Fanfic

Disclaimer: I WISH I owned Miss Parker, Jarod, Sydney, Broots, Cox, Brigitte, Raines, Lyle, Mr Parker, Sam etc. (Phew, am I done yet?) Umm, maybe not Raines or Brigitte. But I don’t, they belong to NBC, MTM, TNT, 20^th Century Fox and Pretender Productions. (Man this is getting depressing.) I’m not doing this for money but for my sanity and enjoyment. Please don’t sue cause I ain’t got a lot of money. Thanx, Tigress Parker. Monday, 3 September, 2001:

Long Day

by Tigress Parker

Monday, 3 September, 2001:

Parker Manor:

11p.m.

The living room was glowing a soft yellow from the flames in the fireplace. More than likely we’d go to sleep the way we were so there wasn’t any need for the lights to be on. All we need is the darkness. Hello darkness our old friend.

For the last couple of weeks I’d been coming here and we’d talk. Sometimes about what we did when we were little or Parker would talk about Mum. I know she likes talking about her, which suits me fine since I want to hear about my real mother.

Parker was lying next to me with her head resting on my shoulder and her arm draped across my stomach. I had my arm around her shoulders protectively.

We don’t care what anyone thinks. We’re beyond caring. No one has any idea what it was like for us. What we went through. Been ripped away from your family only moments after your birth.

She shifted beside me and let out a sigh. “Why the sigh?” I ask gently.

“No reason.” She murmured as she put her arm across my chest and tucked her hand behind my shoulder.

“What’s up?” I gently stroke her head. I can tell something’s bothering her.

“Why don’t people understand?”

She is one of the hardest people to get to open up and say what she’s thinking or feeling. But once you get past her defenses and get her to open up she’ll tell you anything you want to know.

“Because they’re narrow-minded morons?” She laughed gently at my joke. I like it when she laughs. She needs to laugh more often. She’s been sad her whole life and now she needs some happiness. We all deserve something to make us happy through the living Hell.

“Why can’t anyone else see Bobby?”

“They don’t see what I don’t show them. It doesn’t worry me what people think so it shouldn’t worry you. As long as you know the truth that’s all that matters.”

“I just wish people would give you a break.”

“I know you do, but this is our time now. No one can touch us here. We’re safe to be who we really are.” I tell her gently. She nods against my shoulder.

“Would you have shot me in Arizona?” She asked quietly.

“No.” I held her tighter. “I knew Jarod wouldn’t hurt you or risk hurting you, so they wouldn’t shoot me if I was holding you. But I would never hurt you.”

“You could’ve been killed pulling a stunt like that Bobby.”

“I know. I might have been completely insane then but I wouldn’t have hurt you.” She was silent.

As far as anyone at The Centre is concerned, we’re still the same backbiting, taking-sibling-rivalry-to-a-new-level, Parker twins. But looks can be deceiving. The hunt is the perfect cover for us to be together without drawing attention to the fact.

As soon as the day is over I come here and we put away the masks and shields and just be brother and sister. Just be Bobby and Marina. Parker shuts down the Ice Queen façade and relaxes. I shut down the cold-blooded, flesh-eating serial killer and just relax. Just be Bobby.

We all need a refuge. Mum had one and Dad has a place where he feels safe, which is The Centre, why shouldn’t we?

For me now it is been with Parker. Not the shed anymore. No matter where, The Centre, one of Jarod’s lairs, The Centre jet, one of Dad’s ‘time to spend time with my children’ dinners. Anywhere. Just been near her but one of the best places is where I’m able to hold her.

I know she feels safest here. It’s where she grew up with Mum, has memories of Thomas and a few good memories of when she was with Dad. But not many. It’s one of the few places there isn’t someone waiting to stab her in the back. Where she’s able to stop pretending and just relax. She feels so safe when she sleeps while someone is holding her, able to just fly away from the mortal, cruel world which has done nothing but cause her pain, knowing that someone is watching over her. She didn’t tell me this. I can feel it. I can see it in her face while she sleeps.

Most people think I’m a cold-blooded, calculating, heartless, flesh-eating monster. That mask is getting tiring. Time to make a new identity. I wouldn’t have that mask if it weren’t for Raines. Everything comes down to him. Doesn’t it always?

“Bobby?”

“Umm?”

“I don’t want to leave. I just want time to stop.”

“I know but we’ve got tomorrow night and the next night and the next.”

It’s always the same after we’ve been like this for a while, she just wants time to stop. And I do to. It’s so peaceful, like our own oasis in the middle of Hell. We know what we have to face during the day so we don’t want to leave the dark hours of the night.

Most people think that dark hours are when the demons and ghosts come out to do their haunting. But not for us. Not here.

For us the dark hours are when we relax after a long, exhausting day. Just been near someone you love and who loves you. Not for who you pretend to be, but for who you really are. The real you.

But it’s getting harder and harder to leave the peaceful tranquillity, or just disappear and find our own oasis away from Hell. But we can’t. We’re forced to stay and that’s what makes it so hard.

The battle for survival is getting harder for us but the masks, the shields, the facades, the barbs on the tip of our tongues and with the venom spitting words, we’ll come through unscathed.

Parker stirs beside me. “Getting tired?” I whisper softly. She stirs when she gets restless or just trying to get comfortable.

“Yeah.”

“Go to sleep then. You deserve rest.” I kiss her temple gently.

“Night Bobby.” She tightens her grip around my neck.

“Night Marina.” I hold her in the same protective embrace that I use every night. Both arms locked around her shoulders, holding her tightly.

I have every right to be overprotective of her. There’s a little girl inside her that needs to be taken care of. Everywhere I turn there is someone who has hurt her or done something that eventually hurts her. Mess with her you mess with me and I won’t be as forgiving as Dad is.

I just want to smash everyone’s head in sometimes. People come near her that have no idea how beneath her they are. They think they can be like her. Be like us. They aren’t like us. We’re our own breed that no one understands or has a comprehension of what we are.

People fear what they don’t understand. People have feared me my whole life. That is after Raines came into the picture. I can see the fear and revulsion in everyone’s eyes when they look at me. Everyone but Parker. Jarod tried to turn her against me, but it didn’t work. She and I are the same. She understands me. We think alike and no amount of Jarod’s meddling will change that.

When people look at me in the same half-fear, half-revulsion way, I can see the anger and hurt in Parker’s eyes. No one else could see it unless they know her like I do and know what they were looking for. It’s faint, but there. Just hidden from the watchful-eye of The Centre cameras.

If they only knew what was going on between us, protecting each other, they would try and use it. Use it in an evil way. Turn it into something evil and horrible. We aren’t doing anything wrong. We’re just been a family. Everyone has a family that they care about. That they would do anything to protect. I’m just protecting mine. What’s so wrong about that? Everything. Jarod will say I’m not to be trusted. Everyone will tell her I can’t be trusted. The PTB’s will try and turn me against her. Use her as leverage against me to do their dirty work. Devil’s advocate.

There are so many down sides. So many dark sides. So many problems. But the nights are ours. The shadows are ours and no one can take them away from us. We’re family. We’re the same and that’s how it’s going to be. Now and always.

No one is going to take my family. Not this time. Not without a fight. They did it before but they won’t get a chance to do it again. Before I was a helpless baby that didn’t know what was happening. But I’m a grown man now that will kill if necessary. I will keep my family and no one is going to take her away. Not Raines. Not Dad. Not The Triumvirate. Not The Centre. They won’t win. They may think they have won the battle and the war is over. But they’re wrong. It’s just getting started. And we’ll survive. We are the same.

The clock on the mantelpiece strikes midnight. Time I went to sleep. We have to start the tiring dance all over again. But the one thing that seems to make everything seem worthwhile are the nights we spend together. Just thinking about our talks or the silence we sit in, make me smile. It’s so peaceful and quiet. So dark and safe. Nothing can touch us. Nothing will try because all the ghosts and demons are flying around. Everywhere but here. There is nothing here but an Angel and her half-demon brother. Nothing will harm us.

I place the blanket over us and make sure my arms and locked around her shoulders before I go to sleep.

The dance will begin once the sun comes up and chases all the shadows of the night away that gives us so much safety. Chases away the demons that help keep us so safe. Chase away the peaceful dark, quiet, night.

Hello darkness, our old friend. Our old friend. Our protector. Our home. Our oasis.

Let the sun chase away our home. Our oasis. Our friend. Our protector. Let the sun come up and bring whatever it wants to bring to try and break us. Nothing can hurt us. Nothing can touch us. We’ll be ready. We’ll be ready to fight. To fight to survive. To fight for our family. And just to fight. We are the same. We don’t truly feel alive unless we’re in a battle. Our whole life was a battle. But the war will be over. Soon enough. And we will win. We are the same. We will work together. They aren’t the same. They can’t work together. They don’t know how to. It will be chaos for them but peace for us.

Let the sun come up. Let it chase away out safe night and shadows. We’ll fight, survive and win! We’ll be ready.

Fin

See he’s not so bad. And people say you’d be worse off after getting inside his head. Puh, or maybe it’s only the nice side of Bobby showing *shrug of shoulders* I don’t care, it makes no difference to me. Now if you kill me over this Fic you’ll all have one nasty, hungry, unhappy, mean, bad-tempered tiger on your hands. Did I mention hungry? My Tigress will miss her Momma. You better give me feedback or I’ll be making people disappear or just set my pet tiger loose on all of you. (Sweet smile) Feedback please :)

Feedback: moonlight_tigress_demon@yahoo.com.au