Roswell Fanatics

HypnotiqBlueEyes: We're definitely going to get into Max's behavior more but it might be a while.. and Dean and Sam will come to Roswell. lol getting into anything else would be too spoilery.. I think I just made up a word there. Thank you! We are safe and sound in Idaho now!
pandas2001: Wish I could shed some light but that would ruin the suspense..
AvalonRose: You guys are too good! I can't answer without giving anything away..


Sorry this was a longer wait than my previous posts, three day drive went well and we are settled now. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up in two or three days. Usually the first two days are busy with family stopping in but then it dies down and we have a lot of down time.



Chapter Eleven

Isabel dropped Liz off outside of the Crash and waved as she continued on towards Kyle’s house. Liz pulled out her key and let herself into the restaurant, relieved to find the place cleaned and everything put up. She moved behind the counter and poured herself some orange soda then walked over to a booth and sat down. She kept re-playing their conversation with Max and Tess over and over in her mind trying to find anything that jumped out at her but the whole experience had been strange. Max had gotten odd after Alex’s death but this seemed so much worse almost like he was barely there at all. Had he driven himself crazy being around Tess so much? Was he still punishing himself for Alex’s death? He held a steady job but it was his father’s law firm and he was doing mainly paralegal work which really with his skills was a waste but it took a lot of time and focus to do. It was behind the scenes work so he probably felt more comfortable with that kind of job. Could he just be burnt out from it?

She took a few sips of her soda and sighed. She wanted to find some hidden slip up of Tess’ but everything seemed genuine. Her worry, her concern, even a hint of fear a few times but she had fooled them before. Not that Liz had any proof back then either but she trusted her gut.

Maria and Liz had raced to the Valenti’s to try to catch the pod squad but they had already left with Mr. Valenti. They filled Kyle in on their theory and the evidence they had. The three of them left for the chamber and made it to the top of the hill just as Michael came out of the door. Maria started rambling off the information to Michael as Liz moved swiftly into the chamber. She saw Tess right away and moved towards her, her anger radiating through every movement. “Did you know Nasedo was alive? That he sent Alex to Las Cruces? You were the closest to him.”

Tess shook her head violently, backing away from her. “NO! What are you talking about?” She glanced to the clock, “you need to leave, the granolith is going to take off!”

Isabel glanced at Liz seeing the fire in her eyes and the tension in her body as she stopped still staring straight on at Tess. Isabel turned to Tess, “very convenient how this way home fell into our laps.”

Tess turned to Isabel offended, “Me? Isabel, I didn’t go looking for anything or blaming this on aliens! That was her! She found the translation!” Tess glanced at the clock again and put her hand on the inverted cone, “I’m thankful for the ride home that will save my son.”

Isabel and Liz watched her skeptically then Isabel glanced to her brother who looked torn, his gaze bouncing between Liz and Tess. Michael’s quiet voice bounced around the chamber interrupting the tense stare off, “we need to get out of here.”

Liz glanced over her shoulder seeing Michael gently tugging Maria’s arm towards the cave entrance. Liz couldn’t bring herself to look at Maria’s face knowing the emotion there would just send her over the edge and she needed to stay in control. Movement from the corner of her eye caught Liz’s attention and she turned to see Isabel hug Max, whisper something to him, then she turned and followed Michael and Maria out.

Liz moved quickly to Tess and got in her face, “if there’s any proof to find that you were involved, I’ll find it Tess.”

Tess growled, “you won’t. Not that it would matter anyway because he chose me. He’s mine.”

Max walked hesitantly up to them and placed his hand gently on Liz’s shoulder. She turned, looking at him in question and Max answered with his soft but determined voice. “You need to go.”

Liz watched him, trying to judge if this was at all forced but every nuance of his face was.. Max. “I guess this is goodbye.” Her expression turned hard then without another word she turned and left.

She walked out of the cave and saw Michael and Maria holding each other talking quietly. She spotted Isabel further down the hill talking to Kyle. She stood there looking out over the seemingly endless desert in front of her suddenly wishing Dean had come with them. She didn’t know where the thought came from, she barely knew him but he had been there for her when no one else was. Like some knight in rock salt armor riding his stupid impala. She chuckled. It wasn’t that she was completely alone, Kyle believed her, once Maria got over her grieving she worked with her but Dean helped without questioning before he even knew the whole story. Part of her felt it was more than just that but she couldn’t put her finger on it or maybe she just didn’t want to. Look how it worked out for her last time she thought she figured it all out. Yet another mystery man walked into her life and blew her mind. How was that possible? Aliens just weren’t enough? She jumped when Michael’s voice came from beside her, “why hasn’t it left?”

She turned and looked at the rock face. Kyle’s voice came from slightly behind her, “maybe it did. We don’t exactly know how it works.”

Michael waved his hand over the wall and the hand print appeared. He pressed his hand against the print and the door opened. They went into the cavern carefully and saw the granolith chamber was still there. It was darker and the clock was no longer shining on the wall but all Liz saw was Max’s arms wrapped around Tess, their lips locked together. She turned away and felt someone pull her to the side. Maria’s voice was soft, “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Liz’s eyes came up from the ground, “it doesn’t matter. Good for them.”

They overheard Michael ask Max what happened.

“I don’t know, the clock went out. We’re not leaving.”

Tess’ angry retort echoed in the chamber, “don’t be so happy about it Max.”

Maria and Liz looked at each other then walked out into the sun. Maria turned to Liz, “do you think you’ll see Dean again?”

Liz smiled at her, “I don’t know.”

Maria smirked, “I want to. I don’t mind looking at that.. face. Keep Michael on his toes.”

Liz chuckled, “you’re awful.”

They turned as they heard Kyle next to them, “what do you think they’ll do about the baby?”

Isabel scoffed, “if there even is a baby.”

All three turned to her in shock. Isabel shrugged, “what? It wouldn’t be the first time she lied to get what she wanted and with this whole Nasedo thing.. the last shred of trust I had in her is gone.”


“Hey Lizzie, when did you get home?” Liz looked up to see her father moving towards her from the break room door.

“Not that long ago, Isabel dropped me off.” She gave her dad a tired smile.

“You should go get some sleep honey. Come on.” He picked up her almost empty glass and carried it to the counter to be washed tomorrow. He moved with her towards the back flicking off the lights and going through the break room door. “Go on up honey. I need to double check all the locks.”

Liz waved and moved slowly up to her room before throwing herself down on her bed. She didn’t realize how tired she was but she hadn’t gotten much sleep the past couple nights. Had the fire only happen three nights ago? It felt like an eternity. She wondered how Sam was doing, probably still in the Stanford area. She pulled her phone from her pocket and checked her messages. No missed phone calls or texts. She debated texting him or waiting for him to call her then sent a quick text message, how are you doing?

She watched the phone quietly then looked at the time. It was still early in California but who knew what kind of sleep he’d gotten the past couple nights. She felt her heavy eyes falling and leaned over plugging her phone into the charger on her night stand then fell into a fitful sleep.

~~

The next morning Liz woke to the sounds of a bustling restaurant. She forgot how the sounds could carry up the apartment when it was really busy. She rubbed at her eyes, why was it so busy? Must be some convention going on and the Crash was the best place to get breakfast. She rolled out of bed and took a long shower then dried her hair and dressed for the day. Maria and Michael should get in today, at least that was something to look forward too. She checked herself in the mirror, satisfied she moved out of the room then remembered her phone. She grabbed it off the night stand and checked it as she headed down to the restaurant. Nothing. Really? Sam was better than that. Maybe he was just busy, caught a lead and was mercilessly hunting it down. Yeah, that was more like Sam.

The smells and sounds of the morning rush engulfed her and she waved at Jose in the kitchen as she went through the break room door into the restaurant. She quickly scanned for a seat and spotted Isabel and Kyle at a booth. She grinned and moved to them sliding easily onto the bench across from them, “room for an extra body?”

Isabel smiled, “of course.”

They ate breakfast talking and laughing about lighter topics. Smiling and waving to old classmates that recognized them, completely unaware of the other worldly reason they were back in town. After breakfast, Isabel and Kyle excused themselves since Isabel had planned on checking out her father’s law office before Michael and Maria arrived. Liz stood from the booth taking the dishes over to a bin out of habit then took an empty seat at the counter with her drink. She checked her phone then started worrying about Sam again. All the reasons she told herself he wasn’t responding didn’t seem to calm her. Instead it just brought up old insecurities and memories. She glanced at the front door of the Crashdown and immediately looked away.

Suddenly she was standing outside holding the door open, staring at Dean in the impala. She smiled but the anger and hurt in his eyes confused her. She couldn’t understand why he didn’t come in, he’d been around Kyle plenty of times before. Then he drove away without a single word. The weeks stretched on without any return to her voicemails until one day the line was just disconnected. He changed his number and completely cut her out of his life. The anger built until the fear replaced it after a very close call with a sloppy EX-special unit agent and it finally hit her that Dean may have been gravely injured or dead. Her anger for him driving away that night and ignoring her had blinded her to the very real chance that while fighting whatever creature he was hunting, it could’ve gotten an upper hand at some point and he could have gotten himself killed. His number not changed purposely but just disconnected because of an unpaid bill.

Maria stepped through the door that Michael held open for her and smiled as the smells of her teenage years hit her like a wave. “How can I love this place when I hated it so much before?”

Michael smirked, “because you were here all the time?”

Maria chuckled as she spotted Liz and started moving towards her. She froze when she caught the look on her face. “Shit.”

Michael scanned the room not seeing anything that caught his eye. “What?”

Maria’s eyes narrowed, “I know that look.”

Michael followed Maria’s gaze to Liz, “what look?”

“Michael she’s clearly remembering something that hurts her.. just what do you think that could be?” Maria asked him grimly as her mind spun with the fallout from that one night.

Maria’s own fear for her friend had almost suffocated her until she brought one of the few pictures Liz had of Dean to Isabel and asked her to dream walk him. Just so they could let Liz know that he wasn’t dead, of course that would point back to him ignoring her but anger was something Liz could deal with. The anger would eventually begin to numb and she’d forget about him. Maria saw that as a better option than the devastation that was immobilizing her friend. Isabel confirmed he was alive and well. Then they could only watch as Liz slowly began to come back to life.

After a while, she seemed back to normal. Maria was sure she was the only one who could see Liz could never go back to normal. She may laugh and be aware but she lost the light in her eyes like right after Alex had died, only this time it seemed so much worse because she was pretending everything was fine where with Alex she didn’t hide a thing. A few shared looks and then a conversation with Kyle proved she wasn’t the only one to see it but they allowed Liz to continue until she decided to talk. They could only watch out for their friend because pushing her could lead to something worse.

When she got into Stanford, Maria was overjoyed to see some hope in her eyes again. It seemed as the time went on and Liz still achieved things, it helped her move forward. Getting out of Roswell was just what she needed. They all left for college and Maria had worried again when Liz had mentioned meeting Dean’s brother but they became friends and Liz seemed to become alive once again. Maria couldn’t believe the difference in her best friend when she came to visit. Sam had been good for her and she could never repay him for that. Their times spent together were great memories even though there were some dark spots every now and then when Maria could see the scars left behind from Dean and if she was being honest, from Max too. Liz may have flirted and had a good time but she never let herself go further than that and any attempt to talk about it was rebuffed or completely disregarded. Sam had actually joined their worry party on multiple occasions but it did nothing to open Liz up, she brushed it off and continued on. Once again as time passed, everyone just got used to it and just hoped that someone would come along and change all of that. Maria remembered one desperate night where she had actually tried to get a hold of Dean from Sam’s phone but only got a voicemail. That seemed to be something that was normal for anyone who tried to contact the older Winchester.

“Maria?” Michael squeezed her arm.

“Michael.” She continued towards Liz as Michael shook his head then followed her over.

“Liz! How surprising to find you sitting at the counter. Are you working a shift for old times’ sake?” Maria smiled.

Liz rolled her eyes, “no. Kyle and Isabel just left after having breakfast with me for your information. They wanted to check something out before you guys got here. Are you hungry? Do you want something?”

Michael sat on a stool next to Liz with a wide smile, “I’m starving and I know exactly what I want.”

Maria grinned, “I guess we could eat.”

AvalonRose: What happened in the chamber... that explanation might take a while..
HypnotiqBlueEyes : I can't.. I can't answer.. without ruining the story..
barbara87413: a little Sam and Dean in here.. a few chapters before they meet up again though.



Chapter Twelve


Liz sat at the counter in the Crashdown with her laptop in front of her and a large cup of coffee in a sealed to go cup. She learned her lesson of working on her laptop with an uncovered cup of liquid nearby. Her fingers rapped on the keyboard as she checked her email again and refreshed the Internet pages she had been studying. She sighed and picked up her coffee, popped open the top and took a long pull. She knew the caffeine wouldn't actually help make the information appear but she needed something else to do with her hands. This whole thing just seemed pointless, why the hell was she in Roswell? Not that sitting in her apartment in California would be any better right now.

Isabel slipped onto the seat next to her, "homework?"

Liz shrugged as she closed her coffee cup then placed it on the counter. "Kinda." She tapped a few buttons and her email window dropped showing an FBI page. "There's been no sign of Nasedo anywhere. I even searched for anything weird in a few police blotters that might lead to Lonnie and Rath but there's nothing. So how does Nasedo show up here one day and then just disappear?"

Isabel glanced at the different searches she'd done then sighed, "I know. I talked with Valenti and he said the only people that said they saw Mr. Harding were in the Crashdown that day. No one saw him anywhere else around town. He took note of it because he said people around here tend to take offense when a man leaves his teenage daughter unattended even if he made arrangements. So if he was walking around town, people would talk."

Liz quickly glanced around them then lowered her voice, "it’s just too much all at once to be a coincidence. Someone was either trying to send us a message or they wanted us back here." Liz leaned closer to Isabel, "do you think Tess could have warped all those people?"

Isabel thought about it for a moment, "I don't think so. She always seemed to have a problem with two people and seemed to struggle a lot with any more than that. I doubt she'd be able to make a full restaurant see him eat breakfast then leave. If it was only Max seeing him leave, I'd be completely with you."

"You guys having a meeting without me? I'm hurt." Maria smiled as she leaned over Liz's shoulder checking out her laptop screen.

Liz rolled her eyes, "I thought you didn't want to be in the abyss again?"

Maria reached over and clicked on the dropped email window, pulling it up. "Heard from Sam?"

Isabel interrupted, "you know we were having a serious conversation."

Maria turned towards her, "well, I haven't seen anything happening around here so personally I think it's all bullshit. I don't know why someone wanted us back here but I'm pretty sure it’s all their fault we are." Both Isabel and Liz raised their brow and Maria scoffed, "you both know who I'm talking about."

Isabel leaned forward, "yeah but we don't think she could have done it. I mean making Max think something was going on.. yeah but mind warping all those people?" Isabel shook her head.

Maria crossed her arms over her chest, "and we're going to base the extent of her abilities on what she decided to show us when she was lying through her teeth?" Liz and Isabel glanced at each other both thinking the same thing, how did we miss that? Maria continued as she turned back to the laptop and skimmed down the emails in Liz's account. "If you really want to know, we should just contact Ava. See what she can do and see what she thinks about everything going on here." Both Isabel and Liz stared openly at Maria who was still searching through Liz's email. "So Sam hasn't emailed you lately.. Has he called?" She glanced towards Isabel and caught her staring then glanced to Liz, "what? What did I say?"

Liz grabbed Maria's face and kissed her then grinned, "you're a genius!" Isabel burst out laughing.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" They all spun around when they heard a voice from behind them. Kyle stood with wide eyes staring at the three girls. He patted his chest and stomach, "I'm not naked, am I?"

Maria's mouth dropped open and Isabel couldn't stop her fit of giggles at the look on Kyle's face. Liz quickly recovered and closed Maria's mouth gently. "Yes, Sam did call. They're heading for Colorado… something about coordinates their dad left them."

Maria regained her composure but her eyes narrowed as she continued to stare at Kyle. Kyle ignored her and asked Liz, "so what was that all about?"

Liz grinned as she turned back to her laptop and opened a new email to send to Ava. Isabel pulled Kyle over to the seat next to her, "get over it Valenti because it's never going to happen."
~~

Dean quickly glanced at Sam as he drove and thought about how to broach the subject on his mind without sounding too concerned. Sam was checking the map again, most likely staring at the coordinates to nowhere Dad had left for him. He knew if John Winchester thought it was important enough to write down for him then it definitely wasn't nowhere. Dean kept his eyes on the road and finally went for it, "so Liz and Kyle still together huh?"

Sam laughed, “Kyle’s as involved with Liz as I am.” Dean threw him a confused look and Sam laughed harder, “Kyle isn’t with Liz, Dean. He’s with Isabel. They’ve been together for years.” Sam’s laughter tapered off and he eyed Dean, “why are you so interested?" Dean was quiet so Sam pushed, "what happened between you two?”

Dean threw him a quick glance, “what? Your best girlfriend didn’t tell you?”

“No, just that you left without a word but Kyle said that you two seemed to be pretty close before you disappeared and stopped taking her calls." Sam studied his brother's face with his next words, "something that I think has affected her with other relationships, not that she will admit it to me.”

Confusion crossed Dean’s face quickly before he covered it and scoffed, “yeah, Kyle should know.”

“Well, he was pretty much the only person who hadn’t turned their back on her at some point during Alex’s death.”

“He gave her more than that. Believe me.”

Sam stared at his brother with his brow drawn together, “dude what the hell are you talking about?”

Dean kept his eyes on the road, “I saw them. I was supposed to be meeting her and I got there early to find those two all over each other. So I left.”

“What?" Sam couldn't even believe that Dean thought he would actually fall for that. "I don’t know what someone led you to believe but she hasn’t kissed Kyle since the beginning of her sophomore year of high school. He let out a bark of laughter, “All over each other? The farthest Kyle ever got with her was second base.” He chuckled at the memory of Kyle teasing Liz about it one night, “over the shirt.”

Dean's voice was tense. “You don’t know that.”

Sam smiled, “Yes I do. I've played enough drinking games with them to know. Dean, I don’t know what you think you saw but it was not those two doing anything, believe me.”

Dean stayed silent watching the road as the confusion crossed his face again. He saw it with his own eyes. The stories they told anyone else wouldn’t change that. He reached over turning up the radio effectively silencing any further conversation.

~~

Isabel rushed up the front walkway to her parent's house knowing she was late for lunch with her mother. She opened the door and called out, "mom I'm here! Sorry I'm late, I ran into Maria's mom. If I didn't know where Maria got it from before." She chuckled as she moved easily through the house to the kitchen. "Mom?" The usual noise of her mother cooking or moving around was absent and she felt a little bit of panic tingle across her skin.

She scanned the kitchen noting the cooking pans and utensils out on the stove and counter then her gaze fell on the note on the kitchen table. She grabbed the note then took a calming breath. Her mother ran to the store because she didn't have all the ingredients for Isabel's favorite French Toast recipe. Something her mother never failed to make for her when she came home. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and made her way into the living room, dropping herself onto the couch to wait.

She had spent more than a week around her parents at various times of the day and noticed nothing like Max had told her over the phone. Her parents were not the ones acting strange at all. Max was the only one who appeared strange or odd. Her worry for her brother just kept getting worse but she had no idea what it could be or what they could do. Could this be some kind of alien sickness? No, if it was by itself then maybe but with the break in at her parent's house, the spike in sightings in Frazier Woods, and then Nasedo at the Crashdown, it was too much. It was all connected somehow and they didn't have a single clue as to how or why. It was maddening, for some reason someone was trying to recreate some of the worse scares of their high school years, complete with what could have happened to Max by the torturous hands of Agent Pierce had they not saved him as early as they had.

She shivered at the thought and tried to erase the images from her mind. She looked around the room noticing the new pictures her mother put up, a handful that Isabel sent her mom over the years of herself and the group in California and two of Max and Tess. It seemed her mother still hadn't warmed up much to Tess.

Isabel wondered why Max was still with her, they had all moved on from the destiny crap yet Max had stayed with Tess. Could he possibly still feel responsible for her or did he just feel trapped? Of course they say that a shared tragedy can bond people together but when Max told her about it, he was sad but he seemed more relieved than anything. She probably could have handled it better than how she did, asking him how he knew she didn't fake the whole thing but their relationship still hadn't repaired the wounds from the fight they had in this very room.


Isabel and Max stood face to face in the living room practically screaming at each other in hushed voices. Isabel wanted to let her parents find the tape they made and know the truth about them where Max, like usual, thought it wasn't the right time. Every time her voice rose, Max would tell her to be quiet so she wouldn't wake their parents.

"The one thing I learned from that whole Granolith mess last night is that this is where we belong! Those people you want to keep lying to, they are our parents, our family! I want my family to know who I really am! I don't want to blast off this planet leaving my family some note telling them that I lied to them the entire time they loved me unconditionally! But I've done that for you, just like I was going to leave for you! Yet you can't do this one thing for me?!"

Max's face grew soft for moment, "Isabel, we’re not their family. We're kids they grew to love and if they find out what we really are.. they could ship us to people like Pierce."

"Mom would NEVER DO THAT!"

Max's face turned hard again, "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!” Max’s voice lowered slightly, “I have a baby to protect now Isabel!"

"Max? Isabel?" They both spun quickly towards the entrance to the living room to see their mother in her night gown. They froze for a moment as she walked into the room towards them, "is everything okay?"

Isabel turned towards Max, her determined gaze catching his worried one. "I'm done being your puppet and if you don't understand that yet then let this be a lesson that you don't always know what's right."

She turned back towards her mother and spilled everything from breaking out of the pod to having the chance to leave last night. She told her mother that she just couldn't leave instead of the hashing out the more detailed reason of why she wouldn't leave. She didn’t want to bring up the baby drama either. That would be Max’s story to tell her, whenever he found it to be the right time. Her voice tapered off and she stood silently watching her mother through watery eyes, waiting for her to say something.
Isabel closed her eyes then felt warm arms wrap around her, holding her tight. She heard a sob break the silence and realized it was her own and then another sob directly next to her ear, her mother's. Isabel's arms went around her mother and squeezed. Her mother's voice broke with tears, "you are still my baby, no matter who sent you to me. You are both my little miracles and nothing could ever change that." Isabel felt one of her mother's arms leave her then she felt max pulled into them. "I love you. You have to know that by now. Nothing will ever change that."

Isabel's voice cracked, "I know mom. I know. I love you. I love you more because of that."


Even though that was one of the best moments of her life, it also held one of the worst. She proved Max wrong and their relationship with their parents only got better but her relationship with Max was never the same. He never seemed to forgive her for telling their mom or leaving for college against his wishes. Recently things had gotten a little easier and part of her enjoyed being able to talk to him more but when she was honest with herself, she was annoyed that it seemed he only changed his stance because he needed her.

She reminded herself that something was truly wrong with him and maybe for the first time in a long time, it felt like it was actually her brother that was reaching out to her. Like he'd been possessed for so many years and finally found a way to reach her. The thought made her shiver and just made everything seem worse. That wasn't possible, was it?

Dropping in for a quick post!! Love to my feedbackers and all the lurkers! Hopefully back for another post before Sunday (drive back home!) What day is it today anyway? Maybe two if I can get packed early.. lol!

Chapter Thirteen

A week later

Sam couldn’t help the glances he’d been throwing Dean since they pulled out onto the main drag of Lake Manitoc and drove towards the interstate. Once they made it out of town he couldn’t bite his tongue any longer. “Psychic tendencies, premonitions. Reminds me of a dark haired, dark eyed girl.. Funny that seems to be the type of girl you've been flirting with recently. Someone on your mind?”

Dean didn’t even flinch as he quipped, “calm down, Freud.”

Sam was only reminded of how good of a poker face his brother really had. He’d just have to push a little harder. “Wow. Where did you learn that?”

“What's your little best friend been up to back on her old stomping grounds anyway? Dealing with evil stares from an evil baby mama?”

Sam grinned at the quick change of subject that wasn’t that much of a change then quickly frowned. “Wait who?”

“The crazy blonde with the.. " Dean scrunched his face and looked at Sam with narrowed eyes.

“Tess?”

“That’s it! Kinda scary thinking she's a mom.” He dramatically shivered.

Sam shook his head. “She's not.”

Dean threw a glance at Sam. “So the baby was fake?”

“No, she lost it. Where'd you hear that?”

He shrugged, “Isabel thought the baby thing was fake.”

Sam raised his brow. “How long were you stopping through Roswell?”

“What I'm a trustworthy guy. People tell me things.” At Sam's look he shrugged, "long enough to know what was going on."

Sam looked at Dean with a straight face challenging him, "obviously not considering you thought Liz and Kyle were together." Sam watched his brother shut down once again as he reached over turning up the radio. Sam rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone to check his email since he knew he wouldn't be getting anything out of his brother for a while. One of these days he wasn’t going to let him keep brushing him off.

~~
A week later.

Liz sat at a table in front of the Crashdown waiting for Maria's car to pull up and praying she would get there before one of her parents got a chance to come outside and "talk" to her again. Her feet bounced on the ground as if her legs were spring loaded and she was just waiting for the chance to take off. She caught sight of the new Jetta coming down the main drag and Liz sprung free, jogging down the street towards the car instead of waiting any longer in the danger zone. Liz opened the back door and hopped in. Maria glanced in the rearview mirror. "Where’s the fire?"

Liz gave her tired smirk, "my parents and the reason why I’m still sitting around Roswell when I should be finishing my college education."

Maria nodded, "I hear that chika and I don't live with them." She smiled, "what do you think about my Jetta?"

Liz chuckled, "Maria you've been driving it for a month. I've been in it before."

Michael turned around in the passenger seat to face Liz and with a roll of his eyes he said, "just tell her it's fantastic so we can get going."

Liz laughed as he faced Maria with a grin and she kissed him then started driving again. The Jetta was supposed to be a senior gift from Michael but he'd gotten a great deal and didn't want to wait so he had it sent to Roswell. This summer's break was supposed to be the big reveal but instead she got it when the abyss pulled her back to Roswell, she said it was the only good thing besides Michael the abyss ever did for her. Not that getting it in the summer would have mattered. She didn't like using a car around the San Francisco area and didn't find it a problem borrowing Kyle's car when she wanted to drive down to Stanford.

They drove to the old taco stand with light chatter then parked next to Kyle's mustang. Liz smiled, "I can't believe it still looks like the same old taco stand. I didn't even think it'd still be here."

Maria laughed, "there's always high school students looking for Mexican food and a reason to drive off school property. Of course it's still here."

They walked over to stand and ordered. While waiting for their food, they started talking with a few students that came over recognizing Liz. Once their food was up, they grabbed it and moved over to the table where Kyle sat laughing with a smiling Isabel beside him. Liz, Michael and Maria sat down at the table as Liz quirked an eyebrow at Kyle.

Kyle grinned, "I didn't know you were such a nerd legend."

Liz chuckled and Maria grinned, "please you’re just jealous that they recognized the science club president and not the sports star."

Michael laughed as Kyle responded, "I'll have you know coach wanted me to talk with the team and run a practice with them."

They dug into their food staying on lighter topics with the school lunch crowd around them. They laughed as they brought up old stories and some new ones but as the students started to filter out back to class they became more somber. Liz sipped her soda then said, "I can't believe we've been here for a month."

Maria laid her head on Liz's shoulder, "I know chika. My mother has been all over me about wasting the most important opportunity, it doesn't matter how many times I tell her that the school allowed the break. Jim even spoke up for me leaving out the alien details of course because we all know she'd flip out even more if she knew it was alien drama keeping me here."

Isabel looked up from her food, "I could graduate after Christmas if I really wanted to but I mean what's the point of getting this great education and degree and all the job opportunities only to be stuck here for who knows how long?"

Kyle rubbed her back, "I need to be back by January at the latest for practice before the season starts."

Maria looked at Michael then said, "we have to be back after Christmas break unless there's something like a death in the family."

Everyone looked towards Liz and she brushed some hair behind her ear. Isabel asked, "are you going back?"

Liz glanced around the table then looked at Isabel, "I'd have to go back to make up a few labs and take my finals. During all the breaks we spent in Palo Alto, I did enough to graduate with Sam this spring."

Isabel smiled and Maria rolled her eyes and said, "why are we ever surprised?"

Kyle grinned, "she is the nerd legend, Maria. She's got a reputation to uphold!"

~~

Later that week, Liz sat at the counter with Maria both sipping on a milkshake commiserating about everything they were missing back in California. Maria stirred her milkshake, "I've come to the conclusion that Roswell is only nice in small doses and by that I mean short visits. After that the whole nostalgia wears off and you’re just stuck in a small town."

Liz nodded, "stuck in a small town for no friggin’ reason."

Maria chimed in, "preach it sista. Maybe it was just some big joke on us. Look at all this stuff happening, come pay attention to me."

Liz glanced at Maria, "what?"

Maria shook her head, "please I know it was her. Probably jealous that we were leading fabulous lives in California and she was stuck here with no one to play with."

Liz grinned, "why would she want us back if she hates us?"

"To ruin our good time, our great lives on the sunny, beautiful coast."

Liz chuckled, "right."

Maria looked at Liz, "have you heard back from Ava?"

Liz shook her head, "she said she was gonna call and that she was heading down to California. I sent an email back telling her that we’re in Roswell but I haven't heard back since. I don't think she wanted to talk over the phone or email about anything. Maybe she's felt it too."

"I doubt Tess has that long of a reach."

"What about Rath and Lonnie? They killed Zan and tried to kill Max. They could be after her."

"I think you’re thinking way too much into this. Besides Ava’s smarter than that. She knows how to keep herself invisible from those two idiots."

Liz nodded, "yeah." She said a quick prayer that Maria was completely right. Movement by the door caught Liz's eye and she turned, "holy crap."

Maria turned, "what? Oh wow.."

Isabel moved towards them in full Christmas Nazi mode complete with red and green streaks in her curly blonde hair and her planner clutched in her right hand. She dropped the planner on the counter in the middle of them and glanced between them. "We need to get out of town."

Maria grinned, "we hear that!"

Liz chuckled, "what are you planning?"

Isabel sat down next to them. "Okay, hear me out. I mean we already decided we'd do a party with the parents since we're here but what about after that we continue our college Christmas tradition?"

Liz brightened, "going to San Fran sounds amazing." Then her brow scrunched together, "wait why did you say hear me out? Of course we'd want to go back, what else do you have going on in that planner extraordinaire mind of yours?"

Isabel rushed, "we'll be in San Fran and since we didn't get to say goodbye.. I thought we could go see Jess. I know it sounds macabre but I think it would be nice to be able to pay our respects."

"What?" Maria's brow shot up.

"I found it comforting with Alex. I still stop in every time we come back to town and I know I'm not the only one." She looked directly at Liz, "I see how clean it is and the flowers." Then looked at Maria, "and the sheets of music."

Liz threw her hands up in surrender. "I don't think it's a bad idea. I need to pick up some things from my apartment and we didn't get to go to the funeral. We owe it to her."

Maria blinked a few times, "yeah, I think that'd be nice but we need to make it a joyous occasion.. no bumming around. Jess wouldn't want it to be like that."

Isabel smiled, "I thought the same thing. Tell our favorite stories, get Jess' favorite wine and snacks, and just reminisce."

Liz glanced down at Isabel's planner, "I wish Sam could go. I think he could use it. He feels so responsible."

Isabel put her hand on Liz's, "then we're exactly the people he needs to be around."

HypnotiqBlueEyes: Thanks! The trip has been good now we gotta think about packing and then leaving early Sunday for our first day of driving.
barbara87413: Hmmm Sam and Dean coming up.. Yes!
alexceasar: Thank you!
AvalonRose: Yup, they'll make it to Cali with maybe a few in tow.


Starting our three day drive on Sunday and hoping this Chapter will hold you over! I'm working on the other chapter now so maybe I'll have a surprise post Sunday but I don't like making promises I can't keep! This has a very anticipated part so maybe that will help!


Chapter Fourteen

Two lines taken from Supernatural Season one episode Skin, in italics.

Dean drove easily out of town and glanced at his brother. “I really wish things could be different, you know? I wish you could just be….Joe College.”

Sam shrugged, “no, that's okay. I mean besides Liz I never really fit in at Stanford anyway.”

Dean grinned, “Liz can make everyone feel like they fit.”

Sam glanced nervously at his brother. “You know.. when the shape shifter was downloading your memories he said..”

“I wouldn't listen to a monster.”

“Dean.. He brought up Liz.”

Dean’s face turned into a blank mask, “Sam.”

It was a warning and Sam knew it. He just didn’t care. “No, he said everyone leaves him but at least he.. you.. got something good out of me leaving, that you got Liz but that she proved to be just like everyone else.” Sam watched him waiting and hoping for an answer that he was pretty sure wouldn’t come. After a few moments of silence he pressed, “what was he talking about?”

“Just drop it.”

Sam knew his brother had already shut him out but he was tired of the silence from both of them. He dealt with it from Liz for two years but his brother was a different story, he should be able to get the truth from him. “You know this is a pretty good time to straighten shit out.”

He saw the angry twitch in Dean’s lip before he snapped. “You really want me to tell you that you ran off to college and I ran to her? That she made me feel like maybe not everyone wanted to leave me? That maybe there was actually someone looking out for me for once?!”

Sam leaned back in his seat not realizing until that deflating moment that he was leaning forward. “I wasn't leaving you.”

“I said drop it.” Dean’s voice had that air of finality to it that Sam knew his brother learned from their dad. Sam's phone rang as he stared at his brother. “Sam, I swear if you don't answer that damn thing I will pull this car over and throw you out.”

Sam pulled out his phone and saw Liz’s picture on the screen. He flipped it open and answered, “hey Liz.” He threw a quick glance at Dean but he was completely shut off again.

“So, I got a couple of interesting emails from Becky.”

Sam closed his eyes, “I was wondering if she sent them to you too. We checked it out and dealt with it, nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I figured that when I got a text from her about your brother attacking her and for some reason she thought of me when she met said brother and asked if he attacked me before.”

Sam covered his eyes with his other hand, “oh god.”

“I told her that I did know your brother and there was no way he would attack anyone.. female anyway. At least not in that way.”

“She knows it wasn’t really Dean.”

“Really?”

Sam glanced at Dean again. “Yeah, she's been inducted into the world of the supernatural by a pyscho shape shifter.”

“I guess that explains the whole Dean Winchester psycho killer death. Did you tell her about me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Knowing about it. About what you two do.”

“No, I left you out of it. She asked, about you and Jess but I said no. Keeping you out of this mess is important to me.”

“Sam, you could have told her I know. It's not a big deal.”

“Liz, it is a big deal. If the thing killed Jess found out about you.. and decided to go after you too. I could never forgive myself.”

“I'm fine. I have a good amount of firepower around me if it should try anything. I have my own firepower too.”

“I know but I'd like to keep you from having to use it.”

Sam heard some noise and the muffled sound of Liz covering the mouthpiece as she yelled at someone. “Sorry Sam I gotta go. I told the folks I’d watch the restaurant while they went out.”

“It's okay. Dean has been trying to catch up with what he thinks could be a case in Arizona so I might be in to see you soon.”

He could practically hear her smile, “that's great! I missed you. I'm not used to going so long without seeing you. It's weird and I don’t like it.”

Sam laughed, “very funny.”

“Oh and Isabel has a plan for Christmas. You’re invited.”

“Hmm.. we’ll see.”

Liz laughed, “okay, stay safe.”

“You too.”

Sam closed his phone with a smile on his face as Dean quipped, “what case in Arizona?”

“You know that rumor of a vampire nest.”

Dean smirked, “yeah right. You still suck at lying.”
~~

A few days later, Dean slid into a booth in the Crashdown and Sam headed straight for the bathroom. Dean stared at the menu on the table in front of him to keep himself from looking at the counter or seeking out Liz. Maria slid into the other side of booth and eyed him but he wouldn’t look up. "You have some explaining to do." He glanced up quickly then pulled out his phone. She snatched it from his hand, "oh no. You can't ignore me or push me away. I want to know why."

He watched her, his face blank, almost bored. If he didn’t respect Michael so much he'd probably flirt with her. "Why what?" He could read by her face she was clearly not amused.

"You know I always thought you had a good reason, even if it was all in your head. You don't even understand how bad it was to see her, to see what you did to her." Her voice vibrated with a quiet fury, "we had to pull her out of it, to pull her up from her own hell because she thought you were dead. You’re lucky I even let you in her presence but I want to know why. You owe me that because I actually approved of you against my better judgment." Maria noticed his facade fall only once when she had said Liz thought he was dead but he gave nothing else away. She made a mental note of it.

"You and I both know Liz makes her own choices."

Maria felt the sudden urge to hit him but reeled herself in, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes but you didn't even give her the chance to. You just left." Maria's brow drew together at the anger she saw flash across his face for a mere second.

"Like I said, Liz makes her own decisions."

Maria felt her hand moving of its own accord, reaching out to smack the five o’clock shadowed cheek across from her then stilled when she heard Liz's tight but quiet admonishment, "Maria." Both occupants of the table looked up towards the voice and Liz's heated gaze met Maria's. Before Maria could say a word Liz continued, "you have tables waiting."

Maria stood giving Dean a curt nod and tossing his phone back to him, noticing how his eyes were once again directed at the table. "We'll finish this later. You just think about what I said until then."

Liz's voice was level and lacked the warmth it used to flow with, "your food should be out in a minute."

When Dean finally looked up he only saw her back, his eyes automatically sliding down to her waist until a pair of well-worn jeans got in his way. His eyes flicked up catching Sam's knowing smirk and Dean automatically looked down at the phone in his hand. Sam slid back into his seat, "you two are ridiculous. She looks at you when you’re not looking and you stare at her when she walks away."

"Why does everyone gotta get in my face about this?"

Sam raised his brow and Dean shook his head. Maria actually saved him by interrupting with their food. She placed Sam's plate gently in front of him and dropped Dean’s in the middle of the table. "Really Blondie?" She threw Dean one of her best evil stares.

Sam glanced between them, "yeah. I don't think she wants you to call her that." Maria gave Sam a small smile then walked away.

Dean pulled his plate towards him, "I don't know why I let you talk me into this." Once his plate was in front of him he realized he never ordered. Liz must have put the order in when she saw them walk in. She still knew what he liked, right down to the small details.

Sam eyed his brother checking his burger, "Liz is better than that and you know it." Dean looked up at Sam and he continued, "and as much as you complain I know you still care for her. You both can hide all you want but I know you don't want to see her get hurt."

Dean felt someone staring and looked out of the corner of his eye catching Liz watching him. He turned his head slightly, their eyes meeting for longer than they had in a while. Then she moved along the counter wiping it down and his eyes moved quickly away. He picked up his burger and shoved everything out of his mind. He needed to get out of Roswell.

Once they were almost finished, Isabel breezed through the front door. She spotted Sam and walked to their table with a smile. Sam stood and hugged her. “It’s been a while Shaggy. How are you?”

Sam chuckled, “good. How are you?”

She smiled, “please, like I would ever let a little mystery mess with me.”

Sam glanced at Dean, “oh sorry Isabel this is.. oh wait. You guys know each other already. You want to sit with us?”

Isabel smiled at Dean and he gave her a small half grin back, wondering if she was just waiting for the chance to jump on him too. “Hey Dean.” She slid into the booth next to Dean so she could face Sam. “So did Liz tell you about the trip?”

“What trip?”

“We’re driving to California, first to Palo Alto because Liz needs to pick up a few things from her apartment and then on to San Fran for our Christmas tradition.” She smiled.

Sam grinned, “seriously? You guys are going back to California just for the party?”

“Umm.. our Christmas tradition is way more than just a party.”

Sam laughed and held his hands up in surrender, “okay, okay.” Sam looked at Dean almost begging him to come. He wouldn’t feel right leaving Dean now.

Isabel looked at Dean, “it is a party but we do other stuff too. It’s our tradition ever since we went to California. You’d have a great time.”

Dean seemed taken aback by Isabel’s sweetness. He’d seen the Ice Queen in full force and it was what he expected from her after Maria’s inquisition. She smiled and he glanced at Sam catching that little boy hope in his eyes. What kind of excuse could he come up with while being bombarded by this? He looked back to Isabel and nodded. He felt words creeping up in the back of his mind, you’re so screwed.

She sent him a beaming smile, “this is going to be great.” She turned back to Sam, “I don’t want you to feel like we just surprised you with this but we’re also gonna do something for Jess. None of us got to go to the funeral and we felt it was only right for us pay our respects so we’re doing a party night for Jess.” Sam’s face faltered a bit and Isabel grabbed his hand, “believe me this is something we need. When I lost Alex, I felt so lost but talking about him with my friends that knew him and celebrating him.. it did help me.”

Sam’s eyes came up and met Isabel’s, “that sounds like a good idea.”

Isabel smiled but she could tell he was still wary of the idea. That was okay, she could help him see he needed this for his own good. He couldn’t keep blaming himself for everything and ignoring her memories or it would end up killing him.

HypnotiqBlueEyes: mmhmm lol Maria will always be doing the ass jumping for her girl!
AvalonRose: They're not really there yet. They're both still trying to figure out how to be around each other again.
barbara87413: Always more Liz/Dean.. but it might not be exactly what everyone wants.

Only one short day of driving left but I had some free time at the hotel tonight so I decided to take advantage and post the chapter I got edited! Home tomorrow so hopefully next post in a couple days.


Chapter Fifteen

The group filtered into the Crashdown with their bags packed in the cars ready to hit the road except for Liz. When they followed Liz up to the apartment to get her bags, they were surprised by all the parents being there to see them off. A set of goodbyes that had turned into more of a party thanks to Jeff and Nancy’s supply of food and drinks set up in the kitchen. Dean leaned against the wall in the living room as the various members of Liz’s group talked to the parents. His eyes once again rested on Liz as she talked to Kyle’s father who he knew was the Sheriff once again. He briefly wondered how that came about but he wasn’t really all that surprised. The man was a natural authority figure and one that actually liked him which was an odd feeling especially since he respected the man. A voice next to him startled him, "still watching out for her all these years."

Dean turned his head towards Jeff Parker who now leaned against the wall with him, "I don't know what you mean.."

Jeff smirked and looked back to his daughter who moved over to the girls chatting on the couches. "Sam told me you haven't seen anyone and I know there's something going on here. Liz wouldn't take this long of a break unless there was something happening that she couldn’t control."

Dean raised his brow, "please don't tell me they roped you into ragging on me too."

Jeff chuckled, "this is my daughter we're talking about. I don't want her with an idiot and she wouldn't allow one in her presence but I know guys like you. I used to be one. My daughter thinks highly of you, don't let your own fears and insecurities screw up your future. I almost let it happen to me but my wife wouldn’t hear it.” A wistful smile came to his face as his eyes moved to his wife then he turned back to Dean. “I know you two had some sort of fight but she still cares about you and you obviously feel the same. Don't screw it up son. Oh and if you hurt her I’ll kill you." Jeff smiled at a shell shocked Dean then walked over to the fathers standing in the kitchen talking with the guys of the group.

Dean watched Jeff for a few moments then his eyes moved over to the women chatting on the couches in the living room. He was shocked once again as Liz's gaze met his and her smile didn’t falter. She gave him a small nod then continued with the conversation around her. Dean pushed himself off the wall and moved towards the bathroom as Jeff's words rang in his head. The bathroom was locked and he turned trying to think of the next best place he could disappear. He felt himself moving towards Liz's room and then locked himself in her bathroom.

He stared in the mirror trying to push Jeff's surprise attack to the back of his mind. He couldn't think about this right before he was going to spend who knows how long in relatively close proximity with her. Being here in the Crashdown and her apartment wasn't helping and now he had her father giving him.. pep talks?

He splashed some cold water on his face and tried to think. It happened years ago, couldn't he just let it go? If she really wasn't with anyone then there was nothing wrong with them just seeing where things go. She was just like him, she didn't seem to want a relationship. So what would be so bad about just relaxing and going with the flow? Nothing, right?
~~

Liz excused herself from the group in the living room to double check her bags and bring them out. Liz moved into her room and went directly to the two small duffle bags on her bed when she heard a door open. She turned and found Dean in the doorway of the bathroom. “Oh hey.. sorry. Someone was in the other one and I remembered..” She gave him a soft smile then turned back to her bags.

He went back into the bathroom then came out moving towards her. “I think you left your toothbrush in the bathroom.” She turned and gasped into his chest. Her eyes moved up to the smirk on his face, “here, you’re gonna need this for that morning breath you don’t want anyone to know about.”

She blushed as she reached for her toothbrush, “thanks.” At the last second, he pulled the toothbrush higher waiting for her to predictably reach up on her tip toes unwilling to ask him to hand it to her. When she got the determined look on her face and went for it, he pulled it back behind his head and she lost her balance falling into him. She punched his chest, “you’re such a jerk.”

He smiled at the soft laughter she couldn’t hide with their close proximity. “You know it’s not a bad thing to ask for something instead of just going after it yourself.”

Her eyes crawled back up to his, “really? Because it worked pretty well for me before.”

He grinned as he tucked the toothbrush into her back pocket then rested his hands on her hips, “I can’t argue with that.”

She pushed herself up on her tip toes whispering, “maybe I should try it again. You know as a scientist you should never rely on your first test, you have to do a series of them to get proper evidence.”

His eyes fell to her lips, “you know I’m always a willing test subject.”

Liz’s hands slid up his chest, “that’s good to know.”

“Hey Liz, you in here?” At Max’s interrupting voice they broke apart quickly, “oh.. ahh.. sorry I didn’t know. I thought you were alone.” Max started to back out of the doorway grabbing the door handle to close the door behind him.

“It’s okay Max, we were just talking about the drive tomorrow. I mean tonight. What is it?” Liz threw a quick glance at Dean who sat himself down on the bed next to her bags with a grin.

Max nervously glanced between them, “I just wanted to.. you know it doesn’t matter. I can talk to you when you’re done here. I wanted to see Isabel off so I’ll still be here.”

“Don’t be silly Max you’re right here, we can talk.” She smiled.

Max glanced at Dean, “you don’t mind if I talk to her?”

Dean nodded and stood from the bed glancing at Liz, “yeah, don’t be silly.” His hand plucked the tooth brush from Liz’s back pocket and he dropped it on her bag. “I mean I’ll be seeing you all week right? We can finish our talk later.” Dean weaved around Max and out the door as Liz turned to her bags hiding the blush she knew was creeping up her face.

Liz glanced at Max as he moved towards her, “you don’t mind if I finish this, do you?”

Max smiled, “no that’s okay. I know you guys wanted to hit the road before dark.”

“So, what was it you wanted to talk about?” Liz zipped open her bag then pulled out her small bathroom bag.

“About the feelings.. Isabel said you felt like someone was watching you? I just wanted you to be careful. I had those feelings in the beginning but now I’ve started.. I’ve lost time.. forgotten things. I just.. I know Michael will keep an eye out, he always does but you guys make a big group.”

Liz paused and turned towards him, “I will Max. Believe me I’ve been watching everything since I started getting those feelings. I’m not going to stop now.”

Max nodded and rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced towards the door. “Okay. Sorry that I broke that up.”

She shook her head, “you didn’t break anything up Max. I haven’t seen him in years and the only reason he’s here now is because of Sam.”

Max smiled sadly, “no he’s not, Liz. I know those looks. He’s here for you no matter what he tells you. Just be safe over there, okay?”

Liz nodded, “yeah, you too.”

Max moved to the doorway glancing back before leaving the room. Liz looked to the bathroom bag in her hand and opened it. Inside, in between her travel shampoo and body wash, was her toothbrush in a travel case. She looked at the toothbrush sitting on top of her other bag and frowned. She picked it up and looked at the bristles. It had never been used. She moved into the bathroom and opened her medicine cabinet, the unopened spare she kept for emergencies was missing and with a glance in the trash can she saw the discarded package. She couldn’t help but smile. “That’s a pick up line I’ve never heard.”
~~

Maria caught Michael glancing towards Liz’s bedroom again and followed his gaze. She didn’t see anything and finally asked him, “what’s so interesting over there, spaceboy?”

Michael smirked, “nothing.”

She poked him, “you tell me or so help..”

Michael interrupted her, “Dean went in there and then Liz went in to get her bags. I don’t think she knew he was in there but neither one of them have come out yet.”

Maria’s eyes went wide, “I’m going in there.” Maria started towards the bedroom but Michael gently grasped her arm keeping her from leaving his side. When she looked back at him, he just shook his head. Her eyes narrowed, “did you set this up?”

“No but I think they both could use a little stuck in the closet time. Maybe hash some things out..”

Maria shook her head, “oh they’d definitely do some things but I don’t think talking would be one of them. They never had a problem with chemistry.”

Michael pulled Maria in front of him resting her back against his chest. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “kinda like us.”

“He’s a lost cause.”

Michael chuckled, “I remember you saying that about me more than a few times and looked how I turned out.”

Maria smirked, “we had our share of tumultuous times but you’re a different story.”

Michael kissed her neck. “Well, I think you’re biased and had may be the wrong tense.”

Maria laughed, “shut up.”

Kyle’s voice interrupted them. “Hey, what are you two staring at?”

They glanced towards the voice finding Kyle and Sam standing next to them glancing towards Liz’s bedroom. Michael smirked, “nothing.”

Sam glanced at the room then looked at Michael, “Max going into Liz’s room is nothing?”

Michael heard Maria’s voice as he turned to look back at the bedroom door, “what?”

Michael whispered, “damn it.”

Maria looked up at Michael, “the man always had horrible timing. Well, at least after Tess arrived.”

Sam and Kyle looked at each other in shared confusion until they saw Dean coming out of Liz’s room with a smirk. Kyle chuckled, “that didn’t take long.”

Sam watched Dean, his confusion never quite dissolving but a small smile began to bloom. This trip might be exactly what he needed. Honestly, it was what the two of them needed.


December 20th 2005.
Dean is back in my life out of nowhere and all of these old feelings.. both good and bad just come rushing back to the surface. There have been moments where I’m angry that he left without telling me anything and then others where I’m acting like a shy teenager anytime he’s near me again. It happened so long ago, wouldn’t it just be easier to let it go and start over or will I ever truly be able to let that go? If I don’t ever find out why he left, will I ever trust that he won’t just leave me again? What if he just thinks that we could just be some one time fling and then when the party’s over and he has to leave then I never hear from him?
Here I am back in the abyss again and I have all these questions with no answers and two sides of myself wanting to tackle them differently. This may be a very long trip and it has two ways of ending, really bad or really good. The sad part is I don’t know which one I’m rooting for because I don’t know if it could ever truly end on the good side. That just seems like more of a fairy tale than reality.

AvalonRose: No, Max and Tess are staying in Roswell. They weren't really invited. lol They haven't been able to figure out what is going on with Max. Isabel has shared her opinions and worries about sickness or even asked Liz and Sam about possession. They still have nothing concrete with it which was one of the unspoken reasons Isabel decided to they needed to get out of town, one to clear their heads and two for some times to themselves where they don't have to worry about anything.
HypnotiqBlueEyes: lol Max does have some bad timing.. hmm Tess? Maybe or Max was just looking for Liz and stumbled upon something he didn't think he'd see again. The trip was great! Thanks! I love road trips so that helps! My boys are used to the traveling although as very active toddlers sometimes they get a little antsy in the car after long periods of time but I come prepared.
barbara87413: Yay! It depends on which family we're going to see. lol The trip I took last November was to New Jersey(three days drive from Texas, 27hrs) to stay with my parents who have since moved down to Tennessee so only a two day drive now! YAY! lol This trip was to see my husband's family who live in Idaho which is another three day drive about 26 hrs total. My brother is only about 5 hours north of me and by far the easiest drive! We can only spend about 8-10 hrs a day in the car with my boys because they will lose their minds after being coped up in the car so long. If it was just my husband and I we'd definitely drive more and make it there faster. We used to fly but ticket prices have gotten so crazy and now that my oldest son is three we have to buy a ticket for him too so it's way cheaper to drive.
Hope you enjoy your trip and the time with your family!




Part Three. Old Flames Die Hard.

Chapter Sixteen

Liz, Dean, and Sam stopped at Liz’s apartment and decided to stay the night as the others headed on to Isabel and Kyle’s apartment in San Fran. Dean had been surprised that Liz thought it was okay for the three of them to stay at her small apartment when he’d been getting the feeling she wasn’t too happy with him. He kept trying to figure out what he did to piss her off after a few short, snippy comments from her over the last two days of driving. What happened to that girl he saw in Roswell? What the hell had he done? This was why he didn’t do this anymore. Women were just too damn confusing. The Liz he remembered wasn’t like other women with that crap, she was straight with him and didn’t talk him in circles or give him looks and expect him to read her mind but he couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on now.

He thought about their brief conversation in the car when Sam had fallen asleep. He kept to safe topics, asking her what she had been studying and how she and Sam met. He knew the gist of the topics but it was nice hearing them from her side of the story. Her finding out who Sam really was and how he reacted to her was actually hilarious from Liz’s point of view. Things seemed good between them that first day on the road but he couldn’t lie, there had been few times he wanted to ask about Kyle but thought better of it. So why did she seem so pissed off at him? He rolled over in the small bed trying to shut off his mind and told himself once again, this was going to be a long trip.

After a few hours of failing to get to sleep, Dean pushed himself out of bed and decided to try walking around the apartment to shake everything off. He walked into the living room and looked at the pictures around the room. He couldn't help but smile at a picture of Sam laughing with Liz hoisted over his shoulder. Not only was it a great picture of her ass but she looked pissed. Liz had a thing for pictures and there was a bunch around her small apartment with her group of friends from Roswell but the most surprising thing, at least the first time he came to the apartment, was Sam was in pretty much all of them. Both Sam and Liz had told him that they had met on her first day, her first couple of hours really and had hit it off. Of course they would, Liz had that kind of magnetism but then again Sam did too. They should have just gotten married and called it a day.

He knew that was just his jealousy talking, not only did his brother seem to become closer with Liz than he had but he had gotten to be around her longer, gotten to know her and be there for her while he had been busy with dad. Sam got to go to college and become best friends with the best person he ever met and he didn't blame her for not choosing him. He wouldn't choose himself either.

A quiet voice from behind him made him jump, "what are you doing?"

Dean glanced behind him at Liz. "You still sneaking up on people?"

Liz raised her eyebrow, "I thought that was your job?"

Wow. She really just said that? Dean turned back to the pictures. "Can't believe you and Sam.."

The tone of her voice softened, "he's my family now Dean. I'm not going to let him go."

"Yeah, I see that. He's in almost every picture."

"Well, he's been a big part of my life." She walked over to a picture of the group on their first Christmas break together in San Fran, "he didn't push me away. He told me the truth."

Dean glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "did you?"

Her head turned his way, "what do you mean?"

"Did you always tell him the truth?"

"Almost." Dean raised his brow and she continued, "you already know he knows all about my otherworldly abilities and everyone else's."

"I noticed he had questions about me. About who I was to you."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Who were you to me Dean?"

His face turned hard, "obviously not what I thought."

"Yeah, me either." Liz stormed from the room, “we're leaving in the morning so I’d get some sleep if I were you since I'm sure you still won't let anyone else drive the impala."

Dean watched her go then turned and kicked the chair next to him. What the hell was wrong with him? It happened more than three years ago why the hell couldn't he just let it go? She was in high school and he was four years older than her! It didn't matter that it didn't feel that way, that she was the only person who really knew him, that she was the only woman he ever.. He needed a damn drink. A stiff one.
~~

Liz stormed into her room, grabbed the door gearing up to slam it to release some frustration but remembered that Sam was sleeping on the extra bed. She deflated quickly knowing she'd only wake up Sam causing more questions that she didn't want to answer. She carefully made her way around him and climbed into her bed. She laid down, closed her eyes, and tried to clear her mind to no avail.

How did she seriously think this could ever be a good thing? He was still the same guy, charming, sarcastic, caring, and so damn good looking. It was like no time had passed and he never left but then he started asking questions, curious about her new life. Her life that didn't involve him. At first it wasn't so bad she enjoyed telling the stories and sharing that part of her life with him. Of course he told a few stories of his own but they all involved a hunt of some kind. She had changed, grown, and a big part of that change was because of him.

She didn't want it to come up, she wasn't even thinking about it but with every story she told, buried memories crept up. Her worrying about him, her wishing he'd call, her wishing he'd visit Sam just so she could hear his voice or see his face. Memories and thoughts that she never voiced because they seemed too pathetic, that wasn't the Liz everyone knew. She had changed but it didn't seem like he changed at all. Maybe he was just hiding them like she was but he didn't seem bothered at all that they were tip toeing around why he wasn't involved in any of the memories she was asking about. Why did she think she could just forget? This was going to be a long trip.
~~

The next morning, they headed towards the impala and Dean threw the keys to Sam. Liz looked at Sam who shrugged then opened the back door for her. Dean shook his head and opened the back door on the passenger side. “She can take the front I’m getting some more sleep.” Without another word Dean climbed in the back and tried to get comfortable as Liz walked around and got into the passenger seat. Liz and Sam both exchanged another look before Sam started the car and got on the road.

When they reached Isabel and Kyle’s apartment, they were greeted with loud hoots and hollers from the front windows. Liz and Sam laughed as they got out of the car while Dean looked confused but couldn’t help the small smile at how crazy they all seemed. Once inside, Isabel handed them all a drink then told them where they were to go whether to the kitchen where Michael and Maria were already starting on dinner or to the dining room where Kyle was helping set everything up. Liz and Dean were sent to the kitchen as Isabel led Sam to the dining room.

After a few hours, the apartment was filled with delicious aromas and Christmas music. Dean came out of the shower feeling better that he didn’t smell like chopped onions and peppers any longer. He scrubbed his hair with his towel before wrapping it around his waist and looked in the mirror. He played with his hair for a few seconds when the door opened and he saw Liz’s shocked face in the mirror. He dropped his hands from his hair but didn’t look away from Liz’s reflection in the mirror. She glanced back out into the hallway then seemed to make a decision as she came into the room and closed the door behind her. She moved to him without pause and he turned to face her. She stopped in front of him then reached up to fix the hair he had been trying to get to stay down. She smiled, “your welcome.” He stared at her unable to move and afraid to admit it.

She glanced at the mirror catching every bit of his toned body she was trying not to stare at. “Can I do my make up in here?”

He stepped back giving her room in front of the mirror. She placed her bag on the counter and started pulling out the few items she needed. He turned back to the mirror and reached into his bathroom bag for his razor. He pulled it out and rinsed it in the sink when Liz’s hand touched his wrist gently. He looked over at her and she shook her head, “you shouldn’t shave.. I mean you look fine.. like that.” He raised his brow and she smiled, “or you could. I was just.. you know making a suggestion.”

He shook the water off the razor and placed the cover over the blades and dropped it back in his bag. Liz went back to applying her makeup and he grabbed his gel from his bag and started working it through his hair then styling it. There were a few glances back and forth in the mirror but no more words were spoken. Dean moved his bathroom bag and picked up his clothes, for a moment he looked confused. He glanced around realizing the only place he could get dressed without standing naked in front of Liz was in the shower. Her voice was soft when it broke his confusion, “it’s okay. I won’t look.. not that I haven’t seen it anyway.”

Dean smirked in the mirror, “yeah but I don’t want to get jumped in the bathroom. I thought we learned our lesson with that one?” His smirk turned into a full-fledged grin when he saw her cheeks turn red.

Then she turned towards him, “I’ll close my eyes then and I promise I won’t peek.”

Dean recognized the fire in her eyes instantly, it was a challenge. He swallowed thickly and dropped his clothes back on the counter then turned around with a smirk. If she wanted to play with fire then he was completely on board with that. He dropped his towel and grabbed his boxer briefs off the counter and pulled them on with a glance in the mirror seeing Liz with her hand covering her eyes with the slightest space between her pointer and middle fingers. He pulled his jeans on then turned to her taking a step closer as he said, “I’m good. Not that you didn’t already know that.”

She dropped her hand and looked at him with a smirk, “you play dirty.”

Dean chuckled then took another step forward, “I wasn’t the one who came in here while the other was naked.”

Liz took the final step between them, “and I’m not the one who let the other stay.”

Neither one could look away from the other’s burning gaze, daring to make the first move. Liz’s hand reached out towards Dean’s stomach and with that first touch of skin it was as if the wall between them crumbled. Dean’s hands went to Liz’s sides as their lips crashed together then he hoisted her up onto the counter as her arms went around his neck holding him tightly to her. Liz’s makeup bag fell off the counter, the clattering of different plastic containers hitting the floor completely ignored as the old flame reignited.

Loud knocking at the bathroom door went unnoticed until Isabel’s voice followed, “Liz?”

Liz pulled away and stared at Dean as she answered trying her best to make her voice sound normal, “yeah?”

“Can you help me carry some things into the dining room? Maria and Michael are taking forever.”

Liz laughed almost nervously. “Yeah, I’m almost done. I’ll be right out.”

“Thanks.”

Dean smirked as Liz listened for the footsteps moving away from the door. Liz took a deep breathe then eyed Dean, “shut up.”

He chuckled, “I didn’t say anything.”

Liz pushed him away so she could jump down from the counter. “You were thinking it.”

“I was thinking a lot of things.”

Liz laughed as she checked herself in the mirror, not much damage done since she had barely been able to put anything on in the first place. She leaned down quickly gathering the contents strewn across the bathroom floor. Once she had her makeup back on the counter, she glanced at the colors and waved her hand over them then a quick wave over her face. Dean watched in awe as he had done before when she did her alien hoodoo makeover. She turned towards him and smiled, “I know exactly what you were thinking but I guess it’s not going to happen.” His brow scrunched together and she smirked, “just too many people to interrupt.”

She turned and started for the door and Dean said, “that never seemed to stop you before. What’s so different now?”

She opened the door with a quick glance at him and simply said, “both of us.” Then walked out of the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her.

Dean stood there dumbfounded, “what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

barbara87413: Clearing the air would be good.. if they actually listened to anyone.
HypnotiqBlueEyes: LOL when I write scenes like that I always have this voice in the back of my head that tells me someone is going to kill me for this. you'll get one part of your hope in this chapter.. not sure which one you'd prefer more though..
AvalonRose: they'll continue to be Liz and Dean although I have a feeling this chapter will have something everyone has been waiting for.. in one way or another.



Chapter Seventeen

After a very late night, everyone slept in and it wasn’t until late afternoon that there was any sign of life in the apartment. A few morning people started moving around, making coffee, and turning on showers. Dean cracked his eyes open at the smell of coffee and the sound of bacon sizzling. He sat up on the couch and rubbed his eyes.

“Afternoon Winchester.”

“Shut up Kyle.” Dean rubbed his head. “How the hell do you guys party like this when you’re in all these smart classes.”

Kyle chuckled as he brought a coffee mug over to Dean with a few Excedrin tablets. “One, we don’t do it all the time and two alcohol effects them differently so they stay away from the hard stuff.”

“So you’re saying there are smarter than us.” He took the coffee mug and pills with an appreciative smile. “Who do you mean by they?”

“Isabel and Michael. I’m not really in the smart classes and Liz.. well Liz doesn’t really drink as much as she makes you think and the girl has the highest tolerance I’ve ever seen when she does.”

Kyle moved back into the kitchen and Dean stood carefully with the steaming cup and followed him. He sat at the kitchen table spotting Michael in front of the stove, “oh thank God.”

Michael turned and grinned, “thought Maria would be cooking?” Dean glanced around remembering Maria’s knack for appearing out of nowhere when people talked about her. Michael laughed, “she’s in the shower, you’re safe.”

Dean nodded then grabbed his head, “shit. What did you give me last night Valenti?”

Kyle chuckled, “hey it’s not every day I have a couple of guys with me that can actually drink.”

Later than evening, everyone was ready and headed out to the cemetery. Dean pulled the impala into a parking spot next to the mustang as Kyle, Isabel, Michael, and Maria climbed out and moved onto the grass. Dean looked at Sam then glanced at Liz, “you guys okay with this?”

Sam nodded and climbed out of the impala with Liz following his lead. They moved as a group towards the area of the cemetery Isabel had found out Jess was buried. Dean scanned the area and caught Liz and Michael doing the same. He was worried at first if they did have anyone watching them, they were a huge target walking into an open area but his nerves were settled a bit with Michael and Liz’s attention to their surroundings. He forgot what it was like being in a group of people that knew what they were doing and as he recalled worked well together when they weren’t fighting.

They found Jess’ grave without too much difficulty and took their time saying goodbye. Kyle noticed Dean and Liz scanning the area multiple times and even caught Michael doing it a few times. It was a reminder that things still weren’t settled and that a few people in their group could never turn it off. He elbowed Isabel and nodded towards their sentries. Isabel leaned towards Kyle’s ear, “always in protector mode.”
Kyle nodded.

They headed back not long after and continued their celebration although it was a more somber one. Celebrating someone’s life was always easier when you just had the memories of a life well lived but when faced with the real picture of a life cut short, it was harder to focus on the good times. The group sat around the circular table in Isabel's kitchen each with a beer, a shot glass, or a wine glass in front of them. Dean sat just outside of the kitchen in the dining room with a beer in hand. He had no place remembering a girl he never knew, so he listened. He listened intently to stories about the sweet girl that stole his brother's heart, the funny girl that made him happy, the girl that his brother had wanted by his side forever.

From Dean's seat, he had a perfect view of Sam and Liz and as he listened to the stories, he watched their expressions. He saw his brother come alive while telling a tale about Jess and Liz sneaking into one of his classes almost getting him kicked out with one their pranks. He smiled as Liz's boisterous laughter made her cry and gave her a hard time catching her breath.

As the night wound down, he couldn't tear his gaze away from Liz. He noticed how she seemed to slowly distance herself from the group, not physically but her eyes fell to the shot glass in her hand that she lazily spun in front of her and she had stopped meeting the other eyes around her. Her laughter, when it came, was more of a chuckle and sometimes he knew she was only humoring the storyteller more than actually enjoying the tale.

It didn't surprise him when she was the first to excuse herself and with good night’s echoing from the friends around the table, he tracked her movements out of the room. Curiously, she didn't turn towards the back bedroom she was supposed to share with Sam but headed towards the living room. He got up from his chair, quietly leaving the dining room behind him as the stories continued. He heard the soft click of a door latching and moved towards the front door. Looking out the peep hole he could see her figure quickly vanishing down the hallway towards the stairs.

He followed her out of the apartment building carefully keeping a good amount of space between them. When she finally stopped, his breath caught for just a second. He could hear the sounds of waves crashing against rocks and for that second he pictured her standing at a cliff but when he moved closer for a better look, she was standing at the entrance to a beach. He felt his lungs release and he continued to slowly move towards her. He could see the lights on the Golden Gate Bridge shining in the distance and reflecting off the water. He saw her shiver and wondered just what she was doing there but when he got within a few feet he could tell it wasn't shivers that were shaking her body.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was strained and he knew she was trying to keep it under control.

He stopped directly behind her, "I could say the same thing to you."

She continued to stare out over the ocean. "I don't want to fight okay.. So just go back.."

He wrapped his arms around her as he rested his head on top of hers, "we don't have to talk." She struggled for a second until his words sank in and she pressed her back into his warmth. He opened his jacket and wrapped it as much as he could around her.

They were quiet for a few moments, both looking out over the ocean. Dean found it a bit disconcerting. It was so dark and vast, one could easily get lost out there and never be found.

Liz's voice broke his dark thoughts, "Jess and I talked about this place. I found it while I was out jogging on one of my first nights at Isabel's. It was the first time I saw the Pacific Ocean and with the bridge in the background, I just thought it was beautiful. Jess said she'd come here a lot to think when she was growing up in San Fran. She loved the history of the place, fishermen used to find a home here way back. Something simple and beautiful that she thought played a great deal in helping to grow the city. She was always so hopeful and positive and she saw the beauty in everything." Her voice cracked and her body shook again as she tried to keep her sobs silent and inside.

Dean simply tightened his arms around her. She turned around in his arms and pressed her face into his chest. She slipped her arms around his waist savoring the warmth seeping into her body from his as her tears soaked into his shirt. As her sobs started to diminish, he heard her whisper, "why is it always the innocent ones? Why are they always the ones that have to be taken?"

Dean's hand smoothed down her hair and he said the only thing he could, "I don't know." She cried into his shirt but he didn't mind. He didn't want her to be alone, not out here and not tonight.

He didn’t know how long they stood there like that but when her breathing started to return to normal, he slipped his jacket off and wrapped it around her small frame. Then he turned her around and led her back to Isabel's with his arm firmly around her shoulders. They moved quietly through the streets and finally made their way into Isabel's apartment. The lights were off and there were no sounds except for the snoring from the couch so they silently made their way through the living room.

Liz opened the door to her guest room and found it empty. She turned to go out and look for Sam when she caught Dean's gaze in the light from the bedroom window. He shook his head and she questioned him with a look. He whispered, "he was the one snoring on the couch."

She nodded then turned back into the room and walked towards the bed shedding his jacket and draping it nicely on the chair in the corner. Then she kicked off her sneakers and tossed her light sweater towards the chair, no really caring where it landed. She sat on the bed and realized Dean was still standing in the doorway. She whispered, "what are you doing?"

"I just wanted to make sure you got to bed okay. I'm going to sleep on the floor in the living room."

She stood and moved towards him gracefully. "That's ridiculous. Sam took your bed and now you're going to take his."

He swallowed thickly as he watched her grab his hand, intertwine their fingers, and move back towards the bed. He found himself letting her pull him to the bed even though he was questioning his every step. She sat on the bed and looked at him. He quirked his eyebrow. "Do you need help taking off your boots?"

He disengaged his fingers and sat on the edge of the bed then leaned down to loosen the laces and kick his boots off. He straightened and looked towards her, still wondering if this was a good idea. She was already laying on the pillow on the other side of the bed, her legs curled up slightly with her eyes on his every move. He glanced back at the door then finally lay down stiffly.

Liz moved over towards him and her hand came to rest on his chest. "Why are you so wound up?"

His head rolled to the side to face her, "you were just falling apart and now you’re inviting me into your bed. Maybe I haven’t had enough to drink tonight but it doesn't really add up as good choices to me."

She pulled herself up on her elbow and leaned in towards his face. "Thank you for being there for me. There's no reason for you to be worried."

His eyes fell to her lips, "then why do I have the feeling you wouldn't approve if you were sober?"

A smile spread across her face, "because I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions.. And out there.. you were the only one that I wanted to see. And right here, right now, you're the only one I want to be with.”

Dean’s hand cupped her cheek and he brushed his thumb over her cheekbone as his other calloused hand slipped under her shirt and slid up her spine. Liz had used his own words against him and that had put him back into that memory, when he was so lost and reached out to her for comfort, for solid ground. Liz leaned down slowly lowering herself to him when his head quickly moved up, his lips meeting hers. Her hands slid down to his waist, dipped under his shirt and pushed their way back to his chest. They groaned at the contact of skin that only fed into their desperation for more. Dean rolled her over, allowing her to finally slip his shirt over his head. Then she arched her back as his hands followed her maneuver, their lips finding their way back without pause.

It didn't seem to matter how much time it had been since their hands last explored and their bodies moved as one because they found themselves easily. They fell into the dance without fumbling through the steps or really thinking about how many issues or scars still lay between them. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants and the brain is forced to the passenger seat until further notice.

AvalonRose: hashing things out.. mmmhhmmm. Might not like this chapter.. lol
HypnotiqBlueEyes: I read your comment and just.. oh boy.. this chapter might get me in trouble.. LOL



Chapter 18

Dean groaned as he felt awareness slowly pulling him from sleep. He rolled over expecting to throw his arm over Liz’s middle but instead his arm fell to cold bed sheets. He lay there for a moment trying to recall last night through the fog of sleep and a throbbing headache. Did he seriously just dream his night with her? He squinted his eyes open checking out where he was. He was in her room, his jacket still draped over the chair in the corner and her sneakers were still on the floor. So where did she go?

He got out of bed and pulled on his jeans and a tee shirt then left the room behind him. He immediately heard voices down the hall and followed them to the kitchen. Liz, Michael, Sam, and Isabel were all talking as they prepared what looked like a huge breakfast. The amount of light pouring in through the windows was enough to make his head feel like it would explode. Dean stood in the doorway, one hand on his head when Isabel spotted him and smiled. She poured him a cup of coffee and held it up gesturing it was for him. "Hungry?" She pulled out a chair at the table and waved him over to sit next to Sam as she placed the steaming cup on the table.

Dean nodded slightly, hiding the pain from his headache as he moved to the chair. "Thanks." Dean eyed his brother who was grinning like a fool. "How the hell are you so damn chipper this early?"

Sam couldn’t wipe away his smile, "long night?" Dean glanced towards Liz but she had yet to look in his direction. His eye fell to the coffee warming his hands and noticed it wasn't his normal black. Sam’s voice was still laced with laughter. "Drink the coffee. Isabel is a genius, that's why."

He threw a questionable look at Sam then took a careful sip. It was good and definitely had some zing to it but he couldn't place the flavor. He looked up at Sam, "what is this?"

Isabel chuckled, "hangover special. Kyle and I created it with some trial and error. One cup and that headache should be gone then you just need a greasy breakfast for your stomach."

Dean quirked an eyebrow but she just smiled in return. His eyes moved back to Liz who maneuvered around the kitchen alongside Michael with grace and practiced ease. Much like she had done last night with him, not that she was giving him even the slightest bit of attention now. They had both let their guard down last night and things were just like before. Liz definitely hadn’t lost any of her passion although she had learned some new tricks. His thoughts darkened and he pushed them away. He had been with other women, all one night stands, but he couldn’t blame her for living her life.

He felt Sam jab him softly with his elbow, "rough night?"

He saw the playful question in Sam’s gaze but it really just made him want to punch him. "Not really, how bout you?"

Sam looked a little confused by his somewhat angry retort but covered it quickly and lowered his voice. "The way you’re staring, it almost seems like you were picturing something that most definitely isn't happening in the kitchen."

Dean quickly glanced around to see if anyone heard him but no one seemed to be paying them any attention. "Shut up Sammy."

Liz brought over plates full of delicious smelling breakfast foods and his stomach growled. "Morning guys."

Dean looked up but she was already turning away. No funny comments about wasting too much energy without refueling, no looks, no flirty little smile. He was getting nothing and it seemed pretty intentional. He knew she'd wake up and think last night was a mistake. Was he just another one night stand? Sam had said she slept with guys but hadn't gotten into any relationships so what was last night? Her just reaching for someone comfortable and familiar because she was hurting, because she felt lost?

He always did love an experienced woman but why did that thought sound wrong with her? Just because back when things were good between them he wanted to be the one to teach her, didn’t mean she wanted that. Who was he to judge her? He couldn’t and he didn’t fault her either. He knew he was angrier at himself for leaving. If he really wanted her, he should’ve fought for her, he thought he would have fought for her but then again, the girl he knew got what she wanted. Just like last night obviously. He shoved the thoughts away. It was pointless. He couldn’t change the past and she obviously didn’t want to fix it now.

He picked some bacon off the large plate in the middle of the table then Isabel placed clean plates in front of him and Sam and then at the other places around the table. Sam started filling his plate when Kyle walked in with an empty coffee mug in his hand. Kyle went straight to Isabel, gave her a kiss then said, "thank you and good morning."

Isabel smiled, "there's more in the coffee pot."

Kyle walked by Liz to the coffee pot and started talking with her. Dean turned his eyes back to his food and heard them laughing about something. He tried to tune them out as he started to fill his plate. Maybe he should just ask Kyle what happened between them since he obviously went back to Isabel. Dean felt a spike of anger at the thought. How the hell were they still friends? Who the hell did Kyle think he was doing something like that with Liz then going back to Isabel? He shoved the thoughts away. It was none of his business. It was old history apparently just like him and Liz. Just one night of letting go didn't mean she wanted anything to do with him because in the light of day she was definitely still keeping her distance. Things had been so hot and cold with them on this trip that he wasn't sure how to handle her anymore. So the only question was, did he hang around and just try to have a good time or slip out and say he caught a case before tensions exploded with Liz?
~~

Liz escaped the almost suffocating confines of her bed and fell in beside Michael in front of the stove. It quickly felt like old times. They moved around each other so seamlessly it was almost as if they communicated telepathically as they cooked. Michael focused on the meats and eggs while she focused on the French toast on the stove and the hash browns on the full size travel griddle next to the stove.
Liz welcomed the large task to keep her mind focused on something other than the memories that were bombarding her from the night before. Flashes she ignored in the heat of the moment were now screaming for attention that she didn't want to give. The flashes of the other women didn't exactly bother her since she thankfully didn't see much and she was no saint either but the information the flashes gave her about Dean poked and prodded her.

She heard him enter the kitchen and she almost froze but caught herself, forcing herself to act normal. The flashes exploded in front of her eyes and she focused harder on the tasks in front of her. Flip the bread in the egg mixture and drip, place into the slightly bubbling oil in the pan on the stove, watching carefully so it didn't burn then flip. She checked the hash browns, flipping the ready piles then returned her attention to the French toast pan and flipping the finished product onto the warming plate in the oven. Piece of cake, focus and the flashes of the one night stands could be ignored. Shit.

Not one of them were anything more than a one night stand and she now knew that she was the reason for that. The one thing she didn't understand was the sadness and anger that was tied to her image. He was the one that left her and he hasn't gotten into another relationship because of her, yet he seemed almost torn at the thought of her. Maybe she should just ask him out right and put all of that mess behind them.

Last night was proof that they’re attraction hadn’t waned and the way he was with her, the way he touched her, he still cared for her and maybe still loved her. She was still different in his eyes and last night he treated her like he did before that night he disappeared. When he was too afraid to tell her he was in love with her. Whatever it was that drove him away, the idea was starting to solidify that it was his own fear. Fear that he’d get her hurt either by bringing something back to her or just by getting himself killed.

She grabbed two large plates of ready French toast and hash browns and placed them on one arm while gesturing for Michael to add two of his plates to her other arm then carried them over the table. She caught the look on Dean's downturned face as she placed the plates down in the middle of the table.

"Morning guys." She smiled quickly at Sam then moved back to the stove before Dean could look up. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just pull him aside and straighten everything out? What the hell was she so damn afraid of?

Kyle interrupted her fine art of ignoring herself, "you’re cooking after all that liquor last night?"

Liz rolled her eyes and chuckled, "please you’re the light weight not me."

Kyle laughed, "yeah right. You slipped out early because you didn't want to go up against me again!"

Michael let out a bark of laughter, "yeah, good one Valenti."

Kyle wiggled his eyebrows at Liz, "I couldn't help but notice you weren't the only one that slipped away."

Liz smirked, "well, someone's gotta keep up with me."

Michael chuckled, "oooh burn."

Liz and Kyle both turned towards Michael and stared then burst out laughing at the shocked look on his face. Michael blanched, "dear god, I sound like Maria." Michael turned back to the bacon and sausage sizzling in front of him and Kyle winked at Liz as he took his coffee cup over to the table unable to stop laughing.

Liz threw a glance at the table seeing Dean with his head still down acting as if the breakfast in front of him was the only thing in the room. The man loved food but that wasn't exactly normal and the glances Sam kept throwing him and then her, told her she was right on the money that Dean was acting like that because of her.

It was more than past time to fix this, she shouldn’t just act like nothing happened last night because it meant more to her than that, a lot more. She may not have had the clearest or best intentions last night, reaching out for something familiar and comforting but it reminded her what she had with him and what he was always willing to give her. What he seemed to still be for her. But did he regret last night? Regret that he let her back in or that last night went so well? She frowned. He did think it went well, right?
~~

Tess walked into the small house she shared with Max and threw her keys on the table in the entry way. “Hey, I’m home.” She walked down the hallway and spotted him on the couch as she continued towards the kitchen. “What are you up too? I’m starving, does Chinese sound good?” She sauntered into the kitchen high off her little tryst with one of Kyle’s old high school buddies. The man didn’t have a great job but the things he could do in the sack. She pulled out the take out menus then poked her head out of the kitchen, yelling down the hall. “Hey did you hear me?”

She moved down the hallway and poked her head into the living room with attitude. Max threw his hand up then Tess noticed the phone he was holding to his ear. “Who are you talking to?” Max shook his hand and threw her an angry look.

She moved stiffly into the living room throwing her hands on her hips as she stopped in front of him just catching his final words. “Okay Izzy, I’ll talk to you later.” Angry eyes shot up at her, “geez, can you not tell I was on the phone?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t think it’d be that big of a deal since you can talk to her when she gets back.”
The anger on Max’s face didn’t slide, “I told you when the goodbye party was for a reason, Tess. Just because you couldn’t find the time in your precious schedule to be there..”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The goodbye party at the Crashdown to see them off? Isabel, Kyle, Michael and Maria will probably stay because they had to get back for spring semester anyway. They weren’t going to keep putting their lives on hold for nothing. Liz is the only one coming back, she doesn’t think she’ll feel comfortable there after losing her friend.”

Tess scowled, “schmoozing it up with Liz again?”

Max stood from the couch. “At least she listens when I talk!”

Tess stared hard at him then stormed off without another word. She had too much on her mind to play games with him. Her mind spun quickly as she made her way towards the back of the house. They aren’t coming back?! Now I have to do something else to get Isabel and Michael home! What the hell can I do this time? Should I call Nasedo?

Her mind automatically went back to the last call she made to Nasedo.

“I have them in town, what's taking so long?”

“I'm following them but Kal taught them well. I will contact you when I have it.”

“You better get it now! I have them all together and they've been here for over a week!”

“What's wrong princess? Max finding his affections for the dark haired Miss Parker again? Of course after kissing her myself I might tend to agree with him that she'd make a fiery mistress.”

“I'm satisfying him just fine! But I can't get them to stay indefinitely so do your damn job and get back here or you can rot on this filthy planet!”

No, she needed to think of a plan on her own and leave involving him as a last resort. She should be able to figure something out that will bring them all back again. She did it once, of course she could do it again. She was no princess, she was a queen and queens got things done.

barbara87413: Lol the kiss that Nasedo was referring to was from Season One of Roswell when he was in his Max form. We haven't gotten to what happened that night but remember Liz doesn't understand why he left that night. I think it's the next chapter that we get into that.
AvalonRose: They're both giving each other complexes because they're reading into the other's actions and not really knowing what the other is thinking. Liz didn't get anything about the night he left just the flings he's had since he left and a few times he's thought of her. :)We're going to get a little more from Tess and her side of things in the next couple of chapters.
HypnotiqBlueEyes: Liz thinks the same way.. now she just has to get past everything that is holding her back and getting in the way. Your right on the money with Tess! And we'll be getting more of her in the next couple of chapters.

Happy first of September!! Here's a nice long chapter for you!


Chapter Nineteen

Isabel slipped into Liz’s room and confirmed for herself that Sam hadn’t returned. She moved over to the bed and sat down beside a sleeping Liz then gently shook her awake. “Liz. Liz you need to get up.”

Liz cracked her tired eyes open and looked up at Isabel. “What’s going on?”

Isabel wrung her hands together and bit her lip, “I know it isn’t my place but I’m worried about Sam.”

Liz lifted herself up on her elbows, “why?”

“After you slipped off to bed, Sam had slipped out too but I noticed he didn’t go towards the bedroom. At the time I didn’t think much about it since Dean..” Isabel trailed off then continued, “anyway I thought Sam was going to the couch but when I went to my room I went to check the lock on the door and realized it was Dean on the couch and not Sam. I came in here hoping he’d be with you but now.. that was at least two hours ago Liz and he hasn’t come back.”

“Did he say anything to anyone?”

She shook her head, “no. We thought he was just going to bed.”

Liz jumped out of the bed and dressed quickly, "I think I might know where he is."

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Liz turned around and caught the look on her face, Sam really had become a big part of the group. “No, if he’s where I think he is.. he’s not going to want a group around him.”

Isabel nodded and slipped out the bedroom door then stuck her head back in, “text me or something to let me know you found him. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get to sleep.”

Liz smiled as she pulled on her sneakers then Isabel slipped away. Liz moved quickly down the hallway and towards the front door. In her rush through the living room, her foot caught on something on the floor and sent her flying into the couch or more specifically the person lying on the couch. Dean's eyes shot open and through confused, sleep fogged eyes stared at Liz trying awkwardly to get up without putting too much pressure on her hands that were pressing into his chest. "What is it?" He sat up helping her up at the same time.

"Oh, um Isabel's just a little worried because Sam slipped out earlier and hasn't come back."

Dean was wide awake now. "What do you mean slipped out?"

"Apparently, they were all joking around and hanging out and Isabel saw him leave without telling anyone. That was a couple of hours ago so she's just a bit worried."

Dean grabbed his jacket that was slung over the back of the couch, "I'm coming with you, we'll take the impala."

She put her hand on his arm gently, "maybe I should just go."

"He's my brother Liz."

Liz waited for him to stop padding his jacket pockets and look her in the eye. "He's my brother too."

He deflated quickly, "well at least take my car, you shouldn't be out there walking the streets by yourself." Liz quirked her brow, shocked at how fast he seemed to stand down. Dean ignored her, again fishing for his keys. "Where the hell are my keys?"

"Maybe Sam took them."

Dean looked at her skeptically, "and no one heard the impala?"

"It's a big apartment building." She turned and walked towards the door. She heard the quick footsteps behind her then felt his hand gently on her arm.

"You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Liz turned back to him with a soft smile, "I think I know where he is and if he is there than he's missing her and he's hurting. I know you love him and you’re his brother but you didn't know her. I'm probably what he needs right now."

Dean nodded but Liz could tell he wasn't comfortable with the situation. Well, some part of the situation, either her knowing his brother better or the unspoken situation that still lingered between them like a dense fog. Or maybe both. It was times like these when she was looking him right in the eye and couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking that reminded her they were not what they used to be and she wasn't sure if they could ever be those people again. After the long silence she broke the staring contest and turned for the door. "I'll be fine." She threw a smile back at him then left the apartment quietly.

Liz was putting the key into the ignition of Kyle's mustang when the passenger door opened and she jumped in her seat while automatically throwing her right hand up towards the open door. Dean slid into the passenger seat and shut the door. He glanced at her hand then her face, "really? Is that necessary?"

She dropped her hand, "shit Dean, I could've killed you!! What the hell are you doing?"

"If Sam took the impala and you’re taking Kyle's car then if Sam's in no condition to drive home one of the cars are going to be left at the cemetery and I think I can speak for Kyle and myself when I say my car is not going to be left there."

Liz narrowed her eyes. "I never said the cemetery."

"Yeah but you said he needed someone who knew her, meaning Jess. It's either the cemetery or he drove down to Palo Alto and if that's the case you definitely need me. I won't get out of the car, I’ll wait right here but at least you'll have someone looking out for the two of you as you have your girl bonding time."

They drove to the cemetery without any conversation. Dean played with the radio looking for a good station and mumbled about California stations playing crap music. Liz rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh as she kept to herself about the stations she knew he was looking for. When they reached the cemetery and pulled into the parking lot, the lights of the mustang flashed over the impala parked in about the same spot as their last visit. Dean stayed in the car as promised as Liz carefully made her way to Jess' gravestone. She found Sam kneeling in front of her stone and wondered where else he could have been that night. Could he really have been out here that whole time or had he driven around before finally summoning the courage to come back here?

She walked up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. He didn't react when she touched him but she figured he had heard her coming. She stood there quietly for a while wondering if he was punishing himself or just missing her.
His choked voice broke the rather creepy silence around them. "Why couldn't I have just told her the truth? That she needed to protect herself if she was with me? Why the hell didn't I just push her away?"

Liz strong armed him to turn to the side then knelt in front of him, "what the hell are you trying to punish yourself for? What would you have told her? My family has hunted demons and ghosts and you never know if they'll come after me so you should probably guard yourself against all those things? Seriously? You are no more responsible for her death than I was for Alex's!"

Sam watched her, shaking his head. "No, it's not the same. She was involved because she was with me. You’re involved because you’re with me."

Liz grabbed his face in her hands, "Samuel Winchester don't you dare! Alex was my best friend and he got pulled into the abyss because I couldn't let Max go! If Alex hadn't been my friend or if I hadn't been so attached to Max then he'd still be alive because he wouldn't have been involved at all! He wouldn't have gotten his dream girl! I did feel responsible and that's why I almost killed myself to try to find out what happened to him! The only things responsible are the ones who took them away from us Sam! We are not the bad guys here. Jess wouldn't blame you, she wouldn't blame any of us. She knew your past was dark and yeah, she thought it was mob related stuff but she loved you enough that she didn't push you. She knew you wanted to move past it, to forget about it. She wouldn't love you any less. Believe me I know because although it was a different love, I was in your shoes.. sometimes I'm still in those shoes but I can't let it defeat me because it just gives the thing that took my friend away more power over of me and I just can't let that happen." Sam grabbed Liz and pulled her against him, hugging her tightly.

Dean stood a good distance away so they couldn't see him but he could see the area around them. He didn't like the idea of Sam falling apart and Liz focused on him while anyone could be watching them. When he first came up to the tree he was standing under, he swore he saw someone across the cemetery watching them but when he tried moving around towards that area he lost them. He shrugged it off as a shadow but he'd been on high alert ever since. He caught movement in the corner of his eye and saw Sam and Liz stand up. He knew they’d probably take their time but started walking back to the car so it wouldn’t look as though he broke his promise to Liz. He leaned against the driver's side of the mustang and waited for them to make their way to him.

Sam and Liz walked quietly towards the parking lot then Sam spotted someone leaning against the mustang. "Who came with you?" Sam squinted trying to make out the silhouette.

"Who do you think?"

As they got closer, Sam made out the posture of his brother with his hands in his jacket pockets. "Did you guys ever?"

"No. I haven't been able to bring it up."

"Liz.. you're never going to get past it until you confront it."

"It's just not as easy as it seems."

Before they were in Dean's hearing distance Sam quickly said, "don't wait too long okay? I hate seeing you guys on eggshells like this morning."

Liz threw him a look but didn't acknowledge him besides that. When they approached the cars Dean eyed Sam. Sam pulled out the keys to the impala, "sorry I disappeared with your car."

Sam tossed the keys to Dean and he caught them easily. "Next time just let someone know so I don't get someone jumping on me as a wakeup call."

Sam looked at Liz and noticed the blush she tried to hide as she climbed in the mustang. Dean walked around to the driver’s side of the impala, "so who are you riding with?"

Sam waved to Liz and walked to the passenger side of the impala, "since you actually got your lazy ass out of bed to come find me, even though I'm sure it was more to keep an eye on Liz, I'm grateful."

"Shut up Sammy and get in the car." Dean smirked as he climbed in behind the wheel.
~~

Ava had been in Los Angeles for two weeks now and up until a few days ago, she thought she had lost them. She was going to head to San Francisco until she had noticed that she wasn’t alone. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was in another big city but she knew that stink anywhere. She felt them getting closer the past couple of days and tonight it was almost like they were breathing down her neck. The funniest thing to her was the fact that they probably didn’t even know it. She was tired of running and she wanted to know what they were trying to find her for. She turned down an alley way on her way to her hotel and felt them close. She paused and smiled, “you can come out I know you’re there.”

Lonnie and Rath walked out from behind a dumpster towards the end of the alley. Ava noticed right away they seemed tired and run down. Lonnie raised her hands, “we didn’t come here to fight you Ava. We just want to go home.” Lonnie and Rath walked down the alley towards her.

Ava raised her right hand already glowing a slight red, “stay back! You never wanted anything to do with me except for using my powers. Why the hell would you want to go home with me?”

Lonnie stopped and dropped her hands, “okay. Honestly, we need you. There's no way they'll accept us without you and Zan. We have the crystal but we need you and the dope.”

Ava felt her anger spike, “YOU KILLED ZAN! Wait, what the hell are you talking about you have the crystal?”

Lonnie smiled, “the crystal for the granolith. The crystal that takes us home.”

Ava shook her head, “Tess used it and it didn’t work.”

A cocky smirk grew on Lonnie's face. “That's because she had the wrong one.”

“It doesn't matter, I would never go anywhere with you.”

Rath growled and started to move forward but Lonnie held him back, “Av, we used to be close.”

“BULLSHIT! Who the hell do you think I am? I sat back and kept my mouth shut because Zan wanted me too but YOU got rid of him which means I no longer have to play nice!”

Rath bolted towards her and she disappeared. He skidded to a stop and looked around, scanning the alley way, “what the hell?”

They both heard her voice echoing around them but couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from, “like I said I no longer have to play nice and you two are nothing to me. Come at me again and I won't play tricks, I’ll play with fire.”

With that they were left alone in the alley with no sign of Ava ever being there to begin with.
~~

Liz fell back in bed kicking her shoes off, “you know Sam, I should force you to sleep on the floor in the living room for messing with my sleep.”

Sam chuckled, “how rude of me to forget you didn’t get much sleep last night or this morning since you were so.. what was it? Uncomfortable? Or was it just that you couldn’t get back to sleep?”

“Haha, very funny.” She stretched her arms over her head and closed her eyes. She heard Sam moving around the room probably to find somewhere to lay his jeans out. She found it a little funny that she never had any desire towards Sam. They slept in rooms together and sometimes in the same bed and there was never any itch of desire towards him. She wondered if it was because she had been with his brother or if he truly felt like a brother to her from the beginning. She didn’t let her thoughts go into the ‘or you’re still in love with Dean’ territory. She felt the bed shift and felt something in her stomach stir. She whispered, “Dean..”

A muffled chuckle made her eyes snap open to see Sam sitting on the bed next to her holding her phone in one hand while his other hand covered his mouth. “What?”

Sam pulled his hand away slowly, uncovering a large grin. “Apparently, you were talking in your sleep and Ava’s on the phone.”

Liz’s brow furrowed, “I just laid down what are you talking about?”

“You must have been tired because you called out Dean when I sat down on the bed.”

Her face turned red and Sam chuckled again then spoke into her phone, “sorry for the delay Aves, Liz is trying to come to terms with her problem with Dea..” Liz ripped the phone away from him. “Hey! Touchy, touchy for someone who calls his name in sleep.” Liz gave her best glare and Sam laughed. “You need some tips from Maria.”

“Aves, ignore him. He’s bored.”

“Yeah right, I think he’s right on the money.”

Liz ignored her, “what’s going on? You one your way?”

She heard the change in her tone. “Not exactly.”

“What is it?”

“Something’s up. I can’t come to San Fran. You guys might want to leave and head home too.”

“Ava, what is it? Just tell me where you are and Sam and I will pick you up.” Sam leaned his head towards the phone trying to listen.

“No, I’ll come to you. But you need to keep an eye out.”

“We have been. Ava what's wrong? Are you okay? We're stronger in a group, you know that.”

“I'm fine.” She took a deep breathe, “I had a run in with Lonnie and Rath. Liz.. you need to be careful. They want Max for some get home plan and they will do anything to get him on board. I know they'd go after you for that. It doesn't matter that he's with Tess, they still know from last time that even when he's fighting with you he'd do anything for you. Do you understand?”

“I.. I don't. How the hell do they think they'll get home?”

“I'll tell you when I get to you. Can you feel Michael and Isabel?”

“What? Like.. in an alien way?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Come on Liz, think. You've gotten enough powers, you might have overlooked it. Close your eyes and think about the last time you didn't see them for a while and they came to visit or you went to see them. Have you ever confirmed for yourself that they were there before actually seeing them?”

Liz closed her eyes and listened trying to picture any one of the numerous times she visited Isabel.

Sam climbed the stairs behind Liz towards Isabel's apartment, "don't you want to call her?"

Liz turned down the hallway and moved easily towards the apartment. "Nah, she's home and besides if she wasn't, I have a spare key to get us in." She stopped at the door and smiled, "she's here." She knocked completely missing Sam's raised brow at her words then Isabel opened the door smiling as she invited them in.

“I did. I can.”

“Thank God. If anything seems sketchy rely on that, Liz. They will feel different from what you know. Stay safe until I get to you, okay?”

“You stay safe too. I wish you could just come home with us.”

“I'll meet you, I need to make sure they're not on my trail so that will give you time. Without me they don't know exactly where you are if you’re not in San Fran or Palo Alto. They’ll head towards Roswell and have to do some homework and that will give us time to figure out what the hell is going on.”

“Okay. Be safe Ava. Call us if you need anything.”

“Love ya, cornball.”

Liz chuckled, “right back at ya princess.”

Liz heard the tell-tale click that the other end has disconnected the call and turned to Sam. “I think we need to wake the others.”

Sam nodded with a look of concentration on his face, “you think she’s okay?”

“It’s Ava.”

Sam looked at her, “exactly.”

“She has to be fine. She wouldn’t have as much control in her voice if she wasn’t.” She got off the bed, “come on, let’s go wake the others. I don’t want to get shit because we slept on information like this.”

December 27th, 2005

I've imagined myself confronting dean so many times that I've honestly lost count yet here he’s been around me for more than a week now and I haven't been able to bring myself to say anything. Things felt better, nice like it was before but it's like that annoying bug bite you made yourself forget about so it would stop itching but then something small happens to rub or even just brush lightly against it and the itching sensation comes back like wildfire until it can no longer be ignored. Then maybe something more than a little rub and all of a sudden the stupid bite is on fire and it’s just not possible to even pretend that you can ignore it. How long can I truly pretend like nothing happened between us when there's a yearning to be close to him yet I know that bite could be irritated by the smallest touch?

I told myself that I was going to just force him to hash it out and put it behind us but things just keep coming up.. and I might be a little afraid of what might happen if I push him too hard. Now the something that came up is no small matter and it can’t be ignored so I can deal with something as small as my love life. My love life is insignificant when it comes to the lives of my friends and maybe mine if Ava is right.

There's only so much mind over matter a woman can force when that bite runs so deep. My only fear is that instead of handling it rationally and logically like I want to.. matters of the heart are never quite so easily dealt with or controlled. Especially when my mind is torn is so many directions. Now, we’re heading back to Roswell where it all started and fell apart. I guess it’s poetic that if I get the chance to confront him that it will be there, if he stays long enough for me to get the chance. I always despised that old saying old flames die hard because I thought it was extremely annoying when people said it but I guess old flames really do die hard.. or in all honesty, simply just won’t die at all.

barbara87413,HypnotiqBlueEyes,AvalonRose:


Part Four. Misconception.

Chapter Twenty.

Tess and Max strolled side by side to the Crashdown and Tess was practically beaming. Max was not her reason for the joy that radiated from her entire being, in fact he hadn’t been the cause of that for a long time but she let people walking by them go on thinking that. Internally, she was shouting in victory over the fact that she barely lifted a finger and Isabel and Michael came home. She thanked her lucky stars because the universe was obviously smiling down on her, again. As the celebration was still ringing loudly in her head, Tess spotted the black Impala parked next to Kyle’s mustang and stumbled. A small gasp of shock that sounded more like a choking noise had Max glancing her way as he opened the front door to the restaurant. “You okay?”

Tess’s gaze slid from the old car to inside the open door and she blanched. She shook herself quickly and turned to Max, “you know I’m not feeling so great.. must have been that coffee or something.” She chuckled nervously then backed away from the door. “I’m just going to take a walk.. if it doesn’t get better I’ll just head home and see you later.” She turned and started walking away without any form of acknowledgement from him.

Max rolled his eyes and walked into the Crashdown, his gaze sweeping over the restaurant’s occupants. He spotted Dean in his old booth and then saw his sister along with Kyle and Sam at the counter and walked towards them. As he passed Dean, he couldn’t help but notice Dean's almost hidden glance and Max followed his gaze to Liz. He took a deep breath and changed course slowly towards Dean, after all he knew what the other man was going through and part of it was his fault. It was about time he started cleaning up the mess he made or at least try to make up for it. He slid into the booth opposite Dean catching the question on the other man’s face. Max held up his hands in surrender. "I just want to try to clear the air."

"What air?"

Max sighed at the slightly defensive tone and rested his hands together on the table. "Listen, I don't know what happened between you two but I know that I could have possibly been the start of it or made it worse. Those things I said about Liz, about her and Kyle, I had no idea if things were still going on I just wanted you gone but.." He threw a glance towards Liz, "the way she was after you were gone. It didn't fix anything. It actually made things worse.” He took a deep breath, “I felt worse."

Dean leaned forward, "what are you going on about?"

Max shook his head, "I see the way you look at her, I know what you feel because I used to sit here for years doing the very same thing. Watching her in secret because I didn't think I could ever have her, that she could ever love me. If I could get her to look at me the way she still looks at you.. I would do anything but that's not in the cards for me anymore."

"Why say this now when you were the one telling me that she would just hurt me in the end and was sleeping around with Kyle?"

"Like I said I thought I wanted you gone and I was angry, hurt, and acting like a jealous idiot. But I saw how Liz was after you left and I know that I can't make her happy anymore, that my absence would never devastate her like yours did. That was the wakeup call I needed. You make her happy and I want her to be happy. Listen to me when I say fix whatever it is that broke between you two. Fix it before it's too late and you're standing on the outside realizing you made the worst mistake of your life letting her go."

Dean stared at the man in front of him as he leaned back against in the booth’s seat. This was not the guy throwing him death stares every chance he got or telling him with snarky comments that Liz was no good. He glanced towards Liz who was behind the counter laughing along with Sam at Kyle. He looked back at Max, "why the hell does everyone care about my relationship with Liz?"

"Because those of us who truly care about Liz, we want her to be happy and for whatever reason that was you."

"How the hell would you know that? I haven't been around here for years."

Max watched him carefully then stood from the booth with only one word. "Exactly." He walked to the counter and took a seat next to his sister.

Dean sat staring as Max joined the conversation at the counter seamlessly. It looked like things were better between him and his sister, maybe because the intense blonde chick wasn’t glued to his side anymore. Dean noticed that Liz wasn’t at the counter then looked down at his hands. He wasn’t staring at her or searching for her constantly, he wasn’t some weird stalker.

“Hey, need some coffee?” Dean’s head snapped up at Liz’s voice.

He smirked as he quickly regained his cool, “when have I ever said no to coffee?”

Liz chuckled and placed the two cups she held in one hand down on the table then filled them with the carafe she held in her other hand. After placing the coffee carafe on the table, she dropped herself into the seat Max had vacated not too long before. Dean watched her as she poured the creamer into her cup and more sugar than she really needed. “A little on edge? You know I’ll never understand why you go for sweets when you’re nervous.”

Liz quirked her eyebrow and he glanced at the sugar container. She blushed, “you remembered that huh?”
Dean nodded as he picked up his cup and took a sip. “You still make good coffee too.” Liz stared into her cup as she mixed the creamer and sugar. “So what’s got you so on edge?”

Liz glanced up at him with a look, “really? You don’t know..”

Dean held up his hands in surrender, it reminded him of the conversation with Max and he lowered his hands back to the table. “Ava’s not here. It would help if I knew why you were so worried.”

Liz took a sip of her coffee then sighed, “Lonnie and Rath, the two idiots that she was afraid were following her, we’ve dealt with them before. They don’t fight fairly.”

“I thought Isabel and Maria said she’s stronger than them.”

“That’s what Ava told us but I’m just worried that she said that to make us feel better.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Because she’s like you. She doesn’t want people to worry about her because she feels she can take care of herself and she doesn’t really need anyone else but I know..” Her voice trailed off as her eyes snapped up to his.

He smirked, “but you know that I need someone every now and then?” Liz nodded as her eyes fell back to her coffee cup. Dean’s hand covered hers and she brought her eyes up to meet his again. “I may need someone every now and then but I know for a fact I could kick ass and take care of myself and I don’t have any alien hoodoo on my side. Ava’s going to be fine.” Dean felt himself being pulled into her gaze. She wanted to believe him, needed to believe him but there was something else in her eyes. She looked as if she wanted to ask him something but she was struggling with herself. Still waging some internal battle that he noticed over the two day drive to Roswell, the two day drive that he felt she was avoiding him but when he was honest with himself he was doing the same even before the drive. He opened his mouth to tell her to just ask whatever it was that was on her mind but was interrupted by a voice behind him.

“Damn skippy I am!”

Dean jumped at the voice. “Jesus! You gotta sneak up on us like that?”

Liz brightened and jumped up from the booth as the group at the counter turned to see what the commotion was all about. “Aves!” Liz threw her arms around her friend.

Ava chuckled, “alright cornball, I’m fine. Damn, listen to the man.”
~~

Tess was speed walking towards the house she shared with Max muttering angry rants under her breath. “That damn hunter just had to come back! Why do they always go back to her?! What the hell is so fucking special about that flat chested, no ass, no fun girl?! She looks like she's fourteen for fucks sake!" She was thankful for the cool breeze because her body felt like it was boiling. All that hard work she put in and that asshole just comes crawling back to her?

She remembered Max's stares as the new guy flirted with Liz, the little caresses that most others probably didn't even catch that caused Max to glare. At first, she thought it was all working in her favor. Max would see Liz moving on and he would move on completely, leaving his old school crush in the past where it belonged. But she was so very wrong. She should have known since that was one of her go to moves to get a guy who tended to play hard to get. Hell, she did it to Max with Kyle. The more the new guy in Liz's life was around, the more it seemed Max remembered what he missed or at least didn't want someone else to have. She couldn't have that at all and then of course Liz almost stumbled across her whole damn plan with the asshole's help.

She caught a break with Nasedo showing up as his old Roswell self in the surveillance picture the two came across and she used it in her favor but she couldn't have them stumbling onto anything else that pointed back to her which meant someone had to go. Getting rid of Liz would have been too messy and complicated. Max would be on the war path to find her killer and she wouldn’t be able to warp that deep emotion away and that wouldn't help her at all. She needed something simple and clean.

The universe was working in her favor when she was in the Crashdown at just the right time to overhear Liz tell Maria that Dean was stopping by that night. What better way to get him to go away and take out Liz? At least for a bit. She'd overheard enough to know that over the months of time spent with her new boy wonder, she had gotten herself pretty well tangled in him so if Tess cut him out of the picture she’d hit two birds with one stone.

Tess walked out of the Crashdown with a bounce in her step practically skipping like a young child excited to finally play with her favorite toy. She walked down the street then slipped around the corner trying to think of the best place to lie in wait where she could see the front of the Crashdown. The only place with the best view point would be the UFO center but they didn’t really have any windows facing the restaurant. Could she get on the roof? Any of the houses in range would be angle viewpoints at best. She had to get on that roof.

After finally situating herself up on the roof, thanks to a ladder and a trash can along with a little bit of alien melding for some slight security, she was in for a long wait. Luckily the sun hadn’t stayed up for too long but the wait in the dark didn’t drive away all the demons that had flooded her mind. She watched as the last of the customers trickled out and was actually surprised to see Kyle flip the closed sign and walk back further inside the restaurant. So Kyle was still spending time around Liz. Kyle had almost been a problem during Liz’s little hard on to find evidence that aliens killed Alex. When Kyle started breaking out of the warp she had worked on him, she thought it was all over but Nasedo had given her the stone to increase her powers and then everything was back to normal. Kyle’s spacy moments disappeared and she was back in the clear, as long as Liz didn’t stumble onto anything else.

She rubbed the stone sitting snuggly in her pocket. That was probably the last time Nasedo actually helped her without any of his backhanded bullshit. Well, maybe Kyle would come in handy once again. Liz’s boy wonder must have heard the rumors at some point of her little fling with Kyle and what would he think when he saw the proof with his very own eyes? Yes, this would do perfectly.

She heard the rumble of the lover boy’s old car and waited patiently as he parked. Once he started moving towards the front door, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt the connection immediately and pictured the scene. She created the steamiest make out session she could then added a little more skin with Kyle raising her shirt to seal the deal. She felt him back away and opened her eyes. She watched her victim move stiffly back to his car with a large grin on her face but it faltered when he got in but didn’t drive away. “Why aren’t you leaving? What else do you have to see?”

She saw Kyle approach the door and Liz right behind him. “Okay lover boy, here comes dessert.” She saw Liz hold open the door for Kyle then looked over to the black car and closed her eyes. She pictured Liz’s shirt messy and out of place, pieces of hair pulled loose from her ponytail, face flushed, lips puffy and red. She smiled to herself as she felt the anger spike through the slight connection she had with the man holding little Lizzie Parker’s heart. She opened her eyes and watched the car pull out of the parking spot and drive away. She grinned as she saw Liz’s face fall, the confusion that colored her movements. Tess kept herself low as Liz closed the door and locked it behind her before moving back into the restaurant. She was really good at this. She needed to go into directing or something. She should be working in TV or Movies with this kind of talent.

It was brilliant. Some of her best work but it obviously wasn't enough! Did he actually have to see penetration or see her shaking in ecstasy in some other guy's arms to be done with her or would that just make him want her more? What the hell did Liz Parker have that kept men coming back to her like panting dogs?

Tess ran up the front walkway of her house while pulling her phone out of her purse. She ripped open the door and slammed it behind her as she dialed Nasedo’s number. The phone went to voicemail and she screamed. She hung up and called again, this time hearing his uninterested, annoying voice. “Yes?”

“YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE ON TOP OF THE KEY AND YET YOU ARE NOT BACK HERE! I HAVE THEM ALL HERE AND NOW THAT DAMN HUNTER IS BACK AND I STILL DON’T HAVE THE DAMN KEY!”

“Calm down princess. I tracked them down and I am on top of it. I told you I had a lead on them not that I had the key. You have once again made a mess and this time I can't come in to clean it up.”

“You didn't clean up my mess last time!”

“Excuse me your highness but who lost the key in the first place?”

“I didn't lose it, Alex hid it!”

“Exactly. Because you couldn't keep one human under control and you couldn't keep your mouth shut about what you were doing, leading the other set to find out about the key and translation AND I HAVE BEEN TRACKING THEIR DISGUSTING SCENT FOR YEARS WHILE YOU PLAYED HOUSE! CLEAN UP YOUR MESS AND DO NOT CALL ME AGAIN! I WILL CONTACT YOU WHEN I’M ON MY WAY WITH THE KEY!”

The call disconnected and Tess threw her phone against the wall in a fit of rage. She heaved as she stared at the bits and pieces of her phone strewn across the floor. She turned and moved stiffly towards the hall closet, yanking out the broom. She swept the pieces together into a tidy pile then bent down and held her hand over it. "Just a piece of trash anyway, I should just get Max to buy me a new one." As the phone reformed under her hand she had an idea. The perfect idea because trash always needs to be taken out and it was about time Liz Parker got thrown away.