Roswell Fanatics

The Fate of Destiny Part 55

Max looked up when Liz entered their bedroom looking like she was about to collapse. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Liz shook her head and flopped down on the bed where he was just waking up from his nap. "Oriel is just having doubts about Michael's intentions."

"Oh?" Max successfully kept a smile off his face.

"Yeah." Liz rolled over and clung to Max's side. "Let's just take a little nap."

"I just woke up. Emily's here and I'm keeping an eye on them."

"Max. As much as it upset me at first, they're good kids. Let them be a little happy for a little bit. Besides... they all left." Liz shut her eyes.

"All?"

"Danny and Emily were leaving with Beth and Davey. Kathy left with Jacobi..." Liz murmured.

"What?" Max sat straight up.

"Max... I trust Kathy. She just really likes him. Lie down and go to sleep. You need it for the night shift."

--

"Are you sure your parents are out?" Kathy whispered as Jacobi lowered her onto his bed.

"Yeah." He nodded, his blond hair falling in his face as he leaned over her. "You know we don't have to do... much, right?"

"I know but I like the privacy." She bit her lip and smiled up at him.

"I like it when you do that." He kissed her lip gently.

"Do what?"

"That thing with your lip that your mom does. You both bite your lip and it's incredibly sexy." He brushed his lips over hers. Their mouths melded together and tasted each other. Kathy sighed into his mouth and let everything float away. It felt so good to relax.

Jacobi gasped suddenly and pulled away. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Kathy sat up and stared at him like he had gone crazy.

"I saw, felt something in my head..." He whispered. "You dyed your hair blond?"

Kathy put a hand over her mouth and backed up against the headboard. She had never told him about that.

--

"Danny, stop it." Emily snapped at him. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine. Okay." Danny sat back in the driver's seat.

"I'm hungry." Davey complained from the backseat.

"Hold on, your food will be here in a minute." Danny turned and told him quietly. "Just sit tight."

"Are you guys fighting?" Beth asked, her voice low.

"No." Emily whispered. "I'm mad at my dad..."

--

Liz moaned. "Max, I thought we were going to sleep."

"Not when we have the whole house to ourselves." He murmured as he kissed a path down her chest, tugging at the zipper on her pants.

"You are unbelievable." Liz surrendered with a sigh as she rolled them over. "You must be in heat..."

--

Alex walked in the door and went straight to his room. Isabel looked up just in time to see him slam his door. She was about to get up and see what was wrong when Kyle patted her shoulder. He holstered his gun and clipped his badge onto his shirt. "I'll handle it this time."

"Who was it?" Isabel rose to her feet again. "On the phone just now?"

"Lynette. She said that Alex was upset, that he just got out of the car and started walking." Kyle knew he couldn't keep it from her. "I'll take him for a ride and then I'll bring him back and he'll be much more calm."

"Kyle, you're on now. You're late." Isabel protested but he kissed her cheek and urged her back down into her chair.

"I'm taking him with me. I'll drop him back on my patrol." Kyle kissed her head. "I'll try not to keep him late."

"Kyle..." Isabel cried out but he was already knocking on Alex's door.

Kyle opened the door and before Alex could say a word, he beat him to it. "Let's go. You're doing a ride along with me."

--

Michael adjusted his tie in the mirror and glanced at the clock. All he had to do was take the chicken out of the oven and wait for Oriel to get there. Everything was set. It was going to be perfect.

--

Max pressed kisses all over his wife's face as he recovered from their lovemaking. Liz sighed in contentment. "Now I really need a nap."

"I don't think I'll be able to make it through my shift knowing you're lying in this bed without me." Max murmured. "But I have to go shower now, or else I'll never leave this house again... unless you want to join me."

"Just go." Liz swatted him. "I just want to lie here and fall asleep. If I get up to shower, then we'll lose the house because I'll never let you go to work again."

Max gathered his things to go shower. He recalled that Liz had asked him if he was in heat and it was entirely possible because all he wanted to do was to go join her in bed and forget everything else existed. Scrubbing quickly, he decided that he was going to call in sick. He had plenty of sick days and if anyone asked, he got sick from something he ate at the barbecue.

He snapped off the water and quickly dried to put on his robe. As he stepped out of the bathroom, he heard a door slam. "Hello?"

"Dad!" Kathy cried out and she came running down the little hallway and into his arms.

"Sweetie?" Max hugged her tight, all sorts of horrible scenarios running through his head about why his daughter might be crying. "What happened?"

"I was... We were..." Kathy choked on the words as sobs rose in her throat once more. "At Jacobi's..."

"What?" Flames flashed in his eyes. "What did he do to you?"

"No!" Kathy shouted and let go of him.

"Kathy, what happened?" Max grabbed her shoulders. "Just tell me."

"We were... kissing, just kissing when... He... just stopped and..." Kathy looked up at her father. "I think he got a flash."

--

Kyle climbed back into the car, setting his hat on the dash. Alex hadn't said a word to him since getting in back at the house. Pulling away from the station, Kyle cleared his throat. "You know, we never get to talk anymore. What's going on?"

"Nothing." Alex shrugged and stared out the window.

"Nothing. Okay." Kyle nodded and started in on his patrol of the city. "Nothing. Is that why Lynette called the house worried about you?"

"She called?" The young man asked absently.

"Said you were talking about your Dad and you just blew up at her." His blue eyes stayed on the road ahead of them, not bothering to see if Alex was paying attention. "She told me that she said maybe you were more like him than you were willing to admit and you told her to go to hell, that she didn't know what she was talking about."

"I'm not like him." Alex protested.

"You are. Little ways but you are." Kyle nodded slowly. "Alex and I got to be good friends toward the end. He was the one that made the most sense when I was drawn into this world of aliens and all... Maybe because he entered it in a less traumatic way."

"Oh yeah?"

"Alex was lied to. He hated it and when your Aunt Liz told him the truth, he thought she might have been a little crazy but that she believed what she was saying and then... Your mom had a talk with him because he was curious. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know her better." Kyle sighed and made a careful turn. "She dream walked him once, and she saw that in him, she had a good friend, a guy that appreciated her beauty, inside and out. It was rare for your mom."

"Can I ask you a question?" Alex turned from the window he had been staring out.

"Sure."

"How can you stand it?"

"Stand what?" Kyle flicked a glance at his stepson.

"Me. She named me after him. She... goes to visit his grave... Do you think she still loves him?" Alex turned his eyes on his stepfather and waited for an answer.

--

Oriel stared at her reflection. {What's wrong with me?} She examined every pore of her face. Her thoughts had been all over the place. She remembered the way that Liz had brushed off her questions at Michael's attraction to her in years before. She remembered the faint blush that had crossed Liz's face when asked about if he might still have feelings for her.

She turned her eyes on the clock and sighed. She couldn't. She couldn't go over there and have him end it. She was supposed to have been there when the sun set but she hadn't budged.

Just then the phone rang and she let it. She had disconnected the answering machine. She couldn't even bear to hear his voice at this point.

--

Max set the phone down and pressed a kiss to his daughter's head. She had yet to tell him what exactly had happened to make her so upset. Had Jacobi freaked out? Was he going to tell anyone?

Liz walked into Kathy's room, straightening her shirt after her shower. She sat on the edge of the bed where Max had eventually settled Kathy down. "You called in sick?"

"Yeah. They wouldn't let me have a personal day so I took a sick day." Max whispered. "I keep thinking about this but I don't know what to do."

"You'll think of something." She tugged on his pant leg. "He's a good boy. He really likes her, he doesn't push her... it'll all depend on him but telling him is ultimately her choice here."

"I know that but at the same time, I'm scared for anyone to find out." Max sighed and felt Kathy stir slightly. "She said he didn't seem scared but with the way I'm sure she ran out of there, there's no telling what he'll think."

--

Kyle pulled the car over by the park and motioned for Alex to follow him for a walk. After they had reached the first of the trees, Kyle cleared his throat. "Your mom loved your dad a lot. They went real slow, almost not dating for such a long time and then suddenly they were together and in love and didn't care about anything else.

"Losing him was so hard on her. She mourned for a good three years. Longer than most would have and... Well." Kyle sighed and took a deep breath. "Did you know that you almost had another little brother?"

"What?" Alex stopped walking and looked over to the man that had been the only father he had ever known.

"She doesn't like to talk about it but when you were two, almost three... your mom was pregnant. Just a few weeks, it was early on but she terminated it. She was afraid that she had betrayed Alex somehow. She didn't love the baby's father, she didn't want the child."

Alex couldn't form words. His mother was one of the best mothers he knew and now he knew she had given up a life. "Why?"

"She was scared of destiny. That child would have been a fulfillment of the destiny revealed to her by her alien mother. It scared her to death. It's always haunted her." Kyle looked up into the trees at the dark sky above. "When she was pregnant with Liberty, she asked me if it was wrong of her to have another child when she didn't want the last one." He took a breath and lowered his eyes to his stepson. "I'm just letting you know these things. I have been in love with your mother for a long time and I've always known about Alex and...

"No one can take his place in her heart, just like no child could take the place of the one she gave up, just like if one of us were gone, no one could replace us." He watched his son's face. "I know that you can't stand that she still expresses her love for your father but that's a good thing. She hasn't ever let it fade because she sees him everyday in you. I know she loves me. I know she loves our children.

"Your mother's had a difficult life and any expression she makes is hard for her. They used to call her the Ice Queen behind her back in high school if that helps any." Kyle reached out an arm. "I know what you said to Lynette, kid. You are my son. He might have made you but I've never thought of you as someone else's son."

"How do you live knowing all that you do?" Alex whispered.

"Carefully."

--

Michael set the receiver down on the cradle carefully and looked to the clock. It flashed midnight at him. He sank against the wall and bowed his head. She wasn't coming.

TBC

I told you poor Michael never gets it easy.

The Fate of Destiny Part 56

Danny for the first time, walked the halls of West Roswell with his arm around his girlfriend. Everyone knew that they were dating but it was the first time there was public evidence. Emily had filled him in that morning of the reason she was the way she was the day before. His mind kept wandering back to his sister. She had stayed home with their parents' permission and to his surprise, his father was still home as well. No one had said anything but it was obvious they were all upset.

Danny looked up in time to see Jacobi Wilson heading straight for him. "Daniel, where's Kathy?"

"Home sick." He answered curtly.

"She didn't come at all?" Jacobi ran a hand through his light hair and blew out a breath. "Can you tell her to call me? I tried calling her line all night last night but she didn't answer."

"Why? What did you do to her?" Danny slipped his arm off Emily's shoulder and stepped to Jacobi, his voice non-threatening but his pure body mass making all the necessary threat.

"I didn't do anything to her. She freaked out at my house last night and took off running. I just want to know what's wrong." Jacobi refused to back down.

"I don't know what's wrong. She won't talk to me... but if it's you. You're dead." Danny growled, finally allowing Emily to lead him down the hallway. She mentioned her place and he just nodded. He couldn't think straight.

--

Michael sat against the wall, staring at the phone, willing it to ring but it sat there silently, mocking him.

--

Max had an arm bent behind him, holding Davey up on his back as they moved around the kitchen making lunch. Kathy sat at the table, picking at a plate of chips and staring at the wall. "Daddy, how come Kathy's sad?"

"I don't know." Max snuck his daughter a look. "Why don't you try and make her smile?"

"Ok." Davey slid down Max's back to land on his feet. Davey skipped to the table and lay his head in his sister's lap. "Kathy, why are you sad?"

"I'm not sad." She shook her head and flipped a chip over on her plate.

"Don't be sad, Kathy. I don't want you to be sad." Davey whined.

"Dad, make him stop." She turned to her father.

"You make him stop. I'm not the one he thinks is sad." Max walked over and put a sandwich on her plate. "Eat."

"Dad?" Kathy lifted the edge of the top bread. "Do you think I should tell him about us?"

"No." Max sighed heavily and took a seat next to her. "Your mom thinks you should. Maybe I don't like the idea of losing my little girl but she seems to think that what you have with Jacobi is genuine. Answer me this... have you gotten flashes from him?"

"Well, yeah." She nodded solemnly. "Nearly every time we... kiss." She spoke carefully and softly, slightly uncomfortable with discussing the subject with her father. "Last night was the first time he ever got one from me."

"What was different about last night?" Max braced himself for knowledge he didn't need.

"Nothing. We were there, just starting to kiss, not really much else. I just..." She flicked a glance at her father's face and then turned away. "I was relaxed for the first time. We were alone with no chance of being interrupted and I relaxed. Normally, Danny shows up or his parents are around and... yeah."

"Uh-huh." Max rubbed a hand over his face. "Right. So you opened yourself up to him, trusted him completely with... all of you. You were relaxed."

"Right."

--

Alex slid next to Lynette in their music class and she stared straight ahead. He scooted his chair closer. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't... I just didn't understand but now I do and you're right."

"Don't you know by now that I'm always right?" She turned her brown eyes on him with a slight smirk.

"I know, I should know." He sighed. "What are you going to do with me?"

"I don't know." She shook her head at him. "Ditching this afternoon had occurred to me, you might be able to do your penance then."

--

Michael shut his eyes but didn't sleep. He couldn't. He couldn't believe that she had stood him up without a single call.

[Oriel stopped their kissing to look at him. "You are incredible, do you know that?"

"You know, people keep saying that... one of them was bound to be right." Michael teased her and leaned in again.

"Michael..." She whispered, staying him with her hand. "I... want you to stay tonight. Are you ready for that?"

In the six months they had dated, they had neared but never crossed that threshold. He nodded his head slowly. "You are beautiful. Did I tell you that?"

"Maybe once." She blushed lightly. "Come on..."]

He banged his head back against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut. He had laid his heart out and it had gotten squashed. It hurt too much. He knew there was a reason he had never let many people in.

[Michael peeled her shirt off her body, pressing kisses to her shoulders. His mouth burned over her flesh as he removed each of her garments, tossing them off the bed. Oriel's small hands worked swiftly to have him join her.

His fingers ran through her dark tresses and down over her face, tracing her features as they lay back together, their mouths meeting in a deep kiss.]

He didn't know when but he flicked the box with the ring across the room, near the open front door that he didn't see. He didn't even register that the door had closed.

[Oriel gasped as Michael thrust inside her, her head thrown back in invitation for him to devour her throat. His hands caressed her breasts, slid over her sides, and gripped her thighs. "Michael... oh my god, Michael."

Their pace quickened as their bodies screamed for release. His hand slid down between their bodies to work at her little bundles of nerves. When he felt her legs quiver around him, he thrust more forcefully to trigger both their orgasms at once.]

Michael touched his face and realized that it was wet with his tears.

[Michael held her tight against him, never wanting to move. She sighed against his chest and that made him smile. She looked up at him. "I could fall in love with you, you know."

"You could?" Michael nodded his head. "Guess we all could."

"You can't stay can you?" Oriel whispered, laying her head down on his chest once more.

"No. I left Emily at home alone. I don't want her to panic if I'm not there when she wakes up." Michael sighed softly and kissed the top of her head. "I'll call you tomorrow. We'll grab lunch or something."]

--

Oriel looked up from her desk to see Emily standing in the doorway. "Uh, hi."

"Don't 'hi' me." Emily spat out as she rushed into the near empty room. "Not after what you did to him. I knew that you would hurt him. I knew it and now I can't forgive you for it. If you didn't want to marry him, you should have left a long time ago, not strung him along only to say no.

"Do you know the hell he's been putting himself through over you? Do you? Do you care?" Emily screamed at the older woman, whose eyes were big as saucers. "I don't care to ever see you again but if you try to play another game with my father, I won't hesitate to show you what a Guerin is made of."

Oriel watched, dumbfounded, as the angry teenage girl left her classroom. {Did she say marry?}

--

Max cleared the table of half-eaten sandwiches and paper plates. "You know, he might not even think much of it. Have you tried talking to him?"

"I'm too scared. What if he thinks I'm a freak?" Kathy whispered, stroking her little brother's hair as he napped next to her.

"That's a chance we all had to take." Max sat across from her. "It's your decision but I'd like to know beforehand, because if he does freak out, we're gonna need a plan to make sure he doesn't talk."

"Dad, you aren't suggesting that I warp him, are you?" Kathy gasped.

"Only as a last resort. Our survival has thrived on our ability to stay unknown, hidden among them. One person could throw us back to the days when the FBI were constantly after us."

--

Emily shook off all Danny's attempts to calm her down as they entered her apartment. Her father was in pain and it was all Oriel's fault. "Danny, go home, go back to school. I don't care, just leave me alone."

"I don't get you, Em. One minute you're pissed because you're sure she was going to marry your dad and now you're pissed because she isn't." Danny threw his hands in the air and walked away.

Emily shut the door behind him and turned to see that her father had moved since the last time she had been home. "Dad?"

No answer.

She crept down the hall to his bedroom and found him lying in the middle of the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Dad?"

She climbed onto the bed and hugged her father tight, grateful when she felt his arms come around her as well. "I'll always love you, Emily. You are my family, my only family and it looks like it's going to stay that way."

--

Oriel rushed into the Evans home and went looking for Liz but instead found Max. "Max, where's Liz?"

"At work..." He started, not understanding why she didn't know.

"Did you know?" Oriel calmed enough to recognize that Max had just glanced at her left hand.

"Know?" He prompted.

"That Michael was going to ask me to marry him last night." She got out in a rush.

"Yeah, how did it go?" He crossed his arms and waited to know the answer.

"I didn't go because I thought he was breaking up with me. Did Liz know?"

"No. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone." Max had to rush forward to catch her as she sank to the floor.

"I've ruined everything. He's going to hate me now." Oriel cried.

"Have you talked to him?" He asked urgently and noted her shaking head from side to side. "Go talk to him."

TBC

The Fate of Destiny Part 57

Alex walked into his mother's office and sat down to wait for her to notice he was there. Ten minutes later, Isabel looked up from the massive book she had been reading from. "Hi honey."

"Hey." He nodded. "So... I was thinking. I wasn't being completely honest with you."

"'bout what sweetie?" She put down her pen to really look at him.

"Dad... Alex." He sank back in his chair. "I just... couldn't understand how you could still love a ghost after so long and being married to Dad and having Liberty and Kyle... It was weird and I didn't ask you about it. I should have. Dad and I talked and I guess I understand it a little bit but I'm going to stop being angry about it."

"You were angry. Why?" Isabel got up out of her chair to kneel in front of her oldest son.

"You kept talking about what a great person he was and how I was just like him but I never knew him and it drove me crazy. I wanted to be like Dad." Alex admitted to her and swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "I felt like I was living in the shadow of a ghost and I was mad at you for doing that to me and to Dad. But Dad and I talked and he laid it all out for me and... I guess I love you more for doing it."

--

Oriel stepped into the silent apartment. The table had untouched food and gutted candles sitting on it. On the floor was the small velvet box that she knew contained the ring. She picked it up and opened the box, there it was, a small diamond ring that probably fit her left ring finger perfectly.

She stepped through the apartment to Michael's bedroom only to find him asleep with his daughter's arms wrapped around him. A tear slipped down her face as she noticed that his face didn't look too peaceful and that there were circles under his eyes from not having slept. She quickly realized that he had stayed up all night waiting for her. She was barely able to contain a sob as she entered to sit on the edge of the bed.

She placed her hand on his ankle and he stirred slightly. "Michael?"

His eyes popped open and he just lay there staring at her for the longest time.

"Michael, I'm sorry." She whispered, removing her hand from his leg.

Michael didn't say a word. Lightly he shook Emily awake. "Don't say a word and go to your room."

"What?" She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. A fire swept through them when she recognized who was sitting at the foot of the bed. A nudge from her father silenced the biting remark on the tip of her tongue. She managed to make it out of the room without a single word.

Ten minutes of silence filled the room. Michael never budged from his position lying on the bed. Oriel cleared her throat and wiped a tear off her face. "Michael, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I... I thought you were inviting me here to break it off."

"Why would I do that?" Not a single emotion filled his voice as he uttered the soft words.

"Michael..." She let out an exasperated sound. "There were so many signs to me that you didn't want to be with me forever. You've never told me you loved me.... you said you didn't want children with me, which says you didn't plan on being with me long--"

"I have NEVER said such a thing." Michael stared at her hard before he sat up. "I have never said I didn't want children with you."

"You said it Saturday." She whispered. She saw him thinking over everything he had said that day. "They asked you if you wanted more and you said that Emily was enough."

"I was... talking without thinking. I didn't even know you were there yet." Michael shook his head.

"I thought maybe you were still in love with Maria or maybe Liz... I've seen how you look at her." Oriel whispered and turned the velvet box over in her hands. "Nothing you said or did pointed to marriage and I got scared. I didn't want to come over here and be dumped and so I didn't come at all." She took a deep shuddering breath. "It wasn't until Emily stormed into my office today and bit my head off for turning you down that I got a clue. I went to Max and he confirmed it..." A sob forced its way out of her throat. "I... I love you so damn much that it all hurt so much and then to know what I thought I was doing to protect myself had probably killed you."

"It did." He nodded. "I waited up all night. I called you and didn't even get your machine. I prayed that you'd show up and say that you'd been in a traffic jam or you'd call and say that someone surprised you, shown up with a party or even... God... I thought that maybe something had happened to you. but then I realized that you never turn your machine off unless we're together there. So you didn't want to talk to me..." Michael took a breath and then took the box from her hands. He removed the ring and held it up. "I'm only going to ask you this once. I love you so much that I'm betting on my only daughter's misery that you love me just as much."

"Michael?" She forced her eyes up to him as he took her left hand.

"Oriel Jordan, former queen of Antar, will you marry me, Michael Guerin, former War Commander under King Zan of Antar?" Michael held his breath in anticipation of her answer.

--

Danny paused outside his parents door when he heard them talking. He had been about to ask them what was going on at Michael's but he didn't want to interrupt.

"Max, it's still Kathy's decision." His mother's voice was firm as she spoke.

"I just don't know that we know Jacobi enough to tell him the truth. She's agonizing over this and I'd hate to do something drastic at this point but I'm not seeing any other alternative." His father sighed. "They've gotten too close already and I can't bear for her to be hurt when he rejects her."

That was all Danny had to hear and he was off. He jumped into the Jeep and sped off to Jacobi's. When he got there, Jacobi's little brother directed him up the stairs to his room. He heard voices as he approached the room.

"Sarid, come on. I'm serious. She absolutely amazing, beautiful, smart, the works and I want to know what I did wrong... They weren't home and I told her that we didn't have to do anything... Which I stuck by. We were only kissing when I got this... I don't, I guess I'm crazy but... It was an image of her as a blonde girl... Then I told her and she shot out the door like a bat out of hell... She's a brunette... No... No... No! Sarid, come on."

Danny didn't know whether to rush in and smack him silly or to wait and see what was going on. All signs pointed to a creep at the moment. He decided to err on the side of caution and listen for a moment longer.

"I don't know, Sarid. She's just... everything to me. I can't explain it. I've had this thing for her for as long as I can remember... I know, but how do I do that when I don't even know what I did wrong... No, I wasn't pushing her. In fact, I had just told her that we didn't have to do anything... Yeah... I should just go over there and tell her... I don't know, how I would feel if I lost her... No... She doesn't talk about herself too much... Yeah... Yeah... Okay... Yeah. Thanks, Sarid. Yeah, love you too." Jacobi hung up the phone and turned to find Danny standing in the door. "Hey, did you talk to her?"

"No. She's not talking to anybody right now." Danny crossed his arms. "Tell me what happened."

--

"No, Berty!" Alex chased his little sister down the hall. "Give me the phone."

They chased each other around the living room, jumping over their mother, Kyle and their grandfather. Berty shrieked as she climbed over the couch only to have Alex leap right after her.

"Hey!" Kyle stood up. The kids stopped in their tracks. "What is going on here?"

"Berty won't give me the phone. Lynette's been waiting for ten minutes now." Alex reached for his sister again and she ducked behind Grampa Valenti's chair.

"Berty, give your brother the phone." Kyle groaned and held his hand out. Berty handed the phone to Alex and then watched the teen disappear into his room apologizing to his girlfriend the whole way. Kyle took his seat next to Isabel once more and invited Liberty onto his lap. "You love torturing him, don't you?"

"Uh-huh."

--

"Where have you been?" Liz huffed when she found Danny walking in the back door, then she went silent after she realized that he had Jacobi with him. "Hi."

"Is she still awake?" Jacobi shifted on his feet.

"Mom..." Danny started to say but she waved him off. She gave him a look. "Yeah. I'll go get her."

Jacobi and Liz stood in silence for about a minute before he cleared his throat. "Is that want you do? Do you talk in your heads?"

Liz almost laughed. "No. That was old fashioned mother-son relations."

Kathy entered the kitchen and planted herself in the doorway. Danny had been cryptic but she knew that he had told Jacobi something about them. "Hi."

"Hey." Jacobi resisted the urge to rush to her and smother her face with kisses.

"I'll leave you two to talk." Liz hurried off to her room, pushing Max with her as he came down the hallway.

TBC

I'm leaving it off there for the week. Trying to tend to my board. '-)

The Fate Of Destiny Part 58
November 2019

Alex stood and waved to Lynette where she had just pulled up. Alex met her halfway and then led her the rest of the way to where his mother was seated, planting flowers. "Lynette, this is my father."

--

Michael put his arm around Liz as they walked around the block. "So then she mentioned that she knew about the thing I had for you. I let it slide for the moment but then I found out that you told her."

"Yeah. I did." Liz nodded. "I told her but… I think she thought you still did."

"And speaking of…" Michael took a breath. "Max told me why what happened back then happened." They stopped walking, her eyes on the ground and his on her. "You thought he was sleeping with Sydney Davis?"

"I just had too much time to jump to the wrong conclusion." She shrugged. "I got that flash and I felt like I was dying the entire time that he was gone. When he would call, I would read all kinds of things into every word he said and every sound I heard in the background. By the time that night arrived, I was desperate. You turning me down was a kick in the gut."

"You understand why I did, right?" He nudged her. "Believe me… it was damn hard to tell you no but… That night was a crossroads for me. Either I could hang on to the infatuation or I could move on."

"And look where that got you… infatuated with someone else." She laughed.

"I… I have some news." Michael cleared his throat and stopped walking. His arm slipped off of Liz and he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"What? What is it?" Liz asked softly. "I hope something’s not wrong."

"No. Not wrong." A small smile crossed his face. "I just wanted to tell you myself."

"Michael, what is it?" She pleaded with him. He had a penchant for suspense like no one else.

"It seems that Oriel has been in denial for a couple of months now." He nodded his head slightly.

"Denial?"

"Yeah, in hindsight it really explains a lot." Michael let out a laugh and then threw his arms out. "I’m gonna be a father."

"You already are a father." Liz shook her head.

"I. Am going to be… a father again." He shouted at the top of his lungs. He wanted everyone in Roswell to know, he was so happy.

"Oh my god." Liz clapped a hand over her mouth for being so stupid and then threw her arms around him. "Congratulations." Then suddenly drew back. "Does Emily know?"

--

"Please, Daddy?" Kathy clung to her father’s arm and turned her blue eyes on him, threatening to stick out her bottom lip if he tried to deny her.

"Kathy…" Max paused in his brisk stride down the hospital corridor. At the end of the corridor he could make out Jacobi shuffling his feet nervously. "I want details, all of them before I say another word."

"There’s a carnival in Hondo—"

"NO." Max shook his head and made to start walking again but she yanked on his arm. "Kathy, I said no."

"Why not?" She whined and let herself be dragged by the arms that had still to let go of his arm.

"Do you remember anything that I’ve told you?" Max turned to her, making her look him in the eye to see how serious he was. "That place is near Eaglerock. Do you remember now?"

"What?" She asked softly, suddenly scared by the look in his eyes.

"Eaglerock Military Base; the very place that yours truly was confined for longer than any free willed being should have to be to endure hours upon hours of nightmare-inducing horror. There are things that took place there that I still haven’t told your mother, things that I’ve never spoken aloud." Max told his daughter with more venom than he could control. "I don’t want you anywhere near there. Do you understand me?"

A tear rolled down her face as, for the very first time, she realized that the holes in his story about that weekend when he was 17 were much wider and deeper than he had let on. His reluctance to tell the whole story had more to do with just protecting his innocent children. She realized then that his experience at Eaglerock was so traumatic that even remembering would take him back to whatever horrors that place held.

"Do you understand me?" Max repeated, his voice just a little softer than before. Kathy nodded and his hold loosened on her. He wiped the tear from her face. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I didn’t mean to make you cry. Ok?" He kissed her forehead and hugged her tight. "I’m sorry. I just don’t want anything to happen to you." He felt awful for making her cry like he had. Never in all his life had he been so ugly with her. "Promise me that you won’t go."

"I…" Kathy had to clear a lump in her throat. "I promise, Daddy."

--

Emily leaned back into Daniel and rolled her eyes. He had fallen asleep and kept snoring loudly. Her feet were propped up on the end of the couch where Beth was perched painting Emily’s toes. They were supposed to be babysitting but Davey had fallen asleep already and Beth was happily occupied as long as she got to paint toes. "How you doing over there?"

"Almost done." Beth squinted her eyes to add little silver stars to the blue toes. "Think Danny will be mad that I painted his toes?"

"Naw…" Emily shook her head and hid a smile. "It’s what he gets for falling asleep."

"Momma says that your daddy is getting married." The dark haired child whispered. "Are you gonna have your own mommy now?"

"She’s not my mommy." Emily shook her head in the negative. "But yeah… he’s getting married."

"Are you going to be in the wedding?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don’t want to be." Emily shrugged her shoulders. She still hated the idea but finally realized there was nothing she could do about it. It’s not like things could get worse.

"MFfmmppff." Daniel shifted slightly on the couch. "I’ll get up in a minute, Ma."

Emily and Beth started laughing at him. Em picked up a bottle of nail polish. "Let’s do his fingers too."

"He’s gonna get mad." Beth warned even as they shifted positions to gain access to his hands. After a few minutes, Beth stopped. "Is Kathy gonna marry Jacobi?"

"I don’t know."

"Daddy was all sad. He said that he didn’t want her to grow up and get married."

"I think your daddy is jumping the gun. We are a long ways off from getting married, any of us."

--

Alex picked up the bass guitar from where it lay against the bed. His grandfather watched him from the door. Lynette sat gingerly in the chair at the desk. Alex shifted his fingers over the frets and strings. "This was my real dad’s guitar. He was in a band that got a few gigs here and there. I heard he wasn’t too bad."

"He was very proud of that bass." Mr. Whitman nodded. "He earned the money for it by doing chores up and down the block for everyone. I’ll just leave you kids alone a minute."

"Bye Grandpa." Alex nodded. He had just accepted how hard it was for Charles Whitman to stand in the doorway for a few minutes, much less enter the room.

"He was really into guitars, wasn’t he?" Lynette motioned to the two electrics hanging on the wall.

"Yeah. Mom says that music meant a lot to him." Alex adjusted the acoustic in his hands. "They said he liked to do covers. Uncle Max recorded him once. I learned the song."

"Yeah?" She flashed him a smile. "Play for me?"

"You got it." He adjusted the strings, listening for tune, and then let the deep sounds emerge from the instrument. "Okay what is it tonight. Please just tell me what the hell is wrong. Do you wanna eat? Do you wanna sleep? Do you wanna drown? Just settle down, settle down, settle down.

"I'll give you candy. Give you diamonds. Give you pills. Give you anything you want. Hundred dollar bills. I'll even let you watch the shows you wanna see. Just marry me, marry me, marry me."

He looked up to find her staring at him with her deep brown eyes. He always had trouble containing what he felt when he looked at her. "I'm so sick of you tonight. You never stay awake when I get home. Is something wrong with me? Something wrong with you? I really wish I knew, wish I knew, wish I knew. I'll give you candy. Give you diamonds. Give you pills. Give you anything you want. Hundred dollar bills. I'll even let you watch the shows you wanna see. Because you marry me, marry me, marry me. Marry me, marry me, marry me.

"I'll give you anything, anything, anything. I'll give you anything, anything, anything. Anything. Anything. Anything."

"You skipped a verse or two." Lynette flicked his knee.

"I didn’t want to make you suffer through anymore of my horrible voice than you had to." Alex ducked his head. "Besides, next time I play. I’ll get you to sing for me."

"Don’t count on it."

--

Jacobi pulled into the park and turned to his girlfriend. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing." She shook her head, dark curls bouncing around her face.

"Not nothing. Something’s up, Kathy. What is it?" He groaned when she didn’t answer him. "Is this because he said you couldn’t go?"

"No… I’m just thinking is all." She whispered. "He had his reasons and he can’t talk about them."

"Why’s that? I thought your parents didn’t keep secrets from you." He reached over to take her hand.

"They don’t but… inhuman torture isn’t always a subject that comes up. I hate myself sometimes. What I am, because of things like that." She shut her eyes against the anger.

"Things like what?"

"My dad… he was kidnapped by the FBI when he was 17…"

The Fate of Destiny Part 59

"Kat…" Jacobi sighed. "That’s all you had to say."

"I know but I still hate being me." She made to get out of the car.

"So we’ll do something else. We don’t have to go to Hondo. I’m sure there are plenty of alien free zones." He sat back, pulling her hand against his chest to keep her from leaving. "We could go to a movie… or…"

"Or what?" She sighed and pulled the door shut with her free hand.

"If you want to… I happen to know that there’s a bonfire out by the reservoir tonight." He raised his eyebrows in anticipation of her answer. "Promise no alien evildoings will occur. Promise that you’ll be the only one out there that will be completely relaxed."

"How are you going to promise that?" She turned toward him.

"Because I will personally see to it." He lifted her hand to his mouth for a kiss.

"Why are you so good to me? Especially after everything you’ve seen in the last 9 days?" Kathy whispered in awe of the boyfriend she had. She never believed that he could see her the same if he knew the truth and he had been distant the day after she told him everything but then he was fine again.

"Because… I…" He trailed off, not wanting to scare her off. "I think that I am seriously in love with you… all of you."

--

"I’m gonna kill you!" Danny roared as he chased his sister and girlfriend around the Evans home.

"Chill!" Emily yelped as she leapt over a chair and backed against a wall, Beth right beside her.

"Yeah. It comes off." Beth squealed as she took off after Emily when Danny made to follow them behind the chair.

"That’ll teach you to fall asleep." Emily grabbed Beth and they raced outside. Too late they realized their mistake. Danny had stopped to scoop up the water hose. Using his powers to turn the water on from where he stood, he sprayed them both until they were soaking wet.

"Danny!" Beth shrieked as the water drenched her.

A blip stilled all three. The Sheriff’s squad car pulled up next to the house. "You kids having fun?"

"Hey Uncle Kyle." Emily wiped the water from her face. "We were just having a friendly game of water tag."

"Uh-huh." Kyle leaned out the window after putting the car in park. "What say the three of you go inside and get dried off before the fireworks display?"

"Fireworks?" Beth made a face at Kyle. He waved his fingers at her. "Oh no. We don’t do that outside."

"I hope not. Where’s your dad, chief?" Kyle reached back into the car to turn down the radio.

"He’s still at work. Doesn’t get off until late." Daniel answered with a shrug of the shoulders. "Mom and Mr. Guerin are bonding or something."

"Dad’s all about telling everyone about him and Oriel." Emily made a face.

"Chin up, kid. It’s not so bad." Kyle shook his head, he was sounding more and more like his father with every passing day.

"You’re right. It couldn’t possibly get worse." She conceded finally.

"Danny, where’s your little brother?" Kyle called out once more.

"Um… oh crap. He’s asleep." Danny ran inside to make sure they hadn’t woken the brat up.

--

Michael smiled when he spotted Oriel waiting for him when he and Liz got back to the hospital. He pulled Liz over to meet his fiancé. "Michael, slow down."

He let go of her hand and met his fiancé in a kiss. "Hey."

"Hey." Oriel whispered. "I’m ready to tell Max now."

--

Kathy stared out at the empty reservoir. She nodded slightly and turned to her boyfriend. "Party hardly."

"Okay. I swear. They said they were going to be out here." Jacobi put his hands up. They got out of the car to look around. All they found were the smoldering remains of a bon fire in a metal trashcan. "So they cut out early. Wanna head back?"

"No." Kathy shook her head and started backing away from him and the car.

"No?" Jacobi studied her form and his heart stopped beating when she whipped off her shirt and threw it at him. His mouth went dry when her pants went the same way. Her sandals were left in the dirt near the reservoir when she dove in. "What are you doing?"

"Skinny dipping." She bobbed on the surface. "You better get in here soon. I’m getting lonely."

--

Lynette fit herself beneath Alex’s arm as they walked back to her car where she left it at the cemetery. The silence was nice, meaningful even. After all the sharing that he had done with her that day, there didn’t seem to be much left to say.

Alex stared at the sidewalk in front of them. It was okay to let people in but… should they? Jacobi knew but that guy was totally whipped…

--

Max tried unsuccessfully to put out his cigarette before his friends found him. He turned around to meet Liz’s stern gaze. "I thought we talked about the smoking."

"It's out. No more." Max grinned sheepishly. Smoking. That had to be the longest running argument that he and Liz had. "Besides... how'd you find me?"

"Ran into an intern." Liz reached up to kiss his lips. "He spilled the beans. Michael has some news."

"Oh yeah?" Max turned his head to his friend.

"Yeah." Michael pulled Oriel even tighter to his waist. "Not only am I engaged..."

"We're having a baby." Oriel blurted out. "I can't even believe it." She just kept on talking. "Michael explained to me how much trouble you got into the last time with delivering the kids. I figured if we told you early enough, we could make some plans, find a way around the hospital..."

"Oriel... calm down." Max reached out and pulled her into a light hug. "Congratulations. We have plenty of time to work out the details." He let go and pulled his life long best friend into his arms for a friendly hug. "Congratulations Michael."

--

The near naked couple found themselves pressed into a side of the reservoir making out urgently. Slick skin slid through cool water to meet more slick skin. Kathy kept her moans down out of habit as Jacobi's mouth burned against her throat. She wrapped her legs tightly around his middle to keep him as close as possible. Then she heard the footsteps and pinched him lightly to get him to stop.

The voices carried over the still waters. "Damn kids."

"I already ran them all out." Another voice boomed.

"That car?"

"Some kid probably too drunk to drive... see clothes. Someone went home in their birthday suit. Another kid probably gave them a ride. Told you. I got it covered."

"Let's get down to business."

"Mister... I told you. Special Unit died out, literally. Not a single one of those fine men and women are alive."

"And I told you. I have a special interest in the history of the Special Unit. It was last active here in Roswell." There was a heavy pause. "I can't show my face in town. I'm a face people remember. Special Unit made my life hell because of something that went down here. I need you to find out who or what the Unit was after here in Alientown."

"Easier said than done. I done my homework. Nearly 20 years ago they come in and a year later, all gone. That's all I need to know."

"You're getting paid!"

Kathy could feel her body shaking. Jacobi held her still as they listened. The voices began to fade and she couldn't resist. She released her hold on her boyfriend and reached up to peer over the edge. All the blood drained out of her face.

"My grandfather went crazy after he dealt with the Special Unit. Made my dad's life hell and in turn mine. I want my answers or else."

"What? What are you going to do?"

"I know about your wife in Sierra Blanca."

"So."

"I know about your wife and kids in Clovis." Silence. "See, that's illegal and all I'm trying to do is get a little information. I've spent the last 20 years under government surveillance and I want to know why." He lit a cigarette and it further confirmed Kathy's fear. That man looked just like her father.

TBC

It's been five days so here's two parts.

The Fate of Destiny Part 60

Max raised a sleep weary brow when Kathy walked into the house through the kitchen. It took her five seconds to realize that he was upset. "Have you any idea what time it is?"

"Dad..." She started to protest.

"No, listen for a moment." He sat up straighter in his seat. "I worked the evening shift yesterday. The plan was to come home, wait for you and then go to bed because I have another shift in..." He checked his watch. "Three hours. You couldn't call to tell anyone where you were? At least that you'd be coming home at three in the morning?"

"Dad..." She pleaded with him.

"Go to your room."

"Dad..." She tried again.

"Go to your room. You are grounded. No phone, no friends coming over and no going out."

"DAD!" Kathy screamed, banging her fists on the table. "Could you listen for one minute?" She didn't wait for an answer as she jumped into her explanation. "We didn't plan on being late but we were caught in a place that we couldn't call or even leave. We were out at the reservoir when these guys showed up. One of them sounded like a cop, so we were quiet. We had to wait until we were sure they were gone before we could think about leaving... Dad, we heard them talking."

"What are you talking about?" Max shook his head and crossed his arms.

"They were talking about the Special Unit. One of them was paying the other one to investigate in town. Dad, the one paying... he looks just like you." She watched him take in her frightened appearance. "Exactly, like you. He knows that something happened here twenty years ago and he's going to find out what."

"Is he Special Unit?" Max whispered as he got to his feet.

"No, I don't think so. He was more interested in what they were involved in here. They were watching him, too, he said. He's blackmailing the other guy to look into things." She took a deep breath and waited for him to say something.

"Go to bed, Kathy." He whispered.

"But Dad..."

"This isn't your problem, Kathy. Go to bed." Kathy stared at her father for a long moment before stomping her foot and running upstairs to her room. He stood there for a long moment until he felt Liz's arms wrap around him. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep." She whispered. "Max... it's probably nothing."

"Nothing?" He turned around to face her. "Did you hear what she said? Someone is looking for me. Who knows who or what he is?"

"Max, relax." Liz pleaded. "Relax. We know. We'll just have to be careful. Just like we've always been. Tomorrow we'll call Michael and Isabel... we'll have a meeting and figure out what needs to be done, if we can do anything. Remember that the most important thing is to keep on like we don't know anything."

"I guess you're right." Max pulled her to him tightly. "I just thought all this was behind us."

--

Michael turned off the alarm as soon as it went off and rolled back to his fiancée. He stroked her dark hair and then lightly caressed her stomach. Making sure she was still asleep, he rose from the bed. There was only one reason he was up so early. He could hear the TV on in the main room, which meant that Emily was up and early at that. There she was, sitting in the middle of the floor with a bowl of cereal, flipping through morning cartoons.

Scratching the back of his head, he made his way to the kitchen to retrieve his own bowl. Soon they were both settled in, watching X-Men. Silence settled over the two of them for two scenes of the cartoon adventure. Then Michael realized it was up to him. "So, we need to have a talk."

"Oh yeah?" She mumbled, staring into her bowl.

"How long have we lived here?" He mused as he glanced around. Isabel had helped him decorate it after she got married and that's the way it had stayed ever since.

"Since I was five." Emily cleared her throat and set down her bowl. "We're moving in with her, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we're thinking about it. Either that or buying another house altogether." He didn't miss the scowl on her face but chose to ignore it.

"Why can't she just move in here? She already sleeps here..."

"We need the room, Em."

"Dad..."

"Em, listen to me for a minute. I need to tell you something."

"What?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"It's important." He couldn't stop it from coming out as a bark.

"Then what is it?" She barked right back.

"I'm not going to fight with you right now, Em. We're moving into Oriel's because she's..." Michael took a breath. "We're going to have a baby."

Emily didn't say a word. She just rose to her feet and walked out the door, slamming it behind her. After a few minutes, he picked up the discarded bowls and dropped them in the sink. Sighing he picked up the phone and hit the speed dial. "Liz... yeah, I know it's early... yeah.... I told her. She's heading over to your house now... thanks."

All he could do was stand there until eventually Oriel woke up and found him. "Morning... what's wrong?"

"I told Em."

"How'd she take it?" Oriel winced at the expression on his face. "Oh no. That well?"

"I just have to wait for her to come back, tonight. We'll talk some more then." Michael nodded and then turned to stare at the counter. "Of all the things to pass along... running away is the one thing she picked up." Oriel snorted and started to walk off. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've seen the pictures. Hair color was not the only thing she got from you. She might look like Maria but she's all you. You're both stubborn as hell, resort to running away until chased down, show the world this bad-ass attitude." Oriel turned to face him. "What? No one ever call you on that before?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Michael shook his head and turned on the water to rinse out the dishes.

"And the awesome defense mechanism just kicks right in. Ever think that the reason that you and Em have been butting heads recently actually has nothing to do with me and everything to do with how much alike the two of you are?"

--

Liz made a stack of sandwiches and packed them into a cooler as she listed to Em and Danny talking over their own untouched food. She knew that Kathy was upstairs moping and her youngest two were playing in the den.

"She's having a baby, Danny." Em whispered and lifted one corner of her sandwich, sliding a potato chip into it and pressing into it until it cracked. "They are having a baby."

"Look at it this way... you're going to have a brother or a sister." Danny tried to cheer her up.

"Danny..." She sighed heavily. "We graduate next year and then I'm out of there. It's not going to be like a family. Dad will spend all his time on the kid and what will I have?"

"A father that still loves you. A step-mother who will want to help you out when you need it... and a half-brother or sister that will look up to you forever." Liz answered quickly. "Ask Kathy."

"No. You are her mother. She's never known anyone else." Em shook her head.

"Ask Alex." Liz put her hand on her hip, daring her to challenge that one. "His sister and brother love him to death... Kyle loves him like his own."

Danny watched Em's face carefully. She wasn't showing any signs of cracking. "Hey. It won't be so bad. So you move into her house... you'll get a bigger room..."

"Yes, cause that's what this is about." Liz flicked his ear and picked up the cooler. "I'm taking your dad something to eat. We'll be back later." She reached for the keys on the hook above the door. "When I get back..."

"I know... homework." Danny griped and glared at her back until she had disappeared into the den to retrieve the little ones. He turned his gaze back on his girlfriend. "You look tired."

"Gee thanks." Emily threw a chip at him.

"Did you sleep last night?"

"Not much."

"Come on. Eat and we'll lay down... watch a movie or something." He took a bite of his sandwich and watched her play with hers.

--

The camera caught Max as he tossed his four-year-old son into the air and caught him before swinging him low to the ground. The next shot had his nine-year-old daughter sitting on his shoulder as they reached up into a tree for a perfect yellow leaf off the tree. The next shot captured the Evans sitting on a blanket eating their lunch. Max leaned over his plate and planted a kiss on his wife seconds before his young son tackled him, sending him onto his back. One shot found Max rushing back inside the hospital. An hour later, he returned to kiss his wife, sleepy son and beaming daughter.

"He's crazy. That's Mr. and Mrs. White Picket Fence. Ain't no dirt on them." The man snapped another picture. "Where're the other two kids? Huh, Mrs. Evans? That's right, show me." He started his ratty old car and followed the mini-van to its destination. Parking down the street, he waited. "Come on. No such thing as the All-American family... show me the dirt..."

Several hours later, he had filled up two rolls of film. His phone rang when he was rooting around for the burrito he had bought that morning. "Hello."

"You get anything?"

"Mister, I ain't got nothing."

"Did you find him?"

"Yeah, I found him easy enough. They didn't even bother to torch the place and I've had all day to read."

"And?"

"Max Evans, surgeon at Roswell Memorial Hospital, married. Liz Parker Evans, high school science teacher. Four kids. Daniel Parker, Kathleen, Bethany Parker and David Parker. 16, 16, 9 and 4. Kids are all smart. They got a nice house... that's all I got."

"Keep digging, keep watching."

"Gotcha." He turned off the phone and picked up his laptop again. Getting past the high school and hospital firewalls had been easy but they didn't give him any information. He'd have to try something else.

TBC

The Fate of Destiny Part 61

Emily caught her father stroking the thinning hair on Maria when she walked into her room that night. He didn't even look up when she stopped abruptly. "You can't keep doing this, Em. This isn't getting us anywhere." His brown eyes rose to meet her green ones. "This is happening. I'm marrying Oriel and we're having a baby. I know it's not what anyone planned but it's happening. You are in the middle of it until you leave."

"I know... and I am leaving. I am not going to stick around for the replacement family." Emily tore off her jacket and threw it in the closet.

"Who's replacing who?" He tried not to get angry.

"I never asked you to go and date her. I didn't ask for this. I don't want to move. I don't want a mother and I don't want a baby."

"Well, this isn't about what you want, Em." He rose to his feet. "I have been alone, Em. Alone since your mom died. I admit that when I first started dating, I wasn't ready. I... we've been through this, Em. I love Oriel and I'm ready to marry her and have this baby. This is not your choice but you are going to have to live with it. There's no debate and I'm not going to cave in the morning. I suggest you start packing."

"You want me to leave?" Em took a step back, blinking in shock.

"No!" Michael threw the doll on the bed. "Em... I love you more than my own life. Why can't you understand how important to me it is to have both you and Oriel where I need you both? I need you both, I do." He tried a different tack and sat back down. "You and I have a year and a half before you leave. We can't spend it fighting over who loves who more."

--

"So you're breaking up with me?" Jacobi backed up. Kathy wouldn't look at him. "Just like that? What about what I know?"

"What about it?" Kathy turned her blue eyes on him. Surely he wasn't going to use that against her. "Tomorrow you won't know a thing."

"What?" He raked his hands through his hair. "Why are you doing this? I love you."

"And I love you too much to get you involved in this. My father might be playing it off but if what he's told me is true... you being with me could get you hurt and I will not do that to you." Giving up, she sank onto the park bench and put her head in her hands.

"So what? We're over now and you're going to do something to me so I can't tell. I would never do that."

"That's not what it would be." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "If we are being watched, they might get you anyway and I... you can't know anything. It'll be like we never dated..."

"No." He shook his head. "No. I love you. Do you understand that? I love you and I don't care who knows or can hear. I'm not going to leave you alone to deal with this." He saw the set in her eyes and took another step back. "Don't... change my memories Kathy. I want to remember you, being with you..."

"You can't." A tear slipped down her face. He knelt in front of her and looked directly into her eyes, pleading. The pain in his eyes wretched at her heart and there was only one thing to do. "Ok, fine. I'll let you remember... I won't warp your memories."

"Thank you." Jacobi leaned in and kissed her gently, catching her sobs with his mouth. Kathy kissed him with more fire even as the tears continued to slip down her cheeks. It was really better this way. She slipped her hands into his hair and opened her mind to dive into his.

[Jacobi motioned Kathy under the bleachers. Slowly, she followed him, eyebrows raised. She glanced around to see if anyone was watching before ducking beneath them to join him. "Hey, what's up?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you." He shoved his hands in his pockets, head bowed to stare at his shoes.

"What is it?" She stepped closer.

"I was just..." He sighed heavily and looked up at her. "You're beautiful."

"Well, that's not a question, Jacobi. Do we need to go back over vocal inflection and statement clauses?" She teased him lightly, blushing at his comment.

"Seriously. You are beautiful. You've got to be the prettiest girl in the sophomore class and I... was wondering if maybe you might want to get together sometime before school lets out."

She couldn't move she was so stunned. How could it be possible that the guy who had picked on her since elementary school was expressing an attraction towards her? This was the kid that had stolen her homework in the fourth grade, the one would had pulled her braids in the fifth grade, snapped her bra in the seventh grade. This was the same guy who had spent the ninth grade harassing her for hanging out with her dorky brother so much.

Then again, he had gotten nicer since the year before, taller, more built, he grew into his huge feet and big nose. He was actually attractive now that she thought about it. It wasn't as if he was that bad a person. He could actually be sweet sometimes.

"I guess that's a no." He bowed his head and started to leave.

"Jacobi, wait." She caught his arm. "I'd like that."

His head spun around fast and they found themselves nose to nose. "Um, does that mean that we're friends that hang out or that we'd hang out because... you like me at least half as much as I like you." Her eyes dropped to his lips. He was going to kiss her... probably... maybe. "I don't really want to be friends. I mean, I would really rather be more... than a friend."

"Then definitely the second one. The not a friend one." She nodded slowly and closed her eyes. Not one second later, his lips were on hers.]

Mentally, she pulled a veil over his memories of her and their times together. Panting, she pulled out of the kiss and jerked backward. Quickly she ran a hand over her face to rid her face of tear tracks and smeared make-up. When Jacobi opened his eyes, he blinked at her. She opened her mouth first. "I'm sorry. This can't. I don't... feel that way about you, Jacobi. I just... I don't."

"Kathy?" He shook his head slowly. "I thought that you and I had something."

"I don't feel it." She lowered her eyes. "I don't think we can still be friends after this. It would be awkward and..."

"It's fine. I understand. I just... thought. I'm sorry." Jacobi got to his feet. "I'll see you at school."

"I guess." She nodded stiffly and drew her knees up to her chest. The second he was out of sight, she ran down the street and back to Grandma's. She hadn't even told anyone she was leaving and by now they had to be wondering where she was.

--

"The Quarry." Isabel waved her hands around and glared at her brother. "Do you remember the last time we were all here?"

"Yeah, there were more of us." Michael spoke quietly. Tess, Alex and Maria were the only ones missing and the only new addition was Oriel. They had all left the kids in the capable hands of their grandparents. "So what's this all about?"

"Kathy came home late last night." Max cleared his throat. His voice carried to their ears but not beyond their circle. "Seems that she and Jacobi got stuck in the reservoir... literally... when uh... some men showed up. They weren't noticed but they heard what the men were talking about."

"Talking about what?" Kyle pulled his wife to his side.

"Apparently, there's someone who was negatively affected by us in high school." Max motioned them closer. "It's kinda dangerous to meet like this but I couldn't think of another place."

"What is it, Maxwell?" Michael bit out.

"Someone's looking into the Special Unit and why they were here in Roswell back then." He met every one of their eyes in turn. "Oriel, I don't know if Michael told you about that but the government got a lot closer than was comfortable..."

"So what's going to happen?" Isabel whispered.

"Someone is spying on us, being paid and blackmailed into spying on us by... a man that looks exactly like me." His amber eyes darkened slightly at their alarmed stance. "Kathy saw him. From the conversation she described to me this afternoon... he could be the son or grandson of my DNA donor."

"Oh my god. It's gonna happen all over again, isn't it?" Isabel sagged against her husband. "The hiding, the running, the... shit all over again."

"Least this time we have some warning." Max cleared his throat again. "Just be careful and talk to your kids. They have to understand how serious it will be to blend in. We will have to keep our eyes open and find the spy. I want this threat eliminated as soon as possible so that we can all go on with our lives."

--

Diane looked up as a blur ran through her kitchen and disappeared down the hall. She looked to Danny where he was manning the stove her for. He just shrugged and kept stirring. "Kathy."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Don't know. She's been acting weird all day."

"Could you start your little brother and sister?" She set down a last plate and went in search of her granddaughter. She found the quiet Evans in Max's old bedroom. Slowly, she eased onto the bed and took a deep breath. "Where did you go?"

"For a walk."

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"I don't buy that." Diane chided gently. Never in her whole life had she seen Kathy so upset. But true to the nature in her planted by her father, she wouldn't admit a thing and she wasn't shedding a tear. "Sweetie?"

"It's nothing." Kathy tried to shrug her off but she had to give in, eventually. "Jacobi and I broke up."

"Oh, sweetie. It'll be okay." Diane reached over and rubbed her back soothingly. "It's not the end of the world. You're young... someday you'll meet that someone... and then... you'll know it. You still have time to fall in love and... that's all you can hope for."

Kathy nodded and buried her face in a pillow. "Can I be alone for a little while?"

"Okay. Just holler if you want to talk." Diane made her way back to the kitchen where she could hear her other grandchildren chattering.

"How come we don't say grace before we eat?" Bethany's small voice filled the room and drifted down the hallway.

"We just don't." Danny answered.

"What's grace?" David asked, his mouth full of food.

"It's a prayer people say before they eat." Danny cleared his throat and served himself.

"Tracy's family says grace." Beth insisted.

"Yeah well... both Tracy's parents believe in God." The elder Evans child could feel the headache coming in strong. He hated talking about it. No one had explained to him how it worked. He had learned by observing his parents.

"So?"

"So... So Mom believes in God and Dad doesn't. So we don't say grace."

"Daddy believes in God." Beth protested, her brow furrowed.

"No, he doesn't. Neither do I." Danny raised an eyebrow and shrugged at her look.

"Then who's right?"

"I don't know." He took a bite of his food and thought a moment. "I don't think we'll ever know who's right but everyone is entitled to believe what they want. Grandma and Mom's parents believe in God. Aunt Isabel and Uncle Kyle believe in God. Dad and Michael don't. That's just the way it is."

"Is it because we're different?"

"I don't know."

"Do... Is it okay for humans to believe in God but not aliens?"

"Humans are funny. Some don't believe in God but believe in aliens. Some believe in both. Some believe in God but not in aliens."

"No. I meant us. Do we not believe in God because we're aliens?"

"Maybe... but we're part human too. Mom believes in God so... I guess it would be okay if you did." He nodded firmly and hoped that was the end of the conversation.

Diane put a hand to her mouth and couldn't bring herself to interrupt. It was hard to believe her ears. Surely the child hadn't meant what it seemed like she meant. The events flashed in her mind.

[Max walked over and picked up the bird and simply held it. He locked eyes with his new mother and then released it. The bird flew. It flew away when moments before it had a broken wing.]

["Kids, don't touch that bird. He could be sick."

They ignored her and finally Emily got her hands on it and shoved it into Daniel's arms. Diane watched her son's son take the bird and whisper to it. The bird seemed to calm down and after a moment, Daniel locked eyes with his grandmother and threw the bird up in the air. The bird flew into the air and never came back, it just kept flying.]

It could make so much sense but was it true? Had she heard right?

TBC

The Fate of Destiny Part 62

"Kathy?" Danny whispered as he sank onto the bed. It didn't look as if she had moved since running into the house earlier. "Kitty?"

"Don't call me that." She whispered, voice devoid of the anger that had been meant in the response. She couldn't even joke about the old nickname. He hadn't called her that since they could speak correctly.

"What happened? I didn't even know that you had left and then you come back like this." The dark in the room saturated him. Made him feel hopeless... then again that could just be the vibes he got off his sister. "What's going on?"

"I had to break up with Jacobi. He shouldn't get involved in this." Tears threatened to stop her speech. "Go ahead. Say 'I told you, so,' you know you want to. You were right. I never should have gotten involved with him."

"What if he talks? If he's mad—"

"He won't." She cut him off. "I fixed his memories... he won't even remember." Then she burst into fresh tears. "Why can't someone do the same to me?"

--

Diane looked up when her children walked into her house. They all looked dusty. Max noticed the snow on the television screen first. The red light shone on the VCR. He knew what she had been doing. "Mom? Something wrong?"

"You tell me." She whispered and eyed Liz. She knew. She had to know. Isabel stood just behind them in confusion.

"Mom?" Isabel furrowed her brow. She had just planned to stop in and visit for while but the room felt incredibly small. Her mother was staring at her strangely, as if seeing her for the first time... "Mom?"

["You're supposed to be our mother, you're not supposed to investigate us!"]

She had known somewhere in her mind that it was both her children but she had never quite believed that Isabel was the same as Max. It made sense. They were found together, they would be brother and sister, therefore, they would be the same.

"Mom?" Max stepped into the room. She had been watching the tape again. "Mom, what happened?"

"I trust you, Max." Diane whispered softly. "I still do but I need to know if what I heard is true."

"What did you hear? Who's been talking to you?" His internal alarms went off. Had the detective dared to come to his mother? Had he exposed them in hopes of getting them to expose themselves? "Mom. Did someone call? Stop by?"

She shook her head in confusion. What was he talking about? What the hell was going on? A glance at the kitchen and then she could speak. "I heard the kids talking. I told you that I trusted you and I do. You're raising them up well. I remember the things you can do, that Danny can do..."

["You're angry?"

"What?" Max turned his head to his mother.

"You looked angry, why?" Then it dawned on her. "You knew. You knew he could do that. You've told him not to. Why?"

"I don't want anything to happen to him." Max answered immediately. "I've told him it's dangerous. I can't believe he would ignore me like this."

"Max." Diane reached out to touch him. "It's dangerous? You told me that it wasn't... but I suppose it's different with your children."

"Mom." Max sighed. He couldn't talk and love his way out of this one. There were no ceramic houses now. No hiding behind pots of water. "I don't want him to be afraid like I was."

"I know. We always want what's best for our children. Don't want them to suffer if we did. Don't want them to hurt like we did..." Diane nodded and kissed his forehead. "Max, it's ok. He's a special little boy. Sometimes it's good to be special."]

Max took a step back as if he had been socked in the gut. This was it. Immediately, he felt Liz's arm around his waist. Incoherent, calming whispers into his back that tried to ward off the chill that had taken over.

"Mom?" Isabel looked from her mother to her brother and back.

"I suppose you're special like he is... all of you... Michael, too. And the kids. Aliens?" Diane's blue eyes sparkled as she prayed they would tell her that she was wrong but the ashen looks told her different.

Max looked back to Isabel and swallowed. He spoke to her with that look. {Tell her now or we don't tell her at all.}

"Mom." Isabel pinched her lips together, hand on her stomach. The bile just churned, threatening to fill her mouth. "We're not bad... or evil... just lost."

"It's true?"

"Mom..." Isabel took to Max and at his nod, she approached her mother slowly. "I can explain everything that we know... if you want me to."

"What's going on?" Danny suddenly appeared behind them.

"Go get your brother and your sisters." Liz told him, shooing him back where he came. "We're getting ready to leave."

--

"This would be Ma Evans." He made a note and looked up, sliding just low enough in his seat to see over the dash but not be seen. "What is this? Murray Lane?"

After some typing into the laptop he made some more notes. "Pa Evans, dead, heart attack about 8 years back. No biological children." His eyes rose to the house before him. "Daughter Isabel took over the family firm without proper schooling... paralegal to raise kid from dead guy... Max went to medical school and raised a family. Daughter Kathy from an affair, home wrecker died apparently in childbirth. Still looking into the adoption of Max and Isabel. Something doesn't smell right there."

--

"Dad, what's going on?" Danny noted all the grave faces and then his grandmother's stunned one. "Grandma?"

Isabel knelt in front of the only mother she had ever known. "Mom... I know this is a lot to take in but it's true and it just got dangerous again. You have no idea how much I've wanted to tell you or for how long..." She took a deep breath, tears in her eyes. "We're the same people we've always been... only now... you know more about us."

"You told her?" Kathy asked her father and he nodded slowly.

"And all the kids... are half alien?" Diane whispered softly.

"All except for Kathy." Max uttered, pulling his daughter into his arms. "She's full blood, like me."

"Mom, please don't be afraid of us." Isabel pleaded. "Please, Mom."

"I..." Diane blinked back the tears that threatened to cloud her vision. "I always thought my babies were special."

--

"Mister, get the pics?"

"Where the hell did these come from?"

"Told you I been tailing the family."

"Who the hell is this guy?"

"Told you. He's the one they took 20 years ago. He's the one they were after."

"Jesus. He looks just like me... this his kid? Shit."

"Those are them. Didn't you know what he looked like?"

"No. Shit. God damn it." Silence held over the line. "That kid looks like he could be my kid... You said the father, this Max guy... he was adopted?"

"'89 from what I can figure, I'm still trying to get the details on that. Those records will be the most difficult and risky to get. They don't like people poking around in those confidential files, even if they're way over age."

"Get them. I don't like to think there are things that my father or grandfather never told me."

"Yeah, that was about my guess as well. Get me some pictures of the old men, might make things run smoother when I go poking around."

--

"Mom?" Max guided his family out the front door. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine." Diane nodded with a small smile, weariness had settled in her eyes. "I'm fine."

"I still love you. You're still my mother." Max leaned forward and kissed her forehead, grateful when she didn't pull away but gripped his arm instead. "You'll always be my mother. If you need anything, just call, we'll come over but remember not to say anything to anyone."

"Is everything going to be alright? I'm so scared for you, Max." She whispered.

"I've done it before and I can do it again. I promise that nothing will happen."

TBC

The Fate of Destiny Part 63

Max stretched out on the hospital bed. Two minutes was all he needed. Just two minutes of undisturbed sleep and he would be good to go. He nearly cried when the door swung open. "Doctor, Mrs. Kelly just passed. Her family wants to talk to you."

"Did you explain about her orders?"

"Yes, which is why they want to talk to you… They aren't about to tear you to pieces if that's what you're thinking." The nurse smirked and pulled the door shut behind her.

"Of course not." Max muttered before dragging his sorry butt out of bed to attend to his patient's family. Two more hours and he could go home.

--

The secretary looked up and blinked. That was all the invitation he needed. "Hi. I'm a private investigator, Len Scott. I was wondering if I could make a few inquiries."

"Sir, I'm sure you realize that…" She sighed heavily, she should have never looked up from her desk. Lowering her voice so that her bosses couldn't hear, she grudgingly answered him. "We can't really help you."

"I understand but I am just doing my job… like you are doing yours. Let me just say this… my client is only trying to find the truth and there is only one person who can give it to him. Now, this person may or may not be in your files." Len reached into his jacket and pulled out two pictures. "These men are father and son. Now, I am not really sure which one it was but one of them kept a secret from my client in the form of a son. The relevance would mean an uncle or a brother for my client." He locked eyes with her. "I specialize in reuniting families."

"I want to but you know that I can't." The secretary bit at her lip. This Len seemed so interested and she could almost recognize the men in the pictures. They looked familiar enough. Maybe she could help and just maybe this was one of those Unsolved Mysteries things… "I'll see what I can do. Do you have anything besides those pictures?"

"Birth year would be around '82 or '83. Male. Actually though…" Len paused for dramatics. "I haven't told my client this yet but I suspect that my target may have a sister, same parents. I don't want to get his hopes up… you understand."

"Oh. I totally understand." She smiled and typed frantically into her computer, running tips into the database for a match. There it was. There were six possibilities. The names blinked at her but upon a quick inspection of the names, she knew. "Well, this would be unofficial of course, hearsay."

"Of course." Len nodded. "I won't mention where or who I got the information from."

"There's a doctor. I went to high school with him. Bears a striking resemblance to those men." She leaned closer, an eye on her bosses' door. "He's got a sister. I… I can't give you their names."

"I understand."

"But…" She licked her lips and motioned for him to come closer. "Sometimes people talk and I hear. Found them both in '89, wandering through the desert, stark naked. No memory of their parents, didn't speak a word of anything… been lots of rumors about crazy stuff when they were younger… important people now. Wouldn't do to have either for an enemy… even if you could muster up a reason to hate them."

"No chance of me getting a peek at the file, huh." Len nodded but filed every word away for further use and investigation. "Just poof out of thin air."

"That's what people say. I just… I can't help you any more than I already have… and I could get in trouble for that little bit."

"Since you seem to know who these people are and you can't talk. Can you confirm something for me?" Len reached into his jacket once more. "Is this the man we're both speaking about?" He produced a surveillance photo of Dr. Evans and his wife.

The secretary's eyes slid from the photo to the bosses' door once more before she nodded slowly. "But I haven't said a word."

"I wasn't even here, sweetheart." Len nodded and replaced the photos in his jacket pocket.

--

Kathy did her best to avoid Jacobi. She explained everything to the gang, filling them in on what their parents hadn't told them yet. Alex had stuck by her side and even risked Lynette's wrath by blowing her off to make sure Kathy was okay. The bleachers had become a welcome hideout.

Alex fiddled with a hackey sack and turned to Kathy. "You know, ditching class isn't necessary, it kicks up a fuss, teachers complain, call meetings with our parents."

"You're just bitching because this will be the fourth time this term." Kathy muttered. She whipped her dark hair over her shoulder and stared out at the football field.

"True… and I made a deal with Mom that I would go to class." He grinned despite his worries about phone calls to his mother. He glanced around. "They're still back there, aren't they?"

"Don't remind me."

--

A reassuring kiss on the mouth, soft caresses down her back, light pressure down against him. Emily groaned at the touches. She cursed at their lack of privacy. Kathy and Alex were just on the other side of the press box.

Danny nuzzled her neck and let his hands fall to rest on her thighs on either side of him. He fought the urge to thrust against her, they both knew he was semi-hard but the thought of the consequences kept him still. Needed to cool the mood just a little. "When do you move?"

Whimpering a little, she pulled away. "Dad wants to do it soon but not before he and… Oriel decide where's what."

"It'll be okay, you'll see." He brushed a kiss against her forehead. "Oriel is nice. She's one of us. Nothing bad will happen."

"I guess you're right." She let out a deep sigh and resumed the pressure of her lips against his. "Think we could go somewhere a little more private?"

--

Liz glanced up at her doorway when she heard the knock. Diane. She let in her mother-in-law and gestured to the room of empty desks. "Guess you want to talk."

"Yeah, sweetie." Diane nodded and took a seat. "I guess… I'm not sure what I want to know but I know you have answers that Max couldn't possibly have thought of."

"I love him, Diane." Liz whispered as she slid into the next desk. "I always have, ever since the moment that he saved my life. I cannot regret one single moment because I love him and the life he's given me."

"Liz, honey… I just… I love my son and my daughter but this is just so much to take in." She let a tear slip down from her blue eyes. They had always been her children.

"It always is in the beginning. There has been so much hurt and betrayal but it's easy to look past it if you want to." Liz reached forward and squeezed her mother-in-law's hand. "Max meant what he said. He loves you as if you had given birth to him. You and Philip made him into the man he is today. That… Zan is only a part of him, the alien side. Max is the product of his human parents, his human side.

"They never wanted to ruin the illusion for you. They knew how much having them in your life meant to you and so… even after all the trouble seemed to go away, it just seemed better not to tell."

--

Kathy roamed the halls without even caring about getting caught out of class. It had been eating her up since it happened. She missed Jacobi and he probably hated her for hurting him the way she had. She saw his head bent over his desk in history, saw his weak attempt at a smile when his friend Ryan said something that made everyone else burst into laughter, saw the hurt when he saw the things that reminded him of her in his locker. And all she could do was watch from afar.

--

Emily felt the mood change the second she pulled off her shirt. Danny seemed so focused on touching her breasts so gently. He kissed at her neck and chest as he stroked and teased at her breasts. She shifted slightly, so that the bulge in his jeans rubbed against her center. Felt rather than heard his groan at her movement. Slipped her hands down and had his pants pushed down in an instant. "Wait."

"What?" She panted.

"Not he-re." His voice cracked when her hand slid inside his boxers. "Not here." For all he managed to make protests, he couldn't make her stop stroking his erection. "Please, Em…"

"Then where?"

"I don't know. Just not in the Eraser room." He pleaded. "Of course, now we'll have to wait to leave."

"No…" She whined and went to retrieve her shirt. "We're going now, while everyone else is in class. Hurry."

"Em…" Danny shook his head but untucked his shirt and refastened his pants. "Let's go." They raced down the hall to the nearest exit but screeched to a halt when the Evans women emerged from Liz's classroom. "Uh. Hi."

"Daniel Parker…" Liz scoffed lightly. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere. I just needed to grab a book from the Jeep." He leaned forward to kiss his grandmother's cheek. "I really have to go. I only have two minutes."

"I have gym. I'm really late. Later, Liz." Emily waved and ran out the door ahead of Danny.

"Catch you at home, Mom." Danny kissed her cheek before he raced out the door himself.

"What was all that about?" Diane murmured.

"I don't know but if I find out that they were ditching again, they're going to hear it from me." Liz shook her head and prayed that they weren't doing what she hoped they weren't doing.

--

Danny swept all the junk off his bed and yanked his shirt over his head. By the time he got it on the floor, Emily was on the bed topless and working at her jeans. Gently he grabbed the ankles of her jeans and pulled on them until they slid onto the floor. His head bent to kiss her stomach as he worked at getting his own jeans on the floor. Before he even stepped out of the denim, he was pulling her underwear over her hips and down her legs.

Emily tugged at his boxers and reached desperately for the nightstand at the same time. Knowing what she was trying to do, he helped out and kicked the boxers away. The condom was clenched in his hand before he joined her on the bed, kissing and tasting each other's skin.

The sobering moment came when Danny knelt on the bed to put the condom on. Silence. Then breathing and crinkling wrapper. Forcing his father from his mind, he remembered what his father had told him about putting the condom on. Gently, he spread her legs and just looked at her. "Beautiful, Em." Ran his hands up her thighs and then his thumbs along her sex. Slowly, he guided himself into her opening and paused.

He shifted so that he hovered over her. Em nodded quickly to the question in his eyes. "Slow. Please." His hips rocked back and forth, working his way inside her, each time diving just a bit deeper than before. Her cries urged him on until he heard the sharp gasp when he finally pushed through her barrier. "God."

"Em?"

"I'm okay."

Despite her protests that she was fine, Danny stayed still and simply kissed and caressed her body, ignoring the fact that he would explode any moment. When he was satisfied that she was feeling good, he began rocking his hips against hers.

--

Michael packed his things into boxes. He was concentrating so hard on covering breakables and getting as much into one box as he could muster that he didn't hear her coming until she was sliding onto his lap. "Busy?"

"A little but it can wait." He dropped the picture frame he was holding and wrapped his hands around his waist. "I was waiting for Em to get home from school but it's been a couple of hours."

"She's probably at Liz's or something." Oriel sighed. "She's really attached to her, isn't she?"

"Yeah. Liz has been great. She's raised her kids and mine." Michael stared up at his future wife. "You are going to be great though. Our child will have the best mother in the world."

"I hope so." Her hand went to her stomach. "I just hope I survive the cravings. Let's go eat."

--

Danny pulled his shirt on and kissed Emily again. She laughed and wrapped her arms around him. "Come on. I gotta go."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm great." She pressed a kiss to his lips. Groaning she stood. "Walk me out. I was supposed to be home a long time ago."

"I could give you a ride." Danny was about to reach for his shoes when she stopped him.

"No. If I go home grinning like this and Dad sees you… you're a dead man." She laughed and pulled him out the door and down the stairs.

Danny took her face in his hands. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. See you tomorrow." She pressed one last kiss to his lips and disappeared out the front door.

Danny circled back to the kitchen. His father was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and dinner started on the stove. "Hey Dad."

"Hey." Max looked his son over from head to toe. "I hope you used something."

"What?" Danny froze and paled when he opened the fridge.

"You and Em. You used protection?" Max set his cup down and waited until Danny faced him with a slow nod. "Next time, if you don't want me to know… brush your hair, put on a clean shirt… and at least put some socks on. You never walk around the house barefoot after school. Also, the music was off. If you're home, the music is usually on."

"It's that obvious?" Danny grabbed a coke and sat down.

"Only to me… and even more so to your mother." Max picked up his cup again. "You're lucky that she worked late today. I just got home. Don't…" He paused to rethink his words. "Not in the house, understand me?" Danny nodded. "Don't go causing indecent scenes but I don't want to catch you in the house. If your mother catches you, you'll be stuck in that room until you're 30."

"Yes sir." Danny nodded and bowed his head.

"I know that nothing I say will really make a difference in what you do. You and Em will sleep together regardless but understand me, please. If Michael finds out… I didn't know a thing about this."

"Yes sir."

"Ok. Go check on your brother." Max rose to return to the stove when he stopped. "Where's Kathy?"

--

Liz was about to get into her car when she saw Kathy sitting on the hood. "Sweetie?"

"It's hard, Mom."

"What is?"

"Watching him walk around with this hurt look… knowing I put it there… knowing that he can't even remember the good times we had together like I can." Kathy wiped at her eyes.

"Are you sure this was the best way?" Liz tossed her things into the backseat and shut the door.

"I didn't see any other way. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to him because of who we are." Would the tears ever stop coming?

"Sometimes… it's better to let the person you love make the decision for himself." Liz gestured for her to get into the car. "Your brothers and sister would not exist if your father had succeeded in doing to me what you've done to Jacobi."

"Mom?" Kathy sat in the seat and lowered her voice when her mother turned down the music. "Do you ever regret falling in love with Dad?"

"No. Not one single time in all my life." Liz smiled sadly at her daughter. "Not through any of the hurt and pain or worry. Not one moment. Your father is not the best at expressing himself, so when he does, it usually comes out wrong. There are still things that have been left unsaid between us but I make sure he knows that I have never regretted my life with him."

"Thanks." Kathy whispered.

TBC

Wow... I think I'm gonna double post some this week and get us through to the end of this section. By the end of the week we'll laugh, we'll cry, we'll rant together. It'll be like bonding... only without the icky hugging. '-)

The Fate of Destiny Part 64

Oriel shifted nervously in the doorway. Emily had been staring out that window with a smile on her face for over twenty minutes. Boxes lay stacked all over the room untouched. She hated to ruin the look on the young girl's face but… "Emily? You hungry? Your dad wants to order in pizza."

"I'm not really hungry." That pretty smile faded quickly but she never turned to look at her future stepmother.

"I could make something." Oriel offered. "Later. If you get hungry."

"Cold pizza will be fine. Later. When I’m hungry." Em shifted, her happy daydream had been interrupted for the moment.

"If you change your mind… kitchen's always open." Oriel tapped the doorframe and wandered back downstairs to Michael. He was fiddling with a shelf, trying to hang it straight when she walked in. "She's not hungry."

"She is. I've never known her to go without a meal." Michael groaned and hefted the shelf onto the nails. "I'll get her."

"No. Don't. If she doesn't want to come down, she doesn't have to." She shook her head and took a seat. She winced at how uncomfortable the chair was. "Is there a pillow around here?"

"Yeah. I'll get you one." Michael motioned for her to stay put and went in hunt of the nearest soft pillow. Grabbed the phone while he was gone, as well. Dialing quickly, he fluffed the pillow and helped Oriel get comfortable.

--

Alex looked up when his window slid open and cocked his head in intrigue when his girlfriend slid into the room. Before he knew it, she was stretching out beside him on the twin bed. Their lips met in a sweet kiss, breath mingling, lips opening just a little. "Mmm… So it seemed like you were kinda avoiding me today."

"I wasn't. Kathy was just having a hard time dealing with the aftermath of the break-up." Alex flicked his blue eyes over her face. "What are you doing in here?"

"I wanted to see you. I didn't really want to be interrupted if people knew I was here."

"Interrupted?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I… didn't plan on doing anything when I got here. I just figured that since normally your mom or your sister or brother tend to be in here when I am… I just wanted you all to myself." Lynette tucked her head into the crook of his neck and settled in. "Problem?"

"None at all."

--

Em rolled her eyes when she heard them sweet talking in the living room and immediately headed for the kitchen for some of that pizza before it got cold… but it wasn't there. Groaning, she headed back to the living room.

"Michael, that tickles." Oriel's giggles and some disgusting kissing noises met her ears and Em had to go back to her room.

Michael lifted his head when he heard the stomps on the stairs. When he realized that it was Em, he sighed. He kissed Oriel's gently rounding stomach and sat back in his chair to finish his pizza. He stewed for a few moments, ignoring the exasperated looks she shot him. Then he jumped to his feet. Before he knew it, he was at Emily's door. "Em, come down and eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Come down and eat." He knocked on the door again.

"I said, I'm not hungry."

"And I said come down and eat." Michael called through the door. "That wasn't a request, Em." He turned the knob and threw open the door. "Come down and eat. Now." She stared at him dumbly from amidst the mess of boxes. "I won't have you thinking you can disrespect me just because you don't like the things that are happening. Come down and eat before the pizza gets cold."

He stood aside to wait for her to get up and go downstairs. She stomped down the stairs and threw herself on an armchair. She knew if she tried to outrun him and get out the door, he would only catch her and drag her back. He used to do it when she wouldn't take a bath when she was much younger. Michael bent to retrieve a paper plate and two slices of pizza and handed them to her. She picked at them in silence.

Michael polished off his slice and his temper got the best of him. "This is a family, now. We eat together. I won't tolerate brattiness. I won't tolerate being a push over. Both of you have to learn to get along." His eyes raked both of them over. "Emily is a child and you are an authority figure in her life. Oriel is soon to be your step-mother and while she is not your mother, you will respect her as if she were. You will respect me because I am your father. I have some rules."

They stared at him blankly as he continued. "We will eat meals together like a family, whether it's pizza or meatloaf. We will spend at least one hour as a family every day. Sundays… no one goes anywhere, except as a family. Friday and Saturday nights can be excused… after six o'clock… provided that everyone is home to go over wheres and whens. I will not allow this… animosity to go on. I will not allow Oriel to bend over backward to accommodate you and I will not allow Emily to disrespect you."

"Michael, calm down." Oriel whispered, reaching to put a hand on his arm.

"No. These are my rules. I know none of us are used to it but until we get along, this is the way it will be." He snapped and then his face paled. He had heard the tone in his voice just then. His head bowed and tears formed in his eyes. He took a deep breath and then they both could hear the tears in his voice. "I just want us to be a family. No fighting. Soon enough, there's going to be one more of us and this will be a happy family. I don't know how a real family is supposed to work but it's how I want this one to."

"Okay, Daddy." Emily nodded, head bowed.

"Alright, Michael." Oriel nodded and watched him carefully. He couldn't even look at them. Something else was going on in his head.

--

Len made notes occasionally as he ran through his notes to make a report for his client. Something was fishy there. There had to be some reason the Special Unit was interested in these people. Tight group of friends, easy to connect to one another as such. From what was left of the S.U. files, they were all involved, no outsiders, save for Guerin's girlfriend. Evans and his wife, four kids, Evans's sister and her husband, three kids, Guerin, one kid and a girlfriend. Nothing that screamed odd but the S.U. wasn't in for taking in civilians of any age for just any reason.

TBC

The Fate of Destiny Part 65

Max stuck his head into Michael's office. "Hey Michael, gonna grab lunch, you coming?" Then he watched how Michael was hunched over his desk. "Michael?"

"They're afraid of me." Michael muttered to the desk.

"Who is?" Max stepped fully into the office and shut the door behind him.

"Oriel and Emily. I yelled at them last night. God, I was such a jerk." Michael banged his head on the desk.

"Why did you yell at them?" Max got more confused the more Michael talked.

"I just wanted to eat a meal together. One meal and…" Michael slammed his fists on the desk. "Em wouldn't come out of her room. Oriel was bending over backward so Em wouldn't have to. And I lost it. I made her come down and I yelled at them both."

"You think you scared them?"

"I saw the looks on their faces, Max. It was like they didn't know me. I know what I sounded like. I sounded like…" he let the sentence die but Max took a seat across from him.

"Like who, Michael?" Max leaned forward to get a good look at the haunted glaze in his friend's eyes. "Michael." Michael turned his face up and Max sat back, understanding. "You're not him. You've never lifted a hand against them. You never would."

"I shouldn't have talked to them the way I did. I sounded like him, Max. It was like I channeled him." Michael's eyes lifted to the ceiling. "I've never yelled at Em like that before. We've had our fights but they were always fair. Last night, she wouldn't look at me."

"Michael. It's not as bad as you think."

"It's probably worse."

--

Len barely had time to duck when the folder came back to him. His client paced the length of the room. "You've told me what color shorts he wears under his scrubs but why in the hell did he make my life hell?"

"It's not like that was in the records, boss." Len cleared his throat. "I've put some bugs in their cars and I'm working on getting them in their homes but that's hard to do."

"Why?"

"Read the report. The Valenti home always has somebody in it. It's the Sheriff's house for Christ's sake, not only that, the former Sheriff is the one always in it. Dr. Evans keeps hellish hours. I'm trying to get a handle on his schedule. Not to mention his kids are hardly ever in school. The Guerin house will be easy. I have to hurry though. The girlfriend notified her employers of her impending maternity leave. So long as the kid stays at her boyfriend's when she ditches, it'll be good." Len finished and waited. "You want anything else, boss? Fries and a coke?"

"Just find something soon. My funds are running low and the letters in my pocket are itching to find their way into a mailbox and to your wives."

"Hey!" Len barked. "I'm trying. It's like trying to say that June Cleaver was a Playboy bunny. Even if it was true, no one would believe it. I don't even have anything to pin on these people other than being too good to be true."

"Go over this again with me. Start with Evans." The client took a seat and waited for Len to retrieve the folder.

"Okay. Max and Isabel Evans. Orphans found by Philip and Diane…"

--

Liz carried the stack of books to her car and paused at the sight of the nearly empty parking lot. There, in the back, Danny's Jeep. After dumping the books in the trunk, she looked at the Jeep again. When she had spoken to him earlier, he had said he was going to the Crashdown for lunch. Slipping her keys in her pocket, she made her way across and her eyes grew wider the closer she got. She slapped her hand on the side of the Jeep hard enough to hurt her hand.

"Alex, get lost."

"Daniel Parker Evans, get your butt out here right now." Liz shouted at the Jeep. A thud, several curses and much shuffling later, the door flew open. Daniel appeared, fear in his eyes. "Emily Guerin." A few moments later, the young girl slid out of the Jeep as well. "Don't lie to me, either of you."

"Mom, we were just…"

"I said don't lie. I know what you were 'just' doing in there." Liz took a breath. "This is neither the time nor place to be having this discussion. Emily, go get cleaned up." Hesitantly, Emily left them in the parking lot. Liz looked at her son. "I thought we discussed this with you… we don't want you… doing this and certainly not in your car in the school parking lot. If any other teacher had come by, you would have both been suspended."

"Mom."

"No. I'm not having this discussion here. Go straight home after school. I will be there at four and you will be there waiting for me." Liz swallowed suddenly, tears in her eyes. "If your father is there, you will not have him on your side. I am going to deal with you this time. Get to class."

Liz walked off fighting tears. There was no denying it anymore. Her son was growing up, was grown up. Somehow it had been easier to pretend he was still a little boy even while she watched his friends grow up around him. Recent revelations should have warned her but she was content to be blind to it as long as possible.

--

Len read over the case files from the SU again. They just didn't make any sense to him. Obviously whoever wrote them knew what they were talking about but not a poor detective from West Texas. It wasn't a code but it was written with a certain understanding that Len just didn't have. Too many medical terms. Too many scientific words.

--

Alex cruised the coke machines outside the gym looking for something to drink in his next class. He heard the footsteps behind him but he chose to ignore them. This is was what he was trying to overcome. This was the reason he rarely attended school. Even having Daniel as a friend couldn't prevent this.

"Well, if it isn't Alexander." Nicole Jensen's boyfriend Robby McGill.

"It isn't." Alex replied without turning.

"How's your mom?" Robby pressed.

"Let it alone." Alex clenched his fists. He knew what was coming.

"How can you stand it, Whitman? Measurements like that? It must kill you that a hot body like that belongs to your mom… and that's the closest you're going to get." Robby prodded Alex's shoulder when he turned. "I mean, really. You think she'd give me a turn?"

"I said shut up." Alex ground his teeth. He could attack the guy but he'd only end up a bloody pulp for his trouble. Then again, there was only so much a guy could take about his mom.

"Come on. Give me the digits. Your mom's gotta be high voltage in the sack." Robby never knew what hit him. Alex lunged for Robby, punching him square in the jaw, sending him reeling back into his friends. Unfortunately for Alex, his friends had quicker reflexes. Two of them pinned Alex to a wall and the third picked Robby up and set him on his feet. Robby rubbed his jaw as he steadied himself. He approached, rolling his shoulders and clenching his fists. "You're gonna regret you did that."

--

Kathy leaned against the wall of the stall, wishing the earth would swallow her up. Outside the girls gossiped and reapplied makeup. "Omigod, you hear? Jacobi Wilson is in total shock. Greg asked him how he was doing post-Evans and Jacobi said that there wasn't really anything to get over. Then Babs asked him how he was doing and he nearly bit her head off. He said something like how come everyone made a big deal about someone he never actually dated."

"You're kidding."

"He's in so much denial or… can you imagine how devastated Kathy's going to be when she hears that he's pretending they never dated?"

"I know. I heard she's pregnant."

"Nuh-uh. I heard he made her get an abortion and that's why they broke up."

"I thought Emily was the one that was pregnant."

"Are you kidding?"

"Daniel Evans is so gay. He wouldn’t be able to keep it up long enough to get her pregnant."

That was the last straw. Kathy opened the bathroom stall door and let her blue eyes burn into each girl. These were girls she knew and had trusted to some extent at one point. "And this is what's supposed to be the cream of the crop? I weep for our country's future." She walked an invisible line in front of the quieted girls. "Making up nasty rumors is something I'd expect from Nicole Jensen and her coven but from you guys? Is this where society has led you? Tossing around bits of untruths for entertainment, forget the truth. The truth has no place in our high school hierarchy. Let's just talk about the people who have never done any of you any wrong."

"Kathy, we didn't know you were in there." Jules whispered.

"And if you had? Then what would you have talked about? The bible?" Kathy shook her head. "None of you could ever regain my trust. My friends spreading rumors about me, my brother… who next? My cousin? How about my little sister? My parents? Hell, my grandparents are fair game. I know! Let's talk about nuns. They're devious creatures anyway."

"Kathy, calm down." Jules hissed. "It's just talk."

"Talk. Aren't you guys supposed to be dispelling rumors about one in the group?" Kathy shook her head. "I'm out." A couple of girls tried to follow her but she kept right on walking.

--

Max finished off his lunch and stared at Michael. "It's not so bad. You lost your temper. Apologize."

"I just don't know it that'll be good enough." Michael shook his head.

After a moment of silence, both their heads snapped up. A few seconds later, Max's beeper went off.

--

Isabel looked up when her secretary opened the door. "What is it?"

"School just called. Hospital. Get there. Now. The ambulance is taking your son." The skinny girl whispered. "I think it's the one in high school."

"What? Why didn't you pass the call along?" Isabel was already on her feet gathering her keys and her purse.

"Your buzzer was off and I asked what they wanted and to leave a message. Mrs. Valenti." The girl stopped her. "I think it's really serious."

"How serious? What did they say?" Isabel felt the world spinning.

"It was the principal. He didn't sound too good." She stepped aside as Isabel rushed from the room. "I'll call your afternoon appointments."

"Thanks. If Kyle calls here, tell him where I am."

--

Liz threw her keys on the counter and stared at her son, hands on her hips. He was on the phone. "Get off the phone, now."

"Mom, you wanna take this." Danny held out the phone. "It's Michael."

"What?" Liz felt the strange mood in the air.

"Mom." Kathy whispered from where she sat at the table. "Something's happened."

--

Max pulled on his gloves. He had a bad feeling about the mess that was headed in. Junior at West, severely beaten, found behind the gym. His unease grew the closer the sirens got. Suddenly, it was there and the EMTs were pulling the stretcher out and there lay Alex Whitman Jr. "Shit."

"Dr. Evans, Alex, junior at West. Took a beating. Looking for the punks that did this now. Our guy here has got many open wounds, contact with fists and feet. He's got a concussion. He's coming in and out of lucidity. Told us his name. We think there are some cracked ribs, broken arm." She rattled off a mouthful as they carted him into the ER.

"Jr." Max tried to make his eyes dilate and contract but they wouldn't even focus. "Jr. It's Uncle Max, you in there?" He noted the neck brace and turned to the nearest EMT. "This?"

"Just a precaution. I don't actually think they got him that bad." The EMT looked to his buddies. "You know this kid?"

"My sister's first born. We got it from here guys." Max's mind reeled at the sheer amount of blood and bruises that covered his nephew. "Saline drip. Don't draw any blood."

"Excuse me, doctor?" One of the nurses looked at him.

"I know him, I know his mother. I know what she'll consent to." Max rushed around the table to feel at the tender ribs. "Two cracked ribs. Cut the shirt off. We're going to have to set that arm and cast him. Get the X-Ray machine in here." He carefully and efficiently searched for signs of internal bleeding. "Jr.? Can you hear me, buddy?"

A moan. Good sign.

"Jr. It's Uncle Max. Do you know where you are?" He returned with the flashlight. More responsive. "Jr.?"

"Uncle Max?"

"Yes. Do you know where you are?"

"Why can't I move my head?" Alex tried to turn his head.

"Because you have a collar to keep you from hurting yourself. If you'll wait a minute, we'll get that off. Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital."

"Do you know why?"

"Oh god." Alex squeezed his eyes shut. Then the pain set in. "Oh god."

"Jr. Stay with me. We're going to patch you up but you gotta stay with me, Jr. Talk to me. Tell me what happened."

"It was… that guy… that guy…" Alex tried and tried but the name would not come.

"You know him?" Max ran his hand over his stomach. "That hurt?"

"No. Yeah, I know him. He's… he's… dates that girl… the one that picks on Kathy." He was drawing a blank on the names. Then the room spun. "Ah!"

"Hold on, buddy." Max tried to juggle the chemistry in his head. "I think I can give you something for the pain."

"It's my head. I can't see straight. The room is spinning."

"Calm down. Calm down. I'm going to fix you up." He turned to the nurse. "Aspirin, half."

"Dr. Evans?"

"Trust me, it'll be more than enough for him." Max took a breath. "Do me a favor. Let me know when my sister gets here but don't let her in here."

--

Michael stared around his office. Everyone was crammed in there, waiting for word. Isabel was wearing a hole in the floor. Kyle leaned against a wall, looking ready to punch anyone who came near. Liz sat with her eldest son. Emily had found another corner and hadn't come out yet. Kathy sat on the desk and stared at her feet. The room was getting more and more crowded as time passed and kids found their way to the hospital.

A soft knock at the door got everyone's attention. Isabel raced for it. "It's about damn time."

When she opened it, a dark haired girl stood there. "I just heard, Mrs. Valenti. The nurse told me you were in here."

"Come in." Isabel hugged Lynette and took a breath. "We haven't heard from Max yet."

"What's the deal?" Kyle slammed his fist into the wall. "I can't go looking for the punks. I can't see him."

"Sweetie, calm down." Isabel reached out to rub his shoulder. "Why can't I see him? What in the hell is going on that I can't see my son?"

"Isabel." Kyle pulled her to him.

"That's it. I am marching down there and demanding that Max speak to me." Isabel threw open the door and got four steps before Max stopped her. "There you are. Max, where is he? I want to see him."

"Resting. You can see him in a little bit." Max tried to calm her down. "He's going to look a lot worse than he is. He was beaten and he's working on trying to remember who did it. He's still a little disoriented. He's got a concussion, two cracked ribs and a broken arm. They just finished his cast. I gave him a little aspirin."

"So, he's gonna be okay?"

"He's gonna be okay. We're going to keep an eye on him overnight for the concussion. I'll try to get him discharged tomorrow so he can heal up at home. I've taken care of everything else." He met her eyes and stressed those words. "Okay? It's taken care of. Don't worry about it. It was luck that I was in the ER today. He's gonna be okay. When his head clears, we'll figure out who did this to him."

"I need to see him." Isabel let him guide her to the room. She wanted to cry when she saw her son lying in that bed with the bandages and the cast and the bruises.

"Hey Mom. In the neighborhood?" Alex adjusted his throbbing head against the pillow.

"In twenty minutes he's going to do that again." Max whispered to her. "Whenever I think he's finally with it, we have to start over again. We'll know we're out of the woods when he remembers that he's been awake awhile."

"Thanks, Max." Isabel nodded and entered the room. "Hey sweetie. We'll get you out of here in no time."

Max backtracked to Michael's office where he had to repeat everything that he had told Isabel before he sent Kyle into the room with the warning about Alex's memory.

TBC