Nobody's Son - CC - MATURE - [COMPLETE]

[Midwest Max]

Part Thirty One

Not even Alyssa’s selfless presence could act as a sedative to Nate’s overwrought mind. Long after she’d fallen asleep curled up beside him, he’d remained robbed of the same luxury. Instead, he’d watched her sleep soundlessly, her breath coming out in slow puffs against his arm, her soft perfume drifting to his nose. In sleep, she seemed even younger than she really was, more fragile than he knew her to be.

But sleep must have come at some point because Nate awoke alone, the sun just peeking through Alyssa’s curtains. She’d managed to slip away, no doubt in fear of the wrath of one or more of her parents should they find her in bed with him. He stretched, not feeling rested, and got up to start his day.

As he approached the kitchen, he was surprised at the aroma of food lingering in the air. He paused outside of the kitchen door and found Liz and Max sitting at the table, silent, holding hands between two empty plates. Something in the way they simply looked at one another was unusual, like what they had was sacred in some way and was not to be tampered with. Nate watched silently while Max raised Liz’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on the back of it. She smiled at him, a school girl with a crush, not a thirty-something Harvard professor.

Feeling like an inappropriate voyeur – and remembering that Max Evans had superhuman hearing and probably already knew he was in the hallway – Nate stepped into the kitchen and cleared his throat.

Liz’s head was the first to pop up, her smile immediate. “Good morning, Nate,” she said. “You’re up early.” Releasing Max’s hand, she got up and gestured to her chair. “Have a seat.”

“That’s not necessary,” he said, feeling like he’d interrupted something, scratching behind his ear like he always did when he was uncomfortable.

“Nonsense,” she said, going to the stove. “The skillet is still hot. I’ll make you some breakfast.”

Nate could tell there was no point in arguing with her – when Liz Evans made up her mind to do something, she did it. Still somewhat self-conscious, he slid into her seat opposite Max, who looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Max picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, grimaced, waved his hand over it to warm it, then took a more satisfying drink from the cup.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, gently putting the cup back onto its saucer.

“All right,” Nate said quietly.

“I, uh, checked on you when I got in last night.”

Nate glanced up, silent, his eyes round, wondering just what Max had found when he’d looked in on him. Max’s expression said it all.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do and what not to do,” he said, regarding his son with a knowing twinkle in his eye. “But you might want to be careful. You don’t want Michael or Maria seeing what I saw.”

Nate dipped his head, feeling ashamed for having done…nothing, really.

At the stove, Liz snorted a little giggle.

One corner of Max’s mouth lifted into a smirk and he laughed lightly as well. Nate felt his ears redden.

“I didn’t…we didn’t…do anything,” he said guiltily.

Max gave him a playful cuff on the shoulder. “I don’t care,” he said, leaning across the table. “I’m just saying that Michael and Maria might. And I won’t pity you for what comes your way.”

Nate nodded. “I understand.” Duly warned, he took a glance around the small house. “Where’s everyone else?”

Max sipped his coffee. “Maria and Alyssa are still in bed. Isabel went back to Boston. Michael’s at his apartment.”

Nate lifted an eyebrow. Just like that? Everything was business as usual?

Max gestured with his chin toward the plate Liz was putting before Nate. “Eat your breakfast first, Nate. There’s a lot to talk about when you’re done.”

The rest of breakfast was spent without much conversation. Nate concentrated on his food – Liz was a good cook, years of restaurant experience paying off - and Max and Liz spent more time gazing fondly at one another. Nate wondered if they were communicating on some other level because every now and then she would smile for no apparent reason, sometimes punctuating the grin with a kiss or a hug.

Nate decided that if they were all going to the same high school and he had to pass them in the hall every day, Max and Liz would definitely nauseate him.

After the table was cleared, Max retrieved a fresh cup of coffee for himself and for Nate and then led him out to the front porch. The desert air was crisp this morning, a light coat of dew adorning the shrubs in front of the Deluca house. Max motioned to the swing, where Nate took a seat, then he sat on the railing that circled the porch.

“We can start at the beginning,” he said, his voice soft in the morning air. “William Dwyer was a colleague of my father’s, an honest, respectable man.” Max worked his mouth, as if recalling a painful conversation. “My father contacted him in New York to see that you were placed with a good family, but apparently my mom and dad were followed when they went there. William Dwyer in turn contacted a colleague of his – Annie’s grandfather.”

Nate looked down to the porch, memories of the old man still fresh in his mind.

“Annie’s grandfather agreed to arrange the adoption, but before he could get started, the FBI approached him. Made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, probably threatened his family or his reputation. He agreed to their demands and arranged to have you placed with the Spencers.” Max drew in a deep breath. “From what I can gather, he was a decent man in a tough situation. He did what he had to do.”

Nate nodded in understanding.

“So,” Max continued, “the government continued to watch you as you grew up. In the meantime, they recruited Annie’s father to join their team.”

Agent O’Donnell’s face loomed large in Nate’s memory and he shivered involuntarily. He would never again think of that man without a surge of anxiety running through him.

“You okay?” Max asked, his brow furrowed slightly.

Nate nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.”

Max didn’t look entirely convinced, but proceeded anyway. “At some point he became Agent O’Donnell, with the sole purpose of reining you in. Which is exactly what happened.”

Nate’s gaze returned to the floor. It had happened because he’d turned himself in – it had been a rash move to say the least.

“Nate,” Max said, drawing his attention. “I’ve been working for the last eighteen years to diffuse situations such as this. We have ways around them. You didn’t need to do what you did.”

Guilt raged inside of Nate and he had to look away from Max’s gaze. He’d put all of them in danger.

“I’m not saying I don’t get it,” Max clarified. “I know why you did what you did, but I just wish that we could have talked about it first.” His voice grew soft, almost aggrieved. “I know what kinds of things they did to you.”

Nate raised his head and regarded Max seriously. “And I know what kinds of things they did to you.”

Max raised his eyebrows, surprised at that revelation. “You do?”

Nate nodded. “They videotaped your abduction, Max. They showed it to me.”

Max closed his eyes, the pain obviously old but still very fresh.

“I can’t believe you lived through that,” Nate snorted in disbelief. “I can’t imagine being that strong.”

Max gave him a lopsided grin. “But you are that strong, Nate.”

“What do you mean?”

Max looked at the toe of his boot, as though it held all of the words he was trying to say. “When I heal people, I can see things.”

“See things?”

“I can feel their feelings, see things that have gone on in their past. When I pulled that thing out of your neck, I saw what they did to you and I can tell you this – no weak person could ever have endured that. You’re a warrior, Nate – you don’t give yourself enough credit.”

Nate felt an odd mix of humility and pride in that statement.

“I’m just sorry you had to go through that,” Max said, setting his coffee cup on the porch railing. “I’m a little worried – okay, I’m a lot worried about the after effects of what they did to you.”

Dread twisted in Nate’s stomach. After effects? Like what – was he going to some day go into convulsions for no apparent reason?

“Not physically,” Max clarified. “We took care of that. I’m worried about what’s going on in your head, Nate. As you know, I’ve been there before. I can’t say that getting over what they did to me was easy. I’m not sure that I’m over it even now. You need the support of those around you. You need our help.”

Nate gave him a look of utter defeat. “I want to go home eventually, Max. I don’t belong here.” His eyes roamed over the brown desert-town landscape and his heart ached for beautiful, vibrant New York.

“I know you do,” Max said quietly. He paused for a moment, scratched the side of his face, and Nate wondered if he’s somehow offended him. Finally, Max drew in a long breath and began to speak again. “I think you should be aware that life as you knew it is probably over.”

A pang of grief stabbed Nate in his mid-section; he’d suspected as much, but it was different to hear Max puts words to his fears.

“I’m sorry for that,” Max said, his eyes full of apology. “The FBI knows about you and now they have proof of who you are. They will dog you for the rest of your life.”

Nate looked at the wooden floorboards of the porch, hope quickly draining away. “Are you saying I can’t go home?”

Max shook his head. “No, you can go back to New York, but I’d suggest that you stay here and let me teach you some things first. It’s a whole new ballgame now – there are new rules to follow. I’m afraid that without some knowledge of your enemy, you won’t last long, Nate. And I don’t want to see that happen.”

Nate swallowed hard. He didn’t want to be in this position. He didn’t want to have to learn a new way of life. He wanted to return to a life that was now gone, that he’d never have again.

“I’m curious,” Max started slowly. “How did Annie get loose from the pod chamber?”

Nate glanced up at him, wary of where this conversation was headed.

“I mean, I put that shield up,” Max continued. “I know what it takes to get it to come down. And I know I wasn’t the one who let her out…”

A pink flush covered Nate’s cheeks – he’d been nabbed.

“You did it, didn’t you?” Max asked levelly.

Nate nodded.

There was a moment of silence, then Max burst out laughing, which totally took Nate off guard. “You have powers, don’t you, you little shit?” he laughed.

With everything else that had gone on, Nate had totally forgotten that he’d been able to free Annie from Max’s trap. Everything had happened so quickly that the enormity of that had been lost on him until now. Sheepish, he gave a little shrug.

Max gave a shake of his head and another laugh. “One hundred percent human my ass!”

tbc

[Midwest Max]

Part Thirty Two

Before Nate could ask Max his theory about why he had powers, the front door of the Deluca house swung open and Alyssa emerged, her blond hair pulled atop her head and a pair of sunglasses perched on her nose, a purse slung over one arm.

“Good morning, Uncle Max,” she said, stepping forward and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Then she turned to Nate and gave him a big grin. “Stand up.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, curious.

“Come on, I don’t have all day – stand up,” she urged playfully.

He did as he was told and she immediately wrapped her hands around his waist, making little ‘hmm’ noises. Then her arms circled his back, her hands smoothing his body from his waist to his shoulders and then down his arms. Nate caught Max’s eye over her shoulder, the alien giving him a smirk that made his ears burn again.

“Okay,” Alyssa said, stepping back abruptly. “That’ll do.”

“That’ll do what?” Nate asked, sinking back down to the porch swing.

She peeked over the top of her sunglasses at him. “I needed to check you out for size.”

Behind her, Max stifled a laugh behind his hand. Nate tried to ignore him.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“I’m going shopping,” she announced. “To get you some new clothes.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” Nate protested.

“Trust me, I do.” Her eyes skimmed down the clothes he’d been in for two days – hand-me-downs from Michael. “I can’t be seen with you looking like that. Besides, I’ve got Mom’s credit card.” An evil grin spread across her lips. “Ta Ta – later.” With that, she pranced down the stairs and over to her red sports car.

Max watched her go, then turned back to face his son. “Are you sure you can handle all that?” he ribbed.

Nate shook his head. “Nope.”

Truth was, he wasn’t ready to handle anybody – Annie’s death and deception were still very fresh in his mind, to start something with Alyssa now would be unfair to both of them.

Nate shook his head to rid himself of thoughts of Annie and Alyssa. “Let’s step back a minute,” he said to Max. “Why is it that you don’t think I’m human?”

“Oh, I do think you’re human,” Max said, tossing the remains of his coffee into the bushes. “I just think maybe you’re superhuman.”

Nate held out a hand, palm-up, waiting for an explanation.

“The way it was explained to me,” Max began, “was that our powers weren’t alien powers at all. They’re based in the human brain, parts of which normal people can’t access. Apparently, you’re not as normal as some people thought you were.”

Nate digested that for a moment – it was sort of the same explanation Alyssa had given him in the pod chamber. A memory from his escape came back to him suddenly and he looked to Max with confusion. “What about Liz?”

Max lifted his eyebrows. “What about her?”

Nate’s brow furrowed as he tried to make the memory come clear in his mind. “I think I remember her…I don’t know – blasting someone?”

Max grinned. “Yes, she did. She’s gotten quite good, actually.”

“But you said that she was human – or at least that she was born human. How is it that she can do these things? Is she really an alien after all?”

Max shook his head. “No. I changed Liz a long time ago. Not intentionally, mind you. When we were in high school and didn’t really even know each other, there was a shooting in the Crashdown – Liz was the one who got shot. So, I healed her. And somehow by healing her, I changed her molecular structure and over time she developed the ability to do some of the things I can do.”

“You healed a complete stranger?” Nate found that fact odd, considering the paranoia that seemed to run rampant among the group of conspirators – it seemed unlikely that Max had risked exposure for someone he didn’t know.

“Not really,” Max answered quietly. “I, um…I’d like Liz for a long time.” He gave a sheepish smile. “A long time.”

“Oh.” Nate gave a nod of understanding. Another memory came back to him, of Agent O’Donnell inquiring about a mark on his abdomen. Curious, he lifted his shirt, but the handprint was nowhere to be found.

“It fades after time,” Max said, knowing what he was looking for.

“What fades?” Nate asked, dropping his shirt.

“The mark. I leave it behind after I heal someone. I’ve tried over the years to prevent it from happening, but I haven’t figured that one out yet.”

Nate looked down at his repaired thumb and realized it had a slight silver cast to it. Until he’d been in bright daylight, he hadn’t noticed it. “Max, I didn’t thank you. For all that you did to help me.”

Max waved him off with a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I said long ago that I wouldn’t doom anyone to my fate in the White Room and I hold to that. I only wish I could have gotten there sooner, that they hadn’t had time to do what they did.” His eyes were remorseful and Nate knew that wasn’t just some shallow statement on Max’s behalf.

“How did you find me?” he inquired. “I mean, I saw where we were when we left the compound and I find it hard to believe I was in Area 51.”

“You weren’t,” Max agreed. “That was a lie they told you.”

“Then how did you find me?”

“You told Alyssa that there was an alien there who stopped your heart without touching you.”

Nate shivered, his heart skipping a beat in remembrance. “Yes, that’s true.”

Max bit the side of his lip. “Agent Darmon – as you know him – works for me.”

Nate’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What?!”

“I told you that this is what I do. I conspire with other alien life forms on the planet to thwart threats to our existence. In doing so, I have friends in many places, Nate. Places you would never imagine – the FBI just happens to be one of them. When Alyssa heard about your encounter with Agent Darmon, I knew immediately where you were.”

Surprise turned to indignation as Nate remembered the pain and terror the agent had inflicted upon him. “Your friend nearly killed me,” he reminded Max.

“My friend is the reason you’re alive,” Max said abruptly. “Without his aid, we never would have gotten in undetected. Without his help, things wouldn’t be as they are now.”

Nate cocked his head to the side, curious as to what that meant.

“Do you feel safe?” Max challenged.

Nate didn’t feel entirely safe, no, but he wasn’t nervous about sitting out in the open on Maria’s porch.

“You’re able to breathe the free air because of the work of people like Agent Darmon. He’s a shapeshifter, from one of the five planets in our solar system. For years, he’s been disposing of our threats, taking the place of high-ranking officials within the FBI. We used the same tactic – with some success – with another shapeshifter after I was released from the White Room twenty years ago. Michael, Isabel and I have spent the last two days extinguishing the threat, removing those in our path, setting up to put Agent Darmon in control of the unit who had you.”

The tone of Max’s voice left no doubt in Nate’s mind that he’d just been given a mini-lecture, and the message was loud and clear – show some respect. Feeling a little ashamed, he looked to the porch floor.

“We’re safe for now,” Max concluded, his tone shifting to congenial once again. “We’ll be safe for awhile.”

“What about Annie’s dad?” Nate asked.

Max paused, causing Nate to look up at him. “He’s not a threat anymore.”

That was all the information he was willing to give up and Nate could only assume that father and daughter O’Donnell had been reunited on some other plane of existence. It didn’t seem like it was an easy thing to deal with, however, as Max looked away for a long moment, his eyes distant.

“We need to get your story straight,” he finally said.

“What story?” Nate asked.

“About where you’ve been, why you haven’t called your parents.”

With a pang, Nate realized that Emma and Jonathan had to be worried sick about him by now – it was unlike him to not call at least every other day. “What’s my story?”

“You and I went to Carlsbad to hike the caverns,” Max said. “You accidentally left your cell phone behind.”

They would never go for that – these days, everyone had a cell phone and two hikers taking off into the wild would definitely have one with them. If Nate had forgotten his, chances were Max would have one.

“My mom is in New York,” Max added.

Nate remembered his overly-friendly grandmother and her doting ways. He’d liked that woman – even if she was a little suffocating. “Why?”

Max gave a little laugh. “She’s being a distraction. She’s good at it, too. She flew up there once we knew what was going on, with the excuse of wanting to meet your parents. She’s been there for a week now, diverting their attention from the fact that you haven’t called.”

Nate chewed the inside of his mouth. Would that really work?

“Trust me,” Max assured. “She’s very good at it.”

There was no time to ask for details as the door swung open again and Liz appeared, her face full of regret; Max’s expression immediately matched hers.

“It’s not time already?” he asked, his tone one of denial.

Liz nodded her head. “I called a cab. They’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”

Max reached her in two long strides, pulled her tiny body to his. Her face muffled against his shirt, she let out a little cry, her grief very near to the surface. Nate watched with round eyes, their pain suddenly becoming his own. Max squeezed her tighter, clenching his eyes tightly closed. After a few moments, they parted and he gave her a lingering kiss.

“Go in the house,” he said softly. “I’ll be in in a minute.”

She nodded as she wiped her eyes with the edges of her forefingers, then disappeared into the house. Max turned to Nate.

“I need to excuse myself,” he said, his voice strained. “My wife can’t bear for me to go to the airport with her – she says she can’t handle saying goodbye there. So, I need to go in and say goodbye to her here.”

Nate nodded. “Okay.”

Max entered the house and Nate was left alone on the porch, trying to digest all of the information he’d been given. It was too much, all at once. Max’s vagueness about what he’d been doing the last few days was unsettling to say the least. Someone had died, Nate was sure, and it seemed unfair that they had died so that Nate and the others could continue to live. It seemed unjust to trade one life for another.

But then again, maybe this is what life was now. Maybe life was all about sacrifices – Max tearing himself to bits every time he had to say goodbye to Liz, Nate giving up the life he once had.

Maybe life was never going to be simple again.

tbc

[Midwest Max]

Part Thirty Three

“Look – I picked up movies!” Alyssa said proudly, holding up a stack of DVDs.

Sitting on the couch, Nate glanced up at her and gave her a smile. Since Liz had left, the house had seemed uncomfortably quiet; Max had spent most of his time at the kitchen table with the newspaper, though Nate never heard him once turn a page. Now that Alyssa was back, some of the tension was gone and a little glow of sunshine now replaced some of the gloom.

“You did?” he said. “What did you get?”

Flopping onto the couch, she shuffled through the handful of movies she’d rented – all horror movies. Nate lifted an eyebrow in her direction.

“It’s almost Halloween,” she said in defense. “And I like scary movies.” She gave a sheepish giggle.

Nate reached over and took the last one off the stack – the now-ancient original “Halloween” with Jamie Curtis.

“Yeah, I know it’s old,” Alyssa said. “Like thirty years old, but it’s still one of the best, don’t ya think? I figured we could order pizza and watch these tonight since it will just be you and me.”

That was news to Nate. “Really? Where’s your mom going?”

Alyssa frowned slightly. “She said she had a date.” Nate thought he saw a pinch of sadness there, but she quickly covered it. “I have to get used to that, right? I mean, she’s a single woman and she’s still young – relatively speaking – and she should be able to go out, right?”

Nate nodded mutely.

“So it’s just you and me,” she concluded with a grin.

“Okay,” he agreed. “Sounds like a plan to me.” His eyes drifted to the counter that separated the kitchen from the living area; he could just see the top of Max’s head as he sat at the table. “What about him?”

Alyssa followed his gaze and immediately frowned. “He can stay if he wants, but I’m sure he’ll go back to his mom’s house.”

“Is he okay?”

Alyssa shrugged. “I hope so. He’s always like this when he and Aunt Liz are separated. It just about kills him.”

Nate thought back to the interaction between Max and Liz that morning over breakfast. “They’re pretty intense, aren’t they?”

Alyssa gave a snort. “You have no idea. No idea. It’s like they breathe the same air.” She tilted her head to the side. “They believe they were destined to be together.”

He gave her a little smile. “Do you believe in destiny?”

“I’d like to. It’s terribly romantic,” she laughed, then gave his leg a slap. “I bought you some clothes. How about you try them on and I’ll order that pizza?”

Nate had to give Alyssa credit – she’d picked out a variety of clothes all in the right sizes and styles he actually liked. He had casual clothes, dressy clothes, clothes for lounging around the house. After he’d tried them on, he looked at the pile on Alyssa’s bed and imagined what the bill must have been.

“How did they fit?” she asked suddenly from the doorway.

Nate jerked in her direction, not having heard her approach. “Great. You did a good job.”

She practically beamed.

Nate scratched his head. “I don’t know how I’m going to pay you back, though…”

Alyssa waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Alyssa, I can’t accept a gift like this.”

“It didn’t come from me,” she clarified. “Mom told me to. You’ll have to take that up with her.”

Before Nate could protest any farther, Max appeared beside Alyssa at the door. His expression was grief-stricken, but his eyes were clear. When he spoke, however, his voice came out as though he was talking through his nose and Nate knew he’d been crying at some point.

“I’m going to go home,” he said, clearing his throat.

Alyssa rubbed his arm. “Oh, Uncle Max – don’t you want to stay and have pizza with us? I rented some movies, too.”

He shook his head apologetically. “No, sweetie, I think I’m just going to go back to my parents’ house. I haven’t slept in a couple of days and I just kinda want to go to bed.”

“Okay.” She gave him a look of sympathy, then wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. “I love you, Uncle Max.”

“I love you too, sweetheart,” he responded, releasing her and giving her a peck on the cheek. “Nate, I’ll stop by and pick you up tomorrow morning.”

Nate nodded, then watched as Max disappeared down the hallway, stopping just long enough to say goodbye to Maria. After they heard the front door close, Alyssa sighed and turned a sad face to Nate.

“Poor Max,” she said. “He breaks my heart.”

Nate had to agree. If they all went through this every time Liz and Max parted, then they were strong people indeed.

The pizza arrived shortly after that and Nate stared into the box in disbelief – thin, fit Alyssa Guerin had ordered every topping under the sun. In fact, Nate wasn’t even sure there was a crust beneath that mess.

“Mmm,” she said, drawing in a deep breath. “That smells so good!”

“Jesus, what’s that smell?!” Maria demanded from the doorway to the kitchen.

Nate glanced into the box and gave a shrug. She walked over to them and took a peek herself. He couldn’t help but notice that she had taken extra care in getting ready for her date – she was absolutely stunning, the star she had once been. Alyssa seemed less than impressed.

“You know I like a lot of stuff on my pizza,” she huffed.

“Yes, but maybe Nate doesn’t,” Maria responded, folding her arms over her chest.

Nate’s gaze shifted to Alyssa, who looked like she’d just been caught peeing in a public place.

“Shit, Nate, I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes round.

“Watch the language,” Maria reprimanded lightly, poking at the toppings on the pizza. “Want me to make you something else for dinner?”

Alyssa practically deflated before their very eyes – Nate knew she’d only been trying to do a good thing and Maria’s criticism coupled with her impeding date was quickly hurting her daughter’s feelings.

“No thank you, ma’am,” he said. “I like lots of stuff on my pizza, too.”

A wide smile spread across Alyssa’s face, victory in her eyes. Maria shrugged.

“Okay, then. There are Tums in the medicine chest.”

Alyssa and Nate retreated to the living room with the pizza box and some paper plates. She picked out a movie and put it in, then they sat on the floor, their backs against the front of the couch. Maria excused herself to touch up her makeup and Nate noted Alyssa struggling to keep from exploding – he had to commend her on doing such a good job.

About a half hour into the movie, the front door swung open, and both of them looked toward it to see who would be so bold to enter without knocking. When Michael Guerin appeared in the doorway to the living room, Nate immediately felt like sinking into the carpet – his time of reckoning had come. What was it going to be this time? Broken jaw? Ruptured spleen? He hoped they had Max Evans on speed dial because Nate was about to need some repairing.

“Daddy!” Alyssa squealed, jumping to her feet and racing for her father. She threw her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

“Hello, kitten,” he said, returning her embrace.

She pulled back, her face lit up as bright as a Christmas tree. “What are you doing here, Daddy?” All of the bulbs on the tree suddenly went out, her face clouding over quickly. “Mom has a date,” she announced sullenly.

“I know,” Michael responded, his eyes falling on Nate, who quickly looked away.

“But…” Alyssa began, her bottom lip pushed out. “Aren’t you jealous? Not even a little?”

Michael shook his head. “Nope.”

She swallowed away her disappointment. “Why not?”

“Because I came to pick her up…for our date.”

Alyssa broke into a wide grin, her face full of disbelief and happiness all at once. “Oh, Daddy!” she said, hugging him again.

He rubbed her back then pushed her away gently. “Now, don’t get your hopes up so high, okay?”

She nodded, but Nate could tell her hopes were up so high they couldn’t possibly get any higher.

Michael’s dark eyes shifted to Nate and he pursed his lips. “Nate, I need to talk to you in the kitchen.”

Nate’s heart began to thud in his chest, his eyes wide. Alyssa looked at him with pity.

“Daddy, please…” she whispered.

“Now, Nate,” Michael demanded.

Deciding he needed to accept the consequences of his actions, Nate pushed himself to his feet and stared at the floor as he went to the kitchen. He heard Michael saying goodbye to his daughter, then the two of them were alone, Nate’s heart beating so hard it was threatening to burst out of his chest.

“What you did was really stupid,” Michael began.

Nate nodded, his gaze fixed on the floor.

“You could have gotten all of us killed.”

He nodded again. Jeez, just hit me and get it over with.

“That was one of the most reckless acts of ignorance I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Nate bit his lip, wondered if he could get to the door before Michael could catch him.

“And also one of the bravest.”

Nate’s head shot up, his expression one of utter disbelief.

There was no animosity in Michael Guerin’s eyes. “I know why you did what you did. It took stones the size of cannonballs to do that.” He glanced away for a moment. “Maybe I was wrong about you, Nate.”

Nate was speechless, still unable to believe that there wasn’t impeding violence in his future.

“And when I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong.” He gave a shrug. “Besides, my daughter seems to like you and she’s always been a better judge of character than I am.” Then he extended his hand. “Truce?”

Nate looked at his outstretched hand and wondered if it was a trick of some kind – maybe he’d take his hand just to jerk him head-first into the wall. Tentative, he reached out and shook hands with him.

“Truce,” he said cautiously.

“Good,” Michael said, clapping Nate so hard on the back that he nearly knocked the air out of him. Then he laughed, an odd sound for one so brooding. “Well, I guess there’s no doubt that you’re Max’s son, not after that little stunt.”

Nate was saved from asking what that meant as Maria entered the kitchen and Michael forgot all about him.

In the living room, Alyssa met him with wide, wary eyes. When she saw Nate wasn’t bleeding, she immediately grinned.

After Michael and Maria left, Nate and Alyssa settled onto the floor to eat dinner and watch the movies she’d rented. Once the pizza was consumed, they stretched out on the floor and eventually Alyssa curled against him, laying her head on his chest. Nate tried to ignore the fact that they were so close, that she smelled wonderful and that he’d pretty much been attracted to her since that first day he’d spotted her in the Crashdown, silver head bobbles and all. He was doing a pretty good job of ignoring all of those facts.

Until she kissed his neck.

Nate closed his eyes, savoring the little jolts of electricity her touch sent through him. Her soft lips touched his throat, his chin, then found his mouth. All of the wonderful feelings he’d experienced in the laundromat came back to him and he returned her kiss, comforted by her touch.

Without breaking away, she slid her hands under his T-shirt, smoothed the skin along his ribs. Nate felt an undeniable need swelling within him, a need to know everything about her. She pulled away and slid down his body, planted kisses against his abdomen. He let out a little groan, taken off guard by her actions. Then she pushed his shirt higher, her tongue flicking across one of his nipples, creating a new and unexpected sensation. He gasped in surprise – that was something Annie had never done to him.

Nate’s eyes popped open wide. Annie. Visions of his recently-dead fiancé filled his mind and sobered him immediately. Looking down, he watched as Alyssa started to work the button on his new jeans. Reaching down, he took her by the forearms.

“Alyssa, no,” he said, shaking his head. “We can’t.”

“Sure we can,” she grinned. “Mom and Daddy are gone for the night, I’m sure of it.” She giggled. “In fact, they’re probably doing the same thing we are.”

Nate shook his head again. “That’s not it, Alyssa. We can’t – I can’t do this.”

Alyssa’s dark eyes immediately clouded over. “You don’t want me,” she said quietly.

“No, that’s not it.” He glanced at the apparent bulge in his pants. “Obviously, that is not it. It’s just too soon. I can’t do this to you. I don’t want to use you.”

She pulled away from him, sitting on the floor. He pushed himself up on his elbows. “You think I’m a child,” she said.

He shook his head and reached to brush her hair away from her face. “No, you’re not a child.” Although he was a legal adult and she was not. “There are things you don’t know, Alyssa.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Like what?”

Nate looked away, drew in a weary breath. This was going to end badly, he just knew it. “Annie wasn’t just my girlfriend,” he began, then looked her in the eyes. “We were going to be married. She was my fiancé.”

Alyssa frowned and looked away from him; he thought he could see tears in her dark eyes. “I thought there was something special between us,” she said.

Rubbing her arm, Nate tried to make her understand. “I think there is, too. It’s just too soon. I need time to grieve. I don’t want to start something with you and have it wasted because I’m not ready.” He touched her soft cheek with the back of his hand and she closed her eyes in agony. “Please try to understand.”

“I understand,” she whispered, then pushed herself to her feet.

Nate watched as she burst into tears and started for her bedroom. In her wake, a vase atop the TV exploded into a million pieces – the small shards of glass were still tinkling to the floor when Nate heard her bedroom door slam.

Blowing out a sigh, he looked sightlessly at the television. Why did it seem that of late he could do nothing right?

tbc

[Midwest Max]

The Gateway saga continues - I got a big long blathering email full of propoganda about them being a leader in the industry. Blah blah blah Prove it, assholes. Leader in the industry, and yet they haven't figured out how to change the destination on something that hasn't shipped yet.


* This part contains a quote from Sexual Healing, spoken by Alyssa

Part Thirty Four

Ice cold water soaked through Nate’s jacket, punching breath from his lungs. Gasping against the pain, he crawled closer to the opening, the obscene slit in the ice. He could almost touch the boy’s hand.

“Give me your hand!” Nate shouted, his voice strained.

Around the perimeter of the lake, a crowd had gathered, anxious parents searching for their children, hoping it wasn’t their son who was being swallowed by the wintry tomb. Voices filled the air, nervous chatter of the uncertain.

“Reach!” Nate commanded.

The boy looked at him pleadingly, his skin already turning as pale as death – he wouldn’t last much longer.

“You can do it!” Nate encouraged. Looking over his shoulder, he made sure his father still had a hold of the rope that was wrapped around him, should he fall through the ice as well.

The boy gave one last grab for Nate’s hand…and slid beneath the surface.

“No!” Nate screamed, his eyes searching the murky water for the boy.

Red hair suddenly appeared at the opening of the ice, slowly emerging from the icy water. Nate fell silent, watching in horror as the creature slowly took form, rising to tower above him, her head bent downward. Arms outstretched to the sides, she looked like some perverse version of the crucifix.

With deliberate movements, she raised her head to look at Nate and he fell backward onto the bank of the river. It was Annie, come back to haunt him. Her expression neutral, she reached into the water and pulled the boy out by his collar; his skin was blue, his eyebrows and hair encrusted with frost.

“You killed us,” she said quietly.

Nate shook his head. “No. I didn’t mean to.”

“You killed us,” the boy repeated, his voice monotone.

A smile curved her lips. “The day will come when we will get our vengeance. The day will come…when we kill you.” With that, she reached for him, icy fingers wrapping around his throat…

Nate let out a cry of anguish, batted furiously at his attacker. He needed to get away from them, away from the demons that would haunt him forever if he let them. Frantic, he thrashed, pushing away the person who had hold of him.

“Nate! Stop it!” came Alyssa’s shrill voice.

He stopped, dazed, and stared sightlessly at her. Inside, he felt like his organs were about to burst, his lungs and throat burning, his heart thudding loudly in his ears. Everything was dark and he couldn’t tell where he was.

“You’re okay,” Alyssa said. “You were dreaming.”

He sat up and blinked slowly, then the horror of his dream came back to him and he dissolved into tears. He remembered where he was now – he was sleeping on Maria Deluca’s couch, having fallen asleep after Alyssa had sequestered herself into her bedroom, a victim of rejection.

Not that that stopped her from coming to him. He felt her arms wrap around his shoulders and her soft voice against his ear.

“Shh,” she said. “It’s okay. It was just a dream.”

“I killed them,” he whispered in a sob.

“You didn’t kill anybody,” she said, her voice soothing.

“I did,” he argued. “Annie and that boy.”

Alyssa pulled back and sat down at his hip, her brow furrowed in confusion. “What boy?”

Nate wiped furiously at his tears. He hated crying – he felt like such a wuss. “Last year. A little boy fell through the ice. I tried to get to him, but – but I couldn’t.” He closed his eyes tightly, trying to prevent the tears from falling again.

Alyssa took his hand and caressed the back of it, listening silently.

“And then Annie.” He met Alyssa’s gaze, his filled with apology for bringing up his ex-fiancé. “I told her to run, Alyssa. If she hadn’t run…”

Wordless, Alyssa dropped his hand and put her arms around him. That simple act made him start crying all over again. She didn’t judge him – just rocked him and held him tightly until some of his sorrow had diminished.

“You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, Nate,” she whispered over his shoulder. “And unjustly so. It’s not your fault that those people died.” She pulled back and took his tear-streaked face between her hands. “Sometimes bad things happen and we don’t know why. Maybe we aren’t meant to know why.”

He swallowed hard and drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

“I know I haven’t known you that long,” she continued. “But nothing I’ve seen so far would lead me to believe that you’re capable of killing anybody. You didn’t shove that boy through the ice. And as for Annie…” Alyssa’s words trailed off and she had to look away.

Nate set his jaw. Alyssa was just like the rest of them. “She had what was coming to her,” he finished bitterly.

But Alyssa surprised him and shook her head. “No. I don’t feel that way. I think she was a victim of circumstance, a victim of her own actions. I’m not sure anyone ever deserves what they get.” She brushed his hair away from his forehead and studied his blue eyes. “There’s more to it than just that,” she observed.

“I had a nightmare,” he admitted. “They were coming back…to make me pay.”

She gave him a gentle smile and kissed him lightly on the forehead. “No one’s coming to get you, Nate. Besides, they would have to get past me first.”

He coughed a little laugh, slightly embarrassed that a girl was willing to stick up for him.

Alyssa glanced at the TV, which had long since gone to snow. “Bad timing on the horror flicks, eh?”

He gave a little nod of agreement, a small smile on his face.

She looked away for a moment, then bit her bottom lip. “If you want…um, I could stay…here with you…” Her eyes flitted away again, the fear of rejection obviously very near to the surface. “I mean, I don’t expect anything…not anymore…”

Nate felt a stab of guilt. “Alyssa –“

She shook her head abruptly. “Tomorrow. We’ll talk about that tomorrow. I’ll just go back to my bed –“ She stood, ready to leave, but he reached out and took her arm.

“No,” he said softly, shaking his head. “Stay.”

She looked at him warily, then nodded and slid onto the couch with him. They settled in, fitting together perfectly, and a long silence ensued. Finally, just when the ticking of the clock was about to drive him mad, Alyssa broke the silence.

“Sure,” she said teasingly. “Now you want to hold me.”

Nate grinned, relieved that some of the tension had been alleviated. But the smile disintegrated as he recalled the dream, the visions that haunted him…

When Nate opened his eyes again, the living room was flooded with daylight and Maria Deluca was standing over him, her arms crossed over her chest and a rather humorless look on her face. For one moment, he wondered if a night with Michael Guerin had somehow transferred some of Michael’s surliness to Maria and she was now about to kick Nate’s ass. Then he realized why she looked the way she did -

Alyssa was still curled up next to him, her head on his chest. Guilt ran rampant through Nate’s entire being, an event that seemed to have the power to awaken his partner in crime. Blinking against the sunlight, Alyssa raised her head and grinned at him, then followed his gaze over her shoulder and immediately recoiled.

“Ohfuckwe’redead,” she said, her words coming out in an uninterrupted string.

Nate shifted, sitting up abruptly, Alyssa sitting beside him and straightening out her nightshirt.

“I don’t even want to know what happened here,” Maria said slowly. “All I know is that I don’t ever want to come into my house and find the two of you sleeping together again.”

“Mom,” Alyssa began. “We didn’t even –“

Maria held up a hand, silencing her daughter. Her green eyes pierced Nate first, who looked away in shame, then her daughter, who crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

“You’re getting off easy this time,” Maria warned. Then she cleared her throat and straightened her posture. “Just let it be known that I understand what it is for the pot to call the kettle black.” With that, she gave them one last harsh look and disappeared down the hallway.

Nate was trying to process the meaning of that statement, but Alyssa had already figured it out. Her mouth was open in disbelief as her eyes shifted to the clock.

“That whore!” she whispered, her voice filled with awe.

Nate looked at her in surprise.

“I was only kidding last night when I said that she and Daddy were probably…” She looked like she was struggling for the right word, then finally held up one hand, her forefinger and thumb forming an O and pushed her opposite forefinger through it several times.

Nate’s eyebrows rose sharply. The Guerins were recently divorced – bitterly from what he’d seen, Michael was somewhat a caveman, and yet they were willing to get freaky on their first “date” back together. Nate got the impression that the Michael/Maria relationship was far more complicated than he’d ever understand.

After a quick shower and a light breakfast, Nate got a call from Max that he’d be over shortly to pick him up. As he waited on the front steps, Alyssa joined him, sitting down so that they were shoulder to shoulder. They sat silently for a moment, then she turned to him, squinting into the rising sun.

“I feel stupid,” she confessed.

“Why?” he asked. “For going like this” -he mimicked her hand signal for intercourse -“instead of just saying they had sex?”

Alyssa laughed lightly, obviously embarrassed by that but thrilled he was making a joke. She shook her head and bit her lip. “No, for hitting on you last night.”

He wanted to tell her not to worry about it, but to do so would be to brush it under the rug and he knew she wanted to talk about it. “You don’t need to feel stupid,” he said. “I just feel a little bad for hurting your feelings.”

She looked down between her shoes, at the nicked concrete of the front steps. “I can’t explain to you how I feel.”

He bumped her with his shoulder. “Try me.”

Drawing in a breath, she thought for a moment, then said, “This feels right to me. It feels right in a way that nothing has felt right in my life before.” She looked at her hands, picked at her nail polish. “I thought that maybe you felt the same way. I was so focused on that that I let myself forget about Annie and what you must be going through.” She glanced up apologetically. “You see, when you wait your whole life for something and you finally think it’s coming true…well, let’s just say that it blinds you to everything else going on around you.”

Nate studied her silently – she’d waited her whole life. For him. For some reason, she’d deemed him worthy, special…the true meaning of her words came through to him suddenly and he was surprised at what she’d been trying to tell him. Alyssa had never been with anyone.

Her cheeks flushed lightly and she gave a nervous giggle. “Yeah…you think I’m a baby, don’t you?”

Nate smiled gently and took her hand in his. “No, you’re not a baby. But I do think you’re special. I don’t know why I feel that way yet. Just give me time to clean out my head. This is all new to me. Things that you’ve grown up with – aliens and powers and the FBI – those things have never been a part of my life. I’m just a simple country boy from western New York.”

She grinned at him and he could tell some of her anxiety had been put to rest. Then she grimaced.

“I don’t handle rejection too well, do I?” she groaned.

Nate laughed lightly. “Well, you must have bought into the whole stereotype that men are a sure thing – you weren’t expecting me to say no.”

Her dark eyes were soft as she covered his hand with hers. Sighing, she laid her head on his shoulder. “I hope someday you say yes,” she whispered.

Nate smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying the smell of her freshly-washed hair.

A few moments later, Max pulled up in his father’s SUV and hopped out. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of gym shorts, light clothing for a brisk October morning.

“Good morning,” he greeted, some of his post-Liz gloom gone.

Alyssa and Nate both said good morning as he walked up the sidewalk. Alyssa stood and kissed his cheek, gave him a tight hug. Max turned to Nate.

“You run?” he asked.

Nate shook his head. His work out regiment consisted pretty much…of nothing.

Max grinned. “You do now.”

tbc

[Midwest Max]

Wow - start talking about PCs and the geeks start crawling out of the woodwork I called Gateway this morning to ask them a few questions, then did a "by the way". The conversation went like this -

Me - "By the way, can you change my shipping address?"
Them - "Sure. What would you like it changed to?"



They're bi-polar. I'm sure of it.


Part Thirty Five

“It’s important,” Max began, speaking in staccato as he ran, “that you keep yourself healthy.”

Nate trotted along beside him, too out of breath to answer, but listening nonetheless. They were running around the track at the high school football stadium, the sun now high overhead. Though it wasn’t a hot day, it was a warm one and Max had stripped to his shorts during the last lap. Nate noticed that even though Max was slipping toward forty, he still had the body of someone in his twenties. Nate, unfortunately, still had the body of someone in his teens – and there was no way he was stripping down and running beside someone who looked like that.

“Not only for speed,” Max continued. “But for endurance. Having a lot of stamina is only going to help you out.” As they neared the bleachers, he gave a tip of his head. “This is your last lap. I’m going to run a few more. When you stop, don’t sit down right away – walk it off.”

Nate nodded, his thighs and lungs burning from the laps they’d already taken.

“See you in a bit,” Max grinned, leaving Nate behind as he continued his run.

Nate put his hands on his hips and gasped for air. He’d always been thin but he’d just discovered that thin didn’t necessarily mean fit. Max had acted like the laps were nothing and Nate had the feeling he could run all day if he needed to. Nate, on the other hand, wanted someone to give him a new set of lungs since his seemed to be malfunctioning.

As Max turned the corner for his second solo lap, however, Nate began to feel rejuvenated, his breath coming a little slower and his heart rate dropping. He actually felt kind of good. By the time Max was finished with an additional four laps, Nate was sitting sweaty but relaxed on the bleachers.

Max pulled up to a stop and tipped his head to the sky, drew in long, cleansing breaths. Then he put one heel on the bottom bleacher and stretched out his hamstrings.

“How long have you been running?” Nate asked.

Max shrugged, using his discarded shirt to wipe sweat from his face. “Since I was about fifteen, I guess. Isabel started running with me a few years later. Now we all run.”

Nate gave a half-smile. In his head, he imagined a whole pack of alien-like creatures running as a family outing of sorts.

Max pulled his shirt over his head and plopped down on the bench beside his son. “Woo! Feels good, huh?”

Nate shrugged rather sheepishly.

Max gave him a grin. “You’ll get used to it. After awhile, you might even start to like it. Keep yourself fit, Nate. Try to eat right, get enough exercise.” He glanced at Nate’s arms. “You might want to consider strength training of some kind.”

Nate flushed slightly. “I’ve tried lifting weights before, but, um, this is the end result.”

Max laughed lightly. “It doesn’t happen overnight. Give it time. You’ll be glad you did.”

They sat in silence for awhile. It was odd, really, to be sitting here together at the place where Max went to high school, where he’d met Nate’s mother, where her plan had played out. Three months ago, this wasn’t how Nate had pictured his life.

“Max?” he asked cautiously.

Max turned to him, squinting into the sun. “Yeah?”

“What do you think that symbol meant? The one that was on my chest? It went away.”

One corner of Max’s mouth lifted slightly. “It didn’t go away, I don’t think.”

Nate raised his eyebrows. “It didn’t?”

Max shook his head. “No. It’s still inside of you. Somewhere in there.”

Unconsciously, Nate’s hand went to his chest, to where the symbol once glowed. “Why?”

Looking down between his feet, Max kicked at few cinders, trying to find the appropriate words. “When Tess took you home…” He stopped, sighed and started over. “When Tess left earth, she was pregnant with you – that you already know. When you were born, you were rejected as heir to the throne because you were biologically human. That’s why Tess came back here – she was fleeing for her life and yours.” Max shook his head. “But I’m thinking that being shunned didn’t change anything – regardless of your genetic make up, you’re still my son, you’re still heir to my throne.”

Nate listened silently, wondering if any of that would ever matter in the long run. It wasn’t like he was going to jump on the next intergalactic flight to Antar to organize a coup.

“I think the symbol appeared to signify that,” Max continued. “I think somehow, whatever it is that makes us what we are knew that you were among your own kind again, and the symbol was a way of identifying you to us. Now that it’s done that, it’s gone dormant again.”

“You mean I’ve had this all of my life?”

Max nodded. “I would think so.”

Nate scratched his head. “Um, what am I supposed to do with it?”

Max chuckled lightly. “Nothing. It’s just there. Maybe someday if you have children, you’ll pass it on. For now, we need to get showered so we can go to dinner.”

Nate lifted his eyebrows. “Dinner?”

“Mom’s back from New York.” Max’s brow furrowed slightly and he tipped his head to the side. “Have you talked to your parents?”

Nate shook his head. “Not yet.”

“You should. They’ll be expecting us to be back from Carlsbad by now.”

Nate frowned. “I don’t know what to say to them about Annie.”

“Nothing,” Max advised, getting to his feet. “You’ll wait a month or so, then tell them that Annie broke up with you.”

“But won’t they know that she’s dead?” It hurt to say the words.

Max shook his head. “No. Her death will be – already has been – covered up. So, in a month she dumps you. I didn’t know her very well – you can make up the reason why.”

Nate nodded solemnly.

“By the way,” Max continued. “Speaking of Carlsbad, you and I need to go there.”

“We do?”

“We need to get some evidence together.”

“Evidence?”

“Pictures,” he clarified. “Proof that we went there.”

With all of the advances in digital technology, Nate wondered why they didn’t just manufacture some ‘evidence’ instead of making the trip.

Max seemed to have read his mind; he gave a small smile and shrugged slightly. “Yeah, I know what you’re thinking – why not doctor our own evidence. Truth is, I kind of wanted the time together.”

For some reason, that surprised Nate.

“I mean, I’ve spent my time with you lying to you at first, then running away from the FBI with you, then thwarting your abduction. Not exactly good father-son bonding.”

Nate smiled at that.

“It doesn’t have to be a long trip,” Max concluded. “A couple of nights. Say you’ll go?”

“Of course I will.”

Max beamed and Nate could tell that he’d been worried that Nate would say no. “Great! Now let’s get cleaned up before my mom has a cow because we’re late.”

*****

Diane Evans was true to her character – squeezing the daylights out of Nate and expounding on how frightened she’d been for him. He took it all in stride, waiting for the storm to blow over and for kitchen duties to call her away. It seemed to take forever for that to happen, however – she had to comment on everything. He looked tired. He was too thin. Did they hurt him much? Wasn’t Max able to help with the injuries?

“Mom,” Max finally said, stepping forward and pulling her away from her grandson. “Nate’s fine, but he’s not going to be if you keep squashing him.”

Nate’s cheeks burned slightly as she looked a little guilty.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she said, reaching up to touch his face. “It’s just that I was worried for you.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said bashfully.

“To think what people are capable of,” she said, her hand going to her mouth and her eyes misting.

“Diane,” Philip interrupted. “What can I help you with in the kitchen?”

Nate watched gratefully as the lawyer ushered his wife away. Max snickered.

“Was she always like that?” Nate asked.

Max nodded. “You have no idea. I haven’t told her half the things I’ve been through – if I had, she would have locked me in my room and never let me leave.”

Together, Max and Nate set the table, then the family sat down to eat.

“How was New York, Mom?” Max asked, sipping from his water glass.

“You know, it was just beautiful,” she said, gesturing with her utensils. “Autumn there is just incredible.” Her eyes shifted to Nate. “You have wonderful parents, Nate. Beautiful people.”

He dabbed the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Oh, and the lake! Absolutely stunning!” Diane continued. “What a perfect place to grow up.”

With a twinge of sadness, Nate remembered thinking the same way once, back when life was simple. Thoughts of home were bittersweet – he wanted to go back to what was familiar, but he had the sense that familiarity would be a cold comfort. Now that so much had happened, now that so much had changed, how could he ever go back to a life he’d once had?

“I’d like to go there sometime,” Max was saying when Nate tuned back in.

Nate was surprised at that, surprised that Max was interested. “You would?”

He nodded, cutting into his dinner. “It sounds wonderful. Besides, I’d like to see where you grew up.” A small frown marred Max’s handsome face. “I don’t really know much about you, Nate.”

Nate could feel his sadness, his remorse and returned his look of regret.

“Oh, honey, you’ll love it,” Diane interjected, perhaps sensing the shift in mood.

“Maybe after I go back to Boston for awhile,” Max said, his voice far off, his words coming out as he thought them. “It’s not that far from Boston, right?”

“No, it’s not,” Nate agreed.

Max turned to meet his gaze, his eyes searching. “Do you want me to come there?”

Nate smiled. “Of course.”

Max returned his smile and continued to eat his dinner.

After the table had been cleared and the elder Evanses had disappeared on their nightly walk, Nate and Max settled into the living room, turning on the big screen TV.

“What kind of sports do you like?” Max asked.

Nate shrugged. “Baseball. Football. You?”

Max smirked slightly. “Basketball.”

Nate laughed. Apparently they weren’t going to share the love of the same game.

“Oh!” Max said, suddenly jumping up from his spot on the couch. At the fireplace, he pulled an envelope from behind the row of pictures and handed it to Nate. “I almost forgot.”

Nate looked at the envelope curiously. “What’s this?”

“Airline ticket – open ended. I know that your truck was impounded, so you’ll need a way home. You’re not a prisoner here, Nate. You can leave whenever you like.”

With that, Max settled back onto the couch – and turned the television to a baseball play off game.

Nate looked down at the ticket in his hand. He wasn’t ready to leave just yet, but perhaps soon, and he couldn’t help but feel a stab of anxiety. On the other end of that airline ticket stood something that should be familiar but that now held uncertainty.

tbc

[Midwest Max]

Part Thirty Six

Nate was surprised to find that Carlsbad was a rather short drive from Roswell – only a little over an hour. He and Max loaded up Philip’s SUV with camping equipment and supplies for a short stay, only one night. They would hike for two days, sleeping in a tent the night in between. Diane packed them enough food for ten people for ten days – which Max accepted with an affectionate eye roll.

Before they departed, Nate phoned his parents in New York and talked to them for about a half hour, trying to be vague but not make them suspicious all at the same time. It was during that phone conversation that he realized that his life would now consist of half-truths if not blatant lies; it was going to take some getting used to.

Then they were on the road, just him and Max. It was a bit awkward at first, being isolated with this person who had meant so much to his existence but who was nothing more than a familiar stranger. Then Nate realized that he and Max liked the same kind of music, a common interest that broke the ice.

On the drive to Carlsbad, Nate found out that Max excelled in school but had pretty much blended into the walls, mostly by design. Nate had been good at school, but not particularly a National Merit Scholar, and he’d had more friends than it appeared Max had. Max had never dated until he met Liz, then briefly went out with Tess before returning to Liz again. Nate had only ever been with Annie. Max had always known he was different, but Nate never had an inclination at all.

Tourism, it seemed, was New Mexico’s main industry – not only could they capitalize on the myth of aliens crashing on earth, they could also capitalize on Mother Nature herself. As they approached the entrance to the caverns, Nate noted all sorts of souvenir shops dotting the landscape and one corner of his mouth lifted into a disbelieving smirk.

“At least there aren’t any cartoon aliens,” Max laughed as he pulled into a parking spot.

Backpacks in place, the men started their journey into the caverns. Similar in appearance and demeanor, onlookers may have mistaken them for brothers, separated by a generation of time, rather than father and son.

Max had been to the caves before, so he served as their unofficial tour guide on a tour that astounded Nate – his mouth hung open for so long that he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to close it again. The caverns were filled with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, a true beauty of nature. One thing was for sure – he’d never find anything like this in New York. And to think something so wondrous lay below such an unattractive, barren landscape. Maybe it was true that you couldn’t judge a book by its cover and maybe that applied to the earth as well.

As the sun was beginning to set, Max and Nate constructed their tent in the desert and built a small fire pit; it was going to be a chilly night. As they were finishing up with the tent, Nate eyed the flimsy nylon skeptically.

“What’s wrong?” Max asked, chucking their sleeping bags through the door flap.

“Um, shouldn’t we be worried about dingoes?” Nate asked, glancing over his shoulder and into the never-ending expanse of sand and rock.

“What?” Max asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Dingoes. Shouldn’t we be afraid of them attacking us?”

Max snorted a laugh. “There aren’t any dingoes in New Mexico, Nate.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “In fact, there probably aren’t any dingoes in North America.”

“But Deputy Valenti said…” Nate’s voice trailed off, realizing that from the very minute the lawman had met him, he’d been jerking his chain.

Max laughed, Nate’s face showing that he’d drawn his own conclusion.

“That guy’s…weird,” Nate finally said.

“You have no idea,” Max agreed, tossing firewood into the pit they’d made. “He’s a good man to have on your side, though. Are you hungry?”

Standing back from the pit, Max glanced this way and that, then raised his hand to the stack of wood; immediately it burst into flames and he lowered his hand. Nate raised an eyebrow – that was something he’d never been taught in Cub Scouts.

“Will I be able to do that some day?” he asked as he retrieved the cooler from the back of the SUV.

“Maybe,” Max said, sitting down beside the fire. “I don’t know what kind of powers you’ll develop. It’s important when you do, though, that you call me. Okay?”

Nate nodded, sitting down with the cooler before him.

“I mean that, Nate,” Max said seriously. “Any time, day or night, you call me no matter what’s going on – you’ve got a new power, you’re confused about something, you just want to talk. Call me – I’ll answer.”

Nate gave him a light smile. “Okay.” He shrugged. “Same goes for you, you know. You’ll always be welcome at our house.”

That seemed to please Max, who grinned affectionately, then reached for the cooler. Inside were many kinds of meats – hotdogs, hamburgers, steaks, chicken breasts. He lifted an eyebrow in Nate’s direction.

“Okay, the cooler stays locked up in the car tonight,” he advised. “Because while we don’t have dingoes, we do have coyotes – and my mom just packed them a feast.”

Nate laughed as he looked at the veritable buffet Diane Evans had packed. “Has she always tried to feed you like you were a dozen people instead of one?”

Max nodded. “Pretty much. She can’t help herself – she was put on this earth to mother.”

Thoughts of Emma Spencer filled Nate’s head – in her own right, she was pretty much the same way. In fact, the last thing she’d done before Nate had left for Roswell was give him a cooler of food. “Yeah,” he agreed, “my mom, too.”

Max cast him a thoughtful glance, then smiled lightly as he set about getting the grate ready for the steaks. In that glance, Nate saw a thousand different thoughts – Nate’s real mother had not been the best person in the world, she’d been a betrayer and a murder. But the person who had truly been Nate’s mother, a pleasingly plump shopkeeper’s wife, had more than made up for it. Maybe decisions made in times of strife did sometimes work out for the best, maybe the anguish Max had suffered while giving up his son had been worth it in the end.

“Um, Nate, I have something to tell you,” Max said, tossing the steaks onto the grate.

Nate watched him silently, wondering what bombshell was about to drop.

Max gave a little laugh, almost in disbelief. “We wanted you to be the first to know, since we weren’t sure how you’d feel about it.”

Nate swallowed. This couldn’t be good.

Max shook his head, a small smile creasing his eyes at the corners. “It seems that you’re going to be a brother.”

Nate’s eyebrows shot up abruptly.

“Liz is pregnant.” It was obvious that it was all Max could do to contain his pride.

Nate’s mind skipped back a couple of days to all of the goo goo eyes Max and Liz had been making at one another over breakfast. He’d found it a little sickening, but now he realized that they weren’t always that way, that they’d been celebrating some very good news.

Or was it good news? When Nate had first met Max, Max had told him that Liz didn’t want children for fear of having to give them up. Maybe this wasn’t such a good thing after all.

“I know how this must seem to you,” Max continued, his expression a little guilty. “I mean, we couldn’t keep you, but now we’re going to have another child…”

Nate shook his head, realizing that Max had misconstrued his silent musings as a bad thing. “No, man,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s great, really. Congratulations.” He held out his hand, offering best wishes for the new baby.

Max breathed a laugh as he took his hand and shook it. “Thanks, Nate.”

“I always wanted a little brother,” Nate said, smiling to dispel some of Max’s discomfort. He gave a little shrug. “Hell, I’d even take a sister.”

Max laughed again, obviously relieved that Nate had taken the news so well. Then he shook his head. “I don’t know how it happened.” He shot a glance at Nate and caught his amused expression. “I mean, I know how it happened, physically speaking. I meant that I don’t know where the accident happened. We’ve been so careful – we’ve been together for twenty years without a slip up.” He smiled into the distance. “And now this.”

It pleased Nate to see Max so happy about his new arrival, even if his best laid plans had gone astray. What would Alyssa say? It must be the way things are supposed to be. Maybe regardless of Max’s plans, there was a greater plan at work and he was meant to have another child. Maybe all of his careful planning was for not.

“It will be a challenge,” Max said, flipping the steaks. “To do what I do and still be a parent to him.” He sat back and pinned Nate with a soulful look. “I’m sorry that I could never be a parent to you, Nate.”

Nate shook his head. “It’s okay. I have good parents. I know why you did what you did. I may have done the same thing. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends now, does it?”

Max smiled slowly. “No, it doesn’t.” He snorted a small laugh of relief. “Your parents should be proud of the job they did raising you. You’re a good man, Nathan Spencer.”

Nate grinned, slightly embarrassed. Then he gestured to the grill and the steaks that were starting to turn dark. “Looks like those are done.”

After they ate, night had fallen and the landscape around them was dark. Off in the desert, they heard the howl of a coyote, the occasional displacement of sand and stone that could only mean a reptile of some sort had slithered by. Drawn to the stars, Nate retrieved their sleeping bags from the tent and rolled them out on the ground.

As they lay staring into the millions of dots above them, Nate let out a small sigh.

“I think I’m ready to go home now,” he said cautiously, afraid of Max’s reaction.

There was a paused, then Max answered, “Okay.”

“I miss my parents. I miss New York.”

“I understand. Just say the word and I’ll give you a lift to the airport.”

Another pause ensued, during which Nate wondered if Max would be returning to Boston soon, because Nate knew that he missed Liz.

“You’re going to leave a broken heart behind,” Max said quietly.

Nate turned his head away from the bowl of stars above him to regard his father. “What do you mean?”

“I see it,” Max said. “She’s fallen for you very hard.”

Nate bit his lip, thoughts of hurting Alyssa unwelcome.

“It’s different for her,” Max explained. “Just like it was different for me and Liz. This isn’t a school girl crush, Nate. She knows that you’re the one. There will be no others for her.”

“I don’t mean to hurt her.”

“I know,” Max agreed, returning his gaze to the sky. “Just keep all of that in mind when you tell her goodbye.”

tbc

[Midwest Max]

Part Thirty Seven

“You don’t have to go. You could stay here with me – with us.”

Alyssa was looking at her shoes as she spoke those words, her voice filled with tears. Standing before her, Nate was holding both of her hands in his.

“It’s time for me to go,” he said gently. “I belong with my family.”

She looked up at him, her eyes puffy and her nose red from her tears. “We could be your family.”

He gave her a grateful smile. “I know you could be. But I belong in New York.”

She sniffed and her eyes became hopeful. “I could come with you.”

Releasing one of her hands, he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. “You belong here. You need to finish school and do all of the great things that involves – going to football games, going to dances.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to do those things without you.”

“But your parents are here, Alyssa,” he said gently. “If you went with me, you wouldn’t have your mother to fight with or your dad to rollerblade with.” Nate cupped her cheek, her skin soft and silky beneath his hand. “Stay here, finish school. Be carefree and have fun for awhile. Then if you’re still interested in me, you know where I’ll be.”

His words of finality brought a new wave of silent tears from her and she dropped her head to hide them from him.

Nate hated seeing her this way. From the moment he’d met Alyssa Guerin, she’d intrigued him to say the least. Even while still engaged to Annie, he’d caught himself checking out Alyssa more than once. While Max had spoken of Alyssa knowing that Nate was the one for her, he wasn’t sure if that’s how he felt – at least not yet. There was still a swirl of emotions in his head, dredging up painful memories of his dead fiancé. Maybe those feelings were preventing him from experiencing what Alyssa felt in its entirety.

But it wasn’t that he felt nothing for her. Quite the contrary – letting go of her was proving harder than he’d anticipated, and that in itself was enough to prove to him that he needed to give a relationship with her a chance.

“Can I call you?” she asked, her words choked. “Or at least email you?”

Taking her chin with his forefinger, he gently lifted her head so she’d look at him. “Of course you can.”

Her bottom lip quivered as she took his hand and laid it on her chest, over her heart. “It’s breaking,” she managed.

Nate felt a stab of pain push through his body. Removing his hand from her chest, he enveloped her into his embrace, holding her tightly against him. For one moment, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to breathe in her scent, her light perfume. Against him, her body trembled as she continued to grieve over his shoulder.

“There’s no need for your heart to be broken,” he whispered against her ear in assurance. “Because there’s going to be a someday for us.” Pulling back, he took her face between his hands, his blue eyes searching her dark ones. “I’m serious about that, Alyssa. I believe someday things will be right for us.”

Allowing himself one last indulgence, he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers, tasted the salty flavor of her tears. She released a sorrowful moan and he deepened their kiss, only for a moment. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers and found that his throat was starting to constrict; Alyssa wasn’t the only one who was having trouble saying goodbye.

“Come to the airport?” he asked.

She shook her head and breathed a weak laugh. “Shit, no, dude. That would kill me. Now I know how Aunt Liz feels every time she and Uncle Max part ways.”

Nate nodded. “I understand.” He took her into his arms one last time, if only to remember every detail of holding her.

“Nate?” came Max’s voice from the front door of Maria’s house.

Nate and Alyssa separated; she automatically started wiping her tears away with the sides of her fingers. He swallowed, trying to compose himself.

“I’m sorry,” Max said, looking guilty. “Did I interrupt something? We’re just about ready to go.”

Nate shook his head, one of his hands reaching down to pick up Alyssa’s. “No, it’s okay. I’ll be right there.”

Max nodded and retreated outside to where the Evanses were waiting to drive Nate to the airport.

Nate turned to Alyssa and picked up her other hand. “Have faith in me,” he said quietly.

She nodded, then pulled her hands away from his. “You’d better go,” she said without looking at him. “I can’t do this much longer.”

Nate released a small sigh, then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before heading for the door. He turned around, just once, to catch one last glimpse of her and what he saw nearly ripped him in two. Max had only been partially right – not only was Nate leaving a broken heart behind, he was also taking one with him.

Outside, he climbed into the back seat of the SUV with Max and then they rode to the airport, Diane talking incessantly – she’d packed gifts for his parents in gratitude for their hospitality while she’d visited them.

At the gate, Nate had to endure another round of goodbyes, another round of Diane Evans trying to squeeze the very life out of him. Philip was more reserved, giving him a manly clap on the shoulder and a brief, awkward hug.

Saying goodbye to Max proved to be the most difficult.

“Here’s a list of phone numbers,” he said, handing Nate a folded piece of paper. “All of my numbers – cell and home, Isabel’s, Michael’s, Maria’s. Anytime, day or night, you call us if you need us.”

Nate nodded mutely and stuck the paper in his pocket. Max gave him a smile and hugged him tightly. In that moment, Nate realized it was too soon to say goodbye, that he still didn’t know enough about these people. More paralyzing was the knowledge that once he stepped on that plane, he was on his own again; if the FBI should hunt him down, he was doomed.

Max pushed back and held his son at arm’s length. “You’re a strong man, Nate. You’ll be okay.”

Nate gave a small smile in return. Why did it seem that Max could always tell what he was thinking?

“Thank you,” he said. “For everything.”

Max gave him a grin, then Nate’s row was called for boarding. One more round of hugs, then he was walking down the jetway and leaving Roswell behind him.

After a long flight to Chicago, Nate switched planes and boarded one bound for Erie, Pennsylvania. He was tired from his travels, but sleep eluded him, partially because he knew the last leg of his journey was a short one.

And what a journey it had been. Night had fallen and as he looked out of his window at the lights far below him, he realized that from now on everything was going to be different. He’d set out to answer a couple of simple questions about his origins, having no idea that what he’d found would change him forever.

It would have been so easy for Max Evans to fill him with lies and send him back home – after all, Max had spent a lifetime lying just to stay alive. Had it not been for the appearance of the symbol on Nate’s chest, the plan may have worked.

Curious, Nate pulled open his shirt and looked at his unmarred chest – the seal had yet to reappear. He wondered when it would appear again, if ever. Was it possible that whatever had programmed that seal into him had sensed that Max was going to get away with his charade? Was it possible that Nate had a new destiny and there was no escaping it?

Beneath him, Nate felt the plane start to decelerate and the “Fasten Seatbelts” light came on. Closing his shirt, he looked down again at the lights below him. Somewhere down there, Jonathan and Emma Spencer waited to welcome their son home. He could imagine their faces – Emma’s cheerful and bubbly, Jonathan’s stoic but kind all the same. Inside, he felt a pang of remorse in knowing that he was going to have to start lying to them immediately.

But that was life now. In order to protect himself and what he knew, he would now be bound to a code of silence and deception. It wasn’t what he’d wanted out of life, but with a heavy heart he accepted that it was the way things had to be. It was out of his character, out of his upbringing, but there were some things he couldn’t change and he had to do what was necessary.

There was no escaping that one Nate Spencer had left for Roswell – and a different one had returned.

THE END

~~~~~~

Yes, it's really the end At least for now. Look for the sequel "His Father's Son" coming after I've taken a little break! Thanks for all of your comments and support throughout this fic!
~Karen