Roswell Fanatics

A.N. Sorry I know this post is later than I promised but for some reason this chapter gave me a little grief. I kept getting fed up with it, I ended up writing the next chapter and I started a new fic on the CC board before I came back to it. But here it is, maybe I should get stuck more often, I seem to get a lot done!

Chapter 10

Maria was awed by the simple elegance that was her reception. Isabel had done an amazing job in such a short time period. Maria got to meet everyone that was at her wedding. One comment they heard over and over was how beautiful their vows were.

Currently a very large woman was making her way towards them
.
“Oh darlings! It is so nice to meet you, everyone calls me Ms. Patty!”

“Nice to meet you, thank you for coming,” Said Maria as she shook her hand.

“Oh no, thank you for sharing your special day with me! Your wedding reminds me so much of my third one, although the vows weren’t as sweet!” She shook Michael’s hand and then went and sat with Babette.

Michael wrapped his arms around Maria’s waist, “I think we have officially met every member of Stars Hollow, now we can spend some time together.”

He leaned down and started to kiss her passionately, a few moments later Max came up behind them.

“Save that for later,” He clapped Michael on the back and then made his way past them.

Liz walked up and hugged Maria. “You look just like a princess! Your ceremony was so beautiful!”

“Yeah it was pretty awesome,” Michael replied as he gave her a big hug.

Isabel walked over to them, “Okay, we are ready to serve the food, I’ll make the announcement and you and Maria can start the line.”

They got their food and the group settled into a long table that faced the others. They ate and chatted happily with each other.

After dinner the band started up and everyone began dancing.

After about a half an hour the band stopped to take a break, and then it was Maria’s turn to sing. She made her way to the stage and picked up a microphone.

“The first song I am singing is her my best friend, Liz and her husband Max.”

The music began and Liz immediately recognized it as “I shall Believe” by Sheryl Crow.

She grabbed Max’s hand and they made their way to the dance floor. He pulled her close to him and she breathed in his scent before resting her head on his shoulder.

She was completely enjoying the moment. She loved feeling Max so close to her, his strong arms wrapped around her. She loved Maria’s beautiful voice singing her favorite song and swaying to the music with the man she loved. She felt completely content.

Everything they had been through was worth it, because they were all together and they were happy. She only wished Alex could be there. But she knew that even though his body wasn’t there, his spirit was definitely present. If only she could talk to him again, let him know she loved him.

She pushed the thought away and sighed into Max’s chest. She felt him kiss the top of her head and she looked up at him and smiled.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked.

“You, and how happy I am, and how everything we have been through is worth it because we are here and happy.”

“You were thinking about Alex too weren’t you?”

“Yes.” She didn’t have to explain anymore, he knew her well enough. He just pulled her close to him again.

“I wish he could be here too, but in a way I think he is.” Said Max.

“That is what I was just thinking about.”

They danced in silence for another minute, as Maria moved into her second song. It was the one she sang when they were in Vegas, it brought back more happy memories.

Liz looked up at her and saw that she had tears in her eyes, she knew she was reminiscing also.

Liz’s eyes drifted over to Isabel and Kyle who were dancing awfully close together.

“I wonder what’s going on there.” Said Liz.

“Not sure, but I’m interested to find out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maria started to sing her first song and Kyle got up and offered his hand to Isabel. She took it gratefully and they headed onto the dance floor.

“This wedding is really beautiful.” Said Kyle, “Your amazing, you know that right.”

Isabel gave him a shy smile, “Thanks. Hey you know we have to share a room now don’t you.”

Kyle smirked, “Yeah maybe I can get you to dream walk Jody Ann again.”

“In your dreams.”

“Yeah that’s kind of the point.” Isabel rewarded him with a slap aside the head and then they continued to dance in silence again.

When Maria started her second song Isabel sighed, “Hmmm, I love this song.”

Without thinking she rested her head onto Kyle’s shoulder. He responded by pulling her closer to him where they continued to dance in silence for a few moments.

Isabel pulled back to look at him, she immediately got lost in the beauty of his eyes. She felt herself leaning closer into his face, and he leaned in to meet her half way.

Before she knew what was happening their lips met in a gentle kiss. Isabel reached her hand into his hair, deepening the kiss. His strong arms held her even closer to him and then something happened that Isabel didn’t expect.

She was immediately assaulted with flashes from Kyle. Her first instinct was to pull away, but she didn’t. Similar to Liz, she saw herself as Kyle saw her. Especially how he saw her that new years eve when she took him to the frat party. She also saw how he loved to look at her while they traveled on the road. She also felt his feelings, how much he cared for her and loved her.

The flashes ended and she pulled back and looked at him. He looked a little dazed and they stood there and just stared at each other while other couples continued to dance around them.

She hadn’t had a flash since… Alex. God Alex, she had never felt like this since him, not even with Jesse. Isabel suddenly remembered Jesse, and that she was still married to him.

“God Kyle, I’m sorry.”

With that she broke from his embrace and ran off the dance floor to a quiet area of the square. She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Kyle, he pulled her down to sit on a bench next to him.

“What’s wrong Iz?”

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not, it felt right, please don’t tell me I’m the only one who felt that.” Said Kyle, as he looked at her with those soulful blue eyes.

“No, I did. It felt more right than anything has in a long, long time.” She tried to explain.

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I’m married Kyle, I’m still married to Jesse.” She saw his face fall a little, and felt something pinch at her heart when it did.

“I’m such an idiot, I’m sorry Isabel, I shouldn’t have taken advantage.” He hung his face and placed it in his hands.

“No Kyle, you misunderstand. I’m glad we took advantage of that moment. But I don’t want to pursue something with you until things are settled with Jesse. I don’t love him anymore, and I know that. I don’t think we ever really were right for each other; I just got caught up in him as a way to get over Alex. But I need closure on it. It isn’t fair if I move on without letting him know I want a divorce. I want to do this right Kyle.”

He took his face out of his hands and looked up at her. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” She smiled at him and then stood up and held out her hand.

“We don’t want to miss anymore of the reception, we should get back before they send out a search party.” He smiled back at her and took her hand as they went back towards the party.

When they got back Liz ran up to them, “Where have you been? We’re ready to cut the cake now!” But before it was time for cake, they had to do the toast’s.

Liz and Max stood on the stage and Liz had the microphone.

“I have been best friends with Maria for most of my life. We have been with each other through every step of our lives, good and bad. We were always attached at the hip, until the inevitable happened, boys. Of course Maria has always been a little eccentric, and she couldn’t meet the man she would love in any normal way. She chose the one that stole her car, with her in it, during our sophomore year of high school. After that day everyone around them could tell a bond had formed between the two. Their relationship has had plenty of ups and downs that what happens when you put two very passionate people together. That passion had finally led them to the alter and even now that I have to officially share my best friend, I’m glad its with you Michael. I know you will always treat her right, and do everything to make her happy. To Michael and Maria.”

The crowd chorused, “To Michael and Maria.” There was a tinkling as glasses were clanked together and everyone took a sip of their drinks.

They quieted down when Max took the microphone.

“Michael has been like a brother to me since we were very small, when we first met there was an immediate bond between us. Michael has always been a handful, he makes rash decisions, is blunt with his emotions and can sometimes be a little rude. But there is a goodness in him that drives his decisions. Not everyone gets to see his soft side, but he knows how to love and he is an honest and caring person. I always had a tough time keeping him in line, that was until Maria stepped in and took that particular job from me. He is now semi-polite and can even be charming after he gets a swift slap to the back of his head. So Maria, continue to keep my best friend whipped, you make all that is good in him shine through. I wish you both a long and happy life…. With lots, and lots of children.”

Max had a goofy grin on his face and Michael shot him a death look.

“To Michael and Maria!” The crowd echoed him and there was another round of tinkling glasses.

“Now onto the cake!” He said before replacing the microphone on the stand.

Liz and Max made their way back to Michael and Maria where they both hugged them.

The newly-wed couple made their way to the cake table. They cut the cake and Michael was nice enough not to smash it into Maria’s face.

They started to dish out the cake when Maria looked at Sookie and signaled her over.

“I have a little surprise for you space boy.” Said Maria as Sookie came over and pulled the groom’s cake out from a cart and placed it on the table. It was in the shape of an alien head and was topped with green icing.

“That’s nice Maria, really.” Said Michael with an uncertain look on his face, he almost looked insulted.

“You have to try it,” said Maria as she cut him off a slice and handed it to him.

He took a bite and his face immediately lit up, “This is awesome!”

He looked over at Sookie, “You have to give her this recipe, this is the best cake I’ve ever had!”

He then turned to Max and Isabel and motioned for them to come over and try it. They each took a slice and immediately loved it.

One of the guests walked up and was going to grab a slice when Max stopped him. “I wouldn’t eat it, you probably won’t like it.” He warned.

The guy just gave him a look and took a huge bite, then immediately spit it out. This resulted in the group bursting into laughter.

Max picked up a piece of regular cake and handed it to him, “I warned you, here try this one.”

The guy looked at the piece with a little skepticism, but took it anyway. He took a bite and smiled, then winked at Sookie and walked off.

“Not much of a talker is he?” asked Liz.

“Yeah, I’m not sure that he ever has. This town is full of people like that though.” Said Sookie as she made her way back to her table.

The night continued on and there was an abundance of dancing and socializing. The whole evening was wonderful. A few hours later Lorelai and Rory walked up.

“We had a really great time, thank you for sharing this with us!” Said Rory.

“Oh, I have something for you guys, its right over there,” said Lorelai.

They looked over and there was a horse drawn carriage waiting for them, she then handed Michael a key, “This is to the cottage that sits to the right of the Inn. Isabel had it all arranged for you.”

“Thank you so much!” gushed Maria as she gave Isabel and Lorelai a hug.

Michael didn’t have a chance to open his mouth before Maria grabbed his hand and drug him to the carriage. The group waved good bye to them as they climbed into it.

Inside there was a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and two glasses. Michael waved his hand over it, removing the alcohol and poured them each a glass. They toasted each other and shared a kiss before they settled back and enjoyed the scenery on their way back to the Inn.

When they arrived the carriage driver drove them right up to the entrance to the cottage.

They walked up to the door and Michael scooped Maria into his arms as he opened the door and they crossed the threshold.

They both gasped at what they saw. The room was covered in rose petals and their were candles lit everywhere. It was beautiful.

“Isabel thinks of everything doesn’t she?” Asked Michael, but it was more of a statement than a question.

He looked down at Maria, she looked so great in her wedding dress.

He picked her up in his arms and set her on the bed, “Did I tell you how amazingly beautiful you look today?”

“Yes, but you can tell me again.” She giggled as he kissed her, then climbed into bed next to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning everyone was still pretty tired from the reception, so everyone slept in late. They took their time getting ready for the day, and then they packed and loaded the van up. It was time for them to take off again, although they all loved this town and wouldn’t have minded to stay there a little longer.

Michael and Maria met up with them in the dining room for lunch. They were both glowing and looked very happy.

“Did you have a good time last night?” asked Kyle.

Maria blushed and Michael laughed, “You know it!”

After they ate they settled into the lounge, Liz had her lap top and they were anxious to try out her firewall.

Thank you:
Darknhauntinglove
Timelord31
Zanity
Mt Gazer
For the feedback, it is really encouraging! Also thanks to any lurkers who may be reading this!

AN: I wasn’t sure what state One Tree Hill is in, so I’m saying it is North Carolina. I think that is where it is filmed, so close enough. Also, we are going to put this timeline at the season 3, pre-school shooting.

Disclaimer: I don’t own One Tree Hill or any of the characters, I am merely borrowing them. No infringement is intended.




Chapter 10

Emails…..

Isabel to Jessie:

Jessie-
Hi its Isabel. I know this may be a little bit of a shock to you, but Liz figured a safe way for us to communicate. I wanted to mail you to see how you have been, it is safe for you to mail me back if you would like to. Was the Boston job everything you have hoped for? Have you received my letters? I’m not the same person I was when I met you Jessie. This may be the most difficult thing I have to tell you, but there is no use in leading you on. I don’t think we will ever be able to be together again. You should move on, I know I have said it before and I truly mean it. In all honestly I am moving on myself. Please don’t be hurt or angry with me, but I haven’t seen you in so long. The life I lived before I left Roswell almost seems like a dream to me now. I hope to hear from you soon.

- Isabel


Liz to Parents:

Mom and Dad-
It’s me, its Liz! I finally finished the firewall I have been telling you about in my letters! Now I can actually hear back from! I have missed so much of your lives, I know I have kept you updated on mine, but now I want to hear all about yours! Guess what… Michael and Maria got married yesterday! Can you believe it? It was a beautiful wedding. I plan on uploading the pictures from the digital camera today while we are on the road and I will email them to you. I’m also attaching the rest of the wedding pictures from my wedding, I wasn’t able to mail them all to you. How has everything else been? Have you noticed any government people hanging around? I still hope that one day we can return home. I want children of my own. I can’t wait to hear back from you, tell me everything!
Love

- Liz


Maria to Amy:

Mom, hi! Yup, that’s right, it’s me, your little girl! I can actually email you now and you can mail me back!

Well… you can now call me Mrs. Guerin! That’s right, space boy finally asked me to marry him! And it was so beautiful, he sat there in front of everyone and laid all his feelings out for me! Oh, and his vows, they were amazing! Kyle recorded the whole thing, I’ll see if we can make a copy of the recording to send to you. Liz is going to put the digital pictures on the computer today, so I will mail those to you tomorrow! My only regret was that you weren’t there to enjoy the day with me. Liz and I were talking and that was her only regret also. Maybe if we can return home one day we can do a vow renewal with all our family! I love you and I hope to hear from you soon! Michael says hello!
Love

-Maria


Kyle to Jim:

Hey dad! We can email now and I wanted to drop you a line. Maria and Michael were married yesterday, it was nice. I still can’t believe that Michael is married. How is your job going? Are you still playing with the Kit Shickers? You were really great, I enjoyed watching your shows. Anyways, not to much is happening with me. Excpet I am falling in love with Isabel. Talk to you soon!

-Kyle


Isabel and Max to parents:

Mom and Dad-

Greetings from your other-worldly children! You can mail us now and we hope to be caught up with everything in your lives! How is the practice dad? We are okay, well as okay as you can expect us to be. We are getting a little warn from living on the run, but somehow we are still managing to remain happy. Michael got married yesterday, I know that’s a little unbelievable, but he loves Maria. It was really beautiful. Have you noticed anything FBI related? Are they still hanging around? Please mail us soon, we can’t wait to hear from you!
Love

-Isabel and Max

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had gotten packed up and were on the road again.

They said goodbye to Rory and Lorelai, and Sookie made them a picnic lunch to take with them.

They were traveling down the east coast, they were approaching North Carolina when they decided to stop for lunch.

They pulled off the highway and drove for a bit when they found a secluded field. They laid out a blanket and started to unpack the picnic.

There were sandwiches, and salads, chips and soda. She even packed the rest of the Tabasco cake and the regular cake too.

They ate and chatted with one another. Michael and Max fought over the last piece of cake until Isabel took it and ate it.


Currently Max and Michael were tossing around a football. Liz, Isabel and Maria were watching Kyle as he practiced his power. Kyle had to have a small running start, he would focus on a point and get here quickly. He had only been practicing for short distances.

There was currently a debate going on.

“I think he’s teleporting,” said Isabel. Maria shook her head.

“No, I’m not so sure. I think he is just running really fast, that is why he has to have a start.” Said Maria.

“Liz, what do you think?” asked Isabel.

She looked thoughtful and then called out to Kyle.

“Do you think you could maybe slow down a little bit, so we can see?”

He gave her a strange look, “No, I don’t think I can.”

As if a light bulb went off Liz’s face brightened.

“I know, we will have to test it!” She transformed her wrist watch into a stop watch and turned some grass into a piece of paper and a pen. At this point Isabel and Maria shared a look, they knew Liz was going into scientific mode.

“I think I’m going to go watch Michael.” Said Maria, standing up.

“Yeah me too.” Said Isabel as they hurried off to where the guys were.

Kyle looked around for an escape, but seeing that he was the test subject he knew he would have to go with it. He sighed and listened as Liz explained what she wanted to do.

First he would do a series of ‘runs’ a short distance, and she would see how long it took from start to finish. Then they would do a much longer distance to see if the time changed.

They worked on it for a half in hour and came to the conclusion he was teleporting. It didn’t take anymore time for him to go a great distance as it did for a short.

They also learned that he could go pretty far, as long as he could see the point, he could get to it. Liz wanted to see how far he could really go, and made a note to use the vans odometer to measure later on.

Liz was about to have him do more tests when Kyle collapsed on a spot of grass next to her.

“Seriously Liz, it’s a lot of work.” She looked at him, noticing he was sweaty and gross.

“Oh sorry.” She said and pulled a bottle of water out of the cooler. He took a long drink of it.

“So, I’m teleporting. That’s pretty cool.” He said looking thoughtful.

“Maybe with practice you will be able to go through solid objects. That could come in handy. Maybe we should see if you can bring another person along with you.”

“I agree, but not today, I’m tired.” He said falling back on the grass.

The other four of the group walked up to and took seats around them.

“So what’s the verdict?” asked Isabel.

“He’s teleporting.” Said Liz. Isabel gave Maria and smug look and held out her hand. Maria sighed and handed her a ten dollar bill.

Not that the money really mattered, it was just the principle of it. They gathered their things and got back in the van.

It was starting to be late afternoon and they wanted to find someplace to stay for the night. They finally pulled into a semi-small town called One Tree Hill.

“This looks like a nice place to stay for a few days,” Said Isabel taking in the scenery.

“Oh, and its by the ocean, which means there is a beach!” Said Maria.

They found a nice motel to stay in and go their things settled in. They then went in search of someplace to eat.

They stopped in front of a diner called Karen’s Café and made their way in. Liz pulled out her lap top to see if any of the parents had gotten back to them yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And More Emails…

From Jeff to Liz:

Liz-
Sweety, it is so good to hear from you! Thank you for letting me read your journal. I know they were your private thoughts and feelings, but it gave me an important insight into your life. I’m proud of you, of all of you. You have been forced to go through so much pain, forced to make so many important decisions. I think you handled the situations you had to face better than I could have. You were forced to become an adult to soon, and I’m amazed by your maturity. Valenti has filled us in a lot also. I’m glad you all had him watching out for you.

The Crashdown has been doing great, we actually opened a second location on the other side of town. After you disappeared after graduation and it was discovered that the government was there with snipers, and then they covered it up this town went through another major rush. I’m still angered by that night. I also have a much greater respect for Max also. He put himself up there, exposed himself so all of you could get to safety. That really shows a mans character, and I’m proud to have him as a son-in-law. I hope one day you can come home to us. Your mother and I miss you.
I love you.

-Dad



From Amy to Maria:

Maria-
It is so good to get to talk to you! I have missed you so much. I’m glad to hear that Michael finally proposed to you, and that you got married. I have a confession to make also. I married Jim. After I read your journal, him and I began to talk again. I was a little angry with him at first for not telling me all these things about my daughter, but then I realized why he did so. He kept you safe, all of you. We began dating again after that, he had more to relate to than ever before. Now we are married, oh I wish you could have been there. I will try and send you pictures of our wedding.

I now hate the government more than ever. Damn them for what they did to all of you. Damn them for taking my baby girl away from me! I wish there was something I could do to help, I feel so helpless. I’m just glad your safe, and have managed to find happiness despite everything. Now if you would put Michael in front of the computer for a minute that would be great.

Michael-
You had better take care of my little girl. I don’t care if you are on the run, if you hurt her I will track you down and kill you. Welcome to the family, I love you.

-Amy


From Jim to Kyle:

Wow, your in love with Isabel. That’s new. I hope things work out for you. I married Amy Deluca about a year ago, we kind of gravitated towards each other when the truth came out. We have found happiness.

I also got my job back as sheriff. Hanson is a good man, but he wasn’t great at his job. Of course I have several things I have to do to keep my job, a lot of reporting to the city council, but things are going great. I do still play with the Kit Shickers, music has been very therapeutic to me. I love you son.

-Dad


From the Evans to Max and Isabel:

Kids-
I’m so glad to hear from you. We wait for your letters diligently. We are so thankful that you continued to send them, it let us know that you were okay. We can’t even begin to explain how much we miss you. My practice is doing well, about the same as it always has. Business is steady. After you left your mom wanted a change of pace. She got a new job, she manages the new Crashdown location for the Parkers. After they read Liz’s journal, they shared it with us. We have become pretty close, with the Valenti’s also (Jim and Amy are married now). We try to get together at least once a week, but it ends up being three or four times.

We are so proud of you and your sister. I wish we could see you again, we miss you dearly.

The FBI doesn’t try to hide the fact that they are still around. Our phones are tapped, but we haven’t found any bugs in the house. They won’t hide the fact they are here, and we won’t hide the fact we know it. We openly look for bugs and sometimes remove the tap just to make them angry. We probably shouldn’t do that, but what are they going to do to us that they haven’t already? They have two agents permanently posted here, one for us and one for the Parkers.

Mail us back soon! We love you!

-Mom and Dad


Jesse to Isabel:

Isabel-
Wow, it is odd to actually be able to mail you back. The Boston job has been great. I have a confession, and please don’t hate me for it, but I filed for divorce six months ago. I have received your letters, and I am thankful for them, but I didn’t think there was chance of us ever being together again. I want to have a family. I would have liked it to be with you, but in reality I don’t think that is a possibility. I did love you Iz, and I know I will always care for you. But, I don’t think we were meant to be together, we are too different.

I met someone also, it is a young lawyer at the firm. Nothing has happened between us yet, mostly because I wanted closure on our relationship first. I can see myself loving her though, and I really need to see where it leads.

You said you moved on, its with Kyle isn’t it? You two were close, and I could always tell there was something bubbling jus below the surface with you two. I don’t think you ever really noticed, but he did. He is a great guy Iz, and I know he will take good care of you.

Don’t be afraid to open up to him. You never really opened up to be, even after I learned your secret. I know that is partially my fault, I didn’t exactly react well to the news. I’m not mad at you for not opening up, I just think you need to with Kyle. I want you to be happy, even if it can’t be with me.

Keep in touch. You know if you ever need anything I will be there in a heartbeat. I will be sure to let you know when the divorce is final. In case you were wondering I was able to proceed with it because you have been ‘missing’.

-Jesse

Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it!
Timelord31: Ask and you shall recieve!
Sorry it has been so long since I’ve updated, I hate to do that but I have been working full time and it takes a lot of… well… time. Anyways, I’m going to try and store up some chapters so you won’t have to wait so long for an update!

Chapter 11

After everyone had read their emails they sat in quiet reflection.

Isabel wasn’t ready to share what Jessie had said, even though she knew that Kyle was dying to hear it. She would tell him later, after she had a chance to sit on it for awhile. She was glad that Jessie had taken things so well, and had even moved on himself.

She couldn’t help but feel hurt that he had filed for divorce without consulting her. How would he have known that she still wasn’t madly in love with him and trying to get back with him? She wasn’t, but she could have been.

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling, she should be glad that she was almost officially divorced and free to move on with her life. In fact, Jessie had given her the green light to move on with Kyle. That was pretty amazing. She looked over at him and he seemed deep in thought too.

He finally spoke up. “Dad didn’t mention anything about, you know, the change. I wonder when it will happen?” They all thought about it. Liz and Kyle had developed theirs around two years after they had been healed, so Jim still had some time.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll let us know when they manifest.” Said Liz. Kyle smiled at her then turned his attention back to the menu.

A few minutes later their waitress came to them and introduced herself as Haley. She took their orders and walked back to put them in. While waiting for their food the group talked about what their parents had said.

Max was obsessing about the agents. He stated more than once it was a good thing they left, otherwise who knew how many agents would be in Roswell. And who knew who they would hurt to get what they wanted. All though they had heard it a thousand times, Isabel silently agreed with him. These people were dangerous. They were lucky they hadn’t found them yet. All they could do was to keep moving and hope that they stayed under the FBI’s radar.

“Hey we should play basket ball, I need to exert some more energy.” Said Michael.

“I want a rematch from our football game earlier, I know I can beat you at basketball.” Smirked Max.

“Like either of you could beat me at basketball.” Said Kyle. The guys started to make bets on who they thought would win, when Liz cut it.

“Maybe we should find a motel first.” Isabel and Maria nodded in agreement.

Just then their waitress came to the table with their food.

“Did I hear you needed a motel?” She asked.

“Yeah, and a place to play basketball.” Said Michael.

“Well the motel is down the street to the right. It isn’t the nicest place but I’m pretty sure than its clean. As for basketball, there is this really great place to play, it is called the River Court.” She walked away and came back a few moments later. She had written directions down on a napkin.

“Here are the directions. My husband and his brother, also my best friend, play there all the time. Maybe you’ll run into them!” She left again and let the group finish their meal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the basketball court and it was starting to get dark. Luckily the court was lit so they didn’t have to worry about not being able to see. Liz could tell why it was called the River Court. A river ran not to far from it, and it made for beautiful scenery.

The girls settled into the bleachers with nail polish and magazines and the guys started to play. They weren’t really getting anywhere because it was hard to play with only three people. They tried for awhile and then settled on playing horse. This led to a series of bets.

“They are like cave men.” Commented Maria.

“Yeah, look at how they puff out their chests. I expect one of them to come over here and grab me by the hair.” Added Isabel.

“I think its cute.” Said Liz, staring at Max.

Maria and Isabel didn’t bother to comment, just rolled their eyes.

They continued chatting when three young guys walked up.

They looked to be high school age.

A tall blonde walked up to the Roswell guys, “Hey do you mind if we take the other half?”

Max started to nod when Kyle spoke up, “Actually, would you guys want to play a game with us?”

They nodded in agreement and introduced themselves. The tall blonde was Lucas, his brother Nathan and their friend Skillz. Nathan was their waitress’s husband, I guess she was right.

Max introduced their group and walked over to introduce the girls. After that was done they began playing and the girls returned to their nails. Although they could just change the color with a wave of a hand, sometimes it was nice to do the job manually.

Not to long after that the waitress showed up, she had two friends with her. Liz noticed that the brunette was beautiful and she was definitely sizing up her and her friends.

She was probably trying to determine if they would be competition. There was also a blonde, she was very pretty also, but didn’t seem as suspicious as her friend. Haley gave them a small wave and then headed over.

“Hi, I thought you might be here! Mind if we join you?” She had a friendly smile, and a beautiful sparkle in her eye.

“Of course we don’t!” Responded Liz. She looked over at Maria and Isabel. Maria was staring at the brunette, sizing her up just as much.

“Um, this is Maria, and Isabel.” Said Liz indicating her friends. Haley introduced the brunette as Brooke and the blonde as Peyton.

They sat and Brooke slyly asked, “So are those guys like your boyfriends or something? That brunette is definitely hunky.”

Liz went a little rigid, “Actually that hunky brunette is my husband.”

“Oh I’m sorry. I wasn’t saying like I would try anything. I’m dating Lucas, and I really couldn’t see myself with anybody else.”

“That’s nice, we only met for a second, but he seems nice.”

Maria spoke up, “And the tall one is my husband, hehe it is fun to say that.” Maria clapped her hands and giggled a little more.

Isabel smiled over and tried to explain, “They were just married yesterday. Oh, and Kyle isn’t my boyfriend, yet. I’m waiting for my divorce to be finalized before we move ahead with anything.”

“Wow, you guys really married young, huh?” Asked Peyton.

“Yeah, well when you meet the love of your life, why would you settle for anyone else?” Asked Liz, her eyes glazing over slightly as she looked at Max.

“Plus, your forgetting, I married young too.” Said Haley.”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind my asking, aren’t you still in highschool?” Asked Isabel.

Haley didn’t seem offended. “Yeah, we are. We were married last year actually.”

“And everything was going great until Haley left to pursue her music career.” Added Brooke.

Haley shot her a look, “Yeah, but we are really back on track now. I love him so much, and even when I was on the road, he was all I could think about.’

“You pursued a music career?” Asked Maria. She then began telling Haley about Dominique and her bad experience when she tried to make a demo.

“Their talking shop, they may be on the subject for awhile.” Observed Peyton.

Just then a man came and stood by the bleachers, watching the boys. The Roswell guys paid him a little notice, but the others ignored him. He noticed the strange women on the bleachers and walked over.

He stuck his hand out to Liz, “Dan Scott, I’m the mayor here. Now if I’m not mistaking, I’ve never seen you here before.”

Liz took his hand and was immediately greeted with a flash.

He was standing over a dead teenage, pointing a gun at another man. They seemed to be in a school hallway.

A shot rang out and Liz pulled her hand back with a gasp.

She quickly started coughing to cover. Isabel and Maria knew what was going on, and Max had been watching and knew something wasn’t right. He rushed over and shoved Dan away from Liz, “Get away from her.”

Dan put his hands up, “Hey, I was just introducing myself. I have every right to do so.”

“Just back off my wife please.”

By this time Michael and Kyle had come over, both with frowns and geared up for a fight. The Tree Hill guys had walked up too, curious about the commotion.

“Max, it’s okay. I just had another episode is all.” Said Liz, placing a hand on his arm.

“Yeah, she has allergies. She must be reacting badly to your cheap aftershave.” Said Maria, with an innocent smile on her face.

The Tree Hill girls started to smile, but Lucas and Nathan could hardly hold in their laughter.

Dan got a dark look on his face and started to walked off, “I’m not someone you want to make angry. You might want to be more polite in the future.” He got in his SUV and drove off, probably to tend to his bruised ego.

Max sat next to Liz and kissed her forehead, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, go finish your game.” She nodded to the court. Max stared down at her for another moment then got up and headed back to the court.

“Sorry,” She said sheepishly, looking at the other girls.

Haley waved it off, “No big deal, I’m not surprised that you’re allergic to him.”

“Yeah, he’s a grade-A asshole.” Said Brooke.

“So, what is his deal anyway?” Asked Isabel.

The boys played basketball while the girls were filled in on the whole wicked story of Dan Scott.

Thanks so much for the feedback and for the patience! Here is the next chapter. I will try and update this every two weeks from now on!

Chapter 12

Liz sat watching Lucas and Nathan playing basketball together. They were joking and working together to play the game. The girls had just told them the whole sordid story about Dan, Keith and the children that were caught in the middle. They were getting along really well for brothers who could hardly be polite to each other a few years ago.

She was glad that they had come out close in the end, and she knew a portion of that was due to Keith. Liz was hardly surprised that someone had attempted to kill Dan earlier in the year. She hated to think it, but maybe it would have been better if they had succeeded. Dan was going to kill someone in cold blood. How could he do that? .

“They seem to get along pretty well,” Isabel voiced what Liz had been thinking to herself.

“Yeah, they got to know each other better last year when Lucas joined the basketball team.” Said Peyton.

“Yeah, Nathan jumped off his father’s high horse and started to live down here with the rest of us,” added Brooke.

“What brought that on?” asked Maria.

She was listening to the story, but her eyes were clearly locked onto Michael and his sweatiness. Liz almost giggled. Sure Maria liked looking at him in all his sweatiness, but if she kept it up he was liable to come over and give her a giant hug. Liz doubted she would think his current state was so sexy then.

Liz turned her attention back to the conversation where Brooke and Peyton were theorizing that Haley was the catalyst for Nathan’s change. She was blushing and denying it, but it was clear that she had a lot to do with it. Liz was surprised how much these girls reminded her of her and her own girlfriends. Liz cast her glance back to the guys playing ball.

They were beginning to look a little worn and Liz couldn’t get the image of Dan shooting someone out of her head. It was a cold blooded murder and thinking about sent a chill down Liz’s spine.

She thought back to what she had seen. The man was middle aged and he ad dark hair and dark eyes. She had no idea how they were going to figure out who he was. They had a lot of work to do. They had to identify the victim and where and when it was going to take place. Liz knew they needed a plan to keep it from happening.

Liz was again interrupted from her thoughts by a break up in the game. Some other man had wondered over and was talking to Lucas and Nathan. He turned around to be introduced to Max and the others and her blood ran cold when she got a glimpse of his face.

“Who is that?” The other girls were surprised by Liz’s panicked voice interrupting their conversation.

“That’s Uncle Keith, why?” She asked, while eyeing Liz up and down. She probably thinks I’m crazy, but whatever.

“No reason, just curious.” Answered Liz, trying to get a hold on herself. She hoped her voice had sounded natural, but Maria and Isabel were giving her a look so she knew it wasn’t.

The other girls slowly returned to their conversation. It was starting to get dark, and Liz desperately needed to talk to the rest of the group. She stood up to stretch and yawn, hoping to get Max’s attention. It did. He immediately jogged over to her. Isabel caught on to what Liz was trying to do and let out a loud yawn.

“Hm Max, I’m getting tired, do you think we could head out soon?” Asked Isabel. He looked at her and then over at Liz.

“Yeah sure,” he answered and then flashed the girls a bright smile, which Liz noticed Brooke returned. She could have gotten jealous but she decided not too. Max jogged back to the guys.

“Sorry, we have been on the road all day, I’m ready to go climb in bed and not think about anything until morning.” Explained Liz.

“So where are you traveling from?” Asked Peyton.

“It’s been so long I don’t remember.” Joked Maria. It was a good way to avoid the answering, they had become pretty good at that.

“Oh, well where are you going to?” Inquired Haley.

“Nowhere and Anywhere. We kind of live by a ‘wherever the wind may take us’ philosophy.

“Sounds freeing. Just take to the road, with no destination in mind. How long have you been traveling for?” Asked Brooke.

“A long, long time. Liz and I were both married on the road. We just left a small town called Stars Hollow, that is where space boy and I tied the knot.”

“Wow, don’t you want to settle down?” asked Peyton.

“Yes,” they all answered in unison, they giggled at answering at the same time.

“Then why don’t you?” Asked Brooke. They immediately sobered up.

“Because that just isn’t an option for us. Way to much has happened in our lives. We’ve lose friends and had to fight battles. After awhile home held to many painful memories, we had to get away and haven’t been able to stop since.” Explained Liz. Maria and Isabel were looking down, both remembering Alex.

“I’m sorry. Who did you lose if you don’t mind me asking?” Said Haley.

“Our best friend Alex. He was actually killed by someone we thought was a friend.” Said Liz bitterly.

“Your kidding me? What happened to that friend.” Asked Brooke.

“Well she got pregnant by Max and ran away before the baby was born. She came back with the baby and then she was killed in an explosion.” Said Maria. Liz looked away, trying to keep the tears at bay. It was hard to bring up all these old memories, especially to relate them to people they had just met.

“What happened to the baby?” asked Peyton.

“Max gave him up for adoption, so that he could have a chance at a great life.” Explained Isabel.

“It was one of the hardest things he has ever had to do. I know that the memory of his son still makes him sad, he won’t tell anybody, but I can feel it.” Added Liz.

By now the girls were all on the verge of tears.

“You weren’t kidding when you said that home held a lot of painful memories.” Said Peyton quietly.

“Yeah, but it also hold a lot of happy ones too. We would like to be able to go back at some point. We all miss our families, but we just aren’t ready yet.” Said Maria.

They were silent for a few moments, when Brooke spoke up, she changed the subject.
“So where have you guys been?”

“Most of the major cities. New York, LA, Chicago, Kansas City.” Answered Isabel.

“Have you made it to DC yet?” asked Haley.

“No,” They all answered in unison for the second time that night.

“We’re really not into politicians,” covered Maria.

“Gotcha, we’re not into them either, at least local mayors.” Quipped Brooke.

That reminded Liz of the task at hand and turned her eyes to the boys. They were making their way over to them. They said their good-bye’s and went their separate directions.

“So what’s up Liz?” asked Isabel when they were in the safety of the van.

“The mayor is going to kill his brother and possibly a teenage boy.” She received a surprised look from everyone else.

“Is that all?” asked Michael, his voiced laced with sarcasm.

“I had a vision. It looked like they were in a school hallway. I saw a dead teenager on the ground and Dan was standing over Keith with a gun and he pulled the trigger at point blank range.”

“Wow, I mean I got bad vibes from the guy, but I didn’t take him as the psychopathic type.” Commented Maria.

“Yeah, I really didn’t care for him either.” Said Max, watching the road as he drove the van towards the motel.

“That’s an understatement. You practically attacked the guy when he shook hands with Liz.” Said Kyle.

“So did you get anything on exactly where or when this might happen?” Asked Isabel.
Liz just shook her head.

“That doesn’t help us much.” Said Michael. Maria wound up and punched him in the arm.

“What was that for?” He asked, rubbing the sore spot.

“It’s called tact Michael,” explained Maria as she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, right, like you know anything about tact,” muttered Michael, still rubbing his arm.

“What was that?” She asked further narrowing her eyes.

“Nothing,” he said a little louder, a slight scowl gracing his features.

“Can we get back on track here?” Asked Isabel.

“Maybe we should find out where they go to school and go from there. Maybe get
someone to follow Dan around.” Suggested Max.

“Sounds like King Max has a plan.” Said Kyle.

Disclaimer: Some dialogue was taken from One Tree Hill Episode : WITH TIRED EYES, TIRED MINDS, TIRED SOULS, WE SLEPT. No infringement is intended.

Thanks for feedback everyone. And thanks to Timelord for all the friendly reminders for me to post a new part!!

Chapter 13

Isabel woke and looked at the sun filtering in from the edges of the dark curtain in the motel room. She stretched and yawned then looked over to the other bed in the room.

Kyle was stretched out on top of the blankets, already dressed for the day. His hair was still damp from his shower. Isabel took in his features; he was watching TV, the volume down low for her benefit.

He hadn’t realized she was awake yet so she got the chance to just gaze at him for a moment. As if he could feel her eyes on him he turned to look at her with his piercing blue eyes and Isabel had to keep herself from melting under his gaze.

“Good morning,” he said, giving her a small smile.

“Morning,” she replied stifling another yawn with her hand.

They were both a little awkward around one another. They had their feelings for each other contained under the surface, at her request, and they didn’t quite know how to face one another sharing a room.

“I made coffee,” he said motioning towards the bathroom.

“Thanks,” said Isabel swinging her legs over the side of the bed then standing to stretch.

She gathered her bag and shower things before entering the bathroom.

There was still steam on the mirror and she was greeted with the smell of coffee mingling with the masculine scent of Kyle’s body wash. Isabel didn’t think there was a better smell in the world. Yeah, things are going to be moving REALLY slow between us. It was all she could do not to jump on him and kiss him as it was.

She saw that there was a steaming cup of coffee sitting next to the pot in one of the motel’s Styrofoam cups. She picked it up and took a sip, enjoying the sweetness and spiciness of the coffee. Mmm, he knows just how I like it, with six sugars and a ton of Tabasco, there was probably hardly any coffee in here at all. She thought to herself as she reached over and turned the shower on.

When she stepped out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later Kyle was still sprawled out on the bed, intent on watching one of those cheesy TV Courtroom shows. The angry judge was currently yelling at the defendant for being disrespectful.

Isabel rolled her eyes before sitting in a chair so she could put on her shoes. Just then the program was interrupted and she snapped her eyes back to the TV.

A female reporter, with the proper amount of concern showing only skin deep on her face began to speak. “We’re sorry to interrupt your normal programming but we have breaking news from One Tree Hill High school. Jonathan is at the scene and will fill you in on the details.”

The screen cut to the outside of the school. In the background there were police officers and paramedics milling around. “Thank-you Debbie. It seems that our own Tree Hill has fallen victim to a student shooting. Shots were fired about a half and hour ago and the
school was quickly evacuated, transferring students to a safe location for parental pick up. There are a handful of students still unaccounted for and it is believed they are being held hostage in one of the classrooms. The identity of the shooter is still unknown. We will go back to Debbie, who has details for parents needing to locate their children.”

Isabel and Kyle didn’t hear anymore because they were scurrying about the room.

A moment later the phone rang and Kyle had a brief conversation with whoever was on the other line.

“Let’s go.”

He said then leaned down to grab his jacket off the table, then he was out the door. Isabel noticed his video camera sitting there from where it had been concealed by his jacket. She picked it up on her own way out the door. This may be the only chance we have to take the mayor down. She thought as she headed out to the van where the others were waiting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They parked about a mile from the school and began to make their way into the crowd of curious onlookers behind the police tape.

Kyle looked around for Dan or Keith but couldn’t spot them immediately. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Keith slip into an unprotected area of the school, a moment later Dan followed him.

Kyle grabbed Max and Michael and pointed, “I just saw them go in through there.”

They told the girls to stay where they were and started to make their way in that direction when Kyle felt a hand on his arm.

“Here, just in case you get a chance to catch him,” she said and then pushed his video camera into his hands.

He looked up at her and felt a stab of pride, “Good thinking.” He said and then gave her a quick kiss before catching up with Michael and Max.

They started to make their way towards the entrance Keith had used when a police officer blocked their path.

“Sorry, no one is allowed beyond this point. Just stand back and let us do our job.” He said before turning his attention back to the school.

“Damn-it!” Cursed Michael under his breath.

Just then Lucas burst out of the front doors carrying Peyton in his arms. The police officer drew his gun and began to charge in their direction. Kyle took that as their opportunity and began to run for the school doors, Max and Michael close behind him.

Kyle wasn’t sure where to go until he heard a gunshot ring out followed by someone screaming “NO!!!”

They immediately turn and ran towards where they heard the sound. They looked around the corner and saw Keith leaning over a boy’s body as Dan walked up to him.

Kyle fumbled with the camera, quickly hitting record and facing it towards Dan as he leaned over and picked up the gun.

“He’s gone Danny. He’s gone.” Said a distraught Keith.

Dan nodded and then raised the gun, leveling it at Keith, who stood up to face him, his expression a mask of confusion.

Michael, who was standing behind Kyle, pointed out his hand giving Keith a gentle shove to the side just as the gun went off.

Keith cried out holding his shoulder as he fell to the ground. A second later Michael rushed Dan and tackled him, knocking the gun out of his hands.

Max rushed to the boys side and tried to find a heartbeat as Kyle flicked off his camera and ran to Keith.

Dan and Michael were still struggling on the ground and Keith was still staring at his brother with a bewildered look on his face.

He turned his gaze to Kyle. “It’s okay son, I think it just scratched my arm.”

Kyle looked at the wound and saw that was all that had happened and then nodded to Max who was still leaning over the boy.

“He’s gone. There isn’t anything I can do for him.” Max said dejectedly, still applying pressure to the gun shot wound, even though he knew it was futile.

Michael finally had Dan subdued on the ground, his knee was in his back and his arms bent behind him.

Max got up, “Do you know where the other’s are being held?” He asked

“Uh, the tutor room, it is around the corner.” Said Keith motioning with his head, but still staring at Dan.

“Why?” He asked in almost a whisper.

Dan stopped struggling and looked at Keith, no remorse showing on his face. “Because you tried to kill me, and now you have the audacity to try and take my son away from me.” Keith just shook his head.

“I never tried to kill you. And you know as well as I do that Lucas is more my son than he ever will be yours.”

With that he got up and began to head to the doors, leaving Kyle and Michael with Dan. Kyle pulled out his camcorder and held it for Dan to see.

“And guess what, we got the whole attempted murder on tape, how do you like that Mr. Mayor?” sneered Michael.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max found the door marked Tutor Room and threw it open, almost afraid of what he was going to find. The occupants of the room all jumped at the sound, but when they realized he wasn’t the shooter they just gave him a questioning look.

“Is everyone okay in here?” He asked.

“Um, yeah.” Answered Nathan, standing and then reaching down a hand to help Haley up.

“What happened?” she asked in a quiet voice.

Max explained how they saw Keith and Dan slip into the building and decided to follow to see if they could help.

“It seems the kid with the gun killed himself.” Max said.

“Jimmy.” Max turned his gaze to a pretty red-head sitting on the floor.

“Excuse me?”

“His name was Jimmy,” she repeated as she stood up. Max nodded is head in understanding.

“Anyway, we got there and Dan had a gun pointed at Keith, luckily the shot only grazed his arm, he’s going to be fine. Unfortunately, nothing could be done to help Jimmy, his death was probably instant. I’m sorry.” Said Max, looking down. He felt guilty, he should have been able to do something to help.

“Wait, your telling me my dad tried to kill my uncle?” asked Nathan.

“Unfortunately yes, but at least he won’t be able to get away with it.” Said Max.

Nathan snorted, “Don’t underestimate my father.”

“And don’t underestimate us.” Said Kyle coming up behind Max. “We got it on tape.”

Nathan nodded in understanding.

“Maxwell, we need to get out of here, like now.” Said Michael. With that they ran for the exit they had come in at, leaving the confused students sitting in the room.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luckily when they exited the building they remained unnoticed. Everyone was preoccupied with Dan being led out in handcuffs. He was cursing and yelling that they didn’t have a thing on him, but obviously he was blowing smoke because he knew of the video on Kyle’s camcorder.

Kyle slipped the small tape out and walked up to one of the news vans, there was guy inside who was obviously in charge of the technical equipment, he didn’t notice Kyle for a moment.

“Beat it kid, I’m busy here.”

“Oh, I think I have something you might want,” said Kyle, tapping the tape against the palm of his hand.

The technician looked up from his work, with a hint of curiosity on his cratered face.
“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Oh, only footage of the mayor’s attempted murder against his own brother.” Said Kyle.

The technician scrambled over to him, “Let me have it!” He stuck out an eager hand.

Kyle pulled it back just out of his reach. “Only if you can make me a few copies.”

“Sure, no problem.” He took the tape and fit it into a shell that would fit into a VCR and then hit play. He watched it in awe for a moment and grabbed his cell phone. Kyle put up a hand to stop him.

“Copies first.” He gave him a wary eye.

“What are you going to do with them? Your not going to run over and give them to one of our competitors are you?”

“No, I’m going to give them to the police, and then get the original back because there is a footage on it I don’t want to lose.”

“Okay.” The guy went about making a couple copies before handing him back the original and one of replicated ones. He turned back to grab his cell phone.

“Hey, can we get you to give us an exclusive interview?” Kyle didn’t really respond, he just walked away in search of a police officer.

He thrust it into the hands of the same officer who had stopped them before, “take this to your superior.”

He didn’t wait for the response; instead he started to head towards the van where he knew the others would be waiting for him.

A little bit of a shorter chapter, but its transitional. Next chapter will be longer, I promise!


Chapter 14

Max looked around the room one last time. Michael had run to put gas in the van before they were going to take off, they knew better than to stick around. They didn’t want to have to answer any questions.

He sat on the edge of the bed and put his face in his hands. He couldn’t help but replay the scene from earlier in his head. If they had gotten in a little earlier they could have kept Jimmy from killing himself. He still felt as if he had let the boy down. He was an alien, with the power to heal, yet he couldn’t do anything for him. At least they had been able to help Keith. That was something.

Max felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Liz. She smiled down at him before setting herself on his lap and encircling her arms around his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He buried his head in her hair and inhaled deeply before letting out a sigh.

“Max, don’t do this to yourself. You know it wasn’t your fault. The boy put the gun to his head and killed himself; there was nothing you could do to stop it.”

“If only we had gotten there a little sooner. We could have done…something…” This all hit to close to home for him. Someone shouldn’t have to die that young. “I just feel that I have all this power and I should have been able to do SOMETHING to save him.”
Max felt Liz pull back a little before she put her hands on his face, turning his face to look at hers. She looked him strait in the eye and he was blown away by the trust and love he saw there.

“Max, Alex wasn’t your fault. You need to stop carrying that guilt around with you. Tess was responsible for his death, she had us all fooled. You can’t keep blaming yourself.” Leave it to Liz to know the root of the problem. She could see through him better than anyone. But the truth was, he did blame himself for Alex’s death. Back then he was acting as the leader and didn’t even realize there was a traitor in their midst.

“Liz, it was my responsibility to keep everyone safe, and I failed. We lost someone who meant so much to all of us, and it was because I wasn’t vigilant enough.”

Liz sighed, “The way you feel, is all of our faults. We shouldn’t have put so much on your shoulders back then. You stepped up as leader and we just expected you to make all the hard decisions. It wasn’t fair. That’s why we have all managed to stay safe now. Because we make decisions as a group and we watch out for each other. We should have done that then, but we were younger and didn’t know how to deal with all that we had to face. You did your best to protect us all, and Alex dying, wasn’t your fault. So stop beating yourself up about it.”

She was right and he knew it. Usually he didn’t dwell on it, but loosing that teenager today made all those old feelings resurface. He was about to say something when he heard a knock on the door.

“It must be Michael,” Said Liz as she stood up and grabbed their overnight bag. She opened the door and Max was surprised to see Keith, with Lucas and Nathan. He was about to panic and walked up to Liz’s side, putting a protective arm around her.

“Hey, we’re not here to ask questions or make any assumptions, we just wanted to thank you.” Said Keith. Holding up his good arm, the other was bandaged and held in a sling.

Max relaxed a little but still stayed on guard.

“We knew you were staying here because Haley told us you asked for a motel yesterday.” Offered Nathan.

“Look, I don’t know exactly what happened, but I do know that gun was pointed strait at my chest and I froze. Then it felt like something, I don’t know what, pushed me to the side. Sounds crazy, but I know it wasn’t my own force that moved me. And whatever it was saved my life. I couldn’t let you go without telling you thank-you, for whatever it was you did.”

“Your welcome.” Max couldn’t really think of anything else to say. He wasn’t used to dealing with the ‘thank-you’ part, and felt a little awkward. He didn’t want to give anything away but this guy wasn’t stupid.

“You saved our family man. Keith is going to adopt me as his son and I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost him. I owe you more than I can put into words.” Said Lucas, sticking out his hand for Max to take.

He hesitated for a moment then took Lucas hand, giving it a firm shake. Just then a horn went off in the parking lot and Max looked up to see Michael pulling up with the van. He hopped out and made his way over.

“It’s okay Mike, they just wanted to thank us.” Michael gave a short nod, but didn’t say anything else. Maria walked up beside him and put a hand on his arm. Kyle and Isabel were just coming out of their room with their luggage and froze when they saw the men standing there. They didn’t say anything, just quietly walked up.

Keith looked around, “I just told him, and I’ll tell all of you. Thank you. I’m sure I would have died today if you weren’t there, and I’m sure my brother would have gotten away with it. Now thanks to you, I don’t think he is going to be hurting anyone else for a long time.”

Michael seemed satisfied, gave a nod and then picked up Maria’s bag and headed for the van. Kyle shook Keith’s good hand and then proceeded to do the same.

“Look, if you guys ever need anything and you’re in this area, look us up. We will be there in a heart beat. We owe you more than we can say.”

“It’s okay, kind of what we do. Try to help where ever possible. Thanks for stopping by, but we should get going. We like to stay under the radar and all that.” He made his way out of the room and shut the door behind him. He put his bag with the others and helped Liz into the back.

Max hesitated before getting in. He turned and looked at the guys. “I’m really sorry about your friend. I wanted to help, but it was to late. I’m glad you’re safe Keith, take care of your family.” With that he hopped in and took a seat next to Liz, throwing an arm around her shoulder. Michael drove off and left their new friends behind.

“Well, they’ll never forget us. We will be like a legacy to them, heroes. Hey, maybe that’s what we should do. Become like Super Heroes or something!” Exclaimed Kyle, with a glint in his eyes.

Max couldn’t help but laugh, leave it to Kyle to know just what to say.

“Oh yeah Kyle, what a great way for us to stay under the radar. Having you guys prance around in tights and capes.. oh baby oh baby.” Laughed Maria, eliciting a round of giggles from everyone.

Michael was nearing the interstate. “Okay, so which way should we go?”

“Oh, let’s go to the west coast! I want to go to Disney World!” Said Isabel.

“West it is.” Said Michael.

On the road again. That’s how they spent their life. As much as Max enjoyed getting to see the country and help people. His biggest wish was still to be able to settle down with Liz and start a family. He longed for Roswell, and his parents and home. Maybe someday they would earn that right. But for now, it was too the west coast. He pulled Liz close to him and placed a kiss on top of her head.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had been on the road for three days and were now in California somewhere. They passed a sign that said Welcome to Sunnydale.

“Let’s stop here for a few days. Seems like a quiet place.” Mused Maria.