Against My Programming (CC,TEEN) pt 62 pg 10 2/26 [WIP]

[littleroswell]

Part 11 - "Computer Searches"

“Damn it!” Leslie yelled as she slammed down the phone. That was the last number that she had to try.

“Hey! Easy on my phone, Terrell!” Michael ordered, coming into the kitchen. At the death glare that she gave him, he smirked at her. “I take it that your phone calls did not go well?”

“No, as a matter of fact, they were all dead ends…again!” Leslie yelled frustrated. Then for some reason, she felt bad for taking her frustration out on Michael. “I’m sorry; it’s just that I was hoping one of these numbers belonged to someone that I’m trying to find.”

“Old boyfriend?” Michael asked gruffly.

“No, actually it’s my brother. My parents are divorced and my dad took him and I’m not allowed to talk to him. It’s a long story and I really don’t have time to go into it right now. I’ve got to get home,” she answered shortly. She grabbed her school bag and headed for the front door. “Thanks for your phone, Guerrin!” she called as she left.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Alex stretched his long arms over his head. He was stiff from sitting at his desk for so long but he had had a lot of homework and studying to do. Glancing over at the clock on his computer, he noticed that it really wasn’t as late as he had feared, and he raced over to his window. Sure enough, Leslie was sitting in their tree. She always seemed to be out there first, no matter how early he tried to finish his homework to beat her out there.

“Hey,” he called as he climbed out onto the tree.

“Hey,” she echoed with a smile. She moved down the limb a bit, closer to her own window, to make room for Alex when he made it to her.

“How do you always manage to finish your homework so fast? I’m the one they call a geek!” Alex joked as he sat down.

She grinned at that. “Nobody had better let me hear them call you a geek! I’ll take their eyeballs for souvenirs of their last fight. As for the homework, I’m just smarter than you I guess,” she teased.

“Watch it, Terrell!” Alex said in mock anger. “Well, it’s only 9 o’clock. My parents are at a movie and aren’t going to be back until late. Is your mom at home?”

“No, she’s working tonight,” Leslie answered. “Oh, let me tell you about my latest failed attempt to find Lucas.” She went on to tell him about getting her mother’s purse and calling all the long distance numbers that she found inside of it. She finished the story with the recount of calling them at Michael’s and coming up with nothing yet again. “So I guess we’re back to square one.”

Alex cocked his head to the side in thought. “Maybe not. We already know that he and your dad are somewhere in the northeast and that they have an unlisted number. What does your dad do for a living? Maybe we can find him that way,” he said.

“Oh, Alex, why didn’t I think of that?! He’s a surgeon! Come on, let’s go look at a map of the US and see what cities and hospitals we can find,” Leslie told him, jumping up quickly.

“Woe! Let’s take this a bit slower this high up ok? We’ll just go inside and use my computer. Hopefully we won’t come into too many dead ends,” he told her, getting up and leading the way to his room. He climbed into the home and then turned to help Leslie inside. “Do you want to order a pizza or maybe even see if the Crashdown is slow enough for someone to deliver an order?”

“Um, a pizza sounds good,” Leslie decided. “You log onto your computer and pull up the map; I’ll call for the pizza. Anything you like on it in particular?”

“Nah, I don’t care. Just don’t get any anchovies or pineapple on it and I’ll be fine,” he answered, going over to his computer.

Leslie picked up the phone and dialed Mario’s Pizza, knowing the number by heart by now. She ordered the pizza while Alex analyzed a map of the northeastern US. After hanging up the phone, she came over to see the results of his search.

“Do you have any clue what area your dad might have gone to? I mean does he like the city or the country? Has he mentioned any place in particular he liked to be?” Alex asked.

“Dad is definitely a ‘city mouse’ as the saying goes. I have a weird pull towards NYC. At least we could start there. Let’s pull up all the hospitals we can that are in the New York City area and go from there,” Leslie suggested.

Alex typed in a few keys in the search engine and pulled up a list. “I’ve got almost 50 just in the New York City area. That’s a lot of hospitals to search for one surgeon. Maybe we can search their websites for a while to see if they have lists of their surgeons on their sites. Um, let me print out a copy of all these websites and give it to you. I’ll start checking to see if the sites have a list of their employees or at least their surgeons. Put a check by the ones that do and we’ll go back to them. What kind of surgeon is he?”

“Cardiac,” Leslie answered, taking the piece of paper from him with the websites on it.

“Ok, so out of the hospitals on the list, make two more lists: one for hospitals that specialize in heart surgery that list their surgeons on their sites and those that don’t list them,” Alex told her.

An hour and a pizza later, Leslie was ready to pull her hair out. They had been through several of the sites but only one of them listed their surgeons. “This is a ridiculous waste of time!” she growled. “The most frustrating part about all of this is that even if we do actually find Dr. Kevin Terrell that doesn’t tell me where he lives or his phone number and there is no way he’s going to let me talk to Lucas. This is a real long shot.”

“Hey, I didn’t hear you give any better ideas. Besides, it’s not my fault you won’t take the easier way and just make a few friends. You already have me and sort of Michael,” Alex pointed out.

“I know, I know. I just don’t make friends easily. Hey, what if we have Liz, Maria, Michael, Max, and I guess Isabel over to hang out sometime this weekend? Do you think they would come if I invited them over? Maybe you should invite them. That way my mom will see that I do have friends and maybe it will help along the finding of Lucas. I think we should still pursue the hospitals though,” Leslie thought aloud, quicker than Alex could respond.

Alex jumped up and put his hands on her shoulders to stop her from pacing as she babbled on. “Leslie, slow down…breathe already!” he laughed. “I will call Liz and Maria to invite them over if you want to invite Isabel and Michael and either Liz or Isabel can pass the invitation on to Max. Are you sure your mom won’t mind? What night do you want to have everyone over?”

“Um, I don’t care which night unless mom will be home one of them. Let me page her and ask when she calls back,” she said, picking up her cell phone. She paged her mom and hung up, turning back to Alex. “Well, what do you want to do in the meantime? Do these sites have an email address we can send an email to and ask about their surgeons? Maybe we can just send out one email to all of the email addresses and see what kind of a response we get.”

“That’s a great idea! I should have thought of that,” Alex praised, sitting down at the computer again. “I’ll set up a new email account just for the hospitals to respond to and I’ll say that I’m a patient looking for a good heart surgeon in the New York City area. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

Fifteen minutes later, Leslie’s mom had called back ecstatic that her daughter wanted to have a few “friends” over for a movie and food. Lauren said that it could be any night of the weekend but that she would be working. Alex had sent an email to each of the contact emails on the hospital websites, and he called Liz and Maria to find out when they were working so they could come for the movie.

Finally, at 11 o’clock, all the phone calls had been made and all the arrangements for Saturday night movie were made. The emails were all sent out and Leslie was yawning from fatigue. “Well, I guess I need to go home and go to bed. I’m so tired. Thanks again for all of your help, Alex; you’re the best!” she said as she headed for the window.

Alex followed her to the window. Before she climbed outside, however, she turned around but didn’t know that Alex was so close. She almost fell and Alex caught her. “Whoa there, Grace!” he joked. “What did you forget?”

“Just this,” Leslie said and kissed him deeply. “I’m sorry we didn’t have more time to spend on us or something other than looking for Lucas, but don’t ever feel like I don’t appreciate it.” Then she got an evil glint in her eyes. “And if you ever kiss Isabel Evans again while we’re together, you’ll regret it,” she said, climbing out onto the tree.

“Yes, ma’am,” Alex replied, still in a daze from the kiss. Then her words sank in. “Wait! We’re together now?” he asked. But it was too late; Leslie was already inside her own room.

[littleroswell]

Against My Programming

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. The characters, the music, the movies referenced, blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.

Part 12 - "Movie Night"

Leslie stood in front of the announcement board looking over the notice about the talent show that was coming up in a couple of weeks. Something kept drawing her to it but she didn’t really know why. She wasn’t even able to sing a note until the other day and she had a pretty good idea of why that had suddenly changed. Leslie scowled darkly at her train of thoughts. If things kept going the way they were, she might have to leave Roswell and she didn’t want to do that.

“Excuse me, do you need some help with something?” came a voice from behind her.

Leslie turned to see who was speaking and recognized the chorus director. “I’m sorry?” she asked.

“You’ve been standing there staring at the announcement board for several minutes now, and I was just wondering if you were looking for something in particular or if there was something I could help you with,” the young teacher explained.

“Well, actually, I was kind of thinking of entering the talent contest. I’ve been debating about it for some time but I’m still not sure,” Leslie admitted.

“What sort of talent were you thinking of performing?” the director asked.

“Um, singing actually,” Leslie kind of mumbled. Why was she talking about all this? If she kept going with this conversation, she was going to be late for biology and Michael would kill her because they had a lab today.

The young chorus director’s eyebrows rose in surprise and she looked closer at this young student. She wasn’t familiar with this girl but then she wasn’t in any of the music classes she taught. “Well, I’m Sharon Freeman and I’m the chorus director. Would you like to come in and talk about it for a few minutes?” she asked.

“I don’t want to be late for biology,” Leslie said but it did sound nice to talk to the chorus teacher…see if she had a chance at this thing or if she would just be embarrassing herself.

“I’ll write you a pass. I do have a class this period so we couldn’t talk long but we can talk for a few moments. Maybe you could sing something and I could tell you if you have a chance. I know most of the girls that have entered in the singing category because they are in the chorus but not all. Maria DeLuca for one might enter and she’s never been in my chorus. Why don’t you come in…?” Ms. Freeman told her.

“Leslie…Leslie Terrell. I’m kind of new here but I don’t want to join the chorus. I would appreciate your help though. I don’t want to get up on stage in front of a lot of people and embarrass myself,” she explained to the sympathetic teacher.

“I understand completely, Leslie,” Sharon told her, holding the door for Leslie to pass through.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex watched Leslie disappear into the music room with the choral director closing the door behind them. Puzzled, he rushed to the door and peeked in the small window on the side. Leslie was talking and the teacher was nodding. Then the director handed Leslie some sort of book, Alex couldn’t tell what, and she started flipping through it.

“Hi, Alex, whatchya doin’?” Maria said behind him, startling him.

“Maria! Um…” before he could answer, Maria peeked in the window and saw Leslie in the room with the chorus director. She gave Alex a grin.

“Stalking? I thought you only did that with Isabel,” she teased.

“What about Isabel?” asked a third voice from behind them both. They turned to see Max standing there with Liz holding his hand.

“Um…uh…” Alex stuttered. Both Max and Liz leaned around their friends to look in the small window and saw Leslie hand an open book to the chorus director who sat down with it at the piano. All four friends looked at each other questioningly.

When a couple of students asked to get past them, they stepped aside but followed the students into the music room. Alex was in the lead, but all four were curious as to what their new friend was up to. Only Alex had some sort of idea. They hurriedly took seats toward the back of the room by the door, making sure that Leslie and Ms. Freeman hadn’t seen them.

“Are you sure you want to sing this song without a warm up? It has some pretty high notes toward the end,” Sharon Freeman was telling Leslie.

“I’m sure. I’m as warmed up as I get for now. Besides, you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if I’m not any good,” Leslie said wryly. She cleared her throat and nodded at the director.

As the first couple of notes were played on the piano, Alex recognized them as belonging to one of the songs from the movie he and Leslie had watched a few nights before. He saw Maria’s eyes widen as she too recognized the song. It was not an easy song but it flowed well, and the high notes became gradually higher at the end. It was not impossible but someone had to have real talent to do the song justice. She, Liz, and Max confirmed the identity of the song with each other just as Leslie began singing.

There’s a song that’s inside of my soul.
It’s the one that I’ve tried to write over and over again.
I’m awake in the infinite cold,
But you sing to me over and over and over again.

So I lay my head back down,
And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours.
I pray to be only yours.
I know now you’re my only hope.

Sing to me the song of the stars,
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again.
When it feels like my dreams are so far,
Sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again.

So I lay my head back down,
And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours.
I pray to be only yours.
I know now you’re my only hope.

I give you my destiny.
I’m giving you all of me.
I want your symphony,
Singing in all that I am,
At the top of my lungs.
I’m giving it back.

So I lay my head back down,
And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours.
I pray to be only yours.
I pray to be only yours.
I know now you’re my only hope.

The song was sweet and simple, but the high notes at the end had to be clear and Leslie nailed them without any problem. Alex noted her face throughout the course of the song. Her eyes had closed at certain parts and at others simply took on a far off look. He knew this song had meaning to her, but who was she thinking of while she sang it? He hoped it was him, but he knew there were at least two other possibilities. In the short time that he had known her, Leslie made it clear that the only male she trusted completely was her brother Lucas. The only other guy she had let close had treated her terribly. While Alex was slowly gaining her trust, he knew that there was much that she still kept from him.

Alex wasn’t the only one who was studying Leslie during the song. Maria listened to the girl critically, and by the end of the song was so impressed that she openly admitted to Liz that Leslie would be much better than Maria could ever hope to be. Liz tried to deny it to her friend but Maria insisted. “Liz, I know that I can sing and I have a pretty good voice but that girl is good!” she told her best friend.

Max too had been watching Leslie and something was nagging him about her. He couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong but something was definitely off about this girl and about him when he was around her. When he was with Liz, he didn’t think much about it, but Leslie seemed to almost draw him to her and he had no idea why. Maybe it was just that she seemed to have transformed from the ugly duckling into the beautiful swan. He hadn’t really spent any time with her and didn’t know her as well as Alex or even Isabel. The little time he had spent with her was when she was over at his house and Isabel was helping to fix her up, but they had gone shopping so they weren’t around long. If he had to describe it, he probably would have likened it to a siren’s song, especially when she literally sang. He found that he could listen to her sing all day long.

As Leslie finished, she looked toward her accompanist and smiled, almost shyly. “Leslie, that was wonderful! You have to enter the talent contest and I promise you that if you join the chorus next quarter or next year, you can have any solo you ask for,” Sharon Freeman said, completely awestruck by this girl. This was the kind of talent that she had hoped to discover when she became a choral director and music teacher.

Embarrassed, Leslie tried to shrug it off. “Well, I guess sign me up for the talent contest then. I’ll have to think about the chorus though,” she said lightly. At that moment, the bell rang and she grabbed up her bag. “Could you write me that late pass, though?”

Max, Liz, Maria, and Alex high-tailed it out of there as fast as they could without getting caught. “That was well worth being late for,” Liz declared. The others agreed with her and left to go to their respective classes.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Saturday evening came quickly and Leslie was ridiculously nervous about everyone coming over for the movie night. Alex came over shortly after Lauren had left to help her straighten up and so she wouldn’t have to greet her other guests alone. When he arrived in his baggy jeans and t-shirt, Leslie looked him over and then kissed his cheek. He responded by pulling her into his arms.

“I’ve got two questions: what was that for and is there more to follow?” he said wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Leslie giggled and answered, “That was for being a sweetheart and coming early to help and there is more to follow but later. I don’t want to smear my makeup.”

Alex sighed. “I guess I’ll settle for what I got. As for the makeup, I fully expect to help you smear it later.”

“Deal,” she answered, giving him a squeeze before letting go and walking over to the entertainment center. “I have no idea what everyone will want to watch but I’ve got several selections.”

Before she could list any of them, the doorbell rang and Alex went to answer it. Maria breezed in the door, followed by Michael, and they both appeared to be in the middle of another fight. “We’ll finish this later,” Maria declared with a heated glare. Then she smiled at Alex. “Hi, we made it!” she exclaimed.

Alex grinned at them. “Yeah, I could hear you two miles down the road,” he teased.

“Ha, ha, Whitman. I didn’t come here to be insulted,” Michael grumbled. “Where’s Terrell anyway?”

“Maria, Michael, please come in. Would you like something to drink?” Leslie said in her best hostess voice.

Michael raised an eyebrow at her and Maria laughed openly. “Leslie, girl, you don’t have to be so proper with this crowd. I can guarantee you will be much more comfortable with us if you drop all that stuffy mess. Just pull out a cooler with ice and sodas, some paper plates, a couple of pizzas, and lots of paper towels, and we’ll be all set,” she told her.

Leslie relaxed a little. She really couldn’t understand why she was so nervous anyway. These were just some people from school. Yes, she knew there was probably more to a few of them, but they didn’t know that she knew, and she was determined that they never knew. She smiled at Maria and led the bubbly girl to the kitchen to get the items she had listed. While they pulled everything out to the living room, Max, Liz and Isabel arrived and made themselves comfortable.

Before long, they were all sprawled out across the room with pizza and soda, watching a movie that they had all finally agreed on. Leslie had to admit that she was enjoying herself, but she was careful to touch no one except Alex. She had made sure that they were sitting on the opposite side of the room from Max and Liz, just to be sure.

The movie finished rather early and the guests helped to clean up the room after themselves, and sat around with bowls of ice cream to chat. “So, Leslie, how do you like Roswell now?” Liz asked.

“It’s growing on me,” Leslie conceded with a smile. Then she looked at Alex sitting next to her and gave him an even bigger and more beautiful smile. “Definitely growing on me.”

Everyone noted the look that passed between the two, and it affected each of them differently. Maria and Liz were happy that their best friend seemed to have found a girl who genuinely seemed to like Alex for Alex. Isabel studied them with grudging jealousy and longing, but even she admitted to herself that they looked good together. Michael took note but nothing more; it really wasn’t his business. Max had a surprising reaction to them.

Instead of being happy for Alex and Leslie, Max was jealous. It took him several minutes to figure out that jealousy was the word he would use to describe his feeling. He wasn’t jealous because he wanted to be with Leslie; he was indescribably happy with Liz. He wasn’t even jealous of their relationship; didn’t he and Liz have that deep, soul mate type of relationship that everyone wanted? No, the type of jealousy that Max was experiencing was different from anything he had ever experienced before.

It was the kind of jealousy that a person feels when he or she realizes that his or her pet loves someone else better than the owner. It was the kind of jealousy that the owner of an instrument might feel when someone else comes along and makes it play better than the owner. Why would he feel that way? It was almost the same feeling one might feel over loosing his favorite horse in a gambling game, though Max had never gambled, let alone lost. The feeling was extremely unsettling for him, and with great effort, he managed to push it to the back of his mind.

[littleroswell]

Hey, everyone, I hope that you all have read my response to your fb by now! It has some clues as to what is coming up in the story so I encourage you to read my last two notes! Anyway, I know it's a day late but here is the newest part. I'm currently working on the next part but my beta is really busy right now so I can't promise that I can get it out by next Tuesday but I'm gonna try by best! Thanks.

Beth

Part 13 - "Spending Time Together"

Alex smothered a sigh of contentment, afraid that the beautiful girl in his arms would take it the wrong way. He and Leslie had eaten at the Crashdown where they worked on homework together and then went back to her house and were currently watching the cartoon network. Rather, they had just finished a make out session and just realized that the cartoon network was on. He planned on picking up where they left off in a minute…they had only paused for air.

“So any more leads on your brother?” he asked as his breathing slowed to semi-normal. “Have you gotten any emails back from the hospitals?”

“A couple. None of them had a Kevin Terrell working there but there are a lot of hospitals that still haven’t answered and it really hasn’t been that long. For some reason, I’m not in that big a rush to find him right now. Maybe it has something to do with my new boyfriend,” Leslie answered with a warm grin at him. She snuggled deeper in his arms and sighed in happiness causing him to grin too. “I do miss him though. I’m just not sure of where to go from here to look for him.”

“We’ll think of something,” he assured her. He knew that he had probably spoiled the make out mood but he didn’t mind. As a new thought crossed his mind, he grinned even bigger. “So what are you going to sing for the talent contest?” he asked trying to keep the amusement under control.

He got the response he was looking for. Leslie whipped around in his arms, surprised. “Alex Whitman, how do you know I entered the talent contest?” she asked, feigning anger but truly surprised.

“Well, I have a little confession to make. I was there when you ‘auditioned’ for Ms. Freeman,” he admitted. Alex then went on to tell her how he had seen her go into the music room with the chorus director and, being curious, had followed her along with Maria, Liz, and Max.

Leslie’s eyes grew as big as saucers when he finished. “Max was there?” she asked, obviously upset. Then she caught herself and added, “Liz and Maria too?”

But Alex had caught that little slip. “Why would you specifically mention Max…especially first? What difference does it make if he were there?” he asked. He was afraid that she might have a crush on Max. If that were true, though, why go through the pretext of being interested in him? To get close to Max? They weren’t exactly pals; more like friends of necessity.

“It’s not him exactly, Alex. It’s just that you mentioned his name last and you know how I am about guys. I don’t know Max all that well and I didn’t want him or anyone else to think of me as a show off. So what did they all think about my singing? Was it alright?” she asked. Trying to change the subject and at the same time pry some information out of her new boyfriend.

“Maria and Liz both wowed over you, especially Maria. She even commented that you were better than she was and she didn’t sound bitter or jealous about it, which is in both yours and her favor. She won’t enter the contest now because she wants you to win. In fact, she may come to you and ask if you want a coach or someone to help you so be warned. Max didn’t really say much,” he answered.

When he didn’t offer anymore, Leslie was tempted to press him but thought better of it. She didn’t want to upset Alex or make him get the wrong idea. She was almost desperate to know the truth but at the same time was afraid of it. What if she were wrong? What if they were just normal teens? Then again…what if she were right? It was just a nightmare. She wanted nothing more than to be as far as she could from the situation but her genetic makeup and her curiosity as well as her current “age” kept her where she was and even drew her closer. It was like a moth being drawn to fire. She just hoped she could stay far enough away to keep from getting burned too badly.

Then there was the Lucas situation. She had always had her brother to rely on in times of trouble or even emotional turmoil. He was the only person that knew everything about her that she was willing to reveal; although, there seemed to be another side to her that was coming out while she was with Alex. If only she could just talk to Lucas…to confirm that her suspicions were correct or complete paranoia, she would feel so much better! Pushing the overwhelming thoughts out of her head, she tried to concentrate on what Alex was saying.

“So what are you going to sing for the contest?” he asked again.

She grinned and shook her head. “Nuh-uh, I’m not going to tell you or anyone else. I want that to be a surprise,” she told him.

“So you haven’t picked out a song yet, right?” he guessed.

“Bingo!” she laughed. “I have a couple of ideas but I really don’t know for sure yet. However, I was serious about the surprise. If everyone knows about it, at least I want what I’m singing to be a surprise.”

“Come on, Leslie, you can’t just tell me what you’re thinking about singing? I promise not to tell anyone,” he said, crossing his heart.

She laughed again. “No, Alex, you know that if I tell you, you’ll go let Maria know that you know what I’m singing and she’ll drag it out of you. Besides, I want you to be completely surprised so no hints.”

He sighed and threw his hands in the air. “Ok, ok I give up. Besides, you are right about Maria dragging it out of me. I’ll just wait and see what you decide at the contest. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be great! So what do you want to do? I don’t have to be home for another hour.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down at her, grinning and causing her to giggle.

Suddenly, Leslie grew serious and her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let fall. “Alex, you are too good to me. You have been there for me, listened to me, and helped me and have asked nothing in return and I don’t deserve you. Somehow, someday, I’ll pay you back for everything that you’ve done,” she told him.

He drew her to him and shushed her. “Leslie, I do all that stuff because I care about you. I don’t ask anything in return because I don’t want anything in return. Just you being with me…is more than reward enough. I don’t know why you think that you owe me anything; that’s what friends…and in my case, boyfriends do.”

At Alex’s words, Leslie couldn’t hold back her emotions anymore. She burst into tears and buried herself into his chest. He just pulled her closer and held her. Not knowing what caused this outburst, Alex was a little bit dismayed but refused to question her about it, hoping that she would talk to him in her own time.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Leslie was getting ready for bed and she was beat. School had been crazy with 3 tests just that day. Maria was driving Leslie bonkers with her insisting that she wanted to help Leslie win the contest. After pleading, threatening, and scheming, Leslie had finally given in as far as allowing Maria to help her with her hair, makeup, and dress. She was also considering allowing Maria to help her with her song but she still wasn’t sure about that.

Having finished up in the bathroom, Leslie grabbed her hairbrush and sat on the bed to brush it out and braid it before finally going to bed. As she turned her head to better reach a section of her hair, she noticed the pictures on her nightstand. She paused in her motions and let her hand with the brush drop to her lap. Picking up one of the pictures, she studied it. It was a picture of Lucas and she at the apple festival in Elijay, Georgia two falls ago. They were laughing at some joke that Lucas had told and Lauren had taken the picture. Sometimes, she had used the picture to show that she and Lucas never paid any attention to anyone but each other.

“Where are you, Lucas?” she murmured, closing her eyes and reaching for their connection, but not expecting to find it, she replaced the picture and picked up the other one.

This picture was one of her and Alex, taken by Liz at the Crashdown one afternoon when it was slow for a few minutes. They were studying, sitting across from each other. The book was open on the table, turned so that both could see it. Leslie was looking down into the book and pointing at something in it. Alex’s head was turned toward the book as well but his eyes were on Leslie and he was smiling, almost secretly. It was one of her favorite pictures she had of people she knew.

Leslie sighed and put the picture down, thinking of Alex. She knew she should stop their relationship now. It could never go as far as was starting to want it to. If she allowed it to keep going the way it was, someone was going to get seriously hurt. But she really cared about Alex! She thought of all the changes that had occurred since she came to Roswell as well as in the past year. Her hair had always been bright blond and curly; now it was long, and reddish brown and instead of curly, fell in waves. Her eyes had always been a beautiful sky blue but now they were a deep, beautiful brown with reddish flecks that caught the light in any atmosphere. She had never been able to sing a note; now she sang like an angel. Her powers were growing stronger and she felt Lucas and the other member of their odd family, even if they couldn’t communicate yet.

Leslie knew she shouldn’t continue to deceive herself that she was just a normal teen. She couldn’t have that life, no matter how much she might want it. She had already touched 3 of the 4 and all it would take would be a quick brush of skin to complete the awakening. It would all be over and she would be no better off here than she had been before. As tears filled her eyes, she angrily started brushing her hair again. Why would the universe be so unfair? What sin in what past life was she paying for? Wasn’t it enough that she had paid for it in the last life?

Alex would never understand it; she couldn’t understand it…how was he supposed to? If she broke it off now, saying that she still wanted to be friends, would she be able to keep him or her from being hurt? She knew better but refused to acknowledge it. She wanted that normal life and she wanted Alex to be a part of it. She would settle for a few weeks, or if fate was kind months, of happiness with Alex as that normal teen rather than give it up to find Lucas and stay in hiding until she was an old lady and died in some hole of a hiding place. Maybe that was why trying to find Lucas didn’t seem to be her number one priority anymore.

Sighing again and wiping her face, she put the brush down after braiding her hair, climbed into bed, and turned out the light. She tossed and turned for what seemed like forever before drifting off into a restless sleep. As her sleep deepened, she began to dream. Despite her anxiety of earlier, it was a sweet dream with Alex in it.

They were outside in their tree and talking. Suddenly, Alex took her hand and leaned toward her. She felt the thrill of excitement pass through her as she prepared for his kiss. They kissed and kissed until they both needed air. Then they pulled back and Alex grinned at her with that sweet lopsided grin of his and said, “I love you, Leslie. I don’t know how I ever thought I liked Isabel.”

“I love you too, Alex. I only want to be with you. I don’t care about anything else, not my duty, not Meganora, nothing else. I only want to be with you,” she told him.

Suddenly from behind them in the tree, a voice said, “Who are Alex and Isabel?”

Leslie whipped around but Alex didn’t seem to notice. There was a guy right at their age with dark blonde hair and striking green eyes standing on a limb behind them and looking amused. Leslie’s eyes widened and before she could react, the guy said, “Miss me, Leslie?”

Bolting upright in her bed, Leslie fought to still her heart and return her breathing to normal. She gripped her chest where her heart pounded still and said in the darkness of the room only one word. “Lucas!”

[littleroswell]

You guys are not going to believe this! My beta was a sweetie and PM'ed the part to me just a few minutes ago! This part and my special thanks are dedicated to him. Thanks, Bob, you're the best!! Now on with our story!

Beth

Part 14 – “Lucas Appears”

Leslie stumbled to the car and pulled open the passenger door. As she dropped heavily onto the seat, Alex studied her face. Her hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail, her make up was sparser than usual, and there were dark circles under her eyes. She gave him a tired smile as she buckled her seat belt.

“I didn’t think I had kept you up that late,” he joked with her as he kissed her lightly.

“I didn’t sleep very well,” Leslie answered. “Too many things on my mind, I guess.”

Alex glanced at her. “You wanna talk about it?” he offered.

“Oh, it’s just school, this contest, the Lucas situation…just a lot on my mind,” she said. After waking up so abruptly because of being startled out of sleep, Leslie had tried and tried to go back to sleep but nothing worked. She was wide awake for the rest of the night. She had tried to dream-walk Lucas, but evidently her powers weren’t as strong as his, which was weird considering that she was the one around the group that supposedly awakened their powers. That had thrown her for a loop. Maybe she was wrong about them.

“Oh, well, maybe you can get a nap during lunch,” Alex suggested.

“No can do…I have a Biology test that I have to study a little bit for with Michael. He’s at a critical point in his grade and I have to get a B in order to keep my A in the class. I’ll survive until this afternoon,” she shrugged. “Then, though, I want a nap!”

When they arrived at school, everyone met up at Maria and Liz’s lockers. “Leslie, you ok? You look tired,” Isabel pointed out.

“Thank you for noticing, Isabel,” Leslie said sarcastically. “I’m fine! I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Uh oh, it looks like Leslie is reverting to her old charming self!” Maria sang. Then she threw an arm around Leslie’s shoulders. “Speaking of charm…Hon, we have to talk about this talent contest. I know how these things work and if you let me, I’ll help you sing your way to first place. What do you say?”

Leslie was just heaving an internal sigh of relief. She hadn’t expected anything from Maria when she touched her, but you could never be too careful. It wouldn’t do to have any more “awakenings” in her system. She smiled at Maria and winked at Alex. Isabel stared wide-eyed at Leslie.

“You’re entering the talent contest? What are you planning on doing?” she asked incredulously.

“Sing,” Max answered for her. “And she should too…she has the voice of an angel,” he added.

Leslie squirmed uncomfortably; Max was feeling the effects and she hadn’t even come close to touching him yet. Maybe it had something to do with touching Liz and Liz touching Max. Could there be transference? That wasn’t the way it was explained to her and Lucas. She looked to see what Liz’s reaction was to Max’s admiration. Liz simply smiled and nodded her agreement.

Alex had noted Max’s words and also the way he said them. There was no way that Max was interested in Leslie, was there? For some reason, instead of feeling jealous of the way that Max was looking at Leslie, Alex felt a need to protect her. He instinctively moved closer to his girlfriend and they exchanged smiles. Why would she need protection? And what could he do against Max’s powers if it came down to it? Alex shook his head; he was definitely losing it!

“…That Lacy Burke is in the contest singing and while I can’t stand her, she can sing,” Maria was saying.

“Didn’t you used to hang out with Lacy, Isabel?” Liz asked.

Isabel wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Yeah, when I hung out with that entire shallow crowd, Lacy was a part of it. I still pretend to like them but ever since I helped out at the Crashdown when your grandmother was in the hospital, I’ve lost value in their eyes. I never realized just how shallow they were. Did you know that Lacy was there with one of the other girls, I forget which, and when she saw me she said they couldn’t believe I was there, and didn’t I know that image was everything? I told her to chill out and that kind of chilled our relationship. Lacy can sing but it wouldn’t take much to out perform her. She’s not that good.”

Maria smiled at Leslie. “Well, now we all know about your singing, I want to help. Will you let me?”

“Maria, how hard could it be to get on stage and sing a song?” Leslie asked bewildered. “What would you help me with? You’re already helping me with the makeup, my dress, and my hair. What’s left?”

“Oh my god, girl! There are tons to get ready! There’s what you’re going to sing, what’s on the stage with you, if you’re going to sing with a band or a recording or just one accompanist, there are just tons of details!” Maria rattled off, dragging Leslie with her down the hall. Alex shrugged at the others and took off after Leslie and Maria.

Isabel folded her arms in front of her and leaned sideways on the lockers, watching the three people walk away. “What do you guys think of Leslie?” she asked the rest of the group.

“I like her,” Liz answered. “I think she’s really good for Alex and she seems to really like him. She doesn’t pretend to like him and then drop him as it suits her.”

Isabel glared at her. “Like me, Liz?” She pushed angrily off of the lockers and turned to the other two people standing there, Michael and Max. “And you two, is that what you think about the whole thing?” she demanded.

Max looked uncomfortable because he didn’t know how to answer. Michael just shrugged and could honestly answer, “Isabel, I try not to dwell on your love life.”

Giving them one last glare, Isabel turned her death-ray-vision back on Liz. “Don’t pretend you know me just because you know what I am. You know nothing about me,” she ground out, leaning in Liz’s face. Then she turned on her heel and headed towards her class.

Liz looked a little taken back. She wasn’t sorry for sticking up for Alex and Leslie’s growing relationship and she had meant what she said, but maybe she was a little harsh on Isabel. She turned to Max. “I’m sorry, Max; I didn’t mean to…”

But Max cut off her words. “Don’t worry about it, Liz. Isabel is going through a transition right now and I have no idea how it will all come out in the end. Isabel feels more alone than any of us and we need to remember that. Don’t take what she says too seriously but if you could be there for her if she wants to talk, that would be great.”

“Of course, but I’m not going to force her to talk to me. I’ll just be open to discussion if she needs it. Now let’s get to class. See you later, Michael,” Liz answered, giving Max a peck on the cheek and taking his hand.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The rest of the day went by unbearably slow for Leslie. She was the first one finished with the biology test and even Michael looked at her amazed. She refused to look over it, though, and worked on homework after turning the test in to the teacher. Michael finished his about 10 minutes before the bell rang and turned his in with a smile at the teacher.

As he sat back down in his seat, he leaned toward Leslie and whispered in her ear. “Hey, that test was a lot easier than I thought it would be. You must have thought so too to turn it in as fast as you did. Thanks for helping me study,” he told her.

Leslie had only been half listening and only caught the end of what Michael had whispered. “Oh, yeah, no problem,” she murmured back, her eyes on the clock.

“What’s with you today? You’ve been wound tighter than any clock,” Michael asked.

“I’m just really tired and got a lot on my mind. Do mind just leaving me alone?” Leslie snapped.

Michael was about to snap back at her, but the bell rang and Leslie dove for the door. He followed her trail to the door but she was already racing down the hall before he could catch her. “What a weirdo,” he mumbled as he headed for his locker.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“So it was a rough day, huh?” Alex asked Leslie as they sat looking up at the stars from their tree that night. “Did you get your nap when we got home?”

She sighed and shook her head. “No, Lauren was home and she wanted me to help her with some stupid chores around the house. Then I had a little homework to finish and that brings us up to now.” She yawned. “I don’t know how I’m still sitting in this tree.”

“Well, maybe you should go on to bed. We can hang out tomorrow night and talk or whatever,” Alex told her, rubbing her back.

Leslie kissed his cheek before rising to her feet. “You are such a sweet guy, Alex. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I’ll treasure our time together always. Now I’m going to go to bed. Oh, and I’m supposed to go shopping with Maria for ideas on what to wear in the talent contest. So I don’t need a ride home from school and don’t worry about me if I’m late getting home,” she told him.

“In that case, you had better give me a really great goodnight kiss because once Maria sees you at school tomorrow, all she’ll want to talk about is shopping. That girl has a one track mind when it comes to that particular past time,” Alex answered, pulling her to him.

Leslie giggled and kissed him. “Goodnight, Alex.” They both made their way to their separate windows and she blew him one more kiss before closing the curtains. Then Leslie changed into her cotton shorts and tank top and climbed into bed. She was so tired that it didn’t take long for sleep to overtake her and she was grateful.

It was a warm autumn day and Leslie was sitting by the river just watching the water run by. There were sounds of people playing and laughing around her but she just closed her eyes and enjoyed the sun on her body. It wasn’t the dry, hot sun of the desert. The grass was soft underneath her and she laid back on it. It was a day just like that one in the fall that she, Lucas, and Lauren had all gone to the apple festival. Suddenly, a shadow fell over her and she jumped up quickly.

“Lucas! It wasn’t just part of my dream last night! You really did get in with your powers!” she said, throwing her arms around her brother’s image.

“Yeah, it was me alright. I’m glad that I found you alone this time,” he said with a grin. “What was that dream last night about anyway?”

Leslie didn’t meet his eyes as she answered him. “How should I know what my subconscious chooses to put in my dreams?” she asked. “So where are you?”

“Kevin took me to New York City. I’m in some kind of private school and he’s working at a hospital not far from us. Where did you end up?” he answered.

“New York?! I knew it! Somehow, I knew that’s where you were! But New York is a big place and I wasn’t really sure how to go about finding you. I’m in New Mexico; are you ready for this? I’m in Roswell!” Leslie told him with a big grin.

Lucas dropped to the grass laughing. “You’re kidding! Lauren took you to the famous Roswell, New Mexico! What a crazy coincidence, don’t ya think? Well, Les, you met any aliens yet?” he asked laughing.

Leslie laughed with him and sat back down on the grass beside him. “You know, I might have; they do ‘walk among us’,” she joked back with him.

Suddenly, Lucas looked at Leslie as if really seeing her for the first time. “Les, I hate to upset you but have you looked in a mirror lately? You’ve changed again…a lot!” he told her, sitting up and looking at her hair and eyes.

She sighed. “I know. I wish he would pick something. It wasn’t a problem back home but here, it’s a little harder to disguise. Although I have to admit that I like this look better than most of the others,” she told him. Then she looked at him. “You haven’t changed much. Her highness must still like this particular look. I think you’re a little more muscular but other than that you look the same; I’m glad of that. I know we always recognize each other but it’s nice to get some sense of familiarity from looking at you. I miss you, Lucas.”

“I miss you too. At least we can communicate now. I didn’t mean to shock you last night but when I tried to dream-walk you and I got in, I had to say something. Why didn’t you dream-walk me back when you realized what it was?” Lucas asked.

“I tried but I couldn’t do it,” Leslie answered. “I don’t understand it because I thought that I might have found them here but maybe they’re up there with you.”

Lucas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know of anyone here that might be them, but I’ll check into it. Meanwhile, what would make you think that they were there?”

“I don’t really have time to go into details right now but I touched a couple of people and blacked out for a short time. The people I touched said that I babbled in some kind of other language. I made up excuses for it but I didn’t know what exactly had happened. Anyway, that couldn’t be right because you have the stronger powers right now if you can dream-walk. Oh well, we’ll figure it out,” Leslie told him.

Lucas was thoughtful. “Hmm. Maybe you should look into the rumors down there. Have you investigated this so called alien crash?” Leslie shook her head and told him she hadn’t. “Look into that. I know it’s a long shot but if we want to be careful not to end up like we were before, we have to know where they are to avoid them. I wish I had had time to grab the notes in Atlanta. I want to check them to see if the awakening could happen some other way…like maybe there’s some kind of time delay.”

Leslie shook her head sadly. “I know. I didn’t like leaving like we did. It wouldn’t have been bad if it was just one of us but both? At least we know that Meganora is safe for now. I hate leaving her there alone!”

“We’re still going with Megan here right?” Lucas asked. At her nod, he asked carefully, “Leslie, who is Alex?”

She stood up and stretched and yawned. “Lucas, I am really tired. I didn’t get any sleep after you visited me last night and it’s caught up with me. This isn’t exactly restful sleep. We can talk more tomorrow night,” she said.

Lucas studied her carefully and then sighed. “Fine, I’ll go, but on one condition.” At her raised eyebrows, he finished his request. “Don’t shut me out, Leslie.”

“I don’t know what…” Leslie began as she tried to turn away from him.

But Lucas was having none of that. “What happened the one and only time you shut me out? Leslie, we need each other. You are the only person on this planet that I trust completely. I don’t want to ever feel you pull away from me again. Promise me, Leslie, that you won’t shut me out like you did before.”

Leslie threw her arms around her brother’s neck. “You’ll never know what that was like for me, Lucas. You are the only person I have to rely on. I promise that if I ever pull away from you again, it won’t be completely. I’ll never stay away from you, especially when you need me.”

Lucas hugged her back and then pulled back to smile at her. “I know you will get mad at me from time to time and won’t want to talk to me. I understand that; I wouldn’t be your brother if I didn’t get on your nerves occasionally, but I don’t want a week to go by without you talking to me. You understand? You are too important to me.”

“Same here, brother,” Leslie whispered. “Same here!”

[littleroswell]

Part 15 – “Shopping, Debating, and Song Lists”

Leslie listened to Maria babble on and on about clothes and her on again/off again relationship with Michael and followed her around the department store. This was the fourth store they had entered in the last hour and Maria had found nothing “suitable” in the first three stores. She had decided that after Leslie had tried on 12 different outfits, in two different sizes each, per store.

“So I know you haven’t picked a song to sing yet, but do you have any idea what it might be? I mean, will it be fast or slow, funny or sweet, sentimental or angry?” Maria asked as she picked through the clothes racks.

“I’m not really sure yet. I had a couple of ideas but I hadn’t seriously thought about it yet. Why do I have to know now?” Leslie asked, catching two outfits that Maria threw in her direction.

Maria turned and looked at her like she had just grown a second head. “Leslie! That’s the most important part of all of this! The song you choose determines everything! If it’s a fast, funny song, you wear a playful outfit and sing to a live band or a recording. If you choose a slow, sweet song, you have one accompanist like a piano or guitar and you wear something like a sexy dress with your hair fixed pretty. It is pivotal to everything we have yet to do!” Maria told her, growing more excited with each sentence.

Leslie raised her hands in defense. “Ok, ok. I get it! I gotta pick a song. I’ll make a list of possibilities tonight. Do you want to look them over?”

“Of course! You don’t have to tell me which one you pick but I can help you eliminate possibilities. In the meantime, we need to be prepared for any situation. Here,” Maria told her handing her a pile of clothes. “Can you see the dressing room from here?”

“Yeah…why?” Leslie answered.

“How many garments can you take in?” Maria asked.

“I think it says eight.”

“Great! That means we can bring in 16 for you to try on. You can bring in 8 and I’ll bring in 8. I’ll look for more here if you want to check that rack over there,” Maria told her.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Leslie let out a groan and closed her eyes, letting Alex’s fingers massage out the tension in her shoulders and neck. “So how bad was it?” he asked her with a chuckle.

Leslie let out another groan. “Alex, I swear I thought I was going to have to kill Maria before it was all said and done. She made me buy 10…you can count them…10 new outfits, which I can’t really afford, that are just possibilities until I figure out what I want to sing and then, she told me, I could take back the ones I decided not to wear!”

“So what if none of those work for you?” Alex teased.

She whipped around on the couch and grabbed two fists of Alex’s shirt. “Please…please don’t let her put me back in the dressing room. I’ll do anything! Just don’t let her make me try on more clothes!” she begged. They both laughed at that. “Believe me, one of those outfits will do!”

They talked for a while and Alex finished giving her a massage. They discussed the contest and other things before Alex went home. Leslie hung up her new outfits, took a shower, and got ready for bed. As she climbed into bed, she took a deep breath to try to prepare for talking with Lucas. She knew the questions that were coming and she wasn’t sure she was ready to answer them.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Hey, we’re back in a tree again,” Lucas’s voice joked from beside her. He flashed her a grin and sat down. “So where is this tree in the waking world?”

Leslie smiled at him and answered, “Between my house and Alex’s. We sometimes sit out here and watch the stars. My favorite things to see from here, though, are storms out over the desert. It’s so cool to watch the lightening.”

Lucas had caught the “we” in those couple of sentences and he frowned. “Leslie, did you say that you and Alex watch the stars in this tree?” he asked.

She sighed and looked out at the sky. “Yes, Lucas, Alex and I watch the stars and talk in this tree,” she said tiredly.

“Who is Alex?” he asked suspiciously. He had a bad feeling that he already knew who Alex was.

“He’s my next door neighbor and he’s in some of my classes. We hang out sometimes, ok?” Leslie said defensively.

“Leslie, I know you. You’re getting defensive about this guy, and when you’re defensive about something, you’re hiding your true feelings about it. You and Alex aren’t just neighbors are you?” Lucas accused.

“Look, Lauren and Kevin separated us because they thought we needed to make new friends. Alex is one of those new friends. I’m doing this for us,” Leslie said, not being entirely truthful.

“So you haven’t kissed him?” Lucas asked bluntly. At Leslie’s refusal to answer, he pounced on her. “I knew it! Leslie, what do you think you’re doing?! This is like playing with fire! You know better than I do the consequences of starting any kind of relationship with any member of the opposite sex, especially now!”

“Do you think I don’t know all of this?” Leslie snapped at him.

“I don’t think you are thinking it through!” he snapped back. Then Lucas sighed and ran his hand down the length of his face. “Leslie, I don’t have to remind you of the punishment for any actions on our behalf that could be considered treason…like having a relationship with this guy Alex! Until we are sure that we are free, you cannot take this relationship any further. It isn’t safe…not for you and not for him,” he told her.

Tears ran down Leslie’s face as she turned away from him. “I know, but what if I want to take that chance, Lucas? I mean...I really like who I am when I’m with him, and I haven’t really felt that way in a long time! What if I think Alex is worth it? What if I want that little bit of happiness instead of a long life of emptiness?” she said. She had been yelling but the last sentence was almost whispered.

Lucas closed his eyes to the pain that he heard in his sister’s voice. “Then you might want to make damn sure that he’s the one you want to give that long life up for. I want you around, Leslie, and Megan is going to need you. I’ve seen you fall hard for a guy before and get nothing but heartache for it. You are still reeling from the repercussions of that. Please, I’m begging you as your brother, please consider all that you could lose if you aren’t careful with this guy. Think of Megan, think of me, think of yourself, think of Alex. I only say these things because I love you and I don’t want you to give up everything for another guy that doesn’t deserve you.”

“I know, Lucas, but I have to figure that out for myself. I have to be the one to decide whether Alex is worth it or not. I haven’t slept with him and I haven’t told him I love him so I’m ok, right?” Leslie pointed out.

“As far as we know. I just don’t want you to get too tied to this guy. I hope that we can figure all this out and we can go on living normal lives…well, as normal as creatures like we can. I want that too but I know that I want to live to make sure that we are free. But you’re right, you have to make that decision for yourself. I want you to think about this though…who is going to make that decision for Megan? Am I supposed to take care of her alone if you make the wrong decision?” Lucas asked.

Leslie swallowed past the lump in her throat and sniffed, trying to fight back the tears but her sniff came out more like a sob. Lucas drew her into a hug and let her cry against him. “I don’t want this to be a big mistake. Just give me some time to figure out what to do. I love you and Megan both more than any other people in the universe, but I also care about Alex and I don’t want to see him hurt…not because of me. I just need some time, ok? So if I don’t let you in my dreams for a few days, try to understand. Just keep trying,” she told him.

“I do understand, and this doesn’t have to be forever. See if you can just slow things down a bit. Just tell him that you’re scared or something and that you want some space for a while,” Lucas suggested.

She nodded. “I’ll think of something but I don’t want to lead him on, Lucas. He’s a great guy and deserves to be happy. If I can’t do that, he needs someone who can. Maybe he and Isabel should be together,” she thought aloud.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Leslie dropped into a booth at the Crashdown the next morning since it was Saturday and looked around for Maria. “Hi, Leslie, are you meeting Alex here?” Liz asked, coming up to the table.

“Actually, I was looking for Maria. I have the list of possible songs for her to look over if she has a chance,” she answered. “You working all day? I hope that your working this morning would mean you get the evening off for some fun with Max,” she teased.

“Yeah, actually, we’re supposed to go to a movie with Maria and Michael. Would you and Alex like to come?” Liz asked.

“Unfortunately, mom has the evening off and wants to spend some time with me tonight. Otherwise, I would really like to go. I’m sorry, maybe some other time,” Leslie answered. For once, she was glad that Lauren wanted that quality time…not that it did much good. Leslie just didn’t feel like hanging out with a group.

“Well, I’ll just go tell Maria that you’re here. She has a break coming and it’s pretty slow right now so you guys can talk,” Liz said as she started to walk away.

“Great and hey, Liz?” Leslie called. When Liz turned back with a questioning look, Leslie smirked at her. “Can I have the breakfast special?”

Liz reddened in embarrassment. “Oh, sorry. Of course you’ll want something to eat. What did you want to drink with that?” she asked. She finished taking Leslie’s order and walked back to the kitchen.

Leslie sat in the booth and stared at the notebook that she had brought with her. Someone sat in the seat across from her and when she looked up, it was into Maria’s sunny smile. “Hey, chica, how are you this glorious morning?” she asked.

Raising her eyebrows at Maria’s mood, Leslie answered. “I’m fine. Why the great mood? Something happen with Michael?”

“Well, sort of, I’m just happy that I’m going to have the evening off and am double dating with my best friend. So what’s up?” Maria gushed.

“Here,” Leslie said, sliding a piece of paper she had torn from the notebook across the table. “This is a list of possibilities that I made last night. What do you think?”

Maria looked over the list of twenty songs and smiled. This girl had great taste in music; they were songs that everyone who loved music loved. “These songs look good, Leslie. There’s only one that I don’t recognize by the title…make that two. Who sings ‘Music of My Heart’ and ‘Remember Me this Way’?” she asked.

Leslie blushed a bit. “Well, I don’t usually listen to the people that sing ‘Music of My Heart’ but I love the song; it’s by NSync and Gloria Estefan. The other song is from the movie Casper, although I’ve never seen it, and Vanessa Williams sings the version that I know.”

“Hmmm,” Maria thought the list over. “Can I help you narrow this down a little?” she asked, glancing up at Leslie. When she nodded, Maria continued. “First, I would eliminate all the faster songs because most of these are kind of oldies, jazzy, slow, sweet songs and that’s good because I think that’s a winning style. So if I were to suggest a top 5 out of these, I would go with ‘Imagine’, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, ‘Pennies from Heaven’, ‘You Belong to Me’, and ‘At Last’, but that’s out of those that I know. Those other two songs might be great but I don’t know them. I’ll try to download them and listen to them sometime tonight and give you an opinion. Take back all those cute, playful outfits we bought and stick with the jazzy to dressy outfits. Those are going to go with your song style the best. Ok?” Maria suggested.

Leslie was nodding. “Yeah, that sounds good. Let me know what you think about those other two songs because I think you’ll appreciate them and I really like them too.”

“Well, you sing whatever you want to; I’m just saying that those would be choices that I would take. Looks like your breakfast is ready so I’ll leave you to it and get back to work,” Maria said, standing and handing the list back to Leslie.

After finishing her breakfast and paying for it, Leslie headed out the door when she felt something that made her stop dead in her tracks. “No!” she said aloud to no one. Her face drained of all color and her features took on a stricken look. “Not yet! We’re not ready!” she panicked and ran down the street in the direction of her home.

[littleroswell]

Hey, everyone! I'm back with a new part. I'm sorry that I don't have much time to comment on the fb but I'll be back when I can to answer any questions and to thank newcomers personally. I'm sorry to have left y'all hanging but unfortunately, it's going to be that way for a while because of RL. I'm moving this weekend, I started school where I am M-F 8-4 and studying for when I'm not there! (My brain feels like it's going to explode! LOL!) But I haven't given up and I'll update as often as I can so please don't give up on me! Here's the new chapter.

Part 16 – “Disappearances and Decisions”

As soon as Leslie hit the door to her home, she ran halfway up the stairs to her room before she heard Lauren call to her. “Leslie, honey, I’m glad you’re home. I thought we could go shopping or something. What do you think?” she asked as Leslie stopped and looked at her impatiently.

“Mom, I’m sorry but I’ve got a headache and I think I need to rest for a little bit until it wears off. Maybe this afternoon, though,” Leslie answered. Instead of waiting for a reply, she started to run for her room again. She closed the door and leaned against it, almost crying. This could not be happening. If there was a god, she would be able to contact Lucas to help waylay her fears.

She pushed herself off the door and went over to the picture of her and Lucas on her nightstand. She only hoped that it was her lack of belief that it would work last time that kept it from actually happening. She laid on her bed and closed her eyes, concentrating. She tried for several minutes to connect with her brother and when she failed, she burst into tears.

The rest of the day passed agonizingly slow for Leslie. She could only hope that Lucas would try to dream-walk her that night and she could talk. Alex was spending some time with his parents and he said that he was also working on a surprise for her so they agreed not to see each other until Sunday. However, when Saturday night came and went as well as Sunday night without any word from Lucas, Leslie started to worry. Alex could tell that she was a bit distant Sunday night but said nothing about it. The talent contest was only 6 days away and he knew that she was nervous.

The logical side of her mind reminded her that she had asked for some time to handle the Alex situation. Leslie’s heart and instincts, however, were telling her that Lucas would have tried every night to talk to her no matter how long she kept him out. She was starting to worry and it showed in the way she was so snappish and distant on Monday. It didn’t help that her feeling that had made her panic after leaving the Crashdown on Saturday morning, had intensified. The countdown had definitely started and she didn’t have much time.

On Tuesday morning, after her third sleepless night, Leslie got up in time to catch her Lauren as she came home from work before getting ready for school. “Mom, I have to talk to you,” she said as she came down the stairs.

Lauren yawned and sighed tiredly. “Can’t it wait until later, Leslie? I am really tired and I need some serious sleep.”

“No, it really can’t. Do you believe in the connection that twins are said to share?” Leslie asked her. At Lauren’s confused expression, she hurried on. “I think something has happened to Lucas.”

“Leslie, I talked to Kevin and Lucas on Friday night. Everything is fine. I think you’re just worried about something else,” Lauren said, patting Leslie on the shoulder and yawning again.

“No, mom! Listen to me! I don’t care if you don’t want me to talk to Lucas. Don’t tell me where they are, don’t let me talk to him, whatever…but please call them! Call and talk to Lucas and tell me that he’s alright. I can’t explain how I know that he’s in trouble but I just feel that he is,” Leslie pleaded, holding the phone out to Lauren.

Lauren studied Leslie, trying to sense if this was a trick of some kind. However, she could sense no deceit or ulterior motive for this and Leslie had changed in the past few weeks, even getting to know some of the kids from the high school. She took the phone from Leslie’s outstretched hand and dialed the number that she had, careful not to let Leslie see what number she dialed. After the phone had rung three times, Lauren heard a frantic “Hello??” on the other end.

“Kevin? It’s Lauren…” Lauren said into the receiver. However, she didn’t get any further into why she was calling because Kevin was yelling frantically. Leslie couldn’t make out what he was saying but he sounded really upset. “Kevin, calm down and tell me what’s going on.”

Lauren listened intently, growing paler by the moment and staring at Leslie with widened eyes. Finally, Lauren said, “Yes, yes, please let me know as soon as you hear anything. If there is anything I can do, let me know, Kevin.”

As soon as Lauren had disconnected the phone, she collapsed on the stairs in shock. Leslie stood in front of her and looked into her face. “Mom, what’s going on? What happened? What did Kevin say?” she asked.

“Kevin said that he had been working hard hours and hadn’t seen Lucas in a couple of days, which wouldn’t be suspicious except one of the boys that went to school with him called about a project they were supposed to be getting together to work on Saturday afternoon. He said that Lucas hadn’t shown up and he wasn’t in school yesterday. Kevin questioned the doormen at their apartment building that worked Saturday and Sunday and none of them saw Lucas come back. Nothing is really missing from Lucas’s room except his school bag and things he would normally have on him when he left home, like his wallet,” Lauren recounted distantly. Then she looked up into Leslie’s stark white face with its panicked expression and she pulled her into a hug. “Oh, sweetie, you were right! I don’t know how you knew but Lucas is in trouble. I’m so sorry!”

Leslie couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t respond in any way. Her entire world had come crashing down on top of her with the news that Lucas was missing. She allowed Lauren to hold her until it was time to get ready for school. Then she pulled away saying that she had to go. Lauren was supportive saying that it would help get her mind off of what was going on with Lucas.

“The police are looking for him and Kevin and I are going to keep in touch for updates. I promise to call the school if there is any news. I’m sure they’ll find him,” Lauren said sniffling and wiping the tears from her face. Leslie just nodded her head and went back upstairs to her room, moving mechanically.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Alex made his way to his car and waited for Leslie to come out of her house to leave. Just as he started to get worried and thought about going up and knocking on the door, she came out and walked over to the car. Alex couldn’t believe how pale she was and how slowly she moved. It was as if every step was painful for her.

As she opened the door and climbed into the car, Alex was determined to find out what was wrong. “Leslie, you don’t look so well. Are you feeling ok?” he asked, starting the car but looking over at her. She almost appeared not to have heard him and he almost repeated himself when she answered.

“Lucas is missing…has been since Saturday,” she blurted out.

Alex sat in stunned silence, letting her words sink in. “Oh, Leslie, I’m so sorry. What do they think happened?” he asked.

“He was supposed to meet someone from school to work on a project and never showed up. There isn’t much missing from his room…just his school bag and wallet and stuff like that. Alex, I’m so scared! He’s the only family I have and the only person who really knows me,” Leslie said, shaking.

“Hey, hey! It’s going to be ok,” Alex shushed her, pulling her into his arms. “I’m sure that they’ll find him. It’ll all work out, and in the meantime, I’m here for you. Do you hear me? I’m not going anywhere.”

Leslie couldn’t answer because of the lump that had formed in her throat. She simply held onto Alex as tightly as she could, her eyes closing against the tears that formed. Guilt ate at her at the same time. If she really cared about Alex, she should let him go now before he got hurt. ‘But I need him,’ she thought to herself. Finally, she pulled out of his arms and said, “We should get to school.”

He looked at her skeptically. “Are you kidding? You want to go to school today? How will you concentrate?”

“Alex, I can’t sit around that house waiting for news…I’ll go crazy! Besides, Lauren said she would call the school as soon as there was any news. I would rather wait at school with you then at home with her,” she answered honestly. She blinked back the tears in her eyes that threatened to spill over.

Alex rubbed her back and then put his hands on the wheel. “Ok, it’s up to you, but if you want to get out of there at any time today, let me know and we’ll leave,” he told her.

“Thank you, Alex, you’re so good to me,” she almost whispered.

* * * * * * * * * * *

As Tuesday turned into Wednesday, Leslie grew quieter and more withdrawn. Everyone noticed and Alex told them about what was happening with Lucas. Kevin called in three times a day…always with the same news...none. Maria, Alex, and the others more rarely, tried to keep her busy so that she couldn’t have too much time to worry but they could only do so much and started worrying about their friend. Maria tried to take her mind off of Lucas by having her worry and work on things for the talent contest on Saturday.

As time went on, Leslie was more and more sure of the feeling she had had outside of the Crashdown the previous Saturday. She was quickly running out of time; Megan would be awake soon and someone had to be there for her. Leslie repeatedly got into arguments with Lauren about Kevin and her keeping Leslie and Lucas apart and not going to New York to look for him.

Finally, on Thursday during the lunch period, Leslie started to formulate a plan. The others noticed her preoccupation and exchanged knowing looks. Alex put his arm around her shoulders, bringing her back to where she was at the moment. She smiled at him but it was not her usual heartbreaking smile; it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Leslie, I know that you’re worried about your brother but we’re all worried about you,” Alex began. As everyone nodded or murmured their agreement, Alex continued. “You knew that something was wrong because you felt it right?” he asked her. When she nodded, he explained his point. “Then what do your feelings tell you now? Wouldn’t you know if something else had happened to him? I mean…you can still feel him right?”

Leslie knew what Alex was trying to say and she closed her eyes to concentrate. She had to be careful with this. Finally, she nodded. “Yes, I can still feel him. I know he’s not dead but I really feel that he’s in trouble. Thank you for your help, Alex, in trying to make me feel better,” she told him, hugging him tightly and kissing him on the cheek. She pulled back and smiled at everyone else at the table. “Thank you…all of you for trying to take my mind off of it. I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, that’s what friends are for, chica!” Maria told her. “Besides, you are performing on Saturday for the talent contest and what better way to stop worrying about one thing than by worrying about another. You have decided on the song you’re singing right?”

“Yes, Maria, I’ve chosen the song and the song for an encore, although I know that there won’t be any encore,” Leslie answered.

“Hey, you should be prepared for anything. Besides, since you wanted to go with just a recording of the music to sing with, you should have a back up song ready,” Maria said.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Friday night, Leslie and Alex sat outside their windows in the tree and watched the darkness creep across the desert. Alex placed his arm around her shoulders and Leslie leaned into him and sighed. “Any news?” he asked quietly.

“No, nothing,” she responded faintly. Her plan was breaking her heart but it was the only way she could think of to do something about Megan and Lucas. She subconsciously pulled Alex’s arm tighter around her. “You’ve been so great, Alex. From the time I moved in, you’ve been nothing but supportive and the best friend…and boyfriend, a girl could hope for. I’m only sorry that I was so horrible to you when I first moved here.”

Alex grinned at her. “That’s ok, the outcome was well worth the initial pain.” Then he took her hand and rose to his feet, pulling her with him. “Come inside, I have a surprise for you,” he told her.

Leslie followed him into his room and he told her not to move and to close her eyes. She gave him a questioning look but did as he asked. She felt him come around behind her after making some searching noises in the room. Before she could ask what he was doing she felt something being placed around her neck and she automatically opened her eyes and looked down to see a beautiful white gold necklace of a shooting star with a cubic zirconium stone in the middle of the star.

“Oh, Alex, it’s beautiful,” she breathed as she moved to the mirror to look at it more closely. It looked beautiful against her naturally tan skin.

Alex beamed at her reaction and in the satisfaction of knowing that he had put that expression on her face. “Before you say anything more, I have a couple of other things too,” he told her and then handed her an envelope. When she just looked at him questioningly, he told her to open it.

“It’s a map of the sky with a specific star pointed out,” she stated confused.

“Come over to the telescope and let’s look at it. I set it up where the star should be,” he said, taking her arm and leading her to the other window in his room. “Look, it’s really beautiful.”

While she was looking through the telescope at the star that was on the paper from the envelope, she asked, “So why are we looking at this particular star?”

“Because I had it named for us through the National Star Registry,” Alex announced nervously.

“You what?” Leslie asked. “You had it named after us?”

“Yeah, you know like in that movie that we watched. It seemed fitting since we spend so much time…” Alex began.

“Out in the tree watching the sky,” Leslie finished for him, tears filling her eyes. “Oh, Alex, you really shouldn’t have. This must have cost a lot of money.”

“You’re worth it. Besides, I had been thinking about doing it if we were still together in a couple of months but I thought you could use something to cheer you up now. I also made you a CD of some of the songs we’ve sung together and discussed,” he told her, handing her a CD case.

She just took it and looked at it, fighting to keep from bursting into tears with all of her might. He didn’t know of her plans and she felt like a complete wench about what was coming. “Alex, this is all so wonderful and I could never tell you how much it all means to me,” she began.

“Why do I feel a ‘but’ coming?” he asked. “You’re not breaking up with me are you? I mean you do still like me right?”

“Alex, you’re the greatest guy I’ve ever met…I mean that. What I was going to say is that I can’t accept all these gifts because they are just too much. I don’t want to break up but I really don’t deserve this,” Leslie told him, her heart shattering.

“Leslie, if you care about me, you’ll accept them because I really am starting to fall…” he started.

Before he could finish his statement, however, Leslie rushed into his arms and placed a finger over his lips. “Don’t say it, Alex, please. Not yet. What we have is so precious to me and I don’t want to jinx it just yet. Just kiss me,” she told him.

He pulled her closer and his heart started pounding as he leaned in and closed his eyes. As Alex’s lips fused to her own, Leslie couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. How could she refuse the beautiful gestures of the warmth between her and this wonderful human being? How was she going to leave him behind when she left Roswell?

[littleroswell]

Alright, here is the new part (at least part a of it). Let me know if you like it or hate it!

Beth

A/N: The songs used are Vitamin C's "I Know What Boys Like" and Gloria Estaphan and NSYNC's "Music of My Heart".

Part 17 – “Leaving Town”

Leslie shuffled into the kitchen Saturday morning and opened the refrigerator. She had just sat down at the counter with a bowl of cereal when Lauren sailed into the room, purse and keys in hand. “Hey, sweetie, what have you got planned for today?” she asked with a small smile at her adopted daughter.

Leslie shrugged and mumbled something about doing chores around the house before shoveling another bite of cereal in her mouth without looking at Lauren’s face. She hadn’t told Lauren about the talent contest because she honestly didn’t want her there. When she felt an arm drape over her shoulders, she looked up at a sorrowful face. “Leslie, honey, I know that you’re worried and upset about Lucas but there really isn’t anything more we can do to find him. The police and Kevin will find him. I know you’re upset at me for not taking you to New York but honestly, we can wait for news here just as well as we can wait there. I have to work but I promise that we will go up there as soon as we hear anything. You’ll have to listen out for any news today. I’m working a double and won’t be home until late so don’t wait up. Ok?”

Instead of answering directly, Leslie simply nodded and allowed herself to be hugged. As soon as she heard the front door close, she finished the last of her breakfast and went back upstairs to take a shower. As she dressed for the day, she carefully went through her wardrobe and pulled out certain things. As she laid out the things she wanted to take with her, she wondered how she was going to transport it all. She didn’t have a car so she would have to either fly or take a bus to leave town, and as she wanted to keep a low profile, she’d probably take the bus.

She got an idea but wasn’t sure it would work. Holding up an olive green skirt, Leslie concentrated and passed her hand down the length of the garment. When she was done, the skirt was the size of that of a doll’s. She let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Well, that part worked. Now let’s see if I can unshrink it,” she thought aloud.

As she waved her hand over the skirt again, it returned to its original size and she smiled. “That will certainly make packing easier,” she thought aloud. The rest of the morning was spent shrinking and packing most of her things into her school bag.

As she was finishing the last of her packing, there was a knock at her window and she jumped, startled by the sound. Thank goodness she had pulled her curtains closed before she got in the shower. She pulled them open now to see Alex’s smiling face. Instantly, she was filled with a deep sadness and tears involuntarily filled her eyes.

Trying to distract Alex so he wouldn’t see the tears, she pulled the window open and moved back out of the way so that he could climb inside. “Hey, beautiful,” he greeted her as he climbed over the sill and pulled her into his long arms. The tears threatened to spill over at his sweet greeting and Leslie blinked furiously trying to hold them back.

“Hi, Alex,” she answered softly.

He studied her face as he pulled back from the hug. “What’s the news from New York?” he asked.

Throwing her hands up, she let out a loud sigh. “The same…nothing,” she answered. Shaking her head to clear it of the sorrow, she smiled. “What are you up to?”

“I just came over to see if you want to go get something to eat for lunch and hang out for a while before you have to be at the school,” he told her.

Leslie glanced at her clock on the nightstand and nodded slowly. “I’d love to go to lunch but I’m supposed to be at Maria’s house at three to get ready for tonight and she threatened bodily harm if I’m late. Would you mind dropping me off there later?” she asked him.

“That’s not a problem…especially if I can stay and watch the proceedings,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

“No way, Whitman; this is girls only. You don’t get to see me again after dropping me off until I’m on stage,” she grinned at him. Then her smile faltered as she realized that that also meant that it would be the last time he saw her for a long time, if not forever.

Alex noticed her mood swings from teasing and happy to sad and withdrawn and thought that it was because of Lucas’s disappearance. He was worried about the whole situation. What would happen if Lucas wasn’t found? Or worse, was partially found? How would Leslie handle it? ‘She probably won’t…that’s how,’ he thought worriedly. As much and as deeply as she loved her brother, if something happened to him, Leslie wouldn’t be able to hold up. Alex sent a silent prayer to whatever higher power there was in the universe that Lucas was found safe and sound.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Ok, so I’m gonna see you tonight,” Alex said as Leslie climbed out of the car in front of Maria’s house. “I’ll be sitting in the front to cheer on my favorite singer.”

“Alex, I…I,” Leslie began, but the words she wanted to say wouldn’t come past the lump in her throat. She simply leaned into the car and kissed Alex, gently and sweetly, holding on just a little longer than necessary. “I’ll see you tonight,” she whispered. Then, just as he was about to roll the window up and drive away, she stopped him. “Come back stage to find me after I perform, ok?” she asked him.

“Sure,” he answered. Then, with one last wave, he drove away as she watched.

As she was about to knock on the door, Maria yanked it open, clock in hand. “It is 3:05! You’re late!” she accused, shoving the clock in Leslie’s face. “It is imperative that we get started on time so that we can finish on time so you won’t be late for your performance!”

“Maria, breathe! First of all, my watch says three on the dot. Second of all, five minutes either way will make little to no difference. Finally, if you’ll let me in, we can get started!” Leslie said, trying not to laugh at the blond. As she stepped into the house, she saw Isabel and Liz standing with nail polish, clippers, files, and cotton balls in hand.

“Nails first,” Maria ordered. “You remembered your outfit right?” she asked. Leslie simply nodded and held up the garment bag she was carrying. “Good. Give the dress to me. I’ll show it to Isabel and Liz before I hang it up and inspect it for any blemishes or splotches. We’ll go from there. Are you freshly shaven?”

Leslie rolled her eyes and did laugh at that question. “Yes, Maria. I shaved this morning,” she answered.

“Laugh if you want, but if you want to win, you have to cover all your bases,” Isabel stated.

Leslie simply looked at Liz as if to ask if there was something in the water around there. Liz shrugged her shoulders and just smiled. So began Leslie’s preparations and inspections for the contest. She was sure that no drill sergeant could have done a more thorough job.

* * * * * * * * * * *
(continued in next post!)

[littleroswell]

(Part 17 continued)

“Ok, let’s see that face again,” Maria told Leslie as she came up to her backstage.

“Oh, Maria, I don’t know why I agreed to do this! I can’t go out in front of all those people and sing!” she wailed.

“You can and you will,” Maria said matter-of-factly. “Now stop talking so I can get this lipstick straight. You’re going to be great!” When she finished applying Leslie’s lipstick, she pulled her over to the edge of the curtain and pointed to a section of seats. “See those seats in the third row that are empty?” When Leslie nodded, she continued. “In about five minutes that row is going to be filled with Michael, Max, Isabel, Liz, and Alex. Look out there at them if you get nervous and it should help you calm down.”

“Ok,” Leslie answered. “Who’s before me?”

Maria looked at the program and made a face. “Lacy. Well, that should make it easier for people to like you, no matter how badly you mess up,” she stated.

“Thanks a lot.”

The contest/show began shortly after that. Soon Lacy was up in front of the audience with several guys, singing the song “I Know What Boys Like” while flaunting herself back and forth across the stage. Maria declared that if the expedition went on much longer, she would have to hang herself right there backstage.

Suddenly, it was Leslie’s name being announced and Maria was pushing and pulling her toward the center of the stage. As the light focused on her, Alex’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of her and all her beauty. She was a stunning vision. She wore a simple black dress that had spaghetti straps and fell to about knee length or a little longer and moved freely from the waist down. Her long, auburn hair was held back out of her face on either side with barrettes and cascaded down her back in luscious waves. She was wearing white gold hoop earrings and the shooting star necklace that Alex had bought her, and her short stature was improved a couple of inches with some black high heeled sandals. Her face was flushed from the excitement and nervousness of the situation and Alex was sure he would never forget the way she looked that night.

Liz noticed his face and smiled and nudged Max. But Max was too busy looking Leslie over as well. He couldn’t help but be attracted to her, but the lust he felt was overpowered by an inexplicable feeling of anger. It bewildered him and again he had to wonder what it was about Leslie that brought out these strange feelings. What did he have to be angry about?

The recorded music started, and Leslie found Alex’s face in the crowd of people and suddenly found that this wouldn’t be so hard after all. She had chosen the song for him and she would sing it to him. After the short introduction, she opened her mouth and amazed the audience.

You'll never know what you've done for me
What your faith in me has done for my soul
And you'll never know the gift you've given me
I'll carry it with me
Through the days ahead I'll think of days before
You made me hope for something better,
And made me reach for something more

Chorus:
You taught me to run
You taught me to fly
Helped me to free the me inside
Helped me hear the music of my heart
Helped me hear the music of my heart
You've opened my eyes, you've opened the door
To something I've never known before
And your love is the music of my heart
(Music of my heart)

You were the one
Always on my side (always on my side)
Always standing by (always standing by)
Seeing me through
You were the song that always made me sing
I'm singin this for you
Everywhere I go I'll think of where I've been
And of the one who knew me better than anyone ever will again

Chorus:
You taught me to run
You taught me to fly
Helped me to free the me inside
Helped me hear the music of my heart
Helped me hear the music of my heart
You've opened my eyes, you've opened the door
To something I've never known before
And your love is the music of my heart
(Music of my heart)

What you taught me
Only your love could ever teach me
You got through when no one could reach me before
'cuz you always saw in me
All the best that I could be
It was you who set me free

Repeat Chorus

...Is the music of my heart...

As the last couple of notes died away, the entire auditorium erupted in thunderous applause and everyone got to their feet. There were calls of “encore” and whistles and Leslie bowed, blew a kiss to Alex and walked off stage. Maria was waiting for her and couldn’t stop her praise of how wonderful Leslie had been.

It was only a few minutes before Alex appeared and pulled Leslie into his arms. “That was marvelous!” he said in a loud whisper. “I feel bad for the person on stage now! If they weren’t nervous before, they will be after hearing you. You really do have the voice of an angel.”

Leslie just took the time to hug Alex tightly and to close her eyes to try to remember this moment just the way it was. When she pulled back and looked at Alex, there were tears in her eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked. “You were great!”

She sniffled and smiled. “You’re great! I couldn’t have done it without you,” she told him, meaning more than just the contest. She pulled him into a kiss and poured all of her feelings for him into it.

Maria saw them and rushed over. “Leslie! If you don’t stop all that kissing, you’re going to have to go back out on that stage to accept your award completely disheveled. Alex, get back to your seat! She has to be ready to sing something else if they ask her to,” she scolded them.

“I’d better get out of here before Maria tears me to shreds,” Alex joked. He gave her another quick peck on the lips and another quick hug before pulling away. “I’ll see you later.” And with that, Maria effectively shooed him off the stage.

Leslie watched him head back to his seat and then turned to Maria. “Thank you for all your help, Maria. You really are a good friend,” she told her, giving the other girl a hug.

Maria was taken aback but quickly returned the hug. “You’re welcome. Now let me fix your face,” she told her.

“I’ll do it. I have to run to the ladies’ room anyway,” Leslie said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Ok, but hurry; there aren’t many acts left,” Maria said and then turned away to watch the one on stage performing.

Leslie turned on her heels and walked as fast as she could out of sight and then ran the rest of the way home. She quickly turned the black dress into something more comfortable and grabbed up several more things to add to her bag to take with her. As she glanced up toward the window, she was hit with an overwhelming sense of loneliness and tears again filled her eyes, but this time she let them fall unheeded. She couldn’t just disappear on Alex; it wasn’t right to make him worry about her like she knew he would.

Taking quick steps over to her desk, she opened a drawer and pulled out pen and paper. Sitting down at the desk, she began writing a note to him. She didn’t get any further than “Dear Alex” when her mind went blank. What could she say to him? How could she say goodbye without an explanation? After a couple of false starts, she finally came up with something that she felt comfortable leaving and read it over for any problems with it.

Dear Alex,

I know you won’t understand why I’ve gone, but there is someone out there who needs me right now that I cannot let down. You’ll never know how much our time together has meant to me, but I can’t wait for Lucas to be found by the police and maybe even waiting here for the word that he’s dead. I have to look for him! I hope to be back in Roswell someday but I can’t promise, and I won’t ask you to put your happiness on hold for the chance that I might come back. Tell the others I said goodbye and thanks. I’ll never forget you.

Love,
Leslie

Leslie knew she was taking a risk signing the letter with “love” but she couldn’t help herself. Now that she had written the letter, where could she put it where Alex would find it? She thought about putting it in the tree but dismissed it, thinking immediately of the wind blowing it away. Her eyes naturally were drawn to the window and she decided that that would have to be the place. She pulled the window open and placed the note on the sill, closing the window to keep it in place but leaving most of it hanging outside so that Alex would be more likely to see it.

After quickly pulling her hair up into a loose bun, Leslie gathered up her bags, took one last look around her room, and closed the door. She had made it all the way down the stairs before thinking about someone recognizing her. With a quick wave of her hand, her hair was an orangey-red and she had freckles covering her face. She left out no details in her look so that anyone that looked at her would think she was a natural redhead, even to the emerald green of her eyes. Just as she was pleased with the results, her eyes went back to the warm brown that they had been and she nearly cursed aloud. “Max Evans, I know you happen to love Liz’s brown eyes but couldn’t you just give me a couple of hours to get out of town?” she said angrily. After several more tries with her eyes always going back to brown, she finally pulled out her sunglasses and put them on. “Well, I might look a little strange with sunglasses on now but at least I won’t be recognized right away.” With that, she left the house and headed for the nearest bus stop that would take her to the bus depot. Atlanta, Georgia was her first stop and then it was on to New York City.

[littleroswell]

A/N: Hi, guys! I just wanted to drop a quick note before posting any more parts to explain a few things. We are skipping ahead on the Roswell timeline. As a reminder, Leslie arrived on the scene right around the time of “Independence Day” when Michael became an emancipated minor and got his apartment. She left just before Tess appears. So while she’s gone, Tess shows up, and everything from there on to where we are now, which is at the time of “Meet the Dupes”, has happened. It’s about at this time that we are picking up with Leslie and the mystery family member, Megan, who has so far been out of the picture. Everything will be explained in time, so please continue to bear with me. Also, there is a reference to the “Dune” series by Frank Herbert in here and if you want a real sci-fi ride, I’d highly recommend reading the series or watching the miniseries. (The reference is in using the planet Arrakis and it will pop up more than once in future parts since it is part of a saying that Leslie, Lucas, and Megan use.) Enjoy!

Part 18 – “Finding Lucas”

Leslie sang with the radio, and the small figure in the backseat of the car tried to sing along as well. Leslie couldn’t help but grin into the rearview mirror at the small girl with long dark hair and light, reddish-brown eyes. The past few months since she had left Roswell had been difficult for Leslie. According to plan, she had taken the first bus out of town and headed for Atlanta to the place where Megan’s pod was hidden. However, Megan took longer to come out of her pod than she had thought, and even after she had come out, there was so much she had to learn so quickly. It helped that both Leslie and Megan could speak Antarian so Leslie could translate anything Megan didn’t yet understand. Leslie couldn’t believe how fast Megan picked up on things.

There was also Leslie’s looks that kept changing. Every few weeks, her looks would change from the reddish brown hair and eyes to blond hair and ice blue eyes and back again. It continually frustrated her, and she finally gave up trying to keep it from happening as it tired her with everything else she had to concentrate on. She wished that she could go back to the black hair she had before but she didn’t want to chance being recognized in case Lauren and Kevin had put out pictures and a missing person’s report on her.

Every night Leslie, and sometimes Megan, would try to contact Lucas but there was still no word from him. It was hard to watch the worry that would manifest itself on Megan’s young face. They were now in a car that Leslie had bought out of a newspaper ad from a man that was eager to sell, headed to New York. As the song ended, Megan let out a loud sigh. “Have you heard from Uncle Lucas?” the four-year-old asked from her booster seat.

“Not yet, but that’s why we’re going to New York; we need to look for him,” Leslie answered. She didn’t want to take Megan with her into what was potentially a dangerous and tiring situation but she had no alternative. Noticing the crestfallen look on Megan’s face, she tried to put on a genuine smile and met the girl’s eyes in the mirror. “You know how much I love you right?” she asked.

Megan gave half a smile and quoted, “More than all the sands of Arrakis.” As she answered, she seemed to cheer up just a little and busied herself with studying the passing scenery. Leslie let the girl alone and put in a CD that she and Megan could have sung by heart. It was the one that Alex had given her, and even though it still hurt to think of him, time was making it easier so at least she didn’t burst into tears every time she thought of him.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Megan, princess, wake up,” Leslie said, gently shaking the small child’s arm. “This is a good spot to go to the bathroom, grab something to eat, and try to figure out where to start looking for Uncle Lucas,” she explained as the girl opened her eyes with a questioning look.

After helping Megan out of the car, the two of them entered the small diner that looked old but clean. “I don’t have to go to the bathroom yet,” Megan declared. Then her tummy rumbled and she grinned up at Leslie. “But I am hungry.”

“Ok, so we’ll eat first and then go to the bathroom,” Leslie said with an answering grin. She spotted a booth in the corner that was empty and clean and led Megan over to it. They had just settled down in the booth when a waitress came over.

“Hiya, ladies, what can I get you to drink,” the waitress asked with a slight southern accent that surprised Leslie.

“Um, I’ll have a cherry coke,” Leslie answered. “And she’ll have…what do you want, Megan?”

“Can I have a coke too?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah, you can have a coke,” Leslie told her and watched the waitress write down the two drinks and grin at Megan.

“She’s a cutie, that one,” she told Leslie with a nod toward Megan. “My name is Sara, and I’ll be taking care of you two so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thanks, Sara,” Leslie acknowledged as Sara walked away to get their drinks. She turned to Megan and smiled at the small girl studying the menu in her hands very carefully. It might have actually looked like she was reading it if it hadn’t been upside down. “So what are you in the mood for?” Leslie asked.

“I don’t know. I think maybe a peanut butter and Tabasco sandwich,” Megan said in her most grown up tone. Then she put the menu down on the table and looked at Leslie very seriously. “How are we going to find Uncle Lucas? You said that New York is a big city.”

“Close your eyes and picture your Uncle Lucas,” Leslie instructed. After a minute, she continued, “Can you feel him inside you?”

Megan’s eyes popped open and she had a look of wonder on her young face. “Yeah, I can feel him!” she answered.

“That’s how we’re going to find him. The closer we are to him, the stronger the feeling of him will be. If we combine our feelings it won’t take as long as it might if it was just me or just you. We’ll start looking right after we eat,” Leslie explained. She never spoke down to Megan because it irritated the young girl. If she didn’t understand something, she always asked.

“Are we going to try to find my daddy?” Megan asked.

Leslie, who had been drinking her soda, suddenly spewed it all over the table and started coughing. After getting her coughing under control, she watched Megan for a minute, trying to figure out what to tell her. You couldn’t just say that you didn’t want to find her father. “I don’t know, Megan; we’ll see. We just need to concentrate on finding Lucas right now.” The answer seemed to satisfy Megan…for the time being.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Leslie had found a space to park outside of New York’s borders and paid the man that owned the parking lot to watch out for her car until they came back. He was more than happy to help when he received the $100 and the promise of another $100 when they returned. Then, taking a taxi into the city itself, Leslie and Megan made their way toward the address that Leslie had found for Kevin Terrell. She had no intention of going there but hoped that if Lucas was still nearby, they would find him faster starting there. They could also try following his trail from the apartment building as well as the school he had been going to. They were a couple of blocks away from the apartment when Megan suddenly yelled at the driver to stop. He gave Leslie a questioning look and pulled over when she nodded at him.

“Megan, honey, what’s wrong?” Leslie asked.

“I felt him! I felt Uncle Lucas down that last street stronger than any place else!” Megan gushed excitedly.

Leslie met the driver’s eyes in the mirror. “Excuse me but what is on that last street?” she asked.

If it had been anywhere but New York, the driver might have looked at her like she had lost her mind, but this was New York and weird stuff happened here every hour. “Nuttin’ but the subway station and some worn down buildings, mostly abandoned,” he answered in his Brooklyn accent.

“We’ll get out here, thanks,” Leslie declared and pulled out her wallet. She quickly paid the man, grabbed her backpack and Megan’s hand, and climbed out of the cab. Just as she was about to walk away, the driver called out to her.

“Hey, lady!” he called. After she had walked back to the car, he continued his thoughts. “Not that it’s any of my business but are you sure you want me to leave you and the little girl here? This is a rough neighborhood.”

Leslie smiled at the man. “Thank you very much for your concern but we’ll probably take the subway from here. We’ll be ok,” she told him.

“I keep a gun in the glovebox if you wanna take it wit’ you,” he offered.

Megan started pulling on Leslie’s hand and Leslie tried to keep from laughing at the man’s offer. If only he knew! “That’s very nice of you but really, we’ll be fine.”

“Ok, don’t say I didn’t warn ya!” he said as he pulled away.

Megan pulled Leslie toward the subway. “This way; Uncle Lucas is this way,” she told her.

“Megan, are you sure? How can you be so sure when I’m not yet?” Leslie asked.

“I feel him! He’s in trouble,” Megan explained. Leslie didn’t question Megan anymore. Since she had come out of her pod, Megan had already demonstrated numerous times that her powers were far stronger than Leslie’s and Leslie suspected they would only grow stronger as she got older. Considering her parents’ genetic makeup, Megan could become a very powerful adult.

Leslie and Megan went down to the subway station and Megan led Leslie on a train. They continued on with Megan pulling Leslie along down further and further underground for over two hours. Finally, Megan pointed toward a particular direction that led away from the trains. “We need to go that way,” she said.

Leslie could feel that she was right, but she didn’t want to go down the passageway with Megan without knowing what they were walking into. It looked awfully dark and there was no doubt in Leslie’s mind that there would be rodents. Megan could sense her hesitation and looked into Leslie’s face. “He needs us,” she said softly and simply.

That was all the prompting Leslie needed. “Lead the way, princess.” She followed Megan for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, they came to an open area that looked like it was lived in as far as they could tell in the dark. Looking, listening, and feeling for anyone else around and getting no indication of any, she turned back to Megan. “I need some light, sweetie. Can you fix that for me?”

Without answering, Megan put her hands together and suddenly a bright ball of light appeared in the palms of her hands. She proudly looked to Leslie for approval and received an appreciative nod. Then, as Leslie looked around, she gasped at the sight before her. Someone had definitely been living here but that wasn’t what had caught her attention. On one wall were four pods set up in a square pattern, but they were empty.

“Whose pods are those?” Megan asked.

Before Leslie could respond there was a noise behind them. “Leslie? Is that you?” came a strained voice behind them.

Leslie whipped around to see her brother standing there, obviously badly beaten. “Lucas!” she exclaimed as she ran to embrace him. Megan was right on her heels. As she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, he winced in pain.

“Gentle, sis, I’m pretty banged up,” he told her. Then he noticed the four year old wrapped around his legs. He knelt down and pulled the girl into his arms. “Hey, princess, how’s my favorite niece, other than more beautiful than ever?” he asked.

“Oh, Uncle Lucas, we were so worried about you,” Megan told him as she hugged him tightly.

“Easy, munchkin, your Uncle Lucas isn’t feeling so hot,” he said. “Why don’t you look over there in that cabinet and see if there are any cookies left in the jar.”

As Megan walked out of earshot, Leslie turned to her brother and looked him over. He was bruised and bleeding and swollen in almost every part that she could see. “Lucas, what happened to you? Who did this and why haven’t you contacted me?” Leslie asked.

Lucas nodded towards the wall where the pods hung. “They did this…or at least two of them did. I guess they were up here in New York all along. It’s a pretty long story and I’ll tell it to you…after you fix my most serious injuries. Do you think you can?” he asked.

“Yeah, tell me what needs to be done first,” Leslie answered, studying his body for the more serious injuries. “I don’t understand why you can’t do it, though.”

“I was ordered not to and it was a direct order from her Highness herself. I think a couple of my ribs might be broken,” he directed, pointing to his right side. Leslie found the fractures and healed them quickly but already felt her energy beginning to drain. “I’ve got a sprained wrist, a pretty bad black eye, bruises in my gut and at least two broken fingers…not to mention the whopper of a bump on my noggin.”

“Lucas, I can’t heal all of these. I don’t have full possession of my powers yet and those ribs already drained me,” Leslie said helplessly. “I can probably handle the wrist and maybe some of the smaller bruises but that’s it.”

“Just do what you can, sis, and we can work on more later,” Lucas told her.

“I can do it,” came a voice below them. They both looked down into Megan’s sweet face. “I can fix his hurts.” Then she took Lucas’s right wrist and hand in her small ones and placed on top and one underneath. There was a glowing from her hands and suddenly, the wrist was as good as new. She proceeded to heal the rest of Lucas’s bruises and injuries without breaking a sweat.

“Thanks, Megan, you’re a lifesaver,” Lucas said when she was done, placing a kiss on her cheek. Then he looked at Leslie. “Did you know she could do all that? She’s not even tired.”

Leslie shook her head slowly. “I’m only just beginning to realize just how powerful she’s going to become. She’s already farther along than we were at her age…maybe even further along than any of they were,” she said, nodding towards the pods. “Ok, princess, it’s time for you to take a nap,” she told Megan.

“Aw, do I have to? I’m not tired!” Megan whined. Leslie hid a smile. Megan may be one powerful four year old but she was a four year old. After finally getting her to go to sleep on the mattress that was in a corner, Leslie pulled Lucas over to the couch to talk.

“Ok, so tell me what’s going on,” she told him.

[littleroswell]

I don't know where everyone went but I'm back with a new part. I hope you'll enjoy it! There's a bit of a surprise at the end. (hopefully)

Beth

Part 19 – “Discussing the Next Move”

“I guess I should start with how they found me,” Lucas began nodding toward the empty pods. “I was on the subway on my way home from school one day when I noticed this punk girl and guy making out. I wouldn’t have noticed except that they were right in front of me. Anyway, it was really crowded on the train, and in trying to get off, I felt the initiation of the awakening happen but I couldn’t pinpoint who had caused it.

“A few days later, I was again on my way home from school when I noticed the same punk girl with a different guy having an argument. She shoved him into me just before the train stopped and as he touched me, I felt the third part of the awakening. Just before they ran out of the train, the girl met my eyes and smirked. I knew she knew who I was.

“I stopped riding the train all the way home; I was so worried about them finishing the awakening! I tried changing trains, waiting for a later one, getting off a stop early, taking the train going the opposite direction and then doubling back, everything! That went on for 2 weeks. I didn’t contact you after that second incident on the train because I didn’t want them to find you if they got a hold of me. I didn’t even go home that Saturday that I was supposed to be at Brian’s house to work on our project because I was so scared they would find me. Finally, I thought that I might have lost them and decided to try going home but they were on the train…the original guy and girl and another girl. The train was pretty empty because it was really late and the punk girl told me she knew who I was and that I was going to be her slave again no matter how much I fought it. Then she coerced the last girl to touch me and it finished the awakening,” Lucas explained. He stopped here to catch his breath and Leslie gasped.

Leslie put her hand on her brother’s arm. “Oh, Lucas, please tell me that it wasn’t finished!” she pleaded, tears forming in her eyes.

“I wish I could, Les, but it was completed. You shouldn’t be here and neither should Megan; they tried to ask about you but I wouldn’t talk about you, saying that I didn’t know where you were. If I mentioned it without them asking about it specifically, it wasn’t constituted lying to them. They’re even worse in this life than they were in the last,” he told her sadly.

“So where are they? Will they be back soon?” Leslie said, worried about them finding Megan.

Lucas shook his head. “I haven’t seen Zan in a while, at least a couple of weeks, and Lonnie told me I wouldn’t be seeing him again. She, Rath and Ava, that’s what they call themselves here, left town a couple of days ago. If they said where they were going and when they’d be back, I can’t remember right now. I remember them joking around about getting sunscreen to protect them from the desert sun. That could cover a lot of ground, though.”

“Why didn’t you contact me after they had left? I’ve been worried sick about you. Why didn’t you try to leave?” Leslie asked. She heard Megan stir and they both turned to watch her roll over and settle back down. She would be awake soon.

“Lonnie ordered me to wait here for them to come back. You know we can’t disobey a direct order, especially from our genetic superior. I was afraid to contact you for fear they might be watching my dreams and dreamwalks. I didn’t want them to find you…especially since I had felt Megan awake. I knew she’d be with you,” Lucas said.

“Lucas, you haven’t been down here without food or water since they left have you?” Leslie asked, appalled at the idea.

“Nah, Lonnie made sure I’d be alive when she gets back. I’m ok but I really don’t think you should stay. Go back to Lauren and Kevin and take care of Megan. As long as you know where they are, you can avoid them. I’ll try to contact you if they head towards Roswell or if they find out where you are. I can’t leave and I’ll never be able to now,” Lucas told his sister.

“Lucas, who were the two that actually beat you like that?”

“When I said that they were worse in this life than the last, I mostly mean Lonnie and Rath. Lonnie would tell me that she wanted to have sex and I’d try to refuse. She would beat me sometimes or she would have Rath do it. They were the two that always beat me but only when Zan wasn’t around. He is just like he was in the last life, thinks that everything he does is right when he’s really just a selfish jerk. He does whatever he wants, takes whatever he wants and will take the easy way out 99% of the time. He’d yell at Lonnie and Rath for beating me but would slap them or Ava and he steals anything he wants. I’m just glad he hasn’t found you yet,” Lucas explained.

“Oh, Lucas, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe she would use you like that. She wasn’t that evil in the last life. Where do you think they went? Where do you think Zan is?” Leslie asked, almost sick at the knowledge that her brother had been used like he had.

“I really have no idea. The only thing that is a little weird is that Lonnie said that I would not be seeing Zan again and just after the last time I saw him, they were all out when I suddenly collapsed from pain. When I awoke, Ava, Lonnie, and Rath were all back but Zan wasn’t with them. When I mentioned the pain, Lonnie and Rath exchanged a look between the two of them and Ava started crying, hysterically. They never explained. I would like to think that all of this added up to Zan being dead but I can’t hope for that,” Lucas said.

“I wouldn’t be here if Zan was dead, you know that,” Leslie argued.

“But you never went through the awakening. As for the others…” Lucas trailed off, closing his eyes and concentrating. Since his awakening was complete, he should be able to find them. “They are traveling southwest. They are in New Mexico now and I think they are headed for…Roswell! They’re headed for Roswell! Why would they be going there?” Lucas asked, his eyes popping open in surprise.

“I don’t understand it either. Maybe the crash was real but they ended up here?” Leslie speculated.

“I don’t know but I do know that you need to leave. Maybe they’re going to Roswell to look for you! Oh, Leslie, you have to take Megan and leave. I don’t want them to find you!” he said in panic.

“Lucas, they are going to find me if they find you because I’m not leaving here without you,” Leslie said stubbornly. “You mean too much to me to just leave you to those wolves.”

“And what about Megan? Would you sacrifice her like that? She deserves a better life than what they would give her, I promise you that,” he pointed out.

“I don’t know but I’m not leaving here without you. Lucas, what were Lonnie’s exact words when she ordered you to stay here?” Leslie asked suddenly.

“She said, ‘You wait here for us. Don’t go nowhere; do you hear me?’” Lucas quoted.

“She used a double negative!! You might be able to use that to get around her meaning,” she answered excitedly. “Besides, there is always a chance that they could be in trouble, and you know what one thing overrides a direct order.”

“Yeah, the protection command built into us. But Leslie, even if they are possibly in danger, I’d have to go where they are. I can’t just leave and go wherever I want to,” he told her. They heard Megan stir again and knew that they had to figure out something quickly.

Leslie stood up suddenly and started pacing the borders of the open living area. “Lucas, if you were to describe the area where Lonnie wanted you to wait, and what was outside of it, what would you say?” she asked.

“I’d say this pretty much covers it. This little area down here is what they call their ‘pad’,” Lucas answered, not understanding where his sister was going with that question.

“Well, let’s experiment a little bit. Come over here,” she told him. He got off of the couch and went over to where the bit of decorating ended, next to Leslie. “Ok, now take small steps forward, one at a time, until something stops you.”

“Les, you know what happens if we disobey a direct order! Do you want to kill me?” Lucas asked.

“Lucas, you don’t know how far you can go until you try the limits. If you start to feel the programming kick in, let me know and I’ll back you up a step. It won’t kill you, but it will allow you to see how far you can go,” Leslie explained.

This seemed to make sense to Lucas so he did as she instructed, taking one step at a time towards the corridor that would lead them to the level above where the trains were. After each step, he was certain that he would collapse to the floor in pain and Leslie would have to drag him back to the couch. When they had almost reached the stairs without any pain attacks, Lucas was amazed. How was this possible? Before he had a chance to discuss it with Leslie, however, they both heard Megan call out to them.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“I can’t believe I made it all the way up to ground level already!” Lucas declared an hour later. He, Leslie and Megan had continued the experiment started while Megan had been napping and he had made it onto a train and off, up the stairs to the ground level, and they were currently making their way towards a main street to look for a taxi to take back to the car Leslie had left behind. “I would have bet everything that I wouldn’t make it this far. Why do you think I have?” he asked.

“I don’t know, Lucas. None of this makes any sense to me. I could have sworn long ago that the group I left behind in Roswell were the royal four but they’ve been here in New York all this time,” Leslie answered, shaking her head in confusion.

“Where are we going now?” Megan asked. She had been listening to them converse and skipping along happily beside them.

Leslie and Lucas stopped walking and faced each other. “That’s a good question. Where are we headed, Lucas?” Leslie asked, already knowing the answer in her heart. She rejoiced and shrank back from the answer at the same time.

Lucas got a far off look in his eyes before focusing on his sister once again and giving her a small smile. “You know where we have to go, Les. There can only be one reason I’ve been allowed to go this far when Lonnie specifically ordered me not to leave. You don’t have to go; you should take the munchkin and go someplace and hide out until I can contact you,” he told her, trying to convince her of his words once again.

“Lucas, we are a family. Where you go, I go. Maybe I could find someone else to take Megan but we both know she would be safer with us…we could hide her like before. I guess history really does repeat itself,” Leslie said softly, taking his hand in hers.

“Are you going to be able to handle seeing Alex again?” Lucas asked bluntly. “You know if they find you and your awakening is completed, he won’t understand why you suddenly have to ignore him.”

Leslie looked down at the necklace around her neck and tears filled her eyes. “I know, but I’ll have our memories and I’ll at least know what happened to him after I left. I know he’s probably moved on but I want to know anyway,” she whispered.

Megan’s ears perked up. “Alex?” she asked. Leslie had told her all about this guy and he sounded nice. “Are we going to Roswell?”

“Yeah, princess, we’re going to Roswell,” Lucas answered, pulling his sister into a hug and then taking both the girls’ hands and leading them toward a taxi cab.

* * * * * * * * * * *

They turned off of one highway and onto another and Lucas glanced over at the passenger seat at his sister’s sleeping form. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he saw that his niece had the exact same expression on her face, and he couldn’t stop the grin that spread itself over his face. Their heads were leaned back against the seat, eyes closed, mouths open and looking for all the world as uncomfortable as you could possibly get while sleeping in a car. When Lucas glanced back at his sister, he almost lost control of the car, swerving off the road and hastily pulling it back onto the pavement, waking Leslie and Megan in the process.

“Lucas, what in the universe is wrong with you?” Leslie yelled, upset at being startled awake in that manner. She sat up straight and quickly looked to see if Megan was ok.

“Leslie, have you looked in the mirror lately?” Lucas asked. “Not to upset you, but you’re back to the blond hair and clear blue eyes again. I didn’t notice when it changed.”

Leslie pulled down the sun visor and looked in the mirror at her reflection. She groaned and then laughed harshly. “He just can’t make up his mind! Wherever he is, he can’t decide between a blond and a brunette. I guess at the next stop, I should pick up some black hair dye. I’ll just have to dye it back and hope that no one recognizes us,” she answered. Then she looked at her brother. “You should know that this has been going on for weeks now. Do you think it’s Zan?” she asked.

Lucas shrugged but continued to watch the road. “I don’t know. I can’t think of anyone else it could be. He’s the only one who has the say on that stuff. I’m sorry I startled you and Megan. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

She looked back at Megan and was pleased to see that her looks hadn’t changed in the slightest…perhaps she hadn’t inherited that. “You know how much I love you right?” she asked, smiling at the four year old.

“More than all the sands of Arrakis,” Lucas quoted with Megan. They all smiled and Leslie turned her head to watch the countryside fly by.

“I couldn’t sleep now. Things are changing, Lucas; I can feel it. I just hope they’re changing for the better,” she spoke softly, careful not to let Megan hear her.

Lucas took his sister’s hand and squeezed it. “Whatever is coming, Les, I promise that we will weather it together. We are family and…” he started to explain but apparently Megan had heard what he had said.

“Family sticks together,” the little girl finished, quoting one of her favorite promises of the two adults in the front seat. She had heard it almost everyday of her young life, in both lifetimes, along with the reassurance of love. She smiled at Leslie and looked for the approving smile that she worshipped…and received it. “Right, mommy?”

Leslie’s face reflected all the love she held in her heart for the beautiful little girl in the back seat. “Right, princess,” she answered.