Finished Canon/Conventional Couple Fics. These stories pick up from events in the show. All complete stories from the main Canon/CC board will eventually be moved here.
Title: Brave New World
Author: JO
Catagory: M/L, post EotW AU, post Control
Disclaimer: The characters of Roswell are the property of Twentieth Century Fox Television and Regency Productions. All original characters and concepts are the property of the author. No profit has been made from the distribution of this work of fiction. Lyrics from Brave New World by Richard Ashcroft.
Summary: Max and Liz continue to explore their deepened relationship as the entire gang must confront their futures without Tess. Sequel to Trick of the Light.
AN: This is a repost. Just so you know, this is not a happy fic. You've been warned.....
Into the brave new world
I hope I see you on the other side
Of this changing world
Part 1
Liz ran her hand shyly through her hair, turning her face into her arm as Mr. Seligman continued to drone on about a new potential element of the periodic table. She felt a blush creep onto her face and couldn’t help the smile that slid across her lips. Turning slightly to her right, she saw Max sitting diagonally behind her, intently watching her every movement. She whipped her head forward, shielding her face with her right hand. Cupping her chin with her hand, she absently drummed her fingers against her cheek, sneaking occasional glances over her shoulder at Max. Every time she would look at him, he would return her stare full force. How could she concentrate on something as monumental as a new element when Max was searing her skin with his eyes?
The dismissal bell rang through the class room and Liz all but jumped from her stool. She bent to pick up her back pack when she felt Max’s hand lovingly touch her elbow. A spark of heat shot through her body and she quickly stood erect, slinging her head backwards violently, her hair dusting across Max’s smiling face. “Max,” she sighed, a smile instantly appearing on her face.
“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered, drawing her body closer to his. He brushed his lips across her cheek, traveling toward her neck just behind her ear where he had discovered she was ticklish. He blew air across the nape of her neck, his nose grazing her earlobe causing an audible sigh to erupt from Liz’s throat. His hand slid down her back, stopping momentarily on the swell of her hips. They had spent the entire morning since returning from Copper Summit in Liz’s bed, and had, over the course of five hours, become completely in tune with each other. They had discovered that a simple touch could propel them to orgasmic heights and that their mere thoughts were enough to rouse dormant passions again and again.
Chemistry was the first and only class they shared each day and both had been anxiously awaiting the meeting this morning, the morning after their cementing. Waking in one another’s arms, after their passionate wee morning hours, had only helped to solidify their intense connection. It had taken all of Liz’s will power not to pull Max into the eraser room the moment he stepped into the main hallway.
“God, Max,” Liz whispered, dropping her back pack to the floor and wrapping her arms around Max’s shoulders. “Why are you doing this to me? Don’t you know how this makes me feel?”
“Now that I’ve had you, I just can’t seem to keep my grubby little paws off you. Do you want me to stop?” He ran his hand painfully slow across her breast, a sly grin rolling across his lips. “I think we have time for an eraser room break.”
“I...I...English,” Liz stuttered, burying her head against Max’s neck. “Must learn...things.”
“We can learn...things in the eraser room too, Liz,” Max mused, threading his fingers slowly through Liz’s hair, worshiping every strand. He felt Liz step against him, their bodies completely flush. Her hand brushed his inner thigh and both their bodies shuddered in response.
“What is that,” Liz playfully whispered into his ear, blowing a stream of cool air across his ear in the way she knew he liked. “Is that a...a cell phone?”
“Does it feel like a cell phone,” Max asked her, staring pointedly into her almost-black eyes. Liz slowly shook her head no, deliberately licking her lower lip while her hands crept to the back of Max’s thighs just below the back pockets of his khakis.
Max shoved Liz to the left side of his body, his left arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Using his right arm, he proceeded to clear the lab table of all its instruments, knocking them violently to the floor. “Max,” Liz sighed as he sandwiched her between his body and the table top.
“I don’t think we’ll make it to the eraser room,” he excitedly whispered before firmly planting his lips onto hers. Liz wrapped her legs around his hips, their bodies feverishly grinding against each other in some attempt to relieve their tension. Max pushed away from Liz, desperately trying not to maul her as some part of his brain was suggesting. Her shirt had risen just above her belly button and, combined with the low-rise jeans she was wearing, Max had an excellent view of almost Liz’s entire stomach. He smiled at her again, arching his eyebrows, as he lightly drummed his fingers across her exposed skin. A trail of silver light followed his finger’s path, tracing small circles and swirls around her belly button.
“Max,” Liz pleaded, reaching for him, pulling her upper body upward until she was resting against her elbows on the table. “Other classes.”
Max laughed, continuing to trace his fingers across her skin. He pressed his lips lovingly against Liz’s stomach as he lowered her shirt to the top of her jeans. “We do have class,” he replied dejectedly, running his hand across Liz’s hair and face to diminish the damage of his kisses. “But we can continue this later, right?”
“I could be persuaded,” Liz responded quietly, accepting Max’s hand as he helped her to her feet. “We’d better clean this up,” she said as she motioned to the textbooks, vials, and other equipment lying in the floor around the table. Max pulled her into his arms for one last kiss, a kiss that would have to last them until they met in the quad for lunch. As they became more engrossed in the kiss, neither of them noticed the faint green glow emitting from Liz’s body.
Last edited by JO on Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:05 am, edited 17 times in total.
Liz stepped into the quad from the building, instantly scanning the groups of students for Max. The group normally ate lunch in the same place, but Liz had discovered those tables had been confiscated by the chess club for a noon chess match. She sighed audibly and strapped her back pack across both shoulders, silently wondering why she couldn’t find Max or anyone else. The throngs of students parted and she spied her six friends sitting on the grassy edge of the quad, the farthest possible place from the school without being in the parking lot.
The closer she got to the group, the more the feeling of something amiss settled around her. They all sat in a tight circle and Liz could read their emotions as easily as she read one of her textbooks, especially Max’s. He sat beside Isabel and Maria, his head lowered and his body language stiff
and detached. She glanced around her and quickly sped up her pace, desperate to know what had happened to make them all look so somber.
“Hey guys,” Liz called once she stepped onto the grass from the sidewalk. She raised her hand in a friendly gesture and all six heads turned toward her, their faces unwavering from their previous expressions. “What’s wrong?”
“Valenti wants to see us,” Max said as Liz sat next to him and beside Maria. “Kyle told him about Tess.”
“What did Kyle say,” Liz asked, her emotions already brimming frantically through her body, her mind a whirl of possibilities of what Kyle had told his father. She turned her gaze to each member of their group and the same sadness reflected around the entire circle. Focusing her attention back to Max, she repeated her earlier question. “What did Kyle say?”
Max opened his mouth to speak but immediately closed it, the tension in his body evident on his entire face. “He said,” he began and quickly cleared his throat. “He wants to meet with all of us. Tonight.”
“What did he say, Max,” Liz pleaded, desperate for someone to tell her something.
“Kyle told Valenti you killed Tess,” Michael bluntly said. Liz spun to look at him and Michael wildly avoided her eyes, focusing instead on the empty parking lot just on the other side of the chain-link fence.
Liz gasp and stumbled away from them, her vision suddenly blurry and her mind disoriented. She felt Max reach for her legs and Maria grab at her arms just before darkness enveloped her.
* * *
“God, Michael,” Isabel said as she crawled beside Max and Maria. “Why do you have to just...blurt things out like that?”
“She wanted to know,” Michael offered, placing his arm on Maria’s shoulder as Maria furiously patted Liz’s limp hand. They had moved their circle to surround Liz’s fallen form and Max had been scanning her body for causes of her fainting spell.
“She fainted the other day too,” Maria softly said, her teary eyes locking instantly with Max’s as his hand brushed across Liz’s abdomen. “I...I found her passed out in her room. She was burning up.”
“What’s wrong with her, Max,” Alex asked, gently cradling Liz’s head in his lap. Max ran his hand across Liz’s heart and was prepared to have someone start CPR when Liz’s eyelids fluttered open.
“Liz!”
“Lizzie, God,” Maria cried, throwing herself on Liz’s fallen body, squeezing her best friend tightly. “Don’t you ever do that again!”
“Let her breath, Maria,” Michael cautioned, pulling Maria off of Liz. “We need her alive so she can explain everything to Valenti.”
“Michael!”
Michael glanced at Isabel and shrugged his shoulders then reclined back on the balls of his hands. Maria hovered next to him while Max and Alex carefully raised Liz into a sitting position.
“Wh...what happened?”
“You passed out, Liz,” Max said softly, rubbing her back with his hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I...I’m fine. I just...haven’t eaten much in the last week or so.” She glanced sheepishly at Max, his eyes showing his disapproval. “I’m okay, Max, really.”
“I’ve got an apple in my bag,” Alex said, pointing to his back pack laying beside Isabel. “Throw it over here.”
“No, Alex.”
“If you think we’re letting you leave our sight without eating something, you’ve got another thing coming, chica,” Maria cautioned, defiantly crossing her arms across her chest. Liz looked at each one of her friends and saw the same look of determination etched on their faces and motioned for Isabel to throw her the apple. She took a bite and the discussion returned to the other problem at hand: Valenti.
After collectively deciding they would tell Valenti everything about their trip to Copper Summit at his house later that evening, the group dispersed to their final classes of day. Max pulled Liz into his arms once he was certain the others wouldn’t interrupt them. “Are you sure you’re okay,” he
asked, sweeping the hair out of Liz’s face and tucking it behind her ears. “I...I’m worried about you, Liz.”
“Max, I just fainted because of nerves or stress or something. I swear I’m fine and I feel great. Please don’t worry.” She stroked his face as they began to walk back toward the school, their arms linked.
“I can’t help it. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, don’t be sorry. I...it’s nice that you care enough to worry about me, but I assure you I’m fine.”
“You want to meet at the Crash for dinner? We’ll eat and then go talk to Valenti together.”
Liz smiled sweetly. “That sounds like a great idea, Max. I’ll see you then okay?” She stood on her tip-toes and reverently kissed Max’s cheek before walking down the opposite end of the hallway to her final class of the day.
----------
Part 3
Liz pushed the swinging double doors separating the kitchen from the main dining area of the Crash Down cafe with her hip. In her arms, she balanced a tray full of food for Max, Isabel, Alex and herself. Her final class of the day had went well, and, after she had gotten home from school, she had treated herself to a long bath and a short nap. She had felt immensely better after the nap, but now, almost three hours after the fact, she felt an odd sensation tingling through her body. She sighed loudly as she balanced the tray of food on the table top of the booth where Max, Isabel and Alex were sitting, praying she wasn’t coming down with a cold. She had already missed one midterm and couldn’t afford to miss any more.
Max smiled widely at her as she placed the Will Smith burger in front of him, his hand casually grazing hers as she slowly pulled away. Their eyes locked for a split second and Liz felt a static charge quiver through her body. Her eyes must have born the shock of the momentary sensation because Max squeezed her hand tighter, his eyes suddenly filled with worry. Tucking the tray underneath her arm, she smiled sweetly at Max and winked slightly at him. He released her slowly and leaned back against the booth, joining Alex and Isabel in their dinner.
Liz turned and walked away him, rubbing her hand where she’d felt the static charge shoot through her as she stepped back into the back room. Her mind was so engrossed in remembering the sensation that she almost hit Maria, who was trying to balance several clean glasses between her hands. “Lizzie!”
“Oh, sorry, Maria,” Liz said, quickly side-stepping her friend so that Maria could exit with minimal problems. Maria stepped into the dining area, her head whipping back toward Liz as the swinging door closed, blocking her friend from her view. Liz returned the tray and walked back into the dining area and straight toward the booth where Max sat waiting for her. “Hey guys,” she said, sighing as Max gently placed his hand on her upper thigh. “Food good?”
“Great, Liz,” Alex said as he shoved several ketchup-covered french fries in his mouth.
“Thanks.” Liz smiled and picked up her own burger, suddenly ravenous.
“Are Michael and Maria coming over to Valenti’s,” Isabel asked in between bites.
“We’re going to close early,” Liz said, nodding her head. “Actually, we’re closing in a few minutes.” She took another bite of her burger and felt Max’s thigh touch hers. A slow blush crept upwards from her throat and she dropped her hands to her lap to retrieve her napkin. She brushed the back of her hand against the top of his thigh, the other hand pulling her napkin over her mouth to hide her grin.
“What are we going to tell Valenti, Max,” Isabel asked, causing Max to jump slightly, remembering that he wasn’t alone with Liz, that his sister and Liz’s best friend sat directly across from them.
“What,” Max squeaked, his hand swatting Liz’s away. Liz coughed loudly into her napkin, hoping to disguise her slight laughter at Max’s situation.
“Valenti, Max,” Isabel said, her tone harsh as she leaned toward him, propping her elbows up on the table top. “What are we going to say...about Tess?”
“Ding dong the witch is dead,” Alex offered, stuffing the final bite of his burger into his mouth. Max, Liz and Isabel turned toward him as Alex nonchalantly chewed his food. He took a sip of his orange soda to wash it down and glanced at the booth’s occupants, who were still staring at him. “What,” he asked, moving his eyes around the booth to Isabel, Max and Liz. “I’ll happily play the part of the Lollipop Guild. You can’t expect me to be sad she’s gone. She would have killed me, for God’s sake.”
“No one’s blaming you, Alex,” Liz said, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “I think we’ll all be better off now that Tess is gone. Maybe Valenti will see that.”
“Then we just have to work on Kyle,” Isabel replied with a shrug as she leaned back against the booth. The four friends glanced at each other and Max placed his hand on Liz’s thigh, gingerly squeezing it in a sign of support.
* * *
“Are you ready,” Max asked quietly as he took Liz’s hand into his. The six of them stood on the doorstep of the Valenti house just before their appointed time to meet with the sheriff. They had met at the park and walked to the Valentis, using the opportunity to think through their plan.
Michael looked considerably antsy as they tried to collect their thoughts. “Let’s get this over with,” he gruffly said, stepping forward to ring the doorbell. In his haste, he had bumped into Liz, sending her crashing into the large overgrown bush beside the stoop.
“Be more careful, Michael,” Isabel cautioned, heavily rolling her eyes while Max and Maria helped Liz to her feet.
“It was an accident,” he apologized and his eyes unintentionally met Liz’s for the first time that night.
“I know, Michael, I’m just a little shaky.”
“Well,” Alex began, pulling the chocolate Tootsie Pop out of his mouth, twirling it in the air momentarily. “I still think that after you tell Valenti the story, he’ll join me in a chorus of ‘ding dong the witch is dead.’”
“What,” Maria asked as she spun behind her to stare at Alex. “What are you talking about?”
“You know,” Alex said, again pulling the sucker out of his mouth. He began flailing his arms around like he was a maestro leading an orchestra in a grand opus. “Ding dong, the witch is dead. Mean old witch. Wicked witch. Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead.”
“Glad to see you’re upset about Tess, Alex,” Kyle said, his blue eyes piercing each member of the six-pack on his doorstep. He dropped his arm from the door and solemnly walked back into the house, bypassing the living room and walking straight for the back bedroom, formerly Tess’.
“Way to go, Alex,” Michael muttered as they stepped into the foyer, all of them feeling even more awkward about being there given Alex’s behavior. “How come we didn’t see him standing there?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Isabel said, stepping further into the living room. She turned and stared at her friends, silently encouraging them to join her. She sat on the arm of the couch and folded her hands in her lap. “All that really matters is that we tell the Sheriff the truth.”
“That Liz tells him,” Maria corrected and Isabel instantly agreed by nodding her head. Five pairs of eyes turned toward Liz who took the center spot on the couch to Isabel’s right. Max sat down beside her, pulling her hand into his and covering it with both of his palms. Maria sat on the couch arm closest to Max while Michael paced behind the couch and Alex stood beside Isabel. Their faces looked blank but each of their brains was a whirlwind of activity.
“Hey kids,” Sheriff Jim Valenti said as he appeared in the hallway between the kitchen and the living room. He smiled slightly at them while he continued to wipe his hands on a dish towel. “I was...fixing something for dinner.” He chuckled half-heartedly and stepped further into the room, pulling the only remaining vacant chair toward him so he could sit down. He cleared his throat and leaned forward on his knees, focusing his attention directly on Liz. “Okay, Liz. I need to know exactly what happened.”
“It wasn’t her fault, Sheriff,” Max pleaded, turning his body so that he separated Liz from the Sheriff’s line of sight.
“Calm down, Max. I didn’t say anything about blaming Liz. I...I’m just trying to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.” Max leaned back against the couch slowly but not before squeezing Liz’s hand, still cupped between his. “What happened, Liz?”
“It...it’s all very confusing, Sheriff. I...I’m not sure where to start.”
“Just start from the beginning,” Valenti suggested, his tone low and semi-soothing. Liz exhaled loudly and pulled her lower lip into her mouth. She sighed again when the right words wouldn’t come. In order for the Sheriff to understand, he had to know everything, the things that had happened to both future versions of Max. “Liz,” Valenti questioned, snapping her out of her thought process.
“Okay,” she said. “Okay. Sheriff...I...it’s all very confusing so, if I have to tell you the story of why Tess isn’t here, I’m going to have to start with what happened to me.”
“Go ahead.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “About...about two weeks ago, I...I was visited by someone...from the future. I...I was visited by Max...from the future...by two different Maxes, actually.”
Last edited by JO on Mon May 09, 2005 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sheriff Jim Valenti leaned back against the chair the moment Liz had finished her story. He had understood everything that Liz had said. In one future version of her life, Tess had left Roswell. Liz and Max had gotten married at nineteen and the world had ended. In the second version, Max had gotten Tess pregnant and, because the baby was unable to survive, she had been sent back to their home planet, causing the world to end almost a decade sooner. Tess, from the second future, had kidnaped Liz and Liz’s son and followed Max back in time through the granolith. All of them had ended up in Copper Summit, where her true nature was revealed, and when the two Tesses had met, they had ceased to exist, canceling each other out due to quantum mechanics.
Sighing again, he quickly ran through the facts in his mind. He could look at Liz and know that, despite her feelings about Tess, Liz was not a killer. She would have never taken another life, unless dire circumstances had caused her to do so. None of the facts of the story made him believe Liz had done anything other than follow her heart. In his mind, the group of kids in his living room, as well as his own son, were the victims. “I believe you, Liz. I believe what you say happened.”
“Oh, thank you, Sheriff,” Liz sighed, a quick smile crossing her lips as Max wrapped his arms around her. “I...I know it sounds completely farfetched -”
“So do aliens,” Valenti offered, his own playful smile forming on his face. “But I do believe you. Now comes the hard part.”
“What’s that, Sheriff,” Isabel asked, focusing her attention from Alex to the Sheriff.
“Well, Tess is gone and not coming back, if I’m to understand Liz correctly, so she’ll have to officially die.” He glanced around the room and saw the kids looked confused. “What did you tell all the teachers at school?”
“Nothing,” Max replied with a shrug, glancing around to the faces of his five friends. “I...we just went about our day.” The others nodded their agreement.
“Where’s her car, her personal belongings?”
“We all went in the jeep to Copper Summit,” Isabel offered. “I guess Tess’ car is still at the school. I...I really didn’t pay much attention to it today, Sheriff.”
“That’s fine, Isabel,” Valenti said, shaking his head several times. “And Tess...disappeared on Sunday?” He raised his eyes to the six teenagers and the teens nodded their heads in approval. “Today’s Monday,” he said aloud as he stood up from the chair, wadding the dish towel in his hands. “Almost enough time to file a report.”
“What’s going on, Sheriff,” Max asked, squeezing Liz’s hand tightly as the six teens nervously squirmed on and around the sofa.
“I have to file a missing persons report about Tess. I realize there are some...extenuating circumstances with this whole mess, but I want to go about this as close to the law as I possibly can.”
“Where does that leave us,” Alex asked, swishing the sucker stick from side to side in his mouth. “What are we supposed to do?”
“Act normal,” Valenti replied with a shrug. “And , if you’re questioned, say you haven’t seen Tess since Friday. Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
“What about Kyle,” Liz asked quietly while raising her head up from her lap. “He was very...upset, Sheriff, understandably so, but -”
“Let me deal with Kyle, okay. I...I’ll talk to him, tell him your side of the story.”
“Thanks very much, Sheriff,” Max said as stood up from the sofa, prompting the other teens to vacate their seats and extend their gratitude toward the Sheriff. “We’re glad you believe us.”
“Not a problem, kids,” Valenti said, walking them to the front door. “I’ll let you know something as soon as I know it. See you. Stay safe.” He ushered them out of his house quickly and turned his full attention to the room at the end of the hallway, wondering how he could help his son get over this newest heartache and still protect the kids that saved his son’s life.
* * *
“Where are we going, Max,” Liz asked as they pulled out of the Valenti driveway and turned in the opposite direction as her house. “My house is that way.”
“Let’s get out of town for a couple of hours, Liz. I think we need to get away, especially after that. Let’s go to the desert.” He took her hand in his after shifting gears and placed a tender kiss on the back of it. “Is that okay? You don’t have homework, do you?”
“The desert is perfect, Max,” Liz replied as she leaned across her seat to kiss him. “Just perfect.”
Last edited by JO on Wed May 18, 2005 12:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Max pulled Liz against him as they sat on the blanket and watched the first evening stars illuminate the desert. A slight breeze blew across their bodies and Max felt Liz shiver against him. He wrapped his arms tighter around her chest, pulling her backwards so she was flush with his body. Liz sighed in response, turning her head slightly to the side so Max could see her profile and the smile that was appearing on her face. Pressing his lips softly against her temple, he kissed her, allowing the kiss to continue for several seconds. In the distance, a coyote howled, prompting Liz to giggle slightly. “What?”
“It’s nothing. Just a coyote,” she mused, brushing her hair out of Max’s face, pulling it onto her right shoulder. Max laughed, pressing his lips lightly against her neck while he adjusted her body so they were facing each other. “I love you, Max,” she whispered as she brushed her lips across his face.
“I love you too, Liz,” Max sighed, framing her face with his hands as he pulled her down on top of him. “So much.” He kissed her slowly as his hands wandered underneath the waist band of her jeans. “Do you know just how much I love you?” Crushing her body to his, he rolled her onto her back, watching as the moonlight reflected in her shiny brown tresses. “Really? Do you have any idea?”
“I do, Max,” she said, winding her hands underneath Max’s denim jacket and t-shirt. “I can feel it. Don’t you feel it? Can’t you feel this...current between us?”
“Does it scare you,” Max asked, rolling off of her and resting his head on his elbow while his fingers traced swirls and circles across the bare skin of her stomach.
“No,” she replied frankly. “What I feel for you doesn’t scare me. I love it. I love you. What matters is we’re together now. Nothing can hurt us.”
Max smiled and pressed his hand tightly against Liz’s warm skin. The moment the contact between their skin became solid, a green glow emanated from Liz’s entire body and slowly wound its way up Max’s arm. “Wh...what is that? Liz?” He sat up and pulled Liz with him, the glow dying the moment Max removed his hand from her body. “Liz,” he placed his hands on her shoulders, concerning written across every feature on his face. “Did you feel that? Are you okay?”
When you healed me, Max, you changed me. And now I’m different. Future Liz’s words echoed through his brain and he cringed at the thought of hurting Liz.
“Max? What is it,” Liz questioned after noticing the change in his facial features. “What’s wrong?”
“I changed you,” he said slowly, pushing away from her and staring at the desert floor in front of them. “I...I did this to you.”
“What do you mean? Max, I don’t understand.”
“When I healed you,” he began, raising his head to look at her. “I...I changed you somehow and now you’re...different.”
“I don’t care,” Liz whispered as she moved to Max’s side. “You risked your life to save me, Max, and I don’t care what I become as long as we’re together. You could heal me every day for the rest of our lives and it wouldn’t make a difference to me. I love you, regardless.”
“What did he tell you?”
“Who?”
“The other me. The future me.”
Liz slumped away from him, trying to recall everything she had learned from the future. “I...I don’t know,” she said as Max stood up and walked several paces away from her. Liz quickly followed him, her mind frantically searching for an answer for her body’s change. “The first Max told me that Tess had to stay in Roswell, that she was valuable to your survival. The second Max told me about his child with Tess, and that instead of fourteen years, the world ended in four.”
“I know about the child,” Max replied. “It was all a mindwarp. What I don’t understand is I changed you by healing you.” He spun to face Liz, sand kicking up around his ankles. “The other you had powers, Liz. She said I changed you when I healed you.”
“He healed me,” Liz gasp, drawing her hand over her mouth.
“What,” Max asked, taking Liz’s arms into his hands. “Who did?”
“The second Max. We came out here and he told me about making love and his life being different the day after. The next morning, we were arguing and I...I kissed him. He left a handprint on my heart, Max,” Liz said, remembering how he had reverently traced the outline of the silver handprint with his rough fingertips. “He said my heart stopped and he had to heal me.”
“So maybe you’re showing signs of your powers earlier than his Liz,” Max questioned. Liz shrugged slightly, her mouth opening to respond to him but she could think of nothing to say. “You have to understand I never wanted this.”
“I know,” she said, resting her hands on Max’s waist. “You’d never hurt me, Max. I know that.”
“Maybe it’s for the best,” Max replied, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into his arms. “If we need the four square to survive, maybe you’re taking Tess’ place.”
“You think that’s really possible?”
“Anything’s possible, Liz. You should know that by now,” Max said softly just before he kissed her.
Last edited by JO on Wed May 18, 2005 12:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“You think Valenti will help us,” Alex asked as he shoved a portion of a Will Smith burger into his mouth. He, Isabel, Michael and Maria sat in the vacant Crash Down enjoying the meal Michael had prepared. Agnes had been all too excited to go home early and had left the moment Maria had told her to go home. Maria had assumed Liz wouldn’t be returning from the desert with Max, and, if she did, she certainly wouldn’t care about closing the cafe almost two hours early.
“Why would he not help us,” Maria asked, plunging her french fry into the blob of ketchup on Alex’s plate.
“Exactly,” Michael agreed. “Max saved Kyle, for God’s sake. Valenti’s required to help us.”
“He’s not required to help us, Michael,” Isabel said, rolling her eyes at Michael for his assumption. “Tess lived in his house. She meant a lot to both he and Kyle. Who knew she had a deal with the skins to betray us?”
“Well, Liz never liked her,” Alex offered. “If that’s any consolation.”
“Oh,” Isabel mused. “Thanks for reminding me I brought her into the group.”
“Isabel, I didn’t mean that. I know you’d never let a known psychotic killer into your life.”
“Face it,” Maria said, dunking another french fry into ketchup. “She used us all and I for one am glad she’s dust or nothingness or whatever she became.”
* * *
“I can’t believe you just let them walk out of here, Dad. Tess is dead because of them.”
“Kyle, you have to understand,” Jim began, throwing the dish towel over his shoulder as he turned to face his son. “It wasn’t their fault. Tess was...not a nice person. She lied to all of us. She was using all of us.”
“Being a user makes her a bad person? Dad, Tess may not have been perfect but neither is Max Evans. Sometimes I wish you’d just see him for who and what he really is.” Kyle stepped into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator just to do something with his hands. “Nothing good has ever come from knowing him.”
“That is where you’re totally wrong, Kyle,” Jim said, raising his voice at his son for the first time in a long time. Kyle spun toward his father, his face bearing the shock of his father’s raised voice. “If it weren’t for Max Evans, you’d be dead right now, and so would Liz. Doesn’t that mean something to you? You owe Max your life.”
“I fail to see why I should be happy about that,” Kyle argued. “So he saved me and Liz. Big whoop. He killed Tess, or just stood by and let it happen. He could have stopped it. He could have saved her.”
“Tess fooled us, Kyle,” Jim replied calmly, pulling one of the chairs away from the kitchen table so he could sit down. He glanced at his son and pushed the other chair out slightly with a kick of his boot. “Sit down and let me tell you exactly what Liz told me about Tess then maybe you’ll understand what happened a little bit better.”
* * *
“Thanks for driving me home, Alex, ” Isabel said, twirling a long blonde strand from her ponytail between her index and middle fingers. “You really didn’t have to.”
“Glad to do it,” Alex responded, shrugging as he turned slightly toward Isabel and rested his right elbow on the center console of his maroon Trans-Am. “No hair off my chiny-chin-chin.” He caught Isabel’s eyes and rubbed his clean-shaven chin, prompting a smile from her which reflected across his own lips.
His father had presented him with the car that morning, saying that maybe he could return the favor toward his friends who had chauffeured him from place to place for the previous year. Alex had almost given the keys back to his father, remembering Liz’s details about how his death had been linked to an automobile accident, but instead he had wrapped his arms tightly around his father’s neck and told him he loved him. He had then done the same to his mother and had left both parents standing in the living room in shock as he had left for school. It had been at that moment, that crucial moment when he had basically laughed in Tess’ face by accepting the keys, that he had decided he was going to take the bull by the horns instead of taking it up the ass. Accepting the car and driving it proudly and carefully to school had been the first step made by the new Alex Charles Whitman. Isabel Evans would be the next. “Isabel,” he asked, adjusting his position so he could see more of her face underneath the street light.
“Yes,” she responded quickly, causing Alex to momentarily lose his train of thought and stare into her brown eyes.
“I...I,” he stammered while Isabel leaned closer toward him, the parting of her lips directly proportional to the closer she leaned toward him. “Isabel,” he began again with a slight chuckle, placing his hands gently on her shoulders just before she crossed the middle console. “I think we need to talk.”
“What do you want to talk about,” Isabel asked as she settled back against the passenger side seat.
“Well,” he said, removing his hands from Isabel’s shoulders and linking his fingers together behind his neck. He slumped against the back of his seat, pushing a long stream of air loudly out of his mouth. “I want to talk about us,” he said calmly, turning his full attention back to Isabel.
“What about us,” Isabel questioned, tilting her head to the right, causing her ponytail to fall innocently across her shoulder.
“Well,” he repeated, momentarily stunned by her sudden interest in them, as if they had an exclusive relationship, as if they were an item, an us. “Okay, this is not how I pictured this going,” he mumbled while dragging his hands down his face. He shook his head back and forth several times, slapping his cheeks for good measure when he remembered he couldn’t give himself a pep talk about talking to Isabel when Isabel was in the car. “Okay. I...I think I’ve made my feelings for you very clear. You know how I feel about you and that I want our relationship to progress from friendship to something more.”
“I do too.”
“Now, I’m not saying we just jump right in head first,” Alex continued, his fingers dictating each point as he made it. “But I think we should at least try and see where it leads.”
“I do too.”
“I realize we’re not going to be Max and Liz, and of course, you’re who you are and I’m who I am which will get a lot of heads turning at school but -” Alex paused and turned toward Isabel, his mouth partially open and his eyes wide in shock. “Wait. What did you just say?” Isabel smiled at him and leaned forward, placing a chaste kiss to his lips. “I...I don’t think I understood that,” Alex said after Isabel released him. “Care to repeat it?”
“I want to be with you, Alex,” Isabel whispered, her mouth dangerously close to his. “Whatever we go through from here on out, I want to know that we’re together.” She pressed her lips to his again, this time letting them linger for several seconds. “I remember how I felt the moment Michael explained to us what Tess had done.” She paused, turning slightly away from Alex in an attempt to hide her emotions from him. Alex grasp her chin firmly and lifted her face upward, his eyes meeting Isabel’s teary ones instantly. “I don’t want to feel like that again. I don’t want to wonder what could have been, what might have been. I just want to take whatever time we have together and enjoy it.”
“In that case,” Alex said, a wicked smile cresting in the corners of his mouth. “This car has a nice back seat and if you’re willing, I can certainly be ready momentarily.”
Heavily rolling her eyes and playfully slapping his shoulder, Isabel joined Alex in his laughter. “I’m serious,” she said, running her hand across her forehead.
“Well, so am I.” Alex laughed as Isabel gave him one of her patented glares, the type she normally reserved for Max and Michael. “Okay. Maybe that’s a little too fast. How about holding hands? A chaste kiss in the hallway? An eraser room moment?”
“Goodnight, Alex,” Isabel whispered, capturing his lips gently with hers. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”
“‘Night, Isabel,” Alex responded as Isabel stepped out of the car and closed the door behind her, their eyes meeting through the glass in the car door. He waited until she was inside her house before he began his victory dance and he knew life was definitely getting better for Alex Charles Whitman.
Last edited by JO on Wed May 18, 2005 12:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Maria pushed the soapy mop around the maze of tables and booths in the cafe, her mind wandering elsewhere, particularly to Michael as he clinked and clanged glasses and dishes in the kitchen sink. They hadn’t been alone together since they had returned from Copper Summit and as Maria dunked the mop into the bucket for the final time, she wondered if Michael even knew the truth about Courtney’s demise.
“You ready?”
“What,” she screamed, almost slipping on a wet spot as she spun toward the double doors. She caught herself quickly, bracing against the closest table as she dropped the mop in hopes of preventing her fall. “God, Michael. You scared me.”
“Yeah, got that,” Michael groaned, stepping lightly toward her. Maria maintained her fierce grip on the table, thinking Michael was going to help her out of the slippery cafe and toward the back room, and she growled in disgust as he instead grabbed the mop bucket and pushed it into the
back room.
“Michael,” she whined, straightening herself while she followed his path into the back room. “Aren’t we even going to talk about this?”
“Talk about what?”
“This. Us. Everything that’s happened over the past week.”
“I know what happened, Maria,” Michael groaned as he paused at the double doors separating the cafe from the kitchen. “I was there.”
“Well, I was there too,” she squealed, following him into the back room. “Don’t you think we should at least talk about it?”
“Haven’t we went through this, Maria? You’re still upset about Courtney. I know that. I understand, and I’m sorry for the way I acted.”
“Wh...what,” Maria asked, slumping onto the couch while Michael continued to tidy up. “I...what? Who are you?”
Michael shrugged, deliberately avoiding Maria’s eyes. “This whole thing’s just made me think, you know. I mean, I know how Max and Liz feel about each other. I can only imagine how hard it was for Liz to pretend...with Kyle. I remember how Max looked when he found out what Tess had done to Alex. Hell, I remember how I felt when I found out.”
“I remember how I felt too,” Maria replied solemnly.
“But to watch Max with Colby and to see how much he already loved this child he hadn’t created but that was technically his,” Michael glanced at Maria and cautiously sat down beside her. “We’re living in a different world now, Maria, and I don’t want to start off with you on the wrong foot.”
“What are you saying, Michael?”
“I’m saying that I want us to have now, even if that means one of us does something stupid and we break up or whatever next week, I...I want to give you now.”
“Michael,” Maria said softly as she leaned against his chest. “What about Courtney?”
“Courtney doesn’t matter to me anymore,” Michael said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on the top of her head. “She was a...link to who I was, you know. She was like me, but I don’t care anymore. I’m not what I used to be, and I don’t want to be that...guy. Being with you is what matters to me now. That’s what’s important.”
“That’s good,” Maria replied softly. “Because I accidentally killed Courtney.”
----------
Part 8
“What do you mean you accidentally killed Courtney,” Michael questioned, pushing Maria out of his arms so they were both sitting up completely on the dingy couch in the back room.
“She was whining about her skin,” Maria said flippantly, jerking her arms out of Michael’s firm grasp and standing abruptly to her feet. “She just wouldn’t shut up, Michael. After Future Max blew up the harvest, she just kept going on and on about how you would have saved her skin. I...I just could take it anymore so I told her to shove off.”
“And that’s how you killed her,” Michael asked as he stood up from the couch and went to Maria’s side. “By yelling at her?”
Maria heavily rolled her eyes in response to Michael’s snort and punched him in the arm. “No. I shoved her and she fell against this rod thing. Then she went poof.”
“Poof?”
“That’s what I said,” Maria sighed in agitation. She cupped her hands together, her manicured nails clinking together and thrust her fingers upward and apart. “Poof.”
“How did that happen?”
“Future Max said all skins were built with this button thing on their backs. If it was hit, they went poof.” She stepped toward Michael, her head tilted upward so she could look at him. “It was an accident, Michael. I really didn’t mean to kill her. I mean, I wanted her to die, you know, last week. We didn’t need her then.”
Michael sighed, his eyebrows knotting together in frustration and thought. His forehead wrinkled as he slowly raked his fingers down his face, his eyes closed in meditative thought. “Okay.”
“Okay? That’s all you’ve got to say,” Maria shrieked, stepping backward from him two paces. “I...I killed your follower, Michael. Granted, she was a ho tramp but I still killed her.”
“It was an accident,” Michael said, his arms extended while he tried to grab Maria’s shoulders. “I believe you. And really, if you want the truth -”
“Of course.”
“I just don’t care,” he continued with a shrug. “Yeah, Courtney was hot...and obsessed with me and wanted to have her way with me sexually -”
“Then I’m glad I killed her,” Maria replied smugly, crossing her arms over her chest.
“But you’re what I want,” Michael said, grasping Maria firmly at the elbows. “I meant what I said about us being together...in a relationship...even if it’s for a week or whatever.”
“Oh, Michael,” Maria cried, throwing her body against Michael’s and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“So you’re okay with this relationship thing,” Michael wheezed while Maria continued to unknowingly choke him.
“Do I have to kill you too,” she responded, her right eyebrow arched pointedly. “I have no problem seriously kicking some alien ass.” Michael shrugged and after pulling her back into his arms, minus the choke hold, he kissed her.
* * *
“It...it’s a lot to take in, Dad,” Kyle said, roughly rubbing his eyes as he propped his elbows up onto the Valenti kitchen table. “Tess...she never acted that way with me.”
“I know, son,” Jim quietly responding, his hand falling against the back of his son’s neck in the familiar gesture. “Maybe we didn’t know her as well as we thought.”
Kyle opened his mouth to respond to his father’s remark but quickly closed it because his mind was going in a million different directions. He and Tess had played a serious game of flirtation since she’d arrived in Roswell the previous spring. He had delighted in playing along with her, especially if it caused Max to squirm. But since Max had healed him, and after spending the summer in meditation when he wasn’t pounding tackling dummies, Kyle’s feelings about Max had changed. Anyone who wasn’t blind could recognize the love Max and Liz had for each other and even Kyle himself couldn’t forget the sight of the tiny boy he had seen in Copper Summit, a perfect mixture of both Max and Liz, and the way Max had held the tiny child with such reverence, and how he had looked at the Future Liz that had killed Tess.
He supposed he should hold himself partially responsible for the situation they were now in, he thought as he watched his father walk away from the table. He had, after all, helped Liz deceive Max, but there was something in his gut that just couldn’t make himself believe Tess was the devil incarnate. She had been sweet to him, almost loving, and he couldn’t deny their mutual attraction to each other, no matter her supposed destiny with Max. Not that he had liked her alien invasion into his life any more than he liked the nagging feeling in his brain that he was indebted to Max Evans for saving his life. “What happens now, Dad,” Kyle asked, standing from the kitchen chair and walking toward the sink where his father was washing their dinner dishes. “What are we supposed to do?”
“I guess that depends on you, Kyle.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Tess is gone, and she’s not coming back so we have to have her pronounced missing. I know it’s going to be hard for you but I know that no matter how Liz felt about Tess, she didn’t want her dead. You know Liz Parker better than I do so I’m sure you realize that more than anyone.” Jim glanced pointedly at his son and Kyle could only shrug in response.
“So I’m going to get the ‘do the right thing’ speech?”
“I think it’ll be more like the ‘wait and see’ speech. Is that okay?”
“The speech,” Kyle asked with a mocking tone. “I don’t know, Dad, you do tend to drone on and on.”
Jim scowled and playfully slapped his son on the shoulder. “You know what I mean. I’m talking about waiting to see what happens with the investigation. I just want you to watch what you say about Max and the others, especially Liz. You can’t go around saying she killed Tess and not
expect people to pay attention to that.”
“Fine,” Kyle began, turning away from his father. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I can stay away from Evans and his gang.”
“That’s good, Kyle. It’ll all be over soon.” Jim patted his son on the shoulder again and returned to the pile of half-washed dishes stacked in his sink. Kyle turned toward his father, prepared to argue that it would never be over because Tess was gone, no matter who was really to blame, and he’d have to live with the feeling of loss much longer than anyone else but decided against it as his father began to hum his favorite country song. Instead, he simply turned back toward Tess’ old room and faded into the darkness of the hallway.
Last edited by JO on Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Maria just cracked me up in this part! She was just too flippant with Courtney's demise. I can't help it, it is morbid but I agree with Maria. And Michael pretty much let it roll off his back too, so even better. I know Kyle cared for Tess but there was no mistaking how evil and twisted she was and that she wanted to hurt Liz. I wish he would be reasonable about the way she died. The sheriff is right; Kyle knows Liz better than that to think she would want someone dead. It really was the only way, and I wish Kyle would cut Liz some slack and get over it already. Tess wasn't the person he thought she was, his father accepts that , why can't he? I am ready to kick him if he says anything else bad about Liz. Tess came into town wanting to take everything away from Liz that Liz loved most and Kyle wants to hold a grudge against Liz? Some friend he turned out to be. I'll be looking forward to the next part...
“Did you see that,” Liz questioned, her eyes bright with excitement and curiosity. She looked over her shoulder at Max and felt him snake his arm around her waist in response. “Look at it. It’s...amazing.”
“You’re amazing,” Max whispered into her ear, his hot breath causing cold chills to run down her spine. Liz spun toward him, resting her hands on his chest as his hands met in the small of her back.
“I...I want to do it again,” Liz said breathlessly, her head tilted upward so she could stare into Max’s eyes while he pondered her proposal. “Can you...do it again?”
Max offered her a lop-sided smile in response and kissed her forehead. “Of course I can do it again,” he said, spinning her away from him and toward the desert. He extended her arm and, after squatting down slightly so they were the same height, he pressed his hand onto the top of her palm, their fingers side by side as Liz raised her palm outward.
She felt the now-familiar current shoot through her body, and out of her palm came the image of a small boy, his frame outlined in green light. She giggled slightly and felt Max’s hand weave around her waist to her abdomen, his entire hand covering her as it had done when he healed her. She clutched at his pant leg, fisting a small amount of the material into her hand as their shared emotions swept through her body and mind. Now they knew everything the other knew. They knew the truth about Colby and Tess. They knew that the place where they now stood was sacred ground to them and that every monumental event the two of them had ever shared was at this place. The image of Colby faded and Liz sighed, locking her fingers onto Max’s as she lowered her arm to her side.
“He’s beautiful,” she whispered reverently as the desert faded back to its star-filled luminescence. “Don’t you think he’s beautiful?”
“I think his mother is beautiful,” Max said, gently threading his hands through Liz’s hair as she rested her hands on his waist.
“Is it wrong that I want him now?”
“I...I don’t think so, Liz,” Max replied with a shrug, pulling Liz against his chest and resting his chin on her head. “He’s an amazing little boy and I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t think about what it would be like to have him.”
“Really,” Liz asked, raising her head so she could look in Max’s eyes. “I...we’re so young, Max. I don’t think we’re ready to be parents.”
“Neither do I,” he cautioned. “But they were young too, only a year older than us.”
“But their lives were different.”
“And ours aren’t? Our lives have changed drastically since you were visited by the first version of me. Hell, our entire futures have been changed, for that matter.”
“What different lives we all must have lived,” Liz wondered aloud, again settling against his chest. “Can you imagine a life without Alex or one where you slept with Tess?”
“No,” Max blurted out loudly, causing Liz stare at him with her mouth slightly ajar. “I mean,” he began again after brushing his hand across his forehead. “No, I can’t. Thank God.”
“You can say that again,” Liz added with a laugh. “I can’t imagine it either, and to think that Colby’s mother -”
“You,” Max amended.
“Right, me, that I had to deal with losing my best friend and losing you too. It’s just too much to think about.”
“So let’s not think about it,” Max said as he pressed his mouth to Liz’s and kissed her.
“What would you like to think about,” Liz playfully asked, wrapping her arms around Max’s waist and resting them on the swell of his hips. Max grinned and jerked Liz’s lower body flush with his. He suggestively arched his eyebrow in hopes that Liz could feel what he really wanted to think about. “Why, Mr. Evans, I...I think you’ve got children on the brain.”
“Actually, Miss Parker, I was really thinking about the practice involved in producing children. I think we’re going to need a lot of practice.” He allowed his hands to drop and playfully squeezed her back side.
“Really? A lot of practice, you say?” Max nodded in agreement as he began to walk backwards toward the old army blanket he and Liz had been sitting on when they first arrived to the desert. “Wait, I..I’m confused,” Liz said, stopping just on the blanket’s edge while she pretended to work through Max’s suggestion in her mind. She sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. “I think you’re just going to have to show me exactly what kind of practice you’re talking about.”
“Gladly,” Max groaned, sweeping Liz into his arms and onto the blanket as her laughter filled the barren desert.
Last edited by JO on Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
