Title - Tears of Yesterday II
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG-13
Category - JMPR, MP/L
Spoilers: Pretender Season 4
Summary - An unexpected turn of events threatens Jarod and Miss Parker's newly discovered happiness.
Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
Chapter 1
Miss Parker stretches languorously on the bed, relieving her back from the joyous ache of a well rested night. A contented sigh next escapes her lips as she slowly opens her eyes. She looks around the room and smiles at her ruffled companion, still asleep on the couch. His hair has grown a little longer than he usually wears it, causing a tendril to fall stubbornly into his face. In his sleep, he keeps swatting at the rebellious lock of hair only for it to fall back in his face. He looks so peaceful in sleep. Like a child almost.
She gently eases from the bed and tips across the floor until she's just in front of him. She takes another moment to stare at him, remembering the beautiful words he uttered to her last night on the beach.
*My heart belongs to you - and only you - for always.*
He promised her he'd love her forever. And she believed him. She was able to utter the same words to him in return. And she meant them. More than she's meant anything in her life. She truly loved Jarod. And realized that she always had. She smiles once more at his sleeping form, eager to gaze into his gorgeous brown eyes.
"Jarod. Time to rise and shine," she whispers into his ear.
His eyes ease open and she watches in wonder as his face lights up in recognition of his location. And then flushes in embarrassment.
"I guess I fell asleep," he says shyly, pulling himself to an upright position, the blanket falling down around his waist. He takes the time to stretch his own stiff limbs, the muscles in his bare chest rippling with the exertion.
"You didn't have to stay on the couch," she tells him, using all her will power to keep her hands from stroking his chest. "The bed was plenty big enough for both of us."
"I didn't want to rush this," he says. "I know in my heart that this is right - us finally being together. But it's too soon. After Zoe and what's his name."
"Carson," she shudders in disgust. "The biggest mistake of my life. I can't believe he had the nerve to lay his hands on me. He's lucky I didn't have my gun."
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from him," Jarod sulks. He lowers his head in shame, unable to make eye contact with her.
"Jarod, we talked about this last week at the hospital. You are not to blame. Not for what Carson did to me or for what those sweepers did all those years ago." She takes both sides of his face into her hands and gently raises his head until she's looking into his eyes. "You have to get past it."
"I almost killed him," he whispers, resting his forehead against her. "All I could focus on was squeezing the life out of him. And I would have if you didn't stop me. When you grabbed my hands, you touched something deep inside me. I felt connected to you, almost like we were one person."
"I felt it too." She gives him a light kiss and strokes his cheek.
"It felt like my mind shattered. Between the pretend I had worked on before and seeing you walk out that bathroom with your bruised face, I just fell apart," he admits. "I guess being a genius doesn't exempt me from that kind of pain. I just shut down. I remember you holding me, but after that, I woke up in the hospital and you weren't there."
"Jarod, you scared me to death. You had a look in your eyes I'd never seen before. There was so much turmoil and anguish. You almost killed Carson and that almost killed your spirit. And you're right. You *did* just shut down. That's why they took you to the hospital," she explains.
"You made it better," he says, pulling her into his arms. "Just having you with me began to heal me. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there."
"Jarod if I wasn't there, none of that would have happened. I left you at that hospital because I realized that. Zoe was better for you. She'd take care of you. She'd never hurt you . . . . " Her words are cut off by his lips pressing against hers. For a few brief moments, they stay connected enjoying the sweet contact.
"Who's trying to take the blame now?" he chuckles. "Let's just say that we're even and leave it at that, okay?"
"But Jarod . . . "
"No buts," he interrupts again. "Zoe is a sweet and wonderful person. And I'm sorry I hurt her. But you're wrong, Parker. She may have been good for me, but you're better. She may have been able to take care of me, but not like you can. And even if she managed to do all that, there's no way I'd ever be able to love her like I love you."
"I like hearing that," she smiles, hugging him tightly.
"What? I love you?" He grins at her when she nods to the affirmative. "Well get used to hearing it. I love you, Parker. I love you . . . I love you . . . I love you." He punctuates each 'I love you' with a kiss to a different part of her face until he runs out of spots and ends up locked on her mouth.
"Mmmm," she moans her approval. "And I *love* doing that."
"Kissing me? Well, you should get used to that, too. I plan on doing that in every proper place I can think of." He winks at her before burying his face in her neck, nibbling along her collarbone.
"Ooh, just the proper places? What about the improper ones?" she giggles, enjoying the playful turn of the conversation.
"All in due time, my dear," he promises before reaching for the top button to her pajamas top. He's a bit surprised when her hand reaches on top of his, stilling his actions.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes when she notices the hurt and confused look in his eyes.
"No, I'm sorry. I wake up talking about how we should take this slow, and now here I am feeling you up like some hormonal teenager," he berates himself. He untangles himself from her arms and puts some distance between them.
"Jarod, it's not you," she promises, scooting back closer. "I want you as much as you want me. It's just that sometimes . . . Carson wasn't . . . very gentle," she mumbles. But Jarod hears any way and starts to get angry again.
"Parker, did he ever . . . "
"Rape me?" She sort of shakes her head and nods it at the same time. "I never said no to him or stopped him. But I never really said yes, either. I just let him do what he wanted. It was like high school all over again. He kept on pressuring me so much that I finally got fed up and just gave in about a month after we started dating. I remember that I cried when he left that first time and being glad he didn't stay the whole night. I guess after awhile, I just got used to letting him have sex with me. That's all it ever was."
"Did he always hurt you?" Jarod asks in a small voice and Miss Parker can see the guilt rising up in him again. She was suddenly sorry she even brought it up.
"Jarod, it's fine. Really. Forget I said anything," she insists. "I'm just a little cranky. I'm not really feeling all that well and . . ."
"What's wrong?" he asks, suddenly very concerned. "Have you had your follow up visit with the doctor since the incident last week?"
"I never went back," she admits quietly.
"Parker . . ."
"I know what you're going to say," she stops him. "But hanging around the hospital with you and Zoe wasn't at the top of my to do list last week. I was trying to forget about you and that whole awful day. And really, I wasn't hurt that badly. I didn't think it was necessary to go back."
"You had a head injury, Parker. They really shouldn't have released you without some observation," he scolds her.
"I got hit a couple of times, Jarod. I'd hardly call that a *head* injury."
"What are you symptoms? Headache? Blurred vision? Dizziness? Nausea?"
"Mostly the dizziness and nausea and a little bit of a headache." She watches the little worry line deepen in his forehead as he slips into doctor mode.
"Any kind of head trauma is potentially serious. You could have a concussion or something. Follow my finger," he orders her as he moves it back and forth in front of her face.
"That's not really helping me," she groans, barely able to hold back the wave of nausea that suddenly strikes. In a flash, she's up off the couch and into the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She feels Jarod's presence behind her and would almost prefer to leave her head buried in the toilet rather than face him. But the mess she made almost makes her gag again and she decides that facing Jarod was the lesser of two evils. She flushes the toilet and turns around and is surprised to see concern on his face instead of smugness.
"Here," he says, holding out a wet washcloth so that she can clean up a bit. Then he helps her stand so that she can rinse her mouth out in the sink. She gets her toothbrush and thoroughly brushes her teeth. When she's done, he leads her back into the bedroom and sits her down on the bed, kneeling in front of her.
"Now will you go back to the doctor?" he pleads with her.
"Alright," she relents. "But I'm sure he's going to tell me I'm fine."
"I hope you're right," he sighs. He goes to the drawer and pulls out something for her to wear. "Do you want me to take you?"
"I'm fine, Jarod," she insists. "I'll go to the hospital since you're not going to let this go, but I'm going alone."
"And what am I going to do in the mean time?" he pouts.
"Go back to your hotel and get packed. Daddy's expecting me back today, so I'll probably be leaving after I get back from the hospital. I can meet you at your hotel and we can leave for the airport together."
"Back to Blue Cove. Back to the real world." He slumps dejectedly onto the bed. "Back to you chasing me and me running. Just like before."
"Not *just* like before. When I chase you now," she starts, leaning over to give him a quick kiss. "I'll make it worth your while if you let me catch you from time to time," she promises seductively before capturing his lips once again.
He folds her into his arms and lays back, pulling her on top of him. His hands glide up her back and into her hair. He grasps the back of her head and brings her even closer to deepen the kiss. Before long, he reaches the point where his lungs are burning desperately for air and he releases her.
"Don't try to distract me, woman," he gasps, watching with rapt attention as she licks her swollen lips and lazily blinks her heavy eyes. "You're not getting out of going to the hospital and I have to go pack." Despite his words, he almost groans in disappointment as she peels her soft, warm body from his own. He stands up and steps into his shoes. "Meet you at my hotel?"
"Yeah," she smiles. "I'll see you later."
He flashes her a smile in return and blows her a kiss before walking out the room. His effect on her was dizzying and she has to sit, her wobbly knees too weak to support her any longer. It's been a long time since a man's made her feel like that. She reaches up and rubs her lips, still tingling from his kiss, and smiles what she knows is a big goofy grin. A long time indeed. She laughs at herself and goes to get dress. She still had to go to the doctor before she was able to meet up again with Jarod. Although, she already knew without a doubt what her diagnosis was - she had been bitten by the love bug.
To be continued . . .
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG-13
Category - JMPR, MP/L
Spoilers: Pretender Season 4
Summary - An unexpected turn of events threatens Jarod and Miss Parker's newly discovered happiness.
Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
Chapter 1
Miss Parker stretches languorously on the bed, relieving her back from the joyous ache of a well rested night. A contented sigh next escapes her lips as she slowly opens her eyes. She looks around the room and smiles at her ruffled companion, still asleep on the couch. His hair has grown a little longer than he usually wears it, causing a tendril to fall stubbornly into his face. In his sleep, he keeps swatting at the rebellious lock of hair only for it to fall back in his face. He looks so peaceful in sleep. Like a child almost.
She gently eases from the bed and tips across the floor until she's just in front of him. She takes another moment to stare at him, remembering the beautiful words he uttered to her last night on the beach.
*My heart belongs to you - and only you - for always.*
He promised her he'd love her forever. And she believed him. She was able to utter the same words to him in return. And she meant them. More than she's meant anything in her life. She truly loved Jarod. And realized that she always had. She smiles once more at his sleeping form, eager to gaze into his gorgeous brown eyes.
"Jarod. Time to rise and shine," she whispers into his ear.
His eyes ease open and she watches in wonder as his face lights up in recognition of his location. And then flushes in embarrassment.
"I guess I fell asleep," he says shyly, pulling himself to an upright position, the blanket falling down around his waist. He takes the time to stretch his own stiff limbs, the muscles in his bare chest rippling with the exertion.
"You didn't have to stay on the couch," she tells him, using all her will power to keep her hands from stroking his chest. "The bed was plenty big enough for both of us."
"I didn't want to rush this," he says. "I know in my heart that this is right - us finally being together. But it's too soon. After Zoe and what's his name."
"Carson," she shudders in disgust. "The biggest mistake of my life. I can't believe he had the nerve to lay his hands on me. He's lucky I didn't have my gun."
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from him," Jarod sulks. He lowers his head in shame, unable to make eye contact with her.
"Jarod, we talked about this last week at the hospital. You are not to blame. Not for what Carson did to me or for what those sweepers did all those years ago." She takes both sides of his face into her hands and gently raises his head until she's looking into his eyes. "You have to get past it."
"I almost killed him," he whispers, resting his forehead against her. "All I could focus on was squeezing the life out of him. And I would have if you didn't stop me. When you grabbed my hands, you touched something deep inside me. I felt connected to you, almost like we were one person."
"I felt it too." She gives him a light kiss and strokes his cheek.
"It felt like my mind shattered. Between the pretend I had worked on before and seeing you walk out that bathroom with your bruised face, I just fell apart," he admits. "I guess being a genius doesn't exempt me from that kind of pain. I just shut down. I remember you holding me, but after that, I woke up in the hospital and you weren't there."
"Jarod, you scared me to death. You had a look in your eyes I'd never seen before. There was so much turmoil and anguish. You almost killed Carson and that almost killed your spirit. And you're right. You *did* just shut down. That's why they took you to the hospital," she explains.
"You made it better," he says, pulling her into his arms. "Just having you with me began to heal me. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there."
"Jarod if I wasn't there, none of that would have happened. I left you at that hospital because I realized that. Zoe was better for you. She'd take care of you. She'd never hurt you . . . . " Her words are cut off by his lips pressing against hers. For a few brief moments, they stay connected enjoying the sweet contact.
"Who's trying to take the blame now?" he chuckles. "Let's just say that we're even and leave it at that, okay?"
"But Jarod . . . "
"No buts," he interrupts again. "Zoe is a sweet and wonderful person. And I'm sorry I hurt her. But you're wrong, Parker. She may have been good for me, but you're better. She may have been able to take care of me, but not like you can. And even if she managed to do all that, there's no way I'd ever be able to love her like I love you."
"I like hearing that," she smiles, hugging him tightly.
"What? I love you?" He grins at her when she nods to the affirmative. "Well get used to hearing it. I love you, Parker. I love you . . . I love you . . . I love you." He punctuates each 'I love you' with a kiss to a different part of her face until he runs out of spots and ends up locked on her mouth.
"Mmmm," she moans her approval. "And I *love* doing that."
"Kissing me? Well, you should get used to that, too. I plan on doing that in every proper place I can think of." He winks at her before burying his face in her neck, nibbling along her collarbone.
"Ooh, just the proper places? What about the improper ones?" she giggles, enjoying the playful turn of the conversation.
"All in due time, my dear," he promises before reaching for the top button to her pajamas top. He's a bit surprised when her hand reaches on top of his, stilling his actions.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes when she notices the hurt and confused look in his eyes.
"No, I'm sorry. I wake up talking about how we should take this slow, and now here I am feeling you up like some hormonal teenager," he berates himself. He untangles himself from her arms and puts some distance between them.
"Jarod, it's not you," she promises, scooting back closer. "I want you as much as you want me. It's just that sometimes . . . Carson wasn't . . . very gentle," she mumbles. But Jarod hears any way and starts to get angry again.
"Parker, did he ever . . . "
"Rape me?" She sort of shakes her head and nods it at the same time. "I never said no to him or stopped him. But I never really said yes, either. I just let him do what he wanted. It was like high school all over again. He kept on pressuring me so much that I finally got fed up and just gave in about a month after we started dating. I remember that I cried when he left that first time and being glad he didn't stay the whole night. I guess after awhile, I just got used to letting him have sex with me. That's all it ever was."
"Did he always hurt you?" Jarod asks in a small voice and Miss Parker can see the guilt rising up in him again. She was suddenly sorry she even brought it up.
"Jarod, it's fine. Really. Forget I said anything," she insists. "I'm just a little cranky. I'm not really feeling all that well and . . ."
"What's wrong?" he asks, suddenly very concerned. "Have you had your follow up visit with the doctor since the incident last week?"
"I never went back," she admits quietly.
"Parker . . ."
"I know what you're going to say," she stops him. "But hanging around the hospital with you and Zoe wasn't at the top of my to do list last week. I was trying to forget about you and that whole awful day. And really, I wasn't hurt that badly. I didn't think it was necessary to go back."
"You had a head injury, Parker. They really shouldn't have released you without some observation," he scolds her.
"I got hit a couple of times, Jarod. I'd hardly call that a *head* injury."
"What are you symptoms? Headache? Blurred vision? Dizziness? Nausea?"
"Mostly the dizziness and nausea and a little bit of a headache." She watches the little worry line deepen in his forehead as he slips into doctor mode.
"Any kind of head trauma is potentially serious. You could have a concussion or something. Follow my finger," he orders her as he moves it back and forth in front of her face.
"That's not really helping me," she groans, barely able to hold back the wave of nausea that suddenly strikes. In a flash, she's up off the couch and into the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She feels Jarod's presence behind her and would almost prefer to leave her head buried in the toilet rather than face him. But the mess she made almost makes her gag again and she decides that facing Jarod was the lesser of two evils. She flushes the toilet and turns around and is surprised to see concern on his face instead of smugness.
"Here," he says, holding out a wet washcloth so that she can clean up a bit. Then he helps her stand so that she can rinse her mouth out in the sink. She gets her toothbrush and thoroughly brushes her teeth. When she's done, he leads her back into the bedroom and sits her down on the bed, kneeling in front of her.
"Now will you go back to the doctor?" he pleads with her.
"Alright," she relents. "But I'm sure he's going to tell me I'm fine."
"I hope you're right," he sighs. He goes to the drawer and pulls out something for her to wear. "Do you want me to take you?"
"I'm fine, Jarod," she insists. "I'll go to the hospital since you're not going to let this go, but I'm going alone."
"And what am I going to do in the mean time?" he pouts.
"Go back to your hotel and get packed. Daddy's expecting me back today, so I'll probably be leaving after I get back from the hospital. I can meet you at your hotel and we can leave for the airport together."
"Back to Blue Cove. Back to the real world." He slumps dejectedly onto the bed. "Back to you chasing me and me running. Just like before."
"Not *just* like before. When I chase you now," she starts, leaning over to give him a quick kiss. "I'll make it worth your while if you let me catch you from time to time," she promises seductively before capturing his lips once again.
He folds her into his arms and lays back, pulling her on top of him. His hands glide up her back and into her hair. He grasps the back of her head and brings her even closer to deepen the kiss. Before long, he reaches the point where his lungs are burning desperately for air and he releases her.
"Don't try to distract me, woman," he gasps, watching with rapt attention as she licks her swollen lips and lazily blinks her heavy eyes. "You're not getting out of going to the hospital and I have to go pack." Despite his words, he almost groans in disappointment as she peels her soft, warm body from his own. He stands up and steps into his shoes. "Meet you at my hotel?"
"Yeah," she smiles. "I'll see you later."
He flashes her a smile in return and blows her a kiss before walking out the room. His effect on her was dizzying and she has to sit, her wobbly knees too weak to support her any longer. It's been a long time since a man's made her feel like that. She reaches up and rubs her lips, still tingling from his kiss, and smiles what she knows is a big goofy grin. A long time indeed. She laughs at herself and goes to get dress. She still had to go to the doctor before she was able to meet up again with Jarod. Although, she already knew without a doubt what her diagnosis was - she had been bitten by the love bug.
To be continued . . .