Hey guys! Time for chapter six! Now before I start, I want to say that I'm not good with scientific stuff. I write emotions well, I don't really know how to write SciFi. So please bare with me. This chapter is sort of rushed because again...I don't know how to write stuff like this. But this is Roswell and I needed to finally have something happen. I didn't want this to turn into a soap opera. Something had to happen.
Quick disclaimer: sort of similar to Destiny eppy but not really. The song belongs to Sarah McLaughlin....
And a quick thanks to my younger sister who helped me develop the background story that will explain what happens. You guys won't have the explanation yet, but it will be explained. I think together, we came up with a very very very good back story with explanations. I hope you guys bare with me so you will get to see it! I'm so proud...ok anyway.
Thanks for all of your feedback. I appreciate it so much!!!
on with the show!!!.....
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Chapter Six
The winter here's cold and bitter
It's chilled us to the bone
We haven't seen the sun for weeks
Too long, too far from home
Tess threw her last pair of jeans in the duffel bag. She’d put a depressing song on for good measure, just in case she started to feel better. Every so often she would hear a sound outside and stop, hoping it was someone. But it never was. Kyle had tried to talk to her earlier but she melted the lock and shut the window. She didn’t want solace. She deserved to cry. She’d betrayed the people she was meant to love. Sarah McLaughlin’s words floated to her ears and tears pooled in her eyes.
I feel just like I'm sinking
And I claw for solid ground
I'm pulled down by the undertow
I never thought I could feel so low
Closing the duffel, she took a deep breath. Tess knew that it would be better for everyone if she wasn’t here. She didn’t want them to hurt, didn’t want Liz or Michael to hurt. She’d always known, somewhere deep inside, that she loved Michael. Tess was just never able to determine why. She’d never asked Nasedo about it, for fear of whatever reason he would come up with next. But now she knew, he was her older brother.
Oh darkness I feel like letting go
She wanted to let go. Tess hadn’t lied that night to Max. Nasedo taught her not to get caught up in emotion, but how could she not?
They’re my family. She angrily wiped her tears away. She wanted so badly to blame one of them, any of them. Even Nasedo. But it was her own fault. She’d wanted Max so naively that she went against her intuition and everything she knew to be right. She should have known better.
If all of the strength and all of the courage
Come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this
Full of grace
Full of grace
My love
They deserved more than this. She stopped just before reaching the window and bent her head. She knew this was right. She had to leave. She had to protect them…from herself. Sarah’s next words made her weep. She briefly thought about blowing the damn radio up. But this was imposed punishment. She deserved to feel lower than low.
So it's better this way
I said having seen this place before
Where everything we said and did
Hurts us all the more
Its just that we stayed, too long
In the same old sickly skin
I'm pulled down by the undertow
I never thought I could feel so low
She knelt before the wall and held her head in her hands. She’d gained everything within the span of a week. She had a family. She’d had, in her grasp, a sister and a brother. Liz had never been without a family yet she had accepted Tess so openly. So how would Michael have reacted? She had no doubt that they would be close again, and Tess would finally have people that truly loved her.
Regaining her composure, she readjusted the bag on her shoulder. She flung the curtain opened and audibly shrieked. Liz was standing there, looking even more disappointed than before. She cautiously opened the glass, ready to accept whatever her older sister was going to say.
Liz’s eyes glossed over with emotion.
Sure thing, why did I doubt it? As soon as things got rocky, Tess was going to head for the hills. Did she really not care about her new family? Faintly, she heard Sarah McLaughlin’s
Full of Grace playing in the background.
If all of the strength and all of the courage
Come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this
It’s better this way
Anger filled her quickly and Liz’s hand shot out, pointed at the radio. Without warning, it exploded into a thousand pieces and both girls were dumbstruck. Not paying any attention to the shocked look on Tess’ face, Liz felt her fuses shortening quickly.
“You’re
leaving?”
Tess looked lost. She hadn’t thought about how it would look to Michael and Liz. They would see it as her giving up, not wanting to try even a little.
“Liz,” she began. That’s when she saw him. Michael walked up to stand next to her, tears in his eyes.
“Michael,” she added softly. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw anger boiling in his eyes.
“You’re leaving?” He couldn’t believe it. He’d just found her and she wanted to bail on them.
“Michael,” she repeated, when Liz interrupted her.
“Yeah, Michael. Turns out she doesn’t want a family huh? I mean, the three of us could have…” she trailed off, glancing at her sister for a second before returning her attention to Michael. “I was willing to forgive her but I guess she doesn’t care. We aren’t worth fighting for, so let’s just go.” They both turned to go when Tess cried out.
“No! Please! Just
stop it! I messed up, yes. I take full responsibility for what I did, but that doesn’t mean I did it to hurt you. I was just as surprised to find out that Liz was my sister and even more that Michael was my brother…well not really but still! I’m sorry for what I did but I can’t take it back. I didn’t know any better. I believed everything that the
thing told me! And I’m sorry! I’m not perfect. What do you want me to do?” Tess was fuming and she was on a roll. Liz was about to interject but the look in her eyes stopped her.
“So I’m sorry for thinking that you would all be better off without me! It’s just that…maybe it was selfish. But
selfish is all I know! You guys just sort of popped up on me so I’m fucking sorry!” After her rant, she took a few calming breaths. She closed her eyes as she realized what she’d said. As much as she wanted to, Tess couldn’t bring herself to be sorry for it though, it was all true. She glanced up into Michael’s eyes to find amusement there.
Now she was pissed.
He was amused! She was pouring her heart out and he was amused. She climbed through the window, prepared to tear him a new ass hole. As she breached touching distance to him, she was surprised utterly. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him. Surprise quickly melted into happiness as she heard him sigh.
“Tess, I forgive you. I know why you did it, and I forgive you,” he whispered into her hair. For possibly the tenth time in five minutes, tears gathered in her crystal blue eyes.
He forgives me! She wrapped her arms around him in response, letting him know that she wanted to be his family. They pulled away from each other slowly, Michael dropping a kiss on her forehead.
Tess turned to face Liz. While she knew that she would love Michael soon, she already loved Liz. She was so strong and amazing.
Everything I’ve ever wanted to be. What Liz thought of her meant a lot to Tess. It still shook her to think how differently she saw the world. A month ago, Liz was an insignificant human who stood between her and her desires. Now, Liz was her hero and her first real friend. Wordlessly, Liz reached out and hugged Tess. Through their connection, Liz felt relief spread over her, leaving her breathless.
“I’m so sorry, Liz. So sorry,” she said, through tears. Liz stroked her sister’s blonde hair and whispered her forgiveness.
The girls pulled apart and started giggling. Michael walked forward and hugged his two sisters. Happiness filled his heart when he realized that he’d been given a family. The small girls in front of him were his only. He realized that he loved them, he’d just found them but he already loved them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tess was laughing hysterically. Liz was giggling uncontrollably. Michael was glaring heatedly. They were laughing at him! After their soap opera scene in the front yard, they’d decided to spend the day together, skipping school completely. Max would be worried, but Liz didn’t care at the moment. She was making nice with her new family.
Michael decided that he would cook them some food when Liz complained for the fifteenth time that she was hungry. On his way back to the living room, he tripped over seemingly nothing and landed face first in the food. Eruptions of laughter filled the room as their mood slipped from happy to giddy.
“Ok, girls. It’s not
that funny!” But their laughter was contagious. He soon found himself laughing whole-heartedly along with his sisters. He smiled brightly inside.
His sisters. He loved the sound of that. The happiness that filled him made him laugh harder.
Once they calmed down, Tess told them about all of the places Nasedo had taken her to. She told them stories about Japan and France. How they’d run from the FBI for three years when she was ten and stayed in every foreign city anyone could think of. Liz told Tess stories about Michael when he was younger. She reveled in how stupid her older, supposed to be wiser, brother was. The afternoon passed quickly, a bond forming between the siblings.
At four-thirty, they walked along the Roswell streets, on their way to the Crashdown for Liz and Michael’s shift. Entering the familiar restaurant, they suddenly felt three pairs of astonished eyes on them. Isabel stormed up to them, Alex and Maria in tow.
“So what, you’re all ok with this now?” She was irate! This bitch had betrayed them all and Michael and Liz were so stupid to forgive her. Tess watched her two older siblings mindlessly step foot in front of her, prepared to fight for her, and was humbled.
So this is what makes life worth living.
“Back off Is,” Michael said shortly. He knew Isabel was seeing red but she would get over it.
“You’re taking her side?!” Isabel had been the one to be there for him when he was little. Now
he was betraying her too?
“No, there are no sides to be taken, Isabel.” Liz knew that she needed time, Isabel was a rational person. She was a kind person; she was just hurt right now.
“How could you forgive her so easily? She hurt you the most!” Isabel knew where they were coming from, but the pride in her refused to let her back down.
“Because she’s different now. She owned up to it. She is sorry for it. And she didn’t know any better,” Liz said calmly, matter-of-factly. She could feel her emotions rising, wanting to defend her sister. She knew that heated feelings would only make the matters worse. Besides, that’s what Michael was for.
Alex sighed. Liz was right. He’d known last night as well. It takes a big person to admit that you betrayed your friends and be willing to accept any judgements they would pass. Knowing that Isabel might never speak to him again; he forgave her in his heart. She was becoming a good person. If Liz could forgive her, then she must be. With that thought, he stepped around Isabel and between Michael and Liz. He wordlessly reached out and hugged Tess, letting her know that they were ok.
Isabel’s jaw dropped. Maria gasped behind her and she felt slight relief. That left Max and Maria. So she wasn’t alone yet.
I totally jinxed that one. Max walked in the front door and saw his group in the middle. Luckily, only Kyle and his dad were their current patrons, otherwise they would all be in trouble. Knowing exactly what the scuffle was about, he knew he had to place his loyalties. While he loved his sister dearly, she could let her emotions sway her judgement. Even though he hated to admit it, Max would side with Liz in any situation. Curse of being married. He hid a smile. He just loved those thoughts.
Max strolled up to the group and placed an arm loosely around Tess, winking at her. The smile that lit her face let him know that his message was received loud and clear. No hard feelings here.
“Now you’re ok with this too Max?” Had the whole world gone mad? Isabel thought that surely she was hallucinating. Yes. That was it. Someone had slipped PCP into her drink and she was hallucinating.
“Isabel. She was wrong and it was horrible. Everyone knows that. But it happened and she’s sorry. So…” he took a deep breath, knowing that this could cause a rift between him and his sister. “I forgive her.”
Tess leaned into him. She’d never felt so light. They knew her secret…and they still forgave her. While Isabel and Maria still didn’t, she had the mass.
Maria, like everyone always did, sighed. They were all right. Tess was obviously sorry, for yesterday when Isabel was clearly going to beat her into a pulp, she hadn’t even moved. She’d been willing to accept any punishment. Maria wasn’t ready to be her friend, but she wasn’t one to carry around a grudge.
She made no move to touch Tess like the others had, she just simply stepped around Isabel and stood next to Liz. Her best friend grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Maria knew that Liz was telling her that just because she found her sister, that didn’t take away from Maria’s sister status.
Isabel stomped out of the restaurant, leaving the six behind. She knew that she was being irrational, but this was just too soon. She couldn’t forgive just yet. She found herself at the Roswell Downtown Park. Kicking a rock that was in her way, she reflected on what she was.
She realized that she could be incredibly selfish. She wanted everything her way. When Max and Michael tried to protect her, she just pushed them away. She’d been given a tremendous gift and she took it for granted every step of her journey so far. She had a family now. A real family. They knew her deepest and darkest secret and they still accepted her. Max, Michael, Liz, Maria, Alex, and yes…Tess too.
Alex.
She realized that he’d given her a chance for something amazing. He cared about her so much and she never fully realized it. Until now. With a new attitude filling her, she turned and walked, along the way preparing her speech to her family. She would tell Alex that she was ready. She would tell Tess that they were ok. She would hug Max and Michael. She would thank Liz for bringing them all together. She would laugh with Maria because…well…Maria was just cool.
With the sun setting low in the sky, Isabel walked with a bounce in her step. She’d be there in five minutes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After apologies were had, Isabel joined her friends with a happy heart. She and Alex had a long conversation and decided to take it slow but that they would be together. After making amends with Tess, she’d never felt so happy. As Christina Aguilera played in the background, the six were gathered around Liz’s home entertainment center. While the night was enjoyed incredibly, Tess couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. Or someone. Kyle’s face flashed briefly before her eyes but she quickly shook it off.
As the group calmed down, Michael brought up a highly sensitive subject. “So uh…Liz blew up a radio earlier.” Her eyes widened instantly, having forgotten about it.
“Yeah, she just raised her hand and boom, sent my radio flying,” Tess stated, recalling the conversation.
“Well, I was really upset and it just happened.” Max looked at her with concern in his eyes. He acknowledged that Liz had been carefully avoiding her alien status, concerning herself with only Tess and now Michael.
“I think that we should go out to the pod chamber, again. The others have never seen the Granolith and maybe we will get some more answers,” Max said. When the other five agreed, they found themselves on their way to the desert.
Upon arrival, Michael, Isabel, Alex, and Maria followed Max, Liz, and Tess through the bottom pod and entered the chamber. It hummed quietly as they entered, as though it recognized their essences.
“It so far has only done something when Liz and I were connected. That’s the only thing that has caused a reaction,” Tess explained. “So maybe if the three of us connected, it would react differently.”
Michael and Liz stepped forward, open to the idea. As Isabel and Max stood back with the others, the siblings realized that this would be their first time connecting with the knowledge of their brotherhood. Gently, Michael took Liz’s and Tess’ hands in his own. The three closed their eyes and were soon connected. They felt their energies combine and meet in the middle. Michael had to fight back tears as he realized how much his sisters already cared about him. He felt subconscious Liz comfort him while subconscious Tess hugged him. After a couple of minutes, after getting to know each other through a connection, they realized that no immediate happenings were taking place. They slowly pulled away and broke apart from each other. Forgetting for a minute that there were other people with them, they hugged each other like they had earlier. Liz felt so safe; the only other time she’d felt that comforted was when she was in Max’s arms. Tess felt happier than she ever had, knowing that there were two people who loved her. Michael felt more complete, knowing that he finally had a family.
Max stepped forward, obviously confused while they noticed that Isabel, Alex, and Maria were walking around the chamber strangely. “Do you guys hear that?”
“Hear what?” Liz didn’t hear anything. Tess and Michael shook their heads in the negative.
“I totally found it!” Alex exclaimed while lying with one ear on the floor of the chamber. Isabel rushed over and pushed him aside. Ignoring his rebuttal, she waved her hand over the tile and a glowing one appeared. She pushed her hand into it and the tile was released.
“As soon as you three connected, a beeping sound started. It sounded like the one that went off when Liz and I found the first one. So we’ve been looking for it,” Max explained.
Isabel uncovered a third orb and handed it to Alex, while she pulled out an odd looking book. By this time, the other four were crowding over her. Michael scooped the orb up and inspected it. Tess was next to him and without asking, took it from his hands. “It look the same,” she said.
Michael gave her an annoyed look and swiped the alien device back from her hands. “I had it first, thank you.” She rolled her eyes while she heard Maria laugh.
“Yeah, she’s definitely your sister, Michael.” Maria had originally been jealous of Tess and Liz, but after seeing her almost-boyfriend so happy, she couldn’t help but be elated for him. He deserved a real family. Besides, Tess really had changed. Perhaps it was time that they become friends. That would be nice.
Who would of thought? Liz’s voice brought her from her thinking.
“I think we should try something now. There are three orbs and three of us,” she said, pointing to her siblings. “The Granolith seems to react to Tess and me, so maybe if we try it, something else will happen.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, and the three held their respective orbs and focused. Nothing happened. Opening their eyes, they silently agreed to try harder one more time. Still nothing. The Granolith hummed along, as though mocking their efforts. Max had an idea but was hesitant about it.
Liz seemed to sense his turmoil and walked to stand next to him. She placed her hand in his as a sign of support. He drew a deep breath, knowing his hypothesis would hurt Maria and Alex.
“I think that the pairs should each have an orb. Liz and me, Isabel and…and Michael, and Tess on her own. Since Liz and I were king and queen, Isabel and Michael were to be married, and Tess wasn’t with anyone that we know of.” He glanced up at his “sister-in-law” to see her reaction. She smiled at him, showing him that she wasn’t affected.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Liz said. She wanted to back him up, even though she knew that Maria’s feelings were going to be hurt and Alex would probably want to hit Michael. They gathered around their orbs and concentrated on each other and their mission. Nothing happened. They reached for each other a little harder, wanting this to work.
Michael was the first to give up as he huffed in frustration. Nothing was happening. Although it felt like…well, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it felt like. Maria and Alex noticeably relaxed when a successful attempt wasn’t achieved.
“Maybe there is someone missing from your circle,” Alex offered. “There is obviously a missing pod,” he said pointing to Liz. “So maybe there was someone else with her?” He was really just pulling things out of the air, but it did sort of make sense…right?
“It does feels like something is missing,” Tess stated simply. “It’s like the energy is there, it’s just lacking that one thing. It can’t quite reach high enough.”
Isabel walked away from Michael in pursuit of the book they found, hoping some answers would be in there. She shrieked when she stumbled across a page with six pictures on it. She dropped the book inadvertently, shock overcoming her emotions.
Tess walked over to pick it up where she left it. She flipped to the page that Isabel had seen and repeated her actions, almost exactly. Her eyes widened and she simply stared before dropping it from her hands as well.
Alex was amused. They looked so silly dropping that book. He walked over, prepared to be the first to
hand it to someone. Once he arrived on the same page, he felt his eyes grow wide with shock. He didn’t drop the book, he just sort of stared at it. But being Alex, he had to quip something. “Oh…ok…that’s why.”
Liz rolled her eyes and walked over. “Oh just let me see it.” Instantly, her scientific mind went into overdrive as she thought over all of her years of knowing this person. She realized that she’d always been drawn to him, as though she knew him but never thought anything of it. Looking up from the book, she walked over to Maria.
“Hey, Mare…um…do you remember telling me in the eighth grade that you’ve always thought that Kyle was weird?”
She nodded.
“Well…you were right.”
Max grabbed the book from her hands. He had to see for himself. Sure enough, the face of Kyle Valenti stared back at him from a book from his home planet.
What the hell?
Sorry, but i gotta ask.