"Maybe it won't be." Parker picked up Annie, stroking a finger back along her nose to her head. "He isn't our Jack, after all. The future can be a little different, I think. Enough to leave him space for friends."

Parker gave her a narrow-eyed look, thinking of a surprise that was in the works, and said, "You'll feel better as soon as the workshops start, and the newbies are here being shell-shocked and funny to watch. But some angst is unavoidable." She paused. "Stop me before I start singing 'Friends Forever', please God."

"You are? When is this happening, and should I sell tickets?" Parker cuddled Annie closer, laughing.

"What did he do?" Parker said, wondering, then frowned. "Wait. Something about talking to... someone? Warning them?"

Parker threw back her head and laughed. "Awesome! Should I even ask if it was even *slightly* justified?"

"Ohhhh? Fireworks?" Parker asked speculatively. "Reeeeeally."

"Hmmmmm." Parker looked hopeful, though. "Still. Jack should be thwapped down. Yes. It's good for him." She grinned. "Especially when he's being all protective and concerned."

"Unless he's sleeping in the next cubicle," Parker said mischeviously.

"Cool," Parker said, feeling relieved that Isabel and Cedric would be sticking together. "So, you're thinking of Cornell? Maybe?"

Parker was about to argue the 'not get a chance' with 'you so could', until she remembered what Isabel might be facing in August. She took a breath, and then asked, "So. What program is it, that you'd be interested in?"

Parker snickered just a little, then cocked her head. "No, it makes sense. It *is* what you're good at. You should get to run a hotel. Or a bed and breakfast. You'd have fun with that."

"Dreams aren't a waste." Parker put Annie in her arms. "So what if it doesn't happen? What if it does? That damn war can't last forever. What if you get to come back?" She was quiet a minute. "Want to know my dream? The thing that keeps me going?"

"I finally get the worst of the monsters at the Centre arrested." Hopefully her father would take early retirement rather than go to jail. "Everything makes the news, everyone at risk is safe--" Jarod finds his family. "And I go to Tahiti. For three months. Sand, sun, surf, mai tais, the latest Angelica Desmesnes, and cabana boys." She grinned, then said more quietly, "Then I come back, and if no one's set fire to my office, I make it something better. And if it's too far gone, I start over. Prosecutor somewhere. Maybe a start a non-profit think tank like the Centre was supposed to be. Maybe fashion design." She raised an eyebrow. "Who knows. If one dream doesn't work, you move on to the next one."