Author: Karen
Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.
Pairings/Couples/Category: CC
Rating: Teen
Summary: This is a tag to the Son series, told from the POV of Isabel and Jesse's identical twin sons. It takes place during His Father's Son, when Isabel brings Nate home for dinner after Emily has been born.
Author's Note: This is dedicated to Nina, for being a supportive and patient reader
Something was new in the world, something was definitely different. They could both feel it, buzzing in the backs of their heads. Something had changed, perhaps a shift in power, but not entirely in a bad way.
Jason and Justin Ramirez, twin sons of Isabel and Jesse, knew that something important had happened this night, a critical event in the history of their people. Of course, there had been a lot of coming and going, a few excited phone calls and if they’d paid closer attention, they would have found out that a new baby had entered the world, a child that would hold more on her shoulders than her parents would ever have guessed. But it was unlike the twins to rely on the words and actions of others – they got their information from the cosmos, pure and simple.
Both boys sat staring at the TV, but not really seeing what was on the screen. They often appeared to be engrossed in a show, but many times they were concentrating on the vibes going on around them – having the TV on was but a way to block out distractions.
Can you feel it? Jason asked his brother mentally. It was a rhetorical question, however, as the twins always felt the same things.
Yes, replied Justin, never breaking his gaze from the television. It’s very strong.
Indeed it was. What had started out as a weak sign, wavering, not really viable at all, had turned into something undeniable.
What does it mean? Jason asked.
Things are going to change.
They sat mutely for a long while again, music videos dancing across the screen. They shared the same taste in music. And clothes. And food. In fact, they were so alike in looks and tastes that they were like one person split in two. The only difference was that Jason disliked any beverage or food that was overly cold – and that was only because he’d taken a softball to the mouth in grade school and had required some dental work that years later made cold things unbearable. If not for the accident, the twins would have shared the exact same preferences.
School had been a burden – more so for Isabel and Jesse than for the boys. Of course, the outside world found them odd and more often than not they were the subject of schoolyard pranks. They were accused of being weird and stupid and even queer. Being slight in stature, they were often at the receiving end of the local bully’s bad moods. While Jesse and Isabel fretted over their boys, wanting them to fit in, Jason and Justin hadn’t cared less. They knew that those kids who taunted and picked on them were insignificant in the end.
But the Ramirezes didn’t quite understand how their boys felt, especially since they were less than forthcoming when broached about their emotions. To Isabel, she’d always wanted her kids to fit in, not necessarily be popular, but to at least have friends. When it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen in public schools, they pulled the twins out and put them in a private academy.
Kids at the academy weren’t as cruel as those in the public school. They simply ignored the odd Ramirez twins rather than picked on them.
The front door opened and both boys titled their heads in unison, listening for the sounds of footsteps. They recognized their mother’s quick gait, but there was another set of shoes along with hers, heavier, a taller person. Probably a man…with oddly non-human qualities.
In a few moments, Isabel was indeed at the doorway to the family room, a stranger at her side. “Jason and Justin,” she said. “Say hello to your cousin Nate.”
The boys looked up at the same time and said an automatic, “Hello”. In the brief time they looked at their cousin, they did a month’s worth of investigating. To the outside world, it would seem that they couldn’t care less about the new arrival, which couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
Isabel sighed and shook her head. “They’re not the most social sometimes,” she said to Nate. “Jason, Justin. Where is Jeremy?”
The twins shrugged. They didn’t really know and they weren’t sure they really cared. Jeremy was but a stranger to them in many ways.
As Isabel and the new visitor moved on, Jason glanced at Justin, then both boys leaned to the left, looking down the hallway at them.
Is it him? Jason asked. Is he what we’ve been feeling?
Justin shook his head. No, I don’t think so. It’s someone else.
But did you feel it? Wasn’t it odd?
I think he’s Uncle Max’s son.
Of course he is, but I felt something else.
In a rare display of expression, they raised their eyebrows in a combination of question and surprise, then returned to the television. Soon, they would need to determine if this Nate guy was friend or foe.
Of course, the Ramirez boys had assessed everyone around them and had developed an opinion on all, regardless if they never voiced those impressions. They felt like Jeremy was inconsequential by himself – but paired with someone a little more powerful, he would be a force to be reckoned with. They saw Isabel as a kind, loving person with a horribly violent protective side; they also observed that she’d long ago given up trying to figure out her enigmatic twins. She simply chose to love them as they were. Jesse was harmless, if a bit of a dufus.
Outside of their immediate household, they saw Michael Guerin as someone who had the potential to be far more powerful than anyone guessed. His sometimes-wife, Maria, was pretty much useless in their fight. Their Uncle Max was the one who held all of the cards, both in regards to his gifts and the burden to protect their people. Liz, his wife, was different than everyone else and may some day play a very large part in their fight for freedom.
Now it was time to assess this new guy.
As they sat at the dinner table, Jason and Justin watched every one of Nate Spencer’s movements, never blinking, never changing their expressions. In the backs of their heads, they could still feel that buzzing, like something important had happened, but that the sensation wasn’t necessarily coming from the anxious man seated across from them. It was coming from somewhere else.
Look at his hands, Justin observed.
Jason’s eyes shifted to Nate’s fingers as he picked up his water glass for the thousandth time. Internally, he smiled, though it never quite reached his lips. This man had Uncle Max’s hands, though he only slightly resembled him. The internal grin faded away, however, as Jason felt something stirring. Together, the twins both cocked their heads to the side, contemplating the feeling, wondering why while it wasn’t being generated by their visitor, it was definitely coming from him.
It’s attached to him, Jason said. This new thing.
Justin agreed silently. There was a new life somewhere, someone who would change all of their lives, and it had wrapped itself around this stranger…for some reason neither of the boys could comprehend.
The boys never spoke over dinner, but simply listened to the conversation around them, to the buzzing feeling in their heads and to the gentle nudges the universe would give them every now and then. They heard snippets of their father raving about a new wine he was coercing their guest into sampling and the random mumble of their mother wondering where their brother was. They felt the buzzing and some unseen forces stirring in the universe.
It seemed that the arrival of this new being was not being taken well by all factions.
At some point, Isabel asked Nate about his new baby sister. Though the twins did not display their surprise, they were indeed taken off guard. It all made sense now – Max and Liz had had a child and there would be beings out in the universe who would not be one bit happy about that. They were probably the same beings who had not been happy about Max and Tess having a baby.
After dinner, Isabel whisked her new friend away and Jesse cleared the table, always the dutiful husband. The twins returned to the television for a while, then retired to their room when bedtime came. Of course, the Ramirez estate was large enough that they both could have had their own bedroom, but they’d been inseparable since birth – neither of their parents had ever even suggested it. Being equals in every way (except for the fact that Justin was thirty seconds older than his brother), they had chosen single beds rather than bunks.
The house fell silent around them and they could clearly hear the creaks and groans of the cosmos, buzzing about the new life on earth. Change was coming, they could all feel it.
He’s dangerous, Justin finally said, sighing out loud.
I know, Jason replied.
He doesn’t know it yet.
But he will.
They both stared up at the ceiling, watching the branches of the tree outside their window casting eerie shadows in the moonlight.
He’s going to do something stupid, Justin added, stating something they both already knew.
I know, Jason replied.
What do we do?
Jason rolled his head to the side so that he could see his brother. “Let him,” he said aloud.
Justin raised an eyebrow, then turned back to the ceiling.
They both knew that they understood more than most people did. They understood that they could sense things and hear things that the others could not. But somewhere along the way, they’d learned that to interfere with free will and others’ judgment was not the proper thing to do. They must let things play out the way they were planned. It was a mature attitude for a couple of 14-year-olds to have.
Will we survive it? Justin asked.
Maybe.
Neither of them was particularly worried about whatever stupid thing it was that Nate Spencer had up his sleeve. Simply put, whatever happened was meant to happen. But they had developed a sense of wariness about their new relative. He had powers he didn’t understand and couldn’t control – and that was the most dangerous kind of person of all.
Justin?
Yeah?
Did you like him?
Justin stared at the ceiling for a moment, then replied, He’s okay, I guess, unless he gets all of us killed.
Jason snorted a laugh, finding macabre humor in his brother’s matter-of-fact attitude toward their demise.
What about you?
Jason bit his lip, searching for the right word. I guess he’s okay, but he’s kind of…creepy.
Justin nodded in agreement, shuddering slightly. You can say that again.
THE END