Lethal Whispers (ML, MATURE) 10/29/15 COMPLETE

[Natalie36]

omg

[begonia9508]

This agent knows a lot about Max and this, even not knowing about him and what he did to Liz, when she was a kid, so the FBI has not reason to believe that jerk who tried to rape Liz and like Max said, when a criminal will go out of his problem, he tells fearytale, to proof of his innocence...

Maybe this agent is simply an alien, searching for the aliens who landed on Earth?

Thanks EVE

[keepsmiling7]

This Agent Martin is going to be big trouble. He doesn't appear to be the kind that gives up and goes away.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[L-J-L 76]

Please come back with more please????


From:
L-J-L 76

[saori_1902]

[max and liz believer]

Roswelllostcause - That 'creep' (as you so nicely call him) is very good at research. Very good. Thank you for the feedback!
Natalie36 - Thank you
Eve (begonia9508) - Hehe, I'm starting to suspect that you believe everyone's an alien, Eve (in all of my stories, that is). Thank you for the feedback!
Carolyn (keepsmiling7) - Yeah, Agent Martin is a tenacious guy… Unfortunately Thank you for the feedback!
L-J-L 76 - Thank you
saori_1902 - Thank you


Previously on "Lethal Whispers"

Liz was attacked by David Perkins, her work colleague. Max saved her. He used a force field in doing so, which was noted by David Perkins before he passed out due to his body harshly slamming into a bricked wall. An agent from the FBI by the name of Joel Martin has noted some abnormalities in the background checks of Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess, and has just questioned David Perkins (who told him about the green light he saw just before passing out), Liz (who covered for Max the best she could) and Max (who tried to give the impression that he was just a Regular Joe, having been at the right place at the right time to save Ms. Parker) about the assault on Liz Parker.

Max has told Liz about his heritage. He has not told her anything about Michael or Isabel. Liz has kinda figured out the connection on her own - at least that Max's sister is alien too. The group has scheduled a meeting with Liz, to see who Max has just invited into the "I know an Alien"-club without their unanimous consent.


And that's where we at right now.


CHAPTER 35
Maria

She watched the little wisp of dark-haired girl seated awkwardly at the edge of Max’s couch. The girl was obviously not comfortable in the present company, but she didn’t appear frightened. It was almost impressive how relatively at ease the woman appeared in light of what she had found out over these last couple of weeks.

And that was discounting the assault and the fact that Max was right now claiming to having foreseen the girl being tortured for information at the hands of the government.

But Maria’s boyfriend was everything but impressed. He seemed certain that Liz would be the person to bring them all down as all their problems seemed to have started at the same time as Max’s premonitions about Liz’s assault. Consequently, Liz was to blame, a logic that was very much Michael.

Maria repressed a sigh as she watched yet another of Max and Michael’s heated discussions. They had yet to discuss Liz, the main reason as to why Max had called for yet another ‘important meeting’.

Instead the conversation had started off by Michael accusing Max of not keeping his rescue of Liz under the radar, only to move on to Michael claiming that Max was putting them all in jeopardy and Michael wanting to leave Boston.

It had not helped Max’s defense any when he chose that moment to tell Michael about the FBI agent. Michael had looked about ready to pack his bags as Max revealed that not only had the federal agent interrogated Liz but that he had also sought out Max in his apartment earlier today.

Judging from the horrified expression on Liz’s face, she had been unaware of Max’s meeting with the Bureau.

Judging from the look on everyone’s face but Max’s, this was the first time Max had told anyone about it.

Which had the effect of pushing Maria to line up behind Michael. Being approached by a man that her extraterrestrial friends had worked their whole lives to hide from was something you would tell the others in that specific group immediately.

“I knew we were all meeting today,” was Max’s line of defense. “Why call you all up separately and cause a panic?”

Isabel looked absolutely terrified and Maria could see tears in her eyes. Isabel rarely ever cried.

Isabel’s voice was wavering as she said, “We have to leave, Max. Now. We can’t stay here. He knows too much.”

“You think we can hide? From the government?” Max questioned and glanced at Liz.

“We’ll have to change our identities, occupations…” Michael started, but Maria couldn’t listen anymore.

Putting her hands up, she rose from her seat. “Wait. Wait, stop.”

Michael looked at her, his eyes frantic, but Maria only saw his fear. “Ria, we have to go.”

“Think about this,” Maria pleaded. “Think about it. I’m not saying Max is right, but we have to think about this. We’d be changing our whole lives. There’d be no turning back.”

“It would be worse if we ran,” Max said quietly. “We’d look guilty.”

“We are guilty,” Michael exploded. “We are aliens and we can do exactly what they are ‘accusing’ us of.”

“Keep your voice down,” Max hissed. “The walls are thin.”

“What’s so important about staying here, Maxwell, huh?”

Maria saw the quick look Max sent in Liz’s direction and her heart clenched. Had Max finally found someone to trust? Someone to love? Just seconds before their world came crashing down?

“We have family. Friends. Work colleagues.”

“I think they’d appreciate that you were alive rather than dead,” Michael said coldly.

“You don’t have any family,” Max pointed out, his voice harsh and defensive. “You have Maria,” he pointed towards Maria with an air that almost made Maria feel guilty about loving Michael, “Isabel and I have our parents. Maria has her parents. This might be an easy decision for you, Michael, but the rest of us need time.”

“If you cared enough about your family you would’ve told your parents about who you are,” Michael stated evenly. “Why haven’t you? Because you don’t trust them, that’s why. You don’t trust them to not turn against you and hand you over.”

“No,” Max said, but Maria was certain everyone could hear how unconvinced he sounded.

“Michael, stop it,” Maria begged. This argument was turning ugly, turning into personal attacks, and Maria (as the human bystander) could see Isabel curling in on herself, sitting quietly in the armchair. As if she was passively awaiting the verdict without having any power to affect it.

“Then who are you staying for? This girl perhaps,” and for the first time Michael acknowledged the other human being in the room.

Maria watched Max’s controlled facade crumble and feared for the outcome. Turning to Michael, she tried to avert the catastrophe, “Michael. Sit down and shut up.”

She didn’t have time to glory in the fact that she had made him look satisfactorily startled before she turned to Max. “Max, can I talk to you for a second?” Surveying the rest of the group, Maria added, “Privately.”

Max looked like he didn’t want to leave Liz alone, but Maria wasn’t prepared to take ‘no’ for an answer. Turning soft eyes to Isabel, she added, “Isabel will look after Liz, won’t you, Iz?”

Isabel nodded mutely, her eyes red with unshed tears.

Maria took a firm grip on Max’s elbow and guided him into the bedroom. As she closed the door behind them, Max adopted a defensive expression even before Maria had a chance to utter a single word.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she admonished.

Max sighed. “I don’t need a ‘private’ scolding from you, Maria. I know what you all think-“

Maria raised her eyebrows. “Oh, do you?” Was he a mind-reader now as well?

“-but I’m only trying to look out for you. And I really don’t think that running is the best idea.”

“I don’t either.”

Max wouldn’t have looked more surprised if she had stripped naked and set herself on fire. “You don’t?”

“Michael’s a hot-head and you’re a…cold-head. You’re at two extremes of the spectrum. This is how I see it; you don’t want to do anything and Michael wants action now. Both solutions are bad.”

“I don’t think we should sit around doing nothi-“ Max started to protest, but Maria cut him off.

“Really, Max? You’ve known about the FBI agent contacting Liz for three days and now is the first we hear about it. That same agent came to threaten you this afternoon and you didn’t even consider rescheduling the meeting a bit earlier in light of those circumstances? Doing nothing is going to get you guys killed. Or at least captured.”

Max seemed to consider her words as he tiredly sank down on the edge of the bed. At the air of defeat that was embracing him, Maria sighed and her voice grew gentle, “Is this about Liz?”

Max scrubbed his hands down his face and his voice was muffled behind his palms as he answered tiredly, “No.”

Maria sank to her knees in front of him and put a hand on his knee. “You might be able to fool Michael out there, but not me. I see the way you look at her. The way she looks at you. There’s something,” Maria wet her lips as she fumbled for the correct description, “explosive about you. Something that we can’t ignore. She’s already a part of us.”

Max shook his head. “She can’t be.”

“Max…” Maria said softly and peeled his hands away from his face. Meeting his reluctant gaze, she said, “It’s too late. You can’t go back. She already knows and she’s part of this. She’s in as much danger as the rest of us.”

“Not if I leave her alone. Not if she denies any connection to us.”

Maria scoffed. “And what about your vision? If that’s a true sign of the future, they won’t give up just because she denies knowability.”

Her friend had a haunted look in his eyes as he looked at Maria. “I only wanted to protect her. Instead I’ve put her life in danger.”

“She’s not running away, is she?” Maria said softly. “Stop imagining what everyone thinks. Maybe she doesn’t mind-“

Max laughed incredulously. “You think she doesn’t mind having her life threatened?”

Maria’s eyes turned stern. “That’s not what I meant. I’m just calling it as I see it. She doesn’t want to be very far away from you right now. She’d probably follow you if we decide to run.”

“She’s already made that clear,” Max murmured, surprising Maria. Even if she had called him on his lie, she never would have thought that the discussion had already come up between Max and Liz.

“She wants to go into hiding with us?”

Max looked beautifully tormented. “She feels safe with me. She’s convinced that she’ll be safer from the government and the people out to get us if she’s with us rather than away from us.”

“She’s right,” Maria said.

“Ria, please-“

“No,” Maria interrupted seriously. “I really think she’s right. You can’t protect her if you’re not here.”

“I’ve told her that I’ll stay until the danger is averted.”

“Then what?”

Max looked at her speculative. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe there will only be one threat. But what if you get another premonition after averting this one? Maybe you are destined to protect this girl and being away from her will make you go mad.”

Max shook his head. “I can’t rob her of a normal life. I’m already feeling bad about possibly doing that to Isabel and knowing that it’s my fault that we’re in this situation to start with.”

Maria sighed. They had reached the root of the problem. “Max. You saved a girl’s life. Don’t ever feel guilty about that.”

“I don’t feel guilty about that.”

“No, but you believe that saving her life inadvertently lead to suspicions being raised about us.”

“Didn’t it?”

“From what you just told us, the government have known about you for awhile. If they hadn’t found something concrete on you now, maybe they would have in a month or two years from now. It was unavoidable.”

Maria could sense his hesitation. To Max, it was much easier to just take the blame instead of admitting that things were out of his control. That things were happening according to a pre-set destiny.

“So what do you think that we should do?”

She had pulled him in here to confirm her suspicions that Liz was the reason he didn’t want to leave. That even though he claimed to want out of her life, he couldn’t leave her unprotected. But it was also because Max was being cornered out there. Michael had that effect on him. Max got all defensive and no proper decision could be made. At least not without upsetting Michael.

“I have an idea.” She got to her feet and held her hand out to him. “Come.”

He inhaled deeply and took her hand.

Together they left the safety of the bedroom to face the rest of the group.

*****

Michael

It had been decided that they would leave.

But Maria’s plan had been to do the preparations slowly and thoroughly. In the cunning way of the love of his life, Maria had come up with an option that served as a middle road for him and Max.

Max wanted to sit on his hands and do nothing while Michael wanted to run as fast as he could. Preferably right now.

But Maria had a point; they still had time to do this properly. To set up a decent life for themselves with other identities, which hopefully would be a more stable life than the one they were bound to have had they left in a hurry.

That didn’t mean that Michael wasn’t restless or that he was less aware of the green flashing sign on top of his head screaming ‘GET YOUR ALIEN HERE’. He felt like his every step was being watched and it was not just paranoia. A federal agent was on their trail, which made plans to go into hiding more painstaking. They had to be very careful in everything they did from now on.

“Michael.”

He turned to his girlfriend who had just exited the bathroom and felt a chill sweep over him. She was pale; a sickly version of his normally very exuberant significant other.

He took a step towards her. “Are you okay?”

She started nodding, only to seem to change her mind in the middle of it and start to shake her head in a negative instead. “No.”

He approached her and put a hand to her forehead. “Are you sick?”

She looked nauseous, which put him very much ill at ease.

Her cold hand grabbed his gently and tugged on it. “Come with me.”

He found himself immersed in the hotness of foreboding as Maria led him into the bathroom. With a gesture towards the sink, where a plastic rectangular object was positioned, she started talking, “I’m late. About twenty days late. I guess I was in denial. The timing couldn’t be worse. I’ve been feeling queasy and-“

Maria’s voice faded to the background of his consciousness as he stepped up to the sink and lifted the plastic object. It was not like it was rocket science. He knew perfectly well what he was holding in his hand and judging by the breathless babble of his girlfriend behind him it wasn’t hard to guess what the two lines in the small indicator window meant.

“-didn’t even think it was possible to-“

“You’re pregnant,” Michael breathed, putting an abrupt halt to Maria’s nervous rant.

He couldn’t look at her. He kept staring at the pregnancy test, his vision blurring at the edges. Was this how it felt like before you passed out?

Her voice was very quiet and weak, very un-Maria, as she answered, “That’s the fifth pregnancy test. They all show the same thing. I guess it’s not definitive, but yes, I think I’m pregnant.”

There was a clattering sound as the pregnancy test hit the sink and Michael had to grab the edge of the porcelain to steady himself.

Pregnant.

“Breathe, Michael,” Maria said gently behind him, but he could still detect the fear in her voice.

She’s just as scared as I am.

He tried to follow her instructions and forced a breath in through his nose. His vision focused for a second, so he took another deep breath. In and out. Slowly, in and out.

“Michael…”

He closed his eyes. He had never heard her sound so small, so vulnerable. He instantly hated it. Hated that he had in some way contributed to making her feel that way.

Turning to face her, he took one glance at her tear-stricken face before he pulled her against his chest, tightening his arms around her body. He rested his lips in the cloud of her blonde hair and squeezed his eyes tightly closed. A baby.

“Are you okay?” he whispered against her head.

“Not really,” came her muffled answer.

He took another deep breath and shuffled them to the toilet seat. Sitting down he pulled her onto his lap and she curled up against him. He kissed her forehead before leaning his forehead against hers.

“I never…I didn’t think we could…” he was struggling to say the right words, because even though he was not known to be the most level-headed and eloquent guy, he recognized that this was a fragile situation that they would remember forever. He couldn’t mess it up. “I never knew we could have babies.”

“I know,” Maria whispered and moved to look up at him. Her movement had him opening his eyes and he stared into those green depths to her soul.

God, he loved her. He would follow her to the end of the world if he had to.

“Do you want to keep it?” He realized that they had never had the discussion. If they were pro or against abortion. Hell, they had never even discussed having kids period. They just hadn’t thought it was possible, that they were biologically or genetically compatible. But because they knew very little about Michael’s origin and genetic make-up, Maria had at times been on the pill and sometimes they had stuck to using condoms, just to be safe. But on the other hand, they hadn’t been that worried if they had forgotten to use protection once or twice; the ‘risk’ of them becoming pregnant had been deemed minimal.

Or not.

“I don’t know,” Maria said softly and lowered her eyes. She was absent-mindedly playing with the collar of his shirt, tears running silently down her cheeks. “I mean. What if it’s abnormal?”

Her word stung, even though the thought had occurred to him as well. It was just so much harder to hear it out loud that something that was the product of their love could be abnormal. Just because he was abnormal.

“Yeah,” he said, reaching a decision. “We should…maybe it’ll be for the best if we…”

“No, Michael,” Maria interrupted when she read where his thought process was going. “I don’t want to kill it. It’s our child. We’ll do sonograms and whatever, to figure out if it’s healthy.”

He shook his head at the enormity she was painting. At the complexity of their situation and the hopelessness in that his Maria wouldn’t be able to go through a normal human pregnancy. “We can’t do that, Ria. What if something is wrong? They will have records of it. We can’t do this the normal way.”

She let out a strangled sob and his arms tightened around her torso. “I want to keep it, Michael. It’s ours. I don’t care if it’s not right. All this time I could only dream that I’d be able to share something like this with you and now it’s happened. I can’t get rid of it. I can’t.”

“Shh shh,” Michael hushed gently, wiping at the flood of tears on her cheeks. She stilled and looked up at him again and he managed a small smile, even though he was terrified. “We’ll figure it out, okay? Don’t worry.”

A light switched on in her eyes and Michael’s heart clenched at the brief glimpse of the Maria he knew. The tenacious and persistent version that he loved.

“You sure?”

He nodded, and with a finger below her chin he angled her mouth up to his. Kissing her gently, tasting the saltiness of her tears on her full lips, he tried to show her that he loved her completely and that nothing would get in the way of that. “We’ll be okay.”

She smiled and he seemed to have abolished some of her fear. “Okay.”

But his own fear stuck with him.


TBC...

[Roswelllostcause]

Michael might have to learn not to be such a hothead! If Maria really is pregnant then this will change everything. Max is so in deniel that he is in love with Liz!

[L-J-L 76]

Michael might have to learn not to be such a hothead! If Maria really is pregnant then this will change everything. Max is so in deniel that he is in love with Liz!

All I can say is I very much agree with Roswelllostcause. And by the way Great Chapter!!! I hope Max and Liz will admit their feelings and give into their feelings really soon.


From:
L-J-L 76

[saori_1902]

Wow, great part!

[keepsmiling7]

Interesting changes ahead for Maria and Michael. They didn't think that was possible......
Hope Liz will appreciate what Max has done for her. That creep from her work will soon be out of the picture.
Thanks,
Carolyn