Roswell Fanatics

You guys make me feel so special with your unflagging support. But please don't sweat it. burmafrd has a right to his/her opinion. I don't expect my writing will please everyone and I'm okay with that.

Now onto business. You guys are going to kick me for this part. So I'm going to post really quick and run.



Chapter 41

Agent Aaron Kesley exited the Secretary of Defense’s office after receiving the worst ass chewing of his life. In less than an hour all the tentative arrangements that had been established between Max Evans and his people had been shattered. Now Kesley was charged with getting the situation under control and quickly. His first order of business after making damned sure Lieutenant William Pierce paid for his misconduct that morning was to track down Max Evans and bring him back into federal custody.

Kesley massaged his aching temples, recognizing with a heavy heart, that it would be a long day indeed.

********************

“Does he have to stare at us like that?” David asked crossly, throwing down his bagel in disgust, “I can’t eat with him looking at me.”

Isabel merely chuckled over his disgruntled statement, never even glancing up from her Art Appreciation textbook. On a spur of the moment decision, she and David had decided to have lunch together at a little café downtown and, as usual, Kadon had followed. He was seated nearby, staring them down with his customary, unwavering stare. Conversely, though, Isabel wasn’t as bothered by the situation as she usually was.

Four days before she had been livid with Max for sending Kadon to her but now Isabel was wondering if she’d been too hasty in her ire. Her change in attitude was perhaps due to the fact that Isabel had come to view Kadon’s presence as more of a blessing now than a curse. He kept her from doing something she might end up regretting…like falling in love with David McKee.

The very idea was ludicrous. They had absolutely nothing in common besides an insatiable love for fashion. Beyond that they were night and day. He was a human. She was an alien. He was rich. She was middle class. He was…a guy. She was a girl. Isabel heaved an internal sigh. She was reaching and she knew it. The truth be known she was already half infatuated with David McKee already. Kadon’s uncomfortable presence merely prevented her from acting on that infatuation. But even that was becoming less and less a deterrent as the days progressed.

For the first time in a long while Isabel felt free to feel again. After encasing herself in an emotional cocoon for so many months her feelings were finally starting to bubble forth in a tumult. Isabel Evans was finally opening her heart to love’s possibility again and the most likely candidate for winning her heart was sitting right across from her, slyly licking cream cheese off his fingers and completely oblivious.

But Isabel wasn’t oblivious. She was acutely aware of every sensation David awakened within her. Surprisingly, David accepted and appreciated for what she was. She could be spoiled and selfish and…alien and David could still look at her as if she were some rare treasure, some amazingly divine creature like none he’d ever known. He liked her much the way Alex had, with every imperfection and little idiosyncrasies that made her Isabel. Even after seeing her at her worst he remained eager to be her friend. Isabel became so caught up in marveling over what a remarkable human being he was that she didn’t realize she was falling for him until she was halfway there.

“Is he hungry, do you think?” David wondered tentatively, “Maybe I should buy him a croissant or something.”

“He’s fine,” Isabel said.

David appeared torn. “It seems rude not to offer him something.”

Isabel leveled him with an eye-rolling grin. “David, will you please stop obsessing!” she cried in exasperation, “If he was hungry he’d say so.”

“I can’t help it,” he yelped in a whisper, “He makes me nervous.”

“Don’t worry yourself over it,” she returned glibly, “Once he gets used to you I’m sure you both will become fast friends.”

“Or he’ll take me into a dark alley somewhere and off me,” David countered dryly. He didn’t miss the happy gleam that came to Kadon’s eyes with that suggestion. “I’m telling you he hates me, Isabel,” he insisted.

“He does not hate you,” she countered, “He’s just being loyal.”

“Oh well excuse me,” David replied sardonically, “Aren’t we feeling magnanimous today about the alien bodyguard? I suppose this means you’re over your resentment now and regretting the tongue-lashing you gave your brother?”

“I might have been a bit harsh with my words to Max the other day,” Isabel replied in concession, “But that doesn’t negate the fact that he was totally highhanded in sending Kadon out here without talking to me first. I’m not some errant child, you know.”

Despite her indifferent demeanor Isabel was feeling a crushing load over how she had been treating Max lately, but especially over their last phone conversation. All this time she had been so busy resenting him for the changes in her life that she hadn’t stopped to think about the changes in his. This morning it hit her with the force of a battering ram.

Her brother was in prison. Maybe not in the traditional sense but his civil rights were still being managed. He was stuck in a little apartment, unable to even walk the grounds without a guard escorting him. Max couldn’t even go to the store or a fast food restaurant if he wanted. He wasn’t allowed to step outside the grounds at all.

Yet in all that time Max had never complained. He had never felt sorry for himself. Whenever Isabel had spoken to him his thoughts had always been centered on her well-being and the safety of their people. And how had she repaid his compassion and loyalty? By avoiding his calls for the last three days. By treating him like shit on the occasion she did speak to him.

The realization made Isabel feel like a complete bitch. With her self-pitying blinders finally off Isabel had been filled with an aching need to atone. In fact, she had been so riddled with remorse that she had called Max immediately after her first class was done but she had only managed to get his voice mail. Isabel supposed it was now his turn to avoid her calls.

“You feel like a horse’s ass, don’t you?” David queried, easily reading Isabel’s emotions as they danced across her face.

She flicked a bagel crumb at him. “I hate it when you act like a cheeky bastard.”

“Oh, excuse me, Queen Amidala,” he retorted mockingly, “I’m only a cheeky bastard when I’m telling you the truth.”

Once more Isabel rolled her eyes in response but this time she deftly changed the subject as well. It was rather intense and entirely disconcerting the way David could read her sometimes. “Technically I’m a princess,” she informed David smugly, “Liz is the one who will be queen…once she and Max get married at least.” She lifted her eyebrows with an air of superiority. “I did my research.”

“Oh, I get it,” David said with a knowing grin, “You get the title but none of the responsibility.”

“I think it works out nicely,” she replied impishly.

“Some monarch you are,” David groused, “I pity your people.” He was smacked in the forehead with another flying bagel crumb for his trouble. Yet, try as he might, David couldn’t strip the ridiculous grin of contentment from his face. As much as he and Isabel traded insults David couldn’t help but believe there was genuine affection behind it all, at least, that was definitely the case on his end.

Still, David was surprised to learn that he liked spending time with the Ice Princess though he didn’t find her nearly as frosty as others did. He learned very quickly that Isabel used her icy veneer as protective armor to guard her fragile heart. She had already endured so pain with the premature death of her boyfriend and Isabel Evans was firmly determined never to experience that sort of agony again. She was very reluctant to make herself vulnerable. Which was the reason it amazed and humbled David that she was willing to let him breach her armor and see the real Isabel underneath. And the more he saw…the more he liked.

“You know, I was thinking—,”

“Careful,” Isabel warned laughingly, “You might hurt something vital.”

“Snarky bitch,” David cast out affectionately, “Can you keep quiet long enough for me to get it out?”

Isabel primly linked her hands together and rested her chin atop them. “Go on,” she invited smoothly, “You have my undivided attention.”

“We should go out together,” David rushed suddenly.

Isabel didn’t rear back with appalled astonishment though she did blink at him quite rapidly. “I’m sorry,” she replied with a confused shake of her head, “But isn’t that what we’re doing now?”

“No, I mean without Lurch here tagging along,” David clarified dryly, “I can hardly digest when he’s around.” Not fully understanding the implication behind David’s slur but knowing he had been insulted, Kadon emitted a low, threatening growl. David shuddered with intimidation. “Yeah…I’m definitely getting a hate vibe from him.”

“Don’t take it personal,” Isabel advised him, “My people have peculiar ideas about who I should and should not be with.”

“You mean they disapprove of me because I’m human?”

“No,” Isabel expounded, “They disapprove of you because you’re not Michael. And especially Kadon. Michael is his brother after all.”

“Okay,” David replied blankly, “What does Michael have to do with it?” He had only heard bits and snatches about the man though, if Kadon was to be any indication, Michael Guerin was moderately good-looking. That knowledge alone was enough to create a mild wave of jealousy within David. Isabel’s next words didn’t improve the situation.

“On Antar…in our first life…we were engaged,” she explained in a stammer.

“Hmm…in your first life,” David parroted calmly, “Living twice…duly noted.” Isabel had to smile at his reaction. It was one of the things she so adored about him. No matter what new revelation she laid on him, no matter how convoluted, David never lost his composure. There hadn’t been one single disclosure about her that had made him wince. “And what about in this life,” he wondered casually, “Still engaged?”

“Not at all,” Isabel replied, “Michael is head over heels for Maria. Besides that, he’s like my brother. The ick factor would be off the scales.”

“So we’ve established that you don’t have feelings for Michael and never will,” David concluded, “What about going out with me then?” Kadon growled once more and David darted a fearful glance in his direction. “You know if I didn’t know better I’d think you were lying to me about his not understanding English very well.”

Biting her lip to keep from laughing aloud, Isabel said, “Kadon, heel. Be a good cousin and get me a refill on Coke.” As Kadon rose to sweep up her cup she tacked on sweetly, “And bring back a wedge of lemon, too, please.”

“You really are a princess,” David remarked sardonically when they were alone.

Isabel pushed her sunglasses onto the tip of her nose and leveled him with a smug smile. “And that’s why you like me. Now then,” she went on, leaning closer, “I believe you were in the middle of asking me out…”

“Isabel Evans?”

Both Isabel and David jerked upright when the suited gentleman approached their table. Knowing that Kadon would rip the guy a new one for daring to engage the princess in conversation David thought he might do the guy a favor. “Look, she doesn’t do interviews,” he told the stranger, “And if her cousin over there,” he nodded over to the beverage station where Kadon was diligently collecting lemons for Isabel’s Coke, “If he sees you…well let’s just say the introduction won’t be pleasant. Take a hike while you still have the full use of your legs.”

“I’m not a reporter,” the man replied officially, reaching into his jacket pocket to produce his badge, “I’m Special Agent Jason Conrad. I need to ask Ms. Evans a few questions.”

By now Kadon had made it back to their table and his stance became downright menacing. He set aside the beverage, his fingertips glowing. Isabel held out a hand to keep him at bay. “It’s alright, Kadon. He won’t be staying long,” she soothed before addressing Agent Conrad directly. “I have nothing to say to you people,” she replied coldly, “You have my brother in custody. That should be enough for you already.”

“I’m afraid your brother escaped from our facilities this morning, Ms. Evans,” Conrad informed her direly, “He and several of his friends are responsible for the deaths of at least six soldiers…maybe more.”

“Escaped! Deaths?” Isabel cried before belatedly remembering to school her features, “No way. This has to be a setup. My brother is no killer.”

“I’m giving you the facts, Ms. Evans.”

“Facts! Yeah right,” Isabel snorted, “It’s funny that you people should label it as escape. We were always told that we shouldn’t think of it as a prison. It makes me wonder what you were doing to my brother to make him feel like he had to kill to get out of it.”

Agent Conrad ignored her pointed comment. “Have you heard from your brother, maam?”

“What makes you think I would tell you about it even if I had?” Isabel challenged softly.

“Aiding and abetting a fugitive is a federal crime, Ms. Evans. You’d do well to remember that,” Agent Conrad warned. He produced a small white card and laid it on the table. “We want to bring your brother in safely. Please call us if you hear from him.”

As the agent walked away Isabel tossed a horrified glance at David. “Oh my God,” she uttered, “I’ve got to call my parents!”

On his way back to his shiny, government issued Crown Victoria, Agent Conrad flicked open his cell phone and put in a call to his superiors. “His sister’s a wash, sir,” he informed Kesley, “She didn’t even know he was missing until I said something.”

“Put a tail on her anyway,” Kesley ordered, “Evans will contact her. The quicker we get this settled…the cleaner it will be.”



AN: Oh, I forgot to mention...I've finished! I'm done. Whoo-hoo! Stacie's checking everything over for grammatical errors and plot inconsistencies but the first draft is finito! Yay me!

I've never been any good at building suspense so here it is.

Chapter 42

“I can’t stand this not knowing!” Amy DeLuca cried hysterically, pacing the scuffed floor of the Crashdown café. “We haven’t heard anything for hours!” She refused the steaming cup of coffee that Nancy attempted to press into her hands with an agitated wave. “That’s not going to help,” she snapped in irritation, “I don’t need a drink! I need to know what’s happening with my daughter!”

The parents had all congregated together at the Crashdown to commiserate one another and agonize over what had possibly become of their children. Razba hung out quietly in a nearby corner, listening closely to the proceedings but adding nothing. Already it had been four hours since the dramatic events unfolded at the heretofore-mythical Area 51 military base and the parents still knew next to nothing. The military and federal government had placed a gag order on everyone involved. Not even the press had gotten wind of what had happened. Daily life was just beginning to calm down somewhat and the last thing anyone wanted was to stir up contentions again. Consequently, the parents were left in the dark about much of that morning’s events.

“Eight dead,” Amy muttered, “Our kids are responsible for eight deaths.”

“So they say,” Nancy mumbled sardonically.

“Why would they lie?” Amy queried hysterically, “I think such allegations could be disproved easily enough! Most likely it’s true then.”

“I’m sure it would have never come to that if the kids had been given a choice,” Philip murmured stiffly.

“I agree with Philip,” Jeff chimed in, “I know my daughter. She would have never attacked anyone unless she felt she had to.”

Amy gaped at them both. “I can’t believe that you’re standing there justifying murder,” she cried, “Because that’s what it is, Jeff! That’s what the hell it is!”

“That’s not what it is, Amy,” Jim intervened, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “Our kids are not cold-blooded killers! What happened this morning was self-defense most likely but most definitely not murder.”

With a narrowed glare, Amy brusquely shook off his touch. “Don’t you dare try to placate me!” she spat, “None of this would have ever happened if you’d have told me the truth from the very beginning!”

“And what would you have done, Amy?” Nancy interjected quietly, “Forbidden Maria from ever seeing Michael again? That didn’t work out so well for Jeff and me when we forbade Liz to see Max. She left the house.”

“So we’re supposed to just stand aside and watch them wreck their lives?” Amy queried sardonically, “That’s not much of an alternative, Nancy!”

“I can speak on behalf of both my son and Michael,” Diane added, “They love both your daughters very, very much. I’ve seen the evidence of that with my own eyes. They would both die before they let anything happen to those girls.”

“Then what happened this morning?” Amy cried, “How did all those soldiers end up dead? Why are our kids missing right now?”

“My best guess is that Max tried to leave this morning,” Jim hypothesized, “I completely believe that the federal government never had any intention of releasing him from custody…not if they could help it. They wanted to pin him for Pierce’s murder.”

“Pierce’s murder,” Amy groaned, “Oh God…somebody else is dead?”

“He was a monster. Pure evil,” Diane provided in trembling tones, “He put my son through hell and I’m not sorry he’s dead.”

“D…Did Max…kill this Pierce?” Amy stammered.

“It doesn’t matter how it happened,” Jim intervened softly, “The point is he’s dead and now the feds are looking to charge someone with his murder. In the meantime, the safest thing our kids can do is run fast and run hard. I know Max will contact us once they make it to safety.”

The ringing of a cell phone abruptly shattered the tense silence among the six beleaguered parents. Philip Evans shrank back into a far corner to check the call. “It’s Isabel,” he informed his wife after checking his caller i.d. screen.

He and Diane traded an agonized glance. They had been given strict orders by the feds not to talk about what happened that morning with anyone. Philip was sure that if he violated that order they wouldn’t hesitate to arrest him. Still, the idea of keeping such pertinent information from his daughter was like a stone in his chest. Yet, he didn’t see that he had much choice in the matter. With a heavy sigh of dread, Philip clicked on the phone.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Max was missing?” Isabel demanded the moment her father said hello, “I had to hear it secondhand!”

“How did you know?” Philip asked in dumbfounded surprise, “They told us that the information was classified. We didn’t have permission to discuss it with anyone.”

“An agent was just here a second ago,” Isabel informed him, “He asked me if I’d heard from Max.” Her voice lowered to a trembling whisper as she continued. “He knew exactly where to find me, Dad. It makes me wonder if they’ve been following me this entire time.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, sweetheart,” her father muttered.

“Dad, I’m scared,” Isabel whimpered, “Where’s Max? That agent…I think he said his name was Conrad…he said that Max had killed people. That’s not true…is it?”

“They told us the same thing, too,” Philip confirmed, “But they won’t give us any details as to how it went down. It might just all be a trick. We don’t know but one thing’s for sure…your brother just made it to the top of the FBI’s most wanted list.”

********************

Liz felt hot and dizzy and confined.

They had been traveling in no particular direction for nearly five hours now and without a single stop. True to his word, Michael and Diadne had known the way back. They had literally smelled their way back to the highway. Liz’s scientific mind might have marveled over that had she not been so worried about Max.

Taking the time to tend to Max’s wound properly hadn’t even been an option. Diadne had been their only hope for getting out alive but she didn’t have enough strength to heal Max and orchestrate their escape. The group had been left with a choice: let Diadne heal the bullet wound in Max’s leg or let her camouflage the getaway vehicle. In the end, Diadne had used the last of her waning powers to transform the military jeep into a wide passenger van. They had a much better chance of making it across the state line in a less conspicuous car. Diadne had lost consciousness soon after, her head lolling limply against the back of the seat.

But that still left Max in a precarious position. To slow Max’s considerable blood loss Michael ripped up Max’s pants leg and had tied a makeshift tourniquet over Max’s upper thigh. Liz had used her powers to staunch the bleeding as much as she was able but she felt too drained to make a marked difference. Her effort and the tourniquet provided only temporary relief though. Liz knew they would have to completely heal him soon or else remove the bullet themselves because his wound was likely to become infected. They had little choice but to wait for Diadne to regain her strength.

However, in the meantime, Max’s skin had become hot and dry with fever. His lungs rattled faintly with each breath he took and every so often he would mumble her name in feverish delirium. Liz knew without examination that the beginnings of infection had started to take hold of his body. She could feel the sickness pounding in her own bloodstream. She felt shaky and agitated. Her skin was sticky with perspiration. Where Max’s head lay in her lap her thighs felt hot and clammy. Liz was incredibly close to passing out. Worry and anxiety pounding in her brain, Liz rasped out Maria’s name.

Maria swiveled around in her seat and gasped. Liz looked just as ashen as Max. Her lips were a chalky, bloodless line; her eyes were glassy and ringed with dark bruises of fatigue. “Lizzie, you don’t look so good,” Maria murmured in concern.

“I don’t feel so good. I’m dizzy,” Liz croaked, “And hot. Can you come and switch places with me so I can stretch a little?”

“Are you sure that’s all it is?” Maria fretted as she unsnapped her seatbelt, “You really look sick.”

“I just need a moment,” Liz insisted weakly, gently lifting Max’s head from her lap. And then she screamed.

Kyle swerved the van in reaction, nearly going off the road and causing Maria to careen painfully against the door with a painful yelp.

“What the hell is going on back there?” Michael demanded.

Liz stared down at her bloodied fingers. “It’s Max,” she whispered hoarsely, “He’s bleeding. God, Michael! H…His head is bleeding!” She began sobbing hysterically, “Oh my God! Oh my God!”

Ignoring the fiery ache in her shoulder, Maria crawled closer for a look, grimacing a little at the blood matted Max’s dark hair. Gagging a bit with the disgusting sight, Maria bit down against the urge to be sick and quickly sifted her fingers through Max’s hair, feeling around for the wound. She found nothing. “He’s not hurt, Liz,” Maria whispered.

“But there’s so much blood,” Liz whimpered, “Where is it coming from?”

That’s when Maria glanced down at Liz’s thigh and noted the saturated wetness of Liz’s jeans. “Liz,” she whispered carefully, “I don’t think Max is the one who’s bleeding.” She fixed Liz with incredulous eyes. “It’s you, chica.”

“What’s going on?” Kyle asked anxiously, torn between his desire to stop the van and his instinct to keep going, “What’s with all the screaming? Who’s bleeding?”

For the moment Maria ignored his question and groped over the bloodied dampness of Liz’s thigh, only mildly surprised when she found a neat bullet hole. “God, Liz,” she gagged, “You’ve been shot.”

“No, no,” Liz protested feebly, “I was never shot.”

“What’s going on?” Kyle asked again, his panic evident.

“Liz has been shot,” Maria told them as calmly as she could. In spite of her efforts, all hell broke loose.

“What?” Michael cried. He was already unbuckled out of his seatbelt and climbing towards the back of the van before Maria could elaborate. Helping to ease Max’s limp body from Liz’s lap and into Maria’s arms, Michael bent for closer inspection. His gentle probing found exactly what Maria had moments earlier. He leveled Liz with a sharp look. “Why didn’t you tell anyone you were shot?”

“I…I wasn’t,” Liz argued, her leg throbbing numbly. She closed her eyes in an effort to collect her scattered thoughts. “I was behind your shield, remember?”

“Liz! There’s a bullet hole in your leg,” Michael hissed fiercely, “Didn’t you feel it?”

“Michael, stop it!” Maria admonished quietly, “I don’t think she was shot at all. This is weird but…her would is in the same exact place as Max’s…same leg and everything. It’s like they’re sharing an injury or…or something.”

“That’s impossible,” Michael breathed. But he was staring at the evidence with his own eyes. Their wounds were identical, located in the same exact place, bleeding at the same exact rate. His heart flipped over with renewed panic. “We have to wake Diadne,” he told Maria quietly, “This can’t wait any longer.” As carefully as she could, Maria eased from beneath Max, propping him against the seat so that she could wake Diadne as Michael had instructed.

“Hey, guys!” Kyle called from the front, “Hello? Will someone tell me what the hell is going on? Should I stop?”

“Just keep driving,” Michael ordered, “We’ll take care of it.”

Trembling with the odd turn of events, Michael waved his hand over the blood soaked seat and Liz’s leg, dissipating the blood. When it was clear Michael ripped up her pants leg much the way he’d done Max’s. Her bleeding had slowed considerably, probably due in part to the tourniquet he’d tied on Max’s leg, but there was most definitely a hole in her thigh. “How is this possible?” he mumbled to himself. He glanced up at Liz, who was trembling beneath his gentle touch. “Does it hurt you?” he asked.

“I don’t really feel anything,” Liz whispered, “I’m just tired…incredibly tired.”

“Don’t go to sleep,” Michael urged, “Fight it, Liz!”

“What is happening?” Diadne asked groggily as she and Maria crowded into the back of the van, “Has Max worsened?”

“You need to heal Max’s wound,” Michael told her, “Something weird is going on with him and Liz.” Diadne peered over Michael’s shoulder at the seeping hole in Liz’s thigh and gasped. “What does it mean, Diadne?” Michael queried, “Why are they sharing this bullet wound?”

“They are merging into one…I think,” Diadne explained, “Because…because they were touching…and now their connection has become physical as well. This happens with our people sometimes, not always…only when the bond is incredibly strong.”

“What does that mean?” Michael asked again.

“They are one soul now,” Diadne croaked in reverent clarification, “She…Liz is the rightful queen.”

“Yeah, well royalty or not…they’re both gonna die if you don’t do something right now,” Maria interjected anxiously, “So can you hop to it?”

“Can you fix it?” Michael asked anxiously, “I don’t think we can wait any longer than we already have.”

“M…My powers are not fully restored,” she replied with uncertainty, “But I will try.” Diadne knelt down before Max and placed her hand over his thigh. A moment later the van vibrated slightly as she formed the connection, her hand glowing warmly in the dimness. With each subsequent second Max became more cognizant, groaning and gasping with obvious pain. When it was over Diadne fell back from him, a fine sheen of perspiration dotted over her face. “I could not heal it all,” she breathed shakily, “The infection is gone and the wound is closed but the internal damage must still mend. It is all I could do. When Max is stronger he can fix the rest.”

“What about Liz?” Maria asked anxiously, “Is she okay?”

Michael started down at the smooth, bruised flesh of Liz’s thigh and then tossed Maria an amazed glance over his shoulder. “I think she’s okay.”

“What’s going on?” Max rasped faintly, claiming all the attention in the back seat once more, “Where’s Liz?” A moment later his question was answered when Liz herself, after mouthing a tearful “thank you” to Diadne, scooted across the seat and cradled his head against her chest. She brushed her lips tenderly across his temple, whispering hushed words of reassurance against his ear.

“You’re safe now, Max,” she murmured, hugging him close as they friends looked on in hushed emotion, “We’re both safe.”

I want to thank Zendorox and Itzstacie for beta'ing this part. Zen was especially helpful with the military aspect, which I know absolutely nothing about. Thanks to the both of you!

Chapter 43

“Do you think he’ll try to contact you?” David spoke in furtive whispers, as if he feared that they might be overhead by the nearby tables. In fact he did fear just that. Every patron in the tiny café could easily be a fed. He darted a glance at the tables surrounding them, his paranoia kicking into high gear.

“No,” Isabel answered with full certainty, “It’s much too dangerous. I’m sure the feds are keeping close tabs on me. That includes tracing my phone calls so calling him would be much too risky. I’ll contact Max later tonight though.”

“And how are you planning to do that?”

“I have my ways,” Isabel replied cryptically.

“Alien ways you mean?” David surmised.

Isabel favored him with a quivering smile. “Exactly.”

They had been lingering at the café for nearly two hours now. Isabel was pretty sure that their server expected them to pitch a tent any second. Every so often she would cast dirty looks in their general direction. The girl was probably annoyed that she and David were keeping her from making any further money off the table. “Be sure to leave our waitress a really good tip,” she told David.

David cast a nervous glance about him. “Isabel, we can’t stay here all afternoon,” he reasoned, “If I have just one more cup of coffee I’m going to explode.”

“I can’t go back to my dorm room either,” she told him shakily, “Even with Kadon I don’t feel completely safe. It’s like I’m being watched every second.”

“Come back to my place then.” Isabel stabbed him with a dubious glower and David blushed in response. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” he amended, “I just meant that you could hang out with me until this thing blew over.”

“Who knows when that will be,” Isabel muttered, “I really just need a place to hide…a safe place for my brothers and friends. They don’t have any place to go, David.”

David fell into a pensive silence at her revelation, his Sir Galahad complex reasserting itself as per usual. He knew of the perfect place Isabel and her friends could hide. His parents owned a little secluded cabin in Canada, not far from Toronto. They usually spent their winters there so the place was blessedly empty and would be for some months. “What if I knew a place you could go?” David began deliberately.

“I can’t let you do it,” Isabel said before he could finish, “You can’t be involved, David. I don’t want to put your life in danger.”

“Don’t I get a say?” he demanded irritably.

“You don’t have the faintest clue what you’re getting yourself involved in,” Isabel warned him, “You could get killed.”

“Still my decision,” David persisted stubbornly.

Isabel emitted a tiny growl of frustration. “You’ve got grits for brains, you know that?”

“Takes one to know one,” he retorted.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Isabel asked carefully, “I mean…this could work out very badly for you, David.”

“You need my help,” he replied softly, “That’s all I need to know.”

“Okay,” she agreed finally, beckoning Kadon closer so he could hear as well, “So where is this place you know?”

********************

“We need to fill the tank,” Kyle said when the gas gage level was just barely above the E, “I think we’ve got another five miles or so and then we’ll have to lay this puppy to rest.”

“Okay, stop at the nearest station,” Michael agreed, “I’ll take care of the gas situation.”

“And what about food?” Maria chimed in.

“And a place to sleep?” Liz added.

“And a shower?” Kyle piped, “No offense…but some of us are beginning to ripen.”

Michael opened his wallet and emitted a low whistle. “Ladies,” he slid a pointed look in Kyle’s direction, “And gentlemen, I have exactly one hundred and sixty-three dollars to my name and that’s it,” he declared, “This money’s got to get us to wherever the hell we’re going so don’t be so quick to spend it all away.”

“Speaking of where we’re going,” Kyle interjected, casting a look in the rearview mirror so he could see Max in the back seat, “Where are we going?”

“I haven’t exactly figured that part out yet,” Max murmured tiredly, “We’re fugitives now and…I’m sure the situation is bound to get worse. I am Max Evans after all,” he added in eye rolling sarcasm, “the course of my life never did run smooth. I have the feeling that our ‘relative’ peace just went right out the window.”

“I don’t get it,” Liz muttered, “Why would Kesley go through all that trouble reassuring you, arranging meetings with the President, the Secretary of Defense and the like if he just meant to trap you in the end?” She wouldn’t let herself dwell on the secret surveillance. Liz didn’t like to think about what private moments they had witnessed between Max and her. Her calm magnanimity was sure to fly out the window if she did. “There has to be something else going on here.”

“I think so, too. Probably trapping me was the last thing Kesley was thinking about,” Max replied pensively, “I never got that impression from him.” Before the incredulous grumbling could start he urged, “Think back to this morning. There wasn’t a single federal agent among that mob who came after us. I’m pretty sure Pierce engineered the entire thing on his own and I’m pretty sure he meant to kill me. As for Kesley, I think he genuinely wanted to trust me. He, at least, wanted to establish a truce with my people.” Max pressed the pads of his fingers into his eyes and massaged them in slow circles. “I guess that’s all been shot to hell now, too.”

They stopped for gas a short time later, careful to disguise themselves in case they were spotted. Every so often they had seen army jeeps and government issued sedans speed by on the highway. Once they had even been stopped, but the only thing the officer had seen was six teenybopper girls on their first road trip. Their escape had gone surprisingly smooth.

Secondly, people seemed to be going about their business as usual which made Michael wonder if news of that morning’s events had been made public. No one seemed much in a panic. There was the usual grumbling about Antarians and what should be done with them but nothing as severe as in the first few weeks. Still the calm unnerved Michael and made him fidgety. His thoughts abounding, Michael ran a self-conscious hand over the prickly hair of his blond goatee and jogged inside to pay for the gas.

Michael eyed several bags of potato chips and various candy bars speculatively before giving into temptation and grabbing an armful. As he dumped all his items onto the counter to pay he was acutely aware of the cashier, a pretty blonde, staring at him with intense eyes. “I’ve got a sweet tooth,” he explained casually but she didn’t even smile. Shifting nervously from foot to foot, Michael made a hasty attempt to pay.

“Will there be anything else for you, Lord Rath?” the cashier asked quietly as she bagged his purchases.

Michael blanched. “Ex…Excuse me?” he stammered.

“I am Quo-rel…humble servant to the throne of Zan,” the young woman replied softly, “My father served under you…until his unit was ambushed by Khivar and he was killed.”

“Oh God…”

“I have always admired and respected you, my lord.”

Michael threw an agitated glance about them. Thankfully the store was virtually empty. “How did you know it was me?” he whispered. He doubted even Maria would have recognized him with his buzzed blond hair, goatee, chin piercing and tattoos. Certainly not this girl who had never seen him before anyway.

“Humans see with their eyes,” Quo-rel explained briefly, “But we see with much more. Your outside exterior does not hide the person within…not from us, Lord Rath.” Michael nodded in quiet understanding. “There will trouble for the people,” she surmised wisely, “That is why you are running.”

“Yes.”

“We will be prepared,” she replied with absolute conviction, “When the ships come…we will make war.”

“No!” Michael cried before belatedly remembering to tone down his words lest he draw unwanted attention, “No war. Max…Zan wants to avoid war at all costs.”

“But you are running. This human government threatens you and makes you into fugitives. We can crush them easily.”

“There’ll be no crushing. Let us handle it,” Michael ordered, “We want to keep the peace as long as possible. Just…let us do this our way first before anyone starts thinking about attack. In the meantime, we’re going to need provisions…food…money…maybe a few changes of clothes… Can you help us?”

“All that I have is yours,” Quo-rel offered generously.

********************

“Agent Kesley?” Kesley glanced up to find his secretary hovering in his office doorway. “Mr. Pierce is downstairs in the interrogation room.”

“I’ll be there shortly,” Kesley told her. He peered into the full-length mirror situated beyond his desk. After smoothing his hair and straightening his tie, he headed down to the interrogation room.

Pierce sat at the table, dressed in standard issue Federal prison garb, his wrists and ankles shackled. His face and arms were horribly bruised and battered from his ordeal that morning. “You had no right to bring me here and chain me like an animal,” he declared coldly when Kesley entered the room, “I’m entitled to a court martial, damn you!”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Kesley replied, propping his hip onto the table’s edge, “You’ll get your court martial and afterwards I plan to go after you myself. I’m not going to stop until I bury you…or until you do some seriously hard time, my friend. You’re facing charges of treason, didn’t you know?”

“You son of a bitch!”

“I’m the son of a bitch?” Kesley queried mockingly, “You nearly ruin my career today with your foolish stunt and I’m the son of a bitch?” He snorted a laugh. “And it seemed like such a good idea at the time…after all, you had the necessary facilities after the crash of ’47 but I should have known you’d let your personal feelings interfere with business. That was my mistake.”

“You would have let my brother’s murderer get away!” Pierce cried.

“Shut up, you idiot!” Kesley snapped impatiently, “There is no body, no proof that your brother is dead! We both know that his hands were extremely dirty. He’s probably hiding out to protect his ass.”

“That’s a lie,” Pierce choked emotionally, “My brother was an honorable man…a good man. I don’t believe the stories they tell about him.”

“I don’t give a damn what kind of man your brother was!” Kesley exploded, “You have destroyed lives today, Pierce…put an innocent boy on the run and for no good reason!”

“Innocent?” Pierce spat, his restraints rattling loudly with every agitated movement, “That bastard killed eight of my men! Look at what he did to me!”

“Perhaps if you had refrained from attacking him you might have been able to avoid that tragedy,” Kesley suggested pointedly, “Now, thanks to you, I have no choice but to hunt him down like a dog.”

“Good,” Pierce ground out, “He’s nothing but an animal anyway.” He was unprepared for Kesley’s violent backhand across the mouth and even more unprepared when the unruffled man massaged his bruised knuckles and offered him a glass of water fast on the heels of the blow. Pierce licked at the blood drizzling from the cut on his lower lip. “You’re crazy,” he whispered, shaking his head wildly, “You don’t have the first clue about what it means to serve your country!”

“No, Mr. Pierce, I think I do,” Kesley contradicted, “And I’m not crazy at all…I’m annoyed. I am extremely annoyed. The US Government had a pretty sweet deal going on before you messed things up. We had a wealth of alien technology at our fingertips. Already we’ve manufactured dent resistant cars. We were headed for a lighter, faster commercial airliner…one with dent resistant siding as well…near indestructible. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“Disease would have been a thing of the past in this country. All an Antarian had to do was wave their hand and cancer, diabetes, hell, even AIDS would be wiped out as if they had never existed at all! People would have flocked from all over the world to have such treatment and would have paid top dollar for it, too.

“And what about the military?” Kesley continued on expansively, “Our resident aliens would have rendered homeland defense unnecessary. We wouldn’t have to send our boys overseas to die at all. Antarians are natural born warriors and with their abilities we could have easily brought any opposing countries to their knees! America would have been a world power again, the world power and without this billion dollar deficit hanging over our heads! They would have made us rich, Pierce, richer than you and I could ever dream.”

“You act as if you had the Antarian people ready to roll over for you when we both know that wasn’t the case, Kesley,” Pierce scoffed, “You weren’t guaranteed to any of those things!”

“It was already happening, you fool!” Kesley snapped harshly, “I fully anticipated orders for Max Evans’ release within the month. We never wanted to make an enemy out of him. Why do you think we made his happiness and comfort our primary concern? We would have given that boy whatever the hell he wanted because, if it worked out and he was telling us the truth about not being a threat, he would have been a powerful ally.

“And now in one reckless move you’ve made Max Evans into a fugitive and his people know all about it. I don’t know how the hell they know but they do and their cooperation with us is over,” Kesley sneered, “Congratulations, Lieutenant. Now you’ve brought that entire race down on our heads. We can’t even protect ourselves if they do decide to attack or even put them under surveillance because they’ve scrambled. We can’t track them. They can become whoever the hell they want!”

Pierce shrugged in laconic response.

Kesley gradually straightened with the reaction, his features going slack with gradual understanding. “You unimaginable bastard,” he whispered, “You planned it this way. I should have known when you volunteered your unit that you had another agenda entirely. It was all a set up from the very beginning, wasn’t it? You’ve been abusing your position with the AFOSI this entire time.”

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations or AFOSI as it was more commonly known served as the Air Force's major investigative service. The agency reported to the Inspector General, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force with primary responsibilities of criminal investigations and counterintelligence services. That was the very reason Pierce had even been considered for the operation in the first place. The fact his brother had served in the federal ranks as a special agent alien hunter had been merely ironic icing. Now it had come back to bite Kesley in the ass.

A muscle twitched in Pierce’s jaw, his only betrayal of emotion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kesley. Area 51 was already being considered for the operation.”

“But you pushed it right along, didn’t you? All you needed was back-up, which I provided like some poor, dumb sheep!”

“You’re making me into a criminal mastermind, which I assure you I’m not.”

“You knew that none of that information you collected on Evans would have been admissible in court,” Kesley reasoned calmly as if Pierce had said nothing at all, “Even if the kid had openly confessed to killing your brother you wouldn’t have been able to use those tapes against him. You knew that you would never convict him for your brother’s murder, if there even was a murder, so you thought of another way to make him pay.”

“And how did I do that?” Pierce retorted arrogantly.

“You backed him into a corner this morning,” Kesley recounted silkily, “You knew he would have no choice but to protect himself and you knew when he did it would be a bloodbath. Then the U.S. Government would have no choice but to treat him as a threat.” Kesley raked him with a disgusted glance. “You sacrificed your own men to further your agenda.”

“That’s an interesting theory,” Pierce bluffed, “But why would I sacrifice my military career and reputation just to send Max Evans to prison?”

“Because I think your career stopped mattering a damn to you the day your brother went missing,” Kesley whispered, “You’ve been plotting revenge ever since. Well, now you have it,” he finished as he straightened, “Max Evans is a fugitive and you…you’re going to spend the rest of your life in a military prison. I hope it was worth it.”

Chapter 44

“Isabel!”

Max jerked upright with a start, his heart pounding erratically as he woke from his dream. As the final visions of his sister’s face faded away he felt Liz’s fingers sliding over his cheek in a tender caress. His skin tingled where she touched him. He turned his face into her hand, kissing her palm. “Did you see her?” he whispered, already aware that she had, “Did you hear what she said?”

Liz nodded. “We have to tell the others.”

“Not yet,” Max murmured, “Let me hold you for a minute.”

It was late, perhaps two or three in the morning. Kyle had pulled off at a roadside rest station for a few hours so that they all could get some much-needed rest. Though they’d received many offers for shelter from various Antarians along the way Max had refused their help. He hadn’t wanted to involve any more people in their current mess. Consequently, they’ve drove through most of the night until Kyle could go no further. The van was now filled with a cacophony of snoring and the deep, even breathing of exhaustion. Although far from private or ideal, it was the first opportunity they’d had for quiet and reflection since everything blew up that morning.

Max tucked Liz’s head beneath his chin and buried his hand into the rumpled silk of her hair. “Your leg is still a little sore,” he surmised quietly, noting her careful movements.

“So is yours,” Liz replied, “But you can’t do anything to ease the pain…you’ve lost too much blood.” It’s not something he had to tell her. She just knew.

“Is this weird for you?” Max wondered, staring down into her eyes, “Being inside my head? Me being inside yours? I can’t tell where your thoughts begin and mine end.”

“It’s a little weird,” she confessed meekly, “It’s strange to know what you’re thinking and feeling before you say a word…because what you’re thinking and feeling is what I’m thinking and feeling. It’s like we share the same skin now.” Liz nuzzled against his throat, letting her fingers drift over the ridged symbol at the nape of his neck. Max shuddered beneath her touch, tucking his body closer to hers. “Don’t feel bad about what happened,” she whispered into his neck, “You did what you had to this morning, Max. You never wanted to hurt anybody.”

“But I did,” he mumbled plaintively.

“So did I,” Liz murmured in soft reply, “We all did.”

Liz could remember how the soldiers fell that morning, nameless, faceless, sailing through the air with her laser blasts and she could not be sorry. Even as she knew they were dying she could not bring herself to feel regret. Not if it meant she had spared Max’s life in doing so. Not if it meant she had helped to save them all. The moment had been purely kill or be killed and she’d made her choice.

“Those soldiers knew what to expect when they engaged us, Max,” she told him, turning his face so that they were eye to eye, “It was self-defense.”

“We’re going to pay for it later,” he predicted.

“Maybe not,” Liz considered, “Maybe this will finally motivate the U.S. government to sit up and pay attention. No more games.”

“You think I’ve been too passive in all of this, don’t you?”

“Not passive,” Liz hedged carefully, “But much too accommodating. You’ve been so busy trying to prove to the feds that you’re not a threat, you never thought about making them prove the same thing to you. They took advantage of your desire for peace, Max. You can’t afford to let them do it any further.”

Max skimmed his fingers over her brow line and cheekbones and lips. “How did you get so wise? I can hardly believe you’re real,” he uttered, “That you’re standing beside me this way when…when I’ve turned your life into an unrecognizable mess.”

“Now what kind of soulmate would I be if I stuck with you in fair weather only, Max?” Liz asked wryly, pinching his cheeks affectionately, “Besides I think you’re worth the trouble and, now that we’ve got this whole eternal bond thing going…well, it’s pretty safe to assume that you’re stuck with me for life, pal.”

“I couldn’t ask for a better fate,” Max laughed softly, settling his lips to hers with a satisfied sigh.

Max nibbled at her lips, preparing himself for the moment when the connection would flash between them. But then he remembered there was no need. The pulsing beat of awareness was already in existence between them, tingling in their skin, their hearts, an integral part of them as if it had always been there. Liz parted her lips sweetly for Max’s assault, leaning back with him into the seat as he sought greater access.

He slipped his fingers along the smooth skin of her belly and splayed them wide over her ribcage, massaging her with the pads of his fingers. Liz turned into his body, giving herself over to the kiss just as she was giving over her body. They strained closer and soon the rasp of their aroused breathing and the shifting rustle of their clothing blended with the dissonant snoring that filled the van.

“Ack!” Maria grunted, slapping both hands over her offended eyes, “This is some honeymoon I’m having! Bunked down in an alien transformed van on the run for my life while my best friend and her guy engage in disgusting PDAs in the back seat. If anyone should be getting some action tonight it should be me,” she finished crossly.

Max and Liz sprang apart guiltily, their mutual blushes easy to detect in the moonlight. “Maria,” Liz choked, fingering her swollen mouth, “How long have you been awake?”

“Long enough to be scarred for life,” she muttered, slowly removing her hands, “I’m assuming that everything is back where it’s supposed to be.” She leveled Max with a glare. “It sure as hell better be. I won’t be able to fall back asleep without having nightmares. Thanks a lot, Liz.”

“We didn’t mean to wake you,” Max said in apology.

“I’m sure you didn’t,” was Maria’s wry reply. She stretched languidly in her seat, extending her arms far above her head. “So what time is it anyway?” she yawned.

Liz consulted her watch. “3:45.”

“Hey, let’s have a little consideration for the guy who’s been driving for the last nine hours,” Kyle grumbled from the front seat, “Shut the hell up and let me get some shut eye, will ya?”

“Can it, Valenti,” Michael suddenly piped, swinging upright with a broad yawn, “If anyone should be complaining it should be me. This is my honeymoon for crying out loud!”

“Is everyone awake?” Liz asked in exasperation.

“Now they are,” Diadne threw in groggily, perking to life beside Maria, “How can you humans sleep with so much commotion? Is this a normal occurrence?”

“Oh, was I sleeping?” Kyle retorted sardonically, “Gee, I must have blinked my eyes and missed the restful night I had.”

“Okay, so enough with the sarcasm,” Max pronounced wearily, “Everyone’s awake so I might as well inform you guys that there’s been a new development.”

“Why doesn’t that sound good?” Maria interjected grimly.

“If this is the part where you give us more bad news, Maxwell,” Michael cut in, “Save it for the morning. I’m going back to sleep.”

“It’s not bad news,” Max told him, “Isabel found a place for us to hide for the next few days.”

Both Michael and Kyle swiveled around in their seats to regard Max. “She found what?” Kyle demanded, “Last I heard she was safely tucked away at school.”

“Not anymore. She’s found us a place to hide,” Liz reiterated on Max’s behalf, “It’s a secluded cabin not far from Toronto. She said we’d be safe there until we figure out what we want to do next.”

“Toronto?” Maria parroted, “You mean as in Canada?”

“Yeah,” Max answered tentatively.

“What’s Isabel doing in Canada?” Michael demanded, “How’d she get there? Who’s her friggin contact?”

“Um…I’ve got a better question. How are we supposed to get across the Canadian border?” Kyle wondered glibly, “We’re wanted fugitives, remember?”

“Getting us safely across the Canadian border will not be a problem,” Diadne stated, “I will take care of the necessary details.” Already her fertile mind was engaging a plan.

Nonetheless, her confident response seemed to send Kyle over the edge. “You mean like how you took care of those soldiers this morning?” he sneered angrily, “You gonna kill some more people, huh, Diadne? That’s fucking brilliant!” While the others were still stunned into silence by his volatile outburst, Kyle had flung himself out of the van and went stomping off into the darkness.

“Where did that come from?” Liz whispered.

“He just needs time,” Max said.

“Where the hell is he going?” Maria muttered, “Should he be alone?”

“Maybe he has to take a dump,” Michael provided unhelpfully, “I know I do.”

Maria smacked him across the head with an exasperated grunt. “That’s nice, Michael.”

“I will go after him,” Diadne volunteered, “He is angry with me.”

She found him in a clearing not far from the van, leaning against a tree trunk. Even through the cloak of darkness she could see the gentle shaking of his shoulders and hear his muffled sobs. The sight bewildered Diadne because she could not fully understand why he was unhappy. Did humans usually wake up to cry?

“Kyle Valenti?” she called out to him.

Kyle groaned and quickly began scrubbing at his tear-stained cheeks. “Ahh…god!” he uttered, whirling to face her, “What do you want now?”

“I was concerned for your safety,” Diadne whispered, “There are many perils for you out here. It was careless of you to come alone.”

“But I’m not alone,” he snorted, “Maybe if I was alone none of this crap would be happening to me!”

“I do not understand.”

“Why did you have to kill them?” Kyle fired suddenly, “If you had never attacked those soldiers then that whole thing this morning wouldn’t have snowballed like it did! You put us in a position where we had to fight back and it didn’t have to be that way!”

“Should I have merely stepped aside while they waved their guns?” Diadne asked calmly, “My king was in danger. There was no other choice.”

“You could have shown a little mercy!” Kyle cried.

Diadne scrunched her brow in pensive concentration. “Mercy?” she echoed softly, “What is…mercy, Kyle Valenti? I do not understand what you mean.”

Kyle tipped back his head and blew out an ironic laugh. “That just figures,” he sighed thickly, “Of course you wouldn’t know the first thing about mercy!”

He was angry, but what confused him most was that he couldn’t be angry with her. Much as he wanted to compare her cold-blooded single-mindedness to Tess, much as he wanted to write her off for it, Kyle knew better. Tess had been a killer at heart but Diadne…she had truly wanted to protect them. Her heart had been in the right place and Kyle knew it…and he loved her for it. That was the part that was making him sick, because he didn’t want to love her or even like her for that matter. Not at all.

“I do not like to see you so upset, Kyle Valenti,” Diadne replied, “It makes me feel very confused.” There was a strange ache in her chest as she looked at him; his blue eyes glinting with unshed tears in the moonlight. He had seemed so strong that morning, blasting away the enemy like a fearless warrior. She had been very proud of him, filled with admiration. Yet now he seemed very defeated and alone when he should have been triumphant. Diadne wanted to make it better for him somehow but, because she had no idea what was broken, she could not fix it.

“Will you tell me what this mercy is?” she whispered, “Help me to understand.”

“Pippi, it’s not that easy,” he muttered.

“I will listen to whatever you say,” she vowed.

Kyle raked his fingers through his hair, sorting through his frustration and confusion for the wherewithal to explain. “Mercy is about compassion, Diadne,” he told her, “It means showing fellow feeling for those weaker than you.”

“Fellow feeling?”

“You didn’t have to kill those soldiers today,” he went on softly, “I don’t think they would have tried to hurt us…not like the soldiers that came afterwards. You could have let them go. That would have been the merciful thing.”

Diadne frowned over that. “But they were the enemy,” she argued, nonplussed.

“That’s what makes it mercy, Pippi,” Kyle whispered wryly, “Because you’re doing something that you’re not obligated to do…something that’s not always in your best interests.”

She appeared distressed by his explanation but nodded nonetheless. “I will remember this, Kyle Valenti,” she told him solemnly. And then she did something unprecedented. She reached forward and whisked away a clinging teardrop from his cheek with the tip of her finger. Kyle jumped with her fleeting touch, trembling all over. A warm intrigue unfurled in his belly as he watched as she brought her finger to her lips darted out her tongue for an uncertain taste. Diadne was surprised to learn that tears were salty. “Is this why you weep?” she wondered gently, “Because you grieve for those soldiers?”

Kyle shook his head. “I grieve for us,” he mumbled thickly, “We lost our innocence out there today, Pippi, or…at least what was left of it. My God! I killed someone today and I can’t feel completely bad about it but... I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for feeling as I do.”

“I have killed many ‘someones,’” Diadne replied unemotionally, “And you will forget. That is the life of a soldier, Kyle Valenti, and that is what you are now. But I promise you…eventually you do forget and forgive yourself.”

...er cabin...



Chapter 45

“I think we bought out the whole store,” David remarked as he helped Isabel put away the groceries they had purchased in town.

Isabel smiled at him faintly only to have that smile collapse completely when he turned to put away the cereal. She was leading him into disaster. That fear had been gnawing inside her ever since she agreed to let David smuggle her and Kadon out of the country into Canada. Considering the high tensions in the U.S. the task had been amazingly easy.

True to his word, the McKee family cabin proved to be the perfect little hideaway that David had described. The two story, four bedroom edifice was situated over the crest of a hill, deep in the valley and surrounded by a dense collection of trees. They wouldn’t be found without some serious and tenacious searching. And, even with such searching, they would still be home free since the U.S. had no jurisdiction in Canada.

Seemingly they had gotten away but after years of running and hiding Isabel knew better. David might not be aware of it presently but he had fallen deep and irretrievably into the alien abyss. His life would never be the same. Isabel knew it and she was dying a slow, guilty death because of it.

This wasn’t some nameless, faceless schlep. This was a guy she knew and cared about. After Alex she had promised herself never to use a man she cared about for her own selfish gain ever again. Alex had been all too willing to help her through difficulty and Isabel had readily taken advantage of his willingness. She had taken all he’d had to give but had given nothing in return. Isabel did not want to do the same thing to David.

“You’re chewing on your lip,” he observed a moment later when he swung around and found her standing in the exact same spot, “What’s on your mind?”

“May…Maybe we should give you money…f…for staying here,” she stuttered in suggestion. Isabel made the offer in knee-jerk response. She didn’t even have any money to give him anyway.

However, David frowned at the idea. “What am I…a bed and breakfast?” he tossed back sardonically, “I offered to help out a friend, Isabel. Why are you acting as if you owe me something?”

“Because I do,” Isabel insisted, “Do you have any idea how much knowing me is going to wreck your life?”

David rolled his eyes and put away the canned soup. “You’ve got a flare for drama,” he remarked laughingly, “Ever thought about making theater your major instead of art?” Isabel sent a pack of giant marshmallows flying at his head, which David deftly ducked. “Your aim sucks ass,” David mocked, “I’m like two feet away.” This time Isabel pitched a packet of all beef hotdogs and she didn’t miss.

A playful volley ensued but things ended abruptly when David grabbed hold of the sink hose. The prospect of wetting her gorgeously styled hair was too much for Isabel and she surrendered. Just for fun, David sprayed her anyway. But he was the one sputtering, however, when she calmly raised her shield, causing the water to cascade around her and puddle onto the floor.

“You’re cleaning that up,” she told him impishly, stepping beyond the wet circle.

David shook his head in wry amusement. “If I see that a hundred times I don’t think I’ll ever be any less amazed.”

“You mean freaked out, don’t you?” Isabel queried casually as she resumed grocery duty.

David stilled her movements with his hand. “I mean amazed,” he corrected emphatically. They both then been aware of his fingers wrapped loosely around her bare forearm. When they looked at one another again it was easy to discern that something had changed between them. The air seemed thicker and every inch of their bodies tingled with awareness for one another. Isabel had a sense that she was seeing much more than the dilating pupils of David’s eyes. In that second she could swear she was looking into his soul. She could swear that they were…connected.

The very idea startled Isabel so much that she reared backwards, inadvertently snatching her arm from David’s grasp when she did. Silently lamenting the loss of the sudden and intimate moment between them, David asked, “So when can we expect your brother and your friends?”

“Probably in another two days,” Isabel calculated, “Maybe sooner.”

“Oh,” David replied casually, “Is Kadon going to keep a look out until they arrive?” Like a good sentry Kadon had been posted outside the cabin door since almost the moment they had arrived. David found his dedication admirable but creepy.

“I’ll tell him to take a break in a while,” Isabel said.

“So…so you never mentioned how that thing went with your dad,” David stammered when the silence between them became awkward, “What did you call it again? A…uh…a dreamwalk? Did you get in touch with him?”

“I did,” she confirmed, “And he’s freaking out…along with the rest of the parents, which is what I pretty much expected.”

“Has there been any news coverage at all?”

“Not a peep,” Isabel replied, “But I’m sure the President is well aware that the alien boy king has escaped. The feds are keeping a tight lid of what’s happened.”

“Maybe they’re doing that so that they can take you guys out without opposition,” David considered direly.

“I doubt it,” Isabel returned, “Then they’d have our people to deal with and they know it. I think their quiet is more about trying to keep the media frenzy down and prevent riots, you know. God…I can’t imagine what they’re telling those soldiers’ families.”

“That they died in the line of duty,” David answered quietly.

Isabel stared at him in surprised admiration. “You don’t blink an eye, do you?”

“Hardly ever,” David answered with a shrug, “I try to roll with the punches, you know?”

“But don’t you ever feel bitter,” Isabel wondered, “Or angry over all this stuff that’s happening?” She was struggling with that herself a great deal lately. Isabel wanted to be loyal and true, to stand for her people the way Michael and Max were standing for them but resentment continued to bubble beneath the surface and Isabel struggled with it constantly.

“Life’s too short to waste time with bitterness,” David told her, “I don’t see the point. I’d like to think I’m one of those people who can move on from tragedy and still maintain a positive outlook when it’s all done.”

“Is that the kind of person you are?”

David snorted a laugh. “Probably not. You’ve heard of hell having no fury like a woman scorned well…I shudder to think what I would be like. I can been vindictive when I’m provoked.”

Isabel was surprised by his admission. She could think of many words to describe David McKee and vindictive was not one of them. “Why do you say that?”

Very gradually their tasks of putting away the groceries was forgotten as they drifted over to the island counter situated in the middle of the kitchen and pulled up adjacent bar stools. Isabel propped her chin against her fist, tuning in to him with avid interest. “So why do you think you would be a man scorned?”

“Honestly?”

“Yeah,” Isabel challenged with a smile, “Show me the deep, dark side of you. Frankly, David, I don’t think you have one.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” he warned.

“Try me.”

“Okay,” he sighed, “For instance, when I found out Liz’s connection to your brother I was pretty steamed…and hurt. I felt betrayed and…well, it crossed my mind to go to the media with some bogus story just to ruin things for them.” Surprisingly, Isabel wasn’t offended by his admission. She’d already suspected as much on her own. Besides no one should be condemned for his or her thoughts. David had clearly made the right choices in spite of them.

“I was so angry because I let myself feel so much for her so fast,” he went on in explanation, “And she never felt anything for me. I felt like a fool especially because I remembered how your brother had come to visit her at the hospital and, like an idiot, I actually excused myself so that they could be alone.” He shook his head at the memory. “I never even suspected,” he muttered, “But I should have known something just from the way they stared at each other.”

Isabel stared at him with sympathetic eyes. “Does it bother you?” she asked softly.

“What?”

“That they’re coming here together?” she clarified.

David thought about that for a second before answering. “No,” he murmured with soft conviction, “No, it doesn’t bother me at all. That part of my life is over.”

“So you’re…you’re over Liz now?” Isabel meant for her question to be casual and offhand but she could hear the thread of hope in her tone. She wondered if David heard it, too.

“I used to wonder what might have been if she’d stayed in Vermont,” David confessed with a shrug, “But now I think about all the things I would have missed out on if Liz had accepted my proposal.”

Her jaw dropped. “Did you say proposal?” she sputtered, “You asked Liz to marry you?” He bit back his amused grin and nodded. “Oh God, David! I never realized that things between the two of you were that serious.” Isabel thought about all the times she had ribbed him so mercilessly about Liz and she wanted to cringe. It was little wonder that David didn’t think of her as a heartless bitch.

“Sex and pregnancy weren’t serious enough,” David remarked dryly, “But marriage is taking it up a notch for you, huh, Isabel?”

“I…I…I had no idea,” she stuttered.

“I don’t go about broadcasting it,” he said, “Neither does Liz. I think she probably told Maria but that’s it.”

“Maria?” Isabel scoffed, “Then the whole world should know.”

“The point is,” David emphasized, “She turned me down and I’m beginning to think she was damned smart to do it. She did me a favor.”

“Because you would have been trapped in a loveless marriage together,” Isabel concluded quietly.

“Because I would have missed out on meeting you,” he whispered, “Or…maybe we would have met and I would have been married to Liz and then that would have been awkward, now wouldn’t it?”

“What are you saying?” Isabel whispered tremulously as he reached across the counter to brush his knuckles across her cheek. She shivered.

“I’m done with one sided infatuations, Isabel,” he murmured, “So if you don’t feel the way I feel for you…if you can’t…please let me know now before I say or do something to embarrass myself.”

Isabel stared down at the counter, unsuccessful in her attempt to ignore how deliciously warm his fingers felt against her skin. She wanted to moan with loss when they fell away. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” she whispered.

“So you’ve told me many, many, many times,” David replied, undaunted.

“My last boyfriend died because of this madness,” she reminded him.

“I thought that was because of your brother’s psychotic ex-girlfriend.”

“Same difference,” Isabel muttered.

“I’m not afraid of dying, Isabel,” David told her solemnly, “I’m afraid of not living. I want to live my life to the fullest even if every second of it is uncertain. I tend to be a person that, when I decide to love someone, I put my whole soul into it. Everything I have and…that might be the reason why I’ve never had a serious relationship before. The one time I did give it a try the girl was already in love with someone else.”

“See…that’s where I don’t get you,” she said, “Liz Parker and I are nothing alike. If she’s the type of girl you want to marry then I don’t see there being much of a future for us at all.”

David pretty much ignored all her remarks to zoom in on one in particular. “But you do admit there’s a possible future for us?”

“Stop teasing me,” Isabel admonished, “This is serious. If I admit my feelings for you aloud…if we go forward with this…what’s the guarantee that it won’t end in disaster?”

“There is no guarantee,” David whispered, slipping from his stool to approach her with inching steps, “But then that’s half the fun.”

Isabel watched his slow approach with rapt eyes, a smile ghosting her lips. “You’re altogether too sure of yourself.”

“Actually, I’m not,” David joked shakily, “I’m scared to death of rejection. I’ve had more than enough lately and I’ve found that it’s definitely an ego breaker. Help me soothe it.” When there was nothing but mere inches between them he cupped Isabel’s face in his hands and tipped up her chin so that he could stare into her liquid brown gaze. “So what is it going to be, Ms. Evans?” he murmured, “Do you want me or not?”

Isabel pretended to think a moment. “Hmm…” she considered, “I think…I want you.”

David smiled and lowered his head, his lips curving in an approving smile. “Good answer,” he commended pleasantly and then he proceeded to reward her for her effort.

Chapter 46

The rumbling of a car engine awoke Isabel from her dreamless sleep. She might have rolled upright to investigate the commotion but David’s arm and leg had her anchored to the bed. He was half sprawled across her body, his cheek pillowed by her bare breast. Every inch of his warm, nakedness was pressed into every inch of her. Isabel turned into his arms, blushing a little with the remembrance of the night they’d shared. Still, even with her flaming cheeks, she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

“David?” she whispered, squeezing his hip to nudge him into wakefulness, “David, I think they’re here.”

David shifted onto his back with a sleepy grunt. “Are you sure it’s them?”

She smirked a bit over his uncharacteristic paranoia. “Kadon would have put up a fuss by now if it wasn’t,” she said as she slipped from the bed to hastily pull on her clothes, “I’d better get downstairs to meet them.”

David pushed up onto his elbows to watch her dress, noting how she avoided his eyes as she did. “Okay,” he agreed, his gaze following her every movement. When she started to breeze from the bedroom, however, he caught hold of her wrist to detain her. “You okay?”

“I just feel a little awkward, that’s all.” As she met his riotous gray stare she found herself melting a bit when she spied apprehension lurking in the murky depths of his gaze. She leaned down to give him a light kiss. “I don’t regret what’s happened between us if that’s what has you frowning,” she whispered, reaching up to smooth the furrow between his brows, “I’m actually looking forward to doing it again.”

A languid smile of relief spread across his face. “Are you?”

Isabel kissed him again, lingering and provocative this time. “Many, many times,” she told him, turning his own phrase back around on him.

“Glad to hear that,” David murmured into her mouth. He started to deepen his kiss, his fingers drifted lower to caress the scar at the juncture of her hip when someone called out her name from downstairs.

Isabel brushed his hand away, remembering all too well what had happened the last time she’d let David touch her there. That was how they’d ended in his bed in the first place. “That’s Max,” she explained as she straightened, “I should go downstairs before they come looking for me. Give me a few minutes before you come down after me…I need to explain a few things.”

“Sure.”

Downstairs Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Kyle and Diadne had already started to crowd into the spacious living room. The looks on their faces clearly stated that they wanted to know what was going on. Evidently, Kadon hadn’t volunteered any information either. He hovered off in the corner as usual, keeping a watchful eye.

“Isabel!” Max cried when he saw his sister descending the stairs, “How did you find this place?”

“It belongs to a friend of mine,” she answered vaguely, stepping forward to enfold her brother and each of her friends in a loose hug. She paused curiously when she came to Diadne. “This is Larek’s daughter, right?”

“I am Diadne,” the red-haired girl revealed formally, “I am your servant.”

Isabel smiled and patted her hand. “There’s no need for that,” she said softly, “I’d settle for you being my friend.” And then she turned back to her friends and family who all continued regarding her as if she’d grown a second head. “So you guys hungry?” she queried brightly, “There’s plenty of food in the kitchen.” She glanced over their bedraggled faces and clothing. “You guys must be exhausted after everything that’s happened. Why don’t you sit down or something?”

“Whose place is this, Isabel?” Michael demanded softly, asking the question that was foremost on everyone’s mind.

“Well, I…uh…um,” she stammered, “You see…it belongs to…uh…” Isabel’s volatile reaction to Michael’s questions only served to increase the alarm the group felt.

“It’s mine.”

Seven pairs of eyes swung around to where David stood at the base of the staircase. It looked as if he’d just awakened. His hair and clothing were rumpled and his eyes appeared slightly puffy. He was also shoeless. That’s when Max noticed that Isabel was as well. His gaze immediately ricocheted up the length of her person, quickly assimilating her make-up less features and unkempt hair. It was already well into the noon hour and it was completely unlike Isabel to go around looking that way so late in the day. She would never let a guy see her in such a natural state unless…

“What’s going on here, Isabel?” he asked tersely, “What’s he doing here?”

“He told you already. This is his place. David knew that we needed someplace to hide,” Isabel explained awkwardly, “and he was kind enough to offer his parents’ cabin.”

“Kind…uh-huh, yeah right,” Kyle grunted under his breath.

“How do we know we can trust him?” Michael demanded rudely, “We’ve already got enough trouble without adding more to the mix.”

“I trust him,” Isabel stated coldly, “That should be enough for you, Michael.”

“David,” Liz said, startling everyone with the crisp ring of her voice, “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

He nodded, his expression unsurprised because he, along with everyone else in the room, had been expecting just that. “We can go in the den,” he instructed quietly.

Max started to follow after them but at Liz’s request that he stay behind Max reluctantly did as she requested. He was comforted, however, by the fact that she continued to maintain their connection even as she disappeared through the sliding doors and closed them behind her. It was her way of reassuring him that he had no reason to be intimidated.

Once they were alone Liz rounded on David with angry eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed, “I thought we agreed we would go our separate ways, David! This is hardly separate! Was all that stuff you said to me in the airport just a lie then?”

“Stop it,” David replied calmly, “None of this is about you. Isabel needed help.”

“Oh. So this is about Isabel?” Liz queried dubiously.

“Are you on some kind of ego trip today?” he demanded with a mordant laugh, “Not everything is about you, Liz. As difficult as you may find it to believe, Isabel and I are friends. She said she needed a place for you guys to hide and so I told her about my parents’ cabin. I brought her here to keep her safe. I thought I was doing a good thing. Don’t bother saying thank you.”

“You and Isabel are friends now?”

“Is that so remarkable,” he wondered, “We do attend the same school and I can be quite charming when I set my mind to it.”

Liz refused to be diverted by his teasing wit. “Yale is a pretty big campus, David.”

“Not that big,” David returned dryly, “I’ve gotten to know Isabel pretty well these last few weeks, not that it’s any of your business. She and I understand one another. Now are you done with the cross-examination? Judging from the looks on her friends' faces a moment ago I’m sure Isabel needs me by now.”

Liz hooked hold of his arm as he started to leave. “David, if this is some sort of game…”

He carefully removed her fingers from his forearm. “It’s not a game,” he replied brusquely, “But it’s nice to know you have such a high opinion of me.”

David stalked back out into the main room just in time to hear Michael say, “We don’t even know who this guy is!”

“Look, you guys are more than welcome to stay here,” David invited cordially, “There’s plenty of room for you and the place is a very secluded, very private property. I doubt you’ll be found out here. But if you’re uncomfortable staying you’re also more than welcome to leave. No one’s forcing you to be here.”

“It’s not like we have a lot of options,” Maria considered quietly, “I mean…we don’t have anyplace else to go. We could definitely use the time to regroup.”

“That doesn’t mean that we have to take this guy’s handouts,” Michael hissed.

“And there’s no guarantee that we can trust him anyway,” Kyle added, “He’s got…issues…with some of us, remember? Maybe we’d be better off taking our chances.”

“Isabel trusts him,” Liz interjected quietly, “So we stay.” She leveled David with a penetrating look. “For now anyway.”

“Okay,” Isabel said, hoping to maintain a modicum of good feeling, “I’m glad that’s settled. Why don’t we get you guys something to eat? I know I’ve heard a couple of stomachs rumble.” Thankfully, everyone made at least a half-hearted effort to keep things civil.

“I could definitely eat,” Maria piped, “I’m starving. We haven’t had anything since breakfast.” Her statement was followed by several “me, too’s.”

“I’ll show you where the kitchen is,” David volunteered, leading a procession that included Michael, Maria, Liz and Diadne from the living room.

Kyle contorted his body in a bone-cracking stretch. “I’ll skip the food if you don’t mind,” he replied, “What I could really use right now is a shower and a bed. I’ve been driving for the last sixteen hours.”

“I’ll say you could use a shower,” Isabel muttered, wrinkling her nose in distaste, “All of you are a bit on the pungent side.” Kyle leveled her with a “kiss my ass” stare, which Isabel graciously overlooked. “The bathroom’s straight down the hall, second door on your right,” she told him. She almost hated to see him go because, as she expected, Max jumped all over her the moment they were alone.

“Are you sleeping with him?” he demanded tersely, “Please tell me I’m wrong.”

Isabel checked the impulse to slap him. “That’s really none of your business.”

“You know he’s still hung up on Liz.”

“Was hung up on Liz,” Isabel emphasized, “That’s over now. And if you even suggest that he’s using me I’m going to punch you in the face, Max. I mean it. You have no idea what kind of friend David has been to me these past few weeks so just shut up about it.”

“I don’t trust him,” Max mumbled in thwarted anger, “We barely know anything about him, Isabel, other than the fact he and Liz went out a few times.” He ground his teeth audibly. “I don’t think he’s especially fond of me.”

“No,” Isabel confirmed, “You’re not his favorite person.”

“Then why did you bring us here?” Max demanded incredulously.

“Because David cares about me more than he dislikes you,” she replied.

“Hah!”

Isabel’s desire to smack the hell out of him doubled. “If you can turn yourself into feds with absolutely no discussion then I can make a new friend,” she retorted tartly.

Max didn’t miss the veiled sarcasm in her reprimand. “This is hardly the time to be making new friends,” he admonished, “We have to be selective about who we trust. Look how badly I screwed up.”

“You don’t know him, Max,” Isabel tossed back, “And you’re jealous. This has nothing to do with trusting the wrong people and everything to do with the fact that Liz and David slept together. That just eats you up inside, doesn’t it?” To prove her point Max winced with the accusation. “Get over yourself, Max,” she ordered tiredly.

“Did you ever once consider how awkward this entire situation would be for me and Liz?” he charged.

“I guess I just should have left you roaming around the countryside then, huh?”

“We had other options.”

“Yeah, other options,” Isabel snorted with a roll of her eyes, “Sure, Max.”

“We did,” he insisted weakly.

“This place works, Max,” Isabel sighed, “It’s secluded. It’s quiet and it’s out of the U.S. jurisdiction. Just admit that it works.”

He chewed at his lip for a moment, his pride rebelling against his reason. Finally he admitted with a great deal of reluctance, “Okay, it works…but I still don’t like the circumstances or what’s going on between you and McKee.”

“David makes me happy, Max,” she whispered, “Can’t that be enough for you?”

“What about Kyle?” Max hazarded desperately, “I know he likes you, Iz. Maybe you should give him a try?”

“Good God! You make it sound as if I’m shopping for shoes or something,” Isabel snapped tersely, “You can’t pick the men in my life, Max! The very idea creeps me out!”

“Okay…fine,” Max agreed, seeing that further argument would get him nowhere, “Let’s talk about the more important things then. I need to get you up to speed on what’s happening with us.”

“Besides being on the FBI’s most wanted list you mean?”

“I’m thinking that might work to our advantage,” Max considered, “They haven’t publicized what happened the other morning, which leads me to believe that they want to keep it under wraps.”

“You think they know they were in the wrong?” Isabel asked.

“I’m sure they do,” Max replied, “And now they’re all scrambling to cover their asses. Liz thinks it’s time I took the offensive…you know, start making the feds prove themselves to us for a change.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

“I want to talk to the group about it first,” Max said, “I need to get everyone’s input before I make a final decision.”

“Look who’s acquired a bit of wisdom in the last three weeks,” Isabel mocked, “And all it took was prison.” However, her tone lost much of its cutting edge with her next question. “What about that guy…Pierce? What’s going on with him?”

“I saw him go down that morning but…I’m not sure if he survived or not.”

“What happened, Max?”

“I don’t know…” he murmured vaguely, “The day started out normal enough. We were worried about Michael and Maria because we hadn’t heard from them in days but it turned out that they had only eloped to Vegas so--,”

“—Excuse me? They what?”

Max wisely took a few steps back. “They eloped,” he said again, “Michael and Maria are married now.”

“I’m gonna kill Maria.”

“Can you save the melodrama for a second?” Max interrupted mid-rant, “I’m trying to tell you what happened.” Tight-lipped and fuming Isabel nodded her permission for him to continue. “Okay so we were all sort of talking about that when Diadne breaks a mirror and finds a camera hidden behind the glass.”

“They were taping you?” Isabel gasped incredulously.

“Yeah,” Max replied, “After that we found them all over the apartment. The soldiers tried to stop us from leaving but Diadne stopped them and everything just kind of degenerated from there.”

Isabel placed a trembling hand on her brother’s shoulder. “Did you guys really kill all those people?” she whispered.

“We did what we had to, Isabel,” Max sighed, “It was the only thing we could do.”




AN: For those of you who think Isabel might have jumped in the sack with David too quickly well...she never particularly struck me as a girl who would withhold her goodies once she decided she liked a guy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Hey, all. Back again. Kadon doesn't talk in this part, but you get some insight into his thoughts.


Chapter 47

“So how are we doing the sleeping arrangements tonight?”

All eyes swung around to David and Isabel expectantly. They stood over near the fireplace not really touching but close enough to appear intimate. If the living room wasn’t silent before Kyle’s bold query then the hush that fell over it afterwards was like the dead. The only sound that could be heard was the bold chirping of crickets outside. Nobody even breathed. Somehow Isabel managed not to blush under the scrutiny.

“Okay, there’s four bedrooms in the cabin,” she said, “Two upstairs and two downstairs. Max and Liz will take one and Michael and Maria will take one. David has the master so I guess Diadne can have the room that’s left over. Kyle can bunk down here on the pull out sofa with Kadon.”

“Great,” Kyle mumbled, flicking Kadon a doleful glance, “Lovely idea.”

Kadon didn’t look anymore pleased with the prospect than Kyle. However, after nearly a month on a strange planet, he’d learned to roll with the punches. He didn’t necessarily like the idea of his brother being married to a human girl. He didn’t like the idea of his beloved princess being intimate with the smooth talking human boy. He had some misgivings about his king’s choice for a queen and, lastly and most relevant, he did not want to share a bed with Kyle Valenti. However, Kadon had gleaned one pertinent lesson with this group: resistance was futile. Consequently, he accepted Isabel’s decree with a mere nod of his head.

“And what about you?” Michael demanded, “Where are you gonna sleep?”

His question was filled with underlying hostility. Isabel knew that this was Michael’s attempt at picking a fight, however, she was determined to remain unruffled. She lifted her chin to a haughty angle and looked him straight in the eye. “I’m going to sleep with David,” she announced without apology, ignoring the fact that Kyle choked on his diet soda when she did, “Does anyone have a problem with that?”

There was a chorus of mumbled negatives as Michael scratched his head, Max abruptly went into a coughing spasm and Kyle pretended sudden absorbed interest in his fingernails. “Alrighty then,” Isabel said with tight cheeriness, clasping her hands together, “I’ll show everyone to their rooms.”

“We’ll meet together in the morning,” Max announced as the group filed out, “and discuss our options then.”

After he’d kissed Liz goodnight, Max deliberately lingered behind everyone else, hanging back so that he would be alongside David. “Can I talk to you outside for a minute?” he requested politely. As they passed to leave Kyle directed a slicing gesture across his neck towards David. Undaunted, David smiled civilly and flipped him the finger. Kyle’s answering laugh followed them out onto the front porch.

Outside the air had become cool and crisp but Max hardly took note of the chill as David McKee came to stand beside him. Not for the first time he found himself wondering what exactly Liz had seen in McKee at all. In their brief acquaintance Max had learned fairly quickly that David McKee was all the things he was not. Polished and sophisticated and, evidently, quite adept at talking girls into his bed. But perhaps that was the point. David McKee was obviously the anti-Max and that was what Liz had wanted. The realization made Max feel a bit vulnerable.

“Are you finished staring me down?” David demanded curtly.

“I’m just trying to figure you out,” Max said.

“There’s nothing to figure out,” David replied, sliding him a look, “What you see is what you get.”

Max grunted in response to that. “You’re sleeping with my sister,” he declared disapprovingly after several beats of silence.

“And you’re sleeping with my ex-girlfriend,” David pointed out, “What’s your point?”

“Liz was hardly your girlfriend. The two of you barely even dated so your indignation is a little misplaced.”

“That much is true,” David conceded.

“So then what’s your game?” Max demanded softly.

“There is no game.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Max replied, “What’s the real reason you’re with my sister now? Is it to get back at Liz…or at me?”

David glowered at him mournfully. “Are you usually this dense? Your sister’s a beautiful woman, Evans,” he remarked dryly, “Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I’m interested in her based on that alone? She’s been an exceptional friend to me during an exceptionally difficult time.”

“You’re talking about the miscarriage,” Max discerned.

“It wasn’t easy for me,” David told him, “I had to reevaluate some things in my life.”

“Were your feelings for Liz one of those ‘things’?” Max wondered, “I know you were in love with her.”

“Again…what’s your point?”

“Once you fall in love with Liz Parker you just don’t fall out of it,” Max replied flatly, “I should know that better than anyone so it makes your interest in my sister somewhat suspicious.”

“But you’re forgetting that Liz loves you back,” David retorted softly, “That was never the case with me, which made the falling out of love much easier.”

“I still don’t believe you’re completely over her,” Max maintained, “You asked her to marry you, after all. You don’t consider marriage with someone you just have casual feelings for.”

David flashed him a look of surprise. “She told you about that?”

“Liz and I don’t keep secrets from one another.”

“That’s a good way to be,” David commended, “And you’re right…I did ask her to marry me but that was mainly because she was pregnant with my baby. You know how it is, don’t you, Evans…when you want to do the right thing?” Max was the first to break the penetrating stare that passed between them. He glared off into the dense night but David refused to be ignored. “Isabel told me a few things as well,” David said softly, “Like why you and Liz broke up to begin with…”

“You don’t know anything about that,” Max interrupted harshly.

“I know you cheated on her,” David replied, “I know you got another girl pregnant, one who, incidentally, killed her best friend. I know you’re the reason she ran off for Vermont in the first place.”

“Are you going somewhere with this, McKee?” Max snapped, on the defensive now.

“There’s no reason for you to feel threatened by me,” David soothed, “You said it yourself…Liz and I are totally over. We never even really started.”

“Then leave my sister out of this,” Max ordered tersely, “Whatever game you’re playing…don’t use Isabel to get to me. I don’t want her to be hurt.”

“We have something in common then,” David countered smoothly, “Because I don’t want Isabel to be hurt either. I care about your sister and… Look, I have no idea where this thing with us is going. It could last for years or it could end tomorrow but whatever happens is none of your business. If I can respect your relationship with Liz then I expect you to respect my relationship with Isabel.”

“I still don’t trust your motives.”

Unbelievably, David smiled at that, an altogether confident smile. “We’ll see if I can change that.” As he breezed back into the house he passed Liz as she made her way out onto the porch. They exchanged cordial nods of greeting.

“I came out here to check on you,” Liz said as she came to stand alongside Max, “You’ve been gone a long time. I wanted to make sure you two hadn’t spilled any blood. I didn’t want him to kick you in your bad leg,” she finished with a teasing smirk.

“I’m all healed up now, Liz, as you already know,” he said with a small smile, “He wasn’t going to hurt me and…I wasn’t going to hurt him, if that’s what has you worried.”

“I know that,” she murmured, lacing her fingers with his and giving them a tender squeeze, “So…you kinda blocked me,” she whispered tentatively, “Is there any particular reason why?”

Max made a pointed effort to avoid her gaze. “I didn’t want you to feel my jealousy,” he confessed in a muffled tone.

“You’re jealous?” Liz exclaimed in surprise, “Of David?”

“Why not?” Max considered dryly, “He’s a rich, sophisticated socialite whom I guess you could describe as passable looking. I’m sure girls go for his type all the time.”

Liz bestowed him with a sideways smirk. “Just passable?” she teased.

Max nudged her with his shoulder. “You know what I’m trying to say,” he huffed in exasperation, hanging his head, “I guess what I’m trying to figure out is…why didn’t you marry him? He seemed to be everything you wanted, Liz, namely, not me.”

“You’re right about that,” Liz confessed in a whisper, “I think I once told Maria that he was the anti-Max. That was much of the attraction for me.”

Max squinted out into the darkness. “So then why didn’t you marry him?”

Liz tenderly took hold of his chin and turned his gaze to hers. “Because I was in love with you,” she murmured solemnly, “And the more time that passes the more I’m sure that marrying David would have been the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Really?” Max whispered in surprise, “Why?”

“Because I couldn’t have imagined loving you this much…and eventually I would have hurt him because of it,” Liz answered, brushing a kiss across his lips, “Maybe it worked out better this way, Max. I mean…look at David and Isabel--,”

“—Oh, don’t even get me started on that,” Max groaned in long-suffering.

“Max, stop it,” Liz admonished quietly, “I watched them together all through dinner and…there’s definitely something there. I don’t think it’s just sex.”

“God, don’t say that out loud,” Max scolded with a grimace, “Doesn’t it make you feel weird to see them together?”

“You mean because David has seen me naked?”

Max shuddered and groaned again. “Oh…God, Liz!”

“Max, I’m okay with it,” Liz whispered, “I have to be. I mean…half the guys present have had their tongues down my throat. If I didn’t see the humor in this situation I think I’d feel like a slut.”

He hung his head even lower, until it nearly touched the top of the wooden banister. “Liz, you’re killing me here.”

“Does it bother you?” she asked timidly, “I mean…I know how I felt seeing Tess even when you guys weren’t together anymore. It was like a knife in my chest every time.”

He swung around to look at her then, a smile hovering at his lips. In an achingly gentle gesture he lifted one hand to tenderly brush back the clinging tendrils of hair from her cheek. “That was different,” he whispered, “Tess was a psycho murderer. It was like an insult to you that I even turned to her in the first place. But McKee…he’s a pretty decent guy though I hate to admit it. Yes, I hate the fact that you were together and yes, I hate the fact that he has intimate knowledge of your body but… It’s not a reflection on how I feel about you, Liz Parker. You’ve reached goddess status in my eyes. I’m just being a jealous idiot right now.”

Liz folded her arms around his neck. “Really?” she whispered with a wistful smile, “I’ve reached goddess status?”

“Venus and Hera have nothing on you,” Max vowed.

That tender avowal earned him an equally tender kiss. Max stroked his hand up the slender expanse of her back, pulling her against him until she was flush against him. “I wish we could stay out here forever,” Liz murmured into his shirt in utter contentment, “It’s beautiful here. And quiet…the first quiet I’ve had in months.”

Max rested his chin atop her head. “It is pretty quiet,” he sighed, “Almost like being in a dream.”

“What’s going to happen now?”

“You know already,” he whispered wryly, “Isabel and I are going to try and contact my father tonight…get his advice on a few things.” Max shook his head in rueful disgust. “I should have done that from the very start.”

“You were only trying to keep the peace,” Liz soothed.

“I just wanted someone to trust so badly,” Max confessed, “I’m so tired of looking over my shoulder waiting for someone to betray me. I really wanted to believe that my time for hiding was over.”

“It can be, Max,” Liz advised, tipping back her head to regard him, “You don’t have to hide anymore but,” she added pertinently, “that doesn’t mean you have to reveal every single detail about yourself either.”

“You think maybe I was too open?” Max surmised.

She pursed her lips in thoughtful consideration. “Just a little.”

“I wanted them to know that they could trust me,” he explained somberly, “I didn’t want them to think they had a reason to fear us.”

“But you had more than enough reason to fear them,” Liz pointed out, “They should have been trying to prove themselves to you, Max, not the other way around.”

Max pressed his forehead to hers and blew out a self-deprecating laugh. “I suppose it’s pretty evident by now that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

Liz cupped his cheek and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him softly. “I think you’re doing fine, Max,” she whispered in loving reassurance, “Just fine.”

**Nookie alert. Nookie alert. This chapter contains nookie. Reader discretion is advised.**

Chapter 48

“What are you doing out here in the dark?”

Diadne pivoted around at Kyle’s silent intrusion, but not from surprise. She’d heard him when he first rolled off the sofa bed. Instead her trembling was due to dread because she knew what she had to do but she was painfully reluctant to do it.

“How do you always sense when I am in need of a friend, Kyle Valenti?” she wondered quietly, “It is very unnerving.”

“Alien intuition?” Kyle joked. He thought he might have glimpsed the beginnings of a smile on her face but she turned away too quickly for him to tell. Sensing the solemnity in her Kyle stepped closer. “What’s going on, Pippi?”

“My planet was once located there,” she said, pointing to a cluster of stars just beyond the cluster of stars known as the Big Dipper, “It is difficult to believe that it no longer exists. There is a hole in the stars where it used to be.”

“You’re homesick,” Kyle guessed as he came to stand beside her.

Diadne shook her head. “I miss my father mostly.”

Kyle nodded at her confession. “I definitely know the feeling.”

“But you will see Jim again,” Diadne reminded him, “He is not gone from you forever…not like Larek. I will never have my father’s reassurance again.”

“That’s true,” Kyle conceded, “But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel as lost as you do. There’s no telling when I will see him again. I know how lost that can make you feel.” He stared at Diadne, noting how very old she seemed despite her fifteen year old façade. For the first time she didn’t bother to mask her loneliness and despair. She didn’t hide a single thing. “You never answered my question,” he murmured, “What are you doing out here alone in the cold, Pippi?”

“Kadon believes I should step down.”

Kyle blinked at her. “Step down?”

“From my position as Royal Advisor,” she clarified hoarsely, “He feels I am too young and ill prepared for the honor and many others agree.”

“What?” Kyle barked shortly, “What others? Who else agrees?”

“Everyone,” Diadne whispered, “I can hear them in my head. I can feel it.”

“Why would Kadon say that to you? Why would anyone?” Kyle asked, “You’ve done a fabulous job of protecting us…too fabulous sometimes.”

Diadne lifted her smoky blue eyes to his questioning gaze. “He feels that I have become too attached to you all,” she whispered, “Particularly you, Kyle Valenti. My feelings…they are very confused and he senses that.”

“But…but we’re just friends,” Kyle sputtered, “Of course you should be attached.”

“Exactly,” Diadne pointed out, “I am not to be your friend. I have been appointed to protect my king and to keep those whom he cares about safe. Lately I have forgotten myself and…and whom I serve. Serve, Kyle. I am not a member of your ‘podsquad’ as Maria calls it. There can be no friendship if I wish to keep my position uncontested.”

For a moment he was so taken off guard that she’d used his name almost casually that he nearly missed what she was saying to him. “Wait…what are you trying to tell me here?”

Diadne blinked back the curious moisture gathering in her eyes. “I cannot be your friend any longer,” she whispered, “It is not permissible.”

“According to whom?” Kyle demanded, “Max doesn’t have a problem with it so why should anyone else? Doesn’t he get the final say?”

“He could continue to back me,” Diadne allowed, “But then there would be grumbling among the people for always afterward. No one would ever truly respect me or my position. I would be a laughingstock among my people.”

“That’s crap.”

“Nonetheless, these are the ways of my people,” she insisted quietly, “Please respect them even if you do not understand them.”

“This is wrong.”

She turned away from the blatant disappointment she read on his face, curving her fingers around the wooden banister so tightly that her knuckles whitened. “I am sorry to hurt you, Kyle. You have been good to me and I did not want it this way.”

“You know what, Diadne,” Kyle whispered, “I think you’re probably hurting yourself a lot worse.”

********************

“I can’t sleep,” Max announced flatly, flopping onto his back.

He had been tossing and turning for the last hour so his pronouncement came as no surprise. With an exasperated sigh, Liz rolled over and clicked on the lamp beside their bed. She knew that his insomnia wasn’t due to his dreamwalked conversation with his father. That had gone incredibly well and Philip Evans had been able to give his son a great deal of good advice. Liz knew that Max had been comforted by the talk so she easily recognized that his anxiety was springing from an entirely different source.

“Max, you can’t even hear anything,” she reasoned patiently.

“Doesn’t matter. Just having knowledge of the possibility is making my stomach hurt.”

Liz shifted onto her side to regard him with an affectionate smile, snuggling close against his body. “Don’t you think it’s a little unhealthy for you to be obsessing over your sister’s sex life this way?”

“Do you think I want to obsess over it?” he retorted shortly, “Believe me, Liz…this is the last thing I want to be thinking about! But they’re right in the next room! We’re talking about a guy who’s slept with my girlfriend and sister both! That’s freaky, okay. How can I concentrate on anything else?”

“I’d bet you could redirect your thoughts if you put your mind to it,” Liz told him, as if were the simplest thing in the world.

“How exactly?” Max whined, but then he quickly blushed under Liz’s pointed look. He slid another glance towards the wall that separated their bedroom from the master and then looked back at Liz, noting her patently sensual look. Max stared at her wide-eyed. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

She feathered a breathy kiss across his mouth. “You’re already more than aware of what I’m suggesting, Max Evans,” she whispered huskily, dragging her fingers down the expanse of his bare chest, “The question is…what are you going to do about it?” Max hissed out her name in a serrated moan. Liz slowly climbed over his body, leaning forward to dart her tongue along his lower lip. “Max, this could be our last moment of relative peace,” she murmured, “Do you really want to waste it worrying about Isabel and David? I know I don’t.”

Max shook his head, his breath hitching a bit as Liz began easing his boxers down over his hips. “Are you sure?” he whispered as she whipped her t-shirt over her head and tossed it away. Her panties quickly followed.

Liz kissed her way down the ridges his smooth chest, her hair spilling across his skin, slipping provocatively as she slid lower. When she reached his navel she dipped her tongue inside for a quick sweeping foray, causing Max to gasp and writhe beneath her, and then she lifted her head. “Max, you’re thinking too much,” she whispered.

He bunched his fingers into her hair. “Right now I’m not thinking at all,” Max murmured, unconsciously undulating his lower half against her chest.

Returning to her ministrations and emboldened by his erection rising beneath her, Liz smiled into his skin. “That’s the general idea.”

“Wait!” Max cried when she would have taken her nibbling exploration lower. Liz raised her head again, an accommodating smile hovering on her mouth. Max was determined not to let that smile sidetrack him. “I don’t have anything, Liz,” he told her earnestly, “We ran so fast and… You had to leave your birth control pills behind, too, remember? This isn’t a good idea.”

“Does that mean we can’t still have fun?” Liz pouted.

Okay, so maybe her smile was sidetracking him a little. Max surveyed her with hooded eyes. “What are you getting at?”

Liz tsked him and leaned up so that her warm breath floated over his throbbing arousal. Max emitted an approving groan. “And I thought you had more imagination, Max Evans,” she chided as he trembled beneath her.

“I…I’ve never done that before,” Max confessed in a self-conscious stammer.

Neither had she and their mutual inexperience in that area secretly thrilled Liz. Her smile became positively avaricious at this point. “Well, that just makes it even better.”

As she started to descend once more Max made yet another desperate grab for her. “Wait!” he whispered thickly, his eyes dark with passion, “I want to do you first.”

Just those six little words caused Liz to melt into a puddle of goo. Her belly rumbled with the pleasurable but daunting prospect. She had been fully prepared to explore his body in that way and without a trace of embarrassment but now that the tables were turned she couldn’t stop her cheeks from flaming. Liz reared upright and rolled off onto her side. Max moved with her so that their bodies were spooned together.

“What?” he murmured against her ear, pressing closer, “Don’t you want me to?”

Liz pressed her heated face into the pillow. “I just never thought about it,” she replied, her words hopelessly muffled. And then she peeked up at him meekly. “It never occurred to me that you would want to.”

“I do,” he confessed quietly, dragging his hand up her torso to cup her breast, “And I have…for a while now.”

Liz shuddered as he began rolling the taut peak of her nipple between his fingers. “Then why haven’t you?”

He skated his lips over the curve of her shoulder, kissing a meandering path to her back. “I’ve been scared,” he admitted hoarsely, “What if I do it wrong?”

Liz smiled at his boyish reply and shifted onto her back. She kissed his mouth gently, stroking him wherever she was able. “I don’t think that’s possible, Max. Come here,” she encouraged, cradling his head to bring his mouth down against her breast, “We’ll start slow.”

Max made love to her with his mouth, tonguing her breasts in titillating circles, his kisses reverent and hungry…worshipful. He nuzzled against her sensitive nipples, bathing them with his tongue before taking his exploration lower. As he kissed his way down the length of her body Liz could not still the wild trembling in her extremities. She tangled her fingers in his hair, straining her hips beneath him as he nibbled a trail over her belly.

When Max reached the dark thatch of hair at the apex of her thighs he paused, sifting his fingers through the coarse curls. Liz parted her thighs in welcome response, silently urging Max on with the movements of her body. Max accepted her unspoken invitation gladly, sliding his fingers over the swollen lips of her vagina, massaging her aching pubis beneath his palm. He groaned a little with the wetness he found between the lips of her sex. With Liz’s breathy moans urging him on, Max rubbed faster, coating his fingers with her creamy moisture before bringing them to his mouth for a tentative taste.

She tasted not unlike he’d imagined. Like salt. Like sweet. Like sex. The realization made him eager for another venture. But this time he wanted to taste her for real. Max shifted between her thighs, nuzzling his mouth against her dense curls. Liz shuddered in response and clenched her fingers into the bed sheets in an effort to keep from clenching Max. She stifled the wanton urge to grab the back of his head and grind down against him.

But Max didn’t make it easy. He flicked his tongue against her distended clitoris, nipping at the sensitized nub before sucking it into his mouth. He lashed her hungrily with his tongue, sucking harder and harder until Liz was writhing and moaning with need. Then, almost without warning, he parted the lips of her sex and speared his tongue deep inside her. Liz bowed off the bed with a low scream of pleasure, her hips quivering under his assault. Max smiled into her slippery wet opening, kissing her pouty flesh much the way he kissed her mouth. And, if her guttural moans were any indication…he definitely was NOT doing it wrong.

The realization emboldened him further and Max kissed her deep, sending his tongue as far as he could, scooping inside her again and again. Her passionate bucking spurred him on as well as the creamy slickness that flooded her center with her impending orgasm. Max drank of her body rapaciously, his own arousal throbbing painfully with anticipation. And then she cried out, clamping her thighs around him as she was assailed with a very long, very wet climax. Max shuddered as well, feeling her orgasm and fighting against his own.

When Liz finally unsnarled her fingers from his hair, Max lifted up onto his knees with a wolfish grin. She lay sprawled across the bed, her body damp with sweat, looking completely undone. Still gasping in the wake of her tumultuous orgasm, Liz threw one limp forearm across her eyes. “Oh my God…”

Max chucked in response and Liz peeked at him from beneath her arm. She had to giggle at the sight he made. There he was, grinning at her lustfully, his erection as prominent as ever and leaking fluid. Liz flung her arm away. “You’re pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Not bad for a beginner,” Max replied proudly.

“Actually, you cheated,” Liz teased him breathlessly, her gaze settling hungrily on his bouncing cock, “You only did the things you knew I wanted you to do.”

Max stretched out beside her and began nibbling at her throat. “Are you disappointed?” he whispered.

“Not at all,” she replied, flipping him onto his back, “Now it’s your turn.” She growled at him playfully before kissing a trail down his body much the way he had done to her. When she reached the head of his cock Liz heard Max’s sharp intake of breath. She was unable to bite back her teasing smile.

“What to do? What to do?” she pretended to ponder, “Should I blow on it?” She blew her breath against him experimentally and he shuddered. “Should I kiss it?” She placed a lingering kiss to the straining tip, sliding her lips over the silky ridge. “Lick it?” Liz whisked her tongue over the groove of his head, collecting the droplets of moisture there and Max groaned. She cupped his testicles lightly, massaging the wrinkly, soft skin. “I wonder what Max would like.”

Max gripped the sheets and ground up against her mouth. “Liz,” he gasped out in warning, “Stop…teasing…me…”

When she took the length of him into her mouth he wasn’t prepared for it. The sensation of her hot, eager mouth closing over him was all Max needed to drive him over the edge. Reflexively knotting his fists in her hair, Max rasped out her name and surged upward as his body erupted in a near painful burst. He flooded her mouth with the salty-sour taste of his semen, his hips jerking again and again with endless waves of spasmodic pleasure.

He was still shaking when Liz slid her lips from his softened penis. She pressed a small kiss to the highly sensitive tip before stretching out beside him. “Not bad for a beginner,” she murmured complacently when it became evident that he couldn’t talk. He lay there, shivering with aftershocks of delight, his chest vibrating with jerky little breaths. Liz knew she had pleased him because those same streaks of sexual satisfaction were echoed in her own body. “And I didn’t even have to read your mind to do it,” she added on smugly.

Max gave her a playful shove and rolled away, presenting her with the shimmering expanse of his back. “Shut up.” The last sound he heard as he drifted off to sleep was Liz’s tinkling laughter.

Chapter 49

“What’cha cooking?” Maria asked her husband the next morning when she found him in the kitchen whisking eggs. She slid her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his back, inhaling his clean, masculine scent. “I didn’t like waking up alone.”

“Careful,” Michael warned with a surreptitious glance around them, “You don’t want the others to know what we were doing last night, do you?”

“We’re married, Michael,” Maria laughed, taking hold of the bowl in his hands and settling it aside on the counter. She then turned him around in her arms for a thorough kiss. “I think they expect it, babe,” she mumbled into his mouth.

Michael returned her kiss eagerly but when her hands went on a tortuously sensual expedition of his body he danced out of her reach. “Stop being a bad girl,” he scolded with a smile, “Didn’t you get enough last night?”

“Not nearly enough,” Maria teased irreverently, “Last night was the first official night of our honeymoon and since it’s not guaranteed to last,” she purred wickedly as she swayed her hips wantonly into his groin, “I plan to get all the loving I can.”

“Hmm, really?” Michael challenged, sliding his hands down over her bottom to press her into vibrant contract with his growing arousal.

Maria moaned with the sensation and smiled into his mouth. “Definitely.” They were helping themselves to yet another voracious kiss when Isabel strode into the kitchen.

At the sight of Michael and Maria mauling one another in the kitchen, Isabel stopped short with a grimace of revulsion. “You two disgust me,” she grunted, “Don’t you have a room for this sort of thing?”

Isabel’s disapproving remark caused them both to start with surprise at her sudden entrance but they didn’t spring apart. Instead, Michael and Maria remained locked resolutely in each other’s arms, trading lingering kisses despite Isabel’s frown. “Good morning to you, too, Isabel,” Michael greeted dryly when he finally glanced up from his wife, “You’re as pleasant as ever.”

“That’s almost a joke coming from you,” Isabel quipped as she helped herself to a cup of coffee. That’s when she noticed the various food items spread out across the counter. “What are you making?”

“Breakfast,” Michael answered, slipping from Maria’s arms to return to his eggs, “I thought since this is quite possibly our last normal morning together…I’d go all out. Not that you’re the least bit deserving.”

“I’m not deserving?” Isabel scoffed haughtily, “Who was it exactly that went and eloped without his friends and family present, huh?”

“What’s more important to you, Isabel,” Maria reasoned, “The fact that Michael and I are married or the way we did it?”

Isabel shot her an offended glare for that comment as she dropped down into a chair at the table. “Talk to the hand, Maria,” she said brusquely, “Talk to the hand.”

Maria fell into the seat across from her. “I don’t understand why you’re being this way,” she cried in exasperation, “You’re acting as if I betrayed you or something.”

“Two words, Maria,” Isabel replied succinctly, “Wedding Coordinator. This was supposed to be my thing, remember? My moment. I had everything planned out to the minutest detail. The dresses, the ceremony, the cake! All you and Michael had to do was show up.”

“Forgive us if we thought it was supposed to be our moment,” Michael retorted. He turned back to his eggs so he missed the sneer Isabel directed at his back.

“Isabel, you were the one who wanted all that frou-frou stuff, not me,” Maria told her, “It just didn’t work out that way.”

“Yeah,” Isabel agreed, “And all because you two had to be common and elope to Vegas.” She palmed her forehead in aggravation. “Just please tell me it wasn’t in an Elvis chapel and I can get over it.” Michael and Maria exchanged wry glances, which did not escape Isabel’s notice. “I hate you both,” she uttered.

“Look on the bright side, Isabel,” Maria piped lamely, “You can save all the ideas you had for your own wedding.”

“And who said I was getting married any time soon, huh?” Isabel challenged peevishly, “That would be so convenient for you two, but…newsflash! It doesn’t let you off the hook. I was really excited about this, you guys. And you ruined it with your impatience. I’m just completely appalled.” She was so lost in her lamentation that she didn’t notice the maddened eye roll Maria sent over her shoulder to Michael.

“Well, there’s always Max and Liz,” Michael offered, “Maybe you can plan their lives down to the ‘minutest detail’ for a change.”

“Who’s planning my life?” Max mumbled sleepily as he stumbled into the middle of their conversation. He crossed over to the counter to help himself to a cup of coffee.

“You look like crap,” Michael commented baldly as Max sucked down coffee like he needed it live, “Did you get any sleep at all last night?”

Max pinned Michael with a sour look and opened his mouth to retort back smartly when he heard Michael say, God, I wonder if this is the last time we’ll do this together. Max wouldn’t have been nearly so freaked out by the occurrence were it not for the fact that…Michael’s lips hadn’t moved. He fell back a step, his coffee mug slipping from his limp fingers. When the ceramic cup shattered at his feet he barely noticed. “What did you just say?” Max uttered in a throbbing whisper. He was vaguely aware of Isabel rushing forward to clear away the jagged pieces.

“I said you look pretty bad,” Michael told him, eyeing him curiously, “Are you feeling sick or something? You look all pasty.” Damn, I hope not. The last thing we need is for him to get sick on us. Things are already screwed up enough without worrying about alien disease. “Max?” he queried when Max continued staring at him as if he’d grown a second head, “What’s up with you, man?”

“Did your hand cramp up or something?” Isabel asked as she reassembled the mug with her powers. Jesus, Michael is right. He does look like crap.

Max scurried away from her as if she’d set him afire. He knew he wasn’t imagining things. He distinctly heard both Isabel and Michael talking to him. They were actually talking, but it was the words Max heard that weren’t being spoken aloud that was the trouble. He could swear…if he didn’t know better…that he was reading both their minds. Max swung desperate eyes around to his sister. She was watching him with concerned brown eyes but her mind was saying something else altogether. I hope he can keep it together! How are we supposed to have any confidence in this thing if he falls apart on us?

But her lips said, “Max, are you okay? Do you need a glass of water or something?”

“I can hear everything you’re saying,” Max replied calmly.

“Um…yeah,” Maria interjected carefully, “Isn’t that the general idea?”

Max looked over at Maria, the blood in his brain pounding to new heights as her thoughts entered the rapid chattering in his head as well. Now he freaks out. Weeks of craziness and now he’s having a breakdown…and when we need him most! Can’t he see that Michael can’t deal with this on his own anymore? God, at this rate, I’m going to be a widow before I’ve really even been a wife! Get it together, Max!

“I’m doing my fucking best!” Max screamed, clutching at his head, “I didn’t mean to put everything on his shoulders!”

“Max, are you okay, buddy?” Michael asked, “Who are you talking to right now, dude?” Oh hell, he’s losing it! This is so not good!

“No, I’m not,” Max grated hysterically, falling back from Michael and Isabel as they pressed in on him, “Just stop walking around in my head, okay!” Max could see Maria off to his left, staring at him with a sympathetic green gaze but he could hear her singing in her mind, Looney tunes. Looney tunes. Max has gone looney tunes! “Shut up!” he cried out in frustration.

“Max, you’re scaring us,” Isabel told him calmly, “Just tell us what’s wrong with you. We want to help.” Oh God, I’m losing him. I knew these last few weeks were too much. I should have gone home when I had the chance. I shouldn’t have left him to deal with it alone.

Max hunkered down into the corner and pressed his head between his knees. He hoped to hide himself from her guilt and regret. In that moment he couldn’t just hear their thoughts but he could feel their emotions, the riotous uncertainty coming from them all and the sensation was too much. Max felt like he was on emotional overload, like he was in danger of having the very breakdown they feared. Even when he pressed his hands into his ears so hard that his ears popped painfully he could still hear them…still feel their agitation…

Recognizing the trapped look on Max’s face, Michael sprang into action. “Go get Liz!” he ordered Maria sharply, “Maybe she’ll know what’s going on!” I hope to hell she does because Maxwell is obviously about to crack! “You wanna try telling us what’s wrong, buddy?” he coaxed Max in his most soothing tone.

“I can hear you,” Max whispered pitiably, “I can hear everything you’re saying! You have to stop.”

“Stop what, Max,” Isabel asked worriedly, “We can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s wrong.” He’s having a breakdown. My brother, the most stable person I know, is having a nervous breakdown!

“No, I’m not!” Max yelled in protest, “Stop saying that! I’m not crazy!” He knew she was scared but dealing with his fear and her fear simultaneously was simply too much. What little relief he’d gained with Maria’s departure had flittered away with Michael and Isabel’s heightened emotions. “I’m not having a nervous breakdown,” he cried, “But you’re coming at me all at the same time and I can’t think!”

“You can’t think?” Isabel queried in confusion, “Max, what are you talking about?” And then she stopped short, realizing that Max had denied breaking down when she had never voiced her concerns aloud. She stared at him in horrified shock. It can’t be. He isn’t…he isn’t reading my mind…is he?

“Yes!” Max exclaimed in reply, “Yes, I am!”

“Do you want me to hold him down?” Michael asked Isabel, growing increasingly alarmed by Max’s incomprehensible outbursts, “Cuz I’m really getting concerned here, Isabel.”

She had just barely nodded in reply when Kyle chose that inopportune moment to stride into the kitchen with a surly frown. “What’s with all the yelling?” he demanded in a grumble, “Is there a rule that states that every second of our lives must be fraught with drama?”

“Shut up and get over here, Valenti!” Michael tossed out in vague explanation, “Max is having some kind of episode.” He stepped aside so Kyle could see a quivering, cowering Max for himself.

Great! Fearless leader has become freaking lunatic! With Kyle’s unflattering thought Max shot out a warning hand as the two young men cornered him. “Don’t come near me! I am not crazy so stop treating me like I just suddenly went schizo!”

“I think you have,” Michael replied calmly.

“No, Michael. I don’t think he has,” Isabel whispered in trembling protest, “We’re overwhelming him. I think he can hear our thoughts.”

Liz came skidding into the kitchen right then and Max sobbed with relief at the welcome sight of her. “What’s happening?” she asked, running into his open arms without hesitation. She had just been jarred out of her sleep by a sickening sense of urgency when Maria burst into the bedroom. Now she understood the exigency, her thoughts almost as scattered as Max’s.

Max crushed her against him, burying his face in her neck. “Thank God, you’re here,” he whispered brokenly into her hair, “I can hear them thinking, Liz…everything. But it’s coming at me so fast…I’m getting confused… Help me. Help me, please.”

Holding him fast, Liz swung a look over her shoulder at their gathering friends. “Everybody get out!” she ordered immediately. There was a round of grumbling protest but she stood firm, especially when she felt Max trembling against her. “Get out,” she said again, “Just leave us alone so we can sort out what’s going on!”

When they were all gone, Liz turned back towards Max and smoothed away his sweat dampened bangs from his forehead. “Is it better?” she whispered. He swallowed hard and nodded, resting his head against her shoulder. “Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know,” he murmured breathlessly, “I just walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and it started. I could hear everything they were thinking…I could feel what they were feeling. It was too much… I couldn’t tell which thoughts and feelings were my own…the sensation made me feel sick…”

“Is it still there?” Liz wondered anxiously.

“Only you,” he said, his tone grateful and frightened, “All I feel is you…now.”

Liz kissed his lips, his eyes, his cheeks in reassuring nibbles. “Good,” she said, “I’ll talk to Diadne. We’ll figure out what’s going on.” She stroked her hands over his cheeks, cradling his face much like she would have done a child’s. “Do you want to come with me?”

He shook his head a little wildly. “I can hear them all,” he whispered, “I can’t deal with it. I can’t.”

“Why don’t you go upstairs and rest some more,” she suggested gently, “I’ll be up shortly…okay?”

After she made sure that Max was safely tucked away in bed Liz made her way back down to the living room where everyone had converged.

“—I don’t know what the hell is going on!” Michael was yelling, “Is he going crazy or not? What do we do?”

“It is a heightened awareness,” Diadne explained calmly, “Not craziness. His powers are deepening.”

“But Max could never read minds before,” Isabel reasoned.

“Yes, he can,” Liz whispered as she stepped fully into the living room, “He can read mine. And today…he found out that he could read all of yours, too.”

Maria ducked her head self-consciously and began to nibble at her fingernails, wondering if Max had heard all her unflattering thoughts about him earlier. God, she hoped not. Liz would never let her live it down.

“Is he okay?” Isabel asked worriedly.

“He’s tired and a bit overwhelmed,” Liz explained to the group, “All your thoughts and emotions sort of came on him at the same time and he couldn’t filter any of it. That’s why he reacted like he did.”

Isabel started to nod her agreement with Liz when she felt an odd sense of vertigo assail her. As her world tilted off its axis she was swept into the vortex of Liz’s mind. The scene shifted around her until she saw a contented Liz seated in a rocking chair in the middle of a beautiful nursery. In her arms, bundled in a fuzzy pink blanket, was a baby girl. Liz cooed and sang to the child so lovingly that the sight made Isabel’s heart ache. And then Max was there, kneeling alongside them. He completed the perfect moment by leaning forward to kiss both his girls’ foreheads, his love for them shining in his eyes. Isabel stepped forward, wanting to be a part of the cozy scene, but as she did it collapsed into nothing.

When she became aware of herself again Isabel recognized that she was back in the living room where she started. Seemingly no time had passed because her friends debated on just as before. Yet Isabel knew what she’d just witnessed was no mere illusion. She had traveled inside the most secret part of Liz’s mind, had seen Liz’s greatest desire, a yearning she kept hidden from everyone…even Max. Isabel knew something about her that even Liz herself hadn’t yet recognized. She wanted another baby. That knowledge was so intimate, so painful especially because Liz had buried it so deep as not to feel it at all, that Isabel had to look away.

“I don’t get it,” Michael muttered, breaking through Isabel’s thoughts, “Why aren’t these changes happening to me and Isabel?”

“Perhaps they have,” Diadne considered, “The traits you exhibit are inherent in full blooded Antarians but for you…some abilities are stronger than others. For Max it is his healing ability. Now, with his deepened understanding, he can heal far more than just the physical ailment. He can feel with much more than his heart but with his whole being.”

“So what…you’re saying Max could heal mental illness if he wanted?” Kyle queried in amazement, “Like manic-depression and stuff like that?”

“If he wishes,” Diadne allowed.

“Wow, Maria, there’s hope for you yet.” As usual Kyle’s joking remark earned him nothing more than a round of aggravated glares. “I’m sorry,” he grunted, ducking his head, “I’m nervous. When I’m nervous I make jokes.”

“So what about us?” Isabel whispered, repeating Michael’s earlier question, “What’s going to happen to us?”

“More than likely your gifts will be heightened as well.”

“Isabel dreamwalks,” David considered quietly, “So what does that mean for her? Will she be hurt by the changes like…like her brother.”

Isabel smiled softly at the concern she heard in his tone. They clasped hands briefly before she slid a furtive glance in Liz’s direction. “Maybe it means that people don’t have to be asleep for me to get into their heads anymore,” she murmured.

Diadne confirmed her suspicions. “They do not.” And Isabel had an inkling that Diadne knew exactly what she was getting at.

“Well, I don’t have any special gifts,” Michael spoke up lightly though the disappointment in his tone was evident, “So I suppose there’s nothing to heighten.”

“That is not true,” Diadne contradicted, “You are a warrior and a hunter. That is how you kept our king safe on Antar. You hunted down those who opposed the throne. None could stand against you…until Khivar.”

“Oh my God…she’s right,” Maria murmured in agreement, “You are becoming different, Michael. The way you walk, your reflexes… When we were running from the army that day I could barely keep up with you. And when you swung me up into your arms…you never broke your stride…”

“That’s true,” Kyle added in consideration, “We were all wondering how you managed to run so fast. Jumping and leaping… You weren’t even human that day, Michael. You managed to make it to the gate before all of us, even Diadne, and you had Maria in your arms the whole time!”

“I’ve never seen strength like that before, Michael,” Liz whispered, “You were amazing that day.”

“So what do all these changes mean for them,” Kyle asked anxiously, “Will it hurt them? Should we be afraid? What?”

“It means what we’ve always known,” Michael muttered, “We’re not human. As much as we like to pretend sometimes…we’re not. Not at all.”

We're entering the home stretch. Just three more parts and an epilogue. Feels like I just started this story a month ago. Oops, wait a minute...I did.


Chapter 50

“Should we wake them?” Diadne wondered, “We must make many plans.”

Michael tore his gaze from the dozing couple curled together on the bed. “Nah…let them sleep for now,” he declared, gently closing the bedroom door, “They’ve had a tough morning…Max especially. Besides…until he learns how to filter out everyone’s thoughts he won’t be any good to anyone.”

“I will help him with that,” Diadne volunteered, “After some practice he will master it.”

“Good,” Michael agreed, “But let him sleep for now anyways.”

“But we don’t have a lot of time,” Isabel whispered urgently, “There’s another group of ships arriving in about four days.” Her tone lowered considerably when she added, “They’re coming prepared for war, Michael. Our people feel threatened. If Max doesn’t do something the situation on this planet is going to get very, very ugly very, very fast.”

“She is right,” Diadne confirmed reluctantly, “Our first priority is to protect the royal house. Zan loyalists will do what they believe is necessary…even if it means annihilating life on this planet. We can do it…and we will.”

Though her words filled him with an ominous dread, Michael did his utmost to remain calm. “It won’t come to that. We’ve got a couple of days to figure something out,” he insisted, “Give Max time to recuperate then we’ll move forward. These next decisions we make are critical. We’ve got to make them as a group or not at all.”

Once Diadne and Isabel had nodded their agreement, Michael excused himself to join his wife downstairs. Isabel departed shortly after but Diadne remained, lingering in the hallway when she felt her senses prickle with awareness. “You can come out now,” she invited Kyle placidly.

Kyle crept out sheepishly from behind the corner, scratching his ear thoughtfully. “How did you know I was back there?”

“I know everything about you, Kyle Valenti,” was her solemn reply.

After everything he’d learned that morning Kyle wasn’t wholly surprised by her admission. He was sure that there was no part of his brain left untapped by Diadne’s Antarian mind force. She probably knew things about him that even he didn’t know. Yet, he wasn’t angered by the realization. Embarrassed perhaps, because he was sure Diadne knew exactly how he felt about her now.

“You should not love me,” she warned him quietly.

Her caution didn’t startle him. Kyle had already had the same argument with himself when he realized his feelings for her extended beyond the teasing love/hate rapport they had going between them. The other day when she and Max were being pelted by gunfire Kyle realized that he saw her as more than just a comrade in arms, more than just an acquaintance. He had been scared to death of losing her in that moment, which was part of the reason he’d blown up at her like he did. But Kyle didn’t expect Diadne to be happy with the development and she wasn’t. Still he pressed onward.

“I can’t help it,” he mumbled in reply, “I feel what I feel. I never planned it that way.”

“You can make it go away,” she said, “But you choose to feel these emotions. You want to.”

Kyle took several deliberate steps towards her, gradually closing the distance between them. “Is that so bad?” he whispered in challenge, “Maybe you want to feel them, too.”

Diadne abruptly morphed into another form, a vision of bouncing blond curls and piercing blue eyes. She gave her head a proud toss as she regarded him and Kyle winced in response. “This is what you want,” Diadne declared curtly, “You think about her always. I have seen her in your thoughts many times.”

“No,” Kyle breathed weakly, “That’s not fair.”

“You love her,” Diadne insisted. She smiled at him much the way Tess used to, as if she had a secret she was dying to share. Kyle couldn’t deny that the sight caused his heart to contract painfully.

He closed his eyes and shook his head against the image. “I loved her,” he clarified swiftly, “Past tense. She’s dead to me, Pippi…in more ways than one.”

“And yet you still care for her.”

“No! I care for you!”

Diadne recoiled from his shouted confession, her features contorting emotion. Again she shifted forms, this time to her original body, small, slender and green with large, onyx eyes. “This is what you care for, Kyle?” she dared haughtily, “An alien? A creature?”

He didn’t flinch at her stark challenge but actually surprised them both by reaching forward to trace one of the symbols along her cheek. He marveled at the feel of her skin, cool and delicate but Diadne flinched away. “Yes,” he murmured thickly, “This is exactly who I care for. You’re my friend. I didn’t want you to be and I sure as hell wasn’t expecting it but… What you look like on the outside doesn’t matter, Diadne.” He meant the words utterly. Her outward appearance didn’t matter to him because Kyle had fallen for her heart.

Diadne whipped away from him, red hair and freckles restored. “Do not do this to me,” she pleaded, “You confuse me with your emotions!”

“You’re not confused, Pippi,” Kyle accused softly, “You know exactly what you want…you’re just afraid to take it.”

Diadne shifted a scowl at him over her shoulder. “I fear nothing, human.”

“You fear me,” he retorted flatly, “You fear falling in love with me.”

“I am not in love with you, Kyle Valenti.”

“Yes, you are. I can prove it in five seconds.” He took a step towards her to do just that but Diadne scuttled out of his reach. Kyle smirked at her. “You sure do a lot of running for someone who isn’t afraid.”

“You are an arrogant ass!” Diadne spat at him.

Kyle’s smile widened with unconcealed amusement. “Now that word you know,” he teased with a roll of his eyes.

“You make everything a game when it is not,” Diadne admonished him resentfully.

“Oh, so I guess I should be sour, studious and duty bound like you, huh? Eh…I think I’ll pass on that, thank you very much.” She stared up at him with mutinous blue eyes and for the first time Kyle recognized that Diadne, his little soldier, his usually emotionless love was near tears. Her eyes glistened like two polished stones and her lower lip trembled violently. “God, don’t look like that,” Kyle groaned in remorse. There was nothing worse than seeing an Antarian warrior cry, Kyle decided.

“Why not?” she snapped, “Is this not what you wanted? For me to be a quivering mass of weakness? For me to weep easily like those sniveling female humans I see on your soap operas?”

“You’ve been around Maria too long,” he mocked, “Where’s all this melodrama coming from, Pip?”

“You are impossible,” she uttered.

“I learned from the master,” he returned dryly, leveling her with a pointed look. For a moment he thought she might actually forget herself enough to stamp her foot in frustration. The last time he’d made her this angry she’d blasted him halfway across the room. Suddenly, his deliberate provocation of her didn’t seem like such a prudent move anymore.

“Do you know why I chose this form, Kyle?” Diadne asked with rhetorical suddenness, “Because in all the Astrid Lindgren books Pippi was never afraid to be who she was. She conformed to no one’s expectations and she was happy. I have conformed all my life, Kyle. Expectations and duty have formed a chokehold on me. I do not know how to be anything other than a soldier.”

Kyle held out his hand to her. “Then let me show you,” he invited gently, “Let me teach you how to be more, Diadne. Let me be your friend. Let yourself need me.” She stared down at his palm, her heart crying out to grab it but her mind rebelling against the prospect. Diadne stood there, numb with fear. Finally, Kyle let his hand fall back to his side. “I’m not going to chase you, Pip,” he told her, “If you want this…you’re going to have to meet me halfway.”

“I will lose…everything.”

“No, you won’t,” he denied with a smile, “Not what really matters anyway.” He held his hand out to her again. “Take it.”

Diadne bit her lip, screwed her eyes shut, and reached forward for his fingers.

********************

“Everything okay with your brother?” David asked when Isabel came striding back into his bedroom.

“He and Liz are still asleep,” she replied, dropping down beside him on the bed. She removed one stiletto-heeled boot and tossed it aside. She then did the same with the other. “God, this has been the longest day,” she groaned, massaging her aching feet, “I’ve got to start wearing more sensible shoes.”

“That’ll be the day,” David snorted and then he grabbed hold of her ankles and pulled her feet into his lap, “Here let me.” He rotated the pads of his thumb into her delicate arches, soothing away the stiffness.

“Hey, you’re pretty good at this,” Isabel moaned in surprise, flexing her toes, “How many girls’ feet have you massaged?”

“Actually,” David replied with a hint of disdain, “I don’t do feet. I’m making a general concession for you.”

Isabel leaned forward to kiss his lips lightly. “Well, aren’t I the lucky one?”

“Indeed you are,” he agreed, smiling into her mouth.

Isabel snapped back abruptly, stunned by the realization that she was actually…happy. It had been so long since she’d felt it, just abundant joy with absolutely no baggage that the sensation took her off guard a moment. Isabel looked up at David, his wheat blond hair still damp from his shower, his eyes warm and clear and she felt safe and cared for. She felt…whole and the recognition scared her witless.

She swung her feet from David’s lap and placed them firmly on the floor. “What are we doing?” she demanded in a mutter.

Knocked off balance by her unexpected shift in mood, David ventured tentatively, “Talking?”

“No, I don’t mean now,” Isabel clarified impatiently, “I mean this.” She gestured between the two of them. “You and me…us! What the hell are we doing, David?”

He surveyed her through narrowed, speculative eyes. “I thought we were having fun,” he replied softly.

“Is that all I am to you?” Isabel wondered, “Just fun?”

“I think you know better.”

“Then where is this going, David,” she demanded, “Is it just about the sex?”

“No, it’s not about the sex,” he told her firmly and then he smiled. “Though, I gotta admit, that part is really, really good. But…that’s not why I’m with you. I like you, Isabel…very much.”

“But I don’t get it,” she considered, “You’re rich, cultured…I suppose you’re marginally better looking than a hump backed bell ringer…” She paused long enough for them to trade sardonic smirks. “My point being…you should have tons of friends so why does my friendship, a half alien, half-human girl, mean so much to you?”

“You’re right,” he agreed, “I do have tons of friends or I did before Liz had the miscarriage. After that my life wasn’t the same…my priorities weren’t the same.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, letting her glimpse the grief inside him for the first time ever. “I think I went through life thinking I was entitled to anything and everything I wanted,” David recounted quietly, “But when Liz lost the baby I felt lost, too. It was the second time in my life that I didn’t get something I truly wanted.”

“What was the first?” Isabel asked, but she really already knew.

“When I asked Liz to marry me,” David confirmed, “I think I went into it with the attitude that I couldn’t possibly lose, which was why when she turned me down I couldn’t believe she meant it.”

“And you pursued her?” Isabel concluded.

“Yeah,” he confessed, “And she didn’t want me. I was still kind of licking my wounds when she lost the baby. All the stuff I thought was so important before, the stuff I thought mattered just didn’t anymore. I stopped hanging out with my friends. I stopped doing to the party scene. I wanted to be by myself.”

“So then what happened?”

“I bumped into this gorgeous blond goddess on my way home from the coffee shop,” he replied wryly, “She knocked me flat on my ass and I’ve been on it ever since.”

Isabel curled her legs beneath her and smiled at him. “If I didn’t know better, David McKee, I would think you liked me.”

“Well, damn! I don’t want you getting the wrong impression,” he teased her, “I actually can’t stand you.”

They shared a soft breath of laughter over that before Isabel sobered once more. “You know my life is probably going to change again in a few days,” she told him, “Who knows how our latest stint with the FBI will end. If you want to bail this would be the time to do it.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” he said, no hesitation.

“Why do you even bother?” Isabel groaned, “My life is beyond complicated. My brother and my friends all mistrust you! I’ve done nothing but bring disorder into your well-ordered existence. Why do you care?”

“Honestly? You’re the best damned lay I’ve ever had!”

Isabel planted her foot squarely in his chest and shoved him off the bed. He hit the floor with a groaning thud. Isabel rolled off to the edge of the mattress, to peer down at him as he lay prostrate on the floor. “Are you ready to be serious now?” she demanded.

He squinted up at her. “What do you want to know?”

“Why are you really with me, David?” Really, she knew already, had gotten a glimpse into his head as they sat together on the bed, but Isabel needed badly to hear the words. She had to hear him admit his feelings for her out loud and that would make them real. Then she could finally believe she was accepted and wanted, the real her, Isabel Evans, alien status and all.

“Why am I with you?” David mused aloud, “Because you make me happy, Isabel, and I haven’t felt truly happy in a very long time.”

Isabel smiled down at him and passed her fingers through his damp hair, using her powers to dry the tangled tendrils with each stroke. “You make me happy, too, David,” she whispered, “More than you realize.”