Fortunate Son (Other/CC...TEEN) (Complete)

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TaffyCat
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Fortunate Son (Other/CC...TEEN) (Complete)

Post by TaffyCat »

Winner Round 11

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Email: bstuller@splis.com
Category: Other, w/CC
Rating: TEEN – for subject matter at the beginning.
Disclaimer: Don’t own them, just borrowing them. Promise to return them only slightly used.
Notes: This is kind of a strange story for me because I am a Spoiled Dreamer, but the idea of what happened to Zan Jr. (aka Spot) after the adoption intrigued me.
This story will not explain nor excuse anything that JK wrote. I am simply taking it, such as it is, and running with it. This is set 15 years in the future.

Caution: there is some violence in this story, particularly Part 1.

Thank you K_K for all your help and suggestions!

~

FORTUNATE SON (J.C. Fogerty)

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, they're red, white and blue.
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief",
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no,
Yeah!

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, they only answer More! more! more! yoh,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, one.

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son, no no no,

~



Part 1

He looked down at his appointment book at his next meeting, Sam Connor. There was a time that a meeting with Sam Connor meant a long lunch and a couple of drinks and a cigar but not now. A drunk driver stopped those almost two years ago. He had been Sam Connor’s lawyer since the days he was a fresh from college kid working his way up in the financial world. He had helped him with corporate takeovers, mergers and acquisitions, and various legal challenges. When the time came, he also saw to his estate. It had been pretty straightforward. The business side was very well laid out. It was the personal side that was a mess. Sam had been in the middle of revamping that when it happened. He always thought there would be plenty of time.

They had been coming home from an evening at the Met. They were in the back of a big Caddy. Caddies were supposed to be safe, built like tanks. But even tanks could be destroyed. The kid driving his dad’s old Suburban had been out at a concert and partying with friends. He had a blood alcohol of almost twice the legal limit, plus he tested positive for coke. As was often the case, the kid only had a bump on the head and a broken collarbone while he managed to take the life of two people when he slammed into the back of that Caddy. Sadly, that wasn’t the worst of it though. No, the worst was that in that single action, he stripped away a beloved Mom and Dad of a 13-year-old little boy. A little boy that many considered fortunate, he had more wealth than most would have in a lifetime but he had no one other than advisors and lawyers, and an uncle that he didn’t like. It was a now 15-year-old Sam Connor Jr. that he would be meeting with this afternoon.

He looked at the light on his phone as his secretary buzzed him. His appointment was here. Pressing a button, “Send him in, Louisa.”

Standing up, he started to smile as the door opened but he faltered as the solemn boy walked in. The boy wasn’t alone, as he had expected. He looked hard at the boy, he looked lost and miserable and he had one hell of a shiner.

Looking up at the boy’s companion, he forced himself to be pleasant. David Connor had been a pain in the backside of his brother all his life. He was always looking for a hand out or a little cash to tied him over between jobs. With Sam Sr.’s untimely death, David had been handed the goose that laid the golden egg, guardianship of 13-year-old Sam.

As controller of Sam’s estate, now David Connor was a pain in his backside. Over the months he had worked hard to avoid David as much as possible, as he denied his numerous requests for increases in monthly allowances. He had taken very good and careful control of Sam’s vast investments and holdings, but looking at the shiner Sam sported he began to think that perhaps he hadn’t done nearly enough. He cleared his throat and did his best to remain professional, “So David. I wasn’t expecting you today. How are you doing, Sammy?”

David gave the boy a bit of a shove towards the chairs. He had been furious when he found out that with one phone call Sam had managed to get an appointment with this sleaze bag lawyer that held his brother’s money, while his own calls had gone unreturned for weeks. Of course he had only found out about this meeting this morning when he woke from his alcohol bender from the night before and realized that the kid wasn’t in school. The kid was always in school. He didn’t give a damn that he had to knock the information out him. The shiner was the kid’s own fault, anyways. He shouldn’t have fell against the tub like that when he was smacked. Taking a seat in front of the desk, “He’s doing fine, but he needs some stuff and lately that stuff is costing more, a lot more. Why by the end of the month, the cupboards are damn bare. You wouldn’t want to see Samuel Connor Jr. standing in a bread line at the end of every month, now would you, Simon?”

Simon looked at the boy. His heart hurt. Sam had always been a quiet boy, shy and sweet, honest, and kind. A boy that any mother would want their daughter to bring home, a boy that Sam and Carol Conner had been overjoyed to adopt. The boy had been a dream come true for them. Now he looked like a boy that was trapped in a nightmare. He comes from around the desk and pulls up a chair next to Sam, ignoring David’s frown. He gets right in Sam’s line of sight, even though Sam was busily studying the floor, “Sammy, is that why you’re here? To get your allowances increased?” Sam didn’t say a word, just nodded yes and continued looking at the floor.

He rubbed his hand over his mouth and chin in aggravation. He knew damn well that Sam would not come here asking for money. If it had been something that simple, he would have simply asked for it over the phone. He had always told Sam that if he needed any extra cash, all he had to do was ask. Sam never asked. He didn’t have to. The monthly allowance was more than sufficient. Sam knew that too. The boy was here for something else. Looking over at David, he knew damn well there was only one way to get the asshole out of here so he could talk to Sam some more.

Walking over to his desk, he flips on his computer. He opens the proper program and issues the instructions. He waits a moment then prints out the confirmation on his desktop printer. He makes another copy for his files then hands the confirmation to David. He did his best to keep the snarl out of his tone, “Here’s another ten grand. The check is at 1st National, you know the branch, it’s good until close of business today then it’s voided. You better hurry with afternoon traffic.”

Greedily grabbing the document he makes a motion to the boy to get up. Simon holds up his hand, “Don’t worry about Sam. I’ll drop him off tonight. I hate to eat alone and my partner isn’t in town tonight. I was hoping Sam would like to get a bite for dinner with me.”

David sneered at Simon. As far as he was concerned the fag could do whatever the hell he wanted with the brat, just so long as the payments kept coming. Shrugging, “Yeah, whatever.” Deciding that should at least sound parental, didn’t want him thinking he wasn’t taking care of the kid. He kicks the chair leg to get the kid’s attention. When Sam finally looks up at him, he glares at him, silently reminding him to keep his mouth shut about anything that went on at home, “So, see ya tonight. Not too late, school night.” He quickly turns and almost runs out, he couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Lawyers and gays gave him the willies and this guy was a double whammy.

Simon waits until the door closes and he hears the faint echo of the front door opening and closing. Getting up and going to the well-stocked liquor cabinet, he fixes himself a martini and fishes out a 7Up for the boy. Handing him a glass of 7Up and taking a seat next to him, “He’s gone now, Sam. Tell me what you wanted. It’s ok.”

Sam took a sip from the glass, not really tasting it. He had been giving this a lot of thought. He wanted to stay loyal to Mom and Dad, but they were gone and he was alone. He knew that he had been adopted. They had never hidden it from him. They had told him all about how his biological family had gone to great lengths to make sure he went to a good home, all kinds of background checks and stuff. They must have cared about him to do that, they must have. He knew that Uncle Simon had always taken care of Dad’s legal stuff so he must know about it, about him. Bringing his soft amber eyes up to meet Simon’s, “Uncle Simon, do…do you know who I am? I mean you’re my dad’s lawyer. You handle all his legal stuff, like…like my adoption. Can you tell me where they are, my biological mom and dad?”

He had to take a few sips of his drink as he contemplates this. They had wanted a child so badly. They had tried for years to conceive then during an exam a tumor was found. By the time it was diagnosed it had already spread. The only thing that saved Carol was a hysterectomy. They then threw all their efforts into her recovery and making plans to adopt. Given Carol’s medical history adoption was difficult, especially for a healthy Caucasian infant. Their only option was a private adoption. They were making inquiries about it when out of the blue he had gotten a call from an old friend. He drained the rest of his martini then grabbed his jacket, “Come on Sammy. I promised you dinner, then we’ll talk.”

~

The restaurant was crowded as always but it was good food and reasonably priced, and very private for the right people. He slipped the waiter the correct amount and got a relatively quiet table in the back. The spinach lasagna was excellent as usual and Sammy scarfed down an entire pizza on his own. He had forgotten how much the boy loved red peppers. He took another sip of soda, “Sammy, I’ll tell you what I know but in return I want the truth from you. Starting with how you got that black eye?”

He wanted to tell him, he really did but…but if they took Uncle David away then he really would be alone. They couldn’t do that. He couldn’t do that yet, at least not until he found his other family. He could see them in his mind, they probably had been too young to keep him so they had to give him up but later on, yeah, later on, they had gotten married. He probably had lots of brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles, even grandparents. They were just waiting for him, just him. They wouldn’t care about his money, not like Uncle David, “ I slipped and hit my head on the bathtub. It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

You could always tell so much from this kid’s eyes. They were so expressive, and right now they told him that Sammy was lying. He couldn’t help the disappointed look he gave him but decided not to push him too far. The kid needs help and he was afraid if he pushed now, the kid might stop trusting him. “Ok, but you might need an x-ray, make sure you don’t have a concussion or fracture or something.”

Sam shook his head carefully, trying not to wince. He still had a nasty headache, “I’m fine. Now… now it’s your turn.”

He waited until the waiter took their order for cheesecake and tiramisu, “Well, contrary to what you believe, I did not handle your adoption which for you is a good thing. If I had been involved in it as a lawyer, we could not have this conversation until you were 18. So here goes. I know that you were from New Mexico but I don’t know where. I just know that the lawyer and his wife that brought you to New York came from New Mexico. I was there when they brought you to your parents. I think they might have been friends of your parents or your parents' families. They seemed pretty attached to you. They went to extraordinary lengths to make sure you went to a good family. I got the impression that your parents had been young, very young, probably still in high school. That they were both healthy, no drugs or anything, that’s about it.”

Sammy frowned. It wasn’t much, “What about letters or something. Don’t…don’t they do that sometimes?”

Simon wanted to hug him. If ever a kid needed a hug this one did. He was grasping so hard at straws for a family, “Sammy, I’m sorry but this was a closed adoption, there was nothing like that. All ties were severed at that time.”

He wanted to cry. His dream family was shattering into a million pieces, “They…they didn’t care what happened to me afterwards. They didn’t want me. They just wanted to get rid of me.”

He scooted his chair around so he could put his arm around the boy, “Samuel, adoptions aren’t easy for birth parents. Sometimes…sometimes the only way they can deal with what they had to do was sever all ties. It’s just too hard on them otherwise. I do know that they made certain your adoptive parents were of good character and means, that they could provide you with a stable loving home and a good education. Like they knew that they weren’t going to know how you were doing so they made certain the placement was a good one. And it was. Your parents cherished you from the start.”

He wiped his eyes. He hated to cry. He had cried so much when his parents died, after a while Uncle David had started teasing him about being a sissy boy and a cry baby, “I miss them so much Uncle Simon. I just…I thought that maybe my birth parents might care about me and… and, I don’t know. I have this dream that there was this big, large family out there just waiting to welcome me with open arms… not just my money.”

All he could do tonight was hug him closer, “There are people that care about you. I do, you know that, right? And it’s not just about your money. I was your dad’s friend when he was working paycheck to paycheck and barely making ends meet and I’m your friend too. Sammy, this is important. If you need anything, anything at all, not just money, I want you to come to me. I’ll help you. I promise. You understand?”

He gave Uncle a Simon a quick hug then shook his head yes. “I think I should be getting home. I still have homework from yesterday to complete and school in the morning.”

~

Simon gazed up at the large upscale apartment building, he could make out that the lights were all on in Sam’s apartment. He had a knot in his stomach about this, “Sammy, you could stay with me tonight, if you want.”

Sam looked up for a moment then back to Simon, “No, that’s ok. This is home.” He gets out of the cab and looks back one more time, “Thanks Uncle Simon.”

Simon watched as the doorman opened the door for him. He waited until he saw Sammy disappear into an elevator before telling the cabbie to drive on. Tomorrow he will place a call to John Tennant. He hadn’t talked to John in years. John and he go way back. He had been the friend that had called him that day 15 years ago and told him about another friend of his that had an infant that needed a home, a good home. John should know that, that home wasn’t so good anymore.

~

Sam could feel the music thumping through the floor the second he stepped out of the elevator. They had the whole floor to themselves so there were no nosey neighbors to complain. As he neared the door to his home, he could hear it blaring at him. David’s nightly party was in full swing. At least he didn’t have to try and get to the kitchen for something to eat tonight. He could go straight to his room, lock the door and put on his headphones. It was his nightly ritual. He hated it. Mom had worked so hard and was so proud of the antiques she collected and silk tapestries that hung in the dining room. Now the tapestries had barf on them and soot from cigars and other things he knew was being smoked out there. A good part of the antiques were at the pawnshops or consignment shops in town. He hated it when David ran out of his party money. He hated the parties, the whacked-out strangers roaming right outside his bedroom, the drinking, the drugs, the never silent music, and the loneliness. He mostly hated Uncle David, the one that had brought it all into his home. But as long as the parties kept going, David left him alone.

~

Simon waited a day before calling John Tennant. He had to be careful about how he approached things. Legally John couldn’t tell him anything directly about the adoption so he decided on a more indirect approach. They were at a local bar, sitting at a table, smoking cigars and nursing their scotches, “So John, how are things going?”

John had wondered why Simon was calling him out of the blue like this. They hadn’t really talked in ages, then all of a suddenly a “let’s go for a drink” call. He wondered if Simon and his partner were looking to adopt. It still wasn’t easy for gay couples but it was possible. “Good, doing real good. Penny and I are looking forward to Joshua coming home from boarding school for the holidays. How are you and Gary?”

“We’re good. Gary’s import/export business is doing great. He returns tomorrow morning from Turkey. He had some great finds.” He takes a another sip of his drink as he decides to go ahead and plunge in with his plan, “John, I have a client that is looking to do some business in New Mexico. Don’t you have a friend that is a lawyer there? What’s his specialty?”

“Oh, you mean Philip Evans? Yeah, he’s still there. Still hangs his shingle out in Roswell. He’s a contracts lawyer. What was you’re client looking for?”

For some reason Simon wasn’t surprised that this Philip Evans was not in family law. So that means that his involvement in Sammy’s adoption was on the personal side. He was going to mention something to John about Sammy’s current domestic situation but now, now he already has a lead to the biological family, Philip Evans. Changing his plans at the last minute, “Oh yeah, that’d be perfect. He was looking to invest in a research and development project outside of White Sands. Sounds like Philip Evans might be a good one to take a look at those contracts, and make sure they comply with all the state and local requirements. Do you have his number?”

Whipping out his Pilot, “Yeah, I have it my Palm Pilot. If you have yours with you, you can just scan it.”

Checking to make sure it scanned correctly, they finish their cigars and drinks and went their separate ways. Simon wasn’t entirely sure if finding Sammy’s biological family was the best thing to do. They could turn out to be just a bad as David was, just a drain on the bank account. He could be opening a huge Pandora’s box by proceeding with this. Still, there was the memory of that shiner Sammy had been sporting the other day. That image just won’t go away.

~

Two days later he was in the privacy of his office, studying the report he obtained on Philip Evans, age 59, married 35 years, wife’s name, Diane, age 58, 2 children, boy Max, aged 34, girl Isabel, also age 34. Interesting that there’s not much on the kids after high school, almost like they had dropped off the face of the Earth. He wondered what had happened to them, and made a note to have the private investigator look into the kids’ whereabouts further. Everything he read was very normal. It was exactly what he expected to find, that just made him uneasier. It was almost too normal. By every account, Philip Evans was a damn fine contracts lawyer that had gone out of his way to remain unnoticed, under the radar. Lawyers usually wanted to get noticed, it helped to make a name, to advance, maybe even someday a judgeship. Philip Evans did none of that, “What are you hiding Philip Evans and why did you take such a personal interests in an adoption case fifteen years ago?”

He was startled out of his musing by his phone buzzing him. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Pressing the button, “Yes, Louisa?” “Mr. Sam Conner is here to see you, sir” comes the reply. “Send him in.” He hoped Sammy was alone this time. As the door opened he smiled at Sammy, the sole visitor. “Hello Sammy. How are you doing today?”

He was tired. David had been partying hearty since getting that ten grand earlier this week. He longed for the time when he could come home to peace and quiet. Home held neither for him now. Taking the offered seat, “I’m ok I guess. Kind of tired, up late a lot this week.” He can’t go on like this for much longer. He wants an escape, any escape. He takes the 7Up he’s offered, “Uncle Simon. Can you help me find them, my birth parents? I’ve been thinking about it and…and I don’t have anything to loose by trying to find them. Will you help me?”

Simon takes a seat and fingers the report sitting open on his desk, abruptly closing the folder, “Sammy, I’ve done some checking already. I found the lawyer that handled things from their side of the adoption, through him I should be able to track down your birth parents, but… you’re wrong. You potentially have a great deal to lose and I’m not talking just about money. Sammy, there are a lot of reasons people decide to adopt their child out. They may not be happy to have you looking them up, and you may not like what you find. You could get hurt.”

He had thought of that but until he knew for certain, there was always a chance that they might welcome him. Was it so wrong to want to feel loved and wanted again? “I’ll think about it. Uncle Simon, what’s his name, this lawyer?”

He could already tell by the look in his eye that Sammy was going to go looking, with or without him. It was better to be with him, that way he could look out for the boy’s interest and keep any additional circling vultures at bay, “His name is Philip Evans of Roswell, New Mexico. Sammy, I’ll help you but I want you to let me handle it, ok? Let’s not go blindly into something when we don’t have a clue what we might find.” He checks his watch and frowns, damn, he wanted to talk to Sammy some more about this but he’s got to run, “Sammy, I’ve got some people looking into things already. Let’s see what they come up with before doing anything else.” Rising and grabbing his coat and bag, “I have a plane to catch for a meeting in Brussels. I’ll be back on Tuesday. We should know more then and can talk about how to proceed, ok?” He gives the boy a hug and walks out of the building with him.

~

His home was unusually quiet when he walked in. It was odd. He glanced in the living room and spotted two people he didn’t know sleeping on the floor, amongst numerous beer bottles and fast food wrappers scattered all over. The housekeeper had quit not long after Uncle David arrived. He made his way into the kitchen, there wasn’t a lot in the refrigerator except beer and wine. He spotted a soda in the back and snagged it. Opening the freezer, he grabbed a frozen turkey potpie and stuck it in the microwave for three minutes. He was just taking it out and dumping it in a bowl when his uncle walked in, “Hey.”

David just looked at him. His mouth was dry from all the alcohol and his head was pounding. He was in a foul mood, made even worse by his current money problems. “Hey, yourself. So I was thinking. That picture of Sam and Carol, not too long before they died, she had some mighty nice looking rocks around her neck. No doubt she had more just like it. Where’d it go? It should be here, right? Unless that tightwad lawyer stole it.”

Sammy was eating very slowly. He could tell this was going to end badly. It always did when David started asking about things. It meant he was out of money and looking for something to hawk, but not this time, not his mom’s jewelry. Each piece Mom had was from Dad. David wasn’t going to get his hands on it. He couldn’t anyways, it was in a safe in Simon’s office but David didn’t know that. Something in him snapped, he was tired of being scared, tired of putting up with all of this crap, “No Simon didn’t steal anything, he’s not like you!” His defiance didn’t last long as David’s eyes grew narrow in rage and his hand went up in the air, ready to strike. Sammy flew from the table, knocking his chair over in his haste to miss the hand coming down to smack him. He ran. He needed to get to the safety of his room and lock the door before David caught up with him. He ran down the hall, he made it, now he just needed to get the door closed and locked. He could feel a weight starting to push on the other side of the door, trying to keep it open. They stayed that way for a few moments, each trying to push the door. It was no match, Sammy was still a just a kid. He was a bit of a late bloomer, just starting to hit puberty. The contest ended when the door to his room swung open, throwing him back and knocking him to the floor. David was on him in an instant, the blows landing all over, spreading pain wherever they made contact.

He was blind with rage. How dare this little brat back talk him, defy him like that! How DARE he! “You think you’re such a big man now, huh? HUH?” Smack across the face, again, and again, the upper arm, the shoulder, that smart mouth of his, “You think you can tell me what to do, huh, do ya? You know what they did to smart mouthed kids in my day?” He paused as he unbuckled his belt and slipped it off. Doubling the belt up, he started again on him, leaving welts and bruises.

He was beyond terrified. He had never been beaten like this. David had slapped him and smacked him around but never like this, never this bad. He had to make him stop, somehow. He didn’t know what he did or how he did it. He didn’t know that he could do it, but as he held out his hand a bluish energy suddenly appeared between him and his attacker. He gave that energy a good shove and David went flying back against the wall. When he finally started to lower his hand the energy disappeared. He staggered backwards both from the pain of the beating and the fright of what he had just done.

David’s eyes were huge with shock. He couldn’t believe it. What had that kid done? How had he done it? What was he? Backing up along the wall, he couldn’t reach the door fast enough, “You’re a freak. I’m going to report you to…to somebody. They’ll…they’ll come and cart you away. Freak, monster!” He was gone out the door, not looking back.

What had he done? He was terrified of what David said, but he was more terrified of what HE had done. He had to get out of here. He had to find someplace where he could be safe and think. He was trembling so hard he could barely pack his backpack. As the doorman hailed him a cab, he fished in his pocket and found only a fiver. Here he was, one of the richest kids in America and he barely had enough money for cab fare. There was only one place he could think of that he could get to on five bucks.

~

He had been in the shower when he heard the pounding at the door. For the life of him, he couldn’t think of who would be pounding on it that hard. He slipped a pair of sweats on and a t-shirt and went to check through the peep whole. All he could see was a baseball hat, a short baseball hat, suddenly the hat tilted up and he got a look at the hat’s owner. His jaw dropped open. Oh shit! He quickly undid the locks and opened the door and couldn’t help but stare at the kid. He looked like he had been hit by a Mack truck and he was literally shaking in his shoes. “My GOD! Sammy, what the hell happened? Who did this to you? You should be at the hospital.”

Stepping into the apartment, this wasn’t who he was expecting to be here. Looking around, “Gary, where, wh-where’s… S-S-Simon?”

He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, trying to help steady him. “Somewhere over the Atlantic right now. His plane was scheduled to land in about 5 hours in Paris, then a connecting flight to Brussels. I won’t be able to reach him for another 8 hours.”

Sammy ignored his pain and started pacing. He’s running on pure adrenalin and can’t stop. Still panting with fright as he walks the floor of the apartment and shaking his head, “I can’t. I can’t wait that long. He’ll find me. He’ll turn me in. I have to leave.”

He stops the boy before he makes it to the door, “Sammy, I know that we don’t know each other as well as you and Simon do but that doesn’t mean I’d let anything happen to you. Look, you need to calm down. You need to be able to think clearly. Come on, let’s sit down for a second.” He was tempted to pour the kid a brandy but decided on soda instead. He had to help steady the boy’s hands so he wouldn’t spill it. “Ok, that’s good. Now take some deep breaths. Come on, in and out, in and out. There, that’s good. Now try to relax and tell me what happened. Whatever it is, I’ll help you. I promise.”

He shakily hands the soda glass back to Gary, “W-w-we had a fight, David and me. He-he wanted my mom’s jewelry. We got into it. He was hitting me, then he took off his belt and started hitting me with it.” He took a big gulp of air as the tears threaten, “I… I don’t know what happened. I had this sort of…energy and I pushed him. He-he went flying against the wall. He’s going to call them and have me taken away. I…I’m a freak.” The tears’ saltiness stung as they spilled down his bruised and battered cheeks, “That-that must be why my birth family didn’t want me. I’m a freak and they knew it even when I was a baby.”

He puts his arms around the boy as he starts to sob in earnest. He’s still confused about what happened. It’s obvious that David beat the hell out of him. Simon will have that asshole behind bars for it soon enough, but he doesn’t get why Sammy thinks he’s a freak or why David would call the cops when it’s obvious that Sammy just shoved back to protect himself. He rubs his back gently, being careful of the welts and bruises, trying to sooth him, “Shh, shh, it’s ok, it’ll be alright. Shh.” It takes several minutes to get the boy to settle down. “Sammy, I need you to explain something to me. Why did you say you were a freak? Is it because of the extra energy? It’s not uncommon when people are scared or panicked to suddenly find themselves with strength and energy that they never knew they had. Didn’t anyone ever tell you about the little old lady that picked the car up off her husband after it fell on him?”

He’s so tired and wrung out. He could feel his energy draining away as that shot of adrenalin began to fade, “No, by energy I mean energy, as in a blue energy field, one that you can see and feel. I held up my hand to try and block the blows and…and it just appeared in between us. I…I pushed on it and it sent David flying against the wall. When I lowered my hand it vanished. David said I was a freak and that they’d come and take me away. He’s right. I am a freak. I shouldn’t have been able to do something like that.”

Gary just looked at him. He didn’t know what to say to that outlandish story but Sammy was never one to make up stories. Simon had always said he was very levelheaded kid that was smart as a tack. He wished Simon were here. Trying to think through everything. Supposing the kid was telling the truth, whatever he did to stop being beat would be self-defense. What could David Conner really do? What was it he had told the boy that he was going to call and have them come and take him away? “Sammy, who’s them? You said David was going to call them, do you know who’s he talking about?” Just then there was a knock at the door. The boy almost jumped out of his skin. He was terrified that whoever this them was, were here for him. Who knows, maybe it was ‘them’. Pointing down the hall, “Go wait in the bedroom while I see who it is.” He waits until the bedroom door closes before going to answer the front door. Peering out the peephole, he chides himself on just how worked up the kid had gotten him. Grabbing his wallet as he opens the door and takes the pizza box, “So what’re the damages again?” Handing over a twenty, “Keep the change.” Calling out down the hall, “It’s ok. It
Last edited by TaffyCat on Tue Jun 17, 2003 12:11 am, edited 4 times in total.
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TaffyCat
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was just the pizza delivery guy. Come on out. Let’s eat and talk about what we’re going to do.”

He just picked at his pizza. He was too upset to eat and jumped at every noise, besides Gary forgot to get red peppers. He loved red peppers. “I have to leave.”

He had noticed the kid just picked at his food. Plus it was probably hard to eat while holding an ice pack to your lip, “Where would you go?”

“Roswell, New Mexico.” He replied with the only place he could think of that might hold some answers. He needed answers. He needed to know what else he was capable of. He needed to know what he was so he wouldn’t be so scared. He needed to know that he wasn’t a freak or monster. “You said you’d help me. I need to go to Roswell.”

“Why?” He needed to know how to explain all of this to Simon when he got a hold of him.

"Because that's where I'm from. They'll know what I am, and what I can do. They have to." He grew quiet for a bit. He needed to build the courage to admit it to him self, let alone someone else, "I'm afraid I might hurt someone. I could have hurt David. I could even have killed him. I don't know how it happened or how to control it. I...I'm scared. Please, will you help me to get to Roswell?"

~

Part 2

Gary had no idea how he had been talked into this, none whatsoever, but suddenly here he was on a plane heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico with a kid that he barely knew. He hadn't planned this, and he had no idea how he was going to explain it to Simon when he finally reached him. He looked over at the kid who was curled up in his seat sound asleep. He wasn't even sure how he had managed to get on a plane with him without being asked a lot of questions especially about the black eye and busted lip the boy had. The kid was exhausted. It had been a long day, and it was proving to be an even longer night. When they landed he planned to rent a car, find the nearest hotel and crash for a few hours, wake up, call Simon, who'll go nuts over this, and hopefully be on a plane back home by the time Simon got back from Europe. Christ, he could be in a lot of trouble taking a kid across state lines but what choice did he have? The kid was going with or without him, and who knows what kind of trouble he might get into on his own? At least this way, he could keep an eye on him. Yeah, that's the position he's going to take when he talked to Simon. Watching the kid's chest rise and fall in quiet slumber, he thought about it. Simon hadn't been there, hadn't seen the terror in him, how desperate he was. He hoped the kid could find what he was looking for in Roswell. As far as he knew, the only thing in Roswell was a bunch of alien obsessed nuts. What's the kid going to find there?

He was so stiff and sore, all he wanted was a soft place to curl up and not move again. Gary had wanted to stay right there in Albuquerque that night, but he managed to talk him into driving to Roswell instead, then renting a motel room. As the car rolled along, jostling him now and then, he could feel the road vibrating in every sore spot in his body. And there were lots of those. Gary had rented a big Buick. Sammy bunched up his jacket for a pillow and tried to get some rest. He missed the large green sign with a picture of an alien that read 'Welcome to Roswell, NM, The Alien Capitol of Earth'. Thirty minutes later Gary roused him from sleep and helped him into the cheap motel room. A lumpy bed never felt so soft.

Gary watched him for a bit. He was really worried and more than a little, down right scared. The kid wasn't looking too good and here he was, across state lines, with no legal association to him at all. What would he tell the local hospital if he needed to? 'It's ok, I'm the gay lover of his late father's lawyer, and I'm just here trying to protect him from his abusive uncle and legal guardian in New York while my significant other is in Europe?' Somehow he doubted the local police would be willing to buy off on that... how had he allowed himself to get dragged into this in the first place? With nothing more that he could do that night, he brushed his teeth, stripped down to his boxers, climbed underneath the cheap bedspread and blanket in the other double bed, and turned the light off. He would listen to the kid breathe for most of the night, and he cringed whenever the kid winced and moaned in his sleep. Damn, he was in big trouble.

~

Sammy awoke to the sound of a car engine roaring past, and he very slowly rolled over. The first thing that he noticed was sunlight streaming through the partially opened curtains, then finally his eyes found Gary sitting in a chair with a coffee cup in his hand. As he tried to sit up, Gary was suddenly at his side helping him and stuffing pillows behind him. Gary thrust a McDonald's cup at him. The citrus from the orange juice stung his cut lip but he said nothing. He watched as Gary grabbed a bottle off the night table and broke the seal to get a couple tablets out. He swallowed the ibuprofen down with the last of his juice. "Thanks... thanks Gary for...for helping me."

Gary ran his hand through his hair, not sure about any of this. If he had any brains he would bundle the boy off to the nearest ER, call the local cops and pray he wasn't the one they arrested. He jumped with a start when his jacket pocket started ringing. He reached for the fast food bag and handed it Sammy, "Here, I got you a breakfast sandwich. See if you can get it down." He then glanced down at the caller id as the phone continued to ring. It was an international number. He punched the button as he continued to keep an eye on Sammy, relieved to see him very carefully eating the sandwich. He took a deep breath, "Hello, Simon...thank God."

Simon's connecting flight from Paris to Brussels had been delayed and he had just arrived at the hotel, jetlagged and exhausted. And there waiting for him was an urgent message to call Gary on his cell. His tired mind had suddenly come to life, running through all different kinds of scenarios that could be labeled urgent. The stressed tone of his companion came through loud and clear. "Gary, are you okay? What's wrong?"

He walked towards the sink area, needing some privacy, but wanting to keep Sammy in sight, just in case. Last thing he needed was to have him choke or something while he was talking on the phone to Simon. "It's Sammy. He's...here with me. Simon..." He took a look at Sammy sitting in bed eating then turned a little more towards the bathroom. Sammy didn't need to hear. "David beat the crap out of him. Sammy showed up at the
door last night. He was freaked, really freaked. He wanted to go to Roswell, NM. He wanted me to take him."

Simon leaned into the phone as if somehow it would make him closer to them. His chest became tight as Gary described one of his worst fears coming true for the boy. He had to concentrate on remembering how to breathe. His keen mind took over on autopilot and sorted the information, and then prioritized it. "How is Sammy? What did the doctor say? Was he hospitalized?"

He cringed at the questions and glanced around the bathroom wall to check on Sammy, who had found the TV remote and was laying back watching I Love Lucy. Every time the boy winced as he tried to get comfortable, a shot of acid churned in Gary's stomach. He licked his lips, trying to moisten them and his dry mouth. This is where the yelling was going to start. "He's... fine. A black eye, busted lip, some bruising. I think he might have some bruised ribs...um, there are some welt marks on his back..."

Simon’s eyes narrowed as Gary's words registered, 'he thought he might have some bruised ribs?'. Alone in a strange hotel room, a half a world away, he stood up in shock and then anger. "GET HIM TO A DOCTOR NOW!"

Gary pulled the phone away from his ear, but he still had no problem hearing his lover's rage. He figured he might as well get it over with, since things weren't likely to get any better, "Simon, he wouldn't go. I tried. The only place he'd go was Roswell, NM."

Simon sat back down in the chair with a thump. It took him a couple of moments to collect his wits about him. "Gary, tell me you aren't in Roswell with him. Tell me you're not."

He studied his shoes for a moment, wishing that they and he were anyplace but here. He had to swallow a couple of times. It didn't help the stomach acid. "I am. We are. Simon, you weren't there. You didn't see how terrified he was and not just of David but...of himself as well. Simon, he said that he did something to David. Something about some sort of energy field he used to push him back against the wall. It scared the hell out him." He paused for a moment and heard only silence on the other end so he figured he had nothing more to lose and continued, "Simon, I know this wasn't exactly brilliant on my part, but at least he's safe. He's sitting up in bed watching I Love Lucy. He had some OJ and a Sausage McMuffin. I gave him a couple of Advils. He's doing okay." He mentally added the 'I think' part. As the silence continued, "Simon, say something."

Simon gnashed his teeth together as he listened, but held his tongue. Gary wasn't some dumb punk. He was a successful businessman in his own right, well educated, and he knew how to think. But for the life of him, he couldn't imagine him letting Sammy talk him into this. The initial shock eventually wore away as Simon made a mental list of action items. He took out the hotel-supplied pen and paper and started to transcribe his mental list to paper. He finally got to the point where he could speak again. "Gary, for the moment stay put. I'm going to see about bumping my meeting to earlier today and then I'll catch the next flight back to New York. I do not want to see you showing up with Sammy until I'm back and in a position to can handle things. The last thing I need is for you to be arrested for kidnapping. So just stay put. Stay in the motel. But Gary, if Sammy needs medical treatment, don't hesitate. Get it. We'll deal with any fallout later on. Can I talk to him?"

He closed his eyes as he listened and nodded his reply into the phone before he remembered to speak. "Yeah, of course. And don't worry. I'll keep him safe. Call me on the cell when you're back. Simon...I'm sorry. I know it looks like I've screwed up but . . . you didn't see and hear what I did last night."

Simon put his pen down, his anger now gone, and a sense of relief came over him. Gary had done what he thought best and he had gotten Sammy to safety. He knew a few judges that could help out if the repercussions went that far. "No I didn't. We'll work it out. Just keep him safe. I love you."

"I love you too." He walked back into the main sleeping room and handed Sammy the phone. "It's Simon. He's not as freaked as earlier. He wants to talk to you." He grabbed the TV remote and hit mute as Sammy spoke to Simon. He slumped into the chair and waited for them to finish. His curiosity was piqued when Sammy grew very animated and very adamant. There was that name again that he'd mentioned last night, Philip Evans. It hurt to see the tears swelling in the boy's eyes as he pleaded on the phone with Simon. He'd been through so much already. It wasn't hard to figure out. Simon wanted them to stay put in the motel room until he gave the okay sign, and Sammy wanted to go look for this Philip Evans. After all that was the reason they'd come here in the first place. After a few more intense minutes Sammy closed his eyes and said, “okay”. As he hung the phone up, it was obvious that Sammy was anything but okay. "Sammy, are you alright?"

Sammy carefully swiped at his puffy and bruised eyes. He was here, so close. The answers were here. He knew they were. He could feel it. He couldn't leave until he knew those answers. He needed to know how he did what he did last night. He needed to know who he was, and what he was. He needed to know whom his family was and if they wanted him. He had a headache now on top of all his other aches and pains. He squinted as he looked at the built-in night table. He carefully pulled out the phone book and looked under attorney. His finger went right to it, Philip Evans, Esq. The person that held the key to his questions was right here, in the same town. He wouldn't leave until he'd met him.

He watched as something came over the boy. Some sort of hidden inner strength bubbled to the surface. His suspicion was confirmed as the Yellow Pages came out. Sammy wasn't leaving Roswell until he had what he wanted. Answers. When Sammy's finger stuck on a spot, he reached over for the book. "Here, give me that. There's no way you're going out all beat up like that. This Philip Evans would take one look at you and I'd be behind bars so fast it'd make your head spin." He grabbed for the phone and dialed the listed number. Simon had taught him well on how to cut to the chase, and get appointments with people that are supposedly too busy to meet with you. It took a little persuading, but eventually he had a 3:30 appointment to meet with Philip Evans over a legal matter. As he finished writing the directions to the office down and hung up, he gave Sammy a very serious look. "Okay, this is how we're going to do this. You are staying here." As Sammy opened his mouth to protest, "No, I mean it. Let me go feel him out about what he might know. I might not be as good at things like this as Simon, but I can usually hold my own. Now, if he's forthcoming with information. I'll set up a later meeting that includes you...and hopefully Simon will be on hand for that as well. But you, under no circumstances, are to leave this room. Can I trust you on that?"

Sammy nodded with obvious reluctance.

~

At 3:00 he left Sammy still in bed napping. Beside the bed was a plastic ice bucket full of ice and sodas, and beside that was a large selection of the best a vending machine had to offer. A piece of paper with his cell number was taped to the phone. Between naps Sammy had spent the morning telling him everything he knew about his adoption, and Philip Evans' involvement in it. Gary hoped this would work out. Sammy was pinning so much on this, he'd be devastated if it didn't. Roswell was a small town and he quickly found the address with 15 minutes to spare. He sat and waited in the car, watching the entrance as if it could tell him something about this man and what had happened to make parents give up their child to someone else. And why all the way in New York? He and Simon had looked into adopting once and even if they had been a heterosexual married couple, they still would have had a long wait for a healthy Caucasian infant. He doubted Roswell was any different. At 3:25 he walked into the sparse yet functional suite of offices. The receptionist took his name and told him that he'd have to wait, that Mr. Evans wasn't back from court yet. He knew that he had been squeezed in at the end of the day so he wasn't overly surprised. He kept checking his watch and hoping that Sammy was still sound asleep or watching what ever came on TV during the day. It was a little after 4:00 when a man finally walked in. He looked very tired and worn from what must have been a long day. The man gave him a confused look, nodded politely then went into an inner office, calling back for the receptionist to follow him. She emerged about 5 minutes later and said that it'd be just a few more minutes. He checked his watch again. He should probably pick up some pizza or tacos or something on the way back to the motel. It was getting close to dinnertime. He looked up as the man came back out and introduced himself. Taking the offered hand, "It's good to meet you Mr. Evans. I'm Gary Wilcox. Thank you for taking some time to meet with me this afternoon on such short notice."

It had been a very long day, spent mostly in court. Philip wasn't overly thrilled when he found a new client sitting in his office with an appointment that he knew nothing about. His practice was already maxed out and he had no desire to expand it. It had been almost 15 years since he had hired additional help. He hired only to replace someone that had left. A prominent lawyer with a large practice attracted too much attention and he couldn't afford that. He decided to hear what kind of help the man needed so he knew whom to refer him to. Shaking the hand, "It's nice to meet you too. I apologize for the wait. I was held up in court. Please, come in and have a seat." He went through the normal courtesies offering coffee, tea, or water, and then got down to business. "Mr. Wilcox, I'm going to be honest here. My calendar is pretty full right now. In fact I don't even have a junior associate with free time to take on any more cases. But if you'll give me an idea of what your needs are, I can refer you to someone qualified to handle your case."

Gary felt bad about blindsiding the guy but he couldn't think of any other way. "Mr. Evans, I'm afraid that I wasn't completely honest with your receptionist when I booked this appointment. I...uh, I'm here about an adoption."

Philip shook his head, clearly confused. "I'm sorry but I'm not an adoption attorney. I don't understand why you would seek me out about one."

Now it was his turn to be confused. Why was Philip Evans involved in Sammy's adoption if he didn't specialize in those? The more he found out, the more confusing things got. His confusion was etched on his face. "But then why were you involved in one 15 years ago in New York?" He wasn't prepared for the kind of reaction that elicited from the man sitting behind the desk.

His throat was dry from all the talking he had done that day in court and had just taken a long drink of water when out of the blue, he was hit with a question he hoped to hell he'd never be asked. It was all he could do not to spit the water out. He choked on it instead. The man started to get up to help him, but he held his hand out, indicating he was ok as he took another sip of water to try and ease the coughing that had ensued. He took some deep breaths, trying to get his composure back. He wanted to kick himself. His obvious reaction gave away all deniability and he didn't have a clue to whom, yet. He needed to find out. "Why? What do you have to do with it?"

Gary wasn't sure what to say. Obviously this man was intimately connected to the adoption to have reacted like that. He diverted his eyes for a moment, not wanting to look him in the eye until he knew what to say. His eyes landed on the pictures sitting on the credenza behind Philip Evans’ desk. And there they remained glued. One of the pictures was of a young man, a teen a year or two older than Sammy. His hair was darker than Sammy's but the eyes. The eyes were the same, in fact quite a bit was the same. He studied it for a moment longer. The clothes were out of date by about 10 or so years. The jeep he was standing in front of was ancient. It would be a miracle if it were still on the road. The picture was old, but who was the boy in it? What was his relationship to Sammy? For Gary was certain that they were related. He glanced at the other pictures sitting there, the wife and children, family pictures. Sammy had to be related to Philip Evans, but how? He looked back up at the man sitting there. Most likely he was a young grandfather or an older father. But why would he have given either son or grandson up for adoption? It wasn't in his nature to ask such personal questions, but he had no other choice. Nodding towards the picture behind him. "Mr. Evans was that baby your son or grandson? That boy looks just like him."

Philip turned and looked at the pictures. The one of Max was there. He had just gotten his drivers license and couldn't wait to take the jeep out for a spin. The summer before, father and son had worked side by side getting the jeep running smoothly. It was one of his fondest memories. But the jeep was destroyed just three years later and that had started the chain of events that had led to him losing his son and daughter as well as his grandson the year after. Taking that little baby to New York and handing him over had ripped his and Diane's hearts out. He blinked a couple of times as the man's words sunk in and his head whipped back around. "How do you know that? How do you know what he looks like? He was just a baby."

"He's here with me. He...his adoptive parents were killed in a car accident a couple of years ago. He's had a hard time since then. We're staying..." He didn't know what to think when Philip's eyes grew wide in alarm and held out his hand, indicating him to stop talking. His curiosity grew to unease as Philip looked around the room like he was trying to find some hidden thing. After a few minutes, Gary tried again. "Mr. Evans, if you'd like I could ta..."

"Shut up! Just shut up... Not here!" said Philip as he silently thought, "Shit!" He knew that his home and office had been bugged for a while right after the kids had left. He had no idea if they still were, but he couldn't take the chance. They obviously didn't give a damn about the right to privacy or client-attorney privilege, but then that didn't surprise him. After all they had been willing to shoot his children down in cold blood, in the middle of graduation, in a packed auditorium. Now this man had brought his grandson here. He grabbed his case and motioned the man to follow him. He bid his receptionist good night and told Gary to follow him in his car. He'd give anything to see his grandson, anything. But it was safer if he and Diane didn't. God, what was he going to tell Diane? It would break her heart to know that little Zan was nearby and she didn't get a chance to at least see him. What was that he said again, something about his adoptive parents being killed? How had they found him? If they could track him down then so could the Special Unit. He had no choice. He picked up the cell and dialed his wife. He would use the code that they had come up with a long time ago. He hoped she remembered. "Diane, honey...I was thinking, why don't you pack a picnic basket and meet me out at the lake in say twenty or thirty minutes?" He heard her sharp intake of breath and knew that she had understood. Her reply was choked full of emotion, but it was steady and strong. He pulled down the dirt road that lead to Buckley Point. In the back was a bag that he had packed a long time ago. Diane had another one in her car as well. They had wanted to be ready...just in case. He pulled to a stop and Gary pulled his car up along side. Philip popped the trunk and retrieved a pair of high-powered binoculars to scan the area. He didn't see anything so he scanned it again. Finally satisfied, he looked back to a very confused and now panicked looking young man. He indicated that they should walk away from the cars. There was always a chance his car was bugged as well even though it was brand new. His eyes kept searching around as he spoke, "What is your relationship to...what's his name?"

Right now Gary wanted nothing more than to go get Sammy and get him as far away from Roswell as he could. He had no idea what was going on, but it was obviously very dangerous. However he needed to know what danger was lurking out there so he'd know what to avoid. "Sammy...Samuel Conner Jr. actually but he's always been called Sammy. Mr. Evans what in the hell is going on? Why all this...this cloak and dagger stuff? What are you afraid of?"

"Loosing my children...and my grandchild's lives." He looked around again. Diane should be coming any minute. "You didn't answer my question. What's your relationship to...Sammy?"

Gary's patience was wearing thin. Philip Evans was scaring the crap out of him and he needed to know why. "A friend, a good friend. Look, I've been very patient, but it's time you started answering my questions for a change. Who exactly is Sammy to you and what the hell is going on? If I don't start getting some answers then I'm going back, get Sammy and getting him the hell out of here." He turned; ready to bolt as they both heard the car coming.

He immediately recognized the car and breathed easier. "Don't panic, that's my wife. I called her on the way over." Turning his full attention back to the man. "Actually your idea would've been a good one right up until the moment you walked into my office. Once you did that then you and Sammy were marked."

"WHAT? Marked? Marked with what?" He was getting ready to lose it. "This is f*cking ridiculous!"

Diane pulled up, got out of her car, and immediately ran over to him. They hugged then walked back over to Gary. "Gary, this is my wife, Diane Evans. Honey, this is Gary Wilcox, a friend to Sammy...to little Zan."

Her hand flew to her mouth. It was one of her dreams and nightmares coming true. Her precious grandson, this man knew her precious grandson. She fought to control her emotions so she could speak. "Is he alright? Could I...oh Philip, what are we going to do?"

Philip could see that he was pushing the man beyond his limits. Taking a few breaths, he started to explain, "Diane, he doesn't know anything. Gary, Sammy is our grandson Zan. He's the son of our son Max and a...girl he once knew. Max wanted him very badly, as did we, but we couldn't keep him. We did so only for a short time, but it was too dangerous. Giving his son up was the hardest thing that Max ever did. But in the end he was right. The kids barely escaped with their lives only a short time later. We were watched for a long time afterwards to see if any of them came back here or made contact with us. We're not sure if we're still being watched, but we can't take the chance...not with our grandson's safety on the line."

His head felt like it was going to start spinning any second as he tried to get a grasp of this. "Wait a second. Where's this girl your son knew? Where's Sammy's mother?"

"She's dead. That's why Zan came to us. Besides, I doubt Max would have let her keep him once he finally found him even if she had lived. She...she had a... history." Philip hoped he wouldn't have to explain Tess to Zan...Sammy. He didn't need to know his mother was a murdering bitch that had brought the heat of the FBI back down on them and forced their children to run.

Gary could only shake his head. He still didn't have a handle on exactly what was going on but so far it didn't look good. He just didn't get it. Philip and Diane seemed like nice, upstanding successful people. "So your son Max is on the run and Sammy's mother is dead. And it's obvious that you're both scared to death that now Sammy might be next? Why? What the hell is your son involved with that would put him and Sammy in so much danger, especially 15 years after the fact?"

Diane just looked at Philip, wondering how much they should say. Would he go to the authorities and turn the child in? Even if Zan...Sammy was human, if Max found out that the Special Unit had his son...just the thought almost brought on a panic attack. "Mr. Wilcox, Gary, how is Sammy? Is he okay?"

She sounded so nice and warm, like any concerned grandmother would. "No, he's not okay. His parents were killed in an auto accident two years ago. His uncle got custody of him, but what he really wanted was custody of his money. He didn't give a damn about Sammy. Last night Sammy showed up at my apartment looking for Simon, my companion. Simon was Sam Conner Sr.'s attorney and has power of attorney over all of Sammy's inheritance. Plus he was a good friend to both father and son. Simon's in Europe on business, but he'll be catching a flight back tonight. Anyhow, basically Sammy had the hell beaten out of him, nothing too serious though, mainly a lot of bruises and welts, sore as hell. I think. But he was really freaked. He said something about...about some sort of energy field he used to get his Uncle David to stop beating him." He shrugged. "You know how kids are, they can exaggerate things. I tried explaining about the grandma with superhuman strength freeing her trapped..." He stopped because of the way they were looking at him. He expected them to be upset but not like this. "Uh, what?"

Philip spoke very slowly, "Sammy used an... energy... field? Has anything like that happened before?"

Gary studied their faces, trying to figure it out. "Judging by how freaked he was about it, I don't think so. He didn't understand how he had done it and he was terrified by the fact that it had." The couple were looking at each other with what he could only describe as an 'oh shit' look. "Wait, you're not saying that he really did have some sort of actual energy shield thing, are you?"

"Oh God. He wasn't supposed to be able to do any of that. Philip, that poor baby, he needs...he needs his father to teach him and help him understand." Diane was beside herself. They had given him away so he could be safe and have a normal life and now...now to find out that had been all wrong. Oh God...Oh God. The tears started falling then. "Philip, we have to take him there. We have to somehow get him to Max."

Gary watched as Philip nodded to his wife then walked back to the car to get something out of the trunk. That was it. He had enough. "Now wait just a damn minute. If you think I'm handing Sammy over to you just like that, you're nuts! I don't even know you. Obviously your children have gotten involved in something bad and now you want to drag Sammy into it? No f*cking way!"

Philip grabbed the prepaid cell phone out of his trunk. He'd made sure that it was one of the cheaper models that did not have the global tracking system. He frowned when the man started yelling, but he couldn't blame him. Walking back over he took his wife's hand in support. "Mr. Wilcox, Sammy did produce that energy field, just like he said. The reason I know that is because his father, our son, could do the same...and that's just the beginning. You're right, our kids are on the run for their lives and not because of something they've done, but because of what they can do. They're different. So was Sammy's mother. But Sammy wasn't supposed to be. She told us he was...normal. That's the main reason that Max decided to give him up, to let him have a chance at a normal life. That doesn't seem to be the case any longer. And Diane's right. He's going to need to be with others that can help him to understand and protect him."

Gary ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "No, you're not taking him. I won't let you. Jesus Christ, do you even know who he is? He's Samuel Connor Jr., son and heir of one of the largest fortunes in the country! The police, the FBI are going to be going ape shit if he comes up missing or kidnapped!"

He was surprised his demeanor was so calm with a guy yelling at him. But it just proved that this was a good guy who cared a great deal about Sammy. "But we didn't kidnap him, you did. You said this Uncle David was his legal guardian and this Simon fellow was out of the country. Who gave you the authority to take him across state lines? By the way, you said he was hurt, have you taken him to the doctor yet?"

That made him pause. He still felt guilty about it. He was beginning to believe that he shouldn't have listened to Sammy's pleas and called the police when he first showed up. God, has it really been less then 24 hours ago? How had he gotten involved in all of this? "Uh, no. Sammy refused to go. I did try, but I was afraid if I pushed him he'd up and run off on me."

"Good. With Sammy's powers starting to show up, there's no telling what a medical examination would've revealed." As Gary stood there with his mouth hanging open in astonishment, he switched the phone on. He hoped that it worked. He had purchased a new one at a different place and in a different city every six months. It was almost time for a new one. Hearing the phone pick up, "Yes, hello, Sheriff Valenti, please." Philip was immensely grateful for what Jim Valenti had done for his son and all the kids. He was glad that the man had gotten his position back. "Sheriff, this is Philip. Diane and I need to take a vacation for a bit. I was hoping you'd be kind enough to get our cars back home. They're at the BP. Yeah, thank you, sheriff... for everything. The keys will be under the bumper."

Diane was already retrieving her bag from the trunk of her car as he did the same. He had one more call to make. This one Max had given him the details on, including using it in case of extreme emergency only. Philip didn't relish calling the person that had sworn his hatred to his son, but at the same time that same person was still duty bound to protect the King of Antar, and his heir. A stranger's voice answered the phone, "Hello, Cal Langley please."

Gary could only watch as his world was being turned upside down. Christ, the local sheriff was in on it? Cal Langley, where did he know that name? He'd heard it before, he was sure of it, but where? Hollywood, that's it. Wasn't that the name of some big shot movie producer? Why the hell would Philip Evans be calling him? It quickly became clear that this Cal Langley wasn't too thrilled to be called into this. Philip was doing some major arguing with him. He had observed Simon on the phone while working and he recognized in Philip the same arguing traits. Philip must be one hell of a lawyer. Good thing too. They're going to need one when all this is done. When Philip finally hung up, "Look, I'm still not just turning him over to you two. I don't care who you are. You're both strangers to Sammy and me. I won't give him to strangers. Besides, Simon would skin me alive!"

"Don't worry, you're not. You're coming with us. As for the FBI and police, if Simon is whom I think he is, Simon Shapiro of the Shen, Wilke, and Shapiro Law Firm in New York then we're going to need his help with this as well." He grabbed his own bag out of the back of his car and escorted Diane towards the big Buick that Gary was driving. As he opened the back door for Diane, "Gary, are you coming?"

~

Part 3

During the car ride back into town, Diane was shaking she was so excited and scared. She was going to see her grandson, but at the same time it would've been better if he hadn't shown up. Oh God, what a mess. Her mind ran through everything Gary had told them. His name was Sammy. He had been orphaned two years ago. His uncle had abused him. He was scared and confused. He was hurting. Tears kept threatening as she thought about him, alone and scared, poor baby. He needed help, their help. She wasn't overly surprised when they pulled into the Tumbleweed Motel. There weren't a lot of motel options in town. She was out of the car the second it came to a full stop in front of room 4. Her grandson was just on the other side of that door. She hadn't seen nor held him in 15 years. She had cried buckets on the plane ride back from New York. And then a river flowed a few days later when they donated the little crib, and everything they
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TaffyCat
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had bought for him, to charity. He'd only spent a little over a week with them, but it had brought them all back together again as a family. Max had even moved back home since Michael's apartment was no place for a baby. Then she had lost not only her grandchild, but her children as well. Now at least one of them was right here. Philip took her hand in his while Gary pulled out the key attached to the orange plastic key ring and opened the door. The theme from Gilligan's Island assailed them as they walked into the room. And there, lying in bed was Sammy snoring loudly. Her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the sob that threatened. He was beautiful. She wanted to scoop him up in her arms and hold him close. He looked just like Max did at that age, still so young and innocent looking. She bit her lip when she got a good look at his left eye, it was swollen and black and blue. And his lip was puffy and bruised. Oh God, someone had hurt him. Of course she knew that already, but to see it on him. She held her hand out tentatively, wanting to touch him, but afraid to do so. He didn't know her, she wasn't his mother...he looked so much like Max. She finally allowed just her fingertips to gently stroke his hair. It was more a medium brown than the dark brown of his father's. But that made sense, since Tess had been a blonde. Philip sat beside her, almost as overcome as she was. She quickly removed her hand and held her breath as his eyes started to flutter open. The left eye opened just a slit, but his right one flew open in alarm and he tried to sit up. He winced and grunted as he moved which heightened her maternal instincts. "It's okay, honey, just go slowly. It's okay, Sammy. Gary brought us. It's okay."

Sammy had been napping off and on, and eating junk food in-between. He was still too sore to do much more than that. He had been dreaming about his mom and how she would take care of him when he was hurt or sick. For a moment right before he woke up he could have sworn that she was there, touching his hair. He was startled when he woke to find a strange lady sitting on the other bed staring at him, and there was a man next to her. He looked around the room until his eyes landed on Gary, who nodded and told him it was okay. He turned his attention back to the lady and studied her for a moment. She looked like she was about to cry or something. She seemed anxious. Had she been touching him like Mom used to? He glanced over at the man. The man looked worried but he smiled a little at him. Sammy was unsure of what to say, "Hi?"

A slight chuckle slipped out at that. Sammy's confusion was so clearly written all over his face that Diane just couldn't resist any longer. Reaching out, she gently put her hand on his shoulder and smiled, "Hi Sammy. I'm Diane Evans, and this is my husband, Philip Evans."

Sammy's eyes grew wide with excitement as he looked at the man again, "You...you're Philip Evans? You're the one that handled my adoption, right? I mean, you know my parents, don't you? Where are they?"

He looked so desperate. Diane's eyes started tearing up, "Oh honey..."

Philip decided he had better start explaining things before Diane lost it and started all out bawling. Taking the boy's hand in his, "Sammy, we do know your parents, at least your father pretty well. We should, he's our son, which makes you our grandson."

Sammy hadn't ever figured on that. He should have, but he didn't. "You're...my...?" He looked again at the lady who now had tears running down her face, "Grandma?" He immediately found himself wrapped in her arms and being held tight. It hurt the bruises a little, but it was worth it. It'd been so long since someone had done this. He laid his head on her shoulder for a moment and closed his eyes, and softly mumbled, "Grandma" again in her ear. Maybe his dream family really existed after all.

It took Diane a few minutes before she could let go of him. She pulled back and really looked at him, the same eyes, the same chin and mouth. She grinned, the same ears. She took some deep breaths to try and calm her emotions. She gently cupped his cheek, "You look so much like your father." She sniffled again, "The last time we saw you, and you were just a baby with no hair and your ears stuck out. You were just precious when you smiled and gurgled."

He was so excited. He had a grandma. He'd never had grandparents before. Mom's parents died when he was baby and he never knew Dad's parents. He looked over at the man, his grandpa. "Grandpa, where're my mom and dad? Why... why was I adopted? Was it because I can do that...thing?"

Philip and Diane gave each other a look. What where they going to tell him about what happened and why? So much of it needs to come from Max. But Max wasn't here. He went and sat next to Sammy on his bed and put his arm around him, "Sammy, it's...it's complicated. Actually it's because you weren't supposed to be able to do that thing that Max decided to give you up for adoption. He wanted you to have a normal, safe life, and he knew that was something that he couldn't give you. And because it would be easy to figure out that you are our grandchild, neither could we. Sammy, your dad and mom were like you. They could do that thing too and more.

Some...people found out about them and wanted to take them away, or even worse. Sammy, your mom was killed and... and your dad was afraid that they'd find you. He loves you so much, we all do. It was very hard for all of us to give you up, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. It wasn't too long afterwards that those bad people did come after your father and his sister, his best friend, and their friends. They had no choice but to run, and they've been running ever since. But at least Max knew that you were safe." He looked at all the bruises, "Well, at least from the dangers that he knew about. But it's different now. You can do things. Your powers, powers that we never thought that you'd have, are starting to develop. You need to be with your dad. He can help you to understand and control them."

Sammy broke out in goosebumps, there was a 'them' and they had killed his mother. He had no doubt that Uncle David would contact 'them'. He'd do anything to get more money, and if I were sent away...Uncle David would have it all. His dad was like him, and others were too. He needed to get to them and safety. He looked up at his grandpa with scared eyes, "Grandpa, can you take me to my dad? Do you know where he is?"

Gary had been standing by the now silent TV watching the reunion in front of him. It was obvious that Philip and Diane loved Sammy, which was exactly what Sammy needed, tons of love. But God, what a mess! "That's a pretty good question," Gary said. "Do you know where he is?"

"No, not exactly," Philip responded. "It was too dangerous for me to know, but I do know someone who does or at least would know how to go about finding him. And that's where we're going, to meet him." He gave Sammy a good squeeze, but not too tight though. He needed to be gentle on those bruises. He wondered if Sammy knew how to heal himself, yet. He sighed. Just one more thing Max might be able to teach him. He gave Sammy a peck on the forehead. "It should be dark soon, we should head out then."
Sammy hugged his Grandpa back then climbed out of bed and grabbed his backpack, "I think I'll get cleaned up before we leave." He collected another kiss from Grandma before heading into the bathroom.

Gary waited until he heard the shower running before saying anything more. "Let me guess, Cal Langley is the person who knows your son's whereabouts." A nod from Philip confirmed this. "So, care to explain how this is all going to work? I assume we're heading to California to meet him?"

Philip shook his head, "No, Kansas. Some place far away from his home and our home, someplace neutral and out of the way. Hopefully neither of us will be followed. He gave me directions to someplace right outside of Wichita."

Gary frowned at that. "You didn't answer the other question. How does your son know Cal Langley? From the sound of the conversation you had with him, he was none too thrilled about being contacted."

Philip sighed heavily. "No, he wasn't. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but there's some bad blood between them. However, despite that...Cal has to help Max and his son. He's duty bound to." Philip could see that Gary was going to challenge that last statement so he quickly added, "It's a family debt. Cal owes Max a family debt and Cal has no choice, but to pay it. And no, he's not too thrilled about any of this, but he did agree to meet." Philip listened for a moment and smiled, singing was coming from the shower. Maybe Sammy wasn't exactly like Max after all. Max couldn't carry a tune that well. Turning his attention back to Gary and their immediate concerns, "It'd be safer if we weren't seen in public, but since we've got a little time before dark you might want to go pick up some fast food for dinner. And maybe some drinks and snacks for the road."

Gary didn't like leaving Sammy alone with them. It's not that he didn't trust them; then again, maybe he didn't, at least not entirely. But they had no car. True they could call a cab or something, but why go to all the trouble of making a story up like this just to snatch the kid. He finally nodded in agreement and left, but only as far as the McDonalds on the corner and the market just behind it.

Philip waited until they were alone before sitting down with Diane. Everything was happening so fast. They had always known that this could happen and they had prepared for it, but did they want to take it the last step? "Diane, how far do we take this? If we go all the way, can you do it? Can you walk away from everything?"

Diane closed her eyes and thought of their comfortable home they had made for themselves. In her mind she could see and hear her children's laughter echoing down the hall as they played. The house had been so quiet for so long. It felt like it too missed those sights and sounds. She opened her eyes and gave her husband a sad smile, "Without the children, it's just a house, not a home. Our possessions are just things and can be replaced. Do it, Philip."

Philip gave her a kiss. He grabbed his bag, pulled out his laptop and connected it to his cell phone. He opened the program and punched in the code. He glanced at the bedside clock to confirm that the banks were already closed. He looked at his wife once more to give her one last chance to change her mind. She only nodded at him. He pushed the transmit button. At 12:01 AM, all of their funds would be transferred to a bank in Florida, then onward to the Bahamas, then the Cayman Islands, they would hit Switzerland a couple of times before traveling onward to more banks and countries. It would lead anyone watching on a wild goose chase. Eventually some of it would wind up in Jesse Ramirez's account, but the bulk will be withdrawn by a cousin in Amsterdam and redeposited back in Geneva, Switzerland to yet another new account. But that would take some time. In the meantime they would have to survive on what cash they'd brought with them, which was more than enough for now. Their lawyer already had instructions on what to do. If they were ever gone for more than 60 days without contacting him, he would have power of attorney to sell the house and all their possessions, and then to donate the proceeds to various charities. They weren't planning on coming back. It was hard to leave their lives behind, but some things are simply more important. He briefly wondered how long it would take the FBI to find out that they'd left. Closing the laptop he said, "It's done." Looking at his wife, he voiced the unthinkable. "Diane, what if...what if we can't find them? It's possible that they...were caught and we'd never know. It's been close to a year since we've heard anything. What about Sammy?"

She stood and paced. She hated to think about that. Max or Isabel usually got word to them every so often, but never on a regular schedule. A couple of times it was over a year between contacts, but... she couldn't pretend that they were ok when they didn't know for certain. Not with Sammy's life and well being at stake. They had to have a backup plan for him in case... in case the kids weren't there any more. "We raised two alien children without knowing, we could do it again. In fact it'd be easier in a way, at least we'd know." She looked at him, almost afraid that he'd object. She released the breath that she didn't even know she was holding when he only nodded in agreement. Of course he'd agree. He missed the children and family as much as she did. One way or another they were going to be reunited with their family...or what's left of it.

~

Diane couldn't help but to keep glancing over at him as they traveled down the dark highway towards Albuquerque. Every once in a while she'd catch him glancing back over at her. They'd smile at each other for a moment before he would duck his head shyly and resume looking out the window at the darkened desert. She had often wondered what it had been like for Max and Iz that first night before she and Philip had found them, lost and all alone, not understanding anything or even what they were seeing. Her babies. She studied him as he watched to highway. He had his father's general build. She bet herself that in the next year he would start to shoot up and fill out a bit just like Max had when he was about 15-16. He had a profile similar to Max's, chin, mouth, eyes, but the nose was a little different. He was shy and quiet like his father was, especially around strangers. And they were still strangers to each other. She reached down to the floorboard and pulled a small book out of her purse. It was time to introduce him to a few members of the family. As she flipped on the backseat reading light, "Sammy, scoot over here to the middle, I want to show you something."

Sammy scooted over and buckled into the center seatbelt. Grandma slipped her arm around his shoulders as she handed him the book. The cover read Grandma's Brag Book. He opened the cover and the first image was of a baby, bald and grinning. He knew that was one of him. He'd looked pretty much the same in the numerous ones that Mom and Dad had taken of him when he was a baby. He flipped the page and stopped, as he stared at the image of himself in a young man's arms. His finger traced along the image of the man. He did look like him, a lot like him. "That's my father?"

She kissed the top of his head and took a deep breath, trying to hold her emotions in check, "Yes, that's Max and you. Your mother had... run off when she was pregnant. Max was worried sick and tried to find her and you. You were a few months old when she finally came back. You had just come to live with him and us in these pictures." As he flipped the page memories sprang to life for Diane. "Oh, I remember that day. All the kids were over and helping get Iz's room redone as a nursery. That's Michael helping Max put your crib together. Michael was Max's best friend. That's Maria, Michael's girlfriend, holding you." As they flip through the pages, more memories came. "Oh and that's your Aunt Isabel, our daughter, holding you. And that's Jesse, her husband. And this one is Max and Liz sitting on our sofa."

Sammy paused flipped back thru the pages. Everyone was so young. They looked happy and ...normal. But they weren't normal and neither was he. Sammy looked up at her, "Do you have any of my mom?"

Diane paused. She wasn't sure. Max had only been with her for such a short time. It was actually hard to picture her son with Tess. She had seemed to be more Isabel's friend than Max's, let alone...well, obviously they had been a little friendly. The proof of that was sitting right here next to her. But did she have a picture of her? She took the book from him and flipped towards the back where some of the earlier pictures were. There, there was one of all of them, back before everything had completely fallen apart, before Alex's death. "Here honey, here's one of all of them. It was taken the night of their junior prom. There's Max and Liz, Michael and Maria, Isabel and...Alex, and that's Tess Harding, your mom, with Kyle Valenti."

Sammy brought the book up close to see better. That's all she had, a group picture with his mother in it? That's all? It finally started to dawn on him. No one had said a whole lot about his mom other than she had died and he went to go live with his dad and them for a little while. He looked at her again, "You didn't like my mom very much."

How could she explain it? That girl had cost Diane, her family. True, she had given Max this wonderful boy, but it had been at such a huge price. As she looked at him, she couldn't be angry. He was the innocent in all of this. "I honestly didn't know her that well. I had always thought of her as more of Isabel's friend than Max's. I was more than a bit surprised when we found that...when we found out about you." She turned back to the prom picture, "Max and Liz got married not long after they left. Last I heard they were still very happy together. Honey, I know this is hard but try to understand. This boy with Isabel, Alex, he died in an... accident just a few days after this picture was taken. It was a senseless death and everyone was torn up about it. Sometimes people do things and react to grief in ways they normally wouldn't have...I'm not sure what happened between your mom and dad back then, but I guess they grew... close during that time. But honey, I do know that he loved and wanted you very, very much."

Sammy didn't know what to think of that. He looked again at the boy that had died. He was so young, just a few years older then himself. He looked at his mom again and then at the girl his dad had wound up marrying. She'd been his prom date. His high school sweetheart, he'd married his high school sweetheart. He looked back at his mom. Who was this Kyle guy? What had happened to him? What had happened to all of them? Did they all go on the run with his dad? Wait, Grandma said Aunt Isabel had a husband, where'd he go? "Grandma, what happened to all of them? Did they all go with my dad? Are they all like him... like me?"

"Yes, most went with your dad. Liz did, and of course Michael. And yes, he's like you and your dad. So is Isabel, but she asked her husband not to come with them. She wanted him to have a chance at a life away from all the...craziness. But Kyle did go with them. I... um, I guess since Liz had started to develop powers because Max had healed her a few years earlier, and then Kyle was healed a little later, that Kyle figured he'd eventually get them too and... well, he thought that he'd be better off going than staying. It was awfully hard on his father, though." It was hard on all of us. God, they missed the kids. I wonder what they look like all grown and married and even with some children of their own, but not mine, though. How many do Michael and Maria have now? Was it four and one on the way, or was it the fourth one on the way? Sammy's shocked look finally registered, "What is it, honey?"

His jaw had dropped open. It took him a few moments before he could close it and use his mouth. "He healed them? H-h-how?"

Now it was Diane's turn to be surprised. She should have realized that he'd have no idea of what all Max and the others could do with their powers. He was just discovering his own. "Oh, uh, I'm not sure how exactly. He just could. It was sort of instinctive, I think. I'm sorry, honey. I just don't have all the answers for you."

Sammy rubbed his fingers over his split lip and wondered if he could heal himself. He looked at his hand and had no idea how to even begin to try. Turning his eyes back to her, "It's okay. But do you know anything else that he could do?"

Diane had to think for a moment. The kids had revealed so much to them in such a short time and then suddenly they were gone. She tried to remember everything that they had told her and everything that she had seen. "Well, I know that they could change the shape of things. Like say make a statue of a horse into a dolphin. Oh and levitate objects. I know Isabel could do that." Out of habit her hand went to her chin as she thought about it, "Oh and Max told us that Michael was really good at blowing things up, but that it took him a long time to figure out how to control it. Max said that occasionally he still slipped when he was...upset."

Sammy wondered if he could do any of that, then he remembered the one thing he had done. "What about an energy field? Could any of them do that?"

"I'm not sure." Looking up front, she tapped Philip on the shoulder, hoping she wouldn't distract him too much from driving. "Philip, did any of them mention something about an energy shield of some sort?"

Philip had been busy driving, but making a point to be quiet so he could hear everything. He was partly happy that Sammy was starting to open up and ask questions, and partly worried because he wasn't sure about what answers to give him. Fortunately, Diane seemed to be handling it pretty well. Those Tess questions were tough, though. His eyes shifted to the passenger sitting next to him, wide-awake and listening to every word. "Um, I'm not sure but I seem to recall Max saying that he could make some sort of shield."

~

It was after midnight and the car was silent as Gary stretched in the front seat. These long days were starting to get to him. He was glad when Philip had offered to drive. Besides, he was more familiar with the road. Gary glanced over his shoulder and saw Sammy sound asleep in the back seat with his head on Diane's lap. Diane was either gently rubbing Sammy's arm or stroking his hair, constantly touching him as if she was trying to convince herself that Sammy really was there in the flesh. He still had misgivings about all of this because of all the unknowns, but he was certain that having loving grandparents in Sammy's life was just what he needed. His eyes were just starting to close when he heard his cell phone ring. He quickly grabbed it and looked at the caller ID. He instantly recognized the number as Simon's office. He didn't think it was a good thing that Simon was in his office at after 1:00 AM. Simon must have gone straight there from the airport. He cringed a little as he answered the call. This wasn't going to be pretty.

~

Part 4

Simon had managed to get a couple of hours of sleep on the plane ride back to New York, and that was only out of pure exhaustion. He was having a hard time quieting his mind enough to sleep and was anxious to get into his office so that he could sit down, make some calls, and go over different plans. But everything seemed to be conspiring against him. It was raining heavily, which caused landing delays, then customs, and then the traffic nightmare that came to the city whenever it rained. He checked his home messages from the back of the cab on the ride into the city, there was nothing really, just friends wanting to get together when he got back. His office machine was a different matter. He had twenty-three messages and after listening to the first five, all from David and all growing in vulgarity, he'd hung up. After what seemed like an eternity he finally walked into his office. He threw his jacket on a chair, dropped his bags by the door, and hit the play button on the message machine as he walked over to his office bar for a drink. After listening to the twelfth message from David, he poured himself another drink. It seemed that David was reacting pretty much the way Simon had imagined he would. David was furious and was claiming that Sammy had attacked him in a drug-induced rage. Simon smirked as he heard David's claim that Sammy needed to enter a drug rehab clinic. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Simon just shook his head. He and Sammy had talked about drugs and alcohol. And, while he wouldn't be surprised if Sammy had smoked a little or had drunk a beer, Sammy had seen how destructive drugs could be first hand with David and had shied away from them. Smart boy. Simon paused in mid-sip when the tone of the next message started taking on more disgusting aspects as David began accusing him and Gary of doing some very deviant things with Sammy. Bastard. He could feel his temper rising as the subsequent messages just escalated from there. The last one from David was a threat to go to the authorities if Simon didn't hand Sammy back over to him immediately. Yeah, right, "Not on your life, asshole."

The twenty-third and final message surprised him. It was from a Detective Taylor wanting to talk to him immediately concerning Sammy Connor, Jr.'s 'disappearance'. Simon was actually stunned. "Well I'll be damned. The son of a bitch actually called the cops. Looks like this is going to get messy."

He was just about to phone the detective back when he thought better of it. Sammy had shown an uncanny ability to talk Gary into doing things that he shouldn't have. Something was telling him to call Gary first and make sure that they were laying low in the motel like they were supposed to. Simon briefly closed his eyes as the phone rang, that was a mistake. Between the two drinks and exhaustion he was about to doze off. It was a good thing that Gary finally answered. Why did Gary's "Hi" sound so hesitant? "Gary, it's me. How's it going? Sammy, okay?"

Gary glanced back over his shoulder into the back seat. Sammy was still laying down, but he was starting to stir. The cell phone had probably disturbed him. He took a deep breath and mentally braced himself, "Sammy's fine. Good in fact. How's... uh, what's going on in New York?"

Simon ran his hand over his face, trying to somehow wipe the exhaustion away, "I had twenty two calls from David on my office machine, each one worse than the previous one. He's claiming Sammy was high on something and attacked him. He thinks we're hiding him and he eventually called the police."

Gary frowned and glanced over at Philip who was still driving, "He called the police? That's not good... is it?"

Simon sighed tiredly into the phone, "No, no I don't think that it is. I'm thinking that we should get Sammy back to New York, and to a hospital so that they can document the bruises and other injuries...ammunition for a child abuse case against David. We'll have to come up with a plausible explanation as to why we didn't do that in the first place, but we'll think of something. If you want to hang on for a minute, I'll log onto the Internet and check the flight schedules from Albuquerque to New York."

He bit his lip, this was it, "Simon, don't bother. We...we're not in Roswell anymore. In fact in an hour we won't even be in New Mexico any longer. We're... we're with the Evans driving to Kansas..." Gary fidgeted. He hated it when Simon grew silent. "Simon, Philip and Diane Evans are Sammy's grandparents. They...they think it would be best for Sammy to be with his father for a bit... that's where we're headed, to...to meet up with Cal Langley who knows where Max, their son and Sammy's father, is...Simon... Sammy wasn't exaggerating about that energy shield thing he did to David. From what Philip said, Sammy's parents could do things like that too... and with Sammy starting to be able to do them too... it might not be a good idea to have him examined by a doctor just now."

Simon was pretty sure he was awake, but his mind seemed to be wandering around somewhere. It refused process what Gary was saying so it just sort of took a little vacation for a minute or two. His hand shook as he reached for his glass and drained the last of his drink. The slight burn of the bourbon as it ran down his throat helped to
bring his wandering mind back home. "So... um... so...you and the Evans are taking Sammy to-to Kansas to meet whom, again?"

Gary didn't like the way Simon sounded, "Um, Cal Langley, you know, the movie producer? He... uh, he knows where Max is."

His hand was on forehead. It was the only thing holding his head up as he tried to get a handle on this, "Why would Cal Langley know where Max is and not his parents? Why Kansas? Does Max live there? What exactly do you mean by this energy field?" As the questions piled up in his brain, his temper started to explode, "Why did you contact Philip Evans in the first place? Why'd you take Sammy to meet them? And... WHY IN THE HELL DIDN'T YOU STAY PUT LIKE I ASKED YOU TO?!!!!"

Philip could hear the yelling coming over the cell phone from where he was sitting over in the driver's seat. He checked the rearview mirror and pulled over at a wide smooth spot. Holding out his hand to Gary, "Here, let me talk to him." Philip couldn't help but notice how relieved Gary seemed to be as he handed over the phone. Philip eyed the phone with a raised eyebrow as he heard Gary's name being shouted out of the receiver. He cleared his throat and put the phone to his ear as soon as there was a pause in the shouting, "Mr. Shapiro, Simon Shapiro?... This is Philip Evans. I think that we should talk. But first, please know that my wife and I would never do anything to harm Sammy. He's our grandson and we love him very much. With that said, let me layout the situation..."

Simon's face was bunched up in concentration as he listened to and made notes about the incredible story of two orphaned children found in the desert 28 years ago, special children with special abilities. And later, how they were hunted by a group of Federal agents called the Special Unit that feared them, about Sammy's mother being killed, and their children and their children's friends being forced to run, of believing that Sammy didn't have these abilities and deciding to adopt him out so he'd have a chance at a normal life. And finally, of their plan to meet up with this movie producer who either knew where their children were, or knew how to find them. For every answer Philip Evans gave him about Sammy and his supposed heritage, Simon listed a dozen questions next to it. The story was so incredible that it had to be true...or, more likely, parts of it were true. You just didn't spill your guts to a stranger on a cell phone about a long held secret, especially one that involved your children's safety. Philip Evans was telling him a version of the truth, one that he had long practiced. Of that, Simon had no doubts. He had no choice but to accept it and rely on Gary's judgment for now. Simon set the pen down and rubbed his stiff neck. Until two days ago he would have trusted Gary's judgment with his life. Now he needed to trust it with Sammy's life and so far, Simon had serious reservations about a few decisions that Gary made. Turning and twisting his neck, trying to work the kinks out, "Okay Philip, let me see if I've got this. Sammy cannot go to the doctor and be examined, nor should he return to New York with his uncle, and now the police asking questions, because with you and your wife involved this Special Unit may be on to the fact that Sammy is your grandson and may kidnap or harm him, even if he doesn't have these...powers, in an attempt to draw your kids out of hiding. And that you are taking him to meet with Cal Langley, a famous movie producer, who either knows where your son is or how to get a hold of him...you hope. And that Sammy is best off with his father, your son, who is still on the run and in hiding, so he can teach Sammy about these powers that he claims to be developing. Did I get everything?"

Philip didn't miss Simon's increasingly sarcastic tone coming over the phone, and he couldn't blame him for it either. If he had been on the receiving end, he'd be just as skeptical. "Simon, I know that it sounds...absurd, but it's all true. We want Sammy safe and right now that means the fewer people asking questions, the better. Can you handle the police and Sammy's uncle? Get them to quietly lose interest?"

Simon rubbed his tired eyes, "Yeah, I'll call a friend on the force and inform them that there were some...disagreements at the Connor household and to give everyone some time to cool off, Gary took Sammy on his next buying trip to...Mexico, I guess. I'll tell David something similar, but add a few dollar signs to it. That always shuts him up for a little while. But Philip, I want to know exactly where he is, where you're taking him, and whom he's meeting with. I don't like this, not even a little bit, but at the moment there's not a lot that I can do about it. And under no circumstances does Sammy leave Gary's side. I may not be Sammy's relative, but I am, and was, a damn good friend to Sam Senior and I promised him a long time ago that if anything ever happened to him I'd watch out for his son. If something happens to Sammy...well, this Special Unit won't be the only ones hunting you and your family down. I have the resources and the power to make the rest of your life a living hell."

Philip's tone said almost as much as his words did. "If something happens to him, you won't need to... I'll already be there." He was about to say goodbye and hang up when he heard a small voice coming from the back.

"Grandpa, could I talk to Simon?" Sammy had awakened a little bit ago, but had just laid quietly in his grandma's lap and listened to everything being said in the car.

Philip looked back and his heart just melted. Sammy still was lying down, but his eyes said that he was wide-awake. Something told him that Sammy wasn't quite as helpless as he had first appeared. Obviously he had been through a lot, but he had the backbone and wherewithal to survive and go after what he wanted. He smiled as he handed the phone over to him. "Sure, here ya go Sammy."

Sammy sat up as he took the phone, "Uncle Simon, hi... please don't be mad at me. I just... I just wanted my family... Uncle Simon?"

He was beginning to get an idea of how Gary had been talked into this as "Uncle Simon, please don't be mad at me," kept echoing in Simon's head. How in the hell could anyone stay mad at that? He could actually picture those expressive eyes looking pleadingly at him...God, how did Sam and Carol ever say no to this kid? If Sammy had been his, he'd be heavily in debt to F.A.O. Schwarz and every other store or place that catered to kids. Too bad that not all people thought like that, his heart hardened as he thought again of what David had done to Sammy. He had to clear his throat before his could speak. "I know Sammy. I'm not...real happy about all of this, but I'm not mad at you. Sammy, listen, this is important. Sammy, please do what Gary tells you and stay with Gary, please? Don't go off anywhere without him...not even if your dad shows up and wants to take you with him...stay with Gary. Sammy, your grandparents seem like nice people and it sounds like they've been good to you, but I don't know them and it's my
responsibility to look out for you. And since I'm not there, I have to leave it up to Gary to make sure that you're okay. Please stay with him and do as he says...and Sammy, I'm sorry. I... I should have acted sooner to get David out of your life, no matter how much money it'd cost. I knew... I knew that he wasn't good for you, but I didn't... I didn't know that he was hurting you. I would have stopped it... I'm sorry, Sammy."
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TaffyCat
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Post by TaffyCat »

Sammy didn't even realize that he had started to snuggle against Diane's shoulder. It just felt like the natural thing to do. "It's not your fault. I never wanted you to know how bad he was. I'm just glad that it's out now. And I'll do what you want. I promise that I'll stay with Gary. I won't go anywhere without him unless he tells me to...Uncle Simon?"

Simon was wondering if he could handle one more drink, or if it'd knock him out for the night. No...he couldn't afford to crash just yet, there was still too much to do. He sighed as he spun the empty glass around in his hand, "Yeah, Sammy?"

"I'm glad that I'm with my grandparents, though." As Grandma's hand rubbed up and down his arm, reassuring him, Sammy yawned.

Simon heard the yawn and the affection in Sammy's voice as he mentioned his grandparents. It'd been a long time since Simon had heard Sammy that...content. Sammy's life was spinning out of control in directions unknown, and he hadn't sounded that relaxed since he'd lost his parents. Maybe the Evans were doing something right for him, "I'm glad Sammy, very glad. Take care of yourself and get some rest. Could you give me back to Gary for a moment?" He heard another yawn before Sammy said sure and passed the phone off. He reiterated what he'd told Sammy to Gary once more before saying goodbye and promising to call tomorrow night. Simon would be up for several more hours, working on pure caffeine and what remained of the adrenaline that his body could produce. He made the call to that friend that he had on the force, one who owed him some favors, to smooth things over with Detective Taylor. He then called David, who was in a drunken stupor, and proceeded to call Simon every name in the book. Simon waited until he figured that David had passed out, and left a message that Gary had taken Sammy on a buying trip to give things some time to cool off and to keep everyone's names out of the papers, and that David would find a check waiting for him tomorrow afternoon at the bank. Simon thought $20,000 would last David most of the week. As he hung up the phone he snorted, "Maybe if we're lucky you'll put your sorry ass out of our misery and fry your brains with too much coke...God, what a horrible thing to think, but then again I wouldn't shed a tear if it actually happened." It was almost 4:00AM when Simon finally hailed a cab and headed home.

~

Gary watched Sammy sitting on the bed in the adjoining motel room. Sammy kept looking at his hand and touching his face. Gary had seen him doing it off and on since last night when they'd finally stopped for the night. They had almost made it to Oklahoma City before calling it a night. Philip had gone out to get donuts and Diane was taking her turn in the bathroom, so Gary figured he wasn't invading their space and walked in. "Sammy, what are you doing?"

Grandma had said it was instinctive, so he should just know how to heal automatically. Why wasn't it working? He was supposed to be like his dad. He looked up for a moment as Gary walked in then resumed staring at his hand and willing it to heal...again, nothing. Sighing in frustration, "It's not working. If my dad could heal then I should be able to, too! Damn it!"

Gary took a seat next to him. He didn't know exactly how he felt about all of this. All the things that they'd said that their kids could do, did he really believe them? Could it possibly be true? Until he saw it with his own eyes, he was never going to truly believe it...but did he really want to see it? What if it was all a lie or some elaborate
hoax, why was he going along with it? But Sammy believed it, every word. Hell, he was trying to imitate it. Gary could only shake his head as he draped his arm around Sammy. "Yeah, damn it."

~

Gary pulled off the highway onto a secondary gravel road. He went about a half mile before coming to a stop by some picnic grounds that were next to a small pond. They were the only people there. He imagined that, in the spring and summer, this place was full of families having picnics and barbecues, but as winter neared all that was around were some ducks. Gary checked his watch, "It's almost 4:00. Why don't we get out and stretch our legs a bit? It's been a long drive." With that, all four exited the Buick.

Diane watched as Sammy headed down to the pond with the extra hamburger from dinner in hand. She smiled as Sammy started feeding the bun to the ducks. "He seems to be feeling better today. He certainly has more energy."

Philip just grinned at the growing duck audience that Sammy was attracting, "He's been cooped up in the car and in motel rooms for two days, it's no wonder he's got some pent-up energy to burn."

Gary had been relieved to see the changes in Sammy as the day had progressed. He'd never spent all that much time with Sammy before, but he did remember that Sammy used to smile a lot before his parents died. At one time, he had been a pretty happy kid. It was good to see that smile returning a little. He'd be sure to mention it the next time he talked to Simon. He looked around again, "How'd Langley know about this place? It's seems like a small local place."

They were walking around a little, but staying close to the car and Sammy. It felt good to Philip to be able to stretch. "I'm not sure, maybe a movie shoot?"

Gary's unease had been growing all day as the 4:00PM meeting time and place had drawn near. "You don't really know this guy, do you? How do you know that he's going to help? What if he just says screw it or doesn't even show?"

Philip didn't want to admit that it was a possibility. He had no choice though but to go with what Max had relayed to him about Cal Langley. He could tell that Gary didn't like any of this and was biting back his desire to ask more questions. As he got to know Gary more, he was finding him to be a good, intelligent man who knew when to talk and when to just listen. He'd make good lawyer or investigator. "He'll show. He'll want to at least check it out. His debt is an obligation. Even if he doesn't like it, he has to at least deal with it."

"But what if he doesn't want to deal with it the way that we want him to?" The look that Gary got from Philip told him that he had just hit the nail on the head. Philip didn't know what Langley was going to do. But he didn't have any time to dwell more on it, as they heard a car coming down the road. It was a big, dark blue Caddy with California license plates and man looking decidedly unhappy sitting behind the wheel. Cal Langley.

~

This is the last thing that he wanted to be doing and the last place he wanted to be. Cal liked his life in Hollywood and hated any interruptions of it, especially when it came from Max Evans or anything or anyone related to him. He had never forgiven Max for ruining his life sixteen years ago. True, Max had pretty much kept away since then, only contacting him a few times over the years. But hatred or not, Cal had to obey him and one of the things that Max had ordered him to do was to keep on eye on all of their families back in Roswell, to make sure that they were okay. Cal was also informed that he would be the go between in case Max's family needed to contact him. There were a few other things throughout the years, but those, while he didn't relish the contact, so far had worked out to all their advantages. Now it was time to pay the piper. He pulled up next to the other car and got out. He recognized Philip and Diane right away, but had only heard the other guy's name yesterday. He turned and watched the boy coming up from the pond. "Shit!" he thought. No doubt about who's the father of that kid. Sweet Mother of God, they were screwed. The kid came to a stop next to Diane, who put her arm around the boy's shoulder. Cal just stared at him, just a kid, yet so much like his father. He smirked and pulled out a cigar from his pocket. He lit the cigar, shook his head and walked back over to stand in front of Philip and this Gary fellow that had shown up out of the blue with the kid. Damn him! "You called this meeting. So talk."

Philip controlled his breathing and remained calm, "Cal, that's Max's son, Zan. He needs to be with Max. His powers are developing. As Max's heir, you are required to protect him and help him. "

Cal took a good long puff on his cigar, "Be careful of telling me what my job is." As he walked back over to look at the kid, "As for him being the heir, Kivar has already dismissed his claim." Cal pointed the cigar at the boy. "The best thing that your dad ever did for you was to give you up." Cal's mind was actually reeling at the revelation that Zan Jr. was developing powers. Cal had gotten word years ago that confirmed what Tess had told Max. The babe had been tested and found to be human, purely human and thus was completely unacceptable to Kivar or to sit on the Antarian Throne. He studied the boy who remained silent. He was just a kid yet, just starting adolescence, a bit of a late bloomer. Adolescence, could that be what triggered the powers? All the hybrids' powers were purely human, but were made to mimic Antarian powers. As was evidenced by Liz and Kyle developing powers, it was possible for humans to develop them, if they had the proper stimuli, which in their case was their respective healings. Could puberty have triggered the boy's? Even if he has them, they might be so minuscule that it wouldn't make any difference. Cal couldn't take the chance. He had to test him somehow. Turning his back on the boy, he purposefully walked up to Gary, "You shouldn't be here, the less who know the better. You seem like a nice enough guy, I'm sorry that you got involved." He raised his hand and stepped towards Gary, his hand started to glow.

Everything was happening so fast, yet everyone seemed to move in slow motion. Sammy felt the panic rising as his mind tried to process the scene. Langley's hand was glowing. Langley was approaching Gary. Langley was threatening Gary. Grandpa wasn't close enough to stop Langley. Grandma wasn't either. Langley was going to hurt Gary. Gary was his friend. Gary had helped him. Now Gary was going to be hurt because of it. It was instinct that made Sammy raise his hand. Sammy didn't remember shouting, "NO!" But he'd never forget the bolt of energy that flew through the air and struck Cal Langley, knocking him on his ass. Sammy stayed rooted on the spot, afraid to move, afraid to lower his hand, afraid of what he had just done. He started to tremble and he felt the tear tracks on his face, but he didn't move.

Gary wasn't sure what happened, but he was certain that his life had been threatened and that Sammy had just saved him... somehow. He watched as Cal suddenly sat upright and began to laugh. It was a laughter that sent a cold shiver down his spine. He really needed to find a bathroom.

Cal had been pleasantly surprised by what the kid had done. Kivar had been shortsighted. He had only looked at the babe as he was and had never thought to test out the potential of what he might become. Kivar had had the heir in his grasp and had let him slip away. Kivar's stupidity was laughable and so... he did. It took several minutes before he could stop laughing, that's when he noticed the shape the boy was in, still ready to strike, but scared shitless. Cal stood up and dusted himself off. "Good shooting kid. You can relax now. I wasn't going to hurt him. I just needed to see what you could do."

Sammy slowly lowered his hand. He could feel Grandma's hand on his shoulder, but he didn't hear her words trying to calm him. All he could hear was the laughter and then the words of the monster before him. He suddenly saw red as his anger erupted, "YOU...YOU WERE TESTING ME? YOU THREATENED HIS LIFE...AS A TEST? YOU BASTARD!"

Cal watched as the kid's temper exploded. He wasn't really worried. The shot had lacked the strength of an adult. He saw how Diane and then Philip tried to calm the boy. They obviously understood that if Cal had been really serious, Gary wouldn't have stood a chance, for that matter neither would the kid. Deciding it was time to put things into perspective for the boy, Cal raised his hand and bolt of energy several times the strength of what the kid had thrown turned a boulder to dust. He stared hard at the now silent group. "Now that I have your attention. I wouldn't suggest that you try pulling that stunt again. Your dad may be the king, but you're still just a cub still cutting your milk teeth. You have a lot to learn before you can roar with the lions. For the record, I had to set you dad down a notch or two when he was just a bit older than yourself and I won't hesitate to do the same again with you." Cal secretly hoped that Max didn't get too pissed when he found out about this. Max was far from that punk kid that had shown up in LA all those years ago. All the years on the run had made all of them develop and hone their skills to a razor sharp edge. Cal doubted he could take any of them on directly. But those
present didn't need to know that. The game they were in was already dangerous enough. Cal looked around for his cigar. It was now covered in dirt. He sighed and grabbed his last one from his pocket, mending the break with his powers before lighting it. After taking a few puffs to get it going he said, "So, how long have been able to use your powers?" He looked up when he got no reply and realized that all four were glaring at him with hatred. He was surprised at who yelled at him next.

Diane had been terrified beyond belief at the actions she'd witnessed. Then as his callousness and arrogance continued, her maternal pride and protectiveness took over. "HOW DARE YOU! He's a child and he's Max's son, my grandson, and you will NOT treat him like this! Can't you see that he's been through enough already!?"

Cal had the good sense to nod in acknowledgment. He was not without sympathy. He'd noticed the bruises on the kid. That was part of why he felt the need to test the kid's strength and skill. Even if he wasn't a healer, he should be able to take care of those bruises. "I pity the poor fool who gave him those," he thought. "Max will hand him his ass for laying a finger on his kid, and rightly so." Then he spoke aloud. "Of course, yes, ma'am. I apologize. I didn't mean disrespect or any harm. But you being here has put me in a bit of a bind. I needed to find out exactly what I was dealing with and fast."

Philip couldn't help but stand a little in front of Sammy and Diane. He was beyond pissed, but he also recognized the danger. Cal was obviously toying with them. Max hadn't been kidding when he'd said to be careful in dealing with Langley. Philip glanced at Gary standing next to Sammy. Gary was still as white as a ghost and hadn't said a word, but he was hanging in there. Philip turned his attention back to Cal. "What kind of bind?"

Cal walked over to one of the picnic tables and sat down. Indicating that they should also take a seat he answered Philip's question. "Kivar has already ruled the kid as unacceptable as heir when he was a babe. That was the reason that Tess scrambled to get back here. Bearing the heir was her only ace card and without it neither her life nor the kid's were worth a plug nickel back home. However, with his powers developing that changes things. Remember, it's the king and his heir that I'm bound to, not king and the one the he *wants* to be his heir."

Philip wished he'd sat down alone with Cal. This was more information than he wanted Sammy or Gary to hear. Too late now. "So if Sammy hadn't acted and used his powers..."

"I would have stopped and told you to go back home. Or to take the kid to Canada or something. Not my responsibility." Cal didn't want to seem so cold. The Evans were nice people and had been good parents, and now grandparents to some special kids, but not everything was nice in the world. "You're being tracked. Max told me to keep an eye on all of you back in Roswell. Your house was turned inside out today at noon. It seems that the wrong people became suspicious when you didn't turn up in court today, and they went to your house, then your office."

"They won't find anything. We didn't leave anything behind." Philip spoke with obvious concern.

"Ah, but you did at your office, a very worried secretary with an appointment book. And guess who's name was down as your last appointment before you came up missing?" Cal casually replied.

"Mine." Gary looked worriedly at Sammy. "They'll be looking for me now, won't they?"

"Give that man a cigar. Yep, and I'd give it another day at the most before they trace you to your friend Simon Shapiro in New York, and eventually to the boy. By the way, your friend is pretty resourceful. He called in a few favors here, applied a little cash there, and viola; everything is nice and quiet...at least for now. But you might want to give him a heads up to expect some heat, and might get pretty hot too."

It dawned on Gary that he still didn't know who was after them, "What kind of heat? From where exactly?"

Philip sighed. The cat was going to be out of the bag soon anyway. "Special Unit for the FBI." He turned to Langley. "You don't think that they'd really do anything to him, do you?"

"Not unless they get real desperate. Right now they're too busy following you. Which leads me to our next little problem. If you take the boy to Max, you'll be leading them right to him. Currently I have a friend running a little interference, but that's only temporary." Cal seriously doubted they'd go for this, but it really was the best
solution. "They're not looking for me. The boy comes with me and I can take him to dear old dad. No one would suspect a thing. Besides, I obviously can protect him better than you can."

Philip put his hand on Gary before he said anything. He saw Diane hug Sammy a little closer. "No. You'll have to excuse us, but we are not inclined to hand our grandson over to someone who has threatened one of us and shown open disdain for our son, Sammy's father. But then I'm betting you knew that already. What's your next option?"

"Yeah, I knew it was a stretch, but it would be the easiest and safest way. Okay, how about this. They've already traced Gary to the Tumbleweed Motel, and to the rental agency that leased him that Buick at the Airport in Albuquerque. To start, we switch cars. You head on up to Montana, to a little town called Whitefish, and wait. I'll take your car in the opposite direction and meet up with you in say three days at a place outside of Whitefish. It's a place that Max will know."

Diane had to ask. "Is he all right? We haven't heard anything in a while. Are all of them okay?"

Cal puffed on his cigar as he tried to remain gruff, but his eyes softened just the same at their mother's concern. "They're fine the last I heard. The Guerins certainly keep popping little ones out, though. I understand that Liz is expecting again. They're hoping that by laying low and not running, she might be able to bring this one to term. Isabel is keeping busy, same as Kyle." Clearing his throat, "So, we switch cars, you head North, and I'll head South. Oh, and my associate will be tailing you, just to be sure. Don't look for him to rescue you if you have problems, though. He simply reports back to me on what he sees. With any luck in three days you'll have a nice family reunion."

A little later they watched as Gary's rental car pulled away. He figured that he had three days to have a very long chat with Philip Evans. He looked at the AAA map of the US that Philip had spread out on the hood of the Caddy. At least it was a comfortable car. "So where the hell is Whitefish, Montana?"

Philip pointed to the spot on the map. "Here, way up almost to Canada, near Glacier National Park. I bet the kids live nearby. He made it sound like they might have settled down for a little while. I hope so."

Gary nodded, "Looks like a long drive. Why don't you plot a course, I guess an indirect one would be in order. If you'll excuse me for a moment."

"Sure. Are you all right?" Philip was still concerned about him. He was just entirely too calm about everything.

"Yeah," came Gary's reply from behind a bush. "Just needed to find a spot. The port-a-potties were all locked."

~
Part 5

Cal ended the cell call. His associate had done well and the Evans had managed to head out unnoticed, but for how long? He knew from experience that eventually they'd figure it out. Damn Max Evans anyhow! Why couldn't he have kept it in his pants sixteen years ago like the good boy that he was supposed to be? Langley sighed to himself. Oh well, at least they'd gotten rid of that bitch of a former wife, Tess. Why the queen had insisted on sending the wife was beyond him. Hell, why Zan had ever taken her as his wife in the first place was an unsolved mystery. Most likely it had been political. The kid seemed nice enough, though. He knew that he should have been keeping an eye the boy, but Max hadn't wanted Cal to go anywhere near him. Judging from the black eye that the kid was now sporting, there could be no doubt that that had been a mistake. *That* was one thing that Cal was going to remedy when this was all over, with or without Max's permission. No one should get away with whaling on a kid like that, no one. Unless of course he's an 18-year-old smart-ass punk who shows up in places that he's been told not to. But even he hadn't left Max with bruises, except maybe to the ego. But Zan, Sammy was just a kid. As he headed south, he made another call. "Hello, yes, Herman, see if the Dallas Cowboys are playing at home tomorrow. Okay, go check. I'll wait... they are, good. Buy me a ticket under the name Gary Wilcox, and put it on will call for tomorrow. What? It's none of your business who Gary Wilcox is, just do it!" He grumbled as he hung up, "Can't find decent help anywhere these days." He should make it to Dallas just in time for the game where he'd pick up the ticket, after changing his IDto read Gary Wilcox. Then he'd wipe the Buick of any fingerprints and leave it in the crowded parking lot at the game, and steal another car. That one would turn up at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport. It too would also be free of fingerprints, and it will be Cal Langley that boards a first class flight to Spokane, WA tomorrow afternoon. Cal already had the ticket in his pocket. The one he'd bought for Samuel Connor Jr. will go unused, but no problem. He'll write it off as a business expense on his taxes.

~

It was still early afternoon and the bar wouldn't open for a couple more hours. Max had just finished mopping the floor when he heard a herd of stampeding buffalo, also known as the Guerin bunch, come thundering in. They were wild, unpredictable, and left a place looking like a tornado had struck it...and he'd have given anything in the world if just one of them were his and Liz's. They had entered through the restaurant side and he could hear the ruckus already.

"Chase, do NOT zap anything! You fried the wiring in the entire building the last time! Ryan, NO ICE CREAM! I mean it this time! Megan, leave your dad alone! He's busy making the dinner buffet for Monday Night Football!" Maria came strolling into the bar area carrying their youngest one on her hip. The second she put him down; he was off after his brothers and sister. "Chase, keep an eye on Alex! He's loose! And DON'T show him how to manipulate the candy machine this time!" She was still grumbling as she started to help Max set the chairs down on the clean floor. "God, that's all I need a bunch of little Guerins running around on a sugar high, zapping everything in sight. Did I mention that I totally hate Halloween?" She paused and stared at Max for a minute.
"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing." Max couldn't keep the grin off his face.

Her hands were on her hips. "Uh huh....right. Maybe I'll have Uncle Max baby-sit this weekend. Having them 24/7 will wipe the grin off of your face."

Max looked in through the open kitchen door at the throng of kids in there terrorizing their father. "I wouldn't mind," he murmured softly.

Maria instantly recognized the wistful look that came over Max. It had been so very hard for him and Liz. She and Michael were proof that aliens and humans were compatible, but Max and Liz hadn't been so lucky. Liz didn't have any trouble getting pregnant. It was carrying a baby to term that was the problem. They had been on the run for five years when Liz discovered that she was pregnant. They were the first couple to get pregnant, and they all were scared to death and absolutely ecstatic. Max had been out with Michael doing some reconnaissance when Liz had started cramping, and then bleeding. By the time they had returned it was already too late. Max had blamed himself for not being there for Liz and their baby. Liz had only been a couple months along and they had all figured that it just wasn't meant to be at that time. The second one was a little less than a year later. Liz had been having problems right from the start and Max had stuck to her like glue, healing her and the baby each time there was a problem. But Max wasn't God, and they'd lost that one at a little over four months along. Max had blamed himself, again. Saying he must have missed something, or should have done more somehow. Of course it didn't help that right afterwards Maria had discovered that she was pregnant. Max and Liz had always been great about things, but they all had seen the pain and longing in their faces with every new Guerin birth. Three years ago they had all agreed that they should lay low for a while and find a place to settle down, if it was at all possible. Max had talked to Cal and they had worked it out. They had planted clues and false sightings all over the place. The result was that they'd tied the Special Unit up in knots and then found a little out of the way place to settle down so that the kids could go to school and have some sort of normal life. Cal had loaned them the money for Max and Liz, and her and Michael to open the Out of the Way Bar and Grill;
and so Kyle could open the Expert Car Shop in Sandpoint, ID; and for Isabel to live off of while she went to school. Life had been good these last three years and everyone was thrilled when Liz got pregnant again last year, almost at the same time as she got pregnant with little Alex. Liz had done everything that she was supposed to. She ate healthy, got lots of rest, and took her vitamins. She even went to a doctor this time instead of the midwife route that Maria did. Of course it had scared Max to take a chance that something odd would pop-up, but he didn't have long to worry. They lost it at five months. That had been the hardest one. They had actually thought that this one was going to make it and had started to buy things, even a crib. Afterwards Liz was convinced that they were never going to have any children and had insisted that
Max get rid of everything instead of just storing it. Max had broken down that night as he and Michael disassembled the crib. It brought back too many memories of tearing down the crib for the son Max had given away. They were all utterly astounded six months later when Liz found herself once again pregnant even though they had been very careful about birth control. This time, Liz was doing nothing except lying on her side
watching tv or reading, and driving everyone insane, but it was working. She was at 32 weeks and still going. They were afraid of jinxing their luck, so they still hadn't bought anything for the baby yet. Maria touched Max's arm. "Your turn is coming. Liz is doing great."

He was so scared. He felt so helpless. He could heal a gunshot, cancers, broken bones, and all kinds of other maladies, but he couldn't help his wife and child. He only nodded and watched his feet as he put chair after chair down on the floor.

Maria knew what he was doing and wasn't going to let him get away with it. On the next chair he put down, she shoved him in to it and took a seat next to him. "Come on, girlfriend, talk!" She saw the stubborn set of his jaw and wouldn't have it. "Max, as your girlfriend it is my sworn duty to get you to spill your guts and I wouldn't want to be considered negligent. So out with it. Spill."

It had been on his mind for a while, and with each new loss the feeling had grown. He pulled a napkin from a dispenser on the table and folded it, and folded it, and folded it as he talked, "Do you think that maybe this is my...punishment? Me and...Tess having a baby and me having to give him up...and now Liz and I not being able to have one. Do you think that this is God's punishment for me not being faithful to Liz back then?"

Maria had to strain to hear him, because he was talking so softly. As each word finally registered, her heart broke again. Max still thought that it was entirely his fault. "Max, God isn't mean and cruel like that. You've spent the last 15 years doing good, and trying to make Liz happy. Max, as much as you hate to admit it, not everything is within your control. Not everything is your responsibility. And not everything is about you, either." She saw his head jerk up at that last one. Good, she had his attention, "Max, even if what you think is true, then God would be punishing Liz just as much or even more than you. And she didn't do anything to warrant this. And of course she plays the blame
game with each loss too, the same as you. If she had done this or that differently, there's plenty of blame to go around, but the fact remains that it's nobody's fault. It just happened. I know that's hard to accept, but it happens to be the truth. Besides, this one is doing well so far. Even if something did happen, she's far enough along that it'd have a good chance. Max, before you blame yourself and say that God is punishing you for past sins, maybe you should put a little more faith in Him to begin with and ask Him for a little help."

His mouth quirked up at that. "Are you telling me that I should pray?"

CRASH... BANG, a wail of, "NOOOOO" came bellowing out of the kitchen, followed by, "MARIA! LOOK WHAT YOUR DAUGHTER JUST DID!"

Maria sighed and shook her head, "Why not? Sometimes praying is about the only thing that gets me through the day." She turned as a frazzled Michael with a little girl with wild light brown curls on his back came out of the kitchen. "Why is she MY daughter all of a sudden?"

Slipping his little princess off of his back and sitting her on the bar. "She just dumped a whole bottle of hot peppers in the marinara sauce that I've had simmering for hours."

Megan put her hands on her hips in a perfect imitation of her Mom. "But Mommy, it needed it. It wasn't spicy enough!"

Maria rolled her eyes.

Chase peeked around the corner from the dining section. "Mom, what's that big sheet cake with a football on it for?"

Maria turned a suspicious eye on her oldest son. "Monday Night Football...why?"

"Oh...um, is it okay if we had a piece?" Chase inquired.

"NO," was her firm reply as her eyes narrowed in on him.

"Oh...uh...um... what if it was an accident?" Chase squirmed under the scrutiny.

"What was an...a.c.c.i.d...e.n.t?" 'What' was quickly evident as a small almost 1-1/2 year-old came around the corner, coated in cake from head-to-toe, she turned to their speechless father. "Just look at what YOUR son did!"

"MY son? You're the one that let him get down. I was busy in the kitchen." It was a routine that they had down pat as they marched their kids into the back to get cleaned up and new sauce started, just normal, everyday life for the members of Guerin household.

Max bit his lip, and waited until they were out of earshot before he busted up laughing. He loved Michael and Maria's kids dearly, but man, they were hard on the place.

~

Isabel was a half-hour late getting to the bar that night to help set up. She had gotten a hurried call from Max asking her to swing by the bakery to pick up a cake. Plopping the cake on the bar counter she watched as her brother was replacing a beer keg for the tap. "Okay, why do we need another cake?"

Max just looked up at her and broke out in a grin. "Maria and the kids were here this afternoon."

Isabel held her hand up, "Say no more. I think that I'd rather not know. Oh, I got a new teaching assignment. Guess whose teacher is going on a long term medical leave?" Her brother had the good sense not to laugh outright, but the grin remained firmly in place. "Yep, it seems that Mrs. Sherman's chronic migraines have worsened this year and I will be taking over temporarily, possibly permanently effective immediately. I suppose that having Guerins two years in a row is enough to give anyone a permanent headache."

"Well, Ryan's not as...uh...rambunctious...as Chase." He finally had to laugh and hugged his sister. "Come here. At least you'll know how to handle it if he tries anything. Congratulations, Iz. I'd say something about you deserving it, but I'd have to duck afterwards." He laughed again as he grabbed his jacket. "Most everything is done. Michael might need a little help setting up the buffet. He had a small setback in the
kitchen earlier this afternoon. I'll be back at half-time."

Isabel called back to her brother. "Have a good dinner and tell Liz I'll stop by on the way home tonight." She tied a towel around her waist and put on her best smile as the
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TaffyCat
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Post by TaffyCat »

Monday Night Football crowd started to arrive after work. At least they weren't drunk yet. By halftime the place would be crowded and so loud that you could hardly hear a thing.
The Out of the Way Bar and Grill was known for the great spread they did for football, and for the awesome local beers that they had on tap. Business was good and the night would just fly by.

~

Max could have driven, but instead decided to walk home tonight. The air was crisp and cool and it helped him to clear his head and think. Liz was doing well with this one. They had been very careful and had done everything exactly as the doctor had told them. Everything seemed normal so far and other than the doctor not understanding why Max wouldn't give him a blood sample, nothing unusual had shown up. Maybe...just maybe
things would stay nice and quiet for at least a few more weeks and then they'll be able to hold their baby in their arms. He smiled as he remembered what Michael had told him when Megan was born. "A son is great. Someone you can rough house and play with. Take fishing and to hockey games, but Maxwell, a little girl. There's just nothing like it.
You look at this little person, who looks just like your wife, and you think she's your little baby to protect and care for. Someone who it's okay to hold well past the time when boys think they're too old for it. She's your little girl. There's just nothing like it, Maxwell." Max smiled in the cool night air. Megan was her father's daughter, who bossed her brothers and could throw a mean punch when riled. She played soccer and basketball, and loved to play dress up and play Barbie. She had her daddy wrapped around her little finger and Michael wouldn't have it any other way. Yeah, a girl, a little girl would be neat. Besides, he already had a son...somewhere in New York. He paused when he realized where he was. He looked up at the old steeple and bell tower. He hadn't set foot in one since he'd gotten married, and that had just been a little chapel. He shrugged and walked inside. It couldn't hurt to light a candle or something.

~

Max walked into the modest older two-story house with a nice front porch at the end of a cul-de-sac. It wasn't large, three bedrooms and a den, plus two baths. No formal anything, just a large family room and dining room right off the kitchen, and an unfinished basement. But it made a nice quiet, comfortable home for he and Liz. The added bonus was that the Guerins were right across the street and their house was anything but quiet. Max smiled as he looked back outside and heard a shout of "TAG, YOU'RE IT!" as the kids ran around on the large front lawn. They were fun to watch. Liz startled him when she came up from behind him and hugged him. "Hey, what are you doing up? You should be laying down resting." As he walked her over the sofa he asked, "How are you feeling, honey?"

"Rested!" Liz bristled at him and then instantly regretted it. She sat down with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that I'm going crazy with everyone treating me like I'll break or something." She propped her feet up on the sofa as Max sat on the ottoman next to her. "Look at my feet. They're swelling, yet I'm hardly ever on them! All I do is lay around and watch TV. Do you know that I've seen the same episode of Petticoat Junction 6 times? This is getting ridiculous!"

Max chuckled and kissed her slightly pouting lips. "It's only for a few more weeks. You can do it. What do you want for dinner?"

"Oh, I don't care. Maria took some chicken out to thaw. It's in the refrigerator. Chicken tacos sound good." Max kissed her again and went off to make dinner. Liz smiled, as she watched him from the sofa. Through the years he'd filled out quite a bit. He was still pretty lean and well muscled, but the slim waist he'd had in his youth was gone. And
there were a few gray hairs mixed in here and there, but still handsome as ever, and he still turned many heads. She knew that the bar was a favorite hangout for many girls' night outings. It wasn't unusual to overhear all about her husband at the beauty shop or grocery store...that is when she used to get to go to them. She had to smile, as Max was busily cutting onions and grating cheese while the chicken cooked. He wasn't a bad cook either. Not as good as Michael was, but he did know his way around the kitchen. Good thing too, or they'd be eating a lot of take out right now. They ate dinner at the dining table. It was the one thing that she insisted on. Besides, she got major heartburn if she ate lying down, although the Tabasco sauce that she now craved on everything probably had something to do with it as well. After dinner they went to their bedroom to lie down for a nap before Max had to return to work. "How much longer are you going to do these double shifts?" she asked him.

Max stretched out and then turned on his side to face her. He couldn't help but to push a few loose strands of hair out of her face. "John will be back from vacation Sunday. He's promised to return the favor and cover a lot of my shifts when the...when it's time." It was hard not to talk about it, not when it dominated their thoughts and their lives so
much, but they were both scared to hope, to dream about actually having the baby. Max's hand ran to the swell of her tummy. But it was in there, their baby. He'd lit a candle for it tonight and did something he hadn't done...ever. He had gotten down on his knees and asked God to please let this one live. His eyes opened wide in surprise when he felt the slight thump underneath his hand. "She kicked me!"

Liz laughed and looked at him in surprise, "She...Max? You promised not to..."

"No, I didn't. I don't know for sure. I just... Liz, would you be upset if I said that I wanted a girl? I mean I'd be happy with either but... I see how Michael is with Megan and how... how he adores her. I...want that, too." His heart was pounding as he voiced what they had promised each other they wouldn't...their hopes.

Liz took his hand that was on her belly and moved it a little to where she could feel the baby shifting towards. She smiled as together they felt the wonder of their baby kicking again. "I think that you're going to be signing her up for soccer when she gets old enough." His smile turned to a yawn and she snuggled next to him as they dozed off in each other arms.

~

Halftime was almost over before Max got back to work. He grinned at Kyle who had confiscated a table and had some blond sitting next to him. It was too noisy to hear himself think let alone what Kyle was actually saying, but he could tell that Kyle was turning on the old charm big time. How old was that blond anyhow, 22, 23, maybe? Man, they seemed to get younger every year. Max was glad that he was out of the dating game, too much work, and too much money, too. Iz gave him a hug on the way out. He laughed when Iz stopped and hugged Kyle as well. The little blond that Kyle was with was none too pleased about that and wasn't afraid to let Kyle know it. No doubt Iz had done it on purpose. Like Michael, Kyle had become an unofficial brother whom she took great pains to irritate at every opportunity. The night was busy, which was just how
he liked them. He didn't have time to dwell on things. He just needed a few more weeks of this, just nice busy work and nothing unusual to add to the stress, and everything would be okay this time. He hoped.

~

It was almost 2:30AM and Max was adding up the night's receipts while Michael did some prep work for the next morning. The restaurant side officially closed at 11:30 at night and Michael could have gone home any time after, but he'd usually stay when Max took the late shift at the bar. Max had the big screen tuned to CNN, there wasn't much else on worth watching at that time of the night, but he wasn't really listening. But he did hear the front door open and close. He looked up startled. He thought that he'd locked it. He just stared at the man standing before him and knew in the pit of his stomach that life was about to get much more stressful. "Cal, what are you doing here?"

He casually strolled in, careful to hide his true feelings. He pointed over to the liquor bottles that lined the shelf behind the bar. "How about something for a parched throat? It was a long drive from Spokane."

Michael came up from behind Max. "Well, look just what crawled out from under a rock."

Cal smirked and pulled a stool out in front of the bar. "Delighted to see you too, Guerin. So, how about that drink, Max?"

Max scowled and grabbed a glass. He filled it part way with ice and hit the coke button on the dispenser. "Here. What's in Spokane?"

Now it was Cal's turn to scowl as he took a sip of the soda. "Hmm, not exactly what I had in mind." He looked up again at Max. "Closest airport with direct flights from Dallas. I hate layovers. Still had a hell of a drive to get here, though."

"What was in Dallas?" Max bit out.

He glanced up once again and then looked down. "A diversion." Cal licked his lips before continuing, "Your dad called me. Your kid is with them."

All the blood rushed from his face as he broke out in goose flesh. "What happened? Why is he with them? Are they all right?"

Cal saw how pale Max had become at that and dropped much of the animosity act. "Come on, let's sit down so we can talk." Max's color didn't return for much of the talk until Cal mentioned the black eye and busted lip on the boy, then he turned a very deep shade of red and you could see the rage burning in him. Cal was pretty sure that Max wouldn't object to him taking a little trip to New York when this was all over. But they had a long ways to go until then, "So, at this moment, they're at a Super 8 in Whitefish and will be at the meeting site tomorrow at noon. Unfortunately so will the agents that picked up their trail. If you go, you'll be walking into an ambush tomorrow."

Max's eyes blazed with fire. "They're *not* getting my son, or my parents...or even this friend of Zan's...er, Sammy's."

Michael had always wondered what would happen if Max's son ever needed help, and what Max would do about it. He'd stopped wondering the night Chase had been born. He'd move heaven and earth to help him, and Max was no different. Over the years they'd been in many tough scrapes and had numerous close calls. They had two advantages over when they were young, experience and home turf. They knew the site well, and had used it many times when they had crossed back and forth over the Canadian border. That was one reason that they had settled in this area. While they
weren't that much safer in Canada, they knew that the Special Unit cringed at crossing over the border. Over "there" they might have to answer questions if caught and they might even cause an "incident". The Special Unit did not want to be exposed like that. Clearing his throat to get their attention, he easily slipped back into second-in-command
mode. "How many are after them? There can't be that many agents left...after all they've been sort of...weeded out throughout the years. So exactly how many are we talking about and what kind of fire power are they bringing with them?"

Cal could tell by Max's body language that he was going after his son and family, and that Michael was supporting the decision. Cal sighed as he bowed to the inevitable. "Eight of them, that's all that's left actually. As for weapons, the usual assortment of guns, special cuffs made of heavy metals, and serum to suppress your powers, just on the off chance that they actually get one of you alive. If you go, I'd suggest that you take Isabel, and maybe even Kyle. If you can get them all...this could be it."

"No, Kyle and Isabel stay here. If something happens to Michael and I, Kyle and Isabel will need to protect our families." Max's demeanor had changed. The fire and passion of his emotions were now buried deep down as he put on what Michael called his game face, cold, hard, and determined.

Cal recognized the look and it was all he could do not to shudder. That young stupid kid that he'd been able to intimidate was long gone. "All right, but two-against-eight aren't exactly great odds."

Michael was about the only one that could read through Max's game face. He couldn't help his delight as he delivered the message. "You're right, they suck. Good thing it's going to be three-to-eight instead. I'll go get the map out of the car, we've got plans to make."

~

Part 6

David was waiting when Simon walked into the office. David was wearing his shades to blot out the harsh lights in the office, and he had a hell of a case of cottonmouth that not even gallons of water couldn't quench. The only good thing was that his headache was gone, thanks to the hair of the dog routine. Now if he could just get his stomach to go along with it, he'd be good. He stood on rebellious legs as that sleaze ball lawyer finally walked in. As they exchanged glares David said, "Hey, I've been trying to get a hold of you. Where's Sammy? What'd you and your fag friend do with him? Got him tied up somewhere, having a little fun? Movies? You've done something with him. I know it. Nobody's seen him in almost a week. Where the f*ck is he?"

Simon gripped his satchel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. It would be so sweet to drop this asshole where he stood... but he couldn't, not yet anyway. He needed to buy more time, just a few more days, hell, maybe just hours. He was juggling so many balls in the air already, as he tried to keep prying eyes away from Sammy and Gary, that he was getting close to dropping one or two if he wasn't careful. He practically sneered at David, "Why do you care? Run out things to hawk?"

David followed as Simon walked into his private office. He didn't like the way Simon crinkled his nose when he tried to get in his face. Pointing his finger at him for emphasis he said, "Listen you fairy, that kid belongs to me and I want him."

Simon slapped the offending hand away from him. "Jesus Christ! You smell like a damn distillery! It's not even 9:00 AM and you're already drunk. I'll be sure to note that for the custody hearing." Simon purposefully turned his back on him as he walked over to his desk. "Besides, the last time I checked you don't "own" children. By the way, where'd Sammy get the black eye and busted lip? Did he get the welts on his back from falling against the bathtub again? You beat the crap out of him and should be damn glad you're not behind bars at the moment." Simon figured it was a good bluff. Unless he could get Sammy to the authorities to prove the abuse, there was damn little he could do about it at the moment, and with each passing day the evidence was fading away. But he had to tread carefully or David would figure out that he had every legal right to charge him and Gary with custodial interference or even kidnapping if he didn't watch it.

David ignored Simon's scowl as he helped himself to some fine scotch at the office mini-bar. He drained the first glass in one gulp and poured a second that he sipped. "He's my nephew and belongs with me. You try to fight me in court for him and I'll drag your name, and your gay lover's through the mud. I have friends who would tell all about what you and he like to do with little boys."

Simon drummed his fingers on the desktop. He needed to buy time to see how things worked out with Sammy's biological family, but regardless, he needed to start setting things up to get custody away from David. Because, no matter what, Sammy wasn't returning to that bastard. And there was only one way David would willingly do it. Money. "Let me lay it out for you, David. In a little over 6 months, the day Sammy turns 16, I will file for him to become an emancipated minor. I know a few judges that can speed things along, and within a few days he'll no longer need dear old Uncle David as his guardian. You can be assured that I'll make it my business to see that you don't get a damn dime...and just to be absolutely clear, if something unfortunate happens to Sammy, your brother had very specific instructions in his will. The estate would go to various charities and endowments. Sam made it a point to cut you out of it...all of it. It was just a damned oversight that he didn't get around to fixing the custody issue before his and Carol's untimely deaths. So, you see in 6 months, this gravy train you've been riding comes to a screeching halt, with you out on the street." He was glad to see the startled look on David's face at that. Good. Now for the rest. "However, I want you out of Sammy's life now... Pick a number."

David felt sick. It never had dawned on him that Sammy could get emancipation, or for that matter even turn him out at all, even at 18. He was family and assumed that he'd be taken care of. Six months! "Shit!" He thought as he stared that the print of the Manhattan Skyline that hung above the bar and finally named a number. "Fifty million and neither you nor Sammy will ever hear from me again."

Simon had to fight his urge to laugh. "I was thinking more along the lines of one million."

As David poured another scotch. "Forty and I get the New York apartment."

"Two million and you get nothing else. Remember, in 6 months you get zero." Simon countered.

David turned and coldly stared at him. "You're a sleazebag lawyer who's just after Sam's money," he accused.

"I've already got control of Sam's money. I want the boy away from you...permanently. Two million now and you don't look back. Or in 6 months...nad-da. Your choice." Simon poured all his hatred for this man into his stare. He didn't want to give him a penny, but two million to shut him up and get him away was nothing compared to the problems that he could cause them for the next 6 months.

David felt panicked. Did he really only have 6 months left? Would Sammy really turn him out like that? What about what Sammy had done, that blue energy thing? What did that mean? What could he get for keeping quiet about that? He decided to find out, "Twenty million and I never mention what a freak Sammy is with that energy crap trick he pulled on me. I bet there are plenty of people that would be interested in learning about that for the right price."

It was a good thing that Simon had been warned about that and had planned on it potentially being brought up. He laughed. "Who's going to listen to an alcoholic and drug addict talk about something as ridiculous as that? It was a drug-induced hallucination...nothing more. Two million and you disappear from his life forever. That's it."

David quickly threw the last of his drink down his throat and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. He walked back towards the desk where Simon had remained seated. "I need to think about it... fifty thousand would help me consider it until... say, this Friday."

Fifty thousand was a small price to pay to get him out of the way until Friday. By then, hopefully, everything will be set. Simon scowled as he opened his laptop and made the arrangements. As he handed the confirmation to David he said, "One more thing. I don't ever want to see you waiting for me in my office again. If you show up uninvited again, I'll have you escorted from the building by some people who don't look too kindly on child abusers. I'll call you Friday at 2:00 PM for your answer. Now get out."

Simon sat and stared at his computer after David left, as he mulled over everything that Gary had relayed to him about Sammy's parents. It was still hard to believe, but Gary no longer doubted it. He had told Simon in detail about the bolt of energy that Sammy had created and the incredibly powerful one that Cal Langley had generated to disintegrate a boulder. Aliens. They were aliens, or at least part aliens. Simon couldn't help himself as he changed browsers on his laptop, and plugged in Roswell and aliens into the search engine. He was still reading about the crash of '47 when his secretary buzzed him. "Yes, Louisa?" he responded.

"There are two men here to see you, Mr. Shapiro. A Mr. Fredericks and a Mr. Main," she answered.

Simon shook his head in confusion. "I'm sorry. I don't know either of them. Do they have an appointment?"

"No, sir. They're... from the FBI, Mr. Shapiro." Louisa glanced nervously over at the two large men in dark suits. Mr. Shapiro dealt mainly with corporate contracts and she couldn't recall ever having the FBI or anything like that coming in before. They certainly looked like they meant business.

Simon hurriedly turned his computer off without even bothering to properly shut it down. He then closed the laptop and shoved it in a drawer. He took some deep breaths and tried to calm his increasingly rapid heart rate. He rubbed his sweaty hands on his pants and replied in an amazingly calm voice, "Show them in, Louisa."

As casually as possible Simon greeted them at the office door and gestured them towards two chairs. "What's this about?"

Agent Main was never one to mince words. "Mr. Shapiro, what is your relationship with a Gary Wilcox?"

Simon looked from one agent to the other as he concentrated on controlling his facial expressions. "He's a personal friend. Why?"

Main ignored the question. "Do you know where he is?"

"On a buying trip to Mexico. Again, why?" Simon replied.

Agent Main again ignored his question. "Do you know why he rented a car in Albuquerque, New Mexico and then abandoned it in Dallas, Texas?"

Simon knew from experience in court to keep your answers short and never volunteer anything. It seemed much easier when he wasn't the one being asked the questions. "No, I don't."

"When was the last time you had contact with Mr. Wilcox?" Main inquired

Simon had to moisten his lips before he could answer. "Last night. What's going on? Why is the FBI here looking for Gary?"

Agent Main looked to Agent Fredericks who said, "Mr. Shapiro, we were told that Mr. Wilcox had come up missing and with the car being found apparently abandon across state lines...we needed to be sure foul play wasn't involved. You said you had contact with him last night? About what time?"

"Between 8:00 and 9:00. I'm not real sure exactly," Simon replied.

Agent Fredericks pressed his questions. "Will you be contacting him again soon?"

"He's supposed to call me later tonight. Why?" Simon inquired.

"Would you have him call us? We need to verify that he's alive and well, that's all," Agent Fredericks replied as he and Agent Main stood and prepared to leave. "Oh, one more thing. Was Mr. Wilcox traveling alone?"

Simon was caught. He had already told the local authorities that Sammy was with Gary, if he now said differently, they'd know that he was lying. On the other hand, the Feds didn't always talk to the locals. Could he take the chance? "No, he's with a family friend."

Agent Fredericks eyes narrowed at that, "We'd like to get their name and number so we can verify that they are alive and well, also."

Simon was between a rock and a hard place. Lying wouldn't work, but he couldn't tell them the truth either. So he compromised...sort of. "I'm sorry but I can't give that to you. He's also a client... attorney - client privilege applies. Sorry. But, I did speak to him as well, when Gary called, and he's also fine."

Agent Frederick stared at Simon for a moment longer before shaking his hand. "Please have them call us. It's very important that we hear from them. Here are our cards. Good day, Mr. Shapiro."

After they left Simon poured himself a drink. And it wasn't even 11:00 AM on Tuesday yet.

~

Philip had never been more relieved to reach a place than when they'd pulled into the cheap motel in Whitefish. The drive was long and the added tension of the unknown, about what they were going to find, and if they were being followed, was exhausting. They checked in and simply went to bed even though the sun had barely set. Philip had even been too tired to turn on Monday Night Football last night. The next morning Philip had just surrendered the bathroom to Diane and was greeted by the sound of some sort of cartoon about... robotic monsters? He shook his head as he wondered what had happened to Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner. He glanced over at Sammy all sprawled out on the bed watching TV intently. "Do you want to come with me to get some donuts?"

Sammy pried his eyes away from the TV to look for the source of the other, non-TV sound. Finally landing on Grandpa. "Huh?"

Philip chuckled as he put on his watch. Sammy was feeling a lot better and had started to revert to something closer to what Philip remembered as being a typical teenaged boy. "Come on Sammy, let's go pick up some donuts."

Sammy helped Grandpa pick out a selection of donuts with chocolate milk for himself, and coffee for everyone else. Sammy was balancing the drinks on his lap, as Grandpa was about to start the car. "Grandpa, wait."

Philip stopped what he was doing and asked Sammy, "What is it?"

Sammy bit his lip out of habit and winced, he had forgotten about the split lip. "Grandpa, what's going to happen today?"

Philip rubbed his palms along the steering wheel. "I don't know for certain, Sammy."

"Will my dad be there?" Sammy inquired.

Philip sighed. They were dealing with a double-edged sword with no easy solution. "I'm pretty sure he will be. There's no way he'd turn away from you or even us, for that matter."

Sammy looked across the parking lot and nodded. "What about them? The dark blue car over there followed us from the motel. I saw it when we stopped in Missoula for gas yesterday, too. They're following us, aren't they?"

Philip looked at the blue sedan. He'd spotted them as well...all the way back in Wyoming. "Yeah, I'm afraid so."

"Why haven't they just come and got me already? I am what they want." Sammy tried not to sound too scared as he said it, but he wasn't totally successful.

If the truth was hard to hear, it was even harder to say, "Because you're more useful to them this way. They're waiting for us, for you, to lead them to your dad. It's him that they really want."

Sammy gave his grandpa a hard look, "Why?"

Philip returned the unwavering gaze. "Because he escaped from them once, a long time ago, and in the process the head of their unit was killed. They also want him because Max is the leader."

Sammy had been mulling over everything that he'd heard these last few days, and he'd thought long and hard about what that Langley guy had said. He was starting to draw some conclusions. "Leader...as in a king? Cal referred to my dad as a king twice. And he said something about me being a cub and needing to learn a lot before I could roar with the lions. The lion is the King of Beasts. My dad's some kind of king, isn't he? But king of what?"

Philip took a deep breath before answering. He hated being the one to tell him. He had hoped that Sammy would hear it from Max, but he needed to know, "He's the deposed king of a world called Antar. Max, Isabel and Michael...and your mother, are half human, half Antarian. I'm not sure that the Special Unit knows that he's a king exactly, but I'm willing to bet good money that they've figured out that Max is the leader of their group. It's him that they really want. They're just using you and us to get to him."

"It's a trap then. We're leading them into a trap. We shouldn't go." Sammy bit his lip again, but ignored the pain this time.

Philip shook his head. "No, that wouldn't work. Max would only come looking for us. Cal picked this meeting site with care and for a reason. He said that Max would be familiar with it. I'm willing to bet that Max and the rest of them live close by. It would make sense for them to live near an international border that wasn't heavily patrolled. Easy for them to slip across, but a bit harder for a Federal agent to do since they technically would be breaking international law. It might not stop them, but it'd certainly give them something to think about. Cal picked this meeting place because it would give Max the home field advantage. Including time to get there ahead of us and scout it out." He started the engine, but paused before putting it into drive. "Sammy, listen to me. If things... don't go right, you may have to do something you don't want to, which might include running and leaving us behind or...defending yourself. Sammy, do whatever you have to do, to protect yourself."

Sammy shook his head. "Grandpa, I wouldn't leave you or Grandma, or Gary either. I can protect myself. I can do that shield thing and..."

Philip interrupted him as gently as he could. "Sammy, your father's powers were stronger and more developed than yours and they still caught him when he was seventeen. Diane and I didn't know about it until years later but...Sammy, if you're caught...it...it'll literally be over Max's dead body and...you're his son, his only link to the future and ours, too. You do what you need to do to get away. Do you understand?" Philip's stomach churned at the scared look that his instructions elicited, but eventually Sammy nodded. If it had been possible, he wouldn't take Sammy with them, but that wouldn't do any good. The agents would just pick him up as soon as he was left alone and unprotected. He reached over and gave Sammy a kiss on the forehead. "Come on, let's get back before that coffee gets cold."

~

Agent Burns had listened closely to the agents on the cell phone as he watched the Caddy pull out of the parking lot of the donut shop. He ended the call as they headed back to the cheap motel. "Good work, Agents Fredericks and Main. Glad to hear that the New York Office is on the ball. Keep me posted of any developments."

Agent Burns watched as Philip Evans and the boy who could only be the missing Samuel Connor, Jr., and who was also believed to be Max Evans's son, walked into the motel room with a box of donuts and coffee cups. When they'd finally caught up with the elder Evans two days ago, he had been shocked at the sight of the boy. Talk about deja vu, that kid was the spit and image of Max Evans. And Max Evans was a face he'd never forget. He remembered clearly the night they had finally caught him. The angry and later scared alien, who'd looked so human, locked in the white room. He could picture it still as that friend of his carried him out and lied to them about Pierce needing help, and how like idiots he and the others had let them get away. Two years later they almost had them. They were within their crosshairs but once again...they'd gotten away. All thanks to Max Evans and his friend, Michael Guerin. There had been many close calls over the years, the roadblock in Cedar Rapids, the shoot out outside of Jackson Hole, and the chase through the Everglades. There had been many more, but those three he'd remember to his dying day. He'd lost over a dozen men in those three incidents. Then starting almost four years ago they'd seemed to be everywhere...and no where, until finally they'd lost track of them altogether. So they went back to the basics, the families. They had spotted little ones with them a few times. That, more than anything, struck fear in the hearts of most of the unit. Because it meant that the aliens were capable of breeding and reproducing. And Max Evans had apparently been the first to breed
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TaffyCat
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Post by TaffyCat »

Of course the families would only see these...abominations as their grandchildren, and not the threat of what they would become, or what their mere existence actually meant. And, like all grandparents, eventually you want to bounce that little one on your knee. So they'd waited and watched the families. He made a note on his PDA to check into Sam Connor Sr., and this Simon Shapiro and Gary Wilcox even further. One thing had become clear over the years, someone with a lot of resources had been helping them. Maybe they had just caught a break in finding the alien's benefactor. He'd check into that further once they had aliens secured. If this hadn’t been a black operation the benefactors would be arrested and tried for treason. After all they are aiding and abetting enemies of the state. Luckily he didn’t have to worry about such things as courts and trials. He’d take care of any traitors he found his own way. And if a family member or two happened to get in the way…well, technically they were traitors too. He hoped to take one of them alive, the kid would be best. He was young and would most likely be the easiest to control. They could still learn a lot from the others’ autopsies.

~

Liz clenched her teeth and looked at the clock, waiting for it to pass and timing it. Thirty seconds later she finally took a deep cleansing breath. The contractions had started about 6:00 this morning, two hours after Max and Michael had left with Cal to go get his son and parents. Isabel had come over and stayed with her after Max had called her. Kyle was doing the same over at Maria's. She kept pretending to be asleep whenever Isabel had opened the door to check on her. She just needed to hold on until Max came back, and could hopefully stop the contractions. She heard the front door open and by the sounds of things, Maria had brought the kids over. She was about to get up and go down stairs to see everyone when another contraction hit. Wouldn't you know it, Maria just happened to open the door at that precise moment.

"Hey, Chica, how's it..." Maria had been determined to stay cheerful today even it if killed her. The last thing that Liz needed to do was dwell on Max, and what might happen today. Nope, this afternoon Max and Michael would be bringing little Zan and the Evans home. That was all there was to it. And in about 6 to 8 more weeks Zan would have a little brother or sister to play with. But all those thoughts flew out the window when she opened the bedroom door. "Oh no, please God, no, not again," she thought at the sight of her best friend doubled over and with her fists clenched tight. She immediately ran over to her friend's side and helped her sit back down as the contraction subsided. "How long, Liz? How far apart are they coming?"

It took Liz a minute to unclench her teeth and take a breath before answering. "They started around six this morning. They're still sporadic, roughly every 15 to 20 minutes, but sometimes more. Sometimes one right after the other. We've got time. Max will be back this afternoon. He can..."

Maria held up her hand for Liz to stop and shook her head. "No. Not with your history. It's by the book, Liz. You promised Max that you'd do everything the doctor said and I know he said to call at the first signs of contractions. We just can't take the chance."

Liz tried to protest. "Maria, I'm fine. The baby's fine. I can feel it. I just...Max will be home soon, and he can stop the contractions. I don't want to be hooked up to all these monitors, and be given drugs and stuff when Max can handle it with a wave of a hand."

Maria sat next to her best friend and did one of the hardest things a best friend ever had to do. She made Liz face reality. "Liz, Max isn't here. Look, you're 32 weeks and nowhere near ready to give birth. The baby isn't in position and hasn't dropped, yet. If Max doesn't get back in time, not only could you lose this one... but we could lose you, too. Liz, if that happens, nothing...and I do mean * nothing * will be able to put Max back together again. He'll be in a million pieces, just when there's a chance for a real normal life. Liz, don't take the chance, not when you don't need to."

Liz hesitated, then sighed. "Call the doctor, Maria," she said quietly.

~

Michael scanned the area with binoculars, nothing much had changed. A clearing at the base of the hill with picnic tables and barbeque pits, a small pond, all surrounded by woods. They'd gotten there about an hour ago and had been scanning the area from their hilltop vantage point ever since. He took a swig from the water bottle then pointed towards the road. "Looks like the other road's been washed out, so it's just one road in and out. Good for an ambush, but it'll suck if we have to run."

"We're not running." Max said with a deadly calm as he scanned the road again.

Michael lowered his binoculars and looked at his friend and leader. "Maxwell, what're the rules of engagement?"

Max didn't flinch, as he replied, "We end it, once and for all. There'll be no more running. Not for us...and not for our kids. Michael, come up with a game plan."

Michael waited for a moment as the words sunk in. They were playing for keeps this time. He nodded and looked the area over again with the naked eye. "We've got some time yet. We should walk the area. Get a feel for the best spots to wait, the best ones to attack from, and the best ones to get the innocent out of the way unhurt. Max, I bet they pull up to those picnic tables at the bottom of the hill, down there. Since you'll probably need to protect them with your shield, you should check out that area. Cal, you take the right and I'll go left. We meet back up back here in an hour and flesh out the game plan. We've got three hours, let's make the most of them."

~

Part 7

Michael couldn't see Max behind the clump of trees he was hiding in, but he knew that he was there. Max's job was going to be to get between the enemy and his family and use his shield to protect them. There was a more tactically perfect spot just a little further down for Max to wait, but it was way too obvious. An agent would probably be assigned to check that area out before they proceeded. Michael would have if the tables were turned. They didn't want to be forced into a reactive position that an early discovery would cause. They needed to maintain the initiative, or people could get hurt. Max's spot was just in front of the picnic tables and the hill. Cal was a bit further down the road on the opposite side. He'd be taking out the second car of agents. Michael was just across and down the road a little from Max. He'd take out the lead car. The plan was simple, but it lacked one thing...an escape route. Max meant it when he said there'd be no more running. This was all, or nothing.

At five minutes 'till noon, Michael spotted a trail of dust heading their way. It took him few more seconds to actually identify the car, a Caddy. Cal's Caddy. They waited. About two minutes later, as Michael was beginning to sweat in spite of the cool weather, another trail of dust appeared, followed thirty seconds later by a third. Michael held his breath for a moment as he scanned for any more. There wasn't supposed to be, but he'd hate to be caught with his pants down. There were no more cars, but he got a nasty surprise anyway. The Caddy stopped well before reaching the picnic tables. The Caddy was in front of Max's position instead of behind it! "Oh f*ck!" he grumbled to himself.

Philip didn't like the looks of the area up ahead. Not one little bit. There were picnic tables surrounded by woods with a hill overlooking the area. It was a dead end. So he stopped the car. He could see the dust being kicked up behind him by the other cars in his rearview mirror. He looked around for a moment. There was no where to go by car except about a one hundred feet to the picnic tables, at least Sammy could run into the woods, and have a chance to get away on foot if he had to. Philip's palms were sweaty as he turned the car off. "Come on, let's get out."

Max's heart was pounding. They were here! There was his son... right over there...with his parents. His parents looked okay, older, grayer hair, maybe a little heavier, but good. What was that other guy's name again? Gary something. He could see their indecision as to what to do. Damn it, they need to come back towards the picnic tables! They were in front of him instead of behind him! He considered shouting to them, but didn't have the chance as another car barreled into the picnic area and came to a stop a little further back than they'd planned. He moved a little until he caught sight of Michael. Michael was looking at the car, then to Max's family, and then to him. Michael's look confirmed his suspicions, the car was too far back and Michael didn't have a clear shot. "DAMN IT...F*CK ALL! " he shouted in his head. He watched as Michael started to make his way through the trees without being seen or heard to a better vantage point. The third car parked behind the second and, fortunately, was still in line with Cal's position. Now Max just needed to get his family to back up some. He remembered something he did a long time ago, back when Liz's dad had forbidden him to see her. He reached out with his powers. And on the ground in front of his mom, he discreetly drew an arrow pointing backwards with the words, "back up" accompanying it. Now he just hoped she or one of the others saw it. His stomach knotted as his enemies got out of their cars and confronted his loved ones.

He knew they were here somewhere. Agent Burns could FEEL it. His agents were experienced in dealing with these...things, and were scanning the area for them. He smirked at the pitiful group standing before him. He did feel a slight twinge of sympathy for the Evans. It wasn't their fault they picked up the wrong kind of kids to adopt all those years ago. His eyes immediately went to the boy, who was standing with that Gary Wilcox, that boy was the biggest threat. He looked so young and innocent; just look how the adults stood protectively in front of him. Yet, that boy represented the next generation of aliens. Burns knew from the information that Pierce had acquired before everything went to hell and was destroyed, that the first generation from the crash had nothing human about them. Then in the '90's Max Evans had shown up. Burns still couldn't forget how disturbed Pierce had been when he'd discovered Max was partially human. And now that kid, how human was he? They needed to study the boy so they could gauge their possible threat. Burns' eyes shifted to scan the surrounding woods. Where was the kid's father? Ideally they'd get both father *and* son so they can better compare the two generations. Not seeing anything, his eyes went back to the group in front on him. "So where are they, Evans? Where're Max and the others? You were taking the boy to his father, to your son, weren't you?"

Philip looked over to Sammy for a moment. It was obvious that he was scared to death, but then who wouldn't be when faced with callous and evil men? He'd asked Gary to stay with Sammy. If Sammy had to run, Gary was a lot younger and fitter, and hopefully could keep up with him. When the cars pulled up behind them, they had all backed up a few paces automatically. But Philip didn't like the feel of the area behind them. His eyes went back to the ones that had hunted and tried to murder his children, and who now threatened his grandchild. "They're obviously not here. We were just going for a little fresh air and this seemed like a good place." He wasn't sure what to make of Diane suddenly tugging on his sleeve.

Diane had gotten a pebble or something in her shoe and almost fell over in shock when it caused her to look down. An arrow and the words "move back" stared up at her from the ground. Oh God, they were here! Her son was here! As casually as possible she stood up and tugged on Philip's sleeve to get his attention as she whispered to him, "Philip...Philip, we need to move back. Max is here. On the ground right in front of me, he wrote us a message saying that he needs us to move back."

Burns watched as they started to step back away from them. "As if that will make any difference," he thought with some satisfaction and amusement. He and the agents that had been in the first car with him advanced slowly as the ones in the second car scouted the area in an attempt to secure it. They weren't taking any chances. They were finally
going to get at least one of them. Even if Max Evans wasn't here, eventually he'd figure out that they had his kid, and he'd come looking for him. Burns tried to give them a small, reassuring smile, but it came out looking more like the sneer that it actually was. "Let's quit the games Mr. Evans. That thing over there is Max Evans's offspring. I'm not going to hurt him, just run a few tests on him make sure he's...okay. If the tests all come back normal, I'll send him home. No harm done. But make no mistake, I'm not leaving here without him."

Philip didn't have a clue of what to do. All he saw were men with guns, advancing on him and his family, and he had no idea what Max had planned. He kept backing everyone up and tried to keep the agent talking. "He's just an innocent boy. He's done nothing wrong. I won't let you put him in that...that white room like you did my son when he too was just a kid. You remember, don't you? When you drugged him, tortured him, and nearly killed him."

Burns just shrugged indifferently. "Max wasn't very...cooperative. He needed a little convincing. Don't worry about the boy. We're pretty sure he doesn't know anything. We just want to run a few medical tests, that's all."

Philip was trying hard not to show his fear, but it was difficult with this man directly threatening his family. But he was also getting angry. Max had told him a little about his experiences at the hands of the Special Unit and the white room. It was one of the reasons they'd agreed on the adoption for Zan. Those monsters with federal authority getting little Zan was Max's and all of their worst nightmares. "Bull shit! You're not going to let him go. You'll hurt him just for the hell of it... or to make Max suffer knowing that you have him. You'll use him to get to Max. He's an innocent child!"

Max watched in horror, as those monsters advanced on his loved ones. So far his dad was doing a good job of backing up to where he needed them to be, while keeping the enemy talking. His family was just barely past him, almost to the picnic tables, but Max's attention was divided between watching his family, keeping an eye on the advancing enemy, and watching Michael trying to get into a better firing position. Max saw one of the agents coming around, almost right in front of where Michael had been, but Michael was on the move and couldn't see him. The agent was almost to the point of passing Max's position which meant he would also be behind his shield if Max didn't act soon. That's when it happened, a snapping sound. A twig had snapped under someone's foot. It was the single loudest noise he'd ever heard. It came from where Michael had been moving. Everything and everyone stopped.

Burns froze with the rest of his men at the sound. He scanned the area where it had come from, but he couldn't see a thing. He didn't need to. He had a very good idea of who was there, and what it meant. He looked to the agent that had been silently advancing off to the side and shouted, "Take 'em down! But try to get the boy alive!"

Max was running on autopilot. He didn't have time to think anymore, only to react. He needed to deploy his shield, but he had to take out the direct threat to his family first. He stepped out of the woods and held out his glowing hand. It burned brightly with an intensity that reflected his emotions as he did what he had to do to protect his son and family. He gave a hoarse shout of, "NOOOOO" followed by a bolt of pure energy that was like none he'd ever released before. Some of Michael's strongest blasts might have come close, but none could possibly have matched it. The agent was just raising his weapon and was preparing to fire when Max's energy bolt found its target. He wasn't
just knocked down or even charred to a crisp. He simply vanished... vaporized. Seared from existence. There one second and gone the next. However, Max didn't have time to dwell on the event. He never lowered his glowing hand. He turned to face his enemies head-on. His shield instantly deployed. His emotions continued to add strength to it as the enemy opened up on them. Max was relieved to see that Michael was finally in position and returning fire. He heard the additional blasts coming from further away as Cal took care of business back down the road.

Sammy was still seeing spots before his eyes from that blast right in front of him. He looked around in confusion for the man that had been there just a minute ago. Not seeing him, Sammy's eyes then caught sight of something incredible, a shield. It was huge. Much bigger than any he had ever done, bigger than he had even thought possible. It extended all way over to just a little past him. He stood rooted to the spot as he watched the flashes coming from the woods and the sound of returning gunfire.

Max's eyes caught the flash of movement as Burns snaked around low to the ground, almost right in front of the shield. Burns had enough experience to know that Max couldn't handle both offense *and* defense all at once; he couldn't maintain the shield and fire at the same time. There was nothing Max could do as Burns headed around to the edge of the shield. It took all Max's concentration and energy to maintain the shield under the onslaught of the bullets impacting it.

Sammy couldn't move as he watched the man that had been talking to Grandpa run along the shield, and finally to the edge of it. Sammy wanted to run and hide as he neared, but he couldn't get his legs to work. He felt Gary pulling on his jacket, trying to get him to run. But when the man cleared the edge of the shield, it was too late. Sammy raised his hand in terror as the gun came up and pointed directly at him. Sammy took a deep breath and prayed that he could copy his dad. His prayers were answered as the bluish-green shield sprang to life in front of him. He blinked as he saw little puffs of smoke come from the end of the gun. The impact energy of the bullets was incredible as it knocked him backwards, taking Gary with him and collapsing his shield in the process.

Michael heard the gunfire and turned to see that Sammy had raised his shield, like father, like son. Then he saw the boy and the man with him going down. "Shit!" he grumbled. "Max will go nuts if the kid is seriously hurt." He had just taken out the second agent that had been in Burns' car, so he turned his attention to the boy's attacker. Standing in the clear to get the shot, he let loose a blast of pure hatred at the man that had tracked them for so many years, terrorized his wife and children, and now possibly injured Max's son...or worse yet, killed him. Michael blinked in surprise when a split second later an energy blast from behind him actually whizzed right past his right ear. Both aims were true and the resulting double whammy left nothing remaining of their enemy. Not even smoke. Michael forced himself to resume breathing and then scanned the area. He saw the two other men on the ground that he'd gotten. He looked down the road towards Cal, who was also standing out in the open, then back to Max who still had his shield up, as was their normal operating procedure until the all clear was sounded. It
reminded him to follow those procedures that they had relied on for years. He shouted out, "Three down. CLEAR." He turned to Cal and heard, "Four down. CLEAR." Then he looked back to Max who finally shouted out between gasps of breath, "One down. And clear." Michael looked directly at Max and said, "Eight down. And All Clear. It's over, Max. You can lower your shield now." He didn't have to tell him twice. The shield was
down and Max was over to the boy, who was still on the ground, by the time the words had left his mouth.

Max ran over to his son and immediately ran glowing hands over him. His son's heart was beating rapidly, he was sweaty, he had a wild-eyed look about him, and he was developing a major case of the shakes. But nothing else, nothing broken, no bleeding, and no gunshot wounds. But he *was* starting to go into shock though. He put both of his, now unglowing, hands on his son's face and forced Sammy to look at him. "Zan, look at me. You're okay. It's over. You're safe. Do you understand? You're safe. We're all safe... Zan?"

Sammy blinked rapidly several times at the man that he resembled so much. His mind was trying to catch up with things as he pointed a shaking hand and finger to where the man had been. "He...he...he f-fired. I saw th-the...smoke. He was going t-to kill me!"

Max forced his son to look away from the spot and look only at him. "But he didn't. You saved yourself. You saved us all. You used your shield. You did good and I'm very proud of you."

Sammy looked into eyes that were almost identical as his own and saw the concern and the deep feeling behind them. His own eyes began to blur as the tears formed. He swallowed a few times. But that didn't help. His gorge was rising, and his body still trembled. He felt cold and hot at the same time. He blanched. "I don't feel so good."

Max helped his son to turn over and supported him as he retched. Max felt his mom's arms circle around his neck and shoulders and a kiss was placed on his head. Then she helped him sit his son up after he was through being sick. He couldn't help the slight stab of jealousy that he felt as his son instantly went into his mom's arms for comfort. He knew it was unrealistic and unreasonable, but it still hurt that it wasn't his own arms that Zan turned to for comfort.

Sammy felt awful. His mouth tasted like crap and he was still shaky. It felt good to rest his head on Grandma's shoulder and close his eyes just for a moment.

Michael watched as the kid almost fell asleep in Mrs. Evans arms. He hated to interrupt, but he had a few practical matters to finish up. Not really wanting to have too many hear what was said, he spoke as softly as possible. "Maxwell, we need to do some clean up here." He looked back over his shoulder at the 'dead' agents and scowled as a foot moved a little. "Damn it!" he thought. Max followed his gaze and scowled too. Then Michael and Max locked eyes. Max's nod was almost imperceptible, but it gave Michael the confirmation that he needed. Clearing his throat he said, "Why don't you get the family over to the jeep and settled down a bit? Cal and I will be along shortly."

Philip saw the interplay between Max and Michael. They were like two old soldiers on the battlefield. Each knew what the other was thinking, and what the other was going to do. He looked back to where they had both been looking for a moment earlier. He'd never hated anyone more in his life as he did that man lying on the ground and still moving a little. He knew what that meant. And what it was forcing Michael and even Max, whom he saw nod his consent, to do. No quarter would be given. There couldn't be any enemy survivors from this. Nor any trace of a body left. Philip nodded to himself. Those monsters would have shown them less mercy had they won. He watched as Max helped Diane get Sammy to his feet and followed as they headed around the hill, eventually coming to a Jeep Cherokee parked in a grove of trees. Philip made it a point not to look back at what was happening behind him.

Max opened the back car door and helped his son sit down with Diane hovering close by. He had only done a cursory once over to check for serious injuries, but now he took a closer look. The black eye that Cal had mentioned to him had become that sickly yellow and purple color, the busted lip and surrounding area, the same. He took a couple of deep breaths to bleed his anger off a little. He didn't want Zan to think that it was him that Max was angry at. He tried to remain as calm as possible as he put both hands on either side of his son's face. "Zan look at me."

"Sammy, my name's Sammy." He saw the slightly hurt look that momentarily flashed across the face of the man standing in front of him. He hadn't really understood exactly what all this had meant these last few days. He thought that he did, but he didn't, not really. He hadn't understood that there really were people out there who were actually going to kill him if they caught him. He hadn't truly understood that his father had honestly been running for his life, and that if he were caught it would mean torture or death. He hadn't understood that it was kill or be killed. But he did now. He was scared and confused, and his mind reached out for anything it could that reminded him of who he had always been. His name. "I'm Samuel Connor Jr.," he reiterated.

Max smiled a little at that. Zan...Sammy was starting to snap out of it a little. Max had never really cared for the name Zan anyway. "Okay, Sammy. I want to take care of that black eye and that fat lip you have then check you over a little better to make sure that there's nothing else wrong. I only did a quick once over for major injuries before. Is that okay with you?"

Sammy nodded then bunched his eyebrows in frustration. "I tried to heal them myself, but I couldn't. I guess my powers aren't that strong."

Max had to smile at his son's humility. "We all have slightly different talents. Mine are healing and projecting the shield. From what I saw, you can do a pretty good shield too. With practice we'll figure out what your other talents are. Now let's get those taken care of...close your eyes for a second so I can fix your eye."

Gary was doing his best not to be too freaked out, but he was only marginally successful. After witnessing the incredible power and... violence Max's hands were capable of, he wasn't real comfortable with seeing them on Sammy's face again. He hadn't really had time to think about it too much when Max had touched Sammy the first time, but now... it made his stomach knot up. He had half a mind to push him away, not
that he stood a chance if Max objected, but as he watched he saw an entirely different person earlier standing there, from the Godlike warrior he'd seen in battle earlier. Gone was the powerful anger and rage that had literally vaporized a human life when it had been unleashed, and in its place was a very caring and gentle father intent on helping his son. It was amazing to see as his glowing hand gently rubbed over the black eye, healing it. And then, a moment later, the swollen and discolored lip was instantly back to normal. Sammy blinked and then smiled a little at his father. Maybe this Max wasn't so bad after all.

After healing the obvious traumas to his son's face, Max slowly ran his glowing hands along Sammy's shoulders, arms, and chest. Sammy drew away a little as Max's hands started to reach around to his back. Max's eyes narrowed a little. "What's wrong with your back, Sammy?"

"Nothing," Sammy lied. He didn't want his father to know. He didn't know why, but he didn't. This was his father, the one who had helped give him life, and the one that had given him away as a baby. If he hadn't given him away, he wouldn't have had an Uncle David, who beat him. If he hadn't given him away, he wouldn't have known how much it hurt when his mom and dad had died. But if he hadn't given him away, he would have never known his mom and dad and how much they loved him, and how much he had loved them. If he hadn't given him away, he would have spent most of his life on the run with his dad and his dad's friends. If he hadn't given him away, he would have known who and what he was all along. If he hadn't given him away, he would have been ready for today. He refused to meet his father's eyes and scooted a little further away from him. His emotions and thoughts were running wild and he didn't know how he felt or what he wanted to do.

Max's concern was growing as he saw so many emotions play across Sammy's face. He was at a loss to know what to do next. He knew that something was physically wrong with Sammy's back, but he didn't understand why Sammy was reluctant to let him heal it. Confused, he turned to his mother for some sort of explanation and guidance. She had obviously gotten close to his son, maybe she would know.

Diane had been in her husband's arms. She was dying to take her son and her grandson in her arms, but both she and Philip realized that Max needed some time with Sammy. They needed to get to know each other, and they had quite a bit to work through. It made her heart ache as Sammy pulled back from Max, and to see how confused it made both of them. They both looked scared, and utterly lost as to what to do. She bit her lip as she couldn't hold back any longer and reached out to hug her son. In her arms, he was that boy that she had found and fallen in love with on sight on that lonely desert night so long ago. She held him close for a few more moments and felt Philip's arms wrap around both of them. Eventually her husband's tight embrace relaxed and she pulled back to look at her son. Gone was the boyishness of youth and in it's place stood a fine looking mature man. He'd filled out, but had obviously kept in shape. She smiled a little as she spotted a few light flecks in his slightly long, dark hair that tended to curl just a tad. She couldn't help herself as she ran a few fingers through his hair. "What's this? Grey?"

That made Max smile. "Yeah, Liz teases me about it." His smile was instantly replaced by concern as he glanced back towards the jeep and his son. Gary was now hunched down next to Sammy, talking to him. "Mom, what did I do? What's wrong with his back? And why doesn't he want me to heal it?"

She looked over at Sammy for a moment. He was so young and had been through so much already. Then, she turned back to her son, and said, "Honey, he's scared and confused. He's experienced so much the last few days, and today especially. He saw what you did, what all of you did. He already had tons of questions for you before, but now... honey, he needs some time to digest it all." She glanced back to her grandson. Gary was now just standing next to the car with Sammy staring down at his lap, obviously wanting to be left alone. "As for his back...Sammy's been through an awful lot. As I understand it, his uncle was given guardianship of him when his adoptive parents died two years ago in a car accident. Apparently this uncle was more interested in the estate Sammy was left by his parents than in Sammy. He's the one that gave him the bruises on his face and...Max, there are welt marks and bruises on his back. It's pretty clear that his uncle beat him with some sort of belt. That's what started all of this to begin with a week ago. And it's why he ran away. I just thank God he had Gary to go to." She immediately saw the rage building in Max as he looked back at his son and thought of someone hurting him. She raised her voice a little to get his attention back. "Max...look at me! You have to put your anger aside and deal with it later. Right now all that matters is Sammy. I'm betting that he's not sure what he's feeling right now, and he didn't want you to get angry at him over..." She cut him off before he could protest, "Yes, I know. You're not angry with him. You're furious at this uncle, but honey, Sammy will just see the anger and might take it wrong. When you go back over there you have to stay calm. Go ahead and heal him, but then give him a little space to sort his emotions out."

Max kissed her, then wrapped his arms around her and murmured, "I love you, Mom." He gave her another kiss and his dad a hug, and then turned back to his son. Gary nodded to him and stepped back as he approached the open car door. Max crouched down and looked at his son, who still wouldn't meet his eyes. He sighed. "Sammy, Grandma told me about your back. I just want to heal it...and any other injuries you may have. Is that okay?"

Sammy considered it for a moment before finally nodding his consent. He leaned forward so his dad could get his arms around him. He felt warmth spread across his back and then down towards his hips as his dad's hands moved a little lower. When he moved a little more forward, he realized that his back didn't hurt any more. When his dad was done, he found himself in a tight hug. Sammy wasn't sure how to respond, or even if he wanted to, but eventually his arms crept up around his dad as he finally returned the hug. He had to admit that it did feel kind of nice. He didn't say anything when his dad finally released his hold and kissed him on the forehead, but he did look up at him. He was surprised to see that his dad's eyes were moist.

Max cleared his throat a little and swallowed a few times as he let go of his son. He was relieved to see that Sammy was finally looking back at him. "Sammy, I know we have a lot to...work through. I just want you to know that...that it's going to be okay, and you can take all the time that you need. I'll be there when you're ready to talk." He breathed a little easier when Sammy nodded. He stood up when he heard Michael approaching. He could tell that everything had been taken care of that needed to be done. As his Mom gave Michael a hug, he reached for his jacket in the front seat and pulled out his cell phone. He punched the speed dial and waited for someone to pick up. "Hey Iz, guess what? Mom and Dad are here with me and... Zan too. Actually, he goes by Sammy now, but that's okay. Iz, it's over. We're coming home. Could you put Liz on so I can tell her?" He clutched the phone tightly and his heart started to race as his sister's words registered. He had to swallow several times to get rid of the sudden dryness in his throat before he could speak again. "Wh-when did they take her to the hospital?” His only thought was that he had to get to Liz and their baby. He didn't realize he was just standing there, staring at the phone until Michael snatched it away from him and began speaking into it. He reached back into the front seat to frantically search his jacket and with each passing second became more and more agitated, until finally he flung the jacket to the ground and howled in frustration, "DAMN IT! WHERE ARE THE CAR KEYS? I'VE GOT TO GO!"

Michael passed the phone to Diane so that she could speak to her daughter, then he grabbed Max by the shoulders and spun him around until they were face to face. "Maxwell, they're right where we left them, in the ignition. Now, get in the back seat. You're in no shape to drive. We'll get you there, don't worry." He gave Max a bit of a shove towards the back seat and rounded everyone else up and into the car. They made a quick stop at the Caddy to get everyone's bags. Cal told them to go on, that he'd wait for his associates to show up and take care of the cars. Then he'd join them tomorrow sometime. No one said a word about there not being any sign of the fallen agents. In less than five minutes they were on their way home. Max hadn't said a single word. In the rearview mirror Michael watched as guilt and worry took hold of his best friend. Regardless of how fast he drove, it was going to be a long drive.

~

Part 8

Isabel closed her eyes as she hung up the phone. She sighed deeply, feeling a weight lift from her heart. "Over. It's over. Max was coming home with Mom and Dad, and little Zan. Finally, we can begin living real lives," she mumbled to herself. When she opened her eyes there were four inquisitive kids standing there, staring at her.
Last edited by TaffyCat on Sun Feb 23, 2003 4:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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TaffyCat
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Chase as the oldest remembered the most. He remembered the time they'd spent traveling around in that van that always was breaking down. He remembered the times when Mommy was scared and they had to hide, while Daddy, Uncle Max, and Uncle Kyle went off to do whatever they did to keep the bad guys away. It had been a long time since Mommy had looked that scared, but she had last night. Then Daddy was once again gone with Uncle Max to keep the bad guys away. He looked up with concern at Aunt Isabel. "Was that my dad? Is he and Uncle Max okay?"

Isabel let out her breath. "Yes, your dad and Uncle Max are just fine, Honey. In fact, they're already on their way home and they're bringing company."

Ryan's eyes went wide at that. They rarely had company. "Really, who?"

She smiled as she wiped at the tears of joy running down her face. Her mom had sounded wonderful. "They're bringing my mom and dad and...Uncle Max's son, Zan. Oh, and a friend of his." Sniffling and clearing her throat, "Okay, listen up. We need to help Uncle Max and Aunt Liz out. They weren't expecting company so we need to help get this place ready for them. That means clean sheets on all the beds, including the guest beds. Get the laundry going, sweep and mop, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms and putting out fresh towels, the kitchen, the whole thing. So let's get moving." Isabel responded the way she always did to crisis. She organized things.

Ryan scowled. He hated housework, but he did want to help his aunt and uncle. They'd always been great to him and to his brothers and sister. Uncle Max never let too many people see that side of him, but he was a great practical joker and often got Mommy and Aunt Isabel good. He didn't pull pranks on Aunt Liz too much, though. He always said it was too dangerous since he had to go home to her at night. He brightened a little as he thought of something. "Aunt Isabel, can we use our powers to make it go faster?" he inquired.

As Isabel rounded the kids up and herded them up the stairs she said, "I suppose it'd be okay, just don't break anything that you can't fix."

Chase was confused about something. He didn't remember Uncle Max and Aunt Liz ever having kids before. "Aunt Isabel, who's Zan? How come he doesn't live with Uncle Max and Aunt Liz?" he asked.

Isabel was busy pulling bedding out of the linen closet and handing it to Chase and Ryan. "Zan is Max's son that went to live with some other people because Uncle Max couldn't take care of him at that time. It was a long time ago when we were all very young." She could tell that answer wasn't going to suffice. She could already see the "but why" questions forming in his head. "Your mom and dad can explain it to you better later on. Come on, let's get to work." That effectively cut him off for now. Michael and Maria could deal with it further later on. Pulling out more linens she headed to the master bedroom with her youngest nephew, Alex, and her niece in tow. "Megan, why don't you and Alex give me a hand here while your other brothers tackle the guest bed."

~

Diane had to take some deep breaths to calm herself. Her daughter had sounded so happy to hear that they were coming. She looked down at the check in her hand. It was the only piece of paper that she could find to write on. She looked over at her son. He was sitting in the back with her, with Sammy between them. Sammy had drifted over close to her, leaving Max a little isolated. Max would glance over to Sammy and they'd look at each other periodically, but so far, that was it. Reaching behind her grandson to touch her son's shoulder. "Honey, Isabel gave me the number of the hospital. Do you want to call and see how she's doing? Or I could do it for you, if you want?"

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He just looked at his mom, with his eyes asking her for the help that his mouth was incapable of voicing at the moment. She squeezed his shoulder and started to dial the hospital. His mind was mired in the memories of all the other times. Of him coming home to find Maria with tears in her eyes, telling him that things like that just happened sometimes. Of how Liz had refused to cry for days, then weeks, until finally it all boiled over as she collapsed in his arms in tears one night. The second one he had been there for, but it hadn't mattered. He'd known that the baby was having problems for some time. He'd healed it repeatedly, but it had only delayed the inevitable and made things harder in the long run. The last one had been a boy. He hadn't meant to connect with him. It had just sort of happened. It'd been the hardest one to lose, because "he" wasn't an "it" anymore. He was their son. The miscarriage had happened so fast that there wasn't anything he could have done. He hadn't felt that his son was in pain or suffering, he was just gone in a less than a minute. Then his and Liz's suffering had started all over again. He didn't know what they'd do if they lost this one. He and Liz hadn't talked about it, but they both knew that somehow this was most likely their last chance. Liz simply couldn't keep having miscarriages. It was too hard on her physically, and on both of them emotionally. Now this baby was in trouble and he didn't know how Liz was doing either. He glanced over at his son again. His son. Sammy should have been his and Liz's son. Liz had never said anything about it, but he'd seen it in her eyes. There was a part of Liz that hated that Tess hadn't had any difficulties bearing his son. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around his son right now and cling to the one surviving child that he did have in this world, but he was afraid. Sammy had made it a point to stay as close to his mom, and as far away from him, as possible. It hurt.

As Diane dialed the number her heart went out to her son. She could see how much pain he was in, both over Liz and the baby. And how hurt he was that Sammy was drawing away from him. The ringing stopped as the hospital operator answered. "Yes, Liz Evans' room, please. Uh, maternity. Thanks." It took a few moments for the phone to transfer. She was caught a little off guard when a male voice answered. "Uh, hello, is this Liz Evans's room? Oh, who's this?" She saw Max's head jerk up with concern, then she nodded and smiled as she placed the voice, "Kyle, this is Diane Evans. We're here with Max and Michael..." Max extended his hand, now anxious to talk to his wife and friend. "Kyle, hold a second, here's Max."

Max eagerly snatched the phone from his mom. "Kyle. How's Liz? The baby? Can I talk to her?"

~

Kyle looked over at Liz, who was squeezing Maria's hand, while in the midst of yet another contraction. He glanced up at all the monitors for a moment. "Max, give her a second. She's concentrating on something. But right now, Mom and baby are doing okay. What happened on your end?"

"Just breathe in and out, in and out," Max kept telling himself. "We got 'em. Cal is still finishing up a few things, but...yeah, we got 'em. Mom, Dad, and Sammy...Zan are with us along with Sammy's friend, Gary. We should be there in a couple of hours. You think...is that soon enough?"

Kyle looked again at Liz who was now sucking on some ice chips since the contraction was over. "Not sure. Here, let me get her for you." He handed the receiver to her as he said, "Liz, its Max. It's over and they're on their way back... with your in-laws and Zan."

She closed her eyes for a moment in relief. She'd been so worried about him. She knew that Max had been frantic at the thought of the Special Unit getting their hands on little Zan and his parents. She had a pretty good idea that the added stress and worry over what might happen today was what triggered the labor. "God, I'm so tired," she thought. Opening her eyes she took the receiver. "Max, are you alright?"

The breath he'd been holding gushed out at the sound of her voice. "That's what I was going to ask you. We're fine and on our way back with everyone. We should be there in a couple of hours. How are you doing? Can you and the baby hold out until we get there? What did the doctor say?"

She glanced up at her friends, they were both glaring at her, daring her to lie to him. "We're...we're doing...okay. The medication they've been giving me to stop the contractions doesn't seem to be working very well. They're getting more frequent and stronger and...I've dilated only two centimeters. Max..." She had to take a deep breathe for the next part. "Max, the baby's not in position. If they can't get the contractions to stop, or I dilate too much more, they're talking about a c-section." There was absolute silence on the other end of the phone.

~

His hand was turning white, he was gripping the phone so hard that he thought he would crush it. It took him a minute to find his voice. "A...c-section? Liz, the baby...how is it doing? What'd they say about it's chances?" he asked painfully.

~

Liz automatically looked up at the heart monitor and rubbed her hand over the swell of her abdomen. "So far, so good. The heart rate is strong and steady, but they're saying it's pretty small, maybe 3 pounds at the most. It...would be better if it waited at least a couple more weeks." She paused as her true fear slipped out. "Max, I don't want them to do anything until you get here."

~

Max closed his eyes as he heard the anguish behind her words. It stabbed at his heart. "I'll be there soon, honey. I swear. Liz...I...I love you...no matter what...I love you." His voice quivered with emotion as he said it.

~

Liz closed her eyes as tears formed at the corners. "I love you too, Max. Always. Get here soon." She handed the phone to Kyle so he could hang it up. Then she sank her head further into the pillow.

Kyle and Maria shared a concerned look. They'd call Max's cell back from the payphones down the hall in just a bit to get the details on what had happened in Whitefish, but for now at least they knew that everyone was okay. Kyle watched as another contraction gripped Liz and Maria's hand was once again enveloped in a bone crushing grip. Liz finally let out her breath. The contractions were getting closer. They had hoped that, between knowing that Max and everyone were okay, and the medication, maybe now they'd subside. Kyle looked at two of his favorite ladies. They were both so worried and serious. His mouth quirked up at a memory. "Okay, Liz, this is how it's going to be. You are going to relax and wait for hubby to get here before going any further with this labor business. I already had to play stand-in for Michael when Ryan was born, and I have no intention of doing a repeat performance. It's just * way * more than I ever wanted to see." His grin grew a little bigger. "And besides, Evans knows what I'll do to him if I have to go through that again."

That made them both smile. Maria would never forget the panicked look Kyle had when it had just been the two of them and one year old Chase in that little cabin they were all sharing when her water broke. Michael and the others had gone into town for supplies. They hadn't planned on being gone that long, but it had been the middle of winter and it had started to snow. It took them almost three hours to get back. Man, were they shocked when they returned to find Maria holding a newborn Ryan in her arms with Chase snuggled next to her in bed. Kyle had been in great need of a bottle of something... *anything* to drink, it hadn't mattered what. Later, Kyle had made a point of telling both Michael and Max, just for future reference, that he would kill either or both of them if they ever did that to him again. And he had meant it.

~

As they traveled down the road, Diane kept an eye on her son. He looked so forlorn. He needed something else to focus on. Her attention drifted to her grandson sitting next to her. For the last hour both father and son were keeping that wall up between them. Sammy was leaning up against her as she sat with her arm casually draped around him. She kissed his temple and quietly whispered in his ear, "Sammy, I want you to do something for me, please."

"What, Grandma?" he whispered back.

"I want you to talk to Max," she quietly told him.

Sammy looked at his dad. He was so sad, just sitting there watching the landscape pass by without really seeing it, too worried about his wife and baby. He turned back to Grandma and whispered again, "I don't know what to say."

She kissed him again and motioned for him to scoot over, closer to his dad. "Just ask him a question. Anything."

Sammy glanced again at his dad then looked down at his lap and sighed, not sure what to do. He thought for a few moments then looked up again at his dad, who was still looking blankly out the window. "Why Zan?"

It took Max a second to register that someone was talking to him. He was surprised to see that Sammy was sitting in the middle, closer to him. He had no idea what Sammy had said. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Why'd you name me Zan? It's a rather...well, weird name." He responded.

"Oh, uh... I didn't. You sort of came that way." He smiled a little at the confused look that elicited. "Your mom named you Zan. It was my name from...before." He wasn't sure how much Sammy had been told. Max waited to see how he reacted.

Sammy thought about that for a minute then looked back up at him. "From before what?"

Max sighed. "From before I was adopted by Mom and Dad when I was about six."

"Oh," was all Sammy could think of to say as he paused to think. "So where were you before you were six? Were you on Antar?" he inquired.

Now it was Max's turn to pause for a moment. "Uh, you know about Antar?" he asked uncertainly.

"Grandpa said that you...you're part Antarian, part human, and that...that you were the deposed king of Antar." Sammy could see how surprised his dad was to know that he knew all of that. As his dad looked to his grandpa Sammy said, "Cal had referred to you a couple of times as a king...so I asked Grandpa." He waited for a second and realized that he didn't have his answer yet. "So was that where you were before? Antar?"

Philip met his son's eyes for a moment then glanced over to his wife. It wasn't hard to figure out who had put Sammy up to questioning Max to get his mind off of things. Well, it was working. Max was definitely distracted.

"Uh, no, I was in this...incubation po...chamber. I...uh, I don't have any memories of Antar. I looked about 6 when I emerged with my sister, my friend Michael, and...your mother Tess." Max scratched his eyebrow absentmindedly. "They found me and Isabel that same night."

"What happened to Michael and my mom? Why weren't they with you?" Sammy questioned.

Max sighed. It just wasn't getting any easier. "Michael was with us at first, but he...took off on his own. Your mother...she hadn't...hatched yet. She came out a little bit later and her...protector was there. He raised her."

"Protector? Who's that?" He could tell that his dad was squirming a little, but he wanted answers...and besides Grandma had told him to ask him a question about anything.

"He was Nasedo, who called himself Ed Harding. He named your mom Tess. He was like Cal Langley, a shapeshifter." Max wondered how many more questions this would lead to. He decided to answer the next obvious one. "That means he can change shape. He can shift his appearance to look like someone else."

"So that's what Cal Langley is." Sammy thought some more and asked another one, "Is Cal your protector?"

"Yeah, sort of. He's here to protect me, but his idea of protection is...open for interpretation. He and I...well, we have some history and not all of it is friendly. But he's helped us when we needed it." He smirked a little. "He even put up the opening capital for us to start our businesses and get situated in Sandpoint."

That piqued Philip's interest. "Businesses?"

While never taking his eyes off of the road, Michael smiled with pride as he responded, "The Out of the Way Bar and Grill that Max and I run, and Kyle has the Expert Car Repair Shop. Cal loaned us the cash to get started. We'll have him paid back at the end of the year, with interest. A whole year ahead of time." Michael glanced back at his friend and partner, and chuckled. "Max is a hell of a barkeep, even though he can't touch the wares. That was a stroke of genius, signing that little brewery to an exclusive deal last year. Awesome stuff...or so I hear."

Sitting between Philip and Michael, the driver, in the front, Gary kept his eyes glued to the speedometer. It continually hovered somewhere around one hundred miles per hour. It was a good thing Montana still didn't have an actual speed limit during the daytime. He chanced a look ahead and hoped they'd slow down a little when they hit those mountains. Surely they would have to, at least by the time they hit Idaho...wouldn't they? "Perhaps we could...stop by to check the brew out when we get there." He said through parched lips made worse by nervousness.

~

The doctor frowned as he reviewed the patent's chart. She just wasn't responding to the meds in the way that they'd hoped she would. He looked over at his patient and her two friends standing by her. "Liz, how much longer before Max gets here? I know you want him here, but...well, the baby is starting to show signs of distress. We can't wait too much longer. I'm sure one or both of your friends could stay with you during the birth." He gently told her.

"I'm going to drop Evans like a bad habit the second I lay eyes on him!" Kyle grumbled to himself as Liz tightly gripped his hand and looked at him in alarm as another contraction wracked her body.

Liz took a cleansing breath as the contraction finally passed. "How much longer can it be delayed? I mean, is this for certain? A c-section? Today? Now?"

The doctor crinkled his forehead. He knew that Max had accompanied his wife to every visit, and had reworked his work schedule to accommodate Liz's every need. And now, the one time he was called out of town on a family emergency, this happened. He looked over and watched the fetal monitor for some time. The heart rate had increased in the last hour. It was still technically within "norms", but with her history, he didn't like to take many chances. He sighed. "I'll tell you what. I want to get you prepped for it just in case, but we'll give the meds a little more time to work, and for Max to get here. But Liz, I don't want it to become critical. I have to be honest with you. If the meds haven't worked already...it's not likely that they will. I'll send the nurse in to get things going and be back to check on you in just a bit." He gave her an encouraging smile before he left. "Liz, the baby's still holding strong. Even early, it has a good chance. A really good chance."

Maria waited until the doctor left. "Okay Chica, they'll be here in half an hour. Just hold on. Don't worry. I'm not going to leave your side, and neither is Kyle." She looked pointedly at Kyle. She didn't state the obvious, that Max could only do so much miracle work. There was no guarantee that even Max could quell the contractions this far into it, but at least he would be here for her.

Kyle blanched and swallowed. He was definitely going to nail Evans for this, even if he got here in time and was able to stop it. "DAMN HIM!" his mind bellowed while his mouth cheerfully spoke, "Right, not going anywhere, that's us!"

~

Max was nearly frantic. They were almost there and his anxiety was at its peak. He'd played twenty questions with Sammy for about an hour. Sammy's favorite words seemed to be "why" and "how" and Max had started to cringe each time he heard them. Mom had finally gotten Sammy to take a break a little bit ago when they'd turned to the Tess questions. He just couldn't deal with those at this moment. Max checked his watch once again as they passed the last mileage sign, 5 miles and then they were snaking thru town. Thank God, it was a small enough town not to have too much local traffic. Fifteen minutes, just fifteen more minutes, tops. He looked down when he felt a hand grasp his. He looked over in surprise. It was the first time since he'd healed, then hugged, his son that Sammy had actually touched him. And the first time Sammy had initiated the contact without prompting.

Sammy was still processing everything that his dad had told him. In his initial desire to get all of the answers, he hadn't realized how stressed his dad was getting until Grandma had asked him to stop. The last hour had been quiet and filled with tension. He felt bad that his dad's wife and baby were having a tough time. He hoped that they would get there in time. He still wanted time to think things through some more, and maybe sleep on things, but he already could see that his dad was a pretty nice guy and had done what he had thought best for him, Sammy, when he had given him up for adoption. All things considered, it probably had been for the best. He watched as his dad kept running his hand through his hair or chewed on his nails. He was a nervous wreck. Trying to comfort him, Sammy laid his hand on top of his dad's. "We're almost there. They'll be okay. You'll see...Dad."

Max blinked a half dozen times. It was the first time he'd heard Sammy actually call him "dad". It felt incredible. He had to fight an urge to choke up. "Th...thank you Sammy. Yeah, you're right...you're right. Thanks." He placed his other hand on top of his son's and gave it a slight squeeze. His head jerked up as they pulled into the hospital parking lot and came right up to the front doors. Michael mumbled something about dropping them off then looking for a place to park, but Max didn't really hear him. He was out the car door before the wheels came to a complete stop. It seemed to take forever for the operator person or whatever he was to look up Liz's room number. Once he had though, Max was off at a dead run down the hall. He didn't think to look back. He was too focused on Liz to realize that his family had followed him out of the car and down the hall. They caught up to him at the elevator. He gave them a surprised and grateful look before the elevator doors opened. He wasn't alone. His mom and dad, and his...son were with there with him, this time. Hitting the floor button again. "Come on, come on...damn it!"

Philip watched as his son impatiently continued to punch the button for fifth floor. Philip put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Take it easy. It'll work out, son." He calmly reassured him.

Max endured what he figured had to be the longest elevator ride in history. When the doors finally opened, he quickly scanned the numbers and corresponding arrows, found what he was looking for and went to his left. He rounded the door and came to a stop. Maria was on one side of the bed, and Kyle on the other as Liz was in the throes of another contraction. He scowled at the nurse standing there. She had to leave so he could check Liz over. He approached cautiously and looked at the monitors. It took him a second to figure out which one was the fetal monitor. He wasn't sure if what he saw was good or bad, but at least the baby's heart was still beating. He swallowed and looked back at his wife. As Kyle stepped away, Max took his place holding Liz's hand. He kissed her sweaty forehead tenderly and gave her a small smile. "Hey. How are you, and the baby?"

Maria handed Max the cup of ice chips, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and asked the nurse to step out for a moment to give them a few moments alone. Liz could have kissed Maria at that moment. Max's hands were glowing the second the curtain closed behind Maria and the nurse, with Kyle standing alert guard in case anyone else got curious. Max was already checking her over. "The doctor said that the meds aren't working and that the baby is starting to show signs of stress, and that unless the contractions stop they're going to have to do a c-section real soon. Max, can you stop them?"

Max's every nerve ending was heightened as he ran his hands over her and their baby. He was breathing heavily with effort and concentration. He could feel that the amniotic lining was thinning. Her water was going to break soon, but nothing felt right. The baby wasn't ready. Liz's body wasn't ready. He'd checked Maria over often enough when she had been pregnant to know that, but it just reinforced what he'd already instinctively felt. His hands glowed a little brighter as he put all his powers and abilities into strengthening the lining and calming the contractions. Sweat was starting to run down his forehead and into his eyes making them burn, but he ignored it. He ran his hands up and down Liz's abdomen calming and soothing the straining muscles. His breathing was ragged as his hands finally stilled and he looked at her. "How do you feel now?" he asked tenderly.

Liz took a deep breath in and out, and then smiled. "Not bad. Not too bad at all." After a few minutes he finally relaxed and his worried frown turned into a smile, as he gave her a proper kiss and then another. She ran her fingers through his hair. "I understand that we have some company."

His grin shown brightly in his eyes. "Yeah, Mom and Dad and...Zan. He's called Sammy now and he's great. He's still trying to take everything in, though." Max frowned slightly as a sudden thought worried him. "Liz, are you okay with this...with Sammy being here?"

She started to open her mouth to reply when the spasm hit, catching her by surprise. She looked up at Max's panicked eyes. "It's okay," she said quickly. "It simply seems that your daughter has a wicked sense of humor, and just this minute decided to see how much fun it would be to nail my bladder. Uh...I think I need the nurse." As he was about to leave to get the nurse, Liz grabbed his hand. "Max, about Sammy, after the nurse leaves...bring him in so I can meet him."

The only reply Max could think of was a kiss that he poured his heart and soul into. He couldn't help himself as his glowing hand ran once more over his wife and their child, just to be sure, before he headed out the door to go and find the nurse.

~

Maria had never been especially close to the Evans. In fact, she had barely known them, but seeing them standing down the hall, it felt as if they were like long lost relatives. They had never looked so good to her. She was so excited as she headed towards them. Once there, she immediately wrapped her arms around Diane for a good hug. "It's so good to see you! I can't believe that you're here!" Then it was Mr. Evans's turn. After his hug and a peck on the cheek she turned to the other person that was there and grinned big time. She couldn't help it. She had turned into her mom. She pinched the young teen's cheeks while exclaiming, "Oh my God, Mini-Max!" Everyone, except the teen chuckled, and then he turned even redder as she continued, "He's adorable!" Then she pinched his cheek again. "Oh look, he blushes just like Max used to, and still does if I can catch him off guard." She finally let go of his cheek and hugged him very tightly. "I'm you Aunt Maria, Sweetie. We're so glad that you're here! I know your dad and everyone has missed you so much!" She pulled back and studied him critically for a moment. "Hmm, let's see, you're about 15 now...right?" She smiled at his slight nod of his head. "So, have you ever done any babysitting?" she inquired.

Sammy was completely bowled over, that was the only way to describe it. After all the tension of earlier, to have a welcome like this was...wonderful. He was still figuring a lot of things out, but he already knew that he liked his Aunt Maria, but babysitting? "Uh, no," he answered cautiously.

Maria sighed, but smiled anyway as she said, "Well, don't worry about it. You've got to start somewhere. We'll talk later." She looked up to see her husband coming down the hall towards them. She met him halfway and was in his arms, kissing him before she knew it. She'd been just as worried about her husband as Liz had been for Max. Her kisses were mixed with tears of relief and joy that he and all of them were safely back home.

Kyle was just walking up to the group, as they were trying not to gape at the passionate Michael and Maria reunion. He smirked at what he saw. "Well, it's pretty obvious how they came to have four kids," he quirked as he stuck out his hand to greet Max's folks. "It's great to see you both again." He turned to Sammy and chuckled. "Man, another Evans, just what I needed." He stuck his hand out again. "Hi, I'm Kyle Valenti. A long time associate and partner in crime of your dad's."

As Sammy shook his hand, he realized who this guy was. "Hey, you're the one that's in the prom picture with my mom that Grandma showed me." He looked around as the group became very quiet, too quiet. "Did I say something wrong?"

Kyle shook his head. "No, nothing wrong, and yeah, I took her to the prom... that was a long time ago, in another life." He was relieved to see Max coming down the hall. It had to be a good sign if Max was willing to leave Liz's side.

All eyes turned expectantly to Max as he approached. He stopped and slowly started to smile as he announced, "I think everyone's going to be okay. The nurse is with her now. I think I got the contractions to stop, and I strengthened the amniotic lining, so her water shouldn't break for a while yet. But she's still dilated."

Diane had been terribly worried for her grandchild and her son. She didn't know what Max would have done if something had happened to Liz and their baby. "What'd the doctor say?"

Max shrugged. "I haven't talked to him yet. I'm hoping that she can go home tonight, or tomorrow at the latest, but I won't know until he sees her. I...uh, I need to stay here for a while. I know everyone is probably pretty wiped out. Mom, Dad, you guys are welcome to stay at our house...we want you to." Max glanced at Sammy's friend. "You too Gary."

"Hmm, yeah, I think I'll stop by Liz's room once more and if she's okay with it, I have four little ones to liberate, that are probably driving Auntie Isabel up the wall right about now," Maria said as she gave Max a hug.

Kyle took his cue from Maria, "Yeah, and I've got a business to run. Jack's been covering for me today, but I should go in to check and see how much damage has been done."

Michael caught the message, too; right after Maria elbowed him in the ribs. "Yeah, I'll swing by the Out of the Way to make sure that they opened and see how things are going. Mark has only opened it alone once before. I bet he forgot to put up the daily special menu. I'll make sure the bar's all set, too."

Gary's ears perked up at that. "Bar? Is this the bar with the awesome local beers?"

Max turned to his son, "Sammy, I know Liz would like to see you, if you're comfortable with it."

Sammy wasn't too sure about that. This was his dad's wife, his step-mom. He didn't think anyone was too thrilled about meeting "steps", but if she wanted to meet him...well, that was a good sign, wasn't it? He got a small nod from Grandma when he looked over at her. "Okay, I guess so," he hesitantly replied.

~

Half an hour later, Michael was on the way to check on the restaurant and bar with Gary, and Kyle was dropping Mom and Dad Evans, and Maria off at Max and Liz's place. His parents were anxious to be reunited with their daughter, and to meet Michael and Maria's little ones.

Max stood with his son at the doorway to his wife's room. The nurse had just left, but the curtain was still drawn around the bed, as the doctor was now examining his wife and
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TaffyCat
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child. Max was nervous about how they were doing, and if there was any telltale evidence of what he had done. He didn't think that he'd healed her to the point of leaving a silver handprint, but there was no denying that he *had* altered her condition. The doctor threw back the curtain and was obviously surprised to them standing there.

"Well, I'm glad you made it back, Max. Your wife had a little excitement today." He glanced over at the youth standing there. "I hope that your family emergency worked out all right."

Max put his hand on Sammy's shoulder. "Yeah, it did. This is my son, Sammy. How's Liz? And the baby?" His eyes automatically looked past the doctor to Liz lying in bed behind him. She was smiling at him and had a funny little twinkle in her eye.

The doctor scratched his ear absentmindedly as he glanced down at the chart in his hand. "They both seem to be doing much better. It's the oddest thing, though. The last time I checked I could have sworn she was about to go into hard labor with her water ready to break any minute. We were getting ready to do a c-section. But now... well, other than being dilated 2cm, everything seems normal." He shook his head as he mumbled, "Strange, very strange."

He sighed and looked back up at the expectant father and husband. He glanced again at the teen quietly standing there. He hadn't known that Max had another child. He knew from the medical history that Liz and Max had given him that both were 34, which meant that Max had been a teen father. He'd already surmised that Liz was not the boy's mother. For medical reasons she would have told him of any prior healthy pregnancy and birth, but also Max had said *his* son, not *their* son. The boy must've been a part of this family emergency. He had noted early on how close husband and wife were, and guessed that the stress of Max being gone today could have triggered the labor. He was just glad for Liz's sake that things had apparently had worked out well. He cleared his throat as his thoughts returned to the patient's current situation. "I'd like to continue monitoring her for at least a few more hours, but she's been pretty adamant about wanting to go home tonight. Max, I know that you've done a great job of rearranging your work schedule to be home with Liz as much as possible, so she could rest and stay off her feet, but after today...she needs complete, and I do mean *complete* bed rest. It was a very close call today, and I'm still trying to figure out a few things, but if I allow her to go home then she's going to need someone there with her at all times. There cannot be any getting up to get a snack, or to do this or that little thing. And I do understand the predicament that this puts you in as a business owner. But my first priority is Liz and the baby's well being, so before I release her I need to know exactly what the home situation is going to be and who will be home with her. Otherwise, I'm going to need to keep her in the hospital."

Sammy kept staring at a very pregnant Liz, lying in bed. She still looked a lot like she had in the pictures, just a little older...and very pregnant. He'd heard all the things the doctor had told his dad and saw how his dad had tensed up. He wasn't at all sure how things were going to work out yet, but he knew that it'd be a lot harder for them to get to know each other if she had to stay in the hospital. He had an idea. He'd been hoping that his grandparents would stay for a bit longer while things got worked out, and now they had an added reason to, at least Grandma did. "Dad, what about Grandma? I bet she'd stay and help."

Max was caught off guard. It'd been a long time since he had his parents to depend on for help. He wasn't used to it, but slowly a grin started to form. "Yeah, I'll bet she would, but we'll have to ask her...and if everything works out, maybe even Liz's mom could come if we need her to."

Liz had heard everything and was growing more than a little impatient at being talked about as though she weren't even in the same room. She snorted at Max's last statement. "What do you mean 'maybe'? Like she'd say no if we called and said 'Mom, we need some help so we don't loose your grandchild'...yeah, right. Face it Max, you are about to embark into the great unknown...the hairy scary world of mothers-in-law."

She smiled at the young man standing next to his father. She didn't want to admit it even to herself, but she had been afraid how she would feel about seeing little Zan again, especially if he happened to look like his mother. But seeing him now, the mirror image of Max, yet with that innocence of youth still lingering there a little, he reminded her of Max back when, for a short while, things hadn't been so...complicated....she relaxed. He even stuck his hands in his pockets like Max did when he was nervous and didn't know what else to do with them. Her heart melted as she smiled. "Hi Sammy. I'm Liz and I think that's a great idea."

~

Part 9

Michael watched little heads peer out the front window at the house across the street. He'd come home to a tirade of questions from little faces. "How are Aunt Liz and the baby? Did you and Uncle Max take care of the bad guys? Who's Zan? Why wasn't he with us before now? Is he going to stay?" And so on, and so on. The only time they had been quiet was when they were stuffing their faces. So far he'd gotten away with a gruff, "Not now, later" reply, but that wouldn't last past tonight. Now they were waiting for Mom to come home with Uncle Max, Aunt Liz, and this new cousin, Zan/Sammy. Maria had left an hour ago to pick them up from the hospital.

Megan had had a blast this afternoon meeting Grandma Diane and Grandpa Philip. Philip and Diane had told the kids stories and shown pictures of Mom and Dad when they were young. And they were all anxious to catch their first glimpse of this secret cousin that they suddenly had. Mom had made them all come home so that Aunt Isabel could have some time alone with her parents. Then Mom had left for the hospital after Uncle Max called. Megan was the first to spot Mom's car. "They're here! They're here!" She excitedly exclaimed as she turned towards her Dad and asked, "Can we go over there and see them, Dad? Can we? Can we? Please?"

"No. We agreed to leave them in peace for tonight, remember? Tomorrow, you can all go over and meet him," Michael reminded them. Maria had been adamant that they lay off of them for tonight. Tomorrow would be soon enough for the Guerin kids to waylay cousin Sammy. "Poor kid," Michael thought. He hoped that Sammy would survive their onslaught.

Chase watched Mom's car pull into the driveway across the street. Uncle Max got out and then helped Aunt Liz out. Aunt Liz looked pretty tired. Then HE got out of the car. "Wow, he's old already. I bet he's all into girls and yucky stuff like that already. Too much to be bothered with hanging around with us," he observed sourly, as Mom handed him a paper bag and an overnight case before giving him a hug. Then she got back in the car and moved it to their driveway.

"Not if your mom has anything to say about it. I believe she's getting him lined up for baby-sitting duty," Michael mentioned as he gawked out the window over Chase's shoulder. As Maria approached the front door, he tapped his son's shoulder. "Come on, get away from the window before Mom catches you."

~

Max wasn't sure whose house he'd walked into. This one was spotless and wonderful aromas he remembered from his youth assailed his nostrils. Mom's home cooking. And it was one of her old family recipes, not one of those from that magazine she had started getting into in his later teen years. Mom and Dad both gave Liz a warm hug with Isabel coming in right behind them to give Liz one of her own. Then Iz spotted who was standing behind him and didn't hold anything back as she greeted him.

"OH MY GOD! LITTLE ZAN!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around a very startled younger version of her brother. "Oh God, I can't believe you're really here with us," she choked out and hugged him tighter.

He couldn't breath. Now he knew what it meant to have the stuffing hugged out of him. "Um...hi," he managed to gasp out.

Diane came over and tapped her daughter on the shoulder. "Isabel, honey, I think he needs to breathe. And you might want to introduce yourself."

Isabel immediately loosened her hold on him and blushed. "Oh, sorry...sorry. I'm your dad's sister, your Aunt Isabel." She couldn't resist giving him one more good squeeze before finally releasing him.

Diane quickly took control and got things back on track. "Okay, Max, help Liz upstairs so she can lay down." She turned to Liz and said, "Liz, dear, I'll bring up a tray for dinner as soon as everything's done. I made lasagna. I hope that's okay?"

Liz protested uselessly while Max was gently pressing his hand at the small of her back, trying to urge her upstairs. "Wait, I uh, I hate eating while laying down. It gives me heartburn, so normally I sit with Max at the dinner table to eat."

"That's not what the doctor said, dear," Diane said firmly. "His instructions were for strict bed rest and that's what we all agreed to." She addressed her son. "Max? Maria said that they have a small TV in the kid's play room that they could bring over for the master bedroom. That way Liz can watch from bed." Diane had spent over twenty minutes on the phone with the doctor, and had taken detailed notes on everything. She was taking her promise to help Liz and Max very, very seriously.

Max smiled as Liz grumbled all the way up the stairs about "how many more times she was going to see that episode of Petticoat Junction?". God, he loved her so much, even when she was irked. They both looked around the bedroom for a moment in surprise. "Uh, this is our room, isn't it?" asked Max.

"I..I think so, but where's the laundry? And did someone wash the walls?" she questioned as she looked closer around the wall switch. Ten minutes later Diane came in with a tray that held a generous portion of lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and a huge class of milk. How in the world was she going eat all of that? "This looks great!" She took a few bites as Diane shooed Max back downstairs to have dinner and then she sat in the chair by the bed watching.

"Liz honey, I know that I'm probably going to drive you nuts while you're stuck in bed. But I want you to know that I don't mean to be, nor plan to be, a meddlesome mother-in-law. I'm not here to take over your life or rearrange anything in your house. I just want to help out. However, I do plan on doing my best to make sure that you follow all of your doctor's instructions to the letter." Diane was determined to be a good mother-in-law and wanted to get things off on the right foot.

Liz paused between bites. "Thank you for this, for Sammy, for everything. It means so much to us. It's still sinking in, you know. That Sammy's here, that the Special Unit may be gone forever, that we might even be able to visit family safely. We might live normal lives again. It seems so odd after all this time." As she took another bite, she could hear the dinner conversation from downstairs. "Diane, you should go down and join the others. You've worked hard on this dinner and everything else. Go on and enjoy yourself. I'll be fine."

Diane patted her hand warmly. "Okay, but I'll send someone up in a little bit." She was about to leave the room when she turned back around and looked fondly at her daughter-in-law. "Thank you for taking care of him. Knowing that you were with him...well, it helped to ease some of the worry all these years."

~

Philip pulled a chair out for his wife to join them at the table. "So Max, when will you know if it's safe to contact anyone in Roswell?" He asked as they resumed the topic of discussion.

Max kept glancing towards the hall and stairs. His mother put her hand on his to reassure him that Liz was fine and wanted everyone to enjoy the meal. He gave her a small smile, but started eating a little faster. "Cal has people checking now. We need to make sure *all* of the Special Unit was accounted for today, and that there won't be any questions asked in the wrong quarters. Or, at least none that merit being followed up on. We expect him back tomorrow. We can ask him more then," he said between mouthfuls.

"Man, that was sure some kick ass local brew they had on tap!" Gary thought through the fog in his brain. He probably shouldn't have had four of those large thirty ounce glasses of it though. Licking his dry lips, he was still dehydrated after the two giant glasses of ice water that he's already drank at the table. "So, exactly how does this Cal find all of this out?" He was rather proud that he was still functioning enough to ask an actual question, without sounding like an idiot.

Max smirked a little. That beer was rather potent stuff and, judging from Gary's slurred speech and the amount of water he was consuming, Gary had had a more than respectable sampling. "Actually, I have no idea. Michael and I tried questioning him once about it and....well, it only led to Cal getting.....cranky. And a cranky Cal is not a pleasant thing to be around."

"Actually, a normal Cal isn't all that much fun either," Sammy muttered.

Max's eyes narrowed a little at that. He'd heard a couple of things about their earlier encounter with Cal, but obviously not all of it. "Yeah, he's a bit hard to take. Even on his best days." He glanced over at his dad for a moment. He'd get the details from Dad later on.

Gary was hoping his stomach wouldn't rebel on him later on for eating this meal. "So, once Cal gets here and gives the all clear, we can all just go back home?"

Max shrugged. "If he gives the all clear, yes. But I doubt that it's going to be that easy. It never is."

Philip decided to change the subject since it wasn't going to go anywhere until tomorrow anyhow. "So Max, why'd all of you decide to settle here in Sandpoint, Idaho? I assume that the proximity to Canada was one draw, but there are lots of little towns near Canada. And, for that matter, why not settle *in* Canada?"

"We were in Canada for a while, Dad. We crossed over into Mexico a couple of times, too. But they weren't home. You know?" He looked at his father for a moment before continuing. "Anyhow, we'd been through here some years back, and liked the area. It's nice and quiet. The border along Washington and Canada gets a lot of activity. The same way that it does, as you get closer to the Great Lakes and East Coast. We could fairly easily slip across, if we needed to, in less than an hour. Or, we're not too far from Spokane, and could catch a flight from there if we needed to."

"An airport? But that'd mean tickets and ID's, how would you get past that?" Sammy questioned.

"Those are easy enough. We could do those with a wave of the hand, but we still had to worry about getting through without the Special Unit calling ahead with our descriptions. Nothing is ever a sure thing. We learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago." Max explained. "You have to have luck on your side, just like anyone else."

~

As the evening wore on the house grew quiet, since an early night was deemed appropriate after all the excitement of the day. It was barely past 9:30 pm and Gary was stretched out on the sofa bed in the living room. It wasn't too uncomfortable. His eyes were a little blurry as he dialed his cell phone. It only rang once before it was answered. "Hey Simon, how's it going?" he managed to get out, somewhat coherently.

Simon had been pacing the floor for the last half hour. Gary was half an hour late in calling. Simon stared into the phone for a moment before replying, "Fine. I'm fine. Gary, have you been drinking?"

Gary lay back and closed his eyes as he spoke. "Yeah, and after the day I've had, you'd be shit faced too."

Simon clenched the phone tighter in his hand. "What happened? Are you and Sammy okay? "

"Yeah, we're fine," Gary answered. "We're with Sammy's dad. He's a pretty nice guy actually. A bit stressed though. His wife's...."

Simon cut him off. "Not on the phone. Look Gary, the FBI paid me a visit this morning. I don't know if they're bugging my phone or not. Just tell me if everyone is okay."

Gary had to sit up for that. "Yeah, yeah, everyone's fine. What'd they want?"

"They wanted to know about you, and why your rental car was abandoned in Dallas. They want you to call them. Sammy too. I....I had already told people that Sammy was with you. I couldn't change the story without raising even more suspicion. Gary, they want to hear from you and Sammy, to verify that you're okay. At least that's what they told me," Simon cautioned.

"Hold on for a second while I get something to write with." Gary said as he rummaged through his coat pockets.

"Wait, you're not seriously considering calling them, are you?!" Simon was growing more concerned about Gary's state of mind. The fact that he was drunk didn't help.

"A HA, FOUND ONE!" Gary proclaimed proudly as he held the pen triumphantly up in the air to the empty room. "Huh? What? What do you mean call them? Why in the hell would I do that? I'm not *that* drunk. I want to give the numbers to Ca..er, someone else. So what're their names and numbers?" He hoped he could read the scribble he jotted down in the morning and remember everything Simon was telling him about his encounter with the agents, and his earlier one with good old Uncle David.

~

Max snuggled next to Liz. As far as he was concerned she still fit perfectly up against him. He just lay there listening to her breathe, his hand feeling the occasional flip - then - flop their baby did, as it rested on the swell of Liz's belly. They'd come so close to losing it all today. He stiffened as bad scenarios played out in his imagination.

She felt him tense up, his sudden sharp intake of breath. "Max, everything's fine, better in fact. The baby's fine, I'm fine, your son is here, and your parents are safe. It's possible that our lives may have changed for the better, a lot better, today. Will you stop stressing out over what DIDN'T happen?"

Max let his breath out and sighed. "You're right, and I know that you're right. Liz, do you think Sammy is going to want to stay with us?"

She snuggled further into his arms. "I think so. What'd he say when you asked him?"

Max froze. "I.....I haven't exactly asked him....I just assumed...."

"Max, I wouldn't assume anything. Don't take it for granted that Sammy knows all about you, especially how you feel. He just met you." Liz shivered a little as the quilt fell away from her shoulder. "Brrr, it's going to be cold tonight. They said that we might even get a light dusting of snow by morning. I think it's going to be an early winter. Maybe you should turn the heater on? You wouldn't want Sammy to get sick."

Max had automatically snuggled closer to Liz when he felt her shiver. He rarely felt the cold and usually used his own body temperature to keep Liz warm, but now he had others to think of. He frowned with concern. "You don't really think that he could get sick....do you? I mean he's part alien."

She could hear the worry in his voice. "I'm not sure. Remember he was supposed to be entirely human so he might. Besides I'm pretty sure that your parents and Gary *are* human. And they may get chilled tonight, even if Sammy doesn't," she reasoned. She immediately felt the loss of his touch as well as his body heat when he jumped out of bed. Liz chuckled and said, "You might want to put something on to go with those boxers, just in case."

~

Max heard the heater kick on as he stood in the doorway. This would be the nursery soon, but tonight it served as his son's room. They'd bought a twin bed sometime ago to put in here. Kyle occasionally used it when he was hiding out from a girl who wouldn't take a hint, or a couple of times from an unknown husband that popped up out of nowhere. He smiled as Sammy rolled over and kicked the covers off of himself, something that he was known for doing as well.....that is, until Liz threatened not to sleep with him anymore, especially in winter. Somehow that seemed to cure him of the habit completely. He quietly made his way over to the bed, trying to miss the floorboards that tended to creak when walked on. He hit one just as he was pulling the blankets up over his son and immediately two eyes popped open. "Shhh, go back to sleep. I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to make sure that you were warm enough." He was sorely tempted to kiss him on the forehead, but he wasn't too sure of how Sammy felt about such things.

Rubbing his eyes, Sammy sat up and reached for the table lamp. "No that's okay. I'm sort of used to noise at night. A lot more noise than this."

Max took a seat on the side of the bed. "Oh, I guess that makes sense, since you lived in the city. All the street noise and stuff."

Sammy scowled and shook his head. "No, it wasn't the street noise. We lived in an apartment on the twelfth floor. Very little street noise made it up that high, plus we had the whole floor to ourselves. Everything was nice and quiet at night until.....Uncle David."

Max studied his son. There were so many things he wanted to know, but was afraid to ask, about Sammy's past life. But this Uncle David was someone in the present that was going to have to be dealt with soon. "Sammy, tell me about your life in New York, about your friends, school....family. It's okay. I won't get angry about anything, but I think it'd be good for you to sort of unload some stuff. And it would help me to understand you better."

Sammy wasn't used to talking about Uncle David. He'd always been afraid that someone would tell the wrong person and suddenly the only relative he had would be gone. Then he would have been left completely alone. But it was different now, he had grandparents, aunts and uncles, and he'd heard of some cousins too, although he understood most of those were only honorary titles. But, most importantly, he had a dad again. One that was definitely different from the one he grew up with, but who seemed to love and care the same way. "He liked to throw these parties that went on all night, sometimes for days at a time. I'd lock myself in my room at night and put headphones on. I hated it.....," he began and continued on for some time as he poured out all his heartache to his new found dad, who stoically remained silent and simply listened.

He wrapped Sammy in his arms and just held him for a while when Sammy had finally fell silent. Max wanted to scream his rage at the hell that the last two years had been for his son. He wanted to fly to New York and pound the hell out of this Uncle David. And he wanted to beat himself up for not letting Cal check up on Sammy as Cal had suggested, and which he had rejected because he'd been too paranoid about attracting attention to his son. So he blamed himself for some of it. He wanted to cry with pain for what Sammy had gone through. But none of that would do any good, so he just held his son. Eventually he did what he had originally intended to do when Sammy lay back down, he tucked him in and kissed him on the forehead. "Sammy, I want you to know that.....that I and Liz very much want you to stay here with us. I can't give you a Fifth Avenue apartment, but I can give you a home filled with people who will love and care about you, and who want you very much. I....want to make sure you know that. Try to get some sleep. Goodnight.....son."

Max almost had the door closed when he heard "Goodnight, Dad" whispered in return. He was still teary eyed and choked up when he crawled back into bed and snuggled in with his now sleeping wife and soulmate.

~

True to the weather person's word, there was a light dusting of white on the ground as Max made his way downstairs to get the coffee going and collect the morning paper. He did his best to do it as quietly as possible so as not to disturb Gary who was still snoring away on the sofa bed.

Ryan had been waiting. They must have slept in because it was almost 7:30 before he spotted Uncle Max collecting the paper. He ran to his brother at the breakfast table, who was likewise hemming and hawing around over the wood bark, as Dad called it, that was supposed to be cereal, and gave Chase the signal.

Chase immediately put the plan into play. "Mom, I'm full. I wanna go see if Uncle Max is up. I didn't get to see him at all day yesterday and he promised to help me with my math homework, and I gotta turn it first thing."

Ryan choked down a bite before joining his brother. "Hey, he was supposed to have picked up that book I needed for my report!" He and Chase were out the door before Maria could get a word out.

Megan looked around at the empty table, and being the only girl in the family pulled out the old tried and true tactic. "Hey, that's no fair! I'm not going to let them get away with that!" While running out the door after her brothers she shouted, "Wait for meeeee!"

Maria looked at her empty table and commented to her youngest one, "I bet you'd be off and running too if you weren't strapped into that highchair."

~

Max turned around to find three smiling faces looking up at him. He raised a questioning eyebrow at them. He was pretty sure that he'd locked the front door when he'd come back in. He decided to hold his peace on that one and instead inquired, "And what brings you three over here so early this morning?"

Chase immediately took charge of the situation. "Well, we didn't get to see you yesterday. So we came over before school. Aren't you glad to see us?"

Max knew the start of a con-job when he heard it. Megan came over, jumped into his arms and hugged him tight as she whispered, "I missed you Uncle Max," in his ear. "Oh hell, I'm a sucker and they know it," his brain reminded him, but "Uh huh" was his only comment.

Ryan and Chase took seats at the dinner table and looked up at him with the best expectant and hungry looks that they could muster. "In fact, we were so excited to see you that we didn't get breakfast. Which means we'll go to school hungry. And you know that kids don't do well in school if they're hungry...and I have a big history test first thing," Chase finished.

"Yeah, and today's Aunt Isabel's first day as my teacher. She would probably be upset if I like flunked out on her first day or something," Ryan added in, as earnestly as possible.

Megan smiled as her Uncle Max set her down so she could join her brothers at the table, and then she did an excellent wide-eyed innocent look. "I love you, Uncle Max."

Max just watched this with arms crossed while leaning against the kitchen counter. He finally couldn't take it anymore and cracked a grin. "Okay, guys. I know a snow job when I hear one. Let me guess, your mom's on one of her health kicks again, and you kids are near starvation for lack of a decent intake of sugar. So you came over here for a fix." Three little heads nodded in unison. "So what are we talking about for breakfast?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes!" came the united reply.

Max rubbed his chin for a moment before checking his cupboards, but he couldn't find what he needed. "Sorry guys, but it doesn't look like we've got any chocolate chips."

With Uncle Max's back to them as he searched the cupboard, Megan had the best view of the open cupboard when she stood up on her chair. She pointed. "Uncle Max, what's that can next to the flour on the third shelf?"

Max pulled the item out and looked at it. Then realized something and turned around. "Hey how did you see that?" he asked the three still seated children. He got shrugs all around as replies. He looked back at the item in his hand. "Hmm, guys, I don't think that we should mix Hershey's Chocolate syrup into the pancake mix."

"How about that instead of syrup?" Ryan asked. It seemed like a good idea to him.

Max looked at the can, then at the kids, and then back to the can. Somehow the thought of chocolate syrup on pancakes just did not appeal to him. But then he wasn't eating it, and they weren't his kids....and today was Isabel's first day as Ryan's teacher. "Yeah, Maria would never forgive me if I let her kids go to school hungry. Better for them to be on a sugar high during school, rather than hungry." His devious and evil brother mind reasoned to itself. A grin tugged at his lips as he pulled out the pancake mix and started mixing the batter.

A short time later Diane was greeted with an incredible sight, her son was in the kitchen cooking breakfast, and three little faces were at the table, covered in what looked like...chocolate syrup? Turning back to her son she queried, "Uh, Max...are you out of maple syrup?" Her mouth dropped in astonishment as a Tabasco bottle was then passed around to top off the concoction sitting before each little one.

Max turned back around, saw what his mom saw, and could only laugh. "Uh, they're fine Mom. You just haven't been around alien kids in a long while. Remember all the things that we loved that grossed you and Dad out? Well, they are no different." Laughing again. "No worries, Mom. I've got a new bottle of Mrs. Butterworth right over there on the counter."

"Hey, Uncle Max, do you have any ideas about what I should bring for show and tell today? I want it to be something special cuz it's Aunt Isabel's first day," Ryan innocently asked.

It was a good thing that Max was busy flipping pancakes with his back to them, or they would have seen the mischievous gleam in his eye and the huge smirk that he was sporting. "How about Herman? But you'd need to bring his heat lamps. He can't take this cold." He answered without turning around as he bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"Yeah, that's a great idea! And Aunt Isabel is coming to pick us up this morning so I won't have to bring him on the bus!" Ryan exclaimed at Uncle Max's brilliant solution.

It took some doing, but Max finally had a straight face when his dad came down for some coffee. Dad must have remembered what alien kids liked to eat, because he only raised his eyebrow at what the kids were shoveling into their little mouths. Maria, on the other hand, had quite a bit more to say when she finally came hunting for her kids with little Alex still in his blanket sleeper jammies and balanced on her hip.

She handed the baby over to Diane for her coo over, while she laid into good old Uncle Max big time. "Just you wait! Your turn is coming.....actually it's already here. Sammy. Yep, Max, congratulations! You're a dad and God help you, because I am going to exact revenge for every ounce of sugar you ever gave them before sending them home. And for every nap they missed because of a football game, basketball game, fishing tournament, or any other lame brain activity that guys do. Just look at them! They're
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TaffyCat
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going to be bouncing off the walls by the time they get to school! What do you have to say for yourself? Well?" Her finger stabbed him in the chest for emphasis.

Max worked real hard not to smirk. "It's Izzy's first day as Ryan's teacher."

Maria stepped back and thought about that for a moment as she looked over at her sugar coated angels. "Well, they should be down from their sugar high by the time they're home from school," she reasoned to herself. "Oh," was all that she could say.

Chase spotted him the second he slipped into the kitchen. He didn't look mean or anything, actually he looked a lot like Uncle Max. He just stood there, like he was trying to blend into the cabinets or something before Uncle Max finally spotted him and called him over to introduce him to them. A round of "Heys" followed.

Sammy took a cautious step back as Aunt Maria came up to him. "Are you going to do that pinching thing again?" he warily asked.

Holding out her arms as if to hug him. "Don't be silly," Maria said as he neared. "Of course I am," she said as she held true to her word.

Max was chuckling at his son. Maria was going to tease and embarrass Sammy to death, just like family. "Uh, Sammy, do you want some breakfast? How about something to drink? Juice? Milk?"

Sammy looked over the table and wasn't sure what kind of breakfast he was in for. "Uh, okay. Um, coffee would be good."

Max paused as his mind digested that, "Coffee? My son is old enough to want coffee?" He nodded after a moment and grabbed a cup and poured it half full. "Cream? Sugar?" he asked hopefully. It might not be too bad if he took it with half milk and a ton of sugar, Max's mind somehow reasoned. He let out his breath with his son's "Yeah, both" reply. He pulled a chair over to the table for him as he brought the coffee. "Here.....um, let me get you a plate. How many pancakes can you eat?"

Sammy glanced over at the chocolate and Tabasco pancake concoctions. "I...uh, do you have syrup?" Grandpa patted him on the shoulder and smiled as he set the syrup in front of him. "Oh, uh, then two or three...maybe four," he was relieved to reply.

Max chuckled as he put a plate in front of Sammy. He saw how Sammy kept looking at the Tabasco that the kids kept dumping on their pancakes. "It's an alien quirk. Spicy and sweet mixed together. Do you like spicy things?" He was curious how many alien tendencies Sammy might have.

"Yeah, I guess so. I put a ton of hot peppers on stuff, and I love hot mustard," he said as he took a bite of his maple syrup drenched short stack. It took him a second before he realized something. "Hey, these are pretty good!"

Max finally sat down with his own plate next to his son. "Well, don't sound so surprised. I *can* cook, " he commented as he helped himself to some syrup and Tabasco.

Right now Maria hated the health food regimen that she was on. "Yep, Max has a reputation as a pretty decent short order cook, especially known for his pancakes and waffles," she said as she couldn't help the sigh that escaped with her words. It had been a while since she'd had pancakes. She looked out the window as a car pulled up. "Okay kids, your Aunt Isabel's here."

Max almost choked on his food. "Shit!" he thought. He had forgotten the time. Taking quick action, a glowing hand sweeps over the table and all traces of the sugary chocolate syrup vanish instantly.

"Hey, I wasn't done!" a slightly miffed Megan pointed out.

"Uh, sorry about that. Come on guys, go get your stuff for school. You don't want to make your Aunt Isabel late for her first day of school. Do you?" he said as he distractedly watched his sister walk back from across the street and head towards his house. "Oh and Ryan, you might want to put Herman in the front seat. That way he'll be near the front heater vent." he called out as they headed towards the front door.

"That's a good idea, Uncle Max! Thanks!" Ryan remarked as he headed out the door.

Maria just sat there with her arms crossed, glaring at Max. "Herman, eh?"

"Yeah, show and tell," he said quickly as his sister walked in. "G'morning Izzy, coffee, some breakfast?" he asked cheerfully.

Isabel breezed in the door. This was going to be a perfect day. She had dressed in the perfect slacks and blouse, stylish yet comfortable shoes, and her "good" long day coat. Her hair was pulled back with a simple but classy scarf. She was going to be the perfect teacher to the perfect class. She was going to be unflappable and totally in control, and the students were going to respond in kind and be perfect little angels. She was exactly on time this morning and she was going to remain that way. She was going to make sure of it. "Thanks, but I stopped at Starbucks," she said as she gave her mom and dad, and new, oldest nephew a hug before sitting down and greeting the woman whom she considered to be her sister-in-law. "Good morning, Maria."

Maria had to bite her tongue to keep a straight face and simply nodded in reply, with only a hint of a smirk on her face.

Isabel wasn't sure what to think of the reply, but simply moved on. "Max, how're Liz and the baby?"

"Fine. She's still asleep. I'll take her up a tray in a little while." He glanced around the table and hoped Iz didn't pick up on the confused look that Sammy was sporting, or the way that both Mom and Dad's eyes were narrowing in suspicion. "I hope those kids hurry," he was thinking, only to be rewarded a moment later by the sound of a car door slamming.

It had been a very long time, but Philip still remembered that gleam that Max got when he was up to something. And the *something* usually was about to happen to Isabel. Keeping a careful eye on his son he inquired, "So, what are your plans for today, Max?"

Max was careful not to meet his dad's gaze head-on, and heroically resisted the urge to squirm. "I need to go help set up for the lunch crowd and do some prep work in the bar for this evening. We called a couple of people in to cover for us yesterday, but they never do things exactly the way that you like them. You know how it is. Besides, Cal should be by today, and he'll go to the restaurant first," he replied carefully as he sipped his coffee.

"Can I go with you, Dad?" Sammy asked.

Everyone heard the "Dad" loud and clear and smiles appeared all around the table.

"Sure, I could even use some help, if you want?" Max managed to say after he'd cleared the lump that tried to form in his throat.

"Aunt Isabel, you comin' ?" Chase asked as he peered around the edge of the door.

Isabel checked her watch. "Right on time," she remarked as she stood. After giving another round of quick hugs and promising to stop by after school she headed out the door to begin her perfect day. Too bad that she forgot to tell her brother about her perfect plan.

Maria followed Max to the living room's large front window with everyone else trailing behind as they wondered what was going on. "She's going to kill you for this, you know," she calmly told him as she watched Isabel reach for the handle and open the driver's side car door.

His smirk was now firmly implanted and would remain so, no matter what. "Uh-huh."

Diane looked at Maria, then at her son. The last time he'd looked like that was right before a bucket of water that he'd rigged above Izzy's bedroom door had come crashing down.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Resounded through the cold morning air as Isabel quickly backed up in fright only to trip on the curb and land on the partially frozen grass and mud. Her perfect pants, coat, shoes and hair were now history as mud splattered all over. "S-s-snake! There's a s-snake...in a towel...in my front seat. W-what....?" her sputtering ended abruptly as the sound of laughter reached her. It's coming not only from three small children, whom she belatedly realized were not one bit scared of the snake, but laughter was also coming from the house. She recognized one laugh in particular. If looks could kill, she'd have been minus one annoying and sneaky little brother right then and there.

Max had tears in his eyes and was doubled over holding his sides as he laughed his ass off. "That...that...that...was...perfect!" He got out between gasps. He abruptly sat down on the floor before he fell over, he was laughing so hard. His son wasn't far behind in following him.

Diane thought that she shouldn't be laughing. "Oh God, Max...that...that...you should be ashamed of yourself!" She admonished between fits of laughter. Philip was no help either, and Maria was on the floor right along with Max and Sammy. She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard Gary's laughter upstairs from the bathroom as well.

Isabel seethed as she stood back up. "You're going to pay for this little brother!" she thought as she shot him a death glare! Turning back to the car, she found that the snake was now being cuddled in Ryan's arms. "What is that snake doing in my car?" she demanded.

Ryan wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but he had the feeling that Uncle Max had somehow set it all up, but that was okay, it was so funny that he couldn't help but enjoy it. "This is Herman, Aunt Isabel. I was bringing him for show and tell today," he innocently replied.

She tried to calm her breathing and temper, there was no use in getting mad a child. "Why isn't he in some sort of cage or something?" she ground out, only partially successful in her calming attempt.

"Oh, that's in the back seat along with his heat lamps. He doesn't like it too much when he rides in a car. I think it makes him kind of carsick or something, so I hold him in a towel instead," he informed her.

"How in the hel....uh, how can a snake get carsick?" she demanded. Then, on second thought, she held up her hand, stopping his answer. "Never mind. I don't want to know, just get in." She held her head high as she slipped behind the wheel, muddy clothes, disheveled hair, and all; with Ryan in the front, keeping a firm grip on Herman, and the other two kids in the back with his cage and heat lamps. And so began her not-so-perfect first day of school.

Maria wiped the tears from her eyes as she watched them drive away. "You know the really good part? As a room Mom, I happen to know that the only two available outlets for those heat lamps happen to be in the front, next to the teacher's desk. Max, you are so dead when she gets back here at the end of the day," she advised him.

Part 10

Max carefully balanced the tray as he carried it upstairs to their room. “Liz, breakfast. Liz, are you awake?” He asked an empty bedroom. His eyes quickly swept the room for any sign of her and it was only when he spotted the closed bathroom door that he remembered to breathe. He carefully set the tray on the dresser and softly knocked on the bathroom door. “Liz, you in there? Liz?” He hesitantly asked the closed door.

Liz was drying her hands as she opened the door so her worried husband could see that all was well. “Yes Max, your daughter decided to see if she could kick a field goal and used my bladder as the football.” She replied as she waddled back to bed. She shot her husband a death glare as he smirked at her trying to climb back into bed gracefully and not succeeding. “Max Evans, don’t you dare laugh or I may have to kill you. And I’d get away with it too. All I’d need is one woman who had given birth on the jury to be acquitted!”

Max bit his tongue to keep from laughing but couldn’t stop the smirk from turning into a full-blown smile just the same. His eyes danced with mirth as he hovered over her with the tray in hand, making a show of the fact that it wouldn’t fit over her belly. “Uh Liz, where should I…?” He quickly asked before biting his lip at her cute furious glare.

“Keep it up Max. Your death wish just might come true this morning after all. Put it over there in the middle next to me,” she said as she patted the spot on the bed before continuing, “speaking of death wishes, what did you do to Isabel? I heard her scream but couldn’t get to the window in time before she drove off.”

He dutifully did as he was told and then sat on the edge of the bed, while his wife smeared butter and poured syrup over her breakfast. “Oh, I didn’t do anything. Ryan introduced Izzy to Herman. He’s taking him to school for show-and-tell.” He informed her with the best innocent look he could muster without cracking up.

She stopped in mid-bite. “Max Evans, you should be ashamed of yourself! Blaming a poor innocent child. I have no doubt it was your idea. You had better not be pulling anything like that with our kids!” She warned him.

His demeanor softened at that, “our kids” he thought. “She said our kids, as in more than one. She’s including Sammy as ours instead of just mine.” He had to swallow a few times to dislodge that damn lump that wouldn’t stay down. “So, uh…Sammy wanted to come to work with me today. I wanted to show Dad the bar and grill too, and maybe take Mom over a little later on today. Uh, is it okay Liz…just you and Mom here alone this morning?”

Liz was busily chomping down her breakfast. She always did like his pancakes. “Mmmhummm,” she murmured with a full mouth. “We’ll be fine,” she added after she swallowed.

~

Gary decided to join Max and Sammy at the restaurant when Philip announced he would be going as well. Spending the day with a very pregnant woman and her mother-in-law did not sound like his idea of fun. Besides he still needed to discuss a few things with Max, but he’d prefer to do it when Sammy wasn’t around. No point in Sammy knowing the demands that Uncle David was making on Simon. “Sammy’s been hurt enough by that asshole already,” Gary thought as he grinned when the “Out of the Way Bar & Grill” sign come into view. “They do have some good brew. “He mumbled to himself as they pulled into the empty parking lot.

Max was nervous as he unlocked the door to the bar side of the restaurant. For some reason, he felt like that seven-year-old little boy again, going fishing with his dad for the first time and wanting confirmation from his dad that he had tied the hook and sinker correctly. He scowled a little as he scanned the empty bar. Barely any clean up had been done the night before and definitely none of the prep work for today. Not exactly how he wanted his dad to see it for the first time, nor his son for that matter. “Well, this is it.” He said with a sigh. “Uh, looks like I’ve got some work to do for today. I’ll let Michael know that we’re here and see what kind of help he needs. He has to have everything ready to go before the lunch crowd gets here. The bar doesn’t open until 3:00, so his side of things comes first.” He explained as he headed towards the swinging kitchen door that the two sides of the business shared.

Philip took in what he saw. It had a sort of upscale yet country feel and look to it, somewhere a trucker might stop for a brew and a bite to eat or a place a banker might frequent after work. There was a stage off to one side with a small wooden dance floor in front of it. There was a scattering of tables and chairs to dine at and a row of taller tables with stools for cocktails. On the opposite wall was a long ancient looking bar, something right out of the old west with bullet holes and all. Behind it stood a very well stocked and on closer inspection, impressive selection of liquors. The place was obviously prosperous. Philip grinned with pride. His son was doing well.

Philip looked over as a movable wall folded away to reveal a much larger dining room filled with tables and chairs. His daughter’s touch was certainly in evidence. It was definitely a more upscale place, dotted with lush green plants and perfectly placed prints hanging on the walls. Rich tones of maroon and yellow dominated. His grin was firmly in place as he walked over towards his son and friend. He put his hand on his son’s shoulder and nodded in approval, “I like it. I like it a lot. You kids have done well for yourselves. So tell us what we can do to help get it ready to open.”

~

Sammy thought the place was way cool. The bar had an old timey looking jukebox but it really housed a selection 250 of the latest CD’s. And that stage looked like it had a killer sound system that he was dying to try out, but work came first. Grandpa Philip was vacuuming the dining area, and Gary was putting fresh tablecloths on the tables while Dad went behind him with the napkins and silverware. That left him in the kitchen with Uncle Michael prepping the kitchen. He had been regulated to tearing lettuce leaves and chopping and slicing various fresh vegetables for the day’s salad under Uncle Michael’s constant silent scrutiny. Some oldies music from the ‘90’s came drifting in from the bar. It was the only sound as Uncle Michael worked on a marinara sauce for the day’s pasta special and then onto a fresh salad dressing. Sammy wasn’t certain about Uncle Michael. So far he didn’t seem to be much of a talker, but he was his dad’s best friend. And Sammy wanted to know more about his dad and his life. Swallowing his nervousness he decided to find out something that had been bothering him ever since he’d heard about Michael’s family. “Uncle Michael.” He tentatively began. “My dad told me he gave me up for adoption because he wanted me to have a normal life. That it wasn’t safe for me to stay with him; too dangerous.” He paused until Uncle Michael finally grunted in acknowledgement while he continued to stir his sauce. “I was wondering how it was too dangerous for me but…” He had to swallow before continuing. “But not too dangerous for your family.”

Michael kept stirring his sauce as he mulled over how to answer, or even if he should or could. Giving Sammy up seemed like the right thing at the time. He had never questioned it…until Chase had been born. He doubted he could have ever given his child up. He just couldn’t. As he thought of his kids, he remembered last night and had the answer. He stopped stirring the sauce and turned his full attention to Sammy. “When your other Dad, your adoptive one, came home from a business trip, did you ever ask him if he kept the bad guys away? If it was safe, or if you’d need to run again?” He added the question that he hated to hear the most, “Or why Mommy was so scared?”

Sammy opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. He didn’t know what to say so he just shook his head “no” and stared at his feet.

“Mine did…just last night. It wasn’t the first time either, but I hope to hell it was the last.” He looked around the large stainless steal kitchen. “This was for the kids; us settling down. We wanted to try and give them some sort of normalcy in their lives. The same thing Max wanted for you.” He explained and then started stirring his sauce again. “I know Chase and Ryan remember being on the run. Megan might too. It wasn’t always bad… but I know they have memories that no kid should have. I just hope it hasn’t scarred them too much.” He had to clear his throat when he’d finished. When Sammy resumed working, he decided to change the subject. “So tell me what your dad did to Isabel. She was practically spitting fire when she called here this morning wanting to know his work schedule for today.” He asked and knew from the instant grin on the boy that whatever Max had done had been huge and that nothing was going to stop Izzy’s wrath of revenge. Michael almost busted a gut laughing so hard as Sammy explained in detail about his dad’s little prank that morning.

~

The folding door was pulled closed at 11:00AM as the now spic-and-span and well prepped restaurant was opened for business, now it was the bar’s turn. Gary had wanted to talk to Max but every time he was about to, Sammy seemed to appear out of nowhere, so he tried, “So, uh, Max. Isn’t Sammy a bit young to be working in a bar?”

Max looked over at his son, who was busily sweeping the stage and dance floor, then back to Gary. He had gotten the impression this morning that Gary wanted to talk to him about something. “Not as long as we’re closed. Once we’re open then he’ll need to be scarce…but maybe Michael could use some help busing tables for a bit.” He added before going to ask Michael to get Sammy out of the way.

Gary waited until Sammy was well out of earshot before taking a seat at the bar. He pulled out the scrap of paper with the names and numbers of the agents and handed it to Max. “These two are FBI agents that paid Simon a visit yesterday. They want Sammy and I to call them and verify that we’re okay. I guess they’re suspicious about my supposedly abandoning a rental car in Dallas.” He explained and then stopped as the swinging door to the kitchen swung open. He let his breath out, as it was only Michael.

“Okay Maxwell, kid’s out of the way. What’s the story?” Michael inquired. His normal everyday scowl intensified as Gary went over it again.

Max looked at the paper as if it held some secret clue, then back at Gary. “Is this what you didn’t want Sammy to know?” he asked.

Gary looked around for a moment to make certain Sammy wasn’t near before answering, “No. Simon decided that the fastest way to get good old Uncle David out of Sammy’s life was to buy him out. Simon offered him a million to take a hike. David countered with fifty million. It last stood at Simon offering two million and a threat to get Sammy emancipated in six months. David countered with forty million plus the apartment. David’s not going to go without a fight for the money. And there’s one other thing…David’s threatened to go to the authorities about what Sammy did. Simon laughed it off as a drug-induced hallucination… but he’s worried.”

Philip watched as his son ran his hand through his hair in anger and began pacing the length of the bar. He could tell that if this David didn’t back off, Max would be paying him a visit, which would not be a good thing. Max didn’t need the possible added attention. “So, to whom exactly would David be signing custody over to?” He asked as a way to move the discussion along.

“I…I’m not sure. To Simon I guess, at least temporarily.” Gary replied and noted that his answer had brought Max’s pacing to a dead stop.

“TO SIMON!” Max repeated a little louder than he intended. “Why? What the hell for? I’m his father!” He was already steaming over this David issue but now hearing that he wasn’t even the one being considered for custody just stoked the fire that was quickly building in him.

Philip held up his hand. He hadn’t meant to rile his son so much. “Actually Max, that makes sense. At least temporarily.” He replied in the most calm, matter-of-fact lawyer tone he could muster. “It would put a buffer between you and this Uncle David, and right now I think that’s a good idea. It doesn’t mean Sammy has to go live with Simon, unless he wants to. He could stay right here with you, and once things are settled with this David, you can get permanent custody. If that’s what Sammy wants.” He added.

There was still anger in Max’s eyes but he trusted his dad, and besides he was right. He was too involved emotionally to handle Uncle David directly. He was liable to do something dumb and he couldn’t afford that, not with a son that he wanted to finish raising and a new son or daughter about to be born. Better to keep something between him and Uncle David…and the FBI. “Fine.” He bit out between clenched teeth. But the details of a plan were starting to spin in his head. If he couldn’t handle David directly, he’d find someone who could. He looked up at his best friend and second for a moment.

Michael noticed the look Max was sporting. He’d seen it more times than he’d care to remember. It’s the look Max got when he meant business, usually deadly business. “What?” he asked with trepidation.

“I’ll let you know when Cal gets here,” was all that Max would say.

Part 11

Max finally finished tallying up last night's receipts and wrote out the bank deposits, then he checked his watch and sighed. He hated getting to the bank at lunchtime. The lines were always too long, better to wait until almost two or so. He paused and looked over at the table that sat right in front of the big screen TV that was tuned to ESPN. The table was loaded down with sandwiches, fries, pie and cake, along with sodas, and a couple of beers for Dad and Gary. They had earned it. The place was spotless, and ready and waiting for its customers in record time. Max checked his watch again after shoving the stack of cash and credit card receipts into the little zippered deposit bag. "Hey Sammy, I was thinking of walking to the bank and getting some fresh air. Wanna come?" he asked as he stood to put on his coat.

Sammy had been working hard helping Uncle Michael all morning. They had all worked up quite an appetite, and Uncle Michael had rewarded them with a totally awesome lunch. And the big screen wasn't bad either. He looked over at Grandpa, who nodded "yes" to him. He shrugged and grabbed his coat as he answered with, "Okay."

~

Sammy mimicked his dad as he stuck his hands in his pockets as they walked in the cool air. "Isn't is kind of dangerous to walk to the bank with the deposit?" He asked.

Max only grinned at that. "For most people I suppose it might be, but then I'm not most people. I can usually handle most things." He decided to take the long way around to the bank, despite the cold. They had a lot to talk about. "Sammy, Simon is trying to work out something with your Uncle David. He wants David to sign over custody of you to him, at least temporarily." They stopped walking for a moment as he continued. "Sammy, you...you need to let us...to let me know what you want to do after that. I told you last night that Liz and I want you here with us and I meant it, but that's not your only choice. If you want, you could stay with Simon and Gary, or even with my parents. I can tell that...that you've already grown close to them and I know they'd love to have you, but so would I."

Sammy was quiet for a while as they resumed walking. "Uncle David is willing to just sign over custody of me? Like it was no big deal?" He inquired.

Max sighed, "Not exactly." He scratched his ear out of a nervous habit. "He's...negotiating... a settlement with Simon." He paused as he saw the incredibly hurt look that brought to his son. "Sammy, I know it sounds... like all that matters is the money, but it's actually the opposite. Simon could wait until you're little older, get you emancipated, and then you'd be responsible for yourself. But Simon and I, everyone in fact, think it's best to get you away from David as quickly as possible. Sammy, no one has the right to abuse you like he has, no one."

"Do I have to go back to New York and stay with Simon, then?" Sammy asked.

Max shook his head. "No, only if that's what you want. Sammy, you're almost an adult and you do have the right to tell us what you want," he explained.

"So I can stay here if I want to, even though Simon will have custody?" Sammy wanted that clarified.

"Yeah, you can," Max answered hopefully.

"I think I'd like to stay here and get to know you, and everyone, some more. I've learned so much about myself and where I come from, but there's so much more I want to know." he replied carefully.

Max's spirit paused in mid-leap. His heart had hoped for more of a "Dad, I love you and want to stay with you" answer, but his head reminded him that at least Sammy wanted to stay. He nodded then asked, "Is there anything in particular that you want to know about?"

"About my mom," was what Sammy wanted to ask, but he was beginning to think that he might not want to know the answers that question would bring. So he stuck with, "What about my powers? How do they work? Do Chase, Ryan, and Megan have them?"

Max smiled a little with relief. He'd thought that Sammy would've asked about Tess. And he wasn't sure what answers to give him yet. "Yeah," he answered. "They have them. And they've been driving their parents, and some aunts and uncles, nuts with them for years." He replied with a small chuckle. "They grow stronger as you mature. As for how they work, I'm not entirely certain technically, although I was once told that they originate in the cerebral cortex."

"Oh," Sammy said as they walked. "So why are mine just now developing? And how do I control them?"

"Well, we think you reaching adolescence is what triggered yours to start developing. As for how to control them, practice, lots of practice. I'd be happy to help you with them. Teach you a few things." He explained.

"Like that shield you did yesterday? Yours was like a hundred times as large and way stronger than mine. And that blast you did first, how did you do that?" Sammy excitedly inquired.

"The shield is something that I've been perfecting for a some years. As for the blast...that was pure panic. Michael is the one that packs a hell of a punch. See we each have our own specialty. Mine is healing and the shield. Michael's is...well, blasting. And Isabel can go into people's dreams and see what they're really thinking. We call it dreamwalking. But like most people when we become panicked a good dose of what passes for Antarian adrenalin gives our powers a good boost. I was terrified that you and my family were going to die, and the fight or flight instinct took over. From what I hear, you've been experiencing something similar," Max said.

"Yeah, I have. The first time was to stop Uncle David, then again when I thought Cal was going to hurt Gary, and then yesterday. But my shield wasn't strong enough. That bullet knocked me on my butt," Sammy recalled.

"But you stopped the bullet, Sammy, and that's all that mattered." Max reminded him. "Don't worry about it. We'll all work with you to help you develop your powers. And as you get older, they should strengthen." He looked up when they reached the door to the bank. "We're here. Uh..."

"What?" Sammy asked.

"Uh, nothing. Let's go in." He didn't want to mention that this was the first time anyone outside of family were going to see him and Sammy together. There would be no doubt whose son Sammy was...and the tellers loved to flirt with him, even though they were all well aware that he was a happily married man.

~

They walked over to the line reserved for merchants and patiently waited their turn. "Afternoon Sandy," Max greeted the twenty-something blond teller that always seemed to have a sort of hungry look about her. And he was pretty certain that he was the meal she was looking to devour.

"Good afternoon, Max. We missed you yesterday." She managed to get that out with just enough suggestiveness to let him know how disappointed she had been yesterday. He was stacking the deposits in front of him when she spotted the teenager who had been
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TaffyCat
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standing partially behind her favorite customer, and her mouth dropped open. "Who?" She looked at the man that had been coming in almost daily for three years, and then back to the teenage boy. "Who...who do we have here?" Her inquiring mind wanted to know while it ran several numbers through it. She'd always thought Max was in his early to mid-thirties, since he always made a point to mention he had been happily married for something like 15 years. Yet here he was with a kid who could only be his, who also look to be about 14-16 years old. The numbers just didn't add up!

"Oh, Sandy, this is Sammy, my son. Sammy, Sandy." He said by way of introduction. He could tell that Sandy and the others within earshot were anxious to hear a further explanation.

"H-hi Sammy. It's nice to meet you." She smiled at him as he gave the standard "nice to meet you, too," reply. She kept looking over at the boy as she started to verify the cash deposit. "I...uh, I hadn't realized that you and Liz already had a son," she said, probing.

"Uh-huh," was all Max said in reply.

"How is Liz? She must be getting close to her time," the head teller asked after her own customer left, and she could turn her attention to the handsome young man and co-owner of one of the most successful restaurant and bar in town that Sandy was waiting on. She was dying to know more about this surprise son who'd suddenly shown up today.

Max carefully checked his deposit receipt to make sure that it matched. "Hi Margaret. Liz is doing okay so far. Had a bit of a close call yesterday, but it was a false alarm."

Margaret smiled. Max was incredibly easy on the eyes and totally out of reach, which just made him all the more irresistible to most of her female coworkers, and a couple of the male ones, too. "So you must be excited about having a new baby brother or sister?" She inquired of Sammy.

"Um, I'm not really sure that it's sunk in yet. But yeah, it's exciting." Sammy replied as he gave his dad a slightly raised eyebrow. He waited until they were done and walking out of the bank before asking his dad, "Why didn't you correct them about me not being Liz's?"

"None of their business." Max answered and noticed the slight scowl on his son's face. "Is that okay? That they think Liz is your mom?"

"I...I guess so. It's kinda hard to say since I don't know anything about my real mother." He came to a stop and waited until his dad also stopped and turn around to look at him. "Why is that Dad? Why doesn't anyone want to talk about my mom?"

Max sighed. He'd known that it was coming sooner or later, and it was only right that Sammy know, but that didn't mean that the telling was going to be easy. Max looked down the road for a moment and motioned for his son to come along. They stopped at the park that was down the block and took a seat at an empty picnic table. He wasn't sure how to do this so he decided just to plunge on in. "Sammy, your mother was responsible for the death of a friend of ours, named Alex. Alex knew about us and had been a friend of Liz and Maria's since kindergarten. He was funny and smart. He would have done anything to help us, and to protect us."

"What happened?" Sammy asked with a terrible sinking, sickly feeling.

"In another life Tess had been my queen...my wife. She had been raised by a shapeshifter, like Cal, whom we called Nesado, to believe that it was her right to be that again. It was rather...difficult when we finally met and she realized that wasn't likely to happen since Liz and I were already involved." He paused to study his son for a moment. Sammy was frowning, but he seemed to be handling it okay so far. "So she...um, put into play a plan that Nesado had agreed to with our enemies years before we were born, even though those same enemies had already killed Nesado." He had to pause again to collect his thoughts as so many painful memories, that he'd rather not recall, came rising to the surface. "There was a book that she needed translated from Antarian, which none of us could read, to English. Alex was a whiz with computers, so she mindwarped him into doing it without any of us knowing." He wanted Sammy to know the truth, but there was no sense in unduly upsetting him, so he tried to put the best spin as possible on what had been a truly horrible time in all their lives. He explained what Tess had done and how, and tried as best he could to explain why, while leaving out a lot of painful details and sharp edges. There was no reason for Sammy to know what Tess had done to Kyle, or how Alex had begged for her for his life, or that she had basically used the pregnancy and by extension, Sammy, as her ticket home. Sammy had been used enough for his money. He didn't need it pointed out that his mother had used him as well, simply for what he was, before he was even born.

Sammy was quiet for sometime as he digested it all. He'd figured that she'd done something bad, but he hadn't been prepared for this. How could someone like that be his mother? No wonder no one wanted to talk about her. He was her son. How could they even bear to look at him after what she had done?

"Stop it!" Max commanded. "It's written all over your face. You're not her. You didn't do anything. No one has ever blamed you for Alex or anything else. It was her fault...mostly. I have to shoulder a fair share of blame for not using my head. When Tess came back with you, we did band together to help her...because of you. You're my son, and none of us were going to let anything happen to you, no matter what. I'll admit that it wasn't easy, but we voted as a group to help her, and you."

"Came back? Wait, she left when she was still pregnant with me, then I was born another planet?" Sammy asked incredulously.

Max had to smile a little at that. "Kind of gives a new meaning to illegal alien, huh?" His cell phone distracted him as it started to beep in his pocket. He immediately recognized the number on the CID, "Hey Michael. What's up? Okay, we're about 15 minutes away. Pour him a drink and have him wait." He snapped the phone off and got up from the table. "Come on, Cal's finally shown up. And I have a few things to go over with him."

Sammy walked with his dad for a while in silence while he thought about what his dad had told him. He realized that his father hadn't explained how his mom had died, or how she and him gotten back to Earth. And he had a sneaking feeling that his dad had left a lot out, but maybe it was better that way...for now. He took a deep breath of fresh cold air he decided to change the subject. "So Dad, what kind of revenge do you think Aunt Isabel is plotting against you?"

~

School let out and Isabel was giving the Guerin bunch, including Herman, a ride home. Even though it was cold out, Isabel had the driver's side window cracked with her hand in the frigid air. A devious smile tugged at her lips as she hummed, "Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and if you have no where to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

Ryan looked over at Aunt Isabel, "Ain't that a Christmas song? It ain't even Halloween, yet."

"There is no such word as ain't," the teacher in her admonished him. In their wake was a heavy dumping of snow. She made sure to park in her brother's driveway, over just far enough for him to park to the left of her car...right underneath that old tree. She would be at her brother's house for a few hours before her brother got home...and where she was, so too was the snow.

~

Part 12

Cal covertly took in the state of the restaurant and bar. After all, he did hold an interest in it, at least until the loan was paid off. The restaurant was pretty empty, but that wasn't unusual given the time of day, too early for dinner, too late for lunch. The bar wouldn't open until four but it was well stock and obviously ready to for customers. All in all, he was rather pleased, although Michael's bartender demeanor still need some work, he noted as the king's second sat a glass in front of him. He put his hand over the empty glass, stopping Michael from pouring, "Glenfiddich would be better."

Michael stared at Cal coolly, until he removed his hand, and Michael resumed pouring the scotch he had in hand. "Yeah, it would be," he said as he screwed the top back on and put the bottle of cheap scotch away. "Max should be back in about ten minutes."

Cal scowled while he took a sip of the cheap scotch, as Michael disappeared back to the kitchen. He turned and looked over at the table where Gary and Philip Evans were setting. They were silently watching ESPN, and studiously ignoring him. It was going to be a long ten minutes.

A short time later Max and Sammy walked into the quiet bar. "Hey Cal," he called out as he slipped his jacket off.

Max turned to his son, "Sammy, would you go let Michael know we're here...oh and see what he needs you to do."

Sammy rolled his eyes and groaned a little at that. "Dad, just holler when it's okay for me to come back in. I'm getting kind of tired of sweeping the kitchen floor."

"Okay, deal." Max chuckled as his son slipped back into the kitchen. Max pulled a chair up to the table that his Dad and Gary currently occupied and nodded to Cal to come over and join them, he was followed shortly by Michael. "Cal, where are we currently at from your end of things?" Max began.

Cal hid a smirk, but he was rather intrigued and even a bit proud of the maturity that the smart ass teen that shown up in LA unbidden all those years ago, now possessed. However, they had the perfect love/loathe relationship and saying anything nice would ruin it. Besides, he still hadn't forgiven Max for screwing up his life way back then. He paused long enough for a swig of scotch, then he said, "The cars are in Canada being stripped for parts. My people are splitting the proceeds from that." He put a small recorder and a stack of note pads on the table. "I found this stuff in the cars. That's Burns' personal recorder and some notes from the other agents. Apparently Burns had a couple of agents checking up on Gary here, and he was definitely onto Sammy Connor being your kid, Max."

Max nodded to Gary, who pulled out the scrap of paper with the information about the agents' on it. "Agents Fredericks and Main. Here are their numbers. They're looking for Gary and Sammy to call them. Apparently they want to know why Gary abandoned his rental car in Dallas. At least that's the story they gave Simon yesterday."

After a few minutes, Michael finally broke the quiet that had encompassed the table when he asked, "So what's the plan?"

All eyes eventually turned to Cal. "Got your cell on you?" he asked Gary.

"Wait, you're not going to call, are you?" Michael voiced the question and sentiment that they all wanted to.

As Gary reluctantly handed his phone over to Cal who answered, "Why not?"

Max stopped Cal's hand from dialing. "What are you going to tell them?" he wanted to know.

Cal let his smirk finally show. "What they want to hear." He waved his hand over the cell phone, disabling the GPS option and then dialed Agent's Main's number. In perfect imitation of Gary, "Agent Main, this is Gary Wilcox. Simon Shapiro said that I needed to give you a call." He paused for a moment and listened not only to the words, but the manner and tone in which they were delivered. He scowled. Too flat, too monotone, no emotion, another Pierce or Burns in the making if they weren't careful. He replied in the most honest and sincere and confused Gary impression that he could manage, "My apologies for causing all the problems and questions. I had an unexpected opportunity to take in a Cowboy's game, and I just couldn't resist. It was a quick trip and I had car trouble when the game was over so I left it. I left a message at the rental office about where the car was located. I never realized that they didn't get it. What? Oh Sammy, no, he wanted to stay in Mexico with some friends of the buyer I was working with...they have a hacienda outside of Guadalajara. He was having too much fun to leave and after the crap his uncle put him through I wanted him to have as much fun as possible. What? Oh, okay, hold on and I'll get him."

Cal moved the phone away from himself for a moment while he cleared his throat. When he put it back to his face, his imitation of Sammy was perfect. "H-hello. This is Sammy Connor. Huh? No, I wanted to stay with Lucinda and Manuel Vega. They have a ranch with horses and stuff. Besides, I'm a Jets fan and the Cowboys suck this year."

Max cracked a grin. That sounded like a teen all right...but the Jets? He'd need check with Sammy on that. As Cal hung the cell up, Max inquired, "Okay, now exactly what good did that do? All they have to do is check out this Vega family to find out it was all a lie."

"Ah, but was it?" Cal replied. He casually lit a cigar in the still closed no-smoking bar. "Actually, they do exist and when asked, they will attest to the wonderful boy that stayed with them, and how protective they felt of him because of the bruises. So much so that they refused to let Gary take him back to the US until he could assure them that the one who had abused him would never get near Sammy again. And how much fun Sammy had horseback riding at their modest hacienda." Cal paused to study his cigar a moment before going on. "Why the place is perfect as a movie backdrop, in fact it was a few years ago," He said casually, as he puffed on his cigar. Max got a paper cup for him to use as an ashtray. It amused him to have his king fetch something for him. King Zan of Antar, in his previous life, would never have done that, but this was Max Evans. Cal had realized some time ago that Max had grown into a very different individual from what he had been in his last lifetime. To Cal's surprise, he'd grown into someone that Cal had learned to respect...in his own way. As he flicked his ash in the cup, he nodded at Max and said, "Thanks."

"So what's our next move?" Michael asked as the cigar smoke swirled around them. "The FBI is going to be getting curious when they don't hear from their agents after a while."

"Actually, they will be hearing from them. Along with their notes, I also have their cell phones and some of their ID's. Why as we speak, they're supposedly hot on your heals on the way to San Diego, where they'll end up chasing you down to Baja. Imagine the loss when their boat catches fire out in international waters, taking them up in flames...and with them, the latest and greatest information on those dangerous aliens they've been chasing all these years."

Philip sat back and watched his son and Michael. He could almost see their minds running through the various ramifications of that happening. It did seem like a good plan, but it didn't tie up all their loose ends. "What about the agents in New York? I doubt that one phone call is going to satisfy them?"

"No, I don't suppose it will, but it will buy us some time to set things up. Eventually Gary will need to bring Sammy back to New York. We'll need to make sure all the stories corroborate," Cal further explained. He noted the scowl Max was now sporting at that. He simply shrugged, puffed on his cigar, and continued, "Of course, I'll have a few friends keep an eye on the happenings in the FBI offices in New York."

Max strummed his fingers on the table in irritation. "How long would Sammy need to be in New York to satisfy the FBI?"

"Eh, how long?" Cal asked in confusion.

"Yes, how long?!" Max barked at him

"Not long. Maybe a week, just long enough to be seen and identified, and probably long enough have a brief chat with the feds, with proper legal representation present of course. Always have your lawyer along when you speak to authorities," Cal explained after figuring out that Max obviously wanted Sammy to stay here. It stood to reason. His "lost" son had always been a sore spot for Max, and now that he had his son back, it was doubtful that he'd give him up a second time.

Max continued to strum his fingers on the table, but his irritation had been replaced with a cold, commanding hardness. "Okay, fine. But I believe that you'll be needing to spend more time in the Big Apple and you'll need a more...appropriate place to stay for someone of your stature, for entertaining and impressing the movers and shakers of industry... at least for a few years. Perhaps a place to lease, furnished of course. To make it easier on your busy schedule. I know one that you could probably a good deal on. Needs a little work though. Lots of things are currently in hock at various places that would need to be rounded up and returned to their rightful home. Oh, and I understand there's a squatter there that's being rather difficult and unreasonable." Max stared hard at the shapeshifter and reluctant protector. "But I'm sure you can convince him to listen to reason." He added pointedly.

Cal's eyes narrowed. No one said a word. If they hadn't been human, he could have sworn that they'd stopped breathing. "You want me to...t a k e ca r e o f t h a t f o r y o u?" He asked very slowly.

"Yes," was Max's only reply.

"Very well. Who am I to turn down a good deal on prime real estate? Besides, I could use a place to hang my hat on the East Coast. When would be a good time for me to see this property?" he inquired. He had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea. Hotels were awfully expensive in New York.

"Friday afternoon. He should have an answer then." Gary surprised himself when by speaking up. The shapeshifter still gave him the major case of the willies, and he had a suspicion that Cal knew it and did what he could to encourage it.

Cal looked at all of them for a moment. "Okay, Friday it is. I think that right afterwards it should be 'safe' for Gary to bring Sammy back from Mexico."

"What about Roswell? Will it be possible for any of us to return to Roswell?" Philip inquired. When he left, he hadn't thought that it would be possible for them to ever return, but if it was...why not? He still had a practice and clients there and he hated to run out on it, and them, if he didn't have to.

"I imagine you'll have some people wondering why you left so suddenly, but I'm sure that you can think of something to tell them. As far as I can tell, once the agents snooping around in New York are neutralized," he raised his hand to cut off the objection that he knew was coming from his king, "and theoretically speaking of course, I see no reason why you can't just go home." He paused thoughtfully. "In fact, you might want to consider going ahead and calling that chatterbox secretary of yours now, and let her know that you're fine and hope to be returning soon," he suggested.

Philip looked over at his son for a moment. "I suppose I could always cite personal family reasons for our sudden departure. The whole town still talks about how you kids all took off with the feds hot in pursuit. They thought it had to do with drugs. I suppose this would just add to the gossip, but who the hell cares."

"Dad, Tom said to let Uncle Michael know that he's here," Sammy said from the kitchen door.

Max turned around at the sound of his son's voice. "Okay, thanks. Sammy, come on in." He said with a wave of his hand and small smile.

"Well, if we're done for now, I'll check in with Tom then take off for a couple of hours," Michael said. It was his routine to make it home for a couple of hours in the afternoon, after the kids got home. "I'll be back around 5:00, Maxwell."

~

The bar opened, as it normally did, at 4:00 in the afternoon. Max pulled the folding wall back so he could keep an eye on the restaurant side and his son, who was busing tables and bringing water to the patrons. Dad and Gary were busy on their cell phones making arrangements. Cal was sitting at the bar sucking down his third scotch. "You hanging around for tonight or heading out?" Max asked Cal.

Cal swirled the scotch around in his mouth. Other people said that this was the good stuff, but he couldn't tell the difference. It could be water for all he could tell. "Depends. Did Ritz Carlton happen to build a decent hotel here? Or maybe Hilton or Sheraton?" He inquired.

"Nope. Got a new Holiday Inn Express down the street and they remodeled the Super 8 off the next exit down the freeway," Max quipped in reply.

"Nah," Cal responded as he looked over his shoulder at the young prince waiting tables. "He's not a bad kid."

Max followed his gaze. "Yeah, and you're a bastard for scaring him like you did," he accused as he gave Cal a level glare.

Cal simply continued to watch the prince. "Actually, since it was Zan and Ava that were married and not Max and Tess, that would mean that he's the one that's..."

Max cut him off by slamming his hand on the counter. He got very close to the shapeshifter's ear as he whispered, "Call him that and I'll order you play host to whatever passes as a Girl Scout's jamboree next spring, at your Beverly Hill's mansion. Think of it, an invasion of screaming 10 year old girls running amuck and pitching tents on those nicely manicured lawns and gardens, baking chocolate chip cookies in that spotless kitchen of yours...for a couple of weeks," he warned in a harsh tone.

Cal pursed his lips. "And you say I'm the one with a cruel streak?" He rose and grabbed his coat. "I should be shoving off before those Wednesday night bowlers show up for their Buds. Contact me when the meeting for Friday is set." As he walked towards the door he said, "I'd say it's been fun, but then I'd be lying." The door swung closed behind him.

~

Max drove everyone home a little before 5:00 when the evening bartender started her shift. The weather had been cloudy and cold with light snow, and it spoke of an early winter. But as he neared his house he noticed that the snow was heavier. "That's odd. Why is there so much snow here and not by the bar?" He wondered aloud.

Isabel was sitting in front of the large living room window at her brother's house, watching the snowfall and chatting with her mother. She knew her brother's routine and knew that he'd be home around 5:00, plus he had called. She eyeballed the space in the driveway next her car and was certain that Max's Jeep would fit.

Diane watched her daughter carefully. She knew that Isabel was planning something, but for the life of her couldn't figure out what it was. "So Isabel, how did show and tell go today?" she inquired.

"Hmm, oh just fine. Most of the kids loved Herman. Unfortunately Sally Wilson wasn't one of them. She screamed and dropped him on the floor the second she was handed him. I think it scared Herman more than it did her because he slithered away from her at breakneck speed. The janitor finally got him out of the air duct an hour later. Good thing the heat was on or he would have been one frozen reptile," she distractedly replied as she continued her vigil at the window. "So how did it go here today, Mom?"

"Just fine. Liz napped a great deal then she and I looked over the Penny's catalog for nursery furniture. She was partial to the Noah's Arc theme," Diane replied as they kept up the pretense of not mentioning Max's earlier shenanigans, and their possible consequences. She gazed out the window as four children in winter coats wrestled around in the snow with their dad. "I never would have thought that gruff, angry, young man would've been such a good father." She smiled as the sound of children's laughter carried over to them.

Isabel smiled. They had all been petrified when Maria first got pregnant. They had all seen Liz lose hers and none of them knew if it was because of some alien thing or just something that happened. Then Chase was born. No one had known what to expect. She and Liz had read all the books on childbirth they could find. Max had been monitoring the pregnancy which helped to reassure everyone, especially a very panicky Michael, but Max had no desire to be anywhere near the actual birth unless he was needed. They had pulled the old van over at a roadside stop because of the incredible rainstorm that had made it impossible to drive. That's when Chase decided it was time to make his appearance into this world. After checking to make sure Maria and the baby were doing okay, a very pale Max and Kyle retreated to the front of the van, closed the little curtain behind the driver and front passenger section, and weren't heard from for several hours until a newborn Chase decided to test out his lung capacity. They opened the curtain just in time to witness the delivery of the afterbirth. She had never seen her brother puke before, Kyle, yeah, but that time Max joined him. Michael probably would have too if he hadn't been too distracted with his new son. Their lives were never the same again. As a Jeep passed by and pulled into the driveway, right where she needed it to, her eye took on special gleam. She looked above the Jeep to the tree the overhung it. The snow had been piling up especially high in its branches.

Max was perplexed. He had to use his powers to clear the snow enough to pull into his driveway. He had an uneasy feeling as he spotted his sister's car parked next his car. "What the hell is going on with the weather? It's not even November yet," he muttered as he grabbed his jacket that was lying next to him on the seat. It hadn't been snowing at the bar and with the heater on he'd have gotten too hot with it on. So he'd left it off. He didn't feel like struggling into it in the car and decided to just run for the front door. He glanced over at his son. "Sammy, put your coat on," he ordered as he opened the car door with his own jacket in hand.

Isabel smiled, as her brother was the first to exit the car without his coat......perfect. She waited, and waited, one more second, there; he was closing the car door, slam! She snapped her fingers.

Max heard a load snap coming above him and looked up. Then he saw white, all white...and damn cold too!

Michael was playing king of the mountain and he was currently the mountain. His head jerked up when he heard the loud snap and looked up just in time to see an avalanche of snow encase his best friend. The mountain collapsed as he fell over laughing.

Megan pointed, just in case someone didn't happen to see it. "LOOK, LOOK, UNCLE MAX IS FROSTY THE SNOWMAN!" she shouted excitedly as she joined her brothers in hysterics.

Philip bit his lip to keep from laughing, but there was no way he could stop from grinning like an idiot. No doubt Isabel had struck and gotten her revenge. He noticed that Sammy had no problems about laughing at his snow-covered father, and was currently holding his sides he was laughing so hard.

"All...all we need is a corn cob pipe, a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal!" Sammy managed to somehow get out between gasps of air.

"Ha ha," Max calmly replied as he shook himself like a dog to get the snow off. He looked down at his coat still in his hand, then over to the big bay window into his living room. The shoe was on the other foot now, as he watched and heard his sister's laughter rolling through the air. He noted that Mom was laughing so hard that she was wiping her eyes. He would've used his powers to dry off a bit and warm up, but that damn pesky Mrs. Smithers next door had come out to see the show. "Doesn't that old busy body have something better to do than to gawk and laugh at the neighbors?" he mused to himself as he slowly extricated himself from his snow interment and tromped into his house.

Diane at least tried to control her laughter a little as her son gruffly walked into the house. "H-how was your day, honey?" She really did mean for it to be an innocent and sincere question, but somehow, it just didn't come out that way as she snorted and bit her lip. Isabel didn't help. She was on the sofa, still in a state of hysterical laughter.

"Fine, just fine," Max ground out between clinched and chattering teeth before heading for the stairs.

"Oh...oh, honey, wait...wait," she said as she pointed at the carpet. "Honey, you're dripping on the carpet."

He almost growled as he looked over at Isabel, who was laughing even harder now. "It's my carpet." He barked in reply and continued up the stairs.

He stomped into his bedroom, and was greeted by the sight of his wife calmly lying in bed with a book glued in front of her. He wasn't sure what to make of it as she simply ignored him. He opened the dresser drawer for dry underwear and socks when he heard it. Singing.

"Frosty the Snowman, was a jolly happy soul, with a corncob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made of coal. Frosty the Snowman, is a fairy tale, they say. He was made of snow, but the children know he came to life one day," Liz merrily sang with a smirk to herself from behind the book.

"Liz, that's not funny. Besides you're not supposed to be out of bed," he reminded her.

"Oh, yeah, right. I missed the initial attack this morning, and no way I was missing the second go around tonight. You got what you deserved, and you know it. Now go take a shower and warm up," she commanded him. "There must have been some magic in that old silk they found, for when they placed it on his head, he began to dance around! Oh, Frosty, the Snowman, was alive as he could be; and the children say he could laugh and play, just the same as you and me..." she continued to serenade him as she heard his answering grumbling from the shower.

Max felt a new chill as he stepped into his bedroom after his shower. He looked over and was instantly pissed. "Liz! Are you nuts? What do you think you're doing standing in front of an open window?"

Liz turned around and watched as her husband slipped on a clean pair of Levi's and scowled at her. "Come here," she simply replied.

Max heard it when he was halfway to the window and his wife. His scowl became a smile, a warm, loving smile full of wonder. His eyes were already misty as he slipped his strong arms around his wife's protruding belly and gazed with her out the window. The children were still outside, shouting, yelling, and laughing their asses off as snowballs flew back and forth. This wasn't the first time they'd seen a scene like this play out, but this time their child's voice, Sammy's voice, they heard the loudest.

~

Part 13

Max halted in surprise when he walked into the already occupied kitchen the next morning. "Hey Mom, that smells good," he said as he neared the stove. "Mmmm," he murmured as he gave his mom a kiss on the cheek.
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