BYS:- Thanks Jackie for beta-reading this for me! I really appreciate it! *Hugs* Tig...

Oasis

Sequel to LONG DAY

by Tigress Parker  

"Lyle please help me!" I begged as I sat chained to a chair unable to move. Lyle was the only one I knew that would help me but he wasn't doing anything! Why?

"No can do, Parker. Dad wants a new race of Pretenders and you have been chosen." Lyle beams down at me with a smile that was cold and uncaring, so unlike the Bobby that I have grown to love.

"Bobby, please." I beg one last time when I see another person come into the room with a tray of hypodermics.

"Bobby is dead, I am Lyle now. Sweet dreams, Sister Dear." Lyle grins evilly and walks away...

I sit up suddenly expecting to find myself somewhere inside The Centre but I'm in my bed, in my own house. My heart is racing, my breathing was rapid and sweat is pouring down my face. It has been a Hell of a week. We never seemed to be left alone. I look at the clock and it doesn't surprise me with what it reads. 3:08, lovely, another sleepless night. I hadn't been sleeping for the entire week and I know Lyle hasn't been sleeping either.

Lately I have been waking up in the middle of a nightmare. All different ones but similar in their own way. Sometimes I can't even see what is happening. I just see distorted images and hear the screams. My own screams. I wipe the damp hair out of my eyes and settle back onto my pillows ordering myself to relax.

It is amazing how fast we bonded. To tell the truth I am glad Lyle is my brother. Granted, he's no saint but he's trying to make a new life for himself, and for me as well. We didn't choose this life. We were flung into it the moment we were separated at birth.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I can hear a baby screaming because something has happened to it. I know on some level it's me as a baby screaming for my brother. I guess I have been screaming since then. When Bobby holds me it's like...It's like coming home...It's like finding a part of my soul that was ripped away from me.

That's the only place I feel content and safe. There and when I was with Thomas. God, how I miss him. They think I'm satisfied knowing that Brigitte killed him, but they are DEAD wrong. I love to be underestimated then they don't suspect anything until I strike. They have to learn that they can't play with the people I love. They did it to Momma, Bobby, Ethan, and Thomas. Do they think I'm just going to sit here and be a good little girl? Yes, they think that but underneath that good little girl persona is a tigress and she's hungry for revenge.

I climb out of bed and go and have a shower, I'm all sticky from sweat after the nightmare and I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Hopefully the hot spray of water will help me relax. I stand under the water until it turns cold.

Just as I come out of the bathroom, drying my hair with a towel the phone rings. I heard it ringing while I was in the shower but I just ignored it. I walk over to the nightstand and pick the phone up. "What?" If Jarod was hoping to wake me he was too late.

"Parker, are you all right? I was ringing and ringing but you wouldn't answer! Something's happening! Something's gonna happen, we have to stop it!" Lyle said quickly on the other end of the phone. Something has him spooked.

"Hold up, Bobby. What's happened?" I use his childhood name since it usually calms him down, but not this time. It actually seemed to make him worse which was worrying.

"Something's wrong!"

"Bobby, where are you?" I ask calmly, knowing that I wasn't going to get any answers over the phone and it was best that I go over to make sure he was all right, though he didn't sound it over the phone.

"I'm at home. I think. Yes, yes I am at home." Good at least he can answer questions.

"Stay where you are. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

"Please be careful, Parker. I don't know what's going on," he whimpered before hanging up. I put the phone down as I looked at it strangely.

Maybe since we've been separated for a week, it's taken its toll on Bobby. I know it has with me. I was getting used to him coming over after work and we would just talk then fall asleep on the couch. I might be nice to Bobby but if anyone hurts him, I'm gonna rip out their heart and feed it to them! Don't they realize that he hasn't had an easy life and their judgments aren't making it any easier on him?

I'm not trying to excuse anything that Bobby did because a lot of what he has done is completely inexcusable but who's right is it to judge him?

He's changing. I'm changing and if anyone tries to hurt my baby brother, I won't be forgiving. He's fixing his life up but like Bobby said they can't see what he doesn't show them. I know I don't show anyone anything different. To them I am still the "Do-what-I-want-now-or-I-will-be-forced-to-kill-you *Ice Queen*" and flame anyone who thinks any different.

I kept my word by pulling up at Lyle's apartment in 18 minutes. I walk in and glare at the man behind the desk who tries to busy himself, shuffling through papers as I walk to the elevator, boarding it and slam down the button for Lyle's floor.

Walking along the corridor I notice Lyle's door is open slightly. Instinctively I grab my gun knowing there could be a simple explanation. He could have left it open for me or it could be the reason why he was so spooked on the phone, either way I wasn't going to take any chances.

I open the door and slip inside, closing it quietly behind me. As I look around the apartment it is dark with the only light being the moon shining through the window. "I'm on the sofa." I hear Lyle mutter softly.

I cautiously put my gun away and lock the door behind me before I walk over to him. He was sitting on the couch with his head lowered, constantly rubbing his gloved hand. I sit on the coffee table in front of him, taking a comforting hold of his hands. "What's wrong, Bobby?" He didn't say anything just continued to stare at our hands.

"I shouldn't have woken you," he said softly with a small shake of his head.

"I was already awake, now what's bothering you? You sounded like you just saw a ghost." I say softly, trying to get him to open up. Something is worrying him, which is worrying me.

"I had another nightmare. This one was the worst..." He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "I would never do that to you. If Dad was going to do that, I would stop him. I would DIE before anyone hurts you! You have to believe me!"

"Shh, it's all right," I let go of one of his hands and gently stroke his head as his face lowers as he begins to sob again. "Come here," I pull him forward and hold him as he wrapped his arms around my waist tightly, tucking his face into my neck. "I'm all right and I believe you," I say and start to rub his back like I would if I was trying to soothe an upset child. That's just what he is sometimes, a child trying to find his place where he stands. I don't care who it is, even Jarod, if they hurt my brother when he didn't do anything to them I'm going to make them wish they were never born.

I'm not afraid of him ever hurting me if he gets in a rage, but if anyone interferes with us, I'll make them pay. They don't understand and if they think that Lyle is a threat to my safety, I'll tell them exactly what I think. Sure he gets so angry sometimes he just pounds the walls until his fist starts to bleed, but I just talk to him, rub his back and fix his hand and he's all right again. His worst outbursts are when someone gets a little too close to me for his liking or the look in people's eyes. I have to get rid of them fast before Lyle explodes and it's only a matter of seconds after they leave the room that Lyle blows a few million blood vessels. I may be the object of his anger but never in such a way that he would turn his rage on me. He has never hit me, drawn a gun on me and done anything threatening, he just rages and rages, pounding his fists until they're bleeding uncontrollably and he has no use or feeling in them. Sometimes I think the wall is the person's face that he thinks is the threat.

The only people he doesn't blow his top over are Sydney, Broots, Sam and Daddy. It's not anger per say in his eyes when Broots talks to me, it's like he's watching his every move to distinguish what's going on in Broots' head. Broots knows he's been watched like a hawk, which makes him very uncomfortable and a bumbling idiot, making him want to get out of my office as soon as humanly possible.

When he watches Sydney, it's a deadly look in his eyes. I think Lyle knows that Sydney has helped Jarod out on more than one occasion, he just doesn't know how to act on it. The look in his eyes suggests that he knows Sydney is a threat, but he doesn't know what kind of threat. Not like he knows with Broots, he knows that Broots would spill his guts as soon as Raines looked at him, about everything that was going on if he were ever told. I know that Broots is easily intimidated, but I hope that when the right time comes he could hold his tongue before Lyle cuts it out of his head.

When Daddy's in the room with us, Lyle just watches him closely. There isn't hatred in Lyle's eyes, only anger. He just stands back away from Daddy, with his arms crossed and watches him, thinking. I think he's trying to understand what makes Daddy tick and it will be only a matter of time before Lyle locks onto him and finds out what is running through his head. I think that everything Daddy has done is out of love and to protect me but there is only so far that notion will carry without proof and so far I haven't got any!

And as for Sam, Lyle's face is completely neutral. No signs of hatred or any signs that he's a threat. Probably because Lyle knows that Sam isn't a threat. Lyle knows where his loyalties lie. With me. And in Lyle's eyes, he's not a threat. Lyle knows that whenever and if ever the bullets start flying and World War III breaks out at The Centre, Sam will be covering my butt while I'm doing something else. Which is comforting, because when NOT if the bullets start flying around The Centre I'd have my hands full keeping my side of the war in order.

I wonder what Daddy would think or say if he knew what was going on with Lyle and I protecting each other. Probably: *It's about damn time* I don't know if he'd be pleased or angry, though, why would he be angry? This is better than being at each other's throats or trying to blow up each in buildings. Sydney's right. We were taking sibling rivalry to new levels. The way we were going it was only a matter of time before one of us succeeded in bumping the other off. But now were just taking in each other's surroundings, keeping watch for potential threats or keeping a protective stance over the other while they are recovering after been wounded, physically or mentally, makes no difference.

"I'm sorry they hurt you. I should've stopped them." Lyle murmured against my shoulder.

"It's all right Bub. I'm OK now," I tell him as I begin to rub the back of his neck soothingly.

"No you're not. Your soul is dead. It has been for a long time and I should've stopped them," Lyle pulled away and gently touched my face.

"You wouldn't have able to do anything," I shook my head slowly as Lyle pulled me onto the couch beside him, wrapping his arms around me tightly as I do likewise. I missed this so much through the week.

We sat in silence for a few minutes until Lyle decided to speak again. "I had the dream again," he told me as he rested his chin on my shoulder.

"So did I." When we really get down to it, Lyle and I think alike. Maybe I should pay more attention to Sydney's study on twins. Discreetly, of course, wouldn't want to make his head swell. I just have a strange feeling that our bond goes deeper than we first thought. We have the same dreams or nightmares, from what they feel like sometimes. Like the one I had tonight. That was no dream, that was a nightmare!

"I can remember a baby screaming in the background, it had nothing to do with the dream. I could just hear a baby screaming, like it was upset or something had happened to it. It was a painful scream," I stiffen at what Lyle said. Oh God, he knows! I think before I start to pull away from him. "What's wrong?" He asked tightening his grip on me. I don't pull away from him unless there's something really, really wrong! Like now…

"It's nothing." I quickly shake my head as I still tried to retreat.

"Marina, you know you can't lie to me. What's wrong? You don't pull away for no reason," Lyle pulled me back and held me tighter. Was it me or was the air in the room beginning to get too heavy to breathe?

"You'll think it's crazy," I shook my head as I tried to take a breath.

"I won't. Please, tell me," he rested his chin on my shoulder as he rubbed his hand along my back.

"It's about the baby's cries you heard. I hear the same thing..."

"That's not..." Lyle said next to my ear, his forehead resting against my temple.

"No, there's more." I stop him.

"Yeah, I guess I knew somehow."

"The baby was screaming because something important was taken away from her..."

Lyle stiffened beside making me stop breathing. "You said *her* How do you it was a girl?" I didn't answer but started to fidget with the ring on my finger. Lyle held my hands. "Marina, how do you know it was a girl?" Lyle asks slowly as he looked directly at me.

"Because..." I stopped myself before I told him and quickly changed my mind. "I just do. Don't make me explain. It makes sense to me because I've listened to it my whole life every single minute, night and day! It only stops when..."

"You're with me." Lyle said more to himself than to me. "It's the same with me. I hear it everywhere I go and it only stops when I see you or I'm with you. I've only just noticed it now..."

"Maybe I should talk to Syd, he could..." I start to say but Lyle doesn't want to hear it.

"We can't tell anyone anything."

"But..."

"No one and nothing. If they knew, everything would come crashing down. The PTB's would use you against me to do their bidding. People will turn everything out to be a bad thing."

"All right, Bobby," I nod and settle back against his shoulder as he tightened his grip around me. "You getting tired?"

"No. I'm wide awake now," Lyle said but I can tell by the sound of his voice he is. He's trying to figure out something about the dreams or just trying to remember a small detail but he was tired.

When I go to stand up Lyle doesn't let me go. "Where are you going?"

"Just to the kitchen. Don't worry, I'm not leaving," he releases me after watching me for a moment.

When I come back into the living room with a glass of water and a Valium, Lyle is lying on his side, staring at the floor where the moon is shining through a small glass sun-catcher hanging at the window, shining the different colors onto the floor.

I sit down beside him. "Sit up," he does and looks at the little white tablet in my hand. "It's only a Valium. I'm tired and so are you which means you are taking it if I have to ram it down your throat," I tell him as I smile good-naturedly.

He nods and swallows the tablet down without any arguments and lies back down. When I go to move away Lyle grabs me and pulls me down to lie beside him, with his arms holding me tightly. I rest my head on his shoulder and wriggle closer to him before I fall off the couch.

"Thank you for caring," he says gently against my ear.

"Go to sleep, Bub," he nods but doesn't go to sleep. His breathing has evened out and he's still stroking my head. I start to gently rub a circle on his chest like Momma use to do to me when I was little after I had a nightmare, trying to get ,e back off to sleep. It seems to be working with Lyle, since he tucked his face in against my neck and drifted off to sleep.

I wish he could have known his mother. I know he likes hearing about her but I see the pain in his eyes that breaks my heart, and knowing that I can't do anything to stop it from hurting makes it worse.

After what seemed like eternity, I fall asleep in the safe embrace of my twin.

The next morning the phone rings, waking me. I'm lying on my side and Lyle is tucked in against my back with his arms around me tightly just incase I might leave. I reach across and grab the phone off the table. "Bobby, phone," I elbow him gently to try and rouse him from sleep.

He growls and tightens his grip around me, tucking his head down against my back between my shoulders. "What time is it?"

"10 past 9. Answer the phone."

He takes the phone out of my hand and turns it on. "Yes?" He snarled angrily, barely moving away from me. All I do is close my eyes and try and go back to sleep. "I'm still at home, Dad. No I haven't heard from her. Yes, Dad." Lyle disconnected the call and leant over me, putting the phone back on the coffee table. "We don't have to go into work today. You're missing. I have to look for you, so now I've found you I can go back to sleep," he said before kissing my shoulder, drifting back to sleep behind my back.

"Good, now I can go back to sleep." I smile and snuggled back further against him as his arms tightened around my waist in response.

Sweet Dreams Bobby. I think.

I hear whispered in my head. Sweet Dreams Marina. I smile and drift back to sleep.

There, now it was only fair that I did a version of "Long Day" in Parker's POV.

If you kill me over this Fic or send me into a T-Board 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) :D Feedback please

Feed The Tigress Here!

Back to Fanfic