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Title:Who the Hell is Dreaming of a White Christmas
Author: Fred
Category: M/L
Rating: YTEEN (some naughty words – I know, Santa gave me coal.
)Disclaimer: I own nothing – it all belongs to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.
Summary: Follows show through mid- season 3. Jeff Parker made good on his threat and sent Liz off to boarding school. Basically this is your run of the mill Christmas story with a dose of hope, a bit of forgiveness and just a smidgen of Christmas (err . . . alien) Magic thrown in. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
A/N (yes I’m tired and babbling): This story came about because of Pooh. Someone dear to her was stranded (they are fine) for a short while in the snowstorm that just hit the Midwest. So if you see Pooh around and you liked this story at all make sure to THANK POOH!!! She is the Goddess of the Universe (not just the Roswellian one - every universe!)
Also, here near New Orleans, on Christmas Eve, they light bonfires on the levy of the Mississippi River so Papa Noel can find his way to all the houses in the bayou (ok – this Midwesterner calls it a swamp – but whatever). Anyway – my family goes ever year and last night it was cold and wet (still fun though) and on the way home we even had a bit of sleet (actually I think they call it a wintry mix). Well, I got home then, tired and getting over the crud, I sat down at the computer and this story just came out. I tell you all this to say that it has not been beta’d. I sent it to my wonderful beta, but finally came to the conclusion that she probably doesn’t have time today (ok – big DUH here), so I decided to grit my teeth and post it anyway being it’s Christmas and all.
Oh yeah – if you do happen to come up with a suggestion for a name PLEASE PM me. If I get more than one that I like I will just have a poll and let you all decide.
It’s Christmas I’m having a hard time making any decisions. AGAIN MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! ~~~
And the story begins . . .
~~~
Christmas Eve – 9:46pm
She looked at her cell phone again, willing it to magically pick up a signal but just like the other fifty times she had looked – nothing. She flipped it closed and tossed it on the passenger seat. She turned the radio up a bit even though she knew it would just piss her off. No matter what channel she tuned in all she got was hours upon endless hours of Christmas music.
As the music ended a voice broke through, “This is a message from the national weather service. Severe winter storm warning in effect for Amarillo and its surrounding counties.”
She answered the voice coming out of her speakers. “No shit!” Inflamed by her situation, she pushed the button, changing the station only to hear more of the same message.
“State police are encouraging people to stay off the highways. If you are stranded . . .”
“You’re shit out of luck!” She said before pushing the button angrily once more. Finally, an overdone Christmas tune came out of her speakers. Leaning back, she looked up at her moon roof. The snow had already cut off any view she had of the stars above.
”Why the hell did I decide to go home this year?” She asked herself. She really hadn’t planned on it. In fact when her mother called for her annual guilt fest, she had turned her down outright. She couldn’t even remember the excuse she had used but she was sure that it had something to do with work or school.
Then, two days ago, with no apparent method to her madness, she decided she needed to go home. Ok – maybe there had been a reason - she felt guilty. Estranged from her parents she hadn’t been home for years. Then her mother had called begging her to come, saying that her father’s heart couldn’t take the animosity anymore. Yes, eventually the guilt had eaten away at her until she decided to go.
She called to buy a plane ticket but (of course) hadn’t been able to get one so close to the holiday. Not one to be dissuaded when she put her mind to something, she left anyway. Just jumped into her car without a second thought (or looking at a weather report) and took off cross country to Roswell.
“Real smart, Liz.” She mumbled angrily at herself. “No one knows you’re coming – hell no one knows you left and here you are stranded by the side of a deserted road in a blizzard. She laughed. “If my Harvard professors could see me now.”
Worriedly, she studied her gas gauge. She knew she was going to run out of gas sooner or later so she pulled the back seat down to find her suitcase. “At least I had the common sense to pack some warm clothes.” She opened the case and pulled out the extra clothing, putting them next to her so she could easily find them when she needed them.
She turned on her headlights to see in front of her. Seeing that the snow had covered her windshield she turned on the wipers to push off the snow. With the front window somewhat clean she scanned the area. She couldn’t see much, the snow was coming down too heavily. She did notice that she could no longer differentiate between the road and the shoulder. It was actually quite beautiful, looking as if this land had never been touched by a single human being, “very beautiful”, she mumbled, “ well if I hadn’t been stranded in it for over an hour.”
She looked at the gas gauge again. It was almost on empty. It wouldn’t be long before she had to give up her toasty refuge. She sat for a bit longer listening to what should have been soothing melodies of Christmas songs. Instead the music seemed to make her more irritable. She picked up her phone once again – nothing. She looked at the clock on the dash. It was almost midnight. “Merry Christmas Miss Parker.” She said sarcastically.
~~~
Christmas – 12:51am
The car putted for a moment before the engine stopped and darkness surrounded her as the dashboard light disappeared. It surprised her how dark it was. She felt the floorboards for her flashlight. Finally finding it, she turned it on to make sure it worked and then settled back down in her seat. She had over five hours until sunrise and she could only hope that she would survive the wintry storm.
The car shook violently. With the engine no longer running she could hear and feel the full wrath of the wind. It was blowing harder then she had thought and she knew if this storm didn’t stop soon her car would be buried and she would be lucky if anyone found her before the New Year.
It was cooling off quickly in the car. She reached next to her, feeling for the clothes she had taken out of her luggage. “Thank God I got these earlier.” She said, while pulling on each article over her traveling attire.
Warm enough for the time being, she turned on the flashlight, just for a moment, to see the time. “Damn! It’s not even one yet, I feel like I’ve been here forever.”
She asked once again why she had bothered with this journey home. It wasn’t like there was anyone to see in Roswell anymore. Oh sure – her parents, but they hadn’t gotten a long in years, and it wasn’t as if she never saw them. They had come up to Harvard less than six months ago, trying to fix a relationship that had been too long broken. Instead, as per the usual, they had just left in anger.
And her friends, if you could call them that anymore, had all moved away. Isabel had married that Jesse guy and eventually had moved up near Harvard. Hell, they might even be in Cambridge but it wasn’t as if she and Isabel were ever close enough to “do” lunch. Maria had been a different story. They had kept in touch for a year or two after she had gone to boarding school and Maria had moved to New York, but eventually, it became a call on your birthday type of relationship and they hadn’t even bothered with that in over a year.
The guys had all gone their separate ways too. Kyle’s father moved out to Vegas. Something about his band getting a nightclub act and she was sure that Kyle had gone with him using that as a perfect opportunity to get away from the alien abyss. Michael was actually the surprise out of the bunch. He worked in security for a few years before eventually moving to L.A. and starting his own company. Liz was sure his connection with Maria helped but eventually he became the person to call if a celebrity needed protection of any kind.
Max stayed in Roswell the longest. From what Liz knew, he had left Roswell less than a year ago. She didn’t know much about where he had gone or why. All she had heard had come from a quick e-mail from Maria. “Max left Roswell a few months ago to go to school out of state. Thought you might want to know. Love, Ria.”
Liz never replied to that note. Sure, she had questions but she didn’t have a right to ask. Not after leaving him to go to school in Vermont; not after she stopped taking his calls and answering his letters; not after going off to Harvard without going back home or giving him any explanation.
Realizing that the car had stopped swaying, she ceased dwelling on the lives of people she no longer knew and started thinking about her predicament. It had gotten quite a bit colder in the vehicle.
~~~
Christmas – 4:03am
Shivering from the cold, she reached into the backseat, seized her heavy winter coat and pulled it around her.
She picked up the flashlight turning it on to look at the clock again. Just after four. She pointed the light out the driver’s side window but all she saw was a snow covered window. She knocked on the glass a bit, trying to get the snow to fall off. Nothing happened. Not even a little bit. That’s when the panic started to engulf her. Time was running out. The snow wasn’t on the window – the snow had covered her car.
She reached for her phone but couldn’t find it. She aimed the flashlight towards the passenger side while frantically looking for her phone. “Where the hell did it go!?!” She yelled before eventually finding it between the seat and the door. She yanked it open, praying that it would somehow have a signal. When no signal was found, she, in a fit of rage, threw it at the passenger side window.
Cold, scared and tired, she snuggled under her coat and started to cry. Through her tears, she mourned the losses in her life, the loss of her father; the loss of Max. She had been the one to push them away and not because of some noble ambition but because she couldn’t forgive. No matter how much she loved both men she couldn’t forgive her father for trying to control his teenage daughter and she couldn’t forgive Max for causing her so much pain.
She wept because she had pushed her mother and her friends aside, casualties of her inability to forgive, reminders of what she had lost.
“God please help me. Please help me get out of this.” She begged through her tears.
Christmas – 5:59am
The tears, along with the shivering had stopped. Liz studied the clock on the dash for a moment. The sun must be up, she thought to herself. She started to sit up but decided instead to rest; digging herself out could wait a bit longer.
“Honeybear, wake up.”
Liz eyes fluttered open. “Grandma!” Liz yelled excitedly before reaching for her beloved grandmother. She couldn’t quite reach her though. “Grandma?” She questioned.
Liz’s Grandma smiled lovingly. “You’ve grown into a beautiful woman Liz.” She paused then continued. “Did you follow your heart?”
Knowing she could not lie, Liz looked down not wanting to see the disappointment on her grandmother’s face. Finally Liz answered. “I didn’t have time.”
Claudia reached out to her granddaughter, pulling Liz’s face so her eyes would meet the older woman’s. “Maybe you’ll get another chance, it is Christmas you know.”
Shaking her head, Liz answered. “I don’t think so.”
~~~
6:07am
The rescue helicopter circled above. “What the hell, Max? We weren’t called out here. We need to get back to the main roads. There are people who need us!”
“Dammit Terry! I know someone is down there!” Max yelled back over the sounds of the aircraft, “LOOK!!! Down there!”
Terry looked at the blanket of snow on the ground then looked back at his partner. “I don’t see anything!”
“RIGHT THERE!” Max pointed to the mound of snow in the middle of what should have been a road. “They haven’t planted shrubs in the middle of state highways, have they?”
Rolling his eyes, Terry started the helicopter’s descent.
~~~
6:11am
“It’s time for your second chance, Honeybear.”
Liz shook her head at her grandmother. “I don’t want you to go.”
Claudia smiled. “I’m always around. Now go and promise me that you won’t waste this one.”
“I promise.” Liz answered as her Grandmother slipped out of site.
The pleading voice entered her mind almost immediately. “Liz. Come back Liz. Liz.”
She regained consciousness to find herself looking into the love filled eyes of her biggest regret.
A voice came from the distance. “Is she alright!?!”
As soon as she saw the tears of relief swell in his eyes she knew what had happened. She rubbed her hand across her exposed stomach and smiled.
He turned his head towards the voice. “She’s fine Terry!” Then almost as a prayer of Thanksgiving he whispered it again. “She’s fine.” Turning back he smiled down at her. “I thought I was too late – that I had lost you.”
She smiled up at him as tears of joy escaped her eyes. This Christmas she was getting a second chance, or was it her third? Whatever it was – she was getting it and this time she was going to make the most of it. “I thought that too.”
~~~
- I'm getting old) 