this point.
Despite her obviously ill state,
Parker's blue eyes were as clear and sharp as ever. Catching sight of the two
men entering, she signaled for them to come closer.
As Sydney sat in the folding
chair next to the cot, she turned her head -a painful movement- to face him and
said in a low and hoarse, yet somehow strong, whisper, "Promise
me..."
"Anything," he
replied immediately.
"I'm getting weaker by
the...the moment," she managed. "I don't th-think I have even as long
as I first thought..."
"What are you
saying?"
"I wanna do this
alone."
Sydney sprang up from his
chair. "No," he replied sharply. "Absolutely not."
"Syd, please. I'm
asking you...Try to understand, I have to."
"The hell you do.
Listen to me, you have nothing to prove, to yourself, to your father, to
anyone."
"You said
anything."
His eyes softened, and he
sat back down. "Please," he begged, "don't ask this of me."
"I'm sorry...I'm so
sorry. But this is the way it has to be."
"You're not going to
change your mind, are you?" he realized.
She smiled, and weak as it
was, it warmed Broots' heart. "Have I ever?"
Syd chuckled sadly.
"No, I suppose not." He brushed a hand across her warm forehead
lovingly. After a reluctant swallow, he nodded. "Very well. If that's what
you want..."
"It is."
Suddenly seeing that this
was really it, Broots stepped forward. "Miss Parker, I--"
"Don't, Broots. No
goodbyes." His eyes watered, but sticking his chin resolutely in the air,
he turned and walked out the door.
Watching his exit, Sydney
knew he couldn't be so strong. Looking back to Parker, and seeing her blue eyes
shining up at him, everything in him shouted to stay. Instead, he knelt over,
and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then stood and walked to the door. He
paused, then -looking down at the doorknob in his hand- said, "Watching
you grow up has been one of the few honors in my life. I'm proud of you."
And he was gone.
The door clicked shut.
"Thank you."
~~~~~~~~
When they were young, Miss
Parker once caught a cold. It was a nasty virus, keeping her ill for more than
two weeks. It remained burnt in Jarod's mind, not just because of the
disastrous midnight attempt in the employee lounge to make her soup, but
because it was the only time he'd seen her during the day in the comfortable
clothes of a normal child, not the stiff and proper uniforms and skirts her
father insisted on. Considering that she was in his thoughts, it wasn't unusual
that Jarod should dream of that memory. What was unusual was how it morphed in
his mind.
The memories of that time
came and went. Then, suddenly, Jarod found himself grown, and walking through
the darkened Centre infirmary. Only one light was on, at the end of the room, a
warm glow that pulled him towards it.
There, pale-faced and
motionless, lie Miss Parker, still young, still ill. Jarod looked around in
confusion at all of the machines she was hooked up to. It didn't make any
sense--you didn't need these things for something as simple as a cold.
Her eyes shot open, almost
as if she hadn't been asleep at all, and she grasped Jarod's hand with her own
small cold one. He looked at her in shock.
"Help me."
Jarod shot up in his bed and
looked blindly around the room, his heart pounding and his mind racing. It took
only a split second for him to jump out of bed, and run out.
He had absolutely no idea
how, but right then Jarod was absolutely certain of one thing. She was sick.
Those three words kept spinning around and around in his mind. In the elevator,
it was that same instinct that told him to keep going, past the floor Syd and
Broots had told him Miss Parker was on, right on to the basement level.
Slowly, too slowly, the
elevator doors slid open, and immediately he was greeted with the worst sound
he could possibly imagine: Miss Parker's agonized screams, strong enough to
pierce the walls' soundproofing and echo throughout the hallway. He didn't wait
for the doors, but urgently squeezed past, and ran as fast as his body could be
pushed.
His own shouts, which he
wasn't even aware of, began, mixing with her cries, as he called out to her.
"Parker! Parker!"
And the echoing screams continued.
~~~~~~~~~
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 6
The Centre test results had
never mentioned anything about hallucinations. The convulsions, the spasms of
pain and the horrible chills, were things Parker was prepared for. But in a
way, the delusions she was beginning to experience were worse than the pain. At
first it was only misty shadows appearing momentarily in the corners of the room,
and urgent whispers barely audible to her. Soon, however, solid forms began to
appear, nearer and nearer to her. Her mother, Tommy, even Faith, all just out
of reach, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.
Daddy was the only one to
come right up to her. His face was stern, and he was shaking his head. Slowly,
words began to form. "Disappointment...a failure...Don't be this weak,
you're a Parker...Not my angel anymore...not my daughter..."
Along with her screams,
choked sobs of misery began to form, as Parker realized that her last hour of
life would be spent facing her ghosts.
~~~~~~~~~
Broots and Sydney were so
fixated on the bedroom door, they nearly had strokes when the apartment door
banged open and Jarod appeared before them.
He barely saw them, and
certainly didn't say anything, just made a beeline for the bedroom. It took
both men to keep him back.
"What the hell are you
doing?!" he demanded. "Let me go! I have to get to her!"
"Quiet!" Sydney
ordered in a loud voice.
Jarod looked at him searchingly,
his heart still pounding, and continued to struggle against their grasp.
"I know something's wrong--listen to her! You have to let me help!"
"No."
"But--"
"I said no!" Syd
barked. "You cannot go in there."
There was a finality to his
determination that made Jarod stop. He looked searchingly back and forth at the
two. "What's happened?"
"We'll talk about this
outside," was all Sydney would say, trying to steer him to the door.
"I'm not leaving
her," Jarod said in disbelief.
"It's not your
choice." Still clutching him tightly, all three walked out into the
hallway. The screams and sobs continued.
Pacing back and forth, Jarod
couldn't tear his eyes from the door. This couldn't be happening. She'd been
fine earlier, hadn't she? Maybe a little upset, but...
"We don't have time for
all the details," said Sydney, "so here's the basics. At the
ball--" Jarod froze. "--Parker was injected with LS49." And the
world spun. Only Broots, who still held his arm, kept him from falling to the
ground. LS49...
A thousand things to say,
but only one important enough to spend precious seconds asking now. "How
long?"
"You hear her
screams--she's already entered stage three."
"It shouldn't be
affecting her this quickly. LS49 takes 72 hours to..." He gulped.
"...to kill." His mind went to work, calculating explanations.
"For it to be this accelerated, Crawford must've pumped an entire syringe
full of the stuff into her." Sydney didn't reply, and he looked at him in
disbelief. "How can you leave her alone like that?"
"It's the way she wants
it." Jarod nodded. Of course it was--she was too damn stubborn to admit
needing anybody, even now. And of course Syd would do as she asked. It was her
dying wish.
They stood in the hall for a
few minutes, all silent. Broots continued to wince at every scream; he wasn't
getting used to the sound, and he didn't want to. As for Jarod, it was as if
everything had shut down. Over. Everything, all over. And he hadn't even
realized it. It wasn't possible...
Jarod's head shot up as his
mind, hard at work, finally came upon the solution. Both eyed him warily, not
sure how exactly he was handling this. "Okay..." he started slowly.
"Okay." He turned, and ran to the elevator.
"Where are you
going?"
"I have an idea."
The elevator doors slid open, and he rushed inside. Turning to face them, he
ordered, "Go in there. Keep her awake, do you hear me? Once she loses
consciousness, it's over."
"Jarod--"
"Keep her awake!"
The doors slid shut. Alone in the small space, he leaned against the wall for
support, his legs growing weak. "It's not over," he whispered
determinedly. "I won't let it be."
~~~~~~~~~
The nearest 24-hour
drugstore was 15 minutes from the building. Jarod made it there in nine. He
rushed inside, not even slowing as he grabbed the nearest shopping basket. The
bored looking clerk at the front register looked at the hasty man in mild
surprise, then returned his attention to his magazine.
Up and down the medicine
aisles, Jarod barely registered his actions as he grabbed several pills and
medications off the shelves, shoving them into the basket. Without wasting
another moment, he raced to the front, practically throwing the items onto the
checkout counter.
Walking to the register, the
clerk began scanning the items, quickly hurrying up as he saw the urgency in
Jarod's eyes. "C-comes to 76.81, p-please," he stuttered. Jarod
pulled a hundred from his pocket, impatiently tossed it on the counter and
grabbed the basket of items, and ran out, not willing to waste time waiting for
them to be bagged.
In his car, he threw the bag
into the passenger's side seat and started the engine. "Hang on, Parker.
Please, just hang on."
~~~~~~~~~
Sydney slowly opened the
bedroom door, Broots staying a few footsteps behind. The former took in the
sobbing writhing form on the cot, and muttered, "Jarod had better know
what the hell he's doing."
On the bed, Parker wasn't
aware of their presence at first. The ghosts had disappeared, but she could
still hear them everywhere, and despite her expectations, the pain had actually
managed to get worse. Slowly, she realized they were standing there, watching
her. "Make it stop...Please, Syd...I want it to be over."
"Shhh...I know, I
know," he soothed, sitting down beside her.
She'd been crying for a
while now, but new tears began to well up in her eyes. At this point, even her
voice was weak. "I'm scared."
"It's okay," he
assured her. "You're allowed to be frightened."
"I lied Syd..."
"Shhh...you don't have
to say anything."
She ignored him. "I
lied. I've spent my whole life alone...I don't wanna die that way too."
"You're not
alone," he said firmly. "We're right here."
Everything was beginning to
blur together. "I'm so tired, Syd..."
"No, Parker,
don't."
"I don't wanna fight it
anymore..." Her eyelids began to shut.
"No!" He gave her
as firm a shake as he dared. Her eyes flew open at the pain, but barely stayed
unclosed.
"Please, Syd," she
whimpered. "Let me sleep..."
"Damn it, I said no!
Stay with us, do you hear me? Nobody is dying today."
~~~~~~~~~
Julia sat in the kitchen,
holding a cup of cocoa to warm her hands, and looked out the window with a
sigh. Wherever Jarod was at this insane hour, she had no doubt one of those
three had something to do with it.
The door to the penthouse
swung open with an echoing bang, and Julia let out a small shriek of surprise.
A split second later Jarod appeared in the kitchen, clutching a shopping basket
in one hand.
She looked at him
quizzically. "Where have you--"
"Where's your nurse's
bag?" he demanded, looking around the kitchen wildly.
"What?"
"Your nurse's
bag!"
Startled, she pointed to the
bedroom. "On top of the dresser, but--" He ran into the bedroom
without another word, and ran back past her a moment later, bag in hand. He
paused only long enough to grab a glass from the kitchen counter, then
continued on. Confused, she finally stood and followed him, but the elevator
doors had just slid shut as she reached them.
~~~~~~~~~
Sydney and Broots were both at
it now, taking turns shaking and shouting, trying desperately to keep her
awake. And Parker, exhausted and in pain beyond imagination, continued to cry
and beg weakly for them to let her sleep.
Both men looked to the door
in relief as they heard the pounding footsteps. The door flew open and Jarod
appeared. "Is she awake?"
Broots nodded.
"Barely."
Parker heard the voice, and
saw the dim figure. "What's he doing here? Syd, you promised..."
Ignoring the sting he felt
at realizing that she'd specifically asked for him not to know, Jarod went to
work, dumping his purchases on the floor. Combing through the items, he
impatiently ripped apart the cardboard boxes and plastic seals. Broots and
Sydney watched silently, completely perplexed, as Jarod broke open several
different tablets, pouring the powder they held into the cup. Undoing the top
of the bottle of water he'd gotten, he carefully poured a small amount into the
cup, his calculation of the amount practically visible in his eyes. Pulling a
few things from the bag, he first chose a small vial, breaking the seal and
pouring its contents in as well. Finally, after mixing everything together with
a Q-tip, he grabbed the final necessity: a syringe. Tearing off the protective
plastic wrap, he plunged the tip in, and drew up a large quantity of the
concoction.
Standing, he walked over to
Parker, and placed a comforting hand over her own moist one. Then, keeping his
eyes half-focused on her, he held up the syringe.
"What are you
doing?" she whispered.
He didn't answer, only said,
"Everything's going to be fine. I'll make it okay--I promise." Still
staring into her blue eyes, now a glazed over, with his own brown ones, he
pushed the needle into her skin, and injected the mixture. A few long seconds
passed, before Parker suddenly relaxed, her eyes drooping shut and her muscles
untensing.
"What did you--"
Jarod cut him off with the wave of a hand, then gently placed two fingers to
her neck.
He waited a moment, then
smiled, relieved. "There's a pulse."
Broots looked at him
suspiciously. "Why wouldn't there be?"
Even replying, he didn't
take his eyes off Parker. "There wasn't time to measure everything
exactly. I just had to hope that the amounts listed on the boxes were right.
Too little, she'd still be awake. But too much, and..."
"What are you talking
about?" Sydney demanded.
Reluctantly, Jarod moved
away from Parker, and turned to face the other two. "I remembered, when
I'd been doing the work for LS49 at the Centre, coming across a certain formula.
It wasn't a cure, but the drug put the patient into a sort of comatose state.
The body all but shuts down--"
"What?"
"--allowing for
lifespan up to a week longer."
"You mean to tell us
you purposely put Miss Parker into a coma?!" Angry, it took everything
Sydney had not to lunge at the pretender. "Why do it? Why prolong the
inevitable?"
"I just bought us a
week!" Jarod snapped.
"You worked on this
project for nearly a year, and you didn't find a cure then."
"Then, Miss Parker's
life wasn't the one on the line."
Syd grew quiet. "So
what do we do now?" asked Broots.
"Her body will begin to
react to the induced state in about three or four days. Then, we'll have to
start injecting her more and more often to keep the coma going. That's pretty
much our cut-off point. The LS49 will overtake her body between five and seven
days from now. To wake her up and be able to insure there's no brain damage, we
can't risk more than two more injections. All in all, I'd say we have five
days, max." Broots gulped, nodded.
The apartment door opened.
All three men froze momentarily, then turned as Julia appeared in the
still-open bedroom door. She paled as she took in the sight before her, her
eyes scanning the entire picture, lingering momentarily on Parker, then again
on the mess on the floor.
"W-what's going
on?" She looked to him for an explanation. "Jarod?"
He walked up to her.
"I'll explain, but on the way."
"On the way
where?"
"There's an errand we
need to run."
~~~~~~~~~
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing 7/8
The only sound in the room
was the continuous, comforting beep of the heart monitor, and the occasional
clicking of computer keys. She lay on the cot, still as death; Jarod shuddered
at the analogy, then forced his attention back to his work.
Julia's job had been useful
in gaining everything they needed. If they'd been caught while sneaking items
out a side exit of the local hospital, she could've just flashed her nurse's ID
and concocted some story. Luckily, they hadn't been found out, and managed to
return to the building, and back to Parker, in considerably good time, with the
monitor, an IV stand and the paddles. He couldn't help but shudder every time
he looked at them, position strategically near the bed, realizing that if her
heart should stop, that contraption was all that stood between her and death.
The IV drip was unimaginably
slow. To make sure her body used as little energy as possible, just enough
fluid was entered into her blood stream to keep her going, allowing no use of
the digestive system. In her coma, the chills had stopped as the fever
worsened; while the others waited outside, Julia had stripped down the
unconscious Parker, and she now lie covered only by a thin white sheet, her face
and neck hot to the touch.
The very moment preparations
were completed Jarod went to work. In a corner of the bedroom he'd set up a
makeshift workstation, consisting of his laptop, a printer, a pile of
print-outs and three pens, black, blue and red. What he'd failed to do in all
his time at the Centre, Jarod was determined to succeed at within the upcoming
few days: find a cure. He spoke to no one, no one spoke to him. Though he'd set
the station up in the bedroom to be near her, Jarod didn't go near the bed, too
guilt-ridden to face her, even in her present condition. And as for the others,
it was an unspoken understanding that the less time spent in that room, the
better. The work Jarod was doing was too far above their heads for them to be
of any help, and the sight of Parker was not an easy one to handle.
~~~~~~~~~
Julia paused just inside the
apartment doorway, hesitating as she heard the laptop keys continue to click
away, then walked into the room with determined steps.
The sudden change in atmosphere
nearly took her breath away. The rush, the pain, every emotion connected to the
events were hanging thick in the air. In the middle of the room was Parker,
still as ever. And, to one side, Jarod, hunched over the desk, completely
unaware of her presence. Julia frowned, remembering a time when just the sound
of her footsteps made him turn around, and offer that grin she adored so much.
Then, guiltily, she took another look at the woman in the middle of the room.
She waited another moment, but he still didn't move; with a small sigh, she
placed the tray of food she held on the floor near the door and walked back
out.
~~~~~~~~~
Sydney walked into the top
penthouse's kitchen, bleary-eyed and exhausted but incapable of sleep. He and
Broots had moved up into this apartment soon after Parker had been attended to.
There was a sort of quiet comfort that came with being close to others with the
same knowledge of the situation as you.
At the sink stood Julia,
hand-washing dishes despite the dishwasher not but five feet from her. Syd
could've sworn that he'd seen her washing those same dishes just a few hours
earlier.
"Trouble
sleeping?" he asked kindly.
She looked up. "Oh,
Sydney, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"
"To have woken me, I
would've had to be asleep."
"Good point," she
smiled.
"I would like to point
out, however, that as it is 3:40 in the morning, we should at least be
attempting to rest. I'm sure spotless glasses can wait until the morning to be
re-washed."
"So you've caught on,
huh?" She frowned down at the soapy water. "I just had to find
something to do. I've cleaned this entire place twice over. I'm running out of
ideas."
"Perhaps you should try
putting all that energy into studying what it is that's upsetting you," he
suggested.
"Nothing's upsetting
me. I'm fine." Her eyes didn't move from the water.
"I've heard that too
often to believe it. I don't suppose it could have anything to do with the
current situation?"
"Oh, no," she said
lightly. "In a matter of days, I've been chased by a madman, met the
would-be enemies of my boyfriend, and found a poisoned woman unconscious just
floors beneath me. And, at this very moment, the previously-mentioned boyfriend
is hard at work, as he has been for the last two days, relentlessly looking for
a cure that seems more surreal than the poison itself, while a woman I barely
know lies dying. Why, there's nothing at all odd about any of that, so why
would I be upset?"
"I will admit, that to
a beginner it must seem odd, the experiences we have."
"Beginner, right...But
at the start of what? You know, this isn't exactly where I pictured myself
being when I first met Jarod."
"His life is certainly
a constant surprise."
"You know, I used to
like surprises. Breakfast in bed, a bouquet of flowers in my car. Personally, I
prefer Jarod's old ones."
"You seem doubtful of
something."
"Not doubtful,"
she said slowly. "Enlightened." He nodded and headed out of the
kitchen, but she stopped him as she remarked suddenly, "You've seen it
too, haven't you?"
"Sorry?"
"Him. Parker. You're no
more blind than I am."
"You're tired," he
replied kindly, continuing to walk off. "Get some rest." She watched
him leave, then tossed her dish towel into the sink with an uncertain huff.
~~~~~~~~~
Sydney peered into Broots'
room, and found the man sitting cross-legged on his bed, just giving his own
laptop the command to shut down.
"Talk to Lyle?"
Broots looked up.
"Yeah." He held up a small metal box. "Thank goodness for this
voice simulator Jarod gave me. All I had to do was hook it up to the computer,
ring him up, and let the simulator do the work."
"Did he believe
it?"
"Well, he was a little
bit surprised, to say the least. Parker has taken a rather large amount of
vacation time in the last year, but I threw in enough of her classic smart-ass
responses to be believable. He's not expecting us back for another week."
"Good. One way or
another, we'll have a resolution by then."
Julia hurried past the
slightly-ajar door just then, muttering angrily to herself. Broots looked to
Syd with raised eyebrows. "What's going on?"
Sydney sighed and shook his
head. "It seems happily ever after has hit a rough spot."
~~~~~~~~~
He was at the desk still. He
hadn't left it since her last visit yesterday evening. Jarod was pouring over
pages of computed test results, making marks here and there in red ink. For a
moment, Julia just stood in the bedroom doorway, watching him. He hadn't heard
her. Once again, he was oblivious to her presence.
She continued to stare, and
the words slipped past her lips, in a low whisper, before she was even aware of
them. "I miss you."
Jarod's muscles tightened
momentarily, the only sign that he was now aware of her. He continued to work
with the papers in front of him as he absently replied, "What are you
talking about? I haven't gone anywhere."
"Yes, you have."
Silence. He didn't reply, he was already engrossed again in his work. She could
leave now, and he probably wouldn't even remember that she'd been there.
However, not willing to let it go, she determinedly added, "Jarod."
He reluctantly put down his
pen and turned to face her, realizing that she obviously had something to say.
"Talk to me."
She was somewhat surprised
to actually have his attention, and it was a moment before she replied,
"Where do you see us five years from now?"
He gave a sigh, something
like a hidden growl of irritation. This was hardly the time for a relationship
discussion. "Can this wait?"
"No, I don't think it
can." He looked at her with blank eyes. God, she thought, he really
doesn't know. "What are you doing, Jarod? Huh? What are you doing? You
don't sleep, you barely eat. You haven't left this room in three days, and I
haven't even spoken to you in who knows how long."
"What? You want me to
just stand by, let her go without a fight?" he demanded sharply. "Go
on playing house with you while an innocent woman slips away?"
"Of course not,"
she snapped. "I'm not that heartless."
"Then what?"
"Then...nothing, I
suppose," she admitted, with a look of self-realization. "I guess I
was giving it one last shot. Just one thread of hope, you know?" His
eyebrows bunched in confusion. "I was looking for a reason to stay."
That caught his attention.
"What?"
Her eyes were beginning to
water, and as angry as she was at herself for it, Julia had known she wouldn't
be able to get through this without crying. "When we first met, it was
incredible. It was as if we had that perfect bond. Then you started to tell me
the truth, about yourself, about your past...Now, I've been shot at, hunted by
a lunatic, and befriended by people from a horrible place like the Centre.
Every day I stay with you, I'm that much deeper into your life, and considering
recent events, that's not necessarily a good thing."
"I don't want to lose
you."
"I know," she
murmured, then visibly shaking herself, she straightened up and tried
-unsuccessfully- to hold back the overfllowing tears. "And that's why I'm
doing this. One of us has to be the strong one, and you're not in the position
to be that person."
"I don't
understand."
"You can't be the one
to deal with this," she explained slowly, "because you've yet to know
the facts. You don't even realize it."
"Realize what?" he
asked, beginning to feel a slight panic as he realized that she was really
leaving. "What are you talking about?"
"That bond I
mentioned...it's so rare. Most people don't even have a shot at it, but you...I
had suspicions long before any of this. You would say her name, and this smile
would appear that I never saw any other time. And I ignored it, only saw what I
wanted to, because I was so sure I could make things change..."
"Julia..." He
couldn't think of anything to say. He was still lost as to her point; for that
matter, he didn't have a damn clue who she was even talking about.
"When you and I are
alone, it's amazing. But you two...When she's near you, it's as if there's no
one else in the world. God, Jarod, strangers at some stuffy society event see
what you don't. For that one moment, those few seconds, when you were speaking
to Parker at the ball, every pair of eyes in that room was drawn to the two of
you."
"Parker?" he
echoed in disbelief. "You think that Parker and I...?"
"No. You're too good a
person for that. I know you'd never go behind my back." She studied his
face for a moment. "You still don't see it, do you? I'm leaving
Jarod...I'm leaving because I know that I'd be a fool to try and come between
you, just as you'll be a fool if you let this chance go by...You'll save her,"
she added confidently. "I know you will. I have faith in you--so does
she."
"Don't do this. Don't
throw away what we have because of what you think is happening."
"Despite everything you
two have said and done to each other over the years, you've made it this far.
Think about it. What we have...it's nothing, compared to the two of you."
She turned, walked out of the bedroom, stopped after opening the apartment
door. Jarod had moved to the bedroom doorway, and much as he wanted to keep
going, his feet didn't seem willing to move. She turned, and said, in a low
earnest whisper, "There is a connection, Jarod. Whether or not you see it
now, whether you admit it, it's there."
And she was gone, the door
clicking shut behind her. He barely heard a soft voice murmur, "Goodbye,"
then nothing. And no matter what, his feet remained frozen. A full ten minutes
he stood, observing the closed door with something between disbelief, sadness
and anger. Then, resolutely, he turned back into the bedroom, and resumed his
work, pushing aside any thoughts of a woman named Julia aside, and
concentrating his entire mind on the formula results before him.
~~~~~~~~~
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing
8/8
The two men sat in Broots'
bedroom, on chairs scooted next to the cracked door, listening to the sounds
down the hall, giving each other uncertain looks, then listening again. Though
he may not know what exactly had caused her to run up here a few hours earlier,
Sydney had been on enough hurried chases of Jarod through plenty of towns to
recognize the noises of luggage being packed. It was going on longer than he
was accustomed with, however, suggesting that she was taking quite a bit with
her.
Finally, Syd stood up with
reluctance and opened the door. "You think that's a good idea?"
Broots asked nervously.
"One of us has to find
out what's going on," Syd pointed out. "Would you prefer to go?"
Broots didn't answer.
Walking down the hall, he
gently rapped on the bedroom door, then walked in. Julia, red-eyed and
sniffling, was placing her belongings into bags. She looked over at him and
gave a weak smile. "Oh, hello Syd."
"Leaving us?"
She nodded, then resumed
packing. "Yeah..."
"Am I right in assuming
that you won't be coming back?"
She stopped, as if she
wasn't sure, then shook her head and began to zip up the luggage. "It's
over."
"I'm sorry to hear
that."
"Me too. Oh, well.
C'est la vie, ya know?" She nodded towards the window. "See if my
cab's here, won't you?"
He glanced outside, and
spotted a yellow taxi pulling up. "Just. Want me to give you a hand with
those bags?"
"Please," she
smiled. "To the elevator. The driver can take care of them from
there."
They both took hold of
luggage, and headed out of the penthouse, Broots finally catching on and
tagging along with one of the smaller pieces. At the elevator, she gave a nod
of thanks and pressed a button for the main level. "It was a pleasure
meeting you. Unique...but nice." The doors closed. Sydney and Broots gave
each other a look.
"Never an uneventful
moment around here, is there, Broots?"
~~~~~~~~~
For about the tenth time,
the formulas in front of his eyes began to blur. Jarod shook his head, then
continued to study them as the printer created another small pile to be
checked. He finished the set, then crossed it all out in red with an angry
growl. Not even close. None of the numbers or sequences came near to what
Parker's body needed. Tossing the pen onto the desk, he took a moment to
massage his throbbing temples, then resolutely pulled out the newest pile.
"Why don't you let me
do that?"
He didn't bother to look up.
"No."
"Jarod, I really think
you should take a break. You've just gone through a very emotionally trying
experience."
"What are you talking
about?"
"I'm talking about the
fact that your girlfriend has just left you."
"It was her own
decision to leave."
"That doesn't mean she
wanted to do it. I don't care what she said down here, I saw the look in her
eyes. You could probably beat her taxi to the airport. If you asked her to,
she'd stay."
"Great, an ultimatum. I
go after the girl I care for, but quite possibly lose another. It's not fair--I
was just starting to get back a lost friend, only to have her taken away again.
Parker's life is hanging in the balance. If Julia is what I have to sacrifice
to keep her going, then there's no choice. Every moment is too precious."
"I know you'd do
anything."
"I am not giving her up
without a fight," Jarod said matter-of-factly. "I don't care what it
takes, I refuse to let her go."
"Fine, so you're
willing to lose Julia, but that still leaves you with three days of no sleep.
That's not healthy."
"I'm not tired."
"Then eat something.
The last thing you had was a few sips of coffee this morning. God only knows
when you ate."
"Half an apple,
yesterday morning," he replied automatically.
"You need to
stop." Jarod didn't even bother wasting time to reply to that. "The
formulation and creation is your specialty, but I do know what to look for in
the results."
"All it takes is one
little mistake. You miss it once, we'll never have the chance to check it
again."
"I'd say there's more
chance of you missing something right now, given your current condition. You're
running on pure adrenaline."
"I said no."
"You're of no help to
her if you end up unconscious from exhaustion and hunger." Jarod looked up
hesitantly. "You know I'm right."
He stood, but didn't move
away from the desk. "One hour," he allowed.
"Agreed." Sydney
walked over and collected the new sheets of data. Jarod's eyes wandered towards
the cot. Sydney cleared his throat. "I think I'm going to check these in
the living room. Better lighting." Jarod nodded, and he left, closing the
door behind him.
Jarod took the chair from
the desk and moved it over next to Parker's bedside. He sat, looked for a
moment at her uncertainly, then took hold of her too-warm hand. He began to
concentrate on her wrist, not stuck with an IV tube with the other, but
untouched. There were only a few scratches, from the hedge maze, he realized.
Jarod was holding it gently, as if he was afraid he would break it, and tracing
her fingers softly with his own, when he finally allowed his eyes to move to
her face. She was flushed, and so still. He brushed a hand over her forehead.
Her hair was still slightly wavy from the ball. Eyelids and thick lashes hid
her eyes, and it wasn't until he really saw that he couldn't look into those
blue oceans for comfort, that it came to him just how much he missed it.
The heart monitor continued
to beep, echoing in the otherwise silent room. He moved the hand back to hers,
cupped it with both, and continued to study her face. His eyes began to wander
lower, unsure why. Then he saw it.
There, resting in the nape
of her neck, was the blue angel charm he'd given her, held in place by the same
thin silver chain.
For the first time since
inducing her coma, Jarod felt the familiar lump rise in his throat. His body
began to shudder, until finally his sobs came, choked and painful. Resting his
head against her abdomen, not releasing her hand, Jarod began to cry.
"I will not let you
go," he managed in a rough voice, then continued to sob.
When Sydney returned to the
room exactly one hour later, he found Jarod in the same position. His eyes were
shut, and though unhappy murmurs escaped his voice every few minutes, his
breathing was even. Syd didn't wake him, but allowed the pretender the
much-needed rest.
Jarod would spend seven
hours sleeping with his head resting on Parker, clutching her hand with one of
his own, while the other was wrapped loosely around her stomach.
~~~~~~~~~
The fifth day. The doomsday
number everyone was thinking, but didn't say. Sydney sat at the desk, pouring
over the papers carefully, but with an urgency he'd never before experienced.
Broots stood at Parker's side, checking the equipment again and again, unable
to do anything else. They'd finally managed to pull Jarod away for a second
break. He'd numbly agreed to go into the living room for a while, but when
Broots went to check on him, he was gone.
Suddenly, Syd jumped up, the
chair knocked over, reading and re-reading the paper he held in disbelief.
Broots, concentrated on the monitor, jumped as well at the noise and gave a
shout of panic, then glared at Syd. "What the hell?!"
"This could be
it," Sydney said excitedly, not tearing his eyes from the paper. "My
god, this could actually be it."
"The cure?"
"I think so."
"Where's Jarod?"
Broots' grin faded.
"I-I don't know. He left."
He brooded for a moment,
then his eyes lit up. "Of course."
~~~~~~~~~
Massive dark clouds hung
heavily in the sky, and the distant rumble of thunder threatened rain. Jarod’s
hair was slightly rustled by the cool wind, but he was oblivious to the menacing
weather. He stared straight ahead, from his place on the roof, his vacant
expression reflective of his mood.
Sydney stood behind him, silently observing for a moment the man he'd
loved like a son for so long. Jarod wasn’t aware of his presence; indeed, Syd
doubted he was aware of much right now, beyond where he was. It didn’t take any
great sense to determine that Jarod would seek a place far from the conflicting
emotions, yet not too far from Parker's room.
"You never told her,
did you?" Sydney mused in a low voice. Jarod didn’t say a word, but his
blank eyes sharpened, as he began to look, despite the clouds, for a certain
star. They'd pinpointed it during one of their trips to Hastings Castle, and
named it Hope. What a sad, ironic joke that seemed now.
"This isn’t how she
would have wanted it. You know better than anyone else, how much she hated to
see people suffering." He paused, letting Jarod absorb his words.
"She always thought of you as a fighter, a protector of the innocent. She
never said anything, but there was certain pride that would reflect in her eyes
every time we caught up to where you'd again saved the day." Jarod’s eyes
slid shut. He wanted to run away from here, from Sydney's words, to a place
where Parker was fine and everything was as it should be. When he didn't say or
do anything, Syd could feel his blood begin to boil. Jarod was acting as though
he were the only one scared by this. Well, damn it, he'd watch Parker grow up;
she was the closest thing he had to a daughter. Worse than that, he knew that
even if Parker did get well, Jarod would continue to blame himself.
"I’ve had enough of
this," Sydney declared angrily. "She’s just barely balancing between
life and death, Jarod. It hurts like hell, I know. We all have the same fears.
Working for the Centre, you see a lot of horrible things, and it was a long
time before I learned to accept that some things happen, despite how terrible
they are, for a purpose--"
"What purpose?!"
Jarod demanded, his scream echoing in the suddenly still air as he spun to face
Syd. "What kind of logic, what sort of reason could there possibly be to
justify this? Parker will die, and there’s not one damn bit of good that can
come out of it!" Angry tears were shining in Jarod’s eyes; he turned back
to search for that star again, and as he stood with fists clenched and feet
spread, Syd had the impression that Jarod would've given anything for another
shot at Crawford. "She doesn't deserve this, Syd. No one does, but her
more than anyone. Yet she's the one down there, closer to death with every
minute, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it!"
"That may not be
true." Jarod stiffened, turned to look at him with hesitantly hopeful
eyes. Syd held up the paper in his hands. "One tiny sequence. I can't
figure it out, but you may be able to. A small piece of the formula missing,
that's all."
Jarod grabbed the sheet from
him, examining it urgently as he hurried to the building entrance. But just as
his hand reached for the handle, the door swung open, revealing Broots, winded
from the run up the flights and shaking violently. He looked at Jarod with wide
eyes.
"What? What is
it?"
"It's Parker.
Something's wrong." Jarod pushed past him, and he raced down the stairs,
followed close behind by the others.
~~~~~~~~~
The bedroom was no longer
filled with the sound of the heart monitor's continuous beep, offering comfort
of her still-beating heart. Instead, it was giving off odd high-pitched noises,
the line on the screen leaping sporadically. On the bed, Parker's body shook
with convulsions, then stopped.
"She's gone into heart
seizures!" Jarod shouted in his panic. He yanked over the cart holding the
electric paddles and flicked a switch; they began to hum as electricity
collected in them, then suddenly quieted. Fear clenching his heart, Jarod
urgently examined the equipment. "Damn it! It's broken!"
"What?!" the two
shouted in unison.
Not a moment to waste, Jarod
went to work on Parker, giving her CPR, counting compressions, then breathing into
her mouth. He repeated the process, then pressed two fingers against her neck.
"No pulse!" He began compressions again, as Broots and Sydney went to
work on the paddles, trying desperately to mend them.
Jarod checked again for a
pulse, and wanted to sob as her veins remained still. His hands shot back to
her chest, as he began to shout to her desperately, "Fight it! Do you hear
me, Parker! Fight, damn it!" A hand past over her open mouth quickly
before returning to her chest. No breath came. "God, breathe Parker,
please!"
The two men continued to
work on the equipment, shouting each other urgent instructions as they finally
located the problem, while Jarod's pleas rang in their ears. "Fight,
Parker! Fight!"