Roswell Fanatics

Part 10

Ok, Liz breathed out, scanning her small apartment. Everything in the place was spotless, which not only would have pleased Liz’s mother, it also went a long way to soothe Liz’s frazzled nerves.

Everything was in order. Order was good. It meant she was in control, and the out-of-control feeling that had settled in her stomach and had resided there all morning was just a figure of her overactive, paranoid imagination.

After giving up on her tea, she had taken a long, hot shower, in an attempt to relax, and wash away the tell-tale signs that still clung stubbornly to her face, revealing she had been crying. She could have easily cleaned herself with a wave of her hand, and could have applied her make up and done her hair using her powers, but she refrained. Today was going to be a normal day, and she was going to do things the human way, without the added benefit of alien powers.

So, she dug out her old makeup case from the closet, and fished through makeup that she hadn’t used in ages. She didn’t usually wear makeup, and when she did, it was applied the alien way, but today she needed to look her best. Today she needed to feel like she was powerful, and looking great on the outside just made her feel more powerful on the inside.

So on went the mascara, the blush, the lipstick, and the eyeshadow. She picked clothes that she knew complimented her, and dressed with deliberate care. She left her hair down, straight and long, so the dark shining tresses would be able to conceal her face if need be, a protective shield and her own coat of armor. She applied a bit of her favorite perfume, earrings, and then turned to inspect herself in her long, full length mirror.

She was wearing low slung black pants, that showed off an inch of her toned midriff, which was sun-kissed so that it was darkened to a golden brown. She was wearing a red halter top, which complimented her skin tone, and at the same time revealed more tantalizing snatches of skin. Her hair hung down loosely, cascading over her shoulders. She didn’t wear jewelry, other than her favorite hoop earrings.

She frowned at herself in the mirror. Something was missing... she needed the right shoes! She went back to her closet, and began to dig through the shoes, trying to find the perfect ones.

She knew she was acting a bit irrational. She rarely spent this much time on her appearance, and was never this fanatical about it, but she needed to focus on something. The worry was still gnawing at her stomach, but underneath that there was a sense of anticipation, like hundreds of butterflies dancing in her stomach, flitting and flying restlessly, unable to keep still. As a result, she wasn’t able to keep still either.

She took a deep calming breath, trying to calm her nerves. Breathe in, breathe out, she reminded herself.

This was going to be an important day, she could feel it. Something was about happen, and she was nervous, impatient, even excited in a way, and she was...

She glanced at the clock. Damn. She was late.

She went over her mental checklist one more time. Purse, check. Cell phone, check. Keys to her apartment, check. Keys to her car, check.

All ready. She swallowed her fear, and straightened her spine, determined to leave her apartment with a positive attitude and ready to face whatever was making her feel this way.

By the time she had gone down the two flights of stairs, out the door, and reached her car she had convinced herself that everything was going to be ok. Whatever was coming, she could deal with it, just like she had dealt with everything else. What was one more change, one more burden, anyway? Fate couldn’t possibly throw anything at her that she wasn’t, at least on some level, prepared for. She had gone through just about everything and more that a person could go through didn’t she? She was ready.

Yet her hands still shook as she fumbled with the keys, trying to fit them into the lock on her car door. They slipped out of her grasp, and fell to the ground, shining against the hot pavement in the morning sun. Sighing, she bent down to pick them up.

It was then that she realized that she was wearing two different shoes. On her left foot was a red, flat sandle. On her right foot was a black, strappy high-heeled shoe that gave that leg an extra three inches, at least. She had no idea how she made it all the way from her apartment to her car walking lopsided, and never realized it.

Her bad mood descended on her again, hovering like a cloud dark with the promise of rain. She snorted to herself as she made her way back into the apartment building so that she could change her shoes. Yeah, she thought sarcastically... like hell she was ready.

* * * *

She rushed into the building, leaving a trail of curious stares behind her. People in this business never ran, unless they were working for the boss, rushing to get him his coffee or his report. But if they were working with the boss... well if they were running behind, it was fashionable to be late anyway. That’s how the business worked.

Liz was oblivious to the people that she passed. She was already almost 20 minutes late, and that fact just added to her anxiety. What a great way to make a first impression on her co-star! She sighed as she reached the front desk.

“Hi, I’m Liz Parker, I-” she rushed out, eager to find out where she was supposed to be. The secretary looked at her for a moment before interrupting Liz.

“You’re late. Mr. Langley expected you at 9 AM sharp.” The secretary - Miss Elise Shaedan, according to the nameplate on her desk- snapped her gum annoyingly, as she looked Liz up and down, sizing her up. A contemptuous look flitted across the woman’s face before she resumed the expression of dull boredom. Obviously Miss Shaedan didn’t like what she saw.

She moved away from her desk, and began to walk quickly down the hall. “Follow me,” she called over her shoulder, not slowing her fast pace. Liz had to practically jog to keep up with her. Liz looked at the woman curiously. Cal Langley was a rich, famous Hollywood producer. It didn’t seem like he would hire this woman as his secretary, not with her bleached blonde hair and dark roots, a dress that practically molded itself to her body, and caked makeup on her face that looked as if it could be perhaps a quarter of an inch thick. Perhaps she was being a tad judgmental, but Cal seemed like the kind of guy who would expect the best, someone who was classy, elegant, and polite, to represent him.

Liz began to admonish herself. She was just in a foul mood. She had no real reason to dislike Miss Shaedan, and Liz was late, so that could account for her rudeness.

Liz was so busy looking at the artwork on the walls and trying to keep up with Miss Shaedan that she didn’t realize that the woman had stopped until she ran right into her. “Sorry,” she mumbled in apology, slightly embarrassed.

Miss Elise Shaedan glanced at Liz disdainfully, and then opened the door that they had stopped in front of. “Mr. Langley will be with you momentarily,” she said icily, “wait in here.”

With that the woman turned on her heel and closed the door, leaving Liz alone in the room.

Liz sighed. She had rushed all the way here, thinking she was late, and Cal wasn’t even ready to see her yet? If Miss Shaedan knew that, then why had she acted like Liz had committed an unforgivable sin, and that everyone was waiting for her?

Liz sank down on the couch. There were three couches, covering the full lengths of three of the walls. One wall, which contained the only door in the room, was completely empty. All of the walls were a glaring white, and completely bare. The carpet and the couches were black, in stark contrast to the rest of the room.

Cosy, Liz thought with a grimace. The lack of warmth in the room did nothing to ease the feeling of dread that was intensifying with each passing moment.

Just when Liz thought that she couldn’t wait any longer without going out of her mind, the door swung open and in walked Cal.

“Liz, babe! Oh, you look smashing in that outfit! We’ll have to make sure that our design people have you in that outfit for the pilot. One glimpse of you, and all of the horny little teenage boys watching the show will be licking their television screens.” Cal flashed her his 100-watt plastic Hollywood smile, and Liz couldn’t help but blush at his words, embarrassed.

Liz’s attention suddenly shifted to the loud, familiar voice calling from the hallway. “Cal! I’m not sure if we...”

He trailed off as he walked into the room. She would recognize his face, his hair, his voice anywhere. He stared at her in shock, his eyes wide, looking as astonished as she felt.

“Michael?!?” came the strangled whisper, as she struggled to breath. Fate was so cruel! To spring this on her, after not seeing him since she left, after not talking to him since before...

“Oh, you two know each other?” Cal asked, with mild interest in his voice. He looked at Liz closely, and noticed that she had gone white and had started to tremble. Interesting.

Liz felt like she had been hit with a sledgehammer. What were the odds... She shook her head, trying to clear her muddled thoughts. Why did she suddenly feel like she was just a pawn in someone else’s game? “Michael... he is going to be my co-star?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course not!” He gave her a clearly incredulous look, and shook his head in mock sadness. “No, I’m afraid Michael’s personality is much too..” he glanced over at the scowling figure standing next to him, “unique... for this kind of environment. Besides, he isn’t the right one.”

He didn’t have to say it. She knew before he walked through the door, had suddenly felt him with a sharp clarity that had been missing for too long now.

He looked at her with surprise as Cal continued to speak. “No, your new co-star is this princely kid right here: Max Evans.”

Her last thought before she passed out was that fate wasn’t just cruel. It was obviously sadistic.




*~*
So, at least you know who her co-star is now! Let me know your thoughts on the part, and I'll be back next Wednesday with a new part

Part 11


Max moved across the room and quickly caught her before she hit the ground. Her eyes were closed and her face was pale, but she still looked stunningly beautiful.

He gently laid her on the ground, cradling her head in his lap. Tendrils of her long dark hair were draped across his jeans, and he reached down to touch the shining strands.

His goddess, the girl he had fantasized about for years, was here! Laying on his lap no less! Granted, it wasn’t under the best of circumstances but -

He couldn’t help the broad grin from appearing on his face.

Liz was here.

His smile slipped from his face a little as he looked at Cal, who was still watching the scene unfold before him with a knowing eye, and Michael, who was hovering nearby. He immediately grew suspicious. Was this planned? If so, how the hell did Cal know about Liz? And that meant that Cal not only knew who he was, it meant that, unless this was all some bizarre coincidence, Cal was the shapeshifter that they were looking for.

And not just a shapeshifter. A shapeshifter that had some sort of agenda.

When he had first realized that Cal Langley might be the shapeshifter they were looking for, he had mixed feelings about it. If he was supposed to be their protector, why hadn’t he ever come for them? Was he just going to tell them things they already knew and then send them on their way? Or could he provide new information, and maybe even help them?

After much deliberation, he and Michael had decided to go to LA in search of Langley, telling Max’s parents that they were going on another “camping trip.” Honestly, how many camping trips could they go on without their parents becoming suspicious? Luckily though, their parents continued to be oblivious to everything that was happening right underneath their noses.

When Max had arrived in LA, he had tried out for a part on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, hoping that it would enable him to get in contact with Langley. Needless to say, he didn’t get the part. Apparently Max just wasn’t cut out for acting.

Which was why he was so surprised when Langley called him the next day, asking him to play one of the lead roles of a new show he was producing called Kismet. Was that how it usually worked in Hollywood? You bomb an audition, and then a famous movie producer calls you and asks you to star in his new television show?

After that, everything happened so quickly that Max barely had time to react to it. Langley met with him the day after that and told him that although Max had basically secured the part of Leo Piazza, they still needed to make sure that he would have on-screen chemistry with the leading lady. He didn’t tell Max the woman’s name, but said that she was a special girl that he was certain Max would like, and she would be playing the role of Mariana Ethans.

It wasn’t until Max was given the script for the pilot episode that he began to get really paranoid. The show was about aliens?!? And the alien could heal? And had three siblings who also had alien abilities?

Um, yeah. That wasn’t suspicious.

The further into the script he got, the stranger it seemed. Something clicked in the back of his mind when he read the part about the shooting in the restaurant of the small town. It reminded him of the incident back in sophomore year, when Liz was almost shot.

Other parts of the script seemed vaguely familiar too, like snatches of a dream that he couldn’t quite remember. When Mariana first said, “It was you,” it sent a wave of longing crashing over him that he couldn’t quite understand or explain. And then suddenly, out of no where, he had a flash.


*It was you.*


He had said those words, and revealed his feelings in a simple, heartfelt statement. Those words meant something, not only to him, but to someone else.

Just as suddenly as it came, the odd feeling of deja vu passed. As he continued, more and more elements of the script seemed to be a little bit too close to the truth, and it made him uncomfortable, and even more wary than before. He’d have to keep a close eye on Cal Langley until he figured out who he was, and what his next course of action should be.

In the meantime, he prepared himself to meet his co-star. He wanted to look nice and to make a good first impression. It didn’t matter that as soon as he got the information he needed, he’d be off the show. He hadn’t signed any contracts yet, and it hadn’t even been mentioned, which he also thought was odd. Still, he didn’t want to offend his temporary co-star by dressing like a slob.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t brought any really nice clothes with him, and he didn’t want to spend any of the emergency cash that he brought with him on clothing. He ended up wearing a pair of jeans, and a black t-shirt, knowing that while it wasn’t exactly a high-class outfit, it would be acceptable in the Hollywood industry.

When he met Cal on the day he was supposed to meet his co-star, he actually felt pretty calm. For once, he was confident that everything was going to work out, and if it didn’t, well then he’d worry about that later. It was quite foreign, the feeling that he could just take things as they came, but there it was.

As they walked down the hall towards an office, he was irritated by Cal’s secretary, who was walking alongside of Cal, giving him his memos and reports, all the while droning on in a voice that reminded him of nails on a blackboard. But her vocal discord wasn’t the reason she annoyed him.

What was really the problem was that she looked at him like he was a peice of meat, and she was hungry and ready for the kill. Never mind the fact that she was at least ten years older than him, she still looked at him flirtatiously over her shoulder, and as she walked she swayed her hips in what she must have thought was a seductive manner. In actuality, it kind of made Max sick to his stomach.

Max, Michael, and Cal entered an office, and Cal dismissed the secretary. She left, but not before she gave Max a suggestive smile and a wink.

Cal looked thoroughly disgusted. “I can’t believe they expect me to use that woman as my secretary. She can’t even take messages right... not to mention the fact that she doesn’t know how to dress for work.” He shook his head in disgust before getting back into business mode.

“Well boys, unfortunately we have to go through some documents, and sign a few things. And don’t bother whining to me about how much you hate paperwork. Believe me, I hate it as much as you do.”

Max spent the next twenty minutes reading through agreements and signing forms saying that the studio would not be held responsible if Max got injured while working. He also signed, among other things, a confidentiality clause, saying that he couldn’t leak anything about the new television show to the press. Curiously enough, a contract was conspicuously missing from the pile of papers he was handed. Max decided not to question it, but he did find it curious.

After Max had finished, Cal got up from his desk, and motioned towards the door. “Alright, ready to meet your new co-star?” A strange look crossed Cal’s face, the kind of look that you get when you know something is about to happen in a movie, and you are just waiting for your friends to see it and react. For a moment, Cal looked utterly pleased with himself, like he was the cat that swallowed the canary. The moment ended, and the look vanished as quickly as it came. Max half-thought that he had imagined it.

“Lead the way,” he said cheerfully. Cal exited the room, followed by Michael. Max lagged behind for a moment, as he realized something that could help him unravel the mystery of this show. He pulled out his script from the back pocket of his jeans, scanning the title page eagerly. Strange. It didn’t list the writer or creator of the show.

Shrugging, Max put it back into his pocket and left the room, closing the door behind him. Cal and Michael had gone down the hallway to his left, and he could see Michael entering a room. There was a strange, pregnant pause as Michael stopped talking, and Max moved quickly down the hall in order to hear what was happening.

They were talking in low voices, and an uneasy feeling settled over Max as he reached the door.

“ - isn’t the right one. No, your new co-star is this princely kid right here: Max Evans.”

And suddenly, there she was. The girl he had dreamed about for the past year and a half... wait, scratch that. Not just for the past year and a half, but since the first moment he laid eyes on her. The girl that he hadn’t seen since she came to his bedroom on the night before she left Roswell.

He had been so desperate then, panicked over the fact that she was leaving. He had given in to every wish and desire he had ever felt, ignored all the voices in his head warning him to stop - which had sounded remarkably similar to Izzy and Michael - and he kissed her. And then she ran away.

Of course she left anyway. He couldn’t expect her to stay just because he kissed her, just because he let her know that he was interested in her. Ha. Interested in her. Now there’s the understatement of the century.

She left that night, leaving him confused and bewildered, and he hadn’t seen her since. He had lied awake in bed for the rest of the night, turning over what had happened in his mind. By the time the sun rose, he was filled with a sense of determination. He had gone to her house to talk to her, hoping that it wasn’t too late, but she had already left.

And now she was here!

Oh, and she was even more beautiful than before. Her hair shimmered in the light, and her outfit displayed enticing patches of golden skin. And her face...

Her face was white, and she looked like she had seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide, and she was visibly shaking.

She began to sway. Oh, that can’t be good. He practically leapt across the room as he caught her before she hit the ground.

And now she was in his lap.

And she was awake.


* * * *


Her eyelids were heavy as she struggled to open them. Someone was smoothing her hair, and cradling her head.

She was disoriented, to say the least. And on top of that, she had to be hallucinating.

Otherwise, how could she explain the fact that she was looking up into Max Evan’s concerned face.

She tried to sit up, and then the room started to spin around her, a blur of black and white. Ok, bad idea. She was just gonna... lie back down again. And try to figure out what the hell had happened.

She closed her eyes for a moment, squeezed them shut as tightly as she could, and counted to ten. Cautiously, she cracked one eye open.

Yup, he was still here. Guess he wasn’t a dream.

“Liz, are you alright?” He looked kind of confused, probably because she was staring at him like he had three heads. But at the same time he looked... happy?

He was happy that she had passed out? Okay, whatever floats his boat.

Hmm, maybe she was still kind of out of it, because she suddenly found the entire situation hysterical, and the logical part of her brain, the part that was just now starting to function again, told her that laughing at that particular moment might be a bit inappropriate.

But really, this was one of the craziest situations she had ever come across - and keep in mind that she had come back from the future. Yeah, Max Evans, the love of her life, the person that she ached for every second of every minute of every day, the person she couldn’t be with... yeah, he was here. And he was going to be playing her co-star. In a television show about a past that never happened.

And she’d see him everyday, acting out situations that she had lived through... and she still couldn’t be with him.

Suddenly it wasn’t so funny anymore. She sat up, and ignored her pounding head. And, judging by the way Max was staring at her like she was glass that would shatter at any second, she decided that it might be a good idea to answer him before he decided to restrict her to rest in bed for a week.

Of course, if he was with her, that might not be so terrible...

Stop! She scolded herself mentally. Now was definitely not the time.

She looked at Max, who was looking at her with those eyes, those liquidy brown eyes that just made her melt. She swallowed, suddenly finding that answering him was easier said than done. “I-I’m fine,” she croaked out finally.

He looked at her skeptically. “When’s the last time you had anything to eat?”

Oh, thank you Max! He had just given her a plausible reason for why she had fainted. Of course... when had she eaten last? She had been so worried, so sure that something terrible was about to happen - with good reason, it would seem - that she had lost her appetite, and hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.

“Um... a while ago, I guess,” she offered weakly. Suddenly out of the corner of her eyes she noticed Michael, who was standing by the couch with his arms crossed over his chest, and an unreadable look upon his face. Well, she was glad to see that some things never changed, no matter how many times a person messed with time. Stonewall Guerin was still in action, and that actually made her feel a lot better.

Max stood up, and then offered her his hand to help her up. She accepted gratefully, and was pulled to her feet. She noticed that he didn’t let go of her hand, even after she got her bearings. Well, if he wanted to continue holding on to her, who was she to refuse?

“Cal, do you have any food around here?” Max’s voice broke through her haze, which she had to admit, had been filled with various fantasies which she shouldn’t be having.

Cal looked at them for a moment, before replying. “Yeah sure. Elise!” he called out the door, raising his voice to a volume that surprised Liz. The girl came running from her desk, and as she approached him, he continued at a normal decibel,“Elise, could you get Miss Parker something to eat please. Maybe some fruit perhaps?” He looked at Liz, and she nodded in approval. Elise stared at the girl for a second, and Liz began to blush, embarrassed that everyone had to go to so much trouble because of her.

Max looked down at Liz, and said in a low voice, “Don’t be embarrassed.” He offered her a small smile, and she couldn’t help the bright smile that formed on her face in response to it.

Cal continued to stand in the doorway, once again unnoticed by the couple. Well, this was an interesting turn of events. He hadn’t known what to expect when he had arranged this, but it definitely wasn’t this. He thought that they would be overjoyed at seeing each other again, but for the most part Liz looked like she couldn’t decided between crying or throwing up, and Max seemed beyond clueless.

She should appreciate this. He really did not want to have to deal with the boy-king and the growling bulldog that was his second. And why he was meddling in their affairs was beyond him... but really, how could he not? He owed this to her.

After all, she did sacrifice everything in order to save his behind and the rest of the world’s.



*~*
So, let me know what you guys think of this. I'll be posting either this Wednesday, or next Tuesday, so look for a new part then!

Part 12


After Liz had been brought her fruit platter, which contained a surprising variety of produce, and she had been forced to eat until both Max and Cal were satisfied, there was an awkward lull in the conversation which Cal was quick to fix.

“Well, seems like you two know each other. Small world!” A cheshire-like grin appeared on his face, as Michael’s eyes narrowed.

“Yeah. Very small.” Michael raised an eyebrow, almost in challenge, but Cal ignored him and turned towards Max and Liz.

“So, you two will be reading the script together tomorrow. We have most of the sets for the pilot episode done, so we might as well do it on set.”

Liz looked at him questioningly. “Will the other cast members be there too?”

Cal looked at her in surprise. “No, they won’t be. For the next week or so we will be focusing on scenes that are between the two of you. We’ll cover scenes not only from the pilot, but from later episodes that we have written. If we need to use dialogue from another character, we’ll either skip it or use a stand-in.”

Max absorbed this for a moment, before voicing some of his questions. “Why aren’t the other cast members going to be there? Why are we focusing on only our scenes for the time being?”

“Because you are the main focal point of the whole show. Everything hinges on the relationship between your characters. I want to develop it so that by the time we start shooting, the on-screen sparks between you two will be enough to light up all of New York City. It may not be the way other producers handle their shows, but this is how I work, so that’s the way we’re going to do it.” There was a particular edge to Cal’s last statement, as if he was daring one of them to defy him. He was asserting his control over the entire situation, and everyone in the room noticed.

“Well then... tomorrow we start working I guess.” Liz said, trying to ease the tension that suddenly filled the room.

“I’ll send a car to pick you both up at 9, and bring you over to the studio. Don’t stay out late tonight partying or whatever... unless they’ve already made a name for themselves, I don’t deal with people that are giving anything less then their best.” He started to leave the room, and then turned around. “And Max: make sure Liz eats today. We don’t want our star to get sick,” he added as an afterthought. He closed the door firmly behind him, leaving Michael, Liz and Max alone together in the room.

The looked at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Michael decided to cut through the b.s. and got the ball rolling with, “So Liz, why are you working on this show? As I recall, you weren’t interested in acting back in Roswell.”

Max felt like slapping Michael upside the head. Great way to ease into the conversation. “Jeez Michael, don’t know how to exchange pleasantries with a person? Start with ‘hello,’” he muttered under his breath.

Liz ignored Max for the moment, and looked at Michael curiously. “You know what my interests were back then? That’s surprising, considering we weren’t the best of friends.”

Michael turned a becoming shade of pink, as he realized he’d have to think of a way out of his blunder. “Well.. Um... you just always seemed like the science geek type you know? That image, and the idea of you acting... don’t exactly mesh.”

“Oh. Right.” Now it was Liz’s turn to look embarrassed, before she turned the tables. “Well, what are you guys doing in L.A.?”

Michael shot Max a warning look, and in return Max gave him a look that clearly asked if he had the word ‘stupid’ printed on his forehead. Of course Max wasn’t going to tell her the truth. But, what was he going to tell her anyway?

Seeing that Mr. High and Mighty, who had just given him a scornful look, was currently at a loss for what to say to Liz. Michael covered, mentally rolling his eyes as he did so. What was it about Liz that made Max think with his energy source instead of his head? It was like his brain went on hiatus as soon as he saw Liz.

“Well, we decided to go on a road trip for the summer, and ended up in L.A. We saw a sign for auditions for some television show, and we both tried out on a lark. Somehow, Langley must have seen the audition tape, because he contacted Max the next day, and asked him to play one of the lead roles on the new show ‘Kismet.’” There. That sounded plausible, and it was close enough to the truth so that it would be easy to remember.

Liz sank down into the coach, feeling like she had just been sucker punched. She had been so wrapped up in seeing Max again, and well... fainting... that she hadn’t realized until now what everything actually meant. If Max and Michael were in L.A. looking for Langley, and she was almost positive that they were, then that meant that they had found out more about their origin, and other things might have happened, things she was unaware of. How much did she really know about what actually was happening in Roswell? She should have never left Roswell, and trusted that weekly chats with Maria about the latest gossip would be enough! What was she thinking?!?

And what was Cal thinking? He must have known who Max was, and he called him anyway, and went so far as to ask him to be on her show! She knew that Cal wouldn’t want to be anywhere near Max or anything alien related. From what Max had told her, what he wanted more than anything was to escape the abyss permanently. And he had hated Max, and the fact that he was programmed to obey him. Why the hell would he want him to stick around?

And what did Cal know about her exactly? If he had asked Max to play the lead role opposite her, for reasons unknown, then what did that mean in regards to his knowledge of who she really was? Maybe he knew nothing, and had just asked Max to be a part of this project because it was his show, and if he needed Max to act for him, then this would be the perfect way to get him to do so.

Then again, maybe Cal knew everything.

Well, whether he did or didn’t, it didn’t really matter. What was important was that she had a feeling that someone was pulling the strings, and they were all dancing like the puppets they were. But for what reason?

She couldn’t question Max, Michael, or Cal outright without revealing what she knew. For now she would just have to bide her time, and wait for an opportunity.

“Liz, are you ok?” Max asked, concerned. She had looked kind of upset, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why.

Michael took her nod as his cue to continue. “So, you didn’t answer my question. Do you know the writer?”

Liz looked down, not able to meet either’s gaze. She couldn’t tell the truth, but she also didn’t want to lie if she didn’t have to. “Why would I know the writer?”

“The writer isn’t listed on the script. We were just wondering if you knew who he is.”

She shrugged, but still didn’t look up. “How am I supposed to know? The writer is apparently anonymous.”

Only then did she raise her eyes back up to Michael’s face. He looked deflated, and at a loss for what to do next. She had the urge to hug him, more for her own peace of mind than his. They had never been close, but they had always had at the very least, a grudging respect for each other, and at times, something that had almost resembled a friendship. She had missed him, and if wasn’t for the wary look she saw in Michael’s eyes that reminded her that things were different now, she would have embraced him enthusiastically, stonewall be damned.

“Well,” Max said, interrupting whatever was happening between his best friend and the object of his affection, “Cal put me in charge of feeding you, so I propose that we go out for brunch, and then maybe make a day of it, so that we can get reacquainted with each other.” He shoved his hands into his pockets as he let the offer linger in the air. He knew that she had probably moved on with her life, and had most likely forgotten him almost entirely, but he couldn’t help putting the offer out there. Besides, it was perfectly legit. Langley had told him to make sure that Liz ate, and what better way to ensure it than to eat with her?

As tempting at the offer was, Liz was about to turn the offer down, feeling the old need to distance herself once again. Then, like a light switch turning on, he was open to her, and she felt his vulnerability. He was afraid, afraid that she would turn him down, that she didn’t care anymore, or that perhaps she never had. Even above his fear though, above, under, surrounding and encasing everything, she felt his love. He still loved her.

He still loved her!

It made her dizzy and lightheaded, as she felt the familiar wave of love and longing crash over her like a soothing balm to her soul. With sudden clarity, she knew that this is what had kept her awake at nights. Not the nightmares, but the absence of him, of his presence, of his soul.

He hadn’t forgotten her! She knew, better than anyone, the strength of their love, but she had still worried, still wondered if he had moved on. After all, Max had known of Liz’s love for him, had known what it was like when they were together, but after he saw Liz in bed with Kyle, he still turned to Tess. Of course, leaving Roswell wasn’t exactly the same as pretending to sleep with someone, but... this time their relationship hadn’t had the chance to develop fully, and so she just hadn’t known.

But he loved her.

She didn’t hesitate, as she turned towards him, her eyes shining with happiness. “I think that sounds wonderful.”

He expelled a sigh of relief, as he took her hand in his. He looked at her in wonder as she smiled up at him, her eyes bright. They made their way out of the room, oblivious to everything but each other.

It took a moment for Michael to realize what was going on. He followed after them, muttering under his breath. He raised his voice to call to them. “I’m coming too, you do realize that right? And I’m not going to be footing the bill!”


*~*

Part 13


Liz had taken Max and Michael to her favorite restaurant, located about a block away from her house. The atmosphere had been light, as if a weight had been lifted off of both of their souls, and only Michael’s frequent scowls and hovering presence marred the reunion.

Liz and Max had barely had a chance to talk about anything because of Michael. They talked about Liz’s life since she left Roswell, and the latest gossip back home. But neither Max or Liz had been able to talk freely about what they really wanted to talk about, or say what needed to be said.

After brunch they went to a park, and Michael tagged along stoically. Liz finally gave up, and decided to just ask her questions even under Michael’s suspicious glare.

“So, Max,” she started in an offhand way, “we’ve been talking about my life. What about yours? What have you been up to since I left?”

They sat on a bench next to each other, close but not touching. Max looked slightly uncomfortable at the question. “Oh, you know, the usual stuff.”

She didn’t expect this to be easy, but she wasn’t sure what to ask, or how to ask it. And Michael was just glaring at her, making her kind of nervous.

“Have you been on any trips?” Let’s see if he was a bit more open when answering this question.

“A few. This road trip, of course, and to a few other places,” he said with a slightly guarded look. This wasn’t working.

She knew that she should probably just listen to his thoughts, but she refused to do so for two reasons. First, she didn’t know if he would be able to detect that she was doing it; he had always known before, but she didn’t know if he would be able to recognize it now. Secondly, she did not want to invade his privacy that way. Doing so would seem like a betrayal. Entering someone’s mind without their permission was not something that she liked to do, and never did it unless it would save lives.

She couldn’t even use the connection, because all she received from him were emotions. And she knew him well enough where the connection didn’t tell her anything that she didn’t already know.

She knew that he was regretful, and felt guilty that he couldn’t tell her the truth. He was apprehensive, and uncertain, and happy, and a jumble of other emotions.

None of which tell her what he actually knows and what really happened.

She felt like stamping her feet in frustration. After all of her work and sacrifices, she obviously had at least somewhat bungled the plan, because she had no idea what was actually going down in Roswell.

And Michael was still scowling at them!

She had tried to include Michael in the conversation, but his answering grunts weren’t very encouraging, so she had given up.

“So... we should go now, right Maxwell? I mean, you guys have finished the ‘getting to know you’s, so we’ll see you tomorrow.” Liz stared at Michael in shock. That was the first thing he had said since they left brunch an hour ago.

“Michael,” Max said, shooting him a warning look, “why don’t you head back to the motel, and I’ll meet you back there later?”

Michael gave him his ‘you must be stupid’ look before replying. “No, I think I’ll leave with you. Besides, you have the car, and I don’t want to waste money on a cab.”

Something passed between them that Liz couldn’t decipher. She decided that she wasn’t going to wait to see what it was.

“Hey, you can’t leave yet! I haven’t shown you guys the sights yet! Besides, you still have yet to taste the best pizza in town.” They couldn’t leave yet! She hadn’t gotten any information out of them!

Besides... she didn’t want Max to leave her. Not yet, anyway.

“There’s a hockey game on later,” Michael said, as if that was any excuse to go back to his motel room.

“The pizza place we’re going to has television, and you can watch the game there. Besides, dinner’s on me,” she offered, trying to make it sound tempting.

She could see that Michael was considering the offer. Free food, and hockey to boot. She knew that she had him.

“Ok... just make the tour snappy. The game starts at 4,” he said gruffly as he began to walk towards the Jeep.

“Perfect. We can have an early dinner.” They walked over to their vehicles.

“You know, why don’t we just take my car? It’ll be easier,” Liz offered. If she was going to be driving around showing them her favorite places, being in two different cars would just make the whole thing harder.

Besides, there was more chance for conversation if they were all in the same car.

“I call shotgun,” Michael announced. Both Liz and Max turned to stare at him.

Michael looked confused. “What?”


* * *

Liz had taken them through the entire tour, and was now bringing them to “the best pizza in town.” Max was in heaven.

Who cared if there was food? Heck, who cared if there was oxygen to breathe? As long as Liz was there, nothing else mattered.

Well, ok, some things mattered. Things like finding out who Cal really was and what he knew. Things like finding out who the mysterious writer was of their television show.

Yup, they mattered. But did he care about them, at all?

Not at this moment.

Liz was here!

Sure, she had been a bit curious about their past, asking them odd questions like, “So, have you ever been to Texas?” Texas? What was in Texas? Other than cowboys, that is.

When he had asked her why she wanted to know, she had said “Oh, just wondering.”

Hm, other random questions had been asked, but Liz was just a curious person by nature. She was a scientist, so that meant she was always asking questions and looking for answers.

Like, right now, she was biting her lip, which meant she was nervous, which meant that she probably wanted to ask him something.

Of course, he only saw this by craning his head around the seat, since he was stuck in the back.

He was going to kill Michael for calling front.

“Max,” Liz blurted out suddenly. Here it was, whatever big question she was dying to ask him. “Do you like Gomez?”

Gomez? Well, that was... a let down. He was hoping she was going to ask something along the lines of ‘Max, if I told you that I loved you and asked you to marry me, what would you say?’

He'd say YES YES YES!!!!

Well, at least, he would if he could.

Still, the question seemed pretty important to her, so he answered seriously, “Yeah, sure, I like Gomez.”

She let out an audible sigh of relief, and the smile she gave him left Max dizzy.

It was only then that he noticed that they had stopped, and Michael had already gotten out of the car.

“I thought we were going out for pizza.” Michael said, looking pointedly at the apartment building they were stopped at.

Liz smiled brightly. “No, we’re staying in. I make the best pizza in town, if I do say so myself, and I already have the dough ready, so it won’t take too long to make.”

Michael grumbled something about the hockey game, while Max’s brain went into overdrive. They were going to her apartment?!? That was like... Mecca.

He realized he was feeling and acting a little giddy, especially under the circumstances, but he was Liz Parker. And she was smiling at him.

And everything else was forgotten.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Max said, grinning like a fool.


* * * *

Liz had made the pizza while she chatted with Max. Michael was on the couch watching the game, and all in all, Liz thought that it was a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Of course, she hadn’t really gotten much information out of Max, but after a while she had stopped trying, and had just enjoyed talking to him.

God, she had missed talking to him.

It was so simple, so easy. What she missed most about him was the talking, the long conversations that they had that lasted through the night and into the early hours of the morning.

She missed the silence though too. Curling up on the couch of whatever motel room they were staying at, and watching a movie together, or reading, or napping.

Yes, she loved the silent moments too. At least, when he was there.

When she was by herself, the silence seemed to smother, instead of soothe, her.

She was glad that Max was here.

“Um, Liz,” he started, in a rather serious tone, “I haven’t talked to you since you left, and maybe it didn’t mean anything but... why did you come see me that night before you left?”

She swallowed under his intense gaze. “I needed to say goodbye, you know? I was leaving and even though we didn’t talk very much, you were an important part of my life, you know?”

Max looked surprised. “I was?”

She smiled at him shyly. “Yeah... well, I kind of had a crush on you, and I finally decided to just gather up my courage and see you before I left.”

That wasn’t a lie. Before Max had healed her, she did have a crush on him, but she had never thought that he would be interested in her. So, like so many other things, she just let it go.

Of course, a crush didn’t even describe what she felt for him now, what she had felt for him since she had seen his soul. A crush was something fragile, breakable, and easily replaced. What she had with Max... it was more solid than anything she had ever come across, stronger than steel, and irreplaceable. It could be battered, bruised, and tossed aside, but it would still be there. They would always be connected.

When Liz saw that Max looked stunned and flabbergasted at her admission, she decided to change the topic.

“How’s your family?” Innocent enough question, pretty generic, and it would steer them away from uncomfortable topics.

She went to put the pizza in the oven as Max answered. “My parents are fine, and so is Isabel. She graduated already, and she’s going to take a year off before going to college.”

“Oh, me too! I finished school in December, and I’ve just been kind of working ever since. I’m going to wait a year, and then hopefully Maria and Alex will move up here after they graduate.”

“If you had stayed in Roswell, you’d probably have been valedictorian. Now Terri Bretzsky is probably going to get it.”

There was a slight lull in the conversation after that, so Liz turned the radio on as the pizza cooked.


-need to hear you
You are the light
that’s leading me
to the place where
I find peace again


“Oh, I love this song,” Liz said with a sigh.

Max looked at her for a moment. “Would you care to dance?”

She spun around to face him, surprised. She surveyed the small kitchen doubtfully. “Here? Now?”

He gave a shy smile. “Why not?”

“Why not?” she murmured, as countless reasons spun through her head. Yet, as soon as he placed his hand on the small of her back, drawing her close to him, all of those reasons left her, and she melted.


You are the strength
that keeps me walking
You are the hope
that keeps me trusting


Max pulled her closer, so that they fit together like pieces of a puzzle locking into place. Liz let out a contented sigh as she rested her head against his chest, getting lost in the moment.


You are the life
to my soul
You are my purpose
You are everything


Liz looked up at him, into his golden-brown eyes that shone with emotion. His emotions were washing over her, heightening her own. Desire, joy, peace, and a feeling of contentment that she knew she would never find anywhere else. A feeling of safety, the knowledge that she was home.


And how can I
stand here with you
and not be moved by you
Would you tell me
how could it be
any better than this?


Max leaned down as she tipped her face to meet his. Their lips were just a hair’s breath away, and his sweet breath mingled with hers. They inched closer, closer, until their lips met, brushing softly.

Just as the kiss began to deepen, the kitchen timer went off, announcing that dinner was ready. The loud “Beep Beep Beep” startled them out of their reverie, and they pulled quickly from each other as if they had been burned.

Max had an incredibly guilty look on his face, as he slowly backed away from Liz, looking around him frantically like he was a caged animal searching for a way out.


You calm the storms
You give me rest
You hold me in your hands
You won't let m-


Liz practically lunged towards the radio, intending to turn it off. She couldn’t listen to the rest of the song play out, not after Max’s reaction to their kiss.

Instead of turning it off though, she accidentally switched the station instead. Suddenly, the cramped kitchen was filled with the sounds of I Shall Believe by Sheryl Crow.


That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me


She yanked the cord of the radio out of the wall, effectively turning it off. She felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her. Well, Fate was certainly having fun with her today.

Because for one day, she had forgotten. For one day, she had let herself believe in the impossible.

For one day, she had let herself feel.

That radio certainly didn’t like her today.

Liz felt sick to her stomach, as all of the memories, good and bad, that accompanied that song rushed over her. She had put the lyrics to that song on her bedroom wall as a reminder, a reminder of why she was doing what she was doing.

Future Max had come back and had told her that Max and Liz were never destined to be. In fact, it caused the end of the world. Both times.

Ok, perhaps she didn’t have concrete proof as to what had caused it the second time, but she felt it, she felt it in her bones, that it was her fault. That she and Max were responsible.

She just couldn’t risk it.

That song served as a reminder, and boy, did it do it’s job well. She was almost at the point of no return, and if the timer hadn’t gone off, and that song hadn’t come on, she would have fallen again. And she knew, that this time, she wouldn’t be able to pick herself back up.

What had she been thinking?

That had been too close.

She avoided making eye contact with Max as she pulled the pizza out of the oven, and placed it on the table.

Michael wandered in then, after following the smell of the pizza like a cat following the sound of a can opener.

He sat himself down at the table without offering to help get anything. Max stood next to the table, awkward and unsure as to what he should do.

Liz sat down at the table after getting them all drinks, and Max followed suit. Michael grabbed a slice of pizza and started to devour it.

“This is pretty good,” he admitted, pausing between bites.

“Thank you,” Liz said quietly, still trying to sort out what had happened earlier.

All that could be heard after that was the sound of chewing and swallowing, the crust of the pizza breaking, and the ice cubes sloshing in the drinks whenever they were moved.

No one said a word for the rest of dinner.


*~*
Disclaimer: I don't own the songs "Everything" by Lifehouse, or "I Shall Believe" by Sheryl Crow.

Part 14a


Liz chuckled into the phone. “Oh Alex, only you could make me laugh at a time like this.”

It was the night after the pizza fiasco and Max and Liz had read through their scripts earlier that day.

Needless to say, it had been a long day.

“Why, what happened today? Is your co star a terrible monster that insists on being brought frozen cappuccinos and getting pedicures every day?”

Liz giggled. “My co star is a guy, remember Alex?”

“Yes, well, some guys are into having nicely polished toenails.”

“Well, as far as I know, my co star doesn’t have a foot fetish, and he isn’t a monster. I really couldn’t tell you what his beverage preferences are, but... well, actually, you know my co star.”

Liz could practically see Alex’s brows furrowing in confusion. “I do?”

“Yeah, Max Evans. He lives in Roswell, and he used to be my lab partner...” Liz trailed off, uncertain, as she was greeted by silence on the other end of the line.

“You remember? Max Evans, quiet, shy... handsome, dark, and mysterious? Sister named Isabel? Ring any bells?”

Alex seemed to have found his voice again, because he began to tease lightly in his usual Alex fashion. “Oh, that Max Evans! You mean, the guy you’ve secretly been pining over for years? That Max Evans?”

“Brother to one Isabel Evans, whom, if I recall correctly, has been the object of your affection, or... lustastion, whatever you want to call it, for years,” she teased back.

“Ok, one, lustation isn’t even a word. And two... we’re not going to discuss Isabel Evans at this particular moment. What we are going to discuss is why your day was so terrible,” he said firmly, bringing them back to the real reason that she called him.

“It wasn’t terrible,” she said weakly, “it was just... not fun, let’s just put it that way.”


* * *


“Ok people, let’s take it from Marc’s line.”

Liz looked around the set, which looked like a typical small town diner, at all of the people in the room. Which would be a total of 5 people, Max, Liz, Michael, Cal, and his assistant, Mary.

When Liz had arrived a half an hour earlier she had been surprised by the lack of people. She knew that her other cast members weren’t going to be there but still... it was just them?

“Ahem, we don’t got all day people. Michael, just read the line,” Cal ordered as he stared at Michael pointedly.

“Me? You want me to fill in for this Marc person?” He looked at Cal incredulously.

“Well, actually... yes. Now read.”

Michael muttered something under his breath as he began in a monotone voice, “Mariana Ethans is staring at you again.”

“No!” Cal cried, interrupting them. “First, you must stand behind the counter next to Max. Liz is sitting at the table facing you guys. See? Good,” he said, as Michael moved to the correct spot with a scowl on his face. “Secondly, and most importantly: You must emote! Emote emote emote! You must act like this is the most interesting piece of information you have ever heard, and you can’t wait to share it with your friend.”

There were more scowls and black looks from Michael, as he cleared his throat. “Mariana Ethans is staring at you again,” he said gleefully, obviously overacting.

“That’s better,” Cal said, interrupting them again. “But Michael, I’m not running a nacho stand, so please, don’t overdo it with the cheese.” Michael’s hands clenched into fists at his side as Cal continues on glibly. “Let’s forget about Marc’s lines for now, and just pick up after Leo gets shot.” Michael looked put out, as Liz and Max move into position.

“Now Liz, as Max falls down, I need you to rush over to Max, rip open his shirt, put your hand on his chest, and start saying your lines.”

Max’s head snapped up to look at Cal. “This is a new shirt! Do we really need to rip it?”

“Yeah, and I don’t even know if I could anyway,” Liz said, looking slightly embarrassed.

Cal gave an exaggerated sigh, as he conceded. “Fine, just unbutton the shirt. It won’t have the same effect though.”

Max began to unbutton his shirt while Liz was unable to tear her gaze away from his chest. She had almost forgotten how completely... yummy... he looked. Suddenly an old jingle popped into her head, and she found herself thinking, “The Incredible, Edible Max.”

“Hey Romeo, you can stop with the strip tease and just get to the acting,” Michael called out.

Cal looked at him in surprise, but nodded in agreement. “I second that. This isn’t supposed to be bad porn. Hurry up.”

Max looked sheepish, as he quickly laid down on the floor. Liz paused for a moment, before turning to Cal. “Aren’t there some lines in between, between Michaela and I?”

“We’re skipping those. Just go over to Leo and save him!”

Liz hesitated for only a moment before she rushed over to him, a look of panic on her face. She looked down at his chest, which was completely unmarred, and pictured a bullet hole and blood pouring out of it. Suddenly the image changed to a gaping hole in his chest, the rest of his body burned as she smelled his blood and charred flesh. She felt sick to her stomach, and waves of pain began, originating in her chest and spreading outward through the rest of her body.

“It’s going to be ok,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. Max’s eyes were closed, and she tried to force herself to remember that he wasn’t hurt, they were just acting. He hadn’t been blasted or shot. He was still alive. He was still alive, and they were just acting.

“Leo, LEO! You have to look at me. You have to look at me.” Liz said, cradling his face as she willed him to open his eyes.

Max opened his eyes as Liz placed her hand on his stomach, a look of intense concentration on her face. Without meaning to, the connection opened between them, unfurling like a flower. She saw Max as a child, emerging from his pod. She saw him holding a bird, and she saw him looking at her like she was everything he’d ever dreamed of.

With that she came to her senses again, and slammed the connection shut. She could feel his heart beating a rapid staccato in time with her own racing heart.

She grabbed the ketchup bottle and pretended to break it and pour it on him. “You broke a bottle when you fell and spilled ketchup on yourself. Don't say anything, please.”

She backed away from him, practically stumbling out the door. Max stood there, holding his shirt and pressing his hand to his stomach, to the spot where her hand had just been. He looked dazed and confused, but amazed at the same time.

“Alright! Fantastic! I think we have two definite stars on our hands. You guys nearly took my breath away. Ok, on to the next scene!”

Liz was still trying to catch her breath. She was still shaking over the flashes she had seen, both from Max and from the alternate future.

“Alright, we’re gonna skip to the scene now where they reverse the connection. Liz, you stand over here, and Max you stand here. Ok, Liz, you start.”

Liz took a deep, calming breath, but she couldn’t stop trembling. “Actually... can we take a break for a few minutes? I have a bit of a headache, and I’d just like to take some Advil and sit down for a little bit.”

Cal gave her a searching look before agreeing. “Alright, people, we’ll start back up in 15. I’m going to go make a phone call.”

Liz practically collapsed into one of the booths, while Michael dragged Max away to talk to him.

Yeah, it was going to be a very long day.



*~*

Part 14b


”Alright Max. Just don’t.” Michael said sternly.

“Just don’t what?” Max said, still feeling a little dazed from what had happened earlier. Michael had pulled him away before he had a chance to really process what had happened.

“You have responsibilities Max! I see that look, that dopey look you get on your face whenever what’s-her-face comes around... Stop it.”

“Her name is Liz, and you know that,” Max said impatiently.

“Whatever. The point is, you have commitments. And we can’t.”

“Why not? You know what M-”

“I know! But we can’t bring her in! If she means that much to you... don’t. For her sake.”

Max sighed, dejected, but didn’t reply.


* * *

“Places, people, places!” Cal cried out as he entered the room and sat in his chair.

Liz stood, facing him, gripping her script so tight that it looked as if she might rip it apart. Her eyes were glued to the words as she spoke, yet it didn’t seem as if she was even looking at them.

“I can't imagine how you must feel right now. I mean, I've thought about telling you a thousand times.” She looked up then, with an earnest look on her face, and his heart constricted painfully in his chest. Her look was so piercing, he felt his cheeks begin to grow warm as he continued.

“You have?” He read with an affected laugh, as he scratched his eyebrow, smiling slowly. “Me?”

She smiled at him, an amused expression gracing her face, and she looked as if she wanted to laugh.

“What?” he asked, self-consciously, wondering if he had something in his teeth.

“Sorry, I just, uh, I just keep picturing you in that sweater, with the uh, balloons... on it.”

Max was confused momentarily, completely forgetting the fact that they were acting. “What?”

“Forget it,” she said, slightly embarrassed. “It was a long time ago.”

Max’s brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember what he was supposed to say. Oh right! The script! His eyes lit up as he looked down and began to read. “Oh my God. That’s, that’s right. I can’t believe I actually wore that thing!”

Things began to grow fuzzy for just an instant as the words echoed around him, in Liz’s voice. A younger Liz wearing a dress with cupcakes on it flashed in front of his eyes as he remembered the jumbled images he’d received earlier.

The images faded and Liz was once again in front of him, this time in the flesh. He hastily looked down at his script again as he continued, feeling more and more confused and defensive. What the hell was going on?

“Wait a minute,” he read, “I had that sweater in kindergarten. I didn’t know you until the third grade. Did you like, read my mind or something?”

She rushed to reassure him. “No, I-I don't read minds. When I healed you, I made this, this, I don't know, this connection. And I got this rush of images.... An image of that sweater flashed into my mind, and, I knew how you felt about it.”

His own eyes widened as he recalled how Liz felt, no, how he imagined that Liz felt, about her cupcake dress. “How did I feel about it?” he continued, reading his script with an unsteady voice.

Liz smiled at something Max couldn’t see. “It was the single supreme embarrassment of your life. But your mom made it for you. She was so proud of it, she'd never knit a sweater before, so you wore it. For her sake.”

Max felt all of the air in his lungs rush out at once. The sense of deja vu, the feeling of familiarity, was becoming too much for him. Liz continued, seemingly oblivious to Max’s inner turmoil. “I've never tried this before, but maybe I can make the connection go the other way. So you can see, you know that, that I'm still me.”

She stepped closer as he struggled to collect his scattered thoughts. “I have to touch you.” She reached up, cupping his face with her small delicate hands.

He looked down at her as though through a fog. “Now just take deep breaths and try to let your mind blank out.”

He nodded slowly, doing as he was told. The images that he saw before rushed through his mind, but without the comforting warmth that they had held earlier, without the feeling that he had crawled inside of her.

‘We were connected before,’ he thought, shocked at the idea. If that was true, then that meant the images were real.

*A young girl in a cupcake dress. Looking at him as he steps off the bus. Hanging out with Maria in her room after school. Watching Alex’s band practice. A gunshot. A pair of amber eyes.*

The images ended abruptly then, leaving Max with the sensation that he was falling forward. Even just remembering the connection made Max feel as if he was falling... and it also made him feel as if he wanted to keep falling, forever. With Liz.

“Did it work?” Liz asked, interrupting his thoughts. He nodded in amazement as he realized that, for the first time, he had connected with a human. With Liz, more importantly.

Liz stared at him for a just a second longer than was necessary, and then began to blush, embarrassed. She looked down shyly as silence continued.

Max looked up expectantly at Langley. “Well?” he asked, wondering why Cal had yet to comment on the scene.

“Well, I just... you left me speechless kids. You got some real chemistry, you know that?” Langley said with a satisfied look on his face.

“Alright, one more scene and then we’ll take another break. Read the last scene for me,” he prodded, looking at them expectantly.

“Um, since we’re doing all of these scenes on set... shouldn’t we go outside for this?” Max asked. They were still at the restaurant set, and so far Langley had wanted to do everything on set for authenticity purposes or something. Max wasn’t really sure about that last part, but he didn’t have the energy to try to figure that man out at the moment.

“Eh, just do it here. We’d have to go to another location, and we haven’t quite secured it yet. I still need... a few more details on how it should look.”

Max wondered why Liz looked uncomfortable at this, and began to look at the wall as if it was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen.

“Uh, alright. Let’s start,” Max offered, hoping to ease whatever discomfort Liz was obviously feeling.

Liz began to nod, enthusiastically. “Right. Right, let’s start.”

Max paused for a moment, expectantly. “Um Liz... it’s your line first.”

“Oh! Right... sorry.” She looked flustered as she began.

“Hey,” she said, lamely.

“Hey,” he replied.

She walked over to him, just as he knew she would, and began to straighten his collar. Still, he was unprepared for the shivers that ran through him as her finger tips lightly brushed over his skin.

“Sorry,” she said softly, “Your collar was...”

“Yeah,” he said, just as quietly, almost reverently. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” she said, pausing as she continued on in a determined tone. “Leo, it's not safe. I mean, for you and... and me to....it's not safe.” She sighed then, sadly.

“I don’t care,” Max said fiercely, feeling as if he was fighting for something, against something, and that everything that he and Liz said had an underlying, more important meaning.

Liz looked at him, and he could see the yearning in her eyes. That couldn’t just be an act, could it? “I really, really wish that this could be something, you know, more.” she began, “ But it can't. We're just...”

“Different.” he finished, feeling as if his heart was being stomped on. They were different, he knew, but so what? So, he had responsibilities, attachments, commitments... at this moment, he was willing to run away and leave them all behind, as long as she came with him.

After all, she was his dream girl.

“Yeah,” she said, looking at the ground. He could almost feel the pain radiating off of her, and he wondered at this. Perhaps she just really got into her roles, and felt her characters pain? Maybe... but maybe she wanted something that she couldn’t have, just like he did.

“I’ll see you in school,” she said, as Max was struck with the absurdity of that line. ‘I’ll see you in school’? That’s it? After all that had happened?

“Mariana,” he called out, almost saying ‘Liz’ instead.

She turned, and he smiled at her. “I never got to thank you... for saving my life.”

She smiled enigmatically, and said, “Thank you.”

A warm feeling spread throughout Max’s body as she smiled at him, and he felt like he was tingling from his fingers to his toes. He felt as if he were floating, and his smile grew brighter.

“Alright kids,” Langley said, ruining the moment. “We’re going to take another quick break. We’re done with scenes today, I think we’ve accomplished quite a bit. We do, however, need to talk about marketing, promotions, character development, the like.”

Everyone nodded, and Langley’s forgotten secretary entered the room again, whispered something to him, and then left.

“K, see you in 15.” Langley called over his shoulder as he walked out of the door.


* * *


“Wait, so Liz Parker is your coworker on a television show about aliens that can heal?”

“For the fifteenth time Isabel, yes!” Max answered impatiently.

“And you found this out two days ago and you are just telling me this now?”

Max began to feel slightly embarrassed. “Um, well see... I was kind of busy, and... er... I was going to tell you eventually!”

“Eventually Max?” she screeched. “You don’t find the whole situation the least bit, oh, I don’t know, suspicious?”

“Of course I do! But I’m just going to try to figure out as much I can right now!”

“And what, exactly, have you found out? Share the wealth of information that you have acquired, please.”

Max once again felt like a child about to be scolded for breaking his mother’s lamp. “Um, well, see... I’m pretty sure that Langley is our MIA protector.”

“And...” she said, and he could feel her wrath even over the phone line.

“And... that’s all for now. I’ve only been here a week!”

“Exactly Max! A week! Do you know how much I would be able to accomplish in a week? This is unacceptable.”

“Sorry?” he offered, meekly.

“Sorry? Yeah, you’ll be sorry,” he heard her mumble under her breath, and then a click. She’d hung up on him.

He groaned, sitting on the bed of the musty motel room they were still staying in. He put his head in his hands.

This was not good.



*~*

Thank you all for being so paitent with me, as usual. And thank you to EarthAngel, I am a dreamer, frenchkiss70, and roswellluver for the feedback. It is very appreciated, and it helps remind me to get my arse in gear when writing the next part.

Enjoy!





Part 15


The next day...


“Great, great, I see you are all here, bright and early, smiling faces everyone...” Cal took in Michael’s face, which still had his perpetual scowl firmly in place. “Well, almost everyone.” He gave Michael a pointed look before turning towards Max and Liz.

“Well, we’re going to be focusing on scenes between the two of you today. We’re going to skip ahead a few episodes all the way to Episode 109, and again, focus only on the scenes between Mariana and Leo.”

He eyed them speculatively. He saw that Liz was gearing herself up to ask a question, so he beat her to the punch.

“What do you want to ask, Liz?”

She looked more than a little surprised at this, but valiantly tried to hide that fact. He smiled to himself as he saw her nervously push her hair behind her ears.

So predictable.

“Well I was just wondering... I mean, I know we are focusing on scenes between Max and I... between our characters that is... but I was just wondering if there was a reason you were focusing on particular scenes, and not all of them.” She raised an eyebrow in question, making it clear what she was really asking.

“Well Liz,” he said with exaggerated enthusiasm, “the particular scenes that we are focusing on are pivotal to the development of the relationship between the two characters, Mariana and Leo, and therefore, equally important to the development of the show. So it would make sense then that the best way for you to get a feel for your characters and their relationship is for you guys to practice these scenes. Does that answer your question?”

Something flashed in Liz’s eyes that told Cal that her question was anything but answered. “Yes,” she said quietly, “question answered.”

“Great! We’ll start off with the ‘mating ritual’ scene, since we are at the classroom set.”

Liz looked at Cal for a moment before taking her place outside the door of the room, with a defeated slump of her shoulders.

Jeez, you’d think that he was sentencing her to prison instead of telling her to read some lines. Why in the world would she be fighting him on this? He was helping her for goodness sake! Not that she was helping him much with that.

Max got into position, sitting behind the table. Liz entered the room. “Hey.” Gee, could she insert a little enthusiasm into her role please? This was the love of her life! She could at least act like it!

“Hey,” Max said, looking up at her with a smile. “What’s up? I'm just trying to get these stupid slugs to mate. Ah, come on! Won't you guys just do it?!” He looked at the empty space in front of him, where the slugs would be.

“Maybe one of ‘ems gay?” Liz offered, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth, transforming her face. Cal inhaled sharply. It was amazing, the resemblance...

Max looked up at Liz then, looking uncertain for a moment before beginning. “Mariana, you know when you said before that we couldn't be together? That we were different? I just sort of accepted it, you know? Because I thought that it was like physically impossible. That it...that it couldn't be. But when I saw Marcos with Michaela...the truth is that...I was hurt, Mari.” Max looked straight into Liz’s eyes then, and paused a beat before putting extra emphasis on the next line. “Why is it ok for them, but it's not ok for us?”

The sentence seemed to hang in the air, and seemed to ask more than one question. Cal leaned in eagerly, beginning to get lost in the layered conversation. He didn’t catch the sharp look of alarm on Michael’s face, or the eager one on Max’s. All he saw was the pained expression that haunted Liz’s features, the expression that had finally convinced Cal to help Liz in the first place.

How so much sorrow could manage to find room to rest on such a young face was beyond him, but to Cal, Liz seemed as if she was grief personified.

Why shouldn’t she be happy? Why did she think that it was wrong for her to be happy?

Liz closed her eyes then, shielding herself as she began in a shaky voice. “Leo, I think that what I'm afraid of isn't that we try this and it works out really badly. What I'm afraid of is we try it and it works out really well. I'm afraid of feeling everything that I know I would feel.” She opened her eyes then, and Cal heard Max’s low gasp. Perhaps Cal wasn’t the only one who noticed Liz’s pain after all. “Because I know it's not meant to be.” She paused, as her throat became tighter with emotion, and a tear slid down her cheek. “And somewhere down the line, we're gonna get hurt. I can live with that. I just couldn't bear to hurt you,” she finished brokenly.

Somehow this scene wasn’t playing out like he thought it would, and instead of moving things along, it looked like Liz had just taken about fifty steps back, and was still running.

“But that’s not your decision, is it?” Max queried softly.

“It has to be. Excuse me,” Liz said, as she ran off the set and out the door.

Max began to follow her, but Cal motioned for him to stop. She definitely needed some time alone, and seeing Max just might make everything worse.

Michael flipped through the pages in the script, muttering to himself, “That’s not the way the scene was supposed to end.”

Cal agreed wholeheartedly. No, it’s not.


* * *


She had to get a grip on herself! She knew that she had made a scene back there, but she just couldn’t handle that. Saying those words, knowing how true they were, it just tore her to pieces.

‘That’s not your decision.’

It was! Who else was going to decide? She was the only one with all of the facts, who knew what had happened and what could happen again! She was really the only one qualified to make an informed decision.

And something deep inside her said that being with Max was wrong, that it wasn’t meant to be. After all, didn’t the fact that they went back in time twice in order to keep themselves apart prove that?

And yet you ended up together anyway, in two lifetimes, and are, against all odds, working together in this one, something traitorous inside her whispered, maybe that means that fate has bigger plans, plans that even two time-traveling young lovers can’t foil.

No! She refused to believe that. She was not going to be the cause of the demise of her planet. That wasn’t her destiny. They made their own destiny, right?

And her destiny was not to be intertwined with Max’s.

No matter how much she wanted it to be.

She wiped her eyes, trying brushing away the visible remnants of her tears. She turned back towards the door, which she had hastily slammed behind her when she ran into the hallway, and gently opened it.

She entered the room, feeling more than a little embarrassed because of spectacle she had made of herself earlier. A faint blush tinged her cheeks as Max looked at her with concern and bewilderment, two expressions that often graced his features these days.

“Sorry,” she offered lamely, unable to come up with an excuse for her behavior. “Should we - should we do that scene again?”

“No, no, that’s quite alright actually,” Cal said quickly as Liz breathed a sigh of relief. “Why don’t we do the last scene of the episode?”

“The - the last scene?” Liz stammered, as her face went white.

“Yes,” Cal said firmly, “the last scene. All of it,” he clarified, giving Liz an unreadable look.

Liz bit her lip before nodding uncertainly, while Max flipped through the script to skim over the scene. His eyes widened in understanding, and he looked like he was somewhere in between overjoyed and frightened beyond belief.

Liz looked to Michael, who was, as always sitting in the corner, scowling. Since he wasn’t saying anything, Liz was guessing that Michael didn’t know what the last scene entailed. Judging by Michael’s previous reactions to all things relating to Max and Liz, she had a feeling he was going to hit the roof once he realized that in this scene they were going to have to kiss.

Kiss.

She was going to have to kiss Max.

Didn’t anyone else think that this could have a potentially bad outcome?


* * *


This really wasn’t how Michael wanted to spend his day. It felt like they weren’t accomplishing anything, and only Max seemed remotely interested in what was going on. And that was only because of Liz Parker, that chick that Max had been obsessed with since practically before they came out of their pods.

It really wasn’t pretty, this obsession thing.

Michael wasn’t obsessed of course. He just wanted answers, just like he had always wanted answers. So what if Ms. Curly Cue was against the idea of them going to L.A.? Finding out if Cal was their protector seemed pretty important.

Which was one reason that Michael was so pissed off. They’d be in L.A. for awhile now, and they still didn’t have any answers!

Max was wasting his time! There were other things he could be doing. It’s not like he didn’t have a life. Answers were important, but this was just taking far too long.

And spending time with Max and Liz was just nauseating. He wasn’t sure what her hang up was, since it seemed like she was into him, but Max knew he had responsibilities. Commitments. Max just wasn’t the type of guy to throw it all away just for some girl.

Right?

Perhaps he should keep a closer eye on Maxwell, at least while Liz was around.

Michael turned his attention back to the scene in front of him. They had gone to a different set, and were now doing the ending scene for that episode.

Not that it really mattered to him. He had some major plans for later that evening involving a little breaking and entering, and then hopefully that would speed up their information quest just a little.

It had to. Uncovering any information, even the brand of socks that Langley wore, would still be more information than that had gathered so far on this trip.

“Leo, are you there?” Liz called from down below.

There was something more to this script, besides the obvious similarities to their own lives. Something Michael couldn’t exactly put his finger on. It was more like a faint buzzing in the back of his head, static that he couldn’t decipher but knew that it was there anyway. That it was important

“Hi,” Liz said shyly.

And then there were the flashes. Things that hadn’t happened... at least, he didn’t think that they had happened. Maybe they were going to happen. Perhaps some new powers were developing, and he could somehow see the future.

“Hi,” Max answered, a bright smile appearing on his face.

Of course, due to the content of those flashes, Michael decided that he would refrain from telling anyone else about them. He’d just have to wait until he returned back to Roswell, and see what would happen from there.

“Can I come up?” Liz asked breathlessly.

“Yeah, sure,” Max said, his smile growing wider.

Hm, Michael sure hoped that he was clairvoyant. Those images were too good to be only fantasy.

“Very impressive,” Max said, as Liz quickly climbed up the ladder so that she was now level with everyone else.

“Well, I do work out,” Liz said with a small laugh as she pointed to her rather scrawny looking arms.

“You can’t stay long,” Max said.

Liz nodded. “I know. I just wanted to tell you that I’ve been thinking a lot about last night.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“When I saw Vintrolli taking you away like that... it just hit home for me, you know? How much knowing me has screwed up your life.” Liz looked incredibly sad then, and Michael had to give her credit. The girl obviously did know how to act. Well, except for in the last scene, which she did all wrong, in his opinion.

Max looked down at her with a loving expression on his face. “No, it’s just the opposite.”

Liz looked at the ground, and her hands were clenched in fists. Her whole body was tense, and Michael noticed that she was digging her nails into her palms, quite fiercely actually. “Thank you for saying that.”

“It’s the whole truth, Mari.” Michael looked at Liz with interest now, because she began to look like she was sick, and her body began to grow even more rigid, if that was even possible. Between the pallor of her skin and the stiffness of her body, it almost looked like rigor mortis had set in.

“I better go,” Liz said, in an odd voice.

“Why?” Max asked. Why? Maybe because she looked like she was about to lose her breakfast right then and there! Michael was still trying to decide whether or not he should step in and lead Liz to the nearest bathroom when Liz began to speak.

“Because, if I don’t go right now, things are going to change.” Liz was looking at the ground, but then she looked up, straight at Cal, and gave him a pleading look. Cal just shook his head.

Well that was a little strange.

“Change how?” Max asked, completely oblivious to the exchange that had just occurred.

Liz paused, longer than necessary, and Michael almost thought that she had lost her place. But then she began, in a low, shaky voice, that captured the attention of everyone in the room, Michael included.

“I’m going to have to stand on my tiptoes... because you’re so tall... and put my arms around your neck like this,” she said slowly, tentatively, as she reached up around his neck, “to help me keep my balance,” she said with a small laugh and a shy smile. “And then I’d have to tell you that... no matter what... no matter what we go through, it’s all worthwhile for me,” she took a deep breath and her voice shook slightly as she finished, “because we’re together.”

“And then?” Max asked, wonder in his voice.

“And then... I’d have to do this...” Liz closed her eyes briefly before opening them again, and then pulled Max’s head down to her’s. She kissed him lightly, softly, gently, her body still stiff.

Max lifted his hand and put it in her hair, and that one action seemed to be Liz’s undoing. She melted in his arms, and deepened the kiss, and it began to grow more and more passionate, until even Michael felt like he was a voyeur by watching the moment.

Even though they were acting. He shouldn’t feel like that, it was just two people, two characters, kissing. It wasn’t real.

And yet Michael couldn’t deny the chemistry between the two, the ‘look into my eyes’ soul mate kind of vibe that they gave off. And if it wasn’t real, why did they look so right together as a couple?

Crap. He was definitely going to have to keep Max locked in the motel room now.

Max and Liz broke apart slowly, almost painfully, as if it was the last thing that they wanted to do.

“You call this working?!” came an annoyed voice from the corner of the room. Michael gulped. What the hell, when did Isabel get here?

Max and Liz took a few steps back from each other, and both had guilty expressions on their faces.

“Who are you and why did you interrupt my scene? Because unless you’re Juliet Roberts, you don’t get a moment of my time while I’m working.” Langley said angrily. Liz gave him a sharp look, and Michael wondered if they knew something that he didn’t.

“I am Isabel Evans, sister to that moron right there. I’m sorry that we interrupted the scene,” she said charmingly, flashing Langley a winning smile, “but he hasn’t been in touch with us for days, and last we heard from him he was out in L.A. working. Imagine our surprise when we find him kissing some girl!” Max’s eyes flashed dangerously at this, but she continued on. “Of course, we didn’t realize that he was acting. Excuse our behavior.”

Well, that was a pretty shoddy excuse. What else would Max be doing in a studio, on set, when he was with a producer? At least Langley didn’t see through it though.

“We?” Langley asked, looking slightly confused. Michael peered around the room too, and only saw Isabel standing in the doorway. Unless Isabel was referring to her many personalities, who was this ‘we’ that she was referring to?

“Yes,” came a chipper voice from behind Isabel. “We.” She stepped around Isabel and into the room. “Hi, I’m Max’s girlfriend. Tess Harding.”

There was a muffled thud as Liz’s legs seemed to give out, and she collapsed into a nearby lawn chair. She had gone white, once again, and looked as if someone had just told her that her dog had died.

Well, at least she didn’t pass out this time. Because Michael sure as hell wasn’t going to be sprinting across the room to try to catch her.



*~*

So, yay, no month long delay between this part and the last one! Hurrah for me! I deserve a prize, I think.

Thanks to everyone who left feedback for letting me know people are still reading this and for feedbackers and lurkers alike for sticking with me through my irregular posting schedule.

And to any new readers, welcome, and I hope that you are enjoying the story!

Oh, and I keep forgetting to add the disclaimer that some of the dialogue from previous parts was copied from episodes of Roswell. So, um, no infringement intended, please don't sue.

Now on with the show....




Part 16


I’m Max’s girlfriend. Tess Harding.

Well hell, you could knock Liz over with a feather after that surprise announcement. She sank into a nearby chair, none too gracefully, too shocked to speak.

A number of things were running through her head though. When she was finally able to speak, the first thing that came out of her mouth was a harsh whisper of

“Bitch.”

Everyone turned to stare at Liz at this, but she didn’t notice. Liz was focused solely on Tess, and a number of not so nice names followed that last thought, though she didn’t open her mouth to speak them.

Traitor.

Liar.

Murderer.

Liz’s head began to get cloudy as she forgot to breathe. Murderer...

“Alex!” she murmured. Her voice gained strength as she cried out, “Alex! Where’s Alex?”

There were low whispers as everyone around her began to shift uncomfortably. Max came over to her, and placed a gentle hand on her back. “Liz, are you ok?”

“Do I seem like I am ok?” she bit out. “Get that trash out of here. Actually, I would appreciate it if everyone else left too...” She trailed off, at a loss for what to do next. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

“Screw it. Everyone stay right here. Don’t let Tess leave my sight otherwise I swear to god I will blast us all to kingdom come. I just... need to call Alex. That’s the first thing I need to do.”

Shakily she made her way over to her purse, and pulled out her cell phone. She pressed 4 on her speed dial, and the phone began to ring.

Everyone around her looked at Liz like she had gone completely mad. Maybe she had. Because there was no friggin’ way Tess Harding was standing there in front of her, in the flesh.

This had to be a nightmare.

“Hello?” Oh, thank God!

“Alex? Alex! Where are you?!” There was a note of panic and hysteria in Liz’s voice that she tried, and failed, to hide.

“Actually...” he hesitated for a moment before replying, “We’re in your apartment right now. We came up to L.A. a few days early to surprise you. Is something wrong?” He was worried, of course he would be worried. Liz knew that she sounded like a crazy person, but at the moment she didn’t care.

“You’re here? Why... Whatever, it’s better that you are close by. Alex, there is a piece of paper on the fridge with directions on it. Follow the directions, and when you come to the building, ask to be taken to the balcony set, as guests of Liz Parker. Can you guys do that for me, please? Right now?”

“Um... sure. We’ll be right there. But you’re going to have explain what’s going on once we get there,” Alex said uncertainly.

“Thank you! I’ll try to explain later just... hurry,” Liz finished breathlessly with a click as she closed her phone.

So she was bringing Alex right to Tess. That’s fine. Liz would be able to handle Tess better if she didn’t have to worry about where Alex was.

“Um, Liz...” Max said, hesitantly, “what’s going on?”

Liz bit the inside of her cheek in an effort to remain calm. She was extremely emotional today, and with good reason! Before she was crying, and then she was kissing Max, and now...

Now she wanted to make Tess pay for whatever damage she had inflicted on her friends in Liz’s absence.

“Cal, make sure that, for the time being, no one enters here other than Maria Deluca and Alex Whitman. I’m... getting off this balcony,” Liz said, in a disgusted tone as she walked off set, while Cal immediately picked up his phone and began talking to someone.

“You can’t just order everyone around!” Isabel said angrily, with a haughty toss of her head.

“Isabel, until I see that both Alex and Maria are safe, no one is leaving.”

Max looked confused, yet again. “Why? Do you think that they are in danger?”

Liz stared straight into Tess’ cold blue eyes. “Definitely.”

“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?” Michael asked, nearly exploding.

Liz deflated. What the hell was she doing? Maybe Tess had changed and was different, since she had Max and didn’t have to compete with Liz. Maybe she wasn’t all that bad.

Then Liz remembered how Tess had planned to get pregnant with Max’s child and go back to Antar all along, bringing the other three with them and to their deaths.

Then she remembered how she lied to, manipulated, and used all of them.

Then she remembered how she killed Alex.

“We are going to sit here until Alex and Maria get here. Don’t ask anymore questions, because I will make good on my threat from earlier. Don’t. Fucking. Tempt me. I’ve been through far too much to have it all shot to hell now, and as much as I love you all - well, with the exception of Tess there - I will do what I have to do to keep everyone safe. Understood?”

They must have, because no one said a word for the next fifteen minutes.


* * *

“Knock knock,” Alex called as he walked through the door. He frowned. “Um, hey guys. What’s up?”

“What’s up is that your friend here has been holding us hostage for the past twenty minutes!” Michael cried out angrily, glad that he was finally able to talk.

“Um,” Maria said, her nose scrunching in confusion. “Holding you hostage with what? I don’t see a gun in her hands, do you?”

“She said that she was going to blast us! Maybe she had like... I dunno, a bomb!” Isabel said tersely between gritted teeth.

Maria gave the four of them a ‘duh’ look, and then proceeded to tell them, very slowly, that “Liz would never hurt anyone. Besides...” Maria trailed off.

“Oh,” Michael said, looking embarrassed. “Right.”

Alex turned his attention to Liz then, who was watching the scene before her in bewilderment. “You rang?”

Snapping out of her daze, she launched herself at him, enveloping him in a hug. “Oh, thank god you’re ok! Wait,” she said, pulling back slightly so that she could face Maria, “has Alex been doing any really annoying, like, tapping with his fingers in a repetitive way?”

“Uh... not that I’ve noticed.” Maria gave her a concerned look. “Chica, have you gone off the deep end? I told you that L.A. would be the death of you! All that smog and those crazy superstars...”

“No it’s just.. Oh god Maria, I don’t know what to do!” Liz cried, as she moved from Alex’s arms into Maria’s.

“Shh,” she said, as she rubbed soothing circles on her back, “it’s going to be ok. Whatever is wrong, we can fix it together, k?”

Liz stiffened, and pulled back. “No,” she said sadly, “we can’t.”

“Well,” Cal interrupted, “I hate to break up this love fest, but we need to get back to work. So why doesn’t everyone but Max and Liz leave...”

“No,” Max said firmly. “We’re not working anymore today. Liz obviously isn’t feeling well...”

“No! What Max means to say is that he thinks I’m crazy. You don’t think I’m crazy, do ya Cal? Be honest now,” Liz said, feeling slightly off-balance after everything that had happened in the past few days, and completely overwhelmed with the current situation. Maybe she was crazy. She sure felt like she was.

“You want me to be honest?” Cal said slowly. “Honestly, I don’t think you are crazy Liz, though you probably have every right to be. Coming face to face with the love of your life’s former wife, from a different lifetime no less, could make anyone subject to a little temporary insanity. And after everything you’ve gone through already, I think you deserve a nice little vacation to the psych ward, maybe just to give you some down time, away from the drama that is the life of the royals.”

“Of course, if you tell the doctors there that you converse quite frequently with aliens, then they might just hold you there a bit longer than you like. So I recommend we keep that bit of information to ourselves.” Cal finished then, looking suddenly exhausted and like he wished that he was anywhere else.

“Wait a minute,” Isabel said, paling, “did you say... aliens?”

Cal sighed, before continuing to speak in almost a bored fashion. “Yes, aliens. As in me, you, guy with the hair over there, his highness, and her,” he said, finishing with a nod of his head towards Tess.

“You’re our protector?” Max demanded.

“In a manner of speaking... yes,” he said, almost as if he was in pain.

Maria’s eyes narrowed for a moment, before she opened her mouth. “What do you mean ‘after all Liz has gone through’?”

“Which monumental sacrifice would you be referring to? How she had to give up her supposed soul mate to - ”

“Cal!” Liz hissed, interrupting him, “Stop talking!”

His mouth immediately snapped shut, and a relieved look came across his face.

Everyone else in the room looked confused, but Liz’s eyes widened in surprise as she began realized the enormity of what had just happened.

“What was Cal talking about?” Alex looked more than slightly bewildered.

“The better question is, why doesn’t Liz seem all that bothered by the fact that we are a little ‘not of this Earth’?” Michael demanded fiercely.

As Liz opened her mouth to reply, Tess spoke up. “She doesn’t have to remember this. I can just mindwarp her and we can leave her out of this mess, for her own good.”

“Nu uh, no way! You are not messing with my best friend’s head! We’ll just... tell her the truth!” Maria cried angrily.

“Do you really want to initiate another person into the I-Know-an-Alien Club? We’re just putting her in unnecessary danger Maria,” Isabel countered.

Before Liz could wonder when the ‘I-Know-an-Alien Club’ was even formed, she noticed Tess closing her eyes, and a look of concentration settled on her face.

Almost immediately, Liz felt a presence in her head, moving around, tugging and pushing at things that shouldn’t be touched. It was almost impossible to detect if you didn’t know what you were looking for, and she wouldn’t have been able to if it wasn’t for the training Ava gave her.

Liz shoved Tess out of her head, slamming the ‘door’ shut behind her, effectively cutting off her connection to Max, temporarily at least, and making it impossible to use her powers as an empath.

“Stay the HELL out of my head or I swear there won’t be anything left of you to bury once I’m finished with you,” Liz growled in a sharp tone, causing seven heads to snap in her direction. Maria and Alex just blinked at her, unused to the amount of violence that she was showing, and Tess stared at her open-mouthed.

Michael’s frown deepened. “How did you know that she was inside your head?” he asked quickly, in a tone lace with suspicion.

“Well, it’s not as if she entered quietly,” Liz retorted, just a little pleased with the fact that it turned out that Ava was more skilled than Tess, and that Liz actually was better at recognizing and blocking mental weapons than she thought.

“Liz,” Max said slowly, “why aren’t you a little more freaked out about this? I mean, I’d always thought that if I ever told you, you would react pretty well to the news... but not this well.”

“You thought about telling her? Why?” Tess cried in alarm.

Max shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “It was Liz.”

Maria beamed at Max. “Remind me to buy you a cherry cola, on me, when we get back to Roswell girlfriend.”

“But what are we going to do about Liz?” Isabel asked.

“And Cal.” Everyone turned to Michael as he spoke. The group of them had almost forgotten about Cal, who was standing quietly to the side, watching the events unfolding before him.

“What we need to do,” Alex said rationally, “is find out what everyone knows. Liz obviously knows something, judging by her reaction to everything that has happened today, and Cal knows things too. We just need to sit down together, and get some answers.”

Max, Isabel, Michael, Maria, Alex, and Tess seemed to move together as a group at that point, and they gathered in front of the door with determined looks on their faces, blocking the exit and Liz’s chance for escape. Liz turned to Cal for help, but he just shrugged helplessly.

This was definitely not the way Liz had wanted to tell everyone. She sighed. She guess this was going to have to do.

She couldn’t very well find out what Tess had done and whether or not she was a threat this time if she didn’t find out what they knew. And they wouldn’t tell her unless they trusted her.

So she had to tell them.

Everything.

She sighed. “You guys better make yourselves comfortable. It’s a long story.”

“What is?” Max asked gently.

Liz sighed wearily. “The end of the world.”



*~*

It's Wednesday! So, yeah, I'm going to try to stick to my previous posting schedule, (can't make any promises...) but in a few weeks that's going to have to change again . So I'm trying to get my writing done while I can!

Thank you to Coley425, Tina N Blair, RostheIcePrincess, polar vixen, I am a dreamer, Angel eyes, and roswellluver for the feedback! It is, as always, appreciated.

Oh, and I am a dreamer, you mentioned that you thought the last few parts were cliffie... hm, you ain't seen nothing yet

As for everyone's questions... they'll be answered. Eventually.






Part 17


“The end of the world,” Michael said slowly. “That’s it,” he said, throwing his hands up in the air, “the girl has definitely lost her marbles!”

“Why do I have the feeling that this story is going to sound like a bad episode of Buffy?” Isabel said with a sigh.

“Hey!” Alex cried, “there’s no such thing as a bad episode of Buffy!”

“Chica,” Maria said in a hurt voice, “I can’t believe you were keeping things from me.”

Liz’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me, pot! This is kettle! You didn’t even tell me that you knew that they were Czechs!”

“That who were what?” Alex asked, bewildered. “Doesn’t that country like... not exist anymore?”

“Hey,” Max said loudly over the noise, “I think we should let Liz speak, and wait until she is finished to start asking questions. Ok?”

Liz shot Max a grateful look. “Cal, is there any place we can go that is a bit more comfortable, and definitely private?”

He nodded in assent, and started to walk out of the room. Liz hurried after him, and whispered as she passed, “You know, you can talk now if you want.” She shot him an apologetic look, which he returned with an annoyed frown.

“Of course I can!” he said in an indignant tone. “Never should have helped... thinking! I don’t know...” he muttered to himself as he walked out of the room. Everyone else quickly followed him, and they made their way down hallways, through keypad locked doors, and into a small, bright room, with three couches and a table.

“I don’t know why we are following Liz around... she knows things! She’s probably our enemy, and we are just trailing after her like it’s no big deal! For all we know she could be a skin!” Tess crossed her arms over her chest defensively after they had all entered the room.

“One, we destroyed the skins. You know that Tess. If Liz was a skin, she would definitely be peeling quite a bit by now. And two, we all know how to destroy a skin. If she tried to attack us, we’d be able to handle it. There are six of us, and one of her. Not that she’d ever attack us,” Max said, with an apologetic smile towards Liz.

Liz took a deep breath. “Let’s just... sit down.” She waited while everyone took their places before beginning. “First, I am not a skin. And Tess, I wouldn’t be making accusations if I were you... considering everything, there is a good chance that I am your enemy. In fact, the only reason I am letting you listen to all of this is because... wait, why am I letting you listen to this?” She glowered at Tess. “I’m thinking, based on previous experiences, that giving you the benefit of the doubt could be a very dangerous thing.”

“Previous experiences?” Max asked, confused. “You two have met before?”

Liz began to rub her temples. She had let Tess come into the room without thinking about it. She couldn’t let her know the Granolith’s power, and that it had the ability to change time. She’d just have to tell only part of her story.

Which was actually going to make things so much harder.

“Once upon a time we thought that it was necessary for you to be with Tess... turns out we were wrong. It was just important that you weren’t... with me.”

“Liz, what are you talking about?” Max asked gently, covering her hand with his in support. The act didn’t go unnoticed by the others in the group.

“Do you remember the day that a gun went off in the Crashdown? It was almost two years ago, back in the fall.” She saw nods of recognition around the room, and a confused look from Tess. “Well... um I got a sort of... memory flash, or... a flash of the future, if you will... of the events that would lead to the end of the world.”

“How did these events... begin?” Max asked, feeling like he knew the answer before she even voiced it.

“It began,” she said, pausing as the memories washed over her, “ with a boy who loved a girl, and a hand print.”

“You were shot that day in the Crashdown, weren’t you? I saw it... I mean, I don’t know what I saw, but I know you were shot, and that I healed you.” Everyone turned to look at Max. “I mean, that’s what you saw too right? At least, part of it?”

Liz hesitated for a moment, before nodding in consent. “I had these... memories, of a whole other life, that all hinged on my getting shot and Max saving me. The end result was the destruction of our planet. So, I just... made sure that I didn’t get shot that day.”

“But the shot hit the ceiling! I was there!” Maria cried, distressed.

Liz bit her lip for a moment, wondering how much she should reveal. If Tess had already spent even a few moments in her mind though, she would already know the truth, so there was no point in hiding it.

“I... moved the gun.”

“You moved the gun,” Max said slowly. “You were all the way across the room. How could you have moved the gun?”

“Um... apparently, a few other things came with those memories or flashes of the future, whatever you want to call them. One of those things was... powers.”

“Powers,” Isabel parroted, in a disbelieving voice.

“Yeah... a little alien magic, if you will.”

“And why would you randomly receive flashes of the future and alien powers?” Tess demanded.

“I don’t know,” Liz said carefully, “maybe someone just thought it was necessary.”

“Well I for one don’t believe a word that comes out of her mouth! She said that Max and I don’t belong together... he’s my destiny! And she admitted that she was our enemy!” Tess cried.

“I’m not their enemy Tess... just, possibly yours,” Liz said quietly.

“What do you mean, just mine?” Tess asked warily.

Liz sighed and turned towards Max. “Will you do me a favor? Just, check Alex’s brain for damage.”

“Why would Alex have brain damage?” Maria said, frightened, as Alex paled.

“Mindwarps.” Liz looked to Max. “Please, just check for me.”

“This is ridiculous!” Tess cried. “You would trust her over me? We know nothing about her!”

“Tess, it’s not that we don’t trust you,” Max said patiently, “I’m just going to check Alex for Liz’s sake, to prove to her that he’s ok.”

“That’s not necessary!” Tess insisted as Max moved over to Alex.

“Alex, are you ok with this?” Max asked.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be ok with the possibility of the erosion of my brain tissue and aliens skipping through my head like it’s a playground?... Just do it,” Alex finished with a sigh.

A look of concentration appeared on Max’s face as Max placed his hands on either side of Alex’s head. Beads of perspiration began to form on his forehead and his muscles began to strain as Max searched Alex’s mind.

Finally Max pulled back away from Alex, exhausted.

“What did you find?” Maria asked worriedly.

“Um... it was kind of hard to describe. Basically, it seemed like there was some parts of the brain that weren’t functioning the way that they should be. There was some damage, but I was able to heal it in time.” Max looked at Liz then. “You were right.”

Meanwhile, Tess was slowly moving towards the door. Liz saw this, and flung her arm out, slamming the door shut with her powers.

“So, how much of the book did you get translated?” Liz asked with a disgusted look on her face.

“I - I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tess stuttered, backing up against the closed door.

“Max, what’s going on?” Isabel asked, as she clutched Alex’s arm.

“Where were you planning on ‘sending’ him this time... Sweden again, or some place else? Were you planning any trips for this summer Alex?” Liz turned to him, an expectant look on her face.

Alex had a stunned look on her face, and Maria shook her head in reply for him. Seeing this, Alex turned to Maria. “Actually... it wasn’t finalized yet, but I was thinking of visiting Brazil this summer... it’s one of those People to People exchange programs and it looked really interesting. I was just going to put my application in when I got back from L.A.”

“What does all of this mean though? Can someone please translate all of this?” Michael snapped in annoyance.

“It means,” Liz said slowly, “that I haven’t been doing my job. It means that history almost repeated itself, in a manner of speaking, and there was a very real possibility that Alex,” she swallowed then, with a look of anguish on her face, “that Alex would have been murdered. Because Tess is using him to translate the Destiny book.”

Michael gaped at her. “How do you know about the Destiny Book?”

“I wasn’t going to murder anyone!” Tess cried. “I just needed to find out how to get home. How we could all get home,” she said, turning to face Max. “You have to believe me, I would never hurt him.”

“If he’s in your way you will! Get the book translated, get Max to impregnate you,” she said, spitting out the word like it left a foul taste in her mouth, “then you were going to deliver Max, Isabel, and Michael into the hands of Khivar, bringing them to their deaths. That’s the plan right? The one Nasedo cooked up ages ago.” Tess’s face went white, and she looked like someone had just let the air out of all her sails. Liz finished, shaking her head, “Maybe I wasn’t doing my job before, but I’m sure as hell going to do it now.”

Tess sneered. “You’re not going to do anything. Not like you guys will remember this anyway.” Once again she closed her eyes, but before she could try anything Liz had her hand raised, and sent a powerful blast towards Tess that knocked Tess off her feet and sent her crashing into the door.

“You forgot that you can’t get into my head Tess,” Liz said, shaking her head. “And I’m not going to let you get into theirs either.”

“Well then,” Tess said with an exaggerated sigh, “I guess I’ll have to get rid of you then.” Tess quickly raised her hand as Liz’s eyes widened. The very air in the room seemed to shudder as she released the energy at Liz. As the blast came towards her, she was completely helpless. She didn’t have the ability to use the shield, and she didn’t know how much Max knew about his powers, or if he’d even react in time.

For the second time in her life, she froze as death barreled towards her. No memories flashed before her eyes, and there wasn’t a bright light. Her only thought was that she had failed.

And then there was nothing.



*~*

Yay! I'm back! I still don't have internet access, but I've found a way to post this from a different computer... it's a lot more work for me, but I think you guys have waited long enough for this part without me adding more time to it, dontcha think?

As always, thank you to everyone for the feedback! Since I'm on borrowed time, I don't have time to respond to anyone personally, so I just want to give a general thank you to feedbackers and lurkers alike for being patient with me after the way I left it.




Previously


Tess sneered. “You’re not going to do anything. Not like you guys will remember this anyway.” Once again she closed her eyes, but before she could try anything Liz had her hand raised, and sent a powerful blast towards Tess that knocked Tess off her feet and sent her crashing into the door.

“You forgot that you can’t get into my head Tess,” Liz said, shaking her head. “And I’m not going to let you get into theirs either.”

“Well then,” Tess said with an exaggerated sigh, “I guess I’ll have to get rid of you then.” Tess quickly raised her hand as Liz’s eyes widened. The very air in the room seemed to shudder as she released the energy at Liz. As the blast came towards her, she was completely helpless. She didn’t have the ability to use the shield, and she didn’t know how much Max knew about his powers, or if he’d even react in time.

For the second time in her life, she froze as death barreled towards her. No memories flashed before her eyes, and there wasn’t a bright light. Her only thought was that she had failed.

And then there was nothing.



*~*


Part 18


“Liz!” Maria shrieked, as Liz collapsed on the floor. Max felt like everything was moving in slow motion as he rushed over to Liz and knelt over her. He looked down at her stomach. There was a hole in her shirt, and a charred gaping wound, where the flesh of her once-smooth stomach was melded with the bloody fabric of her shirt.

“Liz! Open your eyes Liz! I need you to look at me.” Max cupped her face gently with his hand, willing her to open her eyes so that he could form a connection.

“Max,” Langley said hurriedly, “Liz is already connected to you. All you have to reach out to that connection.”

Max didn’t reply as he closed his eyes, not taking time to think about the significance of Langley’s words. Max reached out with his mind, eagerly searching for the tie that bonded them. He could have cried with relief when he found it, the shimmery, iridescent silver strand, delicate yet as strong as steel. He followed it, racing towards Liz’s mind so he could finish the connection. Suddenly, he slammed into something hard, and his body shuddered physically as his eyes popped open.

“Something’s blocking it!” Max felt for Liz’s heart beat, which was growing fainter and fainter by the second. He began to panic, feeling helpless as her shirt became saturated with blood. He pressed his hand against the would, trying to staunch the bleeding.

“Max, listen to me,” Cal said, pulling Max back from the precipice of hysteria, “you’re going to have to break the block. You’re going to have to throw everything you have at it, every thing you feel for her and all of your memories, hopes, and dreams involving her.”

Max turned towards Liz again, closing his eyes in concentration. He sent her a tidal wave of emotions, love, desire, happiness, guilt, regret, fear. They crashed into the block, but still it remained unmoved. He shoved memory after memory against it, pushing as hard as he could. He showed her labs they’d had together, watching her work at the Crashdown, their first kiss, seeing her for the first time in L.A., and dancing with her in her kitchen. The last memory he sent her was of a flash he had just received, something from another time.

“Whether I die tomorrow or fifty years from now, my destiny is the same: it’s you.”

With that the block was suddenly gone, and Max felt himself fall headfirst into the connection. He ignored the images and emotions that were coming from Liz, and instead focused on healing the damaged cells. He worked furiously, knitting together tissue and rearranging cells back into the proper order. He dissolved the bits of material from her shirt that had gotten meshed into the wound. When he was at last finished, he kept his hand resting on her now healed skin, exhausted but unwilling to break the connection. Images played in his head, dancing across the silver thread that bound Max and Liz and wound it’s way around them.

*Flash*
“Where are you from?”
*Flash*
“I prefer the term ‘not of this Earth.’”
*Flash*
“Liz I really, really wish that this could be something, you know, more. But it can't. We're just...” “Different.”
*Flash*
“What’s so great about normal?”
*Flash*
“Ok. Fine. If you know so much, then tell me, Max...what's my destiny?” “I only know the part I'm hoping for.”
*Flash*
“Max, you do have a destiny. You just heard it. I can't stand in the way of it.” “But you mean everything to me.”
*Flash*
“Don't you realize what you are to me...and you're always gonna be? You're the love of my life. Everyone else is gonna be second best. There'll never be another you.”
*Flash*
“I want to have my wedding dance.”
*Flash*
“I thought you didn’t believe in God.” “I believe in you.”
*Flash*
“Liz, if you go, our friendship is over.”
*Flash*
“I-I trusted you, I gave you everything. I jumped off bridges for you, I broke laws for you, I risked getting shot for you, I trusted you! And you go off-- God, with Tess-- God, I saved myself for you!”
*Flash*
“Not like I love you.”

The connection was broken as he heard Maria’s shriek of “Liz!” He opened his eyes in alarm, only to find Liz peering down at him from under lowered lashes, a shy smile on her face. It was only then that he realized that he was practically laying on top of her, one of his arms hooking up around her shoulder, the other still resting on her stomach, his head resting on his hand. Apparently he had changed positions some time during the connection, after he finished healing her.

“Hi,” Liz said quietly, sounding slightly amused.

Max abruptly jumped up off of her, his face flushing. “You’re ok now,” he said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than her.

“Yes, I am,” she said softly, gazing up at him as she sat up, using her arms to support herself.

Maria had held herself in check so far, waiting for Liz’s little interlude with Max to be over. But she just couldn’t contain herself any longer as she rushed over to Liz, enfolding her in a hug as her lip trembled. “God, Liz, you scared me! Don’t ever to that to me again! Thank God Max was here.”

“Shh, it’s ok Maria,” Liz said soothingly, “I’m ok now.

“You scared us pretty badly Liz,” Alex said, still pale, as he walked over to join in the hug. “And Tess sure did a number on your shirt.” Liz looked down at the rather formidable looking hole in her shirt and the burnt fabric around it. And she had liked that shirt too.

Liz’s head shot up suddenly. Tess! “Where’s Tess?” Liz asked, fearing the worst.

They all turned towards the door. There, lying on the floor in a heap, was Tess, her face obscured by the blonde ringlets that hung in her face.

“Oh my god,” Liz exclaimed, her hand flying to her mouth. “Is she...?”

Michael made his way over to the prone form hesitantly, before kneeling down next to her. He felt for a pulse on her neck. Looking back up at Liz, he shook his head slowly.

“Oh!” Maria said, letting out a gasp as all the events from the day came rushing at her at once. She was across the room in an instant, flinging herself into Michael’s arms. He whispered soothingly into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

Isabel was ghostly white as she stared at Tess, unable to tear her gaze away. “How?”

“I killed her,” Cal said in a voice that sounded unnaturally loud in the stillness of the room. “I had to.”

“You... had to?” Liz asked, uncertain as to what he meant.

Cal sighed. “Yes. I had to. She threatened, and managed to hurt Liz. I’m your protector,” he said, looking around at everyone in the room, “I’m programmed to attack anyone who harms or tries to harm one of you.”

“Programmed?” Max echoed.

“Yes. Certain things are programmed into me because I took the job as a royal guard, things that I can’t go against even if I wanted to.”

“Wait, if you’re supposed to protect them, how did Max end up being tortured in the White Room?” Liz asked.

Isabel gave Liz a strange look. “Max was never tortured.”

“If Zan, or Max, was being hurt while I was nearby or I knew about it, then I would have to do something about it.”

“And it would be the same for Nasedo?” Liz asked.

Cal’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Nasedo?”

“The other protector,” Alex said helpfully.

“Yes. He can’t directly hurt you, and if he knows about or sees someone hurting you, he has to stop it or die trying.”

“Oh,” Liz said. “So he’s the protector of this foursquare, and you are the protector of the other one?”

“Other one?” Michael said, looking confused.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Wait, so when you said you had to protect all of us... does that include the human contingent too?” Alex asked thoughtfully.

“No, I only protect the King, Queen, Princess, and Second in Command,” Cal said, giving Liz a pointed look.

“So... I am then. I suspected as much when you were obeying me earlier but... wow. Wow. How did this happen?” Liz said, slightly dazed.

“Um, hey guys, I hate to interrupt the Q&A portion of this evening but... there’s a corpse in the corner of this room. There’s this... awful smell... and unless those two things are taken care of, I think I’m going to be sick right here, all over your nice carpet,” Maria said in an exasperated tone.

“Right,” Liz said, looking slightly embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“Why don’t we go to my place where we can continue this discussion?” Cal offered.

“What about... Tess?” Max said, flinching at the name.

“Don’t worry about it, it will be taken care of,” Cal said lightly.

“How can you be so... so glib about this?” Isabel cried out, nearly in tears.

Cal’s expression was hard. “Tess was a traitor and she tried to murder your queen. To protect your lives, she had to be eliminated. I don’t enjoy killing people, but if it’s necessary, I won’t hesitate to do so if it will protect lives.”

“But, but,” Isabel said, looking lost, “she was one of us. She was our friend, we trusted her!”

“And she lied to you, plotted against you, used Alex, and tried to kill me,” Liz reminded her quietly. “Don’t feel badly that you trusted her. We’ve all misjudged her, in three different time lines now. And she wasn’t pure evil either you know,” Liz said with a sigh, “no one is. She cared about her son, maybe even about Kyle. At least in another life. Don’t feel guilty about mourning her, because I know she was your friend, and don’t blame yourselves for her death. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.”

“No!” Max said fiercely. “It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. What Cal did was in self defense, and I am grateful to him.” Liz noticed how tired Max looked then, and remembered how much energy he had to use in order to heal.

“You know what? Why don’t we wait until later tonight to ask and answer questions, since it will probably take awhile. And... I’m tired, from, you know, before,” Liz said, feigning a yawn. She knew that Max would never admit that he needed to sleep, but she was afraid that if he didn’t get some rest soon, he’d pass out. If he’d only rest if she pretended to be tired, then so be it.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Cal said, nodding in agreement, “but I still think we should regroup at my house. Everyone can rest there.”

“Sounds good,” Alex said, keeping one eye on Maria, who still had her head buried in Michael’s chest and looked as if she was completely oblivious to her surroundings, and his other eye on Isabel, who looked about three seconds away from breaking down completely.

“Great,” Cal said. “After you,” he said, motioning to Alex.

Alex gulped as he made his way towards the door, giving Tess’ body a wide berth as he slowly moved around her. He paused, looking at her body for a moment with what looked like pity in his eyes.

Michael went next, pulling Maria with him. He didn’t look at Tess at all as he quickly walked out the door. Maria was still hiding against Michael’s chest and Michael directed where she was going.

“I - I can’t Max,” Isabel cried, trembling. “I can’t walk past her. I can’t!”

Max turned to Liz. “Are you going to be ok?” Liz nodded, knowing that he had to go help Isabel. “Izzy, close your eyes. Walk with me, and we’ll be out of here soon, ok?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and grabbed her elbow with his other arm, and they made there way out the door, with Isabel’s eyes shut tightly. Max didn’t look like he was handling it all that well either, but he valiantly tried to hide that fact from Isabel. Maybe Isabel was fooled, but Liz wasn’t.

“Ready?” Cal said.

“Yeah.” She began to walk slowly towards the door. As she reached Tess’ body, she paused. Though it made her feel physically ill, she looked down. Her hair had been moved away from her face when Michael checked for a pulse. With the light shining on her golden hair, she’d looked almost angelic, were it not for the twisted position the rest of her body was in.

She hadn’t wanted Tess to die. She hadn’t voted to kill Tess last time, and she wouldn’t have voted to kill Tess this time. Tess was a different person than in the last time line, but she still made the same mistakes.

It seemed such a waste. She could have really liked the girl, under different circumstances. In fact, there were even moments where she sympathized with Tess, understood where the girl was coming from, despite everything.

And she couldn’t imagine how everyone else was feeling, especially Max. If she was his girlfriend, then that meant that they were romantically involved. He probably had feelings for her, had perhaps even loved her.

Liz had almost been too late. Everything had almost happened again, and it would have been her fault. Just like it was her fault last time. She’s the one who helped change things the first time. It was her job to make them right this time.

She had almost failed.

And she could still be failing, she realized. She didn’t know what had happened, or who knew what. Maybe she had moved up the end of the world yet again. She needed answers and she needed a plan.

“Liz?” Cal asked, sounding concerned. Liz looked up, startled.

Right. It was time to go.

Liz turned to her one last time, thinking of Tess’ last sacrifice from another life. “I hope you’ve found peace,” she whispered.

And she meant it.



*~*[/b]