Title: Hindsight
Author: SpiderGirl
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Roswell belongs to Fox.
Rating: This is mature. If this isn't your thing then don't read it.
Summary: Things go wrong. They go about as wrong as they possible could and it takes someone with hindsight to try and make things right.
Pairing: Future Max/Future Liz, Mi/Maria, Isabel/Alex, Future-Present Liz/Max. I know that last one sounds odd but trust me all will be explained.
Chapter Twenty Six
Laurie nervously smoothed down her pale lilac jumper before fixing her long blonde hair as she gathered up the courage to knock on the door in front of her. She'd escaped from a mental facility and was preparing for interplanetary war yet she couldn't find the strength to face her new 'brother'.
She sighed deeply then knocked and waited almost hoping that he was out or busy with Maria or a thousand other reasons why he wouldn't be at home but luck was against her as she heard him coming to the door. He opened it, surprised to see her standing there
“What's wrong?” he asked immediately
“Nothing... I just thought I'd come and see you” she replied then shook her head “It was a stupid idea. I'll go”
“No, wait! You don't have to go!” he called out as he grabbed her arm “Please come in. It's not much, not even that tidy but...” he trailed off knowing that he was rambling; things were still awkward between them. He stepped aside to let her in and she brushed past him quickly “Do you want... tea or coffee? Something to eat”
“No, no. I just... I um I was wondering... I mean I came here to see if you wanted to do something familyish. You know, hanging around watching videos or grabbing a bite to eat... or whatever normal brothers and sisters do”
“Game of basketball then how about we go for tacos? I know a great place off 380” he suggested “Or we could do something you want to do... thinking about it, basketball is more of a guy's thing right?”
“No, not at all. I used to play basketball with my grandpa... our grandpa before he died. He absolutely loved the game, when I was ten we went to a game and I got a ball signed by Michael Jordan”
“Really?”
“Yeah” she nodded happily the her smile slipped from her face “But then uncle Bobby gave it away”
“Bastard” growled Michael “Maybe we can persuade Isabel to pay a nightly visit to uncle Bobby and make him pay for the crap he put you through”
“Maybe...”
“Maybe? These are the people who put you in the nut house just so they could live in the lap of luxury!”
“Yeah but they're still my family”
“So am I” he snapped and she gave him a small smile before she shook her head and grew serious
“I don't want to talk about Uncle Bobby and Aunt Meredith right now. There's other things I wanted to talk to you about”
“Yeah?” he asked as they reached the court and he began to dribble the ball he'd brought with him
“It's Max and Liz” she stated as she moved to tackle the ball from his grasp
“What about them?” he slowed and she stole the ball from him “Are they in trouble? Was their honeymoon trip a bad idea?”
“What? No. I think it was a good idea for them to get that before... before the war comes. It's not long now is it?”
“No it's not. We've got about a week...” he trailed off as the implication that in a weeks time they would be fighting for their lives, for their very right to live here on Earth.
“Somethings up with them. They know what's going to happen and for some reason they're not telling us... but it's not just that. There's something else going on and I'm not the only one whose noticed it. I think that they're going to do something and whatever it is they do successfully ends the war in our favour”
“Have you figured out what it is?”
“Not a clue. I've been spending a fair bit of time with Liz and while I can sense that this is really important I'm beyond figuring out what it is”
“You don't think that they... sacrifice themselves do you?”
“I don't know, possible, I'm not sure though. Liz seemed pretty upset about it at the meeting the other day and Max ordered us all not to ask about it” she sunk the ball in the net and Michael recovered it.
“What about Claudia? They'd never abandon her to become an orphan”
“Yeah but I have a feeling they'd sacrifice themselves for her, it's not as if there's not going to be anyone to look after her if something does happen to them” she pointed out “Anyone of us would step up to raise the Princess”
“I know but I hate the idea that one of us might have to. I don't want to lose either of them”
“Me neither” she said quietly “When they come back, maybe we should try talking to them about it?”
“I can't, they ordered me not to... wait! Oh, loophole! We can't ask because we were ordered not to but we could get Tommy to ask since he wasn't at the meeting and he isn't under the whole 'alien' rules thing like we are”
“Does that bother you that we seem incapable of certain things just because they say so”
“I do a little bit but I'm sure there's reasons behind it all” he recovered the ball and the fell into playing and talking about their childhoods.
*
Alex nervously knocked on the door with his empty hand, tonight he was 'officially' meeting Philip and Diane Evans. Isabel had invited him over after Max and Liz's wedding and she had called him last night to make sure he was still coming. On the phone she sounded really upset about something but no matter how he tried he still couldn't get her to tell him what it was.
Philip opened the door and Alex did his best not to grimace when he saw Isabel's father glaring at him angrily.
“Alex”
“Mr Evans” he replied politely then Isabel appeared
“Hey, come in. Dad, are you going to let Alex come inside?” she asked, Philip didn't say anything just walked away
“These are for you. You sounded a bit upset about something last night so I thought I'd try and cheer you up”
“Thanks... I was... still am upset...” she mumbled as she took her flowers “Alex, what if you found out that no matter what you said or did you parents wouldn't love you as much as you loved them?”
“Has something happened?” he glanced off in the direction Philip had gone before turning back to her
“I always thought that the thing that was stopping me from being a true part of this family was the fact that I was an alien and that I was keeping it a secret... but I was wrong. Both my parents know who I am, what I am, and all they care about is Max. Zan left because he figured out that my mom was using him subconsciously as a replacement for Max”
“Isabel...” he whispered cupping her face just as Diane appeared in the kitchen doorway. Isabel blinked away her forming tears then shook her head
“I can't do this to you. Not when I don't feel like a member of this family” she said loud enough for both her mother and Alex to hear “Let's get out of here. Take me some place where I feel like I belong”
“Isab-” began Diane but she just grabbed Alex's hand, pulled him out the door and slammed it shut behind her. Philip came back into the room a little surprised he heard the front door bang so loudly and saw his wife standing alone
“What's wrong?”
“I'm a failure as a mother. I couldn't be a mother to Zan because I was treating him like Max and now Isabel doesn't feel like a member of this family! I worked so hard on trying to make Max fit in growing up that I failed to notice how much she needed me!”
“Did Alex say this to you?” he demanded, he'd been moody about Alex ever since he found him in Isabel's room
“No” she shook her head “Stop with the cold front, that kid knows her better than either of us do. She's complete with him, that's why she asked him to take her away from here. Asked him to take her some place where she belongs. God, what have we done?”
*
Alex drove her to the CrashDown, in the months since Liz revealed the future it had become a home for all of them, it was like a beacon shining against the coming storm.
“Thanks for bringing me here” she whispered quietly
“That's okay. It was either here or the Pod chamber and I didn't think that that would be such a good idea since you'd just had a fight with your parents”
“You know me so well” she replied as a smile drifted onto her face. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Maria and Tommy sitting together at one of the outside tables surrounded by shopping bags while Michael and Laurie were walking happily up from the Park, a basketball under Laurie's arm.
“Do you want to go inside?” he asked but she shook her head, reaching for this hand
“Not yet, in a bit, I just want to stay out here for a bit” she told him and he sighed letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulder “I'm sorry”
“Don't be. Tell me” Alex urged and she drew in a shaky breath
“I'm scared. Scared that they won't love me... it's always been about Max. The most ironic thing is I have a feeling he doesn't care if he's apart of this family or not. It scares me because it makes me so angry; so angry that I might loose control and Vilandra might come out. I can feel her hidden deep down inside me... I just wish there was some way to make her go away. Every day it feels like she's getting stronger and I'm getting weaker; she's going to win I just know it and then everything will repeat itself! I'll betray everyone and Earth will be destroyed!”
“Isabel! Stop!” Alex shouted, she let out a sob before she swallowed all the rest “You are not going to turn into Vilandra and you are not going to betray us. You're stronger than that!”
“But my family... and what I almost did to Tess in the library...” she pointed out but he shook his head
“You're stronger than Vilandra. She's the one whose weak, she's alone. You have me and you have your family. You have Michael and Max and Liz and all of us. We're not going to leave you!”
“How can you say something like that? What with the... the war” she pointed out
“Forget the war... I'm always going to be with you, Isabel” he said then held out both hands “If you'll be with me”
“You know I will” she replied so softly he barely heard her, she put both her hands in his and formed a connection with him showing him the real her, all her doubts and fears and she saw his. There was a moment of electricity that passed between them and everything was perfect “I love you, Alex”
“I love you, Isabel” he replied and she could feel it through the connection. She felt the coldness of Vilandra get weaker inside her and she felt filled with so much hope for the future.
“Let's go inside” she said with a bright smile that lit up her whole face. They got out of his car and went into the Cafe where Michael and Laurie were sat at a booth, they sat down joining them and not too long after that Maria and Tommy came in carrying several shopping bags between them. They all sat together and for a moment they sat in silence, looking around at each other tensely
“Max and Liz come back tomorrow afternoon” whispered Laurie and the others nodded without saying a word. Michael sighed deeply and looked up just in time to see Kyle, Ava and Tess to come in. The three of them spotted the six sat in the both and they joined them; the newcomers seemed to sense the nervous atmosphere and they too fell quiet until Michael cleared his throat and reached for Maria's hand
“The war is going to start next week” he began “We're... we're going to be fighting for our lives...”
“I'm scared” whispered Tess
“We know that you and Zan survive” Ava pointed out “I wish I could get visions of the future too. I'm not as strong as you are”
“Believe me you don't want to see what I see” she replied
“I wonder how Max and Liz found this all out. I wish I knew what they knew...” Michael shook his head angrily “They know who wins and who looses! I think that the people who lose have a right to know”
“Would you want to know that you're going to die?” demanded Tess “Because I've been there! It's not nice... when I think about that other past and what I did... it's not nice. I understand why they're not telling whoever... looses. Maybe, though, maybe they haven't told anyone of us who dies because... well maybe none of us die”
“No, I saw the look on Liz's face the other day. Someone...” Maria trailed off as it hit her “Someone dies... if it's not any of us... then? You don't think that it's them? Do you?”
“I thought the same thing at the park but it can't be true. They're the King and Queen, we need them... what about Claudia?”
“If anything did happen to them... then we'd all raise her” Isabel said “I know both my parents and Liz's parents would care for her” she said then her phone rang “It's mom, I really should go home. I have to talk to them”
“Do you want me to drive you?” asked Alex and she nodded “I'll see you guys tomorrow when Max and Liz get back off their honeymoon”
“Bye Alex, bye Isabel” they said bidding goodbye to their friends.
***
The café was bustling by the time Max and Liz came back from their honeymoon the next day. The group sat waiting for them in the café had sensed that they were around in the city for a while before they came to the CrashDown. The couple came in, Max was pretty much carrying Liz because she was heavily pregnant
“Chica! God, you're as big as a house! Give me some sugar!” said Maria as soon as she saw her. Maria threw her arms around her best friend and they hugged happily “When are you going to pop Chica?”
“Soon... very soon” she replied then lowered her voice “It's a month tomorrow”
“How was Carlsbad?” asked Adam who was still sat in the booth with his arm around Ava, Max smirked and Liz blushed
“We... uhh... we didn't really get to see a lot of the city...” she confessed as she wrapped her arms around her stomach; she briefly remembered all the glowing and touching they did in their little hotel room.
“Sorry to put a burden on all these happy moments but shouldn't we be working on some strategies?” Michael pointed out and Maria nodded. Max helped his new wife over to the booth and they all sat back down.
“Well? What have you got?” Max began looking round expectantly, Michael stared dumbly without saying anything for a moment
“What do you mean?” asked Tess then Laurie shook her head
“We should have been coming up with a plan of action ourselves. We're the Antarian Royal Court; Michael and Maria are generals... Alex and Isabel are advisers but we haven't worked together to think of how we're going to get through this” she pointed out and all of them looked guilty
“Max... sorry, man” Michael apologised nervously
“Forgiven, now... let's get down to business. What do we know?” Liz said looking round the court
“We know the war starts next week” Maria stated
“We know it's Kivar whose behind this” added Isabel quietly, Alex squeezed her hand and she smiled at him thankful for the gesture
“Good, now what can we do?”
“Work together” whispered Tess nervously, she felt a bit self concious without Zan being there to give his support and back her up “If we get all the...” she glanced briefly round the café before continuing “people like us together here then we'll have a better chance. Langley was around on Antar, he knows how Kivar acted to get where he is. His input would be highly important”
“Very good” the young Queen smiled at the blonde girl who sighed with relief “Has Courtney or Topolski contacted us?”
“Speak of the devil” Tommy said pointing to the door as Courtney came in wearing a black trouser-suit. She came up carrying a large briefcase and nodded to the King and Queen before grabbing a chair and joining them.
“Majesties” she greeted them “Agent Topolski sends her regards and apologies that she wasn't able to make this meeting. She's meeting with President Obama today to alert him of the coming situation”
“You have news?” asked Kyle before sipping his coffee
“Yes, I was just getting to that. The Special Unit managed to capture and interrogate Nicholas and Greer... Greer unfortunately died during interrogation but he did manage to tell us a great deal before he passed away. Nicholas however is refusing to talk; we've tried everything”
“Nicholas is a liability”
“Yes, I think it would be wise if he were disposed of. He's dangerous and it's risky allowing him to live” Max said giving the order and Courtney just nodded her understanding of the situation “Michael, Maria? Do you have any ideas or... orders for Courtney?” the two of them looked at each other before nodding
“I want to know what the information was that Greer told you. We can use this to our advantage”
“Kivar had kept in touch with both Greer and Nicholas, he's sending ships to every major city in America; but he plans to make Roswell his base of operations. He's planning to build a base of operations in the desert, also he's sending soldiers through the wormhole technology he's developed. We have the location for that”
“Good” Michael nodded “I want as many able bodied men and women from the Unit to patrol Roswell; they should all be educated on how to kill skins...”
“What about that thing? The trithium amplicator? I remember that from Liz's memories... from when Brody was... injured” asked Maria “It isn't just Skins that Kivar's sending is it?”
“No” Courtney shook her head “Some of the soldiers are Antarian”
“Then can't we use the amplicator on them? If we can use it to take away their powers then surely that would give us the advantage”
“Do you know where it is?”
“Brody said that he bought it off some man in a junk shop. I think you should find Brody Davis first that search every unusual junk shop around him”
“That would take time that we don't really have” Adam pointed out tersely and Maria scowled at him
“If it gives us an advantage then it's worth trying”
“Stop” said Liz breaking up the growing argument before it started “You're both right, it would give us an advantage but searching for it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I think the best thing to do is make one. There should be enough resources here on Earth to make several; yes that would still be time consuming but less so than trying to find that specific amplicator”
“Courtney, can you make one? Or do you know any skin or Antarian that can make it?”
“I know one or two” she said with a smile then she wrote it down in her notebook “Topolski should be contacting me tonight after she's met with the President. I'm staying in Roswell now until the war is over... I'm going to serve my King and Queen”
“Are you sure?” Liz asked the taller girl who just nodded
“I've been in this war for as long as I can remember. I'm a soldier and I'm ready to fight, to die if necessary, for what I believe in. I believe in what you're doing; the sacrifices you've made and are making. I belong here and Topolski understands my decision”
“We appreciate it” said Max with a smile as he linked fingers with his wife; they shared sad smiles that didn't go unnoticed by Kyle and Laurie
“Can I... say something? As an advisor?” asked Alex, Max and Liz just nodded waiting to hear what he was going to say “Well the skins priority target is here, which means we can't exactly evacuate the city otherwise they'll suspect. There will be loads of people caught in the crossfire, if we can't evacuate them then we'll need someone for them to go. I think that it would be best if we can find out the best shelters and do our best to board up the windows with material that the skins can't use their powers on”
“That could work, at the Unit it's designed with depleted uranium because we can't use our powers against it” Courtney explained “We could gut the Unit base here in New Mexico for it's depleted sheet metal and board up the places that could pass as shelters”
“That seems like a good idea but if we board up windows there will still be the walls that their powers can be used on. If they failed to get through the windows they'd most likely blast through the walls”
“Didn't think of that” mumbled Alex feeling a little silly now “But finding the places that are shelters would help”
“Well do you and Isabel want to do that? Find out the best ones and let us all now, that way we'll be able to get people into them when the fight starts and we can protect them” Laurie said trying to make his idea work. They were now starting to work as a team coming up with ideas and bouncing them off each other.
“Sure, we can do that” Isabel nodded her head “If we need to we can clear them out as much as possible”
“Finally, Adam, I want you to contact your fa... Kevin. I want him to come here, he's very important to the outcome of the war and we need him here in Roswell. I think that it's best if any of the agents working for him come to Roswell, Kal's agents as well... we need as many aliens supporting us here as possible. Courtney, any you know or can reach I want them all here by the weekend” said Liz, Max looked grim as the last few orders were given.
“Yes, your highness” she said finally before leaving Greer's information then returning back to her non-descript sedan and contacted the people she needed to.
“Laurie, can my wife and I talk with you in private?” Max asked as the others disbursed to do what they'd been assigned to do. Alex and Isabel headed to the library while Michael and Maria stayed at the booth with Kyle and Adam to read over Greer's information while Tess and Ava went back home to check on Zan who was still hiding out at their house.
“Sure, what is it?” she asked as he helped up his new wife and practically carried her into the back room, she sighed with relief as she sank down onto the old couch then she became serious
“We want your word that this will not leave the room” the brunette said from her spot on the couch, Laurie glanced between them and saw how serious and scared they were
“You have it, of course you have it... what is this about?” she questioned them
“We do know who is going to die in the war...”
“Oh my god. It's me isn't it? That's why you've brought me back here like this isn't it?” she gasped
“No, it's not” he said shaking his head “From what we know about the war we know that you, Kyle, Michael, Maria, Alex, Isabel, Ava, Adam, Tess, Zan and Courtney survive... we've brought you back here because we know that you've been asking questions and suspecting us of our... plan. You need to stop digging in this” she calmed down some but was still intrigued
“We asked you back here because you've become somewhat a protector to me over the past few weeks” explained Liz “Well that's not exactly true. You know how strong I am, how strong both Max and I are... why would I need someone to protect me?”
“Max wanted me to...”
“I know my wife can protect herself, I asked you partly for reassurance and partly because you are a protector. Just not to my wife; look Laurie if anything should happen to my wife or me then our child, our little Charlie would be defenceless. There will come a time when she will need you to protect her”
“As in there will be a time when you're not there to do it yourselves?” she whispered, the two looked at each other before looking back at her and nodded. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard “You're the ones who die aren't you?”
“You can't tell anyone. This is part of our plan, we accepted it a long time ago; what we need is for you to promise that if anything goes wrong I want you and Kyle to take Charlie and leave, hide... whatever. Just protect her and make sure she lives. If things do go wrong and everyone looses take Claudia and leave the planet. Go somewhere where no one can ever find her, can you promise us this?”
“Of course. Am I allowed to tell Kyle?” she asked finally with strong determination in her eyes
“Only if Tess and Ava have died” said Liz “They're two fixed points in the future, we've seen a future with them in it. If they die then that future will cease to exist, take our daughter and run”
“I understand” she said quietly then went back out to the café and rejoined the others.
Liz smiled at her new husband who scooped her up in his arms and carried her out the back door to the jeep.
“Let's go back to the flat. You can get all comfy in bed and I'll make diner and bring the TV into our room. We can have a nice normal night without anything weird happening”
“I love you” she replied before kissing him.
***
Kathleen Topolski was nervous, very nervous in fact, and it was that that she thought was ironic. She had seen things that no regular person could conceive... discovered secrets no one would ever guess and now she was nervous because she was about to meet an important man? Granted that this man was the one most influential men of her time but he was still a man. She had met alien kings and queens, worked along side beings with technology far advanced than their own
“He's ready to see you know” said the polite lady dressed formally, Topolski rose to her feet, sucked in a breath, smoothed down her outfit then followed the woman into the Oval Office.
“Special Agent Director Topolski, it's nice to have you here. What can I do for you?”
“Mr President, thank you for meeting with me. I'll get straight down to business shall I?” he gestured with his hand for her to sit down and she did “You are away that this government has several... classified agencies that focus on the protection of the American way of life and the way of life of every living thing on this planet”
“Yes, I'm well aware of them and your agency, Director Topolski. I'm assuming that you have a point with this, I am a very busy man”
“Yes sir, I'm aware of that, and very honoured you'd grant me time like this. I do have a point and it's this; next week we will be at war”
“At war? Who with?” he demanded as he moved to his phone, he called through the intercom and asked for his cabinet to be assembled
“This is difficult to explain”
“Well I'd like you to try, if we're going to be at war with someone then I would like to know who it is!”
“They're called the Skins”
“Skins? It's not a country?”
“No, it's a planet called Antar. The enemy coming to wipe us out is from outer space, I have all the information here. There are five planets in their constellation and they are divided between their Royal Monarchy and an usurper named Kivar” she handed him several files with all the data collected “Mr President, the Royal Family from Antar is here on Earth hiding out from their enemies; Kivar is bringing his war to Earth. The Royal Family are willing to make a treaty and add Earth into their alliance so that this planet will be protected by Antarian technology”
“Can't the Royal Family just go home? If they came here in the first place then they've put Earth at risk”
“They were sent here, their ship crashed here in 1947” she explained to him as he flipped through the notes “Even if they did return to Antar that wouldn't stop Kivar from destroying Earth just because we housed them. He's a very evil creature”
“I want to meet the Royal Family. If they're willing to meet and discuss a treaty for the survival of Earth then I want them brought here to discuss it face to face”
“Yes sir” she nodded her head in agreement
“Elizabeth doesn't seem like an alien name to me. Is she a... a daughter or changed her name to survive on Earth?”
“Elizabeth was born on Earth... she and King Zan have recently got married under Earth law. The Royal Family have been here for a long time and they've followed by our laws all this time”
“Are they in contact with you?”
“Yes”
“Then I want you to take Air Force One and bring them here. I will study this dossier on all the information you've amassed” she stood up and shook hands with him. She was leaving just as his advisers came in. The lady that ushered her into the room took her into another room and they began to make arrangements.
***
Liz scowled, she'd felt uncomfortable all morning; Max had sensed her discomfort and didn't want to leave her to go to school but she made him go. He had missed three days already with being on his honeymoon.
“Knock, knock!” called Laurie as she opened the door and came into the apartment
“I'm in the bedroom” Liz replied to her friend as the blonde came in; while many of the group were at school, the ones who weren't were busy doing their tasks. Courtney was contacting all the people she needed and was working on making several amplicators while Adam was contacting his father and Kal Langley and relaying the orders they needed to hear about getting all their contacts to come to Roswell.
“How are you doing? How is the princess?” asked Laurie, Ava had stayed home with Zan who was getting fed up of being house bound. She was helping him alter his appearance slightly so he could get out without being discovered; Topolski had pulled all of Pierce's agents out of Roswell but there was still a risk of someone calling him in.
“We're good, but I... grrr! I can't get comfortable!” she groaned irritated with how the pillows felt under her back. She thumped some of the pillows and feathers exploded everywhere which got her more annoyed
“Here, let me fix them” said Laurie with a smirk as she waved her hands over the pillows, they were repaired in an instant then Liz began wriggling down the bed “Are you okay?”
“Yeah I'm fine I just... I need the bathroom” she wriggled to the edge of the bed then tried to pull herself up, she couldn't get to her feet until Laurie grabbed her hands and pulled her up so she was standing. With the help of her friend she got to her feet just in time for water to trickle down her pants to puddle on the floor “Great! Just great!”
“It's okay, it was an accident” Laurie said trying to console her friend who hadn't made it in time. Liz wrapped her arms around her stomach and shook her head
“No, that's not it. I thought I needed the bathroom... I was wrong”
“Wrong?” the blonde girl gasped
“Yes, Laurie, I need you to call an ambulance then call Max and tell him I'm going to the hospital” she said and the taller girl pulled out Kyle's cell phone that he'd let her borrow for emergencies while he was at school with the others.
*
Max was sat in class when his phone started ringing, he looked down at call id and saw that it was Kyle calling him
“Mr Evans, will you turn your phone off or I'll have to confiscate it”
“But Mr Steligman... it could be important” he replied, the teacher held out his hand for the phone but Max shook his head “I'll turn it off!” he switched it off then shoved it back in his pocket before glancing at Maria and Alex who were sat at the desk behind him. He mouthed the word Kyle to them before turning back to the lesson.
A few minutes later Maria's cell phone rang, she pulled it out just in time for Mr Steligman to confiscate it. Alex glanced round, quietly pulled his phone out of his pocket and switched it to silent just in time for it to ring. He moved his pad so it fell to the floor, he crouched down to pick up his pad and answer the phone
“Alex! Thank God! I've been trying to get through to someone! Liz! It's Liz! She's having the baby!” Laurie cried relieved that she'd managed to get through to someone
“WHAT!” shouted Alex as he stood up sharply
“The ambulance has arrived and they're taking her to the hospital. Get Max!”
“Mr Whitman! Hand over your phone!” Steligman ordered, Alex just blinked then handed his phone to Max
“It's Liz” he said sounding shocked, Maria glanced back and forth between the two of them wanting to know what was going on. As soon as Max pressed his ear to the phone Laurie explained everything
“What? What's going on?” Maria demanded, Mr Steligman had realised that something serious must have happened and was giving them some time to explain
“Liz is having the baby” Alex explained “That was Laurie, they're on their way to the hospital” Maria began quickly gathering stuff up and ordered Alex to do the same. Max had gone pale and was ready to bolt out of his chair.
“Alex, I'll drive Max to the hospital. I want you to pack up his things, tell the others and meet us there. Sorry Mr Steligman but we have to go, my little niece is ready to come into the world. Max, Max... give me the phone” she took the phone from him, tossed Alex her phone before grabbing Max's hand leading him from the class. Once outside he finally overcame the shock and the two of them hurried down the hall to the jeep. Alex was impressed with how quickly Maria had taken control but she was the female general so it shouldn't have been that surprising.
“Okay, okay. Everyone calm down, let's get back to science shall we?” said Mr Steligman as he excused Alex who had just finished gathering up Max's stuff and went in search of Michael, Isabel, Kyle and Tess.
*
Two hours later everyone including Zan turned up at the hospital to be around when the Princess was born. Max was sat on one side holding his wife's hand while Maria was sat on the other, she too was holding Liz's hand as she was going through her contractions.
In the waiting room the entire Royal Court, the Evans, the Parker's, Amy Deluca and Sheriff Valenti were waiting for any news Michael was pacing and Isabel and Alex had just come back carrying two trays of coffee between them which as passed round.
“Shouldn't there be a ceremony or something?” asked Michael rhetorically while he paced then he stopped and looked at the all people gathered sipping their coffee “I mean the Princess is about to be born”
“Michael, the fact that she's about to join the world is ceremony enough” Jeff said as he clapped him on the shoulder
“I just feel like I should be doing something” he said as he looked around
“I know, why don't you go and see if there's any news? I'm sure Maria would like to see you” suggested Nancy, he nodded and went off into the room just as the doors opened and the doctors wheeled her out
“What's happening?!” Michael demanded almost stopping them from moving her; Maria took him aside and let them continue
“They're taking her to the delivery room” she explained “Charlie's ready to come into the world”
“Oh God” gasped Michael, she pulled him into a hug
“They're both going to be fine. We know it” she whispered “Let's go for a walk” the two of them walked down the corridor looking for an empty corridor where they could talk in peace.
Tess glanced at her boyfriend as he sat on the plastic orange chairs playing with his crutches; he looked completely different from the Zan she was starting to get to know. His hair was longer and slicked back in an unusual wave; his clothes were expensive looking but fitting him perfectly. He looked like a super model instead of someone hiding from the law
“Hey, how you doing?”
“Glad to be out” he replied “And a little excited; Charlie... technically she's my niece, family y'know. Are you okay?”
“I'm just glad that they let me be here” she confessed as she sat down next to him
“Yeah” he nodded a little tightly
“What? What is it?”
“I'm thinking of Rath and Lonnie, I know what they would have done to me if that time line had continued but they were all I had and I wish they could be here to witness this moment. I miss my sister and I miss my best friend. Being in this hospital reminds me of them...”
“Oh, god I didn't realise...”
“This is where we were when they came and took us away” he whispered looking round
“If you want to go then I'll come with you”
“No, no. I need to be here for this” he told her “It's like I've been waiting for this moment my entire life. I'm not missing it for the world; this one or the next” she put her hand over his that was resting on the handle on his crutch.
Laurie lay with her head in Kyle's lap waiting; they were all waiting and minutes passed by and then the Royal Court felt it. Since they were all connected with Max and Liz they felt a new addition as she took her first breath. Laurie sat up just as Maria came back in with Michael following her. Isabel was crying openly with a big smile on her face and Alex pulled her into his arms. Tess looked up at her twin sister and they grinned and began cheering, they were soon joined by the other girls who danced about in a circle excited by the feelings they were sensing!
Ten minutes later Max came out of the delivery room dressed in green scrubs carrying a pink bundle in his arms
“Everyone...” he got their attention “I would like you all to meet Princess Claudia Gabrielle Evans” everyone flocked round him and the grandparents cooed over her. They wanted their turns to hold them; none of them noticed the TV screwed to the wall in the corner changed to the President addressing the nation about contact with other planets.
TBC...