Still Yours (HLDR,XO,CC,ADULT) [WIP]

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.


STILL YOURS - Part 13b
(Thanks For The Memories)


Roswell, New Mexico, The UFO Museum, Basement Office......7:45 PM

The room was dead silent except for the quiet sobs coming from Amy DeLuca, where she stood clinging to Jim Valenti. There was a spectrum of emotions present. Amy was the only one vocalizing hers. Liz had given them the full story. From Isabel's ambush therapy, to time travel and the end of the world, and on through to Max's and her's personal 'fireworks'. The retelling of the 'Future Max" episode had been easier for Liz this time, but it was still wasn't a cakewalk. Liz herself had nearly broken down again when she revealed that, in the original timeline, Alex had lived on. And that, as a result of her intervention, in this one he had been killed. Her listeners varied in their reactions. Max simply held her, letting their connection handle any further needed support. Maria had already heard it, and looked tenderly sympathetic. Michael looked stoic, waiting for the emotional turmoil to die down. Brody was torn between looking stunned and trying to fit time travel into his picture of the universe. Jim was looking grief stricken. He was, first and foremost, a protector. To defend those under his protection was deeply ingrained into his nature. And listening to Liz recount her agony left him with a deep sense of personal failure. He wished that she had come to him, if she couldn't go to the others.

Kyle, on the other hand, simply looked furious. He glared at Max, then shifted a more sympathetic gaze to Liz. "So that's why you asked me to help you in that charade."

Liz simply nodded.

Kyle shifted his gaze back to Max and dialed up the hostility. Max was expecting it, and met his eyes without evasion. "Y'know Evans, that's one hell of a girl you've got there." He nodded at Liz. "And between us we've caused her more grief than any ten women should have to deal with. What do you say we try and limit that in the future?"

Max sighed. "You say we, but you mean *me*.

Kyle inclined his head in a gesture that could only read...'if the shoe fits, wear it'.

Liz tried to speak, to defend him, but Max cut her off. "I'm only too well aware of that." He snorted. "Even my future incarnation had to dip *his* oar in. For the record I've already expressed a desire to kick my older self's ass, and Michael has offered to second...since according to Liz that particular thrashing, no matter how satisfying it may be, would result in my incineration."

Kyle was looking like that wasn't the *worst* news he'd ever heard when Michael broke his train of thought. "Just reminding you Valenti....'more fun than you've ever had in your life'. I believe those were your approximate words."

Kyle snorted, then deflated somewhat. "Fun for me, yes." Then he nodded at Liz. "But not for her. Or Alex. Or a lot of us here." He sighed and looked at Michael. "Don't you sometimes wish for the old days. The simple days, when we were all in our separate corners, and living in blissful ignorance."

Before Michael could answer Liz broke in while pulling Max closer. "Kyle, as much as I wish a lot of the bad things had never happened, I wouldn't trade where I am now for anything. I prefer to meet the future at Max's side, and with my eyes wide open, rather than hide my head in the sand."

Kyle looked at Liz pityingly. "Liz, none of this would have happened if...."

Liz looked unbearably sad. "...Max hadn't saved my life?" she finished for him.

Kyle winced. "That's not what I meant Liz. I *don't* wish you dead! Not at any price. It's just....."

Jim cleared his throat. "Kyle, we can go on and on about this. It's a chicken or the egg argument. I think that this is covered by something your Grandpa used to say. 'Life is what happens when you aren't looking.' " Jim glanced around the room before coming back to Kyle..then he shrugged. "I'm sure that no one in this room would have wished to go through what we've gone through. Human, alien, or any combination of the two. But the plain fact is, we did. We're here now. And we're alive. We owe it to Alex, Kathleen Topolsky, and even to Nasedo's victims, to go on."

Kyle looked sullen, then sighed. "I just wonder if that invasion in 2014 would have come off, had all this stayed a
deep dark secret."

Jim shrugged. "Who can say....and I can't see that it matters, son."

Brody cleared his throat and got everyone's attention. "Kyle, we can't *know*. This where the 'butterfly effect' and causality meet...and imperfectly blend. You go back and change one thing, as Max's future self tried to do, and it may be a simple targeted change, or it may effect the whole. Or it may change something that you didn't intend it to, as it did when Alex died this time around. Who can say what caused K'var to invade? Impatience? Arrogance? A belly ache at the wrong time?" Brody shrugged. "We may never know the deciding factor. And the dice on that future event are still in play. I regard it as a measure of the Future Max's desperation that he would even attempt it. Imagine the world in flames, and everyone you cared for dead, or about to *be* dead.. Wouldn't *you* grasp at *any* straw, however thin, to try and change things? Regardless of the consequences to yourself or anyone else?" Brody stared at the ceiling a moment then looked back. "Personally I feel that we're better off, that just knowing of the *possibility* of it is worth everything we've been through. Forewarned is forearmed. I wouldn't want to live in ignorance only to wake up in 2014 to find ravening alien hordes led by a demented psychopath dismantling the planet for reasons I couldn't possibly comprehend...much less do anything about."

Liz chimed in. "Kyle, I tried to change things and botched it. It's one thing to know what's coming and try to change it. It's another to know what's coming and simply let it come while preparing to meet it....and defeat it. If you try the first and blow it, you can end up with a worse mess than you had to begin with. To me, the later course is the only way to go. In fact, from now on, it's the *only way I will go*. Because I can't give up Max
again. Not again!" She fell silent as Max let her lean back into him again for comfort's sake.

Amy spoke into the silence. "After hearing all this, I think that I'm swearing off of Madam Vivian. To quote that old song..'the future's not ours to see'."

Liz laughed weakly. "I wouldn't stress over a little harmless fun Amy. It's only as important as you let it be. *I* let it be important because it came at a time when I wanted to hear it."

Amy looked at Liz quizzically, and Liz shrugged. "Madam Vivian told Alex that he and Isabel would *never* be together, other than as friends. And she told Maria..."

"CHICA!" Maria erupted. "Privacy?"

Liz sighed. "Sorry Sweetie, me and my big mouth." Liz looked at Amy. "She just isn't that accurate."

Amy nodded in understanding, but Michael wasn't having any.

"Pixie?" he said softly. "What did she say...about us?"

Maria looked away. "It doesn't matter now," she said in a barely audible voice.

Michael gave her a half smile. "It does to me Maria."

Maria looked like she desperately wanted to hide, which made Liz feel worse.

"Michael?" queried Liz. "Drop it? Please?"

Michael looked stubborn. Seeing that, Maria sighed and shrugged. "She said that you and I...as you and I...would only have forty eight hours...tops. When you were getting ready to launch the Granolith, I thought that was it." She paused before going on. "When it wasn't...." she trailed off.

Michael looked visibly upset. "You've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. All this time you thought..."

Maria looked lost.

Michael was still upset, but he backed down. "We'll talk about this later Pixie, I promise. And I'm not angry, but...we'll talk." He walked over and slid his arms around her. She resisted a moment, then leaned into him. Accepting the comfort that he offered.

Watching them Amy was stricken by the salient fact that it was just possible that her daughter was a better judge of men than she was. The next twenty four hours would bear that thought out in a way that she never would have imagined. And, at one time, would have preferred not to.

Max sighed. "Liz and I are in agreement on this. Now, I'm not going pop-psych or anything, but we have too many secrets between us. That's part of the reason we called this meeting. To clear the air, and make sure that everyone is on the same page. Isabel started the process a few days ago, this is just the next step." Max regarded Jim, Amy, and Brody with a rueful grin. "A big part of that step would be catching our adult 'guardians' up on the activities of the 'I Know An Alien Club'."

Amy put on her best 'mother disgusted with her children's antics' look. "You don't say? It's about time!"

For her part Maria hadn't missed the subtle hint about secrets and leaned back into Michael's arms, silently promising herself to do better.

At the mention of Isabel's name, both Michael and Kyle had snapped to attention. They were waiting for the reason that had sparked Max's decision to call the meeting.

Max noticed and spoke to both of them. "Before we move on to what was to be the main topic tonight I need to ask a few questions. I called both Jim and Brody from school today and asked them to look into some things for me.....when I could find time while fleeing from the Pam-inator." Max's face assumed a pained look as he mentioned the events of this morning.

The group collectively snickered...Liz and Maria a little harder than the rest.

Max continued looking at Jim and Brody. "I need to know what you found out on the issues that I brought up."

Jim looked at Brody who inclined his head in a gesture that said 'you first'. Jim paused to gather his thoughts the spoke. "I checked into the records available to me and I couldn't turn anything. The topic that you were interested in was before my time as sheriff, so I called David Tracker the previous sheriff. I had to call in a favor, but I got him to admit that Alex Whitman was a foundling. He was discovered abandoned in an all night diner out on 285. The people working there hadn't noticed anyone come in with a baby. And they didn't even notice him at all until he began to cry. They called Dave in, and he was a friend of the Whitman's, who were childless. So, he cut a few corners, and lost a few reports. The upshot is that Alex was quietly adopted, and no one was the wiser."

At his words, both Liz and Maria became quiveringly alert. They both glanced at Max, who had accepted the information without changing expression. The rest of the group were puzzled, even Jim, for he had no idea of the significance of what he'd just told them.

After Jim finished Brody picked up the conversation. "Max, you asked about investigating a site underground, without disturbing it. As soon as you brought it up I recalled an acquaintance of mine. A graduate archeology student with a bent for UFO's who's working a site about forty miles West of here. The crew that he's with is using ground penetrating sonar to examine buried objects en situ, which strikes me as the definition of what you wanted. I took the liberty of waving some cash at him in order to secure his cooperation. The professor running the dig is at a seminar on the East coast for the week, so he can't object to any unauthorized use of the equipment. So my friend and a two man operating team can have the rig here on ten hours notice, once we know where you want them to go."

Liz turned in Max's arms and looked up at him smiling. "~Thank you, Max.~"

Max smiled back. "~For what?~"

Liz laid her head on his chest. "~For believing.~"

Max stroked her hair gently. "~What's not to believe? I was there too, when our Composite reached it's conclusion.~"

The tableau was broken when Michael cleared his throat. "Ahem! Enough with the silent conversations! I thought the goal here was to share?"

Max grinned and gave Liz a quick kiss before turning to Michael. "I'll let Liz and Maria break the news. They're the ones that have been on point with this." Then he relaxed his arms so that Liz could step out of them and take the floor.

"This started a few days ago, the night that Isabel, Maria, and Michael trapped Max and I into breaking the deadlock in our relationship." She looked back at Max and smiled. Then at Maria and Michael. "I don't know if I said this that night or not...or if I've said it since, but thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Maria mimed a kiss to her, and Michael simply nodded with his customary half smile, as if embarrassed to be singled out for praise.

Liz went on. "Anyway, that night Isabel had what she thought was a nightmare. One that caused her to wake up screaming..."

"And just incidentally scared me out of ten years of my life," Max added.

Liz grinned and went on. "Maria and I got into it when she had a second episode the night before last. After that Max asked us to talk to her, since she refused to discuss it with him. And he didn't want to involve his parents."

Jim cut in. "Your parents don't know about this problem of Isabel's?"

Max shook his head. "They've waited a long time for their second honeymoon, and the first thing that Mom would want to do is hop a plane home. I wanted to try and handle this 'in the family', so to speak, not only to give my folks their vacation, but because I was afraid that if something were really wrong with Izzy, we could be in some serious trouble." He paused and sighed heavily. "Have you ever stopped to think of what could happen if one of 'us' went seriously bonkers? What asylum could hold us? What drugs could help us? We might have to be killed simply to protect the rest of the group."

The others shifted uncomfortably. Jim and Brody looked grim. Amy looked stricken. Kyle's face merely looked inscrutable. It was his Buddhist training showing. But inside he was renewing his grudging respect for Max Evans.

"It can't be easy to contemplate the possibility of having to kill someone you care about for the good of the group," he thought. "I certainly couldn't do it." In that moment, and only for a moment, he was stricken, more clearly than at any time before, with the idea that Max Evans was what people call 'an old soul'. Weary and tired, but still doing the best that he can. Kyle sighed and thought, "Uneasy rests the head that wears the crown."

Liz took Max's hand and squeezed it briefly while leaning in to give him a kiss, then she turned back to address the group. "All that is incidental to the major issue. Isabel isn't crazy. Though she thought that she was on her way until she spilled to Maria and I last night." Liz took a deep breath. "What happened to Isabel wasn't a nightmare. And it wasn't a dream. It was a dream walk."

Michael frowned. "She dream walked someone, and it scared the crap out of her? Who?" He was looking directly at Maria when he asked the last question.

Maria and Liz exchanged a look. Liz shrugged and nodded. So Maria took a deep breath and told him. "Alex. It was Alex. He's alive."

The silence was deafening.

Jim looked thoughtful and Brody seemed to be afraid to open his mouth. Michael and Kyle simply looked enigmatic as they waited for the punch line. Amy looked at Maria with something bordering on pity. "Sweetheart, we'd all like to believe that, but...."

Max cut in. "Amy, it's not her that you have to believe. It's *us*." He indicated Liz and himself, as well as Maria.. "Just listen, then judge."

Amy paused, then nodded and settled back to wait.

Sensing the others' willingness to listen, Liz resumed speaking. "The night of the Whitman's funeral she accidentally triggered a dream walk while...er...communing with Alex's picture in our school's yearbook." Then, for the benefit of Brody and Amy, she explained further. "That's how her dream walks work. Get a picture of the target, touch it before going to sleep, and viola...you're in their subconcious." She paused for breath. "In any event, she accidentally launched a dream walk that shouldn't have been possible. She saw Alex, and more to the point she touched him."

Max cut in. "We have this ability to sense those that we love, and vice versa. Liz and I had it, albeit damped down, even when we were broken up. But it was still there." He gave a rueful smile. "Which should have told us *both* something." Liz smiled at him and sent a wave of reassuring love tumbling along their connection. "Anyway, *that's* what scared her," he continued. "She touched him and knew instantly, and beyond any doubt, that it was him. The genuine article, not some grief derived dream phantom. It was impossible, and it scared her right out of the dream....and scared me out of my skin when she woke up and screamed."

Liz picked it up without a missing beat. "She couldn't talk to us without proof. So she went back the next night and again the night after that. In the course of those visits she learned things. Things about Alex and the people he's with now that were pretty upsetting. After the second screaming incident, and for reasons I'll tell you about in a minute, she told Max that she was ready to talk...but only to Maria and I."

Michael chose that minute to interrupt with a note of skepticism in his voice. "I don't understand why he wouldn't let us know that he was alive. Or at least let his parents know."

Liz nodded. "Neither did Isabel at first. But the picture that emerged was clear if troubling, and a little scary. He couldn't come to us or his parents. In fact, he actively resisted Isabel's intrusion when she revealed herself to him in an effort to get answers." She proceeded to lay out what she and Maria had learned from Isabel the night before. By the time she was done, Brody was frowning, Amy looked white as a sheet, and Jim had what Max thought of as 'his cop face' on. Kyle looked like he was floundering a bit. Michael just looked pissed off.

Jim looked at Max. "What are you thinking of Max?"

Max stared back intently. "The skip trace telex?"

Jim nodded. "Bingo!" Then he added for anyone ignorant of the inquiry, "I got a telex from a skip trace outfit in Canada, looking for known associates of Alex Whitman. I deadheaded a reply back reporting a null result. My first thought was that Alex or his folks might have been into something shady that we didn't know about." The sounds of disbelief that met that statement made him nod his head. "I agree, it was a pretty low order possibility. I discussed it with Max, and we discarded it. That left a criminal using Alex's name for his own ends. Which we couldn't do anything about without learning more. However, this new information puts an entirely different slant on things. If Isabel is correct, and if what Alex told her is true, then that means that the people he's with have enemies. That telex could have been part of an intelligence gathering effort by those enemies."

Kyle seemed to have caught up with events, because he chose that moment to ask, "Why couldn't it have been from the people that that have Alex now?"

Jim leaned back rubbed his bottom lip with one hand. "Because they already *have* Alex...and because I think they've already been here, and might *still* be running low order surveillance on us." A startled oath from Michael caused Jim to swing around and look at him.

Michael looked seriously pissed now. "Someone may be investigating us again, and you're just *now* sharing this information?"

Jim sighed. "Michael, things have been fairly quiet. And after what we've been through I'm pretty careful about things. We all are. I didn't see any evidence of an aggressive effort to investigate us, except for one thing." Jim prodded Michael's memory a bit. "Do you recall those two men that came around asking about Tess, a month or so after Alex's 'accident'? I wouldn't swear to it yet, but the description of this Duncan and Richie that Liz got from Isabel sounds very close to the way they looked."

Michael's eyes narrowed as he fought to remember. After a moment his face became placid. He remembered getting hostile with two strangers who claimed to be from Child Welfare. The group had gone paranoid for a few days, but after satisfying themselves that the nosy men weren't Feds or Skins, they'd written the incident off because both strangers had left town without further probing. He nodded to the sheriff, "Yeah, I remember. But what makes you think that they're still keeping track of events here?"

Jim grinned. "Think like a cop for a second Michael. Alex's friends, if that's what they are, knew enough of current events here to bring him back for his parents funeral. How much they may know about the rest of us is anyone's guess. But I will hazard one guess. Alex knows what happened to him, and who was responsible. He certainly wouldn't be happy leaving a threat in our midst, with us ignorant of it. And being legally dead he couldn't come here himself. So they came here to check up on the situation. Which argues that they may in fact be 'friendlies'."

Brody added. "At the very least they're running internet news retrieval on this area. They may even be conducting intrusions into your department's computers Jim...or my own." Brody's eyes narrowed. "I'll be burning the midnight oil tonight looking of evidence of it. Jim...be sure to give me the passwords for your office net before you leave. It's easier to find this sort of thing if you're on the inside looking out."

Jim nodded briefly and turned back to Liz. "Just for drill I'm going to do some pattern searches on homicide activity involving edged weapons in the Seattle area."

Brody interrupted. "Let me handle that Jim. I can cover my tracks better than you can. If they're watching us, I scarcely doubt that they're *not* watching their own area for people snooping around."

Noting that Michael was still looking skeptical, Max cleared his throat, garnering their immediate attention. "There's more that we need to discuss, that bears on this. The possibility exists that the people who have Alex may *not* be all *that* friendly." Seeing that he had their attention he nodded to Liz. She picked up the conversation with hardly a pause.

"The reason that Max and I are sure about our facts is that you could say...we appealed to a higher authority. Our Composite." Seeing the adults frown Liz went on. "You will recall that while I was telling you about the visit from Max's future self, I described Isabel's ambush therapy. And what it resulted in?"

Amy answered for the rest. "You said that you 'fused'?"

Liz nodded. "Whatever it is, it's bigger than both of us put together, and it seems to be self aware. In any event, last night, after Isabel and Maria went to bed, Max and I used it to analyze the situation. It's conclusion was that Alex is indeed alive."

Michael looked ready to explode. "I thought that you two had agreed *not* to mess around with that aspect of your relationship until we knew more about it?! What happens if you go in one day and can't get out? And there's the exhaustion aspect as well. That thing is an energy glutton! The first time it nearly floored you both!"

Liz raised her hand to forestall further nagging. "For one thing Michael, we seem to have...er....found a way around the exhaustion issue." Liz was flushing red. "For another it was an emergency. I was about to go out of my mind. I needed Max. Also, we can't learn anything if we don't experiment! And finally Michael, much as I appreciate your concern, this is between Max and I."

Michael bit back further argument, but not without a parting shot. "How did you get around the exhaustion that got you both the first time?"

Liz blushed a deeper red. "I'll get to that in a minute. May I continue?"

Michael acquiesed with poor grace and nodded.

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.


STILL YOURS - Part 13c
(Thanks For The Memories)

"Back to the friendly or unfriendly people who have Alex," Liz went on. "Aside from the murder and mayhem component with overtones of possible alien origins, there's something else that supports their 'not being from around here'. This morning when we got up, Isabel had no memory of the events that brought us there the night before."

Michael looked like he wanted to interrupt, but Max waved him silent.

Liz continued. "The first hint that I had was when I was finishing breakfast in the Evan's kitchen, and she walked in and asked me what I was doing there. I didn't know whether she was kidding or not. So I stalled, telling her that I'd spent the night with Max. It only took me a few minutes to realize that she wasn't kidding. She doesn't remember finding Alex, and she doesn't remember telling us that she did."

Everyone wore a worried frown, but Jim Valenti was leading the pack. With Phil and Diane gone, his surrogate father role had been assuming broader proportions. "Mind warp?"

Liz nodded. "She was going into dream walk him again last night. I think she ran into someone that she wasn't expecting."

Michael made an impatient noise, while still looking worried. "You don't know that. Max could have been right the first time. Iz could be jumping her cams. The rest of this could simply be coincidence."

Liz shook her head. "Michael, before this afternoon I might have given you fifty-fifty odds that you were right. But not now. Not anymore."

Michael was being forced to play the 'straight man' and he didn't like it, but his curiosity wouldn't let him keep silent. "Okay, I'll bite. Why not?"

Liz smiled without malice. "Because Max and I know who made her forget."

"Chica, don't leave us hanging," Maria said. "Just spit it out!"

Liz sighed in what sounded like defeat and seemed to be at a loss for words. Sensing her ambivalence Max took over the explanation. "Normally we wouldn't get into this in a discussion in front of the group." Liz was beginning to blush as Max continued. "And we won't again, but for the this explanation to work...we have to tell you that Liz and I took our relationship to the next level this afternoon. A physical level." He looked at Michael. "*That's* how we 'got around' the exhaustion factor in our Fusion. Apparently there was a missing element in our Composite. By cementing our relationship at last, we provided the missing component. We can now enter or leave the Fusion at will, and without ill effect." He glanced at Amy and Jim who were both studying them cautiously. "We realize that some of you will...er...want to talk to us about this, and we will listen. But please bear in mind that we waited until we were sure. And that we waited well past the time we did on the previous timeline. Whatever you want to say, just hold it until we're done."

Both adults sighed with resignation. Jim and Amy hated the idea of having to handle such things for the Evans' and the Parkers, but they realized the necessity of it. Jim nodded for the kids to go on, while he determined that neither of them would leave here tonight without a long talk.

All of this was lost on a beaming Maria. She couldn't say anything that sounded like approval in front of her mother or the other adults. But that didn't stop her from silently walking over to Liz and Max and hugging them both before returning to Michael..

Having handled the embarrassing part Max motioned for Liz to take over. Clearing her throat she went on. "While Max and I were...intimate there was an exchange of 'flashes', one of which was disturbing. It was Max
and Tess, the night that they..."

Maria was glaring at Max when she broke in. "Max, how *could* you!?"

Liz made calming motions. "It wasn't his fault Maria! You know these things aren't very...umm...controllable. And besides, I'm *glad* this one came, because I saw what Max *couldn't see*. That it was a mind warp."

Maria stared at them both in startled wonderment. "You mean that he didn't.....?"

Liz shook her head. "No, he didn't. We have proof now. I suspected it because all of the flashes I get from Max are very clear, but this one was fuzzy. Like a badly focused picture, or a double exposure. So I proposed an experiment. That we activate our Composite, and let it look into the problem, and see if it could be corrected. When we emerged from the Fusion, we discovered several things. One was that we weren't both wiped out by the experience anymore. The other was that we both had resident mind warps. The Composite had cleaned house for us both. And one of the warps in my brain revealed something pretty startling, to say the least, once it was gone...chiefly because Tess wasn't the one that placed it there!"

Her listeners stirred, muttering quietly. Jim spoke up first though. "What did she do to you, Liz?"

Liz shrugged. "Nothing major. All of it dated from when she first showed up. Little adjustments in my attitude. Working on my sense of self worth and my confidence. I suspect that if she hadn't interfered I would never have been noble enough to walk away from Max the day that we learned of his Destiny." She developed a grin that was somewhat scary looking. "I'd have fought for him."

Maria grinned back. "And you'd have *won*, Chica. But what about the other warp, the one that you said that Tess didn't plant?"

Liz frowned. "That one had a totally different vibe to it, and it was harder to remove. But once it was gone I remembered. Maria, unless I miss my guess, you're carrying around a similar warp."

Michael's arms tightened around Maria. "Liz? What are you talking about?" The thought of someone messing around in his Pixie's head made him queasy.

"Relax Michael," she answered with a soothing smile. "It's not that bad." Turning to a now shocked Maria, she went on. "Don't try to remember yet, but here's what *I* remember. Back, just a day before Alex was killed, and man and woman came into the Crashdown. They were both pretty memorable. She was beautiful. Red hair and green eyes. He was handsome, and a charmer. They asked a casual question about Alex. Something about mistaking him for the son of a relative."

Kyle let out a startled curse. "I remember that! I was there that day! The woman was what first got my attention. She was a major babe! But we were all in full alert mode with the Skins thing going on, and I noticed the guy's interest in us. For a second I thought that they'd 'made' me watching them, but they were so casual that I blew it off as my own paranoia! They were driving a vintage Caddy! A big bucks car to be driving around!"

Liz nodded and turned back to Maria. "Anyway, the morning after Alex's accident you and I were coming apart at the seams. They showed up as we opened to get some breakfast, and I couldn't serve them. I was too torn up. So dad made a deal with them. He'd cook, and they'd serve themselves. The woman was actually behind the counter and had set up the coffee maker for us when I finally dragged myself out front and took over. After we served them, I went out on the floor to help you set up for the day. They didn't say anything more to us until they were leaving. The woman came to both of us, and told us that dad had told her what happened." Liz frowned intensely as she remembered. "Then she did something. Her voice changed tone. She told us that Alex loved us, and that he would be okay. That she would see to it. She promised. Then she told us to let go of our grief, and forget that she had been there." She sighed. "And we did. I still missed Alex, but that feeling of mental paralysis was gone. I could think again. And I think that's what let me reason out that Alex had been murdered so quickly. Otherwise, it would have been months before my pain eased enough to let me see it!"

Maria was frowning as she tried to remember. It sounded half familiar, but.....

Liz smiled. "They were the ones that left us a one hundred dollar bill to cover breakfast."

Maria shivered and sat up straight. "I remember! I remember! Before she told us that Alex loved us and whatnot, she did something else! Said something that froze us in place. I couldn't move, but somehow I didn't care!" She shivered again. "Liz, she knew something. She had to! She knew that he wasn't dead! Even then!"

Jim cleared his throat. "This raises some interesting questions about Alex's death, and Tess' role in it. Were these two in cahoots with her? Or just in the right place at the right time? What I'd love to do is review that coroner's report for any inconsistencies, but I'm not going to...yet. The less attention we call to ourselves right now, the better things will be while we work this out!"

Privately Max was puzzled. He'd been in that van with Alex's body. He was certain of two things. That it *was* Alex, and that he was very very dead at the time. But he wasn't saying so out loud. They had to many clues and not enough hard facts. What Liz had said about logical paradoxes came back to haunt him. This was no time to be dragging up old assumptions that might be wrong!

Max coughed discreetly to get everyone's attention. "Not to detract from the seriousness of what we've learned, but there's one more thing that we need to bring up. Tess. Now, we've told you that the sexual interlude between Tess and I was mind warp. As was the "baby in distress". There were a *lot* of warps she placed in my mind. My initial attraction to her. Memories of Antar. She even tried to kill my liking and trust for humans, Liz in particular. But there's one warp, or rather the lack of a warp, that overrides all the others. With all the warps cleared out of my head, there's one thing that I know for a fact. The baby itself wasn't a mind warp. Tess was pregnant. I felt it."

Maria gasped. "Well if it wasn't yours, then whose was it?"

Silence reigned in the office.

Kyle had been locked in thought about Alex, there was something tantalizingly familiar about the idea that Tess may have had help, bu-u-u-ut it just wouldn't jell in his mind....so he hadn't really been paying attention to Max's last few statements, thus when he looked up he was surprised to find everyone staring at him. "What's everyone looking at *me* for?"

Jim looked at his son worriedly. "Kyle, you and I agreed long ago that I wouldn't pry into the specifics of your...er...love life unless there was dire need." Jim paused uncomfortably. "Kyle, just what *was* your relationship with Tess?"

Kyle felt thickheaded. "Huh?"

"Didn't you hear what Max said, Kyle?" Liz asked. "He and I found out that he never had sex with Tess. But she *was* pregnant when she left. That means that the baby was someone else's."

Kyle developed a look of horror and disgust. "You think that it was mine? That I.....?" He shuddered. "Look people, even before I knew that she was a stone killer, I knew that I saw her as a sister."

Maria walked over and squatted down in front of Kyle, and shook her head slowly. "Look Kyle, our parents are dating. I guess that makes us psuedo-siblings or something. As your not quite sister, listen to me. There was something off about your relationship with Tess. It started when she first moved in and seemed to stop about the time that Alex left on his phony trip. There were sparks. There was chemistry. We all saw it. Then all of a sudden you both chilled, and you went all big brother. We all noticed it, we just didn't comment on it much because we hated to see you getting in over your head. We accepted Tess, but she wasn't just real popular. We were relieved."

Denial was written across Kyle's face, but Liz walked over to add her weight to Maria's. "Kyle, we just told you how we found and cleared long standing mind warps today. Who's to say that *you* don't have a few yet?"

Kyle's face calmed. "If she...used me like that, I'm not sure that I *want* to remember it."

Liz nodded, looking distressed. "I understand. I even sympathize. But we need all the information that we can get. If Tess was involved with these people that have Alex, we need to know it. It's important. Kyle, we're friends, you know that. And I'd never ask you to do this unless it was vitally important, but I need you to try and remember."

Kyle sighed morosely. "Okay, okay...what do you want to do? Do your fusion thing and vacuum out my gray matter?"


Max stepped forward. "I think that I can speak for Liz on this one. We feel okay about messing around in our own heads, but someone else's is another matter. If we had bungled our own efforts, we would have been the ones to suffer the consequences. But I'm not confident enough of our abilities to play mind mechanic in someone else's head, other than in a dire emergency. No, just try on your own. Take your mind back to the first day that you met Tess and trace your memories forward. Look for any breaks or discontinuities, and try to get around them. If you hit pay dirt, fine. If you don't then we'll put the project on the back burner until we can find another way. If there *is* a warp, then you may be able to break it with long term effort."

Max glanced at Liz, and she nodded in agreement. Kyle caught it and sighed again. "Okay, everyone just back off and keep quiet while I try this. Thank Buddha that I've been messing around with meditation and mental disciplines. If there's anything to be found, then that will be what does the trick."

Jim wanted to object, but he understood the importance of what his son was being asked to do. And, truth be told, he wanted to know too. Was he a grandfather? He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Amy's warmly sympathetic eyes. He stood up and pulled her into his arms.

Amy whispered, "It'll be okay Jim. I know it will."

Jim Valenti closed his eyes and let her words sink into his mind. He felt himself relax. After a moment he felt Amy give him the briefest of squeezes, then loosen her hold. They each kept an arm around each other as they turned to watch his son make his bid to recover lost memories.

The group disposed themselves quietly around the room, the couples paired off instinctively, drawing comfort from each other as Kyle closed his eyes and began the all out pursuit of buried treasure in his own mind.

********************

Kyle relaxed and began to recite a mantra in his own mind. He took measured breaths in time to the chant. Slow in - slow out - slow in - slow out. He felt the detached floating sensation that always accompanied meditation. Slowly his awareness of the world outside himself faded as his senses shut down, one by one, until he floated alone in the darkness. He was ready. He cast his mind back to the first day he'd met Tess at school. He felt the immediate attraction to her all over again. He recalled the annoyance he'd felt as Liz tried to warn him off of her. Moving forward he recalled the irritation he'd felt when he'd discovered her sleeping on their couch. But what surprised him most was the visceral rush of happiness and...yes...flat out lust that had accompanied that surprise. While he was a teenage guy bitching about sharing his space with a girl, he was also an almost man who sensed a once in a lifetime chance within his reach. He felt something for this girl. Something powerful that he'd never known before. And it rocked his world to it's foundations.

"Maria was right," he thought in a detached manner. "Something is wrong. How did I get from 'Oh boy, a major babe' to 'you're just a sister'?" Kyle pushed forward, retracing slowly. It *had* to be here somewhere....

*****************

The office was silent as they waited. Max and Liz stood wrapped in each other's arms. Liz could feel Max through their connection. She tried to assuage the guilt that was weighing him down. They were both to young to recognize the feeling, and know the source of it yet. But any experienced field commander would have recognized it instantly. It's that terrible burden that goes with sending a good man out on point into possible hostile territory, knowing that the worst can happen. They were the leaders now. And sometimes leaders have to ask people to do things that have to be done....but which they would rather not do. Guilt. It was a feeling that they would both come to know in full measure in the years to come, but which they would deal with...together.

"Hssst! Maxwell?" came Michael's urgent whisper.

Max pulled away slightly from Liz and opened his eyes. "What is it, Michael?" he said in an irritated whisper.

Michael nodded towards Kyle and whispered. "Look at him."

Great drops of sweat were appearing on Kyle's face. His breathing was still slow and even, but a frown was beginning to crease his forehead. He was obviously straining to accomplish something.

Liz bit her lip. "Should we stop him?" she whispered.

Max considered. "No, let him go on for a while longer."

********************

Kyle had found it. Or found something. A discontinuity. A Friday night date with Tess last year. Nothing big. Just the Crashdown and a movie. But that electric anticipation had been there.....then the next morning he woke up feeling differently. Or rather indifferently. And Tess had been different to. Colder somehow. Something was profoundly not right. He retraced the memory track over and over, like a hound on a scent. He began to be aware of pain. A throbbing pain in his head. "That shouldn't be happening," he thought. "Pain shouldn't reach me here." The pain made him angry, but he quickly suppressed it lest the emotion break his trance. Stubbornly, like a man trying to walk in a wind storm, he *leaned* into the pain. Trying to find what it was hiding.

The pain increased. He leaned harder. It leaped still higher. And he leaned harder still. He was going to find the truth damnit! How dare that *bitch* tamper with him like this! He was beginning to tire when he suddenly felt an energy surge. The pain receded. It was still there, but it couldn't reach him. He pushed harder. Something was beginning to give.....

*****************

Liz had been watching Kyle as Max whispered reassurances to Jim and Amy. And Michael and Maria were locked in a whispered conversation. So she and Brody saw it first. Brody voiced a startled oath, which halted all conversation. "Guys!" Liz whispered urgently. "His hands! Look at his hands!"

Kyle was sitting up right in an upholstered office chair with arm rests. His arms had been laying relaxed on the arms of the chair as he'd begun his effort. As his outward signs of distress increased, his hands had begun to grip the arms of the chair. However that wasn't the only thing apparent now. There was a definite violet glow about his hands as the plastic and metal of the chair frame began to deform under his grip......

*******************

Kyle tasted triumph. He was on the right track! He knew it! Now if he could just.....

*SLAM*

*******************

Back in the outside world there was a united gasp of horror. Kyle's eyes had snapped open. He was staring, but not seeing them. Not seeing anything. His mouth opened in a soundless scream....

Kyle had remembered.

********************

Kyle felt himself sucked into roaring darkness as the barrier he's been straining against collapsed. It was like that tunnel of light that near death patients describe. Except that this was a tunnel of darkness. A darkness that bellowed hatred and despair. In the stygian gloom fragments of memory raced by in neat little packets. {....happy birthday son....} {....Mommy's sorry Kyle but I can't stay....} {...I love you Kyle.....} That had been Tess' voice! More memories and bits of memories. {...touchdown for Valenti!....} {....I love you....} {....what do mean you guys took care of Evans?.....} {...I love you Kyle.....} {.....Where's Alex Trabek when you need him?....} Alex Trabek?

*SLAM*

Kyle came out the other end of the tunnel and screeched to a halt. The pain was gone. He could remember. It was after Copper Summit. That date with Tess had been low key. Very relaxed. They had joked, swapped food at the Crash, shared popcorn at the movies. He'd even tried tabasco sauce, and found that it wasn't half bad. The evening had been pleasant, but even though the sparks had flown, he still hadn't expected anything of it. It just goes to show ya....the best laid plans of mice and men.

When they'd arrived home, dad was at work. Kyle had made some joke about how the guy was supposed to kiss his date goodnight at the door. Tess had teased back. Something about that only counting when the datees didn't live under the same roof. All the same, she hadn't resisted when he'd stepped in close, slowly reached for her, and brought his lips down to hers for their first kiss. That's when they both got the surprise of their young lives as the sparks turned into a raging inferno. It was as if a sleeping monster had awakened and seized them both in it's grip. This was more than just hormones. This was compulsion and dire need! They stood on the porch for what seemed like forever, kissing, their tongues dueling in an ancient sort of combat that was anything but hostile.

He had hazy memories of the next moments. They were struggling to undress themselves and each other before he could even unlock the door. God only knows if the neighbors saw anything! What followed was a trail of dropped clothing and searing passion that led straight into his bedroom.

An hour later the first clear memory he had was of the afterglow. He was locked in Tess' arms, and trapped inside her body. He'd had sex before. But he suddenly realized that he'd never made love. And now that he knew the difference, he'd never settle for second best again. Tess' blue eyes were wide open, studying his uncertainly. He saw hope written there. And fear. He lowered his lips to hers. "I love you," he said softly. "I think that I've always known it...I was simply to stupid to recognize it. Forgive me?"

Tess' eyes teared up. "I love you, Kyle. I was stupid too. I was so trapped in all that crap that Nasedo taught me that I almost let you pass me by!" She'd pulled him closer and he'd felt her muscles tighten and shift inside. And he felt himself hardening again in response. She rubbed his cheek with her own and he felt her tears on his cheek. "Thank you for loving me." Then her voice lowered to a purr. "And for making love *too* me. I wouldn't know how to begin to make a comparison, but as first times go, that *had* to be a record breaker!"

Kyle had jerked. He ignored his growing desire and pulled back so he could see her face. "First time? You mean that you were...? That you'd never...?"

Tess looked as if she'd bitten into a sour lemon. "I was a virgin, Kyle. Nasedo insisted on it. The future queen of Antar can't be catting around with human boys. He even promised to kill anyone that I took to my bed."

Kyle shuddered. Some father!! "Am I allowed to say that I'm glad that he's no longer with us then?"

Tess smiled. "I don't miss him anymore. Not since you and your dad gave me a place and a family. All he was, was a poor second best. He was vile. Even for an Antarian."

Kyle smiled then, and let his hardness begin to move in her. Then a horrible thought reached out and touched him with a clammy finger. "Tess, what about protection? I was so...wound up...that I didn't even consider. I have condoms...let me...."

Tess had cut him off with a giggle. "Relax silly. I won't get pregnant unless I *want* to. We girls, Isabel and I, we were *built* that way. It's just more molecular manipulation, that's all. I can chose to get pregnant, or not. We were engineered with *very* powerful reproductive systems, both defensive *and* aggressive, and Nasedo taught me how to use mine. I can reject any attempt at fertilization inside, that's the defensive. By the same token, with even a hint of foreign DNA in my womb I can *make* myself pregnant! As long as it's the right time of month! That's the aggressive part of it! I can even get pregnant and delay implantation of the embryo if I want. I guess that the mission planners didn't want to leave anything to chance!"

Kyle sighed with relief. "Does Isabel know about this yet?"

Tess shook her head. "I don't think so. Though the way she's been talking about Alex lately, I should probably educate her. She misses him. And in a way, I don't blame her." She smiled smugly and added...."Now." She moved under him. "However Love, I can deal with later. Right now my Lover seems to have something 'pressing' that requires my urgent attention."

What followed was slow and extended time of love making. It had been a revelation for both of them. So much so that when they'd finally admitted that they couldn't go on and showered together to clean up, parting for the night had been painful. Even though they were only yards from each other, the gap had felt like light-years. All the same they were able to stay in their separate sleeping arrangements because they were both aware of a curious fact. They could sense each other. They were each hyper-aware of the other's emotional state and relative physical position. They were developing a connection.

Months rolled by in Kyle's restored memory as their secret affair continued. Hiding it from his father had taken virtuoso performances on both their parts. For they both had no doubt that, had Jim discovered them, one of them would have to move. And Kyle had no intention of seeing Tess out in the street because he couldn't keep it in his pants.

Tess and he had worked on that connection. Trying different things. Emotions, thoughts, memories. They still weren't very good at it. They still hadn't risen much beyond that initial awareness. They'd thought of approaching Max and Liz for coaching, but Tess had vetoed the idea. Her own behavior had been pretty rotten up until then, she admitted as much herself. And with the broken nature of Max and Liz's relationship at the moment, revealing their own growing romance might have been like rubbing salt in the wounds.

Then came that night at Buckley Point. They'd given everyone the slip, gone up there and spread a blanket, and made love under the stars. They were taking a break when Tess rolled over and turned away from him. She scooted back against him for warmth. The night was warm enough, but there was a faint breeze. Kyle pulled her close and drew half of the blanket over them both. Between that and the post orgasmic lassitude they were both as comfortable as anyone since the beginning of time. But Kyle was aware of her feelings. She was vaguely upset. Something was there. It had been there since the first time that they'd made love...bothering her.

Kyle squeezed her gently. "Penny?"

Tess sighed. "Only a penny?"

Kyle snorted. "Okay a dollar, but that's maximum bid!" He sighed and kissed her neck. "C'mon Princess, I know that something is bothering you. Spill!"

Tess sighed and rolled over. "Why did you sleep with Liz?"

Kyle gulped. He didn't know what to say.

Tess blinked slowly. "It's all over school. It was months ago, before Copper Summit. Before *us*. I know that I have no right to complain. It was before *us*. And I've been a pretty shitty person to just about everyone. But do you have any idea what it makes me feel like sometimes? Like I can't win. Like Liz Parker can take any guy I want from me just by crooking her finger. First Max, then you." She paused. "Can she take you from me Kyle? Please tell me before this goes further? It'll hurt, but it'll hurt less than if I find out later."

Kyle had sworn to keep the secret, but he didn't think that it extended to this. He wasn't going to hurt her with this. "I didn't sleep with Liz. It was a con."

Tess looked startled. "What?!"

Kyle sighed. "You know the sort of martyr she can be! Ever since you and Nasedo showed up she's been trying to drive Max away, towards you and his destiny. It was just a last ditch attempt to get the job done. She loves him. I don't doubt it for a second. But she sees it as being for his own good. So she set it up. Let Max see us in bed together, like we'd just had sex."

Tess frowned. "And you went along with this? Do you have any idea what it *did* to Max? It damned near killed him!"

Kyle looked guilty. "I was never particularly fond of Evans to begin with, even though he *did* save my life. I hated owing him. I hated that he'd taken Liz from me. But I'd learned to live with it. Besides, Liz was acting panicky. Desperate. Like that fate of the world was depending on her slipping Evans into your bed. I couldn't say no to her, and I had no particular reason to care how Max felt about it."

Tess nodded. "Well you'd *better* care how *I* feel about it!" She sighed. "It's my own damned fault I suppose. Those stinking mind warps I used are still working."

Kyle jerked back. "Mind warps? You mind warped Liz?"

Tess looked a little sick and nodded. "And Isabel. And Max. I had to. Nasedo wouldn't tolerate any delay in getting *his* plan on track. And Liz was a major road block. It was either me mind warping her, or Nasedo killing her outright. I took the former course. Though I didn't do what he wanted me to. He wanted me to drive her crazy. Or take her mind apart and put it back together in a manner, such that she wouldn't give a damn about Max Evans. I settled for accentuating her best feature and using it against her. Her nobility. Her instinct to self-sacrifice. That satisfied Nasedo enough to stay his blood lust, yet it gave me an opening with Max. What I hadn't counted on was their connection. Every time I'd make headway with one of them, the other would unconsciously reach out and bolster their other half. It was maddening. It was the same with Isabel and Alex." She sighed in self-disgust. "But, if I hadn't tried something to break them up, that murderous idiot would have simply killed every human they were involved with the first week we were in town. He hated this planet, and he loathed humans. With him it wasn't so much needing a good reason to kill them. Their being there and being human was reason enough. He simply saw it as a balance sheet, and that keeping them 'not dead' was marginally less trouble than the alternative...as long as I did his bidding." She sighed again. "I should have taken care of this mess long ago! If I'm going to stay around here, I think I owe it to them to tell the truth and clean up the damage I've caused...don't you?"

Kyle looked at her. There was frank sincerity in her eyes. "They may not believe you."

Tess nodded. "I know. And it's my own damned fault. And Nasedo's. But it might help if a certain someone made a clean breast of things as well."

Kyle shook his head. "I promised Liz....."

Tess cut him off. "Bullshit. That whole scam was predicated on the idea that Max and I have a Destiny. Guess what? Not happening! The only destiny I care about now....," she leaned in and kissed him, "....is this one! The other was Nasedo's idea. Nasedo's training!" She cuddled close. "*This* is ours! All your silence is doing now, is prolonging the agony of two people that we're going to spend a lifetime being close to...whether we like it or *not*! Let's get things back on the right foot, shall we?"

Kyle sighed, then nodded. And silently prayed that Liz wouldn't beat him to death with a shovel when the truth came out.

Tess smiled. "Thanks Buddha Boy!" She kissed him passionately. "Now I believe that when we came out here, you said something about 'seconds'?

Kyle grinned. That was his Tess! The 'cut to the chase' girl. "Or possible thirds, but lets stick with seconds for now. He ran his hand over her hip and down her thigh hungrily as she purred and pulled herself close to claim his mouth. Her thigh slid over his legs and her leg hooked him in possessively. "Let's make love again," she whispered.

An unmeasured time later they were both sated again, still joined together they were letting their hearts slow. Kyle kissed her shoulder and licked his lips, tasting the salty spicy tang of her perspiration. He was so damned happy at the moment that nothing this side of kryptonite was going to bring him down. He was about to say so when Tess screamed. Kyle felt something seize his neck roughly and snatch him out of Tess' reach. He was shaken like terrier shakes a rat and tossed against a tree where he lay groaning.

Kryptonite. Verily, verily I say unto you, ask and ye shall receive. Whether you actually *want* it or not!

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.


STILL YOURS - Part 13d
(Thanks For The Memories)

Kyle returned to semi-awareness to the sound of voices in heated argument.

Tess, and someone else. A younger male.

He groaned, then he felt himself yanked up on to his knees and restrained by hands with pitiless strength.

"Well, well!" came that annoying adolescent voice, "it looks like you 'pet' is awake, Highness!

Kyle's vision cleared and he found himself looking at an adolescent boy hunkered down in front of him. Light was being cast in the clearing by a glowing ball that hovered rock steady about twenty feet off the ground. A still naked Tess was being restrained by two people. A man and a woman. Their faces betrayed no feelings whatever, and by the look of it they were as strong as whoever had *him* restrained. Tess was alternating between cursing a blue streak, and struggling. Neither one seemed to be making an impression on their captors.

Kyle shook his head. Good, nothing rattled. He focused on the boy in front of him. The description that he'd heard, matched. "You'd be Nicholas, wouldn't you?"

Nicholas nodded with a mirthless grin. "Score one for the cave man! That's right human. I was just having a word with Her Highness and you can see that her conversational skills are somewhat limited at the present moment. Now that you're awake though, the conversation will be *ever* so much more productive!" Nicholas stood up and Kyle tilted his head back to follow. "Perhaps we can get past these death threats she keeps insisting on making, and get something useful done." With that Nicholas fist whipped out and cuffed Kyle in the face. Kyle saw stars.

Tess shrieked. "Leave him alone you pimple pocked little bastard! Your business is with me!"

Nicholas made a tsking noise. "My dear, *my* business is with whomever I choose for it to be with. Don't mind my horse play with Mr. Valenti. He understands that he and I are natural enemies....and I don't mean because we come from different planets either. I've been stuck on this pest hole world in an inferior husk for fifty years now. In the beginning it was thought that my present husk configuration would be beneficial because no one notices a boy of my apparent age and appearance." His voice assumed a bitter tone. "Who knew that one of the drawbacks would be...that no one notices a boy of my apparent age and appearance. Except of course for people like our Kyle here." Nicholas wrapped his hand in Kyle's hair and yanked back savagely, his face was set in a rictus of hate. "Try being the butt of every joke that 'older' boys can think of for fifty years, while knowing that you can kill them all with a casual thought...and that you can't. It wore thin in the first decade."

Nicholas released Kyle. "But I'm not here to settle old scores, oh no. That would take burning this miserable mud ball down to bed rock. And, while I may get my wish someday, I have other things to attend to tonight!" He turned towards Tess. "My dear, I'll never understand this fascination that you royals seem to have acquired for crossing racial lines. If the human authorities knew, they'd pass a law forbidding it. They have before you know. What's the matter with your own species?"

Tess glared at him. "He's as much *my* species as any Antarian you moron! I'm half human! And he's more of a *man* than you'll ever be...in *or* out of that stinking husk."

Rather than flying into a petty rage, Nicholas smiled gently. "Perhaps. But can he do this?" Nicholas' hand caressed the top of Kyle's head gently, and pain screamed along his neural pathways. Pain so searing that it stole his ability to scream. He was only able to gasp out his agony.

Tess uttered a vile curse and struggled against the Skins holding her.

Nicholas removed his hand from Kyle and the pain stopped coming, Kyle shook his head slowly, trying to clear the cobwebs. He was panting heavily. He didn't know how many shots like that he could stand. "Just what the hell do you want with us? If you were going to kill us, you would have already. So you obviously want something."

Nicholas smirked. "You're pretty intelligent as trained monkeys go, Valenti. Though, to be honest, I want nothing from *you*. All you are is leverage. What I want is for Tess to keep Nasedo's bargain with my Master."

Tess shook her head. "Never! I might have once, but not now! I'd rather be dead!"

Nicholas shook his head in mock sadness. "Highness, that is *no* way to conduct a negotiation...not that this *is* a negotiation. This is *me* giving *you* orders! You *will* fulfill the bargain, or you'll watch your pets die! First our friend Kyle here, then his father. Your 'family' you might say!"

Tess grinned savagely. "I can't fulfill the bargain without knowing how to operate the Granolith. And the instructions are in The Book. And not only did Nasedo write it in Antarian, the sneaky bastard encrypted it as well. Who are you going to get to read those instructions? Your flunky Whittaker already killed the only person who could, this side of a super computer."

Nicholas sneered. "I'm sorry to disappoint you 'Highness', but I've already dealt with that objection." Nicholas waved his hand sharply and two more of his soldiers appeared from out of the darkness, marching someone between them. The boy stood blinking in the light. Both Tess and Kyle recognized him.

Kyle gasped. "Alex?"

Alex stood zombie-like as Nicholas walked over to him. "Save your breath Kyle. He can't hear you until I let him. It took me only a few hours to rework him into a good little servant, while leaving his skills intact."

Tess looked frightened, but held her ground. "What's to keep me from breaking the deal?"

Nicholas shrugged. "Do it, and see what happens. There will always be one or more of my people in deep cover, and within reach of the monkey boy and his father. Fail me and they die." Nicholas walked slowly around Alex, looking him up and down like a zoological specimen. "And as for tall, pale, and spindly here, he's already dead. K'var's orders. He was dead the instant he laid a hand on Vilandra. He just didn't know it. You can't rewrite memories my dear, but *I* can. And what he will remember is that *you* did this to him. So, assuming that he lives long enough to tell anyone anything at all....what he'll tell them is that *you* did it my dear. Because that's what he'll remember." Tess looked sick as Nicholas went on. "Our good friend Alex here is about to get a last minute shot at a student exchange to Sweden. I've already worked over the memories of his parents and the school administrators. As far as they're concerned he'll board a plane tomorrow night for Stockholm. Where he'll *actually* be is holed up in a cubby hole at UNM Las Cruces with one of this planet's most advanced super computers. I've taken care of things at *that* end too. *He* will decrypt the book for you. Then he *will* die."

Tess shook her head. "Why kill him at all? Surely taking Isabel from him will hurt badly enough to please K'var?" She was trying to stall.

Nicholas flashed a sadistic smile as his foot lashed out against the back of Alex's legs, causing him to collapse to his knees. Alex's expression never changed. Nicholas circled to the front and stroked his cheek, almost fondly. "I won't kill him dear girl, you will. I've placed him under a long lasting mind warp. It's strong, but it will degrade with time...unless you give him frequent 'booster shots'. And, sooner or later, even *they* won't be enough. He'll remember what happened, or what he *thinks* happened. Then the destruct command I've placed in his subconscious will trigger a fatal brain hemorrhage. And you *can't* undo it. You lack the strength and the skill, Highness. Sooner or later you won't be able to keep him alive any longer, and he will die."

Tess began to cry now. Tears of helpless rage. "What's to stop me from simply blowing the whistle on the whole thing?"

Nicholas shrugged carelessly. "The same as before. The Valenti's will die. And besides, who would believe you. Nasedo's attitude conditioning made certain that you would have no friends here, that no one will trust you now."

Kyle spoke up now, trying to give Tess time to regain her composure. "Just exactly what is this bargain that she's supposed to fulfill?"

Nicholas turned and grinned. "Ah! It speaks! Well young Valenti, I see no harm in telling you, besides I've always had a secret longing to play the cliched villain role....even if my voice won't allow for really good sinister maniacal laugher." His grin broadened. "You'll just have to trust me on the maniac issue." He paused. "Now, where was I...ah yes...the bargain. You won't remember it soon enough to do anyone any good...if indeed you live to remember at all. You see, Nasedo didn't exactly volunteer to be here. He hated the planet, it's people, and the mission. He had a plan before he ever left Antar. After ten years of trying to stay out of the clutches of the human authorities he contacted us. He offered us a deal and we took it. When the time came he would abandon the Royal Four to their fate, with the exception of that girl with the goose bumps over there. Her he would take and train to fulfill a revised mission. One quite different from the original. When they were old enough, he would return her to them. She would then seduce Zan, conceive a child with him, and convince the others to return to Antar....where they would be executed on arrival. Tess would deliver a royal heir which K'var could place on the throne to quell lingering resentment among the commons, and peace would reign. Elegant, isn't it?"

Kyle looked puzzled. "If that's the case, why kill Jello-Man if he was your buddy?"

Nicholas grinned. His eyes held no sanity at all, at least none that any human could recognize. "It's an elemental truth in the cloak and dagger game, one that even *your* backward race understands. Ranging from your intelligence community, down to every cuckolded lover that ever lived. If someone will betray their trust to *you*, then they will probably betray *your* trust to someone else. Never trust a traitor any longer than you have to. With the long laid plans in motion, we simply didn't need him any longer."

Kyle looked him up and down. "I'm with Tess. I'd *rather* be dead than see her go through with this!"

Nicholas studied him clinically, then shrugged. "All right," he said as he walked forward with a glowing hand.

Kyle closed his eyes and waited to die. He was still waiting when Tess screamed. "Stop it Nicholas! I'll do it! Damn you to hell, I'll do it!"

Kyle's eyes snapped open, and he looked at his lover. Tess looked beaten. Resigned. Whether it was the desperation of the moment, or simply a natural occurrence, Kyle didn't know. But he'd been pushing desperately at their connection, now it flared to a full, if flickering, life. He could feel her defeat as if it were his own. Her acknowledgment that she... just... could... not... win. He answered with defiance and love, and felt her surprise as she became aware of his intrusion. Then came something else....

"~Kyle? Is that you? Can you hear me?~"

It was faint, and far away. Like a desperate cry in a high wind, but he heard it.

"~I might have known that something like this would happen~," he responded, with a wry gallows humor. "~You never told me that this sort of thing was contagious.~"

"~Stop clowning around Kyle! We don't have long! I had nothing to do with this. It's new to me too...~"

The connection faded out for a moment, then snapped back.

"~KYLE!~"

Kyle winced at the volume. "~I'm here Babe.~"

"~Thank God! I thought I'd lost you!~" came the response.

Kyle sighed internally. "~Tess, don't do this. Let him kill me...dad would feel the same way.~" He felt her despair.

"~No Kyle, I can't do that. Call me weak if you want, but I can't. Nasedo always claimed that human emotions were a weakness, and I suppose he's right. I never understood Max and Liz's need to be together. I thought that it was just sex.... and I could provide that as well as she could. To me love was a theoretical concept, one that Nasedo taught me that I was better off without. In a twisted sort of way, he was right. It's a Catch-22 Kyle. If you and your dad hadn't taught me how to love, I could let you die to stop Nicholas. But then again, if you hadn't taught me how to love, I wouldn't *want* to stop Nicholas. No, we're beaten. All I can work for now is your life, and your dad's life. Someday, you can tell them the truth...I hope. I can't. I don't know if that little bastard told the truth or not, but if there are Skins in town, then I don't dare spill anything. Not even after the fact through a letter or a note. Because they could find out and act after I'm gone as well as not....and I wouldn't be here to protect you and dad.~"

Kyle winced as he caught Tess' last sentence. She'd referred to his dad as just..'dad'. As in *her* dad. "~What do you want me to do?~"

"~Don't fight back. Just let it happen.~" She paused. "~And tell them I'm sorry. About everything. Most of all about what's going to happen to Alex. I'd change it if I could.~"

"~I love you, Tess.~"

"~I love you too. Because of that, there's one more thing that you need to know. When I leave, I'll take something of you with me. You remember my lecture on my reproductive system?~"

Kyle felt an icy chill. "~Yes.~"

"~Well, as of about ninety seconds ago, you're going to be a father. I love you, Kyle.......~"

The connection died, and all efforts on his part to restore it were futile. The exchange had gone unnoticed, since Nicholas, after acknowledging Tess' acceptance, had turned to talk quietly to the to guards holding Alex. The news that Tess had decided to become the mother of his child infused Kyle with desperate strength. He surged to his feet, in spite of his captor's strength.

"NO!" was all that he managed to say before Nicholas turned and waved his hand, slamming Kyle into the tree behind him once more. Kyle collapsed. He was only half conscious when he heard Nicholas issue his orders. "Let her get dressed, then take her and the Whitman boy back to Roswell. I need some time alone with our other young friend before he'll be safe to be released." There was a pause. "Tess, the boy is your responsibility now. He'll appear normal to everyone else, but he'll be totally responsive to your orders. Don't screw this up or your pet monkey here will be deader than you were the last time."

Tess spoke gently. "C'mon Alex, let's go home."

Alex spoke for the first time, uncertainly, sounding lost. "Home?"

Tess' voice broke. "Ye-e-s, home," she quavered. She placed the barest emphasis on the last word. But it was enough.

"Just a minute," came Nicholas' voice. There was a long pause. "Highness, I'm not too sure that I trust fear itself to keep you in line. You're docile enough right now, almost too docile. I think I need more assurance that your newly discovered human side won't gum up the works." Then he seemed to be addressing someone else. "Hold her! Bring it!"

Kyle made out Tess sharp intake of breath. Their connection flickered briefly revealing mind numbing fear and disgust.

"That isn't necessary," she said. "I'll do as you say! I...." Her voice cut off in a terrible shriek that made Kyle fight harder to regain control of his rebellious body. She was sobbing now, with tones of bitter humiliation.

Nicholas laughed. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it? And *I* feel *much* better about the situation. I see Nasedo told you about these...things. Well, if he did, then you know what happens if you resist. You will tell no one about your mission or anything pertaining to it. You won't even *think* of revealing it. Not in voice or print. Not anymore." Again he was addressing others. "Take them back to Roswell now, and don't let yourself be seen dumping them!"

Kyle was struggling to pull himself upright when he heard the sounds of departing footsteps and Tess' fading sobs. When he managed to drag himself erect the clearing was empty, except for Nicholas, two flunkies, and himself. He turned a murderous glare on the aliens, which Nicholas found terribly funny. Still laughing he motioned his men to restrain Kyle. Staying true to Tess' request he made no effort to resist. With his chuckles fading Nicholas walked up and gave a preemptory gesture. Kyle found himself slammed to his knees and held.

Nicholas stood with his hands on his hips regarding Kyle with as much bemusement, as humor. "My, you *are* house broken, aren't you?"

Kyle's glare intensified. "What'd you do to her you little son of a bitch?!"

Nicholas shrugged. "It's called a sa'erdos. In it's natural state it looks like an ounce of half congealed gelatin. It's artificial, what my race calls a quasi-lifeform. It soaks in through the skin and takes up residence in the body. It's function is simple. Pain. The threat to your life was enough to start her on the road to completing Nasedo's bargain with us. The sa'erdos will keep her from straying. As she might, if the pitiful look she was giving the Whitman boy is any indication. If she tries to tell anyone, or even write an explanation, she will experience pain. The harder she tries, the more it hurts. And if she actually manages to do it, the pain will kill her. And she still cares enough about herself, I think, to avoid that. You may have humanized her, monkey boy, but I don't think that she's had time to develop that disgusting tendency to self-sacrifice that your race cherishes so much. She won't be willing to die to thwart me...even partially."

Kyle snarled wordlessly.

Nicholas started in mock fright. "Housebroken, but not altogether tamed I see. Well, the question begs, what *am* I to do with you? I'd prefer to simply kill you, but that might make Her Highness petulant." He paused in thought. "I spoke the truth you know. I will never understand the Royals' infatuation with you monkey people. I've been more tempted than I can say to....extract the Parker girl, or the DeLuca girl, and give one of them a...test drive. Just to see what the attraction is."

Kyle's mouth broke into a savage grimace. "To use your own words pip-squeak, try it and see what happens. They've been holding back so far. Give Evans or Guerin a reason and they'll go medieval on your ass."

Nicholas foot lashed out, catching Kyle in the ribs. "Mind your manners monkey boy. I can *still* kill you!"

Gasping for breath, Kyle shrugged as well as he could. "Go ahead. That's one less hostage to keep Tess in line." It was a hollow threat. Kyle knew that, with his child inside her, she wouldn't risk her own death. Without the baby she might choose to die to derail the plan. But not now, not with another life depending on hers. Nicholas had the ultimate hostage, and he didn't even know it.

Nicholas grinned and shook his head. "Oh no...you don't get off that easily little man. Now the question is, do I erase your memories? Or do I simply warp you? With an erasure, I'll leave you to believe her a traitor the rest of your life...which may hurt somewhat. With a warp, it will wear off eventually. And you'll remember all of this. You'll know that she loved you, and that *I* took her from you. Now *that* would make thinking her a traitor look like a skinned knee! But that's still not *final* enough! Hmmmm...." Nicholas began humming to himself as he made a show of thinking it over. "I feel like I'm on Jeopardy here. Where's Alex Trabek when you need him? Alex? I'll take clueless monkey boys for five hundred! Erasure or warp?"

Nicholas stretched the moment as long as he could, gloating. Then he reached out and twisted his hand in Kyle's hair, yanking his head back. "I have the very thing. A mind warp it will be! But you're going to get the super deluxe job that the geek boy did, with all the trimmings. You'll remember all right, someday. Then a blood vessel in your brain.... ab-o-o-ut... r-i-i-ght... *here*...." Nicholas used the knuckles of of his free hand to rap on the side of Kyle's skull. "....will burst like a balloon." He grinned. "It's the best of all possible worlds for me. I kill the bitch queen's pet, and you suffer the horror of knowing that she loved you and that you were too *weak* to protect her! *Then* you die! Perfect!"

Kyle gritted his teeth. "One day, I'm going to kill you."

Nicholas shook his head. "Only if you believe in reincarnation."

Kyle grinned. "I do." His grin was genuine. For he'd just realized that Tess had beaten Nicholas by the simplest of means. She was already pregnant with *his* child. There would be no royal heir. But he didn't have time to consider what might happen when the ruse was discovered.

The last thing Kyle remembered of that night's events was the feeling of Nicholas' hand against the side of his head.

And there was pain.

*SLAM*

************************

"KYLE!" Jim was out of his chair like a shot as Kyle's face went slack, his body was bonelessly limp as he slid from the chair. The reek of singed meat filled the air. The skin of Kyle's palms and lower arms had been burned by the hot metal and plastic of the chair arms.

Jim immediately felt for a pulse. There was a faint flutter, but it was fading rapidly. "Max! Do something! He's dying!"

Max gripped Kyle's hand and tried to connect. "Kyle! You have to look at me! Kyle!" Kyle remained unresponsive. "Damnit! I need eye contact or I can't get in! I can't help him if I can't connect!" Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Liz said in a soft voice, "If *you* can't, then maybe *we* can!"

Max didn't even hesitate. He hurled himself into the connection and met Liz coming the opposite way.

**FUSION**

It was awake again, but there was no time to reflect. This was a dire emergency. The kyle was dying. It forced a connection and probed. It detected the ruptured artery and the cause of it immediately. The kyle had been booby trapped! Repairing the artery was the first order of business, followed by dissolving the blood clot and repairing damaged tissue. All the while, bleeding energy into the flickering flame that was the kyle's life force. As It watched the flickering died away. The flame steadied, grew brighter. Once It was certain of It's prognosis, It withdrew. But not before repairing the damage to the kyle's hands and arms...and doing a cursory meme sweep. The kyle was clean. This had been a close call. It considered the situation thoughtfully, then It registered an opinion with it's constituents, to the effect that no more such experiments should be carried out unless It was awake and ready to consult. The emergency over, It returned to sleep....

**FISSION**

In the first moments of the Fusion there had been bedlam. Michael and Maria nearly had to physically restrain Amy from dialing 911. The call would have been futile as well as hazardous, but Amy wasn't listening to reason. Jim had eyes only for his son's face, for he believed that this might be the last time that he would look on it in life. So it was left to Brody to notice that something strange was happening. Max's right hand on Kyle's chest was glowing. So was his left hand as it reached forward to cup the side of Kyle's head. As was Liz's hand where it lay on Max's shoulder. This wasn't what caught Brody's attention though. Glowing hands were passé in the little corner of reality that they inhabited. It was the eyes. Max's eyes had lost their amber hue, and Liz's their normal warm brown. Both now had eyes the color of obsidian. Featureless black. The whites, the irises, the pupils. Black on black. This lasted for some moments before the glow faded from Max's hands, and then from Liz's. By then silence reigned as they all watched what was happening. A moment later both blinked and their eyes were back to normal, Liz kept her hand on his shoulder while Max reached forward and tested the pulse at Kyle's throat. It was strong again.

Then Max sat back on the floor and wept. Indeed tears seemed to be the order of the day for just about everyone. It lasted only a few moments before Jim offered his hand to Max.

"I owe you my son's life a second time."

Max shook his head. "It wasn't me Sheriff. I couldn't make the connection unless Kyle was awake and receptive." He reached up and took Liz's hand. "Apparently our Composite doesn't suffer from that handicap. It forced the connection, and supported his life while it repaired the damage and swept his mind for any residual tampering. There was none."

Liz laughed tremulously as she sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Our son the doctor."

Max grinned. "It's pretty cocky. When we emerge from the Fusion we know what it's done as if we'd each done it ourselves. This time though it seems to have addressed us directly, like leaving a note."

Michael was curious. "What'd it have to say for itself?"

Liz sniffed. "It rather snootily suggested that we not try any more 'experiments' like this one unless It's with us."

Everyone laughed, and Jim added, "One day when things *aren't* life and death, you'll have to introduce us." He shook his head. "Kids! I guess that know it all 'tude extends to other species...and Composites of species as well. Some things must be universal after all!"

That brought more tension relieving laughter, which was cut off by a groan from Kyle's vicinity. "I didn't realize that me having a brain hemorrhage could provoke laughter. I'll have to have them more often."

"Kyle!" Jim shouted. Other voices added themselves as well. "Kyle, are you okay?" "Man, you scared the crap out of us Valenti!" "Kyle!"

Kyle was sitting up holding his head. He didn't hurt, but he felt dizzy. Hands helped him to his feet and into a different chair. The previous chair was now fit only for the dumpster. His head cleared and he looked up to see Max Evans studying him intently.

"I guess I owe you another one, don't I?" Kyle said.

Max shook his head slowly. "I couldn't do it alone. Liz and I had to Fuse and let our Composite handle it. You were so far gone that I couldn't connect to heal you, but the Composite could force the connection." Max paused. "You said that you had a hemorrhage. That's exactly what happened. How did you know?"

Kyle looked sour. "I remembered...everything. It was a booby trap. A mind warp A death wish implanted in my subconscious. Remember the wrong things and...POP...you're dead. The same thing was done to Alex. And now I remember it being done to *me*.

Michael cursed vilely. "She's been gone for months and the *bitch* is *still* trying to kill people! She's like a rash that just *won't* go away!"

Kyle shook his head. "It wasn't Tess. It was Nicholas."

Everyone had to sit down after that.

Max spoke first. "I think that you'd better tell us everything that you can recall."

Kyle laid it all out for them, starting from his recognition of the hole in his memory, through his last conscious though before Nicholas went to work on him. They were silent for a long time after he finished.

Kyle had been watching his dad throughout the recounting. Jim had seemed to age visibly. Sagging in on himself. Amy was aware of it as well, and she looked worried. After letting the silence stretch a bit, Kyle spoke.

"Dad? Are you okay?"

Jim looked haunted. "Okay? Define okay. I misjudged her. I should have known."

"Sheriff, we all misjudged her," Liz said. "Me most of all."

Jim laughed hollowly. "Liz, to you it's Jim. To all of you. We've been through too much as an extended family to throw titles around." He paused. "Liz, I realize that we're all guilty to some degree or other. But for Kyle and I it's worse. We were family. We should have known. And now, somewhere far away, she and my grandchild are in the hands of a psychopathic dictator." He rested his head in his hands.

"Jim, we'll get them back," Max said. "If we do nothing else, we'll get them back!"

Michael added, "And we'll find that little prick Nicholas......"

"....and peel him like a banana," Kyle finished.

Kyle and Michael locked eyes. "I've got dibs on him," Kyle said. Michael nodded. They understood one another.

Jim sat up. He looked somewhat better, but still not one hundred percent. "The problem is, she may be dead already, and Kyle's child with her. And the assassins may still be here."

Before anyone else said anything Kyle broke in. "No dad. She's alive. All these months I've been wondering why I couldn't hate her for what she did. Now I know why. It's our connection." He glanced at Max and Liz. "It isn't very developed, but it's there enough for me to know that she's okay. And I have to believe that if she's okay, the baby is too." He paused. "As for the assassins, we know about them now. Hunting them down will be good practice for us."

Liz walked over to Kyle, bent over and hugged him. "It'll be okay," she whispered.

Kyle chuckled faintly. "I know. I have to know it or I'll go nuts." He paused. "Now I think I understand you and Evans better. It was fate."

Liz stood up and smiled at him before going back to where Max was sitting. "No, it was our destiny. Now it's your's too."

Brody chose this moment to intervene. "Well, as meetings of the inner sanctum go, this is one for the books. I assume that we are all in agreement on the Alex and Isabel issue?"

Michael raised his hand. "I still have doubts. I see no problem with doing a *careful* investigation. But this could still be Isabel jumping the tracks coupled with some coincidences. Until I see an empty coffin, I'm against charging off to execute a rescue for a dead man. Even one that I called a close friend."

Brody checked the others by eye. They apparently had fewer reservations, but were more or less in agreement. He nodded at Max.

Max stood up. "Until we have proof, one way or the other, no one mentions anything to Isabel."

No one disagreed.

Max said, "Well I think that this is enough for tonight. We've all had enough trauma to last us a while...."

Maria broke in. "Aren't we forgetting something?"

Max looked at her quizzically, and she pointed.

Kyle exploded, "*That's* the chair I was sitting in! What the hell happened to it??!"

Maria looked apologetic. "*You* happened to it..."


MacLeod's Dojo......8:30 PM

Richie walked into the main work out room to find Alex and Duncan sparring with quarter staffs while Amanda was critiquing, and Cassandra played the cheering section. Methos had dropped him off out front before swinging down the alley to park in the rear. His arrival distracted Duncan which allowed Alex to thump him in the head, dropping him to the mat. That gave everyone a good tension relieving laugh...except Duncan. And they needed one right about then, because they knew exactly what Richie and Methos had been up to.

Duncan kept alternating his glare between Richie and Alex. "Alex, I *know* that we covered the rules of combat when I was training you."

Alex stood easily. "Yup, there are rules of fair play. But they don't apply if your opponent is careless enough to let you break them so easily."

Duncan shifted his glare to Amanda. "You're a bad influence on him."

Amanda grinned and shrugged. "He's right. In a real fight he'd have shortened you."

Duncan sighed and slumped in defeat. "I'm surrounded by...." His quarter staff lashed out from his sitting position, taking Alex's feet from under him. "...pragmatists."

That brought another explosion of laughter as Alex hit the mat. By the time it had died down Methos had joined them.

He pulled Duncan to his feet. "Shame on you MacLeod. Letting the newbie get past your guard?"

Duncan snorted. "There was no 'let'. Your cohort in crime distracted me." He paused. "Well?"

Methos shrugged. "Ask Richie, I already think that it's perfect for our needs.

Duncan looked over at Richie who nodded. "Yup. I'd agree with that. It's in good shape for it's age...or even for a building a third it's age. It's over built, with thick walls, and plenty of brick and stone work. So it'll be fire resistant. And it's a regular fortress."

Methos chuckled. "Best of all, we were followed."

Duncan nodded. "I know, Joe called me. That means that Britanicus will know about it by tonight." He paused to think. "I think that we should start moving in there tomorrow." He looked at Methos. "You and the girls first. Richie and I will keep things running here a day longer, then we'll follow with Alex. I want Britanicus to be certain that he can find us all in one place. It'll make him confident. I hope that it makes him *over* confident."

Methos nodded. "Since I have to play point man at the nut house, how about letting me take the hunt tonight?"

Cassandra spoke up. "Are you sure? You've been out all day. You aren't tired?"

Duncan and Amanda exchanged a look. Duncan answered, "No problem. I wouldn't mind staying in tonight."

Amanda added, "You'll be sleeping alone for a while Junior. If I'm with Methos tomorrow, then I want some playtime tonight as well."

Duncan shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. You hog the covers."

Amanda mock glared at him. "Keep it up. You'll sleep alone *all* night. But *I* won't." She smiled winningly at Alex and Richie. "Want to cut cards for the honor, boys?"

Alex and Richie glanced at each other. "Not a chance in hell," Richie said with a grin. "I like my head on my shoulders where it belongs."

Amanda grinned back. "Chicken, you'll never know what you missed." She glanced at Alex who raised his hands and crossed his fingers in cruciform. "No thanks, I'm not suicidal."

Duncan grinned. "Being the alpha male doth have it's advantages."

Amanda walked over to him and pulled him into a kiss. When it was over she whispered, "Just bear in mind who the alpha female is, Junior."

Methos sighed. "Not to rain on the parade of strutting egos here, but time is wasting." He glanced at Cassandra. "Cass, are you staying the night again?"

She shook her head. "If we're moving out tomorrow I should go home and take care of a few things. We may not be free to come back for days."

Methos sighed. "Okay, I'll run you home, then come back for the hunt."

Richie shook his head. "I'll take her Adam, it'll save time."

Methos looked ready to argue, but couldn't think of a good reason to do so. So he nodded his thanks.

Amanda stood up. "Well, we'd better get this show on the road. I have to get ready to hunt, and Cass needs to get her stuff together. So we'll see you boys in a bit."

Alex had been silent through most of the conversation. "Hang on ladies, I'll go with. I want to hit the showers and get changed anyway."

They entered the elevator together. Once the door closed, Richie nodded to Duncan and Methos. "I'll see you guys later. I'm going to go bring my bike around for Cass."

Methos winced. "Oh no you don't. You *don't* take Cass on that bullet with wheels!" He reached into his pocket. Pulling his keys out he tossed them to Richie. "Take my SUV."

Richie looked at Duncan and grinned, shaking his head. With that he headed for the door to the alley to get the SUV.

Methos watched him leave then turned to Duncan. "What the hell was that about? Is there some sub-text around here that I don't know about?"

Duncan contemplated the ceiling. "Methos, the only ones with a sub-text around here are you and Cass. After five thousand years, I'd have thought that you'd have gotten past wearing your heart on your sleeve."

Methos winced. "I'm that obvious?"

Duncan looked him up and down. Thought it over for a minute and said..."Yup."

Meanwhile upstairs, Alex was about to get ready to hit the showers when he realized that his sword was still downstairs. "Damn! If Duncan notices he'll kick my ass for letting it get beyond arm's reach," he muttered. There was nothing to do but go back for it. He started down the hall towards the main loft, then slowed to a halt. The elevator was slow, noisy, and obvious. That was the last thing that he wanted to be. He reversed direction and made for the back stairs. Moving quietly he negotiated the stairs, and arrived at the door to the work out room in time to hear Methos say... "Of course I love her, but I promised to give her space and time. Now I'm breaking that bargain!"

Duncan answered. "Look my friend, Cass is a big girl. If she didn't like the protective attitude, she'd let you know. Believe me. Just let it run loose and easy. She'll come around sooner than you think!"

Methos sighed. "I'm trying. You'd think that after all these millennia I'd be able to keep from behaving like a love struck school boy."

Alex grinned. Methos had it bad!

"I just don't want this latest thing to come between us, even as friends," Methos went on.

Duncan was silent for a moment then answered. "That wasn't her fault. It was mine. I'm the one that asked her to put a damper on this Isabel's night time intrusions."

Alex froze. "Isabel?!"

Methos sighed again. "I'll bear that in mind." He muttered impatiently. "What's keeping Amanda? That dose of forgetfulness that Cass gave both of them makes it imperative that we run that little cabrone Conterras down before he follows through on his threat against the girl."

Alex was beginning to sweat. What the hell had happened? Forgetfulness?

Duncan chuckled. "Relax old man. He won't try anything as long as Alex is alive. He's too much of a coward to do anything else." He paused. "Let's go see what's keeping them. If they've started talking men...that would be you and me....they may be all night. And Richie is probably sitting at the curb by now."

Alex heard the elevator descend. He heard the doors open and close, then he heard it rise. He emerged from hiding and slowly walked over to retrieve his sword, which had gone unnoticed by MacLeod. But the sword was the least of his concerns now. He turned and looked at the elevator. They'd made him forget. Forget what? And why? Conterras had threatened Isabel?

Alex's eyes narrowed. He pulled his sword from it's scabbard and studied it carefully. It needed sharpening.

He turned and walked slowly through the stairway door headed upstairs... to find his whet stone.

End of Part 13

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.


"Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things,
and no good thing ever really dies."
-From The Dialog Of Andy Dufrene-
"The Shawshank Redemption"


STILL YOURS - Part 14a
(Hope)

Roswell, New Mexico - The Valenti Household 9:30 PM Tuesday

Jim Valenti sat on the end of their battered overstuffed sofa and nursed three fingers of JB over ice. The pool of light cast by the pedestal lamp next to the sofa illuminated the battered photo album that lay open in his lap. With the fingers of his free hand he traced the page in front of him. Like a few of the pages immediately before it, and *all* of the pages after it, it had blank spaces. Pictures that he had removed and thrown away after Tess' apparent treachery had been revealed. Memories that were now missing from their lives. From their family history. Photos of her, or in which she had appeared. As his hand moved slowly over the page, his eyes were closed. And he would have sworn that he could *sense* the vacant spaces on the page. He sighed and opened his eyes. "I used to think, occasionally, that I was getting 'older'," he thought. "Now I feel just plain old." He laughed with bitter irony. "Hell...I *am* old. I'm a grandfather!"

He glanced down the hall towards his son's room. Kyle had gone straight to bed when they'd come home, but not before telling his father that he was taking a few days off of school. Normally Jim would have objected to his son taking off sick when he wasn't. But there was sick...and then there was 'sick'. Kyle was the later. He'd had a ton of crap dumped in his lap tonight. Love, a soul mate, fatherhood, and alien powers. Under the circumstances taking a week off wouldn't be out of line. He sighed again. Parents, the world over, wish to protect their children from pain. Given the chance they'd die for the right to step in front of their child and 'take the hit' themselves. But, watching his son react tonight, Jim didn't think that he could have handled it any better than Kyle had. Instead of flying off the handle as Jim had expected he would, he'd reached somewhere inside and brought out a hitherto unseen reservoir of calm and strength. Jim shook his head in bemusement. He didn't know if it was his upbringing, Kyle's study of Buddhist philosophy, or something alien, but Kyle had rolled with punches that would have shattered many adults. Even so, when they'd arrived home, he'd said that he was tired, and headed for bed. Tired. No kidding.

Jim looked back down at the album. Taking a sip from his drink he sat it down and closed his eyes again. Trying to relive the memories that went with those missing pictures. He was so wrapped up in his walk down memory lane that he didn't hear a door open, nor did he hear the quiet footfalls that came up behind the couch. So, he pretty much jumped out of his skin when Kyle spoke.

"Are you okay Dad?"

Jim jumped, startled. Once his heart stopped pounding like a jungle drum, he turned to find his offspring grinning at him. Grinning. At him. "I was until you tried to give me a coronary!" He sighed. "What are you doing up Champ? After the kind of night you've had, I didn't think that I'd lay eyes on you again until tomorrow afternoon!"

Kyle's grin gentled to a soft smile. His father hadn't called him 'Champ' since his unlamented mother had blown town. "I couldn't sleep. Didn't really want to. I have so much to think about. All my assumptions just went in the dumper tonight."

Jim regarded his son ruefully. "Our friends have a way of doing that to people. Even though they don't mean to."

Kyle shook his head. "Dad, you don't need to defend them. The 'old me' would probably be ranting about the alien abyss right about now. But who am I to complain? "I *am* the alien abyss now, complete with an alien Princess who loves me." A brief flicker of pain raced across his face. "And a son or daughter." He sighed. "Y'know, I have this urge to race right out and buy a baseball mitt, and put it away for him. But what if he's a she? Baseball mitt or Malibu Barbie?" Kyle shuddered.

Jim grinned. "Baseball mitt. Even if you *do* have a daughter, look at her parents. She'll be the tomboy to end all tomboys."

Kyle became pensive and sad. "I wonder if I'll ever see them again."

Jim sighed. "I wish I could say for a fact that you will, but I can't. But I know this, as long as you hold them in your heart, nothing can take them from you. Not time. Not distance. Not even death itself."

Kyle grimaced and swallowed against the lump in his throat. Lacking anything to say his eyes fell on the album in his father's lap. Noting the blank spaces he smiled, albeit halfheartedly. "Watcha doin' Dad?"

Jim glanced down and ran his hand over the truncated page of photos. "Trying to recapture some of what I threw away after she left. I'd sell my soul to have the just the Christmas pictures back."

Kyle's faltering smile surged back and broadened. "Hang on Pop. I'll be right back." He turned an walked briskly down the hall towards his room. In a moment he was back with a fat brown envelope, which he handed to his father.

Jim spilled the contents out on the open album. It was the missing pictures. All of the missing pictures. Jim looked up at his son, who was grinning like an idiot. "How?"

Kyle shrugged. "I told you all at the meeting. All these months, and I couldn't make myself hate her. Now I know why. Anyway, when I saw them in the trash, I fished them out and stuck them in that envelope. Tonight is the first time I've touched them since I stuffed them under my mattress months ago."

Jim shook his head in wonder as he riffled through the photos, stopping on a Christmas shot of Tess hanging their stockings on the mantle. He sighed. "Thank you Son." He looked up at Kyle. "If you're not sleepy, why don't we go over on the dining room table and work on putting this book to rights?"

Kyle grinned. "Okay, you ditch the booze, and I'll make some coffee. Deal?"

Jim sighed. "Deal."

And so, father and son spent a few minutes working together to restore their family...if only in photos. Then they spent several hours reliving the memories that they brought back, sharing the laughter and sorrow that came with those memories. When they finally went to bed, they both slept deeply and dreamlessly, with the knowledge that they were a family again... and a family larger by one. And Kyle's last waking thought was a pleasant fantasy involving a certain, as yet unplayed, Little League game and alien power driven home runs. The only things that varied in the several reruns of the fantasy, before sleep claimed him, was the batter. Sometimes he had short curly brown hair and the steely Valenti eyes, and other times she had long silky saffron blond hair and eyes of cornflower blue. And he loved both children as much as their mother.

Kyle slept and whispered a name. Somewhere impossibly far away, someone heard him, and wept as she began to know hope again.


Liz Parker's Bedroom.......Same time

Max Evans' heart was pounding, his breath came in short ragged gasps. The pulsing energy in his body was winding down. He looked down into the sparkling brown eyes that he'd worshipped for so long and spoke. "Liz? Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I can move..."

Liz grinned smugly. When she spoke it was in short bursts, for her own breathing and heartbeat were still a little out of control. "Oh no, don't finish that sentence Max Evans! I'm your girl, your lover, I'm going to be your wife...and I am *not* made out of soap bubbles!" Her arms and legs tightened around him. They were still joined, and she wasn't willing to give up that feeling quite yet.

Max smiled as he planted soft kisses where ever he could reach. Licking his lips, he chuckled. "I never thought that you were. You don't taste... er... soapy. Spicy yes. Sweet yes. Indescribably delicious, yes. But not sudsy." He jumped as Liz pinched him.

"You know what I mean Captain Kirk! We've made love a total of three times today, and I haven't broken yet." She pulled him close and small sharp teeth nipped at Max's shoulder. "And I'd say that I'm not going to either!"

Max sighed and relaxed, basking in the love steeping their connection, and the afterglow that warmed their bodies.

Throughout the meeting there had been a low level current of sexual tension between them. It had spiked upwards as the meeting had broken up, and remained high during the drive back to the Crashdown. By the time they'd reached her bedroom they'd both suspended their thought processes in favor of something a little more direct, and satisfying. Their first time that night had been a hormone driven blur. Rough and urgent, punctuated at the end by Liz's keening wail. They'd stayed joined for some kissing and cuddling, and their second time, just past, came shortly thereafter. It was slower and gentler, but no less urgent. And just as..... fulfilling.

Max claimed her mouth with his. When he broke the kiss, he said, "Liz, I love you. And I admire your strength, but if I fall asleep this way I'll mash you."

Liz giggled. "That's not exactly the *worst way* to die that I can imagine."

Max sighed. "Don't even joke about that Liz." He kissed her again. "Please Sweetheart, let me move off of you?"

Liz still hadn't lost her grin. "Sissy. I'll tell you what......" She shifted her arms and legs slightly. ".....you roll over, then I'll be on top."

Max sighed, clasped her tightly, and rolled.

When it was done Liz sat up and wriggled slightly...ostensibly to get comfortable, and just incidentally eliciting a groan from Max. "There," she said, "you see? You get what you want and I get what I want! Compromise is the key." She leaned forward and kissed him before cuddling into his chest like a kitten snuggling into a warm blanket.

Max sighed. "Parker, you're going to be the death of me yet. Are you under the mistaken notion that there's going to be a third time tonight?"

Liz raised her head, crossed her arms over his chest, and propped her chin up on them while regarding him half playfully. "I wouldn't say no to the possibility, after all we have a whole lost year to make up for." She sobered. "Max I don't care what happens. I *have* no expectations. I simply want as much of you as I can get, as often as I can get it, and for as long as I can get it. Look at it this way. Mom and Dad will be home tomorrow. When I come home from school they'll be here. How long will it be before we can be like this again?"

Max opened his mouth, but couldn't think of an answer that would satisfy her. He knew that it might be a *very* long time indeed. And through their connection Liz knew that he knew it.

Liz studied his face. "Now you understand." She slid her arms down and around his chest as she rested one cheek over his heart. "So shut up and quite stressing, Love. *This* is what I want right now. If anything happens to... come up later, fine. If it doesn't, fine." She turned her face into his chest and gave him a kiss, inhaling deeply of his scent. One compounded of Max, herself, and recent sex. Then she snuggled back in and closed her eyes.

Liz could feel Max's mind working through the connection. Now that... certain things.... were taken care of, he was replaying the meeting. She contented herself with feeling the interplay of his emotions, knowing that he'd talk when he was ready to. And not one moment sooner.

A long quiet, and contented, time later Max stirred. "Liz, were you okay with telling them?"

Even without the connection, Liz would have known what he was talking about. "I wasn't thrilled, but it was necessary. Our love life is our business, the problem is that the fallout from our love life impacts everyone else." She sighed. "If nothing else, it made Michael quit yapping about the fusion. And it spared me having Maria give me the third degree."

Max chuckled. "I was dead certain that Jim and Amy were going to go parental on us, but after our Composite healed Kyle, any thoughts of it were apparently out the window."

Liz giggled. "I tend to think that it was Kyle doing a 'Yuri Geller' on that chair that got them off track. It certainly put Kyle kinda off track!"

Max shook his head. "Not as badly as I would have expected, Sweetheart. He handled it pretty well, considering everything else that he'd just gotten hit with."

Liz sighed . "Do you think that we can get them back?"

Max shrugged. "I promised Jim that we'd try, but right now I haven't the foggiest idea of how to go about it. All we can hope for is that Larek will make one of his infrequent visits, and we can ask him to do what he can at his end." His hand stroked Liz's hair gently. "You're awfully concerned about someone who has hardly been one of your favorite people."

Liz kept her face turned away from him. "She still isn't one of my favorite people. She may never be. But, in the end, she didn't have any choice other than to go along with Nasedo's plan. And the thought of Kyle's son or daughter in the hands of K'var makes me ill." She sniffed. "Jim looked so sad and old when he found out. And he's done so much for us. If rescuing a woman that hurt us so badly is what it takes to make him smile, then that's what we'll do."

Max smiled. "That's my Liz of the tender heart." He kissed the top of her head, then tugged her chin up and around so he could take her mouth. The kiss started to heat up, and he felt his body start to respond, despite his earlier protestations. So did Liz, for she was wearing a knowing smirk when he finally broke the kiss. That damned connection again. Normally it was one of the nicer things about their love. But occasionally it was a pain, telegraphing things that he'd prefer to keep to himself. Time to play dumb. "What?"

Liz giggled and sat up, licking her lips and giving him full view of her body. She wasn't buying the dumb act, but she still saw an opportunity for a little fun. "I was thinking that turnabout is fair play. When you healed me of that gunshot wound, you marked me as yours, whether or not you knew it, or chose to admit it. Now though," she reached out with one hand to caress the petite silver hand print on his shoulder, "*I've* marked *you*, and woe to the hussy who seeks to trespass!"

Max grinned. "I can live with that." Then he sobered. "Can you? It doesn't bother you?"

Liz cocked her head. "What? Having powers? You've borne up under it all right the last twelve years, I don't see why I shouldn't." Dropping the play acting she leaned forward to kiss him as she began to slowly roll her hips, causing him to groan her name. "Understand me well Your Majesty. With or without powers, I'm yours. I'm with you to-the-end-of-road!"

Max was gasping. Desire had him nailed down, helpless. Liz was speeding her tempo. "God," he said hoarsely as his hands came up to grip her hips,"I love you Liz!"

Liz was transported. Her was head thrown back exposing her throat, the cords of her muscles there could clearly be seen standing out, stretched piano wire tight.

Despite the fact that they'd already been down this road together twice that night already, it was a measure of their passion that the end wasn't long in arriving. And this time when the great internal wave claimed them, they were soundless. All expressed feelings were through their connection, and *that* was a coruscating light show of love, lust, admiration, joy, gratitude, and wondrous awe....

It was over, it was done.

Liz collapsed limply forward on top of Max. They lay silently, listening to each other's breathing and heartbeat. This time Liz made no attempt to 'keep' Max. As soon as she could move, she lifted herself to the side and stretched out, molding herself to his side and pillowing her head on one shoulder.

Max felt sleepy amusement filtering through the connection, and he gently shrugged his shoulder as he nudged her through the connection. He was to tired to actually *say* anything at the moment. The overall effect was 'What?'.

Liz yawned. "I was just thinking that we should pick a name."

Max was puzzled. "A name?"

Liz kissed his shoulder. "Yes, a name. Like a baby name."

Max froze. "Er...Liz....I...."

Liz read him through the connection and punched his side gently with her delicate fist. "No, not for a baby you idiot! I wouldn't mind having ten or so for you....one day. But I meant for our 'son the doctor'. Calling 'It' our 'Composite' is so clumsy and impersonal. After all, 'It' is *us*."

Max chuckled, and couldn't keep his relief out of the connection....it was so painfully obvious that it threw Liz into a fit of giggles. "Okay," he said, "since this is your idea, you choose."

Liz paused thoughtfully. It couldn't be something cutesy. They were adults now, and that made 'It' sort of a 'super-adult'. Something 'adult' and dignified, classical yet classy, and something that she would *never* hang on any child of hers, even by accident.

"Hector?"

Max chuckled. "Hector? Are you sure? Aren't you afraid that the other Composites will beat It up on the playground?"

Liz snorted. "Yes, Hector!"

Max nodded. "Okay, Hector it is!"

Liz pulled herself up and kissed him. "Thank you Max. Now we'd better get some sleep. We still have school in the morning."

Max drew his arms around her and pulled her close, without desire, yet still savoring the smooth velvet of her skin on his. "I can agree with that, especially after a certain insatiable someone has made it impossible for me to keep my eyes open any longer!" She tried to protest, but he sealed her mouth with his. After a brief gentle struggle she gave in and kissed him back.

When Max finally released her she smiled. "Insatiable, huh? I didn't hear you complaining. Before, during, *OR* after."

Max chuckled. "Love, I may not be the sharpest pencil in the box, and I may not have the stamina of a triathelete..."Liz pinched him"...but I am *not* stupid."

Liz giggled sleepily. "Thanks....I think."

Max rumble softly. "Goodnight Liz...I love you!"

"Goodnight Max." She pulled the covers up over them and snuggled in. "I love you too!"

Tired as she was, Liz still didn't drop off immediately. She lay there on the edge of sleep, listening to the steady rhythm of Max's breathing, which indicated that he was already in dreamland. Her conscience was nagging her.

Her earlier comments about Tess were valid. The girl had been obnoxious, selfish, and greedy from day one. And she had put Liz and Max through hell. Forgiving her all that would take a lo-o-o-ng time...if indeed it were possible at all. But, in light of what Kyle had said, Tess had been holding back...and holding Nasedo back, from taking the ultimate action to forward his plan. And the woman in Liz felt some strange kinship to her.

For that memory in Max's head, and now in Liz's head, had been clear. It showed Tess undressing a compliant, and nearly comatose Max. It showed her making him lie down next to to her. It showed her kissing his forehead with a whispered apology...then the warp had taken over. But all of that was irrelevant against the look that her face bore. Resignation and pain. She'd been crying. Wearing the look of a woman about to submit to something that she'd rather not do. Setting up the appearance of having *done* something that she'd rather *die* than do in reality.

"She looked like I felt...that night with Kyle." Liz sighed. Her heart said yes, and her mind said no. "Someday when they meet, I'll be able to forgive her...but not yet." Nonetheless, Tess' face moved Liz. As she fell asleep, her gentle heart got the better of her fuzzy mind, and she whispered...."I'm sorry". Then she was asleep against her soul mate.

The Evans Household.......Same Time

Isabel sat at the kitchen table drumming her fingers on the table top and trying to think. She was furiously angry, and she had no idea why. Something strange was going on, and she wasn't in on it. First, everyone had disappeared. Max had called around 5:30 to say that he wouldn't be home tonight, and asked her to cover for him if their parents called. It took no great guess work to know where he was. The problem is that when she'd called him at Liz's, he wasn't there. In fact, *no one* was there. Ditto for the Valenti's, the DeLuca's, and at Michael's place. Calling the UFO museum had only gotten her an answering machine. And everyone had their cell phones turned off. That alone was a mystery. The DeLuca women without cell phones?

However, the real mystery was her mood. Up until a few hours ago she'd been puzzled, worried, or any of several other things. However she was ready to write it off...until she'd had the mother of all mood swings, and was suddenly howling mad. At nothing that she could see. This was like PMS on amphetamines She was a rational girl, and given to introspection. So, rather than give in to the anger and allow it to focus on those closest to her, *she* turned on *it* and tried to understand it's source. The problem was, it didn't have a source. Which only made the anger worse.

So Isabel sat there and stewed....hotter and hotter. Finally she stood up, wrote a caustic, not to mention bitchy, note for Max to find whenever he wandered home, then she stomped down the hall to her bedroom. She got ready for bed hurriedly, and without her customary grace. Once she was safely under the covers she sighed. The fury was ebbing. Slowly. Sleep was taking over. The last thing that she recalled before drifting off was the ironclad determination to get to the bottom of this tomorrow. No matter how many people she had to skin alive to do it!

The DeLuca Household....10:30 PM

Amy was trying to watch TV, without too much success. After they'd gotten home from the meeting, with a brief side trip to drop off Michael, she had called Jim and they'd talked a little bit. She had offered to come over, but Jim had demurred. He'd told her that he wanted to be there for Kyle tonight, but had asked her to go to lunch with him tomorrow. Amy sighed, and glanced down the hall towards Maria's room. Maria had gone to bed immediately after they had gotten home, despite Michael's request to spend some time with her so that they could 'talk'. Amy sighed again and went into the kitchen to make some tea. Parenting could suck sometimes. Right now she judged that Jim needed her more than Maria did, and he couldn't give in to the need, because his own son's needs took precedence. She shook her head, as if to clear it, then placed a mug of water in the microwave to heat.

The timer on the microwave had just gone 'ding' when she heard a soft tapping sound. It was repeated. It sounded like.....she tracked the sound to the front door. "Who in God's name is knocking at this hour?" she thought. She approached the door cautiously, pausing to snatch her ball bat from the corner. Bat at the ready she flipped on the front porch light. "I might have known," she sighed. Yanking the door open she said, "Michael, Maria's in bed, and it's late. It's a school day tomorrow, and you should be in bed as well!"

Michael swallowed. "I know Maria's in bed...I...er..I checked before I came around front to knock on the door."

Amy stared at him. "You, were in this house already?"

Sensing an eruption in the making Michael hurriedly shook his head. "No! No, I stood at her window and looked at her. I know what she looks like when she's in deep sleep....and she's there, believe me!" Michael swallowed again as he watched Amy's face. Michael hadn't looked in Maria's window. He knew that she was asleep because he could *feel* it. And he wasn't about to tell Amy about the developing awareness between himself, and her daughter. She seemed to be looking for a reason to be mad. "Don't worry about looking for one Amy, I'm afraid that I'm about to give you all the reason that you could ever want," he thought.

Amy nodded. "Okay, I'm going to overlook the reference to intimate knowledge of my daughter's sleep patterns and cut to the chase. I assume then that it's me that you wanted to see?" she growled.

Michael looked scared, though not for the reasons that Amy would have imagined. He nodded. "Yeah, it's you that I needed to see. Could you grab a jacket and take a walk with me?"

Amy blinked. "Michael, it's going on 11:00, this is a hell of a time to take a walk!" she said quietly. "And besides, what do you have to say to me that can't be said right here?"

Michael gave her a half smile. "Amy I can promise you that you'll get home safely. And knowing you, this could get sort of loud, and I don't want us to wake Maria up. In part because she needs her sleep, and in part because I don't want her to know that I was here....and that you and I have talked."

Amy looked Michael up and down. Now she was worried. Michael Guerin was acting in an unaccustomed manner. Still, the only way to get her questions answered now...."Wait here, I'll just be a second." Amy closed to door and walked into the living room to snatch her sweater and turn off the TV. After walking down the hall to check on her daughter, and satisfying herself that she was as deeply asleep as Michael judged her to be, she scooped up her keys and joined Michael on the porch. After locking the door she turned to Michael. "This had better not take too long. I don't like leaving Maria alone."

Michael nodded solemnly. "Neither do I, and that's what this is about."

Together they turned and walked off into a silent night.

The DeLuca Household........45 minutes later

Michael and Amy approached the front walk, moving slowly. Amy had her arm locked around Michael's. The impression given was that they were holding each other up right. They arrived at the front door, and stood there in silence for a long moment before Amy addressed Michael.

"Are you sure about this?"

Michael nodded. "I always knew that she had abandonment issues." His mouth twisted wryly. "It takes one to know one. I guess you could say that, that's what we saw in each other. Anyway, you heard her tonight. She's been expecting me to leave her. To *abandon* her, like her father did." Michael sighed heavily. "That isn't going to happen. Amy I love your daughter. There was a time when I would have rather died than admit it, but this isn't that time anymore. I love her, and she needs to know beyond any doubt that I know it, and that where we go, we go together."

Amy blinked at moisture in her eyes. "I'm *not* happy about this right now, Michael. I've had too many bad experiences of my own, and there's the whole 'alien warrior' factor. But I suppose that I'll get over it." She sniffed. "Do you know what tipped the balance?"

Michael shook his head.

Amy laughed softly. "You insisted on getting me out of the house." She hugged Michael. "You know *me* well enough to know that I'd get vocal, and you cared enough about my daughter to want me to do it elsewhere." She kissed his cheek and grinned at him. "Just remember the deal."

Michael looked pained and nodded. "I finish high school with respectable grades."

"And I want to see those report cards!" Amy interrupted.

Michael nodded. "Then college." He paused. "And after tomorrow night....no more until...after..."

Amy grinned and nodded. "Yes....*after*! I know that you and Maria are...active, and I think that you owe me this Michael. You're doing this to address her issues, well now you have to address *mine*." Amy's face softened, looking pleading. "You owe me this Michael. Both of you do, for all the secrets you've kept from me. For all the terrible things that she's endured for you and the others...without my knowledge. Show me your honor. Show me that you're serious."

Michael sighed and pulled Amy into a hug. "I promised Amy. I don't like it...and, whether or not you believe it, your daughter isn't going to like it worth a damn. But I promised." He paused. "I'd better get going. I'm going to have to get some sleep, because I have a busy day planned tomorrow. I'm going to have to blow off lunch at school to go shopping."

Amy giggled. "You could just skip a class, you know?"

Michael grimaced and shook his head. "Nope, I've promised an important lady that there'd be no more of that for anything other than life threatening emergencies, be they alien or non-alien." He grinned back. "It's a promise that I intend to keep."

Amy smiled fondly at him. She was glad now, that Maria had found him. And, having found him, that she'd kept after him until his defenses had crumbled. He looked rough and rebellious. Hell, he *was* rough and rebellious. But there was sound metal there, beneath the surface. He was good for her little girl, as she was good for him. She pulled him back into a hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight Michael, sleep tight!"

Michael hugged her back. "You too....Mom."

Amy jerked back and grinned. "Don't get smart....Son. You have my daughter to deal with first."

Michael shrugged, as if to say 'piece of cake'.

Amy shook her head. She wished that she could warn Maria....just to give her a chance to shake the boy's complacency. But, her daughter would have years in which to do that.

Michael backed down the steps. "G'night Amy."

Amy had her hand on the front door knob. "Bye Michael....see you tomorrow."

Michael turned and jogged briskly away, down the side street where his motorcycle was parked.

Amy sighed as she heard the engine start. That bike would have to go!

She entered the house and resumed her tea making where Michael had interrupted her. Sleep tea tonight, and maybe a jolt of brandy to boot! While her water was heating she walked down to her daughter's room and cracked the door. Looking in at her sleeping angel she was struck again by the fact that she was Michael's 'angel' now as well.

"Sweet dreams Baby," she whispered. "You don't know it yet, but your day tomorrow has a life altering event waiting for you in it." Blinking back the moisture in her eyes she quietly closed the door and headed back to the kitchen, leaving her sleeping daughter oblivious to what the next day had in store.

"Yes, sometimes being a parent does suck" Amy thought. "But other days the payoff is beyond anything you could imagine. And I think that tomorrow might be one of those days." She grinned and quickened her pace, she needed to get the tea and brandy over with and get to bed. She wanted to enjoy every second of tomorrow.

Michael's Apartment....11:30 PM

Michael let himself in quietly. He'd broken all the speed limits getting home, thinking that he might as well. With all the conditions and promises that Amy had wrung from him, his days as a carefree James Dean wannabe were drawing to a close. He opened the refrigerator door and studied the sparse contents. Day old pizza, yogurt, and Maria's left over vegetarian lasagna. Michael's face twisted. Tomorrow he *had* to go grocery shopping. He settled for grabbing a bottle of water and a slice of half mummified pizza. After nuking the pizza, he carried 'dinner' in the bedroom and got ready for bed between bites.

Once he had stretched out under the covers and shut off the light, he allowed himself time to think. Tomorrow he had shopping to do, and for something more important than groceries. He'd been saving that money in the bank to upgrade his ride. "I didn't have my priorities straight," he sighed aloud. It was time to upgrade his life instead, and Maria's as well. He fell asleep with visions of engagement rings dancing in his imagination. And hoping that she wouldn't say no.

MacLeod's Dojo.......Midnight

Methos and Amanda walked slowly down the alley approaching the back of the Dojo. Methos noted, with some relief, that his truck was parked there. Using his spare key he unlocked it and found the keys in the sun visor. Turning to Amanda he said, "I guess this is where we part company. I feel better now. Two of us had no better luck than I did alone."

Amanda frowned. "I'd swear that I felt something twice, but it never lasted long enough for me to be certain."

"The same damned thing that happened to me," Methos answered with a chuckle. "He's a slippery little pendejo. No doubt about it."

Amanda's frown deepened. "I don't like leaving him alive, and behind us. I'd feel much better about things if he were feeding the worms by the time Britanicus comes calling."

"Guilty conscience?" Methos chided gently.

Amanda looked at him without expression for a long moment, then nodded. "I'm not as confident about Conterras behavior as Duncan is. The only way that I can be certain that he won't go after the girl without killing Alex first, is if I kill the son of a bitch myself before he can do either."

Methos grinned. "Here I thought this Isabel wasn't one of your favorite people."

Amanda shrugged. "She still isn't, but if what Cass believes is right...then what I think of her is irrelevant. Sooner or later she'll be here, or he'll go there."

Methos laughed aloud. "And you just hate that to hell and back, don't you...momma bear?"

"Watch it old man," she said with a glare. "I have Cassandra's ear. Who knows what despicable lies I could tell her about you!"

That struck to close to home. Methos seemed to shrivel.

Amanda sighed. "Relax Adam, I wouldn't. I...just...wouldn't."

Methos' face cleared. "You'd better get inside. We have an early day tomorrow."

"Just how bad is this place?" she asked. "How should I pack?"

Methos grinned. "It isn't the Plaza my dear. It's secure and there's a water source. That's all that I can promise. So plan on roughing it. Pack as if you were going camping."

Amanda's face looked sour. "I *hate* camping. 'Roughing it' is something I've done far to much of over the centuries. When the human race developed good indoor plumbing, I promised myself that I'd never be more than an ten paces from a powder room and a hot shower again."

Methos turned and got in his Bronco. Rolling down the window he said, "After we get out of this alive, you can be as decadent as you could wish for. For right now, keeping my head has priority over personal hygiene."

Amanda stuck out her tongue. "Cass and I have a ladies only weekend planned when we get back. You'll be sorry old man."

Methos made a show of mock fright and backed his SUV out of the parking area, and Amanda unlocked the back door and went inside as he roared off down the alley.

Amanda moved quietly up the stairs. Once she reached the residential level she exited the stairwell into the hallway leading to the loft. The same hallway that had the guest bedrooms off of it. She was surprised to find light showing under one of the doors. It was Alex's room. She paused to listen. The noise that she heard caused her hackles to rise. 'Schrick!' - pause - 'Schrick!' - pause - 'Schrick!' It was the slow and measured sound of stone on steel. Amanda had raised her hand to knock when Alex spoke.

"Come in Amanda!"

Amanda pulled her hand back as if stung. For one thing Alex had known she was here. Which meant that he was picking up their training faster than they'd hoped. But what really bothered her was his tone. It was flat and lifeless, yet with a dark current of anger under it.

Amanda swung the door open cautiously and found Alex sitting, tailor fashion, on his bed, still sharpening his sword. He glanced in her direction, then turned back to his task, without even breaking the rhythm of stone on metal. 'Schrick!' - pause - 'Schrick!'

The silence stretched. 'Schrick' - pause - 'Schrick!' Amanda, unsure of the situation, spoke first. "Er....hi!"

Alex continued his focus on blade and stone. "Any luck tonight?"

Amanda cleared her throat nervously. Something was profoundly not right here. "Er...no. I thought I might have felt him once or twice. But, if it was him, he was too slippery to get caught."

'Schrick!' - pause - 'Schrick!' "That's too bad. We're running out of time ya know? Tomorrow it'll just be Duncan, Richie, and me."

The conversation tapered off and died right there. Alex seemed mesmerized by his task, and ignored her completely. Only the set of his shoulders told her that he was monumentally pissed off about something. Amanda stirred uncomfortably. There was nothing that she hated worse than not knowing what the hell was going on.

"Well, goodnight Alex," she said. "Don't stay up too late." Then she closed the door and beat a hasty retreat down the hall to Duncan's loft. She found the Scotsman sleeping soundly.

Flipping on the bedside light she shook Duncan awake, and danced out of the way as he lashed out with his arm. Living with Duncan had honed her reflexes. "Wake up Junior! Just what the hell did you do to piss off Alex?"

Duncan blinked in the light. "Huh? What? What about Alex?"

Amanda sat down on the bed. "I just got home to find him in a foul mood, and sharpening his sword in a way that was almost Zen. What I want to know is, what pissed him off?"

Duncan managed to pull himself up. "I haven't a clue. I never spoke to him after Cassandra left. He took his shower and went to bed without a word." Duncan blinked and rubbed at his eyes. "Are you sure that he's pissed?"

Amanda glared. "Look Duncan, I may be new at the motherhood gig, but after a thousand plus years, I know sullen anger when I see it! Now, what happened?"

Duncan thought for a moment, replaying the evening. "Nothing Amanda, not a damned thing. If something has set him off, then it's something that we don't know about."

The fear that Amanda had been holding at bay rose to the surface. "You don't suppose that he found out about...."

Duncan sighed. "I don't know Amanda, I honestly do not know. The only thing that we can do is let him sleep on it. I can go fishing after information in the morning. If he did find out, we'll deal with it tomorrow. For now, all he is, is sullen and angry. It's not like he's going to lop our heads off while we're asleep."

Amanda looked rebellious. "You can't honestly expect me to go to sleep while....."

"Guilty conscience?" Duncan asked wearily.

Amanda's expression turned dangerous. "Junior, Methos said that same thing a while ago, and it's even *less* funny now than it was then."

Duncan rubbed his temples. "Look, I know that you're upset at the prospect that Alex may hate our guts over this, but it's not like we didn't expect a blow up, sooner or later. The fact that in may have happened sooner is simply inconvenient timing. Because there isn't a damned thing that we can do about it.... tonight. And besides that, there's no way that we that could avoid it forever." He pushed himself back under the covers. "Are you coming to bed?"

Amanda growled, but she saw the sense in what he was saying. Even if she didn't want to. With ill grace she shed her clothes, climbed into bed, and rolled over. Turning her back to him. "Turn out the light," she said sharply.

Duncan sighed and complied with her demand. Sleep was already reaching for him. Long ago he'd taught himself not to stress over things that he couldn't do anything about. This was one of those things. And it would still be there in the morning.

Alex's Bedroom......Same Time

'Schrick!' - pause - 'Schrick!' - pause - longer pause...

Alex laid his sword and the whet stone aside. He'd been a fool to let his anger show to Amanda, but that's the way it was. He was too angry and hurt to hide it well from someone as old and observant as she was, so why even try to? He'd listened carefully after her footfalls had faded. She hadn't come back. Nor, apparently, had she been able to talk Duncan into doing anything. Alex nodded to himself. Everything was working out about the way he'd figured it would.

"Tomorrow," he thought. "I'll have exactly one shot at this. With Methos, Cass, and Amanda off starting to 'circle the wagons', Duncan will be short handed here. He'll continue the hunt, for damned sure. That means that, at some point tomorrow night, there will just be Richie between me and the outside. I'll slip out, bait the son of a bitch out into the open, and kill him....or let Duncan kill him if I can't." Alex didn't dwell on what 'if I can't' could mean. He continued aloud. "There's only one thing left to do."

He went over to the PC on his work table and halted the on going news retrieval program. Long ago he'd prepared a contingency plan against disaster. He checked the time. After midnight. Entering an innocuous looking folder labeled Trek Sites he clicked on an icon labeled 'Message in a Bottle'. The resulting program executed immediately and opened an e-mail form that had room for an e-mail address and a slot labeled 'set timer'. The address he knew by heart..... prettyparker32@aol.com. He'd chosen it for her a few years ago when she'd been on a downer about her looks.

He set the timer for eighteen hours.

Then he began to type.

"Dearest Lizzie,

This will come as a horrible shock, but I'm alive. The thing is, by this weekend, I may not be. And there's a man here, a poisonous psychopathic bastard really, that's made a threat against Isabel....and if he tries to make good on it, I have no reason to believe that he would stop with her. My friends here seem to think that the man is a coward, who won't try anything while I'm alive. Be that as it may, the odds are good that I'll be dead come Monday morning. So there will be nothing between him and the ones that I love any longer. My friends have promised to look out for you all, but if they die as well.... All things considered, if I'm to die, I'd rather die protecting Isabel and the rest of you from what my life has become. It's me that he wants....so tomorrow night I'm going to bait that SOB out into the open and kill him, or die in the attempt. By the time that you read this, it will be to late to do anything, even assuming that you could. Well before midnight, it'll be all over, one way or the other. Be alert Liz, tell the others to be alert. If I don't contact you again by midnight tomorrow, assume the worst and start watching for a handsome psychopath with an ugly scar on his face. If you take him down, be *sure* to take his head *off*....then run like hell!

All these months, I've wanted nothing more than to come home, to see all of you again, to hold Isabel in my arms again, and all these months I've known that I never can. I've missed you, and Maria, and all the others....even surly Michael. Give my love to Isabel, and tell her that if I don't see her again, I'll be thinking of her. Where ever I am. Always. Give my love to everyone. Good-bye Lizzie, you've been the best friend that a man...or a boy, could have.

In Love and Friendship,
Alex

PS....I know how you think Lizzie. And don't do it. Don't try to find me. If I make it past tomorrow, war is coming for my friends...and for me. Soon. And I owe these people a debt of loyalty and honor as great as the one that I owe you and the rest of the group. I cannot leave them...but I also do NOT want any of you in the middle of it! So DO NOT TRY IT!"

Alex paused, and re-read the e-mail. It said everything that needed to be said. Using the mouse he clicked 'Send'. A prompt appeared that said 'Timer Engaged', with two possible responses. 'Execute' or 'Cancel'. Alex hesitated briefly, then clicked... 'Execute'. The prompt and the e-mail disappeared. The fat was in the fire now. He glanced at the clock. It was almost 12:30 AM. The program would run quietly in the background, unseen, for eighteen hours. Then, around 6:30 PM tomorrow, the timer would run out and it would awaken. It would have the highest priority possible. It would bump all other tasks then running, and fire that e-mail off to an anonymous re-mailer located somewhere in Finland. The re-mailer would strip off his IP and e-mail address and then forward the e-mail to the addressee.

Alex got up from the computer and stretched. He needed sleep. Going back to the bed he picked up the whet stone and tossed it into what he called his 'supply kit. Picking up his sword he slammed it into its scabbard and leaned it against the night table next to his bed. He was in no mood to get fancy tonight, so he stripped and climbed under the covers with a minimum of fuss. Turning out the light he lay back and regarded the ceiling, thinking. His chances of embracing the long sleep, sometime in the next twenty four hours, were looking pretty good. Alex sighed and spoke aloud. "Before I became an Immortal, I rarely thought of death in more than an intellectual way, and it frightened me. Maybe I never really grasped it *because* it frightened me. Now I have the prospect of a virtually unlimited lifespan.... and I've become a fatalist. I'll fight, but more to protect Izzy and the others than to protect myself. Dying doesn't frighten me the way it should. Now it's an inconvenience that I could do without." He rolled over and tried to settle in. His thoughts turned to Duncan, Amanda, and the rest of the small Seattle family. "If we get past this...and I finally forgive them, the first question I ask is going to be about their feelings about death. Their own, and others." Sleep was pulling him down now, with warm and gentle fingers of fatigue. His last thought was, "Death holds no terror for me now. Only loneliness does..."

Behind him the e-mail program in his computer's memory stood silent vigil...waiting.

And the clock was ticking.

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.


STILL YOURS - Part 14b
(Hope)

The Evans Household.....6:45 AM

Isabel awoke with a fearful start. Something was stirring in the house. She lay still, trying ignore the thumping of her heart, and listened. A few muffled thumps later she was reaching for her portable phone with one hand, while the other hand began the fluoresce faintly with her gathering powers. Then she froze as she heard the familiar sound of the shower in her parents' bathroom start running. She frowned, and then swore. There aren't many burglars that stop to take a shower. Ungrateful brothers are another matter!

She crept out of bed and quietly tiptoed down the hall. It was worth noting that her hand was still glowing... brighter if anything. Entering the master bedroom she found the bathroom door locked. A quick pass of her hand over the recalcitrant lock solved *that* problem.... granting her access to the larger 'problem' in her parents shower. She stood listening to Max as he hummed in the shower, occasionally bursting into quiet song. Elvis tunes. "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You"....and "Burning Love". Three points of fact occurred to her. The first was that Max still couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. The second was that he'd obviously spent the night at Liz's....and a very good night at that. The third was that Brody was corrupting him... which moved Brody's posterior up the line on her personal 'asses to be kicked today' list.

She reached for the handle on the toilet, intending to flush it, but paused. Then she changed her mind. She quietly opened her mother's small private linen closet next to the shower. Inside it was a service access that her father's forethought had placed there, to allow plumbers to service the shower's plumbing without the necessity of ripping out the wall. Opening the access she shook her glowing hand out as if limbering up for a pitch in baseball. The hand glowed brighter...... then she reached in and gripped the hot water pipe. Turning it's contents to ice water.

Half a heartbeat later a siren-like howl of, "What the HELL is going on!" from the vicinity of the shower rewarded her efforts. The water shut off and a dripping Max stumbled out of the shower. Normally Isabel would have launched on him at once over his nudity and her bad temper....but her eyes were drawn to the interesting feature on his right shoulder. A delicate, not to say dainty, silver hand print. Say, about 'Liz' sized.

Max looked up and saw his sister glaring at him. The direction of her stare was plain. He was half tempted to try and cover it up. "Er....hi..Iz?"

Isabel glared a moment longer then spoke. "When you're done, I'll see you in the kitchen." Then she spun on her heel and headed out the door. Reaching the door she paused. "Be done soon Max....or you'll have erotic dreams about Rosanne Barr for the next month." Then she was gone.

Max swallowed. "Oh shit!" he thought. "She's pissed." He'd read her note, and had hoped to escape the house without talking to her. "So much for *that* idea!" With desperate haste he finished his shower. He hurried through his shave, and skipped the dental floss when he brushed his teeth. Ten minutes later he entered the kitchen with all the caution of a man crawling in with a short tempered hibernating bear. Isabel was sitting at the table with a cup of tea, staring into space.

"Hi Iz. You wanted to talk?"

Isabel focused on him. "Actually I wanted *you* to talk? Where were you last night?"

Max swallowed. "I was with..."

"...Liz," she finished. "Yes, I know. I mean *before* that. Where were you and the rest of the gang? And how did you come by that nifty piece of body art?"

Max studied her carefully. Something wasn't right. It was as if she were on the edge of something. And it wouldn't take more than a nudge to put her over the edge. Time to proceed cautiously....and to muddy the waters. "We had a meeting."

Isabel frowned. "To which I was *not* invited? Why?"

Max sighed. "Iz. I can't tell you."

Isabel's eyes narrowed. "Why not?"

Max sighed. "I can't tell you *that* either."

Isabel tried counting to ten. She only made it as far as five. "Damnit Max! What did we agree to, when it comes to keeping secrets?! Damnit! I can't decide who's worse, you or Alex!"

A half meter long icicle replaced his spine. "What did you say?"

Isabel made an irritated noise. "Are you deaf now too? I reminded you that we'd agreed, as a group..a family, that keeping secrets from each other was a *bad* thing!"

Max looked her in the eye. "I meant *after* that."

Isabel frowned...trying to remember. "Something about....about not...not knowing ...who was worse." Her face cleared. "Yes, not knowing who was worse, you or Liz."

Max shuddered. That wasn't what she had said. And she didn't realize it. The warp, if that's what it was, was breaking down. He didn't know whether to go all out and push her to remember right now, or stall until the sonar team had time to give Alex's grave the once over. Without proof Isabel's stubbornness might just reinforce the warp. And the meeting last night had taught them a stern lesson about booby trapped mind warps. This one probably wasn't rigged to kill, but that wasn't a call that *he* was prepared to make with his own sister. Not without Liz, and Hector, on emergency standby!

He sighed. "Look Iz, I can understand that you're hurt, but there was some material discussed that would be upsetting to you....and we wanted all our ducks in a row before....upsetting you."

"Upset how?" She was looking less angry and more curious now. Then she frowned. "You shut me out and pissed me off....to avoid upsetting me? Does that strike you as a contradiction in terms?"

Max shook his head. "Oh no. You aren't going to browbeat it out of me. Just keep a slot open in your day planner. Because I have a feeling that there'll be another meeting tonight. One that you'll want to be there for!"

Isabel looked sour. "Okay....but don't think that you're out of the doghouse dear brother. Or that I'll let you get away with this again!"

Max studied her. "What's really the matter, Iz?"

Isabel looked away. "What makes you think that there's anything the matter?"

"Iz, I know you. True, we kept you in the dark. But, as much as that might irritate you, it shouldn't get you *this* angry." He paused, then chided gently. "Who's keeping secrets now?"

Isabel's head snapped around. She glared for a moment, then deflated. "I don't know Max. I really don't. Last night, when I realized that you were all AWOL, I suspected that you were meeting behind my back about something. Like you said, it irritated me, but not that much. I was willing to wait, and sweat the details out of you later. Then, all at once, out of no where, I was mad. I mean more deeply and thoroughly angry than I've ever been in my life! For no reason!!" She sighed. "I guess this is just leftovers from that."

Max frowned. Michael would have seen this as evidence that Isabel was losing it. But he didn't. He'd have to talk to Liz about this, but.....

Isabel broke his train of thought by changing the subject. "Okay, I've told you....now, either you throw me some sort of bone about last night, or you have a date with Rosanne tonight." She smirked.

Max sighed deeply. "Okay Iz....name your price."

"That hand print on you shoulder," Isabel said with pitiless good humor. "Liz put it there?" When Max nodded she continued, "I assume that she now has powers...and that she had a reason to use them on you."

Max looked a little lost. "There's a chain of events behind that that's too long to go into in detail, so I'll give you the short version." He glanced at his watch and muttered a silent apology to the group He was the one that had insisted that they not discuss things with Isabel until they had more evidence. He sighed. "So much for good intentions," he thought. He'd have to tap dance around a few of the facts of the meeting....anything that didn't match Isabel's memories. But his sister could be as stubborn as Liz was...and she wouldn't back down. He'd just have to make sure that the others knew what he'd told her. He too a deep breath and began. "Okay, bear with me. Yesterday afternoon Liz and I...er...we made love for the first time."

Isabel nodded calmly, but inside she was in turmoil. "Yesterday afternoon was their first?" she thought. "But Liz told me...", she paused, "...no...she didn't tell me. I told *her*, and she let me believe it. Something doesn't add up!" She was forced to put her train of thought aside as Max went on.

"The upshot is this...by consummating we apparently completed something that we needed to do to make the Fusion work. We can go in and come out at will, without effort, and without the exhaustion. Furthermore, in the
course....er....anyway, Liz saw a flash of the night that Tess and I supposedly...."

"....violated natural law?" Isabel finished for him.

Max winced. Yes, she was still ticked at him. "Yes, you could call it that. Anyway, she noticed something wrong with the flash. That it wasn't like the other images she'd gotten from me. So we Fused and let our Composite take a whack at it. It cleaned house on us. It turned out that Tess left us both peppered with mind warps, which It cleaned out for us. One of them was my memory of that night."

Isabel blinked, then slowly smiled. "Does that mean that you didn't...?"

Max smiled. "No. I didn't. It was a mind warp."

Isabel didn't hesitate. She jumped up and was around the table in under a second. Wrapping her arms around her brother she hugged him...hard. Then a realization hit her and her grip slackened.

Max felt it and pulled back. "Iz?" Her face was a mask of fury and hatred.

"Then the baby was a warp too," she bit out. "All of it. All lies! She killed Alex for nothing! For nothing!"

Max shook his head slowly. "No, the baby wasn't a warp. Once the Composite cleared the warps out, and my memory was clear, I knew one thing with absolute certainty. Iz, I connected with a baby inside of her. She *was* pregnant before she left."

Isabel's face was a study of wonder. "Then who......?" Her voice trailed off. "Kyle?" she breathed. "Did he....?"

Max nodded. "Yes, he did. And he didn't know that he had. It was another warp.... and not one of Tess'. Anymore the the warp that killed Alex was hers either."

Isabel staggered away from him and sat down. "Who?" she whispered.

Max's face looked hard, and dangerous. "Nicholas."

Isabel was dumbstruck as Max continued the abbreviated tale of the group's request of Kyle, while carefully editing out references to Alex and Isabel's missing memories, but including of Kyle's display of powers, of his successful bid to remember, and of his brush with death as a result. And of the Fusion that healed him...resulting in the hand print that now adorned his shoulder. Once Max's brief narration was done Isabel was silent.

Out of respect Max kept silence as well. But after a few minutes of watching her he began to grow concerned. She was too calm. "Iz"?

Isabel glanced at him, then looked away with something like guilt on her face..... then her posture straightened and in a low voice she began to curse... venomously. In a way that he'd never heard from her before. When she looked back at him she looked... crushed somehow. "It's never going to end, is it? The Antarian black hole. It tries to suck away our free will. It sucks away those that we love. It makes strangers our enemies, who want to kill us...not because of who we are.....but because of who we were, in a life that we don't remember, and because of what we might become in a Destiny that we don't want!"

Max knew how she felt. "Iz, Liz and I agree, we make our *own* destiny. If that destiny includes helping Antar, then fine. But we're through letting it make us suffer because of something that the Antarians did. Whoever Zan *was*, I'm not him. Not anymore. I am *not* responsible for his alleged errors, nor for cleaning up the mess that may have resulted from them. And whatever Vilandra may have done, *you* are not *her*. You never were!" He sighed. "Hind sight is twenty-twenty. I wish that I'd had the sense to take this position back when all this first started."

Isabel stood up and walked over to give him a hug. "It's okay Max, you couldn't have known. None of us could. You may have been the leader, but you can't make good decisions without information. And Nasedo made sure that you didn't have it. >From what Kyle said, had we been stubborn, Nasedo might have killed Liz, Maria, and Alex...not to mention our parents...the first week after hitting town. The fact that we'd hate his guts over it wouldn't even have occurred to him." She gave him a final squeeze. "You still aren't off the hook completely 'little brother', but I'll leave your dreams alone until I get the full scoop tonight. No Rosanne Barr in a thong bikini." She kissed his cheek. "Now you'd better go finish getting ready for school."

Max grinned. "Gee thanks Iz, a dream like that might just drive me insane...or blind....or both. Just imagining a dream like that is enough to induce nausea. I'll talk to you tonight, remember to keep a slot open for a late meeting...if there is one."

Isabel frowned. "I thought that you said that there would be one for certain."

Max shrugged. "It's not set yet, I hadn't even suggested to the rest of the family, and it depends on some stuff that's supposed to happen today and early tonight."

Isabel's frown deepened. "What *stuff*?"

Max sighed. "It's connected with the 'let's not upset Isabel' part of the agenda. So, can it wait?"

"If you say so Max," she conceded. "Just remember my ace in the hole."

"I know," he said wryly, "Rosanne in a thong..."

Isabel chuckled. "Absolutely...now get out of here!"

Max exited the kitchen and headed upstairs. Leaving Isabel with a lot to think about. She had a growing feeling that something was wrong. That some piece of her personal puzzle was missing. And Max's news about Tess made her wonder if she didn't have a few mind warps hiding in her subconscious, like Kyle and the others. Kyle, that made her think of what had been done to him. Isabel sighed. "I'll have to talk to him sometime today. It seems that we have a lot in common, lost love-wise. And he might be able to give me some pointers on the self-removal of mind warps!"

Isabel grabbed her empty teacup, rinsed it, and placed it in the dishwasher. With Max done in the bath room, she could grab a shower. There was no point in going back to bed now. She'd use the extra time to get a few loads of laundry done before going to work. She left the kitchen and went upstairs to her room. Before getting ready to clean up she paused and looked outside. The sun was up now....though not by much. It was red like fresh blood, and there were gathering clouds. A storm was coming. She'd have to remember her umbrella today.

She had no idea that, before she slept again, her world, and that of her small family, would be turned on it's ear. Even further than it already had been.

Because a storm was coming.


The Kingsgate Estate..............9:00 AM Wednesday Morning

Britanicus was finishing breakfast in his study when the household intercom chirped. He frowned at it then depressed the talk button. "Yes, Joachim? What is it?"

Joachim's voice came back in what sounded like tones of disapproval. "Sire, your...guests have arrived."

Britanicus chuckled, then thumbed the talk button again. "I'll be right out!" As he gulped the last of his coffee, he was still laughing softly. Jealousy didn't become Joachim at all. "Well, a little sibling rivalry never hurt anything. If this makes him a little insecure in his position, then perhaps he'll be more alert. And deplorable incidents like that of Radu and the Lytrell girl could be avoided in the future.

Britanicus paused and reviewed girl's biographical data in his mind. Tracy Lytrell, age 15. Father absconded. Mother raising her daughter and two younger sons by herself. Keeping the children in parochial school caused their mother to work two jobs, and part time on the weekends. Which left young Tracy unsupervised...which allowed her to wander into Radu's path. A pity. The anonymous bank draft for seventy five thousand dollars that he'd dropped in Cheryn Lytrell's mail box would go a long way towards assuaging her grief....if indeed she suspected the reason for it's arrival. The local constabulary certainly did. But Britanicus had covered his tracks well.

"Let them fumble about," he said aloud. "I have bigger fish to fry." He walked briskly out of his office and made his way to the foyer. There he found an old friend waiting... with a surprise.

"Andres!" he boomed as he pulled his former protege into a rough hug. "You son of a dog! How are you?! How was the flight?! It's damned good to see you!"

The shorter broader Quebecer grinned through his beard as he exchanged hugs with his mentor. "Well enough Sire. The flight here was piss poor, service-wise though. Is there any chance of some breakfast?"

Britanicus chuckled. "But of course!" Turning to his majordomo he spoke. "Joachim? Get the cooks to start breakfast fo..."

"Seven." Andres finished for him.

Britanicus swung back towards Andres. "Seven? I thought..."

Andres shrugged. "Salesmanship Sire. Salesmanship. Once I had your okay, I made my pitch to five others that were waffling. Either they stayed or went, but they had to decide *now*!" Andres chuckled. "It's amazing how many people cave when you turn up the pressure! Three joined. Two declined, and I took their heads for making the wrong choice."

Britanicus thought it over. This nearly doubled the number of troops at his disposal. "Where are they?"

Andres shrugged. "I parked them outside. I wasn't letting them under your roof until we'd talked. "

Together they walked outside, trailed by a scowling Joachim, and surveyed the men that Andres had gathered. They were slovenly. Half of them looked like they needed a bath and a barber. They were all lounging about on the grass around the approach to his front door. "Andres was right," thought Musa. "Scum of the Earth indeed. I don't think a scruffier more unprepossessing lot since the days of Rome's barbarian auxiliaries."

Britanicus looked at his junior and raised an eyebrow in query. Andres hadn't been Musa's right hand man for as long as he had been without picking up on certain cues. Britanicus was asking permission.

Andres nodded and waved his mentor ahead. "By all means Sire!"

Musa drew breath and barked. "All right you men! Listen to me! My young friend here has gone to considerable trouble and expense to get you here! I think that the least can do is look like something other than a pack of vagrants!" None of them moved. "Yesterday I killed one of the men who was already here for breaking my rules. If you want to, you can see the scorched area that marks his Quickening around back. I'm going to count to five. Anyone not standing by the time that I finish...dies!" Musa drew his sword for emphasis. *That* got their attention. By the time Musa reached three, they were all standing....and in a line at that.

"All right," Musa said in an even voice, "you lot are going to be well paid to assist me on a 'personal' matter. You will be paid, in cash, after the mission is done. Fifty thousand dollars each. In addition, once the targets are eliminated, you can loot their property to your heart's content. Steal anything that isn't nailed down. Understand?"

There were a few incoherent mutters, and one of them spoke up. A youngish man with scraggly blonde hair. "Ya make it sound like this is the army. I thought we was just gonna kill someone and be done with it!"

Britanicus looked disgusted. "What's your name? And just how old are you?"

The man grinned. "Terry. Terry Beils. Age fifty five....been an Immortal for thirty four years. Got about a dozen heads to my credit."

Musa studied the man. "Assuming that you aren't lying, how did you get those heads? While their owners were sleeping?"

Beils' face looked ugly. "We ain't gotta put up with this sorta crap!"

Andres cut in. "You do if you want a paycheck. If you walk now, you're out for good. And when I say walk, I mean that literally. I won't even give you cab fare." He nodded at Britanicus in apology for interrupting.

Britanicus picked it up with out missing a beat. "Decide now. In or out. Young Mr. Beils was right. If you sign on, you're in the army. My army. I have a passable personal barber, whom you will *all* visit today. You will *all* bathe daily and wear presentable clothes. If you own none, we will acquire some for you...just this once. You will be sober and well mannered. And if any of you try to take a head here, I promise you that losing your own will be the *least* of your worries! No women and no liquor allowed! There are mandatory combat drills daily! The punishment for any infraction used to be expulsion. Since I had to kill someone yesterday, it is now death. All you have to do is behave like decent human beings for a few days, then do a little job for me, collect your money, and leave."

There was some shuffling of feet, and Beils looked sullen, but he kept his mouth shut.

Musa nodded to himself. Cowards. Cannon fodder. "All right, since no one objects, I'll take that as a an unqualified yes." He waved Joachim out front. "You will pick up your gear and follow this man. He will see to your accommodations. Go where he goes, and do what he tells you." Britanicus paused. "And remember, do as you're told, and you live to collect a fat paycheck for a few days work. Screw up and I'll kill you myself!"

After the new men had filed past them and into the house Musa turned to his old second and grinned. "It's hard to find good help these days," he said.

Andres laughed. "How many do you think will still be alive come payoff?"

Britanicus shook his head. "Hopefully, none of them. But, if any do happen to make it, I'll pay them off and send them packing." He paused. "I just realized that I sent Joachim to shepherd those fools around, and he never followed up on my orders to get breakfast together for you."

Andres shrugged. "I can fend for myself. Besides, the look on Boche Boy's face tells me that there will never be any love lost between us. Any food of mine that he has anything to do with is likely to be poisoned!"

Britanicus chuckled heartily. "Quite possibly. But a little jealousy will do the boy good. We had an incident here yesterday. One of the troops abducted a young girl and brought her on to the grounds where he raped her and murdered her. I can't tolerate that sort of thing....and as my second Joachim is supposed to prevent it."

Andres grinned. "Oh ho! So, you get another capable soldier, and paddle junior at the same time! And they claim that the Greeks are devious! They have nothing on the Romans! No wonder you conquered them!"

Musa accepted the compliment with a nod. "Now, let's see about getting you some breakfast." He turned back towards the door, with Malorte pacing him. "My current cook is acceptable, but he isn't up to Emil's standards. Remember Emil? Nearly a century back?"

"I should say so," Andres said with a laugh. "The boy was a wonder! Give him any sort of dead animal, a handful of condiments, and an hour's head start.....and you had gourmet dining!"

Britanicus heaved a sigh. "Too bad that he was a short-lifer. Good domestic help is hard to find."

The two men vanished into the hallway leading to the kitchen.

Half an hour later Britanicus entered his study in considerably better spirits than when he'd left it. He'd left Andres in the kitchen, happily munching on a strip steak with eggs, and all the trimmings. Joachim had reported that the new recruits were settled in and seemed to be accepting the state of affairs. Their sole concern seemed to be how they were going to spend their pay. "Good," Musa thought. "Most of them won't live to collect it. That makes it a harmless diversion." As he sat down at his desk he noticed that the answering machine on his private line was flashing. He pressed the replay button.

"Mr. Kingsgate, this Donald Stenson of DeVries Investigations. One of our operatives has turned up something of interest. Please call me at you earliest convenience, you have my number and extension."

Britanicus frowned, and hit the speed dial on his speaker phone. It took only a moment to reach the DeVries offices, and for the receptionist to give him Stenson's extension. When the operative picked up Musa spoke first. "This is Kingsgate, you have something?"

"Good day Mr. Kingsgate," the investigator said in an oily tone. "Yes, one of my junior field men trailed two of the subjects to an isolated location near Tiger Mountain yesterday. An abandoned building. They were there for quite some time."

Britanicus leaned back in his chair. "Describe the building!" Stenson did so. "Very well, fax me the location, as well as any additional information you may have turned. I assume that you've done some follow up work?"

Stenson chuckled. "Oh, indeed we have. We always like to give our clients value for their money. And you've paid well...and in advance. Please hold a moment."

A minute later the fax machine in Britanicus' office began to hum quietly as it spat out the information that the DeVries agency had gathered. Britanicus took the first few sheets and surveyed the information. "Well, well," he thought. "They're getting ready for something. That fat head Conterras must have tipped my hand somehow or other....because this has all the earmarks of 'forting up'. That kind of incompetence *cannot* go unrewarded! I'll take his head myself!"

At that moment Stenson was back. "The balance of the information is about thirty pages, including a map location of the site as well as the surrounding terrain. It will be along directly. As will an e-mail with some digital photos of the location."

"Thank you Mr. Stenson," said Britanicus absently. "I will no longer require your services. You may retain any unused balance of my money as a bonus for work well done."

That really got Stenson's attention. "Thank *you* Mr Kingsgate! It's been a pleasure doing business with you! Anytime you require our services, just call. You'll be marked in our files for priority service!"

Britanicus was already reaching for the disconnect when he said, "You're welcome Mr. Stenson, I'll keep you in mind. Good bye!"

"Good bye Mr. Kingsgate!" came the response. Then the connection was broken.

Britanicus surveyed the collected in formation, then opened his e-mail account and checked on the photos that Stenson had promised. "A redoubt," he murmured. "That's what it is. Quite formidable under ordinary circumstances. But these circumstances aren't ordinary." Musa displayed a predatory grin. "This will be like shooting fish in a barrel! That clumsy fool Rafe did me a favor after all!"

Britanicus stood and walked to his window looking out on the gardens. A landscaping crew had arrived and begun work to repair the damage done by Radu's timely demise. Already, things were starting to look better. All in all this was shaping up to be a good week, and a better weekend. "Of course," he muttered, "I'll *still* have Conterras head, regardless." Yes, all things considered, things were going well indeed.

Of course Britanicus aka Roland Kingsgate was ignoring that little law, widely attributed to an intelligent pessimist named Murphy.... "If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something."


MacLeod's Dojo........11:30 AM

Richie and Alex were engaging in a sparring match in front of some of the regular students, when the elevator opened and Amanda came out escorted by Methos and Duncan both of whom was carrying Amanda's luggage. A lot of luggage. The sparring match ground to a halt as Richie and Alex stared, open mouthed at the 'caravan'. Duncan glared at both of them in a silent command that said...'Don't say a word...not one word!'. Both Alex and Richie were wearing looks of angelic innocence that fairly shouted...'Who...US?'.

As the three passed out of sight down the stairs Richie turned to Alex. "Y'know, if it were anyone else, you would think that she was moving out on Duncan. But with Amanda, it's normal baggage." He shook his head.

Alex gave a half smile, he couldn't say what he wanted to in front of the students, so he settled for talking around the subject. "It's nice to know that some things don't change....no matter old you get." He'd managed to get his self-control back after last night. Making the choice to take his fate into his own hands had given him a measure of calm. He was still angry, but he wasn't going to start throwing accusations around until he had the facts. That conversation that he'd overheard suggested that, whatever Cassandra had done at Duncan's behest, his friends hadn't exactly been united on the issue. He nudged Richie and leaned close. "She's doing it again," he murmured.

Richie glanced at the subject of Alex's comment, only to have her flush faintly and try to find something else to focus on. "You're out of your mind," he whispered back.

Alex grinned. "Su-u-u-re I am. Tell you what...ask her out to lunch and see what she says."

Richie was about to answer when Duncan returned from loading Amanda's luggage into Methos' Bronco out in the alley. It was a measure of his mood that he snapped at both of them. "Are you two on a break?"

Alex glanced at the wall clock. "As a matter of fact, yes. We were about to call lunch."

Duncan blinked, then glanced sheepishly at the wall clock. "Okay, make it quick though. I have a few issues to work out."

Alex glanced at Richie. He knew what that meant. Duncan wanted a sparring partner. "Take off Richie. I ate a big breakfast, so I can afford to skip lunch to trade bumps and bruises with the boss man."

The other students were already leaving. Their lessons had been done long ago, and they had only been hanging around to watch the sparring match. Richie stared at the the receding back (side) of the expatriate Aussie blonde that had taken such an obvious interest in him. Then he jumped as Alex kicked him and made shooing motions in the her direction. Richie needed no further encouragement.

Richie caught up with her outside. "Excuse me? Miss....?"

She smiled. "Call me Tina."

Richie returned a dopey grin. "Can I buy you lunch?"

The girl grinned. "Well, a mannerly Yank! I think that yours is the first request for a date that I've had, that didn't look to have implications of ending up in the bedroom."

Richie flushed. "I'd be lying if I claimed to be any different in my hopes....I just don't have the chutzpah to think I can get there on the first date!"

The girl studied him a moment, looking noncommittal. "I'd love lunch. Where are you parked?"

Richie smiled faintly, wondering at her mood change. "My bike is around in the alley."

"A motorcycle?" Tina grinned. "I haven't been on one of those for a while. Good thing that I wore jeans today, eh?"

They walked around the corner and down the alley. When they reached the bike Richie handed her a helmet, then stepped into the saddle, ignoring his own helmet. The girl looked at him, then back at the helmet. "If you aren't wearing a brain bucket, then neither am I." She handed the proffered helmet back to Richie and slid into the seat behind him. She snuggled up close, wrapping her arms around his waist. Before Richie could kick start the bike she leaned in and whispered, "First dates aside, you never know *what* could happen on the second date..."

Richie's face flushed, and he kicked the bike to roaring life a bit harder than usual. As he pealed out in search of a place to eat lunch, his rider looked smug. Now he was off balance. This was going to be *fun*!

Back inside the dojo, Duncan and Alex were squaring off in hand to hand. After getting thrown three times, Alex bounced to his feet and smirked. "I guess you *do* have a few issues to work out! Who knew that luggage issues could bring this out!" Duncan grinned, shrugged, and while still flat footed he launched himself at Alex. Alex decided to save Duncan the trouble of *making* him hit the mat, and go down voluntarily. In a startling blur Alex fell backwards and rolled, raising his feet to catch Duncan in the stomach. Using Duncan's momentum, along with a hearty assist, Alex sent him airborne.

Duncan landed hard and rolled. Once he was on his feet again he studied his protégé carefully. "Who taught you that move?"

Alex shrugged. "No one. I improvised."

Looking skeptical, Duncan rushed him again. After two more successful throws that caused Alex to hit the floor, Alex caught him by surprise again, sidestepping an attack like a matador sidestepping a bull. Both times Alex had displayed turns of speed and dexterity that had exceeded his training... or Duncan's expectations. Duncan signaled a time out and walked over to get a drink and mop his face with a towel. "Have you been working out on the sly?"

Alex maintained a carefully neutral expression and shrugged. "Like you're the only one with issues to work out?"

Duncan looked at his student. "Er, Alex...Amanda said something last night about...."

Alex stopped him. "Duncan, I know that you're curious. Do you want to know how I died?"

Duncan froze. He was wearing a poker face, but inside he was burning with curiosity. Alex had been very tight with information about his past. "I thought that some girl cracked you on the head, stuffed you into a car, and ran you into sixteen wheeler."

Smiling grimly at the irony of the situation Alex shook his head. "Cards on the table. I overheard you and Methos talking. I know what you had Cass do." Duncan started to speak, but Alex over rode him. "So, you know that at least one of my old friends has....unusual abilities."

Duncan sighed. "We know that she's more than a friend, Alex." He winced as Alex's eyes narrowed.

Alex nodded. "Just so, but that has nothing to do with what I'm telling you now. The thing is, Isabel wasn't the only one with unusual abilities. How she came by those abilities is none of your business right now, by the way. There were also some... er... unusual enemies. " Alex walked over to stare vacantly out a window.

MacLeod nodded to himself. Enemies.... which implied conflict and danger. A hell of a lot of conflict and danger apparently... if Methos and Cassandra's observations of these 'children' were correct. Noticing that Alex had fallen silent Duncan prompted him. "Please go on?

Alex tensed slightly. "A supposed friend turned out to be one of those enemies."

Duncan realized that he was on dangerous ground, and had best tread softly. "The friend who was an enemy... that would be the girl. Tess Harding? She also had these abilities?"

Alex gave a melancholy sigh. "Yes and no. She didn't have precisely the *same* ability as Isabel. Her particular... 'ability'... was control. The ability to compel people to do what she wanted. To make them see things
that weren't there. To suppress memories."

Duncan had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "She used these abilities on you?" he asked, even as he thought, "Oh shit! Richie and Methos are going to 'I told you so' us to death... and I can't even begin to imagine how Cass is going to react. She didn't want to do it to begin with!"

Alex laughed bitterly. "Man, did she ever. We referred to it as 'mind warp'. We always thought that it was limited in strength. Apparently she was sandbagging us the whole time. She had a job that she wanted done, and she nominated *me* to do it for her. Something that she couldn't tell the others about. So she 'warped' my parents and the school officials into believing I was on a student exchange in Sweden, then she used me like a household appliance. Placed me under her control and used me as her errand boy. It went on for months, until the stress of the 'warp' on my brain and mind killed me. Then, and I'm guessing here, she stuffed my corpse into that mini van and sent me head on into a truck."

Alex spun around and looked at Duncan. Duncan might have expected hatred, but there was only sadness and betrayal in Alex's eyes. "Do you see what I'm driving at here?"

Duncan was silent for a long moment. "What the hell do you say to something like this?" he thought. "Somehow 'I'm sorry' rings a little hollow." He sighed deeply. "Alex, this isn't like that..."

"Oh really??" snapped Alex. "How?"

"It wasn't intended to be permanent," Duncan responded. "Just to stave things off until after we'd dealt with Britanicus. Cass was certain that, given the nature of your 'relationship' with..." He stumbled over the name.
"...Isabel, it wouldn't last long. It would break down."

Alex shook his head. "It's only a difference in degree." He paused. "I waited until the others left so you and I could talk without involving them. You were right about one thing, we can do without any distractions right now. But, make no mistake about it, *I have issues!* They'll wait until this is over, but when it is... we... all of us... are going to talk!"

Duncan nodded then spoke quietly. "One thing...Richie didn't know, and he disagreed when he found out. Methos knew, but refused to support it. Cass didn't want to, but I pressured her into it. If you're going to blame someone, blame me."

Alex was silent and turned back to the window. After a while he spoke. "I'm going out with you tonight."

"No Alex," Duncan answered. "That wouldn't be a good idea!

Alex spun on him. "Good ideas be damned! This isn't a democracy! And we aren't voting. And while I might bow to your experience, this isn't a monarchy either! Been there! Done that! That son of a bitch issued a direct threat against the woman that I love....and I don't for a second believe that he'll stop with her once I'm dead. And we might *all* be dead by dawn Monday. Do you believe that my friends will stand idly by while he tries to have his way with her? So, he dies tonight! Even if I die to accomplish it! Do you understand me?!" Alex stopped and drew a calming breath. "I was going to sneak out after you left, and I'll do that if it's required. But I'm going out. You were right at the initial meeting. He hunts me, while you hunt him. You've been chasing him all week with no luck. That's because you haven't been doing it right! To trap the right rat, you need the right bait. Me! These are my friends, people that I love, and by God, he's not getting anywhere near them!"

Duncan sighed. "Alex, I promise you, he won't reach them. Not while any of us live. As much as I sympathize with your desire to get involved, I can't allow it." MacLeod's voice began to rise. "Even if I have to tie you in a chair like I threatened to do six months ago! You are *not* ready to face an experienced Immortal in combat!" Duncan grimaced and thought, "That leaves out the fact that Amanda would castrate me if I allowed it."

Alex glared. "You keep assuming that *any* of us will be alive to stop him! And just what did you have in mind for me to do this weekend if I can't stand against an experienced Immortal yet? Be the team water boy? Be a door stop? Cannon fodder?"

Duncan looked frustrated. "You're not going out there tonight, and that's final!"

Alex 's fury lasted a moment longer, then it collapsed and he appeared to deflate. "All right," he began in a low voice. "But, so help me Duncan," Alex's voice began to soar, "if you don't bag him tonight, all bets are *off*!" He glanced at the clock. "I think I've done enough time today as your punching bag. It's almost time for the next class. I'll be in my room if you want me!" He turned to leave and paused. "Let me amend that. I'll be in my room. Don't BOTHER ME!" Then he stormed off.

Duncan watched him go with a deep sigh that spoke richly of parenthood and premature gray hair. He'd have to have Richie keep an eye on Alex tonight. A close eye....just in case. The sounds of the arriving after lunch class caused Duncan to shelve the issue. He hoped that Richie wouldn't take a long lunch. He could use a hand with the students...and he wanted to talk to him about tonight.

Up in his room Alex sat brooding for a moment, staring at the computer as it silently ran it's count down. He'd tried to make Duncan see reason. Tried and failed. So be it. He was committed now, and he wouldn't have it any other way. That... thing wasn't coming within a hundred miles of Roswell, New Mexico, ever again. His decision finalized Alex took a lesson from Immortality 101. "When there's nothing else that you can do, sleep. You never know when your next chance might come." So he stripped out of his sweats and stretched out to take a nap. Surprisingly he was asleep in moments.

On his work table the computer continued to silently count the seconds as they passed.

End of Part 14

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.

Author's Note: The acronym 'IRIS' stands for, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. Think of it as a seismic internet watching for earthquakes worldwide. Additionally they watch to see if anyone is violating the nuclear test ban treaty.

Additional Note: This part of this little short story of mine is dedicated to reader and dazzling feedbacker, dzdreamer. {{hugs}} Dz.



STILL YOURS - Part 15a
(Shake, Rattle, n' Roll)

West Roswell High School....Last Period Before Lunchtime....Wednesday

Liz was retrieving some books from her locker when she felt Maria give her a nudge. Liz looked up and grimaced to herself. It was Pam Troy.... and her parents. They were walking down the hall towards her. "I do *not* need this right now!" she thought. Her emotions triggered a distant response.

"~Liz? What's the matter?~" came Max's whisper in her mind.

"~It's 'the lady in red', *and* her parents... right here, right now,~" she responded. She immediately felt Max go to Defcon-1.

"~Hold on. I'll be right there!~" he rapped out.

She could feel him moving rapidly through the school towards her.

Liz straightened as the Troy's approached. Robert Troy offered her his hand. "Miss Parker? We brought Pam to school today to deal with the fallout from her little escapade yesterday."

Liz shook Mr. Troy's hand then sighed, and waited for the tirade. However, it didn't come.

Mr. Troy's wife Sarah nudged her daughter forward. "I think you have something to *say*, don't you *Sweetie*?

Pam looked like she'd rather have been burnt at the stake than be here, but she swallowed and spoke. "Liz, I'm really sorry about that mess yesterday. I had no business treating you and Max like that... I... I'm just sorry." She didn't look particularly repentant, and Liz didn't particularly look like she believed it either.

The expression on both girls faces must have been obvious, because Mr. Troy turned to his wife and said, "Why don't you and Pam go on out to the car and wait. I'll only be a moment." Once both of the ladies Troy were out of sight, Bob Troy turned to Liz. "Miss Parker, I regret what happened between you and my daughter. Deeply."

"I'm glad to hear it," said a masculine voice.

Liz had known that he was there before he spoke. In fact her internal Max-proximity detector already had her leaning back into him. The body contact bolstered her in a way that she couldn't describe. As long as they were together, nothing could intimidate her.

Robert Troy looked over her shoulder at the handsome man/boy behind her. "You're Max Evans I take it?"

"Yes," Max responded curtly, "please go on."

Mr. Troy smiled at the defensive vibe the boy was giving off. "I was telling Miss Parker how much I regretted my daughter's antics yesterday. I'd like to extend that to you as well." He offered his hand to Max, who took it cautiously. Mr. Troy continued, "We've always tried to promote Pam's self-confidence, but somewhere along the line she took our encouragement as a license for arrogance." He sighed. "Whatever caused this turn she's taken, it's time to stifle it."

Liz smiled a little uncertainly. She didn't know what to make of Robert Troy, he seemed nothing like his infamous daughter. "I-I don't know what to say."

Max sensed Liz's momentary confusion and cleared his throat, drawing Mr. Troy's attention. "What Liz means sir is, this isn't exactly what we expected. Pam's been the bane of our existence for so long that..."

"...you didn't think that the fruit would fall far from the tree?" Bob finished.

Max nodded.

Mr. Troy sighed. "Well, in my daughter's case it does. And besides, Mr. Vazinni's testimony was quite compelling. He also brought in one of my daughter's friends, a Miss Kealer, who confirmed that my daughter knew full well that you two were a couple, and that she was trying to play the home wrecker." He shook his head. "So I didn't argue when they expelled her." He glanced at Max. "They said that you could have pressed charges, but didn't. I'd like to thank you for that."

Max shook his head. "It wouldn't have served anyone well." His arms tightened around Liz as he stood behind her. "We just want to forget it."

Mr. Troy nodded. "Well you won't have to worry about Pam for the rest of this year anyway. We'll home school her while we see about some therapy. After that we may let her come back. Or we may ship her to a private school, depending."

Liz stirred. "On what?"

Mr. Troy sighed again. "On whether or not I think she means it when she says that she's sorry."

Liz decided that Bob Troy was the real deal. As warm and genuine as his daughter was plastic and predatory. "I hope it goes well. I can't say that I'll ever like Pam, but you never know..."

Mr. Troy smiled back. "It's quite all right Miss Parker." He glanced up at Max who was still hovering protectively. "In your shoes, any girl would have fought for him."

Liz felt Max's embarrassment through their connection. "I agree," she said. Further conversation was cut off by the warning bell.

Max gave Liz a squeeze and addressed Mr. Troy. "We have to get to class now. Thanks for stopping by."

Bob Troy shook their hands once more, quickly, then nodded. "Thank you for listening to me. I hope that, should Pam come back, you'll give her a chance." Then he turned quickly and was lost in the sea of students hurrying towards class.

Max and Liz said hurried goodbyes. Max gave her a breathtaking kiss then broke into a run. His next class was across the building, and he'd have to hurry to avoid being late. Liz on the other hand only had to walk ten feet, and she was there. She settled into her seat and waited for class to begin. While she waited she reached out to her soul mate. "~He was a nice man. Not at all what I would have expected of Pam's father.~"

"~No kidding,~" came Max's response. "~I arrived expecting to find them shouting threats at you.~"

Liz sighed. "~That's what I was expecting too.~" She paused pensively. "~I guess you never really know about people.~" She felt wry amusement from Max.

"~Thinking of anyone in particular with that remark?~" he asked.

"~Shut up!~" she responded. She wished that she hadn't told him about her decision regarding Tess before he'd left her bed this morning.

Max dropped the subject, but added, "~Liz, I had to *talk* to Isabel this morning. She caught me before I could get out of the house.~"

"~Talk about what?~" she asked worriedly.

Sitting in class and listening to the role call with half an ear Max sighed. "~You know how relentless she is. I had to tell her about the meeting... the edited version of course. Nothing about Alex.~"

Liz nodded then grinned to herself. "~Remind me to talk to Iz if I ever really, really want you to do something for me.~" Then she relented. "~It's okay Love. I'll tell Maria, and she'll tell the others.~"

Max sighed with relief. "~You don't need Isabel. You can already have anything that you want, anytime that you want it.~" Max chuckled as Liz's coy response of, "~I know.~", came back to him. "~There's something else...."~ He told her about Isabel's slip, and her admission of tremendous anger for no real reason. Liz was silent for a while, but Max could feel her thinking.

"~What do you want to do?~" she asked.

Max frowned, and Liz felt it through the connection. "~Things are moving too fast,~" he said. "~But I don't see any way to slow down now. Jim will pick up Michael and I from school today, and the three of us will join Brody and that sonar team at the cemetery. After that, one way or the other, we'll have to deal with Isabel. I don't see that we have a choice. Another meeting?~"

Liz nodded to herself. "~I agree. And I'm going to ask Kyle to keep an eye on Isabel. If the warp is breaking down, she could have trouble. As a recent ex-victim of a warp, Kyle may spot warning signs that we'd miss. And since you told Isabel what happened to him, it will make her sympathetic towards him. He'll be perfect for the job.~"

Max gave an inward snort. "~He'll just *love* that!~"

Liz paused. "~Max, I don't think that he'll be a problem. The look on his face last night when he realized what he'd lost...I just don't see him complaining. He knows that he's one of 'us' now. He's family. He understands.~"

Max chuckled inwardly with admiration. "~Beautiful, smart, sexy, AND perceptive all in one package. How *did* I resist you for all those years?~"

Liz giggled. "~Who cares? It's ancient history. I'm just glad that your willpower finally crumbled.~"

Max paused holding back slightly. He was glad too, for otherwise the angel at the other end of this connection would have been dead right now. Liz sensed the somber tone of his emotions and nudged.

"~Holding back on me, Sweeheart?~"

Max sighed. "~No, just a little thanksgiving that I didn't let Michael stop me that day in the Crashdown.~"

"~Me too,~" she said, as she broadcast her non-verbal thoughts and feelings to him. There had been a number of times in the course of their relationship when she had speculated morosely that it might have been best if Max had let her die that day. She was grateful that he hadn't, and not just for her life, but because she would have missed *this*. She would have missed being Max's other half.

Max felt the interplay of her emotions and was satisfied. "~Class started here ten minutes ago, Sweetheart. And I'd be willing to bet that your class is underway too. We'd both better pay attention now if we want to get anything out of the rest of this period.~"

Liz's mind echoed him with a hum of agreement. "~I'll talk to you at lunch! I love you!~"

"~I love you too,~" Max answered.

Then they both pushed the suppressed the connection to the point where it was just a comforting presence in the back of both there minds. And, every now and again, one or the other would reach out and stroke that presence, sending a gentle wave of love and reassurance to their soul mate.

Lunchtime was too far away.

MacLeod's Dojo....12:35 PM

Richie was walking on air when he walked away from his bike after he parking it in the alley next to the dojo. His date had kissed him good-bye when he'd dropped her off at her apartment, and slipped him her phone number. Things were looking up! That girl gave kissing a whole new dimension! When he got inside Duncan was just finishing the lunchtime class. Having finished their stretching and cool down the students were all grabbing the assort duffles and gym bags that they'd brought to class. A few were grumbling about the lack of showers, but only a few and not that seriously. Richie noticed Duncan's frown as he got closer, and assumed that it was over the students grousing about the lack of plumbing.

"Mac," he said quietly, "you and I both know that you have enough loot socked away to buy this building, tear it down, and rebuild it... several times over. So just buy the damned thing and renovate it. There's plenty of room on the first floor for some showers."

Duncan's frown deepened. "What are you talking about? And what kept you? Did your date have to eat the *whole* cow?"

Richie halted, and with narrowed eyes he continued quietly, "Mac, they call it a lunch 'hour' for a damned good reason." He looked over his shoulder as the last of the students departed, then went on in a more normal, albeit colder, tone of voice. "And since I don't make a habit of questioning *your* wisdom in loving a woman who's screwed you over multiple times in the last four centuries, so I'll thank you to leave *my* taste in women alone! Now, if this isn't about plumbing and cranky students, what exactly has a broomstick up your ass?"

Duncan sighed. "I'm sorry, I had no reason to snap. It's just that things have gotten a bit more complicated."

Richie waited expectantly.

Duncan shrugged. "Alex knows."

This caught Richie off guard. It would have to mean that Cassandra's 'magic' had gone belly up in record time. While it wasn't impossible, it still shook his confidence. At the same time he felt somewhat vindicated. He fought down the 'I told you so' that wanted to get out of his mouth, and stuck to practical matters.

"I assume that means that he knows what was done to him, as well as Isabel?" Richie queried. "Cass is not going to be happy that her Voice failed this quickly. What do we do? Recall her to give him a second dose?"

Duncan looked sour and shook his head. "For the record, it wasn't Cass' fault. It was mine. Alex overheard Methos and I talking. He knows that Isabel was visiting his dreams, and that they were both made to forget, but he hasn't recalled any details yet. I don't know if that's good, or bad, but regardless we're not going to assist the process. And it's too late to mess around with renewing it. I'm not sure that Cass would anyway." Duncan paused for breath. "We have bigger problems anyway. Alex is demanding the right to meet Conterras, or he at least wants to play the stalking horse, so that I can get a crack at him."

Richie looked thoughtful. "That isn't the worst idea I've heard."

Duncan stared at Richie a moment, then shook his head. "He isn't ready, you know that. He's good. Better than the average for his age and stage of training., but he still has a long way to go before he can stand in single combat. And he doesn't have the experience to play 'worm on a hook'." Duncan sighed. "Then there's the little fact that, should we permit either to come to pass, Cass and Amanda will have our family jewels. And I don't mean that in a *good* way!"

Richie smirked. "What you mean..'we', Paleface?" he intoned. "You're the 'alpha male', so you're the one that the ladies will be after."

"Well," said Duncan, "you've just been promoted to deputy alpha. Because, when I go out hunting tonight I expect you to keep Alex in, and that puts you in the hot seat right along with me. Look at it this way, you're just doing what you've been doing all along. Keeping Conterras away from him."

Richie snorted. "If Alex knows what happened, then he's pissed. I would be in his shoes. The problem won't be keeping Conterras away from him. It'll be keeping *him* away from Conterras." He looked askance at Duncan. "Do *you* honestly think that he's going to be a 'good' boy tonight?"

Duncan shrugged. "No, but it isn't my problem anymore. I've delegated it to you." He walked over to the window and looked out. "When Alex and I...had words about this, he said one thing that I agree with wholeheartedly. We can't leave Conterras alive and behind us when we turn to deal with Britanicus and his pack. I'm going to collect his head tonight if it's the last thing that I do."

"Just be sure that it *isn't* the *last* thing that you do," Richie said with a grim note.

Duncan laughed aloud. "The day that someone like Conterras can shorten *me* is that day that the Dodgers move back to Brooklyn." He glanced at Richie. "Why don't I handle the next two classes while you take a nap? I want you rested for tonight."

Richie frowned. "What about you?"

"You sleep until 3:00 PM, then I'll crash until 6:30," Duncan answered. "It's only a couple of hours, but it's enough to make a difference."

Still feeling less than confident, Richie nodded and started for the elevator. Before the doors of the elevator could close Duncan called to him.

"Richie?"

Richie halted the doors. "Yeah?" he responded.

"Amanda suspects that something is wrong with Alex...that he may know something that we could wish he didn't. But she won't tell the others for fear of distracting them. And I got her out of here this morning before Alex blew up, so she doesn't know for sure. So, let's keep this between you and I for now, all right?"

Richie appeared to think about it a moment and then nodded. "Whatever you say, Mac." Then he let the doors close as the elevator began it's cycle.

Once he was gone Duncan went out on the mats while he waited for the next class. Moving from one stylized combat form to the next he ran though a warm up to clear away extraneous thoughts. Tonight was the problem. Tomorrow would take care of itself. Taking care of business tonight was Duncan's immediate goal.

However, Duncan had forgotten rule number one in problem solving. When established methods aren't working, change one of the variables and try again. But, since the trees had Duncan trapped in a forest of his own creation, that particular job would fall to someone else.

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.


STILL YOURS - Part 15b
(Shake, Rattle, n' Roll)

West Roswell High.....Lunchtime

Max and Liz arrived at the ET table to find the others were already there. To Liz's modest surprise Terry Kealer was standing there as well, talking with Maria and a tired looking Kyle... and laughing. It seemed that Pam Troy's departure was still having a ripple effect on the student body.

When Max and Liz reached the table Terry looked up and spoke. "Here they are, the woman of the hour, and her man!"

Liz blushed. "I wouldn't go that far..."

Maria cut her off. "We know that you wouldn't Chica. That's why we're going that far for you." She grinned impishly.

Terry laughed again. "She's only half joking Liz. Don't be surprised if your name mysteriously appears on the ballot for Homecoming Queen."

Liz looked horrified. "Me? Homecoming Queen? Having to hang on the arm of some sweaty jock all night long?" Her hand tightened in Max's. "No thank you!"

"Hey!" Kyle interjected. "As one of those 'sweaty jocks', I take offense."

Liz flushed. "You I wouldn't mind so much. You know the score. But some other idiot might decide that his charm is just to great to be ignored by little old me, and grow more arms than an octopus."

Kyle grinned. "I'm sure that Max could handle him, whoever 'him' turned out to be."

Shaking her head Liz said, "No Kyle, Max shouldn't have to 'handle' anyone." Liz looked at Terry and smiled. "I don't know if you were joking or not, but I have to decline in advance. From here on, Max and I are a package deal."

Terry nodded thoughtfully. She'd have a little talk with the nominating committee, when the time came. There was no *law* that said that the Homecoming King had to be a jock. There was tradition...but no law. And if they wouldn't listen to reason, so what? Liz Parker *without* the crown had the better deal than any other girl *with* the crown. One look at Max Evans' eyes on Liz said that plainly enough. Terry smiled. "Well, I'll catch you guys later. I'm going to celebrate my first Pam-free day by having lunch with the chess club."

Kyle snorted. "That's taking a walk on the wild side."

Terry shrugged. "What can I say? I like chess, but no one in the crowd that I ran with was smart enough to play. Either that or, assuming that they had two brain cells to rub together to begin with, they weren't 'un-hip' enough to admit that they knew *how* to play." Kealer grinned. "After an entire high school career in the monolithic shadow of Pam Troy, it'll be nice to finally see some sunshine." She waved and moved off towards the 'geek' section of the quad.

Kyle watched her go, then shook his head muttering.

Maria nudged him under the table. "Care to share with the rest of us? And why exactly are you *here* anyway? Your dad told *my* mom that you were taking a few days off. Spaceboy begs off lunch, and you shouldn't be here at all. What's up with that?"

"I was just thinking that a leopard really *can* change it's spots," said Kyle with a tired looking smile.

Liz glanced at Max, who read her intention and shrugged. She nodded and said, "Either that or it was never a leopard in the first place."

Kyle glanced at Liz. "That sounds like there's a message in there somewhere, but I'm too tired to chase it down."

Liz smiled at him. "Let's just say that I had an epiphany late last night regarding the idea that people can change. And that sometimes your perceptions of them are late catching up." She paused. "Kyle I don't know what we can do, or if we can do anything at all, but we'll try. We *will* try to get them back. But Kyle, Maria's right. You should be at home. You look whipped."

Kyle had enough energy to smirk. "Always a ready compliment, eh Parker?"

Liz made an exasperated noise. "It wasn't an insult, it was an observation. You don't need to be here. Take some time off. Deal with things."

Kyle looked haunted. "You don't understand. I can't go home...because it was *her* home too. My bed was her bed. When I lay in it now, I'm aware of her. A thousand images of us together fill my mind, like they were new, and I can't rest. I can't sleep." Kyle sighed. "It's different for dad. It hurts him, but not as much. He didn't get as...close as I did. And he has the excuse of work. He has duty to get him out of bed and out of the house." Kyle rubbed tired eyes. "If all I have is school, it'll have to do. Because I can't stay home. She's there. Or rather, she's not there, but enough of her lingers to make the fact that she's gone hard to take." He sighed again. "In fact, when school lets out today I'm thinking of asking dad to let me put up at a hotel for a few days. Long enough to dull the edge."

Max shook his head and spoke quietly. "No Kyle, that won't do. You can crash at my place. There's a guest bedroom that you can use."

Kyle looked at Max. Back before the shooting at the Crashdown, Evans hadn't even been on his personal radar. After the shooting their relationship had been that of rivals and antagonists. And up until recently he'd felt that they were in a sort of limbo. Lately though, he'd felt himself drawn deeper and deeper into the 'family' that revolved around Max and Liz. Where before he'd found the idea repugnant, he now welcomed it. Last night he'd become the 'alien abyss'. And Max's invitation sealed it. Kyle was no longer a 'them'. He was now an 'us'. Still.... "Max, I appreciate it, I really do...but..."....Kyle's protest was weak.

"Forget it," said Max, "I *know* where you're at right now. I've been there." Max felt his connection with Liz resonate faintly with guilt and he sent her reassurance. He felt her hand caress his back in response before he went on. "Left alone you'll brood, you'll get squirrely, then you'll brood some more. It's a cycle. If you want out of the house for a while, I can agree with that. But being alone is the last thing that you should be. Because of the brooding, but mostly because, assuming Nicholas wasn't lying, there could be a Skin watching you right now and waiting for orders to kill."

Kyle perked up at that, his eyes shifting to something savage and frightening. He looked around alertly. Their table was well away and out of earshot from the others, as well as being away from traffic areas. But there was still a good view, and Kyle studied the other students like a lion sizing up a herd of zebra, looking for the one that was different. "I hope so, I really do! I just hope that I don't kill him *before* I can make him talk!"

Max shuddered at Kyle's tone. And he wasn't the only one. Still, he could understand it. In Kyle's shoes he'd feel the same way. "We'll expect you sometime after school then. One thing though...," he glanced at Maria, "....and you should hear this too Maria. I had a confrontation with Isabel this morning. She'd guessed that we'd had a meeting without her, and she was *pissed*. As a result I gave her a carefully edited version of last night's events."

Maria frowned. "How edited?"

"Everything but Alex and her mind warp," Max answered.

Now it was Kyle's turn to frown. "So she knows about me, my powers, about Tess...and about what really happened?"

Max nodded. "Yes...and she had a slip during our conversation that makes me think that the 'warp' she has is breaking down." Then Max told them of Isabel's comparison of himself and Alex. "Also she's having mood swings that are noticeable, even to her. I *think* that she may be getting a bleed over of some of Alex's emotions. And since she doesn't know that he's there, she isn't able to deal with them effectively. So she treats those feelings as her own, even though some part of her knows that they aren't.

Liz nodded and picked up Max's cue through the connection. "That's another reason for you to spend time there Kyle," she said quietly. "Until we get this resolved she'll be at risk. The warp may collapse catastrophically. Also, Alex is apparently into something really dangerous. If he gets into trouble, she could end up feeling it. Whatever happens, she may get seriously confused." Liz paused for breath. "Your dad will be picking up Michael and Max from school. They'll meet Brody and his friend at the cemetery to do the scan of Alex's grave. And Maria and I are on at the Crashdown until early evening. That leaves you as the only one free...unless you want to go with the guys. And since you need a place to crash anyway...."

"I'll do it," Kyle said, as he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Nothing against the guys, but I never liked Tomb Raider. So I'll skip the cemetery. It looks like the Princess and I have something in common. A mutual reason to kill Nicholas." Kyle grinned. "It'll give us something to talk about."

Max wasn't sure that that was such a good thing, but Liz demurred through their connection.

"~Max, sometimes it's *good* to let people get these feelings out!~" she said firmly.

He still wasn't sure, but since he'd never been the all time champ at expressing how he really felt (until lately he admitted), he kept his mouth shut on the issue. "Then if there's nothing else, I think that we'd better eat before lunch is *over*."

"Hold it!" Maria interjected. "*I* have an issue!" Once she had everyone's attention she went on. "One of you knows what the hell Michael Guerin is up to, and I want to know what that is. Now please?!" A series of blank looks around from around the table didn't help her temper. "Oh, come on people! One of you has *got* to know something!" She glared at a startled Max. "He didn't say *anything* to you, his leader? I find that hard to believe."

Liz saw an opening in Maria's diatribe and went for it. "Maria? What makes you think that he's up to anything?"

"I can read him like a book, Chica," Maria shot back. "We both had a study hall together before lunch today, and he wouldn't even look at me. It was like he was scared or something. He ended up handing the teacher a note and bailing only ten minutes into the period...still without saying a word or somuch as glancing in my direction. And he isn't here for lunch! Now, I know that he's not mad at me...and I'm not mad at him, or at least I *wasn't* until he started this latest cycle of Guerin-itis. It all adds up to something shifty going on in Spaceboy's head. And I want to know what it is!"

Max shook his head. "Maria, I haven't talked to him since the meeting last night. Whatever is going on..if anything *is* going on..isn't anything that he talked to *me* about."

There was silence around the table, which didn't do Maria's temper a bit of good. Just as she was about to blow her top, a familiar male figure caught Liz's eye as he cautiously approached their table. It was Michael, and the look with which he was regarding Maria's back was tinged with something between wonder and fear.

Wonder and fear were pretty close to the truth. He'd decided before he had gotten out of bed this morning that he couldn't wait until lunch, so he'd stuck to his word when he decided to cut study hall and called Amy for absolution in advance. She'd given him a hard time about cutting school so soon after their little talk, but it was only a study hall. And this *was* a special circumstance. So she had cut him some slack. The errand itself had been quick, he'd known exactly what he wanted because he'd been thinking about this seriously for over a month. Longer actually. And the drama at the meeting last night had simply crystallized his feelings. He'd always sought to protect Maria from what he was. From what *they* were. The aliens. He'd fought her feelings for him, as well as his own feelings for her. However, events with Kyle had made it clear that the only safety that any of them would ever know was when they were together. As friends. As lovers. As family. Hence, the only way to protect her was to love her completely and without reservation. To make himself so completely a part of her.. and vice versa... that nothing could happen to one without the other knowing it. Which is what his soul had been crying out to do for a very long time.

Now he was free to follow that call...and it was scaring the crap out of him. Saying that Michael Guerin had self-esteem issues was a generous one hundred percent understatement. He didn't doubt that Maria loved him. But, when it came right down to it, why would any woman in her right mind want to chain herself to a loser like him for an entire lifetime? Let alone a girl as fine as Maria? His hand went to the box in his pocket. It had cost him almost everything that he'd had in the bank, and it still wasn't enough. A one carat blue-white pear-shaped solitaire. It wasn't enough, but it would have to do. And it would never be more than an arm's length away from him until she let him set it on her finger, and hopefully one day not too far in the future it would never be more than an arm's length away again.

As he continued walking towards her he knew the exact moment that she became aware of him. He'd been on the other side of the quad and headed towards the ET table when Liz had caught sight of him. Now he was perhaps halfway there when he felt a subtle vibration flicker by, like he'd penetrated an invisible barrier. He'd entered Maria's radar horizon. He'd have known even if her back hadn't stiffened, and her head and hands hadn't stilled. He slowed for a moment, sighed, then leaned into it and picked up his pace, muttering to himself... "Hail Caesar. We who are about to die...".

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I had an errand," he said as he slid into his place beside Maria. There was silence around the table. Maria was edging away. He knew that he was in trouble, but he couldn't for the life of him see a graceful way out of it. So he took the bull by the horns. "Maria?"

The look she gave him would have made liquid helium look warm by comparison. "Yes Michael?"

He sighed. "Yes, I was up to something. And no, I didn't talk to you or look at you because I was afraid I'd give the show away." He paused. "Do you recall that time that I tried to learn to dance, and you thought that I was cheating on you?"

Maria blinked and nodded.

He smiled hesitantly, yet managing to look a little sly. "If you don't cut me some slack here, the resulting embarrassment will make that mistake look trivial by comparison."

Maria's mouth opened and closed.

The rest of the group were holding their silence, waiting. Michael Guerin was acting well....like a man in love. In public. This ought to be worth the price of admission!

Maria finally found her voice. "When were you going to tell me about this whateveritis?"

Michael ducked his head. "Tonight?"

Maria gave the impression of thinking it over, but shook her head. "Michael, we've had to many secrets and things are too unsettled right now. Just tell me. Please?"

Michael felt the icy hand of panic grip his throat. He'd planned a dinner. Candlelight. All the romantic trimmings. He glanced around the table and the quad, he could barely think over the roaring in his ears. He turned back to look at his soul mate's face, desperately willing her to understand how important this was to both of them, and suddenly it was there. The connection. What had simply been awareness of each other was ramping up into something more. He could see the realization of it in Maria's eyes as well. Their connection had opened like a flower, and traffic was beginning to flow. Michael was torn between the need to shut it down and the need to keep it alive and make it grow. He knew that there was no going back now.

He grabbed Maria's hand and pulled her to her feet. Glancing at their friends he said, "We'll be back in a little while..and if we aren't, you guys didn't see us and don't know where we are." Then he set off into the school with an unresisting Maria in tow.

Kyle looked after them as he took a bite of his apple. "Just what was that about?" he mumbled around a full mouth.

Liz shook her head while she unwrapped her sandwich. "I haven't a clue. It isn't her birthday, and it isn't a major holiday." She took a small bite of sandwich and a sip of coke. "All the same, I don't know when I've seen
Michael looking more freaked."

Max pondered. The only time that he'd seen Michael like this was after he'd killed Pierce, and to his knowledge Michael hadn't had to kill anyone lately. Whatever was on his 'brother's' mind, it was clearly mighty damned important to *him*, and presumably to Maria. Max sighed. They'd just have to wait until the couple came back.

Michael dragged Maria through the school hurrying towards the only place nearby where they could be assured privacy. The eraser room. He had no time to waste. The magic of the connection was growing, seeping around and past his efforts to keep it out. Reaching the eraser room he yanked the door open, the fact that it had been locked didn't even slow him down as he dragged Maria inside. The couple that were already occupying the room complained loudly, and Michael pulled out his wallet and tossed two tens at them with the words, "Rent a room," as he shoved them out the door and welded the lock behind them. Turning back to Maria he took her hands and relaxed a little. As he looked into her eyes he could see confusion and wonder. They were on the verge of something here. That had been his intention today, but this was far beyond what he'd planned.

For her part Maria was floundering. When she'd felt what had to be a connection come to life, if Liz's description was accurate, she'd been too shocked to protest when Michael had dragged her through the school and into the eraser room. Looking Michael in the eye she held very still and focused on the inward wonder. "Is this what Michael *really* feels like? He-he *feels* like music *sounds*!" she thought. She could sense no duplicity in him. What you saw is what you got. She knew herself better than anyone... until now.... and she knew that her fear had governed far too much of her behavior towards this man in front of her, as his own fear had kept him away from her. "Michael?" she said softly. "Can you feel it? Can you feel me?"

Not trusting his own voice Michael nodded wordlessly.

Maria frowned for a moment, then stopped herself. Now that she could feel Michael, she sensed that whatever was happening was very, very scary for him. The last thing she wanted to do was make waves, however small, in the emotional water. "Why now Michael? Why is this happening now? What's this about?"

Michael took a deep breath and closed his eyes to gather his thoughts. It was now or never. "Maria, last night when you girls were talking about that fortune teller, I flashed on what she'd told you. You've been waiting, all this time, for me to go away. Haven't you?"

It was Maria's turn to have trouble finding her voice. So she blinked back gathering tears and nodded as she felt something flowing from Michael. Love, a simple unadulterated warmth, yet on a scale that she'd never imagined existed. She felt unworthy.

Michael nodded, as much to himself as to her. "That's what I thought. I need you to know that that's never going to happen. I mean we may be physically parted for some reason or circumstance, but I'm *never* going to leave you. I need you to know that. And there's the danger issue. All along I've felt guilty about exposing you to danger by being with you".... when Maria seemed about to argue Michael forestalled her....." let me finish. Where was I? I tried to force you away. I denied how you felt. I denied how I felt. And we both felt like crap. Last night, Kyle proved one thing. Whether we're together or apart, the danger remains. For better or worse, it will always be there. And that the only safety and security that any of us will ever know is with each other." He paused for breath. "Last night I wanted to talk to you, but you avoided me, didn't you?" he accused softly.

Maria nodded. "I was afraid. I guess I was afraid that you'd think that I was too needy, and that you'd respond by shying away."

Michael gave her the Guerin half smile. "I thought so. The Michael from a year ago might have, because he was too stupid to realize that need is a two way street." Michael grinned now. He was on a roll. "Since you wouldn't talk to me, I had to take a substitute. Your mother."

"You talked to mom?" she queried. "When?"

"Last night, while you were asleep," he answered. "We had important territory to cover. I had to get her permission."

Maria frowned for real now. Michael had asked her mother's permission? "For what?"

Michael was shaking now. It was the moment of truth. "Maria, I don't know how to do this. I had it planned out differently, but when things started to happen out on the quad... I.... so, I'm, just going to do it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box covered in red velvet. Opening it he decided to take the cliché route and got down on one knee. Holding the ring up where she could see it he threw his end of the connection wide open so she would know how serious he was. "Maria DeLuca, would you please marry me?"

Maria's brain seized up. She'd played out a lot of scenarios in the last minute or so. He wanted to break up. He wanted her to back off. Hell... he wanted her to seek psychiatric help. But not this. She'd never dared let herself hope that this would come unless she had someone standing behind him with a shotgun. She reached out with a trembling hand and touched the solitaire. It was the most beautiful thing that she'd ever seen in her life! Her vision was starting to blur as the tears began to come. She sniffled mightily as she reached past the ring to gently stroke his hand. She had to ask.

"You asked my mother's permission?"

He nodded. "She said yes, but she laid on so many conditions that my life as a carefree bachelor will be *over* long before you and I reach the altar." When Maria frowned he added. "We can talk about them later."

Maria's chin was quivering. "Ok-kay....but, Michael are you sure about this? I m-mean really sure?"

Michael smiled. "If you're thinking that this is a pity thing, or an "I'm doing this to shut her up" thing, forget it. I've been thinking about this for quite a while now. The only thing that changed was that Kyle's near-death experience galvanized me. It got me off my ass. Maria, I want you to be a part of me all my life. And if you're crazy stupid enough to say yes, I want to be a part of you all your life!" He paused as he looked at her. "You haven't answered the question."

Maria gave a weak tremulous laugh as she wiped at blotchy eyes with the back of her hand. "Spaceboy, this is the only marriage proposal I'm ever going to get, so I'm savoring it. But, if you've got to know right now.... yes. Yes Michael, I'll marry you!" She saw his shoulders sag with relief and realized that there had actually been some doubt in his mind, of exactly what her answer would be. So she reached out, touched his cheek gently, and said softly, "As if there were any doubt?"

Michael however was taking no chances. That ring was going on her finger before she could change her mind! He pulled the ring from it's box and gently slid it onto her finger. Then he snapped the box closed and jammed it in his pocket before throwing his arms around her waist, and burying his face in her stomach.

Maria had one arm around Michael's neck, while her free hand moved gently through the unkempt hair that was his trademark. She could feel the gentle tremors that passed through his body as tension released itself. Best of all, she could *feel him*. They'd had a smaller lower power version of Max and Liz's awareness of each other, but this was far above and beyond that. She could feel his soul touching hers, and in that place, all his rough edges and touchy defenses dissolved. In *that* place he was beautiful. She continued to stroke his hair as, in ones and twos, tears slowly welled up and dropped to join her hand there.

Michael kept his face in her stomach, rubbing gently back and forth he savoring the living feel of her under her clothes. He was drowning in her scent. And above all else the traffic in emotions that was taking place between the was so devastatingly sweet and tender that he didn't know how much more he could take. She'd brought him so far, so far from what he had been. Yet the occasional bursts of her love that got all the way to his soul were like momentary cloud bursts upon a parched and sere land. Now she was all the way in, and her love was a flood. A deluge such as he'd never imagined. "My God," he thought, "is this what it was like for Max and Liz every day? No wonder they can't stay away from each other. If Maria and I had been like this from day one, to quote the Borg, 'resistance would have been futile'. God, I am so lucky!" Then he said it aloud. "I am so lucky!"

"No kidding Spaceboy?" Maria answered. Then she sniffled mightily and gave a rich chuckle. "Stand up Michael, let me see my future husband."

Michael rose and they stood close holding each other. He leaned in and kissed her, then glanced around the room. "Sorry about the setting. I had this whole romance thing planned. Dinner, candlelight, the works. But you forced my hand."

Maria giggled. "It doesn't matter. The thought is nice, but"....she lifted her hand and studied the solitaire, it was still the most beautiful thing that she'd ever seen..."this is so beautiful that it doesn't need stage dressing." She kissed him again, lingering. "I cannot believe that my mother was okay with this." She frowned up at him. "Are you sure....?"

"Scouts honor," Michael cut her off."

Maria's frown deepened. "You were never a boy scout, Michael."

Michael smirked. "True. I didn't have the right attitude. But you mother really did say okay, after a whole lot of conditions." He leaned in to nibble on her ear.

"Such as?" Maria asked with a soft groan. There was mischief in Spaceboy's mind, she could feel it, but she was too involved in what his mouth was doing to care.

"Good behavior, no cutting school unless it's an emergency, good grades, college, save my money, comb my hair, no sex until after the wedding"... he paused to kiss his way down her neck to her shoulder... "and I'll probably have to get rid of my ride."

Maria froze. "What did you say?"

Michael chuckled. "About my motorcycle? I said that..."

Maria cut him off. "NO! The part about no sex. My mother got you to agree to a no sex rule? You?"

Michael chuckled as he nibbled on her neck. "I considered having you to be worth not 'having you' for a while."

Maria nibbled at her lower lip. "Well, since you put it that way," she said. "*However*, this isn't going to last. You let me handle my mother. I'll renegotiate, and if worst comes to worst, what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Michael sighed. "But it might hurt us. I promised Maria. I don't like it, but I'd like to keep those promises. To make up to Amy for deceiving her for so long." He paused. "We have tonight anyway. She gave us tonight."

Maria broke her grip on him and backed away. She stood there a moment breathing heavily, studying him. "We'll see about that!" she thought. Then she went on aloud. "What you mean is, she gave us today." With that Maria started pulling off clothing.

Michael stood frozen. The fact that this was one of his fantasies come true, wasn't helping matters. He glanced around the room. He wanted her, right here, and right now, but this just wasn't the place too... he looked back at Maria and... "Holy shit!" Maria was down to bra and panties, and she looked, for lack of a better word, glorious! The blue silk set off her skin tone perfectly. She was smiling as she she stepped up close and put her arms around his neck, tilting her face upwards, inviting him to kiss her. Michael resisted for a moment, refusing to touch her, for he knew that once his hands were on her soft, warm, and oh so inviting skin, he was a goner. "Maria, are you sure? I mean, here?" He knew it was a stupid question. He could feel her confidence now, through their connection, but he had to ask.

Maria gave him a frown that morphed into a wicked smile. Her eyes were dancing with mischief when she said, "Spaceboy, do you think that you're the only one with fantasies? I caught yours in a flash months ago. I approved of it, so I've been saving it for the perfect time." She leaned and nibbled delicately on the skin of his throat. As her warm sweet breath made contact with his skin it caused a galvanic reaction to race outward. It was as if he'd become instantly supercharged. Sensing that she was winning, Maria played her trump card and sent her inner feelings racing down the connection at him. Love and lust, coupled with tender amusement. She wanted him, and she knew that he wanted her....and she was happy on both counts. She pulled his head down, her lips hovering over his, determined that *he* would be the one to close the gap.... and so she gave him one final prod, letting her warm breath work it's magic as she said...... "And the timing just can't get much more perfect than this."

That was all it took. Michael's tether of self-control snapped as if it were made of gossamer. His hands grasped her waist, sliding down to grip her bottom as he pulled her gently but firmly flush with his body. Sealing her mouth with his own he gave in completely. Where her body touched his, his skin felt...molten. He heard Maria give a whimper as she leaned into him and raised her knee to rub her thigh along the right side of his body. He shifted his hand to support her movements...and so he could treat his hand to the expanse of warm firm skin along her thigh. There was a vicious buzzing noise in his ears and was matched by the maelstrom of feelings and sensations in his mind. His... hers... blending and crashing together. Even as he enjoyed the feel of his hands on her, he experienced her enjoyment at having his hands on her body. Never again would he be left guessing with his lovely Pixie.

Neither of them heard the warning bell that announced the approaching end of the lunch period. The bell signaling the start of next period was only minutes away.

Maria wasn't aware that they were backing up until her back made contact with a hard surface. A wall. Her hands were tugging desperately at his shirt, trying to reach skin. The instant that she'd realized what he was doing, what he was asking, she had immediately gone into a state of high readiness. Foreplay be damned! She wanted her Spaceboy and she wanted him NOW! Tearing her mouth from his she gasped out, "Clothes!
Michael! Too many clothes!"

Michael paused in his assault on her senses, and with an act of will he backed off a few centimeters. Not so far that they couldn't feel each other's body heat, yet far enough to finish disposing of any barriers between them. Like clothing. Michael had to restrain his urge to simply blow the clothing from his body. Some small corner of rationality in his mind knew that, when this was over, he'd need pants and a shirt. He was pulling his shirt off over his head when he drew a startled breath as he felt Maria's hands at his belt buckle.

Maria's awareness of her lover was wound up off the scale. Both inside and out. She silently thanked whatever God there was for Michael's lean muscular build. Once his belt loosened, his pants fell off of his hips, and his boxers weren't far behind. She kicked off her own shoes as Michael followed suit, then her breath caught as he stepped back in, closing the gap between them. She could feel him now, all of him. And more to the point she now knew exactly what she was making *him* feel, which was acting on her own already urgent need and taking her to the ragged edge of losing control. She could feel obvious evidence of his arousal pressing into her tummy as she kissed him again, and she welcomed it, rubbing herself gently against him.

When Michael felt her move against him he gritted his teeth and groaned. "Baby Girl, if we don't slow down, this is going to be over before it starts!"

Maria reached down and shoved her panties off, working her hips until they dropped to her ankles, then she kicked them away and leaned in to kiss him harder before pulling her mouth back enough to say, "So start it already."

"But," Michael began....

"Spaceboy," she said with some asperity, "sometimes we girls like flowers and romance. And other times we just "....she swarmed up his body, wrapping her legs around his hips..."want to cut to the chase as much as you cavemen do!" Michael grunted as he accepted her weight, then she made further speech impossible sealing his mouth with hers.

Never breaking the kiss Michael brought his hands under her bottom to take some of her weight as he leaned her against the wall. He could feel her heat against his hardness, and he shuddered deep inside. There was no more time to waste. Lifting her with one hand he started to reach between them, but Maria sensed his intent and reached first, gripping him gently...and nearly causing him to climax on the spot. She lifted herself up as he shifted his free hand back under her to help. There was a moment of fumbling, because while they may have been lovers for a while, this was new to them. Then, they were joined, one to the other, as Maria settled against him moaning intensely into his mouth as they completed each other.

Maria began a demanding rhythm, rolling her hips against Michael, assisted by his hands under her bottom. However, he was growing more desperate by the minute. They weren't exactly virgins, neither of them, but this connection stuff was outside their experience. He'd had experience with 'needing' Maria, but nothing like this. He'd assumed that once they were actually making love, the feeling would level off. Wrong assumption. It was still building. Their mutual need for each other was feeding back on itself, in a loop the was starting to spiral out of control. He was trying to hold back when Maria's impatience boiled over and she tore her mouth away from his.

Between gasps for breath she managed to get out, "Now.... isn't.... the.... time.... to.... be.... gentle! Just.... do.... it!" Then she gave her mouth to his again. Through their connection she willed herself to become his and he to become hers, more completely than ever before.

Her hoarsely uttered words tore any lingering remnants of his self-control to shreds. Maria's wail was muffled by their ongoing kiss as he began a driving rhythm, faster and harder than he'd ever dared with her before. Fortunately for both of them the deep almost operatic shriek that Maria *would* have given voice to, was lost in his mouth and drowned by her inability to catch her breath. Her legs were locked around him completely and she was *squeezing* him for all she was worth. The sharing was so intense, the pleasure so close to bordering on the intolerable, that neither of them had the time or thought to realize what it was a precursor to. Eyes closed and transported to another realm of experience they couldn't see the faint glowing trails that were starting to appear wherever their hands wandered. Trails which, having appeared, multiplied and increased in intensity with each passing second. As the trails began to dominate, the color that emerged was a different sort of hue from that of their friends. It was not golden. It was bright, alive, pearlescent, almost like quicksilver. And it pulsed with them, in their passion. They were more perfectly in tune with each other than either had ever imagined being, which gave their pleasure a new and added dimension. The trails were nearly united now, the iridescent foxfire glow so intense that a chance passerby might have seen it beneath the eraser room door and assumed the worst. Their loving fury continued unabated until the penultimate moment, when orgasm was only a ragged heartbeat away for both of them. In that moment they were both straining to get closer, to share more completely, to make it MORE.....

***FUSION***

It was awake. And...WHAT WERE ITS CONSTITUENTS DOING!????? NO!! DON'T! STOP THAT!! The newborn composite frantically tried to reverse course, to return to sleep, but there was no way out now. The passion that had given it birth was at it's peak. It was too late. With a fusion under these conditions, enormous unseen energies had been summoned and were swirling about the lovers, only a thin demi-reality away. If It let the union dissolve without dispelling those energies, they would emerge without controls, the school would likely be blown off of it's foundations. Hence It did what most children do when confronted with a mess that they could get blamed for. They try to sweep it under the rug. To hide it. It undertook a frantic survey of the immediate region, found it's 'rug', and started sweeping.

Immense quantities of energy began appearing at a distant underground location. While it wouldn't go unnoticed there, at least results wouldn't be connected to it's constituents. Having completed cleaning up the mess it went back to sleep, but not before leaving a message for the michael and the maria. One which approximated, "Look at what *you* did!"

***FISSION***

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.


STILL YOURS - Part 15c
(Shake, Rattle, n' Roll)

Seismology Department, UC Berkeley....12:38 PM

Tony Slater was bored out of his skull. He was in his second year of chasing his doctorate, and he would probably be indentured to Professor Thomas for at least another two or three years And he *still* hadn't gotten out of the lab and into the field. True, he could do his research and still sleep in a real bed at night, but *damn it* field time looked better on his résumé! Yet, here he was monitoring and servicing seismographs. Twice a day he had to check them. He had to make sure that they were operating smoothly, and replace their paper rolls if need be. It was the sort of nonsense that an under grad could handle. He finished his tour of the seismograph bank with a deep sigh, then it was back to his laptop, where he jacked in a field seismo unit and let the laptop's software run a diagnostic, then he unplugged the tested unit and jacked in another. He'd *much* rather have been out in the field placing those units. He sighed. "They also serve, who only stand and wait." He muttered.

Wheep! Wheep! Wheep! The Macintosh computer behind him chirped. The Berkeley campus was an IRIS station, so aside from the traditional seismographs they had some fairly sophisticated digital seismic monitoring equipment hooked up to that Mac, and thence to the IRIS net via the world wide web. The chirp indicated that someone was having a seismically bad day somewhere. Tony spun in his chair and hurriedly tapped the 'enter' key to clear the screen saver. 'Point and click.' A digital readout of the intensity appeared. "Hmmmm. Not too bad," he muttered. 'Point and click.' A world map appeared. "Hmmm, southwestern United States. Right in the neighborhood, so to speak." 'Point and click.' "New Mexico?" Taking a chance he grabbed a phone used the speed dial. It rang twice then a harassed female voice answered.

"UNM, Las Cruces, Seismology!" she shouted. Then he could hear someone hollering in the background, demanding to know the epicenter. And her giving them an unprintable answer that said she was working on it. He grinned. No one ordered Angela Gonzales around. They'd had some fun together at a conference in Denver a few months back.

His grin widened. "Did I catch you at a bad time Angie?"

"Tony? Is that you?" she responded. "I take it you're calling about our shake 'n quake?"

Tony glanced at the screen. The USGS computers in Albuquerque should be nearly finished correlating the data from widely scattered IRIS stations by now. "Yeah, I was worried about you and your pretty green eyes."

Angie chuckled. She was dealing with an earthquake and Slater calls up to test the waters? "Don't flatter yourself compadre, it wasn't *that* good!"

Back at Berkeley, Tony mock clutched at his heart, miming a mortal wound. "But darling! You're the only one for me!" At that moment the Mac chirped again indicating an incoming from IRIS/USGS, Albuquerque, followed a second later by the IRIS operations center at Scripps in La Jolla, and the rest of the scattered UC campus stations a second after that. He called the initial message up on the screen and read it. On the other end of the phone Angie cursed. "What is it Angie?"

She cursed again. "It's damned impossible is what it is!"

Tony waited.

"You read it Tony?"

"Yes," he responded. "The epicenter is kind of deep, and about 25 miles northeast of Roswell, New Mexico."

Angie sighed. "When you're done flirting with me, call up a seismic history of this state. The active fault system is in the Rio Grande Plateau, which runs right under my ass. It *doesn't* run between Roswell and Clovis! They're supposed to be too far east!" She paused. "Or at least we thought that they were. There hasn't been a quake recorded in that part of the state since we started recording quakes!" She cursed again. "This means that we'll have to go out there and get sweaty and dirty trying to track down that fault. I'll probably be digging in portable seismos around Roswell from now until Christmas!"

Tony's ears perked up. Field work? And field work with fellow grad student and certified bedroom heart attack Angela Gonzales no less? "Er.... maybe you could get your Prof to ask my Prof to loan you a few slaves?"

Angela paused. "Why should I? Albuquerque is closer. Even *Denver* is closer."

"I'd make it worth your while," Tony hinted.

Angie was silent. "Just how worth my while are we talking about here?"

Tony grinned. "Dinner and dancing once a week until I go home?"

Angela made a show of thinking it over, making him wait. "Dinner and dancing, then a movie on the day of your choice, once a week. Lunches, breakfasts in bed, and assorted extra perks to be negotiated. Do we have a deal?"

Tony gulped and focused on that phrase 'breakfasts in bed'. "Done deal, Angie. Get me into the field and I'll give you my first born child."

Angie giggled. "It'll cost you a lot more than dinner and dancing to do *that* sport." Someone bellowed in the background. "Gotta go. Professor Stapne wants a report, pronto. I'll have him lodge a formal request with UC Berkeley before tonight."

"Bye Angie, thanks a bunch!" he said happily.

After Angie gave her good byes he hung up the phone and studied the seismic profile on the anomalous New Mexico Quake, now ten minutes old. It was weird in more ways than one. The graph on it said that it wasn't one quake, but rather several. Nine to be exact. Very brief in duration individually. Starting out around 5.1 and ramping off rapidly with the last shock being around 3.8. And no aftershocks. Nine separate and discreet ground shocks. Had they all been the same intensity, he'd have suspected multiple bomb tests, if there were a reason for such an event. But their variability said that they were natural. "What are you up to?" he muttered, speaking to a metaphorical mother earth. "No matter how much we learn," he thought, "the old girl keeps handing us surprises." He studied the quake profile a moment longer, then frowned. It reminded him of something. He sat still and squinted, trying to remember, then his eyes widened. Scrounging in his book bag he pulled out a text that went with his minor...anthropology. Thumbing through "Human Sexuality" he found it. An EEG readout of a couple having..... he paused. "Naaaaah!" He closed the book and put it away decisively. "I'm so not going there. At least not until I've been there once or twice myself, with Angie.

He sighed, sent a page out to Professor Thomas, informing him of the New Mexico event, and turned back to testing seismographs. He'd have to go like hell to catch up enough to make Thomas let him go for a few weeks or a month. But the thought of Angie the last time he'd seen her made it worth it. The field work would just be icing on the cake.

West Roswell High.....12:48 PM

Michael and Maria returned to awareness of their surroundings, and each other, and were welcomed by a cacophony of sounds. The fire alarm was ringing, there were shouting voices, running feet were thundering by the closet door, and the distant scream of multiple car alarms could be heard. They studied each other's face for a long moment as the shared memory of their composite soaked in. Maria's eyes widened in horror. It was all too much. They were still joined, they were post-orgasmic, they were engaged, they had a composite, and oh yeah...they'd just caused an earthquake. She tightened her grip on him and lowered her head to his chest.

"~Michael! What have we done?!~" she wailed....without opening her mouth.

Michael 'heard' her and froze. "~Er...Pixie?~"

Maria's head snapped up, her eyes widening further. "~Michael? What.....?~"

Michael sensed that she was balanced on an emotional knife edge. He stared at her a long moment then sighed, nodded, and waited for the explosion. What he got shocked the hell out of him as the connection began to roar with her amusement. Maria was still clutching him as tightly as before, while she laid her head on his shoulder and laughed harder than he'd ever seen her laugh before. Sensing that the critical moment was past he loosened his own hold on her to allow her to slip free if she so chose... which she apparently did, for her grip on his neck tightened to take her weight as her legs unlocked and she swung her feet to the floor. Still laughing.

Maria stared up at her bemused looking lover for a moment, then shook her head and, still chuckling, spoke out loud. "Yes, I know, causing an earthquake isn't funny, but all the same....Michael, do you ever get the feeling that you and I are the comic relief?" She frowned. "~And now we're telepathic to boot? I mean, most people would have the proposal, the engagement, and the hot sex. But noooooo, we have to have fusions, earthquakes, and telepathy too.~"

Michael looked at her solemnly. "~Regrets Maria?~"

Maria shook her head vigorously. "~No! I wouldn't trade a minute of my life these last two years for anything, and you'd better believe it.~" She kissed him. "~I just wish that we were a little bit less....~"

"~...accident prone?~" he finished for her.

Maria's laughter had faded to the occasional snort. "~That covers it nicely.~" She cocked her head and listened to the riot in progress outside. "~And speaking of covering things, you and I had better get dressed and get out there before Liz and the others get panicky.~"

They hurriedly scrambled to find their clothes and get into them, while trying to repair the worst ravages of their lovemaking. They were depending on the fact that everyone would be too unsettled at the moment to notice any evidence that they couldn't cover up themselves. Maria was struggling to get her shoes on when a thought occurred to Michael and he smirked. Taking advantage of their new way of communicating he said, "~I honestly don't feel too badly about this, because we never came with an instruction manual. I'm not counting that book that Nasedo whipped up. It's probably mostly lies anyway. So Max, Isabel, and I spent a lot of time as children learning from each other's mistakes.~" Michael got a pained look. "~Actually it was mostly *them* learning from *my* mistakes.~" He sighed. "~Anyway, this whole alien/human interface is just a bigger version of the same thing.~" His smirk was back. "~ And besides, whatever else you want to say about this Maria, I want to remind you that, you and I are probably the only couple in history that can truthfully say that the earth actually *moved* for us.~"

Maria was balancing precariously on one leg while trying to pull her shoe on when he spoke the fatal words. Losing her balance she sat down hard. She should have been angry, she had a *right* to be angry. But all she could do was laugh helplessly, while pointing an impotent finger at Michael, who joined her in hopeless laughter. By main force, Maria finally managed to force her laughter down to the occasional snort or giggle. "~Spaceboy, that was an awful thing to say, no matter how true it is. Give a girl some warning next time, will ya?~" She paused thoughtfully. "~You know, we'll have to tell the group about this, sooner or later...probably sooner. And I doubt that we'll ever hear the end of it, even when we're grandparents. Uncle Max, Uncle Kyle, and Auntie Liz will tell our grandchildren about the day that grandpa and grandma 'rocked everyone's world'.~"

Michael chuckled as he unsealed the door. "~Kyle would. I'm not so sure about Liz. You and she are pretty simpatico. However, Max is no problem. I'll just remind him of the time that his mom and Isabel were collaborating to make Izzy a dress for a junior high dance, and they needed a dressmaker's dummy.~"

Maria chuckled. "~And they drafted Max? I was wrong. I have a regret. I regret that we didn't come together a long time ago. I missed too much of your lives. I'd have paid money to see that!~"

"~Remind me later,~" he answered. "~Mr. Evans took a picture. And I know that Izzy still has it somewhere.~"

Maria giggled. "~Will do, Spaceboy.~" She paused to study the ring on her finger a moment, then glanced at Michael. "~Are you ready?~"

Michael looked at her steadily. Through the now active connection he could feel that there was more to that question than met the eye. She meant, was he ready to acknowledge her as his fiancee? To their friends, and to the school at large? He'd take a lot of crap over this. From his peers, and maybe even from the school administration, but he didn't give a damn. He had what he wanted. What he needed. His stable center. His Maria. "~Yup, I'm ready. Remember to watch the telepathy in public.~"

Maria nodded. "~I bust Max and Liz's chops over it every day, I suppose I can swing it for us.~"

Michael opened the door and the noise level jumped ten fold. The fire alarm was still ringing, and a voice over the PA, that sounded like the principal, was telling everyone to remain calm and move towards the quad or the parking lots. No one noticed as they emerged from the room. "Lets go," Michael shouted over the noise. And they joined the already dwindling stampede headed for the quad.

The Quad........Same Time

Out on the quad, Liz was standing cuddled against Max with his arm holding her tightly to his side. The quake had taken them by surprise just after the warning bell rang for the end of lunch. Quakes weren't unknown in New Mexico. She'd been in a mild one in the western part of the state once. And both Max and Kyle had been in California as kids when there were tremors there. So it wasn't like any of them were strangers to having the ground dance. They simply weren't used to having it dance *here*. Max had been throwing away their trash when the bench she was sitting on dropped from beneath her ever so slightly, then came back up and smacked her in the butt. Several times. Kyle had shoved her off of the bench and onto the ground and fallen on top of her, but it was over almost before they'd realized that it had begun. All the same, it shook everyone up. Teachers had emerged to try and calm panicky students. Someone pulled the fire alarm, and students and teachers started
to fill the quad. Liz kept looking for their friends to emerge with the growing crowd, but as minutes passed without the sight of a familiar face, she began to get worried. "Max, I don't see Maria or Michael anywhere!"

Max sighed. "Sweetheart, there are still people coming out of the school. Give them a little time."

"Besides," said Kyle, "I saw the look on Guerin's face. There's no telling where they are or what they were up to when it hit. It may, er.... take them a little longer."

At that moment the fire alarm fell silent. The last few students were emerging from the school, with teachers bringing up the rear, when Michael and Maria appeared. Liz left Max's side to run to her friend and throw her arms around her. "Where *were* you?" she queried. "I expected you and Michael to be the first ones out here after the quake!"

Maria flushed. "We were... busy..."

"I knew it," Kyle thought with a grin. Then he added aloud, "With what?"

Michael looked as if he were about to have a stroke, but Maria sent him a quelling stare. They were both silent a long moment.

Long enough for Liz to clear her throat impatiently. "Maria?"

Maria looked back at her friends, and glanced around at the crowd. There were too many people here. She was about to say so when the PA squawked and the principal Siebring came on.

"I've been in touch with the school board. And there have been many panicked calls by parents. There's no reason to believe that there's any hazard in the school building, but given the fact that everyone is unsettled now and the day is more than half over anyway, the decision has been made to dismiss the student body for the rest of the day. Those of you that ride the bus will have to wait half an hour for the buses to arrive, or call your parents. Those of you with your own transportation may leave now. You may all enter the building to reach your lockers and collect papers, but please do not linger as there may be aftershocks. I ask that those of you leaving now drive carefully. I repeat, there may be aftershocks."

Michael made a choking noise, and a blushing Maria kicked him. The exchange didn't go unnoticed by their friends either.

As the quad began to empty, Liz's study of Maria fell to her left hand, and her eyes widened. Maria caught her line of sight and guiltily moved her hand so that the ring was out of sight. Liz wasn't having any. She latched onto Maria's hand and dragged it out to where she could see it clearly. Liz glanced around at the thinning crowd, then she leaned forward and whispered fiercely, "Maria DeLuca, tell me that's *not* an engagement ring!"

Maria affected a look of innocence and responded in an equal whisper, "Okay, it's not an engagement ring."

Liz frowned. The quad was mostly clear now, but she still kept her voice down so that only Maria could hear her. "Maria, are you out of your mind? Your mother will go berserk!"

"Er, Liz?" Michael cut in from where he was standing in conversation with Max and Kyle, "I already have that covered. I asked Amy's permission last night."

Liz spun around. "How did you know what I said?"

Michael glanced at Maria and said, "Maria told me."

Liz's mouth dropped open as she looked back and forth between the two of them.

Maria looked embarrassed and shrugged. "It's not like we intended to fuse. Spaceboy asked me to marry him, I said yes, one thing led to another, and 'POP', we were a composite."

"Telepathy, and all the trimmings?" Kyle queried.

Michael nodded. "One thing though...." He glanced at Maria's painful flush. "I wouldn't recommend fusion while you're...um..."

"Having sex?" Kyle finished helpfully.

Michael swallowed and nodded.

Max was glaring now. After all the crap that Michael had given Liz and he.... "Why not?" he asked in an even tone.

Maria was flushing so deeply that she looked like she had a sunburn. Michael glanced at the ground and muttered.

Liz was picking up on Max's irritation, and before he could say anything else she jumped in. "What was that Michael?"

Michael looked up at her, then checked to see that there was no one else within earshot before looking back at her. "I said that the experience was pretty earthshaking." Then he walked over to his thoroughly embarrassed fiancee and pulled her into his arms. "~It'll be okay Pixie.~"

Liz stared at them both, then looked at Max. "~Earthshaking?~"

It's hard to say who finished reasoning it out first, but it was Kyle who spoke up first, while fighting a very obvious moment to moment battle not burst out laughing. "So.....you're saying what? That 'the earth moved for you' in a really big way?" That was it, he'd shot his self-control in the foot. He sat down hard, held his sides, and silently shook with laughter. Nor was Max far behind him.

Michael growled. "It wasn't our fault! How the hell were we to know? Like I told Maria, it's not like this stuff is covered in an operator's manual!"

Liz went over to where her best friend was hiding her face in Michael's chest and touched her shoulder. Maria lifted her face from Michael's chest long enough to accept a hug from her girl friend, then she buried her still flushing face back against Michael. Liz glanced over at Max and Kyle and gave them both a menacing glare. Diving into the under mind and letting her disapproval show through the connection she said, "~Max, if you ever expect to sleep with me again... anytime before we're married.... get it under control. And tell Kyle to stick a sock in it! They feel bad enough as it is. Think of how they'll feel if someone was killed in this mess?~"

That sobered Max immediately. He nudged Kyle sharply, as he apologized to his soul mate. "~Sorry dear heart. It's just that after all the crap that Michael gave the two of us about the fusion...~"

Liz softened. "~Maybe, but can we hoot about it later. You should go home and check in with Iz. And the rest of us should check in with *our* parents too.~ At that moment Maria's cell phone began to warble, and she walked away with Michael in tow to answer it. Liz watched them a moment then went on. "~See what I mean? Mine will ring any minute now. And you know how your dad is with CNN. This will make the news.~"

Max blanched a bit, then nodded. "~You're right. We'd better get with it.~" Then he turned to Kyle and said in a low voice, "We'd better get out of here. Parents all over this town will be freaking out for the next hour until their kids are home safe and sound. Mine will be calling once this makes the news."

Kyle shrugged. "I'll check in at home, but I can tell ya that dad will be out." He paused a moment in thought. "I don't see any reason to change our plans. As soon as I get in touch with dad, I'll let him know what's up, and head over to your place, Max."

Michael joined them. Maria was still talking to her mother on the cell. "I agree. Maria and I will have to let her mom see that we aren't dead or mangled, then I'll take her over to the Crashdown. After that I'll head over to your place too. I just hope that this doesn't screw things up with your dad, Kyle. If anything serious came out of that quake, he'd feel obligated to stay on duty."

Liz cleared her throat. "One thing gang. Much as I hate going secretive again, I don't think that the older members of the club need to know the origin of this quake right now. *We* know it was an accident." She stared hard at Michael. "And one which won't be repeated now that we know the danger. However, they'll see it as a reason to meddle in our love lives. And I'm not up for that right now, thank you." She stepped over to Max and slid her arm around him, as he returned the favor. "I just *got* my love life, and I'm not giving it up!"

Michael gave a snort. "Do I look stupid Liz? If Amy found out about this right now she'd withdraw her blessing of Maria's engagement to me so quick there'd be a sonic boom. Amy may be a nice person, but she's still Amy. She'd change her mind later, but right now I don't need the hassle, and neither does Maria."

"Neither does Maria, what?" Maria asked as she joined them, stowing her cell in her purse.

Michael explained.

Maria nodded vigorously. "You got that right Spaceboy. I agree with Liz, we keep this to ourselves for now. Preferably forever."

"No," Liz said, "that wouldn't be fair. Just until the Alex and Isabel crisis is over. That's enough to deal with right now, without them wondering whether we're going to cause earth tremors every time we make love." She turned to look at the guilty couple. "Speaking of which, exactly *what* did happen?"

Maria shrugged. "After Michael popped the question, things got sort of heated. We made love, only this time it was...more. We wanted it to be more. So it was. We fused at the..er..the..."

"Peak," Michael interjected.

Maria blushed. "Yeah, and apparently, by doing that it set some things in motion. I'm still not certain what. Some sort of energy generation. Lots of it. The Composite coming into existence was a part of it, but it wasn't the cause of it. It opened the door. Anyway, it panicked when it 'woke up' and realized what we'd done, so it 'dumped' the energy elsewhere. Underground, and far away. The impression I got was that it was childishly pissed off at us."

Liz sighed, things just kept getting more complicated. Michael's remark about an operator's manual came back to her. "There must have been documentation on this aboard the ship. What Nicholas told Kyle tells *us* that there was a whole other mission that Nasedo denied and destroyed. This has to be fallout from that. It has to be. I'd sell my soul right now for a peek at whatever documentation there was."

Max put his hand on her arm. "Liz, if there were any remains, the government has them now."

"I know," she answered with a despairing sigh. "I can still wish though. I refuse to believe that this was an intended result of what your people set in motion Max."

Kyle chose that moment to cut in. "Well we won't figure it out in one sitting, and it won't be tonight. Let's get for home before they come looking for us."

The others nodded in agreement and they began to go their seperate ways.

Liz couldn't know that, in years to come, she'd get a crack at getting her wish.

And we all know what they say about being careful what you wish for.

End of Part 15

[Lorilei]

Happy St Patrick's Day to one and all!!!!!
A few Gaelic Blessings for you on this day:

As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.
******************************************************
May we live in peace without weeping.
May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing.
And may our love fill the world, angel wings tenderly beating.
************************************************
May those who love us love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping.
*****************************
Here's to a long life and a merry one;
A quick death and an easy one;
A pretty girl and an honest one;
A cold beer -- and another one!
*****************************
May you live forever
And may the last words you hear be mine!

And KK, Bump!

[Kzinti_Killer]

Title: Still Yours
Author: KK
Disclaimer: The characters that count in this do not belong to me in any way shape or form. I simply borrowed them from someone else's toy box.
Category: Crossover Roswell/Highlander A/I +CC
Rating: MATURE shifting to ADULT later on.

Author's Note: conejo ~ n. spanish, meaning rabbit

STILL YOURS - Part 16a
(Hide and Seek)

The Evans Household.....4:00 PM

It had taken just over three hours for the news to reach the Evans' at their resort bungalow in the US Virgin Islands, and less than thirty seconds for Diane Evans to call home.

Max was fielding his mother's anxious barrage of questions while Jim Valenti waited patiently for him to finish. Michael was waiting as well, though with less patience. However his mood was kept from souring by the fact that Jim was able to report that there had been no deaths or injuries, nor even serious damage, resulting from his and Maria's seismic indiscretion. If Jim noticed the evident relief with which Michael had greeted that news, he didn't comment on it. Together they sat at the kitchen table, one fidgeting and the other not and waited for Diane Evans to wind down.

"Yes Mom," Max said for the third time, "the house is fine, and we're fine." He wore a tolerant smile and rolled his eyes slightly. "I talked to Sheriff Valenti. There was no damage in the area, or anywhere in the state for that matter, outside of the occasional cracked window. The epicenter was way away from everything, and the duration was short." He paused as the phone changed hands at the other end. "Yeah Dad, Izzy went and checked on the office before I even got home from school." There was a longer pause as the phone changed hands again. "Yes Mom, Liz and her folks are okay...yeah...we're back toge...." He frowned. "How did you know"? His frown smoothed over into a grin. "I'll have to remind Liz that we shouldn't be so obvious in front of her parents." Pause. "I'm glad that you all approve. It would really suck if she and I didn't love each other, wouldn't it?" He laughed aloud. "I love you both too. Do you want to talk to Izzy again?" There was another pause. "Okay, I'll find her. Then Michael and I are going out for a while."

Max vanished down the hall and returned a moment later, without the phone. Isabel would be occupied for a while. He looked over at the Jim and Michael and said quietly, "We ready to rock?"

The sheriff nodded. "I talked to Brody. The sonar crew is at the UFO Center, with their gear. They elected to meet us there, rather than at the cemetery. All we have to do is lead them out there." He held up an envelope. "They applied for a permit to conduct an 'equipment test', which was approved on my recommendation."

"So we're ready whenever you are," Michael said.

They walked out into the living room where Kyle was watching television. Or rather, where Kyle was channel surfing on the television. After checking to see that Isabel was still in her room, Max said, "We're going now. Hold down the fort."

Kyle grimaced. "Evans, I know that this was supposed to be for my benefit too, but you are still going to owe me for this. Big time. Isabel keeps wanting to 'talk about my feelings', now that I've remembered. If she goes touchy feelie just one more time I may scream."

Michael grinned. "You're a jock Valenti. Just think of it as 'taking one for the team'."

Kyle gave a disgusted snort and said, "You guys had better get out of here before she's off the phone. Even I can tell that she's already curious about why my dad is here."

Max nodded. "Thanks Kyle."

Having almost lost his son again only last night, Jim had to pull him up and hug him good bye. "See ya later Son."

"Be careful Dad," Kyle answered.

Jim chuckled. "This is just a little semi-official investigation son, not a hostage call."

Kyle sat back down, and pointed a finger at his father. "All the same, be careful. Don't forget, there may be a 'skin' out there, watching, and waiting for orders to kill."

"I'll be as cautious as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs," Jim said. "Just be sure that you are too."

Kyle gave a savage grin. "Every damned day; from now until I catch whoever it is."

Jim shuddered at the thought. He and Kyle clearly had some talking to do. "Just stick around here tonight, okay?"

Kyle nodded. "See ya later Dad."

As the others headed out the door, Michael simply nodded to Kyle before turning to follow them. He understood Kyle's intentions, and approved of them.

Then they were on the road to the UFO Center. It had been decided that they'd take the Sheriff's truck *and* the Chevelle, since Kyle had his Mustang and Isabel had the Evans' SUV. Now that they were finally moving, they had no time to waste. It would be getting dark soon, and some very unseasonal thunder storms were being forecast for the late afternoon and evening. They'd have to hustle to even have a chance of beating them.

Moments after they'd left Isabel, phone still in hand, came walking out into the living room. "They're gone already?"

Kyle nodded, his eyes never leaving the television.

Isabel raised the phone to her ear. "Mom, they're already gone." Pause. "Okay, I'll tell him that you love him." She laughed. "Yes, and Michael, and Liz, and Maria too. Bye Mom!" After listening for a moment she broke the connection.

"She didn't say anything about me?" Kyle said in a mock grumpy tone.

Isabel chuckled. "She didn't know that you or you dad were here. And you *are* kinda latecomers to the 'family', so to speak." She paused. "Speaking of your dad, why *was* he here?"

Kyle looked back at the television. "He came by to drop me off and stayed to chat."

"And you're here, why?" she countered.

Kyle sighed. "When in doubt," he thought, "tell the truth and the lie at the same time." Then he said aloud, "Because they're afraid that I might have another seizure or something, if they leave me alone. So you get to baby-sit, lucky you!" He frowned. "It's about Tess too. It's because I needed to get out of that house for a few days. Before, when I thought that she'd betrayed us all, I could just barely live with the ghost of her presence lingering there. Now that I know that she didn't turn on us, I can't stand it. She's everywhere in that house. I found one of her hair pins in the bottom of the clothes hamper this morning, and I sat down and bawled like a baby. I just needed to get away. My initial plan was to ask dad for permission to crash at a hotel for a week or so. Just until the edge wore off. But, the group didn't like that idea, and Max wouldn't hear of it, so he offered to let me bunk here."

Isabel studied him with more than a little compassion. Of course he was lying about something, but not about Tess. That was genuine. However, he *was* covering for her sneaky brother on something. "The question is," she thought, "what's he hiding, and how do I get it out of him?" Kyle was a study in nonchalance, but it was a put on. Not an obvious put on, but a put on nonetheless. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Well then," she continued to herself, "if that's how it's going to be, then it's a good thing that we have this time together, isn't it?" She snatched the remote and shut off the television. "Let's go out in the kitchen and see about a scratch supper, okay?"

Kyle regarded her warily. His 'spider sense' was tingling. She was up to something, but he couldn't afford to appear overtly suspicious. So he shrugged indolently. "Okay, I'm game. The quake kinda screwed up lunch today anyway."

Isabel headed into the kitchen and Kyle followed feeling very much like the metaphorical fly following an equally metaphorical lady spider into her parlor.

"Evans and Guerin had better not take too long playing Indiana Jones," he thought. "Otherwise I'll have to eat and *run*."

St. Croix, US Virgin Islands...Same Time

Diane hung up the phone, then rolled back over in bed to snuggle up with her husband. She had felt vaguely guilty that the quake was three hours old when they'd finally turned on CNN and learned of it. She shifted slightly and fluffed the covers over them so that they weren't in the way. Then she planted a kiss on Philip's chest before placing her cheek there, and settling against him once more. She'd felt vaguely guilty yes...but not totally. They'd been busy with other things at the time.

Philip stirred briefly. "They sound like they're all right." He paused, to let her speak. When no comment was forthcoming he added, "We can catch a flight home if you want."

Diane sighed. "No Honey, they have to stand on their own sometime, much as the mother in me may hate having to admit it." She felt his arms tighten around her, and knew that he approved. "Besides, we can call the Parkers in a couple of hours, just to be sure." Philip chuckled softly, deep in his chest, causing comforting vibrations to rumble against her cheek.

"Good," he said, "because, I had plans for the next few days.

She tightened her arms around him. "Oh? Where are we going?"

Philip gently rolled onto his side, causing her to roll onto her back. "Nowhere, nowhere at all," he said as he began to caress her with a feather touch.

Diane shivered with delight. "That sounds good to me..." She arched into his hand. "Heavenly in fact...."

The Crashdown.......5:45 PM

Liz paused as she hung up another order ticket. It was raining outside, and she could hear thunder. She could feel Max's irritation coming in over their connection. "~Max, what's wrong?~"

Max's frustration spiked. "~It's raining, that's what's wrong. We can't set up until it stops.~" There was a mental sigh. "~I had hoped that it would hold off. As it is, it'll be well after dark by the time we catch a break, according to the weather on Jim's radio, and they say that it'll be a *brief* break at that. There's more and worse to come.~"

Liz sighed. "~I'm almost done here. Do you want Maria and I to come out? We could bring you something. Hot coffee, tea, food.~"

"~No~," Max answered. "~You girls can stay there, or head over to the UFO Center. Brody stayed there after he made the introductions between us and the sonar crew. We'll wait to eat until we come back~." There was a pause as she felt him thinking. "~Liz, I left the Chevelle and my keys with Brody. If you and Maria go anywhere, take my car, not the Jetta. Please? When the really bad weather finally gets here, Maria's Jetta just won't be enough car to be on the road.~"

Liz sighed, Max the worrier was in the driver's seat. "~I don't think that we'll be going anywhere Love, but I'll take the deal. Everything on *your* car works,~" she said with a mental giggle. "~I'll ask Maria where she'd rather hang out and let you know,~" she told him. "~Be sure that you let us know when you're coming back, and we'll order pizza.~"

"~Will do Sweetheart,~" he said. Then there was a pause tinged with concern and frustration. "~If you think that *I'm* ticked off, you ought to see Michael. He looks like he's close to meltdown. Remember, he really didn't believe that all of this was necessary. You'd better check on Maria.~"

Liz paused. "~Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a few minutes.~" Walking through the double doors into the break room she found Maria sitting slouched in a chair, with a disgusted look on her face, drumming her fingers on the vinyl covered arm of the chair she was sitting in. "~Max, whatever Michael's doing, tell him to knock it of, or get it under control....right now. Otherwise I won't be responsible for what Maria does to him when you get back here.~"

There was a pause, then Max answered. "~Done. We'll see you in a while. The rain is slacking off some. That means that it's time to help these guys get set up their gear.~"

Liz watched as her friend's face cleared, and she smiled. Sending Max a mental kiss she said, "~Be careful Max. We'll see you soon.~"

"~Bye~," he responded. Then the connection dialed back down.

Liz was grinning at Maria then. "Having fiancée issues?"

Maria made a disgusted noise. She got up and hugged her friend. "Lizzie, you and Max have to teach us how to keep this connection of ours under control, otherwise Spaceboy isn't going to live long enough for me to marry him, because the backwash from his crappy moods would've caused me to smother him in his sleep first!"

At the moment Jose bellowed, "Elizabeth Parker, your order is up out here. And there are new people waiting in your section DeLuca! How about little service out here ladies, por favor? If it isn't too much to ask?"

Liz giggled. "We can talk later. Max and I are a work in progress. Control-wise we're still learning things ourselves by trial and error, but we'll help if we can. I can at least teach you how to 'keep the volume down'." Then both girls dashed out front before Jose could bellow again. They were off in thirty minutes, then they'd be free to do as they pleased... pending approval by the parentals.

Outside, the storm waxed and waned, but continued to build.

MacLeod's Dojo.....6:15 PM

Richie was in his room trying to pack a duffle bag. He hated packing. It just reminded him of stuff that he'd lost or loaned out, but never replaced, and of how much useless junk he'd managed to accumulate. It bugged him. But he just sighed and kept on stuffing clothes in his duffle. They would be leaving tomorrow morning. Acting on gut instinct, Duncan had closed up the dojo early tonight, and canceled classes until Monday. After that it wouldn't matter, either they'd be in the clear, or they'd all be so dead that they wouldn't care.

Being too keyed up to sleep for more than an hour and a half, Duncan had left on the hunt an hour before. Dusk was approaching, and he'd wanted to be in a good stake out position before it arrived, to try and catch Conterras as he moved into the area for the night. Duncan still hadn't found the location from which Conterras surely observed the comings and goings at the dojo, so Duncan couldn't be sure that Conterras was going to show up tonight. But, this close to D-Day, Duncan was pretty certain that rat-boy would be out there *every* night.

Richie paused in his packing and listened. The radio in Alex's room was still blaring, loud enough to wake to dead. Alex had been hunched over his work table soldering some electronic nightmare or other, radio blasting, when Richie had come upstairs to pack. In his months here Alex puttered a lot with electronics, though not lately. The fact that he was occupied pleased Richie somewhat. The rear and side doors of the building were barred and padlocked from the inside. So the only way in or out of the dojo was through the front door. That meant passing Richie's room. And his door was open. He was being cautious. Busy Alex may have been, but there was a definite vibe in the air around him. Like smoke from a smoldering fire. It might die out.... then again it could turn into an inferno when you weren't looking.

There was a knock at the door, and Richie looked up to see Alex entering the room. He had the hair dryer, that he'd borrowed from Richie yesterday, in his hand. The vibe was still there, but Alex's face betrayed nothing. "Hey Alex," he said cautiously, "what's up?"

Alex studied him for a moment, and then broke it to a sunny grin. "Getting tired of baby sitting and waiting for the other shoe to drop?"

Richie looked incredulous for a moment, then snorted and shook his head. "Nice try Whitman, but you can't straight talk me into letting you out of here. And charming you aren't. So, shall we move straight to arguing?"

"I save my charm for the ladies, and I'm not here to argue," Alex answered with a shrug. "What would be the point? You disagreed with what they'd done when you found out about it. Duncan told me so."

Richie nodded. "Yes, I did. But that doesn't mean that I'll stand aside and let you walk out of here to go hunting that baby-killer Conterras. Because you and I both know that that's what you really burn to do. And you and I also know that Amanda and Cass would have Duncan's ass if you did.... and that Duncan in turn would have mine."

Alex winced at the 'baby' allusion, but shrugged and walked closer. "I wouldn't ask you to. Not unless I had a good way to get you off the hook. I'm just here to return your hair dryer, such as it is." He held out the appliance.

Richie glanced at the hair dryer in Alex's hand for a moment, then he did a double take and said, "Hey! What happened to the cord...?"

Alex cut him off. "Sorry Richie, I'll buy you a new one." Alex's wrist twisted bringing the hair dryer up into pistol position as he thumbed a button that definitely wasn't standard equipment for said hair dryer. There was a slight 'Phfut!' as the homemade device within the hair dryer case discharged. Two tiny steel darts trailing spider web thin steel wire struck Richie in the chest. Half a second later the scavenged photo strobe capacitor, that was integrated into the unit; discharged its load through a compact Alex-made step-up transformer which jacked an already respectable jolt of electricity up to 50,000 volts. To Richie it was like being kicked by the biggest, meanest mule alive. He went down without a sound.

Alex regarded his friend regretfully for a moment, and then he tossed his homemade taser on the floor and checked Richie over. Alex yanked the tiny darts out of Richie's chest and checked his pulse. It was strong and steady. Good. He pushed Richie's duffle bag on the floor and hauled his friend up on the bed. "Sorry Richie," he said, addressing his unconscious friend, "but to quote the Duke, 'a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do'."

The electronics had been the easy part. Picked up here and there as salvaged junk, at yard sales, and at second hand stores. The hard part had been the firing mechanism. He ended up buying two cheap identical CO-2 guns in a pawn shop and scavenging them. Cutting down the barrels to almost nothing and filling them with epoxy down to a pin hole to take the darts, then stripping their mechanism to the bare essentials to make them work within the case he had in mind. And he'd even redesigned them a bit to make them both work off of a single compressed CO-2 plenum, to save space. Alex picked up the spent taser, wound the wires around it, and dropped it in the garbage can. He'd begun work on it in his first weeks here, not trusting his new...associates completely, he'd wanted a hole card to play. Just in case. He'd stopped work once he'd realized that they were playing straight with him. But not before taking his little craft project most of the way to completion. He'd resumed work on it when the threat they were all under had come to light....and that hole card started looking better and better. What he'd done tonight was to attach the just completed transformer by soldering the leads to the contacts in the gun. Then he'd torn the guts out of Richie's hair dryer...which Alex had 'borrowed', and stuffed his little toy into the now empty case, which functioned mostly as camouflage. It was a one shot weapon, and you had to get very close to use it, but within that range it was very effective.

Sparing Richie a last look and a murmur of apology Alex returned to his bedroom to collect a small shoulder bag that had a few 'party favors' of his own manufacture in it, his duster, and his saber. Making his way downstairs he left a note for his friends, then put on his coat, and slung his sword under it. The bag went over his shoulder. After he stepped out the front door he turned and locked it, then he dropped his keys back through the mail slot. There was no going back now, but even if Conterras killed him, he wouldn't find those keys on Alex's body.

Pausing, Alex glanced up and down the street. As he did so, he felt an atavistic shudder go through his body. The offspring of the wild animal that lived in Duncan MacLeod was alive and well in his protégé. Alex knew beyond all doubt that he was being scrutinized by unfriendly eyes. He could feel them. Without wasting further time Alex set off in the direction of the waterfront at a brisk walk. There was an abandoned factory in that area where Duncan occasionally liked to play the Immortal version of hide and seek. Except that, in Duncan's game, it didn't end with simply being found. You had to fight. It was the ideal place in which to turn the tables on a hunter. And it had privacy. Of course, tonight the game wouldn't end at disarmament or at first blood. Tonight he would have to kill, or be killed.

Looking at the sky he thanked God for the weather. Seattle was enjoying one of it's infrequent spells of clear weather, on the same night as a full moon. There would be plenty of light.

The feeling that he was being watched jumped higher. Without looking he knew that Conterras had taken the bait. Alex was no longer being watched. He was being pursued. He was committed now. The game was afoot. He increased his walking pace.

Back in his bedroom the clock in his computer ticked over. It was 6:30 PM. On his desk top the PC beeped as the timer ran out on 'Message in a Bottle', and the program executed it's instructions. That was the only outward sign that anything was happening. Inside the operating system the message was already gone. It was already residing in the innards of the anonymous remailer in Finland, and all trace of it had been erased from Alex's machine.

In minutes at most it would be safely tucked away in Liz's AOL mail queue.

Alex knew that he could very well die tonight, and very shortly at that. But, as his watch beeped to inform him of the passing of 18:30 hours, his stride lengthened, and he breathed more deeply and freely. His hearing and sight seemed to sharpen. He may have set himself in the role of the hunted, but for the first time in all these months he felt like his destiny was in his own hands. He felt like he was in command of his own life again.

He was mostly correct in that assessment. Which naturally meant that he was wrong about it to some degree, as well. However, it would be years before he knew how much he was right....and how far he was wrong.

Roswell Municipal Cemetery.........6:15 PM

Michael was still feeling cranky and ill-used. After getting soggy in the drizzle, helping Max and the Sheriff set up a canvas awning to keep the rain off of the sonar team's equipment, he'd retreated to the SUV and watched sullenly as they begun placing sensors around the grave. He'd agreed to go along with this, but he was certain that it was still a waste of time. Which made him more than a little cranky. The thing that he was discovering about that new connection that he shared with Maria was that he could no longer internalize his emotions and leave them to rot and fester. Maria wouldn't allow it.... and she'd been telepathically vocal about the issue. What went on inside of his mind and heart could now have a direct and immediate effect on her.... and she could and would in turn directly and *immediately* effect him.

Like she was at the moment.

"~Honest to God, Michael.... you're the most incredibly special man I've ever met, but sometimes I could just strangle you~," she said caustically.

"~I'm just tired of wild goose chases is all~," he snapped.

Maria was silent, but he could feel the slow burn. When she spoke it was harsh and grating. "~Michael, do you remember when you said that Max and Isabel spent their childhood learning from your mistakes?~"

"~Yes I do, and thank you so much for that esteem building reminder~," he answered in a surly tone.

"~Good~," she said, "~because I wanted to point out to you that *you* were supposed to learn from *your* mistakes too.~"

Michael stopped, uncertain of what to say.

Maria went on. "~Michael I love you, warts and all. That soul inside of you is something so special that poets would kill for the privilege of being allowed to try and describe it. But Michael, you have been a major screw up. You've behaved like a bull in a china shop many times, and a lot of those times you've been wrong. Sometimes dangerously wrong. As the military guy in the group, you aren't supposed to be the sullen Rambo type. You're supposed to be the cautious general type. As it is you act too much like a smart bomb with no smarts at all. Let me repeat, I LOVE YOU, you hairy idiot, we all do, but for the love of God grow up! Everything isn't about you, or aimed at you, or about your convenience or inconvenience. I don't care whether you think this is a mistake or not, because your judgment in the past hasn't proven to be all that reliable on group issues. And I don't care if there's a hockey game on that you're missing. Arm chair sports are a nice pastime, but this is life. And unless you can skate and shoot, building your life around the NHL is a pretty lame way to go. Ditto on the NBA and the NFL. You're out there as a part of this family. DEAL WITH IT!~"

With that she slammed the connection shut, so hard that Michael actually winced. Liz must have been coaching her because his most stubborn prodding and prying couldn't get a rise out of her. He didn't know which made him most angry, what she'd said...or the fact that there was so much truth in it. After a few moments he gave up. He was still pissed, but he had to admit that his obsession with 'finding the mother ship' had cost them all a great deal over the years. He sighed. The hell of it was that there were times when he thought that they'd be better off without him, that he was a liability. Yet, if he'd left, he'd have worried about them. And there was Maria. He couldn't have contemplated an existence without her in it. Besides that, the day might come when they'd need the heavy artillery...which is what he saw himself as. Then he half chuckled at the irony. "I'm the proverbial 'loose cannon on deck'," he thought wryly.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice anyone near the truck until there was a rapping on the passenger side window, which made him start so hard that he banged his head on the roof of the cab. Cursing he rolled the window down to see a grinning Max.

"Liz tells me that you and Maria had a fight," he said.

Still rubbing his head he answered in a surly tone. "How the hell did she know? Can you guys listen in on us now?"

Max shook his head. "No, she simply knows Maria very, very well, and recognized the symptoms of a pretty good blow out."

Michael nodded. "And you've come to ask me if I want to talk, is that it?"

Shaking his head, Max said, "Nope, I just wanted to invite you to get out here. They're all set and ready to start firing shots."

Michael shrugged. "And you think that I should be there?"

Max smiled softly. Michael was trying to start an argument, but Max wasn't playing that game tonight. "No, I don't think that you should be.... I think that you *need* to be, if for no other reason than to give yourself something else to think about for a while. And, by the way, since I didn't say so earlier today, congratulations. She's a wonderful girl."

Michael resisted a moment then submitted to the inevitable and sighed gustily. "And besides," he thought as he climbed out of the SUV; to join Max outside as they both made a dash to the awning, "Maria *is* a wonderful girl."

Jerome Sonett, the grad student operator, and Brody's friend/acquaintance, was explaining things to Jim Valenti when the two boys arrived. "I'll need four good shots to be sure. On a normal dig I'd only use one, but since you tell me that this is to determine whether or not this poor kid's body was snatched, I want to be cautious. We're trying to 'see' a body inside of a metal coffin... inside of a concrete vault. We'll take a shot, get a reading, then move the ground effect cannon and take another shot... and another... and another. After I get four good sets of data, I'll integrate them.... or rather the computer will do it for me. Then we'll see what we can see."

Jerry nodded to his assistant who stepped up on the ground effect gun to steady it, then tripped the trigger. There was a loud but dull 'PLONK!' as it fired. 'It' was little more than a two wheeled dolly with a heavy concrete cylinder on it, which rested on a second hand tire for recoil padding and muffling. Inside the cylinder was a stripped down slug firing shotgun. It was a jury rig, but it did the required job cheaply. It generated ground shock waves. Jerry watched the numbers and after a moment he grunted with satisfaction. "That's one," he said as he nodded to his helper to reload for the next shot.

Michael watched the screen with interest in spite of himself. The next shot sounded 'PLONK!' and again the numbers changed. Sonett nodded again. The reading was good. As the helper moved the gun and fired again, Michael changed position. They'd set up the equipment under a tarp that was about thirty feet on a side. It covered both the grave of Alex, and the newer one belonging to his parents. The station was next to Alex's headstone and to one side... the side opposite his parents' final resting place, and it faced the grave. The helper was ready for the fourth shot. As Sonett gave the go ahead, Michael moved up behind Alex's headstone, on Sonett's right. As the charge fired 'PLONK!', Michael leaned forward.......

**FLASH**

A man and woman digging in a grave. This grave....

**FLASH**

Alex struggling with them in the open grave.

**FLASH**

The blow to Alex's head with a shovel.

**FLASH**

Alex being loaded into their car like a sack of potatoes.

**FLASH**

The car leaving....

*****************

"Michael?" came a voice.

Michael was back. He looked down in a daze at where his hand rested casually atop Alex's headstone. That was what had tripped the flashes.

"Michael?"

He looked up to see Max staring at him quizzically. He must have looked pretty lost because Max nodded at the screen that Jerome was studying.

"Well?" Jim asked.

Jerome tapped a key and the display changed slightly. He studied it a moment longer before nodding to himself. "As empty as my last date's head," he said sounding grim. "I'd say you have proof now, a real smoking gun."

Michael nodded and spoke, his voice sounding foreign and distant in his own ears. "Yes, I'd say that we do...."