"Wo-oh my love, My Darlin'.
I've hungered for your touch,
A long, lonely time.
And time goes by, so slowly.
And time, can do so much.
Are you, still mi-i-ine?"
-The Righteous Brothers-
"Unchained Melody"
Isabel studied the picture in her year book with an intensity that defied her powers of reason. Alex was dead. Six months dead. When he had died, a part of her had crumpled like paper. The grief had nearly killed her. But she had dealt with it. They all had. Liz, Maria, Max, and even Michael, had all grieved for Alex. Each in their own ways. But it had been very hard on Isabel.
Max and Michael had seen him as a comrade in arms. A friend that they could call on in dire need. One who would rally to them without thought or question for his own safety. Liz and Maria had known him as the brother that they had never had. Someone who would have happily died for them. And they had loved him as fiercely as if he had been their brother in fact. But to Isabel he was all that and more. Possibly much more.
To Isabel he was an opportunity lost. To her he might have been the best chance she had ever had to be happy, and she had thrown it away...because of fear. Fear of getting too close, fear of not being able to get close enough. Fear of her destiny......
"Destiny," she thought. "God but I'm beginning to hate that word."
Privately, and for the thousandth time, she cursed Tess. For killing Alex. For warping him into her personal slave. For her role in making them aware of their destiny. For playing on their insecurity and fear to make them pull back from those they needed, and who had needed them in return. Max from Liz. Michael from Maria. Herself from Alex. Not that she had ever given him much of a chance to begin with.
"One little date," she thought. "The occasional smile. A friendly word. I couldn't even give him that. He gave me, all of us, so much and asked for so little in return. And now I think that I wanted even more from him. The few times that I showed him any affection at all I was mostly using him. Until right before Tess killed him. I had finally started to wake up to the possibility that he was something more than just another human friend who knew our secret. They say that hindsight is 20/20. If that's true then I could wish for blindness. It wouldn't hurt so much."
"I'm sorry," she whispered to Alex's picture. "I'm so sorry." She began to cry softly. "Oh Alex, we had to bury your parents today. It was like burying you all over again. We were all there. All of us. I didn't think I could handle it, but I went anyway. I owed you that much. I hope they're with you. Of all the things that frighten me, the thought of you out there alone in the dark frightens me most."
Alex's parents, Chuck and Sheila Whitman, had never really come to terms with their son's death. They were intensely private people, so it was hard to say that anyone knew them well. Perhaps Liz and Maria did. Isabel certainly hadn't known them at all. But she recognized them through being at Alex's funeral. Well enough to say hello afterwards without feeling awkward. In the months that followed Alex's death she saw them now and again, and each time they seemed more pale and withdrawn. Like they were simply going through the motions of living. So when the news went through Roswell that they had been killed in a highway accident, it hardly surprised Isabel. She thought that they had actually been gone for quite some time, but were too stubborn to admit it. She had known how they felt. She and they were kindred spirits in tragedy.
And so, 12 hours ago their few friends, and Alex's friends, had laid them to rest beside their son.
Isabel stared straight ahead, ignoring the lump in her throat. Determined not to cry, but failing. She had tuned out the minister's graveside platitudes right after 'We have come together to lay your servants Charles and Sheila to rest.....' and wondered, not for the first time, if this God could even hear her prayers. Six months had passed since Alex had been taken from them. And she'd thought that the wounds were healing. For all of them. But from what she was seeing and feeling that was far from true. Studying the small crowd, she focused on her friends and family.
Both sets of parents, the Evans' and the Parker's, were there to support their children. And they needed it. Max looked ghastly; and Liz, who clung to his arm, looked no better. Ditto for Maria. As Isabel moved her eyes to the man boy that Maria clung to like a rock in a storm, she was struck by the difference between the emotions on his face and those on everyone else's face. Michael was grieving all right, but more than that...he was angry. Thoroughly incensed. Raging at the unfairness of the universe. Mad enough to kill something, or rather someone.
"He's back where we all are right now," she thought. "Where I am. He's back at the granolith, when we got the news about who exactly had killed Alex, and why. God help Tess if he ever gets his hands on her." Isabel, shifted nervously and sighed. "Get in line Michael. Vengeance is mine. Thus sayeth Isabel. Then yours, if I leave you any." She knew there was precious little chance that they could ever get to their traitorous pod mate, but it was a fantasy to cherish when she had little else now.
Isabel glanced to the right of the grave site then returned to staring straight ahead and trying to suppress her grief and loneliness. She had looked at Alex's headstone. Again. After all these months her frequent night time trips out here to try and recapture some piece of Alex had put her on a first name basis with it. Indeed she had been unhappy with it's surface finish so she had...well...altered it. It would last far longer now, though any geologist who happened to examine it under a microscope might have an stroke, but so what? It was all she could do for Alex now. Max had nearly flipped when she'd told him what she had done. Michael was all for going out and changing it back. But, with equal doses of cajolery and fury, she'd convinced them to let it be. After all, what sort of maniac tests tombstones? Or, testing them, would believe that this one selectively incorporated allotropic diamonds into it's microcrystalline structure?
"....earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust..." and it was over. Isabel sighed, glad to escape this place for now, to go home and try to resume the healing that this day had halted, and even reversed. Later she knew, she would have to come back. To talk to Alex. But not now, and not soon. She turned to Max and Liz where they stood holding hands. If it could be said that there was anything good that came from this day, it was that Max and Liz seemed to have, at least temporarily, overcome the odd distance that had remained between them after Tess left. That they loved each other was obvious to everyone. But there was still some issue they couldn't seem to resolve. Isabel had thought about doing something about it several times, but had always left well enough alone. She told herself that it was out of respect. But it was really about the simple fact that she couldn't work up her enthusiasm for meddling enough to pursue her favorite hobby where her brother and the girl she'd come to regard as a close friend were concerned. Taking Liz's other hand, as much for her own comfort as for Liz's, she started toward the line of cars with them.
In that instant, something happened. The small hairs on the back of her neck lifted. She got goose flesh. He was there again. She stopped and turned, certain that she would see Alex. Nothing. No one there. "Alex??" she whispered. Still nothing. She shuddered and moved on with Max and Liz.
This had happened to her several times in the previous months. She had 'felt' him. Known he was there. Just on the edge of her perception. Like a will 'o the wisp. Like (she hated to consider it) a ghost. Sometimes near, sometimes far and faint. But this was something else. This was so strong that she was certain she was being watched. By him. When they were growing up she couldn't help knowing that Alex liked her, and later loved her. She could always tell when his eyes were on her. Watching her in school. Or if they happened to pass on the street. There was nothing of obsession about it. Nothing of the stalker about Alex. It's just that, whenever Isabel entered his field of vision, everything else faded into limbo. The boy simply knew how to focus on what counted, that was all. And Isabel knew it. She had always known it, and been puzzled by it even as it flattered her. Now that it was gone from her life, she was no longer puzzled. She simply missed it, and him. So the sudden return of the feeling to her personal radar screen was like a clammy hand on the back of the neck. She, reached her ride home and turned to look one more time. Nothing. No one. "Alex?" She turned back to Max and Liz; sighed and said, "Let's go home."
Isabel couldn't know that she was both right and wrong. She had felt his eyes on her, and he wasn't there...in the cemetery. She simply hadn't looked far enough.
On a nameless low hill a mile East of the cemetery....
Alex lowered the binoculars with a start, then brought them back up to his eyes to take in the last sight of Isabel and his friends. He had been focused on her sweet face at maximum resolution and he had seen her lips move. With his name. "She knew," he thought. "She knew that I was here." "Isabel," he whispered as she climbed into what looked like an older model beater car with Max getting in the driver's side. "What happened to the jeep?" he wondered silently. His binoculars swept the length of the cortege slowly soaking in familiar faces before returning to Isabel.
Something must have shown in the set of his shoulders. His much changed shoulders. Gone was the geek boy of six months past. The training they had run him through (were still running him through) left him looking (so he thought) and feeling like Conan the freakin' Barbarian.
His shift in body posture alerted his companions. The sandy haired man spoke. "Don't even think about it man. I know you want to go down there. Everyone wants to go back when they first make the change. It's natural. But you can't. Got that? You cannot go back. I'm really sorry about your folks, but you're dead. And it's better you stay that way, to them."
Alex kept the binoculars trained on Izzy. "Bite me Richie," he said.
At that the darker haired, pony tailed individual behind him placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke. "Easy Alex, what Richie lacks in tact he makes up for in truth. Do you really think that they could accept you for what you are now?"
"You might be surprised," Alex muttered.
Duncan MacLeod sighed in exasperation. "Alex it doesn't matter if they accept you or not," he said. "The life you lead, or will lead once I'm done with you, is dangerous as hell. Do you *really* want someone to come hunting your head around your friends? Do you want to have to take someone's head in front of them? I know it's not the second chance at life that you would have chosen. What sane man would take this route? But it's the hand you've been dealt. You have to live with it." Duncan waved at the people departing the cemetery. "But there's no reason they should have to. Our way of life and that of the ordinary mortals doesn't mix well when it comes to family and relationships. To even try can bring heartache to all concerned."
Richie kept his thoughts to himself, but he still had them. "Stop preaching at the kid Mac. I agreed to come along and ride herd on him because I like him, not to hear you recite the do's and don'ts of Immortality for Dummies. And besides, it never stopped *you*. Not with Tessa. And not with Ann. Or is that what this is about? Trying to 'spare' the kid your mistakes? Erecting a 'keep off the humans' sign?"
Not for the first time Alex chuckled inside. "Danger? Differences? If only Duncan knew," he thought.
Not that Alex had let a single word slip. There was a quote from a book he had once read that functioned as efficiently as any dead bolt on his mind and lips. "Nor shall death release you.....," he thought. "Well, I was most certainly dead. And the secret still needs to be kept. For them. For Izzy."
Duncan studied his newest student. In many ways the lad was an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Most newbies would talk incessantly about their former lives. But aside from the quite normal expressed desire to go home, Alex had been close mouthed to the point of making a rock look like a chatterbox. He had said nothing about the people that he was watching so intently below. In fact, that whispered name "Isabel?" was the most they had heard from him about his past in months. That is to say, except for one point. Alex told them that he had been murdered, and that he regarded his killer, a girl named Tess Harding, as a threat to those he cared about. In fact, his fear for his friends was so strong that it had taken all Duncan's powers of persuasion, and a threat to bind and gag him to keep Alex in Seattle. In the end, to quell Alex's concern, Duncan and Richie had gone to Roswell and investigated the matter. Duncan had even dragged Joe Dawson and the Watchers into it...over Joe's strenuous objections.
The Watcher's cyber trolls had hacked a missing person's report for a 'Tess Harding' out of the New Mexico Justice Department data banks that was dated to after Alex's 'death'. That, combined with Duncan and Richie's efforts, had convinced Alex that his friends knew what Tess had done, that they were on their guard, and that she was either dead or fled. In fact the thing that had seemed to encourage Alex most was the almost complete hostility that some inhabitants of Roswell on the subject of Tess Harding. "Including that hardcase of a Sheriff," Duncan recalled. In fact, one kid had been downright threatening. Alex had listened to their report with little animation on his face until they told him about the odd reactions they had encountered and given him descriptions of the people who had them. And at one point, when they told him of their encounter with the angry young man with the spiked hair, he actually burst into laughter and muttered what sounded like...."typical of him".
After that he refused to explain himself at all, choosing to let the matter drop. Instead he applied himself to his training with a will that Duncan seldom saw in his students. Mortal or otherwise. And, to all appearances, he'd abandoned his former life completely....that is until the flags set on internet news retrieval by Joe Dawson had turned up the name 'Whitman' in a news article a few days ago. "Be that as it may," Duncan thought, "I've sat in on enough card games over the centuries to know when the other guy is holding. That boy has a hole card. And one of enormous proportions at that."
Duncan let it go. If the centuries had taught him nothing, they'd taught him that, sooner or later, the truth comes out. Why rush things? Instead he returned to his assessment of Alex Whitman. The boy had changed much since Methos and Cassandra had brought him to Duncan after dragging him from his untimely grave six months ago. Rigorous physical training had filled him out, though he was far from the 'Hulk' caricature that he saw himself as. Instead, it had simply enhanced what was already present, giving him the grace and strength of a predator. Further training had brought out his excellent eye hand coordination out in ways that surprised even his instructor. He could already hold his own in hand to hand against Richie most of time, though Richie would deny it. And while his swordplay still had a long way to go, he showed flashes of sudden insight that indicated that he might one day become a master.
Only five days ago, in a sparring match with Duncan, Alex had used the 'ballestra'. A complex disarming move that he had never been taught. He had invented it on the spot. Afterwards he had said that 'it had seemed the natural thing to do'.
"It may be natural," Duncan told him, "but it's also dangerous and chancy. It requires leaving yourself utterly defenseless to a counterattack. It's all or nothing. Fail to carry it off and you'll find yourself a head shorter."
Afterwards Duncan had congratulated him, then taken him out on the mats and thrashed him for 15 minutes straight to impress upon him that he must never, never, NEVER try the ballestra again except as the last ditch against a superior opponent. And even then, running was a better option.
Duncan shook himself out of his reverie and looked down at the cemetery. The cars were leaving now. It was over. Duncan sighed, gave Alex a gentle shake, and spoke. "Lets go lad. I'm sure you'd like to go down there to say good-bye in person, but if someone sees you it could raise some truly awkward questions. And that's the last thing you want. We're homeward bound. I'd like to sleep in my own bed tonight."
Alex shook himself free of Duncan's hand and seemed about to argue, then his shoulders slumped and he turned away, walking up the hill. Duncan looked at Richie who shrugged and shook his head. Both men glanced down at the cemetery one more time then turned to follow their young friend over the hill and thread their way down the other side to where their rental car was parked. With luck they'd make their noon flight out of Albuquerque.
Below on the road to Roswell, Isabel Evans stared out the car window, her mind bereft of thought or purpose. Mourning the lover she'd never had.
A figure clad in a black duster emerged from the scrub on the Western side of the cemetery. It was a man and his face was incredibly handsome, with one stellar exception. A ragged trench of scar tissue marred the right cheek of a face that otherwise might have been that of a runway model. Slung over his back was a spotting scope with a co-axial rifle mic. He approached the fresh graves studied them briefly. He pulled out a pen and pad and jotted down the names and dates for future reference. His gaze shifted to the older grave and noticed the name and date......and then recalled the conversation his mic had relayed to him. "Easy Alex......," MacLeod had said. "Hmmm," he thought, "a newbie! Perhaps this won't be so boring after all!" He turned toward the recently occupied low hill East of him, sketched a mocking salute, turned with a smirk, and headed back the way he had come. He had a plane to catch too.
Isabel snapped out of her reverie and scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked across the bedroom at her reflection in her vanity mirror, sniffled, and then laughed painfully. "Between lack of sleep and running mascara, I look like a raccoon," she thought. She looked back down at at the yearbook, sighed, and spoke aloud. "I guess I'm in full regret mode tonight Alex." She reached out to trace the boundaries of his photo again.
"Why in God's name did I waste so much time?" she thought. After her initial dream walk she had finally taken the time to get to know Alex as person. What she had learned had amazed her. At some point in the past, in her approach to relationships, she had let fear replace caution, and studied indifference replace prudence. Uselessly. All it had accomplished was to prevent her from seeing the obvious.
Alex loved her. The essential Isabel. The fact that she had some non-standard DNA in her makeup hadn't made the slightest difference to him. And yet, for years she had managed to ignore him as a non-entity. Letting his interest get lost in the background buzz of testosterone that the boys, who swarmed around her where ever she was, gave off. She had gloried in being the flame to their moth. The trouble with being a flame is that, sooner or later, you burn out. And until the moment she had entered Alex Whitman's subconscious, she had thought herself on the brink of that very fate. The ennui of being the Golden Goddess was getting to her.
"Tomorrow morning I have to remind myself to give Max a big sisterly kiss," she thought. "I was beyond angry when he saved Liz. And I blamed her for every little thing that went wrong after that. But when you come down to it, that single act saved my life. And probably my sanity." Once again she was struck by the similarities between her brother and Alex. Both could be wry and funny, or shy and pensive. Given cause Alex could brood with the best of them, as did Max. God knows she had given both of them reason enough to brood. But the most amazing thing is that both had apparently chosen the girl they wanted at a tender age, pinned their respective hearts of their sleeves, and then waited patiently to be noticed.
Isabel chuckled. "In that respect Liz was smarter than I was," she thought. "Of course it took getting shot, brought back from the edge of death, and a 'Vulcan mind meld' to do it, but she finally got the message. Thank God." Isabel smiled, and thought wryly, "I should have been so 'lucky'."
Isabel sighed and looked back at Alex's picture. "I think you were there today," she said aloud. "At least I hope that you were. It was a beautiful service, though I zoned out for most of it. I'm sorry Alex, I had to. Otherwise I'd have been a basket case. There weren't as many people there as there were for you, but then more people knew you and I-(her voice hitched a little)-loved you." Isabel flopped back and stared at the ceiling. Thinking of Chuck and Sheila Whitman she whispered, "Keep him safe and tell him that I...we miss him."
There was a soft knock on her bedroom door. "Yes? Come on in," she said. The door opened to show Max standing there in boxers and his bathrobe.
"Are you okay Iz?", he asked. "I was headed for bed when I saw the light under your door and heard you talking."
Isabel shrugged eloquently and said, "Yes Max, I'm fine. Or as close to fine as I can get right now."
Max studied her and said, "Are you sure? You look like you haven't slept in a month."
Isabel sighed. "I'll be fine, daddy. All it takes is time." She paused and looked at her brother more closely. "You don't look so hot yourself brother of mine. What's up?"
Max looked uncomfortable. "I just got off the phone with Liz."
Isabel nodded and asked, "How is she?"
Max sighed. "She's coping I guess. But to be honest I don't know for sure what's happening with her. She hasn't let me in since...."
"Since Tess left", Isabel finished for him.
Max looked momentarily lost. "Yeah." He was silent for a moment then looked his sister in the eye and spoke. "Iz, has she said anything to you?"
Isabel frowned. "About what Max?"
Max shrugged. "About anything. Anything at all." Silence fell again.
Isabel finally broke the tableau. "Max you two eventually have to talk. You can't keep this up, either of you. Anyone can see that you're still gone on each other. So what's holding you back?"
Isabel was truly worried now. In a very real sense Max and Liz's love and bond were a part of the fundamental emotional glue that held them all to each other. If it were lost, they might not go their separate ways, but some precious part of what they all shared would be gone. Alex's death had been bad enough for the morale of their little band. In fact it had brought them to the point of being borderline enemies for a while...until Liz's persistence had vindicated her belief that Alex had been murdered. They still hadn't gotten back to where they had been before Tess had arrived to turn their world upside down. As friends. As more than friends. Thus, this bordered on a potential catastrophe.
Max sighed in frustration. "I don't know what's wrong, Iz. Anything. Everything. We both have a lot of baggage. My sleeping with Tess. My son. Her *pretending* to sleep with Kyle, which she *still* won't explain. I....I'm afraid. I think she is too. Someone has to make the first move. But it's like we're in a stare down. Each one waiting for the other to blink." Max walked over and sat down on Isabel's bed. "I don't want this. I don't like this. But I'm scared to start something for fear I'll be starting an avalanche, instead of closing the rift between us. I don't want to lose her Iz."
Isabel studied her brother with new eyes, her brain working furiously. Clearly something had to be done. It was time for her self imposed pity party to end. It was time for damage control. Isabel kept her face carefully neutral. "It was time for a little Izzy charm and finesse," she thought. "And if *that* doesn't work, there's always a good beating with a blunt instrument. If neither of them will make the first move, I'll make it for them. And let the chips fall where they may." A hazy plan of action was taking shape. Accordingly, Isabel changed the subject.
"Did mom and dad get off okay?", she asked.
Max looked nonplused, then rubbed his face, swept his hair back, and straightened. Isabel read the signs. "Good," she thought, "I've got his mind elsewhere for now."
Max stood. "Yeah, they talked about staying home if we needed them. But I told them that we had each other, and we could deal. Second honeymoons aren't something that you put off. And delaying one day to be there for the funeral was enough."
Isabel nodded. "Good," she said. "They've planned this trip for two years. I think that they need the downtime worse than we do."
Max yawned, then yawned again. Yawning being catching, Isabel found herself yawning too.
Max smiled sheepishly. "It's been one hell of a day, Iz. I'm going to bed."
He stood and headed for the door. Isabel hopped off of her bed and called, "Max!" He halted and turned. She walked over and gave him a kiss and a hug, paying off early on her self promise. "It'll be okay," she said. "Everything will turn out okay, I promise".
Max gave her one of his rare "sun coming up" grins. "You always manage to do it for me don't you? Ever since we were kids you've been able to make me believe that it's always darkest before the dawn."
Iz smiled. "No more than you do for me", she said. She gave him a gentle shove out the door. "Now get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
Max turned briefly and smiled. "G'night Iz."
Isabel reached for the door. "Sweet dreams Max."
Closing the door Isabel leaned against it for a moment. "It WILL be okay," she thought. "I'm making it my business to MAKE it okay. Liz and he deserve that much at least....if for no other reason than to make up for all the crap the Michael and I gave them about being together at all."
Isabel yawned again. This was one of those huge jaw cracking yawns that tell you to find your bed. Pronto. But, not quite yet. Walking to her bed she flopped down on it and snagged her phone, hitting the speed dial. It rang four times before someone picked up.
A gruff, sleepy, and highly irritated male voice spoke, "Hello!"
Isabel blinked. "Michael?"
Michael's voice became more agitated, "Isabel, for God's sake...it's nearly midnight! If K'var isn't landing troops outside the Crashdown I'm going to kill you tomorrow!"
Isabel sputtered. "I'm sorry, I must have hit the wrong button! I was using speed dial, and I thought that I hit Maria's button!" There was silence at the other end. "Michael?"
Michael sighed. "You didn't," he said.
Isabel looked puzzled. "I didn't what?"
Michael sighed yet again and said, "You didn't hit the wrong button. Hang on."
Isabel gave a startled blink. "They didn't?" she thought. "They wouldn't. They couldn't."
After a long pause her thoughts were broken by Maria's equally sleepy voice. "Isabel? This had better be important."
Isabel blinked again. Apparently they could, would, and did. *Apparently*, in her apathy of the last six months, she had missed a *lot* of subtext.
Isabel broke the awkward silence by getting straight to the point. "I'm sorry about the time Maria. I probably could have called tomorrow, but I wanted to get this done while it was on my mind. Are you as tired of this Mexican Standoff between Max and Liz as I am?"
Maria coughed. "You had better believe it! If this goes on much longer they won't have a relationship left to get back to."
Isabel's eyes narrowed in thought. "Okay, I just wanted to be sure before I did anything irreversible."
Maria's voice became suspicious. "What are you going to do?"
Isabel chuckled and said, "Oh, just a little planned intervention."
Maria was silent for a moment then asked..."And you called me because......?"
"Because I want you to back me up on it", Isabel finished for her.
Maria cleared her throat. "Okay Isabel, I've got your six. What's the plan?"
Isabel felt a small thrill at Maria's unassuming trust in her. Another gift that grew from Max's single impulsive act that day at the Crashdown. "It's still hazy," Isabel said. "In fact it probably won't be finalized until about ten seconds before I put it into action. I guess basically I intend to look for the first opening I can find and start pushing, and I won't back off. I simply need your support to see to it that neither of them bolts until the job is done."
Maria laughed. "You've got it Isabel."
Isabel sighed. "Maria, this is really for all of us. I've finally realized that what happens to some of us happens to all of us. And it *won't* come easy I think. In fact it could get bloody before it's over."
Maria spoke seriously, but with a hint of merriment. "So? I'll bring a mop."
Isabel sighed with relief. Without Maria's support, her job would have been much harder. With it, there was a good chance that they could end this once and for all.
Isabel yawned again. "Thanks Maria. But there's one more thing that I need. Information. You and Liz have been tight friends practically since you were hatched. If she would tell anyone the whole story, it would be you. Can you give me *anything* that I can work with?"
Maria was silent. Isabel grew concerned. "Maria?" she queried.
When Maria finally spoke it was obvious that she was picking and choosing her words carefully. "Nooo. No Isabel, I can't. Not without betraying her trust."
The implication being that Maria *did* know the truth.
Isabel sighed. Okay, it was time to go fishing. "Can you give me some hints or snippets? Anything that will tell me what direction to go in? You don't have to give me the full truth, just enough so that I'm not flying blind."
Maria considered. "Okay Isabel, I'll give you this. The full story is every bit as strange as 'aliens among us'. And Liz did what she did because it was literally a life and death issue for people that she cared about. And she was asked to do it by someone she trusted."
Isabel blinked in surprise. That was more than she expected, but as puzzling as the events themselves were.
Maria spoke again. "That's all I can say Isabel. Once this is all over I hope you'll know the whole story and we can all cry all over each other, but until then....I promised."
"That's okay Maria," Isabel said. "It will be enough...I hope." Isabel hesitated. "There's just one more thing. Off the subject. And you don't have to answer but......"
"When did Michael and I start sleeping together?" Maria finished.
Isabel blushed. "Um, yeah."
Maria chuckled. "About five hours before you guys were slated to catch a ride into the wild blue yonder."
Isabel smiled. "So *that's* why Michael suddenly decided that Earth was "home", she thought. "It wasn't Earth that was home. It was Maria!" Isabel smiled. "It was strange", she thought, "how, of the three couples that started this odyssey, one was broken, one was faltering, and the third and most volatile pair were as solid as granite. Strange."
Maria cleared her throat and Isabel realized that she'd been zoning out. It was now past midnight and she was sleepy. "God, I'm sorry for keeping you Maria! I'll catch you tomorrow. Just be alert over the next few days, and when I make my move, back me on it." Isabel paused, considering whether to take the first actual step in her plan. Then she decided to take the plunge. "And Maria?"
"Yes?" Maria responded.
"Be happy. With Michael I mean. I know I've been a pain in the ass about the whole human/alien issue at times, but I really do love you both."
Maria was silent for a very long time. "Maria?" Isabel queried.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Isabel Evans?" Maria demanded.
"It's still me Maria. Just an older more chastened me." Isabel sniffed. "Lets just say that I had an epiphany this afternoon. I discovered that you really *don't* know what you've got 'til it's gone."
Maria sniffled a bit. "And to think, you used to terrify me," she said. Maria yawned. "Look Iz, Michael is getting crankier by the minute, so I'd better go. But you and I have to serious issues to deal with tomorrow. Like making up for half a lifetime lost as best friends. And for what it's worth, I love you too."
Isabel laughed. The fact that, for the first time ever, Maria had used her pet name was not lost on her. Success! "Okay Maria. G'night! And give the Cro Magnon Man a kiss for me!"
Maria laughed aloud. "Sweet dreams Iz! Bye!"
Isabel replaced the phone on the cradle and gave a contented sigh the segued into yet another yawn. She felt good. For the first time in months, possibly in her entire life, she felt completely and unabashedly good. "Sweet dreams," she thought. "Perhaps tonight, for the first time in forever, I really *can* have some sweet dreams."
It was 12:21 AM.
And Isabel Evans couldn't have been more wrong.
Alex Whitman walked down the hall toward his room above the dojo. He was clad in a bathrobe and drawstring sweat pants. His hair was still wet from the shower. He had a towel over his shoulder and his shaving kit in hand. Pausing at the guest room door he rubbed the knot on his shoulder and groaned. Duncan was a nice guy. He'd become a true friend in the last six months. But, when it came to training, he could be a ruthless pain in the ass. The flight back from New Mexico had been quick, putting them in Seattle just after supper time. Duncan had insisted that Alex eat light and go straight into a workout, followed by some time on the mats, and then still more workout.
Alex had to admit though that Duncan had known exactly what he was doing. Alex had been wound up tight when they had finally gotten home. The tension of the flight, the funeral, *and* seeing Izzy again had him wound up so tight that it felt like his mainspring was about to break. The punishing workout followed by time spent letting the hot water of the shower pound away some of his aches had left Alex, if not relaxed, at least exhausted enough to sleep. Alex walked to his dresser, dropped his kit, and slung his towel over the back of a chair.
"Punishing," he thought, "was a good word for what Duncan had done to him tonight". Like pitting him against Amanda on the mats.
Amanda had been expecting something a little more in the way of romance out of Duncan's homecoming than being asked to spar with his student in unarmed combat. It had left her more than a little bit disgruntled. She had therefore vented her frustrations on Alex. And she fought dirty.
"God help me," Alex thought. "A pissed off woman who knows nearly a thousand years worth of dirty tricks." Amanda had mopped the deck with him. "Still", he thought, "I'm learning. Only three months ago I wouldn't have lasted thirty seconds with Amanda. Tonight I went 30 minutes."
Alex walked over and sat down on his bed gingerly, the memory of that knee to the groin coming back vividly. "It's a good thing that I heal quickly these days," he thought. "Otherwise I'd be singing soprano for a month." Yup, Amanda fought dirty.
He shed his bathrobe and sweat pants, choosing to sleep in the raw tonight. Alex switched off his bedside light, stretched out, and pulled the covers up. Shifting about under the covers he groaned again as he tried to find a position that evenly distributed his aches and bruises. Finally giving up he simply lay back with his arms behind his head and studied the ceiling. Thinking.
Going home had hurt more than he had thought it would. It was like losing everything all over again. And seeing his name on Izzy's lips, even through binoculars, had been like seeing heaven at arms length and having it snatched away. Seeing them all, knowing his parents were now gone beyond recall, it had all hurt. One of his recurring fantasies was to go home. To see his parents, Liz, Maria, Max, Michael, and even Kyle. To see Iz. To pick up again what that bitch Tess had cut mercilessly short. Alex sighed. "Useless", he thought. They were lost to him. And he to them. Their lives were dangerous enough without throwing headhunting immortals into the mix. The best way he could protect them now was to stay away. As far away as possible. Once his training was complete, or at least complete enough to suit Duncan, Alex planned to go to Europe. He and Duncan had already discussed Alex borrowing Duncan's barge on the Seine until he got on his feet.
"Perhaps this time I may *actually* get to see Sweden," he thought. "Maybe I can see what snow boarding that mountain is *really* like. Damn Tess Harding anyway".
For now though, he wasn't going anywhere. He had a long way to go before he could rely on living to a ripe old age of three or four hundred years in the strange and violent world of the Immortals.
One thing that he *had* done was insist on computer access. And they had given it to him after extracting a promise that he was not to contact anyone from his former life via e-mail. And he had given his word. What he *had* done though was set wards around Roswell, New Mexico. His search algorithms were running constantly correlating anything and everything to do with Roswell. And they were *good*. He ought to know, because he had designed them. In fact, they had turned up the fact of his parents death before Joe's internet news retrieval had. But, in typical fashion, Alex stayed silent until Joe had reported the fact to Duncan, and Duncan had approached him about going home for the funeral. In any event, if a pattern of occurrences appeared that suggested trouble for his friends, he would be on the first flight to Albuquerque, and screw the consequences. For now though, distance was the best medicine, the only medicine, that he could take to salve the ache in his heart.
His eyes grew heavy as sleep claimed him. Alex spoke aloud, giving voice to his last waking thoughts. "Sweet dreams, Izzy," he murmured.
Alex had no clue that he was as wrong as Isabel had been.
Still, in Roswell, New Mexico, Isabel Evans paused in putting on her pajamas, cocked her head and listened. Just for a second, she had thought she had heard...
It was now 12:30 AM. The witching hour.
Maria DeLuca stared at the phone in her hand for a moment before hanging it up. She could not have been more surprised by Isabel's declaration of affection than she would have if the phone receiver had suddenly transformed into a frog in her hand. She heard an irritated grunt from behind and turned to study her bed mate. Tousled hair and all, he was irredeemably sexy.
"What was that about?" Michael asked.
Maria sighed. "Just a little girl talk is all."
Michael snorted. "And it couldn't wait until tomorrow? And what was with the 'I love you' stuff? Is there a side to you two that I don't know about?"
Maria flushed and swatted Michael's shoulder before stretching out next to him and laying her head on his chest. She loved listening to his heart beat.
Her extended silence prompted Michael's irritation to jump a notch. "Maria?" he queried
Maria sighed and rolled slightly so that her upper body and chin now rested on Michael's chest. "Isabel is worried about Max and Liz," she said. "She's worried that if this standoff they have going isn't resolved soon, it may be to late. So she asked for my help with an intervention."
Michael said nothing for a long moment. Then he spoke. "And you agreed?"
"Yes", Maria said.
Michael chuckled. " It sounded like she was trying to pump you for information."
Maria sighed. "She was Spaceboy, she was. But in a good cause. Unfortunately I couldn't give her what she wanted, also in a good cause."
"And that would be what?" Michael asked.
"Fixing what's broken," Maria retorted. "I don't blame Iz for trying to get at the truth before she acts. I really don't. And I'll give it everything I've got when she does act. But if I had told her what I know, I'd have betrayed Liz's trust. And I don't do that. Ever. But, if Liz tells Isabel freely...well maybe we nudge a bit...it's a part of the healing process. Iz has to work a bit harder, and Liz has to trust a bit more, but in the end everyone comes out ahead. See?"
Michael studied his lover with new and profound respect. (The word 'lover' appears in technicolor, extra bold, capital letters in his mind.) "Exactly when and how did you get so wise Pixie Girl?" he asked.
Maria laughed aloud. She loved that pet name. "Well maybe being in love with the original stone wall boy had something to do with it", she said. "It was either get wise or give up".
Michael smiled. "Well I for one am glad you got wise."
Maria reached forward quickly and pecked his cheek with her lips.
"What was that for?", Michael asked.
Maria grinned impishly. " That was from Isabel. She said to 'give the Cro Magnon Man a kiss for her'. Consider yourself kissed Spaceboy."
Michael chuckled and raised his eyebrows. "Under the circumstances, don't you mean Homo Erectus?"
Maria sat up suddenly, her mouth hanging open.
Michael grinned. "What? I can't watch Discovery Channel too?"
Maria collapsed back on his chest laughing helplessly. Michael joined her.
After they had laughed themselves out, Michael brought the conversation back around. "So what about that 'I love you too' stuff?" he asked.
Maria looked pensive. "Off hand I'd say that Isabel has discovered that being vulnerable with your friends isn't such a bad thing after all. I like it better than her Ice Princess routine."
Michael stared at the ceiling before saying, "You've been good for us you know. All of us. And all of you."
Maria turned her head away and resumed listening to his heart beat. "Wow," she thought, "this *is* a night of profound revelations. Old 'stone wall' Michael would have *never* made *that* admission. Not even if you were extracting his fingernails, one at a time."
They were quiet for a while. So long so that Maria thought to her chagrin that Michael had fallen back asleep. Then he surprised her by speaking again. "So, do you think that you and Iz can put the whammy on Liz and Max?" Michael asked.
Maria sighed. "I think that we have a good shot at it. They *want* to fix things. They love each other. That's more than half the battle."
Michael cleared his throat. "Good," he said. "After what Liz did she deserves it. They both do. How do you reward someone for giving up everything they cherish to save your life?"
Maria flinched and felt Michael's arms go around her. His hand stroked her back soothing away tension. "You know?" she asked. "You know what she did and why? How Michael?"
Michael chuckled. "Hello? Earth to Pixie Girl? We've been making love at every opportunity for six months, remember? Flashes, remember? How could I *not* get a complete picture of something that's always close to the surface in your mind?"
Maria sat up again. "And your opinion?" she asked.
Michael looked at her very seriously. "My opinion is that I keep misjudging Liz Parker. I knew that she was our friend. And that we could trust her. But I'm starting to realize that, like 'love' and 'family', I haven't had a clue of how deep the word 'friend' can go. I never had a clue that she cared for us enough to dive on a live hand grenade for us. Grenade hell, a live nuke."
"And?" Maria said.
Michael sighed. "And so, if it can be fixed, we fix it", he said.
Maria grinned. "What you mean 'we' paleface?"
Michael grinned back. "I mean 'we', as Isabel, you and me, Pixie Girl."
Maria gave a happy squeal and lunged at him planting a furious kiss on his lips, one that quickly morphed into passion. After some minutes she was forced to break for air.
Michael gasped out, "Pixie, it's late. As much as I'm enjoying this, we should try to sleep!"
Maria gave a snort and let her hand slide down his stomach and into sensitive territory. Michael growled. Maria chuckled and said, "Spaceboy, my mother will be back from the Herboligists convention tomorrow night, we are here now, in bed, and awake. If you think we're going back to sleep right away, you're out of your mind."
That was all Michael needed. In a blink Maria found herself on her back with one of Michael's legs sliding between her thighs. After that everything became a blur of sensation. Pure pleasure. And, at the end of things, as she kissed him before her orgasm took her away, her last coherent thought was the same one that she had had in their love making for the last six months.
"The door opened," she thought. "The door opened and he came out. He came out for me!" Then she went into sweet oblivion.....
It was 12:50 AM, twenty minutes into The Witching Hour
Dressed for bed, teeth brushed, and face washed; Isabel Evans slid under the covers. As an afterthought, before turning out the light, she retrieved her high school yearbook from the floor beside the bed, where she had dropped it earlier to talk to Max. Opening it to the now familiar page she took a last look at Alex's picture before going to sleep. Gently she reached out with a finger to caress his face. "Thank you Alex. Thank you for prying me out of my shell and giving me a life to live in place of the mere existence I had before. Sleep well Sweetheart."
Isabel closed the annual before removing her hand, so she never saw the wave of discontinuity race across picture and disappear. An inconsequential thing really. Easily missed. But the precursor to the most profound night of Isabel's life. One that would change her life irrevocably. None of which she was aware of as her eyes closed and sleep claimed her.
Isabel was walking the streets of a strange city. And feeling troubled. She hated dreams that had her in strange places. And this was no exception. But there was this odd feeling of deja vu that dogged her. Like this place was part of some half remembered, long ago, dream. The sea was near. She could smell salt in the air. Something drew her on, her feet somehow knowing where they wanted her to be.
Distantly music reached her ears. She moved towards the source, spellbound by the melody.
She followed the sweet strains of the old Righteous Brothers tune to a building, and through it's front door. Just inside the door, the music stopped. Isabel paused, confused and fearful. What was happening? A moment later the music resumed at the beginning. She began to follow it up the stairs and through a pair of double doors into a large room lit by what looked like a thousand candles. As long as the music played, she was calm. She felt safe, warm, loved.
"Wo-oh my love,
My Darlin'.
I've hungered for your touch,
A long, lonely time.
And time, goes by, so slowly.
And time, can do so much.
Are you, still mi-i-ine?
I need your love.
I need your love.
Darlin', speed your love,
To-oo meee.
Lonely rivers flow,
To the sea, to the sea.
To the open arms,
Of the sea, yeah.
Lonely rivers sigh,
Wait for me, wait for me.
I'll be comin' home,
Wait for me-ee."
The room looked a bit like a cross between a gym and the set of every bad kung fu movie ever made. Weapons hung from pegs on the walls. Exercise equipment was scattered about. All of which made the fact that the Righteous Brothers themselves were at the mic crooning "Unchained Melody" completely incongruous. But that wasn't what really got her attention. What riveted her was the dancing couple swaying to the slow mellow ballad.
She smiled. "Trust Alex to be groovin' to the oldies," she thought. "Even in my dreams he knows how to romance a girl."
She watched as Alex, his back to her, and her dream self moved in dance. As the couple slowly turned Alex's face came into view. That was when Isabel began to get a sense that something wrong. He looked older somehow. Harder. More careworn. Her heart nearly broke at the weight of sorrow and responsibility that seemed etched into his features. Other changes became apparent to her eye. He was standing straighter, and he had filled out to a point where he could have given any jock in West Roswell a run for his money. Something was definitely *not* right here.
Isabel spoke. "Alex?"
The music stopped. The singers vanished. Her dream self dissolved into mist. Alex looked up at her. Right at her. Isabel looked over her shoulder to see if something was behind her. Nothing there. She turned back and felt her heart jump into her throat. He was walking toward her. His eyes never leaving her face. Closer. Then closer still. He stopped within touching distance. Isabel stood riveted, unable to move.
"Izzy?" he said. "Isabel, what are you doing here?" This is dangerous. You shouldn't *be* here! You should never have tried it!"
Isabel was unable to speak, torn between fear and wonder. Dream Alex raised his hand and brought it to her face. He touched her cheek tenderly. The effect of that touch was like live high voltage arcing across her soul. She FELT him! His living presence! OH MY GOD! ALEX!
She was in sensory overload.
Under the circumstances Isabel took the only reasonable course of action open to her.
She woke up.
Sat straight up in bed.
And screamed at the top of her lungs!
Alex sat up in bed with a stifled shout. "What the hell had just happened?", he thought. " Jesus! What a dream!" As he calmed his brain began working and he realized what had happened. He had felt Izzy. Felt her soul. Felt it touch his. Dream walk! After that his panic returned in full force. He switched on his bedside light and stalked to the mirror on his dresser. As he always did in a tense situation he began to address his reflection. "Okay idiot, she found you. Somehow she found you. With any luck she might think that it was just a nightmare, for a little while anyway. Which it must have been, for her!" He had seen the terror in her eyes in that last second before she had vanished.
"Way to go Whitman, way - to - go!" he berated himself. "The first time in six months that you get to see her, face to face so to speak, and you scare the living crap out of her! Perfect. Juuuust perfect!"
Alex walked back to his bed and sat down, scrubbing his face with his hands. "Okay stupid, think!. What are your options? Contact is out, for nothing has changed. I'm still 'dead'. And I'm still walking talking trouble for everyone that I care about. Travel is out too. Now that I think about it, Europe was a pipe dream! If she can reach me here, she can reach me there. And for all I know she can reach me on Mars too. Think you idiot!"
So Alex considered, rejected, and considered again. Then he paused, and his eyes widened as the gravity of the situation came home to him. "I am sooo in trouble," he thought. "Iz isn't stupid. The odds are good that she'll figure out what happened eventually. And when she does, she'll be back. With fire in her eye. Oh man, I am sooo dead....no pun intended."
So, Alex reached the conclusion that every good man since Adam has reached when he sees an extended tour 'in the dog house' coming at him like a truck with no brakes. He would stall. He would be on guard. And when she came he would cloud his mind. Think gray. Think static. Think about *anything* but how much he loved her. That would have to do until he could find a more permanent solution.
"Well, she won't be back tonight," he said to himself. "After the way you scared her she probably won't sleep for a week!" Alex winced, remembering how tired she had looked at the funeral. "Christ, I can't win!"
Still berating himself he went back to bed. "I should just cut my throat and get it over with! But that wouldn't do a damned bit of good because I'd be on my feet again in half an hour!" Alex flopped back gracelessly and sighed. "Hell of a thing," he thought. "Now I have to be alert while I *sleep* TOO!" He lay awake a long time waiting for sleep to claim him. And when it finally did, his last thought was...."I'm sorry Isabel".
Isabel sat on her bed. Her back against the headboard. Her knees pulled up to her chest and wrapped in her arms. She shivered. With fear...and something else. Wonder. She wasn't sure what to think. What had happened? And she wouldn't be sure for quite awhile. But she knew one thing for certain, there would be no more sleep tonight.
It had taken forever to convince Max to go back to bed after he had charged into her room, ball bat in hand ready to defend her. But he had eventually gone willingly enough once she had pretended to go to bed. After he was gone she had flicked of the light and sat up. She retrieved her yearbook and opened it. Frowning with concentration she touched his picture again. She was hoping for enlightenment. Hoping for an explanation to appear. Hoping that she wasn't losing it.
She hugged her knees again and waited.
When the sun came up, she was still waiting..........
The Witching Hour was over.
The soft trilling of the phone invaded Isabel's sleep, pulling her into resentful wakefulness. It had been after dawn before she had felt safe enough, relaxed enough, to give in to her need to sleep. And now some uncivilized savage was interrupting her! She opened her eyes and groaned. The phone continued to trill its irritating call. Isabel rolled over and glared at the phone, then turned bleary eyes towards her clock radio. Three hours! Only three hours she'd been asleep! The phone continued to trill. "Give it up already!" she snarled to herself. Flopping back on her bed she pulled her pillow over her head. The phone kept up it's monotonous call. "Why doesn't Max answer it!?"she moaned. The phone continued to make noises like a hyperactive cricket. Finally she growled, reached over, and seized the phone. Bringing the receiver to her ear she spoke wearily. "This had better be important!".
Musical laughter greeted her from the other end of the phone. The laughter wound down a little and a female voice still gasping with amusement said, "That's a *fine* way to greet your co-conspirator in the morning!"
Isabel came further awake and said, "Maria?"
Maria giggled again. "This is too perfect Iz. You sound like I felt last night! You even stole my line and everything!"
Isabel snorted, then smiled inspite of her exhaustion the she said, "I assume your have a good reason for calling? Aside from revenge that is?"
Maria laughed. "They say that turn about is fair play, but I'm not that petty! What I called about is to tell you that the ranks of our little band of conspirators have expanded to include Spaceboy!"
Isabel frowned, "Michael is cool with this?"
Maria hesitated briefly then spoke. "More than cool, Iz. He's on board, all the way. I didn't even have to bully or use my feminine wiles!"
Isabel sighed and said, "Why do I have the feeling that we *both* underestimated Michael Guerin?"
Maria chuckled. "Um, I don't know Isabel. Maybe because we did?"
Isabel smiled. She could definitely get used to this "best friends" thing.
"That's all I really had to say, Iz. So I'll let you get back to the beauty sleep that you don't really need," Maria said.
Isabel yawned. "After a night like last night I need it more than you think, Maria. But as long as we're on the phone I need to get your opinion on something."
Maria paused. "Okay, the question of what exactly happened last night will wait. As for an opinion, you don't need to ask for it. Just ask Liz. Unsolicited opinions are my specialty! So shoot."
Isabel paused to organize her thoughts. "Look Maria, I know about the whole setup Liz pulled with Kyle. Making Max think that she had slept with him. I boggled when I heard the rumor last year. I couldn't believe it. Now thank God, I don't have to believe it. But it's still part of what's holding them apart. Liz *still* won't tell Max why she found it so necessary to wound him like that."
Maria sighed. "Iz, you know that I can't..."
"Tell me why," Isabel finished for her. "I know that Maria. I wouldn't ask it of you...now. What I really want to know is, since Kyle knows about us it makes him 'a member of the club' so to speak. As well as a principal player in this mess. Though I get the feeling that he's mostly an innocent bystander."
Listening to Isabel, Maria grinned. "The girl may be an alien, but there's nothing wrong with her feminine intuition," Maria thought.
Isabel continued. "What I really need to know is, should we 'invite him to the party'?"
Maria was silent for a moment as she considered the idea. "I don't know Isabel. Kyle is a wild card. I mean, with me to corral Liz and Michael to control Max, you can rain tough love down on them for as long as it takes. But Kyle, for all that he has a good heart, tends to be impulsive. He doesn't always think before he speaks. Which could make things a lot harder. I'd say, if he's there when you get your shot, include him. Otherwise, don't borrow trouble."
Isabel sighed. "I kind of thought that myself, but it sounds better hearing someone else say it. All the same, after they settle with each other, they'll both have to settle with Kyle."
Maria sounded grim, "You know it."
Isabel yawned again. "Well, that's all I really needed so......"
Maria cut her off. "Not so fast Iz. What happened last night that has you sleeping late today?"
Isabel shuddered. "It was a dream Maria. About half nightmare, half wish fulfillment, and 100% scary I'm not ready to talk about it yet."
Maria sighed. If it was only a dream, they could deal with that. "Well when you're ready to talk, track me down. Best friends have dibs on all the good dish. Including dreams! You go on back to sleep now. Spaceboy is waiting breakfast on me, and he takes his cooking *very* seriously!"
Isabel yawned, feeling sleep beginning to bite at her again. "Okay Maria, have a good day!"
A muffled shout came over the phone. Maria could be heard hollering, "Keep you pants on Michael! I'm coming!" Maria spoke quickly. "Gotta go Iz, Michael is whining about the eggs getting cold. Sweet dreams!"
Isabel winced. She thought that in was just possible that she would never have a "sweet dream" again. "Bye Maria!"
Isabel yawned and gave a catlike stretch as she hung up the phone. Looking down at herself she realized that she had slept on top of the covers. Which was somewhat chilly. Twisting around she worked her way under the covers and snuggled down into the warmth of her bed. She tried to think about her dream last night, but sleep would not permit that. It was only a moment or two before she dropped into blessedly dreamless oblivion.
Richie Ryan strode down the hall in the residential part of the building housing the dojo. He didn't look like it, being clad in ragged sweats and running shoes, but he was a man with a mission. That being to pry Alex out of his bed and get some road work in. Had it been up to Richie, he'd have given Alex a few days off to recoup. After all, yesterday had really put the kid through the wringer. But Duncan's prescription was somewhat different. And Richie could only comply.
They were going to run the kid ragged. Work him until he dropped, then make him get up and work some more. The point being to keep him so busy that he wouldn't have the time or energy to dwell on the past all that much. Or on things that he couldn't have and couldn't fix. Richie also suspected that this was an exercise in discipline. To survive long as an Immortal you had to be able to ignore things that were not of immediate importance, and focus when it counted. Like staying alive. Not that Richie saw that as a part of Alex's problem. He'd never seen someone who could focus like Alex could. He took after Duncan that way. The kid was Mr. Self Control personified. Which is probably why Duncan had a soft spot for him, and was thus doubly determined to see him equipped to survive in his new life.
Reaching Alex's room, Richie let himself in and paused to study the sleeping teenager. From the way he was tangled up in his covers, it was obvious that he'd spent a restless night. As Richie watched Alex made a sound, almost a moan. Rich in pain. Words came. "Isabel....nooooo," Alex whispered. Richie grimaced. The girl again. Jeeez, she must really be something! Perhaps Duncan had the right idea after all. The kid needed something on his mind besides a lost love.
Matching action with thought Richie strode over and raised the blind on the window, allowing sunlight to flood the room. "RISE AND SHINE ALEX!" he shouted.
Alex stirred, groaned, and pried open one bloodshot eye. "Go to hell Richie! It's Saturday, and nothing is going to get me out of here until I'm good and ready!"
Richie laughed. "All right then. I'll just trot down and tell Amanda that the breakfast she has set up for you isn't appreciated. Then you can deal with *her*. I'm sure that we can set up a rematch."
Alex sighed. "No, that's quite all right. Last night was enough to last me a lifetime." He groaned and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Pausing to look at Richie's get up he said, "Road work?"
Richie nodded.
"Well then I'd better eat light. If I have more than OJ and toast I'll toss my cookies before we get a mile. Get out for here and let me get dressed. I'll see you at the table in a couple of minutes."
Ten minutes later Alex was facing an irate Amanda, and a one eyed Texas stack...with sausage. Both Amanda and breakfast looked intimidating.
"Toast and orange juice???" she ranted. "I really don't think so! Do you know how seldom I cook? So eat up Alex, because this maybe your one and only opportunity!"
With that she huffed over to the stove. Alex was flummoxed. Both Cassandra and Amanda had this tendency to mother him. Something that he still hadn't gotten used to. Especially since neither of them looked the part. Least of all Amanda. Alex heard a snicker and shot a look at the other two people at the table. Richie had paused over his bowl of cold cereal and was shaking with silent mirth. Alex stared daggers at him. Duncan simply looked laconic and sipped his coffee. Alex sent him a questioning look.
Duncan glanced at the kitchen where Amanda was muttering imprecations over the stove, leaned forward and whispered..... "Guilt."
Alex frowned, and his look must have said, 'Huh? I don't get it'. Because Duncan checked on Amanda's location again, then leaned closer and said, "She feels guilty about beating your brains out last night. So, unless you want her to do it again, I'd dig in lad."
Alex looked at the stack of pancakes with a single egg on top, thought about what he might be feeling like after the first few miles of the morning run, then thought about what he was *absolutely certain* to feel like if Amanda came at him on the mats again. Alex considered his options, then sighed, and reached for the syrup. It was going to be a long day.
Max Evans was running late. He'd slept badly last night to begin with. Though, truth be told, it had been a long time since he'd slept truly well. He had too many issues to keep him awake. And having Isabel wake him with that bloodcurdling scream in the middle of the night hadn't helped at all. That must have been *some* nightmare. One that she had refused to share. So he'd simply sat up with her, holding her hand and talking until her irritation had gotten the better of her and she had chased him off to bed. And sleep had been slow to come again after that. Hence, he was running late.
He paused before entering the UFO Museum. Even though he was going to be late for work he couldn't escape what had become a ritual for him. Pause, turn, and look at the Crashdown. He did it even when he knew she wasn't working. Even when he knew she wasn't home. But neither of those were true this morning. She was there. He could feel her. The departure of Tess seemed to have cleared some sort of static for Max Evans. Because he could sense Liz Parker's location with unerring accuracy now. And he had the uncanny feeling that the "sense" was mutual. But, like so many things Liz lately, he didn't know for certain. And he was afraid to ask. Liz and he talked, but they didn't share. He missed that sharing. Sighing to himself, and wondering yet again just what the hell he was going to do to break this emotional log jam, he turned away and headed in to work. It was going to be a long day.
Liz Parker stood well back from the widows, where she could see without being seen, and watched the familiar figure with the slumped shoulders turn and walk into the museum. He looked really tired this morning. Or perhaps her guilt vibe was just really strong this morning. She heard the cook bellow "Order Up!" and turned away to retrieve yet another breakfast order from the service window. Delivering the alien themed omelet with toast to a customer she paused again to look across the street. She had known he was coming to work. This location sense she seemed to have for Max Evans was eerie. She tried to tell herself that it indicated that they were meant for each other, but she always ran up against guilt and humiliation.
How do you tell the one that you love that you gutted him like a trout to save the world...and that it may all have been for nothing? How do you tell him that you and his analog from the future, acting on bad information that his present self never knew about, changed history. Which, among other things resulted in him to siring a son with an enemy, and the death of a friend? And may very nearly have gotten he, Isabel, and Michael killed. She knew that none of it was rational...but the emotions were still real to her. And now, six months later, she still couldn't communicate them to anyone beyond Maria, let alone believe that she merited forgiveness. And even Maria knew only the bare facts of it. So, against her desire and love, Liz remained silent. And that added to her guilt.
Max's future self had said that the future was now an unknown. That meant that the alien invasion of 2014 might not happen. But then again, it might, and her friends needed to know about it. But her shame kept her from telling them. It was an endless feedback loop. Garbage in, garbage out. . Yet she felt powerless to break it. A genuine "Catch 22" So instead she went on, day after day, being cordial even affectionate with Max. But never allowing him in. Never allowing any of them in. Afraid that they would see. See her, what she had done, and hate her for it and it's consequences.
She wondered what had happened to the self possessed girl who had thrown caution to the winds to fight for and give her heart to a man who was literally out of this world. She missed that girl. Liz heard a throat clear and turned to see a customer looking at her with irritation, waiting for his check. "Well that's another tip that's going to suck", she thought. She smiled and hurried the check to the table then went to check on the only outstanding order that she had. "Stay busy", she thought. "If you're busy you aren't thinking." It was completely irrational. But who could blame her for getting stuck in this particular corner? Her friends wouldn't, that much was certain...as Elizabeth Parker was due to find out. Because sometime later today fate, in the shape of Isabel Evans, would schedule the choice of what and who to tell to be taken from her hands. It would be the worst and best day of her life. In succession and at the same time. It was going to be a long day.
Maria finished washing the skillet in her hands and placed it in the drainer beside the sink. As she let out a longsuffering sigh a pair of strong arms slid around her waist from behind and Michael whispered, "Naughty, naughty...remember the agreement. I cook, you wash. No complaining allowed."
Maria rolled her eyes and turned in his arms. Placing her arms around his neck she said, "Michael, we both do this for a living. Would it kill us to eat out? That way you wouldn't have to cook and I wouldn't have to wash."
Michael chuckled, "Okay, deal. Breakfast at Denny's tomorrow. That way I can tell their cooks what they're doing wrong." He winked.
Maria leaned into him and wondered again how she had gotten so damned lucky. When she had first realized that she had a thing for Michael he had been this surly, distant, just barely approachable enigma. More than once she had thought of giving up, of just writing him off. How did that old saying go? 'Good things come to those who wait'? The man upon whose chest her head currently rested was proof of that. Had he really changed this much? Because of her? Or had she changed? Imponderable questions. And Maria wasn't much for imponderables. That was Liz's territory, Maria simply wanted to enjoy the ride. So thinking, she reached up and kissed Michael. Michael held her tight and deepened the kiss....
***FLASH***
˜Maria and Liz, seated by a fountain, locked in earnest conversation...˜
***END FLASH***
Michael started slightly, but it was enough for Maria to feel it. She pulled away and looked Michael in the eye while keeping her arms around him. Michael saw her questioning look and sighed. "It was a flash Sweetheart. Nothing cosmic, just you and Liz at the fountain again." Maria looked puzzled. Michael grinned and spoke. "It's the night she told you the whole time travel and changing history story. Over the last six months I've watched that scene play out two or three times a week."
Maria scowled at him. "You know Spaceboy, if I were the easily insulted type, I might be a little miffed about the invasion of privacy."
Michael rolled his eyes. "Cut me some slack will you? Pixie, I can't help what I pick up from you. Anymore than you can help what you get from me."
Maria pinched him. Hard.
"Ouch! What was that for?" Michael asked.
Maria's scowl deepened. "You mean what I can't help picking up from you now that you *let* me!" she growled.
Michael sighed. "Maria, I'm sorry. I don't now what more I can say. We've been all over this. I was ashamed of my life. So ashamed that I didn't want to inflict it on you."
Maria softened. "Michael, you can't inflict anything on me. But you *can* share." She smirked. "Think of it this way Spaceboy. Are things with us better after the sharing? If the answer is yes, then you know how wrong it was to block me out like you did."
Michael gave Maria his crooked "cute" smile. "Okay Maria, I surrender. You're right, I'm wrong. And things are better than I've ever known in my life. Satisfied?"
Maria matched his half smile and said, "Michael, you're so cute when you're submissive."
Michael grinned and released Maria. "Pixie, that brings up mental images I can do without at the moment. And you and I have to get to work. The lunch rush will be starting soon, and Liz will skin both alive if it starts without us."
Maria glanced at her watch then spun and snatched her purse off the counter. "We have plenty of time yet. But, if you insist, we'll go. Though I swear, you're turning into a regular pillar of responsibility. Between the turnaround in your attitude at school, and this arriving early for work, your friends are going to start suspecting you of being a shape shifter."
As they headed out the door Michael chuckled. "I'm not worried," he said. "That's why you're here. So that, no matter how much I grow up, you can still vouch for the fact that I'm the same cranky bastard that everybody knows and loves."
Maria stopped him at the car and reached up to give him a quick kiss. "Not so cranky anymore Sweetie", she said. "I won't allow it."
Michael smiled softly and thought..."Yes ma'am."
Max was headed down the stairs when the music started. Elvis Presley again. "At least it isn't 'God Save The King'," he thought. "Or worse yet, 'Hail to the Chief'." After Tess' departure the mental deterioration of Amy DeLuca and Brody due to Tess' mental manhandling had become so pronounced that, in desperation, Max and the others had given them both the whole story. That, along with a lot of talking and the occasional dream walk, had managed to pull them through. Amy was far from happy about knowing something about the aliens and their friends that their parents didn't. But she could understand the reasons for secrecy, once she had calmed down that is. Realizing that your only child is romantically involved with another life form tends to be traumatic.
Brody, on the other hand, had seen things with his own unique brand of humor. It took him a while to get past being 'an interstellar cell phone' as he put it. But Max had known the worst was past the first time he'd arrived at work and had the strains of 'God Save the King' come wafting over the Museum's public address system. Brody was a dreadful tease.
Max stoically marched into Brody's sanctum sanctorum and was unsurprised to see his boss and friend sitting in his office chair, facing the door, wearing his 'I gave Max another hotfoot' grin. Seeing the long-suffering look on Max's face, Brody relented. He spun the chair and flipped a switch on the console behind him, cutting off the music. Brody spun back and grin intact. "Now now Max! Don't be a bad sport! You can't give a man like me an employee that's not only royalty, but alien royalty at that, and not expect to pay the price!"
Max attempted to return Brody's infectious grin, but it came out looking forced and faded quickly.
Brody frowned. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," he thought. "And knowing what I know now......" He sighed and spoke aloud. "It's Liz again isn't it? Max you cannot go on like this."
Max glanced heavenward looking for patience. "So everyone tells me Brody."
Brody smiled gently. "Max m'boy, listen to me. I owe you big, both directly and indirectly. I owe your people my life. Granted there's the occasional inconvenience of being Larak's hand puppet, but it beats the alternative. Especially when that alternative called for something considerably quieter and less active." Brody winked. "And then there's my daughter and your Christmas Miracle. So, I'm going to give you a bit of advice. And I hope that you take it to heart. Talk to her. If the worst happens and it all screws up, and I don't think for a minute that it will, then at least you'll both be out of this limbo you're in. The longer you wait the harder it will be and the more certain you can be of a meltdown in your relationship."
Max looked resigned and sighed. "Okay, after work. I'll go over after work."
Brody beamed. "That's m'boy", he said. "Now let's get to work. I want that alien autopsy exhibit taken down. I'm putting in an exhibit on recent tech advances allegedly spawned by reverse engineered alien technology."
Max looked quizzical. "What advances?"
Brody was grinning again. "Why whatever ones I can dream up of course! How do you like DVD's as a start?"
Max shook his head. Prior to learning the truth the museum had been part of a deadly serious attempt by Brody to find and expose the truth. Now though it was a game to him. A playful way to misdirect people away *from* that truth. To protect his friends and have fun at the same time. A colossal practical joke on UFO believers.
Max grinned. A true grin. "Next thing you know you'll be attributing chia pets to aliens."
Brody made a show of looking thoughtful then laughed and said, "I wish I *could* blame them on aliens, but they're just too cheesy." He winked again. "Only a human mind could dream them up." With that he waved Max out the door.
Max headed toward the autopsy exhibit in a good mood for the first time in a long while. Brody's humor had started it, and the knowledge that he was going to get rid of that eyesore of an exhibit capped it off. He had hated that thing since the first time he had to stuff phony entrails back into the psuedo-alien corpse after some rug rat had pulled them out. As he began the all day job of dismantling the exhibit and packing it up he heard music commence on the PA system. Elvis. Singing 'Blue Suede Shoes'. He paused and winced, then grinned. His good feeling blossomed further as he considered the fact that giving someone a hotfoot flowed both ways. So thinking he returned to work, while daydreaming. His mind off of Liz for now, and occupied with plans counting coup on Brody.
Brody watched from his office door, reading Max's body language accurately. "I'm in for it now," he thought. "But it's worth it to get him out of that angst ridden mental rut." He headed back into his office feeling considerably better. Jim Valenti, Amy DeLuca, and he had made a pact over a private dinner some months back. To protect the kids. They had been through hell and back. Much of that hell they still didn't share with anyone. Enough was enough. Jim had stood up alone as their "father figure" long enough. Now they had a "mother figure" and a "wealthy uncle figure" too. The 'I know an alien' club had fortnightly informal dinners where they compared notes and sought ways to help 'their kids'.
Brody flopped into his office chair and frowned in thought. "Whatever money and some judicious nudging can do, I will do. I owe them that much." He looked at a calligraphed poster on the wall. It read "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good people do nothing". Brody smiled and picked up the phone to let Amy know that her idea for dealing with Max's ongoing depression had finally borne fruit. If it came at the price of the alien equivalent of a banana cream pie in the face, so be it. He chuckled at the mental imagery. He was, after all, good people.
Alex was going to die. When Richie and he had started their run he had been certain of it. A mile later he had been wishing for it. Now it was three miles and he was back to certainty. All thanks to Amanda and the breakfast from hell. He should have said no and let her beat the tar out of him again. Alex groaned aloud. Next to him Richie spared enough breath for snort of laughter. Alex had remonstrated with Duncan before they had left for the park. When that had failed he had gone to pleading. But Duncan had been adamant. He had told Alex that, if he expected to live long, he had to be prepared for anything. Including the physical discomfort of say, fighting a pitched battle right after a heavy meal. Or even in the middle of a heavy meal. So they were here, and Alex was sure he was going to die. All he concentrated on was putting one foot in front of the other, and on saving enough for the sprint at the end. As he and Richie approached their fifth mile their pace faltered as 'the buzz' hit. The buzz that indicated another Immortal in the area.
Keep running," Richie panted. "If it's someone we know there's no point in breaking stride. If it's someone that we *don't* know, then the last thing we want to do is break stride. I haven't got my sword and neither do you."
His discomfort forgotten Alex was constantly scanning the area like a rabbit who knows the fox is there, but can't see him. "Would that matter? I thought this was 'code duello' type stuff?"
Richie snorted. "Alex, you've been around us long enough to know that, aside from the long lifeline, we're just folks. Most immortals obey the rules. But some would slaughter you like a chicken if they get the chance, and screw fair play."
Alex frowned. "Now you tell me this? Now?"
Richie spared him a pitying glance. "Well Alex, for one thing, with my upbringing I wasn't surprised by it when my time came. Not even a little bit. I know how low people can be, and I never expected Immortals to be any different. For another, you have enough on your plate learning to fight and putting your past behind you. Knowing there are people out there who want to kill you sucks. Even if they *do* obey the rules when they try it. Knowing there are some that will cheat while trying it is a little too much information we thought."
Alex snorted "Gee, thanks for protecting my innocence. Anything else I should know that might get me killed if I don't know it?"
At that moment they saw him. Lounging on the grass with studied indolence. He was lean, almost skinny, but there was no mistaking they feral look in his eyes, or the predatory smile he sent them. This was a hunter. He might have been handsome if it weren't for the discolored weal of scar tissue marring his right cheek. As they approached him he made no move to rise. In fact, the impression he gave was that they were barely worth his notice.
Richie snorted. "Let the head games begin," he thought. Ordinarily Richie might have assayed a remark to get the smirk off of not so pretty boy's face, but he stifled his inclination. His job was to get the kid home safely. And that didn't include provoking a fight with an armed immortal while he himself didn't have so much as a cocktail straw. "Keep moving Alex. Ignore him."
As they ran on, Alex's heart was pounding. And it had nothing to do with his physical exertion. This was his first encounter with an Immortal outside the little circle that surrounded Duncan. Inside he was swimming in a complex stew of emotions. He was certain that some of it was fear. Otherwise his butt wouldn't be snipping holes in his BVD's. And it was. But most of it was excitement and curiosity. This was his first actual contact with The Game. And above all he felt caution. "This isn't the time to lose my head," he thought somewhat wryly.
Once they reached their car Alex was all in favor of 'getting the hell out of Dodge', but Richie insisted that they cool down and stretch first. Thinking it over rationally, Alex saw the sense. Panic was definitely contra-indicated.
"What the hell was that about Richie?" Alex demanded.
Richie sighed. "Isn't it obvious Alex? He's hunting. Probably me."
Alex looked a little incredulous. "Hunting? And this doesn't bother you? And why not me?"
Richie studied him for a moment. "Well, taken in order, yes....hunting. He looks like the stalker type. He'll probably pop up a couple of more times over the next few days or a week. Just trying to rattle my cage before he actually tries something. As for bothering me, no. I've had to fight before. And I've won. I've been taught by the best. Just like you. As for you, I doubt it. If he's been checking us out he knows you're a newbie, and therefore under Duncan's protection. Any challenge issued against you is a challenge to Duncan, and he has first call answering it. And frankly, just looking at him, that guy wouldn't stand a prayer against Duncan. And on the outside chance that he *can* take Duncan, he'd have to get past Amanda, Cassandra, *and* Methos. And me." Richie winked. "So I'm pretty sure that it's me he's after."
Alex simply nodded.
Richie sighed. "Lets head for the barn, buddy of mine. You aren't done for today yet. And I want to let the others know that our 'friend' is out there."
Richie had given Alex a lot to think about. Not least about the bonds of loyalty in their odd little club. If he had to leave his old friends behind, he thought, at least his new friends were every bit as loyal. As they pulled out of the park they saw him again, lounging on the seat of a motorcycle with the same studied indifference he had shown before.
Richie grinned. "See what I mean? Definitely a stalker type."
Alex sighed to himself. He still had a lot to learn......
Isabel had slept well into the afternoon before dragging herself out of bed and into the shower. Being at loose ends and wondering what to do she had followed her bump of curiosity to the library. Now she wandering the stacks with a scrap of paper bearing a reference number copied from the computer. Scanning the shelves her eyes lit on her quarry. She pulled the book out with a grunt of satisfaction. She doubted that it would help, but it was worth a shot. Tucking her selection under one arm she headed for the checkout counter.
The middle aged matronly librarian on duty smiled cheerfully and scanned her book into the computer. As she glanced at the title before passing the book back her eyebrows rose slightly. "Trouble sleeping dear?" she asked.
Isabel sighed and rolled her eyes. "You have no idea." And, tucking "The Psychology of Dreams" under one arm, she headed for the exit.
Coming out of the library she considered what to do for the day. The hollowness in her stomach signaled that lunch was the first order of business. 'Breakfast' had been a hasty cup of coffee. "Definitely not everything a growing girl needs," she thought. So thinking, she headed for The Crashdown. A fast lunch, a little shopping, then hit her father's office to pick up his mail. After that she would settle in at The Crashdown and read. And see if she couldn't ambush a few people who urgently needed ambushing.
As she headed for the diner she halted in thought. "Why leave things to chance?" With that she pulled out her cell and dialed from memory. On the second ring her party answered. "Hello?" Isabel grinned evilly. There was no mistaking that British accent....
Maria looked up from bussing tables to see Isabel come through the door. They threw each other a quick smile as Isabel took a booth halfway back. Maria finished bussing the dirty tables and scooped up an order for a customer, dropping it off on the way to take Isabel's order. When she arrived at the booth Isabel was absorbed in a book. "Twice in one day?" Maria asked. "We may have to put your name in for customer of the week! What can I get you Iz?"
Isabel looked up, her eyes twinkling, and spoke. "Nothing out of ordinary. A cherry coke, a Will Smith with pepper jack, a side order of Tabasco...and oh yes, set Liz Parker up for the kill?"
Maria snorted. "I thought you were simply going to wait for an opportunity?"
Isabel rolled her eyes. "So I'm jumping the gun. The suspense is killing me. And after all, they say that 'God helps those who help themselves', don't they?"
Maria chuckled softly. "So what's the plan?"
Isabel glanced up and saw Liz had come out of the back and was studying them from behind the counter. "I'll tell you when you bring my order. We have hours before 'the main event', and us being too chummy might make our intended prey suspicious."
Maria hesitated. "She's looking at us?"
Isabel frowned fiercely. "Yup. Now look harassed and abused." Raising her voice Isabel said loudly, "..and make sure the burger is *done* this time!"
Maria bowed and spoke sardonically, "Yes oh Queen Amidala", then stalked away in a seeming huff.
Isabel scowled after her. She spared Liz a glance and noticed her worried look. She pretended to return to her book. "Trust Liz, even wounded herself, to be concerned enough about her friends to want to play peacemaker", she thought. Isabel felt remorse at being so manipulative. A relatively new phenomenon for her. One she had others to thank for. Liz for not letting Isabel's initial bullying chase her away from Max. Alex for not writing her off for being a bitch. Lately Maria for forgiving Isabel's former haughtiness enough to let her start mending fences. And finally Max, her stubborn brother, for starting it all. Isabel shook herself and resumed reading. So far she was getting nothing useful, but it was something to pass the time.
Maria stalked towards Isabel like a cat with it's back up. Placing Isabel's order in front of her Maria spoke. "One charcoal special, hold the taste!" The in a quieter tone she spoke while maintaining her frown and posture. "Now what?"
Isabel scowled and appeared the speak vehemently, if quietly. "I'm staying until close. I contacted Brody and got him to keep Max past midnight at work, then tell him I'm here and that I need a ride. That will give us about an hour or two to work our magic on Liz before Max walks in." Then she added loudly, "You forgot the Tabasco again!"
Maria winked then settled her face into a scowl and stormed away, returning in a few seconds with a bottle of tabasco sauce which she slammed down on the table. "Here you are! It matches your 'tude!" Then she added in a near mutter, "Okay, I'll clue Michael. After that we'll simply wait for you. By the way, you took a chance there announcing the tabasco thing to the world."
Isabel mock glared and said, "If Alex taught me one thing it was that life is too short to *one* take chances." Then returning to her arguing voice she said, "Okay, now get lost and let me eat in peace!"
Maria started to turn away, then turned back. "Um, if 'you know who' asks, we're fighting because Michael and I are too touchy feel in public." Then louder she said, "For this sort of abuse, you'd better be a good tipper!"
Then she swept away.
Isabel put her book aside and began to eat. And think. If she and Maria could keep the tension going for a few hours, Liz was almost certain to let her curiosity get the better of her. She would start to probe for what was wrong, trying to help. Then they would have *are* in a position where she could hardly escape. She would have to accept *that* help. It wasn't exactly a perfect plan, but as 'fly by the seat of your pants' ambush therapy went it was as good as she could do.
"Besides," she thought, "Liz and Max are both too pigheaded stubborn for any other approach to work."
Liz Parker was concerned. Worried in fact. She glanced at what she privately labeled The E.T. Booth where Isabel Evans sat, seemingly absorbed in a book.. It was the booth that their resident aliens habitually used. Early on Isabel had made it clear that she was waiting for Max to get off work and give her a ride home. So, when Liz locked the front doors, she had let Isabel stay where she was. The problem seemed to be that her booth was in the same county as Maria DeLuca. As Liz watched, Isabel shot another glare towards the booth near the waitress station where Maria and Michael were holding hands and having a quiet conversation, punctuated by occasional laughter.
While Isabel and Maria had never been fast friends, Liz had thought that Alex's death and the events since had let them come to some sort of terms with each other. But that seemed to be a fading memory tonight. From the hints that Maria dropped tonight, Liz assumed that Isabel was having issues over Michael and Maria's public displays of affection. Which seemed pretty irrational for Isabel. Which meant that there were other issues involved. "Could Isabel be jealous?" Liz wondered. She bit her lip in indecision as she wiped down the last of the lunch counter.
Maria laughed aloud from where she was sitting with Michael, drawing a look from Isabel that could only be called murderous. That's all it took. Enough was enough. It was bad enough that she and Max were suffering from issues of the past. She wasn't about to see the rest of their little "family" suffer too. Not when she could try to do something. Tossing the rag in the lunch counter sink, she shed her apron, and rounded the counter heading for Isabel. This did not go unnoticed. The same thought went through both Isabel's and Maria's minds simultaneously. "Finally!"
Isabel looked up in mock surprise as Liz approached her booth. "It took her long enough!" Isabel thought. "I thought I was going to have to keep trolling all night!"
Isabel thought that she'd overdone it with that last glare, bordering on homicidal fury. But it had worked. And that's what counted. She caught the momentary look of determination on Liz's face before Liz smoothed it over into a mask of bland innocence. Internally Isabel snickered. Despite the fact that this game was intended to help Liz, Isabel was enjoying herself. It had been a long time since she'd been this devious. Isabel slapped a mask of equally bland innocence on her face as Liz slid into the booth across from her.
"Poor Liz thinks she's the hunter here, when actually she's the hunted," Isabel thought. "She and that pigheaded brother of mine!" She waited calmly for Liz's opening gambit.
Liz cleared her throat and sought for an opening to start the conversation. Glancing at the title of the book that Isabel had closed when Liz sat down, she found it. "The Psychology of Dreams?" she inquired. "Why that?"
Isabel was momentarily discomfited by how close that came to her own trauma, but snapped back and smiled. "Um, because I couldn't find 'The Psychology of Alien Dreams' in print", she responded.
Liz giggled for a moment then regarded Isabel solemnly. "Isabel, I'd have to be an idiot to miss the vibe in here tonight. Maria is my friend, and I'd like to think that you are too after all we've been through together. I hate seeing you two like this. If you want to talk, I'll listen."
Isabel was elated. "Gotcha!" she thought.
As children, when Max, Michael, and Isabel had realized that they were different, they had experimented to find the limits of their powers. One of the things that they had experimented with was telepathy. The results were disappointing. Hit and miss. They could communicate, sort of, almost, halfway. But it came more in the form of feelings rather than words. And only when strong emotions were involved. Hence it wasn't particularly useful.
So they had, for the most part, left that talent unused. Until now. Isabel drew on her elation, focused on Michael, and sent one word; hoping for the best. It was simply, "NOW!"
Down at the end of the row of booths Michael jumped as the word slammed into his mind. He looked up, caught Isabel's eye, and nodded. Standing up quietly he kissed Maria's hand, then he pulled her to her feet, and headed towards Isabel and Liz with Maria in tow. Liz's back was to them, and they were so quiet that Liz was unaware of them until Maria slid into the booth next to her, forcing her to scoot over towards the wall, and neatly trapping her. Isabel made room for Michael as he slid in next to her.
Liz jumped as Maria slid in next to her. Something wasn't right here. The look passing between Maria and Isabel at the moment was anything but tense. If anything it looked like triumph tempered with fear. Liz looked at Michael for help, but his solemn gaze gave away nothing.
"Okay," she said, "what's going on here?" Regarding Maria with puzzlement Liz said, "You and Isabel have had this hostility thing going all night. What's up?"
Maria couldn't help herself. She grinned. "And you wanted to help didn't you Chica? That's what we counted on. Or rather, what Isabel counted on. Michael and I were just the bit players."
Liz looked even more puzzled. "So you two aren't fighting?"
Maria's grin widened. "Isabel?" she said.
"Yes?" Isabel shot back.
Maria responded with, "I forgive you for acting like an arrogant twit. Do you forgive me for being a slobbering hussy?"
Isabel chuckled. "Of course girlfriend," she said. "Slobber on Michael all you like." Then she winked. "Of course I reserve the right to be an arrogant twit anytime I happen to feel like it!"
Maria laughed and nodded. "If you didn't, I'd worry!.
Liz, was startled. It appeared that not only weren't Maria and Isabel fighting, but that they were a lot closer than even Liz had suspected. Which led her to the further conclusion that she had been the butt of some sort of practical joke. A small core of anger began to grow in her. "So this was all for *my* benefit? Why all the play acting? Surely you can't be so bored that you need to pull something like this?!"
Both Isabel and Maria winced at Liz's harsh tone. Isabel moved quickly to head Liz off at the emotional pass. "Liz, how did you feel when you watched us carry on all night?"
Liz huffed. "How do you think I felt?! Worried is how I felt! I care about you two." Then she glanced at Michael.. "I mean you three. Though now I'm not so sure why!" Liz stopped herself and swept her eyes across all three of them. "What affects any of us affects all of us, and I wanted to fix it if I could! Is that a crime?!"
Isabel sighed, smiled, and spoke quietly.. "No Liz, it isn't. But it *is* a lesson. Because now you know how *you've* felt watching you and Max the last six months."
Liz was struck dumb. Her anger completely deflated.
Isabel took full advantage of Liz's derailment. "Liz, it's been about a year since whatever happened to separate you two started. And in that time we've watched you and Max walk through your waking hours like zombies. And it just keeps getting worse. And it will go on getting worse until you both clear the air! About everything. What you did. What he did. And if need be, what *we* did!" Isabel drew a deep breath. "You had it right. What affects some of us affects all of us. On a certain level, we five are a family now. And we love you." Isabel stumbled over the unaccustomed intimacy. "You and Max need this. We all need this! He isn't here, so start with us! Talk to us! Let us 'fix it' before it breaks you completely!" Isabel paused, out of breath.
Liz was speechless, her mouth hanging open. A single tear traced a track down her right cheek. She shook her head. "I can't", she choked out. "You can't possibly know...."
Isabel cut her off. "We *what* to know."
Liz looked terrified. That "deer in the headlights" look. Only it wasn't an ordinary car bearing down on her. It was a main battle tank.
The sound of a clearing throat broke the tableau. All three girls snapped their eyes towards Michael. He blushed in an unaccustomed manner and cleared his throat again. "Liz, you and Max were and are sort of the parents in this crazy little family of ours. You had to be strong for us. Let us be strong for you now. We can take it."
Glancing at Maria. "Um, I don't know if this helps, but you forgot something when you spilled it to Maria. The flashes. I already know most of what she knows."
Liz stared him in utter horror then jumped as he reached across the table to grasp her hands in his. This wasn't what she would have expected from Michael! "Listen Liz, you were strong enough to do what you did. To place us ahead of yourself and Max. To place the whole planet ahead of yourself and Max. You're strong enough to do this. Max deserves to know what sort of woman he has on his hands." Michael eyes glinted with a bit of mischief. "And Isabel deserves to know exactly how much guts her future sister-in-law has."
Liz's mouth dropped open again and she flushed a shade of red that was frankly impossible this side of a special effects lab.
Liz wasn't the only one at the table that was seeing a new side to Michael. Isabel stared at him and thought, "Well I'll be damned! I didn't know he had it in him! Maria certainly *has* been good for him! The old 'stone face' Michael would *never* have engaged is this sort of gooey dialog." Isabel knew a winning hand when she saw one, and elected to keep her mouth shut. Michael's unaccustomed directness and sincerity could succeed where any amount of pleading from her would fail. Whatever was happening/had happened/was going to happen, it went beyond a broken romance. "The whole planet...?" Isabel wondered.
Maria had never been prouder of Michael than she was at that moment. This was purely him, with no coaching from her. "What has he been doing when I leave him alone in that roach motel he calls an apartment? Watching Oprah instead of ESPN and MTV?" she mused. Maria beamed at Michael as he held Liz's eyes with a frank and honest gaze. "One way or another, Space Boy doesn't know it yet, but he's going to get *very* lucky tonight!" she thought.
Liz was trembling violently. So much so that all three of her friends began to be concerned. She gulped, gripped Michael's hands tightly, and slowly the tremors subsided, but they didn't go away entirely. Her friends couldn't know it, but her shivering wasn't fear induced. Instead, it had much in common with the trembling of long over-burdened muscles after a great weight has been lifted from them. She had made her decision. And the sense of relief was so intense that it was almost physical. And her reaction to it *was* physical. It was time.
Liz glanced at Maria who smiled and nodded encouragement as she reached out and laid her delicate hands atop Michael's hands where they still gripped Liz's. Isabel reached out and joined hers to theirs. It was back. That old feeling. 'One for all and all for one'.
Liz swallowed and worked her shoulders to loosen them, then released Michael's hands to grasp Isabel's. Turning to face Isabel she spoke. "This is mostly for you since you're the one that's mostly in the dark here, though it may fill in some holes for Maria and Michael. Just let me talk, and hold any questions until I'm done."
She swallowed convulsively and released Isabel's hands long enough to take a sip of the partially full water glass that Isabel still had at the table. She then returned to her death grip on Isabel's hands. "Is that okay?"
Isabel was scared now. A little frightened of what she was to learn tonight. Scared of what the hell could crush Liz Parker so completely that it made her sound plaintive. "Do it any way you want Liz," Isabel said. "We're listening."
Liz turned her gaze towards their joined hands and began to speak in a low dull uninflected monotone. She spoke of visiting the medium and her joy upon learning that Max would choose her over duty and Tess. Of Future Max and his arrival. Of how he had convinced her of who he was, where he had come from, and how he had gotten here. Of his knowledge of the future and it's consequences. Of her, as yet unrealized, marriage to Max. Of the Invasion of 2014 and the Fall of Earth. Of Isabel's and Michael's deaths at the hands of the Skins. Of the conclusions that Max's future self had drawn, and the desperate plan which he and her future self had arrived at as the only way to prevent this catastrophe.
Isabel listened with growing horror as she spoke of how Future Max had convinced her and gained her commitment to what had to be done. Isabel's hands clinched hers tighter as she went through the steps they took to try and force Max to turn away from her. And she culminated with her 'wedding dance' in which Future Max vanished from her arms, and the crushing despair that came as she realized that she was, and would be ever after...alone.
Liz looked up at Isabel expecting to see pity in her eyes. To her surpass there was none. What *was* there was admiration and grief. Liz closed her eyes and allowed two tears to leak out. This had been the easy part. What came next would be the hard part, and for that she would have to look Isabel in the eyes. She didn't look forward to seeing the emotions in those eyes morph into rage and hate. But she had to finish what had begun here. No more halfway. It was now all or nothing.
Opening her eyes she locked gazes with Isabel and began to speak again. Of her ambivalence about her choice. Of knowing in her head that it was the right thing. And knowing in her heart that it was wrong. Utterly wrong. She spoke of sending mixed signals, of accepting and rejecting Max at the prom. Crushing him yet again. Something that left him open to Tess. Leading directly to the travesty of their 'lovemaking'. She spoke of the conflict with Max after Alex was murdered. Of his aggression and panic, and of her anger, fear, and determination. At the time they were more like enemies than friends. They were certainly strangers to each other. And above all else she spoke of the pain that the estrangement had brought.
Then she paused for a long moment, taking another sip of water. It was the moment of truth. Isabel's eyes still held hers with admiration. This was going to hurt. A lot.
"There's one more thing you need to know," Liz said. "Tess may have killed Alex, but *I* caused his death."
She closed her eyes and waited. No outbursts followed her guilty plea. No outrage or anger. When she opened her eyes, they were all looking at her with expectant puzzlement.
She sighed and began in detail. "When Future Max told me about our wedding, which would have taken place a little over a year from now, he told me that we were married in Vegas. And that to celebrate, you three came to meet us....with Alex. In the original timeline, before I changed it, Alex lived. In this one *because* I changed it, Alex died." Liz pulled her hands away from Isabel's and began to cry. "I might as well have killed him myself."
Maria was sobbing openly and pulled Liz into her arms, sharing the grief with her again. Michael was simply struck dumb. Maria hadn't known this, so he hadn't learned of it...until now. He stood, rounded the table and yanked both girls up into a rough hug.
Isabel however stared at Liz in undisguised horror. Though not for the reasons that Liz assumed. She grew whiter and whiter, and felt an unfamiliar sensation in her body. It was almost like...like...like....and with that Isabel slapped a hand to her mouth and ran for the bathroom. She made it. Barely. Thus Isabel Evans took another step into the world of humanity as she was violently ill for the first time in her life.
Maria broke from the hug and ran after her while Michael continued to hold Liz. Eventually the pitiful sounds from the bathroom quieted to be replaced by the noise of running water. Maria came back to the table and retrieved a tiny bottle of herbal mouthwash from her purse, gave them both a hug and a kiss, then returned to the bathroom.
Liz stood quietly locked in Michael's arms, unwilling to let go of even the tiniest shred of comfort. She heard the bathroom door open, and footsteps approaching. Isabel's reaction to her admission had already told her that some of the worst of her fears were true. Isabel now hated her. "Here it comes," she thought. A hand touched her arm. She refused to turn.
Isabel spoke. "Liz?
Liz flinched at the hoarseness in Isabel's voice.
"Liz, look at me please?" Isabel requested.
Michael loosened his hold on her and stepped back, leaving Liz no choice but to turn and face her fears. Maria moved to join Michael as Liz turned towards Isabel. But she couldn't make herself look up. She couldn't look Isabel in the eyes.
Isabel reached out and stroked Liz's hair gently. This was *not* the reaction Liz had been expecting. Liz shuddered again and began to hope. Isabel's hand cupped her chin and forced her to look up. What she saw in Isabel's eyes wasn't rage. It wasn't hate. And it wasn't pity either. It was empathy. Shared pain.
The puzzlement in Liz's mind must have shown on her face, because Isabel smiled. "You expected me to hate you, didn't you?"
Liz couldn't speak, but simply nodded jerkily.
Isabel sighed. "What you didn't realize is that we're two of a kind, you and I. All these months and I never realized that we were living in adjoining rooms in the same sort of purgatory."
Liz frowned. "What exactly do you mean Iz?"
Isabel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was her turn now. "After Tess and our 'Destiny' arrived on our doorstep, we pulled back from you. You, Maria, and Alex." Isabel looked at Michael. "Some of us more than others."
Michael winced. Maria saw it, hugged him harder and made comforting noises, then she gestured for Isabel to go on.
Isabel returned her eyes to Liz. "I for one was glad of it in my own tight-assed selfish way. I'd always tried to distance myself from normal humans. That distance was my armor. My shield. I *was* the Ice Queen. And Tess gave me an excuse to go back to what I knew best. To where I felt safe and confident. To being an alien marooned in a world of"....Isabel swallowed...."lesser creatures."
Isabel dropped her hand from Liz's chin to Liz's own hand and pulled her towards their booth. As they sat down Michael moved to join them, but Maria went behind the counter and rounded up some drinks for everyone. Once she returned and sat down, they were back where they had been before. Everyone paused to settle with their thirst. All this trauma had left them feeling like they'd spent a day in the desert. Through all this Isabel never released Liz's hand, and now she looked at her steadily and continued on.
"As children, Max, Michael, and I all dealt with our sense of isolation differently. With Max it came out as simple loneliness. With Michael it was rebellion and alienation." Michael cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. Maria snuggled close to him and he drew strength from her. Isabel smiled and nodded to them both. No more alienation. She turned her eyes back to Liz. "For me it came out as ego. Smugness. I could do things that humans couldn't, so I was better than them. It never occurred to me that being different didn't make you a better person. Being a better person makes you a better person. I was clueless. Until Max saved you and started this whole chain of events in motion. First you. Then Maria." Isabel's voice hitched slightly and she swallowed against a lump in her throat. "And finally there was Alex."
"Once you all were in our lives I had my nose rubbed in the fact that I had been missing something vital about life. That we weren't humans, Antarians, hybrids, or whatever. We were all people. And you were better at the 'people' thing than I was. All of you. Liz, you lied for us, fought for us, protected us, and put yourself on the line for us again and again. And Maria"....Isabel sighed and shot an apologetic glance at Maria who smiled her forgiveness..." I tried to terrorize into silence. When I was afraid that she would cave under Valenti's questioning I invaded her dreams to pressure her into silence. I tried to be menacing when we were awake. And she kept silent. Not because of my pressure, but in spite of it. She overcame her own fear *and* the fear I tried to induce in her, and kept silent. Because she had the empathy to understand what it was like to be us."
"I was forced to examine myself against you two, and I found myself wanting. I didn't like it. And finally, just when I thought that my self esteem couldn't take any more, Alex came along. Up until you and he came into our lives, my attitude let me use boys as playthings. I was Isabel Evans, the Ice Queen, the Golden Goddess, the envy of every girl, and the desire of every boy. It was my right to do as I pleased. To manipulate and use humans with impunity. Only our parents escaped my disdain...because they were special. Or so I thought. I couldn't see the double standard until Alex came along. He was special too. He was attracted to me of course, every boy seems to be sooner or later." Michael snorted with amusement and Isabel shot him a quelling glance. "But in his case it wasn't the exterior packaging that held his attention. That *got* his attention, but it wasn't enough to hold it. He wanted what was inside. He saw past the haughty shield to the frightened insecure woman child within. And he loved her anyway. Warts and all. Unconditionally."
Isabel paused and swallowed again. "And he scared the hell out of me. Because I loved him back. Suddenly one of the 'lesser creatures' was more important to me than myself. More important than a ride to a home I'd never known. More important finding those answers we'd been yearning after all our lives. And it scared me. It exhilarated me, but at the same time made me more insecure. It was impossible to be 'business as usual' with Alex around, though God knows I tried. I was on unfamiliar territory and I hated it, even as I loved him. So, when Tess gave me an excuse to bolt, I jumped on it with both feet. I pulled back. And then it got even scarier, because I treated him like dirt and he kept loving me. I made dates in front of him and he kept on caring. Even after I thought that he was done with me for good, he was still in tune with me. After he passed on taking me to the prom, I went to him and pleaded. And he caved. Because he still loved me. In fact I think it was love that killed him in the end. I think that when he finally awoke to the fact that I actually wanted *him*, Tess' control began to slip. It was love that broke him free, forcing Tess to try and reassert control again. And it killed him."
Isabel paused and studied Liz. Silent tears were tracing a path down her cheeks, but her face and eyes spoke of the old Liz. The lioness who had been there for them through everything. It was going to be all right. But there was still unfinished business. Liz sensed it and nodded for her to go on. Isabel sighed and took a cleansing breath before speaking again. "The thing is that, through it all, once Tess gave me a reason to pull away, I never dream walked Alex again. Never tried to bond with him. Even as a friend. I never let him get close enough to bring my feelings for him out into the open. Because that's what I feared most. Losing control of the situation. So I left him, isolated and defenseless. And when Tess started looking for a puppet to mind warp, there he was. The perfect pawn. One who knew about us and cared about us, but yet was isolated from us. I might as well have served him up to her on a platter with an apple in his mouth."
Liz's heart broke as she looked at Isabel. Iz had been right, so terribly right. They had both been living in the house that guilt built. So she was hardly surprised when Isabel reprised Liz's own feelings by saying.."I might as well have killed him myself." Liz squeezed her hand and smiled. "Neither of us killed him Isabel. But we both miss him. We both loved him in our different ways. And he loved us. Let's remember *that* from now on instead of the rest of it. Deal?"
Isabel gave her a tremulous smile. "Deal!"
Maria sighed and then spoke. "Y'know people, this is the first time in a year I've felt like we were clean. But it leaves us with the question, where do we go from here?"
Isabel gave her a wan smile. "No where yet. We have some unfinished business...." And with that, as if on cue, Isabel's cell phone began to trill in her purse. Fishing around for a moment she pulled it out and answered it. "Hello?"
Brody's rich accents were unmistakable. "Isabel, what the bloody hell are you up to over there?!!"
Isabel pulled back from the phone and looked at it in surprise. Returning it to her ear she spoke. "What do you mean?"
Brody made an exasperated sound. "I mean what are you lot doing to Liz?! Max has been climbing the walls over here for nearly an hour. He says that he's 'feeling' her, like their bond is coming back to life. And he's getting vague feelings and images from her. Terrible ones, full of turmoil and pain. It's been all I can do to keep him from charging to her rescue! I managed it by telling him that you were with her and that you *would* have called had anything actually been wrong. But that isn't going to last much longer. He's ready to chew his own leg off to get to her!"
Isabel glanced at her watch. It read 11:40. All this in only an hour and 40 minutes. It had felt like days. She sighed and said, "Hang on a minute." She held the phone to her chest and addressed Liz. "Sweetie, your unfinished business is going to come charging through that door any minute. Are you up for it?"
Liz turned pale. "Isabel, I don't think I can talk about all this again. Not now. I'm completely exhausted!"
Isabel looked at her quizzically. "Liz, I don't think that's going to be an issue here. Brody says that Max is practically tearing the place apart with worry. Your bond, or link, or metaphysical whatever it is, has become active again. I assume that's because you've decided to let everything out." Liz's hands flew to her mouth as Isabel continued. "Anyway, some of what you've been carrying around is reaching Max, and he's in a panic to reach *you*. I'd say, just kiss him and let nature take it's course. At this point I'd say it's unavoidable anyway."
Liz closed her eyes, took a deep breath and nodded. Then she slid from the booth and stood on trembling legs to wait. Maria slid out behind her, took the keys from Liz, and unlocked the front door. Then she returned to Liz's side, stood with her, and slid a comforting arm around her shoulders in support. Michael rose and gave them both a hug then moved around them to stand behind Liz. Perhaps to cover her back. Or perhaps he expected her to bolt. Either way, he was there for her, as she had been there for them.
Isabel raised the phone as she slid from the booth to join Michael. "Okay Brody, cut him loose. We're ready here". When Brody asked the inevitable question, Isabel answered in the affirmative. "Yep, mission accomplished. Okay, talk to you later." Isabel hung up the cell and stood waiting with the rest of them. "One way or another, this will be settled tonight. And thanks be to God for that!" she thought.
Brody hung up the phone and walked out of his office to where Max was pacing in the partially dismantled alien autopsy exhibit. As he approached, Max halted his pacing and looked at Brody expectantly. Brody smiled and spoke. "Okay Max, go to her. And good luck!" The last words were unnecessary, since he was addressing a Max shaped hole in the air as soon as the word 'Okay' was out of his mouth. Scarcely a second later he heard the front door slam as Max hit it going full tilt. Brody smiled to himself and followed in Max's wake to lock up. After that he had work to do in the office.
Max ran as if pursued by Furies. He hit the front door of the Crashdown without slowing then slammed to a stop as he took in the scene before him. Over the last hour and more he'd been getting an incredible mix of emotions from Liz. Fear, resignation, elation, loss, love, grief, hope, loneliness, pity all blended together in an incredible melange. He'd never felt anything remotely like it before in his life. The crew were all there. Maria, Michael, and his sister were there, ranged around Liz. His gaze swept their faces looking for some hint of what the hell had been going on here.
Isabel simply smiled cryptically and nodded. Michael, as usual, was sphinx like. Maria was simply beaming. This could be good. Finally his eyes came to rest on Liz. She looked so scared that his heart broke. But she had something else in her face that he hadn't seen there in what seemed like forever. Determination. This was the old Liz. This could be very good.
Time slowed. Liz stared at Max for what felt like an eternity. He was still out of breath from his breakneck sprint from the Museum. His face looked wild. She wondered what he'd been getting from their link that put him in that state, then felt a pang as she went over a buffet of possibilities. No, this wasn't going to be easy. "But then nothing worthwhile ever is," she thought.
Maria dropped her arm from around Liz's shoulders and stood away. This was between Liz and Max.
Max spoke, a hopeful inquiry. "Liz?"
Liz advanced slowly towards him on wobbly legs, stopping barely a hand span away and placed a hand on his chest to steady herself. To Max it felt like fire. Good fire. The sort that warmed you through without burning you. Liz studied his face. The same face that had visited her dreams every night since he'd patched that bullet hole below her ribs. She was re-memorizing every plane and curve.
Max spoke again, this time with worry. "Liz?"
When she finally spoke it was with a low halting voice. "Max, a lot has happened with me the last year, with us, that you don't know about. And it's been keeping us apart. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of hiding things, and being apart. I want to be with you again. All the way with you. But before that can happen you have to know. All of it." She looked at him beseechingly. "I'm ready to give you the truth, if you're ready to handle it." Then she looked away and leaned into him. Sliding her arms inside of his jacket and around his chest.
Max's breath hitched as he swallowed hard. This was it. What he'd been waiting and hoping for, for a year. He looked over the top of Liz's head as her cheek rubbed against his chest. Michael was sporting that infamous half smile of his, what passed for a full out grin for him. And Maria looked ready to implode. Isabel's smile was no longer cryptic. Instead it was exultant. Triumphant. She winked. The wheels in Max's mind started to turn. Obviously Isabel and the others had been working on Liz. Brody asking him to stay late. The phone call from the museum office. Brody cutting him loose right afterwards. Setup. Fait accompli. Max couldn't think of anything else to do but send her a grin of acceptance and thanks. Then he turned his attention back to matters at hand.
Pulling back slightly he lifted Liz's chin so he could see her eyes, and spoke. "Yes."
Liz frowned. "Yes what?" she queried.
Max smiled. "To anything. To everything. I want it. I can take it. I need it."
Liz sighed. "Then kiss me. Please?"
Max leaned in to kiss her, and she met him halfway. It had been forever, so their urgency quotient was near red line. So there were none of the tentative preliminaries of the past. Her mouth opened immediately taking the kiss from tender to rugged in the first instants. Nor was Max far behind her. They both eased for a second, drew a deep breath, and then they took the plunge. It took only a heartbeat for their reawakened connection to flare to full life, after that point the flashes were unavoidable.
FLASH˜
Liz on her patio with someone who looked like himself..
FLASH˜
Liz and his older self spying on Tess and himself....
FLASH˜
Liz awkwardly climbing into bed with Kyle while his older self hid in the bathroom...
Nor was the traffic all one way. Liz began to receive images from Max.
FLASH˜
Liz leaving him at the cave...
FLASH˜
Liz in bed with Kyle...
FLASH˜
Max making love to Tess, and cursing his own weakness afterwards...
But it wasn't coming fast enough. It had been denied for too long. *They* had been denied for too long. Just when they didn't think they could possibly get any closer, they did. The avalanche of emotion was too great. The longing too intense. Something gave. Something snapped. A barrier crumbled. And they merged. Like two drops of water they became one. It wasn't a flash. It was *FUSION*. It was the most poignant moment that either had ever known, and they were experiencing it for the first time as one individual. They knew each other. He knew her self-sacrifice and bravery. She knew his longing and uncertainty. And they knew that their whole was greater than the sum of it's parts. Thoughts. Memories. Feelings. Hopes. Desires. It was all there. Neither could hide anything. It was agony. It was ecstasy. And they couldn't hold it forever.
Isabel watched Liz and her brother kiss, then kiss more deeply. As her brother shuddered she guessed that the flashes had started. It was such an intimate moment that she had to look away. She met Maria's eyes, for Maria had the same idea, and grinned. They dove into their own congratulatory hug.
Maria laughed as she pulled away. "Are we good, or what?"
Isabel chuckled. "Now we have to work on Jim Valenti and your mom."
Maria laughed and slapped at Isabel. "Don't speak heresy, girl. Besides, I don't think they need any prodding. A bucket of cold water maybe....." A throat clearing got their attention.
Michael said, "Umm, ladies? Not to interrupt the high fiving, but take a look at the happy couple."
Both girls turned and drew a startled breath. They had all heard about Max making Liz glow when they were on the trail of the first orb. But this time, both of them were leaving glow worm trails as their hands roamed each other. Max's jacket was in a heap on the floor. It had been in the way, and the two lovers had dispensed with it in the first seconds. So Isabel watched with her mouth open as the glow followed Liz's hand down her brother's arm.
Maria gasped. "Um, there's a whole lot of glowing there, and I don't think that all of it is following their hands."
Sure enough, there were other trails, merging and diverging from the ones that their hands were leaving. As they watched the trails merged and expanded to become a corona surrounding the two lovers. Both Max and Liz started to sag as their knees gave way, but they never lost their grip on each other. Their lips never parted. The auroral glow intensified.
Michael cleared his throat again. "Girls, I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that Maria's bucket of cold water might be in order here."
Isabel held up her hand. "No, whatever is happening here, let's just let it take it's course. Besides, it might be dangerous to try and separate them. And I have a funny feeling that they wouldn't thank us for it anyway."
"And besides," she thought, "it's our own fault if this is going wrong. We set it up."
At that moment the threshold was reached. Neither Liz's, nor Max's stamina could sustain them any longer. The light flared, and went out. But, as with all milestone moments, nothing is the same afterwards. As they pulled back they maintained their grip on one another. They could do nothing else. Had they let go completely they would have both fallen over. Liz immediately began to cry. Isabel and Maria rushed forward to lift them to their feet and help them into chairs.
Liz's crying jag passed quickly. Looking at Max, all she could summon up was, "Wow".
Max's first attempt at speech was equally eloquent with a profound, "Uh huh."
"Are you okay Chica?", Maria asked.
Liz gulped and nodded. When she spoke her voice sounded rusty. "I think so, though if I live to be a thousand, I don't think I'll ever be able to describe *that* experience well enough to do it justice."
Isabel looked at Max and raised an eyebrow.
Max nodded. "I'd say that covers it, Iz. You had to be there."
Michael chimed in. "Screw that, what happened, and are you two okay?"
Max looked at Liz, and when she nodded it was backed up by a warm hum of assent in his mind. "If what we felt is anything to go by we didn't just get flashes. We merged."
"Merged?" Maria's voice came out in a squeak.
"Yes merged," Liz said. "I think that we'd been apart so long, and the emotional overload was so great, that it was the only way." She looked at Max for support. "Or something like that...," she trailed off.
Max sighed, "We're off into the 'Twilight Zone' here. I don't know if this is the norm for us or not. And, to be honest, I don't care. I'm tired of second guessing and what ifs. Liz and I needed to resolve some things. They're resolved now." He paused with some trepidation. "Aren't they?"
Liz smiled. "Yes, they are. Absolutely."
Again, Max felt the hum of assent, stronger this time.
Max frowned. His eyes narrowed and he focused on Liz and let the puzzlement in his mind rise to the surface. Liz's eyes twinkled, she shrugged indicating a bemusement not far less than his own, then nodded. Isabel's voice interrupted his self examination. "MAX!" Max snapped back from Never Never Land.
"Are you sure that you're okay? she asked. "You started to zone out for a second."
Max nodded. "Yeah Iz, I...I mean *we* are okay. More okay than we've been in months." He yawned. "Right now though, it's almost midnight, and I'm beat. That whatever it was really takes it out of you. I'd like to have some alone time with my girlfriend before I fall over...if no one minds?"
Michael seemed less than satisfied, but Maria wasn't having any nonsense tonight. They had waited too long and worked too hard for this moment, and Max and Liz would have it to themselves! "Let's go Spaceboy! They have lost time to make up for and I have something I want to talk to you about!" She leaned up and whispered warmly in his ear.
Michael flushed faintly and muttered what sounded like, "Insatiable".
Maria giggled and started dragging him towards the door, stopping only to turn and toss the door keys to Liz. "You want a ride, Iz?" she asked.
Isabel nodded. "Hang on, I'll be right with you." Turning to Max and Liz she said, "Sorry about all the sneaky manipulation kids, but it was the only way to break the log jam."
Max hugged her and grinned. "What ever works Isabel, and this certainly did. But we all need to make a pact." He paused to look at Liz. "No more secrets." Liz flushed. Max gave his sister a kiss and released her so that she could give Liz a quick hug. At that the Jetta pulled up in front and stood waiting.
Isabel turned and headed out the door feeling that, for the first time in a very long time, they were almost whole again. It felt good.
Max and Liz stood watching as Maria's car pulled away then turned to each other. After they had studied each other's face for a moment Max sighed and spoke. "Well, alone at last."
Liz smiled uncertainly. "Max, I don't know what you felt, but I don't think that either of us will be truly one hundred percent alone ever again."
Again came the hum in Max's mind. This time it was simply one over riding emotion. Love. He gulped. "No, I don't think so. Though how you can feel like that after everything..."
She cut him off with two fingers on his lips. "Hush. Now we can go on about who did what to whom. Who owes who what apologies....and then grovel to make said apologies. Or we can revel in this. I vote for revel."
Max grinned. "No argument Love. Reveling it is." He frowned briefly. "But tomorrow is another day, and there are issues to deal with."
Liz hugged him. "We'll handle it. I can handle anything, now."
Max looked down at her and grinned. "So, now what? I'm not leaving. Is there anything left to do down here?"
Liz pulled away and walked to the door to re-lock it. "Nope," she said. "Our band of happy plotters helped me finish up while we were waiting for you. So it's lights out for me."
Max's grin broadened. "Sooooo, at this hour I hardly think that your parents would take it well if we just walk upstairs, into your bedroom, and close the door."
Liz snorted. "What makes you think that you're getting into my bedroom buster?"
Max smirked. "I don't, but it's the most direct route to your patio. However, if you're suggesting...."
"Nothing!" she cut him off with a blush.
Max rolled his eyes. "Okay, plan B. You take the low road and I'll take the high road. Betcha I'm up the ladder before you're up the stairs." With that he broke for the door.
"Wait," Liz said, "I locked that!"
Max laughed. "So?"
He pressed his hand to the lock and it disengaged with a click. Stepping outside he re-engaged the lock the same way, smirked at Liz, and took off. Liz realized where he was headed, but had to take the stairs at a normal pace in the event that her folks were still awake. So she lost the bet.
She reached her room without incident, and he was there. Sprawled on her bed. She felt her blood start to race. It had been a while. It felt like several centuries in fact. "I thought you wanted to get to the patio?" she hissed quietly. He shrugged. "God," she thought, "he's even handsome when he shrugs. How could I have forgotten?"
Max smiled and answered, "Liz, I know what you're feeling. You know what I'm feeling. And now we both know what we've each felt throughout all this."
He was right too, the hum was back, and this time it was lust. Pure and simple. Max continued. "And while I'm not stupid enough to ask you to go for it right here with your folks at the other end of the hall, I didn't think that some serious cuddling was out of line. And besides, we're both too whipped to..um..do 'it' right."
Liz dropped her stuff and dashed into the bathroom to change. "Hold that thought!" she said. Emerging with her PJ's on she moved towards him showing a gentle smile. "Nope, you're right, I'd say that we're both seriously cuddling deficient. Move over!" She slid onto the bed. "And turn out the light!" The room plunged into darkness. Liz settled back into a spoon with Max and sighed as he kissed her neck. With her last coherent thought she reached out and snagged her alarm setting it for 4:30 AM. There was no point in getting busted by her parents. Then she settled back to sleep as she hadn't slept in a year. Contentedly. She was home. They were home.
Isabel went through her nightly preparations for bed with a goofy grin. Success! Maria had dropped her off a little after 12:00. The ride home had been boisterous to say the least. There had been an attempt by Michael to get a pool going on what time Max would leave Liz. But it turned out to be a dud, since no one thought that Max would be leaving Liz's side tonight. Then Michael had done the guy thing and tried to get them to bet on whether or not they would make love. Which very nearly gotten him killed. After some bloodthirsty threats by the girls, and some profuse apologies by Michael, they had reached the Evans house. Isabel paused to kiss them both goodnight before heading inside, walking on air. Success! Finishing up with lotion, tooth brush, and apple blossom scented baby powder she flipped off the bathroom light and tiredly made her way to bed..
Now as she dropped onto her bed to let her adrenaline ramp down she decided that a few infomercials might be the very thing to help bore her to sleep. Rolling over to grab the remote for her TV she noticed something on the floor by the bed. Her yearbook. That, and the thought of sleep, brought her back to last night. And suddenly she wasn't certain that sleep was a good idea. She finished reaching for the remote on her bedside table and clicked on the TV. After some channel surfing she settled on what looked like a biography on A&E. Laughing silently she thought, "Now I'm choosing programming to stay awake!" As she watched and struggled to stay awake her mind kept running over and over what had happened last night. On the one hand, she'd never dreamed a dream walk before. On the other hand, you can't dream walk a dead person. It had *felt* so *real*!
Isabel growled with frustration and tried to shove her thoughts aside. The A&E show was a biography on Arthur Conan Doyle. Cool! The creator of Sherlock Holmes! Alex would have liked this! Of course, thinking of Alex put her back on track, thinking of last night. There was so much they didn't know about their abilities! In fact only what Tess and Nasedo had told them, which may or may not have been the truth, and what they had learned themselves. And everything in her experience cried out that last night was something outside the normal nightmare. Like the music. It was something that Alex would like, for sure. But she had never associated it with him. Never heard him play it. And it certainly wasn't something she would have gone for herself. Correction. The old Isabel wouldn't have. The new Isabel probably would have, in time. But regardless, the Righteous Brothers currently had no place on her CD shelves. It was a like a dream walk. But it *couldn't* have been.
Isabel was getting drowsy, losing the battle against sleep, when a bit of dialogue from Conan Doyle seeped into her half-awake twilight mind. "Elementary Watson! Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains; however improbable, must be the truth." The line echoed and re-echoed in her mind, looking for someplace to land. For something to connect with. It found what it was looking for.
Isabel sat straight up. Wide awake. She had chills. Her heart was hammering. "...must be the truth." She never questioned her feelings, just went with them. She reached over the side of the bed and dragged the yearbook off the floor. Flipping it open to the dog eared page she sought, she drew a deep breath and placed her finger on his picture. She gasped as she saw the wave race across the picture. Did that mean that the improbable was possible? Was it because he *was* alive? Or was it just the application of her powers? She blinked tears away. One way or the other she would know by morning, if not sooner.
Isabel clicked off the TV after sending silent blessings to Sir Arthur, waved the light off, and tried to compose herself for sleep. It was a long time coming. Before it did, something occurred to her. If Alex *was* alive, he had neglected to make them aware of the fact. There were things about her 'dream' last that were troubling, like Alex's evident fear. But to not send any sort of word? However vague? Her eyes narrowed as she thought... "Sweetheart, when and if I get my hands on you, I'm going to kiss you for a solid week. *Then* I am going to kick your ass so hard that you'll have to reach *up* to scratch yourself!" Isabel settled back and waited for sleep to come.
Alex rolled over in bed and groaned. "Why am I still awake?" he thought. He had tried everything, from the breathing exercises and yoga that Duncan and Methos had taught him, to counting sheep. Nothing had worked, and sleep seemed further away than ever. He sat up and winced. His side still ached from where the kendo stick Duncan had used in their evening workout had swept past his defenses. For the thousandth time he thought, "It's a damn good thing I heal fast. The old Alex would have been in a body cast after one day here. The new and improved Alex simply hurts like hell." He swung his feet to the floor and stood up. Grabbing a robe he headed for the bathroom. Surely there was something there for aches. Muscle rub. Advil. Plain old aspirin. Something. As he passed the short hallway leading to the large loft that comprised Duncan's bedroom/livingroom/any old thing at all room, he heard voices and paused to listen.....
At the same time across town in a rented room...
As residential hotels went the place was a dump. Though, for the low rent district it was in, it passed for the Ritz Carlton. The room didn't look much better. It was dingy. The paint had seen better days, as had the bathroom fixtures if the rust stains were any indication. The bed was unmade since housekeeping was hit and miss. Mostly miss. And the debris around the room were an eclectic mix of cartons from takeout places, beer and soda cans, liquor bottles, pizza boxes, and fast-food leftovers. The room's occupant paused in sharpening his sword to scratch at the scar tissue on his right cheek. Raphael Conterras was bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. "This recon job sucks," he thought. "Next time that friggin' cabrone Brit can find someone else to do the scut work. Speaking of which....". He flicked a glance at his watch and nodded to himself. Reaching out he picked up his cell phone and punched a speed dial button.
The connection was made and the phone rang twice.
"Hello?" said a masculine voice with a touch of Northern European accent in it.
Conterras said, "Jossie, let me talk to Britney?"
The man at the other end started to growl incoherently but was cut off by a cultured voice. "It's all right Joachim, I'm on in my office. Let me deal with our *young* friend."
At the sound of that voice Conterras blanched. "Sire I...."
The voice cut him off. "Now now Rafe, you've already managed to offend me. Don't make it worse by trying to kiss my arse. Let's hear your report, then we'll deal with personal issues."
Conterras swallowed and commenced his report. "I followed MacLeod and two of his flunkies to New Mexico and back."
The voice asked, "The purpose of their trip?"
"A funeral," Conterras said. "From what I picked up on the rifle mic and learned from examining the graves afterwards, one of the flunkies is a newbie. Less than a year old as one of us. They took him home to see his parents buried. The obit I read said, automobile accident.".
The voice paused as if ruminating then spoke again. "Has the investigator we retained turned anything?"
Conterras pawed through the mess on the floor next to the bed coming up with several printed sheets that comprised the PI's report. "Surveillance shows several people being occupants, guests, or frequent visitors to that dojo MacLeod runs. The newbie, an Alex Whitman. A young stud named Richie Ryan, who has a couple of heads to his credit I hear. A guy named Adam Pierson.. A couple of major babes, no names on them yet. I think one of the babes lives there and is shacking with MacLeod. And some old geezer who walks with a cane, name of Joe Dawson. He runs a small but popular blues bar. Aside from them there are the usual run of martial arts students." Conterras sighed. "I can't tell you who the players are besides MacLeod, Ryan, and the newbie without getting close enough to catch the buzz."
The voice held silence for quite awhile after that. Long enough to cause Conterras to get jumpy. "Sire?", he queried.
The voice suddenly seemed to recall its minion was there. "So, discounting the 'geezer' and the more plebeian students we have three immortals and three unknowns. Possibly as many as six immortals." The voice paused and then continued briskly. "MacLeod always was the gregarious type." The voice laughed then continued. "Stay well away from them. Don't let them know that you're around. I want them relaxed and unsuspecting. We'll handle sorting the wolves from the sheep when I get to town with the rest of the Cohort. Am I clear?"
Conterras gulped and said, "Yes Sire".
The voice went on. "I mean it Rafe. I know your habits. You do anything that compromises this operation and I'll skin you alive. *Then* I'll take your quickening."
Conterras cleared his throat. "Yes Sire."
The voice spoke again. "And Rafe?"
"Yes Sire?" he responded.
The voice continued. "If you ever again refer to me as anything but Britanicus or Sire, and I hear of it, I'll pull your beating heart out through your ribs and eat it in front of you. Are we clear?"
Conterras shuddered. "One of these days", he thought, "my big mouth is going to get me killed." Then he spoke aloud. "Yes Sire."
A loud *click* indicated that he had been hung up on. He stared at the phone for a moment then dropped it like a hot potato. He stared off into space a moment then grabbed the half full whiskey bottle next to him on the bed and took a pull. He failed to consider that, having consumed most of a bottle before the call, the liquor may have had a hand in his mouth putting him on the spot. As a result he was in no position to deal with the second blast when it hit him. "Screw Britney," he thought. "I want to have a little fun before he gets to town, and that newbie is right up my alley. All I have to do is snake him away from his guard dogs."
Conterras smiled to himself and resumed sharpening his sword.. "That blonde hottie that hung back as the mourners left. What was the name that the rifle mic had given him? Isabel? She'd work just fine. Probably the boy's ex or sister. Looked to be the right age." Conterras took another drink. The alcohol was giving him delusions of grandeur. "I'll just mention her name to the newbie somehow and let nature take it's course." He'd seen love do many things over the decades, but to him it's most effective use was as...bait. Conterras laughed aloud. It would be a good week.
In an office sequestered on a modest but well appointed estate in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies the man whom the world presently knew as Roland Kingsgate studied the phone that he'd just hung up. He'd had other names in other times and places. But his own, what he thought of as his birth name, was Britanicus Musa. It had been his when he had been a centurion of the legions of the empire. He had been in the command of Gaius Julius when he had crossed the Rubicon to become Caesar. Those had been heady times. He sighed. Times that would never come again. He looked down and studied the notes he had made. Not bad. Not too bad at all. Even under a worst case he would have a two to one superiority in arms on his side. And if too many of his own died he would simply kill the rest, close up shop, and wait a century or so before rounding up another crop of gullible 'youngsters' to go aconquering once more.
Much as he enjoyed the Game, he preferred that it be played by his rules. Which meant overwhelming force and no quarter. Screw single combat. What was he? A gladiator? "Still", he thought, "it's getting hard to find decent cannon fodder. That bellicose fool Conterras for example." Britanicus fully intended, come what may, win or lose, to take that fool's head and be rid of him when this was over. A man could be many things and still earn Britanicus' latitude. But stupid and annoying were the two worst vices in his book. And Conterras was both. "No matter," he thought. "Being what he is, our dear Rafe will probably do something stupid and MacLeod will shorten him for his trouble." Britanicus chuckled. "Perhaps I should thank him when I see him. Right before I take his head."
Returning to his notes he circled the New Mexico reference and the name Alex Whitman, penning a note to have a little low priority investigating done on the young man's associates prior to his 'untimely death'. It would probably come to nothing, but Britannicus hadn't gotten to be as old as he was without learning to be thorough. In a tight situation a little leverage never hurts anything. Slipping his notes into a file folder and placing them in his private files he stood, stretched, and headed out into the hall. Time for bed. Tomorrow was a new day. He had places to go, sights to see....and people to kill. Life was good.
Alex stood unobtrusively in the hallway, exactly as Amanda had taught him, and listened. This sounded like a council of war.
There were five people sitting around MacLeod's dining table. Amanda was there mainly because the bedroom and dining room were the *same* room, so there was no point in going to bed without Duncan. The others included Duncan obviously, Richie, Methos, and Joe Dawson.
Dawson slid a glossy photo across the table at Richie. "I ran search parameters in our database for the description you gave of your stalker, Richie. I turned only six hits. One is in prison, confirmed. And four aren't on this continent, that we know of. That leaves this character. Recognize him?" Joe has long since outgrown any compunction at helping out his friends with a little information. And since MacLeod had finished Callas, The Watchers were disinclined to lean on him to stop.
Richie studied the photo. It was relatively old. Maybe from the sixties given the hair and the 'Nam Vet wardrobe, peace sign and all. But the face, and scar, were unmistakable. "Yup, that's him. Got any particulars?" He skated the photo over to Methos.
Dawson started to speak but was cut off by a startled oath. "Sonofabitch! The Angel of Death is in Seattle?"
Methos looked up and found four puzzled faces staring at him. "I know this pendejo," he said. "It's been almost eighty years, and I've met a lot of men with scars...but this one I wouldn't forget. He's a class A lowlife."
Richie grimaced and spoke. "Why the nickname? Is he hell on wheels with a sword or something?"
Methos shook his head. "No, he's a parasite. Tags along with other immortals, picking up scraps. Between gigs as a minion, he specializes."
"Specializes? Amanda asked.
Methos gave a gallows grin. "In new Immortals."
Standing in the hall Alex had to struggle to keep silent as something cold and heavy settled in his stomach. "Oh yeah Richie," he thought, "he's for certain hunting you." Richie's remark about slaughtered chickens came back to him. "Hello, I'm Foghorn Leghorn. Just dip me in batter, fry me up, and call me lunch," he thought.
Joe spoke into the silence following Methos' last statement. "Here's what we have. Full name, Raphael Jesse Conterras. Born 1892. He fought in the Mexican Civil War, and rode with Pancho Villa when he crossed the border in 1916 to raid Columbus, New Mexico. Executed after the raid.
"Executed?" Richie queried.
Joe cleared his throat. "Yes. Apparently he was a little to enthusiastic about the rape, loot, and pillage aspect of his duties. It's believed that this was when he became Immortal." Joe paused. When no comments were forthcoming he continued. "His current alias is Jesus Rodriguez, but he has also gone by Rodrigo Garcia and Adam Hidalgo. Current whereabouts unknown. Eighty nine recorded kills with thirteen more suspected. All new Immortals."
Alex swallowed and tried to calm his shakes, which would have been easier had his blood stream not been pumping straight ice water right then.
Richie sighed. "So this piece of shit is hunting Alex?" He grinned ruefully. "And to think, I thought it was me."
Duncan looked at Joe. "I don't suppose you can tell us where he is, can you?"
Joe sighed. "MacLeod, we've been friends a long time. And while I don't mind providing you with occasional intel on a black hat like this, setting them up so you can knock them down is above and beyond the call. The Watchers might think well of you, but there are still limits to what they will permit me to do. Besides, we really don't know where he is. He's a slippery SOB. Like a sewer rat. Keeping him under surveillance is tough. Not because he knows *we're* following him. But because he thinks that *everyone* is following him."
Duncan looked thoughtful. "Okay, I'll do this the hard way then. He stalks Alex, and I stalk *him*."
Amanda spoke up. "You mean *we* stalk him."
Duncan stared at Amanda. "What?" she asked. "I'm fond of him too. He may be your student, but he's *my* friend."
Duncan grinned and shrugged. "Besides, he doesn't gag on your cooking."
Amanda's eyes narrowed. "You're honing for a night on the couch Junior!"
Methos chuckled. "Not to break up a good lovers spat...er, I mean interesting foreplay, but you two can't handle it all *and* keep things up around here. I'll take every third day. That way Duncan can keep up with Alex's training and Amanda can play Martha Stewart to her heart's content."
Amanda glared at him. If looks could kill, Methos would have been a head short right then.
Duncan nodded then turned to Richie. "Okay, you hold the fort, and keep up Alex's training with whomever is available. Keep the pressure on, Richie. He's got to get his mind off of things back in New Mexico, and the quickest way to accomplish that is to give him too much to worry about right here." Duncan picked up the photo and stared at it. "Meanwhile, we'll see if we can't give this bastard a haircut. Piece of cake."
Standing unobtrusively in the hall, Alex suddenly grinned. "Give me too much to worry about?" he thought. "How about the fact that some moron wants my head? I'd say that's worrisome enough." Then he paused as he suddenly realized that his shakes were gone. When he sought the reason why he couldn't nail it down. He simply felt better. "I ought to be scared shitless," he thought. In fact I think that I *was* scared shitless a moment ago. So why don't I *feel* it now?"
He frowned for a moment then looked over his shoulder. For a second he could have sworn that he had company there in the hall. A presence both warm and comforting. Still frowning he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. There it was. That apple blossom scent that, in his memory, said 'Isabel'. He looked around again, the he shrugged it off. "When I start imagining that she's here it's time to visit a shrink." Grinning again, he imagined *that* couch session. "Well doc, I used to consort with aliens, but after I died I became an Immortal warrior. The problem is that my drop dead gorgeous super model alien ex-girlfriend, whom I still love more than my own life, has started dropping into my dreams to visit...resulting in olfactory hallucinations." Either he or the shrink would end up in the laughing academy.
Shaking off the humor of the moment he focused again on what was happening in the living area. He thought about joining the council of war, but all that would do was draw admonitions to stay close and be careful. And worse yet, it might make Amanda "mother" him more. He sighed. "Youth sucks," Alex thought. "Especially when you're a youth from both the mortal *and * the Immortal point of view." Alex reached a decision and quietly withdrew.
He started towards the bathroom to finish his search for something to relieve his aches when he halted in surprise. He worked his shoulders. Then he stretched. Nothing. Not a single twinge. Chuckling silently he about faced and headed back towards his bedroom. "I've discovered a cure for muscle aches," he thought. "There's nothing like finding out that that you're under imminent threat of death to clear up those nagging aches and pains."
Reaching his room he climbed back into bed and gratefully settled back onto his pillow. As he felt sleep take him he puzzled again over his strange calmness at the news that someone was after his head. He shook his head to try and clear it, but sleep won over introspection. His last waking thought was, "Tomorrow is another day.....".
The meeting had broken up. Methos and Joe had headed home, and Richie was already in bed asleep. Duncan and Amanda were settling down in bed when Amanda sat up suddenly and sniffed. She turned to Duncan and frowned. "Was Cassandra over today while I was shopping?"
Duncan shrugged. "Not that I know of, why?
Amanda's eyes narrowed. "Then why do I smell apple blossoms? Come to think of it, that isn't her sort of scent....which means that it's *someone else's* sort of scent. Care to explain?"
Duncan looked the injured innocent. "Okay, you got me...I like to use women's toiletries."
Amanda's mouth dropped open, the she squealed and began to pummel MacLeod....which as usual led to other things that banished her suspicions completely before they were done.
Sunday 1:00 AM in Alex's bedroom...
Alex was asleep. He was approaching that point in slumber that the scientific types call 'REM state'. Rapid Eye Movement. The dream time. And for Alex it would mark a turning point of sorts. A return of the old, and the true beginning of the new.
You see, Alex was right on two counts. Tomorrow would indeed be another day, but before the new sunrise there would be the night. And youth does sometimes suck...for the young. For had he been a bit older and saltier he might have recognized the calm surrounding him as the sort that people refer to as 'ominous'. Like the famous 'calm before the storm'. In Alex's case tonight was just the beginning of a force 5 blow named Hurricane Isabel.....
Isabel found herself in that city again, walking. The airborne tang of the sea was stronger now. And this time she knew where she was and where she was going. She hurried on until she arrived in front of the building she recalled from her previous dream walk. The fact that the same building and city had been the backdrop in both dream walks seemed to indicate that they were familiar enough to Alex that his subconscious would use them repeatedly as stage setting for his dreams. This must be the place that Alex called home now. Before entering the building she made a slow turn, scanning nearby buildings and the horizon for any indication of where she was. Nothing leaped out at her except for an odd structure in the distance. It tickled her memory as if she should know it, but she couldn't put a name to it.. It looked like a minaret with a flying saucer impaled on it. After studying it for a few minutes she gave up. One mystery at a time please. Filing it for future reference she turned and entered the building.
The room was the same, minus the smoochy lighting and the singers. No one was around, so she made a slow circuit of the room, studying it's contents. All were related to physical training and the martial arts. "Who is Alex living with?" she wondered. "Jet Li?" After completing her walk around she thought it was time to get down to business. Find Alex and find out what the hell was going on, in that order. As she looked around for a way deeper into the building the thudding sound of running feet caused her to freeze. As she watched, Alex burst into the room in panicked flight. He had what appeared to be a sword in his hand. "A sword!!?"
Alex's dream self made it to the center of the room, spun about facing the way he had come, and dropped into guard with a grace that she had never imagined in him before. The changes she had noticed the last time were still there. The erect posture. The muscles. And that hardened careworn face. It was Alex, but not Alex. "Is this what he looks like now?" she wondered. "Or what he imagines he looks like?" Another mystery to solve, along with what had Alex so frightened.
For the later she didn't have long to wait. Barely a moment later a man entered the room. He too had a gleaming sword in hand. And from where Isabel stood she could see the ragged seam of scar marring one of his cheeks. He advanced on Alex rapidly and wordlessly. For his part Alex looked terrified but determined. This was obviously a nightmare in the making. Isabel wondered if she should try to change things to soothe Alex, but decided against it. Sending a silent apology to Alex she did nothing. She was here after information, and this was the way to get it. Once the man was with striking distance he launched a vicious overhand slash which Alex parried cleanly. Isabel watched in astonishment as the battle continued from that opening. Alex moved like a dancer trading cuts and parries with the stranger. No words were exchanged, the only sound was that of stentorian breathing punctuated by the clash and scream of tortured steel as their blades met. It was utterly amazing to her. This had to be fantasy driven. As she watched their death dance she was certain that no one could possibly be this graceful in real life. It bordered on the beautiful.
As the fight went on it became apparent that Alex was losing. He was tiring. His movements became slow, almost lethargic. The stranger on the other hand seemed to be unstoppable and unkillable. Both combatants were bleeding from minor wounds. But while Alex was panting and disheveled, his opponent wasn't even breathing fast and didn't seem to have a hair out of place. As Isabel watched in horror that stranger let loose a roundhouse slash that knocked Alex's weakened guard aside and cut him deeply across the stomach. Dropping to one knee grasping his stomach Alex was unable to prevent his assailant from contemptuously knocking his sword from his hand sending it spinning away to stop near Isabel. As Alex looked up, unable to summon the energy to rise and flee, the stranger raised his sword above his head for what was obviously going to be a killing stroke. He paused, and then spoke for the first time. The words sounded like a ritual. "There can be only one!" he intoned.
This was too much for Isabel. No one but *NO ONE* hurt Alex like this, even in a dream. Scooping up his fallen sword she held it clumsily and charged the strange man's back, intending to distract him from his intent. Time seemed to slow. She was going to be too late. The stranger's sword was already moving in it's downward stroke as she opened her mouth to scream.....
BLINK....
Isabel's momentum carried her forward as she stumbled through the space that Alex and his erstwhile opponent had occupied, but they were gone. So was the room. She stumbled and fell, dropping the sword which dissolved at once, as dream props do when discarded. She was outdoors now, on rough ground that had caused her to trip and fall. It was bright daylight out. Rolling over and sitting up she looked around and realized where she was. New Mexico. Or at least it looked like the scrubland around Roswell. She heard a car door slam and stood up. She saw Alex and two men leaving a car and walking up the hillside behind the car. As she hurried forward to catch up she glanced at the car as she passed it. New Mexico plates. >From the looks of it, a rental. She had to give Alex this, his memory for detail, no matter how trivial, was extraordinary. Closing the distance between herself and the three men she slowed, not wanting to attract Alex's attention she stayed out of his line of sight.
They crested the hill top and settled down to watch the broad sweep of land below. The older of the two men removed a pair of binoculars from their case and wordlessly handed them to Alex. He immediately focused them on an area out in front of the hill, perhaps a mile away. With a start she realized where they were and what he was looking at. It was the cemetery. She shaded her eyes and squinted. There were cars there. A lot of them. It was too far away to make out people, but she knew those cars from the recent past. It was the day of the funeral. Dropping her hand she stared at Alex as a chill swept over her. "I was right!" she thought. "Oh my God, I was right! He *was* there. Up on this hill, watching us! But why didn't he come down?" A sudden doubt assailed her, only to be swept away a moment later by the pained tones in Alex's voice as he whispered her name. "Isabel!" The obvious yearning in his voice caused her throat to constrict as unbidden tears gathered in her eyes. "He still loves me!" But that only deepened the mystery. "Why didn't he come down there, damnit!?"
A moment later she had her answer. "Those *bastards*!" she thought in fury. "They stopped him! He would have come, and they stopped him!" Glaring at Alex's two companions with undisguised hatred she allowed herself a thin smile. "Oh boys," she thought. "You have no clue about who you're messing with, or of what you've done. But you will, I promise you. Get ready for your last sound night's sleep....EVER!"
Isabel kept listening with utter amazement. If the younger man's efforts to restrain Alex had angered her, the dark haired guy's left her dumbstruck. "Ordinary humans? Megalomania much, Mister?" Isabel blinked as she gained comprehension of what they were doing to Alex. A guilt trip! "What the hell is going on? This sounds like that 'keep off the humans' crap that Max, Michael, and I used to lay on each other! Alex has heard this all before! God knows *I* used it enough trying to get him to keep his distance!" Her eyes softened. "Thank God I failed." Then she smiled. "Or rather, thank God Alex succeeded in out waiting me."
Isabel gave a frustrated sigh. Whatever was happening had to be pretty far out there. These guys were talking like they were...Isabel's eyes rounded. "They're talking like they're aliens themselves!" This was impossible. Or least pretty damned improbable. Not least because they were talking like Alex was an alien too. And she knew very well that he wasn't. "Whatever is going on, Alex should have known better than to buy into this crap! He knows what we are! And he for damn sure knows that if anyone could accept him, we could! And what's all this nonsense about danger and head hunting?"
They were getting ready to leave. Time to have this out once and for all. She was getting some answers if it killed her! As they filed past her Isabel reached out and touched Alex's arm, softly but emphatically calling his name. "Alex!" Alex started, and his companions dissolved as he achieved awareness of Isabel. He looked around frantically, then he seemed to realize what had happened. He looked back towards the cemetery and she saw his shoulders slump. When he turned back to her she was unprepared for the look on his face. Resignation and crushing sadness.
"Hello Izzy," he said softly. "I knew that you'd come back eventually, but I kind of hoped that you'd write it off as a nightmare." He smiled through his sadness. "I felt you, you know that? Earlier tonight I felt you reaching for me. I thought it was my imagination when I smelled you."
Isabel blinked. He smelled her? Alex's smile morphed into a full blown grin. Her heart did a back flip in her chest. She had forgotten how beautiful he was when his usually solemn features were lit up by honest merriment.
He answered the question written clearly on her face. "Your body powder. The 'before bed' stuff. It smells of apple blossoms. Kinda hard for me to miss the association with you." Looking her up and down he smiled. There was appreciation in his eyes. Appreciation and...hunger. That look she'd missed too, largely because Alex's essential shyness didn't let him show it very often, and it could still make her shiver. Still grinning he said, "Red satin PJs. Very nice. You remembered."
Isabel felt herself softening under his words and stare, then she remembered why she was there. She shook herself out of her current charitable state of mind. Leaving out the weirdness that went with Alex *smelling* her talcum powder when she was trying dream walk him, there was still a lot of explaining to be done. She glared at him. "Alexander Charles Whitman! I swear, I don't know whether to kiss you or kill you! For six months you've let us, LET ME, think that you were dead! And never once did you try to get in touch! Not a word! Not so much as a whisper!"
Her hands were on her hips now, her foot tapping in a comical satire of 'the vexed schoolmarm'. "You weren't the only one with 'feelings' mister! I felt you all right. On and off for these entire six months I've felt you out there. I thought it was just grief. Or wish fulfillment." Angry tears began to flow down her cheeks and she scrubbed them away with the heels of her hands. Then she waved her hand at the cemetery out in the dreamscape. "The day of the funeral I thought that I was loosing my mind, you oaf! Your essence was so strong that it was like having you in my LAP! I had visions of ghosts and God knows what else! And it turns out you WERE in my lap! Sitting up here with your new friends playing the voyeur!"
Isabel gave a ragged sniff. "I want answers! NOW! Why aren't you dead?! Where have you been? Where are you now? Who were those men? WHAT were those men? Why did they think they had the right to stop you from coming to us, to ME? What's happened to you that *they* don't think we'd understand? Why are you in danger? And don't lie to me! That doofus with the ponytail made it clear that you are! If you're in danger you belong with us! God knows you've protected us often enough! Did you think that we wouldn't return the favor? That we wouldn't care? That I..we didn't...love you?" She was crying harder now. She regarded the anguish on Alex's face and took a deep shuddering breath in an effort to control herself. "And lastly, what is this crap about headhunting? I saw your nightmare earlier, Alex. If that's your future, you need our help!" Alex was silent. "Well? Answer me!"
What Alex did next startled her beyond measure. He touched her. Then he kissed her.
All through Isabel's tirade Alex had stood mute. He was completely unable to speak. His emotions were caught in a twisted mass. Pain, regret, passion, longing, loneliness, fear, desire, love. All boiling together, each vying for top billing. He had forgotten how incredibly beautiful she was. His Golden Goddess. Whose beauty was enhanced by her emotions, any emotions. And now her tears tugged at him. He felt like scum. And unworthy scum at that! All the more so because he dared not give her the answers she was demanding. To do so would place her, and all his friends, in jeopardy. At that moment, regarding the tenderness and fury in her eyes, on her sweet face, there was only one answer that he was capable of.
Of their own volition his hands rose to cup her face, his thumbs gently smoothing away her tears. He stepped in close, until their bodies touched. He felt her stiffen, but before she could react further his face dipped towards hers and their lips met. At first she resisted, but his arms had dropped past her shoulders pinning her arms to her sides. And his mouth was insistent, his kiss demanding. At last she sighed and relaxed. Her mouth opened and welcomed him home.
The kiss seemed to go on for eons. Isabel felt herself drifting in a warm haze. This was perfection personified. She had missed him. All the more because they'd had so little time together before Alex had been taken from her. She'd never had time to get to *this*! They had kissed before, even french kissed...but not like this! God! This wasn't just a kiss! This was making love with her mouth! And Alex wasn't holding back anything either. He was putting everything in him into that kiss. Isabel felt herself growing closer to Alex's essence. He was in the haze with her. She willed herself to him, reaching out for him, enfolding him in herself. Straining to reach his center. She could feel him yielding, wanting to give in. They were almost there......
"NO!", Alex shouted has he pulled away. Isabel was dumbstruck as she watched him drag himself away from her, breathing raggedly. "God Izzy!", he said hoarsely. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that! I shouldn't have made *you* do that!"
Alex looked wretched and lost. She reached out to try and take him in her arms, but he backed away. "Alex, what is it? What's wrong?"
Alex laughed brokenly. "What's wrong? This. Me. You. Everything!" He seemed to gather himself. "Did you ever get the feeling that whoever or whatever passes for God must be the ultimate practical joker?" Alex swallowed past a lump in his throat. "I can't answer your questions Iz. None of them. To do so would place you in danger! You, Max, Liz, Michael, Maria...everyone I care about. It might even reach out to include your parents!" He took several deep breaths and struggled to bring his emotions under control.
Isabel watched as he visibly fought for control...and won. "He's just like Max," she thought. "Mr. Focus and self control, the idiot." Max's self control had held him back until he'd nearly lost Liz. But that was not, repeat NOT, going to happen here. Not to her, and not to Alex. She was NOT giving up. But she knew how to play the waiting game. "So," she dissembled, "what *can* you tell me?"
Alex regarded her cautiously. The sudden change of direction had taken him off guard. He had expected many things. More tears. Anger. Accusations. But not a reasonable question. He sensed a trap, but he couldn't for the life of him think of a single damned thing to do but answer her. He certainly wasn't willing to end this yet. "Tess killed me."
Isabel nodded. "We know," she said softly.
Alex blinked. "I thought as much," he said.
Isabel smiled inwardly. Guile had it's place in this. Alex didn't realize that he'd given her two important pieces of information. Three actually. That he *had* been 'killed'. That, in some strange way, he hadn't *stayed* 'killed'. And that he had a means of knowing what was happening in Roswell, with them. "Make that four pieces of information," she thought as her heart swelled.. "He's been watching over us from where ever he is now." She smiled at Alex. "She staged it to look like you had committed suicide. In fact that's what it says on the books."
Alex winced. "I know. I hacked the police report. If she staged it well enough to fool the cops, how did you find out?"
Her smile broadened as she spoke one word. "Liz." Alex's eyebrows rose. She had him. "You would have been proud of her, Alex. She was like a pit bull. She refused to believe for an instant that you had killed yourself. It took her a while, and some wrong turns, but she finally cracked it." Isabel swallowed. "He has to know it all", she thought. So she continued. "Even though she had to fight us to do it."
"Fight you?" Alex queried.
Isabel nodded. "Your death had hit us hard. And to top it off we had other issues going. Tess was pregnant. We couldn't deal."
Alex's looked nonplused. "Pregnant? By who? Who was the father?"
Isabel was grim. "Max."
This was too much. Alex tottered over to a nearby rock and sat down with a thump. "Poor Liz! What was he thinking of? What the hell happened? I knew they had problems, but this?"
Isabel nodded. "Saying that 'they had problems' doesn't even begin to cover it." Taking a seat on another nearby rock she began to talk. She brought him up to speed. Starting with Future Max and the invasion of 2014. When she reached the part about her death, then Michael's, at the hands of the invading skins Alex looked like he'd been poleaxed. She told him of the desperate plan to change the future and of Liz's choice to throw her love into the furnace of destiny to achieve it. To save the world. Then came the fallout. Max's alienation from Liz. The Dupes. The Summit in New York. Vilandra. And finally the disaster of prom night.
Alex looked guilty. "I was too wrapped up in you to notice anything else. I *told* you that you looked too fetching in that dress!"
Isabel placed a hand on his knee to soothe him. "Alex, Tess had you so messed up that you probably wouldn't have noticed if people started going around nude. Don't beat yourself up over it. Lets drop it." Her narrative continued. Liz finding the instructions to the granolith that Alex had been forced to decode. The baby's inability to survive on Earth. The decision to leave.
Alex looked stricken. "You almost left? What happened?"
Isabel looked away. "It was a near thing", she said softly. "Liz had finally convinced us that you had been murdered. Whoever had done it had framed an innocent human girl for it. Max nearly killed her before Liz stopped him. It wasn't until the last hour that Liz realized that you'd been displaying the symptoms of mind warp, the same as Maria's mom. Then she identified them in Kyle. She and Maria questioned him and he broke through Tess' control and remembered your murder and being forced to load your body into a car. After that it was race to reach us before we launched the granolith."
Isabel swung around to look at him. "Even at that, they would have failed if Michael hadn't had a change of heart at the last minute." Alex's face queried her. "They couldn't get in or signal us. But Michael decided at the last minute to stay. Apparently his farewell night with Maria got pretty intense. Intense enough to finally let him know where 'home' was. And it was here. With Maria."
Alex grinned again, giving her a thrill. "Way to go Bro'!" His grin weakened as he remembered. "What happened?"
Isabel couldn't hold his eyes. "We got off and Tess left...with Max's son in her. Max would have killed her otherwise. The hell of it is, Nasedo planned it that way, or almost. He'd cut a deal with K'var long ago. Forty years Tess said. And he'd trained Tess to carry it out. Get pregnant, knowing the baby wouldn't survive here, make us go home, then march us off the ship straight into K'var's guns. Finis."
Alex turned white. "Jeeezus pleezus! She was a rat all the time? I have to remind myself to find a bathroom and puke when I wake up! This was too, too, too damned close!" He slid his arm around Isabel and drew her to him. She could feel him shaking. "Too damned close," he repeated as he planted a tender kiss on her cheek, as if to reassure himself that she was actually there and not lying dead light years away.
Alex held her for a long moment then pulled away. "What about Liz and Max?", he asked. "If they had problems before, this had to very nearly finish them."
Isabel sighed. "You're right. These last six months they've been close, yet distant. If you get what I mean? Wanting each other, but scared of the baggage. And each one was afraid to make the first move."
Alex frowned. "You're talking past tense Izzy. What happened?"
Isabel smiled brightly. "Enter 'The Grand Conspiracy To Reunite Max And Liz'! May I introduce you to it's ringleader?" She stood and bowed with an impish grin, then she launched into the gory details of the grand ambush and its quiet, passionate, and very pyrotechnic finale.
All Alex could get out was, "Wow!"
Alex sighed at length. "All's well that ends well then. It sounds like things have worked out well for everyone." He studied her. "Or at least *you* made sure that they worked out."
Isabel smiled at him winningly. "I'm trying", she said. Alex smiled back looking a lot like the boy she had grown up knowing.
Alex sat silently, studying her face. "Damn, I just plain forgot the effect she has on me", he thought. Then it hit him. Therein lay the trap.
The silence stretched into one of those interludes that people refer to as 'uncomfortable'. Isabel watched as Alex's facial expression began to change. She felt her smile start to slip as his features drifted from those of the gentle boy that she had known and come to love to the harder more mature features that seemed to be his now.
Alex looked away from her and swallowed with a dry throat. "I can't do this Izzy. I can't give you what you want."
Isabel swallowed. She was losing control of the situation. "What is it that you think that I want?"
Alex refused to look at her. "Don't play dumb Iz. In your own way you're smarter than Max or Michael. And probably smarter than most of our little 'family'. So please don't act like you checked your brains at the door. I'm not buying it. You want things too 'work out' for us, and it just isn't in the cards. You want answers, and I cannot possibly give them to you without endangering your life and the lives of those we care about. You want me to come home, and I can't! Not ever!"
Isabel felt her tears gathering again, but was determined to hang on as long as possible. "Just keep him talking," she thought. "Why?" she asked. "Why can't things work out? Why can't you tell me? And above all, why can't you come home?"
Alex threw his hands up in frustration. "For the practical reason that I'm dead. The records say I'm dead. People have seen me dead. And there's an empty grave where I should be. I can't come back and resume the life of Alex Whitman. It isn't mine anymore. It ended six months ago when Tess homogenized my brain for me." Alex paused for breath. "As for the rest, if I tell you anything, then I have tell you everything. And I can't. I simply cannot. I cannot make you a part of this."
Isabel finally lost it. "Alexander Whitman you're infuriating! You know that? If you expect me to just spend my life feeling you dancing around the edge of my awareness without doing anything about it, guess again! I can't know that you're alive, then sit in Roswell pretending you're dead! And you can't ask me to!"
Alex regarded her sadly. "That's exactly what you have to do Iz. Not because I ask it, but because it's necessary. I'm walking talking trouble for anyone associated with me. And I can't hide from it in Roswell. It will seek me out, time and again. And it will destroy anyone close to me without pity." Alex looked her in the eye. "It's my destiny, the one I was born to."
Isabel's temper went red line, and beyond. "Destiny!", she spat. "Don't you *dare* use that excuse with me Alex Whitman. I know about 'destiny', and it's bullshit! We tried following our destiny and what did it buy us? Pain! Pain for us and everyone we love. It got *you* killed! It nearly got *us* killed! And for what? A planet we can't remember except for some hazy recollections that may or may not be real? The only power that 'destiny' has over you is what you *let* it have! Destiny is someone *else's* idea of how you should live your life!" Her temper cooled a bit. "I can't say that Antar is done with us yet, but we'll deal with it here, together. Max is stronger with Liz than without her. Ditto for Michael and Maria." Isabel waved her hand at the horizon. " Do you honest to God believe that I can live my life knowing that you're alive?" Then she pointed at the ground next to her. "But that you're not *here*!? I NEED YOU!!!! I love you Alex and, come hell or high water, I'm not giving up. I'm not moving on. And I'm most emphatically NOT settling for second best! We have a second chance here, and I'm not letting go of it!"
Alex looked sad and grim. "I was afraid of that. Terribly afraid. I should have shut this down the instant that you showed up. But I've missed you so much. I was too much of a coward to not want to spend some time with you, even if it did mean tempting fate." He stood and began backing away. "Forgive my weakness Izzy. And forgive me for hurting you. Don't come back again. If you do I'll just have to force you out. And I'll keep doing so until you give up. I'm dead now. Treat me that way. It's the only way that you and the others will be safe from the trouble that will follow me the rest of my ..(Alex's mouth gave an ironic twist)...life."
Alex closed his eyes and began to mutter to himself. To Isabel it looked as if he were praying. But then she noticed a change in the dreamscape. The colors began to bleed out. And a gray mist began to draw in from every direction. Alex was continuing to back away. Isabel began to panic. "Alex, don't do this! Whatever it is that you're doing, please stop it!?" It did no good. Alex was gone. The dreamscape was gone. The world was 360 degrees of gray white mist. It was disorienting. She shouted. She pleaded. To no avail. If he was there, he wasn't listening. She felt her hold on the dream walk slipping.
Isabel sat up in bed gasping. Realizing that it was over she began to cry. Damn him, how *could* he shut her out like this! Her sobs were powerful, gut wrenching. She staggered out of bed and into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it. She was home alone, but right now she wanted to shut out the entire world. She started running the water in the sink, but realized that there was no going halfway. Still crying she shut off the sink, started the shower, then hurriedly shed her pajamas and stepped in. As she stood under the pounding hot water her sobs lessened in intensity. She felt the tension draining out of her. She stood there for a long time, letting her mind go blank. When she finally shut off the water she felt like a prune. Getting out and drying off she wrapped her hair in a towel and headed down to the kitchen.
Throwing together a ham and cheese sandwich (liberally dosed with tabasco) and brewing some tea (likewise tabasco laced), she finally allowed herself to think about what had happened. She mentally ticked off what she knew. Alex was alive, and seemingly in some sort of danger. He was keeping tabs on Roswell somehow. The people he was with would not let him come home. And he seemed to agree with them. He was somewhere near the sea. And there was that funky looking half familiar building. She would have to check on that later. And she had a name. Richie. She had no idea what to make of all this, but she couldn't take it to the others yet. Max and Liz were newly reunited. They deserved some time to rediscover each other. Michael would either want to go charging off to rescue Alex....or he would think that she was nuts. Maria was an unknown quantity, though given recent events she would probably back Isabel. Isabel bit her lip pensively. No, she would wait. Try to dream walk Alex a few more times. The last thing their little 'family' needed right now was a divisive issue. There had been enough of those the last year to last them all a lifetime.
"Okay," she thought. "That covers facts and logic. It's time to deal with feelings." Isabel stared into space. She couldn't begin to describe how she felt. She was elated and depressed at the same time. He had shut her out, but apparently he had thought he was protecting her, and by extension the others. "I can see that I'm going to have to remind him of what happened when Max tried that approach with Liz. Yes, Alex has a lot in common with my brother. They can both be pigheaded fools." She smiled to herself, despite the fact that a single tear was tracing a path down one cheek. "He still loves me. Though God knows why he loved me to start with. One thing is certain. He can't hold out forever. He can't resist both himself *and* me. There was a song that Alex used to play a lot, what was that lyric? Isabel sniffed back her tears and grinned. Oh yeah! "Time is on my side." That was it!
Relaxed and fully at peace for the first time in six months, Isabel Evans headed back to bed. Tomorrow was Sunday, and she had a full day ahead of her.....now.
Alex jerked awake. "I'll be damned, it worked." Then he paused to examine that thought. Considering what he had done, what he had just given up, he was most certainly damned. What he had tried was about half science and half science fiction. He had begun reciting math tables. Log values. Trig functions. Multiplication tables. Anything to cloud his mind. And it had worked. This time. Next time was another matter. Alex sighed. "Why worry, the Angel of Death may take my head and solve everybody's problems. One way or the other I'm going to be losing a lot of sleep, because no way in hell will Izzy give up soon, or easily." He rolled over. He was still exhausted. He was reluctant to go to sleep again, but he didn't think that she'd try again tonight. "Besides," he thought while looking at the clock, "I've lost enough rest already."
So Alex drifted off to sleep again. A restless and disturbed sleep. Haunted by images of the dream walk. Saddened by the need to push Izzy away. And always, a part of his mind was on alert. This was not the way for someone who needs to stay sharp and alert to stay alive, to sleep....or to stay alive.
Liz Parker's alarm began to chime softly. She made an irritated noise and slapped at it twice, finally getting it on the second try. She groaned in disbelief at the idea that she had deliberately chosen to get up this early. Then her memory caught up with her as she realized that there was a warm comforting weight against her back when she stretched. She arched into that warmth, smiled possessively and rolled over so she could watch Max. It was 4:30 AM, and her parents would start stirring in a little over an hour. The day started early for them, even if it *was* a day of dishing out cheesily named alien themed food to tourists and locals alike.
"Time to wake up Prince Charming," she thought. "Max!" she hissed quietly. "Max, wake up!". Failing to rouse him she began to gently rub his chest while punctuated her entreaties to wake up with small tender kisses on his face and neck.
Max stirred and groaned. "˜Oh God, it's too early! Just give me a couple more minutes mom.˜"
Liz froze. She had heard Max clearly but his lips had never moved. She thumped him on the chest urgently. "Max! I am so *not* your mother! Now wake *up*!"
Max's eyes popped open. "˜Huh? Wha? Liz?˜"
Liz was confused but not frightened. The last year and a half had burnt out her 'fright circuits'. And the scientist in her was intensely curious. She frowned with concentration. "˜Max? Can you hear me Honey?˜"
Max's eyes had started to sag closed again. Now they popped wide open. "˜Liz? Where am I? What's happening?˜"
Liz giggled. This could have some distinct advantages. " ˜Well, taken in order, yes it's me, silly. You're in bed with me. Last night we kissed and made up...and now you're having an early morning telepathic chat with your significant other.˜"
Max sat up suddenly and looked around, then he turned is gaze on Liz and spoke aloud. "Last night...I thought that it was a dream! I was sure that I'd wake up this morning and everything would be....(his voice cracked)...the same."
Liz reached for him and cuddled him, making crooning noises. "˜No Love it happened. And nothing will ever be the same again. Thank God!˜"
Max stiffened and spoke aloud again. "Er..Liz? What was that about telepathy?"
Liz, who hadn't released Max yet, grinned over his shoulder. "˜Telepathy? What telepathy?˜"
Max pulled away slowly and studied her then frowned and deliberately went into mind to mind mode. "˜You're being awfully calm about this.˜"
Liz shrugged and gave him a merry grin, her eyes were twinkling. "˜There's calm, and then there's calm. I've spent most of the last two years in love with an alien. Last night I slept with an alien. And, had said alien asked last night, risks notwithstanding, last night I would have made love with an alien. After that, a little telepathy is nothing the get upset over.˜"
Max grinned then his facial expression changed to a mild frown as he focused on her, his eyes narrowed.
Liz was getting a wash of emotion from him. Mostly worry and curiosity. She spoke aloud. "Max, what is it?"
Max's face relaxed. "I was trying something. I was trying to read your mind. I couldn't. Try it on me?"
Liz focused, tried, and came up empty. She went into mind mode. "˜Zip. Nada. Which is something of a relief. We may love each other, but I think being able to invade each other's thoughts at will would be a bit too much of a good thing. What we *do* seem to have, I think that I can get used to.˜" Liz smiled happily as she snuggled up to him. "˜Besides, there's no going back now.˜"
Max cleared his throat quietly. "˜So it would seem. But this is something new. Not just new for you, or even for you and me, but really new. We used to mess with this when we were kids and it never led anywhere. The ability seemed to be there but it was unreliable. Not like this. This is effortless. Almost instinctive.˜"
Liz frowned. "˜I know what you're saying Max. I've always been a science geek. You know, Ms. 'There's a scientific explanation for everything.' But this is metaphysics. So *not* my strong suit.˜"
Max sighed. "˜We'll talk later. This has to be connected to our...um..reunion. Right now though I'd better head home. If your parents catch me here *this* is all we'll be able to do with each other until the age of.....oh say forty five.˜"
Liz grinned. "˜Yupper, this may save us a lot of phone time, but telepathic cuddling will never replace the real thing!˜"
Max began dressing while Liz slid over into the warm spot he'd left in her bed. The pillow smelled of Max. "˜Max, try to 'call' to me when you get home. I want to see if this works over a distance, or if the 'signal' attenuates.˜"
Max finished tying his shoes then leaned over to kiss Liz and nuzzle her neck. She felt his chest rumble with quiet laughter. "˜Trust my lovely science geek to try and apply science to metaphysics.˜"
Liz made an irritated noise and smacked his arm. "˜Don't be a tease Maxwell! You're as curious as I am and you know it. *Now* hit the road buster! My mom and dad will be up in thirty or forty minutes, but it's not unknown for them to get up really early for reasons of their own!˜"
Max grinned and then made a grimace of mock horror at the thought. Giving Liz an unhurried kiss farewell he snatched his jacket and beat a hasty exit through her window. Outside he paused to close it and lock it with a wave of his hand.
Liz reset her alarm to wake her at 8:00 AM, then she settled back to wait. In her mind she went back over the events of last night. This was definitely going into her journal! Max was hers again! And she was his! Twenty four hours ago she wouldn't have believed it possible. Glancing again at the clock she smiled. Even eight hours ago she wouldn't have believed it possible. This change would take a long time to digest, but one thing was clear. She owed a lot to Maria and Isabel. And to Michael. Last night had cleared the air to such a degree that all of them seemed to be breathing freely for the first time in a year. Certainly since Alex had died.
Thinking about Alex made her wince. "It's so unfair," she thought. "All of it. He dies, we live. We get love, and Alex and Isabel have their love snuffed before it can really blossom." And she was certain that it had begun to blossom there at the end. Maria felt the same way. It felt like part of their collective heart had been cut away. Liz sighed. "Life goes on. Though sometimes we wonder why."
She shook herself free of her melancholy thoughts and focused again on the now. Last night had been one for the books. She gave a feminine snort. "Or at least one for *my* book." For an instant she and Max had fused. That was the only way to describe it. They weren't Liz and Max, or even a duality joined by a bond, for an instant they were a gestalt. An entirely new entity, greater than the sum of it's parts. It was the most fulfilling, and yet terrifying, experience of her life. And when they'd been forced by exhaustion to separate it had been accompanied by an almost painful sense of loss. After that, the concept of forgiveness had been ridiculous. They had come away from the experience knowing each other more completely than either had ever imagined was possible. Where there is understanding, what need is there for forgiveness?
"˜Earth to Liz! Earth to Liz! Your Lover Boy is home safe and sound! Can you read me Liz!?˜" Liz jumped as Max's voice rang out in her mind.
"˜Damnit Max! Don't DO that!˜" she fired back.
She felt a wave of chagrin from Max. "˜Sorry Sweetheart! I can see that we're going to have to work out protocols for this. Just barging in could be distracting, as well as rude. We need to be able to signal each other for a connection. For right now though, is there any weakening of the signal?˜"
Liz settled down. "˜Nope, it sounds like you're still in the room.˜" Then she yawned. "˜Max, we'll worry about protocols and science experiments after the sun comes up. Right now we had both better get some more sleep. Give me a call when you get up please?˜"
Max answered, "˜You know it! We have lost time to make up for! G'night Sweetheart!˜"
Liz let herself relax. "˜G'night Max! Sleep tight! And don't let the bedbugs bite. That's *my* job.˜" Liz felt a wave of love and good humor from Max.
"˜I'm positively looking forward to it! Sweet Dreams Elizabeth!˜" he said.
Liz felt Max recede from her. As she drifted off to sleep she paused to consider that feeling. It was a nice feeling to have after months of being without Max. When she finally drifted off, her final waking thought was..."And it's especially nice knowing that he'll still be there in the morning...".
After Max had finished his conversation with Liz he made a quick check of the house before crawling into his own bed. The doors and windows were all locked. The evidence in the kitchen sink said that Isabel had conducted a late night 'fridge raid. The lights were out, so he headed upstairs. Passing his sister's door he couldn't stop himself from peeking in on her. Normally she locked her door, and tonight was no different. Pressing his hand to the lock he quietly disengaged it. Making sure the hallway light was out, to minimize the chance of waking her, he swung the door open silently and moved into the room. After pausing to allow his eyes to adjust he moved to the edge of Isabel's bed and stood watching her sleep.
Isabel's face in repose looked truly content for the first time in months. Max had been worried. The months after Alex's death had been hard on her, on all of them. Many times he had heard her whimper or moan in her sleep, and that nightmare the night before had been a real whopper. It had to have been provoked by the funeral the day before. He was certain she hadn't gone back to sleep afterwards, regardless of her promise to do so. He looked down at her and shook his head in wonder. He had always hoped that Isabel would come out from behind her defenses and warm up to the humans. But last night had exceeded his fondest wishes. Apparently he still had a lot to learn about his sister. Caring enough about Liz to do what she had done. Trusting Maria enough to make her part of the plot. Max smiled tenderly. Yes there was a lot more to Izzy than met the eye.
Isabel's mouth curved into a half smile as he watched. She sighed and stirred, then murmured. "I'm coming Alex. Soon." Then she settled down in sleep again, still smiling that contented smile.
Max placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and backed silently from the room, closing and locking the door behind himself. Once he was in his own room he paused to ponder. A lot of his sister's personal growth the last two years could be traced to Alex's influence. They all owed Alex a lot, but six months was long enough to mourn. "I've been so involved with Liz and myself that I've been neglecting other things," he castigated himself. He couldn't demand that Iz simply stop thinking about Alex, but perhaps they could start her towards thinking about him less. He would talk to Liz and Maria about it in the morning. Perhaps if they prodded her to start dating again it might pull her out of her fixation on 'might have beens'.
Max stripped off his clothes, leaving on his boxers, and crawled into bed. "I've been a pretty crummy leader the last year or so," he thought. "Time to get my act together." He went to sleep feeling confident that, for the first time in months, their problems had finally been reduced to manageable proportions.
But, as they say, 'confidence is what you feel when you really don't understand the situation'.
Max had been awake for an hour when the phone rang. He had showered and shaved, and was just dumping fresh coffee into the filter basket of the coffee maker. He had heard Isabel stirring for a while now, and the shower upstairs had started fifteen minutes ago. He was considering giving Liz a call when the phone rang. Slipping the grounds basket into the coffee maker he started the brewing cycle with a wave of his hand as he reached out snagged the phone. "Hello? This is the Evans residence."
"Max? This is mom. I just wanted you to know we got here okay. We settled at the resort a while ago, and we're on the beach. How's everything there?"
Max smiled. "Good God mom! A phone call from St. Croix must cost a bundle! We're okay here. No crises. No catastrophes. As a matter of fact, things couldn't be better!"
Diane Evans blinked in surprise. "Okay bub, who are you, and what did you do with the moody, 'oh so serious he's almost morose', son I left there Friday night?" She heard her son laugh and felt a burden shift off of her heart. One that had been there for over a year, and one which had grown heavier as the months had gone by. She had known for over a year that something was desperately wrong in her children's world. But try as she might her efforts to discover what was happening had come to nothing. She simply couldn't get past that reserve they had always had about them.
When Max had paired off with the Parker girl, Diane had been both surprised and pleased. After years as a confirmed loner Max seemed to finally be opening up to someone. Even that episode in which they had seemed to be getting a little too hot and heavy didn't concern her too badly. Her concern had been mostly for appearances sake, to stay in Nancy Parker's good graces. And after that the kids seemed to level out and start showing some of the good judgment that she knew they both possessed in full measure. But starting a year or so before, when that girl Tess had appeared, everything had seemed to go whacko. Liz and Max had broken up. Reunited and broken up again. They claimed to be friends, yet Diane's maternal radar detected serious trouble between them while all the time recognizing that they loved each other with a desperation that bordered on the surreal. She was at a loss to explain it. At the same time problems began to appear between Isabel and Max. And between them and Michael Guerin.....
"Mom!?"
Diane Evans snapped back to the here and now. "Yes sweetie?"
Max cleared his throat. "Are you okay?"
Diane sighed. "Yes Max, just wool gathering. A symptom of age."
Max chuckled again. "Well, in case you missed it, everything is okay here. Better than okay. So go forth and enjoy your second honeymoon! Before your 'old age' has you forgetting what you're there for!"
Diane sighed. "Okay Sweetie! I love you! So does your dad, and he'd say so if he weren't trying to skip stones in the surf at this moment."
Max snorted with laughter again. " I love you too Mom! See you back in 21 days, not before then!"
Diane paused and dug a piece of paper out of her shoulder bag. "You already know where we're staying *and* you have both our cell numbers. But here's the phone number to our condo here..." Diane read off a string of numbers, and for good measure threw in the number of the resort business office. "If you have any problems, don't hesitate to call! And I'll call anyway before the end of the week."
Max sighed. "Don't worry mom, we won't starve and the bills are being paid."
Diane laughed. "I know that Max. I simply miss you both already. Bye Sweetheart. Give Isabel our love!" Diane paused a moment, considering, then she continued. "And give our best to Liz."
Max was silent for a long moment then answered in a voice that was soft with wonder and happiness. "I'll tell Liz that. Have a good second honeymoon! And Mom? We love you!"
Diane sniffled. "We love you too honey! I'll talk to you later this week! Bye!"
After the connection broke, Diane returned her cell phone to her bag and began walking towards the spot on the beach where her suddenly boyish husband was skipping rocks on the water. She had a grin of elation on her face. The ol' mom radar was still working! "I thought that only one thing could possibly make Max that chipper. And I was *right*! I could hear it in his voice! He and Liz must have patched things up. A lot must have happened since Friday evening!"
Diane had no clue how right that statement was.
As she reached her husband she slid her arms around him from behind. He dropped the stone he had just picked up, turned in her arms, and kissed her. Then he pulled her head to his shoulder, just enjoying the closeness, and the air of being alone with each other.
"How are they?" he asked.
Diane snuggled closer. "They're fine dear. And I think that Max and the Parker girl may have patched things up."
Philip sighed. "That's a good thing. A very good thing. God knows our kids could use some good news. Did you talk to Isabel?"
Diane managed to shake her head without moving it from Philip's shoulder. "No. And I worry about her more since Alex died. She was always more outgoing than Max and she seemed more resilient, but I've never seen her take something as hard as she took his death."
Philip stroked his wife's hair and rubbed his cheek against the side of her head, inhaling the spicy scent of her hair. "They all took it hard, Sweetheart. All of them." Pulling away he took her hand. "Let's go for a walk before lunch." He winked. "We have a lot of beach to cover."
Diane smiled and nodded her approval as she leaned in to kiss her husband again.
As they walked they were each thinking much the same thoughts. Thoughts brought on by many late night pillow talks. They had adopted two children, only to discover later in Michael that they had apparently adopted three, albeit the third was unofficial. Then suddenly two years ago, the three grew to four, then five, then six. Then the six had broken, reformed, changed their configuration and reformed again. The final blow seemed to have been the death of the Whitman boy. The little ad hoc family had shattered on them. It was bitterly frustrating to Philip and Diane. They loved their children. Both those they had chosen, and those they hadn't. And to watch all this happen, to only be able to guess based on appearances, to be able to do nothing, and never give a clue that you were aware that something was happening for fear of driving them away. It hurt. And now it seemed to be changing again. The healing may finally have begun. This was a fitting 'second honeymoon gift'.
"Perhaps we shouldn't waste it," Diane thought.
Diane stopped walking. Philip felt the tug of her hand. He turned to look at her quizzically and was intrigued by the shy smile on her face. It took him straight back to their wedding night. Then her smile widened out into an outright grin. "We have three weeks to play beach bums. I have something else in mind. Last one to the condo is a rotten egg!" And at that she took off running. Philip lost the race. But the prize for losing wasn't that different than the one for winning. Both involved the love of a good woman. What more could a reasonable man ask for?
Isabel was just finishing in the bathroom when the odors that said 'breakfast' reached her. "Max must be home," she thought. "And in a good mood, if he was cooking. The last few months he's been to morose to do much for himself besides throwing some cold cereal and milk in a bowl." Isabel was starving. She was hungry as she hadn't been in what seemed like forever. The alluring scent of eggs, bacon, and fresh coffee were too much to resist. So she blew off everything else, threw on some clothes, and headed downstairs sans makeup and with her hair still damp. As a result Max shuddered in feigned horror at her appearance when she showed up in the kitchen, miming an imaginary crucifix with two fingers at her less than coifed countenance.
Isabel stuck out her tongue and began dishing up her own breakfast. "Good thing you cooked enough for two, brother dear. Otherwise I'd just eat yours." Snatching the tabasco sauce away from Max she liberally dosed her bacon and eggs before returning it to his outstretched hand.
Max was grinning. "You're in a good mood this morning."
Isabel snorted. "What about you? You cooked! So, who was on the phone?" Isabel asked as she buttered a piece of toast.
"It was mom, doing a check in," Max answered.
Isabel stared at Max as her foot lashed out under the table to catch him in the shin. "And you didn't call me?!"
Max winced at the kick then shrugged. "I thought that you were still in the shower. Anyway, she sent you her love. She left some phone numbers, and promised to call by the end of the week."
Isabel rolled her eyes. "I wish she'd stop worrying about us and enjoy the time with dad. You told her to, right?"
Max nodded. "Yup, but I don't think that it took. It goes with being a parent I guess."
Isabel took the conversation off on a tangent. "So, what time did you finally tear yourself away from Liz last night?"
Max flushed with embarrassment. "Actually it was about 4:30 this morning." Seeing Isabel's knowing grin he hastened to add, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Iz. I'm not stupid enough to try anything...um...noisy...with her parents right down the hall. I just held her while we slept. And we needed it!" Max paused then went on. "Speaking of Liz....."
Max turned his attention to Liz Parker and began to gently push with his mind. His efforts were rewarded a few moments later.
"˜Max, is that you calling?˜" came Liz's mind voice.
"˜Yes Honey, you told me to call, so here I am...calling. How are you this morning?˜" He felt a wave of good humor and embarrassment from Liz.
Liz spoke with mock petulance. "˜Taking a shower if you must know. I slept like a baby after you left. And you?˜"
Max gave a mental chuckle. "˜Ditto. I haven't slept this well in a year. I threw together some breakfast, which of course drew Iz out of her cave.˜"
Liz giggled. "˜Well then stop pestering little old naked me and eat before it gets cold.˜"
Max winced at the mental image. "˜You're going to be the death of me Parker! You know that?˜"
Liz had felt the suppressed passion that her words had evoked in Max and answered it in kind. "˜Ah yes, but you'll die happy!˜"
Max groaned mentally. "˜Too true. I should know better than to try and get the best of a woman in an argument!˜"
Liz sent an answering wave of warmth and love. "˜How's Isabel this morning?˜"
Max looked at his sister who was studying him curiously. "˜She looks like I feel. Like the bluebird of happiness made a pet project of her. And at the moment she's looking pretty inquisitive about my ongoing silence while we're talking..˜"
Liz paused. "˜Ooops! You haven't told her? About this?˜" Liz caught a mental sigh from Max.
"˜Nope˜," he said. "˜Not yet. I haven't had time. Calling you had higher priority!˜"
Liz paused in the shower with her hands on her hips...as if Max could see her. "˜Well get with it Sweetheart. We have to tell everyone sooner or later. Preferably sooner. As far as I'm concerned we're out of the 'keeping secrets from each other business' for good! All keeping secrets brings is heartache!˜"
Max snorted. "˜To hear is to obey, heart of my heart! Before I sign off though, remind me to talk to you about Isabel later today, preferably with Maria around too.˜"
Liz answered, "˜Will do, Love. Now eat your breakfast so I can finish washing my hair!˜"
This caused Max to laugh out loud, provoking Isabel's curiosity still further. All the more so because Max noticed and winked at her. Max returned his attention to his soul mate. "˜All right, though I wish I were there to wash it for you! See you in a few hours! I love you!˜"
Liz sent him something that could only be described as a mental kiss. "˜I love you too! Now eat breakfast and tell Isabel, in that order! Later Love! Signing off!˜"
Max felt Liz withdraw from their conversation. He then turned his attention to his now totally bemused sister.
"What?" Max asked with mock innocence.
Isabel's eyes narrowed. "What are you hiding Max?"
Max, following his better half's instructions, began eating and talking between bites. "Before I answer, you eat. I cooked this stuff, and it doesn't reheat well!" Isabel dutifully began to eat. Max chewed thoughtfully and swallowed. "Last night. What happened with Liz and I?"
Isabel grinned. "You mean that you don't know? *You're* the one that spent the night with her brother of mine!"
Max snorted. "Yes, we patched things up and I finally learned the truth. With your help, for which I am eternally grateful. But there was more to it than that. When we said that we 'merged', we so were not kidding. So before I talk about it I want to know how it looked from your point of view."
Isabel developed a faraway look in her eyes. "Well, after you two made physical contact and went into lip lock, I thought for a minute that you were going to go for it right there in the Crashdown, with us watching. But after a second the glowing started."
Max choked on his food. "Glowing? I made Liz glow again?"
Isabel smiled. "More than that brother dear. You were *both* making each other glow. It wasn't just your hands leaving glow worm trails on Liz. Her hands did the same to you. And after a minute the glowing trails weren't just following your hands. They were moving independent of your hands. Merging, increasing, jumping from one of you to the other. And eventually they merged into what I can only call a solid glowing aura. You two were burning like a miniature sun."
Max took a bite of food and chewed thoughtfully. After swallowing he spoke. "Okay, I don't know how that relates, but it *feels* right. Anyway, last night Liz and I didn't just reopen the bond. Something else happened. Something way above and beyond any bond. For a few heartbeats we fused into one individual. We weren't Liz and Max anymore. We were something entirely new. And we know each other now. Right down to the last detail. Under other circumstances it would have scared the crap out of me to have *anyone* know me that completely. But not last night. Last night was...completion."
Isabel's eyes glinted slightly. "Soul mates?"
Max shrugged. "As close as makes no difference. And it has had one interesting side effect so far."
Isabel frowned. "Side effect? Like what?"
Max studied his sister for a moment, took a long deliberate sip of his tabasco laced coffee, then continued. "Telepathy," he said. "Direct mind to mind communication when we want it. Not like that hit and miss stuff we fooled around with as kids. This is clear and unambiguous. Like being in the same room with each other. With sensing emotional nuances thrown in for good measure."
Isabel paused with a piece of bacon halfway to her mouth. She was silent for a moment, then noticed she was still holding the bacon and returned it to her plate. "Mind reading?" she asked.
Max shook his head, "No, thanks be to whatever God there is. Liz thinks, and I agree, that knowing each other's thoughts would definitely be too much of a good thing. The only time we knew each other that completely was when we fused, and that only lasted a few instants. And it really wore us out. In any event, under those conditions we aren't an 'us' anymore. We become parts of a greater whole, but only for a few instants. The thoughts don't belong to us, they belong to the 'whateveritis' we become."
Isabel swallowed convulsively. "Michael and Maria are going to freak."
Max sighed. "Possibly. Maybe even probably. But they'll get over it. They have to, because whatever has happened doesn't feel like the sort of thing you can undo. And I wouldn't undo it if I could. It feels instinctive. Natural. Liz and I were doing it this morning without even being aware of it. There's no going back!"
Isabel frowned. "Are you sure it's just you two? That you can't communicate with others?" Max shrugged. "I don't know what Liz is doing, but I've been trying with you since we sat down to eat. All that it's doing is giving me a headache."
Isabel sighed mightily then delivered a crooked half smile. "Well, even if we don't understand the whys and wherefores of it yet, if this is what it takes to get you back together with Liz, then you can glow in the dark and exchange thoughts until the end of time as far as I'm concerned."
Max didn't realize how tense he had been until that moment when he felt his muscle relax and unwind. He had been more than a little worried that Isabel might be jealous of this fallout from her efforts. When he and Liz had first gotten together, Isabel's antagonism towards her had been composed of equal parts of fear of the unknown and flat out jealousy. Time had changed that, but Max hadn't realized how much. Clearly, even taking Isabel's actions last night into consideration, he had been underestimating how far his sister had come since then. Noticing a wistful look on Isabel's face Max reached across the table and took her hand. "Don't worry Iz, your day will come."
Max wasn't prepared for the odd smile she gave him as she answered, "I know that Max. Better than you do."
Max was bemused, but decided not to push it. Too many good things had come his way in the last 24 hours for him to want to risk screwing it up by being too nosy.
Isabel gave Max's hand a squeeze then scooped up their dirty dishes and carried them to the sink. Standing there rinsing them let her hide her face from him. She was uncertain about just how much had shown in her expression, but Max's words had unexpectedly loosed a riot of emotions in her. The upshot of which felt like a neon sign on her forehead declaring that she knew Alex was alive. Max stared at his sister's back a moment longer, then he rounded up the remaining dishes and cups, and joined her at the sink. While she rinsed, he loaded the dishwasher. The little domestic chore was quickly done. And hopefully, by the time they were finished, Isabel would once again firmly in control of her emotions.
Isabel finished the last dish and handed it to Max. "I have to go finish getting ready to face the day", she said. "What are you up to today?"
Max closed the dishwasher and shrugged. "Off to work at the museum. I have to finish taking down that alien autopsy exhibit."
Isabel shuddered. "I always hated that thing. I kept seeing myself on that table."
Max grinned. "Me too. Which is why I'm having a lot of fun taking it down. Brody is putting it in storage and replacing it with a hokey exhibit about recent high tech advances brought about by alien technology."
Isabel frowned. "You mean he knows about some?"
Max's grin widened. "Nope, after I take him to the Crashdown for lunch, we're going to sit down this afternoon and make some up."
Isabel's mouth fell open. "Max Evans! You're a...a...a..a flim flam man!"
Max chuckled. "Try not to think of it that way. I think of it as disinformation! The really dangerous nuts will be so busy looking for non-existent evidence of aliens that they won't even think of looking for us! At least that's Brody's plan."
Isabel shook her head and grinned at the playful genius of it. "Well you two have fun and don't do anything too embarrassing! All I really have to do is return a book to the library." Then she added to herself, "and do a little research on architecture. A building that unique *has* to be recorded somewhere. I *know* I've seen it!"
Max gave his sister a quick hug and started for the door then paused with his hand on the door handle and looked at her. "See you at the Crashdown after work?"
Isabel snickered. "Only if you and Liz hold off telling Maria and Michael about the joys of telepathy until I get there. The look on their faces should be a Kodak moment."
Max laughed. "No promises, but I'll talk to Liz about it. Bye Iz. See you there". Then he was gone.
Outside she heard his car start and fade into the distance. Glancing at her watch she hurried upstairs. For the first time in months she really had purpose in her life. The quicker she got moving, the quicker she'd have Alex with her again. "Time's wasting," she thought. "If Alex is in danger I'm not about to have him get killed...again. Not this time. Not when I can prevent it.!" Isabel hurriedly finished her makeup and hair, grabbed her bag and the book she was taking back...and was out the door.
"Damnit Alex! PAY ATTENTION!" Richie was ready to pull his hair out. Mac had left him to keep up the dojo's day to day operations while he and Amanda spent the day stalking the city for Raphael Conterras. That included Alex's training as well as the regular students. And so far he was sucking at the former job. Or rather Alex was sucking at letting Richie do it. Richie had decided to let Alex warm up by sparring with the regular students. *That* had been a real stroke of genius. Not! Due to his intensive and extensive training Alex's skill level was far above the average student at the dojo. And well above even the few above average students. And so far this morning three rank amateurs had mopped the deck with him.
Alex pulled himself up off the mats staggering slightly and blinked owlishly at Richie. "Sorry Richie", he said. Then he gave a great jaw cracking yawn. "I guess I'm not at the top of my game this morning. I didn't sleep well last night."
Richie snorted. "I guess not! Look just go back to bed. I'll pull you out around 4:00 this afternoon and we'll try again!" Alex smiled his thanks and headed off to the residential part of the building, his feet shuffling tiredly. Richie watched him go as worry gnawed at his mind. He didn't look forward to telling Mac about this. As long as Conterras had his head he'd be a threat to Alex. And if you're called upon to deal with a threat when you're dead tired, you're likely to end up just plain dead. Richie shoved that worry to the back of his mind and focused on the regular students. Mac would be back before he had to wake Alex. Let him handle it.
Isabel sat at a table scattered with reference volumes. Next to her was a sketch pad with the "UFO on a stick" building drawn on it as well as she could recall. She sighed with frustration. The library was closing soon....in fact had closed half an hour ago. But the librarian was staying over to catch up on returns and Isabel had charmed her into letting her stay over. She stared morosely at the pile of architectural periodicals and assorted books. She had been at it for several hours and was no closer now than she had been when she started. She was so frustrated that she had taken to pulling random reference books off the shelves and scanning them in the hopes of seeing something familiar. She was about to continue with her latest choice when a hand touched her shoulder causing her to jump. She turned and looked up into the face of the matronly librarian who had let her stay over.
"I'm all finished dear", she said. "I'm afraid we'll have to return those books and magazines to their shelves and you'll have to pick it up tomorrow." She smiled as she looked over Isabel's choices. "Well, I have to say you're a girl with varied interests! Yesterday it was dreams, today it's architecture." Her eye fell on the sketch pad and she smiled. "My late husband and I ate there once."
Isabel looked at the pad then back at the librarian. The look on her face could only be described as dumb wonderment. "You know this?" she asked.
The librarian looked puzzled. "That *is* the Space Needle isn't it?"
Isabel looked frustrated. "That's just it! I don't know and it's driving me nuts. I saw it in a dream, and it looks familiar but"....she waved her hand at the piles of reference material...."I can't *find* it anywhere!"
The librarian looked thoughtful. "Wait here," she said. Then she made a beeline for the Travel and Leisure section. In minutes she was back with a travelogue of Washington State. Checking the index she flipped it open to the appropriate page and flopped it in front of Isabel. "Here you go dear. Is that what you saw?"
Isabel was unable to speak. There it was. In four different views, plus a fifth view from the top. Checking the caption she gained the one thing she needed to know. Seattle, Washington. "Which, as any idiot knows, is on the Pacific Coast," she thought. She sent the librarian a smile of thanks, then capped it off with an enthusiastic hug. "I can't thank you enough!" Isabel looked ruefully at the collection of material on her table. "I'll have this cleaned up and be out of your hair in ten minutes."
The librarian waved off her thanks. "That's my job dear. Aiding people in their search for knowledge. I'll just gather up my things and be right back. With my help we'll both be out of here in five minutes instead of ten."
The librarian was as good as her word. Five minutes later as Isabel and the librarian headed across the parking lot towards where Philip Evans' Blazer was parked, the librarian stopped her before cutting over to her own car two spaces away.
With a twinkle in her eye the woman smiled and said, "Someday dear you'll have to explain to me why you're dreaming about futuristic architecture instead of Brad Pitt."
Isabel shrugged. "Who knows?", she dissembled. Then she grinned. "Maybe I was Frank Lloyd Wright in my previous life!" With that they parted ways. As she started the SUV Isabel laughed at what she had just said. "There's no way the she'd believe what I *actually* was in my previous life," she thought wryly. Isabel paused and sighed. Of all the changes that Liz Parker had wrought in their lives, this is one that she could do without even though it was inextricably intertwined with the rest. All her life she had hidden in plain sight. Deceiving and lying as necessary to maintain their cover. And the only guilt she had felt at doing so was in relation to her parents. Now though, the concept of lying to good people troubled her more and more. Sighing and shaking her head she pulled out of her parking spot and headed for the street. "I guess this is what they mean by 'the burdens of adulthood'," she said aloud. "I've grown up."
Isabel had time to kill before heading for the Crashdown. Time enough to find a computer somewhere and do a little web surfing on the subject of martial arts studios in Seattle, Washington.
Duncan sighed in exasperation. "I told you not to cut him any slack, Richie."
Richie shook his head. "It wouldn't have done any good Mac. You should have seen him. The kid was totally wiped. Normally he's like you, "on" all the time. But today he could hardly stand up let alone work out. If it weren't for the fact that we don't get sick, I'd think that he was coming down with something."
Duncan frowned. "Well, let's get him out of bed and get to work. We have some time left yet. Amanda stayed out to hunt, so I don't have to go back out tonight." Duncan chuckled. "I almost pity Conterras if she finds him first. She's taking this personally. I've never seen her get as attached to someone as she has to Alex. In all the time I've known her, the one concept I've never attached to her in my mind is 'mother'. It's a terrifying thing to see."
Richie grinned. "You learn something new every day, don't you?"
Duncan laughed aloud. "One of the benefits of being us I guess. Live long enough and you'll see anything and everything." Duncan consulted the schedule. "There's nothing left until the 6:00 PM late class. And you can handle that. Go dig Alex out of bed and start him into warm ups. Then I'll take him for the rest of the night."
Richie sketched a bow. "To hear is to obey, boss!"
Duncan kept Alex at it until 10:00 PM, long after the regular classes had ended, and working right through supper for both of them. The sleep had done Alex some good, but Duncan could see that he was still slow and distracted. Something was bothering the boy. During sword drill he had slipped up and actually injured Duncan. Being what he was it was no big deal. Still, no one likes to get poked in the stomach with four inches of sharpened steel. He had recovered quickly, but after that further drill was pointless, because Alex was wary of causing further injuries. They could pick it up again tomorrow, after the boy recovered some of his confidence and stamina.
Duncan briefly considered calling in Cassie, but decided to give it a few days before doing anything. At 10:00 PM a seriously disgruntled Amanda came in the report no luck in tracking Conterras. Duncan decided to call it a day and sent Alex off to shower, with instructions to grab a snack and go straight to bed. Tomorrow would be another day.
"YOU CAN DO WHAT??????", Maria shrieked.
Isabel had been right. The look on Maria's face was priceless.
Liz made calming motions with her hands. "Jeeez Maria! Keep it down will you? Remember? Parents? Right upstairs?"
When Max had contacted her via what she was starting to think of as 'head phone' and asked her to hold off telling Maria until they were all together, Liz had been reluctant at first. But it had made sense from the standpoint of fostering the 'family' feeling that they had all been missing lately. Now she saw how right that view had been. Maria looked excited and envious. Michael looked stunned and rebellious. Isabel and Max were laughing openly for the first time in months. And Liz had to admit, this was fun. They were all sitting at the ET Booth having a relaxed late supper courtesy of Michael's cooking. Something they hadn't done since Alex had died. And it was finally fun again.
Liz batted her eyes innocently as she reached out to snitch a fry off of Maria's plate. "It's nothing really. Just sort of 'flashes-plus', that's all."
Maria snorted. "Uh huh!" Maria waved her hand to indicate the Pod Squad. "And these three Favorite Martians of ours are simply a figment of my overactive imagination." Isabel snickered.
Michael broke in to the conversation, primarily to derail what he saw as Maria's train of thought. "Anything else weird we should know about?" He was thinking that this sucked big time. Maria had been hurt by the lack of flashes during their make out sessions. Now that she knew that it was due to his holding back, she'd be doubly hurt by the lack of whatever it was that Max and Liz now had. Talk about 'keeping up with the jones's'.
Liz shrugged. "Nothing so far. I'd say the telepathy is weird enough for now."
Maria cleared her throat to recapture everyone's attention. "Have you tried the fusion thing again? I mean, it's really cool, but what if you guys go in and can't get back?"
Liz glanced at Max, who raised his eye brows. Max cleared his throat. "No, we haven't. I have this feeling that this isn't something to be taken lightly, or played around with."
Liz continued. "Getting 'in' was hard, and staying was harder. I think the only thing that let us do it was the fact that our emotions had been building to overload for months. And we could only stay that way for a few moments. Just long enough for us to...um...have a few issues cleared up."
Max nodded in agreement. "And those few moments exhausted both of us. While I'm not sorry it happened, I don't think that we'll fool around with this until we know a lot more than we do now."
Michael looked relieved and moved to change the subject before Maria could inquire further. "So, now that we're all in the know, what about the invasion that's supposed to happen in 2014?"
Max frowned. "That's another matter. Speaking for myself I'd like to think about this a while before we try to do anything." Max put his arm around Liz and pulled her closer. "My only regret in the whole mess is that I can't meet my future self and try to find out how I became such a self absorbed fool. That and not getting a chance to punch him right in the mouth for putting this on Liz."
Liz elbowed him gently. "If you had you wouldn't *be* here you idiot. Your future self made it clear that, had you met in person, you would have both spontaneously combusted, or something."
Max leaned over and kissed her soundly. "Okay, then I'd have Michael do it. I'm sure there are more than a few occasions on which he's wanted to pound on me some." Looking at Michael, Max raised an eyebrow in amusement.
Michael made a disgusted sound, then he picked up the banter. "Sure thing Max. Any time you want me to beat the living crap out of you, or any alternate version of you, I'll be happy to oblige. But can we get back on the subject at hand? Your future self wasn't exactly free with information. We know he was out to defeat the invasion by shoehorning you and Tess together. Which speaks for his ignorance since he obviously never knew what we know now. That she was a traitor. The question is, did all this change the future *enough* to prevent the invasion altogether? Because, in case no one's noticed, your future self's pre-conditions for our defeat have come to pass. Tess is gone. Again."
Max sighed. "That's why I want us to think about it to some degree before we do anything. Why did they bother to invade Earth at all? Just to get us? Or the granolith? Why the granolith? It seems to have been nothing more than a power source, and a one shot star ship. Albeit, one that can be hot wired for time travel."
Maria chimed in. "The skins that are already here wanted the granolith so they could get home. Maybe K'Var wanted it to burn their bridges, and yours. If that's the case, then your being stuck here makes an invasion pointless. So, maybe we can hope that he has no further interest in us."
Michael frowned. "We don't know that."
Max responded. "Actually we don't know anything. That's why we need to take some time with this. Personally I won't start to panic for another year or two."
Michael looked annoyed. "But it wouldn't hurt to get some assets in place so that when we *do* decide on where to go with this, we have something to work with."
Max looked puzzled. "Assets? What assets?"
Michael looked around the table, gauging everyone. "Ava. She's a Tess clone. If Tess is required to defeat the invasion, then maybe Ava can fill her shoes. Let's have our friendly law enforcement officer start the ball rolling to find her."
Max shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. For starters Sheriff Valenti is sheriff again because of two things. Hanson was a screwup. And the townspeople petitioned to get his job back for him. Mine and Liz's parents among them. But he's still very much on probation with the 'powers that be' around here. Until that passes we can't ask him to do any big noticeable favors for us. It wouldn't be fair. Also, he'd have to use 'official' channels. And the last thing we want is for anyone in those channels to be paying attention to any one of us."
Michael looked rebellious but calmed as Maria reached up an stroked his hair. "I thought that we had outgrown this 'fearless leader' stuff. But, if that's the way you want it played, I'll go along for now. I simply think that we're making a mistake by not moving on this immediately."
Max shrugged. "I didn't say that we would do nothing. One thing we can do is ask Larek to keep his ear to the ground back on Antar. If there are any indications that K'var might be thinking of trying something major we might get enough warning to make a difference."
Isabel had been largely silent in all this, but now she spoke up. "There's one thing that we may be missing in all this. K'var has most of what he wants right now. He has the granolith. That maroons us here which, for his purposes, is as good as killing us. For the time being anyway. And it cuts the skins off from home, giving them an incentive to get on with their mission. Which is to kill us eventually." She shot an apologetic look at Max and Liz. "He has Max's son for whatever purposes he wishes. Hostage, puppet on the throne, whatever."
Liz winced at the reference but nodded encouragement anyway. Like it or not, the boy existed. However he had come to be, sooner or later, she and Max would have to deal with his existence. Liz looked at Max. He looked torn. Torn between doing something to rescue his son, and not offending Liz.
Liz pushed against his mind gently, seeking contact. "˜Patience Love, we'll get him back. And I think I'd make a passable step mother. Don't you?˜"
Max's muscles relaxed noticeably. "˜Liz Parker, have I told you lately that, I love you?˜" What followed was some brief mental nuzzling before Liz broke the connection to pay attention to Isabel again.
Isabel, for her part, had seen the change in their faces that marked their silent dialogue and waited patiently for them to return to the conversation. The interlude was brief. So brief that Maria and Michael never noticed. Liz finally spoke. "You said that we were missing something, Iz?"
Isabel nodded. "Yes. K'var has everything that he wants for the moment...except one thing. Vilandra. Me. Nicholas made it clear at Copper Summit that K'var still considers Vilandra to be his property. And that he wants her back."
The others at the table stiffened. "You didn't tell us about that", Michael said quietly.
Isabel sighed. "I was ashamed. It was part of the whole package of Vilandra. Finding out that, in your previous life, you were a cross between Benedict Arnold and Lucrecia Borgia isn't a fun thing. I just wanted to shut my eyes and make the whole thing go away. But I've had enough of that, thank you." Isabel reached out and took his and Maria's hands. "If this renewed family thing between the five of us is going to work, it means no more secrets. No more. He won't take me. I'll kill myself first."
Maria clenched Isabel's hand in hers. "Don't worry girlfriend, we won't let it come to that."
Liz added, "That's right, he gets to you over my extremely dead body."
Isabel swallowed and blinked at the sting in her eyes. "Th-thanks. I needed to hear that. I shouldn't have had to, but I did." She cleared her throat.
Max looked at her inquiringly. "Anything else?", he asked.
Isabel hesitated, then shook her head. She had briefly considered springing the knowledge that Alex was alive on them, but it wasn't time yet. She needed to know more if they were to believe her.
Liz took her hesitation for doubt and said, "Besides, no greasy psychopathic alien despot gets to think of *my* future sister-in-law as 'property'."
Michael was in the middle of sipping his coke when she spoke. He snorted coke, choked, and then sprayed over everyone. The other four occupants of the booth were torn between outrage and hysterical laughter. They settled for laughter. After Michael finished sputtering and coughing he regarded Max with a teasing grin. "Anything you wanna tell us Maxwell?" he asked archly.
Max glared at Liz good naturedly. "I don't know. Liz, did something happen last night that I don't remember?"
Liz grinned saucily and said, "Well, not really. But if you think that I'm ever letting you get away from me again, this side of eternity, think again buster."
Max chuckled. "Who am I to fight fate? Just wait for me to ask you before you start mailing invitations, okay?"
Liz nodded. "Done deal, Your Majesty."
Maria yawned. "Well, this has been more fun than we've all had in a while, but tomorrow is a school day for some of us. And I have an english paper sitting in my the computer waiting for me to finish it before bed." She looked at Michael. "Let's go Space-Boy, I for sure know that you've got homework you haven't finished.."
Michael slid out of their seat and then helped Maria out. Max and Liz slid out of their seat as well. Isabel slid her chair back and grabbed her jacket. Hugs and kisses were exchanged all round.
Before breaking her hug with Liz, Maria gave her an extra squeeze and whispered, "Be sure to remember who your friends are Chica, when you finally get to toss that bouquet."
Liz chuckled and nodded, then gave Maria a kiss on the cheek and let her go. Max stood with his arm around Liz as the others left. Then she let Max out the door and locked up. After taking a few minutes to bus their table and straighten up she headed upstairs to find Max already reclining on her bed.
"Comfy?" she asked.
Max rolled to his feet and closed the distance between them in a single step, pulling her close. "Did you mean what you said Liz?"
Liz went into mind talk mode. "˜Did I mean what, handsome spaceman?˜"
Max regarded her seriously. "˜All bantering and baggage aside, you halfway promised to marry me tonight.˜"
Liz snuggled closer and gave a sigh of contentment. "˜I'm still processing the fact that you're with me again. But...yes, one day that is the logical end of all my hopes and dreams. Besides....(Liz's body shook gently with silent laughter)....I'd hate to waste all that time I spent practicing signing my name 'Elizabeth Evans'.˜"
Max pulled back and cupped her chin, bringing her eyes up to meet his and gave her a kiss. "˜I just wanted to be sure that I'd heard right. After everything you've been through because of us....because of me...˜"
"˜Has been worth it˜," Liz cut him off. "˜There were times in there where I thought I was losing myself and my sanity. *But*...(Liz pulled him close again)....this makes it worth it. What happened downstairs tonight, with the five of us, makes it worth it. *You* make it worth it. Any other questions, quandaries, or doubts Mr. Evans?˜"
Max pulled her tightly to him. "˜No, Future Mrs. Evans, none at all.˜"
"˜Good!˜", Liz thought. "˜Then you'd better scoot for home. Much as the idea of spending another night in your arms appeals to me...tomorrow is a school day. And I have some last minute stuff to deal with. And I'm sure that you do too.˜"
Max looked at her steadily. "˜We could just say the hell with it you know.˜"
Liz smiled, but shook her head. "˜No we can't, and you know it.˜"
Max sighed. "˜I suppose not.˜" Then his face altered. "˜Honey, before I'm out the door there is one thing I wanted to talk to you about. Actually I wanted both you and Maria in on it since it's, in part, your territory.˜"
Liz looked puzzled. "˜What Max?˜"
Max pulled away and went over to set down on the bed. "˜It's Isabel. I'm worried. The night after the Whitman's funeral she had a nightmare. A bad one. And she wouldn't talk about it. I doubt the subject of it would be tough to guess though. And last night when I checked on her she was whispering Alex's name in her sleep. We all miss Alex. And I think that Iz was finally falling in love with him, there at the end. But six months is long enough. Can you and Maria start prodding her a bit, girl style, to start at least opening up the the possibility of dating again?˜"
Liz sighed as she slipped on to the bed next to Max. "˜Love, we can try. But, if it were you and I, six months wouldn't be long enough. Six years maybe, just barely. But not six months. If nothing else we can get her to open up about that nightmare.˜"
Max sighed. "˜That would probably help. But I can't help thinking that we should start helping her get past this. I've been so wrapped up in how to fix you and I that I forgot that there are other walking wounded around here. I've been a lousy leader, but it stops now.˜"
Liz elbowed him sharply. "˜Stop that this instant! You have not been a lousy leader. Confused yes. But you've been playing a game where someone else has been setting the rules. Now you know better. Next time *you* set the rules. As for the rest, we'll work on Iz, but don't hope for much. Like I said, six months wouldn't be enough time for me.˜"
Max stood up and pulled Liz up with him. "˜Okay Liz, you're the doctor. Just let me know if there's anything that I can do to help out. Now I've stalled long enough. I'd better hit the road.˜" He pulled her close and kissed her. He had meant it to be brief, not wanting to promise more than he could deliver, but she wasn't having any. Liz clung to him tightly, and forced the kiss deeper. Max responded in kind, his hands massaging her back and bottom, then moving up into her hair. Liz gave a slight whimper at his caresses then she pushed the kiss near to meltdown and held it there. After what could have been minutes, but felt like hours, the couple came up for air.
"˜Wow˜," Max said, even his mind voice sounded ragged. "˜If we're always going to be like that, I'm going to need CPR some day!˜"
Liz chuckled. "˜Not to worry, I'll take some classes. By the way, the feeling is mutual!˜"
Max grinned. "˜Then we'll take those classes together.˜" He gave her another quick kiss, pulling away before she could make more of it. "˜Now I'm outta here before another kiss like that last one convinces me to stay the night again.˜" Max gave her a last hug and she walked with him to the window. Once he was outside he turned to kiss her again. "˜Sweet dreams Liz.˜"
Liz sent him a wave of warmth and love. "˜G'night Max. Sleep tight! I love you!˜" Then he was gone. Liz closed and locked the window, then hurried to get ready for bed. She had homework to finish before lights out.
Maria pulled to the curb to let Michael out. Michael opened his door and turned to Maria for a good night kiss, but paused when he saw her smirk.
"What?" he asked.
Maria chuckled. "It's you Spaceboy. I'm getting so I can read you like a book. You were scared to death back at the Crashdown. Petrified that I'd go all flaky on you, wanting a mind meld. Or whatever that is that Max and Liz did."
Michael regarded her solemnly. "Do you? If you do, we'll try for it." He sighed and smiled. "At this point I can't say no to *you*, no matter how much I might argue with Max or the others."
Maria leaned over, grabbed the back of his head, and kissed him hard. "No Michael. I don't. Not right now anyway. We aren't Max and Liz, and we don't have to do everything that they do, when they do it. If it comes, it comes when it comes. Not before. Lets just be open to it if it does. And if it doesn't, no regrets. Besides, you heard Liz, are you willing to go through the months of emotional turmoil they did to get there? I'm not. I'm happy with *now*. Let later take care of itself."
Michael regarded his lover with profound respect. Every time he thought he had her pegged, she would perform some new feat of emotional understanding and wisdom that would leave him breathless. Just how in the *hell* had he gotten so lucky in finding her, he wondered. Surely the odds were so high as to make the lottery look like a sure thing by comparison. Michael's face was a study in calm, but inside he was braying with laughter at himself. "Honest to God dimwit, if underestimating people were an Olympic event, you'd be a Gold Medalist." He looked at Maria and simply said, "Thank you, Pixie." Then he leaned in to kiss her. "Now you'd better go before you get my hormones going."
Maria nodded and leaned over for a last kiss. "G'night Spaceboy. And don't stay up to watch ESPN. Get your homework done and get to bed!"
Michael snorted. "Yeees, mooommy", he drawled.
Maria looked exasperated. Michael had already gotten out of the car and stooped to lean in and say a final goodnight. Grabbing the back of his head again she pulled him in for a thorough french kiss. Breaking the kiss she grinned. "Still think I'm you mom?"
Michael laughed. "No Maria, not unless I had a perv family. Night Pixie. You really know how to win an argument." Michael stepped away from the car as she pulled away with a brief toot of her horn. Then he shook his head in wonderment again as he turned to go in...and finish his homework before going to bed.
Isabel had prepped for bed in record time. Tomorrow she had to be up early to open the law office up. Philip Evans' junior partner was handling the firm's business while he and Diane were on their second honeymoon. And for some unknown reason, after years of doing without one, her father had decided that Isabel was the perfect person to be the firm's receptionist. Actually, she did know why he had done it.
After Alex's death she had been in limbo as to what to do with her life. Initially she had planned on college, but after Alex was gone everything had seemed pointless. Almost futile. So this was her father's way of giving her something to do that would occupy her mind and keep her engaged with life. She wondered again at the astounding good fortune that had delivered she and her brother to the right place at the right time in the nighttime desert of 1989 to be found by Philip and Diane Evans. It almost made you believe in divine providence.
But her reason for rushing tonight had nothing to do with work. She was anxious to continue probing at Alex for information on his situation. Willing or not. She doubted that she would get more than a few words out of him before she was shut out again. "Which reminds me," she thought, "I have to make a note to kick his butt for that once I've gotten my hands on him again." She was intensely curious now, as well as concerned. "Just what the hell happened to him that his current keepers think would be beyond the capacity of his friends to accept and understand? Alex for damn sure knows better. Which means that he was telling the truth. Whatever he's into is so dangerous that he won't risk it touching us."
Isabel sat on her bed with her yearbook open, studying his picture. "Alex," she said aloud, "you know I love you...but you're taking this self sacrifice thing too far. Liz was bad enough. We don't need *you* to throw yourself into the fire for us too. Not when you've already paid your dues there." Isabel sighed. "Flattering as it is, I'd rather have you *here* instead."
Isabel reached out and stroked his picture with one fingertip. The expected wave of distortion raced across the image and vanished. It was time. Isabel reclined on her bed, pulled the covers up, doused the light with a wave of her hand, and snuggled down to wait for sleep. As her eyes grew heavy she allowed herself a smile. "I'm coming for you Alexander Charles Whitman...ready or not."
With that, Isabel sighed herself into deep sleep. To sleep and perchance..to dream.
When Isabel arrived in Alex's dream this time, she was standing in the vestibule of the building that housed the dojo. "This saves me some time," she thought. "But, now that I know this is Seattle, collecting a few street names while walking here wouldn't have hurt."
The clash of steel on steel caused her to turn towards the stairs leading up to the dojo. Thinking that Alex had another nightmare in progress Isabel hurried up the stairs. She slowed as she reached the top and she realized that, even if it were another bad dream, she couldn't interfere without making Alex aware of her presence again. As she approached the workout room she heard a curse and a thud. The voice doing the cursing was Alex's, so it kind of followed that the 'thud' must be.......
"Damnit Alex!", someone roared. "Just because this is sword work doesn't mean that you can't pay attention to your feet!" Then the voice continued in a quieter tone. "Look son, I know that you're tired, but the day may come when you *are* tired and facing a tough situation. You've got to have your reflexes honed to the point that that you can come up fighting, tired or rested, awake or asleep, anywhere, anytime, for any reason. Anything less and you won't live long."
Isabel heard all of this before peeking around the corner. The words chilled her, added to her forboding...and to her sense of urgency to get to the bottom of things. As well as her desire to get Alex the hell out of here. As she peered around the corner she saw Alex sprawled on the floor. Standing over him, sword in hand, was the pony tailed character from the cemetery dream last night. And, at the moment, he appeared to be more than a little concerned.
As Mr. Ponytail reached down to pull Alex to his feet, the a second figure stepped away from the wall of the room towards the pair. Isabel recognized him as 'Richie'. As he reached them he spoke. "Mac, you guys have been at this for 6 hours now. Don't you think that's enough?"
'Mac' glanced at Richie then turned back to Alex. "I don't know Richie." He turned to look at Alex. "Alex....this morning three students, none of whom should have been able to lay a glove on you, made you look like a fool on the mats because you were sleepy. Do you think this is enough?"
Isabel winced as she saw Alex hang his head. Clearly he was having problems with 'Mac' because he was exhausted from lack of sleep. And she knew very well why that was, even if Alex couldn't tell 'Mac'. She felt more than a little guilty that she wouldn't be able to let up on him tonight. Isabel promised him silently to make it up to him when this was over...after she kicked his ass for shutting her out to begin with.
Before the conversation could go on a new voice chimed in...from behind Isabel. "Is what enough!?"
Isabel leapt to the wall and tried to appear unobtrusive as a woman swept by her. A tall short haired brunette dressed in head to toe black. She held her breath until the woman had joined the others. Things like this were so unpredictable. Get caught in the open at the wrong time and the dreamer would notice you. After that, the only thing to do was pretend to be a part of the dream. And in Alex's case that wasn't going to work. He would be alert for any appearance she made in his dreams.
The way the woman moved reminded Isabel of a big cat. Come to think of it, all these people moved that way. Even Alex did now. To Isabel it was puzzling. If she had met these people before now in real life, she felt like they would have intimidated the hell out of her. She studied Alex again. What did that mean for him?
The newcomer moved between Alex and 'Mac', and gave 'Mac' a kiss of greeting, then she spoke again. "Is what enough?"
Mr. Ponytail sighed. "Alex had to short his training today because of lack of sleep. I was simply making the point that one day he may have to fight under the same conditions. And that pleading exhaustion won't save him then, only trained reflexes will."
The woman turned to study Alex. She reached out and gently forced his chin up so she could see his eyes. "Duncan", she said with some asperity, "look at his eyes. There are bags under them the size of steamer trunks. They're bloodshot to the point of looking like a road map. He should be in bed! You can pick this up tomorrow!"
Duncan sighed and looked at the clock. "Okay, one more round, then we'll call it quits." He paused and looked at the brunette. "So, any luck shopping?"
The woman shook her head and looked disgusted. "Nope, not a lick. And I was never one for bargain hunting either. I'll just be happy when we close escrow on this particular merchandise."
Isabel's eyes narrowed. His name was Duncan then. Mac *had* sounded an awful lot like a nickname. That would be filed for future reference. "What is with the subtext here?" she thought. "The brunette hottie is mothering Alex? And that conversation! Euphemisms much? These two haven't been around kids enough. They sounded like clueless parents trying to have a sex conversation over their kid's head. And judging from that momentary look on Alex's face, he knows exactly what they're trying to hide. And he isn't happy about it."
Duncan glanced at the woman and sighed. "So will I." He turned to Alex. "Now, let's finish this up. One more bout then you grab a snack, hit the showers, and get to bed. In that order."
Isabel grinned. "If the hottie is mama bear, I think I know who papa bear is."
As she watched, Duncan and Alex walked to opposite corners of a large square, marked off on the floor with tape. They both came to guard as Richie and the woman moved off to the side to watch. As Isabel watched they launched into a flurry of cuts and parries that had her thinking that perhaps the 'beautiful' quality of the fight in Alex's nightmare hadn't been fantasy driven after all. She'd never been into this sort of thing much, but this was bordering on being an art form. The only troubling aspect for her was that they appeared to be using real swords.
Suddenly Alex resolved the question for her as he stumbled while extended for a lunge, causing his sword to extend further than he had intended. And much further than Duncan had apparently expected, for he cursed as the tip of Alex's sword took him in the stomach. Alex finished falling then rolled over and scrambled to his feet. Richie and the brunette reached Duncan in less than a second. Duncan was holding pressure on the wound as he staggered to a bench next to a rack of free weights.
Alex was staring in horror at his sword. So was Isabel. There was blood on it. Starting at the tip and ending four to six inches back on the blade. Alex dropped the sword and dashed to where Duncan was sitting. Isabel walked over and looked at the sword. Yes, it was definitely blood, and a lot of it. There was more blood on the floor as well. And a considerable amount of blood stained Duncan's shirt, as well as the shirts that Richie and Alex had pulled off to improvise pressure bandages.
As she watched the brunette pulled up Duncan's shirt in back, apparently checking to see if the sword had passed through, while Richie and Alex took turns helping Duncan keep pressure on the wound. Isabel frowned. Something wasn't right here. They weren't *doing* anything. She would have expected at least *one* hysterical call to 911. Instead, they did nothing beyond the simplest first aid. And it wasn't long before she knew why. After a few minutes Duncan stood up and waved off his nursemaids. He pulled off his shirt and wiped at his abdomen where the sword had penetrated. There was no wound. Only a rapidly fading discoloration.
Isabel's heart seized up and she moved quickly away from the sword, out of the line of sight. There was only one sort of creature she knew of that healed like that. An alien. Her blood was running several degrees below zero and she had a ringing in her ears. But that didn't stop her from listening to what was happening.
Alex looked depressed and apologetic. As Duncan bent over to pick up Alex's sword, Alex spoke. "Oh man! Duncan, I'm sorry. I never meant...."
Duncan had straightened and was wiping off Alex's sword with what was left of his ruined shirt. As he did so, he cut Alex off. "Relax Alex. This isn't the first training accident that I've had. Or even the first training accident that *you've* had either. Granted it's no fun, but as injuries go it doesn't rate as badly as a shaving cut for your average man. Richie has done worse to me in the past. And Amanda has done *much* worse...deliberately."
The brunette hottie spoke up. "Oh really? When?" At that, everyone laughed.
Isabel felt she was missing something here, but wasn't exactly sure what. As it was, she was reaching information overload, bordering on panic. Whoever these people were, they were not human. Or at least the one named Duncan wasn't. And they were behaving as if Alex were one of them. Whether he was or not, they had him. And they were teaching him to fight. For who? For them? And why swords? Whatever was happening was beyond her. She needed more information....
*BLINK*
The dream setting had changed. She was standing in a hallway outside the open door of a large, if sparely furnished, bedroom. The only concessions to luxury seemed to be the enormous king sized bed and sitting in one corner was a desk and worktable loaded with tech gear. Two computers and assorted support hardware. The rest of the room was all second hand furniture, and quite shabby and spartan.
The sound of footsteps alerted her to someone's approach down the darkened hall, so she jumped through the door. Once in the room she looked around but there was no where to hide. The closet was too small. The bed was too low to get under. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. All she could do was stand in the shadows against a wall and try to imitate the wallpaper. Alex walked into the room wearing a towel wrapped around his waist and carrying his shaving gear. He had obviously just come from a shower. Once he closed the door he dropped his shaving kit, pulled off the towel, and finished drying his hair. Then he crawled into bed.
Isabel felt suddenly warm. She had trouble catching her breath. She was sure that she was blushing neon red from her scalp all the way to her toenails. The sight of Alex sans clothing had only lasted a few minutes, but it was enough to wake her hormones up and put them on the warpath. Alex was reclining with his arms under his head. With the covers only pulled up as far as his waist, this posture did interesting things to his muscles. From the abs, to the pecs and on up into the shoulders. Coupled with the wild boy look of his hair, it made him look positively edible.
Isabel started to become aware of a faint buzzing in her ears. She shook her head to clear it. She felt like a ditzy school girl. There was still enough of Isabel the Ice Queen in her to make her try and deny the obvious reaction she was having to Alex's physical appeal. When the rapid tattoo of her heart made it apparent that her efforts were getting no where, she groaned softly in frustration. That noise was her undoing.
Alex had been reaching for the bedside light when he stopped. He thought that he'd heard...... He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "Damn", he thought. "Apple blossoms. She's here. How long has she been here?" He spoke aloud. "Allee allee outs in free! I know you're there Iz."
Isabel stepped away from the wall and into the circle of light cast by his bedside lamp. Alex sucked in his breath. " Oh my GOD, but she's beautiful", he thought. This was absolutely the last place where in he wanted to be alone with Isabel right now. Reading his own reactions right, he judged himself to be no more than a New York minute from doing something irreversibly stupid. So he stalled. "If this were my usual dream about you, you'd be wearing a lace teddy, and you would have cut to the chase by now."
Isabel smirked and sat down on the foot of the bed. "Alex, I've been in your dreams before. Not that I find your idea repulsive, quite the opposite, but I doubt that it's your 'usual'." She reached out and began to rub one of his feet through the covers. Alex felt high voltage arcing up his leg. She smiled sweetly and said, "You're simply too sweet a guy to make a habit of that."
Alex riposted sharply. "Generally I don't...not with just any girl. You however, are an exception to the rule." Alex noticed a wicked glint in her eyes and realized that he'd overplayed his hand.
Isabel's smile widened into a full out grin. And an evil grin at that. "Why Mr. Whitman, is that your way of saying that there's no other girl for you, but me?"
Her hand moved higher on his leg, causing a tactical nuke explode low in his belly. Alex swallowed hard. He had to stall long enough to find out how much she had seen. "Okay, you win. Isabel, just stop it or I'll have to force you out again."
Isabel relented. "It's a good thing you caved Alex. If you hadn't, my clothes were coming off next."
Alex shivered at the image presented. His blood was hammering at his temples, among other places. The idea was so tempting that it frightened him.
Isabel maintained her evil grin and continued. "But, regardless of the fact that you saved my dignity by caving, consider this a temporary stay of execution Mr. Whitman. We have larger issues to deal with at the moment."
"Here it comes," Alex thought. "Such as?" he asked aloud.
Isabel's eyes narrowed. "I saw quite a bit tonight Alex. I saw your little training accident. Who are Duncan, Richie, and Amanda? More importantly, *what* are they? Especially Duncan. And what are they to you?"
Alex winced. "Damn!" he thought. "Damn! Damn! Damn! I should have been more alert. She's seen way too much!" Alex sighed. "Would you accept that they're my friends and that I can't tell you anything else?"
Isabel pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. She didn't have to say a word. The unspoken 'As if!' was hanging there for anyone to see. And while Alex Whitman was far from blind, he was at a loss as to what the hell to do. The silence stretched interminably. Finally Isabel decided to force things, even if it meant getting booted out again.
"You know, I think I understand what Liz went through a little better now," she said.
Alex frowned a question.
Isabel smiled softly. "Back when Max wanted her but was still fighting it, I mean. I now know what it's like when the one you love is making all the decisions in your relationship. Deciding that it's okay if you're both miserable and apart, as long as he feels that he's keeping you safe."
Alex sighed. "Iz, if I had a choice I'd be home in a heartbeat. You have to know that! But I don't *have* a choice. The first hurdle would be making me officially undead. The second and higher hurdle is my...um..unique situation. I do not exaggerate when I tell you that just being around me could get one or more of you killed."
Isabel regarded him solemnly. "Big deal."
Alex blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Isabel looked irritated. "It means what it says. Big hairy freakin' deal! Once you, Maria, and Liz knew about us, you could have bolted. You didn't. Each of you made a choice to be with us." Isabel's voice softened with the wonder of it and she repeated herself haltingly. "To...be...with...us." Then she continued in a more normal tone. "You three didn't hesitate for an instant. You threw yourselves into what turned out to be a months long nightmare carnival ride of fear, danger, and near death experiences. And you did it despite our efforts to stop you and force you away. And if you really think about it, once Max healed Liz, the die was cast. You were all in danger simply by association. Liz was in danger because Max healed her. You and Maria were in danger because you were Liz's friends. And you would have been in danger whether you were with us or not. But at the time we couldn't see that, and you didn't care anyway. I treated you like crap and you stayed anyway. Ready to jump in anytime, for anything." She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't you think that *we*, your friends, have the right to make the same choice with regard to you? Whatever the stinkin' secret is, it can't be any bigger or badder than what we've already handled together!"
Alex looked uncertain. He was wavering. Isabel could see it.
"But the others don't know Iz," he said, "they don't have all the information to make an informed choice...and neither do you."
Isabel shrugged. "That's easily solved. Or it would be if you'd tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"
Alex jerked at her tone, then his face hardened. "No, I'd rather face this alone and know that all of you are safe. Once I tell you, there is no choice. Because I'll have made it, for all of us. You may have the right to choose, but I don't. Not anymore. If it comes to it, I'd rather die than have this to touch your lives."
Isabel lost it. She jumped to her feet. Tears compounded of equal parts of fear and fury began to trickle down her cheeks. She was shaking. "YOU SELFISH BASTARD!" Alex jerked at the explosion and tried to speak, but Isabel cut him off. Mount Isabel was in full eruption and there was no stopping her now. "Is that what this is about?!! You being afraid how you'll feel if one of us gets hurt, because you didn't keep us away?!! Weren't you listening at all, you idiot!??" Alex tried to speak again, but again she overrode him. "I admitted that WE were wrong to shut you, Liz, and Maria out..just because of the danger involved to both you AND to us! Because WE were AFRAID! And you sit there and try to pull the same crap, for the same reasons??!! What is this? Some sort of bizarre pay back?!"
Isabel scrubbed angrily at her tears with the back of her hand. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Alex. "I swear, if I didn't love you so much, I'd kill you myself for putting me through this! Listen up Alex Whitman, and listen well! When I thought you were dead, it felt like the best part of me had been amputated! I kept waiting for something to happen, for the grieving to pass! But it never did, because deep inside me some part of me knew that you weren't dead! I knew you were out there! I FELT you and never realized it! But, I REALIZE it NOW! You and I are bound, every bit as much as Liz and Max or Maria and Michael are! If something happens to you, I'll know it! If you do something stupid, like get careless with your life because you see your death as the best way to protect us...I'll KNOW it! And I'll follow you! Do you UNDERSTAND me Alex Whitman!? I'll be right BEHIND you, headed into the afterlife. I will NOT be left behind AGAIN!!" She glared at him through her drying tears, her heart heavy with hopeless anger and fear. "Believe it!"
Alex felt like he'd stepped off over his head into some very deep, very cold water. One thing he had to say about Isabel. She doesn't mince words. And she doesn't bluff either. The small spark of panic that had been flickering in him since her first appearance in his dreams flared into a full out inferno of fear and anger at the very thought of what she had just threatened. Panic is not a good thing for someone trying to sleep. He was trying to reach out to her when.....
*BLINK*
The first thing that Alex became aware of was pain. His elbow, his head, and his tailbone. "OWW!!" he howled. He was half awake as he thrashed and struggled against an invisible enemy. As he continued to fight he heard the clatter and crash of something hitting the floor. At that sound his sleep fogged senses cleared and he realized what was happening. He had tumbled out of bed, he was fighting with his covers, and unless he missed his guess...he'd just broken his clock radio.
Cursing quietly he struggled out of his covers and paused, seated on the floor with his back against the bed, to let his heart beat and breathing slow. By the time he felt composed enough to put his bed back together and crawl into it, no one had come to check on him. So he assumed that any noise he had made had passed without notice. Before going to bed he checked the clock radio. Sure enough, it was history. Duncan granted him a small weekly allowance, most of which he saved since room and board were provided for in exchange for doing grunt work around the dojo. Tomorrow he'd have to take some of it and get a new clock radio.
Ever since he'd come awake enough to realize he was on the floor, his last encounter with Isabel had played and replayed in his mind. Looking at the phone next to his computer he'd never been more tempted in all the last six months than he was that instant. It shouldn't have ended that way. "I wonder if it's a human/alien thing," he asked himself. "I wish I could talk to Maria and Liz. How can she piss me off, scare the crap out of me, AND cause me to love her...with equal intensity and at the same time? Is it like this for Liz and Maria, with Max and Michael?" Alex sighed as he settled back to sleep. "Now that I think about it, I suppose it is." He grinned as he flexed his fist, recalling the time he'd belted Michael in the mouth. "Wonder how I'd do now?" he thought as he tried to relax enough to sleep. It wasn't going well.
Alex sighed deeply and then settled into his breathing exercises. He willed himself to sleep, but it wouldn't come. After only a few minutes of it he felt like he was going to explode. Or implode. Either way, he had to get out of here and walk this off. Having made his decision he quickly rose and dressed. He paused in thought then nodded to himself. Opening his small closet he drew out his duster and sword. Slinging the sword high he pulled on the duster and checked himself in the mirror. He chuckled quietly. "I guess you could say I'm dressed to kill. I just hope it works the other way. That I'm dressed not to BE killed."
His inspection finished, Alex drew on Amanda's stealth lessons and moved silently through the dojo. As he approached the hallway that led into Duncan's loft he slowed to a crawl and listened. He heard nothing but uninterrupted snores. One set masculine, one set feminine. Alex grinned. "Does Amanda know that she snores I wonder?" Moving slowly Alex passed the hallway and then picked up the pace until he hit the street. It was raining. Not hard, but steadily. The air felt heavy. It was misty. Alex paused and looked around. The street was quiet. At this time of night there was no foot traffic, and vehicle traffic was low. Alex set off down the street in the general direction of the waterfront. He had a destination in mind, and it was only a few blocks away.
To anyone watching he was lost in the mist and rain in moments. As it happened, someone WAS watching. The unseen watcher chuckled to himself as children's rhymes about spiders and flies danced in his head. He smiled at his unbelievable luck. Usually, at this time of night, he would be curled up with a bottle of Johnny Walker Black. But every so often he would assume a vigil on top of an empty storefront up the block from the dojo, on the off hand that something interesting might happen. And, lo and behold, something had. The fates had delivered the newbie to him on a platter!
Still smiling a feral smile, Rafe Conterras abandoned his post on top of the old storefront and moved towards the roof fire escape. He had no idea where the newbie was headed, but this was like a gift from heaven as far as he was concerned. He anticipated no trouble tracking him, but if he lost him...so what. There was always tomorrow, and that was what the hunt was all about. Moving with an innate stealth Conterras set off down the opposite street, paralleling Alex's course. Tracking in for the kill.
The loft of Duncan MacLeod...a few minutes earlier
After Alex moved past the short hallway the snores stopped. Amanda sighed. "He's getting better. If I hadn't known he was coming, I'd never have heard him at all."
Duncan snorted. "I would have." He gave a loud 'OOF!' as Amanda's elbow connected with his ribs.
"Now what?" she asked.
Duncan sighed. "Now one of us follows him to make sure he gets back in one piece, then the other gets to ream him for going out alone."
Amanda nodded. "So who does which job?"
Duncan chuckled. "We cut cards?"
Amanda shook her head. "Too much trouble. Rock, paper, scissors. It's raining out. The loser gets wet."
Accordingly they raised their fists and counted the beat. Duncan showed scissors. Amanda showed rock. She smiled happily and rolled over. "I'm going back to sleep. Wake me when you get back." Then she squawked, because as Duncan swung his feet out of bed he leaned back and swung the flat of his hand to connect solidly with her rump. Amanda snap rolled onto her back and glared. "I'm going to try and pretend that didn't happen, because if I happen to remember it when you get back...you're sleeping on the floor. Now stop clowning around! If Conterras is out there and reaches Alex before you do, your life won't be worth living. I'll make it my mission in life."
Duncan jumped to his feet and hurriedly dressed without turning on the light. At his age and experience he could dress in the dark without a problem. If need be he could handle it blindfolded and standing on his head. Centuries of living on yellow alert had given him an edge. There was nothing more embarrassing than being taken by surprise in the middle of the night and having to fight buck naked. So his clothes and weapon were always close at hand when he slept. The reason for his speed had as much to do with Alex's safety as it did with Amanda's threat. Though a threat from Amanda was not to be despised for it's power to motivate.
Thus it was that Duncan hit the street just as Alex was vanishing into the clouds of suspended mist shrouding the city. Duncan hurried after him. Straining his ears until he caught sight of his young student half a block ahead. After that he stayed well back from him, trailing him in the very ragged edge of visibility. Speeding up when the mist was thick, slowing when it thinned out. He had no idea what had disturbed his pupil's sleep, but both he and Amanda had awakened to Alex's shout at the same time.
Duncan had been outside his door in seconds, sword in hand. But rather than burst in he had listened. It was time to have the boy start standing on his own two feet...or least have him think that he was. Because, with Conterras cruising Seattle like a starving shark on a blood scent, the day may be coming when his student would need that confidence to save his life. So Duncan listened until he heard Alex begin to move about the room purposefully. Duncan knew the telltale sounds that accompanied someone getting dressed. He had turned and hurried back to bed, arriving in time to alert Amanda and settle back in feigned sleep.
As he moved along behind Alex he stretched out his senses, honed by centuries as both the hunter and the hunted, seeking any trace that someone else might be shadowing Alex. Someone with less pure motives. He couldn't detect anything. But that meant nothing. Conterras' dossier from The Watchers hinted at the fact that the man made rat look like a bumbling amateur at slinking by unnoticed, buzz or no buzz. They'd come eight blocks when Alex stopped, then walked into the well lighted building across the street from him. "The bus station?" Duncan pondered. "He wouldn't run. Not now. He knows that his training isn't complete. And he for damn sure knows that there's no going home. But something has been plaguing the boy the last few days, if his performance is anything to go by. Something more than the funeral,"
Duncan cut across the street and approached the bus station along the adjacent store fronts. As he passed the alley between the right side of the station and the last store front his 'friend or foe' radar came to quivering alert. There was a hostile around. His 'radar' wasn't as good as the buzz when it came to detecting trouble coming, but it had never truly failed him. And it had only played him false a few times over the centuries, and all that had lead to was some embarrassing incidents. In Duncan's book, being embarrassed occasionally was much better than being a head shorter once. So he paid attention to the alarm sounding in his hind brain. The place where, in all humans, the wild animal still resides. Where instinct rules. He made a dash to the right wall of the bus station and froze next to a dumpster and listened. Nothing. But Conterras was here somewhere. He was as certain of it as he'd ever been about anything in his life.
His initial impulse was to march into the nearly vacant bus station, drag Alex out by the scruff of his neck, and make a strategic withdrawal. He stifled it. For the same reason that he hadn't charged into Alex's bedroom earlier. To build the kid's confidence. This was riskier, but it was a carefully calculated risk. He was betting Alex's life that, should Conterras show his face, he could reach Alex before the butcher could.
Duncan shook himself free of his reverie began to find a position from which to wait things out. He found it on the left side of the bus station, next to a parked bus. That side was well lighted, with a mostly empty parking lot for cars and offloading buses, and the whole side of the station was glass. Floor to ceiling glass. Doors and windows alike. Aside from an occasional structural support column, his view was unobstructed. And most importantly, he was close enough to observe, yet far enough away not to set off 'the buzz'. As he settled in to wait it out he kept his senses wound up to maximum.
Scanning the inside of the station for Alex he found him easily, for he was in plain sight. "At a *pay phone*?" Duncan mused. "Who the hell would he be calling at this time of night? And why?" Duncan frowned. This was trouble in the making. He was certain of it. "One thing for sure. When I get him home and tell Amanda, his goose is cooked. She'll take her job as the designated reamer VERY seriously. It was the mother hen in her coming out." At that Duncan grinned. He knew who would be on the mats with Alex tomorrow.
Isabel was slowly going out of her mind. She had tried to settle down and get to sleep after being abruptly ejected from Alex's dream, but she wasn't having any luck. She was too scared. She was frightened of what was happening in Seattle. Of what MIGHT happen in Seattle. Of what was GOING to happen in Seattle. The repeated dream walks were starting to give her a stronger sense of Alex. Of what he was feeling. And what she was getting now was worrying her. A constant background buzz of anxiety that, for want of a better term, felt something like what a rabbit might feel if he knew there was a hawk around that he couldn't see. Alex was afraid, but fighting it.
She had meant her last threat. To join him in death if he did something stupid, like allowing himself to be killed without a fight...simply to end this before it endangered her or the others. "Bullshit!" she thought. "Anything that dangerous we're SUPPOSED to share. We're MEANT to share. If he can't see that, then I'll have to pin him down and bully him until he does." Isabel paused, then grinned. "Or perhaps pinning him down and wriggling a bit would work better. Because I certainly had his engine racing earlier. I don't think it would have taken much....." Isabel's internal dialogue was cut off abruptly by a faint trilling sound.
Isabel frowned and stood up...listening as the trilling went on and on. "Shit! My cell phone!" She lunged at her purse and dug into it, pulling out the ringing cell phone. She stared at the chirping phone with a mixture of hope and dread.
"Who would know that I was awake at this hour? Who would know my number?"
She knew that Alex had committed it to memory back when they had first dated. But would he still remember ,it after all this time? Yes, of course he would. Unable to put it off any longer she answered the call..."Hello?" she said in a small voice.
There was silence on the line for a moment. Then the the sound of someone clearing their throat, followed by a soft low and very familiar voice...heavy with emotion. "Isabel?"
Isabel felt her knees start to go rubbery, and she sat down heavily on the bed. She felt like there was a weight on her chest so heavy that she could barely breathe. This wasn't a dream. And it wasn't a dream walk. Alex, very real and very alive, was on the other end of the phone. This was real! She began to tremble so badly that her voice came out in a stutter. "A-A-Alex?"
The same low voice answered. "Yeah Izzy, it's me. I just couldn't go back to sleep. I couldn't leave things the way they were between us."
With that, Isabel's reserve cracked. The damn broke. The pressure in her chest had to find an outlet. And it did. She began to sob as the emotions, that she'd rigidly held in check since Saturday, burst loose.
The terminal was clean and quiet. Except for two winos staying out of the rain, there wasn't a soul in sight. The night custodian had long since finished his job and was sacked out in a store room. And the night manager was following the route of self supervised night workers the world over who have no work at the moment. He had retired to catch some shuteye right next to the custodian until the next bus came in. The place would have looked abandoned if it weren't for the presence of very one nervous and worried looking young man at the pay phone bank along the back wall.
Alex stood at the pay phone and listened to the woman he loved break down into tears. This was a far cry from the Ice Princess of old. And he felt like a total louse. He let her cry for a bit until her sobs began to wind down, then he tried to restart the conversation. "Isabel? Honey?" The sobs at the other end slowed further as Isabel seemed to be bringing herself under control. Though she was still gulping back the occasional sniffle, and when she finally spoke though it was very clear that she was still a long way from being happy.
"Alex Whitman! What makes you think you have the right to 'Honey' me?! After what I've been through the last two days?! Two days hell, the last six months! You son of a bitch! How dare you pretend to be dead? How could you do this to me? To all of us? What about Liz and Maria? Yes, and Michael and Max too! Do you have any idea how guilty we've felt about the fact that one of our own 'murdered' you?" Isabel's control started to slip a little, but her anger trailed off somewhat as she became plaintive. "Alex? Come home. Please? Or let us come and get you, before this whatever it is you're into gets you killed?"
Alex sighed deeply. "It isn't that simple Iz. This isn't something I'm 'into', it's more something that's into ME. I can't explain it better than that. All I can tell you is that until I'm better trained, I'm a living lightening rod. Trouble will come to me whether I like it or not. And unless I can defend myself I'm a liability. A liability that could cost the people I love their lives!"
The pendulum of Isabel's oscillating emotions swung back towards anger. "That's bullshit! Better trained to be WHAT? A killer?"
Alex's voice took on a note of grimness she'd never heard before. "Yes, if need be. Though I like to think of it more as becoming a warrior. I won't go looking for trouble. But, from now on, and for as long as I live, trouble will come looking for me."
Isabel's emotional storm subsided to a dull roar in her heart and mind. "So what? I'm supposed to play Penelope to your Odysseus? Guess again buster. Whatever you're up to you have to be able to handle here as well as you can there, with us to back you up! Come home!"
Alex was silent for a while, so long that Isabel started to be afraid that she had angered him. When he finally spoke, she discovered it wasn't anger that stilled him. It was grief.
"Home to what Iz? Yes, I would have you and the others, but this isn't something you can fix with a little molecular manipulation. I was dead. My life is gone. Everything I had. Everything I owned. Just gone. In a sense the only thing I own now is the suit I had on when they planted me... and that's all torn up. Even my parents are *dead* Iz. Even if I came home the chances are really damned thin that I could salvage my former life. What would I do? Hang around, living on what I could sponge off of you guys...until someone happened to see me who knows that NO ONE should be seeing me at all? Then all hell would break loose and you know it! I don't think you want that kind of attention Iz."
Isabel was growing desperate. "We'll work something out! Brody would help. He has the money, the skills, and the contacts."
Alex sounded puzzled. "Brody? Isn't that a touch risky? Bringing in an outsider?"
Isabel winced. In updating Alex she'd clearly missed a few things. "Um, he's not an outsider. Not anymore. After you..um, left us...Amy DeLuca and Brody both started showing signs of breakdown due to Tess' mind warp. Their minds were literally coming apart at the seams. The only thing we could do is tell them. We had to if we were going to help. Max, Michael, and I had made up our minds that no innocent bystanders were going to suffer because of us."
Alex was silent for a moment. "And it worked?"
Isabel spoke with some temper. "Yes it worked and you're ducking the issue. Brody has the money and the means to bring you home and rebuild your life. I know he does. So, come home!"
Alex was silent. When he spoke again it was in a dull monotone that reminded her of Liz the other night. "Isabel..it's...just...not...that...easy. Things are different now."
Sitting on her bed in Roswell, Isabel could feel him out at the far end of the wispy emotional tether between them that seemed to be growing stronger every day, binding them ever closer together. Making a mental note to talk to Liz about her own bond with Max she paused in thought. She could feel his borderline acquiescence, his willingness to talk, and decided to go for broke.. She hesitated a moment, then she gave the gentlest of verbal shoves. "Different how?"
Alex glanced around the bus terminal and then fed some more money into the pay phone, rather than risk interruption. Taking a deep breath he decided to give her some information while carefully skirting the core truth. But first he had a request. "Isabel, before I answer that, could you do me a favor?"
Isabel sensed victory, but stifled any rejoicing to concentrate on the issue at hand. Trying to make light of the moment she asked playfully, '"Are you trying to come up with something that I'd actually say no to? If so, it won't work. For you? Anything. Anything at all."
Alex wasn't stupid. He knew he was being played with. And it pleased him to let her get away with it, because he HAD missed this. He had missed *her*. So he skipped a comeback and cut to the chase. "Try to check my birth records. Be careful and thorough because I'm betting the truth is hidden. I'm betting on something that my folks never told me."
Isabel frowned in puzzlement. "What would that be??"
Alex glanced nervously around the bus terminal again. "That, like you, I'm adopted."
Back in Roswell Isabel jumped to her feet and started to pace. She hadn't seen this coming. "Are you leading up to telling me that you're an alien too? If so, don't. Don't tell me something that I KNOW isn't the truth Alex! If you were one of US your blood never would have passed inspection at the hospital when Max was hurt!"
Alex sighed. "I don't know what I am. Or rather I do know what I am, I simply don't know where people like me come from. But one thing is certain. It isn't out of incubation pods! No Isabel, I'm not an alien. At least not in the sense that You, Max, and Michael are. But as different as you are from say Liz, I'm just as different from both of you....now. I always was, I simply didn't know it. My kind come into this world as foundlings. Every one of us. Abandoned babies with no biological parents that can be found. We look human. We grow up human. We're identical to humans. We ARE human until we're....changed..." He trailed off. This was getting perilously close to the central truth. And he'd rather break THAT news face to face!
Isabel had collapsed onto her bed again. This was a LOT to take in. Even so, she kept pushing. "Changed how? By what?"
Alex was quiet for a long time. "Iz, what do you think happened to me six months ago?"
Isabel was at a loss now. "I don't know," she said faintly.
Alex gave a grim laugh. "C'mon Iz, it's ok. You can say it. I died."
Isabel's head started to spin. Without prompting Alex continued.
"I got curious and hacked the coroner's report. Morbid I know, but I couldn't help it. They don't come much more dead than I was. Even if I hadn't died of a cerebral hemorrhage BEFORE the crash, I certainly never would have survived the crash itself. Skull fractured. Multiple broken bones, lacerations, and internal injuries. Knowing you guys, you tried to have Max heal me. To do that he had to SEE me. What did he say?"
Isabel's ears were ringing now. She had wanted information. Now she had it, but it was too overwhelming. From far away she heard Alex's question, and from equally far away she heard herself answer. "He didn't say anything. He wouldn't. He simply got out of the coroner's van without you and we knew. What would have been the POINT of saying anything. At that point I couldn't have stood much more anyway!"
Alex heard the stress in her tones, and more than that it was like he could *feel* how close to the edge she was. He didn't understand it, he simply followed the instincts that Duncan's training had brought to the surface. Always trust your gut, it will never play you false. He decided then and there to withhold the critical piece of information until they were together again...if they ever were. He was about to speak again when he suddenly froze.
Isabel was still trying to overcome her mental vertigo and speak again when the shock wave hit. Far away in Seattle Alex was suddenly terrified. His emotions were so powerful and sharp that she had the sharp copper taste of fear in her own mouth. Something was happening. She ignored her dizziness and leaped to her feet clutching the cell phone in a death grip. "Alex! What's happening?! Alex?!!"
Alex stood frozen as the eerie creeping electric chill of "the buzz' worked it's way through his body. An Immortal was near. And he was damned certain that he wasn't lucky enough for it to be one of his friends. Not at this time of night. He had been followed! "Damn! Damn!! DAMN!!" he thought. He turned towards the glass windows facing the parking lot, his senses at full tingling alert now. He became aware that Isabel was shouting at him over the phone. Keeping his eyes alertly on the lot he spoke. "Iz, I have to go. NOW!" Despite his efforts to talk to her she continued to shout into her phone and demand an explanation.. And he simply couldn't spare the time and attention. Cursing himself and his luck he slammed the receiver back onto its cradle and spun away, stepping towards the double doors with his hand under his duster on the pommel of his sword.
Outside still observing from next to the bus at the far end of the lot, Duncan was on full alert. He had seen Alex slam the phone down abruptly and spin away to face the doors with his hand on his sword. And there was no mistaking his posture. He was on battle alert. The lad had sensed something. Duncan moved along the side of the bus away from the station to stand at the other end, thus improving his view of the rear of the building. If it was Conterras, and it very likely was, then his two best chances of attack were the rear, or the roof. Duncan cursed. "Unless of course there's a back door to that place!" he thought. As he watched Alex remained in place, scanning the lot. Duncan sighed in frustration. "Come on Alex, come on! Come outside! Don't let the bastard get behind you, if he can! Bait him in!"
A moment later Alex left his position in the terminal waiting room and answered Duncan's unheard request by moving outside. He stopped just outside the door, the moved to the right, towards the street, and waited in the shadow of one of the supports of the breezeway connecting the parking lot to the terminal. It was still raining slightly, so the shelter was welcome. The sense that he was being stalked was still there, but he still had no clue where his hunter was. Which made him less than happy. He was scared to death, but suppressing it. The white noise of rain fall masked sounds, and the water already of the ground dampened any noises that might have been made there.
The minutes ticked by as all the parties involved in the little life and death poker game were trying to outwit each other. As you might have expected, Conterras' patience folded first.
Alex was so tightly strung that he wanted to scream when he heard a scrabbling sound that he couldn't place at first. Then he heard a thud towards the rear of the terminal building as a body hit the ground.
It was Conterras. He had lain in wait on the roof, trusting "the buzz" and his mere presence to drive the newbie into a panicked run. Experience had taught him that once you get them running, they were easier to kill. They'd exhaust themselves and be unable to fight, and their fear would sap their ability to make an organized defense. But this kid had the patience of a clam. He had grown more irritable with each passing minute. "I should be back in bed by NOW!" he muttered. "How dare this little cabrone keep me awake for longer than it takes to shorten him?" Finally his patience snapped and he made the short drop from the terminal roof to the ground, letting his knees collapse on impact and going into a shoulder roll to take up the momentum.
When he bounced to his feet the last thing he expected was to see Alex with his sword out at the ready. He'd expected the kid to still be cowering somewhere in the terminal. Perhaps in the ladies room. Somewhere from which Rafe would have to pry him before taking his head. Now though he paused. He didn't think the kid could be a serious challenge, but all his immortal life he'd done things the easy way. Why change that now? He paused just a little too long, because a moment later he felt "the buzz" accompanied by a shout and the sound of running feet could be heard before being overwhelmed by the roar of the incoming inter-urban bus from Eugene.
Duncan saw Conterras drop off the roof and cursed. He was already moving across the lot at a run before "The Angel of Death" rolled to his feet. He shouted for Alex to back away, but he was drowned out by the roar of a big diesel engine as a North bound bus rolled in to disgorge passengers from Oregon, California, and points South. Thus the encounter was halted before it began. Immortals don't conduct their business well in a crowd.
Duncan reached Alex, who had sheathed his sword as soon as the bus rolled in. Conterras had never even drawn his. Neither had Duncan. So, from all appearances, they were simply three men in long coats having a conversation. As the noisy passengers came through the breezeway into the terminal, Duncan and Alex moved to the side into the still gently falling rain, and out of earshot of those entering the terminal. Rafe Conterras matched their movement by backing away.
Looking at Alex, Conterras laughed. "You got lucky cabroncito. Had the bus been a few minutes later those passengers would have been greeted by your headless corpse."
Duncan glared. "You know the rules. He's my student. To challenge him you have to get through me first."
Conterras laughed again. "Ah, but you have to be there to take the challenge MacLeod. And you can't be everywhere at once. In fact I have it on good authority that it won't be too long before you aren't anywhere at all. Sooner or later I'll shorten him. Why make this hard? Look after your own life." He looked at Alex. "What do you say you introduce me to that chica that was at your parents funeral in Nueva Mejico? What was her name? Isabel? Ai! What a girl! Don't worry cabroncito I promise that after I finish with you, I'll put a smile on her face that will last her the rest of her life! Which, come to think of it, shouldn't be more than a few minutes after I'm done with her." Conterras drew his finger across his throat theatrically.
Alex snarled and would have charged him then and there if Duncan hadn't put a hand on is shoulder. Addressing Conterras he said, "Whatever you know, or whatever you've heard, forget it. People have tried to take my head for centuries. I'm still here. And while I'm here, my pupil and everyone associated with him are under my protection. Mess with them and I'll make you a personal project of you! But, if you want to do this the right way, I'll meet you. Anywhere, anytime."
Conterras grin never left his face. He waved his fingers in a latin gesture of negation. "No no my friend. I make it a policy never to do things the hard way. That honorable combat crap is not for me! All I have to do is be patient. As I said, you have problems enough. Sooner or later this child will be mine. Until then a bid you good chances." As he turned to go he beamed another smile Alex's way. "One thing cabroncito? Is she your sister? Or your girlfriend? I like to know who I'm ravishing."
Alex snarled again, but Conterras had already spun away into the darkness. In a blink he was gone. Alex spun on Duncan. "What the hell are we waiting for??!! You heard what he said! Let's go!"
Duncan shook his head. "That blowhard won't try anything with the girl while you live. He's too much of a coward to do anything else. And besides, while I might catch him, you have no experience at this kind of night chase. So I'd have to leave you behind. There would be nothing to prevent him from doubling back and trying to take your head while I was chasing a false trail. Even money says that he's out there right now, watching for that very thing. What I'm really waiting for is an explanation for YOU! What the hell were you thinking of? Who was so important that your call couldn't wait? Or that you couldn't be make it from within the dojo?"
Alex blinked. "I can't tell you."
Duncan looked stern. "Can't? Or won't?"
Alex looked sorry, but stuck to his guns. "Can't."
Duncan stared at him a moment, then he shrugged. "All right, have it your way. This isn't over. I'm sure Amanda will have some words for you when we get home. Let's go!"
Now that Alex's adrenaline was winding down he was aware of an uncomfortable feeling of panic in the back of his mind that just wouldn't fade. At first he put it down to the thought of facing Amanda's wrath. But it didn't feel like that at all. He pondered it for a moment as he and Duncan made their way back to the dojo. Then he thought back to that gut feeling about Isabel's state of mind when he was talking to her. Without questioning he followed his instincts and began to think soothing thoughts. Clearing his mind of conflict and worry. Without words he touched the panic and said, "I'm okay and I love you." Whether it was really Isabel or not, the feeling seemed to relax and vanish from his mind. He hoped that she was okay. Having dealt with that he recalled Conterras' threat. And remembered who he had threatened and gave a grim chuckle.
Duncan heard him laugh, but he was in no mood for humor. Glaring at his pupil he said, "And just what do you find so funny about this?"
Alex shrugged. "It just hit me that it would almost be worth it."
Duncan looked puzzled. "What would be worth it?"
Alex laughed but shook his head, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself. "It would almost be worth it," he thought, "to let that jerkoff take my head. So I could stand up in the hereafter and watch what happens to him when he tries to make good on his threat against Isabel. You'd be able to bury what would be left in a thimble. If there's any woman on Earth that's one hundred percent rape proof, it's Isabel." Alex chuckled again and shook his head. When Duncan tried to pry an explanation out of him he refused.
Duncan stared at him a moment longer and then picked up the pace. It was still raining and he wanted to salvage *some* sleep before dawn. Answers could wait until morning. He didn't know that his thoughts of the moment closely matched those that a certain teenage reincarnation of an alien king was having at the moment in Roswell , NewMexico...after his sister's screams had dragged him from a sound sleep for the second time in three days.
Duncan and Alex hurried on into the night. Tomorrow was another day. And Max was thinking THAT too.
A bleary eyed Max Evans snapped awake and realized that he'd fallen asleep eating breakfast. For the second time that morning. His first thought of "Oh shit I'm late for school!" subsided when he remembered that he had taken the day off to look after Izzy. His second was that he'd just had another near miss with going face first into a bowl of Cheerios, milk, sugar, and tabasco sauce. He gave a melancholy sigh as he thought about the reason for his exhaustion. If Friday night's nightmare had been bad, last night's was a 10 on the Richter scale. Isabel had been borderline hysterical most of the time, with occasional forays across the border into total lala land. After a while though, just as her hysteria reached it's height, something had happened. It was like some invisible emotional rubber band had snapped back. She had calmed down and fallen asleep almost immediately. She was still sleeping. Max had stayed up the rest of the night, standing watch over her. And he was genuinely frightened.
"˜Max, are you ready to tell me what's wrong?˜," came the soft, but very welcome voice in his head.
Max had contacted Liz this morning via their newly minted telepathic connection and told her that he was staying home from school, asking her to catch a ride with Maria. She had sensed his tension and worry, but had let him alone when he promised to tell her what was wrong later.
Max sighed. "˜Where are you? Some place that we can talk without your being distracted or interrupted? It's a long story.˜"
Liz giggled mentally. "˜I'm in the eraser room, missing my big handsome spaceman. It beats early study hall. If we didn't have a test in honors chemistry today I'd have cut school completely to be with you.˜"
Max shook his head ruefully. "˜Sweetheart, I'm a bad influence on you! Tell me honestly, did you ever in your life cut school until I came along?˜"
Max felt a wave of tenderness backed by impatience from Liz. "˜No Love, but then I never had a reason to. Until you came along. And if you hadn't come along I'd never have had the chance at all, because I'd be dead! And you're trying to evade my question. Are you ready to talk?˜"
Max chuckled. Liz must be taking "Maria" lessons. "˜Okay, okay, you win! I'd love to Liz, but you have to bear with me. I haven't slept all night! So I'm gonna ramble a lot.˜"
Liz chuckled mentally. "˜You're already rambling.˜" Then she took the sting from her words with some mental cuddling.
Max grinned sheepishly. While they had been talking he had given up on further efforts at breakfast, rinsed his dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. Now he headed upstairs to check on his sleeping sister, while continuing to talk to his better half..
"˜It was pretty bad, Liz. Isabel had another nightmare. At least I think it was a nightmare. I heard her scream. And believe me, I never want to hear her make another sound like that again as long as I live. I was out of bed and into her room like a shot. She was curled up in the middle of her bed clutching her cell phone, sobbing hysterically. I don't think I ever saw her like this, Liz. Not even after Alex died. She was always so controlled. But not last night. I couldn't get anything out of her except 'He's scared, he's scared'. She just seemed to get worse and worse, until I was actually starting to get beyond being worried and into outright afraid for her.˜"
Approaching Isabel's bedroom door, Max paused. "˜Hang on a sec Liz, I'm going in to check on Isabel.˜"
Max quietly walked into the dim half light of his sister's bedroom. Her back was to the door. He walked around to the other side of the bed, and stared at her face, still streaked with the tracks of dried tears, and half hidden by her hair. He gently brushed her hair back and placed a kiss on her forehead. Isabel stirred in her sleep, murmured something unintelligible, and settled back again into slumber. Max left as quietly as he had entered, closed the door silently, and resumed his conversation with Liz.
"˜Where was I? Oh yeah, afraid for Isabel. Anyway, whatever was happening reached the point where I thought she was going to snap. She was totally terrified. Then something happened. The only way I can describe it is a 'release'. It all just stopped. She went limp, muttered what sounded like 'he's okay', and fell asleep. She's been asleep ever since. I sat up watching her most of the night. Liz, I'm scared witless here.˜"
Liz was silent for a long moment then she spoke. "˜I can see why. In your shoes I'd be worried too. I'm NOT in your shoes and I'm worried.˜" She paused again. "˜Max, I always thought that there was more going on with her after Alex died than she let on. Like she was suppressing a lot. That can't be healthy. It could be that the Whitman's funeral opened a crack in the dam, and what you saw last night was the ultimate result of months of pent up emotion. All that grief, all that anger, finally coming out into the light of day. Look at what pent up emotion resulted in with the two of us? Only for Isabel, there can be no resolution. She's stuck. There's no one for her to expend it with. And all that has to come out before she can heal. Or even START to heal.˜"
Max entered his bedroom and sprawled out on his unmade bed. "˜I hope so. God, I hope that's the case. If she's losing it, I don't know what we'd do. We can't take her to a shrink. I don't even think that drug therapy would work, because we haven't a clue what drugs designed for normal humans would do to us.˜"
Liz sent soothing waves of love and understanding into his mind. "˜I don't think it will come to that, Love. The fact that she passed the crisis and went to sleep is probably an encouraging sign. If you want, I'll grab Maria after work tonight and swing by for a little ice cream therapy. Maybe we can get her to talk.˜"
Max sighed with relief as he returned her love. "˜Thank you Honey. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Do you suppose you could give her a nudge about dating while you're at it?˜"
Max picked up a spike of impatience from Liz. He could almost read the thought in her mind....'Men!' "˜Max, it's too soon. If this WAS the crisis, it's way too soon to start talking about that! It would just make her shut down again. Or if she did start dating she'd likely just shelve everything again. It's better that she deals with it NOW, so when she does start dating, she can give it all her attention. As it is, if she started dating now and got serious, it'd just turn out to be a really weird sort of love triangle between her, Alex's memory, and the poor bastard she was dating. No, no dating, no TALK of dating.˜"
Max sighed sleepily. "˜Okay, you and Maria are the boss on this. I'm kinda tired, so I think I'm going to try and make up for lost sleep before Izzy wakes up. I want to be fresh and rested to handle any new problems.˜"
"˜Sleep well Sweetheart˜," Liz's mind voice crooned. "˜I'll round up your class work and drop it off this afternoon on my way home. I Love You!˜"
Max smiled as sleep began to take hold of him in earnest. "˜I Love You Too, Liz! Have a good day at school! And tell Michael what's going on, will you?˜"
Liz's voice was fading now, but he still heard her mind say, "˜Will do! Sleep tight Your Majesty!˜"
Max chuckled a last time as he lethargically slipped out of his clothes and pulled his covers up. He was blissfully asleep in moments.
Alex cautiously regarded the people staring at him across the breakfast table. His face was as hard set as theirs. He had known from the moment that Duncan had silently waved off his farewell last night, as they went to their separate beds, that he was in for it this morning. But dealing with Duncan, Richie, AND Amanda before he had any caffeine in him had been taxing. So he had put them off. Breakfast had proceeded in stony silence broken by the occasional polite requests to pass the sugar or salt. The meal was over now, and the interrogation had resumed.
Richie shook his head. "Alex my man, that was a bone head thing to do. You could have gotten yourself killed. For a freakin' phone call?"
Alex gave a snort of disgust. "Knowing that this evil Don Quixote wannabe was out to collect MY head would have been helpful. If you want me to play by the rules, knowing the rules helps. Besides, I'm still alive."
"But you wouldn't be if one of us hadn't followed you!" Amanda exploded. "For God's sake Alex! I thought I taught you better than that. As a new Immortal you AREN'T the 'cat'...you're the MOUSE. Caution in all things! What the hell was so important that you had to use a phone away from here, hmmmm?"
Duncan looked stern and serious when he chimed in with, "Alex, I'm not stupid. There would be only one reason for you to do what you did. You wanted to hide the phone call from us. From me specifically. I'd be willing to bet that, if I could check it out, the other end of that call would end up being somewhere in the state of New Mexico. Wouldn't it? You know the rules. You've allowed someone from your previous life, a mortal, to know you're still alive. That could create serious problems for all of us. For every Immortal alive!"
Alex flushed painfully, but he stood his ground stubbornly. "There won't be a problem, I'm making it my business to see that there isn't one!"
Duncan had to admire the boy's grit. He wasn't denying anything, but neither was he backing down an inch. But then he had expected that. The kid was honest to a fault. Deceit came hard for him...which was what Duncan was counting on. "In this, your business IS our business. What the hell possessed you to do such a foolish thing? Besides that, if we hadn't been awakened by your nightmare, you'd be just another headless body in someone's dumpster right now!"
Duncan wasn't saying so out loud, but seeing Conterras' in action he'd come to have second thoughts about Alex's chances against him. Conterras' leap and landing off the terminal roof had been clumsy. And his recovery had been slow. That had shown Duncan enough to know that Alex was probably faster than Conterras, and most likely had better reflexes to boot. Raphael Conterras been killing helpless newbies for a almost century now. And Alex had been trained by some of the all time champions at walking away alive with the other fella's Quickening. In a stand-up fight he gave Alex even odds. In another year, it would be no contest worth mentioning. None of which he was going to say out loud for fear of making the boy cocky.
Duncan placed his elbows on the table and leaned in towards Alex. "Alex, I thought it was understood that contact with people from your past, even people that you were close to, *especially* people that you were close to, was a bad idea?"
Alex gave Duncan a small grin and glanced around the table at Richie and Amanda. "Before we get into that Duncan, answer me this. You've had mortal friends before. People who knew what you were?"
Duncan threw up his hands. "That's beside the point!"
Alex shook his head. "Tessa...and Ann?"
Amanda made a show of staring off into space. No woman likes to hear the ex's brought into the discussion. Duncan glanced at her then turned to glare at Richie. He really had no reason to blame Richie. It wasn't really a secret, and it could have been Methos, or Joe who had told Alex about Duncan's past...but Richie was the one within reach. So he was the recipient of Duncan's ire.
Duncan turned back to Alex. "And this is your justification?"
Alex shrugged. "No, I see no need to justify it. I'm just saying that the situations are comparable, with a slight twist."
Duncan stared at him. Had Alex just flashed Duncan a peek at that hole card of his? Duncan's face gave away nothing. "What twist?" he asked.
Alex looked like he was considering something. And he was. He was going to have to play the same game with Duncan that he was with Isabel...and hope that he could keep the two halves of his life, both past and present, from colliding with one another. Alex nodded to himself then looked at Duncan. "I didn't have a choice but to call Duncan. They found me first."
Duncan looked puzzled. "How?"
Alex flushed faintly. "I can't tell you."
Duncan paused and seemed to shake his head, as if he hadn't heard Alex correctly. "I could swear that you just said that you can't tell me. Cannot? Or will not?"
Alex shrugged. "There's a difference in this case? Duncan, as old as you are you must have a million secrets you've kept. Confidences you've never broken. This one is mine." Alex's mouth twisted wryly at the irony of it. "To borrow the words of a friend of mine, 'It's not my secret to tell'."
"And all of this means what?", Duncan asked.
Alex sighed. "Just what I said. One of my friends found me somehow. I can't tell you how or why. She...they have been badgering me for information. They already know more than they should. So I'm caught between good people there who want to protect me, and good people HERE who want to protect me. Good people in BOTH places that I want to protect. And I can't tell you about them, or them about you. But I thought that I could tell them enough about ME to stall things. In the end, it doesn't matter though. I simply can't tell you. I swore to keep the secret until I died, and I don't see the minor technicality that I DID die as letting me off the hook!"
Duncan looked irritated, but proud at the same time. Alex might not have any deceit in him, but he had a streak of honor a mile wide. Duncan hadn't missed the Freudian slip either. "She?" he thought. He shook himself away from his thoughts. "We aren't finished with this yet", he said, "But for now, go get your sweats on and start to warm up. You've lost enough time the last few days." Duncan caught Richie's eye and spoke sternly. "Richie, go with him."
Once Alex was out of earshot Duncan looked at Amanda. "Well? What do you think?"
Amanda leaned back in her chair and pursed her lips. "I haven't got a clue. I can tell you this, you won't get it out of him with straight forward questioning. The only person I've ever met that's more stubborn than he is, is you. And muscling him won't do it either, he'll just set his jaw and endure it. That's *another* thing he has in common with you." Amanda stared at the ceiling for a few moments the looked back at Duncan. "I can do the feminine thing and try to wheedle it out of him if you want."
Duncan frowned. "I'm more interested in how they found him. Or rather how 'she' found him, and how she gets to him."
Amanda laughed. "I wondered if you caught that stray pronoun. She. As in a girl." Amanda picked up the coffee pot and poured the dregs into her cup, and tasted it. Making a face she laced it with double portions of cream and sugar before being satisfied that it was drinkable. After taking a sip she turned her eyes back to Duncan. "You supervise his every waking moment Duncan. When would he have time to be contacted by her? Other than last night? And then it was Alex doing the contacting."
Duncan rubbed his temples for a moment. Amanda's words had sparked something. "Waking moments?" he thought. "Nightmares?" He couldn't afford to dismiss it casually. He lived long enough believe anything...once. He stood and walked to where the phone lay, on the kitchen counter. Hitting the speed dial he waited until a rich husky contralto voice answered.
"Hello?" the woman said.
Duncan got right to the point. "Cassandra? I have something here that I need your help with. It's right up your alley I think."
Cassandra answered, "Really? How so?"
Their conversation went on for nearly half an hour as Amanda listened with widening eyes. When Duncan finally hung up the phone, after Cassandra promised to be there later that night, Amanda could restrain herself no longer.
"Duncan, that whole idea is crazy," she said. "And besides, if it works, it's one hell of an invasion of privacy!
Duncan shrugged. "In 400 years I've seen things a thousand times stranger. And if there's one person I know who's equipped to deal with it, it's Cassandra. I don't see any other way to tackle it. We can't keep him awake around the clock, seven days a week. And besides that I noticed that he didn't bring up the girl that Conterras threatened while we were talking. Isabel was her name. I heard him say her name when we were in New Mexico as well, though I don't think he realized at the time that he had spoken it aloud. It HAS to be her. You know him as well as I do. Under the circumstances he'll be wild to protect her from Conterras. Even if it doesn't show now, he must be close to the breaking point. Close enough to risk telling her everything to save her. We have no choice. *I* have no choice!"
Amanda nodded in acquiescence and sighed. "You know that if she's hurt because of this, he'll never forgive you?"
Duncan looked grim. "All the more reason to find that bastard Conterras and put paid to him once and for all. Which reminds me, I have to talk to Joe about something Conterras said." Duncan picked up the phone again and began to dial. Then he paused. "After I'm done here I'm going hunting again. You up for it?"
Amanda stood up and walked over to the closet that she shared with Duncan and began getting into street clothes. "I'll be ready when you are," she said.
Duncan turned back to the phone and resumed dialing....
Roland Kingsgate aka Britanicus Musa sat in his office and surveyed the information that his inquiries had turned up on Alex Whitman. His front, a respectable skip trace firm in Toronto had turned up nothing of consequence. The sheriff's office in Roswell, New Mexico to whom the inquiry had been forwarded, had telexed back a skimpy dossier. Parents dead. No known associates. A confirmed loner. Britannicus sighed. Well, it had been worth a try. And it was only money. Besides it never hurts to be thorough. A soft knock on his office door drew his attention. "Enter!" he shouted.
The door opened to reveal his majordomo Joachim Kriegmeister, in his mortal life formerly a lieutenant in the Adolf Hitler Division of the Waffen SS. He had come into his destiny in the battle of the Falais gap, when his division had fought itself to destruction holding open the gap as the then allied armies strove to pinch it closed, trapping tens of thousands of retreating German troops within the Falais pocket. Standing with military erectness his nordic features betraying no expression as he waited for permission to speak, he looked the part of the perfect majordomo.
Britanicus regarded his deputy with satisfaction. The boy had been a real find! He'd been with Britanicus since 1945, when he'd found Joachim wandering Western Germany in a daze, unable to understand what had happened to him. Britanicus had gotten him out of Germany and into Canada. After some convincing and training he'd become the most capable subaltern that Britanicus had had since before the fall of Byzantium.
Britanicus gestured peremptorily. "Speak!"
Joachim bowed stiffly. "Excellency, all the preparations are complete. Air travel has been procured, as well as accommodations at the Radisson in Seattle. The men are all on the estate. We are staged to fly out on Friday as you instructed."
Britanicus rubbed his hands together briskly. "Excellent! Excellent! With any luck we'll execute this little raid over the weekend and be back in Canada before the local US authorities even notice that MacLeod and his friends are missing!" Then he noticed a slight frown of disapproval on Joachim's normally phlegmatic face. "Is there a problem, Joachim?"
Joachim cleared his throat. "Some trouble with a few of the rankers sir. They dislike your order to remain on site until we move out. One or two have expressed a desire for a little recreation while they're waiting."
Britanicus' frown gathered like a thunder cloud. "You mean one in particular don't you? That Balkan bastard Radu! Tell him the answer is no. I'm not having any problems...like missing school girls...delay our launch date. If he gives you a problem, let me know. I'll handle it. I'll make an object lesson of him for the ranks!"
Joachim bowed again with a grim smile. "As you wish Sire." He was clearly wishing to see that object lesson come to pass. "Before I go, do you require anything?"
Britanicus pursed his lips. "Yes, have my meals served here in the study. It wouldn't do to eat with the ranks in the dining room. Familiarity breeds contempt." Then he added with a chuckle, "And I already find them contemptible enough!"
Joachim bowed again then backed out of the room, and silently closed the door.
Britanicus smiled to himself and leaned back in his chair as he again opened the file on Adam Pierson's country home in the hills above Seattle. This was going to be more fun than he'd had in *decades*!
Isabel groaned as she awakened. She had a headache and she felt sticky. When she tried to open her eyes she winced. It felt like the back of her eye lids were upholstered with sandpaper. She levered herself up on one arm and managed to squint at the alarm clock. It read 12:00. She groaned again and collapsed back on her bed. She may have felt like road kill, but there was nothing wrong with her memory. She remembered last night. Alex's call. The wonder. The joy. The mystery. And above all the terror. Both hers, and what she had felt from Alex. She could still feel him, more strongly than ever before, so she knew that he was all right. His mind was a buzz of surface thoughts. Those of someone going through a routine day. So she put the matter on hold...until tonight.
She also remembered Max. Poor Max! She must have scared him out of ten years of his life! She'd have to talk to him today. Convince him that she was all right. And she needed to start bringing the others in on this. The situation was getting out of hand. If she had another night like last night, the others might start seeing her as a candidate for the rubber room!
She pulled herself out of bed feeling creaky. She had to get cleaned up and get dressed. She was *supposed* to be playing receptionist today! Granted it was busy work, but she hated to be a slacker. Staggering into the bathroom she locked the door and shed her pajamas before turning on the shower. While waiting for the water to heat up she ran a damp washcloth over her eyes to clear them of sleep grit. The shower was starting to billow steam when she finished. It was then that she noticed the piece of paper taped to the bathroom mirror. The neat handwriting on it was easily recognizable as Max's. She pulled it off and read.....
"Iz,
I left this here because I knew that this would be the first place that you'd head for when you woke up. I was pretty wiped out after last night. I stayed up a while to keep an eye on you. Once I thought you were going to sleep through the night I went to bed myself. As soon as you get yourself together, please come and wake me up.
Love,
Max
PS....I called dad's office and told Mr. Stein that you were sick today. So, if he calls to check up on you, try to sound like you're at death's door, huh? ;-)"
Isabel winced when she hit the part about him staying up to watch over her, and made up her mind to pull herself together and fix them both something to eat! It was bad enough that Max had cut school because of her! He shouldn't go hungry too. By now the bathroom was filling up with steam, so she tripped the exhaust fan, grabbed a loofa and her shower gel, and got in the shower.
Forty five minutes later and feeling like a new woman she stood by Max's bed. Gently she reached out and shook his shoulder, calling his name. He groaned and woke slowly. Opening one bleary eye he made a stunning observation.
"You're awake," he said.
Isabel smiled and spoke. "Well brother of mine, you're only *half* awake. So get thee to the bathroom and shower up while I get together some food for us!" Then she leaned down and brushed his forehead with her lips. "And thank you for looking after me last night. I'm sorry to be such a pain."
Max tried to stifle a yawn, then gave up the battle and yawned and stretched anyway. "You mean that you're sorry to be more of a pain than usual, don't you?" Then he rolled out of bed as she yanked a pillow away from him and threatened to whack him with it. "Now that's the Iz we all know and love!" he said with a smile. "And you're very welcome. That's what brothers are for."
"You jerk!" she growled. Then she smiled to take the sting out. "Get into the shower. I'm headed downstairs. Since we've both just gotten up, I think that brunch is the best way to go. Pancakes?"
Max grinned and nodded his agreement as he pulled a robe on over his boxers and rounded up his clothes. "You're a lifesaver Iz. See you in about twenty or thirty minutes."
Isabel headed downstairs to begin making pancake batter. She was feeling good. Better than she had in a while. Today she would tell them about Alex. And tonight she would finally get to the bottom of things. She gathered the necessary ingredients from around the kitchen and set to work. As she did so she began to hum. She wasn't even aware that she was doing so. It was "Unchained Melody"...by the Righteous Brothers.
Liz had reached the E.T. table first and staked out their usual position in the center court. Dropping her book bag she unzipped it and hauled out her lunch. She was just opening the bag as Michael and Maria emerged from the double doors leading into the court, with Kyle in tow. Maria spotted Liz and waved. Liz put off starting her own lunch until they had arrived at the table and sat down. The three of them dropped their books and settled down for lunch.
Liz had barely taken a bite of her chicken salad when Michael spoke up.
"Where have you been all day?! Maria told me in second period that Max had stayed home today because of Isabel! What the hell is wrong with Isabel?"
Michael had been sensitive about the state of the alien three's health ever since his own brush with mortality. He waited impatiently as Liz finished her bite of food and took a drink of water.
"She had another nightmare, Michael."
Michael frowned. "Another nightmare? *Another*? I didn't know she'd had a *first* nightmare!" Glaring at Maria and Liz he folded his arms, looking so 'Michael' that Maria had to cover her mouth to hide her smile. Then he continued. "Just how long has *this* been happening?"
Even Kyle was trying to hide his smile when Maria laid her hand on Michael's arm. "Chill out Spaceboy! She had one Friday night. Though I understand that the one last night made Friday's look like sunshine and lollipops by comparison."
"Is she okay?" Kyle asked. "Did Max say what it was about?"
Liz said, "Hang of a second, I'll try to find out." Turning her focus inward she began nudging Max for telepathic contact. "˜Max?˜"
As the connection deepened and broadened she felt a rush of emotion from him. Amusement and embarrassment.
"˜Yes Liz?˜" he answered.
"˜Caught you at a bad time did I?˜" she asked. She felt laughter flowing off of him in waves.
"˜I was just getting ready to step in the shower!˜" he said.
Liz giggled mentally. "˜Well, turnabout is fair play! But I didn't call to tease Sweetheart. I'm at lunch and the gang wants to know how Isabel is doing. Michael's being an overprotective pain about it.˜"
Max's amusement grew. "˜He's being Michael. Tell them she's fine. Or at least she looks fine She woke me up a while ago, and now she's downstairs getting a meal together while I clean up.˜"
"˜Okay, I'll tell them˜," Liz responded. "˜Don't forget to tell Isabel that Maria and I may be by tonight.˜"
"˜I won't˜," Max answered.
Liz gave him a warm mental cuddle. "˜Okay then, I'll see you in a couple of hours with your school work.˜"
"˜Thanks Liz˜," he said. "˜I'll see you in a few hours. I love you!˜"
Liz sent him a mental kiss. "˜You're welcome Sweetheart! I love you too!˜"
As Liz emerged from the connection she noticed that all three of he friend were staring at her. Michael and Maria looked expectant, but Kyle's expression defied description. He looked afraid and puzzled all at once.
For his part Kyle was all that and more. As a part of the 'I know an alien club' he expected the weird and unusual. As one of those healed by Max Evans he was now a PART of the weird and unusual. He accepted that. But watching Liz zone out in some weird trance to 'talk' to El Presidente Evans made it all seem a lot more real. Nothing had changed except his perspective. He saw Liz looking at him with a worried expression and inwardly winced. "She's worried about me," he thought. "Worried about how I'll handle the freak show that our lives have become since this bunch of lost Jedi came into them. How *will* I handle it? Good question. And I honest to Buddha don't know. But I'll be karmically damned if I'll let it throw me!" So thinking he spoke in a low voice before anyone else.
"While Michael and I were slacking during gym class, he told me that you and Max had this...um...telepathic 'thing' going. But it still weirded me out a bit seeing you do it. It's not you, it's me. It makes me wonder what's waiting for me down the road." Kyle chuckled. Then sent an apologetic glance to Michael. "It's one thing if your planet becomes an alien colony. It's another thing if you *yourself* become an alien colony!" Noticing that they were all looking a little concerned now he waved his hand in negation. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna freak out on you. It's just that, as a small town guy I'm not used to having to change the way I look at the world and life so often. Buddha teaches us that the occasional epiphany is a good thing. But I'm thinking once in a lifetime, not once a week." He laughed aloud this time. "Don't worry, I'll deal!" He paused, looking at Liz. "Now, how's Isabel?"
Liz smiled when he'd finished. "She's just fine. Max said she was downstairs fixing them some food." Liz looked at Maria. "Maria, I know I should have asked first, but I told him that you and I would swing by after work with some ice cream and try to do a little girl talk with Isabel. Maybe we can start getting whatever is eating at her out in the open now. It sounded like she reached some sort of crisis last night. If she did, the door may be open to help her unload some of that baggage she's been carrying around."
Before Maria could speak Michael cut in. "Liz, I know you mean well. But maybe this is an 'alien' thing. That means that Max and I can probably handle it better than you and Maria."
Kyle winced and thought, "Michael my man, I may not be the sharpest crayon in the box when it comes to women, but I know a mistake when I see one. And judging by the look on Maria's face you're about to find out just how big!"
Michael winced as Maria's dainty fist connected with his left biceps. Hard!
"Michael Guerin! I thought we'd gotten past this "us" vs "them" crap a long time ago!! Then she realized how loud she was and lowered her voice, though it's intensity was still hot enough to melt steel. "Alien stuff indeed!" she hissed. "You idiot! This is about a girl who's finally starting to mourn the boy she loved!" She pointed at herself then at Liz. "She's OUR girl friend! This is a girl thing!" Then Maria slapped her forehead. "Oh yeah! I forgot! You're a guy, that'd put you on an entirely different planet from girls anyway. So it'd STILL be an 'alien' thing...to YOU!"
She punctuated the last word with another shot to Michael's already sore arm, then scooted away from him in a huff and turned her attention to her lunch, completely ignoring a chastened Michael's attempts to get her attention again.
Michael had sat speechless through Maria's diatribe. Then he looked up and frowned as he saw both Kyle and Liz dividing their time between trying to eat and shaking with silent laughter. "Some friend!" he thought, glaring at Kyle. "I'd expect as much from Liz! She and Maria practically hatched from the same egg! But from a guy?"
Kyle noticed Michael's impotent glare and finally broke out in full blown laughter, which resulted in him choking on a bite of his sandwich. Liz reached out and walloped him on the back, as he coughed and wiped at streaming eyes. Kyle took a sip of Coke, cleared his throat experimentally then caught Michael and Maria watching him with some concern, their argument forgotten for a moment. Kyle shook his head, chuckled, and resumed eating.
Once she was sure that Kyle was okay, Maria didn't turn away fast enough to avoid Michael catching her eye. Having been so caught she made the best of it by raising her chin defiantly while holding his eyes with hers. The whole effect projected screamed, 'WELL?!'
Michael's shoulders slumped a bit as he glanced at Liz and Kyle. He was going to have to apologize. Publicly. "Oh well, at least they're friends," he thought. "That may gain me some brownie points." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he said.
Maria leaned forward. "What was that? I didn't hear you."
Michael sighed with frustration and spoke louder. "I'm sorry Pixie Girl!" He leaned forward and spoke in a softer tone. "Please forgive me?"
Maria gave a victorious smirk and scooted back close to him. Closer than she had been before. As she leaned in to give him a hug she whispered in his ear. "Don't think that this gets you off the hook completely Spaceboy. But the we'll talk about *that* later. Alone." Then she pulled back and gave him a kiss that made his head spin.
They emerged from the kiss to the sound of a chorus of hoots and catcalls from the surrounding tables. The old Michael would have pulled away, perhaps even have fled in embarrassment and anger. This Michael simply settled back and enjoyed the fact that the spectators had a reason to hoot.
Once the ripples of the little spat settled down, Maria recalled what had prompted it. Liz's plans. Maria reached out, touched Liz's hand, and said, "I'm there Chica. But are you sure we can pull it off? On a school night?"
Liz shrugged. "I don't see why not. My homework is light for a Monday. I can get most of it done on breaks tonight. The new girl Dolores is taking the late shifts Monday through Thursday since dad taught her how to close the register. And maybe we can get some study time in at the Evans, though it's no big deal. That Chem. test today was the last of the biggies for a while."
Maria smiled and spoke a little sardonically. "That's not what I'm talking about Chica. You? Max? Same house? Parentals gone? Your dad and mom will just be thrilled to death."
Liz looked apprehensive, but stood her ground. "They trust us now."
Maria shook her head. "Not *that* much they don't, Chica. Max is a nice guy. You know it, I know it, even the angels know it. But all your parents see when they look at him is...a guy. A guy that's too close to their baby girl for their comfort zone to be...um...comfortable."
Liz sighed mightily and said, "Well then *we'll* just have to convince them, that's all. Besides, this isn't about Max and I. This is about Isabel. Anyway, it's my problem, I'll solve it. What about you?"
Maria looked thoughtful. "I think that I can pull it off Lizzie. My homework is no big deal so far today either. I guess the teachers are too busy grading tests."
Liz nodded with satisfaction and was about to speak again, but at that moment the bell rang, ending their lunch period. Scooping up their remains they tossed them in the trash. Maria gave Michael a kiss and then joined Liz in a dash for their English class. Michael headed off towards his art class, leaving Kyle to head off towards slow death in a class that he had joined because the athletes curriculum at West Roswell required it. Home Economics.
Kyle winced as he approached the too cheery class room filled with the sound of feminine laughter. The only bright spot in all this was that he had two fellow sufferers with him. Jocks. "Thank God *this* day is nearly over!" he thought as he passed into the room to face yet another hour in cooking hell.
Isabel watched as Max used his last bite of pancake to chase maple syrup and tabasco sauce around his plate. All through the meal she had noticed him studying her surreptitiously. As if he expected her to shape shift at any moment. Whenever she caught him at it he would glance away self consciously. Finally she sighed and was getting ready to break the stalemate when he spoke.
"Iz, would you...um...mind if Liz and Maria stopped by tonight?" he asked.
Isabel thought that her puzzlement must have shown on her fact because he continued.
"They would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to know that something is going on with you. If for no other reason than that Liz can read *my* emotional states now. And my emotional state hasn't been all that good with regard to your...um...well-being. So, anyway, they thought that you girls could do was some female bonding over a couple of quarts of Ben and Jerry's....or whatever."
Isabel grinned. This was to perfect. She really hadn't wanted to start the ball rolling with the boys anyway. Besides that, Liz and Maria were Alex's best friends. If anyone deserved to know first, that he was alive, it would be them. Plus it would give her some time to discuss the whole 'bond' issue with Liz before they took the news 'public'.
Realizing that Max was waiting for her to say something, she spoke to put him at ease. "Of course I don't mind! Actually I was looking for a reason to spend some time with them. Before Tess showed up (Isabel winced as Max's face turned to stone at the name) we were starting to develop as friends, and as something more than friends. All that got derailed by 'destiny'. I think it's time that we put it back on track! And besides, I have a few issues I want to discuss with them."
Max sighed with relief. He didn't know why he had thought this would be a hard sell, but he had. "Okay, I'll let Liz know before she leaves school so she and Maria can plan accordingly. Before then, if there's anything you need to talk about, I'm here now." He looked at her hopefully.
Isabel ground her teeth at the need to hurt his feelings by holding back, but she *really* wanted to tell Liz and Maria first. She sighed deeply. "Max, I really want to, and to satisfy you this much...there *is* something to tell. Something we all need to know about. But I need the girls first. I-I-I need to sort this out with them in my own heart and mind before I talk about it to you and Michael. Okay?"
Max was crestfallen, but that was only part of it. At the moment he was sad that Iz was passing up his offer to help for someone else, and at the same time he was elated that it was for Liz and Maria. All their lives, all they had had was each other and Michael. When he had healed Liz he had thrown the door to a whole new world of possibilities open. In all truth Michael and Isabel had resisted that brave new world. They had to be dragged into it kicking and screaming. But once there they had accepted the necessity of it. And first Michael, then Isabel, had seemed to embrace it completely. He had worried that, in breaking it off with Alex the first time, Isabel was only paying lip service to it to hang on to Max and Michael. It was an irrational fear and he knew it, but it was there none the less. But the last few days had seen it's last remnants dwindling away as Isabel seemed to take an active role in binding their little ad hoc family together. And, just a moment ago, when Isabel had chosen *human* girl friends, over her alien brother, his last shreds of lingering doubt had melted away. And that was what won out in his heart. So he did the natural thing. His face blossomed into a grin that would have given the Cheshire Cat an inferiority complex.
Isabel had studied the play of emotions on her brother's face with extreme puzzlement. There was disappointment, which is exactly what she had expected. But it had been replaced by a look of wonder and happiness so intense that it was almost blinding in it's intensity. Inwardly she sighed. There were times that she would never understand Max. Was it an alien thing? A guy thing? Or just a plain old sibling thing? Isabel didn't waste time pondering.
"Why look a gift horse in the mouth?" she thought. And so thinking she gathered her dishes and headed for the sink, giving her still beaming brother a kiss on the cheek in passing.
"What was that for?" Max asked.
Isabel shrugged. "For being there for me. For watching me last night. For opening up our lives the way you did. For not being stinky difficult about my talking to the girls first. For being you."
Max flushed faintly. Even when there were just the three of them, such moments with his sister had been rare. In a low voice he said, "You're welcome Sis'."
Isabel had finished loading the dishwasher so she turned and folded her arms. "Now what?"
Max grinned and shrugged. "I have a few hours to kill before Liz arrives with my homework, so I think I going to hit our video library and pick out a couple of good kungfu and machine-gun flicks. You?"
Isabel made a face. "No thanks, wallowing in blood, gore, and broken bones is so *not* my idea of entertainment! I'll be in dad's office surfing the web." Giving her brother a passing hug she said, "Call me when Liz gets here will you?"
Max nodded and said, "Will do.
And Isabel left, headed for their dad's office. While Max spent an entertaining few minutes deciding between "Crouching Tiger" and "Kickboxer" before settling down to an early afternoon murder and mayhem film festival.
Max met Liz at the door with a warm kiss. But one that stopped at going all out because Maria was tagging along behind. When Max and Liz finally broke, they met Maria's dancing eyes.
"Relax kids," she said. "No need to be self-concious around me. You forget, I was there the night that you two did your imitation of some sort of Martian firefly." Then she winked.
Both of them blushed and Max backed up and waved them into the house as he turned and bellowed, "ISABEL, THEY'RE HERE!"
This brought Isabel at a rapid trot from her father's office where she had been perusing various web sites in or about Seattle, Washington. With a special emphasis on martial arts studios. Her next move would be to get her hands on a Seattle telephone directory. Arriving at the front door she delivered a hug to both Liz and Maria.
Liz handed off Max's classwork and reading assignments. Then she said, "We can't stick around. We both have the late afternoon shift at the Crashdown." Before leaving though she peremptorily dragged Max into the dining room, out of sight of their audience, and gave him a much more thorough and lingering kiss. Then she settled into his embrace and molded herself close as she gently pushed at him with her mind, requesting telepathic contact. Max responded immediately, as if expecting it.
"˜Yes Love?˜" he responded.
Liz sighed happily as the contact broadened. "˜Max there's something we need to discuss quickly, something that Maria pointed out. Sweetheart, you and I both have given our parents reason to be unhappy with us...as parents will be. And while they seem to be mostly over it, my mother has been known to carry a grudge. So, while they may be cool with Maria and I hanging with Isabel for some unchaperoned girl time, *you* are another matter. I'm going to do the wheedle and beg thing, but if that doesn't work...I need a plan B.˜"
Max considered. He hadn't thought of this. And he should have. It was so obvious. After considering several ideas all of which entailed lying to Liz's parents...with the accompanying possibility of getting caught, Max settled on the fact that Isabel's problem was the more important issue here. So he looked at Liz, smiled sheepishly, and said, "˜How about this.....˜" And he outlined his idea.
By the time he was finished Liz didn't know whether to be shocked or break into giggles. "˜Max! They'll never go for it!˜"
Max sensed the struggle in her and chuckled. "˜Well the alternative is having Isabel come to you. It's your choice.˜"
Liz considered it and rejected it. "˜Sweetie, if the object is to let Isabel talk about things comfortably, then she's more likely to do it *here*. In *her* comfort zone.˜"
Max massaged her back as he agreed. "˜There's another reason that the idea has merit. If nothing else, the fact that we would propose such a thing would show your folks that we're bending over backwards to accommodate their fears, and can therefore be trusted alone.˜" Max's hand strayed down to caress her butt. As she sighed and leaned into him harder, he continued. "˜And believe me I DO want to be alone with you Elizabeth Parker! Just because I haven't tried anything yet doesn't mean that I haven't *thought* about it!˜" Max took a deep breath and continued, "˜*And* it will show them the importance we attach to this. I know that my Mom and Dad asked your folks to keep an eye on us while they're gone. Tell them why you want this. About Isabel's nightmares and why you think they're happening. And if all else fails, plan C is, I ask Isabel if she'd like to do the 'ice cream social' at your place.˜"
Liz pulled back slightly and gave him another deep kiss that left his ears buzzing. Then she spoke out loud. "Okay, I'll put it to the folks as soon as I get home. Speaking of which, Maria and I are going to be late."
Max walked her back to the front door where Isabel and Maria were waiting. As they approached Maria handed Isabel a dollar.
Liz studied them suspiciously. "What was that for."
Maria and Isabel started chuckling. "I bet Isabel a buck that we'd have to drag you away from Max to get you out the door."
Liz made a derisive noise as she glared at Isabel and Maria. "Some friends! Betting on my love life?" Then she gave Max a last quick kiss before grabbing a still snickering Maria's arm and dragging her out the door. "Let's go laughing girl, we'll see how funny you find an ice cube down the back of your uniform tonight."
Max watched as Maria pulled out of the driveway and tooted her horn before driving off. Then he turned back into the house to get started on his homework. For her part, Isabel made them both a couple of sandwiches before going back to web surfing. After delivering the Max his sandwich and a glass of milk...with tabasco on the side...she headed back to her father's office and his computer.
The dinner rush was in full swing, and the cafe was packed. Liz paused at the pickup window undo her hair and re-tie it in an effort to deal with an irritating wisp that had pulled free and kept getting in her face. Michael was working the grill, and at that moment he put her latest order up and hit the bell to tell her it was ready. Hurriedly finishing her task she scooped up the food and delivered it to table four. After checking the water and coffee in her section she went to the waitress station. She collapsed on to a stool there and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Maria had just returned from the ladies room and completed a check of her customers. She joined Liz at the station, setting down the carafe of ice water she'd been carrying.
"My God Liz", she said. "The place is a madhouse tonight!" Then she noticed that Nancy Parker was in the kitchen. Jeff had been back there all night helping Michael deal with the rush. Maria nudged Liz to get her attention then nodded in the direction of the kitchen. Liz saw her mother at the same instant that Maria gave her a gentle shove in that direction. Liz needed no further prompting.
All afternoon Liz had been trying to catch her folks in the same place at the same time so she could make her pitch, or if necessary, Max's pitch to them. Right now the place was packed, but there weren't any orders outstanding. And Maria could handle watching her section for a few minutes. So, Liz made a beeline for the kitchen and caught up with her mom restocking the condiment table. To mollify her mother a bit she grabbed a pickle jar from the refrigerator and began to help out. It only took a few minutes to finish the job, and her mother flashed her a smile and gave a murmur of thanks before she turned to begin her next chore. She halted in mid turn as Liz cleared her throat.
Liz hesitated, then plunged in. "Mom, I need a quick family conference."
Her mother's eyebrows rose. "Honey, can't this wait?" Nancy asked. "We're sort of busy here."
Liz glanced at the clock and shook her head no. "This will only take a second, after that you can think it over until my shift ends."
Nancy beckoned Jeff over from the dishwasher he was struggling with. As he approached he could be heard muttering under his breath.
Nancy smiled. "What was that dear?"
Jeff grimaced and said, "If you must know I *said* that the damned thing has burnt out three heating elements in the last 4 months. Those things are expensive to replace. If we strike a good balance this quarter, I'm replacing that hunk of junk entirely!" He paused for breath, then glancing at Liz he asked, "Now, what did you need me for?"
Nancy nodded at Liz. "Ask our daughter. She's the one that wanted you."
Jeff looked at Liz. "What is it Honey? And make it quick, you know that we have a rush going."
Liz took a deep breath and started in. "Look, I know the Evans' asked you to keep an eye on Max and Isabel while they were gone, and this sort of has to do with that. Can I have your permission to go over there tonight after work? Possibly for an overnight?"
Jeff frowned. He wasn't blind. He'd noticed the change in Liz the last few days. And after Diane had given voice to suspicions regarding Max and Liz in her check in call yesterday he'd thought about it and reached the same conclusion as she did. Somehow they'd healed whatever rift had been between them for the last year. And while part of him secretly rejoiced for his little girl's happiness, the father in him had other ideas. Accordingly he said, "Liz, you should know better than that! It's a school night! And besides that, while we may like Max, he's a guy in love with a girl." He glanced at his wife and gave a half smile. "And as I recall from my days in that state, it colors your thinking a lot. And since the girl in question is *our* daughter, we're not allowing any late night rendezvous while his parents are out of town."
Nancy nodded in agreement, but was curious none the less. "Honey what did you mean when you said this had to do with looking after things for Phil and Diane?"
Liz paused to collect her thoughts. Her dad had just scuttled plan A. Any wheedling or begging now would just irritate her parents. Time for plan B. Accordingly she took another deep breath and started over.
"Max is worried about Isabel. Ever since Alex died we've had this feeling like she was stonewalling. Not dealing with her grief. Well, after the Whitman's funeral Friday she woke Max out of a sound sleep with a screaming nightmare. And again last night."
Nancy frowned with worry. "Does Diane know about this?"
Liz shook her head. "Not yet mom. She's a world class worrier, and she'd likely grab the first plane home if she knew. So Maria and I want to try our own prescription first. Ice cream and girl talk."
Nancy nodded understandingly. "So why not invite her here?"
Liz shrugged. "Max and I thought that she'd be more willing to let her hair down on her own turf. And if we wait until this weekend the opportunity to get at what's bothering her might pass."
Jeff cleared his throat. "Lizzie, as much as I admire your desire to help, I don't see how that changes the fact that you have homework, and it would put you and Max in the same house. Perhaps all night." He grinned ruefully. "Somehow you've chosen a parent's worst nightmare."
Liz blushed and said, "Well, the homework I can deal with. We've been into midterms all week. I took the last one today. Either the teachers were feeling generous, or they're up to their eyeballs in grading tests, because they didn't give us much to do today beyond some light reading. That I can handle. As for Max and I...um...Max foresaw your objection and he offered a compromise."
Jeff looked surprised. "This ought to be good," he thought. Then he asked, "Such as?"
Liz's blush deepened, but she went ahead. "He wants Maria and I to talk to Isabel. She's as much as told him that she wants to talk, but not to him. At least not yet. So, since your problem is not being able to keep an eye on us, he thought that you might settle for keeping an eye on one of us."
Jeff looked puzzled, but Nancy had an inkling of where this was headed. So she asked the question. "Which one?"
Liz smiled faintly and said, "Max. A trade. Me for him. He'll park himself here under your eyes all night. Doing homework, studying, reading, or helping out if you need him to. And he won't leave until I get back. Even if he has to spend the night."
Jeff looked nonplused. He wanted to object, but couldn't think of a valid reason to do so. Nancy on the other hand was elated and amused. She had long wished for a chance to study Max Evans close up under conditions where Liz wasn't there to run interference, and he couldn't escape. The thought of poor Max squirming under her studied stare as painfully funny as well. She had nothing against the boy, but instilling a little discomfort in him might serve to slow him down in the future. And she had to hand it to the kids. They took their desire to help Isabel seriously enough to inconvenience their desire to be together. She was proud of both of them on that account. So before Jeff could think of a reason to object Nancy spoke up.
"Sweetie? Exactly what time would this trade take place?"
Liz hide her joy well and said, "Around 8:00, give or take a little bit."
Nancy looked at her husband and lifted an eyebrow in query. He shrugged to say it was okay with him if it was okay with her.
"Okay Honey, you have our permission. Tell Max that he has a deal. But you don't leave until his butt is parked in a booth out there. And if you stay overnight, he stays overnight. Got it?"
Liz beamed happily. "Got it!"
At that moment a very hassled looking Maria DeLuca stormed the kitchen. "Liz! I'm dying out here! A little help please?"
Liz gave her parents both a quick hug and enthusiastic thank you's before dashing out to bus tables and wait on customers....and to place a telepathic call to Max informing him that his terms were acceptable to her parents.
Jeff and Nancy simply exchanged grins and went back to work. Though Nancy's smile lingered longer than Jeff's did. She was looking forward to instilling a little respect (spell that f-e-a-r) in Max Evans where her daughter was concerned.
Liz Parker felt him before he walked in the door. Anyone looking at her in that moment would have recognized a resemblance to The Mona Lisa in that little half smile on her face. She turned towards the door and was already moving forward when Max Evans walked in. She walked straight into his arms without even breaking stride. After a quick kiss and a hug she escorted him to the ET booth and went to get a cherry coke and a bottle of tabasco.
The Crashdown had quieted down somewhat. The dinner crowd was mostly gone now. All that was left were a few transients, some late diners, and Jim Valenti enjoying a cup of coffee and a piece of pie at the counter.
Liz returned and slid back into the booth beside Max with her leg brushing against his. Max, whose blood pressure was starting to rise, rubbed his leg back for a moment and leaned over to kiss her before the sound of a clearing throat brought him to attention. He saw Nancy Parker regarding him with a frown.
Without preamble Nancy said, "You're early."
Liz gave her mother a vaguely disgusted look as Max pulled away from her blushing faintly. He smiled faintly and tried to put forward a brave face in the harsh light of motherly disapproval.
He said, "I didn't want Liz to have to wait around when she got off work, Mrs. Parker. And my time off today let me get the class work, that she dropped off to me, done early. I had so little left to do that I was actually reading ahead of some of my assignments."
Nancy's frown deepened as she glanced at Liz. "Time off?" she queried. "You don't look sick."
Liz made a vaguely impatient sound. "Mother! Quit interrogating him! If there's one thing that Max *isn't*, it's a slacker."
Max made calming motions towards his girlfriend. "It's okay Liz. It's all right. If you recall, your mom and dad are supposed to keep an eye on things for *my* mom and dad." He glanced at Nancy. "That would include me I suppose."
Nancy had to give Max high marks on being reasonable. She smiled faintly and nodded at her daughter. "Liz, Maria is getting changed, and Dolores is here early. Why don't you go get into some street clothes honey, and take off."
Liz regarded her mother suspiciously.
Nancy sighed. "Oh go on dear, I'm not going to eat him alive! I'm a mother! That gives me the right to play the heavy a bit where *any* kid is concerned." Then she added to herself, "Let alone one who's the odds on favorite to be my future son-in-law."
Liz shared a lingering look with Max, who gave her a brief 'parent safe' kiss before letting her go. Before she pulled away she murmured in his ear, "If you need me, call me. I'll call you later anyway."
Max stroked her cheek with his then let her go; saying, "Have fun Sweetheart!"
Max then turned towards Nancy who looked like she still had some questions to be answered. He smiled and motioned for her to sit down across from him.
Nancy returned to her original question. "Time off?"
Max nodded. "I was up most of last night sitting by Isabel's bed. I didn't go to bed until the wee hours of this morning. I didn't see the point in going to school."
Nancy winced. "How bad was it, Max?"
"Pretty bad Mrs. Parker," he answered. "I've *never* heard anyone scream like that before, let alone Iz. It was like she was a damned soul on judgment day."
Nancy looked concerned. "If she's that bad, shouldn't you contact your folks?"
Max flinched as he read between the lines and saw 'I should call Diane'. "Mrs. Parker I'm trying to balance things here. I'm trying for a measured response instead of bringing in the heavy artillery right off the bat. All that would happen is that my folks would hop the first plane home. And they couldn't be here for 24 hours even if they did. They've waited a long time for this trip. I'd rather try other options before I ruin it for them."
Nancy blinked. He was counseling her to prudence? Clearly Max had some depths she hadn't imagined. Before she could respond he continued.
"Isabel was pretty chipper when she got up. And she made it clear that she wants to talk, she simply *won't* talk to *me*. And she has said specifically that she *will* talk to Liz and Maria. So, here I set. As I see it, an evening of my time is a fair trade for leaving my parents free to enjoy the trade winds."
Nancy felt uncomfortable as she had to upgrade her assessment of Max Evans for the second time that evening. The remarkable maturity he was showing was at odds with how the protective mother in her wanted to see him. She was saved further thought by a loud crash in the kitchen. She leapt to her feet and, followed by Max, dashed back into the kitchen to find her husband muttering imprecations over the dishwasher. As they watched he cursed softly and backed away from the balky machine.
Looking at his wife Jeff grimaced. "Well, it's not a question anymore of whether or not we strike a good balance this quarter. It's good and well busted."
Nancy sighed and glanced at the clock. They had over two hours until closing. She turned to Max and spoke. "You're sure that you're caught up on your school work?"
Max nodded. "Completely sure. Why?"
Nancy gave him a long suffering look. "I hope that you and Liz don't take this the wrong way, but how would you feel about washing some dishes? "
Max laughed. "I'd be delighted."
Nancy showed him the routine and then stepped aside to let him work. She glanced at Jeff whose eyes were twinkling somewhat before he shrugged and went back to work himself. She smiled softly at Max's back and retreated to the stockroom while musing over the same thing that every good mother does, sooner or later. That perhaps she'd raised her daughter right after all, and that as a result said daughter had some pretty good taste in men.
Max had only been at it for a few minutes when an elbow nudged him and Michael asked in a sardonic voice, "What'd you do to get sentenced back here?"
Max shrugged. "It's the only way they'd let Liz spend some unsupervised time with Isabel. They trust us, within limits, and spending the evening at my house with the folks gone is beyond them for now, unless I'm gone too."
Michael grinned. "I suppose they told you that, as the cook, I have the lowly dishwashers under my command? Look alive Your Majesty, we're running out of forks!"
Max groaned and muttered something about 'never seeming to escape alien tyrants'. As he set to work again he muttered, "It's gonna be a long night."
The doorbell rang three times before Isabel reached it. She jerked the door open to find Liz standing patiently and Maria reached for the doorbell a fourth time. The door hadn't even finished opening before Maria was through it with a mumbled apology, vanishing up the stairs like a shot. Isabel stared a question at Liz, who shrugged and said with a grin, "Too many iced coffees". Isabel chuckled and motioned her inside. Closing the door she followed Liz into the living room where they were joined a few moments later by a chastened and seriously *relieved* Maria. Before Isabel could speak Maria broke in, apologizing profusely.
"Sorry I was so...um..rude Isabel. It's just that I've been worried and wound up. So I took out my frustrations with caffeine."
Isabel laughed and waved at her to sit down while she relieved Liz of the grocery sack of ice cream she was carrying, "We've all been there and done that at one time or another." Then she considered before continuing. "Ladies, you have some homework to finish up before we get down to some serious girl stuff. What do you say I leave you to it? I'll just slip this," as she hefted the ice cream, "in the freezer. Then I'll go hide out in my dad's office for a while. Just come and get me when you're ready to start the party."
Liz looked at Maria and shrugged. It suited her. For Maria's part, she was studying Isabel with a critical eye. Looking for signs of serious emotional strain. She found none. If anything Isabel's impish grin betrayed high spirits and good news. Catching Liz's shrug she nodded and spoke.
"Sounds like a plan. The gods of education were kind to us today. We don't have anything more than some reading to get done. And I'd guess that we can clean that up in an hour or an hour and a half", She said.
Isabel nodded. "Okay then, I'll be waiting. See you in about ninety minutes."
With that she beat a retreat into the kitchen. In a few minutes she returned with some drinks before heading back to her father's office and her continuing research on Seattle and it's martial arts studios.
Once she was out of earshot Maria turned to Liz and spoke.
"This ought to be good," she said. "Did you see her?"
Liz looked puzzled. "See what? She looked all right to me."
Maria nodded. "That's just it! Remember why we're here? Does she look like a girl at the end of her emotional rope to you? Whatever is going on, I have this funny feeling that you and I are about to step off into the alien moderated Twilight Zone again, Chica."
Liz giggled. "Well, whatever it is, we won't find out any quicker if we don't get busy."
Maria gave an exaggerated sigh at her friend's display of common sense and collapsed into a chair to begin reading her history text. Liz followed suit, cracking her english book and beginning to read. Such was the spur of their curiosity that it was comfortably under the ninety minute deadline when Liz quietly padded into Mr. Evans' office to find Isabel intently hunched over his computer. Reading over her shoulder made Liz even more curious.
"Martial arts?" she thought. "What the hell was up with *that*?"
Liz cleared her throat and Isabel turned casually, making no effort to hide what she was working on. Following the direction of Liz's stare she chuckled.
"It ties in with what we have to talk about, Liz. Trust me."
Liz stared at her for a moment then gave her an impish grin. "Okay, I'll buy it. Lets get the ice cream and make with the powwow. Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg!"
Ten minutes later the girls comfortably ensconced around the living room, each with a dish of their favorite diet destroyer. As Liz and Maria watched Isabel had unwrapped a newly purchased CD and started it running on the stereo. The only odd thing that struck both Maria and Liz at the same time was her choice of music. The Isabel that they knew wasn't exactly a golden oldie sort of girl. They both studied Isabel as The Righteous Brothers crooned in the background. She was making an intense study of her ice cream, but seemed to be eating very little of it. When she looked up they both caught a hint of strain on her face. Liz thought that she had hit on it after all. That it was unexpressed grief. She couldn't have been more wrong.
Isabel was upset all right, but her trepidation had nothing to do with grief. It was fear. Now that the moment of truth was here, what would they think? They loved Alex as much as she did. Would they hear her out? Or would they simply drop a net over her? Isabel sighed as she studied the questioning and concerned looks on both their faces. It was now or never. Time to...umm..let the cat out of the bag. So thinking, she cleared her throat and got the ball rolling.
"Liz? I need to ask you some thing personal."
Liz had been waiting and watching for some minutes, wondering how to get things started. She was relieved when Isabel saved her the trouble, but surprised by her request. And even more by the solemn serious way in which it was presented.
"Absolutely Isabel. Anything at all", she answered.
Isabel took a bite of ice cream as she considered just how to word what she wanted to say. "Um, your connection with my brother. How did it work exactly? Early on I mean?"
Liz had been in the act of lifting a spoonful of ice cream when Isabel asked her question. She put the spoon down and frowned in thought. "What the hell does *that* have to do with anything?" she wondered silently. Then she realized that Isabel was waiting on her answer. Liz opened her mouth then realized that she had never really given it serious thought. Not enough to describe it anyway. Time to dig a little further. So she asked. "Exactly how do you mean, Isabel?"
Isabel looked thoughtful. "I mean how did it work? I don't mean the flashes. I mean did you sense him? Did you know he was there, even when he wasn't?"
Liz nodded. "Sometimes. Not always, not until we were apart for so long. It's like the separation boosted our sensitivity to unbelievable levels. I always knew when and where he was. I could feel him at times, like this buzz in the back of my mind. If there was one strong overriding emotion, I could get a sense of what it was. It was unpredictable. So unpredictable that I had to be careful about sorting out whose feelings were whose. Which ones were from me, and which from him." Liz paused for breath, the went on. "Now though, since we...um..fused, it's easy. Words and feelings flow naturally, and I have no trouble sorting out his from mine." Liz looked up at Isabel. "Does this make sense to you? Why did you want to know? And what does this have to do with your dreams?"
But Isabel wasn't listening. She had a far away look in her eyes. Mulling over Liz's words, she turned her gaze inward and reached out along the gossamer tether that seemed to bind her to Alex. Gently she stroked the nexus of thought and emotion associated with him. This seemed a little easier for her than Liz had just described. But, as the alien half of this duo, it probably would be. She wished that she could get Max's opinion on that. "Is it like this for Alex?", she wondered in thought. "Separation is the word that Liz used. I guess absence really *does* make the heart grow fonder...and the bonding grow stronger."
"ISABEL!" The sound of her name snapped her out of her introspection and she looked around to find Liz and Maria regarding her with worry. Liz was the one who had shouted at her.
"Er, sorry. I must have dozed for a second," was all that Isabel could get out.
Maria wasn't buying it. "Dozed hell, Iz. You zoned out on us, alien style. Now what the *hell* is going on? Max is scared, and we're worried! So spill!"
Isabel poked halfheartedly at her ice cream and sighed. "You're gonna think that I'm crazy," she said as she ate a spoon full.
Liz glanced at Maria, who was fairly quivering with anticipation. "Try us," Liz said.
Isabel took a deep breath and began. "Okay, last Friday night after the funeral I went to bed and I had a dream."
Maria pursed her lips and answered, "That much we know. What has this got to do with Max and Liz's bond?"
Isabel hesitated then continued. "It was weird. Dreams I've had. And I've performed dreamwalks. But this was the first time I've ever dreamt a dreamwalk...if you get what I'm driving at?"
Liz looked puzzled. "Your dreamed that you were in a dreamwalk? What's so bad about that?"
Isabel shuddered at her remembered fear and shock. "For one thing I'd never imagined that it could happen. It's like, in my mind, dreams and dreamwalks were mutually exclusive. So it didn't make sense. And if it *were* a dreamwalk, then I didn't consciously initiate it. And then there was the content....."
Neither Liz nor Maria had missed Isabel's shudder.
"The content?" Liz asked. "What was it about?" Then daylight dawned. "Are you saying that you think that it *was* a dreamwalk? That you entered someone's dreams without realizing it? Like with Laurie Dupree?"
Maria had been studying Isabel intently. "She's saying more than that, Liz. She's saying that whoever it was, she now has a bond with them. Like yours with Max." Maria put down her empty ice cream bowl then went on. "That *is* what you're trying to tell us, isn't it Izzy? Who is it? Someone we know? Or someone new?"
Liz was flabbergasted. Max was hinting around about them trying to get Isabel interested in someone new. And now it appeared that she just might have stolen the march on them. Hesitantly she asked, "Isabel, are you saying that you have a boyfriend?"
Isabel started violently "What?! NO!" Then she calmed. "No, it's no one new." Then she developed a soft smile. "In fact it's someone old, you might say."
Maria was suspicious. "You sound like you're sure that it was a dreamwalk."
Isabel nodded. "I'm sure. The next night, on the off chance that it was, I tried to connect deliberately. I made it. And again last night as well."
Maria focused on Isabel's terror and on the "someone old" comment. "Isabel, please tell me it wasn't K'var?"
Isabel winced and then grinned. "I said 'old' Maria, not fossilized."
Maria snickered and nodded, feeling relieved. "Okay so who?"
Isabel paused with her mouth open. It was the moment of truth, and her vocal chords had just gone on strike.
Liz took in her hesitancy. Without understanding it, she knew that this was make or break. So she prodded. "Isabel, please tell us? Who was it? And why is it so upsetting? I promise, even if it *were* K'var, we wouldn't freak."
Isabel took a deep breath and muttered, "Oh, you'll freak all right." Then in a normal tone she went on. "I need something from you both first. A solemn promise of silence until we're done here tonight. Doubt me all you want while we're talking. Call me crazy, but don't call the guys. I'm not ready to bring them in on this until we three thrash it out. You'll see why in a second. Liz, once I shoot my mouth off, Max is going to feel your emotional turmoil meter go through the roof. And he's going to want to know what's going on. No telepathic chit chat please? Please?" Glancing anxiously back and forth between her two girl friends, who were looking increasingly mystified she asked, "Do I have your promise?"
Liz and Maria were both feeling like they were about to take a big leap into the unknown. Whatever was troubling Isabel was major. And apparently not just for her. For all of their group. But both gave their word without hesitation.
"Cross my heart and hope to die," said Maria.
Liz nodded. "You have my word Isabel."
Isabel closed her eyes and summoned her courage as tears began to leak, then she took the plunge.
"It was Alex. He's alive."
Cassandra was standing next to the bed of the already sleeping Alex Whitman when she finished quietly reciting words in a language that was already old when Gilgamesh was a stripling boy. Then she made one slow pass of her hand over the sleeping boy's head and torso. Alex stirred briefly then settled back into deep slumber. As soon as he had settled she spoke in a more normal voice and said, "All right, it's done. You can come in now!"
The bedroom door opened to admit Duncan and Amanda to the room. They both surveyed the their sleeping ward curiously.
"He won't wake up?" Amanda asked.
Cassandra chuckled. "No, he won't. The spell will keep him asleep until I release it. You could set a bomb off under his bed right now, and he'd sleep right through it."
Amanda looked curious. "If the idea was to put him to sleep, wouldn't it have been easier for us to just slip a little something into his supper?"
Cassandra frowned as if she tasted something bad. "Not really. Drugging him might have interfered with, or even completely suppressed, his natural dream cycle. If Duncan is right about this, I want him to dream."
Duncan sighed. "Oh, I think that I'm right. Now what?"
Before answering, Cassandra walked out into the hall and retrieved the large flat rosewood case that she'd brought with her. It was only about three inches thick, but nearly five feet square and heavily decorated with white scroll work in Native American symbols. Undoing the snap locks she opened it, revealing what had to be the great grand daddy of all Amerind 'dream catchers'. It was enormous, completely filling the case. And it was far more ornate than the usual sort of thing that tourists turn up with. There was an air about it that suggested great age. Cassandra whispered a prayer then picked it up and moved towards a picture hanging on the wall. Removing the picture she replaced it with the dream catcher. She muttered another prayer as she passed a hand over the dream catcher. The feathers that were integrated into it stirred briefly in the breezeless room, and then settled.
"There," she said, "now we wait."
Amanda looked at the artifact curiously. Her experience in assessing and stealing antiquities of all kinds led her to believe that what she was looking at was priceless.
Noticing her interest Cassandra spoke. "It's over two hundred years old. It was a gift from a Lakota Shaman named Burning Wind."
Amanda's eyebrows rose. "What's it for?"
Cassandra chuckled and waved her hand at the sleeping Alex. "The trap is baited." Then she indicated the dream catcher. "And the alarm has been set. If Duncan is right, and she comes tonight, I'll know about it when it happens."
Amanda nodded. "Then what?" she asked.
Cassandra looked somber. "Then I go into the undermind and see about having a little 'chat' with Alex's hypothetical nocturnal visitor."
Amanda looked stunned. All she could say was..."Oh".
Liz and Maria stared at each other thunderstruck. This was awful. It was impossible. It was tragic. It was all of the above! They hadn't seen it coming, and Isabel's tears were forestalling any attempt at a response on their part. They waited together silently for Isabel to pull herself together.
Maria broke the silence first. "Isabel," she said gently, "Alex is dead. Max saw him. There's just no way...."
Isabel cut her off. "I know all that Maria!" she snapped. Then she sighed. "I'm sorry Maria, I shouldn't have been so bitchy. It's just that I've been scared to death the last three days. And the more I learn, the more frightened I become."
Liz finally broke out of her own mental vapor lock and said, "I can see where having dreams like that would scare you. But Isabel, he can't be alive. We went to his funeral. We were all there. Jim Valenti identified his body. So did his parents. And Max too. He simply can't be alive. There's just no way. Surely you can see that?"
Isabel sighed. "Look, you promised not to tell the guys. I think there's an implied fair hearing in there don't you? Will you listen instead of telling me what can't be?"
Liz started to speak then held up her hand. "You were right Isabel. Max is signaling for a connection. Hang on while I deal with this will you?"
Isabel broke in. "Liz, you promised! No head talk!"
Liz froze. It had been the natural thing for her to do. But she *had* promised. She sighed deeply then stood and walked over to Isabel. Taking Isabel by the hands and looking her in the eyes, Liz spoke. "Iz, I promised not to tell him, and I won't. But I have to take this. I'm not trying to split hairs on you, honest. A promise is a promise. But if I don't answer, he's going to assume that something has gone disastrously wrong. After that, one of three things is going to happen. He'll leave the Crashdown and race back here, thus breaking our word to my parents. Or he might use the phone...but he'll be pissed at both of us. Or he'll stick to the plan and be *majorly* pissed at *me*. Anyway you look at it, it sucks. The only way that it won't suck is if you trust me to take the call, and not spill the beans." Liz gave Isabel's hands a gentle squeeze. "The other night I made a decision to place my fate with Max and our group in your hands. I never made a better choice in my life. I trusted you. Trust me now...please?" By now Liz was blinking a few tears away.
Isabel was shedding a few of her own tears when she released Liz's hands and pulled her into a hug and said, "And I never made a better choice than I did when I decided to intervene." Isabel gave Liz a kiss on the cheek. "And my brother never made a better move than he did the day that he saved your life! Go talk to him Liz, and get him to chill." With that she released Liz after tightening her hug just a bit to let her know that she meant what she said.
Liz nodded. "Thanks Iz. I'll just be a minute." Then she sat down as her eyes got that vacant look that they always did when she turned inward to converse with the love of her life.
Max paused with a soapy dish in his hand as he felt Liz's anxiety spike sharply. He instinctively began nudging their connection, seeking contact. After a few moments he felt her assent and the connection began to deepen. "˜Liz? What's wrong Baby?˜"
Liz sent him a mental kiss. "˜I won't say nothing is wrong Max, because you know that I'd be lying. You'd feel it. But I can tell you that things are under control. She just surprised me that's all. I was right, Alex is at the root of her problems. But I promised her not to bring you into it until we've thrashed it out. Maria made a similar promise about Michael.˜"
Max sighed. "˜So I guess I just wait it out?˜"
Liz answered, "˜I'm sorry Sweetheart, but I'm afraid so. Which brings me to my next issue. I think this is going to be an all nighter, so as soon as we're done I'm calling my mother to let her know.˜"
Max launched a wave of love and gratitude towards her. "˜That's okay Liz, whatever it takes. But I'll miss you.˜"
Liz chuckled. "˜I miss you to Love, now I'd better scoot before Isabel thinks that I'm ratting her out. Oh, and beware Sweetie. If Iz pulls out any more surprises like this last one, you'll probably feel my emotions going like a yo-yo. Sorry Love.˜" Liz gave him a brief mental nuzzle, then she began to back away.
Max sighed in acceptance and returned her nuzzle with the words, "˜Good night Sweetheart! I love you! And good luck!˜"
From far away Liz's mind voice came. "˜G'night Max! I love you!˜"
Then the connection was broken. Or rather damped down to it's low level norm.
Five minutes later Jeff Parker came into the kitchen. " Well Max", he said, "Nancy just got off the phone with Liz. Apparently her little therapy session is going well, but she wants to stick with it. So it looks like you're our guest tonight. Does that suit you?"
Max shrugged with a grin. "It's what I signed up for sir. I knew the job was dangerous when I took it."
Jeff stifled a laugh, but his eyes were twinkling. "Well, we'll try not to leave any bruises that show. I hope you don't mind sleeping in Lizzie's bed tonight."
There was a choking sound from across the kitchen. Jeff and Max swung in its direction.
"Something Michael?" Jeff asked.
Max simply glared.
Michael pretended to be extremely busy with the grill in order to hide an uncontrollable grin. "Do I mind sleeping in Lizzie's bed sir?" he thought. "Oh no sir! I found it very comfortable the other night when I *slept* with your daughter sir!" Hello to half-alien blood just all *over* the floor. Clearing his throat he tossed a reply over his shoulder. "Nope, just a little dry throat is all."
Jeff nodded. "Well get something to drink. It's almost time to close, and the place is near empty. If Dolores has something to do, just walk out and get it yourself. You won't shock anyone." Turning to Max he asked, "You brought a change of clothes?"
Max nodded. "And a few small items. Razor, toothbrush, comb and such."
Jeff clapped him on the shoulder. "All right then. Back to work We close at eleven sharp, and I expect you to be wrapped up by eleven thirty and be in bed not to long after that." Jeff started to walk away, then he paused. "Oh, and Max?"
Max looked up. "Yes sir?"
"Don't forget to take out the garbage. The truck comes early." Then Jeff went back upstairs to rejoin his wife.
Max turned back to ream Michael for his untimely slip, but the swinging kitchen doors indicated that he had already fled out front to get a drink. Muttering under his breath, Max returned to work.
Michael was drawing a cherry coke when he heard the sound a throat being cleared. He turned to find Jim Valenti seated at the counter sipping a cup of coffee. Michael frowned, then he walked over to where Valenti was sitting.
"You've been in here an awful lot today Sheriff," Michael said in a low voice. "Is there something cooking I should know about? Trouble?"
Jim shook his head. "I'm not sure Michael. I need to talk to Max. While I was here earlier I couldn't catch him alone, but I overheard something about him being here tonight. Is he back in the kitchen?"
Michael smirked. "Filling in for a busted dishwashing machine while Liz does an all night thing at his house."
Jim smiled as his eyebrows rose. "My oh my, the things a man will do for love...or to get in good with his love object's parents."
Michael nodded. "Yup, he's whipped all right. Look, he has to take the garbage out at closing. There's nothing that says he can't do it a bit early. Why don't you meet him around back?"
Jim smiled his thanks. "Thank you Michael. I'll see you later."
Michael answered, "Anytime for our favorite law enforcement officer. Go ahead, I'll send him right out."
With that Valenti stood up and dropped some money on the counter for the coffee and the tip, then headed for the door. Once he was outside Michael returned to the kitchen. There was nothing happening so he walked over to Max and tapped him on the shoulder. Max turned with a frown.
"Just what the hell were you trying to do a moment ago Michael?" Max asked. "Get me killed? Or worse, leave me alive but banned from seeing Liz until we all die of old age?"
Michael chuckled. "Hey Fearless Leader, I performed the save didn't I? Honestly Max, I'm sorry. It was simply Mr. Parker's question about Liz's bed. It was too funny for words."
Max's frown battled with the inherent humor of the moment. Battled and lost. He chuckled. "Just don't let it happen again. I hope to marry Liz one day. And I won't be worth much to her on our wedding night if her father turns me into soprano now...will I?"
Michael's eye's dancing. "True, but you'll sing so beautifully at the wedding." Then he ducked as Max took a playful swing at him. "Anyway, it's time to take out the trash."
Max glanced at the clock. "What are you talking about? I have over half an hour yet!"
Michael nodded and then indicated the alley door with his eyes while mouthing the word "Now". Max frowned, then shrugged and hefted the kitchen garbage cans as well as the bags from out front and headed for the alley. Carrying the garbage can and bags he approached the Crashdown's dumpster and tossed the bags first. After emptying garbage can he had turned to head back to the kitchen when he heard a familiar voice call out quietly. "Max?"
Max froze and scanned the alleyway. After a moment a shadow detached itself from the wall twenty feet past the restaurant's back door. It was Jim Valenti.
"What can I do for a friend this evening, Sheriff?" Max asked.
Jim chuckled. "It's more like what the friend can do for you. I don't know what this means yet. But I have information on something odd. Something the team may be interested in."
Max frowned. "I *knew* that things were too quiet!" he thought. Aloud he asked, "What's been happening?"
Jim had a far away look on his face. "When I got into the office this morning I had a telexed information request from Toronto, Canada in my in box. It was couched as a fugitive information request. I checked the source and verified that it's from a respectable skip trace outfit based in Canada. One that operates on both sides of the border."
Max wore a puzzled look. "What did they want to know?"
Jim regarded him soberly. "Background information and known associates of one Alex Whitman."
Max heard a roaring sound in his ears. He staggered, but held himself erect by propping himself up with one arm against the alley wall. Shaking his head to clear it he looked at Jim Valenti, who was looking very worried.
"Max, are you okay?" Jim asked.
Max shuddered. "I think so, but I'll know better in just a second. Because I could have sworn that you said that you received an official information request on....Alex?"
Jim nodded. "That's exactly what I said. Someone wants to know about him and anyone associated with him."
Max sat down on an empty crate with a thump. Cradling his head between his hands he scrubbed at his face briefly then looked up at the Sheriff. "The Feds?" he asked in a weak voice.
Jim Valenti looked thoughtful. "I doubt it. If it were them, why would they take such risks, why use such clumsy subterfuge, and tip their hand while they're at it? If the coroner's report had shown anything "alien" I'd have known about it. And I suspect that, if they had anything...I'd have known about *that* too. Ever since Peirce I've been alert for any signs of Fed activity. That bunch doesn't know the meaning of the words "subtle" or "overkill". The Special Unit may be history, but the principles it operated under are still there. If they had anything I wouldn't have gotten a telex from them, I'd have had a flock of suits it my office faster than you can say "illegal wire tap". And like I pointed out, they wouldn't risk compromising their security by using a third party to make their approach. Stuff like that they tend to keep 'in the family'."
Max sighed as his initial reaction calmed. "So what's it about then?"
Jim Valenti shrugged. "I haven't the foggiest. But I sent back a non report, claiming that he had no friends and was a confirmed loner, because the last thing we want is attention directed at his 'friends'....meaning you, Michael, and Isabel. As well as the rest of us. Then I notified Brody. He'll use a few contacts and grease a few palms, to try and feel out what's happening. I brought it to you for two reasons. For one thing, he was a member of the family, so to speak. You deserved to know. The other is, did you ever get a hint that he or his family might have been into something that wasn't strictly kosher?"
Max looked flabbergasted. "Not a chance, Sheriff. Not Alex. Not his folks. As arrows go, they're the straightest in the quiver. They certainly wouldn't rate this kind of attention."
Jim nodded. "So I thought. But I wanted you to know and get your opinion at the same time. Brody and I will keep checking discreetly. In fact, one thing that just occurred to me is that someone, a criminal, may be running around out there using Alex's identity."
Max's face hardened like granite. That such people actually existed.... "If you learn anything else let me know, will you Sheriff? If someone *is* out there dirtying Alex's memory, I'd like to help do something about it! After everything that's happened, he doesn't deserve *that*, of all things!"
Jim Valenti reached out and took Max's hand, pulling him to his feet. "Will do Max. I assume that you're telling the others?"
Max paused in thought. "Michael yes. The girls no, not yet. My sister still hasn't come to terms with Alex's death. Besides which, right now she seems to be going through a rough patch in that regard. And I'd hate to think of what Liz and Maria would do if they even suspected that someone was out there using Alex's identity. They can be relentless when they're pissed."
Jim Valenti nodded with understanding, and extended his hand. "Okay, your call. I'll talk to you later, Max. Have a good night."
Max shook Valenti's hand and bid him good night before wandering back into the Crashdown in a daze.
As he arrived in the kitchen a glaring Michael intercepted him. "For cryin' out loud Max! What happened out there? Did you get lost?" Then he noticed that distant troubled expression on Max's face. "Max? What's wrong buddy?"
Max snapped out of the thousand yard stare he was in and focused on Michael. "Tell ya in a minute. Right now I have to take a call."
Max turned his gaze inward and allowed his connection to Liz to open fully. She'd been storming the ramparts of his mind for the last ten minutes. Ever since his emotions had gone berserk out in the alley. Liz and he were going to have to learn to keep a lid on things like this....they couldn't go pestering one another every time one of them banged their shin or got ticked off about something.
As the connection unfolded like a flower, Liz's presence flooded his awareness with her love and concern.
"˜MAX! Just what the *hell* is going ON over there!!??˜"
Isabel and Maria disposed of the empty ice cream bowls while Liz was in conversation with Max. Maria had returned to the living room to sit on the love seat by Liz while Isabel stayed in the kitchen to load a tray with drinks and munchies. Chips, dips, nachos, salsa, drinks, ice...and of course, tabasco sauce. It took only a few minutes because she'd prepared much of it earlier. Returning to the living room with the tray fairly groaning she found Liz looking at her with clear eyes, indicating that she was home from Max-sylvania.
Maria jumped to her feet and cleared a place on the coffee table for the tray. Isabel sat it down and then flopped on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table. After getting comfortable she took a sip of her drink and looked at her friends. The silence streeeetched.
Isabel sighed. "So?"
Liz giggled. And Isabel frowned at her. "What's so funny?" she asked.
Liz continued to laugh but managed to wheeze out, "Us! We're acting like some Old West gunfighters meeting at high noon. We're each waiting for the other guy to draw!"
The humor wasn't lost on Isabel. She began to laugh and Maria joined her. But she sobered at a memory.
Liz's laughter died too as she saw Isabel's face fall. "What is it Isabel?" she asked.
Isabel sighed. "I just remembered Max saying something similar about his relationship with you, back before we ironed things out. He was so scared Liz. Terrified to do something. Terrified *not* to do something. I *don't* want that to happen here. Just hear me out, okay? The evidence is sketchy and subjective at best, but I'm not crazy. And I'm *not* imagining things."
Liz looked at Maria, who nodded and turned to Isabel. "We're here for you girl friend. And we won't let things get that way. Just between us girls we have more sense than to let that happen.....unlike our estrogen challenged better halves."
Liz nodded vigorously. "So start at the beginning and take your time. And don't leave anything out!" Then grabbed a paper plate and loaded it with plunder from the tray.
Isabel closed her eyes and collected her thoughts, then she took a deep breath and began to talk.
"It really started the night after the funeral, but as time has gone on I've been seeing things from before that didn't fit. Now they do."
"Like what?" Maria asked.
Isabel shrugged. "Like the fact that I couldn't seem to make myself grieve for Alex's death. I kept waiting for something to happen. For the catharsis to hit. It never did. Now I think that it's because I'm bonded to him, and that on some level my mind couldn't grieve because it knew he was still alive. I mean, on and off I've been sensing him for six months. I thought it was my imagination playing games with me. But the day of the funeral it was so strong it was like I could feel his breath on my neck." She looked at Liz. "Liz, do you remember at the end there, how I halted when we were leaving and looked back?"
Liz frowned and then nodded.
Isabel went on. "It's because I felt him more powerfully than I ever had before. Like he was actually there."
Maria was in the act of eating a nacho when she paused and asked, "Any particular reason for that?"
Isabel nodded. "Yes. Because he *was* there. On a low hill about a mile away, watching through binoculars."
Maria choked on her nacho and began to wheeze. Liz walloped her on the back and she swallowed mightily, then chased it with a gulp of coke. "He was WHAT?"
Isabel smiled. "You heard me, he was there. Watching. I busted him at it in dream walk. And I reamed him thoroughly, believe me."
Maria looked nonplused. "Iz, I don't know if I believe yet or not, but if it's true...then anything you could have done to him can't possibly match what *I'll* do to him when I catch him!"
Isabel looked pained. "Maria, I don't have all the information yet. But he may not have had a choice. I'll be going back in tonight, but from what I *have* been able to piece together he's trying to protect us."
Liz wore a puzzled look. "From what?" she asked.
Isabel's face softened with something like wonder as she said, "From what he is now."
Maria's face took on a shadow. "Okay, not liking your choice of words here. He's protecting us from *what* he is?"
Isabel nodded. "That's right. I said 'what'. Look, let me do this from the beginning, and just hold any questions. Then you look at what I have and see what *you* make of it. Okay?"
Maria nodded her assent, but Liz looked lost in thought...and white as a sheet. Maria glanced at her friend and said, "Liz? Chica? What's wrong?"
Liz's hand was shaking as she reached for her drink. "Something's wrong. Within the last minute Max's emotions are off the chart. I'm trying to raise him telepathically, but he isn't answering."
Isabel reached out and grabbed her purse. After fishing around for a second she came up with her cell phone. "We could call the Crashdown and ask."
Maria shook her head. "Thereby causing people to ask awkward questions about how we knew about whatever is happening there, should the wrong person happen to answer the phone? No, I don't think so."
Liz waved to get their attention. "Whatever is going on is ramping off. He's still tense, but his emotions are calming. He still won't answer my call though."
Isabel nodded. "He may be stuck talking to someone. Just keep up the pressure while we talk." She noticed Maria staring at her significantly. "What? He's my brother too. And if Liz reported that he was still off the scale we'd all be in your car and on our way by now. As it is, all we can do is wait."
Maria sighed and shrugged. "You're right of course." She glanced at Liz. "Are you okay to go on Liz?"
Liz smiled wanly. "Yeah, I'll be fine. But Max and I are going to have to work on some protocols here. I can't be panicking over every little thing."
Isabel nodded in agreement before starting in again. "Okay, where was I. Oh yeah, the night after the funeral. I was getting ready for bed and I had one of these 'talks' with Alex I usually have late at night. I open our yearbook, look at his picture, and talk to him. That must have triggered it. At some point I must have touched it and keyed the 'walk. Once I was asleep, the next thing I knew I was in a strange city, walking. I was near the sea, because I could smell salt in the air. Anyway, I kept hearing this music. It kept drawing me on until I arrived at this building that turned out to be a martial arts studio." Isabel glanced at Liz who had the question on her face. "That's right Liz, that's what I was surfing after on my dad's computer."
Maria cleared her throat. "Did I miss something? When was this?"
Liz spoke up. "When I went to get Iz to start this shindig, she had a page up on the screen about martial arts studios."
Maria nodded, then looked at Isabel. "Okay, go on."
Isabel continued. "Anyway, once I got inside, the place looked like a set from a Jackie Chan movie...except there were about a zillion candles lighting it, live singers singing, and Alex and 'I' were on the dance floor."
Maria waved her hand. "Sorry to interrupt, but what music?"
Isabel picked up the remote for the CD changer and consulted the back of the CD case that she had left on the coffee table. She hit the right numbers and the song began to play.
"Wo-oh my love, My Darlin'.
I've hungered for your touch,
A long, lonely time.
And time goes by, so slowly.
And time, can do so much.
Are you, still mi-i-ine?"
Liz blinked at the sting in her eyes. "Maria and I both wondered why you were suddenly into oldies. That's the music?"
Isabel nodded.
Maria coughed to clear the lump in her throat. "That's our Alex. He still knows romance, inside and out."
Isabel nodded again and added, "I remember thinking much the same thing. Then I started noticing some differences. People tend to carry their body image with them into their dreams. And Alex's was changed."
"Changed how?" Liz asked.
Isabel developed a distant look. "Older, harder, and more muscular. And the way he moved. Like a cat. He looked like he could take on any jock at West Roswell, break them in two, and keep on going without changing stride. And he looked sad and lonely, like he was carrying the weight of the world. When I called to him, the whole dream changed. The singers vanished, the music stopped, my alter ego disappeared. And then he walked over to me. He knew it was me. Not some dream conjuring. And he was scared for me to be there. That was when he touched me, and this connection thing flared up and I felt him."
"Felt him?" a spellbound Maria squeaked out.
Isabel was far away now. "His living presence. His soul. It's hard to describe, but it was him. My soul would know his anywhere."
Liz nodded encouragingly. "I know exactly what you're talking about Isabel. Exactly. I....." Liz broke off and sighed. "Max is answering, hang on a second."
Liz's gaze turned inward. As they watched she developed a frown that deepened then smoothed out to a blush. A few moments later she was back.
"Well?" Maria asked.
Liz sighed. "He wouldn't tell me."
Isabel gave a snort. "Wouldn't?"
Liz smiled wanly. "Yeah, wouldn't. He said that it was important, but not 'right now' important. And it would only 'serve to distract me from the business at hand'."
Maria looked like she'd bitten into something sour. "It sounds to me like maybe His Majesty is a bit miffed over being shut out of what's happening at the squaw party"
Isabel chuckled and said, "If he is, just leave him to me."
Liz shook her head slowly. "No, I can see his point of view. And it's every bit as valid as ours is. He has news, but it isn't relevant to what we have going here. So lets just skip it." She glanced at Isabel then resumed her attack on her chips and dip. "So, we left off with you and Alex in the dream walk. You formed this connection and things got out of hand from there. How am I doing?"
Isabel nodded. "Exactly right. As soon as I was aware that this was Alex I was dealing with, the real article, I freaked. I sat straight up in bed and shrieked at the top of my lungs." She rolled her eyes. "Hello to nightmare the first."
Maria looked fascinated. "Okay, then what?" she asked.
Isabel paused to gather her thoughts then went on. "Okay lets fast forward to the next night. After I got home from the ambush and light show," she paused to glance at Liz who was flushing red, " I was trying to stay awake. At that point I still thought that it was all some bizarre dream. Then I had this weird intuition and decided to follow it. I grabbed the yearbook and touched Alex's picture. Now, whenever I perform a dream walk, I use a picture to connect with my subject. The result is this funny distortion wave that races across the picture and vanishes. Well, when I touched Alex's picture I saw that wave, indicating that I had connected. And you can't connect with a ghost." She paused to grin. "Or at least I don't *think* that you can."
Maria looked irritated. "Ghosts have nothing to do with this anyway. Mush girl friend! Make with the explanations!"
Liz chuckled at Maria's impatience. Isabel flushed a faint pink, and then smirked.
"Just for *that* Maria, you get to wait while I visit the ladies room!" Isabel said. Then she jumped to her feet and dashed for the bathroom. When she got back a few minutes later, Liz was laughing at Maria who looked ready for a full out meltdown.
"Trouble?" Isabel asked.
Liz shook her head laughing. "I was just having a little fun with Maria. She's been antsy ever since you left."
Maria glared at Liz. "Stow it Chica. We have business to attend to." She switched her glare to Isabel. "Now, you were saying? Before you let a piffling thing like potty issues get in the way that is."
Isabel laughed. "I was only gone a couple of minutes! Okay, I'll try to pick up the pace. The next night I got in again, and this time was even more scary. Now that I knew it was a dreamwalk I was trying to be just another part of the landscape. Usually, if I don't actually draw attention to myself, I can go unnoticed. It helps in..um..information gathering."
Maria laughed. "In other words, it's better for spying. Right?"
Liz was taking a sip of coke when Maria spoke, and as a result she snorted a healthy amount and began coughing. In spite of that, and her streaming eyes, she still managed to laugh as she swatted weakly at Maria. "Don't say things like that when I'm taking a drink!" she gasped.
Maria, for her part, wore a look of innocence that simply said, 'Who me?' "I'm sorry Chica," she said merrily. "Just call it one of the hazards of being one of DeLuca's friends." Turning back to Isabel she went on, "You were saying, Mata Hari?"
Isabel shook her head with a smile and picked up where she'd left off. Telling them about the fight she'd seen, and the trip to the hill overlooking the cemetery. By the time she was done she saw her own feelings echoed in her girlfriends' faces.
Liz was the first one to speak. "So you don't think that the fight was real?"
Isabel nodded. "The guy was like a dream monster. Alex was giving as good as he got, but this guy was like the Terminator. Too good and too scary to be real."
Maria got her voice back next. "But from what that guy on the hill said this may be his life now. Headhunting for God's sake? Why? I mean, I can see why Alex would want to keep that away from us. I know him. This is him all over the place. He'd want to protect us at all costs, the idiot."
Liz nodded in agreement. "I've known him for years, and been tight with him most of that time. Yeah, he'd fall on his sword for us." She glanced apologetically at Isabel. "Forgive the pun."
Isabel smiled her forgiveness.
Maria broke in and asked, "But what was with the guilt trip those guys laid on Alex? I mean jeeez! It sounded like this was old hat to them!"
Isabel grimaced. "You noticed that too? It bothered me because it reminded me way too much of the 'keep off the humans' pep talk that Max, Michael, and I used to use on each other to prevent us from developing attachments. And the way that the big guy said it, referring to us as "ordinary mortals" bugged the hell out of me. Until last night."
Maria leaned forward. She had a feeling that this would be the clincher.
Liz was equally transfixed. "What happened last night?", she asked.
Isabel looked at them and saw belief written on their faces. Whether she had proven it, or they simply had faith in her, she didn't know. But what mattered was that they believed her. Blinking back tears she said, "I got in again. But that wasn't what had me in hysterics. Though I did see some disturbing stuff, it's what happened after the 'walk that gave me fits."
Maria snorted with impatience. "Don't keep us in suspense Iz! What happened?"
Isabel smiled weakly and sniffed. "He called me. On my cell phone. I talked to him. For real."
Neither Liz nor Maria said anything for a moment, then Liz crawled around the coffee table to reach Isabel. Once there she stood on her knees, placed her arms around the sniffling girl, and pulled Isabel's head down to her petite shoulder. That was all it took. Isabel gave in to her feelings and sobbed brokenly. Liz stroked her hair and whispered softly. "Shhhhh, let it out. That's what we're here for. Just let go of it."
Maria stood blinking back her own tears and walked unsteadily around the table to sit on the sofa behind Isabel. Once she was there she began rubbing the tension out of Isabel's shoulders.
It took a while, but Isabel cried herself out. Eventually she sat up, but not before kissing Liz on the cheek and gently trapping Maria's hand for the same purpose. "Th-th-thanks. I needed that. More than I knew. I'm afraid I did the same thing when he called too. I was so happy to hear his voice. But at the same time I was so angry at him for hiding from us. I just broke down."
Liz nodded as grabbed her drink and took a long swallow to clear the lump in her throat. Maria gave Isabel a quick hug from behind before returning to the other side of the table.
Maria studied Isabel solemnly. "Girl friend, you should have told us sooner. Carrying all this must have been driving you crazy."
Isabel gave a weak laugh. "I thought that maybe I *was* crazy. Or that *you* would think I was crazy. And besides," Isabel gave Liz a hug, "carrying this around was nothing compared to what Liz did in carrying what she did for us. With her as my example, how could I share this until I had proof?"
Liz elbowed her gently. "I don't recommend myself as an example of discretion. In hindsight I'd have done better taking the whole thing to you guys directly. At the very least I should have taken it to Max."
Isabel chuckled. "I'll take that under advisement. Until then you're stuck on a pedestal. For Alex too. He I told him how dogged you were in unraveling his murder."
Maria shifted uncomfortably. "Which brings us back to the subject at hand. What the hell happened? He obviously didn't die. So who was it that we buried?"
Isabel developed a haunted look. "I don't know Maria, I only know that Alex told me that if we were to dig that grave under his headstone up, we'd find it empty....now."
Maria swallowed. "So you're saying what? That he rose from the dead?"
Liz was looking skeptical, so Isabel took a deep breath and started in. She told them about the combat drill she'd seen, and the accident. And about the healing. Liz and Maria grew pale.
Liz spoke. "Do you think that they're..."
"...aliens?" Isabel finished for her. "I don't know. Taken together with Duncan and Richie's attitude on messing with "ordinary humans", it's the first thing that I thought of. But there's something of about the whole thing. That woman Amanda was mothering Alex. He didn't seem like a prisoner. If what I saw and what he said on the phone is anything to go by then he doesn't feel threatened by them. If anything he considers them friends."
Liz looked thoughtful. "None of which answers the question of who died six months ago. Obviously even Tess thought that it was Alex she killed."
Isabel sighed. "I don't know Liz. I just don't know. Here's what Alex said about it...and she recounted the phone conversation, along with its abrupt ending and accompanying wave of blinding fear from Alex."
Liz put an arm around her again and squeezed.
Maria folded her hands, her brow furrowed in thought. "So this is what we have. Alex says that he's different from regular humans. But not any sort of alien like Max, Michael, or you. Different, but not different enough to blow a blood test. Yet different enough to play dead for real and live to tell about it? That there are others like him, and that they just pop up as abandoned babies? That his life is now too dangerous for him to live it around us? And that he lived his life in complete ignorance of all of this? This is either too much information, or not enough."
Liz cleared her throat. "Not enough I'd say. That Duncan guy may have recovered quickly from a serious stab wound, but he obviously didn't enjoy the experience. And they're teaching Alex to fight with deadly weapons. Even if Alex is like Duncan, he still isn't invulnerable. If he were, why train to fight? I hate to say it but it sounds like he's being trained to war."
Isabel winced. "That's exactly what he called himself. A warrior."
Maria flopped back against the love seat. "You said that you were going back in tonight?"
Isabel nodded. "Come hell or high-water."
"Well, see if you can find out where he is will you?" she asked.
"Oops," thought Isabel. "I missed something." Then she went on aloud. "Um....I must have forgot to mention. I know where he is."
Both Liz and Maria stared at her as if she had sprouted a second head.
"Well! Don't keep us in suspense!" Maria burst out.
Isabel looked chagrined. "I'm sorry, there was just so much information! On the second 'walk I saw this odd building on the horizon. Like a spire with a UFO impaled on it. Given that people tend to incorporate their surroundings into their dreams, I guessed that it was a landmark where ever Alex was. It was pretty distinctive. It looked familiar, so I made a sketch and went to the library to do some research. I got no where until the librarian looked over my shoulder and recognized my sketch. She found this travelogue that had pictures. It's the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.
"Seattle?" Liz breathed. Then she sat up and looked at Isabel. "Not just Seattle, but a martial arts school *in* Seattle. Right?"
Isabel nodded tiredly. "That'd be my guess."
Maria glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantle. It read 11:15 PM. Past their bedtime if they were going to be even half alive for school tomorrow. "Look, you said that you were going back in tonight, right?"
Isabel smiled indulgently as she nodded yes to confirm it again for an antsy Maria.
"Okay, it's past bedtime for all of us then." Maria said. "I move that we adjourn for tonight and reconvene in the morning to discuss anything new that you've picked up. All in favor say aye?"
With an awesome display of timing and coordination, both Isabel and Liz stifled yawns while mouthing, "Aye!" Both girls looked at each other and laughed.
"Tomorrow I'll take over the web surfing after martial arts places in Seattle if you don't mind Isabel" Liz said.
Isabel nodded tiredly. "Not a problem. I'm not half as computer savvy as I'd like to be. I found myself wishing more than once that I could appeal to Alex for his input."
Maria chuckled at Isabel's gambit then asked, "Sleeping arrangements? Who sleeps where?"
Isabel smiled. "Well, I didn't think that there was any way that we'd keep Liz out of Max's bed."
Maria laughed at the double entendre, while Liz flushed.
Isabel continued. "So I figured we'd toss a coin, the result decides whose bed you share DeLuca."
Liz snickered, but Maria affected not to notice. "Nothing against you girl friend, but I'll sleep with Liz," she said. "If you're going under to explore Alex's psyche again, I think the last thing that you need is me kicking you in your sleep."
Isabel grinned. "Suit yourself Maria. That's just more covers for me."
Isabel took the dishes into the kitchen and rinsed them while Liz and Maria grabbed their bags and headed for the bathroom to get ready for bed. By the time she'd rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher they were already in bed. Isabel bid them both goodnight and went through her own preparations quickly. Getting into bed she pulled out the much used yearbook and studied Alex's picture. Reaching out with one finger she stroked the picture delicately. As she watched the expected distortion wave race across the picture she murmured. "Ready or not, here I come." She waved the light off, but instead of dropping the yearbook to the bedside floor as she had before, tonight she folded it tightly in her arms as if it were her lover. Sleep was beginning to take her when a soft knock on her door pulled her back. "Come in," she said drowsily. The door opened to admit Liz and Maria. They stood looking at her for a moment then approached the bed.
Liz sat on the edge of the bed and touched Isabel's hand before she spoke softly. "Iz, we're sorry to disturb you, but we have a favor to ask."
Isabel yawned. "Granted, but only if I don't have to get out of bed to do it."
Maria was standing behind Liz with her hand resting on Liz's shoulder. "You don't." She moved around Liz and leaned down to kiss a startled Isabel on the cheek, and Liz followed suit half a heart beat later."
Isabel looked puzzled. "What was that for?", she asked.
Liz smiled and said, "When you go, take our love with you. And when you see him.." Her voice hitched. "When you..." Her face crumpled as the central truth behind the events of this evening came home to her. "Tell him that we miss him!" she wailed.
Isabel sat up and laid the yearbook aside as she pulled the sobbing girl into her arms. Now it was her turn to offer solace. "Shhh! Don't worry. Before I leave him tonight, he'll know that you love him...if he doesn't already." Looking over Liz's shoulder she saw that Maria too was on the ragged edge. Opening one arm she beckoned the petite blond forward. For a long time she held both girls in a sisterly embrace, until they had cried themselves out. Once their sniffles died away they both stood, looking embarrassed. Isabel smiled to ease their feelings. "Don't worry, I'll bring him home to us, one way or another," she said.
Liz nodded her silent thanks, not trusting her voice. Then she fled the room. Maria managed to squeak out, "Thanks Izzy," before she followed Liz.
Isabel sighed and began to calm herself. As the balm of sleep began to pull her down once more, she groped for and found the battered annual. Cradling in close she settled back, already reaching out towards her sleeping soul mate with her mind. Her last waking thought was, "Geronimo!".
Max was trying to get to sleep but the emotional roller coaster that Liz was on kept distracting him. And the fact that Liz's scent was all around him didn't help either. Between them they were contriving to drive him out of his mind. He had been occupying himself replaying the scene less than an hour ago when he'd shared Valenti's news with Michael. Michael had been torn between flat out disbelief and naked fury. In the end he had echoed Max's sentiments that, should it prove to be a criminal making use of Alex's good name that had triggered this, there wouldn't be a hole on Earth deep enough to hide him from them.
Max was about to try counting sheep again when Liz began to frantically page him over their bond link. It was only moments ago that he'd felt her emotional balance had pitch over hard. It had taken a supreme act of will on his part not to contact her. As a result he was a little grumpy. So he was overwhelmed when the link opened fully and Liz swarmed through it into his mind. She was borderline hysterical. "Good God!" he thought. "What the hell did Iz tell her? I sent her over there to deal with Isabel's issues, not grow some of her own!" Trying to calm her he said, "˜Liz? Baby? What's the matter? Talk to me?˜" Instead Liz went straight into close contact, forcing the link open further. His eyes widened as he realized what she was trying for. "˜Liz Honey, I don't think this is a good...˜"
She cut him off in a shaky mind voice, thick with emotion. "˜Please Max, please. I need...I need you.˜"
Max was shaking with the force of her need. He sat up in bed and reached for his clothes. "˜I can be there in a few minutes Love, hang on.˜" He was stunned by the force of her reply.
"˜NO, too long! I need you now! And besides, if my parents find you gone, they'll know where you are. And we won't see each other again until we're old and gray. Please just let me...˜"
Max felt the first flickers of what was to come, together with her love and overwhelming need. So he laid back down and relaxed, allowing their bond to dilate completely, giving himself fully to his lover's need.
***FUSION***
The entity that was greater than the sum of it's parts was aware again. It felt the distress in it's composite mind and reached for the source. It considered the evidence dispassionately and began constructing event scenarios. As a construct of energy rather than matter it operated at nanosecond speeds. Considering dozens of alternative explanations, testing them, discarding them in the space of seconds. Finally it arrived at it's conclusion. It's real work done it idled for a few moments, enjoying awareness. Then it realized that it's primary reason for existing in this here and now was over. It was a servant of it's constituent parts. Time to sleep again....
***FISSION***
This time the separation wasn't such a shock. The real shock came afterwards. Rather it was, as the Bard wrote, a "sweet sorrow". Max returned to awareness laying in Liz's bed. The dreamy lassitude that he felt was quickly dispelled as the knowledge gained from Liz and the conclusions drawn by their Composite sank into his conscious mind. He tried to move but found that one thing hadn't changed, the exhaustion. If anything it was worse this time. He had no idea how long they had held to fusion, but he felt like he'd just run a triathlon through the Mojave in August...and lost. He reached out to Liz with his mind. "˜Liz? Honey? Are you all right?˜"
At first there was nothing. Which frightened him, but just as he was summoning the energy to try and get dressed to reach his Beloved he felt the stirrings of their link.
"˜Oh My GOD˜," came Liz's rejoinder. "˜I've never been this tired in my LIFE! Is this what it's going to be like every time, I wonder?˜"
Max chuckled in relief. "˜Don't blame me Princess. You're the one that was on the verge of blowing a fuse.˜"
"˜Can you blame me?˜" she responded tartly. "˜And speaking of blown fuses, Michael will have a cow when he finds out that we did this again.˜"
"˜No˜," Max said thoughtfully. "˜I can't blame you a bit. You were supposed to get some answers and help Isabel. You can't help it if the result was so mind bending. And as for old 'stick-in-the-mud', he'll be pissed all right. But that's just his 'protect the group' side coming out. Bear that in mind when he blows his top, will you?˜"
Liz giggled mentally. "˜Roger wilco Your Majesty.˜" She was silent for a moment then she went on soberly. "˜Max do you think that the inquiry Valenti got has anything to do with what Iz told us tonight?˜"
Max paused in thought. "˜I don't know. You've got the same information and conclusions that I do now. And vice versa. The whatever it is that we become seems certain that, based on the evidence, Alex is alive. From what Iz told you it sounds like he's going to war. If *you* were an enemy of his, wouldn't *you* want to know everything you could about your opponent? I think Valenti did all of us a major favor when he sent in that false report on Alex..˜"
"˜Max! We can't leave him alone to deal with this!˜" Liz cried across their link.
Max sent soothing thoughts of love to his distraught soul mate. "˜We won't Love. But before we do a single thing we'll have to come up with tangible proof. Michael and the Valenti's, among others, aren't going to be convinced without physical evidence.˜"
"˜Like what?˜", Liz asked.
Max gave a mental sigh. "˜Well, Alex *did* say that his grave was empty didn't he?˜" Max could feel Liz's mental shudder across their link.
"˜Surely you aren't suggesting that we, er look and see?˜" she asked.
"˜I don't see any other way Honey˜," Max responded.
Laying on the Evans' living room couch Liz yawned, hardly able to keep her eyes open. She'd come out here to be comfortable and to have some privacy while she was talking to Max. Now she was too tired to join Maria in bed. With an effort of will she reached up and managed to pull the throw off of the back of the couch. Spreading it over herself was a major project in her state. As she snuggled down into the warmth she gave Max a sleepy rejoinder. "˜Well, it's too much to consider tonight. Sweetheart I'm about dead here. I need some sleep before school tomorrow, and so do you. Lets call it a night and pick it up tomorrow, please?˜" She heard Max's warm chuckle at felt a soothing wave of tenderness from him was over her.
"˜Killjoy˜," he said teasingly. "˜Sleep tight Princess! I'll talk to you in the morning!˜" He sent her a mental kiss as he began to back out of their connection.
Liz was already half asleep as as her mind murmured to his. "˜D'nigh' Max...˜"
Max stretched and then rolled over. Tucking a pillow under his head he closed his eyes and let fatigue drag him down. One of the anchors that had weighed on his soul for half a year was gone. Alex was alive. Obviously in danger, true. But, for their little ad hoc family, that seemed to be business as usual. He could foresee a thousand problems and troubles surrounding the resolution of this situation. But the key fact was the important one. Their friend was alive.
Max fell swiftly and dreamlessly asleep for the first time in a year. Peace of the soul will do that for you.
Still, it's the troubles that you *can't* see that come up and bite you in the ass when you aren't looking. Fortunately for Max his sleep sodden mind was in no shape to be properly pessimistic.
He slept peacefully as somewhere, far away, two lovers met in a dream tryst.
Amanda stifled a yawn. They'd been waiting for over an hour, with no success. As a professional thief, she had patience when it counted. But this situation was an unknown. Thus her patience was wearing thin...and it naturally followed that her temper of the moment was slightly shorter than a snake's hind legs. She turned her gaze to the sleeping man/boy on the bed. As funny as her friends found her behavior towards Alex, she herself found it even funnier. "Who would have thought that, in my second millennium I'd be answering the call of motherhood?" she mused. As a first timer at this particular calling, she had a difficult time dealing with the emotions it brought out in her. There was one in particular that she was dealing with as they waited for this unknown girl to invade Alex's sleep again. If such a thing were even possible. "Who is she? What is she like? What is she to Alex? What is Alex to *her*?" she thought. If only Amanda had known. She was feeling the same thing that countless mothers through the ages had felt when their sons brought home a girl for them to meet, of unknown and possibly questionable reputation.
The three of them, Duncan, Cassandra, and Amanda, were sitting quietly around Alex's room in some chairs from Duncan's dining room table. Keeping watch.
Fighting off another yawn she turned to Cassandra. "How long do we have to wait?" she asked.
Cassandra shrugged. "Until our little mindwalker comes to call."
Amanda looked unconvinced. "Are you *sure* about this?" She nodded at Duncan. "As flights of fancy go, this sounds pretty over the top, even for him!"
Cassandra looked thoughtful then shook her head. "The alternative is to believe that either Alex has been sneaking out, or she has been sneaking in, unmarked by anyone, for days. Granted it's a reach. I didn't even want to believe it myself, when Duncan proposed it. But mindwalking isn't unheard of. With enough time and the proper training, a few people can do it. Me for instance. But it's taxing for those that can. And they were never many to begin with. And, of all of those, I had thought that I was the only one still alive."
"Well then obviously you thought wrong Glinda!" Amanda said with asperity.
Duncan cleared his throat. "Calm down Amanda. Giving Cass a hard time isn't going to make this go any faster."
Cassandra spoke. "It's okay Duncan, this sort of cat and mouse game can get on anyone's nerves." Turning to Amanda she said, "There's an exception to the rule. In all my overly long life I never knew of more than a dozen of people that could manage the training to master this. As far as I know I'm the only one still alive, by simple virtue of the fact that I'm the only Immortal ever to swing it. The exception is, the naturals. I never met one. But I've heard of three, widely scattered across centuries.. Born with the innate ability. No training required. And where those of us that developed it as a mental discipline tire easily and quickly, the naturals never seem to tire at all. They take to it like a duck takes to water."
Amanda glared suspiciously. "How come I've never heard of them then?"
Cassandra shook her head sadly. "Of the three, all were mortals, and the last died over 1500 years ago. None ever lived to maturity."
This was news to Duncan. They all died? He frowned. "What, is there some flaw or vulnerability that comes with the gift?"
Cassandra sighed. "Only if you count a vulnerability to the bigoted hatred of those around them. In the benighted era that they were born into a talent like theirs was something to be feared. They were all killed as children, as soon as they displayed their talents. Either by their parents, or their frightened neighbors. Even today I wonder what would become of one, should one emerge with The Gift. A zoo animal? A lab specimen?" Cassandra shook her head in negation again. "No, the human race hasn't changed so much. It's just gotten better toys to play with now. It's been so long since I've even heard *rumor* of one that I thought that The Gift had died out for good. A pity. Given the fact that a few of us can, with training and time, do the same thing in a lesser way....I've often wondered if the talent isn't latent in everyone. And it was just a fluke that turned it on in those unlucky three."
Amanda's irritation had faded. Now she looked thoughtful. "Are you saying that this girl, if she shows, is one of the naturals?"
Cassandra nodded yes. "She would have to be. If she's the girl that Duncan saw at the funeral, then she's too young to have had the time to learn the necessary mental disciplines. I doubt that, at that age, she'd have the required will power anyway. No, she has to be a natural. And a pretty restrained and crafty one at that. To reach the age she has, undiscovered, would require a great deal of patience and self-restraint."
Amanda nodded. She walked over to where Alex lay sleeping and gently brushed an errant lock of hair from his forehead. Then without looking up and to no one in particular..she spoke. "All of which makes her dangerous."
Duncan sighed. "Here we go," he thought. "Amanda's having a mommy attack." Then he said aloud, "Amanda, you don't know that."
Amanda spun on him. "I don't? She screws up his sleep three days in a row, making him so punchy that he can't even train...let alone fight? That's not dangerous? Good God Duncan! Because of her he went out into the night yesterday and could have gotten himself killed!"
Duncan held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm not saying that he wasn't in danger. But I'd think that it's mostly a result of ignorance on her part."
Cassandra spoke up. "I agree. If she's from his mortal life, then she probably thought he was dead until she got into his head. Probably by accident. Enough love and yearning could do that."
Amanda looked at them incredulously. "Love? What the hell are you talking about?"
Duncan winced. "Oh my," he thought. "This is worse than I thought."
Cassandra continued. "Yes, love. Certainly Alex took a big risk last night. Who hasn't for love? And she still loved him enough to manage to reach him when, for all she knew, he was beyond the grave. That's what's going to be toughest about this."
Duncan chimed in. "Just look at him Amanda. We all know the kind of person he is. Do you think that he'd cuddle up to evil?"
Amanda's shoulders slumped briefly in defeat. Then they straightened and she looked up. "I'm not saying that she's evil. She doesn't have to be bad to be bad *for* him. Besides, he's a boy scout. Just like you are Duncan. That makes you gullible sometimes. Would I have been able to pull half the crap that I have on you in the last 300 years if you weren't?"
Duncan almost burst out laughing. Amanda was afraid that this mystery girl was just like her? How many mothers want their son to marry a woman *better* than themselves? "Lets give her the benefit of the doubt before we pass sentence, shall we?"
Amanda managed to look puzzled and pissed at the same time. "If you're so convinced that she's one of the good guys then why are we setting an ambush for her?"
Duncan sighed. "Because we may have a ton of trouble coming at us, and if it works out the way I think it's going to, then the fewer variables we have to deal with the better that I'll like it. And right now this girl is a big fat wild card in the deck. A deck that we're going to need heavily stacked in our favor."
Amanda looked at Cassandra, who wasn't looking the least bit surprised. "What have you been holding out on me?" she demanded. "And why does the Good Witch know what I don't?"
Duncan smiled grimly. "To take your questions in reverse, Joe Dawson called while you were out shopping earlier. He reported on something I asked him to check on when I called him this morning. Our good friend Conterras has a big mouth, which he was flapping pretty hard last night. Hard enough to make me curious. So I had Joe pull his file again and make some inquiries as to who our dear Rafe has been spending time with the last year or so. He got back to me with it tonight, and I told Cass when she arrived.
"And just who has the little rodent been spending quality time with? The ghost of Elvis?" Amanda snarled.
Duncan told her.
Amanda turned pale. All that she could manage to get out was, "Oh shit."
Duncan nodded. "So you see, we *don't* need any complications. And neither does Alex. But I don't fancy that she'll be willing to listen to sweet reason. And neither will he. So Cass is going to slap a temporary fix on the situation. As you pointed out, if the girl got hurt, he'd never forgive me. In this situation her odds of 'getting hurt' in a really permanent way are damned near certain."
Amanda glared at him a moment longer, then collapsed back into her chair, her posture betraying a defeat that was anything but graceful, grumbling about 'the damned Boy Scouts'. She looked up and said, "Well, I'm bored to tears. Anyone up for cards? I'll get the deck and...."
At that moment everyone in the room froze as a mellow low frequency hum filled the air. They didn't have to look far for the source. The resonance was easily traceable to dream catcher. It's feathers danced and jittered as ghostly fox fire wound it's way up and down it's web. Abruptly the air was swamped with the warm springtime scent of apple blossoms.
"She shoots! She scores!", Amanda thought silently.
When Isabel emerged in Alex's dream this time, she felt like she was on familiar territory. It was night time, and she was alone in shadowy forest. But the terrain and the trees all screamed 'home' to her. It was Frasier Woods. More that that, it was a part of the woods that she was familiar with. Her heart began to accelerate as she picked up her pace down a faint trail that she could pick out in the moonlight. As she rounded a bend in the trail she could see the faint glow of firelight ahead in a glade. Emerging into the clearing she saw Alex reclining against a backpack. He had a blanket spread, and there was a campfire of fragrant pine burning in front of it. He was staring morosely into the fire, poking it with a stick. As he picked up the sound of her approach he stood looking at her apprehensively.
Alex had good reason to be apprehensive. If Isabel wasn't seriously pissed off about what had happened last night, he'd be very much surprised. Which is why he had deliberately tried to direct his dreaming towards a place that held happy memories for both of them.
As Isabel approached him her emotions began to oscillate wildly. But one feeling emerged as dominant. One that went back to that terror filled time the night before when he had hung up on her. When she was within an arms length, she moved. He never saw it coming. One minute she was an arms reach away, the next his cheek hurt like hell and he was seeing stars. He'd hoped to do a little star gazing with her, but this wasn't what he'd had in mind! Jeeez! It was like being kicked by a mule! Rubbing his cheek gingerly he thought, "I think she actually took skin off!" As his vision cleared he saw the love of his life standing there looking at him with her hands on her hips, and damn did she look pissed!
"Alexander Charles Whitman!" she shouted. "You'd better have a damned good explanation for what happened last night or Maria isn't going to get her chance at you, because there won't be enough left of you to matter!"
Alex shook his head to clear the bells ringing in it. God Almighty, she looked so beautiful. Every inch the princess she was supposed to be! When the ringing had subsided sufficiently he said hoarsely, "I'm sorry Izzy. I really am, I had to do what I did because explaining why I was doing it would have taken too long. I was in some serious trouble right then."
Isabel's glare grew deeper. "Do you think that I don't KNOW that? I told you that you and I are bound. Like Liz and Max. And it's getting stronger all the time. I can *feel* you, even when I'm *not* dream walking you! I felt your terror! I felt like I was dying inside. Your fear, my own fear for you. They fed each other until I thought I was going to go out of my mind! I flipped out. I think that I scared poor Max out of ten years of his life!" She was past anger now. Her tears began to flow.
Alex winced and reached out to grip her shoulders, pulling her close. She resisted, pounding her fists weakly and impotently against his chest.
"Do you want to know what was the worst?" she choked out between sobs. "The worst was NOT KNOWING! Not knowing what was happening to you! Don't you EVER do that to me AGAIN!"
Alex made crooning noises as he rubbed her back, running his hands up and down her spine. By increments her tension and tears lessened until her arms slid up around his neck, pulling him closer as her body softened against his and she began to rub her head in the hollow between his neck and shoulder. Then something she had said came back to him.
"Er..Isabel? What did you mean when you said that Maria wouldn't get a chance at me?" he asked. "A chance for what?"
Isabel gave him a squeeze and pulled back a little without letting go. She looked him in the eye and gave him a watery smile. "Why to kick your sorry butt of course. When I told Liz and Maria about you tonight, Maria said that any reaming that *I gave you couldn't *possibly* measure up to what *she* would do to you when she got her hands on you again."
Alex gulped. "You told them? They believed you? Isabel, I'm not sure that was a good thing to do. I took an incredible amount of flak from my friends here for my little excursion last night to call you. I'd hate to think of their reaction to still more people knowing."
Isabel released her hold on him and stepped back. She wasn't angry. And she wasn't crying anymore. But she had her hands on her hips again and was regarding him sternly. "What excursion? And why the flak? Was that what scared you so badly? That they busted you? If they scare you THAT badly over something like *that* then they can't be very good friends!"
Alex looked embarrassed. "Er...no," he said.
Isabel gestured impatiently. "No what? Stop bobbing and weaving with the truth Alex! I can read you like a book. Now what the hell happened! Not just last night! I mean ALL of it!"
Alex sighed, looking reluctant. Isabel relented a bit and stepped forward a bit to link her arm through his so she could pull him towards the blanket. Arriving there she pulled him into a hug and kissed him on both cheeks.
"The hug and kisses are from Liz and Maria," she said.
Alex winced again. "You really told them?"
Laying on the guilt with a trowel she smiled sweetly and said, "Yes I did, and they either believed me, or they make a habit of bursting into wracking sobs at the drop of a hat. They said to tell you that they've missed you."
Alex sat down on the blanket with a thump. His knees were raised, his arms were crossed atop them, and he leaned his head forward against his forearms. He was silent.
Isabel sank down beside him and laid her hand on his arm. "Alex? What is it? What's wrong?" She was beginning to worry that she may have pushed him too hard.
In a soft low voice Alex spoke. "It's a game."
Isabel frowned. "What? What's a game?" Then she tried to move her hand up to his hair, but she pulled back as he flinched.
Alex dragged himself to his feet and began to pace. After several minutes of to and fro he paused and looked at her with folded arms. "Iz, I can give you the spiel that I was given. Do you want it?"
Isabel swallowed and nodded. Maybe this would be it. "Go ahead," she said. "Please?"
Alex tossed some more wood on the fire, then knelt beside Isabel on the blanket and pulled her into a kneeling position like his. "Okay, you've got it. First though, give me a kiss?"
Isabel frowned. "Why?"
Alex sighed. "Because I need one?"
Isabel smiled softly and murmuring the words, "That's reason enough for me," she leaned into him as she placed her arms around his neck. Where the kiss on the hill above the cemetery had been rough, urgent, and demanding, neither of them were in any particular hurry tonight. Isabel gave him an series of gentle teasing kisses before his impatient mouth trapped hers. But she beat him to the punch by opening her mouth first. After that everything became a lazy, warm, sensual exploration of the sort that neither of them had had in six months. They were two people in love, with a desire to taste each other, and unhurried time in which to do it. Isabel felt herself heating up as Alex's hands strayed into new and previously forbidden territory. He cupped her bottom and pulled her hips flush with his. Isabel stiffened for a moment then sighed into his mouth and let him work his will upon her senses.....
***FLASH***
Alex was standing at a pay phone. He slammed the phone down and spun to face the room he was standing in. Fear was written into his posture. After a moment he walked through a door and out into rain do stand near a pillar.
***FLASH***
A man making a clumsy jump from a building and landing to face Alex who drew a sword from beneath the coat he was wearing.
***FLASH***
Duncan running through the rain to join Alex in facing the unknown man...
Alex felt Isabel stiffen slightly and slowly broke the kiss and pulled back slightly so that he could see her face. "Isabel?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
Isabel pulled him close again burrowing her head into the hollow between his shoulder and his neck, clinging tightly. Then she brought her head up to gently stroke the side of his face with hers. Not looking at him she spoke in a low voice. "You were at a pay phone last night, weren't you?"
Alex froze for a moment then pulled back so he could see her face. He brought his hand up to her cheek an stroked gently before using it to force her to look at him. Then he said, "You had a flash, didn't you? What did you see?"
Isabel gave him a gentle shove so that he reclined on the blanket, and then she followed him down. They were laying on their sides, facing each other, only a hand span apart. "I saw you slam down the phone. You hesitated, then you went outside into the rain. There was a man. He jumped off the top of the building." Isabel paused studying his face. She was afraid that her own had her fear for him written all over it. "You were afraid. I could see it. But you drew a sword to fight. Then Duncan ran up. That's where it ended. Alex what's this about? Please tell me?"
Alex reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. Then he leaned forward to give her a quick kiss, before rolling onto his back and bringing one arm up behind his head to support it. Then he heaved an enormous sigh. "I always thought that getting to know you would be a mind bending experience. And that was *before* I knew about your bi-species bi-planetary status." He glanced at Isabel as she gave a snort of laughter, then nodded for him to go on while she reached out to rub his chest. "Anyway, all that didn't hold a candle to how I felt once I discovered that, in my own way, I was no more human than you are." Alex captured her hand and brought it to his lips. "Except in the ways that really count that is." Releasing her hand he closed his eyes and began...
"It begins before recorded history. People like me have always been around. We come into the world as infants, from who knows where, we grow up, we die...but we fail to stay dead. Instead we emerge changed. We're able to sense others like us. That's why I hung up on you last night. I knew that another like me was around, and the odds were good that he wasn't my friend."
Isabel looked puzzled. "You sensed him? How?"
Alex shrugged. "How does a rabbit know when a hawk or coyote is around? We call it 'the buzz'. It's like that 'someone is walking over your grave' shiver, multiplied a thousand times, and with an electric tingle thrown in for good measure. When we feel it we know that another of our kind is nearby."
Isabel nodded. Now she was getting somewhere. "Are there many like you?"
Alex looked thoughtful. "Define 'many'. According to Joe Dawson's Watchers there are never more than five or six thousand of us around at any given time, tops. And our population seems to vary in direct proportion to the overall human population."
"Watchers?" Isabel prodded.
"Normal humans who've made it their business to keep an eye on my kind since forever," he responded. "Their archives go back thousands of years. Where ever one of us goes, there are always one or more Watchers dogging us, recording our lives. Joe runs the North American branch of The Watchers." Alex chuckled. "In addition he's Duncan's friend, which I'm given to understand is something of a no no for Watchers. They're supposed to watch us, not fraternize. Given that both he and Duncan are rebels at heart, you can see where that wouldn't matter a damn to either of them. Anyway, that's how I come to know as much as I do."
Isabel listened with rapt attention. "So what does this have to do with the idiot on top of that building? And why the combat training?"
Alex sighed and looked at Isabel. "Iz, this is the tough part. And I need you to be calm. Okay?"
Isabel continued to rub his chest, simply to maintain contact and keep him at ease. She just *knew* that she wasn't going to like this, but she nodded her acceptance anyway.
Alex lapsed back and close his eyes again. "No one knows where it began, or how. The Watcher archives aren't clear on it. But the..um...people like me play a game. You might say that we're born to play it. In fact they refer to it as The Game. Special emphasis, big 'T' big 'G'."
Isabel stopped rubbing and sat up. "Okay", she thought, "now I'm REALLY not liking this!" She took his hand and kissed it, then spoke aloud. "And this game involves swords and combat?"
Alex nodded. "Ever seen Gladiator?"
A single tear traced a path down Isabel's cheek. She smiled as Alex silently reached up to wipe it away. "Why?", she asked. "Why do they do this?"
Alex shrugged. "Like I said, no one knows. And opting out isn't a possibility. The others can sense you. And while the occasional one may agree with you, the next one probably won't. So you live your life on guard constantly. Both the hunter and the hunted. The fighting is to the death. But it has more in common with the stereotype of the gunfighters of the Old West. Even if you avoid confrontation and try to lead a normal life, there's always going to be some asshole who wants to make a reputation coming to town to try his or her luck."
Isabel's eyes snapped to his. "Her?" she thought. Then she went on aloud. "So that makes you what, Billy the Kid?"
"No, it just makes me a guy trying to survive in something that I didn't volunteer for," he said.
Isabel was getting angry now at the unfairness of it all. That a gentle spirit like Alex should be thrust into this was beyond injustice. It was cosmically cruel. "So, is there an object to all this murder and mayhem, or is it just a big free for all?"
Alex sensed her emotional bent, even if he wasn't sure whether her anger was for him...or *at* him. "There *are* rules. And like all rules there are some people who don't follow them. But most do. Single combat only. Holy ground is your only refuge. It doesn't matter what religion. No fighting or killing may be done on consecrated soil. Older players take newbies under their wing to show them the ropes. Newbies...which would be me by the way....are off limits for combat. Challenge a newbie and you have to get through his teacher first."
Isabel regarded Alex steadily. She forced her anger down. This was NO time to lose it. "And your teacher would be...?" she asked. She knew the answer, and it must have shown.
Alex grinned. "You got it in one. Duncan. Though Amanda and Richie also have a piece of it too. They're both like me. Richie was Duncan's student before me. And Amanda has been tight with Duncan forever. I had the dumb luck to fall under the tutelage of a man who's so good at the game that he *can* opt out and be left mostly alone. He still gets the occasional idiot who won't listen to reason, but he hasn't lost yet. Amanda and Richie, and quite a few of his other friends run the same way."
Isabel stretched out next to him and laid her head on his chest. "Will I ever hear this heart beat for real again?" she wondered silently. She sighed and spoke. "None of which tells me why? Why is the game played?"
Alex cleared his throat. "Like I said, it's vague. There's this nebulous legend that, one day, the last player standing will gain a great prize. But there's no description of it. This isn't The Publisher's Clearinghouse. Anyway, the legend is enough to keep the fighting going. The legend and tradition. And even if I don't like it...even if *you* don't like it...I'm stuck with it."
Isabel was silent for a while, then sat up looking puzzled. "Alex, how did you get out of...er..um..."
"My grave?" he finished for her. When she nodded he pulled her back down to his chest. "It was dumb luck, or maybe the grace of God. If people like me last long enough, the older ones develop the ability to sense those who are like them but who..um..haven't made the change yet. Two of Duncan's friends, Cassandra and Methos, were on a road trip through our area six months ago and they stopped in Roswell. They're both..um..old, as people like me go. They spotted me right off the bat. So they got curious and stuck around. People like me they keep tabs on. As luck would have it that was only a day before I died, and as a result they were still in town for my funeral. So the night after the funeral, they waited until they were certain they wouldn't be seen, then they appropriated the back hoe from the cemetery garage and dug me out. If they hadn't I'd have been stuck. Buried alive."
Isabel shuddered at the fate that Alex had escaped. "Well, it's good to know that you don't have super powers. *That* would have worried me. Remind me to thank them if I ever get to meet them," she said.
Alex sighed, he wanted to tell her, but not until they were face to face. She rated *that* much at least. "So, now you know. What do you think?"
Isabel frowned. "What do you think that I think? It sucks. It blows. And I won't stand for it!"
Alex sat up, thus forcing Isabel to sit up as well. "Iz, you guys were in enough trouble the last year or so without bringing ME into the mix. I see that I forgot to mention 'The Quickening'.
Isabel's emotional barometer began to nudge into the red zone. "The what?" she asked caustically.
"When one of us dies, I mean *really* dies, there's a substantial release of energy. I've never seen it, but I'm told that it's really hard on the surrounding real estate. The only thing that can stand up to it is someone like me. Lighting bolts, fire, explosions, the works. Imagine something like that in a little burg like Roswell. And there will be if I live there. I won't be able to avoid it. People would talk. It would attract attention. And that's something that you don't need."
Isabel frowned. Something wasn't adding up. How could anyone stand up to such power *unless* they were more than human?
Before she could ask the question that Alex saw written on her face, he took evasive measures. "I'll prove that I'm dangerous to you, without even being there. Remember the bozo that jumped off the top of the bus station?"
"That was a bus station?" she thought. "Thank you Alex!" She nodded yes.
Alex went on. "I went there to call you so that the long distance wouldn't show up on Duncan's phone bill. Duncan followed me, and so did that guy. His name is Rafe Conterras. He specializes in breaking the rules. In killing newbies like me. Before we can learn to fight back."
Isabel's stomach turned over. "And you want to stay and let this bastard try to kill you? Oh yeah! That's logic!"
Alex stood and pulled Isabel up with him. He reached out to stroke her her hair gently. She was upset, but the contact still soothed her. Alex pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "If it means a shot at keeping him away from Roswell, then yes..I will."
Isabel stiffened. "What are you talking about?"
"Alex sighed deeply. "Apparently the son of a bitch was something of a psychopath before he...um..crossed over. He still is. A stalker type. He followed Duncan, Richie, and I to New Mexico when we were there for the funeral. Somehow he was eavesdropping. Anyway, he knows your name and that you mean something to me. When we had our little confrontation at the bus station, the arrival of a bus stopped things before they could get rolling. We don't fight in public. But we had words. And he made it clear that once he kills me, he intends to come for you. Just to torment me."
Thunder clouds gathered on Isabel's brow. "I remember his face Alex. A pretty one with an ugly scar. If he comes near me, he's a grease stain. No problem. If he kills *you*, or even bruises you seriously, I'll track him to the ends of the Earth, and he'll *still* be a grease stain. Again, no problem."
Alex nodded. "That isn't the problem." Then he pulled her close. "I have absolute confidence in your ability to deal with the likes of him. But you shouldn't have to. What if he sees what you can do and gets away alive? Or he has company with him, and *they* see what you can do and get away alive? The risk is just too damned high! If it were just you and me, I'd have a problem with it. Throw Max, Michael, Liz, Maria...and yes Jim and Kyle Valenti too...into the pot and the stakes are just too high. I fold. I can't bet their lives on our happiness! And stop and consider that it goes both ways. The government would probably be just as happy to vivisect Duncan or Amanda as they would you or Max." Alex sighed. "Do we have the right to risk all those people? Do I?"
Isabel shoved herself from Alex's arms and walked away, perhaps five paces. She stood with her back to him, her arms folded, her head down. Alex watched her with a growing sense of unease. She didn't seem angry, but with Isabel you couldn't be certain. She was thinking. There was that feeling again that things weren't adding up. Alex was holding something back. That crack about the Feds wanting to get their hands on Duncan and Amanda as much she and Max. No matter. She shook it off. "I'll deal with it later," she thought. "Right now I have the information I need." Abruptly she turn turned back towards him. The look on her face was the last thing he expected. She was smiling, but behind the smile there was the hardened steel of determination.
"Do you love me Alex?" she asked.
"What?" he responded.
Isabel sighed. "It's a simple question Alexander Whitman. Do - you - love - me?"
"With everything that I am, and with every breath that I take," he said solemnly.
She came to him and took his hands. "Then go with me on this. Okay, I'll admit that you, and by extension we, don't have the right to put everyone at risk without their knowledge. So lets ask them."
"What!?" Alex exploded.
"You heard me," Isabel said. "You tell your friends about us. *All* about us. I'll do the same with our people in Roswell. Then we find away to make it work."
"Max and Michael would never go for it," Alex protested weakly.
Isabel smirked. "Oh, I think that they would once Liz and Maria get through with them. And Max might anyway without any convincing. After all..he saved Liz without consulting anyone didn't he?"
"But my friends in Seattle.....," he started.
"Are bound to be cautious," she finished. "So, as a gesture of good will, tell them about us first."
Alex was wavering. Isabel stepped in close. "Damnit Alex, I can't manage to live on this world or any other without you. I'm not even sure I want to try." She drew closer, placing her arms around his neck. "When we were first together I knew that I loved you, right from the beginning. And it scared the hell out of me! So I broke up with you. I dated around. I deliberately went out of my way to try and make you stop caring." She looked ashamed now. "I did such awful things to try and make you stop loving me. And when you came back from that ersatz trip to Sweden, I thought that I'd finally succeeded. And my triumph tasted like ashes. Because, in driving you away, I'd destroyed what made me human. Your love. And I was getting to *like* being human! I can't go back to the way things were before you knew me! All of me! I don't want to, and I *won't*"! Give me this chance! Give *us* this chance! Please?"
Alex sighed. He considered. He made his choice. "Okay Iz! I....."
A husky contralto voice spoke with authority. ""STILL!""
As the dream catcher continued it's resonant hum, both Duncan and Amanda were looking at Cassandra expectantly. Cassandra walked over to Alex's bed. Being a king size it had more than enough room for two people, so she carefully crawled in and stretched out next to Alex.
Amanda knew what was going to happen, and felt antsy about her role as spectator. She approached the bed as well. "Are you sure that there's nothing that we can do?"
Cassandra broke off the meditation mantra that she had barely begun to relax herself into trance state. "Nothing at all, buuut....." She trailed off.
Amanda frowned. "What?"
Cassandra sighed. "Do you recall that I said that, as a natural, the girl can come and go at will, without injury? And that I was probably the sole surviving practitioner among those who were trained to it, rather than born to it like she is?"
Amanda nodded yes.
Cassandra said, "There's a reason for that. This sort of thing is risky for the one doing it. Draining. Drain the body's strength enough and it dies. The mortals who did this, all of them, sooner or later overstepped those safety margins, and paid with their lives. I should know. I've died several times while doing this , but being an Immortal I could survive where they could not. I may die doing it this time as well, if I have to push it. If I do I want you to keep 'the boy scout' calm about it." Cassandra glanced at Duncan meaningfully. "I've done it before."
Amanda smiled at her. "I'll sit on him, never fear. Just one thing. How come we smell apple blossoms?"
Cassandra shrugged. "Perhaps someone will explain it someday. The same phenomenon occurs with me, or any of the mortals who used to do it. If there's a strong odor in your ambient environment you take it with you when you go. That's why there used to be a ritual of cleanliness that accompanied the doing of this. Some regarded it as a purity thing. It was nothing of the sort. It was to eradicate body odor so you wouldn't give yourself away when you were snooping. The apple blossoms are simply her perfume."
Amanda laughed softly. "Thanks. And to think I was ready to kick that living hell out of Duncan because I thought a strange woman had been around. It turns out that one was. And a very strange one at that."
Cassandra smiled back at her and said, "I'd better go look after our surrogate son before he gets himself in further trouble. I have to hurry. Time behaves strangely in the dream plane. It's already been nearly five minutes since she arrived. But in the dream plane, days may have passed. Or only minutes. Either way the longer I delay, the harder my job will be. She has the advantage of being able to stay there indefinitely if she wishes. My time there is finite. Whatever I do must be done quickly and decisively."
Amanda gave her hand a squeeze. "Sorry I was a bitch earlier. I love him too. Good luck, Cass. Take care of him."
Cassandra nodded and closed her eyes and began to drone the mantra that would help her enter trance and permit entry into the undermind. She felt the familiar leaden sensation in her limbs. She'd always disliked this part. Which is why it had been nearly five hundred years since she'd last used this particular skill. She felt herself slipping free of consciousness and physical bonds. She was drifting in a featureless void. "Alex?" she whispered. "Where are you?" Using the 'fisherman' analogy that had served her well centuries ago she cast the net of her consciousness into the void. At first she thought that she had failed. Then she felt a slight 'tug'. It felt familiar. Following it she found herself approaching light. She was drifting through a moonlit landscape of open forest. If this was something that Alex had conjured, then she had to give him credit. It showed clarity of thought, and a good eye for detail.
It took her only moments to reach the glade with the campfire. There they were! She could already feel her strength ebbing, but she took a moment anyway to get a good look at the subject of her foray into Alex's dreams. "Dear God!" she thought. "What a lovely young woman! Sulieman the Great never had a wife half as lovely, and he'd had thousands of them!" Cassandra paused. Why had she chosen the word 'wife'? Never one to doubt her intuition she concentrated on shifting her perceptions to allow her to detect the energies that surrounded all human beings. It was easier to do here than in the physical world.
The dream world took on a shadowy half life as the world of the aether took form. The place of spiritual energy. The realm of souls. What she saw there left her speechless. Normally humans have a definite glow of a particular color surrounding them. What people have, for thousands of years and in one language or another, labeled 'the aura'. Reading the color and vitality of it can give you insights into the character of the person you're interested in. But these two children were something else entirely! The aura was there all right. For both of them. But in both it surpassed, in richness and density, anything that she had seen in all her millennia. And where an ordinary human aura is usually simply a diffuse cloud, both Alex's and the girl's had structure. They both showed a central core of energy so intense that it was blinding. As she watched, strange arcane energies played back and forth between them. Crackling with mystic vitality. They were obviously in love, but there was more to it than that. They were something she'd rarely seen. They were soul mates. The thin silvery appearing thread that normally binds two hearts in love together was, in this case, replaced by a mighty cable of polychromatic light connecting their very souls. It was so beautiful to look at that it was almost painful...and at the same time mesmerizing.
Forcing herself away she shifted her focus fully back into the dream plane. She was starting to lose her ability to operate smoothly. It had been to hard changing focus. It was time to end this. She was here to stall things. To buy time. And that is what she would do. Drawing her remaining strength together she forced her way fully into Alex's dream. As soon as she had substance she shouted in Voice.
""STILL!""
Both Alex and Isabel stood frozen by the command. Cassandra strode forward and studied the girl that apparently had Alex's heart in her hand. She had been right. She truly was lovely, in an almost unearthly sort of way. As if one of the Faerie had taken mortal form. Shaking herself from her thoughts she gently reached out and stroked the girl's cheek. ""Tell me child, is your name Isabel?"" When Isabel nodded woodenly Cassandra sighed. She hated to do this, but it was only temporary. ""Hear me Isabel. You will go home tonight, returning to the confines of your body and your bed, and you won't remember me, or anything that has transpired here. You never found Alex. He remains dead. He loves you still, but he's with the Angels now. Do you hear me? Do you understand?""
Isabel spoke as if in a daze. "I understand."
Cassandra was startled by the single tear that traced a path down Isabel's cheek. It tore at her. Dear God, did their love have such power, even in trance? Wiping the tear away she placed a kiss of benediction on the girl's cheek. ""Go then daughter. And be happy, for Alex is safe with the Angels. And he loves you still. Sleep deeply and without dreams. Arise refreshed. Go now, with love.""
Isabel vanished.
Looking at Alex she sighed sadly. ""RELEASE!""
Alex snapped out of his daze. One minute Isabel had been standing with her arms around his neck, the next she was gone. Had someone awakened her? He cast about frantically, but the confusion only lasted a second. He had company. The nature of his company explained a lot.
"Hello Cassandra," he said. "So I guess that we're busted? Where's Isabel?"
Cassandra smiled tiredly. She couldn't stay much longer. "I sent her home with orders to forget that she found you."
Alex was aghast. "You can't do that! Conterras has threatened to kill her! Or worse! I told her to watch for him! By ordering her to forget you're leaving her defenseless! If he kills me, he'll go for her next!"
Cassandra felt sorrow for his fear, however temporary, and sought to calm him. "Alex, I promise you, if worst comes to worst, Methos and I will see to her safety. Personally. But we won't let it come to that, I promise. Conterras will never leave this city alive."
Alex gave a melancholy sigh. "Why? Why was this necessary?"
Cassandra reached out and pulled him into a hug. He stood stiffly in her arms. She understood Amanda's emotions better than Amanda herself. The frustrated mother in her wept at what she had had to do. She had hurt her little boy. "Caution in all things Alex. You don't live past your first thousand years without caution. There's trouble coming that you know nothing about. Trouble that she can have no part of. One of the major reasons that we indoctrinated you to avoid your loved ones from your previous life was not to protect *you*, but rather to allow you to protect *them*. You know that. And we needed time to deal with what's coming, and time to think. Or rather Duncan needed time to think. I know he can be stiff at times, but eventually the maverick romantic in him will succumb to the charm of the love you two share. And it *is* love. Any blind man could see that." She chuckled. "And I am not blind...on any of several planes."
Alex looked up hopefully. "You saw something?"
Cassandra laughed. "Enough to know that the love between you two is unique."
Alex thought of Max and Liz, as well Michael and Maria, and he muttered, "Unique? Don't count on it."
Cassandra continued. "Her binding with you is so strong that the memory suppression I performed here tonight will not last long. But it will hold long enough for us to divine a way to come to terms with your mind walking soul mate." Cassandra chuckled. "Though Amanda might never do so." She laughed aloud as Alex winced. "*And* it will hold long enough for us to deal with Britanicus without your Beloved's interference."
Alex snorted. "On the Amanda issue...wanna bet? Izzy will charm her socks off. And who's this Britanicus?" Then he paused and regarded Cassandra quizzically. "By the way, I forgot to ask, what *are* you doing here?? How did you get here?"
Cassandra laughed. "You will find out about Britanicus in the morning, when you awake. And as for how I got here....what your beloved does naturally, I took decades of training and discipline to accomplish. And where she does it without strain or effort, every moment that I'm here costs me. An ordinary mortal with my skill would have left before now. As an Immortal I can afford to take risks that they cannot. However, my time still grows short. And I still have one more task to complete."
Alex was looking concerned. "What's that?"
Cassandra regarded him solemnly and said....
""Forget.""
Cassandra was curled up on the couch in the main room of Duncan's loft warming her hands around a cup of green tea that Amanda had brewed. She hadn't died coming back from the under mind, but it had been a close run thing. And, while an Immortal doesn't stay dead, the actual process of dying albeit temporarily is *not* something that they look forward to with any great enthusiasm. Amanda was sitting across from her while Duncan was on the phone in the kitchen speaking to Joe Dawson. And, judging by what Amanda could hear of the conversation from Duncan's end, a very irate Joe Dawson. At the moment he was trying to get a word in edgewise.
"Yes.......I'm sorr......Of course I know what ti.......Joe, I nee......No I won't make a habi...." Finally Duncan gave up. Rolling his eyes at the ladies he settled back and let Joe go on popping and fizzing. Judging by the cup of tea that Duncan poured himself, he planned to be there a while.
Amanda and Cassandra looked away only to find themselves staring at each other. The silence stretched for a few moments, then Amanda spoke. "What was she like?" she asked.
Cassandra didn't need a translator to know who the 'she' was that Amanda was referring to.
Cassandra stared off into space. "You have to understand, I didn't talk to her. I simply slammed the door on her and got her out of there. Since she's a natural, she's stronger than I am, and who knows what other abilities she might harbor. What I did, I could get away with only once. There won't be a twice. Once she remembers, she'll be seriously angry, and very much on guard. I won't be able to do *that* to her again." Pausing for a moment she considered. "And when it comes to it, Alex isn't going to be happy either. Not with us, or with me."
Amanda frowned. "No, he won't. But you won't take the heat for it alone. Duncan and I were there, and we knew what the score was." She paused. "So, if you can't give me an idea of her character, then give me your impression of her at least."
Cassandra laughed to herself. Amanda had the mommy thing even worse than she herself did. It made Cassandra wonder if Amanda would ever be able to cut those apron strings when the time came. Cassandra covered her amusement and looked thoughtful, then she broke into a half smile. "Would you believe a cross between a super model and a valkyrie?"
Amanda blinked. "What exactly does *that* mean?"
Cassandra chuckled. "She's not exactly the physical type that you would imagine seeing Alex with." Her expression turned pensive. "Tall, statuesque, blond, unnaturally beautiful, and..for want of a better word...regal."
Amanda looked a little incredulous. "Regal?"
Cassandra shrugged. "She had an air about her. Like she was 'born to the purple', in a way the ancient Roman Patricians could only dream of." Cassandra's face became distant again, remembering. "I can tell you this, I think that she's good, and good for him."
Amanda gave a cynical snort that got Cassandra's immediate attention. "Look Amanda, I know that you don't buy into the things I that I can do, but they *do* work. If they didn't, then Alex and his lady love would be waking up tomorrow morning with their memories intact. I can tell you without question that I've never seen energies like those that surround those two. And I've never seen one aura interact with another the way theirs do. Taking all that into account, I'd say that they're something that I see only rarely. They're soul mates. But of a unique sort. Instead of being two souls tied to each other, they're more two halves of a single creature seeking union...or perhaps RE-union. The bond between them is so powerful that it's almost tangible. I wish that you could have seen it. It was so beautiful that it was blinding." Cassandra paused for breath. "In any event, all I did was put a temporary damper on things. It won't last. It can't possibly. Sooner or later she'll remember, and then she *will* come for him. And she'll have fire in her eyes when she comes."
Amanda gave Cassandra a skeptical look and then settled back scowling. "There's no way to sever the connection then?"
Cassandra graced Amanda with a matching scowl. This doting mother thing was getting out of hand! "I'm not sure that I'd want to if I could! And I don't think that I could! I don't think that *anyone* could! You didn't see it. Even with the best effort that I could muster, it would be like trying to saw through a steel I-beam with dental floss! Just so much wasted effort! And even if I *could*, the parting might well kill them both! Even if it didn't, it would leave them both empty shells of what they were. No. The only ones who could effect that sort of separation are the two involved. They would have to do it themselves. And frankly I can't imagine the sort of power and emotion it would take to accomplish it. I don't think that I'd care to, because it would be tragic on an epic scale. To do so would require an act of raw courage of their part. Or on *someone's* part. And it would probably end up killing them both an inch at a time anyway. If anything this increases my admiration for Alex enormously."
Amanda's skepticism was fading somewhat, and was now being overridden by her curiosity. "Why?" she asked.
Cassandra smiled beatifically. "Because he resisted the call of his heart and soul all these months. Something powerful resides in that boy. Something that drove him to resist the inevitable for half a year. Knowing what I know now, I can say that it wasn't our rules that kept him away from her. It was *his* honor and courage. He's what Lancelot *should* have been."
Amanda laughed aloud. "Honestly Cass! I thought that we all out grew the starry eyed romantic stage before our first centennial! " She sighed deeply. "Let's hope that he doesn't end up the same way that Lancelot did in the stories."
Cassandra smiled confidently. "He won't. He's different in one critical way from the example I chose. Love was Lancelot's weakness. His Achilles Heel. But with Alex, love is his strength. I don't know what the future holds for him. But as long as he has love, he won't falter or fail."
Truer words were never spoken.
The conversation tapered off leaving both women alone with their thoughts. Amanda's were centered on this unknown girl, and on whether or not she was worth as much as Cass claimed that she was. Cassandra onthe other hand was much fur