Gazer Gets the Girl (CC,A/I,MATURE) Part 25-L - 15 July[WIP]

[stargazer md]

Gazer Gets the Girl.
Chapter 1, A Cry for Help
by Stargazer_md

Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. If they did, the show would still be on.
Summary: Alex needs help, who do you think he calls?
Setting: Roughly after ‘Viva Las Vegas,’ but it will be a while before Prom night rolls around.
Category: Alex/Isabel
Rating: Mature – eventually
Beta: MT Gazer, without whom this would be a lot less readable.

**********
Sheriff Valenti pulled to a stop in front of Roswell High, allowing Alex Whitman to jump into the passenger seat of his Explorer. “You know Alex, I’ve been wanting to ask you why you’re taking the Emergency Medical Technicians class? I know it’s pretty intensive and takes a lot of effort, so I’m surprised you would give up that much time from your regular schoolwork.” The sheriff looked over at Alex, chuckling “I can’t imagine Kyle giving up a Friday night to do a ride along.”

“Well Sheriff,” Alex replied with his usual self-depreciating smile, “with everything that’s been going on, I figured it would be a good idea. You never know when something might happen, and Max can’t be there every time to fix things. The only thing worse than seeing Isabel or one of my other friends hurt, would be that I’m unable to help because I don’t know what to do.”

Jim replied, “Speaking of knowing what to do, we’re going to go to the station house and go over a couple of ground rules first.”

**********
Max was standing around in the school’s lobby when Isabel walked up to him, “Come on, I want to get home.”

“In a minute,” he said indifferently, still looking for someone. “Liz, Maria,” he called out. When they were within earshot he continued, “I want everyone to meet at the Crashdown at closing tonight, we need to talk. Maria, can you bring Michael?”

“He’s working tonight,” Maria sighed. “All you have to do is keep him there.”

Isabel rolled her eyes, “Not again! Why would I want to spend another evening listening to you tell us how badly we are all letting you down.”

**********
Moments later Alex and Sheriff Valenti were at the station house. “Here, let me snug the Velcro at the sides, now go ahead and put your shirt and jacket back on.” The older man looked his young charge in the eyes as he continued, “I want you to remember something Alex, you are a teenager and a student. Tonight you are to observe, ask questions and learn. We are not going to go out and save the world. The most important thing about tonight is keeping you safe.”

“Sheriff,” Alex asked, tapping his chest, “Don’t you think this is overkill? This is Roswell after all.”

The Sheriff looked at Alex with an incredulous grin on his face.

“Point taken,” Alex conceded with a smirk.

“I’m serious,” Jim emphasized. “I had a long talk with your parents before I agreed to this, and with them and a lot of the other parents out of town for the recreation departments Spring Fling Cruise, I feel especially responsible for you. You are not to go anywhere or do anything that I don’t know about, and in the unlikely event that anything does happen, you have to promise me that your only action will be to get clear of any danger.”

“I understand Sheriff,” Alex replied, somewhat abashed.

“Ok, I don’t want to dwell on what’s not going to happen, this is Roswell, after all,” Sheriff Valenti concluded with a grin to lighten the mood. “Lets go give someone a speeding ticket,” he added as they went out to his Explorer. “You’re going to love this. Red lights, sirens, pulling cars over, driving fast, helping people, this is the best job in the world.”

**********
Up in her room Isabel was preparing for her date, she almost didn’t remember who she was going out with. She looked in the mirror and slumped in disappointment. “Why did I go and do that?” she asked herself out loud, taking note of her red top and matching lipstick. “Alex, I am not dressing for you tonight,” she snapped as she changed into a black top and a much paler shade of lipstick.

Meanwhile Max lay on his bed listening to Counting Crows while Liz and Maria were at the Crashdown munching on Greek God Salads. “What are we going to do about this meeting Maria?” Liz whined.

Maria looked towards the kitchen to make sure Michael wasn’t listening in. He wasn’t. In fact she found that he wasn’t paying attention to them at all. She sent a grimace towards Michael that would of set fire to the kitchen if their abilities were reversed. Maria took a sniff of cedar oil, sat bolt upright, and exclaimed, “Chick flick.”

“What?” Liz exclaimed. “Where does that come from?”

“If they can’t solve their problems, how can we? Why should we?” Maria rambled on, forgetting to breathe. “We’re going to see ‘Leaving Las Vegas.’ I love Nicholas Cage’s eyes, plus his character’s the only person I know whose life is more screwed up than ours. A hunk of man-meat on the big screen, popcorn, butter, gummies, come on girlfriend, let’s go.”

**********
On the other side of town, Sheriff Valenti was sipping a coffee, talking with the owner of the Gas’n’Gulp. Alex preferred his caffeine cold. He was draining a Mountain Dew while giving hints to a younger customer who was playing a video game. “Well, we got to get back to work Sam,” Jim sighed. “Got to keep the streets of this thriving metropolis safe for the tourist.” He put two dollars on the counter.

“Sheriff, you insult me,” the shop owner said disdainfully, pushing the money back to the Sheriff, “You’re welcome here anytime.”

“Well I appreciate that Sam,” Jim replied happily as he folded the money and put it into a jar on the counter before heading for the door. Alex looked at the Sheriff with curiosity as they walked back to the Explorer. Jim answered him with a smile. “I don’t want to insult the guy, but I will not take advantage of his good nature either. So a lot of my coffee money ends up getting donated to a lot of good causes around town.” Once they were back on the road Jim continued, “So why did you end up riding along with me Alex? Most EMT students do their public safety ride along with a fire or ambulance company.”

“I don’t know anyone at fire and rescue,” Alex replied simply. “Besides, I can relax around you. I don’t have to worry about this big secret hanging over the conversation, and at the same time I get a night off from having to figure out who’s getting along with who.”

“Things are that bad, huh?” the older man asked with a touch of disappointment in his voice.

“Seem to be,” Alex sighed. “Max is riding Isabel like a bicycle for some reason, and the amazing thing is that she’s letting him get away with it. So she’s miserable all of the time, and whatever she’s hiding from him is coming between us. The thing is I understand she has this loyalty to her brother, and she can’t share a problem with me yet keep it from Max. All I want to do is walk up to her, put my finger on her lips and tell her that she doesn’t have to say or do anything for the entire evening, then take her to a funny movie.”

“Sounds like a plan Alex,” Jim replied softly. “You are a good friend to her.”

“Aaaggghhh,” Alex moaned. “There’s that friend word again.”

“I know,” Jim answered with a chuckle. “No guy who cares about a woman wants to be just a friend. We want to love and cherish, and a little, ahhmm cuddling. Looking at you I’m sure that while you think what you want is more from her, what’s eating you up inside is that you can’t comfort and protect her. But I am going to tell you something Alex, Isabel doesn’t know it yet, but she is going to need someone, and as long as you don’t give up too soon, she is going to turn to you.

“Wow,” Alex exclaimed as he was pushed back into his seat as the Sheriff gunned the powerful engine and turned on the lights.

“Yup,” Jim said as he reached for the radio. “This guy is in so much of a hurry he didn’t even see the sheriff’s car sitting right in front of him when he ran that stop sign.”

**********
“That movie sucked,” was the first thing Maria said as she and Liz left the theatre.

“I wasn’t really paying attention to it Maria,” Liz stated honestly. “Not with everything that has been going on. What was it about?”

“It was a stupid story about this guy who drank a lot and treated his girlfriend like crap,” Maria whined.

“Well, at least we know our guys don’t drink,” Liz said with a chuckle.

“But they treat us like crap. Lately they have been treating everyone like crap,” Maria replied, summing up things in a nutshell.

**********
The cruiser’s radio crackled to life, “~~Stationhouse to Sheriff Valenti.~~”

“Valenti here,” Jim replied efficiently.

“~~We have a report of a domestic out at the Kettle’s. Old Chisholm Trailer Park,~~” the dispatcher instructed.

“Well deputy,” Jim replied offhandedly. “It wouldn’t be a Friday night without a domestic at the Kettle’s, would it? We’ll be enroute.”

“Alex, listen carefully,” Jim instructed as he turned a moment and glanced at his young charge. “Domestics are one of the most dangerous things we get dispatched to. The families have so many problems and so much hate that they have trouble keeping a lid on things, but somehow they still have a spark of something that keeps them together. The problem is that an outsider who walks into that situation usually becomes the target of all their hate. Stay near the door, and be ready to get out.”

“Okay Sheriff,” Alex answered solemnly.

**********
Her obligation to her escort for the evening fulfilled, Isabel slowly approached the front of the Crashdown. She looked through the window and saw that Max and Michael were talking in the back booth. Not wanting to face the both of them alone, she turned away and sat on the curb, as she lowered her face into her hands.

Liz and Maria’s chatter died on their lips as they turned the corner and saw Isabel sitting on the cold curbstone. With a glance towards each other, they cautiously approached their tall friend. Isabel heard them coming and stood, turning to face them. Despite her embarrassment at being caught in a weak moment, Isabel adjusted her façade, not realizing that her reddened eyes betrayed her. Taking a deep breath she deadpanned, “Lets get this over with.”

**********
The still of the night was sliced by the wail of a siren as an ambulance flew through the streets of Roswell, it’s flashing lights cutting a path through the empty streets as they triggered the Opticom traffic light system, turning all the lights green. In the back of the rig a paramedic watched the Lifepak 12 cardiac monitor for any abnormality while reassuringly patting the shoulder of the patient on the stretcher, “Hang on buddy, we’re almost there.”

**********
Max looked across the booth at Liz, his feelings confused. He still loved her and never, not once, regretted his decision to save her, despite the fact that exposing his abilities had cost both him and his family, but his love for her could not excuse the certainty that she was hiding something from him. He decided to tackle the Liz situation first. “I don’t know how to talk to you anymore Liz. Ever since that night,,,” he closed his eyes, the pain of finding Liz and Kyle in bed together still fresh in his mind.

Michael watched a red warning hue rise up the side of Liz’s neck in response to this renewed attack. He patted Maria’s hand, stopping the blond pixie from defending her friend. He honestly didn’t think Liz would need the help.

“Why don’t you say it Max?” Liz challenged. “Go ahead. When you saw me and Kyle in bed together. I would rather see you blow your stack than continue to try to put up with your hot and cold reactions to me lately. All you have done is challenged me Max, you keep asking if I slept with him. You already know the answer, but you turn away before I can say anything. Why don’t you just say what you are thinking and call me a tramp, or try to find out what’s really going on. But you know something Max? I don’t even want to talk about myself.”

Liz was just getting warmed up “You’ve got bigger problems than me Max. You don’t have time to worry about me right now, you have enough trouble with Isabel and Michael. Why aren’t you talking to them? Why aren’t you listening to them? Michael’s got your back Max, he will never let anything happen to you. But do you trust him? You knew something was wrong in New York, but you left him behind. Why do you seem to trust Tess more than Michael, more that Isabel? You’ve known them your entire life Max, Isabel is your sister for crying out loud.”

“Liz, this isn’t the,,,” Max started to say.

“Shut up Max,” Liz bellowed, getting as in his face as the table would allow. “You wanted me here, you wanted talk, now you’re going to get it. Look at your sister Max,,,”

Isabel started to protest, but then remembered how upset Liz looked when Max was in danger in New York. She also remembered the conversation, right in this booth, when Liz told Ava she still loved Max. Maybe Liz hasn’t been able to talk to Max either, and maybe she could pound some sense into him now.

“,,, When Maria and I got here tonight Isabel was outside crying because she didn’t want to face you Max. What does it mean that your sister is afraid of you?”

“She is keeping something important from me,” Max explained lamely.

“Important? She is your sister Max. Tell me anything more important than your sister,” Liz bellowed, in full rant. “So she needs to talk to you Max, can she? Will you listen to her or will you judge her? Will you tell her how disappointed you are in her that she isn’t perfect? None of us are perfect Max, we’re human. You told me once that I make you human, well I must be doing a pretty rotten job of it, because you sure haven’t been acting very human lately. Your first reaction should be that something is upsetting her. Your first action should be to comfort her. Isabel can’t turn to anyone else Max, she can’t turn to anyone if she can’t turn to you.”

As Liz stopped for a deep breath Isabel’s cell rang. She looked at the caller ID and sighed as she raised the instrument to her ear. Never letting him say a word and in a voice designed to convey her irritation at being interrupted, she repeated her mantra, “Alex, I keep telling you, just friends, and this is a bad time.” Then she hung up on him.


“Great, now what am I going to do?” Alex muttered as he hung up the phone. “She’s going to be upset if she doesn’t hear if from me first, or at least I hope she still cares enough to be upset. Well, I’m not going to sit here all night,” he decided as he set off in a search to beg, borrow, or steal another quarter.


Isabel’s cell rang again. “What is it with him tonight?” She answered, “Alex…”

“Izzy,” Alex pleaded desperately. “Stop and listen! I don’t know who else to call…,”

Isabel’s voice softened, “Alex?”

“I’m not trying to bug you, in fact I’ve almost given up,…” Alex tried to explain.

“Alex, you’re babbling, what’s wrong?” Isabel commanded.

Alex’s voice started to break, “I need you,,, I got hurt,,, I’m in the hospital.”

“MOVE!” Isabel shouted.

Max, who had been watching Isabel’s side of the conversation with a mixture of curiosity and growing concern, did not get out of Isabel’s way fast enough. He was hit with a blast of energy, throwing him out of the booth and onto the floor. Isabel bolted from the booth, stomped her way over her incapacitated brother, and ran towards the front of the restaurant amongst a rash of shouts. Using her powers to open the door she shouted over her shoulder, “Alex is in the hospital.”

Liz was helping Max up and brushing him off while Michael and Maria got out of their side of the booth. “Iz, wait,” Max shouted, “We’ll come with you.” The men quickly gathered their things and started for the door, while the twins were speechless, a look of fear on their faces for her childhood friend. Hearing the jeep roar to life Max quipped, “So much for keys.”

Tires squealed as Isabel headed towards the hospital. “And so much for the jeep needing a tune-up.” Michael replied as they ran towards the Jetta. Max opened the door for Liz, reassuringly caressing her shoulder as she entered the car while Michael took a moment to take Maria by both arms and looked intently into her eyes, “He’s going to be okay.”

Isabel raced to Alex, she didn’t get a red light the entire way there.

**********
Isabel ran into the emergency room and rushed to the admissions desk. “I’m looking for Alex Whitman.”

The clerk looked at her computer, “I have no record of a Whitman.”

“What do you mean you have no record of Alex?” Isabel demanded, her voice rising. “He called me from here five minutes ago.

“Well, no one’s been admitted for the past several hours,” the clerk replied indifferently. “We’re full. But if he isn’t going to be admitted, his paperwork would still be in the back and I wouldn’t have a record of him.”

“Well do I have to run through the halls screaming his name?” Isabel shouted, her voice near panic as the rest of the group arrived. Max pulled Isabel to one side, calming her, while Michael had his arms around Maria’s waist, not letting her anywhere near the clerk. Liz engaged the bureaucrat in a minute of earnest conversation and finally a call was made into the back.

Five long minutes later a harried looking nurse came out to talk to Liz, but Isabel forced her way past Max and got to her first, wasting no time. “Alex Whitman. He called me from here a couple of minutes ago. I’ve got to find him.”

“Is he the one the Sheriff brought in?” the new arrival asked.

Isabel nodded yes, sensing that this woman controlled her access to Alex and didn’t seem to be in the mood to put up with any theatrics. “He was doing his EMT ride along.”

“There’s what five of you?” the nurse asked while looking at the group. “Well come on, but please be quiet, we’re busy tonight.” She led them through the emergency department and pointed them into a side room.

Isabel’s heart broke as she saw Alex sitting on a gurney so small and all alone. He was barefooted, wearing a hospital gown, with a blanket over his shoulders. “Oh Alex, what have you done.” She rushed to him and took him into a tight embrace. Feeling Alex stiffen and shy away she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t believe I’m going to say this to you Izzy,” Alex replied timidly, “But the truth is that hurt.”

Isabel immediately let go of him and stepped back.

Alex tried a smile, “Damned, I knew that was going to happen, that’s why I didn’t want to say anything.” He looked at Isabel and held his hand out towards her. She grasped it tightly in both of hers.

Maria looked at her best friend and asked softly, “So what they got you in here for girlfriend?”

“I fell down, go boom,” Alex quipped.

Liz looked at him, “You fell down, go boom? That’s all?”

“Yup, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it,” Alex explained. He started to laugh at his own joke but groaned instead. “I fell down, go boom. I’m really very good at it, I do it a lot in dodge ball. Oh, and there was a table involved somehow. I think the table broke my fall with my head, or my head broke the table breaking my fall, or something like that. It’s all pretty hazy right now.”

Max started to reach for his friend. “I can see the lump on your head, where else does it hurt?”

Alex grabbed Max’s hand before it could touch him. “Thanks for the offer Max, but I can’t let you do that.”

Isabel protested, “You’re hurt Alex, why don’t you let us help?”

“Izzy, I do need you guys,” Alex explained hopelessly, “But I can’t let Max heal me. They have already taken x-rays, and they’re going to take another set next week. I can’t take a chance of hurting you by having to explain how I healed so fast.

“Ok, we got the short version, what’s the long version, how did this happen?” Maria asked.

Alex shook his head tiredly. “Long version, I fall down, go boom, I want to get out of here, and I want to go home to bed.”

Isabel put her hands on both sides of his face and looked him in the eyes, “I’m going to go see what I have to do to get you out of here,” she said tenderly. “Max and the rest are going to stay with you, okay?”

Alex managed a slight smile and nodded yes.

Isabel left Alex’s treatment room and found the charge nurse, and they then went out to the nurses station where it was a little quieter. “The doctor wants to check his breath sounds once more, then we will be done with him,” Nurse Welch explained. “At that point I have a problem. He’s not injured badly enough to justify an admission, especially since we have no beds and would have to transfer him to Las Cruces, but on the other hand he can’t go home alone. An adult is going to have to sign him out.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Isabel declared. “Just tell me what needs to be done.”

“Let me see your license,” Nurse Welch replied, as she leaned towards the pass-through window and called out to the night admissions clerk, “Call the sheriff in the,,, ahhmm, downstairs. Tell him someone is here to sign out Adam.”

“Alex, his name is Alex.” Isabel handed the nurse her driver’s license, which was strangely warm to the touch.

“Lets see, age twenty-two,” Chris Welch sighed tiredly. “You can sign him out, but you’ll need to be responsible for him. He has to be monitored for the next 72 hours. He has a closed head injury, and bruised ribs. We’ll give you instruction sheets on how to take care of him. If there are any problems, or if he doesn’t seem right, you get him back here without delay, do you understand?”

“Yea, whatever you say,” Isabel replied halfheartedly, not really paying attention as she looked back to Alex’s room.

Nurse Welch reached out and took Isabel by the chin, turning the newly aged teen so that Isabel’s soft brown eyes were looking into Chris’s intense cobalt ones. Her voice softened, “I’m serious, if there is anything, anything at all that doesn’t look right, you have got to get him back here, as fast as you can. Do you really understand what I am saying?”

It dawned on Isabel that she was probably making one of the biggest commitments of her life. “I understand, I’ll take care of him.” She turned to find Sheriff Valenti waiting.

“Can I talk to you over here?” he asked softly.

Isabel followed him away out to the waiting area. “How could you let this happen?” she snapped. “How could you allow him to get hurt?”

Jim wished he could be anywhere but facing her, and despite the advantage he had in age and experience, he felt like a schoolboy called to the principal’s office. “Isabel, I swear, if I could trade places with him I would. If I could turn back time, I would. I never imagined something like this could happen.”

“Sheriff,” Isabel asked, “What did happen?”

“Alex will have to tell you that, if he ever can,” he sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I can tell you that most peace officers go through an entire career and don’t see anything close to what Alex saw tonight. Jim braced himself before continuing, “I can’t get away from here until sometime in the morning, but I’m worried about you. Right now Alex is running on adrenaline. When that burns itself out he’s going to fall apart. Are you sure you can handle him?”

“I’ll be able to take care of him,” Isabel replied with determination. “I have to. I won’t trust him to anyone else.”

Their conversation ended as Alex walked out of the trauma wing, with Liz and Maria supporting him on either side, and Max trailing up the rear with Michael. Max excused himself, and then went outside to bring the jeep around to the door. Alex, although still barefooted, now wore a pair of old threadbare hospital scrubs. His usually tall and lanky frame was now stooped and turned in on itself as he clutched the blanket tightly around his shoulders against the evening chill. Isabel wanted to run up and grab him, she had never seen him look so small and vulnerable. She wanted to take him somewhere safe and warm where no one could hurt him, but she realized that she couldn’t take him from his life long friends. They needed to be able to help him too. “Don’t you have any slippers or something he can wear home?” Isabel asked of the admitting clerk.

“No, we don’t have anything like that in the center,” the clerk droned on indifferently. “We only have stuff like that in the wards.” She then turned her attention to Alex, “You’re going to have to leave that blanket.”

“We’ll return it,” Isabel replied with a surprising level of deference.

“If you don’t give me that blanket right now I’ll be forced to call security,” the clerk demanded, her sense of self-import in overdrive.

Maria took the blanket from around Alex’s shoulders and walked back to the admissions desk. She held it out at arms length. When the clerk reached for it, Maria dropped it onto the floor. “Bend over and get it bitch, I hope you throw your back out.”

Meanwhile, Michael took off his denim coat and slipped it over Alex’s shoulders. He started to lift his friend’s arm to take Maria’s place arm to help him.

“No, no, Michael,” Liz exclaimed, “That’s the side he’s injured on, and if you lift his arm that high it will hurt him.”

Maria returned and kissed Michael’s cheek, impressed by his action. “Move over Spaceboy,” she said softly, taking her place back at Alex’s side. “I finally found an advantage to being short.”

Isabel nervously hovered over Alex until she had him settled comfortably in the back of the jeep, her idea of comfort being solidly ensconced in her arms, a position which allowed her to notice him start to shiver in the cold night air. “Max, we need heat back here,” she called out.

“I already got it running as hot as it will go,” Max replied helplessly. “We’ll have him home in a couple of minutes.”

“Max?” Alex asked timidly. “Can you just swing me by my house?”

“Home Max.” Isabel commanded. In a softer tone of voice she turned to Alex, “You know you can’t be alone.”

There was a tremor in his voice he explained, “I can’t let then see me like this.”

“Them, or me?” Isabel whispered.

Alex relaxed and settled deeper into her embrace. His actions were all the answer she needed.

**********
Isabel gently led Alex into her room and made him comfortable sitting on the edge of her bed. As she settled next to him she realized that he didn’t know where he was, let alone what she was doing for him. But she did understand that he had opened himself to her, his trust in her absolute, his need boundless. Alex finally alone, alone as he wanted to be, alone with his Izzy as he needed to be, in a safe place where he could let go of the dam that he had been struggling to hold. His eyes, already red and puffy, overflowed with tears. Great wrenching sobs racked his body. He turned to her and she pulled him in close. Guiding his head to her breast she held him tight, slowly rocking back and forth in a comforting motion as old and natural as time itself. She didn’t remember lowering her head until her face rested against the top of his head, but she used that closeness to turn slightly and gently kiss him as she softly promised him that everything would be alright. Alex clung to Isabel as if his life depended on her, his sobs shaking them both. Isabel was now crying as well, as no human could watch a loved one going through such turmoil and not share the suffering. She instinctively knew there was nothing she could say or do to help him in his current state, for he would not hear her, but he would feel her. He would draw strength and comfort from her, and that she would give him all that he needed.

Minutes passed, and Alex’s sobs gradually eased. He panted to catch his breath as he slowly become aware of his surroundings, well aware that he was in Isabel’s arms. He lifted his head to look at her, but not before she was able to quickly wipe her eyes and put on a bit of a smile. Acting a bit embarrassed he started to speak, but not before she silenced him with a soft finger on his lips. “Later,” was all that she said. With self-conscious grins, they untangled themselves and sat straighter, both already missing the warmth of the broken contact.

Isabel stood and looked at him. “Close your eyes for a moment.” She stretched her tall frame taking off her outer shirt, leaving the underlying tank top in place. She then pried herself out of her jeans before pulling on a pair of flannel boxers. “OK, you can open them,” she said softly. “Stand up.” Decided that the scrubs Alex wore home from the hospital would have to do for him, she pulled down the covers of her bed. Having got the covers folded back at a precise forty-five degree angle, she performed her little night time ritual, looking around her room making sure everything was in it’s proper place for the night. Finally her eyes rested on Alex, and she felt the heat of a blush coloring her face as she realized what she was about to do. Noticing a similar color on Alex’s cheeks she expected some kind of comment or protest, but he just looked at her, his trust absolute. “You first,” she said, and then followed him in, settling on her side facing him. With a wave of her hand the light in the room dimmed to a soft glow, just enough for her to be able to watch him in the night. As she lowered her hand, she reached and tenderly caressed his face, pushing his hair back off his forehead. “I’ve got you now, I’m not going to let anything hurt you,” she whispered, her eyes boring into his.

“You have to promise me something,” Alex asked, his voice trembling.

“Anything Alex,,,” she replied earnestly.

“You can’t look at a newspaper or listen to the radio until I talk to you,” he said haltingly.

“Why Alex? What aren’t you telling me?” she asked, her voice full of concern as she inched closer to him protectively.

“Nothing, well everything,,, I mean I’ll tell you everything,” Alex yawned. “Just not right now.”

“Alex, you need get some sleep,” she replied reassuringly.

“I can’t! I’ve got to stay awake,” Alex whispered, terror in his voice. “I can’t go through that again.”

“Shhhhh, I’ve got you now Alex, nothing more is going to happen,” she vowed, rolling closer, gently resting her cheek on his shoulder. She slipped her free hand up under his scrub shirt, resting it on his chest. She could feel his heart beating, and she found that soothing. Her sense of peace was contagious, and soon Alex fell asleep.

Isabel stayed awake watching him and hoping that his sleep is peaceful, but after several minutes she could see that Alex’s slumber was troubled. She reached up and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m coming to take care of you, everything will be alright.” She touched his forehead with her finger, causing it to wrinkle, and slipped into his dream.

Isabel entered the dream plane to find herself standing next to the Sheriff’s Explorer, parked outside of the Kettle’s. She saw a run down trailer house in the worse section of the Old Chisholm Trailer Park, on the outskirts of town. Hearing loud angry shouts belching from the trailer’s broken windows, she remembered why she had come, and cautiously approached the open door.

Isabel poked her head through the doorway, and found a scene straight from hell. Ma and Pa Kettle were ensconced in a pair of broke down recliners which faced the only item of value within sight, a sleek looking large screen television. As she crept deeper into the living room her senses were assailed with the stench of stale tobacco, spilled beer, and the sickening smell of greasy unwashed cookware that made it seem as if she could feel her arteries hardening. Reaching dream-Alex, she watched over his shoulder as Alex stood several feet away from the doorway, trying to blend into the wall.

“~~Valenti to stationhouse, where’s that back-up?~~” Jim pleaded with his radio.

“~~Back-up in 10 minutes Sheriff,~~” the dispatcher replied flatly. “~~Everyone’s tied up at the jail.~~”

“~~Received,~~” Jim snapped impatiently. “~~Hurry them up. I don’t think we have ten minutes.~~”

“Get out of my house,” Pa Kettle shouted. “I’ve got trouble enough putting up with these two deadbeats without having to listen to you too.”

“You leave my boy out of this,” Ma Kettle screamed, almost simultaneously. Turning to the Sheriff, “Why don’t you make him get out of that chair and get a job.” She turned and threw her beer at Pa Kettle.

“Why you stinking,,,” Pa levered himself out of his recliner and punched Ma right in the face. As Ma starter caterwauling, Pa plopped back down into his recliner as if he had done nothing wrong. In his mind he hadn’t.

Isabel’s eyes were bulging as the train wreck that was the Kettle’s life continued to unravel in front of her.

Sheriff Valenti pulled out his handcuffs and started towards Pa when a scream came from the hallway to the side. The Sheriff backed away from the hallway.

“You stop hitting my Mom,” an older teen screamed as he ran into the room.

Isabel took the final step up to dream-Alex and wrapped her arms around him from behind, “It’s okay Alex, I’ve got you.”

The teen lifted a rifle and started firing at Pa. Pa pulled a handgun out from his recliner and started firing back.

Isabel held her hand up and a protective field surrounded her and dream-Alex.

“You leave my boy alone,” Ma shouted as she waded into the middle of the fight.

Alex was shocked as the shooting started, but he knew he had to get out of the line of fire. Seeing that the teen was nearer the door than he was, Alex threw himself onto the floor. The Sheriff, his Sig in hand, never had time stop what was happening. He put his hands over his head and ducked down the hallway.

As soon as the shooting stopped the Sheriff reappeared, radio in hand. “~~Valenti to stationhouse! Shots Fired!!! Medical emergency at the Kettle’s! I have multiple victims, multiple injuries, all critical!~~” He walked among the Kettles, gathering their weapons and throwing them next to the wall, away from everyone.

“~~Roswell (Fire and Rescue) copied direct Sheriff, dispatching apparatus. E.T.A. three minutes.~~”

“~~Roswell,~~” Jim instructed. “~~Requesting a station dump, send everyone you have! Be advised scene is secure, repeat scene is secure, it is safe for rescue to enter.~~”

As soon as the Sheriff had the weapons secured, he went to Alex, who was starting to standing up. “Alex! Are you all right? Did you get hurt?”

“I’m okay, I think moved that table out of the way with my head.” Alex looked at the scene of carnage played out all around him, “Oh my God! How did this happen so fast?”

“Alex, you better go out to the Explorer,” Jim advised.

Alex started towards the door when step-son Kettle groaned. “This is what I’m trained for,” Alex decided as he went to the teen and started a primary survey, checking for ‘breathin ‘n bleedin’.

Isabel had never been more proud of Alex. His patient had just put every life in the room at risk just moments ago, and now, after being told to retreat to the safety of the Sheriff’s cruiser, he had chosen to stay and do what he could for the young man. She didn’t even notice that time had passed when several minutes later the first due firefighters from the rescue entered the room. The new arrivals divided forces and efficiently started to work on the Kettles.

Alex never noticed the figure that stopped next to him, despite the bulky turn-out gear. “Hey lifesaver,” the new arrival said in a light but firm voice, “Let’s go over here and sit on the couch so I can have a look at you.”

Alex, covered with blood, turned to look at her. “I know CPR,” he said blankly.

“Yup, and you did real good,” the firefighter explained, “But the bus (slang for ambulance) pulled in right behind us, and we’ve got to let the para-gods do their work.”

Sheriff Valenti noticed the exchange and quickly crossed over from the far side of the room. He gently took Alex by the shoulders and moved him over to the couch, away from the Kettles. Jim looked at the firefighter, “He took a nasty bump to the head when he went to ground.”

Isabel wrapped her arms tightly around dream-Alex, her chin resting on his shoulder. The protective field she had placed around them glowing softly. “Don’t worry Alex, I’ve still got you, and they’re going to take care of you now. They’re going to get you out of here.”

“I’ll see what we’ve got Jim,” the firefighter replied, never taking her eyes off her patient. “I’ll take care of him.” She turned her attention back to her patient, “OK, face me and I’ll take a look at that lump on your head.”

Jim walked towards the door where Isabel and dream-Alex were standing. He consulted with the scene commander from the rescue wagon who shook his head slowly. He ran his hand through his hair as he reached for his radio. “~~Valenti to station house, have the State Police been notified?~~”

“~~Notified and standing by,~~” the dispatcher replied.

“~~Advise them we’re going to need them,~~” the Sheriff continued flatly. “~~We have a triple fatal here, with additional injury.~~”

Isabel gasped as she realized just how bad things were.

The officer’s conversation ended with the sound of a siren winding down and the hiss of airbrakes from the outside. The scene commander turned to the crews working in the room and called out, “Engine company coming in, who needs help?”

Firefighter Alex Taylor took her soft blue eyes off Alex for just a moment to make her report to the scene commander. “I’ve got a first responder with a closed head injury. Have then pull equipment off the wagon for a full board job.” Returning her attention back to her patient she started talking to him in a soft voice, “Come on lifesaver, something’s not right with the way you’re acting. What else have we got going on here.” She started running her gloved hands over Alex’s coat, looking at it carefully.

Dream-Alex turned his head so he was facing Isabel, a look of near panic on his face. “Izzy, I’ve got to get you out of here right now! I don’t want you to see this.”

“I’ve got to see this Alex,” Isabel pleaded. “I’ve got to know what happened so you can let me help you.”

They watched as the paramedic started to collect his equipment, there being nothing more he could do for the Kettles.

“Entry wound!” Firefighter Taylor shouts. “I’ve got a gunshot would to the chest over here!”

Isabel watched in stunned disbelief as Alex is swarmed by the paramedic and the additional firefighters from the engine company. “Lets get the coat off,” the paramedic instructs.

“C-collar going on, head’s secure,” Taylor advises.

“I think we got a vest here,” another firefighter calls out. “Maybe he’s going to be lucky.”

“He’s going shocky, get him flat on the floor,” the paramedic demands.

The scene commander cut in, “We got a rifle over here that will burn through any vest. Get him stripped and lets make sure we don’t miss anything.”

By now Isabel is holding dream-Alex with all her might, her protective field glowing blindingly white. Openly crying, she promises Alex over and over again, “I’ve got you Alex,,, I’ve got you, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you,,, I’ve got you, and I’m never going to let you go.”

Firefighter Taylor stepped back and picked up a clipboard with a blank patient record form on top. She started writing, efficiently making sense out of the confusion. “Level of consciousness is off - only times 2. Pulse and B.P. are good at 68 and 128 over 94, but respirations are 24 and shallow, He’s guarding,,,”

“I got the hit,” the paramedic dictated, “Upper left quadrant of the chest, six inches left of midline, no penetration. Lots of point tenderness, definite rib damage, possible cardiac complications.” He looked at the men from the engine company; “Lets get him on a monitor, start a line, (I.V.) and get moving.” Turning to Taylor he asked, “Do you have everything we need?”

“Not really,” Taylor replied, “But I have all of his vital signs. I can get the scene history, his name, and such on the way to the hospital.” She and the scene commander then stepped aside to allow the rest of the crew to carry Alex outside, strapped securely to a spine board. Isabel and dream-Alex followed the group through the door and then watched as the paramedic secured Alex, board and all, to a Striker stretcher, but before they could lift him into the rescue, Jim trotted out and went directly to Alex’s side. “How are you holding up Alex?” he asked, his voice is soft and tender.

“Everything seems to be capable of functioning adequately Sheriff,” Alex replied with his irrepressible sense of humor, “Although not right at this moment.”

“I’m going with you Alex,” Jim stated while looking at the paramedic who pointed to the front of the bus. “I’ll be right up front.”

Before Jim could get to the front of the vehicle, Deputy Hanson stopped him, “What do you need Sheriff?”

“There’s two weapons inside that need to be secured. They are just around the corner in the hallway, out of harm’s way. Secure those weapons, secure my vehicle, and get the ID of everyone who was inside the building. Meanwhile, I’m going to the hospital.”

“Sheriff, you’re the only eye witness,” Hanson whined. “You can’t leave.”

“My first priority is taking Alex to the hospital. Besides the State Police will take the scene over as soon as they get here.” Seeing a skeptical look on his deputy’s face, he ran his hand through his hair before continuing, “OK, we’ll set up a command center at the hospital.”

As Jim settled into the front passenger’s seat and reached for his safety belt as the doors in the back slammed closed.


“Smack!!! Smack!!!” The sound of a firefighter slapping the back of the rescue, the signal without which no ambulance can leave for the hospital without, was the sound that awoke Isabel. She found her eyes already folded with tears, with her cheek resting on the wet shoulder of Alex’s scrubs. When she leaned up to check on Alex, she was relieved to find that he was now sleeping peacefully. She continued to lean forward, kissed him gently on the lips, and whispered, “I’ve got you Alex, and I’m never going to let you go.” With this admission she found a sense of clarity that she had been missing for a long time, and with this newfound sense of peace, she settled her head back on his shoulder and returned to her world of dreams.

**********
The next morning Isabel awoke with sunlight streaking across her face, an unusually decadent luxury for her. Her first thoughts were of the events of the past night. Were they real, or were they a horrible nightmare that managed to evolve into the dream-come-true of Alex spending the night with her? A smile slowly grew on her face as she recognized the warmth of his body radiating into hers, while she measured the slow cadence of his heartbeat under her hand. It was a wonder to her that she could not remember ever awakening so refreshed and relaxed, despite the nightmare that she had rescued him from. Isabel settled back down, supporting her head with the palm of her hand, a position that allowed her to watch him sleep, his countenance open end honest in the innocence of slumber, and she stayed this way until the forces of nature persuaded her to slip gently from his grasp.

The smell of cooking food drew her downstairs where she found the rest of the friends scattered thought out the downstairs in small clusters of disarray. Piles of scattered cushions and blankets betrayed the fact that both of the other couples had stayed the night, close to their injured friend. Max had forgone his comfortable bed upstairs and built a comfortable nest for himself and Liz that they still occupied. Liz was snuggled into Max’s flank while he stole special moments, running his fingers through her hair, and whispering sweet nothings that he would never have the nerve to utter if she were awake. Isabel stifled a laugh as she realized that Liz was indeed awake, her face aglow just outside of Max’s line of sight. Her next shock was in the kitchen. Not the fact that Michael was trying to prepare breakfast, but the fact that he was cheerfully tolerating the impediment of having Maria wrapped around him, hindering his every move. Isabel was touched by how tenderly he was treating his blond pixie.

Max was the first to speak, following his sister into the kitchen with Liz molded to his side, “How’s Alex?”

”He’s still sleeping, but the last time I woke him up to check on him he was okay,” Isabel replied thankfully.

“You woke him up?” Michael asked, “Wouldn’t it be better to just let him sleep?”

Isabel remembered the unspoken warning in the nurse’s voice, but did not want to alarm her friends. “I have to check on him at least every four hours, waking him if necessary. I have to make sure his chest isn’t hurting him too much and that his breathing is regular. I have to look at his eyes, and ask him a couple of questions to make sure he isn’t getting a concussion.”

The relief in the room was palpable, but as Liz and Maria looked at each other they broke out laughing.

“That’s a real good idea,” Maria teased. “Lets ask him a question to check his mental condition. Alex, have you ever seen an alien in Roswell? Answer, Isabel.”

Liz joined in, “Oh, and try this one, what is the name of the center of our solar system? Answer, Isabel”

Maria took delight in the sense of modesty Isabel displayed as she continued, “What do you see when you look up into the night time sky? Answer, Isabel.”

Michael laughed, “They do have a point you know. If anyone at the hospital had asked him those same questions he would have been locked up for sure.”

Maria kept it going, “What day is today Alex? Answer, the day after I spent my first night with Isabel.”

Isabel almost choked when she heard that one, but they could see her laughing behind her hand as her face slowly turned a bright shade of red.

Michael was laughing so hard he could barely speak, “That last answer may be to much for Max to take.”

Everyone turned to Max who had his face buried in his hands. “Why do we have a strange boy hanging out in our house all the time?” The entire group’s relief was evident as he looked up with a big grin on his face, “Answer, Isabel.”

Maria looked over to Max, relieved that he was back to treating his sister so well, if only for the moment. She then pivoted and turned her attention on Michael. “You always say you need to stay away from me to protect me.” She stepped back, maybe an inch, and looked over to Max and Isabel. “You all do that. You think that the only danger comes from us being with you. Well, one of us got hurt last night, and you guys had nothing to do with it. You all have to realize that by keeping us out you can’t protect us. Instead your holding us away hurts us, and it hurts you too.”

The couples paired up, talking softly and comforting each other, which left Isabel alone, as usual. Max looked over to her, contemplating everything that had happened last night, and how that related to the conversation they just had, “Iz, go back upstairs with Alex, you need him.”

Michael kissed Maria on the top of her head. “Go ahead. I’ll make a plate for the two of you. ‘Ria and I will treat you to breakfast in bed.”

With hers and Alex’s breakfast plans covered, she ran back upstairs, already having been away from him far too long.

**********
That afternoon Alex and Isabel were still ensconced in her room listening to music. Max had offered to loan Alex some clothes, or go over to his house and pick up some things up, but Isabel had squashed both ideas. She wanted Alex to get at least one full day and another night of rest before she would let him do anything. Her devious plan included keeping him barefooted and in the hospital scrubs, thus assuring that he didn’t try to sneak out. At least she had granted him the privilege of taking a shower, which allowed her the opportunity to launder his clothing. He had emerged to find Isabel’s favorite robe waiting for him. The only thing worse than the garment itself, in an almost sheer hot pink fabric with fuchsia faux fur trim around a deeply plunging neckline, was the fact that for the entire time he was wearing it Isabel had embarrassed him beyond belief by trying to sneak a peek up the bottom of the woefully inadequate garment. On the bright side the entire ‘robe’ episode had cured him of being embarrassed while hanging around in her room wearing his newly acquired scrubs.

Isabel and Alex had played just about every game in the Evans’ household, an exercise which had taught Alex that anytime he wanted to get his ass kicked all he had to do was play a game with Isabel that involved trivia or memorization. Alex had struggled to hold his own playing Monopoly and Scrabble, but he had found himself hopelessly out of his class when they had played Concentration and Trivial Pursuit. They were now browsing through the questions on the cards from the game Scruples, which could be a very dangerous game for first timers.

“You are a married person who is on a business trip with a married co-worker of the opposite sex,” Isabel read from the card. “Due to a hotel mix up, you find yourself sharing a room with him/her. Although nothing happens between the two of you, what do you tell your spouse?” Isabel’s eyes were bright with interest as she looked at him expectantly, eagerly awaiting his answer.

“It would never happen,” Alex replied confidently.

“Oh come on,” Isabel pushed. “You have to admit that foul-ups happen. What would you tell,,,” she hesitated a moment, “your wife if you had to share a room with a strange woman,,, separate beds of course,” Isabel added quickly.

“The reason I would never get caught in a situation like that ,” Alex explained rather modestly, “Is that unless the co-worker were Liz or Maria, I would never have gone on the trip. It’s not that I wouldn’t act like a gentleman, I would, but I wouldn’t want,,,” Alex hesitated and took a sudden interest in Isabel’s bed cover as a blush crept up the sides of his neck, ”My wife to have to sit at home and wonder what I was doing. It’s not my feelings that matter, but hers.”

Isabel realized that Alex must have spent many recent nights wondering what she had been doing while she had been systematically dating half of the male population of the school, not to mention at least one old man, but before she could decide whether or not to say anything Alex noticed that the music had stopped.

“Hang on a minute,” he said softly, “I’m going to change the disk.” As he leaned forward putting weight on his arms he felt a sharp pain in his chest and flinched. Isabel was upon him instantly, pulling him tight to her chest giving him physical and verbal comfort since he couldn’t allow the alien kind. A new disk playing, he settled back against her headboard, still leaning into her shoulder. He sighed and closed his eyes, as contented as a cat on a lap, “I just wish this could last forever.”

Isabel spun him by his shoulders and looked into his eyes with an intensity he had never seen before. “This is real, Alex, and I am going to do whatever I need to do to convince you that we can have this forever. I am going to do this for you because I love you, and for me because I need you. The time I’ve spent with you has been the only thing that has kept me sane through all of this destiny crap, not to mention the way Max has been treating me.”

Alex started to reply to her, to tell her that she didn’t need to explain anything, but she continued, “Ever since I heard the message from my other mother I have been trying to step away from all of madness, from anyone who knows the truth about me. I would try to spend time with people who didn’t know me so that they would believe all of the little fictions that I would tell them about myself.” Isabel paused to take a breath, “I scare myself sometimes, Alex. You’re the only one who isn’t afraid of me. You’re the only one who trust me without question, and you’re the only one who loves me without reservation.”

Isabel placed her hand over Alex’s heart and leaned in close, resting her forehead on his shoulder. “When you told me that you had been hurt my life almost ended. In that moment I felt something in me change, I felt a part of me, my shell, being left behind. I couldn’t imagine the thought of losing you,” she remembered Alex’s phone call, “twice.” she added softly.

Alex looked confused, “You didn’t lose me Izzy,,,”

“I had myself fooled into believing that you would always be there for me,” Isabel pleaded, her eyes moist, “that I could do whatever I wanted because I could always turn to you. I thought I could wait as long as I wanted, then say ‘Ok, I’m ready for you now,’ and you would still be there waiting for me. But now I’m afraid I’m too late, hearing you on the phone, saying that you were giving up, that you didn’t love me anymore.”

Now it was Alex’s turn to look into her eyes, “Izzy, I didn’t stop loving you,” he said earnestly. “I could never stop loving you. You are the air I breathe. I measure every good thing that happens to me against you. No matter what you choose to do with your life, or who you choose to go through life with, I will love you.”

Alex’s voice faded as he continued, his face slumping until he was now leaning on her for support. “But I have to face the reality that I can’t go through every day counting the hours until it turns dark, praying that you would visit my next dream. I have to find a way to live with the fact that you will never allow me to be for you during the day what I am for you at night. I have to find a way to love you without being in love with you, because you will never love me.”

Isabel’s face lit up, realizing that she still had a chance with Alex. “You’re not going to have to do that, wait here.” Isabel kissed Alex, and then jumped off her bed. She excitedly hopped to her dresser and picked up a delicately carved wooden chest. She held it like it was her most precious possession and returned to her bed. She placed it in Alex’s lap. “It’s time I show you just how much you mean to me,” she whispered as she gently ran her hand across the top of the box, caressing the inlaid gold emblem with it’s delicate engraving, ‘I.E. & A.W. forever.’

Isabel grinned at Alex as she held her hand over the chest. Moments later it snapped open as she explained, “I have to keep this chest locked. I don’t think my mother would understand if she found the treasure that I hide inside.” Isabel slowly reached inside the chest and carefully removed a precious bundle wrapped in delicate snowy white paper bound with a bright red ribbon. “This is yours Alex,” she said in a smoky tone of voice. “It is my gift to you. Do you remember our first kiss on your front porch? I told you I didn’t see anything relative to the current crisis. Technically, I was telling the truth, because I didn’t see Max. Instead I saw you, us, in a flash. I saw when you kissed me that we were going to be together, and that you are going to be the one. That afternoon I went to the mall and bought the softest and silkiest red negligee I could find. I have been saving this, and myself, for you, ever since that day. The day we kissed in the eraser room and you brought me home, the day with Lonnie in the UFO center? I was so happy, because I already knew, and had this.” She handed him the package.

Alex knew this was a special moment and he hesitated, afraid that he would somehow spoil it. His teenage hormones were raging. Looking at Isabel he could sense that she was just as close to losing control. The way she was looking at him, her face aglow, he realized that she had never looked so lovely. Never in his wildest dreams had she looked at him with the love she so openly displayed now.

“Alex, my defenses have never been so low,” she panted. “You can easily knock them down. Just tell me and I’ll put it on. You can have the girl of your dreams.”

“Come here,” Alex sighed, pulling her head down to his shoulder. He kissed her on the forehead to stall for time as he desperately tried to figure out how to put his deepest feelings into words. “Izzy, you are the girl of my dreams, ever since you shared your lunch with me back in junior high. There will never be another.” He kissed her again. “But I will never knock down your defenses, and I will never ‘have’ you.”

Isabel pulled back and looked at Alex, fear in her eyes.

“Shhhhh.” Alex whispered, pulling Isabel’s head back. He ran his hand through her hair. “I’m not going to break your defenses down, we’ll melt them, together, and I am not going to tell you to do anything. Neither one of us is ready for this right now, but working together, we will be. We’ll wait until the time is right, and you are willing to offer yourself to me.”

Isabel’s eyes overflowed, this time with tears of joy. She kissed Alex as if her life depended on him.

**********
The following Friday Isabel pulled Alex’s car up in front of the Whitman’s residence. She smiled as Alex climbed out of the passenger side, and he opened the door to let his parents out of the back seat. Alex walked his parents to the door and they wished him a good time with Isabel. He beamed and almost floated back to the car.

Isabel was struck by another act of kindness that Alex seemed to spread wherever he went. Very few guys would walk a girl to her door anymore, unless they were expecting a little something, which made it all the more special that he had shown such courtesy for his parents. As he settled back in his car she commented, “That was so sweet of them to include me at dinner tonight.”

“Are you kidding?” Alex gushed. “After what happened and how you took care of me, they can’t say enough good things about you.”

Isabel turned the car towards the Crashdown, and reached for Alex’s hand. “It’s so nice having a boyfriend who isn’t hung up about the girl driving.”

Alex started to make a self-depreciating comment, but instead he did something remarkable. He simply lifted Isabel’s hand and kissed the back of it.

“I’m just happy to have a chance to be with you, It’s been a long week,” Isabel sighed.

“Well,” Alex laughed, “My parents have been keeping me close to home this week, but if you didn’t go and get yourself grounded, we could have at least seen each other after school. Seriously Izzy, I am proud of you. Of how you took control of things when everyone came home from the cruse and showed up at my house. I had trouble with my two parents, let alone your facing all seven of them. You didn’t try to hide how you felt about me, and you proudly admitted to your little deception so that you could get me out of the hospital, consequences and all.”

”Well,” Isabel giggled, “We actually hid a lot, but only the teenage things that don’t really count when talking to parents, like the fact that there were three couples there all weekend instead of six friends. We owe Liz and Maria big time for thinking to mess up the guest bedroom. If daddy knew we slept together,” Isabel was glad it was dark and Alex couldn’t see her blush, “I would be grounded until I’m really twenty-two.”

Alex just kissed her hand again.

When she parked the car she got out and walked up to Alex. She waited until she was secure in his tight embrace before asking tentatively, “Alex, Sweetie?”

“Um, hmm?” he hummed into her neck.

Isabel continued hesitantly, “Last Friday night we lost the Ice Princess, and as soon as I get the chance I am going to get rid of the Alien Princess. All that’s going to be left for you is a scared little girl.”

Without hesitation Alex replied, “That’s ok, I haven’t had such good luck with princesses. He started kissing her, “All I want is the girl of my dreams.”

“Dreams, really?” she replied flirtingly. “How about I come and visit you this evening?”

Alex broke into a mischievous grin, “It would be my pleasure, and I have a new CD, ahhmm, band we can dance to. By the way, why don’t you wear that red negligee you told me about, I haven’t seen it yet.”

Isabel took a step back as her face broke into a big grin. She slapped him gently on the shoulder, both surprised and pleased by his boldness. “Down boy, I better get you inside and cool you off,” but as she wrapped her arm around him and they walked towards the door she added softly, “Soon Alex, very soon.”

Isabel was surprised to see that the whole gang was at the Crashdown, she didn’t remember Max calling another meeting. Everyone just went back to the old habit of hanging out together now that tensions had lessened. Max and Michael were helping Liz and Maria clean up so they could finish quicker and all go out back together. When they finished, the girls sent the guys back and gathered sodas for all.

When Isabel entered the back room, the first person she saw was Alex. A slow smile spread across her face. She walked up to him, “May I?”

“My pleasure,” he replied with a smile.

Isabel settled onto Alex’s lap, and she leaned back into his chest, careful to avoid his left side. His arms wrapped around her as if they belonged there. “I can do this,” she whispered.

“Yes, you can do this,” Alex whispered back confidently.

Isabel took a deep breath, gathering strength from Alex. She opened her eyes and looked directly at Max. “I want to tell you all a story, a story about a princess named Vilandra.”

TBC

[stargazer md]

Gazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 2, The Talk
by Stargazer_md

Where were we? Alex faced a crisis, and we all know who he called for help. Question is, can a short term crisis lead to more?

**********
Liz was walking home from school, relieved that she had made it through another day without running into Alex. She had avoided him for several days now, but after lunch Maria had noticed and dragged her into the eraser room to get the story out of her.

“’Ria,” Liz remembered saying, “Things were going so good in Vegas. Max saw a flash of our wedding, the wedding future Max told me about. It’s real Ria, I could feel it. We danced. Do you know what it felt like to dance with Max where we are going to be married,,, or where we were supposed to been getting,,, oh I don’t know. It’s as close as I am going to get to being married. And then what did he do? He watched Braveheart with Michael.”

Maria pulled Liz into a much needed hug. “So what did you do?” Maria asked softly.

“I went to Vicky’s house and got drunk,” Liz moaned.

“See, that’s not so bad,” Maria quipped. “Those Czechoslovakians can do that to a girl. Well everyone but Isabel. Ever since the night she rescued Alex she has seemed to be closer to us than them.”

“Then I threw myself at Alex,” Liz whispered.

“Girlfriend, you are so dead,” Maria replied honestly.

**********
Isabel pulled her mother’s Toyota up next to Liz and slowed to a walking pace. “Hey Liz, I haven’t seen you around for a while. How’s my favorite girlfriend?”

Liz continued walking. “I’m fine Isabel.” She felt anything but fine. Maybe Isabel didn’t know anything about what happened.

“Good, because I think we need a little girl talk. You know, hair, nails, wine tasting parties,” Isabel deadpanned. She pulled the car a couple feet ahead of Liz, stopped it, and opened the passenger door with her powers. “Get in the car Liz.”

Liz got into the car, realizing it was time to pay for her mistake.

Isabel never said a word as she mechanically drove up to the quarry, her cool demeanor causing Liz’s tension level to go through the roof. Isabel parked the car and stepped out, casually walking around the front of the car as Liz fumbled with her seat belt before climbing out. Liz looked up to find that Isabel had invaded her personal space, pinning the smaller teen between the car and the open door.

“So you were going to go after Alex?” Isabel challenged, “You were going to call him, ask him to come over because you were upset, and you were going to seduce him? “

“I don’t know what Vicky told you,” Liz stammered, “But that’s not exactly what happened.”

“Your shirt was unbuttoned…” Isabel interrogated, “And then you just happened to trip and fall into his arms.”

Liz’s embarrassment was now complete. Not only had she made a fool of herself in front her lifelong friend, but his girlfriend knew about it. She didn’t know what to say.

“So Liz,” Isabel summed up. “Kyle would have been more than happy to help you, and you turned to him in the past. Shawn has been following you around for weeks, he would love an in with you. Why did you call Alex?”

“Isabel?” Liz said softly, “You didn’t find out about this from Vicky, did you?”

“No,” Isabel explained, letting her natural warmth slip back into her voice. “Alex told me. He is heartbroken to see you so upset, and he is concerned that you have been avoiding him. I don’t think that he knows quite how to talk to you about this without embarrassing you. That’s why I’m here.”

“I don’t believe him,” Liz gasped. “I make a pass at him, and he didn’t even notice. He got me talking about Max, he just sat there and listened. I make a total fool of myself, and yet he’s worried about embarrassing me?”

“That’s why you went to him Liz. You knew deep down inside that he would never take advantage of you.” Finally getting through to Liz, Isabel gave her a break and took a step to the side, walking around to lean against the hood of the car.

“Take advantage of me?” Liz asked with surprise, “No he could never take advantage of anyone. He held my hair out of the way while I threw up, then after he calmed me down he helped me to bed.”

Liz saw a storm cloud pass over Isabel’s face at the mention of the ‘B’ word. “Oh no, it was nothing like that, I almost fell climbing through the window, and all he did was take my shoes off before pulling the covers up over me.”

Isabel’s face softened, a bit.

“I mean poor Alex was so embarrassed, the poor guy’s never seen a girl’s,,, you know,” Liz smirked, touching her blouse.

“Wait a minute. Time out on the girl talk. Alex has never seen a boob before?” Isabel gasped, the tension now totally gone.

“No! I mean he saw me and Ria once,” Liz stammered, but realizing that she had made her second slip in less than a moment, she backpedaled, “No-no, we were changing at the Crashdown. He caught us in our bras and he admitted it to us.”

Isabel smiled. “That is so sweet,” she quipped, thinking of another first they could share.

“I mean, not unless, you know, while he was hurt,” Liz stammered, pointing towards Isabel’s impressive endowment.

“Nope, still in original wrapping,” Isabel teased. With her task completed, she started back towards her side of the car.

“Now wait a minute,” Liz exclaimed. “Five minutes ago I thought you were going to fry me with an alien death ray, and now we’re laughing. How did you do that?”

“Simple Liz,” Isabel said with a smile. “I’ve been taking lessons from a very special teacher.” When they were seated she turned towards Liz, “Made you sweat, did I?”

“You do not know how scared I was when you pulled up next to me,” Liz gasped in relief.

“Good!” Isabel exclaimed as she floored the accelerator. “Remember that.”

Liz looked at Isabel with a nervous grin, realizing that Isabel would do anything to protect, and hang onto Alex.

Isabel drove to the Crashdown, wanting to find Alex. She had done what he asked her to do, but now she had to figure out what else was going on with him. Something was very wrong with Alex, ever since this whole Sweden thing came up. She would find out what was wrong with him if it killed her.

TBC

[stargazer md]

Gazer Gets the Girl
Part 3 - The Pursuit
by Stargazer_md

Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. If they did, the show would still be on.
Summary: Isabel did know what she had when she lost him, which is even worse.
Setting: Middle to end of S-2.
Category: Alex/Isabel
Rating: Mature

Where were we? Isabel finally decides what, or rather who she wants in life. Now all she needs to do is get him..

**********
At the DeLuka residence.
Amy answered the door. “Jim, so nice of you to stop by. Come in.”

Jim walked into the kitchen and saw a strange teenager rummaging through the refrigerator. “Are you that new kid who has been stalking Liz?”

“Well, stalking may be a bit strong, but yea,” Sean replied sarcastically. “What’s it to you?”

Jim took out his Sig and shot Sean deader-’an-a mackerel. “There, that takes care of his storyline,” he said while reaching for the coffee pot.

“I never liked the jail bird anyway,” Amy agreed, serving Jim a large piece of coconut cream pie.

**********
Later that night, Isabel tried to dreamwalk Alex, again. And yet again she could not make a connection with him. Gone was the warmth and feelings they shared during their nocturnal visits. In it’s place was a cold gray mist that she could not penetrate no matter how hard she tried. Her frustration grew every time she could not connect with him.

Isabel rolled to her side and hugged a pillow, Alex’s pillow, thinking back on how peaceful he had looked while he was sleeping next to her. She remembered how she had both found the courage to leave her fears behind and let him into her life. That fear had been burned away the moment she realized that she could not protect him from everything. That no matter how far she kept him away from the alien side of her life, there were many things, simple every day things, that could take him from her no matter how hard she tried to prevent it.

She remembered when she turned to him for strength as she told the group about her darkest secret, her past life as Valandra. She could still see how the group was slowly working out their problems, and finding some of the happiness that had been missing from their lives during the several months before she received that fateful call for help.

But all of that was gone now. Sweden, how she hated that word. She had a romantic date with Alex, followed by a night time of dancing in his dreams. The next morning he was gone. A “last minute” student exchange organized by the guidance department. Her hurt was not lessened when she sought out Liz and Maria and found that they were just as surprised at Alex’s sudden departure. Liz and Maria were already driving the guidance department crazy with request for contact information for Alex, while Isabel tried to dreamwalk him, all without success. Isabel’s first thought was that her timing was off, but a quick check on the internet confirmed her estimate that Sweden was eight hours ahead. Maybe she couldn’t dreamwalk him because of the distance involved, but she doubted it. What was 10,000 miles (16,000 km) to an alien. All three sent e-mails to him in the belief that sooner or later he would check his account. After the second week, Liz received a brief e-mail reply that he was okay and having fun. Isabel, the love of his life, received nothing. Nothing but a broken heart.

Alex had returned as suddenly as he left, right in the middle of the whole Laurie Dupree mess. Isabel was hurt by the fact that Alex never called her, and the fact that it took her two days to catch up with him. She finally saw him at Liz’s, the night he was showing them all the slides he had taken during his trip. When the sheriff called her and told her that he needed her help, she tried to talk to Alex and make a date. Where once he would responded with an undying affirmation of love, all Alex said now was ‘Yeah, yeah, let me know when it’s good for you.’ Isabel felt him slipping away.

Not wanting to be upset all night, she thought back on a happier time, their last real date. Her breath quickened as she remembered

Alex knocked on the doorframe as he stuck his head in the back door. “Hello.”

Diane turned and greeted him. “Alex, come in, come in. How many times do I have to tell you, you’re family here. You don’t have to knock.”

“Thank you Mrs. Evans,” Alex replied bashfully. “I’m just trying to be polite.”

“You’re just in time for dinner,,,” Diane quipped as she gave the contents of her pot a stir.

“Oh I don’t want to inconvenience you,” Alex said with a smile. “We’ll get something at the Crashdown.”

“Nonsense” Diane huffed. “Philip and I would love to have you join us, the kids are so big now, we never get to see them anymore. Isabel’s upstairs, why don’t you go visit with her. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”

Alex practically ran up the stairs, he hadn’t seen Isabel for almost two hours.

“Isabel,” he said as he approached her door.

“Hey,” she took him into her arms as he entered her room. They kissed their greeting. “You know, if you didn’t announce yourself, you might,,,” she lowered her voice and glanced towards the door then back to his eyes, “Catch me nekked,” she teased as she reached up and loosened the top button on his shirt.

“Oh, so that’s how it works,” Alex groaned while holding her gaze. “I’ll just have to stop being such a gentleman.”

Isabel slapped him playfully on the shoulder as they separated, “Don’t you change a thing.”

“Your mom wants us to stay for dinner,” he said, changing to a safer subject.

“Do you mind?” Isabel asked, concerned. “I can make an excuse.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Alex replied without hesitation. “I know how close you are to your mom.”

Alex sat down on her desk chair. Isabel sat on the corner of her bed, forbidden territory in Alex’s eyes, well except for very extenuating circumstances. They talked about their day, and compared notes on their homework to see if there was any way one could help the other.

“Isabel honey, Alex. Dinner’s almost ready,” they heard.

Thank you Mrs. Evans, we’ll be right down,” Alex replied politely.

Isabel stood and started to leave the room.

“Izzy?” Alex asked hesitatingly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” she saw him start to blush and smiled, wondered what he was going to ask.

“Can you, like, ahmm, wear a tank top tonight?” he stammered.

“Is that all you want? Sure. Lets see, gray, blue, red?” she held the red one up for Alex’s approval, her grin growing mischievous, “Is this ALL you want me to wear tonight? Do you want me to take everything else off?”

“Yes, I mean NO, just,,, instead of the blouse,” he blurted in near panic, afraid that he had upset her.

“Ok, close your eyes,” Isabel commanded.

Alex closed his eyes contentedly and leaned back against the inside of her door.

Isabel watched him intently as she changed. “Alex, you can open them now,” she pouted. “I was expecting you to peek,” she added as she put her blouse back on over the tank top.

“Well, there’s that gentlemanly thing again,” Alex said condescendingly. “Besides, I’ve seen your back before.”

Isabel gave him a brief kiss and whispered, and took his hand, “I didn’t turn around.” She took his hand, leading him downstairs, all the while thinking it was so sweet that his blush deepened to a bright red. Entering the dining room alone, she noticed that his place had been set where Max usually sat. “This won’t do,” she muttered,” as she moved his seat to her side of the table.

“Sweetie, where’s Alex?” Diane asked.

“Oh, he just had to splash some water on his face,” Isabel deadpanned as Alex came into the room and sat next to her. Without realizing it, she ignored the others at the table and made sure that Alex’s plate was full. Then noticing his empty glass, she took it into the kitchen.

Alex turned to watch her leave, much to Diane’s amusement. Without conscious thought he reached up and re-buttoned his shirt.

Isabel returned moments later, “Orange soda, easy on the ice, just the way you like it.” She looked at Alex. “How does this keep happening,” she turned him towards her. She unbuttoned his top button and smoothed his collar into place. “I must have to do this six or eight times a day. There, that’s better.”

“Picky, picky,” he muttered with a big smile on his face.

Isabel reached over and slapped him up the side of the head. She was gentle, barely brushing his hair.

“Hey!” he held his head, feigning great injury, “What was that for?”

“As if you don’t know,” Isabel replied, stifling a giggle.

“You’ve been hanging out with Maria too much,” Alex complained, barely able to conceal his own smile.

Philip, totally oblivious to the interplay between the teens, broke into their little game. “So what are you kid working on in school? “

Isabel reached over and took Alex’s hand. “Alex is working on a combined project for his statistics and computer classes.” She looked at him with pride. “He’s using statistical process control to modify a SQL (pronounced sequel) database to drive the predictive threshold for inventory control earlier into a decision making process. In the real world, his software will allow a company to maintain less inventory, and every percentage point of improvement can save a company tens of thousands of dollars.”

Diane smiled at the couple, Philip looked confused.

“You know what my girlfriend is doing?” Alex looked at Isabel, totally smitten. “She built a company in her business class. She is the only one with nerve enough to go it alone, and she is the only one smart enough that her final project is to bring her company public.”

Philip looked stunned, “What happened to reading Moby Dick?”

“It’s not that bad Mr. Evans,” Alex quipped. “It is high school after all. We have to prove that we understand the general principles involved in our projects, but we don’t have to learn all of the details.” Turning his attention back to Isabel he continued, “But there isn’t a doubt in my mind that you’ll get your MBA and set the fashion world on fire.”

“I don’t know about that Sweetie,” Isabel smiled, “That’s still years away, and maybe I won’t settle on fashion, maybe I will go into hi-tech.”

“Great,” Alex sighed. “You’ll be making our first million while I’m consulting out of the house and watching the kids.”

Philip choked on his food.

Diane signaled Philip that everything was okay before turning her attention back to the teens. “So Isabel, what happened to your friend Tess?” she pondered.

“Do I know Tess?” Phillip asked trying to change the topic of conversation to something safe.

“I don’t think you have met her” Isabel replied. “She wasn’t here when you got home from the cruise and she seems to have settled in with the Valenti’s. She’s like a blond Liz Parker with curves.”

“Izzy, how could you say that?” Alex asked with a streak of disappointment in his voice. “Comparing Tess to Liz,,,”

“What are you getting upset for,,,” Isabel replied with surprise, both forgetting about the watching parents, again.

“Well she breezes in,” Alex complained, getting visibly excited, “Interrupting private conversations with her talk of jumping bones and English wimps,,,”

“Alex, you should have trusted me,” Isabel replied earnestly. “All you had to do was look at me. I was as upset as you were that she showed up. I promised her a girl’s night, but not that night. I was looking forward to watching a movie with you, and I was about to tell her that when mister ‘wrong hormones’ dumped me.”

Philip looked like he was going to throw up, this talk of jumping bones and hormones was not what he was looking to talk about.

“I know how you feel about Liz” she added softly, placing her hand over his. “I meant that they are both petite. If I was trapped in a burning building, the both of them together couldn’t drag me out.”

“They wouldn’t have to, that’s my job,” Alex stated proudly. “I would kick the door in and carry you off before anything bad could happen to you.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet, you’ll do anything for me, won’t you?” Isabel murmured before her face broke into a big grin. “Good, grab those dirty dishes and help me clear the table.”

Diane protested, “I won’t hear of it, you kids go out and have a nice time.” She smiled at Philip and nodded that everything was fine.

Philip, feeling better after hearing Alex say he would protect his daughter, asked, “Do you want to take my Lexus tonight? I happen to have it on good authority that Isabel likes the nicer things in life.”

“Daddy,” Isabel said sticking her tongue out at him. “Alex’s car is fine.” She took the sting out of her action by kissing him on the cheek. She hugged her mom as well.

“Thank you for dinner, I really had a good time visiting,” Alex added as he held the door open for Isabel.

Philip looked at the now closed door. “Do you want to tell me what just happened?”

“What do you mean?” Diane asked in surprise. “I think they are wonderful together. How many kids do you know that can be so relaxed around their parents?”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Phillip commented, clearly confused.

“She’s growing up,” Diane explained with a sigh. “You’re not complaining, are you?”

“I don’t know what I think at this point,” Phillip said melodramatically as he stacked the dinner plates and headed for the kitchen.

“I’ll make it easy for you,” Diane quipped, reaching for her favorite wine glass. “I have just one word for you, Grant.”

Philip laughed in reply. “Point taken.“

**********
Alex backed his mom’s car out of the Evan’s driveway. He almost struck their mailbox when Isabel smiled at him and took her blouse off uncovering the red tank top he had selected. “So where are you taking me?” she asked.

“I thought we would go see a movie,” Alex explained evasively.

“Ahhmm Alex?” Isabel said doubtfully, “We’re not headed towards the mall.”

I thought we would go to the Majestic,” Alex explained with a smile.

Alex led her into the darkened theatre, the movie had already started. They settled in the back row. After a couple of minutes Isabel turned towards Alex. “This isn’t like you, Alex.”

“What isn’t like me?” Alex exclaimed with surprise.

“This,” Isabel replied while waving her hand around the run down theatre. “Normally you are so meticulous about your planning, but here we are in this old theatre, watching what looks to be a horrible movie. I don’t think there are ten people here.”

“What movie?” Alex answered.

Isabel turned and gave her full attention to Alex. In the dim light she could see that he only had eyes for her.

“All of our parents are home, the Crashdown’s full, and it is too cloudy to go stargazing.” He pulled her into a gentle kiss.

“Good plan.” She kissed him back.

The young couple alternated between kissing, and snuggling. They talked about little things. Alex reveled in the warmth of her kisses, the smell of her perfume and the softness of her neck as he kissed his way down to her shoulders. She climbed into his lap and leaned back against him. Isabel was filled with a feeling of love and belonging. Nothing had ever felt so right.

Isabel finished reminiscing. She decided that she was no longer going to wait to see what would happen with Alex. He had chased her for over a year before he won her heart. He still had it, even though he didn’t realize it. Now she would pursue him and win his back.

**********
The next morning Isabel woke determined to repair things with Alex. Her first priority was the prom, which was just over a week away. She took special care with her appearance, wearing her hair up and her best earrings and perfume. She was in the library second period trying to get some work done. Well actually she was waiting for Alex, who also had that period off, and was trying to distract herself while waiting for him to show up. Isabel watched a guy and girl talking at the end of the aisle. Suddenly the girl squealed and hugged him. Another date for the prom Isabel thought, and couldn’t help smiling. Her smile broadened as she saw Alex enter and sit at a table. She walked over and joined him.

“Hey Alex,” Isabel said as she approached him with a look in her eyes reminiscent of a cat stalking a bird. “Mind if I join you?”

“No, free country,” Alex answered, totally unaware of the target that been symbolically painted over his heart. “Have a seat.”

“So I think Billy Sorian is going to ask me to prom,” Isabel related offhandedly as she nervously twisted a lock of her golden hair around her fingers.

“Billy, huh?” Alex replied unfazed as he closed one book and reached for another. “Are you sure? Cuz I heard he was taking Amy Green.”

“Well, the point is, I would've said no,” Isabel explained softly, all of her nervous tells now in full display. “We’ve been talking about the prom for a while,,,”

Alex looked up, finally meeting her downcast eyes with a puzzled expression on his own.

“And I did already get my dress,” Isabel fumbled along, “And I was there when you picked out your tux,,,”

Alex’s sense of confusion grew, he couldn’t remember either event.

“And although you haven’t said anything yet,” Isabel forced her insecurities aside and faced her boyfriend head on. “I decided that there was no reason why I couldn’t,,,”

“Wait a minute, are you asking me to the prom?” Alex asked. “Isabel, it would be my dream to take you to prom,,,”

Isabel’s face broke into a radiant smile.

“But then we'd wake up the next morning and you'd be onto the next thing and I'd be right back where I was before Sweden. You know, obsessed, pathetic and lovesick. So, I think, amazingly, my answer is no. I'm not going to take you to prom. Okay?”

Isabel was shocked speechless, before Sweden, they couldn’t stand to be apart.

Alex took one look at Isabel’s upset face, made an excuse, and left her there.

**********
Liz entered the biology lab and saw Isabel waiting for her in the back, looking stunned. She quickly walked up to her. “What‘s happening?”

“I asked Alex to the prom,” Isabel confessed softly.

“That’s wonderful,” Liz gushed. “Why should women have to wait for the guys to ask us.”

“He turned me down,” Isabel whispered, her voice quivering.

“What? No that can’t be!” Liz exclaimed, her shock visible on her face. “Alex has been talking about taking you to the prom since the rave. Maybe he’s playing hard to get?

“Liz, remember, he’s got me,” Isabel related, finally losing control of her tears. “I have a dress, he has a tux, and now we’re not going. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, something’s wrong with him. You’ve got to talk to him, tell me what you think.”

**********
Liz entered the courtyard at lunch time and decided not to wait any longer to talk with Alex. She had to see for herself if Isabel was right about him. She saw Tess talking to Alex and watched. After a couple of minutes Tess had finished her salad and left. Liz joined him before he could leave..

“I hope everything’s ok between us now, I have to tell you that I was so embarrassed,,,” Liz started off.

“Hey, don’t mention it, what are friends for,” Alex replied offhandedly, barely acknowledging his lifelong friend’s presence.

Liz saw Isabel come out the door and look for her, and with a slight shake of her head warned her off. Isabel pointed back inside, and left. “Friends? Us? You still think we’re friends after you sent Isabel to have our little talk? I have never been so scared in my life! I don’t ever want to see what would happen if she really got jealous.”

“What about Isabel? Why would I send her after you?”

Liz felt a chill run up her back. “Come on Alex, You didn’t tell her about my little mishap? With the prom coming up and everything you must be talking to her. You know, you could’ve asked her while you were showing us your slides.”

Alex looked at her funny, “I’ve seen her around school, but I haven’t said one word to her since I got back.”

Not wanting to arouse his suspicions, she changed topics. “Oh, well, she was upset about something. Listen, I have to talk to Maria. You stay right here.”

Liz went over to where Isabel was waiting for her. “This is so not right, something is really messed up with him.”

Isabel put her hands on Liz’s upper arms. “Liz, what happened?”

“He so totally forgot about sending you after me, he forgot you were there to watch his slides,” Liz’s voice faded.

“What else?” Isabel demanded, realizing her friend was hiding something, something big.

“Isabel,” Liz said softly. “He doesn’t remember your asking him to the Prom,”

Isabel took a deep breath as she shifted into planning mode. “I need you to keep him from going home after school for an hour or so.”

“What are you going to do?” Liz asked doubtfully.

“I’m going to go talk to his parents, maybe this has something to do with his bump on the head.” She hoped it would be that simple. Something nice and simple and human. She didn’t want to even imagine that he was caught up in her alien abyss.

Liz quickly went back to check on Alex. “Maria’s ok, but you know what? I’m going to let you buy me a Blood of Martian smoothie after school.”

**********
At the Whitman residence.
Mr. Whitman greeted her, “Hi Isabel, I’m sorry Alex isn’t here right now. He called and said Liz was dragging him out for some fresh air.”

“That’s ok,” Isabel replied confidently. “I really want to talk to you if I’m not interrupting anything.”

Charles was a little confused, but never lost sight of his manners. “You are welcome here anytime. Come in, sit down. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No I’m fine,” Isabel replied. Not knowing what to say, she decided to jump into the deep end of the pool. “Have you noticed anything unusual about Alex?”

“Not really,” the older man replied, pondering her question. “He seems a bit quiet lately, but nothing out of the ordinary. Why do you ask?”

“Well it seems like he forgets things lately,” Isabel explained, sliding to the edge of her seat. “Conversations and things like that. I think he’s been avoiding me, but I was talking to Liz, and she thinks something is wrong too. The nurse at the hospital told me to get him back there if anything wasn’t right, and I’m thinking, I don’t know, but maybe something isn’t right.

“Jim told me about what happened at the Kettle’s, and I am sure he is adjusting to that,” Charles answered dismissively. “Like I say he has been spending a lot of time on his music, and his computer. I’ll tell you what, I’ll talk to him when he gets home, but I don’t think there is anything to worry about.”

**********
Later that afternoon, Alex walked into his house after Liz finally let him go.

“Alex I want to talk to you,” his father called out before he could disappear up the stairs.

“What’s up Pops?” Alex replied nonplussed as he settled on the end of the couch.

“How have you been feeling lately?” Charles asked offhandedly. “I know you’ve been spending a lot of time in your room. Is everything ok?”

“Everything’s fine,” Alex answered slowly, wondering where his father had got such an idea. “I just want to spend some time alone, that’s all.”

“Well, Isabel stopped by earlier today, she is worried about you,” the parent replied, tossing his son’s teenaged friend under the bus.

“I wish she hadn’t of done that,” Alex stated coldly while shaking his head in dismay.

“Why do you say that son?” Charles queried. “She cares for you, your mother and I both see that.”

“Well, it’s complicated,” Alex replied with a sigh. “She has been expecting me to take her to the prom, and I’ve decided I’m not going to go.”

“Why not?” Charles exclaimed in surprise.

“Everything is so complicated lately,” Alex explained in a voice tinged with sorrow, or maybe a touch of pain. “Liz and Max aren’t really seeing each other. At the same time Max isn’t really seeing Tess, who has been spending time with Kyle, but Tess really wants Max. Kyle on the other hand is pissed with Max, having lost first Liz and now Tess to his brooding sense of charm. Maria’s just as bad. She and Michael agreed to see other people, but they are as miserable when they are apart as when they are together.”

Mr. Whitman didn’t see what any of this had to do with Isabel but he knew one thing for certain, Alex’s memory was fine.

**********
Isabel caught up with Liz and Maria the following morning. “Have you heard anything?”

“I talked to his mom last night,” Liz said with determination. She told me his dad doesn’t think anything is wrong.”

“Meet me here after school,” Isabel commanded. “We’re going to settle this.”

**********
Alex and his parents were in their living room while Liz and Maria were talking to Alex. Isabel sat on the couch hoping that they would be able to show that Alex was forgetting things. She thought that it would be easier for Liz or Maria to convince the Whitman’s, as she had already tried.

“Alex, yesterday you said you didn’t remember asking Isabel to talk to me.” Liz asked.

“Liz, the first thing you said was that you were embarrassed,” Alex replied nonchalantly. “I didn’t want to embarrass you further.”

“Well how about your slide show,” Maria cut in. “You don’t even remember who was there.”

“My flight home was ten hours late,” Alex cajoled. “I was still jet lagged. I don’t even remember if I was there.”

Isabel realized that all of Alex’s memory lapses involved her. She knew she had to ask him something that was private, that he didn’t have a chance to prepare an answer for. She looked at Alex’s father and whispered, “I’m sorry.” She turned towards Alex and asked, “Do you remember the two of us sleeping together the night you were hurt?”

Liz gasped, with realization of the sacrifice Isabel was making. She quickly went to Alex’s parents and prevented them from saying anything.

“Oh Evans, that’s a low blow, even for you. Why don’t you kick me again while I’m down. All I have ever wanted from you is a kind word,” Alex stood up, his temper rearing. “Why are you doing this to me? What kind of sick game are you playing? Why would you tell me something like that, something that I could never so much as imagine, let alone believe happened.”

Alex took a deep breath to continue, but was interrupted by Maria. “Stop this Alex! Stop this right now. I love you to death and have known you for years, but I won’t let you talk to her like that. You called her Alex, you didn’t call anyone else, and she came running. She almost destroyed the hospital until she could take you home, and then she kept you warm until she got you there. For three days she didn’t let anyone else take care of you, and she didn’t let you out of her sight. She held you when you cried, and then she tickled you until you laughed. She shared your nightmares, and yes Alex, she held you every night while you slept. We were all there Alex, we all saw it. You might not owe her your life, but she definitely saved your sanity”

Isabel’s heart broke, but she called on years of experience as the Ice Princess. She didn’t break down, well not completely. She had at last proved that something was wrong with Alex, and despite the hurtful things he was saying, he would now get the help that he needed. It took her a moment to regain her senses and realize that Mr. Whitman’s place was empty.

Mr. Whitman had a grim look on his face as he watched Isabel. He said several more words into the phone before hanging it up. “Dr Bashier is going to meet us at the hospital, lets go“

Liz and Maria walked outside with Alex and his father. Mrs. Whitman started to follow them until she saw Isabel still sitting on the couch wiping her eyes.

Mrs. Whitman pulled Isabel into a hug. “I was watching you as Alex was talking, I’ve seen how close the two of were before he went on his trip. I am sure he would never have said those things unless something was wrong.”

“I want to believe that,” Isabel tried to smile but failed. “I’ll just find my coat and walk home.”

“Go home? Don’t you want to come with us?” Gloria asked in shock.

“I saw the disappointed look on your husband’s face when I talked to Alex,” Isabel said softly. “It’ll be best for everyone if I just leave. At least the doctors will try to see if they can help him now.”

“Do you think he’s upset with you because of what you did?” She watched as Isabel nodded yes. “No Isabel, he’s ashamed of himself for not listening to you yesterday. I don’t know what we’ll do if Alex comes to harm because we waited.” The much smaller adult would have probably kissed Isabel, if she could’ve reached her. Instead, she led the sullen teen out to the car.

**********
Dr Bashier waved the Whitmans into his office. Isabel stood hesitantly, not knowing her place in all this, but after receiving a nod from Mr. Whitman she followed them into the room.

“What I can tell you is that the C.A.T. scan and other test all came back normal,” Dr. Bashier related reassuringly. “I don’t see anything that would be an immediate danger to your son. I am going to prescribe an anti-inflammatory, to make sure there is no swelling, but I think that will be purely precautionary in nature, especially with an injury over a month old. I think the best thing for Alex right now is for him to take things slow for a while, while I schedule him for some more testing at Las Cruces.”

Alex walked out with his parents, Isabel following behind. Alex paused a moment allowing her to catch up, then taking her hand in his he asked, “Mom, Dad, can I have a minute with my friends?” They walked to the side of the entrance, where they could talk privately. Liz and Maria looked at Alex waiting for an answer.

“They say they didn’t find anything medically wrong with me,” Alex explained softly, “Which opens up a whole new world of possibilities.”

“There must be something alien going on,” Isabel deadpanned.

“Izzy, enough with the “A” word.” Alex chided.

“Alex, do you remember my saying that?” asked Isabel as her face lit up.

Alex smiled at the memory. “Alien and Fellini, two words I have banished from my vocabulary. The morning before our wonderful evening under the stars,,,”

“You remember that night as wonderful?” Isabel said uncertainly. “I remember blowing,,,”

“It was wonderful,” Alex insisted. “Well what little there was of it. That’s the way I choose to remember it.”

Liz interrupted, “Alex wouldn’t have made that A-word mistake for a long time now, meaning it’s an old memory, before the two of you got together. It seems like the memory loss is selective, it’s almost,,,”

Isabel stopped Liz from finishing that statement. “Alex, we’re going to take you home now.”

“Izzy?” Alex asked cautiously. “Can I ask you something?”

She stepped closer, looking into his eyes and placed her hand over his heart. “Anything.”

“I have always,” he took a deep breath, “loved you, but I can’t see us as being in love. What do you see?”

Isabel looked him the eyes with a steadfastness that filled him with both hope and fear. “Every time I look into my future I see you in it. If you’re not there I will have no life, and if you don’t see that it should break your heart.”

“That’s the problem Izzy, I don’t see anything, I don’t feel anything. This morning I looked in the mirror and didn’t even recognize myself.” Alex pulled Isabel into a hug, “I want to believe you, but how can you ever forgive me after all the horrible things I said to you back at the house?”

Isabel lowered her head onto his shoulder, “Alex, I promise you with my heart and soul. I am going to get to the bottom of this if it’s the last thing I do.”

**********
It was now after dark, and the entire entourage had returned to the Whitman’s home. Charles had led his son upstairs, intent on making sure his son got some rest, just as the doctor had ordered.

Maria looked at Gloria and said, “It looks like it is going to be just like old times, you’re going to have the three musketeers over here all the time.”

She smiled back, “It’s comforting to know he won’t be alone, just like the old days. The three musketeers, Liz, Maria, and Alex. And now we have his own special guardian angel, Isabel.”

Isabel, who hours ago thought she would be banned from the house, almost glowed.

Charles returned to the kitchen. “He’s almost asleep now, why don’t you all go up and say a quick good night before you go.”

Moments later Maria and Liz had said their good nights and kissed their best friend on the cheek before stepping out to the hallway, giving Isabel a bit of privacy.

Isabel knelt next to his bed and tenderly stroked his head. “Go to sleep Alex, I got you now. Go to sleep Sweetie, everything’s going to be okay now. Go to sleep my love, I’ve got you now and I’m never going to let you go.”

When Isabel finished Alex was asleep, just as she had intended. She then leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, then gently touched him there with her finger, causing a momentary wrinkle. She closed her eyes, but could not make a connection. After several moments, she got up and shook her head no to the others.

At the car, Isabel turned to Liz, “You were going to say that his memory loss seems selective, almost as if something or someone were controlling him, correct?”

“That’s exactly what I was going to say,” Liz gasped. “Why did you cut me off?”

“Because we can’t talk about this to anyone, not to his parents, not even to Alex,” Isabel said earnestly. “From now on we will only talk about this to each other. If something, or someone is controlling him, we can’t let them know what we are doing. I need something else. I need you to come pick Alex up in the morning. Bring him to the Crashdown and keep him there until I get there.”

“Ok, but first I need to deliver a care package,” Liz responded. “It’s something I need to talk to you about, but not right now. I can pick Alex up after I finish. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to stay here outside his window tonight and make sure nothing happens to him,” Isabel replied resolutely. “I’ll get a couple hours sleep while you have him in the morning.”

“Isabel, maybe we should go to Max and Michael and see what they think,” Maria said cautiously.

“No. I don’t trust Max right now, and Michael is loyal to Max. For now it is just the three of us. We have got to figure out what is wrong with Alex. After Alex is out of danger we’re going to get Max back to you.” Isabel took a deep breath, “Ok, you can call this a palace revolt or a civics lesson, but Max is under some kind of influence, and until that’s resolved, I am taking charge to make sure that nothing hurts the guys we care about.”

Liz and Maria jumped back as a white aura surrounded Isabel. The aura swirled around her and then concentrated into a smaller bright white sphere. The sphere settled on the front of Isabel’s left shoulder and started to fade. In it’s place five bright points of light remained in the shape of the V, visible through her blouse.

“Bad, Bad, Mojo,” Maria muttered, searching her pockets for her cedar oil.

Liz gasped, “The V Constellation!”

“I saw this in a dream, but you know what this is?” Isabel asked in amazement.

“Max said it was one of the test when he went to New York,” Liz explained breathlessly.

“Thanks Max for keeping me informed,” Isabel muttered, bordering on contempt. “What does it mean that I have it now?”

“If it means what I think it means,” Liz replied with a touch of awe in her voice, “You just got promoted to Queen.”

“Kewl, Good Mojo!” Maria exclaimed, then added, “Are you sure you don’t want us to come back and relieve you? Queens need their beauty sleep.”

“No I don’t,” Isabel declared, not trusting his safety even to his lifelong friends. “Besides, Alex always says my beauty comes from inside.”

**********
The following afternoon the co-conspirators were at the Crashdown. Isabel was sitting still holding her breath while the twins tried to convince Alex that she loves him.

Liz tried first, “Alex, may not realize this, but you already got the girl. Look at her, all you have to do is ask.”

Maria giggled, “Come on Alex, this is the girl who owns the pants you have been trying to get into since junior high.”

“Maria!” Liz exclaimed.

Isabel didn’t move a muscle. She continued to look Alex in the eyes. She realized with a start that he had been feeling this uncertainty for the past two years. Every time he talked to her or asked her to do something together he must of gone through this agony waiting for her to answer, fearing what that answer would be.

“Go ahead, ask her to show you her naughty places,,,” Maria teased.

“What’s got into you?” Liz bellowed as she playfully started slapping Maria on the shoulders and pushed her away, fearing the pixie was doing more harm than good.

Alex had the good graces to blush, but at the same time he lifted an eyebrow in question.

Without taking her eyes off his, Isabel answered with a subtle nod yes. Yes to the prom. Yes to herself. Yes to everything he would ever ask.

Alex could not remember that they were in love, but he did remember that he had a crush on her forever. He also could not turn his back on his own good nature. If he was unable to ask her out of love, he would ask out of friendship. In his best gentlemanly voice, he asked, “Miss Isabel Evans, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the prom?”

Isabel’s tears broke free and flowed down her face. She had her arms around him before he finished the question. “Yes, yes, oh Alex, anything, anything at all, my answer is yes.”

The twins looked at Alex as Isabel hugged him. In contrast to Isabel’s elation, his eyes were closed as if he was struggling to break free of whatever spell he was under so he could simply enjoy holding the girl of his dreams in his arms.

TBC

[stargazer md]

Gazer Gets the Girl
Part 4 - Heart of Mine
by Stargazer_md

Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. If they did, the show would still be on.
Some text is borrowed from the show, I didn’t treat it any worse than the original writers.
Summary: It is the prom season, will there be love in the air?
Setting: Middle to end of S-2.
Category: Alex/Isabel with CC
Rating: Mature, eventually


Where were we? Isabel discovers that there is something not quite right with Alex, but it’s Prom Night,,, Need I say more?

**********
Despite the fact that Alex may not have been aware that he was holding the girl of his dreams, she reveled in the feeling of his strong arms around her. She didn’t care if there was something slightly wrong with him, specifically that he wasn’t in complete control of his mind, she would take him as he was, and find the answers to their problems later. Having secured her prom date, Isabel didn’t let go of Alex for the rest of the evening. They were still in the back booth of the Crashdown when Liz finished her shift and joined them.

“Okay guys, we’ve been putting this off long enough,” Isabel said. “We have to turn in our class schedule for next year on Monday.”

“A whole year of nothing but advanced placement classes,” groaned Alex.

“Come on Alex,” Liz said trying to cheer up her friend, “You and I have been planning this since junior high. We’re just lucky that Isabel’s such a good student that the three of us can do this together. We’re so close to graduating right now that we can take a light course load next year, and by taking all AP classes we also get college credit.”

“You want to hear something good?” Isabel asked. “Last semester Miss Rikesdale told me I only needed to take one more class to graduate, as if I wasn’t keeping track of my credits and didn’t know that already.”

“You’re graduating?” Alex asked, obviously panicked.

“No silly,” she touched him to take any sting out of her words. “This is senior year! I haven’t worked so hard for so long just to miss senior year. Besides, I don’t trust all of my so called friends to leave you alone if I’m not here to protect you.”

“Oh yea, they’ve been lining up and waiting for me,” Alex moaned.

“I’ll wait for you,” Liz commented condescendingly as she leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“How is Max doing? Should we include him?” Alex asked innocently.

Isabel and Liz looked at each other. Isabel thought of Max’s newfound habit of making snap decisions without talking to any of the others. Liz thought of future Max and how she had to keep her distance. They turned back towards Alex, “NO!” they exclaimed together.

The girls turned back towards each other and laughed. Isabel put her hand on Liz’s arm. <Flash> I held Michael in my arms… dead, <Flash> Isabel died two weeks before that, <Flash> the Crashdown was in flames. Isabel went into full Ice Princess mode, concealing any reaction to her inadvertent discovery. Taking a deep breath she stammered, “Okay, back to work. Now we should be able to take two classes together, that will allow us to study as a group, then we each need to take one individually, for our specialty,,,"

**********
On the other side of town, Max and Tess were sitting across from each other on his bed. Tess was eagerly working with him in an attempt to increase and focus his powers. Today’s lesson was resurrecting his memories, or more importantly any memories he may have had of Antar.

“Okay, just think about everything that you remember,” Tess murmured in a soft silky voice. “What did it look like? Feel like? Smell like?” She stopped to look at him, “You're not concentrating,” she pouted.

“Yes I am.” Max replied.

“Something's getting in your way,” Tess whined, unbelieving. “What's going on with you?”

“Actually there is something I should probably tell you,” Max said evasively. “I asked Liz to go to the prom with me.”

“So? Max, I don't care about that stuff. That's not what's important here. This is what's important and we can do it together. Now, let's try again.” Tess closed her eyes and concentrated, “I see you. You're swimming on your back. The water's much thicker than the water here on Earth. Heavier. It's not quite liquid but not quite solid. As you swim through it, the water reforms around your body and it feels like you're swimming in,,,”

“Jello. I remember. I remember it. I remember the water, Max exclaimed. “Oh my God, you did it. You made me remember.”

“What else do you remember?“ Tess asked with a smile.

“Three moons, burnt orange, no clouds,” Max related, his eyes closed in concentration. “Very surreal, like a painting.”

“What else?“ Tess probed.

“I need a break,” Max sighed as he got up from the bed.

“It takes time,” Tess said condescendingly, rushing to stay by his side. “You know, every thing's blurry at first, but eventually, the images just get clearer and clearer.”

“How clear are your memories?” Max asked, unconvinced.

“Most are still blurry,” Tess replied softly, “But a few, a few are clearer and more real to me than anything here in this world.”

“Do you remember me?“ Max ventured.

“Yeah,” Tess answered, turning upward to meet his eyes.

“What was I like?” Max answered, now thoroughly convinced.

“I remember when you used to reach over and touch me in the middle of the night and when you used to hold me,” Tess answered bashfully, as a look of smug satisfaction slowly crossed her face.

**********
Back at the Crashdown Isabel was ready to take Alex home. “Come on sweetie, nap time. Liz, you’re coming with.”

“Naw, I’m sure you want to be alone,” Liz answered offhandedly, “And you’d just have to bring me back.”

“Get in the car Liz, now,” Isabel demanded in a voice that brook no argument.

Liz wasn’t happy about this latest development, but she knew better than to argue with Isabel.

Moments later Isabel delivered Alex to his doorstep and kissed him goodnight. She then took Liz back home and followed her upstairs. When they were settled on the balcony Liz said, ”See, this was nothing but a big waste of time. We’re right back where we were half an hour ago.”

“No we’re not,” Isabel replied stoically. “I needed to take Alex home, and when I came back you would’ve been in bed already. I would’ve had blast the door down, wake your parents, it’s so much easier this way.”

“Isabel, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.,” Liz asked while shaking her head.

“You’re going to tell me everything you’ve been keeping from me.” Isabel’s voice softened as she took her petit friend’s hand in hers. “Liz, I can’t figure out what’s going on if I don’t have the facts. Now, you’re going to tell me about this long haired Max, and how Michael and I died.”

“I can’t, I promised,” Liz whimpered, vacillating between honoring her promise to Future Max and opening up to her friend.

“Liz, if I have to, I will sit here all night until you fall asleep and then I’ll dream walk you,” Isabel said with steel in her voice. “You really don’t want me in your mind with the mood I’m in.”

With her hand forced, Liz willingly told Isabel about how future Max had used the granolith to come back in time to demand that she change their future. She explained why the timeline had to be changed, and lastly she told Isabel what she had done to make Max turn away from her.

Isabel was stunned. Her tears in full flow, her heart aching for Liz, the enormity of her sacrifice was overwhelming. “How could you do it? How could you give up the love of your life?”

Liz unleashed months of pain and anguish. Isabel held her as great wrenching sobs shook her body. “There is only Max, there will never be another. I can’t live with him, but I can’t live without him.”

Isabel wanted to tell Liz that everything would be all right, but couldn’t. She did not fully understand what had happened, let alone how to make it right. All she could do was hold Liz as she slowly calmed down.

**********
After school the next day, Isabel nonchalantly strolled into Max’s room and sat on his bed. They had been avoiding each other for months, with the exception of when Alex was hurt. That was a special week. Max was more supportive of her than any other time she could think of. She needed him then, when she had revealed her secret about Vilandra. But Max had slipped right back into his old habits, and lately had become more abrupt and judgmental than ever. But now she had to see him, she had to see how he had changed, to see if there was anything noticeably different about him. To do this she had to start a conversation with him. She chose a safe topic.

”Alex asked me to the prom,” Isabel related quietly, biting her lower lip as she wrung her hands in her lap.

“That’s not the way I heard it,” Max replied flatly. “Three on one is the story I heard. You had to use Maria and Liz to force him to take you to the prom.”

Isabel was stunned that Max would find fault with such a simple thing. “Force? Isn’t that a little strong?”

“We shouldn’t be forcing relationships with the humans,,,” Max lectured, not even bothering to look her in the eyes.

Isabel recoiled at the attack, deciding Max was not going to get away with it this time. “Alex is not a human, Alex is Alex! And in case you have forgotten, I do not have to force Alex to do anything, none of us do. Not Alex, not Maria, not Kyle, not even the Sheriff. I’m not even going to go into the ways they have helped us, what they have given up just by knowing us.”

“Our past, our future, my future is more important than any relationship with them,” Max exclaimed. “I have an entire race to worry about.”

“I thought we settled this destiny thing months ago. We are here, this is home! You, Michael, Mom, Dad, Alex, these people are my life. I am not going to throw that away because you are taking some home grown suppressed memory therapy.” She took Max’s face in her hands. “Get this straight. I am Isabel, not Vilandra. I will never be that other person, and my future is here. The difference between you and me is that I care about my family and friends. I will always place them first.”

Isabel walked out on him, ignoring his continuing arguments, she wasn’t going to accept what he had to say, and she knew she wasn’t going to change his mind, not in his current condition.

As Isabel lie in bed she couldn’t stop thinking of what Liz had told her. She could not imagine herself loosing Alex now that she had finally come to realize what he meant to her. How could Liz live with herself knowing the choice she had to make. Despite Isabel’s argument with Max, despite the problems she knew were brewing within the entire group, she couldn’t imagine loosing him as a brother, or imagine Liz loosing him as her boyfriend. How could she turn him away? She could not even imagine the pain that Liz must feel seeing Max every day but being unable to be with him, unable to tell him why. She thought back over the past several months, about how Liz and Max had been getting along together. With her new found knowledge, she was able to recognize how Liz was trying to maintain a friendship with Max. She also saw how Max turned to Tess more and more to fill the void left by Liz’s ‘betrayal.’

Isabel started to weep quietly. She needed Alex. She needed him to share these burdens, to tell her everything would be alright. To help her figure out a way to get Liz and Max back together. But she would have to face this without him. She knew he was still under the control of another, and that he could not be trusted to keep this secret. She let out a sob. He could not be trusted. With that thought she made a resolution. God help whoever was doing this to Alex, because when she found out who was hurting him, nothing on Earth would be able to protect them.

**********
Liz parked at the entrance to the old soap factory, reached into the back of her parents car, and pulled out her backpack. “Ava?” she asked as she entered the building.

“I’m over here Liz,” came the response from deep within the building.

“Okay, here’s your breakfast, still warm,” Liz said with a false sense of cheer. “There’s some more food, some water, and I bought you some clean clothes.”

“Liz, I still don’t understand why you’re doing this for me,” Ava replied warily.

“Ava,” Liz replied passionately, “I’m not doing enough! Look at this place, no one should have to live like this.”

“Liz,” Ava replied, “This is better that I ever had. Look, no trains, no bums, no Rath or Lonnie.”

“Listen to me,” Liz replied earnestly. “I don’t know how yet, I still need to talk to Isabel, but we are going to get you out of here.”

“I still don’t know if I can trust Lonnie’s dupe,” Ava said with a shudder. “I’m so afraid they will find me.”

“That’s not going to happen Ava,” Liz said as she gave her a hug.

Ava’s eyes watered at the unexpected intimacy. “I’m not used to being treated like this.”

“Well get used to it. You’re now a member of the Roswell ‘I know an alien’ club. We all look out for each other.”

**********
Michael walked into the school at an unusually early hour, or al least an early hour for him. He had made the decision to make a better effort at school in an attempt to make Maria proud of him. That thought was momentarily forgotten when he saw Pam Troy talking to Alex. ‘This isn’t good,’ he thought to himself. ‘If Isabel catches him she’ll kill him. Actually she will probably kill me for not killing him’. Michael’s concern changed to alarm as he saw Alex shaking his head no while he tried to wave the girl off, but instead of leaving him alone, Pam advanced on Alex. Michael could see the distress on Alex’s faced as he was effectively backed into a corner. At this point Michael had no choice but to intercede. He took Pam by the upper arm and pulling her back a bit.

Alex looked at him with relief, “Michael, ahhmm, thanks,,,”

“Aren’t you late for a class or something?” Michael snapped.

Alex took one look at the stormy expression on Michael’s face and beat a hasty retreat.

“What are you doing?” Michael demanded.

“I’m telling Alex that he can do much better that Isabel,” Pam stammered, forgetting who she was talking to. “I told him that he needs to dump her and get someone who appreciated his good qualities.”

“That’s right Pam,” Michael exclaimed, barely maintaining his composure after hearing his sister’s name defamed. “Alex has a lot of friends who appreciate his good qualities, and since he’s under a lot of pressure right now between the prom and finals, we’re looking out for him.”

“Well, that’s good that his friends care for him, but,,,” Pam continued on blindly.

“But here’s the way it’s going to be,” Michael declared, squeezing her arm until she paid attention to him. “If I see you anywhere near Alex, I am going to tell his good friend Liz about what you’re doing and where to find you. Then when Liz gets done with you I am going to send Maria looking for you. On second thought, I am going to harass Maria all day. Right when she is ready to explode I’ll tell her you’re trying to steal Alex from Isabel. Then, if there is anything left when Maria gets done with you, I’m going to tell Isabel.”

**********
At lunch time, Isabel stopped at the Caf to pick up a salad, then went to the Quad, looking for Alex. She found him sitting in a quiet corner talking with Tess. Giving them a wave, she walked towards them, but was a bit puzzled at their lack of a response. Tess may not have been able to see her approaching from her side, but Alex was facing her. As she got closer she could hear Tess tell Alex, “Now I know you have a lot on your mind, but remember your project is too important to give up on.”

“Helping him with his homework?” Isabel smiled, happy to see another one of the group spending time with him. “Although, I can’t imagine Alex giving up on anything.” Turning towards him, “Aren’t you almost done with your SQL project?”

“Aagghh,,,” Alex stammered.

“Oh, I was just talking to him while waiting for Kyle, I must have his project confused with something else. There’s so much going on right now, I’m having trouble keeping everything straight.” Tess stood, offering her seat to Isabel.

Isabel sat down and leaned over to kiss Alex. “What were you going to say?”

“Iiii,,, don’t remember,” looking directly at Isabel, Tess forgotten, he remembered his manners. “Hey,” he smiled in greeting.

“Well, there’s Kyle, I’ll catch up with you later,” Tess lingered a moment longer.

Isabel’s eyes grew wide. Turning sharply, “Are you trying to mind warp me!!?” she snapped.

“No, well I was sending happy thoughts.” Tess at least had the good graces to be embarrassed at being caught.

A thundercloud rolled over Isabel’s face. “Ok, lets get this straight! Only one person gets inside of me, and he’s sitting right here. No one else,,,,” she said covering Alex’s hand with hers.

Alex’s eyes grew wide with shock at he choked at Isabel’s pronouncement, which was unfortunate as he had just taken a huge gulp of orange soda. Fortunately he was able to turn to the side before he spewed, spraying soda all over the pavement.

“You may have been able to get away with that when we first met,” Isabel said to Tess’ back as she beat a hasty retreat.
“But not any more. Don’t ever try that on me again.”

“How were you able to tell she was, ahm, doing that?” Alex asked while wiping his face.

“I don’t know how, but I knew she was trying to get in,” Isabel replied slowly while she tried to figure out for herself how she had known. “Maybe it is because the guys seem to have more physical powers, while us girls have powers that are more mental.” Having noticed him wiping his face, her voice turned playful. “So what happened to you? I’m used to seeing you with a cute shade of red on your face, not orange. Was it something I said?”

Alex, couldn’t quite figure out how to repeat what she said, specifically who she would allow in, so thinking quickly he replied, “I’ve never seen anyone stand up to Tess, that’s all.” Despite his best efforts he turned red after all.

“I love it when you get all embarrassed,” Isabel teased, leaning in close to him. “I remember exactly what I said, and I mean every word of it,” she whispered, ending with a kiss, using a slight jolt of power to leave a bright red lip print on his face. She leaned back enjoying the shocked look on Alex’s face. Shocked yet ready to jump on the table and do a happy dance.

Returning to her salad, “You know, it’s been an interesting day. I saw Pam in the library, and she acted all strange.”

Luckily, Alex didn’t have anything to choke on this time. “And?”

“She took one look at me and practically ran out of the room,” Isabel replied with a hint of confusion in her voice. “It’s as she was scared of me, or maybe my old self.”

“Yea, I need to talk to you about that,” Alex mumbled. “She kind of hit on me this morning.”

Isabel took a deep breath and thought a moment. She knew she could trust Alex, what else mattered. “So,” she asked, in full flirt mode again, “They are starting to line up for you! Am I going to have to beat them off you with a stick?”

“Well, I was flattered, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Alex wanted to be honest with Isabel, but not suicidal, he knew better that to tell her that Pam had insulted her.

Isabel’s face clouded. Pam had crossed a serious line, even though she didn’t know it yet. “Seems like I need to have a little talk with her.”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Alex explained, hoping to head off any confrontation. “Michael walked in on the conversation, and I think he’s already handled it. Judging by what you said about Pam’s actions in the library, she’s already got the message.”

“Okay Alex,” Isabel smiled at him. “I’ll let it drop,” ‘for now,’ she added silently.

**********
After school, Alex spent a couple of hours with Maria, who had been spending a lot of time with Michael while he got his sister Laurie settled into a new place. Alex had missed his childhood friend and enjoyed spending time with her, even if it was only making deliveries for Amy. What he didn’t realize was that Isabel was continuing to make sure that he spent as little time alone as possible. When Maria finished her chores, she drove the both of them to the Crashdown. Walking into the restaurant she saw Isabel sitting at the back booth, as planned. “Here he is, he’s all yours,” she said laughing.

Alex looked at Maria, still in a jovial mood, “What’s this, you going to pass me off to the first available blond?”

“What’s the problem Alex, you complaining?” Isabel teased.

Realizing his near mistake, he quickly shook his head no, and started into the booth. Isabel stopped him, “Could you get me a refill before you settle in?”

Alex stood at the counter and looked back at his new, dare he hope, girlfriend. She had school work spread out in front of her, but she looked as if she wasn’t really seeing it. Instead she appeared to be looking off into space, deep in thought. Alex left the counter and walked to the kitchen window instead. “Michael?”

“What now?” Michael exclaimed as he turned towards the window. “Sorry Alex, what do you need?”

“I don’t think Isabel’s eaten since lunch, and all she had then was a little salad,,,”

“I’ll take care if it, you go sit with her.” Michael gathered some ingredients and started working on a grilled chicken fajita that wasn’t on the menu. He also made a special Will Smith burger with grilled onions for Alex. ‘Alex is the best thing that ever happened to Isabel’, he thought. As such he was happy to make the both of them a special treat.

When Alex turned away from the window Maria had a fresh cherry Coke ready, as well as his orange soda. Taking the drinks he joined Isabel in the booth. She didn’t seem to notice right off, and he could see that she had a lot on her mind. “I wish I knew how I could help,” he said softly.

Isabel looked him in the eyes, her warm brown ones searching his deep blue eyes for understanding. “Alex, just being here, close to me, means more that I can say.”

“But I need to be able to do something,” Alex stated earnestly, making sure that he didn’t sound whiny. “I should know how to do more, as a couple, not just as a friend.”

“Alex, I don’t know how to be a couple either,” Isabel sighed. “It’s new to both of us. New and exciting, with so many things we can discover together. But let me ask you something. What would you have done a year ago, while we were friends?”

“I would support you,” Alex replied dismissively, as if it wasn’t enough. “Maybe touch your hand, tell you everything’s going to be okay, whatever you needed and would allow me to offer.”

Isabel smiled, seemingly happy with his response. “Let me out of the booth,” she asked in a soft voice.

Alex was puzzled, but he stood and watched as she slipped out of the tight quarters. “OK, you get in first,” she commanded, waving her back into the booth before following him and sitting next to him. She placed her hand over his heart and pressed him back into the corner, leaned back against his chest, and then wiggled back and forth until she had snuggled into the perfect position. “Now take my hand.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Alex whispered into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her and took her hand.

“Yes Ma’am? It sounds like you think of me as an old lady,” Isabel teased. “”I am going to make it my sole purpose in life to make sure you never think of me as an old lady again.” ‘At least not until we’re both old and gray,’ she added silently, instinctively knowing that he wasn’t ready for that yet. Instead, Isabel sighed in contentment, “I would be happy to stay here forever.”

Alex kissed the top of her head, then tilted his head until his cheek rested against her hair. “The thing is,” he whispered, “I know what I’m missing. It’s not that I don’t remember a conversation we had, but there’s a hole in me, in my heart, where I know you belong. I feel that, and miss that part of me every minute of every day.”

Isabel lifted his hand and kissed it, and held it to her cheek. Her worse fears were realized, that Alex was suffering as much as she was. Isabel expected set backs in life, for being an alien in a strange world, for the sins of her past life, and especially for how she had treated Alex in the beginning. But Alex was different, he was special and innocent. All he had ever done was offer help and support to whoever needed it. No questions asked, no demands made, and he loved her, the real her, his special Izzy that she kept hidden from the rest of the world, but had never been able to hide from him.

‘Oh yes,’ she thought. ‘Someone was going to pay big time for what they’ve done to my Alex.’

**********
That evening, Alex sat looking blankly at his computer. Noticing that it was after eleven on a school night, he wondered where the evening had gone. He didn’t remember what he had been doing since Isabel dropped him off a couple of hours ago. His concern for her returned as he remembered how preoccupied she had been at the Crashdown. Knowing she slept even less that he did, he reached for the phone and called her.

“Hey Izzy,” Alex said casually. “You weren’t sleeping yet, were you?”

“No, not yet, I showered but I’m still in my robe and just lying here reading,,,” her voice became soft and wishful, “About constellations, thinking, looking at our yearbook.”

“I know you have a lot on your mind,” Alex said softly. “I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk about anything,,,”

Isabel felt a pang of regret, “No, nothing specific, nothing I can talk about.”

“,,,wanted to hear your voice,” Alex continued.

“Oh Alex, that’s so sweet,,,” Isabel gushed, thrilled that he would call just to hear her voice. “Wait. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I don’t sleep,” Alex replied offhandedly.

Isabel’s sense of well being was swept away as she went into full panic mode. “What do you mean you don’t sleep? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know why I said that,” he replied, confusion evident in his voice. “I didn’t realize it until just now.”

“Alex, tell me. When is the last time you slept?” Isabel asked, in full Ice Princess mode.

“Do you remember when we came back from Dr. Bashier’s?” Alex replied softly. “You stayed with me until I fell asleep.”

“That was almost a week ago,” Isabel realized, forcing herself to remain calm. “It’s ok, I’m coming over. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Isabel leapt out of bed, throwing off her robe. She threw on a tank and shorts, covering them with her running suit. A pair of sneaks, no socks, and she was gone. Minutes later she was climbing through Alex’s window. She held her finger to her mouth, silencing him, as she crept to his door and locked it with a small burst of power. She then sat on his bed and looked him in the eyes before leaning forward and kissed him gently. They came to rest with their foreheads touching.

“You haven’t slept in a week? Why didn’t you say something?” Isabel queried, hurt that he would keep that information from her.

“I didn’t realize it until I talked to you,” Alex replied in alarm, bringing his hands up to his head. “I mean, I know that a lot of things aren’t right, I just don’t know what.”

“Hey,” Isabel said softly as she took his hands in hers. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“I trust you,” Alex said as he calmed down. “I need you to tell me what to do, because right now I don’t trust myself.”

Isabel stood, leading him up also. She gently undressed him, and then took her running suit off. She climbed into his bed and patted the mattress. Alex climbed in next to her. She waited for him to settle on his back and then rolled closer to him resting her head on his shoulder. “Better?” she asked.

“What did you say this afternoon? I could stay here forever.” He kissed the top of her head. “I don’t know how to explain it. Tonight I found myself sitting in front of my computer. I don’t know what time it was or what I had been doing. That scared me, that’s when I thought of calling you. I mean I was concerned about you, but that’s the excuse I used to call you.”

“Alex, you don’t ever need an excuse to call me.” She rubbed her free hand over his chest, coming to rest over his heart. “Please promise me that you’ll never hesitate to call me. Promise me you’ll call, just so I can hear your voice.” She ran her hand through his hair, stroking him gently, trying to lure him to sleep. She teased him to lighten the mood. “So you spent the evening thinking of all those girls you had in Sweden.”

“What about Sweden?” Alex asked in confusion.

“Well I don’t know about the girls,” Isabel teased, “But you seemed to like the food, and how many slides did you bring back?”

Alex rolled onto his side, so he could look directly at Isabel. “Okay Izzy, explain this. I remember going to Sweden, but I don’t have a passport.”

“What do you mean you don’t have a passport?” Isabel gasped. “I thought you traveled with your father last year.”

“I did, but I lost my passport sometime during the winter,” Alex sighed, flopping onto his back and tossing his free arm over his forehead in dismay. “I filled out a form on the internet to report it lost, but I haven’t replaced it yet because my father has to sign the forms, and he’s going to kill me for being so irresponsible.”

“Sweetie,” Isabel said reassuringly, “We don’t need to talk about this now, the prom is the day after tomorrow, and I want you to get some sleep. I don’t want you nodding off on the dance floor. Now hold me and never let me go.”

They moved a bit so that Alex was spooned against her back. He reached his top arm around her and accidentally brushed his hand against her breast. “Izzy,,, Isabel, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean,,,” He rolled back a bit, breaking contact with her.

Isabel laughed at his embarrassment, “Alex, don’t worry, she’s not going to bite you.” She reached and found his hand. She used it to pull him tight against her back, leaning back to meet him half way, then she lowered his hand to the bed where her breast lie. “Here, let me introduce you.” She then rolled forward, effectively pinning him against the mattress with his hand full. She sighed with contentment.

“Are you sure?” Alex asked hesitantly.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything, now hold me tighter,” Isabel replied earnestly.

**********
Isabel met with Liz and Maria the following morning. They were under the bleachers behind the school where they could have some privacy.

“Ok, what’s the emergency?” Maria asked.

“Alex never went to Sweden,” Isabel deadpanned.

“Shut Up,” the twins exclaimed together.

“Seriously,” Isabel assured them, her eyes wide. “I talked to him last night, he lost his passport last winter. He even reported it to the government. Sweden isn’t like Mexico, you can’t enter with just a birth certificate, you need a passport. I looked it up to make sure.”

“Well if he didn’t go to Sweden, where did he go?” Liz asked.

“And more importantly, why? What was he doing?” Isabel grew more upset every moment. “I’ve got to figure out what’s happening.”

“Easy Isabel, you’re loosing it,,,” Maria started to say.

“Of course I’m loosing it!” Isabel ranted as she began to pace and wring her hands. “Alex isn’t sleeping, not one minute in the past week. He told me that last night, so I’m trying to calm him down and put him to sleep, just talking about little things, when he hits me with the passport bombshell. I couldn’t even react, I had to keep it inside of me. How could I help him if he saw how panicked I was? This just keeps getting worse and worse every day”

The twins moved in to comfort her. “Isabel, you’re not in this alone. We’re going to find a way to fix this.”

“This is going to end,,,” tears were flowing down Isabel’s face. “This is going to end, and it’s going to end badly. I can feel that with every fiber of my being.”

“Isabel, don’t think the worse,,,” Liz tried to comfort her.

“Liz,” Isabel snapped, turning to face her petit friend head on. “When have we ever had a surprise that ended well,,,”

“I remember a certain surprise party where you were laughing so hard you had tears in your eyes,” Maria interrupted.

Isabel smiled through her tears, “Do you remember the look on his face when he saw my mom there? So cute? So innocent? I can’t let anything happen to him.”

“Isabel, listen to me.” Liz put her hands on both sides of her face, forcing her to pay attention. “We are much better together than alone. We’ve overcome some serious stuff the past several months, we’re not going to let anything happen to him.”

“How?” Isabel moaned. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Ok, let me think a minute.” Liz took a step back and tried to think straight. “We can’t tell Alex what we’re thinking, but that doesn’t mean we can’t listen to what he says. What do we have from him? Anything from the trip?”

“No,” Isabel answered. She was much calmer now that they were working on a solution. “I never even got a chance to talk to him until his slide show. The slides?”

“I don’t know how to find anything out from the slides. Any postcards? Anything with a postmark? How about the people he was staying with?” Liz asked.

“E-mail!” Maria exclaimed. “He didn’t say much, having fun, good food, but maybe it’s something.”

“Did you ever look at an e-mail with the filters turned off?” Liz said, her confidence growing. “There are probably fifty lines of headder to send a one line message. All that stuff has to mean something to someone.”

“But I can’t ask Alex, he’s our computer expert,” Isabel said, disappointed.

“You don’t have to,” Maria beamed. “We know someone with 300 million answers about the internet and all of that stuff.”

“Brody!” Liz and Isabel said together.

Maria nodded in agreement.

“Good, You go see him right after school before things get really busy at the Crashdown, and I’ll cover for you,” Liz instructed.

“What about me?” Isabel asked.

“Isabel, I have a tough job for you, but I know you’re up to the sacrifice,” Liz teased. “You’re going to have to keep an eye on Alex.”

“I like this plan already,” Isabel said with a smile.

**********
“Hey Brody,” Maria called out as she entered his office. “I come bearing gifts of food and with a thirst for knowledge.”

“Well, this is an unexpected delight,” Brody exclaimed as he lurched up from his desk.

“Remember when you said I should bring something for myself?” Maria said cheerfully. “Well for you, one Galaxy sub, hold the mayo, with pepperjack, for me a humus and tofu salad.”

Brody looked for a place that they could sit and enjoy the meal, although more for the company than the sandwich. Not finding any clear space he swept a table clean with his arm, knocking a lot of expensive electronic equipment to the floor. “There we go,” he said cheerfully, pulling out a chair for his quest. “Now what can I help you with?”

Maria set the food on the table before gracefully settling into the proffered seat. “I need to know about the internet and how e-mail works.”

“That’s a big topic, even for me,” Brody replied modestly. “Can you narrow it down a little?”

“Sure, Alex went to Sweden, and sent me an e-mail from there, only I think he’s pulling my leg, because I really don’t think he went to Sweden, so how can I tell if he is telling me the truth?” Maria gushed in a single breath.

“I think with a little background I can give you an answer to that,” Brody answered proudly. “The internet, originally called Arpanet, was designed by the military during the cold war. It was designed to connect military computers in such a way that in the event of an attack, the undamaged computers and network would remain functional. To do this, the Arpanet was a functioning anarchy. There was no central control over the network and there were no central post offices. If a computer was destroyed, it could not bring the network down. Over time Arpanet became public and evolved into the current internet. But at it’s core, nothing has changed. It is still a functioning anarchy. There is no central process to sending e-mail.”

“Wow, I almost understand that,” Maria exclaimed, suitably impressed. “But how does that help?”

“Well, here’s why what I just said is important,” Brody continued. “Alex, you said, sent you an e-mail. Since there is no central post office to route the e-mail to you, the message must be able to find you on it’s own. That means the message header contains all of the information about where the e-mail came from, where it is going, and how it got there, step by step. All you need is the right software to translate the information and the skills to read it.”

“Do you know anyone that can do this?” Maria pouted.

“Actually I can, I helped develop the standard,” Brody admitted. “Is the e-mail still on the internet?” he asked as he turned and started typing at a workstation.

“It’s at my hotmail account,” Maria admitted as she scooted her chair over to see his monitor.

“Okay, log on,” Brody asked as he moved to one side so she could enter her ID and password to bring up the message.

Moments later Maria relinquished the keyboard as the message came up. “Bill,,, Bill,,, Bill,,,” Brody mumbled absentmindedly as he did a little typing. “You never fail to disappoint me old friend. I see you’ve improved your software to the point that I can only drive a small truck through the holes in your security.” He rolled his chair to another workstation and did some more typing, then returned to the first computer. “Okay, I’m in. Now I’m logging into the network where the mail originated. Oh, this is lovely. Whoever designed this network did a fantastic job. Your e-mail was sent from the University of New Mexico at Las Cruces. I can even tell the dormitory and room number. The user name is Ray Emerson.”

**********
Isabel pulled the jeep up next to Alex in the school parking lot. “Let’s go for a run.”

“Sorry, my sole athletic endeavor is dodge ball,” Alex laughingly replied.

“I’ll wear shorts,” she teased.

“Ok, how about you get your shorts and we’ll go for a long walk,” Alex compromised. “It’s too hot to run.”

“Deal,” Isabel agreed with a smile.

Alex and Isabel went for about a 90 minute walk. When they finished they ended up at the Crashdown for sodas, after which Isabel took Alex into the break room and sat down on the couch. “Lie down and put your head on my lap,” she commanded.

“Here?” Alex asked doubtfully.

“Alex, as much as I want to, I can’t come to visit you every night,” Isabel explained impatiently. We both have parents that we have to answer to, and sooner or later we’re going to either get caught, or have to lie to them. So if I can’t visit you every night, at least I can make sure you get a couple of hours rest before you go home.”

Alex did as she asked, and she was soon talking softly to him while stroking his hair. She gave him a mild dose of power to calm and relax him. Soon he was asleep.

Maria came in, happy that her mission across the street was successful. Isabel held up a finger up to silence her.

“Is he sleeping?” Maria asked softly.

“Yea, but don’t say anything about your visit. I’ll call you later tonight,” Isabel instructed before returning her attention to her boyfriend.

**********
Alex knocked quickly on the Evan’s kitchen door and then let himself in, finding that Diane had just about finished preparing dinner for herself and Philip. “Alex, so good to see you again,” she said in a heartfelt greeting. He placed several packages on the counter, walked up to her and accepted a hug, returning it with a kiss to her cheek. She took his arm, “Come on into the living room, Isabel should be almost ready. Philip! Alex is here, he looks so handsome in his tux.”

“I can’t believe this evening is finally here. I’ve been waiting for it all my life,” Alex replied.

Philip greeted Alex with a two handed handshake. “I am so happy for you. I don’t think I have ever seen Isabel as happy as she has been since the two of you started going out together.” He handed Alex a set of keys to the Lexus. Looking the younger man in the eyes, “Here are the rules. You will have her back here by 1:00, and you will not do anything that she can’t tell her mom about in the morning.”

“I understand Sir,” Alex replied stoically.

“Now Isabel can be tough to handle when she gets an idea in her head,,,” Phillip lectured.

“Mr. Evans,” Alex interrupted, holding his hands up in a stopping motion. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for you and Mrs. Evans, we will honor your wishes.”

Isabel chose that moment to start down the stairs, making her grand entrance. She had on a long red dress, and her hair was up. Alex stood enthralled. She walked up to Alex, stopped, and said, “Thank you.”

“I haven’t said anything yet,” Alex managed to choke out.

“You didn’t have to, your expression says it all,” Isabel said gazing into his eyes. “I also love that I can wear heels with you.”

“Oh, that’s the attraction.” Alex teased with a big grin on his face. “My height? All this time I thought it was the famous Whitman charm. My dad’s going to be so disappointed.”

“Alex?” Isabel asked, her eyes growing wide.

Alex leaned in to kiss her on the cheek then whispered, “Shhh, I’m back.” Leaning back he returned his voice to normal, “You look incredible. You take my breath away.”

Isabel’s face broke with a smile that lit the room.

Alex reached for the smaller of the packages. “I hope this is the right color,” Alex said with a big grin as he handed it to Isabel.

She opened the package to find a wrist corsage made of roses and baby’s breath. “Red, how ever did you guess?” She returned the open box to Alex so he could put it on her. “Red and strapless, the dress dreams are made of.” Both teens were slightly embarrassed an the inside joke they were playing right in front of her parents.

“But Alex, you didn’t have to get flowers too!” she said reaching for the other box.

Alex playfully slapped her hand away, “Get your hands off those you silly girl. These are for your mom, in appreciation for all the interference she has run for me with your dad,” he said, smiling at Philip.

Diane was flabbergasted, “Oh you shouldn’t have,” she smiled and smelled the roses. “They are beautiful. Philip, get the camera while I put these in some water.”

Philip took pictures of them individually and as a couple, close up, and floor length. He got a picture of the teens standing with Diane, and he used the self timer to get a picture of all four of them, promising copies for Alex’s parents.

“One more daddy?” Isabel pleaded in her little girl voice which guaranteed that she would get her way. “A close up of the both of us?”

“Sure Princess,” Philip answered, looking at the camera. “I have two more shots.”

“OK,” Isabel pulled Alex in close while they wrapped an arm around each other. “Daddy count to three.”

“One,,,,, Two,,,,,”

Isabel turned and kissed Alex on the cheek, the same time she reached down with her hidden hand and grabbed his ass. Alex’s mouth opened almost as wide as his eyes, just as the flash went off.

“Well come on Alex, time to get going,” Isabel teased as she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door.

“Thank you, ahh, Mr. Evans for the car, and,,,” Alex said as he was dragged out the door.

Philip started to follow the teens to the door, but the moment Isabel got Alex outside she pushed Alex back against the wall. Throwing the door closed, she wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck and started kissing him.

“Diane, did you see that?” Phillip demanded, pointing to the now closed door. “Did you see your daughter? That’s supposed to happen at the end of the date, not the beginning, maybe I should of told her the rules. That poor guy doesn’t know what he’s in for!.”

“Oh hush,” Diane said with a laugh. “He knows exactly what she has in store for him.”

**********
Alex drove Isabel to the Crashdown where the group had agreed to meet before leaving for the prom. He was holding her hand and kissing it repeatedly. Isabel started to ask a question, but Alex cut her off. “No. Tonight there are no humans and no aliens. There are no mysteries and no intrigue. The only thing that matters tonight is that you and I are in love and we are together.”

Several minutes later, they arrived at the Crashdown, but had trouble finding a parking place. Alex finally found a spot along side the UFO center. He let himself out of the car and then strutted around to her side, but was dismayed to find her standing on the sidewalk. “You get back in that car!” he demanded.

“What?” Isabel replied in confusion. “Alex, I can get my own doors.”

“Not tonight,” he answered, slapping her on the ass. “Get back in the car,” he commanded while opening the door for her.

Isabel carefully sat back in the passenger seat, and then offered her hand so that Alex could help her out properly. Once standing she fanned her face, doing her best southern belle imitation, “Just because you had your way with me once doesn’t mean you may take liberties with me again,” she said, rubbing her ass.

Alex offered his arm, and Isabel slipped her hand onto it and leaned on him as they slowly walked towards the restaurant. “I’m taking liberties?” he teased. “I’ll remember that next time I see you crawling through my window.”


Liz looked up when the door chime played it’s ‘Close Encounters’ music. She directed the new arrivals towards the back booth, which she had been saving for them. Once they were settled, she went back to working on Maria’s hair, trying to get it just right. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Alex so happy, Isabel too,” she added.

“How about my guy,” Maria asked. “Is he looking?”

Liz glanced towards the kitchen, catching Michael as he put a plate of food on the pick up counter. She watched discretely as he looked out at the couples and then turned his attention to Maria, finding him looking disheartened and left out. “No, just concentrate,” she told Maria. “How am I supposed to get this right if you keep moving?”

“What an idiot,” Maria pouted. “I swear, I hope he's lonely tonight.”


Kyle and Tess entered the Cafe. “Can I get you something to drink?” Kyle asked, proud to be seen with such a hot date.

“Yeah, yeah, please. I, I'm just going to go and sit over there,” Tess replied offhandedly.

“Good, good, so I'll get... your beverage,” Kyle stammered before heading to the counter next to Liz and Maria.

“No, I think it looks hot Liz,” Maria gushed to her friend while checking herself out in her compact.

“No, um okay, I'm going to take a... see if Max is here yet,” Liz walked away.

Kyle turns towards Maria, “Hey.”

“Hi Kyle,” Maria said as she reached and took hold of his lapels opening his coat wide. “I like the vest action.”

Finally Kyle caught the waitresses attention. “Can I get two cokes, please?” He then turned back to Maria, who nodded towards Jim and Amy sitting together at a booth. “I caught them making out on the couch,” he said softly, not wanting his shame to be widely known.

“Dude, Liz and I caught them making out in the pantry closet in the kitchen, shirts misbuttoned and all,” ratcheting up the ick factor. “It's just so embarrassing.”

“I know, but there's nothing we can do about it. It's just raging hormones,” Kyle sighed. “But look at the bright side. They’re our chaperones. Maybe they’ll get so tied up with each other that we can get a little something-something going ourselves.”

“Speak for yourself,” Maria pouted. “You have a date to get it on with,,, So are you and Tess uh... you know?”

“Oh well, I don’t know actually, it's like, she uh, she's hot and uh, but I feel really resistant for some reason,” Kyle admitted while shaking his head. “I can't quite put my finger on it.”

“Well, maybe you're just gay,” Maria teased.

“No, no... ahhmm, No,” Kyle rebutted, dropping his voice a full octave and puffing up his chest. “Just ask any cheerleader.”


Liz came out of the kitchen at the same time as Max arrived. They approached each other as he offered her a corsage. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. You look very nice too,” Liz answered modestly. “Um, you know, Maria's all alone tonight so is it okay if she hangs?”

“Of course,” Max replied, slipping into leader mode. “It wouldn’t be right if we all weren’t together.”


Amy looked at her watch and decided that she had to get things organized before the couples started filtering out. “Okay come on kids, we have to take pictures. Come on, lets go guys. Liz, you look beautiful. Maria, you look absolutely perfect. Where is uh, Isabel, Alex, Tess, come on. Lets take pictures. Who's missing, uh Michael. Come out here, mm-hmm. Come on, lets go now. Uh, Jim, come on, who am I going to stand with? Is that everyone? Oh, oh, this is going to be great, um, Vickie,,, can you take the picture for us?”

**********
Alex and Isabel entered the gymnasium which has been transformed into a magical kingdom, if only for one evening. As they finished making their rounds, greeting their friends, Isabel leaned in close to her date. “Lets get our picture taken now,” she whispered, expertly making her breath felt on the side of his neck, thus insuring his compliance. “I don’t want to interrupt our evening later.” Cueing up in line, they notice Martinelli and several of his jock friends on the other side of the corridor; sadly, without dates.

Martinelli couldn’t resist a chance to taunt Alex. “Hey Alice, how do you rate taking Isabel Evans to the prom?”

Refusing to rise to the bait Alex bows and replies, “Because I am the luckiest guy in the history of the human race.”

Isabel decided that her boyfriend wasn’t going to take second place to anyone, especially not tonight. “Hey Martinelli,” Isabel called out joyfully. “Do you want to know why I’m here with Alex? Because he is the only man who can make want to do this.” Isabel leaned over and kissed Alex, and as her feelings for him intensified, she leaned back with a stunned look on her face. “Wow,” was the only thought that she was able to express coherently. She looked in the eyes, and then attacked him with an open mouth kiss, her tongue fighting it’s way into his mouth. Alex was pushed back until his legs contacted the table the photographers assistant had set up, and he fell backward, landing flat on his back while Isabel stayed right with him. She pined him to the table and maintained the kiss as a small crowd gathered. Finally running out of breath she came up for air. When she finished, she stood, straightened her clothing, and then looked over to the jocks, “That’s my Alex. Hey Martinelli, where’s your date?”


Their pictures taken, Alex and Isabel returned to the gym. They got right into the mood and danced several songs. When they stopped for a break, they looked around and noticed Liz and Maria waving at them from a table back near the dance floor. They joined their friends at the table, and after Alex helped Isabel to her seat Isabel asked, “Where’s Max?”

“I don’t know,” Liz sighed. “We danced, but he saw someone he wanted to talk to and took off.”

Alex turned his head up as a new song started. “Well, I’m going to fulfill a fantasy,” he declared as he stood.

“Alex, right here? With everyone watching?” Isabel teased.

Alex smiled at her, offering his arm. “Miss Evans,,,” he turned, “Miss Parker, Miss DeLuca. Would you allow me the privilege of dancing with the three hottest women in the school?”

At that moment Tess walked up, “Hey, if three’s good four’s got to be better, right?”

Isabel and Liz took Alex’s arms, Maria grabbed him by his lapels and pulled him onto the dance floor, while Tess pushed from behind. Maria made sure they were in the center of the floor and then they started dancing. Isabel kept them out there for the entire set, making sure that they were out there long enough for the entire student body to notice the hotness of her boyfriend. When they finally retired from the dance floor, they stopped for refreshments before returning to the table.

As soon as they were seated Maria was nudged by her childhood friend. She looked in the direction he pointed, and got the attention of the entire room. “Michael!” she screamed when he saw her boyfriend waiting with Max and Kyle. Michael smiled as Maria ran over and jumped into his open arms, hugging and kissing him. “What are you doing here, I thought you said proms were unnatural.”

“Maria, this is important to you,” he answered, hiding his embarrassment at finding himself the center of attention, “But don’t get your hopes up, I’m not very good at this.”

Meanwhile Alex had waved a signal to the DJ, who was a friend of his from the garage band circuit, and then stood at his date’s side. “Isabel,” he invited offering his arm, “Would you give me the honor of this dance?”

“Why the pleasure is all mine,” Isabel replied flirtingly. She placed her hand within her proffered arm and allowed herself to be led to the dance floor as the sweet sound of Monique Powell filled the air. Isabel stepped into his arms, initially intending a formal stance, but willing surrendered as he pulled her in close. “Oh my God, Let me in, Alex, that was our first dance,,,”

“I know,” he sighed,

“But I never told you, how did you know?” Isabel asked, surprised. Pleased, but surprised.

“I saw the whole thing an a flash when you kissed me on my porch,” Alex confessed.

“You got a flash too?” Isabel asked in surprise.

Alex kissed the top of her head. “You were so cute that day, your hair was down, it looked like you brushed it so much it shined in the sunlight,” he whispered as he kissed her hair again. “You had a blue top on, with a drawstring at the neckline. After you kissed me, you just stood there, stumbling for words.”

“You remember all that?” Isabel said breathlessly.

“Of course I do,” Alex sighed. “I remember the dream too, but when you kissed me, that made it real. Maybe you didn’t know it yet, but I did. Since then, it’s just been a matter of waiting for you to realize it too.”

Isabel had finally realized what it felt like to wait. She had to stop and remind herself that Alex did not walk out on her and go to Sweden, but the time apart still hurt. “Alex, about that, about the men,,,”

“Shhh, that’s ancient history,” Alex said reassuringly.

“No Alex,” Isabel interrupted. “I’ve got to say this, to get the record straight. I’ve treated you so badly,,,”

Alex wanted to stop her and tell her everything was alright, but he decided to let her say what she needed to say so that they could put the issue behind them.

“I asked Grant out while you were sitting right next to you,” Isabel stammered as she stopped moving. “You were in the room when I went with, that guy in Vegas,,,”

“That was a different time, and David? I owe him a debt of gratitude,,,” Alex related softly as he put his fingertips under Isabel’s chin and lifted, so she could see his eyes.

“What?” Isabel gasped, clearly confused.

“The guy in Vegas was David,,,” Alex explained gently.

“But I never should’ve done that,” Isabel said, her voice near breaking.

“Izzy, do you think I blame you because you took the ice princess out for a last spin?” Alex said without a trace of rancor in his voice.

She nodded yes.

“I don’t! Not in the least,” Alex told her, looking deep into her eyes. “You had to do that, it’s the only way you had to realize that she was gone. I was never so happy as when you came back to the supper club and danced with me.”

“But what happens if I do it again?” Isabel whined.

“You won’t,” Alex told her with confidence. “You’re at a different place now. We’re together. We have a level of closeness, trust and comfort that we didn’t have back then. We’re a couple now, and I will fight to keep us that way.”

“What I want you to know is that I never, you know, with any of them,” Isabel stammered. “I just wanted them to want me. I never let them touch me, let alone look inside. I love you, and I need you to know that I have been saving myself for you, even if I didn’t realize it at the time,” Isabel said as she rested her head on his shoulder.


While Alex and Isabel were dancing, Michael looked at Maria, “This sounds slow, I think I can handle it.” They held hands as they walked out onto the dance floor and then Michael held Maria while she danced around him.

“See, you can do this,” Maria gushed.

“You’re doing all the work,” Michael deadpanned. “I’m not doing anything.”

“You’re here, and you’re holding me,” Maria replied as she snuck in for a quick kiss. “That’s the most important thing.”

Alex wanted to try one more thing. When the eight friends were all at the table he pulled them to the side of the gym. “Ok, I want to try this dance.” Michael rolled his eyes, and received a slap up the side of the head from both Maria and Isabel. “Ready? This is really easy, all you have to do is count to four, four times. Watch, right foot out, back, out, back. Left foot out, back, out, back. Right foot forward, back, forward, back. Left foot behind you, back, behind, now turn 90 degrees.” They practiced it a couple of minutes more while the current song played out.

Alex then signaled the DJ. As he led the group onto the floor, I’ve Got the Power by Snap pounded out from the sound system. They started dancing to the song. It didn’t take long for eight people dancing together to be noticed. Vicky Delaney was the first to join in, followed by several other couples. Alex, Isabel, Maria, and Liz were really into the music. They had their arms over their heads and exaggerated their steps. Soon most of the room was dancing. The DJ repeated the song to keep the room moving. Isabel turned so she could watch Alex, who was having the time of his life, and in that one magical moment, his reputation as the school geek died forever.


At the end of the dance Tess asked Max if she could talk to him privately. She led him to an alcove near the restrooms. “Max, there is something I need to tell you,” she related, stepping in close and invading his space. “It’s about the memory practice we did the other night.”

“I really want to thank you for that,” Max said, nevertheless uncomfortable at her close proximity. “I can’t believe all that information was in my mind, waiting to be brought out.”

“Well Max, you thanked me pretty thoroughly that night,” Tess said flirtingly, her eyes bright. “That’s what I need to talk to you about.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Max asked in alarm.

Tess looked over Max’s shoulder and saw Liz come out into the hallway, obviously looking for him. She waited until Liz was within earshot, and then while maintaining eye contact with her, she told Max, “The problem is I’m pregnant. You made love to me and now we have a baby.”

Max was stunned, and stood rooted to the spot. Liz felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach. Unnoticed by her date, she ran for the girl’s room before she got sick.


Alex placed his hand on Isabel’s waist and steered her towards the door. He led her out to the foyer, and then towards a private corner. Alex looked deep into her eyes. “Darling, don’t say anything. I have wanted to say something to you all evening, and I think I have just figured out how.” He bent his head down, and pulled her to him.

Isabel opened herself to the kiss. She felt the softness of his lips, the warmth of his hand on her waist, pulling her towards him until there was no space between them. She smelled his cologne, mixed with his own scent that sent excitement deep inside her. She felt his other hand holding the back of her neck, his touch electric.

Alex pulled back a bit and looked into her eyes.

She could see moisture there. “Wow,” was all she could say.

“Not even close,” Alex said with a cute little smile. “Relax, let me in.”

They joined again. Isabel felt a flash as they connected. This kiss went straight to her heart. The feelings Alex shared with her warmed her entire body. She saw Alex standing in the cafeteria in junior high, his pizza on the floor. She saw him watching her during class his school work forgotten. She saw him open the door for her and watch as she walked by. She saw the other boys in gym class teasing him about his crush on her, and watched as he ignored them. She saw him on the porch of his house the first time they kissed. She saw his joy and pride when she told Maria and Michael that they ‘were together’ in the eraser room. She saw him in the Kettles the night he was shot, she saw him cry, and then she saw him relax and fall asleep in her arms.

“Oh Alex,” she was trying to catch her breath.

“Almost, I’m going to get it right this time,” he whispered.

They met without conscious effort. The moment their lips touched Isabel felt like she was hit by lightning. Every ounce of love and emotion Alex had felt for her over the years flowed into her. Isabel’s heart burst like a sky rocket with his love of her, it flowed to every part of her body. She could no longer tell where her body ended and Alex’s began.

Isabel saw herself as Alex saw her. She saw herself walk up to him and take his hand, leading him back to her table, sharing her lunch with him. She saw how pretty Alex saw her as she was sitting in class. She saw herself look at Alex and smile as she noticed he was watching her. She saw herself walk through an open door, whispering ‘thank you’ as he held it open. She saw how beautiful she was standing on his porch embarrassed and stumbling over her words after their first kiss. She saw how content she was while he tucked her into her bed the afternoon of the eraser room kiss. She saw herself, strong and confident holding a protective field around the both of the as the world came apart around them. She saw herself trying to keep him warm in the jeep. She saw herself as the anchor that he clung to as grief poured out of him. And she saw herself sleeping in his arms, as he watched.

Isabel saw these and hundreds of other visions of herself that Alex had clung to through the years. She knew that these were genuine and heartfelt images. She knew that Alex saw the real Isabel, that she had never been able to hide it from him. She saw him wait for her to realize the same thing about him. She saw herself as he did, and for the first time in her life she knew that she would never be alone. Not only because he would always be there for her, but because she needed him as much as the water she drank and the air she breathed.

She opened her eyes having experienced the greatest moment in her life, she had found her soul mate. Her heart racing to keep up with the love and emotion that she needed to return to Alex, she attacked his lips. The connection was immediate, but it was not to be. Isabel watched in horror as a grey mist clouded her vision. She heard Alex scream through the fading connection, “Isabel, I love you. You are the only one I will ever love. No matter what happens to me, I will love you, and only you until the end of time.”

Alex took a step back. “Are you ready to go home?”

Isabel looked into Alex’s vacant eyes and wailed in despair. She had lost him again.


Liz was dragging herself through the hall when she heard Isabel scream. The cry cut through her like a knife. She was the only person who could understand the anguish in that voice. Her problems forgotten, she turned and ran to Isabel and Alex.

Isabel was leaning on Alex, one arm around his neck, her other hand over his heart.. Her tears were in full flow, and she was saying “No,,, don’t go,,, I need you,,,” refusing to let go of what they had shared.

Alex, incapable of feeling what Isabel was saying, only heard the words that she was speaking. “I’m sorry Isabel.” He said without emotion as he extracted himself from Isabel’s arms. “I’ll go get the car,” he deadpanned as he walked away, never looking back. Isabel would have collapsed if Liz had not caught her.

TBC

[stargazer md]

Gazer Gets the Girl.
Chapter 5, “The Investigation.”
by Stargazer_md

Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. If they did, the show would still be on.
Summary: Alex needs help, who do you think he calls?
Setting: Picks up in the middle of S-2, and we’re going to get this story back on track.
Category: Alex/Isabel
Rating: Mature – eventually

Where were we? Prom’s over, now Isabel has some work to do.

**********
Isabel watched over Liz’s shoulder as Alex went to get the car. She allowed Liz to hold her, both women seeking solace, then took a step back.

Liz watched as Isabel took a deep breath, and was amazed at the transformation that overcame her tall Amazonian friend as she shed the hurt and tension. By the end of the third breath, the Ice Princess was back in full force.

“How can you do that?” Liz asked.

“Years of practice,” Isabel answered flatly, gaining no comfort from her ability to hide from the world. “But every bit of the pain is still here. No one can see it; well, no one but Alex, the real Alex. Is anyone looking?”

“No, we’re alone,” Liz answered after a discrete survey of their surroundings.

Isabel waved her hand in front of her face, repairing her make up. She then noticed Liz’s runny mascara for the first time. “What’s wrong, what did that bastard do to you this time?”

Liz could only shake her head as fresh tears ran down her face.

“Can you hold out for a couple of minutes?” Isabel asked tenderly as she realized that her brother was continuing his campaign to hurt those who cared for him the most.

Liz nodded yes.

Isabel passed her hand over Liz’s face, drying her tears. She thought a moment and the passed her hand a second time, removing all of her make-up. “There, nothing left to smear. We got to get home, then we’ll be free to talk.”

Isabel settled Liz in the back seat, then took the keys from Alex and drove to his house. She walked him to his door and kissed him goodnight. Returning to the car she saw Liz had moved to the front seat. “I take it you don’t want to come to my house?”

Liz shook her head no. After a moment she realized the car was dark, “I can’t stand the chance of bumping into him.”

Isabel took out her cell, it glowed as she speed dialed. After several rings a sleepy voice answered. “Daddy, I’m going to stay at Liz’s tonight,,, Daddy, do you trust me, or do I have to wake Mr. Parker and have him talk to you? Okay, Daddy, I love you, I’ll check in with you in the morning. Night-Night” Her call completed, she turned towards Liz, “It goes without saying that I don’t ever want to hear the words ‘night-night’ from you.”

“It’s okay,” Liz managed to half laugh despite her raspy voice. “My dad still calls me pumpkin.”


The two young women settled in Liz’s room with spoons, bowls, Tabasco, and a five gallon (19 liter) pail ice cream. “First I got to get out of this dress,” Liz declared.

“Yea, I’m going to have to borrow something,” Isabel agreed offhandedly.

Liz looked up at Isabel, “I didn’t think of that! You’re going to have to fit into something of mine?”

Isabel giggled, “Not really, just give me something that you don’t wear anymore.”

Liz handed her a pair of blue shortie pajamas. Laughing, she added, “They’re too small for me.”

Isabel felt the fabric with distaste. “Cotton. Well maybe it’s enough to work with.” She lay them on the bed and with a wave of her hand enlarged them. With a second wave changed them to satin. The last pass changed them to red, with black embroidery. “You don’t have your own bath room?” Isabel said with disdain.

“No, but you can change here,” Liz replied without thinking. “After all we share a locker room at school.”

Isabel tucked a finger in her cleavage pulling the neckline of her dress out an inch or two and looked down. “I don’t think so,,,” Releasing her dress she returned her gaze to Liz. “Prom night, Alex,,,”

Liz blushed as she realized Isabel was wearing something special under her gown. Taking her own pajamas she said, “I’ll step down the hall and leave you a minute.” Moments later she closed the bedroom door behind her and leaned back on it giggling, “Alex, if you ever find out how close you came you’re going to shoot yourself.”

She returned to her room and found Isabel sitting on the edge of the bed. She had her new pajamas on, had removed what little make up she wore, and had her hair pulled back into a pony tail.

Isabel looked at Liz as she reentered the room and sat next to her on the bed. “White cotton, I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you. First things first.” She touched the shoulder of Liz’s top and her pajamas turned to a luxurious shade of sapphire blue with gold embroidery. “Ok, now do you like,,,” she touched her again, “silk, or,,,” another touch, “satin?”

“Oh wow,” Liz sighed. “I could get spoiled hanging around with you. Silk, I think.”

Isabel touched her shoulder again, changing the pajamas back to silk. She also noticed a denim skirt hanging on the back of Liz’s desk chair. She reached over and changed it to a rich brown leather.

Liz reached past her for a spoon. “Men, grrrrr,” she said filling both bowls with ice cream and handing one to Isabel.

Isabel looked at the bowl and laughed.

“What?” Liz asked in exasperation.

“It figures,” Isabel teased, although with a kind expression on her face, “Vanilla.”

“Oh blow it out your ass, Valandra. What’s it going to matter after you get done drowning it with that paint thinner you put on everything?”

“Paint thinner,” Isabel laughed, “I’ll have you know this contains,” looking at the bottle, “vinegar? Yech. And why are you calling me that bitch?”

“Because I owe you for that cotton crack, and don’t talk to me about bitch, Valandra’s no bitch, not compared to Tess. That rotten lying evil bitch can burn in hell for all I care, and she can take Max with her,” as the tears started to flow.

“What happened?” Isabel asked softly.

“Well, it was right after we all danced to snap,” Liz managed to choke out. “I just left Max for a minute. I should be able to leave him alone for a minute, right? I can’t take to the rest room with me, can I?”

Isabel just looked at her, encouraging her to continue.

“I came out, and that bitch already had her paws on him,” Liz moaned.

“Maybe they just stepped out of the gym to get away from the noise,” Isabel suggested, hoping for the best. “Maybe she was just trying to tell him something,,,”

“That slut had something to tell him alright,” Liz barked. “She told him he got her pregnant.”

Isabel was stunned, she didn’t even know how to react. “What? How?,,” her face sinking into her hands. “I thought I would have time to fix,,,” she looked at Liz, “I’m so sorry.”

“Wait a minute Isabel,” Liz declared. “Why are you taking the blame for this? Max is the one who can’t keep his pants buttoned, and Tess is the slack kneed whore who has been after him since the day she arrived.”

“Why?” Isabel asked. “Because you told me about future Max, and that something is wrong with our Max. I didn’t do anything,,,”

“You found out less than a week ago, you didn’t have time to do anything, and besides you’ve had your hands full with Alex. Don’t take this on your plate, this is Max’s fault,” Liz rebutted earnestly. “And to think I waited for him.”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way Liz,” Isabel said carefully, “And I’m not defending him, but you did made him think that you didn’t wait for him.”

“I did what I had to do, what he told,,, well what future Max told me to do. Why didn’t he figure it out? I needed him to fix it,” Liz wailed as she turned to face Isabel directly. “You figured it out, why couldn’t he,,,” she concluded as she buried her face in Isabel’s shoulder and cried until there were no more tears.

**********
The following morning, Isabel woke as soon as she heard noises in the kitchen, quickly calling Maria.

“Whoever this is,” Maria moaned. “I’m going to kill you calling this early on the only morning I have to sleep in. I’m going to roll over, go back to sleep, and kill you at a decent hour,,,”

“Maria, it’s Isabel,” Isabel commanded in her best Ice Princess voice. “Liz needs you! Get here as fast as you can.” Click.

Less than fifteen minutes later Maria arrived to find Isabel changing into a Crashdown waitress’s dress.

“Wait, wait,,,” Maria exclaimed, watching Isabel carefully adjust the restaurants signature headpiece. “The last time this happened was when Liz’s grandmother,,, Oh God, no one’s dying, are they?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Isabel declared in a cold voice, “But it seems a couple of people are struggling to climb to the top of my list.” The tall teen turned to her friend, “Liz is upstairs, I wanted to let her sleep in.”

“And you want me to?” Maria questioned, clearly not having any clue as to what was going on.

“Be her friend,” Isabel said over her shoulder as she headed out into the maelstrom.

Isabel quickly got the front of the house under control, her phenomenal memory more than making up for any lack of experience. When she picked up a plate of food at the kitchen window Jose graced her with his famous gaped tooth grin. Not understanding the danger inherent in Isabel’s icy stare he threw fuel on the fire by adding, “Anything else sweetcheeks?”

Isabel took the plates, delivered the food to the appropriate customers, and then stormed into the kitchen. She marched up to Jose, invading his personal space to the point that he was leaning backwards over the grill. She towered over the little man, and with her hands on hips, he had no place to go. Sweat started popping out on his forehead, whether from the heat of the grill or the heat of Isabel’s stare, she didn’t care.

“Here’s the way it’s going to be Jose,” Isabel decreed, her eyes seemingly boring deep into his sub-consciousness. “When I am working you will call me by my first name, Isabel. When I am not working you will call me Miss Evans. Is that clear?”

Jose nodded a very nervous yes.

“In fact this applies to all of the waitresses. If I ever catch you being disrespectful to one of the girls again, I will break you into little pieces and feed you to the garbage disposal. Is that clear?”

“Yes Miss Isabel.”

“Good,” Isabel said as she backed away from the broken man. To prove that she didn’t bear a grudge she handed him a dish towel so he could wipe his face.

**********
Liz and Maria made it into the Crashdown towards the end of the lunch rush. Isabel was almost done with her shift, but still was able to take a break and spend a couple of minutes with them. She poured herself a cherry Coke and joined them in their booth.

“Has anyone seen Alex?” were the first words out of Isabel’s mouth. “I’ve tried calling him but all I get is voice mail.”

“No, we haven’t heard form anyone,” Maria answered.

Isabel looked at Liz, “How are you doing.” She was looking her right in the eye, making sure she got the whole answer.

“I’m fine,” Liz answered. “In fact I’m better than fine, we’re on a mission.”

“What mission?” Isabel demanded in a voice that got results.

“We’re heading to Las Cruces first thing in the morning,” Maria answered. “We’re going to track down Alex’s e-mail.”

“I don’t know,” Isabel replied doubtfully. “I’ve got to keep an eye on Alex, and I need to have a heart to heart with Max. Las Cruces will have to wait a couple of days until I can go with you.”

“Isabel, it has to be tomorrow,” Liz interjected. “If we wait any longer the students are going to start heading home for the summer.”

“We know you’re in over your head with everything that’s going on,” Maria said diplomatically. “But he’s our friend too. You have to let us do this for him.”

Isabel reached for Maria’s hand. “I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I don’t want to see you hurt, maybe you should take Michael.”

“We shouldn’t have to,,,” Maria sounded undecided.

“This problem,” Isabel reasoned. “It’s alien, you need him. Besides, I will never forgive myself if anything goes wrong.”

“You have a bigger problem than that,” Maria quipped. “Spaceboy would never forgive you. I’ll call him tonight while we’re loading the car.”

“Oh no, the car!” Isabel moaned as she took out her cell.

“What about the car?” Liz asked.

“My dad’s car, I haven’t been home since before the prom,” Isabel explained as she dialed.

“Hi dad, I know I was supposed to bring the car home,,,”

“I’m at the Crashdown, Liz was sick,,,”

“No dad, I’m covering for her, I’m working her shift,,,”

“I know you think I’m sneaking around with Alex, but I don’t even know where he is. I tired calling,,,”

“He what? Really.”

“Ok, well I’ll be home in a little bit. Bye.”

Isabel hung up the phone with a dazed look on her face. “Well at least I know where Alex is.”

The twins looked at her, waited a moment and the said “Well?” in unison.

“He’s shopping at the mall with another woman.”

Liz slapped the table, “Damn it Alex, we taught you better than that,,,”

Who is it?” Maria demanded. “Pam Troy? I knew she was trouble as soon as Michael told me about her. I’m going to kick her bony ass all up and down the street,,,”

“What is it, something in the water?” Liz sighed, deeply disappointed in her erstwhile girlfriend. “Okay, Isabel, who’s the tramp leading Alex around by his groin.”

Isabel looked at the twins, not wanting to miss their reaction, “my mom.”

**********
Isabel quickly changed out of her uniform and headed home. She found Alex sitting at the kitchen table with her parents looking at the pictures Philip had taken the night before. The moment Alex saw her, he stood and gave her a warm hug. Conscious of her parents he simply whispered to her, “I miss you.”

Isabel sat and went through the photos. She compared her favorites with the choices of the others. After several minutes she realized that she had not showered since before the prom, and she wanted to change out of ‘Liz’s’ clothes before going out for the evening with Alex. She excused herself, grabbed her prom dress, and left for her room.

“I’ll join you, if you don’t mind,” Diane added.

Diane opened the garment bag for Isabel’s dress and helped her daughter carefully place the dress inside. When she finished she sat on the bed and patted the coverlet beside her. Isabel sat next to her. “You look so beautiful in that dress, the two of you are the perfect couple.”

“Mom,,,” Isabel was surprised and embarrassed by the complement. “I,,, um,,, thank you.” She leaned in and gave her mom a tight hug.

Diane took her hand, “How did everything go last night?”

“Last night was wonderful, I’m going to treasure it for the rest of my life,,,”

Diane’s face broke into an all knowing, but surprisingly not disapproving, grin.

“Mom!!!, No, at the dance!” Isabel felt her face growing hot. “Oh God, is this what I keep doing to Alex?” she said, placing her face in her hands, blushing for the first time in many years. “I really did take Liz home.”

“Why didn’t Max take her home?” Diane asked.

Isabel wasn’t going to lie to her mom, not tonight. “You’ll have to ask him that.”

“Did you and Alex have a fight?” Diane continued to probe gently.

“Mom!” Isabel exclaimed in shock and surprise. “Why would you say such a thing?”

“Well we spent most of the morning at the mall. He wanted to get your pictures developed right away. While we were there we did another couple of errands, but he seemed different,,,” Diane trailed off, searching for the right words.

“How so?” Isabel asked, now concerned for her boyfriend.

“I don’t know really, but he seemed to be missing some of his playfulness,” Diane replied gently, not wanting to speak badly of the first boy her daughter had ever brought home that she could approve of. “It was like he was trying to be happy, to have fun, but not quite succeeding.”

“I know, he’s been tired a lot lately,” Isabel replied evasively. “He hasn’t been sleeping well because of exams and stuff.”

“You’re sure it’s not related to his girlfriend?” Diane questioned further. “Maybe we need to have a talk about boys.”

“Mom!!!” Isabel answered in embarrassment. “We had that talk when I turned thirteen, we had it again when my boobs started growing, then we had it a third time when my boobs kept growing.”

“Do we need to have it again?” Diane offered, her timing exquisite.

Isabel looked at her. She needed her mother so badly, but she suddenly realized that even if Mom knew her secret she could never tell her everything. ‘What would she think if she knew that I killed Congresswoman Whitaker, or that I helped wiped out Copper Summit, or a school full of skins.’ Isabel’s thoughts then turned to Alex and their future together. “Yea, mom. We need to have that talk again. Actually I need you more than I can ever tell you.”

“Good, I’m always here,” with the love and reassurance of moms everywhere. “Now another thing, we have to get you to see my doctor,,, No wait,” she said holding up her hands. “I know you hate doctors, and that you’ve never been sick, but you’re a woman now, and it’s something we all have to do.” Diane hugged Isabel a last time, then left so she could take her shower.

“Doctor?” Isabel gasped as she sat on her bed thinking, “Another problem to be handled.”

**********
Isabel finished dressing and went down to find Alex waiting. He was sitting on the couch, while the Evans were in the kitchen. Isabel joined him on the couch leaning in to kiss him. As she broke contact she leaned back, reaching to undo the top button on his shirt and straighten his collar. “Buy a girl a pizza?”

“Anything.”


An hour later they were at Frazer Woods, resting on a couple of blankets that Isabel had stashed in Alex’s trunk in anticipation of just such an occasion. They had finished their pizza, and were sipping sodas. Both teens were enjoying a rare break from the drama of their lives, allowing the heat of the day to soak into their bodies, while talking quietly and watching the sun set.

“This is the wrong time of the year for stargazing, Izzy,” Alex said offhandedly. “This is one of the longest days of the year.”

“That’s okay sweetie,” Isabel replied softly. “Part of the reason we’re here is so you can take a nap.”

“I don’t want to take a nap,” Alex pouted. “That’s the last thing I want to do when I’m with you. I don’t want to miss a moment of the time we spend together.”

”Awww, that’s so sweet,” Isabel pouted. “But you don’t want to snuggle with me?”

“Well, I guess there is a good point to this nap thing,” Alex replied with a grin as a blush spread across his face. “But before you use your alien powers on me, I have something I want to give you.”

“Alex you don’t have to give me anything,” Isabel protested ineffectively as the excitement in her voice betrayed her words.

“I wanted to get you a locket,” Alex sighed, “With a prom picture in it, but that’s a little old fashioned now.”

“Alex, that’s wonderful,” Isabel exclaimed. “A picture of us that I could wear over my heart?”

Alex leaned in and kissed her. “Well, don’t get your hopes up, they don’t sell many lockets anymore, they didn’t have any at the mall.”

“Alex, I want you to listen to this real closely,,,” she said in her flirtiest voice. Turning serious she took him by the chin and made him look her in the eyes. “Don’t ever tell a woman, especially me, about jewelry that you didn’t buy her.”

“Okay Izzy,” Alex teased. “What if I show you what I did get you,” he continued as he pulled out a small box and opened it, revealing a delicate floating heart suspended from a fine gold chain.

“Oh God Alex,” Isabel gushed, her eyes watering. “It’s beautiful.”

“Look closely Izzy,” Alex whispered, his breath dancing on her neck. “It’s actually two hearts intertwined. The first is yellow gold, the color of sunlight. The second is white gold, the color of starlight. May I?”

Isabel held her hair away from the back of her neck while Alex glided the chain around her neck. After he finished he settled back on the blankets. As he hoped, Isabel lie next to him snuggling into his shoulder.

Isabel wiggled back and forth until she nestled perfectly into his shoulder, while she indulged her fascination with Alex’s gift. She sensed that he felt as she did, that it was much more than a memento of prom night, that it was a promise of so much more. She rubbed the heart back and forth across the chain, the warm metal leaving a tingling trail across her skin. She loved the colors, sunlight from Earth, starlight from Antar, bonded together into one. Just like they were, well maybe not yet, but Isabel was a girl who knew what she wanted, and she always got what she wanted. But as this thought jelled, she realized that her feelings were evolving and maturing. She smiled as her desire to have what she wanted became less important than her desire to be everything that he wanted.

Isabel looked over to find that Alex had been lured to sleep by the peaceful surroundings, just as she had planned. “Sleep well Sweetie,” she whispered. “I’ll be right here when you wake. I’ve got you now and I’m never going to let you go.”

**********
Sunday morning, Michael, Liz and Maria arrived at Las Cruces, and using a campus map that Liz printed from the internet, they quickly found Ray Emerson’s dorm. Utilizing the floor plan posted in the lobby, they quickly found the right room, apparently a small single. Michael knocked to make sure no one was inside before using his powers to unlock the door.

Within moments Maria had rifled the small closet. “Empty.”

Liz stood after looking under the bed, “Nothing.”

“I don’t even see a place to hide anything,” Michael said, thinking they were wasting their time. The three friends were huddled discussing what to do next when they were interrupted by a voice from the doorway, “Excuse me? Can I help you with anything?”

Liz went into full Isabel mode and flirted with the new arrival. “Uh, yeah, um, actually we are looking for a friend who stayed in this room for a while,,,” She took a shot in the dark, “Tall, black hair?”

“Ray?” the new arrival asked.

“Yes! Ray,” Liz answered excitedly.

“He was here for a couple of months,” the dorm rat replied. “He hardly said a word, very weird guy.”

“Did you ever talk to him?” Maria asked. “He’s my boyfriend. We had a fight and he took off on me. We’ve been trying to find him. Did you see what he was doing here and maybe like why he came in the middle of the semester and all?”

“You don't understand,” the student elaborated. “Ray never left the room. The only time he opened the door was when they delivered his Thai food.”

“Thai food?” Maria repeated, a note of confusion in her voice. “Al,,, ahhmm Ray hates Thai food.”

“Apparently not,” the student replied. “He seemed to be making up for lost time. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. A food fetish, if you ask me.”

“So wait,” Liz interrupted. “You mean he literately never left the dorm?”

“Well, at least not in the daytime,” the student stopped to think a moment. “There was this one night I was out partying, I was coming back pretty late. I saw him coming out of the Litvack building. Now it's like, 4:00 in the morning, we're the only two people on campus. We're five feet away from each other, and he doesn't even acknowledge my presence. It’s like he didn’t even see me, pretty creepy.”

“Yeah, sounds it,” Liz said softly.

“So what's in the Litvack building?” Michael demanded.

“Well, the rumor is that the university has this incredible super computer,” the guy replied nervously, noting Michael’s closed body language. “But access to the building is restricted. Unless you’re in a high end computer program you are not allowed into the building.” Noting Michaels unhappy reaction to his answer, he beat a hasty retreat.

“That’s got to be Alex,” Liz happily exclaimed, the first part of their mission completed.

**********
That same morning, while the Philip and Diane are out for breakfast and church services, Isabel found Max in the kitchen looking at an untouched bowl of very soggy corn flakes. She sat down opposite him, “Big weekend?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,,,” Max grunted.

“Well we’re going to talk about it,” Isabel snapped. “Let’s start with something simple, like dumping your prom date.”

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Max admitted honestly, “But thanks for making sure she got home alright.”

“Making sure she got home?” Isabel choked. “What do you think, she needed a taxi? Do you have any idea what condition she was in?”

“Don’t do this to me,,,” Max snapped. “I’ve got problems of my own.”

“Well isn’t that just too bad,” Isabel replied sarcastically. “What do you think? You’re going to get in this big a mess and I’m going to sit on the sidelines and watch? I’m your big sister, and I love you. I’m going to help and support you, but don’t think for a moment that you’re not going to get the butt chewing you so richly deserve.”

Isabel reached into her back pocket. “Look at this, it’s my ‘don’t leave home without it’ kit. I always have it, even if I don’t carry a purse or wallet. It’s real simple. A twenty dollar bill for emergency cab fare. A duplicate of my drivers license, and a condom.”

“What are you carrying a condom for!” Max shouted. “You’re my sister, I don’t even want to think about you and Alex,,,”

“Since Alex and I are both virgins and you’re a teenage father, I’m going to ignore that,” Isabel replied dismissively. “You don’t think I have urges? On my right shoulder I have my good angel telling me to always do the right thing. On the other shoulder, I have Trude,,,”

“Trude?” Max asked in confusion.

“Yea, Trude” Isabel answered. “I don’t want to say she’s a bad angel, maybe she’s just realistic. Anyways, I call her Trude. She’s always telling me to go for it. To be safe, but to have fun. Trude has some wild ideas.”

“Well, you have to listen to your good side,” Max postulated.

“No Max,” Isabel sighed. “It isn’t mutually exclusive. We’ll all need do the right thing but Trude, well Alex, is going to get everything she can think up, all in good time. But having said that, we’re not going to be stupid about it. We’re not going to end up high school parents.”

“How long have you been carrying that condom?” Max said offhandedly.

“What?” Isabel stammered, his question throwing her off track. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

Max reached for his wallet. “Maybe you don’t know that body heat breaks down latex. If you carry a condom for more than thirty days, you run the risk of it failing. You have to keep replacing it with a fresh one.” He took a condom out of his wallet and dropped it on the table. “I’m not stupid.”

Isabel held her condom in her hand, “Thank you, I didn’t know.” She looked at him with concern. Pointing at his condom, “What happened.”

“I don’t know,” Max replied, shaking his head. “It was about a week ago. Tess was helping me with memory exercises. When we finished she was talking about how back on Antar I would hold her through the night. That’s when it happened, I guess.”

“Wait, you don’t remember loosing your virginity?” Isabel exclaimed.

“Not until Tess told me she was pregnant a the prom,” Max answered in resignation. “I know it happened, but I don’t remember.”

“Why Tess, why the spur of the moment?” Isabel asked, her voice mollifying as she saw her brother’s confusion. “You’ve been in love with Liz for years. How could you stop loving her?”

“I didn’t,,, I still do, Liz I mean,” Max replied with a hopeless look on his face. “I don’t know what to think about her,,,”

“Max, how many times have you told me that you didn’t think anything happened between Liz and Kyle?” Isabel reasoned. “Well here’s the answer, you were right.”

“How do you know that, I’ve asked her,,,” his voice faltered, knowing it was true.

“I had to pin her down, but I talked to her about her side of things, not yours. Every time you talk to her, hell any time you talk to any of us, you talk of failure and betrayal. I don’t know what happened between you and Tess, and I’m not going to judge you about that, but Liz needed you, and you let her down.” Isabel stood and took the ruined cereal from in front of Max and dumped it into the garbage disposal. “”Come on my confused little brother, let your big sister take care of you for a bit. I’ll start by buying you breakfast.”

**********
Meanwhile, Michael, Liz and Maria found a bench from which they could watch the entrance to the Litvack building. They watched for a couple of minutes while debating a plan. Finally they were able to watch as a student swiped his ID card through a reader mounted next to the door and entered the building. With this newfound knowledge, Liz decided that she should try to enter the building alone. “One person raises less suspicion than three.”

“I don’t like it,,,” Michael grunted, “But you’re the only one who knows enough about computers to bluff your way in there. Ten minutes, that’s all. After that we’re coming in after you.”

Michael and Liz walked to the door hand in hand. While Michael gave Liz a good bye kiss on the cheek, their intertwined hands touched the card reader. The lock clicked and Liz opened the door and waved to Michael as he walked back the way he came. Liz found herself in a small lobby, with the usual chairs, tables, and magazines typical of waiting rooms everywhere. At the far end of the lobby there was another heavy wooden door, this time with no lock on it. She crossed the lobby and pulled open the door.

Liz was surprised to walk into a brightly lit white room. The first thing she noticed was a counter with two security guards in attendance. There was an official looking seal on the wall behind the counter, of an eagle bearing a shield and holding a key. The guards wore crisp white shirts, with neckties and brightly polished badges and nameplates. They looked professional and attentive. The nearer guard, a woman with neatly cropped auburn hair, called Liz over to the counter.

“May we help you miss?” the guard asked politely.

Liz decided on the spot that she was in over her head, and decided to make a graceful and discrete exit. “This doesn’t look like a place I can access the internet.”

“No ma’am, this is the Litvack Computer Sciences building, it’s use is restricted to authorized personnel only. You may access a public computer at the student union building next door,” the guard replied efficiently as she stepped from behind the counter and approached Liz.

“I just saw the computer sign and thought,,,” Liz stammered, choking down her rising bile.

“That’s okay, I’ll walk you out,” the guard replied, taking Liz by the elbow and leading her back to the lobby. “May I ask how you got through the outer door?”

“It was ajar,” Liz answered nonchalantly, doing her best imitation of a slightly confused co-ed. “It must not of closed after the last person used it.”

The guard, not having any reason to disbelieve Liz, opened the outer door and followed Liz outside. She pointed towards the student union building which coincidently was where Michael and Maria were waiting. She then watched Liz as walked away before examining the lock on the door and returning inside.

Liz continued walking as Michael and Maria fell in step beside her. “Talk about walking into the lion’s den, they were definitely not campus security. We’re out of here, right now!”

**********
That afternoon found Alex at his desk with an open text book and note pad. The phone rings.

“Hi Izzy, what’s up?” Alex answered cheerfully.

“Hey, when did you get caller ID?” Isabel teased.

“Not caller ID,” Alex quipped. “Wishful thinking.”

“Yeah? So what are you doing tonight?” Isabel asked, slipping into full flirt mode.

“Tonight? I can't,” Alex sighed.

“Why?” Isabel pouted.

“I'm studying,” Alex replied, recognizing the weakness of his response.

“Alex, an ‘A’ is the best you can get,” Isabel instructed, letting a trace of irritation slip into her voice.

“Yeah, I know,” Alex whined. “But I gotta, I've got a monstrous final in English. Mr. Borski’s really putting' the screws to us.”

Isabel found she couldn’t stay mad at him, so she poured on the flirt in her voice, “Well, if you'd rather stay and study,,, not come and play with me,,,”

“I don't want to, but I have to,” Alex replied turning away from his homework and squaring off in front of his computer.

“Well, if you change your mind,” Isabel teased, an open offer in her voice. “I'll be at the Crashdown, probably until closing. I need to talk to Liz and Maria about something. So if you change your mind,,,”

Alex groaned, picturing Izzy lying on her bed. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, I’ll either talk to you later, or I’ll will see you tomorrow. Love you,” Alex deadpanned.

“I love you too, sweetie, Bye,” Isabel chirped.

**********
Isabel held court in ‘her’ booth in the back of the Crashdown. While the others were going through the photographs that Alex and her mom had developed, her mind wandered. Caressing her new floating heart, she reveled in her memories of Alex at the prom. Whoever was controlling him had taken that night off, and they had made the most of it. Isabel desperately wanted her Alex back, so she started to think about the other events of the weekend, Max and Tess’ pregnancy, her talk with him just hours earlier, the information about Alex at Las Cruces, and finally Liz’s close call with, well, whoever.

Isabel decided that there was no point in having a boyfriend at times like these if she couldn’t be close to him. She knew that she couldn’t share her problems with him, but even if she could just lie on his bed reading a magazine while he studied, she would draw comfort from his closeness.

Isabel stood and said her good byes to the others and started for the door, finding Jim Valenti standing just inside with his hat in his hand. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Isabel sat bolt upright, “No, No Alex, ALEX!”

TBC

[stargazer md]

Gazer Gets the Girl,
Chapter 6 - Alex Forces the Issue
by Stargazer_md

Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. If they did, the show would still be on.
Some text is borrowed from the show, I didn’t treat it any worse than the original writers.
Summary: Isabel is getting tired of sharing Alex. They are getting closer to the truth.
Setting: End of S-2.
Category: Alex/Isabel with CC
Rating: PG-13

Authors note:
Please remember the rules of Fan-Fic. I am going to use and abuse some of the characters. Nothing personal against the actors. Thank you.

Where were we? Isabel looked up to see Sheriff Valenti with his hat in his hand and the weight of the world on his shoulders. Who did he have bad news for.


**********
“No, No Alex, ALEX”

Isabel felt the icy grip on her heart, dread spreading to every part of her body. She knew something was going to happen to Alex, but even with that advanced knowledge she had been unable to prevent it from happening.

Max was the first to reach her. He tried to calm her before she woke their parents, talking to her softly and running his hand over her hot forehead, brushing her hair back.

Isabel fixated on Sheriff Valenti’s face as he looked at her with a blank expression with a look of sadness that conveyed loss more than any words ever could. She didn’t realize where she was, or the fact that Max was there with her. She was aware of only one thing, Alex. She rose looking for him, only to realize that she was in her own room, which confuses her even more. She started screaming his name.

Diane ran into the room closely followed by Philip, who, still asleep, was still trying to tie the belt on his robe. Diane rushed to Isabel and tried to get a hold of her daughter, but Isabel was able to use her superior size and strength to avoid being pinned down.

“I knew something was wrong, why did I leave him alone,” Isabel cried out. “I can’t live without him, how could I let this happen,,,”

Diane looked at Philip, her face reflecting the hurt Isabel was feeling, “Do something!”

Philip beat a hasty retreat.

Diane moved in closer to Isabel, taking her face in her hands and making eye contact.

“Mom, none of this would be happening if it wasn’t for me,,,” Isabel moaned, becoming aware of her family around her.

“Isabel,,,” Diane interrupted.

“If he had never met me,,,” Isabel continued.

Diane forced Isabel to listen by the sheer power of a mother’s love, “You would both be miserable Iz. I can see it on your face every time he’s near you. The two of you are meant to be together. This is just a dream. Tomorrow you’re going to see him and everything’s going to be alright.”

Philip walked into the room and looked at Diane. His expression showed his continued lack of understanding about what is happening. “I just hung up with Charles. Alex is gone,,,”

This news piqued Isabel’s panic and she became inconsolable, screaming Alex’s name over and over.

Diane gave up on gentle persuasion and took Isabel by the shoulders, guiding her to her bed, and settled on the edge of the mattress, holding the tall teen tightly. “Isabel, it’s just a bad dream,,,”

Moments later they heard heavy footsteps running up the stairs, increasing in volume as then came down the hall. Isabel looked hopefully towards the doorway as Alex burst into the room. She leapt from her bed and the young couple collided in the center of her room. Isabel buried her face in his shoulder as he stroked her hair and back. “I’ve got you Izzy, I’ve got you now and I’m never going to let you go.” Isabel’s sobs shook her body, but they only caused Alex to hold her more tightly.

“How did he know?” Diane asked of no one in particular.

Max, thinking fast, grabbed Isabel’s cell phone from her nightstand. “Star-1 on speed dial, I called him before you came in, I thought it was the only way to calm her down.”

Isabel’s sobs started to lessen, leaving her exhausted. Alex could feel her slumped against him, hanging from her arms that she had wrapped possessively around his shoulders, so he reached down, scooping her up.

Diane’s eyes almost popped out of her head as she watched Alex sweep her scantily clad daughter off her feet, but when she saw him step towards the bed she quickly opened the covers. Alex carefully lowered her, gently placing her on her cool red satin sheets, and then reluctantly pulled his hands out from under her as Diane pulled up her covers, but Isabel refuses to let go of him, grabbing him by the wrist. Every time he tried to move, she held him tighter. “Don’t go, don’t leave me,” she keeps repeating through her tears. “I’m not going to let you go. If you leave me I’m going with you.”

Alex carefully opened her fingers, freeing his wrist, and then intertwined his fingers with hers. Turning to sit on the edge of her bed, he raised her hand to his mouth and softly kissed each of her fingers. Looking at Diane he saw her nod. “I’m not going anywhere Izzy, I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning.”

Hearing this, Isabel finally calmed down.

Diane turned towards Philip, “You’d better call Charles and tell him what’s going on, I’m sure he’s concerned knowing Alex wasn’t there the first time you called.” She then leaned in, sweeping Isabel’s hair from her forehead and kissed her.

“Mom, please don’t take him from me,” Isabel pleaded.

“I don’t think I could,” Diane sighed. “I don’t think anyone could separate you.”

“No Mom, you don’t understand him,” Isabel countered. “If you tell him to leave he will, you’re the only person who can make him break my heart.”

Diane thought for a moment, “The light stays on, and the door stays open.” She stood to leave, following her husband and leading Max out of the room, who didn’t seem to happy with the situation. On the way out she turned off the overhead light leaving the desk lamp to softly light the room.

Once in the hall Max made his upset known, “You’re not going to let him stay?”

“What do you suggest?” Diane challenged. “I do understand Alex, but I know your sister better. If I tell him to leave she’ll go with him. I’m not going to drive a wedge between us, I’m not going to make her choose”

“But she’s my sister,,,” Max complained.

“She’ll always be your sister Max, but she’s also a woman now. If your father and I taught her right, she’ll be fine. You too. If we failed, it’s to late. We won’t be able to force you to do what’s right.” Diane gave Max a mischievous grin, “Besides, I trust you when you sneak out to be with Liz.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek, “Now go back to bed and let her get some sleep. You all have school in the morning.”


Alex awoke slowly, stretching his free arm and taking a deep breath of the wonderful new day. He had a smile on his face even before he opened his eyes. “Penny for your thoughts,” he heard whispered into his ear.

“I’m not really thinking anything, I’m just enjoying the smell of your hair and the warmth of you lying next to me.” Alex opened his eyes to see Isabel warm brown eyes drinking him in from just inches away.

“Well, enjoy it while you can, we’re going to have to get up in a couple of minutes,” Isabel teased as she cuddled closer to him, allowing her cheek to rest on his chest while placing her hand over his heart. “What were you doing when Max called you?”

“Max?” Alex asked in confusion.

“Yea, I heard him say he called you,” she continued.

“No,” Alex replied. “Well at least if he did call it was after I had already left.”

Isabel lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “How’d you know to come?”

“I just did,” Alex sighed, flopping his head back onto her pillow. “I was sitting at my computer, but I don’t remember what I was doing. I do remember I was in a kind of daze, like I was daydreaming. Then I heard you. I didn’t hear your words, but I knew you were in trouble, so I came running.”

“You’ll always come for me, won’t you?” Isabel said in wonder.

“Of course I will,” Alex gasped. “I mean, I don’t have the words I want, but I love you. No one can take that away from me. I might not have all of the feelings and I can’t be the man I want to be when I am close to you, but I know in my heart that I can’t live without you, and I fight to get him back every moment of every day.”

Isabel settled back onto his chest with a broad smile on her face. She didn’t know if their being together was the result of destiny, fate, or just plain good luck, but she wasn’t going to let him go.

“So how are we going to do this?” Alex pondered. “I’m going to have to go home and change before we go to school.”

“I’ve got it all figured out,” Isabel answered cheerfully. “I’ll shower, and then while I’m getting ready you’ll shower. Meanwhile, I’ll zap your clothes so you don’t have to go home. If anyone ask we’ll say you had some clothes in your Volvo.”

They relaxed for a couple of minutes enjoying their closeness, each lost in their own thoughts. When she could put it off no longer, Isabel got up and made her way into her bathroom, not closing the door all the way. Minutes later he heard the shower stop while he continued to look at the door. His attention was rewarded.

“Since you’re here you might just as well pick out what you want me to wear today,” Isabel said sweetly as she stuck her head out the door.

Alex gaze was fixated on her wet bare shoulder, not to mention what else she wasn’t wearing behind the door. He totally spaced on her. “What? Did you say something?”

Isabel laughed, knowing exactly where his mind was. “Look in my closet and pick out something for me to wear, would you? Thanks sweetie, be out in a minute.”

Alex already knew what he was going to pick out. It only took him a moment to find it, her red print dress. He found the dress, took it out of her closet, and placed it on her bed.

Isabel walked out of the bathroom wearing a towel. “All yours,” she teased, biting her lower lip as Alex walked by her. She didn’t back up, causing him to brush against her.

Alex closed the door and leaned back against it, trying to catch his breath, despite the fact that the entire bathroom was damp and steamy. He noticed a towel on the vanity and held it to his face, finding it still moist and smelling of Isabel. Looking down, he found one of her bras on the counter top. Alex shook his head and decided to get showered and out of there as quickly as he could, so he took off his shirt and pants and placed them on the vanity, next to the towel. He stared, mesmerized by her silky garment that was lying there. ‘No, I’ve got to take my shower,’ he thought. Nevertheless, his hand reached down, seemingly of it’s own volition, 38-C.

Alex climbed into her shower, and things only got worse. He looked for a plain bar of soap or bottle of shampoo, but everything in there reminded him of her. Almost reverently he squirted a dollop of shampoo into his hand and began cleaning his hair. He quickly rinsed and started to wash himself, but now the scent of her shampoo was overpowering. Suddenly he felt a stirring. Looking down, “Stop that Fred, that’s the last thing I need right now!” he said reaching to adjust the faucet.

“Alex? Did you say something?” Isabel asked from the other side of the shower door.

He looked towards her voice and saw her through the textured glass. “Aaaggghhh,” he exclaimed as he bent over trying to cover himself. “Izzy,,,” Alex realized that his bum was now facing her, he turned towards his side. “What are you doing in here? Yikes,,,” he shouted as the water turned icy.

“Sweetie, I’m taking care of your clothes,,,” she lifted her towel from the vanity and hung it on the rack. “And getting you a fresh towel.” She picked up her bra, ‘now when I left you,,,’ she pondered, ‘your straps were crossed. I wonder who’s been playing with you.’ Satisfied with how things were progressing, she taped the glass door, “I’ll wait for you outside,” she advised with a smug expression on her face.

Alex composed himself with great effort. His problem with Fred was long gone, either from shock of his visitor, or the cold water, it didn’t really matter which. He spent just enough time in the shower to rinse the soap from his body and then quickly exited, dried, and dressed. Moments later he returned to the relative safety of her room, or so he thought. In reality he was jumping from the frying pan into the fire. “Izzy,,,” he stammered.

“I love you in this shirt,” she said with a big grin on her face, unbuttoning his collar.

“Izzy, I don’t have any shorts,” he choked out, his face turning red in the process.

“Well, did you have any on when you came over here?” Isabel teased.

“No,” Alex replied with a touch of irritation. “When I ‘heard’ you I took off my flannels and threw on a pair of cargo’s and a tee. I didn’t take time for anything else. But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, I changed your pants and shirt, but I can’t make clothing out of thin air,” Isabel explained as if talking to a small child. “You’re just going to have to go without underwear today.”

“Izzy,,,”

“Well what do you want me to do about it?” Isabel demanded with an expression that brook no further discussion, “And why did you pick this old dress?” she added, hoping to change the subject.

“It’s red, and it’s casual,” Alex explained. “I remember you wearing it last year, before I found out, before all this stuff happened. Back when you were happy and carefree. I love seeing you that way and I would give anything so you could be that way again.”

Isabel invaded his space, placing her hands on his face. “Don’t ever say that again. Look at me Alex! I know what you’re going to say,,,”

“What am I going to say?” he interrupted.

“That you would give anything for me,” Isabel answered passionately. “That if you could undo everything that has happened during the past two years you would,,,”

“Of course I would,,,” Alex replied as it was the most logical thing he could wish for.

“Then you would destroy my happiness,” Isabel said breathlessly. “Because the best thing that has happened during the past two years is how close we have grown. I understand you’ll do anything for me, but make sure you don’t throw your life away foolishly, because you will be talking mine with you.”

She held him a little while longer, then took a step back with a smile on her face. “So, no shorts?” she asked, realizing that teasing him was the safer course of action after all.

“Make a pair for me out of an old pair or socks or something,” Alex whined.

“Nope,” Isabel teased, barely able to keep a straight face. “I can’t do it, but I will make you a deal. Turn around.” Isabel reached into his pocket leaving something inside. “There, those are mine, happy now?”

Alex was speechless as she lead him downstairs, finding Diane in the kitchen. “What can I make you two kids for breakfast?” she asked.

“Oh you don’t have to bother with us Mom,” Isabel said cheerfully. “We’ll just have some cereal and scrape a lunch together.”

Meanwhile, Alex noticed that Diane’s coffee cup was empty. He paused by the coffee maker, “May I fill that for you Mrs. Evans?” Seeing her nod, he took the carafe and filled her cup. When he turned to put the pot back he almost collided with Isabel, who grabbed him and managed a couple of dance steps while leading him back to the counter.

Isabel’s face was flushed as she settled next to her mom and poured her cereal, while Alex noticed that something was missing from the table. While Alex stood and headed for the cabinet, Diane leaned in close to her daughter, “You’re going to give that poor boy a heart attack if you’re not careful.”

“Something like that,” Isabel admitted with a grin. Seeing the semi-shocked expression on her mom’s face, she continued, “Yes Mom, I do need to have a talk with you, about a couple of things.”

Diane’s expression changed to amazement as she watched Alex add Tabasco sauce to Isabel’s orange juice, almost turning it red. What she saw next surprised her even more. “Thanks sweetie,” Isabel said as she took a big drink.

They continued to chat casually as the teens finished breakfast. Isabel finished first and got up, gathering her things. She then went to her mom and kissed her on the cheek, “Thanks Mom, love you.”

Alex was close behind. He stopped in front of Diane, stumbling for words. “I want,,, last night,,,”

“You take good care of my baby,” Diane said for him.

“Forever,” he promised, kissing her on the other cheek. “Thanks Mom, love you too.”

**********
Isabel didn’t catch up with Alex until lunchtime, when they headed for the quad. “How you doing sweetie?”

“I’m having a rough day,” he sighed. “The scent of your soap and shampoo is driving me crazy.”

“Well good,” Isabel teased. “Your thoughts are where they belong, on me.”

“Thanks,” Alex moaned. “I’ll remember to tell my dad that when I blow my history final.”

“Alex,” Isabel replied confidently, “You’re not going to blow anything.” She reached for his hand reassuringly as they settled at a table with Liz and Maria. Isabel look around in confusion before turning to him. “Alex, I forgot to get a soda, would you be a dear?” She waited until he was out of earshot and then turned to her co-conspirators, “What did you guys find out?”

“Well we know he was in Las Cruces the whole time, we found his dorm room,” Maria explained.

“Bad news is that while he was there he was working in some huge computer center run by the government,” Liz added.

“The government?” Isabel gasped in alarm. “What was he doing working in a government computer center?”

“I don’t know,” Liz answered tentatively. “I stopped asking questions when the guards threw me out.”

“Guards?” Isabel stammered, her panic rising.

“Yea, and I don’t mean campus security,” Liz added.

Isabel put her head in her hands, “This is getting out of control. Every time we try to answer one question we raise two more.”

“Here’s what I want to know,” Liz stated, her concern for her friends driving her. “How does a high school student get into a government center like that?”

“I don’t know, it sounds like something Nasedo would do,” Isabel declared, slipping into her alternate persona.

“Nasedo’s dead, isn’t he?” asked Maria.

Liz picked up on Maria’s question. “Nasedo’s dead, we all saw him turn to dust, but how about the identities he used? Could someone, like the loose legged bitch, still be using his old identities?”

“Here comes Alex, this will have to wait.” Isabel declared.

“Do we trust her?” Liz pressed.

“I’m not ready to say it’s one of us,” Isabel answered nervously. “Not yet.”

“Who do you want to protect?” Liz asked. “Alex or Tess?”

Without a moments hesitation Isabel whispered, “She’s out.” Pasting a smile on her face, she took the soda and bonus kiss from Alex, “Thanks sweetie.” After he sat down she reached to adjust his collar. “How does this keep happening?”

**********
Isabel opened the door to the eraser room and was dragged inside by Alex, who immediately kissed her. She kissed him back, and as he kissed his way towards her neck she says breathlessly, “It’s last period, can’t you wait until we get out?

“No, I can barely control myself,” he panted. “Everything I washed with this morning smells like you, I can’t get away from your scent. Every time I move my jeans rub me. Every time I see you I think of your panties in my pocket. Every time I reach into my pocket and touch them,,,”

Isabel decided it was time to regain control and let Alex in on a little secret. “Sweetie?” she said backing up a bit. “I’ve got a little confession to make.” She looked at him, her head downcast but maintaining eye contact. She bit her lower lip, swinging from side to side at the hips.

Alex watched her, enthralled.

“I don’t know what kind of girl you think I am,” she smiles. “Do you think I would walk around school wearing a dress and no panties?”

Alex’s eyebrows flew up, “But,,,” he pulls the lacy white garment from his pocket, “What about,,,”

“Those?” Isabel loved the expression on his face. “I told you they were mine sweetie, I never said they were the ones I was wearing.”

“You mean,,, all day,,,” Alex face turned to an evil grin, realizing that she had got the best of him. “Oh no you don’t,,,” he threatens, advancing on her. “Give them to me!”

“What?” It was Isabel’s turn to be surprised.

“The ones you’re wearing,” Alex demanded with a leer on his face. “Give them to me right now or I’ll go down there and get them myself.”

Isabel realized he was serious. “No way!” she exclaimed with a look of shock on her face.

“How many times have you promised me ‘anything’?” Alex challenged.

Isabel’s ‘go for it angel’ Trude whispered into her ear, ‘Let him go after them, who knows what will happen while he’s down there,’ but common sense prevailed. “I’m only doing this because we have to get to class, and I don’t have time to argue with you.” Isabel glided her hands up the outside of her thighs lifting the hem of her dress. When she reached her waist she slid her fingers under the lacy waistband and lowered her hands.

Alex never looked down, maintaining eye contact until she handed him the warm garment. He folded them carefully and tucked them inside his shirt pocket. “Closer to my heart, but I would love to know what you are thinking right now.”

Isabel took a deep breath, but changes her mind. “I think we have got to get to class.”

Moments later Isabel crept into her class and sat down next to Liz. “Isabel, are you ok? You look a little feverish,” she asked with concern.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing,” Isabel said softly. “I feel like I’m cheating on Alex with Alex.”

“Lucky guy,” Liz quipped. “Sounds like a win-win situation to me.”

“Not yet,” Isabel sighed, her mind elsewhere, “But I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hold out.”

**********
After last period, Isabel was waiting for Alex at the door. She fell into step besides him as they walked towards the parking lot, their arms automatically reaching for each other. “In the interest of fairness I’m giving you notice that I’m going to wring your neck,” she told him once they were out of earshot.

“Me?” Alex gasped. “What’d I do.”

“Do you know what it’s like to go around without panties?” Isabel complained.

“Well, yea,” Alex answered. “Back on your birthday I thought it was pretty uncomfortable to walk around all day with a thong up my ass, but after today I have to say wearing nothing under jeans is worse.”

“Try wearing nothing under a dress,” Isabel rebutted.

“I thought you liked our little games,” Alex asked, reaching for her hem of her dress and threatening to lift it up.

“Aagghh,” she screamed, knocking his hand away. “I love playing with you, right up until the point you get more than ten feet away from me. After that I thought everyone knew. Isabel leaned in and whispered, “I was one puff of wind away from spending the rest of my life in slutsville with Pam.” As they neared the car she let go of him and headed for the drivers door, looking at him hopefully. Opening the door for her Alex handed her a set of keys. “Since you have been using the car more than I have lately, I had a set made for you.”

Isabel’s face beamed as bright as the desert sun. She pulled him into a bone-cracking hug. “Thank you, thank you, I love you,,,” gushed while smothering his face with kisses. “Max never lets me drive.”

Alex was pleased that such a simple act as letting her drive made her happy. “Don’t thank me,” he explained, “Thank Liz and Maria. They keep telling me that it took years of training to get me ready for you.”

Isabel pulled out onto the main street headed for the Crashdown. “Maria is going over to your house tonight to study?” she asked offhandedly.

“Yea, algebra’s giving her some problems,” he answered. Looking down next to his seat he noticed something purple. Reaching for it he turned to his girlfriend in wonder, “Izzy, are you really trying to give me a heart attack?”

“No,,,” she replied, alarmed at the sound of his voice. “Why?”

“If I tell you a secret,” he asked tentatively, “Promise you won’t make fun of me?”

“I promise to have fun with you,” Isabel replied honestly, “But I won’t be mean about it.”

“Well, I guess that’s good enough, and I do like playing,,,” he mumbled as he looked at her appraisingly. “Up until this morning I’ve never touched a pair of panties, and today,,,” he held up the newfound purple garment, “You give me three.”

“What?” she gasped, quickly glancing at him. “Give them to me.” She rolled her window down, before snatching the wisp of fabric out of his hand. “I don’t like these,” she barked as she threw them out into the street.” ‘You bet I don’t like them,’ she thought, ‘they’re not mine.’ An evil grin appeared on her face as she looked in her mirror and watched as a newspaper delivery boy jumped off his bicycle and ran out into the street to pick them up. ‘Have fun kid.’

“What did you do that for?” Alex plead.

“I really don’t like them,’ Isabel stammered. Now let me have the white pair.”

Alex pulled them from his pocket, but hung onto them tightly. “What are you going to do with these?” he asked hesistantly as he looked at her still open window.

“I’m going to wear them. You don’t think I’m going into my fathers office nekkid, do you?” she teased. “Don’t sound disappointed, silly. You still have the red ones, and think about where they’ve been all day.”

Alex’s face turned fire engine red, and he was stunned speechless, but Isabel wasn’t paying much attention to him. All of her insecurities that she thought she had under control were struggling to break loose because of one little purple garment. ‘No, I have faith in Alex. He isn’t messing around with anyone else,’ she told herself. She was happy that he had come out of his shell, despite the fact that his new found popularity made him a hot commodity. Ever since the prom he could have his pick of any of her old friends, the popular girls, nice human girls who wouldn’t put him in danger just by being close to him. ‘No, I am the luckiest girl on two planets. Some people go through their entire life and never have a love like ours. I came close to throwing it away too many times to doubt him now.’ Her confidence restored, she reached for his hand.

**********
Later that evening, Isabel was laying on her bed reading when her cell rang. Expecting a call from Alex, she jumped across her room and answered it on the first ring. “Hello?” she said expectedly.

“Hi Isabel, it’s Vicky.”

“Hi Vicky, what’s up?” Isabel replied, hiding her disappointment.

“Well, I don’t know if I should even be telling you this,” Vicky said quickly. “But you and Alex have always been nice to me,,,”

“Vicky,” Isabel interrupted. “You’re babbling, what’s up?”

“Well, do you have anything going on with Pam?” Vicky asked tentatively.

“Nothing except for the fact that the tramp had better stay away from my boyfriend!” Isabel snapped.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Vicky stammered. “I saw her messing with Alex’s car today, and I was afraid she might have scratched the paint or poured something on your seat.”

“Really,” Isabel replied her voice softening. “That explains a lot. Thanks for calling.”

“Well okay, I just like you guys and I didn’t want to see her causing trouble, Bye,” Vicky said in conclusion.

“Vickie!” Isabel exclaimed.

“Yea?” Vicky asked uncertainly.

“You might want to be in the quad at the start of lunch tomorrow,” Isabel declared. “Get a good seat, Bye.”


Isabel was just returning her cell to the charger when it rang again. “Isabel?” she heard.

“Yea Maria,” Isabel answered nervously.

“You better get over here right away,” the pixie gushed.

Isabel felt a chill grip her heart. “Alex? What’s wrong?”

“Oh God, NO! Nothing’s wrong,” Maria blurted out. “I’m sorry if I scared you, but he’s really freaking me out,,,”

“Maria! Put him on the phone,” Isabel commanded.

“Hey Izzy,,,” Alex said in a calm voice.

“What’s going on?” Isabel snapped, the fear in her voice excusing her brashness.

“The main thing is that I’m fine,” Alex said reassuringly. “You got that? I’m okay, but something freaky’s going on.”

“I’ll be right over,,,” Isabel declared.

“Izzy!” Alex practically shouted.

“What?” Isabel answered as she stormed down her stairs.

“Do you understand?” Alex said tenderly. “Everyone’s okay, I don’t want to see you get hit by a truck on the way over here.”

“I’ll be careful, Sweetie,” Isabel replied, mollified by his concern for her. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”


Seven minutes later Isabel walked into Alex’s room and noticed that both Alex and Maria were staring at his computer monitor. Upon seeing for herself that Alex was fine, she leaned on his shoulder to see what they were looking at. “What the hell is that? Binary? And on the other side, hex?”

“Right. Binary code, actually the binary equivalent of ASC-II characters on the left, and on the right, hexi-decimal direct memory locations,” Alex replied proudly as he poked Maria in the side. “That’s my girlfriend, she’s smart.”

“Girlfriend, this so isn’t funny,” Maria barked, slapping him on the shoulder.

Isabel walked over to Alex’s bed and sat down.

Sensing Isabel’s confusion, Maria bound across the room and sat on the bed next to her, Indian style. “Ok, I came over here so Alex could help me with my Algebra, I need help with my rational inequalities. I mean what’s rational about inequalities? So anyways, I walk in here and there he typing that gibberish. It looked like he was in some kind of a trance. If you think about what we,,,”

Maria had stopped talking, a task for once made easy by the fact that Isabel had her hand over her mouth.

“Alex?” Isabel queried, wanting his side of the story.

“I don’t know what I was doing,” Alex confessed. “Maria tells me she pulled me away from the computer,,,”

“I didn’t want him to turn it off or something,” Maria cut in. “You know maybe he’s got an alien booby trap or something,,,”

“You didn’t know what you were doing?” Isabel asked softly, not wanting to upset him more than he already was.

“Not until Maria started shaking me,” Alex replied flatly.

Isabel turned her attention back to the monitor, “okay, tell what I’m looking at.”

“Well, before we start this, I have one question for you,” Alex asked hesitantly. “Do you want me talking about this?”

“Alex,” Maria asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Simple,” Alex sighed. “My phone rings, someone whispers a password into my ear, and I tell them everything I know.”

“Alex, you don’t have a password,” Maria assured him.

“Maybe not,” Alex replied, “But it’s as good an analogy as any. Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know that you guys are trying to help. I don’t want any of you getting hurt.”

“Alex, tell me what you can about this,,,” Isabel commanded.

“And then?” Alex asked in resignation as he turned back to his keyboard.

“And then? Nothing,” Isabel said with a look of determination on her face. She walked behind him and leaned down so her chin rested on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll decide what it’s safe for you to know. In the mean time, tell me what I’m looking at.”

The caress of Isabel’s breath on his neck distracted Alex, causing him to draw on reserves of will power in order to think straight. “It looks like I was typing data on the left side of the screen and assigning it to specific memory locations on the right. In effect I’m trying to write a program.”

“Impressive,” Isabel said proudly.

“Actually, impossible,” Alex replied. He turned towards her and saw the question in her eyes. “There are two kinds of languages,” he explained. “Machine and man readable. If I type an ‘a’, the computer can’t recognize it, because the ‘a’ is man readable. So the keyboard buffer and it’s subroutine converts the ‘a’ into binary, ‘01100001’, which is machine-readable. The character is then stored in system memory. My computer has a half-gig of memory, the memory addresses are huge, and again, they are not man readable.”

“So you’re writing a program in your head?” Isabel asked, not really understanding what he was saying so far.

“Exactly,” Alex replied excitedly, “And again that’s both impossible and foolish. Forty years ago programs were written on paper before they were keyed onto a punch card and entered into the computer. That entire process has been replaced by software. For example, Windows XP has several million lines of code. Do you know how long it would take to write that on paper? Now you buy an assembler program. You tell the assembler program what you want to do and the program writes the code for you.”

“So you’re telling me,,,” Isabel asked as she gained understanding of what he was doing, but still missing the ‘why’.

“First, that whoever is making me do this doesn’t know squat about computers,” Alex complained. “And second, that I will never be able to accomplish whatever they want me to do.”

“Is whatever you’re working on stored on this computer?” Isabel asked in a cool and level voice that sent a chill up Maria’s spine.

“Good question, let me check the activity levels on my cable modem.” Alex typed for a couple of moments. “Throughput on the modem is negligible, which means that whatever I’m working on has to be native to this machine.”

“How do I make sure you don’t delete it?” Isabel demanded.

“Can’t do that,” Alex reasoned, “But what I can do is run a back-up of the drives, that way if I do delete something we can restore it later.”

“How long?” was Isabel’s follow up.

“Well with my new DVD burner I can do a partial back-up onto one disk in about twenty minutes,” Alex boasted.

“Why are you going to do just a partial?” Isabel demanded.

“I’ve got almost 60 GB of files on two drives counting all of the video clips and music,,,” Alex paused, recognition dawning on his face. “Man you are smart.”

“Wait, I’m missing something,” Maria stammered.

Isabel explained, “If the files he’s working on are disguised as a video clip, and he doesn’t back them up, poof, they’re gone. He has to do a complete system back-up.”

“Maximum compression, eight to ten disk, three to four hours<” Alex answered the girls unasked question. “I can bring the back-up disk to school tomorrow.”

“No way,” Isabel declared, making herself comfortable. “I’m not leaving here without them. Start your back-up. I’m going to order something to eat, then you and Maria can work on her algebra. Now give me your credit card. What do you want Thai food?”

Alex pulled out his wallet and handed her his debit card. “No, order a pizza or something. For some strange reason just the thought of Thai food makes me sick.”

Isabel slid his debit card into her pocket. “Keep it coming, any more credit cards, check book, whatever you have that’s more than pocket money.”

“What am I getting for this pizza?” he asked with a big grin on his face. “Why do you want all my money?”

“Simple,” Isabel answered. “The fact that I am keeping you broke keeps you out of trouble. If anyone wants you to buy software, or take a trip, or anything I don’t know about in advance, you tell them to come see me.”

“What happens if I need something?” Alex whined

“You call your girlfriend and she takes you shopping,” Isabel said with an exaggerated smile as she batted her eyes. “Now fork it over.”

Alex handed over his ‘emergency’ credit card and savings account book, then started digging into his wallet. “This seems like good practice for after we’re married.”

Noticing that he was totally serious, Isabel felt a tingle course through her body, but Maria’s eyes almost bugged out as she watched him hand over his ‘don’t leave home without it’ kit. Isabel stripped out the twenty, and then handed back his duplicate license and condom.

“What?” Alex asked as he saw the smile on Isabel’s face and Maria’s shocked expression.

“Nothing,” they replied with a grin on their faces.

**********
Isabel had rearranged her shoes twice, by color and heel highth, and now was in the process of sorting her cosmetics, this time in accordance to the likelihood of imminent use. It was three in the morning and she wasn’t tired. For more than a year she had been dreamwalking Alex, for during the times that she had problems with him getting close during the day, they were still close at night. Normally they would go for a picnic or dancing, but she has stopped trying. She couldn’t stand the disappointment of not being able to connect with him. ‘Aagghh,’ she thought, ‘This is getting me nowhere.’ She decided that since neither one of them could sleep she would get something to drink and then call him. She was at the counter lacing a mug of hot tea with sesame oil when her mother joined her.

“Thinking about Alex?” Diane asked sagely.

“How’d you know?” Isabel asked, smiling.

“I was a teenager once myself, you know,” Diane quipped. “I’m one of the lucky ones, I found your father.”

“When did you know he was the one?” Isabel asked softly

“I met your father during our senior year of college,” Diane reminisced with a smile on her face. “I was looking forward to graduating, but your father still had to go to law school. I knew the moment I met him.”

“And Daddy?” Isabel probed gently.

“Oh, it took him a while, almost two years,” Diane replied. “To this day I have to remind him of that occasionally. But every time he turned around I was there. I even gave him advice on how to ask out a girl he was interested in.”

“Mom,” Isabel gasped. “What would of happened if he was really interested in her?”

“He wasn’t,” Diane related confidently, “But there was only one way for him to find that out, especially since I taught him to expect how he should be treated. And after he did figure it out, guess who was waiting for him.”

“You’re Alex!” Isabel gushed in recognition.

“Yes Iz,” Diane admitted, “Alex and I are a lot alike. I’ve been hoping that the two of you would figure things out, ever since that day four years ago when he let you ride his bike home from school because yours had a flat tire.”

“Mom,” her face brightened. “He loves me, not Isabel, not the Ice Princess, not the face I show everyone. He loves me, he knows all of my secrets, and he still loves me.”

“Of course he loves you, you sound like there’s something wrong with you,” Diane related as she took her daughters hand in hers. “Isabel, you are a beautiful and wonderful woman. Philip, Max and myself have always known that, but anyone who knows you can see how special you are.”

“Mom, it’s not like that. Alex is the only person I can turn to.” Seeing the hurt expression on her mothers face, Isabel knew she had to make a decision. She stood and walked to the phone.

“Isabel, who are you calling?” Diane gasped.

“Hi Sweetie, can you come over?” Isabel asked softly as she held up a finger to hold off Diane for a moment. “Yea,,, I’m going to tell my mom,,, everything,,, Thanks, Love you.”

“Isabel, it’s almost four,” Diane complained.

“It’s okay,” Isabel reasoned. “Alex doesn’t sleep.”

“What do you mean, he doesn’t sleep?” Diane asked in alarm.

“He can’t sleep unless I’m with him, and I make him,” Isabel explained painfully. “Mom, I’ll explain everything,,,” looking down at her tank top and panties, “I’ve got to change. Believe it or not Alex has never seen me like this, and he’s,,, we’re not ready for that, yet”

Isabel changed into a tee and sweats, stalling in her room for a couple of extra minutes. She had wanted to tell her mom for years, but now that she had committed herself she needed the support that only Alex could provide. She took a deep breath and slowly walked downstairs, crossing the kitchen to unlock the door.

“Iz, sit down,” Diane plead with a touch of humor in her voice. “You look more nervous than I am.”

“Nervous!” Isabel exclaimed in surprise. “Why are you nervous?”

“My daughter and her boyfriend want to talk to me in the middle of the night, so yes, I’m a bit nervous,” Diane explained with a hint of a smile. “But I have a feeling there’s more to it than that. Now sit down, I’m the adult here, I should be calming you.”

Alex knocked softly and then let himself in. He walked over to Isabel and kissed her on the cheek. “How you doing?” Turning to Diane, “Morning Mrs. Evans.”

“Not so good,” Isabel replied miserably. “I’ve been thinking of this for years, but I don’t know how to do it.” She leaned towards him, noticing he had a sweatshirt on. Upset further by the loss of her little collar ritual she nevertheless caressed his shoulder.

Diane smiled at her daughter, trying to calm her, “Just start at the beginning.”

“Keep it simple Izzy,” Alex agreed. “You don’t have to do everything at once. Just the basics.”

“Mom,” Isabel lead off, wringing her hands nervously. “I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for when you found us in the desert. We were so lucky, I don’t think anyone has ever had better parents,,,” She took a deep breath, “When we were abandoned, we were really abandoned,,, aagghh,” she groaned as she buried her face in her hands.

Alex stood and walked to the sink. He returned with three glasses of water. “Izzy?”

“What?” the tension of the moment came through in her voice.

“Mom likes decaf,” Alex said helpfully, ”Sweet and light. Cherry-coke for you, and I would like orange with just a bit of ice.”

Isabel smiled and taped the glasses, filling Alex’s drink order as her mom watched in amazement.

“That’s my girlfriend,” Alex quipped proudly. “She’s so special.”

“Mom, I’m not from around here,” Isabel confessed.

“Well, that explains a lot,,,” Diane agreed as she took a sip of coffee. “And I can’t wait to hear this, but first, I want to know about this problem Alex has with sleeping.”

**********
Isabel walked through the quad, past the table where her friends were waiting for her. She gave a subtle nod to Vickie Delaney as she passes her, before stopping at Pam Troy’s table.

“Hi Isabel,” Pam said in a sickeningly sweet voice. “What brings you over to the popular table?”

“Nice try Pam,” Isabel replied dismissively. “Oh, and by the way, nice try yesterday. Alex isn’t interested, and I’m all set, so I gave your ‘item’ to a kid from the junior high school.”

Pam was taken aback. In her mind Isabel should have been suspicious of Alex, not her.

“Let me explain something about being popular,” Isabel lectured as she turned her withering gaze on Pam. “Before Alex and I started going steady, I had guys asking me out a month in advance. Guys who looked forward to dating me, and while I was with them they treated me with respect. That’s being popular.”

“I’ll have you know I go out every Friday and Saturday night,” Pam lamented.

“Everyone knows that Pam,” Isabel sighed. “We all know your reputation. Any boy who gets dumped at the last minute can call you and you’ll go out with him. That’s not being popular, that’s being easy.”

“Well,,, well,,, well,,,” Pam stammered, stalling for time. “I’ve been told that you never deliver what you advertised, and that you’re a miserable date.”

“I am the Ice Princess, Pam,” Isabel reasoned as if lecturing a small child. “I never advertised anything. Guys dated me with the expectation of a nice evening together, nothing more. And everyone I ever dated still wants to take me out again.” Her patience exhausted, Isabel crossed hers arms, and stared Pam down.

Pam started to crack, “What are you staring at bitch.”

With the slightest wave of a fingertip Isabel sent a burst of newly created super-pollen towards Pam, causing her to sneeze.

Pam’s head snapped forward violently, causing her hair to cover her face. As Pam brushed it back, large clumps of hair came off in her hands.

“What’s that Pam, hair extensions?” Stacey asked cattily, sensing blood in the water. “And we all thought you liked the natural look.”

With everyone watching, Pam sneezed again, causing her heft breast to shift upward several inches. Another sneeze, and a patch of white appeared.

“Why Pam, what’s that, it looks like an old sock?” Stacey continued the attack.

Pam pulled out the sock, her face falling.

Isabel steeled herself with the thought of what would have happened between her and Alex if Vicky had not revealed the truth about Pam’s little purple stunt. “No wonder you can never get a second date,” Isabel stated coldly. “You can’t deliver what you advertise.”

Pam couldn’t contain her tears anymore. She conceded defeat and ran from the field of combat.

Isabel took one last look at the rest of the girls still at the table, who were watching her with admiration. In response Isabel shook her head, turned, and walked away. She returned to her table and sat between Liz and Maria.

“Didn’t you get something for lunch,” Liz asked.

“No,” Isabel replied sullenly, “Suddenly I’m not so hungry.” She paused a moment, “I don’t know how she’s going to be able to show her face again.”

“She asked for it, Isabel.” Maria responded consolingly. “I know of at least three couples she’s broken up.”

Isabel looked at the table where Pam had been, watching one girl lift a breast with her hand as the rest of the girls laughed. “I know Maria, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.” Suddenly she sensed Alex approaching. “Show time,” she sighed as she pasted a smile on her face.

Alex soon arrived at the table, offering her a soda.

“Thanks sweetie,” Isabel quipped as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

**********
Alex had just spent a leisurely couple of hours at the Crashdown, watching his girls work while indulgently allowing them to keep an eye on him until Isabel was ready to pick him up. He snickered as Liz dragged Maria into the break room for a much needed dose of cedar oil when the door chime attracted his attention. He turned to see Kyle come in.

“Hey Alex, what’s up?” the new arrival asked.

“Nothing much<” Alex sighed. “Just hanging ‘till Izzy gets done at her fathers office.”

“Really?” Kyle responded. “Why don’t you come over to the house. I got something I want to show you, and Isabel can call you when she gets here.”

“Kewl,” Alex replied enthusiastically, figuring whatever Kyle wanted was better than sitting around. “Let me tell Michael where I’m going.”

**********
Meanwhile Isabel was working at her father’s law office. She was carrying a banker’s box of files under one arm, a cherry Coke in her other hand. Her father’s newest employee, Jesse Ramirez, walked into the room interrupting her.

“Hey Izzy, how’s it going,” Jesse arrogantly asked, shamelessly checking her out.

Isabel slammed the box down onto one of the desk. “Mr., Ramirez, I have asked you to act professionally in the office, and I have made it clear to you that your use of my nickname is unacceptable.”

“What’s the matter sweet cheeks?” he teased. “You going to tell your daddy when you go home that you’re such a little girl you can’t be left here alone with me? He’s not going to think you’re much of an adult, especially as he’s planning on taking your mom on vacation for the first time in years. Maybe while they’re gone I’ll make a woman out of you.”

Isabel turned on him, a look of thunder on her face. “Mr. Ramirez, may I remind you that I am a junior in high school, while you are supposed to be an adult. Don’t let my age fool you, I assure you that I do not need my father to take care of me. Nor do I need my boyfriend to kick your ass. I am quite capable of looking out for myself.”

“Oh I’m so scared,” Jesse taunted, theatrically holding his hands up in front of himself. “Take your best shot.”

“Please excuse me,” Isabel replied dismissively. “I need that box of files.”

“This box?” Jesse quipped as he casually lifted the banker box full of legal sized files, a box that without alien powers weighed about one hundred pounds. (45 Kilos) Intending to show off for Isabel, he was not prepared for that much weight. He fell forward, his chest crashing into the top of the box. As he fell, Isabel made a subtle twisting motion with her hand. Jesse was struck with the most intense pain imaginable. He let loose with a scream that was more animal than human. He felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on him, and the corner of that pallet of bricks had landed on his groin.

Isabel looked on innocently, “Is something wrong, Mr. Ramirez?”

Jesse’s screams gradually subsided. Not because his pain has lessened any, but because the pain was so intense that he could not take a full breath. A wave of nausea overtook him, and he vomited, which was unfortunate as at the time he was curled into a fetal ball face down on top of the file box.

“Disgusting,” Isabel sighed as she lifted the phone and dialed 911.

~~“Chavez County 911, dispatcher 24, Police, Fire or Medical?”~~ the dispatcher dispassionately inquired.

“Medical,” Isabel efficiently answered.

~~“Stay on the line, I am transferring you to Roswell City Rescue,”~~ the dispatcher instructed.

Isabel heard several clicks and beeps then, ~~“Roswell Fire and Rescue, dispatcher 118, please state the nature of your emergency.”~~

“I have a gentleman here who was hurt while lifting a box,” Isabel coolly stated.

~~“Ma’am, is he conscious, does he have any trouble breathing, any chest pain, or is he bleeding?”~~ the dispatcher read from her console.

“No,” Isabel replied while examining her nails. “None of those things.”

~~“Is he disoriented, does he seem to any broken bones, or does he have back pain?”~~ the dispatcher continued.

“No, nothing like that,” Isabel replied while carefully stepping around Jesse.

~~“Okay Ma’am,”~~ the dispatcher asked, having come to the end of her E.M.D. (Emergency Medical Dispatching) script. ~~“Please tell me what happened.”~~

“He was lifting a heavy box,” Isabel explained plainly. “He fell and I think he pulled a muscle in his groin or something. He seems to be in a lot of pain.”

~~“Ma’am, I can dispatch a basic life support ambulance, but this is a non-life threatening emergency,” the dispatcher explained patiently. ~~”We are backed up, and it will take at least half an hour for them to get there. Is there any other way to get him to the hospital?”~~

“No, I’m just a high school girl,” Isabel whined with a tremor of fear in her voice. “I work for my father part time, I don’t know what else to do.”

~~“Okay Ma’am, I show you on the corner of North Pennsylvania Ave at 4th Street, correct?”~~ the dispatcher stated calmly. ~~”I’m going to dispatch an ambulance. If he gets any worse you be sure to call us again, okay?”

“Yes,” Isabel replied gratefully. “Thank you.”

Jesse had fallen over onto his side, still curled up into a little ball, with his hands buried in his groin. Every time he moved he felt a jolt of pain like an electric charge run from his groin directly to his brain. Needless to say he was speechless and incoherent.

Isabel walked over to the box, and daintily using the toe of one shoe, pushed the box away from Jesse so she could get back to work. She lifted the box effortlessly, and then once out of sight of Jesse, used a small concentrated burst of power to clean and sanitize the folders, ensuring that all were in pristine condition. She then filled the folders while stopping once or twice to answer the telephone.

About forty minutes later the ambulance arrived. The two EMT’s took one look at Jesse lying on the floor in a pool of his own vomit and winced. “Man, it looks like he is hurting,” the younger man groaned.

“Yea, you start an exam, and I’ll get an ice pack,” the primary EMT said.

“His name is Jesse,” Isabel supplied. “He works for my dad.”

“Man,” the junior EMT stammered, “If nothings bleeding, I say we transport him as is and let the hospital deal with him.”

Isabel stood near the primary. “My boyfriend just finished his EMT course. I read his orange book. (Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the definite textbook for training Emergency Medical Technicians) I bet I know what’s wrong with him, testicular torsion.”

The primary EMT winced, agreeing with her diagnosis, but nevertheless hesitant to voice it..

Isabel knelt and tried to offer some soothing words of consolation. “Jesse, when you picked up that heavy box you got a strain. You know how your testicles hang in your sack? Well they got twisted. Yup, your balls are tangled like a pretzel.”

Jesse looked at Isabel through pain-dampened eyes. He moaned as he heard her describe his condition. Meanwhile, the junior EMT groaned and dropped the ice pack.

“Jesse, they’re going to give you an ice pack for your groin. It won’t do any good for your balls and it will freeze your dick, but it will make them feel like they are doing something constructive,” Isabel explained passively. “Then they’re going to take you to the hospital where a doctor is going to cut your sack open. He’s going to reach inside and grab your balls and untwist them. Oh wow, I hope he has small fingers, and by the way, he’s got a 50-50 chance of twisting them the right way. If he twist them the wrong way it might hurt a little bit more.”

At the mention of the prospect of more pain Jesse curled up into a tighter ball, if that was possible.

Isabel looked up at the EMT’s who were now standing with their legs crossed and were looking a little pale. “Come on guys,” Isabel pleaded. “You know that he has to get his nuts untangled pretty quickly.” She turned back to Jesse, “They’re going to rush you to the hospital, because if you don’t get your balls fixed pretty soon they may turn black and die. If that happens the doctor will have to cut them off. Your friends will be calling you ‘no-nuts’ for the rest of your life.”

Isabel stepped back a bit, allowing the EMT’s to lift Jesse onto the Stryker stretcher, which caused him to start screaming again. This made the junior EMT wish that he had skipped lunch.

Isabel continued, as if she had memorized the entire textbook. “Then after the doctor gets your balls untangled, he is going to take a big needle and thread. He is going to take that needle and run it right through your left nut and sew it to the inside of your sack. Then he’s going to run the needle through your right nut and sew that one to the other side of your sack. After about a month the swelling might start to go down,” she added sympathetically.

By now Jesse was past the point of hearing, while the junior EMT threw his hand over his mouth and ran for the bathroom. The primary poked Jesse in the shoulder a couple of times to get his attention. “Sir, I’m going to need to get information from your drivers license. Can you get it out for me?”

Jesse reached for his wallet, every motion painful. While Jesse was doing this the primary turned towards Isabel. “If your boyfriend learned half as much as you did, he’ll do fine. Which course did he take?”

“He took it through the high school,” Isabel replied proudly. “His name is Alex Whitman.”

The junior EMT returned just in time to hear Alex’s name.

“Grab the other end of the stretcher hero,” the primary teased. “We’ve got to get this guy rolling.”

“Hey Quincy,” the junior man gushed, completely ignoring his patient. “You know what her boyfriend did? He takes a 3-5-7, right to the pump, got up, and started working on a patient.”

The primary smacked his partner up the side of the head, goading him to action. He then turned his attention back towards Isabel, “I heard about that guy. He was your boyfriend?”

Isabel simply nodded and beamed with pride.

“I met him,” continued the junior EMT as he allowed the stretcher to hit a desk, causing another yelp of pain to come from their patient. “I remember his name because fire fighter Alex Taylor was on the rescue the night of the shooting. She’s the one who took care of her boyfriend I think it’s kewl, our Alex being a girl and your Alex being a guy and having the same name and all,,,”

The primary shook his head, “When’d you say you met him?”

“Last week,” the younger man replied. “I was working with Taylor the night the Sheriff brought her boyfriend to the fire house. He wanted to meet her and thank the crews that took care of him. Man, your boyfriend must be the luckiest bastard on the planet. He’s a walking, talking dead man. I want her Alex to buy me a lottery ticket.”

Isabel watched as the men lifted Jesse into the ambulance with a cold look on her face, ‘Like I said Mr. Ramirez, I can take care of myself,’ she thought, but when the primary walked towards the driver’s door she stoped him. “Why did he say Alex is a walking dead man?”

“Ma’am,” the primary pleaded. “Don’t listen to him, he’s just a kid.”

“No, I really need to know,” Isabel insisted, recognizing his hesitance to elaborate.

Responding to the need in her voice, he took a deep breath. “The State Police showed us the vest your boyfriend was wearing when he was shot. The bullet had burned through sixteen layers of Kevlar. The tip of the bullet started through the seventeenth layer, but that layer finally stopped it just before making it all the way through.”

“Why’s that so special?” she initially asked, but after a moments thought continued, “How many layers did his vest have?’

“You don’t need to know,,,” the primary stammered, avoiding her eyes.

“How many!” Isabel demanded.

“Seventeen,” the primary replied flatly. “If that bullet had just a couple of ounces more energy, it would have made it through.”

“And what would have happened?” Isabel asked with a tremor in her voice.

“Your boyfriend would’ve been dead before he hit the floor,” he replied softly. “I’m sorry, but we really got to get going.”

Isabel, visibly shaken, pulled out her cell and dialed. “Max, I’m done at dad’s. Can you come get me a little early? I need to get to the Crashdown and see Alex.”

**********
“Thanks Kyle,” Tess said sweetly, “Why don’t you find a game on television while I talk to Alex.”

Tess lead Alex into her room. “Why aren’t you at home working on your project?” she hissed. “I keep telling you I need that book.”

“And I keep telling you, this isn’t going to work,,,” Alex replied resolutely.

“I need that translation, you’re just going to have to work harder,” Tess pressed on. “Stop hanging around with that slut and work on the book.”

“I’m only going to say this once,” Alex snapped with steel in his voice. “I have never hit a woman before, but if you talk about Isabel like that again I will not be responsible for my actions.”

“I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you,” Tess whined as she stood and began to pace the room in frustration. “You shouldn’t even be aware we’re having this conversation. I need to know how to get home in the Granolith.”

“I’m going to use little words,” Alex replied succinctly, “So you can understand. I was able to use the Thinking Machine Supercomputer at Las Cruces to break the code of the book. I was able to develop a character set, and I was able to break the syntax. I have the book in binary now. But it’s like the decoded book is in German, and you want me to translate it into English. I don’t speak German. Without a key, I can’t translate it. You’ve heard of the Rosetta stone? Well I need an Antarian stone.”

“I’ll give you an Altar stone,” Tess bellowed. “’ll break it over your head. I’ve got to get home before the baby’s born and I don’t care who I’ve got to hurt to do it.” Tess moved within inches of Alex and looked up at him. She scrunched her forehead intending to mind warp Alex again.

“Go ahead Tess, play your mind games, if you can,” Alex said defiantly. “Every time you mind warp me you are a little less successful. Maybe I’m getting used to it, or maybe my mind’s getting fried,,,”

Tess opened her eyes, angrily looking at him.

“Or maybe you’re getting weaker,” Alex continued, his own voice moderating with fatigue. “How many people are you trying to control along with me? Getting tired? I’ll tell you something else, my girlfriend’s just days away from figuring out what you’re doing, and when she does she’s going to kick your ass.”

“I don’t care what you think, you’re just a mundane human,” Tess exclaimed, squaring off in front of him. “If you can’t translate the book, I don’t need you. So here’s the way it’s going to be. You have three days to get that book translated or I’ll go after that slut girlfriend of yours,,,”

Alex reached out and slapped Tess across the face. She was more stunned by the boldness of his actions than hurt. With a taunting laugh her eyes narrowed menacingly, “Do I look like Michael? Do you think I was raised to let a human treat me like that?”

Alex had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide as she raised her hand. He could see the charge of energy slowly building as she sadistically took aim at him. “I have one last thought for you Alex, you can carry it for all eternity,” she taunted. “You failed Isabel, because this is going to hurt her more than it’s going to hurt you.” She hit him with a bolt of energy that carried all of the frustration she had been enduring since the day she came to Roswell.

Alex was blasted across the room and slammed into a table, breaking it. He fell to the floor motionless, a slight trickle of blood running from his temple.

**********
Across town Isabel walked into the Crashdown, and looked around. She stuck her head into the kitchen, “Michael? where’s Alex?”

TBC

[stargazer md]

Stargazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 7 - The Showdown
by Stargazer_md

Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. If they did, the show would still be on.
Some text is borrowed from the show, I didn’t treat it any worse than the original writers.
Summary: Izzy fights for her man.
Setting: End of S-2.
Category: Alex/Isabel with CC
Rating: PG-13

Where were we? Alex is blasted across the room and slams into a table, breaking it. He fell to the floor motionless, a slight trickle of blood running from his temple.

**********
Isabel walked into the Crashdown, and looked around anxiously. She stuck her head into the kitchen, “Michael?, where’s Alex?”

Michael looked up from the grill, “He left with Kyle about an hour ago. Kyle had something he wanted to show him.”

“Is Liz out back?” Isabel continued.

“Yea, she just got here,” Michael mumbled, returning to the task at hand.

Isabel blew through the door and stuck her head into the changing room. Liz was talking to Maria, and was starting to change into a Crashdown uniform.

“Alex is with Tess’!” Isabel exclaimed, but before anyone could react the tall teen was struck with a flash of pain and a feeling of dread that took her breath away. She bent at the waist, her hands on her knees as panic overwhelmed her. Liz and Maria both ran across the room and helped her upright as she caught her breath. “I've got to get there,” Isabel exclaimed, a look of panic in her eyes. “Now!.”

Liz, re-buttoned her blouse as she looked at Maria questioningly.

“Go!” Maria bellowed. “Space Boy and I got the place. Get going.”

Isabel and Liz slammed back into the restaurant, catching Max’s attention. “Max, I need you,” Isabel said on the way by.

“What’s going on?” he asked, bewildered.

“Now Max,” Isabel commanded, already at the door.

Max remembered the night Alex was hurt, realizing she would leave him behind if he didn’t hurry. He quickly caught up with them. “Isabel, just tell me what’s happening.”

As they rounded the corner towards where the jeep was parked, Isabel explained. “Something’s wrong, with Alex. I think he’s hurt.” Isabel ran to the jeep and leapt into the driver's seat. With a wave of her hand the engine roared to life. Liz jumped into the back as Max swung into the passenger seat, then hung on for life as Isabel roared through the streets of Roswell.

“How do you know he’s hurt,,,” Max shouted over the roar of the engine. “Iz, the other night, you didn’t call him, did you?”

“No, I didn’t call him,” Isabel replied. “He knew I needed him and he came.”

Max was stunned, “How was that possible?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s because of the amount of time we spend connected,” Isabel shouted as she dropped two gears, screeched around the corner onto East College Boulevard, and then mashed the accelerator to the floor. “Alex and I have been friends for years, even when we weren’t dating. We’ve been dream walking and connecting for over a year. We’ve tried a lot of different things, trying to push the boundaries. Sometimes when I enter the dream plane, I don’t have to look for him, he’s already waiting for me. We can connect without touching,,,”

“What,” Max demanded, thinking about the extremes he and Liz have to go through to connect. “How?”

“At first we held our hands an inch apart,” Isabel explained, “But lately we can connect if we are sharing a couch or table. Sometimes we can do it if we are in the same room, although it’s hazy.”

“So, you can tell when something happens to the other?” Max asked incredulously.

“I hope not,” Isabel said with a tremor in her voice. “Whatever that flash was, it got cut off. I’m afraid something happened to him.”

Max looked at his sister, and then turned to look at Liz, and saw the fear in both of their eyes. “Don’t worry,” he said with a bravado that he hoped he was going to be able to back up with action. “We’re going to take care of him.”

Isabel slowed as she approached the Valenti’s house, but she sped up as she saw Tess’ SUV and Alex’s Volvo pull out onto the street. She followed them as they headed out of town, turning North onto Rt. 285 and then again as they turned East onto Rt. 70. “What are we going to do?” Liz wanted to know.

“Nothing while they’re moving,” Isabel advised. “I don’t want any chance that Alex would be hurt.”

About fifteen minutes later they saw Tess turn into the scenic rest stop just before the Pecos River crossing. As they passed a sign indicating that the rest stop was closed from dusk to dawn, they saw Tess stop at the gate and moments later it opened admitting the SUV and Volvo. Isabel waited for them to crest the hill and then used her powers to open the gate.

“What are they doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” asked Max.

“I don’t know, but I’m still afraid to do anything that might cause a crash,” Isabel stated, a cold fury in her voice as she stopped at the base of the hill and watched as Tess parked her SUV in a parking slot.


Tess got out of her SUV and directed the driver of the Volvo to park with the front of the car pointed towards the exit ramp aiming back at the highway. Tess then walked past the trunk, opening it with a wave of her hand. She then opened the driver's side door and Kyle stepped out.

“Kyle,” Tess commanded, as she opened the driver's door, “I need my duffle out of the trunk. Bring it up here and put it in the front seat.”


“Now! They’re away from the driver's seats, lets go.” prompted Max.

Isabel started to let the clutch out. As she did, she saw Kyle pull something large from the trunk. “Alex! Oh my God, it’s Alex!.” She mashed the accelerator to the floor, screaming up the hill, and then screeched to a stop just behind the Volvo.

Isabel leapt from the car, running to Alex. “Get away from him.”

“Well, I should of known you’d show up,” Tess spat. “Anything to wreck one of my plans, but this time you’re too late.”

“What did you do to Alex?,” Isabel demanded as she watched Max place his hands on her boyfriend.

“Nothing worth mentioning,” Tess replied dismissively. “He had a job to do, he failed. I was going to take out the trash, but now, I’m going to be able to take care of everyone who ever hurt me.”

Isabel was stunned by the venom in Tess’ voice. She moved to her side, trying to draw Tess’ attention away from Max’s efforts to revive Alex. “Why are you doing this? I befriended you the first time I met you.”

“The first time we met”” Tess screeched. “The first time we met you told Zan not to trust me. Every chance you got, you tried to turn my husband against me.”

“On Antar?” Isabel asked in disbelief. “That wasn’t me! Look at me, I’m human, I’m Isabel, not Vilandra. I don’t know who that woman was and I don’t ever want to find out.”

“History lesson Vilandra,” Tess shouted as she began to pace in frustration. “You can’t abandon your past quite so easily. All I wanted was a nice simple palace revolt. My family has been aligned with Kivar’s for generations. Your family didn’t care about ruling, Zan made decisions with the flip of a coin and you were the party princess. Why is it the only time you have a backbone is when I’m involved?.”

“You started the revolt?” Isabel asked in amazement.

“History is written by the victors, Vilandra,” Tess said with a smile. “You will always be blamed for that, rightly so. I arranged for a little change of leadership, that’s all. Your family picked that one time to call on your allies. You started the war, you’re the one’s that got us all killed.”

“That was a lifetime ago, isn’t it time to move on?” Isabel stalled, looking at her still motionless boyfriend.

“Move on? How? I would have been happy for the time being if I could just have my husband back. All that brown haired bitch had to do was to do what I told her. She broke up with Zan, but she never let him go.” Tess raised her arm to fire, unsure of whether to attack Isabel or Liz. The hesitation gave Isabel time to raise her arm and summon energy of her own. They fired, their beams meeting between them.

Max was bent over Alex, pouring energy into his injured friend. He was determined that no one else be hurt because of what he considered to be his alien connection. Alex started to stir, but Max continued to pour his life force into him, determined to make sure that Alex was well.

Alex struggled to sit up, at which point Max fell into Liz’s arms exhausted. Alex looked around just in time to see Tess fire a beam of energy at Isabel, who barely avoided getting hit by firing back at the last possible moment. “Isabel!, Isabel!,,,” Alex shouted as he struggled to his feet.

“Alex!,,,” Liz shouted, “Stay back, you can’t survive in their kind of fight.” She knew it was hopeless, nothing would keep her friend away from Isabel if she was in danger.

The two beams clashing against each other looked like fireworks, throwing off showers of splinters that burned anything they touched. Alex waded into this spray until an especially large fragment of sparks drove him to his knees.

“Alex, stay back,” Isabel pleaded. “I can’t bear to lose you again.”

Alex stood and called forth every ounce of will power in his body. He walked the rest of the way to her and took her hand. The beams stopped.

Alex glared at Tess, defiantly raising their joined hands, he kissed Isabel’s. “However this turns out, we face it together.”

“Isn’t that sweet,” Tess taunted. “Pretty poor choice though Vilandra. Zan gave his energy to your human, now he’s useless. It might of been an even match if it was the both of you, now it’s just you and me.”

Isabel stole a quick glance at her brother, and Tess picked this moment to start firing again.

“No!,,,” Alex shouted, swinging in front of Isabel, protecting her with his body until she could meet the threat.

Isabel drew power from Alex and used it against Tess, but even their combined energy could not overpower their opponent. From the day she had left her pod, Tess had been trained by Nasedo to use her powers, and her strength was formidable.

“I was your Queen,,,” Tess taunted.

Isabel replied confidently, “You were never my Queen! Any slut can seduce a King, I was born Royal.” With that proclamation, the “V” constellation on her shoulder began to glow. Isabel and Alex felt an infusion of energy, an energy as powerful and pure as their love for each other. Isabel’s beam became increasingly bright and more powerful. It grew in size and brightness until it was blindingly white. Tess’ beam was forced steadily back.

“Tess, stop this now!,” Isabel pleaded. “There’s no need for you to lose your life.”

“Life?,” Tess angrily replied, resigned to her fate. “My life was on Antar.” Tess knew she couldn’t defeat Vilandra, not with the power of the Royal Seal behind her. "You can’t kill me, because I’ve never been alive.” She turned for one last look at her husband, who was still recovering from healing Alex. Liz was running her fingers through his hair, tenderly taking care of him.

Isabel watched with horror as Tess moved her arm and changed the aim of her beam. Isabel’s energy slammed through Tess as if she wasn't there. With was a flash of light, Tess’ essence was consumed, leaving nothing, but it was too late.

Isabel turned to see that the jeep had been destroyed. It had been blown back onto it’s side and was burning furiously. Kyle was staggering, fighting to stay upright. He leaned against the SUV, holding his arm. Isabel’s blood ran cold as she saw Max struggling to sit upright, Liz collapsed across his legs. She tried to run to them, but almost fell. Her legs were like rubber, her entire body exhausted.

Max was trying to get out from under Liz as gently as he could. The blouse over her shoulder was torn and bloody. Kyle and Isabel arrived to help at the same time. Kyle had removed his shirt and belt and was using them to bandage his arm.

“What happened?” Isabel asked. She looked back towards Alex.

Alex was on the ground, hands on his knees, but when he saw Isabel look at him, he waved at her. “Don’t worry about me, I think I’m getting used to it,” he quipped.

Kyle moaned, “Tess missed her by inches, but she hit the jeep. I think we both got hit by debris when it blew.”

Max had freed himself and was now kneeling by Liz’s side, placing his hand over her injury. “I've got to connect, I’ve got to heal her.”

“Make it quick,” Kyle pointed out. “We’ve got to get out of here before someone comes to investigate the fire.”

“Be careful Max, you’re pretty wiped out,” Isabel said with concern. “Just make her well enough to move, you can do the rest later.” Turning, Isabel shouted, “Alex, we need help over here,,,” Isabel’s voice died as she found him face down on the pavement. She ran to him almost crying, “No, No, No,,,” Isabel knelt beside Alex, gently rolling him onto his back. “Can you get up?” she asked softly. “We've got to get out of here, before we all end up in the white room.”

Alex tried to sit upright, and winced at the effort. “Tell you what, if you help me get up, I’ll promise you that I can fall down again all by myself.”

“Alex, this is no time for your jokes,” Isabel snapped as she helped him up, her voice cracking nervously.

“Who’s joking?” Alex moaned as he struggled to stay upright. “I can seriously fall down.”

Isabel guided Alex to the SUV, watching as Kyle got Liz and Max settled into the back seat. He closed the back door as they approached and opened the front passenger door.

“No,” Isabel commanded. “Back seat of the Volvo, Kyle. I want him somewhere I can take care of him.”

“Isabel, there are two cars, and we’re the only two left standing,” Kyle explained quickly. “There’s more room here. He can be next to you, but you have to drive.”

“Where to?,” she asked in frustration. “What do we do now?”

“My house,” Kyle commanded. “It’s the only place we can go that we won’t have a parent problem.”

“Michael’s?” Isabel questioned.

“Too small,” Kyle replied while shaking his head. “Too public.”

“Okay, your house,” Isabel conceded. “I’ll call Michael and Maria and tell them to meet us there.”

“I’ll call my dad and tell him to start making excuses. Thank God it’s Friday night,” Kyle said as he headed for the Volvo.

Isabel started the engine and headed down the ramp. She looked at Alex, “How you doing sweetie?”

“Everything hurts,” Alex groaned.

“I’ve got you sweetie, and I’m never going to let you go.” She turned west onto 70, headed back towards Roswell. “How about you guys in the back?”

“Okay for now, I guess,” Liz replied. “But I don’t think either one of us is going to be able to get out of here without help.”

Isabel pulled out her cell and dialed. ~~“Maria, I need to talk to Michael,”~~ the urgency in her voice silencing any questions. ~~“Michael, we just went through a war, everyone’s hurt,,, No, we’re going to Valenti’s, we need you guys there,,,”~~

“Isabel,” Liz demanded, “I need to talk to Maria, give me the phone.”

Respecting the same tone in Liz’s voice, she handed back the phone.

~~“Michael, I need to talk to Maria,,,”~~ Liz demanded. ~~“Just shut up and put her on,,, Maria, I need you to go to the soap factory,,,”~~


~~“Dad,”~~ Kyle exclaimed during his own call. ~~“We need you at the house,,, We just went through Mars Attacks II, we got hurt people,,, No, I’m taking them to our house, I don’t know where else we could hide,,, Yea, you better start calling parents and start making excuses, I don’t think anyone’s going to be in shape to go home tonight,,, No, nothing like that, Tess turned on us, Isabel had to stop her,,, no Dad, she had to kill her. Tess is gone,,, No, there’s no body, but Max’s jeep blew up, it’s at the Pecos overview on 70,,, Ok Dad, we’ll be there in about ten minutes.”~~


~~“Hanson?”~~ Jim said in surprise. ~~“You’re there late tonight,,, I need to report a stolen jeep,,,”~~


~~“Jim, so nice of you to call,”~~ Amy answered in full flirt mode.

~~“Amy, I wanted to tell you that I just got off the phone with Kyle,”~~ Jim groveled. ~~”Seems that the kids are coming over to my house. This being the last weekend of the school year they think that’s a good excuse for a party. I just wanted to tell you that Maria might not make it home tonight but that I’ll be there to make sure things stay under control.”~~

~~“So they get to party, and you get to be the lonely chaperone,”~~ Amy said sweetly. ~~”It’s so sweet you would look out for them.”~~

~~“Amy, I love these kids, all of them,”~~ Jim said, his words meaning more than he could ever admit. ~~”I would give my life for any one of them.”~~

~~“Well, I’ll let you go then,”~~ Amy said, disappointment in her voice. ~~”Take care Jim.”~~

Amy sat back thinking, first about needing another car, but a couple of other things as well. Making a decision, she leaned forward and talked to the driver of the taxi.


Valenti walked into his living room and looked around. It looked like a trauma center during a full moon. He looked for Kyle, “What happened?”

“Tess turned psycho,” Kyle tried to explain, still not understanding what had happened. “I don’t know what set her off. We ended up out on Rt. 70, and she just started blasting everyone. Alex and Liz are hurt, hurt bad. Max started working on Liz, but he’s out of gas.” Isabel looked up at Jim, Alex’s head in her lap. “Isabel is taking care of Alex, but she’s barely able to stand.”

“What about this?” Jim asked, pointing towards Kyle’s arm.

“I think I got hit when Tess blew up the jeep,” Kyle said dismissively. “It bled a lot but it doesn’t seem to be too deep.”

“First thing,” Jim commanded, “Go soak that with water so we can get the shirt off and we can put a proper bandage on it.” Turning towards Isabel, “Why would she blow up the jeep?”

“She didn’t,” Isabel answered. “She was aiming at Liz and missed.” Looking at Liz and Max on a couch barely able to sit up, she added, “Well, she missed with her beam. Liz and Kyle were next to the jeep and got hit when it blew.”

“What do we do now?” Jim asked as he ran his hand through his hair. “What can you do?”

“I can’t heal a paper cut,” Isabel admitted honestly. “I’m just trying to comfort Alex. Michael’s on the way, I know he can heal cuts and such, but I don’t know what to do about Alex, he’s been through so much, and Max is the only one who can help him.” She started to break down, “Maybe if I didn’t,,, I don’t know, but maybe if I didn’t do something,,, Tess wouldn’t have,,,”

“Hey, don’t even think like that,” Jim said compassionately, remembering how upset she was after the Whitaker affair. “You did what you had to do to protect yourself and your friends. You can’t think that she would help you with Alex when she’s responsible for what happened to him in the first place.”

Isabel nodded and returned her attention to Alex, stroking his hair and softly telling him how badly she needed him.

“What the hell is going on here?” Amy exclaimed as she entered the house. She angrily approached Jim, “I came over here because I thought you might like some adult company, and,,, and,,, what is this?”

“Amy, I can explain,” Jim said in a panic, “Just not right now.”

Kyle came out of the kitchen fumbling to open the household first aid kit with only one hand. He sat at the table, his wound exposed.

Amy reached for her cell, “Jim, he needs an ambulance.”

Jim gently took her phone, “No Amy, no ambulance, we can’t call anyone for help. We have to take care of this ourselves.” He gently led her to the table, “Amy, Kyle is hurt, can you help me take care of my son? I have to see if there’s anything I can do to help Alex, Liz and Max.”

Amy’s motherly instincts kicked in as she sat next to Kyle, looking into his pale face. Despite her best instincts she reached for the kit.


Things were just starting to get under control when the door opened and Isabel looked up to see Michael and Maria enter with, Tess? She took quick aim and fired a weakened burst of energy at the woman who hurt her Alex. She may have been exhausted, but she would defend him with her life.

Maria saw Isabel take aim and knocked Ava to the side, the blast missing them by inches and singing the wall behind her. “No, no! This is Ava! Not Tess, she’s a friend.”

Amy saw Isabel take her shot and was stunned speechless.

Jim took charge. “Michael, see what you can do with Kyle. Ava? Can you heal?”

“Yea, Zan didn’t like ta touch peoples,” Ava explained. “So's I's had a lotta practice and was able to develop it. I might not be as good as Max, but I's been doing okay so far.”

“Good,” Jim nodded, relieved that things were starting to turn to the better. “See what you can do with Alex.”


Michael, seeing Kyle’s open wound, quickly approached the table, Maria in tow.

“Welcome to my world Mom,” Maria sighed, adding in an undertone, “And another victim for the alien abyss.”

Kyle looked at Michael, “What do you think?”

“This is a battle injury,” Michael replied nervously. “I can see it, I can fix it.”

“Space Boy to the rescue. Mom, you've got to promise you won’t freak out,” Maria added.

“Freaked?” Amy choked out, “I’m way past freaked out,” she said pointing to the singed wall. “You have some serious explaining to do.”

Michael took the bandage out of Amy’s hand. “Mrs. DeLuca, I need you to hold Kyle’s arm. No matter what you see, I need you to promise Maria and Kyle that you won’t let him move.”

“Promise them?” Amy asked in confusion. “Why not you, you’re the one asking me?”

“Because in about ten seconds you’re not going to like me anymore,” he said, squeezing her hand as if to say goodbye. Michael put his hands over Kyle’s injured arm. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Amy’s eyes opened wide as Michaels hands began to glow. The laceration on Kyle’s arm began to close from the ends. Michael took a deep breath and continued to concentrate. Moments later Kyle’s arm looked as if it had never been injured. Michael released his arm, and stepped back, gasping for breath.

Maria took him by the shoulders and eased him into a chair. “There, there, my big strong Space Boy.” She kissed him repeatedly. “You just sit there and catch your breath.”

Amy looked at Maria with fear, “What’s wrong with him?”

“It’s a balance Mom,” Maria explained, never turning away from Michael. “Kyle needs to be healed, so Michael gives of himself. It takes a lot out of him, but he’ll be okay in a couple of hours.”

Meanwhile, Ava knelt down next to Isabel, looking at Alex. “Wha' happened?”

“I really don’t know, but Max already healed him once,” Isabel answered, her voice trembling. “I don’t know if this is from the first injury, or if Tess hurt him again.”

“Has you made connections with him before?” Ava asked suspiciously.

“Yes, we’ve been connecting and sharing dreams for almost two years” Isabel answered protectively. “We both know when the other needs us, even though we’re miles apart.”

“Without touchin'? I's didn’t even know we could do that. Make a connection with him now.” Ava commanded.

“Me? You’re the healer,” Isabel gasped.

“He's your mate. If your link’s that strong, you'se already bonded,” Ava replied in wonder. “I don’t want to interfere with that, I think I can work through your connection.”

Isabel was shocked to learn that she and Alex were joined, happy, but stunned. She put those feelings aside, and placed her hands on him. Isabel closed her eyes as she felt Ava’s hands cover her own. After months of frustration at being unable to find Alex with her mind, she was initially afraid when she found herself surrounded by darkness. ‘Not again,’ she thought, but she began to realize that this was not the swirling grey mist that had blocked her in the past. This was simple darkness.

Isabel saw a glow, the last remnants of the burning jeep, and realized that she was back at the rest stop. She ran towards the firelight and looked around. Alex was still where he fell, and she rushed towards him. He was lying on the cold pavement, his clothing torn and bloodied. His face was a mass of cuts and burses. “Alex, Sweetie, I’m here,,,”

“Izzy?” He reached up with an unsteady hand.

Isabel took his hand in hers, it felt cold. “Sweetie, I got you now, and I’m never going to let you go.” She sat down and settled Alex’s head onto her lap, mirroring their position in the living room.

“Izzy, it’s Tess. I need to protect you from her, she’s trying to get control of the granolith. She and Nicholas are trying to return to Antar,,,”

Isabel was stunned again, twice in less than a minute, but she remained focused on what was important.

“Shhh,” Isabel said while stroking his hair, gently calming him. “Tess is gone. She isn’t going to hurt you any more. You did your job, you protected me, all of us. Now it’s my turn to take care of you.”

“What happened?” Alex asked in confusion.

“She messed with an angry alien princess,” Isabel said possessively. “That’s what happened.”

“Izzy,” Alex replied unbelievingly. “I’ve never seen you angry, what caused it?”

“She hurt you,” Isabel answered as if it was the most logical answer in the world. “Now be still so I can take care of you.”

A beam of moonlight sliced through the darkness searching for the young teens. It found the couple and settled on them. Isabel closed her eyes in deep thought for a moment, and the parking lot was transformed into their clearing at Frazier Woods. The moonbeam brightened, and instead of a cool night the beam warmed them and gave them a feeling of peace and contentment.

“This is beautiful,” Alex said with wonder in his voice. “Are you doing this?”

“I’m here with you,” Isabel answered softly, “But I have help. We’re all here for you sweetie. You just lie back and get better.”

Isabel watched with amazement as Alex healed before her eyes. His wounds grew smaller and then closed. His bruises faded, some quicker than others. She waved her hand, repairing his clothing, but she stopped before reaching his collar. She reached down and smoothed that by hand.

Alex sighed in contentment and snuggled deeper into Isabel’s lap. Isabel continued to gently stroke his hair with one hand but her other hand held his tightly, the joined hands resting over his heart. “I've got you now Alex, and I’m never going to let you go.”


“Ok, Kyle” Jim commanded. “Everyone’s being taken care of. You’re going to tell me what happened, starting with Tess.”

“Dad, I don’t know everything that happened,” Kyle stammered. “I can’t even tell you what I’ve been doing.”

“I’ll make this real simple,” Jim exclaimed. “Tess, gone.”

“Tess was blasting everyone,” Kyle stated as he leaned back against the counter, his thoughts turning inward and back to earlier that night. “She busted Alex up pretty bad. She and Isabel were going head to head, Tess kept shouting about things back on Antar. Then she fired on Liz. She missed by inches and hit the jeep. Liz and I got caught in the explosion. Isabel took her out, Dad. It was a clean shoot, Dad. Isabel saved our lives.”

“And Tess?” Jim said, his voice softening with disbelief at the events that were being related to him.

“Gone,” Kyle replied, his eyes wide. “It looked like a puff of light, maybe she turned to dust, I don’t know. Nothing’s left.”

“And Alex?” Jim continued. “How’d he get mixed up in the middle of this mess?”

“Dad, I don’t know what happened,” Kyle answered honestly. “I remember picking him at the Crashdown, and the next thing I know we’re at the rest stop. Alex was already down,,, Dad, I think it happened here. Go look at my room, it’s smashed up and there’s blood everywhere.”

“Okay,” Jim concluded as he ran his hand through his hair. “We’re not going to get to the bottom of this tonight, but we’re going to have to discuss it in the morning.”

“Why Dad?” Kyle asked innocently.

Because this time, it’s one of us that died,” Jim answered with steel in his voice. “And although we can’t go to the authorities, someone should look into it.”


Isabel noticed that Alex’s bruises had reappeared and were starting to darken. She reached down and felt his skin, and found to her dismay that he was also cooler. She quickly slipped back into their connection.

Alex was back in the parking lot, the night had grown cold, and an evil wind was blowing. Isabel thought hard, she had to know something about how to help Alex. ‘Fire Fighter Alex Taylor, she would know what to do.’ She thought back to that horrible night at the Kettle’s.

“Engine company coming in, who needs help?”

“I got a first responder with a closed head injury. Have then pull equipment off the wagon for a full board job. Come on buddy, what else have we got going on here.”

“Entry wound! I got a gunshot would to the chest!”

“Lets get the coat off,”

“C-collar going on, head’s secure,”

“I think we got a vest here,”

“He’s going shocky, get him onto the floor.”

“We got a rifle over here that will burn through any vest.”

“Get him stripped and let's make sure we don’t miss anything.”

‘That’s it! I must have missed something.’ Isabel thought as she started taking his clothes off. As she removed his shirt she saw a mark under his waistline. She unbuckled his jeans and pulled them down along with his shorts. She was too concerned about his health to be embarrassed, but did think back to a recent Cosmo article, ‘Oh well, high side of average, can’t have everything.’ She rolled him onto his side. His backside was an angry red and purple. ‘Oh Sweetie, that little bitch shot you in the ass.’ Isabel placed her hand on the wound and tried to heal him.

Alex screamed, “Aaaggghhh, it hurts!,,,”

Ava ran over to Isabel. “Wha's the matta?"

“I found another injury,” Isabel choked out, visibly panicked.

“Okay,” Ava instructed calmly. “Give me your hand again.”

Isabel closed her eyes and re-connected with Alex. This time she was able to see the healing take effect. She watched as his color improved and he became visibly more comfortable.


Amy got up from the table where she had been sitting since helping with Kyle. She had been watching everyone, trying to take everything in.

“Come with me,” she said to Maria. “We’re going home. I’m getting you away from these,,, from this.”

Michael heard Amy. “I’ll take you home.”

“No,” Amy exclaimed. “I’m perfectly fine to take my daughter away from here.”

Michael didn’t think either woman was fit to drive, especially Amy. “It’s not open for discussion. I’m responsible for Maria’s safety, and I won’t leave her side until she’s safely in your house.”

Maria took Amy’s arm and they followed Michael towards the door, but Amy stopped in front of Jim. “You knew about this. You knew Maria was in danger and didn’t tell me. I trusted you, but most of all I trusted you with my daughter.” She slapped Jim’s face as hard as she could. Maria was shocked, but Jim didn’t flinch. He didn’t react at all, in fact he was expecting something like this, and in a way felt he deserved it. She slapped him a second time, forcing Maria to take action as Jim would not defend himself. Maria moved Amy away from him, “Mom, let's get you out of here before anyone else gets hurt.”

**********
Michael escorted the women into their house, and once on familiar territory, she really let Michael have it. “I welcomed you into this house, and I don’t even know what you are.”

“You know who I am,” Michael stated calmly, the sense of loss in his eyes having not spread to his voice yet. “I’m the same person, you’ve come to know, I’m just not from around here. I didn’t even start to learn who I was until we went to Midland. I love your daughter, and I will do anything for her, and for you.”

“Michael, I don’t know who or what you are! I don’t know what to think or do, so I’m going to ask you one question,” Amy demanded as she squared off in front of him. “The times you were on your ‘road trips’ with Maria. Was she in danger?”

Michael looked her in the eyes, “Yes.”

Maria looked at the expression on his face, “Michael, no,,,”

“Mrs. DeLuca, I’ve made a decision,” Michael stated. “I know you’re afraid of me, and I have to agree that I’ve changed Maria’s life, but not as much as she has changed mine. Maria has made me human, and she has taught me what’s important. What you don’t know is that the FBI has been after us for the past two years. I’ve decided to turn myself into them on the condition that you promise that you will not say anything about the others.”

“Mom, I swear to you,” Maria said coldly. “If they take Michael, we’ll go after him. We already know what they’ll do to him because they captured Max once before. They did things to him, they tortured him, they performed medical experiments on him, they did things to him that they wouldn’t do to animals.”

“Maria, your Mom’s right,” Michael exclaimed as he took her by the shoulders and turned her so she was facing him. “I won’t have you placing yourself in danger for me. Look at what has happened to everyone, think about what happened to Alex,,,” He turned and faced Amy, “At everything the Sheriff has lost.”

“Okay Michael,” Maria continued, getting in her mom’s face again. “Lets talk about Liz.”

“What about Liz?” Amy asked.

Maria answered without taking her eyes off Michael’s. “The rumors are true, Mom. Liz was shot, she was dying. Max healed her, and in doing so he changed their lives. It’s more balance. He gave up their safety for Liz’s life.”

“Maria,,,” Michael interrupted modestly.

Maria turned back to her boyfriend. “That’s why you don’t have a choice in this. Do you think Max and Isabel won’t go after you? You think I’ll let you go that easily? Alex will be right there with us. He’ll go in there for you, but when they get Isabel, he’ll go insane. They’ll have to kill him to stop him. Kyle, Jim, all of us. We’ll rescue you or die trying.”

Maria turned towards her mother. “There’s something you need to understand, I’ve never been healed, I’ve never been changed. As far as the FBI is concerned I’m just a useless human. They don’t need me, they’ll kill me first to get the others to cooperate.”

“I,,,” Amy was clearly overwhelmed. “What’s all this talk of torture and killing, They’re the government for crying out loud.”

“Mom, You’re a hippie,” Maria quipped, knowing that she was going to get her way. “Since when did you ever start trusting the government?” She then turned back towards Michael. “They’ll dissect you and keep you alive to watch. You’re the soldier, why are you giving up so easy?”

“Because sometimes the only way the soldier can save his buddies is to fall on the grenade,” Michael said softly.

“No!” Amy exclaimed. “No one’s falling on any grenades, not tonight. I don’t know what to think right now, but I do know this is a bad time,,, I need to think. The best thing to do right now is to get you both back to your friends.”

**********
Maria entered the Valenti’s closely followed by Michael. She squealed when she saw that everyone was recovering, and standing in groups. Kyle was already showing Ava around the house, Isabel was talking to Liz, and Alex was involved in a discussion with Max.

Maria ran to Isabel and Liz and captured them in a group hug. “We did it.” She then stood on her toes and kissed Isabel on the cheek, “My hero, you brought Alex back for us.”

Isabel was taken aback, but pleased. She had grown close to the twins during the past several months and was happy to have two more people, especially girls, that she could be open with.

Maria then ran to Alex and leapt into his arms. “I knew you’d come back to us.”

Meanwhile Michael sought out Max. “So what’s this, you throw a battle and forget to invite me?”

“Don’t look at me, I still don’t know what happened. The Sheriff’s going to sit everyone down in the morning and try to piece together exactly what happened.”

Amy stood next to Jim, watching the celebration. “This is too new, I don’t know what to think about it yet.”

“It’s a lot to take in, I’ve had to change an entire lifetime of prejudice,” Jim said, maintaining a little distance to allow Amy to decide how they would proceed.

“I’m sorry I hit you,” Amy said nervously before turning to face him head on. “I’m still mad, and I’m not ready to forgive you just yet for keeping this secret, but Maria told me some things. Thank you for keeping her safe.” She turned back, facing the teens, “This is the first time I have ever seen her involved in something bigger than herself. I’m proud that she seems to be doing the right thing.”

“Four kids from Earth, dating four kids from Antar,” Jim said in a lighter tone of voice. “This is the biggest event in the history of mankind, living proof that we are not alone. But instead of celebrating, I’m struggling every day just to keep them alive.”

“Look at them,” Amy said with wonder in her voice. “They have their whole lives ahead of them. They are so happy in their innocence.”

“No Amy, that’s where you got it wrong,” Jim sighed. “They have lived more in the past two years than most adults have in an entire lifetime. They have learned to celebrate every moment of happiness they can find, because they never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. We could learn a lot from them.”


Isabel approached Max, but he saw her coming and turned to face her with contempt in his eyes. “Get away from me!, What kind of monster are you? I hate you! You’re not my sister anymore.”

Isabel was dumbstruck, she took a step backwards as Max walked away. Alex took her by the shoulders and turned her so that she was facing him. Isabel looked stunned. She couldn’t be more upset if Max had hit her. Alex didn’t even know if she realized that he was there. “Get me out of here.” she whispered. “Get me out of here. Now!”

Alex led her to the door, making eye contact with Jim so that he knew they were leaving. Once outside he held her as she cried her heart out. He held her tightly, stroking her hair, trying to comfort her, until she ran out of tears. “Izzy, what’s wrong?”

She looked at him and sadly shook her head no.

He placed his hands on her face and looked intently into her eyes, from just inches away. “Izzy, like you’ve been telling me for weeks, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on. You don’t have to say anything, just let me in.”

Isabel allowed the connection, and immediately felt his presence. She drank in the feeling of him, committing it to memory before she lost him forever.

“Izzy, why did Max say those horrible things to you?” he asked softly.

Her voice was still broken, even in her mind. “Sweetie, there’s something you didn’t know. Tess was pregnant. I killed my nephew.”

Isabel felt Alex stagger at her revelation, but instead of pulling away as she expected, she felt something wonderful. She felt Alex pour every ounce of love, care, and comfort that he could into her, sharing her pain.

TBC

[stargazer md]

Stargazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 8 - Alex and Isabel 1 / Tess 0
by Stargazer_md

Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. If they did, the show would still be on.
Some text is borrowed from the show, I didn’t treat it any worse than the original
writers.
Summary: Izzy fights for her man.
Setting: End of S-2.
Category: Alex/Isabel with CC
Rating: Mature


Fire Fighter Alex Taylor visits us again from Third Watch.

Where were we. Isabel defended Alex from Tess’ evil clutches, but once safe at the Valenti’s, she is attacked from an unexpected source, her brother. In response, Alex gets her out of there.

**********
Alex pulled up in front of the Comfort Inn. He turned to Isabel, “Izzy, I’m going to go in and register, will you be alright?” When she didn’t respond he tried again, more insistently.

She slowly turned towards him.

“Sorry,” he pleaded. “I need my credit cards back.”

Isabel reached into her back pocket and handed him her ‘don’t leave home without it’ kit.

Alex peeled off the elastic, finding two twenty dollar bills wrapped around her driver’s license and both his and her credit cards. He also found two condoms. This shocked him. Sure they had talked about carrying a condom in case they ever lost control. In fact he even carried one, although he never expecting to use it, because with his whole being he needed to keep her safe from harm. But this was different. Was it really possible that Isabel wanted to have sex with him? Despite his growing confidence in their relationship, and no matter how much she tried to ‘condition’ him, he was not ready for that.

Alex joked to hide his embarrassment. “Hummm, ribbed for her pleasure, is that a critique of my technique?”

Isabel didn’t react at all.

Seeing that his attempt at humor had failed, he opened the door before turning to her, “I’ll be right back.”

He returned several minutes later and drove to their room. He popped the trunk open and grabbed their emergency bag, a duffle containing clothing and toiletries that they had assembled the day after her bad dream. Alex had been carrying this, a jump (first aid) kit, and a couple of other items ever since. He then opened the passenger door and offered a hand to his girlfriend. He quickly got them settled into the room.

Isabel looked around the room, “Why?”

“Because I won’t let you stay at the Valenti’s and I couldn’t take you to either of our homes,” Alex explained softly. “It’s okay, the Sheriff already told our parents we were staying out.”

She looked around the room hopelessly, “I don’t know what,,, where,,,”

Alex stepped forward and took her into his arms, “You don’t need to right now, l have you, and I will take care of you.”

“Please, I need you,” she whispered as she burrowed into his embrace. “I don’t think I’ve ever known what it is like to need you as much as I do right now.”

He thought back on the events of the evening, ‘Kyle picked me up at four, it’s a little after eleven now. How could so much happen in just seven hours? ‘Maxwell,’ he thought, ‘I’ll never forgive you for this. If it’s the last thing I ever do I’m going to beat you like a circus monkey for hurting her.’ He looked around the room and noticed their reflection in a mirror, they were a mess. “The first thing we’re going to do is get you cleaned up.”

Isabel took a step back and looked him in the eye, “Okay.” She opened the emergency bag and took out her toiletry kit. She took his hand and led him to the bathroom.

He looked into her toiletry kit, “Let’s see what you have in here.” He saw that Isabel was starting to disrobe. “Hang on Izzy,” he guided her to a seat on the commode. “Let’s wait until I have the bath ready. I don’t want to see you catch cold,” he mumbled to cover his embarrassment.

‘Come on Alex’, he thought to himself. ‘Hold it together, she needs you.’ Alex would gladly give his life for Isabel, but this was the girl of his dreams, and he was a normal teenage boy. He was facing a temptation beyond compare.

Turning back to the bag, “Bubble bath.” He read the instructions on the bottle, “Use one capful.” Alex turned on the tap, adjusting the water between warm and hot. ‘Bubbles are my friend, nice thick white bubbles.’ He dumped half the bottle into the swirling water.

Isabel watched as the tub filled with water and bubbles, “Now?”

“Ready,” Alex answered cheerfully. “Just let me give you a bit of privacy.”

“No! Don’t leave me!” she pleaded.

“I’m not leaving,” Alex replied soothingly. “I’m just going to turn my back until you’re in the tub.” He listened to her settle into the water, then turned to face her. The bubbles reached almost to her neck, but nothing could hide the look in her eyes as she watched him. He reached into her bag for her scented body wash and reached for a washcloth. Alex knelt next to the tub and gently began to wash her, well most of her. When he finished, “Can you turn your back towards me a bit?” He reached for her shampoo and washed her hair. “Okay, I’m going to open the drain and turn on the shower so you can rinse off.” Moments later, “Turn your back Izzy, I’m going to open the curtain and I have a big fluffy bath blanket to wrap you in.”

Isabel stepped from the tub, and into the safety of his arms as he wrapped her. Contented for the moment, she leaned back against the vanity allowing him to attend to his own needs.

“I’m just going to take a quick shower,,,” Alex explained.

“I’m not going to let you out of my sight,” Isabel immediately replied.

Alex stripped to his shorts and stepped into the tub. He threw his boxers out from behind the curtain, and quickly cleaned himself. When he finished he carefully opened the top half of the curtain to find Isabel’s big brown eyes fixed on him, as she handed him a towel.

Alex wrapped the much smaller towel around his waist, and stepped out of the tub. “Your hair’s still wet, let me take care of that.” He used the blow dryer to dry her hair, then led her back into the room and sat her on the edge of the bed. He reached into her bag for her hair brush, and began to stroke her hair.

“Ummm,” Isabel sighed in contentment. “You’re very good at that.”

He continued to brush her hair, caressing it with his free hand. “I’ve been dreaming of brushing your beautiful hair for years.”

“You really will do anything for me, won’t you?” Isabel asked softly, as if afraid of his answer.

He paused in his efforts for a moment. Leaning forward he swept her hair from the side of her face and gently kissed her on the tender spot just under her ear. He whispered, “As will you my love.”

He noticed her fight a yawn. “Okay, time to get you ready for bed. I don’t remember seeing any PJ’s, maybe you can use your powers on something?”

Isabel stood and then reached into the duffle, “I don’t need PJ’s, all I want is a clean pair of panties and one of your shirts. I don’t want to be an alien anymore, just your girlfriend.” She returned to the bathroom, but left the door open. “Are you all set? Can I do anything for you?”

“I’m all set,” he answered. “All I need is a clean pair of boxers.”

Isabel brushed her teeth and applied a touch of perfume, Amazing Grace, Alex’s favorite. Looking at herself in the mirror, she didn’t see a monster. She didn’t see herself yet, but with Alex’s help she would get over the hurtful things Max had said.

Isabel returned to the room to find that Alex was already in bed, and had turned down the other side for her. She walked to the bed and sat down, swinging her long legs under the covers. “I’m surprised you didn’t get a room with two twins.”

“Nope, I figured you need eight to ten hours of sleep and I plan to hold you for every one of them. Besides, I figured if I did get two twins, you would hit me up the side of the head.”

“You’re learning,” she sighed settling into his strong arms. “We might make a good boyfriend out of you yet.”


Isabel awoke in the middle of the night. She was still on her side, with Alex spooned closely behind her. Her top leg was bent forward, with Alex’s leg close behind it, his thigh resting on the inside of hers. His every breath warmed her neck, sending a tingle through her body. She drew comfort from the warmth of his body and the security of his arms. She gradually became aware that he was gently caressing her stomach.

“Not sleeping sweetie?” she asked softly.

“I don’t want to waste my time sleeping when I can relish being here with you,” Alex whispered, his breath caressing her neck.

“It’s dark, you can’t see me,” Isabel protested with a shudder.

“I can sense you. The touch of your hair on my cheek, your smell, which I have missed so much, the warmth of lying here next to you and the sound of your breathing.” He moved his hand from her stomach to her chest, accidentally brushing against her breast, “The feel of your heartbeat…” Alex noticed that she moaned when he brushed against her, and she leaned forward trying to deepen the touch. He traced his fingers in a larger circle, brushing against the top of her breasts.

“Not quite so gentle, I can barely feel you,” Isabel whined as she started to make an almost purring sound with every breath.

Alex fought a moment of doubt, then deepened his touch. He caressed the top of her breast, down her cleavage, and then the bottom of her globe.

“Inside my shirt,,,” she panted.

“No, this is fine for now,” Alex teased. “I never knew you could be so soft.”

“Not everything’s so soft,” Isabel gasped. “Keep going,,, please,,,”

Alex moved his fingertips to her nipple, finding it hard and waiting. He heard Isabel cry out at the contact. He circled it, then tugged gently, twisting it and releasing it. He gradually slowed his caresses, and touched her more gently. Gradually her sense of contentment and exhaustion overcame her excitement. Alex was happy with himself as he realized that he had lulled her back to sleep.

**********
The next morning, Isabel and Alex were getting ready to leave. “Sweetie?”

“Yea, Izzy?”

“Can I talk to my best friend for a moment?”

“Ahhmm, yea, of course,,,” he replied, confused a bit.

Isabel walked up to Alex and linked her hands behind his neck, leaning back a bit. “I want to tell you about my boyfriend.”

“Oh, you have just one boyfriend?” Alex teased. You’re so beautiful and special I thought you would have a whole bunch of boyfriends.”

“Nope. You’ve been my best friend for a long time, but I’ve only had my boyfriend for a couple of months now. I figured that I had better grab him one day when I almost lost him. The thing is, I know how to tell anything to my best friend, but sometimes it’s not so easy to talk to my boyfriend, because it’s so new, and I’ve never had anyone like that.”

“So what do you want to tell him?”

“Well, do you know how special he is?” she asked, her eyes boring into his. “I had a really rotten day yesterday, and he got me through it.”

“No, I’m sure he thinks you are a strong and intelligent woman,” Alex replied modestly. “He may have helped you a bit, but I’m sure it was nothing more than that.”

“I’m sure of it,” Isabel insisted, as she stepped closer and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I had a big fight with my brother. Do you know what my boyfriend did?”

“No,” Alex continued, playing along. “Why don’t you tell me?”

“He rescued me. He got me away from there, he kissed my tears away, and then he took care of me.”

“He did all that? He must really love you.”

“That’s not all he did, he gave me a bath, brushed my hair, and then held me until I went to sleep. But the whole time, I don’t think he ever saw me naked.”

“Well, I heard that there were an awful lot of bubbles in the tub with you; but seriously, I’m sure your boyfriend is a gentleman. He didn’t want to take advantage of you while you were vulnerable.”

“You see, that’s it, I want to be his girlfriend. I want him to want to look at me. If he went too far I would let him know, but honestly I don’t think he could ever take advantage of me.” Isabel’s voice turned soft and flirty as she melted against his body. “You know what?”

“What?”

Isabel whispered, “My boyfriend played with me last night. Just a bit, but that’s the first time anyone’s ever done that with me. I felt so special being his girlfriend like that. All I ever want to be is his girlfriend, and I want him to play with me some more.”

“I’m sure he will, but I’m also certain he wants to make sure that he never does anything that would hurt you.”

“But if he’s so nice to me, I can’t tease him about it.”

“He loves to be teased, in fact I’m sure he would be disappointed if you didn’t find a way to tease him about last night.”

“Well, do you know what my boyfriend can do for me right now?”

“Name it.”

“He can take me to the Crashdown for breakfast before we go talk to the Sheriff.” With everything that happened yesterday I never got to eat dinner. I’m so hungry, I could eat a cactus.”

“Well,” Alex said laughing. “You’d better not let your boyfriend hear you say that. After all it’s hard to be just a normal girlfriend if you have all of these strange alien cravings.” He looked around the room to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. He then closed the door and looked at Isabel, “Does the girlfriend want to drive? Traditionally the boyfriend,,,”

Isabel cut him off, pulling her own keys from her pocket. “I said girlfriend, I never said anything about being traditional.”

********
Isabel and Alex entered the Crashdown and finding their booth empty, settled in it. She noticed that while Jose was on the grill, none of the ‘regular’ waitresses were working. She excused herself and stepped into the kitchen, “Hey, Jose.”

“Good morning Miss Isabel. How are you today?”

“I’m hungry, Jose.”

“You want that I make something special for you?”

“Would you? I was thinking of that fried hot pepper omelet you made for me last week, only hotter.”

“Okay, I’ll make that for you Miss Isabel, and send it out to you.”

Isabel left the kitchen not noticing that Jeff had witnessed the conversation.

“Jose,” Jeff said, catching his attention. “I’m pleased to see you speaking to Isabel like that.” He secretly worried that he would have to fire him if he didn’t learn to treat the waitresses with respect.

“Oh yes!” Jose gave Jeff his famous gap toothed grin and nodded. “When Miss Isabel worked a couple of weeks ago we made an agreement about how I speak to her and Miss Liz and Miss Maria.”

“Really?” Jeff said astonished. “And what did you get from that agreement?”

“Oh, I get to live another day,” he said, returning to the grill.

Jeff didn’t know how to respond to this, so he walked away with a smile on his face thinking, ‘Whatever works.’


Isabel returned to the table and found that Alex had already ordered her a tall glass of orange juice, and turned it dark red with Tabasco. “Thanks sweetie,” she said, adjusting his collar while giving him a caress on the shoulders and a kiss on the cheek.

They both looked up as Liz and Maria came in with Michael right behind them. The twins sat on the other side of the booth, while Michael stood, pacing nervously.

“Space Boy, sit down before you trip over your big feet and cause a scene,” Maria said tiredly.

Making a decision, Michael leaned down and gave Isabel a hug. “I don’t know exactly what happened out there, but you and Laurie are all the family I have, and I won’t let anyone talk to you like that again."

Michael straightened, leaving everyone at the table astonished as he pulled up an empty stool and settled at the end of the booth.

Maria explained, “He worked Max over pretty good after the two of you left last night.”

“Funny thing,” Alex quipped. “Item number one on my to-do list.”

Isabel turned to Alex. “Don’t do anything until we talk.”

“Talk to him? Not very high on said list,” Alex replied dismissively.

“I’m serious Alex, let it go for a bit.”

“I don’t know Izzy,,,”

“Please? For me?”

“Okay.” Alex could deny her nothing.

Turning back to the others Isabel asked, “Any idea what the Sheriff is thinking about this whole thing?”

“He still wants to talk to the two of you, but so far everything sounds like self defense,” Liz explained.

Maria added, “He actually sounds relieved. I mean what would he do if he thought there was a crime committed.”

“He’s already in enough trouble because of Laurie,” Michael continued. “If it wasn’t for Amy getting half the parents in Roswell out to support him he would have probably lost his job.”

“Figures, we’re lucky enough to get a cop who can get along with teens and they want to get rid of him,” Maria sighed.

“Well the point is,,,” Michael paused looking at Isabel and Alex.

“Somehow I don’t think I’m going to like this,” Isabel sighed.

“If anyone else,,, if Tess turns up missing, he will lose his job.”

“Tess is gone,” Alex reminded everyone. “We don’t even have dust this time. How do we explain that?”

“We don’t,” Liz answered. “Deputy Hanson came by the house this morning to get some paperwork signed. When he saw us all there he asked about Tess.”

“Great, so the secret’s already out?” Isabel moaned.

“No. Ava changed her appearance to look like Tess and fooled him.”

“Spooky,” Maria shuddered.

“Spooky doesn’t begin to describe it,” Isabel exclaimed, her face clouded. “It’s the same thing Lonnie did to me, and Max still holds her little Vilandra confession against me.”

Alex reached over and rubbed his girlfriend’s shoulders, comforting her.

“It’s not the same thing,” Liz said. “No one’s being deceived, well no one that counts. This really works out for everyone. We can’t have Tess turn up missing, and Ava, who is still afraid of Lonnie and Rath, gets a shot at a better life.”

“This could work,” Isabel said thoughtfully. “We already need Ava to help untangle the whole mind warp mess,,, Yea, this could work. You all done sweetie? Lets go over to the Valenti’s and see what’s happening.”

“Hang on a minute,” Liz said. There’s a lot more we have to talk about.”

Alex looked at Isabel. “I’ve really wanted to spend some time with my parents this afternoon.”

Isabel looked at Liz, “This evening?”

“Yea, on my balcony.” Liz replied.

********
Jim quickly interviewed Alex and Isabel. Nothing they said differed from the information he already had. “Isabel, as far as everyone is concerned, this was a clear case of self defense. As far as I am concerned officially, it never happened.” He looked at the couch and saw Ava and Kyle talking quietly. “Let’s go in the kitchen for a moment.”

Once they were settled, Jim ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. “Isabel, I want you to know that if you ever want to talk to someone I’ll be here. Tess wasn’t a skin, she was one of you, and if you have any trouble with the fact that you had to kill her,,,”

“We,” Alex interrupted.

“What?” Jim asked, as Isabel also looked at Alex.

“We killed her. I had as much to do with her death as Isabel, perhaps more, because Izzy was there to protect me.” He looked at Isabel, locking eyes with her. “When Tess died I was pumping everything I had into you. Every ounce of love I’ve ever felt for you, every bit of anger at Tess for what she was doing to us, and a lifetime of fear that she was going to hurt you. I will not let you think for a moment that you alone were responsible for this.”

Isabel had tears in her eyes. She leaned down and rested her head on his shoulder as he caressed her hair.

Jim wisely chose that moment to return to the living room.


Alex and Isabel returned to the living room, looking for Ava. Jim sent them to Tess’ room, where they found her talking to Kyle. They were both a little spooked to see ‘Tess’ sitting on the bed.

Kyle noticed them first, “How are you guys?”

“We’re fine. How’s your arm?”

“Michael did a great job, I can’t even tell where I was hurt.”

Isabel looked at Ava. “How are you doing Ava?”

“I don’t know yet, happy I was able to help, but still a little freaked.”

Kyle added, “She really saved our bacon this morning, I don’t know what would have happened if deputy Hanson found out Tess was missing.”

She looked at Kyle, “Guys, can we have the room?”

Kyle shook his head and laughed as he got up to leave, “Yea sure, I’m getting used to it.”

Isabel looked directly at Ava, settling next to her on the bed, “How are you doing? Liz told me she needed help with something. If I knew it was you, I would have done something to help earlier.”

“It’s okay. Liz made sure I had something to eat every day; and last night,” Ava waved her hand around the room, “I’ve never had it this good.”

“It’s not okay,” Isabel stated emphatically. “No one should have to live in an abandoned building.”

“Isabel, I grew up in a sewer. Every day I was afraid of something, either getting caught stealing food or pissing off Rath or Lonnie.”

“Was it really that bad? I mean in our group there’s times that we don’t get along, but we would never hurt each other.”

“Too bad you can’t ask Zan,” Ava replied with a shudder. “I’ll never go back to them. That’s why I want to play Tess for a while. I just hope I can pull it off.”

“You can, we’ll all help you.” Isabel started laughing, “You just won’t be able to speak to anyone for a while.”

“I’ve never been in a small town in my life, and I’ve never been to school before.”

“You’ll be fine, you’re a hybrid. You only have to see something once and you’ll remember it. In the mean time, is there anything you need?”

“No, Look around, I’ve got everything I need.”

Isabel opened a drawer and looked inside. “Nope, your education about fashion begins now; besides, I’m not going to let you wear a dead girl’s clothes.”

Isabel walked out of the room, followed by Ava. “Come on sweetie, I’ll drop you off. I need your car, we have shopping to do.”

********
Isabel knocked briefly on Alex’s door before entering his house. “Hello.”

Gloria greeted her, “Isabel, it’s so nice to see you.” She swept the young girl into a tight hug. “You don’t come over nearly often enough.” She stepped back, leading Isabel into the living room by the arm.

“I’m always happy to visit, you make me feel like a part of your family.”

“You are part of the family.” Gloria was so happy she almost glowed. “Alex was just like his old self this afternoon. He helped his father clean the garage, and he told so many bad jokes Charles almost cried. He seems to be over whatever was bothering him, and we will never forget that you were constantly with him while he was ‘ill’.”

“Mrs. Whitman,” Isabel replied embarrassed. “You have a wonderful son, everyone who knows him was pulling for him, even my parents. I told you he took my mom to the mall the day after the prom to get the pictures developed, didn’t I?”

“Actually, I’ve talked to Diane since then and borrowed the negatives.” She pointed to an 8x10 photo of the pair on the mantle.

“Isabel walked over to the picture and caressed the frame, “I’m going to treasure that night for the rest of my life.”

“He’s upstairs getting ready for your date, why don’t you go up and get him?”

“Actually we don’t have a date, we’re just going to Liz’s to hang out, but yea, thanks.” She leaned down and kissed Gloria on the cheek before running towards the stairs.

“Isabel?”

“Yes Mrs. Whitman?”

Why don’t you and Alex plan on having dinner here tomorrow. I’m sure Charles would love to have the two of you join us again.”

“Thank you, we’ll do that.”


Isabel swept into Alex’s room, kissing his cheek in greeting.

Alex hit the power button on his computer and gave the monitor a swat for good measure.

“What’s wrong sweetie?”

“Nothing to bother you with, but I am going to need the back-up disk we made,” he said turning towards her with a big smile on his face. “Now let’s try this again.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a proper kiss. “This is beautiful,” Alex said reaching for the necklace she was wearing. “Where’d you get it?”

Isabel’s face fell.

“I bought it for you, didn’t I?” Alex asked softly. “I’m so sorry I don’t remember, I just want all of this stuff to be over.”

Isabel took a deep breath, “No Sweetie, we’re not going to wait for this crap to be over, we’re going to start fixing it ourselves. I talked to Ava while we were shopping, and she told me that she can tell if someone has a mind warp in place because she has difficulty getting in to place another. Tess must have placed a number of them in you. That’s why I couldn’t dream walk you or connect with you. It’s probably why you remember making the back-up disk, there were so many mind warps in place that she couldn’t add any more.”

“So how do we fix them?”

“That’s the great part, we spend time together finding them, once we know they’re there they should take care of themselves, although she did say that Max should check you out again to make sure you’re healing properly. Now come over here next to me. No, better yet, go over in the corner, as far away from me as you can get.”

“Over here, why?”

“Distance, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear. What are we, exercising?”

“Yes we are exercising, our ability to connect. I’d like to know how far we can push this. So back to the matter at hand, I’m going to give you my memory.” Isabel shared her memory of the necklace, the day he gave it to her, how he took her mom to the mall to help him pick it out while they were getting the pictures developed. “You explained how it was made of both white and yellow gold, representing our two hearts, bonded forever.”

Isabel looked at Alex with a bright smile. She reached up and touched the necklace.

Alex felt a shock as she touched the heart.

“Wow! What was that? Are you rubbing your feet on the carpet or something?”

“I don’t know, that’s never happened before.”

“So anyways,” Alex continued, “I was sitting at the food court looking at the pictures with your mom,,,”

“Sweetie! That’s not my memory, I wasn’t there,,,”

“Yea, I remember that, I remember the whole thing now.” He walked back to her and gently took the delicate gold chain in his hand. Her skin tingled where the back of his fingers touched her. He lowered his hand until he held the floating heart in it. “Yellow gold, the color of earth, white gold, the color of starlight. May I?”

“Sweetie, I’m already wearing it,” she smiled.

“Yea, but when I gave it to you I didn’t do this.” Alex placed one hand behind her neck, the other on the small of her back. He stepped closer to her, and poured his entire being into the kiss.

********
An hour later, Isabel and Alex stepped through Liz’s bedroom window onto her balcony, joining Liz and Maria.

“Okay, How are we going to get these two lovebirds back together?” Isabel asked.

“I don’t know if you’re going to be able to do this.” Liz responded. “Too much has gone on. I pushed Max away, and he went. I don’t even know if I want him back, or if I could take him.”

“Let’s reduce this entire discussion to one question then,” Maria quizzed. “Do you love him?”

“I’ll always love him, you know that.”

“Too much wiggle room Maria,” Alex said shaking his head. He turned back towards Liz, “Can you see yourself with another?” He looked directly at Isabel. “It’s ten years from now. You take your children to the park. Suddenly they yell ‘Daddy’ and run to their father. Who do you see?” ‘Our children are going to be so beautiful.’ His thought was rewarded when Isabel’s face lit up.

“Max.” Liz said softly.

“So what do we do about Future Max?” Maria asked.

“Wait a minute, who’s Future Max?” Alex asked.

Liz quickly filled their friend in on her visitor from the future.

“It figures,” he exclaimed. “Nothing’s been easy for anyone this past year,” Alex sighed, missing a momentary flash of guilt on Isabel’s face.

“This past year sucked,” Maria joined in. “Everything started to go wrong when Tess came here.”

“I’ll second that,” Alex agreed. “The first time I saw her she ruined a date with Izzy, and the last time I saw her she was trying to kill her.”

“Bottom line, nothing Future Max said about Tess matters anymore,” Isabel pointed out. “We’ll get him back for you.”

“He still slept with Tess, they were going to have a baby,” Liz moaned with a tremor in her voice.

“I don’t know about that,,,” Isabel said with doubt in her voice.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We had a big fight the morning after the prom. Max told me that he remembered his memory training with Tess, but he thought he came home after that. He didn’t remember anything about sleeping with her until she told him she was pregnant.”

Liz was speechless, but for the first time in a long time she began to have hope.

“Do you think she mind warped him about her pregnancy?” Alex asked.

“Here we are,” Maria exclaimed angrily. “Right back to Tess. All this trouble, all this destiny crap, it started with Tess. We don’t have the Antar book. All we have is her word on it, and Max’s memories. Memories that she helped him bring out. What if it is all a mind warp?”

“Well I don’t believe in destiny anyways,” Isabel exclaimed. “My future’s right here,” she said patting Alex on the top of his leg.

Liz looked at Isabel, “The two of you have been through this, what do you know?”

“I know that Tess tried to mind warp me at school one day, and I caught her,,,,” Isabel related with steel in her voice.

“And her last attempt on me didn’t work,.,” Alex added in.

“So she isn’t infallible,” Isabel continued. “I couldn’t connect with Alex at all for the longest time, but the night of the prom, she couldn’t maintain it. With what Ava told us, and a couple of connections and dream walks we have been doing, I can usually tell where she used a mind warp to install a block or instill a false memory. Once you know it’s there, you can knock them down.”

“And we also know,” Liz added, “With Alex’s C.A.T. scan and M.R.I, there’s no physical evidence that anything is wrong.”

“What M.R.I.?” Alex asked softly.

“Isabel hesitated to respond, so Liz took his hands, “Right after you returned from Las Cruces, you started acting funny.”

“What kind of funny?” he asked.

“You forgot things, you forgot conversations,” Maria answered.

“At the time Isabel was afraid that it might have to do with when you got,,, shot,” Liz continued, “So she talked to your father about going to see your doctor, but you talked your way out of it. So she ambushed you. She asked if you remembered sleeping together the night you got hurt.”

Maria picked up the story, “You denied it, and you treated Isabel pretty badly,” she added softly. “We all told him it was true. That’s when he took you to the hospital to get checked out. We didn’t know it was a mind warp at the time, but the main thing is that it can’t be detected by medicine.”

Alex looked at Isabel, “How did you know my father would do the right thing?” No one would return his look. “You didn’t! You were willing to sacrifice your reputation for me?”

“I would have done anything to get you the help you needed,” Isabel almost whispered.

Alex, his eyes watering, didn’t know what to say. He took her hand and gently kissed it, and wouldn’t let go.

“So what do we do now?” Maria asked helplessly.

“I would say for starters that everyone talks to Ava to see if she can detect any blocks,” Isabel declared.

********
Meanwhile, Ava had just climbed into bed when Kyle knocked on her doorframe. He approached Ava, pulled her desk chair towards her bed, and sat down. “I just wanted to see how you were settling in.”

She looked around the room, “I’m still trying to take it all in.”

“Do you need anything? I saw Isabel throw out a lot of stuff on Saturday.”

“No, she didn’t throw anything out, she brought it all to the homeless shelter. She said there were people who needed stuff like that. Then we went shopping. That girl is some kind of machine. In one afternoon she bought me more stuff than I’ve had in my entire lifetime.”

“Well I wanted to tell you that I’ll walk you through school tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about fitting in; but if you need anything, like underwear and stuff, I’ll help you take care of that.”

“You’ll take me shopping for underwear?” Ava asked teasingly. “I never knew a guy who would do that for a girl.”

“Well some guys like the idea of helping to pick out,,,” Kyle started to turn red. “Well, that’s not the point. The point is I’ll help you, I’d like to help you if you need anything.”

“Everyone has been so nice to me. Kyle, I’ll relieve you if you need it.”

“Relieve me, I don’t understand?”

‘You know, Zan said guys have to dump a load every two or three days and it was my job to do it for him.”

“That doesn’t say much for his technique. I don’t think he made it very pleasurable for you.”

“Pleasure? What’s pleasurable about being bent over a trash can and having your ass pounded until you’re sore for three days?”

“Doesn’t sound like he was too concerned about your orgasm.”

“What’s an orgasm?”

“God damned Max Evans.” Kyle bellowed, his anger flashing over.

“What’s this got to do with Max?”

“Everyone I have ever cared for has tossed me over and gone running to Max. He treats them like trash, and they keep going back for more. Even his dupe treats people the same way.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about Max with me.”

Kyle reached for her hand. “Ava, I’m sorry that you had to live that way, If I could go back and fix things I would. The thing is Buddha says we have to take responsibility for our own destinies. You can’t let Max, or anyone, treat you like that ever again.”

“I won’t,,,”

“I mean when, ahhmm, if we get together,” Kyle continued, blushing again. “I’ll treat you the way you deserve to be treated. The guy may get to ask, but the girl gets to say no. You get to decide if and when anything happens between us, okay?”

“What did Maria tell me that Tess used to call you? Buddha Boy?”

“Yea.” Kyle said, smiling.

“Do you like that nick name?”

“Yea, I guess I do.”

“Okay Buddha Boy, if you’re not going to give me my first lesson on good sex, get out of here and let me get my beauty sleep. I want to be ready for tomorrow.

********
The following day, Isabel was standing on the edge of the Quad, talking to Liz and Maria. Michael and Max were close by with Kyle and Ava.

“So how’s your first day in school going, Tess?” Max asked.

“Pretty good, although everyone’s looking at me funny, and I don’t know anything that’s on this chemistry test I godda’ take.” She reached for Kyle’s hand.” Besides, I have a good learner.”

Kyle leaned down and whispered in her ear.

“,,, good teacher,” she corrected herself.

Maria leaned towards Liz, and in her best stage whisper, “It isn’t going to take long for them, is it?”

Liz slapped her friend on the shoulder.

“Isabel,” Alex shouted as he raced through the door. “Guess what?” He reached her and took her face in his hands, looked into her eyes, and unable to restrain himself, kissed her deeply.

Isabel dropped her last textbook, and threw her arms around his neck, returning his kiss, her passion instantly at it’! peak.

Max, noticing the couple’s very public display of affection, scrawled and shook his head.

Liz and Maria hooted their approval, this being the first time since the prom they were able to see Isabel and Alex happy together.

Alex forced himself closer to her, slamming her back into a pillar. He opened his mouth wider trying to catch her lip with his teeth. He wove his hand through her hair, holding her as if his very existence depended on her.

“Someone stop this,” Max cried. He stepped close to his sister, “Isabel, Isabel,,,”

Michael looked at Max and shook his head. “I’m not going to get between them. It looks like that would be a good way of getting hurt.”

Isabel thrust her tongue deep into her boyfriend’s mouth. She fought with him, lips to lips, trying to get closer to him, to get his sweet mouth into hers. Her leg rose and wrapped itself around him, her hips grinding into his.

Max saw her leg wrap around Alex, “Isabel, your in public.” He grabbed her leg by the ankle and tried to pull it back to the ground.

Isabel had one hand in the neck of his shirt, the other raking across his back.

They could hear his shirt start to rip. “Hey, time out!” Liz cried, pulling Isabel’s hand from Alex’s back. “Isabel, you’re going to start drawing blood if you’re not careful.”

Finally, running out of breath, the couple came up for air. Alex looked directly at Isabel, his excitement evident on his face.

“What’s the big news?” Maria asked.

Alex took a moment to remember what he was going to say. “Izzy! We don’t have to behave like a couple of kids anymore, the cheese factory is going to buy my software!”

Isabel returned his stare, not hearing a word he was saying. Her eyes were locked on his, her pupils dilated until not a spec of brown was visible.

“What’s the biggest problem with dating in high school? Money.”

She licked her lips, keeping them moist, ready for him. Her face and upper chest were flushed bright red.

“How do you put gas in the tank and have something left over to take your girlfriend out for pizza and a movie?”

Her nostrils were flared, and her entire body trembled as she fought with herself to maintain control.

“Not us, we’re going to be able to do anything we want to do. That week in Boston we talked about, we’re going!”

Isabel could still taste him, her chest heaving as she drank in oxygen, in preparation of the exertions that she was readying her body for.

“Are you alright Izzy?” He reached to caress her face. “You look a little flushed.”

Isabel caught his thumb with her mouth, biting it gently. She released it momentarily, and sucked it deeper into her mouth.

Michael smiled at Max’s discomfort. Finally Max knew what the rest of them felt like during the time he and Liz were going hot and heavy in front of them.

“I can’t deal with this,,,” Max exclaimed.

Michael took him by the shoulders, “Come on bud, let’s go get you a slice or a Valium or something.”

Alex gently pulled his thumb from her mouth. “Izzy? I’m going to get you a water.”

As Alex headed for the vending machine, the twins looked at Isabel in amazement. “Are you okay?” Liz asked.

“No.” Isabel shook her head and then bent to pick up her book. “I can’t be here when he gets back. He’s not ready for what I’m going to do to him.”

“Where are you going?”

“I haven’t cleaned out my gym locker yet, my stuff’s still there. I’m going to sneak in and take a cold shower.”

“Is that all you need?” Maria asked with a smirk.

Isabel leaned in close and whispered, “That and a dry pair of panties.”

Liz reached and smacked Maria, “I so didn’t need to know that.”

“Well, we’ve got to hand it to Alex,” Maria laughed, “He really melted the Ice Princess,,,”

“Maria!”

********
After last class, Alex was waiting for Isabel at the school entrance. “Two more days, one more final, then we’re off for the summer.”

“Speak for yourself, in addition to my Spanish final I have to run a 10K for Phys-Ed.”

“You’ve been running a lot lately, think you can do it?”

“Yea, I have been running a lot lately. When I get frustrated it’s a lot better than beating up on Max. So, this is an easy A for me.”

“You’re not going to get a runner’s body, all hard and lean, are you?”

“You don’t like that?”

“Actually I love you just the way you are. I love to run my hands through your hair, I dream about the way you smell. You’re beautiful, and soft and sexy. I wouldn’t change a thing, no tattoo’s, no extra holes, nothing shaved that doesn’t need to be.”

“So you don’t like Lonnie then?”

“She isn’t you.”

Isabel walked to his passenger door, Alex hastily opened it for her. After Alex was settled down on his side, he turned towards Isabel. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“What?”

“Whatever’s bothering you.”

“I know I said we had to go home and study tonight, but I don’t want to take a chance of running into Max. Do you think your parents would mind if I go home with you instead?”

“Are you kidding? My parents love you. If you’re there, I could run away and Pops would never notice.”

“Thanks. So what’s the deal with this software thing?” she asked.

“I have an appointment with them on Thursday morning, I was hoping you would go with me. I may be able to write a program for them, but I need your sense of business. Maybe if things look promising, we can talk to your father?”

“Okay, but before we go I want you to show me what you did, and a little bit of how the industry operates. I’m perfectly willing to take the meeting with you, but I want to be somewhat prepared.”

“Well, I have a class tonight, but I can go over everything with you tomorrow.”

“Alex, tomorrow is the last day of school, and don’t you have a night class?”

“Yea, something to do with my EMT class.”

********
The next afternoon, Isabel had about an hour’s worth of work to do at her father’s office. Alex decided to wait for her, and was reading a magazine in the reception area. Jesse watched as Isabel went into the storeroom and followed her.

Alex felt an instant connection with Isabel, a moment of shock and anger. He leapt out of his chair and went down the hall finding Isabel leaving the storeroom. “I’ll take care of it.”

Jesse was leaning against a rack rubbing his face. “She’s a wild one.” Noticing the flash of anger on Alex’s face he continued, “Don’t worry, she’s a big girl. She’s got enough to go around, and besides, maybe she likes the idea of a three way,,,”

Alex grabbed Jesse by the neck slamming him into the wall next to the rack.


Meanwhile, in Phillip’s office, “,,,No Daddy, it wasn’t an accident. He touched me deliberately.”

Philip reached for the phone.


“Don’t ever touch her again.” Alex hissed, barely able to contain himself.

“Or what?” Jesse taunted.

“You want to know what I’m going to do to you?”

“You going to hit me?”

“Oh, that’s the least of your problems. You see, first I’m going to beat you senseless. Then I’m going to drag you out into the desert and break every one of the two hundred and six bones in your body, and I’ll take my time so you’ll feel every one. Then I’m going to get nasty.”

The smile faded from Jesse’s face as her realized that Alex was totally serious.

“I’m going to use every bit of Native American lore I’ve ever read to make you suffer, and I will use every bit of medical knowledge I have to prolong that suffering. I will cut off your eyelids so that you have to see every thing that I do to you. I will burn every bit of your body inch by inch, and then as the skin blisters I will peel it from your body with a dull knife. The desert sky will be filled with screams, your screams, the likes of which haven’t been heard for hundreds of years. Later, your lungs will be filled with fluids, and every breath you take will make you feel like you’re drowning. It will take you three days to die, and by then you will be praying for death to take you. I’ll look into your eyes, and at the exact moment that the last spark of life fades from them, I’ll blow my own head off and haunt you for seven times seven eternities.”

“Nice sentiment Alex,” Philip interrupted. “But I like the direct approach.” He turned towards Jesse, “I understand you like my teenage daughter?” Philip grabbed Jesse by the back of the collar and the back of his belt. “Come with me a moment, if you please.” Philip slammed Jesse head first into the door. “That’s so impolite of me, I should have opened the door for you.” He reached and opened the door, then grabbed Jesse’s collar again. Philip crashed Jesse headfirst into the wall by the door. “See that? I’m so upset now I even missed the doorway.” Philip dragged Jesse through the office smashing his head into every wall, desk and doorway that he could find, until they were outside on the sidewalk.

Philip continued to hold Jesse outside of his office. When a Sheriff’s cruiser pulled up, he threw Jesse face first onto the hood of the car. “Indecent assault on a minor. Tell Jim we’ll be down within the hour to fill out a formal complaint.”


Jim ran his hand through his hair. “Isabel, I am going to need you to make a statement, but there will be no charges brought against him, and you will not have to testify.”

“What!” Philip exploded. “You’re going to let him get away with this?”

“Mr. Ramirez is on probation for knocking up a high school girl over in Los Alamos County. He received probation because it was consensual on the girl’s part.” Jim sighed, “Now he’ll probably get out on bail sometime tomorrow, but we’ll make sure he doesn’t come anywhere near you. Besides, I don’t think Alex will leave your side until Ramirez has a probation hearing next week. With Isabel’s statement, his probation will be revoked, and he’s going to jail to serve out his seven to fifteen year prison sentence.”


The screw (correctional officer) threw Jesse into the holding tank. “You are one lucky guy. Normally we don’t put skinners (child molesters) in general population, but due to budget cuts we don’t have any room in isolation. In fact we don’t even have the money to get the security cameras fixed. Have fun.”

The guard retreated to the guard shack. ‘Hey Sarge, was that Big Eddie in holding?”

“Yea, he only lasted a week on the outside this time,” the sergeant replied.

“Doesn’t he have two daughters?”

“Yea, two daughters, both in high school, and both pregnant. He’s mad at the world because he was never there to protect them. Hey, turn up the volume,” he said as they leaned in close to the video monitor.

“,,,that’s why I like them young,” Jesse’s voice came through the small speaker. “They’re soft and smell so nice,,,”

“Is this your first time in jail?” Big Eddie asked.

“Yea, why do you ask?”

“Because I think you look soft and smell nice.”

“Oohh!” both guards exclaimed, watching the monitor. “That’s got to hurt.”

********
That night Max awoke to hear Isabel screaming from a bad dream. Despite the tension between the siblings, he still loved his sister. He got out of bed and started for her room only to find that their mom was already comforting her.

“It’s just a bad dream Isabel, nothing to worry about.”

“I hate them, I thought I was done having them.”

“Is it about what happened at work today?”

“Yea.”

Max was confused, what happened at work?

“Well Alex was there to protect you today, I’m sure he will take care of you tonight. I’ll stay here until your asleep, and then you’ll meet up with Alex, and he’ll make sure all your dreams are pleasant.”

Max leaned against the wall in the hallway, struggling to breathe. ‘Mom knows about dream walking? What else does she know? I don’t believe Isabel told her. Why does she keep defying me. I told her not to tell Mom anything about us.’

Isabel started to climb out of bed, “My red silk pajamas.”

“Oh no you don’t! There’s no need for red silk anything. You two can go dancing or have a nice picnic, and you can wear that red print sundress he likes so much.”

“Oh Mom, it’s just a dream. We’re not going to do anything.”

“Isabel, I swear, at the rate you’re going you’ll give that poor boy a heart attack. Now settle down and go to sleep.”

********
Alex swung by and picked Isabel up before heading for their meeting at the cheese factory. He was wearing the perfect software geek attire, a denim shirt over khakis. Isabel wore a crisp white suit, with her hair up.

“Did you read everything I sent over?” Alex asked her on the way over.

“Yea, I have a pretty good handle on it. I’ll talk up the deal, you handle the geek speak. We appear totally united, confident, and committed. If there are any problems we connect, he never sees us sweat.”

The purchasing agent at the cheese factory never had a chance.


Later at the cheese factory,,,
“Mr. Stanford,” Isabel continued. “SQL Server 2000 for Windows 2K is going to cost you almost $10,000, and that’s with a hefty discount. Add to that the fact that you have to license your client users, the cost of upgraded hardware, other related software, you’re looking at a $100,000 project. Your offer of $5,000 for a custom written front end application that will allow all of this to happen is totally unrealistic.”

“On the other hand,” Alex continued, “this package will result in operational efficiencies that will generate a payback of less than two years. It will also increase your finished goods inventory turns by almost a third. That factor alone will practically eliminate your spoilage losses. If you have your costing data handy I am sure Isabel can compute a dollar savings for that as well.”

“Please, like we said,” Isabel concluded, “This is a work-study project that turned out perfect for all involved. I’m sure that you would like to continue this conversation with Charles Whitman present, who would be able to enter into an agreement that both parties could live with. Philip Evans, will be counsel for our side.”

“Ms. Evans, Isabel,” Mr. Stanford said, “I seem to have underestimated your abilities,,,”

“Our abilities, Mr. Stanford. Remember, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if Alex didn’t have the ability to write a program that your company desperately needs.”

“I’m sure you’ve come here with a figure in mind.”

“Like I said earlier, we are minors, and unable to enter into a contract, written or verbal; however, I believe the sum of $25,000 for the source code of the front end application with a licensing and consulting fee of $1,000 per month, subject to terms and conditions, for a period of three years, would be satisfactory.

********
Alex dropped Isabel off before returning home. He went to his room and sat down in front of his computer. Using the back up disk that Isabel returned to him, he quickly restored his drives. Once the machine was up and running, he examined the file structure, quickly finding the program that had wiped his drives. “Very good Whitman, I couldn’t have done better myself.” He deleted that program, and performed some other overdue system maintenance.

Alex noticed an ‘Antar’ folder, and opened it. “Okay, lets take a look at this ‘book’ that Tess was willing to kill for.” Alex looked at the file list. He systematically opened the files and looked at each one.

The first file he opened was ‘source material.pdf’. Alex’s screen was filled with the contents of the Antar book. It was a man readable graphics file, as if each page of the book was scanned directly into the computer.

The next file was ‘source material.map’. This file contained the same data as the first file, but the data had been rasterized and was in a form that the computer could recognize and work with.

The third file was ‘character break out.map’. This file, which had a creation date of about a week after the second file contained what could be described as an Antarian alphabet with a corresponding binary value for each character.

Next was ‘Antar.ttf’. This was a font file that allowed his computer to display the Antarian symbols to be displayed as characters as opposed to a graphic.

The last file in this folder was ‘Antar book.bin’. When opened, this file appeared to be the contents of the book in binary code, a machine readable format that any computer could read. He recognized this file. This was the file that he was working on when Maria and Isabel helped him break the first mind warp.

Alex then opened a sub folder named ‘crypto’. In it Alex found the program that he had been trying to write, and a number of files named ‘pass01.cry’ through ‘pass34.cry’. He looked at the program and decided that it was worthless. There was no way that a home-made program was going to decrypt and translate the contents of the book.

‘You made two big mistakes Tess. The first was in thinking that I would work effectively under duress, and the second was thinking that having the book in binary was an accomplishment. This project is only starting, hell I could of got this far in less than a week if you left me alone. Now it’s going to be different, I will translate it. Not because anyone is forcing me, but because I want Isabel to have it.’ He reached for a pad of graph paper and started to outline a plan to finish the ‘Antar’ project.

********
Isabel entered her room to find Max waiting for her. She took one look at the expression on his face and knew that the unspoken truce between them was over.

“What have you been doing?” He thundered, starting in on her.

“I’ve been at the cheese factory helping Alex sell,,,”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. I heard Mom talking to you last night about a dream walk. How does she know?”

Isabel was hoping that Max wouldn’t realize that she had confided in Diane, but what was done was done. “I told her while Alex was in trouble. I was at whit’s end, and when I asked you for help you ignored me.”

“I knew it, I can’t even trust my own sister, this is the last time you defy me. From now on you don’t do anything without talking to me first.”

I have news for you, little brother. Liz, Alex, and I are looking at college in Boston. Every teacher in West Roswell High knows it. Mom and Dad are thrilled about it, so either jump on the band wagon or get out of my way.” She walked away, he followed.

“I am not going to allow you to break up the group. We have to stay together. There are already too many people who know about us.”

“Letting people know about us. Max, you’re wrong about that. Name one person that we let in who has hurt us.” She took a moment to gather her thoughts, “The day Liz was shot, you didn’t just save her, you saved all of us. That was the day we left our own little world, and opened ourselves up to so much more. You should know by now that we are so much better together than apart.” Isabel squared off facing Max, her hands on her hips and her face stormy. “Have you ever thought what it was like to be me? Imagine it Max, I was the only girl. You and Michael could hang out together, but I had to grow up alone until Tess found us. You’re worried about Mom? Tess was one of us, and she almost killed us.”

“Tess was one of us, if you guys didn’t resist her, everything would be alright. You said it yourself, you were born royal. We could be home by now.”

“I keep telling you Max, I am not Vilandra. I’m Isabel, and this is home.”

“No, Vilandra is who you are, that’s the life you have to lead.”

“This is who I am, look at me. I am older and more mature every day. I’m so lucky to have found the man I am going to share my life with. Look at this Max,” she quoted from a letter of recommendation, “‘Isabel Evans has really enjoyed growing up in Roswell, and as much as she loves her hometown and shows that love through hours of community service, I believe Roswell is just too small to contain the potential of a woman like Isabel Evans.’ This--this is from Mrs. Seymour at the homeless shelter. That's what she thinks about me, and I have dozens, dozens of other recommendations just like it. Do you know why? Because as far as the outside world is concerned, I'm a bright and talented upstanding member of the community of planet earth. I've played the role to perfection. Now, it is my turn. You’re talking about something that is more than a year away. Do you think we are all going to go to Roswell Community College and stay here for the rest of our lives? “Don’t make me choose Max. I guarantee you that you will not like the decision I make.”

“Isabel,,,” he grabbed her by the arm as she started to walk away. “Isabel, if I have to, I will do everything in my power to keep you here. I’ll tell Dad that Alex gave you a drug problem. I’ll notify your teachers that you have cheated on every test for the last three years. If you ever leave Roswell without my consent, I will physically drag you back. For the last time, the answer is no. Period.”

“Fine. This Isabel Evans is dead. You want to be the leader? See how it works without any followers.”

********
‘Alex? Can you hear me?’

Alex stopped talking to Liz, and cocked his head to one side.

‘Alex, I need you!’

Alex took out his cell and dialed Isabel. “Izzy? Is everything alright? I can’t make you out.”

“I need you, can you come to the house, now?”

“Of course sweetheart, I’ll be there in five minutes.” He looked at Liz, “Sorry, got to go.”

Diane entered the kitchen and sat at the table with Isabel. “Now what’s got you so upset? I heard Max just before he stormed out of here.”

“I don’t know what’s got into Max lately, but I can’t take him anymore. I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Wait a minute, what’s he doing?”

“He’s threatening me. He’s blackmailing me so he can control me, so he can control my life. He says that if I continue to plan to go to college in Boston he will tell all my teachers I cheated on all my tests. He threatened to tell Dad that Alex got me hooked on drugs. He told me he would drag me back physically if I ever try to leave Roswell without his permission.”

“What makes him think he can do that?”

“Well, he is our leader, and we have always let him make most of the decisions for us, but he is going too far now. I’m not going to let him get away with it anymore. Mom, I love you and Dad, but I can’t take it anymore. Alex is on the way over here, we’re out of here.”

“What do you mean, out of here?”

“We’ve always known that because of where we came from, we might have to run. That someone may try to hurt us or the people we care about. I never thought I would be running from Max.”

“You’re not going to do anything, not until I figure out what’s going on and how we’re going to handle it.” Diane got up and went to the phone.

Alex arrived within minutes to find Isabel in tears. He took her into his arms, letting comfort flow into her. He held her until she was ready to talk.

“Get me out of here.”

“Izzy, what’s the matter?”

“Max and I had another fight. I can’t stay here anymore.”

Alex instantly felt overwhelmed. “What do you want me to do? Are you talking about tonight?”

“I’m not staying here with Max.” She looked directly at Alex. “We always knew that it may come to a point that we had to run. My time is now. I’m hoping you’ll come with me.”

Alex responded immediately, “You say the word and we’re out of here. I will never let you go.” He softened his voice, “But Izzy, have you thought about this? I don’t want to see you lose your family, your future. You may need to get away from Max, but it isn’t time to run. We have to fix this and get your family back together.”

“You’re not going to help me?”

“I’m going to do whatever you decide. Here are your options. We can get you out of here and go back to the hotel or go camping. Then we can work on getting things back to normal. Or we can run. What will happen if we run? The first thing would be that your father calls the cops. I don’t care about myself, but how can I protect you if you’re in the car when they come for me? How can I care for you if I’m in jail?”

Isabel looked at him, realizing everything that he was willing to give up for her. “Okay, so we stay, and just for the record,” she gently smacked him, “I care a lot about what happens to you.

“Everything’s going to be alright Izzy, I promise,” Alex stated emphatically as his mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do and where to go.

Diane returned to the kitchen. “Okay, I just got off the phone with Gloria. You’re going to stay with Alex for a couple of days while your father and I get things straightened out with Max.”

Isabel looked at her mom with hope in her eyes.

“Here’s the ground rules. I’m not abandoning you, I expect you to keep in touch. I expect you to call and ask for permission before doing anything that you would need permission for if you were here. You’re going to stay in the guest room, no sleeping together. If you feel a need to cuddle you can do that on the couch. You are going to be Gloria’s house guest, not Alex’s, and I expect you to afford her the same respect as you would me.”

Diane turned towards Alex. “Alex, I think of you as a part of this family. Maybe I don’t need to say this, but I am trusting you not to take advantage of this situation. I know that the two of you are going to grow closer. I’m not going to try to stop you, but I expect you to act like a gentleman until we get this mess straightened out.”

“Mrs. Evans, you have my word. I value her safety and happiness more than my own life. I will never do anything to hurt her.”

“Mom, why are you doing this?” Isabel asked.

“Because of something that you guys seem to forget. I’m the adult here, it’s my job. I’m not going to let anything, or anyone, harm my family. I’m not going to let you run, to throw your life away.”

Isabel gave Diane a tight hug, “Thanks Mom.”

Alex considered telling Diane about his suspicion that Max may not be in entire control of his faculties, but decided not to for the moment. He did not know how much she knew about the aliens, and to be honest he was not yet ready to discount what Max had been doing to hurt Isabel.

“Alex, your mom is expecting the two of you for dinner, don’t disappoint her. I’m going to call Philip and tell him that he needs to come home.” Reaching for the phone, “Isabel, call me, every evening, ok

“I will Mom,” Isabel said with a smile.

<continued next>

[stargazer md]

Friday evening, Alex and Isabel joined Liz on her balcony. “Have you ever had three people involved in a dreamwalk before?” Liz asked.

“No, but I think if Alex and I connect before I dreamwalk you, it should work.” Isabel gathered sleeping bags, pillows, and a picture of Liz. “Come on sweetie, settle down.”

“Hey, what are you two going to do over there,” Liz teased.

Isabel knelt next to Liz, who was reclining in her chase lounge. “You don’t think I’m going to miss a chance to snuggle with Alex, do you?” She reached out and caressed Liz’s forehead, brushing her hair back and lulling her to sleep. She then settled down resting her head on Alex’s shoulder. “Okay sweetie, we have to time this just right. We have to nod off at the same time, and I have to touch her picture just before I do.”

Moments later, Alex, Isabel, and Liz found themselves walking through the streets of Roswell. Liz stopped and looked at her friends. “Okay, where do we go from here?”

“Well,” Isabel concluded, “We only know of one thing that is unique to you. Future Max. I think we have to start there.”

“He was in my bedroom, and on the balcony. What do we look for once we get there.”

“From what Ava was saying, she ‘sees’ blocks, and then you can knock them down. She can’t go places where the mind warp is still in place.”

“Really?” Alex said, “I’ve got just the thing for that.” He walked to the curb, put two fingers in his mouth, and let loose with an ear piercing whistle. Several blocks down a fire engine stopped at a light. When the light changed the engine turned towards them and pulled to a stop next to Alex.”

The driver shut the diesel down. She climbed out and joined the friends on the sidewalk. “Whitman, what’s up?”

“Hey Taylor, I need to borrow a beater.”

“Take mine, it’s back by the operators panel.”

“Alex, can I introduce Isabel Evans and Liz Parker. Liz is one of my oldest friends, and Isabel is my girlfriend.”

“Alex Taylor,” the firefighter said introducing herself, shaking hands with the girls. “I understand you terrorized the emergency room and drove the admitting clerk to tears.”

“I did what I had to do for him,” Isabel explained. “And I owe you a debt of gratitude that I can never repay.”

“No, just part of the job.”

Alex took a look at the engine. “FDNY?” (Fire Department of New York City)

“It’s an American LaFrance Pioneer II. Custom built. It’s the engine I was trained on at the academy in New York. It had been retired for a couple of years, with all of the medical and rescue equipment we carry now we need something bigger, but this was the best rig you could get when it was new.”

(Authors note: I know FDNY uses Pierce equipment, but got to play with a Pioneer II and fell in love with it.)

Alex took a good look at the engine, which was painted white over maroon metal flake with a generous amount of gold leaf lettering on the doors. “This is a sweet looking truck.”

Alex Taylor hung her head, shaking it, “Alex, Alex, truck? You disappoint me.” She pointed to her badge. “Blue emblems, engine company, we carry water. Truck companies have red emblems, and they carry ladders.”

“Oh, I won’t make that mistake again,” Alex said, abashed.

Taylor and Isabel exchanged a smile, both enjoying a good tease.

“So how did you end up in Roswell?” Alex asked.

‘Well, I’m third generation FDNY. My grandfather’s retired, but my dad’s a battalion chief. When I graduated, I was assigned to a nice safe company in a nice safe neighborhood. I was never Fire Fighter Taylor, I was always Chief Taylor’s daughter. I wanted to make it on my own, so I went to the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) and answered the first job posting they had. I still belong to local 94 in New York, and I’ll go back someday. So where are you guys headed?”

“The Crashdown.”

“Ever ride a fire engine?”

“Can we?” Liz asked. “That would be cool.”

Taylor watched as Alex helped Isabel and Liz climb onto the tailboard. He made sure the safety straps were securely under their arms as Taylor returned to the cab. When everyone was ready Alex reached over and pushed a waterproof button twice, ringing a buzzer in the driver’s compartment. Taylor turned on the lights and siren, and with a blast of the air horn pulled out onto the street.

Liz and Isabel were fascinated, looking forward over the top of the engine. The wind blew their hair back, and they watched as every traffic light turned green. Taylor took the long way to the Crashdown so they could enjoy the ride, but eventually they arrived with a blast of air brakes.

Alex helped Isabel and Liz down, and they walked forward. He took a pick-ax from the side of the rig.

Taylor leaned out the window, “I don’t know if it’s the chili I had for supper, or the glass of wine I had before going to bed, but I’m having a blast. Do you think I can hang onto this for a while?”

“Go ahead,” Isabel replied, “it’s your dream.”

They stood back as the engine roared off, and then headed to Liz’s room.

“Now what do we look for?” Liz asked.

“Well, when we found a couple of odd and ends in Alex’s mind, the blocks were pretty obvious.”

“Well, that looks obvious to me,” Alex remarked as they noticed that the window in her bedroom had been bricked over. “This shouldn’t be too hard, it isn’t being maintained. Look at the mortar, it’s starting to crumble. Let me have some room here.”

Liz and Isabel stood back as Alex used the back side of the beater. He hit a single brick repeatedly until he had a small hole. He then concentrated on the neighboring bricks expanding the hole.

Liz told Isabel, “Future Max is going to be standing there. I don’t want you to be shocked, the years have been hard on him. His hair is long and a little unkempt, and he’s lost everyone, given up everything to come back here.”

Alex took one last swing, and the rest of the bricks fell, revealing the balcony outside.

They were able to see a figure with long hair, long curly hair, long blonde curly hair. “Tess,,,” Liz gasped.

TBC

[stargazer md]

Gazer Gets the Girl
Chapter 9 - Alex, Isabel, and the Company
by Stargazer MD


Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. If they did, the show would still be on.
Some text is borrowed from the show, I didn’t treat it any worse than the original writers.
Summary: Izzy fights for her man.
Setting: End of S-2.
Category: Alex/Isabel with CC
Rating: Mature

Where were we? Isabel, Liz, and Alex are sharing a dreamwalk looking for problems, but where Liz expected to find Future Max, they found someone else,,, Tess.

**********
Liz broke out of the dream-walk screaming. She realized immediately the implication of seeing Tess where she thought Future Max should be. Everything that had happened to her for the past half year was a lie. She didn’t drive Max away to save the world, she drove him to Tess. She had broken his heart and that loose legged bitch was right there waiting to console him.

Her screams awoke both Isabel and Alex. After a moment to orient herself, Isabel knelt next to Liz and worked to calm her. Her greatest fear was that Liz’s screaming would attract attention. If her parents heard her, they would face questions that no one could answer. She placed her hand on Liz’s forehead and gave her a calming burst.

“Alex,” Isabel commanded. “Go down and get Maria.”

Alex ran downstairs, finding Maria in the group’s booth. He signaled her from the kitchen, waving her in so that he could talk to her. Max watched as Maria went to talk to Alex. Noticing their look of concern, he went to see what the problem was. Maria nodded to Alex then ran up the stairs. Max tried to follow, but his way was blocked by Alex.

“Let me through,” Max demanded.

“No Max. Lately every time you get near Liz you do her more harm than good.”

“I’m going up there, I’m going to Liz.” Max grabbed Alex by the wrist to push past him, but moments later he found himself headed back towards the kitchen.

“You like that move? I saw a beautiful blond woman do that in a Stephen Segal movie.”

Max faced off against Alex again. “Why are you acting this way?”

“Why? Because you’ve been acting like an asshole lately. You’ve turned on every one you love. Isabel forbid me to intervene on her behalf, but no one said anything about my not protecting Liz.”

Max charged Alex a second time. This time he got knocked across the room, landing on his ass.

“I can go through you any time I want,” Max said. “You must realize that.”

“You hurt me and you’ll answer to Isabel and Michael. What does it tell you when your own family feels a need to protect your girlfriend from you?”

Max took a deep breath and started in again, but Alex stopped him. “Listen to me Max. The past couple of months have been hard on all of us, we’ve all needed a little help to see what was real. I’m not saying that anything is wrong, or that you need anyone’s help. What I am saying is that the only way you’re going up there is to agree to let Isabel and,,,” Alex paused a moment, choking over the name, “Tess check you over.”

“Whatever it takes. Just let me go to her.”

Max appeared at Liz’s window. Isabel and Maria moved apart so that Liz could see him. Liz stood and held her arms out as Max bolted through the window. They came together and he supported her as another burst of tears arrived. All of the conflict and hurt of the past months were pushed aside. They were still soul mates, and no matter how badly they had hurt each other, they still needed one another.

Max ran his hand over Liz’s hair. “Don’t worry Liz, everything’s going to be alright.”

Liz took a step back, sniffed, and looked up at Max’s eyes. “No, everything’s not going to be alright. Too much has gone on Max. I don’t know if we can fix things.”

“Liz, I swear to you, I’ll do whatever it takes. I have been miserable ever since you ran out of the pod chamber, and the biggest mistake I ever made was not dropping everything and running after you.”

“I’ve got a lot to tell you Max,,,”

“Not now Liz. All that stuff can wait ‘till tomorrow. I just want to hold you tonight.”

**********
Amy didn’t get an answer to her knock, so she let herself into Jim’s house. She had not talked to him since that horrible night almost two weeks ago, and she felt it was long past time that she did. She found Jim sitting in the dark, his face in his hands. She sat next to him on the couch. “Jim?”

Jim’s face snapped up. “Amy, I didn’t hear you come in.” There was a touch of embarrassment in his voice, having been caught at a bad moment.

“It looks like you have a lot on your mind.”

“Well, you know how it is,” he replied, recovering quickly. “It’s all part of the job.”

“No I don’t know how it is. Why don’t you tell me,” she said, turning on the couch towards him.

“Not my style Amy. You know, tough independent lawman.”

“Well then, I’ll tell you what I do know. I have spent the past two weeks getting to know Maria and Michael again. I love Maria, and I am so proud of the young adult she is turning into. But I’m especially proud of Michael. He has grown and matured so much these past two years, especially this past summer. I found it hard to believe the things he has tried to go through alone, and that’s before I found out about how unique he is. He’ll probably never admit it, but you have been a major inspiration to him. He respects you for how you watch over the group, not to mention all of the teens in the town.”

“Michael is turning out to be a fine young man. Maria could do much worse picking a guy to bring home for Sunday dinner.”

“That’s all well and good, and in another thirty years, when Maria’s done being my baby, she can bring him to dinner and we’ll talk about their dating.”

Jim laughed, “I don’t think you have thirty years.”

“There. You look so much better with a smile.” Amy looked at him and waited.

Jim took one look at Amy. She had an open expression, neither pushy nor judgmental. Jim realized that maybe it was time to take advantage of the fact that there was another adult that could share some of his burden. “I almost lost them Amy. Not Maria, and Michael wasn’t there. But the rest, I almost lost them all. I invited Tess into my home and look what she did. I’m supposed to be the adult. I’m in law enforcement. What does it say about me that I failed to judge her character so badly.”

“You misjudged her character? The entire town misjudged her species. Face it Jim, we were all fooled by a master, there’s no fault in that. And as far as the kids go, they’re all out right now eating pizza, watching movies, and trying to sneak a quick feel of each other. In other words they’re acting just like normal teenagers.”

“Sneaking a feel? You mean like this?”

Amy laughed, happy that things were back on track.

**********
Later that night Gloria awoke and quietly crept out of bed. In what had become a middle-of-the-night ritual she pulled on her robe and quietly passed through her bedroom door into the hallway. What she saw there surprised her. Isabel had insisted that both she and Alex sleep with their doors open, now she understood why. Isabel was standing in his doorway watching him sleep. She watched for a moment as the younger woman wiped a tear from her eye and settled more comfortably against the doorframe. Gloria gently cleared her throat so as not to startle her as she walked closer.

Isabel turned toward the sound, noticing Gloria in the gentle glow of the hallway nightlight. She stood erect, and wiped her face again.

Gloria placed a finger to her lips, quieting Isabel, and then led her by the arm downstairs. She sat Isabel at the table and then prepared two cups of tea, drawing boiling water from the Insinkerator. “This is one of my favorite appliances. I can have a cup of tea whenever I need one without waiting. I’ve become quite fond of Nighttime Slumber.”

"You still feel a need to watch over him, don't you?"

"I won't let anything happen to him. He's been through so much these past several months."

"Charles and I will never be able to thank you for everything you've done."

Isabel looked down at the table. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that. It's not true. What Alex never told you, because he would never say anything bad about me, is that the first time he called me from the hospital I hung up on him."

"What? I don't understand? I know you went to the hospital and took care of him."

"He had to call me back. The first time he called, I was having a conversation, and I blew him off."

"Isabel, I'm sure you didn't mean anything by that."

"I don't remember who was there, or what we were talking about, but I thought it was more important than Alex."

"Did you know he was hurt the first time he called?"

"Well,,, not really."

"So you were being polite to the people you were with. Taking a call while you are talking to someone else is so rude. Tell me Isabel, what did you do when you found out he was in the hospital?"

"I went there and took care of him."

"Oh no! Isabel, I think you're leaving a couple of things out. Now you claim that Alex had to call you back, right?"

"Yea, I should have listened to him the first time,,,"

"Then you stole a jeep, ran every red light in town, committed a felony by using a false ID, terrorized the entire emergency department, and didn't leave his side for three days. Not to mention the fact that you have been here almost every day for the past two months while he wasn't feeling well. Did I leave anything out?"

"No." 'Just the fact that he got shot in the ass defending me from an alien assassin,' she added silently.

"Good. You should know that Sheriff Valenti made a point of telling us everything you did that night, he's very proud of you. And don't forget Maria's impassioned plea on your behalf." Gloria took another sip of tea to gather her thoughts. "Charles and I have always thought of Liz and Maria as part of our family. They are the sisters that Alex never had. But you mean more than that to him. Alex was never interested in girls. He never dated, he never had a crush on anyone on TV, he'd never been kissed. He just hung out with Liz and Maria, and if we asked him about someone special, he would explain that he was waiting for her, for you. You're not just a part of this family, you're a part of him. I don't think he would be complete without you."

"I don't know what to say," Isabel responded, with a beautiful smile on her face.

"Then if you're not tired, make yourself comfortable. There's a chair in his room."

"Thank you, but we promised both of you that we would honor the rules."

"Isabel, Diane and I both know that you and Alex are going to be together. We all want to see that happen, but we don't want to see the two of you make a mistake that will change your life before you're ready for it. So we're providing a little artificial will power to the both of you. I think if the two of you honor our intentions, we can bend the rules a little."

"Thank you, for everything," Isabel said, kissing Gloria on the cheek as she went back upstairs.

**********
Maria noticed that Michael was talking to Jose as he took off his apron. “Where do you think you’re going Spaceboy?”

Michael looked at Maria with a mischievous grin. “Actually I swapped a couple of hours with Jose. I have a date with the second most beautiful woman in Roswell.”

“I knew it, you bastard.” Maria tried to bitch slap him, but seeing the gentle smile on his face she realized he was teasing her. “So who is the second most beautiful woman in Roswell?”

“Isabel.”

“And the first?”

“You are.”

“What?” Maria asked in amazement. “You think I’m more beautiful than Isabel?”

“You’re more everything than everybody. That’s why I love you so much.”

Maria’s eyes misted as she stepped into his arms. “Awwww, why is it that every time I go to slap you, you go and say something nice.”

“I guess it’s because with everything that’s been going on lately I’ve come to value the people that mean the most to me.”

“So why are you visiting her on a work night?”

“Well, three reasons. First, because she’s my sister and I haven’t spent much time with her. Second, because Alex has some class tonight and he doesn’t want her left alone. And third, well because she’s my sister and I want to treat her to my special cayenne popcorn.”

“Ewww, that sounds disgusting. I’ll tell you one thing Spaceboy, if you ever scramble my insides and make me crave that crap, I’ll ruin your sex life.”

“But Ria, you like my sex life as much as I do.”

“Who said anything about me giving anything up?”

“Oh, so that’s how this works.”

“And don’t you ever forget it, now go pick up the second most beautiful woman in Roswell.”

“I’m going, but not until I kiss the first most beautiful woman in Roswell good bye. Call me when you get home tonight.”

Maria’s face glowed as she watched him leave.

**********
Michael cleaned his apartment, the whole time thinking that he was dead if Maria ever found out that he cleaned for Isabel. He finished just as she arrived. Isabel brought the movie ‘Family Man’ staring Nicholas Cage and Tea Leoni, and Michael took care of snacks.

After the movie finished Isabel was quiet. “That poor man. He was given a glimpse of the perfect life, just long enough to fall in love with it, then it was taken away from him.”

“It’s just a movie, Iz. It isn’t real.”

“And what about us? Is what we have real?”

Michael realized they weren’t talking about the movie anymore.

How do you deal with the fact that you killed Pierce?”

“I don’t, well not exactly.” He reached and took her hand in his, looking at her. “Isabel, look at me.”

Isabel raised her face and met his eyes.

“After we rescued Max, I was really torn up. I had all this anger inside me that Pierce had turned me into a killer. I mean, I’m supposed to be the soldier, but I wasn’t able to deal with it. I tried to keep it all inside, didn’t talk to anyone.”

“I’m sorry Michael, I never realized you were going through that.”

“Well, you had your hands full and then later on you had the whole Whitaker thing.”

“Whitaker’s different. She wasn’t human and she attacked us. I did what I had to do.” Isabel paused. “That didn’t affect me like,,, Tess did. Pierce may have been an asshole, but he was a human. How did you come to grips with it?” Isabel was displaying all of her tells, wringing her hands, biting her lip, looking at the floor as if she was afraid of the answer Michael would give her.

“Something the Sheriff told me. He wasn’t trying to lecture me, wasn’t trying anything really. He just put a thought in my head and let it take root.”

“What did he tell you?”

Michael took both her hands in his and leaned in close. “Isabel, you can’t think about Tess, you have to think about Alex. Every time Tess pops into your mind, you have to think about what she was doing to Alex. You have to remember how she hurt everyone. Think of Max, think of Liz. Kyle got his arm ripped open, he could have bleed to death. She was trying to kill you, she did kill Alex.”

Isabel looked at Michael with a ray of hope in her eyes.

“You can’t ever think that you killed Tess. Every time you think of that night you have to think of the people you saved. Think about Alex. Think of your brother, Liz and Kyle. None of them would be here right now if it wasn’t for you. Think of me and Maria. If not for you I would have lost both you and Max. I don’t think I could go on if I lost the two of you. It won’t happen today, or tomorrow, but the way you think of that night will change.”

“I hope so, I hate feeling this way.”

“Have you talked about this with Alex?”

“I can’t talk to Alex about this, If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened to him.” She continued quietly, “He’ll blame me.”

“Listen to me Isabel, I can tell you two things about Alex. First, you can tell him anything. And second, he would never hold anything against you. Are you feeling better now?”

“Yea, I think so.”

“Good, because I’m getting sensitived out here.”

That got a laugh out of Isabel.

**********
Alex let himself into the kitchen, signaling his mom to stay quiet. He walked to her and kissed her in greeting. “Hi Mom, is Izzy home yet?” He whispered.

“She’s in the living room waiting for you to come home.”

Alex crept to the door way and looked at her. She was in the living room, lying on the floor. She had several fashion magazines scattered around her, and she was drawing in a sketch pad. She had already changed, but tonight instead of a tank and shorts she was wearing red satin shorty PJ’s.

Gloria, thinking back on her conversation with Isabel the night before, thought it humorous that they would spend time watching each other. Alex noticed his mom smiling at him, and pulled back into the kitchen.

“I love seeing her so happy and peaceful. I wish I could give that to her all the time.”

“She never seems to have a care in the world.”

“I wish that were true Mom, but she has monsters that she hides from everyone. She keeps them under her bed, and they only come out at night. I hope you never see her have a nightmare, because it will rip your heart out. I would do anything to make them go away.”

“Sweetie?” They both heard come from the living room. Isabel came skipping through the door. Her face lit up when she saw Alex. “You’re home,” she squealed as she flew into his arms.

Gloria smiled, watching them kiss. “Well, now that everyone’s in for the night, I’m going to bed.” She looked at Alex. “You make sure everything is locked tight before you go to bed.”

“I will Mom, goodnight.”

Isabel skipped over to her and kissed her cheek, “Goodnight Gloria.”

”Gloria? She told you to call her Gloria?”

“Yea, Why?”

“Because she didn’t do that to my brother’s girlfriends until they were almost married.”

Isabel took Alex by the hands and led him to the couch for some much needed snuggling. “Well maybe she knows something we don’t.”

“Yea, maybe she thinks that way because we’re acting like an old married couple.”

Isabel turned on Alex with a mixture of outrage and laughter on her face. “Old!” She slapped him on the shoulder then settled with her head on his lap. “You be careful who you call old.”

“So what’s up for tomorrow?” Alex asked as he slipped his hand over her stomach and started to gently caress her.

Isabel sighed with contentment. “I’m going to be at the homeless shelter all day. The Red Cross is having a blood drawing.”

“Why did you switch?”

“Because you’re caresses are turning me into a pool of goo, and this makes me feel closer to you. What are your plans for tomorrow?”

“I’m going to be on the computer all day. I want to finish the modifications the Cheese Factory needs, and I also need to get our business plan finished.”

“Are we going to be ready for Friday night?”

“I don’t see why not. And while we’re on the subject, do you want to go to Albuquerque with me on Saturday? I need to get some stuff at the computer show.”

“Sure. Then we can swing by the mall. I have to pick up a birthday present.”

”Izzy, I already asked you not to make a big thing about me.”

“It’s my boyfriend’s birthday. You have to expect that I’m going to make it special for you. Now Sweetie, if you really want to make me happy, Trude wants you to go a little higher and to the left.” Isabel was surprised but pleased when Alex did exactly as she had asked.

After a couple of minutes, Alex decided to increase the amount of pleasure she was feeling. He slowly slipped his hand lower and lower until he approached her waistband. Isabel reached down, took his hand, and returned it to her breast.

“Before you say anything, that was a matter of timing, not a lack of desire. I expect you to try that again in a couple of days.”

“Bad timing?” Alex was initially confused, but then blushed as he realized what Isabel was telling him. “Somehow we never seem to get an even break.”

“I don’t know Sweetie, I think the fates have been pretty kind to us.”

“Yea, I have never been as happy as these past several weeks.”

“Come on Sweetie, more goo, more goo.”

Alex agreed, the fates were very good to him.

**********
Isabel got ready for bed. She had a photo of the group taken by Amy the night of the prom. It was the only picture of Max that she had in her wallet. She touched the photo and fell asleep.

Isabel was at the entrance to the athletic field behind the school. She walked onto the football field wondering what Max had eaten for supper to cause him to have a dream about football. She saw the Comets settle down for the snap. The quarterback shoved his hands into the center’s crotch, who was bent over obscenely in front of him.

“Ugh, I always hated football,” Isabel thought.

The quarter back shouted out the count, “Gonna’ get laid,,,”

“I know that voice,,,” Isabel realized.

“Gonna’ get laid,,,”

“Kyle? What are you doing in Max’s dream?”

“Hut, Hut,,,”

The center snapped the ball into Kyle’s hands, and then with explosive fury knocked the entire middle of the defensive line onto their asses, clearing a hole.

Isabel recognized the center. “Buddha?” Isabel exclaimed. “Buddha plays football?”

Kyle reared back and threw a mighty pass high into the air and straight down the middle of the field. He hesitated a moment to watch the ball fade from sight and then started running downfield.

The spectators started screaming like crazy, making that sound unique to when the ball is in the air. The announcer was shouting into his microphone, “Ten seconds left and the winning pass is in the air,,,”

“I must have touched the wrong person in the picture,” Isabel realized.

Kyle sprinted down the center of the field, out distancing all of the defenders, and just as he crossed his own goal line he reached up and effortlessly caught the ball.

“Kyle Valenti,,,” the announcer shouted, “With an unassisted ninety-nine yard bomb gets the goal, wins the game, clinches the state championship, is awarded the season M.V.P., earns a college scholarship, and gets the girl of his choice. What a play ladies and gentleman!”

Kyle tossed the ball over one shoulder, then removed his helmet and tossed it over the other shoulder. He basked in the adoration of his cheering fans who threw roses, money, ladies undergarments and porno magazines at him.

“Oh my God, Kyle, you’re a living legend in your own mind,” Isabel said laughing.

She watched as Kyle headed for the sidelines, directly towards the cheerleaders. There were six cheerleaders, all with short blue hair, numerous piercings and tattoo’s, and horrible black fishnet stockings. They had their pom-pom’s in front of their bodies.

“Ava?” Isabel wondered. “Six of them? Oh boy, this guy’s mind is writing checks his body can’t cash.”

Seeing Kyle get closer, the cheerleaders started to shout, “Kyle, Kyle, he’s our man,,,” They started to swing their pom-pom’s in the air.

At this point Isabel realized that the cheerleaders were naked, well except for the black fishnet stockings. “Okay girl, time to wake up, I really don’t want to see this. Any time now, wake up and we’ll get a nice glass of water.

The cheer continued, “He’s going to make us scream like no one can,,,”

To her dismay, not only did Isabel not wake up, but the cheerleaders started to perform a series of high kicks. “Kyle, you are so dead. Not only are you dead, but tomorrow night you are going to have a ringside seat at a naked sumo wrestling match.”

Isabel awoke with a gasp. 'Oh my, I don't know if I need a glass of water, a hot shower, or to wash my mouth out with soap.' Instead she leaned over and turned on the light on the nightstand. She took the photo and very carefully touched Max's image. 'Okay, careful, this time I want to get it right.

Isabel found herself in the dreamscape again. She looked around and called Max’s name. She could sense him, and moved to the area where his presence felt strongest. “Max? Where are you? I know you’re here.” When Max’s presence felt strongest, she noticed to her dismay that her feet were being surrounded by a gray mist. The mist felt cool on her skin, and chilled her heart. “I know this feeling. This is the same feeling I had when Alex was lost to me. I couldn’t reach him because he had been mind warped, and his dreams were closed to me. It must be the same way with Max.”

Isabel decided to stay and fight the mist. She had been able to break down Alex’s blocks during a connection, maybe she could break through to Max in his dreams. Suddenly the mist started to swirl and envelop her. The mist became like a malevolent being. Isabel could feel a great emptiness in the mist, a total lack of feeling and emotions, of broken and lost memories. Suddenly the mist touched her being, reaching into the dark corners of her mind, drawing forth every forbidden memory that she struggled to keep hidden.

Alex at the Kettles as the bullet slammed into his chest. Max’s mind is closed. The paramedic: “Your boyfriend’s a walking, talking dead man.” Max at the rest stop struggling to revive Alex. Max’s mind is closed. Alex’s mind blocking her dream walk. Alex throwing himself in front of her as Tess fired at her. Max slumped over Alex at the rest stop. Kyle dragging Alex from the trunk of the car. Max’s mind is closed. “Oh Sweetie, that little bitch shot you in the ass.” She saw the face of the nurse at the hospital, “Do you really understand what I’m saying?” Tess shooting a beam at Max and the others and missing by inches. “Walking, talking, dead man.” Alex not responding to her call for help and then finding him face down on the pavement. She watched again as she lost Alex, and knew that she would now lose Max. “DEAD MAN.”

“NO!” Isabel slammed upright in bed. “NO!.. Max, No! Alex! ALEX!!!”

Charles awoke with a start. It took him a moment to realize what was happening, but another burst of screaming spurred him to action, as the hallway light turned on. He climbed out of bed and wondered who was screaming like that in a house full of boys. Realization struck, ‘Isabel! Someone’s hurting Isabel.’ He watched as Gloria ran out of the bedroom, and then followed her. He paused at the bedroom door and reached for a Louisville slugger. If someone was hurting Isabel, that person would pay a fearsome price. He stopped behind his wife, who was standing in Isabel’s bedroom door. Gloria had a look of dismay on her face, and she held her fist in her mouth, biting it gently. He stood by his wife and looked into the room.

Alex held Isabel, cradling her head to his shoulder. She continued to scream, the sound almost animal like. He rocked her and talked to her, desperately trying to calm her. He reached out to her with everything that he had. Alex held Isabel tightly, he used his voice to try to calm her, and he reached out to her with his mind.

Gradually Isabel’s screams were reduced to a desperate sobbing as she began to tire. This allowed Alex to reach her. “Izzy, I’ve got you. You’re okay. You’re here at my house.” But Alex was finally able to connect with her. This allowed him to pour every ounce of love and calmness that he could muster into her.

“Isabel, Izzy? Just say something. Come on Izzy, talk to me. Let me in.”

“Alex? Is that you?”

“I’m right here Izzy, I’ve got you,,,”

“I saw you killed. I lost you again.”

“No Izzy, it’s a dream. I’m right here.”

“Alex?”

“I’m right here Izzy, I’ve got you.” Alex continued to hold her against his chest, and started to stroke her hair. “I’ve got you Izzy,,, I’ve got you, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you,,, I’ve got you, and I’m never going to let you go.”

“Sweetie, you’re here?”

“I’m right here. I’m never going to leave you.”

Isabel sniffled and coughed.

“Hang on Izzy, I’m going to get you a Kleenex and a glass of water,,,”

Isabel’s fears flared. “No! You said you would never leave me!” Isabel grabbed at his tank top, pulling him to her and ripping it in the process. “Don’t let me go. They are out there, I can feel them. They could get me too.”

“Sshhh, everyone’s safe Izzy, I promise you.” He continued to stroke her hair and calm her. He looked at his mom who had already reappeared with a glass of water. He took the water and offered it to Isabel, who drank greedily.

Alex became concerned that Isabel would say something that he wouldn’t be able to explain. He looked at his parents and said, “We’ll be okay now.” Noticing the baseball bat he asked, “Pops?”

Charles looked at the bat. “When I heard her scream, I thought protection. Well,,,” He looked a little embarrassed.

“That’s okay Pops, that’s my job now.”

Gloria turned toward her husband. “Come on back to bed. You have a long day tomorrow.”

“Well, what about them?” he said, pointing to the young couple.

“We’re not going to get them apart, not tonight. I’m not even going to try.” She took the bat from his hand, “Come on slugger.”

**********
The following morning, a Saturday, Isabel and Alex entered an almost empty Crashdown.

“Late breakfast?” Liz asked.

“Yea, I don’t have to be at the homeless shelter until ten, so I slept in a bit,” Isabel answered.

“Hey Spaceboy,” Maria said through the kitchen window. “Pancakes for Alex and a special omelet for your sister.”

Liz poured two large glasses of orange juice, leaving about an inch of Tabasco room in Isabel’s glass. By the time the twins had finished what they were doing, Michael brought Alex and Isabel their breakfast. The three workers, now ready for a well deserved break, grabbed sodas and joined them.

“Isabel, I don’t want to sound rude,” Maria commented, “but you look like you didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Well thanks,” Isabel replied sarcastically. “I thought I was among friends.” She tempered her comment with a touch of a smile.

”Do you want to do this now?” Alex asked silently.

“Might just as well get it over with,” Isabel replied.

“She didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. She tried to dream-walk Max and ended up having a wicked nightmare.”

Liz and Maria were immediately concerned, reaching out to touch Isabel’s hand. Michael’s expression changed to one of determination, to watch out for his sister.

“What happened?” Maria asked cautiously.

“Did you,,, see,,, anything?” Liz added.

Isabel leaned in close to Alex, who wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “No nothing. There was the same cold gray mist as when I couldn’t dream-walk Sweetie here. But it was much worse. I found the area where I thought he was, but then,,,” Isabel shuddered.

“What happened?” Michael pressed, but with concern in his voice.

“Max’s dream turned violent,” Alex explained quietly. “It’s as if she walked into a trap.”

“Every bad memory I’ve ever had,,, I,,,” her voice trailed off.

“Tess really worked him over,” Alex concluded.

“Well,” Michael exclaimed. “Mind warping is a weapon that Tess grew up with. It’s time for Ava to go in there and kick ass.”

“Michael,” Liz rebutted angrily. “We can’t have a war in Max’s mind, we can’t hurt him.”

“Well, he’s hurting everyone,” Michael continued. “He’s treating Isabel and Liz like crap, he’s going to war with his parents, and what do you call that nightmare?

Max entered the Crashdown, hoping to make some more progress in his reconciliation with Liz. He saw the group at their booth in the back of the restaurant, and approached them.

Liz saw him approach, “Max.” This put a quick end the discussion.

“Nightmares?” Max asked. “Who’s having nightmares?”

“Ahhmm, I am,” Liz replied. Isabel breathed a sigh of relief.

Max was instantly concerned. “What was it about? I’m sorry things like this keep happening to you.”

“Max,” Liz said softly. Thinking quickly, “Not everything is about you. It was about running into some government types while I was at Las Cruces.”

“When were you in Las Cruces?” Alex asked. “I don’t remember you mentioning that.”

Everyone turned quiet and found something interesting on the table top. “Sweetie, we went to Las Cruces while we were trying to figure out what was going on with you.”

“So what’s this about running into government types?”

“We found out that you were working on a computer program,” Maria filled in. “So Liz checked out the Litvack building.”

“Yea, I’ve seen the program she had me write. It’s much ado about nothing.”

“Well, I didn’t think our visit down there was nothing. Not when I ran into that guard counter.” Liz explained.

“How did you know they were government?”

“I saw them when they escorted Liz out of the building.” Michael explained, hoping to end the debate.

Alex was unconvinced.

Liz looked at Alex. “I went in there expecting to bluff my way into a computer center.”

Max challenged Michael, “You let Liz go in there alone?”

Michael stared him down, “Where the hell were you?”

“Guys, guys,” Maria intervened. “Calm down, you’ve been eating too much red meat.”

Isabel was wringing her hands, betraying her calm voice. “Max, after Alex, who else would be suitable to bluff her way into a computer lab?”

After a pause to see if Max had anything else to say, Liz continued. “Michael zapped the card reader on the door, and I walked through a normal looking lobby. Then after going through a second doorway, I came to a security counter. I could tell just by looking at them that they weren’t campus security. They were in crisp white shirts, very professional looking. But the main thing was that there was a carved seal on the wall behind them. An eagle holding a key,,,”

“What!” Alex exclaimed.

Liz looked at Alex. “An eagle. It had a red and white striped shield over the chest, and it held what looked like an old fashioned skeleton key.”

Alex’s eyes were open wide, and his mouth hung open.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Isabel demanded.

“Ahhmm, nothing.”

“Bullshit!” Isabel barked. The stare she gave Alex made Max and Michael look like amateurs in the intimidation department.

Alex didn’t have a chance. “They must be ‘None Such’.”

“What’s the ‘None Such’?” Max asked.

“Did you ever see the X-Files, when Fox Mulder met a man from another agency? It was the NSA, the National Security Agency. Their nickname came from the fact that the NSA refused to acknowledge it’s existence for decades.”

“Who the hell is the NSA?” Michael asked.

“All I can tell you is what I saw on the X-Files and 60 Minutes. It’s almost impossible to find out anything about them because so much about them is classified, but they are the best there is. They make the FeBee’s (FBI) look like a bunch of keystone cops.”

“Oh great,” Max exclaimed, a sentiment matched by everyone.

Under the table Isabel’s hand slammed onto Alex’s leg and she squeezed him with a fierce grip. This would have been uncomfortable for Alex if all she squeezed was leg, but she had grabbed a little something extra, well in Alex’s case it was something on the high side of average.

Alex pried Isabel’s hand from his, err leg, and tried to comfort her. “We don’t have anything to worry about from them.”

“How can you say that?” Michael asked.

“Because they’re not stupid like the FBI. They wouldn’t kill the golden goose. If they were after us they would have us. Max would be the ambassador to Antar, and NASA would be using the granolith to explore Saturn.”

“Sweetie? What’s with the we’s and us’s?”

“Simple Izzy, I said it before and I’ll say it again, where you go, I go,” Alex replied trying to stay calm, for after all it was the first time he had been touched there. He hoped the next time would go better.

“Sweetie, when we get done here, I’m going to kiss you until you can’t breathe,,,”

“So what do they do?” Michael asked.

“They’re an intelligence agency, but unlike the CIA they aren’t prohibited from domestic operations. I can tell you that they are a hackers nightmare. If you try something on the internet they will come after you. They have satellites and fantastic computers that the commercial sector won’t see for another five years. They do stuff like communication intercepts, but their specialty is cryptology.”

“Cryptology?” Isabel asked.

“Code breaking.”

“The destiny book, Izzy. That has to be why she had me there.”

“Well then, we don’t have to worry about them.” Max decided.

“Maybe so, but I won’t feel comfortable until I can figure out how Tess could get a high school junior into a secured facility like that. Somehow I don’t think everything’s right here.” Alex concluded.

**********
The Sheriff’s worse fears were realized, and Jesse was released on bail. The first place he staggered to was the hospital. He was triaged in the waiting room and bought into one of the more private exam rooms. The charge nurse went in to interview him.

Jesse cut right through the questions, “I don’t need a rape kit, I don’t need to talk to an officer. This happened in jail and the guards watched. Now just do something about it, and bring me a couple of those candy striper nurses to nibble on while you’re working.”

The charge nurse left the room and looked for someone special for Jesse. “Mildred, are you busy?”

What looked like a white clad storm trooper on steroids stomped out of the supply room. “Nothing that can’t wait a couple of minutes. What do you need honey?” she said in her unique gravely voice.

“Well, we have a self admitted baby raper in exam four, he got what was coming to him in prison, and now his butt hurts.”

Mildred scratched the mole on her chin, parting the hair growing there, as she thought of the evil desires this pervert brought into her hospital. Her breath growled in the back of her throat.

“He actually expects me to bring him a couple of candy stripers while he is waiting.”

Incidentally, Mildred was in charge of the candy striper program at the hospital. “This defiler of virgins wants my candy stripers?” Mildred’s blood pressure spiked, causing the alcoholic blood vessels on her nose to bulge near the point of bursting.

“That’s what he said.”

Mildred threw her ham like arms forward and cracked her knuckles. The sound was like gunshots rebounding through the center. “Let me at him.”

Jesse saw Mildred waddle into the room and screamed in terror. He tried to leap from the table, but Mildred was ready for that. She had a lot of experience with men running off as they sobered up or if the lights were turned on unexpectedly. She slammed a fist down onto the small of his back, pinning him to the gurney face down. “Mr. Ramirez, I understand you have a problem with your ass.” She quickly tied his arms to the gurney with medical tape. “We can’t have you moving during the procedure, can we?” She asked. Mildred managed to cover almost all of Jesse’s hairy forearms with the incredibly sticky tape.

“What are you going to do to me?” Jesse asked fearfully.

“We’re going to open you up, take a look, and give you some medication,” Mildred reassured him. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Well, let’s get on with it. The ladies are waiting.”

‘Yea, you’re going to keep them waiting after I pump you full of saltpeter,’ Mildred thought. “Okay, let’s see what’s going on in there.” She went to the refrigerator where they kept the penicillin and gamma globulin, and reached into the back where they kept the speculums. Due to her advanced age and poor eyesight, she reached past the small sized one, which was equipped with small fingers and would have been suitable for Jesse. She also reached past the normal sized specula with it’s small spoons that would be used for most women. Instead Mildred took the ‘bag lady’ model, which can only be described as having several small shovels attached. “Here, you’re going to need this,” she said as she shoved a bite-stick into Jesse’s mouth.

“Huh?” Jesse managed to ask.

Mildred wound up like a baseball pitcher and shoved the specula deep into Jesse’s bowel. She then reached for a Black-and-Decker Drill-Driver and cranked the offending instrument to it’s widest setting.

Jesse let loose with a muffled scream and practically bit the bite-stick in half.

“Oh! Sorry about that,” Mildred explained unapologetically. “I forgot the lubricant. That might help some.”

Although nothing would help at this point, Jesse’s innards being stuck to the frozen stainless steel, Mildred reached for the K-Y jelly. Once again her advanced age and failing eyesight failed her. She missed the K-Y and grabbed a tube of Ben-Gay instead. She gave the tube a mighty squeeze and pumped the entire contents into Jesse’s gut.

Jesse’s face displayed a curious mixture of pleasure and pain as the icy hot sensation flowed through his body.

The doctor met Mildred as he came through the door into the exam room. “How’s the patients rectum?”

“Yes Doctor, I wrecked him.”

**********
That evening, Charles was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee while reading the sports page. From where he was sitting he was able to see Alex and Isabel sitting on the couch. They were watching the evening news, but seemed more interested in teasing each other. All that changed when Jeopardy came on. Charles grinned as he saw that while they settled down and started answering the questions, Isabel still managed to rest her head on Alex’s shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. Charles soon dropped the sports page and paid attention to the young couple. Alex was kicking ass, but Isabel was answering every single question correctly.

During the commercial, Charles picked up a pen, and made a list. While the two teens breezed through Double Jeopardy, he kept score. At the end of the round, he was amazed to find that Isabel had made only one mistake. Her score for just the second round was over thirty four thousand dollars.

Both teens groaned when the Final Jeopardy category was announced, sports greats. “I’m not even trying that,” Alex announced.

“What are you looking at me for?” Isabel asked. “I’m no good at sports.”

“Well at least you have the memory thing going for you.”

“I can’t remember something I’ve never exposed myself to.” She turned to Charles, “Is everyone in for the night Mr. Whitman?”

“Well, Gloria will be back from her meeting in a little bit, but yea, everyone’s in.”

“PJ’s,” Isabel announced. She reached over and slapped Alex on the shoulder. “Come on, time to change. The second Jeopardy show is on in five minutes, and you already owe me for getting your ass whipped during the first show.”

They both went upstairs to change.

“I don’t know why I even try to beat you, it’s impossible.”

“Sweetie, this isn’t a competition.”

“Izzy, I’m not complaining, I’m just teasing you. I know I’m good at this, and I know that I can’t beat your memory.”

Alex finished changing and turned to see Isabel walk into his room. She walked up to him and tenderly placed her hand over his heart.

“Do you realize how special you are?” “You’re the only person on the face of the planet that can speak to me like this. No one else can do this. Not my family, not Max, not Liz, just you.”

“Wow, I never thought of it that way,”

Charles watched as they came back downstairs, both dressed in shorts and tanks. From where he was sitting he thought Isabel had two tops on. Having raised only boys, he didn’t realize that the black top under her red one was actually a sports bra. Alex settled himself on the couch while Isabel pushed the ottoman in front of him. She sat down and pulled his legs onto her lap so he was sitting Indian style with his legs wrapped around her. Charles started to get concerned until he saw Isabel hand Alex a hairbrush.

“Get working Sweetie. You lose, you brush.”

Alex used one hand to sweep her hair back and his other to brush it. They watched as Alex Trebek read the first question. “The State of Maine,” they replied together.

Charles shook his head in amazement. ‘That’s one lucky guy, when I was a kid and lost a game I had to mow the lawn.’ He returned to his paper, only half paying attention to the couple. When the show went to commercial, they quieted down. He just happened to glance at them as he was turning the page. To his amazement, he saw Isabel leap from the ottoman, knocking the hairbrush flying.

Isabel turned and looked at Alex for a moment, and then noticing that Charles was watching her, she reached out and slapped Alex’s face. Then she ran up the stairs.

Charles stood, throwing the paper on the floor. He charged into the living room. “Alex, what the hell did you do?”

Alex looked confused, “Huh?”

“What did you do to Isabel?”

“Nothing Pops.”

“Nothing my ass. Damn it, I raised you better that that. I expect, no, I demand that you treat women with respect. You practically owe that girl your life for crying out loud, and that’s how you treat her?”

“Pops, I didn’t do anything wrong,,,”

“You get to your room and stay there, why I have half a mind to kick your ass,,,”

Alex got out of the living room while the getting was good.

An hour later Gloria walked in from the garage and looked around. “Where are the kids?”

“Isabel went upstairs and ‘your son’ is restricted to his room until he turns twenty-one.”

Gloria looked surprised. “What happened?”

“I don’t know what happened. Alex did something to somehow offend Isabel. She slapped him and then ran upstairs.”

“Did he say something to her? Something must have happened between the two of them. Didn’t you ask what?”

I don’t need to know what happened. I raised him to be a gentleman, and he wasn’t.”

“How do you know that? Did you talk to Isabel?”

“I’m not talking to her, that’s your job.”

“Charles Emerson Whitman!”

“Now wait a minute, what did I do?”

“Well, apparently you didn’t do anything. How are you going to fix things between them if you don’t know what happened?”

“How did I end up in the dog house?”

“You don’t need to know why, you just need to know that you did.” Gloria shook her head and turned towards the stairs muttering, “I have to do everything myself.”


“Isabel?” Gloria asked as she slowly entered her room.

“Oh! Hi Gloria,” Isabel said as she stood.

“Isabel, do you want to tell me anything about what happened between you and Alex tonight?” She asked with concern in her voice.

A smile crept over Isabel’s face. “It’s kind of personal,,,”

“You’re smiling, Alex didn’t hurt you?” Gloria asked, confused.

“Of course not! Alex couldn’t hurt me,,,” Isabel’s eyes opened wide as she realized what happened. She continued softly, “Alex didn’t hurt me, he told me that he loved me.”

“And you slapped him?”

“Well, his father was sitting right there watching us, so I couldn’t react the I wanted to do.” Isabel paused to gather her thoughts, “I mean he has said that he loves me in red, or he loves dancing with me, or that he loves my perfume. At the prom he promised to love me forever. But this was the first time he said the three magic words.” Isabel looked Gloria in the eyes. “It’s private. Why did he say that in front of an audience? I guess I was frustrated.”

Gloria laughed. “Well, I suspect you had better go explain yourself to Alex. He’s in his room confined to bread and water by his father.”

Isabel’s eyes opened wide, “Oh no, I’ve got to explain,,,”

“I’ll take care of his father. You go get Alex, I’ll give you fifteen minutes privacy in the back yard to talk to him. And Isabel, I remember how I felt when my boyfriend told me he loved me. It’s safe to assume Charles may be watching the two of you out the back window.” Gloria placed her arm over the younger woman’s shoulder, walking her out into the hallway. “Charles really cares about you, he doesn’t want to see anyone hurt you.”


Isabel slowly approached Alex, who was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. She watched as he noticed her and stood, looking at her nervously.

“Isabel, whatever I did,,,”

Isabel cut him off with a finger on his lips. “You didn’t do anything wrong, you just caught me by surprise.” She took him by the hand and led him downstairs.

“Izzy, I’m kind of grounded,,,”

“I took care of it. I want to talk to you, privately.” They stayed silent until they got out into the yard.

“Isabel, I really mean it,,,”

Isabel watched as he struggled to find words. She felt a surge of love for this man who would apologize for something he didn’t do, just to make her feel better. “Hey Sweetie, you don’t have to say anything.”

“Yes I do, I just,,, Can I talk to my best friend?”

“Isabel looked at him with tenderness in her eyes. “Of course you can,,, No, Alex. We did that once before to get us through a tough spot. We can’t do that again. You can talk to me. Not your best friend. Not your girlfriend. Me, Isabel.”

“Well, I mean,,, if I didn’t do anything wrong,,, why did you? You scare me sometimes.”

Isabel felt a chill run through her heart. “Scare you, because I’m,, an,,,”

“Oh no! Nothing like that! I love you and everything that you are,,,”

Isabel’s heart soared.

“Your Antarian half, and your super human side. I was attracted to you because you’re beautiful, but I fell in love with you because of your confidence, humor, intelligence,,,”

“Is that all?”

“Well, there’s your warmth whenever I’m close to you,,, and,,, well,,, you are incredibly sexy.”

“You think I’m sexy?”

“Oh God! Izzy. When you tease me? It’s all I can do to stay in control. Do you remember the time I dressed at your house and I had to go without shorts? Later I had your panties in my pocket so we would be even?”

Isabel smiled, remembering that afternoon. “I was so nervous. I was afraid a gust of wind would lift my skirt and show everyone my secret.”

Isabel couldn’t see that Alex had started to blush, but she could feel his heart race. “I wished for that gust of wind, just so I could get a little peek,,,”

“Sweetie, why didn’t you just look? I wouldn’t have stopped you, why didn’t you ask?”

“See? That’s what I mean. You are so confident about us, that we’re doing the right thing. I envy your ability to see the future. Us in Boston, our marrying, our children. I’m still trying to come to grips with the fact that the girl of my dreams agreed to go on a date with me.”

“Oh Sweetie,” Isabel rested her head on his chest. “I don’t see the future. All I know is that I have never been happy in my life unless you are in it. Every time I pushed you away I felt empty inside, and every time you came back to me it was like I was born again.” Isabel leaned back to look him in the eyes. “You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?”

“Figured out what?”

“Why we, Max, Michael, and myself are here, now.”

“Because it’s your destiny.”

“No sweetie, it’s ours. Think about it. Max and Liz were first. They are soul mates, meant to be together. Michael and Maria were next. The only time they are more miserable than when they’re together is when they’re apart. Kyle and Tess seemed to get along, but something wasn’t quite right. Now look at him with Ava. They haven’t been apart for a moment since Liz brought her over to his house. Now look at us.”

“So you’re saying this is bigger than the both of us?”

“I’m saying that you are my destiny, and nothing will keep me from it.”

The porch light flicked on and off twice.

“Well, time’s up,” Isabel sighed.

“Before we go in I want to try something again.”

Isabel looked down and smirked. “Sure you’re not afraid?” she added, biting her lower lip.

“Oh! I’m very afraid,” he said softly. “You’re going to have to stay close to me and protect me.” Alex stepped closer to her, took her face in his hands, looked deep into her eyes and said, “I,,, Love,,, You.”

This time, Isabel didn’t slap him.


As they passed through the kitchen Alex saw his father sitting at the table. Alex looked at Isabel, “I’ll be upstairs in a minute.”

“Okay Sweetie, love you.”

Alex got a glass of water and sat opposite his dad. “Everything okay Pops?”

“I’m sorry son, I should have asked before I reacted.”

“That’s okay Pops, I don’t know what I would have told you.”

“So let me get this straight. You did the right thing, got whacked, and can’t figure out what happened?”

Alex didn’t want to share his conversation with Isabel, so he took the easy out. “Yea Pops.”

Charles raised his glass for a toast. “Congratulations Son, for tonight you are a man. It doesn’t get any easier, but don’t fight it. You’ll never be happier.” They downed their water. “Now you better get upstairs. I’m willing to bet that Isabel is waiting for you to tuck her in.”

**********
Friday morning, Alex and Isabel stopped in the Crashdown for breakfast, finding most of the gang there. “Sweetie,” Isabel said, “You sit down, I need to talk to Liz a moment, Okay?”

Receiving a nod, she approached her brown haired friend. “Can I talk to you in the back, privately?”

Liz looked around, “Ahhmm sure, Maria has things under control.” They went into the locker room and Isabel closed the door. This surprised Liz, because as Alex had found out in the past, no one closes the door even when changing. She realized this was serious. “Isabel?” She asked softly.

“I need your help with something. With Tess gone, I’m the only woman of my kind left. Ava’s close, but the other pod was different.”

“What do you want from me?” Liz asked.

“What you do best, research. I can’t go to a doctor, the only one I can turn to is you. Who am I? How do I work? Can Alex and I have children? How about birth control, and will the pill work on me? I don’t want us to have to spend the rest of our life wearing a condom.”

Liz was feeling overwhelmed. “I don’t know Isabel, I’ll do what I can but I can’t promise anything.”

“That’s all I can ask Liz.” Isabel said, relieved.

“Okay, let me think about this, you and I are top of the class in A.P. biology, we should be able to do this, and we can call on Alex if necessary.”

“Yea, Alex, only if we need to,” Isabel said, concerned.

“Don’t worry Isabel,” Liz said, reassuring. “I realize this is something we’ll keep to ourselves, but Alex knows more about girls than you do. He was with Maria when she got her period, and he’s had to go to the pharmacy and pick up my pills when I was sick one time.”

“You’re on the pill?” Isabel asked amazed.

“Yea, I have been for four years. It’s how I keep my anemia under control. Let’s not tell Max that one.”

“Isabel smiled for the first time since the conversation started. “I’ll keep your secret if you’ll keep mine.”

“I’ll need to start a list. We’ll figure this out.”

**********
As Isabel and Liz returned to the front, Kyle ran into the Crashdown, his excitement visible to everyone. “Guess what? I won! I won Metallica tickets!”

“On KROZ? Awesome!” Michael exclaimed, coming out of the kitchen. “How many did you get?”

“That’s the part that sucks, I only got four.”

“Ouch,” Max said. “Who you going to take?”

“Well, that’s the thing I’m counting on, not everyone’s into metal music. I’m guessing this is a guys road trip.”

Ava reached over and smacked him on the shoulder.

“Tess, what the hell was that for?” Kyle asked, rubbing his shoulder. “That hurt!”

“That’s for thinking only guys like metal music. How many of you were at Woodstock?”

“You were at Woodstock?” Liz exclaimed. “How was it?”

“It was a blast until Rath got busted for boosting a six dollar bottle of warm Mountain Dew. Lonnie started a bunch of fires as a distraction so he could get away.”

“That was Rath and Lonnie?” Michael was upset. “Man they ruined it for all of us. They’ll never do another one, not after that mess.”

“Naw,” Max answered. “As long as kids have money and credit cards they will have concerts. Burning a concession stand just becomes a cost of doing business.”

Ava interrupted, “So back to the road trip, who’s going?”

Alex made himself heard. “Hey Kyle, Metal’s not really my thing, why don’t you take Tess instead of me.”

Ava squealed and reached into the booth to hug Alex. “Thank- you.”

The four concert goers moved to another booth to make plans, leaving Alex and Isabel with Liz and Maria.

Alex shivered and reached under the table. “Izzy, where’s your hand?”

She realized that she had crossed her arms over her chest, and reached down taking his hand.

“That really freaked me out. I knew it was Ava, but when she reached for me all I could think about was Tess.”

“Me too. I know Ava has a part to play, but when she reached for you I almost panicked.”

“Yea, she just looks too real.”

“She is real Sweetie. She’s an Alien. That’s part of the baggage I bring with me.”

“As long as you’re in my life, I’ll carry those bags willingly. I love you, and that’s who you are.”

“This sucks.” Maria exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?” Liz asked.

“They’re going to the concert, the two of you keep talking about going to Boston, while Liz and I are stuck here.”

Liz looked at Maria, “Road trip.”

“Hey, don’t leave us out!” Isabel exclaimed. “With everything that’s been going on lately, I’m ready to get away too.”

“Okay,” Alex went into planning mode. “We have been talking about going to Balmorhea State Park for a couple of summers now.”

“Yea,” Maria agreed. “We could spend a couple of days camping, playing in the pool, and just hanging out.”

“Where is this place?” Isabel asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s in Texas, about two hours south of Midland.” Maria explained. “It’s famous for having a gigantic pool.”

“Now wait a minute,” Isabel didn’t sound too happy. “They are going to a concert, and we are going to drive five hours to sit by a pool? Besides chlorine turns my hair green.”

The three friends looked at her and broke out laughing.

Isabel realized what she had said, and her face clouded over. “Okay, the first one who cracks an alien joke wakes up bald tomorrow.”

“No, it’s not like that,” Liz explained. “There’s a huge spring feeding millions of gallons of water into it. The water is totally fresh. It doesn’t need to be treated.”

“Wow!” Isabel answered. “I’ve never seen that much water.”

“So,” Alex concluded, “When are we going?”

“Sweetie,” Isabel said tenderly, placing her hand over his heart. “That’s so nice, thinking you have a say in what we’re going to do,” as she started to softly laugh. Turning, “So ladies, when are we going to let Alex take us on this road trip?”

**********
That evening, Gloria opened the door, inviting Diane and Philip into her house. Charles came out from the kitchen and greeted them as well. “Thank you for coming over and joining us.”

“Well,” answered Philip, “It’s not every day that the parents get invited out by their teenagers.”

“I know what you mean,” Gloria answered. “If I weren’t so close to the two of them, I probably would have thought the worst.”

Charles felt a little uncomfortable with their visitors, as he had never had the chance to get to know them. “Come in, make yourselves comfortable. We don’t have to leave for the restaurant for another hour, the kids wanted us to have some time to get to know each other first.”

Gloria led Diane into the kitchen. “Can I offer you a cup of tea?”

“I’d like that, thank you. And I can’t thank you enough for putting Isabel up. I hope she isn’t being too much trouble.”

“Trouble? She’s no trouble at all. In fact Charles is going to be as upset as Alex will be when it’s time for her to go home. Come on upstairs, you should see them getting ready.”

The two women snuck down the hallway until they could peek into Alex’s room.

Alex was sitting at his computer. He was freshly showered and wearing a pair of khakis, but he was still bare footed and shirtless. Isabel came out of his bathroom wearing a white satin camisole and tap pants set. “Sweetie, I need help with this ear ring. I can’t seem to find the hole.” She knelt next to him as he turned and tenderly put her earring in. “Oh no, Sweetie, you’re not wearing those are you?”

“I was planning to,,,”

“I don’t think so Sweetie. I’m wearing my white linen suit, you’re going to have to go dark. Besides, these are our parents. Be respectful, wear a suit.” She kissed him, taking any sting out of her words.

Gloria watched as Diane stifled a giggle.

“Can you take a look at this? The program’s running fine but I don’t know if I’m setting the business up right.

“You’re right,” she said looking at the computer. “You need to set up A.R. (accounts receivables) as a consulting business, utilizing T. and M. (time and materials) billing. What you have here is a standard resale billing for a retail operation.” She stood, and while wrapping one arm around his shoulder, leaned on him. She reached for the mouse with her other hand. “Here watch.”

Alex watched as she updated the configuration that he had been working on. When she finished she kissed him on the cheek.

“Okay Izzy, what do we do now?”

“Well, you’re at a good place to save and back-up, so you should do that now. And as much as I like you this way,” she leaned down and gave him a gentle bite on his neck, “We should get dressed and join our guests downstairs.”

Gloria and Diane snuck away before they were noticed. “I tell you Gloria, that girl is going to give him a heart attack,” Diane lectured.

“Maybe so,” Gloria replied with a laugh. “But I bet the undertaker will never be able to wipe the smile off his face.”

<continued next>