My Favorite Regret ~ [ML, Adult] [COMPLETE]

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My Favorite Regret ~ [ML, Adult] [COMPLETE]

Post by kay_b »

Winner Round 13

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Title: MY FAVORITE REGRET

Disclaimer: I do not own Roswell. Everything belongs to Metz, Katims, WB & UPN. I also do not own the title which is from a song by Gigolo Aunts.

Rating: ADULT

Summary: Everything happened from Season 1 to 3; except there have been a few changes. This starts post Graduation in a Roswell where it was Maria who was shot, Alex didn't die and Liz didn't even live there.

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back! I'm actually a bit nervous posting a new fic after a couple of months being MIA. I don't know if my writing is up to par with my old works so please forgive me if it's not. Anyway, let me know if you like this enough for me to keep writing.

Huge thanks go to Ann (babylisou) for my awesome banner, and to Emma (emz80m) for being my patient beta.

I really, really hope you all enjoy this one. *smooches*
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Prologue

I never thought I would look at myself now and see a different person than who I was just a couple of years ago. Tess was right, I am just a boy, a boy who doesn’t even know where to go from here. I don’t even know where here is anymore.

I was told that I was a king, a king of another planet in another galaxy. However, my supposed queen betrayed me. The woman, who claimed to have loved me in two lifetimes and vowed that she would always be by my side, tricked me into getting her pregnant. But it was her plan all along; to return to our kingdom with an heir to my throne and deliver me, my sister and my best friend into the hands of our enemy for a public execution as she takes her place as queen beside the monster who killed us. And I almost went.

I know that I shouldn’t be blaming myself, that’s what my parents, my sister and my friends have all been telling me. But how could I not? It was I who allowed our group to be infiltrated by a traitor. It was I who told everyone to accept her. It was I who allowed her to get into my head with her so-called memory retrievals. It was I who got her pregnant. And it was I who almost delivered my family to our deaths. Who else am I supposed to blame for that but myself?

And now, our origins have caused us to run from our homes and our families. Ironically, the people that I have with me are those that I consider my real family for I have never hid a secret from them. Well, maybe I have in the beginning but now we’re all together and running from the law. Not because we’re criminals, but because we are aliens.

I wish we could all go back to just living normal lives, but I guess if I can make that happen, my son wouldn’t be here. Out of all the things I have done and regretted, I would have to say that my son is the one regret that I love. I regret that he’s growing up in the situation that we are in. I regret that he had Tess for a mother, although in the end, her love for her child proved to be stronger than her evil ways. And for that I also regret that he would never get to be held by her.

And it is because of my son, Zan Evans, that I’m trying to find a way to get us back to normal. Maybe in some far away place we won’t have to run any longer. Maybe in some far away place we would get to live in nice houses with white picket fences. Maybe in some far away place we could live like regular human beings. Maybe in some far away place we will never have to look over our shoulders for any signs of danger. And maybe in some far away place we could finally feel safe again.


tbc
Last edited by kay_b on Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:26 pm, edited 74 times in total.
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Post by kay_b »

Hey everyone! :D Thanks so much for your feedback. I was kinda nervous posting again. I felt like a newbie coming back here. I do hope that you like the next part. By the way, for those who are wondering, Liz will appear in Chapter 3. *smooches*

~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 1

2 years later…

“Dada!”

“Hey there, little guy. What are you doing up so early?” Max leaned over Zan’s crib to pick him up. It was six o’clock in the morning and Max thought he heard some noise going on in the other room. When he went in to check, sure enough Zan was standing in his cradle waving his rattle back and forth.

“Are you hungry? Do you want some breakfast?” Max was already making his way downstairs to make Zan some food.

Before Max could reach the last step, there was a knock on his door. He placed Zan in his highchair and went to see who the person on the other side was. When he saw that it was just Maria and Isabel, he quickly opened to door to let them in.

“Morning, girlfriend.” Maria greeted him cheerily.

“Hi Max. Zan up yet?” Isabel asked as she moved past her brother.

“Yeah, he’s in the kitchen.”

Isabel went ahead to where Zan was while Max and Maria followed.

“Hey baby.” Isabel cooed to her nephew.

“Tizzy.” Zan grinned at his aunt.

“Hey Zan.” Maria went over to the little toddler and kissed his cheek.

Zan only giggled at that.

“Ooh, Max, your boy here will be such a heartbreaker when he grows up.” Maria grinned.

Max smiled at that. Watching his sister and friend interacting with his son did that to him. But then his smile faded as he remembered a time when everything was so different.


The little baby started to fuss as the van rolled into town, their final destination.

Max Evans, deposed king of the planet of Antar of the Whirlwind Galaxy, reached over and soothed his son with small bursts of warmth that emanated from his hand. The glow was caught by one of the passengers of the van.

“Hey, how is he?” Maria asked.

“He’s okay, just a little uneasy.” Max responded.

“Maybe he’s just a little excited that were settling down at last.” Maria smiled.

Max knew exactly what she meant. It had been two years since they’ve started running. In a span of four years, their group has dealt with being chased by the FBI, fighting against other aliens and being betrayed by one of their own.

Normal people wouldn’t believe the stories they can share, albeit unwillingly. However, they have lived through it all with near misses and emotional scars. No one would even think that they’re barely out of their teen years.

Max Evans, along with his sister Isabel and his best friend Michael Guerin were found in the desert when they were the size of 6-year-olds. And as they grew older, they discovered that they had abilities that no other human possessed. Ever since, they’ve been trying to hide what they were through different ways. Max was the loner, Michael was the rebel and Isabel was the ice queen.

However, all that changed during their sophomore year when one of their school mates was shot in a busy diner. In a quick reaction, Max went up to the young waitress and healed her. Of course, his sister didn’t approve of it since she thought their lives were now all in danger, but Michael remained quiet. Later on, it was revealed that Michael secretly liked the young girl.



Max looked at Maria while she was busy reading the morning paper. She was his friend and a confidant who always stayed honest with him no matter how hurt he may get by her bluntness. She was the one who convinced everyone to finally settle down and start living normally and how it would be the best thing for Zan. He admired her bravery for that discussion turned into a heated argument among all of them and she even went against her own boyfriend.


Since she was healed by Max, Maria Deluca became a part of their group. Then she brought along her best friend Alex Whitman who proved to be indispensable to their group.

When all 5 of the teens were starting to build a friendship, another young girl came to town and her name was Tess Harding. At first, no one trusted her and Alex, being so into high tech gadgets and computers, managed to plant a bug to reveal who Tess really was, an alien like the other three. Since then, she began spouting about the aliens so-called Destiny and how she belonged with Max, and Michael and Isabel with each other. None of the other three bought it.

The last addition to the group was Kyle Valenti. In the beginning, everyone was wary of him since his dad was the sheriff of their little town. At some point, Max was caught by the FBI and the sheriff was one of those who came to his rescue. But because of that his son Kyle was shot. Once again, Max had to heal another person, completing their I-Know-An-Alien club to 8 members.

They all managed to live normal lives despite everything. In between school and their part-time jobs, the teens learned how to deal with alien enemies, clones, and having almost one of them killed.

Alex almost died a few years ago. It was during their third year in high school and he was decoding the book Tess possessed. Everyone thought he was in Sweden, but in reality he was being mind warped as a student in a university in Las Cruces to decipher the message in the alien book. The message revealed the way home.

Actually, Alex did die. He was in a car accident but Max was able to heal him in time. However, because of the warping, Alex didn’t know what had happened. They all thought it was one of their enemies. No one knew it was caused by one of their own until a major rift was created in their group.



Max looked at his sister who was feeding his son and playing with him. A sense of gratefulness swept over him as he recalled what it was like to almost lose her.


Isabel was so scared for Alex that she checked their records and found out that they were both eligible to graduate early. She told Alex about wanting to do that and going to college somewhere else, somewhere far from Roswell where they didn’t have to look over their shoulders for other aliens or FBI alien hunters. Alex didn’t know what to do, but Isabel told him how scared she was about almost losing the person she loved the most. With that, their relationship went to a different level and Alex agreed to going with Isabel.

Both Max and Michael didn’t like this idea one bit. Both guys started fighting with Isabel about this. Maria fought with Michael because she thought that Isabel’s idea was the best thing to do after almost losing her best friend. After Maria’s statement, Michael was torn. He knew that if it was Maria who almost died, he would have done the same thing as Isabel was doing at the moment.

However, Max wouldn’t budge. And he began to spiral down a myriad of emotions; fear, anger, helplessness, loneliness. He felt like everything was going out of control. And then Tess stepped in.



He smiled as he watched his son laughing playfully with his aunt. He was Max’s pride and joy, his only reason for living. There was a time when he battled with himself over giving him up for adoption or not. Even though his mind said it was the best thing to do, his heart waged a war inside him and won.


Tess and Max slept together at a time when Max was at his most vulnerable and she managed to conceive a child with him. And then the lies came pouring in. First she said the baby couldn’t breathe the air on Earth and had to go back to their planet. So they almost left until Maria and Kyle managed to find out who had almost killed Alex as both guys managed to recall what happened. So the three managed to catch up with the aliens and reveal all.

Max was livid when he found out the truth. And his unborn child was the only thing preventing him from killing Tess. He let Tess go and mended the fences with his sister and friends.

Everything was normal once again. And then Tess returned with Zan and told everyone that the child was completely human. Half of the group wanted to kill her, the other half didn’t want her blood on their hands. In the end, it was Tess who made the choice and went to the nearby base that initially captured her and her child and made the entire facility explode.

After that, they all decided to leave upon graduating from high school. So they packed their bags and left their homes and their families in Roswell, each one wondering when they’ll be able to go back, because in reality, they were still teens then. When all other kids were worrying about where to go to college and where to go for their summer vacations, where to shout their last hurrah before getting into college life; they were worrying about where to run, where to hide.



It had been two long years. And Maria was right, it was time to stop. So here they were, living in another small suburban town. Only this time, they’re able to live their lives normally but for how long? Despite the make-believe world that the group has created in this town, Max was always wary, always ready to go and leave when the time comes. A life of running wasn’t what he wanted for his son, but at this point his safety comes first before the pretense of normalcy.
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kay_b
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Post by kay_b »

*Hi everyone! :D Thanks so much for your feedback. I'm glad that you're liking this even though the beginning is quite boring. Now I know that I said Liz will appear in Part 3 but I changed my mind.

Anyway, just a few special mentions...

Eve (begonia9508): No, Liz is not an alien and the hybrids' destiny is still their destiny but they didn't really follow it in the show did they. :wink:

Melissa (aliensister): I'm so sorry about not emailing you. I totally forgot about it. So sorry.

Tiph (frenchkiss70), La'Shon (FSUMSW94), Dani (taressa05), martine, g7silvers and everyone else who wanted to know: This chapter will give you a clue as to how the gang will meet Liz.

Tanya (berhsgirl77): Uh, what does it mean? LOL. Do you want to know my secrets too? You know my fics are sometimes boring but whatever you want to know, just ask and I'll provide all the inside info you want.

Jeannine (BelevnDreamsToo): Good point, J. I didn't even think about the Max and Tess without Liz angle. Yeah, he didn't betray Liz so no one can hate him...yet! :wink:

Hopeless Romantic: Thanks so much for reading and leaving fb. I hope you'll like this one.

Shelly (*Zans-gurl*): I miss our chats too. Who would have thought that I would have finished a few fics of my own? I remember when I just first started doing beta work for you and I didn't know anyone in the world of Roswell except you. You know you're actually one of the people who made me think I could write fics. Thanks again. :D

Emma (emz80m): Thanks so much for the beta'ing even at work.

Cyn (To_Kiss_A_Frog), flyawayraven, Sweet Liz, Alien614, Ellie (Earth2Mama), Michelle17 and Everybody reading this: This part was supposed to be shorter than what's posted below. So you'll have to thank Emma for this one.

*smooches*



~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 2

“Itsy, bitsy spider
Went up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out…”

A young woman and her preschoolers could be heard singing happily in class.

In the small suburban town of White Plains, there was only one daycare center for little babies, toddlers and kindergartners. There weren’t that many tykes in the city so only one was really needed. And since the center was reputed as being a great learning environment for little children, all the families in the town send their kids there.

In that daycare center was one woman known as Elizabeth Parker. Elizabeth or Liz, as she is fondly called by her friends, is the one who teaches kindergartners in the center. Although she is quite young and just fresh out of high school, she was given the job because she adores kids and the kids in return adore her. Even the parents like her cause they know that if Liz is their child’s teacher, the little kid will have a great time learning new things. Because that’s what Liz does, to her everyday is a fun day and she makes it a point to make all her classes fun and exciting for her kids and also making them want to learn more.

At a young age of 20, Liz is quite independent. She lives alone in a small cozy little home that she inherited when her parents passed away. On their way to a convention, her parents got in a car accident and were killed instantly. In one split second, Liz became an orphan at 16.

Losing her parents so suddenly took quite a toll on her and that is why she chose to work in the daycare center. Seeing the little children with their parents somehow makes her reminiscent of her childhood memories. It is in the innocent faces of those little kids that she gets the will to live. However, that was not always the case.

For some time after her parents’ deaths, Liz didn’t even want to live anymore. Though living in a small town had the benefit of being close to everyone who lived there, Liz still felt alone. Cause no matter how many people visited her and checked on her, they still always had their own families to go home to. And how she longed to have that too.

It took her some time to find herself again and it was through the kids. When she was a senior, she and her friend Serena had to do some volunteer work for school and Serena decided to help out in the daycare center. At first Liz was hesitant but Serena convinced her that they should do it together, so they did.

It was quite awkward at first for Liz being around the little toddlers looking up at her and some didn’t even want to go anywhere near her out of shyness, but there was one little girl who looked at her and was close to shedding the tears. It wasn’t because she was afraid of Liz but she was just very shy around new people.


*Flashback*

Liz felt so weird about being there. She doesn’t really detest kids but she’s just scared about them and what to do with them in certain situations like when they start bawling their heads off.

“Why did I let you talk me into this?” Liz muttered at Serena as they stood in front of the class while the teacher was introducing them to the little 3 and 4-year-olds.

“Cause I’m your best friend and you love me?” Serena whispered.

“Oh yeah, I forgot.” Liz sneered.

Just then, the woman turned to face them and told them that they could just start interacting with the little ones.

Serena was quick to jump at the chance to play with the kids. What else would be better than what they were doing? They were volunteering to play with kids! Unlike the others in their class who chose to do their volunteer work cleaning up the park, eew!

Liz was a little more hesitant about approaching the kids. She didn’t want to just rush in there and make them cry in the process like what her friend just did. She looked over at Serena who was explaining to the teacher that she didn’t mean to make the little boy cry.

Liz sighed and looked around and her attention was caught by a little girl who seemed to be studying her before returning to playing alone with her doll. Cautiously, she approached her and sat facing her.

“Hi there. I’m Liz.” She gave the little girl a sweet smile.

“Hi,” the girl whispered.

“What’s your name?” Liz asked.

“Daisy.”

“Hi Daisy, how old are you?”

Daisy held up three small fingers.

“Wow, you’re a big girl aren’t you?”

Daisy blushed and nodded shyly.

“How come you’re playing all alone here? Don’t you want to play with your other friends?” Liz questioned as she looked over at another group of little girls having tea.

Daisy just lowered and shook her head slowly.

“Why not?”

“They don’t yike me.” Daisy answered sadly.

Liz felt her heart twinge for the little girl. “Oh sweetheart, that’s not true.” She took the little girl in her arms and accompanied her to the little table where three other toddlers were pretending to sip tea from the little pink teacups.

“Hi there. I’m Liz and this is my friend Daisy. Is it ok if we join your tea party?”

The other girls smiled and nodded. Liz pulled 2 chairs closer to the plastic table and all five of them were soon laughing and having a ball.


Serena raised her head to search for her friend. When she saw Liz smiling radiantly and playing with the little kids, she felt relieved.

Serena and Liz were practically like sisters. They met on the first day of school when they were first graders. The public school was outside of White Plains and the kids get intimidated with the buildings, busy streets and all the new people in the big city the first time they go there.

When Serena stepped out of the bus, she was looking at all the other kids running around the school grounds and parents kissing them goodbye and telling them to have fun. Some kids were obviously excited, some were scared and crying and as for her, she was a mixture of both.

Then she saw a car pull up behind the bus and 3 people got out; a mom, a dad and a little brown haired girl who was her age. Then after the parents told her to have fun in class and bade her goodbye, the girl looked over at her. She was obviously one of those who were excited about school.

When their eyes met, Serena gave her a smile and the girl returned it and walked over to her.

“Hi, I’m Liz.” The brown-eyed girl extended her little hand.

“Hi, I’m Serena.” she smiled and took the other girl’s hand in hers.

From that moment on, the two became the best of friends. They did everything together. They laughed and played together when they were kids. They both grew up into beautiful young women. One with the simple beauty and had the brown soft hair and the doe brown eyes. The other had the wavy red locks and the captivating green eyes. Both were svelte and petite and had a lot of boys chasing after them. All their lives, they were inseparable.

That is until the awful tragedy that struck Liz’s family. Serena knew how hard it was for Liz when she lost her parents. There were times that Liz just went into her own shell and didn’t want to talk to anyone and wallow in her misery. Serena didn’t know what to do for Liz during those moments so she would either just sit beside her in silence or just leave her alone.

And since Liz had no other family but her parents, Serena and her family took Liz in for some time. Then when Liz turned 17, she decided to move back into the house she grew up in. At first, Serena’s parents were against it because they didn’t want Liz to live by herself. But after promising that she would go to them whenever she needed something, they allowed Liz to move out. And more often than not, Serena stayed over at Liz’s for days.

It was fun at times because there they were two teenagers having a whole house to themselves, but there were some nights when Serena pretended to be asleep and she could hear her friend sobbing in grief over her parents. Serena always wanted to hug Liz and let her know she was there for her but she knew that once Liz was aware that she was awake, she would bottle up her emotions once again and put up a façade that everything was ok.


But now, seeing her truly smiling happily once more gave Serena the conviction that she was right in bringing Liz here.

After the school project was done, Serena and Liz kept coming back to help out the teachers. Soon, they were working there as teacher assistants and then as teachers themselves because they loved it.



Two years later, Serena and Liz were still working at the daycare center. And Daisy was now a kindergartner and is in Liz’s class. Daisy loved being around Liz and she also looked up to her like a sister.

And for Liz, the kids were her life now. She enjoyed working at the center and loved being around the little children and hearing their laughter and giggles echoing through the hallways. At the end of the day seeing them running up to their mommies and daddies after a day of activities made her smile and gave her hope.

Ever since losing her own mom and dad, it was her wish to someday have a family of her own. That way she wouldn’t be alone again. Yes she was thankful that she has Serena in her life but it wasn’t the same. She wanted someone to go home to at the end of the day and talk about how their day went. She wanted little kids of her own beaming at her and running up to her when it was time to go home from school. It was a woman’s typical wish to get married and have kids someday. But for Liz, it was a wish that she would give anything to see fulfilled. It was a wish of belonging to a family again.
Last edited by kay_b on Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by kay_b »

Hi everyone. I'm so sorry for the long wait. I had to get settled first before I could get in the mood to write. Plus my muse wasn't cooperating with me. But today, I managed to finish a new part for you all. Hope you'll like this. *smooches*

~*~*~*~*~


Chapter 3

"Are you ready for school today, little guy?" Isabel asked as she looked back at the rear view mirror of her car.

Her nephew, Zan, was securely settled in his car seat wearing a pair of little denim jeans and tiny hiking boots and a sweater. Both of them were on the road towards the only day-care center in the entire town of White Plains.

Zan just looked at his Aunt Isabel and gave her a toothy grin. He was excited about school. When Isabel and Maria were dressing him up and told him that he was going to play all day with other kids, it was all he could think about.

Isabel on the other hand recalled her conversation with her brother about allowing Zan to go to school and leaving him there.


"The answer is still no, Iz." Max reiterated. "We have had this conversation a hundred times already. When are you going to let it go?"

"When you say yes, Max." she replied.

"That is never going to happen, Isabel." Max went about Zan's room picking up the toys scattered on the floor. It was a good thing that he decided to put him to bed in his room. He didn't want his son to be hearing this even though he's too young to understand what they were saying. He didn't want Zan to see him arguing with anyone.

"Max, he's 2 years old. He needs to interact with other kids. It's bad enough that he had to go through running all over the country with us--"

"And what would you rather do?" Max roared, quickly cutting Isabel in mid sentence. "Did you want us to leave him behind?!"

Isabel was taken aback by her brother's outburst, but after a second she steeled herself and put on a determined face. She only wanted what was best for Zan.

"Of course not! That's not what I was saying Max and you know it! I just want him to have a safe and normal life."

'How could he make her understand?' he thought. Of course he wanted Zan to be happy, to be able to run about and play with other children, to just be a little kid. He knew he was cheating Zan out of a childhood that even he and Isabel had, but what can he do?

As the silence ensued, both siblings were locked in their own thoughts. While Max was pondering his son's safety, Isabel was thinking about the cards they have been dealt with. Their group lost their innocence at such a young age; having to deal with everything that was thrown at them. They were forced to grow up quickly and face situations that not even their parents had ever heard of. They had to mature fast because their lives were at stake.

Four years of the alien abyss had flipped everyone's lives upside down; running from the FBI, alien enemies, and dealing with traitors. However, there were also the good times they all shared and the relationships that came out of it.

Isabel was known as the Ice Princess in high school and she was part of the popular crowd. She never allowed herself to get attached to someone nor did she let anyone get too close. That is, until her brother healed one of the people she now calls her best friend.

At first, Isabel was infuriated with Max for doing what he did. But she knew that if she was in the diner that fateful day, she wouldn't let a person die if she could do something about it. She would have done the same, acting on impulse then dealing with the consequences afterward. But she didn't let him know that.

And then Max became good friends with Maria. When she asked for an explanation as to what he did, she ran out of Max's room screaming her head off. Good thing their parents were out of town and Michael caught Maria before she could even run out of the house shrieking like a banshee.

Maria was so scared when Michael got a hold of her and kept shouting at the top of her lungs and Michael could only think of one way to shut her up. He kissed her. And that was how Isabel and her brother caught the two, locked in a heated and passionate kiss. After that, the two were inseparable.

And then Maria brought her best friend Alex into the group because when Max got in an accident, they needed to replace the blood sample the nurse took at the hospital. And Alex was the only option they could draw blood from. Isabel was grateful for what he did and was seriously considering allowing Maria to tell him the big secret.

That night she dream walked him and saw through the geeky impression he had. Alex was a good person. He saw past her walls and knew that the Ice Princess reputation was just a façade. No one had ever seen her that way aside from her brothers and for that, Isabel's heart melted. So the next day, she surprised everyone and asked Alex out on a date.

Then they told him the truth. Isabel was petrified that he'd start looking at them differently. But the odd thing was, he didn't run away. He was fascinated about it and knew that the Isabel, Max and Michael that was friends with Maria were the same people despite their biological composition. A few weeks after that, they were a couple. Isabel was so happy. She didn't have to pretend with Alex.

And then Tess came into town and she manipulated everyone into believing that she was their friend. But in reality, she would do anything to get what she wanted. Like the decoding of the so-called destiny book. She mind warped Alex to the point that he was dead in order to have it translated. Thank goodness, Max was able to heal him and bring him back to life.



Isabel hated to think about what it would have been like if she had lost the only man she ever loved. Would she have survived it?

Then she thought about the one person that betrayed them all, Tess. She ruined her brother's life and almost destroyed hers by killing Alex. But looking at the little tyke in the back seat, a minute portion of her was glad Tess came cause if she didn't, they wouldn't have the adorable little guy with them.


When Tess returned with Zan, she wanted to kill her right then and there. She knew that Michael wanted to kill her too, heck they even took a vote on whether she would live or die. It was a draw though. Max, Kyle and Jim Valenti couldn't take it upon themselves to take her life while she, Michael and Maria had no problem with it. And yet, she understood the other three's disposition.

But Tess had no remorse that she almost killed Alex to get what she wanted. And Jim, Max and Kyle and their morals and principles wouldn't allow them to stoop to her level and do the same thing. But for her, Maria and Michael, the hatred and anger for what she did ran through their veins. Michael wanted her dead because he knew she couldn't be allowed to live with such capabilities or the chance of killing someone again. She was definitely a threat to them and other innocent people. As for her and Maria, they almost lost an important person in their lives. That was reason enough.

But in the end, it was Alex who surprised them all. He had the ultimate reason for wanting her gone, but despite what Tess had done to him, he voted against killing her.

Though they did not agree on Tess' fate, that was when Isabel knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Alex.

After that little pow wow, Tess was gone the next day though little Zan was still asleep in Michael's bedroom with Max. News on the television gave the gang an inkling to where she could be as reports of the base where Tess and Zan were held exploded in the middle of the night. It was said that the facility was empty but they all knew otherwise. Tess killed people again, only this time she died along with them.

That morning, they all decided to pack up and leave Roswell. Max and Isabel said their tearful goodbyes to their parents and could only hope that they will see each other again soon. Maria and Alex simply ran away, not letting their parents know anything. Michael had no parent to say goodbye to but Diane didn't let him get in the van that Philip rented without a hug and told him that the next time she sees her kids, she's expecting him to be there as well. As for Kyle, he had the option to stay or go but having been healed by Max a couple of years before, he opted to go with them and Jim stayed behind to tie up loose ends.

From there, the group stopped at a quaint little chapel just outside of Roswell because Isabel and Alex wanted to get married. She wished she had her Mom doing some last minute checking on her make up and dress and her Dad to walk her down the aisle towards her future husband but she knew it was impossible at that moment. Instead it was Maria who was doing the checking with her and Max who walked her down the aisle. Even though her parents were missing from the ceremony, she still had her family there. Maybe someday she and Alex could renew their vows with their parents present for a joyous and memorable occasion.

And now, two years later, she and Alex had their own home next to Max and Zan. She was working as a wedding planner and Alex was a software developer and was also making sure that their tracks were covered from time to time. All in all, Isabel knew she had a good life despite the fact that they're running from alien hunters. She had Alex and her family. She was happy.



"We're here, Zan." Isabel announced as she parked her vehicle and extracted Zan from his car seat. She carried him into the day-care center and looked for someone to talk to so she could enroll Zan in the toddler class.

"Hi there, can I help you?"

Isabel turned around to find a petite brunette looking at her and Zan with brown doe eyes.

"Hi, I'm Isabel and this little guy here is Zan. I'd like to get him into a class for toddlers and I was wondering where I could sign up to do that." Isabel informed the woman.

Liz smiled, "Oh that's great. Why don't you come with me into the office right here and we'll have Zan playing with his new classmates in no time. I'm Liz Parker by the way."

"Thanks." Isabel grinned and followed Liz into a small office.

While she was doing some paperwork, Liz took Zan in her arms and Isabel saw how Zan was comfortable with the other lady that she had to ask, "Are you going to be Zan's teacher?"

"Oh, no. I wish I was but my friend Serena Connors teaches that class." Liz answered.

"Oh." Isabel frowned, a bit disappointed at that.

"Don't worry, he'll be in great hands." Liz said upon seeing Isabel's expression.

"Oh, it's not that. It's just, Zan seems to have taken a liking to you so I would be more at ease knowing that I'll be leaving him with someone he's comfortable with."

"I understand, but Serena is really great with kids. I'm sure Zan will be fine."

"Ok. Well, all done." Isabel handed the papers to Liz and took Zan in her arms.

Liz browsed through it quickly and put down Zan's name in Serena's list. "Everything's good. Let's go to Serena's room so Zan can start mingling with the other kids."

As the trio walked towards Serena's class, Zan kept reaching for Liz's hair and playing with it. At first, Isabel kept pulling him back but Liz just gave a small laugh and allowed Zan to play with her.

"Here we are." Liz announced as she opened the door.

"Hey, look who's here everyone." Serena spoke to her little toddlers. "Say hi to Lizzie."

"Hi Lizzie" the class chorused.

"Hi everyone, I have a new friend for you. His name is Zan Evans and he wants to be friends with all of you." Liz spoke cheerily.

The children were all grins and looked at Zan. Isabel set him down on the floor and Zan walked shyly to where the other kids were seated and was listening to Serena's story before they came in.

Liz and Isabel watched as Zan quickly settled himself beside one of the little girls.

"Do you think he'll be ok?" Isabel asked worriedly.

"I think he'll be alright. You could stay if you want though." Liz offered.

"I want to but I can't. I have to go to work." Isabel replied.

Zan looked up at his aunt and waved as if sensing that Isabel was about to leave. He knew he was safe with the other kids and that Liz person was there.

"He seems to have adjusted fast." Isabel laughed as she waved back. "So, I'm gonna go. What time do I have to pick him up?"

"Come back at 12 noon. The toddler class is dismissed then." Liz responded.

Isabel nodded and made a note of it on her organizer. Then she walked over to Zan and kissed his forehead. "I'll be back in a couple of hours for you, ok?"

Zan nodded and grinned.

"See you later, sweetheart." Isabel said as she walked away.

As they got to the door, she also thanked Liz. "Thanks again for your help, Liz."

"No problem." Liz smiled.

"See you later." Isabel said as she got in her car and drove away. She liked Liz. She seemed to be a nice woman who's about her age. ‘Hmmm, maybe she'll be good for Max.’


tbc
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Post by kay_b »

Thanks to Emma for quickly betaing this part for me. Thank you to all the bumps and everyone who have stuck by this and still reading it despite the long delays in between updates. Hopefully I'll be able to post a lot more often. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter. *smooches*

**Some lines were taken from the Pilot

~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 4 ~ Maria

“Hello?”

“Hey Maria, I need a huge favor.” Isabel spoke on her mobile phone.

“What did you do to Alex?” Maria asked.

“No, it’s not Alex. Wait, what do you mean…what has Alex been telling you?” Isabel asked back.

“Nothing.” Maria answered with an amused tone.

“What do you mean nothing?” Isabel shook her head to get back to the reason why she called her best friend in the first place. “Look, I don’t have time for this. It’s Zan.”

“Oh my gosh! What happened to Zan? Is he alright? Oh God! Where’s Max? Do you want me to call Michael?” Maria rambled on in panic that she didn‘t even notice how Isabel was screaming her name.

“Maria! Maria! Calm down. It’s nothing bad.” Isabel drawled. ‘Depending on how you look at it though.’ she thought.

“Isabel, I love you chica, but just please cut to the chase already.” Maria was getting frustrated and already sniffing a vial of her cedar oil to calm herself down.

“See, I was supposed to look after Zan--” Isabel began but was quickly cut off by Maria.

“Supposed to? What does that mean?”

“Well I would tell you if you can just shut up for a minute and let me finish.”

“Hey, you called for a favor, remember?”

“Right, right. I’m sorry. As I was saying, I was supposed to watch him but I got called to work cause one of the brides who was assigned to me is having cold feet.”

“Cold feet? Isn’t that supposed to be the guy’s part?”

“Maria, focus!”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Maria said chagrined.

“Look, since I’m here and I couldn’t bring Zan to work with me, I enrolled him in the daycare center.”

“You what?! I thought Max said he didn’t want to do that.”

“He doesn’t.”

“Then what is he doing there?”

“I had no choice, Maria. It was an emergency.”

“You could have called any one of us. Oh no, Max is so going to kill you!”

“Not if you pick Zan up now. His class ends at 12 noon and I’m still stuck here and won’t be out till one o’clock.” Isabel informed Maria.

“So let me get this straight. This huge favor you’re asking is that I pick up Zan and bring him home and watch him till you get back.”

“Exactly.” Isabel was sighing in relief knowing that her friend was going to help her out.

But Maria wasn’t finished. “And even though Max insisted on NOT enrolling his only son in that school, you did so anyway because of an emergency but if I get him home in time, he wouldn’t find out and your ass is safe for another day.”

“Gee, thanks for the reminder, Maria.” Isabel spoke sarcastically.

“I’m just making everything clear so you’ll know that you owe me big time.” Maria said with a wide grin.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Thanks so much, Maria. I promise to be at Max’s by 1.”

Maria flipped her cell phone shut and got in her car. Good thing she was out on her lunch break early since the clothing store she was working at didn’t have that much customers. Actually, it always didn’t have a lot of customers since it was in the smallest of small towns. It was even smaller than Roswell.

Roswell, how she missed her home. Maria used to always dream of leaving the small town in New Mexico and traveling to some big city like New York and achieve her dream of becoming a famous singer.

But then the shooting happened. And everything she came to know was spun around in a whirlpool. She started to keep secrets, tell lies, all to protect the friends she would risk her life for.


Everything was fine that day. Until she heard the gunshot and felt something warm wetting her waitress uniform. She couldn’t get up to look at it. She realized she was lying on the cold floor. She tried to open her eyes but found that she couldn’t.

That is, until she heard someone speaking to her. She thought it was God at first. She knew her life was slipping away and behind her eyelids, her life started to flash back. She remembered her mother and how she loved her. The father that left her and caused her so much misery and hurt. Her friend Alex, how they met and how she thought he’d be all alone once she’s gone.

But as quickly as that started, it began to fade. She was able to open her eyes and look up into amber ones. She was shocked. She knew she was about to die but then she got up and watched as two boys from her school scrambled away from the diner.

When she got home and the shock had worn off, she noticed a silver handprint on her. The next day, she hunted down the one who brought her back.

“Hey Max! We need to talk.” Maria yelled at her classmate.

“Uh, what is it about, Maria?” Max asked as he scratched behind his ear.

“Not here. Come on.” Maria practically dragged Max out of the campus and into her mother’s car and they sped off back to Max’s house where no prying ears could hear.

“Ok, we need to get something straight.” Maria began once they were in his room.

“What are you talking about?” Max asked cautiously.

“Oh cut the crap ok? Look at this.” She raised her shirt to reveal a silver handprint painted on her stomach.

“Whoa.”

“I know. I’m glad you can take this so calmly cause I’m telling you, I am so freaking out right now. And I know I would usually be screaming my head off or something but I’m not. I was dying, Max. I felt it. But I’m standing here, alive and asking for a perfectly logical explanation.” Maria rambled on, not noticing Max’s amused smirk as he watched her pace back and forth.

“…And for the love of God, say something!” Maria yelled.

“What do you want me to say?”

“How about what you did to me? You saved my life, didn’t you?”

Max simple bowed his head.

“Why?”

He looked up at her, amber eyes against green. “I couldn’t let you die, Maria. It wasn’t your time.”

Maria blinked as she tried to get her voice to work. “So how did you…do…what you did? Are you like a spiritual healer or something? Was it magic? Witchcraft? Because I believe in all that, you know.”

Max shook his head. “I’m not from around here.”

“Okay, where are you from?”

Max began to point up north.

“Up north? Canada?”

Max pointed higher.

“Alaska?”

“No”, was Max’s frustrated reply. “I’m not from this Earth.”

“What? Excuse me, did I just hear what you said? Not from Earth? What are you an…alien?” Maria’s eyes began to widen, her mouth gaping as it all finally began to sink in. And then she screamed and ran.


Maria laughed as she remembered how Max chased after her. She was screaming and hyperventilating that she didn't see Michael and ran right into him. He grabbed her and when she struggled and continued to shout, he kissed her.

When she had calmed down from her screaming, though still dazed from that kiss; she made a pact with Max, a life for a life. He saved hers and she would do anything for his. And that was how they became the best of friends.

Reflecting back, she berated herself for not being there for her friend during that monstrous time. She was so hell bent on looking out for Alex after he almost died, that she didn’t see what was happening to Max. She thought he was just in denial that one of them almost died for knowing the aliens. And all that fighting allowed Tess to get through to him.

She never trusted that…witch. The minute she set eyes on Max, Tess stopped at nothing to have him. And it was during all the mess that she did. Maria blamed herself for that one. She was Max’s best friend, she promised she would look out for him but she failed. And even though it brought Zan into their lives, Max has never been the same ever since. It was like he lost something, his innocence, his youth. Maria couldn’t tell what it was and it suddenly reminded her of when Michael got sick.

She was so scared then. Michael just came in to the UFO Center and stumbled on Max. It was a good thing that Isabel and Alex were there as well. They all drove back to Alex’s house since his parents were not home at the time as Isabel quickly called her on the cell phone and told her to go to Alex’s right away.

What she came upon scared her. Michael’s pupils had rolled up to the back of his head and he kept mumbling the name Riverdog. He was the old man at the Indian reservation that had shown Max the writings in a cave. And Michael, being impulsive as he is, decided to look at it for himself but had instead come back in such a state.

“What’s wrong with him?” Maria asked worriedly.

“We don’t know.” Max replied. “He just came in the UFO Center that way.”

“He’s running a fever. Max, what are we going to do? We’ve never gotten sick before.” Isabel said.

“Maybe we should bring him back to Riverdog. Maybe he did something to Michael.” Alex suggested.

Everyone agreed and drove up to the reservation in order to find out what was wrong with their friend.

When they got there, Riverdog asked Max and Alex to lay Michael on the ground inside the cave. He distributed several stones to them.

“What are these?” Max asked as he was given one.

“They are healing stones. Hold one in your hand on concentrate on your friend.” he instructed them.

Each of them took one, held it on their open palms and closed their eyes, all concentrating on Michael.



Maria recalled that time in her life. And she was never more scared than then. The thought of losing Michael weighed on her heavily and it was because of that that she held on to him. No matter what they went through, she was going to stay right beside him.


As she arrived at the school, she saw a short, brunette woman carrying Zan.

“Hey cutie.” Maria called out to Zan as she stepped out of her car.

“Ia.” Zan replied, clapping his hands upon seeing his other aunt.

“Hi, I’m Maria Deluca, I’m here to pick up Zan.” Maria introduced herself.

“Hi, I’m Liz Parker. Uh, where’s Isabel?” Liz said warily, tightening her hold on the little one.

“Oh, she called and said she wouldn’t be able to pick Zan up so she asked me to do it.”

“Oh…uh, can we go into my office for a minute?” Liz eyed the blonde.

At that, Maria was about to panic. ‘Why would she need to go into the woman’s office? Was there something wrong? Did she find something different about Zan? Oh no, Tess said he was human. That manipulative, lying--’

“If you’ll just follow me.” Liz turned, still not letting go of Zan.

“Uh, sure.” Maria numbly followed Liz back into the building.

“Don’t worry, this won’t be long.”

Maria nodded and gave her best effort in an attempt to smile. She noticed how Liz was holding on to Zan. And how Zan was interacting with this new person. Zan always was a sweetheart, she always said he would be a heartbreaker when he grows up. But there was something different with how he was around Liz. Zan seemed peaceful to be in her arms.

Liz sat down and pulled out Zan’s file. She asked for an ID from Maria and browsed through the forms that Isabel filled out that morning.

“There you are. I’m sorry I had to verify that you were one of the people that Isabel wrote down here. Don’t want to hand the babies to the wrong people.” Liz said with a smile as she got up with Zan still in tow.

“Oh. Oh of course. Better to be safe than sorry.” Maria said with a laugh. She was definitely relieved after Liz informed her that it was all just a precautionary measure. Then as an afterthought she added, ‘Liz had no idea how right she was.’

Liz gave Zan back to Maria though the child was hanging on to Liz’s hair.

“No, let go, sweetie.” Maria was gently prying Zan’s fist open.

“No. Liz.” Zan wanted to go back.

“Aww, don’t worry Zan. You’ll see me again tomorrow.” Liz smiled and kissed the sweet baby on his forehead.

“Say bye, Zan.”

“Bye.” Zan waved back sadly.


As Maria and Zan headed back home, she noticed how Zan was still pouting. “Don’t worry, cutie, you’ll see her again soon.”

Then she muttered, “…Just as long as your dad don’t find out about this.”

tbc
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A/N: Finally, a new part is out. Sorry for the long delay. Thanks for still liking this fic. Enjoy the new chapter. *smooches*

**Some dialogue were taken from http://www.crashdown.com


~*~*~*~

Chapter 5 ~ Alex

"What have you been telling Maria?" Isabel was yelling on the phone.

Alex has been listening to his wife's outburst for half an hour already. He couldn't wait to get his hands on his best friend and wring her neck.

"Izzy, you know Maria is just playing with your head. What would I be telling her? How much I love making love to you?"

Isabel stopped at that and started to grin stupidly. "Awww, I love you too, honey."

"Now my dear wife, tell me, what lies did Maria tell you?"

"Nothing really. She just sort of implied that I did something to you and you told her." Isabel began to feel foolish as she started making squiggles on the paper on her desk. She knew that Alex wouldn't be doing that to her, going to someone else if there was something wrong with their marriage. He would have sat down and talked to her about it. But the thought of losing him was a fear that Isabel could never really deal with ever since Tess and she knew that if it were to happen, she wouldn't survive it.

Alex just shook his head as he listened to his wife. "Sweetie, I wouldn't tell Maria what you do to me." he said in a mischievous tone and with an amused smirk.

"Alex!" Isabel straightened up in her seat and looked around in embarrassment as if her co-workers could hear the conversation she was having with her husband.

Alex just laughed. He could feel her mortification through their connection.

"All right, I'm sorry for thinking awful thoughts. I was just--" Isabel began to apologize.

But he cut her off, "No need to explain. You should know Maria by now. Ok, I have to go. See you at home."

"See you at home. I'm sorry. Love you." Isabel said back.

"Love you too. Take care." Alex hung up his mobile and went in search of Maria.


Alex knew that Maria was just teasing Isabel but she should know better. Ever since Roswell, Isabel has been clingy towards him. Everyone noticed it because Isabel became glued to his side. If they weren't together physically, she would call him up all the time. Needless to say, Philip wasn't too happy about the bill she racked up on her cell phone.

He knew that having Isabel as his wife was any guy's dream come true. Most of the boys at West Roswell High worshipped the ground she walked on. And here he was, the geek who had a girl for a best friend, married to the most popular girl of WRH. However, what a lot of people didn't know was that not only was he married to the high school princess, she was also a real princess from a galaxy far, far away.

Alex had to laugh at that one as he drove down the freeway. Who would have thought that Ms. Popularity herself was an alien?

He recalled all those adventures they went through: Michael getting sick, doing surveillance work, getting hold of high tech equipment, battling the Skins, meeting the Dupes, getting trapped in a cave full of alien crystals, fighting Khivar for Isabel, running away from Roswell.

Any regular teenager would have led a boring life. But he wasn't a regular teenager. He held a secret that only a handful of people knew, that aliens walked among them.

However, he also remembered what he almost lost. And for that he couldn't blame Isabel. He knew that if the situation were reversed, no one would be able to pry him away from her. He couldn't help but wonder at times what would have happened if he did die, if Max wasn't able to bring him back.

As much as he tried to avoid it, there were moments when his thoughts would bring him back to everything that happened in Roswell.

"You did this to me, you sent me to Las Cruces." Alex told Tess.

Tess tried to calm him down. "Okay, Alex, Alex let me fix your mind, you're not thinking straight."

"You mind warped me for two months while I decoded that silly book for you and now there's nothing left for you to mind warp. You destroyed my mind! How could you do this to me? " His voice was getting louder as he paced.

Just then, Tess saw Kyle enter the room. "Kyle, get out!"

"What's going on?" Kyle asked.

Tess was panicking. No one can find out what she had done. "Kyle, go!"

"I have nothing, I might as well be dead." Alex kept saying.

Kyle then noticed Alex's demeanor. "Hey just calm down!"

"He's right okay. Calm down! Just calm down!" Tess knew everything was getting out of control. She had to stop him one way or another. So she started to mind warp him, just one more time, one last time.

"No, you can't mind warp me. NO!!!!"



Alex shook his head to erase those thoughts. Tess is gone. She doesn't deserve to be remembered for what she did to him, to Max, to all of them.

At least there was one good thing that came from her despite her evil ways, Zan. If it weren't for the little guy, Tess would have died earlier than she did. But then he also felt sorry for Zan. Even though Tess was, well… Tess, she was still the child's mother. And now he has to grow up without one.

That was why he voted against killing her. One, it wasn't in him to take someone else's life. Although he wasn't really the one who was going to do the killing, he just couldn't make himself play God and decide on whether a person should live or die. And two was because of Zan. Enemy or not, Zan deserves to have a mom.

But before the sun even rose, Tess took it upon herself to end her life in order to protect her son.

'If things were different, maybe she could have been a part of their group, a loving wife to Max, a devoted mother to Zan, a great friend to Isabel and Maria. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.' Alex thought to himself as he drove.


Then he scolded himself for remembering the bad times. Those were over with. It was time they all moved on and start living their lives the way they’ve all being yearning to; normally.

He knew leaving Roswell would be hard for Isabel because it meant not seeing her parents till God knows how long. He was also sad about missing his own parents but he knew it would be more difficult for Isabel. She was finally able to tell her parents the whole truth about her and Max but then they had to leave them for their own safety.

That was why he decided to propose. He knew he wasn’t going anywhere without Isabel and he knew she felt the same way. What was it they always say, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Love was one of the best things that happened to them. And he always wanted to give her everything that her heart desires. And when they hopped in that van, that was one of Isabel’s longings, her family.

First, he talked about it with Maria, though he didn’t know if it was a good idea at the time given her reputation for not being able to sit still if she has a secret. It just the two of them and Michael at the parking lot while waiting for Max, Isabel and Kyle to book them rooms for the night. When Alex told her what he was planning on, Maria began shrieking. Michael quickly covered her mouth with his hand while Alex tried to bluff about it to Isabel and the others who came rushing out of the inn the minute they heard Maria.

Then it was Max’s turn. While everyone was asleep in the van except for Max who was driving and Alex who was navigating, Alex decided to ask Max for Isabel’s hand since he couldn’t ask Philip.

”Uh, Max, I need to ask you something.” Alex began as he looked in the rearview mirror to check if Isabel was really asleep beside Zan.

“Go ahead.” Max replied without taking his eyes off the road.

“I want to marry Isabel.”

“What?” Max quickly looked at Alex.

“Yeah. This is pretty much what our life will be like for some time so I want to give her something to smile about. That is, if she’ll have me.”

“I’m sure she’d say yes, Alex.” Max smiled. He was glad that Isabel had someone. He knew how much it broke her heart to leave their mom and dad. And he knew without a doubt that this will definitely have his sister floating on cloud nine for a while.

“I hope so.” Alex said softly as he looked at Isabel’s sleeping reflection once more.

“Come on, this is my sister you’re talking about, the one who proclaimed herself to be your shadow.” Max joked.

Alex laughed, “Oh yeah, I forgot.”

The rest of their trip was spent with the two boys laughing.

And then finally, it was time to ask Isabel.

“Hey Iz.” Alex said casually. It was now Michael driving with Maria doing the navigating. Needless to say, they were arguing every second.

Max had taken Zan and Kyle was just listening to some music from his headphones. With everyone busy, Alex thought it was the most privacy he was going to get so he might as well ask now.

“What’s up?” Isabel grinned at her boyfriend. “You want to sleep for a while?” she asked.

“Nope, maybe we can just cuddle.” Alex said as he laid down on the mattress at the back of the van and opened his arms out for Isabel.

After they’ve settled themselves in each other’s arms, Alex’s heart was beating a mile a minute.

Isabel could hear his every heartbeat and knew that he was nervous about something. Her first thought was that maybe he was regretting coming with them and would split up with her to go back to Roswell.

“Is something wrong?” Isabel looked into Alex’s eyes worriedly.

“No, nothing’s wrong.” Alex gave her a comforting smile.

“Then what is it? I can tell something is in your mind and you’re nervous about something.” Isabel paused before asking the question she feared bringing up. “You…you’re happy, aren’t you?”

Alex looked at her wondering why she was asking if he was happy. “Of course I am, Iz. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, for one, you’re now running for your life.”

“You know I don’t care about that as long as we’re together. I’d follow you to any galaxy.”

“Oh, Alex.” Isabel gave him a 1000-watt smile and kissed him passionately.

When they broke apart, Alex was in a daze. “Ok, now that that subject has been brought up, I want to ask you something.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“You know I love you right?”

Isabel nodded.

“And I would do anything to make you happy.”

“Just having you here is enough.”

“I want more, Izzy.”

“More?”

Alex nodded and pulled a small velvet box from his pocket.

Isabel’s eyes grew wide as she caught a glimpse of the parcel in Alex’s hand. “W-what is that?”

“This is a symbol of my love for you. Isabel Evans, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”


As Alex was reliving the memories, a bright smile was pasted on his face all the time.


***

"Ok little buddy. What would you like for lunch?" Maria opened the fridge door to look for something to feed to Zan.

The minute Maria got to Max's house, she quickly dressed Zan in some comfortable house clothes, and chucked the ones Isabel dressed him in for school in the laundry. She knew she needed to wash, dry and put them away before Max notices them and wonder where they had been.

Though Maria knew it would be easy to lie to Max and just say that they went to the mall or something, she knew that it would only lead to more questions so it's better to lie as little as possible and stick to a simple story in case Max asks. What he doesn't know won't hurt him as they always say.

As soon as the clothes were in the dryer, Maria placed Zan in his booster seat and started looking for food. She found some leftover spaghetti that she knew Zan loves so she decided to heat that up. Then she poured some milk in his sippy-cup and handed it to the toddler.

"There you go, Zan. Then we'll have spaghetti. You like spaghetti, don't you?"

Zan was nodding enthusiastically after hearing that him and his Aunty Maria are going to eat his favorite food.

Just as Maria was setting the food in front of Zan, Alex came through the door.

“Maria, what in the world have you been telling Izzy?” he asked as he ruffled Zan’s hair.

“Unca Awex.” Zan called and was offering some of his spaghetti though they were slipping off his spoon.

“Hey little man.” Alex took a piece of noodle and put it in his mouth. “Spaghetti, yummy.”

Zan happily agreed with his uncle as he too took a bite of his lunch.

“What? I haven’t been saying anything. I simply implied—“

“Exactly; you implied. You know how Isabel gets.”

“Oh she knows I was only playing with her cause she asked me to do this favor at the last minute.”

“What favor?” Alex asked.

“She asked me to pick up Zan from daycare.” Maria said nonchalantly.

“She asked you to what?!” Max boomed.

tbc
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**I can't even begin to apologize for the lack of updates on this fic. I'm just really having a hard time with it and dealing with so many things. Not to worry, they're nothing serious, thank goodness. Add to that, the fact that my muse is hating me isn't helping either. But finally, I managed to extract a new part from her and so enough of my babbling. I just really hope that I still have at least one reader left who's still somewhat enjoying this fic. Thanks so uch for putting up with me. *smooches*


~*~*~*~

Part 6 ~ Michael

“Ok, I’m here, what’s going on?” Michael asked as he entered the living room where Alex was feeding a messy little Zan. He could hear Max and Maria’s voices coming from the kitchen; and from the sounds of it, it seemed like they were in a very heated argument.

“Hey Michael, could you please go in there and try to stop those two?” Alex requested while giving Zan another spoonful of his spaghetti.

“Unca Mika.” Zan greeted his other uncle.

“Hey buddy.” Michael said as he held the back of Zan’s head and kissed the top of his jet black hair, just like his father’s.

“Tell me what happened first before I go in there.” asked Michael.

“Ok, here’s what I know…” Alex began.

“She asked you to what?!” Max boomed.

“Max!” Maria exclaimed.

“Max, hey.” Alex said.

“She asked you to what, Maria?” Max asked, ignoring Alex completely.

“H-how long have you been standing th-there?”

“Long enough. Now why did you have to pick up Zan from daycare? And what the hell was he doing there in the first place?!”

“Max, calm down.” Alex said as he looked at Zan who was staring intently at him and his bottom lip was already quivering.

Max looked at what had caught Alex’s attention and calmed down a bit upon seeing the look on his son’s face. He went to Zan and picked him up from his booster chair.

“It’s ok, little man. Daddy just needs to talk to Aunt Maria.” Max said as calmly and gently as possible. Then he handed the child over to his brother-in-law.

“Take him out of here. Maria and I are going to discuss something.” Max told Alex.

Maria was actually a bit scared. She knew how much Max detested putting Zan in daycare because of his fear that something out of the ordinary might happen.

“Max, if you want to talk to someone, talk to Isabel.” Maria said, hoping that Max would do just that.

“Where is she?” Max asked.

“Last we talked, she’s still at work.”

“Figures.” Max mumbled.

“Listen Max, maybe this isn’t so bad. Zan is growing up, he needs to be able to interact with other kids.” Maria reasoned.

“I know that Maria, but what if he does something…you know…alien?” Max ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed in exasperation.

“And what if he doesn’t?” Maria asked back.

“We don’t know what could happen to him.”

“I know that, Max. But we can’t imprison him in this house just because he was born in this life and to parents who are from a different galaxy.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Just step back and wait till the Special Unit gets a hold of him?” Max said pacing the kitchen before facing Maria again. “They will not get my son. I will not let them torture him the same way they did with me!”

“That’s not what I’m saying. None of us will let that happen, you know that. But he’s also a kid, Max. He should be able to enjoy his childhood.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Max replied as he plopped himself on a chair. “Sometimes I think maybe I should have just given him up.”

“Max—“

“Seriously, Maria, maybe he could have had a chance at a normal life if I had given him up for adoption.” he said tiredly.

“Oh, so you think it would have been better if he was adopted by someone else, in a normal family where he could manifest some of his alien powers; but you’re super pissed at Iz for trying to give him the normal life you think would be best for him if he was with other people. So what’s the difference? You won’t have to deal with the aftermath if he starts spewing fireworks from his hands?!”

“That’s not what I meant.” Max said, getting angry once more.

“Alright, then tell me.” Maria told him while leaning back on the counter and folding her arms across her chest with a smug look. She was ready to face Max on this one head on.

And as Alex was carrying Zan to the living room, the arguing erupted once more.



“And here we are now. So would you please just go in there already?” Alex pleaded.

“I’m on my way.” Michael said as he walked to where the voices were getting louder and louder.

As he walked towards them he could hear snippets of their conversation. Then he too started to remember what they had all gone through.

He sometimes felt guilty about what Max had been dealing with. He knew that there were moments where Max would blame himself for everything they had to endure; for letting Tess in, for befriending her, for sleeping with her and for almost losing Alex.

But what everyone didn’t know was, Michael thought he should be the one to shoulder the guilt. He was the one who was so gung ho towards finding answers about their origins, finding out what they were there for, finding others like them. So when Tess came into the picture, he was practically jumping with joy.

He deemed they should give her a chance when she admitted that she was one of them and was even in the same ship as they were. She even showed them where they “hatched”, so he was all for accepting her into their group. Even when she started spouting about Destiny, he was just letting her say whatever she had to say. But when he really pondered on it, he questioned why he was pushing Max towards someone he was told he was meant to be with when he and Isabel were absolutely against it. It was something everyone didn’t believe in, all except Tess.

He was also into training with Tess as much as he could and often got frustrated with Max when he wouldn’t.

But lately he got to thinking that maybe Max knew there was something off with her.

However, if Max sensed that, how come he didn’t? He was the warrior, wasn’t he? The message said he was the general, Max’s second-in-command. Shouldn’t he be the one to have a feel for these things, to pick out the good guys from the bad? Or were those part of Tess’ lies too? Why did he let Tess into their group so easily? They were always so careful, always wary of strangers that would come into town. But the minute they found out that she was an alien, they didn’t even hesitate. He didn’t even check if her stories were as she said they were. They just accepted her wholeheartedly, not knowing that they were welcoming an enemy into their arms.

But now he knew better. That is why he agreed with Max on this daycare issue, though he wouldn’t say that out loud where Maria or Isabel could hear. Sure he understood their point of view, but they can never be too careful. They already slipped once that almost cost them one of their friend’s lives, they can’t let it happen again.

So was he happy that Tess is dead? Hell yeah, cause if she wasn’t, he would have probably killed her himself.


“Look, I was only doing your sister a favor, so don’t pour out all your anger at me!” Maria screamed.

“Why didn’t you stop her?!” Max yelled back.

“Hey.” Michael spoke but was ignored by both his girlfriend and his best friend.

“It was too late by then. I was just told to pick up Zan.” Maria explained.

“Don’t you understand how dangerous that was to even enroll him there?” Max said angrily.

“Hello, don’t you think I know that?! I remember being in that van with all of you. We left Roswell to save our hides so don’t tell me I don’t understand how dangerous it is!”

“Hey! What is wrong with you two?” Michael finally stepped in.

Upon firing that question, another round of outbursts being thrown at him at the same time arose. It was definitely hard to try to listen to them both and Michael was beginning to have a splitting headache.

“Shut up, both of you!” Michael yelled. “Look, we won’t get anywhere if you talk at the same time. Now will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on.”

Max began before Maria could even open her mouth. “Isabel enrolled Zan in daycare.” he said calmly.

“She did what?!” Michael fired back, his eyes wide and panic was beginning to settle inside him.

“That’s exactly what I said.” Max replied, knowing that his best friend will side with him.

“Michael, Isabel did that because she thinks it’s best for Zan. You agree with me, don’t you?” Maria said but all she got was a long pause of silence from her boyfriend.

“Don’t you?” she reiterated, her eyes glaring at him to say yes.

“Well…”

When Michael hesitated, Maria already got her answer. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Michael Guerin!”

“See, even Michael agrees with me. It’s too dangerous, Maria. I’m pulling him out tomorrow and that’s final.” Max told her.

“Zan deserves to be a little boy. Can’t you see that?” Maria demanded from her boyfriend.

“Yes, but he’s not wrong with wanting to protect him either.” Michael cautiously replied.

“Thank you.” Max stated.

“How can you side with him?”

“How can I not? Maria, look, this isn’t about picking sides. It’s about what’s right and wrong and Max is right. I know Zan should have a normal life, really I do. We all want that but it’s too dangerous for him. It’s only been a couple of years, the unit and who knows who or what else could still be after us.”

“But we’re already living our lives normally. We’ve already settled down here and really started living again. Zan should have that privilege as well.” Maria interjected.

“Do you really call this living normally? We can’t even go out of this little town let alone go back to Roswell. How is that living normally? It’s why we haven’t even gotten married yet, remember? You want your mom there and it's not like we can just pick up the phone and call her.” Michael reminded his girlfriend.

At that, Maria fell silent.

Listen, it won’t be forever, Maria. Just till we’re sure.” Michael went to her and held her. He felt guilty for having to remind Maria of her mom but it was the only way she would understand.


“Uh…hi?” Isabel came in at that precise moment. She walked in the house from the back door a bit scared, knowing full well that Max was absolutely furious with her judging from the argument echoing throughout the Evans’ residence.

“You!” Max walked straight up to her.

Michael moved to stand beside Max.

“Michael.” Maria called him, pointedly looking at him, telling him not to interfere.

Michael quickly understood, though he didn’t move close to Max so they can gang up on Isabel. It was so he could stop Max in case he tried to do something.

“How could you go behind my back, Isabel? After I’ve told you several times that I didn’t want him there, you still went ahead and did what you wanted.” Max yelled.

“Nothing happened.” Isabel answered to her defense.

“And thank goodness for that. But what if?!”

“We can’t keep thinking about the what ifs, Max. He’s fine. He’s safe. Do you really think I would put him in danger like that?!”

“After today, I don’t know anymore, Iz.” Max said.

Isabel was surprised and hurt. “How could you even say that to me? I would never let Zan be harmed in any way. I would die first before anyone gets him. He’s my nephew.”

“Exactly. He’s just your nephew, Isabel. Not your son.”

“Max.” Michael was trying to stop him. It was obvious even to a blind man that Max was hurting Isabel with his words.

However, just as Michael tried to stop his best friend from saying anything else, Isabel retaliated.

“How dare you!” she gasped. “I know he’s not mine but he’s part of my family too. I love him and I would never, ever put him in jeopardy! I helped raise him. You’re my brother, Max. I was only trying to help—”

“Even though I told you not to?! I don’t need your help, Iz. I’m not a child that needs looking after.”

“Then stop acting like one!” Isabel burst out crying as she ran from the kitchen.

“Great, good going, Max. Hurt everyone who gives a shit about you.” Maria spoke, her words dripping with hateful sarcasm.

“Maria, don’t start.” Michael warned her.

Max was already feeling sorry for hurting his sister but he was just so furious with her. They’ve already discussed this issue time and time again but she just wouldn’t listen.

“What the hell just happened?!” Alex came into the kitchen, angrily staring at Max. “What did you say to her?”

“Nothing she already knew.” Max said, showing nothing of what he was going through.

“Just what is wrong with you, Max? She was only trying to help you out.”

“I didn’t ask her to, so she should stop trying to put her nose in everyone’s business.”

Alex was appalled with Max’s comments.

“Cut her some slack, Max. She was only doing what she thought was right.” Maria insisted.

“But it wasn’t. Look, Zan’s my kid, alright. If something happened to him, would any of you be able to do something? No! If anything happened to him, do you think it would be just that easy to move on?! Yeah, you would all be able to, after all he’s not your son. But what about me?!”

“You selfish son of a bitch!” Maria exclaimed as the fighting ensued all over again.

And that was the scene that Kyle stumbled upon when he opened the door and walked in that house.


tbc
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kay_b
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Post by kay_b »

Just a few things I needed to say...

Flyawayraven – I’m really sorry about the lack of posts. I am trying to do better and I think the FB helped. :D

Cocopucks – Thanks for still reading my story.

Earth2Mama – Hi Ellie. I know Max might have been a bit too harsh but he feels that way because of everything he’s been through. This is a different Max, a Max who went through everything without Liz. Remember, he said that the only thing that kept him alive in The White Room was the thought of seeing her again. So imagine what it must have been like for him without Liz to make him stronger. Hope I didn’t give too much clues away. :wink:

FSU/MSW-94 – La’Shon, I’m so happy to be back too. Thanks for sticking with me on this fic. Your wishes will be granted in this next part. And I promise not to stay away too long.

Lazza – You are so right! LOL.

Michelle17 – Sorry to say that the meeting won’t be till the next part…I think. I’m still not too sure though but it’ll be soon, I promise.

LegalAlien – Welcome! Glad you’re liking it.

frenchkiss70 – Tiph!!! I’m so happy to hear from you. Thank you for reading this still despite the long delays. I know Max has a lot of flaws in this one but all of it will be explained…eventually. :D

begonia9508 – Hey, Eve. Yup, I’m back, hopefully more frequent this time.

BelevnDreamsToo – J!!! It does feel good to be back! And see, I didn’t make you wait too long. I just hope that goes for the next parts too, lol. Thanks for the feedback! *smooches*

Tequathisy – LOL. Michael will always be Michael in all fics I think.

Emz80m – Thank you for the FB. I’m actually relieved I got a new part out. Thanks again for editing this for me.

Belleoftheball – Thank you for liking this.

omwf – Thank you. I hope it does too.

Alma – LOL, hmmm, maybe I should make him enroll. :lol:

L-J-L 76 – Hi Lizza. Don’t be sorry for asking questions. I ask a lot from my fave writers too, lol. You’ll have to wait for a little bit more before Max and Liz meet though but it will happen soon.

g7silvers – Yup, the next part is here, yay! :D

Ellie – Thank you for seeing the different sides of the characters. I’m glad that I was able to convey that clearly. I’m glad you liked this and I hope you’ll like the rest too. Thanks so much for the feedback.

To_Kiss_A_Frog – Hi Cyn. You know I think all the fb has inspired my muse cause I was able to write a new part so soon including another one for a new fic. Hopefully, she’s on a roll and I’ll be able to post the chapters as quick as my others stories and you all wouldn’t have to wait so long.


You guys have no idea how grateful I am for all your feedback. Thank you so much for still reading this. Hope you’ll like the next part. Honestly, I like how cool Kyle came out in this, lol. *smooches*



~*~*~*~*~

Part 7 ~ Kyle

“Enough!” Kyle bellowed as he stretched out his arms with his palms open and sent out a force of energy knocking everyone onto the wall closest to them. It wasn’t a hard hit though but it certainly bought Kyle some silence from the gang.

‘3…2…1’, Kyle counted down in his head before the arguing began again. And this time, it was all directed at him.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Alex yelled as he was getting up on his feet.

“How dare you use your powers on us!” screamed Maria.

“It got you to shut up, didn’t it?” Kyle replied.

“What?!” Maria was about ready to launch herself on Kyle if only Alex hadn’t gotten a hold of her first.

“Are you out of your freakin’ mind?! What if it reached the neighbors?” Michael shouted.

“It didn’t.” Kyle answered coolly.

“But what if it did? You were ready to jeopardize everything just to ‘shut us up’?!” Max roared.

“Well with all the yelling coming from this house that people could hear you from down the street, I’d say you were doing a fine job of that yourself, El Presidente.” Kyle snidely remarked.

They all looked at each other then and realized their mistake.

“Good, now that you’ve all calmed down a bit, I’m about to open a can of worms and ask what the hell is going on in here?” Kyle demanded.

That was when Isabel decided it was safe to come out. “Uh, I can answer that.”

Max glared at her but decided to stay quiet.

“I enrolled Zan and daycare.”

“That’s it?” Kyle asked.

Everyone nodded their answer.

“Jeez, I thought you were all discussing about picking up and moving again. And I’d be very offended if that was the case by the way. So what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is it’s not safe.” Max replied.

“It’s daycare. It’s not like we’re sending him to Antar to fight Khivar.”

“Trust Kyle to make everything seem so easy.” Maria commented with a smile, which garnered looks from both Max and Michael.

“What?” Maria asked both guys. “Well it is.” she repeated, throwing looks of her own at them.

“It’s not that simple”, mocked Max. “What if he does something alien?”

“Then we just make sure that one of us is with him at all times. So if he decides to do some magic, we can stop him ahead of time.” Kyle explained.

“Huh, how come we didn’t think of that?” Maria questioned out loud.

“Maybe cause no one can be with him at all times.” Alex responded.

“Why not? It’s just a couple of hours. Each of us can take turns.” offered Kyle. “You know what, I’ll volunteer tomorrow.”

“Wait a minute. Just wait.” Max shook his head, wondering how Kyle had managed to turn the entire discussion against what he wanted so quickly. “I said I’m pulling him out tomorrow. It’s too big of a risk.”

“No it—” Maria almost began but one stare from Max made her decide to stay quiet, for now.

“Max is right. I mean it’s a good idea, Kyle, but we gotta think about this more before we go with it.” Michael spoke up.

“Think about putting Zan in daycare?! You’re sh-“ Kyle almost cursed but Alex elbowed him before he could utter another sound. “Hey, that hurt, man.” He looked at Alex.

“Not as much as if these two hit the back of your head for swearing.” Alex told him, pointing at Isabel and Maria.

Kyle looked at the two women and sure enough, both of them had one eyebrow each raised, daring him to continue. He knew it would be wisest to back down.

“Well, as I was saying, it’s just daycare. Why is this such a big decision that you all have to be screaming from the top of your lungs to agree on? I gave you the easiest solution I can think of. If you don’t want to follow it, it’s your call but please, could we stop all the yelling.” Kyle said.

“Again, are you forgetting that we’re all not normal?” Max sneered.

“No, I’m not but we can’t keep the little guy in here forever. Which means someone has to spend time to baby-sit him, then why not just do that where he can interact with other kids? Besides, he hasn’t shown any powers so far.”

“Exactly; ‘so far’. What if it starts when he’s with the other kids?”

“Which is why someone will be there. Look, we’re just running around in circles with all this and I don’t have time for it. Talk it out if you want but if it’s a yes, then you know where to call me.” Kyle was already heading out the door. He gave them something to think about though frankly, he also had something to ponder on.

Just how did he do that hocus pocus alien thingy? He was a little bit scared that was going to do a lot of damage on them but to his surprise he didn’t. ‘Thank Buddha for small favors.’ he thought.

Sure he was practicing on his powers whenever chance he can, but now that he was really able to unleash some of it, he saw how accurate he can be. Although admittedly he was about to go out of his mind when he found out that he was changing, he certainly believed it was better than being lifeless and buried 6 feet under. He was grateful to Max for that. And in case some type of alien emergency would arise, he wouldn’t have to just standby and watch. Six sets of hands that can spew firepower are absolutely better than just three.

Three…just Max, Michael and Isabel.... Even though it has been years, he still didn’t know how to feel about Tess’ betrayal. He was torn between hating and pitying her.

He hated how she manipulated everyone into accepting her. And they did, Isabel treated her like a good friend. Michael reveled in the knowledge she had to share. And Max, well, he accepted her in their group although she was always trying to get into his pants. Kyle knew he shouldn’t pass judgment. He wasn’t really a part of the group either. He knew Isabel through some of the people they hung out with in high school, both belonging to the popular crowd. And he only knew of Max and Michael, but didn’t really know them. He wondered sometimes about how their group came together. Sure, Max and Maria became good friends for some reason and Alex being Maria’s best friend was pulled into that mix. The same went for Michael with Max. And Isabel was Max’s sister so she’s automatically a part of them. But still he didn’t understand how their dynamics worked. And then there was his dad who was obsessed with finding information on Max.

A melancholy smile touched Kyle’s face as he remembered his father. He truly missed the guy. And he wished there was a way to get in touch with him from time to time but it was still a bit dangerous to try and do so. He shook his head at the absurdity of the situation his dad went through with Max and the gang. Having watched Jim, Sr. with his obsession on finding aliens, then to see the events that would prove that he was right all along unfolding in front of your very eyes must have been some hell of a ride for his dad. And yet despite that, he did what was right. He laid his life on the line for the group and at first Kyle didn’t understand why. That was until he decided to see for himself and in the process getting shot by a monster named David Pierce and having an alien by the name of Max Evans heal him back to life.

From then on he became an involuntary part of the I-Know-An-Alien club. Did he regret it? No. Sure there were times when he would wish that he could just turn his back on the group and walk away; but he couldn’t find the heart to do so. These people became his friends. They all paid a big price just because they were different; but it was worth it because he belonged here, with them.

And that was why he was torn about his feelings towards Tess. Yes she was evil, conniving and manipulative but she was raised to be that way. He often thought of how things would have been if she left the cave with the other three. Would she have been as vile as she was? That was the question that would always run through his head when he would think about her. The girl lived with him and his father. And he saw a side of her that was good, kind.

He recalled that Christmas dinner that she prepared for them. She wanted to know what it was like to have a real holiday dinner with a family. She wanted to belong. And she did then. They shared smiles and laughter in that house. He knew she could have been a better person. And she gave him more reason to think that she could be when she gave up her own life for her child, Zan. He felt sorry for the kid. He knew from experience what it was like to grow up without a mom. Add to that Zan’s unearthly genes and heritage, he’s destined to face some hard times ahead of him.

‘Huh, destiny.’, Kyle thought with a shake of his head. Was Max destined to be with Tess? Were they destined to endure everything they have been through? Was Zan destined to be born? If that was the case, how can someone so innocent and pure come from Tess if she was as evil as one who had come so close to killing one of them? It didn’t make sense to him. He didn’t know about destiny but he knew Buddhism and Buddhism believed in karma. He believed that it was karma that had caught up with Tess in the end or maybe she had simply wanted to make amends.


To clear his head from thoughts of the past, Kyle decided to go for a jog. After his third lap, he stopped to take a swig from his water bottle when his cell phone started ringing.

“Kyle here.”

“Hey, Kyle. You uh…you’re still volunteering to go with Zan to daycare tomorrow?”

“Yeah, anything for the champ.”

“Ok. His class starts at 10 but Isabel said you should be there by 9:30 so you could fill out some paperwork with the school’s administrator, just precautionary stuff.”

“No problemo.”

“Okay, uh. Thanks, Kyle.”

“Don’t mention it, Max.” Kyle soon hung up and went to finish his route. He was smiling smugly about Max’s call and thought Maria and Isabel finally got their way. He wasn’t really paying much attention to his surroundings and as he turned the bend, he bumped into another body that was out for an afternoon run like he was.

“Oh man, sorry, miss. I wasn’t looking. Are you alright?” he asked as he helped the young lady up.

Liz accepted the man’s offered hand to help her off the pavement. “I’m ok. No serious harm done.” she smiled as she brushed herself off.

“I’m really sorry. I was a bit preoccupied. Anyway, can I buy you a drink or something to make up for this?”

Liz gave him a small laugh. “Was that a line?”

Kyle realized then what he had just said and laughed along with her. “This is getting worse and worse, isn’t it? I think I should just shut up now.”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” smiled Liz. “You’re new around here, aren’t you?”

“Sort of, just moved in the neighborhood a couple of months ago.” Kyle told her.

Liz nodded. “No wonder I couldn’t place a name with the face. Everyone knows everyone here, small town and all. I’m Liz, Elizabeth Parker.” She extended her hand, which Kyle easily accepted and shook.

“Kyle Valenti. Nice to meet you, Liz.”

“Nice to meet you too, Kyle.” And the two decided to finish their jog together, talking and getting to know each other with every stride. By the time they were done, it was as if they had been friends forever.

***
“We’re gonna have fun in daycare today, right buddy?” Kyle said as he carried Zan into the small building.

Zan only nodded, excited to be back. He knew he was going to play with the other kids again today. And he was going to see another familiar face he calls…

“Liz!”

Kyle was taken aback when Zan called out to someone, not to mention a name that he knew as well. So he turned around to where Zan was looking and was surprised to see the brown-haired beauty he met yesterday, Elizabeth Parker.

“Hey! Fancy seeing you here, stranger?” Kyle greeted her with a grin.

“Kyle, I didn’t know you had a kid enrolled here.” Liz said, also saying hi to Zan by brushing his soft downy hair with her fingers.

“Oh, uh, Zan’s not mine. He belongs to a friend. I just volunteered to sit in daycare with him.”

“Another friend? I hope you didn’t meet her the same way you did me. You know, barreling into someone.” Liz joked.

“Ha, ha. Actually it’s a him. And no, I didn’t barrel into him. He’s a long time friend. We moved here together.”

“Oh.” Liz’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. Not that it’s any of my business but it’s nice that you have that special someone.” Liz smiled. Sure they didn’t talk about their sexual orientation but she was certain she got a different impression from Kyle when they met.

Kyle almost choked on his own spit. “Boyf— No! No, I’m straight! I’m not…No!”

“Oh my gosh. I’m sorry. I just thought—” Liz was blushing with embarrassment.

“No, there’s actually a group of us. We, uh, we’re close friends, almost like siblings.” Kyle didn’t know how else to explain it without revealing too much.

“So is that why Zan has different people with him every time I see him? I wondered why Mrs. Whitman listed so many different names on Zan’s guardian list.” Liz said.

“Yeah. We’re all so close that we’re his honorary aunts and uncles. So do you work here or are you dropping off a kid of your own?” Kyle asked, wanting to move on to a different topic.


The subject change hadn’t escaped Liz’s notice but she decided to drop it for now. “I work here as an assistant. But I’m not assigned to Zan’s class though, my friend Serena is. C’mon, let’s get this little cutie inside his room so he can start having fun.” Liz said as she took Zan in her arms, leaving Kyle to follow.


tbc
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**Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your kind words. I hope you'll like this next part. The anticipated dreamer meeting won't be in this one but it will be in the next part...however.... Ok, I won't say anything. You'll just have to keep reading to find out. Thanks again, everyone. *smooches*


~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 8

Liz ushered Kyle into the room and introduced him to Serena after putting Zan down into a small chair.

“Serena, this is Kyle Valenti. He’s Zan’s uncle.” Liz said.

“Nice to meet you.” Serena shook Kyle’s hand in greeting.

“He’ll be sitting in your class to watch Zan.” Liz explained.

“Oh, is there something wrong?” asked Serena.

“No, I just wanted to make sure that Zan’s fine. We just moved here and I’m worried that he night not be adjusting as well as we would like.”

“We?” Serena looked at Kyle, then at Liz.

“Oh, uh, Zan’s family and I.” Kyle replied.

Serena nodded her understanding.

“It wouldn’t be a problem, would it? For one of Zan’s family to be with him while he’s in daycare?” he inquired.

“No, not at all. Some of the kids and their parents do have separation issues and I think accompanying him till he gets used to being here alone may help.”

Kyle gave them a bright smile although he felt uneasy. Obviously his plans had a flaw. Of course they wouldn’t allow Zan someone with him all the time. They would have to let him go to school at some point, that is, if Max would even let him go to school.

He cleared his head of those thoughts. He and the others would have to cross that bridge when they come to it. Hopefully, Max won’t pull him out when that time comes. But for now though, Zan can relish just being a regular kid without a care in the world. ‘How nice it would be to go back to that?’ Kyle mused.

“Ok, I’m going to head to my own kids. It was great seeing you and Zan, Kyle.” Liz said as she walked towards the door.

Kyle grinned back at her. “Definitely my pleasure, Liz. See you later.”

“Bye, Liz.” Zan waved.

“Bye, Zan.” Liz waved back before leaving for her class.


For the next couple of hours, Kyle sat in Zan’s class. Sometimes, Zan would walk up to him and show something he drew. Or he would look at him while he was playing with the other kids. When Serena read to the group of little toddlers, Zan sat beside Kyle and placed his head on his uncle’s lap because he was getting sleepy.

Watching the little kids play made Kyle wonder how Max had felt when he found out he was going to be a father at such a young age, not to mention his origins. If teenage kids were scared about becoming parents while they were still in their teens, he could only imagine how those kids would react if they were to raise an alien baby in this world knowing that they can never truly be safe.

The two hours had passed before Kyle even noticed it. He went up to Serena with a sleepy Zan in his arms. “Thanks again for letting me sit in with the class today.”

“No problem, Kyle. I can see why Zan likes having you here. You’re great with him.”

Kyle beamed at the compliment.

“See you tomorrow, Zan.” Serena bid the little guy farewell.

“See ya.” Zan mumbled against his Uncle Kyle’s shoulder.

Kyle chuckled, “Ok, I guess that’s my cue. I better get the champ home to bed. Bye.”

“Bye.” Serena said.


When Liz got home, Serena was ready to pounce on her with some questions. “Finally. Now spill. What was that I saw earlier between you and Zan’s uncle?” she asked as she jumped up from the couch.

“Kyle?” Liz turned to look at her best friend with a surprised look on her face. “Nothing’s going on. We’re friends, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure, just friends. Uh huh, I believe you.” Serena mocked.

Liz’s brows knitted together in confusion. “What? Where is this coming from?” she asked from the kitchen where she was preparing dinner.

“Please. If what was going on earlier wasn’t flirting, I don’t know what is.” Serena said as she walked over to where Liz was.

“Serena, nothing’s going on. Trust me. I only met the guy yesterday, for crying out loud.”

“Ah, so you’re waiting to get to know him a little more better before something happens.” Serena grinned mischievously as she snatched a piece of lettuce from Liz’s salad.

“What? No! He’s not my type. You know that.” Liz said as she placed a fork in her bowl. And then it hit her. “You know whose type he is, though?”

“Whose?” Serena asked, too busy munching off Liz’s plate to notice the look her friend was now sporting.

“Yours.”

Serena almost spewed out what she was chewing. “No way.”

Liz’s grin grew wider. “Yeah he is. Oh my gosh, you totally like him.”

“I do not.” Serena denied.

“You’re lying through your teeth, girl.” Liz laughed. “And now…oh my…you’re blushing.” she said in between fits of giggles.

“I’m glad I was able to entertain you.” Serena pouted. She stomped back into the living room and plopped herself on the couch and started flipping through the channels on TV.

“You started it.” Liz said as she sat beside her friend.

“Ok, I admit, I think he’s cute.” Serena admitted at last. “But he obviously likes you.”

“I don’t think so. He was just being nice, making friends with the people in the new neighborhood.”

“If you say so.”

“Yup, I say so. Actually, now that I think about it, you two would look good together.”

Serena laughed. “Will you listen to us? We’re acting like we’re back in high school talking about our crushes.”

Liz agreed and ended up laughing along with her.


****

“So how was school today?” Max asked his son from the rearview mirror as he pulled into their garage. He picked Zan up from Kyle’s apartment and according to him, nothing unusual happened. He breathed a sigh of relief to that. At least it would be another day of Zan being a normal little boy. Although Tess had said he was completely human, he still couldn’t help but worry. One, this was his son. And two, no one can ever trust the words coming out from Tess’ mouth. She was a liar, pure and simple.

“Did you have fun?” Max was unbuckling Zan’s seatbelt from his car seat and carried him out of the vehicle.

Zan smiled and nodded energetically.

“That’s good. Do you make any new friends in school?”

“Uh huh. Liz!” Zan exclaimed.

“Liz, huh?” Max chuckled. “I can’t believe you already have a crush on someone. It’s only been two days. I bet she’s really pretty, isn’t she?”

“Yup, peety.” Zan agreed.

Max kissed the top of his son’s head as he settled him in his playpen, leaving him to play with his toys while he cooked their dinner.

Looking back at Zan, Max sighed. “Just don’t grow up too fast for me, son.”


****

After they had calmed down, Liz took on a more serious tone. “You know, I can’t help but wonder about Zan though.”

“What about him?” Serena asked, looking closely at her friend.

“Well, when he first registered with us, Isabel Whitman was the one who enrolled him.”

“Whitman? Not Evans?”

“Nope. Isabel is his aunt.” Liz shook her head. “When we finished all the paperwork, she took him to your class and left. So obviously, she thought it was ok to leave Zan alone.” Liz told her.

“What are you getting at, Liz?” Serena’s eyes narrowed.

“Was Zan having difficulty interacting with the other toddlers? Did you notice anything wrong? Did he get along with them?” Liz came back with her own question.

“Yeah, he got along fine with all of them. I didn’t see anything wrong.” Serena replied.

“So if Mrs. Whitman could leave him by himself and nothing happened, then why did Kyle stay with him? And it wasn’t Isabel who picked Zan up yesterday, it was a Maria Deluca. She’s on his list; actually, she has a lot of people listed on it. What I don’t understand is her behavior from yesterday, Kyle being here today and his reason behind it. It just doesn’t make sense.” Liz pondered out loud.

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation to it. Don’t think about this too much.” Serena said as she tuned back to the show she was watching.

Liz nodded, “Yeah, you’re right.” She finished her dinner and went about cleaning up. But there was something still nagging at the back of her mind. Something was not right about the whole situation and she was afraid that the person who would suffer from it will be the little boy that his family is trying to… to what, to protect? Why would Zan need protection? But more precisely, what are they protecting him from?


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kay_b
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Post by kay_b »

**Please forgive me for all the typos and grammatical errors in this chapter. I didn’t have time to send this to my wonderful beta, Emma (aka emz80m) since I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a vaycay and I didn’t want to leave you guys with nothing again.

By the way, I know I said that Max and Liz were to meet in this part but I was wrong. Instead, the angst is gonna move up a notch so get ready for a surprise.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this installment. Enjoy the long weekend, folks! I know I will. And in the words of our beloved Michael, “Vegas, baby!”



~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 9

As the days passed, Kyle, Maria, Isabel, Michael and Alex took turns taking Zan to daycare and staying in class with him.

Serena didn’t mind as long as her class wasn’t disrupted. Kyle was a favorite with the toddlers because he always played along with them. Maria mostly joined the little girls, while Michael stayed at the back of the room by himself, except when Zan would go to him. Serena labeled him as the crabby uncle because he didn’t like it when the other kids would go to him. She did note how his attitude changed whenever Zan was near. He was friendly and warm towards the little boy. It was obvious that Michael adored Zan, there was no question about that. Then there was Isabel. She was a natural mom. She doted over her nephew and interacted a lot with everyone. And lastly was Isabel’s husband, Alex. He was a goofy character but dangerously smart. He also had fun showing the kids some tricks but she had to ask him to stop when they tried copying him and his double jointed arm stunt. Serena had to admit, the week was anything but boring.

Liz would check in on Serena’s class from time to time. Serena wasn’t bothered by it because it was quite clear that Liz had gotten attached to Zan and was looking out for him like the rest of his family. The setup Zan’s relatives had is something to think about but for her, as long as nothing wrong nor illegal was going on, she was ok with it.

But Liz was a different story. She kept analyzing it over and over in her head. One thing about her was; she was a thinker. And with Zan’s case, something was definitely off. No matter from which angle you look at it, it always came back to one thing. They all just moved into their small town at the same time and they’re all looking out for Zan. This brought her to one conclusion that had her worried.

They were running from something or someone.


****

“So do we have everything?” Isabel asked as her and Maria perused the aisles in the grocery store.

“Yup, and if we buy any more stuff, we’ll have food till next year.” Maria replied as she looked at the heap of items in their cart.

“Well, it’s the first birthday celebration we are having that’s semi-normal.” Isabel said in her defense.

Maria sighed, “I know. I just wish this is it, you know? No more running, no more hiding.”

“It will be, Maria. We have to believe that it will be.” Isabel said as they headed for the check-out counter.

Once they were in the car, Maria drove them back to her apartment where Michael would be cooking the food they got. They unloaded the car and walked up to the house chit-chatting about their day.

“Michael, we’re back!” Maria yelled.

“Finally.” Michael commented as he came out of the bedroom. “I thought you got lost in there or some— What in the hell is all this?!”

“Kyle’s birthday dinner. You said you’ll be in charge of cooking everything so that, and I quote, ‘We can have a decent tasty meal for a change.’ Isabel and I volunteered to buy the groceries and here we are. What’s your problem?” Maria questioned with an irritated look.

“My problem is you bought enough for an army. It’s just the six of us, plus Zan who hardly eats a full sized meal. And you girls don’t eat a lot either otherwise I won’t hear the end of all your complaints about gaining weight.”

“I think Kyle might invite some friends of his.” Isabel said as she proceeded to organize the groceries in their proper shelves.

“Who?” Michael looked at her, already wary of whom the new people might be.

“He mentioned he was going to invite Serena and Liz.”

Michael relaxed when he heard the names.

Maria lit up, “Is Kyle hooking up with one of them? I wonder who it is. I think Serena and him would look great together. He and Liz have this ‘I-just-see-you-as-a-sister type of thing going.”

“Maria, don’t even think about it.” Michael responded as he too started helping Isabel out.

“What?” Maria asked, leaning over the counter that gave her a view into the kitchen.

“She’s right, Michael. Serena is more Kyle’s type, while Liz is…” Isabel stopped what she was doing to think of whose type Liz would be.

“Hmm, I don’t know who Liz would look great with.” Isabel finished.

“You know who we could match up with Liz?” Maria said with a wiggle of her perfectly sculptured brows.

“Oh my gosh, yeah that would be perfect.” Isabel grinned brightly at her best friend.

“Ok you two, cut it out with the mental telepathy thing unless you want to join me in.” Michael commented.

Maria opened up her thoughts to him and he took a short step back at what Isabel and his girlfriend were planning.

“Oh no, uh uh,” Michael was shaking his head vehemently. “I am not going to be a part of that. I’m telling you both right now, if you want to live with your head still attached to your necks, then you better stop it.”

“What? Michael, I think it’s a great idea.” Isabel told him.

“Are you kidding me? You know who you’re talking about here, right? Isabel, this is Max, your brother. You know how he is ever since—” Michael stopped in mid sentence. None of them needed to be reminded of the past. “Look, I’m just telling you this is the worst idea you two can ever come up with so just stop.”

“You’re such a spoilsport, Michael.” Maria pouted.

“You don’t even know if Liz and Serena have their own boyfriends. What if they do, huh?” Michael said.

“Then we don’t do anything. But what if they don’t?” Maria asked back.

Michael could only exhale. “Do what you want, I’m just letting you guys know that when shit hits the fan, you’re on your own.”

Isabel and Maria just laughed. They knew they had a good idea, they just have to find a way to let Liz and Max know that it is.


****

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us, Liz?” Serena asked.

“I will, I just have to take care of something first.” Liz answered.

Serena gave her a serious look. “Is everything ok?”

“I hope so.” Liz said solemnly.

“You know where to reach me if you need anything, right?”

Liz nodded. “Go, have fun. I’ll catch up, I promise.”

“Ok, take care. See ya later.” Serena bid her goodbye as she headed over to Kyle’s apartment.

As she walked up the dimly lit streets, she worried about Liz. She wanted to be able to do something to help her but she knew there was nothing she could do at this moment. She would have to be patient and ready when the time comes.

She walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. Serena could hear some voices from the other side of the door. ‘At least, they’re already having fun.’ she thought.

“Hey, come on in. Glad you could make it.” Kyle greeted her as he opened the door and ushered his guest in. “You guys, Serena’s here!”

“Hi Serena.” Alex called out.

“Hey, you made it.” Maria smiled at her.

Greetings were exchanged and Serena was happy that she felt welcomed in their group. That is, except for one man, the one playing with Zan. When she came into the room, she saw Zan and waved hello to him which the little boy returned. The man looked at her with no emotion, not even a thin smile to greet her. Granted she didn’t know him but she would think that everyone who’s in Kyle’s small group would be as welcoming as they all were…ok, maybe not all of them, but even Michael was decent enough to say hello.

Kyle noticed who she was looking at and felt a twinge of jealousy in him. He wondered where that came from. “Serena, this is Max Evans, Zan’s father.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Evans.” Serena extended a hand for him to shake.

Max shook his son’s teacher’s hand but even Serena could tell that it wasn’t a friendly one. It was simply something to get the introductions over with.

Max didn’t like the idea that Kyle invited new people to the party, even though it was his birthday they were celebrating. He was happy that he was making new friends but he couldn’t help but be cautious. Alex did say that Serena was safe after doing a background check on her. However, he has had enough bad experiences to never fully let his guard down.

“Nice to meet you too, Serena.” Max replied. And please, it’s Max. Mr. Evans is my father.”

“Ok, Max. Again, it’s great to finally meet you.” Serena said; then she moved to take the son’s hand. “Hi, Zan.”

“Hi.” Zan answered with a smile.

“Hey, where’s Liz?” Kyle asked.

‘Liz?’ Max thought, confused.

Serena turned to focus her attention on Kyle. “Oh, she’ll be a little late. But she said she’ll catch up.”

Max’s forehead creased in perplexity. ‘Wasn’t Liz a little girl in Zan’s class?’

“Ok, since everyone’s here then, let’s eat before the food gets cold.” Kyle pulled out a chair for Serena which she was grateful for.

Everybody else started to take their seats around the table and began to dig into the food that Michael deliciously prepared.

But Max couldn’t take his mind off the name. ‘Who exactly was this Liz?’

****

“Liz?”

“Yeah.” Liz answered after she walked into the shadows where the voice came from.

“Thanks for coming.”

“I told you I’d be here whenever you need me.” Liz replied.

“I know. And I’m really sorry to bring you into this but it’s time.”

Liz inhaled deeply. Driving into the outskirts of town, she was hoping against hope that the news she would get wouldn’t be bad. But her instincts knew better, it was inevitable.

“How are you?” Liz asked.

“I’m fine. Barely a scratch on me.”

“And…?”

“He’s ok.”

Liz nodded. “That’s good. Did he come with you?”

“No. He had to take care of some business first.”

“Has he found them?”

The person could only shake her head, giving Liz a negative answer.

Liz bowed her head. “So this is it, huh?”

“Yup. It’s come to this.”

Liz and her companion stood side by side in the cloak of darkness and silence.

“Liz?”

“Hmm?” Liz turned to face her friend.

“I’m scared.”

“I know. I am too. But whatever happens, we’ll make it through this. I’m sure of it.” Liz said determinedly as she pulled her friend into a hug.

“I hope you’re right, cornball.” the person whispered.

“I am, Ava. I have to be.”


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