Pathos/Chaos/Terminus (CC/UC/AU,Mature) (Complete)

[JO]

PART THIRTY

Liz sat down at the kitchen table, her eyes never leaving the back door, almost as if she expected Jase to return home because she willed it. “I don’t like this, Max. Doesn’t this feel…familiar?”

“What do you mean?”

“This situation, this thing with Jase and Morgana. Doesn’t is bother you that our son is running after Tess and Kivar’s daughter?”

Max arched his eyebrows but before he could answer, Liz continued.

“And Larissa, my God, she’s innocent in all of this.” The tone in her voice grew higher and more hysterical. “She has no idea what’s going on and she’s in the middle of this crazy situation.” Liz’s shoulders slumped forward, her hands falling into her lap as the parallels of the situation dawned on her. “Jase is you, Max. Morgana is Tess and Larissa…Larissa is me.” She turned toward Max, her eyes widening at the implication of what that could mean for Larissa hit her. “What if Morgana hurts her? What if something happens to Larissa? I…I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to her.”

Max reached across the table and took Liz’s hands into his. “We don’t know what’s going on, Liz. I’m sure Larissa will be fine.”

Sighing softly, she nodded her agreement and willed herself to remain calm but from the depths of her mind, the words of her one-time enemy filled her thoughts.

You’ll never be rid of me, Liz Parker.

“She’s still winning,” Liz mumbled, unable to control the tears rising to the surface. She felt her heartbeat accelerate and flung away Max’s hands. “Tess is dead, Max, but she’s still winning.”

“Liz, don’t -” Max stood up from his chair and stepped toward her, his arms outstretched.

“I can’t help it,” she screamed, swatting Max’s arms away, tears openly streaming down her cheeks. “I don’t want to lose Jase. Not now, not like this.” She crumpled onto the kitchen table, her shoulders heaving as her cries echoed through the silent room.

Max gently placed his arms around her, raising her up from the table and folded her into his embrace. Liz crumbled against him, unashamed of her tears. “What can we do,” Max whispered, placing tiny kisses on his wife’s forehead. “Just tell me what to do.”

Sniffing loudly, Liz raised her head and looked into Max’s eyes. The same sincerity and determination that she had seen when she sent him to find Lily remained. This time, however, Liz knew she would be with Max instead of commanding him to leave Roswell alone. “We have to go after them, Max. We have to find them.”

“Okay. Let’s see if Lily or Seth can connect with Jase. We’ll find them, Liz. I promise.”

* * *

Jase slammed the door on the pick-up truck and surveyed his surroundings. When he left the Roswell city limits, he hadn’t known where he was going; instinct had led him to the desert. He cautiously walked toward a rock overhang, surprised to hear female voices coming from inside.

“What are we doing here?” He recognized Larissa’s voice instantly. He had been praying that Larissa would be okay when he reached her. He exhaled as he slowly stepped from the shadows and into the cave-like formation. His eyes immediately saw Morgana pacing in the farthest corner, Larissa beside her on the ground. He caught Morgana’s profile and inhaled sharply at what he saw. Morgana was pregnant. He could see the slight swell of her stomach as she paced back and forth, and he wondered if Larissa knew.

“Morgana,” he called as he stepped further into the alcove of the formation.

“Jase,” Larissa said, rising quickly to her feet. Jase could tell she had been crying. He offered her a small smile and said a silent prayer that Morgana had not confessed the truth of what had happened between them in Chandler. Jase knew he should have told Larissa the truth when he returned to Roswell; he mentally chastised himself for his cowardice. He quickly smiled again at Larissa before turning his attention fully to Morgana.

“Morgana, what’s going on?”

“We’ve been waiting for you, Jase,” Morgana replied. Jase was surprised by the calm she exhibited now when only moments early she had seemed so agitated. He closed his eyes and tried to penetrate her mind. The smell of the ocean overtook him and he lost the connection but not before feeling a myriad of emotions coursing through Morgana.

“Why have you been waiting for me?” He turned when he saw Larissa begin to inch closer to him and halted her progress with a cautionary hand gesture.

“We’re waiting for you to choose which son will live, mine or Larissa’s.”

* * *

“Concentrate, Lily,” Absalom whispered. “Think about Jase.”

“I can’t see anything,” Lily replied, her eyes shut so tightly they seemed like slits on her face.

“Let me help,” Seth whispered, inching closer to Lily and placing his hand firmly on top of hers. The moment their skin touched, Lily’s body jerked backwards and her face visibly relaxed.

“Where is he,” Liz pled after several seconds of silence from her children. She glanced at Max, suddenly relieved when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“I don’t know,” Seth said, his eyes still closed as he and Lily continued to hold hands. “I’ve never seen any place like this before.”

“Let me help,” Absalom began. “Maybe I can project the image.” He wrapped his hands around both Seth’s and Lily’s, his eyes closing in concentration. Seconds later, an image began to appear on the wall opposite Liz and Max.

Liz’s breath caught in her throat the moment an outline of that familiar desert rock formed against their living room wall. “The pod chamber,” she whispered, the image disappearing after she announced the unknown location aloud. “Max.”

“Let’s go.”

[JO]

Author's Note: Only the epilogue remains. I think you'll need some Kleenex.



PART THIRTY-ONE


Glancing between Morgana and Larissa once more, Jase focused his attention solely on Morgana while inching his way toward Larissa. He hoped Morgana wouldn’t notice; he couldn’t read her emotions but he could see that she was in emotional turmoil.

“What’s going on, Jase? What is she talking about?”

Jase turned fully toward Larissa, a cautionary expression on his face. He didn’t think Larissa understood his unspoken warning, her attention focused entirely on Morgana and Morgana’s swollen stomach. He did not answer Larissa; instead, he addressed Morgana. “Don’t do this, Morgana..”

“Don’t do what?”

Jase ignored Larissa’s third question, changing his course of direction so that he was headed straight toward Morgana, almost separating her from Larissa. Morgana’s blue eyes flashed as he stepped toward her and Jase saw a moment of fear flash across her face. “Let’s talk about this.” He tentatively reached for Morgana, but she was quicker than he, taking two steps away from Jase and closer to Larissa.

“Why are you trying to calm her down, Jase? What is she talking about? Did you…did you sleep with her?”

“Larissa, please,” Jase replied, his tone more clipped than he had intended. He glanced at her and he saw the hurt on her face. He would explain it all to her, but first, he knew he had to diffuse Morgana.

“But he slept with you first,” Morgana countered, Jase watching helplessly as she stepped toward Larissa once again. The two women were almost side by side now, and while moments earlier, Jase had separated them, Morgana could easily rush at Larissa without anything in her way. “We both just happen to be pregnant” Morgana’s words hit him like a ton of bricks, and he couldn’t help but look at Larissa.

“Pregnant?” Larissa’s hands fell to her lower stomach as if she could feel a child within her. Jase scowled, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. While his original intent had been to save Larissa, now there was a child involved – two children – and he knew he would have to make the choice Morgana had threatened him with.

“I loved you,” Morgana cried, tears openly streaming down her face. Her entire body shook as her sobs echoed through the small alcove. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Jase replied, his arms outstretched toward Morgana.

“Jase.”

“Liar,” Morgana screamed, causing both Jase and Larissa to jump. Jase glanced sideways at Larissa, mentally counting the feet separating her from him and from Morgana. “You’re a liar! You slept with her. You were my destiny. I…we could have been so happy.” Her hand brushed her swollen stomach, and Jase heard Larissa inhale.

“No, Morgana,” Jase began, his feet moving quickly to erase the distance between he and Morgana. “No, my destiny is the same. It’s you. I want to be with you, Morgana.” He smiled at her, his left hand touching her waist, forcing her to keep eye contact with him. He knew he hadn’t completely blocked Larissa from her view, but he hoped he could shield her enough so she wouldn’t be hurt if Morgana snapped. “She doesn’t mean anything to me. I love you. I want to be with you. Let her go. You don’t need her. She doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Paj told me she was pregnant in Chandler, after Lily and Tristan escaped,” Morgana whispered, her eyes darting past Jase’s right shoulder to Larissa. “That….I’d never felt that kind of hurt before. To know that you were my destiny, but that you chose someone else.”

“No, Morgana. You’re wrong. Larissa doesn’t mean anything to me. Let her go, and we’ll go away together. Just the three of us, you, me and our son.”

“It’s not that easy, Jase,” Morgana replied, her blue eyes focused directly on Larissa. “You see,” she continued as she stepped out of Jase’s arms and toward the alcove wall. “With her around, I know which son you’ll choose, and it won’t be mine.”

“No, I choose you, Morgana. I choose you.” Jase watched as Morgana raised her palm toward Larissa. His eyes widened, and he turned toward Larissa for a split second. When he turned back to Morgana, he saw her blue eyes had grown a shade darker, the tear tracks on her cheeks still present with tears dripping down her cheeks even now, and she was staring at him. “Morgana, please. I choose you.”

“No, you don’t,” she whispered, and a sonic boom filled the alcove. A bright light flashed, causing Jase to blink and fall backwards onto the ground. He shielded his face as some rubble fell into the alcove, the ground shaking as if a small earthquake had taken place. When he opened his eyes and sat up, he saw Morgana was gone, and that Larissa lay in the corner. She was bleeding.

Jase crawled to her side, pulling her into his lap as the wound in her chest continued to gush blood. “I didn’t know, Jase.”

“Shhh, Rissa.”

“If I’d have known, I would have never gone with her.” She fisted Jase’s t-shirt in her hands, seeming to struggle either away from Jase’s grip or the fate that she had now accepted.

“Don’t talk, Rissa. Save your strength. Let me make a connection to you. I can heal you.” Jase placed his hand over her chest, blood oozing from beneath his palm and between his fingers as he held tightly onto Larissa. “You have to look at me, Rissa. Open your eyes. Look at me, please.”

“I’m so cold, Jase. So cold.”

The slight connection opened between them and Jase closed his eyes in concentration. Morgana had known exactly what to do to make it impossible for Jase to heal Larissa, but just before the connection closed, Jase realized that Morgana had been mislead about Larissa’s condition. Larissa was not nor had she ever been pregnant. Jase’s shoulders heaved forward and he adjusted Larissa in his lap. Placing his lips against her cheek, he kissed her, unable to control his own tears. “I love you, Larissa.” He cradled his face against her neck; he could feel her pulse fading fast, her breath coming in uneven spurts. “I love you and our baby.”

“Jase…” Larissa exhaled and her body went limp in his arms. Jase screamed, sure the entire alcove would cave in on them as his voice reverberated off of the walls. He pulled Larissa’s limp form against his chest, his body convulsing voluntarily, and he vowed revenge against the evil that still remained in his world.

* * *

Jase stumbled out of the alcove, squinting against the brightness of the day, even though the sunset on the horizon looked like a painted sky. He raised his hand over his forehead, headlights shining on him in the distance, momentarily blinding him. He walked toward the headlights, not caring if the vehicle didn’t see him, then he relaxed when he recognized it as his mother’s SUV, thankful it was his family once he saw his own reflection in his pick-up truck window.

Liz was the first to greet him, having almost jumped from the SUV before Max had brought the vehicle to a complete stop. “Oh, Jase,” she cried, the sight of blood too much for her mother’s heart. She placed her hands on his arm but Jase gently shook her away.

“Don’t let Lily or Seth see this,” Max said to Absalom as he joined the pair, and Absalom immediately directed Lily and Seth back into Liz’s SUV. “Are you hurt, Jase? Is that…your blood?”

“Where’s Morgana? I have to find her. Did you pass her along the way?”

“You aren’t thinking clearly, Jase,” Liz countered. Liz looked past Jase to the alcove. “Where’s Larissa? Did Morgana bring Larissa here?”

Jase stared at his mother, unable to tell her the truth as his emotions caught in his throat. He watched while she stared at the blood on his shirt, then back toward the alcove, her intelligent brain fitting the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Not Larissa,” Liz squeaked, burying her head against Max’s chest. “God, not her too.” Her knees buckled but Max prevented her from collapsing to the desert floor. Jase turned away from them, his mother’s cries breaking the serenity of the desert at dusk. He exhaled slowly, his breath tasting stale, and he rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead.

“Where’s Morgana?”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed,” Liz questioned, removing herself from Max’s embrace to stare at her oldest son.

“Jase, let her go,” Max suggested but Jase didn’t want to listen to either of them. He couldn’t listen, didn’t have the time to listen, not when Morgana had escaped.

“Don’t you see nothing good can come from having her in your life,” Liz offered, snapping Jase back to the discussion his parents were having without him. “She’s a plague, Jase. You don’t need to find her. You don’t need to go after her.”

“I have to find her, Mom. I have to save my son.”

[Cinder]

I was worried that the situation would turn out bad. Morgana is a monster. She knew just how to kill Larissa...the perfect way to eliminate her rival for Jase's affection. It makes me ill to think she is pregnant with his son.

JO, you are right, I did need a Kleenex or two to make it through this part.

[JO]

EPILOGUE

NINE MONTHS LATER

Liz stood behind the counter of the café, dishrag in her hand. She absently ran the soppy cloth over the counter, her mind elsewhere. The re-opening had been a success; she didn’t know there were so many in Roswell that had missed the old greasy spoon. She smiled to herself as she turned to the milkshake machine, suddenly proud of her father’s life’s work, thankful that she could honor the memory of both of her parents with the re-opening.

A loud clang called her from her daydream and she dropped the rag onto the floor, scurrying into the kitchen. When she pushed open the swinging door, she found Max standing in the center of the kitchen, every pot and pan owned by the café scattered around his feet. Laughing at her husband, she realized it had been a good idea to re-open the café. Memories followed her everywhere in Roswell, memories both good and bad. Most of her memories centered on this café, and while she had spent the majority of her adult life running, Roswell was her home. A home she loved.

“Do you think I woke Lily,” Max asked as he stooped to pick up several pots and pans. Liz had given her childhood home above the café to Lily and Absalom as a wedding present seven months earlier, and Lily, in her final stages of pregnancy, was known to be a light sleeper.

“Probably,” Liz replied, bending to help Max clean up the mess. “But I’ll bet she’s in the mood for ice cream. I was always craving ice cream when I was pregnant with she and Jase.”

“I seem to recall your ice cream craving was in full effect with Seth too.”

“Oh,” she sighed with a roll of her eyes. “It’s just like you to remember that.”

Max gave her a deep laugh, the cookware returned to its rightful place, and Liz smiled at the sound of his laugh. It was a laugh that spread through his entire face, lighting in eyes in a way Liz hadn’t seen in a long time. It was one of the many things about Max Liz had tried to forget during her years away from Roswell, but she was glad she hadn’t been able to completely forget those memories.

“You don’t regret it, do you?”

“What,” Liz questioned, placing her hands on her hips as Max stepped toward her.

“All of it, your life, our life together.”

Tilting her head to the side, Liz stepped against Max’s chest and wound her arms around his waist. She sighed and pulled him closer when she felt his arms encircle her shoulders. “I wouldn’t change any of it, Max. Good or bad, everything happened as it was supposed to happen.”

“So it’s destiny then.”

She raised her head and stared at her husband, but she knew from his tone he was joking. It felt good to joke about things that had once threatened to destroy her life. She kissed his cheek with a loud smack and stepped away from him. “I don’t think I would have put it in those terms.”

“What about Jase?”

Liz exhaled, rubbing her forehead. Everything seemed to come back to Jase, no matter who she was talking to. Max. Michael. Isabel. Seth. Lily. They all questioned her about Jase. In the months since Larissa’s death and Jase’s departure from Roswell, Liz had had no communication with her eldest son. It didn’t worry her, since Morgana was the only evil remaining from their years of chaos, Liz knew Tess’ daughter could be easily defeated. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t wanted Jase to pursue Morgana; Jase was too much like his father to shirk his responsibilities. “Jase will find Morgana and their son, and he’ll come back to us, Max. It’s as simple as that.”

“You seem pretty optimistic, Liz. I mean, I could believe what you say if we’d heard from him, but since he’s been gone, we don’t know if he’s dead or alive.”

“He’s like his father,” she replied, staring pointedly at Max. “I seem to remember that I didn’t know if you were dead or alive for almost 4 years.”

Max nodded, his mouth open to respond when the back door of the café opened, and Jase entered, carefully carrying a sleeping, blonde baby.

“Jase,” Liz said in an excited whisper, stepping quickly over to her son. She and Max surrounded him instantly, the small boy stirring as he was jostled in his father’s arms.

“Hi, Mom. Dad.”

“We’re glad you’re home, son.”

Liz pressed her lips to her son’s bearded cheek and ran her fingers through his ragged hair. He looked so much older than he had when he left Roswell, when he declared that he had to find his son, no matter what the cost. He seemed thinner too, and Liz delicately directed him to the old, ratty couch that had been in the breakroom of the café since she was a waitress. She sat beside Jase as he shifted the baby to his chest. Liz watched Jase’s tenderness with his son, tears pooling in her eyes when Jase placed a soft kiss to the baby’s head. “Are you okay? How…how did you find him? Where did you find him?”

“And Morgana,” Max interrupted. “Where’s Morgana?”

“Morgana’s dead,” Jase whispered, his voice even and low. Liz glanced over her shoulder at Max, who seemed to understand her unspoken request and joined she and Jase on the couch.

“Did she die in -”

“I killed her, Dad.”

“Oh, Jase.”

“Please, Mom,” he bristled and Liz drew her hand to her mouth. “I…it had to be done. I’m not proud of it, but it had to be done.”

“What’s the baby’s name,” Max questioned after a considerable silence between the three of them.

“His name is Dylan,” Jase said, the baby stirring against his shoulder as if he recognized his name. “Morgana named him.”

“It’s a sweet name,” Liz replied, lovingly stroking the baby’s back while Jase patted his bottom in an effort to keep the child content. “A sweet name for a sweet boy.”

“How’s Isabel,” Jase questioned. Liz wasn’t surprised at Jase’s obvious need to change the subject but wondered why he would choose to ask about Isabel first, and not his brother or sister.

“Isabel’s fine,” Max replied. “You know, she’s doing okay. Maria Grace helps her.”

“She’ll be much better after I tell her Dylan is Kyle’s grandson.”

Liz’s back stiffened and she caught Max’s confused expression out of the corner of her eye. Though the baby hadn’t opened his eyes, Liz was almost positive they would be blue and that despite the difference in hair and eye color, she was staring at a duplicate of Jase. Everything about Dylan screamed to her that he was Jase’s child: the contours of his face, his nose, his lips, the very shape of him, even the way he pressed his hand to his chin when he slept, just as Jase had done when he was a baby.

“You’re lying, Jase. Dylan is obviously your son. Anyone could see that.”

“Maybe Isabel won’t,” Jase replied, kissing Dylan’s head once again. He sounded as if it was a decision he had made a long time ago. That he was going to give up the child he had chased for months for the betterment of his grieving aunt.

“Nothing good comes from lies,” Max countered. “Why would you feel the need to lie to Isabel, to everyone that Dylan isn’t your son?”

“This is one lie Isabel needs, Dad. You said she’s doing okay, but I’m pretty sure she’s not. She loved Kyle, and Tristan killed him, something she was afraid would happen. Maybe, if she has Dylan, she can start to heal. She can tell him about Kyle and their life together.”

“But all lies come back to haunt us, Jase,” Liz said with conviction. She watched Jase shift Dylan once again and knew from experience that the small boy wouldn’t be asleep much longer. Her entire life had been changed by lies, and although part of her heart leaped at the thought of being able to give Isabel a new lease on life, she knew that this lie would have consequences, just like all of the others. “Maybe not tomorrow or next week, but the truth will come out eventually.”

“Then I’ll deal with it, Mom. Eventually.”

Liz looked from Jase to Max, not surprised to find the same concern written on her husband’s face. She extended her arm over Jase’s knees, Max immediately taking her hand into his. “We’ll deal with it together,” she agreed, Max squeezing her hand in support. Lies begat lies, and Liz Parker Evans knew better than anyone all lies swam to the surface eventually.

----------

AN: And so it ends. This trilogy of fics most certainly stretched my imagination and personal feelings about Roswell. Pathos started off as my answer to TPTB for pushing Liz into the background in Season 2. Somewhere during Chaos, it took on a life of its own.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Kath. Had this series not been an obsession of hers, it's likely I wouldn't have finished it. I certainly wouldn't have had as much fun writing it, that's for sure. Both she and Cinder followed it from the beginning and for that, I am truly thankful and honored.

I am planning a series of tags to this world from the POVs of Jase, Nina (Maria's youngest child), Maria Grace (Kyle and Isabel's daughter), Dylan and Fallon (Lily and Ab's oldest). These one- to two-parters will be up here sometime

Again, thanks to everyone that's read this entire series, whether you've left feedback or not. I've enjoyed it so much!!!

JO