second chances
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 7:19 pm
Hello, hello, dear readers. So finally we're going to have everyone meet up for which I hope you'll all be glad. I'm so glad that so many of you seem to like Isobel and Serena together and are so concerned for the wellbeing of their relationship. lol I know that sometimes people can get frustrated when there's too much attention paid to "secondary couples" but I really like to use them as a counterpoint to Zan and Liz.
Anyway, it was my birthday yesterday so I had to write this part through the haze of a slight hangover, both from birthday cake and wine. As I become more of an old lady (j/k I'm only 26) I get more delicate.
Here we go...
Part 10
Ava’s eyes scanned the room. Her mind was practically on overload what with all the input coming off of the group assembled in Liz and Isabel’s living room. The airwaves were thick with tension; everyone’s emotions were riding high and ricocheting off of every corner of the room. She had to focus really hard to discern individual signals. One overriding common desire was readily apparent: everyone here desperately wanted to find Max and bring him home safe.
She glanced over at Zan. His eyes were stormy. She almost felt guilty for trying to read him. They had long had a tacit agreement that she stay out of his private world but right now she really felt the need to get a handle on what was going on. Even though she had set up a block so that he could share with her only what he wanted, she was surprised that she had not picked up on this whole Liz thing. It had clearly been brewing for a long time, long before the current crisis and went far deeper than just a desire to reunite Liz with his dupe’s son. To tell the truth she was a little pissed that he hadn’t told her that Liz was here in the city but she knew him and so she also knew that it wasn’t personal. He obviously hadn’t told her because he hadn’t been ready to deal himself. She sighed, wishing that it was easier for him to be open, to feel. They had both suffered so much at the hands of Lonnie and Rath…
Ava shifted her gaze to where Liz was sitting on the couch next to Isabel. There was so much sisterly love there, forged in mutual grief and years of living side by side. Liz seemed amazingly calm considering the circumstances but Ava knew that there was a deep well of strength hidden inside the other woman’s tiny form. It had been amazing to be reunited with Liz; she only wished that it could have been under different circumstances. Ava still felt like she owed Liz so much if only for giving her renewed faith in the kindness of others. She hoped that she would be able to start repaying that debt now. When Zan had brought Ava back here today she had been prepared to see Liz freaking out at least a little bit but she had been gratified to see that although Liz was clearly distraught for her son, she was holding her head up.
Hmmmm. Although they weren’t looking at each other, there was a certain energy zinging between Zan and Liz. Ava was almost bowled over by the intensity of the apparent connection. She herself had never experienced anything like it and was honestly a little frightened at the prospect. It seemed deeper and richer than just attraction, although that was clearly part of it and obviously the register that resonated the most strongly for Ava – desire was her specialty after all. Hmmmm, she had always known that Zan was waiting for someone to come along. Could this be what he had always been waiting for? Ava had to hand it to Zan – he sure did find himself in the tricky situations. A single mother and his dupe’s *widow* no less, a woman whose desires, although once awake, had lain dormant for a long, long time.
Looking over to Liz’s left, Ava assessed Lonnie’s dupe speculatively. She was so different than Lonnie, and so beautiful – Isabel’s good heart lit up and softened the sculpted features that on Lonnie were stunning to be sure, yet hard and mean. Now speaking of desires, here was someone who had transgressed that holding pattern that Liz was still trapped within. Catching a whiff of the heat between Isabel and the lovely, dark-haired woman sitting pensively in the armchair, Ava smiled to herself. These two were just humming with love; it almost made Ava a little jealous. It seemed that they had both been pretty lonely before. Well Serena especially, Isabel had more the air of someone who had spent a long time repressing her strongest desires while Serena it seemed had been simply cut off, starved for emotional contact. Until now, apparently…
Michael and Maria were both seated on the floor, Maria sitting between Michael’s legs, his arms wrapped around her in a gesture that was protective but not smothering. There seemed to be an easily interplay between them. The result of so many years together, no doubt. Ava could pick up on an enduring desire and respect for one another, tempered and even strengthened by a healthy dose of friction. But they were both clearly focused on Liz right now, wanting nothing more than to help their friend. Ava felt a little pang in her heart. She hoped that the Roswell group truly understood how lucky they were to have had one another all these years. She and Zan had been so alone…
Ava’s sense pricked up as she picked up another signal from Michael, one that was very clearly directed toward Zan. Or rather toward Liz but regarding Zan. Michael clearly had a very strong desire to protect his friends and obviously he seemed a little wary of Zan, and me too I suppose, Ava mused. We’re both the outsiders here, she realized. But there was something else going on for Michael in terms of Zan. It wasn’t a desire exactly so it was harder for Ava to pick up on but she strained to “hear” it. She had discovered since she began to understand her gift that most emotions were laced with desire in some way; it seemed to be the fuel that kept people going. Even the most unselfish love seemed to be pushed forward by a desire to care for another person. And the twinges of want in Michael’s feelings toward Zan…had to do with Max (well, Max senior). Michael clearly missed his best friend a great deal still to this day, and his absence left a wound in Michael’s heart. It was disconcerting him a great deal to see Zan, looking so much like his fallen brother. And Michael obviously felt that he couldn’t trust Zan…
Ava rubbed her temples. This was exhausting!
Liz’s voice cut through Ava’s mental haze.
“Thank you all so much for being here and for helping me. I know that with all of us together we will be able to bring my baby home.” Liz’s face was set with determination.
“What we need to do now is examine all of the information that we have and set a course of action. Now Ava has informed me that she is pretty much certain that Nicholas is somehow responsible for Max’s disappearance.” All eyes were on Ava. She squirmed a little but held her ground.
Liz sent Ava a grateful look, saying, “She also thinks that he will be back at her club this evening. So she is going to do some investigating there. She’ll need some back up though. Michael? You up for it?” He nodded.
Maria interjected, “Hey babe, don’t even think that I’m gonna get left behind while you run off to a strip club, even if it is all in the name of rescuing our favorite nephew. I may be just a human but I can swing my hips with the best of them. And I do have a cardio strip video at home in Roswell that I’ve been using.”
Ava nodded. “Actually, that’s a good idea. My mental energies are gonna be pretty much devoted to Nicholas so it would be a good idea to have someone there close by to keep a look out. If yer down Maria, I can set ya up waiting tables since I know ya can do that. Or if you’re serious, you can try your hand at dancing. I can show you some moves before tonight.”
Michael’s eyes darkened a little at the last statement.
Liz continued, “OK, now that that’s settled, let’s move on. Don’t ask me how but I can feel that my son is relatively OK. I just wish I could figure out where he is…”
Suddenly Serena spoke up. “Actually Liz, I think I might be able to help you with that.” Everyone’s ears pricked up to listen to her soft voice. “Um, back on Antar, there is always a strong mental connection between parents and their children. And although you are human, you and Max seem to have that connection but just haven’t been able to foster it in the way that you would if you had known more about it. And you - you have the mark of intuition.”
Liz gasped just a little. “I have what?”
“Well, as I was explaining to Isabel last night, I believe that you have the raw gift of intuition. You see, humans are also capable of harnessing their mental power – that’s part of why you were the species chosen to cross breed with – but for the most part from what I’ve seen in my time on this planet, most humans just refuse to believe, and without belief…” Serena trailed off, getting shy with the realization that so many people were listening intently to her every word. She still wasn’t used to acknowledging her alien status. Silently Isabel crossed the room to kneel beside her, reaching for Serena’s hand and giving it an encouraging squeeze.
Serena felt empowered by the touch of Isabel’s love and continued on. “Most often parents and children communicate by reaching out on the dream plane but it is also possible to access one another through going into trance.”
Liz looked startled. “Actually, I think that Max may have been reaching out to me in a dream last night, or sort of anyway…” She trailed off, blushing and looking in Zan’s direction. Zan looked down at his boots, feeling uncomfortable.
Serena looked from Zan to Liz. What weren’t they telling her?
After a long pause Zan’s voice emerged, so low that it was difficult to hear. “Is it, like, at all possible that Max could, ah, reach out to someone who wasn’t his parent?”
Serena looked confused. “It’s unprecedented but he’s a hybrid and I’m only really familiar with what happens on Antar with full bloods. Why do you ask?”
Zan shifted. “Well, I had this dream last night…and I think that I might have heard him.”
A wave of excitement and surprise rustled through the group.
Serena once again raised her voice to speak. “Well, if I understand correctly you inherited some of Max’s father’s memories?”
Zan nodded. He could feel Michael’s eyes on him and it wasn’t entirely comfortable. Not to mention the fact that he had images of the rest of that dream blasting in front of his eyes. Even if noone else knew about the full content of that dream, he now knew that Liz certainly did.
Seeming not to notice Zan’s discomfort, Serena continued to speculate. “Well, this is interesting, it seems as though when Max, the father not the son, connected with you, he must have left you more than just his memories. He entrusted you with a bond to his son.
“But why? I mean, I never even met the guy.”
“I have no idea Zan, but right now we need to work with what we’re given. I think that I can help you and Liz to strengthen the bond that you both share with Max and hopefully it will help lead us to wherever he’s been hidden. On Antar Khivar…” Serena gulped as she mentioned the brother who had claimed to love her but had really just kept her captive, “he had me trained as a telepath. Which basically just means that I can harness my own mental powers and bolster those of others. So I’m kind of like a brain battery,” she smiled wryly.
Isabel looked up at her lover with pride and awe. “Is there any way that I can help too. I mean, I can dreamwalk so I figured…”
Serena smiled down at Isabel, “Yes, of course you can sweetheart.” Her eyes were shining with love.
“Well, then I guess we have our work cut out for us,” Liz offered, glad to see that Isabel and Serena seemed to be doing well despite recent revelations. As much as it came as a shock that they had yet another alien in their midst Liz was profoundly glad to have Serena around right now.
Michael was the first to rise to his feet. “OK, well then, it sure does bring me back, having another meeting of the newly expanded ‘I know an alien club’ but I got me some important recon to do. I’m gonna go check out Ava’s club while she, uh, teaches my wife how to be sexy.” Michael ducked the joking punch that Maria sent his way.
“Watch out there Spaceboy, you know I can rock your world.” She looked at Ava expectantly, “Well, shall we go then?”
Ava nodded. “Yeah, I’ll just take you both to the club. We can practice there.”
Liz stood up and walked over to Maria. “Take my cell with you. That way we can get in touch if anything comes up. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too, girlfriend, me too.” Maria and Liz fell into a tight hug, one that however brief managed to express all the love stored up throughout the many years of their friendship.
After Maria, Ava and Michael had trooped out the door the four remaining were left in silence. Isabel and Serena were still sitting quietly holding hands.
Slowly Zan lifted his golden eyes to look at Liz. She was standing near the door, looking determined yet still somewhat apprehensive. Her hands were in the back pockets of her jeans and she stared at the floor, seemingly lost in thought. Her hair, although swept up messily in a clip, was falling in soft tendrils around her face. God she was beautiful, Zan thought.
He hoped that this would work – that he would be able to help her. This was definitely “alien” territory for him though. He was used to doing things with his body, working with his hands…or his fists. Sometimes his own mind seemed like a dangerous, unfamiliar place, full of hidden challenges, yet here he was, willing to share it with her – to confront his own inner demons in order to help her find her son.
Liz shifted her attention from her sneakers upwards, her eyes raising up to meet Zan’s across the room. He felt his heart increase its tempo as they met gazes…for the first time since their shared dream. Both had found it difficult to look at one another throughout the meeting, not knowing how to react to one another’s presence, fearing that this attraction would be a distraction from the quest to find little Max. Yet now they found that it was exactly what they needed to find him. In order to find Max, they would be forced to open the floodgates, to open up in a way that neither of them were used to.
Anyway, it was my birthday yesterday so I had to write this part through the haze of a slight hangover, both from birthday cake and wine. As I become more of an old lady (j/k I'm only 26) I get more delicate.
Here we go...
Part 10
Ava’s eyes scanned the room. Her mind was practically on overload what with all the input coming off of the group assembled in Liz and Isabel’s living room. The airwaves were thick with tension; everyone’s emotions were riding high and ricocheting off of every corner of the room. She had to focus really hard to discern individual signals. One overriding common desire was readily apparent: everyone here desperately wanted to find Max and bring him home safe.
She glanced over at Zan. His eyes were stormy. She almost felt guilty for trying to read him. They had long had a tacit agreement that she stay out of his private world but right now she really felt the need to get a handle on what was going on. Even though she had set up a block so that he could share with her only what he wanted, she was surprised that she had not picked up on this whole Liz thing. It had clearly been brewing for a long time, long before the current crisis and went far deeper than just a desire to reunite Liz with his dupe’s son. To tell the truth she was a little pissed that he hadn’t told her that Liz was here in the city but she knew him and so she also knew that it wasn’t personal. He obviously hadn’t told her because he hadn’t been ready to deal himself. She sighed, wishing that it was easier for him to be open, to feel. They had both suffered so much at the hands of Lonnie and Rath…
Ava shifted her gaze to where Liz was sitting on the couch next to Isabel. There was so much sisterly love there, forged in mutual grief and years of living side by side. Liz seemed amazingly calm considering the circumstances but Ava knew that there was a deep well of strength hidden inside the other woman’s tiny form. It had been amazing to be reunited with Liz; she only wished that it could have been under different circumstances. Ava still felt like she owed Liz so much if only for giving her renewed faith in the kindness of others. She hoped that she would be able to start repaying that debt now. When Zan had brought Ava back here today she had been prepared to see Liz freaking out at least a little bit but she had been gratified to see that although Liz was clearly distraught for her son, she was holding her head up.
Hmmmm. Although they weren’t looking at each other, there was a certain energy zinging between Zan and Liz. Ava was almost bowled over by the intensity of the apparent connection. She herself had never experienced anything like it and was honestly a little frightened at the prospect. It seemed deeper and richer than just attraction, although that was clearly part of it and obviously the register that resonated the most strongly for Ava – desire was her specialty after all. Hmmmm, she had always known that Zan was waiting for someone to come along. Could this be what he had always been waiting for? Ava had to hand it to Zan – he sure did find himself in the tricky situations. A single mother and his dupe’s *widow* no less, a woman whose desires, although once awake, had lain dormant for a long, long time.
Looking over to Liz’s left, Ava assessed Lonnie’s dupe speculatively. She was so different than Lonnie, and so beautiful – Isabel’s good heart lit up and softened the sculpted features that on Lonnie were stunning to be sure, yet hard and mean. Now speaking of desires, here was someone who had transgressed that holding pattern that Liz was still trapped within. Catching a whiff of the heat between Isabel and the lovely, dark-haired woman sitting pensively in the armchair, Ava smiled to herself. These two were just humming with love; it almost made Ava a little jealous. It seemed that they had both been pretty lonely before. Well Serena especially, Isabel had more the air of someone who had spent a long time repressing her strongest desires while Serena it seemed had been simply cut off, starved for emotional contact. Until now, apparently…
Michael and Maria were both seated on the floor, Maria sitting between Michael’s legs, his arms wrapped around her in a gesture that was protective but not smothering. There seemed to be an easily interplay between them. The result of so many years together, no doubt. Ava could pick up on an enduring desire and respect for one another, tempered and even strengthened by a healthy dose of friction. But they were both clearly focused on Liz right now, wanting nothing more than to help their friend. Ava felt a little pang in her heart. She hoped that the Roswell group truly understood how lucky they were to have had one another all these years. She and Zan had been so alone…
Ava’s sense pricked up as she picked up another signal from Michael, one that was very clearly directed toward Zan. Or rather toward Liz but regarding Zan. Michael clearly had a very strong desire to protect his friends and obviously he seemed a little wary of Zan, and me too I suppose, Ava mused. We’re both the outsiders here, she realized. But there was something else going on for Michael in terms of Zan. It wasn’t a desire exactly so it was harder for Ava to pick up on but she strained to “hear” it. She had discovered since she began to understand her gift that most emotions were laced with desire in some way; it seemed to be the fuel that kept people going. Even the most unselfish love seemed to be pushed forward by a desire to care for another person. And the twinges of want in Michael’s feelings toward Zan…had to do with Max (well, Max senior). Michael clearly missed his best friend a great deal still to this day, and his absence left a wound in Michael’s heart. It was disconcerting him a great deal to see Zan, looking so much like his fallen brother. And Michael obviously felt that he couldn’t trust Zan…
Ava rubbed her temples. This was exhausting!
Liz’s voice cut through Ava’s mental haze.
“Thank you all so much for being here and for helping me. I know that with all of us together we will be able to bring my baby home.” Liz’s face was set with determination.
“What we need to do now is examine all of the information that we have and set a course of action. Now Ava has informed me that she is pretty much certain that Nicholas is somehow responsible for Max’s disappearance.” All eyes were on Ava. She squirmed a little but held her ground.
Liz sent Ava a grateful look, saying, “She also thinks that he will be back at her club this evening. So she is going to do some investigating there. She’ll need some back up though. Michael? You up for it?” He nodded.
Maria interjected, “Hey babe, don’t even think that I’m gonna get left behind while you run off to a strip club, even if it is all in the name of rescuing our favorite nephew. I may be just a human but I can swing my hips with the best of them. And I do have a cardio strip video at home in Roswell that I’ve been using.”
Ava nodded. “Actually, that’s a good idea. My mental energies are gonna be pretty much devoted to Nicholas so it would be a good idea to have someone there close by to keep a look out. If yer down Maria, I can set ya up waiting tables since I know ya can do that. Or if you’re serious, you can try your hand at dancing. I can show you some moves before tonight.”
Michael’s eyes darkened a little at the last statement.
Liz continued, “OK, now that that’s settled, let’s move on. Don’t ask me how but I can feel that my son is relatively OK. I just wish I could figure out where he is…”
Suddenly Serena spoke up. “Actually Liz, I think I might be able to help you with that.” Everyone’s ears pricked up to listen to her soft voice. “Um, back on Antar, there is always a strong mental connection between parents and their children. And although you are human, you and Max seem to have that connection but just haven’t been able to foster it in the way that you would if you had known more about it. And you - you have the mark of intuition.”
Liz gasped just a little. “I have what?”
“Well, as I was explaining to Isabel last night, I believe that you have the raw gift of intuition. You see, humans are also capable of harnessing their mental power – that’s part of why you were the species chosen to cross breed with – but for the most part from what I’ve seen in my time on this planet, most humans just refuse to believe, and without belief…” Serena trailed off, getting shy with the realization that so many people were listening intently to her every word. She still wasn’t used to acknowledging her alien status. Silently Isabel crossed the room to kneel beside her, reaching for Serena’s hand and giving it an encouraging squeeze.
Serena felt empowered by the touch of Isabel’s love and continued on. “Most often parents and children communicate by reaching out on the dream plane but it is also possible to access one another through going into trance.”
Liz looked startled. “Actually, I think that Max may have been reaching out to me in a dream last night, or sort of anyway…” She trailed off, blushing and looking in Zan’s direction. Zan looked down at his boots, feeling uncomfortable.
Serena looked from Zan to Liz. What weren’t they telling her?
After a long pause Zan’s voice emerged, so low that it was difficult to hear. “Is it, like, at all possible that Max could, ah, reach out to someone who wasn’t his parent?”
Serena looked confused. “It’s unprecedented but he’s a hybrid and I’m only really familiar with what happens on Antar with full bloods. Why do you ask?”
Zan shifted. “Well, I had this dream last night…and I think that I might have heard him.”
A wave of excitement and surprise rustled through the group.
Serena once again raised her voice to speak. “Well, if I understand correctly you inherited some of Max’s father’s memories?”
Zan nodded. He could feel Michael’s eyes on him and it wasn’t entirely comfortable. Not to mention the fact that he had images of the rest of that dream blasting in front of his eyes. Even if noone else knew about the full content of that dream, he now knew that Liz certainly did.
Seeming not to notice Zan’s discomfort, Serena continued to speculate. “Well, this is interesting, it seems as though when Max, the father not the son, connected with you, he must have left you more than just his memories. He entrusted you with a bond to his son.
“But why? I mean, I never even met the guy.”
“I have no idea Zan, but right now we need to work with what we’re given. I think that I can help you and Liz to strengthen the bond that you both share with Max and hopefully it will help lead us to wherever he’s been hidden. On Antar Khivar…” Serena gulped as she mentioned the brother who had claimed to love her but had really just kept her captive, “he had me trained as a telepath. Which basically just means that I can harness my own mental powers and bolster those of others. So I’m kind of like a brain battery,” she smiled wryly.
Isabel looked up at her lover with pride and awe. “Is there any way that I can help too. I mean, I can dreamwalk so I figured…”
Serena smiled down at Isabel, “Yes, of course you can sweetheart.” Her eyes were shining with love.
“Well, then I guess we have our work cut out for us,” Liz offered, glad to see that Isabel and Serena seemed to be doing well despite recent revelations. As much as it came as a shock that they had yet another alien in their midst Liz was profoundly glad to have Serena around right now.
Michael was the first to rise to his feet. “OK, well then, it sure does bring me back, having another meeting of the newly expanded ‘I know an alien club’ but I got me some important recon to do. I’m gonna go check out Ava’s club while she, uh, teaches my wife how to be sexy.” Michael ducked the joking punch that Maria sent his way.
“Watch out there Spaceboy, you know I can rock your world.” She looked at Ava expectantly, “Well, shall we go then?”
Ava nodded. “Yeah, I’ll just take you both to the club. We can practice there.”
Liz stood up and walked over to Maria. “Take my cell with you. That way we can get in touch if anything comes up. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too, girlfriend, me too.” Maria and Liz fell into a tight hug, one that however brief managed to express all the love stored up throughout the many years of their friendship.
After Maria, Ava and Michael had trooped out the door the four remaining were left in silence. Isabel and Serena were still sitting quietly holding hands.
Slowly Zan lifted his golden eyes to look at Liz. She was standing near the door, looking determined yet still somewhat apprehensive. Her hands were in the back pockets of her jeans and she stared at the floor, seemingly lost in thought. Her hair, although swept up messily in a clip, was falling in soft tendrils around her face. God she was beautiful, Zan thought.
He hoped that this would work – that he would be able to help her. This was definitely “alien” territory for him though. He was used to doing things with his body, working with his hands…or his fists. Sometimes his own mind seemed like a dangerous, unfamiliar place, full of hidden challenges, yet here he was, willing to share it with her – to confront his own inner demons in order to help her find her son.
Liz shifted her attention from her sneakers upwards, her eyes raising up to meet Zan’s across the room. He felt his heart increase its tempo as they met gazes…for the first time since their shared dream. Both had found it difficult to look at one another throughout the meeting, not knowing how to react to one another’s presence, fearing that this attraction would be a distraction from the quest to find little Max. Yet now they found that it was exactly what they needed to find him. In order to find Max, they would be forced to open the floodgates, to open up in a way that neither of them were used to.