Staying Home (CC,A/I,TEEN) Pt 1 - 10/28/04

[AlexEvans]

Title: Staying Home
By: AlexEvans
Category: A/I, episode alternate ending
Disclaimer: If “Departure” had an incredibly crappy ending, I don’t own Roswell.
Setting: Umm… the end of “Departure.”
Rating: TEEN


*~*~*

The Granolith Chamber

Isabel knew something was wrong. No, everything was wrong.

Michael broke the silence. “Max.... I can't go. Ever since we came out of the pods, I've been on some quest to figure out where I belong. I finally found home. The weird thing is, it's here, it's on earth.”

“You of all people,” Max said in surprise, and hugged him. “Take care of yourself Michael. I love you.”

“You're a great brother.”

Michael didn’t say anything to Isabel, not expecting her to leave either. Unlike Michael, her home had always been here. Only… her life here had already been destroyed.

“Take care of the others,” Max ordered, then looked over at Isabel. “I would understand...”

“I… I can’t do it. Our parents, my plans…”
“
Well, whoever is coming, we have to go. Now.” Tess cast a significant look at the crystal in the Granolith.

*~*~*

Michael and Isabel left, went outside, where they met Maria, Liz and Kyle rushing to join them.

Maria shouted when she saw them. “Tess killed Alex!”

“What?” Michael asked, restraining Isabel from immediately rushing back in until the humans could catch up.

*~*~*

Max turned in surprise when he heard others coming. He saw Michael and Isabel first. “You’re coming?” He began to smile, stopped when he saw the others and the grim faces on all of them.

“Max stop!” Liz demanded. “It was Tess. Tess killed Alex. She mindwarped Alex and sent him to Las Cruces to decode the book, but he broke out of the mindwarp and she killed him.”

“It's true, I was there, I witnessed it,” Kyle confirmed. “She mindwarped me but now I remember!” He looked at Tess. “You lived in my home, you were like my sister!

Max hesitated, looked at Tess. “How long?”

“About 3 minutes,” Michael reported, not trusting Tess.

“Everyone out.”

“No.” Isabel moved towards Tess. “You murdered him. Betrayed all of us. Alex…”

“Did you kill Alex?” Max demanded.

Tess looked back and forth, shrinking away from Isabel. “I didn't want to. I wish I hadn't! I’m carrying your son!” She looked at Isabel. “Your nephew!”

“Why?”

“Look Max, the-the clock's ticking, we don't really have time...”

“Alex has no more time, ever,” Isabel reminded everyone.

“We don’t either, you have to stop the Granolith!” Maria burst out. “We can still save Alex!”

“It’s true,” Liz confirmed, an anguished look on her face. “Time travel…”

“Our son will die if you don’t let me go.”

Max looked at Isabel. “There’s no choice, we can’t kill my son.”

”He isn’t your son yet. He may be growing fast, but he’s barely been conceived, doesn’t have a brain yet… Alex comes first. Besides, Tess is probably lying. You and she can both live here, why can’t the baby?” Isabel stepped toward the Granolith. Max stepped in her way. Isabel stepped back, held out her hand, telekinetically yanked out the chip before anyone could stop her.

Tess began to cry, sinking to the floor. “My baby… it will take another 24 hours before we can try again, he might not make it that long.”

”Neither might you.” Michael moved to stand over her.

Isabel turned to Liz and Maria. “We can save Alex?”

“Yes, if we can adapt the Granolith to time travel… Max came from the future to visit me, that’s why I pretended to sleep with Kyle. He said the world ended because Tess left, but Alex was alive. I just made things even worse.”

“How?” Isabel demanded. “The book didn’t mention anything about that…”

“I hid that part,” Tess interrupted. “I knew if you saw it, you’d do anything to bring him back. But if I can’t take my son to Antar… I’ll trade you my life for Alex’s.” She wiped at her tears. “I never wanted to harm him, you have to believe me!”

“Done,” Max agreed.

“And then you leave, if you can’t leave this planet you go to Asia or somewhere. You never come back here again.” Isabel waited for Tess’ agreement, bluffing even though she’d have agreed to any terms Tess proposed as long as she got Alex back.

“You think I want to stay? But it doesn’t matter,” Tess realized. “Once the past is changed, so Alex lives, nobody will remember it. You’ll have no reason to kill me. I won’t deserve to die.”

“What would have happened?” Liz interrupted. “Back on Antar. This was all a trick, wasn’t it?”

Tess looked away. “Of course it was. Nasedo worked it out, I had no choice. Max and Michael would probably have been killed… I’d have raised the heir.”

“And Isabel?” Maria questioned.

“Kivar wouldn’t have hurt her.”

“No, he’d just kill my brothers, like you killed my boyfriend carrying out his orders. Certainly he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.” Isabel’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “No more delays. How do I bring back Alex?” She stepped forward quickly, seizing Tess’ head between her hands. Tess screamed, but when Max began to move forward Michael held him back.
A couple minutes later Isabel released Tess and stepped back, as Tess fell unconscious to the floor. Suddenly she seemed much less pregnant. “I know how to do it, now. Oh and Max? Your son will do just fine here on Earth. Except it isn’t yours, it’s Alex’s. She raped him. She was going to pass it off as yours, trick Kivar as well as us. He’s going to never have existed soon… that isn’t the same as killing him. He’ll just never have been.” She kicked Tess hard in the arm before moving back to the Granolith. “What do we do?”

“I’ll go back,” Liz volunteered. “I messed things up here. I’ll go back… to you, Isabel. When, and what do I tell you?”

Isabel paused for thought. “Early September,” she said at last. “Tell me that breaking up with Alex will only put him in more danger. Tell me to keep an eye on Tess. Tell me to protect Alex.”

*~*~*

Early September. The Crashdown.

“Oh, look! "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" is playing at the Revival Theater at the fairgrounds.”

Isabel looked up at him and smiled. Future Liz had hinted at such terrible things, but nothing was going to happen to Alex. She wasn’t going to let him out of her sight. “I
loved the book. Why don’t we go, Alex?”

“That’d be great!” Alex’s face lit up, then fell. “I should look into this Cadmium-X stuff though. It might be important.”

“We’ll look into that tomorrow. I’ll help you. C’mon Alex.” She stood up and grabbed his hand. “Lets go.”

“Excuse me,” a man in his thirties interrupted them. “I’m looking for the Sheriff’s Office. Uh, Grant Sorenson.”

Isabel pointed. “Just drive that way, you can’t miss it. Excuse us.” Still holding Alex’s hand, she walked outside, the sunlight reflecting off her golden hair.