Title: Hindsight
Author: SpiderGirl
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Roswell belongs to Fox.
Rating: This is mature. If this isn't your thing then don't read it.
Summary: Things go wrong. They go about as wrong as they possible could and it takes someone with hindsight to try and make things right.
Pairing: Future Max/Future Liz, Mi/Maria, Isabel/Alex, Future-Present Liz/Max. I know that last one sounds odd but trust me all will be explained.
Chapter Seven
Nancy watched her sleeping on the couch. She'd been sleeping ever since Jeff brought her home from the park; as soon as they school had phoned explaining that Liz was sick she'd been out of her mind and then Jeff failed to come back. When he did her little girl was out cold, he should have brought her straight home! She wanted to shout at him, yell her frustration out at him but she feared that it would wake Liz up.
The poor girl needed all the rest she could get. Who knew the effects time travel had on someone? Nancy suddenly panicked; what if Liz never woke up? What if coming back meant that her energy would be sucked out until it killed her? She nervously went over and checked her daughter's vitals, they were all normal despite her being a little warmer than usual. Liz, she just looked like she was sleeping. But that didn't stop the older woman from worrying.
Deep in Liz's subconscious as she slept she dreamt of the best and worse time of her life. Strangely enough it was on Antar...
Liz had been brought back to her cell after an evening with Kivar. It had gone as planned and she couldn't help the disgust that coursed through her. She felt Max near by in a cell not too far from hers but she pulled away from him burying herself deep within her own soul, blocking everything out.
Kivar had been raping her constantly for the past two months and she'd been checked over each time by doctors the next day to see if she'd produced an heir. She couldn't help it was she broke down sobbing on her knees that were pulled tight against her chest.
“My God!” she gasped as her emotion consumed her
“Shut the hell up!” roared a guard and she sucked in a breathe trying to control her sadness. She couldn't even emotionally grieve for what she was going through! Liz rose to her feet and walked over to the pile of threadbare blankets in the corner that passed as her bed. She picked one up and wound it round until it was thin enough to tie into a noose. She didn't have anything to hang herself on though. Her room was empty save for a bucket and her blankets; she couldn't even kill herself like she wanted!
She abandoned the noose and tried to make use of the bucket. It was made out of weak metal and she kicked it until a piece broke off. She brought it to her neck and slowly pressed it against her artery; she stopped suddenly when she felt a strange throbbing in her stomach.
“I'm pregnant” she whispered dropping the metal shard and splaying both hands over her tummy to feel the life growing inside her “I'm going to have a baby. Our... no... it's his baby. Not Max's” tears filled her eyes once more. She fiercely shook her head “Not my baby”
She picked up that shard once more and plunged it into her stomach. She focused her energy and sent it in through the metal blasting the unborn baby “I'm sorry!”
Liz screamed... she screamed so loud that Max thought she was being killed. Guards rushed into her room surveying the scene and immediately called for a healer to save her, Kivar would go insane if she died! It was too late for the baby. She couldn't stop screaming as she felt her baby dying inside her, dying at her hands.
Liz jerked awake knocking Nancy back so she landed on the floor in shock, she jerked with fright as her little girl sat there for a moment before letting out the most blood curdling scream she'd ever heard. Liz was clawing at her stomach as tears streamed down her face. Jeff came in when he heard his daughter's scream and quickly rushed over to restrain her.
“Liz! LIZ!” it took a while before he got her attention. She hiccuped then swallowed before wiping away the tears and making her face blank, he stood up and helped Nancy up off the floor
“What time is it?” she asked
“It's almost three” whispered Nancy, what had she been dreaming about; what could have possibly caused a reaction like that?
“We've got to go meet the others”
“The meeting's cancelled. I told Kal that it's cancelled, you're in no fit state to go out there” said Jeff putting his foot down. Liz glared at him, she rose from them the couch squaring up to him; suddenly he felt terrified of her. She was intimidating him and it was working.
“Get the car. We're going, you're not going to stop me. You either come with me or you can stay here. It's your choice, either help me or get out of the way”
“Jeff” Nancy called him “Go get the car. Liz needs us since she's certainly made up her mind about going”
“Yeah, yeah okay” he nodded then left the room to get the car. Liz slipped her shoes on and smiled at her mom as a thank you.
Quietly the pair walked downstairs and got in the car where Jeff was waiting. Liz sat in the back while her parents were in the front and they drove out of town towards the reservoir.
*
He wondered what he was doing here. He knew it had something to do with Liz and why she'd dumped him, she said that she'd come and explain everything to him and his father after the Crash Festival but she had failed to turn up. So many questions were running through his mind, why did she want to explain things to his dad as well? Why all the cloak and dagger attitude and why did Alex Whitman, Maria Deluca, Michael Guerin, Max and Isabel Evans have to do with this? And who the hell was that guy standing by the really expensive looking black jeep who was eyeing up everyone?
“I think that's them” he said suddenly. Everyone looked at the weird bald guy before turning to see a faint dust cloud rising as a car drove towards them. Within minutes all the Parker's arrived and they came over with Liz leading the way
“Thank you all for meeting me here” she said as she took the floor, so to speak. The bald man immediately moved over to her side and began whispering with her. They argued quietly for a few minutes before he glared at her and folded his arms angrily before letting her continue “I know that what I'm about to tell you... no, show you... what I'm about to show you is going to be a little scary but... well you need to know”
“Liz, what's going on? Why are we all here?” Kyle demanded suddenly
“You're all here because you're the people I trust more than anything or anyone on this planet or the next” she replied simply “You're my family... or you become my family. I know this bit won't be exactly pleasant but I want you to hold hands”
“What?” mumbled Alex “Hold hands?”
“That's what she said” Michael hissed at him, Isabel nodded and walked over to hold her estranged brother's hand. Max took her other hand while Maria held Michael's free hand, they all joined hands until Liz was the last one standing in the circle not holding anyone's hand
“Clear your minds. You're going to need to be ready for this” she said, she sucked in a deep breathe then took hold of the hands outstretched to her which was Max and her father. Immediately the flashes started, they began from the shooting in her time line, Jim hounding Max, her Grandmother passing away, Tess and Nasedo coming to Roswell, Nasedo taking her, the White Room, The Destiny Message, Liz's terrible summer in Florida, coming back and trying to avoid Max, Future Max pretending to sleep with Kyle, the skins, The Dupes, Laurie DuPree, Nicholas, Alex's death, Alex's funeral, searching for Alex's killer, the fighting and falling out, finding out that Max and Tess were going to have a baby. Going to Las Cruces to kill Leanna, Discovering she wasn't Alex's murderer, Max and the others leaving, Discovering Tess's betrayal, Tess leaving with Max's baby, Max doing everything to rescue his son, robbing the Quikstop, her father's ban on Max, trying to be with him, Max finding and going to Kal Langley, Isabel getting married then the whole honeymoon fiasco, Samuel and Christmas, then New Years were Max and Maria went off to find Enigma, Liz getting her powers then leaving for Vermont, her feeling Max die then the strange few hours when he came to her school and tried to kill her, falling out the window and Max saving her life, going back to Roswell, Michael loosing control and going on a mad spree threatening everyone then trying to kill Jesse, Isabel's marriage hanging by a thread, Tess returning with the baby and bringing the entire FBI down on them once more, hiding out at Isabel's waiting for the heat to die down, the voting, Liz driving Tess to the base, Tess destroying the base, Max giving baby Zan up for adoption because he was human, Graduation and their escape into the night, Max and Liz getting married, wandering around in a van for several months before discovering Maria was pregnant with twins, settling in a small town just north of the Canadian border, Jacob and Serina being born making Michael the proudest father in the entire world, living together in the small town until the FBI tried to make an attempt at capturing them, spending the next four years on the road, doing courses whenever possible, Kyle and Isabel growing into close friends, birthdays celebrated, Serina passing her course in quantum mechanics and advanced physics at the age of eight thanks to fake IDs, the first wave coming down in Australia, returning home as every government fought against the alien invasion, working with the resistance for three years, their parents tortured and killed, Jim throwing himself in front of a blast that would have killed Liz, Kyle and Isabel, Kyle holding his father's head in his hands as he died, Kivar destroying the sun, Kyle dying in a raid a few weeks later, someone telling her that Isabel had been killed when a group went out to get food, Nicholas coming back trying to capture Maria, Serina and Jacob, Michael fighting Nicholas until he lost and he was blasted, Michael watching Nicholas kill his family before his eyes, Max and Liz becoming the last of their group, Kivar coming to Earth, Max and Liz surrendering to him, giving up the Granolith, Kivar taking them from Earth by a ship, Liz watching as Earth was destroyed as the Antarian forces pulled out, being held prisoner on Antar, being separated from Max, her trips to Kivar, killing Kivar's baby, being reunited with Max before being separated once more, getting pregnant again and killing the baby a second time, being reunited with Max permanently, being tortured, watching Max being tortured, begging Max to destroy her womb, being left to rot in the cells, discovering the Granolith was nearby, their plans, Max and Liz's escape, Liz watching Max die...
The entire group holding hands felt every single emotion, felt ever feeling Liz had through the entire thirty six years from the day in the cafe when she was shot to the moment in the Granolith. Everyone let go and she collapsed to the floor; instantly it was as if a chain reaction was set off. Maria rushed over to Michael and he pulled her into his arms and held her there as if she'd disappear any second. Nancy, Jeff and Max rushed over to Liz as she sat there trying to catch her breathe. Isabel broke down in tears and Alex came over and held her as she cried
“Good god” gasped Jim “What the hell was that...?” he knew exactly what it was. He knew and saw everything, still that didn't stop him from asking
“She's an alien?” whispered Kyle “So are you... and you... you're a shapeshifter” he said addressed Kal who was stood there in a state of shock. He had no idea, yeah he figured out little bits from what she'd said, but he had no idea she'd been through that! His mind reeled for a moment before he masked his surprise and began to work through his priorities; protecting the Royal Four was paramount but Liz had asked him to protect the young boy Alex. He'd seen how important Alex was to the group before he was killed and that his death essential broke down the group separating them to be infiltrated and manipulated easily. That would be one of his goals, keep the group mentality strong so that it wouldn't be broken. After that he would eliminate the threat the other shapeshifter made by trying to break Max and Liz up; she carried the Third Seal which made her Queen, even though they had failed to complete a proper bonding ceremony, that meant that anyone else would clearly be dismissed as Queen.
He knew clearly that Liz wouldn't be able to function without Max and from what he saw as his young king helped the broken girl on the floor it was pretty much the same for him. Langley glanced over at the fair haired couple holding each other close as if the other would disappear; the boy Michael was the General. He'd have to be trained to reach his full potential, he'd have to take Michael as well when he took Alex, that way he could train them up and ensure their safety.
“Yeah I am... Alex” he replied then called the tall boy getting his attention. He lifted his head from Isabel's shoulder and stared at him “I'll find the reason but I want you to go home to pack. Be ready to come with me to Los Angeles”
“Yeah” he nodded glumly before turning to Isabel
“No Alex! I don't want you to go!” she shook her head her grip on him tightening “Don't leave me! I can't loose you!”
“You won't. I'm going away to be safe; I'll come back when it's safe for me to and we'll be together. That's if you want to... I know you got married to Jesse”
“Yeah but I love you. You know what and who I am and you didn't run away like he did” she pointed out and he nodded
“Good... when I come back we'll be together”
“Michael” Langley said “You have to come too”
“What? Why do I have to go? I want to stay here with my wife”
“She's not your wife yet. You're the general, I'm going to need to train you up to your full potential. You're going to need it with her as the Queen” he chuckled trying to make the highly tense situation a little bearable
“What's that supposed to mean?” Max demanded roughly turning to glare at Kal
“It was a joke... not a very good one. Sorry” he shook his head “She wants to go to Copper Summit on her own to 'take out' the skins. She's a spitfire through and through; she's going to need a good king and a strong General to take care of her” she'll need it, he mentally added
“I'm going with Michael” Maria announced “He's Max's General and I'm Liz's. I want to be trained up too. I want to be able to protect myself and my family”
“Are you sure?” Jim asked speaking up suddenly “Liz might need you more at the minute”
“She's got Kyle, Isabel and Max looking out for her not to mention her parents. I think... no, I know she'll be okay until I come back, right?” she turned hoping to hear her best friend agree with her but Liz was still on the floor staring off into space.
“I think we should get her home” Nancy said quietly. The two of them lifted Liz off the ground and put her in the back of their car
“Can I...” Max began, Jeff just nodded without saying a word. Max tossed his keys to Isabel who caught them easily and he climbed into the back seat. As soon as he was there Liz moved into his arms before closing her eyes. He held her safe as she fell asleep; she'd been through so much.
Isabel held the keys in her hands before looking at Alex, he nodded as a slow understanding smile spread across his face
“I don't want to be alone, not tonight, come with me. We have a lot to talk about”
“Yeah we do” he agreed before glancing at Maria who was still being held safely by Michael “Maria. Are you going to get back into town safe?”
“She'll be fine” Michael replied for her. Jim and Kyle were already walking to their cars, all the people involved would have a lot to talk about.
“Don't go to far” said Langley “I'll be keeping an eye out for all of you”
“Thanks” said Kyle, somehow the thought of having an alien shapeshifter watching his back was mighty appealing and made the world seem less darker than it had suddenly become for him.
*
Max didn't want to leave her but he knew he had to get home. How had she survived through all that? How had he? Through her eyes he'd seen how he lost one person after another... he saw the heights of their connection and knew each and every single time that Liz was raped by Kivar he felt it. He could only imagine what his future self felt like knowing that Liz was being abused by that monster and he was powerless to stop it!
“You should go home, Max” said Jeff. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to hate the boy in front of him. But he couldn't. In all the flashes he got as he worked through all Liz had shown him; he knew that Liz wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him. Yes, the boy in front of him would one day take his daughter away but she was be protected and loved; that was all he hoped for his daughter. He could see that even though times had been tough she'd been happy.
“I know” he replied “But I don't want to leave her...”
“We'll look after her for you” said Nancy from the doorway “You can come back tomorrow and see her then. But for now I think you're parents are worrying about you”
“Yeah, yes they probably are. Thank you” he said with a nod then untangled Liz from his arms and left.
It was quiet when he got home, his parents were in the living room watching TV and Isabel was no where in sight
“Where's Izzy?” he couldn't help but ask
“She's in her room. Max, can we talk to you” said Phillip, Max came and sat down and the TV was switched off
“What's wrong?”
“Oh, nothing sweetie. It's just Isabel mentioned that you were out on a date...”
“A date?” he repeated surprised, why had Isabel told them that?
“With that nice girl Elizabeth Parker, her parents run the CrashDown Cafe right?”
“Yeah...” he nodded, he was surprised but Isabel had laid the ground work for him. He'd have to get his own back and mention Alex “I was... on a date. She's my girlfriend”
“That's nice, dear” said Diane “But don't you think that you're rushing into things? We haven't met her yet”
“Diane, come on!” Philip interrupted “Didn't you hear what Isabel said? You know how picky and fussy Isabel is; do you really think she's give the girl praise if she wasn't good for her little brother?”
“I suppose” she grumbled “Still haven't met her. You should invite her round for dinner”
“Of course I will” said Max with a smile, then it got even bigger “Is Isabel inviting Alex?”
“Alex?” Philip's head shot up “Alex who? Why hasn't she mentioned him?”
“Alex Whitman... Isabel's boyfriend” Max almost singsonged
“Boyfriend?” Philip practically growled “She's too young to have a boyfriend!”
“I'm going to my room. I've got some studying to do” Max couldn't wait to tell his sister the news that he'd told their parents about her relationship with Alex; teach her to meddle in his affairs.
*
“I can't believe she went through all that” Alex whispered after settling down on the chair in Isabel's room. He'd followed her home in his car then she'd let him in through her window.
“I can. Somehow that just seems something she'd do. She endured so much, that's just who she is”
“What do you mean?”
“She's strong. She's the strongest person I've ever met” Isabel pointed out as she sat down on her bed, she wanted to be close to Alex but short of sitting in his lap, she had to sit on her bed “It killed her inside each time she lost one of us and yet she kept going. When she lost you she had to be strong for Maria, when she lost Kyle she had to be strong for me, when she lost me she had to be strong for Max and Michael, when she lost Maria, Jacob, Serina and Michael she had to be strong for Max and the resistance, when she lost the resistance she had to be strong for Max... what happens when there's no one left for her to strong for?”
“I dunno... I don't know what's going to happen now. All I know is that it's different for her now, she got us all back. She doesn't have to be strong for us, we have to be strong for her. She's going to need us to get through all she's been through”
“I know. I can't believe it, though, all her memories... what Kivar did to her. I felt every feeling she felt when she got rid of the baby, I felt it like I was getting rid of my own baby” she choked up and Alex immediately rose from his feet and sat down next to her on her bed pulling her into his arms.
“It's okay... it'll be okay”
“I don't want all that to happen. I don't want to loose you and I don't want Liz to go through that!”
“You won't. Langley will take Michael, Maria and me to LA and I'll be safe... and you know what, when I come back... I'm going to take you out. We're going to go Star Gazing and I'm going to treat you like a princess”
“Alex... I should have married you instead of Jesse. I loved you so much, I wish you'd been there for me when I took that step”
“I know. You don't have to tell me, I'm not angry that you married Jesse” he cooed softly stroking her hair “I was just glad you had a chance to be happy. That's all I want for you Isabel and if... if things do go bad and you do meet him, then you have my blessing to be with him”
“How can you say that?” she fiercely shook her head “It's you I want, it's you I'll ever want. You know the truth about me and you accept me. He didn't and the marriage fell apart, he got his happy with another woman. I'm going to get my happiness from you and no one else; now that we're together I'm not going to let you go”
“I love you” Alex blurted before he could stop himself, Isabel smiled and slowly leaned forward brushing her lips against his
“I love you too” she replied before kissing him again just as the door opened, Phillip walked into Isabel's room intent on asking her about who this Alex person was that Max told him she was dating and got the shock of his life
“Isabel... I wanted to talk to you about... Oh my God!”
“Aaah!” Alex jumped up and tried to avoid Phillip trying to grab him. Isabel rose to her feet trying to step between her father and her boyfriend
“Who the hell is that and what is he doing in your room?”
“This is Alex...”
“You're Alex!” Phillip growled, Isabel shook her head trying to stop her dad from murdering her boyfriend. She had a feeling Max had something to do with this
“It's uhh nice to meet you sir” said Alex as he hid behind Isabel
“Max!” Isabel shouted and Max burst into the room then promptly burst out laughing “Don't laugh! Help me! Or I'll tell them what you were doing with Liz”
“You were doing stuff with Liz?” demanded Alex suddenly, Phillip and Alex marched towards Max intent on interrogating him
“Yeah that's what I'd like to know. This girl isn't one of those loose women”
“Hey! Liz is like a sister to me! Don't talk about her like that!” he protested then paused when she realised who he was talking to
“Who are you? Her pimp? Are you trying to recruit Isabel now?”
“Dad, Alex is our friend. He's a good guy, do you really think I'd let my sister date someone I didn't approve of?” Max pointed out and Phillip cringed
“You” he said pointed at Isabel “Are grounded. You too Max. Alex, go home”
“Yes sir” he said glancing briefly at Isabel, he knew he was pushing it but he kissed her goodbye before quickly leaving past a surprised Diane “Nice to meet you Mrs Evans” then he was gone.
*
“Jacob looked so much like you” whispered Maria, the two of them were sat on the steps to her house talking quietly
“But he has your eyes” Michael shot back “They're both beautiful and... Serina was... is so clever!”
“I know... I can't believe she came from me”
“I know what you mean” he nodded “Do you think we could... we could be together like that?”
“I don't see why not. I'd like that, to have that future... I don't mean the dying and Earth getting destroyed but having a family with you. That would be nice, you really loved us, you gave your life to protect us”
“Fat lot of good that did. You still got killed, I'm sorry I failed you Maria”
“Hey... shhh that's not happened yet and we're not going to let it happen. I'm sure, now that we know about what's to come, we can stop it or change it. When Tess comes to Roswell I'm going to lay a serious smack down on her ass” she said determined to do just that. Michael couldn't help but smile, he couldn't wait to see Maria kick Tess's ass for all she'd done “So... do you want to give it a go?”
“'Give it a go?' You mean... well yeah I'd like that. But I don't really have...”
“Don't finish that thought, SpaceBoy, you've got so much to offer me. You love me and you give me a family I love more than anything. You show me how wonderful life can be... that's all I need”
“No it's not. You need so much more than that, Maria, you deserve the world!”
“That's exactly what I'm going to get! You give me yours!” she said with a warm smile. She put her hand over his just as Amy got home from work.
“I love you” he whispered, he didn't choke or stumble over his words; he meant it
“I love you too” she answered before leaning in to kiss him
“What and what? What the what?” Amy cried interrupting their happy moment. Maria went bright red and Michael just smiled. This was going to be his mother in law one day, he had to make a good impression
“Hello Ms Deluca. I'm Michael Guerin, Maria's boyfriend”
“No you're not. Maria isn't old enough to have a boyfriend yet. Scram” she said firmly before turning to Maria “You. Inside. NOW!”
“With all due respect, Amy, I wasn't asking for permission. She's my girlfriend whether you like it or not” he couldn't help but feel smug despite how the woman before he was shooting daggers at him with her eyes. Amy took in the scruffy looking boy in front of her then grabbed him by the ear and led him down the path
“Beat it” she said before turning back and ushering Maria inside
“I'll call you!” she called despite the fact that her mom was ready to kill her.
TBC...