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Title: Better than Roswell, New Mexico
Author: starcrazed
Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.
Category: M/M [I/K, M/L]
Rating: Mature
Summary: A trip to the big city has two of the Roswellians bringing another one back with them who is vital in their need to prepare for the time when Khivar will show up on Earth. Without her it may be a lost cause.
*Roswell as we know it is mostly Roswell. All events stayed mostly the same with the absences of Maria. Also, Tess still came back with Zan, but her blowing up the Air Force Base didn’t put the agents onto our Pod Squad so Graduation didn’t happen like we saw either.
Part 1
The world had long ago changed from something familiar and safe.
It had been years since she learned about aliens and ran from the FBI.
That wasn't the first time her world view was shattered.
It was far from the last.
The first time it happen it was within her own family.
Her dad picked up leaving her and her mom to fend off the big bad world on their own.
Since then nobody has gotten past her blocks. Well almost nobody.
Alex and Liz where already safely behind them by the time she erected them.
She hardly trusts other people.
Then Liz was asking her to trust a whole other life form. Ha.
But she did. She managed to pull it together and loosen her blocks.
Long enough to fear for her life.
Long enough to fall in love.
Long enough to lose her childhood friend and with him, the rest of her innocence.
Long enough to start to worry about somebody else she loved leaving her.
Not long enough to be left though.
She left first this time.
She was the one that broke his heart this time.
She watched it fall from her grasp and shattered into tiny little pieces.
She couldn't watch any more then that though. So a week later she followed after Billy Darden.
Not because he could ever be to her what Michael was.
She followed him because he held the key to finding Maria again.
That Maria girl.
She had been lost for a long time.
Before Maria had turned to leave Michael has whispered in an anguished voice, "Will you come back to me?"
Maria wanted to laugh.
Of course she would come back to him, he held her heart. Had since the minute they were stuck in that dingy motel room and discovered they were both looking for something better than Roswell, New Mexico.
She wasn't going to ask for it back.
She didn't want it back.
There was nobody on this or any other planet she would ever love like she loved Michael Guerin.
She just hoped it wasn't too late.
She hoped when she came back he would still be holding her heart, that he didn't let it fall and shatter to a million tiny pieces like she just did to his.
Because for a long time she had known they had both found their better than Roswell, New Mexico.
It was with each other.
Always would be.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maria was packing up after her show, nodding goodbye to her band mates without paying much attention. Maria DeLuca had made it. Not worldwide famous like the dreams of a ten year old, but she was very well known. Very well off. Tickets where hard to come by in the small theaters she sung at.
At the knock at the door she answer distracted, "What is it Traci? I'll be out in five minutes."
When the door swung open she froze.
That door was locked.
She was sure of it.
Slowly, she looked up to find none other than Isabel Evans and Kyle Valenti standing before her. Oh. Wait Liz's last phone call said it was Isabel Valenti now.
Jesse had left with the discovery of aliens in his very own bedroom.
It broke Isabel too, the way Liz tells it. It took three whole years for Isabel to even look at another guy again. With the exception of course of Max, Michael, and Kyle.
They were already in the known and hadn't rejected her.
It almost broke Kyle's heart when she started dating. He had been there for Isabel through all the heartbreak and tears. He had fallen in love with the Ice Queen.
And that's what Maria saw standing in her door frame.
A once again long, blonde haired Ice Queen giving her the dirtiest look known to mankind.
Or alien for that matter.
Liz says it took about three weeks for Isabel to realize Kyle was in love with her and withdrawn because she was throwing herself at all these random guys. They started off slow. Two years later, they were married. A year after that they had a beautiful little girl, Haley Marie, with Isabel's blonde hair and Kyle's blue eyes. If Maria recalled she was about two now.
Maria had no idea how long it was before Kyle gently pushed Isabel inside and shut the door behind them.
"Hey Ria."
Maria sat unsteadily. Still staring at the pair. Thrilled beyond anything in the world to see them, but horrified just as much.
Why where they here?
Was something wrong with Liz?
Or oh God Michael?
Why wasn't Isabel yelling at her for destroying Michael?
Maybe he wasn't destroyed. Perhaps he moved on and had a family of his own now.
Maria didn't listen when Liz tried to tell her what Michael was up to. Right now she was wishing she had paid more attention.
"Listen Ria, I know you ran off to escape the Alien Abyss."
Isabel huffed and busied herself by looking around, clearly there against her will and disgusted with Maria.
"NO."
Kyle paused unsure what the no meant. The first word she uttered earned her a glare from the Ice Queen though.
"I...I didn't leave to escape." She was cut off by Isabel's malicious laughter, "Yeah, right."
"Iz."
Kyle's whispered plea had silenced her.
She after all knew what was at stake here.
"I had to...I felt like I was drowning Kyle. Everything I used to be got lost in favor of their needs. I had needs too. Needs and dreams and staying in Roswell, I would have never seen any of them come true."
Isabel stood up furious, "What about Michael's needs and DREAMS. You walked away from him when the only dream he had left was you and having a family with you. Do you have ... do you have any idea what that did to him. When he woke up and you were just gone. Gone. What it did to all of us.
God. For weeks we were all a mess. Trying to get flashes, dream walking you, talking to Amy, you didn't tell your mom where you were going. How the hell were we supposed to know if you were kidnapped or just left on your own because you were a heartless b..."
"Isabel that's enough."
By now both Isabel and Maria were in tears. "I called Liz as soon as I got here."
Isabel laughed a sound that lacked any joy, "Yeah, two months later."
Isabel turned and busied herself organizing things.
Kyle took over, "Ria did you do what you ran away here to accomplish."
Maria looked up confused.
"Michael said you had to find that Maria girl. Who you used to be. Did you do that?"
Hesitantly Maria nodded; it wasn't what she thought it would be.
How could it be when she was surrounded by strangers? Not a single person her knew her a fraction as much as anyone in Roswell.
She wasn't an idiot. When she was riding buses to get here she knew it wouldn’t be what she was hoping it would. Not the way she was going about it.
From the first time she stepped on a stage seven years ago she knew she had made a mistake.
She was too stubborn to go home though. Not until she tried her hardest to make this work.
"Can you come home now then? Is there anyway you can blend this life with what you used to have."
After eight years they were coming to ask her to come home. When it was obvious Isabel didn't even want to be here at all.
"Why?"
She already knew her answer though. Had known it since these two walked into the door and she was happier then she'd been in the past eight years despite the fact that they were angry with her.
"Why. Well because, our mom misses you and our little brother will need an older sister to ask about girls someday. Because Liz is pregnant again and cries everyday since her best friend in the whole world isn't there, again, to experience it with her. Because if Evans comes to me one more time to talk about Liz I may just knock the King onto his ass. Because Isabel loves shopping and Liz's isn't a huge fan of the trips to the mall like you are. Because I miss you and so does everyone else in Roswell."
Maria gulped trying desperately to remember if Michael still lived there.
Maria jumped when Isabel spoke softly a tone filled with so much hurt.
"Because Michael shut down after you left. Because he doesn't use his powers any more and when he does he lacks the control he gained around you. Because if I have to see that pained, broken look in his eyes one more time I might just fall apart and not be able to get back up. And then when Khivar comes, because we know he is, it will be Max, alone, trying to save the world. Because Maria after all that you've done for us. I'm here to ask you to do more."
With blurred vision Maria threw herself at the Ice Queen and they sobbed.
Sobbed for all the years lost.
All the days wasted.
Every hour ignored.
Kyle watched his own eyes watering.
After what seemed like forever Maria pulled back and wiped at her eyes. She gave Isabel a watery smile. Isabel returned it, all the hurt put aside for now. They had a common goal.
Kyle watched amazed as the sobbing mess turned into the hurricane as she ran around frantically throwing things in her bags and pulling out her cell phone and dialing a number. Then as far as Kyle was concerned she was talking gibberish. About breaking contracts and canceling the last two shows, about public appearances. All kinds of things that Kyle decided to finally tune out.
At some point Maria stopped packing and was pacing back and forth on the phone waving her hands in the air and yelling. Isabel got up and continued the packing for her.
Kyle pulled out his own cell phone and dialed the familiar number.
"Hey, it's me....yeah we found her. She's coming with us. Yeah Iz told her the truth. The basics anyways."
Kyle listened for a few minutes then whispered back when he was sure Maria wasn't listening, "Ah yeah no, we didn't tell her about her. Iz said... fine but if she doesn't come because of her, you get to explain that to your wife. Later Evans."
He hung up noticing Isabel and Maria both staring at him.
"Her who?"
Kyle flinched. "Iz, Max thinks we should tell Maria about Serena."
Maria's eyebrows drew together. "Serena? As in Future Max's Serena?"
Kyle nodded, "We think so."
"What about her?"
Isabel sighed, "On Antar, her and Rath had this thing."
Maria's frown grew deeper, "Thing?"
"They were in love."
"Oh."
"Look, Ria it doesn't mean anything here. I mean Zan and Ava were supposedly in love too and look how that ended up."
Maria nodded distractedly having heard all about Tess's return with baby Zan.
"So Max wanted you to tell me about her because..."
"Becausetheylivetogether."
It took a second to understand, but once she did the pain was sharp and instantaneous.
The shock of it made her body tremble. She was grateful she was sitting.
"Oh."
She reached out for something to steady herself further.
"Ria..."
Kyle traveled off, how was he supposed to explain this?
Isabel's voice was stern, commanding.
They couldn’t lose Maria now not when they were so close to getting her back in their lives. Even if Khivar’s approach wasn’t imminent, they had missed her deeply. She had been away from home for much too long.
They needed her.
Michael needed her.
With or without the threat of Khivar looming over their heads.
"Maria. Listen to me. It doesn't mean anything. Serena came to town and needed a place to stay. She was staying with Max and Liz for a while but then Becca was born. It just made sense for her to go to Michael's because he had the extra room. Michael stopped talking to Max and me a long time ago Maria, Serena's the only way we know that's he's eating and sleeping nowadays."
Maria was off in her own world. Four years. They've been living together for four years. That's how old Max and Liz's daughter was. So much could happen in four years behind closed doors.
"You're still going to come with us right?"
Maria looked into the pleading eyes of Kyle, the desperation obvious in Isabel's entire being.
"Yeah, I'll go with you to Roswell."
Isabel's relief was palpable as was Kyle's.
"Let's go then our plane leaves in an hour."
"I don’t' have a..."
"We got you one."
"That sure of your self huh Iz?"
Isabel smiled.
"No, that sure of your love for Michael."
Maria blushed and nodded. Kyle picked up the bags and led the way out the door. Isabel followed after him Maria bringing up the rear.
When she got to the door she paused before softly closing the door.
As it clicked in place she said goodbye to her lifestyle.
She had found that Maria girl.
But lost her heart in the process.
It wasn't worth it and it was time to go back and get it.
TBC...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
