(Banner made by candysteffi)
Author: Eva
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't owe a single thing from Roswell. Everything about Roswell belongs to Katims and Metz, WB, UTC …
Summary: One moment will change the lifes of eight people and one child. It will get them twined like never before. Based on a challenge by Killjoy, after which it started to live a life on its own. Hope you’ll enjoy!
Author’s note: Before you read the story you need to know that in this alternate universe the shooting in the Crashdown never happened. Therefore the secret about the Czechoslovakians never came out. There were no bounds between the humans and aliens, no relationships,… Just nothing. Everyone went their own way and now, ten years after they graduated high school, one little event will trigger everything.
Rating: Mature/Adult -> I don’t know where this story is going to take me. So I want to leave all options open.
Pairing: CC but strongly M&M
Awards:
- Round 15: Award of Best story AU with Aliens
And before I start, I want to say "THANK YOU VERY MUCH" to BB (Nibbles2), my beta.
Chapter one
A whirlwind invaded his office on a bright, sunny Friday. With rapid strides, she was standing in front of his desk almost before he was aware of her presence at all.
“Where is he?”
Max lifted his head and looked into his sister’s worried eyes.
“Where is who?” he asked, rubbing his tired face with his both hands.
The panic was clear in Isabel’s voice. “Michael, of course. Where is he? Have you found him yet?”
“I spent the last six hours operating, Iz. So, no, I don’t know where he is.” he said, blunter than he intended.
Max noticed the paleness of Isabel’s face and restrained himself. Softly he rephrased, “Isabel, we haven’t seen him for over a year. If I had found him by now, I would’ve let you know. You know that.” He looked right in her brown eyes and sighed “I presume he’s still in Los Angeles. But L.A. is a big city. Who knows where he is.”
His words didn’t reassure Isabel. Though he hadn’t vocalized it, Isabel knew what he was thinking, that the thought of Michael being in L.A. was an optimistic scenario. What if he had left the city? What if he was wandering through America? Then it would be really like looking for a needle in a haystack. The thought alone made her even more frantic.
“But we have to find him!” she yelled. “We just have to.”
Suddenly realizing that her unfounded anger towards Max wouldn’t bring her anywhere, Isabel collapsed into one of the chairs in front of Max’s desk. She pulled one of her blond locks of hair behind her ear and sighed. “Look, Max, I feel him. This past year he has blocked us both completely, but I feel him now.” She inhaled deeply before locking eyes with him. “And it isn’t good, Max. He isn’t doing well. He’s in danger.”
“Are you sure?” Max looked at her in question. “I know you are connected with him ‘cause he’s your twin brother but are you sure?”
All three of them had that connection. When things got tense, they could feel each other. But Max didn’t feel it with the same intensity as Isabel and Michael. As twins their feelings were more aligned to each other until Michael had somehow found a way to block her out.
“I have never been more certain.”
“Damn!” Max cursed. He stood up quickly and started pacing through his small office, occasionally he ran a hand through his dark hair.
Isabel could almost hear him thinking out loud. She hoped he would come up with a solution to find Michael. God, Michael, where are you? Though they hadn’t been raised together she was connected with Michael. He was her missing part, her balance. The past year had felt horrible without him.
It reminded her of the year they got separated in the orphanage. Nobody had known Michael was her twin after the three of them had been found in the desert. Michael had a hard time trusting people and adjusting, and consequently, he hadn’t been adopted with Max and her. So they had lost track of Michael until they had been reunited with him in school a year later. A long, hard and lonely year later. She had cried every single night of it.
The thought that he was still alive, had helped her through then and it helped her now. But if she was to really lose him forever, she would break. Of that she was sure.
“Damn!” Max repeated. “I know it sucks but I can’t leave. I’m the only surgeon available at the moment. Bill is at a conference and Jane broke her leg yesterday. I can’t leave, Isabel. I just can’t.”
She left her seat determinedly. “Then I’m going to search for him myself. It’s a long weekend. The kindergarten is closed until Monday. I’ve got some contacts left in L.A. from when I was modelling there. I’ll see if they can help me out. I have to do something, Max! I’ll do whatever it takes to find him. Even if it means turning every freaking stone in L.A.”
Max couldn’t help smiling when he heard his sister’s vocabulary. Freaking. That was so Michael.
His amusement wasn’t noticed by Isabel, so he just nodded in approval. “Bill will be back on Tuesday. So I can swap places with you then when you have to come back to work. If you haven’t found him by then, that is.”
A glimpse of despair flitted over her face. “We just have to find him, Max. We just have.”
***
“Look, I’m saying it for the last time. So open your ears. Hear it, remember it.” The angry voice of the young man snapped in the small office. “It stops here, Dick!” His tattooed arm swept all paperwork from the desk. “I’ve been on tour non stop for the last five years. They were five fucking years of drugs, sex and rock’n roll.”
Dick looked at the younger man, pacing the room like a caged animal. If he wasn’t the manager of the guy, he would’ve never guessed that the kid was the lead singer and bass guitarist of America’s best known hard rock band ‘The Wizz’. Most of the time his appearance was more ‘computer geek’ than ‘rock idol’. Although, there were some details that gave him away today; the hair that was still spiked from yesterday evening’s performance, the tattoos on his arms peaking from under his sleeves and the bass guitar hanging on his back.
“So, why are you complaining, Alex?” Dick asked. “Can’t be that bad if-” He swallowed the rest of his words when he saw Alex’s grim expression.
“Look, Dick, if you want yours to be sucked, be my guest.” He smirked devilishly at his own remark. “But after screwing a thousand shallow chicks, being surrounded by nitwits and sycophants who can’t stand up straight from the coke they just sniffed, I’ve had it.”
Alex looked tired now. He rubbed his forehead with both hands before continuing. “I’ve lived in a fake world for five years non-stop. I won’t say I didn’t have fun ‘cause that would be a big, fat lie. I amused myself and the fans. Totally. But I need a break.”
He inhaled deeply before proceeding. “My music needs a break. I have to refresh myself if I don’t want to end up as artificial and shallow as the world I’m living in. And if I become that way, you can bury my music too for all I care.”
“Come on, Alex, just one last tour,” the man tried again.
“You don’t get my point, Dick.” Alex emphasized every word. “I’m not asking for a break. I’m taking it. See you later!”
And with those words he stepped out of the office.
His manager panicked. “When are you coming back?”
Alex didn’t even turn his head. “When I feel like coming back.”
And the door clicked in the lock.
***
When she left her penthouse apartment in the centre of Los Angeles, Maria had no idea she was being watched. Just like she hadn’t known all other mornings that he was out there; watching them, following them. If Maria had known that there was somebody lurking in the shadows, she would’ve kept a closer eye on her daughter Emily.
But now the little blonde girl was running a couple of feet ahead of her mother instead of holding her hand. Her blue sundress with the bright colourful flowers on them whirled while her two tiny blond ponytails bounced with every step she took. She was completely full of the joys of being with her mother.
It was their last day in L.A. and it was actually the first free day Maria could spend alone with her daughter. She had been working in the studio all through their stay in the city. Emily had always accompanied her when Maria had tried out her songs with the other musicians. She had been a good kid: always playing alone while her mom was singing.
So for their last day Maria had promised her a mother-daughter day which included shopping, going to the beach and of course, ice-cream.
With the promise of an ice-cream fresh in her mind, Emily was checking every store to see which one of them sold ice-cream while her mother was humming and trying to figure out a bridge for a song she was working on.
Both of them were too distracted to pay attention to their surroundings. So when the driver of the large, black S.U.V. lost the control of his vehicle, they were completely unaware of the danger that was heading towards them.
By the time Maria saw the SUV, she was too late to pull her daughter out of harm’s way.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
Maria could only watch, frozen in position, as the large vehicle barrelled down on her precious daughter.
Just before the car could smash into the little girl, a tall figure burst from the shadows. Without hesitating, he threw himself in front of the SUV. With a supreme effort he grabbed the girl in his arms and rolled with the child curled up against his chest. He wasn’t able to roll fast enough though, and the SUV clipped him. The man landed on the asphalt with a thump. He never let go of the child in his arms though, protecting her until the end.
Her own scream roused Maria. Within seconds, the owner of the black SUV reversed, hitting another car in the process and fled the scene without looking at his victims. In the same moment Maria started moving again, reaching her daughter and the stranger in nanoseconds.
“Emily! Emily! Are you alright?”
“Mommy?”
Though Maria could still see the shock and the fear in Emily’s eyes, she was smiling back at her mother. Still clutching the stranger’s shirt, holding him for dear life, as if she didn’t realize what had happened.
With swift hands Maria scanned her daughter. She didn’t find a single injury. Due to the quick reaction of her rescuer Emily was unharmed.
When Maria saw that Emily was alright, she immediately shifted her attention to the man who was still holding her little girl. He looked like he came out of the gutter but she didn’t notice that. She was utterly drawn to his face and could only see the injury on his head, just above his right eye. Carefully she stroked a lock of brown hair out of his face to examine him closer. Above his right eye there was a flesh wound. Due to the blood dripping freely from it, she couldn’t clearly see if it was serious or not. His eyes were closed and she noticed a grimace of pain on his face.
Maria looked around for help but like so often, nobody came to the rescue. The people round her had stopped when the accident happened but when they saw the car fleeing, they just pretended it wasn’t that bad and they didn’t care. They all went on with their lives. Time was just money.
Without panicking Maria grabbed her purse to retrieve her cell phone. But before she could start dialling, a hand grabbed her by the arm.
“Please, no hospital.”
Pleading eyes locked themselves to hers. She stared into them. His eyes had an unusual brown colour. They showed deep feeling. They affected her so powerfully that it silenced her completely. And anybody who knew Maria at all, knew that was a rarity.
“Please.”
Maria took another look at him and dialled a number.
The man closed his eyes and swallowed. He had to clench his jaws together in an attempt not to lose consciousness. With all his strength he had left, he tried to concentrate, to stay awake.
He knew he would have to act if the lady sent him to hospital. He’d have to run. If he could manage to get up that was. He cursed inarticulately. He really hated to be powerless like this. He couldn’t stand leaving his fate in the hands of others. Even if they were as beautiful as this young woman.
His focus rested on the girl he was still holding against his chest. Her intense brown eyes bore themselves into his. The trust he found in them, amazed him. It hit him with an incredible force.
Those brown eyes projected him back in time.
He shook his head to lose the memories. He didn’t want to go there right now. So he refocused on his surroundings. The lady. The lady with the bright green eyes.
“Jake? It’s Maria here. Send a limo to-” She glanced around and spotted the name of the street on a road sign. “5th Street. And please hurry!”
“Why?”
The soft voice of the man startled her. She shut off her phone. “Well, consider yourself lucky. Though I realise it’s probably the stupidest thing to do, you’ll have it your way. ‘Cause I owe you. Enormously. You saved Emily. If I only think about what could’ve happened to her. Besides, it’s to my benefit too.”
When he scowled, she elaborated. “I can’t have the paparazzi on my tail. I won’t give them the satisfaction of taking shots of me, or you and especially not of Emily. I have to keep Emily out of their clutches.”
Her words sank into his minds. Though she kept rambling on, he didn’t hear her anymore. After a last moan of relief, he surrendered himself to the pain that was flooding him.
Before darkness took completely over, he barely registered Maria’s last question.
“Who are you?”
His muttered response was automatic.
“Michael.”
