Summary: Jarod is captured by the Centre but refuses to cooperate. Will he change his mind when Miss Parker's life is in danger?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, and I'm not getting paid for writing it!

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SOMEWHERE IN THE WOODS.

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"Rob? What are you doing? I can't see you."

"I'm sorry... is this better?" the sweeper said while he walked to stand in front of the supervising camera.

"Are you sure this works as long as it's supposed to?"

"Yes."

"What about rain?"

"I promise. This camera won't let you down," the sweeper assured.

"I hope so, make sure she can't break loose, and then get back!"

Before the sweeper had a chance to answer, his boss hung up. He stood there for a while, listening to the dial tone. Then he turned to Miss Parker. He felt sorry for her as he saw her unconscious form. But he knew he had to follow his boss order if he wanted to stay alive. With a sigh, he left the place and headed for the chopper which was waiting further away.

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LATER. THE CENTRE. SL-13

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"This might make you consider your decision Jarod," a wheezing voice said. Jarod looked up and saw Mr. Raines come into the lab.

"I'll never do anything for you. Bastard!" Jarod snarled. Without thinking about the ropes he was tied to the chair with, he tried to get up. Raines laughed evilly. With an angry growl, Jarod leaned back in the chair, glaring at the other man. Silently, Raines walked to the other side of the room. He switched the lights on and the big screen on the wall started to flicker.

"Oh my god..." Jarod mumbled to himself.

"Yes, and believe me, we're gonna let her stay there until you do as we say," Raines said with a smirk.

"How can you do that?"

"It's not my idea, I'm only following orders. Give us the vaccine, and we'll consider saving her..." Raines wheezed.

"It takes weeks for me to figure it out!" Jarod said.

"Then you better get started."

"You bastard!"

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ABOUT FOUR HOURS LATER. SOMEWHERE IN THE WOODS.

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It was almost dark and by now the air had become a bit chilly. Slowly, Miss Parker started to regain consciousness. Tiredly she opened her eyes. Confused, she scanned the surroundings. She had no idea of where she was, all she could see were trees. As she became more aware of what was happening she tried to get up on her feet, but soon realized she was tightly tied up. She was sitting on the ground with her back pressed against the trunk of a tree. Her hands were tied together behind her and a chain was tightly wrapped around her waist and the tree. Miss Parker tried to wriggle out of it, but no matter how hard she tried it was impossible. After a while of struggling she gave up. Tiredly she leaned her head against the wood, sighing deeply. Questions started to fill her mind. What had happened? How did she get here? Why? And most important of all, who did this to her? Why would anybody want to chain her too a tree in the middle of nowhere? And it seemed like the person knew very well what he or she was doing. The use of chains instead of ropes made it much more difficult to break free. In fact, impossible!

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Another couple of hours had passed. It was completely dark and the coldness was making Miss Parker tremble. Her wrists had started to ache, and the chains pressed harder around her waist with every squirm. She wondered if anyone knew she was here, someone besides the one who did it to her. Miss Parker whimpered lowly, her head hurt, she was hungry, and beyond all, cold. She just wanted to be home, curled up in her bed. Maybe she wouldn't survive this, maybe the Centre had placed her here as a way of killing her? But Jarod, he would find out, he always does, he would save her. She prayed he would. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want anything more than to see him walking up to her. Telling her everything would be alright, she wanted that so much! Miss Parker leaned her head against the wood, closing her eyes. Maybe if she slept, the time would pass by faster and someone would be there in the morning. If this was Raines idea, she was sure it would never work; Jarod or her father would save her. She was sure they would.

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EIGHT DAYS LATER. THE CENTRE.

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"I would suggest you work instead of staring at that." Jarod took his eyes off the screen and saw Raines standing in the doorway. He gave him a cold look.

"Get out! I won't do anything if you keep staring at me like that!" he snarled.

"I'll leave you alone," Raines wheezed. The smile he gave Jarod made his skin crawl. He shivered.

Raines left and carefully locked the door. Jarod immediately continued staring at the screen. His heart ached as he saw the way she looked. The sound quality wasn't the best but he could hear her moan and whimper weakly. Her eyes were closed and she was leaning heavily against the tree. Her head hung down, and her dark hair was hanging in her face, dripping with water from the rain which was pouring down over her. Her bare legs had a lot of scratches and bites from animals and bugs which were still feeding of her wounds. Jarod saw her quiver as they bit, but she didn't have the strength to fight them, not anymore. With a miserable sigh, he turned and continued his work. Eight days had passed, and he had only figured out the beginning of the process of making the vaccine. He knew he didn't have much time. Miss Parker wouldn't survive much longer. He wondered what she was thinking. What if she didn't know he was captured and kept hoping he would save her? Jarod hadn't thought of that before, but as the thought crossed his mind, it shocked him. She would think he didn't care. Jarod almost started to cry as he thought of her. She would die, thinking no one gives a damn about her, without knowing how much she meant to him. He had to get out of there! Making the vaccine would take way too long time, but he knew it was impossible to escape. Jarod gave up, sinking to the floor. As he looked at the screen again, he couldn't hold back the tears. He buried his face in his hands and wept. He knew he couldn't save her; all he could do was watch her die...

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THREE DAYS LATER. THE WOODS.

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The rain had finally started to wear off and a few sunbeams found their way through the threes. Miss Parker's eyes flickered opened. Weakly, she lifted her head to look at the sky. With a groan, she let her head fall down again. A low whimper escaped her throat as she saw what the bugs had done with her legs. She wanted to move them, but she couldn't. Her whole body was numb, and every move...every breath she took hurt so much. She wanted to scream, to fight the little fuckers off her, but she didn't have the strength, she felt the pain every time they dug deeper into her flesh, but couldn't do anything to prevent it from happening. Miss Parker had given up the hope of being saved a long time ago. Even though it was tearing her heart out, she knew no one cared enough to save her. Maybe everyone knew, but thought they would be better off without her, maybe they just let her die. She was sure Jarod would be better off. Maybe he was the one who did this, a perfect way to get rid of her. She was nothing to him, nothing but a cold-hearted huntress who took pleasure in hurting him. But that wasn't true. She never wanted to hurt him; she didn't even want to chase him. Miss Parker felt tears fall down her cold cheeks. She did deserve this, it wasn't strange that Jarod got tired of her game and decided to kill her. She just wished he could have been a little kinder. A bullet in her head would have been better than this torture. But of course, that wouldn't have been as fun for him. Miss Parker started to cry, she couldn't believe it! Jarod, the one she always thought cared so much about her would kill her! And even her father didn't seem to care. No one cared about her. Now, she didn't have a reason to live anyway, she didn't want to fight anymore, she just wanted this to end, forever. She wanted to bee free from the pain. Miss parker closed her eyes and waited... she knew she wouldn't make it much longer, she felt it, she would die...

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"Parker! Parker, don't give up...I'm here now, it will be okay." The voice sounded very far away. Miss Parker heard it as it was speaking through a wall, it sounded muffled, slowly it faded away and everything became dark and silent.

"Miss parker! C'mon! Wake up!" two strong arms were shaking her, begging her to not die.

"PARKER!" The chains around her loosened and Miss Parker's limp body was placed on the ground, the person tried desperately to revive her. After several tries her heart slowly began beating. Her chest rose as it filled with air.

"Parker, open your eyes!"

Slowly, she let her eyes flutter open; she blinked as the light made them ache. As her eyes had adjusted to the light, she looked at the person sitting next to her.

"Jarod?" she whispered. Her voice sounded hoarse and wheezing.

"Yes! Oh Parker...I'm so sorry," he took her in his arms, holding her tight.

"What...happened...?" Miss Parker managed to ask.

"It's a long story. The Centre caught me, I'll tell you later. We have to get out of here," Jarod answered, stroking her wet hair out of her face.

"I though you wanted me dead," Miss Parker whispered.

"No! Don't ever think that, you mean so much to me, I love you," Jarod confessed.

Miss Parker was too weak to respond. She opened her mouth to say the same words back, but her voice failed her.

"Shhh...Don't speak now," Jarod hushed.

"But...I..." "I love..." Miss Parker couldn't finish the sentence. She slipped into unconsciousness, letting her head fall against Jarod's chest.

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Miss Parker slowly began regaining consciousness. She felt a stinging pain in her legs. She tried to sit up, but didn't have the strength. With a cry, she fell back onto her back. She hissed and winced as the pain wouldn't go away.

"Parker, it's going to be okay." She head Jarod's voice say. She moaned.

"What are you doing, it hurts," she whispered.

Jarod smiled sadly. "I'm cleaning your wounds," he answered softly.

"Painkiller... please..." Miss Parker mumbled.

Jarod looked at her worriedly. Her weakness wasn't a good sign. He got up on his feet and walked to get her the painkillers. After a while he returned and sat down on the bed next to her. He helped her to get into a sitting position, leaning against him, and then he gave her the pill. Miss Parker gave him a faint smile as he helped her to lie down again.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die, I will take care of you," Jarod whispered.

"What if... it's... too late..."

"No, I can't let that happen. You will be aright," Jarod assured her.

"Thanks..." With those words, Miss Parker slipped into unconsciousness again, not seeing the fearful look Jarod gave her.

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EIGHT DAYS LATER.

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Miss Parker slowly got out of the bed, giving the room a confused look. This wasn't right? Where was she? She started to walk, her legs still hurt, but she ignored it. She opened the door and peeked into the next room. The living room was quite small and the wooden walls looked very strange. This was not what she was use to, what the hell was going on? Suddenly a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Miss Parker, you should be resting." Miss Parker looked around and saw Jarod walking up to her. He had a concerned look on his face.

"Jarod? What's going on? Where are we, and why? What happened?" she asked.

Jarod gave her a small smile.

"C'mon, let's sit down," he put his arm around Miss Parker's waist and escorted her to the couch.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked.

There was a silence.

"I remember you... after you saved me from the woods..." Miss Parker started. "And then... we were in a car... and..." Miss Parker's voice trailed off and she gave Jarod a puzzled look.

"Don't you remember?" Jarod asked.

Miss Parker shook her head.

"It's okay," Jarod assured her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I don't know... my legs hurt, my head hurts..."

Jarod gave her a sad look. "It's not strange considering you have been in bed for eight days. I was so scared I was going to loose you, you had a really high fever and you were barely conscious," he told her. "Thank god you are feeling better," he added with a sigh of relief.

Miss Parker was too tired to argue. She just nodded, giving him a weary smile.

"Where are we, I have to go back to the Centre, daddy must be worried."

Jarod watched her, didn't know what to say. How was he going to tell her the truth? He sighed miserably.

"Parker, I'm afraid you can't go back to the Centre,"he started.

Miss Parker gave him a confused look. "If you are talking about Raines, I'm gonna make him pay for what he did to me," she said a cold voice.

"It wasn't Raines... Parker, your father did this to you, he was the one who ordered the sweeper..." Jarod said.

"You're lying!"

"No, I'm sorry..."

"How dare you! My father loves me!" Miss Parker screamed.

"I would never lie to you about this, you have to believe me," Jarod said, placing his arm around Miss Parker's shoulders.

Miss Parker shrugged it off and moved away from him. "Don't touch me you bastard!" she screamed.

Jarod didn't say anything, he just watched her with sad eyes. It wasn't strange she was reacting the way she did.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Shut up! Daddy would never do this to me! He wouldn't..." Miss Parker's voice trailed off and she started to cry. "I can't believe he did it... how could he..." she sobbed out.

Without saying anything, Jarod took her in his arms and held her close to him. Miss Parker didn't have the strength to fight. She buried her face against Jarod's shoulder and cried, letting him comfort her.

"I understand it's hard... I'm so sorry," Jarod whispered softly.

"I thought he would save me... I never stopped hoping," Miss Parker sniveled.

"I know."

"I can't go back... I can't face him," Miss Parker said, she started to cry harder. Jarod immediately tightened his arms around her, letting her know he cared. He felt tears brim in his eyes as he heard her cry, as he felt her trembling body against his. He didn't understand, how could Mr. Parker do this? How could he put his own daughter through so much pain? God, he almost killed her, and he managed to break her completely. Jarod sighed sadly, he felt so sorry for her, no one should be forced to experience something like this. It is just too awful!

"What am I going to do? I have no one now..." Miss Parker said in tears.

"Yes, you'll always have me," Jarod whispered.

"But you..." Miss Parker's voice trailed off. "You can't..."

"Shhhh," Jarod hushed. "It's okay..." he soothed. Miss Parker gave up talking. She closed her eyes and soon she fell asleep. Jarod just sat there for a while, holding her. Then he carefully lifter her up and headed for the bedroom. Just as carefully, he placed her at the bed, tucking the quilt around her to keep her warm.

"It's gonna be okay honey, I won't let anyone hurt you again," he whispered. He sat down next to her and took her cold hand in his.

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NEXT MORNING.

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"Sydney, I have to tell you this, but you have to promise to keep it to yourself and Broots."

"Jarod, how did you get out of the Centre?" Sydney asked, ignoring the other mans words.

"With a sigh Jarod pressed the phone closer to his ear. "I can't tell you that," he said.

"Please."

"Someone helped me... but it doesn't matter now."'

"Angelo?"

"No Syd, a sweeper," Jarod said, causing Sydney to chuckle slightly.

"No, I mean it... I think his name was Rob... but please don't tell anyone, Raines will kill him if he finds out."

"I promise," Sydney sighed. "Jarod why did you call?" he asked.

"I'm leaving, forever this time," Jarod said in a sad voice.

"Where? Why?"

"Because of Miss Parker and what her father did to her," Jarod answered. When Sydney didn't answer Jarod knew he was confused. He continued.

"There is a DSA in your house, it will explain what happened, Miss Parker can't stay at the Centre after this, and... she's coming with me," he said.

"I don't know what you are talking about, I thought Miss Parker was on a vacation, that's what Mr. Parker told me... but whatever it is, I'm sure it's not good and I understand," Sydney said calmly.

"Thank you... I have to go."

"Jarod? Will I ever hear from you again?"

"I hope so," with those words Jarod hung up. He put the phone back at the table and leaned back in the couch, closing his eyes.

"Jarod, thank you."

Jarod opened his eyes again and saw Miss Parker sit down next to him. She gave him a sad smile.

"I heard your phone call with Syd, are you sure you want me to come with you? What about everything I have done?"

"It's in the past, don't think of it," Jarod said softly. "I forgive you," he said as he placed his arm around her shoulder.

"It's okay, relax," Jarod whispered as he felt the tension in her body.

"I'm just not used to this, I'm sorry," Miss Parker mumbled.

"I know, I understand."

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Miss Parker asked.

There was a silence. "What do you mean?" Jarod finally asked.

"That you... that you love me..."

Jarod smiled. "Yes," he said.

"I think you're the only one who does," Miss Parker sad in a low voice. She struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Parker, I'm sorry about your father... I really am."

"I'll learn to live with it," Miss Parker said, trying to sound cold but Jarod could hear the sadness in her voice. He gave her a hug.

"It will be okay," he said softly. He tried to pull away but Miss Parker didn't want to let go.

"Please?" she asked.

Jarod got the point and once again placed his arms around her.

"Of course... I just didn't know you wanted me to," he said.

Miss Parker didn't say anything. Instead she snuggled up closer against Jarod, letting him know she liked it. Jarod couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe things will be okay," Miss Parker whispered.

"I know it will."

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THE END.