Roswell Fanatics

AN: I know it took way too long to update. life has been so freaking busy (between 80 hour work weeks and friends having emotional breakdowns). But I finally started writing on this again at work the other night. It's short, but I'm hoping there will be more soon. thanks for reading!

<i>jennifer</i>

<center>~*~Part 43~*~</center>

Maria took the Sheriff’s words to heart and called Liz’s cell phone from her house as soon as she got home from the meeting, hoping it wouldn’t be too late.

“What’s up, Ria?” Liz asked. She and Max were cleaning up after dinner and just teasing each other, using their powers to make their chore easier.

“I just talked to the Sheriff and Kyle. I told them the truth—“

“You what?” Liz said a little louder than she normally would have. Max moved closer to her, putting his leg in between hers to be close enough to listen to what Maria was saying.

“Liz, I had to. They deserved to know that they’re living with a psychopath. Besides, Kyle pretty much called me on everything. He was really hurt that we hadn’t already told them.”

“How’d they take it?” Liz asked nervously. She could feel Max’s worry rolling off him. What if this ruined their entire plan?

“Pretty stoically, I guess. There was something in Kyle’s expression that was just…disappointed, I guess. But they both want to help us in any way they can. And they’re right. We will need them when the time comes, Liz.”

“Okay.” Liz nodded. The more help, the better, she supposed. She knew Max agreed. “Hey, we’re planning on coming back tomorrow.” Max lost interest in the conversation and turned his head from the phone. He immediately became interested in Liz’s neck and the perfection in the curve to her shoulders. He slowly kissed a path from her ear to her shoulder blade.

“Actually, that’s one of the reasons I called. The Sheriff pointed something out that we really ought to pay attention to. You guys are supposed to be at this school for a week. It’s not like it’s some optional thing where you get to leave. You promised your parents that you’d be chaperoned and supervised and provided with a wonderful atmosphere to figure out your futures. You can’t just show up now, days early, because you’re ready to come home.”

Liz smiled, trying to focus on the conversation when Max was being so cute. “Maria, Michael will go insane if he has to stay out here another couple days. I mean, seriously, he’s used all my minutes on my cell phone this month, calling you and hanging up because he doesn’t want you to worry about him.”

Maria had to smile at how cute that was of Michael. Sure, he pretended to be this big stonewall…but he wasn’t. And this training, this entire experience, had changed him. He finally understood that with his family and friends, and most importantly, with her, he didn’t have to hide his emotions. He didn’t have to protect himself against them, for they would never betray him. “Well, Michael can come home. I mean, he’s not on that trip with you. He can just say he finished his project earlier than expected.” She paused for a second before being honest. “I want him to come home, Liz. I miss my SpaceBoy.” she smiled. “You, Max, and Isabel are going to have to stay out there, though.” She giggled. “I’m sure you’ll have a really hard time finding something to do.”

“Maria!” Liz wished she were really surprised by what her best friend had just said. God knows the thought had gone through her head as soon as she realized she’d have to stay out here with Max for longer.

<I>‘I know, too,’</I> Max whispered in her mind, not taking his lips from their task to drive her crazy.

“Don't play innocent with me, chica. I know you better than that.” Maria teased. “I’m going to get off here. I think I just heard Mom come home.”

“Be careful, Maria!” Liz’s tone took a higher pitch as Max hit that one part in the inside of her neck…that always made her want to hold on tighter. She bit her lip to not say anything to Max.

“You, too! I’d say have fun, but I’m wagering you’re already having it.” Maria hung up laughing before Liz could even try to deny it.

Liz set the phone on the counter and turned around in Max’s arms quickly. She could feel her cheeks all flushed from trying to restrain herself from replying to everything Max was doing to her. He wasn’t fair. She wanted to get back at him…

But before she could, Max pulled her even closer and captured her lips before she could even say a word to admonish him for tempting her on the phone.

<I>‘Who says I was going to admonish you?’</I> She asked, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

Max smiled at the temptress who was just beginning to emerge in Liz. They were so comfortable together…how could she not be honest with him?

<I>‘So exactly how are we going to spend the next couple days?’</I>

<I>‘Oh, I’m sure we can figure something out.’</I> Liz lifted herself up a little more till she was standing on her tiptoes. Max used the hand that was on the center of her back to pull her closer, until all her weight was leaned against him. Liz loved how they felt like they were made for each other, like they fit each other. Max lifted her off her feet and carried her the few steps to the counter. She heard her phone sliding towards the wall as Max settled her in front of him. Liz immediately pulled him closer, wrapping her legs around his waist.

Max pushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face. “I love you so much, Liz.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered and moved to kiss that sensitive point beneath his right ear.

Max pulled her closer. “Liz,” his voice had the sound she knew that only she had ever heard. He sounded so tempted.

“Max,” she giggled.

“Liz,” he smiled.

Ring!

They pulled apart immediately.

Ring!

Liz turned to look at her phone.

Ring!

Michael ran into the kitchen. “Will someone answer the damn phone already? What if it’s Maria?” He looked at Max and Liz. “Oh.” He stared at the way they were sitting for another minute.

Ring!

“Answer the phone!” He exclaimed.

Liz pulled back a little, with her legs still wrapped around Max’s waist, and reached for her phone. She looked at the caller ID and sighed. She hit the talk button. “Hi, Mom.”

AN: Finally! I hate not updating for as long as i have been. i can only blame working 80+ hours a week w/ no computer or muse

i'll try to get the next part out sooner, i think i alreayd know where i want it to go. and thank you to everyone who has stuck w/ me here.

Jenn

<center>~*~Part 44~*~</center>

Max walked Michael out to his motorcycle. “Listen, Michael, please be careful. We don't really know what Tess and Nasedo are planning, and we can’t even begin to guess what they’ll do to get what they want.”

“I think you’re the one who needs to be careful, then, Max,” Michael teased. “After all, what they want is your child.”

Max turned to see Liz sitting on the porch with Isabel and Alex. “We’re—uh—not even going to mention that again. Liz thought about that earlier and I have never felt her emotions get so…dark.”

“Max—“ Michael started in a reserved tone usually saved for official business, like his emancipation hearing.

“I know we’re not going to be there, so if you feel threatened by what Tess and Nasedo are doing or whatever, it’s all up to you. As long as we’re here, you can grab Maria and come up here if you think you’ll be safer here.”

“We can’t do that, Max—“

“I know how hard this is for you to keep putting Maria in danger, Michael. I’m only saying we can only ask so much.”

“Listen, we’re going to be fine. This extra time back in Roswell will give me a little more time to start dealing with what we need to do to Tess and Nasedo, how to get past them. “ He took a deep breath and straightened his back. “This is my job, Max. I can do this. And I know I act like Maria can’t handle stuff, but…I’m beginning to admit that she can handle a whole lot more than I expected. She certainly has a handle on me, doesn’t she?”

Max smiled. He couldn’t believe that his best friend had just admitted he was whipped. “Take care of yourself, Michael. And don’t do anything too dangerous.”

Michael grinned. “Never.” He put his helmet on and straddled his motorcycle. With one last wave to the others and a glance at Max, he roared away.

Max walked back to the others and wrapped his arm around Liz.

“That was good of you to remind Michael he had an out, Max.”

“He never would have taken it.”

“But he still needed to know we were here.”

“I’m just so worried about what Tess might do to everyone back home. I mean, what if she hurts them?”

“She’s not going to do anything that stupid right out in the open, Max,” Alex said. “And I hardly think that after today, Michael is going to be letting Maria out of his sight.”

<center>***</center>

Michael sped into town doing significantly more than the speed limit. The 2-finger wave from Valenti told him that everything was fine—he would make it to Maria without a speeding ticket. He drove straight to the CrashDown and parked his bike in front. He walked to the door and felt a great wave of fresh air and relief enter him when he saw Maria just a few feet away taking care of a crowded dinner rush. She looked so happy. Michael admitted how strong she was—working next to the greatest evil she would (hopefully) ever know and still managing to look happy to the endless line of people making their way through the restaurant day after day. Of course, rationally he knew she was strong enough to handle this, but seeing it made him so proud of her.

Michael moved closer to the door, about to enter, when he saw Tess. She was wearing a CrashDown uniform, too, which made him want to laugh. She looked completely miserable as she walked through the café with a pot of coffee and the most sour expression on her face. Michael almost had to enjoy the fact that she was obviously miserable. He just wondered what was going on in that maniacal mind of hers.

He walked into the café.

Maria immediately turned to see who it was. This was a new routine for her: every time the door opened, she turned to look to see who it was, always waiting for Michael. She knew it was slightly irrational, but she couldn’t help but get her hopes up every time those silly bells chimed. Normally, she saw a vaguely familiar customer who she managed to greet with a pleasant, “Hello!”.

This time, she calmly placed the soda she was bringing to table 4 on the table and turned and ran to the door. “Michael!” She threw her arms around him and squealed when he lifted her off the ground. “God, I’m so happy to see you!”

“You, too, baby,” he whispered in her ear as he set her down.

Maria had so many questions. She wanted to know how everyone was and what they’d discovered. She wanted to know what the plan was. But above all that, she just wanted to kiss her boyfriend and feel his arms wrapped around her. And she certainly couldn’t do any of that in front of everyone else in the restaurant. She grabbed her hand and led him back to the break room.

Tess watched the entire display from the other side of the restaurant. Michael was finally back. She had so many things she needed to talk to him about, so many things she needed to convince him of. It would be so much easier to show Michael the way things should be if she had that damn….

Tess watched as Michael and Maria headed towards the break room. Of course, any attempt she made to talk to Michael would be intercepted by Maria. But she wasn’t standing for this today. She needed to talk to Michael about important things—things that would change their entire world. She was tired of being put off for later. She walked towards the break room.

Kyle sat just two booths away from the break room door. He wasn’t at all surprised that Micahel and Maria didn’t stop to talk to him; he figured they had other things on their minds. Their body language told him that, anyway. It was odd—he’d never seen Michael willingly be quite so close to anyone.

He watched Tess stand on the other side of the room holding a coffee pot but completely ignoring the people who had their cups out waiting to be filled. She started to walk towards him—towards the break room.

“Tess!” he said before she could pass him.

She looked at him for a second as she walked and finally stopped right in front of him. “Yeah, Kyle?”

“I—uh—I didn’t know Michael was coming home today.” He’d had such a hard time even talking to her since he’d found out the truth. In some ways, he could now understand why the others had wanted to keep him and his father out for as long as possible. Living with her was torturous now that he knew the truth.

“Yeah, me either. I have so much I want to talk to him about.” She took a step away.

“Tess, wait. Can I have a coffee first? I mean, we ought to give them a few minutes first. They haven’t seen each other in a week. Everything else can wait a few minutes.” He smiled.

Tess sighed. “I guess you’re right, Kyle. You take it with sugar and cream, right?” She pivoted towards the counter to grab him a coffee cup.

Kyle looked at her amazed that she could ask him that. In all the months they’d lived together, he’d thought that maybe she was a friend, maybe she was trying to understand and get to know him. Apparently, she was very good at her mission. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.” He watched her walk away.

<center>***</center>

Meanwhile, Maria sat straddling her boyfriend’s lap. She couldn’t stop kissing him. She was just so relieved to have him back. Fro the first time since he rode away, she felt completely safe.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Ria?” He whispered, running his palms up her cheekbones into her hair.

“I’m fine. I’ve just been so worried about you—and living on constant eggshells.” She nodded her head around her, indicating especially in this place.

He nodded. “I’m just glad I’m here now.”

“Me, too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Is your mom in town?”

“No. She went to a conference this morning.”

“Good. You’re staying with me.” He told her in his best, authority tone.

Maria looked at him for a moment. And at first, she wanted to argue with him, tell him that she wasn’t his to boss around. But in the end, she just nodded and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. “Sounds great to me.” It wasn’t like she didn’t want to stay with him…and that she wouldn’t have wound up there anyway. Maybe once in a while, it was good to give in.

Michael closed his eyes, relieved that she didn’t fight that idea. Of course, he knew that no matter what, even if she had fought it, he would have wound up wherever she was, even if it meant sleeping beneath her windowsill.

<center>***</center>

Alex looked at Isabel. They were still sitting out on the porch a good 20 minutes after Michael had left. Liz and Max had gone inside, but the two of them had sat on the porch just looking at the scenery, not even speaking. Alex was amazed at how comfortable he felt, just sitting there with her wrapped up in his arms.

“Alex?” She whispered.

“Hmmm?”

“Did I ever apologize for all this?”

“Apologize?”

“For getting you involved in all this?”

“Isabel, you didn’t get me involved in all this. I got me involved in all this. I was the one who hounded Liz until she finally told me the truth. I was the one who kept coming back for more.”

“But you did it for me.”

He couldn’t deny that. “There’s nothing to apologize for, Isabel. I’d do anything for you.”

“I know.” She whispered.

“What bought that on?” He asked after a moment’s silence.

“Hmmm?”

“What’s going on in that head of yours, Is?”

“I don't know. I just now that soon something major is going to happen, something that is going to change all of us in ways we can’t even imagine. And I don’t want to change you. I want you to be the same. I want to be the same. I just—“

“Isabel, I know that what we’re about to do is scary and will change us. But I can promise you that it will never make it so that I can’t recognize who you are deep down inside. I know that what we have to do to Tess is not something any of us wants to do. But this is something that we have to do. It’s not that we’re evil or bad, if anything, we’re fighting that.”

“What if doing it makes us evil?”

“That’s not possible, Is.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know you. And I know that you aren’t evil. None of us are. We’re doing this to protect ourselves.”

“I just don’t want to become her.”

“You won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I won’t let you.” He smiled. He stood up, taking her with him. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” She held onto his hand.

“To take a nap.”

“Why?”

“Because we need one.” He smiled. “I want you to dream walk me.”

“Why?”

“I want to show you our future.” He grinned.

Isabel smiled and nodded. “Okay.” They walked into the cabin and up to their room.

<center>***</center>

Liz and Max finished cleaning the kitchen. For some reason, as soon as Michael had left, they had both been filled with nervous energy, and they had to spend it somewhere. Of course they’d had some fun doing it. They were both drenched in water, and Max had suds clinging to his shirt.

Max reached over as Liz finished rinsing the sink and enveloped her in a huge hug so they were both covered in suds. She laughed and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He tightened his hold on hers and turned so that her back was against the wall. She clung to him, pulling him closer, kissing him harder.

Max lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him. Max had one hand on her upper thigh and she arched up closer to him. Their kiss never ended.

Finally, Liz pulled her lips away from Max’s. “Max?” She whispered, out of breath.

He groaned a little.

“We need to talk.”


<center>***</center>

So i sat down all ready to write Max and Liz's talk. I'd finally nearly figured out what was going to be said...and how it was going to be accomplished, and this came out. I'm sorry for so long between posts, but silly work is making my writing time scarce. hopefully there will be more soon, even if it's just a short part!

Thank you for reading and remembering my little story here.
Jenn


<center>~*~Part 45~*~</center>


“Tess, you don't understand—“

“No, you don’t understand, Michael. I am sick and tired of not being consulted about things like this. I am a member of this little group, too, and it’s not fair that I have to find out you’ve left town from your…human girlfriend. What if something important had happened this week? What would have happened if I couldn’t find you? Max and Isabel are so far away! What if I needed help?”

Michael almost had to laugh at the way Tess was ranting at him. Maybe all the time she’d spent hanging onto their group had caused some of Maria to wear off on her. “First of all, by important, I am assuming you mean alien, right?” She nodded vigorously. “It wasn’t like I was untouchable, Tess. Maria knew where I was the entire time.” For some reason, he enjoyed getting her riled up. “And secondly, why should I have told you about my plans for this week? Why should Max and Isabel? We’re doing things to improve our futures here—on Earth. You have made it repeatedly clear that you don’t think we should have any futures here. I’m personally tired of hearing the lecture.”

“It’s not a lecture, Michael. It is our destiny. We are not supposed to stay here—“

Michael held up a hand, silencing her. “I repeat, I’m tired of hearing the lecture.” He returned to her earlier points of contention. “And why would you need me? Your control of your powers is infinitely better than mine. Isn’t that what you’re always saying? Isn’t that why you’re constantly telling me I need to practice more? What good could I be to you—“

“Michael, we are part of the Royal 4, a group. When we work together, even in pairs, we’re stronger. You know that.”

“Whatever,” he sighed. “Did anything happen while I was gone?” He left an opening for her to tell him even a little bit of the truth, to see how much ‘help’ from him she really wanted.

“No,” she huffed.

“Well, just in case you’re interested, I completed all the extra-credit work I needed to pass my class. I just might graduate after all.” She started to open her mouth. “Just don’t, Tess. I don't need it right now.”

Maria bounced into the break room, heading straight for her locker. She dropped off her order pad and apron. Then she turned to face Michael. “You ready?”

Michael stood up. “Yeah.”

“Ready for what?” Tess asked.

“We’re going out,” Maria said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Michael—“

“Actually, Ria, let me go tell Mr. P that I’m back in town if he needs my help this weekend.”

“Okay,” she smiled.

Michael walked into the kitchen, pretending to look for Mr. Parker when he really just wanted to see Nasedo’s latest costume. He was tall with scraggly brown hair. His skin was darkened by the sun and he looked like anyone you would see on the streets. Michael shuddered; that was the worst part about Nasedo. He could be whoever he wanted.

He looked up from the grill. “Customers aren’t allowed in here.”

Michael shook his head, walking towards him. He had to act normal. “I’m not a customer. I work here. I’m Michael.”

“Oh, yeah, Tess told me about you. She said you were out of town.”

“Well, I’m back.” He looked around. “Do you know where Mr. Parker is?”

“I think he’s up front. Tess screwed up an order for some old lady, I think.”

Michael glanced over the window and nodded, seeing Mr. Parker talking to one of their normal customers.

“I’m Dillon Hawkins, by the way,” he reached his hand out to him.

Michael took it and shook it, and was hit by the oddest sense of dishonesty and evil. He must be channeling some of Liz’s powers here. “Good to meet you.” He looked behind him towards the door to the break room.

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other,” he paused. “What with the 2 of us working here.”

“Sure.” Michael nodded. “I’d better go. Maria’s waiting for me.”

“She’s quite the little spitfire, isn’t she?”

Michael smiled. “She is. I’m lucky to have her.” He didn’t like the way Nasedo talked about Maria. “I’ll see ya around.” He left the kitchen and walked back into the break room. “Let’s get out of here, Maria.” He noticed the intense staring contest she and Tess were currently engaged in.

Maria just nodded and took his hand as they walked out of the restaurant.

“What was all that about?”

“It’s just Tess being Tess,” she sighed.

“What did she say?”

“You know, the usual. That I was ruining your life, and that you would be better off with Isabel.”

Michael wrapped his arm around her. “You know she’s wrong.” He didn’t know how else to comfort her.

“I know. I just keep looking at her and I know what she wanted to do to you…and to Alex and Liz. I just can’t help wanting—“

“To rip her eyes out?” He smiled.

“For starters.”

Michael laughed. “That will have to happen later.”

She tried to return to her positive attitude. “So what happens tonight then?”

He shrugged. “First we go to the grocery store. And then we go back to my place, and I make you a to die for dinner.”

“To die for?” She loved it when he used expressions she commonly said.

“Yes. And then maybe you’ll spend the night?” He couldn’t help looking to see her reaction.

She cuddled closer to him as they walked to her car. “Yes, I think that is a definite possibility.”

<center>***</center>

AN: Finally! If you read Xan, you’ve heard this already. I am finally regaining some of my free time again, since I started a new job last week, so my writing time has kicked up. Of course, I was seriously blocked on this story, but apparently sleep helps or lack of sleep helps. I sat down an hour ago to fix my sister’s computer and instead I wrote this.  whoo! I hope you enjoy and there will hopefully be more updates soon.

Thank you so much for reading and remembering this story!
Happy Holidays,
Love,
Jennifer

<center>~*~Part 46~*~</center>

“Talk?” Max groaned.

Liz nodded. “Yes.”

“Why?” He tried to force himself not to look her in the eye. He couldn’t handle seeing her beautiful brown eyes. He didn’t have that much control.

“Umm…” She was having a very hard time remembering that herself. All she could think about was what she could feel…and that included her legs wrapped around Max. “Maybe you should, um, put me down? It might make it a little easier to think.”

Max wanted to do just the opposite. He wanted to make it harder for her to think until she decided that thinking wasn’t worth it at all not when there were so many other things that they could be doing together. Talking? But this was Liz, and he respected her too much to ever think about not doing what she asked. She was the most important thing in the world to him, and she had to know that by his actions. Damn his mother for raising him to be a gentleman! In fact, damn both of his mothers for that!

Liz unwrapped her legs although they clung to him for longer than she would have originally wanted. As soon as her feet were on the ground again, she immediately regretted this, wishing she was back in his arms. But she knew this would allow her to think. After all, she could pace so she didn’t have to feel his reaction as closely.

“Okay, we have to talk about all this.”

“All what, Liz?”

“Everything that has been going on, Max.”

“Are you worried about Maria? Michael will take care of her, you know that. And the Sheriff and Kyle can take care of themselves—“

“It’s not them I’m worried about, Max. I’m worried about us.”

“Us?” He watched her pace the room. “Why? What is there to be worried about?” Although just as he said it, he suddenly got a feeling he knew what was going on.

“I know I’m just being ridiculous. I mean, I can feel it. It’s just—“ She paused, looked at him, and then started pacing again, finding immense interest in the pattern on the floor.

“Asha—“ The word left his mouth before he even thought about it. Their names seemed to always interchange for them now. He just wondered if perhaps now wasn’t the best time to mention that other name.

She stopped walking for a second. “That’s it!” Liz turned and faced him before she started the pacing again. “Zan, you and I have something most people never have to think about. I mean, we have this other life that was so perfect. I love that I can remember every single minute of it. I love that you and I are the only people in the world so perfect for each other that we’re together, on 2 different planets, in 2 different times. I love that our friends are jealous of our connection. I love that I know what you’re thinking and that you can read my mind so easily.”

“But?” He prompted.

She bit her bottom lip. “I’m afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Zan, we had this idyllic, perfect life on Antar. Everything about it, from the minute we met to the very last, was exactly what I wanted. It was just perfect. And now I’m afraid that our life here will never be that way.”

“Liz—“He knew there was something else. “What are you talking about? Our life here is perfect. We’re together; that’s all it takes for perfection in my eyes.”

She took a deep breath. She’d known he wouldn’t just buy that answer. “What if…. I’m just afraid that everything won’t be as wonderful as we remember.” She met his eyes then and really let him in for the first time since they’d started this conversation.

Max was immediately at her side. “Liz, you can’t think like that!”

“But I do. I’ve thought about this ever since I realized where we were headed. I keep remembering that other time, that other life, and I am so terrified that this time won’t live up to that.”

“It doesn’t have to.”

“Yes it does!” She insisted.

“Liz, we were differ—“

“No, we weren’t. Don’t say things to try to make me feel better, Max.”

“I’m not.” He tried another direction for the conversation. “Whatever we do is going to be perfect, Liz, as long as it’s me and you.”

“You’re not going to think about how much better it was when we were Asha and Zan?”

“How can you be so sure that that time was better? We haven’t even had this time yet!”

“Max, don’t you remember how perfect that was? I mean, it was our wedding night…and we were so excited. And everything just worked so perfectly. I couldn’t understand how you knew so much—“

“We were bonded, Asha. I knew everything about you because of our connection.” Max met her eyes. “And we are still connected, Liz—“

“But…what if I can’t do it? What if I can’t touch you like you touch me? What if I can’t make the connection with you—“

“Liz, baby, you are putting way too much pressure on yourself about this. This isn’t something you should have to obsess over; it’s me and you.” He couldn’t believe he was about to suggest what was about to come out of his mouth. “If you don’t want to do anything, Liz, we don’t have to do anything. I just want you to be happy.”

Hearing Max’s words made Liz catch her breath. He was suggesting that they not—but…no, that wasn’t right. She loved him so much. “Max, no! That’s not what I’m saying!”

He smiled when she blurted that out so quickly. “Liz, we don’t have to be perfect. All I want is to be with you, nervous silly you. And if I remember correctly, on Antar, I was so nervous. I nearly went to Isabel to ask questions before I realized a man cannot ask his sister those kinds of questions.”

She smiled. “Antar was perfect.”

“Earth will be too.” He pulled her closer to him. “I love you, Elizabeth Parker. That’s all that matters.”

“I love you, too, Max.” She kissed him.

He lifted her up again. “That’s all I needed to hear.” He teased.

She wrapped her legs around him again. This was where she belonged.

‘And don’t forget that.’ He kissed her.

<center>***</center>

AN: I'm sorry this rather short part took so long. I've been not only busy with the new job thing, but also i've been experiencing the most god-awful writer's block. (Even my reports for work sound like crap!) I do fully intend to finish this story, if only for the satisfaction i wanted when i started it...which was nearly 2 years ago...whoa, maybe 3? ::sigh:: i am getting old.
thank you for remembering this story and your always encouraging feedback!
Jenn


<center>~*~Part 47~*~</center>

Isabel could feel herself in Alex’s dreams. He was dreaming about their future again. She loved it when he dreamt like this. He always thought of the most beautiful things for their future: a big house filled with kids, date nights where the babysitter stayed late, magical weddings, holding hands through everything. They were always so happy, so connected. Isabel loved that word, connected. It was how she felt when she was with Alex. Like she had something to hold on to from now on.

The setting for this dream was a beautiful ballroom decorated for Christmas. She was wearing a red dress, of course; Alex had always loved her in red. And Alex looked so dapper in his tuxedo. They were whispering something while Isabel looked on, enjoying their happiness.

All of a sudden, Alex looked directly at her. “Hey, Isabel.”

“Alex!” She jumped. How was he doing this? He was looking directly at the real version of her, instead of the dream version. That was when she noticed that there were 2 versions of him now, too. “What—how—“

“Well, you always said that all you did when you dreamwalked me was really concentrate on me. So tonight, I’m concentrating on you.”

Isabel hugged him. “Alex, this is incredible.” She loved the idea that she could dream create with him now. They could make up their own futures now.

He took her hand. “I know.” They sat down on a comfortable couch that suddenly appeared at Alex’s will. “You’ve seen me dream about you, and I think you’ve seen how I feel about you. But I want you to know what I think about you, what I know about you.”

“Alex—“ Her eyes teared up.

“Shh, Is. You need to see this. I want you to know the truth so you can finally stop being deluged by this guilt and fear. It’s not who you are, and I don't want you to wallow in that.”

“Alex—“ she could already feel her eyes tearing up.

“You are such an incredible woman, Isabel. I’ve known it from the first moment I saw you,” his voice took on a narrative quality.

<I>Before them, as if in a movie, an 8 year old Alex and Isabel appeared, sitting in class. Isabel was sitting next to Max, whispering to him. It was their first day of school; she’d recognize that dress anywhere. She remembered she’d been so scared, but she’d forced herself to look so brave for Max. That was the first day she really looked down on others to avoid feeling them looking down on her.

Alex was sitting 2 aisles away, firmly between Liz and Maria. They were whispering back and forth around Alex, about the new kids, but Alex was just staring at her.</I>

Isabel was amazed because the look on his face…it was just like the one Max wore for years. Of course, she’d noticed the look on Max’s face; she spent so much time discouraging it. But she had never noticed the look on Alex’s face that was so obviously directed for her. God, had he loved her since the first day he saw her? How was that possible? She’d barely given him the time of day before Max healed Liz. He’d always just been that guy Alex from school…but had he been watching her with that much respect and…love in his eyes the entire time?

The image changed to when they were 12 and in the school’s Christmas play together. Well, Alex did lights; Isabel was the star. Isabel watched as young Alex stared at her like she were Meryl Streep or Sharon Stone, focusing the lights on her in every scene she was in. Isabel smiled thinking of herself back then. She had been so boastful about her talents; everyone had told her to calm down and be humble., that no one liked a conceited girl. Looking at Alex, she knew that wasn’t true. He’d looked at her like she was the biggest star ever.

<I>The image changed to the hallway of the high school. A 14-year-old Isabel was standing at her locker and further down the hall, Alex was standing at Liz’s with her and Maria. He was staring at Isabel.

“Give it up, Alex,” Maria said grabbing a bottle of water from Liz’s locker. “The Ice Princess is way out of our league. Her entire family is,” she looked at Liz.

“Maria, don't call her that!”

“Has she ever given you the time of day?” Alex started to tell her about the day the week before when Isabel had answered that very question. “Don’t take that literally, Alex!”

“Alex, Maria’s being harsh, but I think she might be right. Isabel Evans does not deserve you. She’s not your type,” Liz squeezed his arm.

“And what type is mine exactly?” He asked hastily.

“Alex—“ Maria immediately felt sorry for putting that tone in his voice. “Don’t sound like that. Liz and I love you, and we don't want you to get hurt.”

“I’m not hurt.”

“You could be.”

“We all could be, Maria. My God, Liz, I have seen you staring at Max Evans almost as much as he stares at you! I don't understand what you see in him; the whole quiet, mysterious thing has never been my bag. But I don't criticize you for liking him. I even try to support it! Who gave up his empty seat in biology so that you could have the possibility of sitting next to him in lab?” Liz lowered her eyes for a second. “And Maria, I never ever said ‘I told you so’ when I so richly deserved to after you blew off studying with me for studying with Chris Miller, not even when he kept trying to cheat off your test!” Maria looked at the ground for a second. Alex calmed down a little. “I understand you’re worried about me, and I appreciate it. I love you for it. This…whatever I have on Isabel—“ Maria started to say something. “Do not call it a crush, Maria. Whatever this is, I like to think I see something in her that you can’t!”

“Alex—“

“I mean, can’t you see through the way she acts? Maybe her confidence is hiding her fears of fitting in and being just another high school student. Maybe her clothes hide the insecurity she feels. Maybe she pretends to be so much better than us because she’s terrified that we might find out the truth about her.”

“Alex—“

“I know it’s a small chance that she’ll ever look at me and see that I understand her, but it’s one I want to hold on to for now. Who knows? Maybe you guys are right and I’ll end up accepting the differences between us…and leaving it alone. Maybe I’ll wind up married to some girl who you think is my type. But right now, let me have the dream.”</I>

Isabel wiped her eyes and turned to face Alex. All her life, she had been waiting for someone to say that about her. She immediately felt horrible for having ignored him for so long, for treating him like just another useless person who couldn’t possibly enrich her life. “You saw through me all along, didn’t you?”

Alex smiled and took her hand. “Of course I did.” He reached up with his other hand and wiped a few tears off her cheeks.

“Oh, Alex, I am—“

“Shh, Isabel. Don’t say that. I don’t want you to be sorry. That’s not why I showed you that memory. I want you to understand that I love you, and I want to be the one who makes you comfortable enough to wear boring clothes to school and allows you to joke around with people, not even worrying that they might find you weird. I want you to be secure enough to tell all those girls who think they know you that you have more depth in your pinky than they have in their entire bodies. I want you to be able to trust someone other than your brothers. I want you to be everything you have always to be; and I want to help give that to you.”

It suddenly occurred to Isabel that Alex loved her like Max loved Liz. It wasn’t the love that had been meant throughout two lifetimes; it was a love that had been wished for and believed in when no one else would have even thought of it. It was a love that lasted through denial, rejection, fear, and hurt. It was dignified and trustworthy. It was so much more than she could have ever expected. And it was all thanks to Alex.

She threw her arms around him, crying even harder. “Thank you so much, Alex. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to show you how much this has meant to me.” She squeezed him tighter. “I love you, too.”

She could feel his smile against her neck and shoulder. “Thank you.” He kissed her shoulder.

“So,” she tried to lighten the mood, “are there any other memories or dreams you wanna show me?”

He grinned, understanding her intentions. “Well, there is this one—“

“Sounds interesting. But Alex, if I wind up looking anything like Princess Leia, I will hit you.”

Alex’s cheeks turned pink. “In that case, maybe we should just talk some more.”

She laughed. “Why don’t we just go into a new dream…that we create?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

AN: I suck. a lot. in a bad bad way. i'm so sorry this has taken so long and that i pretty much went mia. writer's block sucks. i think i may have (Hopefully) cured this bout by buying a beautimus blue clipboard, new paper, and a new pair of Pilot precise. it takes longer to get everything together to post, but wow... writing again feels amazing.

thanks for reading and remembering this story! i'm already writing the next part.
love,
Jennifer


<center>~*~Part 48~*~</center>

Max, Liz, Isabel, and Alex drove back into town in the predawn hours of the day they were supposed to come home. They’d drove pretty much all night to get home early enough that no one would see them, except the people they wanted to see. Their first destination was Michael’s house. They knew Maria would be staying there, and she was getting antsy to know that her best friends were okay. Especially with the way Tess had been behaving, she wanted to know that all her friends were going to pull through this.

Michael had called Max the night before and told him about some of Tess’ odd behavior. She had skipped school for the past 2 days, telling Valenti that she had urgent alien business that she needed to take care of. Yet, the girl who was all about working with the 4 Square had never once called Michael to see if he wanted to help or if he was interested in what she was supposedly learning. She came into work at the CrashDown distracted and rude. And she was constantly staring at Maria, like she was the enemy. Michael did not like that one bit. He was getting frustrated with just watching her. Maria kept trying to calm him down but she was threatening too much with her current attitude. He would not lose Maria or his friends.

Max had barely gotten in and locked the door behind him when Michael said, “We need to do something.”

Maria was whispering to Liz about all that had gone on, and she immediately looked up at him. “Michael—“

“No, Maria. I have watched her for the past few days, staring at you like you’re the enemy. I’m not going to give her time to hurt you.”

“Michael—“ she moved closer to him and wrapped an arm around him. She understood he needed to keep her safe, and she knew that she had to let him. She’d always accused him of hiding behind some stonewall somewhere, and she knew how hard it was still for him to change that behavior. She wouldn’t shrug off his feelings by declaring her independence now. She looked at Max. “So what are we going to do?”

“I guess that’s why we’re here this early. It’s time to figure out a plan.”

They all kind of looked at each other. They’d been working towards this for so long, and now suddenly, it was time to do this. It was time for them to make a huge decision. Once they did, there would be no going back. If they went through with this plan, they’d be giving up—letting go—of their innocence—their simple lives.

There would be no going back. If they went through with this, they would all know that they had led to the death—the destruction of 2 people. And they didn’t need special powers to know that each of them was thinking the same thing about it.

“Are we ready for this?” Michael asked finally.

“It’s not a matter of being ready,” Isabel said. “We know what we have to do.”

Liz wanted to deny that statement. She wished she could say that if anyone had reservations, they could all back out of this and go back to their little simple worlds. But she knew—they all knew—that there was no turning back.

“So what are we going to do?” Alex asked.

Maria grinned. “Zap the bitch?”

Everyone laughed, and Maria knew that she had set out to do what she had felt was needed. This was a serious topic, but they didn’t need to be so somber about it. They knew what they were doing, and they knew why they were doing it. The current mood spoke as if there would be regret, and she fully intended on making sure that no one in this group ever felt regret for what was about to happen.

“OK. Does anyone have any serious ideas?” Liz smiled.

“I’ve actually been thinking about this,” Max said.

“No! Max? Thinking?” Alex teased. “I never thought that would happen.”

Liz laughed. “Go on, Max.”

“I think the best thing to do is to beat Tess by playing with what she wants the most.”

They all knew that meant her version of destiny. “How?”

“Make her think there’s another alien.”

“Huh?” Maria asked.

“Okay. Her biggest goal this entire time has been us achieving her destiny—the Four Square which will take her home. What if we destroyed the idea of just the 4 of us?”

“She’d go crazy,” Isabel said.

“Which would allow us to take advantage of that,” Max said.

“But if there were another alien, why would she assume that it would destroy destiny? I mean, she’s fine with Lonnie and Rath and Nasedo.”

“But this alien will take away part of the 4 she wants.”

“And how will that be accomplished, Max?” Alex asked, just knowing that the one who would be pulled away would be Isabel. She was always doing stupid self-sacrificing things for her brothers, and he wanted to know what she would be asked of next.

“Well, Alex, how would you feel about a little presto-chango again?”

“Alex would be the other alien?” Maria said. “But he doesn’t have powers. Wouldn’t Liz be a better choice?”

“No, because Tess already knows what I am. If she saw me use powers, she’d just kill me to protect herself,” Liz could see how Max was thinking—even without an open connection.

“Who says she won’t do the same thing to Alex?” Isabel asked quickly. She grabbed his hand and instantly felt better when he gave her hand a squeeze.

“She won’t be expecting it from somebody else—someone she’s never even seen or heard of. She’d want to know more about me which means she’d follow me—“

“And that’s where we trap her and Nasedo.”

“Out at the podchamber—someplace secluded.”

“How can we guarantee that both Tess and Nasedo will go?”

“Either way. It doesn’t really matter. Once we get rid of Tess, we can defeat Nasedo whenever. Our powers combined could do it now, but we really do not want to tip off Tess,” Max said.

“And how do we make it look like Alex has powers?” Maria felt like she was asking an obvious question.

“We have 4 very powerful aliens in this room,” Max said. “We can do it.”

Liz smiled. “And it’s not like we have to make it very complicated. A little molecular change here, a glowing hand there, no problem.”

Maria looked at Liz and burst out laughing. “God, when did you become this uber-alien, Liz? This is insane!” She mocked Liz’s tone about the whole plan, like it was as common as going to lunch with your best friend.

Liz giggled. “In case you missed it, Ria, reality stepped out that door a long time ago.”

Max just shook his head at them. “And there is another advantage of having Alex be the alien. This way, he can come to school every day so we can always know what’s going on, that we’re all safe.”

Isabel nodded, liking this plan even more at that realization. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“But Alex, you will be in danger. I mean, there’s no other way to say it. We’re predicting how Tess will behave and honestly none of us know how that might be. Are you okay with this?”

Alex smiled confidently. “Max, I’ve—we’ve all been in danger since day one. I mean, obviously, you 3 have been in danger longer but…when we all started finally working together, danger just kind of became the other member of our little group here. The thing is, I have faith in us and in what we can do. I say let’s do it.”

Isabel wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck. “So do I get to be around Alex a lot in this plan?”

Maria laughed. “Killing evil aliens and still pulling off her role as President of the Sunshine Club. This girl has definitely got my vote for homecoming queen.”

Isabel laughed. “There is seriously something wrong with me if I’m finding that statement funny in the least.”

Alex kissed her forehead loving that she was acting this way, this natural. Her icy demeanor was gone, and they were all so lucky for it. Especially him.


<center>***</center>


“So how should I make him look?” Michael aske dLiz and Maria as he stood in front of Alex.

“Blond hair,” Liz said. “It’ll create the biggest change, really,” she rationalized.

“Whatever, Parker,” Alex teased. “I know you just want to see me blond.”

“Then definitely blue eyes,” Maria said. She watched in amazement as her boyfriend did what she and Liz suggested.

“Can you make his nose a little less perfect?”

Michael laughed, changing it into a witch’s nose for kicks before he made it look just a few degrees better than Owen Wilson’s nose. Maria giggled again.

“And he definitely needs a tan. I think we ought to pass him off as somebody from California. He totally has the body for it.”

Alex turned pink.

“Tan, not burnt, Alex,” Liz laughed.

Michael made a few more adjustments—bigger lips, highlights, longer hair—before Liz and Maria declared him done.

“I’m glad you girls enjoyed playing Dress Up Ken with me,” Alex laughed.

Maria laughed. “Alex, we know you enjoyed that just as much as we did. After all, we’ve had you dressed up in many more…embarrassing ways than this.” She raised her eyebrow.

Alex groaned as he remembered endless sleepovers.

“I think the big question is what Isabel will think of him,” Michael looked over his handiwork in amazement. He was so impressed by his powers.

Maria opened the door to Michael’s bedroom. Isabel and Max were filling the sheriff in on the plan. “Hey, Is, come check out lover-boy.”

Isabel jumped up and ran across the room. She walked in the doorway and nearly fell over. Alex was standing there, looking absolutely amazing. She knew he didn’t look at all like himself, which she already knew she would miss, but his eyes said it all for her. “Amazing.” She wakled over to him, hugged him, and kissed him. “You know, you’re a pretty good blond, Alex.”

“I told him he would be!” Liz laughed.

Max walked into the room. “Wow.”

The sheriff handed him a folder. “That’s all you’re going to need to enroll at the school. There are a couple forms of ID, too.” He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. “These are the keys to an apartment the station just seized. The bank should take possession within the next couple weeks, but until then, you are welcome to stay there, at least to use the address for school records.”

“Thanks, Sheriff.” Alex began looking in the school records. “Straight A student?”

“This way you can be in as many of our classes as possible. After all, aliens are smart, right?”

“When they go to school,” Maria glared at Michael.

He shrugged it off and pulled her close to him.

Max looked at the driver’s license in Alex’s hand. “So, Jackson Truman, are you ready to go enroll at West Roswell High?”

“I can’t wait to get back to school,” he smiled. He kind of scared himself with how true that statement was for him.

“Good,” Liz hitched her backpack up. “The bell rings in 10 minutes.”

<center>***</center>

AN: ok. this took less time to write than my latest updates have... so yay! i kind of want to dedicate this part to a wonderful woman and teacher who passed away this weekend. judy was an amazing mentor for me and i will miss her greatly. moral of this post: appreciate the influences in your life while they're here.
love,
Jennifer

<center>~*~Part 49~*~</center>


Alex walked out of Mr. Hardison, the guidance counselor’s office and into the main office. He was feeling pretty surreal after having experienced the re-enrollment in his high school. He wondered how many people could say they were actively enrolled in the same high school as two different people? Was this how people with multiple personalities felt?

“Mr. Truman, let me just say again how happy West Roswell is to welcome you to its student body,” Mr. Hardison said. “It’s not often we get a transfer student with such a distinct and eclectic school record.”

Alex smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

“If you’ll just wait one moment, I’ll call Isabel Evans. She’s the president of our sunshine committee. She’ll show you around the school and take you to your classes. She’s a really wonderful girl, very involved here at West Roswell. She’ll be able to help you adjust from the student point of view, but, of course, if you need any help, please just let me know. I’ll help in any way I can.”

“Thank you, sir,” Alex shook his hand and watched him go to the intercom.

A few minutes later, a vision in red walked into the office. “You called me, Mr. Hardison?”

Alex knew she was forcing herself not to look at him yet. He could tell in the focus she put into asking Mr. Hardison such a simple question. He could see it in the way she forced her hand to lay against her leg when she really wanted to reach out and hold his hand.

“Isabel, I’d like you to meet Jackson Truman. He’s starting West Roswell today. I was hoping you’d be available to show him around the school and introduce him to some people.”

She smiled and looked at Alex. “Of course, Mr. Hardison.” She walked over to him. “I’m Isabel Evans.”

“Jack Truman.”

She looked at her watch. “If we hurry, Jack, I can give you a quick tour of the building before our first class. Do you have your schedule?” They walked out of the office.

Alex followed Isabel through the halls. “So will this tour include a trip to the eraser room?”

She smiled. “Definitely not today.” She grabbed his arm as if she were showing him the right direction towards something. “But,” she whispered, “if you play your cards right, I think a trip to the podchamber after school is definitely in order.”

Alex grinned. “I think I can handle that.”

Isabel stopped at a locker just a few down from Tess’. “This is your locker, Jack,” she said. “Your combination is on your schedule.” Alex opened it. “Later on, when we’re sure Tess is there, you’re going to do a little magic here.”

He nodded. “Ok.”

“Alex---“

He stopped her before she could finish her sentence. “Be careful. You have to call me Jack.”

She sighed and nodded. “I know. I just forgot.” She grinned. “I just cannot wait to see Tess’ face when she sees you use powers.”

Alex laughed. “Come on, let’s walk around the halls. We need to make sure that Tess sees us.”

Isabel led him towards their first class.


Max and Michael watched Isabel and Alex walk down the hallway.

“Think she can pull it off without calling him Alex?” Michael laughed.

Max grinned. “It might be tough for her when they’re along, but she’ll come through.”

“Oh, I know,” Michael agreed. “I just think it’s going to be really funny to watch.”

Max laughed. “You’ve got to hide that optimism, Michael. Tess will know that something is up if you’re suddenly optimistic.”

“You’re one to talk, Maxwell. How are you going to stop yourself from running to Liz the minute you see her.” Max didn’t answer. He just shook his head, as if he were thinking. “And now we watch Max squirm as he tries to answer that.” Michael laughed.

<I> ‘Are you squirming, baby?’ Liz teased.

Max looked around the hall. ‘I’m about to.’</I>

“Hey, guys,” Tess stopped next to them. “Nice to see you back, Max.”

“Thanks, Tess.”

“Did you have a good time at Covington?”

Max recognized his out when it presented himself. “Absolutely. They have the most amazing labs there, Tess. I mean, the research that is being done there can do so much good. Right now, they’re working on treatments for cancer. And they let me help! I was able to—“

Tess turned to Michael. “Has he been talking like this all day?”

Michael shrugged. “Mostly. I’ve just learned how to block it out.”

Tess watched the movements in the hall for a minute and then turned back to Max who had stopped talking as soon as he was sure Tess was no longer paying any attention. “Who is that with Isabel?”

Max looked for his sister. “I don’t know. Looks like a new student.”

“I wonder what his story is.”

Michael looked at Tess. “I thought I was the paranoid one here, Tess.”

“We should all just be alert. Right, Max?”

Max was barely paying any attention to her. He was busy watching Liz, Kyle, and Maria enter the hallway. He knew that Liz and Maria were filling Kyle in on the plan this morning. But the way Liz kept her eyes down, as if she was afraid to meet his…it just tore through him. He wanted her to be able to look at him wherever they were and see how much he loved her. He wanted to be the one holding her hand instead of Maria. He wanted this whole charade to stop.

<I> ‘Me, too, Max. And it will soon. Just a little longer,” Liz whispered in his mind.

‘I need—‘

‘Biology labs. 5 minutes.’</I>

“Max?” Tess reached out and touched his arm.

“Huh?” Max pulled away from her touch. “Right, whatever.” He shut his locker door. “I-uh-I’m going to go to class. I probably missed a lot while I was gone, and I need to start catching up.” He walked away from them.

Maria immediately brought the group over to Michael. “Good morning, Spaceboy.” She hugged him.

“How are you, Liz? Did you enjoy Covington?” Tess asked, proud of herself for being civil.

“It was fine.” Liz forced herself to look nervous around the girl.

“Max was telling me all about what a good time he had,” she said confidently. “He said I would love it there.”

“I’m sure you would.” Liz looked around desperate for an out. “You know, I think I’m going to go check with Mr. Seligman about assignments I missed.” She looked at Maria and Kyle. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Liz made her way quickly to the biology labs. She knew she could handle all this; she was strong, and she knew they were doing what was right. But just seeing Tess acting like she belonged to their group, after all she was trying to do to destroy it. It just irked her in ways she couldn’t express.

Max met her at the door to the biology labs and hugged her tightly. “She won’t get away with it, Liz. I promise.”

“I know,” she said. “We can’t let her, Max. It’s just not fair for her to be able to behave like this princess when she’s really trying to destroy us. It’s not fair that she gets to sit there and plot our destruction like we’re idiots while we try to incorporate her into our group. I keep telling myself that I need to feel some kind of guilt for what we’re doing or that it’s all because of Nasedo, but every time I look at Tess, I realize. We are right in doing this. She is just as evil as Nasedo, and they must be stopped.” Liz said quickly trying to get all the words out. “And it’s not just for our people who are coming here to meet us, Max. It’s for everyone because with as much power as Tess has, no one is safe when she’s allowed to plot and plan. No one.” She looked up at him and met his eyes.

He didn’t have an answer for any of that. He knew it was all true. All he could do was hold her tighter for a second before they had to go face their classes.

<center>***</center>

AN: A new part! and so soon! explanation: i went to my alma mater and sat in the stairwell of my favorite building where the beginnings of Dial up were written...and voila... 5 pages flew from my fingers. i might try this again soon! it was fun!

And for record's sake, I informed *YOU* about this post before I even wrote this note. hehehe.

*hugs*
Jennifer

<center>~*~Part 50~*~</center>

Isabel walked down the hall towards the cafeteria with Alex right next to her. “I guess it’s time for you to meet my friends, Jack,” she smiled.

“Including the evil she bitch?” He teased.

“Of course.” Isabel whispered. “Just remember that you have to act somewhat mysterious, but you also have to drop some serious hints.”

“I know, Isabel,” he slyly grabbed her hand as they made their way through the crowds. “We’re gonna be all right, Is,” he whispered.

She squeezed his hand tightly for a second before dropping it as they reached the cafeteria doors. “I know.”

Isabel and Alex got some of the school’s not so terrible pizza and then Isabel led him over to her normal lunch table with her friends. Everyone was already there and all of their eyes got big when they saw that she was bringing a stranger to the table.

“Hey, guys,” Isabel set her lunch tray down next to Michael’s. Jackson set his down next to hers. “This is a new student I’m showing around today. Jackson Taylor, I’d like you to meet my brother, Max, and our friends Michael, Maria, Tess, Kyle and Liz,” she pointed each person out. “Jack has just transferred here from Las Cruces.”

“Nice to meet you,” he smiled. Alex could play nervous.

“Welcome to West Roswell,” Maria said cheerfully. She looked at Michael with eyes that said, ‘What the hell is Isabel doing bring a stranger around?’ She knew her role and she needed to act like she was scared.

Michael looked him over slowly. “Why’d you leave Las Cruces?”

“Michael—“ Isabel said quickly. “Don’t be so rude!”

“It’s okay, Isabel,” Jackson shrugged. “It’s pretty expensive to live in Las Cruces,” he explained. “And as I’m an emancipated minor, making it on my own is even tougher. Rent and utilities are a lot cheaper here.”

Michael nodded. “True enough.”

“Why did you get emancipated?” Tess asked. She could not take her eyes off of this Jackson. Something inside her was telling her to be cautious.

“Well, let’s just say that I never did get along with my foster parents very well.”

“Foster parents?”

Isabel held her breath. She knew they’d been taking a risk by making Jack’s story so similar to Michael’s. She touched Alex’s leg beneath the table. She needed the comfort of just touching him for a second.

Jack looked at Tess. “Yeah. My birth parents just left me in state’s custody when I was about 5—“

“Oh, Jack,” Liz said quickly. “I’m so sorry. We don’t need to remind you of all these horrible memories!”

Max looked at Isabel with a serious expression on his face. Who the hell was this guy?

“Oh, it’s okay,” Jack said quickly. “Whoever my parents were, I don’t even remember them.”

Michael, Isabel, and Max kept staring at each other with serious expressions on their faces. Tess kept switching her gaze between Max and Jack.

“Did I say something wrong?” Jack looked around. “I’m fine with the terms of my past, guys. You don’t have to feel uncomfortable.”

Isabel smiled as if recovering from her shock. “Okay. It’s just—we don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, Jack. It’s your first day here and we have you talking about such sad things.”

“It’s perfectly fine,” Jack smiled and opened his milk. He started to eat some of the pizza. After one bite, he put the pizza down. “Tess, an you hand me the Tabasco sauce please?”

“Tabasco?” There was a shaky tone to Tess’ voice.

“Yeah. This pizza definitely needs something…spicy,” he smiled easily.

“Uh-sure.” Tess handed him the half empty bottle. She turned to stare at Max.

Max met Tess’ eyes and saw the fear in them. He just shrugged.

<I> ‘I’d say part one of our plan is a success,’ Michael whispered.

‘Agreed,’ Liz said.</I>

<center>***</center>

“Isabel, who the hell is he?” Michael asked at the emergency meeting they were having after school at his apartment.

“I don’t know! Mr. Hardison just called me to his office this morning and told me to show him around. I had no clue about anything else.”

“Well, what did you talk about all day?”

“Normal stuff. His classes, how much Roswell was different from Las Cruces.” Isabel shrugged. “I just thought he was a normal guy, you know.”

“Did you get any vibes from him?” Maria asked.

“Vibes?” Isabel looked at her with disbelief in her eyes.

“You know, the vibes that said he was an alien?”

“Maria, we do not get vibes,” Tess said curtly.

“Well, whoever was in control of this whole experiment thing realy screwed up in my opinion. I mean, how else ar eyou supposed to know if someone else is an alien if you don’t get vibes?” Maria started pacing. She was doing her best to act like the old, spastic Maria for Tess’ benefit. It’d never taken so much effort before. “I mean, how else are you supposed to recognize others like you?” She was pretty sure she had already asked that question, but it couldn’t be helped now. “Spunky hair? Soulful eyes? Difficulties fitting in the normal social schema?” She looked at Isabel and Max. “How did you recognize Michael when you hadn’t seen him in years? You said you recognized him from the minute you saw him at school. How?”

“I don’t know. We just knew it was him,” Max said.

“Well, that’s what I’m talking about: vibes. What do you just know about this Jack guy?”

Max, Isabel, and Michael were silent as if they were concentrating. Michael’s face had a serious look on it, like he was on the border of understanding something.

Tess spoke up. “Nothing. I feel absolutely nothing about him.”

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

“I mean, that there is no way he is one of us.”

“How do you know?” Maria asked.

“Well, for one, there were only four pods on the ship.”

“Tess, there were 8,” Michael pointed out.

“And the other four were exact replicas of us, Michael.” She pointed out. “Besides, Nasedo taught me how to pay attention to this kind of stuff. I mean, that’s how we found you. I just knew who you were from the very first instant I saw you. And I knew you were here almost as soon as I entered the city limits. I could feel that there were others like me here.”

“Then what about Jack?” Kyle asked.

She looked at him like she was tired of hearing the question. “I told you. I felt absolutely nothing.”

“But there are too many factors for this to be a coincidence,” Liz finally spoke up from her corner of the room. “I mean, he was abandoned when he was 5. He then stayed in foster care for at least 11 years until he became emancipated. There’s supposed to be a time limit on staying in foster care, isn’t there? I mean, don’t they try to reunite families within 2 years or push for adoption? Why didn’t Jack ever get adopted?”

“He could have been like me and refused to be adopted,” Michael said.

“Or his foster parents could have just enjoyed the monthly check,” Tess pointed out quickly.

“He’s obviously smart. He’s in all of Isabel’s advanced placement classes.”

“Humans can be in those classes, too,” Tess said smugly. “You’re in most of them, Liz.”

Liz laughed thinking about how Tess had made her point by talking about her. She continued talking as if Tess had never interrupted her. “He came to Roswell. There has to be a reason for why a young, free man would choose to finish high school in the alien capitol of the world. And cheap rent does not make up for the lacking social opportunities here.”

“Maybe he visited here before. Or maybe he heard about the town because he is an alien enthusiast. Who knows?”

“And there was the whole incident with the Tabasco sauce,” Liz concluded. “I don’t care how nasty the pizza at school is. I’ve never seen anyone ever solve that problem by dashing some Tabasco on it other than aliens.”

“What’s your point, Liz?” Max tried to sound like he didn’t care about her more than his next breath.

“I think we have to at least consider that Jack is another alien,” she said firmly.

“Liz—“

“There is no way, Max!” Tess interrupted. “There is absolutely no way that there is another alien—like us—here. Nasedo would have known! He would have told me.”

“Maybe Nasedo didn’t know because it happened after your ship left or whatever,” Liz theorized. “How do we know that there aren’t thousands of aliens walking around here? Maybe the mother ship or whatever is coming here.”

“Mother ship?” Michael had to force himself to say that with scorn and not laugh as hard as he wanted to.

“I don’t know what else to call it, Michael. Maybe your people sent colonists after you or something.”

“No,” Tess denied. “We were sent here by our people to grow up and then go home so we can save them. They wouldn’t have sent colonists; they are depending on us to fulfill our destinies.”

“Then how do you explain all the coincidences Liz pointed out?” Maria asked. “I mean, it’s a lot to swallow without jumping to some conclusions.”

“Well, I think you’re just jumping to the wrong conclusions.”

“And what should we conclude, Tess?” Isabel asked.

“That Jack is our enemy.”

“No way!” Isabel said. “I spent all day with him, Tess. He is not our enemy.”

“How do you know, Isabel? He’s not going to come right out and say that he’s evil and has been sent here to kill us.”

“Tes,” Max said quickly. No matter what this plan said, she was not going to talk to Isabel like that.

“Max, I know you don’t want to think about this. You never want to deal with the truth of our destinies. None of you do,” Tess looked around the room. “This person could be a threat to all our lives. We need to take care of him.”

“Take care of him?” Michael asked quickly.

“Obviously.”

“Whoa,” Kyle stood up. “I can assume what you mean by take care of him, and I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

“That’s because your life isn’t in danger,” Tess said.

“You don’t know for sure that your life is in danger, either. What if all those coincidences are just coincidental? Lots of people use Tabasco sauce. And I’m sure there are lots of kids out there that grew up in the foster care system. As for moving to Roswell, maybe he just did it by accident or chance or whatever. We have no proof that this guy is an alien. And the odds that he is an alien currently stand somewhere around 6 billion to 4.”

“So we get proof,” Max said carefully not looking at Kyle. He was supposed to be mad at him. “Either way, I think it’s a good idea to learn more about Jackson Taylor.”

“Well, he’s in all of my classes,” Isabel said. “I can watch him then. And I promised him I’d show him around town later on this afternoon.”

“Is, maybe you shouldn’t be alone with him,” Michael said. “I mean, just in case—“

“I’ll be fine alone with Jackson. I can handle myself just as well as you guys,” she said defiantly.

“Okay,” Max said. “But tonight, I want you to dream walk him. See what goes on in his subconscious.”

Isabel nodded. “All right.”

“Can we get access to Jackson’s school records?” Liz asked. “They would probably tell us a lot.”

Michael nodded. “I can break into the school tonight and check.”

Maria looked at her boyfriend. “Michael, you cannot just break into the school! What if you get caught? You’ll never be able to graduate with the rest of us!”

“It’s the only way, Maria.”

She sighed. “I wish Alex were here. He’d know how to hack into the school’s system.”

Isabel looked at the ground, knowing that if she didn’t, she would send death rays out of her eyes at Tess.

“Isabel, let us know where he lives, and I’ll stake out his apartment tonight,” Max said.

“Max, you can’t do that alone!” Tess insisted. “I’ll sit with you.”

“Tess, the sheriff will not let you stay out all night.”

“Sure he will if I tell him it’s for a good cause,” Tess said. “Kyle will cover for me.” She smiled.

Kyle looked at her incredulously before turning away and looking at Liz. He could not believe how easy it was for her to use people without even asking.

“Other than this, from now on, when you see Jackson Taylor, keep an eye on him. Never know when we might discover something about him.” Max looked at Liz. He’d planned some alone time for them while he watched the apartment, but now if Tess was there…that alone time would be torture.

<I> Liz laughed in his head. ‘I’ll keep you company too.’

‘So not the same, Liz.’ </I>

AN: Holy Mother of God! Not only have I updated Xan in the past 2 days, but NOW I update Dial Up???? What in the world is wrong with me?????? I blame the new laptop for this. Yay!

I hope you enjoy. I loved writing this again.
Jenn

<center>~*~Part 51~*~</center>

Isabel followed Alex into the apartment. The sheriff had spent the day bringing Alex’s laptop and some clothes over to the apartment. It was already furnished by its previous occupants.

“Home sweet home,” Alex grinned.

“Not for long, Alex. I promise. Soon everything will go back to normal, back to the way it should be.”

“I know, Isabel. Until then I’m just happy to be home--safe, with you. That’s all that matters.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s see if the Sheriff provided us with any sustenance.” He kissed her quickly.

She smiled. “We have to be careful, Alex. Tess and Max will be outside watching us soon.”

“But they’re not there yet.” He grinned evilly.

She laughed. “So have you always had a one-track mind?”

“Well, honestly, yes,” he teased. “It’s just now that I’ve been able to share this brilliance.”

Isabel laughed and pulled away from him behind the kitchen door. She kissed him quickly. “Max is taking position, and Tess is right behind him. That will have to be all for now.”

“Aah, but for now is the only part of that sentence that matters to me.”

She smiled. “Let’s make some snacks and then pretend to study, Jackson.”

“All right.” He moved around the kitchen. He stood in front of the refrigerator door. “Why don’t we make some alien presto chango happen here? Give Tess a bird’s eye view, but Max can deny seeing it.”

Isabel nodded. “All right.” She walked away from the kitchen so that Max and Tess wouldn’t be able to see her.



Tess looked over at Max as he stared diligently into the apartment. They were positioned on the roof of the apartment building next door.

“I still don’t like that Isabel is in there alone,” Tess said. “She’s not strong enough to protect herself against Alex let alone someone who may or may not be an alien enemy.”

“Tess, Isabel knows what she is doing. And she is more than strong enough to defend herself against whatever she faces.”

“No, Max, she’s really not. Yes, she is good at dream-walks, but she has had no training in defense. I’ve offered it to her so many times but she just refuses to take advantage of what I can offer. I don’t understand and I honestly think she’s just being too stubborn for her own good, but I can’t force her to do anything. I can’t force any of you to do what’s in our best interest for the future. I’ve finally accepted that.” She paused. “Thankfully, you’re finally starting to accept what is best. Now if we could only convince Michael and Isabel.”

“Tess, here’s one thing I know about my brother and sister. You cannot convince them of anything they don’t already want.”

“They should want this, though, Max,” she said vehemently. “They were always so interested in learning about their roots until they got involved with Maria and Alex and Kyle and Liz. Now they act like it doesn’t matter.”

“Tess--” He looked at her sternly.

“Fine. I’ll stop talking about this.”

“Thank you.”

Tess stared into the apartment. “It looks like he’s going to make something to eat.”

Max nodded.

‘Max, we need you to suddenly become too busy to pay attention for a few minutes. It’s time to give Tess more evidence.’

Max pulled his backpack up onto his lap. “That reminds me that I’m actually kind of hungry. I know I had a candy bar in here the other day. I bought it at the store at Covington.”

“Yeah, with all the excitement today, I never really asked how things went at that school.”

“It was wonderful, Tess. I could really see myself going to Covington in a couple years. Their biology program is incredible and the student body just seems so learning oriented.” Max continued talking as he searched through his backpack. He figured Tess would stop paying attention if the words were boring enough. “There was a lab--”

Tess stopped paying attention to what Max was saying. Hearing about preparing for a college education that would never be was pretty morbid, in her opinion. She focused on Jackson. It looked like he was making nachos. She watched as he pulled a bag of chips out of the cupboard and reached in for a bowl to mix up the cheese sauce. Tess watched as the bowl slipped out of Jackson’s hand and fell to the floor. She watched as the shards of glass bounced off the floor.

She leaned forward and watched as Jackson waved his hand over the glass and then picked up the bowl fully in tact.

“Max, did you see that?” She exclaimed.

“See what?” He looked up from his backpack.

“Jackson just manipulated a broken bowl! He is an alien!”

“Tess, are you certain it was broken? Maybe it was plastic and he just dropped it on the floor?”

She stared at him. “Max, I know what I saw. He just dropped a glass bowl and after he ran his hand over it, he fixed it. It’s good as new.” She stood up. “We need to warn Isabel, Max. Jackson Taylor is an alien.” She started walking away from Max.

“Tess, wait!” Max jumped up. “You can’t just go over there. If he is an alien, and I’m still not sure, he’ll figure something is up if we show up with dire warnings for Isabel.”

“So you want to just leave her in there with an alien?” Tess stressed alien.

“I think we need to have faith in Isabel, Tess. Like I told you before, she can take care of herself. Besides, we’re right out here, watching. Nothing will happen.”

‘Nothing will happen is right,’ Liz said.

‘Aww,’ Max laughed. ‘Well, if you were here, something would definitely happen.’

‘You hope,’ she teased.

‘I have faith in my power of convincing you.’

Liz laughed.

“Does Isabel have a cell phone with her? We can call and let her know what I’ve seen.”

“I don’t know,” Max shrugged. “Let’s just keep watching what’s going on.”

‘Max, I’m afraid to leave Alex alone tonight. What if Tess does something after we leave?’

‘Is, you can’t spend the night--”

‘I can if I just randomly fall asleep here.’

‘Tess won’t allow you to fall asleep there. You’ve heard her.’ Max thought for a second. ‘Call Kyle. Tell him to have the Sheriff come here and make Tess go home for some reason.’

‘Good idea, Max! Thank you!’



“Sheriff, I need you to come over here and make Tess come home with you.”

“Isabel, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s just that we’ve baited Tess a bit tonight and now I’m afraid that she might come after Alex. So if you can take her home and keep her there, I can stay here with Alex tonight.”

“I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Hopefully I’ll have a suitable excuse by then.”

“Thank you, Sheriff.”

Isabel looked at Alex.

“Everything taken care of?”

“Yup.”

“Think there’s any other way to freak out Tess?”

“I think we’ve done enough for tonight,” Isabel smiled. “Let’s just go watch a movie or something.”

“Do we get to cuddle on the couch?”

“After I sterilize it...and after Tess leaves, absolutely.”

He grinned. “Something to look forward to.”



“Sheriff, what are you doing here?” Max did his best to look surprised.

“Kids, I need you to head on home.”

“What? Why?” Tess exclaimed. “Sheriff, this is serious--”

“I know, but the city’s curfew is also serious, Tess, and I’ve had two different officers call me already tonight about seeing you on top of this building.”

“Sheriff, can’t you tell them to leave us alone?”

“No, I can’t. I want to cover for you, but I can’t do much more without being questioned by everyone about my behavior. I’ve already been questioned for letting you kids slide with so much, and since I’m not on duty tonight, we have to go by what the deputies say.” The Sheriff looked across the way into the windows. “How are things going?”

“Sheriff, we need to stay here. I know something is going on, and if we leave, Isabel will be alone with this guy--who I know is an alien,” Tess stressed. “And I know he could hurt her!”

The Sheriff looked between Max and Tess and the window. “Tess, you’re coming with me. Max, go get Isabel from the apartment and head straight home.”

Max nodded.

“But Sheriff, Jackson Taylor is an alien! We need to take care of him. We can’t just let him run around town. Who knows what will happen or what he will do?”

“Tess, we can’t do anything to him--”

“Yes, we can! We can go in there and blast him and not have to worry about him anymore.”

“Tess, we cannot do that! We don’t know for sure that he is an alien, and even if he is, we don’t know that he’s here to hurt us!”

“Max, there are no other good aliens on this planet. Nasedo would have told me!” She insisted.

Max looked at her. “Tess, in my experience, Nasedo only told us exactly what he wanted us to know--to make what he wanted to happen happened. So how do we know that if Jackson is an alien, he isn’t here to help us? Maybe he knows more about what’s going on on our home planet or whatever. Maybe he can tell us what we’re really supposed to be doing here!”

“We know what we are really supposed to be doing already, Max. Both Nasedo and I have told you. We’re just waiting for you to accept it, remember?”

The Sheriff decided it was time to intervene. “Okay, that’s enough, kids. Tess, you’re coming with me. Max, go get your sister. Call me when you get home.”

Max nodded. “Okay, Sheriff. Thanks for coming.” He zipped up his backpack and stood up.

The Sheriff led Tess down to his car. Max followed and walked into the apartment building. He watched as they drove away before walking up to Alex’s apartment. He knocked on the door and then let himself in.

He found Isabel and Alex making out on the couch. “Okay. I didn’t need to see that.” He turned around and faced the door.

‘Now you know how she feels when she walks in on us,’ Liz chided.

‘Still, Liz, there are some things a brother just should not see.’

“What’s up, Max?” Alex asked.

Max turned around and faced him. “Tess and I are gone for the night. Is, be sure to double lock the door before you go to sleep. Tess is still suspicious about you, but the Sheriff is going to keep an eye on her tonight. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Max,” Isabel said. “Tell Mom and Dad I’m staying at Maria’s?”

“I will eventually. I need to go see Liz.”

She nodded. “Tell her we say good night.”

Max smiled and left the apartment.

<center>***</center>

AN: This is probably just fluff but I felt like writing...and this came out. Thanks for reading!

<center>~*~Part 52~*~</center>

Max looked around the street again before he climbed the ladder to Liz’s balcony. She was waiting for him there. When he climbed over the balcony, he saw her lying on the lounge chair with a blanket pulled up around her all the way to the neck. She looked so peaceful. He almost hated to wake her up, but he knew she would be upset if he didn’t.

He curved his palm to cup her cheek. “Liz?” He whispered. His thumb stroked her cheek.

Her head moved up into his hand and she smiled. “Hi,” she murmured with sleep still in her voice.

“I’m sorry I woke you.”

She grinned and rolled over on her side. “I’m not. I like that you woke me up. I was worried about you.”

“You knew I was fine,” he smiled.

“But it’s not the same till I see you.” She sat up so she was sitting cross legged on the chair. “Everyone ok?”

“Yeah, for now.” He looked down.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are we doing the right thing, Liz?” He met her eyes. “I mean, I know we have to get rid of Tess and Nasedo, but are we doing it the right way? I know this is the best thing we could come up with but are we doing enough to keep everyone safe?”

“Max--”

“Kyle and the Sheriff are in a house with Tess alone! Who knows what Tess could do if she knew what we were planning? What about Maria and Alex? Can we really be sure that they’ll be safe? Can one of us be with them at all times? Are we covering all our bases?”

“Max--”

“I just don’t want to lose--”

“Max, calm down. We’re fine, all of us are fine. Michael is staying with Maria, no matter what her mother says. And Isabel is staying with Alex tonight. And Kyle and the Sheriff can take care of themselves. Tess doesn’t know what’s going on--”

“How can we know that for sure, Liz?”

She sighed. “Max, we don’t know anything for sure anymore. We can’t. But when you think about it, we haven’t really been absolutely sure of anything since all of this started, since you healed me. We’ve learned how to live with the uncertainty.”

He smiled. “That’s not true, Liz. I’ve always been absolutely sure about you.”

She grinned. “And you’ve not been wrong yet, have you?”

“Never.”

She kissed him. “How long are you going to stay tonight?”

“Until my parents call my cell phone.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she smiled.

<center>***</center>

Alex and Isabel curled up on the bed in the apartment. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her neck.

“I can’t believe we get to be like this finally.”

“Me, either,” she whispered. “Do you think we’re safe, Alex?”

“Of course.”

“Not just right now, but in general? Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”

“I do, Isabel. Stop worrying--”

“I have to worry, Alex. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Nothing will, Isabel. But you can’t be the only one to make sure of that. I can take care of myself, too. And we have a group of friends who will support us. I trust them, and more importantly, I trust us, Is. Nothing will happen to me.”

“Don’t say that, Alex!”

“What--”

“In the movies, whenever anyone says ‘nothing will happen to me’, that’s when something happens to them. Let’s not jinx this.”

Alex laughed. “No jinxing allowed. Let’s just get some rest, okay?”

“That I can do.” She snuggled into him. She turned her head and kissed him. “Good night, Alex.”

“Night, Is.”

<center>***</center>

“Spaceboy.” Maria lifted her window up to let him in.

“Is your mom still up?”

“No, I heard her shut her door and her breathing is constant. I think she’s been out for at least 30 minutes.”

“Good.” Michael went over to her bedroom door and sealed it shut. Then he went to each of her windows and sealed those as well.

“Are Alex and Isabel okay?”

He nodded. “Tess is back at the Valenti’s. Alex and Isabel are at his apartment. Max is undoubtedly with Liz. And I’m here now.”

Maria hugged him. “Good.” She kissed him and he started backing her towards the bed. She smiled. She loved that he had such a one track mind.

<center>***</center>