Chapter 14
That fall, it was completely different group that started their senior year from when school ended the previous spring. After hearing about Maria’s blossoming relationship with an ex boyfriend of her’s, Michael completely changed the way he lived his life. Having seen the way that Zan was with all of the girls around Roswell, it was apparent to everyone in the group that Michael had seemingly taken a lesson from the group’s very own casanova. Not only was there Zan, but Michael wasn’t far behind.
Isabel’s forbidden relationship with Jesse Ramirez was still growing strong, the older man having captured her heart in a way that no one else had, had also influenced her as well. She entered her senior year with an air of maturity and determination that she had previously been missing.
Kyle and Tess had since gotten over their shyness with each other. They picked up where they left off, having taken Zan’s suggestions . They made up for lost time together and in between their rendevous, an actual relationship had sprung forth, something that neither had ever had, While they weren’t as entertaining as Michael and Maria had been, they were in a class all on their own.
Having spent his previous time at WRH and the majority of his summer on class work to catch up to everyone else, Zan never had time for anything else. He returned that fall morning with a fresh of breath air, he was glad to not be behind the others anymore. Feeling as though he deserved a reward for his hard work, he was determined to have one, and was making plans for it. His joy only adding when Michael followed his example. The two set out together to conquer most of the senior class.
On the plus side, Alex had found his way back to the group...and much to Isabel’s chagrin, Alicia followed. While everyone knew that Alicia would never become an active member in the ‘I know an alien club’, they were willing to put up with her presence if it meant having Alex back in their midst.
Before school started, Liz promised herself that it was going to be different. She hated that she lost so much time the previous year over her loser exboyfriend. Not only had it been physically draining, but it was an emotional hell. Now that she was back in the world and dating, she promised herself that she was never going to put herself in the position to be hurt that way again. She entered the doors that day with an air of frostiness and a wall built around her heart.
“I have to say, I’m proud of you Zan,” Liz praised as they walked down the hall together. The lunch bell had just wrung, but neither was in a hurry. “This may not have been the hardest thing you have ever gone through, but it was a challenge that you over came.”
Zan didn’t say anything at first. He offered Liz a lopsided smile. “You can be so cornball cherry.”
Liz shook her head in sympathy. “Such perfectly good compliments, wasted...well, see if I give you anymore of those.”
“Oh, you will.” Liz was saved from having to say anything when Michael walked up.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing really,” Zan replied.
Liz shook her head negatively. “Same thing as always, Zan’s just trying to find ways to stroke his ego.”
“Just so long as something’s being stroked,” Zan shot back. He looked down the hall to find a deliciously tempting red head staring at him. “Speaking of stroking, I see an opportunity. I will catch up with the two of you later.”
After Zan’s hasty exit, both Michael and Liz continued on to the courtyard. “What about you?” Liz asked. “Not finding anything to satisfy your appetite?” Her words were laced with sarcasm as she stared at Michael.
Michael sighed, neither Liz or Isabel were happy with his decision about his new life style. He’d been forced to listen to them many times over the summer break about responsibility and romance. As far as he was concerned, he had the romance...he had a relationship. When Maria left, Michael threw himself into his work, hoping that she had done the same thing. After speaking to Liz and finding out about Maria’s new boyfriend, Michael felt as though he’d been slapped in the face. Sure, he was the one to end things between them, but did that mean that Maria had to start up a new relationship so soon after? No, he’d seen first hand how relationships worked, the pain that Liz went through in the aftermath of her breakup with Max...with his ultimate betrayal. Seeing it was one thing, but going through it himself was a completely different manner, they were still no where closely intertwined with each other the way Max and Liz had been, but he still died.
On the other hand, he’d seen first hand how Zan was around town. While Liz, Isabel and Tess frowned upon his life style, Michael could find no wrong in it. It wasn’t as though Zan used anyone. Whenever he started something, he always made sure that the girl went into wide eyed. He didn’t want to have deal with any illusions that she might come up with. Zan was never one for relationships, he kept his sex life perfectly separated from his personal life. He definitely had things worked out, or so Michael thought. He didn’t want a relationship with anyone, but he wanted the perks that went along with it.
He remembered the time he and Zan had gone out alone. It had been two weeks since he learned that Maria was seeing someone else. That night they ran into two equally stunning women. It had been his first experience of casual sex. It had been the complete opposite of how it had been when he was with Maria. With Maria it had been all about emotion, but now...he was free to just feel. Since then he had shared a few other nights with practical strangers and yet, he couldn’t get over the awkwardness of it. Not that the sex was awkward, no the sex was awesome...it was the after part that killed things for him. He wasn’t about to complain though. Sex without strings attached was much better for him.
“What makes you say that?” Michael asked.
Liz gave him a mocking smile. “I thought you two were going to wreak havoc on the senior class this year...or the female portion anyway?”
“Oh, there’s plenty of time for that,” Michael replied. “I still plan to, but I need to narrow down the selection.”
Liz shook her head. “It’s a shame.”
“What is?”
“That you let Maria get to you this bad,” try as he might, Michael was not the one for convenient sex. He may have had the broodiness down pat, but Liz knew him. Deep down, Michael had the tendency to be a cuddly bear. This was not the lifestyle he should be living with.
Michael stopped and looked to Liz. “Excuse me?” He asked.
“You heard me,” Liz replied, refusing to back down. “I understand the pain you are going through, Michael...believe me. It feels like it’s never going to get better, but it will. And this...new way of yours...it just, it doesn’t suit you. You aren’t the kind of person for this.”
“But turning into a complete bitch and not eating is a better way?” Michael shot back. He’d had enough! Who were they judge him?! No. He wasn’t going to sit back and let them demean him! He almost regretted saying what he had after seeing the wounded look flash across Liz’s face...almost. “I wasn’t aware that your life was so perfect that you were now in the position to be judging people.”
“Mic-” Liz tried to sooth him, clearly she’d pushed him too far.
“I don’t see anything spectacular happening in your life,” Michael continued. “You have completely shut off your emotions to the outside world...that was how you chose to deal with it. Which by the way, if you ask me, is no way dealing with a situation. When did you become so perfect? You aren’t you know. Why don’t you concentrate on making your life better, find a boyfriend to occupy your time with instead of judging me.” Michael didn’t wait for a reply before leaving a shell shocked Liz standing in his wake.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Where are Michael and Zan?” Isabel asked as Liz approached their table by herself. She knew for a fact that Zan and Liz had their previous class together and that Michael was only down the all from them.
Liz sat down and pulled out her bottled water. “Zan is otherwise....engaged,” Liz replied, hoping that her friends understood the meaning of it. “And as for Michael...Michael who?”
Kyle, Tess and Isabel exchanged glances at Liz’s expression. While she was still the same old Liz to them, she had a bit of a cold manner when addressing others. It wasn’t the first time since her transformation that she said something so ‘un-Liz like,” as Alex termed it, but it was the first time they ever heard her so frosty when it came to the member of the group.
“What happened?” Tess asked.
Liz smiled thinly, “just Michael being Michael.” Liz shrugged and decided they needed another topic, a safer topic. “How has the day been so far for you guys?”
“Pretty fair,” Kyle replied. “Buddha has blessed me well.”
Tess rolled her eyes, she hated when he mentioned things of Buddhism. She had nothing against the religion, but Kyle had a habit of going overboard. “What he means to say is, he’s lucky because his lovely girlfriend shares four classes with him,” Tess replied. “Of course we don’t have any together after lunch.”
“It’s not fair!” Liz cried out. “Other then this last period I share no classes with any of you.” Liz pouted. “It’s so lonely.” She had been worried about it since they received their schedules that morning. While the rest shared various morning classes, she was secluded. Luckily, for the last two hours, she shared with people. Fifth hour, she, Isabel and Tess were in...a nice chance to get away from the boys. From some strange coincidence, they all shared their last hour together.
Kyle grabbed Liz’s schedule and studied it. “You have like the easiest and nicest teachers this year.” Kyle shrugged, that more then made up for it. He’d be willing to trade Michael and Alex for a better teacher.
“And difficult classes,” Liz shot back. Sometimes she hated being so academically inclined.
“Yes, I can see how this would suck on your college applications,” Kyle retorted. Knowing Liz, he was sure she would be accepted to an Ivy League....the world was at her fingertips.
Liz grumbled under her breath and childishly stuck her tongue out at Kyle.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Who the hell does she think she is?” Michael whispered to himself. He was fired up now, anxiety flowing through his vains.
“Well, now...I wasn’t aware that you would be one to talk to yourself.”
Michael looked up to find Nora Sanchez smirking at him. Ah, Nora...a fellow senior that he had yet to get to know. He’d seen her around a bit, but due to certain situations they’d never once talked before. “Nora,” Michael voiced. “You look good.” The summer had definitely been very good to her.
“You don’t look so bad yourself.”
“Glad you approve,” Nora purred, her hand inching up his chest. “So, I see that you’re single this year...sorry that things didn’t work out with you and Deluca, but well...if they did, you wouldn’t be here right now.”
Michael smiled wolfishly, and this is where I want to be.”
Nora smiled coyly. “Me too.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Standing in front of her rapidly filling bathtub, Liz removed her aqua uniform, stepping out of it as it easily slid from her slim body onto the cool linoleum of her bathroom floor. Turning back to the water, she poured vanilla scented bubble bath before she removed her under garments. Bending over to place her dirty clothes in her clothes basket she felt her keys slip out of the pocket of her uniform. Looking at them she narrowed her eyes. Had she locked the door that night? Passing over her ridiculous and irresponsible thoughts she rolled her eyes to herself. She’d never once forgotten to do something so important. Then again, she knew she should check to be on the safe side.
Turning off the water, she haphazardly tossed her silky hair up into a hair clip before she wrapped her white, satin knee length bath robe. She hoped there was no one outside the Crashdown that could see her in her get up, it was a poor excuse of material.
The lights were dim in the restaurant, an eerie silence had grown over the room as she made her way to the front door. Sticking her key in the slot she turned to the left as she jarred the door forward to make sure it would latch properly. Spinning back around to head upstairs, she was startled when she saw Michael standing in front of her. She gasped in surprise. “Michael! You scared me!” When he didn’t reply, Liz cleared her throat uncomfortably and moved her free had to the top of her robe to clasp it together. “I thought you’d already left for the night.”
Michael shrugged. “I forgot something.” His eyes moved from her own chocolate colored eyes towards her chest. His eyes darkened when he saw spotted two hardened peaks.
“Well, let me let you out then,” Liz said, but neither moved from their spots. His stare was so intense she felt her stomach clench.
With a slow stride, almost predatory as though he were circling his next meal, Michael walked to Liz. Her heart began pounding at the arousal she found in his eyes. Instead of cowering down like the logical part of her mind ordered her to do, she met his gaze head on. “Michael...”
Her voice trailed off in husky whisper. She wasn’t sure why she’d said his name in the first place, but it’d happened. She felt a slight throbbing in her center and she was tempted to rub her legs together in order to alleviate it. Their breaths mingled together as their mouths moved closer and she started trembling.
This was wrong, Liz knew it was. Even though Max hated her at the moment, Michael was his best friend! This was Michael, Maria’s ‘spaceboy’. They would be committing the worse crime of friendship...two times over. She and Maria had grown up close, they followed their own rules, one stating that they wouldn’t date the other’s ex. Liz couldn’t help herself though. It seemed as though a magical spell had been woven over them. “We can’t do this,” she protested weakly, all the while shifting closer to his strong body.
With a half smirk, Michael stared more deeply into her eyes. “Why not?” With that last remark, he went in for the kill. His mouth landed on hers, as his arms slipped around her body, grabbing her more tightly to him. His lips slid open, swiping his tongue teasingly over Liz’s bottom lip encouraging her to open up to his advances. It didn’t take long before she opened her mouth, she groaned when their tongues danced together for the first time.
So entranced as to what Michael was doing, she didn’t notice that he’d moved them back wards to a table of the both. When she felt the hard surface at the back of her thighs, she pulled away from him and moved to sit at the edge. With their eyes locked, she expertly began to untie the knot of the belt. When she finished, she waited for Michael to make the next move.
Leaning in, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. His hands moved to her stomach and then traveled north, passing the valley between her breasts to her shoulders. He moved back to get a better look as he pushed the soft material down her body. Liz felt the breath expelled from her chest at the look of raw hunger. “So beautiful,” he murmured leaning closer and placing a kiss on her neck. He shifted his lower body into the area of her opened legs, his hands running up and down her naked thighs as he kissed his way back up to her mouth. When their lips met they let their tongues tangle once again. Slowly, Michael laid Liz back on the table, his body hovered over hers.
-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP
Breathing heavily, Liz Parker sprung up from her pillow and quickly turned off her alarm clock. Moving to her bathroom, she was shocked to see a red face reflecting back at her. Her body felt as though it was humming with energy. “What is wrong with me?” She asked herself as she leaned down to splash cold water on her face.
Never once had she entertained the idea of a romantic anything between herself and Michael. She never even came close to thinking about it. Even though she remained pretty much unattached throughout the last year and she would spend time with Michael didn’t mean anything. She remembered feeling envious over Maria and Michael’s happiness, or what she had thought was happiness. It was only because she no longer had someone herself...right?
“You okay?’ Tess asked once Liz emerged from her room, packed and ready for school.
Liz nodded. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
Tess narrowed her eyes and studied Liz’s appearance. “You look a little red.”
Liz shook her head. “I was just rushing to get ready. We ready?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
At school, the moment Liz and Tess approached the others, Liz had already spotted Michael standing with Zan to the side. Both were talking quietly with smirks on their faces. “Hey guys, I’m just gonna go. I have some stuff to take care of,” Liz excused before walking away. It wasn’t like Liz to go off on her own. Tess, Isabel, Alex, Kyle and Zan all turned to Michael, pretty sure that he was the reason she was ignoring them.
“What?” Why was everyone staring at him? At Isabel’s less then subtle look and tapping foot, he rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll go talk to her. Finding Liz wasn’t a very difficult task. “What’s up?” He asked walking over to Liz.
“Oh...hey Michael,” Liz refused to meet his eyes.
“I take it you’re still mad at me?”
“What?” Liz asked. Where had that come from?
Michael stepped closer to her. “You won’t look at me, in fact, you didn’t even look at me before.” Michael sighed. “You know how I get sometimes,” he added. “You just pushed me too far, although I shouldn’t have said what I did. Do you forgive me?”
Liz smiled at him for assurance. “Sure, forgiven,” she quickly turned around. Seeing the intense way that he stared at her made her think of her dream.
Michael’s brows furrowed in confusion. She was staring at him in the most peculiar way. “You okay Parker?”
Automatically, Liz shook her head. “I’m fine,” she replied quickly. “I didn’t sleep too well last night...weird dreams and all.”
Michael seemed to accept her answer easily enough. “Isabel mentioned that Max was coming in town...”
Liz nodded. “Yeah, tonight.”
“You going?” Michael asked. Everyone in the group heard about what transpired between Max and Liz during their last meeting. Even though Max was his brother, he’d seen first hand all the pain Liz went through because of Max’s actions. Everyone was stunned to hear about Liz’s right hook, well, that and proud.
Liz shrugged. “Probably.” After her previous encounter with her exboyfriend, she had time to grow. As freeing as that experience had been, she could look back with a different perspective. She hadn’t handled the situation well at all. Maybe with Max’s visit she could right a wrong?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Isn’t she just adorable?” Isabel cooed as she held her niece in her arms. Liz and Tess had stopped by early that night. Neither could wait to see the small baby.
Liz always thought that she would resent the child that Max fathered with another woman, but the moment she looked at Karina, she melted. “She’s precious.” She reached out a hand towards the bundle and smiled when Kara focused on her. “I bet you mom is thrilled to see Max and Kara,” Liz murmured staring at Liz, but her question was directed at Isabel.
“Of course. She wasn’t thrilled at becoming a grandmother at such a young age, but now...she absolutely adores Kara. My brother wants to make sure that Kara is equally as close to his family as she is with Gia’s.”
“Speaking of your brother....where is he?” Tess asked looking around the room.
Isabel shrugged. “He and dad went out earlier. I offered to watch Kara.”
All The Winters... AN up on 12/10/05 (CC/UC, Mature){WIP}
Moderators: Anniepoo98, ISLANDGIRL5, truelovepooh, Forum Moderators
Chapter 15
AN: The song used in this chapter is called “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” by Oasis…on the Butterfly Effect soundtrack.
“Looks like someone has a dirty diaper,” Isabel cooed as she and Tess sat on a sprawled out blanket in the Evans’ backyard. The two female aliens were arguing over who go to hold Kara. “Come on Tess, I’ll teach you how to change a diaper.”
“I don’t think so,” Tess denied while waving her arms around negatively.
Isabel rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, you’ve been playing with her, you can change her.”
“I’ve never changed a diaper before in my life,” Tess answered. “And I don’t plan on starting now.”
“You are just like a guy. You’re willing to do the fun stuff, but not to change a diaper.” Isabel grabbed her niece before stalking into the house to change her diaper with Tess trotting behind her.
Hold up
Hold on
Don't be scared
You'll never change what's been and gone
From across the yard, Liz stood quietly with Max, each watching Tess and Isabel fight over the diaper duties. “She’s adorable Max,” Liz commented. She allowed herself to look over at Max for the first time.
Max smiled proudly. “Thank you Liz.”
“You’re enjoying the father angle aren’t you?” Liz asked. In all their time together he had never once smiled that smile.
Max looked back to Liz. “She’s the most amazing thing Liz, I never knew I would be able to be a dad. I know it’s not the most ideal situation, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”
May your smile (may your smile)
Shine on (shine on)
Don't be scared (don't be scared)
Your destiny may keep you warm
Liz’s heart warmed for Max, it was easy to see just how much Max adored his daughter. “Where’s Gia?” Liz asked after a moment. She hadn’t thought anything about Max’s wife since she arrived, happy that the already awkward situation wasn’t even more strained.
Max ran a hand through his hair. “She’s at home. I figured I’d give her a break for a few days.”
Liz nodded as though she understood what Max talking about. Now was it, if she was ever going to apologize to him it needed to be now. Besides that, they were alone and Liz didn’t think she could apologize in front of a larger group. “About Gia…and all…that, I just wanted to apologize…for our last meeting.”
Max turned to Liz to say something. “You don’t need to…”
Liz nodded. “Yes I do. You have a new life now, and I was wrong to hit you. At the time…I just remember how I fell apart…I always knew on some level that you were happy. When we connected and I saw what you said, I guess I just lost it.”
“Liz, I-”
Cos all of the stars
Are fading away
Just try not to worry
You'll see them some day
Take what you need
And be on your way
And stop crying your heart out
“I felt how you felt when you said that,” Liz confessed, continuing as though she didn’t hear Max. “I know that you were only trying to comfort Gia and I know you don’t feel that way about me.” Liz smiled sadly. “It was just like a kick in the gut to see you downplay our relationship like that. It hurt more then I could ever imagine.”
Max closed his eyes painfully, he knew all too well the emotions Liz was talking about. During their brief connection, he remembered Liz’s bitterness and loneliness…the way it flowed through his entire being. Max sighed. “I really messed up Liz.”
“You won’t get any arguments from me,” Liz replied truthfully. “You didn’t just screw up Max, you royally screwed up. Not only did you were wreckless with Gia, you were irresponsible.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Max returned with a frustrated growl. “I know that I let my sister and Michael down. I know that I let you all down…” He huffed disgustedly. “Some great leader I am.” He let out a bitter laugh. “You know that little miracle in there isn’t mine?”
Liz looked down, Isabel’s suspicions came to the forefront of her mind. After seeing Karina she had to agree with her friend. That baby looked nothing like Max.
“I think this is my punishment for going against everything I’ve ever known,” Max confessed.
“You’re not being punished Max,” Liz replied soothingly. “Regardless of the fact that you didn’t create that child, you are the only father that she knows…how can that be punishment?”
Get up (get up)
Come on (come on)
Why're you scared? (I'm not scared)
You'll never change
What's been and gone
“I stupidly married her, I willingly gave over my life.”
“You didn’t have to marry her,” sure the Evans’ would have preferred it, but in all truth, Max didn’t have to marry Gia. Having said that though, Liz knew he would have. It was the noble thing to do…that was the kind of guy that he was.
Deciding not to comment on Liz’s words, he changed the subject. “Why did you apologize Liz?”
Liz shrugged. “I don’t want to become this bitter woman. I’d like to move on and I just didn’t feel as though I could truly do that without apologizing.”
“I never meant to send you that flash,” Max told Liz softly. “I would never do that to you.”
Liz nodded. “I know that…now. For a while there, I wasn’t so sure.” Liz shrugged painfully, remembering the things she heard. “I guess it just makes sense that we would spontaneously connect.”
Max cleared his throat. “So, Zan isn’t home yet huh? Doesn’t that bug you?”
Liz raised her brows in silent question. “Why would it bug me?”
Cos all of the stars
Are fading away
Just try not to worry
You'll see them some day
Take what you need
And be on your way
And stop crying your heart out
“It’s just…last time I was here, Maria kind of led me to believe that there was something going on between you and Zan.”
Liz nodded thoughtfully. It would figure that Maria would do something like that. “Explain to me what business that is of yours,” her tone wasn’t rude, but she made sure to be stern with him.
“It’s not…I just thought that, you deserve better then that.”
Liz tossed Max a disbelieving look. “This coming from you? No offense Max, but I doubt anyone out there could fuck me over worse then you.” Liz shook her head to get back on their conversation. Liz let out a dejected sigh. “I thought you knew me better then this.” Liz spun around to Max and pushed against his chest. “What is wrong with you? First of all, what would it say about me if I went for Zan? It would be horrible, besides that it would be like being with a different form of you. Secondly, where do you get off asking me about who I’m dating? I don’t ask you about your life with Gia.”
“I know how wrong it is,” Max replied…his tone none too lightly. “I can’t help it though,” he gently confessed. “I hate the thought of you with anyone else.”
“That’s rich,” Liz smiled sarcastically. “This coming from you? You’re married to someone else.” Liz quickly shut her mouth, closed her eyes and mentally coached herself to calm down. “Argh!” She shrieked and threw her hands in the air. “You are so frustrating! Why is it that every time I get around you I feel like screaming and hitting you. I end up looking like the bad guy and to be honest…I don’t want to hate you.” Liz looked to the house. “I’m going to do us both a favor and leave before I say anything that you or I could regret.” Liz turned around, but she was stopped from moving when she felt her arm being pulled on.
Cos all of the stars
Are fading away
Just try not to worry
You'll see them some day
Take what you need
And be on your way
And stop crying your heart out
“Liz I…”
Liz spun around angrily. “No Max! You moved on! You married someone else and you have a child with her. Why is it okay for you, but not me? Are you just that self centered? Did you even care about me, about the crap that I went through over you? Did you know that I lost a lot of weight and my grades suffered?” She paused, taking a chance to look at him, and wasn’t disappointed when she saw him staring at the ground guiltily. “You knew,” Liz breathed out looking at Max, she shook her head pathetically. “And you didn’t even try to contact me…did you even care?”
Liz’s words were hitting just a little too close to him. “What? It’s not like you would have even answered me!”
That was it! All of Liz’s anger bubbled forth and she let out the only way she knew how, she pushed Max…hard, harder then she ever expected to. “Bull shit! That’s complete bull shit!” With adrenaline flowing through her body, Liz rubbed her eyes. This was a mistake. She should have never come by. “You didn’t even try,” she’d lost all her fighting power, her tone was soft and defeated.
We're all of us stars
We're fading away
Just try not to worry
You'll see us some day
Just take what you need
And be on your way
And stop crying your heart out
Stop crying your heart out
Stop crying your heart out
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz walked into the Evans with a heavy heart. She wanted to grab her things and leave. Whenever she came over and Max was here, it was always an emotionally draining experience. The first thing she noticed as she walked inside through the back door was that the house was uncommonly quiet.
“Hello?” Liz walked through to the wash room. “Mrs. Evans?” When no one was there, she made her way to the living room. “Isabel?” The sight that greeted her was one that stopped her heart. Max’s family and Tess were lying around the room, each knocked out. Liz ran to Isabel’s side. “Isabel?” She heard a small cry come from the closet. Liz pulled open the door and was shocked to find Karina on the floor. She wasted no time in grabbing the small bundle. “You okay sweetling?” Liz kissed her head. “Let’s go get your daddy.” She turned around to the kitchen, but stopped in her tracks…fear gripped her heart.
“Well, hello again Liz,” Nicholas greeted in a rather pleasant voice.
Unconsciously, Liz tightened her grip on Kara, holding the small child closer to her body. “Nicholas,” she breathed.
Walking into the room, Nicholas smiled, a sort of twisted and evil grin. “I see you still remember me.” He stepped closer to Liz, his eyes narrowed as he watched Liz shield the small baby from his arms. “I wasn’t aware that a new heir was conceived.” Nicholas looked at the baby before turning to Liz. “It must really kill you that Zan fathered it with someone else.”
“What do you want Nicholas?”
Nicholas smiled and shook his head at Liz’s question. He always thought she was a smart girl. “Why to eliminate the threat to Khivar’s throne…of course.”
A feeling of dread overcame Liz as she stared at the pubescent alien.
“Let’s go for a drive,” Nicholas insisted. At that moment two other skins emerged into the room, each flanking Liz on each side. “We don’t want Zan arriving and ruining our surprise.”
“Let us go Nicholas!” Liz cried out wrenching away from the henchmen. “Max doesn’t even remember his past life…he wants nothing to do with it!”
Nicholas stepped forward to Liz and leaned in. “I’m trying to be a nice guy here, don’t make me get forceful…you know I will.” He tossed her a look of triumph as he realized she resigned herself to the situation. “Grab a diaper bag and make sure you have everything for this child.”
“If you’re going to kill her…what’s the point?” Liz demanded, wondering why he would issue that order to one of his lackies.
“What do you take me for? A monster?” When Liz didn’t say anything his eyes narrowed. “I will make sure that the princess will be taken care of until it’s time.” When the skin came back with the diaper bag, Nicholas gestured towards the door. “Let’s go.”
As he led Liz out the front door, Lis narrowed her eyes. “You won’t get away with this. The minute that Max realizes his daughter is gone he is going to ballistic. He’ll be out for blood,” she spat at him.
“I’m hoping on it.” He roughly grabbed Liz’s arm. “Move, now.”
“Hey! Hey! What the hell’s going on here?” An intruder ordered as he rushed over.
Liz looked over and shook her head. Jesse was the last person that needed to be involved. “Get out of here Jesse!” He had no idea about Isabel’s alien status. “This isn’t your concern.”
“The hell it isn’t. What the hell are you doing with that child and who are these people.”
“Just leave Jesse!” Liz ordered ignoring his questions. From behind Liz, Nicholas shot out his hand. “No!” She watched as Jesse crumpled to the ground.
“Grab him,” Nicholas ordered.
“He has nothing to do with this! Let him go!”
“We don’t want him running to Zan do we?” He pushed Liz forward to the unmarked van out front the Evans’ residence. He gently helped Liz into the van, Kara was still nestled in her arms.
Liz watched helplessly as Jesse was tossed into the van like he was nothing more then a rag doll.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Max waited patiently out back for Liz’s departure. He wanted to make sure that she was gone before going back in. He was pretty sure how upset she was with his presence, and the last thing he wanted to do was increase that feeling.
Finding his parents, Isabel and Tess knocked out on the floor of the living room was the last thing he expected. Something serious was wrong! He ran to his sister and Tess, giving them a small nudge with his powers to wake them up.
“What the hell happened?” Tess asked groggily. She couldn’t remember anything past walking into the living to change Kara’s diaper. All she knew for sure was that her head was killing her.
Max looked around the room. He decided to leave his parents out while they came up with a story to give them. “Where’s Kara?”
Isabel closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, she was just as disoriented as Tess. “I…heard a noise…and…there was this feeling. Tess his her in the closet.”
Max rushed to the closet, a light feeling in the chest. She had to be okay. The feeling was quickly changed to dread as he noticed that his daughter wasn’t there. “She’s gone!”
“Where’s Liz?” Tess asked as she looked around.
“She left,” Max replied distractedly as he began checking all the room around the house for Kara.
Isabel moved to the door, pulling it open quickly. A purse had been left on the front porch. Isabel moved to pick it up. She knew it was Liz’s, she had been with her when Liz bought it. She searched through it, finding Liz’s wallet and keys. She stepped out into the sunlight searching for Liz’s car. As she suspected, Liz’s car was in the same place she parked it when she arrived. As she turned around to tell Max and Tess, she stopped in her tracks as she spotted Jesse’s abandoned car. The driver door was still open.
“Isabel?” Tess asked stepping out. “Is that Liz’s?” She asked gesturing to the purse.
Isabel nodded, her eyes still on Jesse’s car. “It get’s worse,” she explained as she nodded her head to Jesse’s car.
“Is that…”
“Yeah.”
AN: The song used in this chapter is called “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” by Oasis…on the Butterfly Effect soundtrack.
“Looks like someone has a dirty diaper,” Isabel cooed as she and Tess sat on a sprawled out blanket in the Evans’ backyard. The two female aliens were arguing over who go to hold Kara. “Come on Tess, I’ll teach you how to change a diaper.”
“I don’t think so,” Tess denied while waving her arms around negatively.
Isabel rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, you’ve been playing with her, you can change her.”
“I’ve never changed a diaper before in my life,” Tess answered. “And I don’t plan on starting now.”
“You are just like a guy. You’re willing to do the fun stuff, but not to change a diaper.” Isabel grabbed her niece before stalking into the house to change her diaper with Tess trotting behind her.
Hold up
Hold on
Don't be scared
You'll never change what's been and gone
From across the yard, Liz stood quietly with Max, each watching Tess and Isabel fight over the diaper duties. “She’s adorable Max,” Liz commented. She allowed herself to look over at Max for the first time.
Max smiled proudly. “Thank you Liz.”
“You’re enjoying the father angle aren’t you?” Liz asked. In all their time together he had never once smiled that smile.
Max looked back to Liz. “She’s the most amazing thing Liz, I never knew I would be able to be a dad. I know it’s not the most ideal situation, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”
May your smile (may your smile)
Shine on (shine on)
Don't be scared (don't be scared)
Your destiny may keep you warm
Liz’s heart warmed for Max, it was easy to see just how much Max adored his daughter. “Where’s Gia?” Liz asked after a moment. She hadn’t thought anything about Max’s wife since she arrived, happy that the already awkward situation wasn’t even more strained.
Max ran a hand through his hair. “She’s at home. I figured I’d give her a break for a few days.”
Liz nodded as though she understood what Max talking about. Now was it, if she was ever going to apologize to him it needed to be now. Besides that, they were alone and Liz didn’t think she could apologize in front of a larger group. “About Gia…and all…that, I just wanted to apologize…for our last meeting.”
Max turned to Liz to say something. “You don’t need to…”
Liz nodded. “Yes I do. You have a new life now, and I was wrong to hit you. At the time…I just remember how I fell apart…I always knew on some level that you were happy. When we connected and I saw what you said, I guess I just lost it.”
“Liz, I-”
Cos all of the stars
Are fading away
Just try not to worry
You'll see them some day
Take what you need
And be on your way
And stop crying your heart out
“I felt how you felt when you said that,” Liz confessed, continuing as though she didn’t hear Max. “I know that you were only trying to comfort Gia and I know you don’t feel that way about me.” Liz smiled sadly. “It was just like a kick in the gut to see you downplay our relationship like that. It hurt more then I could ever imagine.”
Max closed his eyes painfully, he knew all too well the emotions Liz was talking about. During their brief connection, he remembered Liz’s bitterness and loneliness…the way it flowed through his entire being. Max sighed. “I really messed up Liz.”
“You won’t get any arguments from me,” Liz replied truthfully. “You didn’t just screw up Max, you royally screwed up. Not only did you were wreckless with Gia, you were irresponsible.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Max returned with a frustrated growl. “I know that I let my sister and Michael down. I know that I let you all down…” He huffed disgustedly. “Some great leader I am.” He let out a bitter laugh. “You know that little miracle in there isn’t mine?”
Liz looked down, Isabel’s suspicions came to the forefront of her mind. After seeing Karina she had to agree with her friend. That baby looked nothing like Max.
“I think this is my punishment for going against everything I’ve ever known,” Max confessed.
“You’re not being punished Max,” Liz replied soothingly. “Regardless of the fact that you didn’t create that child, you are the only father that she knows…how can that be punishment?”
Get up (get up)
Come on (come on)
Why're you scared? (I'm not scared)
You'll never change
What's been and gone
“I stupidly married her, I willingly gave over my life.”
“You didn’t have to marry her,” sure the Evans’ would have preferred it, but in all truth, Max didn’t have to marry Gia. Having said that though, Liz knew he would have. It was the noble thing to do…that was the kind of guy that he was.
Deciding not to comment on Liz’s words, he changed the subject. “Why did you apologize Liz?”
Liz shrugged. “I don’t want to become this bitter woman. I’d like to move on and I just didn’t feel as though I could truly do that without apologizing.”
“I never meant to send you that flash,” Max told Liz softly. “I would never do that to you.”
Liz nodded. “I know that…now. For a while there, I wasn’t so sure.” Liz shrugged painfully, remembering the things she heard. “I guess it just makes sense that we would spontaneously connect.”
Max cleared his throat. “So, Zan isn’t home yet huh? Doesn’t that bug you?”
Liz raised her brows in silent question. “Why would it bug me?”
Cos all of the stars
Are fading away
Just try not to worry
You'll see them some day
Take what you need
And be on your way
And stop crying your heart out
“It’s just…last time I was here, Maria kind of led me to believe that there was something going on between you and Zan.”
Liz nodded thoughtfully. It would figure that Maria would do something like that. “Explain to me what business that is of yours,” her tone wasn’t rude, but she made sure to be stern with him.
“It’s not…I just thought that, you deserve better then that.”
Liz tossed Max a disbelieving look. “This coming from you? No offense Max, but I doubt anyone out there could fuck me over worse then you.” Liz shook her head to get back on their conversation. Liz let out a dejected sigh. “I thought you knew me better then this.” Liz spun around to Max and pushed against his chest. “What is wrong with you? First of all, what would it say about me if I went for Zan? It would be horrible, besides that it would be like being with a different form of you. Secondly, where do you get off asking me about who I’m dating? I don’t ask you about your life with Gia.”
“I know how wrong it is,” Max replied…his tone none too lightly. “I can’t help it though,” he gently confessed. “I hate the thought of you with anyone else.”
“That’s rich,” Liz smiled sarcastically. “This coming from you? You’re married to someone else.” Liz quickly shut her mouth, closed her eyes and mentally coached herself to calm down. “Argh!” She shrieked and threw her hands in the air. “You are so frustrating! Why is it that every time I get around you I feel like screaming and hitting you. I end up looking like the bad guy and to be honest…I don’t want to hate you.” Liz looked to the house. “I’m going to do us both a favor and leave before I say anything that you or I could regret.” Liz turned around, but she was stopped from moving when she felt her arm being pulled on.
Cos all of the stars
Are fading away
Just try not to worry
You'll see them some day
Take what you need
And be on your way
And stop crying your heart out
“Liz I…”
Liz spun around angrily. “No Max! You moved on! You married someone else and you have a child with her. Why is it okay for you, but not me? Are you just that self centered? Did you even care about me, about the crap that I went through over you? Did you know that I lost a lot of weight and my grades suffered?” She paused, taking a chance to look at him, and wasn’t disappointed when she saw him staring at the ground guiltily. “You knew,” Liz breathed out looking at Max, she shook her head pathetically. “And you didn’t even try to contact me…did you even care?”
Liz’s words were hitting just a little too close to him. “What? It’s not like you would have even answered me!”
That was it! All of Liz’s anger bubbled forth and she let out the only way she knew how, she pushed Max…hard, harder then she ever expected to. “Bull shit! That’s complete bull shit!” With adrenaline flowing through her body, Liz rubbed her eyes. This was a mistake. She should have never come by. “You didn’t even try,” she’d lost all her fighting power, her tone was soft and defeated.
We're all of us stars
We're fading away
Just try not to worry
You'll see us some day
Just take what you need
And be on your way
And stop crying your heart out
Stop crying your heart out
Stop crying your heart out
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz walked into the Evans with a heavy heart. She wanted to grab her things and leave. Whenever she came over and Max was here, it was always an emotionally draining experience. The first thing she noticed as she walked inside through the back door was that the house was uncommonly quiet.
“Hello?” Liz walked through to the wash room. “Mrs. Evans?” When no one was there, she made her way to the living room. “Isabel?” The sight that greeted her was one that stopped her heart. Max’s family and Tess were lying around the room, each knocked out. Liz ran to Isabel’s side. “Isabel?” She heard a small cry come from the closet. Liz pulled open the door and was shocked to find Karina on the floor. She wasted no time in grabbing the small bundle. “You okay sweetling?” Liz kissed her head. “Let’s go get your daddy.” She turned around to the kitchen, but stopped in her tracks…fear gripped her heart.
“Well, hello again Liz,” Nicholas greeted in a rather pleasant voice.
Unconsciously, Liz tightened her grip on Kara, holding the small child closer to her body. “Nicholas,” she breathed.
Walking into the room, Nicholas smiled, a sort of twisted and evil grin. “I see you still remember me.” He stepped closer to Liz, his eyes narrowed as he watched Liz shield the small baby from his arms. “I wasn’t aware that a new heir was conceived.” Nicholas looked at the baby before turning to Liz. “It must really kill you that Zan fathered it with someone else.”
“What do you want Nicholas?”
Nicholas smiled and shook his head at Liz’s question. He always thought she was a smart girl. “Why to eliminate the threat to Khivar’s throne…of course.”
A feeling of dread overcame Liz as she stared at the pubescent alien.
“Let’s go for a drive,” Nicholas insisted. At that moment two other skins emerged into the room, each flanking Liz on each side. “We don’t want Zan arriving and ruining our surprise.”
“Let us go Nicholas!” Liz cried out wrenching away from the henchmen. “Max doesn’t even remember his past life…he wants nothing to do with it!”
Nicholas stepped forward to Liz and leaned in. “I’m trying to be a nice guy here, don’t make me get forceful…you know I will.” He tossed her a look of triumph as he realized she resigned herself to the situation. “Grab a diaper bag and make sure you have everything for this child.”
“If you’re going to kill her…what’s the point?” Liz demanded, wondering why he would issue that order to one of his lackies.
“What do you take me for? A monster?” When Liz didn’t say anything his eyes narrowed. “I will make sure that the princess will be taken care of until it’s time.” When the skin came back with the diaper bag, Nicholas gestured towards the door. “Let’s go.”
As he led Liz out the front door, Lis narrowed her eyes. “You won’t get away with this. The minute that Max realizes his daughter is gone he is going to ballistic. He’ll be out for blood,” she spat at him.
“I’m hoping on it.” He roughly grabbed Liz’s arm. “Move, now.”
“Hey! Hey! What the hell’s going on here?” An intruder ordered as he rushed over.
Liz looked over and shook her head. Jesse was the last person that needed to be involved. “Get out of here Jesse!” He had no idea about Isabel’s alien status. “This isn’t your concern.”
“The hell it isn’t. What the hell are you doing with that child and who are these people.”
“Just leave Jesse!” Liz ordered ignoring his questions. From behind Liz, Nicholas shot out his hand. “No!” She watched as Jesse crumpled to the ground.
“Grab him,” Nicholas ordered.
“He has nothing to do with this! Let him go!”
“We don’t want him running to Zan do we?” He pushed Liz forward to the unmarked van out front the Evans’ residence. He gently helped Liz into the van, Kara was still nestled in her arms.
Liz watched helplessly as Jesse was tossed into the van like he was nothing more then a rag doll.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Max waited patiently out back for Liz’s departure. He wanted to make sure that she was gone before going back in. He was pretty sure how upset she was with his presence, and the last thing he wanted to do was increase that feeling.
Finding his parents, Isabel and Tess knocked out on the floor of the living room was the last thing he expected. Something serious was wrong! He ran to his sister and Tess, giving them a small nudge with his powers to wake them up.
“What the hell happened?” Tess asked groggily. She couldn’t remember anything past walking into the living to change Kara’s diaper. All she knew for sure was that her head was killing her.
Max looked around the room. He decided to leave his parents out while they came up with a story to give them. “Where’s Kara?”
Isabel closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, she was just as disoriented as Tess. “I…heard a noise…and…there was this feeling. Tess his her in the closet.”
Max rushed to the closet, a light feeling in the chest. She had to be okay. The feeling was quickly changed to dread as he noticed that his daughter wasn’t there. “She’s gone!”
“Where’s Liz?” Tess asked as she looked around.
“She left,” Max replied distractedly as he began checking all the room around the house for Kara.
Isabel moved to the door, pulling it open quickly. A purse had been left on the front porch. Isabel moved to pick it up. She knew it was Liz’s, she had been with her when Liz bought it. She searched through it, finding Liz’s wallet and keys. She stepped out into the sunlight searching for Liz’s car. As she suspected, Liz’s car was in the same place she parked it when she arrived. As she turned around to tell Max and Tess, she stopped in her tracks as she spotted Jesse’s abandoned car. The driver door was still open.
“Isabel?” Tess asked stepping out. “Is that Liz’s?” She asked gesturing to the purse.
Isabel nodded, her eyes still on Jesse’s car. “It get’s worse,” she explained as she nodded her head to Jesse’s car.
“Is that…”
“Yeah.”
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Hey guys! First off, let me apologize for taking so long with getting this chapter out. I was suffering from a huge case of writers block, but I found my motivation and I was able to finally get this out. Sorry if it isn't up to par, but I wanted to get it out ASAP. Uh, also, thanks for everyone who is still watching for this story!
Chapter 16
“Jesse?” Liz asked in a small voice. Once she was pushed in the van, she’d been knocked out herself. Since she opened her eyes to find herself in a cell of a room, Liz hadn’t seen Kara and Jesse was still passed out.
As if it was bad enough to have to deal with Nicholas at all, it was even worse to deal with him when there was no there to protect her.
“Jesse, wake up...please.” She looked around the room that held her captive and she shuddered. How long had she been out? Did Max and the others know that they had been taken? Liz hoped so. What chance did they stand against Nicholas and the rest of the skins if not?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“What are we going to do Max?” Tess asked softly. “What if Isabel can’t get through to one of them?”
Max stiffened. He refused to think like that. “We’ll think of something.” He’d do anything to make sure that his daughter and Liz were safe. He prayed that his sister could get some answers through her dream walk.
“Any news?” Michael asked as he walked through the front door with Zan.
Tess shook her head negatively. “No. Isabel tried Liz first, but she must be awake because Isabel couldn’t get through. She’s trying Jesse now.”
“Je...Jesse? Jesse Ramirez as in Mr. Evans’ co-worker? He’s involved in this?” Michael asked with panic settling in his voice. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
Tess rolled her eyes. Was Michael really that dense. “Gee, I don’t know...maybe we thought that you’d over react....kind of like what you’re doing now...”
“Of course I’m going to over react! We’re screwed now! That guy won’t keep his mouth shut when he finds out about us!” Michael ran his hands over his face. “What are you guys going to tell him?”
“The truth,” Max replied in a defeated manner. In the past half hour, he felt as though he’d aged a considerable amount He couldn’t think about anything other then his daughter.
Michael let out a sigh of frustration. “Isabel should have never dated him!”
Of course, that was the moment that Isabel chose to awaken from her dream walk. Needless to say she wasn’t a happy person to hear Michael’s declaration. “Excuse me Michael. I’m so confused as to what you’ve been doing so far?”
Michael crossed his arms. “That’s different. I don’t let them get to know me, I don’t bring them into my personal life.”
“How is it my fault that the skins took Jesse?”
Before Michael could respond, Max stood up. “Quiet, all of you! This isn’t helping anything. It doesn’t matter what happened to lead up to this, it’s happened. We need to find them before anything can happen.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Mmm,” Jesse groaned as he started to wake up.
Lis lifted her head off the bed and looked expectantly at Isabel’s boyfriend. She honestly didn’t know why she was relieved that Jesse was awake. He knew nothing about Isabel and the others, he was in no condition to be of help, never-mind the fact that if he was in tip top shape that he wouldn’t be able to help.
Jesse squinted open his eyes. His head hurt and his eyes were sensitive to the light hanging above his head. He looked over and spotted Liz staring at him. “Liz? What are we doing here? What’s going on?”
Gnawing on her bottom lip, Liz paused. What should she say? It was a serious situation, and Jesse deserved to know, on the other hand, it wasn’t her call to be the one to decide seeing as she didn’t have any powers herself. “Well, it’s like this....” ‘We were taken hostage by a group of aliens that wants nothing more then to see your alien girlfriend suffer along with her alien family’. Liz opened her mouth several times to explain things to him, but the audacity of what she would say rang clearly through her head and she shut her mouth before anything could be revealed.
From his position, Jesse watched Liz open and close her mouth as though she were a fish. Ever since he’d met Liz, she’d always been polite, but he’d never known her to have a problem with words. “Liz,” he said breaking through to her. “My head hurts, we’re in this...” he looked around, “room. Just tell me how the hell did we get here? What are we doing here and does my head hurt?”
Okay, she could answer those questions. “Uh, we were....” Liz paused looking for the right word to describe what had happened to them, “kid-napped?” She finished off unsurely. “I don’t know why we’re here. Although I have suspicions since Kara is missing. They hit us over the head to knock us out so we couldn’t see where we are...when we were coming here.”
“Kid-napped?” Jesse exclaimed when Liz finished answering him. “What the hell is going on?”
Liz quieted down, “okay, I’ll tell you, but I have to ask that you keep all comments and questions to yourself until after I finish.” When she received Jesse’s confirmation, Liz began speaking. “Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess are aliens. More precisely, they are reincarnated royalty sent to Earth.” Liz opened up about everything that had taken place since Max first healed her in the Crashdown that fateful September afternoon. She watched as her story continued, the various facial expressions that Jesse had and the thinly controlled way he was keeping himself in check so as not to interrupt her.
“Are you done?” Jesse asked after a pregnant pause when Liz had stopped talking. He waited for her to nod and then he nodded back. “You are insane. I don’t know what is wrong that you feel you have to...”
“It’s the truth! Why would I lie about this? Look around you Jesse, do you really think I’m so pathetic that I would make up this whole elaborate scheme?”
Jesse paused. “There are no such things as aliens,” he replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“What do you mean nothing comes up?” Nicholas demanded as he looked at his head scientist in disgust. “Are you doing things properly?”
Catching himself before going out of rank to say anything to Nicholas, Hutchenson nodded meekly. “Of course I am. I have done it repeatedly and...nothing. This child has no Antarian DNA.”
“Do you mean at all or are you talking about latent abilities?” Nicholas asked trying to get more information from Hutchenson.
“No, I mean none....at all. This child is no more Zan’s child then you or I are.”
Shaking his head in shame, Nicholas couldn’t deny the intriguing smile on his face. “Not his huh? What a shmuck! Oh, this is rich!”
“Niko!” A voice boomed through the lab causing both alien to straighten up. “Judging by the insipid smile on your pathetic face, I’d say you have good news for me.”
Nicholas stood tall and nodded. “Actually, it’s a little more interesting.”
“Explain.”
“Go ahead Hutchenson,” Nicholas commanded.
With palms sweating and his heart racing, Hutchenson cleared his throat. The uplink between them and Antar was a new one. He wasn’t used to addressing Khivar personally. “After several tests, it’s been concluded that this child shares no blood with Zan.”
“The child isn’t his?” Khivar asked after a moment of silence.
“Doesn’t appear to be,” Hutchenson affirmed.
Nicholas looked down at the tiny bundle and raised his eyes. What a pain this thing was. All babies did was cry and eat and sleep. They were much more efficient in the way that when their children were ‘born’ they were fully developed. They weren’t forced to deal with all this needless crap. “What should we do with the child?”
“Return it.”
“Just like that?” Nicholas asked.
Over the com, Khivar shook his head. “Nicholas, when will you learn not to second guess me? Have those years you’ve spent down there effected your brain? Do you want something to become of this? If anything happens to that child you can guarantee that Zan will be at the door with guns blazing.”
Looking down in shame at being reprimanded in front of someone else, Nicholas barely raised his face to ask his next question. “What of the others?”
“Release them as well. You ought not have brought them with you.” Khivar shook his head. “I have no need for simpering humans who can’t defend themselves. We may be at war here, but I’m certainly not interested in killing someone innocent in this.”
Nicholas waited until the link went down before frowning in anger. “You heard him!” He barked to the scientist.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jesse and Liz hadn’t shared a conversation since Liz had told Jesse all about the aliens. Of course it was Jesse’s first reaction to deny her words, Liz understood it, she totally did. She had to give him props though, he handled the truth much better then Maria. When the door slammed open, both jumped, neither sure what to expect. When someone walked through the door carrying Kara, Liz jumped out of her seat to gather Max’s daughter in her arms.
“Oh thank god you’re okay,” she murmured as she took closer inspection of Kara. Liz looked up, never noticing that Nicholas had made his way into the room. She pulled Kara closer to her body and met Nicholas’ eyes with as much courage as she could muster.
“Come on.” He ushered both captives to the door.
“Where are we going?” Liz asked. When neither she nor Jesse began moving, chaperones had walked up to them and pushed them into walking.
Nicholas smiled to himself. “Do you really think I’m going to answer you?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“All right, we have to do something,” Alex announced. He, Kyle and Jim had been called over an hour earlier. Ever since their arrival, no on had been able to come up with anything.
“What can we do?” Isabel asked. “We have no idea where they were taken, it’d be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Alex nodded, “I understand that,” Alex replied. “We can’t just sit here anymore though. The longer we sit the further away they could get. Besides, if we drove around maybe we could find clues or something...”
“Alex is right, we should split up.,” Tess agreed.
Seeing that Max was in no condition to make preparations, Michael assumed leadership. “Max and I will take this direction,” he pointed to a map they had gotten out earlier. “Tess, you, Zan and Alex go this way,” he pointed to an alternate route. “That leaves Isabel, Jim and Kyle with this way.” Alex, you have a cell, Isabel, give me yours and if we need to get in touch we can call Kyle’s.”
That was about half an hour earlier. Staring out the windshield, Michael sighed. So far they hadn’t found any clues to anything. In the seat next to him, Max was looking worse for the wear.
“Michael, I think I see something,” Max said as he squinted into the darkness. Michael tried to look in the same direction, but he didn’t see anything.
“Are you sure?”
“Pull over!”
Michael pulled the car to a stop and both emerged from it. He chose to walk behind Max, not even sure if what his friend was seeing was real. Max forged on into the desert. “Hello?” He called out. “Liz!” He continued walking, straining his ears to hear a reply. “Liz!”
Max, it was as nothing more then a faint whisper, but both aliens heard it anyway. They took off straight I front of them. Max’s spirits lifted when he spotted Liz and Jesse walked side by side, Liz was carrying a small bundle. He was the first one to reach the three. He hugged Liz, thanking her over and over for still having Kara. He lifted his daughter from Liz’s arms and held her close to his chest, cooing in baby talk.
Liz and Jesse stopped walking, both were dehydrated and in pain due to their seemingly endless walk. Liz’s eyes watered as she watched Max with his daughter. She couldn’t see anything in common between this Max and the sarcastic one from earlier that day.
“Liz?” She took her attention away from her ex and his daughter and looked to Michael. She smiled softly before walking into his embrace.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On their way home, Michael had called to alert everyone that Jesse and Liz were found and that Kara was unharmed and with them. No one spoke a word on the way to the Evans’ residence. Max focused on Kara, Jesse never took his eyes off the window he was staring out of and Liz, she was dozing off with her head laying against Michael’s shoulder.
When they pulled up, everyone else was already there, Isabel was the first one out the door, rushing into Jesse’s arms. As everyone met around the vehicle, Michael paused and looked down at Liz. “Liz, Liz wake up,” he said in a gentle voice.
Opening her eyes, Liz yawned. “Michael?” She looked to him. “Where are we?”
“We’re at the Evans’. Do you want me to take you home?”
Liz nodded. “I’m exhausted.”
“We can meet tomorrow and discuss what happened,” Michael supplied. He looked out the window to find Isabel and Jesse locked in what seemed to be a serious conversation. “Besides, I don’t think we’d get very much accomplished tonight.” He rolled down his window. “Lets meet tomorrow and talk about it,” Michael offered. “Liz is tired and Max has to take care of Kara and Jese...” he motioned over there. Alex looked from Michael and nodded when he saw why Michael trailed off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“How could you not tell me Isabel?” Jesse asked.
Isabel understood how Jesse felt, really she did. He was kid-napped and held against his will, but she wanted to make him understand why she hid it from him. “It’s not something I go about announcing Jesse. It’s not just me involved. I really wanted to tell you. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be in a relationship and have to hold yourself back?”
Jesse stopped talking, thinking about the lie that she had told. Isabel’s words hit something in him. He didn’t know what it was like to have to hide from someone like that, but her words had struck a cord. Isabel was honestly and genuinely sorry for not saying anything sooner.
Isabel looked down at the lawn. “What happens to us now?”
Jesse paused. “I don’t know,” he replied truthfully. “I know you didn’t lie to me to be mean, but this is just going to take some time for me to adjust.”
At the words adjust, Isabel looked up with a hopeful smile. “Meaning you plan on sticking around?”
Smiling down at Isabel, Jesse nodded. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I bet you’re happy to be home,” Michael remarked from Liz’s bed. She walked out into her bedroom, her hair wet from her shower.
Laying down next to him, Liz groaned. It felt so good to be in her own bed. “Yeah.”
Turning to Liz, Michael held his head propped up by his hand and looked down to his companion. “I know we’re going to go through this tomorrow, but I just have to ask. How did you guys get away?”
Opening her eyes, Liz looked to Michael. “We didn’t. They let us go.” She thought back to Nicholas’ attitude. “I don’t think Nicholas wanted to though.”
Reading behind the lines, Michael narrowed his eyes. “So...Khivar ordered him to let you go?”
Liz shrugged, she didn’t care how their release came about, she was just glad to be away from them. “I think they were running tests on Kara, to see if she had any Antarian blood.”
Michael nodded. “Of course we know she doesn’t.”
“And so they let her go,” Liz finished.
Chapter 16
“Jesse?” Liz asked in a small voice. Once she was pushed in the van, she’d been knocked out herself. Since she opened her eyes to find herself in a cell of a room, Liz hadn’t seen Kara and Jesse was still passed out.
As if it was bad enough to have to deal with Nicholas at all, it was even worse to deal with him when there was no there to protect her.
“Jesse, wake up...please.” She looked around the room that held her captive and she shuddered. How long had she been out? Did Max and the others know that they had been taken? Liz hoped so. What chance did they stand against Nicholas and the rest of the skins if not?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“What are we going to do Max?” Tess asked softly. “What if Isabel can’t get through to one of them?”
Max stiffened. He refused to think like that. “We’ll think of something.” He’d do anything to make sure that his daughter and Liz were safe. He prayed that his sister could get some answers through her dream walk.
“Any news?” Michael asked as he walked through the front door with Zan.
Tess shook her head negatively. “No. Isabel tried Liz first, but she must be awake because Isabel couldn’t get through. She’s trying Jesse now.”
“Je...Jesse? Jesse Ramirez as in Mr. Evans’ co-worker? He’s involved in this?” Michael asked with panic settling in his voice. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
Tess rolled her eyes. Was Michael really that dense. “Gee, I don’t know...maybe we thought that you’d over react....kind of like what you’re doing now...”
“Of course I’m going to over react! We’re screwed now! That guy won’t keep his mouth shut when he finds out about us!” Michael ran his hands over his face. “What are you guys going to tell him?”
“The truth,” Max replied in a defeated manner. In the past half hour, he felt as though he’d aged a considerable amount He couldn’t think about anything other then his daughter.
Michael let out a sigh of frustration. “Isabel should have never dated him!”
Of course, that was the moment that Isabel chose to awaken from her dream walk. Needless to say she wasn’t a happy person to hear Michael’s declaration. “Excuse me Michael. I’m so confused as to what you’ve been doing so far?”
Michael crossed his arms. “That’s different. I don’t let them get to know me, I don’t bring them into my personal life.”
“How is it my fault that the skins took Jesse?”
Before Michael could respond, Max stood up. “Quiet, all of you! This isn’t helping anything. It doesn’t matter what happened to lead up to this, it’s happened. We need to find them before anything can happen.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Mmm,” Jesse groaned as he started to wake up.
Lis lifted her head off the bed and looked expectantly at Isabel’s boyfriend. She honestly didn’t know why she was relieved that Jesse was awake. He knew nothing about Isabel and the others, he was in no condition to be of help, never-mind the fact that if he was in tip top shape that he wouldn’t be able to help.
Jesse squinted open his eyes. His head hurt and his eyes were sensitive to the light hanging above his head. He looked over and spotted Liz staring at him. “Liz? What are we doing here? What’s going on?”
Gnawing on her bottom lip, Liz paused. What should she say? It was a serious situation, and Jesse deserved to know, on the other hand, it wasn’t her call to be the one to decide seeing as she didn’t have any powers herself. “Well, it’s like this....” ‘We were taken hostage by a group of aliens that wants nothing more then to see your alien girlfriend suffer along with her alien family’. Liz opened her mouth several times to explain things to him, but the audacity of what she would say rang clearly through her head and she shut her mouth before anything could be revealed.
From his position, Jesse watched Liz open and close her mouth as though she were a fish. Ever since he’d met Liz, she’d always been polite, but he’d never known her to have a problem with words. “Liz,” he said breaking through to her. “My head hurts, we’re in this...” he looked around, “room. Just tell me how the hell did we get here? What are we doing here and does my head hurt?”
Okay, she could answer those questions. “Uh, we were....” Liz paused looking for the right word to describe what had happened to them, “kid-napped?” She finished off unsurely. “I don’t know why we’re here. Although I have suspicions since Kara is missing. They hit us over the head to knock us out so we couldn’t see where we are...when we were coming here.”
“Kid-napped?” Jesse exclaimed when Liz finished answering him. “What the hell is going on?”
Liz quieted down, “okay, I’ll tell you, but I have to ask that you keep all comments and questions to yourself until after I finish.” When she received Jesse’s confirmation, Liz began speaking. “Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess are aliens. More precisely, they are reincarnated royalty sent to Earth.” Liz opened up about everything that had taken place since Max first healed her in the Crashdown that fateful September afternoon. She watched as her story continued, the various facial expressions that Jesse had and the thinly controlled way he was keeping himself in check so as not to interrupt her.
“Are you done?” Jesse asked after a pregnant pause when Liz had stopped talking. He waited for her to nod and then he nodded back. “You are insane. I don’t know what is wrong that you feel you have to...”
“It’s the truth! Why would I lie about this? Look around you Jesse, do you really think I’m so pathetic that I would make up this whole elaborate scheme?”
Jesse paused. “There are no such things as aliens,” he replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“What do you mean nothing comes up?” Nicholas demanded as he looked at his head scientist in disgust. “Are you doing things properly?”
Catching himself before going out of rank to say anything to Nicholas, Hutchenson nodded meekly. “Of course I am. I have done it repeatedly and...nothing. This child has no Antarian DNA.”
“Do you mean at all or are you talking about latent abilities?” Nicholas asked trying to get more information from Hutchenson.
“No, I mean none....at all. This child is no more Zan’s child then you or I are.”
Shaking his head in shame, Nicholas couldn’t deny the intriguing smile on his face. “Not his huh? What a shmuck! Oh, this is rich!”
“Niko!” A voice boomed through the lab causing both alien to straighten up. “Judging by the insipid smile on your pathetic face, I’d say you have good news for me.”
Nicholas stood tall and nodded. “Actually, it’s a little more interesting.”
“Explain.”
“Go ahead Hutchenson,” Nicholas commanded.
With palms sweating and his heart racing, Hutchenson cleared his throat. The uplink between them and Antar was a new one. He wasn’t used to addressing Khivar personally. “After several tests, it’s been concluded that this child shares no blood with Zan.”
“The child isn’t his?” Khivar asked after a moment of silence.
“Doesn’t appear to be,” Hutchenson affirmed.
Nicholas looked down at the tiny bundle and raised his eyes. What a pain this thing was. All babies did was cry and eat and sleep. They were much more efficient in the way that when their children were ‘born’ they were fully developed. They weren’t forced to deal with all this needless crap. “What should we do with the child?”
“Return it.”
“Just like that?” Nicholas asked.
Over the com, Khivar shook his head. “Nicholas, when will you learn not to second guess me? Have those years you’ve spent down there effected your brain? Do you want something to become of this? If anything happens to that child you can guarantee that Zan will be at the door with guns blazing.”
Looking down in shame at being reprimanded in front of someone else, Nicholas barely raised his face to ask his next question. “What of the others?”
“Release them as well. You ought not have brought them with you.” Khivar shook his head. “I have no need for simpering humans who can’t defend themselves. We may be at war here, but I’m certainly not interested in killing someone innocent in this.”
Nicholas waited until the link went down before frowning in anger. “You heard him!” He barked to the scientist.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jesse and Liz hadn’t shared a conversation since Liz had told Jesse all about the aliens. Of course it was Jesse’s first reaction to deny her words, Liz understood it, she totally did. She had to give him props though, he handled the truth much better then Maria. When the door slammed open, both jumped, neither sure what to expect. When someone walked through the door carrying Kara, Liz jumped out of her seat to gather Max’s daughter in her arms.
“Oh thank god you’re okay,” she murmured as she took closer inspection of Kara. Liz looked up, never noticing that Nicholas had made his way into the room. She pulled Kara closer to her body and met Nicholas’ eyes with as much courage as she could muster.
“Come on.” He ushered both captives to the door.
“Where are we going?” Liz asked. When neither she nor Jesse began moving, chaperones had walked up to them and pushed them into walking.
Nicholas smiled to himself. “Do you really think I’m going to answer you?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“All right, we have to do something,” Alex announced. He, Kyle and Jim had been called over an hour earlier. Ever since their arrival, no on had been able to come up with anything.
“What can we do?” Isabel asked. “We have no idea where they were taken, it’d be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Alex nodded, “I understand that,” Alex replied. “We can’t just sit here anymore though. The longer we sit the further away they could get. Besides, if we drove around maybe we could find clues or something...”
“Alex is right, we should split up.,” Tess agreed.
Seeing that Max was in no condition to make preparations, Michael assumed leadership. “Max and I will take this direction,” he pointed to a map they had gotten out earlier. “Tess, you, Zan and Alex go this way,” he pointed to an alternate route. “That leaves Isabel, Jim and Kyle with this way.” Alex, you have a cell, Isabel, give me yours and if we need to get in touch we can call Kyle’s.”
That was about half an hour earlier. Staring out the windshield, Michael sighed. So far they hadn’t found any clues to anything. In the seat next to him, Max was looking worse for the wear.
“Michael, I think I see something,” Max said as he squinted into the darkness. Michael tried to look in the same direction, but he didn’t see anything.
“Are you sure?”
“Pull over!”
Michael pulled the car to a stop and both emerged from it. He chose to walk behind Max, not even sure if what his friend was seeing was real. Max forged on into the desert. “Hello?” He called out. “Liz!” He continued walking, straining his ears to hear a reply. “Liz!”
Max, it was as nothing more then a faint whisper, but both aliens heard it anyway. They took off straight I front of them. Max’s spirits lifted when he spotted Liz and Jesse walked side by side, Liz was carrying a small bundle. He was the first one to reach the three. He hugged Liz, thanking her over and over for still having Kara. He lifted his daughter from Liz’s arms and held her close to his chest, cooing in baby talk.
Liz and Jesse stopped walking, both were dehydrated and in pain due to their seemingly endless walk. Liz’s eyes watered as she watched Max with his daughter. She couldn’t see anything in common between this Max and the sarcastic one from earlier that day.
“Liz?” She took her attention away from her ex and his daughter and looked to Michael. She smiled softly before walking into his embrace.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On their way home, Michael had called to alert everyone that Jesse and Liz were found and that Kara was unharmed and with them. No one spoke a word on the way to the Evans’ residence. Max focused on Kara, Jesse never took his eyes off the window he was staring out of and Liz, she was dozing off with her head laying against Michael’s shoulder.
When they pulled up, everyone else was already there, Isabel was the first one out the door, rushing into Jesse’s arms. As everyone met around the vehicle, Michael paused and looked down at Liz. “Liz, Liz wake up,” he said in a gentle voice.
Opening her eyes, Liz yawned. “Michael?” She looked to him. “Where are we?”
“We’re at the Evans’. Do you want me to take you home?”
Liz nodded. “I’m exhausted.”
“We can meet tomorrow and discuss what happened,” Michael supplied. He looked out the window to find Isabel and Jesse locked in what seemed to be a serious conversation. “Besides, I don’t think we’d get very much accomplished tonight.” He rolled down his window. “Lets meet tomorrow and talk about it,” Michael offered. “Liz is tired and Max has to take care of Kara and Jese...” he motioned over there. Alex looked from Michael and nodded when he saw why Michael trailed off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“How could you not tell me Isabel?” Jesse asked.
Isabel understood how Jesse felt, really she did. He was kid-napped and held against his will, but she wanted to make him understand why she hid it from him. “It’s not something I go about announcing Jesse. It’s not just me involved. I really wanted to tell you. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be in a relationship and have to hold yourself back?”
Jesse stopped talking, thinking about the lie that she had told. Isabel’s words hit something in him. He didn’t know what it was like to have to hide from someone like that, but her words had struck a cord. Isabel was honestly and genuinely sorry for not saying anything sooner.
Isabel looked down at the lawn. “What happens to us now?”
Jesse paused. “I don’t know,” he replied truthfully. “I know you didn’t lie to me to be mean, but this is just going to take some time for me to adjust.”
At the words adjust, Isabel looked up with a hopeful smile. “Meaning you plan on sticking around?”
Smiling down at Isabel, Jesse nodded. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I bet you’re happy to be home,” Michael remarked from Liz’s bed. She walked out into her bedroom, her hair wet from her shower.
Laying down next to him, Liz groaned. It felt so good to be in her own bed. “Yeah.”
Turning to Liz, Michael held his head propped up by his hand and looked down to his companion. “I know we’re going to go through this tomorrow, but I just have to ask. How did you guys get away?”
Opening her eyes, Liz looked to Michael. “We didn’t. They let us go.” She thought back to Nicholas’ attitude. “I don’t think Nicholas wanted to though.”
Reading behind the lines, Michael narrowed his eyes. “So...Khivar ordered him to let you go?”
Liz shrugged, she didn’t care how their release came about, she was just glad to be away from them. “I think they were running tests on Kara, to see if she had any Antarian blood.”
Michael nodded. “Of course we know she doesn’t.”
“And so they let her go,” Liz finished.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Okay, so disregard the part of my author's note where I said I wasn't sure when I would be able to get a chapter out. I was at my dad's and I had some peace and quiet and amazingly enough, I got this out within an hour. I know it isn't a long chapter, but I felt compelled to write. So, here you go. Again, thanks for the words of encouragement!
Chapter 17
“How is she” Liz asked after Max shut the guest room door, having just laid his daughter down for a nap.
“She’s good.” They turned to the living room, Max subconsciously resting his hand against the small of her back. “I checked her over repeatedly last night and everything seemed fine. She didn’t even have a bruise on her.” Last night was such a nightmare for him. He didn’t even think he slept a wink. When Cara was taken, it was as if his worst fear had come true, her life was put in danger over him. Taking a seat, the soul mates faced each other. “Thanks for coming over early. I didn’t have a chance to talk to you last night…to thank you for watching over her as best you could, to see if you were all right…”
Liz held her hand up to stop him from continuing. “I don’t mind…really. Things have changed for you, and she should be your first concern.” Losing her smile, she thought about to a time when Cara didn’t exist. She’d have been Max’s first priority, but that was then. She had a geeling that she would never be his first concern again.
Smiling gratefully, Max sighed. He knew he was an ass. He didn’t expect Liz to be so understanding, he knew he certainly didn’t deserve it. “Are you okay?” He was restraining himself from reaching out and running his arms over her body. He had to remind himself that he no longer had that privilege.
“Yeah.” She looked away briefly. “They were kind of rough, but Michael healed my bruises.”
Letting out a ragged sigh, Max shook his head. He hated what knowing him had done to her life and the lives of those around him. The one thing that he liked about his life with Gia was that everything was simple. He didn’t have to be Max, alien king of Antar, he could just be Max Evans, husband and father to two beautiful girls. “I’m sorry about this Liz. I wish that things weren’t so tied up, you and Jesse didn’t deserve to be abducted.”
Liz laughed at the audacity of Max's statement. “When are you going to stop apologizing for this?” She framed Max’s face and brought his eyes to hers. “I wouldn’t even have a life if it wasn’t for you. I’d go through a million abductions for you and this cause.”
“But you shouldn’t have to, it was never really your fight.”
Liz removed her hands and nodded. “Maybe not, but it is now. I had the chance to leave like Maria did, but I wanted to stay.”
“And look what she has to show for it! She is a singer and a pretty popular one at that. You don’t even have anything in return for the hell that I’ve made your life.” When they were dating, he always felt guilty that she brought into such an unsafe world, but he consoled himself with the idea that they were together. Now that he was gone, she was still in Roswell and alone.
“I wouldn’t say that. Tess and I have become quite close,” she added with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“I heard,” he smiled.
Liz let out a small giggle. “We bonded over our loss of you. Isabel and I are closer and aside from Zan’s rather interesting life and example, I have formed some sort of closer ties with him and Michael.” It felt good to be able to talk to Max lightly. There was a time that she was sure whatever they shared was lost forever. While they hadn’t ever started off as friends, she hoped that she could finally develop that friendship with Max, just so long as she had him in her life.
After their last argument, she had some time to think. She knew that they would never be as close as they once were, but she had come to understand that she had to put the past behind her and focus on her future.
“So, where’s Isabel?” Liz asked, changing the subject before she could dwell on her feelings for too long.
“She ran to the store. She and Jesse were up pretty late last night…talking…about things.”
Liz nodded, knowing he was talking in a double meaning. “Yeah, I guess there’s another joining of the ‘I know an alien club’. Michael isn’t really thrilled with that.”
“I don’t blame him. I’m not too comfortable with that fact, but Jesse loves Isabel, I’m sure of it. I don’t think he would let anything happen to her…or anyone else for that matter. Do you think that you and Kyle could talk to him, explain things better…it might help to hear about it from someone who isn't...one of us.” He meant to leave out Alex, not sure how Isabel’s old beau and current one would get along in a close area.
“Of course,” Liz answered. “I’d be happy to.” Their conversation was interrupted by the telephone ringing. Leaning over, Liz reached to answer it. “Evans residence.”
“Who is this?”
Rolling her eyes, Liz answered. She didn’t understand why people called a house and asked who it was that answered. She always felt as if it was rude.
“It’s Gia. Is my husband there?”
“Yeah, hold on.” She handed the phone over to Max and quickly excused herself. Gia’s tone was less the friendly when she learned that it was Liz who answered the phone. Judging by the look on Max’s face, it was a less then pleasurable conversation. Walking into the kitchen, she stopped short when she found Isabel and Zan sitting at the table. “Hey guys.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When the weekend ended, Max returned home. The group, minus Jesse, was less then pleased to return to classes. Sunday had been a day of relaxation. Everyone came together for a grill out and plenty of laughs. Amazingly enough, there were no arguments or petty words.
“Miss Parker, I’m not interrupting am I?”
“Sorry,” Liz apologized and returned her attention to her teacher.
“Hear is your assignment.” She handed Liz a piece of paper before moving on and handing out papers to a group of select few in the class.
After reading the paper, Liz held up her hand. “Excuse me, but this says that Michael and I are married.”
“Oh, congratulations,” the teacher wished. “Yes, I’ve divided the class into couples. You and Michael are a relatively young couple. After college, the two of you were married, and as you can see, very well off. Now, after making names for yourselves, you two have recently decided to try for a family…and ding, ding, ding, it worked. You’re pregnant with twins. It’s now up to the two of you to plan your life around them, budgeting yourselves, moving, extra expenses. The project is due on Friday. Have fun everyone!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Can you imagine? Michael and I…husband and wife?” Liz groaned. She remembered the trouble that Maria had with Michael when they were paired up for the questionare the year before.
Isabel laughed. “I can’t imagine Michael married to anyone.”
Liz moved closer to Isabel. “I had a dream a couple nights ago…and Michael and I were together.”
“Together? Care to elaborate?”
“Together,” Liz replied in a hush.
“Oh,” now she understood. “Oh,” what a weird dream. Michael and Liz together as a couple? They were polar opposites.
Liz ignored the tone of Isabel second ‘oh’ and continued. “I mean first that and now this project? I mean he’s like this…guy who’s like all into girls now.”
“You mean skirt chaser?” Isabel clarified.
Liz rolled her eyes at Isabel’s input. She couldn’t even think about the tangle of emotions she felt when she thought about Michael and other girls. “And then there’s the fact that he and I really never had anything in common other then the fact that I was dating his best friend and he was dating mine.”
Narrowing her eyes, Isabel looked at Liz. “That’s what this is about,” she guessed. “Max was his best friend and you feel as though you would be cheating in some way by maybe starting something with Michael.”
“And there’s Maria too. I know that she left and she and Billy are together, but she and Michael initially broke up over me.”
She hadn’t always appreciated Liz and what she brought to their lives. It wasn’t until she finally let her guard down that she realized what a good person Liz was. Although the martyrdom was some what tiresome. “Get off the cross Liz, someone else needs the wood.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re always sacrificing your happiness for everyone else’s. It’s great that you are loyal to your friends, but Max is married and Maria is almost married. Whatever claim they once had stake on you and Michael was null and void the minute they entered those commitments.” Isabel smiled gently. While the idea of Michael and Liz was an interesting one, Liz had supported her in her relationship with Jesse…the least she could do was return that support. “I don’t even know if Michael is interested in having another relationship, but if he is, you owe it to yourself to try it out.”
“Though I doubt I’ll try anything, thanks for the support,” Liz replied. Liz was anxious to move on, she’d tried the dating scene, but it just wasn’t working for her. Her feelings for Michael had come out of nowhere, but she couldn’t help but wonder if things could possibly become something more.
Even if she was ready, it didn’t mean that Michael was. He had never been one for a relationship, but Maria had sure wormed her way into his affections. Judging by the way Michael was raised, the fact that he and Maria had even dated was a miracle in itself. Maria had always complained that she got the defective alien, Liz wondered why her friend never realized how remarkable it was that she had Michael in the first place.
Aside from that, there was still so much to consider. Liz didn’t think that Michael was thinking about anything other then a good time for the time being.
“Hello ladies,” Zan greeted as he walked over to the two. “What are we discussing?”
“You and your many conquests,” Liz replied in a dull tone. She knew that if they skirted around the question, he would nag. She did the next best thing, she turned the conversation around about him. It wasn’t so much that Zan was self involved, okay, so he was…but he was also caring and loyal to a fault.
Smirking, he walked playfully up to Liz. “I knew it wouldn’t be too much longer before you surrendered to your feelings for me.” Rolling her eyes, Liz held out a hand and pushed him away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I want a Harley,” Michael blurted out as Liz glanced through a magazine for houses for rent or sale in the Roswell area. They were sitting at a booth on the Crashdown, munching on food in a relaxed manner.
Before she even put down her reading material, Liz was already denying him. “No way.”
“Why not?” He held up the paper with all their information on it. “We’ve got plenty of money!”
“And in case you forgot, I’m pregnant! I’m not going to let the father of my child get one of those death traps.”
“In case you forgot, I already have one.”
Raising an eyebrow, Liz nodded. “Yeah, I know. And now that you mention it, I don’t think I like the idea of you driving that one around either. Sell it,” she ordered swiftly.
“No way!” He shot back. “Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean I have to give up what I want!”
“Of course you do! That’s what being a parent is all about! You sacrifice certain things in order for your children to grow up…in this case, with a father.” Liz stopped talking when she noticed her father approach the table. “Oh, hi daddy.”
“Is there something you want to tell me Liz?”
“Funny,” she remarked. Her father knew full well what was going on.
He looked from one person to the other. “Do you think you could tone down the conversation? My customers are starting to stare.”
“She wants me to get rid of my bike and she won’t let me get a Harley,” Michael replied in audacity.
Jeff smiled sympathetically at Michael. His daughter was a very determined young woman, she usually got what she wanted. “A word of advice Michael, the wives will always win. Just give up before you exhaust yourself.”
When Mr. Parker walked away, Michael scowled. “I’m not giving up my bike,” he told Liz firmly.
“Hey! I’m the one doing all the work! You’re just sitting there inhaling your food doing a whole lot of nothing!”
“I didn’t ask for you to. You just took it upon yourself.”
Liz narrowed her eyes at him. “Fine!” She put her pen down. “You are soo…soo…frustrating!” She stood up, “well, since you offered. You finish the project.”
As Liz strolled away, Michael hurried to catch up to her. “I never offered.”
“Oh, yes you did,” Liz replied with a sugary sweet smile. “The Breakfast Club is on upstairs and I think I hear it calling my name.”
Chapter 17
“How is she” Liz asked after Max shut the guest room door, having just laid his daughter down for a nap.
“She’s good.” They turned to the living room, Max subconsciously resting his hand against the small of her back. “I checked her over repeatedly last night and everything seemed fine. She didn’t even have a bruise on her.” Last night was such a nightmare for him. He didn’t even think he slept a wink. When Cara was taken, it was as if his worst fear had come true, her life was put in danger over him. Taking a seat, the soul mates faced each other. “Thanks for coming over early. I didn’t have a chance to talk to you last night…to thank you for watching over her as best you could, to see if you were all right…”
Liz held her hand up to stop him from continuing. “I don’t mind…really. Things have changed for you, and she should be your first concern.” Losing her smile, she thought about to a time when Cara didn’t exist. She’d have been Max’s first priority, but that was then. She had a geeling that she would never be his first concern again.
Smiling gratefully, Max sighed. He knew he was an ass. He didn’t expect Liz to be so understanding, he knew he certainly didn’t deserve it. “Are you okay?” He was restraining himself from reaching out and running his arms over her body. He had to remind himself that he no longer had that privilege.
“Yeah.” She looked away briefly. “They were kind of rough, but Michael healed my bruises.”
Letting out a ragged sigh, Max shook his head. He hated what knowing him had done to her life and the lives of those around him. The one thing that he liked about his life with Gia was that everything was simple. He didn’t have to be Max, alien king of Antar, he could just be Max Evans, husband and father to two beautiful girls. “I’m sorry about this Liz. I wish that things weren’t so tied up, you and Jesse didn’t deserve to be abducted.”
Liz laughed at the audacity of Max's statement. “When are you going to stop apologizing for this?” She framed Max’s face and brought his eyes to hers. “I wouldn’t even have a life if it wasn’t for you. I’d go through a million abductions for you and this cause.”
“But you shouldn’t have to, it was never really your fight.”
Liz removed her hands and nodded. “Maybe not, but it is now. I had the chance to leave like Maria did, but I wanted to stay.”
“And look what she has to show for it! She is a singer and a pretty popular one at that. You don’t even have anything in return for the hell that I’ve made your life.” When they were dating, he always felt guilty that she brought into such an unsafe world, but he consoled himself with the idea that they were together. Now that he was gone, she was still in Roswell and alone.
“I wouldn’t say that. Tess and I have become quite close,” she added with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“I heard,” he smiled.
Liz let out a small giggle. “We bonded over our loss of you. Isabel and I are closer and aside from Zan’s rather interesting life and example, I have formed some sort of closer ties with him and Michael.” It felt good to be able to talk to Max lightly. There was a time that she was sure whatever they shared was lost forever. While they hadn’t ever started off as friends, she hoped that she could finally develop that friendship with Max, just so long as she had him in her life.
After their last argument, she had some time to think. She knew that they would never be as close as they once were, but she had come to understand that she had to put the past behind her and focus on her future.
“So, where’s Isabel?” Liz asked, changing the subject before she could dwell on her feelings for too long.
“She ran to the store. She and Jesse were up pretty late last night…talking…about things.”
Liz nodded, knowing he was talking in a double meaning. “Yeah, I guess there’s another joining of the ‘I know an alien club’. Michael isn’t really thrilled with that.”
“I don’t blame him. I’m not too comfortable with that fact, but Jesse loves Isabel, I’m sure of it. I don’t think he would let anything happen to her…or anyone else for that matter. Do you think that you and Kyle could talk to him, explain things better…it might help to hear about it from someone who isn't...one of us.” He meant to leave out Alex, not sure how Isabel’s old beau and current one would get along in a close area.
“Of course,” Liz answered. “I’d be happy to.” Their conversation was interrupted by the telephone ringing. Leaning over, Liz reached to answer it. “Evans residence.”
“Who is this?”
Rolling her eyes, Liz answered. She didn’t understand why people called a house and asked who it was that answered. She always felt as if it was rude.
“It’s Gia. Is my husband there?”
“Yeah, hold on.” She handed the phone over to Max and quickly excused herself. Gia’s tone was less the friendly when she learned that it was Liz who answered the phone. Judging by the look on Max’s face, it was a less then pleasurable conversation. Walking into the kitchen, she stopped short when she found Isabel and Zan sitting at the table. “Hey guys.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When the weekend ended, Max returned home. The group, minus Jesse, was less then pleased to return to classes. Sunday had been a day of relaxation. Everyone came together for a grill out and plenty of laughs. Amazingly enough, there were no arguments or petty words.
“Miss Parker, I’m not interrupting am I?”
“Sorry,” Liz apologized and returned her attention to her teacher.
“Hear is your assignment.” She handed Liz a piece of paper before moving on and handing out papers to a group of select few in the class.
After reading the paper, Liz held up her hand. “Excuse me, but this says that Michael and I are married.”
“Oh, congratulations,” the teacher wished. “Yes, I’ve divided the class into couples. You and Michael are a relatively young couple. After college, the two of you were married, and as you can see, very well off. Now, after making names for yourselves, you two have recently decided to try for a family…and ding, ding, ding, it worked. You’re pregnant with twins. It’s now up to the two of you to plan your life around them, budgeting yourselves, moving, extra expenses. The project is due on Friday. Have fun everyone!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Can you imagine? Michael and I…husband and wife?” Liz groaned. She remembered the trouble that Maria had with Michael when they were paired up for the questionare the year before.
Isabel laughed. “I can’t imagine Michael married to anyone.”
Liz moved closer to Isabel. “I had a dream a couple nights ago…and Michael and I were together.”
“Together? Care to elaborate?”
“Together,” Liz replied in a hush.
“Oh,” now she understood. “Oh,” what a weird dream. Michael and Liz together as a couple? They were polar opposites.
Liz ignored the tone of Isabel second ‘oh’ and continued. “I mean first that and now this project? I mean he’s like this…guy who’s like all into girls now.”
“You mean skirt chaser?” Isabel clarified.
Liz rolled her eyes at Isabel’s input. She couldn’t even think about the tangle of emotions she felt when she thought about Michael and other girls. “And then there’s the fact that he and I really never had anything in common other then the fact that I was dating his best friend and he was dating mine.”
Narrowing her eyes, Isabel looked at Liz. “That’s what this is about,” she guessed. “Max was his best friend and you feel as though you would be cheating in some way by maybe starting something with Michael.”
“And there’s Maria too. I know that she left and she and Billy are together, but she and Michael initially broke up over me.”
She hadn’t always appreciated Liz and what she brought to their lives. It wasn’t until she finally let her guard down that she realized what a good person Liz was. Although the martyrdom was some what tiresome. “Get off the cross Liz, someone else needs the wood.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re always sacrificing your happiness for everyone else’s. It’s great that you are loyal to your friends, but Max is married and Maria is almost married. Whatever claim they once had stake on you and Michael was null and void the minute they entered those commitments.” Isabel smiled gently. While the idea of Michael and Liz was an interesting one, Liz had supported her in her relationship with Jesse…the least she could do was return that support. “I don’t even know if Michael is interested in having another relationship, but if he is, you owe it to yourself to try it out.”
“Though I doubt I’ll try anything, thanks for the support,” Liz replied. Liz was anxious to move on, she’d tried the dating scene, but it just wasn’t working for her. Her feelings for Michael had come out of nowhere, but she couldn’t help but wonder if things could possibly become something more.
Even if she was ready, it didn’t mean that Michael was. He had never been one for a relationship, but Maria had sure wormed her way into his affections. Judging by the way Michael was raised, the fact that he and Maria had even dated was a miracle in itself. Maria had always complained that she got the defective alien, Liz wondered why her friend never realized how remarkable it was that she had Michael in the first place.
Aside from that, there was still so much to consider. Liz didn’t think that Michael was thinking about anything other then a good time for the time being.
“Hello ladies,” Zan greeted as he walked over to the two. “What are we discussing?”
“You and your many conquests,” Liz replied in a dull tone. She knew that if they skirted around the question, he would nag. She did the next best thing, she turned the conversation around about him. It wasn’t so much that Zan was self involved, okay, so he was…but he was also caring and loyal to a fault.
Smirking, he walked playfully up to Liz. “I knew it wouldn’t be too much longer before you surrendered to your feelings for me.” Rolling her eyes, Liz held out a hand and pushed him away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I want a Harley,” Michael blurted out as Liz glanced through a magazine for houses for rent or sale in the Roswell area. They were sitting at a booth on the Crashdown, munching on food in a relaxed manner.
Before she even put down her reading material, Liz was already denying him. “No way.”
“Why not?” He held up the paper with all their information on it. “We’ve got plenty of money!”
“And in case you forgot, I’m pregnant! I’m not going to let the father of my child get one of those death traps.”
“In case you forgot, I already have one.”
Raising an eyebrow, Liz nodded. “Yeah, I know. And now that you mention it, I don’t think I like the idea of you driving that one around either. Sell it,” she ordered swiftly.
“No way!” He shot back. “Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean I have to give up what I want!”
“Of course you do! That’s what being a parent is all about! You sacrifice certain things in order for your children to grow up…in this case, with a father.” Liz stopped talking when she noticed her father approach the table. “Oh, hi daddy.”
“Is there something you want to tell me Liz?”
“Funny,” she remarked. Her father knew full well what was going on.
He looked from one person to the other. “Do you think you could tone down the conversation? My customers are starting to stare.”
“She wants me to get rid of my bike and she won’t let me get a Harley,” Michael replied in audacity.
Jeff smiled sympathetically at Michael. His daughter was a very determined young woman, she usually got what she wanted. “A word of advice Michael, the wives will always win. Just give up before you exhaust yourself.”
When Mr. Parker walked away, Michael scowled. “I’m not giving up my bike,” he told Liz firmly.
“Hey! I’m the one doing all the work! You’re just sitting there inhaling your food doing a whole lot of nothing!”
“I didn’t ask for you to. You just took it upon yourself.”
Liz narrowed her eyes at him. “Fine!” She put her pen down. “You are soo…soo…frustrating!” She stood up, “well, since you offered. You finish the project.”
As Liz strolled away, Michael hurried to catch up to her. “I never offered.”
“Oh, yes you did,” Liz replied with a sugary sweet smile. “The Breakfast Club is on upstairs and I think I hear it calling my name.”
Last edited by LysCat on Mon Sep 19, 2005 10:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Sooooooo sorry guys! Forgive me!
Aside from the lazyness factor, my family was going through some things. The doctor thought my aunt had a brain tumor and I was spending some time with her...luckily when she met the neuro-surgeon, it turns out that she just has a few blood clots at the base of her brain, all cancer free.
Also, as some of you may have noticed, I posted a new story. Deceptions, which I have been working on for a few months is just one chapter shy of being completed so I began posting this.
I've also changed my idea for this story. I'm sure we can all agree that my updating skills are really lacking so I think I'm going to end ATWTHB and then continue on, in a sequal...to get things back to where I had originally planned. I'm going to try really hard not to disappoint you all with that one when it comes to updates.
Thank you all for being so patient with me. I really appreciate it.
Aside from the lazyness factor, my family was going through some things. The doctor thought my aunt had a brain tumor and I was spending some time with her...luckily when she met the neuro-surgeon, it turns out that she just has a few blood clots at the base of her brain, all cancer free.
Also, as some of you may have noticed, I posted a new story. Deceptions, which I have been working on for a few months is just one chapter shy of being completed so I began posting this.
I've also changed my idea for this story. I'm sure we can all agree that my updating skills are really lacking so I think I'm going to end ATWTHB and then continue on, in a sequal...to get things back to where I had originally planned. I'm going to try really hard not to disappoint you all with that one when it comes to updates.
Thank you all for being so patient with me. I really appreciate it.
Walter: "I used this to extract information from a corpse once. You can do that if they've been dead up to six hours."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."
Peter: "Yeah, cause after six hours they're REALLY dead."