Hi everyone!
I hope your weekend is/has been great
Due to the fact that the conversation b/w Max and Liz, which was initiated in the previous chapter, runs through both chapter 34 and 35, I've decided to update both of those tonight. That way it's easier for you to keep up with the information flow. I hope this is alright with you
Ashley (Morning Dreamgirl) - Oh, how I love your "ramblings", as you call them yourself <3 Let's see if I can give any answers to any of it
without saying too much...
I was so hoping that Maria would bring Jeff to the hospital. It would have been much worse for him to get a call from the school and try and get there himself. He's not really in any condition to be driving. He's really gone down hill fast. I'm wondering just how much more neglect his body can take before it gives out on him.
Yeah, Jeff is in a bad place. Still. But maybe this whole ordeal with his daughter will wake him up... (just like you hinted at)
Make him realize that he still has people - alive - around him that he cares for and loves. Who are suffering right along with him.
Maria really is a great friend and she has grown in the face of what has happened to Liz. She's had to step up and take care of not only Liz but also Jeff, which is a difficult situation for a 16-year-old best friend. But I think she's handling it pretty well. And everything would be perfect if Liz could just let her in on the secrets - that way Maria could
really support her friend. Right now, Liz doesn't really have anyone to talk to about this new twist to her life situation.
And yes, let's hope that Maria won't do anything foolish. She's like a bear mother protecting her cub right now. But, maybe she also realizes that there's something very off about Sean, which might make her think twice before going after him on her own.
It's interesting that Jeff knew exactly who it was that tried to rape Liz. He didn't identify Sean by his name but rather as "the Sergeant's son."
Well, Jeff was alone in a car with blabbermouth Maria DeLuca for awhile, while driving to the hospital. She probably would've filled him in on what had happened. And knowing Maria, she wouldn't hesitate to tell Jeff exactly who the bad guy was in that whole scenario.
Buuuut... still, we can't really rule out that Jeff might know something. He
did live with a wife that had been/was being used by aliens for several years.
With the bond he technically should have been able to wake her up with just a gentle nudge of her mind. Instead he brushes her arm, kisses her neck and starts out teasing her. He's fallen hard. So how much longer until he stops fighting it? You know you want to tell us!
So Jo... What's the blanket for?
Um...For sitting? You can't just sit in the sand, right? What else would it be there for?
If he's very possibly going to die and/or so is she there are things he needs to get off his chest and I think that's the reason for starting the conversation off the way he did. If you believe you're going to lose everything anyways then you really have nothing to lose. And at this point that's the corner he's been pushed in to (they both have). So why not take a chance? He might not get another one. And he brought a blanket... (See? I still noticed that.
)
Aaaah,
that was what you were hinted at. I so did not get that hint the first time
JK
But to be serious for a sec; yes, there's a reason for Max's urgency. And it's not just to speak about the bond. And there is a threat hanging over Max's head - as well as Liz's - which makes him drag her out of bed in the middle of the night rather than to wait until the morning. That threat starts with an S.
It also explains why Max tried to keep his emotions from the Sgt during the flash. It would have made him appear even weaker in front of the top military leader. Sgt. Carter would have respected him even less and the beating would probably be worse. (A thought I previously had but now basically confirmed.)
Emotions are very often viewed as a weakness - even in our society. That's a big reason as to why women to this day are deemed unreliable in high positions and why most of the successful women are the ones that are cold, hard and professional. It's the same in this alien world; emotions are viewed as a sign of weakness. Which would essentially mean that children with mixed genetics (hybrids) are considered less worthy, right? Because they have more emotions. The aliens have a lot of the same hierarchical and racial issues that we have.
So yes, by controlling his emotions and being as emotionless as the pure aliens, Max would've earned more respect and fared better against, for instance, the sergeant.
As I told mezz, Michael is still very immature. He likes to play around and exert his power (both literally and figuratively) on poor unsuspecting humans. And the story about Michael is yet to be told, because we haven't really seen much of him in this story - yet.
First, Diane can't carry the gene. Philip is (or appears to be) a healer like his son and he wouldn't be allowed to marry a gaea-human. So why did Diane marry him and why has she stayed with him?
Yes. Why? But even though Max claims that full-blooded aliens can't feel love, we know that
humans can. Maybe there's the possibility that Diane actually fell for Philip once upon a time. Makes you wonder about Max's hesitation to Liz's question earlier, though, concerning his parents relationship...
Thank you for the wonderful analyses, Miss Ashley
Helen (roswelllostcause)
Oh I so want to kick Sean and his father off the face of the earth! Max should be able to be with whoever he wants!
Believe me, I'm with you on that one. I'm, in a way, relieved that you're resorting to anger instead running into crazy towns
Thank you for the feedback!
dreamon - You're melting my heart. So happy to hear that and I'm happy to see you back here
You've been missed
Thank you for the feedback!
L-J-L 76 - I'm glad that you're seeing the tough dilemma Liz is in. Of course it would be for the best to report Sean. It's the "right thing to do". But, as you've alluded to, it would endanger the whole situation. However, Maria is only pushing it because she doesn't have all the facts and she only wants to protect Liz.
Oh I love the way Max woke Liz up. I would be love to be woke up like that.
Yeah, that would be lovely, wouldn't it?
Thank you for the feedback and the bump!
mezz
So Michael is bodyguard and protector. Me thinks he's going to have to stand up and do his job a bit better and be more the vigilante he can be.
They are all still very young (only 16), so just like Max is being "trained" at the hospital with his dad, we can assume that the rest of the aliens his age are in training for their future "occupations". So maybe there's still hope for Michael. Because right now he's just the typical immature adolescent who thinks a little bit too much about himself and about having fun, rather than the possible ramifications of it all.
Also, Sarge was bonded to Liz's mum and he didn't get the prize he wanted so there's a story there that needs to come out.
Yup, there's a thing or two that needs to be said about that as well...
Thank you for the feedback (and for logging in
)!
Eve (begonia9508)
Would be nice if something happened to Sean and his dad, no? their planet falling on their head or even maybe aliens mutiny!
Good suggestion!
Thank you for the feedback! The writer will take the whole "running away"-suggestion under consideration
Carolyn (keepsmiling7) - Thank you
Alien Friend
Max would never go for it but say they had sex wouldn't that make him super powerful? Liz is already very unique for someone with the gene (fighting Sean, turning off the connection), maybe if they had sex they could have a chance somehow.
At least they should do it just because it might be the last thing they do, right?
But then, as you alluded to: Max is stubborn and he's probably afraid that having sex with Liz might in the future put her in even more danger when she comes face to face with Sean again.
I know Max said without the bonds they would be savages but it seems to me like they are even with the bond.
Yup. And concerning that they should do something about them acting so juvenile; Rome wasn't built in one day
They're just as slow at change like human politicians, I guess
Excellent stuff. I love how you make me ponder things.
And I love to make you ponder things
Thank you so much for the insightful feedback!
From THIRTY-THREE:
”What was your excuse this time?” I whispered, a teasing note in my voice.
”For what?” he mumbled, taken out of momentum.
”For kissing me.”
There was a brief smile on his face, his eyes momentarily brightening. ”I couldn’t live another second without kissing you.”
I laughed softly. ”Cheesy.”
”I can be really cheesy,” he replied.
Though he was aiming for light and humorous, I doubted that he actually could be cheesy on a regular basis. I pictured his life as gravely restricted, both by his own race and by not being able to be himself amongst the main species occupying Earth.
”I don’t believe you,” I said softly.
”I didn’t expect you to.” He took a step back, letting the cold desert air put space between us, and I felt the change in his mood before I witnessed it on his face. ”After what happened earlier today, you are no longer safe.”
The almost romantic one-on-one-moment came to a screeching halt, and all the fluttering butterflies in my stomach withered up and died.
____________________________________
THIRTY-FOUR
”What else is new?” I mumbled, once again wrapping my arms around my middle in the search for comfort. ”I’m quickly coming to terms with the fact that I’ve never been really safe.”
Three people could fit between us right now, as he looked at me closely, the night around him darkening his facial features with crippling fear.
At least, I was pretty sure he was really scared. I could feel it in the hard throbbing of my heart and the adrenaline in my veins. His veins. Whatever. The borders between us appeared increasingly indistinct.
”I tried to soften the blow by not dealing with it on my own, when he had you in his control,” Max said. ”Most importantly, at that point, he could have hurt you just to spite me.”
Max was referring to earlier today, when he had found Sean and I in the gym.
”You left me to get help,” I realized succinctly.
”I needed humans,” Max said. ”He can’t do anything in front of humans. There would be too many minds to erase afterwards. He would be forced to let you go. Besides…” Max smiled. He actually smiled in the light of everything. ”Sergeant could use some bad rep. And if - when - it gets out that his son tried to force himself on a girl, and possibly even drugged her, it won’t look too good.”
I almost rolled my eyes at Max’s small moment of retaliation, even though worry struck me as he basically reinforced what I had already suspected. ”And Sean will get an earful from his father, I’m sure.” Max nodded and I added, ”My drug test was negative, by the way.”
His features softened. ”Of course it was. They don’t test for alien mumbo jumbo.”
I smiled weakly even though worry drifted through me. ”So how would he -
we - explain why I was so weak?”
Max inhaled, looked away and slowly shook his head. ”Let them come up with an explanation. It’s not our problem.”
I frowned. ”But it is.” I put my arms around my middle. ”I mean, do I report him, or what? Do your people
expect me to report him, because that’s what a human would do…?”
He glanced back at me and answered, rather reluctantly, ”Your father has already filed a report.”
I froze.
Oh, no. Why hadn’t dad told me that when we had gotten home from the hospital? Because I had asked him not to report it?
”Will they do something to my dad because of it?” I whispered, barely getting the words out through the fear numbing my body.
Max met my eyes and I could sense reassurance through the connection as he said softly, ”Probably not. They wouldn’t involve another one.” He took a deep breath and added, ”It’s probably for the best anyway, that your dad reported Sean. It would look suspicious without a report.”
”But Sean-” I started.
”The sergeant will make this go away.” He looked over towards the dark horizon and mumbled, ”I can’t say what that will mean for us, but-” he looked back at me, his eyes dark and bottomless, ”-if you found Sean frightening before, he’s gonna be worse now.”
My heart skipped a beat.
”That’s why I needed to get you out here, tonight. To warn you. And-,” he looked down at his shoes in the sand, ”-I was hoping that you might have an idea on how to solve this.”
But of course, I didn’t have a solution to all of this.
Instead I needed to know, ”Does your father know what happened this morning?” I was hoping the answer would be ’no’, but I’ve learned that word had a way to get around the alien community; almost faster than the Rumor Mill of Roswell High. Which was saying a lot.
Max shrugged. ”Probably. I haven’t been home.”
I frowned. But, ”Where have you been all day?”
He grimaced. ”Hiding?”
”So you have no idea whether the Sergeant knows yet?”
”Oh,” Max looked away uncomfortably. ”He knows.”
”How much does he actually know?” I asked, in general.
”He probably knows that Sean has been having trouble manipulating you. I don’t think my dad has told him that I have bonded with you or told him anything about that whole erasing thing when you came over for dinner.” He grimaced at the memory of me coming ’over for dinner’. It seemed like such an odd phrase to throw around when it came to the Evans’ family. ”If he had, I wouldn’t have been healed from my last ’punishment’ so soon.” He sent me a wary look before continuing, ”It wouldn’t surprise me if the sergeant already suspects that I have a bond with you and that’s why Sean’s been having difficulty controlling you. He definitely knows that I saved you from the fire at your house, so he must have put two and two together and probably assumed that I’ve healed you.”
He took a deep breath and raked his hands down his face, adding, ”But he wouldn’t be sure; I wouldn’t have to form a connection to heal superficial injuries and no one knows how injured you really were.” His eyes flickered away from mine, and I felt through the bond how uncomfortable the brush on that subject made him.
For not the first time, I wondered what I had looked like when he had taken me out of my burning childhood home. If the blisters which had erupted on my skin the days after his first healing was any indication; it had been bad. Max inhaled deeply and continued, ”He knows that you saw me heal Isabel-”
”You took that memory,” I whispered, thinking back to when we had been in Mr. Evans’ study, and Max was supposed to erase my memory.
”I haven’t done that to you before,” Max said, guilt evident in his quiet voice. ”And I don’t intend to ever do that to you again.”
”Have you done it a lot? Messed with people’s minds?”
”Yours was the first I erased,” he whispered.
His confession frightened me. It was like he had just confessed doing heart surgery on me without a medical degree. Had he really walked around in my mind, completely inexperienced?
”I’ve had a lot of practice before though,” he clarified. Before I had a chance to consider the ambiguousness of that explanation (how could he have a lot of practice if he had never done it before?), he continued, ”For years, I’ve familiarized myself with neuronal processes and the areas of the brain that store memories. I’ve practiced on patients at the hospital-”
My eyes widened and I was surprised to feel disappointment in the midst of my surprise. I had wanted Max to be better than that. Not preying on innocent people that couldn’t even put up any resistance.
Just as quickly he contradicted my conclusion by saying, ”Only unconscious patients; comatose patients. I was hoping that maybe I could - in the process - find out why they were unconscious and get them back.”
I was relieved and, admittedly, in awe.
”Neither Isabel nor Michael have had any practice with mind control or erasing memories. But even if they had, I wouldn’t let any of them do that to you.”
I wasn’t sure if I should feel flattered by this or just frankly weirded out. ”Could I get those memories back? Or are they lost forever?”
”You have been getting some of your memories back - since I healed you-”
Since the creation of the bond…
”- and those erasing procedures were done by mind controllers, who are a lot more skilled than I am. So anything’s possible.”
”Even invisibility?” I asked, offering him a small smile.
”With the help from you, yes,” he said and there was that guilt in his voice again.
”That’s what you meant when you said that one often could acquire abilities one normally doesn’t have, when bonded with a gaea,” I noted.
He nodded, but his eyes were still dark. ”But I don’t want to do that again.”
This surprised me. ”Why not?” It had been a pretty neat trick after all.
He looked at me incredulously. ”Um… Because you passed out?”
”I-” I started, wanting to reassure him. It hadn’t been all that bad. I had felt a hell of a lot better than after Sean had been through with me this morning.
He was tensing again and took a couple of steps further away from me. ”I completely drained you. I felt like I had no other choice but to hide us. But he wouldn’t leave. He just stood there. I couldn’t let go of the cloak as long as he was there. Sean can be very dangerous, especially if he’s trying to prove a point.”
My mouth was dry. ”Which would be?”
”That because of his ancestry, he can do whatever he likes with you, and I have to just stand by and watch and do nothing. He has the right to control you and I’m forbidden to intervene.”
I could see how much the thought of that horrified him. How it made him tremble. And I made the snap decision to close the distance between us and wrap my arms around his middle, pressing my cheek against his chest.
He easily relaxed against me, resting his head on top of mine as his arms came around my shoulders.
”He won’t be able to do anything he wants as long as we’re connected.” I probably shouldn’t have said that so soon. Because as soon as I did, the moment had vanished and Max released me with a troubled sigh.
”And we keep coming back to that.”
I worried my bottom lip. ”I just don’t understand why they can’t just leave us alone. Why can’t I choose you instead?”
He tiredly rubbed his forehead. ”Because that’s not how it works. It’s like what Sean said in the gym. He’s got first dibs on you. And by showing an interest in you, I’ve made this whole thing into the most compelling and interesting game ever. He won’t ever give you up now. He’ll push your limits, abuse your mind and body, maybe only because he knows that I’ll be watching.”
An ice cold shudder shook me. ”Why?”
”Because he hates me,” Max declared calmly.
”Why?” I repeated.
”Because I’m a healer. Because I’m popular at school and liked by humans. Because I objected to his methods and how he treated you.”
”Treated me?” I frowned.
Max and Sean must have had a falling out way before this whole thing started up, just like Sean himself had alluded to during our ’date’.
”During the check-ups,” Max said slowly. ”We would disagree on how you were…” he licked his lips, seemingly considering the appropriate phrasing, ”…to be handled.”
My memory flashed to the dream I’d had just the other night. Of Max wanting to talk me into working with them while Sean wanted to knock me unconscious just so that he could exercise complete control over me.
Max ran a hand through his hair. ”And the older you got, the more you resisted us. Well,
him, specifically. And this pissed him off. I guess he doesn’t like to appear incompetent - especially not in front of me. It annoys him that I am to be protected just because of my heritage. I’m a real thorn in his side.”
”But you’re not a big fan of his either,” I mumbled. There was really no question about that.
”He-” Max started, but interrupted himself, his eyes flickering to my face. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights and I got the strongest feeling that he hadn’t thought before he had spoken. He had been about to reveal something that maybe I shouldn’t know about.
I felt the ice spread around my heart. ”What?”
Max waved his hand in the air. ”Forget it.”
”What were you going to say?”
”I don’t want you to know,” Max said honestly.
”Why?”
You’ve already told me so much. Why not this?
”Because…” he hesitated. ”Because it’s about your mom.”
All the processes in my body stilled. He didn’t really have to say much more for me to realize that, ”Sean hurt my mom?”
Max shook his head and stepped up to the blanket, looking like he was going to roll it up again. We hadn’t even sat down yet. Apparently, Max was suddenly ready to leave.
”Tell me!” I begged, my voice breaking, before weakening in a plea, ”Please, tell me.”
”It won’t change anything,” Max whispered. ”It will only hurt you.”
”I’ll kill him if he hurt her in any way,” I promised darkly, the anger of revenge honest and hot.
His head whipped to look at me with worried trepidation and, of course, that familiar overprotective anger. The words were barely controlled as he bit out, ”No, you won’t.”
His reaction gave me even more information. ”He did, didn’t he?”
”You won’t go anywhere near him,” Max ordered.
I raised my chin in defiance. ”I won’t have to. He’ll obviously come straight to me.”
He turned to fully face me, crossing his arms across his chest; making him appear even larger than his regular well-toned muscled self. ”And you think you’re gonna win that fight?”
”If you’re with me, yes,” I said and added as his forehead furrowed, ”I’ve felt it. I’ve felt that power, the…invincibility. The night before the party-”
”When Sean paid me a friendly visit,” Max said slowly, his stance relaxing in surrender.
”He hurt you, didn’t he?” I asked. I had felt it. I had felt Max being under attack.
”I hurt him more,” Max tried, adding lightness to the shrug of his shoulders.
”I felt you healing yourself too,” I said, ignoring his attempt at brushing the whole thing off. ”Because you can, right? You can heal yourself?”
”Yeah. But not if I’m too badly hurt. I won’t have any energy to do it. Unless….” he swallowed. ”…I’m using yours. Which I guess I did - that night.”
”You should have healed yourself when I came for…um…that unexpected dinner with your parents,” I whispered, wanting him to know that he could use me anytime, if he was in pain. It felt good, in a way, that I could help him. Somehow repay the debt for him healing me.
”I wasn’t allowed to,” Max answered. ”I was healed first after that dinner, after the time of my sentence had run out.”
I frowned.
Time of his sentence? I looked at him questioningly. ”Not allowed to?”
”It was another ’run-in’ with Sergeant.”
I gulped. ”Because of me?”
”Because Sean accused me of hiding you and intervening at the party,” Max said with a poor excuse for an innocent look.
”Asshole,” I mumbled, hating Sean so much right then.
And speaking of Sean…
”You haven’t answered my question yet. What did he do to my mom?”
Max hesitated for another second or two, before saying, ”I never realized how dangerous he was until that night. I always knew that he had something of a dictatorial frame of mind, power-hungry like few, but I never knew what he was truly capable of.”
”He killed her, didn’t he?” I asked, fighting to keep the trembles out of my voice. ”Sean was the one who killed my mom.”
”She was fighting him. Her memories were resurfacing and she was accusing him of hurting you - her daughter. She was willing to sacrifice herself, to keep you safe. She even promised to get together with Sarge again, if that’s what it would take for us to leave her daughter alone. But Sean just laughed at her. I don’t know what had been decided between his father and him, but Sean just announced that he was sick of her and that she had become a liability. Then he…”
Max’s voice trailed off. I was staring at him, my mouth hanging open, my eyes red and my cheeks wet. He looked as pale as I felt as he glanced over at me.
He was probably about to give me more information about what had actually happened than he ended up doing, instead settling for, ”Then he connected with her and two seconds later she was dead.”
It was like hearing that my mother had died all over again.
”And his father didn’t punish him for this?” I asked, my voice wet and unsteady from the tears. ”Because he just killed a gaea? The gaea that had once belonged to him?”
”They didn’t need her. She was too worn out, and becoming too aware of what was going on. It was too risky.” Max looked at me closely as he added, ”Plus, now they had you. You and Sean are the next generation. Your development was coming along nicely and it was only a matter of time before you’d be ready. To be used.”
I took a deep shuddering breath. ”What if I run away? Would they be able to find me? Witness Protection Program? Something?”
”We’ve infiltrated most of the government,” Max answered and sighed. ”Trust me, I’ve been over the options over and over again.”
But there was something disturbing me. Something I was getting from Max through the connection. A sense that he wasn’t being truly honest. I frowned, trying to dig further but not finding any clues as to what he could be withholding.
Instead, I tightened my fists, took another deep breath and stilled my tears. With quiet resolve, I said clearly, ”I want you to break the connection.”
TBC... In the next post - since I'm still in celebration mode
