Wow. Such hostility toward Max. But in his defense, it was only a kiss on the forehead, and at this point in the show, he did care for her (unfortunately). He isn't in love with her! Gah, even the thought makes me sick.
But alas, he is being insensitive. Still, is Tess mindwarping him? Is she evil in this story? Or just misunderstood? Is Tess manipulating them, was she really hurt at all by the FBI? Or is she just innocent in all this, in love with a man who's head over heels for Liz?
Don't you just wonder? MWUAHAHAHAHAHA! I don't.
Thompson! Good, bad, or both?
Hmm, this part gives more insight into that.Sam, Sam, Sam. So curious, isn't she? Who is she, who are her parents? What's her connection to Liz? Why does she have powers, who's after her?
And Isabel and the necklace, and Liz's dreams and developing powers, this Andraya, this bald man. . .
So many more questions than answers.Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Chapter 10
Liz paced frantically, hands wringing behind her back as she tried to still their trembling. With a sharp turn on her heal, she turned back in the other direction. They were still in the pod chamber, Maria sitting in a ball, partially cradled in Michael’s arms, and Tess staring blankly at the empty pods. Kyle and his father stood of from the group, arms crossed in identical stances of concentration. Only Max and Liz moved, both pacing, Liz too fast and Max too slow.
“Look, this is pointless. We have to go back! People could be hurt! My mom could’ve been there, or your parents, Max, and, God, what about Liz’s? We have to make sure everyone’s alright!” Maria said, lifting her head from Michael’s shoulder. Liz wondered when they’d gotten back together, after the Courtney mess. Not that it mattered, she was glad Maria had someone to comfort her.
“Don’t you think I know that?” Max returned, running a hand through his hair for the twentieth time. He made several more attempts to say something, stopping before he could get the words out. What could he say? She was right. But it was too dangerous to just walk back into town. For all they knew, the FBI might be waiting for them to show up at the Crashdown, and this was all just a trap.
“Maria, we have to be smart about this. Max is just making sure no one else gets hurt or captured.” Liz said. Rational. Calm and scientific. That was her. Even if the Crashdown was burning, she was certain people would’ve realized in time to get out. Everyone was safe. More likely than not, it was just a small, controllable blaze in the kitchen. Nothing to concern herself over.
So why was her world spinning? Tears were waiting just beyond her eyes, waiting for her to slip up and let them out. She’d always trusted her instincts, had always wanted to, until now. Now, all she wanted was to be wrong.
Because her instincts told her to get to Roswell. That someone she loved was dying.
And a fierce urgency she’d never known in her life, not even when Max had been captured by the FBI, was beginning to pool in her stomach. Something primal.
“Actually, I was thinking that only a few of us should go. Michael and I would probably be best, so that no one is without a little alien power, and I can make sure everything’s alright.” Liz continued thoughtfully. “Which I’m sure it is. Probably just a kitchen fire. Happens all the time.”
Max glanced at Michael. He shook his head even as Michael began to nod in agreement with Liz. “No. I’ll go with you, Liz. I need to talk to you anyway.”
Michael met Liz’s gaze over Max’s shoulder. He stood, abruptly, but careful to place Maria on the ground beforehand. “I don’t think so Maxwell. You need to be here, and figure out what we’re gonna do about Isabel.”
Liz sighed in relief. Michael cornering her was better than Max, at this point. She still had too much to figure out before she could talk to Max. But just as she was going to support Michael’s statement, she caught sight of Maria. Tears were shining on her cheeks and down her neck, her hands bunched in her sleeves and resting on her lap. Liz’s best friend pleaded with her clouded eyes. She needed Michael. If she couldn’t go see for herself that her second home and family were okay, then she needed the one guy capable of calming her without cedar oil involved.
Pursing her lips in sympathy and sorrow, Liz stepped up behind a tense Max, who was too busying staring down his own best friend to notice. “Actually, Michael, you need to stay here. Protect Maria and Tess. Valenti will need your help if anyone alien shows up and you’re the one with the firepower. Max can take me, and we’ll be back as soon as we know everyone’s okay.”
Michael looked to protest when Max cut in. “Alright. Liz and I are going. We’ll be back as soon as possible. No one is to leave until we return. We’ll call if we’re not back by nightfall, and if we don’t, then you’ll know something happened. But nothing will. We’ll be fine.”
The two left the cave silently, side by side. Liz wrung her hands, berating her decision, and waiting for Max to speak first. He was the one who wanted to talk, after all. She was too lost to know where to begin.
They climbed into the Jeep, Max starting the engine and pulling onto the highway. He paused, letting her fasten her seat belt, before opening his mouth. “Liz, I need you to answer a question, and I need you to answer honestly.”
At the first words, Liz knew she was in trouble. If Max pleaded, she would give in. She had never been strong enough when it came to him. Her stomach sank further.
“I know I swore never to ask again, but Liz, something Maria said earlier really bothered me. And the way you both reacted when Kyle---what I mean is, Liz, please don’t lie to me anymore.” he stopped, breathe catching in hope and fear. “I know you didn’t sleep with Kyle, Liz.” He wanted to turn to her, take in her reaction, but once he started, nerves wouldn’t let him stop. “I know something’s going on, and Michael knows what it is. He’s been too secretive, you and Maria and him all have. And things are happening to you, Liz, things I don’t understand. I don’t know if you’re becoming one of us, or if I just left something behind in you when I healed you. I don’t know why you won’t just trust me.”
If she’d kicked a litter of newborn kittens, she couldn’t have felt worse. Not trust him? Didn’t he know he was the only one she could trust at the moment, more than even herself? But how could he know that, when the last he knew, she’d betrayed him? Multiple times, if he were to believe Kyle. She’d done nothing but tromp on his heart since last May. Of course he was suspicious.
She shook her head. “I don’t know what to say, Max. You heard Kyle.” Tears were already coursing down her cheeks, and she hadn’t finished. She choked to spit out the next sentence. “We made love. He admitted it, I admitted it, what more do you want from me? I don’t like hurting you, Max. Please, just stop asking me.”
His hands strangled the steering wheel. If she had been able to look over at him, she’d have recognized the tightness in his neck for what it was. “Then why are you? God damn it, Liz! Nothing adds up! I’ve seen you with Kyle! And I know you don’t love him, and I know you!” Laughter crept out in his words, bitter and filled with the sound of tears. “I’ve seen your soul, Liz. You wouldn’t fuck someone you don’t love. You didn’t make love with him. You didn’t do anything with him and I want to know why you’re all lying to me!”
“It doesn’t change anything! Even if I didn’t, things can’t go back to the way they were!” She would say anything to get him to stop, even the truth. “I’m not lying because I like it, I’m doing it because I have no choice! I don’t know what’s up with Michael anymore than you do, and I don’t know what these changes are! I don’t have all the answers here!”
“You have more than me!”
She ran a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ears. Gasping for breathe that wouldn’t hurt, she tried again. “Look, my home might be burning to the ground. I just--I can’t do this right now, Max! Please, let me see that everything’s alright. Then-then we can talk.”
They passed into the city limits, and fell silent.
-----------------
When he felt her fear, Gerin Thompson abandoned his drive to his apartment. Sam was calling out to him, and he’d felt it the moment the fire had started. Hearing it on the radio only reinforced his panic.
Someone had found his sister.
Things weren’t going according to plan. The teens had found Ava, and they’d taken her before he could be sure of anything she was planning. Not to mention she’d somehow discovered where Andraya had hidden the crystal pendant before she died. If she figured out how to use it, they were doomed already. And now Keiran had found Sam.
Things had gotten out of control.
The sirens grew louder as he parked his car just down the street from the Crashdown, or what was left of it. He didn’t bother to lock the door, slamming it shut hastily and racing down to the gathered fire trucks, police cars, and crowded observers. Where was Sam? She was near, he knew it, but where was she? Were her protectors harmed? Where Liz’s parents alright? He’d never forgive himself if something happened to them.
“Gerin!” He heard her before he saw her, barreling down the sidewalk with hands scrubbing her damp face. She wasn’t watching where she was going, but she knew, and trusted him to catch her as she flew into his arms. Crying against his sweater, she curled her tiny fists in the clothe. “I was so scared, Ger. He found me, and he wanted to take me away and I tried to stop him and he pulled it out of me! I didn’t mean to! I was scared, and he pulled at it and I couldn’t stop him! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! I didn’t mean to!” Her words dissolved into more tears as she babbled on.
He shushed her, hands wrapping her up gratefully. Thank the gods she was safe. He should never have let her out of his sight, never have focused so thoroughly on preparing for the future. That future wouldn’t exist if she was killed or captured now.
She is only a child! he wanted to scream at the world, the universe and its gods. Only a little girl! She’d already lost her mother, older sister and niece. Never known her father except for vague references to a man who’d loved her mother and died for it. He at least could remember them both if he tried, remembered the smooth sweep of their mother’s hair, because she never let it down save for the privacy of her chambers. A warrior she may have been, but she was raised a traditional noble woman, and to be seen with her hair down always left her feeling like a common whore. He remembered her smell, not particularly sweet, but like wild roses and fire. Her eyes, his own mirrored, that glittered in the darkness, determined always to keep her children safe.
And their father, a proud, serious man who gave his eyes to Sam, and his soft, curling hair. Gerin remembered how their father sang, telling him and Crystal tales of far away and happily-ever-afters.
It wasn’t fair that Sam hadn’t known them. But he swore to himself, and to her, that she would. That was why he was doing this. So that she could have her parents, her childhood, back.
“Shh, it’s alright, little one. I understand. I’m sorry for leaving you alone.” he ran a hand through her hair, gently combing the tangles and ash from their locks. “Is Diane alright? She was with you, right?”
Sam nodded, face buried against his chest. “I think she’s okay. The doctors are looking at her.” She turned liquid eyes to his. “Gerin, people died. Crystal should’ve been here, not me! She wouldn’t have killed anyone. She wouldn’t have let Keiran use her fire.”
“Sweetling, not even Crystal could’ve truly stopped Keiran. But Crystal wasn’t meant to be here. You were. People died, yes. But people lived too and if you hadn’t been there, no one would’ve. And it wasn’t you who started that fire, Psyche. Understand this: yes, it was your power, but Keiran was working through you. It’s Keiran’s fault, and if not his, then mine. I shouldn’t have left you vulnerable to him. I figured he’d try something, just not so soon. I was a fool. It won’t happen again. And if I can’t remain with you, then Josh will. We will see this through to the end. I promise you.”
“Sam?” Another voice she recognized, calling to her through the roar of the dying fire and the whining of the sirens. This one she liked.
Twisting from her brother’s embrace, her mouth dropped open. “Max!”
“Sam, what are you doing here? Were you in the Crashdown when the fire started? Were my parents?” Max asked, stepping from behind a medic. His gaze swept her soot-covered, miserable form. “Sam? Are you alright? Did the medics check you--” He dropped off mid-sentence, words fading to a fierce growl. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Gerin rose to his feet cautiously. He hadn’t anticipated facing Max Evans again so soon. But he was finding himself facing many things he hadn’t expected, and it was starting to piss him off. At this rate, someone was going to get hurt and he’d be too slow to realize until it was too late.
“Max, what--” Liz breathed, panting as she appeared behind Max, obviously trying not to lose him in the crowd. Her body froze. Sam and Gerin glanced at her in unison.
Max’s jaw twitched. “I asked you a question, Thompson. What the hell are you doing here?”
Gerin sighed, dusting his slacks lightly. “I saw a distraught little girl, and figured she was lost. I was helping her find her parents, that isn’t a crime, Evans. Although certain other things might be considered criminal.” His eyes glinted.
Sam frowned up at him, but kept silent.
“Well, I’ve found her, she’s staying with my family. Problem solved. Why don’t you go get lost now?” Max suggested. His fists were bunched at his side. This man had hurt a member of his family. Maybe knew where Isabel was. Now he was checking out the little girl his parents had taken in? Too many coincidences.
Ignoring him, Gerin knelt back down beside his sister, cupping her cheek. “Is it alright with you if I go now? You’re in good hands with these two, you know.”
She nodded, hugging herself around the middle but straightening her spine.
She could never fool him, but he took her stance for what it was. She’d be fine with Max and Liz. They could protect her better than he for the time being. So he stood and walked away.
Liz stayed quiet, not forgetting how the girl had reacted to her the first time. Whatever she’d done to frighten her, it had been thorough. But the tears hanging from Sam’s lashes were enough to make Liz willing to reset the rising and falling of the sun if only to cheer her up.
“Sam,” Max took Gerin’s place at her side, kneeling in concern. “Sam, are you hurt? What happened?”
She sniffed, answering him but not taking her eyes from Liz. “Diane an’ I were eating, and I wasn’t paying attention, and the bad man found me, and I don’t know what happened. Diane tried to keep him away from me, and he wouldn’t, and then there was an explosion. But I made sure she wasn’t hurt, Max. I promise you I wouldn’t have let her get hurt.” When Max hugged her, she wished it was Liz. Max was good, and strong, but he wasn’t Liz.
Did Liz not want her anymore? She wondered, gazing at Liz in fear and awe. Had her own fear pushed Liz away forever?
Crouching, Liz tentatively reached out a hand. Her eyes waited for any indication of panic, but there was none. Her fingertips stretched, stroking the side of Sam’s cheek lovingly. “It’s alright, Sam. Thank you for helping Mrs. Evans, but you don’t need to worry about that. You’re just a little girl, it’s our job to protect you. You worry about whether you’ll get the present you want for Christmas, or if you’ll have to beg and wait to see if you get it for your birthday instead. I promise you the bad man won’t get you, or hurt you, again.” She knew this one moment was the most important in her life, but wasn’t sure why just yet. The air was charged with energy, emotion. It was the feeling that something profound was taking place, whether she acknowledged it or understood it or not.
Sam’s arms unwound from her own waist, one taking Max’s hand and the other extending to pull herself into Liz’s open arms. Resting her head just over Liz’s heart, she latched onto Liz’s waist firmly. The steady, calm thump-thumping under her ear lulled her to a lethargic state, content to ignore the stench of smoke and burning plastic so long as she was safely tucked in Liz’s arms. It was the one thing she’d prayed for her whole life, even if because of this moment, it’d only be temporary.
“Liz? Oh my God, Liz! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Amy DeLuca collapsed to her knees beside Liz, throwing her arms around both the teenager and the child. “I was so worried! Thank God you and Maria weren’t in there! Oh! I hope that Michael boy wasn’t working, he wasn’t, was he? Oh Lizzie!” She sobbed into Liz’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry about your parents!”
Liz stiffened, a ripple from her toes to her head as each muscle and tendon tensed. In her arms, Sam fell apart, wailing into Liz’s shirt hysterically, clutching at her jacket like a life raft.
Max watched, sitting a breathe away from Liz, his hand twined with Sam’s. He resisted the urge to cover Liz’s ears, to shield her from Amy’s words. It wasn’t his place anymore, yet, whatever. He couldn’t figure out where they stood. But observing her with Sam, seeing the side of her he’d fallen in love with, he felt hope for the first time since October. This was the Liz he knew. Honest, kind Liz.
And, God, did he wish Sam was theirs.
“What about my parents?” Liz asked, sounding young and lost suddenly. Her arms tightened around Sam, trying to calm her anew.
Amy pulled back, hand flying to her mouth. “Oh, god. You didn’t know? Oh, god. Liz, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have just assumed, I thought you knew! I’m so sorry, Liz.” She squeeze Liz’s shoulder, forcing a smile and Liz wanted to smack her. Stop apologizing and tell me! Liz begged mentally.
“Liz, you’re parents are being taken to the hospital. They’re--they’re burned. Badly.” Amy said. She waved her free hand in front of her eyes. “But I know they’ll be just fine, sweetheart. They’re strong, and healthy, and the doctors got them out of here real fast. You’ll see. They’ll be up and about in no time. Doctors are good at doing that sort of thing. You’ll see.”
But Liz wasn’t listening anymore. She stopped listening at badly, and buried her face in Sam’s hair, breathing deeply the innocent smell of flowers the girl carried.
Rocking back on his heels, Max gazed across the street at the Crashdown, his sanctuary, his salvation. Where he could watch Liz for hours, where he’d spent his childhood pinning away. The half-crashed UFO hanging over the entrance was blackened and crumbling to the sidewalk. Flames still licked up the sides of the building, not contained on the first floor. The Parker’s apartment was burning too, the heat nearly unbearable even from the distance.
Liz’s home was gone. That fire was too strong to be an accident in the kitchen. The flames were too pale, and the more he focused on them, the more they appeared almost white. Why would someone burn down the building?
Same reason someone had murdered Alex and staged his death.
The alien conspiracy he’d dragged them both into.
This was all his fault.
Sam is not supposed to be me, however, I just had a really hard time finding a suitable picture for her. )
