Where the Road Goes (CC / Adult) (COMPLETE)

[Deejonaise]

Shield thine eyes, innocents! NC-17 is nigh! As for the rest of you...well enjoy. I'm gonna go hide now.

Chapter 11

Liz awoke to a tickling sensation between her thighs. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling but most definitely distracting. She pried open one sleepy eye to discover the culprit. Max’s silhouette loomed above her in the orange glow of the coming morning.

His fingers drifted back and forth against her aching clitoris, caressing small protuberance into rigidity. His touch was airy, insanely light but tantalizing just the same. And then, without warning, he slid a single finger into her silky depths, startling a low moan of pleasure from Liz.

A moment later he pressed his face into the naked skin of her belly and she could feel him smile against her. “I knew you were awake,” he murmured, “You’re such a faker, Liz Parker.”

“Am not,” Liz breathed, tightening her muscles around his finger, “Hmm…how long have you been doing this?” She imagined for a while now since she felt very aroused and very wet.

“Since dawn,” he mumbled into her navel, “I watched the sun come up over your body and touch all your intimate places. God…it was beautiful.” Her response to his hoarse confession was yet another lilting moan as he retracted his questing finger only to add another when he surged forward again. “Open your legs a little more for me,” he urged softly.

Liz obediently parted her thighs further, lifting her hips to meet the gentle rocking of his hand. “I can’t believe how wet you are,” he whispered, pushing his fingers higher within her, stretching her vaginal walls deliciously, “Liz…you feel so good.”

Liz tunneled her fingers through his tousled hair, cradling his head as he nibbled enticing kisses across her stomach. As his tongue darted over her skin Liz uttered a guttural groan of encouragement. She began rocking her hips with earnest, trying to coax his kisses lower when he suddenly raised his head and grinned at her.

“I forgot to tell you good morning,” he murmured in husky afterthought, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Liz managed to croak in reply.

His eyes locked with hers, Max deliberately raised his fingers at his lips and licked away her silky residue from the tips. “Hmm…that’s sweet.”

Liz whimpered in response. “Did you wake me up just to tease me?” she mumbled thickly. He gave a deliberate shake of his head. “Then why?”

“I wanted you wide awake,” he explained, punctuating every word with nipping kisses to her shoulder and neck, “so that I could make slow…passionate…sensual…love to every inch of your glorious body.” He lifted his head briefly to flash her a smile. “Gotta problem with that?”

“Hmm,” Liz purred when his kisses reached her mouth.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he laughed right before plunging his tongue between her lips into the deep, warm recesses of her mouth.

Paradise obviously had a good effect on Max. They hadn’t even been in Cancun a full day and already his demeanor was in dramatic contrast with the sad sack he’d been the last few months. Back home Liz was aware that Max often used their lovemaking as a means of escape. He was passionate and fierce, but his motivation for taking her was all wrong. This time was different. This time was about pure pleasure. Hers…and his… He had every intention of enjoying her.

Max fairly made love to her mouth, sliding his lips gently over hers and suctioning her mouth as if he were savoring her taste. His kiss was deliberate, unhurried…the very languidness of it thoroughly arousing. They kissed as new/old lovers, with the heat of a first time but with the purposefulness indicative of experience, having full knowledge of the pleasure to come.

The bed sheets rustled between them as Max angled upwards, his thighs scraping against hers provocatively. Never taking his mouth from hers, Max dragged an eager hand down between them so that he could caress Liz’s breast. He trailed his fingers up her midriff to stroke the tips delicately down her sleek skin. Liz writhed against him, her hands running ceaselessly up and down the sleek smoothness of his back, her hips doing a slow, sensual roll in response.

Max brushed his thumb back and forth across her nipple, coaxing it to attention, delighting in Liz’s muffled moans. He swallowed them into his mouth, kissed her deeper than ever before. Liz arched beneath him, rubbing her body against his groin in sensuous motion. His arousal pressed hotly into her thigh, creating a warm, sticky friction between them. Their kiss became something fierce, alive…insatiable…nearly too passionate to control.

Gasping, Max tore his mouth from hers to kiss a wet trail down the delicate arch of her throat, pressing his tongue against the fragile pulse that beat there. He peppered her collarbone with gentle kisses before moving lower, letting his tongue dance over one turgid nipple before treating the other to the same greedy consideration. Liz tangled her fingers in his hair when he began to suck her, arching into him again and again.

“M…Max!” she gasped out ecstatically, “I want you so much.” She reached between their straining bodies to brush her fingers across the tip his rigid cock, a shudder of fierce desire shafting through her when he moaned. But before she could wrap her eager fingers around him, Max rolled away from her without warning, breathing hard.

“What?” she asked breathlessly, lifting up onto her elbows to stare at him with glassy eyes made dark with thwarted desire.

“I don’t want to rush this,” he murmured fervidly as his hands skated over her skin in hungry fervor, “It’s just us, Liz. Neither of us has any obligations or commitments. We don’t have any place to be. We can take all morning if we want.”

Her body, already feverish from his torrid caresses, became positively molten with desire at his words. “What do you want to do?” she whispered, her lids heavy and hooded as she regarded him.

He smiled at her unspoken invitation. “Get on your knees,” he told her softly.

A little leery of his intentions but avidly curious as well, Liz crawled to the center of the bed and did as he asked. “Now what?” A moment later she felt his deep chuckle against her shoulder as he dropped a kiss there. The heat rolling off his body enveloped her. Max pressed her back into his arms, his hands sweeping from her hips to her breasts, igniting fire wherever he touched. She ground her buttocks into his cock, enjoying the feel of his engorged heat against her flesh.

They rocked together in an ageless rhythm, seeking each other’s mouths in a hungry kiss. All the while Max never stopped touching her. He plucked at her nipples, circling the hardened tips with pads of his fingers, pitching them lightly. Without ever leaving off his attention to her breast, Max let one hand drift down her body. He sifted his fingers through the coarse, dark hair between her thighs, parting the lips of her melting sex before plunging his fingers within her.

Liz gasped into his mouth, the spasmodic jerking of her hips increasing with the tempo of his fingers. Max speared into her again and again, each jerky gasp of pleasure she made spurring him on. She quickened and contracted around his fingers, her body becoming unbelievably slick. When she finally came she made a low mewling sound, surging her tongue deep into his mouth even as she coated his fingers with the creamy emission of her orgasm.

Gradually, they wilted back onto the bed together, their bodies intertwined. They sought each other’s mouths in another kiss, tempered this time by Liz’s satiated state and Max’s mutual experience. Liz reached forward to caress the corrugated muscles of Max’s abdomen, her fingers only inches from his bouncing cock.

“I should really do something about that,” she teased him.

“What did you have in mind?” he wondered suggestively.

In answer, Liz pressed her mouth to his for a voracious kiss, her tongue meeting and mating with his in a wildly erotic duel. Max plunged his fingers into her hair, shivering anew as she tentatively caressed the whirlwind symbol at the base of his neck. She glanced it again and again, breaking the connection open wide between them. He could see what she wanted and how she wanted it. She wanted to touch him…ride him…he wanted the same.

Unable to wait any longer, Liz shoved away from Max and surged upright. Max swallowed hard as she came to loom above him, straddling his thigh so that her hot center soaked into his skin. First she bent low to kiss the silky hot skin of his penis, dragging her tongue wetly up and down its length before grasping his erection in her hand. Max groaned aloud when she covered his head with her sweet, voracious mouth and began to pump.

Max let his eyes drift close, giving himself over to the lazy rhythm she established, reveling in the friction her palm and the rapid flicking of her agile tongue. “God! Liz…oh Liz…” he gasped mindlessly, “You give the best head…”

Smiling at that, Liz steadily increased her tempo, stroking fast and hard, grinding her hips in time with each glance of her tongue. Feeling her slippery wetness against his thigh while she beat him off, sucked him off was too much for Max. “Oh Liz…” he gasped as he bucked his hips wildly for his coming explosion, “Don’t stop…oh god…don’t…”

She knew the instant he was near climax. Max gasped and twitched with the need for release. Her hand fell away completely as he fisted his hands into her hair, surging up into her mouth in passionate frenzy. And then he became harder than before, twitching once before filling Liz’s mouth with the creamy rush of his release. When it was over, Liz crawled up over his quivering body and collapsed across his chest.

Max smooth back her disheveled hair from her face, staring up at her in adoring amazement. “God, you’re gorgeous,” he uttered, shifting beneath her so that his cock was nestled firmly against her center.

“I’m not,” Liz denied, ducking her head against his shoulder.

“You are.” He ground up into her clit, swallowing her answering gasp of pleasure with his mouth. “I can’t get enough of you,” he moaned, “I wanna be inside you.”

“What happened to taking our time?” she teased in a disjointed moan.

“Fuck it.”

“Max…,” Liz gasped, snaking her hand down between them to position his growing arousal at her dripping entrance, “I want you so bad.” Despite her insistence Max continued his gentle rocking, his erection breeching her vaginal walls only a little at a time. “Please…” she whimpered.

Dark lashes fluttered up to reveal equally dark eyes. He darted out his tongue to caress her lower lip. “What, Liz?” he asked gruffly, “What do you want?”

“I want you to fill me up.”

And he did, driving into her with such force that they both emitted a simultaneous groan. During the assault he flipped their positions, so that he was lying cradled between her thighs, pounding inside her hard. The coupling was wild and frenetic, their hips slapping together almost brutally, the quiet morning being rent with their fervid moans of pleasure.

Liz swallowed him into her slippery depths again and again, pumping against him in wanton need. She became insanely slippery with the driving force of his thrusts. Max slid in and out of her with fluid ease. The friction was delightful, heady…burning… It wasn’t surprising when they shared an orgasm. Liz bit down hard, her entire body quivering as her center liquefied and contracted around his pulsating cock in an intoxicating mix of her own fluids and his hot spurts of semen.

Max collapsed down atop her, winded and sated, his cheek pillowed by her breast. Liz tangled her fingers in his sweat-dampened hair, basking in the afterglow as the musky smell of their lovemaking settled around them. “Can I expect this every morning while we’re here?” she giggled into his hair.

His laughter rumbled as he lifted his head to regard her. “Yeah…if you want.”

Liz traced indolent circles around his nipple. “I think my ‘wanting’ goes without saying,” she whispered playfully. He shifted onto his back with that, falling curiously silent. Liz sensed immediately that something was weighing heavily on his mind. She rolled across his body, folding her hands over his chest and propping her chin atop them. “What is it?”

“I feel…guilty,” he murmured, nonplussed.

“Guilty for what?”

He flicked her with a languid smile that was tempered with anxiety as well. “For enjoying you so much…for wanting to do it again and again despite the circumstances,” he answered softly, “I wish we never had to leave.”

“What circumstances are you talking about?” Liz asked, “Do you mean Isabel?”

Max lapsed into silence once more. “Do you think it’s wrong?” he asked her a moment later, “What we’re doing here…do you think I’m irresponsible being sequestered away with you like this?”

“Of course not,” Liz replied glibly, “It was my suggestion, remember?”

“You know what I’m saying,” he pressed.

“You mean that we’re having such a good time together when Isabel might be in danger?” she considered. Max nodded in answer and Liz smiled. “Well, what do you think she’s doing right now, hmm? I doubt she’s out in the middle of the Aegean worrying about what might happen. She’s probably enjoying her husband the way I’m enjoying you.”

“Ack, Liz!” Max cried, “I don’t need to know all that.”

“My point is,” Liz stressed, biting back her amused grin, “Isabel is obviously not worried about it. Maybe you shouldn’t be either.”

“Easier said than done,” he muttered.

“Did you think about it while we were making love?” Liz queried thickly, her hands slipping down his chest in avid exploration. She kissed his nipple, swirled her tongue about the areole.

“Not at all,” he whispered, his eyes darkening with desire once more. He swept his hand down her body to cup her tender sex. “All I could think about was this,” he emphasized.

She cupped her hand over his, exerting light pressure over his fingers so that they penetrated her moist center. Max groaned. “Perhaps we should stick with that distraction technique then,” she teased gruffly.

Laughing and aroused all at once, Max lifted Liz up so that she was straddled over him. As she leaned down over him, her dark hair fell around them like a heavy curtain. Max found it to be quite a turn on. “Liz Parker,” he murmured sexily as she began rocking against his erection, “When did you become such a naughty girl?”

“Oooh…you think I’m naughty, do you?” she challenged, lifting slightly in readiness for his penetration. The shared a long, serrated moan as he stretched fully inside her.

“Hmm…yes, I do.”

“Well, I assure you,” she sighed, pumping her hips urgently, “You ain’t seen nothing yet. I suppose that means I’ll have to spend the rest of the day showing you exactly how naughty I can be.”

Max bracketed her hips, matching her jerky rhythm. “I think I can live with that,” he gasped, sliding his hands up her midriff to cup and caress her heaving breasts, “Food be damned.”

“Somehow…I knew you’d say that.”

[Deejonaise]

...and I'm sick and due out of town for the weekend. That being the case I'm going to go ahead and post the next two parts. One, because I'll be away and two, because you'll probably want to tar and feather me after you read them. In other words...I'm gonna make myself scarce now.



Chapter 12

“Holy crap,” Michael muttered under his breath, choking on dust as the wind kicked up, “As if I didn’t see enough of the desert back home!”

Despite his miserable utterance, however, Michael found himself impressed with the scenery surrounding him. Afghanistan was hot and vast and almost depressingly barren, yet there was a strange beauty about the land as well, an almost craggy glory. They had been traveling for half a day now, having left the American Embassy somewhere near dawn. In preparation for the trip they dressed in traditional Afghan garb complete with beards and traditional turbans. The clothing felt foreign but it was necessary. The less conspicuous they were the easier their mission would prove to be.

According to U.S. Intelligence Shabaz had once taken refuge in a small village just on the outskirts of Kabul. The village’s coordinates were the last known whereabouts of Amid Musharraf Shabaz. Unfortunately, the U.S. had no current knowledge as to where Shabaz was hiding now. And, since Michael and his team had been dispatched, it was rumored that Shabaz and his entourage were once again on the move. But that fact made little difference to Michael, Kyle and Diadne. If they knew where Shabaz had been they could easily determine where he was going.

Presently, Michael and his team along with a military escort made their way across the grainy terrain in a dilapidated pickup truck towards a community that was now all but abandoned. The Indian Sub-Continental sun blared down on he and Kyle where they sat in the bed, yet Michael was hardly aware of it. He felt strangely cool in the airy robes he wore. Or perhaps it was his own anticipation that prevented him from feeling anything other than a dizzying rush of adrenaline. Michael’s skin prickled, his instincts buzzed. They were on the right track to finding Shabaz. He knew it in his bones.

His mind focused on the mission ahead, Michael glanced over at Kyle, expecting to see that same determination stamped on his friend’s face. But Kyle was clearly distracted. He stared mournfully towards the front seat where Diadne sat with their military escort, muttering under his breath and scratching his beard fanatically.

“Focus, Valenti,” Michael advised, “We can’t afford to have you distracted.”

“I’m not distracted,” Kyle denied, guiltily tearing his gaze from Diadne’s back, “I’m hot, okay! This friggin beard is driving me insane. It itches to all be damned!”

“You’re distracted,” Michael maintained, “I need you to put aside your personal feelings so we can do this. We can’t have any screw-ups, Kyle.”

“Okay, I get that,” Kyle fired out irritably, “I’ll get it together.” But his eyes were already drifting back over to Diadne, his longing for her unhidden.

“Look, I know that it’s tough for you,” Michael said, softening his tone in reaction to Kyle’s despondent expression, “But this thing with you and Diadne will blow over. That kinda stuff always does.”

“We’re not you and Maria,” Kyle told him in flat annoyance, “This isn’t a break-up to make up moment. And don’t delude yourself, Guerin. Your life isn’t all peaches and cream. I know exactly how close you are to tearing your ass with Maria for good.”

Michael whipped around to pin Kyle with a sharp look. “Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Kyle swore under his breath, wanting to kick himself for the thoughtless remark. He was sure that this wasn’t the way Maria wanted Michael to learn the things she’d told him in confidence. “Just forget I said anything,” he muttered, tucking his chin against his chest.

However, Michael refused to be put off so easily. “No, I’m not just gonna forget it,” he snapped, “Tell me why you just said what you did, all right!”

His emotions already close to exploding, Kyle completely lost his patience at Michael’s insistent demand. “Think about it a minute!” he retorted hotly, “Maria’s like less than a month from giving birth to your kid, Guerin. In all that time you’ve barely been home with her at all. She’s spent more time with your brother than she has with you!”

“I’ve been working,” Michael enunciated coldly, “What the hell else am I supposed to do? I’m trying to buy us a house, one with a nursery for the baby…the whole nine yards! I’m trying to give Maria the life she deserves.”

Much of Kyle’s ire faded with his reply and he felt immediately guilty for his unprovoked attack. “I think she’d rather have you,” he told Michael quietly but then he added in stinging self-deprecation, “But don’t listen to me. I don’t know half of what’s going on in my own personal life. I’m the last person who should be giving advice.”

“You think I should take a vacation or something?” Michael considered.

Kyle snorted in answer. “I think you should quit,” he replied. Michael gaped at him, his expression clearly asking, “Have you lost it?” Kyle hadn’t really expected anything different. Bounty hunting was Michael’s vice. He got a rush off the danger it presented. Kyle waved his hands in laughing surrender. “Alright, don’t quit then,” he amended, “But at least cut back a whole lot. Spend some time with your wife, Guerin. It’s not like you need the money anymore, especially after this job.”

Neither young man had the opportunity to debate on it further because they were suddenly pulling up on the “village” Shabaz had once occupied. But village was too generous a term to describe the abandoned campsite they found. Some of the stone walled hovels still stood though the roofs were wrecked and ripped asunder by wind damage, a forlorn remnant of the small community that had once been a hotbed for terrorist activity.

Kyle emitted a low whistle as he climbed from the bed of the truck. “This is it? Somehow I expected…more?”

Michael’s skin prickled anew as he followed suit, surveying the deserted area. “Wow…this place is a wasteland.”

“Shabaz hasn’t been here for nearly eight months,” their escort explained as he and Diadne exited the truck, “He moves around a great deal.”

“Kyle, go ahead and look around,” Michael said, “See if you can get a feel for things.”

Kyle nodded and began the tedious task of sifting through the rubble for clues. Since his powers had reached their full capacity Kyle gained the ability to receive picture flashes of a person’s life just by touching something that belonged to that person. The scenes that flashed before his eyes now came fast and hard. He saw their evening meals, their times of mourning, death dirges and rejoicing, target practices and clandestine plans. Kyle saw many faces but none that he recognized from the pictures he’d been shown of Shabaz the other day.

“What good is any of this doing?” their escort asked impatiently, “This place has been abandoned for nearly a year. You’re not going to find anything.”

“We know what we’re doing,” Diadne told him serenely. It was impossible to see her face through her many layers of clothing but the irritation in her tone was palpable.

Still, as he turned away, Diadne heard him mutter under his breath, “This is a complete waste of time.”

“I found something,” Kyle called out a moment later, jogging over to where Diadne and Michael stood waiting. A scrap of white cotton floated from his fingers, no bigger than a post it note. Their military escort nearly laughed out loud when he saw it. He didn’t quite contain his guffaw however when he saw how carefully Kyle handed the shank of material over to Michael. “It belongs to him,” Kyle clarified, ignoring the escort, “They were here for about two and half months before moving on.”

Michael lifted the material to his nose and gave it a surreptitious sniff before lifting his head to sniff the surrounding air. “So?” Kyle prodded, eager to hear his findings.

“I’d say he’s about a hundred miles or so away,” Michael hypothesized, “The scent is pretty faint.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the escort muttered. Once again he was ignored.

Michael passed the material scrap over to Diadne, who in turn, mimicked his earlier actions. “What do you think?” he asked her.

“I agree,” she said, “We’ve got maybe a day’s ride ahead of us, depending on the traveling conditions.”

“In what direction did he leave?” Michael asked Kyle.

Kyle pointed off towards the East. “They travel at night,” he said, “So if we ride most of the morning we’re less likely to miss them. They’re traveling by animal caravan so we shouldn’t have a problem catching them.”

“Is all this for real?” the escort asked skeptically.

“Ask us again tomorrow when we catch him,” Michael replied confidently, “Let’s move.”

******

“You’re going to make yourself sick if you keep eating like that,” Razba observed, concerned with the way Maria woofed down her second double cheeseburger with hardly a breath in between devouring the first. He was both amazed and mildly revolted by the spectacle she presented.

“I can’t help it,” Maria said, wiping greasy residue from her mouth with a napkin, “I was never a big meat eater before but now I’ve absolutely got to have it.”

“Protein,” Razba explained as he guided her 2004 Escalade smoothly down the highway, “Your body is craving the protein for the child, I think. Antarian pods are cushioned with a fatty lining of the substance. It’s necessary for a podling’s proper development.”

Maria polished off the remainder of her burger in thoughtful silence. “So you Antarians…” she began when she was done chewing, “…you don’t reproduce…you know…the human way?”

“We do not connect physically, if that’s what you’re asking me,” Razba replied with a ghost of a smile, “We do not ‘mate’ in the human sense of the word.”

“But then how do you have babies if you don’t…um…touch each other physically?” Maria asked carefully.

The questions about Antarian intimacy and reproduction were suddenly rolling through Maria’s mind. She marveled that after two years of knowing Razba she had never thought to ask him these things before. It made her wonder just how often anyone inquired about the life and traditions Razba had had before he landed on earth. Maria knew she hadn’t, despite their friendship, and she felt guilty about that now, especially because Razba seemed so eager to share with her now.

“Physical touch is not required for reproduction among my people. A podling first begins as an egg laid by the female,” Razba explained, “She secretes the egg into a protein sac and the male later comes along and fertilizes it. The egg will continue to grow in the sac or pod until it reaches full maturity and then it will hatch.”

“You mean kinda like how Michael, Max and Isabel did?”

“Yes,” Razba answered, “But not exactly. The hatching doesn’t take as long as it did for them, usually only five earth months at the longest.”

“Then why did it take Michael, Max and Isabel so long to…um…hatch?”

“Their pods were implemented with a delay mechanism,” Razba told her, “Queen Niada wanted to make certain the royal four would not be found by our enemies. Lu-Cra…or ‘Nasedo’ as you knew him on this planet, was entrusted with the means to override the mechanism but…if something were to happen to him the pods were further encrypted with a failsafe that would allow them to hatch on their own in forty earth years. Which they did.”

“Wow…” Maria breathed in amazement, “Your technology really is advanced.”

“We are the superior species,” Razba said but Maria knew him well enough to discern that he was teasing her.

“You might be superior and all,” Maria shot back smugly, “But I still think you get the short end of the stick when it comes to reproduction.”

“How so?” Razba queried.

Maria actually gaped at the question. “How so?” she laughed, “Because it feels damned good trying, that’s why! You guys are totally missing out.”

“Oh,” Razba said, nodding his head in pensive understanding, “Is that why you and Michael do it so often?” His frank question left Maria sputtering. How was she supposed to respond to that? Razba continued on as if he were completely unaware of her mortification. “I always thought he was causing you pain the way you whimpered and carried on. And then later, after you were pregnant, you continued. I could not understand why if the reproduction was successful.”

“Oh my God,” Maria groaned, snapping her mouth shut in chagrin, “I knew I should have brought my oils for this trip.” And then she met Razba’s quizzical stare, trying to appear unaffected when she answered him. “Okay, first of all…Michael doesn’t hurt me when we do that. It actually feels…pretty good, which is the reason why we do it so often.”

Again Razba considered her response, a thoughtful furrow creasing his forehead. “What do you mean when you say ‘pretty good’? Is it like the feeling I get when I eat ice cream?” he asked a moment later, “It’s so cold and sweet and when I eat it I get a small tingling of excitement in my stomach, especially when it’s chocolate. I could eat a whole carton of chocolate ice cream. Is reproduction like that?” Maria gave him a look that clearly said, “Um…I don’t think so.” Razba sighed then, clearly perplexed. “Okay…so how is it done then and what does it feel like?”

“Oh God…” Maria groaned again.

“Is it difficult to explain?”

Maria was sputtering once more, her cheeks and neck practically flaming by this point. “Well…um…no…it’s not difficult to explain…but…see…um…” She took a breath, closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten. “Didn’t Michael ever explain any of this to you?” she queried when she had regained some of composure.

“The subject never came up,” Razba replied, “Can’t you tell me? We have nearly seven
hours of travel ahead of us. We’ve definitely got the time and I’m a really fast learner. You wouldn’t have to explain it more than once.”

“It’s not that, okay,” Maria said, scratching behind her ear.

“Then what?” he pressed.

“It’s just sort of weird,” Maria said, ducking down low in her seat, “I suddenly feel like a sex education teacher.”

“Okay,” Razba relented, finally recognizing how deeply his questions were embarrassing her, “I can do the research on my own then.”

“Raz!” Maria cried in exasperation, “You can’t just go to the library and research…sex. Good Lord…I’ve created a monster!”

“Why?” Razba pondered innocently, “Is it something that must remain secret?”

“No, it doesn’t have to be secret exactly,” Maria sighed out tiredly. She knew she was going to have to explain herself one way or another. So with a very red face she gave it her best shot. “We’re talking about a very…a very intimate thing, okay, Raz. When you make love with someone it’s not just about the physical connection or the pleasure involved. It’s an emotional joining as well.”

“Make love,” Razba echoed almost wistfully, “Is that a good description for it then…creating love with another?”

“Yes. Yes,” Maria replied, almost wilting with relief when he understood what she was trying to tell him with very limited explanation on her part. He was right. He was a quick learner. “That’s it exactly,” she told him, “That’s the perfect description.”

[Deejonaise]

Chapter 13

Max and Liz blended in well with the tourists. They walked down Cancun’s resort strip hand in hand, dressed in shorts, matching t-shirts, flip-flops and sunglasses looking for all the world like an ordinary couple on vacation. Max cherished every second of it.

Presently, he watched Liz lick up the melting remains of her ice cream cone, his mind considering the various other ways she could use that facile tongue of hers. He firmly ignored the sudden hardness filling the front of his shorts. However, Liz caught his salacious look and she leveled him with an eye-rolling grin.

“Get your mind out the gutter, Max.”

“What?” Max replied in feigned innocence.

“Even if I couldn’t read your mind the look on your face right now would be a dead giveaway,” Liz retorted dryly.

“I can’t help it. You’re looking all tanned and beautiful,” Max said in his defense, “How am I supposed to resist?”

She perched her sunglasses on the tip of her nose. “Okay…well can you focus long enough to decide where we’re going to have lunch?”

Max offered her a lascivious smile. “How about we skip lunch altogether and go straight for dessert?” he countered smoothly. He bobbed his eyebrows comically for effect.

“Eh…no,” she replied with an indulgent grin. Liz polished off the remainder of her ice cream cone fully aware that he watched her take every last bite. When she dared to lick the sticky residue from her fingers though Max actually groaned aloud. “You’re so pitiful,” she laughed.

“No, actually I’m hor--,”

“Don’t…say it!” Liz interrupted in warning, “Lunch, remember? Focus, Evans.”

“Fine. You win,” Max sighed, “Where do you wanna eat?”

“Oooh,” Liz exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the blazing Planet Hollywood sign across the street, “What about over there?”

“Okay, I can do that,” he agreed, “But try not to get hit by the speeding buses as we cross the street.”

His statement wasn’t wholly joking. The bus drivers in Cancun were notorious for driving reckless. Max and Liz had been foolish enough to take the public transportation once and they had been sure that they wouldn’t escape the experience unscathed. They weren’t making that mistake again. Consequently, they walked everywhere they needed to go. Everything was located within a reasonable distance of their resort that it didn’t seem like such a huge sacrifice to make.

They darted across the street together, deftly avoiding the oncoming cars, cabs, and buses, laughing all the while. Once they made it to the sidewalk they stood there for a moment, eying the displays in the restaurant window.

“Do you really think that’s the outfit Arnold Schwarzenegger wore in The Terminator?” Max wondered aloud.

“Well, he’s part owner is this restaurant chain so…” Liz trailed off in her consideration, eager to see the rest of what Planet Hollywood had to offer. “Come on!” she said, grabbing hold of Max’s hand and tugging him towards the entrance, “Let’s go inside…I want to see what it looks like.”

There was more movie paraphernalia within and Max and Liz continued to wander about in perusal even after the hostess showed them to their table. The restaurant was surprisingly quiet being the early noon hour, a time when most of the tourists were sleeping in. There were only three other tables in use besides theirs so Max and Liz were able to walk about the dining room unmolested. Not that they would have been molested if the place were crowded. There had been a few surreptitious photos taken during their visit but no one had ever invaded their space.

“This place is so awesome,” Liz breathed as she stared at a life-sized poster of Paul Newman, “He was pretty gorgeous back in the day, don’tcha think?”

“I guess he’s alright,” Max grumbled, unimpressed.

Liz was still snickering over his obvious jealousy when they made their way back to the table. After giving their peeved server their food orders Max and Liz clasped hands across the table and stared longingly into each other’s eyes. It was a sappy moment to be sure. “Have I thanked you for talking me into coming on this trip?” Max asked.

“About a hundred and seventeen times,” Liz answered with an impertinent grin.

“Well, here’s one hundred and eighteen,” Max replied, “Really…thank you for doing this.”

“All I did was buy the plane tickets,” Liz said modestly, “I didn’t even use my own money to do it. Technically, you paid for them.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Max told her, “You thought of me…when everyone else was too busy, you thought of me, Liz.”

“It wasn’t just me, Max,” Liz whispered, “Your parents…Isabel…everyone has been worried about you, too. It was actually Isabel’s idea that I drag you away for some rest and relaxation.”

“I guess I don’t give them enough credit,” Max replied sheepishly.

“No, you don’t,” Liz agreed, “You’re always trying to take everything on your shoulders alone, Max. You never let anybody help you.”

“I thought a leader was supposed to be able to stand on his own.”

“A leader…a good one anyway lets himself lean on the people who love him,” Liz replied softly, “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

Max didn’t bother to argue with her because he knew everything she’d told him was the truth. “You gonna make a habit of straightening me out, Parker?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

She started to say more but unexpectedly trailed into silence when she caught sight of a toddler seated in a high chair three tables up. He was no more than two years old with big brown eyes and an unruly shock of dark brown curls. With an unabashed smile, he sat, swiveled around in his seat and waving a chubby little fist in Liz’s direction. She melted at the sight of him and wiggled her fingers back in a wave. To her delight he giggled in reaction.

“Who are you looking at?” Max asked, throwing a curious glance over his shoulder. When he saw the reason for Liz’s wistful smile, however, he felt a leaden ball form in the pit of his stomach. His heart jerking in an erratic beat, Max turned back around in his chair and took a large gulp of his water.

“Isn’t he adorable, Max?” Liz sighed, seeming unaware of his blanching color. Her smile widened considerably as the enthusiastic little boy began to point at her and shout exuberantly, going so far as attempting to climb from his seat. His mother and father made a production of trying to shush him but he would not be silenced. “Really, he’s fine,” Liz called over to the parents, “What’s his name?”

“Micah,” the mother said, “He’s not usually such a handful.”

“Micah,” Liz murmured to herself, “Such a pretty name.” And then louder she asked, “How old is he?”

“He’ll be three in March,” the mother informed her.

“Well, he’s lovely,” Liz breathed, her yearning plain in her liquid brown gaze, “You’re very lucky.” After a nod and a “thank-you” the mother returned to her quiet lunch with her husband, leaving Liz to stare after her son mournfully. It was a few seconds before she could refocus her attention to Max. “Don’t you think Micah is a beautiful name?” she asked him, “When we have a son I think I’d like to name him Micah.”

“Liz--,”

“I know you probably think it sounds too much like Michael but it’s really a completely different name--,”

“—Liz, there’s something I have to tell you,” Max interrupted quietly.

She started at his ominous tone. “What?”

Max stared down at the tabletop, unable to look at her when he answered. “I…I don’t think I want to have children, Liz,” he revealed painfully.

He had been battling his feelings about that for some time now. At first, Max had been inclined to believe that he simply wasn’t ready, that Zan’s death was still too raw a wound for him to consider parenthood again. But it had been two years already and his feelings hadn’t changed. Where Liz would get all soft and sentimental when she saw a baby, Max would feel cold and clammy and sick with heartache. Where Liz would see sweet potential, Max would see lost opportunities…all the things that Zan would never know…never be. And he couldn’t do it, couldn’t think about it. He didn’t want to.

Of course, he didn’t expect the revelation to go over smoothly with Liz and it didn’t. She seemed to want to deny his feelings and that hurt worse than anything because Max became painfully aware of the joy he was potentially denying her. “I’m not saying that we should try and start a family right away,” Liz amended weakly, deliberately misunderstanding him, “But someday maybe…you know…when things have calmed down a bit…”

“I don’t want to,” Max whispered, forcing himself to meet her eyes, “Ever.” She crumbled before him then, her face contorting in an anguished mask. “I don’t want to hurt you, Liz,” he went on in a strangled tone, “God, that’s the last thing I want! I know how much having a baby means to you and I thought I could be ready but… I’m just…not.”

“I know you still miss Zan,” Liz said thickly, “And maybe it’s too soon to…to start talking about babies right now. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No, we need to talk about it, Liz,” Max protested, “We need to straighten this out before it comes between us.”

“No, we don’t need to straighten it out,” Liz denied, giving her head a firm shake, “It’s too soon to talk about it. I was being pushy and I know it.” Max could tell she just wanted to drop the whole thing and bury her feelings about it but that was just what he had done. Now they were in this awful, agonizing mess because of it.

“Liz, I’m sorry but…I should have told you how I felt long before this,” Max persisted quietly, “I wish I felt differently. I wish I could give you what you want, but I can’t. You need to know the truth.” He swallowed the remainder of his words when their server delivered hot plates of food. All the while he was aware of the tears shimmering brightly in Liz’s eyes. She was hanging on to her composure by a slender thread. Max suspected if he pushed the conversation she’d start crying right there in the middle of the restaurant. When they were once again afforded with some modicum of privacy Max made a belated effort to rectify matters,

“You’re right,” he said gruffly, “This is hardly the place to discuss something like this. We’ll talk later.”

The peace offering came too late. Liz shoved away her plate without touching it. “I’m not hungry anymore.”

In the end, neither of them ate a bite and they ended up asking for the check and leaving the restaurant a few minutes later. In contrast to their earlier closeness, Liz walked far apart from Max, her arms wrapped around her middle as if she were in great pain. Every attempt he made to engage her in conversation was summarily rebuffed. When they reached their suite Liz made a beeline for the bathroom and locked the door.

“Liz, come on,” Max pleaded, scratching on the door, “Talk to me.” He tried to unlock the door with his powers only to realize that she had melted the lock. “Please, Liz,” he begged, “I just want to make this right.”

“You can’t,” came her sobbing reply through the door.

“Liz…God…please open the door.”

“Just go away, Max!”

Max thudded his palm against the door a few more times but all his attempts to reach her were ineffectual. Liz clearly didn’t want comfort from him. He couldn’t even discern her thoughts because she had shut off her connection with him completely. The only thing he could hear was the sound of her muffled weeping coming through the door. Max slumped to the floor, buried his face in his knees and gave into tears as well.

It was a long, long time before the bathroom door finally creaked open. Max lifted his head to regard Liz with bleary, swollen eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered hoarsely, kneeling down beside him, “I shouldn’t have reacted that way. It took a lot of guts for you to tell me how you felt and…” She paused to nibble at the corner of her mouth. “I’m glad you were finally honest with me.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Max replied, wanting to touch her but feeling mildly intimidated by her stony manner, “I should have told you long before this.” He met the dark pools of her eyes with a mournful wince. “Do you hate me?” he asked in a small voice.

Liz shook her head. “But it hurts,” she told him thickly, “And I’m disappointed, Max, so disappointed. To think that I won’t ever…” She trailed off into silence once more, closing her eyes as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. When she looked at him again Max felt his heart contract miserably. “You can’t help how you feel, right?”

Max lifted his hand to brush her cheek but she flinched away, as if she couldn’t bear his touch at all. He blinked back his tears of hurt. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you, Liz,” he said.

“You should have told me, Max,” she whispered fiercely, her anger renewing itself without warning, “You should have told me and then I would have never…” She swiped angrily at her falling tears. “I would have never let myself hope for something I couldn’t have.”

“I thought it would change,” Max mumbled, “that I would feel different someday. But…but when I looked at that baby today I didn’t feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Liz. It was like losing Zan all over again. No child can replace him in my heart.”

“Why does he have to be replaced?” Liz cried, “You can still love Zan and love a child of ours, too! I lost a baby as well, Max, remember? Claudia was barely real to me. I want to know what it feels like to carry a child and really want it…I want to know what it feels like to have that child move inside me for the first time… I want your child, Max. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“I can’t,” he sobbed and the words sounded as if they were being ripped from his chest, “I hate denying you, Liz…I hate hurting you, but I…can’t.”

Liz rose to her feet then, her stare becoming vacant. “Then I guess I have no choice but to accept that,” she whispered.

Max rolled to his feet as well, uttering her name in a soft cry. He reached out to touch her arm, unable to squelch the need to comfort her if only in some small way. She didn’t jerk away from him like before but it was obvious that she was merely tolerating his touch right then. She certainly didn’t want it. His fingers twitched reflexively around her forearm. “Please don’t shut me out this way,” he implored.

“Why not, Max?” Liz snapped harshly, finally whipping away from him, “It’s nothing you haven’t done to me!”

[Deejonaise]

This part probably isn't going to make things better for you guys but I thought I'd post it before I left for the weekend. There's some mild NC-17 so if you're not into reading it just skip over. I'll be back on Monday.

Chapter 14

When night fell the next evening Michael, Kyle and Diadne found themselves approximately 70 to 80 miles east of Kabul, an hour outside the city of Jalalabad. The journey, which had taken longer than Michael anticipated, had been dangerous and harsh. Bandits and guerilla fighters frequented the road from between the two cities. All night gunfire and terrified screams had rent the air. The group had been set upon twice, once by robbers and the last time by guerillas. In order to conserve their strength for the coming confrontation with Shabaz Michael, Kyle and Diadne had had no choice but to quickly deal with those obstacles that stood in their way.

They were near to the Pakistani border now and Michael sensed Shabaz’s presence stronger than ever. Consequently, the danger surrounding them escalated. They had since abandoned the truck for the option of approaching Shabaz’s camp on foot. The object was to take the man as quickly and as quietly as they could and then beat a hasty retreat back to the extraction point where they would then be carried safely to the American Embassy in Kabul.

Their escort, Ed Trevor, crept behind them as they trekked across the barren terrain, waging an internal battle as to whether he should do his duty and stay or yield to his instincts and run like hell. At the onset of their journey he had been full of derision and incredulity. The very idea that these three young people could smell their way to a known terrorist just seemed plain ludicrous to him. However, after witnessing firsthand the aliens’ amazing powers and how quickly they could dispatch the enemy he hadn’t uttered a single mocking comment in nearly two hours. He had realized the wisdom of NOT rubbing his three alien companions the wrong way.

“How are you going to take him,” he asked now, breaking his silence for the first time as they crouched behind a large sand dune, “Are you just going to blast away his entire camp like you did those other guys?”

“Eh…no,” Michael answered, giving him a look, “With those others we didn’t have to worry about the likelihood of those persons being significantly missed but this is the leader of a well-known terrorist cell. The point is to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. We don’t want to kill the guy so we have to be more subtle.”

“What do you mean by ‘subtle’?” he asked.

“Just keep your head down until I tell you otherwise and you’ll be fine,” Michael told him vaguely. He turned his attention towards Diadne and Kyle. “Are you ready for this?” They nodded in unison. “There will probably be a lot of fighters there to mindwarp,” he warned her, “And we’re going to have to move away from the camp pretty fast.”

“We can handle it,” Diadne insisted flatly, “It will help that this will be a duel effort on our parts. I’ll be warping Shabaz’s followers and Shabaz, but with Kyle’s powers fueling mine it shouldn’t be too difficult. Our powers will feed off of each other’s so we shouldn’t weaken as easily.”

“You’re gonna be okay with that?” Michael double-checked, “You and Kyle will have to be connected to pull this off.”

Kyle and Diadne exchanged an uneasy glass saturated with emotion. “We can do it,” Kyle said after an extended pause. He sliced Diadne with his penetrating blue gaze once more. “This is just business, right?”

“Just business,” she agreed.

However, Michael could tell from the way they were looking at each other that it was much more than that. He swallowed back a long-suffering snort and offered up a silent prayer of hope that the ex-lovers were indeed ready to do this. “Okay, his camp is just over that ridge,” Michael said, pointing off in the not so far distance, “When you start the mindwarp Trevor and I,” he paused to nod towards their escort, “will go in and retrieve Shabaz. You both are going to have to hold it until we get back here.”

“No problem,” Kyle told him.

“Wait a minute,” Trevor protested when Michael rose to his feet and indicated he should do the same, “I never said anything about wanting to be a part of this operation. I’m supposed to serve as your escort and that’s it!”

“You’re here,” Michael stated, grasping the man by the arm and hauling him to his feet, “so you’ll work.” He glanced over at Diadne. “We’ll leave on your mark.”

Diadne nodded and watched as Michael and a reluctant Trevor disappeared over the ridge of the sand dune. When they were perhaps ten feet away Michael stopped and glanced back for confirmation. Diadne clasped hands with Kyle and gave Michael the go ahead.

Kyle felt enveloped the moment he and Diadne connected. It was like it always been between them, warm, safe, and nearly effortless. They wrapped around each other mentally, molding, melting, and melding into one.

There were only subtle differences. Kyle couldn’t feel as much of her as he usually did and he suspected Diadne was holding herself back but Kyle couldn’t do the same. He knew very well that she could feel him. He knew his emotions were washing over her like a violent tide. She could feel how much he loved her. He also knew she fought everything inside her not to succumb to the sweet revelation. Instead she ignored it. Kyle could sense her pushing his feelings aside and hers as well for the sake of duty and he let her…because this was hardly the time for an emotional battle of wills.

When Michael and Trevor walked into the camp Trevor was trembling and sweating profusely, but Michael was completely calm. The makeshift community wasn’t at all what he expected. There were women tending to life’s daily routines as their men carried on target practice. Small children climbed over and around stacked ammunitions cases as if they were a playground jungle gym. He shuddered to see it.

Michael scanned the camp quickly, searching for Shabaz among the crowd of people. It wasn’t so difficult to find him. He was in a center circle surrounded by men all hanging on his words. Michael half lead, half dragged Trevor over to the circle and strode up confidently to Shabaz. He knew what Shabaz saw, what Diadne was making him see: two of his chief agents requesting private audience with him. Shabaz excused himself in fluent Pashto and followed them away from the crowd.

Only when they reached the edge of the camp did Shabaz begin growing suspicious of them. When he started to protest Michael blasted him hard with a light shock of energy, causing him to pass out in Trevor’s waiting arms. Together they hauled Shabaz’s limp body back to where Kyle and Diadne where Kyle and Diadne were waiting.

“He’s not dead, is he?” Kyle asked in concern as the four began hustling back towards the truck.

“He’s stunned,” Michael clarified, “But we need to get on the road soon before those people back there start wondering what’s keeping him and come looking.”

“I can’t believe we did it,” Diadne muttered, “That was almost too effortless.”

“Damn straight,” Michael said breathlessly, grinning wide, “Easiest 20 million dollars I ever made.”

But Kyle got the niggling feeling that it was too easy and somehow, someway…there would be hell to pay later.

******

“Did you sleep out here all night?” Liz asked softly as she stepped out onto the balcony.

Max jerked his gaze from the sea below and lurched upright in his cushioned lounge chair at the sound of Liz’s sleepy inquiry. He eyed her with a wary glance, vaguely noting that she was wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts. Her bare skin was bathed in golden sunlight and his mouth went dry at the sight.

“I didn’t think you’d want to share the bed,” he murmured, deliberately averting his eyes, “You’ve been giving me the silent treatment since yesterday afternoon.”

“Yeah…I know.”

“But you’re talking to me now,” Max prodded with some surprise.

“Yes, I am,” she agreed.

“Sooo…” he prompted when she wouldn’t elaborate further, “What gives?”

“I’ve decided to forgive you.”

“You…you have?”

“You screwed up, Max,” she replied concisely, “There’s no way around that.”

“You’re right. I did screw up,” he confessed in a mournful tone, “I did, Liz, and I’m so damned sorry.”

“I may be able to read your mind, Max, but that doesn’t mean I should have to,” Liz told him, “You should have come to me with your feelings long before now. It wasn’t fair of you to leave me guessing about it or to shut me out.” She dragged a hand through her tousled hair. “But…” she added with a heavy sigh, “I know why you waited to tell me. I know you weren’t being purposely thoughtless. You were trying to spare my feelings, weren’t you?”

“I know how much you wanted a baby, Liz,” Max admitted gruffly.

“Not wanted, Max,” Liz corrected, “Want. I want a baby…your baby, but I can wait until you’re ready.”

“Liz, I--,”

“—I know you say that you never want any children,” she interrupted him softly, “But I fully believe that’s your grief talking. I fully believe that once you’ve sorted out all your feelings about Zan you’ll rethink this idea of never having any children. You loved Zan too much not to want to experience fatherhood again, Max. I know you too well.”

“Better than I know myself,” he challenged.

“Definitely better than that.”

Liz leaned her shoulder against the patio doorframe and regarded him speculatively. “So are you going to talk to me now?” she prodded, “Tell me why you’re so afraid to have more children.”

“What makes you think I’m afraid?” He tried to look away from her face but Liz wouldn’t allow it. She stepped forward and cradled his face, forcing his gaze back to hers.

“I’ve seen you, Max,” she murmured, “I’ve seen how pale and shaky you get when you see a baby. You’ve never even felt Maria’s baby kick…everyone has except for you. You treat her belly like it’s kryptonite and you’re Superman. Do you think that’s escaped my notice?” She let her fingers skate across his cheekbones. “Now tell me why you’re so afraid,” she insisted gently.

“It’s not fair, that’s why,” he sighed after an extended pause.

“What’s not fair?”

“Bringing children into this life,” Max clarified hoarsely, “I mean…we got to choose to some extent, Liz. You knew the risk you were taking by letting me be a part of your life and I knew the risk I was taking when I revealed myself to the world. We both entered into this with our eyes wide-open.

“But a baby is different…innocent,” he continued fervently, “A baby wouldn’t be able to choose or have say in it at all. We’d be bringing him into our mixed up world where his life would always be in danger because of who he is. I can’t live with that.”

“What about Maria and Michael,” Liz reasoned, “They live in our same world and that hasn’t kept them from having children.”

“Michael and Maria have never lost a child because of who they were,” Max replied, “I have. I tried to bring Zan up in this life and look what happened to him.”

“What happened, Max?” Liz countered gently, “For the short time he was here, he was happy and you were the reason. I might not have witnessed your relationship with him firsthand but I’ve heard plenty of stories. Everyone always tells me how good you were with Zan and how much you loved him. You were a good father,” she stressed in conclusion, “I know you gave him your best.”

Max exhaled an embittered laugh. “This time my best wasn’t good enough though, was it,” he snorted brusquely, “Don’t you know they died because of me, Liz?”

“They?”

“Claudia and Zan,” Max mumbled, “Both innocent children who should have had their entire lives ahead of them…lost because of my bad judgment. I can’t forget that, Liz. I can’t forget that I’m the reason--,”

Liz was taken aback. She knew that he blamed himself for Zan’s death but she never imagined that he held himself fully responsible for her miscarriage as well. “You’re not the reason they’re gone,” she cut him off softly, “Tess was the one who put us all in danger. She was the one to collapse that cave, not you. She bears full responsibility for what happened to our babies.”

“I should have been able to protect them,” he choked hoarsely, “Don’t you see? What kind of father does that make me…that I brought my son into this kind of life and then I couldn’t even protect him…or you? Everything I’ve done since then has been to make up for the fact I couldn’t.” There were tears shining in his eyes by the end of his impassioned speech and he raised a glistening gaze full of pleading to Liz’s face. “Please don’t ask me to do that again.”

“Oh, Max,” Liz sighed, “When are you going to stop taking the world onto your shoulders, hmm? When are you going to stop trying to do it alone?” A hiccupping sob abruptly ripped from his chest and he buried his face in her chest, weeping softly. He cried for a long time, as if he’d been holding back his grief for some time now. Liz suspected that he had been. “I know you’re doing your best,” she crooned into his hair, “But I’m here for you, Max. You have to believe it. I’ll always be here for you.”

“I miss him,” he wept brokenly, “I miss him so much. I don’t know how to make it stop hurting, Liz!”

“Maybe it’s not supposed to,” she whispered.

He lifted his head to stare at her with agonized eyes. “My mother told me that it was supposed to get easier with time,” he said, “But it just gets harder and harder everyday…” He banded his arms around Liz and hugged her tight, his heart melting a little when he felt her sift her fingers through his hair. “Maybe it makes me a coward but…I’m not ready to be anyone’s father. I couldn’t admit that to you before. I wanted to give you this dream life with everything you wanted but…I can’t give you that, Liz. Not now. And I don’t know if I ever will. It’s taken me this long to work up the courage to tell you that and I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m proud of you,” Liz said softly, bending low to lift away his tears with the tip of her tongue, “You might not be saying the things I want to hear right now but you’ve taken your first step towards healing and that’s what really matters, Max.”

He stared up at her in hopeful desperation. “Do you really mean that?”

“I know once you’ve healed in here,” she said, placing her hand across his heart, “Then you’ll be ready…then we’ll make dozens of babies together, Max.”

Max laughed a bit at her response, nuzzling against her chin. “I want you to be right, Liz. I really do.”

“I will be right,” she whispered with steely conviction.

Max sighed and pulled her closer despite their awkward position with him sitting and her standing and the edge of the lounge chair creating a barrier between them. “So does this mean I can come back to bed now?” he asked.

“How about I stay here with you for a second instead?” she offered, letting him take hold of her hands and tug her down so that she could straddle his lap. Once situated, Liz brushed away his bangs so that she could kiss his forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you.” Max buried his face in her neck. “I missed you last night.”

“Same here, ear boy,” she breathed, skating her lips across his temple, “I hate fighting with you, Max.”

“I can’t imagine why…you always win.”

“There’s no joy in winning if we’re sleeping apart,” Liz told him, framing his face in her hands for a kiss.

Opening his mouth for the onslaught of her lips, Max inched his hands up her thighs where his boxers had ridden up. Her skin felt smooth and soft and fiery hot beneath his fingers. He dragged his mouth down her chin to kiss her shoulder, her clavicle, her throat. “Can I make love to you?” he implored in a whisper. Liz managed a nod before melding her mouth to his once more.

Very gradually, their kiss escalated from caresses soothing and comforting to something hot and demanding. Their mouths slanted over each other’s in a connection that had become fiercely primal, undeniably hungry. Max smoothed his hands up the length of Liz’s back, lifting her t-shirt and exposing her skin. He broke away from her mouth long enough to whip the t-shirt over her head and toss it away.

“Not out here,” Liz gasped when Max latched onto her nipple, bathing the hardened tip with his tongue. She forced her eyes to remain open, knowing if their suite neighbors decided to step out onto the terrace for some air they would get an eyeful. “Take me inside,” she ordered Max huskily.

Max rolled to his feet with Liz cradled still in his lap. She wrapped her legs about his waist and Max cupped her ass, holding her lower body firmly against his hardness as he stumbled back into the suite. After taking a few seconds to hastily shimmy out of their remaining clothing between kisses, Max lifted Liz back against the glass patio door and slipped into her welcoming softness.

They both groaned with mutual sensation. Liz locked her ankles at the small of Max’s back, undulating her hips against his, matching his same slow, tentative rhythm. Steadily, his thrusts gained momentum and depth until he was pounding into her hard, filling her with his length again and again. It was as if he meant to make up to her what he had denied by surrendering his body totally, by giving her the maximum amount of pleasure that he could. Liz quivered around him, flexed her muscles to take him deeper. “I don’t want it to end,” he groaned into her neck, “I want to stay inside you forever.”

“Max…Max…!” she cried, clamping slick muscles around him as she climaxed in a fierce torrent.

When he came inside her finally it felt different from any orgasm he’d ever had. His release went way beyond the physical. Max didn’t just pour his life into her body at that moment, but his heartbreak and sorrow, the burning pain always with him as well. He turned it all over to Liz, turned himself over to her because he knew she would keep him safe. She would care for him always. Afterwards the massive pain in his chest had lifted, the grief was still there but it was no longer gnawing away at his heart. He felt a hope for the future he hadn’t before and Max knew that someway they’d make it through in the end. They would be okay.

His body spent and shaking, Max slid down to the floor on jellied knees, laughing a little at the sound Liz’s sweat dampened body made against the glass as they descended. Liz looked incredibly undone in the aftermath; her eyes glazed with satisfaction, her hair a wild mass of tangles. But at least she looked happy now.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers, “Being taken against a patio door is hardly romantic, huh?”

“We can’t always make love, Max,” Liz reasoned breathlessly, “Sometimes it’s okay to fuck, too…just to relieve the tension, you know.” Max choked at her frank reply, sputtering and blushing furiously. “And I most definitely relieved some tension just now.” She blew out a satiated sigh.

“Oh God, Liz,” he groaned out, cheeks flaming, “I don’t want you to feel like I used you or something. I…I was trying to make you feel good and maybe I went--,”

She silenced his protests with a kiss. “Shut up, already,” she whispered, “I liked it.”

******

Jon Canner was rudely jarred awake by the vibrating of his cell phone on the nightstand beside his bed. He snatched it up and growled a hello. A second later his frown of annoyance deepened considerably. “I thought I told you never to call me at this number!” he hissed, “Are you trying to get me arrested?” His irritation was forgotten with the caller’s response. “…He’s what? What do you mean he just disappeared? When? Where?”

Just then Canner’s pager whined to life as well, the fluorescent green screen glowing in the dimness of his bedroom. Canner flipped it up to glance at the display and then sighed. “Yeah…they’ve got him. I have to go in.” He snorted a second later with the caller’s reply. “What the hell am I supposed to do about it? I told you to get him out of the country, didn’t I? What you need right now is some leverage.”

Canner groped around on his bed for the television remote, hoping to mute the sound so that he could hear better when the entertainment broadcast caught his attention.

“…the Paparazzi are careful to keep their distance from the couple but they’ve still managed some excellent footage of the newlyweds despite that…”

Seconds later, David and Isabel McKee were pictured on the screen. They were having coffee together in a Greek plateia, kissing and touching each other like only newlyweds could. They seemed oblivious to their surroundings, completely wrapped up in one other and there wasn’t an alien guard anywhere to be seen. Canner quirked his brow in consideration.

“Safar,” he said quietly, “I think I just might know the leverage you need.”

[Deejonaise]

I'm packed and ready to go and I thought I'd post one last part before I leave in the morning. Now this probably isn't a good part to leave you with but please trust me and try not to panic. I'm off to bed.


Chapter 15

“Are you sure this is the house?” Maria asked, creeping over the empty beer cans and trash that littered the yard. She tried hard to repress her grimace of revulsion but didn’t quite accomplish her goal. “This place is a dump,” she muttered.

“He’s here,” Razba confirmed, “I can sense him.” He noted Maria’s repulsed shudder. “Would you like to leave?”

Maria shook her head firmly. “We came all this way,” she reasoned, “Let’s not make it in vain.” Taking one last gulping breath for courage Maria let Razba assist her up onto the crumbling porch and knocked on the warped wood of the front door. She stood back and gripped Razba’s hand, almost jumping out of her skin when the door finally yanked open to reveal a rumpled and grimy blond-haired woman.

“Who the hell are you?” she demanded querulously, her eyes raking down Maria’s pristine person in mild interest.

“My…My name is Maria DeLuca…er Guerin,” Maria explained in a stammer, “I’m looking for Ray DeLuca.”

“You that hoity-toity ex-wife of his?” the woman asked in a snort.

“No, actually I’m his daughter,” Maria clarified tartly, “Where is he?”

Instead of answering her directly, the woman bellowed an obnoxious, “Ray! Your kid’s here to see ya!” She then turned her attention to Razba, eyeing him with an appreciative once-over. “This your fella?”

“He’s my brother-in-law,” Maria answered with a scowl. She checked the impulse to step in front of Razba and shield him from the woman’s leering eyes.

“Hmm…” she purred, licking her lips, “So then you ain’t taken, are you, sweetheart?”

“Sarah Anne!” Ray Deluca growled as he approached the door, “What the hell’s the matter with you, woman! Invite them inside instead of jawing them to death out on the porch!” Sarah Anne obligingly stepped aside to allow Razba and Maria entrance and Maria found herself face to face with her father for the first time in nearly two years.

He was scruffier than the last time. His graying blond hair was stuck in a spiked halo all around his head. Maria barely recognized him beneath the scraggly beard that covered the lower half of his face. His clothes appeared faded and dingy and smudged with a substance Maria didn’t want to even contemplate. And worse still, as he stepped forward to hug his daughter strong tequila fumes and the faint hint of body odor rolled off Ray DeLuca’s person in sickening waves.

Maria pulled out of his arms quickly, forcing away the reflexive desire to cover her nose. “Hello, Ray,” she said formally, “How have you been?”

“Fair to middling, I suppose,” he answered, ushering them forward into the living room. The furniture was even grimier than Ray and Sarah Anne so Maria and Razba opted to stand. “Good Lord, it sure is good to see you again,” her father went on, sinking down onto the dilapidated sofa, “Didn’t think I would after the last time.” He eyed her belly with a laugh. “I see you’ve been keeping yourself busy.” He flicked Razba with a glance. “You must be real proud.”

“This isn’t my husband, Ray,” Maria explained, “This is my brother-in-law. His name is Razba.” Razba cordially inclined his head.

“He one of them aliens then?” Sarah Anne interjected obnoxiously, “Can he understand English?”

“Yes, I can,” Razba answered before Maria could say a word, “And I can also speak French, Italian, Greek, Spanish and Dutch quite fluently as well. Are there any other questions?”

“Well, none of that don’t matter,” Ray spoke up, smacking his lips, “My baby girl is looking mighty fine. Ain’t she, Sarah Anne? She don’t look a lick like her mama…takes completely after me, I swear.”

“God forbid,” Maria muttered under her breath.

“So what brings you by, baby girl?” Ray asked loudly, “You come here to offer your old dad some help?”

“Help?” Maria queried stiffly.

“Look around you,” Ray invited, “The financial situation around here’s been pretty tight for me and Sarah Anne. Your dad’s been doing pretty poorly lately. And then those guys from Entertainment Tonight have been beating my door down to tell my side of the story and they’re offering some pretty good money so--,”

“Wait a minute!” Maria interrupted sharply, “Tell your side of the story? What side of the story is that?”

“You remember what you did, girl,” Sarah Anne piped, “How you turned your own father out after he came to you looking for peace. That broke poor ol’ Ray’s heart, you know.”

This time Maria couldn’t bite back her caustic reply. “I broke his heart?” she snorted, “This…this…this man,” and the derisive way in which she hissed the word said that she thought of him as anything but, “walked out on me when I was only six years old to shack up with his then girlfriend. I never heard from him again until two years ago and I broke his heart? That’s a riot.”

“I was a different man then, Ria,” her father said, “Your mama and I were having some real problems. Amy made my life hell. I just couldn’t stick around, you know. But I was young and fool-headed then…I’ve grown up since.”

“You’re not so different from what I can see,” Maria whispered in disappointment, “My mother was right about you. It was a mistake to come here at all. Come on, Raz.”

“You ain’t going, are you?” Ray cried, hopping off the sofa as if the cushions had scalded him.

“You’re not who I hoped you would be,” Maria told him, “Have a nice life, Ray.”

When he saw that she really intended to leave Ray DeLuca dropped his façade altogether. “You think you’re all hoity-toity now, don’tcha?” Ray screamed after her as they left, “Think you’re a big hot shot because you’re married to an alien and gots political connections and loads of money! Don’t you know the whole world thinks you’re a freak? You and your baby! Freaks!”

His disjointed ranting followed them all the way out onto the porch and back to her suv. Only when they were pulled back out onto the main road and far away from the house did Maria let herself cry. “You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?” she sniffled to Razba, dabbing at her watering eyes.

“I never got a good feeling from him the first time he visited,” Razba confessed, “But I knew it was something you had to find out on your own.”

“You should have said something,” she insisted emotionally.

“You would not have listened,” Razba countered, “Your head is too hard.”

She shot him a teary scowl. “Gee…thanks.”

Razba shrugged. “You’re a stubborn woman, Maria Guerin,” he said, “No one tells you what to do. I wasn’t on this planet six months before I learned that fact about you.”

“Yeah…that’s well and fine but next time I have another brilliant idea like letting my father back into my life, please kick me,” she muttered in a sigh, “Let’s head back to the hotel. I need a shower after being in that place.”

Razba wasn’t fooled by her bravado, however. He knew that her heart was crumbling. Reaching across the expanse separating them, he stroked her fingers tentatively. Razba wasn’t quite sure what the physical intimacy would accomplish but he knew that Maria liked those sorts of gestures so he tried to touch her as much as he could when she was upset.

“He was wrong, you know,” he whispered after a moment, “…about your baby being a freak. She’s not that at all. She’ll be perfect.”

Maria sniffled. “But…But she’s not human, Raz. Sometimes I worry about that…sometimes I wonder what it will mean for her.”

“She’ll never be alone, Maria,” he said by way of comfort, “She’ll always be accepted among our people, half human or not.”

Maria squeezed her fingers around his and offered him a smile, ignoring the little jump her heart did when he smiled back at her. “Thank you, Raz.”

Sensing the change between them, Razba tugged his hand from her hold and returned it to the steering wheel. “Don’t mention it.”

******

Isabel had the prickling sensation that she was being watched. Lying there on the beach, her husband smoothing suntan lotion over her exposed back and she couldn’t shake the feeling. She couldn’t even concentrate on the nibbling kisses he placed along the back of her neck. Instead her eyes darted cautiously all about the beach, scrutinizing the patrons, looking for some form of malice on their faces.

“You’re not having fun, are you?” David whispered into her ear, causing her to shudder with the sensation he caused.

“Wh…What?”

“You would have rather gone shopping,” David predicted, stretching out beside her, “That’s why you’re lying here like a stone right now.”

“No, I’m having a great time,” Isabel denied, “It’s just so incredibly hot here.”

“You’re complaining about the heat?” David deadpanned, “You, desert girl, who grew up in the Sahara?”

“Spoken like a boy from New England,” Isabel laughed, “Roswell is hardly the Sahara.”

“So you’re really all mopey due to the heat?” he wondered, “Why don’t you get in the water then? I’d bet you’d look hot, all wet and glistening with sea water.”

“Don’t you wish,” Isabel giggled, giving him a shove, “There is no way I’m ruining my hair in that water.”

“Princess.”

“Conceited ass.”

“Ah, God, Isabel,” he crooned against her ear, “Don’t you know how that dirty talk turns me on?”

She laughed again, feeling some of her apprehension fade away with his easy going smile. “You’re sick,” she told him, but that didn’t keep her from giving him a very deep, very thorough kiss. When it was over David groaned and lifted the corner of his beach blanket to cover his lap. Isabel ducked her head at the gesture, her beautiful face suffusing with heat. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” he grouched, “You like making me lose control.”

Isabel smirked, unable to deny the charge. “You’re right,” she agreed, “I do.”

“Well enjoy it while it lasts,” David warned, “Because I promise when I deflate,” he waited for Isabel’s spasms of laughter to pass before he went on, “When I deflate…you’re definitely going to get it.”

Isabel deftly refastened her bikini top and shot to her feet. “We’ll see about that,” she laughed in challenge before taking off down the beach.

They zipped up and down the sandy coastline like carefree children, laughing and screaming with delight. Isabel was surprisingly fast and managed to dodge David numerously and she taunted him each time she did. The beach goers watched them with indulgent smiles, feeling lifted in spirit by the newlyweds’ antics.

When David finally caught his errant wife he swung her up into his arms and began walking her out towards the ocean. “Now you must pay for your disrespect, little wife,” he pronounced sweetly.

“David, don’t you dare get my hair wet!” Isabel cried, squirming ineffectually in his arms, “Don’t you dare! I mean it!”

But all her warnings went unheeded as David proceeded to drop her in the swaying water with an unceremonious splash. Isabel screeched like a scalded kitten and shot up out of the water sputtering out disjointed curses. Her prized coiffure was nothing more than lank, tangled locks of blond hair. “Death to you, McKee,” she uttered through chattering teeth. She tried to go after him but David caught hold of her flailing arms and brought her against his chest.

Laughing, he cupped the back of her head and fused his lips to hers, kissing her until she lost all rigidity against him. And then she was melting into his body, her arms wrapped around his neck, her exposed flesh burning into his skin and restoring his arousal. “Let’s go back to the suite,” he growled in her ear.

Together they hastily packed up their beach towels and trash and headed back towards the resort arm and arm. Along the way tourists looking for autographs, which Isabel gladly gave, waylaid them. She handled their probing and sometimes rude questions with considerable dignity while David was chomping at the bit in his excitement to get back to their suite.

Once in the elevator alone they dropped their towels and resumed their wild kissing, their hands groping and caressing for greater access. “Let’s do it right here,” David suggested crazily, already reaching over to hit the emergency stop button. The elevator made a bone-jarring break. He turned back to face her with a feline smile. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“You’re insane, McKee,” Isabel laughed right before he covered her mouth for another breathless kiss.

Ten minutes later when they emerged from the elevator on their floor there was a dense crowd of people surrounding the doors as well as the harried resort manager. It escaped no one’s notice that Mrs. McKee’s bikini top was on inside out and her face was covered with whisker burns. Mr. McKee was looking equally undone, his wet hair spiked around his head wildly. Both tried to look as dignified as possible and the surrounding crowd was much too respectful to make comments about their appearance.

“Is everything alright, sir?” the manager asked in heavily accented English.

David managed to answer the man without blushing profusely. “Everything is quite wonderful…thank you,” he said, “Lovely elevator.” Arm in arm, he and Isabel walked away from the melee and down the hall with as much poise as they could muster.

When they were far enough away from prying eyes Isabel burst out laughing and shoved David against the nearest wall, burying her face in his chest. “Oh my God…you’re going to get me arrested!”

“You know you loved it,” he teased.

Her cheeks burned brighter. “I did not!”

“Did, too!”

Isabel started to shove him again when the prickling sensation she’d felt on the beach ran down her spine again. She stumbled back several steps, whitening with the heavy sense of terror that settled into her belly. She just had the horrible feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

“Sweetheart, what is it?” David asked, the laughter fading from his features when he glimpsed her expression, “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

Just then Isabel glanced up and she saw a man striding towards them. He tried to appear nonchalant, like another patron in the hotel but Isabel flashed to the heart of him easily. Death to the infidels! Praise Allah! She didn’t know why or how she knew but Isabel was convinced that man was coming after them, after her. Isabel didn’t stop to think anymore. She reacted.

“David, run!” she screamed a split second before the man produced a handgun from the interior of his jacket. Isabel responded with lightening quick speed, pushing David out of the way even as she sent a blast of energy from her fingertips which sent their would be assailant flying down the hall in the opposite direction.

She hadn’t even taken a step forward to make sure David was all right, however, before she felt a sharp prick in the side of her neck. Isabel lifted her hand curiously to the stinging site as a strange numbness began flooding her bloodstream. She managed to pull the tranquilizer dart free right before keeling forward into David’s arms.

As if from far away Isabel was aware of shouting from David and from voices she didn’t recognize before everything went silent around her save for the muffled sound of shuffling feet. Isabel could feel herself being lifted and transported, heard doors slamming but the sounds seemed surreal, fuzzy.

After what seemed an interminable amount of time she was being pressed hard into the carpeted floor. The rough pressure abraded her cheek but Isabel barely felt the sting. A knee pressed painfully into the small of her back as her hands were violently secured behind her. And then someone was yanking her hair cruelly, forcing her head upright so that she couldn’t give in to the blessed call for oblivion.

David came into her view then, his face bloody and covered with bruises. Isabel wanted to go to him but she couldn’t make her body move. The most she could utter were weak, mewling sounds of protests. She couldn’t even scream.

Isabel vaguely realized that there were four people in the room, besides her and David, including the one she had wounded. From the still way he laid she suspected he was dead. Presently, two of the assailants shoved David to his knees before her and trained the barrel of a gun at the back of his head. Isabel whimpered, her heart screaming a frantic, “No!” even as her mind fought against blanking out. She tried to access her powers but they were just out of reach. Isabel couldn’t quite remember how to use them.

The pressure in her back increased painfully as she struggled to get to her husband. “So you’ll know we’re not playing games with you,” a sinister voice whispered in her ear.

She could do little more than watch in horror as the gunman screwed his silencer into place, cocked his weapon and fired.

[Deejonaise]

Chapter 16

“I’m going to have to shower for a week to wash away all this trail dust,” Kyle grumbled to Michael as they entered their hotel suite. He flopped across the bed in sheer exhaustion and buried his face in a pillow. “I’m gonna sleep for the rest of my life.”

The plan had been to return to New Mexico after they’d turned Shabaz over to the federal government but debriefing took longer than any of them had anticipated. By the time they were finished and had returned the shuttle back to the secure compound it was near midnight. The three young people hadn’t slept in more than fifteen hours. They were exhausted and sorely in need of showers and comfy beds. So, instead of taking the next flight out back to New Mexico, they had all opted to spend one more day in D.C. and return home in the morning. Kyle and Michael had decided to room together while Diadne took the suite adjacent to theirs.

“So are you gonna hit the showers or what?” Michael asked when Kyle continued to lie across his bed like driftwood, “It’s yours if you want it.”

Kyle flopped over onto his back. “You can go first,” he invited, “I’m too exhausted to move right now.”

“Nah…I’m going to hold off a while,” Michael said, snatching up the telephone, “I gotta call Maria and check in.” While Michael put in his call, Kyle dozed lightly. He was jarred awake a few seconds later when Michael muttered, “Damn, she’s not answering.”

“Try her cell phone,” Kyle suggested with a broad yawn.

Michael hung up the phone and did that. A few minutes later he said, “She’s not answering that either. I keep getting her voicemail.”

Hearing the mild edge of panic in Michael’s tone, Kyle swung upright with a heavy sigh. “Now don’t freak out,” he advised calmly, “I’m sure it’s not what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking my wife went into labor and I wasn’t there…that’s what I’m thinking!” Michael snapped, “God! I gotta get a flight back to Roswell.”

But before he could complete his intention to dial the airport Kyle interjected reasonably, “Why don’t you call Amy before you engage in a full-fledged panic attack?”

However, Kyle’s suggestion only seemed to increase Michael’s agitation. By the time he got off the phone with Amy he was visibly fuming. “She’s in labor?” Kyle questioned, already swinging his legs over the edge of the bed in preparation to leave.

“She’s in Houston!” Michael clarified stiffly.

“What?”

“Razba took my pregnant, three weeks away from her due date wife to Houston, Texas to see her father!” Michael shouted, “What the hell was he thinking?”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Kyle replied.

“He should have known better,” Michael muttered, pacing the length of their hotel suite, “Maria should have known better! What the hell was she thinking? She knew better than to travel in her condition!”

“Maybe she was thinking about the fact that you promised her you would find her father and then bailed at the last minute,” Kyle considered glibly, scratching behind his ear.

“I had a job!” Michael emphasized.

“Yeah…okay…a job,” Kyle patronized, falling back against the mattress, “The point is, Guerin…you didn’t do what you said you would so maybe Maria decided to take matters into her own hands.”

Michael plopped down on the other bed, raking all ten fingers through his unkempt hair. “You think she might be pissed?” he asked.

Kyle rolled a dubious glance over in Michael’s direction. “You’re going to be groveling over this one for a long time to come,” he predicted.

“Well, at least she’s safe,” Michael muttered, “Razba’s with her. He won’t let anything bad happen. Amy said she’ll probably be heading home soon.”

Kyle squinted at him. “Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Doesn’t what bother me?” Michael echoed, “Maria heading home?”

“No,” Kyle sighed, “I’m talking about your wife spending so much time with your brother? I think it would make me a little uncomfortable.”

Michael’s brows snapped together at the question. “What? Why?” he queried blankly, “They’re friends…why should that bother me?”

“They just spend a lot of time together, is all…getting close and everything,” Kyle replied casually, “I know if it were my wife I might be a little concerned.”

“What are you saying, Valenti?” Michael snapped, ready to do battle, “Are you implying that something’s going on between my wife and brother?”

“Breathe, okay!” Kyle retorted shortly when he saw that Michael was getting worked up, “I’m not suggesting anything like that but…the truth is that Maria spends more time with Raz than she does with you. I just wonder if that sorta thing would affect your marriage.”

“Maria and I are fine,” Michael insisted brusquely, but Kyle’s remarks were beginning to make him worry.

“I’m sure you are,” Kyle placated smoothly, “I just know how clingy and needy Maria can get sometimes, especially now that she’s pregnant. I can definitely see her feeling neglected with you choosing to be away so much. You might want to talk to her about that when you get back home…just a suggestion, dude.”

He was cut off from any further observations when a knock sounded at their door. “I’ll get it,” Kyle offered, hopping from the bed. He was unaware that his brief musings had left Michael feeling conflicted and uneasy. The moment his back was turned Michael snatched up the telephone to try his wife’s cell once more.

Kyle pulled open the door and froze when he found Diadne standing out in the hallway. Leaning against the doorjamb with an air of casualness he didn’t feel, Kyle asked, “What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you,” Diadne said quietly, “Can you come to my room for a second?”

Heart hammering, though he did his best to remain outwardly cool, Kyle tossed a parting glance over his shoulder at Michael. “I’m going next door. Don’t wait up.” The last thing he heard as he closed the door behind him was Michael’s muttered, “Why the hell isn’t she answering her phone?”

******

“They say you get hungry again in an hour but I’ve never had that problem,” Maria remarked as she spooned more fried rice onto her paper plate. “Try the General Tso’s chicken,” she suggested to Razba, “It’s the perfect combination of sweet and spicy.”

Razba took a tentative bite of the chicken, his eyes widening with pleasured surprise. “It’s actually good,” he exclaimed, causing Maria to laugh out loud. It was known far and wide that Razba found human food, particularly American, incredibly bland and he was forever complaining about it. If a sample of food got Razba’s stamp of approval then it was most definitely spicy.

“Take the whole box,” Maria offered when Razba continued to eye the chicken longingly, “I got it for you anyway.” She watched him wolf it down with a small smile. “I like doing this with you,” she sighed after a moment.

“What?” he asked around a mouthful of chicken. Maria had to giggle. He had definitely picked up his table manners from Michael.

“Eating Chinese food in bed and watching chick flicks,” she clarified, “I used to do this with Liz all the time before she fell into the chasm known as Max Evans.”

Razba swallowed and set aside his food carton on the small round table off to his right. “You miss her?”

“That’s a weird way to describe it,” Maria considered with a frown, “I mean…I practically see her every day. We just don’t hang out with each other like we used to. I miss that. I miss the way we used to talk.”

“Maybe you can reconnect when she gets back from Cancun,” he suggested.

“Maybe,” Maria muttered to herself and then she forced a bright smile, belatedly realizing that she was depressing herself. “Okay, let’s not talk about me anymore,” she declared laughingly, “Let’s talk about you for a change. Who is Razba ‘I don’t have a last name’? Tell me everything.”

He appeared uneasy. In fact, his eyes darted all around the small hotel room as if looking for a means of escape but when he saw that there was none he finally gave Maria what she wanted. “Well, my family name is Suth,” Razba said, “So if you must assign me a last name I suppose that one would be appropriate. I’m a second son, of which you’re already aware. I’m seventy-five years old, which in human years would put me in my mid-twenties….I suppose. What else is there to know?”

Maria rolled her eyes at his glib response. “There’s plenty more to know,” she persisted, “For instance…what was your life like on Antar? I don’t recall you ever talking about it before.”

“What does it matter?” he asked, “That time in my life is done. The planet is destroyed…almost all of my family are dead. There is nothing worth remembering.”

It took Maria all of three seconds to read between the lines. “Your life was pretty fucked up, huh?” she surmised brutally.

Being familiar with the vulgarity and its numerous connotations Razba jerked his head in a brief nod. “I was a second son,” he recounted with some bitterness, “My parents frequently overlooked me.”

“Oh, Raz…”

“I was not a remarkable warrior like Kadon or second to the King like Rath,” he said gruffly, “I brought my family name no great honor.”

“Now who’s feeling useless and unimportant?” Maria pressed wryly.

“It is the truth,” he insisted, “I never gave my parents reason to be proud of me. I was their private shame.”

“I can’t imagine how anyone would be ashamed of you, Raz,” Maria whispered.

“I believe you may be biased,” he laughed.

“I believe I might be,” she agreed, plopping back against her pillows. She regarded him with an ironic smirk as he returned to his chicken. “I can’t believe how well we get along now,” she sighed.

His face emerged from the Chinese container once again. “Why?”

“Well there was a time when I was pretty sure you’d hate me forever.”

“I never hated you, Maria,” Razba said softly, “I simply didn’t think you were the right choice of mate for my brother.”

“And now what do you think?” Maria asked, regarding him beneath her lashes.

“You’re perfect.”

His words zinged straight to her heart. Maria cleared her throat and sat upright. There it was again. That marvelous tension that seemed to pervade their every conversation lately. Before Razba’s confession the other day banter between them had been effortless and uncomplicated. Now Maria found herself wondering if Razba had a double meaning for everything he said to her. Was he merely answering her question or was he flirting with her? Maria couldn’t be sure and, what was worse, she couldn’t decide which scenario she wanted more.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the thoughts skipping through her head, Maria decided to change the subject. “Surely your new outlook on my relationship with Michael didn’t rest solely on me,” she brazened, “Who else influenced you?”

“Well…I will admit I was made curious by Max’s relationship with Liz,” he confessed.

“Aha! The soulmates got to you, too, huh?”

A strange expression played over Razba’s countenance. “Do all humans love so fiercely and…so thoroughly?” he asked.

Maria shrugged. “I thought that was an Antarian thing.”

“Their connection is Antarian,” Razba elucidated, “and we do mate for life but I’m talking about something completely different. Their physical closeness…the way they are always kissing and touching is unfamiliar to me. And I thought you and Michael were overly affectionate.”

“That’s all part of being in love, Raz,” Maria explained lightly, “You want to be close all the time, to touch and hold each other. It’s just…natural. And as for Max and Liz…well, they’ve got the mushy stuff down to an art. I don’t doubt they’re in rare form down there in Cancun. I kinda feel sorry for the natives.”

******

Max and Liz bobbed in the middle of the clear, blue ocean; their paddleboat at a dead stop as they made out like there was no tomorrow. “Liz…I can’t get enough of touching you,” Max murmured into her mouth, “You feel so good.”

Liz laughed, low and throaty. “I think I’ve spoiled you with this trip.” But she definitely loved the effect Paradise was having on him.

“You may be right about that,” he said, slipping his fingers between her shoulder blades to toy with the tie string to her bikini top.

When he started to unloose it, Liz warned, “Don’t…even think about it, Evans.”

“Why?” he whined, “We’re far enough away from the shore. No one can see us.”

Liz pushed away from him with an eye-roll and mocking laugh. “Max, I’m not having sex with you in this boat,” she declared succinctly, “Even if we were able to maneuver the position, which I highly doubt, there are at least two dozen people on the beach right now. I don’t care if they can see me or not…as long as I think they can see me it’s not gonna happen, capt’n.”

He nipped at her shoulder. “Oooh, so straight-laced.”

“One of us has to be.”

Max lifted his head then, his sun tipped lashes fluttering up to reveal eyes dark with unfathomable emotion. He regarded Liz with his trenchant gaze. “Marry me,” he uttered unexpectedly.

Liz’s mouth fell open. She might have fallen over into the water if his arms hadn’t been holding her. “Wh-What?”

“Marry me,” he said again, his tone soft with fervency, “Let’s get married, Liz.”

“Max--,”

“I know I’m kinda taking the easy way out not giving you a ring and getting down on one knee and all,” he said, “But the words were inside me just waiting to burst out and I…I couldn’t hold them inside anymore. So, Liz Parker, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Max, I…I’m sorry,” Liz whispered, lowering her eyes, “but I can’t. I can’t say yes.”

It took a moment for her answer to compute and when it did Max felt like he’d been punched in the gut. His smile collapsed. He reared back from her with a frown of hurt confusion. “Wait a second…are you turning me down?”

Liz squeezed her eyes shut in avoidance of his anguished bewilderment. “Max, you’ve got some serious issues to work out,” she replied gently, “I don’t think you should be contemplating marriage until you’ve dealt with them.”

“Is this about me not wanting to have a baby?” Max asked, “I thought you said you understood, Liz.”

“I do understand,” she insisted, “And I’m not going to rush you into anything you’re not ready for but… Don’t you think it’s unfair to ask me to marry you when you know how much I want a baby and you know you’re not okay with giving me one? I said I understood the reason why you’re being hesitant but that doesn’t mean my feelings have changed!” By the time she was done with her rant her voice had climbed at least three octaves.

“You’re yelling at me because I proposed?” Max queried incredulously.

“I’m yelling at you because you don’t think,” she clarified brusquely. She sighed then and buried her face in her hands briefly before lifting her eyes to regard him again. “I don’t doubt that you mean it, Max,” she told him, “I know you want to marry me, but I don’t think you’re ready to get married. Truthfully, neither am I, knowing how you feel.

“I don’t want to expect things from you that you aren’t ready to give and that would be hard to do if we were married, Max.” She reached forward to cup his face. “I just want us to be on the same page emotionally before we take that step.” He nodded but the misery swimming about in the honeyed depths of his eyes was palpable. “Please don’t be hurt,” she implored.

“How am I supposed to feel,” he wondered in a daze, “You…you just rejected me. Maybe it makes me an ass but…I wasn’t expecting that.”

“You’re not an ass…and it’s not rejection, Max,” Liz assured him, biting her lip to keep from smiling at the expression on his face, “It’s not. I still love you just as much as I ever did. My refusal has nothing to do with my feelings for you.”

“You just don’t want to marry me,” he concluded unhappily.

“Not right now anyway,” she told him, “Please tell me you’re okay with it.”

He forced a smile to his lips, knowing she was trying to take the sting out of her refusal. “I understand what you’re trying to tell me,” he said, “It’s not that you don’t want to marry me it’s just not the right time.”

Liz leaned over to brush his mouth with a lingering kiss. “That’s it exactly,” she murmured, “Thank you for understanding.”

“Thank you for being honest,” Max whispered back, “You say what needs to be said even when it’s hard. I could learn a thing or two from your example.”

“Yeah, you could,” Liz agreed audaciously, “Come on, let’s paddle back to shore. I’m getting hungry.”

After lunch, they lingered out on the beach for the remainder of the afternoon, romping around in the waters and splashing one another. By the time they lagged back to their room, water logged and limp and a bit sunburned, all the tension from earlier had dissipated between them. They fell inside the suite kissing wildly and desperate to free each other of their bathing suits. Once they were blessedly naked, Max and Liz stumbled together as one, fused entity towards the bed.

Max wedged himself impatiently between Liz’s thighs just as the telephone trilled to life. They groaned simultaneously at the interruption. “I’ve got to get it,” Max said when he tried to roll away and Liz clamped her thighs around his hips to stop him, “It’s probably Isabel checking in. Just give me three seconds.” At that, Liz released him with a frustrated sigh. Max smirked over her exasperated reaction and swept up the phone, chirping a sugary “hello” into the receiver.

“Max, it’s Mom.”

All teasing vanished as Diane Evans’ worried tones reached Max’s ears. He jerked upright, his every nerve ending tingling with awareness. Liz followed him, her worried features mirroring his own. “Mom?” he repeated carefully, “What’s going on?”

“It’s your sister,” Diane croaked gravely, “You need to come home right away.”

******

“Pressure’s dropping rapidly…we need to stabilize him, doctor!”

David McKee floated somewhere between the realm of consciousness and death. He could hear the voices floating around him but none of them seemed real. The rim of his world was black and encompassing, threatening to swallow him whole yet David held onto the only thing that seemed real. The vision of his wife before him, his beautiful, smiling Isabel. She needed him… Her arms were held out to him, waiting for his return, waiting for him to come and rescue her. He had to get there…he had to make it back to her.

He had to…

“Doctor, he has no brain activity,” the nurse pronounced sadly.

The doctor stared down in pity at the clinically dead young man who had been shot in the head and left in an alley to die. “Keep him on the life support machine until we can discover his identity and his family can be notified,” he ordered regretfully, “We’ll let them make the final decision.”

[Deejonaise]

Chapter 17

“So are you gonna talk or just stare at me all day?” Kyle had been standing there for five minutes now listening to her hem and haw.

Diadne dropped her wringing hands to her sides nervously with his blatantly rude question. However, she was too nervous to be offended by his tone. “You’re probably wondering why I asked you over here,” she hedged.

“Yeah,” Kyle interrupted, “We’ve covered that already. Why did you ask me over here, Diadne?” She had tap-danced on his heart enough in the last few days. Kyle would be damned if he made it easy for her now.

“I thought we should talk.”

“I’ve already said everything I had to say,” Kyle replied curtly.

“But I haven’t.” His heart lurched with her response, suspending mid-beat. Much of his hostility towards her faded in that split second. So much for making her suffer. She hadn’t even explained herself yet and already he was a puddle of goo. “There…there are a lot of things I want to say to you, Kyle…mostly…mainly that…I miss you.”

His breath whooshed from his chest in a little, wheezing gasp. “You…you what?”

“When we were in Afghanistan and we connected… I didn’t realize how much I missed feeling you that way until you were surrounding me.”

“That was just business,” Kyle denied weakly.

“It wasn’t business for me,” she whispered, “I…I tried to ignore your feelings and my own but I can’t anymore. You were right when you said I was afraid of loving you. I know that if I say the words, if I surrender myself to you that way then you’ll own me, Kyle. I’ve never in my life relinquished control of myself to anyone and the idea is a little scary. That’s the reason I’ve been holding you off.”

“Pip,” Kyle sighed, his tone infinitely gentle now, “I don’t want to control you…I want to love you. That’s all.”

“I want that, too,” she told him haltingly, “I…I…I love you, Kyle.”

He moved with lightening quick speed. One moment he was across the room with his hands shoved deep into his pockets and the next he was pulling her into his arms, a relieved and overjoyed grin lighting his features. “God, I like the sound of that,” he murmured into her neck, “Say it again.”

“I love you,” she whispered again and Diadne found that it became easier to say with each utterance. “I love you, Kyle.”

When his lips sought hers she was ready, as hungry to receive his kiss, as he was to give it. The connection burst over them like an exploding sun, almost knocking them apart with its brilliance. Now that Diadne was no longer holding herself back Kyle felt her emotions bombard him. He could feel her every fear and hesitation. He fully understood her almost rigid need for control since all else in her life was chaotic.

She’d had no control over her dying planet. She’d had no control in losing her father. She’d had no control in being evacuated to a strange, new world. Diadne had been shuttled about emotionally, a helpless ball in the ping pong game that was life and she was desperate to hold onto something. So she had schooled her emotions with him. She had controlled her feelings because they were the only things she could control.

Kyle reared back with his new understanding of her, drinking her in with his eyes as if he were seeing her for the first time. He gingerly traced the freckles across the bridge of her nose and slid his fingertips over the ridge of her cheekbone. “You know I’d never hurt you, right?” he whispered.

“I know you wouldn’t try,” she responded, “But I’ve found that humans hurt each other all the time without meaning to.”

Kyle chuckled a bit at her careful response. “Well, I’d never hurt you on purpose,” he amended, “But as for the rest…sometimes that just comes with being in love, Pip. I’m going to hurt you sometimes, even though I don’t mean to, and you…you’re going to hurt me. But we’ll work through it together.”

“So you’re saying relationships are about pain,” she reasoned with a quizzical frown.

“Not all pain,” Kyle explained, trying to refrain from laughing, “Relationships are supposed to be pleasurable, too. Like when we’re connected…”

“…or when we’re kissing,” Diadne finished softly. He smiled his encouragement, his heart thrumming loudly in his ears when she smiled back. “Kyle?”

“Hmm?” he murmured, bending low to nuzzle at the base of her throat. She didn’t answer him with words but instead took hold of his hands and brought them to the first button of her crisp, pink cotton blouse. For the second time in a ten-minute span Kyle forgot to breath. He gradually lifted his head. “Are…are you serious?” he stammered, “Cuz I don’t expect it.” Diadne leveled him with a dubious stare. “Well…I mean…I do,” he confessed sheepishly, “But not right now.”

“Why wait?” Diadne considered.

“I don’t want you doing it with me out of obligation.”

“It’s not obligation,” she whispered, “You say you won’t hurt me and I trust you, Kyle.” She flipped back the first two buttons of her blouse, revealing the smooth skin underneath. “I know you want to touch me,” she invited huskily, “So do it.” She unfastened yet another button, exposing not only her pale skin but also the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Kyle’s eyes flared wide. “I almost never wear one,” she explained with a shrug, “The cups are binding and the straps itch.”

Of course, Kyle wouldn’t know. Diadne had never allowed him to touch her there before. Kyle hadn’t seen much point in ogling if he couldn’t sample the goods. Now, however, he looked to his heart’s content, commending himself for being such a lucky bastard to land a girlfriend who shunned the hated bra. Easy access all the way, baby! His heartbeat picking up speed, Kyle slowly pushing her shirt from her shoulders to unveil her perfectly rounded breasts to his excited eyes.

“Oh…wow…” he breathed shakily.

“Is…is that good?” she stammered uneasily, “I mean the freckles…their size…”

Kyle cut sharp blue eyes to her face. “Size?”

“I’ve seen the magazines you keep under your bed, Kyle,” Diadne deadpanned, “I can make them that way for you…if you want.”

“No,” he protested quickly, “No. I’m going to get rid of those magazines as soon as I get home. That isn’t what I want, Pip. You are. You’re flawless in my eyes.” She bobbed her head in a nervous, little nod. “Can I touch you?” he asked reverentially. Again she nodded, this time averting her eyes.

Kyle gently turned her face back to his, brushing her lips insistently with his own until the tension began to seep from her body. He curved his fingers over her bare shoulders, massaging them in sensuous circles before sliding his hand inexorably lower, over the delicious slopes of her breasts.

A violent pounding sounded at her suite door and Diadne whipped out of Kyle’s arms and made a reflexive dive for her fallen shirt. “Valenti, open up!” Michael bellowed from the other side.

After watching Diadne shrug back into her blouse with a thwarted growl, Kyle stomped over to the door and yanked it open. “This had better be good, Guerin,” he warned in a throbbing whisper, “Otherwise, Buddha help me, I’m going to shove my foot so far up your ass you’ll be crapping Nike for a month!”

“We have to go home right away,” Michael declared, undaunted, “Something’s happened to Isabel.”

******

She woke up in the dark.

The first awareness Isabel had was the smell. Malodorous, fetid, stiflingly musty. The air around her was thick and humid. It congealed in her lungs, making breathing difficult and intensifying the horrid smell. Isabel shuddered to think what shared the darkness with her and whether that something was dead or alive. The ground felt marshy and cool beneath her body. When she attempted to push herself upright her hands slipped crazily across the earth.

The effort was too much in her weakened state and Isabel laid her cheek back against the ground, her head throbbing with dull pain. “David?” she croaked out to the darkness, her arid throat aching just to voice that one word, “David, are you here?”

She waited in complete stillness, anticipating his response but was met with nothing more than the mild rustling of her unseen companions. Isabel closed her eyes, desperately trying to remember how she’d come to be here, wherever “here” was, and where her husband had gone.

The memories assailed her in a painful jumble. She could remember the shot, muffled though it had been by the silencer, still it had boomed like a canon in her ears. And then David had fallen forward into the floor. They had dragged her out soon after and she could remember screaming hysterically or at least she’d thought she was screaming. She had definitely been screaming in her heart. Isabel could still remember him lying there as they hauled her away, lying so motionless in a rapidly growing pool of his own blood.

Isabel curled her fingers into the wet earth. “No…no,” she muttered over and over, “You’re not dead…you’re not dead. I won’t believe it.”

She found the wherewithal to push herself upright, ignoring the vicious pain in her head and her protesting muscles as she did. After a few minutes of experimenting with her powers she discovered they were thoroughly defunct. She’d have to find her way out of this place without them. Isabel groped her way around in the dark on her hands and knees, searching for the exit. Twice she encountered some furry creature scurrying across her knuckles during her search and though she cringed inwardly, her strength of wills would not let her stop looking.

When she finally managed to feel her way to a wall Isabel almost sobbed aloud with relief. The wood felt mossy and slimy but Isabel didn’t let that deter her. She was probing around diligently for some kind of handle when light suddenly flooded the small space. Isabel scrambled backwards with a small cry, shielding her sensitive eyes from the harsh light.

“Well, it seems the princess is awake,” a shadowed figure mocked as he entered, “I’ve brought you some dinner.”

“Who are you?” Isabel rasped, darting out her tongue to moisten her dry, cracked lips, “What do you want from me?”

“That will all be revealed in time,” the stranger answered, setting down the small plate of food, “In the meanwhile…eat up. You’ll need to keep your strength.”

Isabel didn’t dare venture from her corner. “Where’s my husband?” she demanded warily, “I want to see him right now!”

The figure laughed at her querulous tone. “Ah…still a princess even when you’re dirty and smelling like a sewer,” he mocked, “Your husband’s dead, princess. Remember?”

“No,” she denied, shaking her head wildly, “I don’t believe you!”

“Don’t believe it?” the stranger snorted, “You saw it!”

His laughter sliced at Isabel’s already battered emotions. She might have launched herself at him if she didn’t know he’d overpower her in a matter of seconds. Besides that, she had to conserve her strength for escape. “Do you know who I am?” Isabel cried haughtily, “My brother is a very powerful king, an alien king! When he finds out what you’ve done to me…”

“I don’t think your brother’s going to find himself in such a good bargaining position, princess,” the man said, “After all, his priority will be to keep you safe.”

“They’ll kill you for this,” Isabel predicted coldly, “And if they don’t…I will. I promise you, I will.”

Again her captor merely laughed before ducking out the door, bolting it and leaving her cloaked in darkness once more.

******

“What are you thinking?” Liz asked softly as she and Max disembarked from the plane, “You barely said two words the entire flight.”

“I should have gone after her,” he said, “I should have gone to Greece and made her come back home.”

Liz wasn’t surprised by his answer. He had been torturing himself with guilt ever since his mother’s phone call. Already he was blaming himself for failing Isabel, for ignoring his instincts and for putting them in such an untenable position. Max couldn’t see that it wasn’t entirely his fault but that they all shared the blame. None of them had paid particular attention to Liz’s premonition, including Liz herself. She wished that Max wouldn’t shoulder the whole blame for everything but Liz knew from past experience that there was little point in trying to talk to him when he was in that mode. Max always took responsibility, whether it was his fault or not.

“Do you know what the worst part is?” he asked as they made their way down to the baggage claim.

“What?”

He appraised her with an electric, sideways stare and grasped hold of her hand. “I can’t regret going with you,” he said, “It was only three days but they were glorious, Liz. Even knowing what’s happened I don’t think I’d trade them.”

“You can say that even though we made each other cry?” Liz asked wryly.

“I think we’re closer because of it,” he replied, “Don’t you?”

Liz gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah…I do.”

“Lizzie!”

They both glanced up in surprise to find Liz’s father advancing towards them, his strides long and purposeful. Liz threw herself into his arms before he could reach them. “Dad!” she cried, holding him hard, “I didn’t expect to see you.”

He set Liz back on the ground. “Philip and Diane didn’t want to leave the house just in case the kidnappers called again,” Jeff explained when Max came to stand alongside them, “They asked if I would pick you two up from the airport instead.”

“We just have to get our bags,” he told Jeff, “And then we’ll get a move on.” The three worked together in relative silence to get Max and Liz’s few bags unloaded and hauled off for his car. Only when he was ensconced in Jeff Parker’s backseat and on his way towards Roswell did Max speak again. “So did my parents give you any details about the kidnapping,” he asked Jeff, “My mother was really vague when she called. She just kept insisting that I come home as soon as possible.”

“All I know is that Philip and Diane were given instructions not to involve the feds or police or they would kill Isabel,” Jeff answered.

“What about David?” Max asked.

“They didn’t say anything about him,” Jeff said, “Philip doesn’t know if he managed to get away or if he was hurt or what. He’s been calling around since yesterday.”

“How do we even know for sure that these people actually have Isabel?” Liz considered, “This might just be a prank just to exhort money or something.”

“Well, Philip seems pretty sure they’re telling the truth,” Jeff said, “The resort manager said he hadn’t seen Isabel and David since yesterday morning…something about an elevator malfunction, but he said they seemed fine afterwards. Later some guests reported screaming outside their rooms but the manager figured it was just Isabel and David horsing around again. Guests saw them on the beach earlier that day playing around.”

“What about money,” Liz pressed again, “Are they demanding a ransom?”

“They don’t want money,” Jeff told them, “I’m a little sketchy on the details but from what Philip explained to me these people are looking to exchange Isabel for someone named Shaheed…Shalad…”

A shiver of dread filled comprehension tingled through Max’s body. “Shabaz,” he ventured softly, “Is the name Amid Musharraf Shabaz?”

“I think that’s the name,” Jeff said, “Why? Do you know this man, Max?”

Liz swiveled around in her seat. “Max?”

“That’s the guy Michael went over to Afghanistan to catch,” Max answered woodenly, “They’re holding her hostage because of us.”

[Deejonaise]

Chapter 18

Maria’s first thought was that she had wet the bed.

Her cheeks flaming with mortification, she shook off the clinging remnants of sleep and rolled away from the saturated spot with a disgusted grimace. Only when she reared upright and swung her legs over the edge of the bed did Maria feel the first pain slash across her abdomen. She gasped with its intensity, clutching at her belly, realizing belatedly what the wetness was. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered to herself.

She could NOT be in labor. Her baby was nearly three weeks early. Three weeks! She and Michael hadn’t even thought of a name for her yet. And hadn’t Razba once spouted some crap to her about Antarian babies always being on time? Maria ran her palm down the hardened slope of her abdomen, taking in little puffs of air as the contraction reached its climax. Well, this was definitely not on time.

When the pain finally eased off completely Maria waddled over to her suitcase and began rummaging through her mountain of clothing for something dry. “Michael’s going to kill me. I know it,” she mumbled to herself as she changed, “Michael’s going to--,” Maria caught herself mid-thought. Michael wasn’t going to do anything because Michael wasn’t there. He was halfway across the world hunting down some terrorist in Afghanistan.

Maria sank back down onto the bed as she was suddenly assailed with sobs of self-pity. However, those sobs became interspersed with groans of pain when yet another contraction hit. “Oh God…Oh God,” Maria panicked with a frantic glance at the clock, “What was that…five or six minutes?” Hadn’t her OBGYN told her that she needed to head to the hospital when her contractions were five minutes apart? Maria mentally slapped herself in the forehead. What the hell was she thinking? Her water had just broken! She had to get to the hospital regardless.

She snatched up the telephone and quickly dialed Razba’s room number. After several breathless rings he finally answered and by the time he did Maria was in the middle of another contraction. “Raz,” she panted into the phone, “You need to…get over here…right now…”

“Maria, what’s wrong?” he demanded, immediately concerned by the anxiety and obvious pain he heard in her voice, “You don’t sound so good.”

“What do you…think is wrong?” she snapped crossly in between the climbing moments of pain, “Why else…would I…give you…a wake-up call…at five in the…morning, huh? Now get your ass…over here…and drive me…to the fucking…hospital!” By the time she hung up the phone with him the pain had lessened considerably and she could breathe again. Maria flopped back against the bed with an exasperated sigh, her body tense with anticipation for the next assault of pain. “This could only happen to me. Take a road trip and go into labor in Texas of all places,” she muttered to herself, “Yee-ha!”

******

“All right so what do we know?” a bedraggled Michael demanded before he had even fully cleared the threshold to the Evans’ front door.

Max fell back a step as Kyle and Diadne followed him inside, looking equally disheveled. Their lack of sleep was evident, etched in the deep grooves of fatigue darkening their features. They dragged past Max as if being pulled along on an invisible string. Michael appeared slightly perkier, probably because adrenaline was driving him, but Kyle and Diadne looked ready to collapse on their feet. Their eyes lit gratefully when they spied the empty sofa and they stumbled towards it.

Discerning their exhaustion, Diane hopped into action, eager to occupy her mind with something other than worrying. “I’ll put on a pot of coffee for everyone,” she offered, “I think we could all use a cup, don’t you?”

As she disappeared from the living room, her husband and son’s eyes followed her in concern. It was a while before Max turned back to survey his exhausted friends. “She’s having a hard time with this,” he told them, “So if we could all keep a positive outlook about this whole thing that would make things a lot easier.”

“No problem,” Michael agreed quickly, “We’ll do whatever we can to help.”

“Maybe you should catch a few hours of shut eye. You guys look dead on your feet,” Max observed.

“We should,” Kyle answered as he and Diadne plopped down onto the sofa, “We pretty much flew straight from Afghanistan to D.C. to Albuquerque and then drove straight here. Exhausted doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

“But that doesn’t matter,” Michael interrupted impatiently, “We’ve got the rest of our lives to sleep. Bring us up to speed on what’s happening with Isabel? You wouldn’t give me any details over the phone.”

“Isabel’s been kidnapped,” Philip announced quietly, “She’s being held for ransom.”

“What?” Michael, Kyle and Diadne burst out simultaneously.

“Wait! How did this happen?” Kyle wanted to know, “Where the hell was David?”

“No one can find him,” Philip answered gravely, “We’re beginning to fear the worst.”

“The worst? You don’t think he’s dead, do you?” Kyle exploded shortly, “No way.”

“No one’s heard from him since Isabel disappeared,” Liz interjected quietly, “The kidnappers indicated that they had Isabel but they didn’t mention David at all and he hasn’t contacted us, which makes me think that he can’t. Kadon tried to dreamwalk her as soon as we found out but he couldn’t get in contact with her. Max and I think they might have drugged her or something and she can’t use her powers to fight them off.”

“My God…” Diadne muttered, “She and David were just married.”

“We haven’t notified his parents yet,” Liz went on carefully, “We…we want to be sure about what’s happened before we give them such tragic news.”

“But who would want to take Isabel?” Diadne wondered aloud, “Why would they? She’s never hurt anyone. She was on her honeymoon, for Antar’s sake!”

“She’s a bargaining chip,” Max clarified grimly, “The kidnappers want a trade.”

“A trade,” Michael echoed, frowning, “They don’t want money?” Max shook his head. “What could we possibly have to trade?” And then he caught Max’s look, the regretful reluctance clouding his eyes and Michael knew exactly who they were looking to trade. “Fuck,” he hissed out in angry frustration, causing everyone present in the living room to wince at his vehemence, “Don’t fucking tell me that, Maxwell! Is this my fault?”

“I don’t get it,” Kyle spoke up, “How is this your fault? We were on another freaking continent when this went down.”

“Don’t you see? It’s Shabaz’s people,” Michael revealed brutally, “They’re the ones who took Isabel. They’re the ones who want a trade. They want him back. Dammit!”

“That’s crazy!” Kyle cried, “How do they suppose we get him back? He’s in federal custody now. There’s nothing we can do.”

“They said they didn’t want the CIA or Feds involved or they would kill her,” Max said, “So I guess they expect us to take Shabaz the same way we got him in the first place.”

“That’s not an option,” Michael muttered, “They got to know that.”

“Michael, don’t blame yourself for this,” Max advised calmly, “You had no idea that this would happen when you took the job. None of us realized the lengths these people would go to in order to get what they want.”

“Wait,” Diadne cried, “None of this makes sense. How did they even know it was us who took Shabaz? Our mission was supposed to be top secret. Only a handful of people knew where we were in the first place and Shabaz’s people surely couldn’t identify us so how did these people know to target Isabel?”

“There’s got to be a mole in the CIA or the Feds,” Kyle considered, “There’s no other explanation. Somebody sold us out.”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Max agreed.

“But why wouldn’t we have sensed something,” Kyle asked. He looked over in Diadne’s direction. “Definitely you or Razba would have realized something was off.”

“I didn’t sense anything,” Diadne said, “But I wouldn’t have anyway…there were at least fifteen agents present during that debriefing. I had to block them out otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate.” She muttered to herself in angry regret. “I thought we could trust them.”

“Fuck me!” Michael ground out again, pacing the length of the living room, “We’ve got to find her. We’ll have one of the contacts in D.C. bring a shuttle out here to us.”

“What shuttles?” Max queried in confusion.

“High speed, extra light aircraft,” Diadne explained briefly, “Long story short the shuttles can cut our travel time in half but they’re located in a military bunker in D.C. for now…at least until we can build a place in the city to store them.”

“Flying by shuttle will save time we don’t have,” Michael interjected, “We could probably get to Greece in a matter of hours. I promise you, Maxwell, I’ll find whoever the fuck did this! I swear it!” He stopped pacing abruptly then, his frown deepening more than before as something else dawned on him. “Maria isn’t here?” he asked, noting his wife’s absence for the first time as he scanned over the living room, “Hasn’t she made it back from Houston yet?”

“Houston?” Liz parroted, “What’s Maria doing in Houston?”

******

Maria sat curled up in the emergency ward of the Houston Medical Center doubled over with the worst pain she had ever experienced in her life. She actually saw stars before her eyes. All those books that said labor pains weren’t that intense lied, Lied, LIED!!!

“Oh God, let me die now,” she prayed in anguish, impervious to the curious and queasy stares she was receiving from her fellow patients. She rocked back and forth in her seat as her latest contraction quivered through her entire body. Her belly hardened and Maria ground her teeth against the pain as the pressure in her perineum increased dramatically. “What the hell is taking so long?” she wondered to herself, throwing a daggered glare in Razba’s direction as he filled out insurance forms at the front desk. How long did it take to sign a five-lettered name?

“I’m fucking dying over here, Raz,” she sang out to him through clenched teeth, “Could you pick up the pace a little?”

“She’s really a sweetheart,” Razba told the desk clerk in excuse for Maria’s unrepentant rudeness. A few moments later Razba was at her side just as Maria slumped back in her seat, breathing hard. “We can go back in a few minutes,” he told her, “They’re sending a wheelchair so you can stop showing your breasts.”

“It’s showing your ass, Raz,” Maria corrected dryly, “If you’re going to use slang at least be accurate!”

“Whatever,” he dismissed, “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Will they give me drugs?” Maria asked wearily, “That’s all I care about right now.”

“As much as you want,” Razba promised with an indulgent smile.

“We have to call Michael,” she told him when the nurse finally arrived and began helping her into a wheelchair, “Use my cell. If he doesn’t answer just leave a message.”

“I already have,” Razba replied as they started down the corridor, “He’s back in the States apparently and he’s left about seven messages on your voice mail since then.” He leveled her with a pointed look. “I told you that you should have left the phone on.”

Maria threw up a curious glance at him when she detected a note of disgruntlement in his tone. “Did he sound pissed?” she wondered tentatively.

“He wants to ground my ass into hamburger,” Razba said, unsmiling, “Suffice it to say he feels that anyone who would take a pregnant woman who is weeks within her due date on a road trip has…I believe his exact words were…‘shit for brains.’”

Maria probably would have expressed an apology over her part in his situation or at least laughed out loud if she hadn’t been seized by another breath stealing contraction. She grabbed reflexively for Razba’s hand, squeezing his fingers so tightly that she cut off his blood circulation. “Death to men,” she ground out in a huff, “Death to all men.”

Razba groaned over his cramped fingers but didn’t dare remove them from her grip. He got the feeling it was going to be a long day.

******

Michael clicked off his cell phone. “Amy hasn’t heard from Maria since sometime last night,” he revealed to his expectant group of friends, “She told me that Maria and Razba were supposed to be leaving Houston first thing this morning.”

“Is her Dad coming back with her?” Liz asked.

Michael shook his head. “Apparently, that didn’t pan out,” he sighed, “It’s just her and Raz. But they should have left about three or four hours ago.”

“Doesn’t matter. They still won’t be here for another nine hours or so,” Kyle reasoned, “We’ll be long gone by then. We can’t afford to wait around.”

He started to suggest that Michael might want to stay behind and await Maria’s return but Michael suddenly held up a lone finger for silence. “I’ve got a waiting message,” he explained, hitting the speed dial button on his phone. He listened for a moment, the color draining from his face, before a rush of sizzling curses tumbled from his lips.

“The words just trip off his tongue like fine wine, don’t they?” Kyle wisecracked while everyone else cringed over Michael’s foul language. “What’s going on, Guerin?” he asked when Michael hung up the phone.

“Maria’s in labor,” Michael answered shortly, already in the process of dialing back his wife’s cell number. “Raz,” he barked after a few seconds, “What the hell was with that message? What do you mean Maria’s in labor?” As he listened to whatever Razba was telling him six pairs of eyes were trained on him in rapt interest. “She’s what?” he exploded suddenly, “How much time do I have? Okay…dammit! Stay with her okay. Do all those breathing exercises with her. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Yeah…tell Maria I’ll bring Amy with me. God!” He clicked off the phone and faced his friends.

“Maria’s dilated four centimeters and fully effaced,” he told them, “They think she’s probably gonna have the baby by late afternoon!”

“You’ve got to go to Houston,” Max decreed without even giving it a second thought.

“What about Isabel?” Michael argued helplessly.

“We’ll go without you,” Kyle said, “We’ll take Kadon as a third if we have to. He and Diadne can track almost as well as you. Plus we’ll have Max and Liz along. We’ll find these bastards. Go be with your wife, dude.”

Michael threw a glance over in Max’s direction. “Are you sure this is okay with you?”

“Michael, go!” Max insisted, “It’s not like we can just hand Shabaz back over to them. We can’t meet their demands. This is really the only chance we’ve got.” When Michael still appeared torn, he added, “We’ll be fine. Go be with Maria.”

“Okay…um…I’m gonna go pick Amy up first and then I’ll head off for Houston,” he said. Michael stepped forward to enfold each of his friends in an awkward hug. “God, I’m having a baby,” he exclaimed in a whisper, “It seems wrong to be happy at a time like this but…I can’t help it…”

“You don’t have to stifle that, Michael,” Max told him, “No one expects you to.”

“Well, I’d better hit the road then.”

As Michael started to turn towards the door Liz cried out after him, “Michael, wait!” Everyone in the living room froze, not just Michael. “I’m going with you.”

Max stared down at her in speechless confusion. “Liz?” He hadn’t been anticipating that and was too stunned to mask his surprise over it.

“Maria needs all the support she can get, Max,” she said softly, “I’d just end up in the way if I went to Greece with you guys. You’d spend the majority of your time worrying about my safety instead of searching for Isabel. I don’t want to be a distraction. Besides Michael’s dead on his feet. He shouldn’t be driving in his state. Maria would just die if he got into an accident trying to get to her.” However, Max didn’t look the least bit satisfied with her explanation. “Go do what you have to do,” Liz cajoled, caressing his cheek briefly, “Bring Isabel and David back home safely. I’ll be here waiting when you get back…I promise.”

“Liz, are you sure this is a good idea?” Max whispered so only she could hear, “I mean after all we discussed the other day…it might be hard for you to be around Maria when…”

He knew despite all they had talked about and the tentative truce between them Liz’s feelings about his revelation to her were still incredibly raw. Max didn’t see any point in aggravating an already open wound. Evidently, Liz felt differently.

“My best friend is having her first child,” Liz returned evenly, “I don’t have any intention of missing it…not if I don’t have to. Don’t worry,” she added when he continued to frown, “And besides…someone has to keep Maria from strangling Michael.” She flicked the aforementioned with a wry glance. “You’re surely in the doghouse over this one.”

Max still had misgivings but he knew better than to argue with her. He sighed and brushed a tender kiss across her forehead. “Take one of the guards with you,” he advised, “None of us are traveling around unescorted anymore. We can’t afford to be careless.” He swept a glance around the room. “We keep a guard with us at all times from now on. Agreed?” He was rewarded with a series of unanimous nods. Max swiveled around to face his parents. “Mom, Dad. I want you to go and stay in the city while we’re away.”

“That’s not necessary--,” Philip began but Max quickly cut him off.

“You’ll be safer there,” Max reasoned, “There are hundreds of soldiers there for your protection, not to mention a perimeter wall around the entire city. Nobody gets in unless we want them in. Please stay there. I can’t concentrate on finding Isabel if I’m worried about the two of you.”

“All right, son,” Philip grumbled in concession.

“I actually wish all of you would consider living in the city,” Max said to his scattered group of friends, “It would actually be safer that way.” However, Max didn’t expect them all to jump on the bandwagon with that suggestion. It was a continual sore spot. Living in little Antar was too much like self-isolation and no one wanted to do it so Max wasn’t surprised when the eye avoidance and whistling began at his comment. Sighing, Max pivoted to regard Michael again and gave him one last hug. “Don’t let anything happen to her,” he said.

Michael offered him a mocking salute. “Will do, highness,” he replied but with a degree of seriousness, “Call my cell when you find Isabel.”

“Hey, Michael!” Max called after him, “Why don’t we arrange a shuttle for you, too, huh? You definitely need to get to Houston as fast as you can.”

After brief consideration his friend agreed. “Just give me some time to pick up Amy and swing by the apartment for some stuff,” Michael said, “I’ve got to get the bag Maria packed for the baby. I’m sure she didn’t take it with her.”

“No problem,” Max said, giving them a final wave as they disappeared through the front door. He didn’t understand the reason for it but as Max watched Liz walk away, he felt his chest constrict with an unaccountable dread, almost as if she were walking away from him for good.

[Deejonaise]

Chapter 19

“He’s on his way,” Razba assured Maria, brushing back the sweaty tendrils of hair from her forehead, “Just hang on a little while longer.”

“There’s only so much I can do,” Maria puffed, “I don’t think this baby is going to wait.”

“I’ll be here, Maria,” Razba promised, “I’ll stay by your side.”

“That’s really sweet, Raz,” Maria replied absently, reaching out to pat his cheek as another contraction crested, “But what I really, really need right now is drugs. Now be a good friend and go find me some.”

As soon as she voiced the request the anesthesiologist came ambling into her room with a prepared epidural. Maria almost shouted with joy when she saw him. The nurses didn’t even have to roll her upright. Maria did that all on her own, exposing her back so that the anesthesiologist could disinfect the area.

Razba retreated to the far corner of the room, appearing a bit green. Maria would have laughed if she hadn’t been warned against movement. It was amusing to see her usually stoic and unaffected bodyguard flinching with revulsion as the long epidural needle was administered in her spinal column.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Razba asked, his expression queasy.

“I don’t feel a thing,” Maria said with a shrug, “Thank God.” She eased back down onto her hospital cot, contented as the medicine spread slowly through her lower extremities. “Drugs are good,” she murmured happily, “Drugs are very, very good.”

“Okay, I’m going to check you now,” the nurse said, parting Maria’s thighs so that she could perform a cervical test, “Let’s see how much progress you’ve made.”

Again Razba paled, but this time he turned away completely. It struck him that he was experiencing an intimacy with Maria that should have belonged exclusively to her husband and he felt shame in that. That shame stemmed mainly from the knowledge that, even though Razba knew that Michael should be there instead of him, he was glad that the situation had worked out as it had. He was glad to be sharing this time with Maria and the realization made him feel like hell.

“Maybe I should wait outside,” he suggested gruffly, already inching towards the door.

Maria laughed. “Come on, Raz,” she said, “It’s not like you haven’t already seen much more than this.”

The nurse finished up with her examination and snapped off her latex gloves, inciting a relieved sigh from Razba. “6 centimeters,” she said, “You’re progressing along quite nicely. I don’t think it will be too much longer.”

“So I don’t guess my husband’s going to make it in time for the birth then, huh?” Maria asked the nurse.

“Not unless your labor stalls,” she joked, “And we definitely don’t want that.”

Razba and Maria exchanged a glance at the nurse’s words. Michael’s absence for the birth was a fear Maria had been secretly harboring since she learned of her pregnancy. With his being away so much the prospect seemed inevitable. Still, even having full awareness of the possibility, Maria was disappointed with the outcome.

“Don’t worry,” Razba said, taking hold of her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, “I’ll stay with you the entire time. I’m not going anywhere.”

His avowal didn’t surprise Maria in the least. As much as she had fully expected Michael NOT to be there she had been just as certain that Razba wouldn’t leave her side.

******

“So what’s the real reason you decided to come along with me?” Michael asked Liz when they were on their way over to Amy’s. One of the Antarian guards had since joined them and sat quietly in the back seat, her brown eyes trained ahead in a soldier’s stare. Leira might well have been stone sitting back there for all the movement she made, which was the reason Michael didn’t hesitate to speak freely.

At his question Liz jumped guiltily but didn’t take her eyes off the road. “I came for the exact same reason I told Max,” she answered evenly, “I wanted to share this with Maria. I am godmother, after all. Why are you grilling me about it?”

But the excuse was flimsy and Liz realized it. The truth was she had to get away from Max. She had to put some distance between them before she started crying and never stopped. Her hopes for a baby had been slowly and steadily crumbling since they learned of Isabel’s disappearance. And the news had only gotten worse, now with David’s possible death hanging over their heads. Max blamed himself for it all. He held himself solely responsible for the kidnapping and Liz knew that if he hadn’t thought it safe to bring a child into the world before his opinion had only been fortified with this latest disaster.

Liz hated to think that way when they were in such calamitous circumstances, when Isabel was in danger but she couldn’t help it. Her heart was aching with sorrow and for more reasons than just Isabel and David. Liz was beginning to think that her dream of having a baby would never be anything more than that…a dream. She felt sick with the realization…and devoid of hope.

“I asked one question,” Michael remarked, breaking through her morose thoughts, “That’s hardly grilling you, Liz.” He scrutinized her profile for a moment, noting the deep grooves of fatigue around her mouth. “For someone who just came off vacation you certainly seem tense. Why are you so touchy?”

“Isabel was just kidnapped,” Liz snapped, “How else should I be?”

Michael was cowed by her reply but not completely. He nibbled at his thumbnail. “You’re right,” he agreed, “This is definitely a mixed up time for us all but…I get the impression you’re upset about something more.”

“Something more?”

“Did something happen between you and Max while you guys were away?” he asked bluntly.

Though it seemed impossible considering how tight her muscles already were, Liz tensed all the more with Michael’s newest inquiry, her body going absolutely rigid behind the steering wheel. She gripped it so hard that green crackles of energy began to circle and dance over her knuckles. For Michael it was a sure sign that something was wrong.

“With all the things going on right now,” Liz ground out in impatience, “why do you feel the need to cross examine me about my relationship with Max?”

“I guess I’m trying to distract myself,” Michael replied, “One of my best friends has just been kidnapped by terrorists, her husband is possibly dead, I think my marriage is on the skids and I might very well be missing the birth of my first child as we speak. Probing into your personal life is a way to keep myself from going crazy.”

Michael had said a myriad of things but it was his comment about the state of his marriage that had caught Liz’s attention. She leveled him with a startled glance, trading looks back and forth between his face and the street. “What do you mean you think your marriage is on the skids?” she asked sharply, “Did something happen with Maria?”

He answered his question with one of his own. “Hey, Liz…what sort of relationship do you think Maria and Raz have going on?” he asked, seemingly out of the blue, “They get along well?”

“They’re really good friends,” Liz confirmed carefully, frowning over his unprecedented question, “When you’re away on jobs and Raz isn’t with you they usually hang out together. Why?”

“Just wondering,” Michael brazened, turning his gaze towards the windshield.

However, his nonchalant response was too late. Liz’s fertile mind had already jumped to the appropriate conclusion. Her mouth fell open in shock. “You don’t think anything is going on between Maria and Raz, do you?” she demanded, aghast, “That’s…that’s so crazy, Michael! Maria adores you! She would never cheat on you, especially with your own brother, your alien brother! That just…I can’t even imagine it, okay! Need I say more?”

“Well, you adore Max, don’t you?” he queried blandly, “But don’t tell me you weren’t sitting here just a second ago thinking about breaking up with him.” Liz paled visibly with his accurate supposition. Even if she wanted to deny the truth she couldn’t. Liz was certain the truth was stamped all over her at that moment. Michael’s next words confirmed that belief. “Forget about denying it, Liz,” he said, “I saw the look you gave him back at the house. I’ve seen that look on Maria’s face enough times to know what it means. So what’s going on? I thought you guys were doing great.”

“How…how did we turn this back around on me?” Liz sputtered, “I thought we were talking about you and Maria.”

“Actually you were talking about me and Maria,” Michael clarified wryly, “I was interested in knowing what’s going on with you and Max.”

“Max doesn’t want to have children,” Liz revealed in flat tones. Michael didn’t even flinch and Liz felt herself grow bitter with his lack of reaction. “You knew already, huh?” she scoffed angrily, “He could tell you what was going on in his head but he had to keep me completely in the dark.”

“He didn’t tell me anything,” Michael denied, “It was just something I figured out on my own a while ago.”

“How?”

Michael shrugged. “I guess it was the way he reacted when I told him about Maria’s pregnancy,” he said, “He didn’t offer one single word of congratulations. Everyone else couldn’t give me enough well wishes but Max never said a word. Instead he gave me this whole lecture about the dangers of raising children in our world. He told me to be careful and to take care of my child I said I would. I never got the impression that he was happy about the situation though.”

“But how did that add up to knowing he didn’t want kids for himself,” Liz wondered.

“He seemed really anxious, Liz,” Michael said, “I figured he wouldn’t be so intense about the whole thing if it wasn’t something he believed in personally.”

Liz chewed at the corner of her mouth, considering Michael’s revelations in pensive silence. “Why didn’t I see it?” she muttered to herself, “Why? Why?”

Again Michael shrugged, making his response just as they pulled round into Amy’s driveway. “Maybe you didn’t want to.”

******

The wind in the desert was picking up.

As it swirled about Max mimicked Kadon, Kyle and Diadne, watching the horizon for a glimpse of the coming shuttle but his actions were merely perfunctory. Max’s mind was actually a thousand miles away. He couldn’t get that parting image of Liz out of his mind. She had kissed him goodbye and had smiled sweetly but still Max suspected that something had been missing. There had been a darkness lurking in her eyes when she’d said goodbye to him that afternoon, something hopeless…

Max shook away the thought. He was looking for trouble where there was none. His worry over Isabel and David was making him pessimistic and maudlin. There was absolutely nothing wrong with his relationship, no secrets and no misunderstandings. Liz knew his expectations and he knew hers and everything was finally as it should be. They had settled all their various issues before leaving Cancun and laid them to rest. Max knew all this and yet he still found himself worried.

What troubled Max most was that he was intensely aware of Liz’s vulnerable state. Though she’d made a valiant effort to understand his viewpoint and even seemed to accept his feelings on the matter Max knew that Liz was still in a tremendous amount of pain. Seeing Maria’s newborn daughter was sure to make matters worse. Liz would hold that baby in her arms, smell her sweet baby scent and fall completely in love. Yet the joy would be mixed with the bitter because Liz would have full awareness of the fact that she might never hold a child of her own that way.

Max thought it was unnecessary torture she was putting herself through and he suspected Liz realized it as well. But it was something she couldn’t keep herself from. As much as she probably dreaded seeing Maria’s baby, seeing the life she might possibly never have, she wanted to share the experience with equal fervor. Because Liz loved Maria, Max knew, because she loved children.

In that instance, Max wished he could turn off his feelings. He wished he would think of having another child without dread filling his heart. He wished he could look out on the world and see the same possibility, hope and wonder that Liz saw. He wished devoutly he could give her that which she yearned for most.

But he couldn’t do any of those things. Much as his heart wanted to give into Liz, to do anything to make her happy his head would not let him. His head would not let him forget what happened to Zan.

Sighing, Max reached into his pocket and pulled free his cell phone. He had thought she and Michael would be out here by now, that he would have one last chance to talk to her face to face but they hadn’t yet arrived. Max knew that once the space shuttle arrived to take them off to Greece his chances to talk to Liz would be gone and calling her wouldn’t be an option until they reached land. He knew that if he wanted the opportunity to talk he would have to act now. Max punched the speed dial button for Liz’s number and held his breath. A couple of rings later her sweet voice sounded in his ear and Max couldn’t help but smile despite the unhappy situation.

“I thought you’d be halfway to Greece already.”

“The shuttles haven’t arrived yet,” he explained briefly, “I just wanted to hear your voice one last time before we left. What’s taking you guys so long? You and Michael should have made it out to the desert by now.”

“Well, Amy is a little excited,” Liz replied with a laugh, “Even with us calling ahead, I swear she took half an hour gathering together all her stuff. I thought we’d never get out of there. We’re on the road now so it will probably be another half an hour or so before we get there. Everyone’s asleep except for Leira and she doesn’t say very much. Michael spoke to Raz though. He said Maria was close. I don’t know if we’ll make it in time even with the shuttle.”

Max groaned a little. “That sucks for Michael,” he said, “I know he’s probably kicking himself.”

“Maybe a little,” Liz agreed, wondering if Max would be kicking himself if he missed the birth of their child…if they ever had a child. The unspoken comment seemed to hang between them, prefacing an awful, tension-laden silence. Liz felt she either had to break it or else go insane. “Max, I think we need to talk--,”

“Liz, is everything okay?” he asked suddenly, speaking in time with Liz so that their words ran together and he didn’t really hear her declaration. “I’m sorry,” Max said with a nervous laugh of chagrin, “You go first.”

Having heard the naked vulnerability in his question Liz lost much of her nerve. Besides she didn’t think it was right to tell him she was beginning to have doubts about their relationship when Isabel’s situation seemed so uncertain right then. He didn’t need his attention divided between her and his sister. Rather than lie to him outright Liz decided to give him some variation of the truth. “I…I was just saying that I would miss you while you’re gone,” she amended, her words strangled with guilt and unshed tears, “I know…know you’ll find them both.”

“I hope so,” Max sighed, “I just want this over as soon as possible so Isabel can be safe and I can get back to you, Liz. With everything that’s happened…I want to spend every possible minute I have showing you how much I love you.”

“I want that, too, Max,” she choked. Liz wondered if he detected the tears in her voice. She suspected that he did, especially when he murmured her name in heartfelt concern. “What?” she queried softly.

“Is everything okay with us?” he asked again, his tone quavering boyishly.

“Okay?”

“Settled, I mean,” he clarified gruffly, “I just…I don’t want you to resent me for…well, you know what we discussed earlier. I want to make sure you’re okay with everything.”

Liz swallowed back another wave of sadness, unable to lie to him but unable to tell him the truth either. Once more she circumvented. “How about we talk when you get back from Greece,” she evaded, hoping that would satisfy him.

It didn’t. “What about now?” he pressed gently, “Could we talk now? I don’t want anything hanging between us, Liz.” However, as soon as he asked the question a loud whirring sound could be heard in the distance as the shuttles suddenly appeared overhead, causing the ground beneath them to tremble ominously with the sonic boom they created as they rent through space. “The shuttles have arrived,” he explained loudly to Liz as the tiny spaceship began to draw close for a landing, “Looks like I’m going to miss you.”

“It’s alright,” Liz said, grateful for the reprieve, “I’ll just see you when you get back.”

However, Max wasn’t so easily deterred. “You promise that we’ll talk when I get home?” he prodded, “You won’t put me off?”

Somehow Liz managed to answer him without bursting into tears. “I…I promise,” she said hoarsely, “We’ll talk when you get home.”

******

The food they gave her was little better than slop. Isabel choked it down for the sake of keeping up her strength but it was utterly vile.

She had no idea how much time had gone by, whether it had been merely hours or if it had been days or weeks. Contributing to the overall fuzziness was the daily doses of tranquilizers and sedatives they administered. Consequently, she slept most of the time, waking only long enough to eat her meals and relieve herself. It was a squalid existence but Isabel couldn’t bring herself to care.

Isabel had buried her fear altogether and was feeding off her fury. She was biding her time. They didn’t realize that even in her sluggish state her mind was working furiously and plotting revenge. Her captors were too busy patting themselves on the back for having the upper hand. They thought themselves in complete control. Let them. Isabel wanted them off guard and full of confidence. She wanted to see the look of surprise on their faces when she made them pay. She hungered for it.

And so she waited.

[Deejonaise]

Chapter 20

Maria Guerin felt her heart swell with instant love when the nurse placed her squalling newborn daughter in her arms. Bald, red and with the healthiest set of lungs known to man, baby girl Guerin was the most beautiful thing her mother had ever seen. “Oh my God,” she murmured as she gingerly turned her daughter’s hands and feet over in her palms, “You are so perfect. No sixth digits…” She stroked her hand down the fuzzy slope of the baby’s head. “No third eye…” Maria stroked the baby soft skin of her arm. “No green skin…”

“She looks completely human,” Razba agreed, knowing instinctively what she was getting at, “See? There was nothing for you to worry about.”

“But for this,” Maria whispered, fingering the tiny, raised symbol marring the smooth perfection of her daughter’s tiny wrist. She recognized the symbol right away. It was the same one Michael had on his back…his family crest. “I don’t mind it though,” she told Razba solemnly, “I want her to know where she comes from.”

“What will you name her?” Razba asked, joining Maria in her reverent caressing of the baby’s downy skin.

“I don’t know,” Maria said, “Michael and I talked about possible names all the time but we never decided on a specific one.”

“She is quite lovely,” Razba commended, “Even if she is small and pale and without significant skin adornment.”

“Thanks for the backhanded compliment, Raz,” Maria returned dryly. She cradled her daughter closer against her bosom and crooned against the baby’s temple, “Don’t you listen to your uncle. You’re beautiful in every way, munchkin.”

To Maria’s right the nurse deftly checked Maria’s blood pressure and vital signs. “You can try and breastfeed her now,” she suggested gently, “I mean…er…if you’re planning to and if…um…your kind do that…that sort of thing.”

“I’m human, sweetheart,” Maria replied blandly, “And yes I have every intention of breastfeeding her…as soon as you show me how.”

“And on that note,” Razba said, taking several skipping steps back towards the door, “I’ll make myself scarce.” Though he wasn’t really bothered by the idea of Maria’s exposed breast he had learned enough about humans to realize that his being present just then was inappropriate. With one last reassuring look in Maria’s direction, he turned and stepped outside into the hallway.

Once they were alone the nurse patiently demonstrated to Maria how she should cradle the baby in preparation for feeding. She also explained to Maria that her milk supply wouldn’t come in for a few days so most of her early attempts at breastfeeding would merely serve as practice. “Won’t she get hungry?” Maria asked worriedly, wincing a bit as her daughter fastened onto her nipple.

“They don’t usually experience real hunger until about the time your milk comes in,” the nurse explained mildly, “God timed that perfectly. But, if it will make you feel better, we can give her a little formula…though the pre-milk she’s getting from you is quite enough.”

“Well, if you think it’s enough,” Maria acquiesced with a grunt. She flinched as she felt her daughter’s agile gums go to work. “Is it supposed to be this uncomfortable?” she wondered, grimacing.

“If you can feel it then she’s probably not latched on properly.”

They tried it again and again until the baby actually began turning her face away from the breast completely and Maria was nearly in tears and quite ready to give up. Even the baby had begun to fuss at that point, sensing her mother’s frustration. “I can’t do this,” Maria sniffled as she readjusted her gown, “Maybe I should just bottle feed her. She doesn’t seem to like this whole breastfeeding deal.”

“It takes some time,” the nurse soothed, “Most new mothers don’t get it right away. Just keep practicing.”

As the nurse left Maria stared down into her daughter’s wizened little face, clucking her tongue to soothe the baby’s hiccupping cry. “What’s with you, kid?” she murmured gently, “You got something against my breast or what? It’s just as good as the ones they have in Silicon Valley.”

“So how’d the feeding session go?” Razba asked as he crept back into the room.

“It went,” Maria declared flatly, “She won’t eat at all, Raz. She hates me.”

“She does not hate you,” Razba countered, crossing the room to stand alongside Maria’s cot. He stared down at his little niece, noting with swelling emotion how intently she watched her mother. “She’s intuitive,” he remarked, stroking a lone finger down the slope of the baby’s cheek, “Send her a flash.”

“You want me to what?”

“Send her a flash,” Razba said again, “Visualize what you want her to do and send it to her telepathically.”

Maria looked at him as if she’d thought he’d flipped his lid. “I can’t send her a flash,” she protested, “I don’t have that whole Samantha-Jeannie alien thing going on.”

“Trust me…she’ll understand you,” he insisted, “You have a bond, Maria. She’ll understand you implicitly because she carries a part of you inside her. Just try it.”

Razba curled his hand around Maria’s limp fingers, as if he meant to encourage her or imbue her with his power. Skeptical and hopeful all at once Maria did as he’d instructed. She lowered her gown once more and closed her eyes. In her mind she envisioned the baby latching on to her nipple just as the nurse had instructed, taking hold of the entire aureole and not just the tip. Maria saw herself cradling the baby loosely in her arms so that her child could have unobstructed breathing as she suckled.

When Maria opened her eyes the baby was doing exactly that. Her tiny fist beat lightly against Maria’s breast as she snuggled into her mother’s warmth. The transition had been so fluid that Maria had been hardly aware of it happening at all. She stared back and forth between her child and Razba with unconcealed shock. “But how?” she whispered.

“She is human,” Razba explained, “But she is Antarian as well. Teach her the ways of our people in infancy and her powers will be strong in adulthood.”

“Thank you, Raz,” Maria said in a tear-roughened voice, “Thank you for always being here when I need you.”

“I will always be here for you, Maria,” he promised softly, lifting his hand to whisk away the tears clinging to her cheeks, “Don’t you know that?”

However, Maria’s beginning nod became a sharp intake of breath when she caught sight of Michael and Liz standing just beyond Razba’s shoulder.

******

“We have not touched a single thing except for the personal effects,” the resort manager explained to Max and the others as he unlocked the room that Isabel and David had occupied during their stay, “Their belongins have all been stored in the adjoining room but everything else is the same. The authorities are still performing an active investigation.”

Max supposed the man had made the prefacing statement as a warning but nothing prepared him for the bloodied mess they found within the confines of the plush suite. There were dried spots in the carpet and splattered on the walls. Max flinched to see it, shuddered with the imagined horrors his sister and David must have endured.

“We’d like to be alone if that’s okay,” Max murmured to the manager politely. For extra incentive he pressed a crisp fifty-dollar bill into the man’s hand. With a cordial nod of gratitude the manager left the four alone. “God,” Max uttered, stooping down low to run his fingers over the blood stiffened carpet, “What did they do to them?”

“I can find out,” Kyle offered softly, “It may take some time. When I connect I’ll see flashes of anyone who’s ever occupied this room but if I can lock on Isabel and David I might be able to piece together what happened and where this animals took them.”

“Do it,” Max replied with a nod of approval.

Kyle dropped down onto his hands and knees, spreading his palms wide over the carpeted floor of the suite and let the visions come. The images came slowly at first, merely random faces of nameless happy couples. Most of the flashes were of an intimate nature and Kyle tried not to dwell on them very long, feeling like a voyeur for even being privy to such personal moments in the first place.

On and on they tumbled through his mind, going faster and faster until finally he locked in on Isabel and David. Kyle could see them together in the suite, chasing each other about like children, jumping on the bed, doing…other things on the bed… He deliberately pressed himself forward, driving determinedly towards the day they disappeared…

They dragged them into the suite forcibly with Isabel hardly able to stand and David fighting the entire way. He was viciously clubbed to the face with the barrel of a gun for his trouble. The loud crunch of breaking bone reverberated sickeningly off the walls as his nose was shattered. But David refused to give into unconsciousness. His heart was pounding with fear and dread and he suspected they had every intention of killing him but David wouldn’t let the fear of death overcome him. He had to be strong for Isabel. He would not leave her.

He could see that one of them had his wife shoved into the floor. From his vantage point David couldn’t see clearly what was being done to her, but he could tell from her expression that she was in a great deal of pain. He struggled with a renewed urgency only to be rewarded with a sea of pounding fists for his trouble. And still he refused to slip off into that blackness. They would have to kill him first…

David kept struggling weakly to get to Isabel’s side, so he was unprepared for the moment when they abruptly hauled him to his feet and dragged him before her. She looked so lost and scared, her eyes unfocused as she regarded him. They had manhandled her terribly. Her cheek was red and abraded from where they had shoved her face into the floor. Her wrists were already beginning to chafe from the brutal restraints. David wanted to kill them.

And then he saw the one holding Isabel lean down and whisper something unintelligible in her ear. David’s last awareness was attempting to pitch himself forward to protect her before his world was cloaked in blackness.

Isabel screamed when he fell forward, screamed all the more when she saw the blood pouring from the wound in her husband’s head. Her captor slapped her again and again and still she would not be silenced. Her hoarsened cries continued even as she fell off into oblivion. As they stuffed Isabel’s half unconscious body into a massive trunk to transport her downstairs no one ever noticed that David’s fingers were twitching…

When Kyle came out of the flash he made an immediate dash for the kitchenette, reaching the sink just in time to throw up the contents of his stomach. A few moments later Diadne stood beside him, tenderly stroking his back as he continually dry heaved into the sink. After he was finished, shaken and weak, she fetched him a glass of water.

“Did you all see that?” he asked in a whisper once his stomach ceased rolling.

Diadne nodded sadly while Kadon’s set his jaw in gathering anger and frustration. “God, she suffered,” Max uttered thickly, coming nearer to where Kyle and Diadne stood, “They both did. Oh my God… What am I supposed to tell my parents…his parents?”

“Is this our fault?” Diadne moaned pitiably.

“No,” Max denied, “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault.” In reality, however, Max was already shouldering all the blame. Shouldn’t he have gone after Isabel at the first hint of danger? Wasn’t it his responsibility to protect them all? And he had failed…again. “Kyle, you have to reconnect,” Max urged his ailing friend, “David was alive when they took Isabel out of here. We need to know where they were taken.”

“I…I can’t,” Kyle croaked, “It’s not just about seeing them in the flash… I can feel their emotions and how scared they were. I can feel what Isabel felt when they shot David right in front of her. She’s never going to get over it, Max.”

“You have to go back in.”

“You do it!” Kyle exploded, “You’re the king.”

“This is your ability, Kyle,” Max insisted gently, “Your gift. I couldn’t do it better.”

Kyle swayed against Diadne, his tears in his eyes spilling over. “Dammit! I don’t want to see them like that,” he hissed out, “God…just give me a minute.”

Diadne framed his face in her hands, forcing his skittish gaze to her steady one. “You have to do this,” she encouraged him gently, “There is no choice and there is no time. I’ll be beside you the entire time, Kyle. You won’t be alone.” Inhaling a fortifying breath, Kyle gratefully curled his fingers around hers, closed his eyes and let the flash take him.

Once they cleared Isabel and any evidence of their presence from the room, two men, dressed as resort staff, bundled David up in clean linens and stuffed him into a laundry basket. Their plan was to remove him from the resort without being detected and then dump his body elsewhere.

Kyle came out of the flash with a gasp. “He was definitely still alive when they took him out of here,” he told Max, “Maybe we should check the local hospitals. It’s too bad we don’t have something personal of David’s then Pip or Kadon could just sniff him out.”

“The manager said it was all in the adjoining room,” Max reminded him, “We can find something there.”

“We can point you in the right direction but, with all due respect, highness, we do not have time to search for him,” Kadon interjected, “The Princess is in grave danger. We must focus on finding her now. Her husband is lost to us.”

“Point us in the right direction?” Kyle echoed dubiously, “What the hell is that?”

“Are you suggesting we leave David behind or something,” Max demanded harshly, “Because there’s no way I’m doing that…not if there’s even half a chance he may be alive. Isabel would want me to do everything in my power to make sure.”

“But we cannot delay,” Kadon insisted, “There is no guarantee that Master David survived despite what we saw in the flash. Besides even if we found him quickly if you healed him your recovery time would undoubtedly be very slow. We do not have the time to waste. Time is running out for the Princess. She was still alive when they took her but you saw how brutal those men were, my lord…that may not be the case for long.”

“I have an idea,” Diadne interjected before the tension could escalate, “Why don’t we split up? Kadon and I will follow the attackers to Pakistan since we know that’s where they’re heading now while you and Max stay behind to find David and heal him.”

Kyle didn’t appear to like that idea. Diadne’s suspicions to that fact were confirmed when he took hold of her arm and led her over to the far corner of the room away from Max and Kadon. “I don’t like this whole splitting up deal,” he whispered, “Look what happened the last time we all decided to go our separate ways. Everything’s all screwed up. We should stay together, Pip.”

“This is different,” Diadne argued, “We’re aware of the danger now and we’re not alone. At least three other shuttles followed us here. We’ll take Isabel back with little trouble we just need to get there quickly before the people who have her go through with their threats to kill her.”

“What about us?” Kyle muttered, “We…we haven’t had any time alone with each other since…” He trailed off into silence, recognizing the mention of their time together in her suite was inappropriate considering the circumstances but unable to stop himself. Kyle had been itching for some private time with her, just a brief moment of conversation, ever since. “I don’t want to be separated from you,” he went on, “Why don’t Kadon and Max go together and then we can stay together? We work great as a team…you know that.”

“We can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because you’d distract me, that’s why,” Diadne answered softly, “All this stuff that’s happened with Isabel…it just makes me realize how foolish I’ve been pushing you away these last few months. All I want to do is make up for that time but the situation is hardly ideal. My emotions are very unpredictable right now, Kyle, and I’m not sure I can control them enough to do this mission…not if you’re with me.”

“I get what you’re saying,” he mumbled, “I get it…but I don’t like it.”

“This is the best thing,” Diadne said, “Go take care of David. Isabel is going to be in need of some good news when we bring her back.”